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Palestinians Prepare for Ramadan with Fear; Still No Deal; Local Leaders in Gaza Pleads for Aid; Photo of Princess of Wales Manipulated; U.S., E.U, Germany Evacuate Embassy Staff in Haiti; Pope Francis for Haiti, Gets Criticized by Ukraine and its Allies; Biden and Trump Trade Barbs in Georgia; Sen. Katie Britt Walks Back Immigration Anecdote Used In GOP Response To Biden's State Of The Union; Communist Party Leaders Announce Their Vision For 2024; U.S. Could Ban TikTok Unless Chinese Company Divests; U.S. Had Warmest Winter Season On Record. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired March 11, 2024 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[02:00:00]
ROSESMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States, around the world and streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead, Ramadan begins under the shadow of war in Gaza where people are preparing to mark the Muslim holy month amid fears of food shortages and artillery strikes.
More controversy swirling for the Princess of Wales after Kensington Palace released the first photo of her in weeks, why it was then swiftly retracted by news agencies.
And Oppenheimer dominates during Hollywood's biggest night, but it was Ken who stole the show.
It is 8:00 in the morning across Gaza where Palestinians are marking the start of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan as the threat of an expanded Israeli offensive looms. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he plans to push ahead with a military ground incursion into Rafah, the southern Gaza City where more than a million people are sheltering. This comes just days after talks on a temporary ceasefire and hostage release failed to reach a deal.
Israel had warned that it would launch the next phase of its war against Hamas if a deal was not reached by Ramadan. But U.S. officials say the Biden administration is not expecting Israeli forces to eminently expand operations. All this happening as Israel's prime minister defends his policies in Gaza after the U.S. President said Netanyahu is, quote, "hurting Israel more than helping." CNN's Scott McLean is following all the developments from Istanbul.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In an interview this weekend, President Joe Biden said that an Israeli invasion of Rafah would be a red line for him, but he also said that he would never cut Israel off of all weapons. That apparently didn't sound all that threatening to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who insisted that an Israeli invasion of Rafah will go ahead.
He said the fighting could last two months, perhaps even less than that. This despite the fact that you have well over one million Palestinians taking refuge in the city of Rafah with, frankly, no safe places to go within the territory.
Netanyahu in this interview with Politico and the German outlet Bild also responded to Biden's public criticism when he said that Netanyahu was hurting Israel more than he was helping. Here's the Israeli Prime Minister's response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: Well, I don't know exactly what the president meant, but if he meant by that, then I'm pursuing private policies against the majority, the wish of the majority of Israelis, and that this is hurting the interests of Israel, then he's wrong on both counts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLEAN: Israel had previously promised to move into Rafah on the ground if a hostage release deal wasn't made by Ramadan. Well, Ramadan is here now, and that deal has not been made. There are also no signs of any kind of a negotiating breakthrough. Hamas left Cairo where the last rounds of talks were being held on Thursday.
The Israelis were never there at all because they say that Hamas could not provide even a list of hostages who were alive and those who are now dead. Hamas also continues to insist that no deal can be reached unless the IDF is willing to completely withdraw from Gaza. And any ceasefire that's agreed to is a permanent one, a pretty tough sell for the Israelis, who again, as you heard from the prime minister, continue to insist that they will only end this war when Hamas is completely eliminated and that means in Rafah as well.
We also heard from the Hamas chief, Ismail Haniyeh, who gave a televised address on Sunday. He says that he is still open to talks, but he says that no hostages will be released until a deal is made. Scott McLean, CNN, Istanbul.
CHURCH: Joining me now is Yaakov Katz, a senior columnist at the "Jerusalem Post" and a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute. Thanks so much for being with us.
YAAKOV KATZ, SENIOR COLUMNIST, THE JERUSALEM POST: Thank you.
CHURCH: So, with the Ramadan deadline upon us, Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu is vowing to defy President Biden's red line and invade Rafah with hostage talks at an impasse and more than a million Palestinians sheltering in Rafah.
[02:05:08]
So, not only could this trigger a rift between the U.S. and Israel, but the international community fears a ground invasion will be catastrophic for hostages and civilians. So, what's your response to all this?
KATZ: I think that we have two processes that are moving at the same time and each are connected one to the other. Israel would like to try to reach a deal that would secure the release of the majority of the hostages or at least those that we know to still be alive and is using the threat of an offensive inside Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip to try to motivate Hamas as well as the Qataris who are the patrons of Hamas to push the terrorist leaders who are on the ground inside Gaza to agree to a deal.
The Americans are also trying to avoid that offensive in the south of Gaza, which might have some legitimacy -- we could talk about that -- but wants to get Israel into that place where it can reach a deal. It had all sides had used Ramadan, which begins today as the kind of deadline and the clock that was ticking down towards it.
But no one has reached that deal yet. And the question really will come down to how much longer is Israel willing to hold back and wait with the impending offensive in Rafah for this possible deal that has yet to come?
CHURCH: Yeah, let's look at that, because negotiations for the ceasefire and hostage release remain stalled over Israel's demand that Hamas provide a list of which hostages are alive and which are dead and confirm the ratio of hostages to Palestinian prisoners to be exchanged, while Hamas is demanding a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops and for all displaced people to return to northern Gaza. So, what is the next move with these negotiations, if that is the sticking point?
KATZ: These negotiations are extremely complicated, Rosemary, as I think we all know, after weeks and months now of actually watching how they go back and forth. We saw over the weekend the Israeli intelligence chief meeting in Jordan with the director of the CIA, William Burns. So, these talks are ongoing and President Biden continuously repeats that he hopes that a deal is possibly on the horizon.
But I think that Israel has made some demands that make sense, right? Israel wants to know which of its people are alive, who are the hostages that it has the potential to return to Israel, because out of the 134 who have been held in Gaza for almost 160 days now, Israel does not yet know what their fate is. Hamas cynically holds on to these people and does not reveal what it is -- what their status is, whether they're alive, they're dead, they're injured. Israel knows absolutely nothing.
And Israel also doesn't want to commit to a complete cessation of the war while it's willing to agree to a six, seven-week ceasefire. It's not committing that it won't go back in and continue to fight against Hamas, because let's remember, a ceasefire would keep Hamas now in power, in control of Gaza, still in possession of weapons and capabilities that could allow it to carry out another October 7th style attack in the future.
CHURCH: And meantime, we are seeing more anti-Netanyahu protests in Israel. We saw some pictures there as you were speaking to us, and critics are suggesting he doesn't want the war to end because it keeps him in power and protects him from prosecution. What do you say to that?
KATZ: Netanyahu has long been accused and been suspected of having maybe ulterior motives here. I don't think that that's what's really behind the war. Obviously not. This was the attack by Hamas against Israel in the massacre of over 1,200 people on a single day inside Israel.
However, the continuation of the war, the way it's being managed, the failure to essentially outline what the day after this war will look like or the refusal to do so by the Israeli government does raise some question marks of why Netanyahu was refusing to do this.
And we're now seeing that, Rosemary, play out with the fight and the growing tension between President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu, as Scott referred to before, the raising and increasing rhetoric between these two of President Biden saying that Netanyahu is working actually against the interests of the people of Israel. Netanyahu snapping back at the president.
Israel and the U.S. need to retain this alliance and continue to work together because of the nature of the threats that we all face in the Middle East and in this region. And I think that unfortunately we're seeing a bit of politics mud these waters on both sides right now.
CHURCH: And humanitarian aid is set to arrive in Gaza by sea. The U.S. will then start work on the floating pier, which will receive future aid. But this will take time to build, of course.
[02:10:00]
How much concern is there within Israel for the starving Palestinian civilians caught in the middle of Israel's war with Hamas and paying the ultimate price?
KATZ: Yeah, there is a tragedy that is unfolding inside the Gaza Strip and unfortunately, there are civilians who are paying the price and they're being held hostage by a terrorist entity, Hamas, which continues to control Gaza, continues to attack Israel and continues to hold on to Israeli hostages.
I think, Rosemary, there's an easy solution here. If the Hamas government of Gaza truly cares for its people, it would release Israeli hostages immediately. It would stop attacking Israel. It would lay down its arms and you would see a free flow of aid into Gaza like never before.
But we have to understand that at a time of fighting and a time of war, any country, and Israel included, needs to be careful where that aid goes and who is in charge of it while it's trying at the same time to fight an enemy, but also try to care for the people of Gaza who are those uninvolved civilians. This is not an easy task for any country in the world to deal with.
CHURCH: Yaakov Katz joining us from Jerusalem. Many thanks. Appreciate it.
KATZ: Thank you.
CHURCH: Local leaders in Gaza are pleading for food, clean water and other aid as Ramadan begins. They're also asking for help with providing essential services like waste management and sanitation, which are part of infrastructure destroyed or damaged by Israel in the war.
On Sunday, the U.S. and Jordan conducted an airdrop containing the equivalent of 11,500 meals into northern Gaza, though that's not nearly enough for millions of starving Palestinians. And Cyprus is working with the U.S., the U.A.E. and European partners to create a maritime corridor to deliver aid directly to Gaza.
The president of Cyprus had said the first ship was due to leave Sunday. In Rafah, the mood ahead of Ramadan is grim, with families struggling to find fresh and affordable food.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMAD AL-NAJJAR, DISPLACED PALESTINIAN FROM NORTHERN GAZA: This year's Ramadan is different from previous years. First of all, we are far away from our loved ones, our families, relatives and friends in the north. Everything is different. Even in the market, it's different. Things are missing. There are no Ramadan essentials. Everything is expensive and sometimes unavailable.
As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza grows, CNN has gathered a list of vetted organizations that are on the ground responding, and you can find details on how you can help on our website. That's cnn.com/impact.
Well, several major news agencies have withdrawn an image of Katherine, the Princess of Wales, and her three children, claiming the photo has been manipulated. It was released Sunday by Kensington Palace, the first official image of the princess since her abdominal surgery in January.
The picture also included a message from her thanking the public for its support while also marking Mother's Day in the U.K. CNN has conducted its own initial review of the image and identified at least two areas which appear to show some evidence of potential manipulation. And if you look closely, the first area includes some potential altering of Princess Charlotte's sleeve cuff.
And the second area under scrutiny is a zipper on the left-hand side of the jacket the princess is wearing. The questions surrounding the photo have prompted a lot of speculation, particularly on social media. And earlier, I spoke with royal biographer and author Sally Bedell Smith about the controversy.
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SALLY BEDELL SMITH, ROYAL BIOGRAPHER AND AUTHOR: What has happened really over the past few months is there has been a kind of, you know, a sort of momentum that's been building, particularly on social media, as you've mentioned, so many conspiracy theories. And this, obviously, this photograph was an effort to settle everything down, to reassure people that the Princess of Wales is on the mend, that she's looking healthy, which I don't think anybody has contradicted the fact that this is a genuine photograph of her and her children.
I think where it's began to spin out of control is speculation. Well, first of all, the photo agencies, three of the four biggest photo agency agencies have pulled the image, which I mean, I'm sure it's happened before, but I've never heard of it. And there's discussion of the photo having been doctored. Now, the motive for this photo was to reassure people.
[02:14:55]
And it sort of boggles the mind to think that anybody would be involved in manipulating it, knowing how important it is to be, you know, an accurate reflection of where she is right now.
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CHURCH: CNN has reached out to Kensington Palace for comment and coming up next hour, we'll have my full interview with royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith.
Well, Haiti is teetering on the brink of collapse. Just ahead, we'll bring you the latest on the escalating situation which has prompted diplomatic evacuations and concern from the Pope.
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CHURCH: Turning now to the ever-worsening situation in Haiti, where escalating violence prompted diplomatic evacuations from Port-au- Prince this weekend. Patrick Oppmann brings us the details, including what the future may hold for the embattled prime minister, Ariel Henry.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Under the cover of darkness, a U.S. military helicopter evacuated nonessential personnel from the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince. The embassy will remain operational.
[02:19:58]
And that same helicopter brought in extra security, presumably U.S. Marines, to help guard the embassy as the increased gang violence that has paralyzed Haiti continues. Other embassies, including the German and European Union embassy, also evacuated diplomats by helicopter. And this is really for foreign diplomats, essentially the only way to get out of the country at this point, because the airport remains closed after a fighting from the gangs attacking.
Police came very close to the Port-au-Prince airport. One plane was actually damaged by the gunfire. I'm told by diplomats that tried to leave over the land border to the Dominican Republic is simply too dangerous at this point because of all the checkpoints that gangs have set up. So, for the lucky few diplomats who were able to go out by helicopter, that is really the only way out.
Other diplomats who have remained behind in country have said that their stores of food and water are running low. Of course, for the thousands of Haitians who have been displaced by the gang violence, it is a much, much more difficult and dangerous situation.
All eyes are on Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who it is believed remains in Puerto Rico, unable to return to his own country and under increased pressure from the U.S. and from political parties in Haiti to come up with a diplomatic solution to announce the formation of a transitional government to say when elections could be held. Up until now, though, Henry has kept largely silent and has not stated what his intentions are. Patrick Oppmann, CNN Havana.
CHURCH: The international community is monitoring the crisis in Haiti, including Pope Francis, who offered his prayers for the Haitian people on Sunday.
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POPE FRANCIS (through translation): I follow with concern and sorrow the serious crisis affecting Haiti and the violent episodes that have occurred in recent days. I am close to the church and to the dear Haitian people who have been suffering for years. I invite you to pray for the intercession of Our Lady of Perpetual Help that all violence may cease and that all may offer their contribution to the growth of peace and reconciliation in the country with the renewed support of the international community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: But Pope Francis is being slammed by Ukraine after saying Kyiv should negotiate with Russia to end the fighting. In an interview with a Swiss broadcaster, the pontiff said Kyiv should have the, quote, "courage of the white flag to negotiate." But Ukraine's foreign minister disagrees, saying in a social media post, "Our flag is a yellow and blue one. This is the flag by which we live, die and prevail. We shall never raise any other flags." Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, also dismissed the pope's remarks.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translation): When the Russian evil started this war on February 24th, all Ukrainians stood up to defense. All Christians, Muslims, Jews, everyone. I think every Ukrainian chaplain who was with the army in the defense forces on the front-line defending life and humanity. They support us with prayer, with talk and with deeds. This is what the church with the people is, not two and a half thousand kilometers away, somewhere to mediate virtually between someone who wants to live and someone who wants to destroy you.
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Coming up next, the U.S. presidential elections are kicking into high gear. We will speak to one expert on the key issues that could make or break votes this November.
Plus, Hollywood's biggest stars turned out for the year's biggest night in film. We'll break down the best moments from the Academy Awards. Back with that and more in just a moment.
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CHURCH: U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump are gearing up for a likely rematch this November. They held dueling rallies in the battleground state of Georgia this weekend ahead of the state's primaries on Tuesday. Trump met with the family of Lake and Riley during his visit to Georgia. The young woman was allegedly killed by an undocumented immigrant, and her death has since become a political rallying point.
Immigration has become a key election issue this year after a highly anticipated bipartisan immigration bill was killed by Republicans and was highlighted during the Republican response to Mr. Biden's State of the Union address.
So, let's bring in Ron Brownstein, CNN senior political analyst and senior editor at "The Atlantic." Always good to have you with us.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So, both President Joe Biden and Donald Trump kicked their general election campaigns into high gear with those dueling political rallies Saturday in the critical swing state of Georgia. What are the polls show about which man is dominating and what their weaknesses and vulnerabilities might be in swing states?
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah. Well, right now, the weaknesses of both candidates are more apparent and even visceral than their strengths. I mean, we're talking about two likely, virtually certain nominees, a virtually certain rematch in which, you know, 55 percent to 60 percent of the country says they have an unfavorable opinion of each of them.
I mean, the basic construct is that you have broad dissatisfaction with the direction of the country, somewhat improving consumer confidence. But generally, Joe Biden's approval rating is still at a level where previous incoming presidents have all been defeated. George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Trump himself.
On the other side of the ledger, though, we have seen evidence in 2018, 2020 and 2022 that there is not a majority of Americans who want to live in the America that Trump is sketching out. And so how, you know, where those Venn diagrams overlap in terms of voters who are discontented about both or voters who just, you know, are deeply unhappy with the choice that they are presented.
How those voters sort out will probably decide where we go in November.
[02:30:09] CHURCH: Ron, of course, immigration and the economy are the big election issues this year with Republican Senator Katie Britt's response to President Biden's State of the Union Address, getting lampooned by "Saturday Night Live" for her scare campaign and her misinformation. She was forced to acknowledge that the anecdote that she used to criticize Mr. Biden's border policies didn't happen during his presidency.
So how damaging is misinformation like this for the GOP?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, it's damaging with the kind of voters who are already recoiling from this modern Republican Party. If we think about kind of the big issues in this campaign, we've got inflation and immigration as the issues Republicans want to stress. We have rights, democracy, and to a lesser extent, but meaningful health care. I think health care access and prices and costs as the principal issues Democrats want to stress.
And the challenge Biden faces is that opinion on immigration has moved to the right under his presidency. I mean, the polling it's very clear that many of the ideas that Trump put forward during his term that were resisted by most of the public. And I'm thinking here of the border wall and the "remain in Mexico" policy now have majority support from the public.
The question is, you know, Trump, of course, is not stopping there. He is going way beyond what he ran on in '16 and '20 and talking about the largest deportation campaign in American history, complete with internment camps and using, you know, mobilizing the National Guard to go door to door in major cities. And while there is broad dissatisfaction with the way Biden has handled the border, it's not clear to me that the public is willing to go that far and that may be the perfect encapsulation of the entire race.
As I said, Biden's approval rating is in a very dangerous zone for an incumbent president, but that doesn't mean there is a majority that wants to live in the alternative that Trump is offering.
CHURCH: Ron, of course, the problem for Republicans is that bipartisan border security bill, the Donald Trump killed off, so that he could run on the issue was designed to fix many of the problems at the U.S. border. And now Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock says, Republicans are using the death of Laken Riley, a student in Georgia for political points after she was killed by an undocumented immigrant.
Do voters understand the politicizing of this issue and how careful do they need to be drawing is highly polarized election campaign?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, you're talking about the civic health of the country. Anything more careful than there being. But if you're talking about the how this plays out politically, as I said, there is broad discontent over what's happening at the border. And indeed, what is happening at the border in the last several years is a problem for which our laws are not entirely or even remotely prepare, which is just the huge influx of people seeking asylum, and that creating a backlog that allows people to stay five to seven years. In most cases, whether they -- in many cases, whether they deserve to have it having justified claim or not.
In that environment, there for is a lot of tolerance for more aggressive measures on the border. And you see it in the fact that Biden was willing to accept this deal, which did not have really any of the usual sweeteners in there that were previously there in the big bipartisan immigration deals with 2013 and 2006 for Democrats, which was progress on the legalization front for people who are -- for the undocumented are already here. It was pretty much an enforcement only approach, and he was willing to accept that, which kind of tells you there read on where the politics of this is going.
The Republican choice to sink that deal that was even though it really was an enforcement only deal, does give Democrats a measure of defense. But the discontent over the performance itself, you know, still remains a serious challenge for Biden.
CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Ron Brownstein. Always great to have you with us.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Well, China says it has big plans for 2024 and beyond. Ahead, what the country's leaders are saying and knots today as the annual National People's Congress wraps up. We'll take you live to Beijing.
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[02:37:43]
CHURCH: China's National People's Congress is wrapping up. The annual meeting of the country's legislature is one of two major political sessions happening in China this month. The other held by its political advisory body ended Sunday.
Our Beijing bureau chief Steven Jiang is Tiananmen Square. He joins us now.
Good to see you, Steven.
So what is the latest on that -- on the sessions and, of course, what do they mean for China? What's the plan?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: That's right, Rosemary. But let's just, you know, for a moment, renders the fact we're actually live from Tiananmen Square. This is such extremely rare access to this landmark in the center of Beijing because remember, it wasn't always this case. For a long time, even though this place all we always carries a lot of political sensitivity and significance, the general public, including foreign reporters, could come here fairly easily and people did come here not only for rallies and sometimes protests, but also just a hey, now flying kites and buying food from vendors.
But in recent years, of course, this place is increasingly teeming with surveillance cameras and security personnel. They have a setup a wide perimeter around this place. You have to go through a very strict ID and security checks to come visit, and by appointment only. It's basically off limits to foreign reporters like us because as soon as they see that journalist visa in our passport, you're denied entry.
So, it is really thanks to this annual gathering of these NPC delegates, we are here and broadcasting live. And, of course, this is the first quote, unquote/normal NPC post-pandemic. No more press bubbles, COVID bubble, but still, this is a shorter affair, only one- week-long compared to the close to two weeks in the past.
And some people have jokingly said this event is more scripted than most -- and most Oscar nominees, because in less than 30 minutes, these nearly 3,000 delegates, they're going to vote on a number of government proposals, including a budget and reports. And without a doubt, they're all going to be passed and likely with close two unanimous votes.
And again, that was not always the case. In the more freewheeling days of 1990s, early 2000s, people actually did cast dissenting votes to show there displeasure with the government. So all of these developments, Rosemary, especially with the cancellation of the annual premiers conference, press conference really reinforces this notion to a lot of people that in this country today, only one man is calling all the shots.
[02:40:11]
And all the institutional guardrails, if you will, that checks and balances is now eviscerated and that of course carries major implications not only for this country but for the rest of the world as well -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: Steven Jiang reporting from Tiananmen Square --many thanks. Appreciate it.
Hollywood has wrapped up its biggest night celebrating the best achievements and film making in 2023 at the 96th Academy Awards. "Oppenheimer" dominated the competition, winning seven Oscars out of 13 nominations, including awards for cinematography, original score, best director, best actor in both leading and supporting roles, and the top honor of the night, best picture.
Not far behind was the genre-defying comedy, "Poor things," earning Emma Stone her second Oscar for best actress in a leading role. The night also featured performances by nominees for best original song.
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CHURCH: Fabulous. That is part of Ryan Goslings show-stopping performance of "I'm Just Ken" from "Barbie", made by one brothers, part of CNN's parent company. His performance earned a standing ovation, but ultimately the movies, other nominated song, "What Was I Made For", ended up taking the Oscar.
I want to thank you for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church.
For our international and Max viewers, "WORLD SPORT" is coming up next.
And for those of you in the United States and Canada, I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment. Do stick around.
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[02:45:42]
CHURCH: Welcome back to our viewers in North America. I'm Rosemary Church.
TikTok could be banned in the U.S. unless its Chinese owners divest themselves of this social media site. Some U.S. lawmakers say it could compromise American users' data and manipulate public sentiment.
CNN's Manu Raju explains why some on Capitol Hill are convinced TikTok poses a danger.
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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: TikTok may be one of those popular apps in the country, but its possible it could be banned in the United States. That's if a new bill that is steaming through the House ultimately becomes law, that piece of legislation would forced the Chinese firm ByteDance, who sell it. If it doesn't sell TikTok, then the popular app would no longer be allowed in the United States.
This has wide support in the House, in fact, passing overwhelmingly 50 to zero in the House, Energy and Commerce Committee just last week. That is unusual. You rarely see that level of bipartisan support. And quickly after the House Majority Leader Steve Scalise announced it would be on the floor of the House this week. So it could certainly pass, then it will go to the United States Senate, which would have to take up the bill pass. It seems as the same version, ultimately, see if it goes to the president's desk, which and whether the president would sign the final version of that legislation into law, which the White House has indicated it does support this measure.
Now, that doesn't mean that TikTok isn't trying to stop this legislation. In fact, they are trying to kill it. That's what the top Republican who chairs that energy and commerce committee told me on Friday that our office is being flooded with phone calls.
CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: Yes. We've been flooded with calls. Record amounts of calls. Any member of the Energy and Commerce committee that voted yesterday has been flooded. TikTok actually put up a notice where they blocked an individual to actually get on TikTok unless you called your members rough Congress and told them not to vote for this legislation.
But that's just an example of how they can manipulate data and influence Americans for their agenda.
RAJU: The lawmakers are trying to force ByteDance to sell TikTok because they are worried they say about the Chinese government interfering in the popular social media app, taking data and the like at Americans private information. And they're trying to stop them from doing that.
TikTok has denied Chinese government interference and all of this, but that doesn't mean that it won't become law. We'll see how quickly the Senate would take it up after the House is expected to pass it later this week. The president did say though, if they pass the bill that's before the House, he will sign it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Our thanks to Manu Russia for that report.
The sister of former U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has died in a car accident. Angela Chao was CEO of shipping company Foremost Group, a company founded by her parents. Media reports say her vehicle became submerged in a pond on a Texas ranch last month. Chao was said to have put her Tesla model X into reverse instead of drive the vehicle went over an embankment and into the pond. Emergency workers arrived 24 minutes after they were called. And they said the location was not easily accessible. First responders tried to revive Chao, but were not successful. Chao was the sister-in-law of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
It's official, the U.S. had its warmest winter on record. This has left vast areas of the country without typical amounts of snow and ice, fueling a worsening drought in the Midwest and disrupting local hello economies.
CNN'S Elisa Raffa has more on these high temperatures.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The numbers are in. The U.S. just wrapped up its warmest winter on record. Take a look at all the cities that had their winter rank, top ten, top five, even the tippy top warmest on record, all of those red dots in the Upper Midwest and in the Northeast. Now in that area, we had eight states that statewide their numbers got them to the warmest winter on record.
Now, when you look at the headlines, we had a fever of five degrees for winter across the U.S., 26 states ranked top ten. So, it wasn't just those eight states.
[02:50:00]
We're talking about 40 states ranking in the top ten for their warmest winter on record.
February had a seven degree fever, ranking third warmest on record, and that dropped ice coverage on the Great Lakes to record lows to only 2 percent.
Now, we knew this winter would likely have been warm because we're in the middle of an El Nino. That's that warm ocean circulation pattern in the Pacific that can play with our storm track, play with some of those cold air outbreaks. And that can give you a warmer winter.
But we also know so that that record heat was made more likely by climate change. This map shows us that here specifically there in the Upper Midwest, we had 40 to 60 days this winter that was so warm they triggered that climate score of two or more, meaning we had so many days that were made two, three, four times more likely by climate change because they were just so warm.
When you look at Minneapolis-Saint Paul, look at how many days were just scoring so far up there because of how warm it up was. But I also want to point out that cold outbreak that we had in January, the only the one that we have there also scored pretty high for the rarity that it is now. So that cold was so extreme that we get it less frequently now because of climate change.
And that's definitely the case. We do see shorter cold streaks for as many of the city's there in the Upper Midwest and the Northeast, it can still get cold. It just doesn't get as cold as often or as extreme. That's because more of our days are actually warm and above average, you could see many of these cities as well, all so add about a week or two to their winter. That's on the warmer side and above average.
Now, there are impacts to this, right? When we have so many warm days in winter, that's going to trigger all the pests and the insects out there earlier in spring. It will trigger that allergy season earlier and the growing season earlier.
For some crops, they need some chilling time. It needs to be cold a little bit in the winter, so that can really play with agriculture in a negative way. Also, sometimes when it's not that cold, you don't get as much snow and that can really impact businesses, ski resorts, and water reservoirs
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CHRUCH: Well, some of the tough guys of American football have a soft heart, that is especially true for the Philadelphia Eagles who have entered into a special partnership with a company that employs people with developmental disabilities.
As we hear from CNN's Danny Freeman, the program started with a kernel of an idea and is turning into a popcorn empire.
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DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the story of a kernel of an idea that just popped.
Did you ever expect that you'd be making a whole business making popcorn?
SAM BIER, CO-FOUNDER, POPCORN FOR THE PEOPLE: Oh, no, definitely not. I never thought this dream could come that true.
FREEMAN: Thirty-three-year-old Sam Bier was on the autism spectrum. And for years according to his dad, Dr. Steven Bier, Sam had trouble finding a job that fit.
DR. STEVEN BIER, CO-FOUNDER, POPCORN FOR THE PEOPLE: Sam was working a job pushing shopping carts during the summer at a supermarket and he wasn't very happy, he wasn't very fulfilling.
FREEMAN: So the Bier family thought, why not create our own business?
STEVEN BIER: Not seasonal. It's not a fad. It's not dangerous to make, no knives. Sam, I like to make popcorn.
FREEMAN: Soon after, Popcorn for the People was born. A nonprofit selling the tasty snack, hands made by people with autism and developmental disabilities.
SAM BIER: I think this place can help people give the tools they need to extend to another business, help give the confidence, the optimism, the endurance I think that's what it means.
FREEMAN: There's very little data when it comes to employment and the neurodiverse community. But a 2015 report from Drexel University's Autism Institute found that four out of every 10 young adults on the autism spectrum have never had a paying job. That's a much lower rate than young adults with other disabilities.
But Popcorn for the People has 39 neurodiverse employees here in their modest New Jersey workplace.
STEVEN BIER: Many people who work here never had a job before.
FREEMAN: Pop by pop, business grew, selling popcorn at college football games on the Jersey Turnpike and then word spread south.
JEFFREY LURIE, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES OWNER: Our collective effort --
FREEMAN: Jeffrey Lurie, the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, has a brother on the autism spectrum. For years, the Eagles have made autism research and care a core priority. Last season, they even set up a Popcorn for the People stand.
RYAN HAMMOND, EAGLES AUTISM FOUNDATION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: I mean, who loves popcorn? Everyone, right?
FREEMAN: But Eagles Autism Foundation's Ryan Hammond knows good paying jobs are crucial for this community.
HAMMOND: I think people think it's hard, right? Or it's going to cost them money or cost them time or cost them uncomfortable conversations. I think the reality is, is that the neurodiverse community has so much to offer.
FREEMAN: So when she learned Philly area convenience store, Wawa, had an empty shop they didn't know what to do with.
HAMMOND: Without hesitation I was like, I would open a popcorn factory.
FREEMAN: When did you realize oh, man, this is a great idea?
DAVE SIMONETTI, WAWA SENIOR DIRECTOR OF STORE OPERATIONS: The second we heard it.
FREEMAN: Dave Simonetti is the senior director of store operations for Wawa. His stores already employ more than 500 neurodiverse people. Simonetti's daughter has Down syndrome.
SIMONETTI: Well, my daughter is only 12. But I liked the idea that she's going to have choices when she gets out of school. And she will have things available to her that maybe didn't exist 10 or 20 years ago, because of the work that folks like popcorn are doing.
FREEMAN: Less than a year after the Eagles and Wawa came together to hatch this plan, a new Popcorn for the People factory was born. This one on Philadelphia's famous South Street plans to make and sell tens of thousands more bags of popcorn and hire 25 more neurodiverse employees like 23-year-old, Jarred.
FREEMAN: Have you tasted the popcorn?
JARRED SIOMINE, FUTURE POPCORN FOR THE PEOPLE EMPLOYEE: Yes, I ate the caramel. It tastes great -- tastes really good.
FREEMAN: Kylie Kelce, known as the First Lady of Philadelphia and is married to retiring Eagle star center Jason Kelce is passionate advocate for the autism community.
KYLIE KELCE, AUTISM COMMUNITY ADVOCATE: To see something like Popcorn for the People who's encouraging those employment opportunities and allowing the autism community to find that independence, to find sort of that pride in their own work and earn their own paycheck, it's such a joy to say.
FREEMAN: The hope now is others will take this kernel of an idea and create more pop-portunities.
STEVEN BIER: It's literally a nonprofit version of the American dream. We wanted to create one job for my son, did that and then another job and another job and another job. It's amazing.
FREEMAN: Danny Freeman, CNN, Philadelphia.
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CHURCH: And thanks for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment. Do stick around.
