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Ukrainian, U.S. Presidents to Meet on Friday; British Prime Minister Urges Trump to Consider Western Allies in Peace Deal; Avowed Misogynist, Accused Sex Trafficker Andrew Tate Returns to U.S. after Pressure from White House; Police Investigating Deaths of Gene Hackman, Wife; Oct. 7 Report Points to Intel Failures, Unpreparedness; Israel Sends Delegation to Peace Talks in Cairo; Uncertainty Lingers over Ukraine's Mineral Wealth. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired February 28, 2025 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Playing the royal card at the White House with an invitation from the king.
[00:00:13]
Hello, I'm John Vause. Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This is really special. This has never happened before. This is unprecedented.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Flattery, compliments, and gushing praise to win back a U.S. president moving closer to Russia.
Why did Romania lift a travel ban on two British Americans accused of rape and sex trafficking?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW TATE, SOCIAL MEDIA PERSONALITY: We live in a democratic society where it's innocent until proven guilty, and I think my brother and I are largely misunderstood.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Right-wing influencers the Tate brothers arrive in Florida amid reports the White House lobbied on their behalf.
And the suspicious death of one of the greats of Hollywood.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This isn't just a tragedy, but it's also a great mystery right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: Actor Gene Hackman and his wife, found dead in their Santa Fe home.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.
VAUSE: Friday might just be one of the most consequential days for Ukraine and the three-year-long war with Russia.
In the coming hours, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with the U.S. president at the White House. He's expected to sign a natural resources agreement, which gives the U.S. rights to Ukrainian rare earth minerals, compensation for years of U.S. financial and military support. But the agreement makes no mention of U.S. security guarantees.
Still, the deal does address Ukraine's reconstruction, as well as a role for the United States after the war.
President Trump describes it as $1 trillion deal, but that remains to be seen. The size of Ukraine's reserves of rare earth minerals is not known, and then extraction and processing is costly and could take decades.
On Thursday, the British prime minister was at the White House. During an hours-long charm offensive, Keir Starmer urged the U.S. president not to reward Russia, the aggressor, in any peace deal with Ukraine.
More details now from CNN's Jeff Zeleny.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump softening his tone against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy --
ZELENY (voice-over): -- as he prepares to welcome him here to the White House on Friday morning, in what could be the signing of a historic deal between the U.S. and Ukraine that could lead to broader peace negotiations.
Now, it was an extraordinary meeting on Thursday. Once again, a European leader coming to the White House to try and urge the American president to consider the Western allies more than Vladimir Putin. But Trump made clear he still trusts Putin.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think he'll keep his word. I think -- I think he's -- I've spoken to him. I've known him for a long time now. You know, I've known him. We had -- we had to go through the Russian hoax together. That was not a good thing. It's not fair. That was a rigged deal and had nothing to do with Russia.
I don't believe he's going to violate his word. I don't think he'll be back -- when we make a deal.
ZELENY (voice-over): The American president making those comments in the Oval Office as the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, watched and seemingly wanted to offer a history lesson throughout the day, clearly trying to pull Trump back and get his assurances for a -- some type of a security guarantee.
Trump did not offer any specifically, but he listened as Starmer offered this history lesson.
STARMER: We have to win the peace, and that's what we must do now, because it can't be peace that rewards the aggressor, or that gives encouragement to regimes like Iran. We agree history must be on the side of the peacemaker, not the invader.
ZELENY (voice-over): "The peacemaker, not the invader." It is clear who Zelenskyy and who Putin is. Certainly, in the minds of Starmer there and other European leaders, who have traveled here to the White House to try and urge the president, the American president, to give a bit and offer some security guarantees.
ZELENY: All that, of course, remains up in the air, as does a broader peace deal and a ceasefire.
But on Friday, the American president and the Ukrainian president are scheduled to come together to sign some type --
ZELENY (voice-over): -- of a deal about rare earths minerals. This has been going on back and forth for several days, giving the U.S. some access to a key asset of Ukraine.
Now, Zelenskyy traveling to Washington, clearly --
ZELENY: -- facing a president who had once called him a dictator. When asked about that on Thursday, Trump called him a brave man.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: To Los Angeles now and CNN's European affairs commentator, Dominic Thomas.
Good to see you.
DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Thank you so much for having me on, John.
VAUSE: OK. This was a charm offensive on steroids, perhaps. The British prime minister arriving, and it sort of started with this, you know, surprise invitation: a letter from the king. This is what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STARMER: It's an invitation for a second state visit. This is really special. This has never happened before. This is unprecedented.
[00:05:02] TRUMP: The answer is yes. And we look forward to being there and
honoring the king. And honoring, really, your country. Your country is a fantastic country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Donald Trump seemed actually surprised. Pretty pleased about it all. And then, Starmer went on to lavish him with praise, even used his own words.
This seems to be a pattern now with foreign leaders when they visit the White House. So, big picture: did all the fawning and all the compliments actually pay off in any way for the British prime minister?
THOMAS: Well, I think that the first thing to say, John, is that it's not a great look, and particularly for such an important and long- standing historic power and friend of the United States, in the guise of the U.K. and on the heels of Emmanuel Macron's visit. It was an example of, you know, flattery and subservience.
But I think ultimately, the big question, as you've asked is, you know, what did he get out of it? And why did he go through these particular motions?
And I think that the bigger context when it comes to the U.K. is really, in this case, at all costs to avoid tariffs. But it's not just tariffs in the case of the U.K., in the same way as France.
The promise -- let's not forget -- of Brexit was that global Britain would establish these unilateral deals with major powers around the world. And although Keir Starmer -- Keir Starmer is an outgrowth of that moment, not himself a part of those Brexiteers, his country absolutely needs this trade deal with the United States moving forward.
And I think that was the No. 1 goal of his visit here with President Trump today.
VAUSE: Yes. One of the other major issues for the British prime minister was U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine in any peace agreement with the Russians. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STARMER: Mr. President, I welcome your deep and personal commitment to bring peace and to stop the killing. You've created a moment of tremendous opportunity to reach a historic peace deal, a deal that I think would be celebrated in Ukraine and around the world. That is the prize.
But we have to get it right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: I mean, the praise was amazing. And earlier this week, the French president was also pushing for security guarantees for Ukraine when he visited the White House.
Is there now this acceptance by Europe that a peace deal is coming, whether they like it or not? And the best they can do now is try and, as much as they can, to make it in favor of Ukraine?
THOMAS: So, I think that there's a belief that some kind of deal is going to be enacted. What it will look like, I think there's a lot of uncertainty around that.
I'm not even sure they're specifically thinking of how this deal might favor Ukraine, but how it might be to their own advantage. Because I think there is an understanding in Europe, particularly in the case of the U.K., the new leadership coming in Germany and in France, that they cannot go it alone.
They don't want to fund this. They don't have the public and the electoral support in their own countries, and they face their own economic woes. And they desperately want the help of the United States, even if that means enabling the United States to strike these mineral deals in exchange for protection.
I think that some kind of support through that, and therefore also through NATO, is their No. 1 priority here.
And of course, we'll see down the road what that means in terms of a kind of dependency on that model of protectionism versus -- and extracting mineral resources moving forward, John.
VAUSE: And one sign of Britain's commitment to try and end the war in Ukraine. Keir Starmer says that Britain will provide boots on the ground to act as some kind of peacekeeping force. As for U.S. willingness to support those troops, here's the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If British troops are in Ukraine keeping the peace and get attacked by Russia, will you come to their aid?
TRUMP: If the British people are in Ukraine, and they get attacked --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If British soldiers need help.
TRUMP: You know, I've always found about the British, they don't need much help. They can take care of themselves very well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So, the best of British luck to you. Does that reflect where the special relationship stands with Donald Trump right now?
It doesn't seem to give a lot of reassurance for European allies who are concerned about U.S. commitment to their defense.
THOMAS: Yes, you're absolutely right. I think when it comes to long- standing European allies, particularly some of the NATO member countries, there's tremendous concern and inconsistency in the messaging from the White House.
Just two weeks ago, Trump surrogates in Munich were criticizing these long-standing relationships. One has to ask which Europe he really has in mind here, because he has allies that are soft on Russia or that are themselves aligned with Russia. Like Hungary, like Slovakia.
So, there's some divisiveness in Europe there, as well.
And the German chancellor, and certainly in the German election recently, the question of this inconsistency was a -- was a major issue.
And so moving forward, I think that there is a desire, a genuine desire for this conflict in Ukraine to come to an end, but some concern as to what the -- their own negotiations are going to have to be with the Trump White House and what that kind of dependency on United States support for some kind of peace accord is going to mean down the road, should President Trump enact this foreign policy in other areas, and Europe would have issues with that.
[00:10:25]
Are they able to maintain a critical relationship with this president, or will they continue moving forward to essentially kiss the ring, which is what Keir Starmer and President Macron have been doing recently?
VAUSE: Yes. Dominic, thank you so much for being with us. Good to see you. Dominic Thomas there in Los Angeles.
THOMAS: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, a win for thousands of federal workers who were fired as part of the Trump administration's government efficiency efforts.
A judge has ruled mass firings overseen by the Office of Personal [SIC] Management -- Personnel Management -- are likely unlawful. He says, "OPM does not have any authority whatsoever, under any statute in the history of the universe, to hire and fire employees within another agency."
Lawyers for the Trump administration say the OPM did not direct the firings but asked specific agencies if the workers were fit for continued employment.
The plaintiffs argued they were fired based on the lie of poor performance.
Mexico has extradited 29 fugitive cartel members to the U.S. Among them is notorious cartel kingpin Rafael Caro Quintero. He spent four decades at the top of the Drug Enforcement Administration's most wanted list. The drug lord was allegedly involved in the kidnaping, torture and murder of an American narcotics agent in 1985.
The DEA's acting administrator says the move is extremely personal for the department's men and women. Right-wing influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan are now in
the United States after they were allowed to leave Romania, where they've been charged with rape and human trafficking, among other alleged crimes.
Their entry follows reports the U.S. pressured Bucharest to release Andrew Tate, a self-proclaimed misogynist with a massive online following. But President Trump denies knowing anything about this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I know nothing about that. I don't know. You're saying he's on a plane right now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's back. They already --
TRUMP: Yes. I just know nothing about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: More details now from CNN's Nada Bashir.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump helped get the travel ban lifted?
NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Andrew Tate, a self-proclaimed misogynist, and his brother Tristan landing in Fort Lauderdale, refusing to answer if President Donald Trump helped them return to the United States.
The brothers, online influencers, both permitted to travel out of Romania after prosecutors lifted a years-long travel ban.
TATE: Listen, listen, listen. We live in a democratic society where it's innocent until proven guilty. And I think my brother and I are largely misunderstood.
I think it's extremely important that we stop allowing media spin, wrap-up smears, lies, or carefully constructed narratives.
BASHIR (voice-over): Police arrested the Tate brothers in December 2022 and later charged them with offenses including rape and human trafficking, allegations they deny.
TATE: We're innocent until proven guilty in any of this.
BASHIR (voice-over): Legal proceedings in Romania are still ongoing, leading many to question why Romanian prosecutors have now chosen to lift the travel ban and what connections there may be to the Trump administration.
Tate has long been a vocal supporter of the U.S. president, posting just two weeks ago, "The Tates will be free. Trump is the president."
TRUMP: The golden age of America begins right now. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am so excited for the next four years.
BASHIR (voice-over): And sharing this video on social media just last week.
Earlier this month, "The Financial Times" reported, citing sources, that the Trump administration had put pressure on Romanian authorities to lift the travel restriction, first through a phone call, then through a meeting between Trump's special envoy, Richard Grenell, and Romania's foreign minister at the Munich Security Conference.
Romania's foreign minister has acknowledged that discussions took place, though the foreign ministry claims there was no such pressure from the Trump administration.
A lawyer representing some of the alleged victims of Andrew Tate has said there is clear evidence to support the allegations against him, calling the decision "disgusting" and accusing the U.S. government of, quote, "lobbying for their release."
TATE: They're trying to tell you "X." The truth is "Y."
BASHIR (voice-over): In recent years, Andrew Tate shot to Internet fame, racking up billions of views on TikTok with videos centered on his views on male dominance, female submission, and wealth.
TATE: I don't think the world has ever been equal. I'm saying that the modern society we live in has been built by men.
BASHIR (voice-over): And Tate just last week writing, "Hate me all you want. Women are all sex workers."
Comments like those and the charges in Romania, why Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says the brothers aren't welcome in his state.
[00:15:03]
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): No, Florida is not a place where -- where you're welcome with that -- with those -- that that type of conduct.
BASHIR (voice-over): Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Investigations continue into the cause of death after legendary actor Gene Hackman and his wife were found dead in their Santa Fe home on Wednesday. Right now, foul play is not suspected but has not been ruled out either.
CNN security correspondent Josh Campbell has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GENE HACKMAN, ACTOR: I don't have a lot of fears. I have -- I have the normal fear of passing away. You know, I guess we all think about that. CAMPBELL (voice-over): An investigation is underway into the death of
two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman.
SHERIFF ADAN MENDOZA, SANTA FE COUNTY: They're going to work this case. They're going to look at every aspect and -- and figure out -- try to figure out the exact cause.
And again, I think the autopsy is going to be key. And the toxicology. But again, in my experience, you know, that -- that could take a while.
CAMPBELL (voice-over): The 95-year-old Hollywood icon was found dead Wednesday inside his New Mexico home, along with his 65-year-old wife, Betsy Arakawa, and a dog, according to officials, circumstances which the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office called "suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation."
MENDOZA: It's concerning that every -- every -- everyone in the house, including the dog, is deceased.
CAMPBELL (voice-over): Deputies were called to Hackman's house on a welfare check request made by two maintenance workers, according to a search warrant.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, dude. They're not moving. Just send somebody out here really quick.
CAMPBELL (voice-over): Inside, deputies found the couple's bodies in different rooms and say they appeared to have been there for some time: Hackman in a mud room, his wife in a bathroom near a space heater with an open prescription bottle on the counter and pills scattered around.
Deputies say she had obvious signs of death and body decomposition.
Two healthy dogs were also found on the property, with a third found dead near Arakawa's body.
Officials did not find any signs of forced entry, and the fire department and gas company didn't find any obvious signs of a gas leak or carbon monoxide.
A sheriff's office spokesperson says the cause of death has not been confirmed, but it is not believed to be foul play.
CAMPBELL: And here in Santa Fe, New Mexico, sheriff's officials behind me are involved in yet another high-profile investigation.
This was the same team that conducted the investigation into the fatal shooting on the set of the movie "Rust" that involved actor Alec Baldwin.
Now, we did get some new information from the sheriff's department. They say that autopsies have now been performed on both Gene Hackman, as well as his wife. Initial findings indicate that there was no external trauma to either individual. Sheriff's officials say that carbon monoxide and toxicology tests have
been ordered as this investigation continues.
And it's important to note that this will likely take time until we know the cause of death. Medical examiner investigations can take weeks, sometimes months, to conclude.
Josh Campbell, CNN, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Gaps in intelligence and a lack of preparation. What Israel did wrong leading up to and during the October 7th Hamas terror attacks. Details in a moment.
Also, Tropical Cyclone Garance is bearing down on Reunion Island, East of Madagascar. We'll tell you whether it's expected to make landfall, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:22:31]
VAUSE: In the coming hours, Tropical Cyclone Garance is expected to pass just West of Reunion Island in the Southern Indian Ocean and not make landfall.
According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, the storm is equivalent of a Category 3 Atlantic hurricane, with winds gusting almost up to 200 kilometers per hour. That's about 120 miles per hour.
The outer bands of Garance will be felt on Reunion Island Friday morning, and it's expected to bring flash flooding, and damage to property is possible. So, too, downed power lines.
A new report on the October 7th terror attack says the Israeli military failed in its mission to protect civilians and drastically underestimated the capabilities of Hamas.
The IDF points to gaps in intelligence and systemic failures in preparedness and response.
The report says Hamas was preparing for a large-scale attack from Gaza as early as 2016, but Israeli intelligence misinterpreted the plans or dismissed them as unrealistic.
The inquiry also says the IDF was caught off-guard by the attack, during which Hamas killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages.
The first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire is set to end Saturday, but negotiations are underway in Cairo on whether to extend the truce or move on to phase two.
A source tells CNN Israel will not withdraw forces from the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, a key requirement for phase two. Israel accuses Hamas of smuggling weapons through the border.
On Thursday, Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, and Hamas turned over the remains of four hostages.
Details on all of this from CNN's Jeremy Diamond, reporting in from Tel Aviv.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Israel and Hamas have now concluded the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners as prescribed under phase one of this ceasefire agreement.
That came after --
DIAMOND (voice-over): -- the bodies of four Israeli hostages were returned early Thursday morning back to Israel.
Israel, in exchange, released 643 Palestinian prisoners following a delay of several days for 620 of those prisoners, who should have been released this past Saturday.
But the question now --
DIAMOND: -- is what comes next? And indeed, right now, it's very hard to say, because there is so much uncertainty.
Israel and Hamas were supposed to start negotiating over phases two and three of the ceasefire agreement, beginning on the 16th day of this ceasefire.
But so far, there have really been almost no substantive negotiations to speak of on what comes next.
[00:25:03]
Israel has agreed now to send a delegation to Cairo to pursue some of those negotiations. But the question is, what exactly will Israel be going for?
DIAMOND (voice-over): Because notably, Ron Dermer, who is supposed to be leading negotiations on phase two of this agreement, he will not be present. Instead, lower-level officials will be dispatched to these talks.
DIAMOND: And we already know that Israeli officials are far more interested at this stage in extending phase one rather than getting into phases two and three --
DIAMOND (voice-over): -- basically seeing if they can get more Israeli hostages out of Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners without doing the big, hard decision of ending the war in Gaza and withdrawing all Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.
It remains to be seen whether that's something Hamas will go for, but they have already shown a flexibility and a willingness to stick with this ceasefire agreement, showing no real appetite to get back into this war.
Fifty-nine hostages do, in fact, still remain in Gaza. Thirty-five of them have been confirmed dead so far by the Israeli government.
We also know that the Israeli government was supposed to begin its withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor separating Israel and Gaza this coming Saturday.
But instead, an Israeli source telling us, quote, "We will not exit the Philadelphi Corridor," insisting that if they did, that could once again become a smuggling route for weapons into the Gaza Strip with Hamas.
So, a lot of uncertainty. And Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy for the Middle East, he was already supposed to be in the region. He has postponed his trip, it seems, waiting to see perhaps --
DIAMOND: -- whether there's any progress in those talks in Cairo going forward.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: It's a $1 trillion deal, according to the U.S. president. Ukraine about to sign over part of their reserves of rare earth minerals.
But how much is there actually in Ukraine? Their reserves are still unproven. And if they do have rare earth minerals, they seem to be in the parts occupied by Russia. Details on that story in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:31:33]
VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
The U.S. and Ukrainian presidents are set to meet at the White House Friday for an expected signing ceremony, giving U.S. access to Ukrainian minerals.
A senior U.S. official says the mineral deal makes no mention of security guarantees for Kyiv. But President Trump says it's still a good deal for Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The minerals agreement will provide the basis for a more sustainable future relationship between the United States and Ukraine, and thus, stimulate the long-term prosperity that will help the Ukrainians rebuild their country. It's been demolished.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: But this agreement has been described as a possible shot in the dark for the United States, mostly because it's not known how much mineral wealth Ukraine actually has and even if it's worth exploring.
Here's more from Nick Paton Walsh.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TRUMP: We very much need rare earth. They have great rare earth.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): A moonshot for Ukraine's survival. Talking peace suddenly means talking about places like here. This lunar landscape, a titanium mine struggling under the Russian bombardment of Ukraine's power grid, sometimes with only three hours' power a day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: Now we don't know how our work will go on even tomorrow. Because every day we see how Ukraine's energy system is being destroyed. Our company is now very unstable, and this leads to a very high net cost of our products.
WALSH: Half a trillion dollars. That was the sum that President Trump initially thought Ukraine might be able to pay back to the United States, in his words.
And here, you get a sense of the challenge, really, because this place, yes, the potential is certainly there. But they say they desperately need investment. These machines are so old. And yes, so they say they would welcome American money.
WALSH (voice-over): The pressure to get money out of the ground is enormous. As other questions as to whether the astronomical sums Trump thinks are here can match the money to be made under this sprawling sea of unknown potential.
TRUMP: And who knows what rare earth is worth, you know? But at least it's something. And who knows what it's worth? Who knows if they even have it?
WALSH (voice-over): It was, at first, Ukraine's idea. President Zelenskyy selling their mineral wealth in November, perhaps too successfully, as part of a victory plan for more aid, showing reporters maps here.
They claim 7 percent global production of titanium. Lithium isn't mined yet, but they say they have 3 percent global reserves. They say they're in the top five of graphite reserves and have some actual rare earth metals.
The initial framework deal doesn't specify what it covers, mentioning only "relevant resource assets" that will be further described in another agreement.
Yet, the White House has been specific about some resources. MIKE WALTZ, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: There's a foundry that
processes aluminum in Ukraine. It's been damaged. It's not at its current capacity.
If that is restored, it would account for America's entire imports of aluminum for an entire year.
WALSH (voice-over): Waltz is probably referring to here: an aluminum plant in Zaporizhzhia, mothballed when filmed here a decade ago. Still struggling and hit by a missile during the war.
The U.S., perhaps a little too eager to take, Ukraine with no choice but to give, in a hugely complex deal that may get messier still when it runs into the cold, hard ground truth of where Ukraine is at today.
[00:35:14]
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Ishansk (ph), Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: We shall pause for a moment and take a short break. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:39:49]
VAUSE: Two weeks after Pope Francis was admitted to hospital suffering pneumonia, and the gathering is in Saint Peter's Square continue to grow as hundreds pray for his recovery.
The Vatican says the Holy Father's condition is improving, but his prognosis remains unclear. We're told the pope rested Thursday, did some physiotherapy, as well as praying at the chapel near his hospital room.
Space tourism company Blue Origin's next flight will carry TV host Gayle King, singer Katy Perry, and will be part of an all-female crew which includes Lauren Sanchez, fiance of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos; film producer Kerrianne Flynn, along with scientists Aisha Bowe and Amanda Nguyen.
The Blue Origin rocket will take them about 100 kilometers above the Earth's surface, widely considered to be where space begins.
The mission is expected to launch come spring.
I'm John Vause. Stay with us. I'll be back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. But in the meantime, WORLD SPORT starts after a short break.
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[00:45:40]
(WORLD SPORT)
