Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Trump Pauses Military Aid To Ukraine After Zelenskyy Clash; Trump Slaps 25 Percent Tariffs On Canada And Mexico, 20 Percent On China; Pope Francis Suffers Setback With New Breathing Problems; Trump Allies Signal They Want Zelenskyy to Resign; Israelis Wrestle with Release of Prisoners to Free Hostages; How USAID Cuts are Affecting Everyday Americans; Scientists Use Jumping Mice to Test Rigors of Space Travel. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired March 04, 2025 - 01:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:28]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. assistance to Ukraine on hold as the Trump-Zelenskyy clash escalates. Ahead here on CNN Newsroom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now maybe somebody doesn't want to make a deal. And if somebody doesn't want to make a deal, I think that person won't be around very long.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Sounds like somebody is still angry with someone else and is ramping up the pressure for a ceasefire. Even the Canadians are now angry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will have a strong, unequivocal and proportional response.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Announcing new tariffs on U.S. imports. Retaliation for Trump tariffs, which just went into effect.

And from slight improvement to serious setback.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: It's been a rollercoaster ride following Pope Francis' health crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: With two episodes of acute respiratory failure, Monday, as the Holy Father battles double pneumonia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.

VAUSE: Forty-three days ago, Donald Trump was sworn in as U.S. President. And every day since, there's been a non-stop frenzy of executive orders, policy whiplash, outrage and controversy. And later Tuesday, during an address to a joint session of Congress, President Trump is expected to defend, boast or mislead about the actions he's taken including new tariffs on Canadian and Mexican and Chinese imports, which took effect just over an hour ago, as well as his decision Monday to suddenly suspend all Ukrainian assistance.

Without the billions of dollars of crucial military aid, Ukraine's very survival in a war with Russia seems unlikely. The decision comes days after a heated clash in the Oval Office between President Trump and the Ukrainian President. And now the White House says the President wants an acknowledgement from President Zelenskyy. Perhaps a public apology. That's before a deal on rare earth minerals will go forward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Well, I just think you should be more appreciative because this country has stuck with them through thick and thin. We've given them much more than Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Earlier Monday, before aid was suspended, President Zelenskyy said he's counting on U.S. support to end the war. And again, he pressed for U.S. security guarantees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The lack of security guarantees for Ukraine 11 years ago allowed Russia to begin with the occupation of Crimea and the war in Donbas. Later, the absence of security guarantees enabled Russia to launch a full-scale invasion. And now, due to the lack of clear security guarantees, Russia is keeping this war ongoing. The whole world sees this, and the whole world acknowledges it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: CNN's Oren Liebermann following developments now from Washington.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: After that disastrous meeting in the White House between President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump has ordered the U.S. to pause weapons shipments and the shipments of military equipment to Ukraine, shipments that were already in motion by air, by sea, and by land. Those have all been frozen for now. The White House has made clear how upset they were with Zelenskyy, first, for not showing enough gratitude, and second, they feel he's not a partner for peace and not willing to negotiate. This, then, is the White House consequence of that, freezing military aid to Ukraine. Now, there had been several weeks of supplies that were still on their way.

This comes from military shipments and packages that were announced under the Biden administration, which announced about $3 billion in military aid to Ukraine in December and January. Some of that hadn't yet been sent and was still on its way. Plans for shipments were ongoing and were expected to continue over the course of the next several weeks.

In fact, on Sunday, a U.S. defense official told us that rockets, artillery, all of that was still supposed to be going in. That now is frozen. A White House official said it can continue to move if Zelenskyy shows a willingness to enter negotiations, if the White House essentially views him as a partner for peace.

The question, of course, how quickly will this affect Ukraine on the front lines, especially as Russia's military has launched large bombardments over the course of the past several days. Analysts and officials with whom CNN has spoken say this could be felt in several weeks, perhaps even in two to four months.

Part of that is because Ukraine continues to get military supplies from European countries, and that will help. But about half of what's been sent to Ukraine has come from the U.S., and that impact will eventually be felt on the front lines. One analyst said it will be crippling.

[01:05:05]

Oren Liebermann, CNN, in Washington.

VAUSE: Joining us now, Matthew Schmidt, associate professor of national security at the University of New Haven and a former professor of strategic and operational planning at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. It's good to see you, Matthew. Thanks for being with us.

Good to be here, John.

VAUSE: OK. So this decision by President Trump to suspend all U.S. assistance for Ukraine, it's shocking, but it is not surprising. Does that now change the calculation for Europe as well as for Ukraine, and in what way, if so? And is there the sound of champagne, corks popping and party music right now coming from the Kremlin?

MATTHEW SCHMIDT, ASSOC. PROFESSOR OF NATIONAL SECURITY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: Yes, I think the Kremlin's getting pretty much everything that they want. What we really see here is that the United States is only negotiating with Europe and it's strong-arming Ukraine, which is a strange turn of events. So, you know, that's the situation we're in. I think that that Zelenskyy can still walk this back, but it's an open question. If he's going to have to have elections in order to get the United States, you know, to -- to continue to give some kind of aid and put him in a better position for a ceasefire.

VAUSE: Yes, well, the British Prime Minister on Monday, he again talked about European allies coming up with their own plan to end the war, as well as this coalition of the willing, European countries willing to commit troops in some kind of peacekeeping role. Here's Sir Keir.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Britain will play a leading role. With, if necessary, and together with others, boots on the ground and planes in the air. Mr. Speaker, it is right that Europe do the heavy lifting to support peace on our continent. But to succeed, this effort must also have strong U.S. backing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And that, sir, is the rub. If the U.S. President is willing to pull the plug on $65 billion approved by Congress for Ukraine after a public argument with Zelenskyy, what are the chances he will accept a European ceasefire plan which benefits Ukraine?

SCHMIDT: Not a whole lot, at least not a plan that requires a large amount of U.S. assistance. The thing to keep in mind here is that it's U.S. airlift capability that Europe doesn't have in -- in any native sense. And so if they don't have that, they don't have a rapid response option that's credible against Russia when they put together any kind of peacekeeping force. And they're going to need tens of thousands in order to be credible. And I don't know where Europe is going to come up with that number.

VAUSE: Well, the French Prime Minister, among others, he's spoken about the immediate impact Donald Trump's actions will have on Ukraine, as well as the long-term consequences. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCOIS BAYROU, FRENCH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): There are two victims in this scene. The first potential victim is the security of Ukraine, which is fighting for its survival and for a nation's right at the price of the lives of tens of thousands of our children. The second victim is a certain idea of the alliance that we, countries of freedom, had with and around the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Is the only thing keeping the old transatlantic alliances alive right now is the utter desperation of the Europeans?

SCHMIDT: Yes, I think that's pretty fair. Putin's number one strategic goal isn't Ukraine. It's to crack NATO. And what we're seeing here is that he's either done that or come very close to it. And when this idea of collective security collapses, the ripple effects are going to extend deep into the future.

The only way we've protected ourselves from nuclear war is with collective security. And if that goes away, individual countries are going to have to consider arming themselves with weapons of mass destruction, including Ukraine, in order to credibly deter aggressors. And that's a world that we don't want to live in.

VAUSE: In the past few years, we've often talked about the folly of the previous U.S. administration and its reluctance to arm Ukraine from the very get-go with the very latest technology and the weapons which they really needed. Would this current crisis be happening if all the advanced weapons which Ukraine was eventually given had been delivered within the first few months of the war?

SCHMIDT: If Biden had given Ukraine what it asked for when it asked for it, we would be in a very different situation now. Ukraine has -- has incredibly fought the war. They've bravely fought the war. They've effectively fought the war without the weapons they've needed or with the weapons they've needed coming six months after they've really needed them. If they had them in their hands, you would see Russia back on its heels and Ukraine at least in a much stronger negotiating position than it's in today.

But the real problem is that Zelenskyy has to mobilize down to the 20- year-olds and the 18-year-olds. And he hasn't done that yet because he needs that population to rebuild his country. So it's a strategic choice that he's making and he won't be able to -- to continue to defend against Russia without significant Western support, without Western boots on the ground and planes in the air because his manpower, his -- his forces are just exhausted. They've been fighting for, you know, almost as long as World War II went on for the West. And we have to keep that in mind. And most of these are 40, 45-year- old men.

[01:10:33]

VAUSE: Yes, it's getting into its fourth year now. It has been a long war in many ways. Matthew Schmidt, good to have you with us. Thank you.

SCHMIDT: My pleasure.

VAUSE: New tariffs are now in effect targeting imports from America's three biggest trading partners, 25 percent for Canada and Mexico, an additional 10 percent for China. The U.S. President accuses Canada and Mexico of taking advantage of the United States and harming the economy.

Tariffs, he says, are a way of leveling the playing field. Tariffs on Chinese imports will increase from the current 10 percent to 20 percent. The President accusing Beijing of failing to curb the flow of fentanyl and illegal drugs into the U.S.

The announcement sent financial markets tumbling. The Dow lost 650 points for the day. The Nasdaq was down more than 2.5 percent. The S&P posted its biggest one-day decline of the year. China has followed Canada in imposing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods. More on that, CNN's Hanako Montgomery is with us now live. Hanako, Beijing has drawn up a very long list of U.S. goods which will now be more expensive for Chinese consumers. So what are the details here? What's the strategy?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John. It's good to see you. So, yes, as you described, China just really after several minutes after the U.S. tariffs were put in place has announced new tariffs on U.S. imports. Specifically, China has announced 15 percent tariffs on chicken, wheat, corn and cotton and 10 percent tariffs on sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef. The list goes on, John, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables and dairy products, so clearly taking a lot of aim at U.S. agriculture and food imports.

Now China has also announced, John, that it's going to sue the United States for its latest actions in regards to tariffs under what it described as the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement mechanism. So clearly China is very frustrated and disturbed by the United States' actions in terms of the economic alliance and trade between these two countries. Here's what one Chinese spokesperson said in regards to these tariffs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOU QINJIAN, NATIONAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS SPOKESPERSON: The unilateral imposition of tariffs by the United States violates the rules of the WTO and interferes with the security and stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain. We hope that the United States and China will work together to find a solution to the problem through equal consultation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MONTGOMERY: Now we're expecting these tariffs, John, to take place from March 10th. And if you recall, actually Trump proposed imposing tariffs on the United States as three major trading partners back in February. But he did input a one-month delay on Canadian and Mexican goods after discussing with the two countries' leaders and making some concessions, striking some deals.

He did, however, go through with imposing additional tariffs on Chinese goods. But clearly, John, we're seeing Trump revert to his original plan of imposing massive tariffs that will make Mexican, Canadian, Chinese goods, three major trading partners for the United States, much, much more expensive in the North American country. John?

VAUSE: Is this response by Beijing, is it considered to be kind of a measured response in a way? Does it leave Beijing with lots of room here to escalate, if need be?

MONTGOMERY: Yes, John, I think that's a really good question. And it definitely leaves Beijing room to escalate this potentially brimming trade war. Trump, if we recall, has suggested imposing even higher tariffs on China, at one point even suggesting 60 percent tariffs on China. So, for instance, if Trump does make good on his issues and really on his statements, we could see, for instance, the United States imposing new tariffs on the country and then China responding as well, and really just mirroring what we saw during Trump's first presidency in terms of a tit-for-tat trade war, John.

VAUSE: Hanako, great to have you with us. Thank you. Hanako Montgomery there in Tokyo.

MONTGOMERY: Well, after a slight improvement over the weekend, now comes word of a serious setback for Pope Francis. We'll have the very latest on his condition in just a moment.

[01:14:40]

Also ahead, a 40-year-old German national arrested after a deadly car- ramming attack. New details on what may have been and what may not have been his motivation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: According to the Vatican, Pope Francis suffered two episodes of acute respiratory failure Monday, a major setback in his struggle to recover from the worst health crisis of his papacy. Details now from CNN Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb.

LAMB: Well, it's been a roller coaster ride following Pope Francis' health crisis. And tonight on Monday was a setback with news from the Vatican that the Pope suffered two acute respiratory failures caused by an accumulation of mucus in the lungs, which a Vatican source said was a direct result of the pneumonia that Pope Francis has been battling. He's been in the hospital for 18 days. Francis is 88 years old and has a history of respiratory infections.

[01:20:01]

Now, the Vatican explained the Pope is back on a machine ventilation, receiving oxygen through a mask. He had come off that ventilation following a similar crisis of breathing this past Friday. But he's back on it now. There is, of course, concern in the Vatican for the Pope and people on Monday night gathering behind me in St. Peter's for a prayer service for the Pope, they've been gathering in St. Peter's every night in these past several days. Tonight, the prayers led by Cardinal Robert Prevost, a U.S. prelate based in the Vatican, leading a department in the church's central administration.

Now, Francis has been in the hospital for 18 days. We don't know how much longer he's going to be there. The prognosis remains reserved. That means it's too soon to tell. We are expecting a further update from the Vatican on the Pope's health on Tuesday.

Christopher Lamb, CNN, Rome.

VAUSE: Well, for more on what all this actually means, Dr. Alan Hyslop is with us this hour from Indianapolis. He's a pulmonologist at Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Hyslop, thank you for being with us.

Thank you for having me.

VAUSE: OK. So the Vatican appears to be very transparent about the Pope's condition. We're getting daily updates on his health. So for an 88-year-old man and what we know about his condition and his history of respiratory problems, how serious are these two episodes of acute respiratory failure?

DR. ALAN HYSLOP, PULMONOLOGIST, INDIANA UNIVERSITY HEALTH: Certainly. So anybody who comes into the hospital, whether they're old or young, they're at certainly higher risk of death if they're coming in with respiratory failure. And certainly as you get older, become more frail, it certainly becomes harder for you to even be supported with a ventilator and -- and make it out OK unscathed.

VAUSE: And these two episodes were triggered by a buildup of mucus in the lungs. And how did they treat it?

HYSLOP: So certainly when someone has pneumonia or respiratory infection, when you come into the hospital or placed on any sort of oxygen delivery device, whether it be a nasocannula or some sort of heated high flow device or even a non-invasive mechanical ventilating device such as an oxygen mask or BiPAP, we -- we treat you with oxygen, we treat you with antibiotics. And certainly if you fail those supportive measures, then we turn to mechanical ventilation, which sounds like the Pope has been placed upon.

And when someone has a buildup of secretions or mucus in their airways, sometimes the antibiotics and even the ventilator are not enough to help clear the airway so that we can provide enough oxygen and ventilate efficiently enough for the body to get rid of the carbon dioxide. And when that happens, sometimes the physician or the provider who's taking care of the patient may have to perform procedure called a bronchoscopy in which they place a tube with a camera and a light source at the end of it. And they go down, look into the lungs and remove as much mucus or phlegm that is down there to help the patient breathe better.

VAUSE: The fact that the last update we had, the Pope was put on non- invasive mechanical ventilation, which is an oxygen mask, as opposed to being put back on ventilation, which he was on Friday. Is that a positive sign in all of this?

HYSLOP: In -- in any case in which someone who is able to come off the breathing machine or able to transition down from having invasive ventilator support to a non-invasive, that's always a step in the right direction in the case of respiratory failure. However, in the Pope's case, for instance, you know, having vomiting or emesis into a mask certainly puts you at higher risk of aspiration or, you know, contents that are coming from the stomach into your lower airways, which causes further inflammation and further risk of infection. And certainly that's not a good direction to head in.

VAUSE: It's still sort of unclear what actually triggered, you know, the whole respiratory acute episodes. One theory is that it could be because of the, you know, the vomiting episode when he vomited in the oxygen mask, which is why he was put on ventilation. And that would be better than the infection actually getting worse, the pneumonia infection getting worse. And at this stage, his white blood cell count has not increased. So that would indicate that the infection, the pneumonia is not actually getting worse. Is that -- is that accurate?

HYSLOP: It's -- it's very difficult to say at certain points, obviously, without the full context of information, you know, not only just the white blood cell count, but the other additional laboratory results as well as the imaging and also just the exam of the patient. It's hard to fully say whether or not the infection is or is not getting better. But I guess in the context of what you're providing, it doesn't sound like there's infection that's getting worst.

[01:25:11]

Sometimes when people do have vomiting and to -- to -- into the respiratory mask, as you said, that could just represent what we call aspiration or just a simple kind of inflammation of the lungs. That's not triggering an infection. And so it doesn't necessarily mean that he is getting worse, per se.

VAUSE: Over the last two weeks or so, the Pope's medical condition has been a mix of slight improvement, followed by these setbacks. So after suffering acute respiratory failure like he did Monday, how much longer would you expect his recovery to be? And what would be the biggest concerns you have moving forward? What are the biggest dangers that he now faces as he recovers?

HYSLOP: So respiratory failure is a very serious condition to have, certainly. And in the Pope's case, because of his older age and probably frailty, I would expect someone like him if he were to turn the corner or to survive this respiratory failure episode, I would expect a long recovery, several weeks, even months before he's fully back to where he would be at his baseline, which, again, hard to know based upon the current set of facts that were presented.

VAUSE: Yes. Dr. Hyslop, thank you so much for being with us. Obviously, you are not treating the Pope. So we are talking about, you know, his condition in a very general sense based on your experience over many, many years. But we appreciate you being with us. Thank you, sir.

HYSLOP: Thanks so much.

VAUSE: Police have arrested a 40-year-old man suspected of ramming his car into a crowd of pedestrians in Mannheim, Germany, on Monday. At least two people were killed, nearly a dozen others wounded. CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports, authorities say this was not an accident and the attack was deliberate.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Police in the southwestern German city of Mannheim now confirming that two people have been killed in that ramming attack. It took place around midday on Monday. The police are saying that in the initial stages, they had thought that an accident had occurred in the pedestrian zone of that city. However, when they came on the scene, they realized that all of this appeared to have been deliberate.

At the same time, there were lots of police on the street and a giant manhunt was underway. The Germans are now saying that they have a 40- year0old man in custody. He is a citizen of Germany as well. So far, the police say they have not been able to interrogate the suspect as of yet. At the same time, they have confirmed that two people have been killed. One of them is an elderly woman and one of them a man in his 50s.

The police say at this point in time, they don't believe that there were any political motivations behind this ramming attack. Now, of course, all of this happened as Germany is already in a heightened state of security attack -- security concerns after a spate of attacks that have happened over the past couple of months, including ramming attacks as well.

One of them, of course, shortly before Christmas at a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg, killing several people there. All of this contributing to a heightened state of alert on the part of German authorities.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

[01:28:07]

VAUSE: When we come back, growing fallout from last week's disastrous Oval Office meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Senior U.S. officials now calling on the Ukrainian president to resign.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:33:34]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm John Vause.

Let's check today's top stories.

In the coming hours, U.S. President Donald Trump will address a joint session of Congress. It's a bit like a State of the Union address, but isn't because he's been president for just 43 days.

Still, most are expecting a presidential victory lap. White House aides say the president will explain his motives behind a flurry of executive orders, tariffs on U.S. allies and sweeping foreign policy changes.

New U.S. tariffs are now in effect, targeting imports from America's top three trading partners. President Trump says Canada and Mexico are being penalized for taking economic advantage of the U.S. U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods are up from 10 to 20 percent.

And the U.S. is halting military aid to Ukraine, a direct result of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's disastrous Oval Office meeting with Donald Trump on Friday. That's according to a White House official, who says the pause will remain in place until the U.S. president believes Zelenskyy is committed to seeking peace talks with Russia.

Demands from White House officials and others for Zelenskyy to resign as Ukraine's president began almost immediately after that shouting match in the Oval Office.

[01:34:45]

VAUSE: But analysts warned that could spark a constitutional crisis because Ukraine remains under martial law.

Here's Nick Paton Walsh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): He either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with.

MIKE WALTZ, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: President Zelenskyy truly did his country a real disservice.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Or someone else needs to lead the country to do that.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It's not what you need in wartime. But buoyed by Europe's London summit, President Zelenskyy seemed unmoved.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It is not enough to simply hold elections. You would have to prevent me from participating in the elections.

WALSH: Now, if Zelenskyy will resign and that's a big if, the constitution says the Speaker of the parliament takes over his job with pretty much all of his powers until there's new elections.

That's this man, Ruslan Stefanchuk, his personal approval rating, it's not recently even been measured. So they would need a vote fast, and to do that legally, to lift martial law. And so a full peace.

How chaotic would elections be if they were called right now?

OIHA AIVAZOVSKA, OPORA: It's impossible. Because it will be unconstitutional. Everything was withheld because of war. We need to change before elections.

We need to reload all freedoms -- freedoms of movement, freedom of speech. We need to have competitive electoral process.

WALSH: Ukraine's deputy elections chief, asked by us five days ago, said they would need in peacetime a minimum of six months to technically arrange a vote.

SERHIY DUBOVYK, DEPUTY HEAD, UKRAINE'S CENTRAL ELECTION COMMISSION (through translator): We could hold elections but these elections would not meet internationally-recognized standards and could call into question the results obtained in these elections.

I would like to appeal to our foreign partners. When they talk about elections in Ukraine, they should take into account the necessary preparatory period. This is a country under martial law, a country where everything is aimed at defense.

WALSH: He added the money used to reform and prepare often came from USAID, which is in doubt now, too.

And then there is the question of if the nightly drone strikes and violence stops, who gets to actually vote? There are an estimated 7 million Ukrainians abroad who would need to cast ballots, and a million in the military, who would need peace to leave their posts.

Finally, Ukraine has a tortured history of Russian electoral manipulation. In 2004, during the Orange Revolution was the first rejection of Moscow's meddling in elections, with peaceful protests forcing a rerun and pro-western democratic reform in the future.

AIVAZOVSKA: Without strong legitimacy this state will not survive because Russia will destroy the reputation of the legitimacy and then we will be the failed state.

WALSH: Another instance of disconnect between Washington's vision and Ukraine's actual plight.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN -- Kyiv, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: With the Gaza ceasefire now on the verge of collapse, U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff is being sent back to the region. The first of three phases of the ceasefire expired last Saturday.

Details on phase two are meant to have been worked out before then, but negotiations between Israel and Hamas have only recently restarted.

Hamas rejected an Israeli proposal to temporarily extend phase one through Ramadan and Passover. In response Sunday, all humanitarian aid into Gaza was blocked by Israel.

Hamas says that aid blockage is cheap blackmail and a war crime. They're demanding Israel move to the second phase of the deal, which has not yet been negotiated.

One element of the ceasefire has created a unique pain point for some Israelis, the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Many of them were not convicted of any crime, nor were they put on trial. But some were convicted of murder.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond shows us how their victims wrestle with their release. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: At this cemetery in Haifa, Oran Almog reflects on what he calls the price of a deal to free Israeli hostages.

This is the price?

ORAN ALMOG, ISRAELI: Yes.

DIAMOND: Right in front of you.

ALMOG: This really huge price for me.

DIAMOND: 21 years after Oran's father, brother, grandparents and cousin were killed in a suicide bombing, the man who planned the attack has been set free.

It is a price Oran says he is willing to pay. Three Israeli hostages are now free because of it.

This was the grisly scene at the Maxim Restaurant in Haifa on October 4th, 2003, after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt. Oran had been having lunch with his family. He was blinded by the blast.

Now standing at the memorial dedicated to the 21 victims of the attack. Oren recalls the moment he learned Sami Jaradat, the man who dispatched that suicide bomber, would be released.

[01:39:51]

ALMOG: The first reaction is sort of shocked, I was speechless.

DIAMOND: But he says he soon started to see the bigger picture.

ALMOG: I understood that Sami Jaradat will stay in the jail forever. My family who were murdered in the terror attack, they will never return alive. But living Israeli hostages still come back.

DIAMOND: It's something Oren understands better than most. His cousin, Ken Almog-Goldstein (ph) and her three children had been taken hostage on October 7th and were released as part of the November, 2023 ceasefire agreement.

Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners have been freed during the first phase of the ceasefire, but most are not convicted murderers like Sami Jaradat.

Of the 1,735 Palestinians released during the first phase of the ceasefire, about 15 percent were convicted of killing Israelis, including soldiers. Another 18 percent were convicted of attempted murder. Nearly two-thirds, including 1,000 Palestinians detained in Gaza during the war, were being held without trial.

The remainder were convicted of lesser charges like incitement, a charge that has been used to jail Palestinians over social media posts. That nuance is often lost on the Israeli public.

DAHLIA SCHEINDLIN, COLUMNIST AND POLITICAL ANALYST, HAARETZ: Israelis believe that a Palestinian that's being held in Israeli detention by virtue of being held in Israeli detention, must be a terrorist.

They don't understand that there could be people who are innocent of any charge, who were basically detained for the purpose of this very moment, the hostage exchange and prisoner release.

DIAMOND: Instead, many Israelis think of Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7th attack, who was among more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Still, a majority of Israelis like Oran have consistently supported the ceasefire and hostage release deal, thinking of the hostages above all.

ALMOG: Maybe somewhere they will meet again. And they feel the full -- the full meaning of this deal and this price to me. Maybe someone.

DIAMOND: Jeremy Diamond, CNN -- Haifa, Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still to come on CNN, cutting international aid is not just affecting jobs overseas. How cost-saving tactics from the White House are now impacting everyday Americans. More on that in a moment.

[01:42:40]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: A senior official at the now gutted U.S. Agency for International Development has been placed on leave for writing a scathing memo accusing the Trump administration of preventing life- saving work.

Nicholas Enrich, an acting administrator, says "Cuts by the White House will no doubt result in preventable death, destabilization and threats to national security on a massive scale."

As CNN's Kyung Lah reports, the cuts are taking a toll on the home front as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUTH GARFINKEL, LOST JOB WITH USAID CONTRACTOR: My job brings in about 75 percent of our household income. With two small. Children, one still in daycare, we have a lot of child care expenses. So not a lot of savings.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ruth Garfinkel in Durham, North Carolina is not a federal employee. That didn't stop what happened.

Life changed in January for you?

GARFINKEL: Yes. I worked for a USAID contractor. And without USAID funding contracts, then there's no job for me.

LAH: She's taken out a home equity line of credit on a North Carolina house to now stay afloat. Her family, part of an economic ripple effect of federal cuts, felt acutely in the so-called research triangle of North Carolina, where a CNN review shows in the last fiscal year, USAID agreed to pay more than $1 billion to groups based in the state.

LEONARDO WILLIAMS, MAYOR OF DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA: Real things are happening. People are losing their jobs now.

LAH: Walk with Durham's mayor through the city's downtown, and you quickly learned there are a lot of Ruth Garfinkels here. People who don't work for the federal government, but for the organizations that receive USAID funding.

FHI down the street furloughed how many?

WILLIAMS: I believe they furloughed about 200 employees so far.

LAH: CNN found more than 300 people laid off or furloughed in the state from USAID-related cuts. But that may be just the tip of the iceberg.

The mayor expects local numbers to climb as subcontractors and other businesses report layoffs.

That's loss of income directly to the city.

WILLIAMS: The city, the county, the state, but most importantly the families.

LAH: People think USAID is cutting funding to other countries.

WILLIAMS: It's happening right here in my city. When those jobs are gone, that means I have one less resident that could support this small businesses here locally. That's one less resident that can contribute to the tax base right here in Durham.

[01:49:50]

LAH: Making it harder and scarier for some in North Carolina are the trolls celebrating these job losses.

One company that announced cuts in North Carolina shared with us emails like this. Hate letters sent by mail. And if you dare look on social media, plenty of cheering for the suffering in the state.

BRIANNA CLARKE-SCHWELM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NC GLOBAL HEALTH ALLIANCE: These are real businesses here in North Carolina. They support other businesses.

Lah: Brianna Clarke-Schwelm leads a North Carolina public health alliance.

CLARKE-SCHWELM: A lot of people are applying for unemployment right now. A lot of people are also pulling their kids out of childcare. They're also thinking about their mortgages. They're thinking about if they're going to stay in North Carolina, if they can afford to stay living here.

SADIE HEALY, TRACKING JOB LOSSES FROM FOREIGN AID FREEZE: 13,124 jobs have been lost or furloughed.

LAH: Sadie Healey and her business partner have been tracking the ripple effect of the individual U.S. job losses. Organizations and workers are messaging them directly. Then they use that data and publicly post on their USAID stop work website.

Walk me through some of the hardest hit states.

HEALY: Yes. You have Florida, you have North Carolina, South Carolina.

LAH: In your perspective, especially having the messaging and the phone calls that you're getting, is this very much an American problem?

HEALY: This is 13,000 Americans that just suddenly lost their job, who didn't have a plan and didn't know this was coming. So maybe they have some savings, but like, you make cuts and that's going to affect your local economy. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I can chat with somebody --

LAH: Healey and her partner, Meg McClure, forecast that if all active USAID contracts and grants are cut, the group's base just in North Carolina could lose more than $2 billion. But it's already having an impact now.

GARFINKEL: I'd like them to know that they are harming ordinary people, and it's really shortsighted and, frankly, cruel.

LAH: Kyung Lah, CNN -- Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: The senior FBI official who oversaw the investigation into the January 6th uprising has been forced out. Just weeks ago, James Dennehy head of the FBI's New York division, was telling colleagues to dig in after a demand from the new White House for names of all agents who were part of the January 6th investigation, one of, if not the biggest, in the bureau's history.

On Monday, Dennehy emailed his colleagues saying he was forced into early retirement and no reason was given why.

In his farewell message, Dennehy said he would never stop defending the FBI and he will do so willingly and proudly from outside the wire.

In a moment, why jumping mice might just be crucial for a trip to Mars.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VAUSE: A manned mission to Mars remains the next great space challenge and jumping mice are playing a crucial role in getting there.

Here's CNN's Lynda Kinkade.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Elon Musk and U.S. President Trump have spoken ambitiously about sending astronauts to Mars.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And we will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars.

KINKADE: But are humans ready for such a trip? Some scientists are worried the long journey in weightlessness could impact astronauts' cartilage and joints.

[01:54:50]

KINKADE: One research team in the U.S. wanted to know whether jumping in space could be better for astronauts than other workouts, like running on a treadmill or riding a stationary bike.

DR. MARCO CHIABERGE, ASTRONOMER AND RESEARCH SCIENTIST, JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: There is good evidence that astronauts, even after a period of a few months experience the very early signs of osteoarthritis.

And that is known from blood tests. They basically see the biomarkers of cartilage degradation in astronauts.

KINKADE: The researchers tested their hypothesis with a group of quote, "space mice". The mice that underwent nine weeks of limited movement showed early signs of arthritis. Another group of mice did jump training for nine weeks and came out with healthier, thicker cartilage.

While more studies need to be done to confirm whether this sort of exercise can help humans like astronauts on a three-year trip to Mars, the study's leader says the results are promising.

CHIABERGE: It's good for cardiovascular fitness. It's good for bone health, muscle strength, power.

KINKADE: As a new era of space travel emerges, these space mice have shown that the key to a safe trip could be the difference between a hop, skip, and a jump.

Lynda Kinkade, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: A rare hand-painted piece of art by Banksy is heading to auction Tuesday and could sell for more than $6 million. The 2005 reimagining of a painting by late Scottish artist Jack Vettriano is named "Crude Oil", shows workers in hazmat suits trying to remove toxic waste from a beach.

The specialists at Sotheby's says while people love Vettriano's work it, much like Banksy's work, wasn't widely accepted into the art world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MACKIE HAYDEN-COOK, CONTEMPORARY ART SPECIALIST, SOTHEBY'S: It's rare for a work of this quality to come to market, and this one really has all the best ingredients. A fabulous owner, it's hand painted, impeccable exhibition history and its subject is more urgent now than ever before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The fabulous owner is Mark Hoppus, who is co-founder of the band Blink 182. He says part of the proceeds from the sale will go to the California Wildfire Foundation, as well as medical charities.

Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.

Please stay with us. CNN NEWSROOM continues with Rosemary Church after a short break.

Hope to see you right back here tomorrow.

[01:57:07]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)