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U.S. Slaps Tariffs to Canada and Mexico, and Additional Tariffs on China; Pope Francis Experienced a Setback in His Recovery; U.S. Pauses Military Aid to Ukraine; Prominent Australian Blood Donor James Harrison Dies. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired March 04, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, U.S. President Donald Trump pauses military aid to Ukraine, cutting off support at a critical moment for the country. We'll explain what the White House says it needs to turn the tap back on.

China hits the U.S. with retaliatory tariffs as fears of an all-out trade war intensify.

And the Pope faces a further setback with his health. We are live in Rome with the latest on the Pontiff's condition.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us.

U.S. President Donald Trump heads to Capitol Hill in the hours ahead for perhaps the most consequential speech of his second term so far.

He will address a joint session of Congress just hours after a critical decision to halt U.S. military aid to Ukraine, which could have dire consequences for the war against Russia. The White House says the pause follows President Trump's heated clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Friday.

Now, officials say Mr. Trump and his aides want an acknowledgment from President Zelenskyy, perhaps even a public apology, before moving forward with a rare deal or talks about continuing any future aid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, I just think that he should be more appreciative, because this country has stuck with them, through thick and thin we've given much more than Europe. (END VIDEO CLIP)

The U.S. pause in aid has sparked swift reaction. Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said, quote, "this act of retribution against our ally who is on the front lines defending freedom and democracy is not only shameful -- it is dangerous."

All this happening as Ukraine remains under attack. Officials in the port city of Odessa say a Russian drone strike damaged energy infrastructure on Monday and wounded four people.

CNN's Clare Sebastian is following developments. She joins us now live from London. Good morning again to you Clare. So what more are you learning about the pause in military aid and of course its likely consequences?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary, it seems to be an ultimatum of sorts. It's a pause, it's not a cancellation.

So the Trump administration is leaving the door open that if President Zelenskyy perhaps as you say signs the mineral deal or comes forward with a gesture that's enough to placate Trump and suggest to the Trump administration that he's quite serious about peace then perhaps this could be reversed.

So I think the question in the immediate term for Ukraine in terms of how this will affect their ability to defend themselves is how long it goes on. We've seen in real time at the end of 2023 when Congress delayed the passage of a new aid bill for six months that that did lead to extreme fragility on the front lines in Ukraine and a loss of territory.

It made the ratio of ammunition that Russia was firing compared to Ukraine at 1.10 to 1 and that has been whittled down since the aid started flowing again. So this is a serious blow but I think the context is that the Biden administration had been aware of this risk and had front loaded a lot of shipments.

There had been no new aid pledges so far from the Trump administration. European allies are stepping up. We're expecting the E.U. commission today to send a letter to members to present its rearm Europe plan to try and beef up the European defense industry and military capabilities. And of course Ukraine's own defense industry is much bigger and much more efficient and productive than it was before the war, particularly of course when it comes to drones.

But there are other questions of course to consider beyond the practical supply of military equipment as to how this affects Ukraine. There's the issue of planning. How can you plan to conduct a war when you don't exactly know what equipment you're going to have?

There's the issue of morale that feeds directly into recruitment. And of course as we saw very clearly when the aid was delayed last time Russia could well step in and try to take full advantage of this moment. [03:04:54]

So those are all the questions facing Ukraine and I think this really reinforces that the Trump administration is sort of bent on using these methods of putting pressure on Ukraine while at the same time offering incentives to Russia to bring the two to the table. And secondly this may well be about Trump's sort of beef with Zelenskyy personally rather than the Ukrainian people. So I think that will lead to pressure ramping up on the Ukrainian president at home.

CHURCH: And Clare have we seen any early reaction to this news from either Ukraine or Russia.

SEBASTIAN: Well so it's still early days. Russia I think is staying relatively reserved. We're seeing a few commentators come out, newspaper headlines.

But obviously this is a massive prize to Russia. Russia has spent the last three years doing absolutely everything it can to weaken Western resolve to keep supplying military aid to Ukraine.

In terms of Ukrainian reactions we are getting some this morning. A Ukrainian M.P. Alexey Goncharenko came out and said this is a disaster very bluntly.

But as I said he did then focus on Zelenskyy himself and he said what we need to do is resolve the issue with the Trump administration. If they want us to apologize he said we should apologize. What difference does it make if our task is not to lose the war and not to lose people?

Now we have to say that outreach had already started. The Ukrainians were not doing nothing. We saw that the Ukrainian parliament came out on Monday and offered its profound gratitude to Trump and the American people.

There was also a call between Zelenskyy's chief-of-staff and the head of the Ukraine Congressional Caucus Brian Fitzpatrick and he said after that that he thought that the mineral deal was back on track that it could be signed in short order.

So I think given that and despite the signs that we saw that President Trump was willing to perhaps go this far this still would have come as a shock in Ukraine this morning. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Alright. Our thanks to Clare Sebastian joining us there live from London.

Michael Bociurkiw is a former spokesperson for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and he joins us live from Odessa in Ukraine. Many thanks for being with us.

MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, GLOBAL ANALYST, SR. FELLOW AT ATLANTIC COUNCIL, AND FORMER SPOKESPERSON AT THE ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE: Good to be with you. CHURCH: So as Europe moves to take control of a peace plan to end the

war in Ukraine after the showdown between President Trump and Ukraine's President Zelenskyy on Friday, the U.S. president is now halting military aid to Ukraine. What's your reaction to this and how will it likely complicate Europe's efforts to find peace?

BOCIURKIW: Well, I'm not saying it's game over for the Ukrainians but it is getting closer. I think the Europeans have to do more, a lot more than they did on Sunday, which was mostly talking and statements of pledges. Of course there was a few billion pounds from U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in terms of missiles and financial loans.

But I think the Europeans have to put their grown-up trousers on, if I can put it that way, and move immediately to unfreeze those frozen Russian assets. We're talking about over $300 billion worth of frozen Russian assets in Europe, U.K., Canada, and the U.S. That would help at least the Ukrainians to purchase military aid and cover the $5 billion a month budget deficit.

But this is very bad. And I would also venture to say that this could be politically costly for Mr. Zelenskyy at home. There is a realization here, Rosemary, that he was trying to save face, his own and the Ukrainian people.

But then there also comes a time where you have to perhaps zip it up and, like Mr. Macron and like Mr. Starmer did last week, really butter up the president. But it doesn't look like that will happen.

And when you hear someone like Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick say to the Ukrainians, you've got to come to Washington and say, we love you, America, he probably means to say, you know, I love you, Mr. Trump. I don't think that's going to happen.

One more thing, Rosemary. I was very puzzled as well by the behavior of Mr. Zelenskyy at that London press conference on Sunday evening at the airport, just before he flew back to Poland and then on to Ukraine.

It sounded like, you know, he was puffed up and his ego was coming out and saying that, you know, this war will go on for as long as it takes type of thing. And I think that's what really got Mr. Trump going. And I think at the end that would have been better left unsaid.

CHURCH: That's interesting. So you're really saying that you see Zelenskyy as a problem at the moment. I mean, Trump says that the pause in military aid could be lifted if Zelenskyy demonstrates a new commitment to bringing the war to an end.

[03:10:09]

U.S. officials saying that means an acknowledgement from Zelenskyy, perhaps a public apology before moving forward with the minerals deal or talks about any future aid. You don't think that Zelenskyy can step up and give that apology under these circumstances? Is that what you're saying? BOCIURKIW: Well, let's be clear. The big problem here, of course, is

Mr. Putin, the war criminal who is responsible for the killing of tens of thousands of people, massive destruction across Ukraine, including here last night in Odessa, as your report pointed out, including a strike on the port not far from me on the weekend.

He needs to be pushed back. And of course the only way for that to happen is through massive ramp-up of military aid, including from Europe right now, because, you see, if he isn't, he will go further. I think everyone agrees on that, that the Baltic States are very vulnerable right now, Poland is vulnerable.

And the Americans should realize that this is going to come back to them in the form of higher food prices, oil prices. I can almost guarantee to you that Mr. Putin is going to use this void to not only ramp up destruction, sadly, of Ukraine, but also ramp up his gray zone warfare, his hybrid warfare, everything from meddling in elections to disinformation sharing to cutting of submarine cables, you name it.

So one more thing, of course, Mr. Trump is, I think, unhinged, he's vindictive, he's unpredictable. But that, unfortunately, is the world we live in. And I think it would have been better if Mr. Zelenskyy on that Friday Oval Office meltdown would have been better prepared, briefed, and told what to say and what not to say.

CHURCH: And of course, as Europe tries to broker a one-month truce between Russia and Ukraine and find an end to this war, Russia is clearly enjoying Trump's public attacks on Zelenskyy, with Russian state television now threatening to wipe European cities off the map. What does that threat signal to you, certainly at this particular time?

BOCIURKIW: Well, as I wrote in a "Globe" and "Mail" opinion piece this morning, you know, in Moscow, they must be feeling like it's 10 Christmases all at once. You know, according to CNN reporting, offensive cyber operations by the United States against Russia has been completely stopped.

Normalization of diplomatic relations, including diplomatic posts, a new Russian ambassador has been named to the United States. There are a whole bunch of other things coming down the pipeline that makes Russia very, very happy. And the problem with that also is that this in a way disintegrates the solid red lines that once existed for Mr. Putin, those red lines that were enforced by the United States.

So that is why I fear, Rosemary, that, and trust me, I don't like to say this, but I do fear that Mr. Putin may not only intensify things at the front line, but try to gain that very crucial piece of real estate, dividing us between Kherson, where they occupy on their side of the Dnipro River, all the way up to Mykolaiv, Odessa, Moldova border, Transnistria. That would make Ukraine effectively a landlocked country.

The reason I say that as well is because it now looks like the Americans may also pause intelligence, sharing with the Ukrainians, their supply of Patriot missiles that protect cities like Odessa last night and other Ukrainian cities is probably only good until April. It's going to make the country very vulnerable. And I think that's something that the Trump circle, the MAGA circle just doesn't understand.

CHURCH: Michael Bociurkiw, many thanks for joining us. I appreciate it.

BOCIURKIW: Thank you.

CHURCH: China and Canada are fighting back as new U.S. tariffs against those countries and Mexico are now in effect. Donald Trump announced 25 percent duties on Canadian and Mexican imports. The President says the neighboring countries are taking advantage into U.S. economically.

Tariffs on China are going up from 10 percent to 20 percent. Mr. Trump says Beijing is not doing enough to stop the flow of fentanyl and illegal drugs to the U.S.

[03:15:09]

So, let's take a look at how markets are reacting. First to the futures market. You can see the Dow there adding 29 points up just very slightly, pretty flat in actual fact. We'll keep a close eye on that.

Turning now to the Asia-Pacific markets and mostly in the red. So, let's get some of China's response.

We want to turn to CNN's Hanako Montgomery, live in Tokyo. So, Hanako, what more is China saying about how it intends to respond, to retaliate against Trump's tariffs?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Rosemary. It's good to see you again.

So, as we know, China has retaliated quite fiercely in response to these new additional American tariffs. To reiterate for our viewers here, China announced just minutes after the American tariffs took place 15 percent tariffs on chicken, wheat, corn and cotton exports from the United States, and also 10 percent tariffs on sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables and dairy products.

Now, that's quite an extensive list, Rosemary, and really clearly shows that China is not messing around. And notably, pork and soy are also on the list, similar to what we saw during Trump's first presidency, when we saw a trade war emerge between China and the United States.

Now, also in response, China has said that it's going to sue the United States for its latest trade and tariff increase, according to World Trade Organization regulations. So, clearly China is very upset with the way the United States is handling these tariffs, imposing these tariffs and affecting the relationship between these two countries.

Here's what one spokesperson from the Chinese government said earlier today, in addition to these tariffs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOU QINJIAN, NATIONAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS SPOKESPERSON (through translator): However, we will never accept pressure or threats and will firmly safeguard our national sovereignty, security and development interests. We hope the U.S. will work together with China to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and return to the path of resolving issues through dialogue and consultation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MONTGOMERY: And Rosemary, I just want to read you this segment here from the spokesperson from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs that came out just less than an hour ago, because it's quite strong. He says, quote, "If the U.S. has ulterior motives and insists on waging a tariff war, trade war, or any other kind of war, China will fight the U.S. till the end."

Now, that's very similar wording and terminology that China used during Trump's first presidency, when again, of course, the two countries were indeed fighting a trade war.

And Rosemary, I think a lot of experts here are concerned about the potential impact on American farmers, on consumers in the U.S. and also China, with this trade war that is very much looming over these two countries and how it will really impact the global economy and potentially upend the North American economy. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Hanako Montgomery in Tokyo, many thanks.

Rana Foroohar is a CNN Global Economic Analyst. She's also a global business columnist and associate editor at the "Financial Times." A pleasure to have you with us.

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST, AND GLOBAL BUSINESS COLUMNIST AND ASSOCIATE EDITOR, "FINANCIAL TIMES": Great to be here.

CHURCH: So, stocks tumbled Monday after President Donald Trump announced that his tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China would go into effect today. Steel and aluminum tariffs will be applied next week. So, what impact will all these tariffs have on the U.S. and global economies and, of course, on consumers?

FOROOHAR: Well, Rosemary, you're already seeing the market reaction. The markets do not like these tariffs and they particularly don't like the uncertainty that is surrounded all of it. You know, we've been back and forth about these tariffs. They're coming, you know, on Mexico, Canada and China.

China, you know, I think there's a lot of mercantilist practices that potentially warrant some tariffs. Mexico and Canada, tougher argument to make.

This is going to really disrupt the North American auto components industry, the auto supply chains. It's going to have an effect on the energy markets.

And it's certainly dampening consumer sentiment. You know, you're seeing a lot of worries. You're seeing a sense that the tide has turned economically in the U.S. and not in a good way.

You know, you're seeing European markets by contrast up. And I think that that speaks to the fact that investors and consumers both alike are very worried about what the impact is going to be.

CHURCH: And legendary American investor Warren Buffett said over the weekend that tariffs are an economic act of war. So who are the winners and losers in a trade war?

FOROOHAR: Well, you know, everybody loses something in a trade war. You know, the argument that has been made by Trump and also previously by President Biden about tariffs has been, look, we have to protect American industries.

[03:20:09]

We're going to have to make sure to have certain crucial supplies at home, things like auto production, things like defense production, steel, aluminum, these sorts of raw materials being produced here.

You can make that argument, but unilateral tariffs on adversaries and allies alike being done in this way is just not only is it incredibly economically disruptive, it's really, really hard to figure out politically. I mean, you know, the president is telling Canada and Mexico, well, all right, you've got to tighten your borders. You've got to stop shipments of fentanyl, which is a deadly opioid.

And Canada in particular is saying, well, okay, but we represent a tiny fraction of opioids coming into the U.S. What counts as a tighter border? What are the metrics?

You know, there's not a sense of what success looks like yet here. And I think that makes everybody nervous.

CHURCH: And Trump says that these tariffs will be exciting, his word for U.S. car manufacturers. But those companies disagree with that and farmers are terrified. How will these tariffs hit farmers and car manufacturers?

FOROOHAR: Well, I'll start with car manufacturers. I mean, you know, one of the things that's happened over the last several years is that a lot of production of all kinds of components has moved from Asia to Mexico.

There's been tighter immigration between Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. President Biden really pushed the idea of a regionalized trading bloc. You've got energy in Canada, mineral resources, certain kinds of biotech and cleantech.

In Mexico, you've got a lot of manufacturing. You've got the consumer demand in the U.S. So in some ways, it's a very natural trading bloc, a natural consumption and production bloc. But here you see President Trump saying, we're going to blow all that

up. We're going to build Fortress America. He's actually telling Mexicans that they should build their factories in the U.S.

Tough sell, you know, and particularly at a time when you're not sure what the president is going to do from any moment to the next.

CHURCH: Rana Foroohar, many thanks for joining us and sharing your economic analysis. I appreciate it.

FOROOHAR: Thank you so much.

CHURCH: Pope Francis recently suffered a setback as he battles double pneumonia in hospital. We will have a live report from Rome after the break.

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[03:25:00]

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CHURCH: Pope Francis is still in hospital after suffering a setback in his recovery on Monday. And just a short while ago, the Vatican issued a new update.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is following this live for us from Rome. He joins us now. So Ben, what more are you learning from this latest update on the Pope's health?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've just got this very terse one-line update on the Pope from the Vatican press office saying that he slept through the night and continues to rest.

But what we heard yesterday evening, according to one Vatican source, is that Pope Francis yesterday afternoon had what he described as a very difficult time. He experienced two episodes of acute respiratory failure.

The medical staff here at Rome's Gemelli Hospital had to administer two bronchoscopies to clear mucus from his airways and have now fitted the Pope with an oxygen mask. So clearly the Pope's health is not improving. He does seem basically since last Friday to experience a series of these crises.

And at this point, he's been here in hospital for 19 days, still suffering from double pneumonia. And nobody now is talking about when he might possibly be leaving this hospital. Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Ben Wedeman there in Rome bringing us the very latest on Pope Francis. I appreciate it.

Well, Germany remains on high alert after a car ramming in the city of Mannheim killed two people, injured 11 others on Monday. Authorities have since confirmed the attack was deliberate, that the driver purposefully targeted and struck people at high speed. But police do not believe the suspect, a 40-year-old German national,

had any political or religious motivations. While the investigation is ongoing, prosecutors say there is concrete evidence that the attacker suffered from a psychological illness.

Russian officials are enjoying the fallout from the Ukrainian president's disastrous White House meeting last week. Still to come, the latest on Donald Trump's shifting geopolitical stance and what it could mean for the war in Ukraine. We're back with that and more in just a moment.

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check today's top stories for you.

[03:35:02]

In the coming hours, U.S. President Donald Trump will give his first address to a joint session of Congress in this new term. It's largely expected to be a victory lap with advisors saying he will explain the motives behind his flurry of executive orders, tariffs on U.S. allies and sweeping foreign policy changes in just the past few weeks.

President Trump has slapped new tariffs on the top three U.S. trading partners. He says 25 percent duties on imports from Canada and Mexico are meant to stop those countries from taking economic advantage of the U.S. He raised tariffs on Chinese goods from 10 percent to 20 percent.

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

And I spoke about the pause in U.S. aid with Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst for defense strategy and capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. I began by asking how big a blow this pause will be for Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALCOLM DAVIS, SR. ANALYST FOR DEFENSE STRATEGY AND CAPABILITY, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE: I think that key thing is how long does this so-called pause last, the language coming out of Washington D.C. is the indefinite pause, and there's dependent on Zelenskyy supposedly showing a reasonable attitude to Trump in terms of peace arrangements. But really, when you look at these peace arrangements effectively, they allow United States to take the substantial portion of Ukraine's rare earths and give nothing in return in terms of security guarantees or military assistance. So now that Trump has actually paused, supposedly, the military

assistance, including any military aid that is in transit, the real risk is that if this goes on too long, the Ukrainian military will start to run out of weapons and munitions, and that will then give the Russians the opportunity to make significant advances on the battlefield.

CHURCH: Well, Trump is saying that this pause could be lifted if Zelenskyy demonstrates a new commitment to ending the war and shows more appreciation for what the U.S. has done for him. And an apology, apparently, is very much on the table. What's Russia thinking while Trump berates Zelenskyy so publicly and how could this complicate Ukraine's efforts to negotiate a peace deal through Europe?

DAVIS: Look, I'm sure the champagne and vodka is flowing freely in the Kremlin tonight, because essentially what Trump has done has given a huge blow to the confidence, not only in Ukraine, but also in Europe, that the U.S. is serious about bringing this war to a close in a way that is just and enduring.

Instead, what the U.S. has done is created a situation whereby Russia is poised to make significant advances in the fighting, particularly if this pause in military assistance continues on for some weeks. And I think that Putin will be very pleased with this outcome that Trump has created. And I think that there will now be pressure coming from Moscow onto Trump to keep this pause in place, essentially indefinitely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Our thanks to Malcolm Davis for his perspective there.

Well, Russian officials reacted with glee to the shouting match between Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Friday. The Kremlin hopes the impacts could go well beyond what's happening in Ukraine, perhaps completely redrawing the U.S.-Russia relationship.

CNN's Matthew Chance reports from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even Russian commentators saw this as a trap. A public flogging in the Oval Office, said one columnist.

On state television, the Kremlin spokesman confirmed President Putin watched the drama unfold. Of course, Putin saw it with all of its nuances, Dmitry Peskov says. So did the entire world. It was, let's say, quite unprecedented, he adds.

Earlier, he said the new U.S. administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations, which he said largely coincides with Russia's vision.

But on the streets, ordinary Russians took the presidential bust up in their stride. The fact there was a squabble is just part of the show, says Dmitry,

like good American cinema. The really important things will be decided behind the scenes, he says.

[03:40:06]

I'm against war and I'm waiting for this to finally end, says Natalia. In terms of what happened, though, it's probably more positive for Russia.

Already, there are expectations in Moscow that U.S.-Russia talks, which began in Saudi Arabia last month, will now intensify. Even hopes a Trump-Putin summit will be fast-tracked.

And with the U.S. and Ukrainian leaders at odds, negotiations to end the brutal war in Ukraine may be overshadowed by lucrative U.S.- Russian economic deals already being tabled behind closed doors.

Russian officials couldn't be happier with what they see as a seismic shift in Washington's geopolitical stance.

Trump is a pragmatist, his slogan is common sense, says Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister. It's a shift to a different way of doing things. That's why it's interesting to work with him, he adds.

But again, on Moscow's streets, Trump's embrace is viewed with skepticism.

Trump doesn't really know much about what's happening in the world, says 74-year-old Vladimir. He has a very narrow view of purely financial tasks, he says.

But with Trump's lurch towards Russia, there is far more at stake than just money.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come, confusion over cancelled government contracts puts life-saving aid at risk of being destroyed. We'll show you why the contents of these boxes is vital to the lives of thousands of starving children.

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[03:45:00]

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CHURCH: A top official at USAID has been put on leave after sending out a scathing 20-page memo claiming the Trump administration is keeping the government from doing life-saving work.

CNN obtained a copy of the memo written by Nicholas Unrich, acting administrator for Global Health. He accused appointees of knowingly placing obstacles in the group's way, preventing work like an emergency outbreak response to the Ebola virus in Uganda.

Unrich says the White House's actions will no doubt result in preventable death, destabilization and threats to national security on a massive scale. More than 90 percent of USAID's foreign assistance awards were terminated. That includes aid like this sent to Uganda and when it's gone, it's unclear when a new shipment would come next.

Aid just like that is also at risk of going to waste as it sits in warehouses awaiting shipment around the world. Anderson Cooper has more on how a U.S. government contractor was almost forced to get rid of a life-saving nutritional supplement.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, "ANDERSON COOPER 360" ANCHOR (voice-over): Last week, 400,000 boxes of a life-saving food product for severely malnourished kids were ready to be shipped out from Mana Nutrition's warehouse in Georgia.

MARK MOORE, CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, MANA NUTRITION: They're headed to South Sudan, to Nigeria. This one is headed to Democratic Republic of Congo. They're headed all over Africa.

The boxes in this warehouse alone could potentially save the lives of 400,000 children.

COOPER (voice-over): But on Wednesday, Mark Moore, Mana's CEO and co- founder, was told by email that his contracts with USAID were cancelled.

MOORE: And they just said these contracts are cancelled for convenience, which means the U.S. government has decided they're done.

COOPER (voice-over): The boxes are filled with packets of what's called ready-to-use therapeutic food, RUTF for short.

It's made with peanut butter, powdered milk, sugar and vitamins. It's easy to store, easy to use and revolutionary. It can bring severely malnourished kids back from the brink of death.

I first learned about this life-saving product 20 years ago, while reporting on a hunger crisis in Niger. Back then, it was made by just one French company who called their version Plumpy Nut. I did a story about it in 2007 for CBS' "60 Minutes."

She's already lost four children to malnutrition. Now her six-month- old twins, Hassana and Husseina, are malnourished, and she's worried they might die too. So she's been coming here for Plumpy Nut.

COOPER: Hassana's six months old but weighs seven pounds. That's really what a newborn should weigh.

DR. SUSAN SHEPHERD, THEN-DIRECTOR, DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS NIGER: Right. In the past week, since she started Plumpy Nut, she's gained a pound. So she's gained 15 percent.

COOPER: That's amazing.

COOPER (voice-over): While she waited, Sahiya asked me to hold one of her twins. But little Husseina didn't seem to think that was such a good idea.

[03:50:03]

Children are weighed and measured at the distribution sites. They're also examined to make sure they don't have any serious infections.

Malnutrition destroys a child's immune system, so they're more susceptible to diseases and less capable of recovering from them.

DR. MILTON TECTONIDIS, DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: Often these kids aren't even hungry. It's the opposite. They are anorexic because of the deficiencies they have.

They don't eat. They lose their appetite.

COOPER (voice-over): That's what happened to Mansoor Miku and Marufi Mazu. Less than a year old, they'd stopped eating and become listless and weak, so weak that when their mothers brought them to get Plumpy Nut, the nurse put them in a van and sent them straight to the hospital.

Three days later, however, they were smacking their lips on Plumpy Nut, almost ready to go home.

COOPER: Have you seen kids who were on the brink of death brought back by Plumpy Nut?

TECTONIDIS: Oh yes, for sure. Again and again and again and again.

COOPER (voice-over): But not always. Sometimes parents wait too long before bringing their child to doctors. We found Rashida Mamadou in intensive care, barely clinging to life.

SHEPHERD: Her eyes are open and she's responding with little cries to touch, but she's not awake, which is just another sign that her heart is not able to pump enough blood.

COOPER: And what's that on her skin?

SHEPHERD: Malnourished children often have skin lesions.

COOPER: So her skin is literally peeling away?

SHEPHERD: That's one of the consequences of malnutrition.

COOPER: How serious is she? I mean, how serious is her condition?

SHEPHERD: Very.

COOPER (voice-over): Just two hours later, Rashida's little heart stopped beating. She was just 19 months old.

SHEPHERD: She died of severe acute malnutrition.

COOPER: And you see that every day?

SHEPHERD: Every day.

COOPER (voice-over): Mana Nutrition began making their version of it in 2010. Every ingredient Mana uses comes from American farms and companies. With 130 workers, they're one of the biggest employers in this very Republican county, which Donald Trump won in each of the last three elections.

MOORE: Presently, about 95 percent of our business is USAID. So it's basically all of it.

COOPER (voice-over): Because the boxes are required to have USAID from the American people printed on them, legally they can't be used for anything else, meaning the 60 million individual packets of life- saving food in this warehouse would go to waste.

MOORE: 400,000 boxes would just sit here or, you know, God forbid, be destroyed.

The idea that we're not going to feed kids who are dying just, to me, seems so un-American that I guess I'm in disbelief that it will happen.

COOPER (voice-over): Mark Moore talked with CNN's M.J. Lee last Wednesday, and her reporting got the attention of Elon Musk, who posted this on X yesterday at 12:26 a.m. "We will investigate whether this is real or not and fix it if it is."

Late last night, Moore received another email from USAID. It said, "please resume your normal work duties." For now, it seems their contract has been reinstated.

But it turns out the shipping company Mana Nutrition uses has not had their contract reinstated by USAID. So for now, all that life-saving food is still sitting in a warehouse in Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: It remains unclear who cancelled Mana's government contract and why. It's also unclear why the contract was reinstated and who made that decision. CNN has reached out to the U.S. State Department, which now oversees USAID and has yet to hear back.

And we'll be right back.

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[03:55:00]

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CHURCH: A rare hand-painted artwork by street artist Banksy is heading to auction today and could fetch more than $6 million. This 2005 reimagining of a painting by late Scottish artist Jack Ventriano is named Crude Oil. It shows workers in hazmat suits trying to remove toxic waste from a beach.

Its owner Mark Hopus, who is co-founder of the band Blink 182, says part of the proceeds from the sale will go to the California Wildfire Foundation and medical charities.

James Harrison, an Australian blood donor whose plasma contained a rare antibody known as anti-D, has died at 88. Remarkably, Harrison is credited with saving the lives of more than 2 million babies by donating blood more than 1,100 times. Known as the man with the golden arm, he began giving blood at age 18 after receiving multiple transfusions himself following lung surgery years earlier.

He expressed hope that there would be someone to carry on his good work.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

JAMES HARISSON, AUSTRALIAN BLOOD DONOR: Maybe it was my ego and I got up to about 800 and I said, oh, well, I'll go for a thousand. And then I got to a thousand. I said, well, I might as well keep going, it doesn't hurt.

It is good to know that my anti-D is doing the right thing and making a lot of mothers and a lot of fathers very happy. So let's hope the next person in the line steps up and breaks my record. That would be great.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

CHURCH: Starting at 18, Harrison had donated blood every two weeks until he was 81 years old. An inspiration.

I want to thank you for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day.

"Inside Africa" is coming up next, then stay tuned for more "CNN Newsroom" with Rahel Solomon starting at 5 a.m. in New York and 10 a.m. in London.

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