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Canada, Mexico Fire Back At U.S. As Trade War Erupts; China Targets U.S. Farm Products With Retaliatory Tariffs; U.S. Stocks Tumble As Investors Fear Trade War; Trump Pauses Military Aid To Ukraine After Zelenskyy Clash; Zelenskyy Says He Is Ready To Negotiate Peace, Calls Heated Meeting With Trump "Regrettable"; Trump's Congressional Speech. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired March 04, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:44]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster.

U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war escalating, with neighbors Canada and Mexico firing back at the United States after they were hit with new tariffs that took effect today.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau strongly condemning Mr. Trump's move, referring to a recent "Wall Street Journal" opinion piece that called the decision to levy tariffs on longtime U.S. allies "dumb".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN TRUADEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Now we should be working together to ensure even greater prosperity for North Americans in a very uncertain and challenging world. Now, it's not in my habit to agree with "The Wall Street Journal", but, Donald, they point out that even though you're a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: A short time ago, Mr. Trump, who also doubled tariffs on Chinese imports, responded to Trudeau by threatening to increase reciprocal tariffs on Canada, another increase that would be.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says her country has no choice but to retaliate against the move by the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We have therefore decided to respond with tariff and non-tariff measures, which I shall announce publicly next Sunday. It is in no way our purpose to initiate an economic or commercial confrontation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Are raising concerns, of course, about a global trade war. U.S. stocks really articulating that with a sharp downward trend today. Up slightly, but still down half of 1 percent. More now from CNN's Juan Carlos Lopez in Atlanta. First, to Paula

Newton in Ottawa.

I mean, we don't normally hear language like that from Justin Trudeau. He's a bit more measured usually, but I'm interested in this response to that from Donald Trump. He's talking about increasing tariffs by another 25 percent. I mean, just explain what's happened there.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what's happening is escalation. Donald Trump had said this really for weeks that when Canada or Mexico or anyone else retaliated, that equally he would retaliate against them. Max, that's why we call it war. And when Justin Trudeau and you were right to point out that is strident, certainly in his blunt, as I have ever heard him when he said that the United States has initiated a trade war with Canada, that is what he means, that there will be volleys back and forth, and its that escalation that everyone is trying to figure out how it is going to roll out.

The way its going to roll out right now is a devastating blow to the Canadian economy, Max. I mean, the predictions are for hundreds of thousands of layoffs. You're talking about definitely a recession. We don't know the magnitude yet.

The industries here really are shaken because so much of Canada's economy depends on exports to the United States. Why? Because there is a trade agreement that Donald Trump now, the one that he negotiated in 2020, refuses to respect.

I do have to say, though, Max, that the message from all Canadian politicians, especially Justin Trudeau, has been that look, this will also hurt American consumers. The prediction from the likes of the CEOs from Best Buy and Target saying, this is going to happen in a matter of days. Analysts in the energy sector saying that gas prices in the northeast could jump 20 cents to 40 cents a gallon in the next few weeks. Donald Trump is betting that Americans can shrug that off.

And why he really does want Canada to buckle economically, which is why in that post, Max, he continues to call Trudeau governor. He definitely believes that Canada would be better off inside the United States. And that is what Canada finds so threatening.

FOSTER: Yeah, we really heard that today.

Juan Carlos, so now, you know, the ball goes over to Mexico's court how the president there is going to respond. She's now seen how Trump responded to Canada. She'll probably be weighing that up, too.

JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN ON ESPANOL U.S. POLITICAL DIRECTOR & ANCHOR: She -- her first statement this morning. She has a daily press conference in the morning. And she called the statement made by the White House announcing the tariffs offensive and the response will wait until Sunday.

[15:05:06] But obviously, these are three very close trading partners. The U.S., Mexico and Canada are so tied that anything that happens on either side of the border is going to have an impact. It's going to have an impact in agriculture in the U.S. It's going to have an impact. And there's already predictions that Mexico is going to go through a recession, and that's going to make conditions worse if we talk about migration.

And there's one important aspect, President Trump insists that this is because of the flow of fentanyl. It's less than 1 percent of fentanyl that is confiscated coming in from Canada, but going in from the U.S., it's mostly from Mexico into the U.S. its fentanyl going through the ports of entry.

So, one of the things we have not heard President Trump or his government say is any type of effort to fight the consumption in the U.S. of these drugs, but here we are. We are already on the day of his address to Congress. No coincidence that the tariffs are in place and that this trade war started.

FOSTER: Paula, Juan Carlos, thank you very much indeed.

Certainly, the trade war going global. China responding to new U.S. tariffs with tariffs of its own. It's a retaliation.

CNN's Marc Stewart reports from Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These latest tariffs are not just symbolic. They also pack a lot of substance in the sense that they target Americans who work in farming, who work in agriculture and food production. So if we break things down, starting on March 10th, China will impose a 15 percent tariff on chicken, wheat and corn, along with cotton from the United States and a 10 percent tax on products including beef, fruits, vegetables, dairy and soybeans. Soybeans are significant as they're used to help feed Chinas pig farms. Pork is an important commodity in the Chinese economy.

In addition, were hearing some strong language from Chinas ministry of foreign affairs. Let's listen to a spokesperson.

LIN JIAN, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON (through translator): 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. until the end. We advise the U.S. to put away its bullying face and return to the right track of dialogue and cooperation before it is too late.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Our Marc Stewart reporting there.

U.S. stocks, take another look at them because they have been tanking after President Trump made good on that promise to impose major tariffs on America's closest trading partners. A lot of investors hoping he wouldn't go through with it. That's where the Dow is now. And in Europe, that was the Walmart really. Stocks in Frankfurt and

Milan were down more than 3 percent as well. The reason for that, there haven't been tariffs placed on Europe, but there probably will be if you listen to what Trump said he's going to do next.

CNN business and politics correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich joins me now.

Vanessa, we heard Paula there talking about this is now war because were seeing this retaliation. That's exactly what investors were fearing.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. This is really morphing into a global trade war. And you're seeing that reflected in those markets that you just showed just at a glance here. You're seeing the Nasdaq recovering a little bit here in the U.S. but the Dow and S&P remaining down in the red for much of the last 24 hours.

Investors here are digesting the fact that U.S. consumers are going to have to pay higher prices, and thus they're going to pull back on spending. And that leaves a very bleak business outlook.

Here in the U.S., we heard from target CEO who said that U.S. consumers are going to feel the impacts of this trade war in the next few days, and that is because they import a lot of fruits and vegetables from Canada and Mexico. These are perishable items that have to come in regularly. So U.S. consumers are going to be feeling that impact right away.

Also, it's worth noting that for U.S. consumers, they are right now not feeling good about the economy, anyways. In February, we got consumer sentiment, consumer confidence numbers, which showed that Americans were souring on the economy because inflation heated up in January and the looming tariffs.

Now, we know a little bit what they're going to look like. But this could just be the beginning. And you see the market there still very much in the red as investors recovering a little bit but still really feeling nervous about what this is all going to look like.

Worth noting, though, that for the American consumer, car prices are going to go up. Food prices are going to go up. Energy prices could go up.

To -- to produce a car alone, Max, the estimate is that prices will go up between $3,500 and $12,000. That's because with our trading partners, Canada and Mexico, parts for us, cars go back and forth across the border multiple times, so that will show up in the price you pay for cars.

And by one estimate, putting this all together, American families can expect to spend about $1,200 more per year just because of these higher prices. And that's just at a baseline where we are right now. But as you mentioned, we could see reciprocal tariffs on other countries. They could reciprocate against us. This is really a trade war that is showing no signs of slowing down.

Interesting to hear from President Trump tonight about how he justifies all this and the rising prices for consumers when he made a promise on day one to lower prices, Max.

FOSTER: Yeah. It's extraordinary. Vanessa, thank you so much.

Donald Trump also promising an order on pausing military aid to Ukraine. That was a few hours ago. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy now offering an olive branch. On social media, Mr. Zelenskyy describes the Oval Office meeting as regrettable.

A Ukrainian official tells CNN the country's stock of critical artillery shells could run out by May or June.

Our chief international security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh reports now from Kyiv.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, as Ukraine is still reeling from the seismic shock of President Trump, saying he is pausing U.S. aid to Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has done his best. It seems to try and edge towards satisfying the pretty strident demands from Trump's inner circle for him, making amends after the scenes in the Oval Office on Friday.

In a social media posting, Zelenskyy has said that it is regrettable how the incident went down in the oval office. It's regrettable that it happened this way. He also says that it's time to make things right, that potentially answers one of Trump's inner circle demands that potentially we see a public apology that may meet the wording, perhaps.

He also answers another explicit demand of President Trump that he commit to peace. He doesn't exactly say what peace he would commit to, and it wasn't really clear what peace Trump would like him to commit to. But he does say that Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table and that Ukraine above everyone wants peace.

In fact, he goes a little further and indeed begins to spell out parts of a framework for what the opening elements of a peace deal might indeed look like. And he repeats a suggestion we've heard from the Ukrainian presidency in the past few days, that perhaps there could be a more wide ranging exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and Russia. And then he also echoes a suggestion from France's President Emmanuel Macron, that we heard in the "Figaro" newspaper late on Sunday that there could potentially be a partial ceasefire involving the sea, long range strikes in the air and also attacks that both sides are doing on each others energy infrastructure, essentially confidence building measures that could then maybe, if successful, lead to a wider ranging deal.

It is unclear if this post on X.com will be enough to make those around Trump and the president himself feel that Zelenskyy is a committed to peace, and also is apologizing for an oval office meeting that, frankly, most Ukrainians were appalled to watch as they considered that their wartime leader being bullied by two of the most powerful men in the land.

But it is a bid, I think, certainly after the pausing of U.S. aid, which is having already probably quite a bad impact on Ukrainian morale, to try and make things right. This puts the ball potentially back in Trump's court, whether he considers this indeed to have been enough. We are hearing from Ukrainian officials that the pause in aid will potentially, in weeks, impact the Patriot air defense missiles they so urgently need to tackle Russian ballistic missile threats, and that by May, potentially there could be a critical stoppage or shortage of artillery ammunition that Ukraine so vitally needs.

But no doubt there is a crisis here, and that may be one that has fomented this response from Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Is it enough to get him back in talking terms, even forget the good graces with the Trump administration? We'll see potentially in the hours ahead.

But it's a remarkable whiplash seesaw here of emotions for Ukrainians upon whose the outcome of this really their lives do indeed depend.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: U.S. asset manager Blackrock is set to buy two major ports on the Panama Canal, Balboa and Cristobal, sit at either end of the waterway and are currently owned by a Hong Kong-based company. They've been the subject of major tension between Panama and the Trump administration, with Trump repeatedly saying he plans to take back the canal and incorrectly accused China of running the waterway.

Still to come, President Donald Trump will address the U.S. Congress in just a few hours. We'll have a preview of what to expect if we can predict it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:49]

FOSTER: President Trump set to give his first speech to Congress tonight since his reelection. The president expected to tout his domestic and foreign policies during a speech, most likely that will include his recent tariffs on Mexico and Canada, along with the Trump administrations decision to halt aid to Ukraine after last weeks visit by President Zelenskyy.

Joining us now from the White House is Kevin Liptak, who always has that very difficult job of predicting what the president might say.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah. Yeah, there is always kind of a gulf between how Trump's speeches are described and how they are actually delivered in the end. So we will have to see exactly what comes out of the president's mouth tonight when he returns to the House chamber for the first time in four years, and delivers this equivalent of a State of the Union. Obviously, the economic turmoil that's been caused by some of these

tariffs is the backdrop against which the president will speak tonight. And certainly in talking to Republicans, they do want him to sort of provide a cogent explanation for what exactly he's doing with these tariffs, how he wants to use these tariffs to influence the behavior of Canada and Mexico.

But I think the issue that a lot of Republicans have is that it runs counter to the issue that they're hearing most about from their constituents, which is higher prices, which is inflation. You know, you haven't actually heard the president talk much about his plan to combat higher prices. And I think in their view, that would be the best use of his time when he is addressing the American people, his largest television audience since he was sworn in about six weeks ago. And so that's one thing.

The other thing that I think you will expect to hear from the president, at least, is talking about the sort of slash and burn effort that he's been executing in the federal government, reducing the staffing, gutting entire agencies. This has been kind of the dominant theme of his entire presidency so far. And you've already started to see some skepticism creeping into the polls about what this all means for the American people, what it means for their pocketbooks. Certainly, you've seen a number of Republicans facing a lot of heat from their constituents in town halls who are worried about government services sort of going away if this is to continue.

And I think, according to the president's advisers, at least, this is something that he hopes to provide a more fulsome explanation of when he speaks tonight.

The other issue is obviously foreign policy and Ukraine. These speeches almost always are. The bulk of them is the domestic issues. But foreign policy and Ukraine. These speeches almost always are. The bulk of them is the domestic issues. But foreign policy has just been so dominant for the president over the last week.

In particular, the issue of Ukraine, that fracas in the Oval Office on Friday, the decision to pause American arms to Ukraine. So this will be important for the president to talk about one issue that I'm looking for is whether he makes mention of this minerals deal. He said yesterday that his original plan had been to tout this deal from the House chamber during this speech.

Obviously, Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed some openness this morning to signing that deal, essentially saying he was ready to sign it wherever and whenever. So what we hear from the president tonight on that front, I think will be very notable.

FOSTER: Okay, Kevin, thank you so much.

Let's bring in CNN's Stephen Collinson as well, because you've been trying to make sense of this, too.

I think one, you know, coming from an international point of view, looking in on America, we heard a lot about America first, but we're actually seeing what that means at the moment. And it's having huge impact around the world.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: That's right. What I'm interested to see today is whether this is a state of the MAGA address, the make America great again movement, or a state of a union that tries to send explanations for the president's policies, not just throughout the United States, but around the world.

Why, for example, is Trump basically trying to tear up the international global system? That has been a very useful tool for the United States and has helped make it the most prosperous and powerful nation in the world for decades. I think a lot of people abroad are hoping to hear that.

Often, presidents have multiple audiences. They speak to their own supporters, they speak to wavering Americans. They speak to foreign leaders. They speak to foreign populations all at the same time. I think the chances of that happening with Trump are somewhat small, because he is trying to enact his own personal agenda, as you say, America first. And I think that is going to be the primary message. And I think anyone looking for an explanation about why, for example, he's favoring Vladimir Putin over the country that Vladimir Putin invaded, other than Trump, creating this very nebulous notion that he's trying to push for peace in Ukraine is probably going to be disappointed.

FOSTER: We're hearing earlier from Vanessa how one of his big promises was to bring prices down. We're seeing these tariffs take effect. They could escalate very quickly with Canada, from what we can tell.

I mean, by definition that's an increase in prices. How -- you know, if we're talking -- if he's talking to an American audience, he's talking about America first. The thing they care about most at the moment is probably groceries, for example. And prices are going to go up. How is he going to speak to that, do you think?

COLLINSON: That's right. I think the -- one of core, Trump's core goals throughout his entire political career, and even through his business career, has been a desire to try and get to a position where he can enact tariffs. He believes that tariffs are a golden weapon, if you like, for a president that hasn't been used before. He doesn't see this as a device that will increase prices for Americans. He sees it as punishing other nations.

He has a very, uh, narrow calculus of the world as winners and losers. Recently, he actually said that America's allies treat the country worse than its enemies. And I think that helps explain a lot why he's gone after one of Canada -- one of America's best friends in Canada.

The problem with this, this policy, which is designed to bring back manufacturing to the United States, to recreate the jobs that many of Trump's supporters in the in the Rust Belt in the Midwest, they lost because of globalization. So there's a rationale for it. The problem is that the method that he's trying to use to bring back those jobs is going to increase prices for blue collar workers and everybody else, and it's going to cause a great deal of discontent. So there's a real conflict, I think, at the center of Trump's economic

policy. In many ways, this is a contest between Trump's political heart, which is in favor of tariffs and punitive measures and coercion, and his political head as he watches the stock market crash over the last two days. You have to wonder, is the president willing to pay the political price for his policies, and is he willing to inflict that price on some of his most loyal voters?

FOSTER: We've talked before about how, you know, one of his negotiation strategies is to cause chaos effectively, to ask for everything. And then, you know, he breaks it down a very commercial point of view. It's worked effectively in politics, you could argue.

[15:25:03]

But this isn't something that Wall Street copes very well with at all, is it? The last thing investors like is chaos. It instills fear.

What happens if the market does take a bigger tumble? If this, you know, this trade war does go global?

COLLINSON: I think the market hates, as you say, instability and volatility and unpredictability. That is exactly what Trump believes the world and the United States needs. So this is a very risky policy. I would argue that the tariffs are the biggest gamble that he has so far made, because he's playing not just with his personal political popularity, but the livelihoods of many Americans.

So I think there's pressure on the president tonight to tell a story, to try to explain how the tariffs, how turning his back on America's longest serving friends and allies, how that gets to the point of the golden age, which he promised in his inaugural address.

You know, the U.S. economy is weakening. There's slowing consumer demand, slowing consumer confidence, predictions that growth is really diminishing by the week. It can really not afford another hike of inflation and slowing growth, stagflation.

That is what Trump could be looking at if these tariffs cause, you know, the economic pain that a lot of analysts expect. So I think this is a different address even than it would have been two weeks ago. Things have changed so quickly. You had a president then that was riding high on a wave of shock and awe. Now I think he needs to explain himself and perhaps hedge against a bit of future political vulnerability.

FOSTER: Stephen, thank you so much.

We saw there the Dow bouncing back a bit, at least today, perhaps some profit taking, but certainly huge negative sentiment.

Stephen telling us there we'll be sure to bring you Donald Trump's address in full, find out what he says. As we were hearing from Kevin, pretty difficult to predict. Coverage begins in less than five hours from now.

Immediately after his address, we'll also bring you Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan as she delivers her party's rebuttal.

Still to come, Ukraine's president says he's ready to negotiate a peace deal. But the question remains whether he'll get an invite back to the oval office. Details ahead on Donald Trump's suspension of military aid.

Plus, when it comes to the back and forth between opposing lawmakers, it rarely gets to this. See what happened in Serbia and what it was all about.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:31:02]

FOSTER: Returning to what could be one of the most damaging moves the Trump administration can make to Ukraine's war effort. President Trump has paused military aid to Ukraine, marking a sharp realignment of U.S. foreign policy.

Meanwhile, the E.U. has unveiled a plan to allow members to borrow about $158 billion to boost their defense spending and, quote, massively step up their military support for Kyiv.

CNN's Clare Sebastian takes a closer look now at the role that U.S. weapons have played in Ukraine's war effort, and whether Kyiv and Europe can make up that shortfall.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A U.S. long range missile in action in Ukraine, just one of the highly sophisticated U.S. weapons arguably keeping Ukraine in this fight now in doubt. Well, it's clear that the U.S. has become an indispensable player in Ukraine's defense. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy estimated in January that the U.S. alone provides about 40 percent. You can see it there on the red section of Ukraine's annual weapons requirements. Europe takes about 30 percent.

But Ukraine has also ramped up production up here in orange, ready to supply. The president says around a third of its own needs. Well, that's compared to 10 percent, Zelenskyy says at the start of the war. So you can see the growth there.

If you take a look at this chart, you can see Ukraine has had to grapple with unpredictable U.S. supplies before. This shows total donations from the U.S. versus Europe. The U.S. there in red. It's compiled by the Kiel Institute for the world economy.

And it's clear that the U.S. started to lag significantly in the second half of 2023. That was when military aid stalled in Congress. It then picked up again towards the end of 2024, as the Biden administration rushed to use up all of the congressionally approved funds.

This is not just about quantity. It's clear that its the high tech U.S. weapons that have given Ukraine really the ability to fight back from the HIMARS missiles launchers that started arriving in June of 2022, allowing Ukraine to hit behind Russian lines, to then the Patriot air defense systems approved in December of that year. Still, Ukraine says the only system that can stop Russian ballistic missiles, this now the biggest area of concern for Ukraine as Russia ramps up air attacks.

And then, of course, the ATACMS long range missiles first used in October of 2023 and last November, authorized by the Biden administration for use on Russian soil. Now, if we look at the front line map, you can see where we are now. Shortages won't be immediate, but without a deal to reverse this decision, this already fragile front line could be in serious jeopardy.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Let's explore exactly how that will work with military analyst and retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton.

Just briefly, before we get into the details, Cedric, when this was announced, this pause, what went through your mind?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, Max, I was very disappointed. I think this was one of the most important changes that has been made in U.S. foreign policy in decades. And I think it's a change for the worse. It is, you know, very much at odds with the U.S.'s and NATO's strategic interests. And it was a great disappointment to -- to hear that the aid had been curtailed.

FOSTER: We should explain how complex and how integrated U.S. defense is in Europe, because when we talk about weapons not being sent over, that's a problem. But, there's a lot of the European systems that are also rely on American parts, so they'll stop working as well.

Just explain to us how quickly things could falter on the front line.

LEIGHTON: It really depends on which specific weapon system you're talking about. But when it comes to artillery shells, for example, Max, as Claire pointed out in her reporting, it's pretty clear that it could be as early as May that well start to see shortfalls in -- in that.

[15:35:02]

Now, there are other elements where we have, you know, various components, U.S. components going to companies like BAE Systems or TELUS or perhaps SAAB in Sweden. Those components could be delayed. And that could mean that a year from now, we will see perturbations throughout the delivery system, the logistics system, to Ukraine.

So that would mean that the after effects of this pause in U.S. aid could be felt of not only for the next few months, but also for a year or two after that.

FOSTER: How easy would it be for European countries and companies to fill that gap?

LEIGHTON: So, Max, the -- there are certainly capabilities that European industrial companies have in their defense industrial base is one that has definitely been on the upswing in terms of the types of production, the types of weapons that are being produced and the amount that is being produced. But, they are nowhere near the capacity that the U.S. currently has in its defense industrial base.

So what that means is that there will probably be a lag of somewhere between 30 to 40 percent of Ukraine's needs might go unfulfilled as a result of this, basically termination or temporary halt of -- of weapons systems into Ukraine.

FOSTER: And this is when Ukraine was already complaining that it didn't have what it needed to even hold the front lines. So, I mean, any military leader on the Russian side would say this is a huge opportunity. Do you expect them to use it?

LEIGHTON: I think they will. They will try to. At least now the Russian military has had some significant problems in terms of being able to marshal enough strength to attack specific areas along the front lines. They have not been able to dislodge the Ukrainians completely from Kursk, the Russian territory that Ukraine has occupied partially. And also they have had trouble taking the area around Pokrovsk, which is in the southeastern part of Ukraine, kind of at the confluence of the eastern and the southern fronts there.

So one of the key aspects of this is that while the Russians will certainly try to prosecute the advantage, they will have to use mass and the equipment that they have on hand right now in order to do that. And it's questionable whether or not they have the logistical wherewithal to make that happen.

One of the things that has happened recently is that the Ukrainians have been successful in using electronic warfare against the Russians, and that has enabled them to keep Pokrovsk so far in Ukrainian hands. That is just one example of what the Ukrainians have been able to do.

FOSTER: Yeah, they've been using the drones pretty effectively, haven't they? But in terms of the bigger picture, if we step back for a moment, what we've seen here is a massive split in NATO. It's going in two different directions, isn't it? Which is, you know, arguably a triumph for Russia already. They wanted to see that split, but just place this into history for us. And what it means.

LEIGHTON: Yeah. So this is a very important aspect and a great point that you're making, Max, because the North Atlantic alliance has basically been around since the late 1940s, and it is an outgrowth of World War II, and it was able to absorb not only the former enemies of world war two, specifically, in Europe's case, Germany and Italy, but also former Warsaw Pact countries after the fall of the Berlin wall and the fall of communism.

So it grew exponentially. And the latest addition under the Biden administration of Sweden and Finland to the NATO alliance has made a significant difference. Now, all of that is being called into question. But what Europe is trying to do, along with Canada, is trying to salvage what it can of the North Atlantic alliance. And in one way or another, either with the U.S. or without the U.S., it will probably continue to exist in one form that it can serve as a bit of a bulwark against Russian advancements. At least that's the intention. Whether or not they can pull it off, of course, is going to be another question.

FOSTER: Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton, as ever, appreciate your deep insight into these issues.

We're going to get to the Middle East now. "The Associated Press" reporting that Arab leaders have endorsed Egypt's post-war plan for Gaza. The plan would allow Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians to remain in a counterproposal to U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to depopulate the territory and redevelop it. A draft of the plan, seen by CNN, would exclude Hamas from a post-war government in the enclave and allow for an interim Palestinian committee to rule Gaza for six months.

[15:40:00]

This as a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is suggesting Israel may cut Gaza's water and electricity supply. It comes after Israel's decision to block humanitarian aid to Gaza, unless Hamas agrees to extend the first phase of the ceasefire deal.

Pope Francis is in stable condition after episodes of acute respiratory failure. On Monday, the Vatican says the pontiff is alert and cooperative. He'll continue to receive high flow oxygen mask therapy to help make his breathing easier and sleep better. For the third week in a row, the 88-year-old pontiff did not lead the prayer on Sunday and will not lead the Ash Wednesday service either, marking the end of lent.

Now, chaos erupting in Serbia's parliament today.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

FOSTER: Opposition lawmakers threw smoke grenades, as you can see, and tear gas inside the chamber to protest against the government and in support of the students demonstrating against President Alexander Vucic. Now the parliament was looking to confirm the resignation of the president after he promised to step down in January. There are reports at least three members of the ruling Serbian progressive party were injured in those extraordinary scenes.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Parts of the U.S. preparing for severe weather that could affect 55 million people across the central and southern parts of the country. For Tuesday, the risk for severe storms climbed, bringing the chance of blizzards, tornadoes, hurricanes, gusty winds and even fires as possible dangers.

In Texas, the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area saw severe thunderstorms with wind gusts up to over 85 miles per hour.

Let's bring in our meteorologist -- meteorologist Derek Van Dam, who joins us from the weather center in Atlanta trying to keep up with all of these movements.

[15:45:02]

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, it is very busy, very active across the southern parts of the U.S. and those hurricane force gusts you're talking about, Max, actually helped bring this destruction.

You see behind me here in Lewisville, Texas, this is a suburb of the Dallas-Fort Worth region. Millions of people call this area home, and they saw hurricane force gusts through the course of the day. And that same line of thunderstorms is marching eastward, and it's got its eyes set on other areas of the Gulf Coast, including New Orleans.

Considering today is Fat Tuesday, part of the Mardi Gras celebrations, we need to watch this very closely because there are currently thousands of people outdoors lining the streets in New Orleans, and there is severe weather just to the west of the city.

So this is something were keeping a very close eye on. Storm Prediction Center is as well. This hatched area from Jackson, Mississippi, southward to the Gulf Coast, including Baton Rouge, has the highest likelihood over the next few hours to see these EF2 tornadoes. We talk about that scale. It goes up to EF5.

That brings the potential for winds in excess of 111 miles per hour. So here's the current line, and embedded within this line is often these spin up tornadoes that can form rather quickly. So the worst weather in New Orleans could be between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. local time tonight. As the system marches eastward, it will bring a round of stronger storms to Atlanta. And then we start to reorganize the severe weather threat across the east coast.

The last thing that these parts of the country need, considering that Appalachia has just gone through a series of fires, as well as Hurricane Helene from last September.

So multi-day severe weather setup unfolding across much of the southern parts of the U.S. It's all thanks to this storm system marching eastward. And check this out, Max. San Antonio right now, a suburb there trying to control a wildfire that is out of control as we speak.

Back to you.

FOSTER: Yeah. It's extraordinary, Derek, thank you so much.

Now, Meghan Markle back on Netflix. Will her latest show be a ratings smash for the Duchess of Sussex?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Now, if you've been craving more content from Meghan Markle, today is your lucky day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEGHAN MARKLE, DUCHESSS OF SUSSEX: Let's go.

I've always loved taking something pretty ordinary and elevating it.

Surprising people with moments that let them know I was really thinking of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: "With Love, Meghan" is the new lifestyle series from the duchess of Sussex, which went live on Netflix on Tuesday as part of the multi-year deal she signed with Netflix alongside her husband, Prince Harry, way back in 2020. She also has a podcast deal with Lemonada Media after a previous deal with Spotify was terminated early.

Elise Shafer is the London news editor for "Variety". She's watched the whole series.

ELISE SHAFER, NEWS EDITOR, VARIETY: I did. I woke up early this morning and I watched all eight episodes.

FOSTER: Did you like this genre? You watch food shows?

SHAFER: I do, I do, I'd say I like it a lot. Yeah.

FOSTER: Yeah.

And how does it fit in? How does it stack up?

SHAFER: I think, you know, I think it's the first time we're seeing her really make this mark in this in this lifestyle space. And I think it's a natural place for her to fit into. You know, she has this gorgeous home in Montecito. She has a lovely garden.

It did feel very Martha Stewart, but I think, you know, it might not be what -- what everybody wants to see from her.

FOSTER: Did you learn anything from it? Were there useful tips or were you just fascinated by her?

SHAFER: I would say there were some useful tips. She shared a delicious spaghetti recipe. But there were some that don't necessarily apply to my life.

You know, I don't own a home. I don't have a family yet, so I'm not going to be making a balloon arch for my kids' birthday anytime soon.

FOSTER: She says it's not about perfection, doesn't she, in the show. And that's an issue. Some people have come up with some of the commentators in America because everything is so perfect in the show.

SHAFER: Absolutely. It is, you know, and I think that's what -- that's what TV is. It's certainly not a reality series. We're not seeing much. We don't -- we don't see Prince Harry until the very end. We don't see her children at all.

So it is definitely very Meghan focused. And you are I think you're getting, you know, the best version of Meghan in this series.

FOSTER: She signed this mega deal with Netflix and she's had other shows. They haven't been flops because people have watched them, but they have been commercial flops considering the amount of money that she's received. So she's trying to find a way through that, isn't she?

Do you think she's getting somewhere? Because a lot of people are confused about, you know, who she wants to be, what she represents?

SHAFER: Yeah. I think this is an inflection point in her career. It's kind of the most decisive move we've seen her make since stepping down. And she used it to -- to launch a new brand as ever. She launched products to preorder today along with the show, so I think she's using it to go somewhere, whether that's staying within entertainment. That's the question I think, you know, we need to ask now. Maybe she'll make kind of a more of a pivot into the business side of things.

FOSTER: Yeah. And in terms of Harry, how does he fit into this? As you say, it was just a quick appearance, wasn't it? But she is fundamental to his brand -- to her brand because she is a brand.

SHAFER: Yeah. I mean, she talks about him a little bit throughout the series. She mentions him as H. We get to know some sort of fun, fun things, like he oversalt his food. But yeah, in terms of appearing, you know, it seemed when she announced this that he might be a guest, but he really just is in there for the -- the last five minutes of the show and says about five words and congratulates her.

So I think, I think the strategy was really for this to be about her.

FOSTER: And did you get lost in it? You know, that's the sign, isn't it, where you just watch? I mean, you were watching it for work.

SHAFER: Uh-huh.

FOSTER: But what have you would you ended up binge watching it. Do you think if you turned it on?

SHAFER: You know, I can't say definitely that I would. You know, I think there are -- the Mindy Kaling episode is super fun. There's some really fun moments in it. But, you know, its not something that I think I would have watched all in one day.

I think it's fun, counter-programming um, to, you know, if you're watching the new "White Lotus" and you want something a little lighter or something to put on as maybe you're making dinner or you're winding down. But no, it's not something that -- that you binge watch.

FOSTER: What's the house like? SHAFER: It's gorgeous. I mean, I don't even think she filmed it in

her actual house. I think it's her back house, but it is on her property. And you see this gorgeous mountain view, again, her lovely garden. And. Yeah, I mean, it looks like she's living --

FOSTER: Is it attainable?

SHAFER: I mean, no, no, its not attainable.

FOSTER: You didn't want it to be attainable.

SHAFER: Of course you want to live this fantasy, right? You're living there with her. You're at the table with her. I think it's fun. It's escapist. And there are -- there are things she offers that you can make in your flat in London. But yeah, I mean, we can't all live that life, that's for sure.

FOSTER: To have a small house in London, as she described.

Elise, thank you very much.

SHAFER: The cottage. Thank you.

FOSTER: Now, from Hollywood to Dollywood, it is the end of one of the longest lasting romances in showbiz. Dolly Parton has announced the death of her husband, Carl Dean, who shed been married to for almost 60 years.

In a statement, she said words can't do justice to the love that we shared. And while Dean was a famously private man, he lives on in the in Parton's most memorable songs. Really.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(DOLLY PARTON SINGING "JOLENE))

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:55:05]

FOSTER: Parton has said that Dean was the inspiration for the love triangle at the heart of "Jolene", so there's a legacy for you. Luckily for them, their real life marriage survived, even renewing their vows in 2016 for their 50th anniversary.

Finally, tonight, LeBron James is poised to make NBA history later again. The Lakers star is expected to become basketballs first player ever to reach 50,000 career points. Los Angeles hosts the New Orleans Pelicans, and James needs just one point in that game to hit his historic high point.

I think he's pretty assured of that. That's on top of his milestone from the Lakers win over the L.A. clippers on Monday, when James became just the fourth NBA player to reach 1,000 career wins, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Robert Parish and Tim Duncan. So, in esteemed company, of course, as ever. Thanks for joining me here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster.

"QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" with Richard up next, live from Berlin.