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Trump Threatens New Tariffs On Canada, Including 250 Percent Tax On Dairy; Canadian Businesses Pull U.S. Products In Response To Tariffs; Dept. Of Veterans Affairs Bracing For Steep Cuts; Ukrainian Officials: At Least 23 People Killed In Russian Strikes; Zelenskyy To Meet With Saudi Crown Prince Ahead Of Peace Talks. House Votes To Censure Rep. Al Green For Protest During Trump Speech; Dem Rep. Defends Censure Vote Of Colleague For Outburst At Trump Speech; Jeffries Slams GOP Lawmaker's Push To Strip Dems Of CMTE Assignments; Aired 12-1p ET

Aired March 08, 2025 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: No one told him it would be easy, but they, the Ukrainians, say they have come too far for it to end and surrender now.

That's all we have time for. Don't forget, you can find all of our shows online as podcasts at CNN.com/audio and on all other major platforms.

I'm Christiane Amanpour in London. Thank you for watching and see you again next week.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right, President Donald Trump is now threatening even more tariffs on Canada, capping off a dizzying week at the White House that saw head-spinning reversals on several fronts. Late last night, the president said Canada was cheating with its tariffs on U.S. dairy products.

It comes hours after Trump vowed to impose a 250 percent tariff on Canadian dairy and just days after delaying tariffs on Mexico and Canada for the second time since taking office. The uncertainty doesn't stop there. After a dust-up between Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy last week, the U.S. paused military support and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

But now top White House officials are planning to meet with Ukrainians in Saudi Arabia next week with the hope of creating a framework for peace with Russia. All this amid a new report of growing fractures within the White House.

The New York Times recounts an explosive argument between Elon Musk and two Cabinet members, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. President Trump denies there was a clash.

Let's start with the latest on the tariff threats. CNN's Betsy Klein is in West Palm Beach, Florida near the president's Mar-a-Lago home. Good to see you this morning, Betsy. So what more are you learning about these new tariffs potentially hitting Canada next week?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: That's right, Fredricka. It's been a week of tariff whiplash at the White House, and President Trump really views tariffs as a negotiating tactic. And in this particular case, he wants Mexico and Canada, America's neighbors, to crack down on fentanyl.

So starting on Tuesday, the president imposed those 25 percent tariffs on both Mexico and Canada, and he acknowledged in his address to a joint session of Congress that evening that there may be some disturbances as the markets were really volatile that day, reacting, calling on farmers to bear with him.

Then on Wednesday, the president heard a direct appeal from U.S. automakers Ford, Stellantis, and GM, warning that these tariffs could impact domestic auto manufacturing, and he announced that he would be easing up for one month on auto tariffs.

Then on Thursday, a major turnabout. As the president announced, he was actually going to pause all tariffs on Mexico and Canada for an additional month. That came after he spoke with Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, who informed him that Mexico had actually significantly cracked down on fentanyl, and there had been dramatic reductions of U.S. -- on the U.S. side of the border.

Then on Friday, the president in the Oval Office threatening new tariffs on Canadian dairy and lumber products. He says, this is about fairness. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Canada has been ripping us off for years on tariffs for lumber and for dairy products. 250 percent, nobody ever talks about that, 250 percent tariff, which is taking advantage of our farmers, so that's not going to happen anymore.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

KLEIN: Taken together, this has fueled major uncertainty in the markets and uncertainty and anxiety among businesses, investors, and U.S. consumers together, but mostly a major test for the leaders of Mexico and Canada in the coming days, how they will handle this.

WHITFIELD: All right, Betsy Klein, we'll check back with you. Thank you so much.

So the damage from the tariff tensions between the U.S. and Canada are already being felt. This week, liquor stores across Canada began pulling American beer, wine, and spirits from their shelves, creating economic uncertainty for many distributors. Canada says it imports more than $1 billion worth of U.S. alcohol products each year. The move by Canadian liquor stores prompting this response from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, saying this, quote, "It is extremely disheartening to hear that several Canadian provinces are pulling American spirits products off their store shelves. This misguided retaliation will needlessly reduce revenues for the provinces and hurt Canadian consumers, tourists, and hospitality businesses".

Here with us right now, the President and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, Chris Swonger. Great to see you, Chris.

[12:05:03]

So, President Trump, you know, granted this temporary reprieve on tariffs until April 2nd, but many U.S. wine and spirits are still not being sold in Canadian stores. So what are you hearing from your members about the impact that all of this is having on their businesses?

CHRIS SWONGER, PRESIDENT & CEO, DISTILLED SPIRITS COUNCIL OF THE UNITED STATES: Significant impact, there is no doubt about it. But it's important to note, first and foremost, we recognize and appreciate, you know, the fentanyl epidemic and border security are major issues for the country, and we appreciate and recognize President Trump focused on that.

But our industry is a line of one. The Canadian whiskey industry, the American whiskey industry, we're all working together, encouraging both governments to find common ground. Our industry is really the model for fair and reciprocal trade, and the United States and Canada has enjoyed tariff-free trade, which has prospered for both countries and that greater hospitality industry.

WHITFIELD: So when you hear the president say America is being taken advantage of by Canada, among others, what's your response?

SWONGER: Our industry is an exception of that because our industry has thrived with zero for zero tariffs. To give an example, it's a U.S. and E.U. example. In 1997, the U.S. and the E.U. agreed for zero for zero tariffs for American and E.U. spirits, and our industry thrived as a result of that with 450 percent growth.

The same for here in the United States with our friends in Mexico with tequila, of course, and Canadian whiskey. So, unfortunately, our industry has gotten broiled in this broader dispute, and we're distinctive products. You can only make Canadian whiskey in Canada, of course, and American consumers love Canadian whiskey, and Canadians love American whiskey and American distilled spirits.

So this industry, as we're tied to the agriculture community, obviously, grain-to-glass, bartenders, restaurants, bars and taverns, we're an industry where we're supporting toast, not tariffs. And we'll work with both governments to find common ground, to find an exemption for the distilled spirits industry.

WHITFIELD: You said toast, not tariffs.

SWONGER: Exactly, exactly.

WHITFIELD: OK. My colleague John King spoke with retailers in Canada earlier this weekend. This is what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

DARRYL LAMB, CANADIAN RESIDENT: We've gone through this before with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We were asked to remove all Russian products from our shelves.

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So mad at Trump for what he's saying about Canada that they're saying, get it out of here.

LAMB: No, 100 percent. Absolutely. I'm just worried about this eternal relationship that we've had for 200 years plus being soured for four.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WHITFIELD: So over time, what do you think this is going to do to the relationship between the United States and Canada?

SWONGER: Our industry is a line of one between Canada and the United States. And to our Canadian brothers and sisters and folks within our industry, we're together on this. Certainly, we recognize there is a lot of emotion. There's a lot of emotion in Canada, and we appreciate and recognize that.

But there's -- Canada exports over 500 million plus in Canadian distilled spirits to the United States. The U.S. exports about 220 million to Canada, but it's a smaller population. And there's a great American success story I'd like to be able to tell.

20 years plus ago, there were only 60 distilleries, give or take, in the United States. And today, there's over 3,100 distilleries sprinkled in communities all around the country. And it's a great American success story. Those distilleries want to be able to export to the great market of Canada. And at the same time, there's many distilleries in Canada that obviously want to be able to access the U.S. market as well.

So our industry really should be a void of these tariffs, because we've thrived as a result of it. And we recognize and appreciate President Trump's stance on fair and reciprocal trade, because our industry has thrived across all of our trading partners, where we do great business, create economic vitality, job growth, and all of the above.

WHITFIELD: Those are big, significant numbers.

Chris Swonger, great to see you. Thank you so much.

SWONGER: Thank you. Cheers.

WHITFIELD: Cheers.

SWONGER: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: I was waiting for you to say something about toast again. There it is. Cheers. All right.

[12:10:04]

All right. More whiplash meantime for federal employees. Nothing to cheers or toast about here. The Department of Labor on Friday began reinstating all of its probationary employees who had been previously fired by the Trump administration, according to an email from a local union chapter.

The impacted employees are being told to report to work on Monday. The about face, however, does come after a federal judge this week paused the layoffs, saying the mass firings of the probationary staffers were likely unlawful.

But the shrinking of the federal workforce continues. The Department of Health and Human Services is now offering employees up to $25,000 to voluntarily leave the agency, as well as early retirement for those who are eligible. Workers received emails with the offers on Friday night. They have until 5:00 p.m. on March 14th to decide whether to accept.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is also bracing for steep cuts by the Trump administration that could lead to the termination of more than 70,000 employees. Brian Todd spoke to veterans about their concerns over these planned cuts.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As he searches for the names of his buddies on the wall at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Jack Ferguson, who served as an Army plane mechanic in Vietnam, has other heavy concerns on his mind as well. He worries about the services he could lose at his local Veterans Affairs hospital near Philadelphia due to possible staffing cuts at the V.A. planned by the Trump administration.

JACK FERGUSON, VIETNAM WAR VETERAN: I rely on them for all my vaccinations, my booster shots, my COVID shots I got there.

TOO: Concerns that some of that may be curtailed?

FERGUSON: Absolutely. Yes.

According to an internal memo obtained by CNN, the Trump administration is planning sweeping job cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The memo says the V.A., in partnership with Elon Musk's DOGE, will move aggressively and aims to revert back to its 2019 era staffing levels. That means more than 70,000 of the more than 470,000 V.A. employees could be terminated.

PATRICK MURRAY, LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR, VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS: This unknown, this confusion, the possibilities that things could be bad for veterans, it's causing a lot of harm. It's causing a lot of angst.

TODD (voice-over): Patrick Murray, a marine who served in combat in Iraq, is an amputee wounded by a roadside bomb. He's now the legislative director for the group veterans of foreign wars. The services he fears could be cut, he says, are tough to replace.

MURRAY: What I use V.A. for is things like my wheelchair. Wheelchairs can be thousands of dollars. If those services are reduced at V.A., if certain prosthetics, if certain other functions like that are rolled back, that's going to cost a lot for veterans like me.

TODD (voice-over): CNN spoke to congressional staffers talking to V.A. employees. The staffers fear thousands of registered nurses could be terminated from the V.A., which the president of the American Nurses Association says could be devastating.

DR. JENNIFER MENSIK KENNEDY, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN NURSES ASSOCIATION: Over 80 percent of V.A.s are critically short nurses already, so this would have a detrimental impact in taking care of our veterans.

TODD (voice-over): In an email to CNN, a spokesman for the V.A. said of the possible nursing cuts, quote, "No one has proposed this and it will not happen". Still, Democrats on Capitol Hill are worried about any cuts to the V.A.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D), RANKING MEMBER, VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: Elon Musk sees veterans as roadkill on his way to revenue for tax cuts.

TODD (voice-over): But Republican Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, a doctor who's worked in V.A. hospitals, says the V.A. does need to be streamlined.

SEN. JOHN BARROSS (R), MAJORITY WHIP: There is a lot of fat within the system of the V.A., and there's clearly areas for improvement. We just need to make sure our veterans get the care that they need from qualified providers.

TODD (voice-over): Jack Ferguson couldn't agree more.

FERGUSON: I think a lot of people look around their neighborhood and they aren't even sure who the veterans are. I think our country owes it to the veterans to make sure they get proper care and --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): In response to the reporting about the possible staff cuts, Peter Kasperowicz, a spokesman for the V.A., sent CNN a statement saying that the V.A. will always provide veterans, families, caregivers and survivors the health care and benefits that they have earned.

But he also said, quote, "We are also making major improvements to strengthen the department". And he said that many are using rumor, innuendo and disinformation to spread fear in the hopes that the V.A. will just keep doing the same thing it has always done. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, Russia unleashing a deadly wave of missile strikes across much of Ukraine as President Zelenskyy prepares to hold talks next week in an effort to end the war.

Plus, officials have announced Gene Hackman's cause of death and the rare disease that killed his wife days before he died.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:19:35]

WHITFIELD: Ukrainian officials say at least 23 people have been killed in a wave of overnight Russian missile attacks. Dozens of others are reported injured, and authorities say some people could still be trapped beneath rubble of the damaged buildings.

Ukraine's forces no longer have any new U.S. military aid. And this week, the U.S. also removed Ukraine's access to its intelligence on Russia. President Trump threatened Russia with new sanctions after attacks earlier in the week, but just yesterday said Vladimir Putin was, I'm quoting now, "Doing what anybody else would do", end quote, on the battlefield.

[12:20:12]

David Sanger is joining us right now. He is a CNN political and national security analyst and author of the book, "The New Cold Wars". David, great to see you. So we're now more than a week out from that dramatic moment in the Oval Office. Is Russia now taking advantage of Trump's actions against Ukraine?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL & NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Oh, certainly they are, Fredricka, and it's been a somewhat remarkable week. We thought for a while that perhaps this pause would be a brief one just to send a message to the Ukrainians. Instead, as you say, it's stretched on for a week.

And while I'm not that worried about their obtaining the arms themselves, because they've got artillery shells that were shipped and so forth before, they've been cut off from some critical intelligence, including commercial satellite photography from Maxar, a commercial US company, that just helps them understand the battlefield positions.

And I think it's pretty clear that Putin sees this as a moment to gain more territory so that when that inevitable negotiation begins, he's doing it from as stronger position as he can. And the president is helping him. I think that the threat of sanctions you saw on Truth Social was a pretty empty threat.

WHITFIELD: Right, because are there any sanctions left, really, to impose on Russia?

SANGER: Exactly the point, Fredricka. First, the Biden administration sanctioned just about everything you could think of. But second, the other part of his threat was that he would put tariffs on Russian goods. What was the last thing you can remember going out and buying that was Russian?

WHITFIELD: Right.

SANGER: I mean, there's just nothing that --

WHITFIELD: Those removed from the shelves a while ago.

SANGER: -- that is cruising them. Yes.

WHITFIELD: Right. So, you know, onto that point of U.S. intelligence, the deprivation of that U.S. intelligence, does that put Ukraine not just at a huge disadvantage, as you say, but does it put it potentially in a position of losing the rest of this war?

SANGER: Well, certainly it puts it in a position of losing a lot of lives and civilian lives. And I thought the most surprising thing about what the president said to in the Oval Office yesterday was, well, they're doing what anybody would do. I think most presidents would say the people you are targeting there are civilians.

These were largely non-military targets, and that's off limits. And that gets to a bigger issue that we're at here. As the president has tried to maneuver himself, he would say more to the middle so that he can negotiate between the two.

I think others would say moving over to the Russian position. He has studiously avoided any discussion of the morality of this war. Who was the aggressor? Whether or not civilians are being targeted, whether or not Russia in the future should have to pay reparations, or whether there would be an investigation into war crimes around the killings in Bucha at the beginning of the war.

All of that is gone because he keeps saying, well, we just want peace. But you want peace for sure, but you want it under the right terms.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Trump seems to refrain from outright criticism of Russia.

All right, so --

SANGER: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- President Zelenskyy is set to now meet with the Saudi crown prince ahead of talks next week. Is there any leverage there for Ukraine? Is it -- is there real negotiating power that even Ukraine has?

SANGER: When the president says Ukraine doesn't have many cards right now, he's right. They don't. Now, in part, that's because the United States has deprived them and the other allies have deprived them of some cards.

The Europeans are trying their best to fill in here with economic help, certainly with arms when they can do it. But they frankly just don't have the capability or the intelligence capability to go do that. I mean, it would have been a perfectly understandable position if President Trump had said, we're going to deprive them of the ability to go on the offense, but keep supplying them on the defense.

And at moments they've made that argument. But the evidence about what they're withholding suggests it also is hurting Ukraine's ability to defend.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll leave it there for now.

David Sanger, always great to see you. Thanks so much.

SANGER: Great to see you. Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, a Republican lawmaker is pushing for a group of Democrats to be kicked off their committees for protesting the censure of Texas Congressman Al Green on the House floor.

Congressman Al Green? There he is. He joins me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:29:33]

WHITFIELD: With a possible government shutdown less than a week away, federal agencies have now started the mandatory process of planning to bring non-essential functions to a halt. That high stakes budget showdown comes as tensions are running high on Capitol Hill, just a few days after President Trump's joint address to lawmakers.

Among the residual tensions, Democratic Congressman Al Green removed from the chamber after he spoke out during the president's speech.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out! Get out!

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: The chair now directs the sergeant at arms to restore order. Remove this gentleman from the chamber.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And two days later, lawmakers voted to censure Congressman Green for his outburst. Ten Democrats in fact joined with Republicans in a formal condemnation of the Texas Democrats actions today. One of those Democrats defeated defended her censure vote right here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. LAURA GILLEN, (D) NEW YORK: If Kamala Harris was the President and someone was heckling her, I certainly would vote to censure that person as well. So I think if we're going to have a level of civility in the House of Representatives, it must be applied equally and to both parties. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Now a Republican Congressman is calling on Democrats to be removed from their committee assignments for singing We Shall Overcome on the House floor during the vote to censure, Green, a proposal that's being slam by Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES, (D) HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: And my team informs me that some far-right extremists have introduced a resolution to try to throw Democratic members of the House off of our committees. That resolution is going nowhere. You ain't throwing no one off of any single committee.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: I'm joined now by Democratic Congressman Al Green, the man at the center of this controversy. Congressman, great to see you.

REP. AL GREEN, (D) TEXAS: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: So what is your reaction to Representative Gillen and the other nine Democrats who voted to censure you? What are you reading into that?

GREEN: Well, first, let me indicate that what was done was a response to incivility. The President has a way of using incivility to take advantage of our civility. It was a peaceful protest and I engaged in the protest. And I understand that when you do this, you have to suffer consequences. And I'm prepared to suffer consequences. It doesn't mean that I agree with the consequences, but I'm prepared. I don't think any of my colleagues should be in any way brought into this. This is something that I did of my own volition.

And I would add that, unfortunately, given the circumstances with Medicaid, which is something I don't want us to lose focus on, unfortunately, I don't want to see this stop. What I'm saying to you is I don't want to see the protestation stop. Not violent, peacefully, because people will suffer if they lose Medicaid. In Texas, we have the highest rate of uninsured persons in the country. I believe that we have to do all that we can to protect people across the country. And I'm going to fight for my constituents here in Texas.

Now, with reference to my colleagues, I did not in any way encourage people to do one thing or another. But I appreciate what they did. And my hope is that this will not bring anything more than has already been done. But if it does, I would hope that it would be focused on me and not them. I am the person who brought this to the attention of the public. And quite frankly, my dear lady, if circumstances remain the same, I would have to do it again.

People will suffer and die if we lose Medicaid. And the Congress has been mandated to cut $880 billion from the committee that has jurisdiction of Medicaid. This is unthinkable. It's unbelievable. And I will not allow myself to sit silently by while this takes place. WHITFIELD: So it sounds like you are saying ultimately your goal was

to bring attention to any potential cuts or further cuts to Medicaid, and you felt like you wanted to address this to the President head on. Were you expecting that there might be punishment? Like, what would soon follow? Or what were your expectations? How did you think it would be received by the president and by the entire chamber?

GREEN: I was about to make my departure. I had my coat and my cane, and as I was collecting my portable items, the President indicated he had a mandate. And I was then taken aback. It was a trigger, and I responded spontaneously to let him know that he didn't have a mandate to cut Medicaid.

My expectations are always what John Lewis and I discussed when we talked about peaceful protest. One, you have to get in the way. You create a disturbance, but you have to do this. And the second thing is you have to be prepared to suffer the consequences. So I hold no animus toward the Speaker. The people who escorted me out were very kind to me. But the point is Medicaid is the issue and we have to stay focused on that. And I'm prepared to suffer the consequences.

[12:35:25]

My hope is that it will only be Al Green. I don't want my colleagues involved in any kind of sanctions. They were responding to the incivility that we've suffered. And the president, on the very evening that I was escorted from the House floor, the President called my colleagues lunatics. Now, that is a level of incivility that we shouldn't have to suffer.

The president won't be sanctioned. He's not going to be censured. He won't be reprimanded. The president seems to have a pass when it comes to his inanity, not insanity. His inanity. He called a senator by a name that is considered a pejorative. He does these things with somewhat an immunity that is not understandable.

WHITFIELD: So, Congressman, you know, over the years, you know, we've seen other outbursts during priority presidents' addresses to Congress from Obama and Biden as well. We've seen outbursts from lawmakers as well as demeanor coming from a Supreme Court justice. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, 44TH U.S. PRESIDENT: There are also those who claim that our reform efforts would insure illegal immigrants. This too is false. The reforms. The reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegal. It's not true. Including foreign corporation to spend without limit and --

JOE BIDEN, 46TH U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm not politely not naming them, but it's being proposed by some of you. Look folks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So among them, you saw Congressman Joe Wilson, who you know, yelled, you lie. You had Justice Alito with his expression saying not true. And Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene there with that confrontation with Biden. None of them were censured nor escorted out. Is this a reflection of the climate that we are in right now? What is the difference here of how -- what your experience was versus theirs?

GREEN: Thank you for the question. The climate of which you speak is one that I have lived in for most of my life. I'm a son of the segregated South. The rights that were enshrined in the Constitution for me, my friends and neighbors denied me. I had to go to the back door, drink from a colored water fountain, sit at the back of the bus, and I had relatives who were locked up in the bottom of the jail.

I have acclimated to this kind of behavior, but quite candidly, it is a double standard and it is a form of invidious discrimination. But I was prepared to suffer whatever the consequences are when I decided that I would engage in this peaceful protest. I never used any sort of a profanity. I never made any threats. I merely said, you do not have a mandate. And this is true.

WHITFIELD: Is there another, pardon me. Is there another extension of this? Does your moment end up serving as a distraction to when your party seems to be struggling to exercise a real cohesive approach here?

GREEN: I believe what I did puts a focus on Medicaid. I believe that this may be the means by which we can prevent Medicaid from being cut because I think it would be difficult now for them to move forward to cut it, given that we have brought this to the attention of the public. I don't see it as a distraction. I see it as a positive action to protect Medicaid.

WHITFIELD: So then that brings me to the budget. Now, just moments ago, House Speaker Mike Johnson formally unveiled plans for a government funding state stopgap through September 30th, a measure intended to stave off a potential March 14 shutdown and buy time for President Donald Trump and the GOP leaders to steer key pieces of his agenda through Congress this summer. You think you'll support this?

GREEN: I think I'll take a close look at it. I still believe in collegiality. I think that compromise is still something that is a benefit. I think it's a positive thing. So I'll take a look at what they're proposing. But what I will not do is vote for something that's going to cut Medicaid. Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security. These are the social safety nets that my constituents depend on. And I will stand for them because they can't be there to stand for themselves.

[12:40:21]

WHITFIELD: All right. U.S. Congressman Al Green coming to us from Houston, Texas, today. Thank you so much for your time. Thanks for joining us today.

GREEN: Thank you. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Straight ahead. Officials now believe that Gene Hackman died of natural causes nearly a week after his wife passed away. What they are revealing about the rare disease that killed her.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:45:22]

WHITFIELD: New details in the investigation into the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa. New Mexico investigators say she likely died days before Hackman from hantavirus, a rare infectious disease. Officials say following her death, Hackman was probably alive for several days in their secluded home and he likely died of complications from heart disease. CNN's Marybel Gonzalez is in Los Angeles for us.

Marybel, the details surrounding the final hours of the couple are certain so tragic and sad. What more are you learning?

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka. It's so tragic all around, starting with the fact that the couple was dead for days inside their home before they were discovered. But now we know what investigators say could have happened.

If you recall, Betsy Arakawa's body was found on the floor of the couple's home with pills scattered nearby. However, these pills, investigators say were prescription and unrelated to her death. An autopsy revealing she actually died of hantavirus, a rare viral infection that can infect humans through exposure to the excrement of rodents, often deer mice in New Mexico.

Now, this virus is not spread from person to person. Symptoms can develop weeks after exposure and can severely affect the lungs, which is what investigators believe happened to Arakawa. She was last seen on surveillance video on February 11th when she was out shopping. She returned home and that evening was the last time there was any outgoing communication from her.

Now, as far as actor Gene Hackman, investigators say he also died of natural causes, but his death due to heart disease with advanced Alzheimer's a factor. Now, just like in Arakawa's case, no signs of trauma or traces of carbon monoxide. Investigators estimate the 95- year-old actor died around February 18, the last time his pacemaker recorded his heartbeat. It's likely Hackman was alive for several days after his wife died. Here's what the New Mexico's chief medical examiner had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. HEATHER JARRELL, CHIEF MEDICAL INVESTIGATOR, NEW MEXICO OFFICE OF MEDICAL INVESTIGATOR: The question was he aware that Ms. Hackman had died? And I think that question is difficult to answer, but I can tell you that he was in an advanced state of Alzheimer's, and it's quite possible that he was not aware that she was deceased.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GONZALEZ: Now, it's unclear if Arakawa was Hackman's primary caregiver, but we do know from their family and loved ones that she went to great lengths to care for her husband encouraging him to stay fit and healthy. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh, it's so sad. So now that it's being revealed, the cause of death for both of them, is there a next phase in this investigation?

GONZALEZ: Yes. Officials say they're pretty close to finishing this investigation. A few things still pending cell phone information from the couple's phones, but they say this is unlikely to show anything further that could help this investigation. The body camera footage also of the officers who responded to their home, they're sifting through those. And finally, the examination results to determine how one of the couple's dogs who was found in a crate nearby died. Although they say starvation could have been a cause.

WHITFIELD: All right, Marybel Gonzalez, thank you so much. All right. Nearly 20 million people are under threat for large hail, damaging winds, even tornadoes as severe storms sweep across the Gulf Coast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:53:19]

WHITFIELD: In Texas today, it's the tale of two extremes. In the western part of the state, severe drought. On the other side of Texas, heavy rain and dangerous storms pose their own threats. CNN's Allison Chinchar has more.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. There is a dual threat for Texas. You have both the concern for fires but also the potential for severe weather as this low-pressure system will continue to slide along the Gulf Coast. As we head through the next 48 hours, here's a look at the fire weather concern. You can see it's mostly western and southern Texas. This includes places like San Antonio, Del Rio and even Fort Stockton. You're talking about humidity levels about 10 to 20 percent in some areas. In those winds gusting upwards of 60 to 65 miles per hour.

On the eastern side of that low-pressure system, the concern is actually going to be severe thunderstorms. And this is for everywhere from Dallas stretching all the way over towards Tallahassee, Florida, as that low slowly meanders its way eastward. The main concern here is going to be damaging winds, also the potential for some large hail. But we can't rule out a tornado or two also being in the mix.

And that's because we're now starting to see that time of year where tornadoes begin to ramp back up. March is when we start to see that big upswing before we peak in May, which was when we end up having the most tornadoes by on average for any month of the year. Here's a look at that system as a whole as we go through the day Saturday, it will continue to spread eastward. By Sunday morning, you're looking at most of the really heavy rain focused over portions of southern Alabama, southern Georgia, and even portions of northern Florida. But even by Sunday afternoon, you get the heating of that day. More of these showers and thunderstorms are going to continue to fire up along the back half of the day. Overall, most of these areas looking at low-end precipitation, likely

one, maybe as much as two inches of rain total. The higher areas are going to come across Florida, where you're likely going to have training, meaning those bands are moving over the same areas over and over again. So it's not out of the question in those places to pick up three, maybe even as much as four inches of rain total.

[12:55:16]

WHITFIELD: Oh my. That's significant. All right, Allison Chinchar, thank you so much.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been a wake up call, right? It's been a wake up call for Canadians that we need to figure out a way to not be as dependent.

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WHITFIELD: Just one day after postponing 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods, President Trump is threatening new tariffs on them. How Canadians are responding to the whiplash.