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Wall Street Stocks in the Red as Trump Threatens Tariffs on Europe; Russia Questions Temporary Ceasefire Proposal; Magnitude 4.4 Quake Jolts Naples, Italy; Total Lunar Eclipse Witnessed by Sky- gazers. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired March 14, 2025 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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BEN HUNTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: Hello, wherever you are in the world, you are now in the "CNN Newsroom" with me, Ben Hunte in Atlanta. It is so good to have you with me.
Coming up this hour, another volatile day on Wall Street as President Donald Trump threatens new tariffs on Europe.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has reservations about the U.S.- brokered ceasefire plan for Ukraine as Washington's envoy arrives in Moscow.
Plus --
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Protesters storm Trump Tower in New York to denounce the arrest and detention of a Palestinian activist.
U.S. stock futures are looking up and that's giving investors some hope for a positive end to a very dismal week.
The markets plunged on Thursday as President Donald Trump threatens to impose new tariffs on European allies. The Dow fell 537 points, the Nasdaq dropped around two percent and the S&P tumbled even into correction territory down 10 percent from its record high last month.
The sell-off extended a route in U.S. markets driven by uncertainty around Mr. Trump's tariffs. But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he's not worried about what he called a little bit of volatility.
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SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: What we're focused on is, we're focused on the real economy. Can we create an environment where there are long-term gains in the market and long-term gains for the American people? I'm not concerned about a little bit of volatility over three weeks.
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HUNTE: President Trump is now vowing to slap a 200 percent tariff on wine, champagne and other alcohol products from Europe. That is unless the European Union removes a 50 percent tariff it put on U.S. spirits. In a social media post Mr. Trump called the E.U. quote, "one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the world."
European Commissioner Michael McGrath told CNN the escalating trade war will cost jobs and hurt businesses.
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MICHAEL MCGRATH, EUROPEAN UNION COMMISSIONER: We will respond in a firm but a proportionate way. But this is not where we want to be. Tariffs are ultimately a tax on consumers here in the United States and in Europe and they will hurt businesses and they will cost jobs.
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HUNTE: CNN's Jeff Zeleny is following the latest developments at the White House.
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JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: As President Trump ends another week here at the White House, the financial markets have been roiled once again, reacting to the trade war and the tariff policies that have really driven down stocks and have raised questions about this administration's policies.
But the president on Thursday saying he's taking the long view.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're not going to bend. We've been ripped off as a country for many, many years. We don't need their cars, we don't need their energy, we don't need their lumber.
Now there'll be a little disruption, but it won't be very long. But they need us. We really don't need them.
ZELENY: The president saying it won't be very long, but that, of course, will be one of the metrics to which he is judged going forward. Will the markets still continue to have an adverse reaction to what these policies are doing?
Now, the White House says, look, the market goes up, the market goes down. But it is clear the uncertainty that the trade war has signaled is really sparking uncertainty in the markets.
The president, though, embracing this policy is looking ahead to even more tariffs when the reciprocal ones go into effect in April. The bottom line to all of this, the White House saying, look, judge the president by what he did in his first term. But the reality is he's now being judged by his policies of the second.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House. (END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: Canadian officials say talks will continue next week with the U.S. after the two sides met in Washington on Thursday. Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc led a delegation that met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
It comes after weeks of tensions triggered by President Trump's talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state and an escalating tariff war between the neighbors. Doug Ford, premier of Canada's most populous province, said the talks helped to cool things down.
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DOUG FORD, ONTARIO, CANADA PREMIER: We feel that the temperature is being lowered. We're like a family. And sometimes there's tension between families. But that was an extremely productive meeting.
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HUNTE: Relations with the U.S. are a priority for Canada's next prime minister. Mark Carney is set to be sworn in later today, replacing Justin Trudeau.
Today is the deadline for U.S. agencies to submit the first phase of their plans to help shrink the government. The Trump administration has instructed agencies to eliminate positions that are not needed, reduce federal real estate holdings and increase productivity.
Agencies are told to compile lists of employees and entire divisions who are not performing tasks not specifically mandated by law or regulation, along with those who are not considered essential employees during government shutdowns.
The deadline comes as a second federal judge has ruled thousands of probationary employees laid off en masse by the administration must be temporarily reinstated while legal challenges continue to move forward.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency has proposed cutting the International Revenue Service workforce by nearly 20 percent. The plan, which hasn't been made public yet, aims to reduce the IRS staff by May 15th, just one month after taxes are due.
Democratic Attorneys General in 20 states and the District of Columbia are suing President Trump for gutting the Department of Education. The suit calls the mass layoffs a way to unlawfully dismantle the department. This week, the Trump administration announced it would cut nearly half of the department staff.
Joining me now is Sheria Smith, President of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252. She's also a former employee of the Education Department who was recently laid off. Sheria, thank you so much for joining me. How are you doing?
SHERIA SMITH, FORMER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE AND PRESIDENT OF AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES LOCAL 252: I'm doing well. Thank you for having me and my members, my 2800 members all across the U.S. and the Department of Education really appreciate this platform.
HUNTE: You are so welcome. Thank you for being here. Can you just talk us through what your job was and how the layoff actually happened?
SMITH: Yes, I was hired as a civil rights attorney and in my office, the Office for Civil Rights, we were enforcing the civil rights of American students and citizens. So making sure that as an American citizen who may be black, that if you were in schools, your school wasn't segregated or that if you had a disability, that the school provided you with your accommodation.
So we have a lot of laws in the United States and my job was to enforce, make sure those laws were being enforced.
HUNTE: Can you just break down for us why you think there's been such hostility specifically towards the Department of Education?
SMITH: I think the hostility is manufactured. I think the hostility is made by people who are hiding what their real goal is. I think the real goal is to actually enrich themselves through charter schools.
A lot of the hostility that we hear from people who hold high offices in the United States -- me in the United States, it's just not true. It has nothing to do with our jobs. So we have hostility about curriculum, but our agency has no impact on curriculum.
We hear a lot of hostility based on low test scores where our agency is not responsible for low test scores. So it's just as if you were blaming Harrods for the fact that your child has behavioral problems. It's not, you know, what does a department store have to do with that?
HUNTE: If this hadn't affected you, what would you have thought about the wider cuts being made to the federal government right now?
SMITH: I'd still be concerned. I don't believe our current administration is being run transparently or by people with knowledge or competence to run the country. We've already seen, you know, even before this affected me, I learned that many people who were in charge of nuclear reactors were fired by, you know, young kids or coders who had no idea that these people were actually in charge of the nuclear reactors that we needed for our national security. So we have a lot of incompetence running around.
And I, you know, even before it hit me, I was concerned that they were just being inefficient by firing people and actually costing taxpayers like me even more money.
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HUNTE: Well, let's talk about that money because surely laying off this number of people is going to impact the economy in some way, right?
SMITH: Yes, absolutely. So, you know, this administration is saying and bragging that they're going to unemploy over, you know, millions of people in one fell swoop. Well, I don't know of a nation that can handle millions of people who have had very secure government jobs, you know, millions of people who are going to be unemployed. So we are taxpayers.
What happens to those taxes and the public services that rely on those taxes? What happens to our homes? Are they trying to head this nation into a depression by laying off so many people at once? It is strange to me. I don't know the game plan here.
HUNTE: Well, while we're talking about game plans, can you just give me a moment to have some words for the president? What would you say to him directly about the changes that he's making right now?
SMITH: I would say to our president that I believe that he should be more cautious with his power and take time to be better informed and to make sure that the people who voted him in are still going to receive the services that they rely on. That has not happened at all since he's taken place.
People voted for him and had an expectation that he would work for them. And it does not appear that he's working for the people who showed up at the polls. It appears that he is working for Elon Musk.
And I would caution him to do something differently to make that appearance, to correct that appearance, because it is troublesome. It is extremely troublesome.
HUNTE: Well thank you for that. And I really hope that things are going to get better for you and for the other people that have been impacted by these layoffs. For now though, Sheria Smith, thank you so much for joining me.
SMITH: Thank you, Ben. Thanks for having me.
HUNTE: Russia's president has responded to the temporary ceasefire proposal for Ukraine. His reaction is not a straight no, but he's still far from being on board with the U.S. plan. That's ahead.
Plus, strikes inside the Syrian capital targeting what Israel says was a militant command center. But a militant group is downplaying that attack. We'll explain.
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HUNTE: Kyiv is moving to capitalize on Russia's unenthusiastic reaction to the U.S. 30-day ceasefire proposal for Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed reservations about the proposal after Moscow received it on Thursday. He raised so many questions about exactly how it would work. He made
it clear it does not go far enough. Ukraine has already signed off on that plan. And President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the Kremlin of dragging its feet without saying no to it.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Now we have all heard from Russia very predictable, very manipulative words from Putin in response to the idea of the ceasefire on the front line. He is actually preparing a refusal as of now. Putin, of course, is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war.
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HUNTE: U.S. President Donald Trump reacted to the Kremlin's answer while meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Mr. Trump said he still has leverage to turn up the pressure on Russia if needed, but he wouldn't say how. He suggested Mr. Putin's response was a good start.
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TRUMP: He put out a very promising statement, but it wasn't complete. And yes, I'd love to meet with him or talk to him. But we have to get it over with fast.
Thousands of people a week are dying. So we really don't have very much time. We have to make this fast. It shouldn't be very complicated.
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HUNTE: CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Moscow with more on Russia's response.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just hours after visiting his generals near the front lines in the Kursk region, Russian leader Vladimir Putin, back in Moscow, pouring cold water on President Trump's initiative for an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I would like to begin with words of gratitude to the U.S. President, Mr. Trump, for paying so much attention to the settlement in Ukraine. We agree with the proposals to end hostilities, but we proceed from the fact that this end should be such that it would lead to a long-term peace and eliminate the root causes of this crisis.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): In other words, the Russians want to hammer out a full peace deal before ending the fighting, even as the Trump administration says the shooting should stop immediately. The U.S. President had hoped Putin would fully endorse his proposal. TRUMP: Now we're going to see whether or not Russia is there. And if
they're not, it'll be a very disappointing moment for the world.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): This as Russian forces say they've been making major gains in the Kursk region, Ukraine's last small foothold on Russian territory. Putin's soldiers are now patrolling the streets in small towns leveled by the battles.
There was fierce fighting here, this soldier says. Ukrainian troops brought in heavy equipment and shot at the building point blank. But the buildings are strong, the walls are strong, so the defense held up.
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Putin went on to say he has concerns that the Ukrainians will use a ceasefire to regroup and rearm if Moscow's troops take their foot off the gas now.
PUTIN (through translator): So these 30 days will be used how? So that forced mobilization continues in Ukraine? So that weapons are delivered there? So that units undergo training? Or if nothing of such sort will happen, then the question arises, how will the issue of control and verification be resolved? And how will we be guaranteed that nothing like this will happen?
PLEITGEN (voice-over): While the Ukrainians have fully signed off on the ceasefire proposal and say they're willing to implement it immediately, the Russians say they see little benefit in freezing the fighting, although Putin says he too wants to see the war come to an end.
PUTIN (through translator): I think that we need to talk about this with our American colleagues, partners, maybe call President Trump and discuss it with him. But the idea itself to end this conflict by peaceful means is supported by us.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
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HUNTE: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says there's no rush for Moscow to accept a ceasefire deal. While visiting President Putin on Thursday, Lukashenko urged Russia not to fall for what he called Donald Trump's tricks.
He claimed the U.S. doesn't have a plan for Ukraine and is currently testing the waters with its proposal. But if Russia does accept the 30-day truce, he said Ukraine should not be allowed to receive weapons from abroad.
In the last hour, I spoke with Mick Ryan, a retired Major General of the Australian Army. I asked him who gets their way if Russia wants a peace deal before the fighting stops while the U.S. wants a ceasefire right now.
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MAJ. GEN. MICK RYAN (RET.), AUSTRALIAN ARMY: Well, it's hard to know. But Putin's position has been very clear throughout the war. And he's showing that he hasn't changed his maximalist aims for this war.
But he doesn't want peace, he wants Ukraine. And there's nothing really in between. And his rhetoric about speaking direct to the U.S. again is only delaying and pushing back the negotiations that are necessary to bring peace.
HUNTE: The Russian military has been making gains in Kursk, recapturing territory that Ukraine had occupied. Do you think the setbacks on the battlefield are going to be weakening Ukraine's bargaining position?
RYAN: I'm not sure Kursk was ever a strong bargaining position for Ukraine. I mean, Russia has about 18 percent of Ukrainian territory.
Kursk represents much, much less than one percent of Russian territory. So it was never a strong negotiating point anyway. But I'm certain that Putin would have directed his generals to ensure they take Kursk before any potential negotiation takes place.
HUNTE: And how about from Russia's perspective? Is it to Putin's advantage to delay a ceasefire agreement as long as his troops are making gains on the battlefield?
RYAN: Well, I think he sees it that way. He thinks he's making progress in the east, even though that is coming at massive cost. But where he's made the most progress this year is the minds of decision makers in the U.S. who think that they have to force that peace agreement on Ukraine to help Ukraine.
Unfortunately, a bad peace will be much worse than no peace. And many Ukrainians agree with that proposition.
HUNTE: We're coming to you from America. So let's talk about America a little bit. What does all of this mean for President Trump and his attempts to at least appear to be in some kind of control? And what would the trees mean for him?
RYAN: Well, the response of President Trump after Putin's rejection of the peace deal will be very insightful. It will tell us just how serious Trump is about peace.
Does he want an enduring and just peace? Or just does he want to get this off the table so he can turn to other issues? But it'll also give allies insights into how Trump is thinking about dealing, not just with Putin, but how he might deal with President Xi of China in the future.
HUNTE: Oh, yes. And just a few weeks ago, we saw that very awkward, estranged President Zelenskyy marching out of the White House. Are you surprised that we're now in this position of peace talks?
RYAN: Not really. I mean, peace talks and the negotiations to get to negotiations are always difficult.
They take time. They're very emotive, particularly for Ukrainian people. They've sacrificed a lot in this war.
They want to ensure that they receive just an enduring peace, not something that's convenient for someone in the White House.
HUNTE: The last time I spoke to you in your home in Australia, you're now in Ukraine. Can you give me a bit of a picture of what it's like being on the ground there right now? Is it dangerous, like, what's going on?
RYAN: As always, it's an inspiring and wonderful country to be in. I always enjoy coming here.
I was out east in the last couple of days. And the soldiers out there, they understand what's going on with negotiations. But essentially, their view is if there's peace, we won't fight.
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If there's no peace, we continue fighting. The Ukrainians understand they have to continue fighting if they're going to get a deal that's acceptable and just at the end of the day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: A new report by a U.N. commission accuses Israel of carrying out, quote, "genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza." The report published on Thursday blames Israel for destroying sexual and reproductive health care facilities, harming the reproductive capacity of Palestinians in Gaza.
The commission also cited the growing proportion of female deaths and the targeting of women and girls in Gaza, which the U.N. says is meant to terrorize Palestinians.
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CHRIS SIDOTI, MEMBER OF U.N. INDEPENDENT INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION: The frequency, prevalence and severity of sexual and gender-based crimes perpetrated across the occupied Palestinian territory leads the commission to conclude that sexual and gender based violence is increasingly used as a method of war by Israel to destabilize, dominate, oppress and destroy the Palestinian people.
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HUNTE: The Israeli mission to the U.N. said Israel categorically rejects what it says are unfounded allegations.
Meanwhile, militants are downplaying an Israeli strike in the Syrian capital Damascus. Israel says it struck a terrorist command center on Thursday that belonged to Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The Israeli military vowed to go after terrorist organizations threatening Israel wherever they may be. But the Islamic Jihad movement says the targeted building was an empty
house that hadn't been used in years. The group dismissed the attack as, quote, "merely a show and an attempt to create an image of achievement after continuous failures."
Still ahead, Pope Francis celebrates an anniversary at the hospital, how staff marked the occasion and what the Vatican says about his condition now.
Southern Californians can't catch a break. A tornado touches down after flooding causes mudslides. Just ahead, what the rest of the country can expect in the coming days.
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HUNTE: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta, and it is so good to have you with me. Here's a look at the top stories we're following this hour.
President Donald Trump's escalating trade war triggered a sharp drop in the U.S. stock market on Thursday. He's now threatening to impose a 200 percent tariff on European alcohol unless the European Union removes a 50 percent tariff it put on U.S. spirits.
The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to allow it to move forward with plans to end full birthright citizenship. President Trump is challenging the long-held reading of the 14th Amendment that guarantees citizenship to anyone born or naturalized in the U.S. Several courts have issued nationwide injunctions blocking his changes.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin says he has reservations about the U.S. ceasefire plan for Ukraine. He says he agrees with the plan in theory, but many details are yet to be worked out. U.S. President Donald Trump called the response promising, but incomplete.
Pope Francis has now spent one month at a Rome hospital battling pneumonia in both lungs. The Vatican says his condition has improved, and on Thursday he marked the 12th anniversary of his election as Pope with hospital staff who served him cake.
CNN's Ben Wedeman is following this live from Rome for us. Ben, now that he's been in hospital for 28 days, which is four weeks, let's talk about how people here are dealing with this seemingly endless stay.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, initially people were very concerned when they heard that the Pope was going, was in hospital, that he had double pneumonia. But after 28 days there is a feeling that people would actually like to see a picture of the Pope. Well you mentioned the fact that yesterday hospital staff presented
him with a cake decorated with candles in his room on the 10th floor of Rome's Gemelli Hospital. But we have not seen a picture of that. Nobody has seen an image, not even a frame of video of the Pope in the last 28 days.
And, you know, Italians are, they like their Pope. Pope Francis is very popular.
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However, there is also a deep mistrust in authority here in Italy, and certainly the fact that after 28 days, four weeks of the Pope in hospital, that not a single image has been shown of him is starting to lead to people talking about, well, is he really getting better? Is he actually improving as is claimed by the Vatican press office?
So there is a certain amount of skepticism growing out, coming out about what people are saying when it comes to the Vatican claims that the Pope's health is indeed improving. Ben.
HUNTE: Ben Wedeman in Rome. Thank you so much for that. I appreciate it.
Cars were hit by falling debris and some homes damaged after an earthquake struck near Naples, Italy. 15 people were treated in hospital after the 4.4 magnitude quake.
The region has been shaken by weeks of seismic activity. Over 300 quakes were detected in the last week alone. Worried residents have abandoned their homes and camped outside overnight.
Authorities say the quakes are not linked to Mount Vesuvius, which looms over Naples, but to a different volcano. But still, experts believe an eruption is not imminent.
A tornado tore through a Southern California neighborhood early on Thursday morning. Several trees and power lines were downed in Pico Rivera. No injuries were reported.
Earlier, the storm dropped heavy rain, which triggered dangerous mudslides. Roads were damaged, cars were swept away and several people had to be rescued. The same storm system is expected to affect much of the U.S. this weekend.
Forecasters say severe thunderstorms will impact central states on Friday and Saturday, bringing tornadoes, damaging winds and even blizzards in higher elevations. By Saturday, southern states may see significant tornadoes, strong winds and hail.
Climate change and crumbling infrastructure are causing water shortages in Europe, and the E.U. has launched a campaign to combat the crisis. CNN's Eleni Giokos shows us the situation in Greece.
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ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the fastest-warming continent, there's a water problem.
LYDIA SARAKINIOTI, JEWELLER (through translator): Our relationship with the water is difficult.
GIOKOS (voice-over): And in Greece, a country that in the last year has borne the brunt of climate change, from wildfires and heat waves to droughts and warming seas. On average, about 40 percent of its already limited water supply goes to waste, according to the Greek Environment Ministry. A case in point for the European Union's new campaign to curb a water crisis inflamed by climate change.
In Greece's Argolida region, water leaks out of aging pipes and cracked irrigation canals. Hot, dry summers shrink reservoir levels, forcing officials to fill the gap with brackish spring water, which then becomes tap water in people's homes.
BABIS ANTONIADIS, FORMER NAFPLIO MUNICIPAL COUNSELOR (through translator): This water, the same water of Hercules, is the water that feeds the city of Argos and Nafplio. Unfortunately, its management is in terrible shape. Both municipal water providers have more than 50 percent of water loss.
GIOKOS (voice-over): In drought-ridden fields, farmers dig up to 300 meters before finding a drop. Even then, it can be contaminated with salt from the seeping ocean water.
Lidia Sarakinioti doesn't dare use the tap to brush her teeth or even cook. The jeweler says the water she once used to clean her metal instead tarnishes it.
SARAKINIOTI (through translator): This scared me, because if this is the effect on a noble metal, which essentially oxidizes the copper molecules, in a small percentage, imagine what it can do on the human body.
GIOKOS (voice-over): In response, Greek residents resort to plastic water bottles, a Band-Aid solution that only cuts deeper in terms of environmental trouble. But through the campaign it launched, the E.U. is giving member nations until next year to assess their leakage levels,
Greece already spending more than 1.5 billion euros on its drinking water infrastructure since 2019. And so the E.U. and Greece crack down on key flaws in water infrastructure. A region heating up might just be able to keep its head above water.
Eleni Giokos, CNN.
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HUNTE: The Trump Tower lobby overwhelmed by protesters, many of them arrested, as they demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate detained for his activism.
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HUNTE: A shocking scene at Denver, Colorado's airport on Thursday. Dozens of American Airlines passengers were forced to evacuate a burning jet by climbing onto its wing. The Federal Aviation Administration says the plane was diverted there while flying from Colorado Springs after the crew reported engine vibrations. The plane's engine caught fire on its way to the gate.
The Denver airport reports all 178 people on board got off the jet. Fire officials say 12 people were taken to hospital with minor injuries. Aviation authorities are investigating.
[03:45:08]
Now to New York, where protesters filled Trump Tower's atrium on Thursday.
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They gathered to denounce the arrest of Palestinian activist and U.S. resident Mahmoud Khalil. He remains detained by immigration authorities over his involvement in last year's protests at Columbia University over the war in Gaza.
Demonstrators chanted Free Mahmoud Khalil and unfilled banners that read Never Again for Anyone. 98 people were arrested. CNN's Omar Jimenez picks up the story.
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OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A little less than a hundred protesters were arrested in total for demonstrating inside Trump Tower in support of Mahmoud Khalil, the now former Columbia University student who last year was one of the leaders or who helped lead some of the protests we saw happen on that campus.
He's currently being held in an ICE detention facility in Louisiana. But as for the protesters here, they entered Trump Tower with jackets and coats on, as we understand from the law enforcement source, and then opened those jackets and coats up to reveal those red shirts. That's when the chanting began.
Law enforcement showed up not too long after, asked them to leave, which some did, but then others did not. And many were then zip tied with their hands behind their backs before they were put onto buses to then face what we understand to be some minor charges.
Now, as they were being let out, groups started to form in the area outside of Trump Tower. And we heard chants, things like Fight Nazis, Not Students, of course, in reference to Khalil.
The group that organized these protests, known as Jewish Voice for Peace, they describe themselves as a grassroots organization, but they do typically support many Palestinian causes. Take a listen to what one of the leaders of that group told me about some of why they wanted to be here.
SONYA MEYERSON-KNOX, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE: We ourselves are Jewish, and we know what happens when a government, be it the Israeli government or our own government, when an authoritarian government starts scapegoating and targeting and making threats and or genocidal actions against people, we know where that leads. As Jews, we know our history, and we are here to say never again.
JIMENEZ: Now, she also said they believe President Trump and the Trump administration are infringing upon Khalil's civil rights. The administration has equated Khalil's protest activity to terrorism, at least the president has on social media, supporting terrorism.
And the deportation efforts come under a broad range of power that the Secretary of State has to deport someone who may have adverse effects on the United States foreign policy interests. Regardless, Khalil's attorneys have argued that all of this is just retaliation for protest activity and infringing upon Khalil's First Amendment rights, which green card holders generally do have.
Omar Jimenez, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: One vocal opponent of President Trump has kept a very low profile since his re-election. Former First Lady Michelle Obama skipped Mr. Trump's second inauguration, but now she's finding her voice in public again in a new podcast with her brother. CNN's Arlette Saenz has more.
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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After months out of the political spotlight, Michelle Obama is back.
MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER U.S. FIRST LADY: What we do have are a lot of opinions.
SAENZ (voice-over): From leaving jobs in corporate world.
It was interesting how both of us entered those careers were successful, but something was missing.
SAENZ (voice-over): To navigating adult friendships.
OBAMA: That's my friendship language. I value people's honest emotional vulnerability.
SAENZ (voice-over): It's part of a new venture into podcasting with her brother, Craig Robinson, with the backing of the Obama's media company.
OBAMA: I'm really enjoying the payback of Craig Robinson now being Michelle Obama's brother. SAENZ (voice-over): The podcast from one of the most prominent Democrats in the country focuses on doling out advice and, for the most part, tries to steer clear of politics.
OBAMA: People, you know, they want to hear some honest kind of conversation about how people are working it through.
SAENZ (voice-over): The siblings even taking their show on the road to South by Southwest. According to the Austin American statesman, Obama told the crowd, the truth is the small power that each of us has to do something is right in front of us. If we're all doing that, it outweighs anything that some big leader somewhere can do.
In the Trump-era, Obama has carefully chosen when and what to speak out about.
OBAMA: So consider this to be your official ask. Michelle Obama is asking, you know, I'm telling you all to do something.
[03:50:00]
SAENZ (voice-over): Over the years, she's made no secret of her distaste for the current President Donald Trump.
OBAMA: Who's going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just be one of those Black jobs?
SAENZ (voice-over): But since Trump's reelection, Mrs. Obama has kept a lower political profile. She skipped his second inauguration, sending a blunt message without any words. Obama has candidly said politics was not in her initial life plans.
OBAMA: I was definitely like, nope, no way, this is crazy.
SAENZ (voice-over): In her new podcast, she shared it was her brother who got her on board with her husband's 2008 campaign.
CRAIG ROBINSON, MICHELLE OBAMA'S BROTHER: The thing that pushed it over the top was, I convinced you to not penalize him for being really good at what he does. Both of you sat there reasonably mad and said I was right.
SAENZ (voice-over): And she thanked her brother for helping in the journey, including when his kids subbed in for her daughters, who had tired of their father's turkey pardoning routine.
OBAMA: I'm standing with my father telling these stupid jokes, you know, next to a turkey. So by the time we got to the last year, the last turkey pardoning, they were done.
ROBINSON: They were just like --
OBAMA: I'm out. They were like, call me up.
I'm in, coach. I'm ready. I'm ready to stand next to Uncle Barack.
And they loved his stupid jokes. They loved them. He felt like a new man.
SAENZ: Michelle Obama's new podcast comes as many Democrats have started to turn to the medium as a way to try to connect with voters. For instance, California Governor Gavin Newsom launched his own podcast where he's even invited on conservative guests. You also have governors who have gone on to sports podcasts as a way to try to connect with a different type of voter.
Of course, a lot of those Democrats have their eyes on potential presidential ambitions in 2028. But for Michelle Obama, things are different, as she has long ruled out seeking political office herself.
Arlette Saenz, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: A total lunar eclipse creeps over the night sky. When we come back, illuminating the rare occurrence of the blood moon.
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HUNTE: There is outrage and disbelief in Australia after video purportedly showed an American tourist picking up, running off with and then releasing a wild baby wombat.
In the background, you can see the Joey's distressed mother literally chasing after the woman and then hovering near the car. Wombats are marsupials native to Australia and protected by law.
[03:55:08]
Australia's prime minister had some choice words for Sam Jones, the woman in the video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: They are gentle, lovely creatures to take a baby wombat from its mother and clearly causing distress from the mother is just an outrage. And, you know, I suggest to this so-called influencer, maybe she might try some other Australian animals. Take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: Jones later said she did return the baby to its mother and she has now left Australia after officials threatened to cancel her visa. CNN reached out to her for comment, but has not yet received a response.
Sky gazers are enjoying a celestial treat, a total lunar eclipse now moving through the night sky. It is visible from the Americas, New Zealand and parts of Europe, Africa, Japan and Russia in a total lunar eclipse. The view of the entire moon falls within the darkest part of the Earth's shadow called the umbra. The eclipse turns our lunar neighbor into what's called a blood moon because of its dramatic reddish hue.
Well, in the last hour, I spoke to physics and astronomy professor Chris Packham asking how the blood moon gets its crimson color.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS PACKHAM, PHYSIC AND ASTRONOMY PROF., UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO: The celestial mechanics work like clockwork. We can predict things down to the nearest second, so it's not a surprise.
It's still, though, a very beautiful event to look at. When I get a chance to see it, I can look at both the beauty of it and thinking how beautiful nature is, but I can also think about the science and what's going on, why this is happening.
And if I may, one of the things that I would love and hopefully we'll be able to do in the not too distant future, if you could be on the moon, standing on the surface of the moon right now, looking back at the Earth, you'd see the globe of the Earth and everywhere around the Earth, all around where the atmosphere is, you'd see sunset or sunrise, that beautiful color coming towards you and falling onto the surface of the moon.
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HUNTE: A colorful sight in India. Millions of Hindus are celebrating Holi, the festival of colors. Revelers cover each other in brightly colored powder and throw water at each other, there's also singing, dancing and food.
Holi is celebrated by Hindus around the world. And this was the scene in Nepal's capital as thousands gathered there. Holi is celebrated by Hindus all over the world, it's said to symbolize the victory of good versus evil and marks the beginning of spring.
All right, that's all we've got for you. Thanks for joining me and the team. Thank you for watching, I'm Ben Hunte.
"Inside Africa" is next. And stay tuned for "Early Start" with Rahel Solomon in one hour. See you tomorrow.
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