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Trump Touts "Pretty Good News" on Ukraine Ceasefire; Putin's Endgame in Ukraine Ceasefire Talks; Zelenskyy Urges U.S. to Apply Strong Pressure on Russia; U.S. Senate Passes Trump-Backed Government Funding Bill; Stocks and Confidence Down During Volatile Week; Parents Deported While Seeking Brain Cancer Care For Child; Vatican: Pope's Release From Hospital "Not Imminent." Aired 3-4a ET

Aired March 15, 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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[03:00:28]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of our viewers watching from around the world. I'm Paul Sandoval in New York City where it is now 3 a.m.

Ahead here on CNN Newsroom, U.S. President Donald Trump is teasing good news in negotiations to end Russia's war in Ukraine, but other leaders are warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not to be trusted.

And the United States averting a government shutdown as many Democrats are enraged that their Senate leadership sided with Republicans.

And heading for the International Space Station right now, a SpaceX rocket blasted off carrying a crew of astronauts to relieve the duo that have been held up there for months now.

U.S. President Donald Trump says that he has received what he called pretty good news about the proposed ceasefire in Ukraine, but did not for many specifics. He spoke a day after his envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Mr. Putin got behind the ceasefire in principle, but he laid out a string of conditions and demands for Ukraine. The U.S. President says that he still hopes that Russia will be on board with his plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENT: I feel that Russia is going to make a deal with us. I hope we've spoken with President Putin. We've spoken with a lot of people and Ukraine is waiting. I'm very concerned about the field. In the field, there is a very vulnerable group of Ukrainian soldiers right now that are actually surrounded and that's not good because we don't want them to die. Enough people have died.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANDOVAL: As for Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he is accusing Mr. Putin of trying to sabotage the talks while he says Ukraine is on the same page with the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): A lot of diplomacy, a lot of negotiations that can bring peace closer. Now on the table is the American proposal of unconditional silence in the sky, at sea and on the front. Ukraine accepts this proposal, rapid movement towards guaranteed security, towards the end of this war, towards a reliable peace. Our teams worked very well at the meeting in Saudi Arabia. Contacts with the American side are ongoing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: But Moscow could face more economic pressure to negotiate. The British Prime Minister will be holding a virtual meeting with leaders of about 25 countries in the coming hours and he'll call on them to use more economic leverage to force Russia to be part of the process. The Prime Minister said that we can't allow President Putin to play games with President Trump's deal and that the Kremlin's complete disregard for the ceasefire proposal only serves to demonstrate that Putin is not serious about peace.

Meanwhile, Mr. Putin is calling on Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk region to surrender. He did that after an appeal for Mr. Trump. Kursk is Ukraine's only territorial bargaining chip within Russia. And as Fred Pleitgen reports, Ukraine could be losing it.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Russian troops on the move, on the verge of ousting Ukrainian forces from the Kursk region, Moscow says, Ukraine's small and shrinking foothold inside Russia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The regiment's units were mentally prepared and waiting for this moment, the commander says. Therefore, there was enough anger, courage, bravery and desire to win. I believe the personnel fought heroically.

PLEITGEN: The Russians claiming they've encircled a large number of Ukrainian troops here, a narrative President Trump buys as well, pleading with Russian leader Vladimir Putin not to harm them. At this very moment, thousands of Ukrainian troops are completely surrounded by the Russian military and in a very bad and vulnerable position, President Trump writes on his Truth Social account. I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared. This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War Two.

And while the Ukrainians claim reports of their forces being encircled are not true, Putin referencing the U.S. president's plea says he's willing to let the Ukrainians live if they give themselves up.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We are understanding of President Trump's appeal to treat these servicemen humanely. In this regard, I would like to emphasize that if they lay down their arms and surrender, they will be guaranteed life and decent treatment in accordance with international law.

[03:05:12]

PLEITGEN: After waiting for hours in Moscow before Putin finally met with him, the Trump administration's negotiator Steve Witkoff left the Russian capital in the middle of the night and in the driving rain.

Russian State TV quickly declaring Putin the winner of this round of diplomacy. The highly experienced Putin simply outplayed the cornered Zelenskyy and the collective West, which was clearly in a flurry, the anchor says. And while President Trump says he wants to talk directly with Putin as soon as possible, one of Putin's closest allies, Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko, addressing the U.S. president by his first name, also seemingly hitting the brakes on the administration's ceasefire plans.

ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO, BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Yes, Donald wants to stop the war. Thank you to him for this. But at the same time, we must firmly stand our ground. Nobody must push us aside. And God forbid to cheat us, as we now say, or to try and run circles around us.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: We want to get now some more analysis by -- or at least being joined now by Steven Erlanger. He's a "New York Times" Chief Diplomatic Correspondent joining us from Berlin.

Steven, it's great to have you back. Thank you.

STEVEN ERLANGER, CHIEF DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: So, Steven, what do you suspect Putin's endgame to be installing on the U.S.'s plan? Why is he just seems to be buying time if he's been offered a series of concessions from Donald Trump?

ERLANGER: Well, I don't think he feels he's been offered enough concessions. He feels he has a strong hand. I think he wants to reconquer Russian territory. In other words, he wants to reconquer Kursk before sitting down to talk about a ceasefire. I think for him and his own PR machine, it would be very important to say, OK, we've taken this territory back. We've seized 18% of Ukraine. Now we can talk about a ceasefire.

So I think part of the reason for the delay is Putin hoping and pushing that his troops together with the North Koreans can push the Ukrainians out of Russian sovereign territory.

SANDOVAL: And those talks that you reference, I get the impression it really is a delicate diplomatic dance, I think, for all sides here. So can you speak to the challenge that Trump faces in moving Russia towards making serious and I should say timely negotiations on a ceasefire, since there's no time to waste?

ERLANGER: Well, I think there is time to waste. If you're a Ukrainian, you don't want a ceasefire too early. And if you're a Russian, you probably don't want a ceasefire at all.

I mean, Putin keeps saying a ceasefire would just allow the Ukrainians to regroup and the Ukrainians say the same about the Russians, which is why Zelenskyy proposed trying to placate Mr. Trump, a sort of semi- ceasefire. It's Trump who wants the ceasefire. So it's Trump who's looking for leverage.

She's got Zelenskyy to agree with the help of other European leaders who have said to Zelenskyy, look, you have to agree, you have to placate Trump. And this way you put the onus, you put the burden on Putin, who Trump thinks is his great friend. And so that's where the onus is right now.

And Putin is also walking this delicate line saying, yes, it's a great idea, we want it to end, thank you, Mr. Trump, for your efforts, and it's all wonderful, except I have a few conditions. And he's not been so clear about the conditions. I'm sure he was to -- to Witkoff, but they include, they've said publicly that Ukraine get no more military aid during the ceasefire, for instance.

And then he's also talked about, you know, wanting to settle these bigger problems which have to do with the security architecture in all of Europe. So one can imagine at least finally getting to ceasefire talks. And then after 30 days, the war starts again because either side will find some reason to start it. I don't think the Ukrainians are in such trouble that they need to end the war so fast. And Putin's real aim remains the same, which is to subjugate Ukraine.

SANDOVAL: And it's an important point, is a delay may not necessarily be a bad thing, as you point out, for the Ukrainians.

I should also remind our viewers that on Friday, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, he urged the U.S. to apply strong pressure to Russia. Steven, how would the U.S. actually put that pressure on Russia? And how would that pressure compare to what the kind of pressure that it put on Ukraine by, let's say, removing intelligence sharing? Do you think it's a pretty even distribution of pressure here?

[03:10:15]

ERLANGER: Yeah, I think even distribution of pain. If you remember, Keith Kellogg said we had to hit Zelenskyy in the head with a two by four like a mule, which was not very much appreciated. They don't have a two by four for Russia, but what they do have is economic tools and sanctions. Trump has already let expire some agreements with Russian banks to get paid for oil that were in existence under President Biden.

So that's already some pressure. He could do more together with allies to block Russian trade through its secret fleet in oil. He could push Europe to buy less Russian gas. It's still buying quite a lot of Russian gas. So they're economic instruments. And Russia, you know, it has inflation now at 21%. Its businessmen are uncomfortable. It's militarized the economy.

So economic pressure will work, but not in the sense of a two by four. There's no intelligence sharing that Trump can cut off to push Putin around.

SANDOVAL: Steven Erlanger is the New York Times Chief Diplomatic Correspondent. Thank you for your time and thank you especially for all your reporting. We appreciate it.

ERLANGER: Thank you. That's kind.

SANDOVAL: All right, let's get you updated now on another conflict that's ongoing. The U.S. is warning that Hamas should accept its proposal to temporarily extend the Gaza ceasefire or face consequences. The Trump administration said on Friday that Hamas is, quote, "well aware of the deadline and making a very bad bet that time is on its side."

The U.S. statement did not give any specifics on the deadline, though, but the warning comes after Hamas indicated that it is willing to release a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen along with the bodies of four other hostages.

The militant group also acknowledged receiving a proposal from mediators. The U.S. proposal would extend the ceasefire past Ramadan and Passover, and Israel would also lift its blockade of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Israel's Prime Minister, he is set to meet with his team on Saturday night to discuss what the next steps will be.

When we return here on the CNN Newsroom, U.S. lawmakers narrowly avoiding a massive government shutdown on Friday. But now some Democrats, they are drawing fire from their own party. We'll tell you why.

And an American child's brain cancer treatment is interrupted after she and her parents are sent to Mexico. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

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[03:16:50]

SANDOVAL: Welcome back. The U.S. Senate passed a spending bill on Friday, avoiding a government shutdown with just hours to spare. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and nine others are now facing backlash after joining with Republicans to get it approved. Democrats are grappling with how to move forward after the vote exposed some very deep, deep rifts within their party. But Senator Schumer says that he's confident he did the right thing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), U.S. MAJORITY LEADER: Within two, three weeks, we would have had the whole country and all so many of the Democrats complaining, why were they cutting this? Why were they cutting that? I think it was an act of strength, of courage. And I knew that most people wouldn't agree with me. But I'm confident I did the right thing. And I think history will vindicate that.

TRUMP: I have great respect, by the way, for what Schumer did today. He went out and he said that they have to vote with the Republicans because it's the right thing to do. I couldn't believe what I heard. But, you know, I think he's going to get some credit for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: A rare remark from Donald Trump. Let's go now to CNN's Lauren Fox to tell us more about how the vote unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: After a tumultuous week on Capitol Hill, a government shutdown was averted on Friday night with nine Democrats, one independent, joining with Republicans on a key procedural vote that advanced this bill. Ultimately, a lot of those same Democrats who were willing to advance the legislation voted against it. But by that point, the vote only required a simple majority. That means Republicans were able to carry it.

And it's been a really hard week for Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who has argued repeatedly that he saw no off-ramp if Democrats win over this spending deadline, arguing that at that point they would be at the mercy of a Republican-controlled White House, Republican- controlled Senate, Republican-controlled House to get out of it, his argument Democrats have lost a lot of leverage given the fact that they do not have control of any of those chambers.

But that has really infuriated a lot of House Democrats who were largely unified in bringing and voting against this bill in the House of Representatives. House Republicans carried this largely on their own. They were able to send it to the Senate. And ultimately, it was just up to a handful of Democrats to keep the government open over the weekend and into the next several months.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: President Donald Trump vowed to use the U.S. Justice Department to target his own perceived enemies in a campaign-style speech inside the department's historic Great Hall on Friday. The public airing of grievances broke established norms. You see, U.S. presidents traditionally distance themselves from the DOJ so that its work will not appear to be political.

But Mr. Trump called himself the country's, quote, "chief law enforcement officer." Problem is, that's a title usually used for the country's attorney general. And he also promised to remove what he called rogue actors and corrupt forces from the government.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: Unfortunately, in recent years, a corrupt group of hacks and radicals within the ranks of the American government obliterated the trust and goodwill built up over generations. They weaponized the vast powers of our intelligence and law enforcement agencies to try and thwart the will of the American people.

[03:20:05]

We will expel the rogue actors and corrupt forces from our government. We will expose and very much expose their egregious crimes and severe misconduct, of which was levels. You've never seen anything like it.

We had to take all of that abuse. Even during the trials, we had to take tremendous abuse. Like, you know, these wonderful guys. They're not legitimate people there. They're horrible people. They're scum. And you have to know that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Uncertainty is affecting U.S. consumers and investors, with indexes ending the week lower despite a rally on Friday and American consumer sentiment at its lowest level since November 2022.

CNN's Anna Stewart has more on the effects of some of this market volatility.

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ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Well, it's been a week that many investors may like to forget. The Dow Jones closed down more than 400 points in three of the five sessions, and the S&P 500 entered correction territory, falling more than 10% from its record high just last month. So what's been fueling all the volatility? Well, early in the week, markets were rattled when President Trump didn't rule out the possibility of a recession in an interview on Fox News.

TRUMP: I hate to predict things.

STEWART: And then came the barrage of tariff news. On Tuesday, the Premier of Ontario in Canada said he would place a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to three U.S. states and warned he could go further.

DOUG FORD, ONTARIO PREMIER: If the United States escalates, I will not hesitate to shut the electricity off completely.

STEWART: Trump responded in a lengthy Truth Social post, threatening an up to 50% tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum and suggesting once again that Canada would become, quote, "our cherished 51st state." The Ontario premier backed down and so did Trump.

Then on Wednesday, Trump imposed 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports measures he had previously outlined. The E.U. responded with tariffs on $28 billion of U.S. goods.

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: The countermeasures we take today are strong, but proportionate.

STEWART: The President wasn't pleased, making his position clear at a bilateral with the Irish Prime Minister.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you respond to their retaliation?

TRUMP: Of course, I'm going to respond.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You will retaliate.

TRUMP: The problem is our country didn't respond. Look, the E.U. was set up in order to take advantage of the United States.

STEWART: And Trump followed through the next day, threatening a 200% tariff on European alcohol if the E.U. doesn't back down.

Now, Trump is still bullish about the economy, but the on again off again nature of the tariffs and their rapid escalation has investors on edge. What was a Trump bump for markets earlier in the year is now a Trump slump.

Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Canada has a new Prime Minister after Mark Carney was sworn into office on Friday. He's the former Bank of Canada governor who replaces Justin Trudeau, who formally stepped down after nearly a decade in power. Mr. Carney takes office as Canada is embroiled in a terror war with its largest trading partner, you guessed it, the U.S. And also, this is happening amid questions about its sovereignty. But within minutes of taking the oath, he dismissed Donald Trump's talk of annexing Canada as he called it crazy, using his word and also adding that Canada will never become the country's 51st state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Well, I've been clear, personally, I've been clear, the ministers behind me, I think, to an individual when asked have been clear that we will never, ever in any way, shape or form be part of the United States. America is not Canada.

Look at the ceremony we just had. You could not have had that ceremony. You would not have that ceremony in America. Look at the cabinet behind me. You would not have that cabinet in America. You do not have that cabinet in America. We are a very fundamentally different country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Meanwhile, in Mexico, the undocumented parents of a 10-year- old American girl say that they are desperately seeking a way back into the U.S. so that their child can continue her brain cancer treatment. The girl's care was interrupted last month when she and her family were detained at a Texas immigration checkpoint while on their way to see her doctor. You see, all but one of the couple's six children are U.S. citizens. Their mom and dad are undocumented.

Well, the family was taken to Mexico by U.S. authorities after the parents decided to take their children with them rather than be separated. A nonprofit representing the family tells me that the parents have no criminal record. In a statement to CNN, Customs and Border Protection defended deportations of people with removal orders, but the agency declined to share specifics on this case, citing privacy reasons.

[03:25:18]

Earlier, I spoke to Attorney and Immigration Analyst Raul Reyes to ask him what recourse his family may have. And why similar so-called mixed status families could soon face some impossible decisions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAUL REYES, ATTORNEY: There are theoretically on the books, there are some mechanisms where a family could apply for a waiver or some sort of humanitarian relief. But that is extremely hard to get once a family has already -- once individuals have already been deported. And certainly with this administration, that is a -- will certainly be a really steep challenge.

For one thing, when people are removed from the United States, when people are deported, that automatically triggers a 5, 10 or even 20- year ban on legally returning. So that's minimum what the family or the parent is looking at before they even are allowed to apply for a waiver or some sort of exception. And that process itself takes years. So to be blunt, it's hard to be optimistic for any way that they can legally return with their daughter for the treatment.

SANDOVAL: And not just for them, but optimistic for so many other families as well. They are one of so many one migrant advocacy group estimating that there are what, some 4 million mixed status families in the U.S., which is typically an undocumented parent with a U.S. citizen child. Just like this case that we're discussing.

As the Trump administration really kind of expands its sights to include non-criminal undocumented people, could we see more parents like this mother and father faced with some of those impossible decisions? Do they leave family behind or they simply deport together?

REYES: Well, sad to say, it is very likely that we will see this type of situation again and again going forward. Because look here, this is the reality. This president was elected on a promise of mass deportations.

And now we are seeing how that plays out, the consequences of that type of policy on the ground. Most undocumented people in here have been here over a decade. I believe two thirds of them have been here for over a decade.

So these are people with strong family ties. It's natural that they would have citizen children there. They're part of their communities. But the Trump administration is unlike past administrations. It is not focusing on immigration priorities such as violent criminals or drug cartels. They have promised.

We hear from Thomas Homan, the border czar that they are going after all undocumented people. So certainly going forward, we will see more instances of children, family members, and really unfortunate cases of people being swept up in these type of dragnets.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Our thanks to Raul Reyes.

Still on the way, more than a month on, Pope Francis remains in the hospital. Ahead, the latest on the pontiff's condition as he battles a lung infection.

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[03:31:55]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: SpaceX, go NASA crew 10.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Copy, 1 Alpha. Vehicles pitching downrange.

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SANDOVAL: I was glued to my TV on Friday watching this. Some pretty incredible pictures of SpaceX and NASA have successfully launched what could be called a crew swap mission to the International Space Station. Once this rocket's four-member crew arrives at the ISS tonight, astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore will finally be able to return to Earth on a different capsule.

We'll remind you that the pair have been held up on the orbiter for nine months longer than expected. Their extended stay followed multiple issues with their spacecraft. They're sure looking forward to coming home.

Elsewhere, Cuba suffered another nationwide power outage on Friday night. This latest grid collapse leaving more than 10 million people in the darkness. It follows a series of power failures as the island struggles with aging infrastructure, natural disasters, and plenty of economic turmoil.

Cuban officials have also previously blamed U.S. economic sanctions for crippling the already struggling energy sector there. Efforts are currently underway to restore service to the island.

More than a dozen fast-moving wildfires erupted in Oklahoma on Friday, spurring mandatory evacuations. Winds across much of the state have been gusting in upwards of 70 miles per hour, about 113 kilometers. Emergency officials say that they are trying to get a handle on more than 100 hotspots throughout the state. The blazes there are fueled by strong winds and bone-dry conditions.

Fortunately, no fatalities have been reported there in Oklahoma. We'll keep following this.

Also following heavy rains and swollen rivers that are causing flooding in parts of Italy. This video that you're looking at from Florence, hard to believe, where museums and schools had to be closed, events also canceled.

Also here, no fatalities have been reported so far, but hundreds of people have been evacuated to the north now in Bologna. Landslides and widespread flooding have been reported. The region there was hit by deadly floods just last year.

Stick around. We'll be right back with more news.

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[03:37:29]

SANDOVAL: And welcome back. We are standing by right now for the latest update on Pope Francis' condition. On Friday, Vatican officials said that the Pope's doctors decided not to issue an update. And that's because of the stability of the Holy Father's condition. They noted that the pontiff's recovery is slow. And it will take some time for improvements to be consolidated, which is what they're working on right now.

We do want to go straight now to CNN's Barbie Nadeau, joining me live from Rome. Live with more on the Pope's condition. Barbie, doctors choosing not to issue an update. Is this a case of no news being good news?

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah, and I think that we are moving to that phase of the situation. You know, it was very acute in the beginning. He's one month in the hospital. February 14th is when he went in with bronchitis, was then diagnosed with double pneumonia, had a few very acute respiratory situations that he recovered from. And now, you know, as you would think with any 88-year-old person with mobility issues, it's going to take a long time to recover.

We do know that we're not going to be getting these detailed medical bulletins that we've been receiving fairly regularly. The doctors said that there's no need for that until and unless there is a need to update everyone with the situation.

Right now, they're working, though, on his physical therapy, trying to get him to the sort of mobility that he had prior to his hospitalization, which was very limited. He was mostly confined to a wheelchair. So what that looks like, we don't really know because we haven't seen a picture of him in this month that he's been in the hospital, which is quite a departure from previous hospitalizations where we have previously gotten some sort of image of him inside. And I don't know if that speaks to his condition or just the preferences by his doctors and medical care that he stays sort of out of the spotlight, focused on his recovery, you know, hopefully getting back to the Vatican in time for Easter, which is, of course, not far away, Polo. SANDOVAL: You mentioned no images of the Holy Father that we've seen, but I'm wondering if you may be able to remind our viewers perhaps some of the messages that we've received from inside that hospital coming from the Pope. We know that he is steadfast in his determination to lead the over one billion Catholics around the world.

NADEAU: Yeah, you know, he hasn't delivered his Sunday Angelus prayer that happens every Sunday here in Rome, usually with him looking out of the window over St. Peter's Square. But we do know he's been writing those prayers that are that are delivered by -- by other prelates and clerics.

[03:40:02]

And we also know that he's been taking part in the spiritual exercises of Lent. He's not participating actively, but he's through video link participating at least spiritually. He's watching what's going on there. You know, the cardinals who are in Rome are taking part in these spiritual exercises that -- that -- that are part of the Lenten season. So he's very much, you know, lucid and aware of that.

SANDOVAL: Barbie Nadeau, you know, in Rome. Thank you so much for the update as Catholics around the world wait for their prayers to be answered with hopefully a positive update soon. Thank you.

A German runner braving over 500 miles of the harsh Saharan Desert. It's all in an effort to raise awareness about climate change and water availability.

Tanja Braun completed the 93-mile Trans-Saharan Marathon in February before setting out for an additional 435 solo run to the Moroccan Sahara, because the first one wasn't enough clearly, Braun ran for 8 to 10 hours a day battling extreme heat. As you see here, severe temperature swings and three sandstorms. Almost looks like that scene out of Forrest Gump, right?

We do want to thank you for joining us. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. World Sport is next. Here's -- and then it's another hour of CNN Newsroom. We'll help you tune in.

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