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Israel Shatters Fragile Ceasefire; Trump Talks to Putin on Russia-Ukraine Peace Deal; Trump Strips U.S. Agency for Global Media, Dismantles VOA, RFE/RL; Harvard to Offer Free Tuition to Less Income Families; MLB Begins 2025 Season in Japan. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired March 18, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is CNN Breaking News.

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

Breaking news this morning out of Gaza where a fragile ceasefire has been shattered and more than 250 Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza overnight.

The attack was ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz and an Israeli official described it as pre-emptive strikes targeting Hamas but declined to provide details about what they claim was the militant group's quote "readiness to execute terror attacks." Hundreds have been injured in the strike and local officials say some people are still trapped under the rubble.

The enclave's healthcare system was already in bad shape after the prolonged conflict between Israel and Hamas. Now doctors there say they don't have what they need to save lives. The head of Gaza's hospitals is reaching out for help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MOHAMMED ZAQOUT, DIRECTOR OF GAZA HOSPITALS (through translator): We call on the international community to urgently intervene to save our wounded, to save what can be saved from these severe injuries, to allow the entry of medical devices, equipment and even fuel for hospitals and medicines and the entry of medical delegations and allowing those who can to leave for treatment abroad so that we can reduce the scale of these damages and massacres committed by the occupation against our people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Paula Hancocks is following the story. She joins us now live from Abu Dhabi. So Paula, what is the latest on these deadly Israeli strikes in Gaza and what will this mean for the ceasefire and of course the return of hostages?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Rosemary, that death toll is rising. Over 250 now have been confirmed to have been killed in Gaza, that's according to the Ministry of Health and well over 400 injured.

Now we're hearing many of those injuries are serious injuries and bear in mind this is a place where the health service has been decimated, where there has been a blockade of all humanitarian aid including medical supplies for more than two weeks now as Israel was trying to pressure Hamas into agreeing to a bridging proposal for the ceasefire that the U.S. had suggested.

So it is a very difficult situation for those on the ground. Israel is saying it is targeting Hamas, it is targeting their infrastructure, the middle-level commanders. But what we are seeing as we have seen before is that civilians are being caught up in this and much of the footage that we have been looking at, we have seen a number of children among the dead and injured as well.

Now an Israeli official has said that this is a pre-emptive strike saying that they are trying to stop Hamas' readiness to execute terror attacks, build up forces and rearm.

Also saying that these airstrikes will go on as long as is necessary and that they will expand beyond airstrikes. So suggesting that we will see once again the Israeli military within the population centers of Gaza.

Now we have also heard from the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations on this decision to go back to war in Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANNY DANON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: The Israeli air force initiated a series of attacks against Hamas targets in Gaza. We will show no mercy on our enemies. Let me be very clear, Israel will not stop until all of our hostages are back home.

We will make it very clear to the Security Council that if they want to stop the war in Gaza, they have to ensure that the hostages are coming back to Israel. We are committed to bring them back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: We have actually heard from one of the advocacy groups representing some of those families of the hostages and they have said that it is their greatest fear that has come true, saying the government has chosen to give up on the hostages, that they are shocked, angry and terrified. Rosemary?

CHURCH: The problem, Paula, of course here is the longer these strikes continue, the more it actually does put the hostages' lives at risk and of course then you have the deaths across Gaza. So the problem is this could continue for some time, couldn't it?

[03:05:10] HANCOCKS: Well that's the thing, the off-ramp is not clear at this point. Also bear in mind that the situation has changed for Israel in the respect that there is a different U.S. President now. We did see that the former U.S. President Joe Biden putting pressure on Netanyahu to temper his actions albeit largely unsuccessful.

But now with U.S. President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu has full-throated support. We know that there has been increased military support that has been sent to Israel certainly vocally, verbally.

President Trump is saying that Israel should do what it deems necessary. So of course the concern is that the off-ramp does not exist at this point that there is very little pressure on the Israelis to pull back from this military action and to try to go back to the negotiating table.

Now we had seen Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in the region. He had been trying to secure a bridging proposal where there would be an extension of a ceasefire for a month and a handful of hostages released in return for Palestinian prisoners.

Now even that bridging proposal looks highly unlikely at this point as we see Israel returning to the military action. Israel is saying it is to put pressure on Hamas so that they will agree to release more hostages. But it is a very difficult scenario to see how the path back to a ceasefire even materializes at this point. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Paula Hancocks, thanks so much for joining us. I appreciate it.

Let's get more now from Shaina Low. She is a communications advisor for the Norwegian Refugee Council and she joins me now from Amman in Jordan. Thank you so much for talking with us.

SHAINA LOW, COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL: Thank you.

CHURCH: So you have been in communication with your team in Gaza. They're all safe and accounted for. But what are they telling you about what happened in the early hours of the morning when these Israeli strikes shook them from their beds?

LOW: Well, it was very similar to what the doctor who you had on just a few moments ago, my colleague wrote to me, he said that shortly after two in the morning they were woken up by intensive bombing. The building was shaking and they immediately started getting reports of strikes all across Gaza.

They said that phone lines were jammed as people tried to check in with one another, make sure that their families were okay. And as of around 5:30 this morning, Gaza time, when I was in touch with him, he said that there was continued shelling and bombing and heavy attacks had continued since 2 a.m.

People, including our staff, are, of course, in shock. They are very stressed out. They are very worried about what is to come. This is, of course, recalls the early days after October 7th when we saw that casualty numbers were incredibly high.

CHURCH: Yes, I mean, this is a terrifying situation for your teams and everyone living across Gaza. As you say, it's extensive from north to south. So what is happening at this hour? What are your team members telling you?

LOW: I think they're just still trying to figure out who is safe. We've suspended all movements, making sure that people are sheltering in place where they are. About half of our staff had returned back to northern Gaza to see their families, check on their homes. And so people are spread throughout Gaza.

And, of course, we're incredibly concerned about the fact that as we've seen these renewed hostilities, as we've seen this bombardment, that very little aid is present inside of Gaza due to a 16, now 17-day complete siege where no aid or commercial goods have entered.

We know that fuel is in short supply, and so it's possible that in the coming days we will lose telecommunications, that hospitals will collapse, there will be no clean drinking water available, and food distributions will come to a halt.

CHURCH: Yes, I mean, so many problems ahead here. And, of course, we know that more than 200 people have been killed so far by these Israeli strikes, and hundreds have been wounded too and left homeless.

So what will this mean for your teams? What will they be doing in the hours ahead to help those impacted by these deadly strikes?

[03:10:01]

LOW: Well, of course, we'll do everything that we can, but it's very difficult when our teams themselves are affected, are impacted, are unable to move, are unable to get where we're unable to guarantee their safety and their ability to go out and conduct distributions.

Already our warehouses were running quite low due to the fact that no aid has entered. And so we will do whatever we can to continue to support the people of Gaza and to continue to support our colleagues in Gaza with their efforts.

But it's really, I think, very early to tell in terms of if there are renewed hostilities over the next few days, what in fact we may be able to do.

CHURCH: And in situations like this, do you keep your teams in place? Or is it easier to get them out at this juncture and regroup and then send them back in to help people? How do you work out what to do from here?

LOW: Well, most of our team are actually local national staff, Palestinians from Gaza who have been impacted over the last 17 months. And we will continue to work as best as we can. It's unclear yet how much movement -- freedom of movement there will be. Inside of Gaza, we've already heard reports, seen reports that the

private military contractors who were in Gaza controlling the Netzerim corridor and monitoring that checkpoint have withdrawn. So it's unclear where our staff will be able to go and how we'll be able to mobilize them given the conditions on the ground right now.

CHURCH: Shaina Low, thank you so much for talking with us and we hope that your team stays safe there in Gaza. I appreciate it.

LOW: Thank you.

CHURCH: Meantime, U.S. President Donald Trump is doubling down on threats to Iran after he ordered airstrikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen.

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U.S. Central Command confirms American forces are continuing operations against the rebel group. In response, the Iran-backed Houthis claim to have launched 18 missiles and drones at a U.S. air carrier in the Red Sea.

President Trump posted on social media, "Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon from this point forward as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of Iran. And Iran will be held responsible and suffer the consequences and those consequences will be dire."

Well the White House says a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine has never been closer ahead of a high-stakes phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in the hours ahead. The U.S. President says negotiators already have topics they want to discuss, including land, power plants and quote, dividing up certain assets. The Kremlin says the call will focus on issues related to the Ukraine conflict as well as restoring dialogue between the U.S. and Russia.

Last week, President Trump said Ukraine had accepted a proposed 30-day ceasefire, putting the ball in Russia's court. Vladimir Putin has suggested he agrees with the plan in principle but made further demands and said more discussions are needed.

On Monday, while touring the Kennedy Center in Washington, Donald Trump repeated disputed claims from Vladimir Putin that Ukrainian troops are now surrounded in Russia's Kursk region. The U.S. President also discussed his hopes for Tuesday's talks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're going to have a very important call. You know, we've had calls. But we're getting down to a very critical stage.

And we want to get the whole Russia-Ukraine thing done. And I think Ukraine wants it. I know they want it. Everybody wants it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Fred Pleitgen is following developments from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Excitement on Russian state T.V. The leading talk show previewing President Trump's latest diplomatic advances towards Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

The pace of negotiations between Moscow and Washington has accelerated, the anchor says tomorrow there will be a phone conversation between Putin and Trump. The U.S. President announced a new call to the Kremlin.

As the unrelenting battles continue on the ground, the White House claims it's making progress towards a possible ceasefire. With the Ukrainians already on board, President Trump now trying to convince Putin to sign off as well, even as the Russian leader says many issues still need to be sorted out.

TRUMP: We'll be talking about land, we'll be talking about power plants. That's a big question. But I think we have a lot of it already discussed very much by both sides.

[03:15:09]

Ukraine and Russia. We're already talking about that. Dividing up certain assets.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Dividing up assets between Ukraine and Russia. While Moscow's forces are seemingly on the brink of ousting Ukrainian troops from their shrinking foothold in Russia's Kursk region, soldiers collecting war trophies after hard-fought battles.

The Russians say they're also pressing on various other frontlines and they don't want to give any of that territory back to Kyiv. Moscow also giving a big net to the idea of putting European NATO troops on the ground in Ukraine as peacekeepers. The Kremlin lashing out at the notion.

We are talking about the fact that viable regulation is only possible by taking into account and solving the root causes of the problems associated with Ukraine. And they are going to create additional root causes.

But on Moscow's streets, optimism that an end to the war may be in sight brokered by the U.S. president.

PLEITGEN: Do you think that progress is possible in this phone call? To end the war in Ukraine?

UNKNOWN: I think progress will be definitely.

PLEITGEN: Definitely? Why do you think so? You're very optimistic.

UNKNOWN: Yes.

PLEITGEN: Why?

UNKNOWN: Because I love my life. I love my country and I think all this will be good for our country.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): But the Kremlin has cautions. Diplomacy is still in its early stages and many hurdles will have to be overcome to silence the guns on the battlefield.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will come one week after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accepted the U.S.- proposed 30-day ceasefire. He is now accusing Russia of doing everything to prevent it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It has been nearly a week since it became absolutely clear to everyone in the world that it is Putin who continues to prolong this war. For a week now, Putin has been unable to muster a simple yes in response to the ceasefire proposal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: We'll wait, of course, to see what comes out of the call later today. Meetings between U.S. negotiators with representatives from Ukraine and Russia are expected to continue this week.

Well still to come, the SpaceX Crew-9 mission is heading back to Earth. The latest on the astronauts who spent nine months aboard the International Space Station. Back with that and more in just a moment.

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[03:20:00]

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CHURCH: We are following breaking news this hour. The ceasefire in Gaza appears to be over after Israeli airstrikes killed more than 250 people according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

A Hamas leader responded by calling the strikes a quote, "death sentence for Israeli hostages remaining in Gaza".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strike and an Israeli official describes the attack as a quote, "preemptive targeting of Hamas leaders without providing details." We will continue to follow this story and bring you updates in the hours ahead.

Well the SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon capsule has successfully departed from the International Space Station. Its four-person crew is now en route back to Earth aboard a NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams who have been on the ISS for nearly nine months now. A spacecraft mishap back in June turned their week-long mission into an indefinite orbit around Earth.

NASA moved up this return flight timeline to take advantage of favorable weather conditions throughout Tuesday. The Dragon capsule is expected to splash down off Florida's coast this evening.

Well CNN's Nick Valencia reports on their extended journey and the different political world awaiting them on earth.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What a long strange trip it's been.

It's been a nine-month odyssey that was supposed to last about a week. Last June, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore rode on an initial wave of excitement as Boeing's Starliner capsule flew to the ISS with the crew aboard for the first time.

But it was a bumpy ride marked by helium leaks and propulsion issues and NASA decided a return trip with astronauts onboard was too risky. Looking back on the extended mission, Williams told CNN, it was all part of the job.

SUNI WILLIAMS, ASTRONAUT: They do what's right for the team. And what was right for the team is to stay up here and be expedition crew members for the International Space Station.

So, you know, you have to just pivot. You have to change your plan and then go with it and make the best of it.

VALENCIA (voice-over): But Butch and Suni are also coming back to a different world, at least politically, having spent the election and the first weeks of Trump's second term in space.

TRUMP: We love you and we're coming up to get you and you should haven't been up this all along.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Their extended stay at the ISS has become kind of political kryptonite after Elon Musk suggested the Biden administration denied an offer from SpaceX to bring Williams and Wilmore home earlier for, quote, "political reasons."

[03:25:01]

A former senior NASA official tells CNN no offer was communicated to NASA's leadership and last summer NASA said a dedicated mission to retrieve the astronauts was not being considered. The extra cost would have been in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

The crew says they're happy to be working in space and that they'll trying to stay above the controversy.

BUTCH WILMORE, ASTRONAUT: From my standpoint, politics has not played into this at all. From our standpoint, I think that they would agree.

We came up prepared to stay long even though we planned to stay short. That's what we do in human spaceflight.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Both astronauts said they're looking forward to seeing their families again. NASA says Williams and Wilmore completed hundreds of hours of research and science experiments while in the ISS, including a spacewalk together.

WILIAMS: We are just fortunate and thankful though that we have seats, and we'll be coming home (inaudible) in the plasma splashing down in the ocean. So that's what we're looking forward to.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Nick Valencia, CNN, at the Kennedy Space Center.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come, we will bring you the latest on the deadly Israeli strikes in Gaza. A live report from the region next.

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[03:30:00]

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

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will speak by phone in the coming hours about a possible deal to end the war in Ukraine. The U.S. President says the call will focus on dividing up assets like Ukrainian territory and energy infrastructure, which could include the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant.

The SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon capsule has successfully left the International Space Station. After nearly nine months in orbit, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have finally hitched a ride home back to Earth. Initial projections have the crew splashing down off the coast of Florida this evening.

Well, it is morning in Gaza right now after the enclave was pounded by deadly Israeli airstrikes overnight. The Palestinian Health Ministry says more than 250 people are dead and hundreds more injured.

It effectively ends a fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and the militant group Hamas. Israeli hardliners are welcoming the resumption of airstrikes on Gaza. And the finance minister is saying this is a phased operation that has been, quote, "planned and built in recent weeks."

Well CNN's Paula Hancocks is following the story for us live from Abu Dhabi. Good to see you again, Paula. So we talked at the top of the hour, of course, but what's the latest since then on these deadly Israeli strikes across Gaza and what does it mean for the ceasefire and the return of hostages?

HANCOCKS: Well, Rosemary, we're hearing from our stringers on the ground in Gaza and others that the bombardment is continuing. It is not as intense as it was in those first few hours after the decision by Israel to resume airstrikes in Gaza. We know that the death toll is over 250.

At this point, we're hearing from the Ministry of Health that some 400-plus have been injured as well, some of them in critical condition. Now, for many of those, that in itself being injured could be a death sentence, given the state of the health system in Gaza at this point, a year and a half of being decimated.

And the last two weeks and a bit, they haven't had any humanitarian aid allowed into the Gaza Strip as Israel was trying to put pressure on Hamas to accept a bridging proposal, an extension of the ceasefire. So the situation for civilians on the ground in Gaza is extremely dire at this point.

Now, we have heard from some of those in Israel who also do not support this war resuming in Gaza, for example, the advocacy group, which is representing the families of some of those 58 hostages who are still being held in Gaza. They have said that their greatest fear has come true, that the government has chosen to give up on the hostages and that they are shocked, angry and terrified.

But as you say, Rosemary, there is some support within Israel for this resumption of military action, certainly among the more far right elements of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition. They had consistently said that the ceasefire hostage deal agreed by both Hamas and Israel was a bad one and that after phase one had finished, they should resume the war and try and destroy Hamas completely.

[03:35:04]

Now, of course, destroying Hamas completely is something that even some Israeli military officials have suggested is nigh on impossible at this point.

So as we see, in just a number of hours since this war has resumed, the death toll has risen sharply in Gaza. The footage that is coming to us out of Gaza shows a number of civilians, a number of children that have been injured, that have been killed, that have been caught up once again, as they have for the last year and a half on Israel's war on Hamas. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Paula Hancocks brings that live report from Abu Dhabi. Many thanks.

A doctor volunteering in Gaza says the aftermath of the Israeli strikes has been absolutely horrific. Between a lack of supplies and qualified people to help the victims, Dr. Razan Al Nahhas fears there's not much medical workers can do at this point.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) DR. RAZAN AL-NAHHAS, VOLUNTEERING WITH HUMANITY AUXILIUM IN GAZA: It's been absolutely horrific. Nothing close to anything I've experienced before. We were asleep at around 2:05. I believe multiple explosions within just a span of a few minutes.

Back-to-back, wielding shock. Immediately, I just got dressed. I knew the pieces coming in, and since then, we have been receiving patients non-stop.

The first two hours, I would say, were the most intense. I think at this point, I mean, it's really hard to tell the numbers right now, because there are just patients everywhere, on the floor, in the stretchers, in the hallways, outside, with, you know, at least over 50 martyrs.

It's, you know, you're really just doing damage control, just trying to do what you can, because you have limited resources. We didn't even have access to a C.T. scanner for the first couple of hours until the technicians came in to run the machine. There's no radiologist to read the scans, there's minimal surgeons.

We're really not doing much at this point, and the scenes are just horrific. Babies, children all over the floor, bleeding from their heads, bleeding from their abdomens, extremity injuries, and, you know, after the first wave, there were a few more explosions, and we got a few more waves of patients that continued to trickle in.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

CHURCH: That was Dr. Al-Nahhas speaking to CNN earlier from Gaza.

A U.S. federal judge is demanding answers from the Trump administration after the Justice Department deported hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members under a wartime power. The judge characterized the Justice Department's reasoning as we don't care, we'll do what we want.

Our Jeff Zeleny has the latest from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): The White House insisting it is not defying a court order all over a deportation over the weekend.

Some 200 or so migrants sent back on a plane to an El Salvador prison at the cost of $6 million to the United States. A judge ordered that plane to be turned around midair. The administration proceeded with it.

Now this is all front and center in the middle of a legal battle. The White House says the law is on their side.

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: In fact, this administration acted within the confines of the law, again, within the president's constitutional authority and under the authority granted to him under the Alien Enemies Act. We are quite confident in that, and we are wholly confident that we are going to win this case in court.

ZELENY: The White House says the president has the authority under foreign affairs and national security concerns, the broad authority to take care of American citizens. There is no question, though, history here clearly shows that only three times in U.S. history, the War of 1812 and both the First and Second World Wars are the only time that this law from 1798 has been imposed.

The president says he believes immigration and border security is an act of war. There is no doubt, though, this legal fight is escalating.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come, silencing the Voice of America. The Trump administration is making major cuts to government-funded media, a move critics fear could have far reaching impacts on journalists around the world.

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[03:40:00]

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CHURCH: The Trump administration's recent decision to make cuts to pro-democracy, government funded media is raising concerns around the world.

Last week, the U.S. Agency for Global Media terminated grants to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. One source tells CNN the move could have a major impact on exiled Russian journalists living in Europe who could lose their work visas without their jobs.

The administration is also looking to dismantle Voice of America, the largest and oldest U.S. international broadcaster, which Donald Trump has long criticized.

Our senior White House correspondent Kayla Tausche looks at the impact the VOA has had worldwide.

[03:45:05]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RONALD REAGAN, THEN-U.S. PRESIDENT: When the voice first went on the air 45 years ago, the announcer said the news may be good or bad. We shall tell you the truth.

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chartered by the U.S. to combat misinformation during World War II, Voice of America first broadcast from New York into Nazi Germany in 1942. Long seen as a way to promote America's interests and ideals overseas.

GEORGE W. BUSH, THEN-U.S. PRESIDENT: Providing reliable, uncensored information is an important part of our country's diplomacy.

TAUSCHE (voice-over): VOA and its affiliates transmit history-making moments to citizens whose governments are limiting their information.

In 1986, Voice of America broke the news of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster to millions behind the Iron Curtain, despite Soviet efforts to block the news.

UNKNOWN: Despite the heavy jamming, we are definitely heard.

TAUSCHE (voice-over): Even today, the U.S. Agency for Global Media says 10 million Ukrainians listen regularly, 10 million in Russia, two-thirds of all Afghans, at least 427 million listeners around the world.

And nearly nine out of 10 weekly listeners say they believe the information is trustworthy. Three out of four say it informs their decisions.

JODIE GINSBERG, CEO, COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS: This isn't just a risk to those individuals who will now lose information about their countries, individuals in Russia or Belarus or Cuba. It's a risk to the U.S. national security because it creates an environment in which misinformation, lies and propaganda from autocrats around the world can flourish.

And that puts America and American security at risk. So in the long run, America and Americans lose.

TAUSCHE (voice-over): Trump believes that coverage is propaganda, dialing up his distrust in an agency he's attacked for years.

TRUMP: If you heard what's coming out of the Voice of America, it's disgusting. What things they say are disgusting toward our country.

TAUSCHE (voice-over): In his first term, Trump's former chief of the U.S. Agency for Global Media purged division heads and, in 2020, accused the VOA of airing pro-Biden content to sway Muslim voters. The group's senior adviser now is Trump loyalist Kari Lake.

KARI LAKE, SR. ADVISER, U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA: We are fighting an information war, and there's no better weapon than the truth. And I believe VOA can be that weapon.

TAUSCHE (voice-over): Now citing the group's perceived partisanship, Trump has ordered it to be reduced to, quote, "the minimum presence and function required by law." But VOA's broad mandate may complicate what that means.

HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: When you look at the original charter of Voice of America, which was written decades ago, it talks about the need to communicate with the rest of the world. Many of these stations have been broadcasting just music. Voice of

America hasn't published anything online in several days. So even if you're going on the broad outlines of this original charter, they are not upholding that in the last few days by not publishing or broadcasting anything.

TAUSCHE (voice-over): Kayla Tausche, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, let's get more on the impact of these cuts to government-funded media. Nathan Hodge is one of the senior leaders at Radio Free Europe, and he joins me live from Prague. Good to have you with us.

NATHAN HODGE, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY: Yes, Rosemary, thanks for having me. And, you know, it's important to point out that Radio Free Europe is not a federal agency, but as a grantee of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, you know, there's no question that we are obliged to be accountable to the U.S. taxpayer.

But gutting an entity such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, you know, in my view and from where I sit here, would be catastrophic for media freedom in the region and would be counter to, you know, advancing U.S. interests.

I'll give you an example. In Russia, we reach an audience of up to 10 million people inside of Russia every week, breaking through that wall of official Kremlin propaganda.

Look, in Russia today, you face a blizzard of state propaganda. Independent media have been hounded out of the country following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. X is blocked, Facebook is blocked. The government has been throttling YouTube.

But despite that, Russians have been turning to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and to our Russian language services for information to break through that firewall to get independent, factual information in a timely way about what's going on in the world.

Our audiences surged after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine because the Russian audience was clearly hungry for this kind of independent information.

[03:49:55]

Just as, you know, a generation or two ago, people would huddle around their radios in their kitchens to listen to Radio Liberty or Voice of America and kind of catch that outside voice from the U.S.

And at the same time, there are major things happening in the U.S.- Russia relations. And if you were, for instance, interested in what was going to happen today in the Trump-Putin call, I would assume that you wouldn't want to just get information from a Kremlin handout or a Kremlin press release. So, you know, this does have an impact on the information that is

available to people inside of Russia. But Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty also serves audiences in Ukraine. It has reporters on the front line in Ukraine, it has a Persian language service, Radio Farda.

You know, it serves audiences in countries where it's essentially a public service for the people living inside of countries who are hungry for that kind of information that is free of censorship, Rosemary.

CHURCH: And Nathan, the president of your network says this is a gift to America's enemies. So why do you think President Trump is doing this?

HODGE: Well, Rosemary, clearly I think that there is, on the one hand, there is a strong push to refashion government as we understand it today. But I think the larger thing that we need to speak to, at least from where I sit, is the impact on the journalists potentially who work with us.

I work in a newsroom with journalists from Russia who've basically been forced to flee their home country. They've resettled in places like in Latvia, here in the Czech Republic, and they're in a tenuous position.

Many of them have declared as foreign agents they would face prosecution if they were to return home. RFE/RL is officially labeled an undesirable organization inside of Russia. One of my colleagues, Alsu Kramasheva, was imprisoned unjustly for nearly a year after she went home to Russia to go visit family for an emergency.

So the threats to journalists are very real. And I think the important thing here is for us to highlight the consequences of this kind of drastic and precipitous action which came, you know, quite without warning.

And the importance, I think, right now is to at least emphasize to our audiences that we are still working and we have a mission as journalists to bring information, you know, to our respective language audiences, but as well, I think, serve as a sort of a vital tool for enlightening what's going on in a part of the world where, you know, we have the war in Ukraine, we have a confrontation between Iran and the United States.

This is a network that provides in many ways an essential service. It provides local insight and local language expertise and gives unique insight into what's happening, often in parts of the world that are sort of behind an authoritarian curve. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Keep up your great work. Nathan Hodge, joining us live from Prague. I appreciate it.

And we'll be right back.

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[03:55:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

Harvard has announced it will be offering free tuition for more students starting next fall. Undergraduate tuition for students from families making $200,000 or less will be free. For families making $100,000 or less, getting an undergraduate degree will be completely free, including housing and health insurance.

The announcement builds on the school's 2004 initiative to make college affordable to people of all economic backgrounds. According to the Financial Aid Department, undergrad tuition was more than $56,000 this year, while total cost of attending was almost $83,000.

Rare footage of snow leopards in northern Pakistan is creating excitement among conservationists. Snow leopards are one of the most elusive big cats in the world, known locally as ghosts of the mountains.

It's rare to catch even one on camera, let alone four, but this mother and her cubs were spotted climbing up snow-covered cliffs in a national park.

The photographer captured the footage after tracking their paw prints for two weeks. The snow leopard is listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Beautiful.

Well, the Major League Baseball season starts today with the Tokyo Series in Japan. National hero Shohei Ohtani and the World Series champion L.A. Dodgers will face Chicago Cubs in two regular season games.

Game one is expected to make history with the league's first-ever all- Japanese pitching matchup on opening day. The series is the latest installment of the MLB World Tour, which featured games in Seoul, Mexico City, London and Santo Domingo last year.

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

The news continues with Christina Macfarlane after a short break. Stay with us.

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