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Powerful Winter Storm Slamming the Northeastern U.S.; Violence Erupts Across Mexico After Death of El Mencho; Armed Man Shot, Killed After Entering Mar-a-Lago Property; No Deal Yet on DHS Funding; Poll: 60% Disapprove of Trump's Performance Ahead of Speech; China Reviewing Implications of U.S. Tariff Ruling; Team USA Beats Canada in Overtime to Win Men's Hockey Gold. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired February 23, 2026 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
[00:00:39]
BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. Wherever you are in the world, you are now in the CNN NEWSROOM with me, Ben Hunte in Atlanta. And it is so good to have you with me.
It is now midnight across the Northeastern U.S., where a strengthening winter storm is slamming the region with heavy snow, gusty winds, and the potential for blizzard conditions.
The Storm Prediction Center warns that prolonged overnight whiteouts are possible from New York to Boston, where snow will fall through Monday morning. Some heavy bands could dump up to two inches of snow per hour.
More than 40 million people across 11 states are under blizzard warnings. And at this hour, power outages stand at 115,000 and climbing as snow and strong winds knock down trees and cables, too.
CNN's Jenn Sullivan is following developments and has more now on the powerful winter storm.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENN SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An historic winter storm that could dump close to two feet of snow across parts of the Northeast is paralyzing travel.
The mayor of New York City declaring a state of emergency and issuing a travel ban Sunday until midday Monday.
MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK CITY: The state of emergency closes the streets, highways, and bridges of New York City for all traffic.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): The city could see two feet of snow by Monday evening, with two inches falling per hour overnight, creating whiteout conditions.
MAMDANI: New York City has not faced a storm of this scale in the last decade.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): Blizzard warnings are in effect from Delaware up to New England.
MAYOR MICHELLE WU (D), BOSTON: Boston is no stranger to Nor'easters, but this is going to be a big one.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): This high-impact bomb cyclone could produce wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour, triggering power outages.
Areas along the coast could see widespread flooding and snowfall totals closer to 30 inches. Several states have now declared a state of emergency, including parts of New York and all of New Jersey.
GOV. MIKIE SHERILL (D), NEW JERSEY: The entire state of New Jersey, all 21 counties, is under a blizzard warning for the first time in 30 years.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): Even D.C. could see up to five inches of snow. House members delaying a vote to Tuesday in the wake of the storm.
And many of these areas expected to get slammed Sunday night still have leftover snow on the ground from last month's winter storm that dumped nearly a foot of accumulation in many areas.
In New York, I'm Jenn Sullivan reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: Well, joining us now from Florida is meteorologist Michael Linden with MyRadar.
Michael, thanks so much for staying up late for me.
This storm has been moving so fast. People have said it felt like the threat suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Can you just talk us through its current intensity and the areas that are most at risk right now?
MICHAEL LINDEN, METEOROLOGIST, MYRADAR: Absolutely. And thank you so much for having me.
It is going to be a long night for the folks that live in the Northeast.
I grew up on the border of New York, New Jersey. I remember 1996 very, very well, when snow drifts from the plows were taller than me as -- as a child.
But this is going to be a very impactful storm, as the governor mentioned the first time in nearly 30 years the entire state is under a blizzard warning.
Now, it's important to understand that a blizzard is not necessarily about the totals of snow. It's really related to the wind.
In order for us to have a blizzard, we need to have wind gusts sustained over 35 miles per hour, bringing visibility down to a quarter of a mile. And that all needs to continue for at least three hours.
And that is very likely to be the case through the overnight hours, through the early morning hours, and continuing into the early afternoon.
HUNTE: Question: Are we seeing anything unusual with this system, compared to past winter storms, in terms of the wind or the snow or the speed of it?
LINDEN: Sure. So, this is an incredibly widespread storm. I mean, it's certainly one where, when you look at it on satellite, it is a meteorological marvel, with the cleared out eye.
Of course, it's not like an eye you would see in a hurricane, but that cleared-out center there.
Of course, a bomb cyclone. In order for that to occur, we need to see the central pressure drop, or bomb out by at least 24 millibars in 24 hours.
And with the way that this set up is right now we have the Jet Stream, which is a highway of winds way upstairs, racing Eastward. And with that, it's kind of pulling the air off of the top of this storm, which causes that central surface low to deepen and to send more air vertically into the atmosphere.
[00:05:09]
So, it's just this meteorological engine that just continues to keep pumping. And with that, it will produce those very narrow but very powerful lines of snow that are capable of producing, again, that 2 to potentially 3 inch per hour rate.
HUNTE: I love that while you're talking now, we're seeing people getting married in the storm. Like, what is going on?
For people in its path tonight and early tomorrow, what do you think is the biggest immediate danger? Is it the roads, power outages? Something else?
LINDEN: That's a little of everything. I mean, of course, you most certainly do not want to be on the road, point, period, the end. With rates like that -- 2 to 3 inches per hour -- the plows will just not be able to keep up with that kind of snow.
So, it's important to hunker down, make sure that you've got your -- your cell phones charged up, mobile power banks charged up, in case you lose power.
And it's important to remember that, as you touched on earlier, 150 or so thousand customers without power. A customer is not indicative of the true impact of people. A customer could be a building that houses multiple people.
So, a very long night for the folks in the Northeast and likely to continue right on through the morning hours. Please stay safe and avoid traveling.
HUNTE: There has also been some talk on social media about how reliable the forecasts actually are for the next couple of days. What should our viewers be paying attention to as it evolves, to see if everything is genuinely as expected?
LINDEN: Sure. So, the National Weather Service, I mean, the folks, the meteorologists there are truly the tip of the spear when it comes to keeping the United States in line with all of the meteorological observations that are occurring.
So, they will get reports into them from emergency management, local storm reporters, police here over the next several hours. So, it will be very interesting to see how this storm verifies. Of course, this isn't a matter of several inches of snow. It could be several feet of snow in some spots.
So, have trust in the National Weather Service. Those folks are truly the best of the best among us. And again, a truly crazy storm that has developed here over a very short period of time. And it's just now really starting to get going.
HUNTE: OK. Well, Michael Linden, thank you so much. I'm sure we're going to be speaking to you again very, very soon. So please stay awake for me. We'll speak to you in a moment.
LINDEN: Will do. Thanks so much for having me.
HUNTE: Thank you. Travel conditions are rapidly deteriorating across the Northeast as this powerful storm does ramp up. Blizzard and whiteout conditions are making road travel increasingly dangerous.
State and local officials across the region are urging residents to stay home, and many are putting travel plans in place as traffic accidents begin to stack up.
Air travel is also being hit hard. More than 9,000 flights have been canceled on Sunday and Monday. That's according to FlightAware, with the biggest impacts at major airports in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.
Switching now. Violence has erupted across Mexico following the killing of the country's most wanted drug leader, known as El Mencho in a military operation on Sunday.
You can see smoke billowing into the sky there in this resort town on Mexico's Pacific coast. A witness says fires are ongoing and smell like burning rubber.
Officials say suspected members of organized crime groups unleashed a wave of violence after the death of El Mencho. He was a former police officer who was one of the worlds most wanted traffickers. He led the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or the CJNG.
CNN's Valeria Leon has more details for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fire, smoke, and chaos across several Mexican states. Cities brought to a standstill as criminal groups retaliate after Mexico's most wanted drug leader died following a military operation Sunday.
Blocked highways. Drivers forced out of their cars at gunpoint. Trucks and buses set on fire.
Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, a former police officer known to most as El Mencho, was the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Wounded during a Mexican military operation and later died while being transported to Mexico City.
The U.S. played a role in Sunday's operation, according to U.S. defense officials, though it's unclear to what extent.
As fear spread, many Mexicans spoke out, calling for an end to the violence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): People are aware of this violence, and what they want is peace: to live in harmony and justice, not in war.
LEON (voice-over): Blockades were reported across various states, and classes were suspended in at least three states as officials tried to contain the violence and keep civilians off the streets.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I'm tired of seeing this continue every single day.
[00:10:03]
LEON (voice-over): Under El Mencho's command, the cartel expanded rapidly, challenging rivals like the Sinaloa cartel for control of territory and trafficking routes, according to U.S. and Mexican officials.
El Mencho managed to avoid capture for years. His detention and death is one of the most significant blows to organized crime in recent years, and the first high-profile operation under President Claudia Sheinbaum.
The fall of El Mencho may mark a major security milestone, but with tourism, foreign investment, and security for the 2026 World Cup at stake, the world is watching how Mexico handles what comes next.
Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: Well, the violence across Mexico has left some American tourists who have been asked to remain indoors stranded.
Travis Dagenais from Los Angeles is stuck in Puerto Vallarta and joins us now.
Travis, thank you so much for being with us. We are so sorry that you and, of course, the locals are going through all of this.
What is it like where you are right now? Can you just describe the atmosphere and what you've been seeing so far?
TRAVIS DAGENAIS, AMERICAN TOURIST STUCK IN MEXICO: Sure. Thank you, Ben.
At the very moment, it's about 11:10 p.m. It's eerily quiet outside. And I say that listening from my windows, not from the streets, because we have been locked down for the duration of the day.
It's been a day filled with anxiety. It started very fast and very loud. It was -- there was a bit of an information vacuum for the first few hours. There was a lot of anecdotal and social media reporting, so to speak, filling in some of those gaps for people.
But we really were counting on each other to report to each other, what are you seeing on the street? We shared a lot of videos, a lot of photos, and it was pretty terrifying.
There were some sights that I personally saw just outside my Airbnb unit that I would have never have [SIC] imagined. It really did look and feel like a war zone.
And I think that feeling of anxiety, that feeling of what does happen next, or what could happen next, is driving what a lot of people are feeling right now.
At the very moment, though, the streets, from what I can tell and from what I'm reading on social media, are quite quiet. So, I think we're all in a little bit of a holding pattern to see what does or what could happen next.
HUNTE: And to see a shelter in place warning in what should be a vibrant touristy area, what was your first reaction when things started happening so suddenly?
DAGENAIS: "Unprecedented," I think, is the word that a lot of people would use.
I've been coming to Puerto Vallarta for years, and it's a city in a country that I love immensely. It's a beautiful city filled with warm, generous people, and it's also a place where Canadian tourists, American tourists, and tourists from around the world do see a safe haven. A bit of a paradise.
So, it is jarring to have that contrast, and especially when you see some of the visuals, some of the sights that actually do look like a war zone in a place that has been celebrated as such a paradise. It has been, of course, very jarring. And again, the speed and the loudness with which it all happened was
-- was -- it was literally alarming. You didn't really have time to -- to think about, like, what's happening. You really just want to see what -- see what's on the ground, see what's out your window.
HUNTE: Well, these pictures we're seeing while you're speaking are very, very scary. So, so sorry you're going through that.
Are people actually following the shelter in place warnings, or have you seen some movement and activity, regardless of that alert?
DAGENAIS: There has been some movement. I have -- I've been going out on the balcony of my unit just to see what's going on. Mostly during the day.
And around 4 or 5 in the afternoon, you did start to see more and more people start to venture out. And I myself, I actually got in the elevator of my building. And there was another pair of tourists in the elevator. And we all were kind of deciding, like -- or thinking about do we want to go out? Do we want to try to see what's open, especially with lack of food and, in some cases, lack of drinkable water?
People are really starting to wonder and ask, when will it be safe for me to go out and explore? When will it be safe for me to maybe go to a store? Will the stores be open? Is it safe for employees to get here?
I think those are all questions were dealing with.
Generally, though, I am seeing a great deal of respect for the lockdown and the shelter in place measure. And I think that's evidenced by what we're reading on social media right now. People saying the streets sounds so quiet, the city sounds so quiet.
HUNTE: These pictures are insane. My goodness. You just tell us more about the violence that people are seeing firsthand. Tourists seeing these roadblocks and burned vehicles and a heavy military presence, suddenly. It's mad.
DAGENAIS: Absolutely. I mean, I woke up to what I thought was a building demolition happening next door. And when I looked outside, I hadn't yet seen there were some cars diagonally parked in some of the major intersections around my unit. And within maybe 90 minutes to 2 hours, each of those was -- was lit on fire.
And I actually did see in -- in -- I saw and heard and smelled a group of -- of criminals set a car on fire and run. So, the city does smell like burnt rubber at the moment.
[00:15:03]
I went up to the roof of my building and it was -- it was -- there was a thin layer of -- of ash and some embers around. And you've just seen multiple plumes of smoke in the sky, in the horizon throughout the day.
And that was one of the other eerie parts, seeing that there were -- you could visually spot the spread in the number of -- of violent cases going on at any one time. And you definitely still feel and smell that hanging in the air.
So, it is quite jarring. The noise, the visuals, the light, the sound, all of it. And especially the suddenness with which it came on this morning. I think it really did alarm a lot of people.
HUNTE: And I guess the big question is, when are you expecting this situation is going to change? When are you hoping that the situation is going to change? Because this is quite a wild current timeline that you're going through?
DAGENAIS: Absolutely. I hope that it would change tomorrow. I hope that tomorrow we're able to feel -- all of us feel some degree of normalcy and -- and safety in this beautiful, incredible city.
That said, I also understand a lot of us are dealing with the in-the- moment reaction. When is my flight going to be delayed? When am I going to be able to find a meal? When am I going to be able to find a way back to my home? And if I can't find those answers, what are the other answers? What can I do in the meantime?
So, I think there's -- we're all trying to deal with this with a certain degree of patience and understanding things that are beyond the individual's control.
But also, we do -- we're very hungry for information. We're very interested in any sort of official information that can help us make some of these decisions.
And that also has been difficult, because there is an immense amount of counter information that's in circulation. Is the airport closed or not? Is the airport under control or not? These -- each of these is a node and a network of decisions that we're all trying to make, and all trying to have a certain amount of grace around while also maintaining safety in the moment.
So, it certainly is a lot going on. And I really hope that everybody in this city, everybody in this country is able to feel normalcy and is able to feel some degree of safety after this.
HUNTE: Definitely hope that for the tourists and the locals, as well. But for now, Travis Dagenais, thank you so much. We really appreciate it. Stay safe.
DAGENAIS: Thank you, Ben.
HUNTE: Thank you.
OK, still to come, we are learning more about a man who was shot and killed on the grounds of President Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. We'll have the latest on the FBI investigation.
Plus, the action-packed Winter Olympics in Italy have come to an end. We'll bring you a recap of the thrilling men's hockey final. See you in a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:22:00]
HUNTE: Welcome back. We're tracking a major winter storm in Northeastern United States. More than 40 million people are under blizzard warnings along the East Coast from Delaware up to Maine.
And we are seeing some live pics there of Buffalo, New York. A lot of people going to be waking up to some very wintery scenes.
The National Weather Service predicts the storm could bring snowfall of 2 to 3 inches per hour overnight into Monday. The Storm Prediction Center warns that some of the heaviest bands are producing blizzard conditions and whiteouts, too, making travel very dangerous, if not impossible.
Earlier, we spoke with A.J. Schall. He's the director of Delaware's Emergency Management Agency. He described what leads to the sort of power outages that his state is already beginning to see.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
A.J. SCHALL, DIRECTOR, DELAWARE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: It's the winds and the snow right now. So, it was raining in most of Delaware until late morning, early afternoon down South, then transition.
So, the first several hours of this snow and still continuing now as the temperature's right around freezing is a very heavy snow. So, if it collects on the wires, it weighs more. They snap.
Then on top of that, with the wind, with the weight, it will, you know, provide to be very troublesome, as well.
The other part of that is it takes a while for the crews to get out. Right? Very treacherous road conditions right now, very unsafe conditions to work. They're still trying to respond to do the best work they can.
But you know, a lot of this stuff that will take a few hours, not only to evaluate it, but then for the restoration, as well.
So, we need patience. But we're going to, you know, continue to work with our county partners across the state and make sure we support them any way possible.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: Stay with CNN. We'll have much more on the storms in the hours ahead.
The FBI is investigating after an armed man was shot and killed on the property of President Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
The Secret Service says the man entered the secure perimeter early on Sunday morning. Neither the president nor the first lady were there at the time.
CNN's Julia Benbrook has details for us from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIA BENBROOK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: A White House official tells me President Donald Trump was briefed on the incident Sunday morning.
It's important to note that both the president and first lady Melania Trump, were here at the White House when this took place.
BENBROOK (voice-over): But they do often go to their Mar-a-Lago estate there in Florida. In fact, he has been there a lot in recent weeks.
Now, during a press briefing, the Palm Beach County sheriff, Ric Bradshaw, standing with representatives from the FBI and the Secret Service, outlined what they know, saying that a man around 1:30 a.m. entered the perimeter of Mar-a-Lago.
And a deputy and two Secret Service agents went to investigate. Take a listen.
SHERIFF RIC BRADSHAW, PALM BEACH COUNTY: They confronted a white male that was carrying a gas can and a shotgun. He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with him, at which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position.
At that point in time, the deputy and the two Secret Service agents fired their weapons and neutralized the threat. He is deceased at the scene.
[00:25:03]
BENBROOK (voice-over): Authorities say this man was in his early 20s. He was from North Carolina, and that he had recently been reported missing by a family member.
The FBI is taking the lead on this investigation. They are analyzing. They are also looking into this man's background, as well as for a potential motive.
Shortly after news of the incident broke, FBI director Kash Patel put out a statement. He said this. He said, "The FBI is dedicating all necessary resources in the investigation of this morning's incident at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago, where an armed individual was shot and killed after unlawfully entering the perimeter. We will continue working closely with Secret Service as well as our state and federal partners, and will provide updates as we are able."
BENBROOK: Officials have asked people in the area that, if they have any video footage, doorbell footage that looks suspicious and could be related to this, that they reach out to authorities.
Julia Benbrook, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: OK, we're continuing to track this dangerous winter storm as it slams the East Coast. We'll have the latest on what to expect from a meteorologist after this break. See you in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:30:50]
HUNTE: Welcome back. I'm Ben Hunte. Let's take a look at today's top stories.
As this winter storm intensifies overnight, snow is falling at a rate of two inches per hour in New York. That's according to the National Weather Service.
The mayor has deployed shovelers and plows to clear sidewalks and roads. A state of emergency has been declared, with non-essential travel banned from New York streets until noon on Monday.
Power outages are mounting along the East Coast. This is video from EarthCam out of New Jersey, where more than 54,000 customers are now without power, and that is the highest number in the country so far. More outages are expected as the storm gains strength overnight.
And just like those power outages, travel delays are also piling up, and fast. More than 5,000 flights have been canceled so far on Monday. That's according to tracking site FlightAware. And that's also on top of nearly 4,000 cancellations on Sunday.
Let's bring back in meteorologist Michael Linden with MyRadar, joining us live from Florida.
Thank you so much for joining me again, sir.
The storm has been changing so quickly. I know a lot of people have been caught off guard by the sudden impact of this. Can you just talk us through what's happening at the moment and the areas that are most at risk right now?
LINDEN: For sure. So, the areas most at risk are pretty much anywhere along the Eastern Seaboard, all the way up and into Maine, as this developing bomb cyclone continues to gain strength.
And what I mean by bomb cyclone is it's a meteorological process where a storm deepens or strengthens or bombs out over a 24-hour period, roughly 24 millibars.
Now, that's happening because of the Jet Stream. The air upstairs pulling air away from the top of this surface low. And as that surface low continues to churn along, of course, it sends more air vertically, due to the air being pulled away from the top of it.
So, it continues to strengthen at this hour. And what's really important here is that the air is coming in from the Northwest. So, this is going to be a snow event. There's not going to be any mixing over land.
We are seeing rain off the coastline, though, band in (ph). Actually, roughly about 200 or so miles off the coast of New York City, there has been some lightning. So, it's very possible that we actually see some thunder snow in this storm here. Of course, that is quite rare. It's typical of what you would see during a summertime thunderstorm.
The Storm Prediction Center, in their day one outlook, talking about lightning risks in the Pacific Northwest and in the Northeast.
So, it's just so wild to see that right up there. And thunder snow, of course, if you hear that thunder, it will be very muffled due to the acoustic kind of dampening of snow but will be something interesting to listen for through the overnight hours.
HUNTE: I'll tell you what other questions can wait for the moment, because I need to know more about thundersnow. Thunder snow, tell me more.
LINDEN: Yes, I mean, again, thundersnow is incredibly rare, right? And in order for it to occur, you just need a lot of things to go right.
And meteorologically speaking, for an event like this, of course you need warmer air, kind of advecting over the colder air at the surface.
Colder air heavier, of course, so sinks to the surface. The warm air rises.
And as you would see in any thunderstorm, rising air, instability. And that is effectively the setup that we may see here through the overnight hours and into tomorrow.
And of course, with that instability and that warm air advection, it's possible again that we see some lightning strikes. We're already seeing it at this hour. If you pull up the MyRadar app, you can see the lightning strikes off the coast of New York City right now.
Whether or not they will creep closer to the snow bands, that is likely to occur as we see the heaviest bands of snow come ashore through the overnight hours and into tomorrow morning. So, fingers crossed that we get some of that rare thunder snow.
HUNTE: My goodness, we've got one more minute with you. For people in its path tonight and early tomorrow, what do you think is the biggest immediate danger?
LINDEN: Well, that would be being out on the roadways, which you should absolutely not do.
[00:35:06]
Of course, all of New York, all of New Jersey, I should say, and a huge portion of the Eastern Seaboard is under a blizzard warning.
And it's easy to say, oh, outside, it's a blizzard out there, but there is a very specific definition that the National Weather Service gives for something to be deemed a blizzard.
You need falling or blowing snow, in addition to visibilities at a quarter of a mile. In addition to wind gusts sustained for at 35 miles per hour for at least three hours, at which point we can deem it a blizzard.
That is very likely to be the case with conditions as they stand right now. In fact, some of those wind gusts could reach as high as 65 miles per hour in parts of Long Island and along the Jersey Shore.
So, a very long and arduous evening ahead for folks that live particularly coastally. But then, into tomorrow morning, Ben, just being on the roadways with 2 to 3 inch per hour snowfall rates is just simply not a safe thing to do whatsoever.
This is going to be one to sit out and just stay at home until the worst has passed.
HUNTE: Stay at home and watch CNN. Good advice. Love that.
Michael Linden, thank you so much for now.
LINDEN: See you.
HUNTE: I'm sure we'll be speaking again very soon. Thank you.
Onwards. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says a partial government shutdown and the major winter storm won't stop travel for active federal disaster response.
The agency also walked back its decision to suspend TSA's precheck program. The announcement comes as the DHS carries on operating without funding.
Camila DeChalus has the latest for us from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, at this point in time, there's still no deal that has been reached in order to end this partial government shutdown. We're still hearing that both Democratic and Republican lawmakers --
DECHALUS (voice-over): -- are working behind the scenes in order to try to strike some type of deal that both parties can move forward and pass in order to fund the Department of Homeland Security. But those details are still being ironed out.
Now, we know that this really started the partial government shutdown when a few hours before funding for the Department of Homeland Security was going to lapse, Democrats put out their list of reforms that they wanted to see made to several departments and agencies under the Department of Homeland Security.
And Republicans basically responded to it, saying that it was a nonstarter. And they said that it just -- DECHALUS: -- this list went on too long. And they said that they would only respond and really put out a list of their own concessions that they were willing to make.
But Democrats took a look at it and said that it simply was not enough. And so, they sent a counterproposal back to Republicans and the White House.
And at this point in time, we know that that counterproposal was sent on Monday night, and they still haven't heard anything from them yet.
DECHALUS (voice-over): And Republican leaders haven't really vocally responded as of that date. And so, this is where things stand.
Now in the week upcoming, we know that President Trump is expected to make several remarks at his State of the Union address to members of Congress. And we're -- they're hoping that he's going to address the elephant in the room. And that is that this partial government shutdown is still continuing, and that both sides still have not found any common ground.
DECHALUS: But we're hearing that those details are still working out.
Democrats want to see the Trump administration, especially these federal agencies, held accountable. And they don't like seeing what immigration enforcement actions have taken place in this country. So, they want to see something that change.
And Republicans on their end, they're saying they're willing to make some concessions but not give in to all the demands that Democrats are making.
And so, that is something that we are actively monitoring in real time.
But we know that the date of February 27, when it comes to the hundreds and thousands of federal employees under this department, they're going to start feeling the financial impact of this partial government shutdown.
And that is something that we're hearing from both sides, both Democrats and Republicans, that they want to avoid them, employees just feeling the financial impact of it. And so, they know that they need to make a deal soon.
Camile DeChalus, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: A fresh ABC News and "Washington Post" poll shows U.S. President Donald Trump's approval rating at 39 percent ahead of his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
Sixty percent say they disapprove of how he's handling his second term.
CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten breaks down all the numbers for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Look, Donald Trump's State of the Union is happening on Tuesday, and he enters that State of the Union weakened, weakened, weakened compared to where he was a year ago.
What are we talking about here? Well, let's just take a look at Trump's net approval rating, according to my average of the polls.
A year ago, Trump was actually above water. He was at plus two points. Not too bad, right? Not too bad, given that a lot of presidents these days have a tough time staying above water.
But down he goes like the little mermaid. Now, Trump is well below water. He's 15 points below water, a nearly 20-point drop from where he was a year ago. We see this on the key issues of the day, as well: immigration and the economy. Two issues that got Trump elected to a second term. He's well underwater on both of those.
Now, besides the issues, when we're talking about key political groups, what's driving this 17-point drop for Donald Trump? It's all about independents, baby. It's all about independents. When you lose the center of the electorate, you lose the electorate overall.
[00:40:04]
Just take a look at these numbers, according to Quinnipiac. Among independents, his net approval rating. A year ago, Trump was below water, but not too below water. Right? He was at seven -- he was at minus seven points.
But hello! Now he's 27 points below water. That's a 20-point drop over just a year's time. You can't be surviving overall when you're 27 points below water, politically speaking. My goodness gracious.
And I will also note that this -27 points is lower -- lower -- than where Trump was not just a year ago, but at this point in his first term, when he was about at -20 points among independents. So, that was not a great number. But this -27 points is even worse.
Now of course, as we go into that State of the Union that's occurring on Tuesday, a question is, can Trump turn his political fortunes around? Turn this -27 points among independents around; turn this -15 points among the general electorate around?
Well, history is not so kind. It's not so kind. Because take a look here. OK. Average shift in approval ratings post-State of the Union. Since 1977, the average president has seen a 000-point shift in their approval rating. That will not work for Donald Trump. He wants to see a positive jump in his approval rating.
Now if we look at Trump in particular, we look at the history of him during his first term. Did he see big jumps in his approval rating on average? Not really. Take a look here. He saw -- get this -- just a boost of a point. A
boost of a point in his approval rating when you're 15 points below in your net approval rating, well, that is not going to work.
Now, one of the questions I also have going into Trump's State of the Union address this year is just how long is it going to be? Because last year's spiel by the president to a joint session of Congress was really, really, really long to a historic degree.
I mean, just take a look here. OK, presidential address to Congress -- these are joint sessions -- in minutes. The average speech since 1964, 55 minutes. Fifty-five minutes.
Look at how long. Look at how long Trump's speech was last year. It was 99 minutes, by far the longest in modern political history. The longest spiel to a joint session of Congress from a president of the United States.
And of course, there's no real correlation between how long your speech is and whether or not that will actually cause your approval ratings to increase, as much as the president may wish it to. Because last year, we had a really long speech, and Trump's approval rating continued a gradual decline over the first year of his second term.
So, this year, we'll see if Trump is able to be a little bit more concise, and maybe that might lead to higher approval ratings. We'll just have to wait and see.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: In the coming hours, E.U. lawmakers will meet to discuss whether to suspend work on a trade deal with the U.S.
This comes after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Trump's emergency tariffs on Friday.
CNN's Mike Valerio joins me now from Beijing, where lawmakers there are also reacting to the news.
Mr. Valerio, how do you see Beijing responding to the current U.S. threats? And what could this mean for trade tensions between the world's two largest economies? Tell me all about it.
MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're going to wait and see, Benny. So, we're looking at state media commentators all throughout China over the past couple of hours, since people clocked in to work here all the way in Monday on the other side of the world.
And the vibe that we're getting is, essentially, commentators across China are saying that they believe D.C.'s hand has been severely weakened in trade tensions.
To that end, we have a prominent political commentator, Hu Xijin, who writes pointedly over the weekend that Trump has one less card to play while China holds all the cards. That seems to be a summation of the vibe that's being channeled
through social media platforms, through state media newspapers and such all across this country.
So, what he means by that is, essentially, that this was the president's favorite tool in his toolbox, if we want to call it that, in the trade war. Right? These emergency tariffs.
The Supreme Court, as of Friday, said that specific emergency tariff tool is off the table; while China, meanwhile, can still play its trump card, so to speak, which is access to rare earth minerals. A whole suite of them that we need for everything that's part of our modern-day life.
So, the real question that Beijing is starting to confront now on a Monday here, as people come back from Chinese new year and all their holiday celebrations, is will the United States, Benny, try to level new tariffs against China using a different method, specifically trade investigations, where U.S. trade authorities, paraphrasing for our friendly conversation here, say something to the effect of we, the United States, think that this Chinese company or this Chinese sector is in violation of trade practices. And that gives us the authority to level new tariffs.
[00:45:00]
That is apparently within the realm of possibility. Let's listen to that from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMIESON GREER, U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: We try to resolve the -- the unfair practices we identify. And if they're not resolved, you can take actions like tariffs or other things to try to resolve them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
GREER: We have tariffs like this already in place on China. We have open investigations already.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALERIO: But something to keep in mind here is that Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are due to meet in Beijing in just over about a month. The president is coming here March 31, and he has ceremonial duties. And of course, the trade discussions on April 1st and 2nd.
So, neither side may want to rock the boat, Benny.
HUNTE: So, the headline there is the vibes are bad right now, but let's see if they change. Mike Valerio in Beijing, thanks so much.
Onwards. Iranian students launched a new round of protests as Tehran faces mounting pressure from the U.S. to curb its nuclear program.
Protesters held a march at a university campus in Tehran in order (ph) of students killed during the anti-government protests a few weeks ago.
Demonstrators could be heard chanting, quote, "We swear by the blood of our friends, we will stand till the end."
Meanwhile, the U.S. special envoy told FOX News that President Trump is wondering why a deal still hasn't happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: He's curious as to why they haven't -- I don't want to use the word "capitulated," but why they haven't capitulated.
Why -- why, under this sort of pressure, with the amount of sea power, naval power that we have over there, why they haven't come to us and said, We profess that we don't want to be -- we don't want a weapon, so here's what we're prepared to do. And yet, it's hard to -- to sort of get them to that place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: Iranian and U.S. officials expect a third round of talks will take place in Geneva on Thursday.
OK. The Winter Olympics have come to an end after more than two weeks of action-packed competition in Italy. We'll have details on Sunday's closing ceremonies, as well as a recap of the thrilling men's hockey final just after the break. See you in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:51:49]
HUNTE: Welcome back. A major winter storm is slamming the Northeastern U.S. And of course, we're tracking the impact for you all night long.
You are looking at live pictures from New York City's Times Square. But you wouldn't believe it. Absolutely empty.
More than 40 million people are under blizzard warnings across 11 states right now. At least 115,000 utility customers are without power in the mid-Atlantic states, with New Jersey topping the list.
That number is sure to climb as heavy snow and strong winds knock down trees and cables, too.
The Olympic flame has now been extinguished, and the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina have bid farewell to the 2026 Winter Games.
The grand finale of Sunday's closing ceremony illuminated the historic Verona arena. Thousands gathered to celebrate the unity among athletes and nations, as well as the future of the Olympic movement.
The next Winter Games will be hosted in the French Alps in 2030.
Norway was the clear leader in this year's medal count with 18 golds. The U.S. came in second with 12, marking the country's most successful Winter Games ever.
And the Netherlands and host country Italy each finished with ten golds.
The last gold medal for the U.S. came in a hard-fought overtime win over its fierce rival, Canada, in the men's hockey final. CNN's Coy Wire has more for us on Sunday's thrilling showdown.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS: For the very last event at these Winter Olympics, we got an overtime classic in the men's hockey gold medal game.
WIRE (voice-over): Just like the women's final, the USA versus Canada. And just like that women's game, it's the USA coming out in overtime.
The Americans withstood a barrage of shots from their neighbors to the North: 42 shots on goal. But Connor Hellebuyck saved 41 of them, setting a new Olympic record for a gold medal game involving NHL players.
And in overtime, it was Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils star, hammering home the game-winning goal, laying it all on the line, blood on his face, teeth missing. An American legend is born. First Olympic men's hockey gold for Team USA in 46 years. I caught up with some of the fans who were over the moon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my goodness gracious me. That was incredible. That's all I can say.
WIRE: Who was the star of the game for the U.S.?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got to say the winner, Jack Hughes. It's got to be Jack Hughes. No one else.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: U.S.A., woo!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was that not the greatest?
WIRE: Amazing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First time since 1980. Gold medal USA all the way, woo!
WIRE: Man, take me through that golden goal moment. What's going through the mind as you hear the crowd roaring?
TAGE THOMPSON, USA MEN'S HOCKEY TEAM: Oh, it's crazy. I think every kid dreams about that moment.
Going into that intermission after the third there, just looking around the room, just thinking someone's going to be the hero --
WIRE: Yes.
THOMPSON: -- is a pretty special feeling, obviously. You know Jack comes through for us there. You know, makes our -- our dreams become a reality, being gold medalists.
WIRE: How do you put it into perspective when you think about first gold medal for American men's hockey in 46 years? Did that, like, sink in yet?
THOMPSON: No. It's crazy. Every kid grows up watching "Miracle." You know, every USA hockey player dreams of this moment, and now we're sharing that exact feeling that they had. It's pretty special.
[00:55:13]
WIRE: So, with that, and with the closing ceremony also on Sunday in Verona, that's a wrap from the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: USA!
A K-pop superstar group is giving a free concert in South Korea, and thousands of tickets are up for grabs.
BTS returns for their first performance in three years next month in Seoul, and 12,000 tickets are available to the public. Another 3,000 tickets are being reserved for members of the BTS Army. And that's the official group for the band.
BTS will perform live on March 21, and their show will be streamed on Netflix.
All right. That's all I've got for you for now. Thanks for joining me and the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. But I'm with you for another two hours. I'll have more CNN NEWSROOM after this quick break. See you in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
