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CNN This Morning

Pope Francis Spends Another Night in Hospital; Impact of SpaceX's Starship Explosion; How RFK Jr. Could Push Raw Milk into the Mainstream. Speaker Johnson Unveils 99-Page Stopgap Funding Plan; Some Top Democrats Already Saying "No" To Stopgap Measure; Protester Confront VP Vance On Russia Stance; Gov.: Wind Is Biggest Concern In New York Fire Fight; Ukraine And U.S. Officials Plan High-Stakes Talks In Saudi Arabia Next Week; Europe Faces Tough Question About America's Commitment To NATO Security. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired March 09, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:00:52]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Welcome everyone to CNN This Morning. It is Sunday, March 9th, 2025. I'm Omar Jimenez in for Victor Blackwell.

99 pages and a pitch is one. We're talking a pitch to keep the government funded through September 30th. House Speaker Mike Johnson formally unveiled the funding plan and it's got President Donald Trump's seal of approval. But it may not win over any Democrats.

CNN's Julia Benbrook breaks down the chances of that stopgap measure making it to the Senate.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN NEWSOURCE NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Omar, House Speaker Mike Johnson is outlining his plans for a stopgap measure known as a continuing resolution that would keep the government funded until September 30th.

But he is facing a fast approaching deadline with a potential government shutdown looming this next week. President Donald Trump has expressed his support for Johnson's plan and he is calling on Republicans to rally around it. Taking to social media to write, quote, "The House and Senate have put together, under the circumstances, a very good funding bill. All Republicans should vote, (Please!)". In all caps, "YES, next week".

But Johnson leads with a very slim majority and needs almost every member of his party in the House to support it if he doesn't have any support from Democrats. Here's what he had to say about the chances of the bill passing.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: I believe we'll pass it along party lines, but I think every Democrat should vote for the CR. It is a fundamental responsibility we have to fund the government. And a clean CR with a few minor anomalies is not something that they should vote against, so we'll see what they do.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BENBROOK: Johnson is describing it as a clean CR, but it does include some cuts to domestic spending that Democrats will likely oppose. The Democratic leader in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, has already said that he opposes the stopgap measure.

And part of the argument against it is that Democrats say that it lacks critical language that would be included in a full-year negotiated bill and would make it easier for their party to put a check on Trump in court if needed.

This bill is 99 pages long and Johnson is expected to bring it to the House floor for a vote in the coming days, likely on Tuesday, if the House passes it. It puts a lot of pressure on the Senate to pass the same plan with that government funding deadline coming in just a matter of days. Omar?

JIMENEZ: Julia Benbrook, thank you.

Let's get to Washington Bureau Chief of the Chicago Sun-Times, Lynn Sweet. Lynn, good to see you.

Let's talk about this stopgap measure, because as we just heard from Julia there, many Democrats are already sounding the alarm. Republicans have a very thin majority in the House. Is it enough to get this passed at the upcoming vote?

LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Well, it may not be because any Republican could just stop the process to make a demand related or not. This also will have a very tough time in the Senate where you may need Democratic votes to get to the supermajority.

The underlying issue here in having the Democrats vote against it, I suppose on the risk side in my analysis, is the Republicans will try to blame them for some government shutdown. But to explain and analyze why they won't put any votes on this is that Trump, with his agent Elon Musk, is running roughshod over appropriations, budget and government planning anyway.

So they do have a reasonable case to make on why you have to have some language in there to either try to prevent this from happening or at least put some brakes on the process, given how Trump and Musk are just slashing and burning and changing government spending the way they want.

JIMENEZ: Let's play through two scenarios here. I mean, if this does pass, what kind of pressure do you think this puts on the Senate which, of course, they had a very different strategy in getting their blueprint to the finish line than the House did? And if it doesn't pass, what is the likelihood that the House can come up with a different plan in time to prevent a government shutdown?

[07:05:09] SWEET: Well, I've covered many potential government shutdowns and some real ones. And there's always the ability just to do what has been mentioned, this continuing resolution, but for a much shorter time to keep government open. One of the other issues here is the length of time to extend this to September 30th is, as these temporary stopgap spending measures go, a real long time.

So they always have in their back pocket, and kind of everyone knows this on Capitol Hill, stopgap measures could be two days, three days, one day in order to not close down government.

JIMENEZ: I want to change topics now slightly because we've seen a lot of unrest at recent lawmaker town halls, a lot of people upset with Republicans and Democrats in some cases. Now that anger getting directed at the vice president as well, JD -- Vice President JD Vance was in Cincinnati yesterday and a group of protesters on their way to a rally stopped him and confronted him about Russia's war on Ukraine. Take a quick listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

JD VANCE (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They certainly invaded Ukraine in 2022 --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And 2014 and Georgia and Chechnya. We are the aggressor every time. What happened when you called Trump America's Hitler? What changed?

VANCE: Ma'am, now that's a different question. I'm happy -- would you like me to talk about how I've changed my view on Donald Trump from 10 years ago? Because I talked a lot during the campaign, and then the American people voted and voted made him president of the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, you've got no role. You got no integrity.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now, the vice president later said on social media the protesters were following him and his three-year-old and he talked to them in hopes they would leave his family alone. But what is your take overall on that interaction and sort of what we've heard from many voters at some of these town halls publicly confronting their lawmakers?

SWEET: Well, first, I hope people heard when you played that clip and I'm glad you did. Is that in the beginning, Vice President Vance acknowledges that Russia invaded Ukraine. So one of the things in my analysis that is happening, yes, people elected Trump to do certain things. There's no doubt about it.

You know, the vice president brought it up, but no one elected Trump to not tell the truth over things like Russia invaded Ukraine. And I think that's a point that we're -- that may be a fine point that people may be getting at in these town halls where the impact of terrorists, where the threat or the perception that somehow Social Security cannot be depended on is a thought that is starting to sink into people.

And you could have -- people can hold -- people are so smart, Omar. People could have a few thoughts at the same time. You could support Trump, but Social Security is just so crucial to everybody and people who get it, who are out there listening to me, who know they absolutely depend on the system working that on their day of the month, they get the check.

Anything that shakes your confidence in that, because the people from DOGE are going in and looking at computer systems and maybe mess something up. That is something that is really important to people, motivates them at town halls, no matter what their ideology is. I think we're beginning to see this right now.

JIMENEZ: Yes. And of course, where the runway towards the midterms closes every single day, where that will be the real test of some of these policies and voter satisfaction with what we've seen so far.

Lynn Sweet, really appreciate the time perspective. Thanks for being here this morning.

SWEET: Thanks for having me.

JIMENEZ: Of course.

Meanwhile, New York's governor has declared a state of emergency as fire crews continue to battle brush fires in Long Island. Drivers captured these large plumes of smoke on highways. Look at that. There's -- some of these highways have been shut down. This is taking over a nature preserve in Suffolk County, just miles away from a community near the Hamptons.

Now, officials say there are at least three major brush fires so far. No evacuation orders and no residents in the fire's direct path, even if the images are pretty incredible like this. New York Governor Kathy Hochul spoke to CNN's Jessica Dean about what the biggest concern is going into today.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D), NEW YORK: We are very concerned about the overnight and the increase of winds again tomorrow. This could be a multiday event. And I'm also concerned about the air quality. While there are no structures in harm's way at this moment, again, this could shift in a moment. But the air quality is definitely compromised.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

JIMENEZ: So far, there has been one injury reported to a firefighter and two structures that were damaged as a result of the fire. But, of course, conditions are going to make a really big difference in trying to battle this today for fire crews.

CNN's Allison Chinchar is tracking that for us in the weather center. So how much of a difference are these conditions going to make for firefighting efforts?

[07:10:07]

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, so right now, I mean, most of the winds are, you know, 5 miles, 10 miles per hour. It makes it more manageable for these fire crews to be able to do it. You jump into this afternoon, they're back up to 30 to 35 miles per hour. And it may not sound like that much, but you have to understand it doesn't take much of a wind to pick up some of those embers and just spread them very quickly.

And so that's going to be the big concern as we head through the latter half of the day today. And it's not just windy in New York. Much of the Northeast, even portions of the Mid-Atlantic, are dealing with those strong gusty winds. They're in between that low and that high pressure. So you get kind of that tunnel effect where all of those winds are kind of hyper-focused in that particular region.

We talk about the winds specifically again here this morning. Not that bad, honestly. Some of these spots may be up around 15, 20 miles per hour. It's the afternoon where you really start to see those winds jump.

A lot of these places, 30, 35, even a few spots gusting up to 40 miles per hour. They do start to finally calm back down yet again tonight, giving the firefighters another break, hopefully, to finally be able to put this fire back out. Down to the south, quite a different problem.

The concern here is actually going to be flooding. You can see this risk here, nearly 10 million people under the potential for flooding as we go through the rest of the day today. And it's all thanks to this low-pressure system that's just kind of meandering across the Gulf Coast.

So you can see here, as we go through the afternoon and into the evening, even into tomorrow, you've got a lot of these rain showers just over the same spots. This also means places like Atlanta, Tallahassee, and Jacksonville all looking at the potential for a very soggy commute tomorrow.

JIMENEZ: All right. Allison Chinchar, really appreciate it, as always.

Meanwhile, we're following a lot of other stories, including Russia pounding Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles ahead of high- stakes talks on the conflict and the war. We're going to have a live report next.

Plus, Pope Francis is still recovering in the hospital as the season of Lent begins. We're going to have an update on how he's doing just ahead.

And raw milk, is it making an unexpected comeback, not just in grocery stores but in politics and culture wars? We're going to find out why and talk about it.

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[07:16:47]

JIMENEZ: All right, new this morning, at least six people have been killed and 35 injured in a new wave of Russian attacks on Ukraine. This follows President Trump's order to pause intelligence sharing that was helping Ukraine in its defense against Russia.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian and U.S. officials are set to meet in Saudi Arabia this week for high-level talks on a framework to end the war, their first since this tense Oval Office clash between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.

For more now, let's turn to CNN's Nada Bashir. So what are the expectations this week from this high-level meeting?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Look, I mean, the expectation for President Zelenskyy has long been and continues to be trying to ensure that there are security guarantees for Ukraine in any sort of framework for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Just as you mentioned, there's overnight attacks, at least six people killed.

It's really these attacks that we are seeing on an almost daily basis that is underscoring that need and that insistence by Ukrainian officials. And, of course, what we've seen over recent days is intensive discussions ongoing not only between Ukrainian officials and their U.S. counterparts, but also, of course, with European partners and allies.

Of course, meeting in Brussels earlier this week to establish a framework for what is being described as essentially a partial ceasefire, which would see a cessation of facilities in the air and in the sea. So bringing an end to these deadly drone and missile attacks that we are so often seeing in Ukraine, an end to military activity and operations in the Black Sea.

And crucially also trying to limit or bring an end to the targeting of Ukrainian energy infrastructure, which has been oftentimes a target by the Russian military. But, again, it remains to be seen whether this is reflected in the U.S. position. These talks taking place at the beginning of this coming week in Saudi Arabia will see Ukrainian officials meeting with U.S. counterparts, including the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, for discussions on this peace agreement.

But what we've seen over recent days and weeks from the Trump administration is a real shift when it comes to the support being offered by the U.S. government. As you mentioned, we've seen a pause in military aid. We've seen the suspension of access to vital satellite imagery and now the scaling back of intelligence sharing as well, so clearly a real shift.

The message that we're hearing now from the State Department is that they want to see both sides, both Russia and Ukraine, taking steps over the course of these discussions and negotiations to establish a sustainable agreement. But, again, it remains to be seen whether this is reflective of what President Zelenskyy has been pushing for. JIMENEZ: Nada Bashir, thank you so much.

Now the tension between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, along with Trump's decision to pause intelligence sharing and military aid to Ukraine, his relationship with Russia's Vladimir Putin and his skepticism about defending NATO allies unless they pay up, have left European leaders in a tough spot.

Trump's stance on foreign policy is pushing European leaders to rethink America's commitment to NATO security. So to unpack the implications, we turn to Retired Army General Wesley Clark, former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO as well.

So, General Clark, I'll just ask you point blank. Can NATO survive without the United States?

[07:20:08]

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, NATO can survive without the United States, but not as an effective deterrent to Russian adventurism and escalation in Europe. The United States right now provides crucial intelligence, backstopping logistics, as well as the best air power in the alliance.

It also provides part of the naval forces that help assure security in the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic and in the Arctic. So NATO can survive. NATO can be an organization, but it won't have the same military strength.

But I think you also have to ask this. Can the United States maintain its own security without NATO? And the answer to that is that's also compromised. We've got a 75-year partnership with our European allies. It's worked really well. It's maintained the peace.

Yes, they need to do more and they can do more in creating their own defenses that supplement and complement the resources the United States provides. But together, we're so much stronger. And so it is -- it's been a real shock to Europe.

I just returned from Europe. It's been a real shock to leaders in Europe, the way that President Trump has roughed them up and roughed up Ukraine.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, a potential severing of a relationship is one thing. But also, NBC News is reporting the administration is considered a major policy shift -- is considering a major policy shift, including the U.S. holding military exercises only with NATO countries that spend a certain amount of their GDP on defense.

I wonder, what do you make of those conditions and sort of, I guess, using something more concrete to encourage NATO countries to spend more on defense?

CLARK: I think it's a fine goal to ask them to spend more money. But I think they can't immediately implement something like this. But look at the problem the United States is having right now, passing a budget resolution.

And then you go to the NATO allies and say, no, you've got to take another 1 percent of your GDP. They're going through their own democratic budget discussions at the same time. So if you say that's the goal, if you give people four or five years to meet it, three years, even two years, but instantaneously say that tomorrow you're not going to operate with a certain country like Germany because it can't get its budget up to what you believe it should be, that's just another way of disguising a rupture with European allies.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, we've got these high level talks and negotiations happening in Saudi Arabia this week. And a lot of the recent impasse has seemed to be over security guarantees for any long term peace deal that is actually struck, which to this point, Europe has insisted the United States needs to be involved in.

As the United States has said, Europe, you need to deal with it on your own. And as Russia has said, that's a nonstarter, is there any way to get around that issue to this point?

CLARK: Well, certainly there is. President Trump says that he's convinced that Mr. Putin wants peace. You simply tell Mr. Putin he wants peace. He's going to accept European peacekeepers with a strong American backstop as a security guarantee.

You know, the trouble has been that there have been any number of ceasefires since 2014 in Ukraine. And every one of them is violated. And every one of them has been violated by Mr. Putin, sometimes directly with Russian forces, sometimes with surrogate forces from Luhansk or Donetsk that they're supposedly not Russian but are under Russian control.

And so, understandably, the Europeans and especially the Ukrainians, they don't want another hollow ceasefire because we know what Russia wants from these peace talks. They want a relaxation of sanctions. They want to pull in a bunch of Western technology, sell their oil without restrictions, bring in more funding, rearm, work their armed forces.

And then they're ready for another go at Ukraine and perhaps other countries. Unless there's some fundamental change that emerges from these peace talks and Vladimir Putin's aims and objectives. And we have seen no fundamental change beyond the papers that were enunciated over three years ago in which they want to roll back NATO all the way back to the boundaries of where we were during the Cold War.

They want to re-establish Russian control over these East European countries that they asked to join NATO because they specifically didn't want to be under Russia's thumb. And so, that's the cause that's underlying all the fighting in Ukraine. And so, you know --

JIMENEZ: And it's going to be a very difficult impasse to get through. And, you know, we'll see if this week makes any significant difference. But, of course, it could be a tall order.

[07:25:05] General Wesley Clark, really appreciate you taking the time. Thanks for being here.

CLARK: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: All right, still to come, the Vatican just released a new update on Pope Francis' health. We're going to go live to Rome to find out the latest. Stay tuned.

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JIMENEZ: Welcome back, Pope Francis spent another night quietly resting in the hospital. That's the latest update by the Vatican. He's entering his fourth week of battling a double pneumonia infection. And as of now, officials say his condition is still considered serious.

CNN's Christopher Lamb joins me live from Rome. So, what more are you learning about how the Pope is responding to treatment?

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Omar, I've been following the pope's hospitalization behind the Gemelli for over three weeks and there's been ups and downs. It's been a roller coaster ride following it. But recently, we have been hearing more encouraging things from the Vatican's medical bulletin. We're told that the pope is showing slight gradual improvement. And for the first time, we were told that he is having a good response to the treatment.

At the same time, Francis is 88 years old. He is battling pneumonia in both of his lungs. The doctors say the prognosis is reserved, i.e., it's too soon to tell. He's still on advanced oxygen care. He is receiving high flow oxygen during the day. And then, at night, oxygen through a mask also to help him breathe through a machine ventilation.

So, the pope's health still hangs in the balance, but the recent signs from the Vatican's bulletin and on the pope's orders, the doctors and the Vatican have been told to give as much information as they can. The recent signs are encouraging. Omar.

JIMENEZ: Well, Christopher, I mean, at this point, you know, the pope has been dealing with this for quite some time. How is the Vatican dealing with the pope's absence?

LAMB: Well, I'd say the prevailing mood in the Vatican is one of high anxiety and uncertainty. They, like everyone else, are waiting for updates from the hospital about the pope's condition. I spoke to one cardinal who said that they're praying for the pope, they're hopeful, but at the same time, you know, things have gone quiet for them in the Vatican because they were used to the pope calling them up, asking for their opinion on things. Francis is a very hands-on pope, that's all stopped since he's been in the hospital.

Francis, though, is signaling he's still in charge, he's still making appointments of bishops, he's still releasing documents today. Sunday, he released the text for his Sunday Angelus prayer, where he thanked health care workers for all they were doing for him, praying for peace around the world, including in Syria. But it is a very uncertain time, a nervous time for everyone in the Vatican as they await for further updates about how the pope is getting on. Omar.

JIMENEZ: All right, Christopher Lamb, really appreciate it. Still to come, SpaceX Starship spacecraft exploded mid-flight for a second time this year, disrupting Florida air traffic. We're going to discuss the potential impact of these types of incidents after a quick break. Stay with us.

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[07:35:00]

JIMENEZ: All right. Weather and tech issues have forced NASA and SpaceX to delay key space launches this weekend. The SpaceX mission was called Punch and centered around sun-exploration, but NASA's SPHEREx mission was meant to launch this new telescope made to search for key ingredients for life in the Milky Way.

Joining me now to talk about these launches and other space headlines this week is retired NASA astronaut Terry Virts. Thanks for being here. All right. So, Terry, we've got to wait a little bit longer for these SPHEREx and punch launches to happen. But overall, what excites you most about these missions?

COL. TERRY VIRTS, NASA ASTRONAUT (RET.): I love NASA science missions. The one mission is going to look at the galaxy, well, really like all of the galaxies in the universe, it's going to do a spectral survey of the whole sky. So, we're going to figure out things about these ancient galaxies. There's billions of galaxies out there.

And learning about our sun is important. I mean, of all these stars and all these galaxies around the universe, the sun is definitely the most important one for us. So, the more we know about that -- our climate, our weather, our -- that's why we're here talking on this Daylight Savings Days because we have this amazing sun. So, these types of NASA science missions, I think, are really exciting.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, the sun-exploration, not the only mission that SpaceX had on tap this week. Obviously, we had the ground stop and literal fallout from Thursday's Starship explosion. What was your reaction when you saw that? Did you have any concerns over what you saw?

VIRTS: Well, the big concern, of course, is that these rockets launch over land over the Caribbean islands. And you know, that can be dangerous with all this debris falling where there's people. So, they're -- normally, we launch rockets out of Florida and California. So, they go out over the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean. And rockets sometimes explode, and when that happens, they just fall down in the ocean.

So, it was kind of surprising that they're launching the Starship over humans. That's not normally something that's done. But the much bigger concern actually is the is the role that Elon has taken in this major government contractor having such influence with the president and over the entire U.S. government is incredibly unusual, and it's a conflict of interest, unlike anything we've ever seen before. So, that's an even bigger concern for me as an American.

JIMENEZ: And you know, there have been reports of conflicts between FAA administrator and -- or the Secretary Duffy, excuse me, and Elon Musk, which, of course, Duffy oversees FAA. But in regards to a previous launch, January's flight seven and Thursday's flight eight were both allowed, as you mentioned, Starship to travel over the Atlantic and Caribbean before exploding near populated islands.

[07:40:00]

But Thursday's explosion happened before the FAA could complete its investigation into the January explosion. Is that a concern to you, especially when flying over populated areas, or is it just a necessary hazard of sort of that rapid iterative development that SpaceX has embraced for a while?

VIRTS: Well, SpaceX is amazing. The success they've had is amazing. And what they've done with the Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon capsule is -- my hats are off. I really admire them. And it makes me proud to be an American to see this American company so successful.

But like I said, when the CEO of the company also has, you know, almost complete control over the entire government and can boss the FAA around and tell them to fire air traffic controllers when we're having airliner accidents, it raises the appearance of a conflict interest to say the least.

And so, there's a lot of concern that a few weeks after raining down debris on islands, they're launching again over the same island. So, it's just not like anything that America has ever seen. I think go back to the 1870s with Morgan and Rockefeller and the railroad Robber Barons, even then, it was nothing like what we're seeing now with Elon and Donald Trump paired up together.

JIMENEZ: And it's a dynamic that doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. But before you go, I want to get your take on the NASA astronauts who are set to return to Earth this month after spending over nine months in space. You had a similar experience in 2015, but your mission only got extended for a month longer than expected, if I've got my math correct. What do you think their experience has been like? And what is the toll on staying up longer than you anticipated you would both mentally and physically?

VIRTS: Well, I'm sure they're both very happy to be coming home. Even more important than that, I'm sure their families are happy to be getting them back. The toll on the astronaut is one thing, but on the families, that's much worse. So, I'm sure their families are very glad to have them coming back to Earth to, you know, fix the plumbing and get the car inspected and all the things that we have down here in Texas.

But the big thing for them, you know, they're not, you know, 30-year- old young folks anymore. The toll on your body is pretty significant. Just weightlessness requires a lot of physical exercise and working out. And then there's radiation -- their body just got irradiated for nine months. So, I think the physical, I'm sure they're both exercising a lot, I'm sure they'll be OK, but that's a big toll that happens.

JIMENEZ: Yes, we will see once they return. Terry Virts, really appreciate the time and perspective. Thanks for being here.

VIRTS: Thanks for having me on. Happy Daylight Savings Day.

JIMENEZ: Same to you. All right. Still to come, everyone. Why raw milk has suddenly become a political symbol, despite experts saying it is dangerous to consume it. Stay tuned.

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[07:45:00]

JIMENEZ: Welcome back. One of the concerns over Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services Secretary center on his potential loosening of standards on raw milk. That is milk that is not pasteurized or homogenized. Now, the FDA currently says raw milk can pose serious health dangers. CNN Correspondent Julia Vargas Jones looks at how RFK Jr. could change that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No pasteurization, no processing, just milk straight from the cow. Despite safety concerns, raw milk is having a moment. Mark McAfee is at the forefront of a movement to elevate it from the cultural fringes to the national mainstream.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Raw farm dairy.

JONES (voice-over): Raw milk has spiked in popularity in recent years and spilled into culture wars and even into politics. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. turning it into a policy flashpoint.

JONES: So, you buy into the whole movement of making America healthy again?

MARK MCAFEE, CEO, RAW FARM: So, to make America healthy, to make the world healthy, we have to address the fact that food is medicine. McAfee's Raw Farm takes a grass to glass approach.

MCAFEE: Are you ready? Just a sip.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, gosh.

JONES (voice-over): He says his product is not only safe to drink, but also offers a wide ranging list of health benefits.

MCAFEE: These are anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, antihypertensive, remineralization, good for the immune system, mass cell stabilization, all these kinds of things that are destroyed in pasteurization.

JONES (voice-over): But all of that disputed by food scientists. JONES: So, I'll read you a claim and you tell me if that's true or false. Raw milk has additional bacteria that is beneficial for the gut.

JOHN LUCEY, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR DAIRY RESEARCH: False.

JONES: Raw milk helps build the immune system.

LUCEY: False.

JONES: Raw milk can help cure allergies and asthma.

LUCEY: False. The idea that pasteurization is, you know, reducing the nutrient profile or making this milk somehow inferior is just nonsense.

JONES (voice-over): Fewer than 1 percent of Americans say they regularly drink raw milk, and the FDA has issued numerous warnings about the risks. Raw Farm has faced multiple lawsuits and recalls after E. coli, bird flu, and salmonella outbreaks. The latter, the largest connected to unpasteurized milk in decades. California is one of 15 states where you can find raw milk at a grocery store. In some parts of the country, you can only buy it directly from farmers. 16 states prohibit sales for human consumption.

Nationwide, the FDA strongly encourages pasteurization for all milk and prohibits sales of raw milk across state lines. But change may be on the horizon. McAfee says he was invited to apply for an advisory role in RFK Jr.'s FDA and has already drafted a proposal for an ordinance that would establish an office with budget from Congress, create raw milk standards for farmers, and remove current regulations.

[07:50:00]

MCAFEE: -- expect people to have access to super high quality raw milk, you're going to have to change a bunch of rules.

JONES (voice-over): Julia Vargas Jones, CNN. Fresno, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Julia Vargas Jones, thank you so much. Now, tonight on CNN, a new CNN original series follows the creation of one of the most well-known social media platforms of all time, Twitter. Detailing the behind the scenes moments that led to the creation of this trailblazing app.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Twitter. That's a great name. Jack, Biz, Evan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were the most social people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is your mind blown?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The most emotional company. And its founders were neurotic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Twittering is all the rage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Twitter guy's made up a thing out of this air.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am obsessed with Twitter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is billions of dollars.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're clearly offering something that people want. Boom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Twitter was running the public square.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It shaped the way that we perceive and view news.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Feelings are getting hurt. Relationships are getting severed in ways that end up becoming irreparable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In this industry, if you stop growing, you die.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a lot going on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one could possibly have understood where it was going.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The thing that creates traffic is anger. Enragement equals engagement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 50 million accounts are tweeting, retweeting, reposting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, are we the bad guys?

ANNOUNCER: "Twitter: Breaking the Bird," premieres tonight at 10:00 on CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:55:00]

JIMENEZ: NASCAR is preparing to make history today. A woman driver will race in the NASCAR Cup Series in Phoenix. The first time since 2018 and CNN's Coy Wire is here with that story and so much more. Lots of sports.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, lots of sports. Let's get to it. So, 44 years old, Catherine Legge, she says it feels like the first day of school. She's raced in just about every car you can race in IndyCar, you name it. But this is her first time in a Cup Series race. NASCAR's top level first woman since Danica Patrick.

She says, everyone always asks her what's it like to be a girl in racing? And she says, I don't know. I don't know what it's like to be in boy in racing. So, she hopes to inspire though other women to race, but for this one, she said she just wanted to qualify and it not make big deal out of it, but this is a big deal, a big moment. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHERINE LEGGE, NASCAR DRIVER: I said, oh, I'm going to fly under the radar for my first cup race, right? Nobody's going to notice. We'll just be in the back. We'll chill. We'll get NASCAR permission. And then somebody was like, you know, it's International Women's Day on Saturday. And I thought, oh -- there's no way. There's no way I'm flying under the radar.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right. One of the great rivalries in sports. Lakers- Celtics, the defending champs, Boston, put a beat down on L.A. one 111-101, snapping L.A.'s eight-game win streak. As Jason Tatum led the way with 40. Now, L.A., they were hurting in this one. Watch Luka Concic getting blasted in the face. Oh, man. He put up 34 points but he was hobbling around later in the game, grabbing his back.

And then, there was this very concerning scene, concerning is what Coach Redick said about this LeBron leaving with a groin strain. He said the first thing he thought about was his injury to his groin in 2018 that caused him to miss 17 games. He did feel this one though was not as serious.

College Hoops, we had an overtime thriller. Number one Auburn, number seven Bama. Auburn's Johni Broome with a huge three, tying it with 15 seconds left in OT. But here comes Bama's Mark Sears at the buzzer. It's good, Omar. Tigers get blasted at home in their home finale, 93- 91. Auburn will likely still, though, be the number one seed come March Madness. Bama making their case, though.

Women's hoops, the defending champs, South Carolina beat in Oklahoma 93-75 to advance to a six straight SEC tournament final. Joyce Edwards had 21, MiLaysia Fulwiley had 19. They're going to face Texas today at 3:00 Eastern. And this big win came despite one of their stars giving away their plays. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHLOE KITTS, SOUTH CAROLINA FORWARD: My coaches kept -- me and the point guard kept saying 14, which is kind of get the ball to me. And I just delivered. I was just going out there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks.

KITTS: For what?

DAWN STALEY, COACH: You're just throwing our play. Yes.

KITTS: Anyways, sorry. Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WIRE: I love Coach Dawn Staley. That was after they beat Vanderbilt to advance there to the semis. And yes, want to get away, just give them the play.

JIMENEZ: Yes, that's -- someone's going to be running at practice afterwards. That play is definitely --

WIRE: Yes, they got to change the name on that one.

JIMENEZ: Yes, exactly. Coy, appreciate it. Now, before we go Saturday Night Live, once again, poked fun at the Oval Office, Marco Rubio and Elon Musk, but this time with a Mike Myers twist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Elon, you got listen to me, OK? Marco is a very important part of the team. And we all need to --

MIKE MYERS, COMEDIAN: Phase one of my plan is complete, ingratiate yourself to the president, and take over the media. But was taking this job a bad idea? A lot of people seem to really hate me. My Tesla stock is crashing, and my personal net worth just dropped by $100 billion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Oh, man, Mike Myers, always a classic. But, look, I missed it. I was I was asleep. One hour. less.

WIRE: Time change. Yes. I was waiting for that pinky though.

JIMENEZ: Yes, yes.

WIRE: You knew it was Dr. Evil when that pinky happened. Hey, the one-hour time change, did you know poor Allie came out earlier this morning with two different shoes on.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

WIRE: She was like, should I wear the cream or the black?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I went into the hair and makeup ladies to ask their opinion and they told me and then I totally forgot the change.

JIMENEZ: See, but she adjusted on the fly. That's why you're the best. Good to see you both.

WIRE: You too.

JIMENEZ: Thanks for spending your morning with us. Inside Politics with the one and only Manu Raju starts right now.

[08:00:00]