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Hours Away: Netanyahu Visits Trump at the White House; El Salvador Offers to House U.S. Criminals and Deportees; Family of Two-Year-Old Girl Killed in Jenin Demands Justice; Economic Impact of Possible EU Tariffs; Trump Wants Ukraine's "Rare Earths" for Continued U.S. Aid. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired February 04, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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


[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: You're looking live pictures of the White House where U.S. President Donald Trump will host the Israeli

Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu later today. The Gaza ceasefire, normalization Israeli operations in the occupied West Bank all top of the

agenda.

It's 09:00 a.m. there in Washington, it is 06:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson, you're watching "Connect the World". Also coming up, an

unprecedented move, El Salvador agrees to house U.S. deportees and criminals, including American citizens in its notorious prisons.

And Mr. Trump claiming victory in the tariff standoff against Canada and Mexico, but a trade war with China, it seems, is now taking shape. Well,

the stock market in New York will kick into gear about 30 minutes from now. Futures indicating a mix to open. Investors clearly digesting the very

latest on this global trade front with China.

Today, the latest to respond to Donald Trump's tariff salvos. More on that, of course, coming up. First up though, we are following breaking news out

of Sweden, where police are on the scene of a shooting. Let's get straight to CNN's Salma Abdelaziz, who's following the very latest for us from

London. What have we learned, Salma?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now, as you said, Becky, this is breaking news. So, this is information that is changing by the minute. We

do understand that there's going to be a Police Press Conference in about 30 minutes time, but here's what we know so far, at least five people have

been shot near a school in the City of Orebro, this is in central Sweden, again, that's according to police.

Now there is an ongoing operation there at the school with police warning of a suspected serious crime of violence. Of course, that goes without

saying five people have been killed. Now the public has been urged to stay away from the area to stay indoors while the police conduct their work.

We do have those images that you see on your screen that have just come into us. You can see there that police line, clearly, they're cutting it

off, cordoning off this area to the public while they try to stabilize the situation at this school. Again, this appears to be an active and ongoing

situation.

At this time, police say five people have been shot, but it's unclear what status they are, what their wounds are, if they have survived, if they've

been rushed to hospital. So, all of those details may become clearer when we get that police press there in about 30 minutes time, but again, a

shocking crime in central Sweden, five people shot at a school. The situation ongoing, Becky.

ANDERSON: And Salma working this story for you more as we move through the next two hours on this show. Salma, thank you. Let's get you to the White

House now, where we are on watch for two crucial conversations, each with international implications. The first, a potential phone call between

President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

Mr. Trump announced Monday that the two leaders would be speaking within 24 hours, but China has not confirmed such a meeting. The topic presumably

this tit for tat tariff story that the countries are frankly involved with lobbying tariffs at each other this week and later today, Israel's Prime

Minister visits the White House.

Benjamin Netanyahu, becoming the first foreign leader to hold formal talks with Mr. Trump this term. Israel missed a deadline to start a new round of

ceasefire talks in Qatar, while Mr. Netanyahu traveled to Washington, a sign of where the Prime Minister sees the clearest path forward.

Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak tracking all of this in Washington. And Kevin, let's start with the Israeli Prime Minister's visit

to D.C. He has been holding other meetings ahead of this. What do we know and what are we expecting out of today's meeting with the president?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, he arrived here Sunday night. He's staying right across the street at the Blair House. Security

very tight for him here in D.C. Obviously, he is arriving at a highly consequential moment as the talks to begin, this second phase of the

ceasefire deal were set to begin.

I think it's clear that he wants to get a sense from President Trump where exactly he stands before launching those negotiations in earnest.

[09:05:00]

And certainly, President Trump has said that he wants to see that war end, that he wants to see the hostages come home -- for securing the ceasefire

deal -- in the first place -- well office yesterday, the president was asked how confident he was in this deal holding. He said that he had no

assurances that it will hold.

So, the president taking somewhat of glass, half or less full view of all of this. It was interesting. His Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, with

Netanyahu last night here at the White House, was also in the Oval Office. He took a slightly more optimistic view. He said that they do are hopeful

that it will continue to hold.

So, these will be important topics for the men to discuss. That is on the hostage and ceasefire deal. There are some broader topics that I think the

two men will want to get to as well. One is this issue of what to do with Gaza now that the war has ended. President Trump has said that it should

be, quote, cleaned out, and he said that the Palestinians who live there should be moved to Egypt and Qatar.

That will be, I'm sorry, Egypt and Jordan. That will be a discussion that will continue when the King of Jordan is here at the White House next week.

Also on the table is Iran and what to do about Iran's nuclear program, which American officials see as potentially accelerating.

There has been discussion and speculation that Netanyahu is coming to these talks, looking to take Trump's temperature on a potential preemptive strike

on Iranian nuclear facilities. Would Trump appear open to that in these talks? And then there is, of course, this question of normalization, this

broad idea of normalizing relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors, in particular Saudi Arabia.

This is an effort that Trump had actually begun during his first term in office the Abraham Accords, that something that I think he is has his eye

on this time around, and something he want to discuss with the prime minister today as well.

ANDERSON: Yeah, an awful lot -- an awful lot going on there. All right, let's just park that for the moment, because we have heard from President

Trump that he will be talking to the Chinese President very soon. What do we know?

LIPTAK: Yeah, and I'll say he was somewhat vague in the way he phrased that.

ANDERSON: All right --

LIPTAK: He said we'll be talking to China within the next 24 hours. He also -- we also heard from his spokesman yesterday that this call could happen

in a couple of days. But I think it's clear that he wants to have a deal with Xi. He wants to restart these trade talks that began during his first

administration, that ended up falling apart, that ended up causing relations to sour between himself and Xi.

He is on pursuit of a new trade deal with China, but this is, at the end of the day, going to be much more complicated than his conversations with

Canada and Mexico. Obviously, China is an adversary, economic, but also geopolitical. And I think this will be a much more fraught conversation

than the president might have been anticipating when he applied these new tariffs last night, Becky.

ANDERSON: What do we know at this point? Kevin, thank you. Let's just give you some more on this. Of course, the Trump tariffs, as Kevin said,

targeting Mexico and Canada on pause, but this trade dispute happening today between the U.S. and China is extremely important.

Beijing responding to the 10 percent tariffs that the president levied on China with 10 percent or 15 percent tariffs on a number of American

imports, they are largely focused on energy and vehicles. China also placed new restrictions on the export of dozens of metal products, including

materials used to make things like solar cells.

Well last hour, Marc Stewart talked to my colleague Amara Walker about what appears to be a shot across the bow by China. What could be accomplished

during that possible phone call between the two leaders?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These retaliatory tariffs, in some regards, are not that much of a surprise in the sense that China, as the

world's second largest economy, needs to appear strong, not only on the world stage, but also in front of its own people. So, there could be a lot

of symbolism behind this, even though perhaps in the end, we would see some kind of trade deal between the United States and China.

Despite this back and forth in this tit for tat, as we often see in this U.S.-China relationship, Xi Jinping and President Trump have had a very

amicable relationship. In fact, they just talked about two weeks ago, right after the TikTok decision came down, and China talked about having a fresh

start, a new start, in this relationship with the United States and with President Trump.

[09:10:00]

But this is a complicated relationship in fact, if we look back to the first administration, President Trump and Xi Jinping got along early on

very well. In fact, Xi Jinping went to Mar-a-Lago. The two men had chocolate cake together, but then these trade issues surfaced, and it's one

of many reasons which led to a bigger breakdown between the two nations.

So, if we look ahead, Amara, this phone call whenever it takes place, it's going to be crucial. Tell us where the compass is going to swing in this

kind of conversation.

ANDERSON: Good to have Marc there. All right. Well, U.S. President Donald Trump's America first foreign policy tour rolls on to Costa Rica and to

Guatemala today. Secretary of State Marco Rubio likely still celebrating what he is calling the unprecedented offer of friendship that he received

on his last stop in El Salvador.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: He has offered to house in his jails dangerous American criminals in custody in our country, including those of

U.S. citizenship and legal residents, no country has ever made an offer of friendship such as this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: While El Salvador's President, confirming on X, his country was prepared to take convicts deported by the U.S., including U.S. citizens,

raising a whole host of legal questions. He added a few imposing pictures of the prison to his social media post to illustrate just how prisons would

be housed if the U.S. takes up the offer.

Well, CNN's Stefano Pozzebon is following this story for us from Bogota in Colombia today. And CNN has recently been inside the prison space on offer.

I just want our viewers to have a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are no mattresses, there's no sheets. You've got a toilet over here for them to go

to the bathroom. You've got this basin here that they use to bathe themselves. And then you can see there, there's a barrel of water that they

can drink from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: And that was an access that we were able to get some months ago. Stefano, what are the legal and practical realities of sending deportees of

all nationalities, and we are told, even U.S. citizens to that place?

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. Well, legally speaking, this plan is actually a land mine field, because, of course, the United States cannot

deport their own citizens to a third country. However, they're legislative or like the legal situation is whether they are in jail or not serving a

sentence.

And also, the migrants, even if they are undocumented migrants, once they are apprehended in the United States, they have the right to be deported or

repatriated to their own country, not to a third, said country where they didn't go in the first place. Not many, not all of the migrants that

arrived in the last few years at the U.S. southern border even went through El Salvador.

But even before considering all the legal ramifications and implications, there is a very important distinction that we need to remember and remind

everybody, every time we talk about El Salvador. Take a listen to how one of the professors that I spoke with last night characterized it to me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MNEESHA GELLMAN, PROFESSOR AT EMERSON COLLEGE: People who are alleged gang members, who have not yet been convicted of a criminal violation have still

only if they are undocumented, only violated a civil code, not a criminal code. So, the idea of using this alleged category, this very loose and

overly flexible category to detain incarcerate and potentially deport, not even to a country of origin. I mean, it really does undermine the

credibility of the United States as a rule of law-based country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POZZEBON: Becky, in every country around the world, or most countries around the world, there is a clear distinction between whether you are

accused of committing a crime or whether you are convicted. That distinction doesn't exist anymore in El Salvador, where, since the 2022

state of emergency.

The police had the power to detain people just on the suspicion of being part of a gang, maybe because they are wearing tattoos, maybe because they

are hailing from a neighborhood that is under the control of a gang. And that's why we're seeing these incarceration rates skyrocketing over the

last two years.

We're talking about tens of thousands of people behind bars, and Human Rights Association have been telling us that many of them are believed to

be innocent. So, the implications of bringing either convicted criminals, foreign nationals from the United States or convicted criminals, American

citizens in that environment are huge, Becky.

Whenever we talk about El Salvador, there is that particular distinction that we need to remind everyone. And then, of course, in the next few

hours, we'll be looking at other countries.

ANDERSON: Yeah, it's good to have you, Stefano, thank you the context is really important.

[09:15:00]

Thank you. President Trump hitting pause on the -- share of the tariffs, and that he announced at the weekend. He said Monday, he's giving Canada 30

days to reach a new economic deal. And he's also delaying a 25 percent tariff on Mexican goods, citing progress on border security and drug

trafficking.

This, though, is only a pause. Those tariffs could still be back, along with the tariffs against Colombia that were imposed then promptly

rescinded. And it's not just trade on the domestic front, the Trump White House wants to shake key government agencies, including the FBI USA and the

Department of Education.

The big question then is, what is next? Well, for more. I'm joined by CNN's Stephen Collinson. Stephen, some big moves by Trump just 2.5 weeks into his

second term. Just had Stefano, reporting on the sort of result as the White House would have us believe, out of El Salvador, we saw Rubio in Panama.

That is a big story for Donald Trump. He will claim there's a victory there in the Panamanians, suggesting that they'll, kind of, you know, push China

out of their sort of orbit, as it were. Look, you know, what do you make of what we have seen today? How might we frame these in terms of wins or not

for Donald Trump?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, I think the first win that the White House perceives is this frenzy of activity which makes

it look like Trump is out there, flexing strong manpower, especially in the Western Hemisphere, getting results which they say were not available to

the Biden Administration and consolidating power.

To some extent, that's true, but I think you have to look at what really is behind all of these so-called wins. Certainly, he's got nations in south in

Latin America to accept undocumented migrants that are being arrested in the United States as part of his mass deportation program.

But if you look at the supposed great victories over Canada and Mexico, it doesn't seem that like the White House got very much at all. Mexico has

frequently in the past sent out 10,000 troops to the border. Canada agreed to a plan, it itself proposed to strengthen the border last year.

And you know, this idea that there are massive amounts of undocumented migrants and fentanyl coming into the United States from Canada is

basically absurd. So, there is a lot of activity, a lot of claiming victories, especially in the case of U.S. allies like Mexico and Canada.

The price that these victories are coming out, alienating foreign populations, angering U.S. allies. I think, is something that isn't being

talked about now, but could be detrimental to the United States down the road.

ANDERSON: A regular guest on this show, good friend of the show, always important to get Stephen's inside. Stephen, thank you for joining us. And

to your point, I think here Ezra Klein writing in "The New York Times" quote, if you overwhelm the media, if you give it too many places it needs

to look all at once, if you keep it moving from one thing to the next, no coherent opposition can emerge.

It is hard to even think coherently. Donald Trump's first two weeks in the White House have followed Bannon's that he is talking speaking there, of

course, to Steve Bannon, his Former Senior Adviser, still in his mix says these, just these speak like a strategy straight out of Steve Bannon's

playbook as it were.

Interesting lines from Ezra Klein there, and definitely worth considering. Look just ahead. CNN travels to Jenin to speak with a family who is

demanding justice after an unimaginable loss. More on that is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:20:00]

ANDERSON: -- the U.S. President and Israel's Prime Minister prepared to meet in Washington to discuss the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire. Israeli

military operations in the occupied West Bank are continuing. Mr. Trump, on Monday skirted a question on if he would support annexation by Israel

instead telling reporters, quote, Israel is a small piece of land.

Much of Israel's offensive has been concentrated in and around the town of Jenin, and the population's most vulnerable are among those bearing the

brunt of the assault. Jeremy Diamond with this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tayma Al-Khatib's world has been shattered, but she is trying to stay strong. After all,

that's what Layla would want.

TAYMA AL-KHATIB, LAYLA'S MOTHER: Layla was always the source of my strength.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Layla was just two years old when she was killed by Israeli troops. One of at least 24 Palestinians killed by Israeli military

operations in and around the West Bank City of Jenin in the last two weeks. The little girl whose laughter once delighted her family now gone.

The family were having dinner when Layla's grandfather heard a faint voice on a loud speaker that sounded like the Israeli military.

BASSAM HAZA, LAYLA'S GRANDFATHER: The voice was distant, so we didn't pay attention to it. After a few moments, we heard gunfire very close by,

closer than the usual. So, I asked the girls to hide in their bedroom, and my wife and I hid in our bedroom that faces the street, so we could try to

see what was happening.

DIAMOND: And you lay down --

DIAMOND (voice-over): Inside that bedroom, Layla's mother, Tayma, grabbed her daughter and cradled her on the ground.

B. HAZA: In that moment, shots were fired toward us, so my wife and I ducked and fell to the ground, and then I heard my girl screaming from

inside the bedroom.

DIAMOND (voice-over): The screams were Tayma's. Layla had been shot in the head.

AL-KHATIB: My blouse, this whole area, was filled with blood, so I started screaming, saying, Layla, something hit her and she's bleeding. They came

quickly and grabbed her from me so they could take her outside to call the ambulance.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Bassam rushed, outside with Layla in his arms, where he found dozens of soldiers. They had surrounded his house. Some had taken

up positions on a neighboring roof.

B. HAZA: I looked at one of the soldiers and asked him, why you are killing my daughter. He was a bit stunned and saw the girl bleeding, and then said,

I am sorry. He's saying --

DIAMOND: He said, I'm sorry.

B. HAZA: I'm sorry. I told him my child is bleeding. She needs help. What do you mean? I'm sorry.

AL-KHATIB: I wanted to hold the soldier and scream out to the world and say that he killed a young child and he burnt the heart of a mother. Any mother

like me who had to endure this, and then have a soldier say, I'm sorry. It's as if nothing happened. The man who fired at Layla for no reason has

to be prosecuted and punished, and not just him, anyone who was involved, from the commanders from the army who encircled the house.

DIAMOND (voice-over): The Israeli military said it opened fire on the house after receiving intelligence about, quote, barricaded, armed terrorists,

and claimed they called on people to leave the building multiple times. Immediately after they opened fire, the soldiers identified injuries among

uninvolved civilians who were present in the structure and coordinated the rapid arrival of the Red Crescent to evacuate them.

The IDF regrets any harm caused to uninvolved civilians and takes various measures to prevent such incidents. The incident will be examined and

lessons will be learned accordingly.

[09:25:00]

Gunfire didn't just strike Layla Khatib's home.

AZZAM HAZA, LAYLA'S UNCLE: These are bullet holes.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Bullets also tore through neighboring apartments where Layla's extended family lives.

A. HAZA: All the kids were here. Not just in this house. And up there and in my brother's house. Their kids, like this.

DIAMOND: They must have been really afraid.

A. HAZA: Yeah, of course.

DIAMOND (voice-over): After the gunfire ended, multiple residents accuse Israeli forces of trying to cover up what happened, destroying several

security cameras in the area. This video obtained by CNN, shows a soldier trying to knock down a security camera on the same street with the butt of

his rifle.

The military did not respond to CNN's questions about the destruction of security cameras. In a home riddled with bullets, all that is left now are

the memories.

B. HAZA: She would hop on my shoulders, and she would say, Grandpa, I want to kiss your head. And she would hug me. I used to love this.

DIAMOND (voice-over): And a mother's duty to speak out for her daughter.

AL-KHATIB: I want everybody to know Layla and her story and how they killed a young child who was so ambitious, so smart, this is my duty to --

DIAMOND (voice-over): Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jenin, the West Bank.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: You're watching "Connect the World". We will be back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Well, we are just ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street. It is just before 09:30 in New York, it is just before 06:30 here in Abu Dhabi.

The futures markets were indicating a rather mixed open for you at this stage. Before we take a look at those, let's have a look at our headlines

today.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the White House later. He will be the first foreign leader to sit down for formal talks with

President Donald Trump in his second term. The discussions happening at a crucial time for the Middle East, with the future of the Gaza ceasefire, of

course, uncertain.

Well U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio will hold meetings today with top officials in Costa Rica and Guatemala to push President Donald Trump's

America first foreign policy countries president agreed to house dangerous criminals from anywhere in the world deported by the U.S., including

American citizens.

[09:30:00]

Right. So, we talked about just being close to the opening bell and we are, as I was saying, futures indicating a pretty mixed open. So, you will hear

the bell momentarily, and these markets really looking at what is going on with regard this global trade spat that is emerging.

That is the open, we will let these markets settle somewhat. We do know, though, that investors are still reacting, of course, to this tit for tat

tariff, salvo. All right, and that is the state of play. NASDAQ off by about 1.5 percent. The DOW just in positive territory.

But you can see indicated by those markets really investors, what we would suggest treading water is the line that's used by those in the markets

really trying to work out where they are at. Well, two weeks into office, Mr. Trump has wasted no time in enacting his election promises.

Coming off the back of a one-month delay of tariffs on Canada and Mexico, the president adds a harsh message to the European Union.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We have massive deficits with the European Union, massive like $350 billion if you can

believe it. They don't take our farm product. They don't take our cars. They don't take almost anything. But we take their cars.

We have millions of cars coming and BMW and Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen and just so many different cars, and we don't do anything about that, and

we don't charge them tariffs. They make it impossible to sell cars in the European Union. They make it very difficult agricultural product. They

actually don't take it. And they have a lot of excuses. They don't take anything. So, the European has abused the United States for years, and they

can't do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Oh, Donald Trump making his position pretty clear there when it comes to Europe, and his comments have caused concern with EU leaders

calling for unity and a collective response. A possible U.S. tariffs are expected to be the focus of a meeting of EU economic ministers today.

We will certainly would expect them to be so. Anna Stewart joining me now to discuss what tariffs could mean for the European Union. Trump's message,

both over the weekend, yesterday and now today with the EU and its cross, says, are those countries, many countries, including Europe, are ripping

off the United States.

What is Europe as a sort of entity expecting from Donald Trump at this point? Is it clear to them? And how are they sort of, you know, working to

generate response at this point?

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's not really that easy, is it, but they have had some warning. I mean, this has been the message right

through the campaign trail. And of course, with Trump 1.0 the first administration, they already felt the, you know, the bite of tariffs,

tariffs on steel and aluminums, and in that sense, they actually retaliated.

They put tariffs on things like Levi jeans and Bourbon whiskey and Harley- Davidsons. The question is, this is a new EU. We got 27 member states. What are they going to do? What is their approach? So, there is an informal

meeting going on right now in Warsaw between trade ministers of the EU member states.

Of course, you are then going to get 27 different opinions on the sort of spectrum of retaliation on the one end and something more conciliatory on

the other end. And they're going to have to find some sort of United ground there on how to respond, at least initially, should these tariffs come

about.

And I think they are, at this stage, really expecting the worst. The EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is currently, I would say,

straddling both of the positions in terms of retaliation and conciliatory remarks. Take a listen to what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: We will be ready for tough negotiations when needed, and to find solutions where possible, to

work out any grievances and to set the foundations for a stronger partnership. We will be open and pragmatic in how to achieve that.

But we will make it equally clear that we will always protect our own interests however and whenever that is needed, this will always be the

European way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: So, a little bit of both sides there. And interestingly, EU officials are somewhat perplexed by the trade deficit argument from the

president. As you actually heard right before you came to me, President Trump says the U.S. has a trade deficit with the EU toting some $350

billion by the EU calculations.

It's more like $50 billion. So, it's still a trade deficit, but significantly lower. So, they even actually disagree on the basis of the

argument.

[09:35:00]

ANDERSON: The Germans likely to get hit hard. Just explain for our viewers why and how Europe might or might not rally to their support, as it were?

STEWART: Germany is, of course, the beating heart of Europe, in terms of its one of the biggest economies and the car industry represents, I think,

about 17 percent of exports around the world from Germany, the U.S. being its biggest trade partner. So clearly, this would be devastating for

Germany, not least because it's been in recession for two years.

It's expecting an election at the end of this month, given its government has collapsed, so it's already feeling a lot of internal divisions and a

lot of pressure. The auto industry faces problems from China, on the one hand, where used to be a huge market for Germany and other a lot of Chinese

owned -- Chinese made cars.

Tesla on the other, U.S. tariffs, according to one consultancy called Oxford Economics, say the U.S. and the EU hit each other with 25 percent

tariffs, or that could result in German car Exports falling by 7 percent. So, Germany has a huge interest in the meeting going on today in how the EU

formulates this response.

And the EU has an interest to protect Germany, because Germany is such a big plan, such a big part of the overall EU ecosystem.

ANDERSON: An economy which is really sort of flatlining at the moment as well. If this is the engine of growth for Europe, there are real concerns

about where European growth is headed going forward. Always good to have you, Anna, thank you very much indeed.

Still to come, folks, a critical day on Capitol Hill for two of President Trump's cabinet picks, with key votes expected for RFK Jr. and Tulsi

Gabbard, why RFK's nomination could come down to one Republican Senator. Well, that is, is after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: U.S. President Donald Trump proposing a deal with Ukraine in exchange for continued U.S. support in its war with Russia. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they're going to secure what we're giving them with their rare earth and other things. I

want to have security of rare earth. We're putting in hundreds of billions of dollars. They have great rare earth. And I want security of the rare

earth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: What are you talking about when he talks about the rare earth? Well, he's talking about rare earth minerals such as lithium and titanium

used to make a range of tech products. This is one of the first times Mr. Trump has mentioned anything specific about the conflict since he was sworn

in.

During the campaign, he said he would end the fighting within 24 hours of him returning to the White House on Monday, he said talks to end the war

are making progress.

[09:40:00]

Meantime, on Capitol Hill, two potential nail biters on today for president, Donald Trump's picks to lead the Department of Health and Human

Services and the Office of National Intelligence. Look both Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard facing key committee votes to move their

nominations forward.

If they pass, they will move on to a decision by the full Senate, but neither is a done deal, at least not yet, as at least one Republican

Senator on both committees has yet to commit their vote. CNN's Congressional Correspondent Lauren Fox is live on Capitol Hill. Two

controversial nominees for many, including many Republicans Is it looking like they will be voted through two phase the full Senate at this point?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Becky, let's start with the first vote that we're going to see this morning. In just about a half

an hour, the Senate Finance Committee is going to meet to decide whether or not to advance the nomination of RFK Jr. to be the next Health and Human

Services Secretary.

It's not clear right now how one of those Republicans on the committee, Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican from the State of Louisiana, how he is

going to vote. He had several opportunities last week as the Chairman of the HELP Committee where RFK Jr. also appeared to testify to really grill

Kennedy on his past comments when it comes to vaccines.

And to try to get a clear answer from Kennedy, multiple times that Kennedy does not believe that vaccines cause autism, something that science has

repeatedly debunked, but something that RFK Jr. has in the past peddled. So, one of the questions right now is whether or not Cassidy will vote to

advance this nominee, given the differences in their rhetoric, given some of the concerns that he has harbored.

We do know that the two of them talked over the weekend. It's not clear yet, though, what Cassidy is going to do. And if he votes no, that could be

enough to derail this nomination in committee today. Then later today, we are also going to be waiting to see what happens with Tulsi Gabbard.

She has been nominated to be Donald Trump's Secretary of National Intelligence. It is really unclear right now how Senator Todd Young,

another Republican in the Intelligence Committee, is going to vote, but two Republicans who were on the fence, Senator James Lankford and Susan Collins

both made clear, they are going to be supporting her nomination in committee.

Again, this is a narrowly divided committee, which means just one no vote from the Republicans could be enough to derail this nomination in

committee, Becky.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you. A busy day in Washington, not least on Capitol Hill and, of course, at the White House. Thank you. The countdown

is on, for what is the big game on Sunday in the states between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Coming up "World Sport" will take you live to our New Orleans and our Coy Wire as the Chiefs try to accomplish what would be a first ever Super Bowl

three peat. I'll be back in 15 minutes with the second hour of "Connect the World" live from here, Abu Dhabi. Stay with us.

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