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Judge Halts Trump's Plan To Put USAID Workers On Leave; Trump Announces Plans To Gut The Kennedy Center Board And Appoint Himself Chairman; Groups Fear Losing USAID Could Result In Deaths Of People Worldwide; Judge Pauses Deadline For Fed Workers To Accept "Buyout" Offer; Bird Flu Prompts NY To Temporarily Shut Down Live Markets; Eagles Ready To Seize Control Of 2nd Super Bowl Chance; Israelis Express Shock At Frail Appearance Of Newly Released Hostages; Missing Alaska Plane With 10 Aboard Found With No Survivors. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired February 08, 2025 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: Don't forget, you can find all our programs online as podcasts at CNN.com/audio and on all other major platforms.

I'm Christiane Amanpour in London. Thank you for watching and see you again next week.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone, thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin this hour with a major new court ruling putting the brakes on President Trump's plans to nearly wipe out all of the workforce of a major U.S. humanitarian agency. A federal judge has temporarily blocked a plan by the Trump administration to put thousands of workers at USAID on indefinite leave or firing them.

The President's executive order would have left the agency with fewer than 300 employees. Hours before the ruling, the court ruling, crews were seen removing signage from the agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The judge's ruling prevents more than 2,200 people from being placed on administrative leave. He also, the judge rather, ordered the government to reinstate 500 workers who have already been placed on leave. It's an agency Trump's daughter, Ivanka, once championed when she served as a White House adviser.

CNN's Betsy Klein is joining us now. What more can you tell us about the judge's order for this agency that really has been around for decades, even though Ivanka Trump had her own connections to the agency during her father's first administration?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: That's exactly right, Fred. And if the actions of the past few weeks feel a little bit jarring, that's because President Trump himself was once a vocal proponent of USAID and its programs. And I think no one tells that story better than Ivanka Trump, his daughter and former senior adviser.

Now, back in 2019, just to underscore how important this was, the President talked about USAID as a key piece of his State of the Union address. He announced plans to launch WGDP, the Women's Global Development and Prosperity Initiative, under the umbrella of USAID, spearheaded by his daughter, Ivanka Trump.

Now, if it was a priority for Ivanka, it was a priority for the President. And this program, WGDP, it did things aimed at boosting women's economic empowerment abroad, things like closing the digital divide, of ending food insecurity and providing capital to women entrepreneurs looking to start small businesses.

But we talked to numerous people who worked closely with Ivanka Trump at USAID, as well as people who were direct beneficiaries of that program, including one farmer from the country of Georgia. She was at that signing ceremony in the Oval Office back in 2019.

And she told CNN just this week, when I saw President Trump was elected again, I thought it was going to bring more support for women's economic empowerment because he loved this program. Now, the program was rebranded under the Biden administration, and by all accounts, continued to thrive until just last week when it was subject to a stop order halting all of its operations.

Now, I think all of this underscores a dramatic transformation for President Trump on foreign aid. He ran and won back in November on slashing federal spending. He is doing just that. But sources that we spoke to you really raised dramatic concerns about the status of these programs and their soft power value, and who might fill that vacuum in the absence of U.S. leadership, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And then, Betsy, taking a really big turn into the performing arts, we also know now that Trump has announced a very aggressive plan to gut the existing board of the Kennedy Center, the board of trustees, rather, of the Kennedy Center, and he's now made himself the chairman?

KLEIN: That's exactly right. And we've seen President Trump really reimagine the use of executive authority. But this move really aimed at a personal political retribution. So he announced just last night that he would be ousting the chairman of the board of trustees at the Kennedy Center.

That's David Rubenstein, who, of course, was a very close ally of President Biden, and installing himself as the chairman of that board. And he would also be taking action to eliminate other members of the board of trustees. Now, the Kennedy Center has a very long tradition of bipartisanship.

Different presidents over the course of time nominate their own members of the board. They all work together to select those Kennedy Center honorees every year, but really a dramatic move. The Kennedy Center says, quote, "There is nothing in the center's statute that would prevent a new administration from replacing board members".

Still an unprecedented action by President Trump.

[12:05:05]

WHITFIELD: Yes, it's a stunning move. All right, thank you so much, Betsy Klein.

All right, from fighting disease to feeding the hungry. USAID is credited with saving the lives of millions of people around the world. The humanitarian group says, without the agency, deaths will be inevitable.

CNN's Brian Todd reports on the growing fears.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At this hospital in Thailand, refugees from war-torn Myanmar say services at their refugee camp came to a sudden stop after the U.S. froze aid to the region.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): We don't have money to buy medicines. We will all die if we have no medicine at the camp.

TODD (voice-over): Part of the fallout worldwide of President Trump's decision to gut the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, the agency that provides food and other humanitarian assistance to millions around the world. The President citing alleged waste and fraud unearthed by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.

SAMANTHA POWER, FORMER USAID ADMINISTRATOR: 60 percent of the budget goes to humanitarian emergencies, literally to provide shelter, food, and medicine to keep people alive.

TODD (voice-over): In 2023, USAID says it provided nearly $2 billion in food assistance to more than 45 million people around the world. But now, food services in famine stricken places, like Sudan, are already shutting down. Programs to provide safe drinking water for billions of people in places like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and India are under threat. And the impact on treatments for disease could be catastrophic.

ANDREW NATSIOS, FORMER HEAD OF USAID UNDER PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH: There are health clinics around the world that are treating people for HIV/AIDS, for measles, for children who get measles, 50 percent of them die in the developing world. We had a campaign to eradicate polio. That's been stopped.

TODD (voice-over): And USAID's ability to detect and treat diseases doesn't just help people in faraway lands.

DR. ATUL GAWANDE, FORMER USAID ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR GLOBAL HEALTH: For responding to diseases that threaten populations and can come to the United States. A case example is right now in Uganda is a very serious Ebola outbreak in the capital city.

TODD (voice-over): And another malaria uptick in the U.S., like the one in Florida in recent years, is possible if agencies like USAID can't detect it overseas first. USAID also works with security agencies to safeguard Americans.

STEVE SCHMIDA, FORMER USAID CONTRACTOR: There are organizations monitoring ISIS, right, in Syria, trying to keep an eye on extremist groups to make sure they don't attack us again. You know, these are -- they've gone dark.

TODD (voice-over): Work often done by USAID employees who are putting themselves in peril.

ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: You have USAID employees in incredibly dangerous areas that are impacted not just by disease but also conflict and war. At least some of these workers are in places where they are risking their lives.

TODD (voice-over): And in some cases, dying. In 2023, A USAID contractor was killed in an airstrike in Gaza. In 2010, suicide bombers stormed a USAID compound in Northern Afghanistan, killing four people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): According to analysts and two former top USAID officials who spoke to CNN, another disturbing ripple effect is that as USAID pulls out of developing nations, America's adversaries, like China, Russia, and Iran, could move right in to fill that void and distribute their own aid to those countries, winning hearts and minds on the ground. Something China's already been doing in places like Latin America and Africa.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

WHITFIELD: On Monday, a federal judge will hear arguments about the so-called buyouts being offered to federal workers by the Trump administration. On Thursday, the judge temporarily paused the program that's attempting to dramatically shrink the federal workforce overall.

Unions representing hundreds of thousands of workers filed a lawsuit after Trump and Elon Musk's DOGE group offered to pay workers through the end of September if they resigned. So far, 65,000 workers have taken them up on the offer, but the White House wants even more.

Here with us now, Corey Brettschneider, he is a professor of political science at Brown University and his latest book is "The President and the People: Five Leaders Who Threaten Democracy and the Citizens Who Fought to Defend It". Professor, great to see you.

COREY BRETTSCHNEIDER, PROF. OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, BROWN UNIVERSITY: Great to see you, too.

WHITFIELD: All right, so the response to this sweeping buyout offer has left federal employees pretty stunned, confused, scared. In your view, what is the goal here for the Trump administration?

BRETTSCHNEIDER: Well, I think it really is no less than an attempt to take over of the federal branch, the vast numbers of civil servants who make up the executive branch, and to try to turn it from a group that is charged with carrying out the law, laws like the Clean Water Act or the Clean Air Act, and to instead turn it into a devoted, loyal workforce that will simply do the bidding of the President rather than carry out the law.

[12:10:05]

And critics are saying it's so dangerous, especially the attempt to really disarray (ph) the civil service protection, the desire to really get rid of so many of these civil servants who might not be loyal through the buyout, that it is a kind of coup.

It's not a violent coup, of course, but what happens in autocratic countries is sometimes the law is eroded through actions like this that simply usurp the law-making power of Congress. And I do think that's what we're seeing.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh, you said some very strong things, a kind of coup, that this is also about undermining the law. Is it also about cutting costs? Because on the surface, that's what this administration is saying it's all about.

BRETTSCHNEIDER: That is what they're saying. And of course, they're not going to put it in the terms that I put it. They don't want to admit that it is this assault on democracy. Instead, they're focusing on these individual actions, which have the name, the DOGE name is, of course, about efficiency.

But when you add it all up, it's not just the buyout. It's also the attempt to really cut off federal funds without authorization of Congress. And just to be clear, it's Congress that makes the law. It's Congress that allocates the funds.

And when the president of the United States starts to act like a lawmaker and to take things into his own hands with the aid of Elon Musk, an unelected person, of course, that's really usurping that lawmaking function and that allocation function. And that's why, again and again, rightly, the federal courts are stopping this.

They're essentially saying this is an illegal act that you're pursuing again and again. And I think we're going to see more of that.

WHITFIELD: So the federal courts are compelled to step in. They've been asked to step in because of these lawsuits filed. But you just underscored Congress should be doing something that it's not doing anything. Does this effort just simply pick up speed because of the speed or lack thereof, usually of the court system?

BRETTSCHNEIDER: Well, I'm optimistic because the courts are doing their job and they're essentially saying what I said in more legalistic terms, which is it's Congress that makes the law, Congress that allocates funds. And the President and his cronies can't just come in and usurp that function.

Now, it is, to your point, really important that the American people and their representatives in Congress also take a stand and start to assert themselves, because we can't just rely when there's this kind of assault on the rule of law on one branch, on the courts alone, as admirable as they are acting.

It has to be the people and their representatives who say we're not going to stand to have the lawmaking function of Congress, the allocation of funds taken over by a at least wannabe autocrat.

WHITFIELD: So while there's been a court imposed delay, you know, of this buyout effort, unions representing federal workers are urging members don't resign. But there seems to be real uncertainty that if they don't leave now, they may be fired later. They won't receive benefits. What do you say? What would you encourage these federal workers to really contemplate?

BRETTSCHNEIDER: I think they need to stay the course. They know that their job is to carry out the law. They know that, rightly, many of them in the civil service since the 19th century really have had protection from political firing. And this is an attempt to really undermine that.

Now, there is a threat that Trump and Musk will try to undo the protection of civil service and to engage in political firings in order to demand loyalty, as I said earlier. But I don't think that effort will work. I think that if the courts, as they are doing, stick up for the law and the American people back them up, that we're going to see a victory of the civil service who are charged with carrying out the law.

Now, I can't guarantee that because the Supreme Court has aggrandized executive power. They have shown a willingness to do that under the theory of the unitary executive. But we're in a constitutional crisis. And in a constitutional crisis, the most important thing for citizens and that federal workforce to do is to stand up for the law. And I think that means staying the course and certainly not taking the buyout.

WHITFIELD: All right. Brown University Professor Corey Brettschneider, great to see you. Thank you so much.

BRETTSCHNEIDER: Thank you. Thank you. Always a pleasure.

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, celebrations after three more Israeli hostages are freed, but their frail appearances also causing alarm. We'll have more in their conditions and Israel's response.

Plus, live poultry markets shut down in New York City after inspectors detected several cases of bird flu. How the governor is working to protect the public from the growing threat next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:19:23]

WHITFIELD: The highly contagious bird flu virus has hit New York, prompting the governor to temporarily shut down live bird markets as a proactive move in some counties. Governor Kathy Hochul made the announcement on Friday after inspectors found seven cases this past week during routine inspections of the poultry.

CNN National Correspondent Gloria Pazmino has been following the latest development. So, Gloria, what is this temporary shutdown involved?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Fred, the governor made it clear that this is a precautionary measure and that at this time there is no immediate danger to the public regarding the spread of bird flu.

[12:20:01]

But she issued this order, which means that about 80 markets across the region live markets like the one you're seeing behind me will have to shut down and they will not be allowed to reopen until February 14th. Now, there's a very specific set of instructions that these markets have to follow in the following days, including cleanup and disinfection before they are allowed to reopen in the next several days.

Take a listen to the governor talking about the order.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D), NEW YORK: For a week-long period, no poultry can be delivered to those live bird markets. Each uninfected market must sell down all inventory, undergo thorough cleaning and disinfection, and then remain closed for at least five days. Each must then be inspected by our state ag and markets before they can reopen.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, there have been seven cases of bird flu found in live animals, live poultry here across the New York region, including in Queens, where we are right now, in Brooklyn and in the Bronx. And this order requires markets located in the New York City area as well as in Suffolk and in Nassau counties to shut down.

Now, it is a temporary shutdown. As you heard, they are allowed to reopen after inspection in the next several few days. If a market was found to have a positive inside their market, they are required to eliminate their inventory before they are allowed to reopen.

Again, the threat to the public at this time, according to public health officials, remains low, but the number of positive cases across the entire country have increased in the last several months. There's been 67 human cases reported so far. Only one person has died as a result of the virus. That was last year.

And it's important to note that everyone who became infected with the virus had been in close contact with an infected animal. So that's a really just important note to make sure that people understand in terms of what the risk level is at this time. But these markets where live animals can be purchased do have to go through this process of cleaning and disinfection right now. Fred, I should mention the market behind me is not closed at this time because they also have a grocery inside of it. So there's no live poultry available right now, but they are open in their other areas. Fred?

WHITFIELD: I see. All right, Gloria Pazmino, thank you so much.

All right, straight ahead. K9, snipers and bearcats. How officials are ramping up security measures to keep the Super Bowl safe as we count down to kickoff.

Plus, details on the five. Yes, five winter storms set to slam nearly 90 million people with freezing rain, ice and snow from the Midwest to the East Coast. Details straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:27:34]

WHITFIELD: OK, Super Bowl 59 kicking off tomorrow in New Orleans. But before kickoff, security is a top concern. Around the French Quarter and the Caesars Superdome, at least 700 uniformed law enforcement are now patrolling the streets. The enhanced security comes after, of course, that terror attack on New Year's Day and an expected visit from President Donald Trump.

But officials say there are no specific credible threats. So with the security set, the party can officially get underway.

Coy Wire is joining us live from New Orleans with a preview of all the big fun, the big players, the big event. How's it going?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Good to see you, Fredricka. How do I get to be the lucky one who gets -- to go to all the parties?

WHITFIELD: Really. It's all the time.

WIRE: Let's have party (ph) ball party. It's a big parade going through the city. Welcome to NFL experience. Fans from around the world looking forward to seeing this rematch from two Super Bowls ago between Philly and KC.

And something really interesting has happened with the two-time defending champion Chiefs. They went, from a couple of years ago, to being almost like America's sweetheart, the new America's team. And they had the Kelce brothers, Travis and Jason, playing against each other.

Mama Donna was running around making everyone soup. Taylor Swift and her fans were swooning. But now here we are two years later ahead of this rematch. And it seems like many feel that they are public enemy number one.

And those Chiefs know it. They've heard it. I've caught up with their star defender Chris Jones, and he said that we have no problem with being called the villain. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CHRIS JONES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: Every good story has to have a villain, man. Every good story has to have a villain. You know, and people hate success. You know, over time, people like to see something different. They don't like to see the same people winning. They don't like to see the same type of success.

People love something new. It's OK. I'd rather be a villain. It's no bad feelings. I get it. From a fan standpoint, I completely get it.

If I was on the outside looking in, I'd be saying the same thing. I'm sick of the Chiefs.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WIRE: Love them or hate them. They keep finding ways to win. They take everyone's best shot, Fredricka, but that Chiefs train just keeps rolling.

Now the Eagles are going to have the top task of slowing down that high power Chiefs offense. And one person who knows all about that is NFL legend Ndamukong Suh played in three Super Bowls, won one. Last one he played in was with the Eagles against these Chiefs.

[12:30:04]

So he says he has a formula that he thinks is the key to the Eagles getting a win this time around. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NDAMUKONG SUH, 5-TIME PRO BOWLER AND SUPER BOWL CHAMPION: Kansas City Chiefs are going to struggle to stop Saquon Barkley and he's going to be able to allow the Eagles offense to control the game and especially time of possession because I think sometimes your best defense is a better offense which keeps Mahomes sitting down. And so I think that's going to be the dynamic of where this game goes. And I think they have an opportunity to take -- take the crown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: One sleep away from Super Bowl LIX, Fredricka, as I mentioned, this is a Mardi Gras party might have to go and dig into some -- some more of this creole cuisine, the gumbo, the A2FE --

WHITFIELD: Yes. Why not.

WIRE: -- the beignets. Grown folks are doing a -- doing some drinking around here too now. Fact check, a lot of drinking. It's a good time. The energy is great here New Orleans.

WHITFIELD: -- to kind of splayed on the floor, you know, we know there's a lot of alcohol going on and flowing there, but have fun. Hey, have extra beignets for me because I love those beignets.

WIRE: You got it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much.

WIRE: I'm wearing my white shirt today. I'm good.

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes. OK. And also the white powder. Hilarious. All right, Coy Wire, have fun. Indulge.

All right. Tonight, CNN's final episode of Kobe: The Making of A Legend celebrates the legacy of one of the greatest basketball players of all time, exploring the superstar's life after basketball, his impact off the court and his role as the ultimate girl dad. Tune in at 9:00 p.m. right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:36:16]

WHITFIELD: Bittersweet celebrations after three more Israeli hostages were released by Hamas earlier today. But as Jeremy Diamond explains, the homecomings were more somber than previous releases.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are in Hostages Square where earlier today we witnessed very emotional scenes as hundreds of Israelis gathered here to watch as those three Israeli hostages were released from Hamas captivity after 491 days. But it was really a rollercoaster of emotions. Initially, yes, there was the wave of relief as those three hostages emerged in live pictures for the first time after more than 15 months.

But then there was also some pained looks on the faces of many here as they realized the state in which those three Israeli hostages were emerging. All three of them looking quite frail and emaciated after their time in captivity. It was particularly striking to see the image of Eli Sharabi, a 52-year-old who was taken hostage from Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7th.

The difference between how he looked before he was taken hostage and how he looks now, really striking. Clearly he has lost a lot of weight. And really these images are -- are driving the Israeli public to focus on the remaining hostages in Gaza. And -- and these images driving a public debate here in Israel over the fate of this ceasefire agreement, with many saying that it is a reason to push to extend this agreement and to ensure that all of the remaining hostages in Gaza come home now.

Earlier this week, it's important to note that the Israeli Defense Minister, the former Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, noted that the agreement that is bringing these hostages home now is identical to the one that Hamas agreed to in July.

And his point being that all that has happened since then are wasted months during which many of these hostages have faced dire conditions. But in addition to that sense of urgency, we did see the emotional reunions between these three newly freed hostages and their families.

Many of them meeting initially at the Re'im military base in southern Israel. And then others also meeting with them at hospitals in central Israel. In addition to that, we've seen as 183 Palestinian prisoners have been released from Israeli prisons in exchange for those three hostages. They include 18 who were serving life sentences. Several of those will be deported to third party countries, 111 of them were detained in Gaza over the course of this war since October 7th.

We know, of course, that some of those who have been detained in Gaza were rounded up as part of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, many of them held without charge or without trial. And now indeed being released as part of this agreement. And on the Palestinian side as well, both in Gaza as well as in the West Bank, we have seen images of people reuniting with family members and also, of course, several individuals who were taken to hospitals after their time in Israeli prisons.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

WHITFIELD: Let's get more on the situation in Gaza. Mike Casey was a deputy political counselor at the United States Office for Palestinian Affairs in Jerusalem for four years before resigning over U.S. policy in Gaza. So great to see you. So are you looking at today's release and that of previous releases as very encouraging signs or do you continue to have concerns?

MIKE CASEY, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER: Well, first of all, thank you very much for having me on the show. I really appreciate the opportunity. I -- I do have pessimism towards the ceasefire as a whole in terms of its longevity. But even in the short term, anything that brings short term relief to people in Gaza, of course, who have been facing constant bombardment since this war started, you know, more relief being able to come into Gaza, people being able to return to their homes. These are positive signs, even if the ceasefire is short lived.

[12:40:08]

To see the return of Israeli hostages, also I remember living in Jerusalem, seeing their photos everywhere, hearing and seeing protests from their family members to bring them home, the conditions they were facing, obviously terrible. Their families in Israel and the Israeli public as a -- as a whole suffering while they were there. So seeing that, the relief there is also very -- very encouraging. As well as Palestinian prisoners, many of whom were held unjustly with no charges and faced torture and abuse in Israeli prisons.

So seeing some of these exchanges and more aid coming in, and even if the ceasefire is temporary, you know, it is very encouraging. But I do have reservations about the long term nature of it. I think as long as we're exchanging hostages and prisoners, I think it will continue for some time. But eventually we'll return to a situation similar to what we had before October 7th, where Gaza is under blockade. The Israeli military will attack whenever they feel like it. And we'll start to see raids like we see in the West Bank, where they will enter and intervene whenever they see fit.

And Hamas will also break the ceasefire. Hamas or other militant groups in Gaza will launch rockets at Israel and we'll be basically back where were before, except tens of thousands of people that have died in the process.

WHITFIELD: So you're not optimistic at all. Are you saying you see these potential scenarios of things falling apart even before phase one is to end of this ceasefire, or you -- do you remain at least hopeful that there will be a phase two?

CASEY: I am. I think we will see this continue for some time. But I think at the, towards the end, I think in the mind of Hamas, especially when they think of hostages, they think of the Gilad Shalit deal from 2011, where one Israeli soldier is worth a thousand hostages. So I think at some point they're going to make demands that are too high and the Israelis won't be able to meet them and we're going to resume the conflict again.

So I think most hostages will come home. I don't think we'll be able to get all of them, unfortunately. And I think the situation will reach a standstill again at some point and then hostilities will continue, albeit hopefully at a lower intensity than they were before.

WHITFIELD: When President Trump proposed a variety of things involving Gaza's future this week, how did that sit with you? That he initially talked about clearing out the land, you know, of Palestinians, that perhaps they would be, you know, absorbed into Egypt or Jordan's, you know, landmass, but then only for the White House to correct themselves or say it would be temporary. How did all that sit with you? And what do you suppose that messaging does to the region, particularly among Palestinians actually?

CASEY: In some sense, it's nonsensical and -- and almost isn't worth addressing. And this is -- it's very emblematic of President Trump and their decision making. I worked through the first Trump administration, and this is essentially how the decision making works. The President will come out, say something that is impractical, illegal, immoral, and then his staff runs around and either tries to walk back what he said or tries to steer it into something a little more cohesive.

But what he's talking about is just not -- is just not going to happen. And it's really, you know, that we're seeing, it's just that expelling Palestinians from Gaza. I mean, Gazans are entitled to freedom of movement. And if people want to leave Gaza, they should be allowed to. But that's allowing people access to an airport to fly somewhere. It's not forcibly expelling them to a third country.

And in particular, if it's, you know, temporary and it's a humanitarian gesture, there's never talk of allowing Gazans to move to East Jerusalem or to the West Bank, to other parts of Palestine. It's always a third country to which they'll be able to go and never come back. So any talk of it's voluntary or it's temporary, it just doesn't line up at all with what they're talking about. And really, this has been the goal since the beginning of the operation. We talked about this while I was in Jerusalem, that the goal was to render the Gaza Strip inhabit -- uninhabitable for Palestinians. You know, attacking Gaza's people, infrastructure, its culture, its past, its future, and just making it in -- uninhabitable for people. And the Israeli government had an ally and President Biden, who provided them the weapons, the funding, and the international cover to do that.

And now they believe they have an ally in President Trump who will help to implement the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza on a permanent basis. But again, I think it's just a plan that President Trump threw out there. I don't think it's practical. It's definitely not moral or legal or in any way in our interests.

WHITFIELD: Let me ask you now, a U.S. court, you know, temporarily halting the dismantling of USAID. You know, as a foreign service officer yourself, I wonder if you can help people understand the role of USAID, not just to provide food, medicine but is it -- is among its roles, is it also to address power vacuums globally and even address the idea and the motion of migration.

CAEY: Right. In USAIDs work, I mean it provides stability around the world, you know, in many places that would essentially disintegrate into failed states and increase levels of conflict without aid that's provided by the United States and to put a complete halt on that across the entire globe is just -- is just ridiculous and it's really going to have long term impacts on not only the people involved in those countries, thousands of people will die without these -- without these funding and support, conflict will continue and it's definitely not in -- in U.S. interest for that to happen.

So it's a very short sighted decision, it's very hasty. It's not thought through at all, which again as I mentioned is a lot of the thinking that's done in the Trump administration. And the long term effects and the short term effects are going to be devastating.

[12:45:09]

WHITFIELD: Mike Casey, glad to have your voice. Thank you so much.

CAEY: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. Freezing temperatures and slushy sea ice, the challenges facing crews as they race to recover the wreckage of that deadly plane crash right off the coast of Alaska.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:50:06]

WHITFIELD: A plane that disappeared in Alaska, Thursday, with 10 people on board has been found, no survivors. Officials have been working to recover remaining victims and the wreckage in Nome, Alaska, with inclement weather on the way. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is joining us with the very latest on this. Julia, what do we know about the recovery?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, about 34 miles southeast of where that plane was supposed to have landed is where that wreckage was found. In there, those 10 victims, nine passengers, one pilot. Now we are learning the identity of some of those victims. Two of them we have Rhone Baumgartner, a utility operations technician, and Kameron Hartvigson, a utility operations specialist. Both of them were working for the Native Tribal Health Consortium of Alaska.

They were there to repair, to work on very critical infrastructure for this community in the dead of winter. The organization they worked for saying that they gave the ultimate sacrifice to help the people who needed them so badly. Now authorities are saying that that recovery was so difficult due to those weather conditions that you were describing.

The U.S. Coast Guard saying that they were able to lower two rescue swimmer down to where the wreckage was found in order to access that aircraft. Two of them, three individuals in the forward part of the aircraft and the other seven in the remaining part of the aircraft. They say that is actually inaccessible at this time in those conditions, Fred, they're not really helping. We are seeing that inclement weather, just slushy snow and winds in this northwest part of Alaska.

They said that the severity of the wreckage was beyond the possibility of survival and that will be their priority now is to get those seven bodies out of that wreckage area. Right now they're expecting inclement weather for the next 24 hours. There is an advisory, winter weather advisory in effect until 9:00 p.m. on Sunday. Blowing snow, rain and mixed precipitation making those efforts even more difficult.

Those swimmers have to get down there, Fred, in order to access that rear part of the airplane. So we will be sure to bring you updates as we learn more as how that goes.

WHITFIELD: Incredible effort. All right. Julia Vargas Jones, thank you so much.

All right, 90 million people are under winter weather alerts from the Midwest to the Northeast. CNN meteorologist, Allison Chinchar, explains how back to back storms pushing across the country will bring several inches of snow and ice in the coming days.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: This is the second in a series of systems that will actually continue to make its way across the northern tier of the U.S. over the next several days. Now the focus for the rest of the day today is really going to be the Great Lakes region and into portions of the Northeast. So this afternoon you can see a lot of that snow transitioning across the Great Lakes into portions of New England. A little bit farther south, the concern here is actually going to be rain and, yes, even an ice component as well across the Mid Atlantic.

By Sunday morning, we're really just seeing a lot of it linger across portions of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and into areas of Maine. And by later on into the day, Sunday, most of that system clears out, maybe even getting some sunshine back into the mix for some folks. Here you can see overall through Monday, widespread snowfall totals at least 3 to 6 inches. But it's not out of the question for some of these areas, especially in the Northeast, that could pick up 7, 8, even as much as 10 inches of snow.

Now, the other concern we talked about is going to be ice. And you can see that swath right through here, the pink color indicating up to about a tenth of an inch. But there will be some spots, especially across portions of southern Pennsylvania that could see a quarter of an inch, maybe as much as even a half of an inch of ice. This is concerning not just because it provides that glaze on the roads, but can also lead to pulling trees down and even some power outages as well.

But as we mentioned, this is just one of several that's going to be making its way through. As we start off next week, you've got the next wave, another one during the middle of the week, and then another one that arrives as we finish out the rest of the upcoming week and heading into next weekend. So back to back systems. And because it is expected to remain cold in the northern tier, all of that snow is likely just going to stay on the ground. You're not going to have waves of melting. And then before the new snow comes back in.

Take for example, Boston. The average highest time of year is in the 40s. We will spend every single one of the next day with those temperatures barely getting above freezing, if not even colder than that.

WHITFIELD: All right, we're all bracing. Thank you so much Allison Chinchar.

[12:54:41]

All right. President Trump has fired the head of the National Archives after years of complaining about the agency's role in criminal cases against him.

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WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. This shocking attack inside a cathedral was caught on security camera. A man lunging at a priest, as you see right there, during prayer service just this past Sunday in Spokane, Washington. Father David Gaines was able to block the punch, but the assault left the congregation shaken.

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REV. DARRIN CONNALL, CATHEDRAL OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES: I thought it was kind of that situation where the guy was just running into the sanctuary, but clearly it was potentially much more violent and -- and in that sense, much more scary. It took me a while to, you know, to realize that this was pretty serious.

(END VIDEO CLIP) [13:00:08]

WHITFIELD: A security guard was able to restrain the suspect until police arrived. The attacker was charged with assault. The cathedral says it is hiring additional security.