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Ukrainians Skeptical of Future Peace with Russia; Trump's Executive Orders Face Many Legal Challenges; Greenland Reacts to Trump's Attempt to Control Island; Why the Humble U.S. Penny is Up for Debate. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired February 11, 2025 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster. If you're just joining us here are some of today's top stories.
In just a few hours, U.S. President Trump will meet with Jordan's King Abdullah at the White House. The president is threatening to withhold funding from Jordan and Egypt if they don't agree to take in Palestinian refugees from Gaza. Both countries have rejected the idea.
At least 51 people died in a bus crash in Guatemala. The bus fell off a highway bridge in Guatemala City on Monday and plunged into a ravine. Guatemala's president has declared three days of national mourning.
And Ecuador's presidential election is heading to a run-off between the crime-fighting incumbent and a leftist challenger. President Daniel Noboa will face Luisa Gonzalez in the second round vote scheduled for April. The election comes as Ecuador is grappling with an unprecedented security crisis, fueled by the drug trade and a spike in the murder rate.
President Trump is suggesting Ukraine, quote, may be Russian someday. He was on Fox News talking about plans for a multi-billion dollar rare earth agreement with Kyiv when he said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They have tremendously valuable land in terms of rare earth, in terms of oil and gas, in terms of other things. I want to have our money secured because we're spending hundreds of billions of dollars. And, you know, they may make a deal, they may not make a deal.
They may be Russian someday or they may not be Russian someday. But we're going to have all this money in there. And I say I want it back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, in response to those comments from Trump, Russia's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said this morning, quote, a significant part of Ukraine wants to become Russia and has already become Russia. Well, this comes as a U.S. special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith
Kellogg, is expected to visit Ukraine next week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced he also plans to meet U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance at the Munich conference.
But Russia's deputy foreign minister says any peace negotiations with Ukraine must include Moscow's indisputable ownership of annexed Ukrainian regions. Well, this comes as President Trump pushes for a ceasefire in the conflict. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh speaks with Ukrainians near the war-torn front line on this issue.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The sound they long for here of peace, of normal.
INESA, SLOVYANSK RESIDENT (translated text): I just want it to stop. Stop the bombing. There's no future now. We don't see it. Who does? Do you see it?
WALSH (voice-over): Ten years ago the war began here in an eastern town like this, Slovyansk. We were there to see ceasefires fall apart or used by Russian separatists to just take more ground, a memory and distrust that endures.
WALSH: Really do they move further into the town or just stay in this position. That Russian-fueled unrest now, a decade later, transformed into an ugly conflict that's now entering into its fourth year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated text): Wait, let's look at the tree again.
WALSH (voice-over): Hundreds of dead or injured daily but this drone war can feel here like high-stakes gaming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated text): It seems they're in the trench. Got it "Lucky Strike." Let's strike it one more time. Fly, check it and strike the dugouts. One wounded b**** is crawling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated text): Was the strike successful?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated text): We struck the enemy. There are bushes, he will try one more time.
WALSH (voice-over): For those below a petrifying scramble in the frozen mud, the tiny buzz of death above.
WALSH: This very remote world of chat groups and drone cameras so removed from the absolute horror of what's going down on the ground there. Both sides torn apart, entrenched warfare not been seen for a century in some places.
VOLODYMYR SABLYN, BATTALION COMMANDER, 66TH MECHANIZED BRIGADE (translated text): The enemy is beyond the river.
[04:35:00] WALSH (voice-over): Volodymyr is a week or so shy of his decade anniversary fighting Russia, joining in 2015 when Moscow seized the nearby town of Debaltseve literally during a ceasefire. You better really mean it if you talk peace here.
SABLYN (translated text): The conflict was frozen, and it only led to a full-scale war.
I think if there is a ceasefire now, it will only get worse for us. Because the enemy will restore itself form new military units again, regroup and attack again.
WALSH (voice-over): So many Ukrainians suggesting now that if NATO wants the war to stop, it should put its troops between them and the Russians as peacekeepers.
SABLYN (translated text): It would be real guarantee of security in Ukraine. Because Russia, no matter how much they say that they are not afraid of anyone, they are afraid of America and NATO as a whole.
WALSH (voice-over): One certainty as we head out to see the front is this same drone setup and carnage is being mimicked by the Russians not far away. Dusk can bring a brief break in Russian drones in the skies but this red dot means there's one above us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sky is just dirty. We have to go.
WALSH (voice-over): So much changes fast in this war but the shelling seems like it could go on forever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated text): Fire!
WALSH: Massive guns hiding from tiny $500 machines here. Extraordinary change.
WALSH (voice-over): Little geopolitics here, just practical skepticism and hard numbers.
WALSH: Do you think there could be a ceasefire here that could last?
VIKTOR, 66TH MECHANIZED BRIGADE (translated text): What percentage for the implementation of a ceasefire? About 30 percent.
Because of the situation on the front, it doesn't look like there will be a truce. It's very hard.
ANDRIY, 66TH MECHANIZED BRIGADE (translated text): It's about 40 percent. The other side is winning, taking territory. And we, by and large, have nothing to say.
WALSH (voice-over): Just down the road, the Russians are coming, yet again. But the prize here is only victory itself. The rest is ruins.
WALSH: Here it is, the sort of Soviet prize in Lyman of the railway hub here. A place that the Russians took, that they were kicked out of by the Ukrainians and are now closing in on again. Just a symbol of the relentlessness of this war.
Larysa has never left, never will.
LARYSA, LYMAN RESIDENT: (translated text): Here, I ran barefoot. There, I swam in the river. I'm 72 years old now.
I don't want to (leave). My three brothers are buried here, all my aunts, uncles, dad, mom. I can't leave, I can't --
We've been hit 19 times today, 19 times since this morning. My husband is counting and I'm taking sleeping pills. Nobody's going to solve this. Only Putin will if he says, "That's enough, I've already killed so many people."
WALSH: Peace only from Putin.
WALSH (voice-over): Far back, Ukraine is making the bare minimum preparations for a worst-case scenario. They've always needed the world's help to stave off disaster. Just now hope it doesn't come disguised as peace.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Lyman, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: The Trump administration is facing more legal challenges as it attempts to overhaul much of the federal government. A deadline for federal workers to accept a buyout offer from the White House has been extended again. A federal court will decide if those offers are legal, a key part of Donald Trump's attempt to gut the federal workforce.
President Trump objected to the judicial oversight during a radio interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, you get some very bad rulings, and it's a shame to see it, frankly. They want to sort of tell everybody how to run the country when they say that certain people in charge of massive agencies are people doing very, very important people, smart people doing investigations of fraud. And they don't talk about what you're looking at.
All they say is, oh, it's unconstitutional. Judges should be ruling. They shouldn't be dictating what you're supposed to be doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: On Monday, a federal judge told the Trump administration for the second time it can't cut off grant and loan payments. That came after several states complained the administration wasn't obeying previous court orders. They argue the funding is needed for vital programs in the environmental and health care sectors as well as universities.
[04:40:04] The administration claims it's trying to cut wasteful spending.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut thinks something bigger is at stake.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): This isn't hyperbole to say that we are staring the death of democracy in the eyes right now. The centerpiece of our democracy is that we observe court rulings, criminal court rulings, civil court rulings and constitutional court rulings. No-one is above the law.
And whether we like it or not, the courts interpret the law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: President Trump has pardoned former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. The president had already commuted his sentence during his first term in 2020 after Blagojevich served eight out of 14 years in prison for corruption. He was convicted of charges that included a scheme to sell an appointment to fill the vacant Senate seat left by then-President Barack Obama.
Blagojevich is once, or was once, a contestant on Donald Trump's former reality TV show, The Celebrity Apprentice. On Monday, the two men expressed admiration for each other.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: He's a -- just a very fine person. And this shouldn't have happened, and it shouldn't have happened to him.
ROD BLAGOJEVICH, FORMER ILLINOIS GOVERNOR: I'll always be profoundly grateful to President Trump for everything he's done for me and for my family. It's everlasting gratitude. He's a great guy, and I think the world of him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: It's an idea that many believe was far-fetched, but President Trump's goal of acquiring Greenland will be the focus of a Senate committee hearing tomorrow. Officially, the purpose is to, quote, examine the strategic significance of Greenland to the American economy and national security.
This, despite Greenland making it abundantly clear it's not for sale. Our Donie O'Sullivan travelled there to gauge the local reaction to Donald Trump's plans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUPANUK OLSON, GREENLAND ELECTORAL CANDIDATE: I really want this statue gone.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Why? OLSON: Because why should he be up there? Why isn't it a Greenlander up there?
Trump wants to buy my country, Greenland.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): This is Qupanuk Olson.
OLSON: Today, Mikko and I are having whale skin.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): She's known as Greenland's biggest influencer, and she's running in the island's upcoming elections. She's a native Greenlander, and for her, this statue of an 18th century missionary is a daily reminder of Denmark's control of her country.
O'SULLIVAN: So you would like to be independent of Denmark?
OLSON: Yes.
O'SULLIVAN: But that doesn't mean you want to be part of the USA?
OLSON: No, I don't. I don't want to become a part of the USA. I definitely don't.
O'SULLIVAN: You don't want to be an American?
OLSON: No.
O'SULLIVAN: Why not?
OLSON: Why should I? Why should we just be taken by another colonizer?
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Native Greenlanders or Inuit make up almost 90 percent of Greenland's population.
O'SULLIVAN: Is all this interest in Greenland because of Trump, is it a good thing or is it a bad thing?
OLSON: In my opinion, it's a good thing because it's speeding up our independence process, so I see it as a good thing.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): When the Nazis took over Denmark during World War II, the United States stepped in to protect Greenland.
TOM DANS, FORMER U.S. ARCTIC COMMISSIONER: Americans died for this country. In my own family, my grandfather watched his shipmates die.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Another sign of the U.S. here is Tom Dans, who was appointed to the U.S. Arctic Research Commission during Trump's first presidency.
O'SULLIVAN: When Trump first brought up Greenland, people treated it like it was a joke. People thought, that's crazy. But you're saying it's not so crazy?
DANS: It's not crazy at all. Greenland, due to its geographic position, is kind of the front door for North America.
OLSON: And Greenlanders will go to the polls here next month in an election where Donald Trump and the United States is expected to loom large. So much so that just last week, the parliament here fast- tracked new legislation, a new law banning foreign political donations, very much seen as something in response to the renewed and intense interest in this island from the United States.
Donie O'Sullivan, CNN, Nuuk, Greenland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: The Gulf of America is now official on Google Maps. President Trump signed an executive action shortly after taking office to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. But on Monday, Google said anyone using its maps in the U.S. will now see that new name. Those in Mexico will see the original name. Everywhere else, users will see both names.
Donald Trump puts a spotlight on the U.S. penny. Just ahead, the fierce debate over whether it should be removed from circulation.
[04:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: President Donald Trump says he has ordered the U.S. Mint to stop making new pennies, calling them wasteful and expensive. But the debate certainly isn't new. The one-cent coin has been under bipartisan scrutiny for years, as CNN's Brian Todd explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To some of us, they're a comfort, jingling in the pocket, there if we need them at a convenience store or coffee shop to pay an exact amount. To others, they're a nuisance, a never-used pest that we leave in a jar, a cup holder, or on the street. Now there's new momentum to get rid of the penny or at least stop producing it.
President Trump, in a social media post, says he's instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to halt production of new pennies. Quote, For far too long, the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than two cents. This is so wasteful.
[04:50:03]
It actually cost 3.7 cents to produce one penny, according to a report last year from the U.S. Mint. One of the reasons anti-penny advocates like Professor Robert Whaples say it's time to end our ties to the penny.
ROBERT WHAPLES, PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS, WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY: You see that people consider them to be a nuisance, and they just don't bring them back into the store. You see them lying on the sidewalk, people don't even pick them up. TODD (voice-over): Waples argues that because many Americans don't bring pennies back to the store and spend them, stores then run out of pennies, ask the banks for more. Then banks ask the U.S. Mint to create more of a coin we're using less and less. Whaples, along with groups like the National Association of Convenience Stores, also argue that getting rid of the penny will speed up transaction times at store counters and save us money that way.
WHAPLES: You know, fishing into your pocket or your purse to get one when you're doing a cash transaction adds a little time to the transaction, and it slows the line down, and our time is worth money.
TODD (voice-over): But Mark Weller, director of the pro penny group, Americans for Common Sense, which is funded by a company that produces the metal disks that are used to make coins, argues that getting rid of the penny would cause inflation because businesses would start rounding transactions to the nearest nickel and would more likely try to round up than down.
MARK WELLER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AMERICANS FOR COMMON CENTS: Businesses have a profit motive, and the fact is it's not going to even out. You can price things in a way that they're going to round up.
TODD (voice-over): And Weller says getting rid of the penny disproportionately harms low-income people.
WELLER: There's billions of transactions that take place under $25, and those are mostly made in cash, and so you're going to have a rounding tax on the people that can least afford it.
TODD (voice-over): Does President Trump have the power to unilaterally eliminate the penny? Experts say he likely can order the Treasury Department to stop making new pennies, but to stop the use of pennies already in circulation would take an act of Congress, and the federal government would also have to buy back the already-issued pennies, which would be expensive.
TODD: The actual cost of making pennies overall has been pretty stable in recent years compared to the cost of producing nickels, which has risen about 20 percent since 2022, mostly due to the fact that the raw materials used to make nickels are more expensive than those used to produce pennies.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Philadelphia Eagles arrived in their hometown to a heroes' welcome. Details on the city's celebration parade just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:55:00]
FOSTER: Ed Sheeran surprising fans in India by busking on a busy street in Bangalore, but the performance was cut short by policemen yanking out his guitar and microphone cable mid-song. The city says Sheeran didn't have permission to perform on the street, but Sheeran says he did. Sheeran has two more shows in India this week.
Football fans in Philadelphia are flying high after their Eagles won the Super Bowl. Quarterback Jalen Hurts celebrated with a trip to Disney World in Florida. He was selected as the game's most valuable player.
The rest of the team flew back to Philadelphia on Monday, greeted by a crowd of excited fans and airport workers. Dozens of people waited hours just to get a glimpse of their hometown heroes. Some say they hadn't slept since Sunday night's victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
The city is expected to release more details today on the celebratory parade, which is scheduled for Friday.
The NFL is also celebrating a huge ratings success. 126 million people watched Sunday's game. That's up 2 percent from last year's Super Bowl, which was already reported by Nielsen as the largest TV audience ever. Fox says viewership peaked during the second quarter. Streaming viewership also hit an all-time high, with 13.6 million total viewers tuning in on NFL Plus and other platforms.
Now in the NBA, Luka Doncic made his highly-awaited debut with the Los Angeles Lakers. He scored 14 points in 23 minutes, thrilling the home crowd by combining his superstar teammate LeBron James. The Lakers beat the Utah Jazz on Monday night for their sixth straight win.
Doncic, one of the NBA's best young players, was traded to the Lakers from the Dallas Mavericks. It's considered to be one of the most shocking trades in the league's history. After the game, Doncic paid tribute to his new fans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUKA DONCIC, LOS ANGELES LAKERS: Being special, the way they received me, everybody, it was amazing to see. I was a little nervous before. I remember it was the last time I was nervous before the game, so -- but once I stepped on the court, it was fun. And just being out there again felt amazing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, Dallas reportedly traded Doncic because of concerns about his fitness. Fans protested the trade, chanting, ''He's not fat. Bring him back.''
Thanks for joining us here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London. CNN "THIS MORNING" up next after the break.
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