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Trump Blames Biden For Provoking Russia's War By Supporting Ukraine's NATO Aspirations; Trump Threatens Reciprocal Tariffs Against Other Countries; TikTok Returns On Apple, Google U.S. App Stores As Trump Delays Ban; Hamas Says It Will Continue Releasing Hostages Under Gaza Deal; Trump Hosts Indian Prime Minister Modi at White House; RFK Jr. Sworn In as Health & Human Services Secretary; DOJ Officials Resign, Refuse to Drop NYC Mayor Case; Heavy Rain Threatens Areas Ravaged by Wildfires; Archeologists Make New Discoveries at Pompeii. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired February 14, 2025 - 01:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Lynda Kinkade live in Atlanta. Ahead on CNN Newsroom. U.S. President Donald Trump tries to shift blame for the conflict in Ukraine away from Vladimir Putin and onto his predecessor and the Ukrainian president.

Also ahead, Donald Trump's plan to slap tariffs on almost every country and why it's new discovery in ancient Pompeii is being compared to Trump's lavish Mar A Lago compound.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with Lynda Kinkade.

KINKADE: We begin this hour at the White House where Donald Trump is sharing more of his thoughts on fighting in Ukraine. The U.S. president hosting India's prime minister refused to say that Russia started the conflict. Instead, he blamed his predecessor, Joe Biden, and Ukraine's desire to join NATO.

Mr. Trump spoke by phone Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, suggesting the first talks aimed at ending the fighting might happen without Ukraine. Here's more of what he told reporters at the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Now, Russia has taken over a pretty big chunk of territory and they also have said from day one, long before President Putin, they've said they cannot have Ukraine be in NATO. They said that very strongly. I actually think that was the thing that caused the start of the war and Biden said it and Zelenskyy said it. And I think that was one of the reasons one of the starts of.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: The war with the U.S. and Ukraine will get a chance to discuss those statements face to face at the Munich Security Conference, which begins in the coming hours. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of that event. And as Frederik Pleitgen reports, the Trump-Putin conversation on Wednesday was music to Moscow's ears.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Kremlin Control TV Jovia, even the anchor surprised by the concessions President Donald Trump offered Russian President Vladimir Putin in their 90-minute phone conversation, an extensive talk about ending the war in Ukraine while seemingly sidelining Ukraine's leader.

Not a word about Zelenskyy, the host says, or rather, if there were words, they were only negative ones. Ukraine will not get back its territories. Ukraine will not join NATO.

ATRUMP: And I think they have to make peace. That's what I think.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Moscow more than willing to take up President Trump's offer for immediate peace talks to end the three-year war. Russia saying it's already starting preparations for possible direct meetings between the U.S. President and the Russian leader. The first time in four years the leaders of the U.S. and Russia would meet face to face.

The current administration, as far as we understand, holds the view that everything must be done to stop the war and for peace to prevail, the Kremlin's press secretary says. We are much more impressed by the position of the current administration, and we're open to dialogue.

Dialogue, apparently without Kyiv at the table, Ukraine's president growing increasingly frustrated and concerned. It's important that everything does not go according to Putin's plans, Zelenskyy says. He wants to do everything to make his negotiations bilateral.

But many Ukrainians fear that's exactly what's happening, feeling President Trump is selling them out.

TRUMP: President Putin wants to have peace now, and that's good. And he didn't want to have peace with Biden, and you tell me why that is, OK.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Trump's plan is to rob Ukraine as much as possible. This woman in Kiev says not to make peace here. It looks like Ukraine is being betrayed, this woman says, in what is being said now, I do not see anything good for Ukraine. It's very sad.

Ukraine's army is steadily losing ground to the Russians, mostly due to manpower and weapons shortages. Russian forces already occupy more than 20 percent of the country territory. The new U.S. defense secretary bluntly says Kyiv most probably won't get back, much to the dismay of America's close NATO partners and the Ukrainians.

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: There is no betrayal there. There is a recognition that the whole world and the United States is invested and interested in peace.

[01:05:08]

PLEITGEN: America's allies in shock. Moscow pleased Russia's foreign minister praising President Trump when I asked him at a press conference.

PLEITGEN: Are you more hopeful now that there can be real and fundamental change and improvement in U.S.-Russian relations?

PLEITGEN (voice-over): This is how you should communicate with Russia, he says. Perhaps that is why many in the west, including the leaders of the European Union were shocked when a simple, normal conversation took place between two polite, educated individuals. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Joining us now is Matthew Schmidt, associate professor of national security at the University of New Haven and former professor of strategic and operational planning at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Good to have you with us. What a title.

MATTHEW SCHMIDT, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR of NATIONAL SECURITY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: Good to be here, Lynda.

KINKADE: So Ukrainian President Zelenskyy must be feeling pretty demoralized right now. Can you put Donald comments into context for us? What do they mean in real terms for Ukraine?

SCHMIDT: No one in Ukraine was surprised by this, but it's a difficult day. People are realizing that the losses that they've suffered, the very real losses in life, property, in whole decade of their lives has come down to this has come down to an American president who called the enemy commander and has effectively said in as many words that Ukraine is going to be a third partner, a junior partner in any negotiations.

KINKADE: Yes, they certainly don't seem to be the center of talks. And given that Donald Trump says it's unlikely that Ukraine would get back territory occupied by Russia or that it simply won't be able to join NATO, is there any other national group that will help rebuild Ukraine?

SCHMIDT: Well, that's I think the big question. First is how do you construct a meaningful security guarantee that, you know, the world's second most powerful military will actually be deterred by some combination of troops, some of which Secretary Hegseth said would be non-European. And it's sort of beyond me to think who that might be that would be acceptable to have on NATO's borders.

But in any case, that's a problem that I don't see a solution to right now. And so I don't see a real security guarantee for Ukraine. We haven't heard anything about Russia disarming or pulling back or anything like that would be construed as something that really could give Ukraine a sense of trust that Russia wouldn't reinvade in a year or two.

KINKADE: Yes, exactly. And if it's already guaranteed to have the territory it's taken, it seems to signal that it could take more in the future. But I want to ask you about the frozen assets. Up to $300 billion in Russian assets were seized after the invasion of Ukraine. Who has control over that? And how could those funds be used?

SCHMIDT: So that money is under the control of a variety of national banks in Europe. I think, if I remember correctly, the largest tranche of that, which was in the Netherlands, those monies have been frozen on the basis of the international sanction regime that the United States led and convinced other countries to put in place. They can be released by the countries that hold them right now. And there's questions about how to do that international law.

But Ukraine has been asking for that money for rebuilding for quite some time, and no one's been willing to do it. And I would seem that the Trump administration would not be in a position to be, you know, pushing for those assets. That would most likely be something that Russia wouldn't accept in any negotiation. They want that money back.

KINKADE: And, of course, Vladimir Putin is a certified war criminal. If he is allowed to simply keep Ukrainian land, what signal does that send to other world leaders?

SCHMIDT: It sends a signal that Putin got what he wanted. And, I mean, in the sense that his number one international policy priority has been to establish the idea that international law doesn't constrain what countries can do if they claim that they're doing it for domestic reasons. Right.

And remember, from the Russian standpoint, this isn't an international war. It's a war to regain territory that is rightfully Russia's. And so using that excuse, using that logic, leaders all over the world could justify and arguably get away with these kinds of land grabs. It's devastating to the world order.

[01:10:00]

KINKADE: And of course, the new U.S. Secretary of Defense Hegseth spoke on this issue yesterday and today. He said that any security guarantee offered must be backed by capable European and non-European troops, as you mentioned earlier, and also that Ukraine should not be guaranteed any seat in NATO. Just take us through those comments.

SCHMIDT: First of all, those comments were mostly about President Trump, and they were directed, I think, to him from his secretary of defense as a way of saying, I'm repeating what you're saying to me, boss. I'm putting that message out there. It was a message that said Ukraine is not going to be able to dictate terms in this negotiation.

And then to me, underneath it is this message where what's really important is the idea that Donald Trump is at the center of this and will be conducting these negotiations. It was important that Hegseth said that they were the most complicated negotiations in the world and that the president was going to, you know, swoop in and do this. All of which while not answering the questions from the press poll

about things like, who are these non-European troops? How many troops are we going to put in place here? What's the security guarantee going to look like if it doesn't involve Ukraine being part of NATO?

And none of those major questions were answered, which suggests that there's no real plan in place yet, except for giving Russia what Russia has already asked for as prerequisites for negotiations.

KINKADE: We will talk about this again, no doubt, very soon. Matthew Schmidt, good to have you with us. Thank you.

SCHMIDT: Thanks.

KINKADE: Well, President Trump is following through on his campaign trail threat to impose reciprocal IFI tariffs on all countries that send goods to the US. The tariffs were put into motion via executive action, but won't take effect until April at the earliest. That gives countries time to potentially negotiate new trade terms with the US. President Trump's nominee for commerce secretary defended the need for these new tariffs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD LUTNICK, U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY NOMINEE: Reciprocal tariffs sound fair, but when you understand how brutally unfair the world's trading has been since we opened ourselves up after World War II, right. We tried to export the power of our economy to rebuild the world. And what happened since then is everyone else has taken advantage of us.

Some countries, like the VAT that the president spoke about, 20 percent on everything we sell just casually. And when they sell to us, of course they drop that 20 right away. So it's sort of an export subsidy, if you will.

So we are going to address each country one by one. But here's the key. They'll get an invitation to trade with the greatest consumer economy in the world. And in exchange for trading at the greatest consumer economy in the world, you have to treat us the way we're going to treat you. It's going to be the same, but no more inviting bad people to the party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Reciprocal tariffs are likely to further increase inflation. The U.S. President admitted that short term price hikes were possible and warned Americans to prepare for short term pain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOSUE CORRESPONDENT: If prices go up, Mr. President, because of these tariffs, who do you think voters should hold responsible?

TRUMP: Oh, I think what's going to go up is jobs are going to go up and prices could go up somewhat short term, but prices will also go down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: So exactly what kind of short term pain are Americans in for and who might be hit the hardest? CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich has some answers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: The President saying that he's hoping that more jobs come out of these reciprocal tariffs. Essentially that companies would choose to move their establishments and their businesses here to the U.S. to avoid tariffs and that U.S. consumers would choose to buy Made in America products to avoid a lot of these tariffs. But this is probably not going to happen at the scale that he's hoping. Instead, US Businesses are going to have to pay those higher tariffs, pass them down to the U.S. consumers and ultimately figure out whether they can still afford their labor force.

And on prices, he said that prices would go up in the short term. He is right on that. But likelihood here is that they're going to go up in the long term as well. Because once you start reciprocal tariffs, that country can then reciprocate and you have a trade war. You have tariffs going higher and then you have U.S. consumers paying higher prices.

And I want to address what he said on farmers. He said farmers would ultimately benefit from these reciprocal tariffs. History has shown us that oftentimes farmers actually bear the brunt of tariffs. We saw it with China back in 2018 that China put tariffs on U.S. agricultural exports and that has hurt farmers so much that the federal government has had to actually subsidize them in order for them to be able to have to live and to pay for their farms and to keep in business.

[01:15:13]

So these reciprocal tariffs, while they sound like they're tough on trade, they could actually have really bad implications for everyday Americans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Joining us now is CNN global economic analyst Rana Foroohar, who is also a global business columnist and associate editor for the Financial Times. Good to see you.

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Great to see you.

KINKADE: So Donald Trump loves tariffs. He's made that abundantly clear. He has now ordered his agencies to investigate plans to reciprocate tariffs for all countries. It sounds fair. What are the risks?

FOROOHAR: Well, you know, this is all about an escalating trade war, right? Reciprocal tariffs, and particularly the fact that there are these automatic provisions that essentially raise tariffs and ramp up what could become a trade war.

I mean, this is exactly what people who fear a recap of the 1930s are worried about. Tit for tat, tit for tat. And then pretty soon you end up with really a very serious situation in which a trade war escalates, prices go up. You could begin to see geopolitical tensions. I mean, this is sort of the nightmare scenario for tariffs.

KINKADE: And of course, Donald Trump singled out India, saying it's one country that imposes some of the most unfair tariffs on U.S. goods. Just explain that for us.

FOROOHAR: So, you know, to think about Donald Trump's psychology, you have to think about the U.S. consumer market as a kind of a chip on the global poker table. That's how Donald Trump views the U.S. consumer market.

And, you know, truth be told, it's true the U.S. has lowered tariffs on a lot of countries in the last, you know, 20, 30 years in ways that countries haven't always reciprocated. But that said, these sorts of unilateral tariffs, you know, all at once with these reciprocal provisions tend to not be the way to come out ahead. I would just say that, you know, you can argue that India's duties on the U.S. are higher in many areas.

I mean, that's true with many countries, actually, whether it's a good time to be hitting India or provoking a trade war with India at a time when, you know, their tensions are always already high with China. You have Trump on adversaries and allies alike. You know, I would argue maybe not such a great strategy.

KINKADE: And President Trump said Americans should be prepared for some short term pain. Talk to us about the rebounding inflation problem. The fastest pace it's risen since August 2023. It looks to be on the way back up.

FOROOHAR: Yes, for sure. I mean, these numbers were surprising. There are some one off issues here. You know, prices of eggs which have been through the roof in the U.S. that's partly due to avian flu. That's a bit of a one off.

But I think the concern is, OK, one month of increased prices, that's one thing. But if you look at what's coming down the pike, tariffs, which we just talked about, immigration, a crackdown on illegal immigration, which you can, like it or not at home, has actually contributed to the loosening of the labor market.

So if you start to really crack down on that could, that could create wage inflation. You know, a lot of these policies, tax cuts, tend to be inflationary because they're going to add more fuel to the economy. So there's a sense that, ooh, you know, one bad number. But could this be compounded by some of the policies that are coming down the pipe.

And Rana, when you look at the global tariff war, which countries will be hurt the hardest?

FOROOHAR: It's a great question. I think smaller countries that are not necessarily affiliated with one bloc or another. I mean, you start to see about three different blocs emerging in the world right now. There's a U.S. led trade bloc, there's a Chinese led trade bloc, and then there's sort of unaffiliated nations.

And I think smaller nations are really concerned about where they fit in this paradigm. And, you know, are they going to get hit on both sides? Are they going to be pressured by China as well as by the US.

I think Europe also sits in a very uncomfortable position right now because it's the recipient of a lot of cheap Chinese goods, which, you know, is difficult for their economy. At the same time that there are tariff threats from Trump. And so that's, you know, being squeezed on both sides I think it's going to be tough for Europe.

KINKADE: Yes, exactly. They are indeed worried about this. Rana Foroohar, always good to get your analysis. Thanks very much.

[01:20:00]

Well, TikTok is available for download once again for U.S. based users. App stores including Google Play and Apple restored the widely popular social media app Thursday. It follows promises by President Trump to save the app.

TikTok's uncertain future stems from a law signed last April by then President Joe Biden, which gave TikTok's parent company 270 days to sell the app to an owner from the United States or one of its allies or face a ban due to national security concerns.

President Trump issued an executive action on his first day in the office delaying the enactment of that ban.

Well, much more still this hour, including this. The mothers of three young Israeli former hostages speak to CNN describing their harrowing ordeals that their daughters experienced in Gaza.

Plus, the big meeting between the leaders of the U.S. and India will have a live report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And just hours after Prime Minister Modi landed in Washington, President Trump announced reciprocal tariffs. Those could hit India hard. How did the two of them navigate that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:25:41]

KINKADE: The fragile cease fire between Israel and Hamas appears to be back on track after Hamas said it will release Israeli hostages this weekend as initially planned. Earlier this week, Hamas accused Israel of violating the truce and postponing the release of more hostages.

In response, Israel said it would resume fighting in Gaza. After Hamas spoke with key mediators Egypt and Qatar, it said this week's hostage release will proceed.

One Israeli official said it seems the dispute will be resolved and that Israeli leaders don't want to abandon the cease fire at this time.

Well, family members of freed hostages say they're overjoyed to have their loved ones home, but they know there's a long road of healing. Ahead, CNN's Bianna Golodryga spoke with the mothers of three young Israeli former hostages. They shared what their daughters went through in captivity. But first, a warning this report contains disturbing video.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SENIOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST (voice-over): It was a homecoming that captivated a still traumatized nation. Young female hostages finally reunited with their families after 477 grueling days.

ORLY GILBOA, MOTHER OF FORMER ISRAELI HOSTAGE DANIELLA GILBOA: Daniella, she's happy. She's at home. She -- she's free. And this is what's important.

GOLODRYGA (voice-over): On the morning of October 7, Hamas terrorists attacked the IDF military base where 22 female soldiers were stationed as spotters along the Gaza border. Naama Levy, Liri Albag and Daniella Gilboa can be seen wounded, bound and threatened by their captors, surrounded by the murdered bodies of 15 of their friends.

GOLODRYGA: Did your daughter tell you about the specific horrors that they endured in the video that we saw?

GILBOA: October 7th is the most hard thing for her to speak about. She lost a lot of good friends of her and the loss of them is very hard for her. Even more than the period of time of captivity.

GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Images of Naama's capture in particular took the world by storm as she was dragged by her hair, wearing bloody sweatpants Somehow, her mother says, she saw the video in captivity and also heard her family's pleas for release.

AYELET LEVY SHACHAR, MOTHER OF FORMER ISRAELI HOSTAGE NAAMA LEVY: She saw the video, she knew about it, and she did see myself and her father in different interviews, she heard sometimes on the radio, her brother speaking, her grandfather speaking. So it wasn't an everyday thing. But sometimes she was exposed to the media, and it did give her a lot of strength and support and helped her throughout those days.

GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Shira says, Liri was sometimes held with Naama and another recently released hostage, Agam Burger.

SHIRA ALBAG, MOTHER OF FORMER ISRAELI HOSTAGE LIRI ALBAG: Liri most of the time was in apartments with civilians, with families, with the women of the captivities, with the children. It was difficult because they need to stay, to clean the house and to cook for them and to teach the children, to sit with the children and to try to teach them.

GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Just days after her own return, Daniella watched as her cousin Elie Sharabi, along with two other hostages, came home, appearing emaciated and frail, their condition shocking almost everyone.

GILBOA: Daniella told me, mama, just know that if were released two months ago, I was look like Eli, because she also lose a lot of weight there.

GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Daniella told her mother that until recently, she shared one plate of food with three other women prior to her release, she says she only had to share the plate with one other.

GILBOA: It's important to understand that it's not that we see Daniella how she looks like right now. It doesn't mean anything about what happened there and how she felt there.

[01:29:49]

GOLODRYGA (voice-over): The priority now for these mothers, along with the majority of Israelis is the urgent release of all the remaining hostages. And their appeal is largely directed at one man.

AYELET LEVY SHACHAR, MOTHER OF FORMER ISRAELI HOSTAGE NAAMA LEVY: President Trump had a key role in mobilizing this deal and for her to come back. And we know now in his influence is crucial for this continuation of the deal and for the other hostages to come home. And we know how urgent it is. We see how urgent it is.

GOLODRYGA: Bianna Golodryga, CNN -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: When we return, another one of President Trump's controversial cabinet picks makes it through a tough confirmation battle with one Republican senator standing against it.

[01:30:51]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Good to have you with us.

Well, the U.S. president's newly announced reciprocal tariffs could hit developing countries particularly hard. Donald Trump singled out India as its prime minister visited the White House saying they charge more tariffs than any other nation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I had discussions with India in the first term about the fact that their tariffs were very high and I was unable to get a concession.

So we're just going to do it the easy way, and we're just going to say, whatever you charge, we charge. And I think that's fair for the people of the United States. And I think it's actually fair for India.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: It's unclear if the two countries trade issues will be resolved. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that when India and the U.S. work together, they will form a mega partnership for prosperity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARENDRA MODI, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): India and the U.S. will jointly work in areas of artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum biotechnology and several other technologies.

Today, we also agreed on TRUST, which stands for Transforming Relationships Utilizing Strategic Technology.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: CNN's Will Ripley is following all the developments from Taipei and joins us live. Good to see you, Will.

So Trump called India a great friend, but then spoke about the tariffs that India imposes on the U.S. and vowed to issue the same ones back. Take us through those comments.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that obviously would have a pretty huge impact, given that the United States is India's number one trading partner. India is the United States' 10th largest trading partner. So there's a huge trade deficit between the two.

So Indian trade into the U.S. would be tariffed at a disproportionately higher frequency just because of the volume of goods going back and forth.

And I think this really shows that this is now the eighth meeting between Modi and Trump. They clearly have a good rapport, good chemistry. They were complimenting each other during the press conference.

But at the end of the day, Modi flew to Washington knowing that he's dealing with a much more organized and determined second Trump administration.

And so last time around, even though they met all those times and had a great personal relationship, but in the end were unable to secure a new trade deal. I think the Indian side is aware that this time that isn't going to fly, that they needed to come to the table with some deliverables.

I'm not sure that they were aware that President Trump, just hours before this meeting, would be making his big reciprocal tariffs announcement, which of course, had a lot of chatter at home. Whether Prime Minister Modi's people would have liked the fact that this announcement of these huge tariffs around the world, but particularly hitting India hard with its high tariffs, would be -- would be made while Modi's actually on the ground in Washington, he could have lost a lot of face potentially.

But it sounded like at the end of their discussions, both of them were able to go down the list of items that would benefit both the United States and India. You heard Prime Minister Modi there list off some of the areas of cooperation.

One way that they're talking about trying to close this massive trade deficit is that India will purchase a lot more American oil and natural gas. That's actually something that the previous Biden administration was reluctant to sell to India, largely for environmental reasons.

President Trump obviously doesn't have those environmental concerns. He's all about drilling and selling and getting the prices low and being the number one energy supplier, perhaps for India and even other nations around the world.

India seems to be amenable to that. They've been buying a lot of cheap oil from Russia because the prices went down dramatically after the start of the Ukraine war.

Prime Minister Modi also goes back with a -- with a big symbolic win particularly for people back at home, because one of the most wanted Mumbai terror suspects, Mr. Rana, who was linked to the 2008 attacks that killed more than 160 people, he is now has the green light from the U.S. Supreme Court to be extradited back to India. And so he will face justice there.

So that's another something that Prime Minister Modi can bring back, even though the threat of these you know, these tariffs is hanging over everything. It could really bite into the Indian economy.

So they're fast tracking their trade talks, Lynda hoping to have half a trillion dollars in U.S.-India trade by 2030. We'll see how that all goes.

[01:39:47]

KINKADE: Yes. We'll see what decisions are made between now and April when those tariffs may come into play.

Will Ripley, good to have you with us. Thank you.

Well, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now one of America's leading public health officials despite his controversial views on vaccines and public health policy.

Kennedy was sworn in as Secretary of Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday. He says he won't get rid of any vaccines, but that more research is needed. CNN's Julia Benbrook reports from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Despite reservations from some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, the Senate voted to confirm Kennedy largely along party lines with just one GOP member, former Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, voting against his confirmation, underscoring the degree to which the Trump White House has been able to keep the party in line throughout the confirmation process.

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think we're greatly Disappointed in any Republican who chooses willfully to vote against the president's exceptionally qualified cabinet nominees and picks to lead his America First administration.

BENBROOK: McConnell, who is a survivor of childhood polio, explained his vote in a statement, writing, quote, "In my lifetime, I've watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles."

McConnell has now voted against more of Trump's cabinet nominees than any other Republican. He also opposed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as well as National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard.

This represents a remarkable shift for the senator in his seventh term. The onetime establishment leader now a possible swing vote.

Reporting at the White House, I'm Julia Benbrook.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: The U.S. Justice Department is facing a flurry of resignations. Several officials left their jobs after refusing to dismiss federal corruption charges against New York's Mayor Eric Adams. That includes the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

President Trump says he had nothing to do with the department's decision to drop the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The U.S. attorney has resigned over the DOJ's request to drop the case into Eric Adams. Did you personally request the Justice Department to drop that case?

TRUMP: No, I didn't. I know nothing about it. That U.S. attorney was actually fired. I don't know if he or she resigned, but that U.S. attorney was fired.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well for more, CNN's Kara Scannell reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's a growing crisis at the Justice Department with multiple top officials resigning over a directive to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

The acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York Danielle Sassoon, and at least five other prosecutors resigned Thursday. Sassoon said in a letter to the Attorney General that she could not carry out those orders because they are inconsistent with her, quote, "duty to prosecute federal crimes without fear or favor and to advance good faith arguments before the courts".

Acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove ordered Sassoon to dismiss the charges not based on the merits of the case, but because he said it was politically-motivated and impedes Adams from doing his job, including carrying out Trump's immigration agenda.

Sassoon said that amounted to a quid pro quo, something Bove and Adams' attorney both deny. Bove put the prosecutors working on the case on administrative leave while they are investigated by DOJ.

He transferred the case to Washington for prosecutors there to carry out his directive. But that snowballed into additional resignations by officials in the Public Integrity Section, who quit in protest.

Bove could move to dismiss the case himself. Ultimately, it's up to a judge to decide whether to grant the motion. It's unclear if more resignations will follow.

Kara Scannell, CNN -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, first they were scorched by fires. Now they're getting drenched by rain. How a powerful storm is creating new hazards for parts of California.

[01:43:54]

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KINKADE: Welcome back.

In California, heavy rain is forcing new evacuations in places already ravaged by wildfires.

Burned areas around Los Angeles, including Altadena and the Palisades, are now at risk of mudslides and debris flow. Authorities fear the soil on the hills could become unstable and come rushing down with water.

This time-lapse video shows just how bad the mudflow can get. You see it there, sliding down a hill and flooding the area below. Officials say other places are also at risk.

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KRISTIN CROWLEY, CHIEF, LOS ANGELES CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT: This is a widespread event that could impact a lot of different areas within the city, but especially hazards in and around the areas that have recently burned.

KAREN BASS, LOS ANGELES MAYOR: The areas that we're primarily concerned about the slides is where the fires were, the burn area, the scar. And so that area is the area that we're concerned about.

But there are a lot of individual homes that are against the hills where the mud can come down.

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CNN's Stephanie Elam has more on how authorities are responding to the storms.

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STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is what they're dealing with here in the burn zones of the Eaton and Palisades fire.

I'm in Malibu right now, and if you look behind me, you can see how muddy it is here. Just this really sticky mud. This all came down because of the deluge of rain that we've been getting here.

Crews were just here reinforcing this barricade. You can see he's cleaning up some of the mud there.

[01:49:49]

ELAM: They're getting this all opened up again. But this has shut down the Pacific Coast Highway for some time.

And what the real issue here is, is that it is very rural in some ways over here. And you can see this hillside -- what you see, how it's been all burned here. Well, the fire burns into those root systems of trees and the shrubs.

And when that happens, it loosens up that connectivity underneath the soil. And that means when it rains, it can just take all of that dirt and mud and cascade down the hillside. So this closed off the PCH for a while here.

This is why they don't want people around here. Overall, the Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA said that they did scale back some of their operations as far as removing debris from the different lots that have been burned down, simply because they want to make sure they protect their workers, residents and also the environment around them. And also making sure to protect all of that toxic ash that could be coming off of those lots, making sure that they're protecting it in these things they call sock wattles that will catch that, and then they will get rid of those the same way they're getting rid of all that toxic ash. So that's how they've been protecting this.

But still lots of sandbags still needed. And as you can see right here, a lot of work still going on here as they try to stop these mudslides and landslides from taking out roads and highways as we have another band of a storm coming in.

Now back to you.

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KINKADE: Our thanks to Stephanie Elam there.

Well, still to come, archeologists, they're sharing their new discoveries at the site of an ancient tragedy, the city of Pompeii.

Stay with us for more.

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KINKADE: Welcome back.

Dozens of World War II-era unexploded bombs have been discovered underneath a playground in northern England. Construction workers discovered the relics while working on playground renovations. Over 160 practice bombs were safely recovered from the grounds. And experts are searching the area to ensure there is no more danger before resuming construction.

Archeologists say they've discovered the remains of a 2,000-year-old Roman basilica in the center of London. Officials say the building was uncovered during work on an office block in the city's financial district.

Historians say the basilica was likely the political, commercial and social hub of what was then known as the Roman Londinium. The forum is about the size of a soccer pitch, and there are plans to eventually open the site to the public.

Well, new Roman ruins have been uncovered in Pompeii, Italy including what could have been an ancient version of Mar-a-Lago.

CNN's Ben Wedeman reports.

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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Around noon in A.D. 79, it's not clear whether it was the summer or the autumn, Mount Vesuvius began to erupt. Within 48 hours, if they were lucky, residents of the city of Pompeii managed to flee. The rest were dead.

For centuries afterwards, Pompeii was largely forgotten until the middle of the 1700s, when digging began in earnest.

GABRIEL ZUCHTRIEGEL, DIRECTOR, POMPEII ARCHEOLOGICAL PARK: Minerals coming through humidity.

WEDEMAN: For Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Pompeii Archeological Park, the work here never ends.

ZUCHTRIEGEL: Because the site is so vast and it's, you know, 30,000 -- 13,000 rooms excavated in two and a half centuries.

[01:54:50]

WEDEMAN: There are still new discoveries. The latest this lavish complex of baths, including a caldarium -- a hot room, a tepidarium -- a warm room and a frigidarium -- a room with a pool of cold water. And a banquet hall.

Archeologists presume the owner was a wealthy businessman turned politician. Busy wining and dining, winning friends and influencing people. Sound familiar?

ZUCHTRIEGEL: I think it's a bit like Mar-a-Lago, right? It's not really a public place but at some points people would invite stakeholders and potential supporters and friends.

WEDEMAN: This roman Mar-a-Lago was under renovation. With the eruption, the work came to an abrupt end.

This could be a modern construction site with tiles and bricks and gravel lying around, but these were the materials left behind by construction workers, 1,946 years ago.

Now, one of the reasons why Pompeii is so well preserved is that when the eruption of Vesuvius took place, it was covered by this pumice -- lightweight, solidified lava.

Anna Onesti runs the dig site here. She says archeologists at Pompeii need to pace themselves as technology advances.

"Pompeii still holds many surprises," she says. And that's why, at a certain point, excavations have to conclude so that we can allow future generations after 100, 200 years to resume digging and uncover more data.

Stay tuned, there's more to come.

Ben Wedeman, CNN -- Pompeii.

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KINKADE: Well, finally this hour, a close call captured on camera.

A man kayaking in Chile was suddenly swallowed by a humpback whale. He was dragged into the water for several seconds before the whale let him go. It happened as he was kayaking with his father at a popular tourist destination on Saturday. And despite the terrifying moment, both said they would kayak again. Incredible.

Well, thanks so much for watching. I'm Lynda Kinkade.

CNN NEWSROOM continues with Ivan Watson after a short break.

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