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Secretary Rubio Speaks With Russian Counterpart On Ukraine Conflict; Top Trump Officials Travel To Saudi Arabia For Russia- Ukraine Talks; Zelenskyy Warns The Days Of U.S.-Guaranteed Support For Europe Are Over; Interview With Representative Josh Riley (D-Ny) About Legislation To Rein In DOGE; Accuser Drops Sexual Assault Case Against Jay-Z And Sean Combs; Hamas Releases 3 More Hostages Including An Israeli-American. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired February 15, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00]

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Now the events tonight, they're going to be back in San Francisco in the Chase Center where they're going to have the skills, the dunk, and the three-point contest. And those are going to be fun as well.

We could see some history, Fredricka. Damian Lillard trying to win three three-point contests in a row and Mac McClung, he's trying to become the first dunker ever to win three straight dunk contests in a row. So it's going to be a fun night here in the Bay Area. And then of course you mentioned Sunday's all-star game, the new format. You've got Shaq's OGs, Kenny's Youngsters and Charles Barkley's Global Team. And there's also a team from the rising stars that won last night.

It's going to be a little mini tournament. Hopefully we get a lot of competitiveness tomorrow night in the little mini tournament, Fredricka, but certainly been a fun weekend so far in the Bay Area and looking forward to more action come tonight on TNT.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Too much fun. All right, Andy Scholes, thank you so much.

All right. Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield and we're following fast-moving developments on the efforts to end Russia's conflict with Ukraine.

Russia says its foreign minister has held a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. That phone call coming as we're also learning that top Trump officials are traveling to Saudi Arabia in the coming days for talks to end the hostilities between Russia and Ukraine.

We have a team of correspondents around the globe covering these developments. Betsy Klein is near the president's home in Florida. But let's begin with Fred Pleitgen in Moscow.

So, Fred, what more are you learning about this phone call between Rubio and his Russian counterpart? FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there,

Fredricka. Yes, we just got this news a couple of minutes ago about this phone call that took place between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Secretary of State Rubio. We do now also have readouts from both the State Department and also the Russian Foreign Ministry as well.

The U.S. State Department readout is pretty short. It just confirms that this call took place, that it was a follow-up to that call between Vladimir Putin and President Trump that happened a couple of days ago, and that the two discussed ways to end the war in Ukraine and then also, as the U.S. puts it, further bilateral issues to be resolved.

Now, from the Russian side, the readout is very much different. From the Russian side this sounds like the two spoke not only about a possible resolution to the war in Ukraine, the conflict in Ukraine, but also essentially a reset in relations between the U.S. and Russia.

I want to read to you some of what the Russian Foreign Ministry put in here. They say the head of the Foreign Ministry agreed to maintain a communication channel to address the accumulated issues in Russian- American relations, with the aim of removing one sided barriers inherited from the previous administration that hinder mutual beneficial trade, economic and investment cooperation.

That certainly sounds like the Russians believe that possible sanctions relief might be on the table as President Trump and Vladimir Putin are set to meet. And of course, we know that that meeting is already being prepared.

Another thing that the Russians also said, Fredricka, is one of the things between the U.S. and Russia is that the diplomatic channels right now are a lot more troubled than they were in the past. The U.S. embassy here is really only operating with an emergency staff. The Russians had to close several consulates as the relations have grown colder over the years.

The Russians are saying that the two sides are going to keep channels open to try and mitigate that and to essentially staff up their diplomatic channels as well. So you could see a diplomatic thaw between the U.S. and Russia. But it certainly seems from the Russian side that they believe that sanctions relief could be on the table as well -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Very fascinating.

All right. Let's bring in now Betsy Klein there in Florida near Mar-a- Lago.

So what more are you learning about plans for top Trump officials to travel to Saudi Arabia for these kinds of peace negotiations?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, we are learning that a trio of top Trump lieutenants is set to travel to Saudi Arabia to meet with senior Russian officials in the coming days, according to two sources familiar with the plans who tell me and my colleague Jenny Hansler that it will be Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and National Security adviser Mike Waltz in the coming days, meeting with those high level Russian officials.

Now, our colleague Matthew Chance, just a few days ago, had reported that the Kremlin was starting to assemble that high level negotiating team. And Matthew Chance had reported that it would be top political, intelligence and economic figures from Russia, including that official, Kirill Dmitriev, who had played a key role in securing the release of a U.S. prisoner from Russia earlier this week.

Now, President Trump told reporters earlier this week as well that he could meet himself with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia in the coming days, weeks, months, declining to put a timeline on that, but also suggested that such a meeting could take place in Saudi Arabia and suggested that that discussion could be supplemented by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has been a key interlocutor between these parties.

[15:05:17]

Now we are seeing President Trump dramatically reshape U.S. foreign policy, particularly when it comes to Russia's war in Ukraine, and asked whether he believed Russia was responsible for that war, here's what he told reporters in the Oval Office just yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The blame for the war, Ukraine or Russia?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I think this. I think that there were a lot, a lot of people to blame. All I can say is, very simply, if I were president, that war would never have happened. And you know what else wouldn't have happened? The Middle East wouldn't be all blown up and October 7th wouldn't have happened either.

Those two areas, you wouldn't have inflation, you wouldn't have October 7th, you wouldn't have Russia and Ukraine fighting. None of those things would have happened if I were president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Now, all of this comes after those searing comments from Ukraine. President Zelenskyy, who is really questioning the role of the U.S. in the world and in Europe. President Trump, for his part, has spoken with Vladimir Putin without consulting Zelenskyy first, really shifting up that Biden administration policy of nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. So a very closely watched meeting in the coming days. We'll be paying very close attention -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Fred Pleitgen and Betsy Klein, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

And then just a short time ago, the Trump administration's Russia- Ukraine envoy announced that Europe will not be at the negotiating table when the U.S. tries to end the war in Ukraine. This comes just hours after Ukrainian President Zelenskyy warned his European neighbors that the days of guaranteed U.S. support for the continent are over. He is calling for a united Europe to face Russian aggression and urging leaders to band together to create a united European army.

Zelenskyy sat down with our Christiane Amanpour.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Here at the Munich Security Conference, day two was sharply different from day one, when JD Vance, the U.S. vice president's speech went down like a lead balloon to the assembled delegates. It was a scold. It was much more about culture wars. They interpreted it as it being really much more ideological. They were surprised. There was very little that Vance said about Ukraine, about Russia.

Now, President Zelenskyy of Ukraine has addressed the delegates and his speech went down and was interrupted many times by applause. He called for a strong Europe. He said Putin doesn't want peace. We need to make him actually come to a table where there is a serious plan that is something that he can actually sign on to, that doesn't mean our surrender, and that doesn't mean that Putin is able to pull the wool over, let's say, Trump's eyes.

He talked very, very lengthily with me during a side interview on stage about what his conversations with President Trump has been and what he needs from the Americans, including to have himself meet with President Trump before Trump goes off to meet with Putin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINE: For the dialog between Trump and Putin, and I think this is, I mean, it's up to them. But they can discuss everything they want, but not about Ukraine without us. I'm not happy. Yes, but I think that more dangerous if first meeting will be with Putin and then with Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: Zelenskyy thanked the U.S. for its continued support. It hasn't taken military aid off the table for now. So he thanked the United States for that. But talking on the sidelines with Democratic and Republican senators represented here, they felt that the American speeches, the American presence here was kind of a missed opportunity because they believe that of all people, the United States must send a strong message to Russia and to anyone else, for instance, China, who is watching what happens out of Ukraine and how it's settled.

The U.S. must send a strong message that it stands for the principles and the values of democracy, the rules of the road, international borders, and with the Trans-Atlantic alliance.

I'm Christiane Amanpour in Munich. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Christiane.

All right, let's get more analysis now. General Wesley Clark is the former NATO Allied supreme commander.

Great to see you. So President Zelenskyy says there are no more security guarantees for Europe and suggest that Europe put together its own army, not to rely on the relationship of the past between the U.S. and European allies. Is that even feasible in your view?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Well, it's not feasible in the near term. And we've seen this. This has to be the fourth time in a little over 100 years where Europe has struggled and needed American backing.

[15:10:06]

And there's no reason to believe that this time is different. But what is different is President Trump's vision of how he can handle global affairs. And I believe he thinks he can do this personally with Putin, with Xi Jinping, with President Erdogan and others. And he can sort of pole vault over the conventional wisdom that has emerged. The conventional wisdom being, you've got to have a strong deterrent.

You can't do this just with conversations between leaders, understanding that Russia is an imperialist nation. It has many tools. It's subverting democracy in in Europe right now. It's got a gray zone offensive against Europe. China is watching. So there's a -- this is a conflict between really a conventional view of security and President Trump's view of his ability to sort of change the tables.

He wants nuclear disarmament. He wants to cut the defense budget in half. Now, Senate Armed Services Committee chairman says the defense budget needs to go up by a couple of hundred billion dollars at least, and maybe doubled. And so how are we going to do this with tax cuts? So there's a lot to be resolved and unpacked in all of this.

It's early days, Fredricka, but one thing clearly came out of Munich, and that is the Europeans got a message and they've listened to this message before, but they haven't actually heeded it. They better get their act together. They better start investing in their own defense. The days of the peace dividend from 1991, '92 are over. They've got to -- if they believe that their security is at risk, they've got to do more.

Can they stand without American support? Well, they've never been able to do it before. They needed U.S. nuclear power during the Cold War, and we stayed engaged because we understood that Europe's security was our security. We've seen it twice before in the 20th century. Now we're facing China and Secretary Hegseth says stark strategic reality got to face China. But the truth is, you can't face China economically, technologically without Europe.

So we still have enormous interests in Europe. You cannot recreate NATO in Asia. I know President Biden tried. He's got the Quad, but one of the members of the Quad is India working with Russia. So you're not going to have the same security architecture in Europe that we've enjoyed for 70 years -- in Asia that we've enjoyed for 70 years in Europe. You just can't do it. So there's so much motion right now. The most important thing for Europe is get your act together, double

those defense budgets, immediately prepare to help Ukraine in ways that they've been asking for, that they haven't got like air defense right now. Get that air defense in there. Help them right now. Take those Russian funds that have been held and use them to support Ukraine right now. Tighten up the sanctions on the secret Russian fleet that's moving oil without -- and trying to escape sanctions. Most of it is going through the Baltic. Tighten that up right now.

WHITFIELD: So we also learned a short time ago that the Secretary of State Rubio is meeting with his Russian counterpart, Lavrov, to discuss the war in Ukraine. Thus far, Europe is not at the negotiating table nor is Ukraine. Is this a problem?

CLARK: Well, it certainly, if you look at it conventionally, you bet it's a problem. But if Europe gets its act together, it will be at the negotiating table. It will have comparable power. It will have to be included in this. The fact it's not being including --

WHITFIELD: Except for Trump's Russia-Ukraine envoy said no, they will not be at the table. You think they'll change their mind?

CLARK: No. The vision that President Trump has, I believe, and obviously I'm not speaking for the administration, but the vision would be that he and Putin can resolve this. And some of this was Putin's insecurity. Some of it was the fact that he'd been mistreated for years by the West, has been undervalued and dissed in various meetings that if he's brought in that everything will be OK.

Now, the problem with that is that underneath Putin is not a democracy. It's not even an autocracy. It's really a mafia intelligence state built on exports of petroleum. And so it is a state in which there is no individual freedom, no rule of law as we know it. And this is not the kind of model that the United States can coexist with happily, if it spreads to Europe. And that's the real danger.

WHITFIELD: While we're talking, we're also looking at live pictures of the Secretary of State Marco Rubio there, arriving in Tel Aviv.

[15:15:01]

And we'll continue to talk about the Ukraine and Russia issue. Of course, it's top of mind with him as he's having his conversations with his Russian counterpart.

Our Betsy Klein was reporting a short time ago that potentially Putin and Trump would meet face in Saudi Arabia. Do you see that as a viable plan?

CLARK: Well, certainly it can happen. And it's President Trump's vision is to rehabilitate Mr. Putin. But the word that's missing here in all these discussions is a recognition that Russia was the aggressor. Actions should have consequences. So is Russia going to pay for the rebuilding of Ukraine? What about the 250,000 children who have been abducted from Ukraine and are being reeducated, retrained as Russians so they can fight in the next war? What about the preparations Russia is making to continue the war

against other NATO states? What about the statements of the Russian foreign minister and others that the root conditions of this have to be resolved, that is to say, Ukraine has to not exist as a state and NATO has to be rolled back? So there's no security protection for Eastern Europe. So there's some enormous issues lurking behind the idea that the president, two presidents would meet and resolve this.

WHITFIELD: And thus far, those kinds of words are absent from Trump's vernacular. Every time he refers to, you know, the war, he's talking as though it just happened. He has refrained from saying Russia invaded Ukraine. That's a problem, isn't it?

CLARK: I think it's a problem for most of the world. If you look at it now and assuming it gets settled and everything is peaceful and the wolves can lie down with the lambs, in 10 years, everybody will look back on President Trump as a great peacemaker. But he's not the first statesman who's believed that he could pull something like this off. 1938 a wonderful British prime minister named Neville Chamberlain went to Munich, stopped a war in Europe. Yes, the Germans were going to take and the Poles had mobilized their army, and so had the Hungarians.

And it looked like World War II was going to start right there. And Neville Chamberlain called the heads of state together in a very significant meeting. And they agreed that, OK, Hitler could have Sudetenland back. Maybe that was a mistake in the Versailles Treaty because there were Germans living there, but that would be the end of it. That was 1938. And we know what happened after that.

So you just -- you can do your best at the head of state level. You can believe you're the best deal maker in the world. But sometimes hard power realities, national aspirations, and understanding what's behind it make a difference. And so I hope that, you know, while we do everything we can to smooth this out at the top level, I hope we don't lose sight of 300 years of Russian imperialist expansion of their intelligence agency, the mafia state that they're running, and what the threat is to Europe and to the United States, by the way. They do interfere in our elections.

WHITFIELD: General Wesley Clark, always valued your input. Thank you so much.

CLARK: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And this just in. A woman and a 2-year-old child have died from their injuries after that car plowed into a crowd of demonstrators in Munich earlier this week. The deaths were the first reported from the ramming attack. Dozens of other people were injured. A 24-year-old asylum seeker from Afghanistan was arrested at the scene. Authorities believe he may have had Islamist extremist motives.

All right. Coming up, a big win for Elon Musk. A judge ruled his Department of Government Efficiency can keep access to records at agencies like the Labor Department.

I'll get reaction from Democratic Congressman Josh Riley next.

Also, a big win for rappers Jay-Z and Diddy. A woman who accused them of sexual assault drops her lawsuit. That report straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:23:49]

WHITFIELD: All right, a big win for Elon Musk, who is wasting no time in his efforts to overhaul the federal government. A federal judge ruled yesterday Musk's Department of Government Efficiency can maintain access to data at the Department of Labor and other agencies, rejecting labor unions' attempts to shut that access down.

So far, Musk's team has fired thousands of government employees and cut budgets from programs that they don't like. Critics warn he and his team are getting too much power with too little oversight.

Joining us right now is New York Democratic Congressman Josh Riley.

Congressman, good to see you. You're a freshman Democrat. One of the first things that you're doing in Congress is proposing a bill known as the Taxpayer Data Protection Act. So tell us about that and how are you hoping this will be like a speed bump for DOGE?

REP. JOSH RILEY (D-NY): Well, hopefully it's more than just a speed bump. I think it's important to step back and remember what DOGE is really all about. And it's something that really hits home here in upstate New York. I've said it for a long time and got into politics because I believe that in our economy and in our politics, the deck has been stacked against working folks, and it's been stacked in favor of big, powerful, special interests and the politicians they basically pay off to do what's best for them instead of folks here.

[15:25:10]

And that's exactly what DOGE is all about. Over the last couple of days, I've talked to people about the impacts of funding freezes and the impacts of some of these cuts. Talked to a nurse the other day who works at the VA, and she was concerned not primarily about her own job, she was concerned about the impacts this would have for the veterans that she takes care of.

I met the other day with researchers from Cornell University and Binghamton University, who are doing cutting edge, really important research on children's cancer and lung diseases, and they're very concerned about the impacts of this. There are grants that go to our firefighters across our district, who are working so hard and struggling. And all of that is at stake with DOGE.

For what? So that Elon Musk and his billionaire buddies can get more tax cuts and more government subsidies. It's everything that's wrong with politics. When we talk about the deck being stacked against people, that's exactly what this is. The richest man in the world going into the pockets of that nurse at the VA, going into the pockets of those kids who need that research, going into the pockets of my firefighters across upstate New York, and grabbing their money so that he can line his pockets even more so.

One of the things we're doing in Congress to fight back is the bill that you mentioned. What that bill says is something that if my Republican friends are listening to this, listen to what I'm about to tell you, because it's something I think you agree with, and you should join us in this effort, we just want to make sure that people can't access the sensitive payment systems in the government unless you have a security clearance and you're free of conflicts of interest.

If you have a security clearance and no conflicts of interest, then in certain cases you could access those systems. But if you don't have a security clearance and you have conflicts of interest, you shouldn't be able to get your hands on my constituent's Social Security checks.

WHITFIELD: So Donald Trump, you know, appeared on FOX News in a joint interview with Elon Musk yesterday, and he responded to people who say Musk is in control. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Actually Elon called me. He said, you know, they're trying to drive us apart. I said absolutely. You know, they said, we have breaking news. Donald Trump has ceded control of the presidency to Elon Musk. President Musk will be attending a cabinet meeting tonight at 8:00. And I say it's just so obvious. They're so bad at it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: What do you think is going on here? Do you think ultimately it will get under, you know, Trump's skin, or is this kind of out of the playbook of, you know, his former attorney, Michael Cohen, said he has other people do the dirty work? And is that just what this is?

RILEY: You know, I don't know. And frankly I don't care about the dynamics of the bromance between Elon Musk and Donald Trump. I just don't care. And most people around here don't care either. What we care about is whether that nurse is going to be able to show up at work at the VA and take care of the veterans that need it. What we care about is whether the grants that are needed for our firefighters, I mean, we just lost a firefighter a couple of days ago in a horrific incident here.

Whether our firefighters are being supported. What we care about is whether those kids are going to benefit from the research that's happening around here. And look there are folks who -- I think a lot of folks that I talk to, whether they're Democrats or Republicans, everybody agrees that our political system is completely broken. The economy is completely rotten to its core, and changes need to be made.

We've got to get the spending and the government and the budget under control. But doing it on the backs of nurses and firefighters and kids just so that Elon Musk can get another tax cut, that is not the way to do it.

WHITFIELD: Congressman Josh Riley, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much.

RILEY: Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

WHITFIELD: Coming up, a woman who accused rappers Jay-Z and Diddy of sexual assault drops her lawsuit. Details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:33:28]

WHITFIELD: A woman who accused Sean Combs and Jay-Z of sexually assaulting her 25 years ago has dropped her lawsuit against the two men. Her attorneys withdrew the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it can't be refiled in the future.

CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: A jane doe who alleged she was raped by both Sean "Diddy" Combs and Jay-Z more than 20 years ago when she was 13 years old has dropped her case against both of the music moguls. In a notice of voluntary dismissal filed on Friday, Jane Doe's attorneys dropped the case with prejudice, preventing it from being refiled in the future.

Tony Buzbee, an attorney for Jane Doe, declined to comment when I contacted him. He also declined to comment when I asked if a settlement agreement was reached between Jane Doe and any of the defendants. Now, Jay-Z's attorney, Alex Spiro, told CNN in a statement, "The false case against Jay-Z that never should have been brought has been dismissed with prejudice. By standing up in the face of heinous and false allegations, Jay has done what few can. He pushed back. He never settled. He never paid one red penny. He triumphed and cleared his name."

Now, Jane Doe initially filed her lawsuit against Combs in October of 2024. She alleged that she was drugged and raped by Combs, along with two other celebrities at an afterparty for the MTV Video Music Awards in the year 2000 when she was just 13 years old. Jane Doe then filed an amended complaint naming Jay-Z as one of the celebrities she accused of raping her.

[15:35:05]

Jay-Z vigorously denied the allegations and fought back fiercely against Jane Doe's allegations, calling them heinous. His attorneys made numerous attempts to get the case thrown out prior to Jane Doe now dropping her own case. In December, a judge had denied Jay-Z's request to dismiss the case.

Jane Doe had previously acknowledged inconsistencies in her recollection of the events from the alleged assault in 2000, but she always stood by the allegation that she was raped. Her attorney had previously told CNN, quote, "Our client remains fiercely adamant that what she has stated is true to the best of her memory." Attorneys for Sean "Diddy" Combs told me that Jane Doe dropping her case is, quote, "confirmation that these lawsuits are built on falsehoods, not facts."

Combs still faces more than 40 sexual assault lawsuits. He was indicted last September on sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and prostitution related charges. Now he has pleaded not guilty to all three charges, and his attorneys say that he has never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone. Combs is currently in jail awaiting his criminal trial that is set to begin this may.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Elizabeth Wagmeister, thank you so much. And we'll be right back.

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[15:41:04]

WHITFIELD: A 5.0 magnitude earthquake in west Texas Friday night. The quake struck a remote area of the state northwest of Toyah, Texas, a town around 160 miles east of El Paso. Tremors were also reportedly felt in New Mexico cities, including Carlsbad and Roswell. Aftershocks were detected within five minutes of the quake hitting. So far, there are no reports of any injuries.

Meantime, a powerful storm is bringing severe weather to the eastern half of the U.S. this weekend. This was the scene just a few hours ago near the Kentucky-Tennessee border with roads and cars getting quickly submerged. The storm is expected to hit peak strength overnight into Sunday morning.

CNN's Allison Chinchar has the latest forecast from the CNN Weather Center.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, the most widespread concern out of this system is definitely going to be the flooding and it extends from Arkansas all the way up through western Pennsylvania. But within that area, this spot right here, this pink colored that you see here, this is where we have a level 4 out of 4, a high risk for excessive rainfall.

Just to emphasize, these are rare. They only occur on about 4 percent of the days throughout the year. But they're responsible for 40 percent of flood-related deaths and 80 percent of the flood-related damage. So this is a significant concern especially as we go through the evening and overnight hours tonight.

In addition to flooding, there's also the potential for severe thunderstorms. We're talking damaging winds and the potential for some tornadoes. This exists across portions of the southeast. So Nashville, Birmingham, Atlanta even down through Mobile. The timeline for a lot of these storms, you notice a lot of those showers and thunderstorms fire up in the back half of the day and continue through the evening and the overnight hours, which means make sure before you go to bed tonight, you have a way to get those emergency alerts on your phone to wake you in case something happens.

Then you'll also start to see more of that moisture begin to spread into portions of the mid-Atlantic and even into the northeast as we head into the very early hours of Sunday. A lot of the cold weather aspects, the wintry mix, the ice, the snow, that lingers through much of the day Sunday. The rest of the system however really starts to exit most of these areas maybe with the exception of Maine by the time we get to the back half of the day on Sunday.

Overall widespread amounts of these rainfall you're looking at two to four inches but it's not out of the question for some spots to pick up half a foot of rain. On the snow side of this, the heaviest is certainly going to be in interior New England especially in the green and white mountains where at least a foot of snow could fall.

WHITFIELD: Good morning. Thank you so much, Allison Chinchar.

All right. Coming up, Hamas releases three more hostages as part of the ceasefire deal, including one Israeli-American. A report from Jerusalem is next on how it all played out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:48:26]

WHITFIELD: All right. New today Hamas releasing three more Israeli hostages as part of the ceasefire deal, including one Israeli- American. Israel says it released 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees as part of the round of the ceasefire agreement. At least 24 of them are being exiled to Egypt.

As CNN's Nic Robertson explains just a few days ago this exchange looked to be on shaky ground.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): The moment that almost never happened. 29-year-old Russian-Israeli Sasha Troufanov, 36-year-old Sagui Dekel-Chen, an American-Israeli, and Iair Horn, a 46-year-old Argentinian-Israeli in their final moments of captivity.

Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, some toting Israeli weapons, staging the choreographed handover that only days ago threatened to block, blaming Israel for falling short on the agreement. A banner apparently messaging President Donald Trump, who threatened hell if they don't release the hostages, and with expulsion from Gaza, even if they do, reading, no migration except to Jerusalem.

A cheer in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square as the three men ending 498 agonizing days of captivity led to waiting Red Cross vehicles.

[15:50:04]

Minutes later, handed to the IDF and reentry to their former lives. Not as emaciated as the three hostages handed over last week. Family and friends watching their travels from gatherings, erupting,

emotions overflowing.

And this moment, so many had been holding their breath for. 36-year- old American-Israeli Sagui reunited with his wife Avital. And in the embrace asked the name of his third daughter, born soon after he was captured.

A soft ripple of applause rising in Hostages Square, a poignant moment for those whose loved ones are still held. Viki Cohen's son Nimrod, a soldier expected in phase two of releases.

VIKI COHEN, MOTHER OF HOSTAGE NIMROD COHEN: And I'm worried and I'm afraid for him. We see how the deal is very fragile and it can collapse any minute. And we hear that part of the government, our government, doesn't want to go to the second phase because it means that it's an end to the war.

ROBERTSON: And already four weeks, that's two-thirds of phase one of the hostage release deal have passed and less than two-thirds of the agreed 33 hostages have been released. Phase two is barely getting traction. And meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, there are members in it who are telling him to go back to war.

(Voice-over): In Gaza, thousands gathered to greet the 333 Gazans released from Israeli custody, some old and sick, taken directly to doctors for assessment. Others shedding and burning prison clothing. Many of the released complaining of abuse.

The prison was the worst three months of my life, he says, full of humiliation, beating, torture and abuse. Israeli officials have rejected similar claims following recent releases. 36 life sentence Palestinian prisoners convicted of murder also released from Israeli jails, 25 of them expelled mostly to Egypt.

On both sides, bitter sweet reunions. Iair already in his favorite local soccer team strip hugging his mother and brother. His younger brother Eitan still a hostage. And Sasha embracing his family, until today unaware his father was killed October 7th.

This day, not the end of their suffering, but the beginning of the rest of their lives. On both sides many more wondering if they'll get that chance.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Nic Robertson, thank you so much. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:58:03]

WHITFIELD: A new season of "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU" with host Roy Wood Jr. and team captains Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black is back. Guests for this episode include attorney George Conway and comedian Andy Richter. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROY WOOD JUNIOR, HOST: It's time for meet in the middle where we find common ground between two people who would never be caught hanging out together. OK, let's do "Creeper by the Cousin."

MICHAEL IAN BLACK, TEAM CAPTAINS: Giuliani.

(LAUGHTER)

WOOD: Would you like the description of the category?

BLACK: Don't need it. I heard creeper. Giuliani.

GEORGE CONWAY, CONSERVATIVE LAWYER: That's right. He did marry his cousin. So -- that's exactly right.

WOOD: Which two of these people kept it in the family by marrying their cousin?

BLACK: It's Giuliani and it's Paddington.

WOOD: OK.

AMBER RUFFIN, TEAM CAPTAIN: It's fine if it's Paddington. He's a bear, right?

BLACK: Right.

RUFFIN: That's normal in bear life.

BLACK: Right.

RUFFIN: But now Giuliani should be ashamed. So I'm going to say Giuliani. And it has to be Einstein, no?

WOOD: All right, so the answer Rudy Giuliani and Albert Einstein both married their cousins. Rudy's first wife was his second cousin and Einstein's second wife was his first cousin. Yes. Regina Peruggi --

CONWAY: And that's how he came up with the theory of relativity.

(APPLAUSE)

CONWAY: I mean, wasn't that obvious? Wasn't that obvious?

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WHITFIELD: Yikes. That was pretty good. All right, be sure to tune in, a brand new episode of "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU" airs tonight, 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

All right. Today, Hong Kong's panda twin cubs are stepping into the spotlight, making their much anticipated public debut. CNN got a peek at the six-month-old duo born in August to Yin Yang, who became the oldest giant panda on record to give birth. And now look at those twins. They're on the move.