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At Least Nine Killed As Powerful Overnight Storm Races East; U.S.-Russian Officials To Begin Ukraine Peace Talks; European Leaders To Hold Emergency Summit On Ukraine; Rubio: Iran Threatens Peace And Security In The Middle East; Israeli Negotiators Heading To Cairo For Talks on Gaza; Trump Faces Mounting Legal Challenges In His Efforts To Purge Federal Agencies; Measles Outbreak In West Texas Doubles To 48 Cases; President Trump Arrives At The Daytona 500; USA And Canada Face Off In Fierce Four Nations Battle. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired February 16, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:37]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this hour with breaking news. A powerful overnight storm has killed at least nine people after slamming into the Southeast overnight.

Last hour, Kentucky officials announced eight storm-related deaths in their state. Right now, emergency responders are carrying out search and rescue in flooded areas with more than 300 road closures statewide.

Fire officials in Atlanta say one person died after a downed tree slammed into a home early this morning. More than 10 million people are now under flood alerts from Mississippi to Ohio.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear spoke just a short time ago about the emergency response in his state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): As we are here 24 hours into this natural disaster, we've already seen over a thousand rescues. That means there's a thousand plus Kentuckians that are safe, primarily because of the swift water boat teams, as well as so many other responders that are out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Several tornado warnings went out across Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee late Saturday, pushing into early -- into Georgia early this morning. Hundreds of thousands of people across the region are now without power. And the severe weather threat is not over as the storm makes its way east and then pushes north with more dangerous weather expected.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, there has been a significant amount of rainfall. You take a look at the video behind me from Grundy, Virginia. This is where they had the water rescues as that swift water just kind of overtook a lot of the roads and bridges in this particular area. Looking at the wide swath of rain here, you can see widespread -- you are looking at about four to six inches. But some of these spots picked up more than half a foot of rain in just the last 24 to 36 hours.

Now the rest of the day today, we still have what's left of that front before it finally pushes back out over the open Atlantic. But there's still a little bit of moisture still left, so a lot of these places still could end up seeing a little bit more rain. You can see there as it kind of slides through.

What's really going to linger the most is actually going to be the snow across portions of the northeast, which will actually linger into very early portions of the day on Monday.

Another thing that's going to linger is the winds. You can see we've got these wind warnings in effect for much of the mid-Atlantic and even into the northeast. Those wind gusts up around 50 to 60 miles per hour.

This isn't just valid for Sunday. Many of these extend into at least the first half of the day on Monday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Allison Chinchar, thank you so much.

All right. Happening right now, the Trump administration at the center of a pair of high-level global conflicts. The president dispatching U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and national security advisor Mike Waltz to Saudi Arabia to begin talks aimed at ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

This, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio is visiting Jerusalem today, making it clear that the Trump administration's Middle East strategy is focused on the Iran regime.

CNN's Steve Contorno is joining us now live from Daytona Motor Speedway, where President Trump is attending today's race.

So Steve, tomorrow top European and NATO leaders will gather in Paris for an emergency summit on Ukraine. So bring us up to date on the president's plans for peace in Ukraine.

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN SRNIOR REPORTER: Well, Fred, we are expecting Donald Trump's top officials in Saudi Arabia this week, a country that has become a key negotiator and a middleman between the United States and Russia as they try to negotiate a peace deal in this Ukraine war.

And the talks will include Mike Waltz, the national security advisor, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and, as you mentioned, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

Now, it won't include Europe, and that includes the country of Ukraine, which is obviously at the center of so much destruction and suffering in the front lines of this war.

[14:04:47]

CONTORNO: And when asked about why Ukraine will not be part of these early talks, here's what Witkoff had to say earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE MIDDLE EAST: The president had there, President Zelenskyy on the phone this past week. I am -- I am pretty sure that you know, a lot of our cabinet people, including Treasury Secretary Bessent, the vice president, Mike Waltz, John Radcliffe, our Secretary of State Marco Rubio have been meeting with various Ukrainian people at the Munich Security Conference.

So I don't think this is about excluding anybody. In fact, it's about including everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: Now, we are also expecting top senior Russian officials at this meeting as well, though we don't know exactly who will be there yet.

Donald Trump himself also teased the potential to joining Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, at a meeting in Saudi Arabia, although that might be still a few weeks away. Fred.

WHITFIELD: Ok. And you're at Daytona, Steve. The president was at the Super Bowl last weekend, and now he's at Daytona this weekend. What's going on with all these public appearances? What's his objective?

CONTORNO: Yes, the next stop on his sort of sports tour and somewhat of a victory lap here at the Speedway. Donald Trump just moments ago took an opening lap in a vehicle that they referred to as The Beast, leading the race cars around the track here.

Earlier, he did a flyby in Air Force One. And I have to tell you, talking to some of the people in attendance here, this is obviously a very pro-Trump crowd. So he was incredibly well received.

There was a lot of MAGA hats in the audience. No surprise here as this is Florida. This is Nascar. This is the heart of his base, really. And he gave them a little bit of a show just a few hours -- a few moments ago. WHITFIELD: Ok, Steve. And so quickly, Steve, he's got this little girl

who's either escorting him or he's escorting her. Do we know who she is?

CONTORNO: Sorry. The race just got underway as you were talking there.

WHITFIELD: Of course, it did.

CONTORNO: Can you repeat the question?

WHITFIELD: There was a little girl that was hand holding with the president there in that shot. As he was walking out to the speedway. Do we know who she is? Is she escorting him or is he escorting her?

CONTORNO: I'm not quite sure. I do know that he was traveling with a pretty large delegation of individuals, including his Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, the new Florida Senator Ashley Moody, as well as some of their family and some of his own.

So it's possible in that mix where we didn't catch that. But I did hear a lot of ahhs in the crowd when she came up on camera.

WHITFIELD: All right. Very cute. I know its loud at a -- at a motor speedway as the race is underway.

All right. Thank you so much, Steve Contorno. Well check back with you.

All right. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the conversations with top Russian officials in the days and weeks ahead will determine whether Putin is serious about ending the conflict in Ukraine.

For more on what the Russians are saying about these peace talks, let's bring in CNN's Fred Pleitgen in Moscow. So Fred, what are you hearing from Russian officials?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, the Russians can't wait for these talks to start. They can't wait for that meeting in Saudi Arabia that is going to take place at the beginning, it seems, of this coming week.

And it's absolutely correct that we don't know who exactly is going to be part of the Russian delegation. It seems as though the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev, will be one of those who is going to be taking part, possibly also that the Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov could be part of the Russian delegation as well.

But certainly, Fredricka, what we can glean here from what we've heard over the past couple of days and what we've heard today once again, is that the Russians certainly have very high hopes for these talks and in general, for U.S.-Russian relations, as the Trump administration has taken office.

In fact, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, he came out today in an interview and he said that he believes that in this term of U.S. President Trump, that the relations between Russia and the United States will be defined by dialog rather than confrontation, as he put it. He also said that the two countries in the future will speak about peace instead of confrontation as well.

He also said that he believes that President Trump's views need to appeal to every sound-minded person out there. So clearly the Russians are pretty happy from what they are hearing from the Trump administration so far.

Also, the fact that there's so much momentum right now, not just trying to get these talks to resolve the crisis in Ukraine going, but of course, also to try and put in place and try to get going a direct face-to-face meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On that the Kremlin said today that they believe that something like that could happen fairly quickly.

[14:09:45]

PLEITGEN: But they also said that the planning for all of this is a bit more complicated, simply because there hasn't been much in the way of communications between the White House and the Kremlin over the past couple of years.

And so therefore, sorting something like this out, sorting security out, sorting an agenda out, just to sort of people who work on this, working with each other is something that could take a little bit of time.

But the Russians certainly do feel that something like this could be very beneficial for them, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Fred Pleitgen, thanks so much.

All right. Earlier today, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave joint statements in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. The two saying they are united in confronting one main threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The common theme in all of these challenges is Iran. It is the single, greatest source of instability in the region. Behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence, behind every destabilizing activity, behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the millions of people who call this region home.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We agree that the ayatollahs must not have nuclear weapons. And we also agree that Iran's aggression in the region has to be rolled back.

Over the last 16 months, Israel has dealt a mighty blow to Iran's terror axis. Under the strong leadership of President Trump and with your unflinching support, I have no doubt that we can and will finish the job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Rubio also warning Hamas against "playing with fire", quoting him, as the cease fire agreement remains fragile. An Israeli delegation is expected in Cairo this week for talks on Gaza.

CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is joining us now from Jerusalem. So, Nic, this appears to be a real show of unified messaging between Netanyahu and the White House.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You know, it really does. And today also kind of makes it feel as if the White House has got a full court press on Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, to try to get him to move forward with the negotiation for the release of the other hostages, the phase two.

Obviously, two thirds of the way through phase one so far, 19 of the 33 hostages released, which is less than two-thirds of the number of hostages released so far expected.

So what we understand from the Prime Minister's office, Israeli officials, is that there will be a delegation going to Cairo tomorrow, but they're only going to be authorized to talk about phase one, the current phase of the ceasefire negotiations, the first six weeks.

And the reason I say it feels like the White House has got a full court press on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, because not only did he have, you know, an hour and 40 minutes, one on one with Marco Rubio and then another hour or so with a -- with a bigger meeting with other officials in the room. So more than 2.5 hours there.

He also, the prime minister also took a call from President Trump's Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, who was pressing on this issue, we understand of getting to

the phase two negotiations.

So there will be a security cabinet meeting in Israel on Monday and out of that Prime Minister Netanyahu is expected to then give his negotiators, who will already be in Cairo, give them the terms of reference for phase two.

It's coming it appears under quite a bit of pressure from the United States to push things along here.

WHITFIELD: And so Nic, is there, you know, real worry about the fragility of phase two of this cease fire agreement?

ROBERTSON: Sure. Look, I mean if you if you look at where the Israeli government is and you look at where Hamas is, Hamas thinks they've won. They've still got huge numbers of fighters that they're putting out. We saw them yesterday when they were handing over three of the hostages.

Hamas is doing everything to show that they're still in control. They're not going away. All of that. And what we heard from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today,

standing next to Marco Rubio, was that is just not going to happen. Israel, the United States in lockstep. Hamas is going to have to disappear from the equation. This is how he put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NETANYAHU: We have a common strategy, and we can't always share the details of this strategy with the public, including when the gates of hell will be opened, as they surely will if all our hostages are not released until the last one of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: And he went on -- and he went on to say there and that Hamas is gone militarily and is gone politically as well. It's very clear the two sides are a long ways apart.

And you know, the United States and Israel are in lockstep on this. That's becoming very, very clear. Big plans for Gaza, the details of that we don't know. That's being discussed.

[14:14:51]

ROBERTSON: But -- but Hamas is intransigent on this point at the moment, and it's hard to see the next maneuver that's coming to get into phase two, which realistically means an end of the war.

And that is very difficult for Prime Minister Netanyahu, because the right-wing members of his government want the war to continue, want him to go back to war tomorrow. So it is fragile for all those reasons.

WHITFIELD: Fascinating.

All right. Nic Robertson in Jerusalem, thanks so much.

All right. Back in the U.S., federal workers are on edge as thousands of employees face further layoffs. We'll have a closer look at which agencies DOGE may be focusing on next.

Plus, officials in the Trump administration announcing that they will present a plan to combat bird flu next week, as the CDC warns of undetected infections in people.

And too much of a good thing? A possum came across a Costco chocolate cake. And guess what happened next? We'll reveal after this.

[14:15:51]

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WHITFIELD: President Trump is forging ahead with plans to remake the federal government, but legal challenges are starting to mount. A ruling Saturday allowed a government ethics watchdog to stay on the job for now, despite Trump firing him, likely setting up a fight over similar dismissals for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Joining me now is Semafor White House correspondent Shelby Talcott.

Shelby, great to see you. So Trump's Department of Justice already signaled it plans to appeal the court's recent decision. Do you see, you know, much broader legal fights on the way as these massive firings seem to be heading to the U.S. Supreme Court?

SHELBY TALCOTT, SEMAFOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I absolutely do. Listen, I think the Supreme Court is going to play a key role in this Trump 2.0 administration. And this particular fight could have ramifications for several other lawsuits that have already been brought by officials who have been fired or removed from their positions.

And it really sets up this broader question over how much power a president has to oust the heads of independent agencies. And this is not the only person he has done this to. So I think that there's going to be plenty more lawsuits on the way.

WHITFIELD: So we've already seen, you know, all week long, you know, Trump continuing to defend his approach from behind the Resolute Desk while his surrogates, members of Congress, advisers and appointees defend the slashing.

He contends that he campaigned on his words now, "government is corrupt" and that, his words again, "it's also foolish".

So Trump's actions are coming so fast and furious. Trump is still using former adviser Steve Bannon's approach of, you know, flood the zone. So for how long can this work for Trump?

TALCOTT: You know, I've talked to people close to the president, and they argue that it could last a long time. And I've questioned that because I wonder, you know, how much more can the president do with executive orders and with sort of things himself that don't need Congress?

And they argue that this is going to last a long time and it is part of a broader, intentional strategy. They're feeling is, first of all, the president had the last four years to sort of sit by and watch everything that was happening and kind of almost take notes, he and his allies, over what they wanted to change from the Biden administration.

And so they've been preparing for this, you know, slash-and-burn aggressive approach to government, not just over the past two months of the transition after he won the presidential election, but over the last four years.

WHITFIELD: So, so far, you know, this technique of slashing is also revealing that the White House doesn't even know what certain agencies or programs do. And you know, it seems like it would be just a matter of time before Republicans start hearing from their constituents and maybe even start protesting or pushing back themselves. TALCOTT: Yes, there's already some -- some Republicans who have sort

of quietly suggested as much. But the thing is, so far we haven't seen a broad pushback to anything the president is doing.

Republicans seem content to sort of sit back and say, listen, he won. This is his mandate. Let's let him do what he wants to do. But at the same time, now DOGE is cutting things that are affecting some of these lawmakers' constituents. They're affecting, you know, things on a more personal, private level.

And so I do anticipate that at some point with -- when these cuts continue, because remember, this is how Elon Musk operates. He comes in and he sort of takes a bulldozer to the -- to these agencies. It's how he's always operated in his private businesses.

But the difference is this is the federal government. And so there are, you know -- more people are affected almost.

And so I think at some point there will be more pushback from Republicans. I just question how loud it's going to be.

WHITFIELD: So with all these layoffs, firings, you know, Democrats and Republicans are still expected to fund the government in order to avoid another government shutdown by March 14th.

Here's what House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries had to say about that this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Republicans have consistently shut down the government in the past. And it would be no surprise if they do just that this time around.

There's a Republican president, a Republican House and a Republican Senate. They have a responsibility to make sure that government remains open and can function.

[14:24:51]

JEFFRIES: As Democrats, with respect to any spending agreement our view -- our test is whether that spending agreement meets the needs of the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So -- so one would think that no one would want a government shutdown. But then again, as you're seeing departments being gutted and some departments actually being shut down, what is the hope here? Where is the pressure about making sure government keeps working?

TALCOTT: You know, I don't anticipate that many folks would want a government shutdown. Historically, it has never been a good thing. It has always been an issue for whichever party is in power. But at the same time, Republicans have an issue here of can they get

together and can they agree on one core package to fund the government?

And Democrats are saying, this is your problem. And part of the reason that Democrats are saying that this is a Republicans problem is because they're frustrated with these DOGE cuts, and their argument is sort of, well, why would I help Republicans when they're doing x, y, and z? What are we getting out of this?

WHITFIELD: All right. Shelby Talcott, we'll leave it there for now. Great to see you again. Thank you.

All right. Coming up, a measles outbreak in west Texas doubles in size, mostly affecting children. Why neighboring states are now sounding the alarm.

[14:26:10]

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[14:30:33]

WHITFIELD: All right. A health crisis is spreading in West Texas as health officials are struggling to contain a measles outbreak, with cases doubling to 48 since early this week. Most of those cases involve children ages 5 to 17. The state's health department says all of the cases are among people who are either unvaccinated, or whose vaccination status is unknown. Measles is highly contagious, and Texas health officials expect more cases are likely to occur.

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is joining me right now.

Julia, what more are you learning?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, officials are bracing for more cases in the coming days, Fred. This is centered in Gaines County in west Texas, but it has now spread to counties surrounding it. That's also concerning because the vaccination rates there are below the recommended threshold for herd immunity. Now, experts say that the risk for transmission in that area remains high, but they are ramping up efforts to vaccinate people in those areas. They have opened vaccine clinics, extended their hours. They're now open seven days a week, and about 80 people, at least 80 people, have been vaccinated in the past week at no cost.

Of course. Measles is an incredibly contagious -- pardon me -- virus, Fred, that spreads when people cough or sneeze, and it can go through communities very quickly. This is partially why experts are concerned in this part of Texas with these lower vaccination rates. Just one in five, just below one in five kindergartners are vaccinated in this area. And they wonder once an outbreak starts in an under-vaccinated, meaning a community where those two doses of the vaccine haven't been administered enough, it is extremely difficult to contain it.

WHITFIELD: Wow. One in five -- I mean, that's a pretty remarkable number.

All right, so neighboring New Mexico has recently declared an outbreak as well. What can you tell us about the situation there?

JONES: Yeah, that happened on Thursday after two adults were also diagnosed with measles. Fred. Now that county in New Mexico, up to three people, including one of them an unvaccinated teenager, were not sure of the age of that teenager yet.

Now, this is, of course, just across the border from Gaines County. You know, West Texas, New Mexico. Authorities are still investigating if those two outbreaks are related, but that is bringing now the number of six states -- six states have now had cases of measles this year alone. We're still in February.

Authorities across the country are urging parents to please check the vaccination records of their children to make sure that they are vaccinated. They have both doses of that vaccine to help curb these outbreaks before they spread even further -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Julia Vargas Jones, thanks so much.

All right. Here with me now to discuss the outbreak and more, Daniele Fallin, she is the dean of public health at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health.

Welcome. Great to see you.

So we're talking about 48 cases of measles in that west Texas area. That number doubling in a week's time. That really helps underscore how highly contagious measles is.

DANIELE FALLIN, DEAN OF PUBLIC HEALTH, EMORY UNIVERSITY'S ROLLINS SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: That's right. And we know it to be one of the most highly contagious infectious diseases and that's why we've paid so much attention to protecting our children, in particular from measles. Because once someone has it, it's just so likely that when you're exposed nearby, that you also will become infected.

WHITFIELD: These are vaccines that, you know, babies or kids usually get early on that protect them for their lifetime, right? So what do you think is behind why were suddenly seeing this growth of measles cases? Is it as simple as people are not vaccinating, you know, their children? Or is there another contributing factor here?

FALLIN: So we do know in this case that these children, as you said, are either unvaccinated or we don't know their vaccination status and one might presume that they're unvaccinated. And really, this is a good opportunity to remind ourselves of the success of vaccination.

And prior to having vaccines in this country, we had millions of people infected every year, and the resulting illness and hospitalizations and unfortunately, maybe even death due to measles alone.

[14:35:03] But since that time, we have less than 200 a year. So just a dramatic success story of how vaccines can change our -- our childhood experiences.

WHITFIELD: Are you particularly worried this go round?

FALLIN: I'm worried in general, when we start to see that there's a fading of something we call herd immunity. And that's the idea that if we have a majority of folks vaccinated, it's very hard for infectious disease to take hold. And when we start to see lower vaccination rates, which we have over the last decade in this country, that's when we do start to worry about the, you know, resurgence of these kinds of vaccine preventable illnesses.

WHITFIELD: Okay. The other thing that people are very concerned about right now is bird flu, you know, and people are feeling the impact if it's not that they have bird flu themselves or have been exposed to it. They're worried about their eggs that are, you know, more expensive and a lot less plentiful right now.

So, so where -- where -- how do you gauge your concerns right now about bird flu? The containment of it, whether the response of culling a number of chickens and now it ends in this country is enough. Where are we?

FALLIN: Yeah. So bird flu is, I think, a really important one for us to pay attention to because this is something that's affecting many states across the country. And, it's an interesting one.

You asked, should we be worried? Well, at the moment, it's not a huge threat to humans. This is really an infection that is spreading, though, amongst poultry, wild birds and cattle. And so that's our fear when it comes to access to eggs or other products. Or if you are a farm worker exposed to these kinds of animals.

What we are seeing, though, is a couple of cases where there have been human infections based on exposure to these animals, and in one case that resulted in death. And so there is this concern that if we don't pay attention to what's happening in the bird and cattle populations, more of these transmissions to humans could be happening. If it then what we call mutates and sort of evolves in humans at some point, it could then start transmitting human to human. But right now, we're not there.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. That was going to be my follow up question, which is -- is it an issue of mutation or is it an issue of, you know, it too is highly contagious?

FALLIN: It really is about further evolving. And so, right now, it is not that we don't have evidence that it's transmitting human to human, but we do see that it's continuing to transmit in bird and cattle populations. And one of the concerns there is were not always measuring those, depending on the state and what the public health or agricultural infrastructure is. We may not know that there is a spread of the virus, amongst particular cattle or birds. WHITFIELD: What are your concerns as it pertains to the CDC? Layoffs?

A real upheaval, you know, in the organization of the CDC. How are you? What are where are you concerns as it pertains to research? Preventable illnesses, infectious diseases, and even, you know, from bird flu and measles.

FALLIN: Yeah. So we just talked about, you know, currents right now of a measles outbreak of bird flu concerns, even TV in Kansas, and many other public health crises happening all the time. And the folks that take care of us in those moments are CDC workers or federal and or, sorry, other federal workers or state and local health department folks who often are supplied or supported by the CDC.

And so when we start, you know, reducing that workforce, I think we're really in jeopardy. This is a very dangerous time to not have those folks out there protecting us.

WHITFIELD: And these are very specified, you know, values and, you know, training that a number of these people represent.

FALLIN: Yeah. So one of the greatest programs, in my opinion, is something called the Epidemic Intelligence Service, or the EIS, and the EIS officers come and train at the CDC for two years time. And they are incredible people. They're nurses, doctors, veterinarians and scientists who dedicate two years of their life to get training, to go out and be deployed in these crises.

And those folks, the first years were entirely let go of this past week, and the second years, it's unclear. And so we've at least half, if not more, our ability to deploy these folks across the country and the world.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. And that's what I mean by values, their training and educational values that help prepare them for tackling all of these things.

All right, Daniele, thank you so much.

FALLIN: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: Good to see you.

All right. Still ahead, President Trump is at the Daytona 500 today. And if it feels like he's everywhere you look, it's all part of his strategy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:44:21]

WHITFIELD: All right. Right now, President Trump is attending another major sporting event, his second in just a week's time. The president is taking in the sights of the Daytona 500. He also attended the NASCAR race during his first term back in 2020. Just last week, he became the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl in person. So it feels like Trump is everywhere these days, you're not alone.

From sporting events to impromptu Oval Office press chats, the president is making sure that he is staying visible.

Joining us right now, Kara Alaimo. She is an associate professor of communication at Farleigh Dickinson University and the author of the book "Over The Influence: Why Social Media is Toxic for Women and Girls and How We Can Take It Back".

[14:45:06]

Professor, great to see you.

So is this --

KARA ALAIMO, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF COMMUNICATION AT FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON UNIVERSITY: Likewise.

WHITFIELD: Great.

So is this kind of ubiquity. You know, part of the White Houses public relations strategy.

ALAIMO: I absolutely think that it is. And, you know, this is a strategy that is as old as human civilization. We have seen that in ancient Rome, leaders would stage things like gladiator fights and chariot races in order to keep the people entertained and keep their focus off of what their government was doing.

And I think right now, it's really helpful for Trump because it's keeping spotlight off of two big things. The first is the problems that Americans are facing. I think so many of us think that he was elected in 2024, because Americans are struggling and fed up with the cost of living. But the problem is that hasn't changed under Trump.

Last week, my husband sent me one of those memes that's been all over social media. And it was the joke that, you know, for Valentine's Day, he was going to buy me something really expensive, which is a dozen eggs. And the second thing that this is keeping the spotlight off of is the fact that so many Americans disagree with the policies that Trump has proposed or is pursuing. So we know that Americans do believe in foreign aid.

The majority of Americans do not want to take over Gaza or Canada or Panama or Greenland. And the majority of Americans don't want ICE agents going into our kids schools and pulling out their classmates. So were talking about the Super Bowl and the Daytona 500 instead of these things.

WHITFIELD: So I'm hearing you say that this is strategy. This is intentional, that the hope is for this president, this administration is that all these public events will upstage the other things that might be rattling people, ruffling feathers, as you say, such as immigration or his position on cutting government. So this is intentional, in your view? ALAIMO: I absolutely suspect that it is. And I suspect that it's

working. What are you and I talking about right now, Fred? I think this is an area of the president's strength. After all, he is a former reality television star, and he's highly skilled at staging spectacles, and also at things all about himself.

So it's not just that he shows up at the Super Bowl, it's that he shows up at the Super Bowl and then takes to social media and talks about the fact that Taylor Swift was booed when she appeared on the screen. Never mind the fact that some people booed him as well.

And so, now, when people are talking about the Super Bowl, they're talking about him.

WHITFIELD: Oh, so maybe you're right. Maybe it is working because the CBS/YouGov poll shows that Trumps approval rating is at 53 percent.

So, maybe you're also letting people know that there's more to come. If this strategy is working, then he has no incentive to stop utilizing this kind of strategy.

ALAIMO: I absolutely think that he will do everything he can to continue to be our entertainer in chief.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kara Alaimo, thank you so much.

ALAIMO: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

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[14:53:09]

WHITFIELD: Team USA and Team Canada clashed in the four nations face- off hockey tournament in Montreal.

CNN sports anchor Carolyn Manno has more on the chaos that erupted shortly after the puck dropped.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: As you're well aware, Fred, tensions between the United States and Canada have been heightened in recent weeks after the Trump administration levied new tariffs against their northern neighbors. It seems that that has spilled over to the hockey rink now. Canadian fans have been booing the Star-Spangled Banner when American teams play games there. And it happened again on Saturday night.

(SPAR-SPANGLED BANNER)

MANNO: A loud chorus of boos greeting Team USA before their NHL four nations face off in Montreal. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in attendance for this one, and just after the puck drop for the opening faceoff, the gloves came off. Three fights broke out within the first nine seconds of this game. The

U.S. would go on to win three one, claiming a spot in Thursday's four nations title game. Brady Tkachuk was one of the American players involved in the early fight. He said the team embraced their role as villain.

BRADY TKACHUK, USA WINGER: A lot of unhappy people here, and especially in Montreal, in a place that is my favorite, even if it wasn't for this tournament. So, to me, to have it that way. But I think it was a group, you know, we were all coming in with that villain mindset that, you know, we weren't going to be liked tonight and just found a way to win.

CONNOR MCDAVID, CANADA CENTER, EDMONTON OILERS: It was fast. Again, tight checking, competitive, emotional, had everything that you would want in a hockey game. I thought, as I said, it sucks it didn't go our way. But, it's far from over.

MANNO: It's not over for Canada, but they do need to beat Finland on Monday in order to make the final. If they do that, that final game will be in the city of Boston, so we could see some payback from American fans if these two meet again, hopefully everybody will stay safe if they do.

Fred, back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Yikes. All right, Carolyn, thank you so much.

All right. So there's one -- at least one lucky critter out there who can credit a major sweet tooth for actually saving her life. A hungry possum surprised a homeowner this week after she discovered the marsupial had snacked on an entire cake from Costco that was left out on the patio. And then they also noticed that this possum just wasn't acting right. So officials then took the animal to the Nebraska wildlife rehab, where the staff treated the cake bandit for a very relatable chocolate induced food coma, even though it doesn't look that happy right there. It really was very happy.

The possum story quickly went viral, and the organization even released T-shirts in celebration of the sweet scandal. The cake bandit is expected to make a full recovery and will return to the wild in the spring. Thank goodness for that cake, right?

All right. New today, top Trump aides are heading to Saudi Arabia to meet with Russian officials to begin talks over the war in Ukraine. What they're saying about Kyiv's role in those talks, next.

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