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Sources: U.S., Russia to Start Ukraine Peace Talks Soon; European Leaders to Hold Emergency Summit on Ukraine; U.S. Secretary of State Rubio Meeting Netanyahu In Jerusalem; DOJ Formally Seeks to Dismiss NY Mayor's Case, Ends Standoff; Cleanup Underway After Mud, Floodwaters Sweep Through L.A. Aired 5-6 am ET

Aired February 16, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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

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[05:00:37]

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of our viewers watching in the United States and all around the world. I'm Eleni Giokos, live in Dubai.

Ahead on CNN Newsroom: President Trump's team of envoys are diving into the deep end of foreign relations. Who's in and who's out of the latest peace talks about Ukraine?

And what's on the table when Secretary of State Marco Rubio sits down with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today?

Plus, a storm front moving over the Midwest, leaving roads flooded and people trapped in their homes. When the region sees some relief.

Welcome to the show. The Trump administration is reportedly following through with his promise to start peace talks on Ukraine with Russia. Multiple sources say three U.S. negotiators will head to Saudi Arabia for the talks, possibly in the coming days.

U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg says Ukraine will have a seat at the table, but Europe will not. He also says the U.S. could use more sanctions on Russia's oil revenue to force the Kremlin to make concessions. The U.S. leverage could also include disrupting Russia's alliances, such as with Iran, China and North Korea. Kellogg explained the kinds of concessions Russian President Putin will have to make.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEITH KELLOGG, U.S. ENVOY FOR RUSSIA AND UKRAINE: To me, there's going to have to be things like territorial concessions as well. OK, it's -- some of it is unrealistic to expect where you'd want go to. But it's territorial. It's some territorial. It could be engagement of refusing to use force, without the use of force into the future from a political side. He's not going downsize his military forces, hopefully get rid of it. What we're going to try to do is basically force him into action -- what you want to do is force him to actions maybe he's uncomfortable with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: But now that European leaders will be left out of the talks, they'll hold their own emergency summit on Ukraine. Downing Street, says British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, will attend the meeting in Paris on Monday, although France is yet to confirm the event. The summit will come a little more than a month after Mr. Starmer met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

For more on this, we've got Melissa Bell joining us from Paris, imminent this emergency meeting that will be held in Paris after the Munich Security Conference really didn't go in the favor of Europeans. In fact, it's likely they're going to be left out of the negotiations, which will be held in Saudi Arabia between the United States and Russia.

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There were a number of really worrying pronouncements from the point of view of European allies from American officials this week in Europe, amongst them, of course, J.D. Vance speaking at Munich that really struck that very different note to what we'd heard from the previous administration, going much further than simply criticizing European allies for not contributing enough to NATO budgets, but actually striking that chord of dissonance, that ideological divide that has really shown Europeans that they look towards a very different world in which their United States counterparts are there really rallying the far right in Europe and accusing the sitting governments of having abandoned the ideals of World War II. It was a remarkable speech.

Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE (R), U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: What I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values. Unfortunately, when I look at Europe today, it's sometimes not so clear what happened to some of the Cold War's winners.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: So there is that fear now that Europeans will be left out of these negotiations, that we understand, Eleni, to begin as soon as this coming week in Riyadh. We have an idea, as you mentioned, of what the American negotiating team will look like. We're beginning to get a sense of what the Russian team will look like.

Ukraine, for its part, says it hasn't yet received an invitation, although we understand that it will be allowed to take part in the negotiations at least. And there are huge concerns, as you'll understand from Ukrainians, that the 6 million Ukrainians that currently live under a Russian occupation may have to be left there, made even worse, these concerns, by some of the other pronouncements we've had from American officials here in Europe this week.

[05:05:02] And I'm thinking here of Pete Hegseth, who told his NATO counterparts on Wednesday in Brussels that the idea that some kind of negotiation might be found where territorial concessions were made by Kyiv in return for an understanding that it could belong to NATO, even that it appeared, according to the American Defense Secretary, was a non- starter from Washington's point of view and that Kyiv may not be welcomed into the alliance.

So that has got Europeans worried about the strategy going into these negotiations and whether too many concessions have been made to Moscow already. And then there is, of course, the question of Europeans being left out of what they believe is the fundamental negotiation about the European security architecture.

And that is a very worrying development for Europeans and one that's likely to be at the heart of these discussions that are to take place in Paris. As yet, as you said, unconfirmed. But we understand a meeting here to discuss how Europe can react.

Eleni.

GIOKOS: All right, Melissa Bell, good to have you with us. Thank you so much for that update.

Well, joining us now from Munich, Germany, is Steven Erlanger. He is the Chief Diplomatic Correspondent for "The New York Times."

Steven, really great to have you with us at this really important moment, I think, for Europeans as we're waiting for this emergency meeting in Paris.

Look, the Munich Security Conference should have been like it has been about how to create security guarantees for Ukraine, more spending on military, trying to find some kind of peace negotiation. And it seems that it was far from that, given what J.D. Vance had to say and his message. How was that taken by delegates on the ground? What was the response?

STEVEN ERLANGER, CHIEF DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Well, they were shocked, actually, by J.D. Vance, because he basically issued a political statement. He said the biggest threat to Europe came from inside. But, in fact, a lot of people, including the Germans, think the main threat from inside comes from the far-right parties J.D. Vance seems to be supporting.

So there was a lot of shock there. There was a sense that maybe his speech was aimed more at American politics than at this conference, certainly. And there's a lot of anxiety. This was the first real confrontation the Trump administration's had with the Europeans. They haven't been in office very, very long. So there was quite a lot of anxiety.

I think a lot of people are beginning to think there actually isn't an American plan for Ukraine yet, certainly not one that's available, that has points, so that people -- does it make them relax? Perhaps it should. But it seems to make them more nervous. I mean, the general European view is down the road. If Europe is going to be expected to take a lot of the burden on Ukraine, funding it, even securing it, then Europe ought to have a part in these negotiations. Europe has the right to say, under these conditions, maybe yes, maybe no.

So there's a lot of anxiety that President Trump wants to do a deal over the heads of everybody with Vladimir Putin. And the talks in Saudi Arabia will basically be about trying to arrange some sort of meeting. I don't think they'll be very substantive yet.

GIOKOS: Yeah. All right. So, Steven, the other thing is, it is pretty manifestly evident that the United States has given immense military support to Ukraine and the Europeans not as much. The Americans right now are saying, look, Europe needs to step up. Even President Zelenskyy is saying we need to look at security guarantees. How do you think that is going to look down the line? Are we talking about European troops? Are we talking about U.S. troops? We don't know what's on the table right now.

ERLANGER: Well, that's part of the problem. There isn't really anything on the table. I mean, what Keith Kellogg, the Special Envoy, was saying to the Europeans is we're listening. We're on a listening tour. My job is to listen to you and understand your concerns. And Steve Witkoff is talking to the Russians. And then we'll all get back together again. And we're at the beginning of a process.

So I think, you know, we're getting ahead of ourselves. It really is a bit premature. What Hegseth said in Brussels was the United States will expect Europe to do more not only to defend itself, though Europe is doing more, can do more, should do more, but also should do more to make sure Ukraine, after a ceasefire, which we're not there yet, and the rest of Ukraine is prosperous and defended, has security guarantees.

So the big question is who does it? How does it get done? I did a big piece a few days ago about this whole issue of boots on the ground, which is very problematic. It could involve, you know, up to 150,000 troops, which I think is way beyond Europe's capacity.

[05:10:05]

And then there's the question Hegseth raises of whether the Trump people want to pull American troops that are based in NATO countries out of Europe gradually and what that would mean.

So there is a lot of unknowns and a lot of insecurity and anxiety, but it is much too early to be able to talk about how anything in Ukraine will or will not get done. And, of course, Putin has agency, and the Ukrainians have agency.

GIOKOS: Yeah, I mean, it's such an interesting point, because I was thinking about the last week. We've seen strikes on Kyiv. We've seen increased strikes in Odessa. And it seems that -- and we saw the strike in Chernobyl, even though the Russians have denied that. It does seem that Putin is feeling more emboldened than what we've seen in a while, given that President Trump, the way that he's been framing this, that perhaps Russia is going to be the winner in this as opposed to Ukraine and the Europeans.

ERLANGER: Well, we'll have to see. I mean, Putin thinks he's winning the war. He's also under some pressure at home economically. I think Russia can continue the war for another year, and so can the Ukrainians. And these talks may produce nothing. I mean, the Ukrainians may decide it's not a good enough offer and we're going to keep fighting.

And Europe says that it will continue to help support Ukraine. And American arms are still flowing to Ukraine. So, I mean, President Trump wants to end the war. I know he wants to end the bloodshed. But it's very hard to force concessions on people who are fighting for their lives, on the Ukrainian side and on the Russian side in a militarized society where one man will basically decide what is victory and what isn't.

GIOKOS: All right, Steven Erlanger in Munich, great to have you with us. Thank you so much for your insights.

ERLANGER: Thank you.

GIOKOS: Well, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. The meeting comes as strain is showing in the fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire. Earlier this week, Hamas accused Israel of violating the agreement. That dispute appears to have been resolved, and Hamas released three Israeli hostages on Saturday.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump restated his position that Hamas should have released all hostages. He also said he'll support Israel if they decide, in his words, let all hell break out.

Also on Saturday, thousands of protesters gathered in Tel Aviv. They're demanding that all the hostages be released as soon as possible. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joining us now from London with more.

Salma, and as we can see, people gathered in the hostages' square there, really a big signal to get the hostages out. And big pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu to ensure that Phase Two of the deal does actually happen.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Yes, so we're in this three-phase peace process right now, about halfway through the first phase, which would see 33 Israeli hostages exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. And yesterday we saw the sixth such exchange take place, very poignant moments, as you pointed out there. But it was very touch-and-go in the days leading up to this exchange.

Hamas had said it would not carry it out because it was accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement, of denying much-needed aid and shelter from coming into the enclave. Mediators were able to resolve that, and that exchange was able to take place. But there is serious concerns as to how long this road, this path to truce and peace will continue, when of course you have a President Trump who's dropped a metaphorical grenade in the room with his proposal to own Gaza. So you have this first phase of the deal, which should be completed at the end of the month. Negotiations to start the second phase of the deal, which in many ways is much more complicated, Eleni, because it talks about the long-term future of Gaza, Israeli troop presence within the enclave, the remaining hostages. Those talks to begin all of that should begin in about a week's time in Qatar, but it does not seem that Prime Minister Netanyahu is committed to those negotiations at this time. He hasn't sent any mediators.

And the concern is with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as you mentioned, meeting right now with Prime Minister Netanyahu, is that Prime Minister Netanyahu increasingly turns away from those talks and towards President Trump's proposal.

GIOKOS: All right. Salma Abdelaziz, thank you so much.

CNN has learned that Saudi Arabia is open to mediating a nuclear agreement between the U.S. and Iran. President Donald Trump has said he wants a new deal to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. It comes as U.S. intelligence agencies say they believe Israel is likely to strike Iranian nuclear facilities this year.

[05:15:07]

Iran says it's had no contact with the U.S. about possible nuclear talks during his first term in office. Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal that was brokered by the Obama administration.

A storm barreling through the eastern U.S. is expected to reach its peak strength over the next few hours. In Kentucky, crews in the western part of the state had to rescue a driver in a partially submerged vehicle. Others, unfortunately, were not as lucky. Officials said at least one person is dead in Clay County, Kentucky, after being swept away by heavy floodwaters while driving on Saturday night.

Water levels in the state are already reaching historic levels, and it's only expected to get worse. A rare level of high risk of flooding rainfall is in place for more than a million and a half people across parts of Kentucky and Tennessee.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Tennessee, thousands of customers are still without power as the state continues to get battered by heavy rainfall and flooding. The storm system is forecast to bring more heavy rains, potentially life-threatening flooding and dangerous overnight tornadoes.

And still to come, federal workers in the United States are protesting massive layoffs amid President Trump's efforts to slash the size of government.

Plus, the Trump White House seeks to dismiss corruption charges against New York City's Democratic mayor will go into the turmoil this has caused in the Department of Justice, just ahead.

Plus, peace talks on Ukraine are reportedly in the works and set to begin soon. You'll hear what leverage could be used to pressure Moscow to make concessions.

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[05:20:43]

GIOKOS: U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's DOGE team are ramping up their efforts to dismantle the federal workforce. They've ordered sweeping layoffs across several agencies this week, attempting to fire thousands of employees. Some of those workers have joined protests, condemning the aggressive cuts.

Meanwhile, the independent agency that is supposed to enforce labor laws for most American workers has been essentially shut down. President Trump fired one of the National Labor Relations Board members. That left the agency without quorum it needs to function. Critics of the move are blaming Elon Musk, pointing out, he's -- this was not a tactic the President used in his first term.

Now, seven U.S. federal prosecutors resigned from their jobs at the Southern District of New York's District Attorney's Office this week, refusing to carry out the Trump administration's orders to drop corruption charges against New York City's mayor. Eric Adams, a Democrat, was indicted last year on five federal charges that was related to bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy, and soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals.

This week, Trump's acting deputy attorney general demanded prosecutors dismiss the charges. The federal prosecutors who resigned say Adams is offering the White House a quid pro quo immigration enforcement in New York City in exchange for dropped charges. Sources tell CNN the drama has become an unwelcome distraction inside the White House with negative headlines prompting concern.

Bernarda Villalona is a Criminal Defense Attorney and former New York Prosecutor, as well as a lecturer at Columbia Law School. She joins us now from New York.

Bernarda, great to have you with us. Thank you so much, and very good morning to you. It's an early start. You know, dropping these charges without prejudice, what does this tell you on face value? Because you've got seven prosecutors resigning after this case was dropped.

BERNARDA VILLALONA, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY & FORMER NEW YORK PROSECUTOR: Yeah, so this seems to be playing out like a soap opera and a very distasteful one. Having been a prosecutor for 16 years and now being a criminal defense attorney and also being from New York City, this doesn't look good and doesn't play out well. Because when you look at the memo and you're talking about dismissing this case without prejudice, it's not because of the evidence or the strength of the case or the law itself, but rather it's because the Department of Justice, Donald Trump, wants to move his agenda through this mayor, and that's why he's holding these charges over him and saying, look, I'm dismissing it without prejudice. And my department can look over these charges again in November after the election. But it just doesn't look good. The purpose of the prosecution is to seek justice and seek justice

looking at the law and evidence and see where it leads you without fear or favor, and that is not happening here.

GIOKOS: So, I mean, the big question is, is there quid pro quo involved? Here's New York, which is predominantly blue states. Eric Adams, a Democrat. And the question is, why is he cozying up to a Republican president?

VILLALONA: Exactly, and that's exactly what it looks like. It is a quid pro quo because when you look -- again, when you look at the memo, what came down as to why the case should be dismissed without prejudice, specifically one of the reasons for requesting this dismissal without prejudice is because they want Mayor Eric Adams to carry out the immigration policies that Donald Trump wants to be carried out here in New York. So he's dangling this carrot in front of this mayor that, look, if you don't do what I tell you, this case can be resurrected again.

GIOKOS: Yeah, in terms of elections for a new mayor, the campaign is starting very soon. How do New Yorkers feel about the issues surrounding Eric Adams?

VILLALONA: Well, this leads to Blacks staying on top of Eric Adams because this is playing out in the media. Everyone is well aware of what's going on. Everyone was well aware that he was arrested and that he was being prosecuted and that that same U.S. attorney's office was seeking to put additional charges on Eric Adams in the next coming weeks. But now there's a complete halt to all of this. But, again, not because of the strength of the case.

[05:25:10]

So this looks really bad on Mayor Eric Adams, but it just looks bad on government in general. It looks bad on the prosecutorial powers of this government, where people are going to be questioning the integrity of the Department of Justice, the integrity of the district attorney's office and the U.S. attorney's office, as to this is how you go about prosecuting crime and can we really trust that you're looking out for the best interests of New Yorkers?

GIOKOS: So the question now becomes around the investigations into Eric Adams' aides, as well as other matters and people around him. How does it affect the investigation and pressing charges on the people around him?

VILLALONA: So in terms of the people around him, the prosecution's office can still continue their investigation around them, but the problem is that this memo that has been issued by the Department of Justice says that you cannot take any further investigative action against Mayor Eric Adams. So what if doing this investigation and they're talking to these other individuals that have been arrested or are targets or are still under investigation and they find out additional information about Eric Adams, guess what? They're going to have to close their ears, shut their eyes, because they're not supposed to be looking into any further into Mayor Eric Adams. But those charges still remain as to those other individuals, but again, it calls into question of if they have any additional information, they have to stop and look no further.

GIOKOS: Wow. Bernarda, thank you so much for breaking that down for us. Really interesting. Bernarda Villalona, thank you.

The Trump administration is reportedly pushing ahead with plans to start Ukraine peace talks. Still ahead, what the Russian president may be forced to give up in order to make the peace deal happen. We'll be back.

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[05:30:23]

GIOKOS: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Eleni Giokos live in Dubai and you're watching CNN Newsroom.

Now returning to one of our top stories, a storm barreling through the eastern U.S. is expected to reach its peak strength as we speak. At least a 150,000 customers in Alabama, nearly 60,000 in Mississippi and more than 32,000 in Louisiana were without power as of early Sunday. Tens of thousands more were left in the dark further north. Our Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is keeping a close eye on the storm.

Here's what is expected to come in the next hours.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: There's the potential for flooding, tornadoes and even damaging winds with this system as it continues to spread eastward throughout the day. On Sunday, the overnight timeline, you're looking at cities like Knoxville in Atlanta, having those strong thunderstorms and then farther to the north. The concern is also that wintry mix of precipitation, both ice and snow.

As we work into the back half of the day Sunday, most of this system finally begins to spread out over the water again. But you'll notice a lot of those snow showers still linger across interior New England, especially the green and white mountains.

The other concern we talked about is certainly going to be the winds and these wind advisories and watches and warnings last through Monday, where you could end up seeing those winds up around 60 mph.

Once the system moves through, you are going to get a bitter blast of cold air. Take a look at this. Chicago going from a high of 28 on Sunday to only 10 on Monday. Washington D. C. going from a high of 61, Sunday, down to only 39 on Tuesday.

You can see that cold air really spreading across the eastern half of the country, and it dips very far south. So even some southern cities are going to see their temperatures dropping. Dallas going from a high temperature Saturday around 70 degrees to a high of only 28 degrees by the time we get to Wednesday, and they're not the only ones place like Omaha, which normally would be about 38 degrees this time of year for that high will barely make it to just positive numbers. A high of zero degrees on Tuesday.

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GIOKOS: The White House is reportedly moving ahead with its plan to start peace talks on Ukraine with Russia. Sources say the talks will get underway in Saudi Arabia, possibly in the coming days. That's happening as Ukraine struggles to hold back Russia's slow but steady advance in the east.

But European leaders who will not be at the table will hold an emergency meeting on Ukraine in Paris on Monday. As Betsy Klein reports, the talks on Ukraine would follow this week's conversation between the U. S. and Russian leaders.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Moments after his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump indicated to reporters that he would like to see talks towards ending Russia's war in Ukraine start, quote, "immediately." And to that end, we are learning that President Trump is dispatching three of his top lieutenants to Saudi Arabia for talks with senior level Russian officials in the coming days.

Now, according to two sources familiar with those plans, we are learning that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, as well as Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will travel to Saudi Arabia for those talks.

Now, our colleague Matthew Chance has learned that the Kremlin has also begun assembling its own set of senior level officials to participate in those negotiations. That includes top political intelligence and economic figures.

Now, President Trump, for his part, has also indicated that depending on the progress of those talks, he too could meet in person in Saudi Arabia with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said that that meeting could happen in the not-too-distant future. And he also indicated that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman could be part of those discussions. Of course, the crown prince has been a key interlocutor between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Now, one party that won't be at the negotiating table, according to U.S. Special Envoy for Russia and Ukraine General, Keith Kellogg, is the Europeans. Kellogg did say, however, that the Ukrainians would have a seat at that negotiating table, though he declined to say when exactly that might take place.

Now, Kellogg also indicated Sunday at the Munich Security Conference that Russia is going to have to make concessions. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KELLOGG: To me, there's going to have to be things like territorial concessions as well. OK, it's -- some of it is unrealistic to expect where you'd want go to. But it's territorial. It's some territorial. It could be engagement of refusing to use force, without the use of force into the future from a political side. He's not going downsize his military forces, hopefully get rid of it. What we're going to try to do is basically force him into action -- what you want to do is force him to actions maybe he's uncomfortable with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:35:14]

KLEIN: We are seeing President Trump dramatically reshape U.S. foreign policy as it comes to Russia and Ukraine. And also seek to rebuild some of those relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But certainly very critical talks in the days ahead. We'll be watching quite closely.

Betsy Klein, CNN traveling with the President in West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: As the diplomatic activity picks up, the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a phone call with his Russian counterpart on Saturday. Fred Pleitgen has more from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Both the U.S. State Department and the Russian Foreign Ministry confirming that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have spoken.

Now, the readout from the State Department is pretty short and pretty crisp. It says that Marco Rubio reiterated President Trump's desire to end the conflict in Ukraine and that other issues and possible areas of cooperation were also discussed in the international sphere. The Russian readout goes a lot further than that and is actually a lot more detailed than that. And it seems to indicate that the Russians believe that nearly a full reset of relations could be on the table.

The Russians, of course, are not only looking to end the war in Ukraine on terms favorable for themselves, but they also want sanctions relief. So part of the Russian readout reads, quote, "The heads of the foreign ministries 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." So the Russians clearly believe that in time possible sanctions relief and normalization of relations could be in the cards.

The other thing that the Russians also say is that the diplomatic missions in the two countries were also discussed. We know, of course, that the U.S. diplomatic mission here in Russia is essentially operating with an emergency staff because so many diplomats have been expelled. The same is pretty much true for the Russian side in the United States. The Russians, of course, also had to close several consulates in the U.S. as well. The Russians are saying that a mechanism has now been put in place to try and get those diplomatic relations and those missions back up to speed.

So the Russians certainly appear hopeful that not only could there soon be a meeting between U.S. President Trump and the Russian President Vladimir Putin, but also that relations between the two countries could normalize in the not-too-distant future.

Frederik Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: It has been exactly one year since the news of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's death was reported. The opposition figure died suddenly at a remote Russian penal colony while serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges. He denied the allegations.

Russian authorities say he, quote, "felt unwell after a walk." The Kremlin denies involvement in his death, but many Western countries and Navalny's allies said Russian President Vladimir Putin was to blame.

We're going to a very short break. We'll be back after this. Stick with CNN. More news to come.

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[05:41:24]

GIOKOS: Los Angeles is rolling up its sleeves once again. The most intense rain to hit the region in more than a year has unleashed torrents of mud and floodwater, and there are still lingering concerns over the possibility that wildfires left toxic debris behind. But it seems that the most dire threat has passed with the rain.

Our Julia Vargas is in Malibu, where recovery efforts are underway.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The rains have stopped here in Southern California, but the work is very much still ongoing. We're on the Pacific Coast Highway, where you can see some firefighters cleaning up some of the mud from the properties here. That's because all of this mud and debris came down rolling from these canyons.

This is water still coming down. This creek, authorities told us, was overflowing with mud. That's what brought up all of this debris onto this highway.

And right here behind me, these firefighters still cleaning up a property from a local business owner. She said that she hadn't seen her property yet when we caught up with her earlier this morning. A property that survived the Palisades Fire and yet now hit with this enormous amount of mud and debris. She said about 10 trucks will be needed to clean up her property. Take a listen to what she said about how she was feeling when she saw all of these first responders helping her.

LYNN BEALER, MALIBU RESIDENT: It feels pretty amazing. I must tell you, very amazing.

VARGAS JONES: You feel taken care of?

BEALER: I do. I do. I feel very honored. Very honored. And once again, I love the community of Malibu. They're very special people here. It's a wonderful community.

VARGAS JONES: That resilience that we've heard and seen time and again here in Southern California as this community is hit by two different tragedies, one after the other.

Just across the street we have Duke's Malibu. This is an institution of Los Angeles and Malibu, a place that served as staging area for first responders responding to the Palisades Fire. Now that restaurant, that parking lot covered in mud from these mudslides and first responders trying to clear that so they can use it again as a staging area to respond to the mudslides.

Now another concern that's happening here is where will all of this mud go? This is potentially toxic debris coming down from those burned scar areas and it's being pushed, part of it at least, into the Pacific Ocean leaving some Californians asking and asking their authorities what are the consequences of having this kind of toxic materials in these communities and now in the ocean.

Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Malibu, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: A volcano near Alaska's most popular city could be on the brink of eruption. Mount Spurr, roughly 75 miles or 120 kilometers from Anchorage, has shown signs of unrest for nearly 10 months now, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory. The site has experienced hundreds of small earthquakes.

Scientists have also observed warm water bubbling up in the summit's crater lake. Experts warn the volcano has a 50-50 chance of erupting sometime soon and there's no community in the immediate vicinity, but if the volcano blows massive ash clouds could impact regional air quality as well as travel.

Well, talking about probabilities here, space agencies are monitoring a newly discovered asteroid that they say could collide with Earth in the year 2032. While scientists projections show a high probability for a near-miss, experts are concerned that the chance of direct impact has grown in recent weeks. CNN's Derek Van Dam has the latest.

[05:45:07]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: As if 2025 hasn't had enough anxiety already, there is one more thing to add to your list of things to worry about. How about a potential asteroid strike in the year 2032? That's right, scientists have found an asteroid with a low probability, a low likelihood of impacting the planet in the year 2032.

Now NASA says that the chances of a collision are extremely low, but here's what's interesting. They have noticed that those chances have nearly doubled since January and it's gotten the attention of astronomers and scientists, rightly so. So enter in asteroid 2024 YR4. There it is darting across the TV screen there.

We've circled it in that green circle. It's moving at a roughly 38,000 miles per hour as well and it's got a trajectory that could bring it into Earth's orbit. Here's an artist's rendition of what the similar asteroid could look like, 2024 YR4. And this particular asteroid is roughly estimated to be about 130 to 300 feet wide or roughly 40 to 90 meters wide.

Now asteroids of this size do impact Earth every thousand years or so and it can cause devastating localized impacts. But let me be clear, this is not an extinction level asteroid strike event. So we need to make that very, very clear. But nonetheless, this has certainly got the intrigue and the curiosity of scientists and astronomers.

Now what we do know is that the asteroid is moving away from the Earth's orbit as we speak. It'll be visible through about early April and then return into the Earth's vicinity by 2028. And in order to capture data about this asteroid, we have to use a larger and larger telescope as it moves away from the Earth to actually gain some of that valuable, valuable knowledge and fine-tune exactly how close this thing will reach the planet in 2032.

Now, I look at the world in a positive light, glass half full versus glass half empty. So even though there is a 2.2% chance of hitting Earth, I believe that we still have a 97.8% chance of this particular asteroid doing a near-miss and being a non-event. That's my two cents.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: There's Derek Van Dam giving us the reality of an asteroid maybe or maybe not hitting Earth in 2032.

All right, we're going to a very short break. We'll be back with more news after this. Stick with CNN.

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[05:51:37]

GIOKOS: An indigenous Amazon man made brief contact with a local river community in Brazil on Wednesday. He approached residents who said he was carrying two logs and appeared to be asking for fire. A resident tried to unsuccessfully show him how to use a lighter.

Officials from Brazil's indigenous affairs agency took him to see health professionals and then less than 24 hours after he had emerged, he returned to his people in the rainforest.

Growing political tensions between Canada and the U.S. have boiled over onto a hockey rink in Montreal.

(U.S. NATIONAL ANTHEM)

GIOKOS: Canadian fans booed the U.S. National Anthem on Saturday before top players from rivals Canada and the U.S. squared off in an exhibition tournament event. The crowd's jeers seemed to fire up Team USA within nine seconds of the puck drop. Three fistfights erupted and when they finally played hockey, the U.S. defeated Canada 3-1. Canadian fans were not booing the U.S. as much as President Trump's tariffs plans and his call for Canada to become a U.S. state.

Team USA now has a berth in Thursday's championship game. If Team Canada makes the final, it'll be in Boston, where American fans say they may boo the Canadian anthem as well.

Britain's top film honors will be handed out in just a few hours. David Tennant will host the star-studded BAFTAs in London. And although there are many favorites, the awards are still anyone's game. "Conclave," a movie about the secretive, intense process of choosing a new pope, is leading with 12 nominations, including Best Film and Best Leading Actor for Ralph Fiennes. It'll be facing off against "The Brutalist" and "Emilia Perez" for Best Film.

Hong Kong's Ocean Park is showcasing a truly rare sight and it's happening today, the public debut of twin baby pandas. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout got an early glimpse of the twin cubs and their journey into the spotlight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Excitement is building for the public debut of super adorable twin panda cubs.

(On camera): They are so adorable. You just want to squish them.

(Voice-over): The first giant pandas born in Hong Kong, they're affectionately known as Elder Sister and Little Brother.

(On camera): The caretakers here at Hong Kong's Ocean Park say that the six-month-old twin cubs are healthy. They're sleeping right now, but they're walking, they're playing, and they're learning how to climb. Occasionally, they can be a little bit clumsy.

(Voice-over): The twins are born in August to Ying Ying, who at the time became the world's oldest known first time panda mom. Since then, they've received round the clock intensive care and have been cared for like human babies, fed by bottle, even burped after feeding.

Hong Kong is a total of six giant pandas, including the twins, their parents, and An An and Ke Ke, national treasures recently gifted by the Chinese central government. In September, elite police escorted them to their new home, an honor usually reserved for heads of state.

In addition to the six giant pandas at the park, thousands of panda sculptures have been installed across the city, all in a bid to create a sense of pandamonium and help Hong Kong regain its position as a top Asian tourism destination.

[05:55:13]

PAULO PONG, CHAIRMAN, OCEAN PARK: We see a great uptake from Philippines, from Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia as well. The citywide panda promotion has really generated a lot of excitement.

STOUT (on camera): But for now, the twin panda cubs are the star attraction, even while they are asleep. Members of the public can see them in all their cuddly glory, starting from February the 16th.

Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: So cute. Right, the cake bandit of Omaha, Nebraska, is going viral on social media. The local real estate agent, Kim Douglas, set a Costco chocolate mousse cake out on her screened in back porch. And then when she wasn't looking, an opossum snuck in and ate the entire thing.

Kim and her son caught the creature red-handed. It was alert, but breathing quite heavily, as one does when you eat too much cake. After leaving a trail of brown paw prints and a mountain of crumbled cake on the floor, the animal was admitted to the Nebraska Wildlife Rehab Center, where it received care for the dietary overindulgence.

This is the note left when the opossum went to the medical facility. They said, the cake bandit is expected to make a full recovery and will be returned to her natural habitat in a few weeks.

Well, lovely stories to end the show.

Thank you so much for joining us for this edition of CNN Newsroom. I'm Eleni Giokos in Dubai. For those of you in North America, "CNN This Morning" is up next. And for those of you overseas, stay with us for CNN Newsroom. Take care and enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

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