Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

'Saturday Night Live' Celebrates 50 Years; Texas Measles Outbreak Spreads; U.S. and Russia to Hold Peace Talks Without Ukraine. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired February 17, 2025 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:02]

JILL DOUGHERTY, FORMER CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: The Trump administration is pushing the burden for carrying out any type of cease-fire or whatever this will be to the Europeans.

And then this is not to mention that's game one. Game two is a big picture. Putin definitely wants to be back on the stage, equal to the United States president, deciding things around the world. And that's exactly what he's getting.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: CNN global affairs analyst Kim Dozier, to bring you in, what's the deal with leaving Ukraine out of these talks right now, and European allies, for that matter?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, to play devil's advocate to the Ukraine and E.U. position, one of the main reasons these top Trump administration officials might want to meet with the Russian officials on their own first is to, first of all, road-test some of the things that President Trump thinks he heard from Vladimir Putin, to talk about things that are bilateral in nature, such as President Trump's reported conversations that he talked about that perhaps Putin would be interested in matching the U.S. in reducing the number of nuclear weapons.

They will really want to say how much of this is going to translate in reality, and this -- the people having these conversations are Marco Rubio, Mike Waltz. Those two have never been easy on Russia. I don't know Witkoff's position over time on Vladimir Putin, but Waltz and Rubio will really give them a hard time.

But, from Europe's position, they got a questionnaire that was reported by Reuters from the U.S. asking, what would you need from us to do a peacekeeping mission the ground in Ukraine last week? And so they feel like they're being asked to offer troops, which the U.K. says it's going to do, but not being given a chance to sit down and fight it out with Moscow.

BROWN: So it's safe to say this exclusion by European allies is not being received so well, correct, Kim?

DOZIER: Absolutely. They're having an emergency meeting in Paris right now where they're

considering their options and figuring out how to leverage their influence and their years and billions of dollars of investment in Ukraine against Trump's snub, as they're perceiving it.

BROWN: Retired Army Major Mike Lyons, can there be a viable agreement without involving Ukraine or its European allies? Now, it is still early stages, and there could be plans to include them later on, but what kind of tone does this set right now?

MAJ. MIKE LYONS (RET.), U.S. ARMY: I think there can be no final agreement, let's say. You heard the secretary say that we'd have to bring Ukraine in at some point, but the war machine goes on.

It grinds out every day for the soldiers on the ground doing the fighting right now. And it's a race against time as Russia tries to gain more space. It's all about leverage from their perspective as they look to control the 20 percent of the land mass that they have had really since 2014.

But Ukraine will have to obviously get involved and be a finalist in anything that's finally approved. And what does that look like? Is it a DMZ now that exists between Ukraine and Russia? Can they get the Russians to actually stop there? Will European troops then be part of that guard mission that protects that border like that we did in North and South Korea or perhaps the old Cold War day?

So we're going back to the future here a little bit on any resolution that could take place. The only other point I would say about these European militaries is, they're going to have a challenge coming up with the soldiers in order to do this mission. I appreciate what the British prime minister is saying, but the British military right now is really in no position to send any large number of troops that will make a difference on the ground in Ukraine.

BROWN: And Russia's foreign minister today seemed to rule out returning any captured territories to Ukraine.

So, Major, does that not incentivize Russia to grab as much territory as possible before a peace deal is struck? Vladimir Putin has made it clear he wants to take as much land as possible, essentially.

LYONS: Yes, that's exactly right. And I wouldn't be surprised if you saw offensive operations increase from Russia on their aviation assets, that land mass, the north that Ukraine still hangs on to, especially in the south. The more that they can get until they finally have to say cease-fire and stop will give them much more leverage when the -- when that time finally comes.

BROWN: So, Jill, if Russia won't return captured territory, what concessions could it make here?

DOUGHERTY: At this point, I don't see a lot of concessions by Russia, actually. Pretty much, Putin, if you go back to the original, original February 2022, with the full-scale invasion, he laid out -- even before that he laid out demands. [11:35:00]

And it looks as if a lot of those would be fulfilled, again, neutral Ukraine, territory that Russia took very quickly. And I think an interesting one is denazification. And, in the beginning, we were all saying, what does that mean? Because the president of Ukraine is Jewish. Is he a Nazi?

So now that's becoming clear. Denazification essentially means getting rid of Zelenskyy. And if you note, President Trump himself said, well, the ratings that President Zelenskyy has are actually quite low.

Now, he didn't explain that. But the translation of that is that Ukraine should hold presidential elections and that maybe Zelenskyy shouldn't be the president. That is precisely what Vladimir Putin wants. He wants Zelenskyy out, neuter Ukraine, and control it economically, politically, and militarily.

BROWN: And is a meeting with Putin the right move now for the U.S.? I mean, how much more serious does that feel to you than a phone call?

DOUGHERTY: Oh, I think it's enormous, at least if you look at what Vladimir Putin -- again, what Vladimir Putin wants.

Vladimir Putin, after that full-scale invasion, was really kicked out of the global community. And President Trump, just the other day, said, maybe they ought to be back in the G7. This is the type of thing that we're talking about. Could he visit? They're talking about visits, mutual visits to the capital of the other country.

So would Vladimir Putin, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, would -- and, now, the United States is not a member, doesn't recognize that, but still, would he be here in D.C. meeting with President Trump? These are really serious questions.

But I think, big picture, Russia feels it's back on the world stage. If you look at the Russian media, they're crowing about this, and I think justifiably.

BROWN: So you have to ask, Kim, I mean, is the U.S. essentially giving Russia almost everything it wants for this sort of international reset and bringing it back onto the world stage after being iced out?

DOZIER: Well, it certainly seems that President Trump has gotten them to the negotiating table by hinting that he'd give them everything that they want.

But we don't know what's going to happen behind closed doors. Negotiations are -- as one longtime negotiator told me, they're like mushrooms. They thrive best in the dark. So we're going to have to see how President Trump's will translates through his pretty hardcore national security team.

And perhaps this meeting in Saudi Arabia is going to lead to future back-and-forth shuttle diplomacy between Kyiv and Moscow, as it's an opening gambit. It's an opening salvo. It's not the whole thing.

BROWN: All right. Thank you, everyone. Appreciate your analysis.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:42:56]

BROWN: A measles outbreak in West Texas has doubled to 48 cases and spread to a neighboring county in New Mexico. Most of these cases are in children from ages 5 to 17. And Texas health officials say they expect that number of cases to rise.

They also say those infected are either unvaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown.

Joining us now is CNN medical analyst and professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University Dr. Jonathan Reiner.

So this measles outbreak is coinciding with an intense flu season. Dr. Reiner, how concerning is this outbreak?

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, it's concerning because it's completely preventable.

The vaccine for measles, which has been around since 1963, is almost completely effective at preventing the disease. I think the number is something north of 98 percent. So if you have been vaccinated for measles, you are immune.

And so it makes sense that everyone who has now contracted measles in West Texas or across the border in New Mexico, all those people have not been vaccinated. We also know, when we look at the statistics from Texas, we know that, in that county, about 18 percent of kindergartners have opted out -- I should say, the parents of kindergartners have opted out of vaccinating their kids.

Texas has a very liberal policy for opting out of vaccination for school-aged kids. All it really takes is an affidavit stating either a religious or some sort of personal objection to the vaccines. But now you see the consequence of that.

In parts of Texas now, particularly places like that county in West Texas, the number of -- or I'd say the percent of children vaccinated is now significantly lower than what is needed for herd immunity. So when you have someone come into that community with active measles, there are then targets for the virus to infect.

[11:45:03]

And we're seeing it now, about 50 kids in Texas, a few across the border. My suspicion is that it's going to rise significantly over the next week or two.

BROWN: How serious is it to get infected with the measles? REINER: In the years preceding the measles vaccine in '63, about four

million kids would get it every year. That would result in tens of thousands of hospitalizations. And we have seen actually now, of that 48 to 50 number, I think there have been 13 hospitalizations.

The feared complications of measles include pneumonia and particularly encephalitis, which is inflammation around the brain, which can lead to permanent cognitive and intellectual injuries for a young person or deafness. And some people can die. In 1960, about 500 kids would die a year from measles.

But, again, this is completely preventable. This vaccine has 60 years of efficacy and safety data. But there's been a lot of vaccine misinformation spewed over the last five years. And now you see the penalty for that.

And what we really need to hear from our public health officials is a loud campaign to convince the unvaccinated people, not just in Texas, but around the country, to get vaccinated, that this vaccine is safe and effective.

BROWN: Dr. Jonathan Reiner, thank you.

And coming up: part reunion, part reflection, as "Saturday Night Live" pays tribute to and makes fun of its 50 year history.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:51:42]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE MARTIN, ACTOR: Do you have your passport on you?

MARTIN SHORT, ACTOR: No.

MARTIN: ICE, get him!

SHORT: No! No! I will cooperate. Don't take me. I will name names.

Mike Myers! Jim Carrey!

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Tackling the headlines and celebrating five decades of laughs. Stars were both on stage and in the audience for last night's 50th "SNL" anniversary special.

CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister joins us now.

Elizabeth, 50 years of "Saturday Night Live." Walk us through the fan favorite sketches.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: This was such a fun night. I don't remember the last time that we had a television event at this magnitude. It felt like every star in the world was there, everyone from Eddie Murphy, who did a few skits. He even impersonated Tracy Morgan during a skit right there.

You had the great Bill Murray, who did "Weekend Update" with Colin Jost and was actually roasting Colin Jost. I mean, when you looked out at the audience, Pam, it was crazy. It was like A-lister after A- lister, everyone from Billy Crystal, who got his start on "SNL" for one season, to Larry David, to Jerry Seinfeld.

And Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, they actually played into this star power. They had a bit where they did an audience roll call. And, of course, when you're doing an audience roll call with A-listers, you get into some fun moments, even a moment with none other than Ryan Reynolds, who made his first public appearance with his wife, Blake Lively, since their legal saga has begun.

Let's take a look at that moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMY POEHLER, ACTRESS: Who else? Who else has a question?

RYAN REYNOLDS, ACTOR: I have a question.

POEHLER: Oh. Hi, Ryan Reynolds. Great. Hey.

(CHEERING)

POEHLER: Ryan Reynolds, how's it going?

REYNOLDS: Great. Why? What have you heard?

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WAGMEISTER: So, obviously, poking some fun at himself there. And you saw Blake Lively was sitting right next to him in the audience.

Now, as I mentioned, they are, of course, in the midst of a huge legal battle against Blake's former co-star Justin Baldoni. And the reason why this is significant that they were there, it was not only their first appearance since this legal battle erupted, but we are expecting a big development in this case this week.

Tomorrow, the judge has set a deadline for an amended complaint to be filed by Blake Lively. So we are expecting that. But back to the fun of "SNL," none other than Meryl Streep was part of a skit. And I have to admit, I didn't realize until last night this was Meryl Streep's first time ever being on "SNL."

It's hard to believe that she was never a guest host. Now, another major surprise moment was, Jack Nicholson was in the audience. This was his first major TV appearance in years. And fans at home, including myself, were so excited to see Jack Nicholson looking happy and healthy and in the audience.

And the reason why Jack Nicholson was there was actually to introduce Adam Sandler, who had a performance. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK NICHOLSON, ACTOR: Ladies and gentlemen, Adam Sandler. Yes, baby!

ADAM SANDLER, ACTOR: Let's hear it for Jack, baby! Jack made it out tonight!

[11:55:02]

OK, here we go.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WAGMEISTER: Now, Adam Sandler, of course, got his start on "SNL," one of many, many stars who started on that very stage and were there, and it was just a great, fun night.

BROWN: Such a fun night. I can't believe that was Meryl Streep, by the way, and that was her first time there. Oh, my gosh, wow, fun fact.

Elizabeth Wagmeister, thank you.

WAGMEISTER: Thank you.

BROWN: And thank you all for joining us. I'm Pamela Brown. You can follow me on Instagram, TikTok and X @PamelaBrownCNN.

Stay with us. "INSIDE POLITICS WITH DANA BASH" starts after a short break.