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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Violence Erupts Across Mexico After Military Kills Cartel Boss; Trump Refutes Reports Top General Advising Against Striking Iran; Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) Calls On Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) To Promptly Address Affair Allegations; The Toll Of War On Ukrainians Four Years After Russian Invasion; CDC Deputy Director Abruptly Departs Agency. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired February 23, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

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[18:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper.

This hour, tens of millions of Americans are under storm warnings tonight with some towns getting more than 30 inches of snow. Roads are shut down, travel bans are in effect, and more than 10,000 flights have been canceled just so far. It's also the biggest snowstorm in years in New York City. And New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is going to join us live ahead.

Plus, U.S. citizens are urged to shelter in place in parts of Mexico, including some popular tourist areas after the killing of a cartel kingpin led to widespread violence, suspected gang members setting businesses and vehicles on fire while clashing with law enforcement. We're going to speak with an American stranded there in moments.

And House Speaker Mike Johnson says, one of his Republican members, Congressman Tony Gonzales, Republican of Texas, needs to promptly address the, quote, very serious allegations against him, accusations that Gonzales had an affair with a staffer who died by suicide last year. Those allegations have roiled his Congressional race in Texas. We're going to go live to Capitol Hill for all the latest.

The Lead tonight, violence, unrest in Mexico, flights canceled, tourists stranded, all in the wake of the killing of Mexico's most wanted drug cartel boss known as El Mencho, the leader of Jalisco New Generation Cartel, along with eight of its members. The cartel is known for extreme violence, public executions, trafficking of fentanyl and meth, and reportedly even forcing new recruits into cannibalism.

The Mexican military carried out Sunday's operation with help from U.S. intelligence. Cartel members quickly retaliated, setting buses, taxis, and businesses on fire, and getting into deadly clashes with Mexico's security forces. The U.S. State Department urged stranded Americans in parts of Mexico to shelter in place.

CNN's Valeria Leon is reporting from Mexico City for us. Valeria, how are citizens there grappling with this sudden wave of violence? VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jake, the situation in Puerto Vallarta is tense. The resort town that's usually filled with tourists and spring breakers now feels on edge. Some businesses have been damaged, and locals tell us they're worried about their safety.

This all comes after Mexican forces captured Nemesio Oseguar Cervantes, better known as El Mencho, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the country.

And within hours of his capture, cartel members launched a wave of violence. Highways were blocked with burning vehicles. Drivers were forced out of their cars. And this is not just any city. Puerto Vallarta is one of Mexico's top beach destinations, the third most visited in the country, welcoming more than 6 million international tourists last year, a large number of them Americans. Right now, many of those Americans are stranded.

And now we're hearing from the Mexican authorities that the situation is now under control. This morning, President Claudia Sheinbaum said security forces have been deployed and are working to restore order, but the next few hours, Jake, and the next few days will be critical in this situation.

TAPPER: So, who exactly was El Mencho and what does his killing mean for his cartel?

LEON: Well, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes led the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. This is a criminal group that rose in just over a decade to become one of Mexico's top violent cartels. And under his command, Jalisco New Generation Cartel expanded rapidly across Mexico and into other countries.

In 2025, the U.S. State Department designated this cartel a global terrorist organization, dramatically escalating international pressure on this group. The Jaslisco New Generation Cartel built a deep structure under El Mencho. In fact, sometimes the death of a kingpin fragments a cartel, creating smaller, but even more unpredictable criminal cells.

So, while this marks the end of one of the most feared drug lords in modern Mexican history, it does not automatically mean the end of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Jake?

TAPPER: All right. Valeria Leon in Mexico City, thank you so much, muchas gracias.

Meanwhile, many Americans and tourists are scrambling to find a way out of Mexico at this hour. Joining us now is David Miranda. He is stranded at a resort in Puerta Vallarta, a beach town in the western state of Jalisco.

David, the State Department -- the U.S. State Department is urging Americans to shelter in place in several tourist hotspots, including where you are right now.

[18:05:00]

How are you doing? Do you feel safe where you are?

DAVID MIRANDA, AMERICAN TOURIST STRANDED IN MEXICO: Yes. I think the worst is over at this time. Yesterday was definitely scary. It's like scenes out of a movie. Thank goodness, I am staying a little bit north, about a five-minute drive from La Zona Romantica, where everything practically unfolded in La Marina and the hotel zone.

I am way up. I was able to smell everything. I was able to hear everything. And this morning, we just woke up with, I would say, air quality very bad.

TAPPER: What has the communication been like with the people who run the resort? Are you able to get basic necessities? Are they aware of the warnings that Americans got?

MIRANDA: Well, at this point, we became all a community. I was staying in an Airbnb, and then we created a community with somebody that's in the resort right in front of us, which we were able to get meals (INAUDIBLE) taking place from the states and hiding from their managers.

I literally told them, you guys are our heroes, because we wouldn't have been able to find food last night, water, food. We were supposed to travel out yesterday Actually, but we got cancelation of our flight. We got cancellation today. So, we're basically just waiting.

Today, we were able to get food. We went to La Zona Romantica, wherever -- whatever market was open. Prices were obviously elevated. And wherever you did find anything, there were long lines.

TAPPER: Do you have any idea of when you're going to be able to not only book a flight back home to Chicago, but I guess maybe you're even more concerned about getting a safe ride to the airport?

MIRANDA: That's the thing. At this point, there's no public transportation, really. They're saying that taxis are operating at this time. We did see two of them and they said that no, this is our work vehicle, so we can't use them. Ubers are not working. The buses that we normally use as well, you don't see them at this point.

But there're still blockages. There's still burnt buses and burnt cars in certain areas, like in the road right down here, about three-minute walk down here. There're still cars and buses incinerated on the road,

TAPPER: The U.S. State Department has set up a 24/7 crisis hotline for U.S. citizens. Have you or any of your friends there, your fellow vacationers, have you tried using it?

MIRANDA: You know, I did think about that this morning, even calling the U.S. embassy. But at this point, I don't feel like we're in danger at all. There is no danger. And speaking to the people that are vacationing here, that have vacationed here for many years, this is the first time it happens. It's basically on standby. Basically, airlines are on the domino effect from what we hear. Because I was trying to book with another airline and they said we have to cater to the ones that were canceled first before we can book new reservations. So, it's just the standby game.

TAPPER: Does this experience give you pause about ever returning to Puerto Vallarta?

MIRANDA: No. You know, speaking to the locals, speaking to tourists, there's lots in the area that I'm staying right here. There's lots of Canadian and lots of U.S. citizens, some of them that are retired here. They're all speaking, saying it's the first time they're experiencing something like this.

Although, talking to the locals, they say that it could become a little worse because with the Jalisco Cartel, the new leader or maybe some other cartel is going to want to take over, that's when it can get very sticky. So, therefore, they're just weighing out their options at this point.

TAPPER: How did you learn about all this happening? How did you hear about the killing of the cartel leader? How did you hear about the unrest in the street?

MIRANDA: So, we have some friends that we were traveling with along with my cousin and they -- his dad was actually stranded on a road in Guadalajara Jalisco. And he's like, wait, something's going on. And then that the lady or some lady there was telling them that there was fires around here. So then we were trying to take an Uber because we were going to fly out because yesterday, we were flying out.

But the Uber would take 7 minutes, 12 minutes. Until we got a notification saying there's no available drivers at this time until the lady that works in the lobby, in the resort across the street said, if you guys love your life, if you guys love yourself, basically do yourself a favor and do not go to the airport at this time. And it was probably the best thing because we would've been stranded there, like a lot of people. And I've been seeing videos and everybody was just stranded there.

TAPPER: David Miranda, thank you so much. Stay safe. We hope you get back home soon.

[18:10:00]

MIRANDA: Thank you.

TAPPER: President Trump leveling a new threat at Iran this afternoon, promising a, quote, very bad day for that country if they don't negotiate a new nuclear deal with the U.S. So, are we moving closer to U.S. military strikes against Iran? Are we moving closer to war? I'm going to ask a top Republican lawmaker next.

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TAPPER: In our World Lead, President Trump today attempting to squash reports that his top general, Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Razin Caine, is advising him against striking Iran, writing on Truth Social that Caine, quote, like all of us, would like not to see war, but if a decision is made on going against Iran at a military level, it is his opinion that it will be something easily won, unquote.

The president goes on to say that he is the one that makes the decision to take military action and, quote, would rather have a deal than not. But if we don't make a deal, it will be a very bad day for that country.

[18:15:00]

Here to discuss, Republican Congressman Mike Turner of Ohio. He's the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. So, thanks so much for being here, Congressman.

Axios and a lot of other outlets have this report today about the Joint Chiefs chairman, Dan Razin Caine, warning the president and other officials that a military campaign could carry major risks of a drawn out conflict. What do you think is most likely here? You know, I think Razin Caine is, if that raising good issues, if he is in fact giving the president that advice. And what do you make of the president posting that he's denying these reports?

REP. MIKE TURNER (R-OH): Well, I think what's important here is that the president has, I think rightly so, taking action to hit Iran's nuclear weapons program. Many presidents had on the table that option, and many presidents had made the statement that Iran will not be allowed to have a nuclear weapons program, understanding the risk to our country, to our European allies, and to Israel.

And then as we've done the assessment as to, you know, what is Iran doing now, what has been taken out, what is the effects, what are they attempting to pursue, and have now with the president's decision to enter into negotiations with Iran, Iran has a choice to enter into those negotiations, have a declaration, as they have before. Where is their program? What are they doing? There is a calculus for Iran to take.

And I think certainly the president understands that in making statements like this, he is making it clear to Iran that there's a risk if they don't pursue in negotiations.

Now, we're all hoping, and certainly I do that Iran comes to the table in a valuable way and abandons any attempts to continue their nuclear weapons program, and in doing so that we have a resolution of this and that certainly there would not be then a conflict.

TAPPER: When protests broke out last month in Iran against the regime, polling showed very limited support in the U.S. for the U.S. military to take action. 33 percent were in favor in the CBS News poll. Support was at 27 percent among independents, only 60 percent among Republicans polled, which is a relatively low number considering how much Republicans usually rally behind President Trump. What do you expect the president's going to say tomorrow night as Americans wait to see if he's going to actually use force again?

TURNER: Well, of course, that issue is a com completely different issue than the nuclear weapons program than when the president took action before.

TAPPER: Whether or not to get involved because of the democracy protests.

TURNER: Right. So, the issue of whether or not the regime is crumbling or whether or not, you know, the regime is taking action in killing its own people and whether or not there would be any, you know, military action to try to defend or take an action to protect those people is completely separate.

And I don't anticipate that the president is going to in the speech tomorrow, you know, make any statements with respect to those protests other than that Iran should stop killing its own people, which is absolutely, you know, horrific and is true.

The issue of their nuclear weapons program though has been consistent throughout Republican, Democrat administrations and what the president has done. Certainly, both should set back this program and Iran should think very carefully about not, you know, committing themselves to these negotiations.

TAPPER: So, let's turn to another hot topic. The president's been posting nonstop about the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to strike down his massive, sweeping tariff policy. He wrote this morning, quote, as president, I do not have to go back to Congress to get approval of tariffs. It has already been gotten in many forms a long time ago. They were also just reaffirmed by the ridiculous and poorly crafted Supreme Court decision.

You said on Friday that you don't, quote, support Congress further granting any president expressed broad and unrestrained tariff authority. What do you make of this assertion from him that he doesn't need Congress when, quite frankly, the U.S. Supreme Court just made it pretty clear, yes, he does.

TURNER: Well, the Supreme Court decision was a statutory interpretation of, you know, the emergency act in which the president had previously --

TAPPER: From the 1970s, yes.

TURNER: -- taken an executive action. And they found in that statutory interpretation that the president did not have tariff authority under that statute that he had invoked.

There have been calls to expand tariff authority for the president, and I do not agree that we should expand --

TAPPER: I don't think there are other votes for that.

TURNER: No, absolutely not. And I think Gorsuch, in his opinion, he really gave a very nice warning that, you know, once given to the president, it's very difficult for the -- you know, when Congress delegates its own constitutional authority to a president to ever get it back. And so I am opposed to us expanding delegations of those authorities. Now, the action the president has taken is currently under a specific statute that also is one from the seven --

TAPPER: But it's a temporary tariff --

TURNER: It's a temporary one, right, and I'm certainly not for expanding that either.

TAPPER: All right. Republican Congressman Mike Turner from Ohio, always good to see you, sir, thanks so much for being here.

[18:20:01]

Today, a House Republican called for one of her colleagues to resign over allegations of an affair that went really, really bad. We're going to go live to Capitol Hill for details, next.

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TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, House Speaker Mike Johnson is under growing pressure, even from within his own party, to push Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales of Texas to resign. Gonzales is facing pretty serious allegations of having had an affair with a district staffer who later died by suicide.

CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju joins us now for this sad, ugly tale. And, Manu, you asked Speaker Johnson about this controversy today, and if he agrees Gonzales should resign in the wake of these allegations.

[18:25:03]

What did he have to say?

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He wouldn't go that far, Jake. He did acknowledge how serious these allegations are, but says that the investigations need to play out. But this has totally caught Speaker Johnson by surprise and it comes at an extremely delicate time for his speakership where he is clinging to the House Republican majority by the narrowest of margins. He can only afford to lose one Republican vote on any party line vote. There are already several special elections set to take place. And if Gonzales were to resign, it would tighten that majority even further.

Right now, he's not going as far as Congresswoman Lauren Boebert to Congresswoman Nancy Mace among the Republicans who came out today and said that Gonzales should resign in the aftermath of these allegations of sexual misconduct. And when I put that question to the speaker, he did not go that far.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Should Tony Gonzales resign given these very serious accusations?

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): They are serious accusations and it must be taken seriously. And I've told him he has got to address that with his constituents. And he's in the process of doing that. It is my understanding there's an investigation of the State of Texas on these matters and has been going for some time. And the Office of Congressional Conduct has also -- it's been reported, they've been looking at it.

All of that was news to me. But I think as in every case like this, you have to allow the investigations to play out and all the facts to come out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And Congresswoman Nancy Mace, one of those Republicans who called on Gonzales to resign, told our colleague, Ellis (ph), came about Johnson's explanation, said that's the answer for everything in this place. That's why everyone gets away with everything here, which shows you the pressure that Johnson is under to do something or try to reprimand Gonzales in some way.

But Gonzales himself is facing voters, Jake, in just over a week. March 3rd is a primary in his state. He's up against a conservative challenger who he barely defeated in the last cycle. And just today, the House Freedom Caucus, the far right faction within the House GOP, its political arm, put its weight and its support behind Gonzales' challenger, another sign of his growing political challenges amid this growing scandal. Jake?

TAPPER: And, Manu, what exactly are the allegations?

RAJU: Jake, the allegations are that he engaged in this -- in a sexual misconduct with an exchange of lewd text messages with a staffer who allegedly committed suicide in the aftermath of this exchange that he had. And she, her husband, has now provided some of those text messages to local reporters, which is shining a light on Gonzales' actions a couple of years ago.

Gonzales has denied -- he contended that this is blackmail of sorts, Jake, but he hasn't said -- he hasn't totally addressed some of these allegations. We've put questions to his office, put questions to him. He has not responded to some of our questions, Jake.

TAPPER: Manu Raju, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

New York City is dealing with the biggest snowstorm in more than five years. How long will it take for everything to be back up and running? We're going to have Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York join us next.

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[18:30:00]

TAPPER: In our National Lead, a complete Northeastern United States shutdown. More than 40 million people are under blizzard warnings as another bomb cyclone slams the Northern United States with near hurricane forest wind gusts and extreme snowfall, knocking out power, making travel impossible. The worst of the snow is currently slamming Southern New England.

CNN's Michael Yoshida in Boston, where a blizzard warning remains in effect.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Wild winter weather slamming the Northeast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're sort of a foot, foot and a half under snow. It's a wicked nor'easter,

YOSHIDA: A massive bomb cyclone putting more than 40 million people under blizzard warnings and grinding travel to a halt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need residents to really stay home and heed that warning.

YOSHIDA: At least seven states have received a foot of snow or more. And at least four states have been buried under at least two feet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the worst storm in over a decade for us.

YOSHIDA: The heavy snow and hurricane-force wind gusts creating whiteout conditions, downing trees and power lines, leaving thousands in the dark.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We had about 5,000, over 5,000 public workers, public utility workers across the state deployed. They are really getting people back up and online as quickly as possible.

YOSHIDA: New York receiving the most snow from a single storm in over five years.

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D-NEW YORK CITY, NY): Since last night, New York City has been in near blizzard conditions. Conditions have begun to moderate. But there is still more to come.

YOSHIDA: As the storm tracks north, blizzard conditions wreaking havoc on much of New England. In Boston, heavy, wet snow, wind gusts over 40 miles per hour and a quarter mile visibility making navigation treacherous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't go out if you don't need to.

YOSHIDA: As some enjoy winter wonderland --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We look forward to it, and the towns just shuts down completely.

YOSHIDA: Others face a nightmare.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're just in the airport. We didn't know what we're going to do.

YOSHIDA: More than 10,000 flights have been canceled from Sunday to Tuesday, according to FlightAware, stranding travelers across the region.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YOSHIDA (on camera): And a short time ago, Massachusetts issuing a partial travel ban impacting the south coast here in the state. That's an area hit especially hard by this heavy, wet snow and these power outages. Officials saying it could take some time to get everything cleaned up. Jake?

TAPPER: All right. Michael Yoshida, thanks. Stay safe.

Joining us now to discuss the storm, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Mayor Mamdani, thanks so much for joining us.

The storm is New York City's ninth snowiest since 1869. Earlier today, there were reports of some power outages in some parts of your city. What can you tell us about that and has anyone been hurt in this storm, to your knowledge?

[18:35L02]

MAMDANI: So, it's a real pleasure to be on Jake, and I can just start with the power outages. So, we were alerted to the fact about 10,000 New Yorkers lost power, mostly concentrated in the Rockaways, and this time about 8,000 of them have recovered that power.

We sent out emergency personnel to inspect the conditions, as well as opened up three warming centers to ensure that for any New Yorker who was without power, they had a place to stay warm and to stay safe, because, as you said, this is one of the largest amounts of snowfall the city has ever received. This is the first blizzard since 2016. And citywide, we saw about 19 to 20 inches. There were parts of New York City, like Eastern Staten Island, we saw 24 inches of snow.

Now, thankfully, that snow has come to an end at this time, and now it's a question of response. And I can tell you that we don't have any indications that anyone has lost their life as a result of this blizzard. We have been using every tool we have to try and get homeless New Yorkers inside over the course of the snow where they can be safe and they can be warm.

TAPPER: The storm's also, of course, having a major impact on air travel. The last flight to depart New York's LaGuardia Airport was a Southwest Airlines flight to Nashville at 8:19 P.M. last night. Do you have a sense of when airlines might feel it will be safe to resume travel?

MAMDANI: You know, I can't tell you an exact time. I can just tell you that we're going to be using every tool that we have to make sure that it's safe to travel, whether by air, whether by bus, whether by train, whether by bike, or whether by foot or by car.

And, frankly, we're very lucky here in New York City that we have the incredible men and women of the DSNY, our Department of Sanitation. You know, I began my day today with them at around 6:30 A.M., seeing their Blade Runner 2.0 system, where they showed me that by 5:30 A.M. this morning, they had hit more than 99 percent of our city streets with a first plow attempt.

And that continues through the day as they as 2,500 hardworking men and women on every single 12-hour shift. Right now, actually, there'll be about more than 2,000 who are returning from a shift, more than 2,000 about to go on another shift.

TAPPER: Your city's urgently hiring emergency snow shovelers to help remove snow and ice from public areas, offering people $30 an hour. House Republicans are criticizing you for requiring workers to bring multiple forms of identification to sign up for that job. They tweeted, quote, let's get this straight in Zohran Mamdani socialist utopia, it takes two forms of I.D. to shovel snow, but no I.D. to vote. Make it make sense, unquote. What's your response to that, sir?

MAMDANI: Well, here in New York City, we follow the law and it's federal law to require certain forms of identification in order for someone to actually be paid for this kind of a job. And so that's what we're asking for, two forms of identification. It's a longstanding city program. It's a longstanding city policy. And thanks to the hard work of DSNY, they've expanded their capacity for how many New Yorkers they can supervise at a time now up to 1,800 per shift.

And so these hardworking men and women who've signed up over the course of the last few days and last few weeks, they've joined the work that sanitation has been doing and their clearing crosswalks, bus stops, fire hydrants, helping our city get back on its feet.

TAPPER: President Trump today briefly brought up the snow shoveling situation in your city. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: It's so crazy. You know, the mayor of New York, and he's a very nice person, I met him, but he's his ideology's not too good. But we're having a massive snowstorm right now and I heard that he's asked people to come out and help shovel the snow. Okay. So, you get a shovel and you start shoveling, right? What the hell? You're not going to help too much, but you can help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The president actually praising you in there for being nice while kind of dismissing your snow shoveling plan. Have you talked to him at all about the storm if you need federal assistance? How often do you talk or text with him?

MAMDANI: You know, I will keep those conversations private. However, what I will tell you is that the conversations that I have had in the past with the president, including that at the Oval Office, as he had shared right after, we're always focused on New York City and how we can make sure that we are actually helping New York City.

And, frankly, this emergency snow shoveler program is one that allows every single sanitation worker to be on the plows, to be on the salt spreaders to get this city back up and running. It's why they've been able to disperse about 50 million pounds of salt. And then these snow shovelers are the ones who supplement the work, frankly, of the department.

And what we've seen is here in New York City, as is the law, property owners have to clear the sidewalk in front of their property. They have to clear the crosswalk that's abutting them, and yet there were about 4,000 violations in the last storm of this. Our interest, frankly, is not in issuing violations, it's in finding compliance, and so this has also work to assist in that.

TAPPER: While I have you, there are a couple of things going on in your city I want to ask you about. Starting this month, New York City is hosting a please rental rip off hearing in each borough to address so-called bad landlords and predatory management companies.

[18:40:01]

What will the city do in response to serious complaints? Obviously, it's not nothing to allow venting and allow people to bring things to the attention of authorities, but what are the authorities going to do with that? Is there going to be legal action? Are there going to be new policies developed? What will it ultimately actually mean?

MAMDANI: So, it's exactly that, Jake. It's actually to inform a lot of the new policies we're going to be putting together. We want to make sure that those policies are reflections of what so many tenants have had to go through time and time again, whether it be the kind of absurd junk fees they're forced to pay, or the kind of conditions that they're forced to consider to be habitable when they know that they're anything but that.

I mean, when I was running for this office, I remember standing in front of a building where the landlord had been found guilty of having a beehive that was not actually addressed over the course of many, many months. This is what many tenants are living through. We're going to have one of these in each borough to make sure that when we are putting together our comprehensive housing plan, where we're putting together our accountability mechanisms for bad landlords, they're actually a reflection of what tenants are having to live through.

TAPPER: We've also seen in recent weeks anti-Israel protests take place in New York City, right outside synagogues, one explicitly pro- Hamas, which the U.S. government considers a terrorist group, and it's a group that has killed innocent Americans.

In response, the new speaker of the New York City Council formally introduced a bill to allow the police department to ban protests within a perimeter of up to a hundred feet from any houses of worship to protect congregants' rights to peacefully pray and avoid, quote, injury, intimidation, and interference from demonstrations. A hearing on the bill is scheduled for Wednesday. What's your position on the bill?

MAMDANI: So, you know, I've said time and time again that this is a city where we can hold many things at the same time. One of them being that this is a city where every single New Yorker, and that includes Jewish New Yorkers, as well as Muslim New Yorkers, Christian New Yorkers of any faith or no faith at all, can be able to go and worship freely in a house of worship. And it's also a city where New Yorkers should be able to exercise their First Amendment rights.

So, upon becoming the mayor of our incredible city, I directed my law department and my police department to investigate the legality of this specific proposal as well as other related ones, and to come back to me with a review. And what I can tell you is that my police commissioner has shared some concerns about the way in which this legislation was initially written as per its actual operability.

TAPPER: All right. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, thank you and good luck with the storm. We appreciate your coming on the show today.

MAMDANI: Absolutely. Thank you for having me, Jake, a real pleasure.

TAPPER: On this fourth anniversary of Russia's war on Ukraine, CNN's Clarissa Ward is live in Kyiv, as you saw earlier in the show, and she's speaking to innocent Ukrainians who are still being bombarded by Russian attacks. She's going to bring us her story next.

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[18:46:49]

TAPPER: Turning back to our world lead as the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its fifth year as of tomorrow, Russia continues to intensify drone and missile attacks on the Ukrainian energy grid, knocking out electricity and heat for millions of innocent Ukrainians.

CNN's Clarissa Ward spoke with Ukrainians about the devastating toll the past four years of conflict has had on their lives. A warning to our viewers, you might find some of these images disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the outskirts of Odesa at an abandoned railway station, the smell of death hangs heavily in the air. These railroad cars once carried cargo across the country, now they hold the remains of thousands of Ukrainians.

As repatriations from territories seized by Russia have increased the arrivals have become more frequent and the numbers harder to comprehend.

WARD: More than 80,000 Ukrainians are officially missing in this war, and the vast majority of those who are missing are believed to be dead.

WARD (voice-over): For thousands of families searching for their loved ones, the waiting has become its own kind of battlefield.

Outside the city,we meet Snizhana Shestakova, her husband, Oleg, a sergeant in the Ukrainian army, went missing on October 30th, 2024 after a failed attack on Russian positions in Donetsk.

WARD: Oleg Chevy (ph), that's the sign here that says yes, Oleg is alive. Because you need to believe -- SNIZHANA SHESTAKOVA, WIFE OF MISSING SOLDIER: Yes. I believe he is alive because he left saying, whatever they tell you, don't believe anyone. I will definitely return.

WARD: She says, the dog is old. Now he's 15-years-old, and they sit and they wait together for him to come home.

WARD (voice-over): Oleg's backpack still sits in the hallway. Snizhana spends her days going through their messages to each other.

WARD: Can you help us understand the pain of living with not knowing. It is one thing to go through, the pain of grieving, but the agony of not knowing is a unique form of cruelty?

SHESTAKOVA: It's very difficult to live through it. You know it's such a feeling, just dead inside, just dead, torn apart, in small pieces.

WARD (voice-over): After four long years of war, Ukraine and its people are being stretched to the limit.

[18:50:03]

Murals on the road into Kyiv celebrate the heroism of Ukrainian soldiers, but inside many apartments, families are fighting a quieter battle against the cold.

WARD: I don't know if you can hear. It's almost deafening now, everywhere you go in Kyiv, the sound of generators.

WARD (voice-over): Relentless Russian strikes on energy infrastructure have left residents facing constant power and heating outages during the coldest winter in years. Mamacita was Svitlana Kivirenko's dream.

WARD: Hello, hi.

WARD (voice-over): Built from the ground up a place where moms and their kids could escape the grind of war.

SVITLANA KIVIRENKO, MAMACITA FOUNDER: It was pure. We had this nail salon. We had makeup here. We had cosmetology so mom could take --

WARD: Break?

KIVIRENKO: A break, yes, and relax.

WARD (voice-over): Earlier this month, Svitlana finally had to close Mamacita.

KIVIRENKO: I died that time, really. I mean, because it's my heart. It's my dream, but it was just one day generator broke, and that's it.

WARD: You know, there's this idea that Ukrainians are just like super human, super heroes.

KIVIRENKO: I mean, we are not. We are not super humans. We are not robots. We are not super people. We are human and we are breakable, unfortunately.

WARD: And do you think a lot of people are at breaking point?

KIVIRENKO: I'm sure.

WARD (voice-over): For Veronica Burminova, breaking down is not an option. She is raising her three-year-old daughter, Masha, on her own. Tonight, they will climb ten flights of stairs to reach their apartment.

VERONICA BURMINOVA, CHARITY WORKER: Masha is a star. Marsha is a good girl.

WARD (voice-over): There is no power, and they do not trust the elevator, even with the emergency generator. After two months of outages, it has become a familiar routine.

Inside the apartment, Masha shows us how they keep the lights on.

WARD: That's so pretty, so pretty. And now you have light from a power bank.

Oh, you have two power banks. In the kitchen they make tea by candlelight using a portable gas stove. Dinner is usually instant soup or noodles. They are lucky that they still have heat.

WARD: How long can you go on like this?

BURMINOVA: Honestly, I don't know. I live in the moment but sometimes it's tough. There are days when I ran out of steam and I tell her, Masha, I'm not angry at you, and I don't want to shout at you, I just have no more strength. Mama is tired. And she understands.

WARD (voice-over): As night falls, the city goes dark. In the end, Ukraine's greatest strength may have become its heaviest burden, a nation expected to endure without end.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WARD: And, Jake, just to give you a sense of the scale of loss that we are talking about here, a recent study estimates that by the spring we will be looking at two million casualties on the Russian and Ukrainian sides. That is people who have either been killed or injured or disappeared during this four years of war, and roughly 500,000 to 600,000 of those are Ukrainian.

And when we spoke to President Zelenskyy and asked him about this figure, he said, listen I'm not going to talk to you about specific numbers with regards to casualties, but I will tell you that I feel the loss keenly and I feel the loss deeply. At the same time, he said, when I said, do you have a responsibility essentially to end this war for the Ukrainian people? He said, yes, but I cannot end it in a way that sells out the sacrifice that so many have already made, Jake.

TAPPER: Thank you so much.

Another top CDC official is out just months after starting the job. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:59:03]

TAPPER: Our last lead start in our health lead, where the deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, is leaving his position after just over two months after being sworn in. The agency's statement says that Dr. Ralph Abraham is stepping down due to, quote, "unforeseen family obligations". Leadership at the CDC has had several changes since last year's abrupt removal of then director, Dr. Susan Monarez, and recent shakeups ahead of the midterm elections.

In our sports lead, Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn revealing in a social media video today that her doctor saved her leg from amputation after her devastating fall during the Olympics despite tearing her ACL shortly before the games. Vonn was hoping to persevere through her events. Instead, her Olympic run ended in catastrophe with multiple tibia, fibula and ankle fractures.

While Vonn is currently still wheelchair bound, Vonn hopes to move to crutches within a few weeks, but it's expected to take a year for all of the bone fractures to heal.

A reminder, CNN's going to have special coverage of the president's State of the Union Address. That's tomorrow night. I'll be leading coverage here, along with CNN's Anderson Cooper. It all begins at 8:00 p.m. Eastern tomorrow here on CNN.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now. See you tomorrow.