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Patel Confirms as FBI Director; Mitch McConnell to Retire From Politics Next Year. Germans Head to the Polls for a Snap Election on Sunday; Amazon to Continue James Bond's Tradition. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired February 21, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

Israel says a body turned over by Hamas isn't the hostage they were expecting. What this could mean for the fragile ceasefire.

Then, what Ukraine and the U.S. says about ending the war after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with a key envoy from the Trump administration.

And while the U.S. president touts his first month back in office, new polling provides insight into how Americans feel about his performance.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: Israel's Prime Minister is vowing to make Hamas pay the full price for not returning the body of hostage Shiri Bibas as they promised. Benjamin Netanyahu says it was an unimaginable and cynical move for the group to put the body of a Gazan woman inside the casket instead.

The 32-year-old Shiri, mother of two, was supposed to be among the four bodies handed over on Thursday. Israel says the remains don't match any known hostages. Authorities did confirm the identities of 4- year-old Ariel Bibas and 9-month-old Kfir Bibas, as well as 83-year- old Oded Lifshitz.

Israel says evidence suggests they were murdered. Hamas claims they were killed in Israeli strikes. The Bibas boys, with their bright red hair, became some of the most recognizable victims of the October 7th terror attacks.

The Israeli military is demanding Hamas return the body of Shiri Bibas and all other hostages. Israel's ambassador to the U.N. accuses Hamas of an evil and cruelty with no parallel. And here's the U.S. envoy for hostage affairs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM BOEHLER, U.S. ENVOY FOR HOSTAGE AFFAIRS: It's horrific. It's a clear violation. And if I have one piece of advice for Hamas now, it's not only do you need to release her body immediately, but we have the bodies of four Americans that are still there.

And we have one American, Idan Alexander. I think you know his family well. And you've done a great job reporting on it.

He needs to come home. And if I were them, I'd release everybody or they're going to face total annihilation right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: CNN's Paula Hancocks joins me now from Abu Dhabi. So, Paula, as you can expect, there's been plenty of angry reaction to this. Take us through what you're seeing and what the possible repercussions could be.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, it was always going to be a somber day in Israel. But as you say, that sadness has turned to anger in many areas.

We have been hearing condemnation of the fact that Shiri Bibas' body was not one of the four that had been handed back by Hamas to the Red Cross and then to the Israeli military on Thursday. Now, what we have heard is responses from Israeli authorities, the Israeli military, for example.

I'll read you part of their statement, saying, quote, "this is a violation of the utmost severity of the Hamas terrorist organization, which is obligated under the agreement to return four deceased hostages. We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all of our hostages."

Now, we have also heard in the recent hours a response from the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Let's listen to part of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): In an unimaginable cynical move, they didn't return Shiri by her little children, little angels and put the body of a Gazan woman inside a casket. We will operate determinedly to bring Shiri home along with our hostages, both the living and the dead, and ensure that Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and vicious violation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: So at this point, it doesn't appear as though there is any short term effect to the actual ceasefire hostage deal. We understand from the Israeli Prime Minister that the Saturday hostage release will still go ahead. There are expected to be six live hostages released in return for a number of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jail.

So as we understand it, that will still go ahead. We have yet to hear from Hamas, although we have asked them for comment.

Now, we also have been hearing from those close to the U.S. President Donald Trump. Here's the response of Mike Huckabee.

[03:05:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE HUCKABEE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL NOMINEE: Just heartbreak for this family who had to wait over 500 days to know the disposition of their loved ones. Parading these coffins through a large crowd of cheering people was just another insult to injury. These people have no bounds of decency, none whatsoever.

And Hamas has really demonstrated every single day why they cannot remain in any part of control, not just of Gaza, but anywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: Now we also heard condemnation from the U.N. Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, speaking about the way that these bodies were handed over, the fact that Hamas used it for its own propaganda.

The Secretary General said that he condemned the parading of the bodies and the displaying of the coffins. And we've heard as well from the forum that represents the families of these hostages. And they spoke of their profound sorrow and unbearable pain. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. I appreciate that. Paul Hancocks in Abu Dhabi, thanks so much.

The U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff is defending President Donald Trump's proposal to take over and rebuild Gaza.

He explained why it doesn't have to be an eviction order while speaking with the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, at a Saudi investment conference in Miami. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE MIDDLE EAST: The conditions are horrendous. I don't know how people can move in there. The buildings are all listing. There's nothing standing up in a good way.

And it's going to take a lot of cleanup and imagination and a great master plan. And that doesn't mean that we have to, that we're on an eviction plan when the president talks about this.

It means that he wants to shake up everybody's thinking and think about what is compelling for that area and what is the best solution for the Palestinian and Gazan people who live there.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: Now, President Trump has said it's a mistake to allow Palestinians to go back to Gaza, calling the enclave a, quote, "big real estate site." Today, leaders from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the UAE are expected to meet in Riyadh to discuss the future of Gaza.

The Israeli military says it will deploy three additional battalions this morning to the West Bank following a suspected terror attack. Israeli police say bombs on at least three buses exploded on Thursday night south of Tel Aviv.

They add that the bombs were put on the buses while they were empty. No injuries have been reported and there have been no public claims of responsibility.

Officials ordered all buses and trains to stop running across the country, with the incident prompting a massive security response. Israeli police say they're searching other buses to rule out any further threats.

We're getting word of a new barrage of Russian strikes in Ukraine. Its air force says Russia has launched more than 160 drones and missiles across the country overnight.

The targets include the capital, Kyiv, as well as Kharkiv, Odessa and other cities. So far, no word on casualties.

Now, that's happening as the rift between the U.S. and its allies over Ukraine gets wider in the war that's approaching its third anniversary. Officials say the U.S. is now opposed to calling the war a Russian aggression in the upcoming G7 statement marking the occasion. That's happening after U.S. President Donald Trump blamed Ukraine for the war and started talks with Russia.

But Western intelligence says there's no evidence Russian President Vladimir Putin is even ready for a serious peace talks. That is, as long as he believes he can get what he wants on the battlefield. And that's according to sources familiar with intelligence reports.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are headed to Washington next week to meet with Trump. Now some lawmakers from the U.S. president's own party are now pushing it back against his outreach to Moscow. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): Whoever believes that there is any space for Vladimir Putin and the future of a stable globe better go to Ukraine. They better go to Europe. They better invest the time to understand that this man is a cancer and the greatest threat to democracy in my lifetime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: In the midst of his rift with Trump, President Zelenskyy met U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg in Kiev on Thursday. The Ukrainian leader said he was encouraged by their talks. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): General Kellogg, our talks restore hope. We need strong agreements with America, agreements that will really work. I give instructions to work fast and very much even handedly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has more on that meeting from Kyiv.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the closest Ukraine has got to President Trump's noisy push for peace.

[03:10:00]

President Zelenskyy has wanted to meet U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg for weeks, just not on a day like today, with the U.S.-Ukraine relationship crumbling around them, making what they actually discussed matter less and less.

PATON WALSH: We're now leaving the presidency after being told that we're not expected to get press conference or statements, not a suggestion that either man looking for publicity. And we are being told that that format is the request of the American side.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): The last 48 hours have seen Ukraine standing with its main backer in freefall, but their fight against an advancing Russian aggressor has not stopped, even if the garish rhetoric around it has seemed to drown the dying out.

Trump falsely saying Ukraine started the war and its leader was deeply unpopular, refusing elections.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: A dictator without elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he's not going to have a country left.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): And then adding Zelenskyy was asleep when he was meant to meet Trump's Treasury secretary in Kyiv.

TRUMP: Essentially, they told him no and Zelenskyy was sleeping and unavailable to meet him. He traveled many hours on the train, which is a dangerous trip.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): For clarity, here is Zelenskyy meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant during that visit.

And here they are again, neither apparently asleep.

But the litany of untruths from Trump continues.

Perhaps designed to pressure Ukraine into a deal over rare earth minerals that Besant brought with him. Trump's national security adviser pressing again the need for a deal.

MIKE WALTZ, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The war has to end. And what comes with that?

What comes with that should be at some point elections. What comes with that should be peace. What comes with that is prosperity that we've just offered.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Two presidents, one in dire need of the other's help. The other apparently keen to leave him that way.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Earlier, I spoke with Vladimir Milov, a former Russian deputy energy minister who also advised late opposition leader Alexei Navalny. And I asked him if he was surprised by President Trump's verbal attacks on President Zelenskyy. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR MILOV, FORMER RUSSIAN DEPUTY ENERGY MINISTER: This obviously reflects Trump's total lack of interest in this war and actually in this part of the world in the Eastern Hemisphere. He clearly during his inaugural address, he clearly was looking like he's back 200 years from now.

And he was speaking something more resemblant of a Monroe Doctrine, where U.S. is focusing on the Western Hemisphere and embracing this whole idea of dividing the world into zones of influence of great powers, which is an idea very familiar and very dear to Vladimir Putin.

So I think that was all in the making that was visible that some major concessions on Trump's part to Putin are coming. And Trump's really not interested in getting involved in the worlds of former U.K. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain back in 1938. So why should we care about the quarrel in the faraway land between the people who we know nothing of?

BRUNHUBER: Yes, certainly there have been plenty of parallels drawn between Neville Chamberlain and Donald Trump in recent weeks. So knowing the Russian government, as you do, how is this being greeted by the Kremlin and by Putin?

MILOV: From what I hear, it absolutely exceeded their expectations, because Russia generally expected that Trump would come up with a certain set of demands. This is what the commentators and pundits saying all along, that before giving concessions, Trump will demand something from Russia. And Russians were preparing sort of some offers here and there to make what they call a deal.

I see that everybody in Moscow is totally astonished by now that they were given all the concessions they wanted even before the negotiations started. This is a shocking result, even by Vladimir Putin's standards. And you see Moscow demands accelerating in the past few days.

They now demanding that all the NATO troops being pulled out of the new member states that have joined in the past quarter of a century, joined the NATO alliance. These demands already go well beyond just Ukraine and so on. So Moscow is clearly encouraged by Trump's lack of willingness to impose any conditions on Russia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Well President Trump faces pushback on Ukraine, just as the U.S. Senate is taking its first step to advance his agenda. Senators are voting on a series of items in a bid to adopt a blueprint for Trump's budget. Hours ago, two Democratic senators presented an amendment supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression, but the largely symbolic legislation failed because no Republican voted for it.

[03:15:03]

All right, coming up after the break, President Donald Trump is enjoying his highest favorability rating as president, but he's still not popular with the majority of Americans.

Plus, Elon Musk appears at the Conservative Political Action Conference and shows off his chainsaw. We'll explain why after the break. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: A federal judge says the Trump administration is violating a court order to resume foreign aid, but the judge says he won't hold the administration in contempt. During a Thursday hearing, the judge said that the White House could make individualized assessments about whether certain aid agreements can legally be paused.

[03:20:08]

A group of nonprofit organizations brought the case after the administration froze all foreign aid. Billionaire and Trump adviser Elon Musk received a rock star's welcome Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY: This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy. Chainsaw.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Musk bragged about his efforts to shrink the federal workforce and recently defended steep cuts that have been criticized by Democrats and some Republicans.

Now this comes as a federal judge cleared the way for the Trump administration to conduct mass firings of probationary federal workers and rejected a request from unions to block the plan indefinitely. Internal Revenue Service workers have been describing chaotic scenes, heightened security and charged emotions playing out across the country.

Meanwhile, sources say the new Secretary of Defense could soon move to fire more than half a dozen generals and admirals. It's part of an effort to purge the Department of Senior Leader is perceived to be too close to the previous Secretary of Defense.

And finally, it appears NASA has struck a deal over the layoffs of recent hires. The space agency says job cuts will be performance based or voluntary.

President Trump touted his first month back in the White House at the Republican Governors Association dinner on Thursday, and now a new CNN poll suggests his approval rating is higher than at any point during his first time in office. But it's not all good news.

CNN's political director David Chalian has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Our brand new CNN poll shows Donald Trump one month into his second term as president is upside down in terms of his job approval rating with the American people. 47 percent of Americans in this poll tell us they approve of the job that Donald Trump is doing. 52 percent, a slim majority, disapprove.

Now, that 47 percent is actually the highest number of approval we've ever had for Donald Trump throughout the entirety of his first four years in the White House. But it is still an approval rating that is upside down and on the low end of any of his modern day predecessors at the start of the new administration.

We also went inside and looked at some of what is keeping his numbers sort of tilting to the negative.

This number is probably the most important number in our poll. 62 percent of Americans in this poll say Donald Trump has not gone far enough to bring down the prices of everyday goods. That is a warning sign for the Trump White House because it was inflation and the sky high prices of everyday life that really propelled him back into the White House for a second term.

We also tested some other actions here and a slim majority, 52 percent say using presidential power is something he's gone too far with, 51 percent say cutting federal programs is something he's gone too far with.

So some of the work you're seeing with cutting the agencies and getting rid of federal workers is not resonating broadly with the American people, though it may be popular with Donald Trump's base.

And on a slew of items, we asked the country, do you think it's a good thing what Donald Trump is doing on this or a bad thing?

And look at this list, nothing tops higher than 37 percent in terms of being called a good thing. In fact, if you look at the column on the right hand side here, a bad thing, a majority, 53 percent say it's a bad thing to shut down government agencies.

54 percent say it's a bad thing to give Elon Musk the role he has in the Trump government, and 58 percent, nearly six and 10, saying that the U.S. taking over Gaza is a bad thing that President Trump has proposed.

David Chalian, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: And another approval for the Trump White House, the U.S. Senate has confirmed Kash Patel as the new FBI director. There was a lack of solidarity with the U.S. president, Donald Trump's party.

The vote for Patel was 51-49, with two Republican senators siding with Democrats. The nomination faced intense scrutiny from Senate Democrats. They warned Patel's poised to seek retribution against Trump's perceived political enemies.

During his confirmation hearing, Patel said there will be no acts of retribution at the FBI.

Former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell says he won't run for reelection next year. McConnell made the announcement on the Senate floor Thursday morning on his 83rd birthday.

He says representing the state of Kentucky has been the honor of a lifetime, but he won't pursue an eighth term after his announcement. Fellow senators gave McConnell a standing ovation. McConnell has served in the Senate since 1985 and has faced health issues in recent years.

Mexico's president is calling for constitutional reforms to protect our nation's sovereignty as the Trump administration targets cartels in Mexican territory.

[03:25:07]

The U.S. designated several Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations on Thursday, following through on one of President Trump's many executive orders. The designation could potentially lay the groundwork for a direct U.S. strikes inside Mexican territory.

President Claudia Sheinbaum says Washington didn't consult with her government and the two sides have to work together. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (through translator): What we want to make clear in the face of this designation is that we do not negotiate sovereignty. As I said yesterday, this cannot be an opportunity for the United States to invade our sovereignty so they can name them however they want to. But with Mexico, it is a collaboration and coordination, never subordination, non-interference and even less invasion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The U.S. has been covertly flying Reaper drones inside Mexican airspace to spy on drug cartels as part of President Trump's overhaul of national security resources to the southern U.S. border with Mexico.

German voters will soon choose a new government and the nation's far- right party is picking up more support. Look at where that's coming from and how it could impact Germany going forward.

Plus, Pope Francis has been in hospital since last week and now he's responding to treatment. We'll have an update on his condition. That's coming up after the break. Stay with us.

[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Kim Brunhuber, in Atlanta. Let's check on some of today's top stories.

Israel says it still expects Hamas to release six living hostages on Saturday. But Israel says one of the four bodies turned over on Thursday isn't Shiri Bibas, as Hamas had promised.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims it's a woman from Gaza. Testing confirms the other three bodies are Shiri's sons Ariel and Kfir Bibas and 83-year-old Oded Lifshitz.

Russia has launched a barrage of new strikes across Ukraine overnight. Its air force says more than 160 drones and missiles targeted Kyiv and other cities, including Kharkiv and Odessa. It happened after U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg held talks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

And Kash Patel has been confirmed as the new FBI director. It was a very narrow vote for Patel, 51-49, with two Republican senators voting against him. The nomination faced intense scrutiny amid fears Patel would seek retribution against the president's perceived enemies.

Germans head to the polls on Sunday to choose a new government, two months after Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for and lost a confidence vote. The election comes as the German economy struggles to rebound after its GDP shrunk for two years straight and the country's far- right AfD party is growing in strength.

But the polls show the center-right CDU is on track to be the largest group in Parliament. Now that would make its leader, Friedrich Merz, Germany's new chancellor.

Merz says he's worried the U.S. is headed towards a long period of instability. He says Germany and Europe must be ready to step up and defend themselves in case the U.S. slides into a, quote, "authoritarian populist system." I want to bring in Nina Haase, who is the chief political

correspondent for Deutsche Welle, and she's with us from Berlin. Thank you so much for being here with us.

So the far-right party, the ADF says -- AfD rather, says a tidal wave is going to sweep the country. Is that what you're expecting?

NINA HAASE, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, DEUTSCHE WELLE: Well, the AfD are a far-right party that looks set to become the most successful far-right party since the end of the Second World War here in Germany. They're currently polling some 20 to 22 percent.

Now, pollsters are saying that they max out their potential at some 25 percent, but still it's going to be the biggest historic success, if you will, for a party that is in part under observation by Germany's intelligence agencies for legitimate concerns that they are working towards undermining our constitution, that they want to abolish our liberal democratic system.

And where a court has said that certain figures in their ranks, leading figures, can officially be called Nazis. Having said all that, the far-right AfD is not going to get into the next government, and that is because all other democratic parties here in this country have ruled out working together with them. That is labeled as the so-called firewall here.

But the AfD are also very clear. They firmly have their eyes on 2029, when Germans will go to the polls again.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, so it is possible eventually they could form government. What is behind the AfD's transformation from sort of this regional force to a national one?

HAASE: It's a fairly young party. They were founded just over 10 years ago as a Euroskeptic, a Europe-skeptic party, and they have radicalized over the last 10 years.

And now they are very successful and professional at describing problems, not necessarily offering workable solutions, but they're very present also in market squares. They're extremely effective on social media. They took that very seriously from day one, very active also on TikTok.

[03:35:05]

And it is something we are in a situation here in Germany where there are a lot of problems, and that is partly due to lack of action by previous governments when it comes to investment in infrastructure and the like. But also, of course, all the consequences from Russia's full-scale invasion into Ukraine, such as high energy costs.

So the AfD are appealing to all those voters. And then we've had a couple of attacks committed by non-German nationals, and that meant that this very short election campaign very much focused on the topic of migration, where the AfD take the most radical stance out of all the other parties. And even some of them are suggesting to deport people who have a German passport.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. And you talk about it being a young party. I mean, that's literally we saw in the European elections last year that the number of young people, 16 to 34-year-olds voting for the AfD rose by 18 percent.

Now, you talked about social media. Elon Musk has inserted himself in these elections. He's endorsed the AfD. He said, quote, "only the AfD can save Germany" and has used this platform X to boost the party's reach on social media.

What effect do you think this might have had?

HAASE: Elon Musk has definitely helped normalize the far-right AfD to a certain degree. He has given them a lot of visibility. He held an hour-long chat with their co-leader, Alice Weidel, on his platform X. And that is considered ironic by many experts who say that Elon Musk maintains that there must be free and fair chances to everybody in a democracy.

But he has definitely favored Alice Weidel and the AfD. That has given them a push. Very active party anyway on social media. That is appealing to young voters.

And then you also have this lack of loyalty towards the big 10 parties that we used to have here. You used to as your family, you used to decide, are you going to be social democrat or conservatives more or less? So that has definitely changed.

There are more coalitions happening on the federal, but also on the regional level. And so it's easier for the AfD to say all the others are useless.

We're the only real alternative. That is their name, Alternative for Germany Party.

And last not least, you have to say that the memory of how populism can lead to real life fascism with all its terrible consequences for the world and for Germans also, that memory is definitely fading. World War II is a long time ago now.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, although that thought not lost on everybody watching this around the world, certainly consequential elections that we'll keep an eye on on Sunday.

Nina Haase in Berlin. Thank you so much. I really appreciate that.

The Vatican says the slight improvement in Pope Francis's condition indicates he's reacting positively to his treatment for pneumonia, and we just learned that he had a third peaceful night, got up and ate breakfast.

CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau comes to us live from Rome. So Barbie seems as though they're cautiously optimistic about the Pope's prognosis. What's the latest? BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yes, you know, we get -- we got a

message this morning from the Vatican press office that he had a serene night, that he got up and that he ate breakfast. And that's it for the details.

We don't know exactly what he ate yesterday. We understood that he ate breakfast sitting in a chair.

And so we're getting these tiny little incremental reports about improvement. And of course, this is good news because this is an 88 year old man with pneumonia in both lungs that was diagnosed three days ago.

Now, he's been in the hospital for a week. He went to the hospital on February 14th in the afternoon after taking care of all of his engagements in the morning.

It wasn't sort of an emergency situation, but he had been declining in health. We'd seen a number of times when he couldn't deliver his prepared remarks. He couldn't. He had to hand those remarks to aides to speak for him because he just couldn't hold his breath.

Now, these improvements mean, as you said, that he's responding to the new therapy to try to treat this pneumonia. But, you know, he's missing half a lung from an infection when he was a 19 year old man.

And he has big mobility problems. We've seen in the last couple of years, he's almost completely confined to a wheelchair. So all of these are complications in terms of how he goes forward.

But he's on the 10th floor of the hospital behind me now for a week on a good care. We haven't seen any images or photos of him yet. That could be something we could expect in the coming days.

Hopefully, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. Now, I mean, you mentioned his age and everything. Do you think that this latest health scare might affect his work and travel schedule going forward?

[03:40:00]

LATZA NADEAU: Yes, you know, I mean, that is the big question is what happens after he gets out of the hospital, assuming that he continues to progress like this now.

Next week on Wednesday, begins the Lenten season with Ash Wednesday leading up to Easter. This is traditionally the busiest time in the Catholic calendar.

Add to that the fact that this is a holy jubilee year, a year filled with these events and celebrations where thousands and thousands of pilgrims are coming to Rome to celebrate them, hoping to get a glimpse of the pope, hoping to take part in these audiences that he has scheduled. So there's a lot riding on his recovery. And there are a lot of expectations that, you know, once he gets better, once he gets out of the hospital, assuming that the progress continues as it is, that he will get back out there and lead some of these very important Catholic jubilee and Lent and eventually Easter celebrations. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, certainly the Catholic world praying for his good health. Barbie Latza Nadeau in Rome. Thank you so much.

All right. Still to come, thousands of tourists flocking to see Mount Etna's eruption are creating a dangerous situation. (Inaudible) the warnings from Italian officials after the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: One of the world's most active volcanoes is drawing thousands of curious sight seekers. Sicily's Mount Etna has experienced spectacular lava sprays for more than a week, but officials are now warning that the sudden influx of tourists has become a safety risk. They're blocking rescue workers from doing their jobs.

On Monday, eight people who were hiking up the mountain without a guide got lost for several hours before rescuers were able to reach them.

All right. I want to bring in Boris Behncke, a volcanologist with the Etna Observatory, and he lives on the mountain flank and joins us now from Sicily.

Thank you so much for being here. I just want to start with that, to live right next to the volcano. You've taken some great images which we're going to show the viewers, but for many of us, that might be a little disconcerting living so close to such raw, natural power.

BORIS BEHNCKE, VOLCANOLOGIST ETNA OBSERVATORY: Well, it is actually quite exciting, I must say, and still I live about 15 miles from the summit of Etna, so that is basically considered quite a bit of a safety distance. So we're not likely to get anything more here at my home than the occasional fall of ash and little pieces of rock that we call lapilli.

BRUNHUBER: Well, that's certainly enough to frighten many of us. Now, the images that we're seeing from Etna these days are stunning, and I guess that's part of the problem, right? So many people want to see it. Tourists are drawn to it to take selfies and whatnot.

What effect is this having?

BEHNCKE: Well, basically, this is a very, very, I would say, rather cute, beautiful and quite accessible eruption. And the images are spreading around the world and everybody's going there and posting their images, which is obviously very spectacular, especially since we have this lava flow in the winter.

So we've got the encounter between fire and snow. So for on an Etna scale, this is a rather small and basically very harmless eruption. So it does not put at risk any man-made things except for the forest service road, which has been interrupted.

But apart from that, it's far away from populated areas and far away from cultivated land. So basically very nice eruption. And it is actually a huge attraction for locals and for visitors.

Maybe the locals are a bit more of the problem because they get so easily there and most of them know where to go, but not all of them.

And so the main problem is not so much the eruption itself, but the fact that Etna is also a very big mountain and it's in the winter. And so people are often not prepared for the winter conditions on a tall mountain.

So that is one of the main problems. People aren't equipped.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. So people aren't equipped, the conditions are possibly treacherous and there's more and more people trying to get these views. And now what's happening is that it's just overwhelming the rescue workers?

BEHNCKE: Pretty much so. So firstly, the few roads which lead to the area are often very, very much congested, especially the entry to the main forest road has been blocked with cars. And so the vehicles of rescue teams have difficulties in getting through.

And then we also have often bad weather. So we've got fog and we've got rain, we've got snow, it gets very cold. There is ice.

And in the last few days, actually, there has been virtually no visibility. So I guess since two days, the flux of people wanting to go to see the lava has dwindled a little bit. And also the activity has certainly diminished a lot.

So there is possibly still a little bit of lava flowing high on the mountain, but I doubt that it gets down to the place where everybody's been going these past few days. So everybody, all of us really hope that this episode will at least diminish a little bit so that it will not be so apparently easy to get there and risking actually on the path.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. I wonder if in future, you know, people might have to, the government might have to do something to limit the accessibility of the number of people.

I was sort of smiling as you described this eruption is as cute. It's not something that would immediately come to mind for me.

[03:50:08]

But just before we go, I want to ask you sort of the big picture here. Mount Etna has been erupting for some, you know, 500,000 years. What makes it so fascinating to study?

BEHNCKE: Well, for me personally, maybe the most fascinating thing is the variability. It's the versatility of this volcano.

So we've got eruptions like this one, which are relatively quiet eruptions, which happen near the summit of the mountain. And therefore they are not dangerous for populated areas.

But then we also have eruptions at lower altitude, which can actually threaten, rarely invade populated areas. And then we've got the very violent, explosive eruptions at the summit, like last summer, which caused heavy fallout of fragments of rock of ash and lapilli over areas lying downwind. And it constantly changes. So the shape of the volcano changes with every eruption.

And it is this what makes Etna such a fabulous and unique volcano, not only in my eyes, but I think in the eyes of all volcanologists on the planet.

BRUNHUBER: Well, I certainly hope that you and everybody else there stays safe. Boris Behncke in Sicily, thank you so much for speaking with us. I really appreciate it.

BEHNCKE: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Well, Jeff Bezos wants you to weigh in on who should be the next James Bond. Just ahead, the major Hollywood deal that has Amazon taking over the British spy movie franchise. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: The political tension between Canada and the United States hit the ice on Thursday and Canada won. Canada's Conor McDavid scored the game winner in overtime to win the first ever Four Nations Cup. Canada defeated the U.S. 3-2.

Now, the tournament added spark to the political tension between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over tariff threats. Trump has also talked about making Canada America's 51st state. Well, after the game, Trudeau posted this on social media. You can't take our country and you can't take our game.

In the NBA, San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wimonyama is expected to miss the rest of the NBA season with a shoulder injury. The team announced on Thursday the 21 year old has been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis, a form of blood clot in his right shoulder.

The condition was discovered when the young Frenchman returned to San Antonio following the All-Star game in San Francisco. The reigning Rookie of the Year was having another impressive season and was considered a front runner for Defensive Player of the Year prior to his injury.

[03:55:06]

(VIDEO PLAYING) Creative control of the James Bond series was in the hands of one family for more than six decades. But now Amazon MGM Studios is taking over the franchise as part of a new deal announced Thursday. And founder Jeff Bezos is already stirring up excitement about who the next Bond might be.

CNN Entertainment reporter Elizabeth Wagmeister has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: A huge shock in Hollywood as a new business deal can determine the future of James Bond.

For the past 60 years, one family has controlled everything related to James Bond, and that is the Broccoli family, the producers behind the James Bond franchise who have infamously been resistant to give up any creative control as it pertains to the James Bond films.

But now the Broccoli family entering into a shocking deal with Amazon that hands over creative control to Jeff Bezos' company.

Now, Jeff Bezos has already gotten into the action, taking to X with this post, quote, "Who'd you pick as the next Bond?"

Clearly, Bezos is already drumming up some excitement for the future of this iconic franchise, which has had 25 films and has made $7.8 billion over the past seven decades.

Now, the casting question, of course, is top of mind, some fan favorites that have been floating around, everyone from Idris Elba to Henry Cavill to Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who had been rumored last year to have actually been offered the part.

But the fact of the matter is there's no next James Bond movie that is currently in the works. There's no script, there's no writer and there's certainly no star.

So it remains to be seen when we will see that next James Bond movie. But it also remains to be seen what the future expansion of James Bond will be.

Now that Amazon has creative control, is James Bond going to get the Marvel treatment? Are they going to expand the world of this I.P. so that it's not just theatrical films, but that there are television series and spinoffs?

Now, of course, any time you dig into the I.P. and expand a franchise, you run the risk of alienating lifelong fans who love James Bond. So it has to be done right. But this is big news in the world of James Bond and definitely a lot more to come.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER: All right, that wraps this hour of "CNN Newsroom." I'm Kim Brunhuber. Max Foster picks up our coverage from London after a quick break.

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