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Warning for Federal Employees; Inflation Worries Escalate; Pope Francis in "Critical" Condition; Israel Delays Prisoner Release; U.S- Ukraine Mineral Deal Latest; CDC Hit with Layoffs; Cold Winter Air Lingers Over U.S.; CNN Visits West Texas Amid Measles Outbreak. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired February 23, 2025 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.

Federal employees face a choice, explain their roles immediately or risk losing their jobs. But not every agency says it will comply.

Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're going to have so much money coming in from tariffs, oh.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: As Donald Trump gloats about tariffs, American consumers grow fearful of how the president's actions could reignite inflation.

And prayers pour in from around the world as the Vatican issues an update on the pope's health. We're live in Rome with the latest.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: Federal employees are being told to justify their jobs or face dismissal. Have a look, this e-mail with the heading, what did you do on the job last week, was sent to federal employees in multiple agencies. It tells them to outline their accomplishments within the last week.

Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency, announced that, quote, "Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation." The FBI and multiple other federal departments advised staffers not to respond immediately, but not the director of the Secret Service, who instructed his staff to comply with the request.

And, at a conservative gathering on Saturday, President Trump gave Musk a glowing job review of his own.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I signed an order creating the Department of Government Efficiency, you probably haven't heard of it, which is now waging war on government waste, fraud, and abuse. And Elon is doing a great job. He's doing a great job. We love Elon, don't we?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: CNN's Betsy Klein has more from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: President Trump taking a victory lap to a friendly crowd at CPAC on Saturday, ticking off some of his accomplishments, taking aim at his political rivals, and saying that he believes he has, quote, "a mandate for dramatic change in Washington."

Now, to that end, we have seen President Trump take steps toward dramatically reshaping the size and the scope of the federal government, and he has dispatched Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency to find ways to dramatically slash federal spending and trim the federal workforce.

So, Trump at CPAC said that Musk was doing a great job, called him a patriot. But during that Musk himself announced a new ultimatum for federal workers saying, tell us what you did or you'll be fired. In a tweet he posted, he said, consistent with President Donald Trump's instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an e-mail requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.

Now, CNN has obtained multiple copies of that e-mail sent to federal workers. It includes the very stark subject line, what did you do last week and asks those workers to respond with roughly five bullet points replying to that e-mail and CC-ing their manager with an 11:59 p.m. deadline on Monday.

Of course, there are federal workers who don't have access to a computer between now and Monday at 11:59 p.m. There may be federal workers who are on vacation, and there may be federal workers who frankly are doing work that is classified. They cannot put in writing what they accomplished. But certainly, President Trump, for his part, also taking aim at federal workers who are working remotely. Take a look.

TRUMP: If they don't report for work, we're firing them. In other words, you have to go to office, right, right? Look at her. If you don't report to work, you know, that's another scam. You know, who the hell -- if I'm staying home, I'm going to -- let's see, my golf handicap would get down to very low number, you'd be shocked if I told you the real number, but I would be so good, I'd try and get on tour. I would be so good.

KLEIN: Of course, we should note that President Trump himself worked remotely this past week. He was also on the golf course on Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of last week. But taken together, really a dramatic effort to reshape the federal workforce.

Betsy Klein, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[04:05:00]

BRUNHUBER: So, as President Trump enjoys his victory lap, many Americans are growing increasingly concerned about the future of the U.S. economy, and more precisely, the impact it's having on their household finances.

New reporting from the University of Michigan shows consumer sentiment dropped more than expected to a 15-month low in February. That's a startling turnaround from the economic optimism shown after Trump's November election win. And fears of growing inflation are driving consumer confidence down as Americans worry about how the president's plan for steep tariffs will impact prices. Still, Trump continues to sing the praises of his controversial strategy. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're going to have so much money coming in from tariffs, oh. You're going to say -- your senators and your congressmen are going to say, please, sir, please, you're making us look so bad. We have so much money coming in, I didn't know this was going to happen. Please don't do this to us. We look very bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: I want to bring in Connor Lokar, who is a Senior Forecaster and Senior Economic Consulting Speaker at ITR Economics, and he joins me now from Manchester, New Hampshire. Thank you so much for being up with us early here. So, break it down for us, why exactly are U.S. consumers feeling so pessimistic about the economy right now?

CONNOR LOKAR, SENIOR FORECASTER AND SENIOR ECONOMIC CONSULTING SPEAKER, ITR ECONOMICS: Well, Kim, I think it goes down to the rising inflation, you know, expectations, and I think a lot of that expectation shifts owes to the recent tariff announcements.

Now, the most important thing with any government policy, economic or otherwise, is you can't grade it on intention, you have to grade it on outcome. Now, in a vacuum, the intentions, there are things that sound good, right, we're going to further incense the on and reshoring of foreign production back to the U.S. market, to create jobs for the U.S. worker and U.S. manufacturing, drive a more resilient supply chain and ultimately, you know, put us in a stronger position. And, you know, as mentioned in the lead in there, you know, maybe generate some additional incremental government revenue.

But as always, the devil is in the unintended economic details and outcomes. And among other things, it carries the prospect of an escalation of global trade war, retaliatory tariffs, fraying diplomatic relations with our trading partners, and ultimately, again, the primary concern why I'm here this morning is inflation concerns, and we think that's a legitimate concern that this will drive some additional incremental inflation pressure, and obviously, that was a lightning rod last year, and it appears it's going to be one this year as well.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, that's right. I mean, you talk about unintended incomes, but not unexpected, perhaps, because certainly, people have been ringing those alarm bells when Trump mentioned all of those tariffs. And now, those bells are ringing even louder.

This week Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz raised the specter of stagflation. That's the combination of rising prices and a slowing economy. And he says it might happen because the shifting tariffs make the U.S. a scary place to invest. Is that a real fear, do you think?

LOKAR: It might be a bit early to say that at this point for outright stagflation. We do anticipate that the economy is going to grow this year. But we do think inflation is going to be a part of that. Our forecast prior to the election and after the election, prior to the inauguration and after, prior to tariffs and now, was that inflation was going to average around 3 percent this year. We were not in the camp that it was going to go to 2 percent, below 2 percent, it was -- that it was going to cease being an issue this year.

But our expectation was that the economy would continue to grow despite that, because incomes currently anyway are growing faster than inflation, and that's the math that really matters for us. So, we're seeing some upward momentum in manufacturing, industrial production, recent retail data has been good. So, the question can really is going to be for this year is, does the incremental additional inflation pressure that this is likely to drive on the margins, is that going to be enough to undermine that fundamental rising at this point, inflation adjusted disposable income trends to the point that, you know, real growth outcomes do start to buckle and maybe we do tilt in that stagflation direction? We're not ready to go there yet, but that's something we're going to be tracking as this year wears on.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, and that fear then might result in a recession, right? So, how likely do you think that is if the president keeps sort of taking these wild swings with tariffs?

LOKAR: As things currently stand, with 10 percent on China, 25 percent on steel and aluminum, we are not forecasting a recession at this point. However, two, three, four weeks from now, we could find ourselves in a drastically different position with 25 points on Canada and Mexico, potentially on vehicles in Europe. So, that level of escalation, we may have to reevaluate at that point. But with what we know now and what we see so far, we do not think that this will be fatal to our forecast for reasonably good growth outcomes for the U.S. economy in 2025.

[04:10:00]

BRUNHUBER: You talked about you had projected these certain, you know, inflation numbers before and after inauguration, before tariffs after tariffs. Certainly, in terms of the consumers themselves, in terms of the voters, they voted for change, and that was one of the drivers of the election was the fears of rising prices, and Donald Trump promised to do something about that, certainly voters don't seem to think that he is doing that, at least consumers so far. How much blame do you think the administration has, how realistic is it for them to actually sort of try and get those prices down so quickly after an election?

LOKAR: Well, it's a tall mountain to climb. You know, independent of any sort of additional inflation pressure derived from tariffs, there are a number of structural factors in play for the new administration coming in, whether it's prior government and deficit spending and borrowing, structurally tight labor markets that are going to continue to feed labor cost increases into the economy, the probability of a higher commodity pricing environment this year, ongoing rise in electricity, for example.

We were struggling really to find a bear case for inflation to the downsides that would ultimately drive us, you know, below 2 percent before, which is why we felt that, again, it was going to be sticky this year. And then, when you add on some inflation pressure and some complicated policy there, that's -- you know, like I said, in driving towards some well-intended long-term outcomes, that could complicate what we already thought was going to be a pretty difficult task here in 2025.

BRUNHUBER: All right. So, bottom line, you're not predicting a worst case at least right now, but still plenty of unknowns out there. Connor Lokar, thank you so much. Really appreciate you taking time with us.

LOKAR: Thanks, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Well, the Vatican says Pope Francis is resting in the hospital, having had a peaceful night after a difficult day of illness. On Saturday, the Vatican said the 88-year-old pontiff suffered a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis. He required oxygen and received blood transfusions for anemia, but remains in critical condition. Pope Francis will miss the weekly Angelus prayer for the second Sunday in a row, and for only the third time in his nearly 12 yearlong papacy. Catholics around the world are, of course, praying for his recovery.

CNN Vatican Correspondent Christopher Lamb joins me now from Rome. So, Christopher, yesterday the pope at least seemed on the mend and then seemingly suddenly this big setback. What more can you tell us about how he's doing?

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was a bit of a surprise last night to get that concerning update from the Vatican saying that the pope is still in the critical condition, that he had an asthmatic crisis, yesterday on Saturday. Of course, the doctors had informed journalists on Friday that the pope was not out of danger, that he was in a critical condition, and obviously, yesterday was a bad day for the pope.

Now, Francis is a very popular pope, particularly in Latin America and across the world, and the news of his condition has sparked an outpouring of prayer and concern amongst Catholics. And here's my look at how they are responding to this news.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAMB (voice-over): Prayers for the pope are crisscrossing the world. In Buenos Aires, where Pope Francis was born and served as Archbishop, the city's iconic obelisk was lit up with images and a message of hope for his health. It's part of a wave of care and concern across the globe, as the faithful far and wide light candles and bow their heads in prayer. For the Pope, many Catholics say they feel a special kinship with, especially those in Latin America.

GRISEL JIMENEZ, MEXICO CITY PARISHIONER (through translator): Since he's a Latino, he speaks our language and he shares the feelings of the Latino community because we come from a similar culture, even though he's from Argentina.

LAMB (voice-over): In the Philippines, a mass was held in Manila to pray for the pope and the medical staff supporting him. With some parishioners saying they hoped the worst would not come to pass.

CRISTINA CANARES, MANILA CHURCH STAFF (through translator): We are not yet ready for him to pass away. That's why we've been praying for his recovery, so he can live longer and continue serving the Catholics in the world and in the Philippines.

LAMB (voice-over): But on Saturday, the Vatican gave an update on the pope's health that wasn't what many people were hoping to hear. It said the pope suffered an asthmatic respiratory crisis and received blood transfusions for a condition associated with anemia, and said he remained in a critical condition. Something his doctors had warned on Friday could deteriorate even further.

[04:15:00]

DR. SERGIO ALFIERI, GEMELLI HOSPITAL (through translator): But the question is the pope out of danger? No, the pope is not out of danger. The door is open to both possibilities because such a major infection with so many microbes, with the appearance of bilateral pneumonia, in a man, and we see this, who walks very little and is in a wheelchair, and who's 88 years old.

LAMB (voice-over): Back at the Vatican, the pope's absence is hard to miss, especially since he hasn't led the weekly Angelus prayer since he's been hospitalized. And as disappointing as that may be many people say they are relying on prayers that he will be OK.

PETER LEPIARZ, VATICAN VISITOR: I'm just being worried about his health and I hope he will recover definitely. He will, I mean, come back to his health soon, definitely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAMB (on camera): Well, Kim, the wider context to this is that the pope is 88 years old. And before his hospitalization he was working so hard, he was keeping up a relentless pace of schedules and meetings. Indeed, I saw him on the day of his hospitalization, it was clear then he was struggling to speak for long periods because of his breathing difficulties.

He is a pope who has essentially sacrificed his health for the mission of the church. He's driven himself into hospital and, of course, is battling now pneumonia in both of his lungs. We are expecting a further update from the Vatican later today. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll wait for that update when it comes so much concern around the world, as you say. Christopher Lamb in Rome, thank you so much.

When we come back, why Israel is refusing to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners after Hamas followed through with another hostage handover.

Plus, the U.S. and Ukraine are negotiating a deal over minerals, but Kyiv may not be happy where things currently stand. We'll have the latest next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:20:00]

BRUNHUBER: Israel says it will delay releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners until its demands are met. The Israeli Prime Minister's office is calling on Hamas to guarantee the release of the next hostages and stop the, quote, "humiliating ceremonies." A video shows Palestinians waiting for their loved ones to be freed at reception centers in Gaza and Ramallah.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BADER ABU ALIA, FAMILY MEMBER OF PRISONER SET TO BE RELEASED (through translator): Here the people are all waiting with women and children since 7:00 in the morning in the cold weather and the rain until we came here inside the hall for the sake of the children so they won't get ill from the cold. As you see, people are devastated. Hopefully, God will help them and they will be released as soon as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Hamas is accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire deal. The militant group was expecting the prisoners to be released after it handed over six Israeli hostages on Saturday. CNN's Nic Robertson reports from Tel Aviv.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Shaky on his feet, 40-year-old Tal Shoham, also looking weak, Avera Mengistu, nearly 11 years a hostage. Hamas, as ever, in force and in control of the propagandized handover. This day, the last of the planned and agreed living hostage releases. Avera's friends bursting into song as they watch his release. Tal's family greeting his freedom from 505 days in captivity with tears. And then the real deal, Tal waving to the crowds, hugging his son.

Meanwhile, in a crowded hostages square in Tel Aviv, anticipation for the other releases growing. Cheers rising as Avera hugged his family.

And then, the big moment. Eliya Cohen, followed by Omer Shem Tov and Omer Wenkert. All three of them noticeably thinner. Paraded in Hamas' last scheduled public planned live handover.

Away from the cameras, Hisham al-Sayed, hostage for a decade, too ill for the stage, quietly handed over too. As their families began celebrations. Each of the hostage releases bringing hope to those still waiting.

Yael Alexander, mother of Edan, the last living American hostage still held by Hamas.

YAEL ALEXANDER, MOTHER OF HOSTAGE EDAN ALEXANDER: We heard a lot of stories that Edan was standing up for people and trying to help them and they gave us a lot of It's with a lot of strength to continue to do the fight and to make sure that every American understand that there is still one American hostage in Gaza and he's alive.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): The families of Palestinian prisoners and detainees kept waiting for their loved ones while the Israeli prime minister held a security consultation, a violation of the agreement, according to Hamas. Frustrations mounting through the evening.

AMAL ABU MAGHADIB, MOTHER OF GAZAN DETAINEE (through translator): I have been sitting here waiting for my son since noon, and I still don't know if they will bring him or not. I will stay here waiting for him. I miss holding him in my arms. Not a day goes by without my crying for him. I want to hug him.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): The expectations had been more than 600 Palestinians would be released, including life and long sentence prisoners, as well as over 600 people detained in Gaza since October 7th.

Moments of reflection this day too, for those Israeli hostages who didn't make it home alive, the Bibas family and Oded Lipschitz. His grandson, Daniel, hoping talks and releases can be extended through Islam's holy month, Ramadan.

DANIEL LIPSCHITZ, GRANDSON OF ODED LIPSCHITZ: If we will make sure there will be a release on the first day of the Ramadan of at least, let's say, 20 hostages, we can have 30 days to have secure conversations about getting to that point.

[04:25:00]

ROBERTSON: There's a real hard and somber reality here in Hostages Square as people begin to drift away. They know this may be the last live hostage release. So, they get to come here and witness. No others are scheduled, they're certainly hoped for, but it hasn't happened, that there's an agreement yet, and that's a big, big issue right now.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The White House says a draft deal over rare minerals between the U.S. and Ukraine isn't a guarantee of future aid for its war with Russia, and it wouldn't include any commitment of U.S. personnel in the region.

A source familiar with the negotiation says the deal isn't one that Ukraine's president would accept, since it appears Kyiv would be doing the heavier lifting. Earlier, a U.S. official told CNN the deal over minerals and other natural resources is nearly done, but it wasn't clear how any official agreement might occur.

Protests took place in several European countries over the weekend with demonstrations expressing feelings on issues from international conflict to domestic reform to economic autonomy. In London, protesters marched on the Russian embassy ahead of the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Turnout was unexpectedly high with protesters calling for sustained global pressure on Moscow.

In Budapest, thousands of judges, court staff, and supporters gathered at Hungary's Ministry of Justice demanding judicial independence, reform of freedom of expression for judges, and better pay.

And in Sofia, several thousand supporters of Bulgaria's ultra nationalist Revival Party clashed with police as they tried to storm a European Union building. Demonstrators opposed plans to adopt the euro next year. They threw firecrackers and Molotov cocktails while setting effigies of top E.U. officials on fire.

All right. Coming up here on CNN Newsroom, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already been hit with massive layoffs, while many former and current staffers fear it could be in for another devastating round of cuts.

Plus, the U.S. endures another arctic blast. Still ahead, what's causing the unusually cold temperatures, as the rest of the globe sees record warmth. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:00]

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.

U.S. President Donald Trump is moving full speed ahead with his efforts to dismantle USAID. In a win for his administration, a judge is allowing it to remove thousands of staff members from their positions, both in the U.S. and abroad. And Trump says he has big plans for their former headquarters in Washington. Here he is. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We've also effectively ended the left-wing scam known as USAID, the agency's name. Has been removed from its former building. And that space will now house agents from Customs and Border Patrol. Beautiful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Workers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the agency is in a state of chaos after massive layoffs. Hundreds of employees have been fired, and many fear the institution won't be able to fight the next health crisis that comes along. CNN's Rafael Romo reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EMAAD HASSAN, PUBLICN HEALTH ADVISER: This is a situation that's very scary for Americans and for America.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After 10 years of fighting diseases both here in America and countries like Egypt, Pakistan, and South Sudan, Emaad Hassan suddenly found his name was on a list of people getting fired.

HASSAN: While I'm all for efficiency, if we do things the right way, if we go through a rift, but these -- the sledgehammer approach or just creating a list, knowing that those lists could be wrong and not correcting those things and then just, you know, firing people on a whim is unethical.

ROMO (voice-over): Hassan was one of hundreds of CDC employees who were notified earlier this month that they were being laid off. They have made their voices heard outside the CDC headquarters earlier this week, and at the Georgia state capitol on Friday.

SONYA ARUNDAR, HEALTH COMMUNICATOR: Valentine's Day massacre.

ROMO (voice-over): Sonya Arundar, a health communicator who was hired by the CDC in December, was also among those impacted by the layoffs announced on February 14. Poor performance, she says, was the reason she was given.

ARUNDAR: I was so new that I didn't have a performance review yet, even though my manager seemed to be very pleased with my work. But I do know two people personally who did have good performance reviews who were also fired in the same way.

ROMO (voice-over): The man in charge of downsizing the government says voters gave President Donald Trump a mandate.

ELON MUSK, TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: The people voted for major government reform, and that's what people are going to get.

ROMO (voice-over): Democratic lawmakers are asking Georgia's Republican leadership to intervene. STATE REP. SAIRA DRAPER (D-GA): What we are asking them to do is put partisanship aside, put politics aside and maybe even set their fears aside and stand up and speak out for the Georgians that need their support right now.

ROMO: But that doesn't seem likely. Georgia Governor Ryan Kemp told Politico the day after the CDC layoffs were announced that, in his opinion, quote, "government can stand a little right sizing." It's a policy that he has pursued during his years in office, pushing to limit the growth off the state government workforce.

Rafael Ramos, CNN Atlanta.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Germans are at the polls right now, choosing a new government. The election comes three months after incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz called and lost a confidence vote. After three years in opposition, the Christian Democratic Union, or CDU, seems likely to become the country's largest political party. Again, the AfD party is on track to become Germany's second largest, and it would be the first time the far-right has done so since the Nazi era.

CNN Senior International Correspondent Frederik Pleitgen joins me now from Berlin. So, Fred polls just opened what, two hours ago. So, tell us where you are and take us through what we're expecting in these elections.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're inside Polling Station 129, right in the heart of central Berlin. And, as you can see voting is well underway here. One of the things that we have to say is we have to thank all of the volunteers who are making this place run. It's running very smoothly and also for hosting us to see German democracy in action.

[04:35:00]

One of the interesting things by the way about voting in Germany is that you actually have two votes when you go to the polling station. You have the first vote and the second vote. One is for the political party that you favor, and one is for your candidate in this district.

So, for instance, if you want the conservatives to win the election, you vote for the CDU, but if you like your local Green Party candidate, you can give him your first vote as well, and then both of them will be stronger in the German parliament in the Bundestag.

And one of the things that we are seeing here, Kim, is that this is a very consequential election, that voters feel that this is a very consequential election. A lot of people that we've been speaking to, when we ask them a simple question, are you optimistic or pessimistic about the way things are going in Germany, a lot of people say that they are quite pessimistic at the moment. And the topics are ones that, you know, we've been discussing a lot over the past couple of weeks. Migration is obviously a big topic right now in Germany. The economy is a huge topic as well with this country now, two years in recession. But then also, of course, the international environment that we're seeing here in Europe right now with the war in Ukraine still going on with that new government in the United States, led by Donald Trump, being very negative publicly about Germany as well. So, those are all things that are weighing on voters.

But one of the things that we can see is that many of them are saying, this is an election that is going to be extremely important in shaping the future of this country. And one of the things when we speak to folks that they say they're fearful of and concerned about is that there might not be a stable government in all of this, because you just spoke about those who might win the election who will be very strong, but of course, they still have to form a government, they have to form a coalition. And the big question is what sort of coalitions can be formed and how effective is the future government going to be, Kim?

BRUNHUBER: Absolutely. And, Fred, when you talk about this being a consequential election I spoke about the far-right AfD expecting to make huge gains. So, walk us through why that might be and what effect, if any, it could have on the political direction of the country?

PLEITGEN: Yes. So, the AfD is actually projected to become about twice as strong as it was in the past election. So, that certainly is already a huge deal for a lot of people. And one of the things there's several layers where it could become an issue. On the one hand, of course, it drives politics here also in this country, it sets the agenda in many ways the strength of the far-right party.

But also, when we speak, for instance, about coalition building, like, for instance, if the conservatives win the most votes, it can be quite difficult for them to form a coalition with a large block of the seats in parliament already taken by the AfD.

And then, of course, you also have that whole complex of the U.S. government essentially getting involved in the German elections here, where you had Elon Musk trying to really drive votes for the AfD, going in video links at big AfD Party conventions and election campaign events, tweeting that he believes only the AfD can save Germany. And then you, for instance, had J. D. Vance, the vice president of the United States, going to the Munich Security Conference, and they're saying that one of the fundamental things that parties here have agreed on, which is called the Firewall, where they say that the parties -- The Democratic Center are not going to work with the AfD, where he called for that to go away.

So, all of those things are going to be very big factors. And it's definitely one of the things that pollsters have been looking at for a very long time, the public is going to be looking at how strong this party is actually going to be, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. And as you outlined there, this election could be consequential far beyond German shores. Fred Pleitgen in Berlin, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

The world is warming, and last month was the warmest January on record globally. Now, despite that, the U.S. has seen temperatures plummet. January was the coldest among the mainland states since 1988, and that frigid weather has stretched into February as well as warmer temperatures are set to return next week. Meteorologist Allison Chinchar explains what's pushed Arctic winds over south.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: If you went outside at all earlier this week, you likely noticed how cold it was, but it wasn't just this week, if we go back to January of this year, you'll notice much of the lower 48 was below average for temperatures, but we were really one of the few. In fact, if you look elsewhere, globally, a lot of other places we're warm, quite warm to be exact, dealing with the warmest January on record. But this can happen where you have one area that's dealing with extreme temperatures on one side and many other areas dealing with the opposite.

So, now, let's take a look at earlier this week. This was all the cold air that surged across the lower 48 and you likely felt it, except maybe if you lived in Tucson or maybe Miami where it actually didn't feel all that bad because this is what can often happen, when we look at the more long-term trends. Look at this for February. All of these light blue dots indicate the top 10 coldest February to date. Dark blue top five and all of these purple dots indicate the coldest February to date on record.

So, why is this happening now? Well, a lot of it has to do with the polar vortex. Normally, a very strong polar vortex stays up north where it belongs, but sometimes it can elongate and stretch farther south, bringing with it incredibly cold temperatures.

[04:40:00]

But it also will affect the jet stream that surrounds it. And that impacts more of our day-to-day weather cycles. However, even though you get these brief cold blasts that will come and go, overall winter is actually warmer. And especially if you look at the eastern half of the country, it has warmed quite a bit over the last several decades, by as much as 5 degrees warmer for all of those seasons.

Now, in the short-term, we are also going to see temperatures warming back up as we head into next week. Finally, most of the U.S. is seeing those temperatures above average instead of on the opposite end of the spectrum. Take New York, for example, the high on Sunday, 43 degrees, jumping all the way up to 54 by the time we get to Tuesday. Atlanta looking at a high on Sunday of 58 degrees, but back into the 70s by the time we get to Tuesday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: 90 confirmed cases of measles have now been reported in West Texas. Coming up, CNN visits medical professionals and communities there as they fight to curb the outbreak. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: The measles outbreak is growing in West Texas. There are now 90 confirmed cases of measles across several counties, 32 have been cases identified in the past week. The vast majority of the infected are children and many of them are unvaccinated. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta spoke to doctors on the ground in West Texas. He brings us a first-hand look at the challenges they face as they work to contain the outbreak.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So, many of the people who get infected with measles, who get sick, need to be hospitalized are children. So, we're here at Covenant Children's.

And I want to give you an idea of how this works over here. Somebody pulls up. Even before they go inside the hospital, they'll actually get evaluated in this shed out here. They want to determine if someone actually has measles, they need to be put into personal protective gear and then taken inside the hospital.

[04:45:00]

DR. LARA JOHNSON, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, COVENANT HEALTH LUBBOCK SERVICE AREA: We've had over 15 patients admitted here in our children's hospital with measles over the past several weeks.

DR. GUPTA (voice-over): Dr. Laura Johnson is the chief medical officer here.

DR. GUPTA: How do you even begin to approach, as a patient comes in, what do you do for them?

DR. JOHNSON: Most of the patients who've been admitted have had respiratory issues. They've been needing supplemental oxygen and respiratory support to help them get over the viral pneumonia part that we see with measles.

DR. GUPTA: It's one thing to treat these patients on the ground, but the key in the middle of a measles outbreak is to try and prevent more cases from occurring. That's really challenging given how contagious this is.

Appreciate it. Hey, how are you doing? Nice to meet you. How's it going? That's kind of the reaction we're getting.

DR. JENNIFER SHUFORD, COMMISSIONER, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES: Freezing weather and measles outbreaks.

DR. GUPTA (voice-over): Dr. Jennifer Shuford is the Commissioner for the State Health Department.

DR. GUPTA: What do you think the next weeks and months is going to look like? DR. SHUFORD: I think that we're going to continue to see cases and what the next few months look like kind of depends on how effective we are at getting messaging out about, you know, making sure that people get vaccinated, that they stay at home if they're sick, and really trying to push that message through really trusted community leaders.

DR. GUPTA: You know, I've been doctors for some time, I think me a bit longer than you, but have you ever seen measles before?

DR. SHUFORD: No, and I'm an infectious disease physician. I've never diagnosed a case.

DR. GUPTA: That's incredible.

DR. SHUFORD: It's because, you know, measles was declared eliminated from the Unites States back in the year 2000, because of the effectiveness of that vaccine, and it's only now with falling immunization rates, not just here in Texas, but across the country and around the world that we're starting to see more of these outbreaks.

DR. GUPTA (voice-over): Now, while most of the cases have been in a close-knit rural Mennonite community, worry has started to spread.

DR. GUPTA: Hello.

AMY GANDY, PARENT OF IMMUNOCOMPROMISED CHILD: Hi. How are you?

DR. GUPTA: How you doing? Hey, I'm Sanjay.

A. GANDY Hey, nice to meet you.

DR. GUPTA: Nice to meet you too. How's it going?

ERIC GANDY, PARENT OF IMMUNOCOMPROMISED CHILD: All right. This is Owen.

DR. GUPTA: Hey, Owen.

A. GANDY: Owen was a micro preemie. So, he spent the first hundred and two or three days in the hospital. And since then, you know, with his weakened immune system and everything that he went through, we just don't know how he would handle the measles.

DR. GUPTA (voice-over): Amy and Eric Gandy have lived in Lubbock for 20 years.

E. GANDY: And the good thing about it is Riley really likes getting shots. So --

RILEY GANDY: No, I don't.

DR. GUPTA (voice-over): Now both their kids, 11-year-old Owen and nine-year-old Riley, are vaccinated. But that's the thing about outbreaks, low vaccination rates can put vulnerable people in danger.

E. GANDY: I mean, it's really, I think it's time that everybody like takes a look just at your political reasons or your religious reasons and kind of think about that group of people in the new or the old information about vaccines and really take a deep look into what it is that you really believe and why you really believe that.

DR. GUPTA: You just set this up. When outbreak is happening, you --

DR. RON COOK, LUBBOCK HEALTH AUTHORITY: Set it up this week.

DR. GUPTA (voice-over): Dr. Ron Cook is with the Lubbock Health Authority.

DR. COOK: We've got plenty of vaccine, but we just need people to come get it.

DR. GUPTA: And are people coming in?

DR. COOK: They did 13 yesterday? 23 yesterday.

DR. GUPTA: Twenty-three, OK. How would you describe what's going on here?

DR. COOK: We have pockets that are not well vaccinated. But these individuals, like in Gaines County down there, that come to shop here. We have Costco and Sam's and Walmarts and they come here to do big shopping on the weekends and they bring their kids and they walk through Costco or they walk through these big shopping centers, and then they're exposing these people.

DR. GUPTA (voice-over): It's why they believe this outbreak is likely to continue for weeks if not months and why every shot here will make a difference.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Lubbock, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, if you've ever wondered what it would be like to win the Daytona 500 two years in a row, World Sports, Patrick Snell talks to driver William Byron after the break. Please stay with us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see it on video because everything is just kind of a blur. It's really subconscious at that point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:50:00]

BRUNHUBER: Well, you can see them there, fans in there. Miami pink and Argentina blue and white number 10 shirts turned out in force for the season home opener of Inter Miami and Lionel Messi Saturday. Miami were up against New York City Football Club and started strong with Tomas Aviles scoring from a Messi assist.

The two New York goals in regulation saw Miami falter until extra time when Messi again assisted this time for an equalizer from Telasco Segovia, and that made the final score a two-all draw.

William Byron won the Daytona 500 for the second year in a row this year. CNN World Sports Patrick Snell sat down with the winner and started by asking him about an eventual final lap.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM BYRON, 2024 AND 2025 DAYTONA 500 CHAMPION: In those moments, things kind of happen in slow motion you're just trusting what your instinct is and where you think you should go. So, really, you're never thinking in those moments, you're just reacting. And for me, I don't really remember anything about the last lap unless I see it on video because everything is just kind of a blur. It's really subconscious at that point.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: I was fascinated by the history. You're now the fifth driver to have ever won this iconic race back-to- back. You're also now the youngest ever to do it. That itself is very, very special. What does it mean to you personally, William, to be a history maker?

BYRON: Well, it's just huge for our race team. You know, the 24 team, they work so hard and it's just it's special for my family as well because all of them were at the race. My sister was able to be there. I think that was her first win that she's been able to see.

[04:55:00]

So, to have her there was extremely special and just to be able to celebrate with all them has made the week amazing. So, the history is something that I know my family is proud of and I'm sure I'll look back later on and be really proud of that.

SNELL: All right. Let's touch it together.

BYRON: Yes. It's nice, isn't it?

SNELL: Because no one's ever won it three times in a row. No one ever.

BYRON: Yes.

SNELL: Can it be done? What's it going to take for that to happen?

BYRON: It'd be amazing. I think we have a lot of time to prepare for that next year. It'll be next February. So excited for that race. Definitely some pressure going into that one next year, but we're just going to focus on the process like we always do and focus on the little details and hopefully, next year we can be in a similar place.

SNELL: Can it be done?

BYRON: I think so. Our team's very capable. So, I'm really proud to drive their car and to be on such a great team and hopefully we can go three times in a row. That'd be cool. SNELL: I do want to ask you about your family. You mentioned your family and your mother, Dana, is one courageous person, a cancer survivor, William. How has she proved to be a source of inspiration for you and your own life?

BYRON: Yes, we had a pretty crazy year in 2021 when she was diagnosed with brain cancer. It actually happened at the racetrack. She was -- she had a bit of a seizure moment at the racetrack. And then hearing in the next couple of weeks, how sort of difficult the situation was it was really a miracle that she was able to overcome that. And just super thankful for all the doctors that supported her and -- through her treatment and it just was -- yes, all I can say it was a major blessing that she was able to get through that and really inspired our family because it was bigger than anything I've ever been a part of just to really understand how important your family is and really have that support for her.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Yes, great story. Well, that wraps this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more news in just a moment.

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