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Zelenskyy Wraps Meeting with U.K. Leader Starmer in London Following WH Clash with Trump; U.K. Agrees to Accelerate $2.8 Billion in Loans to Ukraine; Police Investigating Deaths of Gene Hackman and His Wife; Former NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo Enters NYC Mayor Race; CT Teen Graduates High School With Honors But Says She's Illiterate; Top Figure Skaters to Pay Tribute to DC Air Collusion Victims; Two Window Washers Rescued From Out-of-Control Scaffolding. Aired 3-4 pm ET

Aired March 01, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:00:39]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin this hour with breaking news. Just a short time ago, earlier today, that hug and handshake between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Prime Minister of the U.K., Keir Starmer, that happened right outside 10 Downing Street in London.

After the visit, the U.K. announced that it will speed up a $2.8 billion loan for Ukraine. The London stop was in sharp contrast to Zelenskyy's meeting yesterday with President Trump that turned into a heated exchange between Zelenskyy and President Trump and Vice President Vance.

Zelenskyy posted this morning that he still believes the U.S. remains a strategic partner despite the incident. He also defended his actions at the White House and says it doesn't have to be a deal breaker.

We've got full coverage for you. CNN's International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson is in London. Senior White House Producer Betsy Klein is with the President in Florida.

So, Betsy, let's go to you first. What is the position of President Trump today, a day after?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: That's right. Well, President Trump currently on his golf course in South Florida here. But so far, the White House continues to promote messages of support for President Trump. We have received multiple e-mails now from the White House press office highlighting support from allies, including lawmakers, members of Trump's Cabinet and other top White House officials highlighting his move there.

But all of this after that very dramatic and quite different from that hug and handshake we saw on 10 Downing Street, the crossed arms, the raised voices, the pointed fingers in the Oval Office yesterday. Trump himself used himself as somewhat of a dealmaker. He would like to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine. And we saw him on the campaign trail rail against U.S. support for Ukraine and question the future of U.S. funding for this war effort.

So all of a sudden we see him with Zelenskyy after having that those talks with Putin earlier this month in the Oval Office after 40 minutes of general pleasantries, really devolving into this very difficult and high, high raised voices moment.

But a breakdown in diplomacy. And after the press left, the two sides retreated to separate rooms inside the West Wing where they decided how to proceed. And Trump's team advised him that they should not sign this deal they were planning to sign on critical minerals.

And instead, Trump dispatched his national security adviser, Mike Waltz, to tell Zelenskyy he was no longer welcome at the White House.

Now, Waltz continued to rail against Zelenskyy in a recent interview with "Breitbart" on SiriusXM. Waltz compared Zelenskyy to an ex- girlfriend that wants to argue.

You know, Secretary Rubio also described Zelenskyy as antagonistic, really criticizing the Ukrainian leader for not thanking the U.S. enough, also parroting some of those Russian talking points.

Now, what we are seeing more broadly is Trump dramatically reimagining the role of the U.S. abroad and critical U.S. alliances. And, of course, this meeting, diplomats often say that world leaders argue behind the scenes all the time.

What is so critically different this time around is that the White House press corps was there to witness it all, Trump himself so mindful of stagecraft. And he said at the end of that meeting he thought it was going to be, quote, "great television," Fredricka. But so many questions about the future of this U.S. relationship with Ukraine, whether it can be repaired, and what happens to U.S. support for the country.

WHITFIELD: All right, Betsy Klein, thank you so much.

To you, Nic Robertson, outside of 10 Downing Street, perhaps that's the great television that Zelenskyy is at that moment. He's pretty proud of with that hug and handshake with the U.K. Prime Minister. What was the -- what was at the core of that meeting?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, the core was in part the symbolism that you saw in the hug that is not normally a thing that the Prime Minister does. He's just not that sort of huggy kind of guy. But he really went out of his way, walked down the street to meet President Zelenskyy.

[15:05:05]

So I think there's a big messaging there of Britain's support for President Zelenskyy. That came across when the two sat and talked quite cordially in front of the cameras, a sort of object lesson in what on-camera diplomacy can look like, compared to what the fractious meeting at the White House the day before that President Zelenskyy received.

And that was about the support that there was in the U.K. So that was really reinforced. And I think another reinforcement of that was the fact that President Zelenskyy will meet King Charles III tomorrow at Sandringham, one of the country residents of the king. And that's important because we saw just two days ago, Keir Starmer give that letter to President Trump, an invitation for an unprecedented second state visit for the president to meet with King Charles.

Look, that stuff didn't play particularly well in the U.K. It was seen as something that was sort of forming and not really something becoming of a Prime Minister. And really, was that necessary to get in the good books of President Trump? That's the way it played in the U.K. and will have played across the rest of Europe.

So in a way, the meeting with president -- with King Charles, with President Zelenskyy tomorrow, is something of a redress and a window dressing of how that is perceived and seen in the U.K. So this isn't just a moment, I think, where Ukraine finds itself at a potential crossroads with the United States, but one where European leaders are increasingly feeling that they really are at this huge variance with the United States, with President Trump that's been coming over a number of weeks. And that will get more insight to tomorrow when Prime Minister Starmer holds this mini-European leaders summit, a dozen, 15 different European leaders here to figure out, to thrash out how they can engage effectively with the White House.

And one of the important leaders there that the Prime Minister will meet with, will have a one-on-one with Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister. And she was the one that suggested we need an immediate E.U.-U.S. summit to figure out where we all stand and get ourselves on the same page. So I think we'll get overtones of that coming through and playing out through the day tomorrow.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nic Robertson, Betsy Klein, thanks to you both.

All right, joining me right now to talk more about the fallout and the impact of these tense meetings between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is Michael Bociurkiw. He is a Global Affairs Analyst and a former spokesperson for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Michael, great to see you. And so, you know, as Nic just reported, I mean, the meeting at 10 Downing between Zelenskyy and Starmer was a stark difference, you know, from the one that we saw in the Oval Office yesterday. Zelenskyy received a hero's welcome, if you will, from the Prime Minister, Starmer, with a hug and a handshake. Your reaction?

MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, FORMER SPOKESPERSON, ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE: Well, my goodness, what a change from a few days. I -- it was not -- recently it was not long ago that Mr. Starmer was in the Oval Office as well, buttering up Mr. Trump with the invitation from the king, but buttering him up so much as Mr. Trump's cholesterol levels must have gone through the roof.

But I think that Mr. Trump is indeed on the golf course right now. He must be seething or he will be seething when he finds out that Mr. Zelenskyy got an invitation --

WHITFIELD: Right.

BOCIURKIW: -- to be with the king tomorrow.

WHITFIELD: Right.

BOCIURKIW: Because -- Mr. Zelenskyy with the king tomorrow, because this is now his third or fourth time meeting the king. And by the way, the king, King Charles, has a very, very soft spot for Ukraine. And I'm now thinking maybe he could somehow play a background role to bring the two sides together after such a huge rupture from yesterday.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that's interesting. And so this pronouncement, too, that the U.K. is now going to speed up its $2.8 billion loan to Ukraine. And I would think that Trump's ears are going to peak up again about the whole loan idea, because Keir Starmer made it very clear that that aid prior that Trump tried to make reference to was actually a gift. Remember, in the Oval Office, I mean, Starmer said, well, wait a minute, let me correct you here. It was actually a gift. So how do you suppose this, too, will play into the equation?

BOCIURKIW: Well, yeah, as you pointed out, it is a loan. And I got to tell you, Fredricka, Ukraine is on its knees right now in terms of finances. Five billion dollar a month deficit. And now it's gone back to municipalities like Lviv and Western Ukraine to ask them for more money.

But, you know, this -- this kind of aid can't come fast enough. And I'll tell you why. Just before I came on air with you, there was a Russian ballistic missile that struck not far from where I'm sitting right now to the port of Odesa. And it struck a foreign flight container ship that the Ukrainians were just getting their container port back in action since the start of the war. This is a huge blow of confidence to foreign vessel owners, insurance companies.

[15:10:19]

And, you know, Mr. Trump's big idea of sending American workers here to dig up minerals. Will they come here if there's a threat of Russian missiles or drones hitting them?

WHITFIELD: And then, you know, Zelenskyy said that he thinks that this relationship between Ukraine and the U.S. can be repaired. He says, you know, he doesn't think it's a done deal as it pertains to that mineral deal. Do you think that not only is the relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy, can it be mended? But can this mineral deal offer be resurrected? And is it ultimately beneficial to Ukraine?

BOCIURKIW: No, I think that thing could be dead, that mineral deal. It wasn't very well liked, by the way, here in Ukraine, because a lot of people here thought we're giving way, way too much away with no security guarantees.

You know what, Fredricka, I have a sneaky suspicion that this meeting, this blow up, this meltdown, whatever you want to call it, might have been set up to deliberately sabotage that deal, because I think the Trump side saw that it was getting diluted.

WHITFIELD: You wouldn't be the first one. I mean, we heard from former National Security Advisor Susan Rice, who also said on CNN yesterday that she thought this was a setup. So tell me more about why you think so, too.

BOCIURKIW: Yeah, it reeked of a setup, because I think the way they just pounced on Mr. Zelenskyy, right from the time Mr. Zelenskyy, you know, got out of his car, Trump was kind of ridiculing him. And then I think what happened in the days preceding this is that the agreement actually got diluted quite a bit, to the point where maybe Mr. Trump said, I won't be able to go back to my base and say I've got the best deal in the world. So that's something that might have played into their hesitation to see this deal.

And then, I mean, just the rudeness of, you know, basically turfing Mr. Zelenskyy and his team out of the White House did not go over well in Ukraine. A lot of people here, by the way, will see Mr. Zelenskyy as a hero, the way he stood up to Mr. Trump. But there have been comments made that maybe he should have maybe dressed up a little bit differently, because we noticed also his chief of staff, who is his shadow, basically, wasn't in a suit.

And Mr. Zelenskyy probably made a decision at the last minute to go in his kind of trademark Ukrainian, olive green or black kind of uniform.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. He has since said that if once the war is over, he will wear a suit or costume, as he puts it.

BOCIURKIW: Right. Yeah, they call it a costume here. But just quickly, I think that, you know, there is a big, big fear here in Ukraine and by a lot of observers that Mr. Putin, who we haven't mentioned yet, but he may see this void as an opportunity to go further in Ukraine. Maybe Mykolaiv, maybe Odesa, because right now, as we said, Fredricka, there is no solid red lines enforced by the United States. So just quickly what he could do, what the Americans could do to make it easier for Mr. Putin to switch off the Starlink service. They could stop giving intelligence info to the Ukrainians and very crucially disable the Patriot missile defense system. That would leave Ukraine very, very exposed. We'll see what happens.

WHITFIELD: Big fears for Ukraine, indeed. All right. Michael Bociurkiw, you always great to see you. Thank you so much. Continue to be safe there.

BOCIURKIW: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, investigators revealing new details in the timeline of actor Gene Hackman's death. What his pacemaker is revealing.

Plus, an encouraging update on Pope Francis, the Vatican, saying he is now in stable condition.

And how did this 19-year-old graduate high school with honors without knowing how to read or write? Well, now she's suing her school because of that.

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[15:19:02]

WHITFIELD: People across Santa Fe and Hollywood are in mourning this weekend after the shocking and mysterious deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa. Their deaths coming just days before the 97th Academy Awards. CNN is learning that Hackman will be recognized in some capacity at the ceremony, though exact details are still being developed. The actor won two Oscars throughout his career and was nominated for five.

CNN Correspondent Julia Vargas Jones is joining us now with the latest on the investigation out of Santa Fe. What are you learning?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, two critical new details coming out of here, Fred. One of them is that Gene Hackman was likely dead for nine days before him and his wife were found in their Santa Fe home. That's according to data from his pacemaker that forensic pathologists say had their last signal on February 17.

That is, of course, on top of another revelation that carbon monoxide poisoning is being ruled out in this investigation. And it's curious because there is no signs of foul play in this. There are no trauma to either of their bodies, no items taken from their home.

[15:20:16]

So all of this really putting a lot of weight into that toxicology and autopsy report that authorities are still waiting. And it could be many weeks, Fred, before we get those results.

I want to play you a sound of what else the sheriff here in Santa Fe said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF ADAN MENDOZA, SANTA FE COUNTY, NEW MEXICO: Should be noted there were no apparent signs of foul play. An autopsy was performed. Initial findings noted no external trauma to either individual. The manner and cause of death has not been determined. The official results of the autopsy and toxicology reports are pending.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VARGAS JONES: And, Fred, in the search warrant released yesterday, we learned some more details of what the deputies that responded to the call saw when they entered the home. One of the things that we learned is that they were both fall on the ground in two different rooms of the house that Arakawa was laying on her side in one of the bathrooms of the home. And there were pills scattered near her as well as a space heater.

And that Hackman was in a different room where it was supposed to be a mudroom of sort near the kitchen with a cane and sunglasses on the floor next to him. Authorities also recovered two different kinds of prescription medications, one of them for high blood pressure and another one for a thyroid condition as well as Tylenol, some medical records as well. And the timing has really been an issue, a challenge in this investigation.

The sheriff yesterday speaking to this a little bit when he said, look, usually we start an investigation from the last time that a victim or victims were seen and then we work to the moment of their death. But because both Arakawa and Hackman were extremely private people, they lived in a secluded home here in Santa Fe. They didn't have any recording devices in their homes. They did recover two cell phones from there. But other than that, there aren't a lot of clues as to what is it that happened in those last few hours of their life.

So what the sheriff said is that actually constructing a reverse timeline in this case to piece it together, Fred, and figure out what is it that took place in that home for their deaths.

WHITFIELD: All right. Julia Vargas Jones in Santa Fe, thank you so much.

All right, still ahead, the Vatican says Pope Francis is stable, but he's not quite out of the woods yet. And former New York governor Andrew Cuomo just announced that he's running to be the mayor of New York City.

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[15:27:04]

WHITFIELD: An update on Pope Francis' health, Vatican officials say the Pope is stable and remains in a good mood after being placed on a breathing machine Friday. The pontiff prayed for about 20 minutes following a quiet night in the hospital.

CNN's Christopher Lamb is in Rome, where sources noted Pope Francis is actually able to walk as well. Christopher?

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka. Tonight, a positive update on the Pope's health from the Vatican, emphasizing he's remained in a stable condition.

Now, of course, on Friday, we've been told that there had been a respiratory crisis and the Pope had needed additional oxygen therapy for that. And, of course, it's not the only respiratory crisis the Pope has had since his hospitalization. But today, we were told that the Pope is without a fever, that the blood tests are positive in terms of whether the Pope has an infection or not. It suggests he doesn't have infections. But he is still on high-flow oxygen and receiving oxygen through a mask which is attached to a machine. So the prognosis for the Pope remains, in the Vatican's words, guarded, i.e. it is too soon to tell what the prognosis is. The Pope is 88 years old and he's been in the Gemelli Hospital in Rome for 16 days now. That's the longest time that he's spent in hospital during his pontificate.

And, clearly, there's anxiety and concern in the Vatican and Rome about the Pope's condition. People have been gathering to pray tonight, as they have every night this week in St. Peter's. Tonight, they were in the Basilica for a rosary prayer that was led by Cardinal Gugerotti, a Vatican official. The Pope, of course, is battling pneumonia in both lungs. He has a history of respiratory infections.

So it is a concerning time. But tonight, the picture from the Vatican was more positive, and certainly that will encourage many people.

Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so, Christopher, what would the next steps be in his treatment?

LAMB: Well, we don't know how long the Pope is going to stay in hospital, but what we were told when he had this respiratory crisis on Friday by Vatican sources is that it would take 24 to 48 hours before they would know if his condition had deteriorated or not.

So, clearly, the next 24 hours are going to be key. The doctors treating him have said that they are trying to balance the therapies to ensure that there isn't infection, but that he's also got, obviously, the antibiotics and the therapies that are needed to battle the pneumonia.

It still feels very much on a knife edge for the Pope and his health. The prognosis, as we've been told, is still reserved or guarded. So we're awaiting further updates from the Vatican, and we'll get those on Sunday. And really it's been day by day in terms of hearing from the Vatican about how the Pope is getting on in hospital and how he's being treated.

[15:30:17]

WHITFIELD: All right. Christopher Lamb, thank you so much.

Coming up, she can't read or write, but she graduated high school and with honors. How does that even happen? Her story's next.

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[15:35:09]

WHITFIELD: All right, we're following this breaking news out of New York. Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has just announced that he is running for mayor of New York City. CNN's Gloria Pazmino is joining us right now with more on his announcement.

Gloria?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, we had been thinking that this was going to happen. There's been a lot of speculation here in New York City for the last several weeks about whether or not the former governor would run into the race and now we don't have to speculate that anymore. The governor made it officially -- he made it official, I should say, via a video announcement this morning where he announced his intention to run and essentially painted a New York City that he believes is currently in crisis.

He specifically talked about quality-of-life issues, policing the state of the city subways, homelessness, the lack of affordable housing, the high cost of a rent here in the city. He touched all of these issues. And then he got into his experience, the number of years that he served as governor, the -- the fact that he spent time in the Clinton administration serving as housing secretary, and he ticked off all of the accomplishments that he managed to get done while he was in office as governor of the state of New York.

At one point, he even appeared to acknowledge his -- his mistakes. He said that he made mistakes while he was in office. That was a likely a reference to the fact we all remember the former governor stepped down in 2021 after he was accused of sexual misconduct by 11 women, including two former staffers of his.

Another thing to remember here, Fred is, of course, the pandemic, the very prominent role that the former governor played during that time with his televised briefings, but also that there was controversy as a result of his decision to have COVID patients move back into nursing homes. So that is certainly going to be something that comes up during this race.

Fred?

WHITFIELD: Yeah. And then I wonder how -- how might this complicate things for the current mayor, Eric Adams?

PAZMINO: Well, Fred, the primary is just four months away, and that is really not a whole lot of time when it comes to running an election and certainly not here in New York City. New York City Mayor Eric Adams is running for reelection, but so are about six or seven other candidates that are seeking the primary nomination as Democrats. So he has a short amount of time.

The question here had been whether or not Cuomo was going to be willing to challenge Eric Adams. The two men are friendly. Clearly, he is deciding that he is going to do this.

Sources close to Cuomo have told me that the former Governor believes that he has a real shot at taking City Hall. And, of course, we know just how much political scandal the current mayor, Mayor Adams, has been facing in recent months, his federal indictments along with other issues here in the city. So the former Governor certainly appears to think that he is poised to give him a real challenge. And as of right now, Fred, he certainly seems like one of the best poised candidates to -- to seek that challenge. WHITFIELD: All right, Gloria Pazmino, thanks so much.

All right, graduating high school and looking forward to college is a defining moment or they are defining moments for a lot of teens. But for one young woman in Connecticut, that moment came with a lot of challenges.

Aleysha Ortiz sets her sights on attending the University of Connecticut. She's also suing her former school district. She says she graduated there with honors, despite never learning how to read or write. CNN's Danny Freeman explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Did you ever think you'd be going to college here?

ALEYSHA ORTIZ, COLLEGE STUDENT WHO CAN'T READ OR WRITE: No, never. Never in a million years.

FREEMAN (voice-over): In some ways, Aleysha Ortiz is living an American dream. The 19-year-old began her freshman year at the University of Connecticut in Hartford this fall. She's excited to study public policy, the culmination of hard work after moving north from Puerto Rico as a child.

(On camera): Do you remember when you first came to Connecticut?

ORTIZ: Yes, I remember. I was very nervous, but I know it was going to be a better opportunity for me to learn.

FREEMAN (voice-over): But Aleysha says those opportunities never came to fruition.

(On camera): Even today, could you read this or would it take you a long time?

ORTIZ: It's impossible. I just see these words everywhere.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Aleysha graduated from the Hartford Public School System last year, but she says today she is illiterate. She still doesn't know how to read or write.

When she was in early education --

ORTIZ: They would just either tell me to stay in a corner and sleep or just draw pictures, flowers for them.

[15:40:05]

FREEMAN: And when she was in high school, she relied on speech-to- text programs and other apps to read and write essays.

(On camera): So, if you had an assignment where you had to write something, you'd open up a document like this, and then do what?

ORTIZ: I would go here to use the text-to-speech.

FREEMAN: It says "Dictate."

ORTIZ: "Dictate," yes. I love pizza.

FREEMAN: This is how you would do your assignments.

ORTIZ: And then:

COMPUTER VOICE: -- sporting a twin-prop airplane.

FREEMAN: If you had to read something, that's how you'd do it.

(Voice-over): She said her mother, who does not speak English well, tried to get answers.

ORTIZ: She advocated so much. She went to the school. The principal would promise her that they would do better. And, sometimes, there would be people from the district or the directors promising her that they would do better.

FREEMAN: Now, Aleysha is suing the Hartford Board of Education and the city for negligence. The suit alleges the school district documented and acknowledged Aleysha's learning challenges through multiple grades, but because they were not adequately addressed, she continued to struggle academically and began exhibiting maladaptive behaviors in the classroom.

ORTIZ: Sometimes, I will feel proud to be the bad child, because at least I was something to them, and I wasn't invisible.

FREEMAN: While the city of Hartford and an educator named in the suit declined to comment when contacted by CNN, in a statement, Hartford Public Schools wrote: "While Hartford Public Schools cannot comment on pending litigation, we remain deeply committed to meeting the full range of needs our students bring with them when they enter our schools and helping them reach their full potential."

JESSE P. TURNER, THE LITERACY CENTER AT CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY: What's "Dog Man"?

FREEMAN: Dr. Jesse Turner is the leader of the Literacy Center at Central Connecticut State University. He feels the main issue here is inequality in public education.

TURNER: America should be asking a question. Do we really care about our children, all of our children? And I would argue that maybe we don't.

FREEMAN: A 2019 report from EdBuild, which promotes equity in public schools, found that majority non-white school districts get $23 billion less than districts that serve mostly white students. Minority enrollment in Hartford's public schools is at about 90%.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Department of Education is a big con job. FREEMAN: Plus, Turner fears a crucial guardrail will be lost if the Trump administration follows through with abolishing the Department of Education.

TURNER: How do I protect the special education children? Who do I go to if I close it down?

FREEMAN: College has presented its own obstacles, but Aleysha says UConn has been accommodating. But she doesn't want any other student to go through what she experienced.

ORTIZ: I know we can do better. And I know we have a powerful community that wants to do better. I want to be the voice for them.

FREEMAN: Danny Freeman, CNN, Hartford, Connecticut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Coming up, top figure skaters gather at a special benefit in Washington to pay tribute to the victims of the January deadly midair collision. An Olympic skating champion joins us next to discuss.

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[15:47:46]

WHITFIELD: It's now coming to the Social Security Administration, the agency announced that it plans to get rid of nearly 7000 workers or 12% of its workforce. Nearly 73 million people get benefits each month.

Sources tell CNN the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also fired 800 workers on Thursday. For those still working in federal agencies, many tell us that they received yet another email demanding that they report their accomplishments. And now that five item list will be due every Monday via email.

Tomorrow in Washington D.C. at a special benefit legacy on ice, top figure skaters will pay tribute to the victims of the January deadly midair collision. 67 people were killed when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed into an American Airline passenger jet outside Reagan National Airport.

28 members of the figure skating world were among those killed. Olympic and national skating champions will be taking part in what is being billed as a legacy on ice benefit.

2014 Olympic bronze winner Gracie Gold will be among them. Gracie is with us right now. So good to see you.

GRACIE GOLD, 2014 OLYMPIC BRONZE MEDALIST: Hi, thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: So how meaningful is this for you to be part of this benefit? GOLD: It really means a lot and I think it's incredible. So many skaters, past Olympians, and future Olympians are all gathered here to be part of the show to pay tribute to the fallen athletes and coaches. It was a huge loss for our skating community.

WHITFIELD: And Gracie, you coached at the National Development Camp in Kansas and many of the skaters who died in that plane crash actually attended that camp. Is that right?

GOLD: Yes. The last the -- last class of the day was mine.

WHITFIELD: Oh my God.

GOLD: And on ice class and then Q&A they did with me over their last two things on that fateful -- on that fateful day.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh. And it's such a special experience for a lot of the skaters to have been part of that. And then when you learned that this crash occurred and so many of those skaters that you had just interacted with were on that plane, I mean what -- what have you been going through?

[15:50:20]

GOLD: I think -- I think what a lot of people in the skating community have been going through, I saw -- I saw so many of them at the airport and to know that there weren't that many flights out of Wichita left that day. I connected through Chicago just a few gates down was the one connecting, you know, through uh DCA and to know that those skaters aren't there anymore.

I -- you know, I spent most of -- you know, the time before I boarded my flight which took off an hour earlier speaking with Spencer Lane's coach, you know, just about the future he had in the sport and how far he's come. You know, my last TikTok notification is that Spencer Lane followed me on TikTok and so I haven't opened that app in a while. The last -- I used to live in Delaware where Angela and Sean are from.

Not a lot of people from that state, a lot of skaters and the last thing that Angela, the young dance team, she danced with Sean, the last she drew on the last day a picture of her, her best friend who skates at IceWorks and we she drew a picture. I -- of the three of us because she just had such a wonderful time at the camp and I was her role model. And so just to know that they're not here with us anymore is -- sorry, it's really, really difficult.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. I mean what an incredible connection you all had. I'm so sorry that you and so many have experienced this. So what is this going to be like for you then at this benefit? And what are you going to be thinking of? I mean I'm sure that camaraderie and being together is going to be very healing and helpful. But what do you anticipate you might be experiencing?

GOLD: I think I will probably be emotional. As you can tell, skating is a very small knit community for better or worse, right? It has sometimes that small town feel which has good -- good things about it, which in times of crisis, right, I think that we can come together. Everyone knows everyone and I think it will be really special tomorrow. I think, you know, we've all come together and help support everyone during this tragedy.

For anyone that's watching this, you can donate. There's a fund to help support everyone, that you can donate to, right, to help support the families, just while they grieve, right, to help that. And it's airing on Peacock and it's re airing on NBC, March 30th. And yeah, you can help support our small community in any way that you can.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. And -- and you are joined by so many legends in the skating community from Peggy Fleming to Kristi Yamaguchi., Brian Boitano. We just saw their pictures there.

Well, Gracie Gold, you know, thank you so much for sharing. I mean, this is so such a tender moment for you and for so many of the more than 60 who died and all of their family members on that midair collision. Thank you so much for being with us.

GOLD: Thank you for having me. Appreciate it.

WHITFIELD: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:58:07]

WHITFIELD: All right. A new episode of "Have I Got News for You" with host Roy Wood Jr. and team captains Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific. A guest this week will be U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett and actor and writer Dave Foley. Be sure to tune in tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific right here on CNN.

All right. Frightening moments captured on camera of two window washers dangling more than 70 stories above New York City.

John Dias of CNN Affiliate WCBS has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN DIAS, REPORTER (voice-over): Chaotic moments for two window washers Friday morning. Video shows them stuck on a scaffolding basket and dangling going side to side, 78 stories in the air outside a building in Columbus Circle.

MUHAMMAD SHERIF, SAW WINDOW WASHERS HANGING ON SWINGING SCAFFOLD: And it was also moving like that for almost about 15 minutes.

DIAS: Muhammad Sherif says he watched the whole thing happen while inside his halal cart at the corner of 58th Street and 8th Avenue.

SHERIF: And all the glasses fell down here in the sidewalk, even in the bottom of my cart here.

DIAS: FDNY officials say most of the danger started as they pulled up. LT. NICK SCHNEIDER, FDNY: The scaffolding wasn't attached and was

swinging around and smacking into the building. It was a high wind factor blowing into the building. There's glass pretty much raining all over the sidewalk.

DIAS: They then quickly rushed up to make a daring rescue to discover the workers were wearing safety harnesses, but officials say they were not attached to any safety lines.

MICHAEL TRAHAN, DEPUTY CHIEF, NYPD: I couldn't believe what I was seeing the fact that they weren't -- they weren't tied off.

DIAS: FDNY officials say they were then able to secure the scaffolding basket and bring the two window washers to safety who were transported to a nearby hospital for evaluation.

DIAS (on camera): The FDNY Chief saying this was a dangerous situation, not just for those workers and the FDNY, but also the people inside the building.

[16:00:00]

(Voice-over): Pictures show at least three windows blown out inside the multi-use building. The action happening roughly as high as three football fields span.