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White House Defends Deportation Order Bringing Venezuelans To El Salvador; Houthi Rebels Claim Attack On U.S. Aircraft Carrier In Red Sea; Man Last Seen With Missing Student Interviewed By Dominican Republic Officials; At Least 36 Dead After Violent Storms Slam The South; Stuck Astronauts Give A Warm Welcome As New Crew Arrives, Selection Sunday: 2025 NCAA Bracket Reveal Today; "Made In Russia" Is The New Craze In China Shopping. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired March 16, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Multiple planes carrying hundreds of Venezuelan gang members took off from Texas yesterday en route to El Salvador, which had agreed to take and imprison them in exchange for $6 million. But as those planes were midair, a U.S. judge ordered them to turn around. The planes continued on to El Salvador, where they landed this morning as you can see in this video posted by the president of that country.

CNN's Kevin Liptak is live in West Palm Beach near Mar-a-Lago. He picks up the story for us now.

Kevin, you're getting new reporting about the timing of the ruling and the flight.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And I should say, the White House is saying this evening that there is no conflict between these deportation flights and what the judge ordered in that ruling. But, you know, I think the timeline here is critical. President Trump signed this proclamation on Friday invoking the Alien Enemies Act. That's the centuries old law that allows for swift deportations of undocumented migrants. In this case of migrants associated with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

A judge yesterday, around the middle of the day issued an order halting that when it comes to five specific individuals saying that they could not be deported as part of this, and it was only later Saturday that he expanded that order to include all undocumented migrants for whom this could potentially apply.

Now, I'm told that once that order came out, White House officials and other administration officials huddled to determine exactly how to proceed. Ultimately, they decided not to order these flights to turn around. And what the White House is saying tonight is that it's not in conflict with what the judge ordered in his ruling. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, saying this.

"The administration did not refuse to comply with the court order. The order, which had no lawful basis, was issued after terrorist Tren de Aragua aliens had already been removed from U.S. territory. The written order and the administration's actions do not conflict." And I think her use of the written order there is critical because the judge in his written order didn't actually order the planes to turn around.

It was only from the bench in a verbal order that he made that directive. Of course, lawyers don't ordinarily distinguish between those two things, but it does seem important that she has distinguished between them in this statement. She goes on to say a single judge in a single city cannot direct the movements of an aircraft carrier full of foreign alien terrorists who are physically expelled from U.S. soil.

So the White House here, I think, is saying two things. One is that these flights were already in the air when the judge ordered this ruling. And so it doesn't -- it did not feel obligated to apply that order and apply the judge's directive to turn it around. But she's also saying that the order had no lawful basis. And I think that is where this legal fight will probably continue.

You know, President Trump has made clear that he's willing to test the bounds of his executive authority, of his legal authority to speed up these deportations. And we know behind the scenes that the president has been impatient with how quickly these are going. He wants these deportations sped up. I think it's clear that the White House here is itching for a fight that could potentially go all the way to the Supreme Court.

Obviously, that court has a conservative supermajority and White House officials at the end of the day feel pretty good about their standing there. And so it will -- remain to be seen how exactly this will proceed in the near term. But certainly, I think it's clear that this is all setting up a major legal fight going forward.

DEAN: Absolutely. All right. Kevin Liptak from West Palm Beach. Thank you.

Over in the Middle East now, dozens of people have been reported killed after President Trump ordered decisive military action against Houthi rebels in Yemen. Tonight, the Houthi rebels say they're fighting back.

And CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us from Abu Dhabi with more on this -- Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Houthi rebels claim this Sunday that they have already responded to U.S. attacks against it over the weekend, saying that some 18 missiles and drones were launched at the American aircraft carrier, the USS Harry Truman.

Now, two U.S. officials tell CNN that there have been no injuries. There's been no damage, although it's not clear whether they had to try and intercept any of these launches. It's not the first time that Houthi rebels have claimed this kind of attack. It's also not the first time that the U.S. military has been launching attacks against it. Back in late 2023 is when the Houthis started attacking shipping in the Red Sea and the waters nearby.

The previous Biden administration also carried out launches against it. But what we're hearing from the Trump administration is that this time it will be more sustained. We're hearing from the U.S. president, Donald Trump, that we will use overwhelming lethal force. The National Security advisor, Michael Waltz, also said that multiple Houthi leaders have been killed in these attacks.

Now, we did hear from the Houthi-led health ministry, more than 30 were killed, more than 100 were injured. They claim that women and children were within that tally.

[19:05:09]

We've also heard from the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said that this mission is a favor to the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: The problem here is that this is a very important shipping lane. And in the last year and a half, the last 18 months, the Houthis have struck or attacked 174 naval vessels of the United States, attacking the U.S. Navy directly 174 times and 145 times they have attacked commercial shipping. So we basically have a band of pirates, you know, with guided precision, anti-ship weaponry, and exacting a toll system in one of the most important shipping lanes in the world.

That's just not sustainable. We are not going to have these people controlling which ships can go through and which ones cannot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: More strikes against the Houthis are expected over the coming days and weeks once a damage assessment has been done to see exactly what this series of strikes achieved.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

DEAN: Paula, thank you.

Meantime, President Trump will likely speak this week with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. This coming from Trump's foreign envoy, Steve Witkoff, who himself just met with the Russian leader.

Joining us now is KT McFarland. She served as deputy national security adviser during Trump's first term in office. She's also the author of "Revolution: Trump, Washington and We the People."

Thank you so much for being here with us. I want to start first with these talks between the U.S. and Russia. I want to listen to how Steve Witkoff characterized it this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE MIDDLE EAST: I don't want to put words in President Putin's mouth, but I think he's indicated that he accepts the philosophy of President Trump. President Trump wants to see an end to this. I think President Putin wants to see an end to this. We're bridging the gap between two sides. So lots of things that remain to be discussed. But I think the two presidents are going to have a really good and positive discussion this week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: KT, first, I just want to see if you if you agree with his assessment.

KT MCFARLAND, FORMER TRUMP DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Yes. Look, it's always going to boil down to President Putin talking to President Trump. You know, if you look at sort of how Putin negotiates in public, often what he'll do is send his foreign minister or someone else out and say dire things, oh, this is not going to work. This is unacceptable. And then Putin himself swoops in several days later as the great senior statesman and says, oh, no, no, we'll do a deal.

And so I think that the important thing to watch this week is what happens after the phone call with President Trump.

DEAN: Mm. And to that end, Putin has laid out a tough set of conditions for a ceasefire, which would effectively see Ukraine handicapped if Russia were to invade again. Do you think that he will stick to that? Is that acceptable?

MCFARLAND: Look, this is a negotiation. So of course one side is going to want something. The other side is going to want something. The horse trading in this case often is going on right in front of your nose, because President Trump is so open about it. But, you know, the Vladimir Putin is making his conditions. Zelenskyy is making his conditions. The Europeans are weighing on this.

So I really think if President Trump has the confidence to say something like, well, I think this will be settled in near term, in a few weeks, then I think you, you know, Donald Trump is one of the greatest negotiators of all time. I think you can assume that he's not misleading anyone.

DEAN: And do you think that President Trump will be able to convince Putin to accept giving up something in order to get a peace deal?

MCFARLAND: Well, that's a negotiation. You know? I mean, everybody is going to -- my sense of this and again, nobody speaks for President Trump, even Steve Witkoff doesn't speak for President Trump. President Trump speaks for himself quite well. Thank you very much. But yes, a negotiation, everybody's going to get something. Nobody is going to get everything. And as President Trump says, stop the fighting. And then look at the future.

You know, right now Ukraine is losing this war. Slowly, grindingly, but it is losing this a war of attrition. And in a war of attrition, the bigger country with more people and more resources always wins. So what can happen to Ukraine? Well, Ukraine could win the peace, can't win the war, but it could win the peace. And the way it wins the peace is by having an economic relationship, particularly with the United States and the west for a generation. I mean, that's what the economic terms they're talking about with a mineral, rare earth minerals and a bigger deal with the United States would have with Ukraine.

You know, within five years after the fighting stops, Ukraine could be prosperous, wealthy, rebuilt. Meanwhile, five years after the fighting stops, Russia is probably not going to be in great shape economically, particularly because energy prices will probably go down thanks to President Trump's energy policy.

DEAN: I also want to touch on Iran. Look, they've got the support, their support of the Houthis.

[19:10:02]

The U.S. efforts to prevent the country from building a nuclear weapon. So we have these things all happening at the same time. Mike Waltz has said all options are on the table. You've been in these rooms and you've been in them with President Trump. What would you be advising the president right now? What route do you think they might take?

MCFARLAND: OK. Well, look, everybody is trying to test a new president, right? Whether it's the Houthis are trying to test him. Hamas is trying to test him. Iran is trying to test him. Everybody is trying to test President Trump. It's exactly what happened in his first term. And what happened early on in the first term was President Trump bombed the Syrian chemical, the airfields that were sending chemical weapons to destroy, you know, to hurt the Syrian people.

And when President Trump did it, he was kind of enforcing the red line that Barack Obama had laid down before, saying, oh, chemical weapons use. That's our red line. But President Obama never enforced it. Trump enforced it. Now, what was the result of that? Well, it was a very successful attack. But you didn't hear from the Syrians for the rest of President Trump's term. They didn't use chemical weapons again.

And at the same time, you know, Russia didn't invade anybody. At the same time, Iran didn't ran out of funds, and it didn't really push money onto his proxies to attack Israel. And so it has a knock on deterrent effect, as other countries see, oh, well, if he's willing to do this against the Houthis or others, maybe he's going to be a tougher guy, a new sheriff in town. Maybe we better be a little more careful in dealing with President Trump.

It's a very effective thing to do early on in a president's term.

DEAN: And so going along that thought process that you just laid out, what do you think is the appropriate deterrence for Iran right now? What would fall in that spectrum of appropriate deterrence?

MCFARLAND: OK, so one of the important things that President Trump has talked about and that he's going to do in this second term, it'll do probably even more effectively than the first term is with an American energy policy which American energy dominance. So what we found in the last eight or 10 years is that we have enough oil and natural gas to power the entire world for hundreds of years. And what that will do is to make the United States not just energy independent, but energy dominant.

So what we can do is we can set the global price of oil and natural gas. What does that do? We set it much lower. We make a profit. If its $50, $60 a barrel, Iran needs it at $100 a barrel because it pays for everything else. So in the first Trump term, when President Trump pushed his energy policy, what happened to Iran? Iran was broke. They were cutting back their funding for the Houthis and Hamas and Hezbollah.

President Trump can do the same thing again with an energy policy. It bankrupts Iran. Iran is in a lot different position. If it's bankrupt, and it's certainly in a different position now with Hezbollah, Hamas, the Syrian missile shield that they've used and now Houthis on their back feet.

DEAN: And then also, I just lastly wanted to ask you about the Alien Enemies Act being invoked last night targeting Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang. Obviously, there's no question violent criminals should not be allowed in the country. There are already --

MCFARLAND: You bet.

DEAN: Yes, there are already laws to deport under these circumstances. Why? Help us understand. I think a lot of people are like, why do they need to do this? Why is this necessary? I think some people say is this a step too far?

MCFARLAND: To deport criminal gangs from the United States? Why is it necessary? These people are -- they're killing, they're murdering, they're raping Americans. They're here illegally. They're part of a gang.

DEAN: No totally. I hear that.

MCFARLAND: Why should we keep them in the United States?

DEAN: I don't think it's about keeping them. The question I'm really asking you is why do you need to invoke this act in order to do that?

MCFARLAND: Well, it's a precedent setting act, and it really kind of trumps, bad pun, but it trumps every other legislation that we have. We have the legal and constitutional right to get rid of these people and get rid of them quickly. And I think you'll probably see, especially with Tom Homan in charge, that we'll do a lot more of that. You know, the argument is the worst go first. And that's exactly what's happened.

DEAN: KT McFarland, thanks for your time. We really appreciate it.

MCFARLAND: Thank you.

DEAN: Up next, what American detectives say they've learned after traveling to the Dominican Republic to investigate the disappearance of a U.S. college student. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:19:04]

DEAN: We're learning more about the disappearance of a Pittsburgh college student who was last seen more than a week ago on a beach in the Dominican Republic. Newly released photos showing flip flops and a sarong left on a lounge chair in Punta Cana. And now one sheriff's deputy from her home in Loudoun County, Virginia, has just returned from the Dominican Republic after interviewing the man last known to have been seen with her. He describes the account as honest and forthright. CNN spoke with the county sheriff about what they learned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF MICHAEL CHAPMAN, LOUDON COUNTY, VIRGINIA: He seemed to be very forthright with our detectives, seem to be doing, you know, pretty honest and forthright here. And so I think our detectives were pretty satisfied.

We're working with the FBI as well down there to try to coordinate all of our interviews. I know they've done an exhaustive search. And, you know, run the beach in the water and even on land. So were -- they're doing everything that they possibly can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: CNN's chief law enforcement analyst, John Miller, is joining us now.

[19:20:02]

John, what is your take on where this investigation stands right now?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, right now they are pretty much where they started, meaning they have this account. He's been interviewed by police in the presence of two Dominican Republic lawyers and a translator. Multiple times he was recently interviewed by the attorney general of the Dominican Republic. He was interviewed a couple of days ago by two Loudoun County deputy sheriffs, as the sheriff referenced.

And his story has been relatively consistent in terms of the differences being between translations and remembering a detail in one version that he didn't remember in an earlier version, but he hasn't departed from his account that they were knocked down by a wave in the early hours of the morning pre-dawn, somewhere between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m. They were pulled out to sea. He says he rescued her, was able to practically, he said, drown himself while pulling her to shore.

He went to a chair where he said he felt sick and then laid down and last saw her ankle deep walking in the water. So that's the story. They have. No body recovered from the water. An extensive search on the land to see if she may have left the beach alone, or with someone else. Nothing recovered there, so still a mystery. DEAN: Yes, indeed. And we know the FBI is assisting in this

investigation, but help people understand this is obviously in a foreign country. How does the FBI play a role?

MILLER: Well, the FBI opened a case because it is a U.S. person who is missing in a foreign country. So they opened a case under the category of providing assistance to a foreign law enforcement agency. Now, the Dominican Republic national police, they have the lead in this. But the FBI offers resources. In other words, what do you need if you request divers, specialized equipment, cell phone tracking people to look at tower information from their devices, anything like that, they'll provide it.

So far, the Dominican Republic has not requested much from them, but they are there for any resources that they can provide.

DEAN: And as far as this young man, again, not a person of interest, not a suspect. He has been talking with them. What is the protocol for what comes next for him? What do they do with him? What does he do?

MILLER: Well, this is the conundrum. He's been interviewed multiple times in the presence of his attorneys. His dad is down there, but when they first encountered him and they got his passport to confirm his identity, that passport has not been returned to him. So he's not in custody. He has not been called a suspect to the extent he's a person of interest, the sheriff qualified that by saying we're just interested in talking to him because he's the last person that we know of to be with her.

But that does not mean he's a suspect either. So don't read anything into that term. So basically, he is stuck there until they decide to return his travel documents, his passport, because they say they want him there to assist in the investigation.

DEAN: Is it possible -- this would be very sad, but that there's no closure here, that this kind of remains a mystery?

MILLER: So that would be possible. And, Jessica, you know, we have been through this before. You and I having covered, you know, things like the Natalee Holloway story in places like Aruba. But let's -- there are four people who have been pulled out to sea from that beach in rough waters just since January. Only one of those bodies has been recovered. That does not make it an anomaly that if she was pulled out in the water again, or if he if she wasn't brought all the way back in, as he said, when he said he was able to get her to where she could stand up again and went back out, that it would be unusual that she hasn't been found.

But the parents have been very concerned, and this is what they've said to Sheriff Mike Chapman, who we just heard from, which is let's not just write this off because one account is, you know, she drowned, that that's it. That's why they insisted on expanding the investigation, trying to find other people who are on the beach, doing the land searches as well to determine if she walked off with somebody else or might have been abducted.

You know, they're trying to cover the bases because the family wants answers very badly, as anyone would.

DEAN: Of course they do. All right. John Miller, thank you so much.

MILLER: Thanks, Jess.

DEAN: The deadly storms that pounded the south this weekend are now moving eastward. They slice through the deep south the last two days, ending with the deaths of at least 36 people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm glad we didn't get it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[19:25:04]

DEAN: That same system tore through seven states, bringing with it powerful winds, rain and hail, devastating communities, homes and businesses stretching from Mississippi to Georgia.

In the small town of Alpine, Alabama, you see there the community joining together today to help clean up a cemetery.

CNN's Rafael Romo is joining us now with more.

How are people doing, Rafael?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're doing OK, considering, Jessica. But the reality is that they're only beginning, you're showing those images of people cleaning up. Take a look at what they're still looking at right here. This is what appears to be an air unit that's here on the side of the road. If you can see there, there used to be a fence there. Now it's toppled over. And then let me show you on this side in the last few hours, utility crews were able to install to replace three power poles along the side of the road.

But they're working right now on a fourth one, so it's going to be even a few more hours before they can bring the power back on here. And this is the high school here in alpine. As you can see, the walls came crashing down. The only thing that remains of the ceiling is the metal structure that supported it. There are piles upon piles of wood with protruding nails. This is going to be not only a very, very big job, it's going to be dangerous.

And we were talking earlier about a bus that ended up on its side on top of the roof of this gymnasium here. Luckily, that was removed in the last hour, but again, it's only the beginning. And tragically, to a gentleman in this community not too far from here who was living in a mobile home, was one of the three people here in Alabama who died. Governor Kay Ivey, in the last hour updated that figure from 2 to 3. And these three people are part of the dozens, 36 so far in half a dozen states that died as a result of this series of very massive, very powerful storms. Jessica.

DEAN: Yes, just really devastating. Rafael Romo, thank you so much for that.

A pair of astronauts could be home in a matter of days after their relief crew arrived overnight. What their unexpectedly long stay in space could mean for NASA's future plans.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:31:50]

DEAN: Earlier today, a crew of four astronauts docked at the International Space Station, coming through the hatch. They're welcomed with hugs and cheers. And this is the big part here from Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore.

You'll remember they've been in orbit now for nine months after spacecraft problems delayed their eight-day trip multiple times. If all goes as planned, Williams and Wilmore could be back on Earth as soon as Wednesday.

Our aviation analyst Miles O'Brien, joining me with the latest now. Miles, a lot of excitement there. They have to be pretty excited just to see some new folks, but certainly to be able to go home after their, you know, what was supposed to be a few days up there turned into several months.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Yes, it's like being rescued from Gilligan's Island, Jessica, you know, the three-hour tour which kept going. There they are at nine months.

They're doing fine. They performed their duties as a substitute members of Crew 9 and will soon be on their way.

As a matter of fact, NASA is now saying it might happen Tuesday. They're a little bit worried about the weather in the Gulf of Mexico. Can you imagine if they got stuck up there waiting for favorable winds for a splashdown? I think that wouldn't go over well.

And besides, they want to take care of and conserve the consumables on the International Space Station.

So, hopefully we'll be seeing them on Terra Firma before too long here.

DEAN: Very, yes, we all are hoping that. So walk us through what's going on right now.

O'BRIEN: Well, right now they're in what's called a crew handover. And they're -- you know, these are a lot of veterans who've spent a lot of time in the International Space Station collectively.

But the Space Station is an ever changing craft. And as the crew comes up, they need to be shown the ropes. Where are things stored? Where is the food? Where is the clothes? Where's the equipment? What kinds of new scientific apparatus is up there in the laboratory that they might need to become familiar with? It's just an orderly handover. Usually that takes on the order of three or four days, but they're rushing this in this case because of the weather. And no doubt because there are two astronauts there who are very anxious to see their loved ones.

DEAN: Probably very ready, yes, to see those they love who are here on Earth.

What has been striking to me in the months that we've been covering this is that we always are like, we can't believe they're still up there, this is crazy. But person after person that we talked to, I believe, including yourself, have said, listen, yes, it is crazy, it turned into this long. But they are trained for this. They know what to do. Like, this is something that they could handle.

O'BRIEN: Absolutely. You know, they're seasoned astronauts, both of them Navy officers. People are sent on deployments all the time, and they're extended willy-nilly. They got an extended deployment in a rather far flung location.

I will say this. This is, you know, if an astronaut had to pick a place to be stuck, this probably would be it. This is what they trained for and live for and love to do. And while its unexpected and it's no fun to miss holidays and so forth, this is an experience they have literally trained years and dreamed of for a long time.

So, the idea that they had to extend it out, I think in the grand scheme of things, is not as huge a deal as people might think.

DEAN: And then there's just the idea, too, of what is it like to come back and be on Earth after nine months of floating around up there? What is that like for your body physically?

[19:35:23]

O'BRIEN: I'm telling you, Jessica, it's very heavy, man. Literally it is.

DEAN: I bet it is.

O'BRIEN: Literally heavy.

DEAN: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Yes. No, it the same -- when you go to space, you have all kinds of problems with your inner ear causing what we call, you know, space sickness. The reverse happens when they come home after there, their body is fully acclimated to Zero-G. The blood doesn't flow the same way. The heart isn't pumping is as hard as it would on Terra Firma.

Your bones are not as strong. Believe it or not, there's a lot of problems with vision among the astronauts as they return from a long duration space mission.

So, there will be a lot of adaptation, but at this point, after, you know, 20-plus years in the Space Station, NASA is pretty used to getting people acclimated back to Earth.

DEAN: All right, Miles O'Brien. Hopefully we will see them soon. Thank you so much.

O'BRIEN: You're welcome, Jessica.

DEAN: First comes March, then comes the madness. This year, men's college basketball tournament bracket is in. And now the top teams are gearing up for a shot at history.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:41:09]

DEAN: It is that time of the year. Happy March Madness to all. Soon you'll be able to fill out the brackets.

Today is, of course, Selection Sunday. CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten joining us now live.

Harry, I feel like someone like you would thrive in this moment. You know, it's brackets, you know --

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Iffy --

DEAN: Okay, well, how many people are going to fill out a bracket this year?

ENTEN: Yes, I think this is the big problem was if, it was just me and like five other people, it would be quite easy to sort of figure out how to beat those folks. But as it turns out, there are a ton of people who fill out brackets.

Last year, there were at least 30 million people who filled out a men's bracket online.

Now, to put that into some perspective, first off, that's way up from where we were back in 2023 when it was about, let's say, 20 million or a little bit more than 20 million. At least 20 million.

Now, compare this to the tickets per average that are played during a Powerball drawing last year it was 14 million. So twice as many people at least fill out an NCAA men's bracket than do play the Powerball on any individual day.

And I'll kind of note that filling out a men's bracket is kind of a bit like playing the lottery, which is why I don't necessarily do so well.

DEAN: I see, I see, I see. Is there a chance someone fills out a perfect bracket? It has to happen.

ENTEN: No, it never has happened.

DEAN: No, no, no. ENTEN: No, no, no, I have the odds up right here. This is what I thrive at, Jessica. I thrive at the odds and the chance of an event occurring, the chance of a perfect bracket. I have to remind myself of this is only one in 9.2 quintillion. The abbreviation for quintillion is Q.I., I just learned that today. Compare that to the chance, I know. Isn't it amazing? The chance of winning a Powerball is one in 292,000,000. Far better, far better than getting that perfect bracket.

How about the chance of getting killed by a shark? That's way better. That's at one in four million. So your chance of getting that perfect bracket is one in 9.2 quintillion. That is 19 digits out, holy cow. It's just impossible, Jessica.

DEAN: I'm honestly surprised by that. Maybe I shouldn't have been. I don't know, I thought somebody might have done it. What advice do you have for people trying to win their bracket? Even if it's not, clearly it won't be perfect?

ENTEN: That's exactly right, you can't get a perfect bracket. So let's sort of look back at the people who have won the NCAA men's challenge, right? On the NCAA website, this gives you an idea. What did the bracket winners get wrong? And the average year they got about 11 games wrong dating back to 2015, okay.

But when it comes to the final four, they pretty much nail the teams who are going to be in the final four. They only get 0.2 teams wrong on average. The key is to win in the later rounds, get to that final four intact. A perfect final four because the later games count more, and that means a lot of one seeds, two threes, two seeds and three seeds, because those are by far the most popular to make it to those final rounds, despite the fact that there's madness in March. Normally, at least when it comes to the Final Four, there ain't so much madness. Although, sometimes there's a little bit.

DEAN: Okay, the madness is along the way. Maybe that's a metaphor, but we all like the upsets. That's like really -- that's a very fun part of all of this. How can people be smart about picking the upsets in the early rounds?

ENTEN: Right, so don't pick them in the later rounds. Pick them in the early rounds. And what are your best chances? How about an 11 over six? That's happened 39 percent of the time since 1985. How about a 12 over five? That's 35 percent. How about a 13 over four, 21 percent, 15 percent of the time a 14 over three. Don't pick the 16 over one. Yes, it's happened one percent of the time. It's happened twice.

But you really want to stick to these top tree, 11 over six, 12 over five, 13 over four. That gives you the best chance of having some fun in the early rounds. And then of course, you try and keep intact ones, two's and three's for those truly late rounds, those Final Fours.

So late rounds, you want to go with the people with the those higher seeds one through three. And in those early rounds, if you want a few upsets, pick the elevens over the six to 12 or the fives or the 13 over the fours.

[19:45:07]

DEAN: Okay, that's helpful. So, when this gets underway Thursday and Friday afternoons, when the first round begins, any work getting done anywhere?

ENTEN: Not my work. Don't expect me to do any work. Elizabeth Hartfield, my manager, no work shall get done and I am not alone in that because the viewership on the weekday afternoon tourney viewership 7.4 million average across the networks back in 2024 last year. That is more, get this, than all but 15 prime time shows. And these games are happening in the afternoon.

So folks, listen to my advice. Pick perhaps a few upsets early on. Pick of course, one through three is for your final four. And then watch with the 7.4 million the average across the networks. Because the bottom line is, no work, I am personally giving you permission to take off or maybe do a little lackadaisical work on Thursday and Friday afternoon.

Say, Harry Enten did it. See if it works with your boss.

DEAN: Say, Harry says it's fine. So I'm giving away my secret. I, when I'm filling out my bracket. If its close at the beginning and I don't know who to pick, I go to who has the best free throw percentage. Because if it's a close game and they're so, you know, you're welcome America. You can take that. But Harry, who do you have taking it all.

ENTEN: I got -- I'll tell you who I have taking it all. I got to go with my backyards. I got to go with Saint John's -- that's I got to go with my Johnnies. I got to go with Saint John's here because the bottom line is, Rick Pitino has turned that program around. I'm a big Chris Mullin fan from back in the 1980's. I've got to go with the hometown crew. Saint John's the number two seed.

They, of course could go all the way. Number two seeds can win. Not as often as number ones, but they can do it. And this year I'm going with Saint John's.

DEAN: Okay, you heard it here first. Harry Enten. Thanks so much.

ENTEN: Thank you.

DEAN: Yes, still ahead, we're going to take you to Beijing where things where there are growing signs that two of America's biggest adversaries, Russia and China, are getting friendlier and friendlier when it comes to their economies.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:51:35]

DEAN: A night of partying turning into tragedy overseas. Video posted on social media capturing the moment a nightclub caught on fire overnight in North Macedonia, North of Greece.

You can see from the sparks, from the pyrotechnics that appear to light the ceiling on fire. Just above that D.J.'s head. At least 59 people are dead, more than 150 are injured. The head of the hospital treating some of the victims said most of those who died were trampled by panicked crowds.

Dozens were treated for second degree burns on their hands and faces. Police detained the owner of the nightclub. Another four people are now wanted in connection with that disaster. The country's Justice Minister vowing all those involved will be held responsible.

Americans are used to seeing made in China stickers on items sold in the U.S., and now shoppers in China are suddenly seeing a surprising number of made in Russia pop-up stores showing up all around Beijing. But there's something a little bit off about the products on the shelves. Our Marc Stewart reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There's something puzzling happening across China. Pop-up stores like this one selling products made in Russia.

There's clearly a Russian influence here. If you look at the cereal, all the lettering is Cyrillic, the Russian alphabet. We also found alcohol with Russian branding and these chocolates also made in Russia.

STEWART (voice over): That's not all we saw. Russian honey, Russian dolls and Russian gifts filled the shelves as Chinese and Russian flags hang side-by-side from the ceiling.

At another nearby store, open for just three months, similar products are also on sale. The clerk showed me one of the best sellers.

Russian products developing a fan base in China. Only a small number of these stores are authorized by the Russian government to promote authentic products. Most of the stores, though, have opened independently.

Right now, more than 6,000 Chinese companies make up this trend. This includes opening stores and selling products online.

STEWART (on camera): Here's what's interesting. This is deer meat, these are pickles, this is sausage -- despite what looks like Russian branding, these are items made in China.

STEWART (voice over): While popular, there's been an outcry on social media after some merchandise was found to be made in China and elsewhere.

STEWART (on camera): These aren't from China or Russia. These are Malaysian gummies.

STEWART (voice over): Local regulators have conducted inspections, ordering some stores to clarify labeling and shutting down others. But this phenomenon isn't just about commerce. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has repeatedly called Russia a true friend, standing by President Vladimir Putin after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Isolated by much of the West, Russia has seen its trade with China double since 2018 as bilateral ties deepen. But business, like politics is fickle, and what happens in the world could impact the future of these stores.

Marc Stewart, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: President Trump is expected to speak with Russian President Putin this week, but Putin is playing hardball and making steep demands as Washington and Kyiv try to broker some kind of ceasefire in Ukraine.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:59:45]

DEAN: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York. President Trump is expected to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week.

At the top of the agenda will surely be the idea of a potential ceasefire in Moscow's war on Ukraine. But Russia's ally Iran potentially going to come up as well. After dozens of people were reported killed when Trump ordered decisive military strikes against Tehran backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak joining us now with more on this.

And Kevin, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is speaking with his counterpart at the Kremlin about those strikes in Yemen. How might that impact this conversation between Trump and Putin?

[20:00:21]