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President Trump Speaks To Reporters Aboard Air Force One; White House Deports Venezuelans Despite A Judge's Ruling; Democratic Party's Approval Rating Hit Historic Lows; Houthis Claims Retaliation Attacks Of USS Harry Truman; Israel Sends Delegation To Cairo For Hostage Release; Grief And Anger Over Deadly North Macedonia Nightclub Tragedy; At Least 39 Killed In Multi-State Storm System; First Photo Of Pope Francis Since His Hospitalization; CNN Poll: Democratic Party's Favorability Hits Record Low; Protesters Rally Outside Tesla Showrooms Across U.S.; U.S. Border Town Residents Worry About Trade War. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired March 17, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States, around the world and streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. And we begin this hour with breaking news. U.S. President Donald Trump speaking to reporters onboard Air Force One just a short time ago on his way back to Washington. And one of the big takeaways, he confirmed he will be speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon as he works to negotiate a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

The president also talked about some of the recent U.S. deportations as well as tariffs. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We learned a lot. We're doing pretty well, I think, with Russia. We'll see if we have something to announce maybe by Tuesday. I'll be speaking to President Putin on Tuesday. A lot of work's been done over the weekend. We want to see if we can bring that war to an end. Maybe we can, maybe we can't, but I think we have a very good chance.

UNKNOWN: What sort of concessions will you be seeking to have Putin make to get a kind of deal done?

TRUMP: Well, I think we'll be talking about land. There's a lot of land. It's a lot different than it was before the wars, you know. And we'll be talking about land. We'll be talking about power of lands. That's a big question. But I think we have a lot of it already discussed very much by both sides.

UNKNOWN: You'll ask him --

TRUMP: Ukraine and Russia. UNKNOWN: You'll ask him --

TRUMP: We're already talking about that. Dividing up certain assets. And they've been working on that.

UNKNOWN: Mr. President, are you concerned at all about any retaliatory cause from the strikes in Libya?

TRUMP: About what?

UNKNOWN: The airstrikes in Yemen. Are you concerned about any retaliatory measures taken at all by them?

TRUMP: No, I'm not. I'm not.

UNKNOWN: Mr. President, do you plan to comply with the judge's order regarding retiring the federal workers?

TRUMP: What are you talking about?

UNKNOWN: A Clinton-appointee judge that ruled that the federal government has to rehire the fired federal workers. Do you plan to comply with that?

TRUMP: Why, I think it's -- I think it's absent (ph). I have nothing to do with that other than I heard about the decision. I think it's absolutely ridiculous. Absolutely. It's a judge that's putting himself in the position of the President of the United States who was elected by close to 80 million votes. And you have that. You're having more and more of that. It's a very dangerous thing for our country.

And I would suspect that we're going to have to get a decision from the Supreme Court. But that's a very dangerous decision for our country. These are people, in many cases, they don't show up for work. Nobody even knows if they exist. And a judge wants us to pay them even if they don't know they exist. If they exist. I don't think that's going to be happening, but we'll have to see. You have to speak to the lawyers about that.

UNKNOWN: Mr. President, did the administration actually, speaking of orders, violate Judge Boasberg's order in sending back the Venezuelan gang members and not bringing them back?

TRUMP: Well you'll have to speak -- I don't know. You have to speak to the lawyers about that.

UNKNOWN: Are you planning to do more deportations?

TRUMP: I can tell you this. These were bad people. That was a bad group of, as I say, hombres. That was a bad group. When you look at them and you look at the crimes that they've committed, you take a look. You don't get any tougher. You don't get worse than that. You understand that. But you have to ask the lawyers.

UNKNOWN: Sir, there's been some criticism that the Alien Enemies Act has only been invoked three other times. They were all during times of war. Do you feel that you're using it appropriately right now?

TRUMP: Well, this is a time of war because Biden allowed millions of people, many of them criminals, many of them at the highest level. They emptied jails out. Other nations emptied their jails into the United States. That's an invasion. And these are criminals, many, many criminals. Murderers, drug dealers at the highest level, drug lords, people from mental institutions. That's an invasion. They invaded our country.

So this isn't, in that sense, this is war. In many respects, it's more dangerous than war because, you know, in war they have uniforms. You know who you're shooting at. You know who you're going after. These are people that came out, they're walking on the streets. We have thousands of murderers. And Biden and his incompetence -- first of all, he's grossly incompetent.

[02:04:57]

But then Biden and his people and his probably auto pen. It looked like we had an auto pen for a president. And we would have been better off if we had, probably. But it looks to me like, you know, that's a big subject. I'm sure you won't ask about that. But the whole subject of auto pen. Did he know what he was doing? Did he authorize it? Or is this somebody in an office, maybe a radical left lunatic, just signing whatever that person was. That's not what, you know, it's all about. I'd never use it.

I mean, we may use it as an example to send some young person a letter because it's nice. You know, we get thousands and thousands of letters, and letters of support for young people. For people that aren't feeling well, et cetera. But to sign pardons and all of the things that he signed with an auto pen is disgraceful.

UNKNOWN: Mr. President, as markets and consumers continue reacting to tariffs -- sorry, as markets and consumers react to tariffs, do you have any inclination to create exceptions or ease up on (inaudible)?

TRUMP: About what?

UNKNOWN: To create exceptions to the steel and aluminum tariffs?

TRUMP: No, I have no intention of it, no.

UNKNOWN: No? Is this (inaudible) --

TRUMP: April 2nd is a liberating day for our country. We're going to be getting back some of the wealth that very, very foolish presidents gave away because they had no clue what they were doing. And April 2nd, I would have made it April 1st, but you know what April 1st is, April Fool's Day, I figured. You know, I don't like doing it, but I made it April 2nd.

But it's a liberation day for our country. Because we're going to be getting back a lot of the wealth that we so foolishly gave up to other countries. Including friend and foe. Yes, go ahead.

UNKNOWN: You've talked about the hangover from the Biden economy. Is this your economy now?

TRUMP: Certain things are. Certainly tariffs are. We've already taken in billions of dollars. You know, we've taken in already billions of dollars and we haven't even really started the program other than certain areas, certain pinpointed areas, as you know. And many billions of dollars have already come into our country. But the big money is coming in on April 2nd, from April 2nd.

But I will tell you what it's for. When I took it over, eggs were through the roof and now eggs are down 35 percent over a short period of time, and other things. Fuel, gasoline, energy is down, way down. Oil is down to $65 a barrel. It was $82 a barrel. And when energy comes down, pricing is going to come down. Prices for groceries, et cetera, are going to come down. So, yeah, I think we're setting a good table.

UNKNOWN: Sir, on April 2nd's tariffs, are you planning to do sectoral and reciprocal tariffs? Will you do sectoral tariffs?

TRUMP: We're going to do in certain cases, but it's going to be reciprocal. In other words, whatever they're charging, we're charging. Very simple. If they're charging us, we're charging them. It's no longer they charge us and we don't charge them. It's foolish presidents. And Biden, but others also. In all fairness, look, Biden is the worst president we've ever had. He made Jimmy Carter look like a good president.

But on this, a lot of other presidents were guilty also. Some very good presidents were guilty. They charge us and we charge them. And in addition to that, on autos, on steel, on (inaudible), we're going to have some additional tariffs.

UNKNOWN: Mr. President.

TRUMP: Yeah.

UNKNOWN: So, to follow up on the Biden auto pen, are those executive orders, those warnings from the former president now null and void?

TRUMP: I think so. It's not my decision. That will be up to a court. But I would say that they're null and void because I'm sure Biden didn't have any idea that it was taking place. And somebody was using an auto pen to sign off and to give pardons to, as an example, just one example, but the J6 unselect committee. They gave, think of it, they gave pardons with an auto pen.

I don't think Biden knew anything about it. And what they did is they deleted and destroyed all of the information that took them over a year to get. And the reason they did that is because the information was very incriminating about them like Nancy Pelosi. It was determined conclusively that she knew about 10,000 soldiers and turned it down. And if we used 500 soldiers, you would have had no problem, let alone 10,000.

The young lady that said that I grabbed these powerful young Secret Service agents by the neck, right. Okay. You know, that was a big hoax. It was a lie. And she admitted it and they deleted everything. So, you know, what they did is criminal. I think we're about to land, everybody. Okay. Have a fun time. We'll see you very soon.

UNKNOWN: Are you going to the Kennedy Center tomorrow?

TRUMP: I am. I'll see you at the Kennedy Center.

[02:09:59]

You know, we have to straighten it out. It's not a good situation, like everything else in this country. But we're going to straighten it out.

UKNOWN: Do you worry (inaudible) Vice President Vance (inaudible) there a couple of days ago?

TRUMP: No.

UNKNOWN: (Inaudible).

TRUMP: And he's doing a great job. He's doing a great job. Thank you, everybody. All right.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: All right. You heard President Trump there railing against a judge's order regarding deportations. The president is defending his decision to deport hundreds of migrants allegedly affiliated with a Venezuelan gang using a centuries-old law. Late Saturday, a judge put a temporary hold on the deportation flights and ordered any planes already in the air to turn around, but that did not happen.

The White House press secretary argued they did not violate the order because it was issued after the migrants had already left the U.S. President Trump thanked El Salvador's president for offering to imprison the deported migrants. CNN's Kevin Liptak is following the latest developments.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: The White House said late Sunday that its decision to carry out these deportation flights of Venezuelan migrants did not conflict with the judge's ruling that put a hold on some of these deportation flights. And I think the timeline of how all of this proceeded on late Friday and on Saturday is critical. President Trump signed this proclamation on Friday invoking the Alien Enemies Act, this sweeping authority that allows for the swift deportations of migrants.

In this case, migrants who are alleged to be associated with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. A judge, midday Saturday, put a block on certain deportations, just of five individuals. And it wasn't until later Saturday that he expanded that ruling to include all migrants who could potentially be affected by this. And what the White House is saying is that these flights were already in the air by the time the judge ordered this ruling.

And I'm told by a person familiar with the matter that White House officials and administration officials did huddle to try and determine how to proceed once that ruling was in place, but ultimately decided that these flights should continue on to El Salvador. And what the White House said late Sunday is this. This is from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt.

"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 her use of the written order there is significant. The judge did not order the flights to turn around in the order that he actually wrote.

He delivered it verbally from the bench. You know, ordinarily lawyers don't distinguish between a verbal and a written order, but clearly the White House here is making that distinction. Karoline Leavitt 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."

Now, you also saw after all of this transpired, the president of El Salvador essentially mocking this judge, posting a screenshot of his order with the words, "oopsie, too late." White House officials, as well as the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, reposted that, sort of backing up this sentiment that because these planes were in the air, this judge's ruling occurred too late to have any effect. But certainly lawyers, immigration advocates will dispute that.

And I think that at the end of the day is where all of this is going. President Trump has shown that he's willing to test the limits of his executive authority and his legal authority to carry out these deportations. We know behind the scenes that he has been frustrated with the speed at which some of this is taking place. I think this is all clearly headed to the Supreme Court.

In a lot of ways, that is the intent behind a lot of these actions that the White House is taking. They see a conservative supermajority on the bench and feel very good about their standing before the court. But certainly there's a long way to go before that happens. And a lot of lives and migrants' lives are in the balance as the president carries out this hardline agenda. Kevin Liptak, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

CHURCH: Democrats in the United States are not happy with their political party right now. A new CNN poll shows the party's favorability rating has hit a record low, just 29 percent, the lowest in more than 30 years of CNN polling. Many frustrated Democrats say their party leaders should do more to stand up to President Trump and his agenda. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is facing criticism over his decision to back the Republican funding bill to avert a government shutdown.

[02:14:59]

Schumer argued a shutdown would have been more detrimental to Americans. Michael Genovese is a political analyst, author and the president of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University. And he joins me now from Los Angeles. Good to have you with us.

MICHAEL GENOVESE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you so much.

CHURCH: So a U.S. government shutdown was averted as the country headed into the weekend, but that has caused significant divisions within the Democratic Party, with some critics saying the Democrats should have blocked the Republican spending bill. They call this a missed opportunity, while others, well, they were just fearful what damage President Trump might do if they didn't block this. So what was your reaction to what played out and was this the right course of action?

GENOVESE: Well, it was the perfect example of rock and a hard place. The Democrats were caught in between. And it was really a question for Schumer and the Democrats is, what's the worst possible outcome? Can we avoid it? And it was unclear which was the worst outcome. Would it be a shutdown? Would it be some kind of a deal that no one seemed to want to make with the Democrats? Would it be to simply cave in and vote in favor of continuing the government's running?

And in a lot of respects, the Democrats were arguing that Schumer probably misread the situation, did not get any concessions from the Republicans for the 10 votes that helped pass the resolution. So, you know, it's understandable that the Democrats are upset. It's understandable why they are. And the question is, what are the consequences? And it looks like there may be some political consequences for the leadership of the Democratic Party.

CHURCH: Right. And nearly two months into this second Trump administration, many American voters say they're not getting what they expected. That is according to "Axios" reporting on new focus groups of Michigan swing voters. Many of them used words like frightening, disruptive, erratic, dictatorial to describe how they're feeling right now about this new administration.

But they don't like what the Democrats are doing either. So what are the Democrats need to be doing right now to offer some alternative for these disappointed swing voters and show some sort of pushback?

GENOVESE: Well, that's right. The voters are not pleased with what's going on in the Trump White House, but they're even less pleased, it seems, with what the Democratic Party has been up to. The Democratic Party is in kind of a revolt. Now, part of it is the normal functioning of after you lose an election, you have to recalibrate, you have to reexamine, some heads will roll. That's pretty normal.

But in this case, the Democrats seem to have no voice, no face, no message. They seem to be almost leaderless. And so it wouldn't surprise me if there was a mini revolt. And that sort of out with the old, in with the new moment where Schumer is in trouble. Jeffries may be in trouble in the House of Representatives because the Democrats need to sort of reinvent themselves to respond to some of the excesses of the Trump presidency, but they have not been able to do that. So they're right now out of power and they seem to be out of ideas. They have a little time to recover, but not a lot of time. CHURCH: Right. And then, of course, President Trump's on-again, off-

again tariff threats continue to rattle markets and allies alike, causing recession concerns. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that he's not worried about stock markets in the long term, at least, despite a bad week. He says if they put good tax policy in place, deregulation and energy security, then markets will do great.

That's his wording, basically. A summary of that, at least. So how will all this likely impact those who live paycheck to paycheck? Many of them voted for Trump believing that he would lower inflation and the cost of living and they're just not seeing that?

GENOVESE: The Republicans are hoping that a little bit of medicine now will pay off in the long run, that in fact, if we can get the tariffs right, if we can do a few other things, that right now we have some short term pain, maybe some long term gain. Most economists who are grounded in reality find that quite unusual and don't think that's going to happen, that the policies of the administration don't seem to gel.

And so the Republicans have a little bit of time because the Democrats are not ready to sort of offer some alternative. But the time is going to run out for the Republicans. So you could be in a situation in six statements where both parties are underwater in popularity and the American public gets very angry, very depressed and very volatile.

CHURCH: Michael Genovese, appreciate you joining us and sharing your analysis. Thank you.

GENOVESE: Thank you so much.

CHURCH: Still to come, the U.S. is planning to ramp up pressure on Houthi rebels to, quote, "protect American shipping, air and naval assets." How the militant group is responding. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:20:00]

CHURCH: -- everyone. U.S. President Donald Trump is dismissing the idea of Houthi rebels in Yemen retaliating against the U.S. for recent strikes. Mr. Trump is vowing to keep up those attacks, signaling the start of a major operation that could last for weeks. But Houthi leadership say they will, quote, "meet escalation with more escalation." CNN's Paula Hancocks has the latest.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORESPONDENT: 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.

[02:25:02]

We're hearing from the U.S. President Donald Trump that we will use overwhelming lethal force. The National Security Adviser, 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. 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, U.S. 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've attacked commercial shipping. So we basically have a band of pirates, you know, with guided precision anti-ship weaponry. And they're attacking 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.

CHURCH: An Israeli negotiating team is in Egypt to discuss a potential release of more hostages held in Gaza, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. The meeting comes as the U.S. proposes a new deal that would secure the release of several hostages in exchange for extending the ceasefire in Gaza past Ramadan and Passover. Last week, Israel sent a delegation to Qatar in an effort to advance the negotiations with Hamas.

Still to come, grieving parents in North Macedonia are demanding answers after a nightclub fire killed dozens of young people. That story and more when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:30:34]

CHURCH: Authorities have identified about 20 suspects in the deadly nightclub fire in north Macedonia. Among those detained is the owner of the club, which the government says had been operating with an illegal license. Now the Balkan country is trying to come to terms with this horrific tragedy, which claimed the lives of at least 59 people, mostly in their teens and 20s.

CNN's Ben Hunte has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN HUNTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Scenes of worry and grief outside of hospitals in north Macedonia.

Families wait for word on the condition of loved ones after a massive fire swept through a nightclub in the town of Kochani, east of the capital of Skopje. Officials say the pulse nightclub was packed with young fans of the popular local band DNK, when pyrotechnics from the stage show most likely lit the ceiling on fire. Dozens of people were killed and more than 100 people have been injured. One witness says chaos broke out as club goers tried to escape the fire.

MARIJA TASEV, SURVIVOR(through translator): Everyone started pushing each other so I headed for the exit. I don't know how, but I ended up on the ground. I couldn't get up and at that moment people started stomping on me. I don't know how, but somehow I managed to get out. I'm fine now, but there are many dead.

HUNTE: The head of Kochani general hospital says many victims were young in their teens and 20s, a loss too unbearable for some distraught parents.

DRAGI STOJANOV, FATHER OF FIRE VICTIM (through translator): After this tragedy, what do I need this life for? I don't need it. I had one child and I lost him. What do I need this life for anymore?

HUNTE: Many of the survivors are suffering from serious burns and have been transported to hospitals around the country and in neighboring countries, too. One father in Skopje says he's relieved his daughter is still alive.

SIMEON SOKOLOV, DAUGHTER INJURED IN FIRE (through translator): She has burns, also smoke inhalation. And she is here for a treatment by respirator. She is in stable condition. That's all we can say for now.

HUNTE: The north Macedonian prime minister said it was a difficult and very sad day, and officials say they will hold those responsible for the fire accountable. But that's little comfort to the parents outside north Macedonia's hospitals, many bereaved, bereft and angry that what was supposed to be a fun night out turned into such a tragedy.

Ben Hunte, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Dozens are dead and many are without power after a severe weather system tore through parts of the U.S. over the weekend. Just ahead, we will go to Alabama, where more than half the states counties are being assessed for damage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:36:17]

CHURCH: A violent weather system has left a trail of death and destruction across the Midwest and Southeastern United States, killing at least 39 people in seven states, over the weekend. Tens of thousands of customers are without power as the system moves to the northeast, where it will linger in the hours ahead. The outbreak began on Friday, prompting nearly a thousand storm reports in Alabama, where at least three people are confirmed dead. Video footage captured the moment when an apparent tornado destroyed several chicken houses.

Elsewhere in the state, a school bus was apparently tossed through the air and could be seen lodged into the side of a high school building that was badly damaged.

Our Rafael Romo is in Alabama, where the governor says most of the state was impacted by this severe weather event.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've seen dozens of volunteers here clearing the debris left after a tornado ripped through this community. Utility workers with heavy machinery have replaced multiple power poles in the last few hours and should be close to restoring electricity to the entire neighborhood, but it's going to take a little longer for this community to go back to normal, especially considering the extensive damage sustained by many buildings like this high school behind me.

Dozens of volunteers from a church in Talladega came down earlier today to help this community remove the debris. This is how a couple of those volunteers described what they saw.

Let's take a listen.

JAMES STEWART, VOLUNTEER: I see nothing like this since I was a kid. I've seen a few tornadoes in my lifetime and a couple of hurricanes, but other than that, this -- this -- this is pretty bad.

ROMO: What do you think of the destruction that you've seen so far?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's massive. I'm talking about busses upside down, poles split in half, trees scattered. It's rough.

ROMO: Unfortunately, several people have been confirmed dead as a result of the severe weather here over the weekend in Alabama. One of the people who died was a gentleman who lived in a mobile home in Winterboro, not too far from here.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said earlier in a statement that damage has been reported in 52 of the states, 67 counties, noting officials are still assessing the damage.

Rafael Romo CNN, Alpine, Alabama.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: The Vatican has released the first photo of Pope Francis since he was hospitalized on February 14th. Here we see the pope attending mass on Sunday morning at a chapel in Rome's Gemelli Hospital.

Additionally, the Vatican says he actively presided over a service among a group of priests, not just attending, as he has for the past few weeks. Afterwards, the pontiff continued with work, treatment and therapy, but did not receive any visitors.

Thousands of supporters cheered on former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. Supporters gathered on Copacabana Beach to call for his amnesty. He's been accused of leading a plot against the Brazilian government after he lost the 2022 election. Judges at Brazil's Supreme Court will consider the charges against Bolsonaro next week, charges the former president denies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAIR BOLSONARO, FORMER BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): What coup is this that I have to prove I didn't do? It should be the opposite. They should prove that I tried.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Bolsonaro's backers stormed the presidential palace. Congress and Supreme Court in January 2023 after losing the election, he was barred from seeking office until 2030, but now says he wants to run for president again next year.

[02:40:01]

An explosion at a thermal power station caused a nationwide blackout in Panama. The electrical system was fully restored on Sunday morning, more than six hours after much of the country was plunged into darkness. It's believed the massive outage was caused by damage to a private power generator that triggered the systems protection.

The blackout also affected water treatment plants, forcing officials to suspend access to drinking water.

Well, power has returned to about two thirds of Havana after Cuba's national electrical grid collapsed on Friday. Ten million people were left without power after a substation transmission line in the island's capital shorted. Cuba has suffered four nationwide blackouts since October, with the country blaming U.S. trade restrictions for its mounting energy crisis.

A Peruvian fisherman has been found alive after more than three months lost at sea. Peru's state news agency says Maximo Napa Castro set out in his fishing boat on December 7th before getting lost due to bad weather. He was found by an Ecuadorian vessel on March 11th, heavily dehydrated and in a critical condition. Napa Castro told local media how he was able to survive his ordeal. According to "Reuters", Napa Castro spent the last 15 days without eating at all before he was finally rescued.

And thanks so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church.

For our international viewers, "WORLD SPORT" is coming up next.

And for our viewers here in the United States, I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment.

Do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:45:31]

CHURCH: A warm welcome back to our viewers in north America. I'm Rosemary Church.

More now on the new CNN poll showing U.S. Democrats are the most unhappy they have been with the party in decades. With a favorability rating of just 29 percent and no clear leader, the next steps remain unclear.

Julia Benbrook breaks down why the party is in such disorder.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After the November election, when Republicans won control of the White House, the Senate and the House, a lot of Democrats were asking, where do we go from here as they struggle to find a unified and compelling message against Trump?

And new CNN polling shows that they are still looking for that effective messaging, with a favorability rating at an all time low, with just 29 percent of those surveyed viewing the party favorably right now and 54 percent viewing it unfavorably.

When asked if Democratic leadership is taking the country in the right direction, 48 percent said yes compared to 52 percent back in 2017. And perhaps even the more telling data point is that while 52 percent said that the party leadership is taking things in the wrong direction, just 36 percent said that in 2017, when asked what Democrats should try and do, more people said that they should focus on stopping the GOP agenda than working with the GOP.

And it's important to note that this polling took place before that budget battle on Capitol Hill, when the Democratic leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, and several other members of the party joined Republican members to pass the House GOP plan. Schumer said he did not like what was in the plan, but felt obligated when the alternative would be a government shutdown. But he has received a lot of criticism from members of his own party about that decision.

Now, when it comes to who Democrats are looking to lead them in the future, they were asked about the person in the party that really reflects the core values right now, and there wasn't a big standout here, but here were some of the top names. New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, former vice president and former Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

More than 30 percent of those surveyed, though, did not write in a name, and one person just simply said no one. That's the problem.

Reporting in Washington, I'm Julia Benbrook.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Protests have been growing outside Teslas showrooms across the United States. The nationwide demonstrations began last month amid Musk's growing involvement in slashing thousands of government jobs.

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At Tesla dealerships from coast to coast, growing signs of discontent.

PROTESTERS: Elon Musk has got to go.

JONES: The target? The world's richest man, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

ELON MUSK, TECH BILLIONAIRE: This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy.

JONES: Outraged by Musk's dismantling of the federal government, protesters are taking it out on his business.

PROTESTERS: Hey, hey, ho, ho! Elon Musk has got to go!

JONES: What's your sign say?

PROTESTER: It says two things. It says honk if you hate fascists and boycott Tesla swasticars.

JONES: Why should people boycott Tesla?

PROTESTER: Because Elon Musk is destroying our government. Nobody elected him.

TAMMY SILVER, PROTEST CO-ORGANIZER: Elon Musk's wealth is based on the value of Tesla stock. Well, the value of Tesla stock is based on air and dreams.

SHARON DELUGACH, PROTESTING TELSA: So we're sort of hitting him in the wallet, getting him where it hurts even though, you know, he's richer than god. So it's hurting his reputation. I really believe its hurting his reputation worldwide.

JONES: Anti-Elon bumper stickers popping up, including these sold on Amazon marketed specifically to Tesla owners.

And since December, Tesla stock has lost nearly half its value.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They have one which is $35,000, which is pretty low. JONES: President Trump using the White House as a Tesla showroom in an

attempt to reverse that trend.

And on Friday, Attorney General Pam Bondi issuing a clear warning on Fox Business.

PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: If you're going to touch a Tesla, go to a dealership, do anything. You better watch out because we're coming after you.

[02:50:03]

JONES: In recent weeks, Teslas were engulfed by a fire in Seattle. A charging station torched in Massachusetts, and a Molotov cocktail was thrown to a dealership in Oregon after shots were fired at cars there. Not the scene at this southern California protest, part of dozens nationwide.

SILVER: This is a joyous, festive protest and nonviolence, and I urge people, like minded people, to do this at every Tesla dealership in the country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES (on camera): And that organizer, by the way, owns the Tesla herself. She said she doesn't really know what to do with it at this point, but she does have pretty serious buyers remorse at this point. Although at this protest, we did see another gentleman coming here across the picket line saying that he was repairing his Tesla in order to sell it because he just could not bear the shame of driving it around for. That\s how deeply he disagrees with the policies of Elon Musk.

Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Burbank, California.

CHURCH: A Columbia University student who fled the U.S. after federal immigration agents appeared at her home is disputing the Trump administration's claims against her. Attorneys for Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian national and Fulbright scholar at Columbia, say she did not participate in an on campus pro-Palestinian protest last year in which dozens of students and participants were arrested.

Her attorneys also claim the agents showed up at her home around the same time as the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent Palestinian activist who was closely involved with the campus protests against the Israel-Hamas war.

An assistant professor at Brown University's Medical School has been deported to Lebanon despite a U.S. judges order blocking her immediate removal. The expulsion of the Rhode Island doctor, a Lebanese citizen and U.S. visa holder, will be the focus of a federal hearing in the coming hours. The judge overseeing the case has demanded information on whether U.S. Customs and Border Protection willfully disobeyed his order. The agency has not revealed why the doctor was removed.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he has no intention of granting exemptions for steel and aluminum tariffs. Mr. Trump's duties on Canada and Mexico could go into effect in just a matter of weeks, and it's adding much uncertainty for many American businesses, including those in one U.S. border town.

M.J. Lee reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OLIVER MANNING, MANNING DAIRY FARM: So, we have 600 total cows in here, and they're all making over 85 pounds of milk.

M.J. LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Fifteen miles south of the Canadian border, the Manning Dairy Farm has been in St. Albans for four generations.

MANNING: When the cows press against that brush, it's kind of a socializing thing --

LEE: Oh, my gosh.

MANNING: -- that they do and it keeps them clean, keeps them happy.

LEE: Oliver and his friends are buzzing lately about their Canadian neighbors. From President Trump's threat of tariffs --

MANNING: I have a couple friends with dual citizenship that aren't really pleased about it.

LEE: -- to the suggestion that Canada become America's 51st state.

MANNING: Foolish. It's never going to happen.

LEE: The Manning farm relies heavily on Canadian goods.

MANNING: This feed right here, about 40 percent of that total mix right there is from Canada. Sawdust in the stalls, that's all out of Canada.

LEE: And it, too, is stuck in the middle of the escalating trade war.

MANNING: It would be about $20,000 a month increase for a farm this size.

LEE: Wow.

MANNING: Yes, a lot.

LEE: And that's a lot, right?

MANNING: Yep. Yep, that's a lot.

LEE: One specific idea Trump has floated, slapping tariffs on Canadian dairy coming into the U.S.

MANNING: Obviously, expanding our market would be great for U.S. dairy farmers, but if the cost of business is increased so much by doing that, then it would have to outweigh it.

LEE: Down the road at the Maple City Diner, Don Rucki is a regular.

DON RUCKI, RETIREE LIVING IN VERMONT: It's my second time here today.

LEE: Here in St. Albans, where proximity to Canada is simply a way of life, there are some signs of the economic tensions spilling over into everyday life.

Just in your day-to-day life, you must come across Canadians all the time here, right?

RUCKI: I love Canadians. I've been going to the same camp since I'm six years old. Same camp in Ontario. I'm not sure I'm going to go this year. If there's a level of anger coming from both sides --

LEE: Yes.

RUCKI: -- that makes me not feel that I would maybe feel safe or feel comfortable or - as an American being there. I don't want people to give me grief, because I'm an American in their country.

LEE: Yes.

Don also says it's about time that the U.S. rethinks its approach.

RUCKI: If they're not going to lower their tariffs, then we're going to apply the tariffs to them. I want things fair.

[02:55:03]

LEE: At Mill River Brewing a few minutes away, owners Joyce and David Fitzgerald fully embrace St. Albans and their own Canadian connection.

JOYCE FITZGERALD, CO-OWNER, MILL RIVER BREWING BBQ & SMOKEHOUSE: All my grandparents, all my great-aunts and uncles all came from Canada.

LEE: The proximity to Canada --

J FITZGERALD: Yes.

LEE: -- like you're all used to it.

J FITZGERALD: It's a great little community. Everybody kind of supports each other.

LEE: Yes.

J FITZGERALD: Everybody kind of knows each other in a way.

LEE: Yes.

DAVID FITZGERALD, CO-OWNER, MILL RIVER BREWING BBQ & SMOKEHOUSE: This is where the magic happens.

LEE: Their brew house in the back is filled with Canadian supplies. D FITZGERALD: All of that malt is from Canada.

About 95 percent of everything coming in, our cans are made from aluminum from Canada.

LEE: David and Joyce are bracing for the impact of the tariffs both on their business.

When you heard the possibility of 50 percent tariffs on aluminum and steel coming from Canada, what was your reaction?

D FITZGERALD: I thought it was a nightmare. Potentially, it could be a game breaker for some breweries.

LEE: And their close-knit community.

D FITZGERALD: We love Canadians. I don't believe this has anything to do on a personal level, you know, between Americans and Canadians at all, if anything. I'm hoping this is going to strengthen our bond with each other.

LEE: M.J. Lee, CNN, St. Albans, Vermont.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Time to start filling out those brackets as the seeds are set for college basketballs march madness selection, Sunday saw Auburn, Duke, Houston and Florida picked as the four number one seeds for the men's tournament. Auburn was named the top seed overall, despite dropping three of their last four games. It capped a big night for the southeastern conference, which will send a record setting 14 teams to the big dance.

Well, history was made at the 40th Los Angeles marathon on Sunday. Illinois's Matt Richtman became the first American man to win the event in 31 years. Richtman finished almost three minutes faster than his nearest rival, with a personal best time of two hours, seven minutes and 56 seconds. Well done.

Thanks so much for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I will be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment. Do stay with us.