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CNN This Morning

Speaker Johnson Unveils 99-Page Stopgap Funding Plan; Brush Fire In Long Island Triggers New York State Of Emergency; Russia Intensifies Assault On Ukraine After U.S. Halts Military Aid; Vice President J.D. Vance Confronted By Protesters About War; Ukraine And U.S. Officials Plan High-Stakes Talks In Saudi Arabia Next Week; Allies Condemn Trump's Military Aid Freeze As Ukraine And U.S. Plan Talks In Saudi Arabia; Hamas Calls For New Phase In Gaza Ceasefire Talks; Israel To Send Delegation To Doha For Ceasefire And Hostage Talks; Deadly Clashes In Syria Leave More Than 300 Dead Since Thursday; Canada To Choose Prime Minister Trudeau's Replacement; Canada's Liberal Party Surges In Polling Amid Trump Threats; One Arrest After Southern University Fraternity Hazing Death; Celebrities Fight Back Against AI Scams; Vatican: Pope Francis Spends Another Night Resting In The Hospital; Daylight Saving Time In Effect, Clocks Sprang Forward 1 Hour; CNN Report: DOGE Involved In Water Release Following L.A. Wildfires; "United States Of Scandal With Jake Tapper" Airs Tonight At 9 ET/PT. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired March 09, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:42]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: What's up, everyone? Good early morning. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It is Sunday, March 9th. I'm Omar Jimenez. Victor Blackwell has the day off.

Now, just ahead House Speaker Mike Johnson looks to stop a potential government shutdown with a plan to fund it for another six months. But can the speaker get his own party to support it?

Plus, the governor of New York declares an emergency as brush fires burn on Long Island.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And we also have many under flood watches across portions of Florida and Georgia. We'll talk about the timeline of how much rain is expected and when it's going to come soon.

JIMENEZ: Plus, if you're feeling groggy this morning, you're not alone. Me and you both. We're going to tell you how to get back on track after we rolled those clocks forward.

But we're going to start with 99 pages and a pitch is when a pitch to hopefully fund the government through September 30th. House Speaker Mike Johnson formally unveiled the funding plan, and it's got President Donald Trump's seal of approval, but it may not win over any Democrats.

Now, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, Representative Rosa DeLauro, posted on social media that it, quote, "hand a blank check to Elon Musk." And she's not the only Democrat saying no.

CNN's Julia Benbrook breaks down the chances of that stopgap measure making it to the Senate.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN NEWSOURCE NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Omar, House Speaker Mike Johnson is outlining his plans for a stopgap measure, known as a continuing resolution, that would keep the government funded until September 30th. But he is facing a fast-approaching deadline with a potential government shutdown looming this next week.

President Donald Trump has expressed his support for Johnson's plan, and he is calling on Republicans to rally around it. Taking to social media to write, quote, "The House and Senate have put together, under the circumstances, a very good funding bill. All Republicans should vote," in parentheses, "(please)," in all caps, "YES next week."

But Johnson leads with a very slim majority and needs almost every member of his party in the House to support it if he doesn't have any support from Democrats. Here's what he had to say about the chances of the bill passing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: I believe we'll pass it along party lines, but I think every Democrat should vote for the CR. It is a fundamental responsibility we have to fund the government in a clean CR with a few minor anomalies is not something that they should vote against. So, we'll see what they do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: Johnson is describing it as a clean CR, but it does include some cuts to domestic spending that Democrats will likely oppose. The Democratic leader in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, has already said that he opposes the stopgap measure. And part of the argument against it is that Democrats say that it lacks critical language that would be included in a full year negotiated bill and would make it easier for their party to put a check on Trump in court if needed.

This bill is 99 pages long, and Johnson is expected to bring it to the House floor for a vote in the coming days, likely on Tuesday. If the House passes it, it puts a lot of pressure on the Senate to pass the same plan with that government funding deadline coming in just a matter of days, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Julia Benbrook, thank you so much. Developing now, New York State -- New York, excuse me, is under a state of emergency because of brush fires spreading on Long Island. And we've got video of people driving around plumes of smoke, look at that, as essentially the crisis has shut down highways. And this is happening on a nature preserve on Suffolk County, in an area just miles away from the beginning of what people know as the Hamptons.

Now, fire crews are battling at least three major brush fires. So far, no evacuation orders and no residents in the fire's direct path. But New York Governor Kathy Hochul spoke to CNN's Jessica Dean about what the biggest concern is going into today.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D-NY): We are very concerned about the overnight and the increase of winds again tomorrow. This could be a multi-day event, and I'm also concerned about the air quality. While there are no structures in harm's way at this moment, again, this could shift in a moment. But the air quality is definitely compromised.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now, so far there has only been one injury reported to a firefighter and two structures that were damaged as a result of the fire.

[06:05:04]

But I want to check in with CNN's Allison Chinchar. Allison, look, whenever we're dealing with wildfires, wind always a major factor. What type of an effect is it going to have on this particular fire fight?

CHINCHAR: Right. So, the hope is right now when the winds are relatively calm as we start off the day that those firefighters can kind of make some advancements in

putting the rest of it out, because once we get into this afternoon, they're going to ramp right back up again. And that's what we're seeing.

You've got these winds that are very strong. And it's not just in New York, but much of the northeast. You're kind of trapped in between the low and the high pressure that ends up creating like a tunnel effect for all those winds. So much of the northeast and even portions of the mid-Atlantic are dealing with those very gusty winds.

We also have the potential for flooding down to the south. We'll get to that in a moment. But those winds we talked about here, you can see. Again, this morning they're not that bad. Most of these places 10, 15 miles per hour But as we go through the afternoon, you're going to start to see them jump back up again, 30, 35. In some places, even as high as 40 miles per hour. That can take those flames that are already there and spread them incredibly quickly.

So, that's going to be a concern through the afternoon and the early evening hours before they go back down again once we get to the overnight timeline tonight and heading into tomorrow. The other concern across the country, down to the south, this is going to be the potential for flooding. You can see we've got the slight risk here. This is nearly 10 million people we're talking. Portions of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida as well as Alabama. And it's all because of this system here that just doesn't really want to move all that much.

It's meandering kind of along the Gulf Coast, and that means you're going to have significant amounts of rain that are dumped over a long period of time. You can see it's -- most of the morning, even through the afternoon, the evening hours, even tomorrow morning. Cities like Atlanta, Tallahassee, Jacksonville likely going to have quite a soggy morning rush hour.

We really don't see the bulk of this rain leaving until very late Monday. And in some cases, it's actually going to extend into early Tuesday.

Here's a look at the live radar though. Again, you can see a lot of these scattered showers and thunderstorms out here. We've even had a couple of isolated severe thunderstorm warnings pop up here and there.

Overall, not a huge swath of severe threat, but there is still the potential today to have some damaging winds. Can't rule out the potential for an isolated tornado going into the day as well.

JIMENEZ: All right. Allison Chinchar, really appreciate it.

Meanwhile, overseas this morning Russia continues to intensify its assault on Ukraine following President Trump's suspension of U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing, including a freeze on crucial satellite intelligence. Now, the pause on aid has drawn backlash from allies like Poland's prime minister who condemned it as appeasing, quote, "barbarians."

Ukrainian and U.S. officials are preparing to meet in Saudi Arabia this week to discuss a framework for ending the war. This is their first high level talk since the heated Oval Office clash between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. And the administration's handling of Russia's war in Ukraine has sparked protests across the United States, from Washington to Cincinnati, where demonstrators confronted Vice President J.D. Vance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They certainly invaded Ukraine in 2022.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And 2014 and Georgia and Chechnya. They are the aggressor every time. What happened? You called Trump America's Hitler. What changed?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Madam, now that's a different question. I'm happy -- would you like me to talk about how I've changed my view on Donald Trump from 10 years ago? Because I talked about it a lot during the campaign and then the American people voted and made him president of the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You got no integrity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: I want to bring in CNN's Nada Bashir now. So obviously high- level talks expected this week. What are the expectations heading into this week?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, ahead of this week, Omar, we have seen intensive discussions continuing between Ukrainian and U.S. officials. But as you mentioned, this is the first time we've seen this sort of high-level talks being held in person since that quite hostile Oval Office meeting between President Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump. And of course, the focus of this will be very much so on that framework for a lasting peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.

And what we've seen earlier in the week is some sort of framework being discussed between Ukrainian officials and their European allies, putting forward a framework for essentially a sort of partial ceasefire, which could see a cessation of hostilities in the air and at sea.

So, bringing an end to those deadly drone and missile attacks that we've seen. Bringing an end to military operations in the Black Sea, an end to the targeting of Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Crucially, although not necessarily an end to the fighting on the front lines in the east, but that is essentially the framework that is on the table right now in the eyes of European officials.

Whether that reflects what Donald Trump wants to see remains to be seen. We know, of course, that the U.S. secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and U.S. national security adviser, Mike Waltz, will be present at those talks in Saudi Arabia with Ukrainian officials.

We've heard, of course, warnings from the Trump administration directed at Russia now that there could potentially be sanctions against Russia if there isn't any movement towards ending the targeting of Ukrainian territory.

[06:10:06]

But again, any movement on that remains to be seen as well. But what's important to underscore here is that we have seen that shift in the level of support, as you mentioned, from the U.S. government for Ukraine under the Trump administration, that pause in military aid, that suspension of access to satellite imagery, which has been so vital for the Ukrainian army to monitor the advancement of Russian forces within their territory.

And of course, that scaling back of shared intelligence when it comes to intelligence that could assist Ukraine in targeting Russia. So, there certainly has been a shift in the playing field here. It remains to be seen exactly what kind of peace deal U.S. President Donald Trump actually wants to see.

He has, in earlier days alluded to the fact and indicated that he doesn't feel that Ukraine is in a position where it has as much leverage as perhaps it did in the past. He has also downplayed the importance of security guarantees for Ukraine. And of course, this is something that President Zelenskyy has long insisted on and continues to insist on. So that will certainly be a focus for the Ukrainian delegation during these talks in Saudi Arabia.

And of course, this follows a call on Friday between the U.S. secretary of state and Ukraine's foreign minister, in which the State Department reiterated its call for both sides. Both Ukraine and Russia, to now start taking steps towards a sustainable peace agreement, Omar. JIMENEZ: The stakes incredibly high. Nada Bashir, thank you so much.

Still to come, Israel and Hamas can't agree on the next steps to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza. We're going to have the latest on the negotiations.

Plus, the Justin Trudeau era is coming to an end in Canada. How the Liberal Party election today could impact the political landscape in north America.

Plus, this morning begins that odd transition time from standard time to daylight saving time. We're going to talk to an expert about how to keep the change from affecting your sleep, if it hasn't already. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:16:44]

JIMENEZ: Welcome back. Now this morning, Hamas is pushing for immediate talks on the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire while Israel remains focused on the hostage exchange without committing to a full end to fighting. And just hours ago, Israel blocked humanitarian aid into Gaza, aiming to pressure Hamas into accepting its proposed ceasefire extension. Meanwhile, an Israeli delegation is set to head to Doha tomorrow in an effort to move negotiations forward.

I want to bring in Jasmine El-Gamal, a former Pentagon Middle East adviser. Thank you for being here. I mean, let's just start with those talks in Doha. What are you looking for out of tomorrows talks? And do you expect them to have any significant effect on shaping the next phase of the ceasefire and hostage deal?

JASMINE EL-GAMAL, FORMER PENTAGON MIDDLE EAST ADVISER: Good morning, Omar. Thank you so much for having me. Yes, the talks tomorrow are pretty significant in Doha. So, as you know, as you just stated, the ceasefire negotiations have been blocked for some time now after initial talks over phase two negotiations, which were supposed to happen around February 3rd, actually ended up not happening.

Israel, instead, Prime Minister Netanyahu had been pushing for an extension of phase one and refusing to enter into those phase two talks. When Hamas refused to go along with the extension of phase one that's when Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered the halt of humanitarian assistance going into the Gaza Strip, effectively collectively punishing all civilians, all people in Gaza, for the impasse between Hamas and Israel.

And that's where the Americans entered, Omar. So, we've heard now, we now know that the U.S. government and Hamas have been in direct talks over the fate of the hostages and the ceasefire negotiations, which is a pretty significant development, a development because it basically upends longstanding U.S. policy of not negotiating directly with the organizations that they deem terrorist organizations. So, that's pretty significant. And so far, those talks between the U.S. and Hamas are narrowly focused on trying to get more of the hostages out, especially the living hostages, and an extension of that phase one ceasefire for 60 more days through the end of Passover and Ramadan.

JIMENEZ: And at this point, only one living American hostage expected to remain in Gaza. And phase two, of course, would have offered any a framework towards a long- term ceasing of violence here.

But on your point, Israel said it expressed the United States' position regarding direct talks with Hamas without saying what that position was. Do you believe that those direct talks with Hamas fundamentally changes the diplomatic dynamic, if at all, with Israel? I just wonder how the effect you believe that may have on the diplomatic dynamic with Israel.

EL-GAMAL: Well, I mean, we know that the Israelis are not happy about it. They don't like these talks being held over their heads. They also don't like the fact that the U.S. is offering ideas and concessions on behalf of the Israelis in these negotiations with Hamas, without necessarily getting prior approval from Israel. But it also tells us a little bit about the U.S. thinking and the impatience, I think, that Donald Trump feels with what is happening on the ground between Gaza -- between Hamas and Israel.

[06:20:12]

That impasse that I was talking about in the talks, he wants to get this done. He wants to see the hostages get home, and he wants to see the war over. And so, the Arab states on their part are trying to address that latter point of, how do we get to a reconstruction phase in Gaza? How do we prevent the forced relocation of residents in Gaza? So, they're working on that aspect.

But in terms of that immediate issue of the hostages and just ending that phase of the war, the U.S. has gotten impatient with what they likely see as, you know, sort of foot dragging by Prime Minister Netanyahu, not wanting to advance those negotiations forward. And they've just decided to do the talks themselves to try to break that impasse.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, before we go, I want to change gears slightly here because I want your perspective on what we're seeing out of Syria right now. Clashes between government security forces and supporters of former president Bashar al-Assad have killed over 300 people, according to an independent monitoring group. But it has been the worst violence since the Assad regime was toppled.

What do you see as the biggest challenge in getting this conflict under control? And do you see things escalating from here?

EL-GAMAL: This is -- this is an extremely worrying topic and worrying situation. Obviously, we've been looking at it closely over the weekend. And as you mentioned, the number of casualties, the targeted killing of civilians that we've seen, videos posted online, I mean, it's been really horrific to watch. But the information environment in Syria, the challenge is that it's so incredibly opaque now. Lots of disinformation, lots of false reports being put out.

But here's what we know. We know that the clashes or the attack on the government, the interim government security forces were started by remnants of the old regime, the Assad regime. And the security forces retaliated. There were some former rebel factions that may or may not be directly controlled by the government who entered into the fray. Theres no doubt that civilians have been targeted and killed in the process.

And now the challenge for the interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is, how do you get a handle on this? How do you, first of all, condemn the killing of innocent civilians and reassure Syrians that he will be doing everything he can to hold those folks who did that to account? And then how do you try to move forward in a way that offers accountability and justice?

That is going to be a huge challenge for Ahmed al-Sharaa. And people are watching the international community, which has been very slow or reluctant to reverse sanctions, for example, Assad era sanctions on the current government, and talking about the need for the protection of minorities and such. They're going to be watching closely what Ahmed al-Sharaa does over the next few days.

JIMENEZ: And it was -- it was a challenge or an expected challenge once the Assad regime fell, how to unite and quell potential different factions and different priorities in regards to governance in Syria. A concerning situation, no doubt. Jasmine El-Gamal, really appreciate the time and perspective.

EL-GAMAL: Thank you so much, Omar.

JIMENEZ: All right. Meanwhile, happening today as well, Canada will name its new prime minister. Justin Trudeau has been in power there for over a decade. But in January, after growing calls for him to resign and trade tensions with the United States, Trudeau announced that he was stepping down. And just hours from now, his liberal party will vote to decide who will take his place. CNN's Paula Newton has the details on the election.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Canada will have a new prime minister in the coming days. We will find out who that will be on Sunday night when the Liberal Party of Canada elects its new leader and Justin Trudeau's replacement.

Now, the frontrunners are Mark Carney, a former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor but a political novice. And the other frontrunner, Chrystia Freeland, Trudeau's former deputy prime minister and a longtime cabinet minister for Trudeau.

Now, top of mind for the party faithful will be who they choose as that new liberal leader in terms of who is the best candidate to handle the challenge of a new Donald Trump administration, and its near daily demands on Canada's economy.

Now the winner, though, may not be prime minister for long, an election would be called in Canada within a matter of days or weeks. Now, before Donald Trump set off a tariff war, Justin Trudeau's liberals actually seem poised very close to losing any kind of a national election. The conservative party was way out in front in the polls, but before Donald Trump was inaugurated, the liberals had less than a one percent chance of winning.

[06:25:02]

Now, that has jumped to 37 percent chance of winning. Why? President Trump's threats and Canadians' desire for an experienced hand to deal with them have helped raise the party's fortunes and make Canada's upcoming election much more competitive.

Paula Newton, CNN.

JIMENEZ: Paula Newton, thank you. Still to come, celebrities like Steve Harvey are fighting back as scammers use their images to trick unsuspecting victims. We're going to tell you what experts are saying about the rise of deepfakes in Hollywood.

And the Vatican shares a promising update on Pope Francis' hospitalization, but warns the risk of another breathing crisis remains. We'll have the details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:14]

JIMENEZ: All right, welcome back, everyone. More arrests are expected in connection to a Louisiana college student whose death is being investigated as an act of fraternity hazing. At least one person is facing charges.

CNN's Rafael Romo has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Officials say that initially, a group of men had claimed after dropping off the victim at the emergency room that he had collapsed while playing basketball at a park in Baton Rouge. But Baton Rouge Police now say that Caleb Wilson died as a direct result of a hazing incident where he was punched in the chest multiple times while pledging Omega Psi Phi fraternity.

Wilson, who died in late February, was a 20-year-old mechanical engineering junior at Southern University and A&M College and a member of the school's famed marching band known as the Human Jukebox, which recently performed at the Super Bowl in New Orleans. Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse said over the last several days his detectives interviewed over a dozen people and executed multiple search warrants as part of the wide investigation into the case.

As they were conducting this investigation, one of the suspects, identified as 23-year-old Caleb McCray, turned himself in with his attorney. Police Chief Morse says the suspect now faces serious charges related to the hazing incident. TJ MORSE, CHIEF, BATON ROUGE POLICE DEPARTMENT: McCray has been charged with criminal hazing and manslaughter. Again, this is still an active and ongoing investigation with more arrests forthcoming.

Right now, we have two additional suspects that we are drawing up warrants for and working with their attorneys to turn themselves in.

ROMO: In a statement obtained by CNN affiliate WBRZ, Caleb McCray's attorney said the following, at this time, I have not been presented with any evidence to support such serious accusations. I maintain my client's innocence and urge the public to withhold rushing to judgment until all evidence is heard.

Southern University students, faculty and friends of the victim came together during a vigil held Wednesday to honor the memory of Caleb Wilson.

His father, Corey Wilson, was in attendance and remembered his son saying that he loved music and that when they got access to his apartment, his uniform was out and ready for Mardi Gras season and the upcoming sporting events at Southern University.

Southern University and A&M College have suspended the fraternity's campus chapter in All Greek Life pledging for the rest of the school year. In a statement published on Facebook, Chancellor John K. Pierre said that, every campus Greek organization has been informed that no additional membership intake can occur for at minimum the remainder of this academic year.

Rafael Ramos, CNN Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Rafael, thank you.

Meanwhile, as artificial intelligence gets smarter, it's getting more convincing, making it perfect for scam artists. Now, a scammer can convince someone to empty their wallet to a celebrity deepfake.

CNN's Hadas Gold explains how those celebrities are now fighting back to protect their image and you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE HARVEY, CELEBRITY HOST: And now it's time to play?

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKERS (in unison): Fast money!

HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Steve Harvey is best known as a man who runs game shows and awards money.

HARVEY: Well, that's $20,000, you all.

GOLD (voice-over): But after decades in the spotlight, his likeness and voice are now being used by scam artists who are utilizing AI to trick his fans into giving their money away. HARVEY: I've been telling you guys for months to --

GOLD (voice-over): Like this Medicare scam viewed millions of times. With over 100 million TV viewers and social media followers, Harvey is among a growing number of celebrities speaking out, backing new legislation and technologies that aim to protect a celebrity's image.

GOLD: How does this affect you when your image is used in things like scams?

HARVEY: See, see, that's hurtful because, you know, look, I prided myself on my brand being one of authenticity. I don't want fans of mine or people who aren't fans to be hurt by something because I said go do it. And it wasn't even me.

GOLD (voice-over): Several new pieces of legislation aimed at combating deepfake AI are now being considered by Congress.

MELANIA TRUMP, FIRST LADY OF UNITED STATES: I'm here with you today with a common goal.

GOLD (voice-over): First Lady Melania Trump has thrown her support behind the Take It Down Act, which aims to criminalize nonconsensual AI-generated deepfake and revenge porn.

Another bill called the NO FAKES Act aims to hold creators and platforms liable for unauthorized AI-generated images, videos and sound. It's garnered the support of the Recording Academy, the Screen Actors Guild, the Motion Picture Association and major talent agencies.

HARVEY: It's freedom of speech. It's not freedom of make me speak the way you want me to speak. That's not freedom. That's abuse.

GOLD (voice-over): Harvey wants legislation to include harsh punishments, including financial penalties and even jail time.

[06:35:03]

HARVEY: If you make money off lying to people, scamming people, then I think that's worthy of a fine and some time.

GOLD (voice-over): Harvey now uses a new platform called Vermillio to help him track and request take downs of the ever-growing number of deepfakes of himself popping up every day.

DAN NEELY, CEO, VERMILLIO: So back in 2018, there were maybe 19,000 pieces of deepfake content. Today, there are roughly a million created every minute. So, trying to find and play this game of whack-a-mole is quite complex.

GOLD (voice-over): Vermillio's CEO Dan Neely says deepfakes can run the gamut from AI chatbots acting as a famous person to AI-generated phone calls that mimic a celebrity's voice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it's called Big Ol' Freak. NEELY: We have his name, image, and likeness. We've then taken that and turned it into something that we call fingerprints. So fingerprinting is a way in which we go and look at various things that are in a piece of content.

So, an image of you is made up of millions of pieces of data. We use those pieces of data to go and find where it exists across the Internet.

GOLD (voice-over): There are limited legal recourses for celebrities battling deepfakes of themselves. Vermillio automates the cumbersome process of sending platforms takedown requests.

As the technology improves at a rapid pace, celebrities are now agitating for Washington to keep up.

HARVEY: I mean, how many people we got to watch get hurt by this before somebody does something?

GOLD: And I'm told the senators behind the NO FAKES Act plan to reintroduce the bill sometime in the next few weeks. But one thing that they want to change is to get the endorsements of the online platforms as well.

That may mean a change in some of the penalties they could face as a result of these violations. But I'm told by a source familiar that he'd still hope that the bill will retain its teeth while being workable for these platforms.

Hadas Gold, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: You almost can't go anywhere on the Internet without seeing some of those deepfakes. Hadas Gold, really appreciate it.

Meanwhile, it is that time of year again. If I look an hour more tired, it's because we put our clocks forward this morning. Coming up, we're going to tell you how to prevent the time change from stealing your energy, and I will be taking notes.

See you soon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:41:44]

JIMENEZ: All right, this morning, the Vatican says Pope Francis spent another night quietly resting in the hospital.

But for the first time in over three weeks of battling double pneumonia, a source tells CNN that he's finally showing a good response to treatment. Now, as of now, we're told the Pope is using a respiratory mask at night and getting oxygen therapy by the day.

Now, are you missing that extra hour of sleep yet? Because I am. Or are you excited that it's light out earlier? Plus, minus.

Clocks sprang forward this morning for daylight saving time at 2:00 a.m. President Trump was recently asked if he'd scrapped the time change. But he said people seem to be evenly split on the issue. Maybe, though, not the morning after it happens.

Let's discuss with Dr. Saju Mathew, who joins me now.

So, can we just talk about the physical effects of the spring forward? And what type of change does that have on our bodies?

SAJU MATTHEW, PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN: Well, you know, Omar, you would think that one hour of sleep is not that big of a deal. But it definitely adds up. And if you're part of the 70 million Americans like myself who have sleep problems or insomniacs, it becomes even worse.

So, here's the deal. Tomorrow, the Monday following the resetting of the clocks, there will be a 25 percent increase in the number of strokes and heart attacks --

JIMENEZ: Wow.

MATTHEW: -- all across the U.S. It's an incremental increase. But part of that reason is because when people don't sleep well, it can affect your blood pressure. Your blood pressure can fluctuate. It can cause inflammation. And if you're at risk of heart disease and stroke, that can kind of push you over. Not to mention anxiety, depression, fatigue.

So, yes, this one hour of losing sleep may not be as great for your health as we think it might.

JIMENEZ: Every hour counts. OK, so let's also look at some of the positives of what people think of daylight saving. You know, you get a little bit more sunlight.

I mean, are there psychological effects to sort of getting more sun over the course of the day? I mean, how do you make good on this jump forward?

MATTHEW: I'll tell you what. I'm a tennis player. So that makes --

JIMENEZ: Yes.

MATTHEW: -- two hours of extra tennis for me here in Atlanta.

JIMENEZ: I like it.

MATTHEW: Right. So, the sun will not set until 9 o'clock at night. So, of course, you're going to get people to go out there more. You know, you have more energy when you're done with work at 6. Most of the time in the wintertime, you feel like, oh, my God, it's dark. I'm just not motivated to go out there.

So, you will definitely see more activity outside. And people who suffer from seasonal affective disorder, extra light is always good. So, there are scientists that fall on either side of this. Where some people would argue that daylight savings time, listen, will actually make people go out there and take care of your health as well.

JIMENEZ: Yes. All right. I want to shift topics here. We got you here as a doctor. I want to talk about the measles outbreak now because a combined 228 measles cases as of March 7th across Texas and New Mexico. And I believe we have some of the numbers. And you compare that to the CDC's total for all of 2024. As you look there, 285 cases and all of 2023, 89 cases.

So, can you just put this into perspective for how rapidly this is expanding? Should we be concerned?

MATTHEW: Absolutely. I don't want to alarm anyone. Just the numbers you shed, Omar. Last year, the entire year of 2024, there were about 280 cases. We're not even the end of March.

[06:45:07]

JIMENEZ: Yes.

MATTHEW: And we're at 240 cases and we're under counting. If you look at measles, it's the most tried vaccine out there in terms of safety. It's 95 percent effective. The problem is if 90 percent of a community is not vaccinated, then one person who actually has measles can spread this infection and people think of measles as being benign, but there are children who get hospitalized and children who die from not getting vaccinated.

So, it's a no-brainer for us as physicians. Vaccine is the best way to be protected against measles.

JIMENEZ: And you know, speaking of vaccinations, you know, the HHS or many public health officials, I should say, have expressed a little concern about Robert F. Kennedy becoming HHS secretary, excuse me, an hour earlier. My head's all over the place.

But despite a large body of evidence showing no link between autism and vaccines, for example, a source tells CNN that Health and Human Services is asking the CDC to once again study if there's a connection between those two. What was your reaction when you first heard this? Is there a danger to sort of re-examining what has already been examined?

MATTHEW: Yes, of course. There's absolutely a danger, you know, Omar. This whole theory about autism and vaccines have been debunked for decades, decades. The research is all out there. And unfortunately, what CDC will have to do now is to almost reinvent the wheel. The information is already there. We know that this is a safe vaccine. We know that it does not cause autism.

And just on a side note, most people may not know this, but autism actually develops in the first trimester before the baby is even born. Now, there could be chemicals that the patient might be ingesting during pregnancy. But the fact that RFK is bringing up this idea that autism and vaccines are connected is actually very dangerous or just vaccines in general. It's really a sad day for physicians because we have to come here and keep refuting these ideas when there's really no evidence about that.

Dr. Saju Mathew, really appreciate you coming in early on this Sunday morning.

MATTHEW: Nice to see you, Omar.

JIMENEZ: All right. Meanwhile, we are getting new details on President Trump's demands to release billions of gallons of water across California. We're going to tell you what we're learning about some of those chaotic efforts.

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JIMENEZ: Welcome back. We want to take you to a CNN investigation into the controversy over Los Angeles' recent massive wildfires.

CNN has learned that representatives from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, pressured the acting head of a federal water management agency to release massive amounts of water from a dam. That's even though the facility could not physically open pumps.

CNN climate reporter Ella Nilsen has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELLA NILSEN, CNN CLIMATE REPORTER: In the first weeks of the Trump administration, the President falsely claimed there were major water shortages during the Los Angeles wildfires. Trump was laser-focused on releasing more California water, but the water he directed to be released never made it to L.A.

Through our reporting, we now know that two representatives from DOGE repeatedly pressured the acting head of a federal agency that manages dams to open water pumps at a federal facility in Central California, even though that facility couldn't physically do so because of planned maintenance. The two DOGE agents said they had an order from the President to do this, even though one of them was not actually a government employee at the time.

When the acting head of the Bureau of Reclamation did not relent, the DOGE agents flew to California with the goal of turning the pumps on themselves, in what people familiar with the incident characterized as a stunt for a photo op. People familiar with the incident told me that the two DOGE agents seemed fixated on getting a photograph of themselves turning these pumps on. One person familiar told me, quote, they didn't get their photo op.

Now, I should mention that this facility also does not send water to Los Angeles. Through our reporting, we also know that, days later, the White House directed the U.S. Army Corps to release more than 5.6 billion gallons of water through two separate dams in the San Joaquin Valley, which could have flooded downstream communities and endangered lives and properties. Ultimately, 2.2 billion gallons flowed out of the two dams into a dry California lake bed before panicked local water managers and Republican and Democratic lawmakers beseeched the Army Corps to shut it down.

For context, that's enough water to irrigate 6,000 acres of thirsty almond crops for an entire year.

We sent the White House, DOGE and federal agencies a detailed list of questions, including who paid for flights for the two DOGE agents to go to California. They did not answer our questions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Ella Nilsen, thank you.

Meanwhile, scandals are prevalent in every American aspect of American life. Excuse me. CNN anchor Jake Tapper revisits some of the most unbelievable and devastating controversies of the modern era in the second season of the "CNN ORIGINAL SERIES UNITED STATES OF SCANDAL."

This week's episode focuses on the Ab Scam scandal, the FBI's complex and undercover scheme to offer politicians cash bribes.

Just take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The question in all the trials were (INAUDIBLE) as the defense was, is this something they would have done. The problem they faced was when those tapes were played in court.

[06:55:04]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You came back with $15,000.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like drugs, I like (INAUDIBLE) gamble. That's one reason.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a good reason.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The tapes belied those defenses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when people got a look at the tapes, they said, what is this? And ultimately, no one, but no one, could defend them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Video was new. This is the '70s.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By today's standards, it probably would come across as pretty primitive, but it accomplished what it was supposed to accomplish.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In certain circumstances, I think there is overreach, and there's over-criminalization of politics.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: So, you know that the public probably, if polled, would disagree with a lot of what you're saying, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The juries disagree.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: A new season of "UNITED STATES OF SCANDAL WITH JAKE TAPPER," airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on CNN.

There's much more ahead on the next hour of "CNN This Morning Weekend." Still to come.

NASA has delayed the launch of its newest space telescope, SPHEREx. We're going to talk with a former astronaut about the mission.

Stay tuned.

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