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Mexican Cartel Leader Died from Injuries During Military Raid; New Protests Erupt in Iran Amid U.S. Military Buildup; U.S. & Iran Expected to Hold More Nuclear Talks This Week; New York City Enacts Travel Ban Until At Least 12PM ET; Nick Reiner Due to be Arraigned Over Killing of His Parents. Aired 9-9:45a ET
Aired February 23, 2026 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: This is the scene at 09:00 a.m. in New York, where a historic blizzard has swept in, causing power outages
and a mere white out across the Northeastern United States. Well, it's 06:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Eleni Giokos. This is "Connect the
World".
Also coming up on the show, violence erupts in Mexico after security forces killed the country's most wanted drug lord. Renewed protests in Iran,
students take to the streets, even as tension soar between Tehran and the United States. And EU lawmakers meet to discuss their stance on the U.S. as
President Trump looks to crank up trade tariffs once more.
And on that note, the markets in the United States open in around 30 minutes from now. And market futures pointing to a negative start. There we
have it. NASDAQ down half a percent, DOW down four tenths of a percent. And this is really on the back of President Trump saying that he wants to see
blanket tariffs of 15 percent across all countries, and that's after the Supreme Court struck down his tariffs on Friday.
Really big news here, and it's creating a lot of uncertainty. This is why we're seeing the gold price also increase. We'll check in on those numbers
in about 30 minutes from now. In the meantime, Mexico's President says peace and security will soon be restored to her country after a day of
violence sparked the killing of a notorious cartel leader.
Claudia Sheinbaum addressing reporters on the death of El Mencho. He's called and following a Mexican military operation, Sunday. His death
sparked scenes like these suspected gang members torching vehicles and blocking roads in 20 of Mexico's 32 states. Tourist areas were not immune,
including Puerto Vallarta.
Foreign nationals are being told by their governments to keep a low profile. And panic breaking out at airports after several airlines canceled
flights. El Mencho's death comes amid pressure by the Trump Administration to stop the flow of drugs into the United States.
The White House praised the operation that targeted El Mencho and confirmed it provided U.S. Intelligence Support. Valeria Leon is watching
developments for us from Mexico City. Valeria, good to see you. There are a significant number of American tourists in Mexico.
What are the conditions that they're facing right now? Take us through the reality they're currently dealing with.
VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure. We'll see forced shut downs of schools and businesses, particularly in parts of Jalisco and neighboring
states where the cartel has a strong influence. And the impact of the violence following the death of cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes,
known as El Mencho, is now extending into daily life across western Mexico.
We're talking about schools, sports and even public events. Authorities say classes have been suspended and also businesses order to close and curfews
remain in place in several cities as security forces work to prevent further unrest. And this disruption is also being felt on the national
sports stage.
Mexico's top soccer league announced the postponement of four matches scheduled for Sunday due to security concerns. And these cancelations are
especially significant because the state of Jalisco is one of the three Mexican host sites for the FIFA World Cup 2026, which -- with matches set
to be played exactly in Guadalajara, where all this chaos is taking place.
And the violence has renewed questions about security as Mexico looks ahead to welcoming hundreds of thousands of international visitors for the
tournament. Meanwhile, U.S. authorities say several high-ranking associates linked to El Mencho are already in American custody.
Some serving lengthy prison sentences, signaling that this crack down on the cartel's leadership extends well beyond Mexico's border. Also, the
Mexican army and National Guard have searched into key cities, and while authorities say they restore control in several areas, this is not a fully
stabilized situation yet.
In some locations, security forces are clearly in charge. In others, the cartels are still testing the limits. So, at this stage, it's more accurate
to say the state is contesting control, not that the streets are fully secure, Eleni.
GIOKOS: Yeah. I mean, clearly a very vast network we're talking about here.
[09:05:00]
But give me a bit more insight. Tell me about El Mencho.
LEON: Well, El Mencho was long wanted not only by the Mexican government, but also by U.S. government. Since the mid-90s, he started building his own
cartel, the cartel new generation, the Jalisco new generation cartel, but he worked formally in two other cartels, including the Sinaloa cartel in
Mexico.
Now his cartel, the new generation cartel, is the most, the one that has expanded rapidly throughout the country. And Mexican officials emphasize
that it was planned and carried out by Mexico's armed forces. All this operation with the military leading the detention and transport of El
Mencho.
That said U.S. intelligence also support played a significant background role, particularly in tracking cartel leadership and movements. So, from
everything we know so far. This was not a U.S. boots on the ground mission, but rather one where intelligence sharing help inform Mexican planning, and
that distinction matters politically, especially for the administration of President Claudia Sheinbaum, which has framed this as a Mexican operation
carried out by national forces, Eleni.
GIOKOS: All right. Valeria, thank you so very much. Well, I want to turn now to this region. New student protests have erupted in Iran as Tehran
faces mounting pressure from the U.S. to curb its nuclear program. Well, protesters held a weekend March at a university campus in Iran's capital in
honor of students and others killed during last month's anti-government protests.
At the same time, Iranian and U.S. officials say they expect a third round of talks will take place in Geneva on Thursday. Iran's Foreign Minister
says his optimistic diplomatic solution can be reached on Tehran's nuclear program. We've got CNN's Paula Hancocks following developments for us here
in Abu Dhabi.
Good to see you. So, what is happening? What is the latest in terms of the protests action? We saw some of those images there.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Eleni, this was taking place over the weekend.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
HANCOCKS: And it was basically a case of the start of the semester coinciding with the end of the morning period. This 40-day period. We
understand that there have been further protests at this point. We haven't heard anything about a crackdown we have been seeing.
And you can see in some of those pictures, clashes between the pro regime elements and anti-regime elements. So that appears to be different protests
groups that are clashing as we understand it, at this point. We did hear from one professor, saying that they had given permission for some of these
protests to take place despite what has happened over the past two months, because they were respecting that the morning period.
These are students, in some cases, that are mourning their friends, their loved ones that were killed by security forces at the beginning of this
year, in the first month of this year. So, it is interesting that we are seeing these protests spark once again. At this point we are not seeing
security forces intervening.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
HANCOCKS: But of course, you know, the information is not coming out as freely as it does from other countries.
GIOKOS: I mean, as we see these images and these protests on the go, consequential possible, you know, meeting in Geneva later on this week, in
terms of what the Iranians anticipates, what the U.S. wants. Give me a sense of where these discussions are headed.
HANCOCKS: So, the Iranian officials that are speaking publicly.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
HANCOCKS: And they have been speaking publicly, in particular, the foreign minister over the weekend, speaking to U.S. media in particular, is that
this is positive. This is possible, obviously, with that sheer amount of U.S. military arsenal on its doorstep. It is trying to push the narrative
that this is possible.
First of all, let's listen to what the Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said to CBS over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: And I believe that when we meet, probably this Thursday, in Geneva, again, we can work on those elements and
prepare a good text and come to a fast deal. This is my understanding. I see it quite possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: Now Araghchi had also said that there would be a counter proposal, that he would come back with something within days. That was last
week. We're expecting that imminently, certainly in the early part of this week. We also know that an Iranian official told Reuters that they believe
when it comes to this highly enriched uranium.
[09:10:00]
Of course, that is the key point that they potentially Tehran would entertain the idea of a combination of exporting some of that highly
enriched uranium and then diluting part of it as well. So, suggesting that they do believe a compromise can be found. Although, of course, we have
heard from the U.S. President that he doesn't want any enrichment whatsoever. So, there is still significant --
GIOKOS: -- it's definitely a sticking point on whether Iran can and should enrich uranium, and it's interesting what the Iranians are bringing to the
table. The question is, how open the United States is going to be? What is the kind of proposals that have been floating around right now on that?
HANCOCKS: So, what we've heard is, effectively from this Iranian official, and they are addressing the highly enriched uranium, knowing that that is
going to be the sticking point. They are obviously being very focused on just the nuclear program. They don't want this discussion to go any
further.
They don't want to be talking about their ballistic missile program. They don't want to be talking about their proxies in the region, which is what
we know that Washington was keen to broaden these talks out to. So, this is really what we're focusing on, or what the Iranian officials appear to be
focusing on, the fact that they could suggest this compromise.
But at the same time, what they want is to have an acknowledgement that they have the right to enrich uranium.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
HANCOCKS: They're not willing, at least from what they've said publicly, to give up on that right. And as I say, President Trump to be very clear that
he doesn't want them to have this right.
GIOKOS: All right. Paula Hancocks, thank you so much for that update. Right, a new CNN poll shows you U.S. President Donald Trump's approval
rating at 36 percent ahead of his State of the Nation Union address on Tuesday. It's a big drop from when he addressed the nation earlier, about a
year ago and back then, he was polling at 48 percent approval, according to CNN numbers.
Some of his steepest declines of late include a 19-point drop in approval among Latino Americans, and an 18-point drop when You ask adults 45 years
old. So, CNN's Kevin Liptak is following all of this from Washington for us. Kevin, good to see you. So, what more can you tell us about CNN's
latest polling.
The numbers are really interesting. And of course, give you a snapshot of how Americans are feeling.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah. And bottom line, the president is entering this speech in quite a weakened position. You know
that differential, a 27-point differential between those who approve and disapprove is not only the weakest point for this president heading into
the yearly State of the Union address, but it's also the weakest point for any second term president at this point in their presidency this century.
And so, it's an enormously weakened position for the president. It's a major drop from where he was last year. And when you look at sort of the
individual demographics, you do get a sense of where exactly that weakness is coming from. I think primarily among independent voters.
26 percent said that they approved how the president was handling this job. 73 percent disapprove a year ago, that differential was only 13 points. Now
it's at 47 points. And I think bottom line is any president who has that steep a disapproval among independents is going to be in a very, very weak
position.
Clicking through a number of other groups, you also see sort of where the president has lost some serious ground over the last year, starting, I
think, with Latino voters. 41 percent said that they approved of his handling at this point last year. That's at 22 percent now.
And of course, when you look at what has happened over the last year, the president's very hardline immigration agenda, which we should be clear he
campaigned on, was probably not a surprise to many people, but certainly that could have helped drive down that approval rating among Latino voters.
But you also see it, I think interestingly, even among men, you know, traditionally a critical part of the president's base, last year, he was at
54 percent among men. Now he's at 40 percent among men, white voters, another area where the president has traditionally done fairly well.
Last year, he was at 55 percent. Now he's at 45 percent. And so, you can see among all of these voting groups where the president has lost some
significant ground. And it does, I think, set him up for quite an important speech tomorrow night. You know, this is traditionally the largest
television audience of the year for any president, particularly this year, very critical mid-term elections.
The president's aides have sort of suggested that this speech will essentially be a kickoff to his campaign message for the next 10 months or
so. And when you look at what people said that they wanted to hear from the president, I don't think it's any surprise. The overwhelming majority said
they wanted to hear about the economy and cost of living.
[09:15:00]
57 percent you know, far and away, the most important issue for so many people. And I think the issue that President Trump seems to be experiencing
is that that issue is not what he talks about most often. You know, the next top issue is immigration, that's only 13 percent.
And when you think about what we have heard from the president over the last many months, even the last year, immigration has been such an
important part of what he's talking about. Our poll today shows that most Americans would rather hear about something else.
GIOKOS: Yeah. I mean, really interesting. An economy always Trump's everything else, Kevin, but another really interesting story playing out.
Officials say Secret Service officers and a local sheriff's deputy shot and killed an armed man who illegally entered President Trump's Mar-a-Lago,
state on Sunday. What more do we know about this?
LIPTAK: Yeah, and this essentially happened in the middle of the night. So 01:30 a.m. on Sunday.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
LIPTAK: What the police and the Secret Service said is that they detected an armed man who had breached the perimeter of Mar-a-Lago. You know, it's a
big compound down there in Palm Beach, Florida. They said he made it several yards into the compound. They determined that he was both armed
with a shotgun but also carrying a gas can.
The agents opened fire and killed him. Now, President Trump was not at Mar- a-Lago, which itself is somewhat unusual. You know, most weekends over the winter, he is down there in Florida. What the Secret Service said is that
no protectees were actually on the compound at the time.
So that would include the first lady, members of President Trump's family. None of them were there at the moment, which is certainly very lucky. What
we know about the suspect is that he was in his early 20s. He's from North Carolina, and his mother had actually reported him missing on Saturday.
I think it all sort of speaks to the general, I think concern about these attempts on President Trump's life. You know, we saw two during the
campaign last year, including one that occurred at his golf course down there in Florida. No one injured, except for the actual suspect who was
killed, but certainly a very troubling incident.
GIOKOS: All right. Kevin Liptak, thanks so much for that update. Now, a powerful winter storm known as a bomb cyclone is battering the United
States northeast this hour. More than 40 million people in 11 states are under blizzard warnings, with several states declaring emergencies.
In some places, nearly 45 centimeters of snow has fallen, and it's still coming down at a rate of five to eight centimeters per hour in parts of New
York and New England. Treacherous conditions have made travel nearly impossible. New York City and Philadelphia have curbed public transit for
now.
And flight cancellations are already topping 5000. I want to get the latest now from one of the hardest hit states. We've got CNN's Jason Carroll, live
at Newark, Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Jason, I mean, some of the images we're seeing pretty scary you're in the airport. Tell me
about flight cancellations and how it's impacting people.
JASON CARROLL, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Eleni, look, it's been a grim story here at Newark International Airport. I don't know if
you've ever been through any of the busiest airports in the New York City area, like Newark, but look at this. Have you ever seen it look like this?
It's practically empty here. The only people, primarily that we've seen are the people who were stranded here overnight had to sleep here because they
simply had no other place to go. The local hotels were booked. The roads were too treacherous, couldn't get in, couldn't get out, and so this is
where they stayed.
It has been a story of cancellations. The board pretty much says it all. I mean, you see a number of council flights here. Those that show that
they're on time, like, for example, leaving at 10:00 or 11:00 a.m. you know that's just not accurate. I mean, those flights are not going to be taking
off at that time.
It's just that this board here has not been updated like it should. I want you to hear from one passenger. He was trying to get back to South Africa.
He got here early yesterday, before the snow had even started. He had to end up spending the night overnight, and he's still here today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHAN FRASER, STRANDED TRAVELER: I've been traveling since yesterday morning, six o'clock from Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls to Denver, Denver over
here. So, I got here like five o'clock last night. I was supposed to fly out after eight last night, and flights canceled. So, the earliest flight I
can get tomorrow night, eight o'clock.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: And that is a story we've been hearing over and over from passengers. Passengers who were trying to get out, thought they could get
out yesterday, and ended up getting stuck. Let me give you the broader picture here. Let me go over some of the cancellation percentages that
we're looking at this hour, JFK, airport, 89 percent of flights canceled.
LaGuardia 98 percent, Boston Logan 92, Newark, where we are, 83 and Philadelphia International 82 percent.
[09:20:00]
Just getting here was treacherous enough initially they had a travel ban in place until 07:00 a.m., but the roads outside are so bad even at this hour,
that travel ban extended now until noon. Back to you.
GIOKOS: Right, well, it is eerily quiet as you say. Well, you stay safe as well. Jason Carroll for us there. And still to come, authorities in Ukraine
are investigating what they're calling a terrorist attack in the Western City of Lviv. We'll have more on what happened and who could be behind it.
And Donald Trump is doubling down on tariffs after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Friday. We'll bring you an update on that, just after the short
break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: Authorities in the Ukrainian City of Lviv are investigating what they call a terrorist attack that killed at least one person and left
dozens wounded on Sunday. Police say homemade explosives were planted in rubbish bins near the city center. President Zelenskyy says several people
have been detained, including a woman suspected of carrying out the attack under instructions from Russia. CNN's Nada Bashir reports.
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well authorities have confirmed that they have detained and arrested one individual believed to be the key suspect in
this double bombing attack which took place in Lviv this morning. According to officials, though those investigations are still ongoing, and the
question remains whether there are other suspects.
That is something that investigators and police officials are still looking into. Now at this stage, officials have confirmed that at least one person
was killed in that attack. A 23-year-old police officer, some 25 others at least, are reported to have been injured, and among them six law
enforcement officers who are said to be in a serious condition.
Now we have been learning a bit more about how this attack unfolded. According to officials, police were notified of an emergency alert of a
potential intrusion in the city center, in a shop, and following their response that first blast went off, and then as a second crew of law
enforcement officials arrived, a second blast also went off, impacting those in the vicinity.
And according to the preliminary investigation, they believe homemade explosives were detonated in the area, and they are describing this as a
terrorist attack. Take a listen to these remarks from Lviv's Mayor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDRIY SADOVYI, MAYOR OF LVIV, UKRAINE: Police are working on site as for damages, many windows were blown out. An investigation is underway. Once it
is over, we will clear everything up. We will help people. It was a very difficult night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASHIR: And of course, while one individual has been detained, as I've mentioned, they are still looking into other potential suspects, at this
stage, while this is being characterized as a terrorist attack. There has been no clear announcement of a specific motive behind this attack.
And at this stage, no official linking to Russia or potential Russian attack, although, as we know overnight as well.
[09:25:00]
In the country's capital in Kyiv, we did see a continued barrage of missile attacks targeting the capital.
GIOKOS: All right, let's get you up to speed on some of the stories that are on our radar right now. The son of slain Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner
is due in court for his arraignment on murder charges following the fatal stabbing of his parents last December. 32-year-old Nick Reiner is expected
to plead not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, but if convicted as charged, he would face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
France is summoning the U.S. Ambassador after the Trump Administration blamed the death of a far-right activist in Lyon on left wing violence.
French officials call the remarks interference in a domestic matter. It marks the second time the ambassador has been called in amid diplomatic
tensions.
Right markets in the United States set to open in just a few minutes. And as you can see futures pointing to a negative start, NASDAQ, S&P as well as
DOW firmly in the red. It is all around tariffs and the uncertainty that has been created by President Trump. And of course, we'll bring you those
numbers in just a bit.
And also, how investors are reacting to the latest round of Trump and tariff uncertainty. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi, and you're watching "Connect the World". These are your headlines. Mexican President says peace
and security will return to her country after violence sparked by death of the cartel leader known as El Mencho. He died following military raid
targeting him.
Gang set fire to cars and blocked roads as they clashed with police. El Mencho was Mexico's most wanted fugitive. More than 40 million people are
under blizzard warnings as a historic winter storm batters the United States, northeastern parts from Virginia to Maine conditions have forced
airlines to cancel more than 5000 flights while public transport.
Transport has been shut down in some cities. Some areas could see more than half a meter of snow fall. Iran's Foreign Minister says he's optimistic a
diplomatic solution can be reached with the U.S. over Tehran's nuclear program. This comes as new student protests erupt in Iran to honor students
and others killed during last month's crackdown on anti-government demonstrations.
Lawmakers in the European Union are meeting today to discuss whether to suspend trade negotiations with the U.S., and it comes after the Supreme
Court struck down U.S. President Donald Trump's emergency tariffs following the ruling, Mr. Trump said he'd be raising global tariffs to 15 percent.
[09:30:00]
Right, a few seconds away from the start of trade in the United States, and all this talk of tariffs and uncertainty is causing a bit of just -- and of
course, pretty much reflective in the markets. Trade officially begun in New York. And importantly, a lot of investors waking up this morning after
the talk by President Trump over the weekend about blanket tariffs global, worldwide tariffs increasing to 15 percent.
Can he get it done, was pretty much indicative in terms of how the markets are feeling today, down three tenths of a percent on the DOW JONES. And of
course, we're starting to see gold becoming and continuing to be, pretty much a favorite. My next guest is Joe Brusuelas the Chief Economist at RSM.
Joe, great to see you. I mean 10 percent then 15 percent, I mean, it's pretty intense in terms of the talk. And I wonder what you make of all sort
of this uncertainty that has been pumped into the market once again.
JOE BRUSUELAS, CHIEF ECONOMIST AT RSM: Well, the only thing that businesses like less than policy and predictability is uncertainty around what their
tax is going to be on the goods they need to import to produce their final products, right?
GIOKOS: Yeah.
BRUSUELAS: And so, I'm not surprised. We're seeing the sell off get going here in earnest, as cash trading gets underway in New York City. You know
when I take a look at what's going on. It looks like a real sort of Groundhog Day, right? The use of IEEPA -- which were always very
questionable.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
BRUSUELAS: Supreme Court has now rolled them back, when I saw Mr. Trump declare the use of Section 122, the 1974 Trade Act, which stipulates that
the president has authority to impose taxes if there's a balance of payment crisis. What hit me was that what balance of payment crisis.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
BRUSUELAS: The United States has access to capital demand for its debt and equity remains robust. It's the currency reserve. There's no balance of
payment crisis. Those -- these tariffs are likely to get rolled back too, which is going to create the conditions for an even larger potential refund
to the American corporate sector.
GIOKOS: Yeah, so let's talk about those refunds. And clearly, since the emergency tariffs have been put in place, companies have had to pay a lot
more for the goods that they were importing into the United States. Do you believe that, that inflationary impact is going to unwind now that the
Supreme Court has deemed those tariffs illegal?
BRUSUELAS: Absolutely not. First, it's very clear, based on what U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said over the weekend that because firms
have largely passed along the price increases that he did not see a need to make refunds. Now he walked that back a little bit.
Yesterday said the lower coats are the ones that are going to decide but look, anywhere between 130 and 175 billion may need to be refund at one
point, just due to the IEEPA based tariffs. Now here's the big question, will that result in price cuts for consumers? No, don't hold your breath.
It won't.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
BRUSUELAS: And so, I just don't see these refunds really doing anything other than bolt to the bottom lines of corporates. We're likely to use the
cash to buy back shares.
GIOKOS: Yeah, exactly. It's just going to increase their margins. So, we know we've got the State of the Union address. And it's pretty important,
because Americans still want more clarity on how the economy is going to work for them. And here's the question, I think a lot of people need to
understand this, that when you know, companies are forced to pay more in tax or in tariffs, for example, they pass that cost on to the consumer.
So, when we're talking about $150 billion that need to be paid back to the corporate sector. The consumers are going to be left actually, with having
paid that price, ultimately, not the companies themselves. What do you make of that?
BRUSUELAS: Well, it's going to intensify the public discontent. That's clearly evident across the U.S. economy, despite a pretty strong growth
rate, the fact that, despite the fact we're at full employment, the truth is we have a bifurcated, or K-shaped economy, where if you're not on the
upper spur of that K --
GIOKOS: Yeah, OK.
BRUSUELAS: Life's very challenging, you're probably just treading water at this time.
GIOKOS: So, what do you make of this 15 percent worldwide tariff? You were talking about the section that President Trump is going to use to be able
to get this across the line, but it has to go through Congress ultimately.
[09:35:00]
And it's caused a lot of global distress. I think even the EU Parliament was meant to be talking about the deal that was put on the table. What does
it do in terms of the relationship the United States have with other countries?
BRUSUELAS: All right, so the average effect of tariffs under the Section 122 declaration is going to be about 12 percent. It's only going to exist
for 150 days, and then it'll drop to just under 7 percent. What this does is it creates opportunity space for whether you're the UK or the EU, for
example, to go back and renegotiate those trade frameworks.
They're not agreements. If you take a look at the U.S., UK framework, the first sentence is this is not a legally binding requirement. So, these
frameworks can be renegotiated, and I expect they will --
GIOKOS: Right, Joe Brusuelas great to have you with us. Thank you so much for your time. Beijing is also keeping tabs on the U.S. tariff ruling and
how it could impact China's interest. Our Mike Valerio has the details.
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, some of the first takes from commenters across China certainly seems to convey that from their point of
view, D.C.'s hand has absolutely been weakened by these emergency tariffs being taken away by the Supreme Court.
The White House is certainly trying to counter that train of thought. But notably, we have a prominent political pundit, Hu Xijin writing the
following over the weekend. He wrote, quote, Trump has one less card to play while China holds all of the cards.
And digging a little deeper into that, what essentially, he was trying to get with that statement, get to with that statement is that while this
primary tool, issuing these sweeping tariffs has certainly been limited by the United States Supreme Court, China's main trump card of access to a
whole suite of rare earth minerals that is still maintained by Beijing without any kind of restriction.
So, the main question that Beijing now is confronting -- or is confronted by, is whether or not the United States is going to try to levy new tariffs
in a different way towards China. And what we mean by that is the possibility of U.S. trade authorities saying that a certain Chinese company
or Chinese sector could be in potential violation of trade rules and then able to be hit legally with a new set of tariffs by the United States.
To that end, let's listen to what the White House says about that part of the equation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMIESON GREER, U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: We try to resolve the unfair practices we identify, and if they're not resolved, you can take actions
like tariffs or other things to try to resolve them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.
GREER: We have tariffs like this already in place on China. We have open investigations already.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALERIO: Now, important to keep in mind is that the United States may not want to rock the boat, so to speak, because President Trump and Chinese
Leader Xi Jinping are due to meet here in this town in Beijing in just over a month, with the president landing here on March 31st.
And meetings with Xi that have to deal with the trade truce happening on April 1st and April 2nd. The last time they met was October of last year in
South Korea, hammering out that trade truce and speaking of South Korea and Japan, for that matter, both of those nations, neighbors here in the
region, have trade deals with the United States that were hammered out.
Wonder the threat of that trade cudgel of those emergency tariffs. So, the question also arises, what's going to happen to those trade deals with
South Korea and Japan? Even though the Supreme Court has said the authority under which the White House acted to launch those tariffs, the White House
was not able to use that authority legally, in that sense.
So far, the White House and administration officials are saying these trade deals with South Korea and Japan remain in place. And we have not heard
from Tokyo or Seoul that either capital is willing to renegotiate their trade deals, at least at the moment. Mike Valerio, CNN Beijing.
GIOKOS: Up next, do you believe in miracles? The USA men's hockey team sure does a remarkable final on Sunday. We've got that view, up next. Stick with
CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:40:00]
GIOKOS: Hollywood's biggest stars came out for Britain's biggest night in film.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What time is it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I don't remember that part. All right, let's just not nitpick over the password --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: And the BAFTA for Best Film goes to "One Battle After Another". The film took home six awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best
Director. But it wasn't a clean sweep. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated for Best Leading Actor, but that went instead to Actor Robert
Aramayo for his portrayal of a man with Tourette Syndrome in the film "I swear".
And the Leading Actress Award went to Jessie Buckley from "Hamnet". It was fitting that the final medal event of the Winter Olympics was a thrilling
as thrilling as it was. The USA ending a 46-year drought to win the gold medal. And to make it even sweeter, it was over the arrivals Canada.
Don Riddell joins me now. These images, the celebrations, absolutely epic, Don.
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, a sweet win against their most bitter rivals. This was absolutely incredible.
GIOKOS: Wow.
RIDDELL: Eleni, we keep hearing about, we keep talking about the miracle on ice, which was the last time, believe it or not, the U.S. Men's Ice Hockey
Team won Olympic gold. That was way back in 1980 against the Soviet Union, their bitter rivals. Then that was the miracle.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
RIDDELL: They're describing this one as magical, a long, long way, a long time in the making, and the manner in which they did. It was just edge of
the sea, nail biter, thrilling, thrilling stuff. This one is going to be remembered for decades and decades to come.
It's a huge moment. And it was just great entertainment, unless you're a Canadian sports fan, in which case, it was a bit of a nightmare.
GIOKOS: Yeah, that's true. Yeah, someone's always going to lose. But listen, I look forward to the details after the break.
RIDDELL: Yeah.
GIOKOS: And I'll be back at the top of the hour with more news. See you then, Don.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
END
