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One World with Zain Asher
Vance Meeting With Zelenskyy At Munich Security Conference; Ukraine Front And Center As Global Powers Meet In Germany; Many Flower Vendors Fear ICE Raids; Prosecutors Resign Rather Than Drop Case Against NY Mayor; NIH Funding Cut Prompts fears Of A Mass Exodus; Mud, Floodwater Cover Roads As L.A. Dodges Another Disaster; CNN Follows Older Singles Looking To Date; Aired 12:00-1:00p ET
Aired February 14, 2025 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:44]
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga. Zain is off. You are watching ONE WORLD.
A blunt threat to America's allies and the announcement of a new era, amid growing anxiety and uncertainty in Europe.
All eyes are on the Munich Security Conference, where the future of Ukraine is expected to dominate discussions for the next two days. Any minute now,
we expect to see Vice President J.D. Vance and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet.
The meeting comes as multiple Trump administration officials have spoken forcefully about ending the war Russia started in Ukraine.
Now, early on, the E.U. chief stressed the importance of unity and said that a failed Ukraine would weaken the United States.
The Ukrainian president also struck an urgent tone on the sidelines of the summit. Citing his country's intelligence sources, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
warned that Russia is preparing an attack on NATO next year.
Later, he urged the U.S. not to leave Ukraine out of the negotiation process, a reference to that phone call a few days ago when Donald Trump
struck a conciliatory tone with Vladimir Putin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: I think phone calls are phone calls. Let's forget about it. I think what is very important, the meeting,
not to make any decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine.
Without the real security guarantee, we will give him pause. I don't want to, you know, be those person in the history who helped Putin to occupied
my country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Well, a meeting between the Ukrainian president and, as we noted, the vice president will be happening shortly. It's actually
happening now, I believe, and if they address the press, we, of course, will take that for you.
CNN's Alayna Treene joins me now live from the White House. And, Alayna, it is notable that we are hearing different messages, it appears, in tones
from different members of this cabinet. You have the vice president today in an interview with the "Wall Street Journal" striking a very hawkish tone
saying that everything is on the table if Russia doesn't come to an agreement on ending this war that would possibly even include U.S. troops
in Ukraine. And you counter that with what we heard from Pete Hegseth earlier this week offering a bunch of concessions without getting nothing
in return.
Who is speaking for the president? I'm just curious.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: You know, it's interesting. It is very confusing when you listen to all those different officials. It does
sound like different messaging.
Look, when I've talked to White House officials about this and if you have listened to some of the newer statements we've heard from Hegseth in recent
days, the line that they keep pushing, and I know this is coming from the White House directly, is that everything is on the table, is similar to
what J.D. Vance said. We're not taking anything off the table. Everything is on the table, but that's not necessarily meaning or trying to imply that
they're already strategizing about different outcomes.
Essentially what I'm told is that all of the officials who are working for Donald Trump, the one person who is the real messenger on this is the
president himself. And they do not want anyone in tying his hand before he goes into any sort of negotiation, both with Russian President Vladimir
Putin, but also, of course, the Ukrainian officials and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Now, also, of course, there's been a lot of concern and skepticism ever since we heard what the president said himself earlier this week, telling
reporters that he had a long phone call with Putin directly, that they had, quote, agreed to start negotiations immediately on ending Russia's war with
Ukraine.
He said he was planning and hoping to have some sort with Putin in the coming weeks. That did lead some people to argue, where's Ukraine's place
in this? Do they have a seat at the table? CNN actually asked the president this directly yesterday in the Oval Office, and Trump said, yes, they will
have a seat. We're hoping we can have some sort of negotiation where all of these three countries, the United States, Russia, and Ukraine, can come to
the table and talk this through.
Now, one thing that's interesting is just getting back to what's happening on the ground in Munich today. Obviously, such an important moment given
the high-profile leaders there. Vance going to have this meeting with Zelenskyy.
We know Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also arrived and is in Germany as well. A lot of questions about what that's going to look like.
One thing I just want to point out as well, Bianna, just, you know, while we're on this, is that Trump yesterday, when talking to reporters in the
Oval Office, said and kind of hinted that there would be some sort of broader meeting in Munich between United States officials, Trump
administration officials, Ukrainian officials and Russian officials.
[12:05:09]
I am told now by three Trump administration officials that no such meeting is expected to take place. Vance, Rubio, both of them, neither of them, I
should say, expected to meet with Russian officials, even though, as we know, they are meeting with Zelenskyy.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Alayna Treene, thank you so much.
Well, meanwhile, Ukraine is blaming Russia for a drone strike on the damaged Chernobyl nuclear reactor. Moscow is denying any responsibility.
The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog confirms a drone strike hit Chernobyl's radiation shield overnight.
Emergency services say radiation levels there, thankfully, remain normal. Chernobyl, near Ukraine's border with Belarus, is the site, you'll recall,
of the world's worst nuclear accident.
Well, let's get the view from Moscow with CNN's Fred Pleitgen. Fred, what is Moscow's reaction to what's transpiring thus far in Europe and in the
last 24 hours in Munich, in particular.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting, Bianna, because it feels as though the Russians have the same
kind of whiplash that I think a lot of people have been experiencing listening to some of the cabinet members of the Trump administration on the
ground, of course, in Europe, but then in the United States as well.
The Russians, of course, very happy with that phone call that happened between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, where they
felt that they really had an opening now to get not only a good agreement for them when it comes to ending the war in Ukraine, but then also to get
back on the international stage and possibly get sanctions relief as well.
And what we're hearing here in Moscow is that there is already a lot of work going on putting together teams for those negotiations. The first
thing that the Russians really want to put in place, they say, is they want a face-to-face meeting between Vladimir Putin and the American president as
fast as possible in a third country. The Kremlin says that could happen within a couple of weeks at most, a couple of months. So that's something
where they really are working at a high pace.
At the same time, of course, they did hear some remarks from Vice President J.D. Vance, to "The Wall Street Journal," where he insinuated that the
Russians -- that if the Russians don't sign off to a peace agreement or sign on to a peace agreement, that then the U.S. could take a harder line,
that there could be more sanctions, that there could be military threats and even possibly troops, American troops on the ground in Ukraine securing
Ukraine.
Now, the Russians are saying that at this point in time, they're going to lay back commenting on all of that. In fact, the spokesman for the Kremlin,
Dmitry Peskov, told me, that right now, they are looking to clarify all these matters in direct talks.
Obviously, the Russians, for their part right now, are saying, we will take what Donald Trump said, what the U.S. president said, over what the vice
president is saying, at the same time the Russians, of course, right now. It's really hard to overstate just how optimistic political Moscow is right
now as to what the future could hold for them under the Trump administration, with the Trump administration.
But again, right now, for them, the next steps, they're working very hard on this, they say, is to get that meeting going as fast as possible. And
then, of course, the U.S. president has said that trying to get talks going to end the war in Ukraine is also very high on the agenda as well.
Although the Russians, Bianna, in the past couple of days has also pointed out that, for them, there are a lot of red lines as well as far as the
territory that the Ukrainians currently hold in Kursk, where the Russians are saying that they want to take that back militarily, rather than have
that be part of any sort of negotiations. Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Fred Pleitgen in Moscow for us. Thank you.
Amid all this talk of negotiation and the future of Ukraine, it's important to remember that the conflict is still raging and well entering its fourth
year now, if you can believe it. We're about to have the third year anniversary, just a few days. Hard to say it's an anniversary. Just a few
days from now when Russia illegally invaded Ukraine again.
Now, these are some of the scenes happening.
Actually, we are going to go to Munich now and listen to the vice president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And fundamentally, the goal is, as President Trump outlined it, we want the war to come to a
close. We want the killing to stop, but we want to achieve a durable, lasting peace, not the kind of peace that's going to have Eastern Europe in
conflict just a couple years down the road.
So we had a number of good conversations about how we might accomplish that together, and certainly, we'll have many more in the -- in the days, weeks,
and months to come.
President Zelensky.
ZELENSKYY: Thank you so much. Thank you very much. Very briefly, I think Vice President said everything absolutely correct. We are very thankful for
American support. President Trump, we have good conversation today. Our first meeting, not last, I'm sure, and really what we need to speak more,
to work more, and to prepare the plan, how to stop Putin and finish the war.
[12:10:59]
We want -- really we want this very much, but we need real security guarantees. And we will continue our meetings and our work, and we will be
very happy to see it General Khalikov (ph) in Ukraine in this closest time.
Thank you. Thank you, Vice President, for the meeting. Thank you, colleagues. Thank you so much.
VANCE: Great. Thank you all. Take care, guys.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ukraine is not ready to come to the table with Putin at the table. Ukraine is not ready to speak with that table, how do you
move forward? Will you still negotiate?
VANCE: Well, look, I think the way that this conversation moves this forward is, first of all, you have great members of the Ukrainian
delegation. You have our incredible Secretary of State, Marco Rubio here. We have General Kellogg.
It's important for us to get together and start to have the conversations that are going to be necessary to bring this thing to a close. That's all
I'm going to say for now, because I want to preserve the optionality here from the negotiators and our respective teams bring this thing to a
responsible close. Thank you all. Have a good night.
(CROSSTALK)
VANCE: I actually can't hear you when you all sound at once. See you, guys. Have a good night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Al right. A durable, lasting peace is what the vice president said. The goal is here, as we heard brief comments from both him and
President Zelenskyy there, as both delegations have been meeting and took just a few moments to speak to the press.
Let's get some perspective now from someone who knows these issues quite well, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Wesley Clark, he joins us from
Little Rock, Arkansas. Always good to have you on.
I'm just wondering, because I'm trying to make sense of everything that's happened in just this past week. And it seems that a lot of these players
are all talking past each other, even some in the same administration.
And it gets me wondering whether this is a scenario where you have a president of the United States that is itching and demanding for a
resolution, that at least one of the two players here is not feeling the urgency to do right now. And I'm specifically talking about Russia.
Walk us through how you are seeing everything over the course of the past few days evolve.
GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Bianna, if you want a negotiation really badly, and you put a time limit on, you
really push it, you're going to get a bad negotiation and a bad outcome.
And so the start of this has not been optimal. When you say you're going to solve the problem in 100 days or one day or something like this, it sets it
wrong.
There's no question, Mr. Putin wants a ceasefire. He'd like to have a ceasefire tomorrow. He wants to rebuild his forces. He hasn't really given
up and he probably won't give up his longer term aim. He wants NATO rolled back. He wants the Baltic States. He wants Moldova, Georgia,
reincorporated. He wants to handle Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania. He doesn't like the fact that Finland is also in NATO. So, he's got a lot
of longer-term worries.
So, how do you get a sustainable peace? That's the question. And what I see in the administration is the president really hasn't committed to a
particular negotiation point of principle or anything like this.
People are reading the tea leaves. Secretary Hegseth laid out what he thought was the driving of elements in this, the stark requirement to face
Russia, turning away from Europe, no NATO membership, et cetera. That didn't go over well. He tried to walk that back. The secretary -- or Vice
President Vance, tried to do the same thing.
But really, the issue hasn't been joined yet. It's going to determine, it's going to be determined by Europeans, how strongly they support Ukraine. The
strength of the Ukrainian military and their determination not to give up permanently their territory.
And when I talk to members of the Ukrainian militaries there, we're not going to stop fighting if it's just a ceasefire, because we know what's
going to happen after that.
And then it's about the American backbone. If the United States is strongly committed to a sustainable peace, it'll put intelligence, support assets in
there. It'll have air support, maybe no troops on the ground, but a firm, unbreakable commitment to the European footprint and to Ukraine, doesn't
have to be in NATO, but it has to be stronger than the American assurances given in the Budapest Declaration of 1994.
These elements somehow have to all come together. They haven't. This is part of the negotiating process, but it would be a mistake to put a
timeline on it.
[12:15:00]
GOLODRYGA: We heard President Zelenskyy say today that the Ukrainian army will need to double in size if the country is not allowed to join the NATO
alliance.
And look, we heard the defense secretary put in stark terms that that will never happen in the immediate future. I think, in more delicate terms. We
heard that NATO welcoming in Ukraine anytime soon is just not on the horizon, even from the Biden administration and many members of NATO there
in Europe.
But what are the feasible security guarantees that you do think that the United States and NATO allies can provide for Ukraine in the interim?
CLARK: Well, what you have to have for the United States is a legal document signed by the -- or written by the Senate, approved by the Senate
rather, not just an executive statement, but something from the United States Senate that's U.S. law that we're committed to it. Now, that would
be sustainable.
Depending and how good it's going to be, depends on the language, of course. And from Europe, we need something of the same. The problem that we
have, Bianna, and you would know this very well, you know these European governments and how they operate. And if pressure ratchets up, and the
Russian forces start to mask again, there'll be voices in every country in Europe saying, get our troops out of the way. Let the Brits handle it. Let
the French handle it. Let someone else handle it.
And these coalition governments, these parliamentary governments may not stand firm. And that's why we've always needed a strong U.S. backbone in
Europe. We've done it through NATO.
I understand that President Trump feels that NATO is offensive to Mr. Putin, but it is the strongest mechanism for assuring a sustainable peace.
And I wouldn't rule out some connection to NATO in this forward footprint, even though it's been -- not being talked about now. It could be the
decisive factor in moving Ukraine forward and giving assurance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine that they can live with this.
GOLODRYGA: It's always telling when the president has spoken to Vladimir Putin in particular or any world leader because he will repeat some of the
talking points that clearly he had just heard and that was the case from Vladimir Putin that every Russian leader had been against Ukraine joining
NATO.
I wonder if Vladimir Putin actually told him that early in his administration, around 2000, 2001 Russia, Putin was even toying with the
idea of joining NATO. I bet that was omitted from the conversation.
Before we let you go, I do want to get your thoughts on what we heard from the vice president today in his comments. Because I think many people were
viewing his interview with "The Wall Street Journal" as sort of a prelude to what we could hear from him before world leaders.
And what we got was really a talking to, a lecture, specifically around democratic values that he says the Europeans have lost as it relates to
freedom of speech in particular.
And it's notable that the German defense minister really came out strongly in criticizing those comments. He said, if I understand him correctly, he
compares the condition of Europe with what prevails in some authoritarian regimes. This is not acceptable.
How does that align with the prescription you say is needed right now, a show of force and unity among the allies before Russia?
CLARK: Well, I think it's like a one-two punch. I think on the one hand, you're talking about how to bring Europe together. But on the other hand, I
think the administration is looking for more congenial governments in Europe. European governments that are more right-wing, European governments
that are more amenable.
And particularly from a high-tech position. You know, this has been a longstanding issue between the United States and Europe. Europe regulates
our high tech. It's our high tech. Europe regulates it. And we don't like it. And Vice President Vance has been sort of a spokesman for Silicon
Valley.
Silicon Valley doesn't like the interference with social media. But, you know, what we found is Russian interference in the democratic system is
it's sustained, it's systematic, and it's effective. And this is what the Europeans are concerned about. We've been concerned about it too.
But what I see happening in the United States is as we go through the DOGE process and we realign our efforts, and I hear the administration talking
about the security of the southern border as being our greatest threat.
It sounds as though we're not as concerned about Russian disinformation, penetration of social networks, and so forth, as our European allies are.
And I think that's a real disjuncture between the United States and Europe right now.
You've seen it in Elon Musk's statements of supporting the AFD in Germany and vice versa. Vance is sort of echoing this. And I think generally, the
best approach is not to lecture your allies in public on their internal politics. You get in trouble every time.
[12:20:08]
When I was NATO commander, and even today, I scrupulously stay away from internal politics, to lay it out on the table like that. It's bold. And at
the same time, you're asking for European support, and you're telling the Europeans, you're going to turn your back on Europe to some extent and face
Asia. Now, you're telling them how to run their own governments.
It's certainly going to be perceived as overly assertive and maybe pretty insulting.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And you're doing all that publicly as well.
Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Wesley Clark, always good to see you. Thank you.
CLARK: Thank you, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: And a programming note for you, Christiane Amanpour will interview Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Saturday at the Munich
Security Conference. That is at 10 A.M. in Munich. You can watch it right here on CNN.
And still to come for us, Donald Trump's immigration crackdown may make Valentine's a less than happy day for some flower businesses. We'll tell
you why.
Also ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEXANDRA KING, CNN DIGITAL PRODUCER: How old is too old to find love? Well, here at the Riverside retirement community in the Bronx, in New York
City, the answer is never.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: I love that. It's never too late. We'll take a look at what it's like to date as a senior.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Well today, hopefully you haven't forgotten, is, of course, Valentine's Day, one of the biggest and best days of the year for flower
vendors, traditionally, and for lovers. But many shop owners and workers, across the country, are on edge over the president's immigration crackdown,
especially in the flower district of Los Angeles.
CNN's Julia Vargas Jones joins us from a flower market in L.A. What are you seeing behind you and what are you hearing from workers there?
JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna, this is the largest flower market in the United States. So there is a hope that today's sales
will make up for the fact that they've had a really slow few weeks. And that is in part because this is a community, an industry that is driven by
immigrants.
We spoke earlier with the president of the Flower Mall here in Los Angeles. Take a listen to what he had to say about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[12:25:02]
MARK CHATOFF, PRESIDENT AND OWNER, CALIFORNIA FLOWER MALL: The effect is quite profound. There is a fear of purchasing, buying inventory for many
reasons, whether it's immigration situation, the tariffs coming from Mexico, that is basically making the supplier and wholesaler cautious on
their purchases and their investment into the -- this particular holiday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: And you heard that mention of tariffs there, right, Bianna? Like that is something that we've heard from different vendors here as well.
They're saying that basically all of these flowers that you see here, most of them, the vast majority of them, they're coming from other countries.
They come mostly from Colombia, they came -- they come from Canada, they come from Ecuador, they come from other parts of Latin America.
And the threats, just the threat of tariffs, also drives those prices up. And, of course, it ends up being the consumers the one paying for it.
They're saying that a lot of these vendors have invested a lot less on this holiday this year than they have in years prior, meaning, they have fewer
varieties of roses, they have fewer varieties of flowers for the consumer to pick from.
A lot of the people that come here, by the way, they are coming to buy wholesale to then resell these flowers in the streets. If you've ever seen
a vendor in the streets of Los Angeles, chances are it is from this very market.
The news is that California remains the most economical place in the United States to buy a dozen roses, way cheaper than the rest of the country, $68
versus $90 on average. Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. It's still worth splurging, but it also is a case study in the consequences of some of these decisions coming from the administration
as well.
Julia Vargas Jones, I hope it doesn't ruin your Valentine's Day. You deserve many, many, many bouquets of flowers. Thank you so much.
Well, still to come for us after being scorched by apocalyptic fires, parts of Southern California have now been drenched by heavy rains triggering
mudslides. But it managed to dodge another disaster. We'll have more a little later in the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:30:50]
GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to ONE WORLD. I'm Bianna Golodryga.
Well, the U.S. Justice -- Department of Justice is facing a crisis, as at least seven senior prosecutors and officials have resigned, rather than
carry out what they say is an unlawful order.
Now, it started when the acting deputy U.S. attorney general ordered prosecutors to drop the corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams.
The lead prosecutor on the case refused that order and resigned. She accused the Department of Justice of offering Adams a quid pro quo, where
they would drop he agreed to help President Trump's crackdown on immigration.
Adams says there was no deal and his conversations with the White House were just part of his regular job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC ADAMS, NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Who are we kidding here? I'm the mayor of the largest city in America, the largest city in America. How irresponsible
will it be for me not to speak to the president of the United States and his administration?
And I was clear, I'm not here to war with the president, and I'm here to work with the president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Well, Democrats say the Trump administration is weaponizing the Justice Department to serve the President's interest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): It is the intention of the Trump administration to keep the current mayor on a short leash.
How the mayor responds to the White House's intentions is going to determine a lot about the political future of the current mayor of the city
of New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Yes. CNN's Polo Sandoval is tracking the story for us.
So, Mayor Adams may be saying one thing, but I think the focus should be on his actions. And we also know that there's an executive order that he is
about to unveil in allowing ICE agents to Rikers Island. Talk about that and the controversy surrounding it.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're right about those actions, Bianna, and also the timing of those actions, which simply cannot be ignored. You
have Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, who actually met with Tom Homan yesterday who's essentially the border czar for Donald Trump.
And then a few hours later, speaks publicly and announces what you just mentioned, which is his intentions to sign an executive order that will
effectively allow ICE agents, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, to return to that -- to that prison, to Rikers Prison here in New York.
And it's important to remember this at the end of the week, after the Department of Justice, under Donald Trump, recommended that those
corruption charges against Eric Adams be dismissed.
So, that alone, Bianna, really kind of encapsulates why we're hearing so much criticism right now about New York's current mayor, Eric Adams,
including from several lawmakers, as you just heard from the House, and also at the local level, including the head of the city council here, who
said, and I quote from a statement, the mayor is prioritizing the interests of the Trump administration over those of New Yorkers.
This coming from Speaker Adrian Adams, who also added that the city council is certainly looking into the potential executive order from the mayor,
saying that they will see if that violates any law.
And very quickly, she's referencing a 2014 law that was put in place that not only removed ICE from Rikers, but basically made it a lot harder for
the U.S. government to get any sort of cooperation from the city of New York when it comes to enforcing immigration laws, hence, it's known as a
sanctuary city.
Now, in terms of that law, I pulled it up, it does effectively allow the mayor, through an executive order, to be able to return ICE agents to
facilities, including Rikers, so long as they do not enforce any sort of civil immigration statute. So that's going to be key.
And the Mayor, Bianna, effectively saying that that's the whole point, that those officers not enforce any civil immigration statutes, but instead work
with investigators to try to investigate the violent criminals and certainly anybody who would have any potential deportation orders.
But, ultimately, that is doing very little to calm any concerns, not just for members of the mayor's own party, but also migrant advocates
themselves.
[12:35:05]
GOLODRYGA: Yes, primaries for the mayoral race, I believe, are just a few months away --
SANDOVAL: That's correct.
GOLODRYGA: -- as well.
Polo Sandoval in New York for us. Thank you so much.
SANDOVAL: Thanks, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Nearly 1,300 workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will soon be out of a job. That's about one-tenth of the
workforce.
The move comes as the Trump administration continues to push to cut the federal workforce. The CDC protects Americans from outbreaks and other
public health threats and is a global leader on disease control and health information.
Now, a judge has paused the Trump administration's cuts to medical research for the moment. The National Institute of Health funds and oversees medical
research at hospitals and universities. And academic and medical communities across the country went to court to fight the Trump
administration's efforts to cut hundreds of millions of dollars of funding for things like cancer research and chronic disease. Some doctors have even
said the cuts could cost thousands of lives.
Just this week, two long-serving leaders at the NIH retired, and a source tells CNN that's prompting fears of a mass exodus.
Time now for The Exchange and a look at the fallout from these cuts. Joining me now is Nandakumar Narayanan. He is a professor of neurology at
the University of Iowa and a researcher on Parkinson's disease. Doctor, thank you so much for taking the time to join us today.
So as we mentioned, a federal judge in Massachusetts has put a temporary block to these cuts from taking effect. I believe the next court date will
be later this month.
What does that mean for you though in the work that you do in the interim?
NANDAKUMAR NARAYANAN, RESEARCHER ON PARKINSON'S DISEASE: Thanks, Bianna. I'm a neurologist and neuroscience researcher at the University of Iowa,
where I care for patients with Parkinson's disease and research new treatments.
And I'm speaking as an individual and not as on behalf of the university, but here are my thoughts. This has led to a lot of uncertainty. The
uncertainty has been highly disruptive. I have grants that were rigorously reviewed by scientists, but we're still waiting for award money.
Other proposals have been scheduled to be reviewed, but now are on hold. We might lose the progress we've already made. We have a longitudinal study in
place, and if we can't get funding, we will miss certain time points, and we might have to start all over.
Already funding for Parkinson's disease is as low as it's ever been. The NIH has been a well-managed and highly successful arm of our federal
government. Modern cures such as cancer, stroke, multiple sclerosis came out of NIH research. These advances benefit the whole world.
For Parkinson's disease, we have several interventions that have real potential to make tangible benefits in the lives of our patients. And if we
can't continue our momentum, patients are going to have to wait even longer for these advances.
GOLODRYGA: Do you know yet how much money your specific research for Parkinson's disease, obviously, a crucial disease that needs as much
funding and research as possible, affecting so many in America and the world?
Do you know how much these cuts could potentially impact your research funding?
NARAYANAN: So, you know, I don't know, and that's part of the problem. We don't have enough information to clearly plan the federal order
countermands the NIH indirect cost cut, but, you know, those things are going to be discussed in the future.
You know, NIH funding is almost 100 percent of our work. Our research team at the University of Iowa is working as hard as we can. We work nights,
weekends, far beyond 40 hours a week. It's our life work. We're not doing it to be rich or famous. We're motivated to help our patients.
Just to be clear, indirect costs -- you know, there's been a lot of confusion about this. They pay for electricity to keep the lights on, keep
patient data safe to make sure we follow NIH rules and regulations. It pays to store and share patient data, keep the things safe, keep our facilities
running. It's like paying for the band at your wedding. Direct costs pay the players, maybe for the instruments, but it takes indirect costs to
cover the venue or the stage they're playing on.
The NIH indirect costs last Friday might be reversed, but these discussions need to be clear so that we can make plans so we can move forward with
hiring people, planning our research studies.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. No, this is obviously a very important topic and area that we will continue to cover closely that literally is a life and death
scenario that could impact so many in this country. It's something that we take very seriously here and appreciate you joining and taking the time for
us to discuss. And we will stay on it.
Doctor, thank you.
NARAYANAN: Thank you very much.
GOLODRYGA: Well, when ONE WORLD continues, what is it like to be stuck in space waiting months for your chance to come home? Well, apparently you
don't lose your sense of humor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Your hair is up all the time. Is that -- does it feel weird?
SUNI WILLIAMS, NASA ASTRONAUT: You know, it's a lot of fun. I like my crazy hair up here. It sort of gets a little Einstein look. So it's cool.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:40:06]
GOLODRYGA: Mudslide fears from heavy rains appear to be easing in Southern California as the region recovers from last month's devastating wildfires.
Officials are lifting flood warnings in the Los Angeles area, but not before flood water swept this car into the ocean. Take a look at that.
And there's still lingering concern over the potential for rock slides. Authorities fear the soil on the hills could become unstable.
Let's bring in CNN's Allison Chinchar, who's been keeping track of the storm system. And, Allison, this is an example of, you know, asking for too
much, perhaps. We were just a month ago talking about how desperate the state was for rain, but clearly not this much.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. And I think the key things here is in some of these places it really wasn't all that much that was able to
trigger this. A few of these locations only had two, three, even four inches of rain, but when it comes down in a short period of time like that,
it just -- it's too much for a lot of the water stuff to flow down into the ground and be absorbed, so a lot of it just runs off into the streets.
It'll take mud, it'll take debris with it. And that's why you're seeing it kind of covering these roads and even into neighborhoods as well.
Now we still have some rain and snow showers across portions of California, not just southern part of the state but even into northern California.
But the energy and moisture from that system is going to spread eastward. So by the time we get to Saturday, you start to see more of the severe
potential develop on the southern side and then also rain and snow across the northern tier of the country. And that will continue into at least the
first half of the day on Sunday.
So here's the main threat for severe weather on Saturday. You can see it's really the bulls eye is extending from Memphis down through Jackson,
Mississippi and over into portions of Northern Louisiana.
The main threats here will be damaging winds, but also the potential for tornadoes. The timeline for a lot of these severe thunderstorms is really
going to be Saturday night. And it will continue into the overnight hours into very early Sunday.
When we talk about flooding, this is going to be a more widespread concern. This extends from Louisiana all the way up through Pennsylvania, with the
target point really stretching from about Memphis, Tennessee up through Charleston, West Virginia. This is where the highest rainfall totals are
expected.
Now, all of these areas likely to pick up at least two to four inches, but some spots could pick up as much as six inches of rain, again, in a very
short period of time.
And for some of these areas, they just had several inches of rain a few days ago, so that ground is already saturated, which means it's not going
to take all that much before you start to see some flooding concerns.
Here's a look at that, and then on the north side, where the temperatures are much colder, it's going to be snow, and quite a lot of it, especially
as you head into the northeast. You're talking about the White Mountains, the Green Mountains, a lot of those areas could end up picking up more than
a foot of snow by the time this is all done.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Allison Chinchar for us. Thank you so much.
Well, now to space, where two U.S. astronauts have been waiting since June to get off the International Space Station. And they were supposed to fly
home in a new Boeing rocket, but when it had problems, they had to wait and wait and then wait some more. Well, NASA now says that it will be able to
retrieve them in March. Thank goodness.
[12:45:07]
CNN's Anderson Cooper got a chance to chat with them about what it has been like staying in space a lot longer than expected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: We're doing pretty darn good, actually. You know, we've got food, we've got clothes. We have great crew members up here. You know, of course,
it was a little bit longer stay than we had expected. But, you know, both of us have trained to live and work on the International Space Station. And
we've -- I think we've made the most of it.
COOPER: Commander Williams, what does it feel like to be floating around all that time? I mean, I was going to ask the captain, but his hair is
pretty short. I mean, your hair is up all the time. Does that -- does it feel weird?
WILLIAMS: You know, it's a lot of fun. I like my crazy hair up here. It sort of -- it gets a little Einstein look. So it's cool. Both of us have
lived here before. And it is just amazing how when you come across the hatch after you've been here, it's like, oh, my gosh, I remember what this
is all like. I remember feeling what it's like floating.
And I think both of us adapted really quickly. And I think, I'm hoping the same will be true when we come back home.
COOPER: Yes. How much time does it take to adapt when you land again?
WILLIAMS: Yes. That's going to be a little bit hard as usual. I've been up twice before for long duration missions. And it's almost a day for a day
that you get that like fast twitch muscle action back again.
But I think both of us will be a little bit sad when that feeling of space sort of leaves us after about 24 hours and we're not a little bit like
motion sickness from coming back home. That'll actually be a little bit sad when that goes away just because that means that really physically the
spaceflight came to an end.
COOPER: I know you have kids. How often do you get to speak to your wife, to your daughters? I mean, they must be, first of all, just so proud of
you. And they must, I mean, when kids in school ask, like, what do your parents do? You've got -- they must be top of the list in terms of what
their -- what their dad is doing.
BUTCH WILMORE, NASA ASTRONAUT: I appreciate you making that comment, Anderson. I really do. I'm proud of them. My daughters at college, my
oldest, my youngest is a senior in high school. I'm missing her senior year. That's the lowest, the downest point for me.
But she's a trooper. My wife is something else. She's amazing. They're the ones that are -- that are really resilient in all this because, you know,
their lives have been altered too.
My ladies are -- have been amazing. And just say hello to y'all, Daryn and Logan. And happy Valentine's Day.
COOPER: Is there anybody you want to say hi to or?
WILLIAMS: Sure. I would love to say hi to my husband. And also my niece and nephew who -- my niece is actually graduating from high school this year
too. And one of our other crewmates, his son is graduating from high school too.
So, you know, we've all missed some time with our family up here and that's unfortunate, but you know what, you know, they're also, like Butch said,
very resilient and, you know, ready for, you know, to support us. And that is a -- that's a huge task to ask them to do, but they're up for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: What an incredible attitude they've maintained even being able to laugh. Well, I hope Butch finally gets to see his daughter at least
graduate from high school when he returns.
Well, on this Valentine's Day, we are learning that it's never too late for love no matter how old you are. CNN heads to a retirement community to meet
seniors participating in a dating program.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TED MILLER, 72-YEAR-OLD LOOKING FOR LOVE: During the high 70s, right?
DORIS WILSON, SENIOR LOOKING FOR LOVE: I ain't saying.
MILLER: OK. I'm sure somebody knows your age.
WILSON: If they tell you, I'll kill them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:50:14]
GOLODRYGA: Well, you are looking at the Super Bowl victory party in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Valentine's Day, a fitting day for the city of
brotherly love to throw a party. Two things to celebrate today for them.
Look at the sea of green along the streets as tens of thousands of fans celebrate their team's well-deserved second Super Bowl title.
The Eagles became 2025 champions with their blowout win against Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in New Orleans.
Well, many will argue on this Valentine's Day that age is not a barrier to love and connection. CNN traveled to a retirement community in New York to
see how seniors there are seeking love and companionship in a unique dating program. Our Alexandra King reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING (voice-over): This is Ted and today is a big day.
KING: When was the last time you went on a date?
MILLER: I can't even imagine how years ago. I'm 72. I'm the youngest person here.
KING: And this is Doris.
DORIS WILSON, SENIOR LOOKING FOR LOVE: I always dated younger men, truthfully. So the fact that he's young, younger than I am, is not an issue
at all.
KING: How old is too old to find love? Well, here at the Riverside retirement community in the Bronx, in New York City, the answer is never.
KING (voice-over): This progressive retirement community encourages relationships, sex, and companionship. Along with Ted and Doris, 25
residents signed up for this year's dating program. It starts with a survey.
KRISTIN MORRIS, ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT OF SENIOR HOUSING, RIVERSPRING LIVING: Are you a romantic? Yes, definitely.
KING (voice-over): Kristin Morris (ph) and the social work team play cupid, matching residents based on common interests.
KING: Are looks important to you? Doris says, yes, I'm afraid they are.
WILSON: Ted is a fun person.
MILLER: She has a great smile.
WILSON: He likes people.
MILLER: And also a great laugh. And it's really hard to believe, but she's not Jewish.
MORRIS: We help really make them look their best. They pick out their outfits. We have a cafe on site, and they basically have like a coffee
date.
DAVID POMERANZ, PRESIDENT AND CEO, RIVERSPRING LIVING: People think because you get older you lose interest in romantic situations, intimacy and touch
and that's quite the opposite.
KING (voice-over): RiverSpring Living is overseen by --
POMERANZ: David Pomeranz, 40 years I've been here.
KING: No?
POMERANZ: Yes.
KING: Forty years?
POMERANZ: Forty years.
KING: And in 40 years, what have you learned about loves in old age?
POMERANZ: I've learned that it never stops, right? That people always want to be with somebody.
KING: The stage is set. The tables are ready. The flowers are beautiful. The tablecloth is white and perfect.
MILLER: I had to get couplings for it because I never wore a cuff.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, really? Are you nervous?
MILLER: Not yet. I'll get there.
WILSON: Hello, Ted. How are you doing?
MILLER: I'm doing good.
WILSON: Those pretty flowers. Look at this. Very fancy.
MILLER: Just like you.
WILSON: Thank you. So have you enjoyed today?
MILLER: Yes.
KING: It's a bit of a slow start. But then they waste no time asking the big questions.
WILSON: So maybe you should tell me about your marital history. So basically you had one wife.
MILLER: Yes.
WILSON: And --
MILLER: Why, you had more than one husband?
WILSON: One.
MILLER: Oh.
WILSON: Well, let's finish. Two daughters. Two girls. Three Libras is a lot of Libras.
MILLER: You have to have liberation.
KING: So, Todd and Doris have been having a conversation for about 20 minutes now. I'm so nervous for them, but I think it's going really well.
MILLER: But you're in the high 70s, right?
WILSON: I ain't saying.
MILLER: OK. You don't have to tell me exactly. Just that --
WILSON: I'm not telling you exactly or any other way.
[12:55:02]
MILLER: I'm sure somebody knows your age.
WILSON: If they tell you, I'll kill them.
MILLER: Have you done any travel?
MORRIS: These people a lot of them have also been married for long periods of time, so they are getting a second chance, right?
POMERANZ: We're looking to create an environment where people can find new friendships, partnerships, love affairs.
WILSON: People meet in strange ways.
MILLER: Yes. Absolutely.
KING: So, Ted, how did it go?
MILLER: I was very happy because I felt it was long overdue. And that we had this opportunity and who knows what would happen if it wasn't. So I'm
very appreciative of it.
KING (voice-over): But what about Doris?
WILSON: He's a very nice person and I like him. I don't think we have enough in common for anything more than that.
KING (voice-over): Well, I believe that true love is coming your way, Doris. Not just a friend. I think a knight in shining armor --
WILSON: Yes. I think so.
KING (voice-over): -- is going to hit 100 percent.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Oh, Ted. Ted, my friend, never ask a woman how old she is, especially on their first date. I really do love that story. I've been
smiling while watching it. Amazing.
Well, that does it for this hour of ONE WORLD. Happy Valentine's, everyone. "AMANPOUR" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
