Return to Transcripts main page

One World with Zain Asher

US-Russia Set To Hold Peace Talks In Saudi Arabia Without Ukraine; Future Of Gaza Ceasefire Unclear Amid Delay In Phase two Talks; Pope Francis Diagnosed With Infection, Will Stay In Hospital; Musk's DOGE Team Seeks Access To IRS Tax Return Database; Flooding Hits Virginia As U.S. Storm Heads East; Straight Out Of "The Jetsons?" Meet The Flying Taxi; "Saturday Night Live" Celebrates Milestone. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired February 17, 2025 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:27]

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: All eyes on Riyadh. Could a ceasefire deal finally be on the horizon for Ukraine? ONE WORLD starts right now.

Diplomats descend upon the Saudi capital in hopes of a deal between Russia and Ukraine. But there is one big problem. Ukraine isn't on the guest list.

Also ahead, Musk's next move. Some reports say that DOGE wants access to personal taxpayer data.

And later, live from New York, it was a night to remember. "Saturday Night Live" celebrates 50 years of laughs with a star-studded special.

Hello everyone, live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga. Zain is off today, you are watching ONE WORLD.

Well, almost three years to the day after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, high-level officials are preparing to hold talks on ending the

war. But what's most noticeable is who won't be there. A delegation from the U.S. and Russia are meeting in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in what could be

the most significant discussions between Moscow and Washington since the fighting began.

However, the Kremlin is already implying that Russia won't be making any concessions. And the U.S. secretary of state is tempering expectations as

well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This war has been going on for a while, it's difficult, it's complicated, it's been bloody, it's been

costly. So it will not be easy to end a conflict like this and there are other parties at stake that have opinions on this as well. One meeting

isn't going to solve it, but I want to reiterate the president made clear he wants to end this war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: The Ukrainian president will be conspicuously absent from the meeting. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that he won't -- was not invited and

won't abide by any decisions made about his country's future. But he says he will travel to Saudi Arabia later this week for separate meetings with

Saudi officials.

Meantime, U.S. President Donald Trump remains optimistic and says he believes Russian President, Vladimir Putin, is ready for the violence to

end.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think he wants to stop fighting. They have a big, powerful machine, you understand that. And they

defeated Hitler, and they defeated Napoleon. You know, they've been fighting a long time. They've done it before.

I think he wants to end it. And they want to end it fast. Both of them. And Zelenskyy wants to end it, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: CNN's Alex Marquardt joins me now live in the Saudi capital.

It's so interesting, Alex, because a few times now it seems that President Trump is speaking for Vladimir Putin in statements that we have yet to hear

from the Kremlin or Putin himself in terms of how eager he is to see this fighting come to an end, as Donald Trump describes.

But it's also notable that the State Department today issuing a statement about these meetings held tomorrow, saying their aim is to determine if,

quote, the Russians, perhaps, are serious and if they're on the same page.

I guess my question to you is, do we know what page the U.S. is on when it comes to presentations and plans?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Certainly, I do think the Trump administration is seeing this as a preliminary step.

And they want to figure out where the Russians are before bringing the Ukrainians in. It is true that Ukrainians are not involved in these talks,

but right now, the United States is looking at this as essentially two separate tracks. You have one track where it's going to be the U.S. and

Ukraine speaking directly, and the other where it's the U.S. and Russia speaking directly.

And at some point, the two will eventually be brought together, if all goes according to plan. That, of course, raises the question of what about the

Europeans? Because at the end of the day, we are talking about Europe. European borders. We're talking about the potential threat of Russia

against different European countries.

But no doubt, Bianna, this is going to be an extraordinary moment. We have not seen a meeting like this, a high-level meeting between U.S. and Russian

officials since this war began. There were conversations between the intelligence services during this war, but nothing like this.

And the two sides are saying slightly different things in terms of their approach. The Russians are looking at this in a much broader way, saying

that they want to end what they call this abnormal period of the past few years of these frosty relations between the U.S. and Russia. They want to

talk about the entire complex of Russian-American issues, while the Americans are more focused on Ukraine and getting to a place where a peace

deal can be struck.

So, again, a preliminary meeting. What we're going to see tomorrow are three top American officials, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the National

Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and the Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff, who has been getting closer to the Russians. They will be across the table from

Yuri Ushakov, who is a Putin presidential aide, a former ambassador to the United States, and Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister.

[12:05:19]

The Saudis, we should note, also have a role. They're not just mediating this. They are -- sorry, they're not just hosting this. They're also

mediating. We're told that senior Saudi officials are also going to be taking part in these meetings.

Why Riyadh? Well, both Putin and Trump have a good relationship with the Crown Prince MBS. So, essentially, this is being seen as neutral territory,

versus, say, holding these talks somewhere in Europe, which might be seen as more pro-Ukrainian.

But no one believes that anything is going to get solved tomorrow, that we're going to get to a peace deal, say, by the end of the week. We do know

that there are other conversations happening between the U.S.-Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, who will be going to Kyiv later this week. This is

going to be something that at least is going to take many weeks.

Before, as you noted, Rubio said whether the Russians will know -- whether the Russians are actually taking this seriously. So lots of work to get

done, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And the potential of a summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump as well being discussed in the future.

Alex Marquardt, thank you so much.

Well, European leaders who have also, as Alex noted, been excluded from those Saudi talks are holding an emergency summit in Paris, embracing for a

possible shift in transatlantic ties. Now it comes as many of them are nervously questioning the reliability of the U.S. and what was an ironclad

alliance.

After President Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin and said they had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine, the British prime minister

who is offering to send troops to Ukraine says Europe is now facing a pivotal moment in history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, PRIME MINISTER OF UNITED KINGDOM: We're facing a generational challenge when it comes to national security. Obviously, the immediate

question is the future of Ukraine. And we must continue to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position, whatever happens next, and to make sure

that if there is peace, and we all want peace, that it is lasting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: CNN's Melissa Bell filed this report about the emergency summit and what's at stake for Europe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The idea with this emergency meeting that on one hand French officials have been very keen to

suggest is informal. These are kind of meetings that happen all the time. So as not to look too rattled, but to be absolutely clear, Linda, this was

only organized yesterday and has only just begun just now.

What we understand is that there's also been a phone call with President Trump by Emmanuel Macron that lasted 20 minutes ahead of this meeting. We

don't yet know what was said. But one can assume that he would have made the European position clear.

They're not happy that they've been excluded from these talks and they're determined to continue to weigh on the future of Ukraine, not simply by

trying to find a way at this meeting over the next couple of hours of giving Ukraine some of the much-needed security guarantees that it's

looking for from its European allies, given its fears, too, of a peace deal that's being negotiated without them and simply between Americans and

Russians.

But there's also the question of what happens should peace return to Ukraine? What kind of peacekeeping force would be involved? Whether

Europeans would contribute troops? As you mentioned, the British Prime Minister has said that the United Kingdom would.

Poland's Prime Minister has also suggested that it would be keen to provide troops to any such force. Journey a little bit more hesitant, suggesting

that it would only be in the context where that would happen with the United States. That question of troop contribution to a post-peace deal

Ukraine is on the table here today for Europeans to figure out what they can provide, but also and perhaps more fundamentally given what the last

few days have brought in terms of American pronouncements, signaling the end of an era when the United States and European security functioned

together and within NATO in sort of lockstep.

The suggestions that we've heard signal that has come to an end and that Europe really enters a new era where it's going to have to figure out its

own security much more clearly on its own, as to rules are going to have discussion here today in Paris about the defense spending and what European

governments are willing to spend on their defense budgets, on their own security, given that change of messaging coming from Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Our thanks to Melissa Bell for that report.

Well, the future of the fragile ceasefire in Gaza remains unclear amid a delay in Phase 2 of the talks. Israel is sending a negotiating team to

Cairo today to discuss further implementation of Phase 1 of the deal.

Israel's Security Cabinet meets today to discuss Phase 2. Now this as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised President Trump's vision for Gaza and

issued a warning to Hamas. He spoke earlier with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio by his side.

[12:10:05]

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We have a common strategy and we can't always share the details of this strategy with the public,

including when the gates of hell will be opened as they surely will if all our hostages are not released until the last one of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Separately, Israel says that it plans to keep a small number of troops in southern Lebanon past Tuesday's deadline for them to withdraw.

Hezbollah is rejecting that, saying that would violate the agreement.

CNN's Nic Robertson joins us now from Jerusalem. A lot to get to, Nic. Also important to remember that today is 500 days since the Hamas attack on

Israel, killing over 1,200 on October 7th and kidnapping over 250. And that then launching Israel's relentless war in Gaza that's now facing a fragile

ceasefire, as we've seen tens of thousands killed there and concerns about whether or not this ceasefire will last. The hostages could come home and

the Phase 2 would begin to be implemented.

From everything we've seen over the weekends, where do things stand at this point? There's a lot of pressure coming from multiple sides here.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: There is. There's a lot of pressure, I think, coming on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the

United States. He, you know, he talked in that press conference with Secretary of State Marco Rubio about essentially being in lockstep with

President Trump, coordinated, common strategy were the words.

But also he came under pressure, not just from Marco Rubio during three hours of meetings, but also from Steve Witkoff, the President Trump's

special envoy to the -- to the Middle East. And what they really been pressuring, it appears, the prime minister over is to get to the phase two.

The phase one was the easy bit, as tough as it was, the six weeks, which were more than two-thirds of the way through and less than two-thirds of

the hostages released was the easy bit.

Phase two is where it leads to the end, a permanent end to the war. And there are members of prime minister Netanyahu's government who are saying,

don't stop the war, continue, go back to war. So there are internal political pressures there. There are pressures from president Trump who

wants to see peace and is pressuring the prime minister to move forward with engaging in phase two. He sent interlocutors, the prime minister did

to Cairo, as you said. The cabinet, the security cabinet, is meeting now.

Will Prime Minister Netanyahu after that, and he's indicated he will. Will he -- will he send or empower those envoys to speak about phase two? And

what level of envoys is he empowering to do that?

There's a sense that time is passing, and phase two is looking somewhat of a distant horizon. And add into that what Hamas is being saying, which is

very clearly projections of power when they hand over the hostages as we've seen.

But they're saying, look, we're not about to surrender our weapons. We see ourselves as part of the political future. In fact, we might grow our

numbers. And that flies in the face of what both Prime Minister Netanyahu and Donald Trump are saying. There's absolutely no future for Hamas

whatsoever, military, political, inside of Gaza.

So there were two weeks to go before phase two should come into play. It seems impossible to bridge those completely divergent positions in that

short space of time.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And you've seen so many family members of hostages and just Israelis taking to the streets again putting pressure on their government

to not stop with the ceasefire hostage deal and to continue forward and make sure all the remaining hostages do come home.

Nic Robertson, thank you so much.

Well, there's still a lot of issues to discuss, as we noted with our next guest. Robert Jordan is a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia and a

diplomat in residence at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Ambassador, thank you so much for joining us.

Let's stick to the war in Gaza for a second here because, as we know, Saudi is playing a critical role as well in terms of whatever the day after plan

may look like, Saudi's role in investing and rebuilding of Gaza. MBS has laid the groundworks for saying that any sort of Saudi involvement must

include discussions about a day after and at least the preliminary talks and plan for a two-state solution.

Where do you see Saudi stepping in here? What authority do you think Saudi can have over such a plan, especially given the surprise we heard from

President Trump a little over a week ago now saying that the U.S. should ultimately have control over Gaza?

ROBERT JORDAN, FORMER UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO SAUDI ARABIA: Well, the Saudis have resisted the notion of the U.S. having control over Gaza and

certainly of moving the Palestinians out of Gaza.

[12:15:59]

For decades, the Saudis have insisted on rights for the Palestinians. King Salman, as infirm as he probably is, continues to hold fast to that. And I

think MBS is respecting that for the moment.

That's by contrast, by the way, with the way the Emiratis engaged in the Abraham Accords, in which there was really nothing for the Palestinians. So

the Saudis are trying to balance what they can get out of negotiations on behalf of the Palestinians.

Right now, it looks pretty bleak. I think they're going to try to angle for some sort of at least vague indication that there is a future for the

Palestinians. That's quite inconsistent right now with President Trump's vision of a Gazalago (ph) or whatever you might want to call it.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. It's pretty sobering to see you describe the chances as pretty bleak for Saudi to have any leverage, given that both Donald Trump

wants to finalize a defense deal between the United States and Saudi Arabia, and perhaps even more significant, the pathway to normalization,

finally, between Saudi Arabia and relations with Israel.

As it relates to the war in Gaza, this sort of united front now that we saw over the weekend with Secretary of State Rubio standing there with Prime

Minister Netanyahu saying that they share the same goal, the ultimate defeat of Hamas, Prime Minister Netanyahu signing off on President Trump's

plan to relocate illegally those that live in Gaza, the Palestinians there as well, as even threatening to end these ceasefire hostage talks if the

hostages aren't released.

Do you think that added pressure coming from both sides on Hamas leads to the better chances of phase two being implemented? Or do you think that

actually it could have the opposite effect?

JORDAN: We don't really know right now, Bianna. I think actually you could look at it from both directions. I would say that certainly President Trump

and also Prime Minister Netanyahu have historically taken maximalist views. In other words, they've asked for the moon and have been willing to settle

for something different later on.

There will be domestic political pressure on the Prime Minister, I think, from the hostage families and from those in Israel who have a vision of

having the hostages return.

Continuing to insist on the absolute eradication of Hamas makes that very difficult to accomplish. So I think we're going to have to find some sort

of middle ground here.

And the same with the division of some sort of riviera in the Middle East, on the Gaza coast. I doubt that any of the participating states that would

be expected to help rebuild, reconstructs and rehabilitate would be standing for that.

So there's a lot to accomplish here in sort of middle ground area. For example, I think the Saudis, short of something like joining the Abraham

Accords, might be willing to have an informal arrangement. They would also extract from the U.S. certain security guarantees, perhaps nuclear

technology, and other items that they've been asking for in that context.

So there's just a lot of uncertainty here. And I think it's very hard to predict how far both the Israelis and the Americans are going to insist on

a complete eradication of Hamas.

GOLODRYGA: Well, as we've now been reporting over the past few days, it's clear that Saudi's importance and significance, not only relates to the

region but to global affairs beyond the Middle East --

JORDAN: Right.

GOLODRYGA: -- with the U.S. delegation meeting with Russian officials tomorrow in Riyadh to discuss any sort of at least outline for a peace plan

in Ukraine.

Talk about Saudi's role as a mediator here. I mean, we'd spend so much time focusing on Qatar as it relates to the war in Gaza. And here, we see Saudi

really stepping up and playing that role as it relates to the war in Ukraine.

JORDAN: The Saudis have good relations with both the Russians and Americans. The Saudis are actually business partners with the Russians, of

course, in OPEC Plus. They share about 20, 25 percent of the world's oil market together. So they have many reasons to trust each other to

communicate regularly.

The Saudis have also purchased, apparently, according to reports, a very advanced missile air defense system from the Russians to evade essentially

Russian sanctions against Russia in connection with Ukraine. So the Saudis have some credibility.

President Trump also, of course, has a warm relationship with the Saudis. And his first term, his first trip overseas was to Saudi Arabia. And his

second term, his first call with foreign leader was to MBS.

[12:20:11]

So I think the Saudis have a certain amount of credibility, a certain amount of leverage, and this is, I think, an excellent opportunity for them

to step up on the world stage and show that they can be part of a positive international community.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. To reiterate their significance here, we know that President Zelenskyy will be traveling to Saudi Arabia later this week too.

He's made clear he's not taking part in these talks between the U.S. and Russia, but he will be meeting with officials there nonetheless.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Robert Jordan, always good to see you. Thank you so much for coming on.

JORDAN: Thanks, Bianna.

JORDAN: Well, as we noted earlier, Israel is marking 500 days since terrorists launched a massive attack killing about 1,200 people and

kidnapping more than 250. Family members and friends of hostages are holding rallies and protests across Israel calling for action and the

release of dozens of the hostages still being held in Gaza.

The family of Omri Miran is holding out hope for his safe return. Miran was kidnapped from his home on a kibbutz on October 7th in front of his wife

and two little girls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISHAY MIRAN-LAVI, WIFE OF HOSTAGE OMRI MIRAN: Today is the 500th day since Omri and a lot of hostages kidnapped from Israel. 500th day that I wake up

every morning and I'm still in the October 7th. 500th day that Roni, my daughter, Omri's daughter, she's three and a half years old, that wake up

every morning and asks me when daddy going to come back home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Well, it's also important to remember the toll that this devastating war has had on people in Gaza, the thousands of Palestinians

that have been impacted with more than a year of unrelenting bombardment. More than 48,000 people have been killed according to Palestinian health

officials.

Gaza's infrastructure has largely been destroyed as well, though a fragile ceasefire remains in place.

Palestinians living in Rafah want to remind the world to stand with Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZAKI AL-HAMS, RAFAH RESIDENT (through translator): Before the war, one used to work, go out, and make ends meet. But now, there is no work, no jobs,

nothing, and we are sitting around waiting for someone to come and have mercy on us, to give us some food and drinks.

We have not seen anything new. We have not seen anyone to comfort us here. We are here, an entire family. We cannot find shelter or tents or anything.

We have been suffering from a lack of water for about a week. And no one has come to help us or ask us, what are we doing?

IMAD AL-TAWEEL, RAFAH RESIDENT (through translator): We don't want empathy. We want the world to take the initiative to stand with Gaza and achieve

things for the people, things that they have lost.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLDORYGA: According to humanitarian agencies, much of the enclave has been laid waste with more than two million people displaced.

We'll be right back after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:25:56]

GOLODRYGA: Pope Francis remains in the hospital after being diagnosed with an infection of his respiratory tract. The pontiff has been in the hospital

since last week after struggling with bronchitis.

According to the Vatican, latest tests indicate a complex clinical situation. This is the latest in a string of lung-related medical struggles

for Pope Francis.

Joining us now from outside the hospital where the pope is being treated is CNN's Vatican correspondent, Christopher Lamb.

Quite alarming to see this turn and his medical condition and status right now. Walk us through the latest that we are hearing from doctors.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna, we are expecting another update from the Vatican very soon about the Pope's condition. But

what we've heard today is that this is a more serious infection than was expected or was known about.

This is a polymicrobial infection, the Vatican say, which basically includes a number of different factors, possibly viral, possibly bacterial.

The Vatican not specifying, but it is not clear how long the Pope is going to remain in hospital.

The Vatican statement saying it will require an adequate hospital stay. We're into the fourth day of the Pope's treatment here at the Gemelli

Hospital in Rome.

In the run-up to his hospitalization, the Pope was keeping a really intense schedule of events and meetings. In fact, I saw the Pope on the Friday

before he was hospitalized. And he was clearly in that meeting struggling to speak due to the breathing difficulties that he has had. And he is

vulnerable as you said to respiratory infections.

As a young man he had part of his right lung removed. He's been hospitalized before as Pope in 2023 for bronchitis. This is obviously a

complex medical situation. And we are expecting a further update from the Vatican very soon. Bianna?

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And we will, of course, bring you any latest information that we get from that update at the Vatican. We'll be on top of this story

for sure.

Christopher Lamb in Rome for us, thank you so much.

Coming up, it's one of the most sensitive databases the U.S. government possesses. Why does Elon Musk want access to millions of tax returns?

Also ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Imagine trying to book a taxi on your app and it can fly. Well, it is a plan. And this is what the vehicle will look like

that arrives.

GOLODRYGA: A sneak peek at an all-electric aircraft called the eVTOL. Some say this could be the future of air travel.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:30:59]

GOLODRYGA: All right. Welcome back to ONE WORLD. I'm Bianna Golodryga.

Elon Musk is now targeting the IRS as part of his mission to clean up what the administration calls waste, fraud, and abuse. But do they need access

to the tax returns of all Americans to do that?

Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has requested access to a database that contains the private tax returns, Social Security numbers and

banking information on hundreds of millions of Americans.

The database is considered extremely sensitive and there are strict rules about its use. It is unclear what Musk's team wants to do with the

information on it.

Time now for the exchange and let's get into the legal aspect of Elon Musk's request to get access to that IRS database. Joining me now is Jeff

Swartz, a former judge in Florida and a professor at the Thomas Cooley Law School. Jeff, welcome to the program. Good to see you again.

So as we've been reporting, the IRS is preparing to give at least a member of Elon Musk's DOGE team access to the sensitive taxpayer data. I'm not

going to ask you what use they may have for that data, but I will ask you whether that's even legal.

JEFF SWARTZ, FORMER MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COURT JUDGE: I'm not sure that it's legal. Remember, there was a hearing this morning, in fact, in front of

Judge Chutkan by the AGs, the Democratic AGs, the 19 of them that had filed an action, alleging that the appointment clause of the Constitution was not

complied with here, and as a result of which, DOGE and Mr. Musk are operating illegally.

So at this point, it's a question of whether they are allowed to access this information. This information is very sensitive. There's a Privacy Act

that was passed in 1976 to prevent this type of thing because of President Nixon wanted -- had an enemies list and he wanted to go into all of their

IRS filings and get them audited and to use the IRS as a way to punish them.

Mr. Trump has been and Mr. Musk have both been audited continuously for years. And I think that this is more trying to get control over that

process and fire about a thousand people who were hired during the Biden administration.

GOLODRYGA: So as this particular case in question stand before a judge, Judge Chutkan, as you noted, can they have access before she ultimately

decides?

SWARTZ: Well, the IRS was not part of that litigation, but the type of TRO that was being issued on the appointments clause violation would affect

everything that DOGE and Mr. Musk are doing, because it's all based upon this administrative order or this presidential edict.

So as a result of which, it really is a situation where if they stop, if she issues that TRO, they're going to have to stop at IRS too.

[12:35:04]

GOLODRYGA: Well, we know that the Trump administration is making their first appeal before the Supreme Court of this administration, asking the

court to allow the president to fire the head of a government watchdog agency.

Now, a federal district court temporarily blocked the employees firing and dismissal until it hears his case. He's arguing that he has legal

protection not to be fired. U.S. Circuit Court and appeals in D.C. declined to overrule that decision.

And now before the Supreme Court, you have the Trump administration calling this law an unprecedented assault, this lawsuit, an unprecedented assault

on its power. How do you think the Supreme Court will act here?

SWARTZ: It's more of the other way around, and that's the way the trial court and the appellate court ruled. And that simply was that Congress

passed a law. They created the IGs. They created the circumstances under which they're appointed and confirmed. They also established how they could

be fired and that there had to be a 60-day notice to the United States Senate so they could examine why the president was firing them.

So this isn't an assault on his power. It's more that he took an assault on Congress and the IGs. He just wanted them out of the way. And if, for

example --

GOLODRYGA: Do you think that's how the Supreme Court will -- do you think that's the how the Supreme Court --

SWARTZ: I hope --

GOLODRYGA: -- interpret this too?

SWARTZ: I hope so. I really have a feeling as I'm looking at it that there's two members of the six-person majority that I think are not the

kind of justices as they've shown recently in opinions that will just go along to give the president any power he wants.

And I think that this is one of those --

GOLODRYGA: Is that Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett?

SWARTZ: That's it. Those are the two.

GOLODRYGA: Yes.

SWARTZ: One is an institutionalist and the other one, I think, as I look at her opinions lately, she's still a conservative. She's still going to be on

the right side, but she's moving more towards the middle. And I think that she is more of someone who is going to be reasonable about some of this

stuff.

And I think she really will, as a constitutional expert, sit there and say, we cannot keep empowering the executive to do whatever he or she wants.

GOLODRYGA: A lot of cases may ultimately find their way to the Supreme Court, including the question over birthright citizenship, as well as of

now a constitutional right, we should note.

Jeff Swartz, thank you so much for the time today. Appreciate it.

SWARTZ: My pleasure, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Coming up on ONE WORLD, in the U.S., a deadly winter storm is heading east now, but it's leaving behind a trail of destruction and heavy

flooding. We'll have a report from Virginia, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:40:34]

GOLODRYGA: The threat of more flooding hangs over Kentucky following a deadly coast to coast winter storm. Forty-three people have died and parts

of the state have been devastated.

The storm, which is moving east, left parts of California flooded last week. Kentucky's governor has declared a state of emergency and warns that

flooding will continue for several more days.

Now, as the storm heads east, parts of Virginia have also been hit by heavy flooding. CNN's Danny Freeman is in Salem and sent this report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bianna, it's been an incredibly challenging holiday weekend in this larger region for many because of this

intense rain that led to intense flash flooding and continued concerns about flooding certainly in parts of Kentucky.

Let me tell you where we are right now. I'm in Salem, Virginia. This right here, this is the Roanoke River. And earlier over the weekend, this river

was actually coming over this bridge. It was so intense. You can still see the icicles from when this water was rushing over here, still maintaining

here. City crews in this area of Salem, they actually had to remove some of the railings on this guardrail because they've been damaged by debris as it

flowed over across this river.

The good news, at least in this particular part of Virginia, is that the river here has receded. That's the story that we've been seeing in other

parts of this state and others as well.

But the challenging part of this whole story really is finding its home in Kentucky where there were over a thousand water rescues over the course of

the weekend. And we just heard an update from Governor Andy Beshear in the past few hours that 11 people have been confirmed to have been killed in

flooding in that state.

Now the governor of Kentucky says that while there are rivers that are going down and receding the water level over the course of the past 24

hours, which is good news, there is still a risk of flooding specifically from some rivers that may still be cresting over the course of the day. So

state and local officials, not just in Kentucky, but in West Virginia, here in Virginia as well, are urging people, if you run into any flood waters or

any signs that roads are closed off, to please not try and go through them, go around them because that's been the case that has led to a lot of

fatalities is drivers specifically who have tried to navigate floodwaters and who have gotten caught.

In one case in Hart County, Kentucky, there was a mother and her daughter who ultimately died when they were trying to drive through floodwaters and

first responders tried to rescue them, but they were unable to. That's an example of what so many local and government officials are saying, don't do

if at all possible just because it is so dangerous out there.

The other thing, Bianna, that I'll note is that this area, unfortunately, while it's dry here now, the rain has stopped for the moment. They're

bracing now for more winter weather later in the week. I can tell you it's cold, it's windy right now, but there's snow expected to come in parts of

say Eastern Kentucky.

The governor out there saying that some of the most impacted areas by some of this flooding may see up to six inches of snow as we get through the

week. So the challenge of cleaning up, clearing debris, making sure that they're finding everyone and accounting for everyone in this area, that's

going on right now.

But now, local officials and state officials are preparing for another blast of wintry weather in the coming days. Bianna?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Thanks to Danny Freeman for that.

Well, an all-electric aircraft called the eVTOL is promising to slash commute times and may be available in some regions of the world by 2030.

Now, its makers say the aircraft will directly compete with helicopters for short to mid hop distance travelers and be environmentally friendly. So is

this the future of air travel?

CNN's Max Foster reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Imagine trying to book a taxi on your app and it can fly. Well, it is a plan. And this is what the vehicle will look like that arrives. It's

an electric, what did we call it? Is it a helicopter? Is it a plane? The answer is neither or rather both.

This is VX4, an electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle, eVTOL for short, built by Bristol-based Vertical Aerospace. It's not quite the flying

car from the Jetsons, but eVTOLs are likely to be landing in a vertiport near you in the not too distant future.

When we talk about it being a flying taxi, you're comfortable with that because in the future, you do imagine people calling up one of these

instead of a car. Is that right?

DAVID KING, VERTICAL AEROSPACE CHIEF ENGINEER: Yes. eVTOLs can allow us to unlock the pilgrimage (ph) to use air mobility to get them point A to point

B.

[12:45:03]

FOSTER (voice-over): The VX4 will have a range of 100 miles and a top speed of 150 miles per hour. And it'll initially fly between airports and cities.

KING: So the inside, the interior, is designed to the same comfort and roominess of a London black taxi. So it takes off vertically like a

helicopter and then immediately tilts the four propellers forward to a longitudinal horizontal configuration, so that it cruises like a propeller

driven airplane.

FOSTER (voice-over): But if it's billed as a flying EV, the first question that came to my mind was about the battery.

FOSTER: Just can't figure out how you can fit a battery in that can be powerful enough.

KING: Oh, interesting. So it is extremely powerful. It's the same amount of power as an EC145 twin turbine engine helicopter.

FOSTER: It's also simpler, isn't it, in terms of engineering?

KING: Yes, yes. And that's what drives the low operating cost and makes it much less expensive to travel in.

FOSTER (voice-over): Conveniently, the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority is already working on how to handle increased air traffic over urban areas.

But you don't see helicopters crowding the skies of London, New York or Hong Kong. Why will EV tolls be different?

KING: Helicopters have not been able to fulfill this big underserved demand for urban mobility. And that's largely because of the noise. They're not

clean. They're very expensive to operate. And there's this perception of safety. So the VX4 and EVTOL will address all four of those.

FOSTER (voice-over): All being well, Vertical Aerospace planned to make and deliver 150 aircraft to clients across the world by 2030. A decade after

that, an even bigger step.

KING: The next step would be the crew member would be supervisory and aircraft would fly itself. And then after that, we expect it to be fully

autonomous. We're going to get there.

FOSTER (voice-over): The U.K. has one of the largest aerospace industries in the world. The first jet VTOL was made here, as was the first commercial

jetliner. Does that heritage help? I wonder.

KING: So we assembled our second prototype in Filton. And if you look out the window, you see where the Concorde was born. And that's inspiring.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Coming up for us, the stars were out to celebrate the 50th birthday of "Saturday Night Live." Highlights from one of the biggest

nights in comedy history, when we come back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[12:50:09]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from New York, it's Saturday Night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: And with those famous words, 50 years ago, the very first episode of "Saturday Night Live" went to air. And last night, the show

celebrated its 50th year with a star-studded three-hour show.

Groundbreaking comedy sketch program paid tribute to the dozens of comedy legends who got their start on SNL. Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy, Will

Ferrell, Steve Martin and many others showed up to take part in the event.

CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister joins us from Los Angeles with more on one of the biggest nights in comedy history. It was billed, Elizabeth, to be one

of the best must-see television nights of the year, of many years, maybe 50 years, I don't know. Did it live up to the hype?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: You know, I think it did, Bianna. And a lot of people on social media agree as well. This was

just such a star-studded event, as you said, that it feels rare that we get a television event of this magnitude.

As you said, so many comedy legends who got their start on SNL made appearances. Everyone from Eddie Murphy, who did a few sketches, one where

he actually impersonated Tracy Morgan in front of Tracy Morgan. Only they could pull that off.

We also had Bill Murray who did a segment during Weekend Update with Colin Jost. And he roasted Colin Jost in front of Colin Jost. And I was -- that

was actually one of my favorite parts, Bianna.

And then Meryl Streep, I did not realize this until last night. Did you know this was her first appearance on "Saturday Night Live" ever, of all

time? She has never been a guest host. So last night Meryl Streep, she made history for herself there.

Now, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, they actually really kind of dug into how star-studded the room was. They had a bit where they did an audience roll

call. And when the audience is made up of worldwide superstars, you get into some hijinks, Bianna. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TINA FEY, AMERICAN ACTRESS: Next question. Yes. Keith Richards.

KEITH RICHARDS, ENGLISH MUSICIAN AND SONGWRITER: That's me.

(APPLAUSE)

I left a scarf here in 1988. And I'm kind of wondering if anybody's seen it around, you know.

FEY: A scarf? Yes. It's in 1998? Well, I thought that's a long time ago. I don't know.

AMY POEHLER, AMERICAN ACTRESS AND COMEDIAN: I don't think so. I'm not sure.

ZACH GALIFIANAKIS, AMERICAN ACTOR AND COMEDIAN: Look, it's simply not here, OK? Can we all just stop looking? Next question.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WAGMEISTER: Now, it wasn't just Keith Richards and Zach Galifianakis. When you looked at that audience, it was like the most A-list game of "Where's

Waldo," Bianna. You had everyone from Larry David to Billy Crystal, Jerry Seinfeld and also Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively.

Now the reason why this is making a lot of news is because this is their first appearance since their legal battle. And Ryan even poked fun at

himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMY POEHLER, AMERICAN ACTRESS AND COMEDIAN: Who else has a question?

REYNOLDS: I have a question.

POEHLER: Oh, hey. Ryan Reynolds.

REYNOLDS: Hi.

POEHLER: Great. Ryan Reynolds, how's it going?

REYNOLDS: Great. Why? What have you heard?

(LAUGHS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WAGMEISTER: So Ryan and Blake know that everybody is talking about them. And they played that up last night on SNL 50.

Now, one of the big surprise moments, Bianna, was Jack Nicholson. He made his first television appearance in years. He was there. We see him right

there, looking happy and healthy. And he was there to introduce Adam Sandler, who took the stage and played his guitar and sang a song for a

tribute to the 50 great years of SNL.

And he also paid tribute to his late friend, the great Norm MacDonald.

GOLODRYGA: Amazing. What a way to cap it off. A who's who indeed. I saw Steven Spielberg and Kevin Costner. Unbelievable night there and I had no

idea. I had no idea about Meryl Streep. See, you taught me something. You teach me something every time. You're on with us.

WAGMEISTER: As do you, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Elizabeth Wagmeister, always great to see you, my friend.

Well, in the lead up to the Oscars, the eyes of the cinema world were on London Sunday night for the BAFTA awards. "Conclave" won big, and so did

"The Brutalist," which won big for leading actor, Adrien Brody, and director Brady Corbet.

But predictions for the Oscars are still hard to make. In addition to the favorites, there were some surprises. "A Real Pain's" writer-director Jesse

Eisenberg took the Best Original Screenplay award. He spoke to our Max Foster about the broad appeal of the movie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[12:55:59]

JESSE EISENBERG, AMERICAN ACTOR AND FILMMAKER: I guess the usual thing about it, but I can't even parse it because it's my own thing, is that

perhaps it takes the kind of well-worn theme, which is like Holocaust themed movies, and maybe comes at it from an angle that feels a little, I

don't know, newer or more modern, more welcoming, less sanctimonious than a lot of the movies made on the similar theme. So maybe that's why.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Yes, it was a great film.

And in the best actors category, Mikey Madison, edged out favorite Demi Moore who's been riding high on her comeback performance in "The

Substance." Madison spoke to Max about the film she stars in, "Anora."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Why do you think the film hit a nerve? Have you got any feeling for that?

MIKEY MADISON, AMERICAN ACTRESS: Well, I mean, I think Sean makes films about humanity and touches on really interesting subject matter. And I

don't know. I mean, I think that there is just something really special in the air when we made this film.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Well, that does it for this hour of ONE WORLD. I'm Bianna Golodryga. Thanks so much for watching. Don't go anywhere. I'll be right

back with "AMANPOUR."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:00:00]

END