at xfinity we know what we need for sick monday. extra-strength wifi built for streaming, so you can make the most of your “sick” monday. stream all day with xfinity streamsaver. get netflix, apple tv+, and peacock for just $15 a month. and learn how xfinity rewards members can get a food delivery gift card when they add streamsaver. bring on the good stuff. wife will appreciate. >> downloading rocket money right now. >> 28 year old went straight into a telephone pole. >> gotta bend those knees. >> quit showing off. you've always said being in the pit is like playing a team sport. a team has to be able to trust each other. maybe just watch the first time. >> hey. >> we need to cardiovert at north one. >> the pit. >> streaming exclusively. >> on max this is cnn breaking

news. >> i'm kim brunhuber. you're watching cnn newsroom. there is breaking news right now in the middle east. three israelis who were held hostage by hamas for 490 days are now back in israel. hamas released them earlier today to the red cross in deir al-balah, gaza. then they were handed over to the israeli military. later today, israel is scheduled to release 183 palestinian prisoners. this is all part of the israel-hamas ceasefire agreement. i want to go now to jeremy diamond, live in tel aviv. you were there when those hostages were released and you saw the emotions in the crowds behind you there. plenty of celebration in israel. seeing those images of the the hostages being released, but also plenty of concern over their condition. >> no doubt about it, this was quite a different scene from the one that we have seen over the last four releases of israeli

hostages from gaza. yes, there was that wave of relief that washed over people here as they saw them emerging alive after 491 days of captivity. there were cheers. there were applause as they saw them. but then there were also pained looks of concern on the faces of so many here, as they saw the condition in which these three men seem to have emerged after 15 months of being held by hamas. all of them looking quite thin and relatively frail. i think the most shocking one was eli sharabi in terms of a before and after of what he looked like before he was captured and kidnaped from his home in kibbutz be'eri on october 7th. and how he looks today as he is being released. he has clearly lost an enormous amount of weight during his time in captivity. we also know that or levy, the 34 year old man who was released today, the reason he is being released is because he's considered a, quote,

humanitarian case, meaning that he is likely either wounded or or or ill in some way. and so that may also point to his condition. after 15 months in captivity. we now do understand that all three men are indeed in israel. they are on their way to that re'im military base in southern israel, where we will finally see their first moments reuniting with their families very, very shortly. from there they will be taken by helicopter to hospitals here in central israel, in tel aviv, where on the outskirts of tel aviv, where they will be reunited with the rest of their families and begin a long road to recovery. >> well, jeremy, speaking of a long road, let's talk about the rest of this deal. where do things stand right now in terms of of getting to phase two? >> face act? >> well, first of all, today we expect that in exchange for these hostages, israel will

release 183 palestinian prisoners and detainees. 18 of them have been serving life sentences, 111 of them were detained in gaza post october 7th by the israeli military. we do not yet know all of their identities or what condition they will be emerging from israeli prisons, but we expect they will be released in the occupied west bank, as well as in gaza. for those who were detained there. now we are at a moment of real uncertainty about what the rest of this deal mean will look like and whether or not it can be extended. and make no doubt about it, the images that we saw of those hostages and the condition in which they emerged is going to play an enormous role in the public debate here in israel over continuing this cease fire, over getting the remaining hostages out. really, a flashing red light about the health condition of some of these hostages and the need to get them out as soon as possible. but we know that there are forces in israel who are arguing that after this six

week cease fire is over, israel should go back to the fight in gaza, should go back to achieving the goal that the israeli prime minister set out, which many here in israel also believe is unachievable, which is to entirely destroy hamas, remove it from power, and ensure that it is no longer in existence in the gaza strip. and the israeli prime minister was in washington this week having conversations with american officials, including president trump, about the fate of this deal. there's no question that american officials are urging israel to engage in these negotiations to reach phases two and three, to get the remainder of the hostages out. but it's also clear that president trump has injected a considerable amount of unpredictability and really game changing ideas. uh, for for the better or for worse, when he talks about, you know, this takeover of gaza, what will that do to hamas's negotiating position, for example, how will

that impact these talks? and those are some of the concerns that we have heard from the families of hostages over president trump's comments and the cthat it may have on the ability of the israel and hamas to actually reach an agreement to extend the cease fire and to get all of the other hostages out. and certainly that was being echoed here in hostages square after we saw the images of those three hostages being released, we then heard a roll call of all of the remaining 76 hostages still being held in gaza. and after each name, the crowd here chanted achshav, which means now they want them to all return home. >> now. kim. >> jeremy diamond, great to have you there. live in tel aviv. thanks so much. i want to go now to salma abdelaziz, who is live in london. so salma jeremy touched on the other half of this deal. the israel will release more than 180 palestinian prisoners. so let's dig into that a bit more. what more do we know about how it will take place and who might be released?

>> so all of these steps need to be very carefully completed before that commences. but we've already seen, of course, these three hostages on that stage in central gaza. they went into the custody of the red cross and now, of course, are on the israeli side and should soon, if not already, be receiving treatment and care. so the fact that we didn't see the chaotic scenes that had occurred during the last release, that already gives us an indication that things should go ahead as planned. and the plan is, again, as you said, 183 palestinians held in israeli jails to be released today. that should take place at ofer prison in the occupied west bank. the red cross again will be in charge of the logistics here. it will be their busses that ferry out these 183 individuals to various locations. more than 45 of them are going to be released into the west bank, but over 130 will be returned to gaza. and already our team on the ground has seen

families gathered at the rafah border crossing at the european hospital. it is there that these prisoners are expected to arrive and receive initial assessments and initial treatment. but many of these individuals who have been held in israeli prisons, over 110 of them, were arrested or detained after october 7th. so they are returning to a very different reality and a very different gaza. it's important to note that among these prisoners during the past releases, we have seen journalists. we have seen mothers who were arrested while breastfeeding their children. we have seen political advocates. so alongside those who have committed very serious and very violent crimes, there will be these really poignant and emotional reunions that were really unify palestinians as they take place. but again, that question of uncertainty that you heard jeremy expressed there, it looms over all of this. this is only phase one of the deal. you can see how complex, how

detailed the negotiations and logistics of all of this has to be for even just a few individuals to be released. there are still hostages. jeremy mentioned how those names were read out immediately afterwards. so for many the question is okay, but what next? but what happens after this? do we continue that step by step path towards hopefully a more comprehensive peace here? or is this the end of the road? kim. >> yeah, that's the question. salma abdelaziz thank you so much. appreciate that all right. for more on all of this, i want to go now to yaakov katz, a senior columnist at the jerusalem post and the author of many books about israel's military. and he's speaking to us from jerusalem. thank you so much for being here with us. so you've been watching along here this emotional release. what stood out to you about this latest hostage release? three men, two in their 50s, one in their 30s. certainly. it seemed orderly, but the condition of

the hostages was concerning. >> you know, kim, i always try to stay. >> away from making. >> any comparison to the holocaust. but when watching the images of elie, ohad and or the three men who were released today, come on stage, see how emaciated they are, how much weight they have lost, and look at the photos of them today, compared to the way they looked when they were taken. dragged two of them from their homes in kibbutz beit ri, or from the nova music festival, where he went with his wife. his wife was murdered by hamas, and to see the way they look today, it can only unimaginable the horror they must have all gone through over the last 500 days, almost in hamas captivity. this is the terrorist group that israel has been fighting with for the last 16 months. and i think that we all need to remember these images and have them burned into our minds. so we remember that this is the enemy that israel has been waging war against, to try to eliminate and destroy for the security of our country, but

for the security of all humanity although the scenes that hamas were certainly eager to portray there the images of their fighters heavily armed again suggests they are still there, despite israel's attempts to destroy them. >> i want to look ahead now. over the weekend, israel is expected to send the their negotiating team to doha to talk about the deal. second stage. but according to israeli media, the delegation members aren't authorized to advance the deal until prime minister netanyahu returns to israel next week and briefs the cabinet about his meeting with with president trump. so talk us through where things stand right now. >> well, definitely the vast majority of israelis i've seen polling indicating 70, 80% want to see israel move to the second stage. let's remember, kim, that what we're seeing now, this fifth release in the last three weeks or so of hostageges is only part of the first stage,

under which only 33 of the hostages, we also don't know exactly how many are alive. how many of those? 33 are no longer among the living. those are supposed to be released, but there's supposed to be a second stage, which will hopefully, if it happens, bring back the remaining hostages, which will be about 60 almost, who will still be in gaza after this first stage. prime minister netanyahu has spent the last week in washington, where he had some dramatic meetings. as we all know, with president trump and his team also having meetings on the hill with senate and and the house leaders. it will be interesting to see when he lands back in israel tomorrow on sunday and briefs the security cabinet. what will be the decisions going ahead to try to get to that second stage? because, as we know, we obviously need, of course, israel's readiness to move forward, but also hamas and hamas. is this barbaric, cynical terrorist group. they want to hold on to some of these hostages because that's their leverage, their insurance card. we have to hope that they're willing to enter into that second stage and run those

negotiations that can bring us there. >> mhm. i mean, you brought up those dramatic meetings certainly trump's statements dramatic to say the least, throwing everything into question when he announced that the u.s. could take over gaza, we've heard from from the israeli side, we've heard from from arab countries as well, that that plan could jeopardize that next phase. so what do you think the implications of that so-called plan will be well, if i if i was asked what my greatest concern is, when i think about the plan that the president has spoken about taking an ownership position, as he referred to it over the gaza strip, what exactly that means, you know, remains unclear. >> even if it is a plan, kim, or it's just an idea that the president is throwing out there. but i think it is definitely. will this undermine the movement to the second stage of the deal? because the most important thing, and we see this today with these images of or elie and ohad coming home. there's no

question in anyone's mind the danger that every hostage in in gaza remains, as long as they languish in hamas captivity there, their lives are in danger every moment as time passes, and we need to get them home. but i also think that trump's statements have value because we have allowed the conversation when it comes to hamas, to basically be the same one for the last 20 years, ever since israel pulled out of gaza, and every couple of years, there was another round and cycle of violence between israel and hamas in gaza. it's time to break that up. it's time to change the paradigm. and whether the president's plan is realistic or not. it does make people break out of the conventional wisdom thinking and start to contemplate other alternatives for how to really bring security, how to really bring an end to hostilities for israelis and for the innocent people of gaza who have also suffered greatly at the hands of hamas. we need this to change. and whether it's the evacuation of the people of gaza or something else, there is definitely a need for a new

dramatic change to what happens here in this region. >> yeah, that's certainly been the line that they've been saying that they need to to shake things up. but i'm not sure that that that's really an alternative in terms of having the u.s. take ownership without boots on the ground or without investing u.s. money. and certainly palestinians won't go ahead with with any evacuation plan. but but in terms of the real world effects here already, israel's foreign minister instructed the israeli army to prepare a plan to facilitate palestinians, you know, voluntary departure. i make air quotes there. was that just a symbolic move to show support for donald trump? >> well, when the defense minister is giving those orders to the idf, it's actually taking something from the level of an idea and putting it into practice. the military is creating some plans, although i can tell you from conversations there, they don't really yet know how this is all going to play out and what that means. like you said, how do you take

ownership over gaza without putting boots on the ground? the president has said also in a tweet that america will only take ownership after israel has completed fighting hamas. at what stage is that? because as we see right now, kim, and you mentioned this before, hamas is still there, right? they got their armed men in deir al-balah, the center of gaza strip, where the hostages were released with their green bands, their ak 47 seconds. they're still present. so at what point does someone say, okay, we're done now america goes in. so that raises a lot of questions, of course. but i think that what what we can do at least an initial stage potentially, and maybe this is what the defense minister is referring to, is open the border with egypt. right? gaza has a 14 kilometer border with egypt. there's the crossing in rafah into egypt. if somebody from gaza wants to leave, and there is a country in the world that wants to take them in, let them have that opportunity to seek a better future, right? it will take years for gaza to be rebuilt. it will take years for hamas to be really replaced with a new governing entity. let's enable. and maybe this is what they're talking about, the people of

gaza to seek a better future somewhere else. now, does that mean coerced or voluntary? we'll have to wait and see. >> yeah. in the midst of this, we were just showing pictures there of the helicopters at reem military base that will take those three hostages to hospitals in and around tel aviv and so many in israel and beyond, thinking of the welfare of those three hostages now free on israeli soil. yaakov katz, thank you so much. appreciate it. >> thank you well, a controversial member of elon musk's new government task force is back in action after stepping away over controversial old social media posts that led to the man's reinstatement when we return. >> stay with us. >> what do you. >> got there. >> larry? >> time machine. you're going. >> to go back and see how the pyramids were built or something? >> nope. >> elon and i want to go on vacation, so. >> i'm going to go back to last week and buy a winning lottery

ticket. >> can i come? >> only room for one. >> how am. >> i getting home? >> sitting on my. >> lap. >> like last time? ronald? >> fine. >> but i'm bringing this. >> all right. >> or you. >> could try. >> one of these. >> savings options. >> the right money moves aren't as. >> far fetched as you think. >> there it is. see? told you it's going to all work out. thanks. >> future me. >> take for sun boat crowd. >> with plaque. psoriasis. even the thought of an itchy situation. >> can throw you. >> off your game. >> otezla is the number one prescribed pill to treat plaque psoriasis. car. >> yes. >> otezla can help you get clearer skin and. reduce itching and flaking. >> it's a bird. >> it's a plane. >> doctors have been prescribing otezla for over a decade. don't use otezla if you're allergic to it. get medical help right away. if you have trouble breathing or swallowing. swelling of the face, lips, tongue, throat, or arms. severe diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, depression, suicidal thoughts, or weight loss can happen. tell your doctor if any of these occur and if you have a history of depression or suicidal

thoughts. baby. >> what? >> go. football. >> yes. yes. >> with less itchy redness. game night is a great night. live in the moment. ask your doctor about otezla and scan to hear how it works for a pro football player. >> do your dry eyes still feel gritty., rough. or tired? with my bow, eyes can. >> feel my bow. yeah. >> my bow is the only prescription dry eye drop that forms a protective layer for the number one cause of dry eye. too much tear evaporation for relief. >> that's my bow. oh yeah. >> remove contact lenses before using my bow. wait at least 30 minutes before putting them back in. i redness and blurred vision may occur. what does treating dry eye differently feel like? >> i oh yeah. >> for relief that feels. >> i bow. >> ask your eye doctor about prescription. my bow.

>> covid 19. >> i'm not waiting. if it's covid. >> paxlovid. >> paxlovid is an oral treatment for adults with mild to moderate. >> covid. >> 19 and a high risk factor for becoming severe. it does not prevent covid 19. >> my symptoms are mild now, but. >> i'm not risking it. >> if it's covid. paxlovid. >> paxlovid must be taken within the first five days of symptoms and helps stop the virus from multiplying in your body. >> taking paxlovid with certain medicines can lead to serious or life threatening side effects, or affect how it or other medicines work, including hormonal birth control. tell your doctor about all medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements you take as certain tests or dosage changes of your other medicines may be needed. tell them if you have kidney or liver problems, hiv one r or plan to be pregnant or breastfeed. don't take paxlovid if allergic to its ingredients. stop taking and call your doctor right away. if you have allergic reaction symptoms. serious side effects can include allergic reactions, some severe like anaphylaxis and liver problems. these are not all the possible side effects, so talk to your doctor. >> if it's covid. >> paxlovid. >> ask your doctor today.

>> when migraine strikes, do you question the trade offs of treating ubrelvy is another option. it works fast and most have migraine pain relief within two hours. you can treat it anytime, anywhere. tell your doctor all medicines you take don't take. with strong cyp3a4 inhibitors. get help right away for allergic reactions like trouble breathing or face, tongue or throat swelling, which may occur hours to days after use. common side effects include nausea and sleepiness, migraine pain relief starts with you. learn how abbvie could help you save on ubrelvy. >> want to give you an update on the breaking news in the middle east? three israeli men who were held hostage by hamas for 491 days are now back in israel. they were released earlier today to the red cross in deir al-balah, gaza. they're expected to get health checkups and be reunited with loved ones. the israeli government on saturday condemned the shocking images of the hostages emaciated appearance. the prime

minister's office says it won't go unaddressed. 21 hostages held in gaza since october 7th, 2023 have been released since the cease fire went into effect on january 19th. later today, israel is scheduled to release 183 palestinian prisoners. and we'll bring you updates as they happen. just days after israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu became the first foreign leader to meet with president donald trump at the white house, the u.s. state department announced a $7 billion arms sale to israel. and according to a democratic lawmaker, the sale bypassed the congressional review process that would have given lawmakers time to ask questions and raised concerns about the deal. the weapons involved include thousands of hellfire missiles and bombs, thousands of u.s. federal employees still have their jobs. for now, a u.s. federal judge has temporarily blocked the trump administration from putting more than 2000 usaid employees on leave. the judge also ordered the agency to temporarily reinstate 500 other workers who had been suspended.

the signage at the u.s. agency for international development was removed from its washington, d.c., headquarters on friday. separately, another federal judge has struck down an emergency request to block access to labor department data by elon musk's doge team. the u.s. district judge said he had some concerns about how doge was allegedly operating, but ruled the unions that brought the challenge failed to show the level of imminent harm needed for a court to intervene. cnn's alex marquardt has more. >> a bit of good news for usaid, which has taken. a battering this week as the trump. >> administration tries. >> to. >> hollow out. >> the. agency and strip it of its independence. a federal judge here in washington who was named by trump, by the way, issued a temporary order blocking the trump administration's efforts to put almost all of its staffers on leave as of friday night. now, that came during a legal hearing closing out a week in which the acting leaders of usaid had said that all direct hires, as they're known, would be put on

leave except for essential personnel numbering in the hundreds out of a workforce of some 10,000, which also includes thousands of contractors, many of whom have already been furloughed or laid off. on friday, workers took down the signage at usaid headquarters in downtown washington, d.c., and also covered up the agency's seals. now, this lawsuit by the usaid staffers was brought against donald trump and his secretaries of state and treasury. they accused the administration of acting illegally, something democratic lawmakers have also alleged. the suit said the administration was not just throwing public servants into chaos and uncertainty, but also creating a humanitarian crisis. this is part of what was said in the lawsuit. deaths are inevitable. already 300 babies that would not have had hiv. now do thousands of girls and women will die from pregnancy and childbirth without judicial intervention? it will only get

worse. well, judicial intervention did come on friday, and though usaid staff who i spoke with are relieved, they do recognize this is a temporary move and there is still much more to come as trump tries to dramatically scale back the agency's staff and operations around the world. alex marquardt, cnn, washington. >> well, president musk is downplaying any concerns over musk and his team. musk is even bringing back a staffer who resigned after being linked to racist social media posts. this after the vice president voiced support for him. >> one of the doge engineers was fired for some inappropriate posts. the vice president says, bring him back. what do you say? >> well, i don't know about the particular thing, but if the vice president said that, did you say that i'm with the vice president. >> we got more details now from cnn's rene marsh. >> well. >> the 25 year old doge staffer. is also linked to social media posts calling for the repeal of

the civil rights act. now, marko elez graduated from rutgers university in 2021, and shortly after began working at musk's company, space x, as a doge staffer. he was considered a special government employee with. access to sensitive federal agency i.t. systems. and data. >> and like the. >> slate of other 20 something year old engineers who are on musk's. doge team, he does not appear to have any experience. >> working in the. >> government. again, musk's doge team consists. >> of a slate of. >> software engineers in their early. >> 20s who have impressive. accomplishments in the tech world but are novices when it comes to the federal government and understanding how it works. musk's team includes a 23 year old software engineer from nebraska who used a.i. to help decipher an ancient scroll buried for centuries. another was a runner up in a hackathon contest last year as a harvard senior. a third is a ceo of a

multi-billion dollar startup, and a fourth graduated high school just last year. but there is high concern, especially among democratic lawmakers on capitol hill, about the lack of transparency about who has been hired by doge and what security and background clearances they've undergone, what data they've been accessing, and what they're doing with it. rene marsh, cnn, washington. >> time magazine has put elon musk on its cover, and provocatively, it has him sitting behind the desk of the u.s. president known as the resolute desk. the image of power comes as the head of doge, the so-called department of government efficiency, carries out a campaign to gut the federal workforce. on friday, trump was asked what he thought of the cover. >> mr. president. >> do you have a reaction. >> to the new time magazine cover that has elon musk sitting behind your resolute desk? >> time magazine? >> is time magazine still in business? i didn't even know that. >> of course, the president has

been selected as time's person of the year twice, most recently in 2020. for all, i want to bring in richard johnson, who is a lecturer in u.s. politics at the queen mary university of london. he joins us live from oxford, england. good to see you again. so, you know, obviously this is just sort of that cover kind of symbolic, but it does reflect how much influence musk has on the government right now. >> yes. >> it's a rather. >> curious beast. >> this doge. >> entity. >> because if. >> you look at the. >> executive order that set it. >> up, it's actually a rebranding. >> of an agency that was rather obscure, not known much to the public. the u.s. digital services agency, which actually barack obama had set up to help manage the implementation of the affordable care act to help with the setting up of healthcare.gov. and this agency has continued to exist. joe biden used it during the pandemic to help with the vaccine rollout, and then all of a sudden it's kind of been

rebranded as doge. and now elon musk is thought to have sort of the president's permission to go through and start shutting down agencies that have statutory basis. i mean, these are agencies that in some cases, congress has set up and has appropriated funds to, which violates all kinds of article one principles, article one being the powers of congress, including the power of the purse, where it's congress's responsibility to set federal spending, and it's the president's responsibility. the executive branch's responsibility to implement those instructions set by congress. the executive branch doesn't get to second guess what the what the budget is. >> yeah, that's why we're going to see so many lawsuits as well. you said that the, you know, this entity was rebranded into doge. democrats would say. weaponized. they they, you know,

kind of seem democrats unsure how to handle donald trump this time around. they seem to be focusing a lot of attention on elon musk, sort of casting him as this super villain puppetmaster, but also concretely trying to highlight how much power he wields with little accountability or transparency. >> i mean, i think there obviously is a great deal that one concerns that one can raise about musk and his particular role in government, although i would caution about over and over focus on musk and over personalization on it, there has been a range of policy changes that president trump has brought in. this is part of a strategy which his outrider, steve bannon, once called flooding the zone. this idea that we're just going to throw lots of different policies at the wall and see what sticks. and that has two implications. one is the policy implications that you have new policies that may come into effect. but the second is that

it really changes the political weather almost 100 years ago, political scientists called e.e. schneider writing about tariff policy, actually said policy new policy creates new politics. and that's very much, i think, what president trump is trying to do with his executive orders by implementing these existing. sorry. >> yeah. no, just on that note, exactly on the politics of it. but, you know, even if you put politics aside, i mean, there are serious concerns about how much access this doge team has to finance payroll and so on. and, and many states are suing to stop that team from accessing the treasury department data. and this is going to be, as i kind of talked about earlier, i mean, this is going to be a recurring theme when it comes to the actual cuts that musk and doge are pursuing, eradicating departments and getting rid of employees. they're now running up against the courts, and some of those efforts have been stopped in their tracks. is this just a a preview of how the next

four years will go, or will trump sort of run out of executive action steam and start getting congress to to put the force of of legislation behind some of these initiatives? >> well, personnel management, i suppose, has been one of those ways that presidents have always been able to put their put their stamp on things in a dramatic fashion. i mean, you go back to the very early years of the republic, one of the most famous early supreme court cases, marbury versus madison, was a question about the the appointments that john adams was making in the final days of his presidency. this whole notion of the spoils system to the victors, the spoils, comes from andrew jackson, one of president trump's presidential heroes, who, when he came into the white house, he sacked about 10% of the federal workforce, including hundreds and hundreds of post office officers, because they weren't democrats. so there is a long tradition of that. but the difference today is the

federal government does so much more than it used to in the 19th century that its policy scope is so much broader. and so this isn't just a question of, you know, you know, who's running a particular post office in a particular county in kentucky. you know, this, this, this has implications for people's lives. people are depending both in the united states and around the world on these federal programs. and actually, i think there is a lot of damage that the president can do to these agencies. the courts will be able to step in, but i think it's not going to be that the court can just come in and just hold the president, you know, reverse revert back to the way things were that trump is a master at what we sometimes say. shifting the overton window, shifting the range of possibilities. and people learn people. when i say people, both the public and policymakers learn from when you try making policy change here, if it doesn't quite work, they make adjustments and then they try something different. that's what

he did in his first term, and he's learned from his first term. and i think this is you know, why you see even more energy in his second term with these executive actions. >> yeah. absolutely. right. we'll have to leave it there. but always appreciate all the context you bring to these to these issues. richard johnson, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> three former hostages held in gaza for 491 days are now back in israel, but there are concerns about their health after their gaunt appearance when hamas released them. stay with cnn for the latest. we'll be back it's the news. >> welcome back. but it's also kind of not the news. >> all the information on this show so terrible. >> have i got news for you next saturday at nine on cnn. big. >> small essential. >> big. >> small essential.

>> big small. >> essential grande essential. >> no matter what business you're in, verizon business has the network and solutions you need to power it. >> you know what i love about quick hit slots? it's the mobile slots game that gives you those authentic vegas thrills. quick hit slots has all the games you know and love, and best of all, the jackpot. download quick hit slots for free and get a 6 million coin bonus. make every day a winning day. >> like a relentless weed. moderate to severe ulcerative colitis symptoms can keep coming back. start to break away from uc with tremfya. with rapid relief at four weeks. tremfya blocks a key source of inflammation at one year. many people experienced remission and some saw 100% visible healing of their intestinal lining. serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections may occur. before treatment, your doctor

should check you for infections and tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu like symptoms, or if you need a vaccine. healing is possible with tremfya. ask your doctor about tremfya today. >> at morgan. stanley old school, hard. work meets bold new thinking. partnering to unlock new. >> ideas. to create new. >> legacies. >> to transform a. >> company industry. >> economy. >> generation. >> because grit and vision working in lockstep puts you on

yeah, it is weird that we still call these things phones. well, yeah. they're more like mini computers. precisely, next slide. xfinity mobile customers are connected to wifi 90% of the time. that's why our network has powerboost with wifi speeds up to a gig where you need it most. so, this whole meeting could have been remote? oh, that is my ex-husband who i don't speak to. hey! no, i'm good to talk! xfinity internet customers, cut your mobile bill in half for your first year with xfinity mobile. plus, ask how to get the new samsung galaxy s25+ on us. physicians mutual. call or visit. send info wkyt.com for all the details. >> physicians mutual, physicians mutual. >> i'm pete muntean at reagan national airport. >> this is cnn. >> more now on the breaking news in the middle east. three israeli men who were held hostage by hamas for 491 days

are now back in israel. they were released just over an hour ago, but there are concerns about their health. the israeli government on saturday condemned the shocking images of the hostages emaciated appearance. the prime minister's office says it won't go unaddressed. the three men are expected to get health checkups before being reunited with loved ones. and later today, israel is scheduled to release 183 palestinian prisoners. now, these are images just in to us from near ofer prison in the west bank, where they're being currently held. now for more on all this. we're joined by paul salem, the vice president for international engagement at the middle east institute. and he's speaking to us from beirut, lebanon. thank you so much for being here with us. so we've just seen our fifth release of hostages, as well as palestinian prisoners. how do you assess the process so far? we're three weeks now into the ceasefire. >> well, i mean, it's a very,

very bumpy process. and certainly there's a lot of snags along the way. but the bigger picture remains the case in that president trump, who entered the white house on january 20th, has made it very clear to prime minister netanyahu that he wants this cease fire agreement to be, you know, reached and it was reached just hours before he entered the office, and that he wants it to hold. so i think overall, it will hold through march 1st. it will be, you know, unstable and not very smooth. these two ceasefires, the ceasefire in gaza that expires on march 1st, and the ceasefire and withdrawal in lebanon, which was extended to february 18th, are two deadlines that israel and behind them, the u.s. are facing. the big question remains what is trump's broader plan vis a vis israel and the palestinians? we've seen his announcement on gaza, and he said he wants to make an announcement on the west bank. so once he does that, we'll have a bigger picture of

what trump has in mind. >> well, yeah. i mean, you talk about bumps. certainly. that one is a huge one. when president trump announced that plan for the u.s. to take over gaza with no boots on the ground and no u.s. money, so everybody's scrambling to find out how exactly that would happen. we've heard from both the israeli side and from arab countries that this plan could jeopardize the next phase. what do you think the implications of this so-called plan will be? >> well, i think the plan is is not workable. i mean, in the first case, i mean, it was quite clear that there would be no american boots on the ground. the american public and public opinion has no appetite for that to get into a fresh war in the middle east. of course, it was surprising that trump even put it on the table. in months of war by israel on hamas has not defeated hamas in a major way,

nor has it enabled the displacement of palestinians to egypt and jordan, egypt and jordan and all the arab countries have said absolutely not. they will not go along with a displacement or ethnic cleansing or something like that of palestinians out of that strip. so i don't think it's a workable plan per say. but i think by president trump injecting himself so directly and saying effectively, gaza is my call, or gaza is mine, is politically, you know, quite, quite interesting. but we'll have to see what his position on the west bank is and then how prime minister netanyahu deals with both of those positions. >> yeah, we're expecting some kind of announcement about the west bank. but all of this underscored that the real power center for this deal is the white house. and it's striking how much more power trump has compared to biden. i mean, it seems very much that trump's in the driver's seat here.

>> yes, absolutely. i mean, keep in mind that when netanyahu went to washington, what he wanted to get from trump was a green light or support for an israeli strike on iran. interestingly enough, trump, you know, sort of took control of the press conference afterwards by the surprise announcement announcement about gaza completely changing the conversation. so trump did not give netanyahu a green light on iran. he effectively took the gaza card out of netanyahu's hand and put it in his hand. and we all know that the big prize that trump is gunning for, as it were, is a historic deal between the u.s., saudi arabia and israel. he would love to get a nobel prize for that at some point, and to be able to claim that he settled the israeli-palestinian conflict. and in order to get that deal, he's going to have to offer the saudis something on the west bank. so, absolutely, netanyahu is not in the commanding position that he was under

biden. and trump is really gaining the upper hand. >> yeah, but certainly his plan on gaza is raising more questions about the the palatability of normalizing relations between saudi arabia and israel. we will have to leave it there. paul salem, thank you so much for speaking to us. really appreciate it. >> thank you sir. >> all right. when we come back, new details on the upheaval in the u.s. government as donald trump's administration shakes up washington. stay with us cookbooks. >> corporate fat cats. swindling socialites. >> doped up. >> cyclists, and yes, more crooked politicians. i have a feeling we won't. >> be running out of those. >> anytime soon. >> a new season of. >> united states. >> of. scandal with jake tapper. >> march 9th on cnn. >> life. diabetes. >> there's no slowing down. >> each day is a unique. >> blend of people to see and things to do. that's why you choose glucerna to help manage blood sugar response uniquely

designed with carb steady glucerna. bring on the day. >> greatness hurts, but sometimes you gotta put on your game face. that's why tylenol. provides fast, effective pain relief. that's tylenol, that's care without limits. >> 60% of women. >> experience leaks with bladder protection pads. >> try always discreet. >> it has. >> a unique core that converts liquid. >> to gel. >> and bunches 25%. >> less often than poise. >> try. >> always discreet. it's designed to protect. >> for more than a decade, pozega has been trusted again and again and again. >> for cecot. >> ask your doctor about pozega. >> ah, my five morning alarms. a metaphor for everything else i'm putting on. like my laundry or my 768 unread texts. >> i'm just your.

>> dermatologist. >> 769 try hydroboost. >> neutrogena weightless hydration that goes deep. >> when the temperature drops and winter settles. >> in. >> you've got two choices. close your eyes and think warm thoughts. or open your eyes. grab your gear and get out here. this winter, there's only one choice worth making, and there's only one vehicle lineup that embraces everything the

>> 400,000? >> yep. >> just talking about foster care. >> can help. >> foster care. >> donate your small. >> talk. >> buy more now on the breaking news in the middle east. we're getting a live look at the west bank near ofer prison, where israel has begun the release of 183 palestinian prisoners. and some of those busses have already left. as we see the the car pulling up to the opening there as part of the cease fire agreement that saw hamas release

three israeli men. a short time ago. and they were held hostage for 491 days. the israeli government's condemning what it says are shocking images that show the men emaciated. veteran israeli negotiator turned peace activist gershon baskin says the men's appearance would remind many israelis of nazi concentration camp survivors. the men are now back in israel and expected to get medical checkups before being reunited with loved ones. donald trump's overhaul of the u.s. government is broadening in scope, and now he plans to remake one of america's leading cultural centers. in a social media post, the president said he would fire several board members of the kennedy center for the performing arts in washington. he also said he would replace the current chairman with himself. president trump took issue with the center's programing, calling out drag shows from last year in his post. he said the center's best days are yet to come, and president trump has followed through on his plan to replace the national archivist. colleen shogan was dismissed via a

social media post on x late friday. she was nominated by former president joe biden, was the first woman to serve and has been in the position since 2023. but she blocked biden's move to ratify the equal rights amendment, citing precedent before he left office. shogan had personal ties to first lady melania trump, having worked together on projects during the first trump administration. but last month, trump hinted that he planned to replace shogan. he's been critical of the office since the previous archivist asked the justice department to investigate trump's handling of the white house records in 2022, and trump has also set his sights on the fbi. he told cnn on friday that he plans to fire some of the fbi agents who worked on investigations into the january 6th capitol riot. he claims, quote, some of them were corrupt, but he didn't provide any evidence. cnn's paula reid has more from washington. >> reporter. on thursday. >> the fbi provided. >> the justice. >> department with the. >> names of investigators. >> who worked on.

>> cases related to. >> january 6th. now, last. >> week. >> the justice department had been. >> provided with employee i.d. numbers, but the acting deputy. attorney general said that was not enough information. now, understandably, there are concerns among agents and their union that this list of names could potentially be leaked. now, there was a lawsuit that was filed over these concerns, and on friday, an agreement was reached between the justice department and the fbi that bars the justice department from releasing this list of names without giving the agents at least two days notice. the agents say their biggest concern is that this list would be shared with doge or the white house, and released that way, even though the justice department denies it has any interest in releasing this publicly. so these agents clearly have a lot to be worried about, not only for their security if these names are released, but also because president trump said on friday he does expect that some of these investigators will be fired. paula reid, cnn, washington.

>> defense secretary pete hegseth press office is taking away cnn's workspace at the pentagon as part of a so-called media rotation program. cnn, the washington post, the hill and the war zone, which covers the defense industry, will lose out in favor of explicitly pro-trump media outlets. access old network fox news keeps its place. change doesn't remove credentials, so the affected media will still have access to officials and briefings. cnn's statement said, quote, cnn's mission to report on the department of defense, u.s. military and trump administration will continue regardless of office arrangements. we will not be deflected from our duty to hold all three fairly and fully to account. we'll be right back. >> a single touch can say a thousand words. it says, i see you. i feel you, i got you, and

i'm never letting go. ever. they say it all with irresistibly touchable skin. get in touch. gold bond. >> my eyes, they're dry. uncomfortable. looking for extra hydration. now there's blink. nutritive. it works differently than drops. blink neutral tears is a once daily supplement clinically proven to hydrate from within, helping your eyes produce more of their own tears. to promote lasting, continuous relief. you'll feel day after day. try blink. neutral tears a different way to support dry eyes. >> blink neutral tears. >> when migraine strikes. do you question the tradeoffs of treating ubrelvy is another option. it works fast and most have migraine pain relief. within two hours. you can treat at any time, anywhere. tell your doctor all medicines you take.

don't take with strong cyp3a4 inhibitors. get help right away for allergic reactions like trouble breathing or face, tongue or throat swelling, which may occur hours to days after use. common side effects include nausea and sleepiness. migraine pain relief starts with you. learn how abbvie could help you save on ubrelvy. >> what happens in vegas stays. not anymore. play quick hit slots the free to play mobile slots game that everyone is playing from coast to coast. download quick hit slots for free and get a 6 million coin bonus. make every day a winning day. >> what's up? >> you seem kind of. >> sluggish today. things aren't really moving. >> you could. >> use some metamucil metamucil. >> psyllium fiber helps keep your. digestive system moving so you can feel lighter and more energetic. metamucil keeps you moving. >> and try the two week challenge at metamucil. >> com our heart. attack was scary. >> never want to go through that again. >> but we could. >> with heart disease. you never know. >> so we made changes. >> green juice. >> diet, exercise. >> statins helped, but our ldl or bad cholesterol it was stuck.

stuck just couldn't lower it enough. and high ldl. >> meant a. >> real risk of another attack. so i said let's. >> ask our. >> doctor about repatha. >> what can i say? listen to your heart. >> repatha plus a statin dramatically lowers ldl-c by 63% and drops the risk of having a heart attack by 27%. do not take repatha if you're allergic to it. serious allergic reactions can occur. get medical help right away if you have trouble breathing or swallowing. swelling of the face, lips, tongue, throat, or arms. common side effects include runny nose, sore throat, common cold symptoms flu or flu like symptoms, back pain, high blood sugar and redness, pain or bruising at the injection site. >> we won't let another heart attack set us back. >> and neither should you. >> listen to your heart. lower your ldl-c and your risk with repatha. talk to your doctor. >> the thing. >> about work. >> it's always changing. >> whether it's advancements. >> in a.i. >> workplace policies. >> and initiatives, upskilling talent, whatever it is, we all have. >> a work thing in front. >> of us. >> but with the right

perspective, what seems confusing or just out of. >> reach. >> can suddenly fall into place and push you towards achieving your business goals. >> if it's a. >> work thing. >> it's a. >> sherm thing. >> sherm. >> closed captioning is brought to you by christian faith publishing. write for a higher purpose. publish with us. christian faith publishing is an author friendly publisher who understands that your labor is more than just a book. call or scan for your free writers guide( 800) 455-1827. >> the nfl is set to reach the pinnacle of its season tomorrow. the philadelphia eagles and kansas city chiefs will battle it out in super bowl lix. cnn's andy scholes checks out the teams strategies heading into the championship game. >> well, that was. >> another beautiful day here in new orleans. >> as we get closer and. >> closer to super. bowl 59. the eagles and chiefs fans have certainly been enjoying the french quarter ahead of the

game, but only one of those fan bases is going to be happy come sunday night. and if the chiefs want to become the first team ever to three peat, they're going to have to try to find a way to stop the most dominant play in football, the eagles tush push. whenever philly gets third and one or fourth and one, you can pretty much say good night. it's over. they're getting it. jalen hurts in that eagles o line are the premier push pushers and chiefs all-pro defensive tackle chris jones. well he's not looking forward to facing it. >> they're so good at it. >> they've been doing it for a while. um, tough to stop. they've kind of mastered the leverage and the rugby style of running. i think they have like a 95% win rate with that. they need to make the game even for us. uh. you have abandoned play. >> now, there are talks that the nfl may ban the tush push after this season, but for now, it remains just an incredible weapon for that eagles offense. now, patrick mahomes meanwhile he's trying to win his fourth super bowl in just his seventh season as a chiefs starting

quarterback. and we've seen him time and time again just come through in the big moments. and on thursday night, i got the chance to catch up with mahomes mom, randy, at nfl honors. and i asked her, what is it about her son that makes him so clutch? >> after the last game. >> at. >> halftime. >> i literally. >> looked around and. >> said. >> he's going to come out and he's going to kick the ball. he's going to hike the ball, he's going to punt the ball like. and then he comes out running. i'm like, yeah, of course he's going to run like that's just him. even though he knows i stress out and but i'm like i know him up until the last second. like he's going to be playing 300%. and so i knew like i'm like, he's going to come out and just try to do whatever. and that's what he does. >> so what moment during the game makes you the most nervous. >> when he runs the ball? mama said, don't run the ball. but he still likes to do it. and so that's what makes me the most nervous. >> yeah, moms are always nervous. we'll see if the mahomes family will once again

get to celebrate on the field after the super bowl. but here in new orleans, all of the talking is over. the teams will have one more walk through practice on saturday before enjoying some time with their families at the superdome. and then it's time for super bowl lix. >> mama said, don't run the ball. that's great. that wraps this hour of cnn newsroom. i'm kim brunhuber cnn this morning is next. >> nothing is what it seems in the lockerbie story. >> lockerbie, the bombing of pan am flight 103, february 16th on cnn. when it. >> really philosophize. >> about it, there's one. >> thing you don't have enough

of. and that's time. time is a truly scarce commodity. when you come to that realization, i think it's very important to spend time wisely. and what better way of spending time than traveling, continuing to educate ourselves and broaden our minds? >> viking. >> exploring the world. >> in comfort honey wait. >> what? >> with covid 19 and my. >> heart disease. >> i'm not going to wait. if it's covid. paxlovid. >> paxlovid is an oral treatment for adults with mild to moderate covid 19 and a high risk factor for it becoming severe. it does not prevent covid 19. >> my symptoms are mild now. >> i'm not risking it. >> paxlovid must be taken within the first five days of symptoms and help stop the virus from multiplying in your body. taking paxlovid with certain medicines can lead to serious or life threatening side effects, or affect how it or other medicines work, including hormonal birth control. tell your doctor about all medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements you take as certain tests or dosage changes

of your other medicines may be needed. tell them if you have kidney or liver problems. hiv one r or plan to be pregnant or breastfeed. don't take paxlovid if allergic to its ingredients. stop taking and call your doctor right away. if you have allergic reaction symptoms. serious side effects can include allergic reactions, some severe like anaphylaxis and liver problems. these are not all the possible side effects, so talk to your doctor. >> if it's covid. >> paxlovid. >> ask your doctor today after every challenge. you bounce. >> back stronger. >> now your damaged. >> hair can. >> to. >> a. >> new dove intensive. >> repair with. >> liquid bio. >> protein care plus. >> amino serum. refills hair. >> with 1 trillion amino acid. molecules naturally. found in hair. >> for hair.

the way i approach work post fatherhood, has really trying to understand the generation that we're building devices for. here in the comcast family, we're building an integrated in-home wifi solution for millions of families like my own. in the average household, there are dozens of connected devices. connectivity is a big part of my boys' lives. it brings people together in meaningful ways. your community for low or no cost. for more information, visit pinky webb. org. >> welcome