eating at a pennsylvania mcdonald's. >> this was a frightening. >> well-planned, targeted murder. >> the defense, again arguing the media attention on this case is impacting his chances of a fair trial. >> luigi's right to a fair. >> trial is being infringed upon because he is being, uh. publicly treated as guilty and as. >> and no trial date was set just yet, wolf. but mangione will be back in court at the start of the summer in june. wolf. >> brynn gingras reporting. thank you very much. i'm wolf blitzer in the situation room. we have this important programing note starting monday, march 3rd, the situation room is expanding to two hours and moving to mornings. i'm excited to announce the situation room with my colleague and good friend, pamela brown every weekday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon eastern. erin burnett outfront starts right now.

>> outfront next, breaking news, testing trump's power. the supreme court tonight just ruling the head of the government watchdog agency can remain on the job despite being fired by trump. plus, facing the facts, president trump finally admitting the truth. what the world witnessed that russia started the war in ukraine. but is he willing to call putin a dictator? and a blow to new york's embattled mayor. a judge not ready to dismiss the doj's case against him. and tonight, assigning a new lawyer to review the case. let's go out front. good evening. i'm brianna keilar in for erin burnett. outfront tonight, breaking news, a supreme setback. president trump suffering a temporary blow after the supreme court just ruled that the head of the government's ethics watchdog agency can remain on the job, despite being fired by trump.

now, this ruling is just until the court can take up the case in the next week or two. but it is the first major test of trump's efforts to reshape the federal government. and this comes after a federal judge gave trump the okay to put thousands in humanitarian of humanitarian aid employees on leave, dismantling u.s. aid was one of president trump and elon musk's first orders of business, and since then, they've shown no signs of slowing down. >> we. created this department. doge and the kind of numbers are incredible. it could be $500 million, but it could be $1 trillion. elon is doing a really good job. >> but tonight the concerns are growing that musk's cuts are going too far, even as he's only just getting started. we're now learning the pentagon has temporarily paused most of its plans to ax tens of thousands of employees. the concern is that

those cuts could affect the u.s. military readiness, according to officials. still, defense department officials just announcing tonight they will terminate more than 5000 probationary employees next week. and tonight, trump suggesting his next target may be an agency that every single american relies on. >> reports that, um, you were considering merging. >> the united states postal. >> service with the commerce department. >> well, we want to have a post office that works well and doesn't lose massive amounts of money. and we're thinking about doing that, and it will be a form of a merger. >> and on the ground, republicans are starting to feel some blowback from musk's decision to take a chainsaw to the united states federal government. in deep red georgia, republican congressman rich mccormick, facing a barrage of pointed questions and accusations about doj's cuts. >> thursday. it's clear.

>> from all the writings. >> of our founding fathers. >> that our great republic. >> was never. >> meant to be. >> ruled by a dictator, nor a king. >> who. >> controls the. >> budget. >> not the president. >> and you. >> are doing. us a. >> disservice to set that. >> down and. >> not stand. >> up for us. >> and you. >> jeff zeleny is outfront live at the white house. and, jeff, the supreme court citing against president trump, at least temporarily, on his ability to immediately fire the head of the agency that investigates whistleblower claims. how does team trump view this setback? >> well, brianna, temporarily is the key word here, but this is extraordinary because it's the supreme court for the first time, weighing in, having their voice on what is sure to be a raft of legal cases that we're already seeing from the first month of this trump administration. but again, the supreme court stepping in and saying they will not make a

decision, basically a lasting decision until next week at the earliest. and this is all about the watchdog, the government watchdog, the head of the office of special counsel, who was put in position last year by president biden and confirmed by the u.s. senate for a five year position. this is one of those positions in government that expands and spans the presidential administrations by design for independence. so there is nothing unusual about that. but the trump administration tried to dismiss him. and the supreme court is, for now, siding with the challenger here and saying that they will rule in a more fulsome way, perhaps as early as next week or hear the case. but that is is it to be determined? but we know the supreme court has had a vast view of, uh, of presidential power, the flexing of the presidential muscle, if you will. so this is only the first word. certainly not the last word, but it's coming as we are really learning more about what judges are doing. and

the trump administration had a slight win earlier today in the case of usaid, as you were saying, the judge there saying that the trump administration can go forward and begin dismantling the usaid. of course, it provides assistance around the world, around the globe. and that had been something that, uh, um, the workers there had been hoping would be a different direction just a couple of weeks ago when the judge put a pause on that, it was viewed that the judiciary may be stepping in here, but there are going to be a lot of wins and losses, there is no doubt. but in this case, there have been several judges ruling on behalf of the administration, saying that the workers here have not shown proper harm. so the bottom line on all of this, the supreme court is going to hear a lot of these cases. so this a ruling tonight is a temporary a win for the challengers, i guess, if you will. but again, we know the majority of the supreme court rests on the conservative side. and that's perhaps something to

keep in mind going forward, brianna. >> all right. jeff zeleny, thank you. outfront now, democratic congressman eric swalwell, thank you so much for being with us. and i just want to get your reaction. and i notice your hat, the fire fund there. but i just want to get your reaction to the supreme court keeping hampton dellinger in his role for now as special counsel, rather than allowing president trump's firing to go through for now. we should stress. >> the courts are finally. catching up to trump's chaos and corruption and people in my district. at a town hall on tuesday night, they're scared. they're concerned, they're anxious. but we're seeing. now that the courts can at least be a speed bump. of course, as jeff mentioned, the supreme court also gave this guy absolute immunity. so we will see what they do. but the courts can be a speed bump to some of this chaos and corruption. also, attorneys general in every state in america can also be a speed bump in the work that they're doing

to hold donald trump accountable, as this affects them. and your top of the hour lead with donald trump changing his position on ukraine. that is because public sentiment. so we are not helpless either. people at home should know that your reaction, your disapproval of donald trump calling vladimir zelenskyy a dictator and siding with putin, that has put trump in a position where he is now changing those words, whether he changes his actions, we don't know. but we're not helpless here. and so it's encouraging to see some progress this week. >> president trump said that doge could save the country $1 trillion. i suspect you probably doubt that. but i do wonder where you see room for cuts. >> i would love if doge could save the country $1 trillion. i hate government waste. in fact, i have. 40% of my constituents were born outside the united states and they are frustrated with an immigration process that

is almost entirely done by paper and pen. so let's digitize that and reduce the staffing needed and expedite the good immigration cases, and get rid of the ones that are not worthy. many people, when they apply to work for the federal government, it takes up to eight hours to fill out their application. that should be done in less than an hour. so there's a lot of efficiencies out there, but i'm worried about doge making us less safe. when you get rid of the bird flu monitors who protect us against protect the chickens against bird flu, and then keep the cost of eggs down, that does not make us economically safe. when you get rid of people at the faa as planes are crashing in america, that makes us less safe. when you get rid of fbi agents who are supposed to watch out for terrorism, that makes us less safe. when you get rid of people at the cdc who are supposed to protect, protect us from a measles outbreak in texas, that makes us less safe. so in california, when you get rid of firefighters at the forest

service, as we have unseasonable winds and the fires that have ravaged across southern california and northern california, that makes us less safe. i'm all for efficiency, but i'm also for protecting the people who count on the government. >> i do want to play more of what one voter said to your republican colleague, congressman rich mccormick, at this town hall, and his response? let's listen. >> to is. >> rising in the white house. and a man has declared. >> himself our king. >> so i would like to. know rather the people. >> would. like to know. >> what you. >> congressman and your fellow. >> congressman are. >> going to do to rein. in the megalomaniac. >> in the white house. >> when you talk about tyranny, when you talk about presidential power. i remember having the same discussion with republicans when biden was elected. >> the funny thing is, the funny thing is, the funny thing is you're sitting here.

>> and a lot of you. >> would probably. >> say those january. six's who are yelling just as loud. >> as you, who are upset, just like you. >> i do wonder what your reaction is, but a noting, as i think we should, that tia mitchell of the ajc pointed this out earlier. he is in, yes, a pretty red district. this place where he was. it's a it's a slight it's a bluer part of it in fulton county. how much stock then should democrats put in something, a scene like that? >> well, they should understand, my colleagues, that people are scared. they're off. they don't want us to be nice. they want us to use the leverage that we have. and also, i reject comparing those peaceful dissenters to the violent rioters on january 6th. but, you know, brianna, they have essentially the trump administration shut down the government. they're shutting down the government with what they're doing on public safety, what they're doing on fire

safety, what they're doing on our health safety, and what they may go after as far as retirement and health care safeties. so as we approach government funding in a couple of weeks, we should not, as democrats, enable the shutting down of services that protect people. they have a one vote majority essentially in the house. they can't lose a single vote to fund this madness. so if they can't put the votes together on their own, we have a lot of leverage to shut down this madness that they are inflicting on the american people ourselves. >> congressman swalwell, thank you so much for being with us tonight. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure. >> and outfront tonight, brian barrett, the executive editor at wired, whose team has been breaking a ton of news about elon musk and doge. and, brian, you just heard us talk about those voters voicing their frustrations with musk. what's your reaction? >> i think it's not surprising. >> i think on the one hand. >> to begin with, as a. >> it's not surprising. >> that a. >> significant number of

americans. >> aren't. excited about. >> the idea. >> of the world's richest. man having free reign to. >> reshape the government however he wants. >> which is pretty much where we're at. but but i think even if you believed in the. doge project going into this, if. >> you thought that it. >> was going to do some. >> good. >> what we're seeing is not surgical precision strikes to root out corruption and fraud from the government. we are seeing a slash and burn process that is eliminating programs and. jobs that are focused on helping american farmers, preventing fraud that affects consumers from from financial corporations, and and preventing diseases and curing diseases. we are seeing real impacts. and i think as we see those impacts grow after these changes take place, people are only going to get more upset. it's only going to become more real as. >> it hits home. >> and i also want to get to your new reporting at wired about tom cruise, the top doge staffer at treasury who is also ceo of a multi-billion dollar software company. it's it's not unprecedented for a corporate executive to work in the government. there's no

evidence he's doing anything improper with these dual roles. but what are you learning about the federal contracts that his company has? >> yeah, i will say so. it is not unprecedented, but the idea of having a keeping your job as ceo and working in government at the same time is surprising. you have to go back pretty far to sort of world war i and world war ii for that to be a more normal kind of thing to happen. we reached out to tom cruise, we reached out to treasury, we reached out to cloud software group, his company. no one got back to us, but what we found was tom cruise. while he is working in the treasury and has access to federal payment systems or oversees a lot of that. his company, meanwhile, has tens of millions of dollars with the federal government, including over $10 million of contracts with the treasury department itself. as you said, there's no indication that there's any self-dealing going on right now. but on the face of it, the level of conflict of interest is something that we haven't seen in a very long time in this country. and i think the fact that it has been just sort of allowed to go on, no one's raising flags is really concerning, i think speaks to the larger issues, uh,

of doge representatives going in and trying to transform the government in the sort of start up way, uh, while also potentially benefiting from those changes. >> your reporters also just spoke with the recently fired security lead for va.gov. tell us about his role and also the potential impact of the firing. >> yes, i think there are two things. one, there's the fact of it, the firing itself. this guy, jonathan kamens who was working at the va, he was in charge of cybersecurity for va.gov, which is a site where 20 million veterans went to last year alone to work through various benefits, whether it's health benefits, retirement benefits. it's got a lot of personal information in there, a lot of sensitive stuff. and this is the guy in charge of it, and he got fired. now, i think what's important to remember here is and to know is that he was actually had been deployed from a different agency, the u.s. digital service, which would become the u.s. department of government efficiency. doge took it over. uh, he was fired

as part of a culling of that agency. and it seems as though the people who fired him may not have even realized what they were doing. they may not have even known that he was also over here trying to protect veterans online. it's this sort of indiscriminate firings that we've talked about already, where doge is just kind of making these big moves without thinking through the implications and leaving veterans online a little bit less safe. there are still people working on cybersecurity at the va, but when you lose top talent like that with no real justification that we could find, uh, it's alarming and upsetting. >> yeah, they're not seeking out that important information even as they do these firings. it's really a firings. it's really astounding. brian, thank you so much for sharing all the reporting and insights. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> outfront next. trump finally conceding it was russia that started the war in ukraine, while at the same time tonight escalating his war of words with zelenskyy again. plus the man accused of killing unitedhealthcare ceo back in a new york courtroom today. why

his attorney is now blasting prosecutors. and china already surpassing the u.s. when it comes to a.i. and now they're shocking the medical world with a new cancer drug. it's a special report. >> lockerbie sunday at nine on cnn. >> this tiny home. trend is not for me. >> now. >> this is more like it. the same goes for my footwork. so i went hands free with wide fit skechers slip ins. just step in and go without bending down or touching my shoes. wide fit, hands free. skechers. slip ins. >> liberty. >> liberty mutual is all she talks about. since we saved hundreds by bundling our home and auto insurance. >> hey kid. >> it's pronounced liberty. >> liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. >> and now she's. >> mocking me. very mature. >> hey. >> that's enough, you two. >> hey, i'm not. >> the one.

>> acting like a. >> total baby. >> she's too. >> only pay for what you need. >> liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. >> got one more. >> antoine with usps ground advantage. just like you're with us every step of the way. cool. right on time. stay in the know from your dock to their door. >> lumify. >> it's kind of amazing. >> wow. >> lumify eye. drops dramatically reduce redness. >> in one minute. >> and look at the difference. >> my eyes look brighter and. >> whiter for. >> up to eight hours. >> lumify really works. >> see for yourself. >> i wish you. she was. >> going to quit, but it's. >> me, roxy.

>> go crazy champ. it's me. for 36. >> paint it up. >> paint it up. >> and you ought to be. glad you good. girl's gonna. >> go bad. >> you were. >> made to chase your passions. we were. made to. >> put them. >> in a package. >> love, love will keep us together. >> now for something you can both agree. >> on. >> a sleep number. >> bed is perfect. >> for couples. >> the climate 360 smart bed is the only bed that cools. >> and. >> warms on each side. and all our smart beds adjust the firmness for each of you. >> let's agree to agree. >> on better. >> sleep and now save 50% on the new sleep number. >> limited edition smart bed plus 0% interest for 48 months. >> shop now. i brought in ensure. >> max protein with 30g. >> of protein. >> those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks. here, i'll take. >> that in.

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.

phone at no. >> cost to you, call. >> one( 800) 269-9522. >> that's one.( 800) 269-9522. >> ben thinks. >> he's. >> about to compete. >> in a. >> new reality. >> show, but it's. all completely fake. >> all right. >> see how ben handles this? >> he is trying so hard and everything is going wrong. >> it is hard to stay. >> in character. >> she's got the giggles. >> this show. >> is wild. >> and i feel like. >> i'm going. >> insane. >> oh. >> this is so good. >> boy do i hope we're all. >> friends after this. >> the joe. >> schmo show all new tuesdays at 9:00 on tbs. set your dvr now. >> breaking news president trump refusing to say if he thinks vladimir putin is a dictator. that's after calling ukraine's president a dictator twice in the past two days. and trump keeps bashing zelenskyy while offering warm words for putin. >> i've had very good talks with putin, and i've had not such good talks with ukraine.

and they don't have any cards, but they play it tough. >> trump also today finally admitting it was not ukraine who started russia's war with ukraine. >> russia attacked, but they shouldn't have let them attack. >> nick paton walsh is outfront in kyiv. nick, you have been covering this from the beginning. it has been a head spinning three days amid these mixed messages from the white house. what is ukraine saying about the latest attacks from the president? >> yeah, they've not responded directly. and this is absolutely a bid by ukraine to calm this all down. but regardless of their bid over the last 24 hours to get back on track with trump's envoy here, keith kellogg talking about their negotiations. zelenskyy has been productive, saying that they've restored hope in the alliance here, even though so much of this is now focused on whether or not ukraine will sign up to a

rare earth and resources deal, that it does appear to be pretty much not in its favor for now, although negotiations continue. we are, of course, still hearing from trump these pretty relentless at this stage, disparaging comments about president zelenskyy himself. that is remarkable, frankly, particularly the statements we've heard about him suggesting that zelenskyy has no cards and that trump is sick of it, and that the meetings that zelenskyy has been in for three years, he's not managed to achieve anything, so he shouldn't be at them anymore. a consistent suggestion that zelenskyy is somehow the problem when it comes to peace, and that somehow russia, who invaded ukraine, are indeed the ones who would easily stop the war. that runs counter to so much of the assessments of ukraine and its own allies, and indeed the biden administration itself. we're hearing more details, though, about the visit of general keith kellogg, kept pretty much under wraps and away from the media while he was here. he met with zelenskyy at great length, and it does appear that this whole

rare earth minerals situation has overshadowed this visit, as well as the animosity. clearly on the surface now between trump and zelenskyy. but kellogg visited a hospital for the military wounded while he was here. a pool reporting there shows that he visited some wounded soldiers, and he's receiving prosthetics. one of them, according to this pool reporting, asked if it was okay to trust russia in negotiations like this. and kellogg paraphrased here, essentially said, look, wars end through negotiations. so they have to try and give something like this a chance. >> brianna nick paton walsh in kyiv for us tonight. thank you so much. and outfront now, john bolton, former national security advisor to trump, pardon me, also former u.s. ambassador to the un. ambassador bolton, uh, you know why in your experience, why do you think trump is attacking zelenskyy like this? and what kind of damage could this be doing? >> well.

>> he's attacking. >> zelenskyy because. >> he doesn't. >> like him. >> and he. >> hasn't liked him. >> since the famous. >> perfect phone. >> conversation in the summer of 2019. about basically threatening to. >> withhold u.s. security assistance to. >> ukraine unless zelenskyy and his government cooperated in the hunt for hillary clinton's computer server and all the other things in that big bowl of spaghetti that people like rudy giuliani were feeding to trump. on the other hand, trump believes he and vladimir putin are good friends. after all, just a day or two ago, he said that putin he felt putin was sincere about wanting peace. he trusted him, and he thought that if putin didn't want peace, he would tell him, uh, people search for policy reasons on what trump does. there are no policy reasons. trump believes that if he has good relations with a foreign head of state. united states has good relations with that country. and conversely, if he doesn't have good relations with a foreign head of state, we're we're in trouble with that country. so

it's unfortunately pretty straightforward, pretty simple minded. but that's donald trump. >> and trump says zelenskyy, he has no cards to play. he's not important in peace negotiations that putin wants to negotiate but doesn't have to because if he wanted, he'd get the whole country. we know he tried and wasn't able to, although he's certainly making progress. you have been in this position of working with trump's set of alternative facts and sort of the situation that you just described. so how do these american negotiators manage this and still come up with a workable deal? is it possible? >> well, i think they could. i think there will be a workable deal because trump and putin will agree to it. and the question is then whether they can impose it on zelenskyy. i think the test of those who are working for trump today when he says something like zelenskyy is a dictator. only 4% of the population of ukraine support

him and various other things, he said, which come almost directly from the russian propaganda machine. what are the people around him say? do they try and say, well, actually he has a lot more than 4%, you know, actually the country's at war. that's why they're not holding elections. there are thousands of things they have to correct. are they making the effort and failing, which is possible, or are they just not making the effort and saying, yes, sir, which i fear is more likely the outcome? trump will make up the set of facts that he wants and and expect everybody else to conform to them. >> we heard from national security adviser mike waltz. he said that ukraine will agree to this rare earth minerals deal. he was adamant about it. the white house is pressuring them to sign. the u.s. gets 50% of the revenue for ukraine's natural resources as payback for past military aid. let's listen to part of this. >> here's the bottom line. president zelenskyy is going to. >> sign that deal.

>> and you will. >> see that in the very. >> short term. >> and that is. >> good for ukraine. >> do you see ukraine signing that without security guarantees about the future? >> well, they shouldn't sign it, but they may feel so pressured that they have no alternative since we don't know what the deal actually says, it's pretty difficult to comment on it. but one can say, in a normal world, you don't extort your friends. you know, i have i have no objection in principle to seeking some kind of compensation for the united states for the aid that it's given, although it was given in the biden administration without strings. but leaving that aside, you know, if you go back to what the united states did when saddam hussein invaded kuwait in 1990, we went out to our friends and allies and basically said, we're going to throw the iraqis out of kuwait. you can

contribute troops or you can contribute money. and the vice president, secretary of state, secretary of defense and others went out on what they called the tin cup exercise to get people to pay for the war, to expel saddam hussein from kuwait, which they did. i think we actually made a small profit on that war. so i don't object to it in principle. the question is whether you do it through compulsion and extortion, which zelenskyy apparently feels is what's happening. >> ambassador bolton, thank you so much for being with us. >> glad to be with you. >> outfront next luigi mangione, who is accused of assassinating the unitedhealthcare ceo appearing in court and his attorney tonight slamming the court for how her client is being treated. plus, the judge in the case against new york city mayor eric adams makes a major move. is he signaling that he may not ultimately dismiss the charges against adams?

>> anderson cooper 360 tonight at eight on cnn. >> if you have wet amd, you never want to. >> lose sight. >> of the things you love. >> we get it. >> some things should stand the test of time. long lasting ilia hd could significantly improve your vision. >> more people on ilia. >> hd had. >> no fluid in the retina compared to those. >> on ilia at four months. ilia hd is the only wet amd therapy that helped eight out of ten people go up to four months between injections. after three initial monthly treatments. if you have an eye infection, eye pain or redness or allergies to ilia hd, don't use eye injections like ilia hd may cause eye infections, separation of the retina, or rare but severe swelling of blood vessels in the eye. an increase in eye pressure has been seen. there is an uncommon risk of heart attack or stroke associated with blood clots. the most common side effects were blurred vision, cataract, corneal injury, and eye floaters. and there's still so much to see. if you are on

eylea or a similar type of treatment, ask your retina specialist about ilia hd today for the potential for fewer injections. >> at harbor. >> freight. >> we design and test our own tools and sell them. >> directly to you. >> no middlemen. >> just quality tools. >> you can. >> trust at prices you'll love. whatever you do, do it for less. at harbor freight. >> is ready to offer. >> to all those who never give a second thought. >> to being. >> the first ones in. >> thank you. >> servpro, a. >> proud supporter of. >> our nation's. first responders. >> asthma. does it have you missing out on what you love with who you love? it's time to get back out there with fasenra.

fasenra is an add on treatment for eosinophilic asthma that is taken once every eight weeks, and can also be. >> taken conveniently. >> at home. helps prevent asthma attacks. most patients did not have an attack in the first year, but cinia is proven to help you breathe better so you can get back to doing day to day activities. the genre is not for sudden breathing problems. serious allergic reactions may occur. get help for swelling of your face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. don't stop asthma treatments without talking with your doctor. tell your doctor if your asthma worsens or you have a parasitic infection. headache and sore throat may occur. get back to better breathing. get back to what you've missed. ask your doctor about the only asthma treatment taken once every eigh

>> i can feel the. winds of. >> change. >> it's the news. >> welcome back. >> but it's. >> also kind of not the news. >> dana bash do that.

>> you know. >> there's three. >> lesbians on this panel. >> am i one of them? >> if you drink tap water and your balls still work, please clap. no, michael, we don't fact check it. we don't care, man. why all the information on this show so terrible? >> have i got news for you? tomorrow at nine on cnn and stream. next day on max. >> tonight. accused unitedhealthcare ceo luigi mangione entering court with shackles on his hands and feet today and wearing a green sweater and a bulletproof vest. crowds gathering for hours chanting mangione name outside the courtroom today, many also wearing green to show their support during today's 20 minute hearing, his lawyer, karen friedman agnifilo, arguing mangione is not being granted the right to a fair trial, saying that mangione is being treated differently than other defendants. i want to go straight to kara scannell, who is in that courtroom today. kara, you were on the 15th floor

with mangione today. what more can you tell us about what happened inside of court? >> well, brianna, as you said, he walked in, flanked by security, wearing a bulletproof vest and and his ankles and wrists both shackled. now, inside, the prosecutor's focused on the evidence that they've recovered and have begun turning over to mangione defense team, including police body cam footage, some of surveillance videos also say dna evidence and records from a cell phone that they recovered at the crime scene. the new york hilton hotel, where the united health care ceo was gunned down. and they also said they were turning over some of the materials that they received from the pennsylvania police, who searched mangione. when he was arrested at that mcdonald's. and that is where his lawyer started to carve out what some of her legal strategy here might be. she was saying that she thinks that mangione was illegally searched, and that this evidence should not come into trial. the judge saying he's going to set a motion schedule, that they'll

be back in court at the end of june, where they can make some of these legal arguments and he might rule. then the whole hearing took just about 20 minutes. but, brianna, the scene here began hours earlier. we talked to some spectators who showed up in support of mangione, some wearing free mangione scarves. some had said they had lined up as early as 5 a.m. to try to get inside that courtroom. only about two dozen of them actually made it in, but the hallway was lined with supporters. majority of them young and female. and outside there were more supporters. they were chanting free luigi that we could even hear when we were inside that courtroom for just that 20 minute hearing. but as this case is moving forward, there is no trial date yet set. but everyone will be back in this courthouse at the end of june. brianna. >> all right. kara scannell, thank you. and joining us now, cnn legal analyst, criminal defense attorney joey jackson. joey, in all your years as a criminal defense attorney, have you ever seen a spectacle like

this crowd, young women cheering, screaming outside of court? even mangione lawyer was cheered as she arrived. >> yes. >> so, brianna, it's been 25 years, some as a prosecutor, most as a defense attorney, and i have never seen this. i think it really has struck a raw cord. and because of the whole implication of the health care industry, people's feelings about it, the fact that it's known for profit, it rejects claims people die. i think people have really gravitated towards that. so it's highly unusual. i think it's unprecedented. luigi, we saw. right. brianna, the actual footage where it appears to be an assassination, that's no matter. he seems to have a lot of support, and that could certainly translate to people being on that jury. and that could certainly translate to getting into a verdict if it goes really that distance, it could resolve itself before that. we don't know. but it could have implications legally to his case. that is people sympathy towards him. >> mangione lawyer is blasting

the nypd, saying it was, quote, shocking to see an hbo documentary about the case that featured new york city mayor eric adams and nypd chief of detectives in, quote, full hair and makeup, as she put it, talking about evidence that she didn't yet have. is this a problem for the nypd? >> yeah. >> it's it's somewhat outrageous. i mean, just from an objective point of view. think about that, brianna. you have a case that's proceeding. you don't even have all of the discovery. that is the evidence that's possessed by pennsylvania, by new york, by certainly the feds. collectively, you need to evaluate that, and it needs to be turned over. and they're on a documentary speaking about things that his defense attorneys don't even know. talk about being prejudicial. talking about really polluting a jury, talking about having preconceived notions in this country. it's the presumption of innocence. yes. we saw what we saw on videotape. that could be a lot more to it. let's see the defense play out. but that certainly is not a good optic. and it's not good practice.

it's not good form for the nypd, the mayor or anyone else to be talking about substantive evidence of the case is proceeding. >> yes. so unusual. joey jackson, thank you so much. >> thanks, brianna. >> and also tonight, a judge has declined to dismiss the criminal case against new york city mayor eric adams. instead, judge dale ho is leaving the charges intact, and he's appointing an outside attorney to argue against the trump doj decision to drop the charges against adams. outfront now, ryan goodman, just security coeditor in chief. and, ryan, the judge did not dismiss the charges against adams today, even though he himself said he doesn't have much discretion in the case. does that signal to you that he may not ultimately dismiss it? >> it does signal that to me for a couple of reasons. first, the judge is setting up a process, and that process might kind of reveal information that will be hard to turn away from. if that process reveals an underlying an

underlying illicit quid pro quo between the justice department and mayor adams, then i think he can turn away from that. and then the law does allow the judge to reject the dismissal if it's against the public interest, and that's what might happen. and then the person that he picked as well might mean that this is actually going to be an advocate who will present strong evidence and strong arguments on the other side of the equation. >> yeah. so this is, uh, the role will be presenting arguments against the doj. this is paul clement. can you tell us a little bit more about him? >> so he is a tried and true conservative lawyer. he was solicitor general of the united states as well as acting attorney general. he has appeared before the supreme court many times. and one thing that's quite elegant about judge ho's ruling is judge ho says, i pick paul clement, and then he gives us a citation. the citation is the u.s. supreme court in 2020, and a very

similar circumstance in which both parties were on the same page. and so he didn't have an adversarial, they didn't have an adversarial hearing. and the supreme court picks paul clement. so he has a direct quote from the supreme court saying, in this kind of situation, we need an adversarial process, and we choose paul clement and judge ho picks paul clement. i think that's a really strong indication that they'll get a formidable argument, and he'll be able to have a fulsome process. >> elegant. who doesn't like elegant? and then ryan, at the heart of all of this are these allegations of a quid pro quo that the trump administration would clear adams of criminal charges if the mayor went along with trump's immigration crackdown? are these the arguments that you expect we're going to hear? >> yes, i do, and there was a remarkable moment in the hearing, which i attended earlier this week, in which emil bove, the assistant deputy attorney general, actually says before judge ho that it doesn't even matter if there was a quid pro quo. he says, quote, i don't concede and i don't think it's correct that even if there was a quid pro quo, there would

be any issue within this motion. end quote. that's remarkable. he's actually saying even if we did it, you still have to uphold our motion. and i think that's exactly why the judge will, in all likelihood say, i need to go below just the documents you submitted me to. i need to look at the other documents that are internal doj documents, but they're in the public record. and in fact, one of the questions that he says that he'll entertain is whether or not he should look at those documents. and i think it would be a very bad decision if the justice department says he should not, because it's just something that is ordinary for a judge to look at. and i think the department of justice actually invites it by saying, oh, you know, just even if it's a quid pro quo, it's fine. i think there are some quid pro quos that might be fine, but not the alleged one. >> that's really interesting. ryan goodman, thank you. >> thank you. >> outfront next, a vaccine safety panel postponing a major meeting with virus experts. and it comes just days after vaccine skeptic rfk jr. became the nation's top health official.

plus, is china on the verge of another stunning breakthrough, this time when it comes to treating cancer? >> this is cnn. >> the world's news network. >> with flonase. allergies don't have to be scary. spraying flonase daily gives you long lasting. >> non-drowsy relief. >> flonase all good. >> want a next level clean? swish with the. >> whoa of listerine. it kills 99.9% of bad breath germs. >> for five. >> times more cleaning. >> power than brushing and flossing alone. get a next level. clean with listerine. >> feel the whoa. >> taxes was feeling so stuck. now taxes is a turbotax expert doing everything while you do your thing. >> now this is taxes. >> intuit turbotax. >> until this week.

>> my dad did not. know where he was from. >> it means the world. to share. >> ancestry with my dad in nigeria. >> this is where it all started. >> so they broken. >> it down by regions. by journeys and. >> by parents. >> i can man. this is deep. >> this is my way of saying thank you to him. did you. >> take your vitamin today? >> ah, that's my job. >> nature made. made with quality ingredients. made to. >> care for you. >> every day. from nature. made the number one pharmacist. recommended vitamin and supplement brand. dry eyes still feel gritty, rough or tired. with my bow, eyes can feel. >> my bow. >> 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. yeah. >> remove contact lenses before using my bow. wait at least 30 minutes before putting them back in. eye redness and blurred vision may occur. >> my bow. yeah. >> ask your doctor about prescription. my bow. >> when winter season hits. emergency supports your immune system with so much more than vitamin c, be ready to fight back with emergency. and for on the go immune support, try emergency crystals. no water needed. >> time to press rewind. with neutrogena rapid wrinkle repair. it has derm proven retinol. >> expertly formulated. >> to. target skin cell turnover and fight not one. >> but five signs of aging with visible results. >> in just one week. >> neutrogena before the spotlight, we struggled to keep the lights on. i saw more for myself, and sophie gives members the financial tools to see more for themselves. join the official bank of the nba. sophie, get your money right. >> i'm already.

>> pre-qualified for a carvana. olive. i better teach you about down payments. i put in a low down payment. but look at all these cars. >> i can still help. >> think. >> think, mom. >> yes, dear. could you give me a ride to the carvana vending machine? >> of course, my love. >> finance. >> and buy your car on carvana today. >> my eyes, they're dry, uncomfortable looking for extra hydration. >> now there's blink. >> neutral tears. 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. >> kids. >> i'm sure you're. >> wondering why your mother and i asked you here tonight. it's because. >> it's a. >> buffet of all you can eat. >> butterfly shrimp and sirloin steak. >> yeah. >> that's the. >> reason i don't get it. do you have. >> any idea how much this would.

cost at other restaurants? >> not really. i'm only six. a lot, honey, a lot, kiddo. okay. yeah. >> the tempur-pedic breeze makes sleep feel cool. so no. >> more sweating all night or blasting. >> the air. >> conditioning because the. >> breeze feels up to ten degrees. >> cooler all night long. >> during our presidents. >> day sale. >> save up to $500 on select adjustable. >> mattress sets. >> cookbooks, corporate. >> fat. >> swindling socialites. doped up cyclists? then 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. >> breaking news. president trump has just fired the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. it is the first of what is expected to be a number of top officials, pentagon officials to be purged. i want to go straight to oren liebermann. oren, what are you learning? >> brianna, this coming out on friday night, obviously, in a post on truth social where president donald trump has fired the top u.s. military officer, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general, c.q. brown. to some extent, this had been expected, and there were rumors

and speculation circling, circling in the pentagon about how long it would take trump to fire brown. well, now we have our answer. one month into the administration, trump announced on social media that he would fire brown. he devoted two lines of his post to brown, calling him a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and said he wishes a great future for him and his family. he also hinted at more firings to come at the top levels of the military. he says i have also directed secretary hegseth, that is the new defense secretary, to solicit nominations for five additional high level positions, which will be announced soon. as we reported earlier this week, there are several names amongst the joint chiefs of staff that are on a list circulated to some republican lawmakers that could be fired. it is also worth noting that trump says on social media he will nominate lieutenant general dan raisin cain to be the next chairman of the joint chiefs. he is a retired three star. so it's a fairly unprecedented step here to nominate him to be the top u.s. military officer, not only a three star, but also someone

who, as of a few months ago was retired. >> yeah. very unusual. oren liebermann, thank you for that report on that breaking news. and this does come, as we're also learning tonight that a key cdc committee that studies vaccines was told to cancel its meeting next week on the agenda, flu, rsv and covid 19 vaccines. this comes just days after vaccine skeptic rfk jr. was sworn in as hhs secretary. no new date has been set and the postponement is raising major alarms. outfront now, doctor paul offit, he's the director of the vaccine education center at the children's hospital of philadelphia. he's also on the fda's vaccine advisory committee. just tell us, doctor offit. what are the implications of this meeting being indefinitely postponed? >> well, you worry that it represents. >> something bigger. >> i mean. >> in. >> project 2025. >> the cdc.

>> is targeted. >> basically to eliminate. >> them as a recommending body for vaccines. >> so now. >> you. >> have an important. meeting and it is important, you know. the the. >> they were going to discuss, for example, influenza. this has. >> been a. >> very bad. influenza year. >> we've had. >> 310,000 hospitalizations and 13,000 deaths. that's worse than the 2009 swine flu pandemic. why do we have a bad match between the vaccine and the circulating strains? is it that. >> people aren't getting vaccinated? >> what's happening? >> you know, the physician out. >> in the field isn't going to intuit that. they need to know. >> that from the experts. >> and it. >> worries me that this is just step. >> one in what will be a series of steps to weaken or arguably eliminate. >> the cdc. >> as a body. that recommends. >> vaccines for children. >> i want to play some of what republican senator bill cassidy said during rfk's confirmation hearing that ultimately, he said, convinced him to vote yes. >> if confirmed. >> he will maintain the centers for disease. >> control and prevention's. >> advisory committee on immunization. practices

recommendations. without changes. >> does it sound to you like rfk jr. plans to make good on what cassidy seems to think was a promise? >> no. >> and worse, now you're hearing that he is. >> considering either replacing. or firing. >> members of the cdc. >> cdc. >> acip. >> advisory committee for immunization practices. >> if they have. >> perceived conflicts of. >> interest or. >> perceived. by whom? by him. you really get the feeling or fear that he's. just people who. don't go along. >> with his sort of. >> fixed. >> immutable. >> science resistant. >> beliefs like vaccines causing autism. something he never backed off. >> of during those. >> committee hearings for his confirmation. >> let's listen now to some of what rfk jr.. has said about vaccines. >> there is no. >> vaccine that is. >> you. >> know, safe. >> and effective. i do believe that autism. >> does come. >> from vaccines. >> i see. >> somebody on a hiking trail

with a carrying a little baby, and i say to them, better. >> not get. >> them vaccinated. >> what worries you most right now in this moment when it comes to the spread of infectious disease and vaccines? >> especially measles. i mean, measles. >> is the most. >> contagious infectious disease, and now you're. >> seeing outbreaks. >> in west texas. and five other states. >> it's now spread to new mexico. i mean, this is a man who, when there was. >> an outbreak in samoa that killed 83 people, mostly children in less than four. >> denied that measles. >> virus, did it? i mean, when you ask him the question, for. >> example. >> what was the cause of the 1918. >> flu pandemic? >> he'll say it was the flu vaccine. >> when in. >> fact. >> the flu vaccine. >> was in. >> the 40s. >> he actually. >> doesn't believe that viruses are causing these diseases. >> so how much is he going to believe. >> about the importance of using. >> vaccines to prevent them? is this really the guy. >> you want as. >> head of hhs? we're there to be a bird flu pandemic, or were there to be a massive measles. >> epidemic or. pertussis epidemic? is this the man you

want? >> doctor paul offit, thank you for being with us. >> thank you. >> next. did china just take the lead in the global race to treat cancer? we have a special report next. >> at fisher. >> investments. >> we may. >> look like other money managers, but. >> we're different. >> you can't be. >> that different. >> we are. >> we have a team of specialists. >> not only in investing, but also in financial and estate planning and more. >> your clients rely on you for all that. >> yes. and as a fiduciary. >> we. >> always put their interests first. >> but you still. >> sell commission based products, right? >> no. >> we have a simple. >> management fee structure. >> so we do better when. >> our clients do better. >> we're more different. >> than i thought. >> at fisher investments. we're clearly different. >> love. love will keep us together. now for. >> something you. >> can both. >> agree on. >> a sleep number. >> smart bed is perfect for couples. the climate 360 smart bed is the only bed that cools and warms on each side, and all our smart beds adjust the firmness for each of you.

>> let's agree to agree. on better sleep and now save 50% on the new sleep number. >> limited edition smart bed plus 0% interest for 48 months. >> shop now. >> we move, move. >> and doug. >> you'll be. >> back. >> emus can help. >> people customize and save hundreds on car insurance with liberty mutual. >> you're just a flightless bird. >> no. >> he's a dreamer, frank. >> game on. and, doug. well. >> i'll. >> be. that bird really did it. >> only pay for what you need. >> liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. >> got one more. >> antoine with usps ground advantage. just like you're with us every step of the way. cool.

and on time. stay in the know from your dock to their door. >> oh, yeah. >> check in time is three. >> it's 255. >> i know. >> is this. >> what he's doing now? >> as your. >> host. >> i have. >> some rules. first, no showers. >> longer than five minutes. >> this isn't a spa. >> no games, no fun. >> yes, coach. >> harakat al-muqawama al-islamiyya. >> oh! honey. >> meanwhile, at a. >> vrbo. >> when other vacation rentals make you share your turf with a. >> host. >> try one you have all to yourself. >> this tiny home trend is not for me. now this is more like it. the same goes for my footwork. so i went hands free with wide foot skechers slip ins. just step in and go without bending down or touching my shoes. wide fit, hands free sketcher slip ins. >> okay, everyone. >> our mission.

>> is to. >> provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. >> to ensure with 27 vitamins 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. >> phone at no. >> cost to you, call. >> one( 800) 269-9522. that's one( 800) 269-9522. anderson cooper 360. next on cnn. >> tonight, a major medical breakthrough. a new chinese cancer medicine is shocking the world with how effective it is. china is now not just leading the way in a.i. and tech, but also in major medical advances. will ripley is out front. >> kalob byers chinese scientists celebrating a breakthrough, one that may have just outperformed a top u.s. cancer drug. a barely known a year ago, is now shaking up the biotech world. their new cancer drug, even zmapp, their first to get major international attention going head to head with keytruda, one of merck's

biggest sellers. more than $130 billion so far. clinical trials in china show it kept lung tumors from growing for nearly twice as long, sending the stock of a u.s. partner soaring. some call it a game changer, just like chinese start up deep six shook up a.i. china's innovation push goes beyond biotech. from a.i. to robotics to medicine, china is racing ahead. >> i don't think it. >> will be a threat. >> because, you know, innovation, science is the global. >> thing. >> accesso ceo michelle shaw telling reporters in san francisco. china's biotech industry is going global. >> we participate more and more to. this ecosystem. >> but in china, skepticism is everywhere, especially online. on the streets of beijing? >> no, i've never heard of it. >> several people told us they've never heard of the company or its drug. this man

says he still trusts pricier foreign drugs. >> more. to be honest, i tend to choose the more expensive medicine. after all, you get what you pay for. >> they may have good reason to be wary. a public hospital scandal over questionable drug quality triggered a government probe last month. china's health regulator defended the drug's safety, saying the investigation found the quality concerns to be unsubstantiated. but some say they're not convinced. is there any reason not to trust china? clinical trials? >> yeah, so. >> there's been a. >> lot of. >> scrutiny in the past. >> the fda has. >> made. rejections because there's been. >> the trial. >> set up. >> is not rigorous enough. >> despite the doubts, china's biotech boom is undeniable. investors are pumping billions into research. and while not all clinical trials are peer reviewed, china's low cost, high speed trials are getting

noticed. how should patients feel watching this? >> well, i think. >> it's. good news. >> for patients worldwide. >> we're waiting for a life saving drug. >> you don't. >> really mind where it originates. >> the u.s. still leads biotech for now, but akzo's drug is proof china is closing in fast. the u.s. house passed the bio secure act that's supposed to limit business with chinese firms. beijing fired back, accusing the u.s. of ideological bias, calling for, quote, here a fair, just and nondiscriminatory business environment. so rihanna, as you know, china's biotech rise. this is not just about medicine. it's also political. >> very interesting, very interesting story indeed. will ripley, thank you so much for that report tonight. and thank you so much for joining us. ac 360 starts right now.