government and culture over the last couple of years than maybe, uh, others would have suspected. >> yeah. and, mike, look, this is part the dai is a much broader conversation. it's not necessarily exactly connected, but it is, as you're saying, kind of tangentially connected. >> well, it's all part of the same kind of movement and flow that we're seeing with companies pulling back on dei policies. the government, all of, uh, the ios coming out of the white house. so all of this is happening kind of congruently. it is interesting to see that that the big thing is, i do think the supreme court and the judicial branch of our government is going to have a much higher level of impact over the next couple of years as we watch all of these things. >> the one thing i would say about this case. >> is that. >> yeah, people forget that initially when we talked about affirmative action programs, white women are a protected as women are a protected class and have benefited the most from affirmative action programs. and so part of this case sort of

challenges that notion, i think to some degree. >> thank you to all three of you. it was a great morning with you guys. and thank you for joining us. i'm jessica dean. cnn news central starts right now. we are following breaking news this morning. legendary actor gene. >> hackman and his wife both found dead in their home in new mexico. what police are saying this morning in just hours. >> a critical meeting at the white house, british prime minister keir starmer meets face to face with president trump. can he wrangle security guarantees for ukraine and more? republican lawmakers facing backlash from frustrated voters packing town halls and demanding answers about elon musk's sweeping federal cuts and mass firings? i'm sara sidner with kate bolduan. john berman is out today. this is cnn news central.

>> this morning, an investigation is underway after the tragic news came in overnight, that legendary actor gene hackman is dead, according to the santa fe sheriff's department, he was found dead in his new mexico home along with his wife and dog. sheriff's deputies say they do not suspect any foul play was involved, though hackman was 95 years old, his acting career spanned some 40 years. nominated for five oscars, he won the award for best actor twice, first with his breakout role in the 1971 film the french connection and again 20 years later for unforgiven. here's a look at some of those many roles. >> please. i'm sorry. can i help you? >> actually, i think i'm here to help you. i'm avery tolar, your designated mentor. all right. papa's here. get your hands on your heads. get off the

bar and get on the wall. come on! move, move! come on, sweetheart, move! come on. don't leave me here. i don't want to be the only girl not dancing. i don't care what the scoreboard says at the end of the game. in my book, we're going to be winners. okay. all right. let's go. let's go. let me hear it. go, go, go. >> cnn's elizabeth wagmeister joins us right now. good morning. elizabeth, what's the latest? >> good morning kate. >> this is such a sad story. >> overnight and. >> really a. >> bizarre story. so what we are hearing from police in, in new mexico is that gene hackman and his wife were found dead in their home along with their dog, who was also found deceased. now, police are telling us that

there is no foul play suspected, but there is not been a cause of death at this point. now, we do not know what has led police to say that there is no foul play, but that is what they have told us on the record. uh, they were found yesterday in their home. again, the news breaking overnight. now gene hackman, he had retired in 2004 and was really out of the hollywood limelight for years. he and his wife had lived in new mexico for decades, so we really haven't seen a lot of gene hackman over the past, you know, more than 20 years. kate, he just turned 95 last month. so obviously a long celebrated life. truly one of the greats on screen and a really a hollywood legend that will never be forgotten. but even though he lived such a long life making it to 95 for his

life to end in this way under such bizarre circumstances, obviously is leaving everybody in shock now. it is very early here on the west coast. in hollywood it's just about 4 a.m. so many people haven't woken up to this news yet, and when they will, they are obviously going to be saddened and shocked. but we do have a few early tributes coming in that i do want to read to you. francis ford coppola leading those tributes, taking to social media this morning. he says, quote, the loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration. gene hackman is a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity. he goes on to say, i mourn his loss and celebrate his existence and contribution. of course, francis ford coppola worked with gene hackman in 1974, in the film the conversation. now, we're also hearing this morning from george

takei. here's what he has to say. kate, we have lost one of the true giants of the screen. and that is true. that's going to be a sentiment held among others. george takei goes on to say gene hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it. so again, kate, as the entertainment industry wakes up here on the west coast, i know that we are going to have more and more tributes coming through. >> for sure. elizabeth, thank you so much for the update, sara. >> all right. right now president trump is preparing to welcome british prime minister keir starmer to the white house for a high stakes sitdown top of the agenda. security guarantees for ukraine 24 hours after that meeting, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy will arrive at the white house. starmer and trump are at odds with the british leader hoping to extract security guarantees for ukraine and put more distance between trump and russian president vladimir putin. meantime, a deal between trump and zelenskyy concerning ukraine's rare earth elements is as clear as mud. president trump says the deal is set. zelenskyy says there is

only a framework. >> we get back the money that we spent and we hope that we're going to be able to settle this up. it's a great deal for ukraine, too, because they get us over there and we're going to be working over there. we'll be on the land. and, you know, in that way it's sort of automatic security because nobody's going to be messing around with our people. >> cnn's nick paton walsh is in ukraine. nick, first of all, where are you? that looks like an area where there's some of these rare earth materials are. and what do you know about this agreement? that seems very confusing at this point in time. >> yeah. you join me at a titanium mine in zhitomir to the west of kyiv in ukraine. a critical earth mineral. some call it a rare earth mineral. behind me is the huge volume of water used to blast into the ore. and you can see just them dropping off what they've scraped from one of the huge basins here. look, this mine has its problems. russian attacks on

the electricity infrastructure here that keeps it running means sometimes they get three hours functionality a day. and the electricity is very expensive. all these elements really go into explaining how urgently ukraine wants some kind of investment, but also to the complexity of how much money you might expect to get back from your immediate investment. they're not running on a profit here at all. and you also get a sense, i think, as well, of exactly the scale of what ukraine might potentially be able to offer here. titanium used in so many daily products that we have. now, the deal in question, which is most likely to be signed before or during the friday visit to the white house by ukraine's president volodymyr zelenskyy, is not that specific. it is a framework. it talks about creating a reconstruction and investment fund for ukraine, and it talks about relevant resources. it doesn't specify what they are. it puts some things, says it won't be some things, but it says we'll define what is going to be included in a later fund agreement. they'll start negotiating as soon as this first one is actually signed. complicated, yes. but i think that's a deliberate design to

weave the two. the almost reconcilable positions we're really seeing here. president trump on one side saying, i want debt repaid and i want it repaid using these natural resources. zelenskyy saying, i don't recognize any of that money from the biden administration as debt. it was grants. and i want to see this turning into something about investing in ukraine as well. so that complexity really, i think, fudged around by this document that seems to get everyone over that obstacle. but that doesn't stop the major focus of friday, which is getting president trump and president zelenskyy in the same room together. healing that horrific 10 to 10 days ago rift that began between them and enabling maybe the u.s., uk, u.s., ukraine relationship to get back on an even keel. but that's a big ask in itself, as indeed is turning something like this massive as it is into a profit that gets near the billions of dollars, the half trillion dollars that president trump initially said he wanted back from ukraine. sarah. >> nick, thank you to you and your crew for for going and

showing us this. i know that traveling anywhere in ukraine is very, very dangerous, but it is fascinating to see what is going on behind you. and this whole argument over a deal over those rare earth materials. really appreciate it to you and your crew. all right. breaking overnight, pro-palestinian protesters storm a college campus. the school says an employee was physically assaulted, but protesters say they were the ones that were harassed and shoved. the latest on that this morning. and growing backlash to the anti dei efforts taking place since president trump returned to the white house. some black consumers now boycotting corporations that are pulling back from diversity initiatives. >> gillespie for three. >> kohberger. no holiday looks. >> the clock. >> for the win. >> good god, a buzzer beater. this is going to be so cool. we'll talk all about it coming up. >> second. >> cookbooks corporate.

>> fat cats. >> 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 the united states of scandal with jake tapper, march 9th on cnn. >> empower. so handsome. >> i think oh, i, i can't buy this. >> whoa, whoa. >> you're in power. >> investment account. >> has grown. you earned it. >> so. >> oh, get good at money so you can be a little bad. >> empower selling. >> your home. >> compare agents on. >> realtor.com in a tap. >> get free proposals from local agents who truly know. >> your area. choose the one that's right for you and gets you the best value. try it now. only at realtor.com. the number one site real estate professionals trust. >> sheldon, we're definitely not making flavors of pistachios. then why. >> are you dressed like that? >> you got us. we are making honey and chili flavors. are we? yeah. wait, then why are you dressed like that? >> my wife likes. >> it spicy. >> four alarm fire in the boudoir. still congested?

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get super fast xfinity internet you don't have to share. forty's going to be my year. postings. get your own paychex recruiting copilot now at. >> amid upheaval and sweeping changes. >> the president of the united states. >> trump heads to capitol hill to share what's next. follow cnn for complete coverage and in-depth analysis. the presidential address to congress tuesday at eight on cnn. >> breaking overnight, pro-palestinian demonstrators storming a building on new. >> york city's barnard. >> college campus. >> forcing the way in. >> for an hours. >> long sit in. >> now, a barnard spokesperson. >> here's some video of it. >> spokesperson said the protesters assaulted. >> a staffer. >> who had to be taken to the hospital there. the demonstrators are demanding the school reverse the decision around the expulsion of two students last month. cnn's omar jimenez is tracking this one for us. he's joining us now, as i was just taking a look more at that video. omar. what are you learning? tell us what you're

hearing about this. sit in about why it's happening and what happens now. >> yeah. >> so for starters, they were. demonstrating in. >> support of, again, two students. >> who were reportedly expelled for for disrupting the first day of a history of modern israel. class last month. so that's the whole reason for them being there. this happened inside a building at barnard college, which is affiliated with columbia university, but both students from barnard and columbia were a part of this. and as you mentioned the incident, they sat in the hallway chanting, clapping, beating drums. but a barnard spokesperson said they made multiple efforts to de-escalate. and then from that point, they said students physically assaulted an employee. as the activist group said on social media that security staff harassed and shoved them. so clearly there was some sort of physical element to all of this. the protesters did eventually leave, but they essentially had some demands that they wanted to

be made. now, on the expulsion, the school wouldn't comment on individual records, but did say that expulsion is always an extraordinary measure. but so too is our commitment to respect inclusion and the integrity of the academic experience. and among what the students were asking for is one, yes, the reversal of the expulsion, but also amnesty for students disciplined for pro-palestine action and more transparency overall in the disciplinary proceedings. but of course, as you remember, barnard students and columbia university, it was the center of pro-palestinian protests last year. we saw incidents where there was a building occupation, an arrest, a mass arrest of more than 100 people. i don't have to walk entirely down memory lane, but now the columbia spectator is reporting that barnard, president and dean are tentatively set to meet with some of the protesters later today. so we will see. but obviously, situation to monitor. everyone did leave eventually at one point without incident, at

least in regards to the prior incidents, but definitely a dynamic to watch. >> yeah, absolutely. watch it today omar. thank you. it's really good to see you. of course. coming up for us, a tragic milestone. the first measles death now recorded in the growing outbreak in west texas. and hhs secretary robert f kennedy jr.'s response is this is not unusual. lawmakers across the country, facing anger and outrage from their constituents at town hall meetings. and the primary source of the blowback is elon musk and his doge cuts. >> cooked books. >> 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. >> any. >> time soon. >> a new season of united states of scandal with jake tapper, march 9th on cnn. >> oh, don't. >> forget. >> dinner with my boss. >> great. >> our new ultimate. >> adhesive will. >> save the day. new poligrip. ultimate. all in one. get superhuman hold food scene and

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of greens.com. >> seems to your. needs face. you. >> who doesn't love a buzzer beater in college basketball? it's even better when it's from behind the half court line and wins the game. michigan state

spartans riding high after that big win cnn's andy schultz joining us now with the highlights. so cool. >> yeah. you know, sarah, march madness not here yet, but it sure felt like it last night. and you said it best. you know buzzer beater is always great, but even better when they come from beyond half court to win the game. eighth ranked michigan state. they were tied with 16th ranked maryland. the closing seconds. jakobi gillespie misses for maryland. troy holman gets it, lets it go and it goes in to win the game for the spartans at the buzzer. holloman's teammates mob him. maryland fans. they were just stunned. now holman had a big turnover in the final minute but more than made up for it with that shot. michigan state wins 5855. here was coach tom izzo. >> after the replay run. >> that was a lucky shot. but nobody can say we didn't deserve to win this game. i mean, we made some bad mistakes. give them credit. we threw the ball away a little bit and everything, but we deserved to win this game. >> it was a big night for

basketball in motown. the pistons winning yet again. this time detroit beating the celtics, malik beasley continuing his red hot shooting, scoring 26 points. pistons would end up winning easily in this one one 1797, snapping boston's six game winning streak. detroit. they have now won eight in a row for the first time in 17 years. if the playoffs started today, pistons. may be the six seed in the east. their fans finally smiling there in detroit. and finally, maybe the dunk of the year last night by portland shaedon sharpe got the steal. look at that. it back. throws down the hammer. sharpe had a career high 36 points as well. portland won 129 121 over the wizards. but i mean sarah i mean humans can't fly. but shaedon sharpe sure sure comes close. >> okay, my back hurts just looking at that. he arched back. that was a jordan moment for all of you, questioning whether i think who the goat is is jordan,

but that was amazing. >> i was a 50 inch vertical. i mean, it was insane. >> so good. andy schultz, always a pleasure. thank you so much. appreciate it. all right. president trump is preparing to meet with the uk prime minister today. can the president be persuaded not to abandon ukraine? and legendary actor gene hackman and his wife and their dog all found dead. we're going to look back at his incredible career. >> go go go. go. >> cnn sports is brought to you by safelite, your auto glass experts. get a quote and schedule today at safelite. com. >> safelite repair safelite replay. >> windshield chips can turn into windshield cracks. but at least you can go to safelite. com and schedule a fix in minutes. safelite can come to you for free. don't wait. go to

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tablets for just $7. is try friday .com. >> the presidential address to congress tuesday at eight on cnn. >> now call me foolish. call me irresponsible. it occurs to me that a 500 megaton bomb planted at just the proper point would, uh, would destroy most. >> of california. millions of innocent people would be killed on the west coast, as we know it would. >> fall into the sea. bye bye. california. hello, new west coast. my west coast. >> that is, of course, actor gene hackman in just one of his legendary tough guy roles. we continue to follow the breaking news this morning of his passing. the santa fe sheriff's office says that the oscar winner, along with his wife and his dog, were all found dead inside their new mexico home yesterday. no cause of death has been confirmed, but deputies do say that right now, foul play is not suspected. hackman, who

retired from acting over 20 years ago. he was 95 years old. sarah. >> all right. thank you. kate. happening today, a white house meeting with tremendous global stakes. in a few hours, president trump welcomes british prime minister keir starmer, kicking off a new critical test of the president's relationship with europe, ukraine and russia. all of this just one day after trump's mineral deal with ukraine and one day before his sit down with president zelenskyy by the end of the day. starmer wants the u.s. to make security guarantees for ukraine if a peace deal with russia is struck. but that is something trump says he will not do. cnn's kevin liptak is at the white house with the very latest on this. there is a lot of confusion about whether this deal is actually done or not done. it depends on who you ask. what are you learning? >> yeah. you're really seeing a whole parade of european leaders come here to the white house this week. today it is keir starmer's turn at bat. and what he's really trying to do is argue to president trump that ukraine needs a place at the

table in these peace negotiations, and also that europe is ready to help guarantee security in ukraine once this war ends. but it will need some backing from the united states. it will need its military muscle. so that's a tall task for him in the oval office today. but i think the choreography and the sequencing of this week has been highly intentional. we saw on monday the french president, emmanuel macron, come try to use his personal relationship with trump. he's a friendly face in a lot of ways to talk to trump about these issues, to push back in some ways without making trump feel cornered. starmer is a newer relationship for president trump. it's gotten off to a good start, but he does want to get in some more granular detail about what some of these security guarantees might look like, but also what europe might need from the united states. you know, no one really believes that europe alone will be able to prevent further russian aggression. and so what he's looking for is essentially a backstop. and he talked to reporters on his plane flying here from london. he said

his concern is that a ceasefire without a backstop will simply give putin the opportunity to wait and come again, because his ambition in relation to ukraine is pretty obvious. i think, for all to see. so a lot for these two men to talk about. and then of course, we will see volodymyr zelenskyy here tomorrow to sign that minerals deal that had been the subject of so much contention, but also to make kind of an 11th hour case to president trump before trump sits down with putin. now, i think the question in all of these meetings is whether they're having any effect. i think so far you'd be hard pressed to find any change in trump's position when it comes to the origins of this war. when it comes to vladimir putin's intentions, and even just yesterday, he really cast doubt on the extent of the american commitment going forward. listen to what he said. >> i'm not going to make security guarantees beyond very much. we're going to have europe do that because it's in you know, we're talking about

europe. is their next door neighbor. >> so there is still an enormous gulf here. one very important thing that trump said yesterday in the cabinet room was acknowledging that russia would have to make some concessions as part of this peace settlement. that's not something that he had said before. it's a small item. but when you talk to european officials, they do think it could be a step in the right direction. >> it is not brain science that concessions have to be made when you're trying to make a deal with two warring factions. kevin liptak, thank you so much. really appreciate it. kate. >> so when target announced in january that it was pulling back on its dei programs, it sparked a conversation among the black community who felt betrayed by the decision. now, black consumers are collectively moving to boycott target and other retailers that have reversed dei programs in recent weeks, and activists are now pushing consumers to spend their money somewhere else. cnn's eva mckend has this reporting for us. eva, good morning. what are you learning? >> good morning to you, kate. our colleague alice and i have spoken to dozens of people

involved, and it's remarkable to see the extent to which black consumers in this country are owning their buying power. reverend jamal bryant out of georgia, he is one of many faith leaders calling for this boycott, urging black americans to stop shopping at target and to sell their stock in the retailer for lent. the 40 day period from march 5th to april 17th now caught, target's brand identity has been this association with championing diversity. and so it has come as a blow to some consumers in particular, to see them retreat from these stated values, not put up much of a public fight against the conservative war on diversity, equity and inclusion. here's how the pastor is thinking about this moment. >> the black church historically has always been on the front line of civil rights, and so lent is the season that leads from ash wednesday to resurrection. so it is not just a withholding of dollars, but a pushing forward of prayer. a lot

in america is shifting, and the church is going to have to be more active and vocal. >> so, kate, you heard the pastor there speaking to our colleague victor blackwell. now, in the wake of george floyd's death in 2020, target made certain commitments like expanding black employee representation by 20%. so the boycott has some specific demands, and they include honoring the $2 billion pledge to the black business community through products, services and black media buys, depositing $250 million into black banks, completely restoring that commitment to dei initiatives and then offering the community community centers at ten hbcus to teach retail business at every level. so i will end with this, kate. many tell us that this war on dei feels like a war on blackness and everything they represent. for target's part, they argue that they will

maintain a commitment to respecting all of their visitors. kate. >> eva, thank you so much for your reporting. so this week we're seeing more and more examples of the blowback that republican lawmakers are facing over. really, elon musk and his doge cuts. the blowback from their very own constituents packing town halls, frustrated, wanting answers and demanding that their representatives do something. last night that was on display in virginia's first congressional district, republican congressman rob wittman holds monthly mobile office hours led by a staff member. so he was not there, but people showed up wanting to see the congressman. >> i spent the last six months training and tax law. to ensure employers were funding their employees retirement funds adequately and timely. these

mass terminations, without any assessment of the american people's needs, will end up costing taxpayers more money. >> yes. yes. waste, waste. >> disruption to services. you want to know why no one at the social security office? they are firing people. >> joining me right now, cnn political commentator bakari sellers and terry sullivan, former campaign manager for marco rubio's presidential campaign. two of my favorite people. it is good to see you guys. bakari, on this topic, i want to play for you what the house speaker, mike johnson, said just last night when asked about this blowback. listen to this. >> the videos you saw of the town halls were for paid protesters in many of those places. these are democrats who went to the events early and filled up the seats. if you if the videos had panned out out to the building. >> protesters, though, mr. speaker. many of your. republican acknowledged they were his constituents. >> uh, one republican acknowledged they were constituents. that's fantastic. okay. but they had democrats

come and fill the seats early. >> democrats can be your constituents, too. and no evidence that that people were paid, of course, bakari, but what do you think of the response from mike johnson? >> yeah, mike johnson is never going to win a profiles in courage. i mean, i think we know that. and if republicans want to put their head in the sand and just continue to kiss up to elon musk, then so be it. but many americans, black, white, democrat, republican from, you know, new york all the way down to south carolina and mississippi, have heartburn with the rash way that doge is going through and just cut it. many americans needs, as the woman said, it was kind of clear through her tears that they're not accessing americans needs before they do these cuts. and whether or not you're talking about usaid and people are like, oh, this is just foreign aid until they realize that usaid actually purchased so many agricultural goods from american farmers, whether or not it's ebola response, whether or not

it's all of these different things that are being cut, va, et cetera. americans are having a hard time with this. and if republicans don't want to deal with it, so, so be it. >> terry, i'm wondering if if republicans like if mike johnson is really kind of shoulder shrugging like he seemed to be publicly, if he really is doing that so much behind the scenes, how do you think, do you think he do you think he and leadership is managing this the right way? do you think how do you think they should be managing this? >> well, look, this is an executive branch, uh, issue that that the trump administration is doing and it's and it's look, the amount of political courage that donald trump is showing by doing this, republicans have been talking about cutting the deficit since as long as i can remember. sure. as long as i can i could vote, and it's usually doesn't happen. and now it's actually happening. right now, the american people are spending or the american government is spending 25% more than it brings in every single year. people have to stop. and it's awful

when folks lose their jobs. every one of us has known a family member who has gotten laid off through no fault of their own, whether they worked in government or not. and so, look, this isn't great for the people getting laid off. it's awful. it's traumatic, but it happens and the government isn't sustainable at this rate of spending. so we can talk about how it's phrased or how efficiently it's handled. government doesn't handle anything efficiently, and it's never laying off people is never going to be done in the most caring way. but at the end of the day, this has to be done. it is the single greatest threat to our economic stability in the united states. this deficit spending is out of control. and and it's finally we've got someone who's standing up to say, look, we're going to do something about it. >> you look like you won. at one point, you looked like you ate something sour. and then i don't know what. then what your face did. >> yeah. no, i feel like i got to do economics 101 because the theory is, oh, my god. you know, kate, i saved a lot of money for my budget this year because i didn't pay my mortgage. like, that's not the way it works.

that's not the way deficits work. that's not the way that that economics works. i mean, you have to see the other side of the ledger. we're going to talk about a balanced budget. if we're going to have a conversation about deficits, et cetera., you literally have to look at the other side of the ledger. and that is not what the argument was. so that's kind of first. >> but but but bakari, the other side of the ledger. the other side of the ledger is raising taxes. i'm sorry. like that's like the other side of the ledger is, is more income and more income for the federal government is higher taxes. and so it's it's either cuts or higher taxes. those are the options right now. and look, republicans aren't for raising taxes. >> we want to i actually want to jump into that in a second. but bakari, finish your thought. >> no. and i was just going to say that these cuts are doing more damage to the economy in the long run. and i think that you have to do some assessment if if you and i actually went to a bar in d.c. right now, i wish charlie palmer's was still open. shout out to the bartender. yes, please.

>> they were great. >> but if we were able to go to the bar, we could probably figure this out and go through and do cuts that were direct and purposeful and intentional. what i'm saying is that by not assessing the needs of the american people, what doge is doing is as backwards. i mean, that's the only way that i can think about saying it, because you're actually cutting things that people need in their daily lives, and it's harming people like american farmers. that's my point. >> on television, you're supposed to say bass ackward. just so you know, terry, let's talk about this exact point about the when we're talking about in the realm of the budget, because mike johnson gets a big it was a big win holding republicans together on that vote. but they're now going to hit necessarily hit a reality wall on the trump budget. and axios frames it in an interesting way. really gets at what you guys were just talking about. actually, axios writes, most politicians agree on three truths. we have a spending problem too much, a tax problem too high or too low, and a debt problem way too much. yet the

typical response is make all three worse. then they go on to say they are trying to convince their members, meaning republicans and the american public, that you can take in less money. taxes, spend more on defense, and somehow reduce deficits without touching the programs that cost the most. this is the same conversation we have had for how long, gentlemen? in the realm of politics, this is going to be messy. how are republicans in charge of all of those chambers of the congress going to make sense of it? terry. >> yeah, it's not easy. and look, making, uh, you know, let's say making legislation is like making sausage. no one wants to see how it's done. uh, reality is this is going to be tough to do, and it's going to be painful, and there's going to be bad news reporting or bad press out of it. for republicans in many situations. but this is a necessary thing that has to happen. and there's going to be some tough decisions made. um, donald trump says we're not going to touch entitlements. um,

but look, there's no way to do this. >> there are no way to do. there's no way to do it without touching entitlements. and that is the thing that they promised they are not going to do. though i did hear some inkling, though, yesterday, of finding efficiencies and rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. could be is something that and i'm just wondering if this is going to become the definition of terms of like, what's your definition of waste and fraud and abuse? is it benefits. you know. >> i think i think that's a that's actually my point is that that look, there is a, you know, what is the entitlement as far as it's not waste fraud and abuse like that is when elon musk lays out someone getting 150 years old that's getting social security. they're probably not alive. that is not an entitlement you're cutting. that is fixing the glitch. and so i think there's going to part of that is going to there's going to be savings and it's going to be cutting in a lot of different places to make this work. >> bakari, say yes or no. do you agree with everything i say? >> the answer is yes. but bakari, the answer is yes.

>> can we go to break? >> can we go to commercial? >> i was like, the one time, the one time i have made him speechless. i now can retire. guys. thank you gentlemen. >> thank you so much. it's good to see you both. sarah. >> i agree with most everything you say, kate. >> thank you. it's an invite back, bakari. you got to work for it. like taking me to the bar. sarah. you see what i did there? i don't think i've ever been able to do that. >> here's the thing. when will men learn? the answer is yes. >> i'm going to play. >> everyone when it comes to us on tv. >> man, woman. >> dog or cat? just say yes when i say, do you agree with me? >> just kidding. >> it works the best. it keeps you happy. this is what we like. thank you kate. all right, just ahead, the growing measles outbreak in texas has turned deadly. a school aged child is now the first u.s. measles death in a decade. these are the current 124 confirmed cases, mostly among children. cnn's meg tirrell is joining us with more

details about the child who lost their lives. what can you tell us? >> yeah, sarah, texas health officials held a press conference yesterday and expressed surprise that they saw a death. they said they weren't prepared to see that, especially so early on in this outbreak. and that gives you a sense that really they expect this outbreak to continue to grow. measles is such a contagious disease. they told us that this child is school aged, was unvaccinated and had been hospitalized, but really held other details close at this point. and as you said, this is the first measles death in the united states since 2015. so it's just a tragedy. and even more so because measles is a vaccine preventable disease with a safe and effective vaccine that has been available for decades. this outbreak in west texas has now grown to 124 cases, 18 hospitalizations. the vast majority of these cases have been unvaccinated, most of them school aged children, some

even younger. we heard of an infant, for example, who was too young to be vaccinated, who was one of those is one of those cases of those who were hospitalized, all of them, they told us yesterday, were unvaccinated. so this is a tragedy, and we are continuing to watch. potentially these case numbers grow. sarah. >> it's a tragedy that is preventable. and that makes it even more tragic if they would just get the vaccine. robert f. kennedy jr., speaking of which, was asked about the outbreak in a cabinet meeting yesterday, and here's what he had to say. >> we put out a post on it yesterday, and we're going to continue to follow it. incidentally, there have been four measles outbreaks this year in this country. last year there were 16. so it's not unusual. we have measles outbreaks every year. >> it's not unusual is how he put it. what do the local public health experts say about this? >> well, you know, they know that measles, though we do see a

few dozen cases in the united states every year. and sometimes these larger outbreaks, they say this is unusual. and that really dismayed a lot of people in the public health community. to hear that yesterday. they pointed out, you know, we eliminated measles in the united states in the year 2000. and so many doctors have not even seen measles cases. they noted, though, that as vaccination rates, particularly in pockets of communities, as those vaccination rates come down, more and more people are vulnerable to measles. and so we are starting to see more cases. but robert f kennedy jr., saying that it's not unusual, was just a shock to a lot of people when we're seeing the first measles death in a decade in a child. >> yeah, certainly a shock to that poor family that lost a child. meg, thank you so much. i really appreciate your reporting. appreciate you. all right. prayers fill saint peter's square for pope francis this morning. a brand new update from the vatican on his battle with pneumonia.

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to this because i know you've heard this already, but i want to just clarify something. this is what president trump said about ukraine and its natural resources and what the u.s. was going to do. >> we get back the money that we spent, and we hope that we're going to be able to settle this up. it's a great deal for ukraine, too, because they get us over there and we're going to be working over there. we'll be on the land. and, you know, in that way it's this sort of automatic security because nobody's going to be messing around with our people. >> senator, did he just say that u.s. personnel will be on the ground in ukraine? what do you think of this? >> well, sarah, one of the real challenges we face here in the senate is getting clarity about what it is president trump intends with regards to our closest allies, france and the united kingdom and other european nato partners and ukraine. i was with president macron with a bipartisan group of senators earlier this week as we were talking with him about his meeting with president trump. and i was with keir

starmer, the british prime minister, last night as another group of us were trying to get sense out of where president trump is going. i don't think in that comment, sarah, that he meant u.s. military personnel would be on the ground in ukraine. i think what he has in mind, as best i can tell, is that a critical minerals deal would result in american investors and private sector american staff on the ground in ukraine. keir starmer will be meeting with president trump today to try and get an american security guarantee for troops from across europe, not american troops that would be in ukraine to stabilize and secure any sort of a peace deal going forward. >> all right. let me ask you next about trump finally saying that russia will have to make some concessions to end the ukraine war. he didn't say what they would be. and now we hear russia saying they have taken land and it's going to be a part of russia, and there is no deal they're going to make about

that. what should the the sort of stick he's given putin a carrot for sure. what should the stick be? what should america be telling russia to do? >> well, sarah, president trump and republicans love to talk about peace through strength, the past. the path forward here towards a just and sustainable peace for ukraine is strength is doubling down on threatening putin, that we will continue to contribute advanced weapons financial support partnership with ukraine alongside our european allies who are stepping forward and saying they will contribute even more to the defense of ukraine. if putin faces a united west with america in the lead, he will step back because he's taken horrific losses on the battlefield. his economy is shaky. if we strengthen our sanctions on russia, if we strengthen our support for ukraine, it is possible for president trump, in partnership with our trusted

european allies, to secure a lasting peace for ukraine. >> all right. let's go to come back to the united states and look at this big, beautiful budget bill that trump likes to. trump is named the big beautiful budget bill, part of the house republicans bill framework is to cut about $880 billion from medicaid. can medicaid survive with a cut that big? >> no. and i met yesterday with delaware families who depend on medicaid for the care of their disabled and medically complex children, children who suffer with very difficult circumstances. medicaid does so much for the american people. for delawareans. it's what helps fund senior care. it's what it's what families rely on who have children, who are going through nemours i children's hospital in delaware. it's what families depend on who have a loved one, who is disabled, who

is at home. medicaid makes such a difference all across our nation, and it cannot afford a cut of that magnitude, especially not to pay. for another big tax cut for billionaires. >> can democrats do anything to prevent this? to try to protect medicaid? since you don't have control of the house or the senate? >> you're right about that, sarah. but in the affordable care act fight of the first trump administration, when trump was trying to kill the affordable care act, we ultimately got americans to focus on what was at stake. trump is again trying to pass a huge tax cut paid for by cuts to your benefits. and if enough americans get upset and engaged on this and push back on the republicans in the house, they have a very thin margin. they can only afford one no vote. if there were two no votes or three, it would repeat that memorable moment when john mccain ended the effort to kill the affordable care act, taking