mothballed when filmed here a decade ago. still struggling and hit by a missile during the war. the u.s., perhaps a little too eager to take ukraine with no choice but to give in a hugely complex deal that may get messier still when it runs into the cold, hard ground truth of where ukraine is at today. anderson, the draft framework deal we saw gives no specifics at all about what parts of ukraine's vast natural resources will indeed be involved in this deal. that's become so key to the future of ukraine. it will enable, though, both presidents to leap over this obstacle. still, though, there are senior ukrainian officials who admit that the geological information they're working on dates back to 1946 or 1960. huge damage done to ukraine's energy grid, its infrastructure making mining resource extraction exceptionally complex. and so many questions exactly what this means in the future. if indeed

there is a peace that enables that kind of production to take off. anderson. >> nick paton walsh. thanks. the news continues right here on cnn. >> it is. >> friday. >> february 28th, right now on. >> cnn this. >> morning. >> mr. president. >> do you still think that. mr. zelenskyy is a dictator? >> did i say that? i can't believe i said that. next question. >> face to face after. weeks of turbulence. >> president trump and president zelenskyy will go one on one today in a high stakes meeting that could shape the. future of ukraine. plus. >> i think. >> we have to be realistic. >> about the impact of these cuts. >> we've got. >> to be very clear that we expect to. >> see the results of what doge is doing and what the administration is doing. >> choppy waters. >> out of the push to include. >> doge cuts. >> in the budget. >> bill is complicating competing plans between house and senate republicans, and a flashing red light. a u.s. judge temporarily blocking the white

house mass firings of probationary federal employees. 5 a.m. here on the east coast. >> a live look. >> at the dome of the u.s. capitol here in washington, d.c., on this last day of february this year. good morning, everyone. i'm jessica dean in for kasie hunt. wonderful to have you with us. in just a few hours, a critical meeting that could determine the future of ukraine will unfold at the white house. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy arriving in washington, d.c., today to sign an agreement on national natural resources and reconstruction for his war torn country. ukraine was also top of mind at the white house thursday, when the british prime minister traveled to washington and for the second time this week during meetings with european leaders about ukraine. a fact check was required in the oval office. >> you know, they they get their money back by giving money. we

don't get the money back. biden made a deal. he put in $350 billion. and i thought it was a very unfair situation. >> we're not getting all of ours. i mean, quite a bit of ours was, was was gifted. it was given, um, there were some loans, but mainly it was gifted, actually. >> the meeting between trump and zelenskyy comes after a dramatic back and forth a week ago, when the u.s. president called ukraine's leader a dictator. >> i think the president and i actually have had a very good relationship. it maybe got a little bit testy. >> mr. president. >> i still think that mr. zelenskyy is a dictator. >> uh. >> did i say that? i can't believe i said that. next question. >> are joining me to discuss that and more. nick johnston, publisher publisher at axios. good morning nick. good morning. uh, we all kind of shook our heads when he said that because, of. >> course i shook my head just now. he said he didn't say. >> of course he said that. um, but but that is very trump to

just say. oh, did i say that? next question. >> yeah. no, he's very much winging it i think on that. and that dictator comment had a huge amount. >> of blowback on the hill. >> from a lot of his allies. i mean, there are people. >> on the. >> hill, chairman of the armed services committee, roger wicker thinks putin is a war criminal and zelenskyy is a hero in all of this. and so i think there's definitely been a softening of the tone, a changing of the language here. and i think that is i guess. look, i hate to say this out loud on national television. maybe it's a little bit of the art of the deal. that very hard tone at the beginning. we've seen the draft document coming out, which is very much almost like a memorandum of understanding for a development project as opposed to a real international minerals agreement. but the changing of that kind of language ahead of that meeting is probably a little bit of that journey. but there's a lot to i think there's a lot to pay attention to earlier, later today when zelenskyy actually. >> yeah. and so on that note, as we prepare for that meeting later today, what are you watching for? >> i mean, it's very much the president's tone again, right? like it's a huge switch from calling zelenskyy a war criminal and seeming to sidle up with putin. remember that vote in the

united nations? that is the first. >> time in for sure. >> since the world since world war two, that the united states has voted with russia on a european security initiative. and so watching a lot of that language, the body language, the rhetoric around that affinity for zelenskyy, of which side of this battle are you actually on? i think that's what we're definitely looking for. and then, of course, details from this deal. there are so much that the trump administration does that is almost painting in very broad strokes. until we get the actual text of the deal to actually see what's happening. we've got an early copy of this at axios earlier this week, and it raised more questions than it answers. there's still a lot unknown about what is actually being agreed to and what the final feelings will be when this is done. >> well, they do say the devil is in the details for a reason. and but at the end of the day, you do expect there is an agreement that's going to be struck. >> i mean, do they expect an agreement will be signed? but what will be in that agreement? what will be signed? how much of this is just about the theatrics of coming to some kind of agreement and saying that there is a deal for the united states to extract something back? i

think that's what donald trump has really been talking about, is you see the president's language about that. he doesn't want to give ukraine something for nothing. okay. and so what can he get back? i think a really interesting thing to watch is the dynamics on these tariff negotiations. remember, we've had trade wars that lasted a couple of hours because donald trump will make a big statement on truth social. the other country will say something. and then at the end it's all agreed to what was actually changed. and i think a lot of this is rhetoric, the difference. i think what's important to look for is what's rhetoric and what's real on the paper. so i'll be waiting for that final document to come out. >> and so that's that's today. it's now friday. we look a little dare. we look a little bit ahead to next week when president trump will be addressing congress and what that might hold. >> i mean, where do you even begin? >> do you even begin? how do you even begin to bite off the first. >> bite, something that the trump administration has done since the beginning, even through trump, 1.0 is flood the zone every single day. there's been something new. and the way that a lot of his allies view that is how to destabilize their opponents. like where can democrats turn as far as how they're going to oppose this administration? i think the

speech next week will be a possibly an opportunity to tie all this together. what is the governing philosophy here and the path forward? remember, the really big issue is what congress is going to do about the budget, about taxes. they've begun that journey razor thin vote. but that is the start, not the end. and i think the president needs to set out a course for. >> what is going to be quite a journey as we as we look ahead to. >> very exciting. >> to see how if they can land that plane and what it might look like. all right. nick johnson, thanks so much. thank you. thanks for coming in this morning. good to see you. a senior u.s. official says a proposed minerals deal makes zero promises about security for ukraine, because it's not clear exactly how much mineral wealth ukraine actually possesses, or whether it's even worth exploring. cnn's nick paton walsh has more now from northern ukraine. >> we very much need rare earth. they have great rare earth. >> a moonshot for ukraine's survival. talking peace suddenly means talking about places like here. this lunar landscape, a

titanium mine struggling under the russian bombardment of ukraine's power grid, sometimes with only three hours power a day. >> zain asher. but so much more. the energy system of ukraine. is the. >> half $1 trillion. that was the sum that president trump initially thought ukraine might be able to pay back to the united states. in his words. and here you get a sense of the challenge, really, because this place the potential is certainly there. but they say they desperately need investment. these machines are so old. and yes, so they say they would welcome american money. the pressure to get money out of the ground is enormous. as other questions as to whether the astronomical sums trump thinks are here can match the money to

be made under this sprawling sea of unknown potential. >> and who knows what rare earth is worth, you know. but at least it's something. and who knows what it's worth? who knows if they even have it? >> it was at first ukraine's idea president zelenskyy selling their mineral wealth in november, perhaps two successfully, as part of a victory plan for more aid. showing reporters maps here, they claim 7% global production of titanium. lithium isn't mined yet, but they say they have 3% global reserves. they say they're in the top five of graphite reserves and have some actual rare earth metals. the initial framework deal doesn't specify what it covers, mentioning only relevant resource assets that will be further described in another agreement. yet the white house has been specific about some resources. >> there is a foundry that processes aluminum in ukraine. it's been damaged. it's not at its current capacity. if that is

restored, it would account for america's entire imports of aluminum for an entire year. >> mike waltz is probably referring to here an aluminum plant in zaporizhzhia, mothballed when filmed here a decade ago. still struggling and hit by a missile during the war. >> harakat al-muqawama al-islamiyya. >> the u.s., perhaps a little too eager to take ukraine with no choice but to give in a hugely complex deal that may get messier still when it runs into the cold, hard ground truth of where ukraine is at today, nick paton, cnn is shanon cook ukraine. >> straight ahead. on cnn this morning. protests erupting on new york city campuses. >> yeah. on the one. >> kevin mullin why a group of pro-palestinian students decided to occupy a building at barnard college. plus, the tate brothers back in america. did the white

house pressure romania to release them? and ron brownstein is here with the new analysis of president trump's social agenda. he says there is a method to the madness. >> your population doesn't want men playing in women's sports. so you better come. you better comply because otherwise you're not getting any federal funding. every state. good. i'll see you in court. i look forward to that. that should be a real easy one. >> have i got news for you? is back. let's think of some new games to play. what do you got? >> yes, something like a. >> oh. >> what? >> keep playing the same games. yeah, let's do the same games. >> have i got news for you. >> tomorrow at. >> nine on cnn. >> and with a.i., we can look at so much more than sales data. see that? predictive analytics. >> how long have you been doing this? >> as long as. >> we've been with. >> people who know know. >> bdo. >> got one more.

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still face charges that include rape, human trafficking and money laundering from their arrest in 2022. and their return comes amid reports the trump administration pressured bucharest to release them. but the president denies knowing about the case. >> i know nothing about that. uh, i don't know. you're saying he's on a plane right now? yeah. i just know nothing about it. >> cnn's randi kaye has more now from west palm beach. >> we live in a democratic society where it's innocent until proven guilty. and i think my brother and i are largely misunderstood. >> right wing influencer andrew tate and his brother tristan, moments after landing in fort lauderdale, florida, from romania, telling reporters they are, quote, largely misunderstood. the brothers, along with two romanian citizens, were arrested just after christmas in 2022 and formally indicted months later on charges of rape, human trafficking and setting up a criminal gang. the brothers have denied all allegations of

wrongdoing. >> it's about the fact that she belongs to him, and the intimate parts of her body belong to him because they're in a relationship, and if she wants to sell those, he has a stake in those intimate parts of her body. >> besides suggesting men own women, andrew tate has often referred to women on social media as sex workers. despite his comments, andrew tate hasn't taken a clear position on whether or not he's misogynistic. >> i have nothing against women at all. i'm not sexist in any regard. i'm not misogynist either. i will state right now that i am absolutely sexist and i'm absolutely a misogynist. >> romanian prosecutors allege that tate seduced victims by falsely claiming they wanted a relationship, or planned to marry them. andrew tate's controversial comments have attracted billions of views online. he was banned from twitter in 2017 for saying women should bear responsibility for being sexually assaulted. in 2022, facebook, instagram, tiktok and youtube also banned him. elon musk allowed tate to return to twitter now x in 2022,

where tate has more than 10 million followers. critics and advocacy groups have voiced concern over his impact on young and vulnerable audiences, and have accused him of peddling his rants about female submission and male dominance to them. >> i believe the woman is given to the man. i believe she's given away by the father. i believe she belongs to the man who belongs to the fundamentally. >> all right. >> so fundamentally, you do believe that a. >> woman becomes. >> a man's property. >> i believe she belongs to the man in marriage. correct. >> so how did the tate brothers end up in the sunshine state? perhaps flattery played a role. >> in trump saving the world. >> a romanian official told cnn that earlier this month, trump's special envoy, ric grenell, raised their case with romania's foreign minister. white house officials have said there was no direct u.s. government role in this. florida governor ron desantis said he doesn't know who was behind this. >> no. >> florida is not a place where. you're welcome. uh, with that, with that type of conduct in the air. and i don't know how it came to this, uh, we were not

involved. we were not notified. i found out through the media. >> the first criminal case against the tate brothers failed in december 2024, after a bucharest court noted flaws in the indictment. in january, the court lifted the house arrest order. the pair had previously been banned from leaving romania, while the investigation continued. a lawyer representing alleged victims of andrew tate in the united kingdom told cnn that any suggestion that the tate will now face justice in romania is fanciful. randi kaye, cnn, west palm beach, florida. >> ahead on cnn this morning, some republicans are calling for doge cuts to be included in the budget. but could that idea make passing a spending plan? impossible? plus, a federal judge ruling the trump administration's mass firings are likely illegal. so what's next for laid off workers?

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pro-palestinian protesters putting notes on the windows of a classroom at barnard college in new york after they marched at the school and took over a building. they're demanding two students who were expelled for disrupting an israeli history course. be. reinstated. >> source says. >> says i'm coming back for sure. going to try and get to the best. shape i've. >> been. >> this offseason and get back to the mountain top. >> espn pat mcafee breaking the news travis kelce is returning for another season with the kansas city chiefs. the star tight end texting mcafee, telling him, quote, got a real bad taste in my mouth. how i with how i played in that last game and how i got the guys ready for battle. i can't go out like that. this morning, the trump administration is firing around 800 employees at the national oceanic and atmospheric administration. sources telling cnn even more job cuts are possible later today. among those fired will be meteorologists for the national weather service, which provides, of course, forecasts for

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spray with a gentle mist and innovative power jet spray. goodbye to congestion. it's comeback season. >> welcome back. >> have i got news for you? new tomorrow on cnn. >> 5:30 a.m. here on the east coast. but you are looking live at dallas, texas on friday, february 28th. good morning everyone. i'm jessica dean in for kasie hunt. wonderful to have you with us this morning. the clock is ticking as congress now has roughly two weeks to prevent a government shutdown. but recent efforts by doge to dismantle government agencies is throwing a wrench in those already complicated conversations. as republicans grapple with how to fund those very agencies. house speaker mike johnson has suggested codifying tax cuts as part of a stopgap funding measure. but democrats and some republicans are pushing back against that idea. >> it's going. >> to need to be bipartisan. i think some of my colleagues in the republican conference don't

recognize that. and as soon as we try to work with democrats, they want to they don't want to vote for it. and i think that that's really what puts us at risk for a shutdown right now. >> joining us now, shelby talcott, the white house correspondent for semafor. good morning, shelby. nice to have you here. so look, this is going to be quite a battle to get this done. and we are the clock is ticking, as we just noted. yeah. >> there's not. >> a lot of. >> time. and certainly. >> not only. >> democrats and republicans are kind. >> of on different sides. >> of the aisle when. >> it comes to. >> numerous parts. >> of this bill. >> but republicans. >> are. >> also on different sides. >> of. >> the. aisle at times. >> so we heard. >> speaker johnson suggest codifying. >> those tax cuts. that's gotten pushback from republicans as well as democrats. and so there's a lot of questions over how to fund this. there's concerns about cuts. to medicaid. there's concerns about cuts to social security. so there's a lot to be done in a very short amount of time. in order for this to be successful. >> and congress doesn't love to

work quickly, they do do well, i guess, with with really hard deadlines, they like to take it right up to the to the edge there. i want to, um, to take a look at what nicole malliotakis said. we just heard from her, but but just talking about two. just like the role that doge should be playing and elon musk as well, i want to listen to what she had to say. >> doge should be a recommendation. they should be an advisory role. but at the end of the day, it's the secretaries under this administration as well as the members of congress who should have the final say. >> and i i'm sure you've talked to a lot of members of congress whenever we've had them on various shows. i've asked them, are you comfortable with not having really any oversight, asking people on the oversight committee? um, and there have been a number of republicans who say, yeah, no, it's okay. but but obviously she they're saying, look, we need some oversight of what's going on. >> yeah. and we actually have heard from some republicans, by and large, republicans are

willing to sort. of step back and let donald trump do what he wants. but there have been some republicans. rand paul, for example, who have said at some point congress is going to need to vote on these doge cuts. and what's interesting is this is becoming more of an issue. and i actually asked donald trump about this very question two weeks ago in the oval office, when elon musk was there and he said he would be fine with congress voting, but also started sort of lamenting about how, why would republicans want to do that? why would they feel it was necessary? so when push comes to shove, if that ends up happening, and it could, because republicans are growing quietly more concerned over these doge cuts as they hear from their constituents. is donald trump going to be on board with that? >> right. and there is this kind of balance that we're seeing from these republicans who have to publicly continue to support this while, as you know, privately hearing from constituents and maybe behind the scenes are trying to save different programs and make sure that they're not going to bear the brunt when they're up in two years. >> yeah. and we heard from that, you know, susie wiles went to the hill. donald trump's chief

of staff earlier this week, and she talked to some lawmakers to sort of alleviate some of those concerns. and the big concerns. elon musk also yesterday on the hill talking to lawmakers, the big concerns we're hearing from lawmakers is just they need more transparency. they're on board with the cuts. generally they're on board to let donald trump sort of do what he wants. but they're getting concerned because they want more transparency. and they also are worried about the speed at which elon musk is operating and how sometimes that speed has resulted in cutting employees or staffers or agencies or parts of agencies that they actually need. >> yeah. and speaking of cuts, one one area, they're also really concerned different than doge. but as they go through this budgeting process and trying to find cuts within the budget as they work through this, um, these potential cuts to medicaid, this is what speaker johnson said about that. >> he doesn't want to cut medicaid, medicaid benefits for anybody. >> and we. >> don't either. i don't either. we're not going to do

that. that's not part of this plan. and the democrats have been lying about it. and so it's important for us to clarify that we're going to take care of those who are rightful beneficiaries of the programs. we're going to cut the fraud, waste and abuse out of medicaid. and that's where we're going to get part of the savings to accomplish this mission. >> but, shelby, there has been real concern because they want to take $880 billion out of the the the area that oversees medicaid. and just doing the math it's hard to see how you get there. yeah. so what are you hearing about how that's all playing out on the hill? >> it's bipartisan concern. senate. uh, some senate republicans are concerned about it. it was a concern even before this bill passed with some house republicans. now, donald trump was asked about it this week at the white house. and he said he reiterated his campaign promise. we're not going to cut medicaid. but again, as you as you note, this bill does include those cuts. and when speaker johnson mentioned that these were not going to be cuts that directly affect people with medicaid, there's still a lot of vagueness around how you get such a big number and cut successfully without making those major cuts.

>> all right. so a lot of questions on this friday. and then we look to president trump going up to the hill next week. all right shelby thank you so much. outrage pouring in from right wing supporters of the trump administration after the administration's mass firing of federal workers. even listeners of conservative talk radio are voicing their concern as thousands of americans deal with the fallout of abruptly losing their careers. cnn's sunlen serfaty has the latest now from washington. >> the overall goal here with the doge team is to. help address. the enormous. >> deficit across the country. backlash over doge appears to be intensifying. >> and in some unlikely places. >> it's frustrating all of us because, like, how do you make life decisions? try to figure out what to do. how do you know to send your kids to college if you can afford to buy a house when there is no information coming from the administration, which i support strongly? >> with many. >> republicans now flooding the airwaves on conservative radio, angry about how elon musk's buzzsaw cuts to the federal government are playing out.

>> i'm a strong supporter of this administration and what their efforts are, but they're not communicating to us in any way of what their overall goal and plan is. >> leaving right. >> wing commentators facing the wrath. >> i think that's where the. >> main focus is going to be on. and, you know, limiting the bureaucracy. how many of these jobs are redundant? >> and to push back on. >> concerns within their own party. >> they're not going to fire every federal employee. there's too much work that the federal government needs to be done. assuming that your work and her work is are essential. i don't think you're going to have anything to worry about. um, you certainly not involved in weaponization or or politicizing in any way. >> typically a conservative friendly platform is suddenly not. especially when the fired federal workers are trump supporters. >> i have had quite. >> a bit. >> of outreach from you federal workers. i don't believe elon or trump is going to war. >> with every person. >> that works in the federal government. but folks, i'm going to talk to you like an adult

here for a minute. >> grow up. grow up. >> if you work for the federal. >> government, you need to grow up respectfully. >> this fallout, not just on the airwaves, but out in the country. where republican lawmakers are facing the anger in tele town halls this week. >> no one voted for elon musk. and if you say he's doing all these great things. when is he going to go before congress with his report of all these so-called savings? yeah. so yeah. thank you. we appreciate your question. yeah. because you can't answer the question. no, no, i'll answer it. elon musk is doing a great national service. he reports to the president. >> and expressing concerns of their own. >> i want to have compassion. >> what do you think? >> they've gone too far. >> too fast here. >> i think. >> it needs to be reviewed. >> this idea that they're going to just fire people via twitter. um, elon musk, that to me seems rash. it seems not appropriate.

>> sunlen serfaty cnn washington. >> still to come on cnn this morning, donald trump using the power of the presidency to try to force conservative social policies onto blue states, even though those states have routinely voted against those very policies at a state level. plus, remembering the legendary actor gene hackman as we look at some of his most iconic roles on screen. >> you think. >> i'm talking. >> about breaking the law? >> no. >> i'm just trying to figure out how far you. >> want. >> it bent. >> as far as you can without breaking it. in other words, don't. >> risk an irs audit. >> i don't give a about an audit. they just better not. >> win. >> bye bye. >> cough chest congestion. hello? 12 hours. >> of relief. >> 12 hours. not coughing. >> hashtag still not coughing. >> mucinex dm gives you 12 hours of relief from chest congestion in any type of cough, day or night. mucinex dm its comeback season.

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>> federal laws. >> well, we are the federal law. we'll see you in court. every state. good. i'll see you in court. i look forward to that. that should be a real easy one. >> that tense exchange between president donald trump and maine's democratic governor, janet mills, ignited by his recent order banning transgender women from competing in women's sports. our next guest, cnn senior political analyst ron brownstein, argues this is just one of several examples of trump trying to force democratic states to adopt his conservative policies. brownstein writing, quote, trump has threatened to cut off federal funds for states, cities and hospitals and universities unless they adopt a wide range of conservative social policies, such as banning transgender girls from competing in high school sports and ending diversity programs in education and employment. since most red states have already adopted these policies, the principal effect of trump's orders is to attempt to impose these ideas on democratic controlled states that have already considered them at the state level, and, virtually without exception, spurned them. ron brownstein joins us now to talk more about

this. ron, good morning to you. elaborate a little. good morning. elaborate more on on this argument you're making. >> yeah. >> so, you know, we have seen an enormous. divergence over the last 4 or 5 years in the states on a range of social policy. virtually every red state, every republican controlled state has banned transgender girls from high school sports, has banned gender affirming care for minors. the vast majority of them have imposed limits on how classroom teachers can talk about race and gender in k to 12 grades, and most of them have also restricted diversity initiatives, particularly in public education. but jessica, those ideas have made virtually no inroads in blue states, with the exception of new hampshire, where republicans actually control the governor and the state legislature. none of the states that voted against trump have done any of those things. now we see in the first weeks of the trump administration, in his

flurry of executive orders, as you note, he is threatening to cut off a wide range of federal funding sources for states that don't adopt these policies. basically, he is seeking to use the power of the federal government, the power of the federal purse, to rescind rights that are protected now in blue states who have considered these ideas. i mean, these ideas have all been proposed and rejected. and as i note in the story, this is a very unusual role for the federal government. i mean, usually when the federal government participates in the rollback of rights, it's looking the other way or standing aside. when states roll back rights, as washington did during the seven decades of segregation, it is much more rare for the federal government to affirmatively go into states where rights are protected and try to erase them. >> it is also a bit ironic, i suppose, that the argument that republicans and trump himself

has made so many times to send things back to the states and let them decide to to take that argument and then put it with what we're seeing, play out what you're writing about. >> well, yeah. >> historic reversal of roles. i mean, trump himself, in 2016, there was a quote from him on the campaign trail talking about how important it is that education be decided at the local level. well, his executive order is threatening to cut off funds to, you know, every school district in the country unless they follow his dictates, which are essentially what the red state agenda on how they talk about race and gender and sexual orientation in the classroom and and patriotic education. i mean, this really is kind of a, you know, an historic. and it's not just trump. i mean, you have multiple proposals from republicans in congress, for example, the save act that would impose rules requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote in every state. there's legislation that republicans

have introduced that would require every state to honor a concealed carry weapon permit granted in any state which would override the blue state rules. and while all this is going on, the trump administration on multiple fronts is trying to stop the blue states from implementing left leaning or progressive policies, even within their own borders, like congestion pricing in new york or the or the mandate to move toward electric vehicles in california. so all in all, it really is a comprehensive effort to force blue states to adopt the red state social agenda that, as i said, they have considered and rejected. >> and so how does this play out? what happens next? is this just all go to the courts? >> yeah, it's already in the courts, right? i mean, you you know, i talked to the washington state attorney general in my story. it was part of a group that has sued trump over the attorney generals who have sued trump over the executive order cutting off funding for medical

institutions that perform a gender affirming care for minors. they have i think they have a date in court again today. they have achieved a temporary injunction against that, you know, but, you know, there is interestingly, i think the key precedent here is a 2013 supreme court decision written by john roberts which said, ironically, it focuses on the u.s. aid agency, which is now in the, you know, under so much stress from maye musk. but that decision, said the federal government, obviously can control what an entity does with the money, the federal money, but it can't use the federal money to control what the how the federal how the entity acts on other issues with its own money or funding from other sources. and of course, roberts wrote the decision that prevented the federal government that prevented the obama administration from threatening states by cutting off their medicaid money if they didn't extend, if they didn't expand medicaid eligibility. so this idea of using the federal purse to coerce other entities to do

things beyond the scope of that immediate, those immediate federal dollars in the past, the supreme court has said no. we'll see if they hold to that. now that trump is using it to advance conservative social goals that these six republican appointed justices have traditionally been quite sympathetic to. >> all right. ron brownstein, great to have you. thanks so much. we appreciate it. >> thanks for thanks for having me. >> some new developments this morning in the investigation into the mysterious deaths of legendary actor gene hackman, his wife and their dog. all were found deceased in their new mexico home wednesday. police now say they're waiting for autopsy and toxicology reports. and while there are no obvious signs of foul play, the circumstances are now being labeled as suspicious. the 95 year old was last seen publicly coming out of convenience store in 2024. cnn's jason carroll reports on what made the beloved hackman the actor's actor. >> i don't like to talk. >> about myself. >> that much. gene hackman. >> had. >> a hard time watching himself on the big screen, but the same

could not be said for audiences who helped to make him one of the greatest american actors to grace the silver screen. >> you got. >> a stupid smile, you know that, pal? >> hackman was known as an actor's actor. the new york times called him hollywood's perfect everyman. that's because hackman had that innate ability to embody every type of character he portrayed. >> going now. goodbye. >> whether it was a narcotics detective, a bank robber, or a basketball coach, hackman could make audiences see something authentic in his characters. >> you know, most people would kill to be treated like. >> a god. >> hackman had a prolific career, though he got a late start to acting. eugene hackman was born january 30th, 1930, in california. his father ran a printing press. the family moved around a bit, finally settling in illinois. hackman says a traumatic incident as an early teenager may have been the catalyst for his wanting to become an actor. it was the

moment his father abandoned the family. he was playing in the street when he says he watched his father wave and drive away. >> i wasn't bitter, it was, you know, uh. disappointed, certainly. uh. hurt, you know. i don't think i was ever bitter. i loved him. >> hackman told vanity fair. it was so precise. maybe that's why i became an actor. i doubt i would have become so sensitive to human behavior if that hadn't happened to me as a child. if i hadn't realized how much one small gesture can mean. hackman lied about his age and joined the marines at 16, becoming a radio field operator. he worked odd jobs for years and didn't pursue acting until he was 30. his mother died before his movie career took off in a fire started by her own cigarette. >> did you. >> always want to be. >> an actor? >> well. >> i did secretly. i didn't want to tell anybody because i was ashamed. i thought maybe that was that. that was something that lightweights did. >> hackman received a best

supporting oscar nomination for his part in bonnie and clyde. what one of his toughest roles? portraying a new york city detective in the french connection. hackman asked the director to replace him because he felt he was in over his head. >> i don't think i've ever been pushed as. >> much by a director either, which was really good for me. >> and the winner is. >> the winner. >> is mr. gene hackman. >> in 1972, an academy award win for best actor in the french connection. more iconic roles would follow his take on lex luthor in superman. >> you were great. >> in your day, superman. >> i wouldn't play superman for anything. you don't envy. >> christopher getting into the cape. >> well, he uses my body, of course. >> of course. >> to coach norman dale in hoosiers. >> i don't care what the scoreboard says. >> at the end of the game. >> in my book, we're going to be winners. >> another oscar nomination for

his portrayal of fbi agent rupert anderson in mississippi burning. a best supporting actor win in 1993 for his performance as sheriff little bill in the dark western unforgiven. more than 80 films spanning some six decades. through all the work, all the accolades. hackman just saw himself as an actor. >> your name. >> goes. >> above the title. >> but are you. >> a star? >> no. you know, warren beatty is a star. you know, robert redford is a star. brad pitt i never think of myself that way. >> jason carroll, thanks for that reporting. still ahead on cnn this morning, air traffic controllers in high demand. how the faa and elon musk are trying to bolster the ranks. plus, ukraine's future on the line as president trump and zelenskyy prepare to meet today. we're live at the white house and in. >> kyiv.

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800) 845-4316. the presidential address to congress tuesday at eight on cnn. >> it is friday, february 28th right now on cnn this morning. >> mr. president., still think that mr. zelenskyy is a dictator. >> did i say that? i can't believe i said that. next question. >> face to face after weeks of turbulence, presidents trump and zelenskyy will go 1 to 1 today in a high stakes meeting that could very well shape the future of ukraine. plus. >> i think. >> we have to be realistic. >> about the impact of these cuts. >> we've got to be very clear that we expect to see the results of what. >> doge is doing. >> and. >> what the administration. >> is doing. >> choppy waters, how to push, how the push to include doge cuts in the gop's budget bill is complicating competing plans between house and senate republicans and. >> it's ten. it's ten plus ten. ten plus ten. it's a second.