chime. join the millions of chime members like me building credit every day@charm.com. >> united states of scandal with jake tapper returns sunday, march 9th on cnn. >> well, good morning to you. you are live in the cnn newsroom. i'm pamela brown in washington. any moment president trump will be welcoming ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy to the white house for a critical meeting at a pivotal

time. they are expected to sign an agreement on ukraine's natural resources, and zelenskyy, in exchange, will try to mine some security guarantees from washington. this follows a week of tense exchanges, with trump blaming zelenskyy for russia's invasion and even calling him a dictator repeatedly. cnn's jeff zeleny is at the white house. jeff, just lay out how important, how high the stakes are for this meeting for both leaders. >> pamela. certainly a very high stakes for both leaders, an extraordinary turnaround from what we heard. president trump really for several weeks, diminishing, belittling, questioning the authority of volodymyr zelenskyy. and now he is indeed coming here to the white house this hour for a sit. down meeting, as well as a press conference after that, all to sign some type of an agreement, a deal between the two countries that the president hopes will lead to a broader peace deal with russia. but it is an extraordinary pivot. we've seen sort of day by day, but yesterday made clear as donald

trump was answering questions and sitting alongside the british prime minister, he did not echo or repeat his words of a dictator describing zelenskyy or saying it's someone who has not had free elections and his low poll numbers. he said he respected him. but he also made clear time is running short here to make a deal. >> i think we're going to have a very successful peace, and i think it's going to be a long lasting peace, and i think it's going to happen hopefully quickly. if it doesn't happen quickly, it may not happen at all. >> those words, very important. if it doesn't happen quickly, it may not happen at all. so this is the first step signing a deal with ukraine, but then also opening the door to a broader conversation with vladimir putin and pamela. we cannot really understate how swift of a turnaround this has been, not only in u.s. foreign policy resetting the relationship with russia, but this is something that had to happen first. but so

many eyes will be on the dynamics inside the oval office between vladimir zelenskyy and donald trump, as he's in the second month of his second term. you'll remember the history between them, of course, dates so far back when donald trump was in office. the first time around, that phone call that actually ended up leading to his first impeachment for donald trump. so their history is long. we will see how their relationship is here. but both men have an imperative to sign and make a deal today. >> jeff. please stand by. we're going to bring you back with our panel in just a minute. as we wait and watch there at the white house for president zelenskyy to arrive and meet with president trump, let's discuss with the democratic congressman, jake class of massachusetts. he is a member of the congressional ukrainian caucus. congressman, thank you so much for being here. i'll ask you the same question i asked. jeff, how do you see this meeting today? and the stakes of

it? >> trump's putting the cart before the horse in this meeting. economic development deals with developing nations for mineral extraction and processing are a good idea. and in fact, in the pages of cnn, i advocated a few years ago that the united states should be doing that with afghanistan, which also has unexplored, though potentially high value and high volume minerals. what trump doesn't understand, though, is that security must precede mineral extraction and processing, not be a postscript to it. it costs tens of billions of dollars to explore, to extract, and especially which is most valuable to process any of the minerals or rare earth elements that he is describing. what kind of investors are going to put that money to work when they see that donald trump is weak, that he is a sycophant of vladimir putin, and that he is more interested in partitioning ukraine than he is in protecting ukraine. if trump were intelligent, what he would be doing is working with our

european allies to get ukraine as a member of the european union and afforded the protections of article 42.7 under the lisbon treaty, where they would actually have security guarantees for its eastern border and freedom of navigation in the black sea. >> and as we know, trump has not endorsed the idea of security guarantees. he has said that he thinks that should fall to european allies. what do you say to that? >> well, as i said, the onus of defense actually should be on europe. i don't disagree with that premise. i have always said that ukraine should be headed towards accession to the european union. and what people don't realize is that the european union has its own collective defense treaty. article 42.7, the lisbon treaty, that calls for collective defense in the event of emergency. france, for example, has invoked it, and the united states can help backstop and support the european union's collective defense. but that is not the same thing as nato, where i actually don't think ukraine, and i've never said that ukraine should have imminent accession to nato. so there is a pathway here that

puts europe rightfully in the driver's seat for ukraine's security, but that prevents the united states from from selling out our european allies and thinking that makes us look tough on the world stage. it doesn't xi jinping the ayatollah and iran, both of whom are close allies to russia, are looking at this and saying, man, this president can be bought and sold cheaply. >> and you mentioned trump and putin. trump has been lavishing praise on putin, calling him a very smart guy. trump is now saying that putin will keep his word if a peace deal is reached. i want to listen to that. >> i think he'll keep his word. i think i think he's i've spoken to him. i've known him for a long time now. you know, i've known him. we had we had to go through the russian hoax together. that was not a good thing. it's not fair. that was a rigged deal and had nothing to do with russia. i don't believe he is going to violate his word. i don't think he'll be back when we make a deal. i think the deal is going to hold.

>> do you trust vladimir putin to keep his word? >> no. and i'm hearing echoes of george w. bush saying, i looked into his eyes and i saw his soul. and this is someone that the united states can partner with. yeah. that preceded two decades of russia working with china and iran to undermine global security and then to attack its neighbors in violation of the pax americana. so, no, i don't trust vladimir putin. clearly, donald trump has some bromance with this dictator in the kremlin, but it's not furthering the security interests of the united states or our allies. what trump needs to understand is putin, xi jinping, the ayatollah, the north koreans. they understand one language only. that is the language of strength. and the united states is stronger standing with our ukrainian and european and israeli and taiwanese allies and presenting a united front. right now, he looks weak.

>> so what do you think should be done then to end the war in ukraine? you're on the ukraine caucus. like how do you get russia to stop its illegal invasion of ukraine? of course, trump would argue, you know, he's trying he's trying to achieve that goal. and of course, there are disagreements of how that's playing out and whether he will get that end result. even he has expressed doubt. but what would your plan be to end the war? >> first, improve our leverage at the negotiating table by making clear we are going to be providing sustained military and economic support to ukraine. there's a narrative that the russians are winning the war in the donbas. that is not true. they are sacrificing thousands of casualties for every square kilometer gained. they have double digit inflation back home. they have shortages of material and manpower, both on the front lines and in the rear. they are going to have a very hard time sustaining that war effort over the next 18 months, particularly as oil, gas and semiconductor sanctions truly undermine their war making capacity. so be very clear that western backing for ukraine

militarily is not going anywhere. secondly, sustain the economic lifeline to ukraine through the g7 $50 billion loan that was underwritten with russian frozen assets. and be very clear to vladimir putin, those $300 billion that are in brussels or new york city, they're not coming back without a strong deal. and then finally, yes, negotiate. but ukraine needs to be center at the table, centered at the table. excuse me. and we need to be clear that we need security guarantees for the eastern border through the european union and the lisbon treaty. we need freedom of navigation in the black sea. um, and we need to see russian declarations of respect for ukrainian sovereignty and its ability to develop its own economy. >> congressman auchincloss, thank you so much. i'm joined now by cnn chief international anchor christiane amanpour. so what do you make of this moment, christiane? >> look, this is a zelenskyy's make or break moment. in the three years of the war, we've

just passed the three year anniversary this this week. and this is the moment when the current president of the united states really does hold a huge amount of of power over how this war is going to go. the survival of ukraine as a democratic, sovereign and independent state. and that is why it is so unbelievably important. you really cannot overestimate what zelenskyy has to try to make happen in his meeting today. there is a huge amount of tension and friction, as we've been reporting over, not just the last week, but the last several weeks. we saw it in munich when i was there. it just it started to unravel when the united states, jd vance, the vice president, started to say that russia external forces weren't the big threat and and didn't talk about ukraine or security at the security conference. but this week, you've seen president macron, you've seen prime minister starmer. and you heard a little bit more from president trump as

to what he believes should be the result that ukraine should be whole and safe. but the key is, as your previous congressman and other guests have said, there has to be some kind of security guarantee. it is clear that the united states will not be putting boots on the ground. it is clear that a nato force will not be there as peacekeepers, but the european forces will need what they call a backstop. a backstop is not just some little tripwire, not just some binoculars looking. it is the might of the only government that has this wherewithal, and that is the united states, to help in the air, to help potentially, uh, you know, monitor the air and make sure that there's absolutely no violation by the russians. and to make a commitment to to help allies should the russians probe and try to attack any of those allies that are patrolling any ceasefire. this is the most important thing. i have covered

many wars and peace and enforcement. many, many, many. i have covered them with u.s. peacekeepers, european peacekeepers, nato peacekeepers. there is always has to be a security guarantee. and i think that most people believe that an economic guarantee, i.e. a mineral deal or business presence, will not be the security guarantee that that ukraine needs. so this is volodymyr zelenskyy's big, big job today. and i think one other thing to be to be quite clear about it, was president trump in his first term who did provide lethal weaponry to the ukrainians. it had been prevented by the previous administration of obama, and they did provide javelins. this actually did have a major impact in the initial weeks of the war. so president trump can see for himself that even that amount small amounts but of important weaponry to reinforce ukrainian forces, not nato forces,

ukrainian forces and allow them to fight their own war. it worked. and so zelenskyy will be obviously also making a massive plea to continue american military help because, as congressman ross said, there needs to be leverage in order to go to a negotiation. and if ukraine keeps being de-legitimized by president trump, that's not going to work very well at a negotiating table. >> christiane amanpour thank you so much for your thoughts and analysis. given all that you have covered in your career. you talk about how important this meeting is. we are waiting. we are watching, and we'll be back in just a moment. be sure to stay with us. >> on cnn. newsroom is brought to you by home instead for a better what's next? >> home is where. >> we do the things we love with the people we love. celebrating.

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changes or eye pain occur. >> what a wonderful world. >> ask your doctor about once daily trelegy for copd because breathing should be beautiful all day and night. >> it's the news. >> welcome back. >> but it's also kind of not the news. >> why should all the. >> information on this show so terrible? >> have i got news for you? new tomorrow on cnn. >> any moment we expect president trump to greet ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy at the white house. this is a huge meeting for both men. a lot on the table. one of those things on the table, of course, is this mineral deal. i got a panel of cnn reporters and analysts with me. alex marquardt, to start with you. you have this new reporting about this this deal on minerals and maybe the lack of natural resources potentially, that could be in ukraine. right? >> yeah. so this this deal that is, is being unveiled today is essentially an agreement to create a jointly operated fund by the two countries, but it

really lacks, pamela, specifics on what minerals we're talking about, where they are, how many they could expect to to to eventually extract. the u.s. president today is certainly going to claim this as a win, a repayment for the tens and hundreds of billions of dollars. he says. it's actually just over $100 billion worth of aid that that has gone to ukraine over the years. but in speaking with current trump administration officials, biden administration officials and experts, what is clear is how vague the sense is of what is is actually out there. this was a deal that was proposed also to the biden administration last year. i was told that they essentially passed on it because of the impracticality of going out and mining these these various minerals. now, one expert i spoke with highlighted the fact that of the rare earth minerals which president trump has talked about so much, ukraine actually has zero proven reserves of rare earth minerals. now there are all kinds of other

critical minerals, many of them, i'm told, lie in the eastern part of the country, which of course is very contested area. it's war torn area. it's a russian occupied area. and then minerals that are elsewhere in safer areas actually don't amount to all that much compared to what the rest of the world has. so what we're going to see today is a deal that both sides will claim as as good for each of their countries, but it really is lacking in specifics about what is expected to come in the years that follow, because it will take years to extract this. >> nick paton walsh to bring you in. what is the feeling there on the ground in kyiv, where you are about this meeting here at the white house? >> it's really important to stress exactly how much of daily life here hinges on what will happen in the white house in the next few hours or so. one fact that's lost, really is since donald trump called zelenskyy a dictator ten days ago, 47 ukrainian civilians have lost their lives and 222 have been

injured by russian strikes. and that's a fairly average toll. one we've done through looking through official statements. and that, i think, brings home just how critical this is to daily life here. ultimately, the rare earth minerals deal, which is a bit of a fudge, to be honest. it leaves a lot of the hard work for later agreements. it's about trying to get over the hurdle in relationships, making sure that donald trump feels he gets some sort of reimbursement victory, although it isn't really phrased that way. in the document that we saw. current as of wednesday morning. but zelenskyy also gets to try and repair that personal relationship. this is what it all really rests upon. can he make donald trump feel that he and the cause of ukraine is one that he feels an affinity with, that he likes? and we've seen emmanuel macron of france. keir starmer of the united kingdom deeply reach into their reserves of personal charm to try and win donald trump around to the cause of european security and u.s. backing for it. and we also know that zelenskyy will, he said himself, ask directly of donald trump if u.s. aid will continue

at the same pace and way that it did under the biden administration. this is a really make or break moment meeting. it looks like the road has been nicely paved for a rapprochement between the two men. and indeed, when donald trump was asked if he stood by his comments or apologize for his comments about zelenskyy being dictator, he sort of laughed off the consequences of remarks from the seal of the president of the united states, and said that he can't believe he said that. clearly, i think he feels now the deal potentially is underway. he would like to see that relationship improve. but we know from the whiplash of the past 2 to 3 weeks, things can change hour by hour. in all of this, and also two, i think there are many here in ukraine concerned that the next time, maybe donald trump speaks to the kremlin head that may to drag him further back towards the geopolitical interests of moscow. but this is a key meeting for zelenskyy, possibly the most consequential since the start of the war moment for his presidency, where he stood here in central kyiv and purportedly

told the biden administration that he didn't need a ride out of here, he needed ammo. this is what many ukrainians are waiting for. but you have to remember that two things are vital about this. one, if it goes well, it simply puts ukraine back where it was six weeks ago into a war where it's losing slowly on the front lines, experiencing itself pretty bad casualties daily. and we mentioned the civilian toll as well, but also two for zelenskyy. there is some victory here. he's beating vladimir putin into the white house to meet donald trump in his second term. that is key. and i think many in kyiv will take some kind of consolation from that. but you have to remember, for people living through drone strikes, over 200 drones launched by russia against ukraine just last night alone, we nearly hit 3000 since the last two weeks or so. uh, they see this sort of disruption, this sort of chaos in an alliance that was so key to their mere survival. >> all right. i'm going to. >> cut in right now because we

are seeing the meat. we are seeing vladimir zelenskyy, the president of ukraine, and president trump meet there at the white house before their bilateral meeting. and then after a press conference, um, these men have quite a storied history over the years, including his first administration, with the phone call with zelenskyy leading to his impeachment. and now the ukraine war. and this potential minerals deal, and volodymyr zelenskyy just trying to save his country. david sanger to bring you in. how are you viewing this meeting? >> well, you know, i think the central question that zelenskyy has. >> to go resolve. >> as he walks into the. >> oval office right now. >> with the. >> president. >> is which side of this war is. >> donald trump on? >> uh, the past few weeks. the president has suggested that his sympathies really lie with the russians. you saw that in his refusal to say that it was russian aggression that began

the war. you saw it in the discussions that they had in saudi arabia, where there was talk about a broader economic relationship with russia, which would mean undoing the sanctions that were imposed here. so if you're president zelenskyy, you've got to think, gee, my biggest ally is about to go over to the other side here. and that's what he's trying to pull him back from. it's also what president macron of france and prime minister starmer of britain were trying to figure out and to prevent in their meetings in recent days. and i'm not sure at the end of this whether we'll know the answer to that question. i think what we will know is that this deal has been signed, as alex and others have all noted here. there's nothing very specific in it. the $500 billion requirement that was in the agreement a few weeks ago is gone. it will be kicked down the

road. all of the specifics. it does enable president trump to stand up and say, i have achieved what i need to achieve, and i can now back the ukrainians, but i'm not sure president zelenskyy will actually trust that. >> all right. we shall see. they are going in now for this bilateral meeting, hopefully will be brought in to the room soon and they will take some questions. we shall see. stay with us. we'll be right back. >> twitter. >> that's a great name. >> we invented a whole new thing. no one could possibly have understood where it was going. >> twitter. breaking the bird premieres march 9th on cnn. >> who has more subscriptions. >> or a package. >> deal, baby? >> and your subscription. >> is my subscription. >> all right. we have about 100. >> but with. >> experian app, they can help. >> cancel those subscriptions that we don't even need. >> very helpful. >> download the app now.

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>> visit homeserve. com. >> the presidential address to congress tuesday at 8:00 on cnn. >> as the lines of communication open up between president trump and vladimir putin, some u.s. officials say russia is eyeing it as an opportunity to rebuild its spy network in the west. cnn's natasha bertrand is at the pentagon. natasha, what more are you learning about russia's aspirations here to expand spy. networks? >> well, pam curran. >> and former u.s. officials told us that russia really sees these talks with the u.s. about reestablishing its diplomatic presence on u.s. soil as a prime opening to reestablish its spy network here. >> in the united states, which has really been decimated over the last nearly ten years, since 2016, as the u.s. has continued to expel russian diplomats who they say are actually intelligence operatives operating under very thin cover out of their consulates and embassies across the country. and we are told, actually, that in these talks, this has been such a priority for the russians getting these diplomatic

facilities back, getting their people back inside the u.s., that they are actually withholding a future high level meeting with the united states on issues perhaps related to ukraine and other sensitive topics until they can see progress, tangible progress on getting their people back into the united states. now, as i said, the the russians have been really trying to rebuild their spy network, not only here in the u.s., but also in europe, where it has been decimated, in particular since russia invaded ukraine in 2022. and europe took really dramatic steps to expel all of the russian intelligence operatives that they could identify. but in terms of this move now, where it seems as though these operatives are going to be allowed to come back, and in some significant number to the u.s. a u.s. official told us that, quote, the last wave of exps. they were almost entirely operatives under thin cover. and he said, it is absolutely ludicrous that this is even in the cards, given how endangering it would be to u.s. national security and how it would require more fbi counterintelligence resources to

address, especially when the fbi is facing staffing reductions and dismissals. now, this is really key, because we were also told that fbi agents who work in counterintelligence are actually more reluctant now than they have been previously to go after russian intelligence operatives or work those kinds of cases, because it could be seen as directly at odds with the trump administration's stated desire to better improve relations with moscow. so you have, on the one hand, the possibility that several of these intelligence operatives are going to be coming back to the u.s. and then an fbi that's going to be more limited in how much pressure they can actually place on these operatives. but still, you know, this is not just a one way street. the u.s. is also going to, depending on how these talks go, place its own operatives back inside russian territory at embassies, for example, inside moscow and other facilities. and so that could also present, of course, an opportunity for the u.s. to have more freedom of movement and more freedom to collect intelligence on the russians. but still, there is always been a large disparity between the number of russian intelligence operatives

operating here versus the americans operating in russia. pam. >> and give us a sense, if you would, natasha, of where these previous russian consulates and embassies were located. >> they were located really all over the country. in 2017, the trump administration actually took steps to close the consulates in washington, d.c., in new york, in houston, as a direct result of russia's meddling in the 2016 election. and then we saw also that they took steps to close a facility that the russians had in seattle because of its proximity to a u.s. naval base there. there were concerns even then about russian espionage activities. and the russians are extremely eager to get these facilities back. in fact, russian foreign minister sergey lavrov, he said publicly that he brought this issue up of these properties that the russians want back in that recent high level meeting with secretary of state marco rubio national security advisor mike waltz and envoy steve witkoff that they had in riyadh. so clearly, you know, a sign

here of just how much emphasis they are placing on getting these facilities back. pam. >> absolutely. natasha bertrand, thank you so much. we have some chilling new information just coming in from the investigation into the deaths of gene hackman and his wife. that's ahead here in the cnn newsroom. >> it was the most exciting. >> time in the world. >> his life. has truly joyful. >> moments and some really difficult moments. you only come across an artist like luther vandross once in a lifetime. >> luther never too much. >> oh, don't forget dinner with my boss, huh? great. >> our new ultimate adhesive will save the day. new polygraph. ultimate. all in one. get superhuman hold food scene and comfort. >> if your mouth could. >> talk. >> it would ask for polygraph. >> are you. >> sitting at home living in pain? the good news is you don't need to live in pain because there is omega xl drug free non-habit forming. it's small, easy to swallow, and it's backed by more than 40

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just in it is the end of an era. skype is shutting down. microsoft just announced that it will shut down the video calling service beginning in may. skype launched in 2003. its popularity skyrocketed, skyrocketed, but it's been pushed out by competitors from other platforms such as zoom and facetime. well, officials in new mexico now say the deaths of gene hackman, his wife betsy, and their dog are suspicious enough for an investigation. but they're also saying there have been no immediate signs of foul play. deputies were called to the couple's home for a wellness check wednesday after a caretaker made this call to 911. >> they appeared to be awake or alert. >> no no no no no no. >> are they moving at all? >> no, they're not moving. just send somebody up here really quick. >> okay. they're on their way.

okay. >> cnn's veronica miracle joins us. this is such a mystery. what more are you hearing, veronica, from authorities. yeah. pamela, it seems like the more information we get, the more perplexing this becomes. the newest information we have this morning is that their bodies may have been there for a couple of weeks, up to a few weeks. according to the santa fe county sheriff. he was telling nbc that this morning. but what they don't know still is exactly how the two of them died. and also their dog. so what is clear right now is both gene hackman and betsy arakawa and their dog. they didn't have any external trauma, so no external injuries or wounds. there was no sign of a struggle. there was also nothing missing from the house. so no signs of a burglary. and so on the surface, it appears that there's no signs of foul play, according to officials. but also important is that there were no immediate signs of a carbon monoxide or a natural gas leak when authorities arrived, which is important because it, you know, doesn't necessarily

mean that it didn't happen at some point. but that will be an important finding in the toxicology report in the weeks to come. but there are some clues that are giving authorities pause. take a listen to the sheriff. >> there were several. >> doors that were. >> unlocked at the residence. i believe the front door was closed. but unlocked, unsecured. there was one door. >> that was ajar and that. >> was towards. >> the rear of the residence that two of the dogs that survived were coming in and out of the residence. we're not sure if that door was open. uh, upon the arrival of emergency personnel or if that, you know, if it was open upon entry of emergency personnel. >> and, pamela, when police responded, they discovered betsy arakawa body in the bathroom on the ground. she was also found next to some scattered pills. hackman's body was found on the ground in the kitchen. and then the dog that had died was found dead in his crate. of course, there were two healthy dogs roaming the property. so again, all of this will be playing into the investigation. but at this point, no clear signs of exactly

what happened. there is going to be a press conference later this afternoon, and hopefully we'll get some more information. pam. all right, veronica, thank you so much. and still ahead this hour, how does a 19 year old who can't write or read. graduate with honors? that's the mystery in connecticut. and now she's suing the school. we'll be right back. >> just close the doors and you're in a world of your own. travel is not just about the destination. it's also about how

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government. he ruled that the mass firings of probationary federal workers is likely unlawful. cnn's rené marsh joins us. so what is the the bottom line here? the immediate impact from this decision, renee. >> so this judge specifically blocked the department of defense from carrying out any mass firings as it relates to probationary employees specifically. but really, when you talk about just broadly, these thousands of probationary employees who have been fired, it's really unclear at this point. the judge made it a point to say that he didn't have the power to reinstate employees who had already been fired. uh, and also, he made the point that agencies themselves have the right to fire probationary employees. but what was clear was that this judge felt as if opm overstepped their authority, that they have no authority to instruct or direct agencies to carry out these mass firings. he said, in quite strong words, he says opm does not have any

authority whatsoever under any statute in the history of the universe to hire or fire any employees on its own. this certainly seen as a win for these labor unions who brought this suit saying that this action was illegal. the president of afge, one of the unions representing thousands of these federal employees, saying that these firings were illegal and plain and simple, they will keep on fighting until they stop these demoralizing and damaging attacks on the civil servants. the other last thing that came out of this was that, um, you know, again, this judge saying that he is not able to reinstate the people who have already been fired. so, again, it remains to be seen the full impact. >> and the fact that he clarified in the universe. you know, clearly he's trying to make a point with his language. um, and what about the big staffing cuts to know? i mean, right now, obviously this is in hurricane season, but what could

this mean for us in hurricane season? >> so sources tell cnn some 800 people terminated yesterday, including many probationary coming on the same day as this ruling from this judge. um, but we are expecting more. so the final number could be something like 1000 people from this one agency. and this is an agency that employs scientists. researchers focus on things like climate at a time where we are seeing a lot of frequent extreme weather events, and this is also an agency that has dealt with a lot of understaffing. so this will be a blow to this agency to lose this many within just 24 hours. >> certainly, renee, thank you so much. well, graduating high school and looking forward to college is a defining moment for a lot of teens. but for one young woman in connecticut, that moment came with a lot of challenges. as she sets her sights on attending the university of connecticut. she's also suing her former school district. she says she graduated with honors despite

never learning how to read or write. cnn's danny freeman explains. >> did you ever think you'd be going. >> to college here? >> no. >> never? no. never in a million years. >> in some. >> ways. alicia ortiz is living. >> an american dream. >> the 19 year old began her freshman year at the university of connecticut in hartford this fall, she's excited to study public policy. the culmination of hard work after moving north from puerto rico as a child. do you remember when you first came to connecticut? >> yes, i remember i was very nervous, but i know it was going to be. a better opportunity for me to learn. >> but alicia says those opportunities never came to fruition, even today. could you read this or would it take you a long. >> time? >> it's impossible to see his words everywhere. >> alicia graduated from the hartford public school system last year, but she says today she is illiterate. she still doesn't know how to read or

write. when she was an early education. >> there were just either tell me to stay in the corner and sleep. um, or just draw pictures flowers for them. >> and when she was in high school, she relied on speech to text programs and other apps to read and write essays. so if you had an assignment where you had to write something, you'd open up a document like this and then do what. >> i was go here, um, to use the text to speech. >> says dictate, dictate. >> yeah, i love pizza. >> this is how you would do your assignments. >> and then cats of the. >> world vacaya sporting a twin prop airplane. >> if you had to read something, that's how you do it. she said her mother, who does not speak english well, tried to get answers. >> she advocated so much she went to the school. the principal will promise her that they will do better, and sometimes it will be people from

the district or the directors promising her that they would do better. >> now alicia is suing the hartford board of education and the city for negligence. the suit alleges the school district documented and acknowledged alicia's learning challenges through multiple grades. but because they were not adequately addressed, she continued to struggle academically and began exhibiting maladaptive behaviors in the classroom. >> sometimes i will feel proud to be the best child because at least i was something to them. and i wasn't invisible. >> while the city of hartford and an educator named in the suit declined to comment when contacted by cnn. in a statement, hartford public schools wrote, while hartford public schools cannot comment on pending litigation, we remain deeply committed to meeting the full range of needs our students bring with them when they enter our schools and helping them reach their full potential. >> watch dog. >> man doctor jesse turner is the leader of the literacy center at central connecticut state university. he feels the main issue here is inequality in

public education. >> america should be asking a. >> question do we. >> really care about our children? all of our children? and i would argue that maybe we don't. >> a 2019 report from build, which promotes equity in public schools, found that majority nonwhite school districts get $23 billion less than districts that serve mostly white students. minority enrollment in hartford public schools is at about 90%. >> the department of education is a big con job. >> plus, turner fears a crucial guardrail will be lost if the trump administration follows through with abolishing the department of education. >> how do i protect the special education children? who do i go to if i close it down? >> college has presented its own obstacles, but aleysha says uconn has been accommodating, but she doesn't want any other student to go through what she experienced. >> i know we can do better, and i know we have a powerful community that wants to do better. i want to be the voice for them.

>> danny freeman, cnn, hartford, connecticut. >> who what a story. well, thank you so much for joining us. i'm pamela brown. hope you have a great weekend. and do not forget join wolf blitzer and me in the situation room starting monday weekday mornings from ten to noon. and in the meantime, you can follow me on instagram, tiktok, and x at pamela brown cnn. stay with us. inside politics with dana bash starts after a short break. >> 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. >> copd is an ugly reality. i watch as his world just keeps getting smaller. but then trelegy helped us see things a little differently. with three medicines in one inhaler,

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