shared with us emails like this. hate letters sent by mail. and if you dare look on social media. plenty of cheering for the suffering in the state. >> these are real. >> businesses here in north carolina. >> they support other businesses. >> they brianna clarke-schwelm leads in north carolina public health alliance. >> a lot of people are applying. >> for unemployment right now. >> a lot of people are also pulling their kids out. >> of childcare. >> they're also. thinking about their mortgages. they're thinking about if. >> they're. >> going to stay in north carolina, if they can afford to to stay. >> living here. >> 13,124 jobs have been lost or furloughed. >> sadie healey and her business partner have been tracking the ripple effect of the individual u.s. job losses. organizations and workers are messaging them directly. they use that data and publicly post on their usaid stop work website. walk me through some of the hardest hit states. >> you have florida. >> you have north carolina. >> south carolina.

>> in your perspective, especially having the messaging and the phone calls that you're getting. is this very much an american problem? >> this is. >> 13,000 americans. >> that just. >> suddenly lost their job, who didn't have a plan and didn't know this was coming. so maybe they. >> have some savings. >> but like, you make cuts and that's going to affect your local economy. >> yeah, i can chat with somebody. >> healey and her partner, meg mcclure, forecast that if all active usaid contracts and grants are cut, the groups based just in north carolina could lose more than $2 billion. but it's already having an impact. now. >> i'd like them to know that they are harming ordinary people, and it's really. short sighted and. frankly, cruel.

>> this is what a trade war looks like. the new phase in president trump's tariff plans. standing by to see now how wall street reacts after china and canada retaliated overnight, and hitting everything from meat and vegetables to the cars you drive. so stand by. president trump slamming the brakes also on aid for ukraine. what does kyiv where does kyiv go from here? ukrainian military leaders say it's time for europe to step up. and new orleans security ramping up on this fat tuesday as severe weather forces bourbon street to rethink mardi gras parade plans. sarah is out today. i'm kate bolduan with john berman. this is cnn news central. >> all right. breaking this morning, we are standing by for u.s. markets to open. this is a live look at stock futures. you can see these are big ish losses in the futures market. after

huge losses yesterday. some of the biggest of the year. this morning there is a trade war between the united states and its three largest trading partners china, mexico and canada, all responding to these new tariffs from president trump and global economies. they are rattled. the rupert murdoch owned wall street journal calls the president's move, quote, the dumbest tariff plunge. let's go right to china. cnn's mark stuart is live in beijing, where the chinese did respond overnight with arguably measure slightly harsher than the u.s. might have been expecting. mark. >> absolutely, john. china was really strategic about this. these latest tariffs, these additional tariffs are not only symbolic, but they also are very strong targeting industries and people who work in areas such as farming, such as agriculture, such as food production, middle america, the midwest. these

tariffs an additional 10 to 15% depending on the product cover. things like cotton, corn, chicken. one item on the list that really caught my attention were soybeans. why soybeans? china has a very large pork industry. pigs and pork make up a very prized commodity here. uh, america's soybeans are dependent on upon china to feed those pigs, which help fuel that industry. something else that's noticeable. the language that we're hearing from the chinese government. very strong, very forceful. a big shift from even a few weeks, even a few days ago. let's listen to what one chinese official said just hours ago here in beijing. >> quote. >> if the u.s. >> has ulterior motives and insists on waging a. tariff war, trade war or any other kind of war, china will fight the u.s. till the end. we advise the u.s.

to put away its bullying face and return to the right track of dialog and cooperation before it is too late. i've been talking to a number of sources in both economic and diplomatic spheres. they said this was coming. china would only tolerate so much. and now we have these latest tariffs. and john, this is not really a surprise in the sense it follows china's foreign policy book. it's its idea of for tat. you heard us. we'll hurt you back. and now china is firing back with some tariffs that really do seem to make an impression, john. >> yeah they do. and again the markets ticking down this morning after really bad days yesterday might be an indication that investors see china's response both verbally and on paper as a little bit harsher, a little more revved up than maybe the administration expected. marc stewart it's great to have you there, expanding things so clearly. obviously, these huge

market drops make for an interesting backdrop to president's address to congress tonight. add to that the turmoil with the united states cutting off aid to ukraine. let's get a preview of what the president might say tonight before congress. sophia cai, white house reporter for politico, is with us this morning. so, sophia, what are you hearing? the president wants to do as obviously there is chaos happening behind him of largely his own creation. >> yeah. >> i think. >> look, the. >> economic chaos he plans to blame on democrats. so we'll see some of that. the theme will be the renewal of the american dream. look, he's 42 days into his presidency, and this is the type of moment that he savors. the spotlight is on him. he's got an audience and he's really good at the visuals. right. last time he had a big moment like this on the campaign trail was his debate against former president biden. and, you know,

during that moment, he prepared for the visuals, how he would glance at biden. i mean, those are things that he's very good at. and in terms of the the context of his speech. look, he's going to talk about immigration. this is something that was lost, you know, a little bit it took a back seat to doge. he'll continue to talk about doge. he doesn't really have mass deportation numbers to brag about, but what he can talk about and what he will is you're going to hear him say that border crossings dropped. and it is true they have dropped to the lowest numbers in decades. he will also be defending why he is no longer going to be sending military aid to ukraine. and some of the new tariffs that he's imposing. >> it is interesting, sophia, because as you note, the first 42 days of his administration, he's done a lot of things and talked about a lot of things. but the direct focus on the economy maybe not as much. you think there will be a turn tonight and at least trying to put some of the blame on democrats?

>> i think, yeah, he'll turn to saying, look, you know, we've done a lot of talking about the price of eggs. he's going to say that's an economy that he inherited from biden. so you'll see some of that. he did a lot of that on the campaign trail. and look, if you're a democrat, you're going to be sitting here. they're going to be bringing a lot of fired federal workers. that was a result of doge. they're going to highlight some of those big consequences. and they'll say, look, at the end of the day, this is now trump's economy. you know, the buck stops with him. so that's some of the response that we're expecting to see and to hear from democrats who are going to be in the room. >> sophia kai, white house reporter from politico. great to see you this morning. thanks so much for sharing your reporting with us. kate. >> joining us right now is democratic congressman jim clyburn of south carolina. to talk much more about what's about to happen tonight. and also, congressman, thanks for being here. i want to get straight to some of the latest

elements of the president's plans and vision for the country and what he's going to be talking about in part tonight, like halting military aid to ukraine, essentially giving zelenskyy an ultimatum, if that is what this is, what happens now? >> well, thank you very much for having me. as you can see, i'm flying the colors of ukraine this morning. i do believe very strongly that we have on the international stage an obligation to our european allies. ukraine being tantamount among them. i think that what we have seen in the last several days is this administration realigning the foreign policy of our country to line up with that of russia. a man, putin, who is trying to re constitute, uh, the

old soviet union. he's told us that in so many times. and why we are becoming a party to that is beyond me. i would hope that the american people continue to support our alliances around the world, will continue to support, uh, nato because that is what is needed for us to keep a country and a rural safe from wars. >> congressman, i've heard a lot of republicans saying in the last couple of days that zelenskyy needs to apologize and he needs to make it right to kind of get things back on track. but is it clear what exactly president zelenskyy needs to do or say for president trump to resume the military assistance? >> well, i think that he is doing it. when he left here after being insulted, uh, in the oval office, he went directly to those nato countries, went to

europe, uh, because we cannot function properly in this country without our alliances in the european countries. so he went to where he needed to go into the safe harbor that the european nations supplied him. and they have stepped up to fill that void. and i think we run a risk here if we continue to go it alone and have all those nato countries lining up against us. that's not going to be good for our foreign policy, and that's not going to be good for our economy. we are in a trade war already. i would hope that will not become a hot war. uh, on the armament side. >> let me ask you about about the trade war. so we've now got new tariffs on china, mexico and canada. china and canada are slapping tariffs back on the united states in return. and i was looking through it this morning. south carolina

potentially could get hit hard here because south carolina exports a lot of things like cars. number one. also corn, cotton and wheat are some of the state's top agricultural exports, which are now targets of china. what does this mean for south carolina? >> this would be catastrophic for south carolina. and i hope the voters of south carolina will take a hard look at this, because i they have been voting, uh, in a strange way of late, not only automobiles, but our farmers. rural south carolina is very, very important to me. and soybeans. now, those soybeans leave south carolina. much of that ends up in china, where they feed their cattle. and then we will then lose if they have this trade war and they are not, uh, honoring, uh. their, uh, past relationships to us, the farmers of south carolina are going to feel the pressure in

the very strange way. and by the way, we make more tires, automobile tires, truck tires, bus tires in south carolina than they make in ohio anymore. and so we are going to be in a very serious situation if this continues. so i would say to president trump, this is not the way you should be treating your constituents. a whole lot of them there in south carolina. >> you, of course, are, uh, senior democrat in the house of representatives. you that leadership for many, many years. the president's speech tonight and what happens in the chamber. i'm curious on your take because i've seen a range of reporting on how democrats are planning to approach the theatrics of it all. some saying that it's going to be a more subdued response than maybe we have seen and heard in recent years. but i also have seen in

axios just this morning, there is talk among some democrats looking to disrupt the speech, even bringing props that could include noisemakers. i mean, do you think disruptions are what your constituents want, or do you think disruptions tonight plays into the president's hands? >> i think it will play into the president's hands. i would hope we would not have disruptions. have demonstrations. you can demonstrate. you know, i'm a product of the 60s. i believe sit ins were very effective. i have advocated us sitting in tonight, go, everybody show up. get in your seats. and when he's introduced, sit in. don't demonstrate in the his hands. but illustrate how displeased we are with this administration. and how can i believe that we could do that by sitting on our hands, rather than playing into his hands?

>> congressman jim clyburn, thank you very much for coming on this morning. thank you. make sure to tune in tonight for cnn's full coverage of tonight's presidential address to a joint session of congress, beginning at 8 p.m. eastern. john. >> the congressman, wearing the colors and the flag of ukraine there this morning. all right. this is a live look at stock futures. they are ticking downward. still getting worse over the course of the morning. the markets open shortly. this is a reaction to president trump's tariffs on mexico china canada and the harsher than expected reaction from those countries. so we will see where this heads over the next several minutes. new this morning, the head of the fbi's largest field office says he was forced to retire without reason. this comes just after he told agents he was prepared to fight after all the firings at the agency, and dozens of construction workers are found alive after spending 36 hours trapped under an avalanche.

>> 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 tonight at eight on cnn. >> bye bye. >> cough or 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. >> liberty. >> liberty mutual. >> is all. >> she talks about. since we saved hundreds by bundling our home and auto insurance. >> it's pronounced liberty. >> liberty. >> liberty, liberty. nice try kid. only pay for what you need. >> liberty, liberty, liberty. >> liberty, huh? >> mornings. cough. congestion. >> i'm feeling better all in one. and done with mucinex. kickstart. >> ooh, headaches. >> better now? >> mucinex kickstart gives all in one and done relief with a morning jolt of instant cooling sensation. it's comeback

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and long lasting. we got you. see if sparks are right for you at sparks. >> when it comes to rooting out corruption. >> do the fbi's. ends justify. the means? >> it was humiliating. it's an embarrassment for the country. >> united states. >> of scandal with jake tapper sunday at nine on cnn. >> so the head of the fbi's largest field office is officially out. james dennehy the top agent in new york, says he was forced to retire, quote, without reason. now, this is just weeks after he wrote to his fellow agents, and there was a lot of reporting around it at the time and urging his staff to, quote, unquote, dig in. in the midst of the trump administration beginning to target some fbi officials. cnn's josh campbell joins us now with more reporting on this.

and, josh, what are you learning? >> well, kate, this appears to be the latest in a series of purges that we've seen at the top ranks of the fbi. we're talking about the new york field office, the largest fbi office, thousands of personnel. and the man who led that, jim dennehy has just been forced out that according to an email obtained by cnn that he sent to the workforce. i'll read you part of that. he said, quote, late friday, i was informed that i needed to put my retirement papers in today, which i just did. i was not given a reason for this decision. now, we've reached out to the fbi for comment asking for more information, but important context here, because last month, amid all these reports of potential mass firings at the fbi, as well as the purging of senior leadership, dennehy wrote an impassioned message to the force, essentially telling them, i've got your back. i'll read you part of that. he wrote that today we find ourselves in the middle of a battle of our own, as good people are being walked out of the fbi and others are being targeted because they did

their jobs in accordance with the law and fbi policy. i'm sticking around to defend you, your work, your families and the team we call the flagship. time for me to dig in. and i've talked to a lot of fbi employees who appreciated that, you know, someone sticking up for them, trying to defend them amid what they perceive to be, you know, political fallout here. and i'll read you how he signed off his message yesterday to the workforce on his last day on the job. he said, quote, i've been told many times in my life, when you find yourself in a hole, sometimes it's best to quit digging. screw that. i will never stop defending this joint. and kate, he went on to sign off, saying he'll just willingly do it from, quote, outside the wire. >> and josh, just specifically on the fbi, the new york's fbi office, which is the one that dennehy led it recently also came under some pretty intense criticism from the now attorney general, pam bondi. >> that's right. she has been really focused on the jeffrey epstein investigation, demanding all kinds of records from the

fbi and prosecutors. she had actually written to kash patel, the fbi director, saying that she believed the fbi's new york office was essentially hiding documents from the justice department. this was the office, of course, that dennehy led. so i think you take that the epstein investigation, her focus on that, which, by the way, we haven't heard, you know, any information to substantiate that. documents are being hidden, but that taken with the fact he's been so vocal in trying to defend the force from what many in the fbi perceive to be political retribution, it appeared that he had a mark on him, on his career. and again, he is out now, just one of many senior executives who have been shown the door. >> that's right. josh campbell, good to see you. thank you for your reporting, josh, as always. coming up still for us, a new health update on pope francis this morning, the vatican saying that he is awake and resting, but he is not out of danger yet. and mattel now celebrating international women's day with new barbies honoring female friendship. >> amid upheaval and sweeping

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invented a whole new thing. >> no one could possibly have understood where it was going. >> twitter. breaking the bird premieres sunday at ten on cnn. >> all right, new this morning the vatican says pope francis is, quote, not out of danger and that his condition remains complex. this after the 88 year old suffered two episodes of acute respiratory failure. let's get the latest from rome. cnn's ben wedeman is there. >> tuesday morning, the vatican issued its usual. >> terse, one. >> line update on pope francis, saying he slept all night and now. >> continues to rest. but his health. >> does. >> not appear to be improving. >> monday evening, the vatican press office reported pope. francis had experienced. >> two episodes. >> of what it described as acute respiratory. >> failure. >> this underscoring the gravity of. >> the 88.

>> year old pontiff situation as he struggles with double pneumonia in a special wing here at rome's gemelli hospital. the vatican said monday an accumulation of mucus narrowed. pope francis's airways. compelling medical staff to administer. two bronchoscopies. doctors also fitted the pope with an oxygen. mask to help his breathing. in the words of a vatican source, it was a difficult afternoon monday, not the first time alarms have gone off here and probably not the last. pope francis has been in hospital now for 19 days and no one is talking at this point about when he might be able to leave. i'm ben wedeman reporting from rome. >> all right. new reports just in from ukraine on the impact of president trump halting military aid to the country. a country under constant attack from russia. and we have got a live

look at market futures markets open not long from now. i have to say the futures pointing lower and lower as the morning goes on. we've been keeping our eye on this. perhaps a reaction to what canada, china and mexico have done in retaliation to these tariffs laid out by president trump. we are standing by for more on this. our coverage continues. >> have i got news for you is back. let's think of some new games to play. what do you got? >> yes. >> something like, uh. >> oh. what? >> keep playing the same games. >> yeah. >> let's do the same games. >> have i. >> got news for you? saturday at nine on cnn. >> bye bye. >> cough or chest congestion? hello. 12 hours of relief. >> 12 hours. no coughing. >> 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. >> like a relentless weed. moderate to severe ulcerative

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reacts today, after china and canada retaliated overnight to president trump's new tariffs and the trade war that is clearly now upon us. tonight, the president is headed to capitol hill for his first major address to congress of this second term. so another question is how are americans feeling about president trump as he heads to the capitol? harry enten is here to help us set the scene. so set the scene. first of all, overall approval. what how that helps us always have a good sense of how americans are feeling. >> right. >> we'll set the baseline here. we'll look at overall approval rating. and we're going to look at it. >> at presidents. >> at this. >> point in. >> their presidency. right. >> and the word. >> here that i. >> would use to. >> describe trump. is awful. in fact. >> the only. >> person who. >> does worse than trump. >> does right now with a plus one net approval rating. >> is himself. >> back at. >> 2017 when he was at. >> minus eight. >> so he's doing better than he. >> was. >> going to say. you could spin it another way. he's making

gains. >> he's making gains. >> but. he's doing. >> worse than. >> everybody else. >> the average president at this. >> point get this plus. >> 27 points on their net. >> approval rating. donald trump is doing historically awful. >> the only person he beats. >> is again. >> himself from term number one. >> how about on the issue? that one he says he was most elected to to fix. and he said he would do it on day one, which would be the economy. >> on the economy. well, he beat himself on overall, but on the economy, he can't even beat himself. again. this is historically the worst going back in polling at this point in a presidency. the net approval rating on the economy. he's right now at minus four points in term number one. he was at plus eight points. historically, the averages plus 15 points. he is doing nearly 20 points worse than the average president when it comes to the economy. a net approval rating. he is historically doing awful, awful awful, weak weak, weak. and on the issue on which he was elected to, of course, fixed. he is doing historically awful. this is not good. if this number holds, you can guarantee his

overall approval rating will go down and it could take his entire presidency with him. >> and this also now can change very quickly because of tariffs. i mean, you have a lot of mixed reaction coming in from all, especially amongst republicans, on what these tariffs are really going to mean. i mean, can these tariffs help the president? >> i don't think they're going to help the president, at least in the near term. and the reason why is, simply put, look at the opposition. americans oppose tariffs on canada. look at this. you got nearly two thirds of the country opposing it on canada 64%. how about on mexico. nearly 3/5 of the country 59%. we're already dealing with a president who what we're having is the economy bringing him down. these tariffs in my mind, will only bring him down further. again, historically awful on the economy at this point. and the tariffs, i think will only lead to further deterioration. >> kate bolduan if prices go up. that is not the direction that americans elected him. >> new americans don't like the idea of prices going up that leads to approval ratings going down. >> harry enten getting exercise

on live tv. it's good to see you. >> thank you. nice to. >> see you, john. >> you know, he's serious. if he's using your last name. >> all right. >> new this morning, a former ukrainian defense official calls president trump's order to halt all military aid to ukraine. quote, probably one of the biggest shocks of the war. joining us now, cnn senior military analyst, former nato supreme allied commander, admiral james stavridis. we should note admiral stavridis is a partner at the carlyle group, a global investment firm, and he serves on the board of advisors for a handful of defense related companies. admiral, very nice to see you. our nick paton walsh on the ground in ukraine. just heard from a ukrainian official who tells him they could run out of artillery shells by may. if the united states continues this pause in military aid, what would the impact of that be? >> oh, it would be devastating on the front lines. this really has turned into a world war one level battle of artillery back and forth, tanks moving back and

forth, trench warfare. john, if it were a novel, it would be all quiet on the western front. it is, uh, the coin of the realm in this conflict at this moment. are those artillery shells? so the europeans have some capacity here, but they're going to have to really stoke their own fires. and by may that's going to be a real problem on the battlefield. >> um, the question is, cui bono, who benefits from this decision by president trump to halt military aid? >> gosh, let me think. um, it's got to be vladimir putin. and by the way, we underestimate this, but it's also xi jinping in china who is looking covetously at that small democracy nearby called taiwan. it benefits iran, which is pumping military aid into russia for the war in ukraine. it benefits north

korea. gosh, are those the countries we want to be aligned with? i say no. >> admiral, your life has been spent in the military, but in the senior echelons, of course, politics and diplomacy do factor in. vladimir zelenskyy, the president of ukraine, is now faced with a choice. i mean, president trump is demanding a public apology in order to get aid reinstated. what would you advise president zelenskyy to do? >> i wouldn't apologize, but i would advise him, and i think this is what he's going to do. john, align himself closely with the europeans, perhaps go back to washington as part of a european group led by emmanuel macron of france and keir starmer of the united kingdom, up the discussions of the mineral deal. trump really wants that and indicate that you want to work with washington, but you also are going to work with the

europeans so that the europeans provide more support for you. i think that's the package of the deal that could get done. look, in in finance and international business, we often say no deal is ready until it's died at least twice. let's give this one a couple more rounds. final thought here, by the way, john. the europeans we talked a moment ago about their challenges in getting artillery shells. but broadly speaking, europe has immense capacity. europe collectively, is the 450 million people. it's the second largest economy in the world. 22% of the world's gdp. they have excellent defense firms. they're b.a. taylor's airbus saab. they don't just make cars, they make gripen fighters. the europeans, over time, over a year or two, can really put a lot of capacity on that battlefield. the key is

going to be getting through the next few months. if team trump seriously cuts off the taps. i hope they don't. >> well, very briefly talk more europe for the moment. and i have seen figures that the europeans and nato countries have increased their defense spending substantially over the last couple of years, which has been a goal of just of the biden administration and the trump administration before that. but, but and i know you've done a lot of thinking about this. does europe need to start thinking about a nato without the united states, which, of course, would not make it nato, but a system without the united states? >> i think it has. there's two ways that could manifest. the united states could effectively withdraw from nato. that would be a geopolitical mistake of epic proportions, but it would leave you with what we could call ito european treaty organization, nato. without the u.s., it would still be by far the most powerful military collection on earth has nuclear power because of france and

germany, nuclear weapons. so that's one way it could go. or the european union. and by the way, one of the strongest figures supporting ukraine is the head of the european union, ursula von der leyen, former defense minister of germany. the europeans just yesterday committed to over $900 billion of defense spending. i think the light is going on not only in brussels but across the continent, that they need to be prepared to go it alone. if the united states continues down this reckless and dangerous course of walking away from ukraine. >> admiral sirvydis, nice to see you this morning. thanks so much for being with us. okay. >> so mardi gras celebrations in new orleans are coming up, and the city has ramped up its security ahead of all of the festivities. mardi gras this year is taking place just weeks after that deadly new year's attack on bourbon street that killed 14 people. so there will

be local, state and federal law enforcement all on the ground this time to help ensure that the thousands of people expected to attend are kept safe. cnn's lee waldman is live in new orleans ahead of all of this. and, lee, what are you learning? one. fantastic. two. what are you seeing and hearing? you know, you have to dress up when you're out here for mardi gras. i feel like i almost look like a carnival poker player at this point, but that's okay. let's talk about the security mixed in with all of the fun outfits. >> that we've been seeing. >> even when it was dark outside at 345 this morning, up until. >> right now. there's so many different law enforcement agencies patrolling through this french quarter. we see national guard, louisiana state police, in addition to the new orleans police department. all throughout here, they have these hardened barriers in place to prevent vehicles from driving up and down bourbon street. and that's all in light of that terror attack, like you mentioned, that happened on

january 1st, that took the lives of those 14 people. now, it was so interesting, as we see the memorial to those victims alongside some of those hardened barriers. in addition to all of that, we know that they are under a tier one rating from the department of homeland security. this entire city is. and what that means is it allows the city to have extensive federal agency support. that means things like, um, cyber assessment risk, canine detection teams, air security and tactical operations support. it is all hands on deck to make sure that this mardi gras goes off without a hitch. and people here are safe. kate. >> absolutely. i was just reading up this morning, and the weather could also be having an impact on mardi gras festivities as well. >> we are already feeling that impact too. so it is 630 this morning, local time. that's when the first parade started rolling. the sun wasn't even up here yet and they're having to move all of those parades that were scheduled throughout the

day today to this morning because of that threat of severe weather that could impact the city of new orleans. we know we're still going to see those big iconic floats that people know and love, but there's not going to be any marching bands. no other parade event festivities. in addition to those floats, we spoke with the new orleans police department superintendent anne kirkpatrick yesterday. she has the say of whether or not mardi gras goes on without a hitch. and she said, if this weather takes a turn for the worse, she is canceling all events to make sure that people stay safe. that's what we got our visor secured on here. kate, just let me know if you want this exact one from new orleans, or if you want me to bring you a different one. i can also get you a matching vest, too. >> i mean, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. i will take whatever you got because you make that visor look good. my friend. looking good. and i think it's going to be great for rain protection as well. that fringe is going to block it all out for you all day long. thank you. lee. really appreciate it. looking good,

looking good. i love it john harwood i actually turned to look at all of a sudden i'm like lee, very serious. oh, lee's got a great gray hat on. yeah. >> i saw you coveting that hat, too. all right. quote i felt insulted and aggravated the new message from a fired federal worker as he plans to come face to face with president trump at the president's speech to congress tonight. and the hazards of a haboob. this is serious business for anyone who has ever been in a dust storm like this. it really can be life or death. you will not believe the video we're about to show you. and what happened to the family that was caught in the middle. >> 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 tonight at eight on cnn. >> did they. >> just. >> hop from a. >> baseball game to.

>> a show on max without leaving direct tv? >> it's like. >> all their apps and channels are connected. >> oh, it's all connected. shows, movies, sports? cooking shows. >> is she talking to us? >> tell me, how does direct tv put all your favorite stuff on one home screen? uncanny content suggestions based on your watch history or mind control. >> were you recently electrocuted? >> a better way to watch whatever you want to watch? >> well, i, for one, am intrigued. >> it's halftime. time to open the fridge. >> all right. >> i'm not sure why i'm showing you this. >> the cabinets and the pantry. >> and here you've got plenty. >> of storage for snacks or. expired stuff. >> and show how much space you have in your kitchen. selling your home to open door is so easy. you can do it during half time. >> keep an eye on this for a bit. >> oh yeah. it's not like i'm selling the house or anything. >> get started at open door.com. >> so you're feeling a little bit. >> anxious.

>> tired. >> i know. >> just the thing. >> it's all natural. >> you don't. >> need a prescription. >> and those government regulators have no hand in it. >> they don't even want you to know. >> is it tested? >> no. >> but i'm your friend. >> i'm your mom. >> this is. >> your favorite podcast. >> trust me, bro. >> you'll be back. >> emus can help people customize and. >> save with liberty. >> mutual. >> and doug. >> well, i'll be. >> only pay for what you need. >> liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. >> got one more. >> antoine with usps ground advantage. it's like you're with us every step of. >> the way. cool.

right on time. stay in the know. >> from your dock to their door. >> the most sacred thing in life isn't the path. it's the freedom to choose it. your freedom is the roar of one man's engine. and the silence of another's. so choose, but choose wisely. choose what makes you happy. my friends, my family, my work. make me happy. this jeep makes me happy. even though my name is fawn. >> and. >> when it. >> comes to rooting out. >> corruption. >> do the fbi's. ends justify. >> the means? >> it was humiliating. it's an embarrassment fo

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>> so this morning the supreme court is expected to hear arguments in a lawsuit that mexico has brought against a gun manufacturer. smith and wesson. mexican government alleges that the company, along with six other major u.s. gun makers, they design and market guns specifically to drug cartels. cnn's joan biskupic is here with us. she's got much more on it. joan, what is going on here with this one? >> sure. good morning. >> kate. you know, this is such an intriguing case. and coming to us at such an interesting time because of the relationship between u.s. and mexico is, you know, can be very fraught. and also a lot of questions about what's coming and going across the border. and this case, it's about guns coming from the u.s. into mexico. and what mexico has said is that these smith and wesson and other gun manufacturers are deliberately marketing their products to the cartels, and that these drug cartels are using them for violence and causing all sorts of deaths there. in fact, one of

their lines is that it's causing the loss of life and, quote, the killing and maiming of children, judges, journalists, police and ordinary citizens throughout mexico. now, mexico points out that it actually has very strict gun laws. so what? these weapons are coming only if. coming into the country illegally. and what it's tried to do is sue under an exception to a 2005 law that generally prohibits lawsuits against manufacturers, and saying that there's enough of a connection between the sale and marketing of these weapons and the violence in mexico to allow the suit to go forward. a lower appeals court said. yes, the court. the case could even get through the door that we're at a very preliminary stage, kate said. it could get through the door. but here's what smith and wesson says in its appeal. it says this court has repeatedly held that it requires a direct connection between a

defendant's conduct and the plaintiff's injury. in its zeal to attack the firearms industry, mexico seeks to raise bedrock principles of american law that safeguard the whole economy. now, i should tell you that the gun manufacturers start with a stronger hand here, just because even though this isn't a second amendment case, the justices have certainly enhanced gun rights in recent years. and also two years ago, the justices in a case that's not related. but that could inform this case, ruled that the family of a victim of a terrorist attack in turkey could not sue twitter for content that was on the social media platform from i.s.i.s. trying to recruit terrorists. the justices said the connection just wasn't wasn't there. and that's what this is all about. is there a sufficient connection to bring the case, kate? >> yeah, intriguing is exactly the right word for for what's going to happen today. joan, thank you so much, john.

>> sure. >> thank you. >> all right. new this morning, crews rescued more than 40 construction workers who had been trapped for 36 hours by an avalanche in the himalayas. they survived by taking shelter in metal containers they had been using instead of tents. they were obviously taking precautions against the weather. at least eight people did die. they've been building a highway. when the avalanche hit. so a terrifying road trip in new mexico. a family drove right through a dust storm. these are called haboobs. almost zero visibility. the winds were 45mph. the mother says they were suddenly surrounded by dust. and then they realized, quote, we are going into something crazy. they did manage to coast through the storm, did trigger an emergency alert for drivers to shelter in place amid dangerous, life threatening travel conditions. you're looking at them right there. all right. mattel released new barbies for international women's day barbies that celebrate friendship. they include famous friends like british actress hannah waddingham and juno

temple, and u.s. gold medalist jordan chiles. jade carey. two things i can get behind kate barbies and friendship. >> of course. john. they would make one of you and i as well. >> i am enough. >> yes you are. keep saying that. okay, let's move to this. just hours from now in washington, president trump will give his first address to a joint session of congress. his first address to a joint session of congress of his second term. and while some democratic lawmakers are planning to skip it, others are attending and now inviting to join them as guests. now fired federal workers, people who are among the thousands cut in these mass doge firings, asking them to join them tonight, to sit in the chamber and to be guests at tonight's tonight's speech. the next get my next guest is one of those federal workers who lost their job in february as part of the mass cuts and will be attending the president's address tonight. joining me now is adam mulvaney, an army veteran who until last month

worked with the va. adam, thank you very much for coming in. you were attending tonight as a guest of democratic congressman brad schneider. and let's start with tonight. what do you want the president to know about your story, to know about the va as you are sitting there tonight? and he is standing up there tonight? >> well, good. >> morning, kate, and thank you for having me. the first thing i'd like to say is federal employees, not really federal employees. we're civil servants. we joined the government, most of us, after a life of service in the military, to serve our country and continue to helping our communities. so i think it's more than just employment. it's a calling and it's a service. tonight, i'd like to hear what the overarching plan is. we hear a lot of talk about how much money is being saved and how much fraud or waste and abuse is being found. but there's not a lot of talk about what services we're willing to do without, you know, as a lifelong veteran and civil servant, i understand there's areas to cut and there's ways we

can tighten up the budget, and we probably need to. but i don't think the way we're doing it is correct. we're going about it in a haphazard manner. i liken it to what my grandfather used to say is that you can have something fast, you can have something cheap, or you can have it done right. and right now we're seeing a lot of things being done fast, and we're seeing a lot of money being saved. but at what cost? especially to the services that veterans have come to expect to receive in this country. >> and let's talk about your personal story. you worked for the va as an emergency management specialist at a hospital there. um, in illinois. how did you find out about being fired? >> i worked at the captain james, a level federal health care center, and it's the only federal health care center in the country has. it sees veterans, active duty military recruits from naval station great lakes. it sees retirees, and it even sees family. my wife and children get seen there. so it's a community that i've come to really love and appreciate. um, we had talked about the firings. we've been hearing about different things in the media, but none of us there

expected it would touch the va because our mission is so important, and the patients that come in our doors are so important and need the care that they're getting. so i received a call from my supervisor, who's also a disabled veteran, gill. he told me he heard there were rumors that employees were getting emails about terminations. i quickly got my work phone and looked down and there it was. i saw an email saying that i was terminated. and the part that was hard to swallow at first is that it said i was terminated for performance. um, every employee from the va and across federal government that has been terminated has received the same carbon copy email that says your firing is based on your poor performance. you know, nothing could be further from the truth. i just received a performance evaluation where i received the highest ratings. in fact, yesterday i received my final paycheck from the federal government and it included a cash bonus for performance exceeding the standards for the year. so to be terminated and fired from a layoff for financial reasons is one thing. but to be told it's based on my poor performance, i think that was very disingenuous.

>> this actually gets to something that even without knowing that, i wanted to ask you because we've heard the white house defend the firings in various ways, including something that i want to play for you because it was said in it's kind of stuck with me, um, from one of the president's top economic advisers, speaking with reporters and facing questions from reporters in the in the briefing room. let me play this. >> being told. >> by a lot. >> of people. >> who have been let go at other. agencies that. >> they were told. >> they were. >> being dismissed. >> because of poor performance. >> when in some cases., they haven't. >> even. had a performance review yet. >> because they've only. >> been on the. >> job a couple of months. >> yeah. >> i've never seen a person who was. >> laid off for poor. >> performance say that they were performing poorly. >> how do you react to that and what are your plans now? >> well, i definitely appreciate you telling the stories of myself and other civil servants