Tonight on 360 Trump lawyers press one judge to delay the documents case and another to disqualify the Georgia DA Details tonight from a key day on a crowded legal calendar that could push one or both cases past election day Also tonight President Biden says US forces will start air dropping food into Gaza the fears of widespread famine growing and desperation Plain to see plus the latest on the winter storm that could dump six to 12 feet of snow. That's feet not inches on parts of California Good evening. Thanks for joining us when the Trump indictments began coming down and then piling up it quickly became clear that one day soon We'd have days like this one two sets of attorneys in two different courtrooms arguing two of his cases one in Atlanta Making final arguments for why judge Scott McAfee should disqualify Fulton County DA Fonnie Willis who's overseeing his election rec tearing trial the other in Fort Pierce, Florida Pressing the federal judge Aline cannon to delay his classified documents trial until after the election a busy day for Trump lawyers and for prosecutors As soon as Paul Reed starts us off in Florida Former president Donald Trump at federal court in Florida today for a high stakes hearing to decide when you'll be tried for allegedly mishandling classified documents and indictments unsealed charging Donald J Trump with felony violations of our national security laws as well as Participating in a conspiracy to instruct justice Trump faces 40 felony criminal charges related to the alleged mishandling of classified information Some seen here improperly stored at Mar-a-Lago. They raided my house.
They did it for publicity reasons. They did it for election interference reasons. They want to interfere with the election. The case is currently scheduled for May 20th But judge Eileen cannon a Trump appointee who is overseeing the case has signaled she may push the trial back in court today Cannon pressed prosecutors and defense attorneys about their suggested schedules special counsel Jack Smith proposed a July 8th start date But during the proceedings cannon suggested that aspects of the Smith's proposal were unrealistic Trump's lawyers insist the trial should be pushed back a Trial that takes place before the election is a mistake and should not happen Trump attorney Todd Blanche stated saying it would be unfair to the former president and the American people for Trump to be in the courtroom and not on the Campaign trail that's something the former president has claimed as well all of this persecution is only happening because I am running for President and leading very substantially in the polls Trump's attorneys did concede if the trial has to go forward before the election They would be okay with starting August 12th But prosecutors pushed back saying if team Trump believes the trial before the election is unfair those are fake dates Why did they even propose those dates?
Cannon noted that Trump's upcoming criminal case in New York must be considered as she schedules this one on March 25th Trump's hush money trial begins in New York And is expected to last four to six weeks and already busy court schedule for the former president Trump prosecutors today to clarify a key issue How close to the election would they be willing to try Trump attorney general Merrick Garland has said a speedy trial is in the public interest Cases were brought last year prosecutor has urged speedy trials with which I agree and this is now in the hands of the traditional system Not in our house today in court though prosecutor said that a justice department policy discouraging public investigative actions 60 days before an election Does not apply to cases where charges had already been filed prosecutor J Brad told the court that when it comes to that policy quote We are in full compliance and polery joints now from the courthouse is it clear if and when Judge Cannon will set a new trial date So it's not clear when we're gonna get her decision Anderson But she strongly signaled today that she doesn't tend to move this case back But she described a July date is being quote unreasonable So I would expect that she will move this on the calendar to August at the earliest But I would also expect if she does that the Trump lawyers will likely come back between now and then and try to push it back Even further that is the game they have been playing try to push this back until after the election even if you have to do it In little pieces Well, we'd stay with us one of bringing retired federal judge Nancy Gertner currently senior at law at lecture at Harvard also Federal prosecutor and best selling Supreme Court by a gefy to bin I mean is Judge Cannon Is she fully in the Trump camp? You know, she's been criticized even by the conservative 11th Circuit Court for bending over backward too much for Trump But she's dealing now with a profound question And I don't think it is a simple question which is is Donald Trump a defendant like any other defendant who has a schedule based on the convenience of the court And you know all full speed ahead or is the court supposed to take into consideration? This man is running for president She's indicated she would not take into consideration as campaign schedule He wouldn't take in his campaign schedule But that doesn't really answer the question of when you get into the fall Is it appropriate to have one of the two major candidates for president sitting in a courtroom in September in October anyone who pretends? That's an easy question.
I think it's blowing smoke I think it's actually a difficult question Judge Gertner the former president's attorney is arguing that the case shouldn't move forward because before the election They've also floated in August 12th start date. Why do you think they floated that August 12th start date? They want to make sure that the Florida case jumps ahead of the line of the January 6 case if the January 6th cases ever You know restarted because they are they're much more comfortable in Florida where the jury pool is much more favorable To the former president than in DC So I mean I agree with with Jeff about the what'll feel like in September But I mean one of the things that is the case here as that this was the play in other words Trump's lawyers have delayed everything everything that should have been a routine motion turned into a big bruja And unfortunately the judge has enabled it to be a bruja So we're in the situation now really because of choices that Trump's lawyers made and choices that she really ratified So that's the problem and the one judge who has been pushing this case is Judge Chuckin in Washington But she's now shut down because the Supreme Court has put everything on hold and Judge Canan has been proceeding at a leisurely pace at best and yes They were talking about August but you can be sure as Paula said earlier that the Trump people will continue pushing that date back as Much as Paula right now I mean the only one of the former president's criminal cases with a trial date is the New York cash money case Which the DA on that case is now trying to sort of make it a election interference case What are the odds that the rest all end up delayed until after election? I mean that seems increasingly like it does seem increasingly likely Let's go through the three other outstanding criminal cases first Let's deal with Georgia these efforts to disqualify Fannie Willis in that case have likely pushed this back until after November She had initially said she wanted to start that trial in August It's asbestos last over four months So at this point it's safe to say that case is unlikely to be resolved before the presidential election as I said before the class By documents case I do expect the judge will push it back and will certainly be asked to push it back again Whether she does that there are some legitimate questions There are some legitimate issues here in terms of the breadth and depth of discovery the issues at play that would give her the opportunity To also push this back in the last November so the big question is what happens with that January 6 case That is now of course in the hands of the Supreme Court not only for what they decide on the merits look even sources The Trump can't say they don't expect to win on the merits But also for how long it takes them to decide we widely expect we won't get a decision there until late June And then is there space on the calendar judge time to check in has been bullish about bringing that case to trial The Justice Department today opened the possibility of that they would be willing to try him even in September or October Would Judge Chuck and be open to that or this go back to the Supreme Court?
Judge Gurney I mean there are legitimate questions about you know the classified material at the heart of this case That is a complicated factor in the Florida case It is a complicating factor but one of the things that is clear usually a new judge facing a classified documents case Usually seeds to the prosecution I don't think that that's necessarily a good thing but but that's what happens We'll usually defer to the prosecution's view of what should be classified after all what judges schooled in national security issues The irony of this case is that this is a judge who's doing just the opposite who's tilting to the to the defense rather than tilting to the prosecution There are complicated issues, but you know, this is in one sense the easiest of all the cases So these are cases these are issues that could have been resolved But she's really inviting briefing and hearings on things that frankly I don't think any other judge would have done There's a law called the classified information procedures CIPA which dictates how classified information can be used in criminal trials There have to be pre-trial proceedings if Judge Cannon wanted to move this case along She could have gotten going on the CIPA proceedings already She hasn't and there are lots of motion stacking up that will give the defense But Jeff what one of the prosecutors in the special counsel's office argue that this DOJ policy Which is you know discourages a public investigation six days before an election doesn't apply here? Well technically it doesn't apply because it applies to investigative steps indictments search warrants It doesn't speak of trials because judges decide on the scheduling of trials But the spirit of that policy is on is at issue and the judges are gonna have to struggle with that So if you've been thank you Paul Reed and Nancy Gertner as well coming up next the Georgia case and closing arguments Not in the trial itself But they're remarkable court proceedings about whether the district attorney Fonnie Willard should still be on the case Also tonight a live report from Moscow and the funeral of Dissonant Alexi Navalny and exclusive reaction from fellow Dissonant and former chess world champion Gary Kasparov I'm CNN tech reporter Claire Duffy this week on the podcast in terms of service The idea of writing in a car with no driver can feel daunting and this technology raises questions about safety and the future of transportation That's why you're with Nicole Gable head of business development and strategic partnerships at WeMo We've always been about safety no distracted driving no drunk driving WeMo follows the rules of the road listen to CNN's terms of service wherever you get your podcasts Craig Ferguson is going coast to coast to unpack what it really means to be an American today. What could possibly go wrong? Craig Ferguson American on purpose new episodes now streaming on the CNN out go to CNN.com slash watch the subscriber login with your TV Provider the fate of Georgia's Rico case against the former president others is now in the judges hands after pre-trial proceedings Which lasted longer than some trials new Judge Scott McAfee now must decide whether Fulton County District Attorney Fawnee Willis is former relationship with the prosecutor Nathan Wade and their testimony about it disqualifies her from the case more now from CNN's Jessica Schneider These people your honor is a systematic misconduct and they need to go sparks continued to fly today as lawyers for Donald Trump and others charge in the case Argu that DA Fawnee Willis hired Nathan Wade a special prosecutor when they were romantically involved and then she benefited financially from the trips They took and the dinners they shared she put her boyfriend in the spot hate him and then reap the benefits from it That she created the system and then didn't tell anybody about it Willis testified last month insisting the relationship began after Wade was appointed to leave the Trump case and argued she paid him back for any expenses in cash And I always keep cash in the house when you go on a date and have cash in your pocket Judge Scott McAfee did have some tough questions for the attorneys pushing to remove Willis and her team If someone buys their bosses to go is that per se disqualifying it may not mean a mittary out of your requirement Also asked if disqualification would really be the right remedy or if any wrongdoing would just require reprimand from the legal bar the proposition You're putting forward now is that if a representative the state lead prosecutor the district attorney themselves Says something that's untruthful on the record.
That is something that immediately has to be proactively policed by the trial court Basically what I'm getting at is where in the law do we find the remedy to an untruthful statement generally? We send it on the street to the bar lawyers for the district attorney's office insists there is absolutely no conflict of interest It's absurd we have actually no evidence them as well as received any financial gain or benefit the testimony was that miss Willis paid All of the money back in cash Judge McAfee says he will make a decision about disqualification within two weeks Jessica Schneider CNN Washington Respect from now from San Diego, I know Jackson and Atlanta former Georgia State Center Jen Jordan So joining me in the closing arguments is kind of a shift from trying to prove a conflict of interest to a perceived conflict Yeah, it wasn't only that but I was surprised that the way the bar really was extended by the defense It was about well, is it an actual conflict to your point? Is it a perceived conflict is it about her church speech as they mentioned and the extra judicial statements and what impact that had? Is it about the fact that she hired a boyfriend?
Is it that she benefited is her boyfriend benefit? It was a very wide net and I think they were doing that right to point to deception point to fraud point to an undermining and distrust of the system I think Edison going back to really what the increase of the judge were who I think has conducted himself tremendously throughout this process Is what really is the remedy? So let's just say for example that you do establish that the prosecutor misrepresented the nature of the relationship the time frame of the Relationship and it's the way to do to especially prosecutor and prosecutor. Let's just say for example There was you know some financial, I mean, I don't know it seems to me when someone earns money It's their money they can do what they want But be that as it may just say for example they did all of that to me the integrity the process is about the underlying indictment Was it presented to a grand jury properly when presented was the fact?
What are the facts that were presented to the grand jury? Can it be legally sustained doesn't make out a case and a claim against the now 14 defendants plus the president form president of the United States? And so in essence what you're left with is this appropriate? I mean, you know, it's been very entertaining in terms of reality TV But does it really reflect the core issues that we're grappling with and whether an indictment should be dismissed predicated upon Some conduct that they were engaged some dalliance that was engaged in Jen.
I want to play something else from a Trump's lawyer today Let's listen You asked, you know, what's personal interest? I think frankly as I was trying to figure this out. Yeah, I think you know it when you see it I think you know it when you see it I think I think there's enough facts in front of you that you know it when you see it and So I think that that big governing principle helps enlighten some of the facts here Jim do you think I was convincing argument that they know it when you see it kind of line of reasoning? No, I think that shows you that they knew you know that they don't have enough that they haven't actually been able to present the case that But they said that they were gonna be able to put up for the judge when they made their initial proper and to go back What Joe was saying they were talking about is it this is it that you know really trying to do this broad brush trying to make it look Like that that everything that the district attorney's office touch somehow was painted in some way But the reality is by doing that and kind of just you know, just throwing it all together It really shows that they can't point to specific evidence with respect to the disqualification And they really can't meet the legal bar and at the end of the day That's what the judges worried about right?
That's what the judges concerned about and they just have not been able to bring the evidence That was promised initially by Ashley merchant enjoy you hear the judge saying that Suggesting that the Georgia bar might be the more appropriate venue for any questions about falling well as his behavior I mean, I don't think that's an unreasonable suggestion by the judge the reality is that we have a case here involving these 14 15 defendants again including the president three lawyers already have been pled guilty and someone else did they do what was alleged Did does that indictment stand to the scrutiny? Remember there's a process the process before you actually can be indicted is there people who hear this is there probable cause to believe a Crime was committed in that you committed it. That's an essential core of our system Then you have a trial where there's 12 people that sit in judgment to determine did you do it beyond the reasonable doubt? Is that impaired in any way by all of this salacious activity?
And if it's not then perhaps if you made misrepresentations if you had an undo or relationship that you shouldn't if you reported less than a hundred Dollars or whatever that you're supposed to find an actual form Maybe that's a bar association inquiry not an inquiry for him and Jim the judge suggested earlier that he could decide the case as soon as today After today's hearing is it a rule within two weeks do you read anything into it? No, I think he's just being incredibly careful Look he was trying to make sure even when you would listen to him today in terms of his questions They you know one of the attorneys would make a statement about some piece of evidence and he would back up and say well wait a second I don't think that was actually admitted And so I think for his purposes He wants to be very very careful that in terms of what order that he issues that he is only talking about evidence that was admitted that he's not just Listening to argument or whatever people are kind of pushing over the line in terms of in you in do in you in do or gossip You know He's being incredibly careful and he's doing exactly what he needs to do to make sure that whichever way he goes on this is that his Order actually will be defensible because at the end of the day He is there to make a decision with respect to the integrity of the judicial system and the court And I think he's gonna make I think he's gonna make the right decision and right now looking at the evidence that's come in I don't think that there is any evidence that actually would justify the disqualification of the DA's office I'm sure thanks very much. So Jackson as well coming up a really remarkable site thousands lining streets in Moscow to pay their last respects So I'll let you know I'll need a Russian dissident one morning compared to Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King jr I'm at the chance was there he joins us next from Russia and Russia pro-demoxity leader Gary Kasparov joins us in his first television interview since Exactly two weeks after still unexplained death in a Siberian penal colony and fears his family would never see his body thousands And when her showed up in Moscow today for the funeral of Russian opposition leader Election of all accounts of no to war could be heard in a country where dissent was effectively outlawed since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began Matthew Chance was in Moscow for the funeral only has this report They came in their thousands to pay their last respects supporters of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny lining up outside the Moscow church ahead of his fuel an act of bravery and defiance In a country where dissent even grief for a criminal critic is really tolerated Let me ask you about the risks because the authorities have not particularly welcomed this event People have been detained for paying their respects to Alexei Navalny are you concerned about the risk you are taking? No, why because it's my slogan not to think about risks do what you should do You hold Putin responsible for the death of the next in a party?
Oh, yes, definitely no doubt no doubt friend in the night They say they say they said if they ever say and agree with what they have done Man, I would be the first to applaud Right. Well, this is the the hearse the van which is taking the body of Alexei Navalny into this church But on the outskirts of Moscow where Russia will finally bid farewell to one of its most prominent opposition figures You can see thousands of people from all over the region have turned out to pay their respects Clapping as his body enters for that funeral service You surprised your forces have allowed this funeral to go ahead. I don't know what's about it because I Think it would be a huge mistake to not allowed to do it, you know, because there's so many people And they came here to pay the last respect to Alexei and Alexei for us and the for me personally was like I don't know Russian Nelson Mandela or Russian Martin Luther King, so Death may have silenced Navalny, but his name is now on everyone's lips Inside the church the funeral service was short No political speeches just blessings over his open casket Later at the cemetery Navalny's distraught parents kiss their 47 year old son goodbye His wife and children concerned for their own safety stayed away But so many came in their place outside crowds of mourners waited patiently for a last glimpse the cemetery gates They're open for Russian police on close guard here to finally wave them through right well. This is the Site inside the cemetery and the memorial to Alexei Navalny people are coming here today They're flowers and as you can see and also to far past the actual gravesite Which is there people are picking up soil and throwing it into the ground onto the casket as a final farewell to that opposition figure A figure who in death as in life is drawing thousands of Russians critical of the Kremlin onto the streets And Matthew Chance joins us from Moscow to moving Matthew Alexei Navalny's daughter Dasha posted this picture on Instagram of her dad Where she called him her role model her hero instead I promise you that I will live my life the way you taught me to make you proud What else did his family have to say today and and then the people you talked to was they're concerned about speaking to you concerned that they could be Detained for being there for his funeral Well, I'm elected around his wife Juliet Navalny Made a very poignant statement which he posted on social media as the as the funeral took place Basically thanking Navalny for 26 years of absolute happiness I don't know how to live without you she said but I'll try to do so so that you up there can be happy and proud of me Of course, you know, I've only has essentially taken on the mantle of a husband and has vowed to continue his opposition work She's already made some very important speeches to do that That's one of the reasons why she hasn't come back to Russia because there are fears for her safety in terms of the safety of people at the funeral Yeah, I mean there were real concerns in Russia hundreds of people have been arrested over the past couple of weeks Just for laying flowers that make shift memorials But you know this was it was a moment where people felt that despite their fears They had to come out at least on this occasion and be brave and say goodbye to somebody who for many Russians was a key figure an important figure a figure of hope I'm at the chance.
Thank you so much Sean. I mean I was Russian pro-demoxtial leader Dari Kasparov author of winter is coming by the way we're cooking and the enemies of the free world must be stopped Seeing those images today went through your mind. I don't know what to start. It's probably I can say that these people in the streets Moscow in few hours they showed more courage and Western politicians on both at Atlantic for two years Alexi could be probably alive if you're here in Washington Brussels and Berlin other capitals There was a political will to stop Putin as soon as as there was a chance you credit already a year ago But the delay was military with financial package protracted the war and you could see Putin is happy and the fact that Alex is dead It's a message from Putin because he failed to kill him in secret and swiftly We know this is the poison attempt that failed but Alexi barely made it So he was safe by miracle and then take it to Germany when they just did it I recovered and now I put him killed him slowly and in front of the whole world and One thing went over sure We don't know all the details of this murder and of course it was murder But we know that Putin wanted the world to know about it because they could have kept this news for themselves for Few days from week they immediately inform the world and it's happened on the first day of Munich's field conference So that's that cannot be interpreted in any other way But I did it I want you to know that because nothing will happen to me and of course Unfortunately, it was right again president Biden three years ago promise devastating consequence for Russia even though I only would And prison what's happened?
Okay, they announced you sanctions who cares? Do you think the sanctions have had any impact on the inertia? No, yeah, they have some impact clearly You cannot say the sanctions are not working at all, but fundamentally they just you know they are not damaging Putin's war machine oil It's a or a gas. It's it's these two main items of Russian budget They are not sanctions to to damage Putin financial flow It's this oil through the trade it and you look at the other profits Russia's making more money from selling oil and gas and then then before later in the program We have a piece from the Ukraine Walsh on the front lines in Ukraine where in a position where Ukraine artillery and the counterfence That we're firing.
I think it was 80 shells a day now They're can only fire about 10 because they just don't have the ammo because Time and again, oh the GDP of the of the native countries Russia Iran North Korea is this coalition of maxes Evil is 25 to 1 who cares if Russia can can fire six seven times more shells and North Korea North Korea Provided more shells to Russia than the entire Europe tell me that's the biggest boys are serious Ukrainians are bleeding You know defending their country freedom, Nata, and and also they're trying to stop this this mania and and everyone is still contemplating How we can deal with that and Putin look at him couple of days ago He's he delivered his his speech and he was happy and all this talks about oh, let's wait for Russian people to write No, I'm right. He tried to show that something could be done in Russia It was I'm not sure was politically a smart move, but you cannot criticize acts of personal Harry's He paid with his life that and again words words and words The day was noted we had to pay three hundred billion dollars of Russian money frozen What are you waiting for present by me? You're kidding what are you waiting waiting waiting waiting waiting waiting? The crime must be punished and as was today Putin believes that he went Do you think it will ever be known exactly how he died?
Do we care it's the look murders murder the moment they they moved him from a college In actually cyber into the colony beyond article in winter in his conditions You know he messaged a prisoner who spent hundreds and hundreds of days in solidie confinement that was already just a little message Exactly. So then it was a matter of time But again, they did it in purpose just at the opening ceremony of of meeting security conference tell me what else again It's just happened God knows where they could have seen on these news for a few days and then release no No, they just wanted to to them to make it so publicly and again waiting for the response by the way Hundreds of thousands political prisons in the world now They are in danger because they saw what Putin did and Putin believes he's kind of you know This is a spiritual leader of all the gangsters terrorists thugs and dictators in the world I killed my main political opponent well-famed people mentioned Nelson Mandela of courses or Martin Luther King and what's happened to be nothing Go ahead kill others. There's part of his good to have here. Thank you coming up next breaking news from the White House President Biden is now saying about hostage talks involving Israel and Hamas also major development the US military will Air drop aid and other supplies in chugaza plus the message for lawmakers on Capitol Hill from the soldier on the battlefield in Ukraine tonight Some more breaking news and I present by this many new comments about hostage talks between Israel and Hamas They also announced that the US military will airdrop humanitarian aid and supplies into Gaza I'm gonna go to see that MJ Lee at the White House So what do you know about this US plan for a drops?
Well Anderson the president offered a very dire assessment of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza saying that the amount of aid that is going in Is simply not enough It's just a drop in the bucket in terms of what the people there need and the president said that Israel is not doing enough that it needs To do a lot more to open up these humanitarian corridors and provide a lot more aid into the strip And he said in the meantime the US is going to begin air dropping food and aid and other basic necessities into the strip And that the US is also considering opening up a maritime corridor as well Now these air drops we are told could begin in a matter of days and the White House is made clear the logistics right now Figuring out exactly how that would be executed is incredibly challenging now Of course the White House's view as well right now is that a temporary ceasefire would be incredibly helpful in terms of surging the amount of humanitarian aid That can get into Gaza But as you know Anderson for weeks and weeks US officials have been intimately involved in trying to mediate the ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas To get to this temporary ceasefire that has been incredibly challenging and very touch and go And in fact President Biden told me a little bit about where these talks currently stand before he left the White House a few minutes ago This is what he said. Do you think there will be a ceasefire deal by Ramadan? I'm hoping so we're still working real hard at it not there yet. What is what is the biggest hold up right now?
I'm not gonna start that because that again the bottom of my go-to Now the reason we are talking about Ramadan as a potential deadline is because that is when Anderson Israel has said that it would expand its military Operations into Rafa in southern Gaza This is a scenario that of course US officials are very much wanting to avoid and what would happen with the deal is the beginning of a six week pause In the fighting for starters But US officials have made very clear that that is something that they would like to build on they would first begin with a six week pause in the Fighting and then just build that out and potentially add more weeks to the pause in the fighting and the eye towards sort of ending the war Ultimately that of course is the end goal for US officials here. Yeah, I'm daily Thank you coming up next Ukrainian what's the name? I saw on the front lines where ammunition is low and one soldier has a message for Washington Not even tree cover means safety They're firing to defend the tiny gains of Ukraine's counter-offensive But now they are outgunned by Russian troops trying to search forwards. You can hear how many shells they fire back No, USA means Ukrainians risk losing right here right now Right now Foreign Really with one hand behind their back such a shortage of shells here We get through that if they're lucky about 10 times a day back in the summer counter-offensive.
They would fire 80 a day Down in the bunker it is strange to hear men who live underground to avoid death be so familiar with republican procedural dysfunctionality They are the most famous people in Washington. They are the most famous people in Washington. Their drone footage shows the remains of last night's failed Russian assault. This is what was a key prize in the counter-offensive, the tiny village of Robotina.
Still Ukraine's, but now another front line where Russia is hitting back hard. This thermal night imagery shows their latest bleak tactic. It's a quad bike carrying three russians, charging at the front lines to simply see how far it can get. While Russia seems to squander infinite resources, Ukraine must be more ingenious and crowd-fund.
This 3D printer to make tiny components for about 10 attack drones a day. Without more artillery, they say only these drones hold Russia back here. It is a bleak and fierce fight which has mauled the nearby town of O'Rahiv. Russian airstrikes have left it looking like defeat, rather than the symbol of Ukrainian tenacity it is.
It's time to come back here, it's just worse and worse and you just don't even really imagine what people couldn't do to survive here or what this really was. And on the road out, these. A stark warning, Ukraine is preparing for bad news. Six months ago, they were trying to search forwards with new Western armour here.
Now, they prepare to lose. The new one thing changed and it was in Washington not in their hearts. Nick joins us now. It's incredible to see just going from 80 shells a day that they were able to fire during the counter-offensive to just 10 now and that 3D printer.
They're also very aware of what's going on in Washington DC and what the hold-up is. Yeah, I mean, look, to be honest, now there's no real sign of how that hold-up gets cleared, right? I mean, we're sort of dealing with such an infinite amount of dysfunctionality that I think many Ukrainians are beginning to consider the likelihood of that USA arriving to be remote. It leads them to an exceptionally pessimistic and bleak few weeks ahead, potentially.
You saw that they are literally running out of shells to fire. And that's a situation that is sort of indefinitely sustainable. They are finally finalist and less ammunition at hand to hold the Russians back. The Russians on their half appear to have quite the opposite problem where they seem as you saw there to have relentless resources to throw at assaults, that village of Robotine.
Well, after we were there watching the artillery unit that night, another intense assault, a rush or even claimed it's Ministry of Defence that had taken key buildings in that village. We're sure that's simply one of the multiple nights they try and get in and they get pushed back. But across the front line, we're seeing Russia willing to throw huge amounts of troops and ammunition at comparatively small targets. But the cumulative effect of that is a feeling in multiple locations that Ukraine isn't really able to stabilise the front line in a way that necessarily would like.
They may get a chance at that in the weeks ahead, but Moscow too may also keep some sense of momentum going. And I hate to tell it, but it feels like we're entering into a different phase of the war here where the dysfunctionality of that Republican-led Congress is translating into real concrete territorial losses here in Ukraine, closing in, frankly, on a bit of a nightmare scenario. Nick, thank you so much. Be careful.
Still ahead, avalanches. Whiteout conditions and up to 12 feet of snow, the latest on life-threatening blizzard in California next. This car is buried under snow in California near Lake Tahoe or just a sample of what forecasters are calling life-threatening blizzard conditions in that region of the country. Up to 12 feet of snow is expected over a matter of days, 12 feet.
Whiteout conditions are forecasted in many areas throughout tomorrow morning. The National Weather Service also says that the snow will pile so high so quickly there's also an extreme danger of avalanches in backcountry areas. Our senior data reporter Harry Antondas, stranger to backcountry areas, joins us now. So I know you can't wait to put your weather camp skills to you, so tell me about this blizzard.
What a tremendous storm. I love snow, perhaps more than the average individual says. Everyone says that about you. Yes, everyone says that about me.
But even this is a little bit too much. 12 feet. And you know what? If that falls and it actually happens and occurs over a three-day span, it will be the largest three-day snowfall in California history.
The largest ever was about a little bit more than 11 feet. You see that there? If we get more than six feet in an individual day, that would be the largest in one day ever. So is this actually the long-term beneficial to California?
Because there were droughts and then there was a lot of rain and it's very confusing. Yes, obviously, like the conditions, that's not something you want to play around with. But part of what's driving the storm is the El Nino pattern and the El Nino pattern brings wetter than normal conditions to California. And if you recall over the last few years, all we've been talking about is the drought in California on and on and on.
And last year, the vast majority of California was under a drought. Over 80% of California was under a drought. Today, less than 10% of California is under a drought. So in that sense, it is actually good news for California.
I've been hearing about it for 40 years. I should know what El Nino is. It's a warming of the water in the central Pacific. I know what that means.
So what was a weather camp? Tell me about weather camp. So what was weather camp? How old were you when you were at weather camp?
I believe I was 14 and turning 15 or 15 turning 16 or something like that. So I was a young gladiate weather camp. And weather camp was just... I actually thought that was skewing a little old for weather camp.
I mean, I guess maybe I was one of the older kids at weather camp, but I was always like that. It was always a little bit behind. But what I recall most about weather camp, this gives you an idea. We visited the National Weather Service.
We visited Accuweather. And what I recall about visiting Accuweather was they had all of us go up. And this was the early days of the internet. We walked up Ken Reeves, R.I.P.
to him, but he was a great guy. And he essentially had us record messages from home. And these kids would come up and they'd give like two second spieles. What is this?
I was looking at the old microfiche machine. And this article was boys call a total snow job. This is an article about you when you were 15 years old describing yourself described weather freak that you emailed your findings on a snowfall in Riverdale, New York to the National Weather Service. And people turned against you.
People turned against me. They thought weathermen were calling you a liar. They thought that I was inflating snowfall totals. That's what they would get out of going to school.
Which was complete garbage because the fact is this happened over the weekend. How would this actually work? It happened on a Saturday. The storm was a Friday and a Saturday.
I was going out there measuring. Look, I'm not going to say it was storm field measuring the snow out there. Experts at the National Weather Service said Harry's method was thorough and based their official snowfall total. But weathermen who you said you idolized, they were questioning the road from Fox, who still had chat rooms.
What year was this? This was 2003. Oh, you were 15 in 2003? Does that make you feel older?
Oh my God. I mean, jeez. What? I always think that I think I come across as a thousand.
I was 65. No, no, no, no, no. 65 in my soul. And now I'm 85 in my soul.
It was 20 years ago. You were in 2000 and what? You were what? 2003.
I was 15 back then. Wow. Yeah. I was 15 in 2003.
And I was measuring the snow. And then I went to weather camp a year later. Yeah, I was truly in there. It was a great time though.
And you know, the kids loved me at school because I was the weather guy. What year were you born? I guess that would make me 1988. Wow.
And I hold that in for a graduate college. Isn't that scary? But you got it out of me because you're a deep reporter who's investigative and you're able to dig out that. You're age?
I hate telling my age. I always say I'm roughly between 25 and 40. You actually say that. Yeah, absolutely.
You're out on a date now. You have a beloved now. But before when you're dating, a lady would say, what's your, how old do you tell? I'm between 25 and...
It wasn't until the third date where I revealed my age. I had to really get to know them. Okay. This is a taking a turn.
Harry Antone. Thank you very much. Thank you. The news continues.
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