usually what's in the stanley cup is not apple juice, right? >> no. >> it is not apple juice. >> hopefully it was there. >> hopefully it was in this case. that's the cutest thing. >> she's exactly the height of the stanley cup. >> that's fantastic. >> look at that there. congratulations to the entire family. cnn's coverage continues right now. it is the top of the hour, good morning, everyone. i'm poppy harlow. >> i'm jim sciutto reporting from the nato summit in madrid, spain. several significant developments today, first the alliance is now formally invited sweden and finland to join after turkish opposition was overcome. the alliance's strategic concept, mission statement, will mention china as a threat. also this morning, the president and his counterparts announce a significant strengthening of nato forces along its eastern

flank, including new troop movements, equipment, shipments, and military installations. some of them permanent. all of this as russia's relentless war on ukraine grinds on. >> so many significant developments to get to there. back here in the united states, groundbreaking testimony from a former top aide in the trump white house, cassidy hutchinson, describing in great detail the former president's state of mind that on and around january 6th, and his actions, also testifying that trump was personally aware of the potential for violence that day. listen. >> i was in the vicinity of a conversation where i overheard the president saying to the effect of, i don't effing care they have weapons, they're not here to hurt me, take the effing mags away, let my people in, they can march to the capitol from here. >> she also testified that former white house counsel pat cipollone warned that trump and others could be criminally

liable if they had gone to the capitol that day. as she testified, the president had so wanted to. another former white house chief of staff mick mulvaney referring to those developments and that testimony yesterday as, quote, explosive, saying about hutchinson and her testimony, quote, i know her, i don't think that she is lying. so that is where we begin this morning with our cnn senior crime and justice reporter katelyn polantz. major revelations in her testimony yesterday. walk us through the key takeaways. >> really, poppy. this star witness, cassidy hutchinson, took us inside the white house, next to donald trump and his closest advisers on january 6th and her assessment of the president's behavior that day, she called it un-american. hutchinson was a close aide to the white house chief of staff and that position allowed her to bring to light conversations that she recalled where trump and others were clearly aware of his supporters in the crowd on

january 6th, potentially breaking the law. one example of that was that remark you mentioned of donald trump knowing his supporters were armed, and wanting them to be let inside his rally perimeter because they weren't there to hurt him. that's what he said. she also said that the top lawyer in the white house, white house counsel pat cipollone told her if donald trump went to the capitol after his rallies with the crowd, they would be charged with every crime imaginable. that was the words she said, cipollone said. she also testified about a scene where trump tried to grab the wheel of the presidential suv because he so badly wanted to go to the capitol. here's a bit of her testimony where she remembered the white house counsel speaking to her boss, mark meadows. >> i remember pat saying to him, something to the effect of, the rioters have gotten to the capitol, mark. we need to go down and see the president now. and mark looked up at him and he said he doesn't want to do anything, pat. and pat said something to the

effect of, and very clearly, said this to mark, something to the effect of, mark, something needs to be done or people are going to die and the blood is going to be on your effing hands. >> at another point, hutchinson testified she wrote a draft statement for trump on january of 6th at meadows' direction. the committee showed this on a note card and this note card said, anyone who entered the capitol illegally without proper authority should leave immediately. now, trump never gave this statement, and since this testimony there has been some pushback. a white house lawyer named eric herschmann released a statement last night through a spokesperson saying he had written that note and it was not hutchinson's handwriting as she testified, but the statement is just that, a release to the media, where as hutchinson was testifying under oath and the core substance of what she says happened has not been contested. >> yeah. that's a great point.

and, katelyn, i think it makes it so evident that more folks need to come before the committee and the american public to testify and answer questions raised. thank you very much for the great reporting. clearly from the testimony yesterday, the united states secret service is in the spotlight now. cassidy hutchinson testified that then president trump was, quote, irate, when he was told by the secret service agents that he could not go to the capitol on january 6th because it was not safe. listen. >> the president said something to the efefect of, i'm the effig press, take me up to the capitol now, to which bobby responded, sir, we have to go back to the west wing. the president reached up toward the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel, mr. engel grabbed his arm and said, sir, you need to take your hand off the steering wheel. we're going back to the west wing. we're not going to the capitol.

mr. trump then used his free hand to lunge toward bobby engel and mr. -- when mr. ornato recounted this story to me, he motioned toward his clavicles. >> so officials say the secret service agents involved that she's talking about both engel and ornato are ready to testify under oath and they do dispute her account. josh campbell has more. josh, isn't it just so clear, the american people need to hear from them under oath if they're disputing this? >> that's right. there were several stunning revelations from this hearing yesterday, including this alleged incident inside the presidential suv as he was leaving the rally. as she testified there, she said she was later told by a man named tony ornato, then the white house deputy chief of staff, now a senior executive with the u.s. secret service, she says that ornato told her that this incident occurred. now, afterwards, an official with the secret service told me

that tony ornato denies briefing her on this, telling her that this transpired. it is also worth pointing out that according to this official the lead secret service agent who was inside the vehicle denies that this incident ever occurred. now, we're told that the department of homeland security reached out to the january of 6th committee. we did get a statement, our colleague ryan nobles from the committee, i'll read you part of it, they say the committee trusts the credibility of a witness who is willing to testify under oath and in public. but is also willing to hear any and all information that others may have that would aid in the investigation. so clearly the secret service pushing back on this, saying that according to ornato and the other officials this didn't happen, it is also worth pointing out that cassidy hutchinson is the only person who has testified in her own name, under oath, under penalty of perjury and so her lawyer is saying that this secret service needs to come forward and testify under oath if they are refuting this. finally, poppy, it is worth pointing out that we need to get

the bottom of this incident, obviously irate president allegedly assaulting his own security detail, but we can't lose sight of the fact that i think the biggest issue here is that no witness has disputed that trump still wanted to go to the u.s. capitol, knowing that there were armed people inside that crowd, leading them, leading this crowd, this angry crowd toward the u.s. capitol, where the votes were being counted. though it is important to get to the bottom of what happened inside the suburban, no one is disputing that even after knowing that this crowd was dangerous, trump still wanted to lead them to the capitol. >> i think that certainly is the key here, right? and the president, her testimony saying that president trump said, get rid of the ma magne magnetometers, i'm not worried about armed people in the rally, they're not going to hurt me, but what about everyone else inside the capitol. josh, thank you very much. joining me now is elliott williams and mike mantranga who worked the presidential detail, he's now the ceo of the m6

global defense group. thank you very much. mike, a few quick questions for you on this. before we get to you, elliott, on the big legal questions that josh raised. given all that we have just heard, and given cassidy hutchinson's testimony, specifically about what happened in the beast with the presidential detail, you know both tony ornato and you know robert engel personally. what is your reaction to what you heard and their disputes of this account? >> right, yes. thanks for having me. i would say that moving forward i think what would be appropriate is that we all just take a tactical pause and wait to hear the accounts of bobby -- sorry, tony ornato and bobby engel. if there is anybody who understands the importance of testifying under oath, it is both of those individuals, and so, you know, for my perspective, looking at -- there is no doubt that i think that the president probably at the

time was angry, given the circumstances. but if there is disputes from both tony ornato and bobby engel, that this did not happen, i would like to hear that. and i will tell you that i know both of these individuals, i know tony ornato better than bobby engel, if they dispute it, i have no reason to question either one of those gentlemen as they are both of upstanding moral character. >> and just to be clear here, until they go under oath, and testify, i think importantly in front of the american people, not just on -- in a deposition or behind closed doors, she is the one, miss hutchinson is the one who is under oath and said all this under oath. elliott, to the broader point here, which is the testimony that the president knew there were armed masses, things like flagpoles, spears on the end, the call you heard and the

testimony of someone in the trees with multiple ar-15s, knew this, then said let's get rid of the magnetometers, let them in, they're not going to hurt me, in the same speech where former president trump said march to the capitol, quote, fight like hell. if that's true, he said that, if the testimony is true he said that knowing about all of these armed folks, legally would that change things for the former president? >> look, it changes things insofar as it makes him more likely to be charged with a crime, but i think what the president's defense is that the president was obsessed with crowd size going back to his swearing in, if you remember the inauguration in 2017, we had a week of debate over the president fighting and lying about the size of the crowd there. that is what his defense would be. i think it is more likely to end in a criminal charge here, on account of the fact that number one there were warnings from the white house counsel and other people there would have been violence, number two, there were

warnings about people being armed. but again, poppy, we talked about this sort of as a nation, over the last couple of weeks, what it takes to win a criminal trial and what it takes to convince the american public that number one someone did something really bad and shouldn't be president again just two different standards. and that's the burden that the justice department or any prosecutor is going to have to hit here. >> it is very true. speaking of convincing a jury and speaking of lawyers, let's talk about white house counsel pat cipollone. earlier this week, we were saying it is pretty important that he testify. is it not? >> yeah. >> listen to this. on the other side, answer how much more important that testimony to the american people just became. here it is. >> i saw mr. cipollone right before i walked out on to west exec that morning and mr. cipollone said something to the effect of, please make sure we don't go up to the capitol, cassidy, keep in touch with me, we're going to get charged with every crime imaginable if we

make that movement happen. >> and do you remember which crimes mr. cipollone was concerned with? >> in the days leading up to the 6th, we had conversations about potentially obstructing justice or defaulting the electoral count. >> elliott? >> that is just devastating to hear and we have to hear from pat cipollone. here is the thing, one of the main argument he's making for -- and rightfully so for not testifying -- is that well, i was the white house counsel and i'm going to have some levels of attorney client or executive priv privilege. the problem for him is the things he's talking about, they aren't in the scope of his job as white house counsel. he's saying to a colleague, look, we might be charged with crimes. and so he could very narrowly tailor the things that he comes into testify about. it is number one, did you warn your colleagues that they could be charged with crimes. i don't see any real attorney client privilege based on his

job as white house counsel there. he's got to come in, this is important for the american people. >> and he also has fifth amendment protection if there are those questions he feels like are too broad and within the scope of privilege he doesn't have to answer. before we go, i wonder your reaction as someone who served tw with these folks, to what happened yesterday, what we heard. >> from my perspective, you know, the question is always -- is in two sides to every story. and the answer is always yes. and i'm not questioning -- >> there is one truth. there is one truth. >> right. there is one truth. i don't -- i'm not questioning the testimony of miss hutchinson. what she may have heard and what she may have heard that was implied maybe very accurate according to her statements. but, you know, like i said, i would caution the american people that before we rush to judgment, let's hear from tony ornato, let's hear from bob engel and let's hear what they have to say to see if they can

corroborate her story. there is no doubt in my mind that the president was probably very angry. do i think that the president lunged toward the steering wheel and put his hands on bobby engel? i would say that's highly unlikely. but i'm not going to discount that account either until we hear from either one of those gentlemen. >> if i can say one quick thing that is a factual dispute that speaks to her credibility as a witness, it is something that the committee has to clean up, this happens in criminal trials where you witness something that is contradicted. don't lose the forest through the trees here. you saw two hours of testimony with a lot of corroborated facts over the course of five prior hearings before that, with a lot of corroborated facts. i think we're -- it is important to clear this up, right? it is factual testimony. at the end of the day, this whole -- can't hinge on this. >> -- the president acting in that manner, it needs to be disclosed. i'm not disputing that at all.

i think that it took a tremendous amount of courage on her behalf to come before the panel yesterday and say what she said. she is to be commended about that. i would like to hear from the other side before we make a judgment. >> i got to jump. we have jim covering major developments at the nato summit overseas. thank you very much. jim, back to you, in madrid. among the other developments here, the ukrainian president made a new plea to nato allies gathered here for his country to join nato as finland and sweden have now gotten the green light to move forward with their bids. president biden and the nato allies also sending a strong signal to vladimir putin as they move more troops and equipment and aircraft to countries that border russia. their concern those countries could be next. i'll speak live with national security council communications coordinator, also former spokesperson for the pentagon, john kirby, that's coming up in a moment. >> the day you get your

clearchoice dental implants makes every day... a "let's dig in" day... >> mm. >> ...a "chow down" day... a "take a big bite" day... a "perfectly delicious" day... >> mm. [ chuckles ] >> ...a "love my new teeth" day. because your clearchoice day is the day everything is back on the menu. a clearchoice day changes every day. schedule a free consultation. [zoom call] ...pivot... work bye. vacation hi! book with priceline. 'cause when you save more, you can “no way!” more. no wayyyy. no waaayyy! no way! [phone ringing] hm. no way! no way! priceline. every trip is a big deal. from prom dresses

to workouts and new adventures you hope the more you give the less they'll miss. but even if your teen was vaccinated against meningitis in the past they may be missing vaccination for meningitis b. although uncommon, up to 1 in 5 survivors of meningitis will have long term consequences. now as you're thinking about all the vaccines your teen might need make sure you ask your doctor if your teen is missing meningitis b vaccination. with best western rewards you get rewarded

when you stay on the road and on the go. find your rewards so you can reconnect, disconnect, hold on tight and let go! stay two nights and get a free night. book now at bestwestern.com. the minions are coming to ihop. with an all new menu you're going to love. ♪ ♪ excuse me! enjoy the minions menu at ihop. for a limited time kids eat free! and catch minions: the rise of gru.

age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein.

welcome back. i'm jim sciutto in madrid, for the nato summit. some calling this the most consequential meeting of the nato alliance this century as the western world tries to counter growing russian aggression. just within the last half hour, the alliance has formally invited sweden and finland to become members. the bid moving forward after turkey agreed to drop its opposition to their membership. but the talk at the summit, not all about europe. president biden also meeting with the leaders of south korea and japan, in the last hour, to talk about not only the threat from north korea, but we're also seeing the alliance adjusting its mission statement in effect to include china for the first time. cnn chief white house correspondent kaitlan collins joins me now. tell us about this meeting, because, of course, the focus is russia, ukraine, new force deployments, but significant is

it not to have america's most closest eastern allies here as well? >> reporter: absolutely. you don't often see a sit-down like the one you saw with japan, south korean leaders in the same room with president baden. they have a frosty relationship, one that deteriorated recently over the war time histories, but, of course, they have mutual concerns. so you saw these three leaders gathered a few moments ago here at the nato summit in madrid where they were talking primarily about north korea, which has been a major concern for the biden administration, as well as the missile tests have continued and continued to build up arms. and so that is something they're discussing, there has been relatively no contact between the biden administration and north korea recently. but also what is underlying here is russia and china. because this summit is not just about pushing back on russian aggression, and showing this show of force, really in light of its russian invasion of ukraine, but also they're sending a message to china here with all of this.

that has been the warning signal from the white house of concerns of what russia has done to ukraine with invading it, that's something they could see from china one day. that has been part of the message they're working to send, part of what they're working to send with all of them in the same room today. >> no question. an alliance conceived as a counterweight to the old soviet union. now expanding its sights globally to some degree. kaitlan collins, thank you so much. president biden also announced the u.s. will boost its military presence in europe, particularly in the east, to increase shipments of equipment, aircraft. joining me now to discuss multiple developments, john kirby at the national security council. good to have you here. appreciate you taking time this morning. a lot going on here, on your plate. >> it is a busy summit. >> i want to begin with one thing i noticed since being here, you, european leaders, white house officials, describe the threat from russia, not just

to ukraine, but other nato members, no longer in theoretical terms. not this idea that it may happen some day, but this is a clear and present danger. is that your view that nato is in effect preparing itself, defending against the possibility that russia might attack one of its own? >> they have to, jim, given what mr. putin has done in ukraine. i would point you back to the defense department, just recently completed a national defense strategy and they called russia in that strategy an acute threat, acute is a great word for it. it is the here and now. and it is very specific. and the alliance is feeling that threat, which is why you saw the president talk about increased force posture in europe and will see other announcements from other allies to shore up that eastern flank. and, of course, now that eastern flank has gotten a lot bigger or it will once sweden and finland join. >> when you hear from eastern leaders, particularly the baltics, they describe the threat from russia in severe terms as, you know the estonian prime minister has said that

current nato defense plans for estonia would see estonia in effect wiped off the map if the plans aren't changed. i spoke to her this morning and she said she's cautiously optimistic about the changes she has seen so far. can you explain how the new force deployments will better defend those eastern allies, particularly baltics, against potential russian attack? >> you look the at the kinds of capabilities, just the united states and what the president talked about today, what we're contributing, it is across the spectrum of warfare and operations, air, more aircraft now, f-35 squadrons to the uk. sea, more destroyers and ground, the president talked about brigade combat team, heel to toe rotationally out of romania. it is across the whole spectrum. >> do you think putin is watching the developments with concern? >> well, i think what mr. putin ought to remember is that the alliance is watching what he's doing, with great concern, inside ukraine. he has been the destabilizing factor. >> let's talk about what is

going on in ukraine, right now. we had the president, the ukrainian president reach out to allies here and say, listen, in effect, we have suffered enough, right? it is our turn now to join nato. is that something that you, that the u.s. is considering more seriously now? getting ukraine on a path to nato membership? >> i think that's between the alliance, nato leadership, and ukraine. and, look, we continue to support nato's open door policy, and other nations as they qualify to join nato and we're talking about two potential new ones now here. but really that's a discussion between ukraine and the alliance. >> understood. bigger picture here, as we mentioned, it is the first time that the nato strategic concept as it is known, its mission statement, mentions china as a challenge. tell us why and how exactly. is it saying that the alliance must defend itself not just against russia, but against china as well? >> it is a reflection, the fact that the strategic concept will

mention china and the last one in 2010, so 12 years ago, time to update this, nato has transformed, the security landscape has transformed. not just here in europe, but around the world. and china has been a factor, around the world and here in europe. it is a reflection of the fact that the allies also see some of the threats and challenges from china, whether economic trade practices and forced labor, intellectual theft, also some of the coercive behavior they're exhibiting not just in the indo-pacific, but africa, the middle east and here in europe. >> if i can, before we go, the -- cnn's reporting is that the white house is less optimistic today that ukraine can gain back the territory it already lost to russia. you know ukraine's view of this, they don't want to give up any territory. i wonder will this administration ask ukraine to cede some territory in order to end this war? >> two thoughts there. i would push back on the notion that we're pessimistic about their ability to conduct a successful counteroffensive. they are doing that, almost every day in multiple places.

they have challenges and russia has made some incremental progress, but it is just that, jim. it is incremental, spotty and the ukrainians have been able to push back and we fully expect they'll be able to do that going forward. >> you won't ask them to give up territory to make peace? >> this is a victory has got to be decided by president zelenskyy and he gets to decide what that looks like for his country. our job is to make sure he can continue to defend themselves. >> john kirby, we appreciate you taking the hard questions. thank you for taking the time. poppy? >> great conversation. some republican lawmakers tell cnn they're privately stunned by the damning revelations at the latest january of 6th hearing. we'll have reaction from a former adviser to mike pence. we're also moments away from the opening bell on wall street. stock futures higher this morning after yesterday's losses. investors appear skeptical the federal reserve can avoid a bruising economic downturn, though, amid sharp interest rate

hikes, lower consumer confidence fueling concerns the country may slip into recession. power e*trade's easy-to-use tools like dynamic charting and risk-reward analysis help make trading feel effortless. and its customizable scans with social sentiment help you find and unlock opportunities in the market new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. when you sponsor a job, you immediately get your shortlist of quality candidates, whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria.

visit indeed.com/hire and get started today.

welcome back. cnn is learning that cassidy hutchinson's testimony yesterday afternoon left several of former president trump's aides and allies speechless. that includes one exchange that hutchinson detailed between then white house counsel pat cipollone and former chief of staff mark meadows about trump's apparent approval of rioters chanting hang mike pence. >> i remember pat saying something to the effect of, mark, we need to do something more, they're literally calling for the vice president to be effing hung. and mark had responded something to the effect of, you heard it, pat, he thinks mike deserves it, accident think they're doing anything wrong. >> deserves it. joining me now, cnn political commentator se cupp. we have to start there. what was it like for you,

someone who worked loyally for pence until you resigned the white house to hear her testimony under oath that former president trump approved of those chants, hang mike pence, and thought he deserved it? >> yeah, like i sat in the hearing yesterday, and to hear that, to hear that firsthand witness account, hearing that pat cipollone i worked with and cassidy who i also worked with discuss this and knowing that people in the white house knew that mike pence's life was in danger, and yet nothing was doing at after donald trump was okay with it is just appalling. it is never going to get a less shocking to me to hear that the president of the united states just sat there while his own vice president's life was in danger. that is never going to be normal to me and shouldn't be normal to any american out there. >> olivia, you worked, as i understand it, pretty closely with cassidy hutchinson on some key things, not just side by side, but on key things for the

administration. there are, it is important to note, some people who are disputing her testimony. not just the former president, but the u.s. secret service, disputing what she testified happened in the beast when the president still wanted to go to the capitol. can you speak to her as a person, what the american people need to know about her, her credibility? >> look, cassidy hutchinson was a loyal staffer. she was very diligent in her work. i worked with her closely. everyone who worked in the white house and worked in the west wing know that she was a critical part of the operation. i got closer to her during the covid task force, i coordinated things with her, she is familiar with the amount of work that went into evacuating cruise ships, i briefed her on that so mark meadows would be aware. she was in the thick of it and she is respected. she is a conservative republican woman, and she is known in republican circles on the hill. this is a known entity and also here is the thing, she has no

reason to lie. the stories she told, they were so vivid in detail, and in accuracy, i mean, why would she have any reason to make that up? and so if they're saying she lied, well, tony ornato should come forward, under oath, take an oath, and testify then and explain why he told her that story then because she attributes it to him. >> se, you said yesterday was, in your words, quote, as bad as it gets. the question is who believes what? as i said earlier in the show, there is one truth, there just is, but when it comes to beyond any legal implications, the hearts and minds of a divided america, as a republican, albeit not a trump republican, did yesterday move the needle significantly in your mind? >> well, let me start by saying that trump obviously, we have known this for years and it was made clear yesterday, was not ever motivated by or led by an

interest in democracy, the constitution, even morality or ethics. he was mostly led by vengeance, which is why you got that quote about mike pence. i think most of his fans like that about him. they don't mind ignoring the constitution or his disregard for separation of powers and, you know what democracy is supposed to do. they like the vengeance, the fact that he wanted to punish people, whether that was his quote, unquote enemies in the press or democrats or critics really anyone that got in his way, they liked that about him. i think if you're already on team trump, or you -- at the very least decided none of that matters to you, i don't think you're moved by what we learned yesterday. but for the rest of us, i mean, that is literally as bad as it

gets. that is a president who knew people were armed and told them to go march on the capitol. it doesn't get much worse, and it sounds like a movie, like a bad one that you would reject because it was so unbelievable and yet it was real. >> so let's end on this, ladies, listening to this sound, i was really struck by yesterday at the end of the hearing from the chair, chairman bennie thompson. >> if you heard this testimony today, and suddenly you remember things you couldn't previously recall, or there is some details you would like to clarify or you discovered some courage you had hidden away somewhere, our doors remain open. >> olivia, having worked with a lot of the folks that they would like to hear from, i wonder if you think any of those folks from this white house, the trump white house, will find that courage. >> yeah, i hope they will.

if cassidy stood up there on her own, by herself, and told the truth, and if she can do that, why can't others, . we all witnessed how dangerous trump is. in this moment, i'm sitting in that room next to the law enforcement officers who were hurt that day, i can't tell you how heart breaking and upsetting it was to watch their expressions as they heard that the president of the united states knew they had weapons, he was inviting them in and they were here for him and he was ready to lead the charge. they were disgusted and appalled and my heart would just sink. i think anyone who has facts and witnessed any of this should be coming forward, why are you afraid to tell the truth, just tell the truth, people need to be held accountable for what happened. >> olivia troye, se, we're out of time, thank you very, very much. still ahead, a desperate plea from ukrainian president zelenskyy as he calls for nato to allow ukraine into the alliance. we'll take you back live to jim

in madrid as president biden and world leaders attempt to alter the trajectory of the war. like many families, the auburns value time spent together. to share wisdom... i got some of my gold before i came to this country. i got some of my gold before you passed the bread. encourage one another... i can buy gold for this?! you can buy gold for this. and talk about life's wins and misses. responsibly sourced like my gold but not responsibly cooked. because at the end of the day, nothing keeps it all together quite like - gold.

visit invest.gold to see how gold is everyone's asset. a monster was attacking but the team remained calm. because with miro, they could problem solve together, and find the answer that was right under their nose. or... his nose.

the minions are coming to ihop. with an all new menu you're going to love. ♪ ♪ excuse me!

enjoy the minions menu at ihop. for a limited time kids eat free! and catch minions: the rise of gru. new this morning, video of the very moment ukrainian officials say that a russian missile hit a shopping mall in kremenchuk, ukraine, there it is there, that explosion, it was filled with civilians at the time, 18 people confirmed killed, dozens more still

missing. they expect that death toll to rise. cnn cannot independently verify exactly what the missile is hitting in this video. but we do have reporters on the scene. you can see there is not much left of that mall, an enormous strike. president zelenskyy, who released that surveillance video earlier today, says it is proof that russia has now become a terrorist state in his words. he's asking for ukraine to be admitted to nato once again. >> translator: nato's open door policy should remind us of the mechanism of the barriers, they're open, but as soon as you approach them, they're shut until you pay. has ukrained no paid enough? is our defense of europe not enough? >> has ukraine not paid enough? clarissa ward joins me now. clarissa, this is significant nato summit. the list of deliverables so far,

you have sweden and finland joining nato over turkish opposition, far from guaranteed before this came, enormous growth of force deployments on the eastern flank, but you also have greater commitments to defense budgets by nato allies. this is not what putin wanted or i think expected. >> that's why you heard president biden saying that putin wanted the finlandization of europe and what he's getting is the natoization of europe. finland and russia share an 800 -- more than 800-mile border. so this is a big deal, this is very significant. we know that president putin wanted to rewrite the existing post cold war security agreement here in europe, and he has effectively done that. certainly not in the ways in which he had expected to do it. and the real challenge, though, still remains going forward, how long can nato allies really continue this tough posture, because many of the leaders who are here, president macron, prime minister boris johnson,

president joe biden as well, are also facing serious political challenges at home. and that is what president putin i think is counting on. >> and, listen, i think fob thi forget, the battlefield in the eastern ukraine is increasingly deadly for the russians and for the ukrainians, the economic cost we have been talking about for the western allies are rising. putin's hope is that he can last longer than the west. >> he is banking on the fact that russia has a very high pain threshold, they are feeling the pinch, they are feeling the bite. but they are not going to be the ones, if you ask them and talk to them, to cry on uncle first. they're counting on the fact others will be forced to make some kind of compromises or concessions first. >> as you noted last hour, they -- these leaders have the problem of the democracy, right? they have to answer to voters, putin does not. clarissa ward, thank you so much. poppy, back to you. >> thank you, both, clarissa and jim. a human smuggling plot turns

deadly in texas. 51 migrants lost their lives, two people now this morning charged in connection with their deaths. we'll take you there for a live report. so, people can get a free samsung galaxy s22 when they trade in a galaxy, any year any condition. oh i get it. so you can take your old phone, that you've had for 12 years and loved every minute of, and trade it in for something new that suits your life now? that's right, yeah. and then enjoy immediate success, even though you'll never forget your old phone. ever. it's a great trade. life-changing. get a free samsung galaxy s22 with any galaxy trade-in. any year. any condition. only at at&t. the minions are coming to ihop. with an all new menu you're going to love. ♪ ♪

excuse me! enjoy the minions menu at ihop. for a limited time kids eat free! and catch minions: the rise of gru.

we're a different kind of dentistry. one who believes in doing anything it takes to make dentistry work for your life. so we offer a complete exam and x-rays free to new patients without insurance - everyday. plus, patients get 20% off their treatment plan. we're on your corner and in your corner every step of the way. because your anything is our everything. aspen dental. anything to make you smile. book today at aspendental.com, walk in, or call 1-800-aspendental. hybrid work is here. it's there. it's everywhere. but for someone to be able to work from here, there has to be someone here making sure everything is safe. secure. consistent. so log in from here. or here. assured that someone is here ready to fix anything. anytime. anywhere. even here. that's because nobody... and i mean nobody...

makes hybrid work, work better.

51 migrants, 39 men, 12 women are now dead after being abandoned in a sweltering hot truck in san antonio. they were from mexico and honduras and homeland security agent is calling their deaths, quote, the worst smuggling event in the united states. rosa flores joining us live from

texas. i know there were four kids also struggling to hold on to their lives after all of this, but this morning, two arrests have been made. is that right? >> reporter: you're absolutely right. this is according to charging documents which show that federal agents were able to trace the registration plate of that semi. they found the registered address, went to the location and arrested two individuals and charged them with possession of a weapon, up to 10 years in prison. we learn more about the scene from the u.s. attorney of the western district of texas. she issued a statement in which it says that the victims here were found dead or incapacitated in and around this tractor trailer. so not just inside the trailer but also around it. hsi, homeland security investigation is leading the criminal investigation. i spoke to the special agent in charge and he described this as

the worst human smuggling event in the united states. the death toll has increased to 51. according to officials here, there are 39 men and 12 women. the ages are still being determined, but, poppy, from talking to this official, he said there are indications that among some of the victims who died, there could be children under the age of 18. poppy? >> what a tragedy. rosa, we appreciate the update. still ahead, former president trump's behavior, actions on january 6th all testified to by one of the former white house top aides. yesterday, huge revelations from cassidy hutchinson's testimony. next.

your record label is taking off. but so is your sound engineer. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire the minions are coming to ihop. with an all new menu you're going to love. ♪ ♪ excuse me! enjoy the minions menu at ihop. for a limited time kids eat free! and catch minions: the rise of gru.

a good wednesday morning to

you. i'm jim sciutto reporting from the nato summit in madrid in spain. >> and i'm poppy harlow in new york. right now, we are closely monitoring the supreme court where the justices are set to release new opinions this morning. we'll bring you those as soon as we get them. we are also following stunning testimony from the hearing yesterday. cassidy hutchinson painting a picture of a furious donald trump on the day of the insurrection. she testified the president wanted to join those who marched armed to the capitol. this despite warnings from white house counsel pat cipollone. >> mr. cipollone said something to the effect of please make sure we don't go up to the capitol, cassidy. keep in touch with me. we're going to get charged with every crime imaginable if we make that movement happen. >> do you remember which crimes mr. cipollone was concerned with?