Return to Transcripts main page
Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Saudi Air Base By U.S. Attacked, U.S. Troops; Trump Says Iran Wants "To Make a Deal"; Tiger Woods Arrested On Suspicion Of DUI After Roll Over Crash; Johnson Rejects Senate-Passed DHS Bill, Calls It " A Joke"; Trump Orders Government To Start Paying TSA Despite The Lack Of A congressional Funding Deal; Soon: House Vote On New GOP DHS Funding Bill; Oil Rises To Highest Price Since Iran War Began; Israeli Settler Violence Surging In West Bank During War With Iran; After New Israeli Settler Attack, IDF Soldiers Detain CNN Crew; CPAC Attendees Weigh In On Iran War. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired March 27, 2026 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: There's something going on. I think people are searching for something, and searching for meaning perhaps in a world increasingly with conflict and uncertainty. And I think he is well placed to respond to this interest. I don't know if we can say it's exactly because of him, but certainly he will be there to try and accompany people.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Well, there is such a deep yearning for meaning, and I know that many, many who are watching will feel that too. And of course, as I said, Chris, your new book "American Hope: What Pope Leo XIV Means for the Church and the World" is out now. Thank you so much for being with us tonight and thanks to all of you for joining us as well, AC360 starts now.
[20:00:36]
JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Good evening, everyone, thanks for joining us, Anderson is off. Topping our CNN Global War coverage tonight. Iran hits a U.S. air base in Saudi Arabia. American equipment is damaged. American troops are hurt. It happened here. Iranian state media releasing this image showing the destruction at the Prince Sultan Air Base. We do not yet know how many service members have been wounded or how badly.
What is clear, however, is that this Commander-in-Chief is very different. As the world was learning about this, and as those service members were dealing with what could be anything from bumps and bruises to hopefully not but possibly life altering injuries. The President was having what I guess we should call some Friday night fun.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Unlike other politicians, they would like the question screened. I don't ask for screening of the questions. You can ask me anything you want. You can talk sex. You can do whatever the hell you want. I'm here for you. Whatever question you want, you can ask. So, do you want to do that? (END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: That's the President tonight at an investors conference in Miami. He did also talk about the war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It's not finished yet. I'm not saying -- it's sort of finished, but it's not finished. It's got to be finished.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: And he repeated what's become something of a refrain for him of late, that Iran is eager, very eager, the President says, to make a deal to end the fighting. And though he said tonight there are some 3,500 targets still to be hit. His Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, today said there would be no need, Rubio says no need to go beyond airstrikes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We can achieve all our objectives without ground troops, but we are always going to be prepared to give the President maximum optionality and maximum opportunity to adjust to contingencies should they emerge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: And perhaps along those lines, the contingencies you just heard Secretary Rubio talking about CNN just learned a third aircraft carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier, expected to deploy now to the area as well. That's according to a source familiar with the matter.
Unclear, though, is whether it will join the other two or replace one of those already there.
Also tonight, Tehran is reporting that a projectile hit an area near its nuclear power plants. This comes as Iran's foreign minister threatens what he calls a heavy price for such attacks. And all of this economically driving up the price of oil to $112.00 a barrel and once again sending investors to the nervous exits. Wall Street had another punishing day. The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 all ended the day and all ended this week down sharply.
In short, all serious stuff, deeply serious. Or perhaps, as the President put it tonight, just another stop on a longer excursion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And Cuba's next, by the way, but pretend I didn't say that. Please pretend I didn't say please, please, please. Media, please disregard that statement. Thank you very much. Cuba's next.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KING: A lot to cover tonight, beginning with CNN's Kristen Holmes at the White House. Kristen, what more can you tell us now? What are your sources telling you about this attack?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: So, we don't have the exact number of servicemen or women who were actually injured during this attack. But I was just told by a source moments ago that two of the service members did have shrapnel wounds, but they were clear to say that these were non-life-threatening wounds.
I'm also told that aircrafts at least one aircraft was damaged in this strike, but it's not something that's going to totally take out their capabilities on that air base. Now, in terms of the shrapnel wounds, in terms of the wounds overall, the injuries overall, we do not have clarity on how many service members, men and women were actually injured. We do not have clarity on what those injuries were other than the at least two servicemen and women who were injured with a shrapnel injury.
Now, of course, all of this is going to further complicate what is supposed to be happening behind-the-scenes right now. What we are told is happening, which is this quest for diplomacy, these ongoing negotiations. And I will say we heard from the Secretary of State earlier today who said that they were waiting to hear from Iran on that 15-point plan and that they still didn't know who they were supposed to be talking to and what they were supposed to be talking about.
And the reason why that's so critical that 15-point plan, that's supposed to be the basis of these negotiations. So, if Iran doesn't accept that, what are they actually going to talk about? If the two sides sit down together either late this weekend or early next week.
But when it comes to what happened in Saudi Arabia, I mean, this information is still very fluid, it is coming in. It does sound like the injuries that we know of were non-life-threatening. But again, this is still a very fluid situation after this Iranian missile strike.
[20:05:40]
KING: Certainly, hope that last part remains the case. Kirsten Holmes for us at the White House tonight, thank you so much for that reporting. And I'm joined now to continue the conversation by CNN global affairs analyst, Brett McGurk and CNN national security analyst, Alex Plitsas.
Alex, let's start with the attack tonight. Help us with the context. What do we know about it and how serious is it? We've known, even though the damage has been disproportionate, Iran has taken a lot more hits than it has delivered. Its capable of doing this.
ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It certainly is. What I'm hearing from sources is that this was a combination of ballistic missiles and drones that somehow penetrated the defenses. Total injuries are somewhere between 10 and 12. From what I'm hearing now and a couple of the KC-135 refueling aircraft were actually, were struck or were damaged as part of the attack.
KING: So that's a strike there. So, Brett, in the context of that, number one, help with again, with context, given your experience here. And number two, there's this talk of diplomacy. We don't actually know that there will be diplomacy because the two sides seem very far apart about where they want to start any conversation. But what does this mean for that?
BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yes, John, first, I mean, I'm thinking about our people. I've been there. I'm hoping the injuries are not serious. I'd also remind viewers, I mean, before any of this happened, I can remember very vividly just Christmas Day 2023, we had an Iranian drone grievously wounded Americans in Northern Iraq in January with three American 2024, before three Americans killed in Jordan from an Iranian drone. The Iranians have been doing this for some time. And that gets to something I think you said important.
You know, CENTCOM military campaign, John, has about two more weeks left to run. And its four to six-week timeline. So that brings you to about April 11th. And they are methodically just taking apart Iran's defense industrial base missiles, drones day by day, so that at the end of this, Iran will be so significantly weakened and degraded. I think the Iranians, from people I'm talking to in the region, are starting to realize that.
They actually don't have many friends and that their ability to recover from this every day goes on, the runway for them is much longer. So, does that open the path for diplomacy? Maybe. I mean, Pakistan, Turkey, others are passing messages. There is this proposal. I've heard mixed things from people who are involved in this and that there seems to be a debate within Tehran of what's left of the system and who's really in charge of how to respond to the American proposal.
So, there's a chance, I would put it a low chance in my experience negotiating with the Iranians, John, that that there will be a diplomatic off ramp. I think we can take as a base case, the military campaign will continue here for another couple of weeks. And within those couple of weeks, you'll be testing out the parameters of diplomacy. I think that's basically where we are.
KING: So, Alex, jump in on that point. So, we're at this testing point, we still see kinetic activity, which always happens even if, you know you're about to sit down at the table, we're not even sure were going to sit down at the table. But when there are negotiations coming, often there's a lot of kinetic activity. People just trying to get leverage for those. But more troops are going. The H.W. Bush is moving into the area. Do you see that as the Pentagon, the President trying to send a message to Iran? We're sending even more, might come to the table to talk about our plan. Or do you see that as if there's not going to be diplomacy. We might have to do more and possibly ground troops in some limited areas?
PLITSAS: Sure. So, I think the deployment footprint kind of tells us what the options are on the table. So, well take the second part of that first. When we're talking about the ground troops. So, we've heard two Marine expeditionary units that usually have about 2,500 Infantry Marines with them, about 5,000 total, and then potentially the ready brigade from the 82nd Airborne Division.
There's always one brigade on two-hour recall, 18 hours worldwide. It's our America's rapid response force. I'll give you a total of close to somewhere between 8,000 to 10,000. For context, when we took Baghdad after the, you know, the Conventional War ended, it still took a division of troops to hold one city. That's about 20,000 that we have about half of that on the way right now.
So, it's very clear that this would be for very limited, targeted options potentially we've heard taking islands in the Straits, you know, potentially some inland operations may be necessary. That's all speculative at the moment. What I'm hearing from sources, though, is that the George Bush is basically going to replace the Ford. The Ford has been at sea and will be a total of somewhere between nine to 11 months. Extended deployment.
They had plumbing problems. There was a massive fire on board recently. They actually had to take 700 mattresses were destroyed, their sailors sleeping on the floor. So, they had to rotate it out and send it back to Cyprus actually to get it refitted.
So, its overdue but the fact that its coming as a replacement says that there's, you know, potential need for a long-term replacement. You know, to Brett's point, after two weeks are up, you know, we finished the all the targets on the air tasking order.
What happens next? You know, the President's made the nuclear program his top priority for getting this resolved. We still haven't seen that resolved yet. If that doesn't go through diplomatic channels, you know, there's that and then we have mission creep now with the Straits of Hormuz.
[20:10:22]
KING: And Brett you talked about your hope that we get to diplomacy. You've been in negotiations with bad actors in the past. My question here is, before you can sit down, you have to understand sort of the other side, what is your sense of what the U.S. does understand about the current Iranian leadership? Because so much of the existing past leadership, very recent past leadership, has been killed and pushed out of the picture.
MCGURK: Yes, exactly. So, I think all of our assumptions of how the Iranians are thinking, I think they're good assumptions. You go back to the doctrine since Ayatollah Khamenei, their first Supreme Leader, and he called upon the Iran-Iraq War, the bloodiest war of the 20th century, a divine gift for Iran. It's kind of how they think, like suffering is a divine gift and they're built to endure, that's the system.
And I think the leaders who are emerging now and probably the new Supreme Leader, to the extent he's alive or we actually don't know, is probably very much indoctrinated with that. And especially under this pressure, their impulse and their base would be base case would be were going to endure, we're going to endure the pressure, and we're going to keep fighting. So that, I think, has to be the assumption. However, there is a breaking point with everybody. I've seen that before too. And so, you know, I think the objective here is over the next couple of weeks, and I think you might see an acceleration of some of the military targeting that does that that pressure lead to an opening on the diplomatic front. But even there, John, I go back to I've done negotiations, as you mentioned. Is there a zone of a possible agreement? We call it a ZOPA. And even there you're very far apart because the core issue, and it's been the core issue for decades, the Obama era JCPOA resolved that a little bit for a period, it is enrichment.
Iran insists on enriching uranium. They're the only country in the world without a declared weapons program that enriches the levels they have. The U.S. is saying no enrichment, and that still seems to be an unbridgeable gap.
KING: Well watch as that one plays out. Brett McGurk, Alex Plitsas grateful for your time.
Tonight, we're going to return to our continuing war coverage a little bit later tonight.
Next though, breaking news here at home. Sports legend, Tiger Woods arrested after again crashing his car.
And later a report from the West Bank where attacks by Israeli settlers are on the rise during this war with Iran and after one IDF soldiers assaulted one of our photojournalists and detained our team.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER (voice over): A soldier has just put photojournalist Cyril Theophilus in a chokehold, forcing him to the ground.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:17:03]
KING: Tonight, Tiger Woods, the legendary golfer is in jail. Here he is a short time before at the scene of his latest car crash, one of several over the years, and his latest DUI, one of two over the years.
Over roughly two decades. Though we all remember this starting in the mid-90s, tiger woods went from golf prodigy to a one man winning and sports marketing machine today, again, not for the first time, sadly, he got in a vehicle and things ended badly for him. That's his Land Rover there, tipped over on its side on a narrow road not far from his home in Jupiter, Florida.
According to the local sheriff, it happened as Woods was overtaking a truck that was towing a trailer at high speed, the sheriff says.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SHERIFF JOHN BUDENSIEK, MARTIN COUNTY, FLORIDA: The individual driving that Land Rover was able to crawl out the passenger door of the car and was identified to be Mr. Tiger Woods. Our DUI investigators came to the scene here, and Mr. Woods did exemplify signs of impairment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: The sheriff says neither Woods nor the driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash were hurt. Woods is being held, he said, on suspicion of DUI. Also, not for the first time, he was arrested in 2017 as well. Late today, the President, who is both a friend and sometimes golfing partner, had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I feel so badly. He's got some difficulty. There was an accident, and that's all I know, very close friend of mine. He's an amazing person, amazing man. But some difficulty we don't, I don't want to talk about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: "360's" Randi Kaye joins us now with more from outside of the jail where Tiger Woods is still being held. What else have authorities said about this crash?
RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, we know from authorities that this happened just before 2:00 P.M. on South Beach Road. And as you said, Tiger Woods, according to authorities, was traveling very fast on that road following this truck that was pulling a trailer.
There is no shoulder on that road. It is very narrow. So, when the driver of the truck told authorities he was trying to pull into a driveway and slow down, he said he could see the Land Rover behind him speeding up and that's when authorities say tiger woods swerved, clipped that truck and then rolled and he rolled on the driver's side according to the sheriff, he then had to climb out the passenger side.
We also know from the sheriff, they said that he was showing signs of impairment and also driving erratically. And here's what we know from the sheriff. He had a little bit more to say about what they found when they arrived on scene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUDENSIEK: Mr. Woods did a breathalyzer test, blew triple zeros. But when it came time for us to ask for a urinalysis test, he refused. And so, he's been charged with dui with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: John, it's unclear what, if anything, Tiger Woods had in his system, but clearly authorities were suspicious -- John.
KING: And Randi, have we heard anything about how Tiger Woods is doing and what's next?
KAYE: Well, if there's any good news in all of this, it is the fact that the sheriff said he was not injured in this in this crash or nor was the other driver.
But we know that they can hold him here, according to Florida law, for at least eight hours when they are being held on suspicion of a DUI. So, he's here in this jail here in Stuart, Florida, in Martin County, right behind me.
He could come walking out if they do let him out this evening, or when they let him out, he could come walking out this path or they may take him out a back entrance. It's unclear once he posts bond -- John.
[20:20:30]
KING: Randi Kaye, thank you so much. And again, there is zero joy in reporting this, but Tiger Woods has been here before and worse. CNN's Nick Watt has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Great with the driver, but a terrible driver. Tiger Woods' most infamous motoring mishap was back in 2009 when, as his personal life was collapsing under multiple infidelity allegations. He left his home at around 2:25 one morning and crashed his SUV into a fire hydrant, then a tree.
DANIEL SAYLOR, WINDERMERE POLICE CHIEF: He was on the ground semi- unconscious and had lacerations to his upper and lower lip.
WATT (voice over): His wife, who would soon leave him after those allegations became a flood, apparently smashed a window with a golf club and dragged him from the wreck. He was cited for careless driving. "I'm human and I'm not perfect," Woods posted later on his website. "I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again."
Then in 2017 --
POLICE: Have you had anything to drink tonight?
TIGER WOODS, AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: I have not.
POLICE: Are you sure?
WOODS: Yes.
POLICE: Have you taken any medication?
WOODS: Yes.
POLICE: Do you remember being asleep in the car?
WATT (voice over): He'd been fined parked, engine running asleep at the wheel of his Mercedes. He wasn't drunk. Later explained he had an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications and pled guilty to reckless driving.
His body suffered a lot during his stellar career on the course -- multiple back surgeries, knee issues, a lot of much needed prescription meds.
Then in 2021, clocking 87 miles per hour in a 45-mile per hour zone, the SUV he was driving in Palos Verdes, California, crossed the median, left the road and rolled down an embankment.
WATT (on camera): He flipped multiple times in that SUV through all this undergrowth and look -- look how far he traveled all the way down here.
WATT (voice over): Ruled an accident, his legs broken in multiple places, the bones piercing through his skin. Woods was lucky to escape from that one with his life.
Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: And with me now, Christine Brennan, "USA Today" sports columnist and CNN sports analyst; Joey Jackson, criminal defense attorney and Mark Schlabach, golf reporter for "ESPN".
Christine, you've covered Tiger Woods his entire career. A hero turned into a tragic figure of sorts when you heard this news today, what did you think?
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: John, really, the first thing that came to mind is, "Again? This has happened again?" as of course, Nick just relayed the history of Tiger Woods.
It's so sad. It's troubling. And its frankly appalling. This recklessness, that he in which he is living his life and getting behind the wheel of a car and thankfully, thankfully, no one has been injured.
Obviously, he has, but the previous, the 2021 wreck, of course. But in general, thankfully he hasn't run into another car with a family or, or another human being and injured them as well.
So, you know, we talk about Tiger Woods, the golfer, and I've covered, as you said, John, the length of his career. And I've criticized him when he needed to be criticized. And I've been, of course, laudatory with all of his exploits on the golf course as I covered those.
But the Tiger Woods, the golfer seems to be really a secondary story here to Tiger Woods, the person. What is he doing? Why is he not, either getting help or listening to the help that he has been getting in the past?
He did go to a clinic for prescription drug use after the 2017 incident. Here we are again. So, it's very troubling, very sad and obviously the kind of headline that no one wants to see with Tiger Woods, but a real issue, a true story here about the troubles of this American sports icon.
KING: And Joey, help us with Christine, just said the charges here, listed by the sheriff driving under the influence property damage, refusal to submit to a lawful test. They wanted to take a urine test. A, how serious? And if Tiger Woods was your client, what would you tell him to do right now?
JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: So, a number of things. The first thing is, I think we need to talk about this in the context of this being an arrest. He hasn't been convicted. It's an arrest and he, according to officers, they felt that he was impaired in some way.
Now, that impairment was based upon their observations. He blew and he blew zero-zero, which means it was not alcohol.
With respect to the impairment, it could equally be that when you're in a car accident, there are certain things that occur, including confusion, et cetera., which lead to you perhaps peering openly to be confused to having problems with perhaps walking, turning, spinning and doing those things.
But we know that he was lucid enough to explain to the officers. This has been reported that he has these various ailments, and that might lead to him not doing well on the various examinations.
But I think what's going to have to happen is, from the prosecution's perspective, to look at the nature of how he was driving. And there are many people who drive, who speed, who are not criminals. They just happen to be driving or speeding in any way.
[20:25:20]
And so, I think at this point, like every client, you tell them not to speak to anyone. But at the end of the day, it's going to be about resolving the case in the most favorable way possible. And in terms of the charges, no one wants to be arrested, John. No one wants certainly to be convicted to come into contact with law enforcement.
When you refuse and he did, as it related to the urinalysis to determine what was in his system when they knew no alcohol. That is an independent crime in Florida. It's punishable by up to 60 days, right? And then when you get to the DUI, driving under the influence, it's subject to six months. I don't suspect that any of that will happen. I think it will be ultimately negotiated and reduced to something. And perhaps if he does need help, he will get help. But it's not something that he'll be in jail for an extended period of time, other than the eight hours that he mandatorily needs to be there.
KING: Mark, we saw Tiger Woods back on the golf course just days ago, and there's been some speculation. Would he try to participate in the Masters next month? He certainly, as a past winner, can participate in some of the big events they have at the tournament. What does this do to that?
MARK SCHLABACH, ESPN, GOLF REPORTER: Yes, John, I don't know if it makes much of an impact. You know, I had my doubts about whether or not Tiger Woods would show up at Augusta National in two weeks. You know, everybody got excited when he showed up to TGL for the first time, but he took 12 to 15 swings, you know, going to Augusta National, walking 72 holes, playing a couple practice rounds on one of the least and most treacherous walks in professional golf is an entirely different animal.
You know, I think the question now is, does he go to Augusta National at all? You know, he's invited to the champion's dinner. He redid the paths, the public course in Augusta. There's going to be a ceremony there after this arrest. You know, we'll wait and see him at all during the Masters in early April?
KING: Christine, you mentioned the focus should be on Tiger the person, a lot of our sports heroes have flaws and tragedies in their personal lives or things like this. Help, we don't know a lot, as Joey said about how this case finishes out. But tonight, when you say Tiger's legacy has been impacted, how?
BRENNAN: You know, I think those who love him and of course, remember the glory days on the golf course. And I was there. I was so fortunate as a journalist to cover those. Mark, of course, has covered many as well.
You know, he's still Tiger to them, and I'm sure there's sympathy and sadness for many millions of Americans, John, who grew up watching Tiger, that was maybe their first opportunity to watch golf. And for those of us who were a little bit older, who just remember his invincibility on the golf course as a young man and then moving into middle age, and then the injuries, of course, too.
So, I think there's probably sympathy. I think there's caring. I think most people know, as Mark was saying, you know, you don't expect him to win another golf tournament. It may be a senior tour; he's 50 years old now. And that's the other thing, he is 50. He's not the 21-year- old that that came on the scene in 1997. And so. I think 1996-1997, bottom line is I think there's probably a lot of mixed feelings.
But again, to focus on the sports aspect misses the fact that this man has been doing these reckless things. Whatever the legal implications are, and how fortunate he is and everyone else is that he hasn't impacted other people's lives while doing these things that he has done time and time again.
KING: Again, back to that point, and it's a great point about that, Joey, he's in custody, can they make him take the urine test there? Will we ever quite know the results of that? What happens?
JACKSON: Yes, so the answer is no. You have a right not to submit to the urine test and that will, of course, not let anyone know it was in your system having that right, John, there's two problems with it. The first thing is, as I noted before, it's an independent crime in Florida. Now, in New York, it's not another jurisdiction, it's not you can refuse the implication simply being a license suspension.
But the other implication, in addition to its being an independent crime punishable by 60 days, is it could be used if it went forward as consciousness of guilt. In other words, if somebody believes themselves to be innocent, then why not take the test? And from Tiger's perspective, though, I think the argument from the defense view is that their privacy concerns.
Anyone else takes a urinalysis, okay, it goes to the judge and what's in your system is recorded to the judge, it's over. What's in Tiger's system, the world would know what's in his system, what medications he's on? Why is he on these medications? So, I think it's a viable defense to argue that he did not take it because of any consciousness of guilt. He took it to protect his privacy. And I think that's where the defense will go with this.
KING: We'll learn more, obviously, in the hours ahead. Christine Brennan, Joey Jackson, Mark Schlabach, appreciate your time, thank you so much.
And next, just when you thought it might be safe and sane to go back to the airport, House Republicans blocked Senate legislation to fund the TSA. The question now, can the President's funding workaround get security lines back down to normal size?
Also, whether it is oil, gas or your 401(k), assessing the Iran wars impact on your wallet just ahead.
[20:30:22]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:34:30]
KING: Tonight, the House is poised to pass the Homeland Security Plan, but do not get your hopes up, it's a non-starter over in the Senate. So there remains no end in sight to the partial government shutdown. No end in sight to those longer than long lines at many U.S. airports, because TSA workers aren't getting paid, and many of them are calling in sick.
You might remember the Senate last night passed its own version, but that was deemed a non-starter in the House, because conservatives revolted. Speaker Mike Johnson calling the Senate bill a joke.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: The Republicans are not going to be a party to this. They have taken hostage the funding processes of government, so that they can impose their radical agenda on the American people when we can't have any part of it. This gambit that was done last night is a joke. I'm quite convinced that it can't be that every Senate Republican read the language of this bill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:35:22]
KING: For his part, President Trump says he's not going to wait for Congress to reach a compromise. He's ordering DHS to find the money to pay TSA agents. But exactly how, even if, that will work is still a bit unclear.
So for more on how we got here, and whether we are any closer to a deal, I'm joined by CNN Congressional Correspondent Lauren Fox. Lauren, these are Republicans, the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader, yet they seem completely out of sync.
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, these two sides have been at odds all day. And look, the Senate-House dynamic is a tale as old as time up here on Capitol Hill. There has always been tension between these two chambers, because fundamentally, they have different rules. And therefore, their Republican leadership has to play a different game.
Obviously, Majority Leader John Thune has to get Democratic votes to pass legislation. That's just how it works when it comes to these spending bills. As such, he moved forward last night with a proposal that got 100 senators to agree to it. Obviously, that is no small feat.
It passed at 3:00 in the morning. And then this morning, when Speaker Mike Johnson woke up, he was not pleased with what had passed in this package, in part because of the backlash that was coming from his conservative wing of the party. So what they are doing tonight, in just a couple of hours, is they will vote for this package to fund the entire Department of Homeland Security for a few weeks.
This would just get them into mid-May. Of course, we don't expect that the Senate's going to come back from their two-week recess to pass this legislation, because it doesn't have the support of Democrats. The minority leader, Chuck Schumer, swiftly put out a statement making it clear that Democrats are not going to support this piece of legislation. So now they're back to square one, essentially.
And there is just continuing building pressure on Majority Leader John Thune from conservatives all over social media, who are irate about the decision that he made last night to try to get a way out of this shutdown that has gone on and on and obviously created chaos at airports and frustrated TSA officers who are calling out sick, who are having to take extreme measures in order to pay their bills and keep food on the table for their families.
So that is the dynamic this morning, or excuse me, this evening. It's been a long day, John, on Capitol Hill. But it is seemingly no end in sight up here for this shutdown.
KING: Seemingly no end in sight. Lauren Fox, appreciate that long day of great reporting. Thank you very much.
More now on the very tough day on Wall Street with the start of the fifth week of the war in Iran.
Cheering in the morning, but the Dow falling nearly 800 points. It is now in correction territory. The average price of a gallon of gas? Up $1 since the start of the war. And Brent crude rising to $112 a barrel today, the highest it has been since the first strike on Tehran. Joining us now is Richard Quest, CNN Business Editor-At-Large, host of Quest Means Business. Some of the particulars in a minute, but big picture.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Yes.
KING: Markets in correction territory. That high you just heard in oil prices. U.S. consumer confidence, if you look at the University of Michigan sentiment, down.
QUEST: And the bond market iffy. A couple of the bond auctions for U.S. government treasuries, they went -- they got away and it was OK. But the depth of the market, the liquidity of the market, the bond market is saying they're worried about higher rates and the potential for recession.
KING: Worried about the potential for recession. So you heard our military analyst at the top of the show. The Pentagon, the White House, they have a plan. They think about three more weeks of targeting. And by then, they hope it's over if Iran doesn't come to the table.
I know. We don't even know. There's not actual diplomacy yet. But if it -- let's say it ended tomorrow, ended tomorrow for Americans who are now seeing $4 at the pump, like that or no?
QUEST: No, no, it would come down quite sharply. If it ended tomorrow where $112, it might come down to $90. It might come down to $80 because the supply would -- remember, the price you're seeing is both spot into the futures. And therefore, if you know the supply is coming and you know things are going to get better, then the price will come down and it will come down, maybe, as I say, quite dramatically.
But the economic impact that's baked in that the OECD talked about, the 4.1 percent inflation, the slowdown in U.S. government growth, that all is just about baked in now because of the time it's taken.
KING: And the President's made a lot of statements that have had the markets, you know, moving all the time. One of the things he said is he had a mystery present. He spoke up earlier in the week. And now he says it was that Iran will allow, has allowed 10 oil tankers to pass through, 10 tankers to pass through as a goodwill gesture.
And number one, is there evidence to back that up? And number two, 10 tankers.
QUEST: Oh --
KING: What is that going to do?
[20:40:02]
QUEST: It's absurd. It's absurd. But here's to your point, excuse me, to your point about the President drawing the market -- and I've got a list. One, two, three, four, five, six. On Iran, Iran, Greenland, tariffs, tariffs, Powell. When he sees the market down and he gets worried or pressure is brought to bear, he makes these statements.
The market rallies right back up again. The difference this week is that the underlying trend didn't change. So, for instance, when he said he was going to delay for 10 days, the market spiked, spiked quite sharply. And then it gave it all back. Because until the fundamentals change, back to your point, before they actually change what's really happening, not what the President says or thinks is happening, nothing's going to change.
KING: Yes. You said possible recession at the beginning of this conversation.
QUEST: Yes.
KING: So for anybody watching tonight, if you're a Republican running for office, you don't like that word. It's going to be a tough year out there for Republicans. But are we talking U.S. recession? You're talking global recession.
QUEST: I think you're talking more likely recession outside of the United States. The U.S. has this phenomenal stock market. It survives in spite of everything that's done. It thrives in spite. It will be more difficult for the U.S. to have a recession. Don't discount one quarter of negative growth.
But more importantly, there's no difference. Once you're down at 1 percent and less than 1 percent. It feel -- I can't use the word I would use, but it feels pretty awful to people.
Jobs -- and for the Fed, remember, there's 4.1 percent inflation. Let's say we get to 4 percent. That's double the target. The Fed hasn't hit its target for more than 56 months.
Therefore, yes, John, you are now talking about higher rates, not lower rates. And the idea of cuts before the end of the year is just about evaporating.
KING: Richard Quest, that's sour, sober news, but --
QUEST: Finding.
KING: -- grateful to get it from you.
Up next for us, what IDF soldiers are saying about surging attacks by Israeli settlers in the West Bank during this war with Iran. And we'll show you what happened when they detained our CNN team.
Also, Donie O'Sullivan takes us inside CPAC, the annual gathering of conservatives where not everyone backs this war.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:46:28]
KING: In the occupied West Bank, Israeli settler violence is surging again as the Iran war takes much of the world's focus. In one village, as you're about to see, a Palestinian family says settlers beat a 75- year-old man inside his home. When reporting from that same village, Israeli soldiers who echo settler ideology assaulted a CNN photojournalist and detained the rest of the CNN team, including our Jeremy Diamond. Here's Jeremy's report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 75-year-old Abdallah Daraghmeh moans in pain. His breathing is labored, his face bloodied, bruised, and swollen, bones broken. His family and multiple eyewitnesses say Israeli settlers stormed into his home in the middle of the night and beat him to a pulp.
In his West Bank village of Tayasir, those same settlers have now established an outpost, considered illegal even under Israeli law. Soldiers standing idly by until something else draws their attention.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Foreign Language)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Foreign Language)
DIAMOND (voice-over): Producer Abeer Salman identifies us as journalists before translating the soldiers' commands.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sit down! Sit down!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sit down!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sit down!
DIAMOND: So the soldiers just immediately came up and started pointing their weapons directly at us, telling everyone to sit down immediately. Obviously, we're not posing any threat here.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The commander comes straight for our camera and within seconds --
(through translation): What are you doing? We're journalists. What are you doing?
DIAMOND (voice-over): A soldier has just put photojournalist Cyril Theophilos in a chokehold, forcing him to the ground.
DIAMOND: Don't touch him like that! Don't touch him like that! Give me my phone.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The soldier who assaulted Theophilos continues to demand he turn off his camera before another smacks my phone.
DIAMOND: So as you can see, what we have seen happen in the last 24 hours is that settlers came to this area. They settled that hilltop and now you have a lot of soldiers coming to this area with the Palestinians in this area. They're on top of the home of Imad (ph), the man that we were just speaking to.
And we're seeing the soldiers treat the Palestinians in the area as the threat when really what started this problem was obviously the settlers who came in the middle of the night and took over land that's not theirs.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The Palestinians here are detained and questioned. Soldiers detain us too and walk us back to our vehicle. They say they're trying to establish order between settlers and Palestinians. But as the cameras keep rolling, it becomes clear these soldiers are here in service of the settler movement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): We are here because this is our place.
DIAMOND (through translation): Is this your village?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): The land is ours.
DIAMOND (through translation): So all the West Bank if yours?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Of course. And not just for the soldiers, for the Jews.
DIAMOND (voice-over): They also say it's personal. These soldiers tell me they were friends with the 18-year-old settler who authorities say was killed last week by a Palestinian driver. Palestinians dispute that account.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): If you had a brother and they kill him, what would you have done?
DIAMOND (through translation): So that's revenge?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Revenge.
DIAMOND (through translation): You're talking about revenge. But you're a soldier, is this normal to carry out revenge? As a soldier?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Listen, at the end of the day, if the state didn't address what they did, those who murdered the youth, the settler last week, remember? What do you expect us to do?
DIAMOND: So we're currently detained by the Israeli military. They've told us to sit in our cars and wait. As you can see, one of them is right here.
[20:50:04]
And, you know, what's really quite striking is the fact that so many of these soldiers are clearly manifesting the same kind of settler ideology.
DIAMOND (voice-over): This soldier, Meir, makes that crystal clear.
MEIR, ISRAELI SOLDIER: (Speaking foreign language)
DIAMOND (through translation): They don't have permission to be here even under Israeli war. MEIR, ISRAELI SOLDIER: (Speaking foreign language)
DIAMOND (through translation): Even under Israeli law, this isn't a settlement. This isn't a legal settlement.
MEIR (through translation): That's right. But it will be a legal settlement.
DIAMOND (through translation): It will be.
MEIR: Yes.
DIAMOND: OK.
(through translation): How do you know this?
MEIR (through translation): Slowly, slowly.
DIAMOND (through translation): Thanks to your help, right?
MEIR (through translation): Of course. I help my people.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Meir is describing the settler playbook and the role Israeli soldiers often play in propping it up. The Israeli military did not respond to CNN's questions about soldiers' conduct in the West Bank, including our detention.
Amid the war with Iran, those efforts are intensifying, with at least four outposts established this week alone. Land often taken with the blood of Palestinians.
I didn't expect this, Abdullah's son says. This is not normal.
DIAMOND: So just as we're visiting one patient in the hospital from a settler attack, we've just learned that there have been multiple other settler attacks in the area, and one of the patients is at the same hospital.
DIAMOND (voice-over): 29-year-old Saqer Salman says a scuffle broke out after settlers came onto his land and one of them clubbed him in the back of the head. When soldiers arrived, he says they arrested him and beat him with the butt of their guns.
SAQER SALMAN, VICTIM OF SETTLER ATTACK (through translation): The soldiers are a protection for the settlers. I would tell the soldiers that they stole my sheep and they would say that I'm lying and that I'm the one who attacked them. And every time I tried to say something, the soldiers would beat me.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The settlers, he says, always go free.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tayasir, the West Bank.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: And late today, the Israeli military did tell CNN this, quote, "The actions and behavior of the soldiers in the incident are incompatible with what is expected of IDF soldiers operating in the Judea and Samaria area." The military said this incident will be thoroughly reviewed, but did not respond to CNN's questions about the settler outpost featured in this report or the increase, big increase in settler violence in the West Bank.
Up next, how the Iran war is being seen by people you would think would be fully behind President Trump.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:56:41]
KING: When conservatives gather for the annual CPAC conference, you would expect pretty solid support for a conservative President. That said, the country is now at war. A war that some of the right thought they were voting against when they pulled the lever marked Donald Trump.
Our Donie O'Sullivan is at CPAC and has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When it comes to Iran, how do you feel about that?
ALEX STONE, CPAC ATTENDEE: I'm not happy. I'm not happy at all. I mean, President Trump ran on no new wars.
O'SULLIVAN: And what do you think of the war with Iran at the moment?
BRENDA PASSIALES, CPAC ATTENDEE: Unfortunately, I think it's necessary.
O'SULLIVAN: You do?
PASSIALES: Yes, and he's the only President that had the backbone to take it on.
O'SULLIVAN: Here at CPAC in Dallas, opinion is divided about the war in Iran.
COLE KORNELL, CPAC ATTENDEE: Right now, I'm optimistic about it. Am I a Republican that wants a forever war? Do I want a bunch of boots on the ground? Do I want Iraq 2.0? No, I don't.
But through what, you know, he's accomplished in the past, what he did with Maduro, I'm very confident that this will be a success as well. And as long as it's a temporary thing. I mean, if this is something that's still going on months from now, then Republicans can kiss the midterms goodbye.
O'SULLIVAN: Are you concerned that it's going to drag out into a long- term war?
PASSIALES: Of course, of course. And -- but I don't think that's going to happen. I don't think Trump will allow that to happen. He's a president of peace. He was in for four years and there was no war.
STONE: I feel like we've been opted into a war that shouldn't be ours. It should be Israel's. Obviously, I don't think that Iran should have a nuclear weapon. But for 20-plus years, they've been saying Iran is on the verge of a nuclear weapon. OK, where's the nuclear weapon?
O'SULLIVAN: What do you say to people who say, well, this is Israel's war. It shouldn't be America's war?
DOC COLLINS, CPAC ATTENDEE: That's not so. Israel is God's people. And those that bless Israel will be blessed. Those that curse Israel, they better watch out.
O'SULLIVAN: Do you believe that Israel forced the U.S. into this war?
PASSIALES: Absolutely not. Donald Trump does what Donald Trump wants to do. Period. End of story.
KORNELL: I don't think Trump is really controlled by anybody as much as everyone would like to control him. But I do question some of the things when it comes to, are we just going to bend over everything for Israel?
O'SULLIVAN: Do you feel disappointed in the President?
STONE: Sure.
O'SULLIVAN: Do you still support him?
STONE: I want him to succeed. I think it's to be determined on, you know, if I can remain to support him.
O'SULLIVAN: Are you concerned that this war drags on?
STONE: Absolutely. Absolutely. I -- you know, we hear the phrase "America First." Let's put America first. And I'm concerned that this isn't putting America first.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): America First sentiments are strong here. And while not all Iranian Americans agree with the war --
O'SULLIVAN: Are you from Iran?
REZA GHAFFARIAN, CPAC ATTENDEE: Yes, I've been here for 50 years.
O'SULLIVAN: Many of those who came to this year's CPAC --
GHAFFARIAN: Hello.
O'SULLIVAN: Are you also Iranian?
SINA KHODAEIFAR, CPAC ATTENDEE: I miss my country. I'm 15 years here.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): -- have come here to plead with the President to stay in the fight.
O'SULLIVAN: There's pressure here in the United States on Trump, on the administration to end the war quick.
MATIN SAMIMIAT, CPAC ATTENDEE: I get the concern because people have trauma from Iraq and Afghanistan wars. But think about a future alliance between a best friendly Iran and United States. How much your prices of oil will go down?
REZA FAMOOD, CPAC ATTENDEE: Iran is not Iraq and it's not Afghanistan. We don't want money. We don't want anything. We want our country back.
O'SULLIVAN: If Trump is watching this, what is your message to the President?
FAMOOD: Mr. President, thank you. And we know you're playing right. People of Iran, thank you for your help and support.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Donie O'Sullivan, CNN, Dallas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: And the news continues. The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts now.
