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Deadline Today for Agencies to Submit Plans for Mass Layoffs; Michelle Obama Launches New Podcast with Brother Craig Robinson; See the Moon Turn Red During Total Lunar Eclipse. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired March 13, 2025 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Federal agencies are facing two critical deadlines that could affect the jobs of thousands of people who work for the government. One month after Americans taxes are due, the Trump White House wants the IRS to cut 20 percent of its workforce on May 15th. And today other agencies are expected to turn over their plans for a new round of mass layoffs.

Elon Musk and his government efficiency team have already fired more than 100,000 federal workers. Many of those people not only lost their jobs, they're now finding that they may not even qualify for unemployment benefits without a fight. CNN's Annie Grayer and Rene Marsh are with us now with their reporting on this.

And Rene, first to you just about this deadline here. What are agencies doing to comply with this?

RENE MARSH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. So you know, we have seen the drip drip of these terminations. We've seen the paid leave, but it's all been building to this point here where these agencies are reorganizing and dramatically shrinking their offices.

And so what's happening today is not only do they have to hand in a plan of how many federal workers they are essentially going to slash from their workforce at these agencies, they're also going to include offices and divisions that are completely eliminated. We have yet to see from agency to agency just how deep those cuts are going to be.

We have some reporting already from agencies like the IRS where we know that they on total for this first phase of this reduction in forces, they're calling it. They want to slim down the workforce some 20 percent. That is a lot to accomplish by May 15th, just one month after the tax filing season. But again, this is the day that these agencies have to send their plan to the Office of Personnel Management.

If it sounds familiar, that's because that is basically ground zero from where DOGE has been operating and sending out the messaging and instructing these agencies. And it also just speaks to the continued influence of Elon Musk as we go through this just more dramatic phase of the shrinking of the federal workforce. And Musk has said about some of these agencies, he wants to see them deleted. KEILAR: And it's really, I think terrifying for a lot of these employees who have been canned already, Annie, because they say -- some of them will say, you know, just a few weeks or a few months ago, they got these great performance reviews. But the federal government is sort of telling them you're being fired for cause, even though you aren't. And that is now affecting their ability to seek unemployment benefits.

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: That's what we're learning. And that's our new reporting out today. I mean, these workers who were terminated in the last month were given notices that said that they were terminated for poor performance.

Some of them hadn't even been on the job long enough for performance review, or if they or if they had, they'd receive positive performance reviews. And now they're having to prove to their state unemployment offices that they were not fired for cause so that they can qualify for unemployment benefits.

The problem is that process is a long, arduous one. It requires a lot of documents from their former agencies who are underwater themselves. So the answer that most people are getting is you need to keep waiting. But that really doesn't work if you're just trying to get a paycheck, put food on the table, pay for your house.

I mean, that's what people who have been removed from the federal workforce are dealing with right now.

KEILAR: They're just out of luck, basically there and tell us how it's affecting state unemployment agencies.

GRAYER: These states are being inundated with a number -- with an extreme rising cases that they have just not been prepared for. I mean, in D.C. alone, they've seen such a spike because we've such a concentration of federal workers here. You're going to see we have over 500 in just one week in D.C. Whereas when before Trump took office, that number was 17 claims filed.

So states across the country are dealing with an influx of claims, and people are just being told it's going to be a long wait.

KEILAR: Wow, Annie, Rene, thank you so much for staying on this. We do appreciate it.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama making her first appearance since President Trump's election win. She's hosting an event with her brother at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin. We'll have that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Former First Lady Michelle Obama is making her first public appearance since President Trump returned to the White House. She just launched her third podcast, this one alongside her brother, entitled In My Opinion with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson. It premiered earlier this week, but she and her brother are already taking the show on the road to the South by Southwest Festival happening right now in Austin, Texas.

CNN's Arlette Saenz joins us now with more. Arlette, we haven't heard from Michelle Obama really since Election Day more or less. She didn't attend the inauguration. She didn't attend Jimmy Carter's funeral. What is she spreading publicly? What's the message now?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, you're right, Boris. Former First Lady Michelle Obama has really been out of the political spotlight, but she is starting to emerge in some ways. Her and her brother, Craig Robinson, have released this new podcast called IMO, short for In My Opinion, that's really meant to steer clear of politics. They're trying to offer advice and share their own life experiences.

But what's always so interesting about Michelle Obama is that she is very careful about how and when she uses her voice. So it'll be interesting to see if she does try to address any hot button issues or any issues that are emerging in these early months of the second Trump term.

Her and her brother, Craig Robinson, today we're taping a live taping of this podcast at South by Southwest. We're still waiting to hear whether there might have been any political talk there. But as you mentioned in the past, she has been outspoken about President Trump.

She skipped his inauguration and has made no secret of the way that she has felt about his second term. But it's always interesting to see how and when she chooses to use her voice, and in this way she's trying to do it in a very non-political way with this podcast.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it's interesting that it's not a political podcast, but I know that in the first episode she sort of talked about what got her on board with Barack Obama's first presidential run. What did she share?

SAENZ: Yes, well, Michelle Obama is often shy that she was not always willing to go through with this run, but she actually said that it was a conversation that Barack Obama had with her brother, and then her brother, who was the one that was sent in to convince her to get on board. Take a listen to that moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY: You talked me into supporting his run.

CRAIG ROBERTSON, IN MY OPINION PODCAST: I did.

OBAMA: And he was smart enough to know that he needed to come to you and sell you on the idea.

ROBERTSON: But I think the thing that pushed it over the top was, I convinced you to not penalize him for being really good at what he does. And that would be like a guy who is fighting to get to the NBA, and he makes it, and because the travel is messed up, his wife says, no, I don't want you to do it. And it just wouldn't be fair. And I talked to you and mom at the same time, and both of you sat there reasonably mad and said I was right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: So that gives you a little insight into Michelle Obama's thinking back in 2008, but of course, there's always a lot of interest in, you know, how the Obama couple came to be and how they got to the White House. And that gives you a little sliver, a peek into the window and how it all came together.

SANCHEZ: And how she got motivated to get on board. Arlette Saenz, thank you so much. We'll be listening in to hear what she has to say at South by Southwest.

Tonight, a total lunar eclipse is set to turn the moon blood red. What time you might get the best views next?

[15:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: For the first time in more than two years, the Earth's shadow is going to swallow the moon, creating a total lunar eclipse, also known as a blood moon. The show begins tonight and will be visible in many parts of the world.

KEILAR: And wow, do we know eclipses. We do. But you know who really knows them? Is Diana Hannikainen, who is the editor-in-chief at Sky and Telescope. OK Diana, just remind us how this all comes together and where are the best places to see this from?

DIANA HANNIKAINEN, EDITOR IN CHIEF, SKY AND TELESCOPE: Hello. It's lovely to be here. Yes, lunar eclipses happen when we get a near- perfect alignment of the sun, Earth, and the moon.

And so what happens is the Earth comes in the way of the sun and the moon and blocks out sunlight from reaching the moon's surface. And we're in luck here in the United States. We're in luck this year for this particular eclipse.

As you mentioned, it's more than two years since any part of the world has seen a total lunar eclipse.

[15:50:00]

And tonight, across all 50 states, and we will be able to see across all of North America, much of South America, we will get to see a total lunar eclipse. So if you are anywhere in the zone of where the eclipse will be total, all you have to do is step outside and look up and you will see this marvelous spectacle.

SANCHEZ: Diana, how rare are they? And does it have to be a full moon for you to be able to see it well?

HANNIKAINEN: Yes, for a lunar eclipse, actually for both solar and lunar eclipses, you have to have the full moon phase for a lunar eclipse and a new moon phase for the solar eclipse. So for the lunar eclipse, it is always at full phase. And eclipses happen -- lunar and solar eclipses happen approximately four times a year. We have approximately two lunar eclipses and two solar eclipses. That varies a little bit.

But what you need is you need the perfect alignment of the sun, earth and the moon. So the moon's orbit is not exactly aligned with the sun, Earth plane. It's tilted by about five degrees. And so as the moon orbits the earth, it doesn't always hit that spot where you have the earth directly between the sun and the moon.

And so that happens only a couple of times a year. And it so happens that now tonight, the night between March 13th and 14th, so tonight we have that perfect alignment where the orbital plane lines of the moon lines up with that of the sun and the Earth.

KEILAR: And what's so nice about this one, Diana, of course, is you can look at it without permanently burning your retinas. That is that's a certain plus. You don't need, right, special glasses for this.

How much time should -- is the total lunar eclipse going to be taking place? And then tell us, how much time should we budget in for watching, for it moving into place and then how it looks afterwards?

HANNIKAINEN: Of course, yes, when you look at the moon, you're not in risk of burning your retinas. That's specifically for the sun. But you're absolutely right for solar eclipses. One has to be extremely careful and always use eye protection.

But for this, for lunar eclipses, what's marvelous about them is that they unfold over a long period of time. The one tonight from start to finish will last a little bit more than six hours. But the part that you want to focus on, if you don't want to stay up all night and not everybody can or wants to, the total phase is what we want to focus on. And the total phase itself is more than an hour long. It's about 66 minutes long.

So just find out when the total phase is in your time zone. For example, for here in the United States, in the eastern time zone, the total phase of the eclipse begins a little bit before 2:30 a.m. And it'll last until a little after 3:30 a.m. And for those of you on the West Coast, it'll start a little bit before 11:30 p.m. tonight. And because it's a slow unfolding spectacle, you don't need to rush out at any moment. But you would want to focus on that total phase.

KEILAR: Wow, it's so cool looking. Diana, it is great to have you and for you to walk us through this so that we can hopefully get up in the middle of the night and get to enjoy such a beautiful sight. Thank you.

HANNIKAINEN: Thank you very much.

KEILAR: And now to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour. The two astronauts stuck in space for nine months. I'm sick of saying this. They will have to wait even longer to get home. And that is because yesterday's launch of the Dragon capsule was scrubbed. This happens sometimes. It was meant to bring four astronauts up to the International Space Station and then bring Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back home. NASA blamed a hydraulic-ish launch for tomorrow night.

SANCHEZ: They're going to have to flip their underwear inside out at least one more time.

Also, a powerful storm is slamming the West Coast with heavy rain and winds, leading to evacuations in parts of Los Angeles, areas that were scorched by deadly wildfires back in January. The mayor of Los Angeles warned there is a greater risk for mudslides in those areas with burn scars.

The National Weather Service says that as the storm moves east, millions of people in the South and Midwest face a level four risk of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms this weekend. A lot to keep an eye on on the forecast.

Still to come, an American social media influencer is facing backlash in Australia. What she did that has the country's prime minister and many others furious after a quick break.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: An American tourist might be kicked out of Australia after she was filmed picking up and running off with a wild baby wombat. Something you should never do. Here's the video that's going viral on social media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at the mother. It's like, oh chasing after it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I caught this.

KEILAR: Right, so the woman, this woman, Sam Jones's reported defense, she only held the baby wombat for a minute. But tell that to Australian officials who are now reviewing her visa or Australia's prime minister who suggested Jones try taking a baby crocodile from its mother next and see how that turns out.

[16:00:05]

SANCHEZ: We're not supposed to get emotional about stories. We're supposed to remain just passionate as journalists. But hearing that guy's laugh just made me so angry.

KEILAR: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Why would you do that? I never touch any babies. I stay away from all babies, but especially wild animals. That's a terrible idea. KEILAR: Don't bring human babies into it. But yes, you never touch an animal baby. Everyone knows that.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: "THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts now.

SANCHEZ: Thanks so much for joining us.

END