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Deadly Storms Kill 8 As Millions Face Flooding Threat; 44M At Risk For Severe Storms From Texas To Ohio Valley; "Hands Off!" Anti- Trump Protesters Plan Rallies In All 50 States; Dow Posts Worst Back- To-Back Losses Since COVID Pandemic; China Fires Back, Slaps 34 Percent Tariffs On U.S. Imports In Retaliation; Senate GOP Takes Final Vote On New Budget Blueprint; Dems Propose Amendment On Ukraine, DOGE Cuts At Social Security Admin. Trump's Tariffs Rattle Market, Raise Recession Fears; U.S. Strikes On Houthis Cost Nearly $1B Since Mid- March; TikTok Deal On Hold Due To Trump's Tariffs On China. Aired 12- 1p ET

Aired April 05, 2025 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: -- just before her 97th birthday. Her talent, legacy, and blithe spirit certainly live on.

That's all we have time for. Don't forget, you can find all of our shows online as podcasts at CNN.com/audio and on all other major platforms.

I'm Christiane Amanpour in London. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you again next week.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin this hour with this breaking news. Protesters angry about President Trump's new tariffs and his dramatic cuts to the federal government are rallying in cities across the U.S. and around the world, in fact.

These are live pictures right now of pretty sizable crowds there in Boston. Protesters are planning to gather in hundreds of cities today. We'll take you to a protest in the nation's capital in just a moment as well.

But first, this other breaking news, a particularly dangerous, life- threatening flood threat is unfolding right now in parts of the South. Many areas are bracing for relentless rainfall and catastrophic flooding after a line of violent and deadly storms hit earlier this week.

Those storms killing at least eight people across four states, including a nine-year-old boy who was swept away in Kentucky floodwaters. Deadly tornadoes also leveling homes, uprooting trees, and destroying businesses.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before I knew it, sounded like hail hitting the building, so I went to shut the doors, keep it from blowing in. And the next thing I knew, the door blew in and the back wall blew out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My window was busted out, and that's all I remember. The debris coming everywhere and hitting me, and I ducked my head, and then he got me out of my vehicle because I couldn't open my door.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If the Lord's going to take us, he'll take us. So, you know, so he put us two chairs, and then we was sitting there with blankets over our heads. And when it started coming out, I grabbed under his arm, and I'm just praying, Lord, just don't take us, don't take us.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WHITFIELD: 44 million people from Texas to the Ohio River Valley are under the threat of severe weather, with 36 million people currently under flood watches.

I want to bring in now CNN Senior National Correspondent Ryan Young, who is live for us in Ravenden, Arkansas, where it still is raining. It looks pretty slick, and there's a lot of standing water behind you. Describe where you are and what's going on.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fire crews are concerned about this. Emergency crews have actually shut this road down. We're going to walk you this direction.

Look, about 15 or 20 minutes ago, they wanted to make sure no one could even get close to here. They are concerned about people who live on either side of this creek. But you can see this, this is the bridge. This is the main east-west corridor.

We were trying to head to Hardy, where another one of our crews were. We cannot get there because of this flooding that's spreading its waves. This is happening all over the place.

As we took some of the roads here, you can see some of the people who are basically trapped in the higher elevations in their houses. Of course, as long as they don't come out, they're OK. But they want to make sure they keep this pretty stable, because when you see something like this, you understand some of the dirt roads, that's how we got here.

Some of those have washed away already, Fredricka, so you understand the danger involved in this. And these storms have taken the lives of at least eight people all across the warning areas over the last few days.

We know more tornadoes could be coming later on. But if you see this, this road typically could be open. We've seen some people try to get to this location, but they couldn't. And a lot of this is flooded up to the dirt roads, and the banks have just been filling themselves over and over again.

So it's a dangerous situation that they're of course monitoring. The rain has been pounding most of the day. Right now, a little bit of a lull before this live shot. But as you can see, this is what they're concerned about. And this is just the beginning of all this water that's expected to come in the next few hours.

WHITFIELD: Right, and it means getting to people in emergency situations, since so many roads are out. So does that mean that first responders are starting to use boats, airboats, anything of the like?

YOUNG: Yes, that's a great question. So there are areas that they are using boats, especially if you look at this area over here. There are several people who have come to this area and gotten RVs like the ones over there.

Some of those folks have decided to get out early, but they did have to use boats. Even the mayor of Hardy said they lost a boat today as they were trying to rescue some people. Luckily, there have been no injuries there.

But all throughout this area, the small pockets, the small cities, the volunteer firefighters, there are folks who are working to make sure folks who live along these banks are safe and OK. You can tell some of these people have been smart.

They've actually built on top of the hills so they're not being impacted by the water just yet. But as it continues to rise, especially in low-lying areas, we've seen semis, we've seen trucks, we've seen cars floating by us already, not over here, but on the banks other places.

[12:05:14]

So it's been interesting to see the impact so quickly with all this rain that's been dropping over the last few hours.

WHITFIELD: All right, very volatile situation.

Ryan Young in Arkansas, thank you so much. We'll check back with you.

All right, also happening right now, protesters angry about President Trump's new tariffs and his dramatic cuts to the federal government are rallying in cities across the U.S. and around the world. The so- called hands-off protests are just now getting underway, and they're expected to be the largest one-day demonstration since Trump took office.

CNN's Brian Todd is in the nation's capital of Washington, D.C. Ivan Rodriguez is at a rally in Atlanta.

So let's begin with you in the nation's capital, Brian. What are you seeing? What's the turnout like?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, a very good and energetic turnout. Thousands and thousands of people here at the foot of the Washington Monument. The speeches are just getting started here. Our photojournalist, Joe Wagner, is going to kind of span the crowd here and kind of give you a sense of just the thickness and the energy of the crowd.

We were actually back there a short time ago, right where the crowd was thickest, and we couldn't get a signal, so we had to kind of come away from the center. Look at this. There's a lot of people down here at the foot of the Washington Monument.

And again, the theme is hands-off. This is a protest against the cuts that Donald Trump and Elon Musk have made to the federal government. We also talked to people who are here to protest the tariffs that have been imposed. People coming here from as far away as Seattle, from Baltimore, from Buffalo, New York, from New Jersey, who we've spoken to.

I've got a gentleman here, Vince Gardina (ph) from Baltimore. Vince, talk to me about your motivation for coming.

VINCE GARDINA (?), PROTESTER: Well, I'm very concerned about the fact that Donald Trump, who is acting like a dictator -- we come into here -- start enacting policies without the approval of Congress, laying off people, without the due process, implementing policies that have profound impacts on people's lives, on veterans, on the environment, without any deliberation at all.

No deliberation with Congress, no deliberation with the public. It's completely illegal, and I guess we have to expect that since he's a convicted felon.

TODD: Thanks for talking to us, Vince.

GARDINA: Thank you.

TODD: Thanks for joining us.

OK, so that's one opinion. You've got singing going on here. Members of Congress slated to speak. Congressman Jamie Raskin from Maryland is slated to speak here. Congressman Maxwell Frost from Florida, among the speakers here. Government union leaders are here.

And again, thousands of people, some of them government employees who have been laid off, some of them who have family who they're worried about being laid off. We've talked to a range of people here who have these concerns.

And just take a look at the energy in the crowd here. Lots of sentiment here. They just want to start fighting back against some of the cuts. So the organizers here call this the most brazen power grab in modern American history. So that is the theme here.

One thing we can tell you also, that the White House garden tours that were scheduled for today, those have been postponed until tomorrow because of the presence of this protest near the White House grounds and another pro-Palestinian protest. First Lady Melania Trump's office announcing that those garden tours postponed until tomorrow out of an abundance of caution, just because of the size and the scope of the two protests here in Washington today, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, that's very interesting and a consequence of what's taking place there and a representation of the passion that is heating up really across the country.

Brian Todd, thanks so much. Let's go to Ivan Rodriguez now in Atlanta. Ivan, what's happening there? What kind of turnout are you seeing?

IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, we're standing in Piedmont Park in the heart of the city. And that passion we saw there in Washington, D.C. with Brian Todd, we're also seeing here. This rally, Fred, is not expected to start for about another hour.

But you're already seeing people line up here in areas of the park, either to check in, grab water, whatever it may be, pick up signs. Many of these signs aimed against the Trump administration, Elon Musk, DOGE as well.

I want to bring in here, Rob Helfenbein with Indivisible ATL. He's one of the organizers. Rob, talk to me a little bit about what made you want to come out and be a part of this today.

ROB HELFENBEIN, INDIVISIBLE ATLANTA: Absolutely. Well, I'm an old social studies teacher. And so what I'm concerned about is what seemed to be a constitutional crisis. And the disregard of the checks and balances that the founders set up has me really, really concerned for this country.

But also it's been an amazing thing to be organizing with folks here and see the folks coming out in such numbers. We have over 5,000 people that have RSVP for this event, and we think it might even be more. We're excited to see what those final numbers coming from APB are.

RODRIGUEZ: Definitely a lot of people who are interested. And again, this is an event that's taking place across the country, Fred, from Georgia, all the way to Alaska, these sorts of rallies are taking place.

[12:10:06]

And Rob, obviously those who support, those who support the Trump administration currently, they would say that this is a way to save taxpayer money. But again, what we've heard today is sort of the lack of guardrails or little guardrails attached to that.

HELFENBEIN: That's exactly right. And what we're seeing, I think there's a bit of a sense by maybe some in the media, but certainly some politicians that the American people aren't engaged and fired up about this. And I think events like this all across the country only prove the lie there. Americans, Georgians, Atlantans are deeply, deeply concerned. We're seeing our neighbors lose their jobs. We're seeing teachers, also their jobs being threatened. And Title I, which is student services, are all in jeopardy now. And it's a very serious moment.

So Fred, again, this will start here within the hour and they'll march from Piedmont Park to the state Capitol where there'll be several speakers there from the CDC, Georgia State Senate, and also the NAACP.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ivan Rodriguez there in Atlanta, thank you so much. Keep us posted as the protests are really just getting started.

All right, now to the uncertainty and the frustration surrounding President Trump's global trade war, a blanket 10 percent tariff on all U.S. imports is now in effect, meaning you'll likely spend more for just about everything. Groceries, clothing, electronics, even cars, and even steeper tariffs are set to take effect next week.

The news is sending stock markets spiraling. The Dow posting its worst back-to-back losses since the COVID pandemic, falling more than 2,000 points on Friday alone. And now other nations are fighting back. China slapping a 34 percent tariff on all U.S. imports. Its foreign ministry criticizing Trump's moves saying the markets have spoken.

CNN's Betsy Klein is live for us in West Palm Beach near Mar-a-Lago where the President is spending the weekend. Betsy, what more is the White House saying about all of this?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Yes, we are really witnessing a reconfiguration of the entire economic world order here and so much economic upheaval as a result of President Trump's newly announced tariff policies, a market sell-off, foreign retaliation, anger from corporate America, and also skepticism from the chairman of the Federal Reserve.

But President Trump, for his part, is falling into familiar patterns. He is spending the day at his Jupiter Golf Club, marking the third day at one of his South Florida golf properties. And we actually just got a statement moments ago from the White House announcing that the President won his matchup at the Senior Club Championship and will advance to the championship around tomorrow. So we'll be spending another day at one of his properties.

But as he arrived at the club, the President reacting to China's decision to slap those 34 percent reciprocal tariffs on the U.S., remaining defiant as he wrote, "China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close. They and many other nations have treated us unsustainably badly. This is an economic revolution and we will win".

He goes on to say, "Hang tough, it won't be easy, but the end result will be historic. We will make America great again".

But the Trump team overall, maintaining that they are on the right track here. I want you to listen to what Peter Navarro, the President's trade adviser, told CNN just this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

PETER NAVARRO, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR COUNSELOR: The market will find a bottom. It will be soon. And from there, we're going to have a bullish boom and the Dow's going to hit 50,000 during Trump's term. The S&P 500 is going to have a very broad-based recovery and wages are going to go up, profits are going to go up and life's going to be beautiful here in America. Trust in Trump.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

KLEIN: Of course, markets are spiraling. The Dow is down 12 percent from its recent high and the NASDAQ more than 22 percent. The President has launched a historically disruptive tariff policy here. And while he acknowledges that short-term disruption is to be expected, the reality is we don't know what this is going to look like long-term, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And then Betsy, well, the President has said on social media, no policy changes. You hear from some of his other advisers who say, this now puts the U.S. in a position of negotiation. So which is it? Negotiations upcoming on these tariffs with these countries or not?

KLEIN: Well, there's a lot of uncertainty there, but the President has indicated he is open to making deals and really in the long-term has viewed himself as a dealmaker. So we are learning that there are active negotiations with India, Israel, and Vietnam.

And to that end, I am learning from a White House official that President Trump will be hosting Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday, ostensibly to talk about those 17 percent tariffs that the U.S. is levying on Israel. The President also indicated that he will be discussing Gaza.

[12:15:05]

WHITFIELD: All right. Betsy Klein, thank you so much. We'll check back with you.

All right, still ahead, U.S. Senate Republicans advancing President Trump's budget blueprint in a late-night vote, but now an intra-party war is brewing over how exactly they'll pay for it.

Plus, your TikTok feed has been spared for now, as President Trump once again delays the deadline to ban the app. Why he's giving the app more time to find a buyer?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:20:21]

WHITFIELD: All right, take a look. Right now, live pictures out of Boston. A sizable crowd there, all part of the hands-off protest. People are demonstrating against the Trump tariffs and the downsizing of the federal government, which has resulted in layoffs. In the tens of thousands, this is happening not just in Boston, but really in a lot of major cities across the country, including Atlanta and Washington, D.C. We'll continue to watch the gatherings in all the U.S. cities.

All right, now to major developments on Capitol Hill. Overnight, U.S. Senate Republicans took a key step toward advancing President Trump's multi-trillion dollar agenda. GOP leaders must now start scrambling to pass the full package, where it faces an uphill battle in the U.S. House.

CNN's Eva McKend has more on the takeaways from the Senate's vote-a- rama.

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Fred, now the inter- party war over how to pay for this among Republicans begins. But listen, Democrats are running out of messaging tools to push back against the Trump agenda.

And the vote-a-rama gave them at least a platform to air some of their grievances. Among the amendments we saw from Democrats included efforts to support Ukraine, combat DOGE, or the Department of Government Efficiency, and save Social Security. As they insisted, Republicans are pushing for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, and argued spending cuts would slash programs like Medicaid.

But now this budget blueprint that includes trillions of dollars in permanent tax breaks and new money for national security will have to survive the much more conservative GOP-led House. The blueprint offers little detail about what Trump's bill will ultimately look like.

We don't know what programs funding would be cut or funding will remain, or how the money for the border will be spent. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. Eva McKend, thank you so much.

All right, joining me right now to talk more about this GOP budget plan is Max Cohen. He's a congressional reporter for Punchbowl News. Max, great to see you.

MAX COHEN, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, PUNCHBOWL NEWS: Great to be here.

WHITFIELD: All right, so this budget blueprint now goes to the House, but key House Conservatives have already sent out a statement rejecting the Senate resolution. GOP leaders Rand Paul, Susan Collins were the only two Republicans to join Democrats in opposing a resolution. So where do you see this going?

COHEN: It's a great point. There are a lot of very far-right Conservatives in the House of Representatives who are very strong in what they call fiscal sanity. And they say, we don't want to support any bill which adds to the U.S. deficit.

Now, what I expect to happen next is President Donald Trump needs to weigh in. This is past the Senate. And again, this is the easy part, right? This is the blueprint. This isn't even the final bill. But I think if Mike Johnson, Speaker Johnson, wants to get this blueprint across, he needs the help of the President to get every Republican on the same page and say, look, you might not like this bill, but we need to unlock my agenda quickly.

WHITFIELD: So is there a consensus among Republicans on, you know, how to pay for this multi-trillion dollar tax cut plan that Democrats describe as a giant tax giveaway for billionaires?

COHEN: Yes, we're at this kind of odd stage of negotiations where there's not quite consensus because all they're doing now is saying, unlocking this reconciliation bill. This is not the final bill by any stretch of the imagination. And this has led Democrats to seize on opportunities, right?

You mentioned the Medicaid cuts. Currently, all that Republicans are saying is, we have some $880 billion to cut from this one pool of funding, which includes Medicaid. Democrats say, look, they're cutting Medicaid. Republicans say, nothing has happened yet.

So right now, it's a weird moment when there's no real specifics, but it's a lot of fodder for Democratic attacks now.

WHITFIELD: How might Trump's controversial tariffs, the fallout from the massive stock market drop, all impact GOP support for Trump's agenda?

COHEN: Yes, it's a great question because what we saw in 2017 when Republicans passed their last tax cuts was their justification for this package was it's going to, you know, turbocharge the economy.

Many of the Republicans now, looking at tariffs, looking at the stock market nosedive, that might convince some who might be skeptical to vote for this to actually back it, to say, look, the economy's not doing great right now, but if the business community sees that we're serious about cutting taxes and, you know, spurring growth here, then they might back it.

So before the blueprint, you know, could advance, Democrats forced votes, you know, to hammer Republicans on a number of political weak spots, including Ukraine, Elon Musk's DOGE spending cuts, and the economy. So how might these votes impact the primary elections, potentially, and the future control of Congress?

[12:25:11]

COHEN: Yes, I think Democrats will look to use these votes come November, 2026, to attack the vulnerable Senate Republicans. One notable figure who you mentioned, Susan Collins, is up for re-election in Maine in 2026. That state voted for Kamala Harris.

Collins is in a very precarious position. She actually voted against this budget resolution and voted for an amendment that would say, stop Medicaid cuts. So while these amendments are often kind of dismissed as just political messaging, we can see it actually having an impact on Susan Collins, a Senator who Democrats are going to be targeting in November, 2026.

WHITFIELD: All right, Max Cohen, great to see you. Thank you so much.

COHEN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, everything coming into the U.S. costs 10 percent more today as President Trump's tariffs go into effect, and even steeper tariffs are on the way. What this could mean for your family's expenses, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:30:30]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: A blanket 10 percent tariff on all U.S. imports is now a reality. And it will now cost you more for just about everything. But understanding how tariffs work may tell us more about what could happen next. Here's CNN's Phil Mattingly laying it all out for us.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: A tariff is a tax on imported goods, but what does that actually mean? Let's try this. Say these T-shirts are sold by a U.S. company, some hypothetical but obviously super cool clothing brand, and you have to have one of these T-shirts. But these shirts aren't actually made in the United States.

They're produced by an international company, which is outside the U.S. Now, that means the U.S. company needs to import the shirt that you covet. Now, for the sake of hypothetical, let's just say for $20 a pop, which the U.S. company then turns around and sells for, say, $60 each, which is an insane price to pay for a T-shirt. But, hey, look, you do you.

But what happens if the U.S. government imposes a tariff on your coveted T-shirt? Why? Well, historically, there are two triggers for tariffs. One, protect a domestic industry. In this case, maybe the U.S. T-shirt industry is getting crushed.

And two, raise government revenues. Regardless of the reason, let's just say the government has now imposed a 10 percent tariff on our T- shirts, which means that the American company that imports the same T- shirt, it costs $22. Now, history tells us the American company isn't just going to eat that cost.

Margins, they matter. So they pass that cost on to you, the consumer. Now, I get it. You have to have this shirt. So a couple extra bucks, you know, no big deal. But you're asking about tariffs for one reason. President Donald Trump, a guy who fervently believes in tariffs, so much so that he's proposed tariffs across the board on every imported good from anywhere, universal tariffs.

Now, think about that couple extra bucks you were cool with shelling out for that trendy T-shirt. What if it wasn't just the shirt, but everything imported that you buy?

WHITFIELD: All right, Phil Mattingly breaking it down for us. This is depressing, isn't it? For more on what to expect as these new tariffs take hold, let's bring in economist and former counselor to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Natasha Sarin. Natasha, great to see you.

NATASHA SARIN, PROFESSOR, YALE LAW SCHOOL: Thanks so much for having me.

WHITFIELD: Although something tells me you're going to make us feel even worse, but we appreciate the reality check. So last night, former White House economic adviser, Gene Sperling, assessed things this way. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENE SPERLING, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: It is one of the worst self-inflicted economic wounds in U.S. history. I want to be clear. When we're talking about other moments where markets have gone down like this, it has been war, depression, the pandemic, the financial crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So is that hyperbole or is there any other way to see the potential economic outlook in America but bleak?

SARIN: No, I honestly think Gene has it exactly right. And you know what's so surprising about all of this? It is, in fact, a self- inflicted wound, and it's one that's coming on the heels of an election that we all experienced and was at least in part about how frustrated consumers were with high prices and with inflation.

And what President Trump and this administration has done is enact the most inflationary policies I've seen in my lifetime by igniting this trade war. And what it's going to mean, we at Yale Budget Lab have crunched the numbers. You heard it from Phil just now.

It's going to mean higher prices on everything to the tune of, we expect so far, about $4,000 annually for the average American household. And so that is incredibly significant, and it is pain that they are going to feel immediately. It's why the likelihood of a recession has jumped from 15 percent before President Trump took office.

That's pretty normal. That's kind of what you expect in any year, to over 50 percent, and it jumped 10 percent in just one day at that Rose Garden event.

WHITFIELD: Right. I mean, nearly overnight. So expand on that. You say for American consumers, $4,000 more they're likely to spend in the next year. What are the things that you were taking into account in order to come at that number? And that was the Yale Budget Lab that you've been working with to come up with your figure.

[12:35:09]

SARIN: Yes. And so, importantly, these price increases are certainly going to be on imports, like the T-shirts Phil was talking about, right? But what happens is that if you take things, what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, when people are worried about tariffs, they're worried about prices going up. He said, don't worry, just buy American.

Well, actually, that doesn't really work. Because if you think about things that you think about as American-made, you know, cars that are made by Ford and G.M., about 60 percent of the parts in those cars are imported. So they are -- those car parts are going to be subject to the tariffs as well.

And so car prices are going to go up even for what you think of as American-made cars. And then also what's going to happen is domestic producers are going to realize that all of these exports that they're competing with, those prices are going up. So they have space to raise their prices, too.

So even things you think of as totally made in the U.S., sort of produced here in this country, prices are going to go up for all of that as well. And that's why you're seeing such a significant market reaction and such an expectation of inflation over the course of the next year.

WHITFIELD: So the White House knows about those factors. So I'm wondering what you think the President means when he says, as a result of these tariffs, America is going to make a lot of money. How and when?

SARIN: So, I mean, it's quite confusing to me, the like overall rationale for imposing these tariffs. Because what we know is that the economy is going to shrink, not grow. What we also know, this is a president and an administration that has been highly fixated on extending the Trump tax cuts. But this, in a day, without any congressional input, is the single largest tax increase on American families that we've seen in recent history.

So I am -- I honestly am puzzled by and don't quite understand what the rationale is for enacting a tax like this. And doing so, by the way, the people that are going to be hurt most by this trade war are American consumers who are low and middle income consumers because those are the people who consume and spend the most out of their income. And those are the people who are going to feel those higher prices at Walmart.

They're going to feel the higher prices for their groceries, for the cars that they want to buy but actually can't afford to now that they're 10 percent more expensive this week than they were last week.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Natasha Sarin. Hey, I love being informed, but I'm not feeling any better now. And I know I speak for a whole lot of American consumers. Thank you so much, though, for keeping it real. Appreciate it.

SARIN: Thanks for having me.

[12:38:02] WHITFIELD: All right. Well, the U.S. has spent more than a billion dollars in the last few weeks on attacks against Houthi rebels. Why some are now wondering whether the strikes are making a difference. Details on that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: At least 19 people were killed, including 9 children and 70 more injured when Russian strikes hit the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih. That's according to Ukrainian officials. They say one of the Russian missiles hit a playground in a residential area.

We have to warn you that what you're about to see is disturbing video. It's from the scene of the attack on Friday and appears to show an injured child being treated by emergency workers, while another video seems to show parents next to the body of their dead child. The city is the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He called the attack a massacre of civilians.

And the controversy surrounding the leaked intelligence on the attacks against Houthi rebels overshadowed the actual U.S. military operations. CNN's Natasha Bertrand explains the costs for the operation are mounting and some are also questioning its effectiveness.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: The total cost of the U.S. military's new offensive against the Houthi terrorist group in Yemen is nearing $1 billion in just under three weeks, a really monumental cost of this massive military operation that comes even as officials tell us that the military impact of this operation against the Houthis has actually been fairly limited.

It is unclear at this point just how much of the Houthis' weapons stockpiles have been degraded in these daily strikes by U.S. Central Command. The U.S. military has had difficulty coming up with a consistent battlefield damage assessment about just how much of the Houthis' weaponry and stockpile have actually been destroyed because so much of it remains underground.

But officials did tell us that even amidst the daily relentless campaign that the U.S. has been waging against the Houthis, a very expensive campaign, the Houthis have still been able to largely continue with the strategy that they have been doing over the last year-plus when it comes to withstanding attacks from the U.S. military.

[12:45:01]

They are fortifying their bunkers. They are staying underground. They are keeping their heads down. And that has made it more difficult for them to communicate and more difficult for them to launch attacks precisely, according to a U.S. defense official.

But still, they are continuing to launch missiles and drones into the Red Sea, and as recently as last week, they actually shot down yet another MQ-9 Reaper drone that is operated by the U.S. for intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance over Yemen. And so they are continuing to launch these missiles.

And at the same time, U.S. Central Command has moved a ton of assets into the region. There are soon going to be two U.S. aircraft carriers in the Red Sea. There are currently more air defense systems being moved into the region, additional fighter squadrons also being moved into the region, and B-2 bombers that have been designated and deployed to hit the Houthis in Yemen, a massive, massive cost that is only going to increase as the weeks go by, and there is no end in sight.

In fact, one congressional official told me that ultimately, the Pentagon may have to actually ask for additional supplemental funding to fund this massive operation against the Houthis, and all with a very limited impact so far.

Natasha Bertrand, CNN, at the Pentagon.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up next, your TikTok feed will keep scrolling for at least a few more weeks. Find out why the Trump tariffs may have brought ByteDance more time to make a deal.

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[12:51:19]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. Live pictures right now out of Boston. Crowds gathering there protesting against President Trump's new tariffs and his dramatic cuts to the federal government. And the rallying not just in Boston but also in the nation's capital, Atlanta, and several other cities across the country today.

The newly announced Trump tariffs on China may have tanked a deal that would have prevented TikTok from being banned. The deal to sell the app fell apart after President Donald Trump announced his additional 34 percent tariff on China. And now the President is postponing the law which was set to go into effect today, requiring the sell of TikTok for 75 days now.

CNN's Clare Duffy explains what might be next for TikTok.

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes, Fred, this is going to be good news for TikTok's 170 million American users, at least for now. But the big question is, can Trump get this deal back on track? This delay was sort of a surprise because both President Trump and Vice President Vance had repeatedly said that they expected to have a deal in place by today.

But Trump now saying yesterday that more time is needed to make a deal. And what we're hearing from a source familiar with the conversations is that there was actually a deal to offload control of TikTok's U.S. operations in place and ready for Trump to certify this week. That deal would have handed over majority control of TikTok U.S. to American investors, leaving ByteDance with just a 20 percent stake, which is a key provision in this law.

But we're hearing that deal went off the rails when President Trump announced these tariffs on China. ByteDance representatives essentially came to the White House and said the Chinese government is not going to sign off on this deal as long as these tariffs are in place. So the question is, can Trump convince China to get on board to agree to a sale of TikTok while this trade war is going on?

The other big question I have is, will we start to hear from members of Congress who passed this law on a bipartisan basis on national security grounds about why we're now seeing a second delay in this ban? Remember, the law really allowed for a single 90-day extension of the deadline.

Now this is the second time we're seeing the deal extended. And so I think the question also is, will we start to hear from members of Congress about why this is dragging on for so long when at the heart of this was national security concerns? But at least for now, Fred, good news for American TikTok users.

WHITFIELD: Clare Duffy, thank you so much.

[12:53:48]

All right, March Madness is down to the men's Final Four and the women's final. Coming up, what the coaches are saying ahead of this weekend's supersized tip-offs.

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WHITFIELD: All right, the matchup is set for the Women's College Basketball National Title and it's a doozy. Two powerhouses, South Carolina will face off against UConn tomorrow afternoon pitting two of the most high-profile coaches against each other and it will be the second time these two have faced off in the title game. South Carolina defeated UConn for the title back in 2022. So what's going to happen tomorrow?

All right, CNN sports anchor Coy Wire is joining me live right now from San Antonio to tell us what's going on this weekend. So much excitement for tomorrow, that's just for the women. But then the men's today. What's up?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, sun's out. Funds out here in San Antonio, Fredricka. Tonight, Auburn, Florida, Houston, Duke, it is on. Only one other time in the history of Final Four have all four teams been one seeds. That was in 2008 on the exact same dates in the exact same place right here in San Antonio. Now both -- all these teams, of course are led by phenomenal star players that we're going to see on the court, but also their head coaches who've helped them navigate this tumultuous season, led them all the way to the sport's biggest stage.

I caught up with all four of the coaches yesterday and asked them what's one of their keys for great leadership. Listen.

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BRUCE PEARL, AUBURN HEAD COACH: Trust in your players, trust in your staff, everybody making sacrifices, you know for the greater good. Understand that when we as a team are successful, you as an individual will benefit far more than if you as an individual successful, the team fails. All these kids cared about all year long is winning.

[13:00:13]

TOOD GOLDEN, FLORIDA HEAD COACH: I try to lead, you know, from a kind of the player's perspective. And even though obviously I'm the head coach, I want them to feel like I'm in it with them. And so whether it's practice, you know, or some of our workouts and -- and when we're watching film, we always want our staff and -- and team to feel connected. And, you know, one of our kind of traditions is shooting half court shots the day before the game. And that was an example out today.

KELVIN SAMPSON, HOUSTON HEAD COACH: Respect the people you're leading and -- and make sure they understand that we're -- we're doing this together. And somewhere along the way, I've learned the importance of being a servant leader and not a boss. I like working with people and helping them become better at whatever they're doing. And I -- I think that should always be a joint effort.

JON SCHEYER, DUKE HEAD COACH: I've learned that in order to ask anybody to do anything, you better be willing to do it yourself. And that's something I've always tried to take pride in. You know, I've tried to use the fact that I'm younger to get out there with our guys when possible. But end of the day, I don't think you can ask them to do anything you're not willing to do yourself.

WIRE: Yes. They're out there dunking on them, are you?

SCHEYER: Oh, I'm not. I'm not. I get I can -- I can shoot on them but -- but not dunk on them. I'm not sure about defense either, but I'll give -- I'll give the effort.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: All right, it's almost game time, Fredricka. Tonight you have Auburn, Florida tipping things off. Then it's Duke-Houston duking it out, all for a chance at the national title game on Monday. You can head to CNN.com for our march Madness Live story for all the updates and analysis, all games long.

And Fredricka, I'm going to give you a sense of the place right now. This is the Alamo, Texas only UNESCO World Heritage site, the most visited place in landmark in Texas. A $550 million enhancement effort going on right now to open in 2027, complete with a 4D theater and 5,000 artifacts telling the Alamo's full 300 year history.

But as you can, it is a hotspot for fans from all across the country who are here in San Antonio rooting on their teams to see --

WHITFIELD: I love it.

WIRE: -- who's going to make that trip to the national title game on Monday. WHITFIELD: It's so exciting. I love the mix of fans right behind you. All right. And I'm so inspired by the fun these coaches are having. I love it. Coy Wire. We'll check back with you from San Antonio coming up.

WIRE: Thanks, Fredricka.