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Trump Threatens Iran If Hormuz Not Opened In 48 Hours; Cuba Struggles Under Second Islandwide Blackout; Lawmakers Scramble To Reach Deal To Reopen DHS; Honolulu Emergency Officials Warn Danger Not Over; Travelers Face Dizzying Security Lines At Some U.S. Airports; Judge Strikes Down Pentagon's Policy On Press Access. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired March 22, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:36]

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. Donald Trump is now threatening an enormous attack on Iran's energy infrastructure, if Tehran doesn't allow the free navigation of the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. President posted this warning to his Truth social account just hours ago, saying, if Iran doesn't fully open without threat to the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various power plants, starting with the biggest one first.

President Trump's comments come after Iran launched its most devastating attack on Israel since the start of the war. Tehran launched back to back strikes on southern Israel. Meanwhile, Israel says the strikes by its military and the U.S. will increase significantly this week.

CNN's Eleni Giokos joins us live from Dubai. Let's get straight into it on Israel after the latest Iranian strikes hitting inside the country. What are we learning about the scale and impact of those attacks and how significant is this moment in terms of what's going to happen next?

ELENI GIOKOS, CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, good morning, Ben. And I just want to show you some of the dramatic footage when this missile slammed into a one story building in the city of Dimona in southern Israel. And emergency services say that 20 people were injured, including a 10-year-old boy.

This missile wasn't intercepted by Israel's defense system, clearly penetrating through the ironclad defense system, actually. What's interesting about Dimona is it's very close to a nuclear facility, Iran's -- Israel's rather nuclear facility. And very important that Iran says this was in retaliation for Israel striking its nuclear facility in that times.

So we're seeing a lot of retaliation back and forth and clearly a very big focus on critical energy infrastructure that is not only causing a lot of concern about the overall damage, but also if we're seeing an escalation trap playing out right now, despite the rhetoric by President Trump, it is very concerning to see images like this.

HUNTE: On President Trump's latest comments, he's issued a 48 hour ultimatum to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, threatening strikes on Iran's power infrastructure. How seriously is that being taken across the Gulf? What are you hearing?

GIOKOS: Yes, so very interesting. And I want to show you this, you know, social media post by President Trump, basically giving Iran an ultimatum, 48 hours to completely open up the Strait of Hormuz and threatening energy infrastructure, so the power utilities in Iran. What we also know is when there's a threat coming through from the U.S. and Israel, Iran also threatens back.

So again, here we're seeing major concerns about what this will ultimately mean, because this shows escalation. We have been discussing the Strait of Hormuz since the start of this war. And this is the one lever that Iran has to, you know, choke off 20 million barrels of oil per day.

There's also a lot of talk about who's going to get involved in terms of naval escorts, 22 countries joining in saying they're willing to assist. President Trump, again, very inconsistent with messaging that countries that rely on Iranian oil, that rely ultimately on the Strait of Hormuz are the countries that should be escorting tankers through the Strait. So remains to be seen what happens there.

But I think as the time and the clock is ticking, 48 hours, what is Iran's response going to be? In the meantime, we've seen multiple critical energy infrastructure targets across the Gulf region. We've seen countries declaring force majeure. We've seen a major impact on refined products coming through from the Strait of Hormuz and into the international market, which of course has caused major supply constraints.

And we're looking at that oil price. It hasn't come down. Now, President Trump and his administration lifting sanctions on Iranian oil that was out at sea to try and get some more oil. Any drop will help. And they're, you know, thinking is that despite the fact that they are at war with Iran, they will still be exerting maximum pressure still while sanctioning Iranian oil.

And they say that Iran is going to have a tough time to get hold of the revenues that will be paid from that sale. So I think watch the space. Where's the money going to go? Who's going to purchase the oil? And is it going to have an ultimate impact on the oil price, which is hovering around $112 a barrel on brand crude?

[02:05:02]

HUNTE: OK. Well, thank you so much for that update, Eleni. I appreciate it. And speak to you in the next hour.

For more, let's keep talking about it. We're now joined by Mehran Kamrava. He's a Professor of Government at Georgetown University in Qatar. Thank you so much for being with me, sir. Appreciate it. We are now into the fourth week of this war. When you look at where things stand at the moment, do you see either side moving closer to a strategic objective? Or are we simply just watching a conflict that's widening without any clear endgame?

MEHRAN KAMRAVA, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, GEORGETOWN UNIV. IN QATAR: I'm afraid we're witnessing a conflict that continues to escalate. Every day we're surprised by yet another red line being traversed. And now we are looking at this threat from President Trump saying that Iranian energy facilities and power plants will be hit.

And Iran has, in turn, threatened to hit energy facilities here in the Persian Gulf region. And if either side carries out that threat, then we're really looking into the abyss, I'm afraid.

HUNTE: We have now seen Iranian missiles hit southern Israel, close to Israel's nuclear research center. What's the significance of Iran choosing that specific area?

KAMRAVA: Well, up until now, Dimona has been off-limits to the Iranians. The Iranians are fully aware that Israel has nuclear weapons and that it has at times implicitly and indirectly threatened to use its nuclear weapons on its adversaries. And so the hitting of Dimona is yet another one of those red lines.

We saw that in the 12-day war back in June of 2025, the Iranian state very clear of Dimona. And now here, they have demonstrated to the Israelis and to the Americans that not only do they have the capability of hitting the city of Dimona, but also the willpower to do so. And that is yet another one of those red lines that has been passed within the last 24 hours or so.

HUNTE: Iran has threatened and targeted Gulf energy after strikes on its own gas facilities. What message is Tehran trying to send by putting the wider Gulf economy in play here?

KAMRAVA: Well, Iran is trying to spread the pain and to impress upon the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council that their close security alliance with the United States comes with a cost. As far as Tehran is concerned, these states here in the GCC are closely allied with the United States and are actual staging grounds that American military bases are used in the war against Iran.

And so what Iran is trying to do is to demonstrate that alliance with the United States actually works to the detriment of the GCC rather than to their benefit.

HUNTE: After weeks of Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iranian military, nuclear and energy linked sites, how degraded is Iran's military potential at this point? And what does it still retain that could seriously escalate this conflict even further?

KAMRAVA: Ben, that's an excellent question, and I don't think anyone really has the answer to that. And the reason is that we assumed this would be, or at least the United States and Israel assumed that this would be a quick war, that decapitation would result in so-called regime change or at least a mass uprising and divert Iranian attention.

And as you mentioned, four weeks into it, we see that the Iranians can still pack a punch. And so the question is, to what extent can Iran sustain this? We see that they continue to surprise observers by attacking or at least trying to attack Diego Garcia, which is thousands of miles away from Iranian territory. Now they've attacked Dimona in Israel, and they've been able to breach the Iron Dome repeatedly.

And so the question is, how long can Iran sustain this? The Revolutionary Guards a couple of weeks ago said that they could sustain this for six months. Now, whether or not they can be taken at their word is a different question, but so far, their resilience has proven very surprising.

HUNTE: We've got about a minute left. I want to get one more question in. You are joining us from Doha, and Qatar has obviously been hit directly and in fact impacted by this conflict. What's the mood there this morning? And how much fear is there that the Gulf is being pulled into a much broader war?

[02:10:03]

KAMRAVA: There's tremendous anxiety and angst in what is otherwise one of the world's safest countries, and Doha being one of the safest cities in the world. And if indeed water desalination plants are hit, then we're looking at complete disruption of the normal routine of life here in the region and in Doha in particular.

HUNTE: OK, well, thank you so much for that, Mehran Kamrava in Doha. We appreciate your time. Thank you so much.

KAMRAVA: Thank you, Ben.

HUNTE: The conflict has caused oil prices to skyrocket, sending shock waves through the global economy. Brent Crude Futures now stands at more than $106 a barrel. That is a small retreat from Friday when it closed at over $112, the highest level since July of 2022.

West Texas Intermediate is currently at more than $98 a barrel. Iran is keeping the strategic Strait of Hormuz largely closed, even though it is used for transporting about one-fifth of the world's oil. About 15 million barrels usually pass through the waterway per day.

Cuba is another country facing pressure from the U.S. to change its political leadership. The island nation is in the middle of its own energy crisis, separate from what's been sparked by the war with Iran. CNN's Patrick Oppmann has the latest details for us.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For the second time in a week, all power in Cuba has gone completely out as the electrical grid has collapsed. This has happened previously in Cuba. Blackouts are becoming a more and more frequent event here because the power supply, the power stations, is so old and simply can't be fixed. What has happened in recent months is the Trump administration has put a total oil blockade on this island, oil that the electrical grid needs to run, and so that is what has caused this collapse.

I have power right now because these are solar-powered lights and I have solar-powered internet, and that is why I'm able to continue reporting. Most Cubans don't have that luxury, and so they are in the dark right now. They don't know when the lights will be back on. The concern is you can't go to school, you can't go to work, your food could spoil.

The government hasn't given the official causes for this, but certainly the oil blockade plays a major part in everything that's happening on this island. The lack of transportation at the moment, the few cars you see on the road, the fact that I just can't go out right now and get gas. There's none to be found at the moment. And so the backdrop to this, of course, is the major political economic changes the U.S. administration, Trump administration, wants Cuba to make, changes that Cuba is resisting at this point, but they may not have any choice.

This feels like it's checkmate for the power, the entire grid to keep going out twice in one week is really something that is unprecedented on this island, an island that knows blackouts and power shortages all too well. It's concerning people that a total collapse is coming or may have already happened. And so for the immediate future, Cubans will be in the dark, and certainly for the government, the concern is that people will get frustrated, they'll go out and protest.

This will just keep happening again and again. And that sooner rather than later, they need to strike a deal with Washington or potentially face a complete economic collapse.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

[02:13:40]

HUNTE: OK. As airport lines expand, U.S. lawmakers are struggling to negotiate a deal to end the partial government shutdown. Ahead, the ultimatum that President Trump is now giving Democrats if they don't loosen the power strings. See you in a moment.

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HUNTE: Welcome back. President Trump is threatening to send ICE agents into airports if a funding deal to end the partial government shutdown isn't reached. The shutdown has caused a TSA staffing shortage as workers have gone over a month without pay. This has led to long lines at airports all across the U.S. It isn't clear what role ICE agents will have, but Trump says he plans to send them in on Monday.

Democrats have condemned Trump's threat as negotiations with the White House and Senate Republicans do continue. Well, as delays mount at airports, lawmakers are scrambling to work out a deal to reopen the Department of Homeland Security. Talks have been taking place on Capitol Hill, but it's still unclear if a compromise can actually be reached.

Camila DeChalus has more for us. CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, here on Capitol Hill, Senate Republicans say that more progress is being made to trying to end this partial government shutdown, but they say it's really incumbent upon Senate Democrats to meet them at the table and also discuss reforms to be made around federal agencies in order to end this partial government shutdown.

Now, where things stand right now is that several Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans met with Trump's appointed border czar, Tom Homan, over the past few days. And even in these conversations, we're hearing that they talked about several reforms that both sides say that they want to see within federal agencies under DHS, like CBP and ICE. But still, Democrats I spoke to say that there's a long way to go right now in order to ending this partial government shutdown.

Democrats remain adamant that they will not support any bill that gets put on the Senate floor to fund the Department of Homeland Security unless these reforms are written into law. And so they're saying that, you know, until we come up with a deal and in its entirety to really reform these federal agencies, then we're not likely to see this partial government shutdown end any time soon.

Now, another thing that I'm hearing from Democrats is they're saying, hey, let's do this in a piecemeal approach where we pass funding for agencies like TSA and Coast Guard separately, and then pass funding for agencies like CBP and ICE on another bill. But Republicans simply say, hey, this is a nonstarter.

If we're going to pass a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, it's going to be to fund it in its entirety, not this piecemeal approach. And so what we're seeing now is more conversations are being had behind the scenes. We're hearing that both Democrats and Republicans, even though they want this partial government shutdown to end, they're still trying to figure out a path to move forward here.

[02:20:07]

But we are hearing that more Republicans and more senators and Democrats are really optimistic about these talks. And they really do say that it is a step in the right direction.

Camila DeChalus, CNN, Washington.

HUNTE: Let's bring in Paul Schmick. He's a former specialist at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and is the current chief security and technology officer at Alliance Security. Thank you so much for being with me, sir. I appreciate it.

We are now more than five weeks into this partial shutdown of Homeland Security funding. And Reuters is reporting more than 10 percent of TSA officers missed work on one recent day, with some airports seeing far higher rates. Have you been surprised by what you've seen so far?

PAUL SCHMICK, FMR. SPECIALIST, U.S. DEPT. OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Hi, Ben. Thanks for having me. So it's very interesting. Let's go back a little bit, too. So I lived through the shutdown of 2013 when I was with the department, 16 days at that point. Fast forward to 2000 to 2018, 2019, about 35 days at that point. The last one last year, about 43 days. We're now at 37 days.

And every time I say this one feels a little different, and I'm going to again say this one feels a little different. I think in the layup here, we're looking at ICE agents coming into airports on -- as soon as this coming Monday from the administration release today. Very dangerous.

You know, ICE agents have already been stretched, that department. And to have them in an airport setting, doing property searches, physical searches, I just don't think is a good idea for the TSA and as an asset to help expedite the screening process that I know that it's become unreasonable at this point. So again, I think it looks a little different this time. And hopefully this can be settled soon, because I do believe that the agency at this point is in a position of fatigue.

HUNTE: Lawmakers are meeting at a moment to try to break the deadlock over funding. From your experience, how closely do airport operations now depend on whether those talks actually produce a deal in the next 24 to 48 hours?

SCHMICK: They ultimately will, because what we're seeing is that, just to go back to my position on fatigue, is the department is getting tired. You can see it. Hundreds of call-outs, resignations ultimately by the day. And they're going to be pointed, I believe, lawmakers, in a position of desperation.

Also, over the last few days, looking at potentially closing and moving assets. Those are physical assets, human assets, TSA agents from smaller airports to larger airports. And I just think this will again become unreasonable for the traveling public.

So I'm going to cite at this point where we are 37 days in, we're approaching a point of recklessness. And there's going to come a point of desperation where a deal is going to have to be made, because it's just going to become just too untenable for the traveling public to live in the environment when they're trying to travel, hours and hours of delays without the security risks.

So what I want to definitely underscore for the viewers are, nobody's really talking about the traveling risk to the public in a system that wasn't -- that's not operating as designed. So there are definitely some increased risk, I would say, for travelers as this goes forward.

HUNTE: Well, let's talk about that some more, because just seeing those videos there while you're talking of people standing around in airports, and that's all before the security barriers, I was thinking, surely there are security risks involved in that, especially while America's being threatened from all directions.

SCHMICK: Great point. We know that risks increase with large gatherings of people. And the queues have always been an issue since decades in terms of the amount of people that are standing in queues have always been a risk position because we know large gatherings or group anywhere pose a risk. We already know airports are higher risk. And now we have people out to curbside. So there are -- there's been great reporting on the airports that have hundreds of people out to the curbside where there is not a lot of security, there's not a lot of protection.

So large groups of people, considering the current conflict in the Middle East, again, a position of increased risk for the department, and for overall aviation security in the U.S. at over 440 airports.

HUNTE: Again, while you're just speaking that is looking at these videos, you'll see them later. They are absolutely insane. The queues are crazy. And we're seeing queues Atlanta, Houston, New York, and all of this happening during such a busy spring break travel period. Say the lawmakers don't reach a deal. How much worse could this get? Give me the worst case scenario.

[02:25:17]

SCHMICK: Closed airports, I believe, worst case scenario, we're talking there, they will have to have reduction at some airports and move assets to the larger category airports, which are going to be the category X and category one airports. These are the largest and busiest airports in the United States. So I would definitely say you would see a consolidation.

Second point, I believe you'll see is still continue longer lines and system fatigue because the officers that are currently working are supplementing for those that have not shown up to work. And that's where I'll go back to, again, my position on the agency is going to start to feel that fatigue as this continues to go forward. So I think that's what you see. I think you see consolidation and you see continued fatigue.

My last point on this is do lawmakers become desperate because a security breach or incident happens that now endangers the United States public and aviation assets risk there. And then if we thought that was finger pointing for I can't imagine what finger pointing would be at that point where there was a security risk that happened because of system fatigue.

HUNTE: Scary, scary stuff. Well, thank you so much, Paul Schmick, for that really interesting. Appreciate your time.

SCHMICK: Thank you for having me.

HUNTE: Onwards, scores of checks turned out in Prague for one of the country's biggest anti-government protests since 2019. Organizers say about a quarter of a million people rallied on Saturday against their prime minister's policies and his administration's targeting of the media. They are speaking out against defense spending cuts and the erosion of press freedom. And they're worried their nation may become the next Slovakia or Hungary with a pro-Russia bent.

OK, that's all I've got for you for now. I'm Ben Hunt in Atlanta. For our viewers in North America, I'm back with more CNN Newsroom next. And for our international viewers, it's Connecting Africa. See you in a moment.

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[02:30:38]

HUNTE: Welcome back. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. Emergency crews and Hawaii's National Guard have been carrying out hundreds of rescues across the island of Oahu after a powerful storm dumped up to three months of rain in just 24 hours. Hawaii's governor says it is the most significant flooding the state has seen in decades.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOSH GREEN (D-HI): We've had 40 to 50 inches of rains, the largest flood that we've had in 20 years, but we've had no loss of life. People have pitched in incredible work by our, you know, first responders. We have the National Guard called up. Over 200 people have helped us on that side.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Some stranded people even had to be helicoptered from rooftops as flooding cut off roads and engulfed homes. More than 70 people, including a number of children, were airlifted from a youth camp after they were trapped by rising water.

And in Honolulu, officials say the storm quickly overwhelmed roads and low-lying areas too. The city's mayor said the sheer speed of the flooding caught some communities off guard. Earlier, CNN spoke with Molly Pierce from Honolulu Emergency Management.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MOLLY PIERCE, HONOLULU EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Conditions are improving, so we are considering letting some folks back into the area to start seeing what damage has come to their homes and come to the area. But we do ask that folks are still very vigilant. We do have areas that are unsafe to return, so those evacuations are dynamic. We're also looking at issues potentially with our water quality as a result of power outages and system damage from the flooding.

The dam was our primary source of concern for quite a while. We had a lot of flooding in these areas as a result of water coming over the dam spillway, just combining with the massive amounts of rain that we've had. Fortunately, we are seeing those levels come down at Wahiawa Dam. And so we think that we're starting to be out of the woods with Wahiawa Dam, but we do know that we have a lot of rain yet to come.

And so we're monitoring those levels really closely. We have the National Weather Service and our dam safety experts in our Emergency Operations Center actively monitoring the levels at the Wahiawa Dam, as well as all the other streams and regulated dams around the island, because we do have a lot of areas that could potentially be of concern if we had another really huge downpouring of water like we've had over the last couple of nights. We've had an amazing, heroic response, both from our first responders. They rescued over 230 people across the island over the last couple of days, but also from community members. And I think this is something that really needs to be said, is that we've had an amazing response from our community, both in rescuing their neighbors, their loved ones, but also in everything that they're trying to do to help initiate and begin recovery.

We're seeing the true aloha spirit come out here. We're seeing the Hawai'i community get together and do what we do best, and that's help each other out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: A rare heat wave is breaking records for the month of March across western U.S. And it's not done yet. The scorching temperatures are expected to continue on Sunday and well into next week. CNN's meteorologist Allison Chinchar has the latest weather report for us.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Dozens of records have been set across much of the western portion of the country. All of these dots indicate one of those records. But it's not just daily records. These are all-time March records for these locations, and more of them could be broken as we head through the rest of the day on Sunday.

They're also going to start to spread eastward. So all of these dots you see here across the central U.S., portions of the Mississippi Valley and southeast, those are daily records that could be broken not just Sunday, but some of the cases even Monday and Tuesday.

Here's a look at the forecast. Again, you'll start to notice more of that orange and red and yellow color spread eastward. Really, the only cool spot on the map is going to be portions of the northeast and into the Great Lakes region. Down to the south, this is where the warmer temperatures are going to be. So Lubbock, Oklahoma City, Memphis, Jackson, all looking at those temperatures at least 10 to 15 degrees above average.

Some of them do drop back a little bit on Monday, but many of them rebound right back up again on Tuesday. Take a look at Dallas, for example, 94 for that high temperature. The average is 70. And when you look at the rest of the week for Dallas, you'll notice every single one of the next seven days is expected to be at or above, and sometimes significantly above, that average temperature.

[02:35:07]

HUNTE: Donald Trump says he'll send immigration officers to airports if Congress doesn't reach a deal to end the partial government shutdown by Monday. The threat comes as hundreds of agents with the Transportation Security Administration have now quit amid the funding lapse, causing travelers to face massive security checkpoint lines at some major airports.

CNN's Rafael Romo has more on all of their travel woes. RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The situation here at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport has improved greatly over the last several hours. It is completely different to what we witnessed here in the morning. This hallway, we had a line all the way to the atrium, three lines altogether.

And then on the other side of the escalator, another three lines of people in wheelchairs were on the north side of the airport, also another line for people doing pre-check on the south side of the airport. Now, as you can see, not too many people. This actually looks better than a normal day here at the airport.

But the damage done this morning was great for many passengers who didn't know if they were going to make their flights on time. Many people who were angry, frustrated, and desperate. We had an opportunity to talk to a couple of them, and this is what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: How are you? Considering frustrated.

LEE GEORGE BARNES, TRAVELER: Really frustrated. It's pandemonium out there. Nobody seems to know where to go. There's no organization, there's no clear lines of where people should go to queue to get to the next space. And there's no information. When I ask the staff around here, I say, how long is it going to be? Don't know.

AVISHAI HARRIS, TRAVELER: Honestly, it's kind of expected. You know, this is the second time that we've had a government shutdown. I wouldn't expect people to come to work if they're not getting paid. So it's kind of, what are we going to do?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: But the bottom line here is that the root cause of the problem hasn't really changed because we still have the impasse in Congress not getting funding to TSA, not getting funding to DHS. As a matter of fact, DHS says that more than 360 screeners have quit since the government shutdown began.

And also over the last several days, the absentee rate has been hovering around 10 percent. So as long as those conditions don't change, it's anybody's guess what's going to happen here in the next few days.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

HUNTE: Former FBI director Robert Mueller has died at the age of 81. He served in a role for 12 years under presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Mueller served in the Marines and was a Vietnam veteran, but he's perhaps best known for leading the probe into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

While his investigation did not find the Trump campaign guilty of collusion, Mueller did not exonerate the President of obstruction allegations. Mueller's family says he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2021.

Earlier, we spoke with CNN senior law enforcement analyst and former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe. As a colleague and friend, McCabe was able to offer a portrait of who Mueller aspired to be throughout his storied career. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: I have nothing but the greatest respect and admiration for Robert Mueller, for his service, his lifetime of service at every level. I mean, this is a guy who, you know, joined the Marine Corps because he saw one of his Princeton classmates go to Vietnam and get killed in the war. And so he felt like it was his duty to go to Vietnam to honor his friend's memory.

He has said in interviews before that it was the greatest honor of his life not only to be a Marine, but to be able to lead Marines. I knew him from his time as director, obviously. There's no one in the FBI that had a bigger impact on my life. It's kind of an amazing thing. He, in some ways, represented the best of what the FBI has always been in his dogged pursuit of investigations, in his work ethic, in the rigor that he brought to that work.

He -- nobody knew more about cases that he was interested in than Robert Mueller did. So he had that tradition, his comportment, his appearance, the way he conducted himself. But he was also the guy who brought us sometimes kicking and screaming into the future, right? He was there. He started as director seven days before 9/11, quickly realized that we needed to become the nation's premier domestic law enforcement and intelligence agency. And he turned us into a vital member of the intelligence community and turned us into an intelligence-led organization.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: A federal judge has ruled that parts of the Pentagon's restrictive press policy are unconstitutional. The decision is a blow to the Secretary Pete Hegseth's attempt to control news coverage of the Defense Department. It voids several policy provisions that enabled the Pentagon to suspect or revoke reporters' credentials. Our Brian Stelter has more.

[02:40:16]

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Hey there. Yes, for more than a year now, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been trying to impede news coverage of the Pentagon. But he's been met this weekend by some serious resistance. A federal judge has struck down Pentagon press restrictions that media lawyers said would criminalize routine reporting.

You might recall that last October, dozens of reporters handed in their press passes and left the Pentagon complex rather than go along with the new rules. Well, "The New York Times" subsequently filed a lawsuit to challenge the rules. And on Friday, Judge Paul Friedman sided with "The Times," saying the Pentagon policy is unconstitutional because it violates the First Amendment. This ruling was cheered by a wide range of press freedom advocates. And now some beat reporters who were pushed out of Pentagon workspaces last fall are discussing how to get their credentials reinstated.

The Pentagon Press Association, which represents scores of journalists who cover the military, said in a statement, "This is a great day for freedom of the press in the United States. It is also hopefully a learning opportunity for Pentagon leadership, which took extreme steps to limit press access to information in wartime."

And that last point is key because there's so much attention and so much scrutiny right now about the U.S. action in Iran. Reporters have many questions that are only sporadically being answered by military officials. At Hegseth's most recent press briefing, he mirrored President Trump's hyperbolic language about the media and made false claims about coverage. He called almost entirely exclusively on Trump- aligned right-wing outlets that the Pentagon has tried to prop up as a new generation of the Pentagon press corps.

But in reality, it is traditional outlets like "The New York Times" and CNN, "The AP" and "ABC" that have been doing most of the original reporting about the military, in spite of Hegseth's many attempts to discourage that reporting. This does go back more than a year at this point. His restricted press pass rules followed months of other actions, booting news outlets from workspaces and cutting off access to military officials.

And Judge Friedman says those rules have veered into unconstitutional territory. He wrote in his ruling that it amounts to viewpoint discrimination, "Not based on political viewpoint, but rather based on editorial viewpoint. That is, whether the individual or organization is willing to publish only stories that are favorable to or spoon-fed by department leadership."

So it's about control, controlling the message and the messenger. But the court is trying to stop that, saying the restricted new rules must be thrown out and reporters must be able to freely access information, including leaks from sources who might not be authorized to share that information.

Now, on Friday night, Hegseth's press office said in response, we disagree with the decision and are pursuing an immediate appeal. So he's signaling that he will continue to pick fights with the news media. But CNN and other outlets say they are monitoring the ruling closely with an eye toward getting those press passes back.

And Julian Barnes, "The New York Times" reporter who was named as a plaintiff in the suit, he wrote on X, this is a big win for the press, the public and the United States military, which fights better when observed by a robust press corps.

Brian Stelter, CNN.

[02:43:19]

HUNTE: After the break, a London tech company is hoping to change the face of the fitness industry, literally with A.I. Coming up, why the company believes its workout mirror could be the future of home fitness. See you in a moment.

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HUNTE: Now to a company hoping to reinvent the way we exercise using a new workout mirror driven by artificial intelligence. CNN's Leroy Ah Ben has more for us.

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LEROY AH BEN, CNN PRODUCER: Do I look like her? Do I look like her?

We've all been there. Gyms can be incredibly intimidating places, but for those who may not want to go into those environments, this could be a solution.

AH BEN (voice-over): This is the Magic A.I. Fitness Mirror.

AH BEN: This looks good. Strength training with Cody.

AH BEN (voice-over): It's designed to be a personal trainer, but this isn't just a screen playing a video. This device is watching you and giving you feedback automatically.

AH BEN: Oh, look at that. It's tracking my body.

AH BEN (voice-over): For Magic A.I.'s co-founder and CEO, Varun Bhanot, this innovation was personal.

VARUN BHANOT, CO-FOUNDER & CEO, MAGIC A.I.: So I was really customer number one for this product. In my 20s, I was way too fat, drank too much, ate too much, too many burgers, had no diet, no discipline, and one day just bit the bullet and hired a personal trainer here in London. But going through that journey, I realized how old-fashioned personal training was. The dumbbells were still dumb. There was no data or augmentation to that whole process.

AH BEN (voice-over): The device tracks form, counts reps, and corrects technique in real time. And it doesn't go easy on you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Higher.

AH BEN: Higher?

AH BEN: Higher still? How much higher do you want?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A little higher.

AH BEN: Oh, good. OK, 82 percent.

AH BEN (voice-over): Magic A.I. is more a computer vision firm than a fitness company, building the tech for this mirror from the ground up. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically, that is an A.I. model. So we have the camera which is watching what you're doing. And then we analyze that. And from that, we generate the problems.

AH BEN (voice-over): The A.I. fitness and wellness market is already huge, and it's growing. In 2025, the global market was worth nearly $11 billion, according to Insight Ace Analytic. By 2035, this market is expected to reach just shy of $58 billion. That's more than a five- fold jump in just 10 years.

ASHWINI SINGH, HEAD OF RESEARCH OPERATIONS, INSIGHT ACE ANALYTIC: Which is mainly driven by A.I. personalization and variable integration. So this is actually showing us the global economy is evolving and how the integration of A.I. is also transforming.

AH BEN (voice-over): And Magic A.I. is far from alone. Form, Tonal, Speediance, and Echelon to name a few are all brands vying for a slice of this market. So should personal trainers be worried?

BHANOT: It's fair to say that we're not necessarily trying to completely replace personal trainers. What we are providing is a more accessible alternative.

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[02:49:21]

HUNTE: It's a nationwide scramble for the sweet 16 bracket in this year's March Madness tournament. We'll have the latest U.S. college basketball highlights after a quick break. See you in a moment.

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HUNTE: Welcome back. K-pop super group BTS is back on stage together for the first time in nearly four years. The band reunited in Seoul to the roaring support of hundreds of thousands of fans. They were all gathered in the city's main square for the free comeback concert. CNN's Hanako Montgomery reports.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been a long journey, but now we're finally here.

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): K-pop fans around the world have been waiting for this moment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like --

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): The chance to see BTS perform together for the first time in almost four years.

MONTGOMERY: There's never been a music event of this scale in Gwanghwamun Square. Then you can see just how many people are here for the concert. It's an amazing feat that they've pulled off here. Seoul authorities predict that over a quarter of a million people showed up to this public concert and only a fraction of them actually have tickets. So a majority are just standing as close as possible to the square to hear BTS.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): The group was on hiatus while completing their mandatory military service in South Korea. That makes this comeback a defining moment for BTS and their dedicated fans known as ARMY.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's our first time. We are too much excited.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): BTS performed some of their iconic songs riding the wave of their new album release. Thousands of police were brought in for this event as well as sniffer dogs and SWAT teams. Netflix also streamed the concert reaching global audiences.

This show leads up to their world tour, their biggest yet, covering 34 regions between April 2026 and March 2027.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:55:03]

HUNTE: And now to March Madness, the U.S. college basketball tournament as teams tip off for a shot at the Sweet 16. The playoff bracket on the way to the nation's best men's team. Saturday showdown between fourth seed Nebraska and fifth seed Vanderbilt came down to the final seconds. This driving layup by Braden Frager put the Cornhuskers on top, 74 to 72. Vandy tried to land a half court shot at the buzzer, but couldn't get it to fall. Nebraska now advances to the Sweet 16 for the first time ever to face either the top seeded Florida Gators or ninth seeded Iowa.

Meanwhile, number 11 seed Texas Longhorns became the first double digit ranked team to advance to this year's Sweet 16. This after an upset over third seed Gonzaga. A late three pointer by the Longhorns gave Texas some momentum with just 30 seconds left in the game. Despite pressure from the Bulldogs, Texas would close out the game 74 to 68. They now await either the University of Miami or Purdue.

The Michigan Wolverines are also moving onto the Sweet 16 after a dominant 95 to 72 win over St. Louis. They entered a tournament as one of the favorites to win it all, and they're living it up to the billing. Power forward Yaxel Lendeborg led his team with 25 points as the Wolverines quickly pulled away in the second half after a tight start in the first. Next, Michigan will face the winners of Texas Tech versus Alabama.

OK, that's all I've got for you. Thanks for joining me and the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. I'll be right back with more CNN Newsroom right after this break. See you in a moment.

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