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Top Middle East Diplomats Meet To Talk De-Escalation Of War; Record High TSA Callouts; This Week: Artemis II Set To Launch On Historic Moon Mission. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired March 29, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT HOST: They've beaten their three opponents by a combined 13 runs to one, so the Yankees are doing well. Dodgers, remember, have won the last two World Series, also off to a perfect start.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Oh, very nice.

RIDDELL: So, that is the tone you are referring to.

WHITFIELD: Okay, I like it. I will take it.

Don Riddell always good to see you.

RIDDELL: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it.

All right, as the nation's enduring love for baseball when Shohei Ohtani and Japan's biggest major league stars return home to play in front of their fans for the first time.

The CNN film, "Homecoming: The Tokyo Series" is now streaming on the CNN app.

[15:00:35]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN BREAKING NEWS.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right, hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I am Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin with top diplomats from Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia meeting today in Pakistan. They are trying to find a way to de- escalate the war with Iran.

Those talks come at the same time, 3,500 American troops arrived in the region on the USS Tripoli. The Pentagon is not saying exactly what their role could be. We also have new video that shows smoke from the latest strikes on Iran's capital of Tehran, as the conflict in the Middle East enters its second month now.

We've got full coverage of these developments. Ivan Watson is in Islamabad, Pakistan. Matthew Chance is in Doha, Qatar.

Ivan, you first. This meeting wrapped up a day earlier than what was originally expected. What do we know about that and why?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, well, we know that these Foreign Ministers from Middle Eastern countries -- Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, they all met here in Pakistan for these crisis talks and when they emerged, they let the Pakistani host do the talking.

He said that they were all in agreement that this war needs to come to an end, that it will only lead to death and destruction. He says that he briefed his counterparts on efforts to try to host talks between the U.S. and Iran.

You heard me right, that Pakistan is offering to host some kind of peace talks between these two governments that are very much at war, at each other's throats.

Take a listen to what else he had to say about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMAD ISHAQ DAR, PAKISTANI FOREIGN MINISTER: Pakistan is very happy that both Iran and the U.S. have expressed their confidence in Pakistan to facilitate the talks.

Pakistan will be honored to host and facilitate meaningful talks between the two sides in coming days for a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the ongoing conflict.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Now, we had heard from two senior Trump administration officials who told CNN that they thought these talks might take place here in the Pakistani capital as early as this weekend, that clearly is not the case.

But the Pakistanis are indicating that there may be hope for some kind of sit down again in that diplomat's words in coming days. What is important now is to hear what kind of signals may come out of Tehran and out of Washington.

And keep in mind that these countries are very much at war. Thousands of people have been killed over the last month. This is costing regional economies billions of dollars, and the war has expanded over the course of the weekend, with Yemen getting into the fray, the Houthis, backed by Iran, firing missiles at Israel for the very first time in this round of hostilities this weekend.

So even as these diplomats are trying to tamp down the tensions, trying to prevent them from expanding further, and two of these countries say that the Iranians have fired missiles at them, that's Saudi Arabia and Turkey, even as they are trying to prevent escalation, we have seen escalation in this growing regional conflict just in the course of the last weekend -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ivan Watson, thank you so much.

Let's bring in Matthew Chance in Qatar.

Matthew, even as these talks were held today, there were new strikes on Iran and Israel. Where do things stand right now in the region?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, I think the region is despite the fact these talks have been underway, I think there is a great deal of skepticism that negotiations are going to produce some sort of compromise at the moment.

The two stated positions, United States, with its 15-point plan, Iranians with their five-point plan to bring the war to an end, there doesn't seem to be a lot of overlap. They seem miles apart.

At the same time, the United States has started the actual movement of troops into the region, 3,500 U.S. Marines and sailors coming in to the area over the course of the past few hours, giving the sort of U.S. military the option of carrying out ground operations, something that, you know, Washington has talked about a little bit in the past few weeks.

[15:05:14]

Iran tonight has issued a warning that its forces are waiting for American troops to land on Iranian territory and will, in the words of the Parliamentary Speaker, rain fire upon them.

And so there certainly seems to be a sense in Tehran that they are bracing for some kind of escalation in this conflict with a possible ground operation.

No order as far as we are aware, though, has been given for a ground operation to take place. But there is a great deal of concern here in the region that it will, because it could mean serious retaliation on a different level than we've seen so far by Iran to the oil infrastructure, the desalination plants, the other key installations in this region that have already been attacked by Iranian drones and missiles over the course of the past month since this Iran War began, a great deal of concern that the economic damage and the damage to civilian infrastructure in this region could be absolutely profound if this war escalates further -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Matthew Chance and Ivan Watson, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

All right, let's continue this conversation now. With me is Aaron David Miller. He is a former State Department Middle East negotiator and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Great to see you. So, when you hear Matthew's reporting like that, Iran is waiting for the U.S. ground invasion. How should the U.S. interpret that warning?

AARON DAVID MILLER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I think it has got to be taken very seriously. I mean, look, Iran is no match for the United States. We've achieved escalation dominance in the air, destroying a lot of stuff on

the ground. But it seems to me, it is almost certain -- I am certain of two things. Number one, there is no way out of this right now, either diplomatically.

I think the real option is whether the President chooses to use ground force, and I think that's coming. I am almost certainly convinced that's coming. There is no exit ramp through talking.

So the President may believe that for demonstration effect, he has got to show the Iranians that he can deploy American forces or maybe they want to change Iran' risk calculation.

Iran clearly thinks it is winning. I don't think it is delusional, Fred.

If you stop the war tomorrow, literally, if you stop the war tomorrow, this would be a strategic defeat, no less, a strategic defeat for the United States.

But I think ground action is coming, and you know, as former General Stanley McChrystal once said, you can't win this war at 30,000 feet. The Trump administration now seems to believe that maybe you could win it at six feet, which is essentially to put Americans in harms' way.

In an asymmetrical conflict, I think the Iranians are quite serious about this, so are the Americans. So I think we are in for an escalation, not a de-escalation.

WHITFIELD: So what is winning for the U.S.?

MILLER: Well, winning is not simply destroying Iran's capacity, its ballistic missile inventory, its drone production facilities, its command and control, its conventional air defense.

Winning without fundamentally changing the acquisitive capacity of this regime, that is to say, to produce another polity in Tehran that isn't interested in nuclear weapon, that isn't hostile to the Gulf States and to the United States and to Israel, that would be a strategic victory, or at least, Fred, to lay the conditions to create the circumstances in which such a transition or regime change can take place, but we are way, way, way, way away from anything in my judgment, that remotely resembles this.

So winning right now, it would seem to me, would be opening up the Straits at a minimum. Look, this is not just an Iranian-Israeli-U.S. affair anymore. It is now an international crisis. It was not that in the beginning until the Iranians chose to decide who gets to pass through the Straits of Hormuz and who doesn't, and the President, frankly, has now worked himself, the international community, and I still think the U.S. Military into a box. I don't see the way out right now.

WHITFIELD: So you don't -- now that it is an international crisis, as you put it, you don't see some sort of coalition suddenly building? There wasn't a coalition going into it, but do you see some sort of coalition, arising to help end it?

MILLER: I don't. I think the Europeans are passive conflicted. They clearly don't want to alienate Trump, but they don't want to alienate their constituencies and they are dead set against any offensive commitment to contribute weapons or participation in an offensive operation.

[15:10:14]

That leaves the two other power centers, Fred, the Chinese who are prepared for this. They've got, what -- over a billion barrels of reserve oil.

Every cruise missile that we shoot at Iran is one less cruise missile that we are capable of deploying in the event President Xi should take a move -- should make a move on Taiwan. And as far as the Russians are concerned, I mean, they are laughing all the way to the bank.

The Chinese are growing more dependent on Russian oil. We've unsanctioned Russian oil. Extraordinary! We've unsanctioned Russian oil. We are distracted from Ukraine. Putin right now is the big winner here. With China, maybe, number two.

So no, I don't see any coalition. That's part of the problem. Before you go to war, right, you'd want to believe that you have your ducks lined up to create some sort of a coalition.

But on this one, Fred, a war of choice against Iran, I think you're not going to get a coalition of the willing. It will be the unwilling and I think that's what you're seeing.

WHITFIELD: Wow! All right, Aaron David Miller giving us a whole lot to think about there. Thank you so much.

MILLER: Thanks for having me, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Absolutely.

All right, coming up, a record high call out rates for TSA workers across the country. DHS says they could get paid as soon as tomorrow after President Trump's executive order, but have agents on the ground already reached a breaking point?

I will speak to a security officer and union leader about that.

Plus, four astronauts, one historic mission: A return to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. Alaska former NASA deputy administrator about what's at stake with this upcoming scheduled launch.

And blood red skies over Australia. And no, that's not a filter. We will tell you what exactly caused this apocalyptic-like scene.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:16:48] WHITFIELD: All right, Congress begins a two-week break while remaining deadlocked on DHS funding. The partial U.S. government shutdown is causing another day of long lines and frustration at some airports across the country.

The Trump administration says TSA workers could get paychecks as early as tomorrow under the President's plan to fund the employees through an executive order. But there are questions about how that will work and how soon it could make a difference for flyers.

Hundreds of TSA officers have quit and thousands more continue to call out sick regularly, and it remains unclear if ICE agents will be removed from airports after TSA agents start getting paid again.

White House Border Czar Tom Homan addressed that question on CNN this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Once TSA agents start getting paid, will ICE agents leave the airports?

THOMAS HOMAN, U.S. BORDER CZAR: We will see. You know, it depends how many TSA agents come back to work, how many TSA agents have actually quit and have no plan coming back to work.

I am working very closely with the TSA administrator and ICE director to decide what airport needs what.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Camila DeChalus is at Reagan National Airport in Washington.

Camila, what are you hearing from TSA agents and travelers there?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN REPORTER: Well, Fred, here at this airport, there are relatively short lines you see and the lines moving very quickly, but not major disruptions like you've seen at other airports across the country.

This partial government shutdown has now lasted for more than 44 days, and at this point in time, I've been talking to a lot of TSA workers, and they have really talked about the fact that they are frustrated of the fact that -- they're frustrated that this partial government shutdown has continued to last this long, but also, some of the TSA workers I spoke to said that they are relieved about this news, that they are now going to receive a paycheck.

And it is really notable that one TSA worker I spoke to said that even though he is relieved that he is going to now receive a paycheck, he asked this really important question and that is, what about the other federal employees under the Department of Homeland Security that are going to go without pay?

At this point in time on Capitol Hill, it doesn't seem like there is any deal that they really struck. You have the Senate that passed their bipartisan bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, and even though the House passed their short term funding bill, both sides seem that they are very -- they are not going to take up either bill. And so at this point, it remains a stalemate.

And one of the TSA workers I spoke to said that the damage has already been done at this point in time, more than 500 TSA workers have quit under this partial government shutdown, and it really does beg the question of how many more federal agencies or federal employees under different agencies under DHS will also follow and do similar things of quitting because of just this impact of this partial government shutdown.

And so what I am hearing is just a mixture of frustration and relief of just how far things have gone with this partial government shutdown.

Fred, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, Camila DeChalus, thank you so much.

All right, joining me right now to discuss the impact this is having on TSA workers, Carlos Rodriguez, Regional Vice President of the American Federation of Government Employees Northeast, also, a TSA officer.

Carlos, good to see you.

CARLOS RODRIGUEZ, REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES NORTHEAST: Good to see you, too.

WHITFIELD: So you work at New York' JFK Airport, about 40 percent of TSA workers called out on Friday.

[15:20:10]

Are you optimistic that TSA officers will return to work even with President Trump's promise of a paycheck?

RODRIGUEZ: Yes, first and foremost, I want to put out there that let's not forget the fact that my coworkers and I have been working for 43 days without being paid, and we have never wavered in our commitment to secure the flying public and keep our oath to the American people of protecting the transportation systems and their lives, while we have been worried about who is protecting our families at home.

So, the situation is dire. I think that the support of the community and everybody that has taken care of making sure that we try to have the things that is needed has been great. And I feel that the hope that the situation might have come to a resolution might be able to help people feel more, you know, enthusiastic about coming to work, but being realistic, on Monday, come Monday, people still need gas. People still need to buy lunch. People's families still have needs.

And even though the President, Senate, Congress all proposed different things, let's remember, this is not a red and white issue, okay? As civil servants, we are red, white and blue. Okay? We are protecting all of the American public. We don't want to be caught up in partisan fights. We just want a solution that is long term, that will guarantee us that something like this will not happen in the future.

There are still people that haven't still recuperated from the impact of the previous shutdowns and the financial situation for the workers in some of these airports is really bad.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I mean, understandably, I am one of the many travelers who are so grateful for you, TSA workers who have been able to, you know, continue to go to work and our hearts go out to you for those who cannot afford to even go to work because you don't have gas and all the hardships that you are about to you know, explain even further for us.

So, how are you and so many TSA workers able to make ends meet by not getting a paycheck all this time?

RODRIGUEZ: Right. So, we have an experience of the previous shutdowns, and even though it has been regrettable, it has continued to happen. The union had a lot of resources, and we have actually come together as a community, as a family on our own, to try to support each other by cooking for each other, potlucks, a lot of community institutions have helped out, you know, great support from the food banks and charities, but it shouldn't be something where a hard working American needs to rely on food banks and charities to be able to put food on the table for their families while still going to work every day and doing their best as they can to fulfill their oath to the flying public.

WHITFIELD: And if the executive order kicks in with paychecks kicking in soon, still, Congress has to come up with some sort of budget so that long term, TSA workers and everybody else can continue to count on paychecks.

How much confidence do you have that there will be that kind of stability for you?

RODRIGUEZ: Well, I don't know about confidence in the solution might be something that might work out long term, but we do appreciate the efforts. We have had support on both sides, both parties and from The White House.

The idea would be that we do not continue to be a pawn in political negotiations for the future, and that the stability of the civil servants is not at risk.

We are just doing our jobs, and we are doing it to the best of our abilities to make sure that everybody is safe, and we just want everybody else to do their job in the same way.

And you know, something to -- a point of importance is that even if the process starts, it will still take time for the workers to be paid, and like somebody mentioned already, the damage has already been done. The people have borrowed money to survive. We still have to pay those interest. A lot of our coworkers are students who have gone default on student loans. The rising cost of medical bills and things like that that has piled up.

So, it is a lot of things that are connected to your paycheck, not just the money to put food on the table and gas in your car to go to work, but other things that, you know, home loans have gone default, interest rates that have changed due to the credit status of the officers.

So, there are a lot of things. So, we really need to make sure that we find a solution and that this doesn't happen anymore.

WHITFIELD: Yes, well, Carlos Rodriguez, thank you so much and we all are grateful for all that you and all TSA workers do. And I think universally, we are all hoping that you all get your paychecks very soon.

Thank you, Carlos.

RODRIGUEZ: Well, thank you so much for the opportunity to be here and represent my coworkers. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thank you.

[15:25:10]

All right, take a look, right now, at live pictures of Artemis rocket standing by at the Kennedy Space Center, because astronauts are making final preparations before a historic journey around the moon, so what makes this lunar mission so important? I will speak to NASA's former Deputy Administrator about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, live pictures right now of the Artemis II moon rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and we just now days away from NASA's high stakes mission around the moon, which could launch as early as Wednesday.

[15:30:02]

It is scheduled for liftoff on a ten-day journey that will lay the groundwork for a return to the moon.

Pilot, Victor Glover, who will be the first person of color to travel to deep space addressed the milestone of this mission.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTOR GLOVER, ARTEMIS II PILOT: I want to highlight, I guess, maybe one facet of -- this is the tension -- I call it. I live in this, you know, this dichotomy between happiness that a young woman can look at Christina and just physicalize her passion or her interest, or even if it is not something she wants to do, she can just be like girl power, and that's awesome.

And that young brown boys and girls can look at me and go, hey, he looks like me, and he is doing what? And that's great, I love that, but I also hope we are pushing the other direction that one day we don't have to talk about these firsts, that one day this is just -- and listen to this -- that this is the human history.

It is about human history. It is the story of humanity, not Black history, not women's history, but that it becomes human history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, joining me right now for more perspective is former NASA Deputy Administrator, Lori Garver.

Lori, great to see you.

So, when you think about this mission and what is at stake, what are you most excited about?

LORI GARVER, FORMER NASA DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR: Well, it has been a long time coming, 54 years since we had a moon rocket sitting on the pad, headed to the moon with crew and so in human history, I think it is significant no matter who is aboard, that America is leading. I know a lot of us in this country think is important, and really, the space program is about carrying everyone's hopes and dreams, but also aspirations.

And each one of these astronauts has a great story. We have, I think, for NASA's entire history, been about setting the bar higher. And I think this mission really does that.

As I said, it has been a long time coming, and so for those of us who have been working on it for decades, it is a bit of a, you know, a moment of finally, an anticipation because we know it is a test flight, because we know there could be weather or technical delays. But it is very meaningful.

Tens of thousands of people have worked on this mission over decades, and the culmination of that is very, very exciting for many of us.

WHITFIELD: Incredible. I mean, more than 50 years. That is a powerful, you know, number there. So, the crew will be doing what is called a slingshot around the moon. Can you explain what that is exactly and what they will be doing and why it is so important?

GARVER: Sure. It is very different than the Apollo 8 mission, which was the first time in late 1968 that astronauts went out beyond the moon and orbited the moon. That this, as was that a precursor to a landing mission, but because of the vehicles, this being the space launch system and the Orion, that capsule on top. We aren't orbiting the moon, we are actually going on this slingshot. You go out past the moon and have that gravitational pull bring you back.

So, they will actually be going farther than any humans have gone from Earth before. We will have, of course, amazing video, most likely of this and the experience that we all will share along with it.

The reasons -- there are technical reasons we aren't orbiting and we will hopefully have a landing mission in a few years, which will have the ability to orbit the moon. But at this point, there have been a number of tradeoffs. It is quite a different development program than Apollo, and about half the cost as well.

But those tradeoffs mean we are going on this maneuver. It will be a 10-day mission and they will be checking out the systems and getting ready for the next mission, which will be docking with a lander in low Earth orbit.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh! So, this will be the second ever flight of NASA's Space Launch Rocket System, which they say is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts and cargo directly to the moon in a single launch. And you've been pretty outspoken, right, about this spacecraft in the past years.

What do you find most memorable about this potential achievement?

GARVER: Yes, it was a compromise 15 years ago to have this vehicle developed because when I was deputy administrator, we were looking at, a program that had started previously that was not going to make it for various reasons.

The shuttle program winding down led to this mission because you had contractors who were already building things like the tank and the solid rocket motors.

Lockheed Martin was already getting started on the capsule, and there is this natural tension between wanting to push technology toward things that will be reusable in the future, and that is what SpaceX, for instance, and Blue Origin are doing with their larger vehicles.

[15:35:10]

This is, you might notice, looks quite a bit like the shuttle without the orbiter there. It is safer than the shuttle because the people ride on top so they can escape if there is a problem, but it is largely heritage hardware.

That's a positive and it is a negative. You heard the crew talking about it, a lot of its proven so, that is a positive. But it is also a little finicky. And we've seen these delays with the first mission. And even this one, when it was out to the pad a few months ago.

But I do think it is a moment where all of us, recognizing it took a long time and a lot of really, really dedicated people to get here wants to celebrate its achievement. At the same time recognizing we are going to learn things, do things in the future that may be less expensive, more repeatable, more sustainable.

WHITFIELD: Yes, all right, well, congratulations on getting it to the launch pad. Now just, you know, countdown is on.

Lori Garver, yep! There you go. Thank you so much. Good to see you. GARVER: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, Iran says it is waiting for a ground invasion as thousands more U.S. troops pour into the Middle East, but what is President Trump's end game?

New reporting on a growing Republican divide over what comes next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:41:00]

WHITFIELD: All right, it is no secret, President Trump is considering escalating the war in Iran by putting U.S. troops on the ground. However, a growing number of Republicans say they are not on board.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): Everyone is echoing, we don't want conventional war. We don't want troops on the ground. I think that's a line for a lot of people. If we are going to do that, then come to Congress and get the proper authorities to do so.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not supporting troops on the ground. I don't think that tactically it is a value add right now.

REPORTER: If there is a ground incursion, does Congress need to be brought back ahead of time for a vote?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We are not getting the classified briefing that we need to get.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Julia Benbrook is joining us now from West Palm Beach, Florida.

Julia, I mean, does President Trump seem to be moved at all by this pushback from within his own party?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you heard there, a growing number of GOP members are voicing concerns about what next steps might look like. But for the most part, Republican lawmakers have, at least publicly supported his overall efforts in Iran. Some privately, though, have been urging him to finish this fight quickly and to avoid having boots on the ground.

When it comes to the length of this and what actions Trump will take next, there is a lot of uncertainty. He has said that this will end soon, very soon. He has also thrown out a number of predictions, four to six weeks being one of them.

But as we've now been a month into this conflict, he has really tried to avoid being tied to a specific time frame. I want to play you some of his most recent comments about what is next and how this could end.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: They are begging to make a deal, not me.

We have another 3,554 targets left, and that will be done pretty quickly.

It is not finished yet. I am not saying -- it is sort of finished, but it is not finished. It has got to be finished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: And Trump has repeatedly said that Iran is, "begging to make a deal." Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff said on Friday that he is hopeful that there will be meetings with the Iranians this week. So, we will be keeping an eye out for that specifically.

In a recent statement from a White House spokesperson, Anna Kelly, she said that the President's first instinct is always diplomacy, these talks, but also left open the door for this conflict to continue on for longer.

I want to pull up part of that for you now.

In the statement, she said: "Now that the regime's ballistic missile capacity and Navy is getting annihilated by the United States, they are begging to make a deal. The President is willing to listen, but if they fail to accept the reality of the current moment, they will be hit harder than ever before."

Officials have sought to provide Trump with a wide array of options for his campaign, and as we have heard, administration officials talk about this recently, there has been a balancing act because they have worked to downplay this potential of American troops on the ground, but they have also said that Trump has all options open to him, that they are preparing for all contingencies.

I did want to highlight some recent polling that just shows how Americans are feeling about this right now. They said that 62 percent of Americans oppose the potential of sending in troops in that way.

WHITFIELD: All right, we will leave it there for now. Julia Benbrook in Florida, thanks so much.

All right, this weekend, friends and family members are coming together to say goodbye to one of the U.S. troops killed in the Iran War.

A funeral for Army Sergeant First Class Noah Tietjens was held on Saturday in Bellevue, Nebraska.

Tietjens was one of six service members killed earlier this month by an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait. Following the service, hundreds of people lined the streets of Bellevue waving flags to honor the fallen hero's service.

Tietjens, who leaves behind a wife and teenage son was killed just four days before his birthday. He was 42 years old.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:49:50]

WHITFIELD: All right, a new CNN Original Series, "Standoff: The FBI Power and Paranoia" explores the complex relationship between various presidents and their respective FBI directors throughout history, unraveling the complicated dynamics and occasional clashes between The White House and the Bureau.

[15:50:08]

Well, tonight's episode goes inside the relationship between the late Robert Mueller and President George W. Bush following the 9/11 attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARRETT GRAFF, JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR: At 8;00 A.M. Tuesday, September the 11th, Robert Mueller is sitting in his first briefing on al-Qaeda. It is interrupted by someone who comes in and says a plane has crashed into the World Trade Center.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN HISTORY COMMENTATOR: And George W. bush was in Florida at a school reading a book to children.

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Thank you all so very much for showing me your reading skills.

GRAFF: Andy Card, the White House chief-of-staff steps forward and informs him of the second attack on the World Trade Center.

Bush finishes reading the book. He doesn't want to cause a panic in that moment, and one of his first telephone calls is to Robert Mueller at the Hoover Building in Washington.

Bush basically says, buckle up. This is what we pay you for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow. That classroom moment was quite the moment.

All right, joining us right now to discuss is former Deputy Director of the FBI and CNN senior law enforcement analyst, Andrew McCabe.

Thank you again, Andrew, for being with us on this and then being with us last weekend, immediately after the announcement of Mueller's death.

I mean, you were so eloquent and generous, you know, about your memories of him and his impact.

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, Fred, he was that kind of leader. He left the people that he worked with, with a lasting impression about high standards, about delivering for the American people and he taught us how to be leaders in the process -- so many of us --

You've seen -- I've seen so many of my former colleagues speaking out eloquently about their experiences with Director Mueller on social media and in different platforms all through the week.

The guy really had an incredible influence on a great organization.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

Well, something I didn't ask you last weekend, but I do want to ask you now, especially because of, you know, this documentary. I mean, how did the working relationship between Mueller and President George W. Bush evolve, especially as a result of 9/11?

MCCABE: Well, you know, as was President Bush's style, it started in a very blunt way in the days after 9/11, when Director Mueller was in front of the President every single morning to brief him on the developments in the investigation, and he told me this story several times.

One morning, President Bush stopped him in the middle of his briefing and said, Bob, I know that the FBI is doing everything it can to find who was responsible for this. That's what the FBI does better than any other organization. He said, but I am not interested in that. The only thing I want to know is, what is the FBI doing to prevent this from ever happening again?

And it was that moment that Director Mueller knew he had to transform this incredible investigative agency into a competent, professional and strategic intelligence agency, and he did that over the course of many years.

WHITFIELD: Wow, and then even after doing that, did the FBI change again? Especially after his departure in 2013?

MCCABE: I think we continued certainly the evolution that Director Mueller had set in place, but of course, after Director Mueller left, we had -- Jim Comey came on board as our director and brought a very different style, a very different commitment to transparency and --

Director Comey interacted with the FBI personnel and with the public in a very different way, much more of an outgoing way, and I think that was something that we needed at that point in our evolution.

So, you know, this transfer of authority from one director to another gives you an -- built an opportunity to bring new influences on the organization, as it did between those two men.

WHITFIELD: Andrew McCabe, thank you so much, and thanks for sharing all of that.

And be sure, everyone to tune in to a new episode of "Standoff: The FBI Power and Paranoia," tonight, 9:00 and 10:00 P.M. Eastern right here on CNN.

All right, take a look at this. What you're seeing is actually not a camera filter. Your television is not broken either. This is actually what it looked like in Shark Bay, Australia after powerful winds kicked up dust storms that painted the skies in this eerie red color just before a cyclone made landfall over the weekend.

The dust particles scatter the sunlight. That's how it happens, only letting red wavelengths reach your eyes.

And people there described it as apocalyptic and bizarre. As a result of that cyclone, a massive cleanup also took place in several regions.

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All right, coming up, do A.I. chatbots enable violence? CNN spent months investigating this and found that some didn't just fail to stop teens from planning violence they actually helped them do it.

The disturbing findings straight ahead.

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WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I am Fredricka Whitfield.

The partial U.S. government shutdown is now in its 44th day and with no DHS funding deal in sight. We are seeing another day of long TSA lines and frustrations at some airports across the country with understaffed TSA agents still not being paid. However, that could end soon.

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