Return to Transcripts main page

The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Officials - U.S. Deploys Thousands More Marines To Region; Trump Calls NATO Allies - Cowards Over Strait of Hormuz; U.S. Trying To Avert Extended Closure Of Strait Of Hormuz; U.S. Removes Sanctions On 140M Barrels Of Iranian Oil; U.K. Allows U.S. To Use British Bases In Some Iran Operations; U.S., Israel Destroy Entrances To Iran's Underground Sites; Palestinian Man Claims Brutal Sexual Assault By Israeli Settlers; Flash Flood Warning Issued For Oahu, Dam At Risk Of Failure. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired March 21, 2026 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:00]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: And we do want to begin with U.S. President Donald Trump as he says that he is considering winding down military efforts in the Middle East, but many are skeptical based on new deployments to the region. In a post on Truth Social, President Trump said that the U.S. is getting close to meeting its objectives, and that includes eliminating Iran's air force, navy, and also degrading its missile capabilities. Tehran, however, they don't believe Trump's claim. In fact, a senior Iranian source says that America's military posture in the region hasn't changed significantly.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials, they say that thousands more marines and sailors are being sent to The Middle East. Earlier on Friday, President Trump also reiterated that the U.S. has won the war and then downplayed any efforts for a ceasefire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, look. We can have dialogue, but we don't -- I want to do a ceasefire. You don't do a ceasefire when you're literally obliterating the other side. They don't have a navy. They don't have an air force. They don't have any equipment to -- they don't have any spotters. They don't have anti- aircraft. They don't have radar, and their leaders have all been killed at every level. We're not looking to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Also on Friday, Iranian state TV, they read a statement attributed to the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. There was no audio, no video of him, just that statement. Khamenei claimed to have ridden in a taxi anonymously through the streets of Tehran, but he's also not been seen publicly since he was appointed nearly two weeks ago now.

The President Trump has called NATO allies cowards for not helping secure that critical Strait of Hormuz, and this comes as U.S. officials are working to avoid a potential months long closure. An assessment determined that Iran could possibly keep the waterway shut for about six months to the U.S. and its allies. That's according to four sources familiar with the document, but White House and Pentagon officials insist that the assessment and that time frame that they were not being seriously considered.

Let's begin our coverage now by heading over to CNN's Mike Valerio who joins me from Beijing following developments in The Middle East. Mike, good to see you. So the President referring to NATO as cowards, but it is clear that in order for this to work or into many experts, he will certainly need that ally support to secure that waterway.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Polo. So it's certainly conflicting messaging. And what we're working on this side of Asia, in East Asia, past lunchtime now is reporting on what exactly is going to be the diplomatic international coalition of nations. We now are seemingly up to eight nations that have tepidly signaled support that they're going to work at some undefined point in time to help open up the Strait of Hormuz.

So, of course, as you alluded to, if this were so easy, analysts that we're talking to are say, who we're talking to are essentially saying, wouldn't the United States just do it when it just already open up the Strait of Hormuz, since, of course, gas prices really hitting American consumers are such a problem for the President when the midterm election is all about or one of the primary issues is certainly all about affordability.

So our reporting so far that we have right now, the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Japan, Canada, and now Bahrain, the first Gulf country has signaled in pretty impressionistic terms that they are ready to do whatever is appropriate. Appropriate efforts is the direct quotation from the first joint statement that this group of nations put out. They're ready -- they will be ready to open up the Strait of Hormuz. But, again, we say impressionistic, because there's nothing in the conversation that says, OK. This nation is going to send this ship or do XYZ to open up the strait.

But we do adding to the conversation, have our own Kylie Atwood reporting. She's based out of D.C., our state report department, reporter extraordinary, who is citing a European diplomat who is describing to U.S. multilayered levels of allied preparation for when the strait is safe enough to open, what exactly would need to be put in play in terms of minesweepers, escorts, counter drone capability, warships, and intelligence and surveillance in the sky from myriad nations. And the diplomat tells Kylie one "One country does not have it all there. It's not just one country. The more you put in, the more complicated it gets."

So what we're watching for as the weekend just starts in this corner of Asia are more details about what exactly is this coalition going to look like, but that European diplomat is telling Kylie that it doesn't seem like this is going to come together until really safety is guaranteed in the straight Polo.

SANDOVAL: It was an eventful Friday too, Mike. As you know, the United States removing sanctions on some 140 million barrels of Iranian oil.

[00:05:00]

Like, this is -- the reality is Iran continues to sell off its oil, particularly to China. In this case, though, Mike, is there any sense of, if the regime will see any of the profits that could derive from the sale of that sanctioned oil?

VALERIO: Well, the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says, it'll be hard for the regime to see profits. But really, when we're talking to traders either from Hong Kong or New York or anywhere in between, they're saying, look, the U.S. will be allowing money to go into the coffers of the Iranian regime. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz spoke about that when her own Dana Bash she had a town hall in New York, and she said essentially, you're allowing money to go into the coffers of the Iranian regime.

So let's listen to his response. We'll talk about it a little bit more on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE WALTZ, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: The measure is targeted towards oil that's already out there on ships, already out there in storage, and to the previous question is very temporary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: So they're saying not a big deal, very temporary. Putting it in perspective, our reporting is showing that about a 140 million barrels that is about a day and a half of the world's entire oil supply demand. But at the same time, you just can't get away from the reality here that the United States has not allowed the purchasing of oil by either American buyers or its allies, since 2018. And the administration's argument is that by putting more barrels into the system, we're going to lower the price of oil. And yet as we look at the price of oil still hovering around a $110 for Brent crude, the price is still going up.

So the argument is being put out, but analysts who were talking to you, again, from all corners of the globe, say it kind of strains credulity that still this is putting money into their coffers as the price of oil goes up, and they don't have a lot of options save keeping the strait safe for passage Polo.

SANDOVAL: Mike Valerio with that live report. Thank you, Mike. Iran, it has successfully targeted a joint British U.S. military base an actual base in the Indian Ocean, an unsuccessful attempt. And that's according to a U.S. official who says the two Iranian ballistic missiles missed the Diego Garcia base on Friday morning. And this happened after the U.K. said that it would allow the U.S. to use British bases to go after Iranian missile sites and target ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran later warning Britain that it considers the move participation in aggression. Despite the U.K. announcement, President Trump is unimpressed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I was a little surprised at the U.K., to be honest with you. They should've acted a lot faster.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And for more, we are joined by Simon Kelly. He's a retired Royal Navy Commodore. He's now a Defense Consultant and Leader of Maritime Operations with Fozzie Miller Group. He's joining me from Suffolk, Virginia. Thank you so much for joining us.

COMMODORE SIMON KELLY (RET.), UK ROYAL NAVY: You're welcome, Polo.

SANDOVAL: So you just heard Iran appears to consider this an act of aggression essentially. Meanwhile, you have Downing Street saying, no, no, no. They are allowing the use of its bases, but for specific defensive and limited purposes. From your expert perspective, what's your assessment of how these bases will be used by the United States? Do you think that it may be the U.K. getting dragged into a wider war?

KELLY: I think it's a really good question, Polo. The certainly, opposition parties at the moment are worried that it's a sort of sliding slope. I think this is a sort of slightly nuanced change to the U.K.'s position in the first place. This sort of -- I think, Keir Starmer and the government were caught on the hop by the timing of the attack, and therefore, it took them a while before they established a position they were comfortable with.

And that was defensive operations against missiles or weapons targeting them or regional allies. This is a very nuanced change here to now sort of encompass the straits from us, so more of a clarification rather than a very big change. But we've seen immediate reaction from Iran, haven't we overnight. And, certainly, it changes the U.K.'s position slightly, but it also shows how important these -- this basing is.

Certainly, Diego Garcia gives the Americans a straight flight without any of the complexities of flying over national airspace to be able to form these operations.

SANDOVAL: Yeah. No. It's absolutely -- certainly a revision of that position. I mean, as you know, the Prime Minister had previously declined that request for Washington to use their bases. On that unsuccessful attempt to strike the joint military base, you were just touching on a little bit, Commodore.

[00:10:00]

What else can you tell us about that military installation? And is that pretty clear that this is retaliation to you?

KELLY: I think it's very clear this is retaliation. Absolutely. A failed attempt. It's a well-founded base. I mean, the value of these U.K. bases and particularly the value of Diego Garcia is these are bases that are sort of baked into the U.S. plan. They would all have always have planned to use them partly because they have all of the logistics hubs. You -- they're able to flow in weapons storage and all the sort of tanker facilities and all the rest of it to fly the missions. So it's a critical part of the jigsaw for them.

KELLY: And finally, Commodore, hypothetically, if we were to see more and more support for the President's call to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, can NATO actually help protect that critical waterway, you think?

KELLY: I don't think it's going to come necessarily come under the flag of the NATO. I think NATO has been quite clear in terms of that position. We're seeing a response, and I agreed it's a sort of fairly woolly response to readiness to contribute appropriate efforts is the wording. There's the -- I would sort of lay out three challenges here. The first challenge is we would already have seen over the length of this conflict about 2,000 vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz. That gives you an idea of just the volume of traffic we're talking about.

The second thing is the Iranians by -- they've created an asymmetric problem. It dislocates sort of the traditional maritime power that you would bring to bear in the Strait of Hormuz. And so to quote the chief of joint chiefs, General Dan Caine, tactically complex environment. That's an understatement. And I think the third factor is bringing together any kind of coalitionist region.

There have been coalitions, the CMF, the combined maritime forces operate in this area, but it's a completely different kind of mission. You bring together nations from different forces -- forces from different nations rather to carry out something at the absolute high end of war fighting. That's an incredibly complex task. It will require a huge resource from America to enable these operations, and it's not something that will be able to stand up quickly. But it is completely unknown how long this will have to go on for.

I think there's potentially a lever in the Iranian's hand over the Straits of Hormuz and coming into the future and/or if you want to open up the Straits of Hormuz in this way, there's going to be have something other than just a military option.

SANDOVAL: And perhaps even making it more complex and dangerous is the fact that this could potentially happen under the watch of the regime that remains in power in Iran. Simon Kelly, as always, really appreciate your expertise. Thank you so much for your time.

KELLY: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: A new CNN investigation, it is finding that the U.S. and Israel have tried to wipe out Iran's munitions, including missile launchers by bombing the entrances to Iranian facilities hidden deep underground. CNN's Tamara Qiblawi reports.

TAMARA QIBLAWI, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIONS WRITER: An Iranian underground missile city buried deep inside a mountain, a show of force aimed at Iran's enemies, a contingency plan to protect its precious arsenal from being eradicated by massive bombardment. Dozens of these subterranean fortresses are spread across the country. It's proof that Tehran has been preparing for a war just like this one for years and possibly decades.

It's also from these mountain bases that Iran stores its mobile missile launchers, taking them out, firing before hiding them back into the mountain to reload and avoid detection. The U.S. and Israel want to destroy this threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: And just like Hamas and their tunnels, Iran has funneled decades of state resources, not to their people, but into missiles and drones and proxies and buried facilities. But we are hunting them down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QIBLAWI: We wanted to find out how. Examining satellite images from 27 underground bases, including a 107 tunnels. What we found was evidence of a rapid fire American Israeli campaign to trap a large number of Iranian munitions underground, blocking entrances and exits to these bases. Like here, here, and here, access points to these facilities blocked. We found that the U.S. and Israel bombed at least 77 percent of the tunnel entrances that we were able to review satellite images of.

Here, we see rockets fired from mobile launchers towed out of tunnels.

[00:15:00]

The images are from propaganda video released last year. We geolocated this video to here a large underground city with many of the access points ravaged by U.S. and Israeli bombardment earlier this month.

Here, we see huge craters surrounding a tunnel portal. Here, a destroyed rocket launcher and a reddish cloud of highly toxic rocket fuel. But less than 48 hours after the site was first bombed, evidence of Iranians already digging for access to their munitions underground. And this isn't the first time Iran's jumped to repair its underground facilities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tehran is completely filled with smoke.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QIBLAWI: After the 12-day war with Israel last June, Iran repaired missile production facilities, an industrial complex linked to uranium enrichment centrifuges, and subterranean medium range missile sites like this one where Iran reopened access points to those munitions, again starting to repair them just 48 hours after that war ended.

The U.S. and Israel continue to score tactical successes around underground facilities, but these might be temporary solutions as Iran continues to adapt. Tamara Qiblawi, CNN, London.

SANDOVAL: Senators from both parties, they met late into the evening on Friday. They're trying to really work out a deal to end the stalemate over funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats, they're refusing to approve those funds without significant reforms to immigration customs enforcement. And this after two U.S. citizens were shot and killed earlier this year by their officers.

White House borders are Tom Homan. He says the discussions that they are continuing. Republicans insisting that the White House has improved its offer to Democrats, though they declined to provide any details. As negotiations go on in Washington, airports across the United States, are seeing long lines for security screenings at some of those TSA checkpoints as those officers continue to miss out on some of their pay and in many cases also missing work.

The agency now says that nearly 10 percent of its workforce did not show up to work on Thursday. TSA officers have been working without pay for over a month now. Democrats have offered several bills that would fund the TSA and other critical departments, but they've been rejected by Republicans. The transportation security or I should say the transportation secretary actually warns that the situation could get even worse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN DUFFY, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: TSA can't function because the teams are so small. I mean, but you and I lived this through the last government shutdown when we had air traffic controllers who when they came upon missing the second paycheck, their lives don't function. And this is very similar to TSA agents. The only difference is TSA agents make a lot less than air traffic controllers. And so I think as we come into next week, that second paycheck is due a week from today as they're going to miss that. If they do, if a deal isn't cut, you're going to see what -- what's happening today look like child's play.

This is going to be -- these are going to be good days compared to what's going to happen a week from now as America tries to travel. And again, do I -- is this still safe as you go through the airport? Yes. But it takes a lot longer because you have less agents, working.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And still ahead on "The Story Is" violence in the West Bank on the rise. A Palestinian man says that Israeli settlers are now using sexual assault as a weapon in their fight to take back the land. That story on the way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: Welcome back. In the West Bank, Israel's battle to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state seems to have taken a dark new turn. Settler violence, it has spiked since the start of the war with Iran, and there are accusations that Israeli settlers are using sexual violence to try to scare Palestinians off their land. Israeli authorities say that they are investigating. Our Jeremy Diamond has one man's harrowing story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY DIAMOND, JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: His eyes still bloody and bruised, Qusai Abu al-Kebash is determined to tell his harrowing story. An Israeli settler attack unlike any other.

QUSAI ABU AL-KEBASH, PALESTINIAN WEST BANK RESIDENT (translated): I was standing here. The settlers came. They attacked me. They dragged me in here. Says, these are the zip ties they used to bind my hands. They cut my trousers and belts. And here are my boxers. They took them off me.

DIAMOND: Abu al-Kebash says the masked and armed settlers then sexually assaulted him.

AL-KEBASH (translated): They zip tied my genitals and squeezed tight on them while continuing to beat me. They dragged me from there and then poured water over me and then dirt. They were dragging me while I was undressed with my hands and legs bound, my genitals bound all the way up the hill.

DIAMOND: What was going through your mind when that was happening?

AL-KEBASH (translated): I thought they were going to kill me, beat me to death.

DIAMOND: Abu al-Kebash's relatives who were present at the time also corroborated his accounts. So did two foreign activists, volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement, who told us they were beaten and violently dragged by the settlers. Abu al-Kebash said the settlers also stole his livelihood, hundreds of sheep that once filled these pens. He says the settlers also beat his father, wife, and even his children, threatening to return if the family doesn't leave their land.

[00:25:00]

They said we're going to steal your sheep. We're going to steal your women. We're going to rape your women. We're going to take your girls. It wasn't a single ill phrase that wasn't uttered.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, come on. Don't fuck. Hit her.

DIAMOND: Israeli settler violence against Palestinians has skyrocketed since October 7th, but sexual assault appears to be a new weapon in the settler arsenal of intimidation. The assault came days after prosecutors dropped charges against five soldiers accused of sexually assaulting a Palestinian prisoner inside a notorious detention facility, drawing uproar from Israeli human rights organizations. Israeli police are now investigating the attack on Abu al-Kebash and his family, telling CNN they've arrested seven suspects. Police said the case is under a court issued gag order. But there is little faith here in Israeli investigations. Settler attacks in the West Bank are rarely prosecuted, and Abu al-Kebash's wait for justice is filled with fear.

AL-KEBASH (translated): I'm worried they'll come back, that they'll kill us in the middle of the night, beat us to death, or burn our village like they said they would.

DIAMOND: What will you do if they come back?

AL-KEBASH (translated): What can I do? We'll get beaten once again.

DIAMOND: What can we do? He asks. He'll beat us and burn us. Finish us once and for all. Jeremy Diamond, CNN. Khirbet Humsa, West Bank.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And still ahead on "The Story Is" it's been close to seven weeks since the abduction of Nancy Guthrie.

After the break, the latest on the high profile case and another Arizona family's 35-year search for their loved one.

And also on the way, an icon in martial arts and in movies passes away. Chuck Norris' life and legacy when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: Welcome back to "The Story Is." I'm Polo Sandoval in for Elex Michaelson, and these are today's top stories.

President Trump says that he's considering winding down military efforts in The Middle East, but Iran is not buying it as U.S. officials announced thousands more troops are heading to the region. Meanwhile, a U.S. official says that Iran unsuccessfully launched intermediate range ballistic missiles at a joint U.S.-U.K. base in the Indian Ocean.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society says that one person was injured by shrapnel and taken to the hospital as Iranian missile debris fell in the old city of Jerusalem on Friday. Some of this drone video, it shows that that shows Israeli security forces at the site of the impact near the ancient part of the city. Sirens warned people of incoming missiles throughout the day, which coincided with the Muslim holiday of Eid.

And a federal judge ruled on Friday that a Pentagon policy limiting independent press access is unlawful. The plan spearheaded by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was deemed by the courts to restrict the constitutional rights of reporters at the Pentagon. The ruling specifically challenged a provision that allowed the Pentagon to revoke press credentials based on the content of reporting.

Well, frustration is building around the investigation into the abduction of Nancy Guthrie. Investigators say the tips are slowing, nearly seven weeks since her disappearance. CNN's Ed Lavandera has the latest on the search and also the growing impact on Guthrie's community in Arizona.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Nearly seven weeks after Nancy Guthrie was taken from her Tucson home, the sheriff in charge says it's still an active investigation.

SHERIFF CHRIS NANOS, PIMA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: We have so many images from ring cameras and videos of traffic videos, intersectional views. Someone out there knows something. Someone out there saw something, heard something. We need that person to call us.

LAVANDERA: Investigators say they're still chasing leads and analyzing DNA evidence, but won't say much beyond that. Progress seems frozen, leaving residents fearful.

SANDY LONG, TUCSON RESIDENT: We just feel it can happen anywhere to anyone, and so, yes, it has caused us to be more cautious.

LAVANDERA: And frustration with the public face of the investigation is also simmering.

DANIEL BUTIEREZ, REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Let's get the sheriff out of office and get someone in there that we can feel confident in.

LAVANDERA: Local Republican congressional candidate has started a petition to recall Pima County sheriff Chris Nanos, who is a Democrat. The memorial of yellow flowers still grows outside Nancy Guthrie's home, signs filled with prayers. A few weeks ago, Savannah Guthrie, along with her sister and brother-in-law stopped to reflect on this scene, but it's been more than six weeks since the Guthrie family has made any public comments. Since then, Savannah has returned to New York and visited with colleagues in the Today Show studio.

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, DAUGHTER OF NANCY GUTHRIE: We still believe in a miracle. We still believe that she can come home.

LAVANDERA: You feel a connection to the Guthrie family, because you know their pain.

TAMMY TACHO, SISTER OF MISSING BOY: The pain. The -- like, I wish I could go up there and just hug her and tell her, I know exactly what you're going through.

LAVANDERA: In 1991, Tammy Tacho's brother Jimmy disappeared. He was 12-years-old. So you and your mom are leaving town for a couple days.

TACHO: Yes.

LAVANDERA: And you left Jimmy with a family friend.

TACHO: We did. As we're driving away, you look back, and he's waving to us. June 11, 1991, that's the last moment that we touched that we did anything with Jimmy.

[00:35:00]

LAVANDERA: That was nearly 35 years ago. Tammy says the family's friend's cousin brought her brother to this house in their neighborhood to work on a fence. He was never seen again.

TACHO: It was all like a nightmare. It was a nightmare for him to be missing.

LAVANDERA: The headlines of his abduction have largely disappeared. No one was ever arrested. His body was never found.

TACHO: I'm so sorry.

LAVANDERA: That's right.

TACHO: I'm trying.

LAVANDERA: 35 years doesn't ease that pain.

TACHO: It doesn't. It doesn't. We need closure. And my heart is so heavy all the time.

LAVANDERA: Tammy's family has never stopped searching for Jimmy, still passing out these flyers with her brother's picture, reminding people of a modest $12,000 reward. How did you raise that money?

TACHO: On car washes. Car washes and selling cakes. Me and --

LAVANDERA: Car washes and selling cakes?

TACHO: Yeah.

LAVANDERA: The Nancy Guthrie reward sits at over $1 million. What would you tell the Guthrie family right now?

TACHO: To don't give up hope, to hang in there, and just don't lose hope. Because even me after 35 years, I don't lose hope to find. I'm so sorry.

LAVANDERA: Now you please do not apologize.

TACHO: I still have hope. Hope of being able to recover Jimmy's body to put our family at some peace.

LAVANDERA: Now seven weeks into the search for Nancy Guthrie, investigators tell us that the number of phone tips being called in is dropping and that this case, which at one point had 400 investigators working on it, now is reduced to a task force of about 20 to 24 investigators, which includes FBI agents as well as Pima County Sheriff's deputies. Ed Lavandera, CNN Dallas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Martial arts icon and action hero Chuck Norris has died at the age of 86. Norris was well known by fans for his legendary fight scenes and martial arts expertise. But before he became an actor, he was stationed in Asia with the U.S. Air Force in the late 1950s. In fact, that's where he fell in love with martial arts. After this time in the service, he then became a karate school teacher. One of his most iconic fight scenes, it was in the movie The Way of the Dragon with Bruce Lee.

There's a pretty incredible scene in there where it seems like he gets the best of Lee, but look, it's a Bruce Lee movie, so you better believe that Chuck Norris' character quickly met his demise. Well, in the 90s, he starred in Walker, Texas Ranger on television, which earned him a whole bunch of new fans. Norris was also known for his politics as a longtime Republican. He twice endorsed for former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee for President. All we know right now is that Norris died on Thursday after an unknown medical emergency in Hawaii.

Let's bring in now Emily Longeretta. She's a Senior TV features editor at Variety. Emily, welcome to "The Story Is." So glad you could join us. One of many tributes to Chuck Norris, it came from actor Danny Trejo. He shared a message on social media, and the actor, I'll share this with you. He wrote, my heart is heavy hearing about the passing of my friend. You could read the rest of it there, but he eventually also writes that he was a good man through and through, one of the greatest without question.

Emily, talk to us about his success as an actor and as a martial arts champ.

EMILY LONGERETTA, SENIOR TV FEATURES EDITOR, VARIETY: Absolutely. I mean, Chuck Norris represented the all American in every way. And like you just said from Danny Trejo, the tributes came pouring in today from everyone from Dolph Lundgren and Sylvester Stallone to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jean Claude Van Damme.

He was this symbol of strength on TV and in films, and he became this full blown action star from studying karate. It was something that it really was unheard of at that time. And like you said, you listed some of the films that he had been in, but good guys wear black, missing in action, the octagon, and, of course, then moving over to television for Walker Texas Ranger, which aired for eight seasons.

It was really unheard of for someone to take their career in martial arts and turn it into becoming a full blown action star. I did want to touch a little on that martial arts because I actually wrote down the list. His -- he is such a -- was a such a strategic fighter and had this incredible list of accomplishments, including creating his own discipline, called Chun Kuk Do, which he held a 10th degree of black belt in. But he also had belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Karate, Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do. I was making this list and thinking, this is completely unheard of. This is not something we see a lot with our -- with martial arts instructors who then also become full blown action movie stars.

SANDOVAL: She was 86-years-old, but I would almost venture to say that this was quite unexpected.

[00:40:00]

I mean, it was quite shocking. I mean, did this surprise his fans around the world?

LONGERETTA: I think a lot of people were very surprised. We haven't heard very much publicly from him recently. He, of course, like you said before, has been very vocal about his politics. And regardless of whether you believed in that or agreed with that or not, you really -- we really didn't see him on screen much. He hasn't acted in many years. He has been very private and focused on his family.

Multiple members of his family posted some really heartfelt tributes today and photos of them seemingly in Hawaii together and really just spending time with their dad and looking -- knowing him in a different light. So I think that fans were very, very surprised, even though he was 86.

SANDOVAL: And Norris was also honored by the marines, who made him an honorary member of their own. The marines also go into social media, Emily. They wrote, heaven's streets have always been guarded by marines. And today, Chuck Norris reported for duty. And then the marines also wrote Chuck Norris didn't join the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps applied to him. Obviously, that's a clear reference to the hyperbolic satirical Chuck Norris facts that we all saw in the mid-2000s.

Talk to me about how this meme movement may have helped him revive his career. I mean, even he poked fun at himself. He didn't take himself very seriously.

LONGERETTA: Absolutely. I think that's the exact key is that he came up in a time before memes and before social media was all the rave, but he was able to continue his fame and his relevancy by leaning into that. People were poking fun at him, but it was really complimentary. It was never out of out of mean spirit, and he was able to lean right into that and poke fun at himself. And these jokes were all compliments to him because it was you know, the people couldn't beat him. No one could beat Chuck Norris. So that's what it came down to, and it just really did make him very relevant and lovable by all.

SANDOVAL: It was such a tough guy persona. I have a few seconds with you. Emily, do you have a favorite meme?

LONGERETTA: Oh, man. I feel like the one you just said about the marines was pretty good. Do you have a favorite one?

SANDOVAL: I appreciate this one. They wanted to put Chuck Norris on Mount Rushmore, but the granite wasn't tough enough for his beard. That's a way to memorialize.

LONGERETTA: That's a great one.

SANDOVAL: Absolutely. Emily Longeretta, thank you so much for your insight on the man on the legend. I'm certainly thinking about his family. It is a tremendous loss. Appreciate your time.

LONGERETTA: Absolutely. Thanks.

SANDOVAL: Well, powerful storms hit the Hawaiian island of Oahu causing catastrophic flash flooding and also forcing evacuations near a dam that is dangerously close to failure at this hour. An update on the way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: A flash flood warning has been issued for the -- for Oahu island in Hawaii. This is the -- now the second significant storm in just a week that hit that state. Thousands of people have already been ordered to evacuate the island because of a 120-year-old dam that is at risk of imminent failure according to authorities. Catastrophic flash flooding from the storm, it has cut off some towns, destroyed homes, and also forced rescues from the storm in Northern Oahu. Heavy rains and strong winds from last weekend's storm set off dangerous flooding, landslides, and sinkholes, and even knocked out power to thousands of homes across the state.

Flood watches and advisories, they've also been issued across the Hawaiian islands and indicated that that weather continues there.

Joining is from Honolulu is Molly Pierce. She's a spokesperson for the Oahu Department of Emergency Management. Molly, welcome to "The Story Is".

MOLLY PIERCE, SPOKESPERSON OAHU DEPT. OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Polo, thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: Molly, coming up on 7:00 p.m. there where you are, my understanding is you just updated residents on the latest. I wonder if you can bring our viewers up to speed on the situation right now.

PIERCE: Yeah. So our most recent update was actually some good news. We are seeing conditions, beginning to improve across the island of Oahu, and so we were able to reduce our evacuation area polygon, to be a bit more a bit more narrow. We've taken some of the areas out of that immediate evacuation area.

Our concern now really is the ongoing threat of rain. It's not the concern about the dam is lessening, but our concern does remain the hazardous impacts within the same area, which is extremely low lying, and we've been seeing substantial flooding in that area that has not been as a result of that dam. So we're seeing a combination of impacts there.

SANDOVAL: Conditions improving. That is certainly great news. Nonetheless, so you did say that there seems to be a narrowing of the affected areas. So is it correct to assume that there are still evacuations happening?

PIERCE: Yes. So we've still got a bit over 5,000 people under evacuation order. Those are in the North Shore towns of Waialua and Haleiwa. These are the classic surf towns that folks may be familiar with.

[00:50:00]

Those areas are currently under evacuation order due to the high waters in the area and some pretty severe storm impacts. We've got shelters open for residents, across the island.

Unfortunately, we do have pretty significant impacts in across the rest of the island as well, and so we're seeing impacts everywhere from our west side over to our windward side and even in urban Honolulu. So we are not out of the words. No one has been spared.

SANDOVAL: Yeah. Some of these incredible pictures that we're sharing with viewers, Emily, it just tells a story of the devastation. However, have you received any reports of anything -- of any situation going beyond just property damage talking about injuries or worse?

PIERCE: We've had over 200 rescues already today. Those are primarily high water rescues that our first -- our county first responders along with the Hawaii National Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. army have assisted with. Thus far, we have not had any reports of fatalities, and we're very lucky to say that. We don't know what tomorrow will bring, but as of right now, those 200 plus rescues have been successful.

SANDOVAL: Yeah. That's wonderful news on two fronts for sure. Just for viewers around the world, I wonder if you could tell us about your community, about the communities that are impacted, why they were perhaps so susceptible to this, and in your view, why they will be potentially be able to recover from this?

PIERCE: Yeah. So these are some really iconic communities on Oahu. Waialua is primarily an agricultural town. Haleiwa is a surf town. These are two real jewels of the north shore, and they're areas that were really susceptible. They're downstream of this earthen dam, the Wahiawa Dam, and are also just at the base of a watershed that has a lot of streams that flow into them.

Our Ko'olau mountain range, virtually any water that falls on them eventually makes its way to this area, which has made it extremely fertile and great for farming, but has also resulted in in this potential danger. The great thing we're seeing is that this is also a very community oriented area. This is an area where everyone knows their neighbor, and we've really seen our community step up and provide unparalleled assistance to one another. We've seen amazing heroic videos of folks with bulldozers, backhoes, paddleboards, kayaks, saving their neighbors, saving their friends, dogs, cats, horses.

This is a community that that is able to help one another, and I think will be really what has always made it shine and what gives us real hope for recovery after this storm is over.

SANDOVAL: The sunshine will certainly return, and those people certainly deserve that relief from these storms. Molly, thank you so much for all your time, for your updates, and we're certainly thinking about all the people in Oahu right now. Thank you.

PIERCE: Polo, thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: Thank you for being with us. So good updates there. Conditions do continue to improve according to Molly Pierce. We'll be right back with much, much more. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: We'll talk about excitement. It is reaching a fever pitch in Seoul, South Korea right now over the highly anticipated concert by K- pop megastars, BTS. They're back together, and they are about to hold a massive concert. Some live pictures out of Seoul right now where its coming up on 2:00 p.m. You could see crowds gathering there. This coming after the seven member group dropped its latest album, and this will be their first concert in almost four years.

They had to put their music careers on hold to complete mandatory military service, and fans, they can barely contain their excitement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOLLY AGULAR, BTS FAN: I think I just want to see the whole display of them coming in through the path of the king. I think it's very symbolic, and I mean, it is the biggest group of K-pop. And me being army, I feel very proud right now of this moment of their comeback. We waited for almost four years. So I'm glad to see a lot of people in town for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Officials say that the free concert, it is expected to draw up to 260,000 fans. Netflix will be live streaming the show in about a 190 countries. And on Friday night, the band taken to this -- taken to the sky here via drones, at least over the skies in Seoul. Their images projected in the night sky with those drones, Saturday's concert marking the start of the global tour is scheduled for next month.

Basketball superstar LeBron James has tied the pro record for the most games played. The Los Angeles Lakers player now playing his 1600 and 11th regular season game on Thursday against the Miami Heat. The 41- year-old putting up 19 points and got 15 rebounds to help his team snag their 8th straight win.