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CNN Saturday Morning Newsroom. President Trump Announces U.S. Military Struck Targets on Iran's Kharg Island But Did Not Damage Oil Infrastructure; Iran Reportedly Targets Oil Facility in United Arab Emirates; U.S. Embassy in Baghdad Reportedly Struck by Missile; Former Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene Criticizes President Trump's Attack on Iran; Iran Remains in Control of Strait of Hormuz as Oil Prices Continue to Rise, Affecting American Consumers; Mortgage Rates in U.S. Rising in Wake of Iran Conflict; Federal Investigation Into Terror Attack on Synagogue in Michigan Continues; Transportation Security Administration Workers Continue Showing Up for Work Despite Not Receiving Paycheck Due to Department of Homeland Security Funding Suspension in Congress. Aired 10-11a ET.

Aired March 14, 2026 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:40]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN newsroom. I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to have you along.

And we start with the breaking news. Iran's military is warning that it could target ports and docks in the UAE. Moments later, video into CNN showed huge plumes of smoke rising from a major oil hub in the United Arab Emirates near the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump said Friday the U.S. bombed every military target on Iran's Kharg Island that handles 90 percent of the country's crude oil exports. U.S. Central Command said the strikes on Kharg Island hit more than 90 military targets, and according to Iranian media, no oil infrastructure was damaged in the attacks.

We're also following reports that the U.S. embassy in Baghdad was hit with a missile strike. You can see smoke and flames rising from a building near the embassy compound. Reuters cited security officials who said this was a missile strike, but it is still unclear the extent of the damage.

Let's go to Lebanon now. At least 12 medical workers were killed when an Israeli strike hit a health care center. This was in a southern Lebanese town. The country's health ministry says doctors, paramedics, and nurses were among those killed.

Of course, we have team coverage on all angles with CNN's Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem, Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi, and Julia Benbrook in West Palm Beach. Oren I'm starting with you. And these images of the damage to the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad, what can you tell us?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Victor, Let's walk through the region here, because there is a lot to get through on what is a very busy 15th morning to the war here as I come to you from near Jerusalem.

First on the front in Iran, as you pointed out, Iran has continued to lash out. We have seen that with not only those fires at oil and tanker facilities in the UAE, but across the region as well. Iranian officials had said that if the U.S. or Israel targets Iran's energy infrastructure, it will set oil and gas infrastructure in the region, quote, "on fire", and perhaps we're beginning to see that.

Meanwhile, as you pointed out, there is smoke and damage visible in Baghdad at the U.S. Embassy facility there. It's unclear what the projectile was, but Iran has targeted U.S. facilities, in particular there, with rockets and drones in the past. So it's certainly possible this was another one of those attacks.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and Israel continue to target Iranian facilities, including the Iranian regime and it's military. As you pointed out, Kharg Island, a small island in the Persian Gulf off Iran's coast, where some 90 percent of the country's crude exports flow through, there U.S. Central Command said they destroyed 90 military targets on the island, but left it's oil and energy infrastructure untouched.

Meanwhile, president Donald Trump was asked what he would do with Kharg Island. Would he attempt to seize the island? He was asked that question over the course of the past 24 or 48 hours, but wouldn't specify what U.S. plans there are when it comes to Kharg Island.

Meanwhile, Israel has struck in Tehran again. The military there saying it's going after the Iranian space agency as well as production facilities for Iran's air defense capabilities. Iran, again, has been able to strike back, in fact, within the last hour here, we got two different sirens warning of incoming missiles, and we got an alert from Israel's emergency response service, Magen David Adom, that two were injured in southern Israel as a result of those incoming missiles. So the war with Iran very much hot and intensifying on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, the Strait of Hormuz continues to be a focus as we see increasing oil prices and gas prices across the U.S. Iran has effectively closed it but is also able to control it. And we see that from India's foreign ministry saying two of their tankers were able to cross the critical waterway. And that suggests that it's not just a closure that Iran is going after with the Strait of Hormuz, but effective control over who goes through that critical waterway through which some 20 percent of the world's crude oil exports travel on a daily basis.

Switching to Lebanon and Israel northern border for just a quick minute here. Israel continues to go after Hezbollah, targeting what they say are Hezbollah targets in in Dahiya, the southern suburb of Beirut, and also issuing warnings that they will target ambulances and civilian trucks because they say Hezbollah is using those to transport weapons and to transport rockets, as we see continued fire across the northern border.

[10:05:01]

As you pointed out there, the Lebanese ministry of public health said an Israeli strike on a medical facility in southern Lebanon killed 12 medical workers as we see the number of people killed in Lebanon near 800. Victor?

BLACKWELL: A lot of activity this morning and overnight. Oren Liebermann joining us first. Thank you.

Let's take another look at the smoke from a fire burning at an oil port at the UAE. Debris from an intercepted drone fell this morning near the Strait of Hormuz. Officials say no injuries were reported, though sources say some operations were suspended. And this comes hours after U.S. Strikes on Iran's Kharg Island. As Oren discussed, Iran has warned that ports and docks in the UAE could be targeted.

CNN's Paula Hancocks is with us now from the UAE in Abu Dhabi. What do you know?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, we've certainly seen the UAE has been singled out for the most amount of missiles and drones over the past two weeks. And now another threat from Iranian officials that it will be targeted even more. This is the latest that we have heard from the spokesperson of the armed forces. It comes after the U.S. attack on Kharg Island, even though it was military targets that were taken out. We did hear from the U.S. president saying it could be oil infrastructure next if the Strait of Hormuz is not back to normal.

So I'll quote what we heard from this statement, saying "We warned the UAE leadership that the Islamic Republic of Iran views it as its legitimate right to strike the origins of American missile launches, those concealed in ports, docks, and shelters used by U.S. Forces under the cover of Emirati cities in defense of it's national sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Now, it's worth pointing out that the UAE maintains that its defensive posture remains unchanged. We've certainly not heard anything different to that. But Iran feeling that some of these missiles are coming from Emirati territory despite no confirmation or suggestion that that is in fact accurate.

Now, we have seen on the east coast of the UAE in a place called Fujairah. This is where there are a lot of oil depots, and this is where we see black smoke and fire that is climbing into the sky. Once again, this is not the first time that Fujairah has been targeted. Now we understand it was an interception and debris from that interception that damaged this particular port area. But we do know that sources to "Reuters" and "Bloomberg" say that some of the loading operations, those oil loading operations, have been suspended.

So this obviously puts the UAE, although it is on a high state of alert, on notice once again that it is going to be the most heavily targeted by Iran's retaliation. Victor?

BLACKWELL: Paula Hancocks for us from Abu Dhabi. Thank you. Let's come back stateside. President Trump spending the weekend at his

estate in Florida while his national security team is under scrutiny for underestimating Tehran's ability to disrupt the world's oil markets by blocking the Strait of Hormuz. Our Julia Benbrook joins us now from West Palm Beach, Florida what are you learning about the president's plan to contain all that we're seeing this morning?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as this conflict enters its third week now, President Donald Trump, he is back here in Florida at his Mar-a-Lago estate. That's where he first monitored those joint U.S. Israel strikes against Iran. And as far as timeline goes, there are still a lot of questions. We have heard a variety of options from the president, from two to three days to through the week. Of course, we're past those now. Most recently, he's been saying four to five weeks or four to six weeks, but adding the important note, whatever it takes, as long as it takes is the overall message there.

And this comes, Victor, as we're getting some new reporting from our colleagues, giving a bit of a behind the scenes look at what's taking place. According to roughly a half dozen people familiar with internal deliberations, the administration does not seem any closer to articulating a defined strategy for bringing this conflict to an end. And we've seen that in some of Trumps public comments as well. In fact, just last weekend he was speaking to a room full of Republican lawmakers, and he said that we've already won in many ways, but we haven't won enough.

And when it comes to the way Americans are feeling this directly, that pain at the pump that we've seen as these gas prices soar, Trump does not seem to be concerned, at one point saying if they rise they rise. And as he has said that, he said his administration knew, describing this as short excursion. He knew that these gas prices would go up at least for some time, but that he is confident they will eventually come down.

[10:10:02]

And of course, part of that is because about 20 percent of the world's oil travels through the Strait of Hormuz, which has come to nearly a complete stop. Now, the administration has said that the U.S. Navy would be willing to escort some oil tankers through the strait. When Trump was asked about this last night as he traveled out here to Florida, he said that that would start happening soon, very soon. But we've still been looking for specifics on that timeline, exactly how that would work.

And then, of course, very important to note here, the big impact, 13 Americans have died since the start of Operation Epic Fury, and more than 140 have been wounded. Victor?

BLACKWELL: Julia Benbrook in West Palm Beach, thank you.

Former Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene criticized President Trump over the war with Iran. She joined Kaitlan Collins on "THE SOURCE" last night as she slammed the president over his decision to strike Iran. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE, (R) FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: This war is not something that that Americans voted for in 2024. As a matter of fact, we voted for the opposite. We voted for no more foreign wars, no more regime change. And we were told by many members in the administration throughout the campaign, J.D. Vance, Tulsi Gabbard, and others, that they believed that going to war with Iran would be a terrible idea. It was something that Charlie Kirk himself had said over and over again.

And Donald Trump, President Trump, I voted for him three times, fought for him to become president, and I still want him to be successful. But he told he told Americans for over 10 years and even longer that he thought foreign wars and regime change was really a bad direction for America to go in. And we trusted and believed him that we wouldn't be doing this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: MTG added that Americans voted for the president to help the affordability crisis, and that the president should focus on that.

Talking about affordability, the cost of gas across the U.S. is rising, no signs of stopping.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If 87 gets to like four dollars, five dollars, I can't -- I might as well just stay in the house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Coming up, the pinch on the global oil supply and why officials say it is only going to get worse.

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[10:17:01]

BLACKWELL: You will likely feel the effects of the war with Iran when you fill up that gas tank. Before the war, you were paying about $2.98 a gallon for unleaded regular. Today, national average for that same gallon, 3.67, up four cents since yesterday. Prices are rising as tensions with Iran disrupt oil supplies and key shipping routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about one-fifth of the world's oil, are under pressure, and that pushes gas prices even higher.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich spoke to drivers in New Jersey about whether they are comfortable with paying what they are now and if they could afford to pay more.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Victor, the national average for a gallon of regular gas has risen by more than $0.30 in just the last week. That is as oil prices have been flirting with that $100 a barrel mark. And that is because the Strait of Hormuz, for which about 20 percent of the world's oil passes through, has been essentially closed.

Here in New Jersey, we've been speaking to a lot of drivers actually commuting for work coming down from Connecticut and New York, passing through New Jersey, moving to Philadelphia. And they've all said, no matter where they've been across any of those states, they've all noticed the higher prices at the pump.

But the Trump administration and President Donald Trump has been saying that this is just short term pain at the pump for long term gain in Iran.

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YURKEVICH: Do you think that that is worth it?

PEDRO JACONE, NEW JERSEY RESIDENT: I don't think so. I don't think It's worth it.

YURKEVICH: Why?

JACONE: Because, I mean, we're like, were paying the price of the war.

EVELYN RUIZ, NEW JERSEY RESIDENT: He started this. He's the one should be paying for it, but it doesn't come out of his pocket. It comes out of our pocket. So yes, it's affecting us as Americans. Yes, it's affecting us in every way.

CHRISTIAN VANSEOTEN, NEW JERSEY RESIDENT: I don't think the United States should have any involvement in that whatsoever. I think the United States should stick with the United States, and we should be focusing on our people rather than going out to these foreign countries and fighting fights for them.

ALAN FLETCHER, NEW JERSEY RESIDENT: If we have to suffer through a little bit of gas prices going up, then than we have to suffer through it. And It's a small it's a small pain to take for the rest of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YURKEVICH: But no matter how drivers feel, GasBuddy is projecting that the national average will rise another $0.10 in the next week, and in the next couple of weeks could reach up to $4 a gallon. This is also the time of year here in the United States when we change over from that winter fuel blend to the summer fuel blend, which is already traditionally, historically, more expensive. So that mixed with the higher oil prices is making it more expensive for drivers here at the pump. Victor?

BLACKWELL: Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you.

People who are hoping to buy a home may be set back by declining mortgage rates -- 30 year fixed mortgage increased to 6.11 percent for the week that just ended on Friday. That's according to Freddie Mac. For context, the rate was just under six percent two weeks ago. That was something that had not happened since 2022.

[10:20:00]

With me now, Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com. Joel, good morning to you. The inflationary pressure that's created by this war is unique. Typically, as I understand it, geopolitical crises, these rates come down. People move toward purchasing homes as a safe investment. What should we expect to see in the near term?

JOEL BERNER, SENIOR ECONOMIST, REALTOR.COM: You're exactly right, Victor. What we would expect to see normally is the safe haven effect, where volatility in the stock market leads people to invest in bonds instead and those interest rates come down,

But what's happening here is that the inflationary expectations are a stronger effect on the interest rate market than that safe haven effect. We expect that this war is going to increase prices in the future. And as prices in the future make money less valuable in the future, money today, like money for buying a home, becomes more expensive. And so mortgage rates go up.

And we would have had a really great spring buying season with mortgage rates dipping below six percent for the first time in a couple of years, but now we've seen all of those gains go to waste. And we're in a situation where buying a home now is still advantageous compared to last year, but not in the same way. We were hoping for a really strong spring buying season in 2026.

BLACKWELL: We've got the numbers up in control room. Keep them up, because that interest rate, 6.7 percent this time a year ago, as I said a moment ago 6.11 percent now with the week that just ended yesterday. What do you say to people who have been sitting on the sidelines because of tariffs, because of inflation and jobs numbers when they look ahead to this spring buying season?

BERNER: Yes. We still think It's a good time to buy. We say that there are all the signs pointing in the right direction for buyers. Inventory prices are coming down. Mortgage rates are going up in the short term are still better than they were last year. So overall affordability in 2026 looks better than it did in 2025 and 2024. And the last two years had some of the lowest numbers of existing home sales we've seen since the mid-90s. And so we're really expecting a rebound in 2026, and now may be the time for those on the sidelines to really look for a home that meets their needs, because inventory is starting to expand as people decide to move in advance of the summer moving season. So there will be more options. And before mortgage rates go up any further, this could be a really good time to get off the sidelines.

BLACKWELL: So there was this decision from a judge yesterday to toss the Justice Department subpoenas for a federal grand jury for Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair. The president has consistently pressured Powell to lower interest rates. I wonder, is the real estate market expecting changes, pricing in changes, or forecasting what will happen once this Fed chair's term is up in a couple of months?

BERNER: We really don't anticipate a lot of change from the Fed. They're really in a tough position right now, staring down the barrel of stagflation. We just saw GDP numbers from the fourth quarter of 2025 get revised down, and we have inflation numbers a little bit above expectations even before these wartime changes get priced in. So we don't see a situation in which the Fed is likely to cut and, or at least in a responsible way. So even the changeover in leadership there, they're in such a tough position that we're not pricing in or expecting any rate cuts for the next several months, as far as we can foresee the impact of this conflict.

BLACKWELL: You brought up the "s" word, stagflation, where inflation stays high, job growth is low, unemployment grows. I wonder, is this environment more likely, more fertile for stagflation over the next several quarters?

BERNER: The oil shock is really the scary bit there. I'm not calling for anything to happen or for us to see stagflation necessarily, but it's the type of thing that the Fed is thinking about and doing everything they can to prevent.

So really, you know, just the external shock of oil prices being so high, that's something that makes its way throughout the whole economy, because as everything needs to be shipped it makes its way into the price of every physical good in the economy. So if we were talking about things in a vacuum, it would be a little bit less worrying. But that oil shock certainly hearkens back to some historical precedent and some scary uses of the "s" word. I won't say it again.

BLACKWELL: Thank you. Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com, I appreciate your time. Thank you.

Next, the Temple Israel community reunites in Michigan to honor the teachers after their synagogue was attacked.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And not a single teacher froze in face of this crisis. They did exactly what they had been trained to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:25:03]

BLACKWELL: We have new information about the man behind the attack and why he was flagged previously by the federal government.

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BLACKWELL: Let me take you to Amsterdam, where the city's mayor is denouncing what he called a targeted attack against the Jewish community. Four teenage boys were arrested after officials say they threw an explosive device at a Jewish school. The blast hit the outer wall of the building. No injuries reported there. We're also following the federal investigation into the terror attack

on a synagogue in Michigan. New details are emerging about the man who drove a truck into the Temple Israel building in West Bloomfield.

[10:30:05]

The FBI called the attack a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.

Brian Abel joins us now from West Bloomfield. What are you hearing about how the community is reacting there?

BRIAN ABEL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Victor, first, I do want to talk about this enhanced security presence that's here around the synagogue here in just the last 24 hours, you see the Oakland County sheriff's sentinel that's sitting here at the entrance to Temple Israel. But there's also on this other side here the barricades and new security cameras that have been put in place, as well as on the sides here of the neighboring areas, including where a service was held just last night for Temple Israel.

We're also learning more about the suspect, his connections to Lebanon, as well as law enforcement. And we're also learning more about how this attack unfolded and getting a better understanding of its effect on the congregation.

So let's start with the suspect, Ayman Ghazali. He did not, the 41- year-old, have any previous criminal history and was never subject to an FBI investigation, Victor. However, law enforcement officials briefed in say Ghazali appeared in federal government databases as having to, quote, known or suspected terrorists associated with Hezbollah in Lebanon. That is where Ghazali had family, who, according to the mayor of a city in Lebanon, say that that family was killed and injured in an Israeli airstrike on March 5th. That's a week before the attack took place here at Temple Israel. Ghazali's two brothers were killed, as well as one of the brother's two children. Ghazali's parents and brothers' wives were also injured.

And then we're also getting this better idea, this picture of how this attack unfolded. It's becoming more clear, according to the FBI. Ghazali was seen on security camera pulling into the parking lot here around 10:00 a.m., where he stayed in his truck for more than two hours before starting his drive and ramming into the doors here at Temple Israel, making his way through into a hallway. That is where he got jammed in between hallway walls, trapping Ghazali inside. He started shooting through the windshield. Then there was an exchange of gunfire, and at some point, Ghazali fatally shot himself and the truck's engine compartment caught fire.

What I don't want to be lost in all of this is the fear that this attack instilled on this community, Victor, that was already preparing itself for such a thing, and therefore had some pretty quick actions that were able to protect children who were inside at the time. I want you to listen to what was said by the rabbi of this synagogue here at a service just last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RABBI JEN LADER, TEMPLE ISRAEL: Our teachers are magnificent. They are heroes. They love our children because our children are their children too. And because of their quick and decisive action, their courage and their strength, every single baby, every single one, was wrapped in their parents' arms by the end of this terrible day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: So that is the good news in all this. There are more than 100 kids inside between school and daycare. Over 600 law enforcement officers responded, more than 60 had to go to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, Victor. They are expected to be OK.

BLACKWELL: Brian Abel for us there in West Bloomfield. Thank you very much.

And as Brian mentioned, the suspect in the synagogue attack had been on the radar of counterterrorism officials. And this morning I asked CNN's senior national security analyst, Juliette Kayyem, about the difficulty of anticipating when someone they've been monitoring may threaten the public.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It is so hard to know right now what put him in the threshold category. It's -- the way that we do targeting is you have the sort of bullseye list, people who are known to be part of a terror organization, and then you have a whole bunch of concentric circles around them depending on the nature of the ties. Threshold is pretty far out. Threshold means that he had contacts with suspected or known members of Hezbollah when he was in Lebanon. And it's hard for some people to understand this. But when You're in Lebanon, those you know, Hezbollah is part of the government. Those contacts aren't necessarily a proof that you indeed are a terrorist. And that's the challenge.

The other thing is he's a part he's from a part of Lebanon in what's called the Beqaa Valley. Beqaa Valley is a sort of south of Beirut. That is the area that is a Hezbollah stronghold. So even family connections may have put him on the threshold list without him actually being a terrorist when he came through the border that last time.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

BLACKWELL: Investigators say Ghazali died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but they caution that the suspect's motive is unclear.

The FBI is now investigating the deadly shooting in Virginia as an act of terrorism. The shooter attacked Thursday morning in an ROTC classroom in Old Dominion University.

[10:35:02]

He killed one person, injured two others before students subdued and killed him. Now, one of the victims was identified as Lieutenant Colonel Brandon Shah, a military science professor and ROT instructor at the university. The shooter was previously convicted of supporting ISIS and was barred from having a gun. The Justice Department charged a man on Friday accused of selling that gun that was used in the attack.

President Trump is calling on other countries to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open. Coming up, the new wave of attacks across the Middle East and President Trump's escalating threats against Iran.

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[10:40:21]

BLACKWELL: The president says that the U.S. has destroyed every military target in Iran's Kharg Island, a critical crude oil export hub. Iran's state media says that no oil infrastructure was damaged at the site. Tensions rising as Iran threatened retaliatory strikes against U.S. linked oil facilities in the region if its own energy infrastructure is attacked. This morning, new video into CNN showed huge plumes of smoke rising from a major oil hub in the UAE near the Strait of Hormuz. Local authorities said the blaze broke out when debris from an intercepted drone fell. No injuries were reported.

CNN's Nada Bashir joins us now. Nada, what's the latest on these strikes on Iran overnight?

NADA BASHIR, CNN PRODUCER: Well, this is certainly a significant step taken by the United States. As you mentioned, President Donald Trump said that all military targets on Kharg Island were targeted overnight. This is a five-mile stretch of land just off the coast of Iran. It handles some 90 percent of Iran's crude exports. So this is certainly a significant target for the United States, although it is said that no oil infrastructure was targeted at this stage.

And Iran has been clear that any targeting of Iran's oil infrastructure on this island will trigger a response by the Iranian regime, by the Iranian military, targeting any oil connected assets to the United States and U.S. interests in the region will then be targeted also.

And of course, we've heard similar warnings in the past from the Iranian regime. There has been calls from Iran's new supreme leader and from the Iranian regime for all U.S. bases in the region to be shut down. Otherwise, attacks on these bases will not come to an end.

And of course, we have seen, again, just reminders of that in the rounds of attacks we've seen on the UAE and other nations in this region. And of course, now we are hearing this latest warning from the Iranian regime. They've accused the UAE of allowing the U.S. military to use docks and ports to carry out those overnight strikes on Kharg Island. They have said that they may begin to target UAE docks and ports, so that will certainly be a point of concern for the United Arab Emirates as they continue in their defensive attempts. And of course, the UAE government has been very clear. They say they remain in their defensive posture and are not part of this offensive campaign by the United States and Israel.

But of course, we've also seen a round of deadly and devastating attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran. Some 42,000 civilians units, according to the Iranian regime, have been damaged as a result of those attacks since the war began.

Of course, while the Iranian regime has attempted to paint a picture of resilience and strength against the United States, there doesn't seem to be any sort of offramp being offered by either side of the conflict at this stage.

BLACKWELL: Nada Bashir, thank you.

At airports across the country, TSA agents are showing up to work despite receiving zeroed out paychecks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I flew out this morning, when I arrived, there were TSA workers doing what they were supposed to do. It's a shame that they're not currently being compensated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: I'll speak with a union rep about the challenges those TSA agents are due to the ongoing government shutdown.

And as the film industry gathers to celebrate its biggest night, the Oscars, a new flash doc looks at the influence of international filmmakers on Hollywood. Be sure to tune in. "Hollywood and the Oscars, Still Golden?" It's now streaming on the CNN app.

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[10:48:39]

BLACKWELL: Tens of thousands of TSA employees went home this weekend with no paycheck. Even the paycheck, though, was zeroed out. So they got something, but it was just a zero. They worked their scheduled shifts, though. They're caught in the middle of that partial DHS shutdown that's gone on for nearly a month.

Some agents say they've been forced off the job because they cannot keep working with no pay. And Tanja Michelle Fowler, she's the regional vice president of the AFGE union in Utah. She left the agency just days ago, and she is with us now. Tanja, thank you for being with me. And TSOs, transportation safety officers, have some difficult decisions to make. Why did you decide to leave?

TANJA MICHELLE FOWLER, VICE PRESIDENT, AFGE UTAH REGIONAL: I take care of other family members within our family, and we support some of our other family members. And working such a stressful job and not receiving a paycheck, I had to finally make that decision to say, I need to find something that's stable that's going to help me take care of my family. And so I made that decision painfully. I worked hard. I loved that job. It was a great job. I love my fellow coworkers. But when you're not getting paid, you have to make those difficult decisions.

[10:50:01]

BLACKWELL: Yes. I mean, I could see it on your face that it pains you to have to leave that job. And reading a little bit about you, and I think the audience should know about why you initially joined the TSA in the first place in the first place and some of your family history that puts you in that position.

FOWLER: Well, I come from a family that has served in the military most of their lives, and that's something that we're very proud of. And when I joined TSA, it was a way for me to be able to serve my country as well. I mean, we go to work, we make sure the traveling public is staying safe. And I used to be able to come home every day and know that hundreds of thousands of people made it to their destination safely because of the work that we do at TSA.

BLACKWELL: You all just got out of, I won't say recovered because I don't know if many people did, the 43-day shutdown in October and November, missing two, and I think two-and-a-half paychecks then. Were you able to recover after that before this one started?

FOWLER: I was. Unfortunately, some of my other colleagues have not been able to recover. We did receive a half a paycheck on the 28th of February, and all of medical deductions -- if you had to take out a loan from your retirement from the last shutdown, those deductions were taken out. And unfortunately, some of my colleagues came home with almost no paycheck at all. And now we're three weeks in and we didn't receive a full paycheck as of yesterday.

And I have colleagues that are coming home and making decisions, telling their kids that they can't afford track uniforms for their track meets, and that's terrible. It's devastating. And we have airports asking the public to donate food and diapers, formula, even pet food so that our officers have a little bit of something that they can depend on.

And these are federal workers that are going to work and doing their jobs and serving their country. And I have to sit back and say, is this the American dream that we've signed up for? I've never had to tell my children, yes, when you go to work, you may or may not get paid. And that's just not right. It's not fair.

BLACKWELL: And that's what I keep reminding the audience, is that these are the people you are, the people were before you had to resign, the people who work for us, who work for the American people, and go to work every day and should not have to rely on a food bank because they are working for the government and doing their jobs so well.

Let me ask you this, because there's the additional variable of the security element. Did the stress of the lack of income complicate the mission, complicate the job? FOWLER: I mean, absolutely. You're out there, you're trying to do

your job, and then you're thinking about how am I going to pay my car note? How am I going to pay my rent? Now I have to go to my mortgage company and say, I'm so sorry, again, we're not getting paid. And it's a trickle down effect. You know, landlords, electric companies, businesses have to pay their bills as well. And here we were as federal employees having to go back to these people and saying, we can't pay our bills again.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

FOWLER: While politicians are trying to discuss how to figure all this out.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And TSA, you all have to be right every time and miss nothing as it passes that scanner. And if your mind is focused on the gas tank and the dinner table and the track uniform, that makes it harder to do.

Tanja Michelle Fowler, no longer with TSA, but I thank you for the work you did while you were. And I thank you for your time this morning.

FOWLER: Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity to speak.

BLACKWELL: Certainly.

All right, here's some of the other headlines we're following this morning. Funeral services held later today for Georgia high school teacher Jason Hughes. The 40-year-old math teacher was killed last week at a high school prank gone wrong. Now, it's a school tradition that students cover the trees of his home with toilet paper. But when Hughes came outside, he tripped and fell and was then run over as the student started to drive off.

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Now, at the request of the Hughes family, all charges, including a homicide and trespassing charge, have been dropped against the students involved.

President Trump says he is replacing Richard Grenell as head of the Kennedy Center. Grenell took over last February, but his tenure saw high profile performance cancellations, declining ticket sales. Matt Floca will replace him. He's the art center's current vice president of facilities operations. It's the latest in a long list of changes at the institution that now holds Trump's name and is expected to close for two years for renovations.

Thank you so much for joining me this morning. THE AMANPOUR HOUR is coming up after a break.

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