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Iran: "Several Points" in Esfahan Targeted by U.S. and Israel; Trump Not Ready to Make Deal to End War with Iran; Protesters Rally at White House; Iran Continues to Attack Gulf Nations; North Korea Conducts New Ballistic Missile Test; Hollywood Gears Up for tonight's Academy Awards. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired March 15, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN. This is CNN Breaking News.

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.

We begin with breaking news out of Iran. Video geolocated by CNN shows thick plumes of smoke over Esfahan, a major city in central Iran. State media says several points were targeted by missiles from U.S. and Israeli fighter jets. Meanwhile, in Israel, missiles and interceptions could be seen lighting up the Tel Aviv sky in the latest attacks on Iran and Hezbollah. Munitions impacts are being reported at several locations in central Israel. Emergency workers reported two people needing treatment.

Now, this, as President Trump says he's not ready to strike a cease fire deal with Iran yet. He questions whether the country's new Supreme Leader is even alive. Speaking with NBC News, the president said if Mojtaba Khamenei is alive, he should, quote, do something very smart for his country, and that's surrender. President Trump is calling on other countries, including China and the U.K., to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as Iran threatens more retaliatory strikes following the U.S. attack on Kharg Island.

CNN's Eleni Giokos joins us now live from Dubai. So, Eleni, let's start with the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump asking countries to help with escorts. What's been the response so far?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's really interesting, and this just coming in to CNN. So, South Korea is saying that they are still to decide whether they're going to send warships after what they say is going to be a careful review of the situation.

We got to remember that President Trump mentioned a few countries in that social media post, mentioning Japan, mentioning China, the U.K., and South Korea. We've heard thus far from South Korea. We've also heard from Japan and saying that they will face high hurdles, but not ruling it out in terms of assisting with warships. Super important.

But, again, in that post by President Trump, essentially publicly and also trying to draw in other people and other countries into this war. This is, of course, going to be a very big issue for those said countries domestically. But the Strait of Hormuz has become, in a sense, in essence, sort of ground zero of this raging war. It is the one lever that Iran has to inflict not only economic pain to here in the Gulf states, but also globally and specifically on the United States.

And we've been covering about sort of the contagion effect that's already being felt at gas pumps in the United States and, frankly, around the world. You have acute shortages in the likes of India and other countries, specifically in Asia, that were relying on the 20 million barrels of oil per day that was moved through that passageway, the Strait of Hormuz. Interestingly, we haven't heard back from China. We haven't heard from the U.K. yet. We have asked for response.

But in the meantime, Iran, Kim, has vowed retaliation after its island of Karg, which is critical for its exports of oil, has been struck. We know that the threats have specifically been towards the United Arab Emirates here and, importantly, saying that they're going to strike ports and other critical oil infrastructure as well as U.S. assets because they believe that the launchpad for those strikes on Kharg Island have been from the UAE.

So, a lot happening today, specifically on the threats and sort of this escalation trap that we seem to be in, but also a lot of the shippers and the experts that I've spoken to in terms of these naval escorts, which were promised by President Trump already last week, have not materialized and also very difficult to implement and institute.

BRUNHUBER: All right. So, Eleni, looking then at the wider conflict, the strikes on Iran and by Iran, what more can you tell us?

GIOKOS: Well, I mean, you showed those images of what we've seen, smoke billowing in Esfahan, a really important area of the country where it was targeted specifically because of its nuclear capabilities. The Iranians are saying it's because of Israeli strikes. We've reached out to the Israelis to get more information, but, again, we don't really know what's happening there at this point. We just have these images.

In the meantime, yesterday in Fujairah, which is an important oil depot, we saw smoke billowing from that site because of debris that was due to an interception here.

[04:05:00]

This morning, we also heard from the Ministry of Defense that they're engaging with missile and drone attacks. We haven't personally received, I haven't received anything here in Dubai in terms of alerts from the Ministry of Defense, but the threats from the IRGC have been fast and thick, frankly, over the past 24 hours. We've heard from the Saudis that they intercepted missiles yesterday. Kuwaitis have said that the radar system at their international airport was impacted, as well as one of their air bases. Qatar reporting interceptions as well. So, you have this continued striking of Iran into the region, despite the fact that President Trump, again, on social media posted that they have 100 percent degraded Iran's military capabilities.

BRUNHUBER: All right. I appreciate that. Eleni Giokos, thanks so much. For more analysis, I want to bring in Simon Kelly, a retired commodore in the Royal Navy and defense analyst with Fozzie Miller Group, and he joins us live from Portsmouth, England. Thank you so much for being here with us.

I want to pick up on the latest in the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump saying many countries will be sending warships to help keep the Strait open. So, far, none of those countries have publicly confirmed that, though we have now heard from Japan saying, for instance, there would be high hurdles, South Korea not ruling it out. What do you make of this?

SIMON KELLY, COMMODORE ROYAL NAVY (RET.) AND DEFENCE ANALYST, FOZZIE MILLE GROUP: I think the muted response is indicative, perhaps, of where they are. And the first thing I would say is all of those nations have had a presence in that region, whether it's counter- piracy or in the Red Sea recently. But we're in a different position, we're in a different place now.

And so, even if we get an overwhelmingly positive response from any of these nations, geography matters. The possibility of these countries sending assets and preparing those assets, ensuring that they're in the right level of fitness to conduct this kind of operation, it's going to take time.

And what we're seeing at the moment, I think, this sort of change of position from President Trump indicates the realities of where we are and the realities of potentially the situation is always going to be moving in this direction because in the same way that geography matters, logistic matters and people matter, even the most powerful navy in the world has limits. And those limits will apply to the primary mission, which will be protection of the carrier strike group, protection of key infrastructure.

And if you get those assets wrapped up into what would be an incredibly absorbing task, escorting numerous vessels through the Straits from us, even if it becomes quite permissive, I think that's probably a step too far, even for the U.S. Navy.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. The president said the U.S. has destroyed 100 percent of Iran's military capability, but, of course, there are still small boats, mines. I mean, how much of a threat can Iran still pose in the Strait?

KELLY: I think Iran is demonstrating its ability to have -- to conduct small attacks on a really broad front, all the way from the north and the oil infrastructure in Iraq all the way through to attacks using drones on vessels at Ankara in the vicinity of the Straits from us. Those small attacks have a disproportionately large effect. And it's clear that the generations of military planners in Iran have baked in this ability to act under what would be a pretty pervasive intelligence understanding by the Americans and the Israelis. And so, I think that threat will continue.

The worst-case scenario here is if the Iranians are able to seed mines effectively in the Straits from us. Obviously, it depends how effective they are in that. But at that point, that's going to really choke off the Straits from us because any operation to clear those mines isn't a case of overwhelming force. It's a matter of picking your way through almost mile by mile ahead of any transit because a mine once laid is a friend to no one, and clearing those mines, especially given the state of mine warfare forces in the Middle East now, is going to be a huge task.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, sounds like it. Now, looking ahead, I mean, the Pentagon is sending about 2,500 Marines to the region. You've worked with U.S. Marine units before. So, when you see that deployment, I mean, what do you think CENTCOM's actually planning to use them for?

KELLY: I think this is a really interesting move. And I think the most interesting thing about it is what it offers is flexibility. The U.S. don't have to make a decision on exactly what they're going to do.

[04:10:00]

And, in fact, deploying them, that actual act in itself means that it's yet another front the Iranians have to think about. And so, whether that's operations in Kargh Island and whether that's operations to do something around the Strait of Hormuz, which I suspect is a step too far, I think what it offers is flexibility. It offers additional challenge. There will be additional units that deploy with them as well. So, it's a force flow question, and it's a really powerful message.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Looking at still the efforts to secure the Strait, I mean, let's say the U.S. has air superiority. It takes out the missile sites. Let's say they are able to clear the mines, though huge challenges are still ahead, as you outlined there. What else would need to happen on the water before, you know, one would feel comfortable telling a tanker captain that it's safe to transit through?

KELLY: Yes, I think you actually raise a really good point there. It's very much -- there have been conversations about whether this is a question of insurance for those tankers. You've got to remember there's a human factor here. There's the captain and his crew. There's the ship itself and the impact if there's some kind of disaster.

I think we're probably in a place now where transits through the Straits or moors are entirely feasible, and particularly for the U.S. Navy, because what they will have done is they will have destroyed the Iranian ability, their radar sites and their ability to react quickly to anything coming through. So, if they can conduct something, if they can make it relatively dynamic, I think the U.S. have overwhelming force here.

And so, individual transits, I think, are well within the capability where we are today. The problem is that those would need to be sustained. This isn't a single transit. This is the world's supply of oil. I don't need to reiterate the statistics. And so, therein lies the problem. It's how do you do it and how do you sustain it? I think the U.S. Navy could do it tomorrow if they wanted to. I'd be very confident of that.

How you integrate partners, how you bring in other nations, how you share the intelligence about what's going on in the Strait of Hormuz, that's, again, not something you can just set up overnight. It would take time for those nations to arrive, to be integrated into a system which at the moment is predominantly U.S. Navy CENTCOM forces. So, how you do that is a real challenge, and it's not something that can be done just at the press of a button.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, exactly right. Really appreciate your insights. Simon Kelly, thank you so much for speaking with us. Really appreciate it.

Well, supporters of President Trump's war on Iran rallied in front of the White House yesterday. Several people who once lived in Iran told CNN they consider the strikes an opportunity to topple the Islamic regime that's ruled since 1979.

Meanwhile, in Iran, state media have been showing scenes of Iranians rallying for their besieged nation. The reports say people are standing defiantly against the U.S.-Israeli attacks and expressing allegiance to their government.

Well, we now know the names of the six U.S. crew members killed when their refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq on Thursday. There are Captain Seth Kowal, Captain Curtis Angst, Technical Sergeant Tyler Simmons, Major John Klinner, Captain Ariana Savino, and Technical Sergeant Ashley Pruitt. The incident is under investigation and the military says it's not a result of hostile fire or friendly fire.

All right. Plenty more to come here on CNN Newsroom. How are Republicans responding to U.S. military action in Iran and is it impacting the president's popularity? While CNN's Harry Enten takes us through the numbers.

Plus, we look at public sentiment in Israel to see if the war could help the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his re-election prospects. We'll have those stories and more coming up. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:15:00]

BRUNHUBER: Here in the U.S., the pain at the pump continues as the fighting in the Middle East drives up gas prices across the country. According to the AAA Auto Association, the national average has ballooned to $3.68 a gallon. That's a 23 percent increase since the start of the conflict, and it comes amid heavy disruptions to the flow of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

Now, global oil prices closed the week at their highest level since 2022. Brent Crude, the international oil benchmark, settled on Friday above $103 a barrel. U.S. crude finished just under $99 a barrel. Now, surveys indicate that Americans' overall response to U.S. military action in Iran has been pessimistic, but polls show that overall Republicans approve. CNN's Harry Enten breaks down the numbers and explains how President Trump's popularity is faring well within his base.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Look, there's a lot of noise from certain folks on the right, like Tucker Carlson, against the U.S. military's recent actions in Iran. But I'm here to tell you that is just such a small portion of the Republican part of the electorate. Most Republicans are with Donald Trump when it comes to his actions and the U.S. military's actions when it comes to Iran and with Donald Trump overall.

What are we talking about here? Well, let's just take a look at the most recent polling, Republicans on U.S. military action in Iran. Look at this. Overall, we're talking about amongst the GOP, 78 percent approve compared to just 13 percent who disapprove. And an average of all the March polling, we're talking about a very wide margin here. We're talking about just such a slim portion of the Republican Party who disapprove of the U.S. military's actions in Iran. And we're talking about four in five, about four in five Republicans who approve. They are with Donald Trump at this point when it comes to U.S. military action in Iran.

Now, when we slim it down, when we go in even further, the real true Republican base, the Make America Great Again self-identifiers, this 78 percent, it goes even further.

[04:20:00]

What are we talking about? Let's take a look here. OK, MAGA-GOP on U.S. military action in Iran. Look at this. Look at this. We're talking about 89 percent, nearly 9 in 10 MAGA Republicans who approve of the U.S. military action in Iran compared to just, get this, we're talking about single digits, 9 percent, just 9 percent who disapprove of the U.S. military action in Iran.

As I said at the beginning of this, the Republican electorate and specifically the MAGA-GOP base, they are with Donald John Trump, the President of the United States, and they are standing against, standing against the Tucker Carlsons in the world. They say, Tucker Carlson be darned, darned when it comes to the U.S. military action in Iran. I should point out this finding first came from Gabe Fleisher over at Wake Up to Politics. Very smart young fellow. He pointed this out.

But it's very clear right here, we're talking about nearly nine in 10 MAGA Republicans who in fact approve, approve of the U.S. military action in Iran. This is not much of a surprise to me. Why do I say it's not much of a surprise? The reason I say it's not much of a surprise is because look at this, look at this, GOP who approve of Trump overall, that is his overall job approval rating, back on February 14th, it was 86 percent. You know, the vast, vast majority. Jump ahead to now, look at this, well within the margin of error, that same 85 percent, 85 percent of Republicans who in fact approve of the job that Donald Trump is doing when it comes to his overall job approval rating. Again, looking pre- and post-military action in Iran, it's the same number here. The vast majority of Republicans are with Donald John Trump.

And I want to put this even to more of a historical perspective because I think it's so important to note just how strong Trump's grip, his grip is, his grip when it comes to the Republican Party. And we can do this by looking back at other 21st century presidents at this point in their second term.

Take a look here. I got it for you up here on the screen right here. 21st century president's own party approval about at this point in his second term. Look at where Trump is. He's at 85 percent. He's at 85 percent. That is a very strong figure. It is significantly stronger, significantly stronger than Barack Obama was at this point, 77 percent. Or how about George W. Bush, another Republican president who is at 77 percent as well. So, Donald Trump running well ahead of the pack here at this point in his second term.

There is no sign that the military action, at least at this point when it comes to Iran, is shifting that dynamic at all because the bottom line is this, the Republican base is with Donald Trump overall, and they're very much with him when it comes to U.S. military action in Iran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, recent polls in Israel show the war in Iran isn't creating a political windfall for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He's facing re-election this year. And while his Likud Party lost a seat recently, polls suggest there's no change in the political landscape. Meanwhile, Israel's defense minister is standing firm on Israel's military campaign, saying the next move is up to Iranians. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISRAEL KATZ, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): We're entering the decisive phase of the struggle between the regime's attempt to survive while causing increasing suffering to the Iranian people and surrender. Only the Iranian people can put an end to this with a determined struggle until the overthrow of the terrorist regime and the salvation of Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: All right. For more, I want to bring in Dahlia Scheindlin. She's a political analyst and fellow at the Century Foundation, and she is joining us from Tel Aviv. Thanks so much for being here with us again. Really appreciate it. So, you've been tracking Israeli public opinion. So, when you look at the war against Iran, what are the numbers showing? How popular is the war with Israelis? DAHLIA SCHEINDLIN, POLITICAL ANALYST AND FELLOW, THE CENTURY FOUNDATION: Well, typically, you have an enormous division between the Jewish population and the Arab or Palestinian population of citizens of Israel. The Jewish population shows an incredible consensus, actually, in favor of the war. We're talking about 93 percent in the first week among Jewish Israelis in surveys by the Israel Democracy Institute, and during the second week also about 93 percent of the Israeli Jews who support it.

Among the 20 percent who are Arab citizens, we should say that the trend is almost entirely reversed. You have just a small percentage who support it, about a quarter, but about 65 percent who oppose it. Nevertheless, the overall average for Israeli society is therefore very high. Having said that, beyond the numbers, Israelis are frazzled, being woken up at night numerous times by various barrages of missiles coming from both Iran and Lebanon. People are tired. The economy is practically shut down. Schools are not opening, but there's a lot of debate about when they should or if it's too dangerous.

And so, society is coping, but again, people's nerves and I think also their economic situation is suffering. But polls are still showing very high support.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. So, why then? Why do you think the level of support, at least among Jewish Israelis, is so, I mean, nearly unanimous?

SCHEINDLIN: Well, Israelis have been hearing for years, in fact, decades, that Iran is the source of all the instability in the Middle East.

[04:25:00]

And Iran, of course, this -- you know, this is not theoretical for Israelis. Iran has been, of course, backing, arming, funding proxies that have directly attacked Israel, particularly since October 7th. Those attacks have been very, very direct and immediate. So, Israelis are feeling it. They've also been told for years that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. And the -- they have -- I think more prominently Netanyahu -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it his point since for about a decade to undermine any prospect of diplomacy. The idea that Iran's nuclear program could be contained by the JCPOA that under President Barack Obama was considered a very dangerous and negative thing from Israeli perspectives.

And so, Israelis have been told that the only way to contain these very material threats is military action. So, they feel like this is finally doing what they have been told is the only thing that can be done to undermine this threat. And of course, they, again, have seen it as the basis for every other threat for the strength of, you know, Hamas and Hezbollah and the Houthis, all backed by Iran as if there is nothing else in the Middle East. But I think to that extent, it's interesting that it's not translating into greater political support for Prime Minister Netanyahu, which you alluded to in the beginning.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. OK. Let me ask you that. I mean, because he was struggling in the polls before this war. I mean, the Gaza war, very unpopular. But considering how popular this war in Iran is, do you think that might help him in the upcoming elections?

SCHEINDLIN: Well, certainly to the extent that his polling numbers were able to recover after October 7th, because they plunged after that, people saw that as the government's failures. It was primarily due to Israel taking more initiative to escalate in response to the attacks from the Middle East. And so, the attacks against Hezbollah and also Iran in 2024 and 2025 certainly contributed to his recovery.

But it's as if the prime minister and his party and his government have hit a ceiling in polls. And so, far, both in June 2025 and in the current war, we are not seeing an upward trend on the political level. In other words, when people are asked who they're voting for, the numbers, frankly, haven't changed at all, which is pretty remarkable, considering that usually in wartime you would see what we call a rally effect. And support for governments generally goes -- you know, spikes and goes way up during a war like this, especially a war that has such a strong consensus.

But I think what we're seeing is, again, that ceiling reflects the fact that Israeli society has such deeply entrenched opinions about Netanyahu. Israelis, of course, have been living under Netanyahu's rule almost unbroken since 2009. That's many years. They've been through so much with him that people's attitudes seem to be pretty set one way or the other.

It's still possible that given that the majority of Israelis, particularly among the Jewish population, do trust Netanyahu to handle this war, that that could drive his support upwards over the next month or two or, you know, maybe even until the elections. But so far, we haven't seen any evidence of that. It's just a possibility.

BRUNHUBER: We'll have to see. So, support for the war is high in Israel. But here in the U.S., it's the opposite. President Trump's numbers with the public as a whole, despite what we just heard about his support with the GOP, the public as a whole, it's underwater on Iran specifically. So, that leads to maybe the most important question, maybe somewhat unknowable. How does that gap in public opinion in those two countries shape what these two governments do next, do you think?

SCHEINDLIN: Yes. I mean, that's a very good question. The gap is there, as you pointed out. One of the things I've noticed about American public opinion is that in the first days of the war, there was, as you accurately pointed out, a majority who were opposed to it. But at least in Washington Post polling, that support is becoming -- a support and opposition are becoming a little more even. In other words, support has seen a slight rise. Opposition has gone somewhat down. And right now, American society is closer to split.

So, for one thing, we may see, you know, a change over time, actually, that favors the war, although we're not there yet in America. And the other thing is, I think you need to question whether Trump as a leader like Netanyahu really doesn't pay attention to overall majority polling or support. And primarily, it could be that these are leaders who aren't interested in what the majority of their public thinks. They really only care about their constituencies. And as your correspondent pointed out, very -- again, very accurately, the and perhaps surprisingly, the Republican poll respondents and all the polling I've seen have shown a very strong consensus, almost a consensus, a very strong majority in favor of how Trump is handling Iran and this war by contrast to what the MAGA elites, you know, the voices like Nick Fuentes and Tucker Carlson are saying, it seems like they are a little bit out of touch with that large majority of American Republican voters, at least poll respondents who are for the war. And President Trump may be paying attention just to them.

[04:30:00]

So, it's hard to say whether we're going to really see a split between the two countries, which for the most part, even though their interests do somewhat diverge, it would be more in Trump's interest to have a shorter war, whereas Israel under Prime Minister Netanyahu seems to want this war to go on for much longer until there's possibly regime change, et cetera. But I don't necessarily see that the difference in public opinion is going to lead to fundamentally different policies. Again, I think President Trump is primarily interested in his base.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Listen, you provide a fascinating window into how people in two different countries are thinking about this issue. Dahlia Scheindlin, thank you so much for being here with us.

SCHEINDLIN: Thank you for having me.

BRUNHUBER: All right. ahead, we'll have more on the war on Iran and the impact on the Gulf and go live to Doha for an update on continuing Iranian strikes across the Middle East. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.

We continue to follow the latest developments out of Iran. Video geolocated by CNN shows thick plumes of smoke over Esfahan, a major city in central Iran. State media say that several points were targeted by missiles from U.S. and Israeli fighter jets. One resident told CNN everywhere shook in the city and described it as horrifying.

Meanwhile, Iranian strikes continue across the Gulf. The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Doha have intercepted several missiles and drones and Kuwait reported damage to a radar system after their international airport was targeted. For more, I want to bring in CNN producer Matias Grez live from Doha. Matias, you're monitoring what's happening in the Gulf states. What more can you tell us?

[04:35:00]

MATIAS GREZ, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, Kim, well, fortunately for the team here in Doha, last night was a much quieter night than Friday night was when a couple of really loud explosions shook this area of the city that we're in. But just to give you a bit more information about those strikes that you mentioned across the region, Qatar's Ministry of Defense came out yesterday and said that it was targeted by four missiles and a number of drones on Saturday. The UAE said that it engaged nine ballistic missiles and 33 drones, while Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defense said that from last night and into the early hours of this morning, they intercepted 21 drones and six ballistic missiles.

And like you mentioned too, Kuwait's aviation authority saying its main airport, international airport there, had radar damage from a drone strike plus damage at another airbase. But look, these strikes are now having a huge impact on events that are supposed to be hosted here in the region. Formula 1 came out last night and said that the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was supposed to be hosted on April 12th, has been cancelled, as has the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix supposed to be hosted the following weekend on April 19th.

And similarly, just up the road here in Lusail, next Friday, we're supposed to have the Finalissima, a huge football match between Spain and Argentina. It was supposed to be the first time Lionel Messi, one of the greatest and most popular footballers of all time, was back in Qatar for the first time since lifting the World Cup with Argentina here in 2022. And that's obviously going to be a huge blow to local fans and to sponsors too. But these events have become real prestige events, Formula 1 in the region. Since Bahrain hosted the Middle East's first Grand Prix back in 2004, it has become a real key growth market, if not the key growth market for the sport and for many sports beyond Formula 1.

But on top of being key prestige events, these are also huge economic events for countries in the region, for the cities, for the areas in which they're hosted. They welcome tourists and businesses from all over the world. And of course, with two more races later this year in the region, in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, organizers will be hoping things die down in time for those to be hosted too.

BRUNHUBER: All right. so many repercussions. Matias Grez, thank you so much for being here with us. Well, North Korea is letting the U.S. and South Korea know it isn't happy about their latest joint military drills. Pyongyang launched a series of ballistic missiles on Saturday. That's according to the U.S. military. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command says the launches didn't pose an immediate threat to U.S. forces or its allies in the region.

I want to bring in CNN's Will Ripley, who joins us live from Taipei, Taiwan. So, Will, talk us through these missile launches.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we've had now three major missile tests just in the last little over a week, Kim. The latest ones that you're seeing here now involve these 600- millimeter kind of projectile rocket launchers that Kim Jong Un was actually seen driving through the streets of Pyongyang, according to state media, just a few weeks ago. Now, they've rolled them out on what looks like the runway at the Sunan Airport in Pyongyang, and they fired, North Korea says, 12 of them. So, this barrage of these rockets, and they flew for about four minutes, a little over 200 miles, hitting these tiny island targets in the sea just off the coast of North Korea.

So, North Korea is saying that the test is a success, obviously showing how they have the capability to roll these things out and launch them quickly. They're saying that nuclear warheads could be attached to these. And this comes just a matter of days after North Korea launched cruise missiles, a barrage of cruise missiles, from its newest flagship destroyer, the 5,000-ton Choe Hyon.

So, you now have, you know, this airport test. You had these two tests from this warship, this destroyer that North Korea is developing, still in the testing stages. They haven't officially launched it and made it, you know, sea-ready yet.

And at both of these tests, all three of them, actually, you have the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, and you have his teenage daughter, believed to be named Kim Ju Ae. So, the imagery there, Kim, his daughter, who a lot of people are saying could be in training to become his successor, and this growing arsenal of increasingly sophisticated weapons.

This happening, of course, in the backdrop of two events happening. One, on the Korean Peninsula, you have South Korean and U.S. military drills that are taking place. They happen every year, and every year, North Korea will often fire a missile or conduct some sort of a weapons test in response, because they feel that the U.S. and South Korea, by staging these war games, are essentially practicing an invasion, and they want to show how they can repel it.

But then you have, of course, the wider picture. Zooming out, you have the Iran War, and you have what happened to the leadership, the supreme leader of Iran, which, by the way, North Korea never actually reported to their own people that the supreme leader of Iran was killed in a United States and Israeli strike. And this is North Korea basically sending out a message that if another country, i.e., the United States, were to try anything like that on them, they have a nuclear arsenal, and they would certainly use it if they felt their sovereignty was being threatened again.

[04:40:00]

BRUNHUBER: Yes, interesting angle to all this. Well, Ripley in Taipei, thank you so much. All right. we'll be right back with more here on CNN Newsroom. Please do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: All right. We are just hours away from finding out who's walking away with Hollywood's top prizes. Final touches, as you can see, are being made to the red carpet out of Sunday's Academy Awards. Now, this year's competition for those Oscar statuettes is fierce, from "Sinners" record-breaking number of nominations to the highly anticipated battle for best actor with Michael B. Jordan and Timothee Chalamet among the top contenders.

For more on all of this, I want to bring in Segun Oduolowu, television host and Emmy Award-winning entertainment journalist. Thank you so much for being here with us. I appreciate it. So, I want to start with "Sinners," a vampire horror movie set in the Jim Crow South. The fact that it's broken the all-time record with 16 nominations, I mean, what does it say about where the Academy is right now, that they're embracing a genre film like this?

SEGUN ODUOLOWU, TV HOST AND ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST AND EMMY AWARD WINNING JOURNALIST: Well, first, good morning to you, Kim. And what it says is maybe hashtag Oscars not so white anymore. That's what it might actually mean. 16 nominations, as you mentioned, a record for that, including another nomination for Ruth E. Carter in costume design. She's already won two Oscars. So, if she wins again, which I expect her to do, would be a third.

But as you mentioned, it sets up not only the heavyweight battle of Michael B. Jordan versus Timothee Chalamet, it's also Ryan Coogler versus Paul Thomas Anderson and "Sinners" versus "One Battle After Another." So, this really is the movie that has had the longest runway.

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We've been talking about "Sinners" since early in 2025. And now, in 2026. It's ready to reap the rewards of being such a well-done film.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Well, see, I want to dial into the best actor race. I mean, it's been a bit of a roller coaster. Timothee Chalamet looked like a lock early on with his Golden Globe and Critics Choice wins. But then Michael B. Jordan pulled off the upside of the Actor Award. So, how do you see that playing out tonight?

ODUOLOWU: Well, you hit the nail on the head. Timothee Chalamet came out with "Marty Supreme" and he was everywhere. He's standing on the sphere in Vegas and he's promoting this film as if it's, you know, as if it's oxygen and every time he opened his mouth, he needed to do something just so he could breathe.

But what "Sinners" did is that slow burn. It came out. Everyone was talking about it. And then because it came out so early, other movies started to creep into our collective conscious. But then Michael B. Jordan wins at the Actors Awards and he gives that speech that is so touching. It's so moving and it reminds everyone just how important his acting was in that film. He played three roles, right? The brother played three roles. Timothee Chalamet played one. He played a set of vampire twins and a set of twins and then a vampire in the film. So, he did more. That movie was what everyone was talking about.

And I think "Marty Supreme," because it came out later, Timothee Chalamet was everywhere trying to make up for lost time. He did it in the early awards with the Golden Globes, which splits for comedy and drama. But I don't think there's going to be a -- there is no split at the Oscars. I think this is Michael B. Jordan's award to win.

BRUNHUBER: Interesting prediction. All right. So, best actress. I mean, Jessie Buckley pretty much swept every major award this season for "Hamnet." Any chance of an upset in that category? ODUOLOWU: The only upset I think is possibly Rose Byrne. As you had already mentioned about the Golden Globes. And I said they split, right? So, Rose Byrne won in comedy. Jesse Buckley won in drama. At the Oscars, there is no split. So, she's going up, Jessie Buckley is going up against someone who won the Golden Globe as well in their category. It's Buckley's to lose. She's the frontrunner. But I think Rose Byrne is the dark horse that maybe could walk across that stage.

BRUNHUBER: All right. I want to take a side trip sort of away from the awards themselves and look at the host. I mean, Conan O'Brien has said that his job is sort of to walk that very thin line between entertaining people and acknowledging what's happening in the real world. I mean, with everything going on in politics right now, do you see winners sort of using that stage to speak out tonight?

ODUOLOWU: If Sean Penn wins for best supporting actor in one battle after another, most definitely you're going to get a political statement because that's who Sean Penn is. For goodness' sake, he sat down with El Chapo in Mexico and he went to Haiti to try and rebuild the country. He is very civic-minded and very conscious when it comes to the things that he says and the stances that he takes.

But I think it's really going to be on our brethren who are on the red carpet. Are they going to ask these actors and actresses as they walk the red carpet the questions about what's going on in the world? Because once the ceremony starts, a few actors and actresses might make some type of statement with a pin or wearing something on the red carpet. I don't think it will be as prominent as what we saw at the Golden Globes with the commentary about what was going on in Gaza.

But for the Oscars, I think our collective consciousness is split on how many people feel about the war that's going on in Iran. And I don't know if these actors and actresses have had enough time to sit with it other than looking at high gas prices. So, Sean Penn, for sure, maybe some of the more conscious-minded actors and actresses who are foreign-born. If Chloe Zhao wins for "Hamnet" or if Wagner Moura was to win, the Brazilian actor who's up for best actor, he might say something like he did at the Golden Globes. But other than that, I think it will be kind of light on the political front.

BRUNHUBER: All right. 30 seconds left. The heavyweight clash, as you termed it. Best picture, "Sinners" versus "One Battle After Another." Which way do you think it's going to go?

ODUOLOWU: Oh, listen, listen, I'm a good church-born guy. I'm praying for "Sinners." I'm praying for "Sinners."

BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll see whether that comes to pass. I really appreciate getting your take on this. Segun Oduolowu, thank you so much for joining us. I really appreciate it.

ODUOLOWU: Good to talk with you, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll be right back here on CNN Newsroom. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: High-impact storm system is bringing a dangerous mix of severe thunderstorms, heavy snow, and strong winds to a big chunk of the United States this weekend. CNN Meteorologist Chris Warren has the forecast.

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CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're tracking a massive winter storm and record heat. First, the winter storm with blizzard warnings up and winter weather alerts spanning more than a dozen states and will be impacting more than 20 million people. This will be a big-time snow producer as well. Even just outside of Minneapolis, it is possible there could be two feet of snow.

The upper peninsula of Michigan, possibly three feet of snow with this. Dangerous travel can be expected, and this same system that will be working through the Great Lakes and eventually off into the Northeast will bring some dangerous severe thunderstorms as well. So, this threat continuing throughout the day Sunday and into Monday. And the threat for severe thunderstorms includes damaging winds. Tornadoes can't be ruled out. That's a possibility. Also, large hail continues again here on Monday now from Florida all the way up to upstate New York.

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Then the temperatures, have you noticed that? How different it has been in just a couple of days in the east while the serious heat is going to be expanding here in the west. First, a look at these temperatures. That after seeing readings in some areas well into the 70s, even near 80s in the eastern time zone, Monday will be another day relatively mild in the 50s in Boston to around 60 degrees in New York and 70 in D.C.

But by Tuesday, that cold air settles in. And these are high temperatures, high right around 39 degrees in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, in the west, still the beginning of this heat with the heat that's going to linger through much of the week. And for Los Angeles, 80 degrees here on Sunday, 91 by Tuesday, and Phoenix, 98 degrees. You're going to be well into the triple digits by the end of the week. And with that, the potential is there with possibly more than 300 daily records falling in the coming days.

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BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll leave you with this. Chicago's uniquely colorful St. Patrick's Day tradition took place on Saturday morning. Now, as you probably know, each year, the city embraces Ireland's patron saint by turning its river green. Thousands of onlookers watched as a local plumbing union cast the emerald dye along Chicago's main waterway. The luminous green color can last anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days, depending on weather conditions in the windy city. All right. That wraps this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more news in just a moment.

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