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Homan Prepares To Deploy ICE Agents To U.S. Airports; Trump Threatens To Target Iran's Energy Infrastructure; Rising Prices, Rising Pain; Iran Attacks Two Israel Cities; Search For Nancy Guthrie Continues. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired March 22, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

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JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're in the "CNN Newsroom." Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York. And tonight, lines wrapping around airports as President Trump's border czar Tom Homan is preparing to deploy ICE agents to U.S. airports to help understaffed and currently unpaid TSA officers. It's unclear exactly how they're going to help. Questions about that.

Plus, more than 400 of those officers have already quit since the partial government shutdown began. And on Saturday, more than 11 percent of TSA workers called out with some of the nation's busiest airports saying more than a third of officers call out.

In D.C., Congress, still at a stalemate over DHS immigration enforcement tactics and the negotiations to reopen DHS and fund TSA. Tom Homan telling CNN sending ICE agents into the airports is the right move.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HOMAN, BORDER CZAR: This is about going -- helping TSA do their mission and get the American public through that airport as quick as it can while adhering to all the security guidelines and the protocols. We're simply there to help TSA do their job in areas that don't need their specialized expertise such as, you know, screening through the x-ray machine. Not trained in that? We won't do that. But there are roles we can play to release TSA officers from the non- significant roles such as guarding an exit so they can get back to the scanning machines and move people quicker.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Senate Majority Leader John Thune saying this afternoon that the DHS funding talks are now hitting pause. Those are his words. He says Republicans are waiting for Democrats to respond to an offer from the White House. Now, the Senate is supposed to go on recess, spring recess, in the coming days. And the question is, can they get this done before they leave Washington? We don't know.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino joining us now from Newark, New Jersey. What are you seeing there today, Gloria?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jessica, you know, as we are starting to get into the evening rush on Sunday when many people travel either to their destination or if they've been vacationing here in the area, they're heading home, we are starting to see a bit of a pickup in terms of wait times.

But things here at Newark International have been very much under control right now. We're seeing a wait time of less than 15 minutes. But I do want to show you what the lines look like. You can see that the lines are moving. There are quite a number of people who are lined up trying to get into those checkpoints to put their bags through. But for the most part, things have been organized. People are flowing through the line.

And a lot of the passengers I spoke to here today told me that they came prepared for the possibility that they would have to wait for several hours. I spoke to several people who told me they came in four, five, six hours earlier than their flight just to play it safe. So, a lot of people were relieved to see that the wait times here in Newark are not so long.

But that is certainly not the case at several of the other airports around the country. We're seeing significant delays at LaGuardia, J.F. Kennedy Airport in New York City. Also, at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, that's seeing delays of more than an hour. So, it really varies depending on where you are and what time you are flying out.

Now, another thing that is getting a lot of mixed reaction from passengers here today is President Trump's plan to deploy ICE officers into the airports as he tries to make up for this staffing gap. TSA workers not showing up to work because they're not being paid, and that is the reason why we're seeing these big lines.

I spoke to several people here today who told me that if it's going to get them moving faster, they are OK with it. But I also heard from some passengers who said they don't think ICE officers are what the airport needs right now.

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CHELSEA PETERSON, TRAVELLER: I think it's a bad idea.

PAZMINO: You don't think that?

PETERSON: No, because I don't think anyone wants to see them right now.

JODIE SEIFF, TRAVELLER: That's unacceptable, too.

PAZMINO: Tell me why.

SEIFF: Because they're not educated to the processes.

PAZMINO: Yes. SEIFF: So, how are they going to keep us safe?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, also a lot of frustration from passengers who told me that they just want their lawmakers, their representatives to get this over with, to come to the table and start paying TSA workers to end this partial government shutdown and get their representatives to really solve this issue quickly.

[17:05:03]

Now, TSA absentee rates continuing to climb. We've been seeing that hovering at around 9 percent. And also, resignations from the agency. They have crossed -- more than 400 people have already quit their TSA jobs since the shutdown. That's according to the Department of Homeland Security. Jessica?

DEAN: All right, Gloria Pazmino there in Newark, thank you so much. And this is just a direct result of what we're seeing in this partial government shutdown for the Department of Homeland Security and it highlights the need for some sort of deal to get things back open and running, but it's not clear at this point if there's any deal in sight. And today, Senate Republicans were focused elsewhere.

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SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): Mr. President, it's rare for the Senate to be in session on a Sunday. Needless to say, the fact that we are here today tells you that what we're doing is important work, and that is the Save America Act.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): The Senate is in session once again this weekend. And, once again, Republicans are doing nothing productive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Meanwhile, as we noted, TSA agents are struggling to make ends meet after more than a month without a paycheck coming in.

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ALONDRA GALVAN, TSA AGENT: Financial restraint to mental instability. I mean, there are times where I'm like at night, it's like, what am I going to do? My son usually goes to spring break camps, and I can't afford that right now because -- I mean, there's no money coming in and it's just I don't know what to do anymore. There's no babysitter. I'm at my last, like, almost a hundred dollars. I just put gas in my car. That was $50. I don't know how I'm going to do it within the next two weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Camila DeChalus is joining us now from Capitol Hill. She has been there throughout the day. And Camila, we heard from John Thune, the Senate majority leader. He says these talks are taking a pause as they wait to hear from Democrats. What more can you tell us about where we stand?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right. Just the other day, Jessica, I heard from both Democratic and Republican senators, and they expressed optimism. They said that, you know what, we're taking steps in the right direction, we're really going to the table talking about reforms that we want to be seeing made on several federal agencies under the Department of Homeland Security. But just today, this tone slightly changed.

We've heard from several of these senators that just took part in a lot of these meetings that they had with the Trump's-appointed border czar, Tom Homan, and they're saying that, you know, those talks have really slowed down. And as the Senate majority leader, John Thune, mentioned, they've now hit a pause.

Now, where things currently stand, what we're hearing is that the White House and Republicans, they sent a counter offer to Democrats really outlining what concessions that they're willing to make around these reforms to agencies like CBP and ICE, and we're hearing that they're really waiting for Democrats to respond.

Now, I've talked to some Democrat senators saying, what is the holdup here? And they're saying that, you know, with everything that's going on, this partial government shutdown lasting for more than 30 days, there really is an urgency to get something done. But they made it very clear that they want to see concrete plans on what reforms are going to take place on these agencies before they can support any funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

Right now, on Capitol Hill, there are even talks about how they're trying to move forward with the nomination of Republican Senator Mullin to helm the top position at the Department of Homeland Security. And they're still saying that does not change their position, that they want to see these reforms.

The Department of Homeland Security has been under intense scrutiny just in these past few months, just given the recent events that took place in Minneapolis. And so, they're saying, that is what we're hearing the American people really want. Yes, we know this partial government shutdown is happening, but we really want to see these reforms being made before we can support any funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

So, even though these talks have kind of slowed down, we're still hearing a little bit of optimism that in the upcoming days, they're going to start keep progressing. But there's really right now a response. Right now, we're hearing that they're trying to wait for Democrats to respond back to the latest counter proposal that was just offered by the White House before these talks begin.

DEAN: Also, as you noted, the Senate is in set -- was in session today, a rare weekend session. And part of their work today was this procedural vote to advance the nomination of Markwayne Mullin, the Republican senator to be the Homeland Security Secretary. We saw a couple of Democrats joining Republicans in that procedural vote. What -- tell us about that and what comes next. PAZMINO: That's right. It has been a long time coming just in the sense that in this past week, we've heard from both Democrats and Republicans, them wanting to hear Mullin really outline what his priorities and what his leadership would potentially look like if he does resume this top position at the Department of Homeland Security, and even after he attended a confirmation hearing just really outlining what he wants to prioritize.

[17:09:58]

I even personally spoken to him about what he oversees for the Department of Homeland Security, and he says that he wants to get it back on track. Just these past few months, the Department of Homeland Security has really come under intense scrutiny. And so, he's really saying, we want to progress and move this forward.

But this is amid a partial government shutdown when hundreds and thousands of federal employees are now going without pay because the shutdown has continued. And so, there's a lot at stake right now, not just with these talks progressing with funding for the Department of Homeland Security, but also about questions of whether the Department of Homeland Security is going to get new leadership.

DEAN: Yes. And interesting to see two Democratic senators, Martin Heinrich and John Fetterman, crossing the aisle to support Mullin. We'll see if they ultimately support it. Sounds like they both will, his final nomination vote. Camila DeChalus, thank you so much. Appreciate that.

Former TSA administrator during the Obama administration, John Pistole, joins us now. He also previously served as deputy FBI director. Thank you so much for being with us. We really appreciate it. I'm glad you're here because I think there are so many questions that people have about what sending ICE agents to the airports will functionally do. Can you help us understand? Because I think the administration has questions, too, about exactly how that's going to work. But from your perspective, how might that help the situation or not help the situation?

JOHN PISTOLE, FORMER ADMINISTRATOR, TSA: Well, I think, as was reported earlier, the border czar, Tom Homan, outlined that the ICE agents would not be doing any screening at TSA checkpoints. They would be relieving TSA officers who in some airports, you know, there are 425 plus airports where TSA works here in the U.S., some of those have TSA officers at the exit lanes. And so, that would be one place to free up those officers, to go back to checkpoints, and to help facilitate the in-person checks.

And then there are some other areas perhaps with queue, the line control, the helping people get to where they're designated to be, and if there's a TSA pre-check, make sure they can get there and don't have to wait in the regular line.

So, I think as long as the ICE agents are not involved in the actual personal screening -- look, they don't have the policies, the protocols or the practices, the experience to know what to do. So, what happens if there's alarm? How do you resolve that? So, I think it could work and hopefully will work if that's what the decision is made, but just not to have them doing the TSA screening job, which takes some training and experience.

DEAN: Yes. And talk about that training a little bit so people know maybe what the difference would be between if you're training to be a TSA officer versus an ICE officer.

PISTOLE: Well, clearly, the TSA officers are not sworn law enforcement. The Federal Air Marshals, which are part of TSA, of course, are sworn law enforcement. But the ICE agents are sworn law enforcement. And so, it's a different protocol.

And even though they may do some border work along with Custom Border Protection, it's different screening people getting onto an airplane where maybe you're dealing with computer tomography in terms of a checkpoint. Oh, well, how do you resolve that alarm? What do you do if somebody says they have an artificial joint or, you know, something dealing with their heart or something? How do they resolve that?

So, again, I don't think it's a good idea that they actually help in the facilitation at the checkpoint, going through the checkpoints and security protocols with some of those other ancillary duties and responsibilities that TSA currently has.

But the bottom line is, as long as there's no funding, then there's going to be increased, I believe, call-outs, people calling out sick or just -- they've got to get gig job or something to make some money so they can pay for child care, they can pay the babysitter, you know, all those different things, food on the table.

And, oh, by the way, this is all going on while we're at war with Iran, who has some vested interests in trying to do something against us. And what better opportunity for a disgruntled person who aligns with Iran? Just to walk into any terminal at any major airport with one or two automatic weapons, semi-automatic weapons, and just open fire on the crowds.

That's where the airport police do a really good job, but they're spread too thin. So, that's something else that ICE could help do as a visible deterrent to that putative terrorist who might want to walk in and do something. That has been done at LAX, unfortunately, and some other airports around the world.

DEAN: Yes, it's certainly a scary thought. As you and I are talking, we have the wait times at various airports kind of clicking through here on the screen. And, for example, it's 180 minutes at Houston. Well, it was 100. Now, it's 7 and 6 minutes at Houston Havre and 6 minutes at Denver.

[17:15:02]

The point being that, as we watch these go, there is a discrepancy in different airports. Obviously, each of them has their own thing going on. But there's also some airports where TSA is more private, others public. How people understand kind of how this is facilitated across the country?

PISTOLE: Right. So, when TSA was created by Congress in 2001 following the 9-11 attacks, there was a provision in the legislation that allowed any airport operator to present themselves as a private operator, meaning the frontline workforce still supervised by TSA employees, managers and executives. But the frontline workforce, as in San Francisco, Kansas City, the two largest ones, that's a privatized workforce. And so, that has always been an opportunity.

There has been about two dozen over the years. During my time as administrator, we had 24. I think it's down around 20 now. So, that might be something that airport operators and administration look at to say, is there a better solution that we're not dependent on Congress doing something to get and provide the pay and benefits for the TSA officers because they have to show up for their work? That being said, I don't think that's a good solution to solve a problem that is a political problem.

And, oh, by the way, there's also the 9-11 aviation security fee, a third of which is diverted. I think it's 1.6 billion last year away from the TSA budget. That's why the fee was put on at $5.60 per segment, 11.20 for a round trip. That money should be going to TSA. That shouldn't be going to federal budget deficit reduction. And so, that would help out significantly.

Congress still have to do that, but that's something they could do tomorrow if they're in session. So, there are some solutions. They just have to have reasonable people looking at reasonable solutions. There's no perfect solution. They call it compromise.

DEAN: They call it compromise. We'll see if we can get some. John Pistole, thank you so much. It's good to see you. We appreciate it.

PISTOLE: Thank you.

DEAN: Yes. And just a reminder, you can check your wait times for any airport you may be going to by going to CNN.com. You've got them all listed there. Still to come, the clock is ticking as President Trump threatens to strike Iran's power plants unless Tehran reopens Strait of Hormuz by tomorrow night. Also, the Guthrie family is speaking out as the investigation into the disappearance of their mother, Nancy, appears to hit a wall. The growing frustrations and calls for a new sheriff. We will have more on that.

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DEAN: Tonight, there's just over 26 hours left on President Trump's timeline for Iran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz or risk an escalation in the war. Trump threatening to, in his words, hit and obliterate Iran's power plants, he says, starting with the biggest one first. These are Iran's three largest power plants by output. There's also one nuclear power reactor in operation as well. And asked whether targeting energy infrastructure could constitute a war crime, here is the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Walz, this morning.

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MIKE WALTZ, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: I would encourage and will encourage the secretary general to point out the 20 to 30,000 Iranians that the regime massacred at scale.

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DEAN: And we are joined now by CNN political and national security analyst and New York Times correspondent David Sanger and CNN global affairs analyst Kim Dozier. Good to see both of you. David, I'll start first with you. This threat that the president put out last night, this 48-hour threat, how realistic is that and where do you see this going?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES: Well, one possibility, Jessica, is that the president thinks this is a way to kickstart diplomacy in the region and that he can get some of the Gulf countries to intercede, mediate, and get the Strait of Hormuz open. I'm not sure that can happen in a 48-hour time period. And if so, we have not yet seen it. It's possible this is going on behind the scenes.

It does set up the possibility, though, that this could turn out to be a real crisis for the president if the deadline comes and passes, that would be Monday evening, and the strait still is not open. I mean, he could begin to take an action against those power plants.

But it was only last week that he was asking Israel not to hit power plants, other energy- producing sites for fear that the Iranians would retaliate by doing the same in the Gulf and that there would be a deeper crisis. There's possibility the moment could go by and he wouldn't do that, but then the Iranians might detect some form of weakness.

So, I'm not entirely sure why he set up a red line where it's not clear what would happen thereafter, particularly if the Iranians ignore it.

DEAN: Right. And Kim, that's what I wanted to ask you, is if we pass this 48-hour deadline -- excuse me -- and there's no action, then what? Does he back it -- does he kind of unnecessarily back himself into a corner?

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KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yes. To double down on David's point, I mean, President Trump is handing the Iranians rope with which to hang himself. You do not take on an enemy in a situation like this when they are still armed and still able to follow through with many of their threats. The Iranians have only put a few mines in the Strait of Hormuz, keeping it open apparently so that they can basically charge a fee and be the toll bridge master of who goes through, who goes in and out.

But if they're pushed into a corner, they will fight an all-out war. They still have plenty of weaponry and capability in the southern Zagros Mountains, which are the area that is above the Strait of Hormuz, to harass ships that go through. And basically, the whole miscalculation from the beginning of this has been, who can take more pain? The Iranians have consistently shown that they can take more pain, and they don't have midterms coming up this fall.

DEAN: That's an interesting point. So, wait, I want go back to something Kim touched on, David, which is that an Iranian source told CNN that Tehran is moving forward with monetizing control over the Strait of Hormuz, and that seems to be a reference to these reports of like payments of $2 million per tanker to pass through kind of thing. What does that tell you about how Iran is viewing these threats and, again, the pain threshold that Kim is talking about?

SANGER: You know, I think the Iranians recognize that the strait and their control over it and their ability to do harm to the global economy is the one real weapon they have left. They're running out of missiles. They don't have a navy. They don't have much of an air force left. But they do have the ability to have this degree of control and still cause some chaos elsewhere.

And so, the question is, how well can they play that? Can they monetize it in order to bring in revenue? Can they uh use it to cause pain to the U.S. and to the West? And, you know, so you get that we're in this odd situation where the president or Secretary Hegseth stands up and they describe the number of military targets that they've hit, missiles, airplane, ships, and so forth, but that doesn't get at the question of whether or not they've been able to stop the Iranians from making use of this weapon. And that's what we're about to discover in the next 24 hours.

DEAN: Yes, that's the underline. That is the thing to watch. Kim, one of Iran's highest-ranking surviving officials appeared to snub the U.S. decision to ease these sanctions on some Iranian oil, again easing the sanctions on the oil while we're at war with Iran, writing on X -- quote -- "Sorry, we're sold out." What do you read into that response and this decision, this strategic move?

DOZIER: The Iranians are so good at messaging. Look, they know that the U.S. has lifted those sanctions not to benefit Iran, but to try to head off some sort of economic apocalypse that they're staring at with fuel prices rising and having possibly knock on effect on food prices, et cetera.

All along, watching this, I'm struck by -- you know, I've always been taught by military folks, one of the keys to winning a war is message discipline. And we are getting the opposite from President Trump. Instead, he is personifying, you know, instead of never let them see you sweat. Every single day, a different message that seems to be driven by some form, some degree of panic, and the Iranians are enjoying that.

DEAN: And David, just lastly to you on that, on that topic of messaging, what is your sense of the White House and how they're -- how they're thinking about the messaging on this? Do they think that this is, like, going really well and they're pleased with the messaging on this or where would you say they are from their perspective?

SANGER: Well, their problem is that the president himself, as Kim has suggested, has been inconsistent in his messaging. And so, if you look at the list of accomplishments that he put out the other night, on Friday night when he said that he was thinking about winding down American participation, he had watered down the nuclear demands. Previously, it had been to get all of the nuclear material out of a country, which is essentially what happened in 2015 under the Obama era agreement. Suddenly, he was saying, we just need to be able to react quickly if it looks like they're going for a weapon. Well, you could have done that before the attacks.

[17:29:57]

He was completely missing the support for the protesters or any demand that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the clerical government not be running Iran which, right now, they still look like they're doing. So, the big question is, can the president hold to a set of objectives that are pretty close to what he announced when the war began on February 28th? He has wandered a good distance from those.

DEAN: All right, David Sanger and Kim Dozier, good to see you both. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

SANGER: Thank you.

DEAN: Thanks. So, is your wallet better off now than it was a few months ago? Harry Enten is going to run the numbers on that. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

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DEAN: Three weeks into the war with Iran, rising gas prices could erase any windfall Americans get from tax refunds resulting from President Trump's big, beautiful bill. The national average for regular unleaded now inching close to $4 a gallon. That's up a dollar from last month.

And with many people saying they're spending more at the grocery store and on other shopping trips, it raises the questions of whether Americans do feel if they're better off economically than they were before President Trump retook the White House. And Harry Enten is here to focus on that and run the numbers. Harry?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Hey there, Jessica. Happy Sunday to you. Look, a lot of the political tension over the last month has been about the Iran war, but voters are telling us over and over again that it's the economy. It's the economy that will matter like it does for most elections.

And new numbers out from CBS News. If I were in the White House, only one word to describe them. Yikes. Yikes. My goodness. I mean, just take a look here. Trump will or is making you financially worse off or better off. You go back to just before Trump was reelected to a second term. The plurality said better off at 44 percent. That number has fallen through the floor. Now, we're talking just 18 percent. Just 18 percent say Trump's policies are making them better off.

And that plurality in favor of better off has switched to a majority saying worse off. Look at this. Up like a rocket. From 38 percent in October of 2024 up there now to 53 percent of Americans saying Trump's policies are making them worse off fiscally. So, that is now a 35- point margin in favor of worse off compared to a six-point margin in terms of favor of better off just before the election. That's -- what is that? An over 40-point switcheroo.

Among independents who, of course, ultimately usually decide the elections here in the United States of America, the numbers are even more troublesome for the White House. Take a look here. OK, independent, in Indies, Trump will or is making you fiscally worse off, better off. Just before the election, the slight plurality though within the margin of error said better off, 40 percent to 38 percent worse off.

Come over to this side of the screen. Look at this. Three in five Americans who are independents say that Trump is making them worse off financially, 60 percent. Now, just 13 percent of independents say Trump is making them better off financially. That's a 47-point margin in favor of worse off compared to a two-point margin in favor of better off just before Trump was re-elected. That's a nearly 50-point switcheroo.

Now, ultimately, this puts Trump in company, historic company you don't want to be. He's the leader of the pack or last in the pack when it comes to 21st century presidents and how Americans are viewing them on the economy, at least among independents. Look at this. Twenty- first century presidents, economic net approval ratings at this point in term two among independents. Trump is 48 points underwater. Just one in five independents -- excuse me, just one in four independents say that they approve of the job that he is doing when it comes to the economy.

His net approval rating on the economy among independents, twice as bad as Barack Obama's was at this point, who was 25 points underwater, and double digits worse than George W. Bush was among independents, according to CBS News at this point when it comes to the economy.

Look, these are numbers that if I were a Republican running for Congress, I would be shaking in place because there's really nowhere to hide if you're a Republican running for Congress and President Trump is in this bad of shape among independents and Americans overall when it comes to the economy. Jessica, back to you. DEAN: All right, Harry Enten, thanks so much. Still to come, Iran ramping up its attacks on Israel overnight, injuring dozens of people and causing some serious damage there. We're going to have an update from Jerusalem. That's next.

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[17:40:00]

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DEAN: People in two southern Israeli cities are dealing with the aftermath of Iranian missile attacks that injured dozens overnight. These are pictures of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assessing damage in Arad where one of the missiles struck. He condemned Tehran for targeting civilian areas. Dimona was also hit in a separate attack last night. That city is home to Israel's nuclear program. And some stunning video shows the moment that missile, that Iranian missile, made impact.

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DEAN: Iranian state media saying that attack was retaliation for a strike on Iran's Natanz nuclear facility. The Israeli military saying it's not familiar with any new attack on that site, though the U.S. did target the Natanz complex back in June of last year.

Let's bring in CNN Jerusalem bureau chief Oren Liebermann. Oren, tell us more about what we know about Iran's strategy in targeting these two Israeli towns and what are things like tonight.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, between these two strikes on Saturday night, more than a hundred people were taken to the hospital following the strikes on Arad and Dimona, according to Israel's emergency response service, Magen David Adom.

One of Israel's leading Iran experts says the ability to carry out a strike on Dimona, targeting the nuclear program there in response to what Iran said was an Israeli-U.S. strike on Natanz's nuclear facility, shows that Iranian military still has command and control. It's still able to manage an escalation ladder and to signal through deterrence.

Now, why is this so significant right now? That's because President Donald Trump has warned Iran that if they don't open the Strait of Hormuz, he'll start striking Iran's power plants, and Iran has said they would retaliate.

[17:45:00]

So, if this Israel -- this Iran expert in Israel is right, Danny Citrinowicz, then we could see Iran escalate more, especially if Trump decides that he will start striking power plants. Iran has already shown it can attack Gulf oil and energy facilities in the area. So, that, too, may increase, which would hurt even more when it comes to gas prices and the price of oil and energy.

DEAN: Yes. And Oren, what other kind of strengths have we seen in the region since Saturday?

LIEBERMANN: We have seen just today a number of sirens warning of incoming missiles across the country, at least nine or so by my count, starting early in the morning and there was one just a short time ago. One of those missiles, a suspected cluster missile, according to Israel's military, landed in central Israel in Tel Aviv.

One of those bomblets landed in HaBima Square, damaging a car and hitting a road there. That's also significant because HaBima Square, underneath there, is one of Tel Aviv's main shelters. There were also number of other reported impacts in that area as we've seen.

There was also a strike or an impact in northern Israel, in the community of Misgav Am right on the Lebanese border. The Israeli military had initially said that that was from a missile from Lebanon, suspected Hezbollah missile, but they are now examining the possibility that it was friendly fire that led to the fire and the cars destroyed on the northern border and killed one Israeli who was inside one of those cars.

Jessica, Israel's military has said they're intercepting about 92 percent of Iran's ballistic missiles, but you can see what happens when even one manages to get through.

DEAN: Yes, no doubt about it. All right, Oren Liebermann with the latest from Jerusalem, thank you very much for that. It has been seven weeks since Nancy Guthrie disappeared and her family has a new plea for the public. We'll hear from them. You're in the "CNN newsroom."

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[17:50:00]

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DEAN: A new plea from the family of Nancy Guthrie asking for renewed attention in the search for their missing mother. In a statement shared on social media, they're urging people in her Arizona community to go back through camera footage, journal notes, text messages, conversations, writing, "No detail is too small. It may be the key." As a reminder, the 84-year-old was last seen January 31st when she disappeared from her home outside Tucson without her phone or critical medications.

CNN's Ed Lavandera has the latest now on the search and the growing pressure to find answers.

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ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seven weeks after Nancy Guthrie was taken from her Tucson home, the sheriff in charge says it's still an active investigation.

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

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

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

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LAVANDERA (voice-over): And frustration with the public face of the investigation is also simmering.

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

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LAVANDERA (voice-over): 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.

LAVANDERA: You feel a connection to the Guthrie family --

TAMMY TACHO, SISTER OF MISSING BOY: Oh, yes.

LAVANDERA: -- because you know their pain.

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

LAVANDERA (voice-over): In 1991, Tammy Tacho's brother, Jimmy, disappeared. He was 12 years old.

LAVANDERA: 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.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): 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 (voice-over): 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 all right.

TACHO: I'll try.

LAVANDERA: Thirty-five years doesn't ease that pain.

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

LAVANDERA (voice-over): 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.

LAVANDERA: How did you raise that money?

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

LAVANDERA: Car washes and selling cakes?

TACHO: Yes.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The Nancy Guthrie reward sits at over a million dollars.

LAVANDERA: What would you tell the Guthrie family right now?

TACHO: To don't give up hope. So, hang in there and please don't lose hope because it led me up to 35 years out of lose hope to find --

(CRYING)

I'm so sorry.

LAVANDERA: 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.

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[17:55:04]

LAVANDERA (on camera): 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.

DEAN: All right, Ed, thank you very much for that. We'll be right back.

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