Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Two Killed at a Runway Collision in New York's LaGuardia Airport; Volunteer Ambulances Set Fire at an Anti-Semitic Attack in London; Trump Gives Ultimatum on the Strait of Hormuz. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired March 23, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is CNN Breaking News.

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. Let's get to our breaking news.

The Federal Aviation Administration has lifted a ground stop at LaGuardia Airport in New York after a runway collision involving an Air Canada plane, but the airport itself does still remain closed. A Port Authority statement says the plane collided with one of their aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicles as it responded to a separate incident.

And we now do have a recording of the air traffic control audio that took place at the time of that collision. Take a listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

TOWER: Frontier 4195, just stop there please. Stop, truck one, stop.

Truck one, stop.

JAZZ 646, I see you collided with the vehicle. Just hold position, I know you can't move. Vehicles are responding to you now.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HUNTE: We will have more on that later.

Some more news for you. Senate Republican Leader John Thune says some headway has been made in Washington on talks to reopen the Department of Homeland Security. The Senate stayed in session over the weekend to hammer out the details, but talks are paused for now until Democrats responded to the latest offer from the White House, which still doesn't address their demands to outlaw face masks for ICE agents and mandate the use of judicial warrants.

Here's what conversation sounded like on the Senate floor on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD), U.S. SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: 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), U.S. SENATE MINORITY LEADER: The Senate is in session once again this weekend, and once again, Republicans are doing nothing productive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Hundreds of TSA workers have now quit since the start of the shutdown due to no pay. But in the coming hours, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will be deployed to help the understaffed agency. Border Czar Tom Homan says their only purpose is to help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HOMAN, U.S. BORDER CZAR: My opinion is that we concentrate on airports where the longest waits are.

We prioritize those. A large airport with a long wait, like three hours. I think we've got to prioritize what we do like we do everything else.

This is about helping the men and women of TSA. They've lost several hundred employees. The lines are really slow because of the shutdown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Earlier, I spoke with Larry Sabato, the director for the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. I asked him just how politically risky this decision is to deploy ICE officers into U.S. airports for Trump and his administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA-CENTER FOR POLITICS: The two sides were actually moving toward a potential compromise. They were exchanging ideas and some senior people had gotten involved. And then President Trump comes up with this.

Now, why would it affect whether a compromise can be reached?

Because if Democrats decide to go with the compromise now, it will appear that Trump's strategy worked. That they did it because ICE was being deployed to the airports. So it was very poorly timed.

And, of course, you have to ask, Ben, what could possibly go wrong with ICE agents being thrown into airports with incredibly long lines, people feverish and angry? And we know, frankly, that a certain portion of ICE has been very poorly trained.

HUNTE: And I was reading today about concerns that people have about their phones being checked and social media being checked and immigration status being checked before boarding domestic flights, which is fascinating. Voters are already dealing with long lines and disruption at these airports. If this does drag on, who is most likely to take the political blame here and how does that play into the broader election landscape that we're seeing this year?

SABATO: The Republicans have been running a coordinated program, and it's been effective in a sense, to blame the Democrats, claiming that it's the Democrats' refusal to go along. But, in fact, if you examine closely the back and forth on this, you can see that, at the very least, you can say it's both sides.

And you could also make a good argument that the Republicans simply won't agree to serious limitations on ICE. And ICE is currently the most unpopular branch of the American government, even more than the IRS, incredibly, and we're approaching tax season.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:05:06]

HUNTE: Let's get back to our breaking news at LaGuardia Airport. CNN's Gloria Pazmino joins us live from New York with the latest. Gloria, what is happening over there now?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on the phone): Yes, Ben, we have actually just gotten a little bit closer to the site of this incident. We now have a better, much clearer view of the massive emergency response, which is unfolding as we speak.

There are several emergency vehicles that are responding to this incident. And I can just see right on the runway this airplane with its nose pointing upward and you can see the front of the airplane where the cockpit would have been is completely destroyed.

And you can see there are still several emergency vehicles around it, as well as first responders that are walking around the aircraft.

Now, here's what I can tell you about what happened. This happened shortly after 11:30 this evening, local time, here in New York City. This is a Jazz Aviation flight, which was operating on behalf of Air Canada.

And we are told that this flight struck a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue Vehicle, which was responding to a separate incident at the time.

Now, we know that this flight was coming in from Canada. It was flying in from Montreal Trudeau International Airport. It left the airport shortly after 10:30 p.m. Eastern time and landed at LaGuardia about an hour later.

We believe that the collision happened almost immediately after the plane landed. Now, the plane, we know, was approaching the airport from the south. And it was traveling at about 130 miles per hour just before it hit that vehicle, that's according to --

(TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES) HUNTE: Gloria, are you still there?

Okay, we appear to have lost Gloria Pazmino, but we're going to get her back as soon as we can for more on that story out of LaGuardia Airport.

Now, to more breaking news that we're following in London. Police say they are investigating an apparent arson attack in the city's Golders Green neighborhood as an anti-Semitic hate crime.

The security camera footage shared with CNN shows three masked individuals approaching an ambulance belonging to a Jewish volunteer rescue group. They then set it on fire. The neighborhood is home to a large Jewish population.

CNN's Clare Sebastian is at the scene for us now and joins us with the latest. Clare, thank you for being there for us. What can you tell us about what's happening there at the moment?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning again, Ben.

What I can tell you is they've just lifted the border police cordon, so we've been able to get a little closer. And we're looking now towards where we believe the ambulances were parked. I think I can just make out the front of what appears to be one of the four ambulances that was attacked in what police, as you say, are now treating as an anti-Semitic hate crime.

These were ambulances belonging to a volunteer Jewish organization that provides sort of emergency rescue services within this neighborhood. And obviously people here are very shaken, not only by what they say, some of them, including the local counselor that I've just spoken to, say it's a direct attack on the Jewish community, but also specifically on these ambulances, which really gets to the core of the community spirit and the community that they have here in Golders Green in North London.

Now, police are investigating. They say they're looking for three suspects. There is CCTV footage that seems to show three masked men approaching one of these ambulances and setting it on fire, no arrests have been made.

This was a very dramatic night. The fire seems to have started around 1:30, 1:40 in the morning. Several local residents we've spoken to reported hearing large explosions, which according to the London Fire Brigade did break windows in some of the flats adjacent to where these ambulances were, some people were evacuated.

But as I say, the road has mostly now opened to sort of London morning commuter traffic, and they are still investigating exactly who could have been behind this. But a very shocked, very shaken community here this morning, Ben.

HUNTE: Okay, Claire, thank you for that. We'll leave it there for now, I'm sure we'll be speaking to you again later. Thank you. Onwards, President Trump's deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of

Hormuz is drawing ever closer. Coming up, we'll discuss Iran's reaction to his ultimatum. That's after this break, see you in a moment.

[03:10:03]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNTE: And now to the war in Iran, where the IDF says it has begun a wide scale wave of strikes targeting the regime's infrastructure. Earlier, the Iranian Red Crescent posted this video of relief workers providing aid. That's after an airstrike hit a residential area in northwestern Iran.

State media reports several civilians were killed and wounded in a separate strike in the western part of the country. The latest wave of attacks comes as Iran's military says it is ready to close the Strait of Hormuz indefinitely. That's if President Donald Trump carries out his ultimatum to, quote, "hit and obliterate Iran's power plants, if the critical waterway is not fully open to shipping by Monday evening."

Meanwhile, just hours ago, at least one Iranian missile carrying a cluster warhead could be seen above Israel, Jerusalem and the West Bank.

CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us live from Dubai with the latest. Paula, thanks for being with me. The 48 hour deadline from President Trump will be expiring today. So what happens now?

[03:15:01]

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly everyone is on high alert for this escalation at this point. Ben, you saw and heard the U.S. President saying that there would be an attack on Iranian power plants, to which Tehran responded fairly quickly that that would be reciprocal for regional infrastructure.

Now, we heard from Iran's parliament speaker saying it would become legitimate targets if Trump were to follow through with his threat, also saying critical infrastructure, energy facilities would be, quote, "irreversibly destroyed," saying that the price of oil would then be high for a long time.

Now, we also saw from Iranian semi-official news, Mir News, they actually published a map showing the power plants in the Gulf, pointing out that about 70 to 80 percent of these power plants are all along the coast of the Persian Gulf within Iran's targets and within the range saying, say goodbye to electricity. So certainly this is a an escalation in rhetoric, we have to wait and see whether or not these actions will follow what the U.S. President has threatened but Iran has said that if it does go ahead, then the Strait of Hormuz will be shut indefinitely.

Now, we know that there is a growing coalition to try and figure out how to reopen this critical waterway and to ease the pressure on global energy. We know that the U.K. Prime Minister had a late night call on Sunday with the U.S. President. And some 22 countries so far have signed on to this statement, saying that they are willing to be part of an effort to open up the strait. We also heard from Mark Rutte, the NATO Secretary General, say that he believes he is absolutely convinced that an alliance will be able to open the strait.

There are no details at this point as to how exactly that would happen, though. And we've also seen over the past 24 hours, we've seen alerts and interceptions across many countries here in the Gulf, in Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, took down a couple of drones that were heading towards the eastern part of the country where the oil fields are, Kuwait, Bahrain.

And also Israel has seen a substantial amount of incoming over the past 24, 36 hours. In fact, they did say that in the past 24 hours, 150 casualties have happened as there were two missiles, at least more missiles, but two attacks that targeted the towns of Arad and Dimona, where Israel's nuclear facility is situated.

Now, it does appear as though at least two of those missiles, potentially more, were not intercepted. They hit those towns and a significant number of people were injured. The Israeli military is saying at this point they're trying to figure out why the air defenses did not take down the missiles.

But we're seeing no let-up in the physical attacks from Tehran and certainly the other way from Israel and the U.S., targeting Iran as well. And we are seeing, if anything, an increase in the rhetorical attacks and an escalation, certainly, when it comes to words. We'll have to see if that translates into action, Ben.

HUNTE: Okay, Paula Hancocks in Dubai, thank you so much for that. We appreciate it. Speak to you again later, thank you.

Iran's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz indefinitely has not helped oil prices to come down. Brent crude, the global benchmark, peaked over $114 a barrel on Sunday before dropping back down slightly. Right now, it's sitting above $113.

Meanwhile, WTI is also pushing higher. It's hovering just above $100 a barrel right now as markets do react to that risk of disruption.

Cedric Leighton is a CNN military analyst and retired U.S. Air Force colonel. Thank you so much for being with me, sir.

I'll get straight into it. Let's start with Trump's 48-hour ultimatum, threatening strikes on Iran's power infrastructure if Hormuz isn't reopened. But how real is that threat, and how will Iran respond, do you think?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), U.S. AIR FORCE, AND CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, I think the threat has to be taken seriously by the Iranians, Ben. And I think one of the things that could happen is that they may target power plants in the northern part of the country, those that produce a certain amount, I think it was 2 million kilowatt hours. That is kind of the threshold, it seems.

But there is a big power plant that is in the southern part of Iran. That's the Bushehr plant, it's a nuclear power plant. And if that were attacked, the fallout would be considerable, both politically as well as potentially radioactive fallout.

[03:20:00]

So I think that is hopefully off the table. But it is certainly something that would be a dangerous precedent if that were struck. And it would definitely be a bit problematic.

And as far as them actually doing this, them actually conducting this, I think it is possible. But I think it would be very counterproductive because the only people that it would really hurt would be the civilian population in Iran.

HUNTE: I did actually want to ask about that because there is growing concern about these strikes hitting nuclear-linked sites. But what could that mean for the wider regions? It doesn't seem like it's something you could specifically target that one bit and there's not going to be a wider impact, right?

LEIGHTON: Yes, that's right, exactly. Because depending on things such as wind direction and the actual area that was hit, it could potentially impact the entire Gulf region and go much further afield than that. And if that were to happen, that of course would be an even more severe economic blow to the Gulf nations because they are already suffering from the stop of tourism, the stop of their oil and gas exports, and their ability to import things has already been curtailed.

And now if you added this to it, in addition to the dangers that they're already under from missile attacks, it would be pretty much catastrophic for them. So hopefully this is off the table, but it's definitely something that the Gulf States need to be concerned about.

And frankly, we should lobby both the United States and Israel not to conduct those kinds of operations.

HUNTE: Even the fact that we're having this conversation, it's just crazy. Wow, absolutely wow. On the strait, how hard is it militarily to actually reopen and secure it and what would it really take to do so?

LEIGHTON: Yes, it is difficult. It is actually a very difficult terrain.

Now, there are areas such as some of the islands like Qeshm Island and Kish Island that could potentially be taken over. But one of the things to note in all of this, the terrain itself is unforgiving, and there's also an Iranian naval base right there in Bandar Abbas.

That naval base, plus other military installations, could potentially present a fairly formidable foe to any landing force. And if that landing force is not sufficient, that would then mean that it could bog down any type of operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. And even with the taking of, let's say, Bandar Abbas or any of the islands in the Strait of Hormuz or near the Strait of Hormuz, it would not preclude the Iranians from potentially using other areas along the coast to launch mines and launch missile attacks.

So, it would have to really require not just an invasion force, but also a surveillance capability that would be basically a 24/7 surveillance capability. In other words, persistent surveillance. Plus you would need air cover, and it would be a very complex and very detailed operation that would require intelligence preparation of the battle space beforehand and intelligence overwatch during that operation.

HUNTE: Even after weeks of strikes, Iran is still getting missiles through. How much capability do you think they have left and do you also think that they're making more impact than anyone expected they would?

LEIGHTON: Well, when you look at the raw numbers, basically 92 percent of the missiles and drones that are lopped against Israel do not get through. They're actually intercepted or they fall in areas that are not populated. But that still means that about 8 percent actually do make it through and in that particular case, really it just takes one to make an impact and to potentially hit a populated area or an important installation.

So, it is a very critical element of the air defense posture that we know it's not completely impenetrable. But it also means that we have some systems that require basically an upgrade and at the very least a maintenance of their current weapons supply. In other words, the supply of interceptor missiles such as with the Patriot system.

That has to be a steady flow and the running out of these kinds of missiles, given the current way the force is postured, is something that is not really an option for either Israel or the Gulf States or really the United States as well.

HUNTE: Okay, we'll leave it there for now, Cedric Leighton. Thank you so much for your time, I appreciate it.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Ben. Thanks so much for having me.

HUNTE: Okay, I'll be back with more news in just a moment. See you in a moment.

[03:25:02]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNTE: Welcome back, I'm Ben Hunte. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

An Air Canada plane operated by regional carrier Jazz has collided with a Port Authority fire and rescue vehicle on a runway at New York's LaGuardia Airport. Law enforcement officials now say that the pilot and co-pilot of that plane have died. The Federal Aviation Administration lifted a ground stop, but LaGuardia Airport is currently closed.

In the coming hours, immigration agents will be deployed to some U.S. airports to help the shore staffed TSA. Call outs have been increasing amid the partial government shutdown, TSA agents won't be paid until the Homeland Security Department is fully funded. Border czar Tom Homan says ICE agents will assist in jobs that don't require TSA training.

The clock is ticking on President Trump's ultimatum to Iran. He says the U.S. will, quote, "obliterate" Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened by 3:14 a.m. Tuesday morning in Tehran. Iran says any U.S. strikes on its plants will lead to the complete closure of the strait.

Let's get right back to our breaking news at LaGuardia Airport. CNN's Gloria Pazmino joins us live from New York.

Gloria, the pilot and co-pilot have died, that's according to law enforcement. Awful news there. What more can you tell us?

PAZMINO: That's right, we are just learning those unfortunate details in the last hour or so. And we have actually just been able to get a much better view of the incident. We are standing inside one of the parking lots here in the airport.

[03:30:02]

And you can see the airplane still sitting on the runway, the front of the airplane pointing upward. And we have seen from images on social media as well as photos, you can see that the front of the airplane is completely destroyed.

Now, this happened shortly after 11:30 local time here in New York City. We are told that this airplane, which was being operated by Jazz Aviation Flight on behalf of Air Canada, struck a Port Authority aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle, which was responding to a separate incident at the time.

We are told that the Port Authority vehicle was responding to a separate incident, and it was shortly after the plane landed that it collided with that vehicle.

Now, we're learning a little bit more about where this plane was coming in from. It left Montreal International Airport shortly after 10:30 p.m. and was landing here about an hour later. It was almost immediately after that that the collision took place.

We also understand the plane was carrying 72 passengers. This is a small airplane compared to the much larger commercial airplanes. 72 passengers and four crew members in total were inside that aircraft.

Now, we see that the crews are still surrounding the airplane, and we understand the National Transportation Service Board has launched an investigative team here to the area to respond to the incident and launch an investigation. We do expect that we will be hearing from officials later today. It's still very early in the morning here in New York City, 3:30 local time.

And as you said in the beginning, Ben, the airport for a while had a ground stop. That ground stop has lifted, but the airport does remain closed, and that is going to be causing a lot of issues for travelers here who were already dealing with the other issues related to the partial government shutdown.

So as we head into the early morning hours, the airport still remains closed, although the ground stop for now has lifted, Ben?

HUNTE: It is absolutely awful that something like this could happen at one of the busiest airports in the country. What questions do you think investigators are going to be asking first? Where does responsibility potentially lie here?

PAZMINO: That is certainly going to be part of what they're going to be looking at. But certainly the initial part of this investigation is going to focus on what happened, what led to this collision, the injuries that resulted from this collision, why that vehicle was where it was, and why the airplane did not realize that it was approaching the vehicle that was responding to the separate incident.

We usually, when we see these types of incidents, the NTSB usually releases a preliminary information as soon as they can, so I think that is certainly going to be the early stages of what they will be looking at.

HUNTE: We are seeing a lot of information on social media and potentially misinformation as well. What safeguards are supposed to prevent something like this from happening, from what we know so far?

PAZMINO: Look, Ben, as you said, this is one of the major airports here in New York City, certainly one of the biggest in the nation, an airport that is functioning around the clock, and it is not unusual to have vehicles on the runways responding to airplanes, servicing airplanes, certainly airplanes landing multiple times.

So I think one of the key questions is going to be what was the communication with this Port Authority vehicle that was responding to the separate incident, what was the communication between them and the airplanes that are on the runway, the control tower that tells the vehicles whether or not it is safe to move around. Certainly a lot of safeguards are in place to prevent exactly these types of incidents from happening, and I think part of what the NTSB will be looking into is whether or not any of those safeguards failed this morning.

HUNTE: Okay, we'll leave it there for now, Gloria. Thank you so much for that, I appreciate it. And please give us the latest as you do get it.

Gloria Pazmino at LaGuardia Airport. Thank you.

Onwards, the death toll is climbing in Lebanon as Israel ramps up attacks against Hezbollah targets. More on the human cost of the conflict in the Middle East after this break. See you in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNTE: The IDF is accelerating the demolition of homes and bridges along the Netanyahu River in southern Lebanon. Israel says it aims to sever Hezbollah's weapon and supply lines near Israel's northern border. But Lebanon's President is accusing Israel of preparing for a ground invasion and pursuing Israeli expansion into Lebanese territory.

Israeli bombardment is taking a heavy human toll on the Lebanese people. So far, the fighting has taken more than 1000 lives, that is according to the Lebanese health ministry. The conflict has also displaced over one million people all across Lebanon and cut off critical food and medical supply routes to civilians in the south.

For more, I want to bring in Nabih Bulos, the Middle East bureau chief for the "L.A. Times." He joins us now live from Beirut. Thank you so much for being with me, sir, I appreciate it.

Can you just describe the conditions in Lebanon right now, especially in Beirut? Because we are seeing people forced from their homes and struggling to find shelter.

NABIH BULOS, MIDDLE EAST BUREAU CHIEF, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": Well, so it's interesting because Beirut is divided into various neighborhoods, of course, and neighborhoods in the east of the city are relatively, I suppose they are unscathed and things are, I suppose, relatively normal.

But in the western part of the city, you see so many displaced people. If you go to the seafront areas as well, you'll see tents, you'll see people, I guess, double and triple parked because many of them are sleeping in their cars or having to sleep in these tents, and it's been terrible weather these last few days, so it's been really quite awful.

But in general, the city feels a little bit, I suppose, cracked in that sense, just because there's just so many, I suppose, areas where there are just, I mean, all these displaced people sitting around, all these people, and the fact is there is no real response right now. I mean, yes, the government is trying, but the severity of the crisis makes it just so that it's very hard to respond in a comprehensive fashion.

HUNTE: Lebanon's leadership says it remains committed to bringing all arms under state control, but argues that that can't actually happen while Israeli strikes do continue. Even in the best-case scenario, does the state actually have the capacity to make that happen? What do you think?

[03:40:02]

BULOS: Well, so that's the million-dollar question. The fact of the matter is the Lebanese army is weaker than Hezbollah, or at least it was weaker than Hezbollah before the war in 2024. I mean, at the same time, the fact of the matter is the sectarian makeup of Lebanon and the army as well makes it difficult to imagine that the army would go in and disarm Hezbollah by force.

In fact, the army chief has been saying for quite some time that the issue is that any kind of disarmament of Hezbollah, it would require a political solution before anything else.

And so the fact of the matter is that even now it is quite difficult. And, I mean, I should add that while the country's under attack, people aren't in the mood right now to talk about the notion of disarmament, especially because, I mean, fighting is still ongoing and there is potential for, I mean, about 20 percent of the country to be invaded and occupied by Israel. So as you can imagine, people are worried.

HUNTE: Oh yes, we've definitely seen that in our reporting over the past few days. Lebanon once again finds itself at the mercy of forces beyond its control, with Israel escalating its campaign against Hezbollah and outside calls for Washington to help de-escalate so far haven't really seen a visible effect. But tell me honestly, where do you see this heading next?

BULOS: It's a great question. I mean, the contours of Israel's campaign in Lebanon are so far unclear. What is clear is the speed.

I mean, we are talking about a sped up version of what we saw last year, where the scope and the sheer intensity of attacks has now, as you said, killed over a thousand people and displaced more than a million people in the country, that's about a fourth of the country's population, or a fifth depending on who you talk to.

And you have to add the fact that we are now seeing a widening attack on infrastructure. I mean, just yesterday we saw a bombing of a major bridge that is connecting the country to the south of Lebanon, indeed to one of the largest cities in the south of Lebanon.

And so the problem here is that we're really unsure as to how far the Israelis will be going into Lebanese territory. I mean, there are thoughts that it might end up being in an area where it cuts the country in half almost.

I mean, others say that it's going to be only in a part of southern Lebanon. It's unclear. And the fact of the matter is that right now the Lebanese state has very little ability to counter any of that, I should say, whether it's the army or anyone else.

And so right now it's very much a wait and see situation. But of course, as I said, everyone is terrified as to what can happen, because this will also cause sectarian pressure to ramp up all over the country. I mean, Lebanon is a small place with many sects and so just imagine having a population transfer from one area to another as you can imagine, that'll only ratchet up tensions.

HUNTE: Do you think there's a risk that Israel's military campaign actually undermines the Lebanese government's efforts on Hezbollah by potentially weakening the state?

BULOS: I mean, it already has.

The fact of the matter is that right now already, if you look at what's been happening, the notion that the Lebanese army withdrew from areas of the south, I mean, for those who are pro-Hezbollah, they would tell you that this is a sign that the army cannot defend the country. For others who are pro-government and anti-Hezbollah, they would tell you that, of course, the Lebanese army has to be sidelined so that it's not involved in the fighting.

But the fact of the matter is that, I mean, either way you look at it, the country or the government, more accurately, is unable to provide a real solution to Hezbollah. And the war certainly won't make that any easier.

For those who are pro-Hezbollah, the war only amplifies the need for Hezbollah. And for those who are against it, it again is a matter of this notion of having the decision for war and peace in the hands of the state.

I mean, either way, the government right now has very little ability to do anything and has no funds, really. I mean, it's just simply dealing with the refugee response or the displaced response more accurately. And it's very difficult to imagine how it can do anything else.

HUNTE: I do want to talk a bit more about the humanitarian crisis occurring there, because for people forced from their homes, what kind of support is genuinely reaching them right now?

BULOS: Well, it's difficult. I mean, the government has been trying and we've seen them opening up, I mean, various facilities all over the country, whether that's schools and, you know, stadiums elsewhere. But it should be said, the government was already reeling from a multi-year economic crisis.

And I should add, there was a war in 2024, right? And people have still not recovered from that either. So you're talking about people who have endured multiple waves of displacements, right? And a government that is reeling from, again, multiple waves of displacements and multiple crises coming all together and successively as well.

So all that is to say that the government really is finding it a hard time. It's having a hard time to do this.

Now, of course, there are grassroots efforts, right? And we have seen this throughout, whether it's in the last war or this war. We have seen various Lebanese come together and really just create these really excellent grassroots efforts to try to deal and grapple with the size of the crisis.

[03:44:58]

But the fact of the matter is that this is going to be a larger and larger crisis as we go along. I mean, as we heard, the Israeli military has vowed to intensify the offensive. And what that means, finally, is that we're going to see even more displacement and that, I mean, really, it just is impossible to imagine how the government can handle all this.

HUNTE: It is. It's absolutely horrific. And the images we've seen over the past few days, even in my shows, it has been absolutely shocking.

We're going to leave it there for now. Nabih Bulos, thank you so much in Beirut. I'm sure we'll speak to you again very soon as this does continue, thank you.

Okay, I'm Ben Hunte, in Atlanta. For our viewers in North America, I'm back with more CNN Newsroom in just a moment; for our international viewers, it's "World Sport." I'll see you all next weekend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNTE: More now on the push to end the partial U.S. government shutdown. Top Senate Republican John Thune warns if a deal isn't reached to fund the DHS, the U.S. will be, quote, "in a pretty bad place." CNN's Camila DeChalus has more for us on how negotiations are going on Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, here on Capitol Hill, we're hearing that senators, both Democratic and Republican senators, have been talking amongst themselves, trying to work out some sort of a deal in order to move forward with passing funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

[03:50:04]

Now, just in these past few days, we're hearing that some Democratic and Republican senators have been meeting with Trump's appointed border czar, Tom Homan. And they're really saying that that has been the real big sign of progress here, that they're really in these discussions trying to pinpoint what reforms they want to be seen to be made around several federal agencies under the Department of Homeland Security.

And even in the midst while the Senate is moving forward with trying to progress the nomination for Republican Senator Mullin to helm the top position at the Department of Homeland Security, Democrats have really remained adamant that that has not changed their position, that they want to see reforms to be made in writing, in legislation to these federal agencies under the Department of Homeland Security before they would even consider supporting legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security. So we're hearing that these conversations, even though they took place over the weekend, they're still going to be ongoing and go into next week. But there really is urgency for lawmakers to get something done.

This partial government shutdown has now lasted for more than 30 days. And it really has taken an emotional and also financial toll on hundreds and thousands of federal employees that are now going fully without receiving paychecks because this partial government shutdown has continued. And so we're hearing both sides saying, you know what, we're making progress, but we're still a long way to ending this partial government shutdown.

Camila DeChalus, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: High fuel costs are colliding with the spring travel season in the U.S. as the war with Iran does drag on. The AAA, Auto Association, reports the national average for a gallon of gas has now climbed to $3.94, that is up nearly $1 when compared to last month's prices before the conflict began. Even after the war ends, experts say it may take months for prices to come down as markets work to resupply.

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 are urging people in her Arizona community to go back through camera footage, journal notes, text messages and conversations, writing, quote, "No detail is too small. In fact, it may be key."

The 84 year old was last seen on January 31st when she disappeared from her home outside Tucson without her phone or critical medications. CNN's Ed Lavandera has the latest on that search and the growing pressure to find some answers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SR. U.S. 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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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 TANCHO, SISTER OF MISSING BOY: Oh, yes.

LAVANDERA: Because you know their pain.

TANCHO: 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 of days.

TANCHO: Yes.

LAVANDERA: And you left Jimmy with a family friend.

TANCHO: 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.

TANCHO: 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.

TANCHO: I'm so sorry.

LAVANDERA: No, that's all right. 35 years doesn't ease that pain.

TANCHO: 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.

[03:55:03]

LAVANDERA: How did you raise that money?

TANCHO: Car washes. Car washes and selling cakes.

LAVANDERA: Car washes and selling cakes.

TANCHO: Yes.

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

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

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

LAVANCERA: Please do not apologize.

TANCHO: I still have hope.

Hope of being able to recover Jimmy's body to put our family at some peace.

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

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Recovery efforts are underway across Hawaii following severe rainfall from the Kona storm. The governor said on Sunday that the immediate threat has passed, but some areas on the island are still experiencing flooding, and there is still a threat of flash flooding in some parts. Videos show the damage that has been left behind, look at that.

Crews are now working to assess damage and clear all of that debris. Hawaii's governor estimates storm damage of at least $1 billion, following the worst flooding in 20 years.

Temperatures are not cooling off anytime soon for parts of the U.S. CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar has the latest on this very rare March heat wave.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Dozens of monthly record highs have been set over the last few days, but it's still not yet done.

Every single one of these dots represent an area that had their March record high set at least once. Some of these areas broke that record again the very next day. But the heat is not yet over.

Take Las Vegas, for example. Look at the next seven days. Now, the March record was 93, we've already hit that, but we could hit it yet again every single one of the next three days before dropping back at least a little bit as we head into the latter half of the week. Although even then, we're still looking at a lot of daily record

temperatures that could be broken, certainly well above what the average is this time of year. But it's not just in the southwest.

You've got a lot of the southern tier of the U.S. that's really going to start to see their heating ramping up towards the back end of the week. So we take, for example, Atlanta, high on Monday of 77 degrees. They drop back a little bit Tuesday and Wednesday before rebounding once we get back into Thursday.

Cincinnati, very similar. A little bit of the cool end for the front part of the week. But once we get to Thursday and Friday, those temperatures bounce right back up again.

Raleigh, Lexington, Washington, D.C., all going to go through a similar pattern where it's a little bit cool to start off the week as that cold front moves through. And then we start to see the temperatures jump right back up again Thursday and Friday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Let's talk sports. The Sweet 16 is now set in the NCAA men's basketball tournament and March Madness certainly lived up to its name in Sunday's action.

Let's start with the number two seed Purdue taking on seventh-seeded Miami. This one was looking like an upset for a while, with Miami taking a two point lead at halftime but Purdue took control in the second half, winning 79-69. It's a third straight Sweet 16 appearance for the Boilermakers and they'll face one of the tournament's biggest surprise teams, 11th-seeded Texas on Thursday.

Another 2-7 matchup saw second-seeded Iowa State take on the seventh- seed to Kentucky. And the Cyclones of Iowa State took care of business in this one, they led by just one at halftime, but then dominated in the second half, pulling away for an 82 to 63 victory. This will be Iowa State's first Sweet 16 appearance since 2022, and they'll face the sixth-seed Tennessee in the next round.

Okay, that's all we've got for you. I'm Ben Hunte, in Atlanta.

Our coverage continues, of course, next. See you next weekend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)