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Search Underway for Missing Crew Member of U.S. Jet Downed in Iran; Gulf States Report Fresh Attacks by Iran; White House 2027 Budget Would Cut Domestic Spending by 10 Percent; Surprisingly Strong March Jobs Report; Israel Launches New Strikes in Beirut; Altadena Struggles to Rebuild after Eaton Fire; March Madness Highlights. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired April 04, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber in Atlanta.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I'm Eleni Giokos, live in Dubai. Thanks so much for joining us.

Now a huge search and rescue operation is underway after a U.S. fighter jet was shot down over Iran. One of the two crew members of the F-15 jet was rescued and is receiving medical attention. The status of the second crew member is unknown right now.

It's the first time a U.S. aircraft has been shot down over Iran during the conflict. U.S. president Donald Trump says that the downing of the fighter jet would not affect negotiations with Iran. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

GIOKOS (voice-over): This video, shared on Friday, appears to show Iranian police officers shooting a pair of helicopters flying at low altitude in southwestern Iran.

It's not clear who those aircraft belong to or if they were involved in search efforts or some other operation.

Iran also struck a second U.S. military plane on Friday, an A-10 Warthog like this one. U.S. officials say the pilot navigated away from Iranian territory before ejecting and has been rescued.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: All right. For more analysis now, I'd like to take you to Fawaz Gerges. He is a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics. He's also the author of the book, "The Great Betrayal: The Struggle for Freedom and Democracy in the Middle East."

Fawaz, great to have you with us. I want to just touch on what we've seen transpiring in the last 24 hours. And importantly, we've seen two aircraft that has been struck by Iran. President Trump is asserting that this is not going to derail talks or whatever form they're in.

What is your assessment of what we've seen in the past week?

FAWAZ GERGES, PROFESSOR, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: Well, first of all, I don't know what president Trump refers to because there are no direct or indirect talks between Iran and the United States.

There is a consensus among Western intelligence agencies, including American intelligence agencies and Gulf agencies, that Iran refuses to engage the United States diplomatically under such conditions.

In fact, what Iran's strategy could be summarized as the follows, more and more economic pain in order to force president Trump to blink.

So the president has been sending contradictory messages about basically talks between Iran and the United States. What we are seeing now is more and more escalation, military escalation. In fact, we are on an escalation ladder. And what comes next are much worse than we have seen in the past four weeks or so.

GIOKOS: So take me through what comes next because, frankly, president Trump's 10-day window, what we thought was a diplomatic window, ends on Monday. That's the 6th of April.

I mean, are we talking about potential boots on the ground?

We still haven't heard word on that. You know, there's talk about Kharg Island. There's talk about taking Iranian oil.

So what does it look like for you?

GERGES: Well, I think what we need to tell our viewers is that the war is turning more and more economic. It's not really no longer a military battle between Iran and Israel, on the one hand.

And Iran, Iran is hitting the economic and energy infrastructure in its Gulf neighbors and the United States and Israel have been targeting Iran's civilian and economic infrastructures, steel factories, universities, pharmaceuticals, I mean, bridges, you name it.

And that's what I mean, that if the United States, as seems to be the case, if the United States puts ground forces in Iraq, you would expect Iran, Iran has threatened to basically attack all the energy infrastructure in the Gulf.

[04:05:03]

So even though now the world economy, there is a great shock in the world economy in terms of surging oil prices, energy prices, basically high inflation, slower global economy, volatility and uncertainty, imagine if the energy infrastructure in Iran and the Gulf is basically fully and systematically targeted.

This could really be much greater pain than we have seen, not to mention the human cost. I mean, thousands of people have been killed and injured, not just in Iran and Lebanon but also in the Gulf And a few Israelis, about 17 Israelis and 13 American soldiers.

GIOKOS: Yes. I mean -- and it's interesting, the human toll, the military efforts, the economic pain that's frankly gone global, what's interesting is that president Trump is still asserting, in terms of the Iranian leadership, saying that this must let less radical and much more reasonable.

Does that make sense to you?

Is that -- is that the sign you're seeing specifically when we're hearing from Iranian leadership?

GERGES: Well, I think that, again, even American intelligence services, the combined American intelligence services estimate is that the Iranian regime is intact, contrary to what president Trump and Israeli prime minister have been saying.

The Iranian regime has been resilient, resourceful, dynamic, it's fighting back. And you just said, suggested, just yesterday, Iran basically downed two major jets and basically hit a helicopter that was engaged in rescue operations.

So far from really being a spent force, in fact, you know, the big point about what you're asking is that wars in history change the political psychology of people. Even many Iranians who do not really care for the Islamic Republic, now they look and say, well, look, you're targeting bridges, pharmaceuticals, steel factories, universities.

You're destroying state capacity in Iraq. So many Iranians really are basically taking a second look at the objectives of the war or the -- or the lack of objectives of the war by the United States and Israel.

You asked me about president Trump and whether he talks about, you know, the talks between Iran and the United States. I think the reason why we're seeing really and hearing more and more contradictory statements by president Trump, he is strategically boxed in.

He entrapped himself, his war of choice. Now he really has no wiggle room. He wants out. But he cannot find a way to get out of this particular really war of choice.

And that's why I fear and many people fear that he could really double down in the next few weeks and basically send ground forces to Iran, which really make the war basically strategically escalate the war into long war, as opposed to a limited war, as president Trump has been saying.

GIOKOS: Yes. And that's true. The timeline of two to three weeks is what we have right now. We're waiting for that Monday deadline. Fawaz Gerges, thank you so much.

Definitely a sense of uncertainty, specifically where we are here in the Gulf in terms of how this ends, when it ends. We've got Paula Hancocks standing by for us in Abu Dhabi.

I want you to just take me through what we've seen in the last 24 hours, specifically with this aircraft that has been downed, two of them; one crew member has been rescued.

What do we know about the other crew, Paula?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Eleni, at this point, we know that the search and rescue operation is still ongoing for that other crew member.

We know and have seen videos geolocated by CNN that there are a number of low-flying aircraft in different areas of Iran, which would be consistent with what a search and rescue operation would look like.

We've also heard, though, that Iran is looking for that particular crew member. In fact, there's been a public call for Iranian citizens to try and help with this search for the crew member. Let's listen to what was said by one of the news anchors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): If you capture and hand over a pilot or pilots of the enemy alive to the law enforcement and military forces, you will receive a valuable reward and prize.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: Now we've also heard from a senior Iranian military commander, talking about the fact that they have managed to shoot down two planes in the space of one day on Friday, saying that they have new methods and equipment.

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And he was talking also about innovations in air defense systems without specifying what that means.

But what it does mean is that it negates what we have been hearing consistently from the Trump administration, that they have air superiority.

Now certainly, we understand that the U.S. and Israeli military has done significant damage to the military capabilities of Iran.

But as you saw from that footage of police officers trying to shoot down helicopters overhead, that that -- it is not the case as we have heard from the Trump administration that there is this ability to be able to fly wherever they want over Iranian airspace without being challenged.

And certainly there are still some air defense systems that must be intact, whether it is human or mechanical. Now a quick look at what else has been happening in the region.

We know here in the UAE that there has been a number of interceptions on -- in Dubai. We know that the facade of the Oracle building has been damaged by debris from one of those interceptions.

Now Oracle was one of the 17 tech companies that Iran had threatened, saying that they would target those companies if more of the military leadership, in fact, any of the leadership in Iran was targeted.

And then in Iran, we have been seeing bombardments continue from the U.S. and Israel. The Shaheed Beheshti University has also been damaged, we understand from state media. This is one of the prestigious universities in Tehran, saying it was damaged by a U.S.- Israeli strike on Friday. We have seen a number of universities being targeted, Eleni.

GIOKOS: All right. Paula Hancocks, thanks so much.

And, of course, we're still seeing retaliatory strikes toward the Gulf region and, of course, we'll bring you more coming from the Middle East very soon. In the meantime, I want to throw it back to Kim, who's in Atlanta for us.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks so much, Eleni.

The White House has released its 2021 fiscal budget plan. That includes a massive increase in military spending. The proposal also cuts funding to domestic programs, including housing, social services and health care.

Congress needs to approve the budget. The lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are skeptical of some of the changes. CNN's Kevin Liptak reports.

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KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The White House is asking Congress to approve $1.5 trillion for the defense budget over the next year. If approved, that would be the highest level in modern history. It's about a 40 percent increase over what the U.S. spent on the Pentagon in the last fiscal year.

To make up for it, the White House is coupling this proposal with a call to make $73 billion in cuts spent across many domestic agencies, including on health, housing and education programs. It all adds up to a budget proposal that would add trillions of dollars to the federal debt.

It's not clear that either Republicans or Democrats will get on board with the plan but it does signal where the White House wants its priorities to be over the next fiscal year.

The president and his team, over the last several days, have been framing this proposal to increase the defense budget as necessary and urgent amid the ongoing war with Iran. They say it's required to stockpile munitions that have been spent in the ongoing conflict. And president Trump just this week suggested that, as he weighs his

spending priorities, that he's focusing much more heavily on defense than on domestic programs.

He said, quote, "It's not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare, all of these individual things."

He says that they can be done on a state basis and that the focus for the federal government had to be on, quote, "military protection."

Now members of both parties have expressed unease at some of the military spending that the president has suggested. You've heard, even from Republicans, that they'll need to hear more from the White House about what specifically its plans are for the war in Iran before they can get on board with a spending request at this high level.

They say that the White House in a lot of ways have failed to keep them updated on the status of the Iran war.

You also hear unease among members of both parties about some of the proposed cuts that the White House is talking about. This would cut domestic spending by about 10 percent, targeting things like training new teachers, responding to natural disasters.

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And researching cures for diseases, developing clean energy technology, some of these things have the White House has already tried to cut, which met resistance from Republicans and Democrats alike.

You've heard mixed reactions to this proposal on Capitol Hill, including from senator Susan Collins, who's the Republican chair of the Appropriations Committee. She says that Congress already decisively rejected some of these cuts last year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The U.S. Justice Department has issued a legal opinion, saying president Trump can ignore a Watergate-era law governing presidential records. The Presidential Records Act requires presidents to turn over official documents to the National Archives after leaving office.

But the DOJ's legal opinion argues the act is unconstitutional. It says improperly -- it improperly regulates presidential conduct and interferes in the president's constitutional authority in day-to-day operations.

Now the opinion comes in the wake of dismissed criminal charges against Donald Trump over highly classified documents he kept at Mar- a-Lago. Government transparency groups indicated they plan to challenge the new memo in the courts.

All right. Ahead, we'll break down this month's surprising jobs report numbers and get expert insight into the state of the U.S. economy As the Trump administration continues its war with Iran. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: By some measures, the U.S. economy is doing better than expected. The U.S. Labor Department released a surprisingly strong jobs report on Friday. It said employers added 178,000 jobs in March, nearly triple what economists were anticipating.

This follows a revised loss of 133,000 jobs in February. It highlights how volatile the labor market has been in recent months.

Retail sales also rose more than expected last month, increasing 0.6 percent from January, suggesting consumers are still spending despite economic worries.

But higher energy costs remain a concern. According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. is now more than $4, up from about $3.10 just a month ago. I want to bring in Ryan Patel. He's a senior fellow at Claremont Graduate University's Drucker School of Management. He joins us from Shanghai.

Good to see you again. Thanks for joining us here. So this jobs report came in at nearly three times what economists were expecting. But we also lost 133,000 jobs in February.

So what do you make of these wild swings from month to month?

RYAN PATEL, GLOBAL BUSINESS EXECUTIVE: Yes. I mean you have to take it -- you got to take a step back and look at the macro perspective. The last three months, it's still trending down compared to this time last year.

And part of what I would say this last month of job reports was led by, which really stood out to me, was health care. Yes, construction and education was in there. But the second piece of this also is that, consumers, we don't see the consumers' number spending, everything consumer forward facing was actually weakened as well.

And then the last piece of this, Kim, we don't see the full effect of the war yet. Oil prices, yes; you saw some energy prices go up but you'll start to see those numbers being reflected in the future jobs reports. And I think that, to me, that's the difference between the two.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. I want to ask you about the war in a second but you mentioned health care and social assistance as well accounted for a huge share of the gains in March.

And that's significant because some of that was just workers basically coming back from strikes, right. So how confident should we be that this report reflects real momentum

in the economy?

PATEL: I mean, enough to where the Fed's going to make a decision?

Absolutely none, to be very honest with you, Kim. It's just status quo. I mean, it's not bad news but it's not great news that it's still mixed signals. I think part of this, too, what we don't see from the report wasn't like tech hiring was out there. It was just health care was really leading the sector.

So I think part of that is not misleading but you have to understand which was driving this report.

And are we out of the woods yet?

And I don't think we are. And I think there's no -- this information is not good enough for us, you know, for us and for the Fed to decide that the economy is back.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Not out of the woods, maybe heading deeper in. I mean gas now averaging, as I said, about $4 a gallon even more because of the war with Iran.

So at what point do you think those energy costs start showing up, you know, in the economy and in hiring decisions, for example?

PATEL: Yes, I mean, I think the other aspect to this, as you mentioned, you said gas but this is more than just oil, right?

You think about energy. Diesel is up 40 percent more. That means freight is going to be more expensive. You know, at this rate, we are not going to see those energy prices drop by spring, even if we ended the war this week. So meaning it's going to be elevated.

Now how much elevated?

You know I don't know. But definitely is not going to be what we saw $70 going into spring. So that's still, you know some analysts are saying it's through the summer. But you know, just in, you know, conservative aspects, you know, you're going to see this over the next week.

You can't just turn it on and off because of how much it's going. And I think that's the other thing. When you see freight prices, the consumer will get hit at the gas tank but also from what they buy from the everyday as well.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. I mean, you know, spring just around the corner, so maybe not that bad. I'm wondering whether you then agree with the White House's top economic advisor, who was asked about the impact of the war on the economy. I want to play the clip. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN HASSETT, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: President Trump has said that this is a temporary thing. And the markets now obviously agree if you look at the jobs numbers today.

And so our expectation is that this is going to last just a little bit longer. And then things will get back to normal much faster than you could expect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: All right. So you heard it there. Kevin Hassett saying this is temporary. Things will snap back relatively quickly.

Are you buying that?

PATEL: What's temporary, Kim?

I mean, you know we -- I don't -- temporary could be two months, three months. You know, I don't really buy that will snap quickly unless you decide that it's going to be ending this week or two weeks.

You know, I think the jumpback of energy prices, we will feel it. I mean even when it's over because we're 30, 35 days in.

[04:25:00]

So I would question what temporary means because, to me, temporary means in a couple of weeks we're done and then we're back to normal. But I don't think we're back to normal.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. All right.

The other surprising thing, I'd say, despite all of what we're hearing, retail sales were actually up in February, which seems surprising, given everything that's going on.

I mean, how long can consumers keep spending like this when they're paying so much, for example, to fill up their tanks?

PATEL: You know, that's one thing that the market has been pretty resilient. Now those are February numbers, right?

So you know, it's not, you know, we'll see what March and -- March and April look like. And so that, to me, is a good thing. It means the strength of the markets' there.

But to your point, when you start to see 30 percent to 40 percent increases in the things that they do every day, go to work, people are starting to think about what they spend. And that's -- you add another 30 to 60 days to that, it does change behavior on how you spend.

And the U.S. is over two-thirds of consumer spending. That's not a great thing when they start to decide they don't want to spend money. And companies also choosing to hold off investments as well.

So I think this is more of a, if there is a long-term effect, we will see that number be, you know, that'll be the indicator for the next jobs report should that drop. BRUNHUBER: Yes. It's funny. I was struck by a quote from Stephanie Roth, the chief economist at Wolfe Research, rather. And she said, I'll quote here.

"If you look at it, face value would say that the economy was booming in March and falling apart in February, neither of which was true."

I mean, it seems like, you know the numbers right now, it's hard to know what to make them. But we appreciate your efforts to parse them and to look into your crystal ball there. Ryan Patel, thanks, as always. Appreciate it.

PATEL: Appreciate you, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right.

The U.S. president faces pushback from a major ally over his criticism of European countries. Still ahead, how Italy's prime minister made it clear she's not on the same page with Donald Trump. Stay with us.

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GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos, live in Dubai.

Now we're following latest developments in Iran. President Donald Trump saying the downing of a U.S. fighter jet in Iran won't affect any talks with Tehran. Sources say the 515E plane was shot down on Friday. One crew member was later rescued, while the search for the second one is still underway.

Meanwhile, Reuters saying a U.N. Security Council vote on the Strait of Hormuz has been postponed until next week. Bahrain is pushing a resolution that would allow countries to use all defensive means necessary to secure passage of vessels.

Now that's happening as NATO secretary general Mark Rutte is preparing for a trip to Washington on Wednesday. He'll meet Mr. Trump, who's been lashing out against allies for reportedly not doing enough to help reopen the strait.

But Mr. Trump's key ally in Europe pushing back. On Friday, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said during a visit to Saudi Arabia that she disagrees with that criticism.

For more on this. I've got Clare Sebastian joining us from London.

Clare, good to see you. And we're seeing images of Giorgia Meloni's visit to Saudi Arabia. She's saying this time she has to disagree with president Trump regarding the criticism about leaders and the way that they're positioning themselves in this war. How important is this messaging from Italy?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Eleni, I think it underscores both the comments and the fact that she is now the first E.U. and NATO leader to visit the Gulf region since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

All of that underscores the delicate balance these countries face. Even, you know, leaders like Meloni, who seem to be particularly close to Trump, as this war seems to be escalating and they are sticking to their stance of not wanting to get involved.

Let me read you these comments in full that she made to an Italian broadcaster.

She said, "I continue to believe that, on a geopolitical level, Europe has little to gain from a divergence with the United States. But our job is above all to defend our national interests.

"And when we disagree, we must say so. And this time we disagree."

And we've heard a similar line taken by other leaders in Europe, the likes of Keir Starmer in the United Kingdom, Emmanuel Macron in France, perhaps even stronger words from him. So it is delicate.

The U.S. is still 60 percent-plus of NATO spending and these countries have no choice really but to deal with the fallout of this war as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. And that's part of the reason why we see Giorgia Meloni in the Gulf region.

Italy is heavily exposed to this disruption. It's a major importer, for example, of liquefied natural gas from Qatar. She's also expected to hold meetings with Qatar and the UAE, according to a source in her office.

But this is one track that these countries around the world are taking as they deal with the fallout. We also see them coming together in broader coalitions to try to underscore the need for de-escalation.

We saw this in the past week with 40-plus countries getting involved in a virtual meeting hosted by the U.K. And we also see an effort to strengthen non-U.S. alliances. We saw, for the first time, in the past week, members of the European Parliament in China for the first time in eight years.

And Emmanuel Macron of France was in South Korea, where he's made some pretty strong comments about this conflict and the U.S. methods of dealing with it. Take a listen to some comments he made Friday in a discussion with South Korean students.

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EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE: I think our objective is not to be the vessels of two hegemonic power. None of this hegemony power, I would say. And we don't want to depend on the dominance, let's say, on China or we don't want to be too much exposed to the unpredictability of the U.S.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: "Exposed to the U.S.," I think critical to note that phrasing, this world that we now live in. And I think, look, while this is delicate and the U.S. is still a critical ally for these countries, we do see a hardening of this position among some and a real resolve to look elsewhere to ensure their security going forward, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yes, really interesting, right. And a lot of countries feel they're stuck in the middle of all of this.

As we wait for Bahrain's resolution at the U.N. Security Council, that vote now being delayed until next week, perhaps we'll see more coordinated action in terms of opening up the Strait of Hormuz that's caused this massive energy shock. Clare Sebastian for us in London, thank you so much.

Now Israel says it's launched new strikes against Hezbollah targets in Beirut in recent hours.

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GIOKOS (voice-over): This video showing large fireballs in the southern part of the city after the IDF said it went after the group's infrastructure farther south.

[04:35:00]

Israel reportedly is considering a plan to demolish all Lebanese towns and villages near the country's border. An Israeli military official says the move would affect areas up to three kilometers into Lebanon. The reported goal is to create a buffer zone against Hezbollah.

Israel's operations have already forced more than a million people in Lebanon to flee their homes. Nada Bashir is on the ground. She spoke with some families who now live in tent cities and have no place to go.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Displaced by war and left searching desperately for safety, this is the reality for so many families in Lebanon. This is one of many camps that have been set up here in Beirut to house those displaced by the war.

And we're actually in quite an upscale neighborhood but this open space has been transformed and filled with tents to house families that have nowhere else to go.

And above us, we can still hear the drone buzzing, a constant reminder that this war is far from over. And for many families here, there is no certainty of if they'll ever be able to return home.

Susan and her family of seven fled their home in the southern suburbs of Beirut after a night of intense Israeli air strikes. For over a month now, they have been sheltering out on the street in these small tents, joining the more than 1 million people now displaced across Lebanon.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Our home was destroyed. The glass was broken. The balcony was blown off. The first strike hit during the night and we fled straight away. My daughter was shaking. She had a panic attack just from the sound. My youngest daughter, she's 7 years old, was also afraid. Where is the humanity?

Where is the humanity?

BASHIR: 85-year-old Abu Mohamed was also forced to flee his home in Dahiyeh. Over his lifetime, he has seen conflict tighten its grip on the country time and time again.

ABU MOHAMED, INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSON (through translator): Our situation is very bleak. We left even without our clothes. We couldn't bring anything with us. They told us to shelter here and we've been here ever since as you can see.

BASHIR: But it's not just shelter that people are in need of. Medical and psychological support centers have become a lifeline for many. At this makeshift clinic in Beirut, NGO Doctors Without Borders is working to reach displaced patients struggling to access medical care.

DR. CALINE REHAYEM, MEDICAL COORDINATOR, DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: We are mobilizing our teams to respond to primary health care needs, including the general medical consultations, the care for non- communicable diseases or chronic conditions, as well as sexual and reproductive health care.

And very importantly, mental health and psychosocial support.

BASHIR: Elsewhere in Beirut, volunteer medics are visiting shelters to provide weekly checkups. At this elementary school, more than 250 people are currently being housed. Each classroom now a makeshift shelter. But it's not just physical health that is being attended to here.

SAMER EL SAFAH, MAKHZOUMI FOUNDATION: We give a lot of care and attention to children and especially during, where they are the most affected.

So what we do is we do recreational activities on a daily basis for them. Those two, three hours that we do the recreational activities with them are the time that they -- we get them out of what they are passing through the day, hearing bombs, voices. Their parents are on edge.

BASHIR: Thirteen-year-old Fatima and her family are also among the displaced. They fled from the south, narrowly escaping an overnight Israeli military attack.

FATIMA RIDA, INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSON (through translator): At night, they bombed the building behind us., of course, we were very scared. We were sleeping. We thought that was it, that we would be murdered.

BASHIR: While shelters like this provide some respite for these families, there are no guarantees of safety as the expanding Israeli military assault continues to loom large over Lebanon -- Nada Bashir, CNN, in Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: Important reporting there from our Nada Bashir.

After the break, the latest on a quickly-growing fire in Southern California and a look into the rebuilding efforts in Altadena a year after the devastating Eaton Fire turned entire neighborhoods to ash. Kim will be with you after this short break.

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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): A fast moving brush fire is burning in Southern California, east of Moreno Valley in Riverside County. The Springs Fire started late Friday morning and has spread quickly, fueled by Santa Ana winds. More than 4,000 acres have burned and the fire was 25 percent contained as of Friday night.

More than 1,000 homes in the surrounding area are under evacuation orders as crews work to slow the fire's spread.

Other communities in California, like Altadena, are still grappling with the devastation left from last year's fires. More than 16,000 structures were destroyed in the Eaton Fire in January of 2025.

More than a year later, rebuilding is underway but progress has been slow. More than 2,000 building permits have been issued and over 1,000 projects are now in progress. But just 33 homes have been completed so far. CNN's Nick Watt checks in on how the recovery effort is playing out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN HARMON, HOME DAMAGED IN EATON FIRE: It's just been the worst year ever and this is the cherry on top.

NICK WATT, CNN ANCHOR AND NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fifty- two homes in this community burned to the ground in January 25, many more damaged. Ryan Harman had to flee.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to go home. Look at that.

WATT: They still haven't moved back home. Like so many, he's been dealing with sometimes fighting with insurance companies, mortgage companies, contractors and then a letter arrived from the homeowners association.

HARMON: We were all like, what?

You have to read the letter a few times to go, are they really saying that?

Are they really threatening me?

WATT: Here's the letter from July. A demand for $23,614 to replace fences, irrigation, shrubs and trees, just 34 days to pay or face late fees and interest. For those with hardship or questions, please contact the management office for possible assistance. At least one lawsuit has been filed for non-payment.

They do need to repair stuff, right?

HARMON: Yes. Yes. Sure.

WATT: So what's your beef?

HARMON: Do you take your neighbors and kick them when they're down, when they're displaced, when they're out hundreds of thousands of dollars, when they've gone through a catastrophe?

WATT: He and others also wonder if quite so much money is needed to fix up the common landscaping.

HARMON: There's people fighting, arguing back and forth and it's just unfortunate. It's pitted neighbor against neighbor and it didn't need to be this way.

WATT: We asked the HOA board for comment. I haven't heard back.

[04:45:00]

RANDE SOTOMAYOR, ATTORNEY AND MEDIATOR: This assessment could have been much, much larger.

WATT: But here are two neighbors on their side.

SOTOMAYOR: It's just that people have different personalities and react differently in stressful times and when they are affected by trauma and it became a little ugly.

WATT: Rande Sotomayor is a professional mediator who tried to unite her neighbors with a Kumbaya Zoom call.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't like it because it's money out of my pocket but I completely understand what it why it was required.

WATT: Some don't. Rifts remain. Bottom line, rebuilding your own house after a fire is hard. Getting more than 200 households in an association to agree on how to rebuild what you share is even harder. Is anybody not talking to you because of this? HARMON: I believe possibly in my next door neighbor she doesn't want to talk to me. Fine.

WATT: It's now more than a year since the fire and there's still a tangle of red tape and bureaucratic machinations, countersuits, suits; unclear what more compensation might come from the power company from the county. It's still all a bit of a mess.

But listen, you know, a fire that takes 19 lives and destroys 9,000 buildings, it's going to take some coming back from. It's a long and often painful process -- Nick Watt, CNN, Altadena, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Artemis II is making progress on its long journey to the moon. When we come back, we'll have the latest on the mission as the crew travels where no one has gone before. Stay with us.

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[04:50:00]

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BRUNHUBER: NASA says Artemis II is now more than halfway to the moon, as the Orion crew gets some much needed shuteye. On Friday, we got the first glimpse of our home planet as viewed from the Orion spacecraft.

NASA released these beautiful images, just gorgeous. These photos were taken by mission commander on Thursday. CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Houston with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REID WISEMAN, ARTEMIS II COMMANDER: You could see the entire globe from pole to pole. You could see Africa, Europe and as if you looked really close, you could see the northern lights. It was the most spectacular moment and it paused all four of us in our tracks.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These are the first breathtaking images shared by the Artemis II crew as they officially set course for the moon.

CHRISTINA KOCH, ARTEMIS II MISSION SPECIALIST: There's nothing that prepares you for the breathtaking aspect of seeing your home planet both lit up bright as day and also the moon glow on it at night with a beautiful beam of the sunset.

LAVANDERA: The four astronauts have traveled at speeds of up to 3,400 miles per hour.

KOCH: You're getting a live look outside the windows of the Orion spacecraft.

LAVANDERA: That's nearly 5,000 feet per second as they head into the most crucial part of their mission.

WISEMAN: I got to tell you, there is nothing normal about this. Sending four humans 250,000 miles away is a Herculean effort and we are now just realizing the gravity of that.

LAVANDERA: We got the clearest view yet of the astronauts onboard the Orion spaceship as they answered questions about their journey so far and revealed they've been glued to the views of Earth from the four main windows in their cabin and also finding the best ways to sleep.

WISEMAN: Christina has been sleeping heads down in the middle of the vehicle, kind of like a bat suspended from our docking tunnel. Victor's been up where Jeremy is right now. It's more comfortable than you would think and it's nice to get sleep and weightlessness again.

Every time I was dozing off last night, I had that image and I was tripping off a curb and I was waking myself up. So my body's getting reacclimated.

LAVANDERA: Friday's wake up song in a daydream by the Freddie Jones band.

WISEMAN: It was really great to wake up this morning and look out the window and see the full moon of the front of the vehicle. There's no doubt where we are heading right now.

LAVANDERA: Their planned course adjustment was canceled. It wasn't needed.

WISEMAN: Copy that.

LAVANDERA: They are transitioning their seats positioned for the launch to set up for their lunar flyby when they make history.

VICTOR GLOVER, ARTEMIS II PILOT: This brought us together and showed us what we can do when we put -- not just putting our differences aside, when we bring our differences together and use all the strengths to accomplish something great.

LAVANDERA: By Saturday morning, the Artemis II crew will be about halfway to the moon. And until then, they will continue doing systems checks and preparing the Orion capsule, for that historic moment.

And in the meantime, they do have some time to have private conversations with their families here on Earth and updating them on how their missions are going -- Ed Lavandera, CNN, Houston, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right. Well, it's no longer March but the madness continues. The NCAA women's basketball championship game is set. UCLA secured its spot after beating Texas in a defensive battle. The final score was 51 to 44, will take on the University of South Carolina.

The Gamecocks snapped defending champion UConn's 54-game winning streak on the final seconds. UConn coach Geno Auriemma and South Carolina coach Dawn Staley got into a heated exchange. You see there, Auriemma later said he was frustrated by the officiating, that he had to wait for Staley to shake hands with him before the game.

Now on the men's side, the Final Four face off Saturday night in Indiana for a double semifinal. The UConn Huskies versus the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Arizona Wildcats against the Michigan Wolverines. CNN's Coy Wire has more from Indianapolis.

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COY WIRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, four teams, one stage in a spotlight so bright it turns college athletes into household names overnight. I caught up with each of the Final Four coaches and turns out we have all sorts of great storylines, family ties and a whole lot of personality. Nothing says tough like Red Dragon underpants.

Are you still rocking the lucky drawers, coach?

DAN HURLEY, UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH: Yes, I do. And I got their cousins on right now, because I've got the blue dragons for the day before the game but then the red dragons will take the court tomorrow night. I think they're 18 and 1 in this tournament right now. So --

[04:55:00]

WIRE: How they holding up?

HURLEY: I've got my wife. Andrea takes great care of them between games with the travel washer and the travel dryer. And, obviously, Illinois has to overcome that. This team, UConn team and the Dragon underwear if they want to advance.

WIRE: Now here's a little story I got to tell about a Wildcat coach. I know so well.

TOMMY LLOYD, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH: Wow.

WIRE: You're a big Beastie Boys fan.

LLOYD: Oh, my god.

WIRE: If what playlist song of the Beastie Boys really gets you going?

LLOYD: Honestly, I have so much respect for the Beastie Boys. It's like just hearing anything they've done, whether it's an instrumental or going back to their old punk days like, I just -- they've been in such an important part of my life. And I know that's kind of crazy to say for a grown man but they've been there every step of the way with me.

WIRE: If your personality had a spirit animal, what would it be?

BRAD UNDERWOOD, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH: Oh, gosh. Now you're going to put me on this spot. I'm a lion. I'm a lion. I'm going to try to be the king of the jungle. That's what you do when you're here in the Final Four, right?

You try to win them all and go for the jugular.

DUSTY MAY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH: Wow. A spirit animal. You got me. It's a wolverine. Keep it simple.

WIRE: What are the qualities of that?

D. MAY: Small and terrorizing.

WIRE: Feisty.

D. MAY: Feisty.

WIRE: Yes. Now you guys say, dad's super nice, teach you to be kind but he said his spirit animal will be a wolverine. He's feisty, tenacious. Do you see that side of him?

ELI MAY, UNIV. OF MICHIGAN MEN'S BASKETBALL STUDENT MANAGER: Yes. In a way, he's like kind of an aggressive nice. Like, he'll like I don't know how to explain it.

CHARLIE MAY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN BASKETBALL PLAYER: Yes. Definitely see it a little bit. A couple of people asked me last week why he was so mad. The refs won games so that so was the most angry you've ever seen him.

WIRE: Do know this guy?

This is your son. I have a question for you. What does dad mean to you?

TYLER UNDERWOOD, UNIV. OF ILLINOIS MEN'S BASKETBALL ASST. COACH: It means the world. I mean, I think growing up, I was his biggest fan. And to be able to play for and be a part of this year now as a staff member, lifelong memories. I'm so proud of him. It's been a special journey.

WIRE: This is where March Madness becomes legendary. The title game will be decided following Saturday's matchups. And Monday night, a national champion will be crowned here in Indy.

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BRUNHUBER: Great stuff.

That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Eleni Giokos and I will be back with more news in just a moment.