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CNN This Morning

London's Heathrow Airport Closed, Flights Worldwide Affected; Today: Elon Musk to Visit Pentagon; Is Hollywood Shifting to Appeal to Trump's Base?. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired March 21, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN ANCHOR: By billionaire William Chisholm is buying the Celtics from the Grousbeck family, who bought the team, well, for a mere $360 million back in 2002.

[06:00:11]

In a press release, the billionaire said he's been a die-hard Celtics fan his entire life and that he understands how important the team is to the city of Boston. The Celtics have won 18 NBA championships. That is more than any other team.

Well, thanks for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Isabel Rosales in Atlanta. CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: It is Friday, March 21. Here's what's happening right now on CNN THIS MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IAN PETCHENIK, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, FLIGHTRADAR24: This is absolutely crucial to -- to airline travel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: One of the world's busiest airports forced to close for the day. How this could impact your trip, no matter where you're going.

Plus, Elon Musk takes a trip to the Pentagon today. Is there a top- secret reason for his not-so-secret visit?

And then there's this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To cut benefits from the veterans, that's ridiculous. And it's wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Fear and confusion over DOGE cuts that could impact veterans' care. We'll talk to a Republican congressman and Green Beret, Pat Harrigan.

And later --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: McNeese has its first ever NCAA tournament victory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Bracket busters and big plays. A wild start to March Madness. How are you doing in your office pool this morning?

It is 6 a.m. here on the East Coast, but here's a live look at London, Heathrow Airport. A shutdown there causing travel headaches around the world.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Audie Cornish. I want to thank you for waking up with me.

We're going to begin with the breaking news overnight, as one of the world's busiest airports is now shut down.

A fire that burned near London's Heathrow International Airport is being blamed for knocking out power and the airport's backup power supply. It's now expected to be closed all day.

Aviation experts say the effects will be felt around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETCHENIK: London, aside from being one of the busiest airports in the world, it's also one of the airports that collects the largest number of airlines.

So, an impact to, you know, a daily closure in, say, Dallas would affect American airlines, but pretty much only American airlines. A closure of London Heathrow really affects multiple airlines and many airlines around the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: I want to bring you in on the latest with CNN's Nada Bashir.

Nada, as we just heard, one of the busiest airports. So, is there any word about whether things will be able to get back to normal anytime soon?

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, we know that Heathrow Airport will be closed for the duration of today, at least.

But officials at the airport are warning of significant disruption over the coming days, with no clarity as to when that power supply will be back up and running.

As you mentioned, Audie, even the backup power supply said to have been affected by this fire at the substation in Hayes just about four miles away from where we are now, outside of Heathrow Airport. And of course, we've seen that dramatic footage of the fire, which

broke out late last night. The Fire Brigade says it was called at around 11:20 p.m. to deal with the incident. We've seen videos and heard from residents nearby, some of whom were even told to evacuate as a precaution.

But now officials from the London Fire Brigade have said that the fire is under control, but there is still an ongoing investigation as to what exactly caused the fire.

What we do know at this stage is that there is a huge amount of chaos that has been caused as a result. Hundreds of flights today alone have been canceled or diverted.

We've been hearing from passengers who have been rediverted to other locations with no clarity as to how they can actually get back to London.

And of course, there are thousands of passengers who are impacted. Airlines have been rolling out emergency measures and precautions as a result. We've been hearing warnings telling passengers not to head to the airport.

At this stage, there really isn't very much clarity for passengers. No clear signal as to when Heathrow Airport will be back up and running -- Audie.

CORNISH: That's Nada Bashir. Thank you so much.

I want to turn today to Elon Musk, heading to the Defense Department. He'll be at the Pentagon. This is raising questions about what exactly the world's richest man is going to do once he gets there.

The Pentagon tells CNN that Musk will be there at the invitation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and that this -- he's just visiting.

New reporting from "The New York Times" suggests Musk will actually be briefed on the U.S. military's top-secret plan for any war which might break out with China. They actually cite two anonymous U.S. officials in the story.

[06:05:04]

President Trump denies this reporting. In a post on Truth Social, he calls it, quote, "completely untrue."

The news of Musk's visit, though, comes as angry town hall attendees continue to question why he's playing such a large role in the federal government at all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And how he looked at Musk's DOGE whatever website. You are a lawyer. Where is this fraud?

REP. HARRIET HAGEMAN (R-WY): This is the fraud. Spending is the fraud. As an example --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But that's your job, not Musk's job. That's your job, not Musk's.

HAGEMAN: That's what we did. That's what we did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Joining me now to talk about this: Margaret Talev, senior contributor at Axios; Elliot Williams, CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor; and Rob Bluey, president and executive editor at "The Daily Signal."

So, I want to start with you, Rob, because you have talked about Democrats really just -- you think they're way out, going too far in their reaction to Musk.

But what do you see when you actually listen to town hall clips? Do you consider that activism? Do you consider that legitimate criticism from the public?

ROB BLUEY, PRESIDENT/EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "THE DAILY SIGNAL": Well, we know Chuck Schumer talked on PBS about how Democrats were activating people to go to these town hall meetings. So, I'm sure that there's some component of that.

But generally, I think it's great that citizens are taking an active part in their democracy and participating in these conversations.

And Republicans and Democrats should be hearing from constituents and taking their feedback and going back to Washington and delivering.

Let's face it: at the end of the day, I think most people want to see changes in Washington. When it comes to cutting government, though, that's where the rubber meets the road. And people sometimes have differences of opinion.

CORNISH: Margaret.

MARGARET TALEV, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I -- we have been pretty consistently hearing this in focus groups and seeing some of it in polling for a couple of months now, since the start of the administration, this -- a component of the public that likes President Trump and voted for President Trump but doesn't view Elon Musk as someone who they have anointed. Right?

So, they're like, we understand that President Trump anointed him. We're not as comfortable with him, because we didn't elect him.

I think on top of that, look at these town hall meetings. I'm sure people there are Democratic constituents. There are Republican constituents.

If you live in an area and you're going to a town hall, you know in your community who is a Republican and who's a Democrat. There is some bipartisan concern about this. And Elon Musk has a lot of conflicts of interest.

And the problem is, under a normal process or sort of the old- fashioned way of politics, if you were appointed to a role like this, you would be vetted. Your information would be publicly available. You would under -- a regular voter could understand --

CORNISH: What it is, yes.

TALEV: -- what he stands to gain in China, what businesses are at stake. Because all of that is out the window, it has added a level of opaqueness that gives some people concern.

CORNISH: Elliot, I want to come to you, but first I want to play a suggestion from Tim Walz about kind of this reporting on Musk and what it portends.

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GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN): I don't know how to convey. I don't possess the language ability to convey how far out of the norm this is.

These are closely guarded secrets, because our national and our global defense depends upon them. I don't understand where are the Republicans? Where are Lindsey Grahams? Where are these people who know how this works, to not be terrified of where this is at.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: We might be hearing someone later in the show from the House Armed Services Committee who can talk about this, but I want to get a sense from you, Elliot, kind of how you think about this connection.

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The thing that I'm seeing is, why can't we just get a straight answer as to what's happening now?

The administration has been pretty consistent in saying that this meeting will not be about China, and Elon Musk is just going to have a face-to-face at the Pentagon.

Reporting from "The Wall Street Journal" and other places seemed to blow that out of -- out of the water. Why is the meeting happening in what's called The Tank, the secure briefing room at the Pentagon?

And I just think, regardless of who's meeting, when and where, it would just be good to know what's actually happening. And I think that -- that lack of transparency.

CORNISH: I'm hearing from both of them a threat of transparency. When you don't have it, it becomes a problem. People fill the gap.

And in this case, Musk has billions of dollars of federal contracts with the Defense Department in the area of surveillance and reconnaissance. So, it's like him being there is actually not such a stretch. His conflicts of interest, though, as you said, we don't know. BLUEY: Transparency is great. And remember, Donald Trump has said he's

the most transparent president that we've had. So, I mean, I think that if he's going to live up to that, that moniker, he needs to obviously demonstrate the fact that he's allowing his cabinet secretaries and others to -- to speak about what Musk is doing specifically.

I do think that that will go a long way in easing some of the concerns.

But going back to the earlier conversation, remember, Americans are OK with cutting spending. They understand that the national debt is not sustainable, and a $2 trillion budget deficit is not a good thing.

[06:10:11]

But when it comes to the specifics, that's where you get into these issues. And I think that the Pentagon is actually an interesting --

CORNISH: Sounds like they were saying, though, who's cutting; why they're cutting; what their own conflicts of interest are. Like, people are raising --

TALEV: How are they qualified?

CORNISH: Yes. How are they qualified?

TALEV: What's the accountability if they're not nominated and confirmed? If it's not.

CORNISH: And that that same person has said mistakes get made and you're like, what?

BLUEY: Like, isn't that why -- why Trump in that cabinet meeting said, It's up to you, cabinet secretaries --

CORNISH: Yes.

BLUEY: -- to take the recommendations and actually follow through on that.

CORNISH: Do the courts believe that?

WILLIAMS: No.

CORNISH: Say more.

WILLIAMS: No, no. And there's been a question, at least in one lawsuit, as to whether the cuts are being made in a proper manner by Elon Musk or they were just directives to cabinet departments. That's an open, factual question being litigated right now.

The question of who's actually doing it. And if it is, in fact, someone who was improperly appointed or is not in the role as a cabinet secretary, that is a problem. Again, I think many people can agree on the underlying goal of making

government smaller and more efficient. But you've got to do it within the confines of the law, and it's just not entirely clear that that's happening.

CORNISH: Yes. I'm going to leave it there, because to your point, it is an open question. It is being litigated right now.

And we have a lot more to talk about. Group chat, stick around.

Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, furious and demanding answers. We're going to hear from more voters, calling out their lawmakers at town halls. It's happening all over the country.

And Republican congressman Pat Harrigan is here with us. What he's hearing from his constituents.

Plus, out of the octagon and into politics. Why Conor McGregor wants to be the next president of Ireland.

And Tesla says there's a problem with its Cybertrucks. The big recall this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, NBC'S "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JIMMY FALLON": They just recalled nearly all Cybertrucks, because the roof panels can detach while driving. It's dangerous. I mean, if the roof blows off, people could see you in a Cybertruck.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[06:16:44]

CORNISH: It is 16 minutes past the hour. I want to give you your morning roundup. Some of the stories you need to get your day going.

And this first one is kind of a bummer if you're driving, because 68 bridges in the U.S. need to be assessed to see whether they would collapse, if they were to get hit by a ship.

This is from the NTSB, which has been investigating last year's bridge collapse in Baltimore. Some of the bridges on that list: the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, and the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan.

Former Ultimate Fighting champion Conor McGregor seems to be eyeing a new prize: the presidency of Ireland. He just announced he will run on an anti-immigration platform. The role is largely ceremonial, and the vote is up in November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: McNeese has its first ever NCAA tournament victory! (END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: That is the sound of people crying in their cups of coffee, because their brackets are busted. Twelve-seeded McNeese state pulled off the upset against fifth-seeded Clemson last night.

After yesterday, the NCAA says that less than 1 percent of all brackets are still perfect.

And you've got to see this. Or should I say, you "goat" to see this? So many puns here.

A "baaad" guy on the run. I'm going to do it. I'm just powering through it.

Police in Ohio chased a runaway goat down a busy highway, the animal darting in and out of traffic. The great goat chase ended when police finally nabbed her.

An animal rescue took her in. They're calling her The Fugitive.

Still coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, a complete shutdown. London's Heathrow Airport is at a standstill after a fire caused a power outage. How this is affecting flights around the world.

Plus, from "The Apprentice" reruns to, say, "Duck Dynasty" returning to our screens, is Hollywood trying to appeal to President Trump's base?

And good morning, St. Louis. You are under a red-flag warning right now because of high winds and low humidity. They're creating dangerous fire conditions there. Stay safe.

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[06:23:05]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do I put this in a way you'll understand? Weed is like China. It's a lot stronger than it was when you were in high school.

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CORNISH: Everyone, I want to go off-script for a second and talk about something -- bear with me -- that is happening in Hollywood.

The sitcom "Shifting Gears" stars famous Hollywood conservative Tim Allen, and the premise is that it's a family that's actually reuniting and putting aside their political differences.

"The Wall Street Journal" is suggesting that this is an example of Hollywood trying to appeal to the right.

So, I wanted to talk about this with entertainment journalist Segun Oduolowu about this shift, if that's what's happening now.

Segun, first of all, thanks for waking up with us. Welcome to the program. I want to ask you about the idea of political shifts.

I mean, certainly it happens in a place like Washington when there's a new administration. And you have talked about Hollywood pandering in the past. Is that what we're seeing?

SEGUN ODUOLOWU, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: Audie, thank you for having me.

Look, I really don't think it is. You know, "Duck Dynasty," for example, debuted during the Obama administration. "The Cosby Show" debuted during the Reagan administration. And right alongside with "Growing Pains" and "Family Ties" and "Married with Children."

Good television has always been on the air. What we had was maybe an agenda that woke shows or, quote, unquote, "woke shows" were being aired, but they weren't that good.

And Tim Allen and the show that you just mentioned, it's funny. And Tim Allen sells.

I don't think it's a woke agenda pandering to President Trump. I think Hollywood is doing what it's always done. It's show business.

And we should never let the shine of the show blind us to the bias of the business. They're not nonprofits. They're about money. And they've always been about what's going to sell or what they think is going to sell.

[06:25:04]

And so, right now, Tim Allen, who's wildly popular -- his shows always do well -- is in favor. I think that's just the way Hollywood is moving. It's going --

CORNISH: At the same time -- Segun, let me jump in -- when you think of Taylor Sheridan and his empire over at Paramount with all of his programing, I think one of the things we've heard from Tim Allen in the past and others is that they felt like they were on the outs with Hollywood, right? That they somehow were blacklisted because of their politics.

But you're saying that it's not so simple? Or are you saying that it really just depends on which way the wind is blowing financially?

ODUOLOWO: One, it depends on which way the wind is blowing financially. But when these actors are saying that they are on the outs of Hollywood, I would ask that they just turn on the dial and look around, right?

Like, who is getting all of these shows that they're not getting? Hollywood still remains one of the most segregated businesses that we have. The writer's room, the heads of the studios, the producers, the

directors. These aren't a ton of people of color or people who find themselves under the rainbow flag. That's not what Hollywood is.

It's only ten years that we're removed from hashtag OscarsSoWhite. So, let's not think of Hollywood as this altruistic place where everyone comes together.

Too often, what happens is you see black, brown, or people -- minorities on screen, and we feel that this is the rule rather than it's the exception.

It's the exception when you see "The Cosby Show," because if it was wildly successful, how come there aren't that more black shows on television? If the -- you know, if "227" or "Martin" were as popular as these shows were, how come we haven't seen more shows like this dominating the airwaves?

CORNISH: Yes.

ODUOLOWU: Where's the next "In Living Color"? We don't see that like we should with these shows that have been so popular. Hollywood goes after the money, and there have always been a ton of shows that cater to middle America.

CORNISH: One other context here: Hollywood after the labor strike movement; Hollywood after cuts to the streaming age and spending there. It feels like there are fewer projects, right, compared to the golden age of TV, sort of heyday of spending. And people are more cautious.

Can you talk about how that is affecting things?

ODUOLOWU: Well, it's our phones. Where -- how we consume content.

You have younger people that are on TikTok and are on Instagram, and they're cutting the cord. People are scrambling to find a foothold with shows.

As much as we used to have, you know, pilot season here in Hollywood, you don't see that anymore. Because people just aren't watching TV.

You'll hear younger viewers or younger -- a younger audience say, I don't even own a TV, or I don't really even watch TV, or I get my -- I get my information, or I watch my phone more than I'm invested in a certain TV show.

And as you mentioned with the strikes, the writers' strike, the actors' strike, it's harder to make shows that are going to find a foothold.

And honestly, the woke agenda that people talk about is kind of tired, because it -- look, is it good? Is it funny? People watch television to escape. And if you're not giving them good things to view, then they're going to -- they're going to turn the TV off. Like Kendrick said, turn the TV off, turn the TV off. Except when you and I are talking.

CORNISH: So many references, Segun, so little time. Thank you for joining me this morning.

Straight ahead on CNN, a major power outage shutting down London's Heathrow Airport, disrupting flights for hundreds of thousands of people.

Plus, not so fast. A judge blocks DOGE from getting your personal data from the Social Security Administration.

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