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CNN This Morning

Pentagon Identifies Six Airmen Killed In Plane Crash In Iraq; Munitions Impacts Reported At Locations In Central Israel; Trump Not Ready To Make Deal To End War With Iran; Iran Threatens Retaliation For U.S. Strikes On Kharg Island; Lebanon: At Least One Killed In Israeli Strike On Sidon; Jewish Institutions Step Up Security Following Synagogue Attack; Zelenskyy: Russia Provided Extensive Intel Support To Iran; Trump Reiterates Push For Global Effort To Secure Strait Of Hormuz. Iran's FM Abbas Araghchi Says Strait Of Hormuz Is Open For All Except US, Israel-Linked Vessels; Tsa Workers Miss First Full Paycheck; FCC Chair Threatens TV Networks Amid Iran War Coverage; Blizzard, Dangerous Winds To Threaten Nearly 200 million; Oscars Step Up Security Amid Reports Of Threat From Iran. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired March 15, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:35]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning, we now know the names of the six U.S. service members killed in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHERYL SIMMONS, TYLER SIMMONS' MOTHER: They were lined up out on the porch and I was like, you've got to be kidding me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: How family members and officials from their home states are remembering them. Plus, President Trump says he wants other countries to send warships to help secure the Strait of Hormuz. The response so far? We'll think about it.

Places of worship are setting up security after the attack at a synagogue in Michigan. Some members of the Jewish community tell CNN they are afraid to attend services. You'll hear from them.

And the partial government shutdown is now entering its second month. No end in sight and no money to pay TSA workers. The concerns that it's putting us all in danger. That's coming up.

Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It is Sunday, March 15th. I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to have you along.

And we begin with the breaking news. The Pentagon has identified now the six U.S. airmen killed when a refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq on Thursday. Their names are Major John Klinner, Captain Ariana Savino, Tech Sergeant Ashley Pruitt, Captain Seth Koval, Captain Curtis Angst, and Tech Sergeant Tyler Simmons.

The crew members' deaths brings the number of U.S. troops killed since the war started to 13. The cause of the crash is still under investigation, but their heartbroken families, we are now hearing from them about their losses.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tyler is gone. Oh, help me, Jesus.

SIMMONS: He was truly an amazing man. And to do the job as an air refueler is a special person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Strikes lit up the sky above Tel Aviv in the latest attacks from Iran and Hezbollah. Authorities said munitions fell in several locations in central Israel. Take a look at this video. Emergency crews said two people were injured but no deaths reported.

New video geolocated by CNN shows thick plumes of smoke over Isfahan in central Iran. It's not clear what caused the smoke, but Iranian state media is reporting several points in the city were targeted by missiles from U.S. and Israeli fighter jets.

Meanwhile, President Trump says he's not ready to make a deal with Iran to end the war. He's also urging other countries to help the U.S. secure the Strait of Hormuz by sending warships to the Middle East. But some lawmakers back at home are still not convinced the Trump administration has a plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. EUGENE VINDMAN (D-VA): The president, this administration, entered this war without a plan, a real plan. Their current plan is based on hope. Hope that American air power is sufficient to bring the Iranians to their knees, and hope that the Iranian people rise up against this regime.

And over the course of the last two weeks, I've not seen anything that looks like the Iranian people are in a position to rise up, and air power so far has not been sufficient to open the Strait of Hormuz. So, I want to see a real plan. I want to know what the achievable objectives are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: We have a team covering those angles and more. Let's start with CNN's Nada Bashir. We also have Eleni Giokos in Dubai. Nada, to you first, the latest on the strikes overnight?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are getting more information now from state media. As you mentioned, Victor, they have accused both the U.S. and Israel of carrying out devastating strikes on the city of Isfahan. They say U.S. and Israeli fighter jets carried out those airstrikes.

And of course, we have geolocated video to the city of Isfahan showing thick plumes of smoke over the city, following what is according to state media those rounds of strikes. And we've been hearing from residents on the ground who have described the scene in the city as horrifying, that buildings in the vicinity of these strikes began to shake upon the impact.

And of course, this follows a series of strikes carried out by the U.S. military on the Kharg Island, a five mile strip of land just off the coast of Iran, overnight into Saturday where we saw, according to the U.S. president, what he described as the most powerful bombing raid in Middle East history or among the most powerful.

[06:05:15]

Now of course, the U.S. and Israel have been, so far, unrelenting in their strikes on Iran. And we've been hearing from the Iranian regime vowing retaliation. And we certainly have seen that Iran has vowed to target U.S. and Israeli assets in the region, including warnings around potential UAE ports and docks where they believe the U.S. military may be using these as sort of launch pads for their Air Force and for the military to target Iranian territory.

We have, as you mentioned, also seen a series of munitions falling, according to Israeli authorities, in parts of central Israel. According to an earlier statement from the Israeli military, the Israel Defense Force, there were reports and indications of rocket fire coming from Iran.

At this stage, no casualties have been reported. Although, authorities say two people have been injured. And of course investigations are still ongoing at the sites of what they have described as munition falls in parts of central Israel.

And of course, there is Lebanon as well, which continues to see unrelenting bombardment by the Israeli military overnight into the early hours of Sunday morning. We have seen more strikes on parts of southern Lebanon targeting what appears to be a residential building engulfed in flames. At least one person in the city of Sidon in the south said to have been killed in this strike.

And this follows a devastating strike on a medical center, according to Lebanese state media, which killed doctors, nurses, at least 12 medical professionals who were in that building at the time. And we've had repeated calls now from humanitarian organizations, from the United Nations, calling for an end to the hostilities and calling particularly for the targeting of medical workers and humanitarians to come to an end.

BLACKWELL: Nada Bashir, reporting from London, thank you. New this morning, President Trump says that he's not ready to make a deal with Iran to end this war. This was in an interview with NBC.

The president claimed that it's Iran that wants to make a deal. He also questioned whether Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is alive. The supreme leader has not been seen publicly since taking over after his father was killed.

Let's go now to CNN's Eleni Giokos. On this deal the president in suggesting that the terms aren't good enough for suggesting that the Iranians have offered terms.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. I mean, it's so fascinating that we're seeing President Trump, you know, doubling down, not ready to sign any deal, talking about the terms not being strong enough. But in the meantime, you have this supply shock of oil that is impacting not only the United States but global economies as well.

And you're seeing gas prices increasing. You're seeing fuel shortages. And it's almost become ground zero in terms of what we're seeing in the Strait of Hormuz.

And President Trump is really focusing on that despite the fact saying he's not ready to stop the war or agree to any terms that are perhaps on the table, whatever those may be. What was interesting and we have to go back to last week where President Trump had promised insurance guarantees by the U.S. Development Finance Corporation. Those haven't materialized. And also promising naval escorts, again, we're perhaps weeks away from that.

We also saw a post on social media by the president saying that he's going to bring in other countries to assist, like the U.K., France, South Korea, Japan, and interestingly China. We've heard from the Japanese and they're saying they're going to have high hurdles. They're going to face high hurdles. They're not ruling it out. But they are saying, essentially, we're going to think about it. But they have to take a lot of things into consideration because this is an ongoing conflict.

The South Koreans also not categorically agreeing to sending warships to the Strait of Hormuz. Saying they're going to review this, and they're going to be looking at, you know, communicating closely. And again, this is all up in the air. And it basically shows that President Trump doesn't have anything concrete in terms of assistance right now.

It's interesting that China is put into all of this because we had two Indian tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz that the Iranians say have cleared to pass through the strait with the caveat to use payment in Chinese yuan. We know that China and Iran have a long standing relationship. China has been buying around 80 percent of all of Iran's oil.

It's interesting that President Trump would put China in terms of sending warships, but he's banking on the fact that you've got Asia and China really reliant on oil that passes through the Strait of Hormuz. And then the other big thing that happened over the weekend is the targeting of Kharg Island, a critical key infrastructure, and Iran vowing to retaliate specifically here in the UAE.

BLACKWELL: Eleni Giokos for us there in Dubai, thank you. All right. An Iranian official says that Iran may allow a small number of oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, but there is a catch.

[06:10:03]

CNN's Tom Foreman has more on how limiting the flow of oil through that strait can, as we've seen, impact the entire world.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This conflict is far away. The United States produces a tremendous amount of oil and gas. So, why is it affecting your corner gas station?

Because we're talking about another part of the world that also produces a lot of petroleum products. Places like UAE, Saudi Arabia, huge producer, Kuwait, Iraq and, yes, Iran as well. And almost all of that has to come out through this body of water and through the Strait of Hormuz. About 3,000 ships a month, 20 million barrels a day.

And Iran is putting so much pressure, military pressure on those ships with a threat of attack that they're effectively closing the metaphorical gates here and saying, nothing can get out from this area at the time. How are they doing that? One of the ways is with the threat of mining the area which is believed to be underway in some fashion there.

We don't know exactly what kind of mines they're using at this moment or how effective they would be but we know what they have. For example, they have these. These are called influence mines. They sit in the water and they wait for ships to pass overhead.

If they see a small boat, they might let it pass. A medium sized one, let it pass. But they see one of those big tankers that they're after that's when they'll blow up. We don't really know how effective they can be, but we know they've already disrupted the flow here immensely.

Now, most of this is going out to go to Asian countries, principally China. Why would that affect you? Because oil is traded on a global market. Let me fill the back of our hanger here with a bunch of barrels representing all the oil being traded in the world right now.

And because of the trouble around the Strait of Hormuz, 20 percent is now being held up. You simply can't take that out of the market without affecting manufacturing and shipping and trade and, yes, what you're going to pay when you try to fill up your car for this weekend.

BLACKWELL: Up to $3.70 a gallon this morning. Tom Foreman, thanks so much. Coming up later on CNN this morning, how the war will impact the popular F1 Grand Prix races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Plus, the reality for Jewish communities impacted by antisemitic attacks, including the one at the synagogue and school in Michigan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DAVID KUSTOFF (R-TN): It's a shame that Jewish communities have to employ trained private security forces that they have to pay for in order to safeguard synagogues and Jewish community centers across the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:17:18]

BLACKWELL: Synagogues and other places of worship across the country are stepping up security after the synagogue attack in Michigan. According to the FBI, a few weeks ago, Temple Israel employees received active shooter prevention training from the FBI. And we now know that it was the employees who helped keep people safe.

Republican Congressman David Kustoff told Jessica Dean what he thinks needs to change to protect people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KUSTOFF: It takes people like me in Washington, D.C., both in the House and the Senate, to call out this behavior. And, frankly, a number of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle do that but we need -- we need more of it.

I will say that President Trump has been very strong in calling out this type of antisemitic behavior. The director of the FBI, Kash Patel, has been very forceful saying antisemitic attacks won't be tolerated here in this country. We've got to continue to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN's Julia Vargas Jones spent time with a rabbi and congregants to find out how they're feeling since that attack.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Victor, the community here says they are beyond outraged at this point. That they are tired, exhausted of being afraid for their lives as they see these incidents happen time and again, and of being -- going through these extreme measures of security just to get into their place of worship. We're talking about metal detectors, showing I.D. to get into synagogues.

Now, we went to one of these services and spoke to congregants and the rabbi right before Shabbat service on Friday evening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANN HAYMAN, JEWISH CONGREGATION MEMBER: It's a very, very, sad commentary on our world that this type of security is necessary. We're just, you know, the oldest organized religion going around our business and trying to pray on a Friday night and that this is necessary is just very sad.

JOEL NICKERSON, SENIOR RABBI, WILSHIRE BOULEVARD TEMPLE: People are looking at the headlines every single day, what is happening in what Jewish community. That is not the way people should be waking up and scanning their Instagram to think about, well, where's the next attack happening? I mean, that's not the way our Jewish community should be having to wake up or go to sleep every night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Now while in the case of Michigan, the motive for that attack is still unknown. We did hear from the attorney general that there is a clear nexus between the Iran war and that attack, and she said there was no coincidence that the name of the synagogue that was attacked was called Temple Israel. Of course, people here echoing that feeling that they are now paying the price for this war happening so many thousands of miles away from home.

[06:20:00]

Now the rabbi did bring something up, Victor, that I thought was quite interesting, this analogy that right now the Jewish community is preparing themselves for the holiday of Passover, a very important holiday in the community, and the whole narrative of it is going through a dark path towards light. And he said that is what the community is going through right now.

They're going to go through so many challenges, but that he hopes that by the community coming together, supporting each other, and not being afraid, most importantly, of showing up to their places of worship, being proudly Jewish, that they will be able to heal together. Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right. Julia Vargas Jones reporting, thank you. Next, Ukraine's president opens up about his country's unique role in the war with Iran. It's an exclusive interview. What President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his intelligence is telling him about Russia's involvement.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:25:15]

BLACKWELL: In an exclusive interview with CNN, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, tells Fareed Zakaria that Russia has significantly aided Iran in the war with the U.S. and Israel. Here's some of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN ANCHOR: Do you have intelligence or any information about this report that the Russians are providing Iran with intelligence, specifically providing Iran with intelligence on where American troops are, where American assets are, so that the Iranians can strike and kill Americans.

PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINE: First of all, Russia gave drones already, the Shahed. They are using Iranian licenses, you know, that they built and produced a lot of drones. They gave them.

I have 100 percent facts that they -- that Iranian regime used against American bases and against Middle East -- in Middle East, I mean, and Middle East neighbors of Iran, they used these drones. We saw intelligence shared with us some details and it was Russian details in these Iranian drones. This is the first.

And the second point is my intelligence told me next that they think that they share information, intelligence with Iranian regime. They helped them. And also they told -- my intelligence told me that they said if Europe and United States can help Ukraine with intelligence, in this war, it means that Russia can help Iranian regime. This is their point of view on this. So, it's a fact. And you see that it's not a big secret.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: He also talked about how Ukraine is offering assistance to the U.S. and Gulf nations during the war with Iran. You can watch that full interview at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. eastern.

Let's talk more about where things stand now in this war. With me now is CNN military analyst and retired U.S. Air Force colonel, Cedric Leighton, and CNN national security analyst and director of the Atlantic Councils Counter-Terrorism Project, Alex Plitsas. Gentlemen, welcome to you both.

Colonel, let me start with you. The Israeli military says that on the beginning now of this third week of the war, they have started what they describe as, quote, "wide-scale" waves of strikes in western Iran. What's your analysis of what they describe as an infrastructure focus in this next phase of the war?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes. Good morning, Victor. That's a pretty interesting description. So, the Israelis have, basically, said that they have mounted 400 waves of attacks. Now, that's a different measure than what we normally use when we talk about air power and air -- war being waged against a particular country. But, basically, what we're talking about is infrastructure targets.

So, that could mean everything from the electricity grid, to the health care system, to the weapons system that they have, in other words, factories and all the other attendant parts of a supply chain. So, what I'm looking at here is, basically, attacks on supply chains, attacks on the critical infrastructure of the country to also include telecommunications. And western Iran is particularly important because that's where a lot of the launch sites are located for the missiles that are attacking Israel. So, the Israelis have a vested interest in going after these targets, and they're going to restrike those targets as often as they need to.

BLACKWELL: Alex, a week ago, President Trump told Keir Starmer that he didn't need help from the British, especially coming in after the U.S., in his words, had already won. Fast forward to this weekend where he's asking for help from China, France, Japan, South Korea, the U.K., others as well to continue passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Frame the reality that is confronting the president at this stage of the war.

ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Sure, I think his initial comments were related to the four objectives that were laid out in terms of what the Pentagon was trying to achieve from a military perspective, because there was a question about whether or not we would need to use the British base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to be able to launch strategic bombers against Iran. And I think the Pentagon determined, obviously, now that it could -- it could do so without having to use that base. [06:30:02]

Now we're talking about a different mission set. So in addition to those four objectives that were laid out in terms of taking out the missiles, the missile launchers, the drones, the defense industrial base behind that, the navy, and then potentially the nuclear program, which Cedric just spoke to, in terms of what they're targeting, a new mission set has popped up and that is the defense of the Straits of Hormuz to allow folks to be able to transit their commercial shipping lives.

Because the Iranians have now adopted a strategy of are trying to buy pressure on the U.S. administration to stop the war by jacking up the price of oil, basically by making the trade, the straits, virtually impossible to strand, that they're physically open.

But due to the threat of a potential attack, ships are not transferring at the moment. And so the U.S. is trying to build an international naval coalition similar to what they did off the coast of Yemen when the Houthis were attacking during the last round of conflict.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Colonel, I want you to listen here to the Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi. He was on last evening. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: I can say that the strait is not closed, but it is only closed to American, Israeli, you know, ships and tankers and not to others.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So he says it's open. Are countries, companies likely to test that assurance? I mean, consider President Pezeshkian said that the Iranians were sorry for attacking their Gulf neighbors and then continued hours later to attack them and still are. You think anybody's going to test that offer?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.) CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I don't think so, Victor. And I think, you know, as Alex was alluding to, the basic thing is this because the Iranians can't be trusted, shipping companies are not going to trust them. And that's the real dilemma for them here. They've got a whole bunch of ships on either side of the Strait of Hormuz and those ships aren't moving, except for very few exceptions because the Iranians are posing a threat.

They probably so far at least have not really mined the Strait of Hormuz. Maybe in a symbolic sense they've done, you know, they've deployed a few mines, but they have not done so en masse. And that, you know, definitely leads to the conclusion that yes, it's physically possible to possibly transit the Strait, but it's very dangerous and there's a risk there that they're not willing to take.

BLACKWELL: Alex, what's your thought on what the President told NBC that he's not ready to make a deal to end the war. The president says that Iran wants to make a deal, but he doesn't want to quote because the terms aren't good enough yet. Doesn't say what those terms are.

But implied here is that there are terms offered, that there are talks, that there are some offers from the Iranians. It doesn't seem like there's been anything since the talks before the opening of this war. What do you hear there from the president?

PLITSAS: Well, I'm hearing from the president what I'm hearing from mediators in the region as well, where there's been several nation states that have attempted to mediate or pass messages in between. And so that part, as you just alluded to.

Yes, I mean, that's pretty common at this point in the war. And this actually all aligns with strategies on both sides, to be honest with you. So, you know, it looks like there's several weeks of strikes left to complete the military mission on the U.S. side. And it becomes a question of will is the will there to see the mission through and ensure that there's not a capability left inside of Iran that could strike back.

And I think the president's made clear that the objectives that he's laid out are to make sure that Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon or the ability to get one at the end of this, you know, to break out, so to speak, missiles and drones and that type of thing, which is a pretty robust mission. It's a very, very big industrial base that has to be targeted in order to sort of take that out.

And for the Iranians, they're acting from a position of existential threat. They believe that the regime is at threat. And so they're doing everything they can to try to ensure that this doesn't end. And in an unconditional surrender, they want a conditional cease fire on their terms.

So I think at this point, you almost have to see the Straits mission through and open that up and not allow the Iranians to choke it off, or that's going to become a strategic choke point and means of deterrence in the future. And that'll hold the global economy basically at risk whenever the Iranians want to. And that's something that simply can't stand.

BLACKWELL: Alex Plitsas, Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you both.

More than 60,000 TSA workers are missing their first full paychecks this weekend because of the partial government shutdown. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security ran out last month as Democrats and Republicans fight over ICE reforms.

That's led to look at this long lines at airports, concerns over whether Americans are less safe as the war with Iran enters its third week. A ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Gregory Meeks, was asked about that on CNN last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. GREGORY MEEKS (D) RANKING MEMBER, HOUS FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: I would think that in the interest of safety for citizens of the United States and those individuals working with TSA, we should -- make sure they get paid. In fact, DHS has over $76 billion that came in Trump big ugly bill that they can pay individuals right now to make sure that they're safe and or come to the table.

[06:35:10]

And let's negotiate in good faith and try to get a deal done because we all are concerned about the safety of Americans in that regard. But there has to be and we all agree, or most Americans agree, that we must reform ICE.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN's Camila DeChalus has more on the impact the shutdown is having on those TSA central workers. Camila.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN REPORTER: Well, Victor, we haven't seen real disruptions here at the Reagan airport. We've seen move lines move relatively quickly. But what you don't see is just the financial and emotional toll this partial government shutdown has taken on several federal agents and TSA workers that work here.

Now, I talked to some of them and they just essentially told me that they feel very fed up about what is going on in Capitol Hill with lawmakers not being able to come together to strike some sort of a deal to pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

Others talked about their concerns, saying that it's not just the financial aspect of the fact that they're not being paid, it's also the emotional aspect.

We've heard that some of their colleagues have told me they've been calling out of work saying that they're sick just because of the stress alone of the situation is enough for them to not want to show up for work. And that is really the bigger picture here, is that the longer this partial government shutdown continues, that means we're hearing more TSA workers are going to simply not show up for their jobs. And that means further disruptions at major airports.

And that is a big concern that I'm hearing from lawmakers is I'm saying, hey, there's real urgency right now because we're going to start seeing more disruptions, more delays and bear consequences of this partial government shutdown continues. And so that is something we're just hearing on the ground and we're really monitoring the situation very closely. Camila DeChalus, CNN, Arlington, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Next, the president's FCC chair escalates the pressure on network news outlets. He's calling out their coverage of the war and raising the stakes for what he calls fake news. And remember, if you're heading out, you can stream our show from anywhere in the US Right now from the CNN app and also go to CNN.com/watch. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:41:48]

BLACKWELL: The head of the Federal Communications Commission is warning local TV stations over coverage of the war with Iran. Brendan Carr posted on social media the broadcasters airing, quote, fake news could risk losing their licenses if they fail to operate in the public interest. Now, despite the threat, legal experts say the warning is largely symbolic.

But it's another sign the Trump administration wants to crack down on the news content the president does not like.

Formula 1 has canceled races set for next month in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Organizers say with the ongoing conflict across the Middle East, it's no longer safe to hold either race. Both countries have been struck during Iran's response to joint U.S. and Israel attacks.

The promoters of the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia say they support the decision. No replacements have been announced.

A federal judge has ruled the Trump administration must hand over key documents about plans to renovate the Kennedy Center. The ruling gives Ohio Congressman and board member Joyce Beatty access to the records. It's all ahead of a vote on Trump's proposed changes Monday at the White House. Betty is challenging the legality of Trump's plan to temporary close the building, but after recent rule changes, she is not guaranteed a vote at the meeting.

Evacuations were in place for some parts of Oregon. Heavy rain soaked the region. Flooding from a river in Columbia County forced more than 200 people to evacuate an RV park. And near Portland, a landslide downed power lines and trees, leading to road closures and officials blocking off entry to homes.

Conditions are expected to improve, though, in the days ahead. But a major weather reversal is ahead across multiple states. After what many thought would be an early spring, a new system is expected to bring major temperature swings, blizzard like conditions from the Midwest to the east starting today. CNN's Allison Chinchar is here with us. This storm comes with many threats?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, all the seasons, all in one, because it is a very potent storm. So you've basically got summer one side and winter on the other, but extreme in both areas. And what we mean by that is for the areas on the colder side, you are looking at blizzard conditions.

So not just incredibly large amounts of snow, but windy conditions bringing that visibility down to practically zero. These are all the areas, at least in the short term, that are expected to see a lot that winter precipitation.

Here you can already see a lot of the snow. That's the purple color on the map and also the pink color that's kind of like that wintry mix. So it's already coming down in several of these areas. Again, this system itself is going to slide east.

But also notice we got a lot of lightning out there. There is plenty of moisture, plenty of warm air kind of funneling into this storm. So on the northern side, you've got a lot of snow. Some of these areas could be looking at feet of snow, not just a few inches here and there, but 2 to 3 feet total.

The highest is really going to be in this dark purple area that you see here. Again, really kind of the focus over Michigan, portions of Wisconsin, again, that's where you can really see it. But even Minneapolis expected to get roughly a foot of snow, if not more, especially the eastern suburbs.

[06:45:02]

Now on the southern side and the eastern side of this system, severe weather is really going to be the big concern. This is the focus for today. All of these areas you see in green, yellow orange have the potential for severe weather. The orange is going to be the highest potential there. Damaging winds, several tornadoes and yes, even some large hail the size of golf balls. Then we shift this off to Monday.

The storm actually intensifies more increasing the potential for severe weather. So tomorrow we actually jump up to a level four out of five severe threat. That's what the new red color indicates right there. But again, any of these areas have the potential for severe storms. Damaging winds is going to be the largest of the threats.

However, there are expected to be several strong tornadoes, meaning EF2 or threes potentially in this area as it continues to slide off to the east. Again, the timeline of the storm you can kind of see as it slides to the east that severe weather ramping up this afternoon and into the evening and will continue into tomorrow.

BLACKWELL: Busy couple of days. Allison Chinchar. Thank you. Tonight it's the biggest night in Hollywood, the 98th annual Academy Awards. With the war going on, security will be top of mind. What's being done to protect everyone at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:42]

BLACKWELL: LAPD sources say the war with Iran is driving extra security precautions around the Oscars tonight. Streets near Hollywood Boulevard were shut down as crews finished the red carpet outside the Dolby Theater.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDY GODDARD, ACTING CHIEF INFORMATIONA OFFICER, LAPD: We've planned for other things that we maybe haven't seen in prior years, but we have resources that will be on scene to address those unique circumstances that may occur so that they can be addressed quickly and prevent anything from growing out of control.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Joining me now for all things Oscars is entertainment journalist Segun Oduolowu. Thank you for being with me again.

Let's start here with the security concerns, the war. How much are we expecting that to be part of the show? We know that performers, especially these events, are often political.

SEGUN ODUOLOWU, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: You bring up a very serious point, Victor. And if Sean Penn wins for best supporting actor from "One Battle After Another," you can guarantee he's going to say something political that's in his DNA. You know, he sat down with El Chapo. He went to Haiti to try and restore that. He is a political activist and he would say something.

I don't think we're going to see the same type of outpouring like we saw at the Golden Globe where people were wearing pins and the reporters were asking questions about Gaza. And the actors and actresses were very vocal with what they said on the red carpet and then on the stage. We even saw that at the Grammys. Everyone remembers what Billie Eilish was said about stolen ground and no one, you know, no one being an immigrant on stolen ground.

However, at the Oscars, I think the conversation about the war is mixed. I don't think the actors and actresses have hung down on how they feel about it enough to go on stage and say something. Perhaps if certain actors win, you will hear something. Vagnamora from Brazil, maybe you will hear something like that or someone wants to be bold. But I don't think you're going to see as political charged an Oscar ceremony as we've seen in the past.

BLACKWELL: All right, let's go through some of the awards, because I can't remember a year when there were so many categories in which there was no single runaway leader. I mean, maybe for best actress, you've got someone who is With Jesse Buckley, who's going to -- everyone expects to win, but the other categories, it could be several others. Let's start with best supporting actress. First big award of the night comes down to two, maybe three. What do you think?

ODUOLOWU: Yes, I think it is maybe three. Wunmi Mosaku from "Sinners" is going up against Amy Madigan, who is the front runner. Taylor was the woman who walked away at the Golden Globes for "One Battle After Another." It's between those three ladies for best supporting actress, and I think it will set a tone for the awards to follow.

If Wunmi Mosaku is able to make that upset win for best supporting actress and maybe Delroy Lindo in best supporting actor, then it's going to be a Sinner's sweep in my estimation. But if we see it kind of go with Amy Madigan for best supporting, and then we -- and then, you know, with Leonardo, I mean, with Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn beating out Delroy Lindo and best supporting, then it's going to be interesting to see how the awards shake out.

BLACKWELL: All right, let's talk about best actor and the Chalamet of it all. Timothee Chalamet was early season. He was expected to be a front runner, but then near the end of voting, he made those comments about the opera and the ballet, and nobody really wanting to see those. And then Michael B. Jordan wins the SAG Award. So what do you expect in this race?

ODUOLOWU: Well, as someone who has graced the boards at the Houston grand Opera back in my younger years, I can say Chalamet, yo, don't come for theater, or theater is going to come for you.

[06:55:02]

But it's really being a prisoner of the moment. You know, Marty Supreme came out so late in the -- in the award cycle that Chalamet was everywhere. He's standing on the sphere in Vegas. He's doing all of the press runs and he was constantly in our faces talking and really promoting this film.

"Sinners" had such a long runway that I think people maybe forgot just how good it was and how much we talked about "Sinners" when it first came for its technical brilliance, for Michael B. Jordan's incredible acting and then Ryan Coogler's brilliant story and directing of this film.

Michael B. Jordan winning at the Actors Awards brought all of that home. His speech was incredible. He looked great. And we realized that "Sinners," look, the Golden Globes, they split, right? It's comedy and drama. Chalamet won for comedy back.

BLACKWELL: All right, we're taking some technical hits.

ODUOLOWU: Everyone is in that room --

BLACKWELL: We're taking some technical hits.

ODUOLOWU: I've been betting on Michael Jordan all my life. Tell me Wrong. I'm going with Michael B. Jordan.

BLACKWELL: All right, Michael B. Jordan is your vote here. Segun Oduolowu, thank you for being with us. Unfortunately, the technical gremlins gave us some problems, but hopefully we'll all have a clear shot tonight watching the show. CNN Variety will be live on the red carpet. Get up close with all the stars and the fashion, Watch CNN and Variety Red Carpet live today at 4:00 p.m. Eastern on TBS and the CNN app.

There's much more ahead on the next hour of CNN This Morning Weekend, including new video of North Korea launching multiple ballistic missiles Saturday. We'll tell you if this will pose a new threat for the U.S. and its allies.

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