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Geolocated Videos Shows Tehran University Campus Hit, No Casualties; Houthi Rebels Fire Second Missile At Israel; Long TSA Lines Return To Airport In Atlanta; Organizers: Millions Joined Peaceful "No Kings" Protests Nationwide; Israel Kills 3 Journalists In Lebanon; Pope Leo Criticizes Leaders Using God To Justify War. Florida Attorney General Says NFL Must Get Rid of Rooney Rule; Perplexity CEO: A.I. Layoffs Let People Quit Jobs They Hate; Travelers Pay Line Sitters to Wait in TSA Lines. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired March 29, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:00:46]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: There's new video overnight of Tehran getting hit hard with a new round of strikes. And now Iran is threatening to hit U.S. and Israeli university campuses in the region. At the same time, thousands of U.S. troops are arriving in the Middle East. We are live in the region.

TSA employees are waiting to see if they will, in fact, finally get a paycheck starting tomorrow after an order from the President. We'll check in live at one of the busiest airports in the world, which is seeing long lines this morning.

And organizers say millions turned out across the country for this weekend's "No Kings" rallies. We'll take a look at what the message was from the protesters and some of those costumes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I bought this costume probably about five years ago to go to a Halloween costume party. And it was a hit. So I thought, what better use to get out of it than to bring it to a protest?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Sunday, March 29th. Good to have you along. I'm Victor Blackwell.

First up in the war with Iran, several explosions have rocked the capital of Tehran. Video shows emergency responders looking for survivors, looking through the damage after an airstrike. CNN has geolocated videos of another strike yesterday that struck an engineering university in Tehran.

And on Iranian state media, Iran's Revolutionary Guard threatened to retaliate by going after U.S. and Israeli universities in that region. The university called the attack a violation of international law. They also said there were no casualties.

Meanwhile, 3,500 sailors and Marines stationed with the USS Tripoli have arrived in the Middle East. U.S. Central Command confirmed the arrival of the Marine Expeditionary Unit as the Pentagon decides on next steps.

CNN Correspondent Paula Hancocks has been following all the developments. Diplomatic efforts are happening in Islamabad. But let's talk through some of these strikes as well.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Victor, we really have been seeing over the past 24 hours an escalation in what is happening in this region, as the Houthi rebels in Yemen are now involved in this as well. So once again, the conflict widening. We saw two ballistic missiles being fired towards Israel. They were intercepted.

But we did hear from the Houthis that that is just the beginning. They will be involved in this war now. Now, the IDF, the Israeli military, has said that they are ready for what they called a multi-front war, saying they have been preparing for this.

Now, as you mentioned, the USS Tripoli is now here in this region, some 3,500 Marines and sailors. Their mission at this point is not being revealed. But we've heard from Iran's parliament speaker saying that his country's troops are waiting for U.S. soldiers, saying that they believe that the U.S. is secretly planning to invade.

Now, he also said that he believed that by agreeing and offering talks, the U.S. is really trying to achieve diplomatically what they had failed to achieve when it comes to the war. Now, Israel has admitted that it is continuing to escalate and expand its strikes against Tehran and the rest of Iran.

We have heard as well from the Israeli military spokesperson that they believe they are just days away from hitting all targets in Iran that they consider to be, quote, "top priority." This does not mean, they say, that they have run out of targets. They still have plenty when it comes to military infrastructure, the regime infrastructure, missile production and launching sites that they want to hit.

But within days, they believe that they will have hit everything they need to. That is a top priority. Victor?

BLACKWELL: Paula Hancocks reporting from Abu Dhabi. Thank you very much.

Here in the U.S., we're already seeing security lines getting longer this morning, and the people staffing them are still waiting to be paid. Now, DHS says that some TSA paychecks could hit tomorrow after an order from the President. Congress could not make a deal to end the partial shutdown before lawmakers left for that two-week break, and now the spring break rush is happening.

[07:05:07] CNN's Rafael Romo is live at Hartsfield-Jackson International. What do you see?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Victor. Hello again. One of the things that we've been talking about over the last couple of weeks here at the airport is how things can change from one hour to the next, and that's definitely the case here this morning.

I was showing you that the pre-check line extended all the way to this point where I'm standing right now, look at it now. It's completely empty. The line actually is looking pretty normal now, Victor. It's all the way back there. Again, this is the pre-check area.

And one expert was telling us earlier that what may be happening is that people are panicking, coming to the airport with many hours ahead of time. And because you have that rush of people early in the morning, that's when you see all the very long lines like we saw about an hour ago.

Now, people here are telling me that they're very angry and at the same time feeling sorry for the TSA workers, angry at Congress for being unable to come to an agreement, for being unable to have negotiations that can produce some results. I spoke with a couple that got here about six hours ahead of their flight, and they described the whole situation here at the airport as a dog and pony show.

Let's take a listen to what they have to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE GREEN, TRAVELER: What I would suggest is that congressional staffers and aides don't get paid until the federal government is fully funded, because we keep going through this dog and pony show shutdowns. But if the staffers didn't get paid, I think that Congress would get the --

BRIGITTA MEYER-GREEN, TRAVELER: There's nothing that we can do, and the people that are working here are working hard, OK. It's -- Congress needs to get their act together. And if they would just do it instead of playing games on both sides --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And, Victor, I just checked the main checkpoint area is also doing very, very well. So if you're coming to the airport and flying out of Atlanta this morning, chances are that you're not going to have to face some of the lines that we have seen over the last few days.

The one thing that I have to say finally, Victor, is that the damage has already been done because around 500 TSA agents that have not been paid since mid-February have already quit. So maybe some of them would consider coming back, but the damage, like I said before, has already been done, and TSA has already lost those people.

Now back to you. BLACKWELL: Yes, and I spoke with the union representative yesterday who told me that we're going to feel the absence of those 500 TSOs even after the TSOs are paid.

ROMO: Right.

BLACKWELL: Rafael Romo, thanks so much.

Organizers say millions of people across the country packed streets and parks for the third "No Kings" protest since Donald Trump took office. Protesters rallied against the President's policies, calling for an end to the war with Iran, a change in the rising cost of living and immigration enforcement crackdowns.

CNN's Donie O'Sullivan has our report from New York. First, though, we're going to go to Veronica Miracle, excuse me, in Chicago.

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, we are just about to turn the corner here at this march where we will all be standing in front of Trump Tower here in Chicago. This march has been going for quite some time. This is one of the places, not necessarily that we're going to be stopping, but where the protesters certainly wanted to pass by after a very long day of marching and making their voices heard.

So many people that we've talked to here today are here for a variety of reasons, but the overall rhetoric, of course, at this "No Kings" protest is very anti-Trump. And so this is certainly a, you know, a moment for them as they walk past here, as you can see right behind us, Trump Tower.

Now, I just spoke with a protester who had to sit down while she was marching because there's been a lot of walking. But her -- both of her parents were interned at Japanese internment camps in World War II. And she says it is that, that, that reason why she had to come out today, make her voice heard.

And this is what she had to say. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN FUJIU, "NO KINGS" PROTESTER: The problem is, as they say, never again is now. And it shouldn't be happening. It's outrageous that it's happening here in the United States. People before me, that came before me, worked hard to make sure it wouldn't happen again. But here it is happening again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: At the last "No Kings" protest, organizers told us about 250,000 people showed up. They were hoping for at least that or more. There were certainly hundreds of thousands of people here today. And it has been very, very calm, very peaceful.

[07:10:07]

There are hundreds of volunteers here to de-escalate any situation. But we have not witnessed any kind of violence, any kind of issues here in Chicago. Victor?

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Victor. A huge turnout here in midtown Manhattan for the "No Kings" demonstration. Here's what some people told us about why they came out today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This democracy is only as strong as the people who defend it. And so what we're seeing here in New York and across the country is that as we have more incursions from this President, from the MAGA movement, attacks on public education, on health care, on immigration, on workers, tenants, consumers, queer people, that everyday Americans are realizing that we have to come together to stand up to defend our democracy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People like me, the youth, are against this administration. We are anti-fascist. We're anti-authoritarian, anti- tyranny. And we do not believe in ICE, nor Israel, nor the war in Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'SULLIVAN: And as you hear there, a whole range of reasons. Anti-ICE, anti-Iran war, but overwhelmingly the sentiment here, a feeling that American democracy is under threat. Victor?

BLACKWELL: Donie O'Sullivan, Veronica Miracle, thank you both.

Still to come, huge crowds gathered at St. Peter's Square on Palm Sunday. And we have details of Pope Leo's message to Christians around the world at the start of Holy Week.

Plus, a community in Nebraska lined the streets to honor one of the six U.S. service members killed during the early stages of the U.S. war with Iran.

And look at this. This is not a filter. This is the dust storm in Western Australia. Ahead on more what caused this phenomenon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:16:34]

BLACKWELL: All right, a look at your morning headlines now. Hundreds of people line the streets of Bellevue, Nebraska, to honor 42-year-old Master Sergeant Noah Tietjens after his funeral. He's remembered as a devoted husband and father. He was one of six service members killed on March 1st during the early days of the war with Iran in Operation Epic Fury.

Lebanon says that it'll file a complaint at the U.N. Security Council after Israel killed three Lebanese journalists on Saturday. The victims include two reporters working for two separate pro-Hezbollah channels. The third victim was the female reporter's brother, who was a photojournalist. Now, Israel's military says that one of the journalists was a terrorist who used media work as a cover. The Committee to Protect journalists said the deaths were part of a disturbing pattern in this war and others involving Israel.

Actor James Tolkan has died at the age of 94. He was best known as the cigar-chomping naval commander in "Top Gun" and the gruff high school administrator in "Back to the Future." But before the iconic Hollywood roles, Tolkan spent 25 years in theater and was a member of the original ensemble cast of "Glengarry Glen Ross." His wife of 54 years said in a statement that he was an avid art collector and adored animals.

Pope Leo celebrated Palm Sunday Mass for the first time as part of this morning. Thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican as the Pope led the Angelus prayer. Palm Sunday marks the start of one of the busiest periods, the holiest period for the Catholic Church in the Vatican.

CNN's Vatican Correspondent Christopher Lamb is with us. So the Pope had a message to Christians and to the world this morning. What did he say?

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Victor. Leo celebrating the first Palm Sunday since his election as Pope almost a year ago. Of course, it takes place within a conflict that is expanding in the Middle East. And Pope Leo had a strong message to those leaders who are seeking to justify their conflicts by appealing to God.

This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE LEO XIV, HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translation): Brothers and sisters, this is our God, Jesus, Prince of Peace, who rejects war, who no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying, even though you make many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAMB: Now, Leo didn't name any names, but it was hard not to draw a contrast of what he said with the remarks recently of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has cited the scriptures to support the U.S. conflict in Iran. Have a listen to what U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth has said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle. He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield in whom I take refuge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:20:06]

LAMB: So I think, Leo, drawing a real contrast between what we heard and have heard about what some leaders are saying in the U.S. about the conflict in Iran. Now, of course, thousands gathered in St. Peter's for this very important celebration of Palm Sunday, which is the start of Holy Week in the lead-up to Easter.

But in Jerusalem itself, where, of course, is such a sacred place for Christians, it wasn't possible for the traditional Palm Sunday celebration to take place. That was cancelled due to the conflict in the Middle East. Palm Sunday, of course, recalls Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem.

And we're also hearing that the Catholic Church leaders in Jerusalem were unable to enter into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem for the Palm Sunday Mass. They say they were stopped by Israeli police, and this is a grave precedent that's been set.

So Leo's first Holy Week in Easter taking place within this conflict -- this context of conflict, and I imagine he's going to be emphasizing a message of peace during these coming days, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Certainly.

Christopher Lamb reporting for us this morning. Thank you, Christopher.

Still to come, these huge crowds at the "No Kings" rallies across the U.S. to protest against the administration's policies. The third "No Kings Day" in the past year. The Roundup is here. We'll get into what happens now.

"No Kings" 3, what's next? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:26:06]

BLACKWELL: From New York to Los Angeles, Hawaii and Alaska to "No Kings" protests swept the country yesterday. Demonstrators came out in droves fueled by anger over the war with Iran. The cost of living, the administration's immigration crackdown. Let's get into it.

Joining me now, Bill Nigut, the host of WABE Atlanta podcast "In These Times." SiriusXM Culture and Economics Contributor, Drew McCaskill and former U.S. Attorney Michael Moore. All veterans of the morning roundup. Welcome back, everybody.

The organizers say 8 million people, more than 8 million people showed up across the country for "No Kings Day" protests. The question now is, where does this energy go? What's next for the protest?

BILL NIGUT, HOST, WABE ATLANTA PODCAST "IN THESE TIMES": That's a really good question. How many -- first of all, it's wonderful that you get this surge of energy. You show that you're troubled by the administration. But are you registered to vote? Will you turn out in the fall?

"No Kings" people have a plan for how they're going to make sure that happens. So that's on one side. On the other side, I understand that if you're an incumbent Republican congressman, you look at these protests and I'm sure they're a little scary. But the reality is you're playing to an audience of one.

And as massive as apparently some of these protests were, Republicans, they're going to -- they've got to remain loyal to Donald Trump. So it's going to be interesting to see how it all plays out.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

DREW MCCASKILL, SIRIUSXM CULTURE & ECONOMICS CONTRIBUTOR: I mean, I think Republicans dismissing this as fringe is a huge mistake. Especially because of the demographic shifts that we're seeing at these rallies. We're seeing racial ethnic diversity at a large scale. But you're also seeing socioeconomic diversity at a large scale.

These protests aren't just happening in big metropolitan areas. They're also folks who are coming in from the burbs and coming in from rural parts of these states. And these are happening in battleground states, red states, right? And so, what I think is this is not just like a blip for the -- for Republicans or Democrats.

They've got to figure out how to rally around this moment. Democrats should probably be having, you know, town halls in front of gas stations with, you know, the price of gas behind them. And Republicans need to actually look at this as real and get into -- go into their markets and have real conversations so that they're not just talking to --

BLACKWELL: Yes.

MCCASKILL: -- an audience of one.

MICHAEL MOORE, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: I think the fear for the Democrats is that we get complacent. Like we see the big numbers come out, right? And we think, oh, this is the sign of change. I do think it's a sign of a huge landslide in the midterms.

MCCASKILL: Right.

MOORE: I mean, if it stays up.

MCCASKILL: If they vote.

MOORE: Well, and the Democrats have to be smart, too, right? We've got to keep talking about those issues like you talk about gas. We've got to talk about affordability and all those things that matter. As opposed maybe to moving off on some other issues that are, you know, not as centrist-based.

MCCASKILL: Yes. MOORE: And I think right now, you're going to -- that's where they are. That's why these folks are out there. I was driving down the road the other day and I saw a crowd of people from a retirement home. They couldn't make it to the rally, but there were probably 200 folks out on the street, you know, with signs.

It's not just, you know, the far left that's moving. These are people who I think have been independents and Republicans.

BLACKWELL: All right, it's Sunday. Let's talk some football, even though we're in the offseason. Florida's attorney general sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell threatening civil rights enforcement action if the league does not abandon the Rooney Rule. The Rooney Rule requires teams to interview at least two ethnic minorities or women for head coach, GM, senior operations positions.

Florida AG says it's illegal in Florida to do that. The league is 70 percent black. You've got three of 32 head coaches who are black. Zero new hires this year.

Let me start with my attorney at the table.

MOORE: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Is this something that Florida can enforce and make the NFL change their policy?

MOORE: You know, I think they're going to have a tough time. This guy's a DeSantis appointee. I think he's doing something just to make some hay and to make some news. The reality is, is that the rule does not require hiring. It just requires interviewing.

BLACKWELL: yes.

MOORE: And that's a very different thing to say. You just have to interview a diverse group. It doesn't say, you know, what the percentage or otherwise, but you just have to do some things to be proactive. And there's nothing, you know, inherently illegal about that. And I think, you know, until, you know, people only start talking with their pocketbooks probably when it comes to the teams. And I imagine if a couple of teams have said, well, we'll just move somewhere else, you would find that they were less concerned about this silly.

BILL NIGUT, HOST, WABE ATLANTA PODCAST "IN THESE TIMES": But it's -- this is all part of this larger issue of aggrieved white people, aggrieved white men who are being discriminated against.

DREW MCCASKILL, SIRIUS XM CULTURE AND ECONOMICS CONTRIBUTOR: I think it's hilarious that we are talking about the AG stepping in where, to your point, this is not about how you have to hire. You just have to see. And so, we're having this conversation around inclusion and equity and in the public forum, and it's all about language as opposed to outcomes. And I think that the outcomes is where we really have to see some change because if you start to say, we're going to change the mechanism for all of this, but that's not, that doesn't get you to fairness and equality. It gets you to regression.

Once you say, we're not going to look at candidates, we're not even going to make the effort to look at black candidates. That's not going to get you to parity. It's going to get you to regression.

BLACKWELL: You've already got critics who say the Rudy rule isn't getting to the end point --

MCCASKILL: It's not getting enough.

BLACKWELL: -- anyway, right? And so, when the AG there, Uthmeier says that they require teams to limit, segregate and classify applicants for certain employment and training opportunities because of race and sex. And they do so in a way that tends to deprive applicants of opportunities of employment. Are white men being deprived of opportunities for employment in the NFL?

NIGUT: Yes. I mean, obviously not. The numbers show us that that's not the case at all.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

MCCASKILL: When you've got literally 90 percent of the coaches are white men, I don't think that there's a strong case that they're being discriminated against.

BLACKWELL: All right. Everybody stay with me. We've got a lot to talk about this morning coming up. Worried A.I. will take over your job? Well, a tech CEO says, don't be worried about that because most people hate their jobs anyway. We'll be back with the panel to discuss.

And remember, if you're heading out, you can stream my show from anywhere in the U.S. right now from the CNN app. Also, check out cnn.com/watch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:35:00]

BLACKWELL: All right. Welcome back to the Morning Roundup. We've been continuing the conversation during the break. A.I., is it a job killer or a career creator? While some fear A.I. will lead to massive unemployment, Perplexity's CEO says there is nothing to be afraid of. Back with me now, Bill Nigut, Drew McCaskill, and Michael Moore.

We've heard from some of these CEOs. ServiceNow, says that automation could lead to 30 percent unemployment for new college grads. I want you to listen here to the CEO of A.I. company, Perplexity, who says there is a glorious future, even if you're going to lose this job.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARAVIND SRINIVAS, CEO, PERPLEXITY AI: Most people don't enjoy their jobs. They're doing it --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, they hate them. SRINIVAS: Exactly. So, there's suddenly a new possibility, a new opportunity to go use these tools, learn them, and start your own mini business. And if it pays for your needs for a year or multiple years and you have a high-quality life and good work-life balance and true feeling of agency and ownership and passion to get your ideas out there, I think that is, even if there is temporary job displacement to deal with, that sort of glorious future is what we should look forward to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: If you lose your job, just go start at A.I. company. Drew, this is your story of the week.

MCCASKILL: This -- it's so wild to hear this from someone who's worth $2.5 billion, right? So, it's really easy to call job loss freedom if you're not the person losing the paycheck, right? And so, I think that this is like this sort of almost let them eat cake sort of mentality that is permeating the entire A.I. conversation.

The reality is that college-educated workers have the highest unemployment taking out the pandemic since 2014. We lost almost 100,000 jobs based on what CEO said in their earning statements alone to A.I. in the last year. That's 100,000 jobs. So, start talking to people. A lot of people work their jobs every day not because it's, oh, I just love to do this. It's like, I love to eat. I love to sleep inside.

BLACKWELL: I love shelter.

MCCASKILL: I love shelter, right? And so, thinking that everybody who is just going to go out and use ChatGPT or Claude to start their own multi-million-dollar business when they lose their job is a glorious (INAUDIBLE) statement.

BLACKWELL: So, if you're looking for a job, there are some people who see opportunity at the airports. The Washington Post is reporting that instead of waiting in line for hours, some people are hiring line sitters. How much are you willing to pay? Before I tell you how much it costs, how much, Michael, are you willing to pay for someone to stand in line for you at the airport?

MOORE: Per hour?

BLACKWELL: Per hour.

MOORE: 50 bucks.

BLACKWELL: 50 bucks. Bill?

[07:40:00]

NIGUT: I would rather pay for somebody to take the place of the congressmen who have said that they're going to go on Easter break, leaving the American people in the struggle at the airport. That's outrageous. BLACKWELL: So, a corporate support company called Dial Signature Solutions charges $65 an hour.

MOORE: That's pretty close.

BLACKWELL: Bus parking.

MOORE: Right.

BLACKWELL: OK. This is offered at Bush Intercontinental in Houston. They go and they -- when you want them to go, stand in line, they'll send you pictures, and you just come in and take the place of the person. Is it worth it?

MCCASKILL: Oh, I think it's worth it. I was in the airport twice in the last two days, and I was in the lounge with a woman who had just come from Houston. She waited in line three hours. She looked like she had waited in line three hours. You probably could have charged her a hundred bucks an hour and she would have paid it. But if you're talking about paying people to stand in line because the American government is not paying TSA agents their $35,000 a year salary, we are looking at wealth inequality in its face right there.

NIGUT: Yes. I know I was kind of being frivolous in saying what I did, but the reality is that is the point, that the TSA, these are hardworking people who make very little money to begin with. And when the president and the Republicans who control Congress can't even get their act together to make sure they get paid, then the dysfunction is overwhelming.

BLACKWELL: And go on break. Go on spring break.

NIGUT: Exactly.

MCCASKILL: Paid spring break.

BLACKWELL: Yes, yes.

MCCASKILL: And this is not just, when you've got 500 TSA agents walking off their job, that's not just a labor issue and a labor problem. That is a national security issue. These folks are trained to do a very, very hard job.

BLACKWELL: I had a conversation with several TSOs who talk about the stress of having to focus, because they can't get anything wrong. They have to be right every time.

MCCASKILL: Every time.

BLACKWELL: And figuring out, how will I take care of my children tomorrow? Will I have to stay home because I can't afford child care and gas and food?

Let me go to this. There was a moment on "LIVE with Kelly and Mark" where Howie Mandel, the comedian we all know and love, he was given a compliment. I guess they thought it was a compliment. It did not go over well. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just celebrated 70 years.

HOWIE MANDEL, COMEDIAN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're 70 years old.

MANDEL: Yes, I'm 70.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How does it feel?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It doesn't make any sense.

MANDEL: What do you mean it doesn't make any sense?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You look great.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because you --

MANDEL: I look great?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

MANDEL: That doesn't mean anything to me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, it does.

MANDEL: No, no, no, no. I don't like that, because that's a caveat. When you say you're -- because you tell somebody you're 70, and they go, you look great --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, you're not saying you look great for 70, you --

MANDEL: Yes, you are, without saying 70.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, we're saying --

MANDEL: I'm saying that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- you look great and --

MANDEL: I am saying that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- I don't believe you're 70.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, I'm saying --

MANDEL: No, it's like saying you're smart for a stupid person.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Is that a backhanded compliment? You look great for 70?

MOORE: No, I would take anything that I will. Especially the longer you have to spend in the makeup room before you come in. As the years go on, it's like, I'll take it.

BLACKWELL: But the truth is, though, they're not saying you look great for 25, right? He looks great, and I think it's implied that for 70.

NIGUT: Well, let me jump in here, if you don't mind.

BLACKWELL: Come on in, Bill.

NIGUT: For someone who had his 79th birthday yesterday --

BLACKWELL: You look great.

NIGUT: -- I think I look great.

BLACKWELL: You look great.

MCCASKILL: Well, as someone who had their 49th birthday on Wednesday --

BLACKWELL: You look great, too.

MCCASKILL: -- I would take a, you look great for your age. I'll take a, you look great for today, every day, and twice on Sunday. I think that this is a Howie issue. I think he's got some things maybe he needs to work out with therapy or something like that, because his reaction to that is insane.

BLACKWELL: But I think it's implied there that we're saying, especially when they say, you're 70, you look great. Because he looks great for 70, right?

MCCASKILL: He looks for 70. Yes.

BLACKWELL: If he were 25, people would have questions.

MCCASKILL: I would have a lot of questions.

BLACKWELL: Like, are you OK?

NIGUT: I have suggested to my wife and grown children that every day, they tell me how good I look, and I'm happy with them doing so.

MCCASKILL: Yes, excellent.

BLACKWELL: And so, this last one, I just want to show the video. Can we show the video here of what's happening in Japan? I know we don't have much time left, but there is this new sport that we're all training for it, that maybe we didn't know that we were. This is street racing of office chairs. And when I say they're going on races, three-member teams are going for 12 to 15 miles on these chairs. MCCASKILL: No, miles?

BLACKWELL: They train 40 or 50 reps of 200-meter runs that they're going on these regular office chairs. It started, I guess, 16 years ago now it happened. It's spread to cities across the country.

[07:45:00]

Top prize in some of these, you get a hundred pounds of rice, 11 pounds of tuna. You know, sushi-grade tuna is pricey.

MCCASKILL: It's high.

BLACKWELL: So, that's worth something. But we didn't have time to talk about it. I just want you to know what's happening there because a lot of stuff is becoming a sport. Have you seen these video people slapping each other at sport too?

MCCASKILL: Yes.

BLACKWELL: All right. Bill Nigut, Drew McCaskill, Michael Moore, thank you all. You all look great.

All right. Still to come, we have more on the weather event that caused this over Western Australia. If I walked out of my door and this had not been forecasted, I would have just start saying my prayers right there.

New episodes of the CNN original series, "Standoff: The FBI. Power, and Paranoia," goes inside the relationship between the late Robert Mueller and President George W. Bush after the 9/11 attacks. Here's a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARRETT GRAFF, AUTHOR, "THE THREAT MATRIX": At 8:00 a.m. Tuesday, September the 11th, Robert Mueller is sitting in his first briefing on Al Qaeda. It's interrupted by someone who comes in and says a plane has crashed into the World Trade Center.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, RICE UNIVERSITY: And George W. Bush was in Florida at a school reading a book to children.

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Thank you all so very much for showing me your reading skills.

BRINKLEY: Andy Card, the White House chief of staff, steps forward and informs him of the second attack on the World Trade Center.

Bush finishes reading the book. He doesn't want to cause a panic in that moment. And one of his first telephone calls is to Robert Mueller at the Hoover building in Washington. Bush basically says buckle up, this is what we pay you for.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLACKWELL: Be sure to tune in new episodes of "Standoff: The FBI, Power, and Paranoia" air tonight at 9:00 p.m. And 10:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

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[07:50:00]

BLACKWELL: Welcome back. This is not a filter. This is what the sky actually looked like in Shark Bay Australia after powerful winds kicked up dust storms that painted the skies this bright red just before Cyclone Narelle made landfall over the weekend. People described it as apocalyptic. Can you imagine walking outside and this is the sky? There's a massive cleanup happening right now in several regions across Western Australia after the storm.

Allison Chinchar is with us now. If this had not been forecast, I just thought this is it been a good life. If I go out in the sky is scarlet, do you know if that was something they told people?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I mean, I you know, again, when you have these dust storms, it gets kicked up. It can often change the sky color. But as you pointed out, usually you kind of get like that orange issue.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

CHINCHAR: It's not necessarily this bright or this vibrant red color. But interestingly enough about this same system that caused this red sky this storm actually made three -- or landfalls in three separate states of Australia as it basically went around the continent, which was very rare even for that region in addition to the incredibly rare skies that you see there. Yes, very interesting.

BLACKWELL: Wow. All right. What do we have on tap here?

CHINCHAR: Right. So, let's take a look at our forecast though. However, because we are going to start to notice a pattern change, especially in terms of temperatures. It's been very warm across the Southwest the last few days record-breaking. But once we get to Tuesday, you're going to start to see a lot cooler temperatures. First, they will begin in the north and then spread across much of the rest of the U.S. And the reason for that is we're going to have a series of systems move through.

Sunday looks relatively nice for most of the country. Later on this evening, we'll start to get a low-pressure system here in the Pacific Northwest. That is going to start to dive off to the east as we get late into Monday. And then by Tuesday, we really start to see more of the rain begin across the eastern U.S. But also some snow, much needed snow for the western U.S. But that front is unfortunately going to stall out across much of the eastern U.S. and that is going to bring widespread totals of three to five inches.

BLACKWELL: All right. Allison, thank you very much. Let's talk sports now. Two teams, two men's basketball teams have punched the ticket to the final four two more tickets up for grabs today. Coy Wire is here.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Victor, this tournament, we know it's one of the best tournaments in the planet every time it happens and there's some great storylines. One of them is Arizona making it to the final four for the first time in a quarter of a century.

The newly minted NCAA assist King Braden Smith though was everywhere for Purdue early. He finished with 13. They led by seven at the half, but in the second half Arizona found a way. The Wildcats led by their three fearless freshmen, Brayden Burries, Ivan Kharchenkov and Koa Peat, who led all scores with 20 combined for 52 points. They're unfazed by the big stage in a 79-64 win. Arizona advancing to their first final four since 2001.

Three seed Illinois facing nine seed Iowa. Keaton Wagler darn near shakes a dude right out of his Nikes. Make some stumble all the way from the arc to the hoop. The fighting Illini are moving on after a 71-59 win, returning to their first final four in 21 years. And how about the water gun celebration in the locker room afterwards? Can we get in on that? They'll face the winner of today's Duke-UConn matchup.

Two spots remain in the men's final for the first men's elite game today pits number six, Tennessee seeking the school's first ever final four appearance against one seed, Michigan.

[07:55:00]

The weekend closes with a blue blood matchup number one overall seed Duke looking to advance to their second consecutive final four facing UConn.

Three seed TCU, in the women's side, ended the Cinderella ambitions of 10 seed Virginia, which was seeking to become the only -- the second ever 10 seed to make the elite eight. TCU's Marta Suarez was a problem, 33 points in the game and so is Olivia Miles. The big 12 player of the year was two sits away from a triple double. She had 28 points. Suarez and Miles, they scored or assisted on every single one of TCU's points in a 79-69 win over Virginia. They'll face South Carolina in the elite eight. Tickets will be punched to the women's final four in Phoenix today in two elite eight games. One seed UConn facing number six Notre Dame and number one UCLA versus three seed do.

Now, we have 52,000 people playing along with us in our CNN anchor bracket challenge. And we have to show some love to this girl right here, Ali Chinchar. Beating both me and Victor by a landslide. She has a chance for all final four picks to make it. She chose Michigan to win it all. I'm way behind Alice and I have Arizona winning it. And all the way down if we keep scrolling in 27,000th place is Victor.

Victor, you talked a lot of trash last weekend. What happened?

BLACKWELL: I have other talents. Coy Wire, thank you very much.

WIRE: You got it.

BLACKWELL: All right. Thank you for joining us with CNN This Morning weekend. Inside Politics Sunday is up next.

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