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NASA Prepares To Launch Voyage To Orbit The Moon; Judge Halts White House Construction Of $400 Million Ballroom; Iran-Backed Houthis: Barrage Of Missiles Launched At Israel. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired April 01, 2026 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:32:57]

BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: Returning now to NASA's planned launch of Artemis II that's set to lift off from Kennedy Space Center later today.

Joining us now is Keith Cowing. He's a former NASA astrobiologist and editor of NASAWatch.com. Keith, thank you so much for being with us.

We know this day has been coming for a while. Hopefully all systems are go today.

First, what is it about this mission that has NASA so excited? What does this signify?

KEITH COWING, FORMER NASA ASTROBIOLOGIST, EDITOR, NASAWATCH.COM: Well, there's still a lot of people working at NASA -- I just turned 70 and as a little boy I watched this happen with -- you know, we were told it's going to happen and it did. We grew up waiting for it and it happened. And then nothing for 50 years. So there's a lot of people out there that -- who have been waiting for this.

But the cool thing about this is since it's been 50 years is that if you add up all the people in the world in terms of their age, 75 percent of the people in this world have never seen anybody visit another planet, you know. So for them this is going to the first moon mission. It's like doing the same thing again for the first time. So to me, that's the excitement. All these people who get to experience what I did 50 years ago.

ABEL: And there is a lot of excitement, you know. I'm somebody that's a fan of watches and, you know, all of the intrigue around space watches and things like that all borne from the Apollo missions. So we can only imagine what's going to happen coming out of these.

You know, Keith, I never ended up achieving the dream of seeing a shuttle launch in person. I went down to see STS-133, which ended up lifting off about 115 days after that initial date.

Is this new program the equivalent of the space shuttle program? How different, how alike is it? COWING: Well, you know, it's funny. I saw -- I was at the very first one and I was at the very last one. I just had to do that, bookending it. But it was -- it became everything from a very exciting thing to a routine thing to a sad thing. This is the last flight.

[05:35:00]

These moon missions though -- this is interesting. Because of the new administrator, Jared Isaacman, the plan had been to maybe launch one of these every couple of years. Well, as the kids would say, boring. You just -- you can't just bring a moon program back and just do it that infrequently and the way they were going to do it was too expensive.

So he's dialing up the speed at which things are going to be done. We're going to have robots landing on the moon every month next year. So part of this is building the momentum -- getting your mojo back. Getting your expertise in place so that this is something you do on a regular basis, not once in a while, because the more you do it the better you get at it and the better you are at doing it.

ABEL: And I know that so many of us that enjoy watching the space program were concerned that this moment may never happen after seeing NASA contract out to independent companies. It's so great to see that we are the precipice of it once again.

Keith Cowing, I really appreciate your expertise. I wish we had more time for you. Thank you for joining us.

COWING: My pleasure.

ABEL: All right.

Still ahead, a federal judge halts construction of President Trump's new $400 million White House ballroom. We'll look at the legal issues at the crux of the case and the president's reaction.

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[05:40:55]

ABEL: President Trump is lashing out at the federal judge who halted his White House ballroom project, calling the decision "so wrong." The judge, appointed by former President George W. Bush, blocked any further work on the massive new $400 million ballroom where the East Wing once stood. Now, Tuesday's ruling stated that the president needs Congressional approval due to the enormous scope of the project, which he did not get.

CNN's Kevin Liptak has the details from Washington.

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KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: The federal judge's ruling that the construction on President Trump's ballroom needs to be halted for now is really the first meaningful setback not only for the ballroom project but for all of these ambitious projects that the president is undertaking to remake the White House and Washington at large.

It was a 35-page ruling and it was quite extraordinary in its writing. It had 19 exclamation points throughout it really arguing that the president did not have the authority without consulting Congress to construct this massive project. The judge writing that "The president is the steward of the White House for future generations of first families. He is not, however, the owner!"

Now, the judge gave the White House 14 days to stop construction of the ballroom, and it also said that the Congress, if it decides to approve it, could allow this to proceed but only if the president gains congressional approval. The judge writing, "Unless and until Congress blesses this project through statutory authorization, construction has to stop!"

Now, President Trump responded to the ruling in quite a lengthy screed in the Oval Office a few hours after it came down. He seemed to have a page of notes about what the judge had actually ruled. He suggested that this requirement for congressional authorization wasn't necessary because the entire project is being funded not by taxpayers but by private donations.

Here's what he said.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to have the finest ballroom, I believe, anywhere in the world. And he said we need congressional approval. Well, they don't give congressional approval from the White House. When they do things, they don't -- especially when you don't -- we didn't ask for any tax money. We have no tax -- this is taxpayer-free. We have no taxpayer putting up 10 cents.

LIPTAK: Now, the president also seemed to latch onto another aspect of the ruling, which is that construction could continue on areas that are necessary for the personal security of the president, suggesting in the Oval Office that he would not halt any aspect of it because of the bulletproof glass, the ballistic protections, and the drone-proof roof that are part of the design of this project.

And so it remains to be seen whether any actual construction will actually be halted. And certainly, as the ruling came down it seemed as if the project continued apace here on the grounds of the White House.

Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House

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ABEL: Still ahead, President Trump will update the nation on the Iran war tonight. The latest on the fighting in the region next.

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[05:48:40] ABEL: More on our top story. The White House says President Trump has an important update on Iran and will address the nation tonight. This as the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran expands in the region.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels claim they launched a barrage of missiles at southern Israel in coordination with Tehran and Hezbollah. And Israeli authorities say at least 16 people, including a child, have been wounded after Iranian strikes hit Tel Aviv and a suburb. Meanwhile, Iranian state media reports three people were killed in an attack on a major religious center and mosque in central Iran on Tuesday.

And joining me now is Mark MacCarley, a retired U.S. Army major general, joining us live from Glendale, California. General, thank you for staying up with us.

So, 24 hours ago I talked with a former Navy intelligence official who told me certain flights and other movements from bases housing special forces indicates to him that a ground invasion -- ground mission of some kind is imminent.

What are you seeing when it comes to the next stage of this conflict? How strong is that possibility?

MAJ. GEN. MARK MACCARLEY (RET.), U.S. ARMY, MACCARLEY & ROSEN, CONSULTANTS AND LAWYERS: I think that's been discussed repeatedly over the last two or three weeks and you have visible evidence of that.

[05:50:00]

You have the two amphibious ships -- Marine amphibious ships -- one of which the USS Tripoli is floating right outside the Strait of Hormuz waiting for orders, and the Boxer, another amphibious ship, prepared to go forward.

And as well, you have our Army 82nd Airborne, which is used for immediate interdiction. It's absolutely appropriate if you're trying to seize an island such as Kharg Island, to have the 82nd parashoot in, seize the runways, and then prepare for the amphibious assault by our Marines.

And equally and consistent with other conversation, when you address the special forces, that instantaneously raises the expectation that these specialized units -- the direction given to these specialized units is to move as quickly as possible to seize the remnants of the Iranian uranium deposit -- repositories.

So yeah, there is significant substance to this.

Now, of course, the question is whether we will take that type of action, and it remains to be seen. Tonight the conversation and the presentation by the president perhaps will give us an idea of what direction he seeks to take.

ABEL: Yeah. We will see what the president says tonight. The president, in an interview with a British newspaper published this

morning, Major General, says the U.S. is considering leaving NATO over what he says is the alliance's "lackluster military support" for his war against Iran. And the remarks -- they come just as the British prime minister says it's not the U.K.'s war and they won't be dragged into it.

I want you to listen to something else that the prime minister said about NATO here.

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KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Firstly, NATO is the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen, and it has kept us safe for many decades. And we are fully committed to NATO.

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ABEL: Now, Major General, I do want to kind of get your analysis here because Trump said to The Telegraph, "It's beyond reconsideration" of NATO membership after the war. "I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger -- and Putin knows that too, by the way."

So what do you make of these comments and what the prime minister said? What it could mean for NATO and the world?

MACCARLEY: I have to tell you, all of us who have served any amount of time in the U.S. Armed Forces have found ourselves in Europe -- in that part of the world -- that area of operations -- supporting the efforts of NATO and maintained that tenuous peace from the Second World War all the way up to now.

I think it would be extraordinarily dangerous for peace in that region, peace in the entire world if the U.S. unilaterally terminated its relationship with NATO -- which has, to incorporate the prime minister's perspectum and statements -- has been one of the most successful relationships -- security relationships that this world has seen historically.

If it's the president's decision to do that and to make that unilateral decision there will be multiple consequences, including a new perspective on the part of our then-former NATO allies as to how they, themselves, will stand up against aggression in Europe. And we see every single day that aggression demonstrated. Not only what we see in Iran, which is the topic for today, but we've got to return to that war that has been visible in front of all of us for at least the last four years, and that is Ukraine.

ABEL: All right, retired Major General Mark MacCarley. I really appreciate your expertise, sir. Thank you.

We will be right back.

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[05:58:37] ABEL: Tiger Woods has pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence after his latest rollover car crash. And according to the arrest affidavit, the golf great failed a field sobriety test and had opioids in his pocket when he was arrested in Florida on Friday. He's also charged with refusing to submit to a lawful urine test that would have detected the presence of controlled substances.

Woods, who is 50, released a statement saying he understands the seriousness of the situation and will be stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on his health. He also asked for privacy.

And it appears we'll never know the story behind a video posted by Kid Rock on social media. That's because Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth now says there will be no investigation after Army pilots were seen flying Apache helicopters over the singer's Nashville area home. You see that video here. Hegseth reposted the video thanking Kid Rock, a longtime Trump supporter, and saying the pilots' suspension was lifted. He added, "No punishment. No investigation."

Now earlier Tuesday the U.S. Army said the crew involved in the flyby had been suspended and a probe had been launched. CNN has reached out to the Army for comment.

[06:00:00]

Not a lot of lost dogs get found by a helicopter, but a Border Collie named Molly had this remarkable rescue after spending a week missing in a remote area of New Zealand. Now, Molly's owner had fallen down the waterfall you see here while hiking. She was lucky to survive but the two got separated.

News of the missing dog spread and by Sunday enough money was raised to hire a helicopter crew. They miraculously found her wet and cold at the base of the waterfall, looking for her human most likely. She was reunited with her owner who said, "With both of us back home, I can add this adventure to the list." Great to see that.

Thank you for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Brian Abel in Washington. "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now.