Return to Transcripts main page
The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Tehran's Mehrabad Airport On Fire As Airstrikes Target Iran; Gulf States Fend Off New Missile And Drone Attacks; Lebanese & Iranian Media - War Has Killed 1,320 People; UAE Billionaire Says U.S. Will Have To Pay For War Damage; Trump - No Deal With Iran Until - Unconditional Surrender; Sources - Russia Feeds Iran Intel About U.S. Forces; Gulf States Fend Off New Missile And Drone Attacks; Oil Prices Surge Amid Disruptions At Strait Of Hormuz; Trump Claims Cuba Is - Going To Fall Pretty Soon; Aired 1-2a ET
Aired March 07, 2026 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: -- Wednesday. The high demand causing prices to skyrocket.
ALTAY KULA, CEO, JET-VIP: The typical cost for a flight from Dubai to Istanbul was something around $50,000, and at the moment, we are close to $100,000. So we can say that the price has doubled.
KINKADE: A travel nightmare as airlines and countries try to accommodate desperate passengers, some willing to pay a high price if it means a ticket home. Lynda Kinkade, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN HOST: A $100,000. Wow. Lynda Kinkade, thank you for that. Thank you for watching the first hour of "The Story Is." The next hour starts right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.
MICHAELSON: And welcome to "The Story Is." I'm Elex Michaelson live in Atlanta. We begin once again with breaking news. Iran now firing back after Israel launched what it calls a broad scale wave of strikes against Tehran a short time ago. We've got new video from Tehran's airport. It shows that airport on fire, although it's not clear if the airport was struck directly. Iranian state media is reporting explosions from one end of the capital to the other.
U.S. central command says American forces have now hit more than 3,000 targets inside Iran that includes ballistic missile sites and command posts of Iran's revolutionary guards. Take a look here at the destruction in Iran in a string of new satellite images taken on Friday. You're seeing what it looked like before and after the strikes. The images show damage at multiple sites, including a navy and drone base on the Persian Gulf and other military bases across the country.
CNN Senior International Correspondent Ivan Watson joins me live from Hong Kong. Quite dramatic images there of that airport.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, this was a very busy domestic airport for the most part in the center of Tehran. Now up in flames, it looked like there were -- from some of the images we're trying to glean, it looks like some of the planes might have actually caught on fire there that we're trying to confirm that.
The scale of the bombardment is massive. I mean, it has been a week since the U.S. and Israel announced the launch of this joint aerial bombardment of Iran. You cited CENTCOM claiming to have hit more than 3,000 targets, mostly targeting regime government infrastructure, military targets, and also claiming to have destroyed some 43 or damaged some 43 Iranian navy ships. That's one of the stated goals of the Trump administration with this war. It is terrifying for people on the ground.
Tehran is a massive, densely populated city, and we're already getting accounts from Iranian state media of more than 1,200 people killed. An independent non-governmental organization says, yes, it does seem like a police station and an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps barracks have been hit in the past 24 hours, but also reporting damage to a Red Crescent Society, charity emergency aid worker building in Tehran as well.
Beyond Iran, the drone and missile assaults on Gulf countries from Iran continue, and there are some startling statistics. The United Arab Emirates, for example, reporting that it intercepted nine missiles and a 109 drones on Friday. Iran insists that it is not targeting civilian infrastructure, just U.S. air bases and installations across the Gulf region.
Saudi Arabia, however, says it intercepted some 16 drones headed towards its massive Shaybah Oil Field successfully shut them down. In 2019, Houthi, Iran backed rebels had targeted that same oil field. We don't know where those drones came from. Bahrain, Kuwait also reporting that drones and missiles were targeted at their territory. And then Iraqi Kurdistan, that northern Iraqi region, after a warning had gone out from the U.S. embassy in Iraq to stay away from hotels that that are frequented by foreigners, a drone exploded near one of those hotels in the northern Iraqi Kurdish city of Erbil.
On another major front in this conflict, that is Lebanon and Israel, the fighting continues to rage across the border. The Israeli military saying it has made incursions into Southern Lebanon after demanding that the entire civilian population withdraw to regions north of the Litani River. Meanwhile, you have Hezbollah claiming responsibility for attacks on Israeli forces. Elex, I want to turn attention to one voice that has come out of the Gulf region. It's an Emirati billionaire developer who perhaps has been able to go further in criticizing this war and President Trump's decision to go to war than other governments in the GCC have so far.
[01:05:00]
He issued a post in which he said, "Who gave you permission to turn our region into a battlefield?" Take a listen to what he had to say to our own Erin Burnett.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KHALAF AHMAD AL HABTOOR, UAE BUSINESSMAN (translated): Well, if it goes a month, I think all the country, my advice to them to claim financial claim from United States of America. And America should be responsible to pay everybody suffered in the area, and this will be equal to trillions and trillions of dollars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Because, of course, the costs of this conflict both in human lives and in financial losses only continue to grow, Elex.
MICHAELSON: Yeah. And it's remarkable that it was one week ago during this very hour, during this very broadcast, CNN was the first network of any to report the news of this war beginning. You were with us shortly after that, and it is amazing how much has changed in the course of a week. Ivan Watson, thank you for your hard work every single night since then.
Now CNN is the first network to start reporting from Iran, since the conflict began. Our Correspondent Fred Pleitgen and Producer Claudia Otto were in Tehran during the latest strikes. We note that CNN operates in Iran only with government permission. Here's some of Fred's report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Time and again, we've heard major airstrikes. In fact, earlier today, we were at a hospital that was hit, that was damaged when there was an airstrike in the vicinity. And while we were on the ground filming there, we heard more airstrikes not too far away from us. So it is a pretty constant thing here on the ground in Tehran. Also major strikes, of course, overnight happening last night as well, and you can feel that the city here is a lot emptier, obviously, than it would normally be. A lot of people have decided to leave the city simply because it appears to be so dangerous.
Of course, while, a lot of targets have been struck here, a lot of civilians have also been wounded. Some civilians have been killed on the ground here as well. The authorities today telling us I was speaking to the Head of the Iranian Red Crescent saying that many, many people have been wounded and have been killed as these strikes have been going on. So this is clearly something for a lot of folks here on the ground, obviously, very concerned about the situation, and you can really hear the thuds of those incoming strikes almost constantly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Fred Pleitgen with exclusive access inside Iran. President Trump has set a tough new demand for ending the war. He says, "There will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender." He told CNN's Dana Bash on the phone on Friday that Iran's leadership has been, "neutered," and he's looking for new leadership in Iran that will treat the U.S. and Israel well. He reiterated that he must be involved with choosing Iran's next leader.
In the meantime, Iran is being led by an interim leadership council. President Trump says he's open to having a religious leader in Iran, and he's not worried whether or not Iran becomes a democracy. As for what an unconditional surrender actually looks like, here's White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: What the President means is that when he, as commander and Chief of the U.S. armed forces, determines that Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States of America and the goals of Operation Epic Fury has been fully realized, then Iran will essentially be in a place of unconditional surrender, whether they say it themselves or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, Russia is not playing a neutral observer in this war according to multiple sources who spoke to CNN. They say that U.S. intelligence shows Moscow is supplying Iran with intelligence about the location and movement of U.S. ships, planes, and troops, much of that coming from Russian satellites. It's still unclear if any Iranian attack can be linked to the intelligence received from Moscow. Russia's state news agency says the two countries' presidents held a phone call on Friday and agreed to continue contacts.
For more on this, we are joined by CNN's Gabe Cohen from Washington. Gabe, this not something president Trump wants to talk about.
GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. Nor his administration. But look, one of the reasons, Elex, that this is really significant is because it's the first real indication that Moscow is getting involved in this war. Those sources telling CNN that Russia is specifically providing that intel about the location of American troops and assets so that Iran can target them. And much of that intelligence, as you said, is coming from this sophisticated satellite system that Russia has. It's a resource, a tool that Iran does not have as the country has seen its capabilities degraded day after day throughout all this fighting.
It's not a huge surprise that these two countries would be collaborating in some capacity.
[01:10:00]
They are countries that for years have worked together on certain military technology, missiles, drones. But what we don't know is whether or not this is indication that Russia's involvement in this war could expand, especially after that phone call that you mentioned on Friday between Iran's President and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Now the White House does not want to talk about Russia. They have brushed this story off. We heard Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tell CBS News that, of course, the President is well aware of who is talking to who. Though I will note a couple days ago, Hegseth told the reporters that Russia and China are "Not really a factor in this war." Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt said, that if Russia is in fact providing this information to Iran, it's clearly not making much of a difference because of the success over the past week of the U.S. operation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It sounds like the Russians are helping Iran target and attack Americans now?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: That's an easy problem compared to what we're doing here. But, can I be honest? It's just -- I have a lot of respect for you. You've always been very nice to me. What a stupid question that is to be asking at this time. We're talking about something else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: And Elex, it seems like this is part of the bigger narrative that the administration is really laser focused on that this has been a particularly targeted and successful operation. Trump telling CNN on Friday, "A week ago, Iran was powerful. Now they have been indeed neutered." He said he wants to handpick the country's next leader. And remember, he had also said in recent days that he was hoping this is going to be a four to five week war effort, but it's unclear if that timeline could potentially change if countries like Russia are drawn into the conflict if they get involved.
MICHAELSON: Yeah. The optics of all this has been interesting, because yesterday, he's at the White House with the inter Miami soccer team behind him talking about all the details of what's happening in Iran. Today, this question is asked at a college sports event. He has not had a sort of formal press conference to talk about this, although he's having these phone conversations with all these different members of the media he picks up for, including Dana Bash from CNN.
COHEN: Yeah. He has had a bunch of these one on one phone calls, but reporters at the White House have been noting that the President, it's felt a little odd how much he is avoiding cameras and microphones given how he typically operates. And, again, he hasn't wanted to talk about certain aspects of this conflict like this Russian involvement that's come up here in recent hours.
Again, they're talking about the war. We're seeing posts celebrating all of the gains that the U.S. military has made over the past week, but we're not seeing the President out front. And then we see moments like the one at the White House earlier today, a pretty basic question that he really pushed back on quickly.
MICHAELSON: Yeah. And not exactly coming from enemy territory from Peter Doocy on Fox News either. Gabe Cohen, thank you so much. Great to have you on this show. Come back anytime.
COHEN: Thank you. MICHAELSON: The conflict in The Middle East is leading to a worsening humanitarian crisis in Lebanon. People are fleeing the country, trying to escape the spiraling violence as Israel and Hezbollah trade attacks. We go live to Beirut for the latest next and on how you can help people impact.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:15:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: The White House has not ruled out that U.S. military forces carried out a strike that hit a girl's elementary school in the southern Iranian city of Minab, on Saturday. Iran's state media says at least a 168 children and 14 teachers were killed. CNN's Isobel Yeung has more on the analysis of that bombing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Nearly a week after a strike killed scores of students in Iran's Minab, it seems more and more likely that The U.S. was responsible. A new satellite image shows an Iranian revolutionary guards base and an elementary school in Southern Iran. Here, you see craters in several of the buildings, including the school. They were hit in their exact centers, suggesting precision strikes, experts say. A wall separates the school and the base.
Satellite images from December showed dozens of people in what appears to be a handball court at the school. Reuters now reports that U.S. military investigators believe U.S. forces were responsible, though they haven't yet reached a final conclusion.
N.R. JENZEN-JONES, DIRECTOR, ARMAMENT RESEARCH SERVICES: It paints a picture of multiple simultaneous or near simultaneous strikes. It looks like these were delivered with explosive munitions, probably air delivered. I think the most likely scenario in this case is U.S. or Israeli airstrike going awry. It's probably a targeting failure somewhere in the target cycle, an intelligence failure.
YEUNG: The Israeli military say they weren't operating in the area.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To date, we've hit over 2,000 targets.
YEUNG: American military officials say they carried out extensive strikes in this area and released this map showing strikes in Southern Iran. The base and the school in Minab are located here.
PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: We, of course, never target civilian targets, but we're taking a look at investigating that.
JENZEN-JONES: The damage we're seeing is quite significant. It's unlikely it was something like an air defense missile fired by the Iranians, for example. YEUNG: When we try to assess who is responsible for airstrikes, we typically try to examine the weaponry fragments left behind. But in this instance, there's an Internet blackout in Iran. It's been really difficult to obtain that, and so this investigation is still not conclusive. Isobel Yeung, CNN London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:20:00]
MICHAELSON: Isobel, thank you. Gulf states are on high alert as they continue to fend off retaliatory strikes from Iran. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and The United Arab Emirates have all intercepted missiles and drones headed towards their countries. CNN Senior Producer Bijan Hosseini is monitoring all this. He is once again live for us from Doha, Qatar. What's it like there this morning?
BIJAN HOSSEINI, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Hi, Elex. All things considered pretty calm here for the time being. We know that in the UAE within the last 30 minutes, our team members across three different cities Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah have received emergency alerts on their phone that missile attack is ongoing. So we'll continue to monitor and update you all on that.
Attacks, being sent into Saudi this morning as well. Waves of missile and drone attacks on oil facilities and on the Prince Sultan Air Base. We know according to Saudi's Ministry of Defense that those have all been intercepted in Bahrain. Sounds, alarms going off this morning for residents there asking them to seek shelter. We don't have any additional information on hits or how many projectiles have been fired into that country.
And we know that Kuwait yesterday saying they shot down 12 drones and 14 missiles. Yesterday here in Qatar, the Ministry of Defense confirming to us that 10 drones were sent to target the country, nine of those were intercepted. We know that one did hit, in an uninhabitable area of Qatar according to the Ministry of Defense. This all comes after U.S. central command on Thursday said that Iranian ballistic missile attacks had decreased by 90 percent and that drone attacks had decreased by 83 percent.
Obviously, in the UAE, they're still getting those alerts there. They've been absorbing the brunt of Iran's retaliation. Here in Qatar, as I said, a fairly quiet night, all things considered from what we've experienced in the last eight days. We know that civil aviation authority here in the country announced overnight that they're going to partially reopen the airspace here, which, of course, is a huge relief to the more than 8,000 passengers we know that were stuck here as they were transiting through Doha's major airport hub, the Hamad International Airport.
And after that announcement of the reopening of the airspace, we heard from Qatar Airways that they would begin operating limited flights from the capital here to five major cities, Rome, Paris, Madrid, Frankfurt, and London. So a little bit of a relief for the passengers here, but obviously still a tax incoming for our colleagues in the UAE at the moment.
MICHAELSON: Yeah. Because there was some question about does Iran have anything left after all of this? And clearly, at least for the time being, they do. Not sure if he can hear us, but --
HOSSEINI: Yeah, Elex. Yeah, exactly right. I mean, we're -- we haven't seen a -- sorry about that. Just a bit of a delay there. You're exactly right. We have seen, as I said, a brief pause of hostilities here in Qatar, but still every single day, all these Gulf countries minus Oman have experienced attacks from Iran. So a bit contradictory to what we've heard from U.S. central command. Yeah, but we'll just have to wait and see here, Elex.
MICHAELSON: Well, we're glad that you are safe, and we're glad that there's also a delay and you're not ignoring me. Bijan Hosseini in Doha, thank you so much. We appreciate your continued excellent reporting. We'll be back with more of "The Story Is" right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:25:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: Welcome back to "The Story Is," I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at today's top stories. The United Nations Secretary General is warning that the war in Iran could spiral out of control. Antonio Guterres said the attacks are causing harm to civilians in the region and pose a grave risk to the global economy. He's called for an end to -- for fighting and urge for serious negotiations to take place.
Iran is warning other countries not to get involved in the war with the U.S. and Israel. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister says if European countries join attacks against Iran, those countries will become, "Legitimate targets for retaliation." He says Tehran warned other Gulf states before the war started that if the U.S. attacks Iran, then Iran would target U.S. bases and assets in the region.
Russia is reportedly feeding intelligence to Iran that can be used to target U.S. forces. Multiple sources familiar with U.S. intelligence say the information includes locations and movements of ships, planes, and troops. Much of it reportedly comes from Russian satellites. So far, it's unclear if any Iranian attack can be linked to the intel received from Moscow.
Oil rich Gulf states are struggling as the war with Iran strains their economies. Energy production has slowed, and exports have been disrupted because of the fighting. Several gas and oil infrastructure sites have already been hit. As the conflict widens, the Strait of Hormuz sits basically empty. The vital shipping channel normally handles tankers carrying 20 percent of the world's oil supply. Because of all of this, oil prices are surging. U.S. crude oil prices jumped 36 percent this week to $91 a barrel. The international benchmark Brent crude gained 27 percent topping $93 a barrel.
[01:30:00]
Retail gas prices in the U.S. could rise to nearly $4 a gallon this month. One analyst predicts prices will keep surging until the Strait of Hormuz opens up again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRICK DE HAAN, HEAD OF PETROLEUM ANALYSIS, GASBUDDY: Based on where we are now, the national average could rise another $0.15 to $0.25. I would hope that it would stop short of $4 a gallon, but the real question is when will vessels start transiting the Strait of Hormuz? That's really what oil prices and markets are looking most closely at is when will the resumption of 20 million barrels of oil per day continue through the Strait.
Until then, gas prices likely continue advancing. Oil prices will likely keep climbing until that oil can move again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The war with Iran has rippled through U.S. markets as investors worry about energy inflation. The DOW closed Friday, down 453 points or almost 1 percent. It finished the week 3 percent lower, marking its worst week since last April. The S&P 500 also fell 1.3 percent on Friday, and the tech heavy NASDAQ sank more than 1.5 percent. It is just after eight o'clock in the morning in Beirut, a city scarred by waves of Israeli strikes in recent days. Much of its southern side is now off limits because of Israel's evacuation orders.
And with no place to go, air workers say many displaced residents are forced to sleep on the streets. Israel's far reaching evacuation orders and strikes in Lebanon have displaced nearly 0.5 million residents. That's according to the Norwegian Refugee Council. That group says about a 100,000 people are seeking safety in government shelters, but that figure is likely a fraction of the real number.
Many residents are fleeing Lebanon and crossing into Syria. Lebanese state media reports the Israeli strikes have killed more than 200 people and wounded nearly 800. Israel says it's targeted Hezbollah command centers with fresh strikes on Friday. The U.N. Refugee Agency is deploying teams to help people at the border crossing into Syria.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated): The strike was about 600 meters across. Someone was killed. We knew this was coming, and we prepared those huge cases that they were living without clothes. Our house is gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Let's go live now to Beirut and bring in the UNICEF Representative in Lebanon, Marcoluigi Corsi. Thanks so much for being with us. What is happening right now in Beirut outside your window? What are you seeing? MARCOLUIGI CORSI, UNICEF REPRESENTATIVE IN LEBANON: Good evening. Indeed, a massive displacement of people from different part of the countries, in particularly from the South and in one of the southern part of neighborhood, neighborhood of Beirut due to the evacuation order issued by the Israelis. So massive we are talking about more than 500,000 people displaced, and most of them, they're actually outside the shelter. There are 521 shelter which has been created by the government, but certainly not catering for all the people. They are sleeping outside or in the cars.
So it's really -- the problem is really the speeds and the pace of what's happening. And the challenge is that how do we take care of all these people, particularly children, which have been traumatized. Let's not forget about that 18 months ago. This is a Deja Vu for them. So indeed, the main challenge now is making sure that they're in shelter, get the right assistance, and but at the same time, we are able to reach out to those who are actually outside the shelter.
MICHAELSON: So how do you do that? What help do you need? How can people help you?
CORSI: OK. At the moment, we are really looking at responding the immediate needs. We have mobilized mobile clinics. We are making sure that the shelter, which are mainly schools, they are all connected to running water. And for those shelter which are not -- that are open shelter, let's say, we are setting up latrines. At the same time, we need to take care of the children. These children, again, have been traumatized, and we need to support them with psychological support.
Very soon, we'll need also to set up education center because the schools at the moment, the private and public are all suspended. And we don't know for how long this is going to be, and we are afraid that it will become bigger because it gets smaller. So we have activated tools to the government centers, thousands of volunteers which are supporting the people who are displaced.
The most important thing at the moment is also to avoid that we face outbreak disease because when people they leave, as we know in such kind of centers together, the spread of disease can be -- can go very fast.
[01:35:00]
MICHAELSON: And what's the best website or where should people go to be able to help you?
CORSI: OK. The website that is -- the most are the Ministry of Social Affair website, which actually provide all the information which is needed, but also you can connect to the UNICEF, particularly website, unicef.org, where we have activated our helpline. Again, it's really the other element, unfortunately, is that we are facing these challenges in a challenging moment for the humanitarian funds. At the moment, we have been able to respond to the meeting needs of the children, the families because of the supplies that we have here in country across different places of the country. But very soon, we have to replenish and for that, we will need indeed supplies coming in, which at the moment we don't see. So again, it's really about making sure that the children over the next weeks and months, they will be able to get the support that they need. Again, it's a belief -- I know that this region wide -- with region wide catastrophe, I would say, but indeed in Lebanon, again, due to the recurrent and Deja Vu kind of situation. We need to support them as much as possible.
MICHAELSON: Marcoluigi Corsi doing really important work in Beirut, Lebanon. Best of luck to you and your team. Thanks for being with us.
CORSI: Thank you. Thank you.
MICHAELSON: President Trump is once again focusing on Cuba, saying it's only a matter of time until the government crumbles. We'll talk about that still ahead here on "The Story Is."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: There is new fallout from California's Proposition 50. That ballot measure allowed the state to redraw legislative maps to counter Republican map drawing in Texas. California Republican Congressman Darrell Issa announcing late Friday that he will retire from Congress after serving for more than two decades. His San Diego area seat was among those redrawn to favor the democrats. He likely couldn't win in that district, and so now he's leaving Congress. At the same time, Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley filed for reelection as an independent, no party preference in a long shot bid to keep his job in a district that will likely go to a Democrat.
In a social media post, he called gerrymandering a plague on democracy. He added that both political parties are complicit in what he called an epidemic. It's unclear which party he would caucus with if he wins reelection, and importantly, if he will stay a member of the GOP caucus in Congress right now where the margin is so thin. So pay attention to that in the days ahead.
Now "The Story Is" immigration. This is a live picture from Washington where Congress is still not fully funding The Department of Homeland Security. This week, President Trump fired his DHS Secretary, Kristi Noem. He wants to replace her with Oklahoma Senator, Markwayne Mullin. A big question. Will Mullin continue her plan to build massive detention facilities across the country?
On Monday, we spent time with U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock as he visited a small town that is very worried about its future.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN HOST: What goes through your mind when you're looking at it? RAPHAEL WARNOCK, UNITED STATES SENATOR: Well, it's massive.
MICHAELSON: Senator Raphael Warnock checks out this 1 million square foot warehouse purchased by the Trump administration to potentially house as many as 10,000 migrant detainees in Social Circle, Georgia, a small town about 45 miles East of Atlanta. Current population, just over 5,000 residents.
WARNOCK: Tripling the size of the town, and I don't think the people of Social Circle signed up for that.
DAVID KEENER, MAYOR OF SOCIAL CIRCLE: We don't want a detention center in our city.
MICHAELSON: David Keener is Mayor of Social Circle, part of Walton County, which President Trump carried in 2024 with almost 73 percent of the vote. What are you hearing from the Trump administration?
KEENER: Nothing.
MICHAELSON: How does that make you feel?
KEENER: Well, I wish I would get more support there.
MICHAELSON: How long did it take to build that thing?
ERIC TAYLOR, SOCIAL CIRCLE, GEORGIA, CITY MANAGER: About two years.
MICHAELSON: Eric Taylor is Social Circle's City Manager. He says this building was not originally designed to house people.
TAYLOR: It was built for, to kind of be a hub for a large retailer, somebody like, Amazon or Wayfair.
MICHAELSON: DHS telling us, "These are not warehouses. These will be very well structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards."
TAYLOR: Nice to meet you, Senator. Thank you for coming.
MICHAELSON: Taylor taking Warnock on a tour of the city's water treatment plant.
WARNOCK: Your facility doesn't have capacity to treat.
TAYLOR: Right.
MICHAELSON: Taylor says this structure built in 1962 can barely handle current demand.
TAYLOR: When I asked the DHS where they're getting the water from, they said they're going to be pulling it from the city during non-peak times, which doesn't work. I mean, if water's not there, it's not there.
MICHAELSON: This is the current wastewater treatment plant. As you can see, it's not very big. Those who work here say there is no way this plant could handle the potential demand.
JAY LINK, SEWER AND WASTEWATER SUPERINTENDENT: There's no way to treat the amount of water.
MICHAELSON: Jay Link is the sewer and wastewater superintendent. He says sewer water like this could end up in this local river, endangering fish and wildlife.
You're saying that that you need two years to build a new plant and they want this open in a month?
LINK: That's great.
MICHAELSON: DHS also told us, "Sites will undergo community impact studies and a rigorous due diligence process to make sure there is no hardship on local utilities or infrastructure prior to purchase. The Social Circle facility and its construction are expected to bring 9,800 jobs to the area and contribute $1 billion to GDP. It's also projected to bring in more than $222.1 million in tax revenue."
TAYLOR: This property will be removed from our tax rules, because it's government owned.
MICHAELSON: Taylor is worried about losing tax revenue and concerned about safety at the elementary school located just 4,000 feet from the warehouse.
[01:45:00]
TAYLOR: What's it going to mean for our public safety? What does it mean for our, police force? What does it mean for our firefighters?
MICHAELSON: DHS sent us images of undocumented men arrested in Georgia, they say are convicted for crimes like manslaughter and rape. Where should people be detained? If people are here illegally, where should they go?
WARNOCK: Listen. I -- regardless of where you are on the President's policies, the folks here, again, they voted for this President. They didn't vote for this.
MICHAELSON: This is one of eight super detention facilities opening across the country and part of a much larger effort. That effort expected to cost an estimated $38 billion to build an additional 92,600 beds. The hope to increase enforcement and activate all this by November. Are any of these detention mega centers being welcomed by the local communities?
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not as far as I've seen.
MICHAELSON: CNN's Rafael Romo has reported on these efforts across the country. He says there's political pressure from the top to speed up the pace of detentions.
ROMO: The idea is to get me these numbers because I have promised to deport 1 million people per year during my administration. And so the local people are the ones who are paying for it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Logistically, it is not feasible.
MICHAELSON: Residents are pushing back on a proposed facility in Oakwood, Georgia City Manager, B.R. White, says the feds never contacted the city.
B.R. WHITE, CITY MANAGER, OAKWOOD, GEORGIA: We've been sidelined and steam rolled over.
MICHAELSON: Warnock introduced a measure in the Republican controlled senate to defund the facilities in Oakwood and Social Circle. Are there Republican votes to actually stop this? Is there a way to get this thing?
WARNOCK: Well, that's a good question. I'm standing in a district with a Republican Congressperson. So I think my colleagues need to ask themselves, are they -- there to fight for the people that they actually represent, or they're just there to do the President's bidding no matter what?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So that Republican Congressman he's talking about is Mike Collins. We reached out to his office. His office told us that he has been engaged on this issue daily, adding, "Representative Collins is aligned with DHS's efforts to remove the criminal illegals that senators Warnock and Ossoff allowed into our country. But agrees with the City of Social Circle that they may lack the infrastructure or resources that this facility requires and has urged DHS to hear out and address the concerns to avoid any negative impacts on the community." We have also asked DHS about the other facility in Oakdale, Georgia. We're waiting to hear back on that.
Now to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Jesse didn't just speak to black folks. He spoke to white folks and Latinos and Asian Americans and the first Americans. He spoke to family farmers and environmentalists. He spoke to gay rights activists when nobody was talking to gay rights activists and blue collar workers. And he gave them the same message that they mattered, that their voices and their votes counted. He invited them to believe. He invited us to believe in our own power to change America for the better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: That was former President Barack Obama honoring the late reverend Jesse Jackson at his memorial service in Chicago on Friday. The joyful music filled service traced Reverend Jackson's journey from a child of the Jim Crow South through his fight for civil rights to his role as a political powerhouse in D.C.
You see some of the big names there. You just saw Al Sharpton, Former Vice President, Kamala Harris and former Presidents Bill Clinton, Joe Biden also taking the stage. Lots of music. Jackson died on February 17th. He was 84. And tonight, we remember a life well lived.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: President Trump is signaling that Cuba is next on his agenda after the conflict with Iran. He told CNN in a phone interview with Dana Bash that, "Cuba is going to fall pretty soon." CNN's Patrick Oppmann has more from Havana.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump says that Cuba is, "Ready to fall. It would seem to be the kind of rehash bluster we've heard from many U.S. presidents since the Cold War, but now it does feel a little different. The oil embargo that Donald Trump has put on this island gives some credence to his comments to CNN that the government here is hanging on by the thinnest of threads.
Every day we see less cars on the road. The blackouts become longer and longer, and people are becoming increasingly desperate as they wonder how their food will last in fridges if there's no more power. How they will earn a living if inflation is out of control and salaries are becoming near to worthless.
And so when Donald Trump says the Cuban government is desperate for a deal, as he told CNN's Dana Bash on Friday, perhaps, there is some truth in that. Although the Cuban officials that I speak to say, they will never allow the U.S. to dictate to them ever again, and they are willing to resist the Trump administration, even willing to take to the streets and fight if necessary.
[01:55:00]
All the same though, this appears to be checkmate as no other governments, not Cuba's allies, Russia or China, certainly not Venezuela following the U.S. attack on that country, or even Mexico following a pressure campaign from the Trump administration are stepping in to send oil, the oil that this economy so desperately needs.
So at the moment, there are rumors and whispers of talks on back channels going on, of deals being struck. But, as this crisis goes on, it is taking a far more deeper toll on the Cuban people. Patrick Oppmann, CNN in Havana.
MICHAELSON: Tornadoes have torn through parts of Southwestern Michigan. Officials say at least eight people were killed, 12 others injured. The U.S. National Weather Service tracked this tornado near three rivers Michigan on Friday. A homeowner filmed it as it moved through Union City.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There goes a house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The storms spawned a total of seven tornado reports from the Texas Panhandle to South Central Kansas. Thank you so much for joining me here all week in Atlanta.
I'm Elex Michaelson. Thank you for watching "The Story Is." Our coverage of the war with Iran continues straight ahead. You see Ben Hunte there standing by to pick up our coverage. I'll see you back in Los Angeles on Monday. Ben, have a great show. Have a great weekend, everybody.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
