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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Search Underway For Crew Member Of U.S. Jet Downed In Iran; Iran Offers Reward For U.S. Crew Member Of Downed Jet; Trump - Downed U.S. Jet Won't Affect Negotiations With Iran; Nasa Releases First Photos From Artemis II Mission; White House Seeks Massive $1.5 Trillion In Defense Spending; Aired 12-1a ET

Aired April 04, 2026 - 00:00   ET

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

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VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yeah.

BRAD REESE, GRANDSON OF REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER CUPS INVENTOR H.B. REESE: Hershey ever did in February 2020, no longer milk chocolate. It's now coated -- compound coating. Chocolate candy. Same thing with mounds.

BLACKWELL: Well, Brad

REESE: Almond Joy.

BLACKWELL: Brad, I know that this is something you're passionate about. A lot of people will be talking about this weekend. I thank you for your time tonight. And there's still people who still love Reese's. Brad Reese, thanks so much. That does it for me. The story is with Elex Michaelson is next.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN HOST: I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles. Welcome to "The Story Is."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "The Story Is" missing crew member. What's happening now is the military searches for American lost in Iran.

"The Story Is" to the moon. Retired astronaut Scott Altman with us live to talk about what Earth looks like from space and the capsule he helped build.

"The Story Is" outrage for fire victims, the fees being charged in Altadena to people who lost everything in SoCal's wildfire.

And "The Story Is" screaming match. Who are the top coaches in women's college basketball history in each other's faces at the Final Four?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles, "The Story Is" with Elex Michaelson.

MICHAELSON: It is 9:00 p.m. here on the West Coast, midnight in the East Coast, and a huge search and rescue operation is underway at this hour after a U.S. fighter jet was shot down over Iran. One of the jets, two crew members was rescued and is alive and receiving medical attention.

The status of the second crew member is unknown right now. It is the first time a U.S. aircraft has been shot down over Iran during the conflict. The doomed jet was an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet. They typically are crewed by a pilot in the front seat and a weapon systems officer in the back seat.

Now this video shared on Friday appears to show Iranian police officers shooting at a pair of helicopters flying at low altitude in Southwestern Iran. It's not clear who those aircraft belong to or if they were involved in the search efforts or some other operation. Tehran is offering a reward to whomever finds the American service member and hands them over.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (translated): If you capture and hand over a pilot or pilots of the enemy alive to the law enforcement and military forces, you will receive a valuable reward and prize.

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MICHAELSON: Multiple videos show military aircraft operating over Iran on Friday apparently searching for that U.S. service member. Israel postponed some of its planned strikes on Iran so as to not interfere with those search efforts. Iran also struck a second U.S. military plane on Friday, an A-10 Warthog like this one. U.S. officials say the pilot navigated away from Iranian territory before ejecting. That pilot has been rescued.

President of the United States, Donald Trump, says that the downing of the fighter jet would not affect negotiations with Iran. CNN's Hanako Montgomery following all of this. She's live in Tokyo. What do we know about what is going on with the search right now, Hanako?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Elex, as you mentioned, one of the U.S. service members who was aboard that downed fighter jet, the F-15 is still missing. And we do know that a search and rescue mission is currently underway. In fact, videos verified by CNN actually show low lying and low flying aircraft, again, appearing to be part of that search and rescue mission.

Now we also know, Elex, and I just want to state here that this is a really serious situation for the United States. It marks the first time that a U.S. aircraft has been down since the beginning of this war about a month ago. And it also means that this U.S. service member is currently behind enemy lines and, of course, needs rescuing.

Now also, Elex, it underlines and underscores two really key points here. The first is, of course, that Iran still shows that it has the military capabilities of posing as a threat to U.S. aircraft even after a month of fighting and even after we've expected a lot of their military hardware to be depleted or be significantly affected.

Now, also it shows how the escalating conflict the longer this war goes on, the more this fighting goes on, the greater threat it poses to U.S. service members fighting this war. And, Elex, as you mentioned, the U.S. President Donald Trump has not yet made a public statement about this downed aircraft, but he has said that it will not affect peace negotiations, Elex.

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MICHAELSON: And it is notable that he hasn't said anything yet, which leads you to believe that their mission is still underway, and he's not trying to complicate that mission. Hanako Montgomery, thank you. Let's get more insight right now. From CNN National Security Analyst Alex Plitsas, he is also the Director of the Counterterrorism Program at the Atlantic Council. He joins us live from Washington.

Alex, welcome back to the show. You've got about as good a sources as anybody on this network. What are your sources telling you about what is happening right now?

ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yeah. So, unfortunately, there is a downed either a pilot or weapon systems officer, inside of Iran at the moment. U.S. search and rescue operations are ongoing. It's why we haven't seen the statement from either White House or U.S. Central Command. One of them was rescued a little bit earlier today. A couple of the rescue aircraft that were on the way and actually took fire.

So one of those was the A-10 Warthog, which provides close air support that did take some fire, but the pilot was able to navigate over Kuwaiti airspace and then inject. And then one of the rescue helicopters also took fire. So I mean, this is what happens when you fly close to the ground, air supremacy and air superiority meaning you take out all the fighter jets, you take out the integrated air defense systems. Those are the radar dishes with the missiles that fire off at the planes for those who are unfamiliar with the terms. That doesn't mean that there's no risk. There's still shoulder fired missiles, and we're still not completely sure what brought down the aircraft. But the moment, the focus here is on the downed aviator.

MICHAELSON: So what do we know about how the one was rescued? And what would be sort of the typical process that would go about in terms of a rescue? We see the helicopters and others that would be associated with something like this.

PLITSAS: So the primary forces responsible for that would be air force power rescue. We know that there was a unit that was deployed as part of the overall operation that's on standby. So as the aircraft are conducting strikes over Iranian airspace, there were a few things that we saw. So you -- we saw images of the C-130 special operations aircraft that was then tailed by two of the Black Hawk helicopters that would have air force para rescue personnel on board. And then the A-10s which are the close air support strike aircraft that were accompanying them to provide some air support.

All of those collectively would be deployed to then try to locate and then on the ground pick up the pilot. So they find a pilot on the ground, there'd be an exchange of some words that have been predetermined to make sure that it's the right person. They get them on board the aircraft and then they depart the airspace. So the difficult part, depending on where the pilot landed would be ensuring that the pilot weapon systems officer is safe, try to transmit a location and then there could be some complicating factors. Are they close to an urban environment or buildings or whatnot? Can they get to an area where it's safe, get some surveillance on it?

So there's a lot that goes into this and making sure that the person on the ground is safe is the number one priority.

MICHAELSON: Would it make sense that the pilots would the -- two crew members would be far from each other in terms of where they land? And sort of what do we read into the fact that they were able to get one out but not the other?

PLITSAS: That's a great question. So there could have been a couple of complicating factors. If they punched out, they may not have ejected from the aircraft at the exact same time. So if the aircraft was continuing to travel at a great rate of speed, they could end up miles apart. We don't know if there's a communication systems problem with the individual that has not been rescued yet. So was there a problem with the radios? Again, could they be in terrain that's more problematic. There's a number of factors that could be playing into it right now, and we're just we're not really sure.

MICHAELSON: I don't know how to ask this in a sensitive way, but I know it's something a lot of people are thinking. Do we have reason to believe that this crew member is alive?

PLITSAS: We honestly don't know at the moment. So whether a lot of dead captured onshore at this point, there's been no indication from the administration that there's a change in status that this is now a recovery mission as opposed to a rescue. So I believe until that determination is made, this will continue as a rescue operation. This is one of the more difficult moments, where this becomes problematic at a strategic level as if the individual is alive and captured.

And then that one becomes a bargaining chip as part of the overall strategy for how the Iranians try to get out of this, at the end of the day. So the U.S. will make every concerted effort, because it's part of our warrior ethos. We leave no one behind.

MICHAELSON: I mean, that would be an extraordinary turning point in this war. It would be an extraordinary card to play, as President Trump likes to say, if they were able to do that. How would that change the war if there was an American service member now captured by Iran?

PLITSAS: So under the conventions and international treaties, if the individual was captured, they'd be a prisoner of war, and then the Iranians would be responsible for their well-being and safety whoever the individual is that's on the ground. And if they were to harm them in any way, they would be held accountable. So the thought would be that if that were to happen, that the individual would be detained, as a prisoner of war, the Iranians would hold them and then probably try to negotiate and trade them as part of an overall deal.

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We're nowhere near that. As we found out today, negotiations have broken down. The Iranian said that they're not up for a meeting with the U.S. When I spoke to mediators in the region earlier today, there's a concern that the Pakistani process is not yielding any meaningful results. I'm hearing that the Turks may step in and try to take a more prominent role.

And there were some reporting today about the Qataris, so I reached out to some of the mediators. And the response that I got was that we are not going to negotiate or -- excuse me, the Qataris that is are not going to mediate right now until the Iran stops attacking all of the GCC states, all of the Gulf countries that are under fire. And so far, Iran has been unwilling to do that.

MICHAELSON: So meanwhile, this search continues. We are going to stay on top of this. Hopefully, we have good news to share sometime soon of another rescue of an American. Alex Plitsas, thank you so much. Really appreciate all your information.

PLITSAS: Thanks for having me.

MICHAELSON: President Trump is once again shifting his stance on who is responsible for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. In a Truth Social post, he suggested the U.S. could "Easily open the waterway with little more time." But he previously said countries in Europe and Asia that rely on oil passing through the Strait must patrol it, not the U.S. Meanwhile, we're seeing a trickle of movement in the channel. Marine traffic data reported a French-owned container vessel passing through on Thursday.

CNN's Anna Cooban has more.

ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS & ECONOMICS REPORTER: Yes. The Strait of Hormuz is what we've all been talking about over the past month. And as you can see here, Oman and Iran are sort of highlighted. They jointly control this waterway, and we have reporting yesterday that Iran is in discussions with Oman about setting up a sort of monitoring system for vessels even after the war is to end, which many countries around the world have really bulks at.

Now what Iran has said is that it's going to allow and already has allowed vessels of non-hostile countries to go through like Pakistan, India, and China. But what we've seen over the past 24 hours is a little bit of movement on that issue. This French vessel container ship owned by CMA CGM managed to pass through the strait.

Now interestingly, if you look at the path that it took, it went very northerly up towards the Coast of Iran, looping around Iranian islands and back down. Now this suggests, we don't know for sure, but that Iran was aware of the passage of this ship. And we know that Iran has been allowing some vessels to pass through, and we have lots of reporting out there about Iran imposing a certain toll system, so actually making vessels pay to go through.

We don't know if that's what's happened here, but again, this is the first known instance of a western vessel moving through the strait. And interestingly, to add to that, we know that three tankers, two oil tankers and an LNG tanker have also managed to go through the Strait in the past few hours.

Now one of these tankers, the LNG is owned by a Japanese company, and all three of them took an interesting route. So the normal route that's taken is kind of slap bang in the middle of the strait. That's this is prewar. And then, of course, we know that that French ship took this very -- this route close to the Iranian coast. But what these three tankers did that sailed towards Oman, they took this route that really hugged the Omani coast. So, again, it's uncertain as to whether Iran was aware that these went through, but we're seeing a little bit more movement.

But, really, we have to put this in context. It's still a trickle going through. Kepler said that in the month of March, 53 million barrels of crude managed to pass through the strait. Sounds like a lot, but when you zoom out 440 million barrels of crude managed to get through in February.

Now lastly, I just think it's interesting to pause on the politics of this. Trump has really oscillated, gone back and forth about the responsibility of the United States in reopening the strait. A few days ago, he was saying that countries that rely more heavily on the oil that comes out of the strait go in and get the oil yourselves. But today, he's saying that, the U.S. could easily open the strait. So, fundamentally, we're still in the same position, just a trickle of ships going through. But with this friendship and these three other tankers, there seems to be a little bit more movement on this issue.

MICHAELSON: Anna Cooban, thank you. The Artemis crew is on course to loop around the moon in the coming days when we return. Breathtaking new photos taken by the crew. We'll also speak to a former astronaut about the perils of the mission. You're looking live right now at Mission Control where they are working 24/7 as their astronauts are up in space. You're not going to want to miss the amazing images next.

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REID WISEMEN, ARTEMIS II COMMANDER: You could see the entire globe from pole to pole. You could see Africa, Europe, and as if you looked really close, you could see the northern lights. It was the most spectacular moment, and it paused all four of us in our tracks.

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MICHAELSON: That was Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman as the crew continued on its trajectory to loop around the moon. Look at this, on Friday, we got the first glimpse of our home planet as viewed from the Orion spacecraft as NASA released these breathtaking images. The photos were taken by the Commander of Artemis on Thursday. Take a live look as the crew as they prepare to go to bed. Earlier on Thursday, they got some much needed private time with their families who were able to speak to them for the first time since the launch.

Let's bring in retired Navy Captain Scott Altman. He is a former NASA astronaut and President of the Space Operating Group. Welcome to "The Story Is" for the first time.

SCOTT ALTMAN, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: It's great to be with you tonight. Great evening.

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MICHAELSON: So you are one of the very few people in human history who can answer this question. What does Earth look like from outer space, and how does seeing Earth from outer space change you?

ALTMAN: Well, it certainly is a perspective as you look at the Earth. And the neat thing the perspective I got from flying in space is that the Earth is actually a planet. You're on the ground and you look at it, you think it just goes on forever, but the Earth is finite. There's only so much to go around it, and you realize that. One other thing I noticed, I never saw an edge. The flat earth people are wrong. The Earth is a round planet that you can go around.

MICHAELSON: That's good. That's good to know. Are you jealous that they get to go to the moon?

ALTMAN: Well, yes. I have to admit that there's a little piece of me that wishes I was on that vehicle with them. That picture that they took is amazing. You get to see Earth when you're at 300 miles up when we went to the Hubble Space Telescope. But seeing the whole planet at one time is a view I never got that makes me a little jealous. But I'm really glad that we're going that, and we're pushing the edge of the envelope again and going further than we have for a long time.

MICHAELSON: We're looking at some pictures of you right now when you were in space. We also want to talk about the capsule that they're in. We've seen video of the crew in this capsule today, and you helped to make this capsule a reality. In your work in the private sector, you've been in the capsule. You know what it feels like to be inside it, you helped to design it. What's it like? Describe what it feels like, how big it is, what it's like getting around in there?

ALTMAN: Well, it's really neat to see it actually doing its job flying astronauts beyond lower orbit where we haven't been for a long time. I sent them a note. Congratulations on going further in space than anyone has, since I went to Hubble because Hubble's higher than the space station, and we hadn't gone beyond that. And that was 16 years ago, but now they set past that record, and they're on their way to break the record of the Apollo flights. But the crew exploration vehicle is what it was called back in 2004 when we've started designing it.

And I was at D.C. helping set the requirements for the vehicle, looking at what do we needed it to do and how the design should be. And to see that evolve over the years into what's actually flying now, going from ideas that we had to actual hardware being built. And as I transitioned from NASA into the private sector, my company actually helped assemble that vehicle as a sub to Lockheed Martin at the Kennedy Space Center.

MICHAELSON: So is it cramped? What's it feel like to be inside there?

ALTMAN: Well, it's actually roomier than it looks. There's space to slow things. They have a toilet that's kind of in the floor that you can actually shut the door on for a little bit of privacy, something the Apollo guys did not have. And it's a lot bigger than it looks like Apollo, but it's a bigger version of Apollo. So, much more comfortable for the crew and actually designed for more than four people. We were planning on putting seven people in it back at the beginning when we sized it the way we did.

MICHAELSON: Well, I appreciate that idea of a door with a bathroom. That makes a big difference. Let's turn to a serious topic. Before you served our country as an astronaut in outer space, you were a fighter pilot for the Navy. And we have this breaking news of the night, this idea that someone from the air force is now missing in Iran. You went through the training on what to do in this very scenario. I'm wondering what insight you can give us into how you're trained to deal with a situation like this and your thoughts on what's happening in Iran now.

ALTMAN: Well, you always try to be ready for the next worst thing that could happen. And in this case, being shot down is pretty close to the worst thing possible over enemy territory. When I flew over Iraq back, just after the first Gulf War, we weren't actually at war with anybody, but you were flying over hostile territory, and you were prepared. I had a special radio that we've had, and that's one of the things. I know those guys have survival radios to help get in touch with the rescue guys once you get on the ground.

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And we also had training called SERE school survival, evasion, resistance, and escape that teaches you how to code, talk to people, use certain codes that are briefed, before you go out into hostile territory so the rescuers can identify that you're the right person. You're not being spooked by somebody who's grabbed your radio after you've been captured. And how to evade trying to avoid running into people or busy places. I know, each -- I flew a two seat airplane also, and I never had to eject. I knew people who didn't.

You can actually get pretty far apart, just in an ejection even though you're coming out of the same airplane. So I'm hopefully, they find the other crew member.

MICHAELSON: We are all rooting for that. We are all also rooting for the astronauts, who are up in space right now, and we are thankful to you for your service to our country and to mankind up in space. Captain Scott Altman, what a pleasure to be able to talk with you and to learn from you on multiple fronts tonight. Thank you so much.

ALTMAN: Well, I enjoyed talking with y'all, and go Orion, go Artemis.

MICHAELSON: Thank you. When we return, Iran, more on our lead story. Mocking the search for an American crew member who went missing after his fighter jet was shot down. We'll get into the politics of what's happening right now. Our political panel joins us when we come back.

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MICHAELSON: Back down to our top story, the war with Iran, an urgent search underway for the missing U.S. crew member of an F-15 fighter jet that was shot down over Iran on Friday. Iran's parliament speaker, who has emerged as a strong man of the regime is mocking the search. He posted on X "After defeating Iran 37 times in a row, this brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from 'regime change' to, 'Hey! can anyone please find our pilots? Please?"

U.S. President Donald Trump still has not publicly commented on the search and rescue mission. Before Friday's incidents, the President had been downplaying Iran's military capabilities. Here's what he said in the past few weeks about that.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We literally have planes flying over Tehran and other parts of their country. They can't do a thing about it.

They have no anti-aircraft equipment. Their radar is 100 percent annihilated. We are unstoppable as a military force.

We're flying wherever we want, Pete. We have no nobody even shooting at us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

As the war rages on, the White House is now seeking roughly $1.5 trillion with a T dollars for defense spending. It's part of a fiscal 2027 budget request. Let's discuss all of this with our political panel. We have Caroline Sunshine, a former 2024 Trump Campaign Deputy Communications Director, former Trump White House aide. Also with us, Will Rollins, a former Federal Prosecutor, former House Candidate for the Democrats. Welcome to you both.

Will, let's start with you. You worked in national security issues for years as a prosecutor, especially after 9/11. What do you see as the sort of political impact of what's going on in terms of this missing service member?

WILL ROLLINS, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, I hope to God that we find that service member as soon as possible. But I -- it is a stark reminder that when you start a war without clear objectives and clear strategy, there are major consequences. And I think most of the country still does not have a clear understanding of what we are doing in Iran. And partially, that's because the President every day comes out and says something different about what the ultimate result is going to be in this conflict.

And when you still have 300, 400 kilograms of enriched uranium on the ground in Iran, you still have a regime in place that they gambled would change but did not, you are going to cost more American lives, more treasure without there ever having been any debate on this issue in the first place, and that is exactly why Congress is supposed to have the power to declare war in this country.

MICHAELSON: Well, members of the regime have changed, including many of the members that are now dead. But it seems like when you go from one Supreme Leader to his son, that's not exactly a dramatic change in the overall regime, although who knows where that son even is.

Caroline, you've worked for years for President Trump. You support him on pretty much everything except for this. Why?

CAROLINE SUNSHINE, FMR. 2024 TRUMP CAMPAIGN DEP. COMM. DIRECTOR: Because I think the President should go back to taking his own advice. He was very clear. No new wars. And this is just a case of -- this isn't what I ordered. It's like being at a restaurant and you go, oh, yeah, this isn't what I ordered. Like, sorry. I ordered no new wars. Not no new wars except the war with Iran. Not no new wars except the war that everybody in Washington D.C. has wanted for 30 years. I ordered no new wars. I think this is Mark Levin's order. This is Lindsey Graham's order.

Can you just take that back and give me -- give me mine? So I think the President should go back to taking his own advice. I mean, he's the one that brought this issue to the scene in 2016. And I know there's clips out there of people saying, well, look what the President said in 1985 about Iran. It's like, don't me a clip from 1985 when I was there in 2016, 2018, 2024 where every day the President was saying, let's not get involved in these endless wars in The Middle East again.

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Let's not get involved. We have more to lose than to gain. And the way this is playing out with the $1.5 trillion. He's now asking for to continue shows that this doesn't really look like it's going to be the quick military operation we were told.

MICHAELSON: What are you hearing from your friends in the White House for speaking out like this publicly?

SUNSHINE: It's a good question. I don't hear a lot. I wish they would maybe pick up the phone more. I think that there's an information ecosystem around the President right now that is designed to keep opinions like mine out or demonize supporters like me as disloyal and not relevant to hear from, and that needs to change. The President is not getting an information ecosystem around him right now that is giving him the full picture of where his base is at. I am the President's base, and the base is leaving. There was a poll on your network, showing a 100 percent of MAGA supports this war. But who's MAGA? Who's MAGA? Because what I'm hearing from everyone is I'm a three time Trump voter, and I'm not MAGA anymore. I'm not -- I'm now non-MAGA. MAGA, the base is leaving because they don't agree with this conflict, and they don't believe that this is what they voted for, and they're correct.

And I think we need to listen a lot less to Mark Levin and start paying attention more to the people we engaged with on the 2024 campaign and what they're saying. Those audiences are still relevant. Joe Rogan has more influence over American minds and voters than Mark Levin. Mark Levin didn't help deliver the President his election. That electorate matters. The President built this generational coalition, and I don't think the White House ecosystem is giving him that information at all.

MICHAELSON: I mean, it's pretty interesting to hear what you just said right there in terms of Republicans. I know you're hearing something similar.

ROLLINS: Yeah. 100 percent. I have buddies who voted for him. And to be honest, it surprises me, and I find it ironic that the no new wars President has started a new war. And he's walked away from some of his biggest political advantages that he had when he won in 2024, like the economy. And when you propose a $1.5 trillion defense budget and you have your base starting to perceive you as part of the regular establishment in Washington D.C., you take away that advantage of being the outsider candidate. And so I think Democrats are probably going to be able to capitalize in November on that.

MICHAELSON: Of course, there are Republicans that are supporting this, who say that Iran has been fighting America for years, fighting American allies for years through all these proxies, that other presidents have been too chickened to actually take them on, that it's might be a little bit of damage right now, but long-term, we're not going to be there for that long, and this is going to make all of us safer. And, yes, there'll be a blip in terms of gas prices, but we'll forget about that six months, a year down the road if Iran is finally taken care of and not a threat to Israel and to us.

SUNSHINE: Yes. There are Republicans that say that, but their names are Lindsey Graham, and they're at Disney World. All we have --

MICHAELSON: It's more than Lindsey Graham.

SUNSHINE: Is it, though?

MICHAELSON: Yeah.

SUNSHINE: Is it? Because we have, an F-15 that was just shot down today when we were told that we had achieved air dominance over Iran. So I'd love to know how that jet got shot down. We have 13 U.S. service members who are dead. We have over 200 wounded. And where is Lindsey Graham? He's been a huge, like you said, cheerleader for this war, a huge proponent of it. Where is he? Is he over there with the 2,500 marines that just arrived? Is he going over with the 5,000 that are on the way? Is he at the bedsides at Walter Reed? No. He's at Disney World.

MICHAELSON: Holding a bubble wand of Little Mermaid.

SUNSHINE: Looking sloppy, might I add not central casting.

MICHAELSON: They then put out a photo of him with a shot gun to try to show how tough he is a couple days later. We talked about that with Harvey Levin earlier this week. So, Will but in terms of tonight, though, I mean, this could be a real turning point in this war. And let's all hope and pray that they are able to get this service member out as quickly as possible. But if, God forbid, somebody is taken hostage by Iran, that is a game changing moment for this entire conflict, right?

ROLLINS: 100 percent. I mean, this is a regime that knows how to use propaganda. That also has shown that it's smart when it comes to controlling the Strait of Hormuz at very low cost that has potentially permanently disrupted the global oil markets. I mean, if you can do that with low cost drones and drive up gas to $6 or $7 per gallon, and you have China and Russia also helping the Iranians disrupt those markets and put pressure on the President. I mean, this was a major miscalculation, also an intelligence failure too, because I think that the President gambled that the Iranian people would rise up if he toppled the Ayatollah.

And as you're -- as you pointed out earlier, instead they've gotten a more radical successor, and you still have enriched uranium on the ground. When they told us that they had taken this out a year ago.

MICHAELSON: Well, we don't really know who the successor is because we've never seen them. But we'll see on that front.

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So what's your advice, your political advice to the president? This is the business that you've been in the past. You've given advice to this White House in the past. What would you say to him right now?

SUNSHINE: My advice would be to take his own advice. Start sounding like the guy that won the presidency because he was willing to say the obvious truth that all of us out here are feeling, but that I don't think is making it into his ecosystem, which is take your own advice.

MICHAELSON: I mean, get out now, like just pull out now, say declare victory and go home?

SUNSHINE: Absolutely. Absolutely. You have -- I mean, he's down 52 points with young people. I don't know if he knows that. He won them overwhelmingly in 2024. He has built this generational coalition that is now completely decimated. And what's interesting is after the B-2 bunker busters, that strike eight months ago, people were upset, but they recovered. They're not recovering. They are leaving, and they're not coming back. And there's this new silent majority that's forming. MICHAELSON: It is interesting because this is not just a Republican problem, not just a Donald Trump problem. But when presidents get in the White House, sometimes they are in an echo chamber themselves, and their advisers sometimes keep away bad news. Certainly happened with Joe Biden when it came to his polling. It's one of the reasons that he probably continued to run. And you wonder what information is getting through to Donald Trump at this point.

Maybe he's watching tonight. If so, Mr. President, thanks for watching. Will Rollins, Caroline Sunshine thank you so much for coming on. We really appreciate it.

After the break, the latest on a quickly growing fire here in Southern California and a look into rebuilding efforts in Altadena a year after the devastating Eaton fire. There's an outrageous fee that is being put on some of those survivors. We'll tell you about it next.

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[00:45:00]

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MICHAELSON: A fast moving brush fire is burning in Southern California, East of Moreno Valley in Riverside County. The Springs fire started late Friday morning and has spread quickly fueled by the Santa Ana winds. More than 4,000 acres have already burned. It's just 10 percent contained so far. Over 1,000 homes in the surrounding area are under evacuation orders as crews work to contain and slow that fire's spread.

Some communities like Altadena, just north of us here in LA, are still grappling with the devastation left from last year's fires. More than 16,000 structures were destroyed in the Eaton fire in January of 2025. Over a year later, rebuilding is underway, but progress has been slow. More than 2,000 building permits have been issued, and over a 1,000 projects are now in progress. But just 33 homes have actually been completed so far.

CNN's Nick Watt checks in on the recovery effort, how it's playing out, and why rebuilding after a fire can be such a slow and painful process.

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RYAN HARMON, HOME DAMAGED IN EATON FIRE: It's just been the worst year ever, and this is the cherry on top.

NICK WATT, CORRESPONDENT: 52 homes in this community burned to the ground in January 25, many more damaged. Ryan Harman had to flee.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to go home. Look at that.

WATT: They still haven't moved back home. Like so many, he's been dealing with sometimes fighting with insurance companies, mortgage companies, contractors, and then a letter arrived from the homeowners association.

HARMON: We were all like, what? You have to read the letter a few times to go, are they really saying that? Are they really threatening me?

WATT: Here's the letter from July. A demand for $23,614 to replace fences, irrigation, shrubs, and trees, just 34 days to pay or face late fees and interest. For those with hardship or questions, please contact the management office for possible assistance. At least one lawsuit has been filed for non-payment.

They do need to repair stuff, right?

HARMON: Yes. Yes. Sure.

WATT: So what's your beef?

HARMON: Do you take your neighbors and kick them when they're down, when they're displaced, when they're out hundreds of thousands of dollars, when they've gone through a catastrophe.

WATT: He and others also wonder if quite so much money is needed to fix up the common landscaping.

HARMON: There's people fighting, arguing back and forth, and it's just unfortunate. It's pitted neighbor against neighbor, and it didn't need to be this way.

WATT: We asked the HOA board for comment. I haven't heard back.

RANDE SOTOMAYOR, ATTORNEY AND MEDIATOR: This assessment could have been much, much larger.

WATT: But here are two neighbors on their side.

SOTOMAYOR: It's just that people have different personalities and react differently in stressful times and when they are affected by trauma, and it became a little ugly.

WATT: Rande Sotomayor is a professional mediator who tried to unite her neighbors with a Kumbaya Zoom call.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't like it because it's money out of my pocket, but I completely understand what it why it was required.

WATT: Some don't. Rifts remain. Bottom line, rebuilding your own house after a fire is hard. Getting more than 200 households in an association to agree on how to rebuild what you share is even harder. Is anybody not talking to you because of this?

HARMON: I believe possibly in my next door neighbor she doesn't want to talk to me. Fine.

[00:50:00]

WATT: It's now more than a year since that blaze, and we're still in a mess of red tape and bureaucratic wrangling suits, counter suits, unclear what compensation, what more compensation might come from the power company, from the county. Listen. A fire that destroys 9,000 buildings and takes 19 lives is going to take a while to recover from. It's going to be a long and often painful process, Elex.

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MICHAELSON: Nick Watt for us in Altadena. Nick, thank you. The stage is set in Indianapolis for college basketball's Final Four. Up next, our Corey Wire talks to the four remaining men's coaches, and we show you a heated exchange between two of the women's coaches. Those stories next.

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MICHAELSON: It's no longer March, but the madness continues. The NCAA women's basketball championship game is set. UCLA secured its spot after beating the University of Texas in a defensive battle. They will take on the University of South Carolina in Sunday's final.

The Gamecocks snap defending champion UConn's 54 game winning streak. The streak is over. And in the final seconds of that, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma and South Carolina's head coach Dawn Staley, look at this, got into a heated exchange. The two did not appear to shake hands after the final buzzer. Auriemma was seen walking in the locker room tunnel alone while his players congratulated their opponents. Staley says she has no idea what happened.

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DAWN STANLEY, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH: I have no idea, but I'm let you know this. I'm of integrity. I'm of integrity. So if I did something wrong to Geno, I had no idea what I did. I guess she thought I didn't shake his hand at the beginning of the game. I didn't know. I went down there pregame, shook everybody on his staff's hand. I don't know where she came with after the game, but, hey, sometimes things get heated. We move on.

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MICHAELSON: And lost in 54 games. Guess who wasn't used to it? On the men's side, the Final Four face off Saturday night in Indiana for a doubleheader. The UConn Huskies take on the Illinois Fighting Illini, and then Arizona Wildcats battle it out against the Michigan Wolverines. The winner of each game will have a chance at the national title on Monday night. CNN's Coy Wire talking with the coaches in Indianapolis.

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COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORTS: Hi, four teams, one stage in a spotlight so bright it turns college athletes into household names overnight. I caught up with each of the Final Four coaches, and turns out we have all sorts of great storylines, family ties, and a whole lot of personality. Nothing says tough like Red Dragon underpants. Are you still rocking the lucky drawers, coach?

DAN HURLEY, UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH: Yes, I do. And I got their cousins on right now, because I've got the blue dragons for the day before the game, but then the red dragons will take the court tomorrow night. I think they're 18 and 1 in this tournament right now. So --

WIRE: How they holding up?

HURLEY: I've got my wife, Andrea, takes great care of them between games with the travel washer and the travel dryer. And, obviously, Illinois has to overcome that. This team, UConn team and the Dragon underwear if they want to advance.

WIRE: Now here's a little story I got to tell about a wildcat coach. I know so well.

TOMMY LLOYD, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH: Wow.

WIRE: You're a big Beastie Boys fan.

LLOYD: Oh my god.

WIRE: If what playlist song of the Beastie Boys really gets you going?

LLOYD: Honestly, I have so much respect for the Beastie Boys. It's like just hearing anything they've done, whether it's an instrumental or going back to their old punk days like, I just -- they've been in such an important part of my life. And I know that's kind of crazy to say for a grown man, but they've been there every step of the way with me.

WIRE: If your personality had a spirit animal, what would it be?

BRAD UNDERWOOD, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH: Oh, gosh. Now you're going to put me on this spot. I'm a lion. I'm a lion. I'm going to try to be the king of the jungle. That's what you do when you're here in the Final Four, right? You try to win them all and go for the jugular.

DUSTY MAY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH: Wow. A spirit animal. You got me. It's a wolverine. Keep it simple.

WIRE: What are the qualities of that?

MAY: Small and terrorizing.

WIRE: Feisty.

MAY Feisty.

WIRE: Yeah. Now you guys say, dad's super nice, teach you to be kind, but he said his spirit animal will be a wolverine. He's feisty, tenacious. Do you see that side of him?

ELI MAY, UNIV. OF MICHIGAN MEN'S BASKETBALL STUDENT MANAGER: Yeah. In a way, he's like kind of an aggressive nice. Like, he'll like I don't know how to explain it.

CHARLIE MAY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN BASKETBALL PLAYER: Yeah. Definitely see it a little bit. A couple of people asked me last week why he was so mad. The refs won games so that so was the most angry you've ever seen him.

WIRE: Do know this guy? This is your son. I have a question for you. What does dad mean to you?

TYLER UNDERWOOD, UNIV. OF ILLINOIS MEN'S BASKETBALL ASST. COACH: It means the world. I mean, I think growing up, I was his biggest fan. And to be able to play for and be a part of this year now as a staff member, lifelong memories. I'm so proud of him. It's been a special journey.

WIRE: This is where March Madness becomes legendary. The title game will be decided following Saturday's matchups. And Monday night, a national champion will be crowned here in Indy.

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MICHAELSON: Coy Wire for us in Indianapolis. Thank you, Coy. One player, a lot of people are going to be watching this weekend as UConn's 23-year-old Alex --