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By Alexandra Banner, CNN

Could your airport shut down if TSA screeners don’t show up to work? Experts explain which airports could be at risk of closure as staffing shortages worsen.

Here’s what else you need to know to get up to speed and on with your day.

1⃣ Nancy Guthrie

More than six weeks after Nancy Guthrie disappeared, the intense media and law enforcement presence that descended on her affluent Arizona neighborhood has mostly dissipated. But many in the community are still searching for answers. Local officials have not held a news conference in over a month, and law enforcement still has not determined a motive in her abduction. The investigation remains active, with authorities focusing on analyzing DNA evidence and video footage. Guthrie’s daughter, “Today” host Savannah Guthrie, has since returned to New York from Tucson but remains in close contact with law enforcement, a family friend said Wednesday.

2⃣ Epstein files

A transparency law passed by Congress forced the release of more Epstein files than ever before, but some lawmakers and victims are exploring ways to push the Justice Department to disclose even more information from the voluminous trove that’s being withheld. Roughly 2.5 million documents remain unreleased, while many of the 3.5 million pages made public are heavily redacted, fueling questions about what’s being kept from the public. On Capitol Hill, lawmakers are considering new legislation and still want to depose Attorney General Pam Bondi under oath over her handling of the files. Bondi met privately with committee members on Wednesday, but Democrats walked out, citing her refusal to comply with a subpoena.

3⃣ Iran war

President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to “blow up” the world’s largest gas field — a critical Iranian asset — if Tehran continues attacking Qatar. Trump also said the US had “no knowledge” of Israel’s strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field, which contains enough supply to meet global demand for roughly 13 years. However, two Israeli officials told CNN on Wednesday that the strike had been carried out in coordination with the US. The Israeli attack on the massive offshore reserve marked a sharp escalation in the conflict and prompted Iran to retaliate against energy facilities across the Gulf, sending oil prices surging again.

4⃣ Interest rates

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept interest rates unchanged as investors and policymakers brace for the economic fallout of the US-Israeli war with Iran. Fed officials held the benchmark rate at 3.5%–3.75%, after cutting it three times last year amid a softening labor market. But the escalating conflict in the Middle East has added new uncertainty, with officials signaling caution as they assess its potential impact on prices. The Fed now faces a delicate balancing act amid the twin threats of higher inflation and a job market still on shaky footing.

5⃣ ‘Self deportation’ program

Por Hanna Ziady, CNN

Los precios del petróleo y del gas natural se dispararon el jueves, a medida que Irán intensificaba sus ataques contra la infraestructura energética en todo Medio Oriente y atacaba una de las instalaciones de gas natural licuado (GNL) más importantes del mundo en Qatar.

El crudo Brent, la referencia mundial del petróleo, extendió las ganancias del día anterior, subiendo casi un 8 % hasta los US$ 115 por barril. El miércoles, el Brent cerró en US$ 107,38 por barril, su nivel de cierre más alto desde junio de 2022. El WTI, la referencia estadounidense, subió alrededor de un 1 % hasta los US$ 96 por barril.

En Europa, los precios de referencia del gas natural se dispararon un 24 % y ya se han duplicado con creces desde que comenzó la guerra el 28 de febrero.

QatarEnergy anunció el miércoles que su planta de GNL de Ras Laffan sufrió “daños considerables” tras ser atacada con misiles iraníes en dos ocasiones en 12 horas. Según la Agencia Internacional de Energía, Ras Laffan es la mayor planta de GNL del mundo.

Los ataques iraníes se produjeron tras los bombardeos contra las instalaciones de producción energética de la propia república islámica, los primeros desde el inicio de la guerra y una importante escalada del conflicto, que hasta entonces había respetado en gran medida la infraestructura energética iraní. El miércoles, un ataque israelí tuvo como objetivo South Pars, en Irán, parte del yacimiento de gas natural más grande del mundo, compartido con Qatar.

Irán ha amenazado con nuevos ataques en Medio Oriente, señalando a Arabia Saudita, Qatar y los Emiratos Árabes Unidos como posibles objetivos. Según el ministro de Asuntos Exteriores saudita, el príncipe Faisal bin Farhan, dos refinerías de petróleo en Riad ya han sido blanco de ataques. El jueves, la Corporación Petrolera de Kuwait informó de incendios en dos de sus refinerías tras ataques con drones durante la madrugada, los cuales ya han sido extinguidos.

En referencia a las amenazas de Irán, Aditya Saraswat, vicepresidente senior de Rystad Energy en Dubái, declaró el jueves: “Cualquier ataque de este tipo probablemente elevaría los precios del petróleo en al menos otros US$ 10 y perturbaría significativamente el suministro, en particular en los principales productores de Medio Oriente”.

“Qatar está particularmente expuesto dada la concentración de su infraestructura de GNL en Ras Laffan. Cualquier interrupción aquí no solo afectaría el suministro regional, sino que tendría repercusiones en los mercados mundiales de GNL, y Asia sería la más afectada dada su dependencia de los volúmenes qataríes”, agregó en una nota.

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By Mia Fishman, CNN

(CNN) — The first round of March Madness begins on Thursday and there’s a lot to take in.

The first 16 games of the tournament will tip off just after noon and run through the late-night hours. Expect buzzer beaters, close games and maybe even an upset or two.

Here are four things you need to know going into Thursday’s slate of games and see the full schedule below.

McNeese’s Amir “Aura” Khan is back

Whether you watched last year’s tournament or just saw social media highlights, chances are you noticed McNeese student manager, Amir “Aura” Khan.

He’s back, thanks to McNeese’s upset of Stephen F. Austin in the Southland conference championship game, which earned the Cowboys a March Madness bid.

Khan went viral last March after posting a video of himself ushering the McNeese men’s basketball squad through the pregame tunnel with a boombox around his neck.

Backed by Khan, the 12th-seeded Cowboys made a quintessential Cinderella run last year, defeating No. 5 seed Clemson 69-67 for McNeese’s first-ever NCAA tournament win. They were eliminated by Purdue in the second round, but Khan’s spotlight didn’t fade.

Over the course of the tournament, Khan signed more than 20 brand endorsement deals with companies including Buffalo Wild Wings, TurboTax, Insomnia Cookies and Topps. He is believed to be the only student manager to benefit from NIL deals.

After McNeese’s former head coach Will Wade moved to NC State, Khan followed, but credit transfer snafus delayed his enrollment and he later returned to McNeese.

The No. 12 seed Cowboys will face No. 5 Vanderbilt at 3:15 p.m. ET.

Bench players and underdogs are everything

Everybody loves an unsung hero – and March Madness is full of them.

Players who usually sit on the bench or come from smaller programs can quickly become pivotal.

Michigan rookie Trey McKenney has been an asset for the Wolverines in their efforts to replace L.J. Cason, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear in February.

McKenney averages 9.6 points per game, but was a consistent contributor to Michigan’s offense during the Big Ten tournament. If the one-seeded Wolverines need scoring depth against No. 16 seed Howard, McKenney could be their guy.

As for the smaller programs, Siena’s Gavin Doty has been a force to be reckoned with.

Doty averaged 21.7 points and 6.7 rebounds during the Saints’ Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship run. He’s referred to as “a psycho” by head coach Gerry McNamara.

At 6-foot-4, Doty has six double-doubles and has scored at least 20 points in 14 games this season. He’s a defender, too, averaging 5.5 defensive rebounds per game.

No. 16 seed Siena will face off against one-seed Duke at 2:50 p.m. ET.

Nebraska has never won a March Madness game

With an 0-8 all-time NCAA Tournament record, Nebraska is the only power conference team to never win a March Madness matchup. Now, after a 15-0 season start, the fourth-seeded Cornhuskers are looking to break their drought.

Head coach Fred Hoiberg, who was named the 2026 Big Ten Coach of the Year, led Nebraska to a school-record 24-game win streak and 15 conference victories.

Prior to his job at the Huskers’ helm, the former NBA star was the head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Iowa State.

“We know what’s out there,” Hoiberg said ahead of the tournament. “We know what’s at stake. Our guys have done a lot of really good things this year, some things that have never been done in the history of the program.”

The Cornhuskers will face off against No. 13 seed Troy at 12:40 p.m. ET.

Texas survived the First Four to earn Cougars tilt

Texas gave March Madness fans a taste of tournament chaos Tuesday night.<

By Alayna Treene, Adam Cancryn, CNN

(CNN) — When White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told President Donald Trump she had breast cancer last week, he urged her to start treatment immediately — and take as much time away from the White House as needed.

Wiles agreed, but made one thing clear: She wasn’t going anywhere.

The 68-year-old insisted she continue serving as his top aide while undergoing cancer treatments that are expected to last several weeks, people familiar with the discussion said.

And on Monday, after a weekend call with first lady Melania Trump and after informing her senior staff that morning, she went into the Oval Office where she and Trump crafted his Truth Social post publicly announcing her diagnosis, a person close to Wiles said.

Trump hailed her determination. But amid an outpouring of sympathy and praise for Wiles from across the administration, it raised an unspoken question: How the White House could ever function without her.

Wiles’ diagnosis has generated fresh anxiety among aides and allies who describe her as perhaps the sole irreplaceable figure in Trump’s orbit — and the only one capable of imposing order on a White House led by a famously unmanageable commander in chief.

The low-key political operative held the West Wing together through a turbulent year, steering Trump’s agenda while limiting the infighting, defections and leaks that frequently derailed his first term. She won the president’s personal trust, becoming one of his closest confidants.

And crucially, she did it all while allowing Trump to operate largely unconstrained.

“She’s basically doing what we were told was impossible,” said one longtime Trump adviser. “I don’t know what any of us — especially the president — would do without Susie.”

Wiles’ cancer is in its early stages and her prognosis is good, she said Monday. She plans to continue working “virtually full time,” as the president characterized it, while undergoing treatment in the Washington, DC, area.

Still, the diagnosis represents the latest hurdle for a White House facing mounting challenges both at home and abroad.

Trump is in the third week of a war with Iran that has no clear endgame and limited public support. The conflict is only further deepening the economic angst among Americans that’s driven his approval ratings to all-time lows.

Even before the war, Republicans have been facing a daunting midterm election that threatens to halt much of Trump’s agenda should the party lose control of Congress. Despite passing a sweeping tax-and-spending bill last year, Trump has struggled to effectively sell its merits to voters skeptical that he’s done enough to address their key affordability concerns.

Wiles is at the center of efforts to solve all of those problems, charged with coordinating the White House’s daily activities while simultaneously trying to keep Trump focused and on task.

She is a constant presence in meetings throughout the West Wing and a frequent attendee of Trump’s public events, often positioning herself out of the view of cameras while tapping out streams of texts and emails to aides, allies and friends.

Those close to Wiles have marveled at how she has managed to keep up relationships in her home state of Florida even as she navigates the demands of the West Wing. She continues to send text messages on birthdays, friends have said, and sent out Christmas cards last year clearly in her own writing.

In the wake of her breast cancer diagnosis, former Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney recalled in an interview that Wiles underwent treatment for a health issue when she worked for him in 2000 — but that she never let on and he only foun

By Helen Regan

(CNN) — An Israeli strike on Iranian facilities in the South Pars gas field marked a significant escalation in the war, prompting a furious Iran to attack major energy facilities of its Gulf neighbors, sending oil prices surging, and leading the US president to threaten to “blow up” South Pars if Iran didn’t stop.

But what is the South Pars gas field and why are the strikes so significant?

South Pars is part of the world’s largest natural gas reserve. Iran shares the gas field, which is located offshore in the Persian Gulf, with Qatar which calls its part the North Dome. The entire ​gas field contains an estimated 1,800 trillion cubic feet of usable gas — enough to ​supply the world’s needs for 13 years, Reuters reported.

Why so important? Iran’s production of gas from South Pars is the biggest source of its domestic energy supply. Iran has previously suffered power shortages because of disruptions to gas supplies, so any impact would affect its ability to produce electricity and heat homes.

Global concerns: Qatar has pumped billions into developing its side of the gas field and is a major supplier of the world’s LNG. During previous Israeli attacks on Iran in June 2025 that hit parts of South Pars, officials told CNN at the time that the Qatar side was a “vital energy source for the US, Europe and the world.”

“Serious escalation”: Arab countries have condemned attacks on infrastructure linked to South Pars. The UAE called it a “a serious escalation” constituting a direct threat not only to global energy supplies but also to regional security. Qatar called the South Pars strikes a “dangerous and irresponsible step.”

Retaliatory strikes: Iran has struck major energy facilities in the region in retaliation, causing “extensive damage” to Qatar’s main energy hub, the Ras Laffan Industrial City, a key natural gas processing facility. Two refineries in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh were also attacked. Saudi Arabia then said it “reserved the right to take military actions” against Iran if deemed necessary.

Energy crisis extended: The world is already facing an energy crunch, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed and the strikes jolted markets again, sending global oil prices surging. One analyst told CNN that damaging energy production infrastructure “immediately takes your timeline out further,” as the infrastructure could take months or years to rebuild.

Trump’s threat: US President Donald Trump threatened to “massively blow up” the entire Iranian gas field if if Iran continues attacks on Qatar’s energy facilities. Trump said the US “knew nothing” about the Israeli attack on South Pars. However, one Israeli official told CNN Wednesday that the strike had been carried out in coordination with the US.

CNN’s Tal Shalev, Nadeen Ebrahim, Aleena Fayaz, Mohammed Tawfeeq, John Towfighi, and Hanna Ziady contributed reporting.

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