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CNN Transcripts for April 18, 2026

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CNN's The Arena with Kasie Hunt
• Has Trump Met His Match In Pope Leo?; Pope Warns Of World Ravaged By "Tyrants" Amid Trump Feud; Sources: Trump Asking People How They'd Rank Vance's Performance In Iran Talks, How He Compares To Rubio; Analysis: Cost Of Raising A Child In U.S. Averages More Than $300,000, Up Nearly 30 Percent Just Since 2023. $300,000 To Raise A Kid: Is Parenthood Becoming A Luxury?; Dem Eric Swalwell & GOP's Tony Gonzales Resigns From House Just Before Start Of Bipartisan Expulsion Push; Grandma Delivers Trump's McDonald's To Oval Office. Aired 12-1p ET


The Amanpour Hour
• Interview with Archbishop of Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich; Interview with Former Commander of Joint Special Operations Command Gen. Stanley McChrystal; How Russia Targets Students for Military Recruitment; Interview with Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA); A Painful History Repeats Itself in Sudan; Looking Your Best Even in the Worst of Times. Aired 11a-12p ET


CNN Newsroom
• White House: Vance, Top Officials Heading To Pakistan For Iran Talks; NY Archbishop: Pope Is Preaching Message Of Peace; Mamdani, Hochul Announces Tax On Second Homes; Police: 8 Children Killed, 2 Others Wounded In Louisiana Mass Shooting; Trump: U.S. Delegation Heads To Pakistan For New Talks With Iran; Winegrowers Fight For Domestic Grapes In Bottles. Aired 2-3p ET
• Did Not Air 1-2p ET
• Iran Closes Strait Of Hormuz After President Trump Announces U.S. Will Maintain Its Blockade On Iranian Ports; President Trump Says Talks Still Ongoing With Iran To End Current Conflict; President Trump Says Iran Must Turn Over Enriched Uranium For Conflict To End; Tornadoes Hit Central U.S. States; ICE Agents Detaining Migrants without Criminal Records Near Immigration Courts; Los Angeles Authorities Arrest Singer In Connection With Death Of 14-Year-Old Girl; Podcaster Joe Rogan Meets With President Trump At Oval Office To Support President's Executive Order Authorizing Psychedelic Drug Treatment for PTSD; National Basketball Association Playoffs Commence. Aired 2-3p ET.
• U.S. Intercepts and Seizes Iranian-Flagged Cargo Ship; U.S. Delegation Heads to Pakistan for Possible Iran Talks; Children Dead After a Mass Shooting in Louisiana; Pope Addresses Trump Spat, Reiterates Calls for Peace; Gunman Kills Six, Injures 15 in Kyiv. Aired 5-6p ET
• Did Not Air 4-5p ET
• Iran: Considering U.S. Proposals After Closing Strait; Joe Rogan Helped Speed Up Executive Order On Psychedelics; Federal Judge Blocks Merger Between Nexstar And Rival Tegna; Women & Weed; Strong Line Of Storms Move Across East Coast Today; Food Crisis Worsening In Lebanon After Weeks Of Conflict; Arrest Warrant Issued For ICE Agent Accused Of Pulling Gun On Driver. Aired 5-6p ET
• Iranian Gunboats Fire on Tanker, Second Ship Hit by Projectile; Iran's Military Says Strait Closed Until U.S. Lifts Blockade; Interview with Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA); Energy Agency Warns Europe Could Run Out of Jet Fuel in Just "Weeks"; Trump Directs FDA to Fast- Track Review of Psychedelic Treatment; Trump EO on Psychedelic Drugs Hailed as Victor for Veterans; Liv Golf League to Go on Despite Questions Over Future. Aired 6-7p ET
• Iran Gunboats Fire On Tanker, Second Ship Hit By Projectile; House Special Election Narrows GOP Majority; Attorneys Warn Of Drastic Shift In Immigration Court Hearings; Trump Hints At Frustration As Iran Closest Strait Of Hormuz Again; Pope Decries "Despots" Who Exploit Resources During Angola Visit. Aired 7-8p ET
• Iran Disputes Trump's Claims on Agreement; Trump Says Hormuz is "Open" but U.S. Blockade Will Continue; Iran War Causes Jet Fuel Shortages; Albanian Political Protests; Nearly 6 Million in Haiti to Face Acute Food Insecurity. Aired 3-3:25a ET
• Iran Disputes Trump's Claims on Agreement; Trump Says Hormuz is "Open" but U.S. Blockade Will Continue; Venezuelan Migrants in U.S. Left with No Consular Support; Lebanese President Calls for "Permanent Agreements"; Russia Targets University Students for Military Recruitment; Shakespeare's London Home Site Now Identified. Aired 4-5a ET
• Iran Disputes Trump's Claims on Agreement; Trump Says Hormuz is "Open" but U.S. Blockade Will Continue; Lebanese President Calls for "Permanent Agreements"; Defense Argues Media Prejudiced for Alleged Charlie Kirk Murderer; Dr. Erica Schwartz Picked to Lead CDC; Shakespeare's London Home Site Now Identified. Aired 5-6a ET


CNN This Morning
• Iran Shuts Hormuz Again, Accuses U.S. Of Violating Deal To Reopen It; IDF Implements Gaza-Style "Yellow Line" In South Lebanon; Devastating Damage Reported Across Multiple States After Tornado Outbreak Hammers The Midwest; Wall Street Bets On Iran Talks As Stock Rise, Oil Falls. Lebanon Accuses Israel of Violating Ceasefire Hours After It Took Effect; Trump Says He May Not Extend Iran Ceasefire if No Deal is Reached; Trump Rallies Supporters in Arizona Ahead of Midterms. Aired 6-7a ET
• Iran Reimposes Restrictions On The Strait Of Hormuz; Devastating Damage Reported Across Multiple States; Singer D4vd Arrested On Suspicion In Death Of 14-Year-Old Girl; Report: Iranian Gunboats Fired On Tanker In Strait Of Hormuz; Oil Prices Fall, Stocks Rise On Hormuz Strait Reopening; Pope Leo Heads To Angola On Historic Africa Tour; Trump Admin. Cancels Catholic Charities Contract In Miami. Aired 7-8a ET


First of All with Victor Blackwell
• Iran Reimposes On Vital Strait, Ships Again In Limbo; Reporter: Iranian Gunboats Fired On Tanker In Strait of Hormuz; Families Of Detailed Iranian Americans Push For Release In Any Deal. Aired 8-9p ET


CNN Live Event/Special
• CNN Saturday Morning Table for Five. President Trump Criticizes Pope Leo XIV for His Comments on War and Peace; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Uses Lines from Movie "Pulp Fiction" as Prayer During Military Gathering; Former Trump Supporters Now Criticize President for Iran War and Religiously Offensive Posts; New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani Announces Pied-a-Terre Tax on Expensive Residential Properties for Residents Not Living in City; Some Claim "DoorDash Grandma" Photo- Op with President Trump Backfired Politically; Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Criticizes Progressivism in College Lecture. Aired 10- 11a ET


Smerconish
• Why Young Americans Aren't Building Families The Way They Used To; Trump Speaks To Reporters From Oval Office. Aired 9-10a ET


The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
• Iran disputes Trump's Claim It - Agreed To Everything; Trump - May Not Extend Iran Ceasefire If No Deal Is Reached; Trump Says Hormuz Open But U.S. Blockade Will Continue; Trump Outlines Key Points Of Potential Iran Agreement; Swalwell's Exit Upends California Governor's Race; Storms Slam Central U.S. With Dozens Of Tornadoes; California Judge Blocks Nexstar's Bid For Rival Tegna; Maria Machado Meets Spain's Far Right Leadership; Pope Leo Will Travel To Angola In The Coming Hours; Aired 12-1a ET
• Iran disputes Trump's Claim It - Agreed To Everything; Trump Says Hormuz Open But U.S. Blockade Will Continue; Oil Prices Fall, Stocks Rise On Hormuz Strait Reopening; Lebanese President Calls For - Permanent Agreements; New Poll - Xavier Becerra Gaining In California Governor's Race; California Gas Prices Significantly Higher Than National Average; Pope Leo Celebrates Mass Before Huge Crowd In Cameroon; Aired 1-2a ET