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Deadly Storms Rip Through Central U.S.; Rise in Gas Prices Puts Republicans in Tough Spot; Trump to Tout Economic Victories as Gas Prices Rise; Attacks Escalate on Ships Near Strait of Hormuz ; Israel Preparing for Expansion of Attacks. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired March 11, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: -- a death toll of 10, Boris, is really hard to grapple with.

I want you to listen to a woman who told us what it was like as this tornado marched through this area just before seven o'clock last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CASSIDY SINWELSKI, TORNADO SURVIVOR: When the clouds started coming this way, but then we also saw them coming this way and going down. We knew it was here. So we've gotten to the bathtub, light started to flicker. It got really loud.

Just a lot of like rustling and movement and then the power went out, the rustling, and then we heard a loud like bang which is our window cracked. So it was like a shatter. And then nothing, silence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILD: The cleanup continues in tough conditions here, Boris. It is about 40 degrees and raining. Back to you.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Whitney Wild, thank you so much for that report.

A new hour of "CNN News Central" starts right now.

SANCHEZ: New threats from the Middle East even as President Trump says the war will soon be over. Sources tell CNN that Israel is bracing for a possible expansion of attacks from Iran and Hezbollah. Plus, the war is hitting Americans where it hurts, at the pump. Gas and oil prices keep rising as Iran now warns if its ports are attacked, it will respond in kind. And that spike in gas prices is putting Republicans in a tight spot as they struggle with messaging ahead of November's midterms.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to "CNN News Central."

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": President Trump is on his way to the Midwest where he'll make twin stops in Ohio and Kentucky. He is there to push his economic message. At the same time, the war with Iran is having a major impact on Americans' wallets, particularly at the gas pump. The national average price for a gallon of gas is now over $3.58.

Before departing the White House, the president appeared to try to calm growing fears of a prolonged war He said, quote, "The war is going great. We are way ahead of the timetable. We have done more damage than we thought possible even in the original six-week period." CNN's Kevin Liptak is in Kentucky ahead of the president's visit there. Kevin, what more can you tell us about his plans today and also about what he said there on the South Lawn?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, and it was interesting. It's clear the president recognizes that projecting some sort of endgame in all of this is becoming something of an imperative, particularly as you hear concerns growing and growing among many Republicans that this war could pose some dire political consequences for them in the midterm elections if it continues on for weeks or perhaps even months.

And so what you're seeing the president do here in Ohio/Kentucky because we're on the border, it's really kind of push ahead with what had been his political agenda before the war began, which was to tout the economy. And so, you'll see him at a pharmaceutical company, talking about his efforts to bring down the price of prescription drugs. Later, he'll be here at a shipping facility, talking about all of the ways he says that the economy has improved.

But I think it's clear that that message is becoming harder and harder to deliver amid some of the economic fallout of the war in Iran, namely the effect that it has had on energy prices. And you've heard the president try and downplay that, say that this is "an excursion," that gas prices will come back down again once the conflict is over.

But to be clear, many of the president's advisers do recognize that this could potentially be very troubling particularly in an election that was already going to be about affordability, about the cost of living. And so when we heard from the president today on the South Lawn, really the message was that this war is going very, very well and that some of the targets that the U.S. has been looking to take out have been eliminated already.

Listen to what the president said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What more do you need to do militarily for this operation to end?

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: More of the same and we'll see how that all comes out. Right now, they are -- they've lost their Navy. They've lost their Air Force. They have no anti-aircraft apparatus at all. They have no radar. Their leaders are gone. And we could do a lot worse. We're leaving certain things, that if we take them out, we could take them out by this afternoon, in fact within an hour. They literally would never be able to build that country back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Now, a lot of the times when the president is out on the road talking about the economy or he's supposed to be talking out about the economy, we say that he has trouble staying on message, that he devolves into grievances. In a lot of ways, the visit here in Kentucky is about those grievances. We're in the district of the Rep. Thomas Massie, obviously a thorn in Trump's side. He has opposed the president on all manner of issues.

[14:05:00]

He helped get the Epstein files released. He has also opposed the president on the Iran war. So I think it's clear that we're going to hear a lot about Thomas Massie in this event later today.

KEILAR: Yeah, I think that's a very good expectation, anticipation that we will. Kevin Liptak, thank you so much. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Now to the attacks on the Strait of Hormuz. The key shipping lane right now is effectively shut down as Iran claims its heaviest retaliation yet. The U.S. military has been taking out Iranian ships that sources say were laying underwater mines. We'll have more on that a bit later this afternoon.

But as the war expands, the death toll is also rising. Iran's U.N. Ambassador says more than 1,300 people have been killed there, civilians. A short time ago, deaths in Lebanon reportedly jumped to 630 since Israel began strikes there last week. Let's go live in Tel Aviv with CNN's Erin Burnett. And sources tell CNN that Israel is preparing for an expansion of these attacks, Erin.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR, ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT: They are, Boris. Yes, they're preparing for an expansion of the attacks. Here, they say, overnight, Jeremy Diamond has been doing so much of this reporting and Jeremy, I guess it comes in the context of we've had obviously, in the early days of the war, it was much more constant.

There had been sort of a tailing off, but then there would be periods of time, sometimes overnight frankly, where we would really see an uptick, like we did last night. But now, they're putting this warning out.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, this is two sources familiar with the matter speaking to me and my colleague, Tal Shalev, telling us that they expect a "significant expansion" of Iran's attacks on Israel tonight. And this is not only going to involve Iran, but also likely attacks by Hezbollah, Iran's proxy in Lebanon.

In fact, just now, we saw sirens going off in the northern city of Haifa and in that region, those were coming from Hezbollah. But there's another wrinkle in this and that is the question of whether the Houthis in Yemen will join tonight's attack And there are indications according to our sources that Israel is detecting of the possibility that the Houthis, who so far have stayed on the sidelines of this conflict, they fired missiles on -- against Israel during the 12-day war in June

BURNETT: Yes.

DIAMOND: But they haven't thus far and that is one of the questions as to whether that will happen. Israeli military's top spokesman, he is telling the public right now that there's no change in the home front command guidelines because these rumors have started to spread across Israel right now. But I think ultimately the question will be, is this going to be a one-night uptick from Iran or does this show --

BURNETT: Right.

DIAMOND: -- they're able to get their act together and that there's going to be a change here in the kind of capabilities that they have going forward.

BURNETT: And capabilities is a crucial question because, obviously, what you hear from -- always talking to a senior government -- Israeli government officials saying you know that they're saying we're way ahead of schedule, right? We haven't changed our war aims in the U.S. Obviously, the timing and the war aims may be very different, but the characterization that they are taking care of it and are ahead of schedule is the same.

DIAMOND: Yeah.

BURNETT: But yet, we don't necessarily know what Iran's capabilities are. And I know there was an IRGC commander today talking about underwater missile capabilities that they say they have and haven't used. That they are threatening to use in coming days, hypersonic missiles, other things we haven't seen. So it's a question of whether there are munitions and things that they can bring to bear that they haven't because they already have brought some things to bear, cluster munitions, you've done so much reporting on, that had been a newer entrant into the war.

DIAMOND: Absolutely. And look, I think it's clear that Israel in the United States have degraded Iran's ballistic missile capabilities. It's one of the reasons why experts say Iran turned to these cluster munitions because it's a way of getting through Israel's air defenses without firing a big barrage of ballistic missiles.

But at the same time, we know that wars are not linear, right? And that you will have moments where, you know, one adversary or the other tries to demonstrate its capabilities, tries to defy the notion that their capabilities have been extinguished and that may be what we're about to see from Iran tonight.

BURNETT: Right. And interesting that we're getting this sort of a warning and I think maybe in part because you had had onslaught after onslaught, but then there were periods of a break.

DIAMOND: Yeah.

BURNETT: And that maybe they felt that people were returning (ph) a bit more.

(CROSSTALK)

DIAMOND: And people, the warning is not official though, right?

BURNETT: Right.

DIAMOND: The public is being told that everything is fine and normal, and there's no change in the home front command guidelines. But our sources are telling us that inside the Israeli military, there are real concerns about what would happen tonight.

BURNETT: Real concerns about what would happen. And of course, I'm just looking here to give everyone, on Eastern time or in the United States, a sense just after eight o'clock and Sometimes when they say overnight here, when we do see action, it is overnight.

DIAMOND: It's usually during (inaudible).

(LAUGH)

BURNETT: It's usually one, two, three o'clock in the morning, right. And purposefully so, right, when it really disturbs people's ability to sleep and to function.

All right, Jeremy Diamond, thank you very much. We're here in Tel Aviv. Boris, back to you.

SANCHEZ: Erin, thank you so much. Still ahead, how the U.S. is targeting Iranian mines in the Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran threatens one of the busiest energy checkpoints in the world. Plus, how is that critical passage impacting gas prices here at home? We're going to take you to Pennsylvania where some Americans say they are already feeling the pain. Those stories and much more coming your way on "CNN News Central."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:14:34]

KEILAR: U.S. Central Command is warning civilians to stay away from ports near the Strait of Hormuz as attacks on ships escalate. The U.K.'s Maritime Agency says three vessels were hit with projectiles. This is a Thai flag carrier that was fired upon after ignoring repeated warnings according to Iranian state media. Iran has effectively cut off this critical shipping lane. Before the war began, roughly one-fifth of the world's oil supply passed through that Strait.

[14:15:00]

SANCHEZ: According to marine traffic data reviewed by CNN, at least six ships have made it through in the last few days. Most of those did it by turning off tracking signals while trying to conceal their actual positions. We're joined now by retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral, John Miller He served as Commander of the 5th Fleet, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain.

Vice Admiral, thank you so much for being with us.

VICE ADMIRAL JOHN MILLER, U.S. NAVY (RET.): Thanks for having me.

SANCHEZ: As you hear President Trump suggest that some of these tankers should attempt to use the Strait, I wonder what you make of that? What you would do if you were in charge of these vessels?

MILLER: Well, certainly they have to operate their vessels at a prudent manner. They have to know that it's going to be safe before they go through. I think we're getting to a point now where we can be more confident that they will be safe transiting through the Strait itself and then inside the Gulf. There are still things that the Iranians can do. We haven't seen a lot of cruise missiles. I think we can expect to see more of those.

Those would be a good weapon for them to use in the Strait. And so, I think the air power, the air superiority that we have is what we're bringing to bear to make sure that it's very difficult for them to operate anywhere along the coastline, near the Strait or anywhere else in the Gulf.

KEILAR: So you're looking at the Strait, but you're actually looking at other parts of the Gulf, right?

MILLER: Right.

KEILAR: Where you have concerns and I want to note, a senior IRGC commander claimed Iran had missiles that can be launched from underwater. There's also this threat of underwater mines in the Strait, Iranian underwater mines. The president said today he didn't believe Iran had successfully laid any.

Yesterday, according to two people familiar with U.S. intel reporting, we had reported that Iran has begun laying mines in the Strait. What specifically -- what specific capabilities are you concerned about and then where?

MILLER: Well, the Iranians have a lot of mines and presumably, some of those -- many of those were in storage and we've been able to take a lot of those out. But they also kept mines down by the waterfront, so that they can use them when they need them, and that -- those are controlled in some cases by local IRGC commanders.

So if you look at the Gulf, it's a very constrained body of water. The ships that go in there, the very large crude carriers are large and they're deep drafted and so they're confined to certain routes. So you don't want to have to mine in the Strait where the Iranians would like to get oil out. You go to places along the western side of the Gulf, up near Kuwait --

KEILAR: Iran would, yeah.

MILLER: -- Saudi Arabia, the Iranians would, so that they can mine there. They don't have to worry about those mines and it creates a difficult situation for ships.

SANCHEZ: Talk to us about the U.S. capacity to handle those mines and to perhaps prevent them from even getting there.

MILLER: Well, the first step is just as you say, prevention, and I think we're after that. You saw yesterday, we struck a number of vessels. They have lots and lots, hundreds of these small vessels that can launch mines in a very clandestine way. It's up to us to interdict as many of those as we can. But it's also up to us to make it look like it's a job that nobody wants to have, get in a small boat, speed across the Gulf, and drop a couple mines in the water, because that's probably a one-way mission.

And so, those are the things we're doing. Once you get to mine clearing, that's a different story. It's a difficult process and it'll take more than just the United States. It'll take all the Gulf countries, countries from Europe, from Asia, to come and help.

KEILAR: Yeah, talk to us about that because the U.S. Navy actually, they have no dedicated minesweepers in the Persian Gulf. This is as of September. There were four specialized ships that were decommissioned and I suppose you can speak to that. You used to command that fleet there. At the time, the Navy said the minesweeping duties in the Gulf would fall to four -- I hope I'm saying this right -- Littoral Combat Ships?

MILLER: Right, the Littoral Combat Ships, yeah.

KEILAR: LCSes, is that true --

MILLER: Yes.

KEILAR: -- that that also stands for little crappy ships, is that what their nicknamed, LCSes?

MILLER: Some may call it that but they're actually quite capable ships.

KEILAR: They're good? They're good?

MILLER: They're good at what they're designed to do and one of the things they are designed to do and they have a package on board, they are modular ships. They can do different things, anti-submarine warfare, and in particular countermine warfare. So, they have a countermine warfare package. It is something that they do practice, but it is difficult work.

So we have a capability, a number of other nations do. It would be an international effort to clean up any mines that ended up in the water.

KEILAR: Yeah, it sounds like it's a lot of work. Prevention is key, as you said.

MILLER:. Yes.

KEILAR: Complicated stuff, Vice Admiral John Miller, retired, great to get your perspective on it.

MILLER: Thanks for having me.

KEILAR: Thank you so much.

SANCHEZ: Thanks much.

KEILAR: And ahead, gas prices skyrocketing to their highest level in 18 months as the war with Iran causes the biggest oil disruption in history. Stay with "CNN News Central."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:24:27]

SANCHEZ: Gas prices have jumped another $0.04 according to AAA and nearly $0.40 in just the last week. Drivers are now paying the most for fuel that they have in 18 months. The national average price for a gallon of gas today is $3.58. That's the highest it's been in more than 21 months.

Let's get more from CNN's Danny Freeman who's been talking to people as they gas up in Philadelphia. Danny, what are motorists sharing with you?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Listen, Boris, they're sharing that they're not thrilled about this price at the pump just continuing to go up.

[14:25:00]

Listen, if you have a car, I have a car, a lot of Pennsylvanians rely on their cars You're feeling that pain and the key word, Boris, that really comes to mind is whiplash because as you noted, it wasn't that long ago where gas prices were a lot cheaper than they are now. So let's talk a little bit about that difference.

You noted the national average today, $3.58 a gallon. Pennsylvania's average is a little bit above that at $3.66 a gallon. I'll also remind folks that Pennsylvania, a crucial and very, very important swing state that President Trump won during the last election. Well, just a month ago, the average gallon of gas here was $3.13 a gallon. So that just illustrates how far that change has come in a short period of time.

In Philly, the average price is actually a little bit lower. This one is at $3.79 behind me, so a little bit on the high side. But actually, interestingly enough, at least in Pennsylvania, it's the western part of the Commonwealth that is really feeling the pinch more. Erie County, that crucial swing county, $3.76 a gallon. Washington County, a red stronghold, $3.75. And Allegheny County where Pittsburgh is, also $3.76. That's about a $0.40 increase over the past month in all of those areas.

So again, they're really feeling the pressure too. Boris, I want you to take a listen to what drivers told me just a little while ago here at the station as they were filling up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not great. I drive like 400 miles a week, so it's not like, you know, it's a little bit much for sure, yeah.

FREEMAN: And you can feel that difference of that $0.40.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yeah. This car is pretty cheap on gas. You know, it's normally pretty cheap on gas when it's reasonable prices. But now, it's just like, you know, it's getting up there.

FREEMAN: Do you feel that difference of like $0.40 a gallon?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can definitely feel it, you know, along with everything else, especially when you travel a lot and transportation, like your car is your main method of transportation. You have to fill up to get to where you're going. You got to get to work. You got to get to those things that make you the money, but also, you know, it's also going out as quickly as it's coming in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN (on camera): Boris, that last woman, a mother, her name is Jennifer. She said that she hopes the administration does something to get some relief at the pump because these high prices, just not manageable in the long term. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Danny Freeman reporting from Philadelphia, thank you so much.

I had exclusive CNN reporting on how Russia is helping Iran with advanced drone tactics. That story just minutes away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)