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Oil Prices Spike; Gas Prices up 24 Percent; Rep. Adam Smith (D- WA) is Interviewed about the Strait of Hormuz; Americans Poll Numbers on Iran; FCC Threatens Media Outlets; Closing Arguments in Richins Trial. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired March 16, 2026 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:30:13]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the war in Iran sending oil prices soaring, and gas prices not far behind, rising every day since the war began. The national average for a gallon of regular is now $3.72. That's the highest gas prices that we have seen since 2023. President Trump is now demanding European and Asian countries send ships to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, going so far to say NATO members should get involved or they'll face what he calls a very bad future.

CNN's Eleni Giokos is live in Dubai with the very latest on this.

What can you tell us?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, it's really interesting the rhetoric that's coming out from the Trump administration, specifically saying there needs to be a coalition of countries coming together for these naval escorts. Something the United States had actually promised in the first week of the war. Now clearly wanting to bring in other nations. And to be honest, the response has been quite fascinating. It's not a categorical yes, it's we'll think about it, we need to assess the situation. And on the NATO front, perhaps the most interesting, NATO spokesperson -- or German spokesperson, government spokesperson, saying this is not NATO's war. The German F.M. was also saying that we need to assess and see if the military intentions have been achieved in Iran and what that would mean in terms of a security blanket in the entire region. Again, so that means we are weeks away from that.

But just focusing on the Strait of Hormuz overall, Iran clearly has been saying that they have full control of the strait. The numbers give us that indication because shadow fleets are moving through. Iran has given what they say clearance to some vessels including two Indian tankers over the weekend. What the clearance means or, you know, what the rules are still remains to be seen, apart from the fact that they say any cargo going through the Strait of Hormuz needs to be settled in Chinese yuan. So, that's interesting.

The other big risk that perhaps has emerged is the Iranians have threatened to hit U.S. assets in the Red Sea. It's something that we've been thinking about, actually, since the start of the war. The Red Sea that goes into the Suez Canal is another critical maritime choke point. Now, for normal vessels that could go via South Africa, down past the Cape of Good Hope and into Europe, but that also creates complications for Saudi Arabia that has been moving oil through its east-west pipeline to the Yanbu terminal and other terminals that sit on the Red Sea. That could cause another supply disruption on the oil front.

And when we talk about gas prices increasing in the United States, every treasury around the world is trying to assess what this supply shock is going to mean for countries around the world. Markets are integrated. So, when we say that the Strait of Hormuz supplies mostly to Asia, the oil price is going to have a chain reaction across the board on downstream products, on governments around the world. And contagion is a reality right now. And the damage that will be done really depends on how long this war will last.

SIDNER: Yes, and that is the big question that no one knows the answer to yet.

Eleni Giokos, thank you so much for your reporting there from Dubai for us.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, with us now, CNN business executive editor David Goldman.

This is really such a big movement, we need to bring in the top brass here, the executives.

Look, you can see over here how much gas prices have gone up and so quickly. The average today, $3.72. That's basically a quarter higher than it was just one week ago. And what, like $0.75 almost than a month ago? That's a big increase.

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: It's bigger than Katrina. So, we just saw over the past month $0.79.

BERMAN: Wow.

GOLDMAN: That hasn't happened since 2005-2006. And so what we're looking at isn't just this, right, what we pay at the pump, but diesel prices are now $4.99. Everything that's going to be on a truck, that means everything that you and I buy, that's going to get more expensive too.

BERMAN: I mean, so shipping. I mean basically everything that's shipped, the prices there are at risk of going up too. And then that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the fertilizer issues we've seen, which could affect farming and produce.

GOLDMAN: Right. A third of the world's fertilizer comes through the Strait of Hormuz. We've been so focused on oil, but there's other things as well. And that's going to hurt farmers. That's going to hurt our ability to grow food eventually. We're not talking about shortages. We're not talking about anything like that just yet. We're talking about prices. And we're already in an affordability problem here. So now we're going to add that, plus that. It's going to be a big, big problem.

BERMAN: Yes, oil prices seem to be hovering right around $96, $97, $99 a barrel. That's crude oil prices. They've gone up higher, over $100, down. But even if they don't go up that much more, we still could see a rise in gas prices for some time, yes.

GOLDMAN: Yes. So, we have this thing called rockets and feathers in the gas market. And so, when we expect that oil prices are going to rise, gas takes off like a rocket.

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And it doesn't come down right away. It kind of comes down like a feather. And the reason for that is that if you're a gas station owner, you don't have the ability to sort of, you know, compete with the other, you know, gas station -- the other gas stations around you. You need to keep that price high so that you're making a nice profit off of that.

BERMAN: And of course, when we might see this in some of the economic reporting, the numbers, the data, the government data that comes out, would this be a next month thing when we see, you know, CPI and things like that?

GOLDMAN: Yes. I mean we already saw, you know, oil prices creep into that February report. The March report is going to be pretty ugly.

BERMAN: We know you and your team will be standing by for that. That will be something to see.

David Goldman, great to see you. Thank you very much.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, let's talk more about this right now. Joining us right now is the Democratic Congressman Adam Smith of Washington. He's the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.

Congressman, thanks for coming in.

Let me read for you, just so -- to remind everyone what President Trump has now said his message to Europe and China now is. He is demanding that they send ships, get involved to reopen and patrol the Strait of Hormuz. He says, "it's only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help make sure that nothing bad happens there."

A government spokesperson for Germany just responded overnight, though, saying this, "this war has nothing to do with NATO. It's not NATO's war."

Do you think the president will get a coalition to help him to reopen and patrol the strait? REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WA): No, I don't, for several different reasons. I

mean, one, President Trump has been basically offending all of these people and pushing them away, slapping tariffs on them, making it very clear that he doesn't care about the partnership or the alliance when they wanted something. And that's the way relationships work. So, I think he's going to struggle on that front.

Second, as they pointed out, they didn't want any part of this war. President Trump certainly didn't give them a heads up, didn't coordinate. They were all scrambling to get their citizens out of the Middle East.

But third is a practical matter. Do they have the military capability to do it? I mean the U.S., we have a vastly larger military than any of these countries. We don't have the capability of doing it. So, even if you could overcome those first two problems, is there even a plan on the table? Because we're not talking about just a couple of ships here. We're talking about a lot. You know, do we -- is the military capability there? But I don't think we get to that question because I don't think the Europeans that -- they don't see this as their problem.

BOLDUAN: You do not think the U.S. could do this alone?

SMITH: We would struggle. We could try. Because the other thing to keep in mind about this is, could we help escort ships through? Sure, we could increase the possibility that they could get through safe. But in the commercial sector, they're not looking for a lower risk, they're looking for zero risk. They don't want to try this and then have a couple of ships get sunk and find out that it didn't work. And I just don't see a scenario with this war raging as it is currently raging, where we can guarantee them anything close to safety.

So, no, I don't think we need to get there. Yet another reason why Donald Trump needs to stop this war. He needs to find some way to make this stop. That is the only way to open this back up.

BOLDUAN: The suggestion from Israel, Israeli and U.S. officials, is that we've got three more weeks at least. Israel launched a ground operation in Lebanon today against Hezbollah. And the prime minister yesterday posted a video of himself getting coffee and talking back and forth with an aide after rumors had been kind of swirling that he had been killed or injured in -- as it were -- as they were aired by Iranian state media and spread online, these rumors, in Iran.

Beyond that, he has been somewhat surprisingly out of the public eye as this war has stretched into its third week, especially compared to President Trump. What do you think is going on there in terms of that coordination, that relationship and the prime minister?

SMITH: Yes, no, I think Israel, Netanyahu and Trump, are all in for this war. I don't think it's the right decision.

Look, Iran is a problem. No two ways about it. They had been already substantially weakened. And the cost of a full-scale war, the illusion that somehow you could get total victory and defeat them completely so that they'd never be a threat (ph), that was always an illusion.

Look, Israel has done a good job of defending itself, weakening Hamas, weakening Hezbollah, weakening Iran. But the only way they get to peace long term, in my opinion, you can't just break things, you got to build things. Lebanon has a real opportunity right now with a government that wants to push out Hezbollah. Work with them to build something, right?

Gaza, you have an opportunity for new Palestinians to rise up in the place of new leadership in Syria.

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But if you just keep bombing, there's no opportunity to build anything. I mean, remember, Israel drove the PLO out of Lebanon years ago, and Hezbollah emerged as an alternative. We have to have reasonable alternatives. I think it's time for this war to stop and to start building those reasonable alternatives, instead of always relying on bombs and the military. It doesn't get the outcome that they think that they're going to get.

BOLDUAN: You raise an interesting point of what is happening with the Board of Peace that the president formed to help with the reconstruction of Gaza in light of all this. That's a good question.

It has been now a month since DHS has been partially shut down. Airport security lines are just insane. TSA workers are quitting. Airlines are now calling you all collectively out, Congress, in a new letter saying this in part, "Americans who live in your districts and home states are tired of long lines at airports, travel delays and flight cancellations caused by shutdown after shutdown." And the former I.G. of the Department of Transportation was just on with me last hour. I want to play what she said.

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MARY SCHIAVO, FORMER INSPECTOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: My message to Congress is, if you don't remember why we have the TSA and why they have to be paid and why it's completely irresponsible to use them as a political football, call 911 and check yourself into the hospital because you have total amnesia. This is absolutely absurd. And we do this time and time again.

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BOLDUAN: And time and time again, Congressman, I hear Democrats blaming Republicans, saying that they're keeping the government shut down. Republicans blaming Democrats saying they're using it -- using this as a tool to get what they can't get because they're not in the majority.

At some point, something's got to give. And in terms of a gut check, how bad is this going to have to get before the collective, you all, figure it out? SMITH: Yes. Well, first of all, I -- there are some really important

issues at stake here. To act like we've forgotten how important this is, I mean that sort of stupid comment really doesn't help anything. We know how important it is. I'm headed to the airport as soon as I get done with this interview, all right. But the issues do matter.

Now, there's a simple solution. I mean Democrats and Republicans have both wanted to fund TSA for some time, and also the Coast Guard and FEMA and everything else. What we don't want to fund is ICE. And the notion that somehow that's trivial, I mean, ICE basically murdered two people in Minnesota. The rights of Americans are being violated all across this country. The notion that that should be reformed is an important substantive issue, too. I don't know if she has collective amnesia about all those things either, about the two people who got killed in Minnesota and about all the people who have suffered because of this. That's real too.

And there's a simple solution, fund everything but ICE. And we've had that on the table for three or four weeks. Now, I will say, we need to get in there and figure out and get this done. But whenever people say oh, Congress, they're just not paying attention. They just have -- these are substantive, really important issues that I kind of think we ought to address. Now, yes, let's get to work. Let's figure it out. I know how serious it is and how important it is and we need to get this solved. Don't disagree with that at all.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Congressman, it's good to have you on. Thanks for -- thanks very much for your time.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, back here hanging out with the guy that knows all the numbers in the world. How is the word landing with Americans? Are people paying close attention? Is the war helping or hurting the president politically? What are you seeing?

CNN's chief data analyst Harry Enten here with us to give us the details.

There is a lot that's been going on with Iran. A lot of Americans paying attention to that. We have had, you know, members of the military killed. There is this big gas price spike.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes.

SIDNER: What are Americans thinking about this?

ENTEN: Yes, you know, there's been a lot that's been going on over the past few weeks, but so far there's kind of been a little bit of a collective shrug from the American public. What am I talking about here? Well, let's just take a look here, Americans who say they care about -- a lot about the Iranian situation, look at this, it's just 45 percent. Just 45 percent of Americans say they care a lot about the situation going on in Iran. Compare that to the U.S. economy, which, of course, is the number one issue right now in this country. We're talking 84 percent. That is a very, very high number. And this 45 percent number, only about half that and below, below 50 percent. So, despite all the hubbub, right now we're talking about less than a majority of Americans who say they care a lot about what's going on in Iran right now.

SIDNER: But the war in Iran does affect the U.S. economy. That is --

ENTEN: That's going to be the question going forward.

SIDNER: Yes. So, going forward, we'll have to see what happens with the war and how it affects gas prices, et cetera, et cetera.

So, is interest starting to rise or is it kind of just falling off at this point?

ENTEN: Yes, this, to me, again, just such an interesting number because we have this 45 percent right here. But take a look at Google searches right now, because it just sort of reinforces that point.

Americans, Google searches for Iran. Look at this, down. Down 84 percent versus February 28th, when, of course, the current war started in Iran.

[08:45:03]

And if you look back on Sunday, you look back yesterday, searches for the Academy Awards, significantly higher. I'm talking about three, four times as high as searches for Iran in the United States of America.

So, at this point, outside of the situation in Iran, perhaps affecting the U.S. economy, which, of course, is the number one issue, is what Americans are focusing on. I'm just not thinking that this is necessarily going to be the big political mover and shaker that you might expect, given that this has kind of been a pretty gosh darn big deal, at least globally speaking.

SIDNER: Certainly has. So then taking a look at what's happened with the president and whether his popularity has changed at all, just judging on this, what are you learning?

ENTEN: Yes, what are we learning, which is -- perhaps it's not so much of a surprise when just 45 percent of Americans say they care a lot about the Iranian situation, that the president's overall approval rating is the same. It's the same. It was 41 percent before the current war in Iran started, and it is 41 percent now. So despite, again, all the hubbub, despite all the critics of the president of the United States, what we are seeing right now is a president whose approval rating is steady and this is not -- has not been a big deal politically, electorally speaking.

We'll see if that shifts. Obviously, as gas prices climb higher, if all of a sudden prices in other parts of the economy also climb higher, perhaps you'll see this number begin to shift. But at this point, this has been politically a big ball of nothing.

SIDNER: It's really quite fascinating, actually, with all this going on.

ENTEN: Yes.

SIDNER: We're 17 days into this war. We will see what happens going forward.

Harry Enten, thank you for being here. Appreciate it.

ENTEN: Thank you, my friend.

SIDNER: John.

BERMAN: All right, new complaints from the president, calling the media, though certainly not Harry Enten, unpatriotic. The FCC threatens to revoke licenses for broadcasters who send a message they don't like. But what leverage legally do they actually have?

And a fundraiser to end all fundraisers, gathering money for an elderly DoorDash driver. We just got a new update on how much this has brought in. And, honestly, you're not going to believe the figures.

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[08:51:26]

BOLDUAN: Overnight, President Trump had a lot to say about the war in Iran, NATO allies and oil prices. One thing he also seems particularly focused on is how his war is being talked about and the reporting around it. I want to play for you what he said on Air Force One last night.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I actually think it's pretty criminal because our media companies, who have no credibility whatsoever, are putting out information that they know is false.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Over the weekend, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr even threatened to revoke broadcast licenses over this, over the coverage of the war with Iran.

CNN's Brian Stelter has new reporting coming out today around this. He's joining us right now.

Brian, what are you learning?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, when you take stock of all of it, what we're seeing is a multi-pronged approach, a pressure campaign to discourage independent reporting. Now, it can be summed up in the gesture that Trump made on Air Force One. He looked at a reporter from ABC, who was asking very reasonable questions about the war, and he went like this. He went, shhh. And he tried to shush the ABC reporter. And that is the goal, what we're seeing from Trump and his allies, to

quiet and discourage and diminish real reporting and scrutiny of the war. Of course for a decade now we've all been accustomed to Trump's media bashing. It's nothing new. It's usually just a dull roar, though. And right now it's a much louder howl. He's using words like "criminal" and "unpatriotic" to assail media companies. And he has his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, at the podium, insulting news outlets like CNN. And he has his FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, threatening broadcast station licenses.

Now, those threats are mostly hollow, but they are still meaningful. I happen to bump into Carr at the airport in Fort Lauderdale last night, actually yesterday morning, and what was Carr doing in Florida? He was visiting Mar-a-Lago. He was with President Trump. Which means he posted that tweet threatening station licenses from Trump's club.

That tweet has been denounced. We can put it on screen as un-American, as unconstitutional, as authoritarian. Many Democratic lawmakers have come out against it, saying that the Trump administration is trying to chill critical news coverage of the war.

But it's very clear, news outlets are undeterred, right? This coverage is continuing regardless of the Trump administration's pressure campaign.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Speak to this because, Brian, I feel like we had this conversation just a short time ago with regards to different threats coming from Brendan Carr to other networks --

STELTER: Yes.

BOLDUAN: To networks over a different issue.

STELTER: That's right.

BOLDUAN: What leverage does the FCC actually have here?

STELTER: That's right. And when I was talking with him yesterday, he made the point that he is pressing many different buttons, turning many different dials, trying to apply pressure toward media companies in many different ways. But the reality is that if the FCC does try to revoke a station license or reject a renewal application, it will cause a legal battle. These licenses for NBC and ABC and CBS local stations, they're not even up for renewal until 2028. If Carr tries to get them to renew early, it will provoke a legal battle as well. So, he is using his public podium, his bully pulpit, in order to apply pressure.

And the real threat right now is the threat of self-censorship, of media companies caving or submitting to the government. The biggest leverage the government has in these cases with these local stations is when there are mega mergers, when there are mergers on the table. And right now there are big station owners like Nexstar trying to get mergers and acquisitions approved. Paramount is also trying to buy CNN and the rest of Warner Bros. Discovery, although CNN is not licensed by the federal government but Paramount is. So, that's a leverage point that the federal government has and that Brendan Carr and Trump are clearly trying to use. So, what we need to see from news outlets in this moment is a stiffened spine.

[08:55:04]

I think that is what we're seeing, actually. Just the other day, CNN's CEO Mark Thompson said, no amount of public pressure, insults, they're not going to change the way we're reporting on the war.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Brian, thanks for your reporting on this. I appreciate it.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, on our radar for you, the big winners on Oscar night, "Sinners" and "One Battle After Another." They both went home with a trove of golden statues. "Sinners" walked away with four wins from a record breaking 16 nominations. Michael B. Jordan won best actor for his role, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd. It also snagged a historic win. Autumn Arkapaw is the first woman to get an Oscar for best cinematography. "One Battle After Another" took the top prize, best picture. They had six wins in total, also including best director. We'll have much more on the Oscars coming up next hour.

Also, Mexico setting a new Guinness World Record for the world's largest soccer class. Ninety-five hundred people showed up to the event in Mexico City, where the opening match of the World Cup will be played this summer. Participants say this world record is helping build the momentum for that day. The previous record, by the way, had about 1,000 people. They beat it by a mile.

All right, brackets are officially set and the craziness of March Madness tips off this week. Duke is the top overall seed in this year's tournament. The other top seeds include Arizona, Michigan and Florida. You betcha. Action officially starts tomorrow night in Dayton, Ohio. And we've got UMBC squaring off against Howard and the Texas Longhorns facing off against NC State. On Wednesday, Prairie View A&M goes up against Lehigh University and Miami of Ohio takes on SMU. The round of 64 starts Thursday at noon eastern. By the way, Andy Scholes is picking Arizona. Just letting you know in case you're filling out those brackets.

John.

BERMAN: I've got, you know, scheduling time over the next day to fill out my bracket.

SIDNER: It takes that long.

BERMAN: A lot of work to do. Sara, thank you.

All right, very shortly, closing arguments expected to begin in the murder trial of Kouri Richins after nearly three weeks of testimony. The Utah mother wrote a children's book about grief following her husband's death. Prosecutors allege she killed her husband with fentanyl for financial gain and to start a new life with another man.

CNN's Jean Casarez has been covering this case from the beginning and is here with us now.

What do you expect today?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A very serious moment, closing arguments. The prosecution is alleging that Kouri Richins, this young mother of three with a husband that owned a local business in Park City, Utah, that she intentionally and knowingly poisoned her husband. This is a life felony. This is serious charges, obviously.

Carmen was their housekeeper. Kouri Richins knew that Carmen had had issues with drugs. She had sold drugs. Been in and out of jail. Prosecutors allege she went four times to Carmen and asking her for an investor. She needed some pain pills. Opiate was the first time late January of 2022. Then February 11th she said, I need something stronger. So, Carmen testified she found a man that sold fentanyl and went to Kouri and said, I got some, but it's fentanyl. Kouri Richins said, do it. Four days later, three days later, Valentine's Day, is when Eric Richins, something went wrong. He ate a sandwich that Kouri had gotten for him. We don't know what he told his friends because that would be hearsay. But his friend testified, two of them in trial. Listen to what they said that they felt as Eric was talking to them the afternoon of Valentine's Day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without saying what Eric said to you, why is it you remember that phone call?

CODY WRIGHT, ERIC RICHINS' BUSINESS PARTNER: The fear in his voice. The urgency of the situation. The seriousness of what was going on

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had you ever heard Eric sound like that before?

WRIGHT: The only other times I heard that urgency and that fear, when he called me telling me that his mother was -- had passed away in the hospital.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Another alleged fentanyl purchase was very close to March 3rd, the day that Eric Richins died.

Now, the defense, I listened to the charge conference. I think what they may argue, according to what I heard, is that Eric, who had back issues, he had a gravel company, lots of back pain, that he asked his wife to get some drugs on the street, thinking it would be oxycodone, not lethal. You get what you get on the street.

[09:00:00]

That's what Carmen testified. And so, the drugs that got in the hands of Eric to take were actually fentanyl.

BERMAN: A really interesting preview of what we might see today. Again, shortly