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Powerful Storms Slam Central U.S. With Hail, Tornadoes, Flooding; Soon, Pentagon Briefing Amid Report More U.S. Troops Headed to Mideast; Soon, HHS Secretary RFK Jr. Testifies on Capitol Hill. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired April 16, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Powerful storms tear through the middle of the United States, tornadoes, softball-sized hail, torrential rain. This morning, there's also more severe weather on the way.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are standing by for a Defense Department briefing this morning as we await word on whether a new round of negotiations with Iran will go forward.

And then the brand new trailer for the brand new Val Kilmer film. The late actor never starred in, but the A.I. Val Kilmer did. Reaction this morning ranges from loud applause to a ghoulish puppet show.

Sara is out this morning. I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan, and this is CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: All right. Let's get to the breaking news overnight. Much of the Central United States is waking up to more fallout and impact really from another night of severe weather, and some of the worst forecasts are still on the horizon, Oklahoma, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, all reporting tornadoes and really intense winds. You can see just some of the damage we're going to be showing you all throughout the morning. This is sustained in Wisconsin, just destruction, leaving thousands without power.

Students in the University of Michigan were forced to take shelter. I'm going to show you the damage done to a local hockey rink in Ann Arbor. The walls completely ripped off by the winds.

Hundreds of reports of destructive hail also as big as this grapefruit-sized have been reported in the region, Missouri and Ohio taking the brunt of that falling ice, leaving behind a massive trail of, well, damaged cars, for sure, and much more.

A major concern this morning now is heavy flooding that continues to really, really impact the Great Lakes region. Milwaukee saw 50 water rescues alone yesterday, while some of the -- some -- while there were also some in neighboring Michigan, and also some there are facing possible evacuation orders now as rapidly rising water levels are threatening local dams.

This threat is active. This is ongoing this morning.

Let's get to CNN's Allison Chinchar, who's tracking all of it for us. Where do you want to start?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All right. Well, let's start with the hail, because again, this was not small hail. This was not dime-sized. In some of these areas, as you mentioned, you're talking tennis ball or even grapefruit-sized hail that does damage. You take a look at some of these cars behind me, you can see that windshield being blown out by some of the hail. And, yes, same thing happens to a lot of the roofs in the homes and the buildings that were nearby.

The other key thing to note too is that it wasn't just one or two hail reports. Look at all of this. We had over a hundred hail reports yesterday. This is just the last 24 hours, all these storm reports, 1 tornado report and about 85 damaging wind reports. There is more severe weather expected for today and even as we head into the weekend.

So, here's a live look at the radar, not really that much active, severe weather going on this morning. You've got the rain component to it, but the stronger storms are really anticipated to get ready and build up as we head into the afternoon and evening hours.

So, here's where the threat is going to be. Mostly across portions of the Northeast, this stretches down through the Tennessee Valley and all the way back into Arkansas. So, here's a look at the timing. Through the morning, what's left of that system will kind of slide east and then you really start to see a lot of those storms firing up around 5:00, 6:00 P.M. tonight. They will continue through the evening hours, so even 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 tonight, you're still going to have some of those strong to severe thunderstorms as that line continues to press off to the east.

But as we mentioned, today is not the only day. You also have Friday, and now we have an enhanced risk, a level three out of five, and then we also have the level two risk on Saturday.

So, this is going to be a multi-day event here for some of these areas that have already had several days this week of severe weather. It's just going to continue into the weekend. So, that's going to be another thing to note too.

Here's a look at that system for Friday. Again, by late Friday, say, about 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, you're going to start to see that new line of strong thunderstorms begin to form across the northern portion of the Midwest. Then that line along the cold front is going to continue to slide east as we head into Saturday now starting to impact a very large portion of the country. You're talking storms all the way from Maine back down to Texas at some point during the day on Saturday.

[07:05:04]

Now, not all of those places are anticipated to get severe thunderstorms, but you could still get some strong thunderstorms in the mix with a few gusty winds and some very heavy rain. Some of these areas through Saturday could still pick up an extra two to four inches of rain. That is concerning, especially across the Midwest, where we've already had those flooding concerns, especially for portions of Michigan as well as Wisconsin.

BOLDUAN: Allison, thank you so much, so much to continue to have to watch on this front. John?

BERMAN: I mean, some of the flooding out of Milwaukee, the pictures have been remarkable. That hail, that crazy hail falling in that neighborhood, oh my goodness, I'm not sure if there's anything like that.

All right, we are standing by for a Defense Department briefing this morning from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The temporary ceasefire with Iran expires in less than a week. The White House says it feels good about a new route of negotiations, but there is also a report that thousands more U.S. troops are being sent to the Middle East.

Iranian officials and Pakistan's military chief, a key mediator, they'll meet today in Tehran. Pakistan says it is keeping open channels between the United States and Iran, but no second round of talks has been announced yet.

This morning's Pentagon re briefing will be the first since the U.S. began blockading Iranian ports since the U.S. basically shut down the Strait of Hormuz. We now have audio from U.S. Central Command of U.S. forces warning ships to stay away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do not attempt to breach the blockade. Vessels will be boarded for interdiction and seizure transiting to or from an Iranian port. Turn around and prepare and be boarded. If you do not comply with this blockade, we will use force.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Let's get right to CNN's Alayna Treene at the White House. Where do things stand this morning, Alayna?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, as we're hearing these reports of the U.S. sending thousands more troops to the region, you are hearing this kind of cautious optimism from the White House that included the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, yesterday saying essentially that the administration is very much engaged in these negotiations. She's argued that the talks have been productive and ongoing.

And she did confirm some of the reporting that I had earlier this week about them working toward the second round of in-person talks, and likely it would be the same group, the same leaders we saw in Islamabad on Saturday. That includes the vice president, J.D. Vance, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

But there's also a lot of what we're now hearing from the Iranian side as well. One, of course, is Tehran is trying to push through this naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz that the U.S. military has imposed. We also know that they are meeting today with the Pakistanis. One thing that really stood out to me is actually we heard the Pakistanis were carrying a new message from Washington with them when they arrived in Iran.

We're not exactly sure what that message is. The White House would not confirm that to us. But what we have now heard publicly really from some of the top officials involved in these negotiations, that includes the vice president, J.D. Vance, again, is the sense of they're hoping they could get a second meeting. They're still hopeful that diplomacy is going to prevail here.

But he also acknowledged, and this is where he's a bit set apart from the president himself, John, is acknowledged the deep mistrust that the U.S. and Iran has after years of fighting. And he essentially said publicly that, you know, it's not going to be a problem that can be fixed overnight.

So, what I'm very curious to hear from, of course, the Pentagon briefing is what exactly these thousands of troops that they're sending to the region, what are they there for? Are they really just there on standby in case a deal does not materialize by the time that this ceasefire expires within the week now on Tuesday?

A lot of questions we still have, but, again, the word from the White House, at least, is that they're still pushing in a productive way toward a second round of talks with really the goal still being to reach some final deal before this ceasefire expires.

BERMAN: Alayna Treene at the White House, we'll see if the defense secretary addresses this reporting on more troops headed to the region at that briefing, which begins in just a little bit.

Thank you so much, Alayna. Kate?

BOLDUAN: So, for the first time in months, HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. is heading back to Capitol Hill, going to face a lot of questions in a series of meetings beginning today. Today's hearing, if it's anything like the last time, you can expect some fireworks.

And overcharging fans, driving up ticket prices, stifling competition, after years of complaints, a jury is now found Live Nation, Ticketmaster operated illegally as a monopoly. What this now means for the largest concert promoter in the United States and the tickets you're buying to concerts?

And federal prosecutors say that he is the Grinch who stole Christmas. The organizers of the annual massive Santacon bar crawl, where thousands of people dress up, well, just as you would assume, in Santa Claus outfits and drink. Well, you get to be the judge if it's too much. This organizer has now been arrested and charged with stealing more than a million dollars intended for charity.

[07:10:03]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BOLDUAN: Today, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. is on Capitol Hill set to testify before lawmakers for the first time in months, and also apparently kicking off two of seven Congressional hearings that the HHS secretary has scheduled in just one week, and also as key leadership roles remain vacant at CDC and FDA and the nomination for the surgeon general stalled.

CNN's Meg Tirrell joins us right now.

[07:15:00]

She's got much more. What are you expecting to happen here?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, it's going to be the first of a long week for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. So, at 9:00, the first of, as you said, seven hearings over the next week with RFK Jr. is set to kick off. He's got two today before different House committees, another hearing tomorrow, and then four next week, including before two really pivotal Senate committees, the Health Committee and the Finance Committee, two a day there again. So, this is going to be a very busy RFK Jr. week.

And we haven't seen him testify before Congress since last September. Then our Aaron Blake wrote, quote, it was perhaps the most combative Congressional hearing of 2025. Of course, just the first nine months of that year, but that was the last time we saw RFK Jr. before lawmakers, a lot of fiery exchanges, of course, about things like vaccines.

Now, of course he's testifying about the White House's budget request for the Department of Health and Human Services, which he runs. The White House has requested $111.1 billion in discretionary budget authority, and that's a 12.5 percent decrease in funding, and it includes cuts to scientific research at places like the National Institutes of Health. But, of course, this is a request and Congress last year didn't follow through on cutting research funding and other funding that the Trump administration wanted to cut in HHS.

Also, RFK Jr. has been trying to create this new agency called the Administration for Healthy America, AHA, or aha, sort of part of his MAHA movement, which would consolidate a number of different agencies and centers across HHS under this one umbrella. They've requested about $15 billion to do that. We'll see if that actually ends up happening.

Now, in terms of what they actually talk about today, we have been hearing, and we've been doing some reporting at CNN as well, about how the White House has been trying to steer RFK Jr. away from talking about more hot button issues, like vaccines, which really have not been politically popular, and more toward things like nutrition and trying to bring drug prices down, which are seen as better political subjects.

And so we have seen some posted testimony, a statement posted ahead of this afternoon's hearing from RFK Jr., where he really focuses on those things, what they call their MAHA wins, the changes to the dietary guidelines, trying to take artificial food diets out of foods, trying to bring down drug pricing with their most favored nation plan.

But, of course, Kate, there's going to be so many questions about what's been going on at HHS and including the leadership vacuum we're seeing in a number of these agencies. Right now, there is no permanent CDC director, and that was a big topic of some of those fiery exchanges before. We also don't have an FDA vaccines chief. So, Kate, we will be prepared for all of it and we'll bring it to you.

BOLDUAN: Yes. The range of questions that could be, will be likely coming at the secretary will definitely be worth watching.

Meg, thank you very much. I really appreciate it.

We also breaking news in overnight, dramatic new videos showing an apparent double tap strike in Ukraine as Russia bombards the area of one of the largest drone strikes, with one of the largest drone strikes of this year.

Plus, while you were sleeping, an incredible comeback for the Golden State Warriors and injured Steph Curry leaving the game, then jumping back in and proving why he is one of the best in that sport.

And a special moment on the ice that left one young hockey fan weeping tears of joy.

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[07:20:00]

BERMAN: The NBA playoff play endgames, they have been a gift. Last night, while you were sleeping, most probably Steph Curry, who missed half the season, emerged as the hero.

Let's get right to CNN's Andy Scholes. Look, we're used to Steph Curry highlights, but I got to say, I wasn't expecting it, not now.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, especially with what he's been dealing with that injured knee all season, John. But it was just a vintage night from Steph. Once again, you know, we've seen this so many times and the fact he's still doing this, able to just flip the switch at 38 years old, it's pretty incredible.

And the Warriors, they were down 13 in the fourth quarter to the Clippers last night, but Al Horford, Draymond Green, and Steph just brought them back. See Steph there with the layup, then with the game tied at 117 with under a minute to go, Steph, the fade away three, into the first row, scored 27 of his game-high 35 points in the second half.

Then it was Draymond winning the game with his defense. He forced the turnover on the inbounds there. Then moments later, he picks Kawhi Leonard's pocket, Warriors would win 126-1 21. They're now going to face Phoenix tomorrow for the right to play the Thunder in the first round.

76ers meanwhile clenching the seventh seed in the East last night with a win over Orlando, Tyrese Maxey, he went on a 7-0 run by himself in the fourth quarter. He finished with 31 points. Philly would win 109- 97 and now moves on to phase Boston in round one on Sunday. The 76ers have not beaten the Celtics in the playoffs since 1982.

All right, the NHL regular season, meanwhile, will wrap up tonight. Earlier this week, we had a really cool moment in the Flames-Avalanche game. Ten-year-old Calgary fan Cade Heisler. He had a sign that said, Dustin Wolf, you are my idol. Well, Wolf, he's the goalie for the Flames, he saw it and he gave a stick to a staffer to bring it to Cade. And look at the reaction. He immediately was just overcome with joy. That right there was one of the coolest moments of the entire season. The Stanley Cup playoffs, they're going to start on Saturday.

All right, finally, rumors were swirling yesterday that LIV Golf was going to lose its funding from the Saudi Public Investment Fund and shut down immediately, but a source with knowledge of the situation told CNN Sports on Wednesday, LIV Golf's funding and operations are continuing as planned. The tour has an event in Mexico teeing off today.

Now, in a letter to employees, LIV CEO Scott O'Neil said, while the media landscape is often filled with speculation, our reality is defined by the work we do on the grass.

[07:25:04]

We are heading into the heart of our 2026 schedule with the full energy of an organization that is bigger, louder, and more influential than ever before.

But, John, you the thought is the war in Iran has caused the Saudi PIF to kind of shift what they're going to be focused on, and that may be why the funding speculation happened. We will wait and see. They say it's -- you know, they're going on as scheduled and everything going on as planned, but those rumors don't come out of nowhere.

BERMAN: Yes. As they say in All the President's Men, follow the money. Andy, follow the money.

Meanwhile, I'm just happy we get to watch Steph Curry play at least one more game this season.

SCHOLES: Right.

BERMAN: So, what happens now to the ridiculous prices? All the crew here paid to see Russian Metallica. A jury finds a Ticketmaster and Live Nation operated as a monopoly.

And the robots are boxing humans. The question is, can you punch a robot below the belt?

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