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Trump: U.S. "Very Close" To Making Deal With Iran; HHS Secretary RFK Jr. Faces Lawmakers On Capitol Hill; Singer D4vd Arrested On Suspicion Of Killing Teen Found In His Tesla. Aired 7:30- 8a ET

Aired April 17, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:30:30]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, a crucial 96-hours or so. The ceasefire between the United States and Iran expires on Tuesday. The president says negotiations in person could happen as soon as this weekend, although this weekend is pretty close now and nothing firm has been set as far as we know.

With us now CNN global affairs analyst Brett McGurk.

And Brett, I think it's safe to say that all eyes are really on three locations this morning and one of them is Islamabad, which is basically all the way over there in Pakistan. One of them is Tehran and the other one is Lebanon over here.

And I want to start with Pakistan. I'm sorry, I want to start with Iran because Pakistani officials have traveled to Tehran to meet with Iranian officials.

What are you looking for?

BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST, FORMER MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA COORDINATOR, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL, SENIOR FELLOW, HARVARD'S BELFER CENTER : Yeah, John, showdown. That's the -- that's the title for this chapter we're entering -- showdown in the next 96 hours. The ceasefire ends on Tuesday. So not any Pakistani official traveled from Pakistan to Tehran. It is Asim Munir. He is the defense chief. He is the most powerful man in Pakistan. He's been in Tehran the last couple of days meeting with all top Iranian officials and clearly, likely in communication with the White House, trying to nail something down.

The other piece of setting the table is what you just mentioned, John, is Lebanon. The Iranians have been saying they will not engage in another round of talks unless there's a ceasefire in Lebanon. And the White House kind of pushed through a ceasefire. We now have a 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon. That's a key piece for setting the table for this showdown moment.

But look, the clock's -- the clock's ticking. And you said something in your previous segment, John. I used to deal with this in Middle East diplomacy. We can't beam ourselves halfway around the world. If president -- whoever is the negotiator left tonight from Washington they would arrive in Pakistan tomorrow night Pakistan time. You kind of lose a day. So just the continuum of travel and physics -- the clock is really ticking here.

I think best case we can maybe reach some sort of a framework arrangement that allows a ceasefire to be continued, and that would have to deal with some of the nuclear issues -- the stockpile of highly enriched uranium that we've talked about and enrichment. But right now there's a lot of talking -- very unclear if you're going to get there -- and there's a chance the war could restart next week.

So I hope this showdown remains at the diplomacy table but there's a chance this showdown could result in a shooting match once again.

BERMAN: And again, you're talking about the travel time. People getting all the way to Islamabad over here if that is --

MCGURK: It's far.

BERMAN: -- if that is going to happen and when the talks take place.

I do want to talk about this situation with the nuclear sites and the nuclear material because the president continues to say -- well, did say for the first time yesterday -- he claimed that Iran has promised to hand over its nuclear dust. And now -- that's the term he uses. That's enriched nuclear material above 60 percent believed to be buried right here.

Can you talk to me about the nuance between handing it over or diluting it or what?

MCGURK: Yeah, John. This is 440 kilograms, so about 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium. That is enough uranium -- and you can spin it up very quick because it's enriched to 60 percent grade. Weapons grade is 90 percent. That can be done in a period of days if you had the centrifuges which right now Iran doesn't have.

But it's very dangerous because it's enough material for about nine or 10 nuclear weapons. What the IAEA, the regulatory body, would call a significant quantity, meaning enough for a weapon -- nine or 10 weapons. Iran should not have it. No country without a weapons program enriches uranium to 60 percent grade, OK? This is crazy. I had to deal with this back in the -- in the last administration where they're doing this enrichment underground and we try our best to monitor it.

So the U.S. saying get that material -- there's no need for it -- out of your country, and we can help probably with international help and experts to get it out. I think that's a correct demand and frankly, all of our allies should be supporting and leaning on the Iranians to hey, just meet that demand. We hope the Pakistanis are saying the same thing. You've got to get the material out.

The Iranians are saying -- apparently what's been reported -- well, we're going to keep it here, but we can dilute it, meaning you can -- you can dilute it below to a grade that would not present a problem.

But I think the U.S.' position on this one is right. If you have it, if it's buried, let's work together to get it out of the country because Iran should not have this stockpile of highly enriched uranium. That's one issue.

[07:35:00]

The second issue then is the enrichment, John. If you can't enrich uranium, you can have a great civil nuclear program. You know, a country nearby Iran, the UAE, has a civil nuclear program. Twenty percent of UAE's electricity with nuclear energy. They don't enrich uranium.

Iran has spent a trillion dollars on their nuclear program. Almost no electricity is provided to their people through nuclear power -- about one percent. And they continue to insist on enriching uranium and that is because it used to be a weapons program and Iran wants the capability to have a weapons program in the future. That's what we're talking about.

So high-stakes showdown. Those are the nuclear issues. And let's hope the Pakistani defense chief Munir can deliver the goods here in Tehran.

BERMAN: Again, so watch the terminology being used here on the nuclear material. Also, watch the airports because start to need traveling if they're going to be speaking soon.

Brett McGurk, great to speak with you. Thank you very much -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So just announced, Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, is leaving the agency at the end of next month. The new homeland security secretary Markwayne Mullin -- he announced the move but did not give a reason for the departure.

Lyons has drawn some intense criticism for leading ICE during the Trump administration's massive immigration crackdown. He was acting chief when federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis during immigration operations.

His last day is now May 31.

Also this morning CNN is projecting a win for Democrats further narrowing Republicans' majority in the House for now at least. This after Democrat Analilia Mejia will win the special election in New Jersey's 11th district defeating Republican Joe Hathaway. She will fill the seat vacated by Mikie Sherrill after she was elected to be New Jersey governor.

Now Mejia will serve out the remainder of the term, which is just months, which means she needs to start running again right away. Mejia and Hathaway both running again for that full-year -- full two-year term. Primaries are in June -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you, Kate. Ahead, is there a growing anti-AI movement? The fear and uncertainty after the attack on the home of OpenAI's CEO.

Also, talk about a close call. New video showing the moment an American Airlines pilot had to slam the brakes to avoid hitting vehicles that were on the runway.

And what do bear costumes and insurance fraud have to do with one another? Details on an elaborate insurance scheme involving fake bear attacks on high-end luxury cars.

Those stories and more ahead.

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[07:41:38]

BOLDUAN: This morning Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. is headed back to Capitol Hill to face another hearing and another round of tough questions from lawmakers.

During back-to-back hearings yesterday his opening remarks -- they focused -- he tried to focus largely on what he says are the accomplishments of what they've done so far, like taking on drug pricing, overhauling dietary guidelines. But in questioning, the secretary was pushed once again on other actions they've taken. On actions around vaccine policy since taking over.

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REP. LINDA SANCHEZ (D-CA): Now, one thing that I find incredible is that you suspended this pro-vaccine messaging campaign but somehow, you're spending taxpayer dollars to drink milk shirtless in a hot tub with Kid Rock. And somehow you think that's a better public health message than informing the public --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your time has expired by a minute.

SANCHEZ: -- about the importance of vaccines?

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BOLDUAN: Joining me right now Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He's also a former member of the FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee. It's good to see you. Thank you for being here.

Part of that back-and-forth that went on quite some time with the congresswoman talking about measles -- the wild uptick in measles cases. And the response from HHS was the secretary continued to try to make a comparison to what we're seeing in the United States right now and what he says is a comparison to measles outbreaks and cases around the world. Like comparing it to what is happening in Canada or even Mexico, I believe.

What is the throughline there with case levels there and here? DR. PAUL OFFIT, DIRECTOR, VACCINE EDUCATION CENTER, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA, FORMER MEMBER, FDA VACCINE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (via Webex by Cisco): Well, RFK Jr. shouldn't compare us to other countries; he should compare us to ourselves. We eliminated measles from this country by the year 2000 -- the most contagious human infection. We did it because we had a high percentage of the population that was vaccinated.

Now, at that time measles was still occurring in the world. There were tens of millions of cases of measles in the world. There were 100,000 deaths in the world. Because international travel is common measles was always coming into this country. People with measles were coming into this country but it didn't spread from one American child to the next because we had a high level of vaccination.

That's not true now. If you look in areas like Spartanburg, South Carolina or Utah or West Texas we've had a dramatic decline in the incidents of vaccination and that's why you're seeing outbreaks. So to say well, there's outbreaks in the world, therefore we're doing well is not a reasonable comparison.

BOLDUAN: One thing that we have talked about many times is -- and you have followed his history of vaccine cynicism for I think decades at this point -- is we've tracked what he has said in the past and what he is saying now.

Yesterday, Secretary Kennedy did admit and acknowledge the measles vaccine, as he said, probably would have saved the lives of two unvaccinated children in Texas. He also acknowledged and said that the vaccine is safe and effective for most people, is how he put it. This is a shift from past comments he has made. I mean, remember he said that there is no safe and effective -- there is no vaccine he considers safe.

What do you think of that as someone who has followed this man's journey in and around public health for years?

[07:45:00]

OFFIT: My sense is it was very hard for him to say that.

If you look at what he did at the beginning of this epidemic of measles back in March of '25, he went on national news after one child had already died of measles in this country and he said to the public measles vaccine causes blindness. Measle vaccine causes deafness. Measle vaccine kills children every year. In fact, having natural measles is a good thing because natural measles prevents cancer and heart disease, and autoimmune disease.

That's RFK Jr. That's what he was comfortable saying. So this is an attempt to try and look like he's reasonable when he has not been reasonable for 20 years.

BOLDUAN: One thing I'm tracking really closely is he's got a slew of hearings happening in the next -- over the next few days. The moment when he faces Sen. Bill Cassidy, a doctor himself and the chairman of the Senate Health Committee. He was the deciding vote to make Kennedy health secretary. And since then there has been a lot of clashing between the two men on vaccine issues.

The hearings next week -- and Trump has endorsed Bill Cassidy's primary opponent. Just throw that into the mix.

What are you expecting or hoping to hear from Sen. Cassidy or looking to get from this interaction between the secretary and the senator?

OFFIT: I would like Sen. William Cassidy to hold up a paper that he held up when he voted yes during that second confirmation hearing for RFK Jr. to be secretary of Health and Human Services, during which time he said, "I will have an unprecedentedly close working relationship with RFK Jr."

He has promised me that he will not change the website on the CDC, claiming that the vaccines don't cause autism. He has promised me that he won't mess around with the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practice. He has promised me that he won't change ACIP (Advisory Committee for Immunization Practice) recommendations. He violated all three of those things.

I would like to hear William Cassidy hold him accountable for that.

BOLDUAN: Hmm. Let us see.

Dr. Offit, thank you for coming on and -- really appreciate it -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right. New this morning singer D4vd is under arrest in Los Angeles in connection with the death of a 14-year-old girl. Authorities say 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez had been missing for months before her remains were discovered. They were found in the trunk of a Tesla SUV registered to the 21-year-old singer whose full name is David Anthony Burke. The vehicle had apparently been abandoned in the Hollywood Hills and taken to a tow lot where workers later made the gruesome discovery of Celeste's body. It was cut into pieces.

D4vd and Celeste had a history that was shared online. You're seeing some of it there. There's a twitch that they did together -- a livestream -- about a month before she was reported missing.

D4vd's arrest follows a lengthy investigation. This morning he is being held without bail as prosecutors review potential charges.

In a statement to CNN his attorney said, "Let us be clear -- the actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death. There has been no indictment returned by any grand jury in this case and no criminal complaint filed. David has only been detained under suspicion. We will vigorously defend David's innocence."

The case has brought increased scrutiny to D4vd's lyrics and music, however. In one video, an alter ego for the singer drags his own body into the trunk of a car. The video for the song "Romantic Homicide," which was uploaded on the victim's birthday, contains violent imagery of a young, dark-haired woman's body, bloodied with knives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

D4VD, SINGER-SONGWRITER: Singing "Romantic Homicide."

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SIDNER: Joining me now is CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson.

All right. So back in September 2025 police found 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez's dismembered body. We fast-forward to, what, seven months later?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Yeah.

SIDNER: Is it unusual for this to take this long, first of all, for someone to be arrested and for him not to be charged? Right now he's being held on suspicion but there's no charges filed yet, right?

JACKSON: Yeah, that's right, Sara. Good morning to you. Good to be with you.

What ends up happening is no, it's not really that much of a distinction between how many cases are handled and let me explain why.

What happens is that you have a grand jury and a grand jury has a number of functions. And just to be very clear very briefly, a grand jury consists of 23 members. Their goal is not to distinguish between guilt or innocence. Their goal is two-fold. To establish, number one, is a reasonable cause to believe that a crime was committed, and number two, is this particular person the one who committed it?

Now, the grand jury was doing what's called an investigation and of those 23 people in California you need a supermajority. That's 14 to indict. Now what do they do with respect to an investigation, and let's be clear about this. You never want to rush in and arrest someone if you don't have the information you need to do that.

So the grand jury convened and in them convening they rounded up a number of people. Like who? Like his mom, like his dad, like his brother. You might ask why. Why? Because oftentimes -- and we're communicating regarding our activities -- what we're doing, who we're doing it with. We do that with those who are closest to us.

And so they're looking at any of those communications. What he may have said. They'll look at text messages and other types of communication. Like who else? Like associates he was with. Like his business partners, et cetera. So you're going to get that information.

In addition to that, Sara, what they're going to evaluate is which they are. You saw the car there, right? The car in terms of the body in the back -- the dismembered body in two different bags. It's horrible to think about. They'll pick over that in terms of the DNA and everything else. There's information that they'll triangulate in terms of where you were at any specific time. This will all be presented to the grand jury.

His attorneys are right. There has not, to his point, been an indictment. There has not even been a criminal complaint filed. But you'd have reason to believe that if there was an arrest certainly, they're heading in that direction. Always innocent until proven guilty --

SIDNER: Absolutely.

JACKSON: -- but they have an abundance of information that they believe points to him as the person who may be responsible.

SIDNER: And because this is a murder case, obviously, you know, if it was something much lesser you might not see necessarily an arrest. But in a murder case --

JACKSON: Yeah.

SIDNER: -- it's pretty typical I think.

I do want to get to some of the lyrics of his songs. He -- in this song "Romantic Homicide" it -- he says, "In the back of my mind I killed you and I didn't even regret it. I can't believe I said it but it's true."

Can something like that and some of the other videos that you saw there be used against him as evidence, whether it be in front of a grand jury or eventually if he's charged in court?

JACKSON: So, you bet. I think what's going to happen obviously is his attorneys are going to move to preclude that, meaning look, lyrics are not part of any particular criminality. They don't evidence an indication to commit crimes. It's going to be art.

However, the prosecution is going to say no way. The reality is that this goes straight to what he may have been thinking. When you have lyrics about I've killed you in my mind, when you have -- and looking at his videos, him being dragged into a trunk, they're going to say that this all really was created in his mind and as a result of it, it provides critical evidence to be used in the trial.

The grand jury, very briefly, they -- the evidence that's used in the grand jury very bare bones. It's when you get to the trial that they seek -- that is, prosecutors -- to unload everything on you. And oftentimes we talked about this a lot -- circumstantial evidence and direct evidence. Many people when they commit crimes don't do it in front of the world. They do it behind closed scenes.

And circumstantial evidence -- that's evidence which would be indicative. I came in here, right, and it wasn't raining at all. I look out the window when I leave here and there's puddles. It's still not raining. What can we conclude? It rained. So circumstantial evidence -- this case looks like there's a lot of that. It doesn't mean he's guilty. It's the belief that all that evidence will lead to the indication that he may be. And that's why I think at least a criminal complaint or indictment, Sara, may be imminent in this case.

SIDNER: All right. Well, I think a lot of people are waiting and watching to see what happens in this case.

JACKSON: Yes.

SIDNER: Joey Jackson, I do appreciate it. It's good to see you.

JACKSON: Thank you, Sara -- always.

SIDNER: All right, John.

BERMAN: All right. New this morning officials inside the AI industry are urging employees to take precautions out of fear for their safety. This follows the recent attack against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's home and also his office.

Let's get to CNN's Clare Duffy here with the latest on this. What are you learning, Clare?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Well, John, as I've looked into this suspect, Daniel Moreno-Gama, and the sort of online reaction to this attack, I found that this is sort of representative of a radical fringe of the anti-AI or AI safety movement where there were some people online celebrating -- cheering this attack. You had people calling Moreno-Gama a hero, saying this attack was justified.

And I think, you know, it's worth noting that this is not the first time that we have seen this kind of anti-AI attack move from online anonymous comments to the real world. Just three days before this attack on Sam Altman's home an Indianapolis councilmember had shots fired at his home after approving a data center in his district. So we are seeing this movement move from, again, online comments to really dangerous in-person attacks.

I also found that Moreno-Gama engaged in some online forums where people were talking about AI risks and in particular, this existential risk from AI that some people believe exists with this technology. In online messages he discussed Luigi-ing tech CEOs, referring to the killer of the UnitedHealthcare -- to the accused killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO.

He also posted in forums belonging to more mainstream groups like PauseAI and Stop AI. Those groups have disavowed this attack and say that they are peaceful.

[07:55:00]

And I spoke with PauseAI's CEO Maxime Fournes. He told me, "Our response is going to be to double down on what we've always done -- peaceful, lawful advocacy." He said, "I think it's very important that movements like ours, which are entirely peaceful, stay on top of what's happening because there could be much darker movements that start rising."

And so again, I think it's, you know, obviously a really troubling trend and going to be interesting to watch whether the AI industry sort of changes its tune in terms of how it engages with some of these more mainstream peaceful groups and to try to address these big AI concerns as it becomes more meshed in all of our lives.

BERMAN: It's a dangerous trend. I was speaking to Andrew McCabe, former deputy FBI director, and he says he thinks the FBI really needs to start, if they haven't already, following this very, very closely because it is something that could get worse.

DUFFY: Absolutely.

BERMAN: Clare Duffy, thank you so much for that -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you, Don -- John. Good grief.

On our radar this morning a close call in Charlotte after an American Airlines pilot avoided hitting a truck or maybe two there. A security camera capturing the plane slowly taxiing away from the terminals as a line of vehicles approached. The plane then jerked to a stop just as they passed by.

Here is what the pilot said in a statement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMERICAN AIRLINES PILOT: That white-black truck -- they just went right in front of us and we nearly hit them. I had to -- I had to -- I had to slam on the brakes. We had our taxi light on and we'd started moving. They need to be -- someone's got to be notified right away. That was really bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Yikes. No one was hurt. The FAA says the incident happened at an area of the airport that air traffic control doesn't manage, but the agency is still investigating.

All right, this is chase you don't see every day. A suspected purse snatcher in New York ran straight into a mounted officer and some serious horsepower.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POLICE OFFICER: Stop! Police! Stop! Stop! Stop running! Stop running! Stop running!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: The horse was on the case. The suspect stole a purse and ran off, according to police. Officers and his horse Kelly chased the suspect down with help from a witness. They recovered the purse and took the suspect into custody.

All right, a Chinese national is in jail after getting caught trying to smuggle live ants in his luggage. The man was arrested at Nairobi, Kenya's main airport. Authorities say he had more than 2,200 live garden ants individually packaged. They say he didn't have a permit for that. I didn't know you could get one.

All right, the man was also fined $7,700. Experts say ants have become valuable due to the popularity of ant farms where enthusiasts study the insects.

All right, here's a wild one. In Southern California three people have now been convicted in a bizarre insurance scam that involved dressing up in bear suits and wrecking luxury cars. Investigators say the group staged fake bear attacks on high-end vehicles, recorded video to sell the story, and then filed insurance claims. But the scheme fell apart after experts spotted the obvious. The bear was actually a person in a costume.

Prosecutors say the scam cost insurers more than 140,000 bucks. The defendants will now serve jail time and have to repay the money -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Can we go back to the ants? Like --

SIDNER: That's a thing -- bringing individual ants? I mean, it's like they had their own little hotel and he's bringing them along with him.

BOLDUAN: Can I just say, like --

SIDNER: If they get out it's a problem.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, yeah.

SIDNER: It's a problem.

BOLDUAN: Yikes. OK, here you go for a Friday.

And then there's this. One of President Trump's pet projects, his triumphal arch, as he talks about it, looks like it's getting the green light despite backlash from the public. The Commission of Fine Arts that the president had stacked with his friends and loyalists has decided to move ahead with the process.

CNN's Tom Foreman has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Wasteful, gawdy, disruptive. Against a torrent of public complaints the Trump administration is plowing ahead with plans for a massive triumphal arch across the river from the Lincoln Memorial. With no less than the interior secretary telling the U.S. Fine Arts Commission the project --

DOUG BURGUM, SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR: -- will strengthen the city's symbolic architectural vocabulary. It will enhance the city's triumphal urban design.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's going to be really beautiful. I think it's going to be fantastic.

FOREMAN (voiceover): The president began talking up what some are calling the Arc de Trump last year and the size has now quadrupled to a towering 250 feet, taller than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and just a bit shorter than the U.S. Capitol.

PHILIP KENNICOTT, CULTURAL CRITIC, THE WASHINGTON POST: This is gargantuan and it's going to fundamentally change the skyline.

FOREMAN (voiceover): What's more, Washington Post cultural critic Philip Kennicott asks --

KENNICOTT: Why a triumphal arch? When did America celebrate triumphs? We honor sacrifice, we honor service, and when war is over, we get back to peace. He just doesn't understand the history and the symbolism of this city.

FOREMAN (voiceover): Of course, it fits neatly into Trump's ambitious effort to remake the nation's capital in his own style, with his name, his image, and classical themes.

Sarah E. Bond is an associate professor of ancient history.

SARAH E. BOND, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ANCIENT HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF IOWA: But I think he believes that this is going to be part of his legacy.