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Team to Go to Pakistan for Iran Talks; Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) is Interviewed about Iran; New Details in Louisiana Shooting; D4vd Held Without Bail. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired April 20, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Facing big questions about whether it enables insider trading, whether it's actually good for society to allow people to bet on everything, especially things like elections and war.

So, I spoke with FanDuel's president, Christian Genetski, on the "Terms of Service" podcast, and he told me the company's focus really is sports. And specifically with FanDuel Predicts, reaching customers in states where its traditional sportsbook app is not yet legally available.

Now, this is interesting, right? You bring up this point that, aren't you just placing wagers on sports either way? But this is possible because prediction markets are regulated differently than traditional sports betting apps. They are regulated federally. They're considered trading products rather than gambling products. Whereas traditional online sports betting is regulated on a state-by-state basis.

And so, FanDuel Predicts is now available in all 50 states. It's allowing trades on sports in 16 of those states. Genetski told me the company won't allow trading on sports on its prediction markets app in states where the traditional sports book is available.

And he also told me that they're not going to allow some of those more controversial gambling opportunities or trading opportunities. Take a listen to what he told me on that point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIAN GENETSKI, PRESIDENT, FANDUEL: We would never offer anything to do with death, regime change, war. That -- that's not -- that's not the FanDuel business that we would ever engage in. We're partnered with CME, you know, a venerable institution -- financial institution for the offering of our FanDuel Predicts. They're not interested in offering those kinds of markets. We are definitely sports focused. FanDuel is a sports brand and a sports company. And so, for us, it's meeting our customers, you know, where they are in the states particularly that don't have access to our sports book.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And that is one of the things that we will see what the states do because, in some cases, you can see that this might end up in court.

DUFFY: Yes, I think this will end up being a sort of regulatory fight. But we'll see.

SIDNER: Well, see.

Clare Duffy, thank you so much. It was great.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Iran now says they have no plans to take part in peace talks with the United States as of now, as the ceasefire is set to expire tomorrow and after the United States carries out its first seizure of an Iranian flag ship since the blockade set in. Tehran is now vowing to retaliate.

Plus, we're keeping a close watch on a tsunami advisory after a powerful earthquake strikes the coast of Japan.

And Christopher "Kid" Reid from the iconic duo Kid 'n Play, talking about his heart transplant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER "KID" REID: It makes you wonder, like, who's heart is this? What was that person like? You know, were they a good person? Were they a bad person?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: His fantastic conversation with a very good person, Sara Sidner, coming up later this hour.

I'm Kate Bolduan, with Sara Sidner -- she says, nah -- and John Berman. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SIDNER: Are the talks on or not? That's the big question this morning after a significant escalation at sea between the United States and Iran. U.S. Central Command releasing a dramatic video of Marines from the USS Tripoli boarding an Iranian flagged ship in the Gulf of Oman. CENTCOM also posting video of U.S. forces warning those on the Iranian ship to vacate the engine room before multiple blasts are fired.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Motor vessel Touska, motor vessel Touska, vacate your engine room, vacate your engine room. We're prepared to subject you to disabling fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Now, Iran, in response, says that it's going to have, quote, "necessary action" against the United States. Meanwhile, the Strait of Hormuz, that critical oil shipping route, is virtually empty for the third day in a row.

Vice President J.D. Vance expected to lead a U.S. delegation to Pakistan today for talks. Security is being tightened in the capital, Islamabad, where the negotiations are supposed to happen. But Iran's foreign ministry insists there are no plans for more talks as of now.

CNN's Alayna Treene is live at the White House for us.

Do you have a sense of what the status of these talks are? Is J.D. Vance heading there? What's going on this morning?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there's been a kind of a lack of clarity, particularly after we saw that statement from the spokesperson for the Iranian foreign ministry, Sara, as you mentioned, saying that there are no plans for a next round of talks. From my conversations with White House officials, J.D. Vance, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, all of them still planning to arrive in Pakistan early this week for a second round of face-to-face negotiations.

[09:05:01]

But the timing of that is unclear at this point. Now, I will say, we did see, shortly after that announcement yesterday from the White House saying that this U.S. delegation was heading to Pakistan, really an Islamabad, security, hotels, all of the necessary preparations being made for their arrival. But the timing of that, again, still very much unclear.

Now, I will say, from everything we've heard from the Iranians, you know, and arguing essentially that they believe that they don't know if they want to move forward with these talks at this point in time. For the president, at least, he's really been oscillating between claims of threats against the Iranians should they not be able to reach some sort of diplomatic agreement here. And then also saying, you know, having these claims that there could be an imminent breakthrough in these talks.

And so, things are a little bit unclear as we head into this week with the state of this war. But I'd remind you, the ceasefire, the two-week ceasefire that they had announced about almost two weeks now to the day, that expires tomorrow. And so, there's also this bit of, I think, urgency in racing against the clock to see what they can have at least in agreement to a point where they believe they can either extend the deadline, push these negotiations and talks moving forward. But all of that unclear this morning.

SIDNER: Alayna Treene, thank you for your reporting there from the White House for us this morning, where things remain unclear, John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: With us now is Congressman Pat Ryan of New York, a Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.

Congressman, thanks so much for being with us.

So, the ceasefire, in theory, expires tomorrow. What do you think happens then?

REP. PAT RYAN (D-NY): Well, unclear is a very generous term for what is an absolute mess and a predictable mess. The fact that the president did not understand, and his team, that closing the Strait would be the obvious and immediate leverage point for the Iranians just shows how out of depth they were in initiating this war. And it validates the fact that there's a reason that we make these big decisions, not as a single individual, but by, with and through the American people, with debate in front of the Congress and in front of the public. And these are the exact questions that a lot of us, myself included, were raising and asking.

And so, again, the American people are paying the price now almost two months into this war at the gas pumps, on our farms with fertilizer prices, costs up everywhere. And the president cannot get out of this escalatory trap that he's put himself in.

BERMAN: We'll talk about gas prices in just a second.

You're talking about the closure of the Straits. The Iranian leverage. What about the U.S. leverage now, where they fired upon and apparently seized this cargo vessel? How much pressure do you think that does put on the Iranians who aren't able to make any money off of what they now cannot ship out of the gulf?

RYAN: Well, what we set up for is a lose-lose situation for the whole world. It's essentially a blockade of a blockade, which makes about as much sense as it sounds like it should. Everyone is seeing their costs go up and seeing the entire global economy affected again because there was not a plan to deal with this. So, while our U.S. military continues to be exceptional at tactical and operational execution, exceptional, that does not necessarily and really hasn't, in this war, translated to real political and strategic gain -- gains and aims. That continues to be the problem. And it is infuriating to those of us that, again, saw this coming, and those of us like myself, that were on the other end of another open-ended, ill-conceived war in Iraq 20 years ago.

BERMAN: So, let's talk about gas prices, because the president has said the impact on gas prices will be short term and just temporary. They were less under $3 a gallon before the war. Today, they are $4.04 a gallon, down a little bit, but still over $4. So, Jake Tapper had the secretary of energy, Christopher Wright, on and asked him when gas might get back down below $3 again. And he said, maybe, maybe not until 2027.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS WRIGHT, ENERGY SECRETARY: That could happen later this year. That might not happen till next year. But prices have likely peaked and they'll start going down. Certainly with a resolution of this conflict, you'll see prices go down.

I think we've managed it fantastically, though. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, Secretary Wright, on gas prices below $3, said that might not happen until next year. And just a few moments ago, President Trump did one of those phone interviews, this time with "The Hill." And he said if Secretary Wright and the $3 gas, "no, I think he's wrong on that. Totally wrong."

So, how would you assess the president's response and what the secretary said? Are you more where the secretary is or the president is?

RYAN: I'm where the reality is on the ground for my constituents who continue -- I had a -- I had a woman last weekend, I was at the gas station talking to folks. She said, straight up, I don't want to pay for this war. And she had a car full of kids and groceries.

[09:10:01]

And that is where the American people are.

So, the president can try to lie or spin or put lipstick on the pig here. The reality is, prices are up significantly. And I guess I give a sliver of credit to the secretary for being honest, that it is very hard to put this all back in a box and get prices down. And again, we're talking about gas prices rightly. I have a huge agriculture and farming community in my district. The fertilizer prices as we hit the spring and summer planting season are devastating. And as we talk to our farmers and agricultural community, they are very concerned about that, on top of all the impacts of these immigration raids. It's just hurting our entire food supply. We're going to see food prices go up, unfortunately, as well.

BERMAN: Congressman, you represent -- you're an Army veteran and you also represent the area where West Point is, the U.S. Military Academy. There is reportedly this feud, or maybe tension, between the secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, and the secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll. And some of it has to do with personalities reportedly. Some of it has to do with maybe the secretary firing generals that the secretary of the Army appreciates.

"The Wall Street Journal" has a quote today. "The unusually public nature of the spat, along with the firing of a highly respected general during a war, has triggered fresh criticism within the Pentagon and in some Trump circles of Hegseth's leadership. It has prompted questions about whether he allows personal vendettas to drive some decisions in a time of unprecedented military commitments around the world."

You speak to a lot of people in and out of the military. What are you hearing about this?

RYAN: That reporting is definitively correct and accurate. And again, a huge disservice to our troops, a huge disservice to General Randy George, the chief of staff of the Army, the senior most Army officer in the -- in the country pushed out with no justification or explanation in the middle of a war. And even Secretary of the Army Driscoll, to his credit, in testimony to Congress last week, said he's an exceptional leader. I know General George well. He is an exceptional patriot, has dedicated almost 40 years of his life to this country. And to see a total clown like Pete Hegseth pushing him out, and a lot of other exceptionally qualified officers, it puts our troops at risk. It puts the whole country at risk. And I hope, like we've seen with Bondi and like we've seen with Noem, the president finally realizes Hegseth needs to go.

BERMAN: Congressman Pat Ryan from New York, thank you for your time this morning.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: There are new images in this morning of the gunman that police say is responsible for the simply horrific mass shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana, over the weekend. Police say the suspect is Shamar Elkins. That he -- and say that he shot and killed eight children, including seven of his own children. He also shot two women, one of them his wife. Both of the women were critically wounded.

CNN's Isabel Rosales is in Shreveport on the ground for us this morning.

And what are you hearing from people there? And is there any update on the -- on the -- on the women who are in the hospital?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, this is an awful, awful crime. It is the nation's deadliest mass shooting in over two years. So, it's no surprise that this has been a shocking and stunning event for community members here in Shreveport.

This mass shooting spanned across three homes, including this gray home right behind me where eight children were shot and killed, seven of them were siblings.

And as the sun has come up, I've seen young ones running around with their backpacks rushing to get to school. All of them innocent of the atrocities that have gone on around here that those young children will no longer be able to go to school with them, their lives stolen from them.

Now, Shamar Elkins, we're told by Shreveport Police, first began his deadly rampage by shooting his wife, the mother of his children, then continued into this home and another home, where he continued that rampage before eventually attempting to carjack somebody, leading police on a chase across the neighboring parish were ultimately police shot and killed him.

Now those children, eight of them, they range in ages between three years old to 11 years old, all of them, again, siblings, except for one of them, which was a cousin. Two adult women were injured. One teenager was also wounded.

I want you to listen now to the mayor of Shreveport and the police chief, what they said about this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR TOM ARCENEAUX (R), SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA: This is a tragic situation. Maybe the worst tragic situation we've ever had in Shreveport.

CHIEF WAYNE SMITH, SHREVEPORT POLICE: I just don't know what to say. And my heart is just taken back. I want to let the community know that all of my resources are out here processing every piece of evidence at every scene. And at some time in the near future, we'll be able to give some more conclusive information about exactly what took place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:15:05]

ROSALES: And according to the coroner's office, these shootings marked the eighth through 15th homicide for Shreveport so far this year.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Oh, my goodness.

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

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, ahead, we're standing by for an announcement on whether singer D4vd will be charged in connection with the death of a teenager. Her body was found in his Tesla decomposed.

And it is one of the most prestigious marathons in the country. The 130th Boston Marathon has begun. We'll take you there.

And their golden grooves were heard at a club in Germany. This group of elder D.J.s proved that you're never too old to rock n roll, baby.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:20:27]

BOLDUAN: Later today, the L.A. District Attorney's Office is expected to announce whether they will move forward with criminal charges against the singer D4vd. He's 21 years old. His real name is David Anthony Burke. And he was arrested last week on Thursday in connection to the death of a 14-year-old girl, Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Authorities say that the young girl had been reported missing months and months ago, and then her dismembered body was discovered in the trunk of a Tesla registered to D4vd. That was September of 2025. D4vd and Celeste had a history together that was shared online, as you see there. They did a Twitch live stream together. Celeste was photographed backstage even at one of his shows during the months that she was reported missing.

D4vd's arrest now follows months of investigation. And in a statement from his attorneys, the singer denies he had anything to do with Celeste's murder and says he is innocent.

Joining me right now is former federal prosecutor Alyse Adamson with more on this.

It's good to see you.

So, the district attorney's office is expected likely to file charges. But what are you watching for right now? What would you -- would you -- what do you expect?

ALYSE ADAMSON, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Yes. Hi. Thanks so much for having me, Kate.

Yes, the question is whether or not charges will be filed. We know that he has been arrested. He's being held without bail and that the police have presented the case to the district attorney. So, we know there's at least probable cause.

However, there is a press conference set for 10 a.m., so I think it is likely to see charges filed. And I think it's likely to see homicide charges filed. So, the question here is really going to be, will D4vd be free pending trial? Because after those charges are filed, obviously, there's more procedural steps before he goes to trial and the state puts on the evidence to prove him guilty. So, will he be out on bail during this time or will he be -- continue to be held in jail pending trial?

BOLDUAN: I mean just since you consider all of the options of what could happen when this press conference begin, what happens if they don't file charges? I mean what would that mean after all of these months of investigation?

ADAMSON: Yes. I mean, it's also possible. I think it's more likely we'll see charges. But look, this is a tough case and it's a grisly case. They found the body in the Tesla back in September. That's seven months ago. So, we know that investigators have been taking this time to try to piece the evidence together to put on a case, because you only need probable cause. That's a lower evidentiary standard for an arrest, but you need to be able to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt to take it to trial. And that's what prosecutors are considering right now.

If we don't see charges filed today, I think it is unlikely that the D.A. will just drop the case. I think they're going to have to develop more evidence to strengthen it and bring subsequent charges. And they can, because he's only been arrested. He hasn't been indicted. They can bring a case if the evidence firms up.

BOLDUAN: When her body was found, she had already been missing for a year -- for more than a year, I believe. I mean what do you take from that? Or do you think -- what do you think took so long, if you consider it to be long for it -- to make an announcement like they could be making today after his arrest and also just what do you -- what does that say about the investigation?

ADAMSON: Yes. It says that this is a very complicated investigation because Hernandez went missing over a year, like a year and a half before her body was discovered. So, in the timeline of events, there's a question as to when the murder actually took place. And this is one of the questions that investigators have likely been wrestling with over the past seven months. She went missing in, I think, April of 2024. Her body was discovered September of 2025. So, the question is, when was she actually murdered in relation to when she was found? And then that's going to bear on whether or not they can prove this case against singer D4vd, because there are a lot of gaps in the timeline. And to your question, I think that does speak to the length of the investigation because there are just so many unknowns. She was missing for so long. And so, I think we can expect to see some of those details during the press conference today.

BOLDUAN: Yes, definitely something people will be listening for certainly.

It's good to see you. Thank you so much for the help.

John.

BERMAN: So, this morning, we're getting this new image of the moon. That is from one of the astronauts on Artemis II. The captain, Reid Wiseman. And for a second I thought it was like his thumb over the lens there, but that's the moon, I think, blocking the earth over there.

[09:25:02]

The first time we have seen this image. He's posting some of the stuff that he took along the way.

And we are just minutes away from the opening bell on Wall Street. Stock futures down a wee bit with the seizure of the Iranian flagged cargo ship. That also sent oil prices up overnight. We're going to check the numbers when the markets open in about five minutes and 11 seconds, ten, nine, eight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:03]

SIDNER: Breaking moments ago, President Trump, in a phone call with "The Hill," called his own energy secretary, Chris Wright,