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Trump Insists Iran Going to Negotiate Ahead of Potential Talks; Source Says, Iranians Don't Appreciate Trump Negotiating Via Social Media; Now, Polls Open in Virginia Redistricting Referendum. Aired 7- 7:30a ET

Aired April 21, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Vice President J.D. Vance expected to head back to Pakistan this morning with Iran keeping everyone guessing still if they'll show up for a second round of talks. We have new reporting coming in.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And new video from a deadly attack at one of Mexico's most famous landmarks, the historic pyramids outside Mexico City. There are new questions this morning about security at tourist attractions after a gunman opened fire on crowds.

And after decades of warnings about the dangers of nicotine, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and right-wing influencers are now claiming it's a wonder drug that could help your health. What are doctors and scientists saying this morning?

John's out today. I'm Sara Sidner with Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: So, we are standing by this morning for Vice President J.D. Vance to depart Washington. He's expected to once again lead the U.S. delegation to Pakistan for a second round of talks with Iran. Will the Iranians show up? That remains a question. They say there are currently no plans to reengage with the U.S., but the reporting has been and is all over the place on this right now.

It seems clear that the Iranians are happy to keep the Trump administration and everyone else guessing as they race towards the expiration of this ceasefire the next 24-ish hours -- that makes this next 24-ish hours critical.

According to President Trump, the ceasefire with Iran expires tomorrow evening Eastern Time, and he says it's highly unlikely that he will extend it if no deal is reached. He's also saying this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, they're going to negotiate, and if they don't, they're going to see problems like they've never seen before. And they're going to negotiate and hopefully they'll make a fair deal and they'll build their country back up. But they will not have -- when they do it, they will not have a nuclear weapon. They will have no access to, no chance of having a nuclear weapon, and we can't allow that to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: There's new CNN reporting coming in also that some Trump officials are saying privately, clearly not saying it publicly, though, that the president's public comments throughout about Iran have been detrimental to talks. We are expecting to hear more from the president this morning.

CNN's Alayna Treene is live at the White House for us to start us off this morning. Alayna, what are you hearing about this and where the talks are heading if they're happening at all?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, let me start with the state of play, Kate, because I think the last 24 hours or so, and even further than that, over the weekend, things have been very much unclear. You know, they were building toward this momentum last week toward the weekend. We heard many Trump officials, even publicly, they were saying this privately too, I know, arguing that they believed a deal could be finalized as soon as the weekend. Clearly, that didn't happen and it really threw the state of play on these talks into question.

But for now the plan, and this is continues, I just spoke with some of the officials this morning, is that the vice president, J.D. Vance, is expected to depart this morning for Islamabad. That includes Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and they're hoping that, you know, the Iranian delegation will be there, that they'll be able to sit down and hash out these final gaps that exists between Washington and Tehran.

And, really, the goal is to see, even we're told at a minimum to try and get some sort of framework, a memorandum of understanding, even if it isn't a fully fleshed out deal that could kind of pave the way for this war to be ended, because, just to give you the sense of the position of this White House, they want diplomacy to prevail. They do not want this war to continue, even as we know that there are a lot of sticking points that still remain here.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. And -- but talk to me more about this new reporting that you all are picking up about what is being said privately now amongst some Trump officials about the impact that the president's public comments, social media posts, and more are having on the state of these talks.

TREENE: Yes. Look, so I spoke with a number of different people, you know, in the White House, Trump officials, allies of the president, who are privately noting that some of the posts that he is making, particularly, we saw this play out on Friday when the Pakistanian intermediaries were in Tehran negotiating with Iranian officials, really trying to bring an agreement to the finish line.

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While that was happening, the Pakistanis were updating the president's team and President Trump, and he was then posting throughout the day on Friday, and we've obviously seen him continue this over the weekend, yesterday, a lot of things that he was claiming, you know, this idea that the Iranians were going to give up some of the most crucial U.S. demands, including allowing them to retrieve their enriched uranium, having an indefinite was one of his comments, indefinite suspension of their enrichment of uranium as well. Those were things that hadn't been finalized.

And this all comes, of course, as the Iranians have this deep distrust of the U.S. And so these officials are telling me privately, yes, these comments are detrimental to the talks and have really kind of thrown some of the progress off kilter.

So, we have to see how that's going to continue. Of course, they're really trying to push toward this deal, Kate, but the president has been, in some of the conversations I'm having, they argue, getting in the way of what they think could have been quicker progress here.

BOLDUAN: And we could hear more from the president this morning. So, let us see.

It's good to see you, Alayna. Thank you so much for starting us off. Sara?

SIDNER: All right, thank you, Kate.

Let's get right to CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson, who's live in Islamabad for us. What are you hearing here as far as how Iran sees this? Because the last I heard, Iran wasn't interested in taking part in these talks. Anything changed?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Publicly, no, nothing has changed. They haven't said definitively that they're coming. I think the expectation and hope in this city for the mediators here, the Pakistani officials involved, I think the expectation is growing, that this really is going to happen, but we're not hearing anything publicly.

Look, we are hearing things from Iranian officials, both the Iranian president and their main interlocutor, the speaker of parliament, who led the negotiations team last week, said, you know, lack of trust in the United States they just want us to surrender and their lead negotiator said, you know, we are not going to come and negotiate under threat.

And I think this really gets to the point that you're just making there, that President Trump's language, his demeanor, has really been counterproductive, all those sort of confidence-building measures, last week, the Lebanon ceasefire, the Iranian saying, we'll open the Strait of Hormuz, kind of fell by the wayside. It wasn't the path, the sort of normal diplomatic path of buildup, rebuild, trust, confidence- building measures, sequencing, kind of fell by the wayside. But I think that idea that both sides want to get a deal here, I think that rings true in Iran. So, what else do you do when you're trying to understand what the Iranians really mean? They're clearly speaking to their public. They're clearly angry, but it also seems they want a deal. So, what do we just hear from President Trump there? This seems to fit with something that we're hearing from the Iranians. President Trump said in that quote we just heard, you know, we hope they'll be able to build back up their country.

What is one of the lines we've heard overnight from the Iranians? Under international law, we will be recompensed for the damage to our energy infrastructure and other infrastructure in the country. So, the Iranians are signaling to their people here that if they get into the talks, then there'll be some kind of financial recompense.

I don't think you're going to find either side, or at least certainly President Trump, I don't think, will be trumpeting how much money and support he might give to Iran and where this -- where all these terms might be buried in any kind of memorandum of understanding or whatever it is. But that language coming from the Iranians, which appears to fit into a degree with what President Trump is now saying, I think, shows us that we really are on the glide path for the Iranian delegation to arrive.

It's not locked in. Much could go on before then, but the assumption here right now is it's going to happen.

SIDNER: All right. Nic Robertson, thank you there, reporting live for us from Islamabad, Pakistan.

Ahead, right now, polls are open in a special election that may ultimately shift the balance of power in the House, the redistricting battle that could set the stage for a major midterm fight.

And a deadly attack at one of Mexico's most popular tourist destinations, what investigators say happened when someone opened fire on the grounds of tourists at an ancient pyramid site.

And a tiger escapes at a circus and leaps into the crowd. That video and what happened next, ahead.

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BOLDUAN: So, right now, polls are open in Virginia, on the ballot in the special election, whether or not to redraw the state's Congressional map. This Democratic-led plan would dramatically reshape the state's Congressional makeup, potentially giving Democrats more seats, maybe even ten of the commonwealth's 11 Congressional seats.

This is the latest battle and what we have all been tracking that's become truly a redistricting war, coast to coast, one that really picked up last year with Texas and the Republican effort there to try to gain seats and gain advantage.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is in Manassas, Virginia, this morning. How are things looking? What is the expectation from this?

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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, voters here in the Commonwealth of Virginia are set to decide whether they will redraw the state's Congressional maps, something that could have major national implications. This could potentially give Democrats an additional four seats in the U.S. House, a critical step as they are trying to win back control of the House in November's midterm elections.

Now, voters here in the commonwealth will be voting on whether to amend the state's Constitution to allow the Democratic-controlled state assembly to temporarily redraw these Congressional maps. It could produce these seats that could favor Democrats in 10 of 11 districts. And if the referendum does not pass today, that means that the current maps would stay in effect.

So, this is just the latest chapter in this nationwide redistricting war that was set off by Republicans and President Donald Trump in the State of Texas. We saw redistricting efforts in California as well following that and in other states along the way. But Virginia voters will soon make their voices heard here in the commonwealth.

Now, President Donald Trump tried to rally opponents of this measure in a tele-rally last night, calling this a Democratic power grab. But Democrats in the states say they simply are responding to a war that Republicans started. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DELORES MCQUINN (D), VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES: We didn't start this fight, but I'm saying to Virginians, we need to finish it. And by doing -- going to the polling voting, yes, we understand that we can have some ball in this game and help to level the playing field.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, let's take a look at what these new proposed maps will look like. The heavily Democratic areas in Northern Virginia would essentially be carved into five separate districts with some of those pin-wheeling out into more conservative and rural areas.

One of the most talked about districts is actually where we are right now, the proposed Seventh Congressional District in Virginia. It has been dubbed the lobster. And where we are located right now, it's kind of in the tail of that lobster. Just behind me a mile in that direction, there was another Congressional district, the 11th Congressional District, and just in front of me at about two miles away, there is the proposed First Congressional District.

What this does is it goes from those D.C. suburbs all the way out to conservative rural areas, something that many opponents of this redistricting effort have tried to highlight.

But, certainly, this is expected to be a very close watch tonight. The House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, yesterday told voters that he thinks it's going to be incredibly close as Virginia is considered a purple state. But soon, voters will make their voices heard about whether they do and want to -- in fact, want to move forward with these new Congressional maps.

BOLDUAN: And everyone who doesn't follow this closely now getting a window into how strangely some Congressional districts really are drawn in states across the country. That one really does look like a lobster. I will add my endorsement of that should be the animal it is described as.

It's good to see, Arlette. Thank you so much. We're going to be tracking that all throughout the day.

Coming up for us, a terrifying scene at a very popular tourist destination, new details about the victims who are from all over the world, including the United States.

And a stolen box truck leads police on a chase in Georgia, and it ends in a major crash. We have an update on this.

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SIDNER: The NBA playoffs series just got a whole lot more interesting or potentially depressing, depending on which team you're going for. The Hawks storm back in game two and even the series after a huge fourth quarter comeback over the Knick, it's now even, 1-1.

Here is CNN's Andy Scholes. I'm glad I wasn't there for this one.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, they've been good if you're a Hawks fan. But the Knicks fans, they now have a new villain to cheer against. His name is C.J. McCollum. He led the Hawks on that fourth quarter of comeback, leaving all the fans in MSG just really stunned at what they just saw.

So, the Knicks were up by 12, entering the fourth. They were 40-1 in their playoff history with that kind of lead. That one loss was the Reggie Miller game back in 1994. So, Knicks fans are probably going to remember this one too. C.J. scored six straight points for the hawks late in the fourth. This last bucket gave him the lead with 33 seconds left.

Jalen Brunson hit this clutch three here though to cut it to one with eight seconds left. C.J. was then fouled, missed both free throws. The Knicks, no timeouts rushed down the floor, but Mikal Bridges shot the buzzer, no good. So, the Hawks win, 107-106 to even this series, and here was C.J. afterwards on if he is a villain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

C.J. MCCOLLUM, ATLANTA HAWKS GUARD: I am no villain. I'm a nice guy with two kids and a wife. I think it's admiration, great, passionate fans in a really hostile environment. It's fun. It's basketball. It's the playoffs. And if anything, I think it's a sign of respect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right. Timberwolves also had a great comeback last night in Denver. They went out by 19, but came all the way back, and then Donte DiVincenzo, a dagger three with a minute to go.

Things then got a little chippy between Anthony Edwards and Nikola Jokic near the end and had 30 in this one. Jokic just 24 points, he was 1-8 with Rudy Gobert guarding him. in Timberwolves, they even the series with a 119-114 win.

The Stanley Cup playoffs saw something super rare last night. So, the Hurricanes, they were awarded a penalty shot after a foul by Warren Foegele in overtime.

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It was just the fifth O.T. penalty in hockey history. But Jordan Martinook here, he fails to convert it and teams are actually over five on those overtime penalty shots. But Martinook redeemed himself in double OT with this winner here. The Canes, They take a 2-0 lead in that series with 3-2 win.

All right, finally in baseball, a goose was loose at Wrigley Field yesterday. This guy here, he was moving in to play a little shortstop for the Phillies. But when Michael Bush rips this single right there over the shortstop's head, this guy decided baseball was not it for him, I guess, Sara. He took off.

I love the fans though, all cheering for him as he was flying out of Wrigley Field. Probably the right call because, you know, the infield not a safe space for birds. We've seen it go wrong, like Brandon Johnson, for example.

SIDNER: Listen, that Canadian goose was like, I like this, like they're just cheering me on, although no one wants to get hit by a baseball. I know anyone who's ever played, that hurts.

But I do want to go back just quickly to the Knicks game because, you know, bitter. I got to be there on the floor. It was insane. And two things, one, did you know that C.J. McCollum has a whole winery and like creates wine? That's A, but he's very proud of it. And, two, that Jalen Brunson has the best shoes in the league. He has these like pink shoes with hearts on them, just adorable. So, I would just like to say neither one of them are villains. But if you are a Knicks fan, they're going to go for you. They're going to come for you if you come into their house and try to take it away from them.

SCHOLES: There is nothing quite like the energy of a playoff crowd at Madison Square Garden, I'll tell you.

SIDNER: Not at all. Fantastic.

All right, thank you so much. Good to see you, Andy.

Ahead, a new era at Apple. What we know about the man who will replace Tim Cook as CEO.

And Lego and pasta, police arrests a guy for returning Lego boxes filled with dried noodles. I don't know where they come up with that.

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