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Iran Says It Seized Two Ships in the Strait of Hormuz; Virginia Voters Approve Redistricting Referendum; Trump Signs Order to Expand Research on Psychedelic Drug Ibogaine. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired April 22, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

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TIM DILLON, COMEDIAN: ... Things like this, stuff like that happens.

TUCKER CARLSON, RIGHT WING COMMENTATOR: Joe, thanks a lot for joining us.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Butler conspiracy theories really started to pick up in the MAGA world after Joe Kent appeared on the Tucker Carlson Show last month. Kent was a high-ranking intelligence official who resigned in protest over the Iran war.

JOE KENT, FORMER TRUMP INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL: I mean, we still don't know what happened in Butler. We don't know what happened with Charlie Kirk. And by no means am I saying like, you know, the Israelis did this or any of that.

But I'm saying there's a lot of unanswered questions there.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Trisha Hope, who is a Trump delegate at the RNC in 2024, has been vocal online about her doubts, posting, "Since the attempt on his life, Trump has shown no interest in investigating what really happened. He never mentions it. It's as if it never happened, except when he tells us he took a bullet for us."

Marjorie Taylor Greene has shared Trisha's post, and she added over the weekend, "I'm not calling the Butler assassination a hoax, but there are a lot of questions that deserve public answers."

CARLSON: The far more significant story involves the government, the DOJ, and the FBI, which have hidden from the public what they know about Thomas Crooks.

O'SULLIVAN: Donie O'Sullivan, CNN, New York.

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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the breaking news this morning. Iran now says it has seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz. And what does this now mean for the ceasefire that President Trump just extended? And how will that affect all of what's about to happen? Plus, the fast track for psychedelic medicine. President Trump is now

ordering the FDA to prioritize the review process on some treatments. What you need to know.

And in Chicago, the hunt is on for thieves who smashed into a store and made off with $100,000 worth of Pokemon cards.

John is out today. I'm Kate Bolduan with Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we have developing news this morning. The new escalation in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Revolutionary Guard says it has seized two ships in that critical oil shipping route.

And Iran's state media saying a third vessel is now, quote, disabled off the country's coast. All of this just hours after President Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran indefinitely. We're also getting these brand new images from inside Iran.

State media says this is a ballistic missile being paraded through Tehran during a pro-regime rally. As you may recall, the ceasefire was supposed to expire tonight. But President Trump extended it after saying repeatedly that he wouldn't do that.

He blamed the, quote, seriously fractured government of Iran and says the U.S. is now awaiting a unified proposal from whoever is in charge there. Iranian officials responded by saying the extension means nothing and calling it a ploy to buy time for a surprise strike.

Joining me now, CNN military analyst, retired Colonel Cedric Leighton, and CNN national security analyst Beth Sanner.

Let's talk about some of the language that is being used here because you have Donald Trump saying this has been hard because of a seriously fractured government. And it is because so many of the leadership has been killed in strikes in Iran. What do you make of what they do now?

Because this is something that could have been predicted.

BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So it's really hard to know what we do now. I think that, you know, the issue is not really the fragmentation in Iran. It is the lack of a final arbiter.

There's always been divisions in Iran. And I think we kind of look at this in the wrong way. The problem is that through these decapitation campaigns and the fact that Mojtaba is seriously injured, there isn't a final decider.

So there's a lot going on. And it's really difficult to know where we're going to go forward. But clearly Iran is organized enough to tell us that they have some cards to play.

And they are trying to show you this very point that they made in that clip that we're the losers and they are still in the game. SIDNER: Yes, showing off that ballistic missile, for example. And now you have these two ships that they have seized off the coast of Iran. Colonel, give us some sense of what the rules of war here are and what you make of this latest move by Iran, seizing these ships after the United States seized one of theirs, I think, in the Sea of Oman.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, this is a very interesting development, Sara, because what we're seeing is, as far as the rules of war are concerned, there's definitely an escalation here now. A country can seize ships if it believes that there is, you know, some criminal activity going on or there's a threat to their national security or their national sovereignty.

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So that's going to be Iran's point of view. And in this particular case, what you're seeing is you've got these ships, and now they are basically a bargaining chip for the Iranians. They're coming into these potential talks with ships in their possession.

They have a third one, as you mentioned, that's disabled, that could also be seized. So you have a situation where they're going to come in and they're going to take as much advantage as they possibly can of the different ships that are out there. And any ship that's trying to run their blockade, they're going to try to take it over, because they are saying that they can control the Strait of Hormuz and extract tolls and things like that.

So that's going to be a significant thing.

SIDNER: Look, Beth, when you're looking at this scenario, there was a report out by The Wall Street Journal, and they basically said the Iranians take Trump for a sucker. How many times do they expect him to play this game before they reopen the Strait of Hormuz in their opinion section? Of course, the president responded with a long rant, angry about that.

But is that what's happening here? Or is it just this disjointed situation where you don't have, as you said, the final arbiter in all of this?

SANNER: Well, I think that, you know, while they don't have the final arbiter, we do know that the IRGC is ascendant, right? We do know, and we also know, that even before the war, that the IRGC had more power in that state than any other institution. So that is happening right now.

And I think that, you know, I wouldn't term it in the way that The Wall Street Journal did, but clearly the Iranians are reading us. They called our BOF, and they said, we're not showing up. You know, we never said we were going to show up.

We're not showing up. And what did President Trump do? He said, we're going to bomb there, we're going to resume bombing, and now we didn't. And so by that, while I think this was absolutely the right thing to do, because resuming bombing wasn't going to get us closer to a negotiated solution, which is the only way we can get out of this, but at the same time, the Iranians take this as us, you know, chickening out.

SIDNER: I want to ask you, Colonel Leighton, there's been a lot of talk from the Trump administration about you demolishing Iran's capabilities militarily. It's missiles, it's talked about. But we're seeing them parade this ballistic missile, you know, in the streets of Tehran.

What do you make of that vision there and what they're trying to say militarily here?

LEIGHTON: Yes, so by parading that missile, Sara, what they're doing is they're saying, we've got stuff. And, you know, as Beth was mentioning, they still have cards. And that ballistic missile, you know, of a type that, you know, we haven't quite assessed yet, is, you know, a potential, a potential weapon that they can use.

And they can use it potentially for long range activities. You know, are they going to go after Israel again? Are they going to go after U.S. targets in the Middle East or beyond? Are they going to go after European targets? All those things are possible. And what the Iranians are saying with this is that they have demonstrated capabilities.

And it is kind of in line with what the director of the DIA mentioned in his testimony recently, which was that about half of Iran's launching capabilities, missile launch capabilities and the actual missiles themselves are still in existence. So that is something that where you talk about destruction, that hasn't directly happened. It has happened in a lot of, you know, when it comes to a large portion of their arsenal.

But it has not happened in terms of the totality of that arsenal. So they still have something that they can play with here.

SIDNER: Yes, I think in the end, Beth, you know this well. If they're not talking, there's no chance at a resolution and peace in this scenario. And right now, there's not a major talk happening, although behind the scenes.

SANNER: Probably behind the scenes.

SIDNER: Almost always.

SANNER: Yes.

SIDNER: Beth Sander, thank you so much. And to you, retired Colonel Cedric Leighton, appreciate you guys -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: The changing map. Virginia gives Democrats a big win. What this map battle now means in the long-term political war over who will control the House come the midterms. And a criminal investigation now into open AI. Accusations that ChatGPT may have influenced the accused gunman in last year's tragic Florida State shooting.

And a courteous thief, perhaps, if that exists. The suspect who chatted politely with the clerk in the midst of a robbery.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want these too?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I'm good. Thanks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, thank you, have a good night.

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BOLDUAN: All right, breaking overnight. CNN projects a big win for Democrats in Virginia over this whole redistricting battle.

Voters there approving a new congressional map favoring Democrats. Potentially allowing them to pick up as many as four more House seats in the midterm elections. Which would be a new leg up in ten of Virginia's eleven districts. Right now, they control six.

This is the latest battle, as we've been talking about, in that coast- to-coast redistricting war that really kicked into overdrive last year.

Let's go to CNN's Jeff Zeleny. He's been watching this very, very closely. Jeff, what do you see in the results? And how much does this result really change the landscape?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kate, good morning. I mean, what we see in the results is that for Democrats at least, President Trump is still the biggest motivating factor of all.

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As I was driving around Virginia for the last several weeks talking to voters in this campaign, one message resonated very clearly. That was stop the MAGA power grab.

That was the Democratic message near the end of this campaign, to effectively make this about the Trump administration, make it about the Trump administration's policies.

The earlier conversation about the gerrymandering war was lost on some voters but making it about the president certainly was more effective. But it's also clear that Virginia was the latest front -- excuse me, was the latest front of this gerrymandering war, but it's also different from some of the other states that have just been doing this by legislative action alone. And that's what Hakeem Jeffries told our Laura Coates last night, why this was different because voters decided in Virginia.

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REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Unlike what Republicans did in Texas, in Missouri and in North Carolina, where their state legislative bodies in the dead of night redrew those congressional maps and jammed them down the throats of the people of those three great states. Here in Virginia, the question was put to the people of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The map was in front of them and they were empowered to make the decision yes or no.

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ZELENY: So it certainly was not an overwhelming victory, but about three points was enough for Democrats to seize what could be an overwhelming mathematical response or it's only four new seats. But Kate, in this very narrow majority with the midterm election control on the line here, certainly important and a huge win for Democrats. There's no doubt about it.

BOLDUAN: No doubt about it. But wait, there's more. This goes into the category of because there is still more states that could act.

The balance could once again shift. I mean, what do you see here?

ZELENY: Look, there is one more state that we are keeping our eye on closely, that is Florida. Remember when elections used to be Florida, Florida, Florida? Obviously, Florida recently has trended more a Republican, and that is why the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, has a decision to make next week when he calls lawmakers back for a potential special session in Tallahassee.

Is Florida going to redraw some of their the congressional maps as well? But there are limitations because of the state constitution to have aggressive gerrymandering. There's likely not a time for there to be a referendum.

So how much Florida is going to redraw it is going to be something to keep an eye on. They could gain a couple seats, maybe as many as three seats or so. And there's also the potential of legal action here about the Virginia result.

And the Supreme Court has yet to rule on a voting rights case as well. So there are other potential things coming down the pike here. But all eyes are on Florida next week for the potential list.

And Kate, the reason this is a big deal when you and I were in civics classes learning about this every decade when the census is done, congressional lines were redrawn. That is not how this is done now, because President Trump last year obviously kicked off a whole new normal in Texas -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: And that, I think, is now going to be the question. Is this just the new normal? And what does this indicate? And I'll add, and how bad does this lead to things going forward? It's good to see you, buddy. Thank you so much.

And for us, psychedelic drugs are getting the fast track from the White House. There's new interest in how President Trump is prioritizing research on some of these drugs that have typically been on more of the fringe when you're talking about -- and when it comes to medicine. But we've got new details on this.

And also another close call at one of the country's largest airports. What we're learning now about what happened at JFK. We'll be right back.

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SIDNER: President Trump just signed an executive order to fast track research into psychedelic drugs. It's aimed at making them more easily available as a treatment option for certain mental health conditions like depression. The order included psychedelics as a group, but only one specific drug was mentioned by name.

Let's bring in CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard with more on all of this. Exactly what is the drug that we're referring to?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Sara, the drug we're talking about here is called ibogaine. And what it is, it's a psychedelic compound that's extracted from the iboga plant in Central Africa. And what this drug does, like you mentioned, some military veterans actually have been advocating for its use to help with PTSD symptoms.

And it is used in some other countries to help with opioid withdrawal symptoms. But here in the United States, it is illegal. It's currently a schedule one controlled substance.

But it's getting some renewed attention right now. And actually, on Monday night, FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary told our colleague Kaitlan Collins that if this drug does get reviewed and if it does down the line potentially become FDA approved, then the FDA and the DEA have a system through which it could be rescheduled. And right now, the Trump administration is waiting to receive clinical trial data to review some psychedelics, including ibogaine.

If the FDA does receive clinical trial data, here's what happens next. Have a listen.

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DR. MARTY MAKARY, FDA COMMISSIONER: Once we have them in-house, we'll be issuing national priority vouchers for a review within one to two months instead of the standard one-year time frame. And that's because this is a national priority.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOWARD: Sara, Dr. Makary there said this is a national priority because he also mentioned that each year an estimated about 6,000 veterans sadly die by suicide.

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So finding more potential treatment options is important right now. And Trump's recent executive order provides a fast track pathway for psychedelics like ibogaine to potentially apply for FDA approval. And this kind of puts them on a fast track to doing so, Sara.

SIDNER: I do want to ask about the risks versus benefits of ibogaine and what you've learned, what the research is there.

HOWARD: That's right. There is a need to get more data looking at the risks versus benefits. But what we know so far, the risks it can come with are it can be associated with abnormal heart rate or abnormal heart rhythms.

It can be associated with vomiting as a side effect. And there have been some deaths reported associated with using ibogaine. Again, Sara, many military veterans are advocating for more research in this space.

And so we can hopefully learn more about the risks versus benefits as these studies continue.

SIDNER: Yes, it's interesting because back in the 70s, there were studies into psychedelics. It was all stopped by administrations, right, who were like the war on drugs. And so now here we are back again.

But it's also interesting that Joe Rogan had a big part in all of this, one of the people that helped Donald Trump get elected. So we'll have to wait and see because the science will be quite fascinating to see if some of these drugs can do something to help people going through really difficult mental issues. Appreciate it, Jacqueline Howard. Really interesting.

All right, up ahead, Louisiana man now facing federal charges for lying to authorities about the gun used in this past weekend's Shreveport mass shooting that took the lives of eight children. The latest we're learning this morning.

And new videos showing the moments two thieves smashed into a card shop before running off with $100,000 worth of goods.

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