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Navy Secretary Ousted In Middle Of U.S. Blockade Of Iranian Ports; OpenAI Briefs Federal Agencies On New Cybersecurity Product; Airlines Raising Ticket Prices Due To Rising Fuel Costs. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired April 23, 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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[07:31:20]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, some breaking news coming in this morning. We're just learning that the U.S. military now says that it has intercepted and boarded another tanker -- this one transporting oil from Iran. This -- and it was intercepted in the Indian Ocean. This happened overnight. We're getting some video in. We're going to show that to you.

Meantime, the U.S. is also we're learning sending a third aircraft carrier to the Middle East, meaning that the U.S. Navy could soon have dozens of -- dozens more combat aircraft in the region if a ceasefire ends or to also help enforce a blockade on Iranian ports, which is one more reason why people are scratching their heads over the abrupt departure of the U.S. Navy secretary. John Phelan pushed out by the defense secretary after reportedly there being months of tension between the two men. And also as the U.S. enforces this blockade we're talking about, Iran continues to be keeping shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz at a standstill.

Iran has just released video -- we'll show it to you here -- purportedly showing its soldiers seizing container ships in the strait. But experts who have watched this and take -- and analyzed it question if this video is staged or at least partially. Regardless, the White House says that so far from what it has seen it does not view these seizures by Iran as a violation of the ceasefire.

Joining me right now is retired Vice Admiral John "Fozzi" Miller, the former commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. It's good to see you. Thank you for being here.

Let me ask you first about the situation with the Navy secretary. The shakeup coming as the U.S. military is enforcing this massive blockade on Iranian ports. Also, after the Army chief of staff was asked to leave earlier this month.

If you kind of just add it all up and this continued shakeup we've seen amongst Pentagon leadership in this moment, what's the impact on soldiers and sailors?

VICE ADM. JOHN "FOZZIE" MILLER (RET.), FORMER COMMANDER, U.S. NAVAL FORCES CENTRAL COMMAND, PRESIDENT AND CEO, FOZZIE MILLER GROUP (via Webex by Cisco): Well, good morning. Great to be with you.

Typically, the service secretaries are not directly involved in operations. And so Sec. Phelan was involved in things like personnel matters, acquisition programs, and the long-term health of the Navy. So a lot of times what a service secretary is busy doing is something that you don't see come to fruition for several years and, you know, sometimes as long as a decade.

So having him leave during this time where the blockade is in place really doesn't have an impact on operations. That operational chain of command runs from the president to the Secretary of War down to Admiral Cooper and his naval component for the actual conduct of the blockade.

And so although it's interesting to note there -- and there's been a great deal of turnover of leadership in the Pentagon and really throughout the administration, I think what we know is different administrations operate differently and everybody needs to be comfortable operating within the framework that the president and his team has laid out.

And so I'm confident that our operations will continue and that the long-term health of the navy will continue to be in good hands with acting Secretary Cao.

BOLDUAN: Admiral, there's also new reporting that Pentagon briefers told lawmakers this week that the latest assessment has found that it could take up to six months to fully clear the strait -- that is after the war has come to a conclusion.

The Washington Post is reporting that lawmakers were told that Iran may have placed 20 or more mines in and around the strait.

What do you make of that?

[07:35:00]

MILLER: Well, whether Iranian activity in the strait is a technical violation of the ceasefire, what we've seen over the last 36 hours or so -- in particular, since the president said he was going to extend the ceasefire -- is activity from Iran in the strait that we don't want to see. They've said that they were going to open up the strait.

There have been reports for more than a month now that the Iranians potentially put mines in the water. They don't seem to be able to remember if they did and where they put them. The mines -- the strait is not a particularly great place to put mines but there will have to be some clearing done.

We do know that there are routes through the strait where ships could sail safely because they've been sailing safely, whether it's the northern route closer to the Iranian border or the southern route closer to the Omani border.

It will take time to get all of it cleared out and usable in a way that we're used to, but that doesn't mean we can't start having traffic go in and out really as soon as the Iranians agree to stop interfering with the traffic going through the strait. And they do that with small, fast boats that can have machines guns or rocket- propelled grenades, or explosive foreign projectiles, or they can place limpet mines on it.

So it's not terribly difficult for them to try to close the strait. What we need to do is get them to agree to not close the strait or to start interdicting the small vessels that they're using to hamper the traffic going through the strait.

BOLDUAN: All right.

Admiral, thank you so much for coming in. I appreciate your time -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, with us now is Congressman Seth Magaziner, a Democrat from Rhode Island. He is on the Homeland Security Committee.

Congressman, can I just get your quick reaction to the news overnight that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired the secretary of the navy -- basically forced him out? What does that tell you right now about the management structure inside this administration?

REP. SETH MAGAZINER (D-RI): Well, the person at the Pentagon who needs to be fired is Pete Hegseth. He is woefully underqualified, unprepared, and that is having a negative effect on our military readiness.

But taking a step back here the ultimate responsibility lies with President Trump. He broke his promise to the American people. He got us into an unnecessary war that is costing the American people money, costing innocent lives, and seems more interested in foreign military actions than in helping people here at home -- the American people who need help.

And so we need a course correction here. Pete Hegseth needs to go. We've got to get the adults back in charge over at the Pentagon, number one.

Number two, we need to renew our alliances with NATO, with our allies in the Middle East and in Africa. Trump needs to learn that instead of insulting our allies we need to work with them so that we have a united front against our adversaries, and then we need to redouble our diplomatic efforts as well.

Iran is notoriously difficult to negotiate with, and the administration needs to put experienced negotiators at the table, not the president's son-in-law. People who actually know what they're doing.

BERMAN: You mentioned the cost of this war, and you suggested that it's pulling focus from what the president you think should be focused on the, the economic situation here at home.

We had a chart, just in our last segment up, showing that the stock market -- basically, the S&P and Dow are -- have risen once again to more or less all-time highs.

What message do you think that sends? What is the market reacting to in regards to the economy? It seems to be OK.

MAGAZINER: Well, increasingly, the stock market, and particularly the S&P, is concentrated in just a small number of mostly tech companies that are doing well because Trump has exempted them from the tariffs for the most part.

But if you look at consumer confidence, which is at an all-time low, if you look at business investment, which with the exception of data centers, has dried up, it is clear that on the ground people are struggling. They're struggling with high costs. The cost of oil, the cost of groceries, the cost of health care. The uncertainty, you know, particularly around the war and the tariffs, is hurting business investment into the economy.

And, you know, I hear it every day, you know, from my constituents in Rhode Island. People are tired of high costs. They're tired of Trump breaking his promises.

BERMAN: Um-hum.

MAGAZINER: Again, he said he would keep us out of war. He started an unnecessary war that's raising the price of gas more than a dollar gallon and on its way higher. He said he was going to lower costs. Instead, he put costly tariffs into place, which are taxes on consumers.

[07:40:00]

So we need a course correction here. This is not rocket science. Congress needs to do its job, end the tariffs, and the administration needs to get serious about ending the war.

BERMAN: The New York Times, overnight, reported that the FBI briefly investigated a New York Times reporter who wrote a story that talked about FBI Director Kash Patel and his girlfriend and planes and whatnot. Now, that investigation did not lead to charges.

But this follows an article in The Atlantic which talked about Kash Patel and his behavior outside the office, behavior which Patel has denied. He's now suing The Atlantic.

But what questions do you have? What questions, if any, does all of this raise to you?

MAGAZINER: Well, my question from the beginning has been why did the Trump administration put someone -- President Trump put someone with zero law enforcement experience in charge of the nation's largest federal law enforcement agency? And why did the Senate confirm a person with no law enforcement experience to run the nation's largest federal law enforcement agency?

Kash Patel had never had a badge before. Had never conducted an arrest. And it's clear that he's in over his head and he needs to go. And there are real consequences to this, right? This is not just a sideshow.

I represent Rhode Island where we had a tragic mass shooting at Brown University just a few months ago. Director Patel, while the manhunt was going on for that shooter, posted that they had gotten him. That they got the guy when they hadn't. They had, you know, detained the wrong person which, you know, that happens in a law enforcement investigation. But what doesn't happen is the director of the FBI declaring victory and saying we got the guy before they know for sure and while there's still a real gunman on the loose.

He did the same -- he did the same thing after the Charlie Kirk shooting, by the way.

And so again, the signs here are that the FBI director is in over his head and that it is dangerous because when you do things like say we got the shooter when you didn't, it puts people's lives at risk. And so, again, he's got to go. He's got to go.

BERMAN: Congressman Seth Magaziner from Rhode Island. We appreciate your time this morning. Thank you very much -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right -- thank you, John.

New this morning cybersecurity is fast emerging as a high-stakes battleground in the race for AI dominance. CNN has confirmed Axios reporting that OpenAI has been quietly briefing U.S. federal and state officials, as well as key international allies, on what it's powerful new cybersecurity model can do. The push comes as OpenAI's competitor Anthropic rolls out its own Mythos AI model to some companies but not yet to the public.

CNN tech editor Lisa Eadicicco is here. What are you learning about this new tool from OpenAI because we've heard a lot about the other tool from Anthropic?

LISA EADICICCO, CNN BUSINESS TECH EDITOR: So in terms of who has access to it what we do know now is this model is only for those who are in the highest tier of OpenAI's Trusted Access for Cyber program.

So that program is essentially a verification program so that you can request access if you are trusted organization or a cybersecurity professional. You basically have to verify your identity through OpenAI to gain access to a version of its existing models that have fewer safeguards for cybersecurity and research purposes. So that's what that program is. But to get access to this new model you have to be in the highest tier of that program and that involves an additional layer of verification.

So that's what we know in terms of how OpenAI is rolling this out. We don't know too much about the particulars of the models and its capabilities beyond what OpenAI has shared, of course, because it is in limited access.

But I do think that this kind of shows how companies like OpenAI and Anthropic have to think more cautiously now about how they're rolling out these models now that they're becoming so advanced when it comes to cybersecurity.

SIDNER: It must be the next big advancement with sort of all the secrecy around it and who they're offering this to.

And there's been a lot of talk about Anthropic's new program. A lot of worries about the new program.

How does this one differ from what you've gleaned so far?

EADICICCO: So Anthropic and OpenAI are taking slightly different approaches here. Anthropic -- their Mythos model -- they're not releasing that publicly at all, as you mentioned. They're working with a handful of companies that are part of their own program to really test out this model and use it for cybersecurity defensive research purposes. So that's their approach.

What OpenAI has done is they've taken their GPT-5.4 model and then they've fine-tuned it for cybersecurity. And that version of the model is available in limited access as part of this program that I mentioned to those who are in the highest -- to those who are in the highest tier of that program. So instead of just not releasing the model at all they created this version of it that's finetuned for cybersecurity, and that's the one that they're kind of keeping under closer lock and key.

[07:45:00]

And then Anthropic, you know, has not wanted to release theirs publicly at all.

SIDNER: Yeah. It'll be interesting to see just how all of this plays out with AI getting into all aspects of our lives in ways that we don't even know --

EADICICCO: Right.

SIDNER: -- oftentimes.

EADICICCO: In unexpected ways often.

SIDNER: Exactly.

EADICICCO: Yes.

SIDNER: And I know you're following all of this, so we'll certainly have you back.

EADICICCO: Yes.

SIDNER: Lisa Eadicicco, I do really appreciate it. Thank you for your reporting.

EADICICCO: Thank you.

SIDNER: All right, coming up, how the quick actions of a gas station manager -- whoa, look at that -- helped avoid a catastrophe after this fiery crash. You see the SUV going right into the pumps there.

And incredible new video showing the moment seven tourists stranded on the side of cliff after getting trapped by high tide. How did they get up there?

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[07:50:10]

BOLDUAN: The Detroit Pistons are on the rebound with a big comeback last night to beat the Orlando Magic -- their first home playoff win in almost 20 years.

Coy Wire has got the highlights for us. I mean, I should -- we should just call my husband because he was up watching it. But tell me everything because I was not.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Oh, happy Friday (sic). It's good to see you, Kate.

The Pistons -- they didn't just bounce back in this series, they brought the whole bouncy house in this one, hunting their first home playoff win in 18 years.

Early on this game two with the Magic -- it was tight, but then the Pistons flipped the switch and basically unplugged Orlando. A 30-3 run to start the third. That's more like a takeover. Cade Cunningham playing maestro -- 27 points, 11 assists. Pistons 98 to Magic 83. The series tied and the league's longest home playoff losing streak snapped.

The Thunder are rolling and the reigning MVP raining buckets. OKC's Shae Gilgeous-Alexander had 37 points against the Suns. He can join LeBron, Jordan and Russell as the only player to win two straight titles and MVP. A 120-107 win, but also a loss as their star Jalen Williams leaves in the third. The team calling it an aggravated left hamstring. He'll be evaluated. The Thunder take a 2-0 series lead but hold their breath for Williams.

NHL now. The Philadelphia Flyers first home game of the playoffs in eight years. Heated rivalry. The Penguins with a 1-0 lead in the second and then it was on. The battle of Pennsylvania turned into a brawl. We're talking gloves dropped, sticks scattered. It looks like when you drop a piece of bread into a koi pond and they all pounce on it. A full-on brawl like it was throwback old school hockey. The penalty box was full, Kate. Five Flyers, six Penguins in the sin bin.

BOLDUAN: (INAUDIBLE).

WIRE: But then -- look at that thing. It is packed. But then the Flyers -- they made those home fans happy scoring three goals on four shots it the second, sealing the deal. The Flyers win 5-2, taking a 3- 0 series lead.

Now we all know, Kate, those Mets were on a bender of a losing streak -- 12 straight games. And they were tied with the Twins in the sixth. And yet, Mark Vientos -- he's rounding third and fans thinking this is it. His coach is saying stop. Of course, he gets tagged out at home.

But then Vientos says my bad, y'all. Let me make it right. It was the bottom of the eighth and he would hit a blooper that dropped in right in time allowing Brett Baty to score. So the Mets win finally two weeks and a day after their last victory 3-2 over the Twins. I know there's some very happy people on the floor with you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: I'm not going to --

WIRE: Clap for the Mets.

BOLDUAN: I'm wondering why you were smiling today. I'm kidding. Always smiling.

WIRE: Monaco's face yesterday should be a meme when he was like looking over the camera like this. Yeah, that look. Kind of like -- no, he's smiling today though. It's so good.

BOLDUAN: I was do -- I kind of loved it and hated it, and like loved it all yesterday. But wait, am I the good luck, John? I think that's what we've landed on. Yay.

WIRE: Oh, put your rally caps on.

BOLDUAN: Oh, are you -- sorry, Coy. You still have more.

WIRE: Something you have to see. Go ahead -- roll the tape. This is proof that sometimes you can't get your glove on the ball, but your shirt says I got you. Seattle Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert delivering, contact made, and then -- wait for it -- where'd it go, Kate?

BOLDUAN: Oh, that's funny.

WIRE: The ball disappears in his shirt, like it wanted to be smuggled somewhere. The ball was hit 107 miles per hour, Kate, but it went right between the two buttons. Not a rib. Not a seam out of place. That is incredible stuff. The Mariners hang on for a 5-4 win.

But get this -- that was not called an out. There's some weird rule that if it goes into a player's or manager's shirt it's ruled out of play. So they got a hit for that.

BOLDUAN: Wait, what?

BERMAN: It's not an out.

WIRE: It's ridiculous. It's not an out.

BOLDUAN: Wait a second. They -- wait. It is actually in the rule book or someone's just like uh, let's just call it a -- Berman, wait.

BERMAN: None of the players -- I didn't know that. None of the players knew it -- you could see it last night -- but the umps knew. If it's in your shirt -- it's got to be in your glove or your hand. Apparently, if you catch it in your hat that's not an out either. So that's the way it's related there. Yeah, a shirt is not an out and everyone learned it.

WIRE: It makes sense. It makes sense because --

BOLDUAN: Why?

WIRE: -- I would just run around with my shirt and, like, pull it out and you have a huge glove. You can just catch every ball like that. So that makes sense.

BOLDUAN: Coy Wire with the genius always. Where are we going -- to Berman? Berman, aggravated hamstring.

BERMAN: (INAUDIBLE).

BOLDUAN: Jonathan Berman?

BERMAN: All right. In Saugus, Massachusetts a runaway SUV --

BOLDUAN: Pick a camera -- any camera.

BERMAN: -- smashed into gas pumps at a gas station right there. We have pictures of it. And there was a big fire, but it could have been much, much worse. The station manager immediately hit the emergency shutoff valve and firefighters say that helped contain the fire. No one was seriously hurt.

[07:55:07]

Seven tourists, including three children, were hiking along the water in Australia and they got trapped by the rising tide. That's where they are. They climbed up on a cliff about 30 feet above the waves. They were stuck there. A rescue team had to rappel down and pull them up one-by-one. The operation took three hours.

The prediction market Kalshi has suspended three political candidates after an internal probe found they bet on their own campaigns. Kalshi's head of enforcement said the cases are political insider trading and violated its rules leading to five-year suspensions for all three candidates. Sources say Kalshi is expected to donate the more than $7,500 in fines from the enforcement action to a nonprofit that educates consumers about the financial markets.

A baby elephant is making her public debut at The National Zoo in Washington. Two-month-old Linh Mai already weighs nearly 500 pounds and can chug half a gallon of formula in just three minutes -- impressive. Down in one. Down in one.

SIDNER: Oh.

BERMAN: Wonder how she is at beer pong?

The first elephant -- she is born at the zoo -- in 25 years. And Sara, she is cute because she is an elephant.

SIDNER: That -- obviously. But look, she's having so much fun, John. Why aren't you smiling and enjoying this? BERMAN: I mean, drowning in milk is no joke.

SIDNER: Oh, my God.

BOLDUAN: Is that milk?

BERMAN: It's formula, I think.

SIDNER: Is it formula?

BERMAN: It's been a long time.

BOLDUAN: J.B.!

SIDNER: No way. That's not formula.

BERMAN: Oh, it's a bubble bath?

BOLDUAN: That's exactly what you look like in a bubble bath.

BERMAN: Apparently everyone here knows. Everyone at the network knows that's a bubble bath.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

SIDNER: Clearly.

BERMAN: OK. Because everyone's obsessed with a cute baby elephant drinking milk and --

SIDNER: We are obsessed. But also, what? Do you take baths in milk? Is that your thing or --

BERMAN: Don't say -- no judgment.

BOLDUAN: Is this a private question?

SIDNER: Clearly, I hit a nerve.

Here -- speaking of hitting nerves, this week --

(Laughing)

BOLDUAN: OK.

SIDNER: OK, wait. I need to compose myself because this is going to make you mad.

This week United Airlines executive says passengers are paying 20 percent more for every mile they fly compared to just a year ago, mostly because of fuel costs skyrocketing due to the war in Iran. So what happens if fuel prices go down?

Let's find out the answer because both United Airlines and Alaska Air CEO said Wednesday the hikes in the price will stay even if jet fuel gets cheaper, and here's why. United CEO Scott Kirby said, "The longer consumers pay these prices and airlines get used to this revenue stream, the more likely it is to hold."

Managing editor with The Points Guy, Clint Henderson, is here now. That is going to make people, including yours truly, pretty upset --

CLINT HENDERSON, MANAGING EDITOR, THE POINTS GUY: Yeah.

SIDNER: -- because we all know this though. So when the price rises on some things it seems to stay there --

HENDERSON: Yes.

SIDNER: -- even when the conditions around it change.

So what advice are you giving to travelers now? I mean, are we just going to expect that these prices are going to be 20 percent higher than they used to be, period --

HENDERSON: Yes.

SIDNER: -- forever?

HENDERSON: Unfortunately, there's --

SIDNER: Oh.

HENDERSON: -- several worlds colliding right now, including the loss of routes and airlines are cutting back on the number of flights to certain destinations. They're cutting some routes altogether. The demand has remained strong, so Americans still want to travel, but there's less seats available as airlines reduce those seats.

You've got the low-cost carriers struggling.

SIDNER: Right.

HENDERSON: Don't get me started on Spirit.

SIDNER: Spirit.

HENDERSON: And then you've also got the higher jet fuel prices.

Look, airlines have already raised baggage fees. They're adding fuel surcharges onto award tickets. And now they're saying that 20 percent hikes in prices are here to stay.

What I'm worried about is that it's going to -- it's not only going to stay where it is now, which is high, it's going to get worse. So I'm saying book your trips for the rest of the year now. I'm booked through spring because I want to get ahead of this in case this crisis in the Gulf is not resolved and things drag on and prices go even higher.

I will say go ahead and book your trips now if you can afford it. Don't book basic economy. Don't be basic because you can't get a trip credit if the price drops.

SIDNER: Oh.

HENDERSON: So maybe fares come down, maybe competition increases, and then you can get a trip credit for the price difference if you've locked in fares now. So that's my best advice right now.

SIDNER: OK. Can I -- can I make a complaint here?

HENDERSON: Yes.

SIDNER: I know this is not your fault but, you know, it used to be you would buy either an economy ticket you'd buy a, you know, first class or a business class -- not me. But anyway, you --

HENDERSON: Yeah.

SIDNER: Now you hit economy and it says economy, basic economy, special economy -- whoopty doo. Like, what --

HENDERSON: Premium.

SIDNER: -- is going on?

HENDERSON: Yeah.

SIDNER: Is this just a way to get us to, like, part with our money?

HENDERSON: Yes. And guess what? It's now in the business class cabin too. So United is --

SIDNER: No.

HENDERSON: -- going to charge you. It's called basic business. You don't get lounge access. You don't get miles and points for it. So this is coming to the premium cabins as well. The foreign carriers have been doing this for a while but it's another way for us to part with our money.