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A.I. Boom Straining the Power Grid; Numbers on Trump and the Markets; Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired April 23, 2026 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:33:07]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, today, attorneys for singer David Anthony Burke are set to return to a Los Angeles courtroom. It was just earlier this week that he pleaded not guilty to first degree murder in the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Well, now in what's considered a -- seen as a pretty rare move, Burke's attorneys are expected to ask for a judge to decide whether there is enough evidence for a trial within ten days of his arraignment, which would require prosecutors present their evidence really quickly. Investigators say that Celeste Rivas Hernandez, her body, her dismembered body was found in an abandoned Tesla registered to Burke back in September. This week, the L.A. County Medical Examiner's Office made the autopsy public. And the report found that the teenager was killed by what was described in the report as penetrating injuries from a sharp object. Her death ruled a homicide.

This report was initially kept sealed for months at the request of the LAPD. A judge then ordered its release after Burke was arrested on Monday.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you, Kate.

This morning, new CNN reporting revealing the strain rapidly evolving A.I. is putting on the power grid. The massive data centers powering A.I. are driving up energy demand and raising concerns about the cost and reliability.

CNN A.I. correspondent Hadas Gold joining me now with your new reporting.

Just didn't come out of the air. This was a reporter going through the things that you go through to try to get good information.

What are you learning? Because it is one of those things where you -- everyone's concerned about A.I. and what it's going to do. But there's this other big thing hanging out over here, which is, how is it powered and how much is that costing?

HADAS GOLD, CNN A.I. CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And it's a reflection of how A.I. is changing because as A.I. is, you know, evolving from the chat bots to A.I. agents who are constantly working in the background, 24/7 --

SIDNER: Right.

GOLD: That takes up way more of what's called compute power, because every time you interact with an A.I. and you ask it a question, that information has to go back to a data center, or that information has to go over servers.

[09:35:04]

That takes up compute power, and that takes up a lot of electricity.

And so, as we're evolving to these agents, that's eating up more and more electricity. And we're seeing already, companies are making decisions, business decisions, based off of that eating up of energy.

Remember, OpenAI canceled Sora (ph), that social media video generation A.I. app?

SIDNER: Right.

GOLD: That was because of the compute that it eats up. They just are -- we are already at a bottleneck when it comes to compute when it comes to energy. In fact, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, he said, the biggest issue we are having right now is not a compute glut, it's actually about power and electricity.

Our electrical grid in the United States is janky. It is old. People have already been worried about whether it can survive a major cyberattack or severe weather.

SIDNER: Yes.

GOLD: Add on the strain of these extra data centers and how much power they eat up, and you're kind of at a crisis point almost where everybody is trying to figure out, how can we get ahead in A.I., get ahead with the power, while not trying to eat up all the electricity and cause the electricity costs for regular consumers to rise up. And that's why you're seeing that resistance to data centers, because people are worried about having to pay more to power their home.

Now, there are solutions. We could update the grid. That takes a lot of time. The Trump administration is trying to ease delays on permitting, bring back some of those coal-powered, fossil fuel powered plants that were being cut down because of environmental concerns, because of just the need for energy. A.I. companies are trying to be just more efficient. Right now you just got to turn on a data center or turn it off. There's not a lot of, you know, in between there.

SIDNER: Right.

GOLD: Google, for example, is expanding its ability to ramp up and down its operations depending on demand. Then there's obviously renewables. Wind and solar is cheap, it's efficient, it's fast. Right now, if you're trying to get a gas powered turbine, there's a five- year waiting list for that. You can build wind and solar very quickly, but there's political hurdles on that.

SIDNER: Huge.

GOLD: Republicans don't really like renewables. The Republicans in Congress, they've cut those tax credits for renewable energy.

SIDNER: That's right.

GOLD: But despite those hurdles, you are seeing demand for wind and solar really go up. And then there's all the sort of new ideas for new energy. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, he's investing in nuclear fusion. Google is investing in a new company called a Tokamak. That's a donut-shaped machine, to get more energy. Everyone's throwing spaghetti at the wall trying to figure out what they can get.

Part of the reason is China. China has way more electricity and power than we do. And some people are saying, even if we are the most advanced when it comes to A.I. technology, if we don't have the power to help, you know, run it, then we're going to fall behind.

SIDNER: Yes. It makes sense when you think about it. China is doing all the things when it comes to using renewables and anything that they can. The U.S. behind on that, I guess, because of some of the political headwinds, as you call it.

Hadas Gold, thank you. Really interesting reporting this morning.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Fans of the rapper Drake, they were using pick axes, hammers, even blow torches to like smash and break down and thaw this massive giant ice sculpture, all because of what Drake promised was hidden inside. We've got more on that coming up.

And exploring France's wine, food and culture is very clearly one of the sweetest gigs around, and that is why John Berman got it. More from the very special meal that Berman shared with Eva Longoria.

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[09:42:46]

BERMAN: Just moments ago the markets opened on Wall Street. And they are -- and they are down.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Slightly.

BERMAN: Down they go. They opened down. You can see, by looking at the pictures that we put up on the screen there, the markets are a little bit down today. But they had been up. In fact, they had reached record levels over the last few days, something that President Trump likes to talk about a lot.

With us now is CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten. All right, Harold, the president likes to talk about the markets,

mostly when they're up, right?

ENTEN: Correct.

BERMAN: But there's a reason for this. There's a reason why he likes to talk about the markets at this stage of his administration.

ENTEN: Yes, it's a success story if you're in the White House right now, the stock market is. And you can see it right here. OK, S&P 500 shifts at this point in a presidency. You know, coming into today at the close of yesterday, look at this, up 19 percent. That is higher than the average president since 2001 when it was up 15 percent. And way, way higher than the average presidency since 1961, up six percent. So, this stock market has been up like a rocket. And no wonder the president of the United States wants to talk about it. And you'll also notice, Johnny B., when the stock market is up, perhaps Democrats don't want to talk about it nearly as much.

BERMAN: All right. So, what are people saying about whether or not it's actually a good time to be in the market?

ENTEN: Yes. OK. I think one of the reasons why this number is up, this percentage is up, is pretty simple. Just take a look here. Stock owners who say that investing $1,000 into the market right now is a good idea. You see the majority of them, 52 percent say it's a good idea. I will even note that even 41 percent of Democrats, or lean Democrats who are in the stock market currently say it's a good idea to continue to invest in the stock market. So, no wonder the market is up at this particular point because those who are in it say, hey, it's a good idea to keep investing.

BERMAN: And we noted this morning, markets are down a little bit, but they had been going up over the last two weeks, even though they had gone down, way down, for much of the war with Iran. But what do you think might have turned it around?

ENTEN: A ceasefire. This is what the people in the market want. They want stability. They want a ceasefire. And you see this across the board. Look at this. Approve of Iran's ceasefire agreement. Among all voters, 74 percent among Republicans, 84 percent. Seventy-two percent of Democrats.

[09:45:01]

Seventy percent of independents. The ceasefire is a very good thing in the eyes of those and the minds of those who are involved in the stock market. No wonder we have seen the rallying that's going on. If the ceasefire continues to exist, I continue to expect stocks to continue to rise up.

BERMAN: This may be one reason why the president keeps extending the ceasefire, even without any obvious concessions from Iran.

ENTEN: Correct. He's keeping his eyes on the stock market, for sure.

BERMAN: All right. Well, what are the prediction markets saying about where the market is headed for the rest of this year?

ENTNE: OK. So, you see in slide number one, right, that so far in Trump's second term, his second presidency, the stock market has been up like a rocket. The people who are putting their money where their mouths are, those in the Kalshi prediction market, chance that the S&P 500 will finish up for the year, up for 2026. You see it right here, 64 percent. So, they are not expecting those gains by the end of the year.

Look, each and every day will have its downs, its ups, et cetera. But over the long term, those who are putting their money where their mouth is, expect that the S&P 500 will be up as well.

BERMAN: Show me again what the market does over the course of the day. All right, that's intraday trading, ladies and gentlemen.

Harry Enten, thank you very much.

We got a lot of news. We'll be right back.

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[09:50:50]

BERMAN: This morning, by popular demand, a sneak peek at the new episodes of Eva Longoria's "Searching for France."

We went to lunch. We talked about the incredible history of Alsace and the incredible wine from Burgundy.

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BERMAN: All right, so Burgundy.

EVA LONGORIA, HOST, "SEARCHING FOR FRANCE": Burgundy.

BERMAN: More wine.

LONGORIA: More wine.

BERMAN: And this is a --

LONGORIA: This is a pinot noir. So, that's the grape that Burgundy is known for.

BERMAN: And then -- and there's a whole dish named after the region.

LONGORIA: Yes. This is everywhere. Beef bourguignon. So, like the beef bordelaise, except it's made with Burgundy wine, not Bordeaux.

Creamier. Softer than the bordelaise sauce. Less pepper. It's quite popular.

BERMAN: And it's not a light meal.

LONGORIA: Very hearty. It was used to feed the workers of the vineyard.

BERMAN: And the wines are delicious. Which the grapes all taste different depending on where they're grown.

LONGORIA: Yes. I mean we visited the Cote Dor, which is the golden slope. It's where most of the most expensive wine comes from in the world. The other interesting historical thing is the monks of Burgundy are the ones that created the system of the grand cru, the premier cru. They would label the parcels of what made better wine, what didn't make good wine. And that system is still used today.

Aside from the wine, I think, Burgundy, they had some of the most diverse food from France. Escargot. Dijon mustard. I went truffle hunting. So, I had escargot and mustard and truffles, oh my.

BERMAN: So, I'm a history buff. And Alsace, everything I know about that region is, it went back and forth between France and Germany.

LONGORIA: Yes. Yes. If you're from Alsace, you're not French or German, you're Alsatian. Because it went back and forth so many times, they created their own language and identity.

During World War II, they had to really safeguard their traditions. So, they had these secret restaurants that you could still go and eat French food and have French wine.

BERMAN: Resistance takes all shapes and sizes, right?

LONGORIA: Yes. Depending on what year you were born determined which side you were fighting for. So, they were called malgranu (ph), which is -- translates to like, despite your wishes. So, even if you wanted to fight for the French, you weren't allowed to depending on the year you were born.

BERMAN: You actually met a Holocaust survivor there.

LONGORIA: Yes. The oldest Holocaust survivor in Strasbourg. We really got to know her story and her spirit was a beautiful thing to witness.

BERMAN: In Alsace, you actually had a meal where the cheese was the main course.

LONGORIA: Yes. The cheese was the main course. You had like meat and chicken before. And then they go, and now for the main course. And it was cheese. I went to the Visog (ph) Mountains. Met a cow. Never met a cow I didn't like. You can taste the grass and you can taste the different milk within their cheeses.

BERMAN: And then also in Alsace, you did, I'm going to say it wrong because, again, I got a "D" in French.

LONGORIA: Yes.

BERMAN: Auberge de elie (ph).

LONGORIA: Auberge de lille (ph). BERMAN: Yes.

LONGORIA: Yes. Which is one of the oldest inns. And now it's evolved into this Michelin Star restaurant with Chef Mark. And he made me frog legs, which were delicious. I grew up with frog legs in Texas. And so, it reminded me of home. It was quite special to see this family-run business achieve so much success.

BERMAN: I love that you had frogs legs in France and you said, tastes like home.

LONGORIA: Tastes like Texas.

BERMAN: It tastes like home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: I like how she translated my French there.

BOLDUAN: I mean, it was --

BERMAN: It was -- which was really just slurring after all the wine.

BOLDUAN: So, remember the -- I was going to say, remember last time she got a little --

BERMAN: Yes. I was --

BOLDUAN: What did she -- she got food off of your chin.

BERMAN: I had some grease. She helped me keep my face clean.

BOLDUAN: And now she's helping translate for you.

BERMAN: Yes.

SIDNER: Interesting.

BOLDUAN: I mean, the evolution of the relationship.

BERMAN: She's a giver. She's a giver.

SIDNER: It's beautiful.

BERMAN: The CNN Original Series, "Eva Longoria: Searching for France," two new episodes Sunday at 9 on CNN and the next day on the CNN app.

SIDNER: Here's something I don't think any of us would do. Drake fans used flame, sledge hammers, ice picks. I mean, we might use them for other things, but they were using them to try to break or melt a massive ice sculpture that the Canadian rapper put up in a Toronto parking lot this week. It was part of a publicity stunt. Drake told fans he'd hidden the release date of his upcoming album, "Iceman" inside the 25-foot-tall ice mountain. Now, here's where things got, you know, complicated. The police chief was like, this is freaking dangerous, dude. So, fire crews actually ended up melting all that ice with warm water, but not before a fan found the answer. The album will drop on May 15th.

[09:55:08]

All right, the Heinz Company, known for its iconic 57 branding, is starting a new NFL tradition, it hopes in its hometown of Pittsburgh. The inaugural Mr. 57 will honor the 57th pick in the draft with a lifetime supply of ketchup, a custom jacket and the chance to be a partner in future promotions.

Go ahead. What? I mean, it's on the jacket.

BOLDUAN: I -- I'm a yes.

SIDNER: Yes. I don't mind the jacket. I don't like the product.

BOLDUAN: Is it -- wait, is that --

SIDNER: It's not my thing.

BOLDUAN: That's --

SIDNER: Yes. The Chicago Bears currently hold the 57th pack. And former Bears great Devin Hester, who was the 57th pick back in 2006, is partnering with Heinz for the big event.

And finally, a win after 12 straight losses. It's worth mentioning again, just for our Monaco (ph). The Mets can feel good for at least until the next game. They beat the Minnesota Twins. There's a clapping going on. People are really happy here. They beat the Twins three to two. No one could be happier, though, than New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani because fans were blaming him for the losing streak after, you see what he did there, he hugged the team's mascots, Mr. and Mrs. Met. And that went on for 12 games that they lost. They blamed him. He didn't take it.

BOLDUAN: I'm still stuck on the 57.

BERMAN: Well, maybe we should give Monaco (ph) some ketchup to congratulate him.

BOLDUAN: Mr. 57, Mike Monaco (ph), everyone.

BERMAN: You get some ketchup. You've won, have some ketchup.

BOLDUAN: Thanks for joining us. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "THE SIT ROOM," up next.

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