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FDA Fast-Tracks Psychedelic Drug Research for Mental Illness; Interview with Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN): Trump Sending Witkoff, Kushner to Pakistan for New Talks with Iran; Farmers Hit Hard by Iran War and Tariffs; Meta to Lay Off 10 Percent of Workforce, Invest in AI; Some World Cup Final Tickets new Reselling for $2 Million Plus Each. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired April 24, 2026 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: ... How does this potentially bring in time maybe some of that oversight back to the U.S. so that they're not going somewhere else to seek treatment?

DR. FREDERICK BARRETT, PSYCHEDELIC NEUROSCIENTIST: That's a really great question and of course this medical tourism has evolved in many countries where there are fewer restrictions and fewer regulations on the use of psychedelic and other compounds. And the truth is we don't really know what type of medical oversight is available at any particular overseas retreat. But what's important about recent advances and recent federal attention, including the executive order that President Trump signed over the weekend, is really kind of making sure that there are processes in place to take the compounds and the interventions that we know the most about and that have the most promise and maybe push those to the to the front of the line. We have to be careful not to sacrifice speed for safety -- or rather safety for speed when evaluating these compounds but we really do have an awful lot more to learn from a scientific perspective about ibogaine and there are other psychedelic drugs that we know an awful lot more about at this point.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Really a fascinating development Dr. Frederick Barrett thanks for walking us through that.

BARRETT: Thank you very much.

SANCHEZ: So President Trump says he has all the time in the world when it comes to the war with Iran do his voters think so? We'll discuss.

[14:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Back now to the breaking news and the war with Iran. President Trump is set to send his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in- law negotiator, Jared Kushner, back to Pakistan this weekend for a second round of peace negotiations. This new diplomatic push is happening as the U.S. tightens its blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth says another aircraft carrier is arriving in the region to further restrict Iranian shipments.

Joining us now is Republican Congressman Marlin Stutzman of Indiana. Thank you so much for being with us here on this beautiful day on Capitol Hill.

We're hearing the president. He's saying, don't rush me. He doesn't need to be rushed.

He says he has all the time in the world. It's Iran that doesn't have the time in the world. What are you hearing from constituents about how they're seeing the time the president has?

REP. MARLIN STUTZMAN (R-IN): Yes, well, first of all, I would say some of this is kind of like the American, our attention span. It's short. You know, kind of like Venezuela.

It was in and out, done. But, you know, we should all realize that Iran is a much more powerful nation. They have a lot of money.

Their oil and gas money gave them the ability to, you know, really to fight a war. I don't see this as the beginning of a war. I see this as the ending of a war.

And I think a lot of the context here is the 40 years that we've had to endure this Iranian regime to just be a problem, whether it's in the Middle East or just causing disruptions with terrorism. But I think President Trump, he knows where he's at with negotiations. The difficulty there is that we don't know who's really in charge.

And so, you know, the old saying, united we stand, divided we fall. I think they're very divided right now within their regime.

KEILAR: You're seeing a generational divide in what you're hearing from constituents, right?

STUTZMAN: Yes, absolutely. I mean, you know, folks that are older that remember 1979, the hostages that were taken, that, you know, they know that they've killed a thousand Americans over time. Folks, you know, north of 50 are saying finish the job.

Below that, it's mixed. And I think that having the context of the last 40 years really probably directs a lot of people's decisions, you know, outside of the partisan politics.

KEILAR: You mentioned Venezuela. This isn't Venezuela. That was militarily basically over by the time we realized that it had began, essentially.

We're hitting the 60-day mark next week. That's supposed to be the legal limit for military action that a president can take without congressional approval. Do you think at that point there does need to be some action by Congress, some sort of war powers resolution?

STUTZMAN: I honestly wouldn't be surprised that most of the military action is done. I mean, you know, the way that we went in, along with Israel, and took out their capabilities, took out their assets. Of course, a lot of their leadership was killed through the attacks.

I think we're really moving into a phase of just negotiations. The one thing that Iran has that they are good at, and that's propaganda, and President Trump just hasn't fallen for it, and I think their Achilles heel is the Strait of Hormuz. And if we can squeeze off, choke off their cash between the oil and gas sales, that they are so used to having, if we can cut that off, I think we just continue to put pressure on them day after day.

KEILAR: But a third aircraft carrier going in, that isn't propaganda, that's a fact, right? So I hear what you're saying when you're talking about maybe sustained fighting. But in terms of the commitment of US troops, and certainly the possibility that they are going to be used, being telegraphed by the administration, that is a very real thing.

STUTZMAN: It is.

KEILAR: How are you not seeing that as a point where maybe it's time for Congress to really put some kind of imposition of itself on this situation?

STUTZMAN: I think it's boots on the ground. That's been kind of my benchmark. If we're going to send troops into Iran, just like the movement into Iraq, something big like that, I think that's when Congress has to really step in.

[14:40:00]

You know, the attacks were so forceful and so quick, I mean, for the most part. We took out a lot of their capabilities. I don't think they have the ability to fight back much at this point.

We can't go to rest, we can't put our head down. But I think a lot of this is going to really be at the negotiating table. And in controlling the Strait of Hormuz is really important for us to do.

And not just for the United States. We need an international coalition and helping to control the Strait of Hormuz rather than letting the Iranians do it.

KEILAR: I hear what you're saying about boots on the ground. We have had a lot of injured service members, a number of them, but I want to talk to you about farmers because you are a fourth generation farmer --

STUTZMAN: Yes.

KEILAR: -- and we've been hearing a lot from farmers throughout this conflict. They are so impacted by the Strait and the limitations of fertilizer, what that does to global markets, the cost of diesel and that kind of thing.

And they're really coming off of a tough time because of the trade war with China really hitting a market that was so crucial for them. You talk to them, they really, they just want stability, right? They just, they want to break even. They felt that things were going a little bit better and then the rug kind of gets pulled out from underneath them. They don't really -- they don't want the government handouts. We hear that from a lot of them.

So what are you hearing from them as they're looking at this situation?

STUTZMAN: You're right, we don't want government handouts. We want to do it on our own. And you know, international markets are a big piece of our sales.

Of course, also fertilizer and other commodities. Having, you know, flow around the world is important for that. I would say in this case, you know, prices were coming down.

Most farmers probably locked their prices in for fuel, fertilizer in December, January, and hopefully avoided that spike that we've seen, especially since the conflict with Iran. But you know, the trade policies, most farmers are saying, we get it. We understand what President Trump's trying to do is having some short-term pain, but in the long-term, we know that it's going to put us in a much better spot.

We're having so much competition from South America, especially, you know, and soybeans particularly, you know, they're competing with us. We need China to be still a big buyer for us, so we can't give up on that. And then there's going to be some new markets that have becoming much more attractive and online for us.

So I still won't bet against the American farmer, but any sort of relief that we can get soon is going to be well-received.

KEILAR: They want this wrapped up though, I assume. All right, Congressman Marlin Stutzman, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

STUTZMAN: Thank you.

KEILAR: And to head, Mark Zuckerberg said, this would be the year that AI dramatically changes the way that we work. Now that prediction is coming true at his own company with new layoffs. We'll have that next.

[14:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: The parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp says it's going to cut about 10 percent of its workforce next month. That's roughly 8,000 Meta employees who are expected to lose their jobs over the next few weeks.

KEILAR: And this huge move comes as many tech companies raise their investments in artificial intelligence. That includes Meta, which has spent billions on expenses related to data centers and AI. Let's get more now from CNN Business Tech Editor, Lisa Eadicicco.

Lisa, this is a lot of people who are going to be laid off at an interesting time as investments in AI are changing.

LISA EADICICCO, CNN BUSINESS TECH EDITOR: Yes, Brianna, if you look at the memo that Meta sent out to staff, they don't mention AI specifically, but they do say that the reasoning for these staff changes are to offset other investments and to improve efficiency. And we know that Meta, like many tech giants, is investing heavily in AI right now. But the other part of that, the efficiency part, is really part of this broader trend that we've been seeing with these tech layoffs that have happened over the past year, especially in the last six months or so, over the last year, we've seen quite a few companies cut their headcount.

Amazon is one of them, Microsoft is one of them, the fintech company Block is one of them. And a couple of those companies, especially when you talk about Meta, Amazon, and Block, they've all kind of cited this idea of moving more quickly, reducing the amount of layers within the company so that they can operate more leanly, move more quickly. And it seems like in the age of artificial intelligence, when things are moving extremely quickly, there's a desire by these companies to just move faster and get things done more quickly, especially as they face more competition from younger, leaner companies like Anthropic and OpenAI.

So I think that's one piece of this. And at the same time, a lot of tech leaders right now are claiming that their teams can do a lot more with fewer people because of AI, not necessarily because AI is replacing the jobs one for one, but instead because AI is enabling smaller teams to do more with fewer people. That's something that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has mentioned and other executives as well.

SANCHEZ: And Lisa, Microsoft also announced some workforce reductions.

EADICICCO: Yes, so they are offering voluntary buyouts to certain U.S. employees. Those who qualify for the program must meet these requirements that their years of service plus their age equals 70 or more. And this is for people who are at the senior director level or lower, and it's being framed as kind of an optional voluntary retirement option.

So this is, again, another attempt by a major tech company to reduce their headcount as they're making major investments in AI. Microsoft, along with Amazon and Google, is one of the few cloud companies that's building out a lot of infrastructure right now.

[14:50:00]

SANCHEZ: Yes. Lisa Eadicicco, thank you so much for the reporting. I appreciate that.

President Trump has been pushing the boundaries of presidential power like never before in his second term. It's important though, to remember that executive power has also been expanding for decades well beyond the intentions of the nation's founders. KEILAR: In his latest documentary special for Fareed Zakaria, explores the dangerous growth of presidential power. And one of the biggest players in that story is Dick Cheney.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Starting as a staffer in the Nixon administration, Dick Cheney became President Gerald Ford's Chief of Staff. And he watched the presidency get cut down to size in the wake of Vietnam and Watergate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And from inside the White House where young Cheney is being shaped, this did not look like a necessary constitutional correction. It looked like an outrage.

ZAKARIA (voice-over): From that point on, Cheney made it his mission to rebuild the power of the White House.

DICK CHENEY: We've seen our concern about Watergate and Vietnam create the myth of the so-called imperial presidency.

ZAKARIA (voice-over): In addition to domestic agencies, Cheney believed the Constitution gave the president absolute power over national security.

CHENEY: The president as commander-in-chief in the interest of protecting American lives is justified in taking whatever action he deems appropriate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Be sure to tune in. "THE IMPERIAL PRESIDENCY, A FAREED ZAKARIA SPECIAL" premieres Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern on CNN. Also the next day on the CNN app.

Anyone thinking of going to this summer's World Cup Final may need to think again or just be absurdly wealthy. The astronomical price of tickets when we come back.

[14:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Do you want to go to the World Cup Final, Boris?

SANCHEZ: Yes, why not?

KEILAR: Are you going to buy the tickets?

SANCHEZ: I thought it was on you.

KEILAR: Oh, well, no. It's not. We can get four tickets together behind a goal at MetLife Stadium on July 19th.

That's the good news.

SANCHEZ: Just $9 million.

KEILAR: What?

SANCHEZ: If you are watching out there and you would love to see us behind the goal having fun, it's just $2.3 million if you want to buy one of us a ticket. So keep that in mind.

KEILAR: We're not serious.

SANCHEZ: The cheapest resale price of a standard ticket for the final is now just under $11,000 on the FIFA marketplace. That's an official platform where people can resell their tickets.

We're joined now by Brynn Gingras. Brynn, FIFA says its pricing strategy is reflecting market demand for each match. Clearly, the average fan is getting priced out. So you are going to be gracious enough to grant Brianna and I an invite, right?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You guys already beat me to the absurdity because I was going to say, well, there's only three tickets left because Boris already bought them. But yes, no, this is impossible. This is impossible.

And honestly, this is what fans are so pissed about all around the world. Basically saying this was pegged as being the most affordable World Cup in history. And quite frankly, it's anything but that.

And they say that really, it's losing the integrity of what this is supposed to be. It's supposed to be for the fans from all over the world to come cheer on their country in one of the biggest, you know, competitions, of course, in the entire world. But you guys just laid it out there nicely.

This is on the FIFA marketplace where people who have bought tickets already can resell their tickets. And basically, FIFA, they're making out pretty well with this, too, because they get a cut. They get 15 percent of the sale from the buyer and 15 percent from the seller.

That's 30 percent FIFA would make if those tickets actually do sell. Again, $2.3 million each for one of those tickets. There are tickets actually that are, you know, not four together, two a few rows ahead of that for the final game that are a little bit cheaper, but really not by much.

The cheapest ticket for that final game right now is about $11,000. And just to put this in a little bit more perspective, if you go back to the 2022 Qatar World Cup final, tickets were roughly about ten -- sorry -- a thousand dollars, I think, is what I have written down here. I can't even read my own writing. But it was basically a heck of a lot cheaper, guys.

And it's really quite sad. And FIFA, look, they say this is how it is. You know, we didn't make the rules.

We're just kind of doing what you would expect. We're just basically, you know, doing what the industry standard allows. Now, the other countries that are hosting the games, like in Canada and Mexico, they have stricter rules.

In Ontario, Canada, they just actually passed a law saying that you can't basically sell these tickets for larger than the face value. So it also kind of gives the U.S. kind of a bad look, guys.

KEILAR: Yes. Don't hate the player. I hate the game. Yes, yes, yes. OK. All right, America.

OK. So but of course, it's so expensive to actually get these tickets. I'm sure it's reasonable to, you know, travel to these matches, right?

GINGRAS: Yes, I mean, guys, I did this story last week and I was just talking to people who live in the New York, New Jersey area. And they're just like, forget it. We're going to a bar.

That is where I'll be watching the World Cup because the ticket prices are expensive. The price of a hot dog inside the stadium is probably going to be expensive. And yes, getting there and back for the World Cup is $150 a ticket.

They're basically going to be shutting down Penn Station, which of course is, you know, the big railroad station in New York City that will give you a direct line to the New York, New Jersey stadium for the games. But $150 a ticket is what you have to pay. Or you have some other options like trying to get a parking spot to park your car, but they're not allowing anyone to drive to the stadium.

So they're not making it easy and it's certainly not cheap, guys.

END