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UAE to Quit OPEC in Blow to World's Leading Oil Exports; Trump Tells Aides to Prepare for Extended Blockade of Iran; Net Approval Rate on Inflation; Federal Agents Raid Businesses in Minnesota Fraud Investigation; Elon Musk Testifies at OpenAI Trial. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired April 29, 2026 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:30:00]
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Once again, you be the judge, but this comes as gas prices in the U.S. did reach a new high overnight. The national average jumped another 5 cents to $4.23 a gallon. That's the highest since July 2022.
Prices are up 42 percent since the war with Iran started. And here's a look at the price of global oil. It is on the move as well this morning.
Joining me right now is Amos Hochstein. He was White House Senior Energy Advisor and Middle East Negotiator under President Biden. And he's now managing partner at the investment firm TWG Global.
Amos, can I start with the news that came -- as soon as I saw this headline yesterday, I wanted to ask you about it. Which is the UAE leaving OPEC, not just leaving, but giving like zero notice that it's leaving and leaving this Friday. What does this mean in the context of what we're looking at with this war?
Is this an existential blow to OPEC?
AMOS HOCHSTEIN, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: Hey, Kate, look, it was definitely a huge move by the United Arab Emirates, and it's not a blow to OPEC in the sense that will it be able to control right now the price of oil? It has no effect on prices today. It is a big deal because it's more of a political decision and it's a consequence of this war.
The UAE and other Gulf countries are recalibrating their alliances, their defense postures, their diplomatic relations. And the UAE has been made very clear. We now want to go it alone.
We want to make decisions for ourselves on everything, how we defend ourselves, who we align with, what our political decisions are. We're not going to coordinate with others in a way that restricts our right to move. Because oil prices are so high and because the straits are closed, it doesn't actually change anything in the day to day, but it does have an impact on understanding the future of the Gulf.
BOLDUAN: Can you also just gut check me and we can put up where oil's trading right now? This we're 60 days in-ish, right, to this war. And I and you know how everyone's mind works.
They say, OK, it's up. We're looking at up, you know, another five percent in Brent and WTI at this at this moment. And so it kind of could for some start feeling like white noise.
It's up again. It's up again. But do you think that you're really seeing a new and different impact of oil prices on the rise?
HOCHSTEIN: Yes, I think that what we -- you know, you and I have talked about this on this show before. Energy crises are when it comes to this size of a disruption, which is the largest ever, take a very long time to actually have a material impact on people's lives in the markets. Because think about it.
When the Straits close that day, there are many ships that just crossed that are on their way to their destinations. And it will take 30, 40, 50 days to get to their destinations. And people have storage.
So it takes a long time to impact. The reason we're seeing this remarkable march in oil prices upward over the last several days and not slowing down, despite the fact that the president and other members of cabinet are trying to calm it down, is because it's now actually biting. It's actually taking effect in the market.
So you're seeing oil prices rise. As a result, gasoline prices rise and a crunch developing in availability for jet fuel, for diesel. And as a result, the refineries around the world are changing what they do with oil to make jet fuel, sacrificing other products. So now we're at the point of we're starting to favor one outcome over another, one jet fuel over other petrochemicals.
So we're going to start seeing some shortages develop. And the last thing, Kate, nobody has any sign that this will be resolved at any time, any time soon.
BOLDUAN: Yes, the president in Wall Street Journal reporting, the president's telling his advisers to prepare for an extended blockade. And let me read you what it said. "In recent meetings, including on Monday's discussion in the Situation Room, Trump opted to continue squeezing Iran's economy and oil exports by preventing shipping to and from its ports. He assessed his other options, resume bombing or walk away from the conflict, carried more risk than maintaining the blockade."
And also a senior official saying that, "The blockade is demonstrably crushing Iran's economy." This is getting me to, for everyone who watch, I'm sorry, I'm asking the same question, I feel like over and over again.
But this is the enduring question, which is whose economy can endure a blockade longer, Iran or the United States? Do you have an indication of an answer for that?
HOCHSTEIN: Look, I think we're playing a game of economic chicken at the moment, right?
[09:35:00]
The president doesn't want to, clearly doesn't want to go back to bombing, despite the fact that some of his staff and some of his allies would like him to. He's getting pulled by other group of allies saying don't do that. And his own inclination is not to go back to bombing. And therefore, he's stuck with this option of game of chicken.
Who will be affected first? The Iranians can take a lot of pain. They've proven that throughout the years they've lived under extreme sanctions for a long time.
This will not convince -- whatever concessions they did not make on the battlefield during the 40 days of bombing, they're unlikely to make as a result of economic pressure. The United States is the most immune country of any country to oil shocks because of our capacity to absorb it because we produce a lot, we refine a lot, etc.
But the rest of the world is not. So unfortunately, we are connected to other economies as the rest of the world starts suffering from it. So will we.
So this is really a game that can go on for a while. The American consumer will start paying more and more because inflation will start rising as a result of these prices going up. But it won't happen as a shock, a cliff that we cross, that we fall off.
It will happen sort of like day by day, increase by increase. I fear that with Iran, you need to get to a deal and not try to get them to concede because of economic pressure. That's a Western thing.
BOLDUAN: Yes, it's fascinating, though. It's great to see you, Amos. Thank you so much for coming in. I really appreciate it -- Sara.
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, just ahead, Elon Musk returns to the stand today in his high stakes court battle against OpenAI and Sam Altman. The dire warnings he gave yesterday in his trial that could reshape the path forward for AI. He said that AI could kill us all.
And Prison Break caught on camera what watches police chase down a prisoner who escaped from police custody. Those stories and more ahead.
[09:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We are standing by for the policy meeting from the Federal Reserve. This could be the final policy meeting for Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Now, of course, one of the Fed's key jobs is to try to keep inflation in check. Voters regularly tell us that inflation and the economy is the number one issue that they face in the country right now.
With us, CNN chief data analyst, Harry Enten. And if inflation is so important as an issue, as a political issue, how do they think the president is doing on it?
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, it is the number one issue. The number one issue. It's the number one financial issue.
It's the number one issue folks saying it's facing their families right now. And Donald John Trump is in the worst position he has ever been on inflation.
And more than that, these are the worst numbers I've ever seen for any president. I mean, just look at this. Look at this.
According to Ipsos -- look at this -- net approval rating on inflation. We got the latest poll out. He's 49 points underwater.
That means that 49 percent more of the public disapproved than the proof of the job he's doing. I went back. You remember Joe Biden inflation absolutely crushed his presidency, but at his worst, according to Ipsos, he was just 43 points underwater.
So Trump is lower now on inflation than Joe Biden ever was, according to Ipsos. And I will note that the inflation rate right now is only about a third as it was back in June of 2022. Yet Trump's numbers are significantly worse than Biden's ever were.
BERMAN: Even though inflation was like a nine percent this month, they still think Trump is doing a worse job on it than Biden ever was.
ENTEN: Correct.
BERMAN: That is staggering. OK, so when you think of presidents in inflation, the one that comes to mind is Jimmy Carter. That was when inflation was really stratospheric. So how does Trump compare to Carter on those numbers?
ENTEN: Yes, these are really stunning numbers right here. But what about James Earl Carter? Right.
You think of inflation as Johnny B. was talking about. You think about inflation seeking presidencies, you think of Jimmy Carter.
But just look here. OK, if we look right now at -- we're talking about net approvals on inflation, this number should actually be 46 percent, minus 46. And if you look at this, though, even if I raise it a little bit and I correct my error right here, live on air, we're talking about minus 46 points versus minus 49 points.
Donald Trump is in worse position on inflation than Jimmy Carter was when, of course, Carter then got blown out by Ronald Reagan back in 1980.
BERMAN: So where do Americans think this is headed in terms of the cost of living?
ENTEN: Yes, OK, so you see these bad numbers and take a look here. Look at this on cost of living. Country is on the wrong track or right track. Look at this among independents -- 75 percent. 75 percent say the wrong track. Just nine percent say the right track. Look among Republicans.
The plurality of Republicans say that the country is on the wrong track when it comes to the cost of living versus just 39 percent, 45 versus 39. Donald Trump has lost every single part of this electorate.
And when you take his name out of the equation, you see even the plurality of Republicans say that the country is on the wrong track when it comes to --
BERMAN: I don't know which one of these is more surprising. They both are stunning. One is that Republicans think the country is on the wrong track.
ENTEN: Unbelievable.
BERMAN: And then in that independent 75-9 is just a mind blowing --
ENTEN: It's mind blowing. You just never see numbers like.
So what are the prediction markets say?
BERMAN: All right, so what are the prediction markets say on an issue that you and I care deeply about.
ENTEN: Yes.
BERMAN: Beef prices.
ENTEN: Beef prices. We're heading in the summer. Just take a look here. Chance that April 2026 versus 2025, the beef prices are 15 percent higher.
According to the Kalshi prediction market, 75 percent people are feeling the pain across different issues, including beef prices, as well as at the gas tank.
BERMAN: All right, Harry Enten, thank you very much.
ENTEN: Thank you, my friend.
BERMAN: A lot more news this morning. We'll be right back.
[09:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SIDNER: This morning, we've got some new developments to share with you in the large scale investigation of fraud involving federal funding in Minnesota. Law enforcement agents yesterday executed 22 search warrants, including raids at daycares, businesses and homes.
The raids come amid longstanding allegations that some Minnesota businesses, including those run by people of Somali descent, have fraudulently used federal funding. These allegations were cited by the Trump administration, you'll remember to justify sending thousands of immigration agents to the state earlier this year that ended in the detention of dozens and the deaths of two American protesters at the hands of federal agents.
[09:50:00]
CNN's Whitney Wild is tracking all of this for us. What are you learning about these latest raids that are happening there?
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're still trying to get the details of what exactly went into an application for a search warrant. All we know right now is that they were not immigration related. But here's what we do know.
Five of the sites are related to four businesses that are connected to the state's program designed to help children with autism. According to state officials, the state's Medicaid fraud control unit helped identify those businesses and worked to try to suss out what we now believe are cases of fraud among some of these businesses, according to what officials are saying. Some of the other businesses here who were targeted were featured in this viral video by a conservative YouTuber that caught the attention of the administration.
Certainly, Vice President J.D. Vance caught the attention of the Department of Justice and really kicked off what we saw as a large stepped up immigration operations in the Twin Cities area. There appears to have been some state and federal cooperation here. We know that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is the state's basically investigatory arm, it's like their version of the FBI, was involved in this in some capacity.
But so as we continue to follow what these cases actually are, the political fallout here just cannot be contained. I mean, this was frankly catastrophic for Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's future political aspirations. He had intended to run for a third term as governor.
He ended up dropping this amid this real crush of criticism over how he handled these cases, which have been going on for several years. The indictments began in 2022. There are cases that go as far back as 2015.
This has been a persistent problem in the state of Minnesota. Here's more from Governor Tim Walz.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TIM WALZ, (D) MINNESOTA: I've said the buck stops with me. And as I know, some of you will take that as an open invitation to play politics with every incident of fraud that takes place here in Minnesota. Even though I have to tell you, the statistics show it's happening in red states more than here but so be it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILD: On Twitter, there was a bit of a back and forth between -- on Twitter, there was a bit of a back and forth between Governor Walz and the FBI director, Kash Patel. Governor Walz saying, look, state agencies helped get information to the right people to ensure that these cases happen.
Meanwhile, the FBI director tweeted, come again, saying that actually these search warrants were drafted and executed by the FBI, DOJ and DHS and said, actually, this all happened under Governor Walz watch and basically said he was trying to take credit for the federal work that went into this -- Sara.
SIDNER: So much for not getting politics thrown into it. It is part of the political fight going on as well. Whitney Wild, thank you so much. Do appreciate your reporting there on that story -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: Police in Philadelphia, they recaptured a shooting suspect who had actually escaped while being transferred from a hospital to the jail on Tuesday. Authorities say the 26-year-old somehow slipped out of the handcuffs. They even got caught, was caught on camera, them kind of chasing him around.
He ran into a neighborhood. He evaded officers for about three hours before he was caught once again. Police say he is now being held under much closer watch.
In Virginia, a garbage truck smashed through the front of a house. Fortunately, no one was home at the time. Firefighters, though, say the truck ended up partially in the basement of the home and resting atop a gas meter and electrical transformer.
They had to shut off power to about 80 homes in order to -- just look at that. That's a trash truck. 80 homes in order to remove the vehicle. No word on what caused the accident.
And a last ditch effort is underway to save a humpback whale that has been stranded for a month. The whale has been named Timmy by German media, has been stuck in a sandbank off the coast of Germany since March.
12 tons, this whale. It has been coaxed into a water filled barge now. The plan being to transport it, to release it into deeper water once again.
The Bild newspaper says that the barge is navigating its way through the busy waterway, separating Germany and Denmark now. But wow! John.
BERMAN: Somewhere we actually have pictures of the barge. It's pretty incredible watching what they've tried to do --
BOLDUAN: It's wild.
BERMAN: -- with this whale to move it.
All right, we are standing by for Elon Musk to return to the stand today in the $130 billion lawsuit he brought against OpenAI. Musk claims that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman betrayed the original nonprofit mission of the organization. Musk also told the court that he has concerns AI could, quote, kill us all.
CNN's AI correspondent Hadas Gold is still alive, very much in Oakland, California this morning where this trial is taking place. And Musk is headed back to the stand.
[09:55:00]
HADAS GOLD, CNN AI CORRESPONDENT: Yes. In just about an hour, a court will open for day two of Elon Musk's testimony. You can see the line of people that are already here waiting to get in. A mix of press and some people from the area who are just interested to see the world's richest man take the stand and testify under oath.
So he got started yesterday. He walked the jury through his biography and through his version of how and why he wanted to help co-found OpenAI back in 2015. Keep in mind, he helped co-founded it with Sam Altman and Greg Brockman and gave tens of millions of dollars to the nonprofit then.
He said that he has long had concerns about AI going back to the 90s. He said, in quote, "I have extreme concerns over AI, but it could kill us all. We don't want to have a Terminator style outcome." He made a few other movie references as well.
He also said that part of the reason he started OpenAI was because of a disagreement he had with Google co-founder Larry Page, who he said after a conversation with him, accused Elon Musk of being auspicious and being pro-human, and that's why he wanted to start a open source kind of counterbalance to what he said was the closed source Google.
He also accused Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, the leaders of OpenAI, of essentially stealing a charity when they transitioned to OpenAI from that nonprofit structure to the more for-profit structure that it has today.
Now, today, Elon Musk will continue his testimony. It's expected to go for a few more hours. But OpenAI attorneys will have their chance to cross-examine him, where they will likely try to push him on their arguments, which is that Elon Musk knew that OpenAI always wanted to have a for-profit structure, that in fact, Elon Musk himself at some points was pushing for a for-profit structure. They say the evidence, e-mails, text messages, call logs, documents all show that Musk himself thought that they needed to have just more money in the bank to be able to compete more.
So after Musk finishes, potentially today, we may get more witnesses. And these are some of the biggest names in tech, including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, as well as OpenAI president Greg Brockman, and even a mother of some of Elon Musk's children. An executive at one of his companies, Siobhan Zilis, is also expected to testify sometime in the coming days -- John.
BERMAN: Big personalities and big claims like AI will kill us all, maybe. Hadas Gold, thank you very much. BOLDUAN: But buy mine and it'll be fine.
BERMAN: Yes.
SIDNER: Thank you so much for joining us. As they say in Oakland, that's going to be hella crazy. And so is the "SITUATION ROOM," apparently. That's up next.
