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Trump Presses the Strait of Hormuz Reopening, Hell may Break Loose as Deadline Nears; Artemis II now on a Lunar Flyby to the Moon; Pope Leo Pleads for Peace. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired April 06, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, wherever you are in the world, you are now in the "CNN Newsroom" with me, Ben Hunte in Atlanta, and it is so good to have you with me.

Coming up on the show, a new day, a new deadline. President Trump again threatens Iran, demanding it to open the Strait of Hormuz.

In the first Easter message of his papacy, Pope Leo pleads for peace.

And the Artemis II crew is preparing to go where no humans have gone before. The dark side of the moon, what to expect from their daring mission?

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Ben Hunte.

HUNTE: Welcome.

U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a new deadline and new threats against Iran. The President has once again postponed the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

In a profanity-laced social media post, Trump renewed his threats to target key infrastructure sites if Tehran does not comply by Tuesday. Iran has since fired back, saying it will only reopen the vital waterway when financial damages from the war are fully compensated.

We are also learning new details on a daring rescue of a U.S. airman whose F-15 fighter jet was shot down over Iran. The injured airman hid in Iran's mountains for more than a day before being rescued on Sunday. A source tells CNN hundreds of U.S. special ops, military and intelligence personnel were involved in the mission, as well as the CIA.

President Trump is set to brief the press on the operation from the White House on Monday.

(VIDEO PLAYING) Meanwhile, Israel faces a new wave of Iranian missile strikes. Air raid sirens could be heard blaring just outside of Tel Aviv. And you are now seeing a live shot of Haifa, Israel, where Israeli media reports at least two people were killed and two remain missing after an Iranian strike on a residential building on Sunday, that's some very sad news there.

We are covering this story from multiple angles. Of course, we have Eleni Giokos standing by in Dubai for us.

But first, let's go to Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi. Paula, What's the reaction to President Trump's newest demands to Iran? What can you tell us?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ben, we're getting a lot of reaction from Iranian officials to that social media post threatening to target power plants and bridges with the expletives as well.

Now, we've heard from the parliament speaker, Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf. He's really emerging as a very powerful voice in Tehran at this point. And he's accused Trump of pushing the U.S. towards a living hell and warned that the region could burn.

The Iranians have been saying that they will target in kind if there is civilian infrastructure targeted in Iran, in the Gulf region and in areas where the U.S. has interests.

Now, we've also seen fairly tongue in cheek reaction from some of the Iranian embassies around the world to that outburst in that social media post. We've heard from the Iranian embassy in India saying swearing and throwing insults are how a sore loser brat behaves. Get a grip on yourself, old man.

Now, there's also been criticism within the U.S. Chuck Schumer, for example, the Senate minority leader, calling Trump an unhinged madman from that expletive laden social media post.

We also had a response from the foreign ministry spokesperson. Let's listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ESMAIL BAGHAEI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Iran's reaction would be one of reciprocating any such attack. Our armed forces have made it clear that in case Iran's infrastructure is attacked, we would react in kind. They would, our armed forces, would target any similar infrastructure that is owned or in any way or manner related to the United States or contributes to their act of aggression against Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:05:03]

HANCOCKS: Some experts also point out that targeting civilian infrastructure to punish a civilian population could constitute a war crime. It's worth pointing out we have seen all three sides targeting civilian infrastructure already at this point.

Now, what we're seeing in Iran overnight and then this Monday morning with airstrikes from the U.S. and Israel, from state media, we are seeing in Bahrestan County, this is just southwest of the capital, a densely populated area, we see a number of residential buildings that appear to have been hit there.

According to Fars News Agency, they say some 13 have been killed. Then in the eastern part of Tehran, four killed in another residential area. Now, CNN cannot independently confirm these figures, but we are also seeing loss of life in Israel and elsewhere.

HUNTE: Okay, thank you, Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi. I appreciate that.

Let's bring in Eleni Giokos standing by in Dubai for us. Eleni, how are the markets reacting to this threat of disruption? There's so much going on. What are you seeing?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so every time we see new threats, clearly you see a big movement specifically on the oil price. Now, some markets are closed for holidays. It was a big weekend. It was Easter weekend.

So we're still waiting to see the market reaction on the industry front in terms of stock exchanges, but really fascinating to look at the likes of Brent Crude, which is the international benchmark for oil, which of course has been ticking up throughout the weekend.

And then importantly, those new threats by President Trump giving the Tuesday deadline essentially saying or else they're going to be targeting power plants as well as bridges and really giving a stark warning there. These warnings have come through consistently, but also it's not lost on people the kind of mixed messaging in terms of where the United States stands on the Strait of Hormuz.

Initially, it was we don't need the oil, then it was the Strait of Hormuz will open up naturally once the war ends, and then it's, you've got to open up the Strait or else hell will break loose in Iran.

Iran planning reciprocatory as well as retaliatory strikes across the Gulf States and we've actually seen these playing out frankly, throughout this 38 day war. Importantly, OPEC plus countries have decided to increase production ban by 206,000 barrels per day.

Now this isn't much given that we're worried about 20 million barrels per day that are essentially taken out of the market because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Now, some of these countries include Saudi Arabia, Qatar, as well as Kuwait, as well as the UAE. And then you've got to focus on the fact that most of these countries that have said they're going to increase supply cannot get any of their crude out at least for now.

Now, the Strait of Hormuz is still effectively controlled by Iran. You've seen some directly coordinating with Iran to be able to pass through the Strait. We've seen a tick up in some of the tanker traffic, but definitely nowhere close to the 70 tankers per day we saw pre-war.

And then you had the first E.U. and NATO leader meeting with various leaders across the region. It was Giorgia Meloni, she is the Prime Minister of Italy. And she's just really putting it out in simple terms that Italy relies on oil and gas coming through the Strait.

And I want you to listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIORGIA MELONI, ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): If production or transit contracts or even stops here, the price increases for everyone. And if it worsens, we could end up not having all the energy that is needed in Italy as well.

Consider that Qatar alone, which is where we are, covers 10 percent of Italy's gas needs. And overall, the Gulf area guarantees our nation about 15 percent of the oil it requires.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Yes, 15 percent of oil that it requires. I mean, here's an example of an industrialized nation that is going to be affected by this supply shock, Ben, that is, you know, triggering such big energy issues across the world, from Asia to Africa to Europe, eventually felt in the United States.

And I'm sure you've seen that gas prices in the U.S. have increased since the start of the war. And that is a pressure point for President Trump.

HUNTE: I've seen it. I'm feeling it. We are all feeling it, Eleni, trust me on that.

Big thank you to you in Dubai and to Paula Hancocks reporting from Abu Dhabi. Thank you both.

Well, earlier, I spoke with the Editor-in-Chief of "The National," Mina Al-Oralbi, and she weighed in on Donald Trump's latest threats. Have a listen to that.

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MINA AL-ORALBI, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "THE NATIONAL": Iran has been taking consistent strikes for the last five weeks. We're now in week six of this war. And second, as you said, deadlines have moved, but it's still around about the time that Donald Trump had initially said, which is the 6th of April, so it's probably a day longer than anticipated.

[03:10:07]

It's significant because of the threat that he's made to go after all energy and bridges, cutting off the country. And militarily, usually, that sort of attack is to cripple the country rather than to prepare, for example, for a land invasion where, again, some people were speculating that could be what we head to just a few weeks ago. We seem far from a land invasion, but very much using full air power to cripple Iran's economy.

Now, we've been hearing a lot that Iran is threatening to reciprocate if they are targeted. I think it's really important for your viewers to understand is that Iran wouldn't reciprocate by targeting the U.S. or, frankly, Israel in as much as it's targeting the Gulf, which not only before the war said they were very much against being part of a war like this and actually called for diplomacy, also throughout this have stayed away from actually getting involved in the war. So any threats that Iran is making to target the Gulf region is actually targeting a party that isn't party to this war, which is causing great concern, but also frustration in the Gulf.

I'd say that the words from President Trump, of course, capture the attention of the world. It is the President of the United States, but it's also his actions. We need to see on the ground what happens.

He spent a lot of Easter Sunday speaking on the phone with different journalists and all reporting saying that he is interested in getting to a deal. Is this maximum pressure to try to push the Iranians to come to some sort of agreement, even if it's a temporary ceasefire?

It's unclear. What is clear that in this part of the world, a temporary ceasefire does not solve the fact that Iran has gone out of its way to make the Strait of Hormuz impossible for the world to have access to, but also to really threaten the Gulf.

HUNTE: We have also seen that dramatic rescue of a U.S. airman deep inside Iran. What signal did that operation send about U.S. capabilities and intent right now?

AL-ORALBI: Well, of course, it reconfirmed America's incredible military power, but it also signaled the weakness around the fact that they were unable to capture this pilot. They did everything from putting out a public call to its people to try to capture him to, of course, trying on the ground to stop any American rescue mission and yet the U.S. proved once again that it has superior military capabilities, but also will not leave its soldiers behind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: President Trump's fiery truth social pose, sure you've seen that, is drawing sharp criticism from U.S. lawmakers. In an Easter post on X, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer compared the President to a, quote, "unhinged madman," and said what the President threatened to do could amount to a war crime.

Former Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene also reacting, saying, quote, "Trump threatening to bomb power plants and bridges hurts the Iranian people, the very people Trump claimed he was freeing."

This all comes as Democrats on Capitol Hill are voicing concern over the White House's request for roughly $1.5 trillion in defense funds for 2027. So much money. The potential 40 percent increase from last year would boost military spending to its highest point in modern history.

Senator Tim Kaine says he doesn't see how that request is justified.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): People see this President as having blundered into a war with no clear rationale, and there's no amount of cursing or boasting or tough talk that will cover up for the fact that this President didn't have a rationale and he doesn't really have a plan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: We're joined now by Natasha Lindstaedt, professor of government at the University of Essex.

Natasha, we have just heard how politicians are reacting to President Trump's pretty wild wardens there to Iran. What about the American public, though? Is this major escalation in words and threats winning Trump any more support for his war effort?

NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, PROF. OF GOVERNMENT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: No, we're not seeing that happening. In fact, things are only getting worse. If we were to look at a recent CNN poll, it showed that there's only 33 percent support for the war, and that is much lower than it was by about eight or nine points than it was at the start of the war and this is traditionally what happens as a war goes on.

The American public grows tired of it, and they're concerned about the way that the war is going to affect their own pocketbooks. Of course, they're concerned that the war could go on for a very long time.

And you see that other polls are showing this type of thing as well, that you have some two-thirds of Americans that are worried about the gas prices going up. You already have gas prices going up by 30 percent, and there was even an uptick in gas prices after Trump's 19- minute speech several days ago when there was no indication that there was any kind of negotiations going on.

So this hasn't been very popular with Americans who are worried that there isn't any kind of off-ramp.

[03:l5:03]

And his most recent expletive-laden post on social media doesn't sound like he has things under control. In fact, the Iranians were mocking him and were indicating that he sounded like he was completely crazy.

And so that's another concern for Americans. They're trying to figure out how long this conflict is going to go on for. Through his speech, he said that it could go on for weeks, but then he was comparing this conflict to other wars that went on for years and years, and basically telling Americans to buck up and deal with it.

HUNTE: You know what? Let's just mark this moment a bit.

I'd love to hear what your reaction was when you saw that post on Truth Social today. What did you say?

LINDSTAEDT: Well, he just doesn't sound like he has it under control. I mean, it does sound like someone who has lost the plot.

He had been saying so many different things at the start of the conflict, that this was going to be quick and easy, that there would be some minimal pain to the American public and to the Iranian public. But he has made this threat twice before and then has backed down. And now he seems to be saying the opposite of what he said before, which was that the Strait of Hormuz wasn't really our problem.

But then he fundamentally misunderstood that gas prices, oil prices are globally set. So even if the oil passing through that strait doesn't affect Americans, it will because global oil prices are globally set.

So he doesn't seem to have an understanding of what's happening. So he became very irate and angry. And he just, you know, spewed this on social media and it doesn't sound like he knows what his next steps are going to be.

HUNTE: Oh, yes. At the same time as that, the White House has unveiled a budget with some big and quite controversial changes, some people would say. Did anything surprise you about what they're prioritizing?

LINDSTAEDT: Well, there's nothing really surprising about this. It's a $1.5 trillion. I mean, this is just a massive military budget.

We're spending more than the next nine countries combined. It's $445 billion more than last year. It's clearly a focus on law enforcement and the military.

And it's going to come at the expense of other things that are really important to Americans, whether that be affordable housing or education or health care or fighting climate change.

And Trump himself said this. We're fighting wars. You know, these other things like Medicaid and Medicare are going to have to get cut.

And this isn't going to be popular with the majority of Americans. It may still be popular with his base. You see that even support for the war amongst his base is somewhere between seventy five to eighty five percent.

So he hasn't really hemorrhaged support amongst Republicans. But we see with the rest of Americans, whether it be independents or Democrats, they're seeing that the priorities are really about the military and about this conflict and not about some of the issues such as affordability that they may care about.

HUNTE: I mean, who likes higher bills? That makes sense.

Natasha Lindstaedt, thank you so much for now. I appreciate it.

LINDSTAEDT: Thanks for having me. HUNTE: Artemis II is getting closer to the moon as the crew prepares for its lunar flyby. When we return, an update on the mission as Orion enters the moon's sphere of influence. See you in a moment.

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[03:20:00]

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HUNTE: Welcome back.

The Artemis II crew have entered the lunar sphere of influence. That is where the moon's gravitational pull is stronger than Earth's. The crew is preparing for their historic lunar flyby of the moon's far side.

CNN's Ed Lavandera has the latest for us from Houston.

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ED LAVANDERA, CNN SR. U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Artemis II crew is preparing for what will be the most momentous moment of this mission as they prepare for the flyby around the moon. And there has been a great deal of thought over as to what will happen over these hours and to excruciating detail.

NASA officials laid out what the plan will be and how this crew will maximize their time flying around the moon, capturing the images and parts of the moon that have never been seen before. This is a moment that has not happened in more than 50 years.

And NASA officials say that the four-person crew will divide time taking pictures of the moon as they fly around it. There will be two astronauts at the windows at any given time taking pictures.

Other two crew members will be inside preparing, they have a laundry list of the very spots and specific areas of the moon that they want to capture images of. And they have a detailed plan of when they will fly around each of those spots and a plan to be able to try to capture as many of these images as possible.

On top of that, there will also be cameras on the solar panels that extend from the capsule looking down on the moon itself. So there should be some extraordinarily stunning images of the moon.

And what is very different is when this was done during the Apollo missions, it was audio only. There was no visual inclination or any visuals of what was actually happening. It wasn't until much later after the crew returned that we were able to see those images.

Now they're going to be seeing the video, all of this in real time. But of course, there will be a moment, about 40 minutes, where the crew loses all communications. But this is the moment, the most significant moment of the Artemis II crew mission to the moon.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Houston, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Onwards, the death toll in Lebanon continues to rise as the war with Iran upends the region. Now Israel's far right is demanding the IDF ramp up military operations in southern Lebanon. All of those details, just ahead.

And thousands filled St. Peter's Square to celebrate Easter Sunday. Ahead, we'll hear about Pope Leo's first holy week as pontiff and why his Easter message is resonating far beyond the Vatican. See you in a moment.

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[03:25:00]

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HUNTE: Welcome back, I'm Ben Hunte. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

U.S. President Trump warns Iran will face severe military action if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday. On Sunday, Mr. Trump once again postponed the deadline for Iran to lift its effective blockade of the vital waterway, or else the U.S. will target Tehran's power plants and other key infrastructure.

Ukraine's President says he has agreed to a new security cooperation with Syrian leaders. Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Damascus on Sunday on his trip through the Middle East. He has been shoring up relationships with partners in the region as the U.S. war with Iran intensifies.

The Artemis crew has officially entered the lunar sphere of influence, that is where the moon's gravitational pull is greater than Earth's. Later today, the crew is expected to complete their highly anticipated lunar flyby of the moon's far side. They are also expected to break the record for traveling the farthest away from Earth.

More than a dozen Israeli far-right lawmakers are demanding Israeli defense forces expand its plans to destroy villages along the Lebanese border and expel residents, too. All of this as Israel launched a deadly wave of overnight attacks across Lebanon. The IDF released this footage of what it claims are launchers and weapons storage facilities concealed within structures and civilian infrastructure in Lebanon.

State media reports at least 10 people were killed in the strikes, including a 15-year-old girl.

Nearly 1500 people have been killed since Israel launched its full- scale air-and-ground campaign on Lebanon last month. That figure is according to Lebanon's health ministry. The IDF retaliated after Hezbollah fired into Israel in solidarity with Iran.

[03:30:10] Fr. Daniel Corrou is a Jesuit priest serving in Lebanon. He is the regional director of the Refugee Service in the Middle East and North Africa, and he is joining me now from Beirut. Thank you so much for being with me, sir. I appreciate it.

We have been reporting on fresh strikes in Lebanon with multiple casualties, just heard about them. Can you just describe to us, what are you seeing on the ground right now?

FR. DANIEL CORROU, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, JESUIT REFUGEE SERVICE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA: Thank you, Ben.

Yesterday was a marked increase here in central Beirut, where we have changed the Jesuit church into a shelter, welcoming migrants from all throughout Lebanon of all religions. We had in central Beirut not heard much other than the normal drones for the last week.

But yesterday, deliberately on the Christian holiday of Easter, during our masses here, we heard not just the drones, but we heard the fighter jets flying overhead. And then at about 1:30, 1:45 yesterday afternoon, as I had a mass at a different location, we heard a blast in the middle of the service.

This is at a time when Muslims and Christians alike here on a Sunday afternoon are with their families, deliberately trying to have a normal lunch. Christians, in particular, celebrating Easter, were having a particularly festive lunch.

To hear the fighter jets overhead rather than the regular drones, to hear the loud explosions so close to the center of Beirut was a clear message to all of Lebanon, I think. We know that day in and day out in southern Lebanon and southern Beirut, there have been attacks.

That they were coming so close to the center of Beirut was a market change yesterday. We're just seeing these images while you're talking. It's horrific.

HUNTE: It's absolutely awful. It's so scary to see. I'm so sorry you're going through that.

Are aid groups able to operate effectively within this space? What are you finding? Is access becoming more difficult as this security situation gets more and more less?

CORROU: There's no question whatsoever. We have several locations which we have not been able to open again. We are doing food distributions and hygiene kit distribution, but in other locations, two areas where people have been displaced.

The south now is completely off limits. Before the recent sort of movement of the IDF into southern Lebanon, I know with the Nuncio, several of the Christian organizations were able to move food baskets down into the south. We have no idea, and I think it's important to say that we have no idea what we're going to be able to do in terms of access in the south. Even just humanly, I think of some of my own staff who have family

members made the decision to remain in Tyre or in some of the villages along the south. They made that decision, but they're not sure they're going to be able to talk with their family members, visit with their family members.

We don't know how long the occupation is going to last. There are many things that are uncertain about that.

HUNTE: Lebanon was already under immense pressure and strain. Can you just tell us a bit more about how displaced people and refugee communities are coping with this, and how surprised are people that all of this is happening right now, and we're seeing so much death within a nation as well? These numbers are wild to see.

CORROU: They are extraordinary, and it is amazing to hear the stories in the shelters where I work, the shelters that we've opened here, to hear the stories. These are, that we're working with in particular, are migrant workers. These are people that have arrived here from Sri Lanka or Bangladesh, from Sudan, from Nigeria.

Many of them came here in order to avoid conflicts in their home countries. They came here to get a better job, to do some work here while they were in Lebanon.

During the 2024 war, many of the same people were displaced. Now again, in the 2026 war, we're finding them displaced again. They've been displaced multiple times.

I can remember very distinctly a story on the first night of the war here of a Sri Lankan woman explaining to me she wasn't sure she would ever be able to return to her employment down in the south, not just because the war would go on forever, but she couldn't imagine going back to that place where she had seen her neighbor's body parts spread across the street in front of her house, in front of her apartment.

She couldn't imagine going back to that. The violence is real. People are seeing this in their family and friends, they're seeing this in their neighbors.

We talk about Lebanon having suffered so many conflicts over many generations. We talk about the Lebanese resilience, but even among my Lebanese staff here, they're tired, they're exhausted. There is a limit to that.

HUNTE: We've probably got about 30 seconds left, but I would just love to hear more about concerns about donor fatigue. I was reading earlier about donor fatigue globally. Because of the amount of issues happening around the world right now and people potentially stopping donating, are you seeing any gaps in funding right now? If our viewers want to support, what can they do to help?

CORROU: We are seeing certainly there has been a decrease. We see that it's not just because of the U.S. funding decrease with the cancellation of USAID and other funding.

[03:35:06]

We are seeing overall about a 40 to 50 percent reduction globally. This was even before this particular emergency. That is just a reality that we in the NGO world are talking about.

I think of Pope Leo in the presentation that he gave today, the Urbi et Orbi Address in Rome. He reminded us of the term that his predecessor, Pope Francis, would talk about the globalization of indifference.

We are indifferent to the violence that's happening all around us. We are indifferent to the suffering that's happening all around and only attentive to our particular price of gas, something like that. How can we be attentive to the needs of all of our sisters and brothers wherever they are?

HUNTE: Okay, Fr. Daniel Corrou, thank you so much for that. We appreciate it.

CORROU: My pleasure. Thank you.

HUNTE: During his first service in Easter as pontiff, Pope Leo reiterated his calls for peace as he addressed thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square and millions watching all around the world. He once again urged world leaders to reject division and war and to seek dialogue and understanding instead. Warning, the world is becoming increasingly desensitized to the human cost of conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE LEO XIV, HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it and becoming indifferent, indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people, indifferent to the repercussions of hatred and division that conflict so, indifferent to the economic and social consequences they produce, which we all feel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Pope Leo, the first American pontiff, has made peace a central theme of his early papacy. Some say, in direct reaction to the Trump administration's increasingly hawkish foreign policy and, more specifically, the war with Iran.

We'll be right back.

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[03:40:02]

HUNTE: Welcome back, here are your business headlines.

Crude oil prices climbed after President Trump threatened to strike Iranian energy facilities. Brent crude, that's the global benchmark, surpassed $110 a barrel on Sunday, and U.S. crude jumped as high as $113, putting further strain on global fuel costs.

Eight OPEC-plus countries have agreed to slightly boost their oil production in May. Among them, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, and Oman. The wider organization is warning that repairing damaged infrastructure is a costly and lengthy process, underlining the potential longer-term disruption to energy supply.

Hungary's Prime Minister warns that a quote, "severe energy crisis is approaching because of the war in the Middle East." Viktor Orba is demanding the E.U. suspend sanctions on Russian energy imports. That comment came the day before Serbian officials said they discovered two backpacks full of explosives near a Russian gas pipeline that's close to the border with Hungary.

Thirty-two people have been rescued after a boat capsized near the Italian coast on Easter weekend. Rescue charities said the boat you're seeing there was trying to cross to Europe from Libya when it capsized, according to the charities. Survivors report 71 people were lost at sea.

Merchant vessels retrieved the survivors and recovered the bodies of two migrants. The victims were brought to the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Okay, I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. For our viewers in North America, I'm back with more "CNN Newsroom" next, and for our international viewers, it is "World Sport." See you in a moment.

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[03:45:00]

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HUNTE: Welcome back.

U.S. President Donald Trump warns Iran will face severe military action if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday. On Sunday, Mr. Trump once again postponed the deadline for Iran to lift its effective blockade of the vital waterway or else the U.S. will target Tehran's power plants and other key infrastructure.

CNN correspondent Julia Benbrook has more for us from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to target Iranian power facilities if it does not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, that critical waterway where 20 percent of the world's oil typically passes through. And he said over the weekend that time is running out.

His deadline here has shifted multiple times. When he first made this threat late last month, he said it at 48 hours and then paused it for five days, then extended it for 10 more. Now, he had said it was Monday, it appears that he is now pushing that to Tuesday. And I do want to pull up a post that came this weekend with the

warning that the language used here is jarring. It is filled with profanity. But I'll read it for you.

He said Tuesday will be power plant day and bridge day, all wrapped up in one in Iran.

There will be nothing like it. Open me. And then he used profanity that I'm not going to read directly, but it's there on your screen straight.

You crazy bastards or you'll be living in hell. Just watch. Praise be to Allah.

He then signed it like he usually does. Donald J. Trump.

Now, in several brief phone interviews, he repeated that Tuesday time frame, saying that he could take further action if a deal is not reached by then. In an interview with Axios, he said that he could blow everything up over there.

Now, a senior Iranian official, he has responded to Trump's recent ultimatum, saying that it would only reopen the Strait of Hormuz if it is fully compensated for financial damages during the conflict. Trump is expected to speak with reporters and field questions in the briefing room at 1:00 p.m. Eastern on Monday.

Julia Benbrook, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: As the war with Iran drives up global fuel prices, Americans are, of course, feeling the pain at the pump. According to the AAA Auto Association, the U.S. national average is hovering around $4.11 per gallon.

Diesel fuel has risen even higher than that, reaching roughly $5.61 a gallon. Some experts do warn that those continued disruptions are also likely to increase shipping costs for a variety of industries.

And this is surprising. If you thought $4 a gallon was steep because it is steep, you may want to avoid filling up in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong has the world's most expensive gasoline. And that's even before the war in the Middle East, as Kristie Lu Stout explains for us here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm paying 15 U.S. dollars a gallon here at the pump.

LU STOUT (voice-over): Hong Kong is home to the world's highest gas prices, and they have surged since the U.S. and Israel launched their war with Iran. In the U.S., average gas prices have soared to over $4 a gallon, a level not seen since 2022. But it's nearly four times that here in Hong Kong, where energy prices

have been elevated long before the war in the Middle East. Almost all of the city's energy is imported, with power generation dominated by fossil fuels.

Now, according to local media, the soaring price of oil has prompted some Hong Kong drivers to cross the border into Shenzhen for cheaper gas. Hong Kong has strong public transport links, so the impact here is being most felt by private car owners, as well as drivers of trucks and buses that use gas or diesel.

But for those whose livelihoods depend on driving, the rising costs are sure to hurt their bottom line. The city's fleet of iconic red taxis don't run on gas. Most use liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, which has also spiked in price.

Hong Kong's top leader has expressed concern about the rising price of energy and says the government is working to ensure stable supplies.

[03:50:06]

After more than a month of war, Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has left Asia facing the heaviest blow, that's according to economists. Around 80 percent of the gas and oil products that flow through the Strait of Hormuz all heads here to Asia. And the shortage here will have knock-on effects around the world, as Asia, Europe and the U.S. all compete for supply.

LU STOUT: So just when you thought $15 at the pump was high, brace yourselves.

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HUNTE: That is absolutely wild.

Under the Trump administration, immigration and customs enforcement agents have been making lots of arrests in courthouses and several other locations that were once considered completely off limits. Advocates do say that a major shift in policy is now preventing many immigrants from receiving a particular level of due process.

CNN's Rafael Romo reports for us.

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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eyes in courthouses.

Under the Trump administration, federal immigration agents have gone where they generally have avoided in the past, conducting chaotic arrests, also impacting American citizens during a crackdown that has included those seeking asylum in the United States.

URVAL PATEL, VOLUNTEER, DEMOLITION RESISTANCE: They are showing up to their court dates. They're getting future court dates because they're meeting the requirements set by the law in this country. ROMO (voice-over): The practice of arresting people at immigration courts is the subject of an ongoing lawsuit brought against the Trump administration by civil rights groups last year. And according to that ongoing lawsuit, the Justice Department recently admitted to a federal judge it's been incorrectly relying on an immigration and customs enforcement memo to justify arrests at immigration courts. CNN has reached out to DHS for comment.

But immigration advocates say what these viral videos don't show is a tectonic shift in the asylum policy.

LAUREN WAITS, COURT WATCH VOLUNTEER, GEORGIA ASYLUM AND IMMIGRATION NETWORK: The major difference is that nobody's getting bond anymore.

ROMO (voice-over): Several times a week, Lauren Waits sits in her kitchen and watches immigration court proceedings through a virtual feed.

WAITS: The dramatic change has been for people where there's no criminal history whatsoever. Those folks prior to this administration had access to bond. Now, the way I see it, we're all paying with our tax dollars to keep them in these detention facilities for no good purpose.

ADRIANA HEFFLEY, LEGAL SERVICES DIRECTOR, GEORGIA ASYLUM AND IMMIGRATION NETWORK: What changed is that in around July of 2025, I began to take the very new position that the majority of immigrants in immigrant detention are not eligible to even ask a judge for bond.

ROMO (voice-over): Immigration attorney Adriana Heffley, the director of legal services at the Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network, leads the Court Watch Program, a network of over 100 volunteers who document immigration court hearings.

ROMO: Observers with GAIN's Court Watch Program say in the past, it was very likely for people living in the country with no legal documents to get bond if they didn't have a criminal record. But there has been a noticeable change during the current administration.

HEFFLEY: It's a drastically different interpretation of existing law that has been commonly understood by everyone practicing in immigration law for decades.

ROMO (voice-over): An Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo from July posted online by the Immigration Policy Tracking Project says in part that, "Effective immediately, it is the position of DHS that such aliens are subject to detention and may not be released from ICE custody except by parole."

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement documents published in February, the federal government will spend more than $38 billion to acquire eight facilities to serve as large-scale detention centers and 16 processing sites, that's in addition to 10 other existing facilities, to increase capacity for immigrant detention for more than 90,000 by the end of November.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

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HUNTE: Let's talk weather now. Millions of people across the eastern U.S. are in for a very cold and very stormy Easter Monday.

This all comes as the cold front that brought rain and thunderstorms from the northeast all the way down through the Carolinas begins to move off of the East Coast. And we're going to see that cold air settle in and linger too. It's going to be causing temperatures to run a very good 10 to 15 degrees lower than usual, freezing as we're going to be kicking off the week.

All of that chill could even bring light snow to parts of the Great Lakes and the Northeast too, before some warmer weather finally returns around midweek.

[03:55:07]

Wildfires. Firefighters in California have successfully contained 90 percent, or 95 percent even, of a massive wildfire that has spread over 4,000 acres.

You're seeing images there. The blaze broke out on Friday in Riverside County, with the exact cause still unknown. Footage captured by residents showed thick smoke billowing over nearby communities, Cal Fire says all evacuation orders have now been lifted.

Let's talk sports. UCLA has won its very first NCAA women's basketball title. Let's tell you about it.

The Bruins dominated South Carolina 79-51 in Phoenix. UCLA led by 13 at halftime, and they never looked back. Look at those pictures.

All of their starting players finished the game with double figures in scoring. And that win has capped such a stellar season of 31 wins and just one loss.

Michigan and UConn will face off for the men's championship tonight. The Wolverines are entering the title game with confidence and momentum after a dominant Final Four performance. And in their regular season, Michigan was winning games by an average of more than 30 points.

But the UConn Huskies have a chance to win their third national championship in four years, being one of the most consistent programs in the NCAA tournament.

And that is all I've got for you. Thanks for joining me and the team for the past two hours all across CNN. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta, and I will see you at the same time next weekend.

But do keep watching CNN, this will be a very busy week indeed. "Early Start" is up next. See you next weekend.

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