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Iran Gunboats Fire On Tanker, Second Ship Hit By Projectile; House Special Election Narrows GOP Majority; Attorneys Warn Of Drastic Shift In Immigration Court Hearings; Trump Hints At Frustration As Iran Closest Strait Of Hormuz Again; Pope Decries "Despots" Who Exploit Resources During Angola Visit. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired April 18, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:01:26]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York. Jessica Dean has the night off.

We're going to start this hour with chaos in the Strait of Hormuz. At the very least, 24 hours of whiplash. And maritime officials say Iranian gunboats fired on a tanker trying to pass through the strait. A second vessel also reported being hit by a projectile of some kind. And Iran says it will again shut down the vital shipping route for 20 percent of the world's oil flow. Just yesterday, Tehran declared the strait completely open. But today it re-imposed its restrictions, blaming, quote, "breaches of trust by the United States."

Now, this morning, President Trump downplayed the latest diplomatic challenge. But CNN crews have spotted top administration officials arriving at the White House. The ceasefire is due to expire Tuesday.

A whole lot to keep track of. I want to bring in CNN's Julia Benbrook, who's at the White House, for us.

So, Julia, I just want to start with what are you hearing from the administration here?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Omar, it's been an interesting day at the White House because the developments in Iran, everything that you just mentioned there with the Strait of Hormuz are no doubt top of mind. But President Donald Trump, when speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, made it clear that he didn't want to answer questions about it right now.

He was hosting this event on an entirely different subject. It was an executive order signing, focusing in on research and expediting FDA approval of certain psychedelics, with a focus on mental health treatments and advancements there. But as it came time to take questions, he said he wanted to keep things focused only on that topic and didn't want to dive much into this conflict.

He did give some brief remarks, though, and said that ongoing conversations were going well, but that the United States would not be blackmailed. He also said that he expected to be able to give a broader update sometime soon. But take a listen to some of those remarks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have very good conversations going on. It's, it's working out very well. They got a little cute, as they have been doing for 47 years. Nobody ever took them on. We took them on. They have no navy, they have no air force. They have no leaders. They have no nothing. Actually, their leaders are -- it is regime change. You call that enforced regime change. But we're talking to them. They wanted to close up the strait again, you know, as they've been doing for years. They can't blackmail us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: Trump has repeatedly expressed confidence that a deal will come together, that the two sides are close. But there are no doubt some sticking points to keep an eye out for, to monitor, including suspending Iran's uranium enrichment program as well as the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Now, following that event, we have been tracking top officials that have been here at the White House. We spotted Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, as well as CIA director John Ratcliffe and then Vice President J.D. Vance's motorcade was here at one point as well.

It's been just about a week since Vance led negotiations in Pakistan alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. And when he left those talks saying that there was not an agreement to end the conflict, he said that this was the best and final offer from the United States.

Now, when it comes to the ceasefire that we're currently in, only a few days left there, Trump was recently asked if he would consider extending it, and he said maybe not.

[19:05:03]

So all of that, just tying into more questions as we follow developments in the coming hours and days.

JIMENEZ: All right. Julia Benbrook at the White House for us. Really appreciate it.

I want to bring in CNN military analyst, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton.

Thanks for being here. Look, I just want to start with a tanker says Iranian gunboats fired on it while in the Strait of Hormuz and a container ship also says it was struck by some kind of projectile. I just wonder from a military point of view, what would it take for the U.S. military to try and protect some sort of safe passage through the strait here?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, Omar, that's a great question. One of the things that they have to look at, of course, is how many ships they can protect. So what this might mean is a type of convoy type operation. So in other words, you string along a whole bunch of different ships, tankers, container ships, other ships that are bound into or out of the Gulf and move them along under protection.

In other words, have U.S. ships on basically all sides of that convoy. That is one possible way of doing it. The other part of that, though, would be to try to suppress any type of Iranian fire, whether it comes from the shore or from other vessels. That's going to be tough to do in some respects. It can be done, you know, in a concentrated form if they know what targets to hit, and generally they will know that.

And in that particular case, the U.S. military could potentially suppress enough Iranian fire to prevent them from hitting ships like that tanker and that cargo ship.

JIMENEZ: Yes. I mean, we're just talking about a pretty narrow path here. I mean, the Strait of Hormuz only 24 miles wide at its narrowest point, and we're showing a little bit of sort of what the pathways in and out of the strait have looked like to this point on the screen.

You know, the U.S. war with Iran has been sort of this classic case of asymmetric warfare where you have a superpower nation fighting a well- armed but still outgunned opponent. And I just wonder if peace efforts fail and military action resumes and continues, do you believe Iran will start to lean on more unconventional tactics, such as cyberattacks and terrorism?

Or is military might enough to reduce their capabilities to the point where they just say, all right, let's figure something out?

LEIGHTON: Yes, I don't think they'll do that. I don't think they'll basically say that we'll figure something out based solely on military power. Now, there might be other incentives like economic incentives, even diplomatic incentives that might bring them to the negotiating table. But basically what you're seeing is that the Iranians are going to use asymmetric means. And you mentioned cyberattacks as one possibility. That's certainly the case.

Other things could be terrorist attacks in other places. So it might look one way on, you know, when you look at the Strait of Hormuz, specifically there might be, you know, a lot of U.S. or other nation, kinetic activity in that area that would suppress Iranian fire. But they might conduct other operations in places such as the Gulf countries, the Arab Gulf countries, or in Europe or other parts of the Middle East.

So, and of course, we can't forget their proxies as well. So what you're seeing is the Iranians would definitely lean into asymmetric means. And those asymmetric means could pose some trouble to the U.S. and anybody else who's helping us at this point.

JIMENEZ: You know, the president says he wants to deal with Iran, in which it helps the U.S. collect the enriched uranium that was buried by U.S. airstrikes. And the president also says barring that deal, the U.S. would seize the uranium in an unfriendly way. I just wonder what kind of military action would be required to

excavate and capture that uranium? Because it's not like you just clear a landing zone, you get in and then you grab it and get out pretty quickly, right?

LEIGHTON: That's right. Because you'd have to know exactly where the uranium would be. And that is something that the Iranians are, of course, going to try to hide as much as they possibly can. There are ways of detecting, you know, some elements of highly enriched uranium. But it's really difficult, especially in the case of deeply buried sample of that kind of material.

So when it comes to getting into this kind of an operation, the key thing would be the element of surprise, which we've definitely lost in this particular case, at least from a strategic standpoint. Tactically, they may be able to, you know, conduct some surprise missions in this way, but what they would really need is a way to get in and get out. And you can't do that for an operation of this type because you would need a lot of earth moving equipment.

You would also need, in an ideal situation, the cooperation of somebody on the ground to help us and prevent hostile fire from taking place. And that is something that so far at least hasn't been worked out.

JIMENEZ: Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton, appreciate you taking the time. Thanks for being here.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Omar.

[19:10:05]

JIMENEZ: All right, coming up, Democrats are outperforming Republicans in a crucial special election. But ahead, how this could shape the playing field for the upcoming midterms. We'll discuss. Plus, detaining immigrants without bond, the major push to get rid of the Trump administration's policy. And then later, a tornado outbreak in the Midwest leaves behind a trail of destruction. You're seeing some of what people on the ground saw there.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:15:10]

JIMENEZ: A spring election victory for Democrats this week has them looking forward to the midterm elections. The congressional win showed the party could take back the House from Republicans, who currently have a razor thin majority.

And it's not just that Analilia Mejia won her New Jersey race. It's by how much and with whose support.

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten explains.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Hey there, Omar, happy Saturday to you.

Look, on Thursday, a weird day for an election, but there was a special election held in New Jersey's 11th District. The Democratic candidate easily won. But it's not just that the Democrat easily won. What we saw there was an overperformance versus the Kamala Harris baseline, and that is consistent with what we've seen in special elections so far for the House during Trump's second term.

You can see it all on your screen here. Look at this. We've had now seven special House elections. The Democratic candidate has outperformed Kamala Harris, and all of them in Florida's 1st District, it was 23 points. Florida 6th, 16 points. Virginia 11th, 17. Arizona 7th, 17. Tennessee 7th, 13. Georgia's 14th, 25 points.

And while all the votes have not yet been counted, we're still waiting to count the final few votes in New Jersey's 11th District, we're probably looking at an overperformance again of, get this, 10 plus points fitting in with the pattern. Seven special elections so far for the U.S. House. Seven times the Democratic candidate has outperformed Kamala Harris's baseline from 2024 by double digits.

Now, why is this so important? Why is this so important? One reason why this is so important is take a look here. What do special elections mean for the midterm elections. And this slide has a lot of font on it but it's pretty simple. Special elections and midterm results. When a party outperformed in special elections since the 2005-2006 cycles, five out of five times that same party went on to win control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

So when you see seven times that the Democratic candidates have been outperforming Kamala Harris's baseline from 2024 in these U.S. House special elections, seven times out of seven, that very much forecasts very good things for the Democrats. Come November very likely they will take back the U.S. House of Representatives.

But there was something special about New Jersey's 11th District. I don't know if you've ever been there, Omar, but I can tell you many parts of it are very, very suburban. A lot of great ice cream joints, too. I will note. McCool's, for example, in Madison. Absolutely fantastic. Scoops as well, another fantastic ice cream joint in New Jersey's 11th District. But here we go. The suburbs, baby, the suburbs.

And Donald Trump has been losing a lot of ground in the suburbs, just like we saw last night. Or excuse me, just like we saw on Thursday. I'm losing my mind here. Just like we saw on Thursday night when it comes to New Jersey's 11th District. Suburban voters on Donald Trump. Look at this. In October 2024, Donald Trump was leading in FOX News polling by two points over Kamala Harris among suburban voters.

Come over to this side of the screen. Down he goes, down he goes, look at this net approval rate. 20 points underwater. That is an over 20- point shift away from the president of the United States among suburban voters.

Now, why is he losing so much ground among suburban voters, Omar? Take a look here. It is all about the economy. Look at this shift. Look at this shift. My goodness gracious. Suburbanites on Trump and the economy. Trump was more trusted than Kamala Harris back in October of 2024 by six points on the economy when it came to suburban voters. But look at his net approval rating now. Down he goes into the New Jersey swamps. Look at this. 32 points underwater. That's a nearly 40 point shift away from the president of the United States among suburban voters on the economy.

So what happened in New Jersey on Thursday night, Omar, is very unlikely to stay in New Jersey. We've seen that in other special elections. We see it in the polling as well. At this point, Donald John Trump is absolutely toxic among suburban voters who, of course, make up the plurality of voters nationwide, something that Republicans really cannot like heading into November.

Omar, my dear friend, have a great rest of your Saturday.

JIMENEZ: Always good to see you, Harry. But really stark differences there. Our thanks to Harry Enten as always.

I want to talk politics now with Toluse Olorunnipa. He's a staff writer for "The Atlantic."

And Toluse, look, we're 200 days, six and a half months or so from the November midterms. Is that enough time for Republicans to turn things around? How are you looking at things here?

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: Well, there definitely is a lot of time between now and November. It's a world of time in politics, especially in the Trump era where so much happens in a given week or month. But the problem is that Republicans do not seem to be likely to change course. They have been following Trump and following his approach to politics pretty closely for the last several months. For the majority of his second term in office, they have applauded and approved of all of the things that he's done.

[19:20:03]

They have been unwilling to really break with him. And so as his poll numbers go down, their chances of being successful in the midterms has also gone down. And so we have, not very much evidence that Republicans are likely to change course, even though they do have a number of months to try a different approach. Right now, what they're working on, based on these various special election results, does not seem to be working.

They are hewing their fortunes to Trump. And right now, Trump's political fortunes seem to be going in the downward direction.

JIMENEZ: And some of this, some of this trajectory is very Republican specific, very Trump specific. But obviously things continue to get more expensive. And I think a lot of people just get angry at whoever is in power as well, which obviously includes the Democrats, because while they may be doing well in these special elections, a recent CNN poll shows they also aren't well liked. Just 28 percent approval, which is lower than the approval for the GOP as well. And that's in part due to Democrats rating their own party worse than

Republicans rate theirs. But what do you see as the potential warning factors for Democrats, like Israel is already a sort of a dividing factor, depending on where you are in the Democratic Party. But do these wins sort of mask risks that they may have going into the midterms?

OLORUNNIPA: Yes, the brand of the Democratic Party has been on a difficult path, especially since the 2024 election, where they lost unexpectedly in the minds of many Democratic voters to Donald Trump. And they struggled to find a message that resonated with the vast majority of the American people. And so they have not solved that problem.

Trump's, you know, handling of his office has masked some of the discontent in the electorate towards Democrats because everyone, in many cases, in many districts, there is a vast majority of people that are upset with the way President Trump is handling his office, and they're deciding to cast their vote for Democrats as a way to protest what's happening in the White House. But that does not necessarily mean that is a vote of confidence in what Democrats are doing or in their messaging.

And so they do have some warning signs on some issues, including on foreign policy, including on Israel, including on the cost of living, because there are a number of voters that still blame Democrats for the cost of living crisis that dates back to the Biden era and on immigration, where they have had some poor messaging in terms of getting across a message that resonates with the American people on how to handle the border.

And so Democrats are not in a position to rest on their laurels. They are in a situation where their brand is continuing to be poorly rated by the American people. It just so happens that Donald Trump is more unpopular than many Democrats in the eyes of many voters.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, the main splintering issue on the Republican side has seemed to be the war in Iran. I mean, even some of the allies that aren't necessarily so cleanly MAGA or cleanly Republican like Joe Rogan, for example, has once -- he's showing again, I should say, his opposition to the war with Iran. Just want to play a quick clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CROSS, COMEDIAN: We're in a worse place now than before this thing started.

JOE ROGAN, HOST, APPLE'S NUMBER ONE PODCAST IN THE U.S.: Yes. Look, the Iranian regime is terrible. Like what they do to their protesters.

CROSS: Yes. I'm not, disputing that at all.

ROGAN: It's all evil but --

CROSS: Right. I mean, yes.

ROGAN: Most people that voted for Trump or wanted Trump to be in office, one of the things that was attractive was this no more wars.

CROSS: Sure. Of course.

ROGAN: And now we're in one of the craziest ones.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And yet Trump isn't denouncing Rogan like he has other podcasting critics. Our Aaron Blake wrote on CNN.com today, quote, "While others get the vinegar, Rogan is for some reason getting the sugar." I mean, he was in the Oval Office during the executive order signing today. But bottom line, I just wonder, where do you see someone like Joe Rogan's place in sort of the ecosystem of support for the president and how critical he may be as opposed to, say, a Megyn Kelly or someone like that?

OLORUNNIPA: Well, a lot of Joe Rogan's listeners are people that are not inherently political. A lot of times they go and listen to his podcast for other reasons other than politics. And some of the other folks that have split with the president are much more politically focused. And so President Trump realized that he was able to win in 2024, in part because he was able to get people who aren't necessarily always thinking about politics and maybe listeners to Joe Rogan and feel like because Trump went on Joe Rogan's podcast and because Rogan said positive things about him during the 2024 campaign, that they would go out and vote, in many cases for the first time for a president and voted for Trump.

And so Trump does not want to alienate those voters. He wants them to become part of the MAGA coalition, even though they're not necessarily political. They're not voters that vote every midterm election, and maybe not even every presidential election. And so the president does not want to alienate those voters. He feels like he has a pretty strong grip on the MAGA voters. The people that do sometimes listen to Megyn Kelly or Tucker Carlson.

[19:25:03]

If they had to choose between Carlson and Kelly or Trump, they're going to go with Trump no matter what. But some of the people that are less political and who maybe Joe Rogan's listeners, Trump does not necessarily have that kind of stranglehold on them. And so he is trying to cater to Rogan and trying to make sure that as we get closer to the midterms, that some of those people that came out in 2024 don't check out of the political process and decide that they don't like either party. Nobody is making their lives better and they're doing -- just going to check out and stay home.

President Trump and the Republicans need those voters to come out if they're going to have any chance at staving off a Democratic wave in November.

JIMENEZ: Yes. Toluse Olorunnipa, thanks for taking the time. Good to see you.

OLORUNNIPA: Thanks, Omar. JIMENEZ: All right. Still ahead, why attorneys are warning about a

concerning shift in immigration court hearings. We'll have the details coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:30:11]

JIMENEZ: There are new concerns about the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Chaotic scenes, for example, have occurred as federal agents arrest people in immigration courts, some of what you're seeing here, creating moments which have raised alarm bells for a lot of people, but advocates tell CNN what is happening inside the courtroom is even more worrisome.

CNN's Rafael Romo joins us now.

So, Rafael, what have people been sharing with you?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Omar, what people are telling me is that what happens outside the courtroom is bad enough. What happens inside may be worse for immigrants, they say, and we have all seen the viral videos showing ICE agents arresting people in and around immigration courthouses.

But immigration advocates say they are even more concerned about what is happening in front of judges.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have a warrant for his arrest?

OFFICER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where?

OFFICER: Hey, grab him!

OFFICER: Back up!

ROMO (voice over): ICE in courthouses.

Under the Trump administration. Federal immigration agents have gone to places they generally have avoided in the past, conducting chaotic arrests, also impacting American citizens during a nationwide immigration crackdown.

URVAL PATEL, VOLUNTEER, DETENTION RESISTANCE: They are showing up to their court dates. They are getting future court dates because they are 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 is 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 the tectonic shift in the asylum policy.

LAUREN WAITS, COURT WATCH VOLUNTEER/GEORGIA ASYLUM AND IMMIGRATION NETWORK: The major difference is that nobody is 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 is no criminal history whatsoever. Those folks prior to this administration had access to bond.

Now, the way I see it, we are 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, ICE 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 (on camera): 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 is 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.

Immigration court observers also say that starting in early March, they have noticed they are being blocked from accessing immigration courtroom hearings, which are supposed to be public.

Observers say they are being asked if they are attorneys or relatives of the immigrant whose case is being heard and blocked when they identify themselves as observers, a potential violation of due process.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMO (On camera): And Omar, of course, we reached out to the Department of Homeland Security with questions about this new interpretation of the law and we were referred to the Department of Justice. We are still waiting for a reply.

Now, back to you.

JIMENEZ: All right, Rafael Romo, I really appreciate the reporting and highlighting that difference as well. Thanks.

All right, coming up, Iran tightens its grip on the Strait of Hormuz. Ahead, I will speak to the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles about how the conflict in the Middle East is disrupting global markets and industries. Stay with us. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:39:14]

JIMENEZ: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it has again blocked the Strait of Hormuz, citing the continued U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. The IRGC said in a statement, "... approaching the Strait of Hormuz will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and any offending vessel will be targeted."

I want to bring in Gene Seroka. He is the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, and Gene, as I understand, you're in China to meet with shippers, exporters and other port authorities. That part of the world gets a lot more of its oil that passes through the Strait of Hormuz and I just wonder, what are you hearing from them and those stakeholders right now?

GENE SEROKA, GENERAL MANAGER, PORT OF LOS ANGELES: Good evening, Omar.

Two real areas here. The uncertainty and the conflicting information, the stop-start that we've witnessed over the weekend with respect to the Strait. But I've been so heartened by the ports and the supply chain partners here in North Asia to keep the U.S. supply chain moving so fluidly even amidst all this concern that we have.

[19:40:15]

While vessel fuel prices doubled, they are off their highs right now, but supply is a concern.

JIMENEZ: Yes, and I just wonder, are you seeing that shippers are more discouraged right now? Are they seeing this as a blip in the process? How are they sort of approaching you know, sort of the whiplash that we have seen to this point?

SEROKA: Well, it is been really difficult, Omar because we are now in day 51 of this war with Iran and the concern of many of us, including the shipping companies, is the health and safety of their crews, making sure they have enough food, water and medicine and can ride this out. Yet, we don't know how long that's going to be. And in our industry, if a port is shut down, it usually takes from that one day about three days to catch up on all the scheduling. So here we are now, six weeks into this war and disruption on the supply chain side. This could take months on end to get these ships back into a normal rotation.

JIMENEZ: And you know, there is a lot of talk right now about when the Strait of Hormuz actually gets opened, but the mere fact that it is potentially open one day versus return to fully operational are two very different things.

And you speak to these shippers all the time, you're also making assessments as well. But how long after any potential deal would it take for things to go back to normal in the sense that shippers trust that the route that they will take will be safe?

SEROKA: This is the most important point, and the companies that own and charter these ships don't want to be the first one to try this.

Obviously, looking at safety and security of the crew, first and foremost, the assets, the cargo, but also those mines that were said to have been put in that Strait, making sure that that is of safe priority, number one.

Also, we are not going to see a straight line on this opening. We never thought from an industry perspective that there would just be a greenlight and an all go forward. This is going to be an iterative process around a war zone with real concerns after these ships have been sitting for so long.

JIMENEZ: You know, one of the things, there is a lot being negotiated and we could see some more talks coming up this week as well. But one of the things that has been discussed is Iran potentially imposing a toll on the Strait. And obviously, look, the shippers want safe passages, but are -- do you get the sense that they are making preparations for that possibility?

I mean, how would they handle like a $2 million toll for operations that previously obviously did not have that consideration.

SEROKA: Around the world right now, Omar, the scenario planning is wide and far to make sure that companies stay ahead of the information and with what they learn, try to enable shorter term tactics.

And if a toll is on the horizon, it won't be a surprise to many in the industry. A war-torn region is witnessing now the opportunity to rebuild. It will need money and finances to do that. So that's a perspective that many have had.

And also, with the price of oil that's come down over the weekend by about 10 percent, at these levels, those who are selling the oil are bringing in that cash as well, so that financial consideration for Iran and the broader region will be front and center to many of these shipping companies.

JIMENEZ: You know, earlier in the show, we were talking about how airlines, especially in the Europe region will start to have to make some hard decisions in terms of jet fuel shortages and concerns about jet fuel shortages in the weeks and potentially months ahead.

The President has previously said the Strait isn't a problem for the United States. And I remember the last time we spoke, you told me you weren't seeing a significant impact on the Port of Los Angeles in particular. Is that still the case? And when does this impact the consumer in the United States?

SEROKA: Omar, the cargo is flowing smoothly. I have been really pleased with the on time arrivals and departures of the vessels, but diesel prices are up 50 percent in Southern California and at our port, two-thirds of the cargo moves in and out by truck. Those truckers are having to absorb that early cost hike and then pass it on to the import and export companies, which will in turn push that towards the American consumer.

Gasoline prices at the pump are up 20 percent, that also has an impact. So while the cargo flow is good, the costs are growing daily because of this war and the squeeze on supply and global pricing.

JIMENEZ: All right, Gene Seroka, thank you for taking the time on this morning over there, but really appreciate the time perspective.

[19:45:04]

All right, meanwhile, the first American born Pope addresses his spat with the American President. We will bring you what he said.

Also ahead, from red light therapy to sound therapy pods, Kara Swisher trying out the trends and techniques shaping the longevity industry, does any of it actually work? Here is a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARA SWISHER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is that?

SWISHER: This is a red light mask. See, look, red lights, allegedly will make you look like bebe. They can go anywhere from just 50 bucks or less to thousands of dollars.

I feel ridiculous. Anyway, it is weird, but forget this strange and somewhat scary mask. I am going for the full body red light experience with my guide, Amy.

This looks another scary coffin-like situation. What's with the coffin?

Whoa!

AMY, GUIDE: I've got to get my goggles on.

SWISHER: Oh, wow. We would presume to be naked, but thankfully, we are not. AMY: Yes, I mean, maybe, like, in your underpants or something. Are you comfy?

SWISHER: Right. I feel like I am in a -- like an air fryer, but, sure, yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: An all-new episode of "Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever" airs tonight at 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN and tomorrow on the CNN app.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:51:07]

JIMENEZ: The White House right now, as the sun gets ready to go down there in Washington, D.C., a lot of decisions to monitor out of that building moving forward, especially with some back and forth over the Strait of Hormuz, so we will keep you posted if anything emerges from there.

But we also want to get you updated on what has also been a little bit of a back and forth between the President and the Pope.

Angola is the third stop on Pope Leo's four-country tour of Africa. The head of the Catholic Church called on Angolans to work for a society free from the slavery imposed by the elite, and spoke out about the exploitation of natural resources.

He also directly addressed recent criticism from President Trump. Christopher Lamb is traveling with the Pope for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: He directly referenced President Trump and the criticism, the extraordinary criticism that has been leveled against the Pope from the President. This is some of what he had to tell us.

POPE LEO XIV, BISHOP OF ROME, HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND SOVEREIGN OF THE VATICAN CITY STATE: The first day of the trip, the President of the United States made some comments about myself. Much of what has been written since then has been more commentary on commentary, trying to interpret what has been said.

Just one little example, the talk that I gave at the Prayer Meeting for Peace a couple of days ago was prepared two weeks ago, well before the President ever commented on myself and on the message of peace that I am promoting.

And yet, as it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate again the President, which is not my interest at all. LAMB: It was interesting that Pope Leo referenced there a speech he gave in Bamenda in Cameroon, where he said the world was being ravaged by a handful of tyrants. Now, many did interpret that as applicable to leaders around the world, including the President. It was read through the lens of the criticisms that that Leo has been facing.

But the Pope trying to say there that, you know, it is wrong to interpret his speeches in Cameroon and in Africa as responses to President Trump. I think what's going on here is that the Pope is simply saying he doesn't want to engage in a tit-for-tat back and forth with President Trump ad he did actually make that point on the way out from Rome to Algeria, the first country he visited in Africa when he came to the back of the plane again to talk to journalists.

So, Leo, I think trying to dampen down this extraordinary back and forth that's been going on between the first American Pope and the U.S. President.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: All right, Christopher Lamb, thank you.

Extraordinary to hear the Pope put that specific button on things as well.

All right, coming up, scary moments for a skydiver in Virginia. That is next in the CNN NEWSROOM. We will show you what happened.

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YVONNE KRUGER, TORNADO SURVIVOR: And I heard on the T.V. and I thought I better go to the basement and I didn't get to the basement and I heard this roar, and I dropped to my knees at the end of my kitchen counter.

Everything was around me and the house, there was glass all over everything. All I could see was a mess.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Awful scenes in that aftermath there. Cleanup is underway in the central U.S. after severe thunderstorms and twisters exploded across the region, Friday.

Tornadoes and heavy wind blowing roofs off houses, damaging cars. You can see some of the aftermath here, destroying an entire row of homes.

Now, authorities say emergency teams had to rescue some people from their basements. The area around Rochester, Minnesota, for example, was one of the hardest hit, with dozens of homes damaged, though thankfully no injuries have been reported. All right, before we go, I've got to show you this video. It shows the terrifying moments when a skydiver carrying the American flag, you see it there, crashes into the scoreboard at the Virginia Tech Spring game today. He was part of a group of three people parachuting into Lane Stadium when strong winds blew them off course. The collision obviously pretty serious. You see, it left him dangling dangerously as the stadium was watching all this play out live in horror.

And it took first responders more than 30 minutes to rescue him. Virginia Tech does say he is in stable condition. Only one of the three skydivers actually made it inside the stadium. The other, according to CNN affiliate WDBJ was flown to a nearby practice field. But you see the impact there. Really scary stuff.

All right, everyone, thank you for joining me this evening. I am Omar Jimenez. Remember, if you're in the U.S., you can now stream CNN wherever you want on the CNN App. Visit CNN.com/watch for more. Stay with CNN, "Real Time" with Bill Maher up next.

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