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Trump Announces a Three-Week Extension of the Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire; U.S. Soldier who is Involved in the Capture of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro Faces Charges on Betting in Prediction Markets. Aired 3-3:45a ET

Aired April 24, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

Donald Trump says he's in no rush to make a deal amid a standoff over control over the Strait of Hormuz as Washington issues a new warning to Tehran.

A U.S. soldier involved in the capture of Nicolas Maduro now faces charges of betting on the mission and using a popular prediction market site to do it.

Plus, Ukraine gets some high-tech help on the battlefield. We'll look at how robots are helping fight the Russians.

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

BRUNHUBER: We begin in Washington with President Trump's latest pronouncements on when the war with Iran might end. The short answer is, whenever he decides.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday he has all the time in the world to make a deal and he won't be rushed. The President also claims the U.S. is in total control of the Strait of Hormuz; he ordered the U.S. Navy to shoot and kill any vessels that are laying mines in the vital waterway.

Multiple officials tell CNN the U.S. military is making plans to target Iran's capabilities in the Strait if the ceasefire falls apart. They include potential strikes on smaller fast boats, mine-laying vessels and other Iranian assets.

President Trump has announced a three-week extension of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Diplomats from both countries met at the White House on Thursday. Israel's ambassador to the U.S. says the deal shows peace between Israel and Lebanon isn't a pipe dream. Here's President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: They do have Hezbollah to think about and we're going to be working with Lebanon to get things straightened out in that country. I really believe it's something we can do pretty easily.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Now the talks at the White House didn't stop the two sides from trading fire. Hezbollah says it launched rockets toward northern Israel and the Israeli military says it retaliated by striking Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon.

CNN's Eleni Giokos is live this hour in Dubai, but we begin with our Paula Hancocks here in Abu Dhabi. So, Paula, what more do we know about the U.S. military developing plans to target Iran's Strait of Hormuz defenses if the ceasefire fails?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kim, this is information coming to us from a number of sources familiar with this plan. It's not surprising that there would be these plans in place or being put together just in case that ceasefire deal does not come to fruition.

What we hear at this point is that it would be targeting the Iranian capabilities that we see in the Strait of Hormuz at the moment. The Iranian ability to be able to shut the Strait of Hormuz down, to target ships that are trying to cross through that crucial waterway, and it would look at the small fast attack boats, which we believe Iran has been using, or at least that is what they are claiming, to seize a number of boats in recent days.

Now, another option that they are looking at, according to these sources, is whether or not they look towards the leadership once again and try to take out certain elements of that leadership that they believe are being obstructionist when it comes to this deal. The commander-in-chief of the IRGC, for example, the Revolutionary Guards, was one that was mentioned, and then also the missiles and the missile launchers that are still remaining could be a focus as well.

We heard from the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, just last week saying that they believe that the assets they still have are being moved to other locations, so they could target them, suggesting that they know exactly where those assets are. And of course it comes, as we are hearing from the U.S. President, that he is not under pressure to make a decision, that there isn't an urgency, there's no rush for a ceasefire.

Sticking to the line that we've heard consistently now for a few days, that it is Iran that is fragmented, there's fractures within the leadership, and they are waiting for a unified response. Kim?

BRUNHUBER: All right, Paula, let's turn to Lebanon, the ceasefire extension between Israel and Lebanon. Still lots of uncertainty over that. Walk us through the latest.

[03:05:08] HANCOCKS: This is a very tenuous ceasefire, but it has been extended, which is what this two-day meeting was really pushing towards in Washington. We saw ambassador-level talks, we saw also the U.S. President Donald Trump become personally involved, images have been shown that he was physically involved as well in trying to make sure that they could increase and extend this ceasefire. So there's an extra three weeks now on this ceasefire itself, while they continue to try and secure some kind of peace.

This is, of course, a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, but even as these talks were ongoing, we did see the two sides exchanging attacks. We saw Hezbollah firing rockets towards northern Israel, and we saw the Israeli military targeting missile launches in southern Lebanon as well, which is why I say it is such a tenuous ceasefire.

We did hear, though, from some officials, we heard from the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., it's not a pipe dream, it is possible to have peace. We did hear, though, more cautious words from the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, let's listen to that.

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DANNY DANON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: The Lebanese government have no control of Hezbollah, and Hezbollah is sending rockets trying to sabotage the ceasefire, and Israel, we have to retaliate. Every time we see a threat, we take action. And I think the main question is whether the Lebanese government is capable of enforcing a ceasefire or a peace agreement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: So the hope is that at least this extra three weeks will give some space for those involved to be able to try and formulate some kind of a deal. And of course, the Lebanon ceasefire has also been used by Tehran as a reason for not pushing forward with a deal there. So it was crucial that this ceasefire was extended on a number of different fronts, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Crucial, absolutely.

I want to go to Eleni now, obviously the economic effects of the war with Iran have been reaching around the world. Here in the U.S., we're feeling it most at the pump, but that pain is something that President Trump has been trying to downplay. Take us through what he said.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and this is really interesting because he just asserts that because the stock market is doing well. And frankly, yes, the S&P and Nasdaq both hit record highs on Wednesday. He's really sort of basing on what he's seeing in the stock markets relative to what everyone else is feeling.

And this S&P is up around 4 percent since the start of the war and the Nasdaq is up 9 percent. Keeping in mind, the reason that we've seen the stock markets performing so well is because we've had earnings from A.I. and tech stocks that are not pricing in the extent of this geopolitical issue that we're experiencing. And they haven't truly priced in what it means for the Strait of

Hormuz being closed and the ripple effect it's going to have on company earnings down the line. They're trying to see through the cycle.

But I want you to listen to what President Trump said because he says, you know, he was expecting a 20 to 25 percent drop in stocks. And he says he's pleasantly surprised. Listen in.

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REPORTER: If you need more time, does that mean Americans should anticipate spending more on gasoline for the foreseeable future?

TRUMP: For a little while. And you know what they get for that? You know what they get for that?

Iran without a nuclear weapon that's going to try and blow up one of our cities or blow up the entire Middle East. I projected, and I'm pretty good at this, that the stock market, Howard, would drop maybe 20 percent, 25 percent.

And I understood that. And I said, hey, it's a bad thing, but I have to do what's right for the country, even the world. Because you can't have them, you cannot let them have a nuclear weapon.

So the stock market, unlike what a lot of people were predicting, I thought they weren't necessarily wrong. The stock market today hit an all time high, hit an all time high yesterday, the day before. And it's staying there.

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GIOKOS: So, you know, it's really just far removed from reality to talk about the stock markets in terms of the personal experience of consumers, not only in the United States, but around the world. And frankly, the pain is being felt in Asia, where you're seeing fuel shortages and rationing. That is going to move very quickly to the rest of the world.

Europe has just a few weeks left of jet fuel. In the United States, you're seeing that very evident in the price of gas that you're paying. And for every day we see a paralyzed strait of Hormuz, the ripple effects on a global level is going to remain intact.

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As you're starting to see, Iran really trying to assert its control over the strait by seizing vessels using speed boats, asymmetrical warfare, and the United States with its naval blockade waiting to see who's going to capitulate first.

But if you look at the data, it's pretty obvious to see that this oil shock is feeding through everywhere. WTI and Brent crude consistently rising on the back of these headlines, Kim, and on the back of some of the major concerns about potential escalation with President Trump says he's given the U.S. Navy the right to shoot and kill any boats that could be laying mines in the strait of Hormuz.

We just heard from Paula's reporting around if the ceasefire fails, which by the way is already stressed right now, that they're going to be targeting any assets by Iran that exists in the strait of Hormuz. This is really important. It's a critical point as we hopefully wait to see which side is going to finally agree to potentially get around a negotiating table for everyone else in the world.

We're just watching this tick up even though in the sea markets, stock markets in the United States are still very resilient right now. Eventually, everyone's going to feel it through demand destruction.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, and the implications are so widespread as you laid out there. I want to thank both of you, Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi, Eleni Giokos in Dubai. Thank you so much.

The "New York Times" has new reporting from inside Iran, including details about the mysterious supreme leader who hasn't been seen since taking over the country. Journalist Farnaz Fasshi spoke with CNN's Erin Burnett about what she has learned.

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FARNAZ FASSHI, "NEW YORK TIMES" U.N. BUREAU CHIEF: He has suffered from a severe leg injury. His leg has been operated on. There are suggestions that it may even be amputated, and he's waiting for a prosthetic leg.

His hand has been operated on, and it's gaining functionality, and more importantly, his face and lips have been severely burned to the point where it's difficult for him to speak, and he will require plastic surgery.

So we know that he's gravely injured. We know that there's the President of Iran, President Pezeshkian, who's a heart surgeon, and the health minister are in charge of his health care. And he's mostly surrounded by a medical team in a hiding place.

And access to him is incredibly difficult and that's probably one of the reasons why we haven't seen the new supreme leader in any video messages. Nobody has.

And his voice has not been heard to the extent that he's communicated, it's been with written statements read on state television. All the sources I spoke to said his mental capacity was intact, so he was able to engage and communicate.

Now, we also know that as soon as he was appointed as the successor of his father, Israeli officials said that they would assassinate him if they found him. And you know, there's been airstrikes that have killed not just Ayatollah Khomeini -- the late Ayatollah Khomeini, but also very senior commanders. So there is a real threat and risk to his life in the view of Iranians and from what we can gather.

So you know, part of the reason why there's no access to him is because I heard from sources that Iranians are worried that if officials try to visit him, that their movement might be traced to him, because we know that also that the movement of senior officials has been sort of monitored.

So that's one of the reasons. And I think you also mentioned his physical condition. He probably doesn't want many people to see him in this vulnerable and weak physical condition and wants to recover.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: New video reportedly shows the aftermath of a deadly Israeli strike in central Gaza. A Palestinian health official says the attack killed three people, including a rescue worker. Israel's military had no immediate comment on the strike.

The U.N. spokesperson says the continued reports of strikes and gunfire are raising fresh concerns for the safety of civilians in Gaza. Both Israel and Hamas accuse each other of violating the shaky ceasefire, but there's no mechanism for enforcing the deal. More than 780 Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire started.

Ukraine says at least three people were killed in a Russian drone strike in the southeast of the country, 10 other people were injured in Thursday's attack on the city of Dnipro. A 13-story apartment building and administrative building, cars and a shop were also damaged.

Meanwhile, the European Union has approved a more than $100 billion loan to keep Ukraine's economy afloat and to finance its war effort, a loan that had been on hold for months because of opposition by Hungary and Slovakia.

Ukraine's military engineers are making strides in one area that we usually think of as the sci-fi domain. We talk about robots that are replacing humans in dangerous war missions.

CNN's Melissa Bell reports.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to the future of warfare. A bird's eye view of two robots and then their own as they zip through a snowy field in Kharkiv region, evading enemy fire and making it to their goal, a Russian infantry position under a damaged tank.

Russia may have more men in this four-year war, but Ukraine believes that its robots can help make a difference. Like here, one blows up part of a building, allowing a second to destroy a basement in which soldiers were hiding. More losses for Russia and again, zero for Ukraine, a crucial arithmetic as Kyiv battles Moscow's superior numbers.

VOLDYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The future is already here, already on the battlefield, and Ukraine is creating it.

BELL (voice-over): That was here, also in the region of Kharkiv, when a unit of robots did the work of soldiers with no blood spilt.

UNKNOWN (through translator): That unit took over the dugout's tree line in just 15 minutes. The entire strip was already ours, literally and without any losses. Not a single shot was fired.

BELL (voice-over): The robots even managed to take prisoners that day, a first in Ukraine's war. President Zelenskyy says that 10,000 missions have now been carried out by robots.

ZZELENSKYY: We have to stop altogether Putin. And we can stop it with weapon because he doesn't want to speak.

BELL (voice-over): But Ukraine's military technology, which includes its sea and fiber optic drones, is not just its pride. President Zelenskyy says it's also bringing in money now that Kyiv is helping Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar with their air defenses against Iranian drones. We're witness to a global robotic arms race today.

The United States, Europe, Russia and China are all developing robot systems and tactics. But the pressures on its front lines have given Ukraine an advantage in figuring out what war might look like with more robots and less blood.

Melissa Bell, CNN.

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BRUNHUBER: A U.S. soldier is facing federal charges after allegedly placing a bet on Polymarket. We'll tell you what he's accused of wagering on after the break. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: A U.S. Special Forces soldier involved in capturing former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is now facing federal charges for allegedly betting on the top secret mission. The soldier is accused of misusing classified information after allegedly betting on Polymarket that Maduro would be out of power by January. Prosecutors say his long shot bet made him $400,000 in profit.

CNN's Kara Scannell explains how these prediction markets are coming under scrutiny.

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KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A major arrest tied to a suspicious $32,000 bet that paid out in January by a trader who used the name Burdensome Mix. The bet was a long shot that longtime Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro would be out by the end of January. Shortly after it was placed, a covert U.S. military operation ensued, extracting Maduro.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump says the U.S. carried out large scale strikes on Venezuela overnight.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arriving in New York.

UNKNOWN: This is unprecedented. This is history in the making for Venezuela.

SCANNELL (voice-over): Law enforcement now alleging that the trader who made over $400,000 is U.S. Special Forces soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke and that he was involved in the planning and execution of the Maduro raid. Van Dyke is alleged to have misused classified government information for personal gain and more bets and trades time suspiciously around major news developments are in question.

Fifteen minutes before President Donald Trump posted on Tuesday that he would extend a ceasefire with Iran, traders placed a whopping $430 million bet that oil prices would drop. The trade is one of four massive bets that preceded major announcements in the U.S.-Iran conflict since late March, according to Reuters, raising concerns about potential insider trading.

Last Friday, investors bet $760 million that oil prices would drop. 20 minutes later, Iran's foreign minister said the Strait of Hormuz would reopen. After the post, oil futures fell 11 percent.

And earlier this month, less than three hours before President Trump announced on Truth Social a U.S. ceasefire with Iran, traders had bet $950 million that oil prices would fall. That bet paid off as well. Oil futures fell 15 percent after the post.

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): This is corruption. This is just astounding corruption.

SCANNELL (voice-over): These are not isolated incidents.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy called out a $580 million bet placed 15 minutes before Trump posted on Truth Social he would delay striking Iran's energy infrastructure. It was another winner, oil futures plummeted 15 percent.

MURPHY: That kind of scale never happens on a Monday morning at 6:50. But it was happening for a reason, because people that were making those bets knew that a few minutes later, Donald Trump was about to post something on social media.

SCANNELL (voice-over): There are no obvious ties between the trades and White House officials. And a White House spokesman told CNN any implication that administration officials are violating the law is, quote, "baseless and irresponsible."

[03:25:09] ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The key phrase that makes something insider trading under the law is if somebody is trading based on material non-public information. Question is essentially, is this information that was known to the general public outside the halls of Congress, outside of the White House, outside of government itself?

SCANNELL (voice-over): Last month, the White House sent a memo to staff reminding them that, quote, "the misuse of non-public information by government employees for financial benefit is a very serious offense and will not be tolerated."

SCANNELL: President Donald Trump reacting to the arrest, saying it seems unfortunately that the whole world is a casino. He said, I'm not happy with it. Van Dyke is expected to make his first court appearance Friday morning.

Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUHUBER: Pope Leo has wrapped up his trip through Africa and he's speaking out once again against the U.S. war with Iran. We'll have a report from Rome coming up. Please stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back, I'm Kim Brunhuber. Let's check some of today's top stories.

Lebanon and Israel have agreed to extend their ceasefire by three weeks. Each side accuses the other of sporadic violations of the truce, including cross-border strikes, while talks were underway at the White House. Lebanon reports nearly 2300 people have been killed since early March.

President Trump says he has all the time in the world to make a deal with Iran, but right now it's not entirely clear who's leading the country. The President claims the U.S. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz and he ordered the Navy to shoot any ships laying mines in the waterway.

Multiple sources tell CNN the U.S. military is developing new plans to target Iran's capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz in the event the current ceasefire falls apart. The new plan calls for much more concentrated bombing campaigns against Iranian assets around strategic waterways, namely the Strait of Hormuz, the southern Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.

Pope Leo is denouncing the Iranian regime for killing anti-government protesters, but he stressed that he can't support the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and he urged all parties to work toward ending the conflict.

CNN's Christopher Lamb has the story.

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CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Pope Leo on board the papal plane saying that as a pastor, he cannot favor war, while saying that the whole population of Iran is suffering because of the conflict.

Now, the pope has just completed a marathon tour to Africa over 11 days where he's made some forcefully worded speeches supporting peace and saying the world is being ravaged by a, quote, "handful of tyrants." It was also a visit where he faced extraordinary attacks from President Donald Trump, in large part because Leo has been so outspoken against the conflict in the Middle East.

Now, Pope Leo on the plane was speaking to us journalists during the in-flight press conference on the way back from Equatorial Guinea. Leo also condemned the Iranian regime's killing of protesters, but said whether there is regime change or no regime change, the most important thing is preventing more lives being lost. And he said the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran were confusing and, quote, "we don't know where it goes."

Now, Leo said his time in Africa was meant to be a pastoral visit rather than political and to support what is a growing part of the Catholic Church in the global south. He visited four countries and large crowds came out to meet him virtually everywhere he went. There was also a strong emphasis on Christian-Muslim dialogue in Algeria, which is a Muslim-majority country.

The pope's next trip is due to be in Spain in June.

Christopher Lamb, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: A school in New York noticed immigrant children struggling under stress and uncertainty for their future. Now it's finding new ways to keep them engaged. We'll explain how after the break, please do stay with us.

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[03:35:00]

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." Here are some of today's business headlines.

Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders have cleared the way for CNN, HBO and Warner's other media brands to join Paramount's Skydance later this year. WBD says shareholders overwhelmingly voted in support of the takeover deal on Thursday. Paramount now has to secure regulatory approval in the U.S. and other countries. President Trump says he's considering a bailout for a struggling

Spirit Airlines. The President said he would purchase the airline if he could get it for the right price. An attorney for Spirit said that the administration's in very advanced discussions over a federal bailout package, the source told CNN the bailout could be worth $500 million.

Meta says it plans to cut around 10 percent of its workforce and lay off about 8000 people on May 20th. The tech giant also said it won't fill around 6000 positions as it invests billions in artificial intelligence. Meta spent $72 billion last year on capital expenditures, including A.I. infrastructure.

Many immigrant children in the U.S. have stopped going to school while others attend but are preoccupied with what's going on outside the classroom. That's why one school in New York is finding new ways to keep these kids engaged and preparing for their futures.

CNN's Hannah Keyser reports.

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GABRIELA, JR. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: Since I was a kid, I really want to try boxing.

HANNAH KEYSER, CNN SPORTS WRITER: When you're in the gym, how do you feel?

GABRIELA: With a little adrenaline and so happy.

KEYSER (voice-over): This is "Gabriela." She's a junior at Atlas High School in Queens, where a lot of the students are recent immigrants, including her. She says she moved to the U.S. from El Salvador when she was 13.

GABRIELA: You know, the immigrant depression, everyone has it because I've been five years here in New York. I still have the, you know, the feeling that my life is there. But I know it's not.

KEYSER (voice-over): The number of students at the school has shrunk by about 40 percent this year, mostly because of immigration crackdowns across the country. We've concealed the students' identities for that reason.

UNKNOWN: Come on, everybody, let's go. The bell rang.

ELIZABETH MESSMANN, ATLAS HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL: Children are coming to school less frequently. I think part of it is that they don't feel safe transiting to school and because they have this feeling that they will soon be facing deportation, they maybe aren't really committing to the process of getting an education because they are choosing to work.

KEYSER (voice-over): The boxing program is one of many that the school has created to motivate the students to continue to show up.

MESSMANN: Nail tech, barber, photography. This is the classroom that we're converting into our community store, which is also going to give them work-based learning experience, hardware and software technology.

Those types of programs are programs of interest to students, but also ways that our students can earn a living while they are becoming documented.

MIKE FIGUEROA, BOXING COACH: The boxing program has brought solace and comfort to them.

KEYSER (voice-over): This year, coach Mike Figueroa, who leads the boxing gym, designed a program so that the students could train to earn money as certified coaches.

FIGUEROA: There we go. Come on.

They're nervous just stepping out of their home and then stepping out of here. Obviously, that anxiety has created panic, but they definitely feel safe and protected in here.

UNKNOWN: After I graduate, I'm going to teach some kids how to box, to get someone to college.

UNKNOWN: We are learning how to make people feel confident.

UNKNOWN: Boxing is for the fitness, for the health, for your mentality. And when you learn how teaching works, it's a more door you can open.

KEYSER (voice-over): When "Gabriela" imagines her future in boxing, though, it's not as a coach or a trainer. It's her in the ring.

GABRIELA: My goal is to have a fight, professional fight, something. I imagine my mom, my brother, my cousins, my auntie. I mean, all my family is there, you know? I'm being so strict with my dream.

Who's got my dream? That's me.

KEYSER (voice-over): Hannah Keyser, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks so much for joining us, I'm Kim Brunhuber. "World Sport" is next.

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