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V.P. Vance: No Agreement Reached In U.S.-Iran Talks; Iran Says No Plans For Further Talks With U.S.; Pope Leo Condemns Invoking God's Name In U.S.-Israeli War With Iran; Artemis II Crew Describes Joy Of Their Mission & Camaraderie; Manhattan DA Probing Sexual Assault Allegations Against Swalwell; Trump Ally Orban Faces Tough Challenge As Prime Minister; NWS: Thunderstorms Forecast From Southern Plains To Great Lakes; Rory McIlroy Loses Six-Stroke Lead During Third Round. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired April 12, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:00:31]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Sunday, April 12th. Thank you for joining me. I'm Victor Blackwell, and we're following breaking news in the U.S.-Israel-Iran war.

A marathon session of talks ended early this morning with no peace deal between the U.S. and Iran. Now, negotiators started Saturday afternoon. They worked all the way into this morning. But in the end, Vice President J.D. Vance says nuclear development was a major sticking point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE (R), U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon. That is the core goal of the president of the United States, and that's what we've tried to achieve through these negotiations.

Again, their nuclear programs, such as it is, the enrichment facilities that they've -- that they had before, they've been destroyed. But the simple question is, do we see a fundamental commitment of will for the Iranians not to develop a nuclear weapon, not just now, not just two years from now, but for the long term? We haven't seen that yet. We hope that we will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The leader of Tehran's negotiating team says that ultimately the U.S. failed to gain the trust of their delegation. Iranian state media reports that Tehran has no plans for another round of talks. But an Iranian official was not as definitive and told state media that diplomacy never comes to an end.

Pakistan's foreign minister says that the country will stay committed to being a mediator between the two countries. During the talks, U.S. Navy ships started to clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz. "The New York Times" reports the ships destroyed an Iranian surveillance drone that approached one of them.

The sources told "The Times" that the drone was not a direct threat, but the Navy still did not want Iranian forces tracking their movements. They stressed this did not violate the already fragile ceasefire.

We have team coverage worldwide. CNN's Clarissa Ward is live in Riyadh. Jennifer Hansler is in Washington.

Let's go first to Clarissa. What else have you learned about these talks?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, the entire region is sort of on a knife edge at the moment following the failure of those talks. And the question, of course, that everybody is asking is, what does this mean? What comes next? Does this mean that the ceasefire is effectively over? Does this mean that we are going to see a resumption of fighting? That clearly a huge source of anxiety and concern here in the region.

There are technically still 10 days left on the clock of this ceasefire. And Iran's foreign minister earlier had said, you know, we never expected this to be settled in one session. The fact even that the talks happened, Victor, the highest-level talks to take place between the U.S. and Iran since the revolution in 1979. The fact that they lasted 21 hours, that they were by all accounts serious and substantive.

All of that is a sort of positive indication. And yet the fundamental chasm that exists between the two sides, the complete lack of any coherent overlap, particularly as you mentioned on the issue of uranium enrichment and Iran's nuclear program, and particularly, of course, on the Strait of Hormuz. That is leading to real doubts that it will be possible for the two sides to find any common ground.

Of course, the whole world is now waiting and watching to see what President Trump will do when he wakes up this morning, how the U.S. will respond, and whether this ceasefire will continue, whether we might see another round of talks. And until we get some sense of the direction that this is moving in, you will continue to see, particularly here in the Gulf, where the Strait of Hormuz is such a crucial issue, a large degree of anxiety and concern.

Although I will say, when you talk to people here, there were not high hopes for these talks. There was always a recognition going into these talks here in the Gulf that it was going to be a tall order for these two sides to agree on these very thorny and complex issues, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Yeah. And the president has said both that if there was no deal, that the ships were ready and the weapons would be used. And he has also said it doesn't matter whether there is a deal or not. We'll see what happens when we hear from the president.

[06:05:00]

Clarissa Ward for us there in Saudi Arabia. Let's now go to the White House. Throughout these talks, the vice president stressed that he was speaking consistently with President Trump. CNN's Jennifer Hansler is joining me now. What else are we learning from the administration?

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER AND WRITER, NATIONAL SECURITY: Well, Victor, what we heard from J.D. Vance last night in his brief press conference after the conclusion of these marathon talks is that he had been in basically constant contact with not only the U.S. president, but also the broader national security team, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Brad Cooper, the head of CENTCOM, to talk about these ongoing talks.

So, they have been in constant communication with each other on this matter. However, they were not able to bridge these huge divides going into these talks between the two sides.

Now, what we heard from Vance was that it was really down to this key issue of Iran's nuclear program. This is something that had bedeviled negotiators even prior to the start of this latest round, before the start of the war. This was something that had been the main focus of a lot of the talks leading up to this moment.

However, he also seemed to address this idea of this lack of trust between the two sides. He said that they were going into these negotiations in good faith. Take a listen to what he said last night, Victor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANCE: We just could not get to a situation where the Iranians were willing to accept our terms. I think that we were quite flexible. We were quite accommodating. The president told us you need to come here in good faith and make your best effort to get a deal. We did that, and unfortunately, we weren't able to make a headway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANSLER: And, Victor, as Clarissa was saying, we're coming out of these talks with more questions than answers. Vance said as he was leaving last night that they had left with their best and final offer on the table for Iran.

However, he did not outline any sort of timeline in which the U.S. expects Tehran to reply to that offer. He also didn't give a lot of details on what is actually in this, quote-unquote, "final offer here. So, there are a lot of questions if the U.S. is willing to return to the table, even in a working-level format, how long they will give the Iranians to reply and whether or not they will start this military offensive, which the U.S. president had threatened ahead of these talks to wipe out an entire civilization. So, there is a lot at stake here, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Jennifer Hansler for us in Washington. Thank you very much. For more, let's break down the talks and where things go from here

with Paul Salem, Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute.

Paul, good morning to you. Vice President Vance said that the inability to reach an agreement is bad news for Iran much more than it is bad news for the United States. Do you think that's right?

PAUL SALEM, SENIOR FELLOW, MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: I think that is right. I mean, Iran has suffered tremendous losses over these almost six weeks of bombing. The U.S. and Israel had free reign of the skies over Iran. The damage inside Iran to the military, to the governance structure, to their navies, their air force, their industrial base is tremendous. And obviously now it could go on or renew itself after the failure to reach an agreement.

The U.S., on the other hand, is suffering from some Iranian leverage through the Straits of Hormuz, which impacts the global economy, which impacts President Trump's political decision-making. But the U.S. is no weaker now than it was before, whereas Iran is greatly degraded.

Keep in mind, it's been working for 40 years to build up all these capacities. And it's been hit back a fair distance, but clearly still able to throw many punches, still surviving and still able to impose that leverage, particularly through the Strait and through threatening of the Arab Gulf countries on the other side of the Gulf.

BLACKWELL: So, let's talk about those Arab Gulf countries, the ones that especially have taken the brunt of these attacks from Iran, talking about UAE, Qatar. How does this failure resonate there in the region?

SALEM: Well, I think there is mixed positions in the region. There are, I would say, the bulk of the leaders of the region really want this war to come to an end. Obviously, it's greatly impacted their economies and the life of their societies, their ability to export energy and other products. There's no doubt about that. So, there was hopes that this round of talks would come to some conclusion.

There are others, however, in the Gulf who feel that their reaching out to Iran previously, normalizing relations with that regime, did not pay off. And that, in fact, while they had very good relations with Iran, the moment Iran felt threatened, it went ahead and bombed all of them and closed the Strait of Hormuz, which is a public -- public waterway.

[06:10:05]

So, there's also a lot of hostility towards Iran and some feeling that, well, maybe it's best to degrade them further and not leave them with so much leverage to continue to be able to dominate global energy flows and the Gulf countries.

BLACKWELL: You rightfully mentioned the impact of the attacks on the Iranian military, and still there was no deal. The president has said that if there is no deal, that there will be a resumption of the attacks. Will this be won militarily, do you think? Do you think even returning back to the consistency of attacks we saw over the last month will change the fundamental Iranian position?

SALEM: Well, I think the one thing that President Trump needs is the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. He really doesn't desperately need anything else. The nuclear program has been set back many years. The U.S. and Israel have eyes over Iran. They can watch that. The ballistic missile program still exists, and they can't wipe it out completely, but it's been greatly degraded.

Iran somewhat has been deterred because of the great suffering that it's had. So, two scenarios. One, either that the U.S. military, and we're seeing some naval action, finds a way to open the Strait of Hormuz and maybe is not overtly challenged by Iran, and that the Strait quietly opens over the next few weeks. And that would -- you know, in that sense, this round of the war would be over without a formal agreement, but everybody sort of calms down, and there's effectively a ceasefire, and the Straits open.

The other scenario is that the U.S. military has to wage a more, you know, proactive military campaign to open the Straits. What I'm saying is that the only thing the U.S. really needs is for those Straits to open, one way or the other. Otherwise, I think they can live without an agreement for now, because the U.S. and Israel continue to have freedom of operation over Iran.

BLACKWELL: Yeah, and CENTCOM says that two Navy guided destroyers are clear in the Straits of Hormuz from mines laid by the Iranians. The question will be what will be the confidence of those companies, those ships heading through and taking this, as they call it, new passage through for the maritime industry.

One more before we go here. You've said that the president clearly wants an off-ramp here, but there's the Israeli element. They have far more ambitious goals than maybe the president of the United States. If they keep up their campaign in Iran and Lebanon, do you think that off-ramp is still available to the president?

SALEM: I think that, you know, yes, as you said, the president needs an off-ramp. I think the Israelis will abide by President Trump's wishes, particularly as relates to Iran, if he asks that the attacks on Iran stop, because I could imagine Iran could come to the conclusion that, look, let's have the Strait open again in exchange for no attacks on us, give us -- you know, they could then have time to rebuild and regroup. They might take that opportunity without formally signing an agreement.

What Israel is insisting on is another front, which is its war on one of Iran's proxies, Hezbollah in Lebanon. That war, you know, is ongoing now, and Israel has insisted that a ceasefire there is not connected to the front in Iran. I think the U.S. could allow that. Then the confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon will continue.

It's important to note that Israel and Lebanon, for the first time in their modern history, have agreed to direct talks, which are happening next Tuesday in Washington.

BLACKWELL: All right, Paul Salem, thank you so much.

We have new developments related to CNN's exclusive reporting on sexual misconduct allegations against Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office announced that it is investigating an allegation made by a former staffer who says that she was raped by Swalwell.

Swalwell is currently running for governor in California. Several prominent Democrats are now calling for him to end that campaign. Swalwell has denied all accusations, including in a video posted late Friday.

The survivor is one of four women who described allegations of sexual misconduct by Swalwell to CNN. Meanwhile, the Alameda County D.A. is evaluating potential criminal conduct by him in the Bay Area involving a separate 2019 misconduct allegation from the same woman.

[06:15:00]

Pope Leo is sharpening his stance against what he calls the madness of war. We have a live report from Rome on the pope's message of peace.

Plus, three people were stabbed in a machete attack at New York's Grand Central Station. What we know about it, that's coming up.

And, make a break moment for one of President Trump's biggest allies in Europe. Will voters in Hungary end Viktor Orban's 16-year presidency? Live report from Budapest.

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[06:20:11]

BLACKWELL: Pope Leo is leading prayer after denouncing the use of God's name to justify the joint U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. He made his remarks at a peace vigil yesterday. His public condemnation came as negotiations were happening at Pakistan to end the war. Let's go now to CNN Vatican Correspondent Christopher Lamb.

Good morning to you, Christopher.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Victor. Yes, we've just heard from Pope Leo at the Sunday noontime prayer from St. Peter's where he has appealed now for a ceasefire in Lebanon saying that the civilian population need to be protected.

This comes after his vigil at St. Peter's Basilica packed with thousands of people, even hundreds outside in the square following it on big screens where he made an impassioned appeal for the end to the madness of war. He also called on leaders to get around the negotiating table to avoid the delusion of omnipotence.

So, it was very strong words from the Pope on Saturday night. It was a specially organized peace vigil as the talks were going on in Pakistan between the U.S. and Iran. We have seen Leo in recent weeks really become more outspoken on the

war in the Middle East. He spoke to me just before Easter saying that he hopes President Trump can find an off-ramp to end the conflict. So, you know, increasingly outspoken from the first American pope.

And, of course, that gives his words added resonance at a time of the U.S. military operation in Iran. And, of course, tomorrow, Pope Leo heads to Africa for a marathon trip, a 10-day trip for four countries. And he's going to start by going to Algeria, which is a Muslim- majority country, to continue that call for peace, for dialogue. Leo really emerging as a moral voice on the world stage during this uncertain time. Victor.

BLACKWELL: Christopher Lamb for us in Rome. Thank you, Christopher.

In New York, police officers shot and killed the man who attacked three people with a machete at Grand Central Terminal. They were taken to a hospital and treated for cuts to the head and face.

Officers say they ordered Anthony Griffin to drop the machete several times, but he kept calling himself Lucifer and then approached them with the weapon extended. There is an investigation, and police also plan to release body cam footage of the shooting.

The four astronauts who went further into deep space than anyone in history were reunited with their friends and families in Houston yesterday. They were welcomed as heroes, rightfully, with cheers and standing ovation at Johnson Space Center. This was after they broke space records and barriers during their 10-day journey around the moon.

NASA says the Artemis II was a test flight to lay the groundwork for future missions. And speaking publicly for the first time since their return to Earth, the crew members described the camaraderie they shared on the journey to deep space.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REID WISEMAN, ARTEMIS II COMMANDER: Victor, Christina, and Jeremy, we are -- we are bonded forever, and no one down here is ever going to know what the four of us just went through. And it was the most special thing that will ever happen in my life.

Before you launch, it feels like it's the greatest dream on Earth. And when you're out there, you just want to get back to your families and your friends. It's a special thing to be a human, and it's a special thing to be on planet Earth.

VICTOR GLOVER, ARTEMIS II PILOT: I'm afraid to start even trying. When this started on April 3rd, I wanted to thank God in public, and I want to thank God again.

CHRISTINA KOCH, ARTEMIS II MISSION SPECIALIST: What struck me wasn't necessarily just Earth. It was all the blackness around it. Earth was just this lifeboat hanging undisturbingly in the universe. I may have not learned. I know I haven't learned everything that this journey has yet to teach me. But there's one new thing I know, and that is, planet Earth, you are a crew.

JEREMY HANSEN, ARTEMIS II MISSION SPECIALIST: What you saw was a group of people who loved contributing, having meaningful contribution, and extracting joy out of that. When you look up here, you're not looking at us. We are a mirror reflecting you. And if you like what you see, then just look a little deeper. This is you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:25:06]

BLACKWELL: Wow, wow, wow. Hey, if you haven't filed your taxes for last year yet, they're due on Wednesday, or you can file for an automatic extension. That'll buy your time until October 15th to get your taxes completed. Otherwise, you risk getting hit with penalties and interest.

Still ahead, U.S. negotiators have left Pakistan without reaching a deal with Iran. Why Vice President Vance says talks failed.

Allison?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And we're keeping an eye on storms both in the Midwest and in the Southern Plains. We'll talk about where the severe threat is expected to move east over the next few days.

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[05:30:06]

BLACKWELL: Well, after 21 hours of talks in Pakistan, the U.S. and Iran failed to reach an agreement to end the war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JD VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: We've made very clear what our red lines are, what things we're willing to accommodate them on, and what things we're not willing to accommodate them on. And we've made that as clear as we possibly could. And they have chosen not to accept our terms.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The Iranians say U.S. overreach caused the negotiations to break down. It's not clear this morning what will become of the ceasefire that's now in place.

Meanwhile, Lebanese state media says that Israel has been pounding towns in the south overnight. Peace talks between those two countries are scheduled for Tuesday in Washington, at least to try to get to a ceasefire.

CNN's Oren Liebermann has the latest from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Israeli officials had anticipated that the talks in Pakistan between the U.S. and Iran to try to get to a ceasefire agreement would ultimately fail.

They also believed before the war had started some 40 days ago that the diplomatic effort between Iran and the U.S. would fail. That doesn't automatically mean, though, that Israel is immediately resuming the war against Iran and strikes in Iran.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the campaign against Iran isn't over yet in a televised statement on Saturday night. But really right now, from Israel's perspective, certainly is that it's up to President Donald Trump where this goes from here. There is more time before the two-week ceasefire expires, and perhaps or perhaps not there will be another diplomatic effort. Still, Israel needs to wait and Netanyahu needs to wait for coordination with the U.S. on where this all goes from here.

Netanyahu made clear that one of the big issues for him is the highly enriched uranium, and that has to come out. In his televised statement, he said that Israel has had major accomplishments in trying to list those off. That's significant because a number of polls last week had shown that the Israeli public does not believe, most of them do not believe that Israel and the U.S. won the war against Iran.

So, Netanyahu trying to convince perhaps the public here that there were significant accomplishments and this was at least some measure of victory here.

Now the focus is also on Lebanon. We have seen continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, smoke rising from the suburbs of Beirut, and we have seen sirens warning of incoming Hezbollah fire in northern Israel.

Given that the war there continues, there are still talks scheduled for Tuesday, direct talks between Israel and Lebanon that Netanyahu says he had approved. Now he says these talks and an agreement would require at least two steps. First, a complete disarmament of Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy in Lebanon, as well as what he called a real peace agreement that will last for generations.

Now it's not clear that this high bar is actually achievable, and we may very well see a sort of a copy of what we saw in Pakistan. That is a significant diplomatic achievement, that is direct talks between Israel and Lebanon, but ultimately still no agreement reachable, and the war in Lebanon there continues.

There is an effort here to reach talks. The U.S. is pressuring Israel to take part in these, but that doesn't mean there will be a success from the diplomatic effort that will take place just a little later on this week. Just as we saw the failure in Pakistan, at least so far, it's possible we're looking at another failure upcoming in D.C.

Oren Liebermann, CNN, in Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Oren, thank you very much.

Let's bring in now Errol Louis. He's the political anchor for Spectrum News and host of The Big Deal with Errol Louis.

All right, Errol, good morning to you. Let's start in the Middle East. Do you foresee that there are near-term political consequences of this inability to reach a deal in Pakistan domestically?

ERROL LOUIS, SPECTRUM NEWS, POLITICAL ANCHOR: Good morning, Victor. There are near-term, but it depends on how you define near-term.

We have elections, important midterm elections this year. Israel has elections for its Knesset in October. I think this is the last opportunity, the last political window, to try and sort of put a bow on this and say, this was a success or this was a failure.

The voters in both countries will have the last word, but this is the last chance for these administrations to prove that this entire adventure was worth it, as the entire global economy, of course, is hanging in the balance.

BLACKWELL: Yes, and we saw the economic numbers this week. The highest inflation rate, annual inflation rates for nearly two years in the U.S. consumer confidence is low.

Specifically on the vice president, because he was the new element here. We'd seen Kushner and Witkoff in their engagements with the Iranians before the start of the war. Is there any residual political impact for JD Vance, specifically, going in 21 hours and not coming out with the deal?

LOUIS: Well, you know, he was an interesting choice to lead the delegation in the first place. We know that he was a skeptic about the entire operation. And in his political past, he had specifically warned against doing exactly what this administration has now done.

[06:35:10]

So to have him alongside a number of, frankly, amateurs, people who are not diplomats, who are not trained in diplomacy, who don't have the personal and professional experience and contacts to pull off something as delicate as this kind of a ceasefire conversation. He was kind of working, you know, it was all going to be uphill no matter what.

So I personally am not that surprised that he came home empty handed. It's going to take a little bit more work and probably some work by professional diplomats to try and get the ceasefire that the United States wants.

BLACKWELL: And I acknowledge that as I ask you this question, we don't know the answer. You don't know the answer. But I think everyone's waiting to see, well, what will President Trump do now?

He did on Friday say that if there is no deal that they're going to continue, the U.S. is going to continue attacks. And then on Saturday said, well, the U.S. has already won. So, he doesn't care if there's a deal.

What does he now say to the American people that there is no deal?

LOUIS: Some -- some version of declaring victory and coming home is really the only option for this administration. It's only a question of when they will do it, how they will do it, and whether or not more bombs will fall and more lives will be lost before that happens. But that is the inevitable conclusion.

This president said from day one what he knew was the only political politically acceptable answer for the American people, which is to say that this was worth it. It was important. It had to be done. And we won. He said he began saying that on day one, Victor, and the facts haven't changed that.

And that that politically, I think he and the Republican Party, that's all they can say. There's no other possible conclusion. The only question is, again, when they're going to accept that reality and get the best deal that they can and come home.

BLACKWELL: All right. Let's talk now about Congressman Eric Swalwell. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has now opened an investigation into allegations of sexual assault against the congressman. He denies them.

Nancy Pelosi, Hakeem Jeffries have urged him to drop out of the race for California governor. Others have dropped their endorsements of him.

Axios reports that a Republican congresswoman is now going to force a vote on expulsion from Congress. And then Democrats, if she does that, are also going to, in return, force a vote to expel Republican Tony Gonzales over his affair with a staffer who later died by suicide.

Do you think that Swalwell's, not his gubernatorial campaign, but his congressional seat is in real jeopardy?

LOUIS: I don't think expulsion is necessarily in the cards. I mean, they really reserve it. It's been done very, very seldom. And it's reserved for the most grave and serious and fully proven kind of misconduct.

In this case, we don't really have a lot of actual proof. And that's partly why in Manhattan and elsewhere around the country, there are investigations now going on, because there actually might be a crime committee at his legal problems might be even more serious than his political ones. But now his political problems, I think, relate more to his gubernatorial ambitions, which are sort of fading fast. The voters, of course, will get the last word on that.

But the question of the House expelling him, I'd be very, very surprised if Democrats and Republicans wanted to go quite that far based on what we know so far, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

LOUIS: And this is usually the point at which members decide maybe it's time to resign.

BLACKWELL: All right, Errol Louis, that primary in California with both parties is June 2nd, I believe it is right at the start of the month.

All right, Errol, thank you so much. Enjoy the Sunday.

Voters in Hungary, they're headed to the polls. The election could have major consequences for the White House. We are live in Hungary with the latest.

And if you're heading out, you can always stream my show from anywhere in the U.S., right from the CNN app. You can also go to CNN.com/Watch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:43:56]

BLACKWELL: Polls are open right now in Hungary. It is one of the most closely watched elections in Central Europe. Viktor Orban, one of President Trump's closest allies in Europe, is facing his toughest challenge as he tries to win a fifth conservative term as prime minister.

Now, his opponent has campaigned to end corruption and improve the economy. His party is gaining support among younger voters.

CNN's Melissa Bell is in Budapest and joining us now.

So, why is this opponent such a threat now?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): Well, I think it's important to note, Victor, that Peter Magyar, that the polls suggest, could come out on top today, and certainly they've been suggesting it for the last couple of weeks. He was a member of Viktor Orban's party until two years ago. He left over corruption issues and has mounted this remarkable challenge over the course of the last few weeks, really getting out into the countryside, holding five, six, seven rallies a day with a lot of energy, and speaking to people, I believe his party, about the things that matter most to them, the cost of living, inflation, the fact that the health services here in Hungary have been deteriorating, the fact that their neighbors are doing better economically than they are.

[06:45:05]

And it is those issues that it is thought could allow him, for the first time in 16 years, to mount this really serious challenge to Viktor Orban. And you've been seeing it in the other camp, because the Fidesz party that Viktor Orban represents has been calling over the last couple of weeks its members to say, get out, you have to get out and vote.

They're extremely worried about this challenge, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Vice President Vance was just in Budapest. President Trump called in to that rally to show support.

Why is Viktor Orban so important to the Trump administration?

BELL (on-camera): I think it's important to remember, Victor, that the Project 2025 playbook was based on precisely what Viktor Orban had done here in Hungary. It is over the course of those 16 years that he consolidated his power, showed the way, really, as to how to turn a Western democracy into a liberal one. And you've had the visits of the Secretary of State, the visit of the Vice President, that endorsement from President Trump himself to MAGA.

This is an example that matters a great deal. They have their friendship with Viktor Orban, their admiration of him, but they've also looked at how to model their movement on him specifically for Trump's second term.

Now, the question then tonight becomes, Victor, if Viktor Orban loses, what happens to this model of a liberal democracy that he's built? What happens to this regime, practically, that he's created? How does power change hands? How does Peter Magyar take over? Does Viktor Orban accept the results if they don't go his way? There are many, many important lessons here that I think Washington is going to be looking at in terms of what happens when you've put so much power into the hands of the executive, Victor.

So that's one of the important factors. It's why it matters to MAGA. This is also being very closely watched, by the way, in Russia, precisely because Washington and Russia are aligned on this question.

Hungary has been a thorn in the side of the European Union, and from the points of view geopolitically of Washington and Moscow, that has been a good thing.

BLACKWELL: Melissa Bell, reporting from Budapest. We, of course, will be watching for the outcome. Thank you.

Several states across the U.S. face a severe weather threat for the next few days. The storm threat stretches from Texas to Michigan.

With me now, CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar. Tell us about it.

CHINCHAR (on-camera): I think the key thing is that it's not just a one-day thing. This is going to last well into the upcoming week. Some places will get hit multiple days in a row. Others, it may just take some time before that system moves east.

So, let's kind of take a look at where we're talking about. Now, right now, we've got two separate areas of storms. We've got areas in the Midwest that are dealing with quite a lot of lightning, and also this area down to the south. You can see across portions of Texas and Oklahoma, we've got that line right there that stretches from Oklahoma City down through Dallas and heading towards San Antonio. This will eventually slide east and make its way into places like Tulsa. But farther to the north, we actually have surprisingly more lightning on the northern edge of this system than we do down to the south.

You can see that very strong line of thunderstorms sliding just to the east and south of Minneapolis, making its way over into Wisconsin. A lot of very heavy rain across portions of Michigan. But the focus for severe thunderstorms really for the remainder of the day is going to be down to the south, where you've got that heat of the day that's really going to ramp up later on this afternoon.

So the potential here for damaging winds, some large hail, we could be talking golf balls or even larger, and yes, also the potential for some tornadoes. But it's not just going to be the only day. Here's a look at where we spend for the next 24 hours.

Again, you can kind of see that system begin to push off to the east as we go through the afternoon and into the evening hours. But then the key thing really over the next few days is it lingers into Monday and Tuesday as well.

BLACKWELL: Allison, thank you.

CHINCHAR (on-camera): Thanks.

BLACKWELL: Still ahead, the Masters Golf Tournament. His defending champion hits a snag for the second consecutive win, Rory McIlroy.

We're going to talk about that plan for the final round, next.

Also, Kara Swisher dives into the booming longevity industry. She meets with Silicon Valley power players to explore anti-aging biotech AI.

"CNN SERIES KARA SWISHER WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER," is now streaming on the CNN app.

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[06:53:43]

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about the Masters what looked like Rory McIlroy's clear shot at another green jacket. It's now in jeopardy.

CNN's Don Riddell recaps the wild third round at the Masters Tournament.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's no such thing as a sure thing here at the Masters. Just ask Rory McIlroy, in 2011 his four-stroke lead imploded during an excruciating final round that scarred him until he finally won this tournament here in 2025. And then on Saturday his record-breaking six-stroke advantage completely evaporated.

RIDDELL (voice-over): The defending champion seemingly coasting to another green jacket ended his day in a worse position than he had started and he's the only player in the top 14 who found himself going backwards. However, he is still tied at the top of the leaderboard on 11 under par and he'll tee off in the final pairing on Sunday with the American Cam Young.

RORY MCILROY, DEFENDING CHAMPION: I'd like to think that I'll play a little bit freer and I'll play, you know play like I've already got a green jacket, which I do. Sometimes I maybe just have to remind myself of that. But, you know, there's a lot of guys in with a chance tomorrow. I -- you know, I'm still tied for the best score going into tomorrow, so I can't forget that. But I do know I'm going to have to be better if I want to have a chance to win.

[06:55:00]

RIDDELL (voice-over): It was a highly stressful afternoon for McIlroy. All week he's been wild off the tea but on Thursday and Friday he managed to turn water into wine, making birdie after birdie to take control of the tournament. But his luck ran out on Saturday.

He dropped three strokes around Amen Corner and although he recovered with a couple of birdies after that, he dropped another stroke on 17. He's got a fight on his hands if he wants to become only the fourth man to win back-to-back Masters.

There's no shortage of challenges to his crown. Eight players are within four strokes of the lead. Young shot a brilliant 65 on Saturday. He's looking to add the Masters to his Players' Championship from March.

RIDDELL: Some of the patrons told me this morning that while they didn't want to see a collapse from McIlroy, they at least hoped that Sunday would be competitive. We'll see how it all turns out. But one of their wishes has come true.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: All right, thank you, Don.

There's much more ahead on the next hour "CNN This Morning Weekend," the marathon round of talks between the U.S. and Iran ended without a deal.

Live report from Pakistan about what happens next.

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