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Connect the World
Investigators Review Writings of Press Gala Shooting Suspect; FBI Going Door to Door in Suspect's California Neighborhood; Correspondents' Dinner Shooting Suspect to Be Arraigned Today; 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen Charged in Press Gala Shooting; WH Says Suspect Wanted to Target Trump Administration Officials; Former Prime Ministers Launch New Party to Challenge Netanyahu. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired April 27, 2026 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: And we are looking at live pictures of the White House as we await the first court appearance of the
suspect to. Authorities say was targeting President Donald Trump and U.S. officials Saturday shooting at the White House Correspondents' supper.
It is 09:00 a.m. in Washington, 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson from our Middle East programming headquarters this Monday. This is
"Connect the World". Well, the stock market in New York opens in about 30 minutes from now. Futures indicating a lower open, not by a significant
degree.
We will explore what is impacting these markets as they open later this hour. Well within hours, the suspect in the shooting at the White House
Correspondents' dinner will appear in U.S. Federal Court for his arraignment. Cole Allen is expected to face at least two charges using a
firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.
Initial charges are expected to be announced soon. He's seen here shirtless after agents searched him for weapons. This is video of the moment law
enforcement officials say Allen race through a security checkpoint and fired off a couple of shots. A secret service agent wearing a bulletproof
vest was hit and is expected to be OK.
Agents quickly tackled Allen and disarmed him, and this is a moment when President Donald Trump was told that something was happening outside the
ballroom. The president whisked out of that ballroom as his top cabinet members were also led to safety while journalists at the dinner ducked for
cover under tables.
This video taken by CNN's Sara Sidner. Right now, investigators are looking at writings that Allen sent to family members before the incident that
stated anti-Trump sentiments. The president was asked about it during a 60 Minutes interview. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NORAH O'DONNELL, "60 MINUTES" CORRESPONDENT: I'm no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.
What's your reaction to that?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would, because you're
horrible people. Horrible people. Yeah, he did write that. I'm not a rapist. I didn't rape anybody.
O'DONNELL: Oh, you think-- do you think he was referring to you?
TRUMP: I'm not a pedophile. Excuse me, I'm not a pedophile. You read that crap from some sick person? You should be ashamed of yourself reading that,
because I'm not any of those things.
O'DONNELL: Mr. President these are the gunman's words --
TRUMP: And I was never -- excuse me. Excuse me, you shouldn't be reading that on 60 Minutes. You're a disgrace. But go ahead. Let's finish the
interview.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, we've got Kevin Liptak with us this hour from the White House. Katelyn Polantz is in our Washington Bureau. I mean, Kevin, harsh
criticism there from the president after the excerpt of the suspects writings were read out to him. What's the very latest from the White House
at this point?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, you know, the main topic that you hear among officials today is questioning whether the
security inside the Washington Hill and was adequate for this scale of event with the president, the vice president, and so many other cabinet
officials all convened in that one international ballroom.
And we are learning this morning that officials do plan to have discussions later this week about some of those security protocols led by the Chief of
Staff, Susie Wiles, convening members of the U.S. Secret Service, the Department of Homeland Security and other operations teams inside the White
House to discuss both what happened on Saturday evening and some of what went right, some of what went wrong, but also to talk about ways they may
need to change some of those protocols going forward.
And what a White House official told us just a few minutes ago is that the meeting would discuss the processes and procedures that worked to stop
Saturday's attempt, but also exploring additional options to ensure all relevant components are doing everything possible to secure the many major
events planned for President Trump.
And you know, there are a number of significant events coming up, starting just today with the visit of King Charles the third, obviously
extraordinarily amount of security in place for him already. But what we heard from Buckingham Palace yesterday was that there would be
conversations about any changes that would or would not need to be made.
[09:05:00]
On that visit, we understand that most of that is going ahead as planned, but you also have the upcoming America 250 celebration, celebrating the
250th anniversary of American independence. A lot of major events with major crowds that President Trump is planning to attend.
And so, you get the sense just from this statement from the White House that they are looking at ways that they may need to secure that going
forward. But of course, on Saturday evening, there was security in place. The perimeter was outside of the ballroom, but not outside of the hotel
itself.
The secret service has suggested that the procedures operated as planned. You know, the individual was taken down well before he made it to the balls
of the doors of the ballroom, and before the president himself was whisked away from the stage. But clearly some very tense moments, as Katelyn and I
can attest, we were sitting next to each other enjoying our Barra and cucumber salad when this all occurred.
And I think, you know, the president in that interview, he did go after Norah O'Donnell, fairly harshly, but he was also, I think, somewhat
sanguine about the prospect that his life could be at risk going forward. Remember, this is now an individual who has had three separate
assassination attempts just over the last two years.
He is indicating that he thinks that this is just a part of the job. He did voice confidence in the secret service in that interview. But I think you
know, when you talk to advisers and officials at the White House, they do seem resigned to the fact that some changes will have to be made to avoid
this sort of scenario happening again.
ANDERSON: Let me bring you in, Katelyn. Let's talk about the suspect who is due to be arraigned in court in the next couple of hours. What can we
expect and how has this investigation unfolded?
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, already we know that the federal law enforcement that have been working on this
since this gunman was placed on the ground, taken down by secret service officials protecting the ballroom at the Capitol Hill town that they have a
manifesto.
And they are very -- right now they are very likely looking quite closely at that. And we also know they are interviewing family members of his who
received that as well as looking at the guns that he had. We know that those guns were purchased legally in California years ago.
And as far as what will happen today in court, Becky. Cole Allen, he is likely to face charges at least two, initially, of federal firearms
offense, and as well as assaulting a federal officer, we know that he shot at and hit a U.S. Secret Service Agent who was there on the scene and as
they were exchanging gunfire with him.
So those charges, we have not seen them yet in court. We are likely to see them, but they would only be initial charges, the sort of things that would
be able to bring him into court, have him enter his initial pleadings at an arraignment today, expected this afternoon and then to have a moment where
they could ask a judge to keep him in detention as he awaits trial.
That's very likely to happen, but Becky, one of the things Kevin mentioned is that there have been other attempts on the life of this president in his
time as a campaigning person, when he was campaigning for the presidency, as well as recently with this. And in those situations, one of them, the
defendant, survived and was ultimately charged and convicted of attempted assassination of a presidential candidate, which resulted in a life
sentence in prison.
That man, Ryan Routh in Florida is still serving that sentence and will for the rest of his life. We have not heard any officials come out and say yet
that there may be an assassination charge or an attempted assassination charge for Cole Allen. But that is the likely thing that prosecutors and
law enforcement would be looking into, if there would be enough evidence to bring some sort of charge like that, or to bring any other charges.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
POLANTZ: We have seen the acting attorney general out there already over the weekend, who he himself also attended the dinner, saying that multiple
charges are likely and that anything else we can get on this guy, the federal law enforcement will want to charge, Becky.
ANDERSON: Understood. Good to have you both. Thank you very much indeed. Well, FBI agents conducted an investigation to call Cole Tomas Allen's
neighborhood in Torrance, California. CNN's Kyung Lah is there and filed this report.
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: As authorities are trying to figure out the timeline of how 31-year-old Cole Allen made it
from Torrance to Washington, D.C. We're seeing here on the ground agents go door to door.
[09:10:00]
There were a couple of agents talking to neighbors throughout the day at different points of the day. And we overheard them say that they were
looking for ring cameras, ring camera that would suggest that they are trying to put together a timeline of his activity and his behavior in the
days leading up to this attempted shooting.
Let's tell you a little bit about 31-year-old Cole Allen. He is someone who, in his early years, appeared to be on his way went to a very
challenging and elite academy, Caltech, very difficult to get into. He got a degree in engineering, then got his master's degree at another
university.
And from there, he was teacher of the month in December 2024 at his part- time job at a tutoring academy. But authorities say what was happening during this time is something was occurring with weapons. On October 2023,
he purchased a handgun, and then two years later, he purchased this shotgun.
This shotgun and the handgun would travel with him by rail from Torrance, California to Washington, D.C. We understand that those weapons were stored
here in the parents' home, but the parents did not have any idea that this was happening or that the weapons were here.
These are weapons that were purchased legally. He is facing some serious charges when he will be arraigned at 09:00 a.m. Eastern on Monday, using a
firearm during a crime of violence, as well as assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon. As far as his mindset, the manifesto certainly is
giving a window into political anger, specifically at the Trump Administration.
His sister, talking to her authorities, her local law enforcement, said that he had increasingly become involved in left wing activity, left wing
groups here in Los Angeles, and that he did use those weapons at a local firing range. Kyung Lah, CNN, Torrance, California.
ANDERSON: All right. Well, for more on this, let's get you to CNN's Senior U.S. National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem, and our CNN Politics Senior
Reporter Stephen Collinson, good to have you both back. Thank you so much for your time today. Stephen, let me start with you.
There's a striking line in your piece about the weekend, about this being a shared experience between the press and the president, you write quote as
guests in black tie and ball gowns dive beneath tables, almost the entire brain trust of the U.S. government and major media figures were, for once,
united in fear.
Does a moment like that reset anything in this relationship between power and the media? Or is there a contradiction at the heart of this,
celebrating press freedom in one room while access to that same press is being narrowed elsewhere the Trump Administration, I mean, of course,
removed or restricted certain outlets from briefings? I think this is worth discussing.
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah, it was very interesting just seeing administration officials walking through the
ballroom in the bars before that dinner. It was quite a normal thing in most administrations, but it's very unusual in this administration to see
that interaction and conversations where people are reminded, I think that the those on the other side, whether in authority or the media, are just
people.
This is an administration that you know works by venomous tweets and creating enemies in the media. I don't think at the end of the day that it
will change anything. The president, in his press conference on Saturday night, spoke of what he thought was a feeling of togetherness and a good
feeling.
But President Trump uses his attacks on the media as a tool of power. He sees any criticism of anything he does, policy or personally, as a direct
attack that almost always must be repelled. So, he was willing to offer the unity message when it was, I think, politically expedient for him to do so
and the right thing to do after the shooting.
But I don't think this will change anything in the adversarial nature between the administration and the press. And as you say, this is an
administration that has worked to curtail a lot of the freedoms in terms of access to briefings, access to the White House that the dinner has long and
the White House Correspondents' Association have long regarded as sacrosanct and not to be challenged.
ANDERSON: Juliette, we must talk about what are tough security questions, which now need to be answered, given what we're hearing about, the
relatively light screening at the hotel, and this suspect getting as close as he did, just a level above the president and almost his entire cabinet,
it has to be said with multiple weapons.
[09:15:00]
How do you assess this? I mean, was this a lapse in planning execution, or the limits of just securing semipublic venues like the White House
Correspondents' dinner?
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I think it's a lot of the latter. In my world, we don't talk about things being safe. We talk
about whether we can make them safer. That's because, as you said, the sort of the both the soft target and the hard target aspects of a hotel in the
middle of a city with thousands of people coming in and out, those are there's going to be areas that are more vulnerable than not.
So, with my security hat on, I will say, look, the area where the president was always secure. There was a response to a threat outside of that secure
area. And they got him and all and much of his cabinet out in time. The sort of sitting back and looking at this part of me just says, you know,
that was awfully close.
And maybe the hotel is not the best place to have such an event, where you have not only the media elite, but you have, of course, the constitutional
line of succession. Those are the kinds of questions that I think the Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, has announced they're going to look at.
But, you know, in reality, these major events are never -- are always going to have soft elements, because at some stage you simply cannot secure the
whole facility. So that's what the review will look like. This is -- we don't say this is a success. There was a breach.
The question is, can that breach be closed in the future at that facility? Or would it make more sense, for example, to have it at a convention center
where there's sort of no one else around and in a limited area?
ANDERSON: Yeah. Stephen, President Trump certainly says that the shooting Saturday night at this dinner at the Hill and proves the need for this
ballroom that he is building at the White House, which will be massively well secured. I mean, would this ultimately, in this situation, for this
event, make journalists guests for the president.
And would that change to a degree, what this dinner is meant to be about, as you were just explaining?
COLLINSON: Yeah, it would change the character of the evening, because if you go to an event at the White House, you go through their security, you
are on the grounds of the president. That's his home, and then you are effectively a guest of the government.
That is the opposite of what this dinner is supposed to be about, which is the power of open expression and the freedom of the press, I think it would
be a shame if we just have presidents who only operate inside the gilded cage behind the high walls of the White House, because that would also
change the fundamental rituals of American politics and democracy.
This also goes into how campaigning is going to take place at a time of heightened risk. But the problem with the White House ballroom is, first of
all, whether the president even has the power to build a ballroom at his own behest on the grounds of the White House.
That's government property. He knocked down the East Wing of the White House. That's not his personal home that belongs to the people of the
United States. And then there's the question of funding. Only Congress can fund changes to the federal estate. That's the constitutional job of
Congress, not the president.
And in this case, many of the issues with the ballroom being built are the fact that the White House has tried to get private funding for it. And
there are real questions about disclosure of those donors and about conflicts of interest between them and the administration and what they are
getting for these mainly anonymous gifts to the ballroom.
So that is the big question. The ballroom was never necessarily about security, even though the president has made it that in the aftermath of
this attack. There are deep constitutional questions and political questions about that project that this that are kind of irrelevant to what
happened at the White House Correspondents' dinner.
ANDERSON: Yeah, Juliette, let's just talk to the concentration of power in that room. The president, vice president, senior officials, you got to
wonder whether this will not just change the thinking about security, but how visible sort of leadership in the U.S. can realistically remain.
We're hearing that White House officials will meet with Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security this week to review security measures for
the president, and one assumes those around him, Kash Patel, the leader of the of the Head of the FBI, says lessons will be learned from this one.
[09:20:00]
What do you make of what will be discussed Kash Patel's comment? I mean, some are saying too little too late.
KAYYEM: It's not too little too late. Look, there's no sort of finish when you think about security planning, there's no finish line. You're going to
constantly assess the future so you manage particular risk. Is the risk environment higher for the president, given who he is, given the fractions
in our society, given that there is a war ongoing, and then you measure that, or balance that against where is the site or facility.
But I want to concur in this discussion that even though I come from this, from the safety and security lane, you know, no one in my field would say,
oh, well, we have to keep the president inside simply to make him safe, first, that is a safety and security have to be balanced against.
What are the values of the society that we are a part of? Do we value access to our politicians, access to the media and people in power? We
value a free and independent press. So, it doesn't make any sense to have a White House host that event, if it were even legal to have a ballroom.
But we love getting together. We are a, you know, despite AI, we are a social human. We are social species. And in the United States, we have the
250th anniversary coming up, we have the World Cup hosting. These are events that are intrinsically vulnerable. And the question is, can you make
them better, to help make to get them safer, knowing that just the very nature of our society means that you can't make them perfectly safe. So,
learning lessons adapting.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
KAYYEM: But ensuring that that our democracy continues and that our sociability continues is important too.
ANDERSON: Yeah, I mean, Juliette, you're making very good points. I mean, just have to question, you know, just when you consider how much political
violence, we've seen and how concerned we are increasingly about sort of gun violence and all the rest. Just how you raise that confidence level,
when we think about securing big events like these.
And like you say, including, it doesn't have to be a political event. It could be a big sporting event like the World Cup. It's good to have you
both, always a pleasure. Thank you. Well ahead on "Connect the World", Iran's Foreign Minister is ramping up diplomatic efforts amid what are the
stalled peace talks with the U.S. currently expected to be in Pakistan. We get you live to Islamabad up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, doing the rounds. Iran's top diplomat is in St. Petersburg today to meet with the Russian President. That is after U.S.-Iran peace
talks in Pakistan stalled.
[09:25:00]
Before heading for Russia, Iran's Foreign Minister proposed a deal involving the crucial Strait of Hormuz, that is, according to Iranian state
media. Meantime, U.S. President Donald Trump says Iranian authorities can, in his words, call if they want to talk after those expected weekend
negotiations in Islamabad evaporated.
Well, a lot to cover. We're live in Islamabad with CNN's Nic Robertson, it's good to have you there, Nic. It does feel like we are sort of moving
from the kind of big moments, dare I say, at the sort of performative stage, to what we might better describe as sort of sequencing stage at this
point.
President Donald Trump says Iran can call if they want to talk after weekend negotiations stall. We've seen, you know, what we understand to be
the Iranians say, look, let's deal with the Strait of Hormuz. Let's park the nuclear file for a moment. We'll come back to that. You know, what do
you make of where we are at with these diplomatic efforts?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, look, obviously, a lot of movement by the Iranian Foreign Minister, flying in here, having
those meetings, the messages relay to President Trump. President Trump saying Iran's position wasn't enough.
More meetings and then he goes off to Oman, then he comes back here. De briefs again here, precisely what was discussed in the meetings here before
he left for Moscow, not clear. But the foreign minister is sort of portraying in these talks so far that it's the United States that's the
cause and the reason that the talks aren't working.
I think that's sort of emerging as a central narrative. But what's happening below the surface? Because there is a lot happening below the
surface, although, you know, on the one hand, things seem to stall out in terms of direct U.S.-Iranian talks that were hoped for over the weekend.
The Iranian Foreign Minister didn't come with enough on that. But there's a number of things, and you're mentioning there the Strait of Hormuz that
Iran is talking about here, and this has emerged over the weekend. And how much of it is evolved and is evolving remains unclear.
But what the latest understanding is from the Iranians that they want as phase one, absolute, categorical ceasefire with the United States that's
not going to be broken in the future. They want to lock that in. Then they want to lock in the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, not just that, they want
the U.S. blockade lifted.
And this really gets the Iranian Foreign Ministers trip to Oman over the weekend. And the Iranian foreign minister laid it out as Oman has a sea
coastline with the Strait of Hormuz. They have a vested interest. And he said here, we want to make sure that our shared interest can be secured.
Now what the Iranians are really pushing here now is a detailed plan on the Strait of Hormuz that they say kind of changes the sort of legal regime
around the Strait of Hormuz. This points in the direction of Iran wanting greater control, greater say so, potentially revenue from the Strait of
Hormuz.
That apparently, they begin to feel that because of the way the war has gone so far, they have some legitimacy and asking for, you know, what you
might call spoils of war. So, this is the sort of next threshold after a ceasefire, the Strait of Hormuz, but essentially how control of it is going
to be divvied up.
And therefore, how the financials mechanisms surround it that had never been there before, might be divvied up. And then after that, they'll get to
the other issues, other issues, by the way, which had made, according to sources, a good deal of progress two weeks ago.
ANDERSON: Fascinating. Good to have you, Nic, thank you. Well, two former Israeli Prime Ministers have announced that they are joining forces by
creating a new party to run against Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of this year's Knesset elections. Right Wing politician Naftali Bennett and the Centrist
Current Opposition Leader Yair Lapid say that the new party will be called together.
And led by Bennett, both have been ardent critics of Mr. Netanyahu's handling of the country's wars since the Hamas led attack of October the
seventh in 19, oh sorry in 2023. Well CNN's Oren Liebermann has been following the very latest from Jerusalem.
I just wonder what you read into this announcement? I mean, an election must happen by what October of this year, so we're talking about six months
max. What does this mean for Benjamin Netanyahu, Oren?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, from Benjamin Netanyahu's perspective, Becky, this shows that Israel's opposition is
willing to unite around a simple, single cause, and that is ousting him from power him and his far-right coalition partners.
And this is a model based very much on Hungary. Israel's opposition was watching the Hungary vote to oust long time leader there, Viktor Orban,
very closely.
[09:30:00]
And what they saw was that uniting at least their works, and they're using that model here, just as Peter Magyar brought opposition parties together.
Here, they are beginning that process here, and we may well see it continue. Naftali Bennett served as prime minister for 12 months from 2021
to 2022 served as prime minister for a short period there, during the election season, and then it was Netanyahu who came back to power in 2022.
Now, polls have shown that these two together, at least in principle, should be the biggest party. We're waiting to see polling after this
announcement to see if it's changed the math here at all. But the polls have been very consistent here, that the opposition parties, on their own,
might well have enough to oust Netanyahu.
So, we are waiting to see here, and of course, we're waiting to watch some of the other opposition parties and those who have announced that they'll
compete in the next elections, to see if, if other opposition parties join in here to try to form one single united opposition bloc.
Now we've already seen a response from Netanyahu and his Likud party. They have shared images like this. This is generated by AI here, showing Lapid
and Bennett in the back seat and Mansour Abbas, the head of an Islamist party, in the front seat here, implying that it's Mansour Abbas who will be
in charge of any coalition here.
And that's because of polls suggesting they may need, but not necessarily may need, Abbas' support to form a government without Netanyahu. A couple
quick points here, Becky. First, this is a campaign, and we're likely to see this throughout the campaign itself, but this is a theme that has
blatant racist overtones against 20 percent of Israel's electorate, the Arab population here in Israel.
Second, it was Netanyahu's Likud party that, five years ago, began the conversation with Mansour Abbas to bring him to support Netanyahu. He ended
up going the other way, but it is Netanyahu's own party, that sort of kosherized the conversation with Abbas. And here, he may be a critical
player here, but it all depends on how this plays out.
Becky, it's certainly safe to say that this almost unofficially kicks off the election campaign. The official start is in three months, unless the
government collapses earlier. But you're already seeing the political maneuvering here as everyone tries to position themselves ahead of the
election.
ANDERSON: Yeah, this is so interesting. It's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. Right. Some real insight there from Oren Liebermann in
Jerusalem. The bell on Wall Street has just rung. The trading week is up and off to what looks like a very mixed start.
U.S. stocks hit record highs, of course, last week to a degree -- shrugging off the war with Iran. So, we will get back to these markets after this
short break and get a sense of what we believe is going on there today and what we might expect going forward.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:35:00]
ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. You're watching "Connect the World". Time here just after half past five in the evening,
these are your headlines. The suspect in the shooting at the White House Correspondents' dinner will appear in U.S. federal court in the coming
hours this Monday.
This video shows U.S. President Donald Trump being rushed out of the ballroom Saturday as that incident unfolded. And this video shows the
moment law enforcement officials say Cole Allen charged through security outside the ballroom before he was tackled and disarmed by secret service
agents.
He is expected to face at least two charges at today's arraignment. We have also learned from officials that the suspect sent a note to his family just
minutes before that incident on Saturday. And the message, he did not mention President Trump by name, but did outline a plan to target top Trump
Administration officials.
Well, Iran's top diplomat is now in Russia, meeting with President Vladimir Putin to discuss the U.S.-Iran war. That is, according to Iranian state
media. Earlier today, the Iranian Foreign Minister said, quote, some agreements have been reached with Oman. Part of Oman, of course, sits along
the Strait of Hormuz, making it a key neighbor of Iran.
Well, talking about that strait we know how much of an impact. What is going on there has on the oil market, and that has an impact on Wall
Street. Of course, Wall Street to open for about six minutes or so. So, let's just have a look at what the three main indices are doing at present.
This, of course, follows a record last week for U.S. stocks. And that is as oil prices, frankly, continue their march upward, hitting a three-week high
amid stalled peace talks between the U.S. and Iran. A mixed session, then, as we open the trading week, let's discuss all of this with Karen Young,
Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.
We've got oil prices up again. And I've got to remind our viewers, Karen, before we start this, we're up about what, 30 percent on the two benchmarks
that we look at, WTI and Brent, which is a global index, of course, or benchmark, up 30 percent at least since the beginning of this war.
We're seeing prices climb again. What do you make of, for example, Goldman Sachs suggesting that, you know, ultimately, we may -- these markets may
not be reading what is going on, right? There may be a bit of FOMO out there. Goldman have just raised its fourth quarter oil price forecasts.
I mean, what do you make of what the real sort of supply strain situation is out there at this point?
KAREN E. YOUNG, SENIOR RESEARCH SCHOLAR AT THE CENTER ON GLOBAL ENERGY POLICY AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Well, thank you, Becky. We're not finished
climbing, I think is really the story here. And as we get into the end of May, we're going to see more and more draws on inventories, meaning
stockpiles that firms and governments have around the world.
And we just start to feel that pinch of the oil flows that have not been arriving through the Strait of Hormuz. And that's been especially hard for
refineries all over the world, which are having to buy oil at higher prices, which means they can't charge as much or they have sort of slimmer
margins for the refined products they make, like diesel and jet fuel.
So that pinch continues, and as long as we see this stalemate where traffic is not flowing through the strait, we're going to see more and more price
pressure.
ANDERSON: President Trump suggested Sunday, Iran's oil infrastructure could fail, in his words, explode within a matter of days due to export
constraints, because of the U.S. blockade, of course, on these Iranian ports. I mean, is that technically plausible? And what would actually
happen inside those systems if storage capacity is maxed out.
YOUNG: So, we are getting storage very full across the Gulf. And it's not just Iran that has had to shut in wells. We've seen shut ins in Iraq and
Kuwait and in other parts of the Arabian Peninsula. So there, you know, there's differences in pressure within these wells, and Iran is known for
having lower pressure.
So, what that means is really that the damage that happens the longer that these wells are not producing, takes longer for them to be restarted. But
it doesn't mean that they're going to explode, right? So, I'm not sure what the president was thinking about in that context. But there is lasting
damage.
[09:40:00]
We call it production scarring to these wells. The longer they're not producing, the harder, more technical it is to get them back to speed. But
it's not just Iran that's facing this problem. We're seeing that in many other places.
ANDERSON: And can we talk about some of these other places, including around the region where I am? Let's concentrate on the Gulf. What has been
the impact of this past 7, 7.5, nearly 8 weeks now, on these Gulf economies? I mean, it differs across the region, of course.
YOUNG: That's right. So, it's really varied across the 6 GCC states. Oman, for example, their oil revenues are up 80 percent on a weekly basis
compared to last year because they don't have to bypass the strait. So, there are winners and losers. Kuwait, Iraq, probably the biggest losers in
terms of hits to GDP growth.
And Qatar, with absolutely no LNG flowing out of the Strait of Hormuz right now, seeing really a contraction in their trade balance for the first time,
really ever. I mean this sort of nothing going in or out. We've seen, you know, more resilience, I would say, in the places where we have pipelines.
So, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, where, you know, the kind of flow of what is able to export, is down maybe 60 percent, but revenues in the UAE are only
down about 25 percent because the price is higher, you see still some benefit from that. So, it really just depends how much volume can you get
out through these alternative diversions, the pipelines, through the Red Sea corridor and out to Fujairah in the UAE.
And Oman, you know, having that lucky geographic position. But we really see damage, and you know, not just to wells, but also, we've seen physical
damage to refineries, and that's what we haven't quite been able to quantify or understand, how difficult it will be to refit those and get
them back up to speed and able to export.
ANDERSON: We are seeing an effective blockade, on a blockade to all intents and purposes. I mean, you will be watching the sort of media from Iran as
closely as we are looking for any signs that the you know that there is some progress, at least on the Strait of Hormuz file, which does seem to
have sort of emerged, at least from the Iranian point of view, as the first of a sequence of things it is, you know, now trying to sort of chart out,
perhaps individually, in these talks.
We've seen some reporting on the fact that, you know, Iran wants to see the Strait of Hormuz dealt with, you know, to its benefit, one assumes, as you
know, at least as a win-win, before it deals with anything else. Do you see that as progress that would be sort of realistic for us to talk about at
this point?
YOUNG: I think there are some voices that see it inevitable that we get into a situation where Iran is managing the strait, even charging, you
know, a fee for tankers that pass, whether that's $1 a barrel or whatever they decide their rate might be. And some people say, OK, if that's what it
takes, that's what we need.
But there certainly is economic pressure on Iran. Their oil exports are much lower than they were, you know, before February 28th obviously,
they're looking at about 300,000 barrels per day right now, compared to about 2.6 million barrels per day seven or eight weeks ago.
So, you know, they are feeling this pinch, and they want economic relief, and they also want to maintain control of this lever, and that's what I see
as really not sustainable. I mean, certainly from a Gulf state perspective, a Gulf Arab state perspective, you know, is a, you know, $1 per barrel, the
price to allow Iran to have this control.
I just, you know, I don't think it's only about money, right? It's the political influence, it's the threat. And I don't see that as sustainable.
ANDERSON: Yeah, I do think, as you as you listen to sort of the conversations going on around this region, you know, the long tail on this,
and it may take some time to get there, is the emergence of this sort of, you know, new trade corridors around this region. You know, the
infrastructure deals that we're beginning to see, sort of, you know, talked about and signed off on the UAE with Jordan, for example.
You know, you and I have talked for some time about what a new Middle East might look like beyond this sort of escalation de-escalation, sort of cycle
that we're in. And I do think there's some real substance in those conversations going forward. For the time being, though we are stuck in a
moment. And it's always good to have you.
YOUNG: Thank you.
ANDERSON: With your insight and analysis on where we are at today as we consider where we will move tomorrow, as it were. Thank you.
[09:45:00]
Day after, conversations always good to begin to have, of course. Still to come on "Connect the World". Two major players on the tech scene are set to
battle in court, and the outcome of their case could impact the future of artificial intelligence. News, these two gentlemen at the heart of this
case. More on that after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Two of the biggest names in tech are about to face off in court in a case that could determine the future of artificial intelligence. We
are talking about Elon Musk and Sam Altman. Let's get you to CNN's Hadas Gold, who is in Oakland, California, where Hadas, this federal trial will
take place. And just explain what Musk is accusing Altman and OpenAI of.
HADAS GOLD, CNN AI CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Becky, it's the battle of the billionaires here at the district court in Oakland, where we're about to
see some of the biggest names in tech walking through these doors behind me. Some of them will be taking the stand for this case that could
determine the future of OpenAI and the future of CEO Sam Altman at the company.
So, a lot of people might not remember, but back in 2015, Elon Musk actually was one of the co-founders of OpenAI, and he poured in tens of
millions of dollars for this nonprofit. Eventually, in 2018, he left after an acrimonious split. There was a power struggle, and then in 2024, is when
he filed this lawsuit.
And what he says is that there was a breach of charitable trust, essentially that he was defrauded because he put in all of this money when
OpenAI was going to be a nonprofit with a nonprofit mission around the good of AI for humanity, and that when OpenAI transitioned to having a for
profit subsidiary.
Now they are a nonprofit foundation that runs or controls this for-profit company that is the breach of charitable trust that he is owed, although he
says he will donate that money something like $130 billion as a result of this breach, because he says that original 38 million or so that he put in
is now worth 130 billion.
What he is seeking remedies in this case involves not only that money, $130 billion that he says should go back to opening eyes nonprofit. He wants the
entire company to go back to being a nonprofit company. Imagine what that would mean for OpenAI's planned IPO.
He also wants Sam Altman and President Greg Bruckman to lose their seats on the board. So, you can imagine that if Elon Musk gets his way here, that
could mean drastic change for one of the biggest leading companies in the AI space. Now OpenAI for their part, they say that evidence shows that Elon
Musk himself wanted a for profit part of OpenAI.
He's saying that he said that was the only way they were going to be able to catch up to companies like Google. And they say this is just Elon Musk
trying to bring a competitor down a peg, because Elon Musk himself, he has his own AI company, xAI, who would obviously benefit if OpenAI had a few
stumbles this year of their IPO, Becky.
ANDERSON: This one is going to be well watched. Hadas, good to have you there. Thank you.
[09:50:00]
You're watching "Connect the World". There is a lot more news ahead as ever. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Just hours, the man suspected of opening fire outside Saturday's White House Correspondents' dinner will face a judge. Cole Tomas Allen is
set to be arraigned in a Washington federal court. He is expected to face charges of using a firearm during a violent crime and assaulting a federal
officer.
Well, Allen allegedly charged a security checkpoint and opened fire outside that press dinner on Saturday evening, one security or secret service agent
was hurt. A congressman who was at the dinner says security seemed lax.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. MARLIN STUTZMAN (R-IN): My concern is actually the way security was going into the ballroom, the fact that this man was able to breach security
the way that he did, that's my bigger concern and my questions. And so, you know, the fact that we didn't have to go through metal detectors until just
outside of the ballroom is, I think, not what it should have been.
I mean, if you go to an event at the White House, you have to check in at a, you know, with a person. You make sure your name is on the list. All we
showed to get in to the dinner was just our card, like they gave us a card that we flashed. I mean, anybody could have, if they would have known what
that card looked like.
You could have made duplicates. And I even heard some people inside the ballroom say that, you know, the purses never were even checked. So, my
concern is actually more outside of the ballroom than inside of the ballroom. You know, we have to always make sure whoever is in the room.
It's not just about, you know, the president and the first lady, the vice president, the cabinet. We need to make sure that everybody in that room is
safe. And I think there's some questions that need to be asked, and also those shots that rang out that I were only like 50 feet from where I was
sitting, how did that not hit the man that was trying to breach security?
I don't know if those were non-lethal bullets that were fired or if they were lethal bullets, but the fact that that man is alive is really
remarkable.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: We are also keeping an eye on St. Petersburg, where Iran's Top Diplomat, Abbas Araghchi is today meeting with Russian President Vladimir
Putin to discuss the U.S.-Iran war.
[09:55:00]
Now the Iranian Foreign Minister left Pakistan when potential weekend peace talks were called off by the Trump Administration there. Earlier today,
Araghchi said, quote, some agreements have been reached with Oman. It's worth noting part of Oman, of course, sits alongside along the Strait of
Hormuz, making it a key neighbor of Iran.
Before I leave you this hour, two world records have been shattered at the London Marathon this weekend. On Sunday, Kenyan runner Sabastian Sawe
became the first athlete in history to officially run a marathon in under two hours. The winner of the men's race crossed the finish line in 1 hour,
59 minutes and 30 seconds.
Good for him. Sawe told the BBC that he was feeling strong as he approached the end of the race, and is so happy with his victory. And the women's
winner Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia, also setting a new world record, she finished the race for the time of 2 hours, 15 minutes and 41 seconds,
beating her own previous record.
Congratulations to both and everybody who competed, of course. That's it for the first hour of the show. I'll be back after this short break with
the second hour of "Connect the World". Stay with us.
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END
