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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Maine Lawmakers Back Temporary Ban On New Large Data Centers; Iran Threatens Red Sea Shipping If U.S. Blockade Remains; Trump Says Leaders Of Israel, Lebanon To Speak Today. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired April 16, 2026 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:30:12]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Severe weather once again threatening millions across the Midwestern United States on Wednesday. Some 10 million people across six states were under tornado watches. Dangerous weather conditions as well are forecast to continue through the end of the week.

And there have been more than two dozen tornado reports during a multi-day outbreak that began on Monday as thunderstorms have brought destructive hail ranging in size from limes to softballs with nearly 100 reports across the region. Now, flooding has been a serious problem in the Upper Midwest.

The storm threat for Thursday is lower and widespread but severe weather is set to return on Friday.

Meanwhile, the top Senate Republican is warning the White House to stop slinging insults at Pope Leo. Majority leader John Thune says the digs could offend Catholic Republicans as President Trump has slammed the pope for his opposition to the war with Iran.

And Vice President JD Vance, who became Catholic in 2019, has also taken issue with the pontiff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JD VANCE, (R) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.

REPORTER: Do you agree with that sentiment?

SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): When he talks about matters of theology?

REPORTER: Yeah.

THUNE: Isn't that his job? I'd stay focused on -- the administration -- on the economic issues -- the pocketbook issues that I think most Americans care about and let the church be the church.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now, amid all of this Pope Leo is pushing head with his 10- day swing through Africa. After first stopping in Algeria, he's now on a visit to Cameroon. There was a welcome ceremony for him in the capital where people, as you can see, lining the streets for him. Pope Leo later spoke outside the presidential palace urging authorities to avoid corrupt practices and bringing, once again, a message of peace and unity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE LEO XIV: Although we have different beliefs, we have different ways of worshipping, we have different ways of living, we can live together in peace. And so I think that to promote that kind of image is something which the world needs to hear today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: All right. Coming up we're going to take you to another contentious relationship between President Trump and this time the Federal Reserve chair, which could come to a head next month. We'll have details on Trump's latest threat to fire Jerome Powell. Stay tuned.

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[05:37:15]

JIMENEZ: Welcome back to EARLY START. This is your business breakout.

Let's take a quick check of where the U.S. futures stand ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street. A lot of green to start this day. We will see how things move moving forward.

But let's also check some of today's business headlines.

For starters, President Trump is threatening to fire U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell if he doesn't step aside when his term ends next month. That term is set to expire on May 15, and Powell has promised to stay on the job until a successor is confirmed. Powell also has the option to remain on the Fed's governing board until 2028. Not clear whether Trump can fire Powell without cause.

Meanwhile, despite fears that the war with Iran could endanger the global economy it seems China's economy is chugging along. Beijing is reporting five percent GDP growth for the first quarter of the year, beating expectations and putting it on track to meet its annual growth target. China is the first major country to report GDP since the war began in February.

And a jury in New York has found that Live Nation and Ticketmaster illegally operated as a monopoly to gouge customers on ticket prices. Several states sued the entertainment giant for stifling competition and driving up fees for concerts and Sports Fans. A judge will decide what penalties to impose, possibly including breaking the company up altogether. Live Nation said it plans to appeal. And the rise of AI has also prompted the rise of data centers across

the United States, but critics argue large data centers are taking vital local resources and could drive up the cost of electricity.

Maine's legislature is the nation's first to pass a bill to temporarily ban the building of new large data centers -- and the bill -- well, it still needs approval from the state governor.

CNN's Hadas Gold explains what lawmakers are hoping to accomplish with his.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HADAS GOLD, CNN AI CORRESPONDENT: Maine has become the very first state to pass a law that is going to block data centers from being built -- large data centers.

According to this law, until November 2027 no large data centers that draw more than 20 megawatts worth of energy should be built -- 20 megawatts worth of energy. For some context that would power about 15,000 to 20,000 homes.

And according to his law, the time until November 2027 is to be spent studying these data centers and their impacts on electricity, on water usage, on the jobs, and local economy.

Without data centers. though, modern AI cannot exist. Data centers are where all the processes, from training AI to when you ask an AI chatbot a question and it thinks and then brings back an answer to you -- that's where it all happens. These can be large warehouses full of rows and rows of computers, and servers, and network infrastructure, and power, and cooling systems.

[05:40:00]

But there's been a lot of growing opposition to these data centers, especially in the last year or so. And opponents to these data centers -- they're concerned about things like electricity -- the amount of electricity these data centers use with rising electricity prices. The amount of energy and water that they need to use in order to keep these systems running and cooled off. They're also concerned about noise and the carbon footprint. And for a lot of people they might feel opposition to these data centers because of their feelings about artificial intelligence in general.

But proponents of these data centers -- they say that they're necessary. They say that if we want to be able to keep moving ahead on AI they need to be powered by something which is these data centers. And they say we don't want to be falling behind adversaries like China when it comes to being able to power these data centers. They also say they can help economically disadvantaged areas, bringing in new jobs to help revitalize the local economy.

But the opposition to these data centers is rising across the country. Now according to Data Center Watch -- this is a nonpartisan research firm -- just over the past year or so local groups around the country have managed to block or delay something like $60 billion worth of investment in U.S. data center projects.

And at least 10 other states are now considering similar bans to Maine's about blocking these data centers. These include states like New York, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Vermont.

Now, this law in Maine has yet to be signed. We've asked Governor Janet Mills for a comment about whether she does plan to sign this into law. But this new law could serve as a blueprint to those other states who are also looking to slow down or completely ban new data centers in their state.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: All right, Hadas Gold. Thank you for that reporting.

Coming up we're going to get you back to the Middle East where Iran is threatening another vital shipping route in the region if the United States doesn't lift its naval blockade. That's just ahead on EARLY START.

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[05:46:15]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson. Here are some of the stories that we are watching for you this hour.

And U.S. President Donald Trump says the leaders of Israel and Lebanon will meet today. An Israeli official tells CNN Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. More than 2,000 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes amid fighting with Hezbollah since early March.

Well, meantime, the Trump administration says it feels good about the prospects of a deal with Iran. A Pakistani delegation is in Tehran trying to arrange a second round of U.S.-Iranian talks. The White House says negotiations would likely take place in Islamabad where Vice President JD Vance led talks last weekend.

Meantime, Tehran threatening to shut down all shipping operations in the Red Sea as well as the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman if the U.S. continues its blockade of Iranian ports. Iranian state media quoted a top military commander describing the blockade as illegal. The U.S. military says the blockade is now fully implemented but it does appear some traffic reportedly getting through.

Let's do more on all of this. Let's head to London where we are joined by Burcu Ozcelik. She is a senior research fellow for Middle East security at the Royal United Services Institute. You'll be aware of the reporting lines that we have into CNN.

And I want to start with Israel and Lebanon before we get wider on the U.S.-Iran deal.

What do you make of the latest we are hearing on these now historic high level talks?

BURCU OZCELIK, SENIOR RESEARCHER FOR MIDDLE EAST SECURITY, RUSI: Well, thank you for having me.

They are historic, certainly, and this feels like a moment of optimism for what could lie ahead. It still is a moment of fragility, however. As we know, there have been previous moments where it seemed as though a breakthrough -- a diplomatic breakthrough was possible only to have been derailed at the last hour.

So I think it's significant that these talks are taking place. Undoubtedly, they are linked very closely to the wider set of talks between the United States and Iran, however, so these parallel processes are very intertwined.

ANDERSON: I think we need to park where we are on those talks and see what happens next, but it's good to get your assessment there.

There does, meantime, appear to be some momentum in U.S.-Iran talks. If a deal is reached -- and that's a big if at this point -- how different might that deal look from that which Donald Trump might have secured before this conflict?

OZCELIK: It is a big if. There, again, seems to be some positive indications as we go into the last days of the two-week ceasefire. So the question is first of all, whether this two-week window will be extended. That seems not a remote possibility because it still remains that there are very many significant divergences between the United States and Iran.

At the same time, the pressure is building. I think there is a sufficient level of incentive on both sides, mediated by Pakistan, to arrive at some type of a deal, mainly because pressure is building up in the Strait of Hormuz. Global implications and incentives being pushed upon them by adversaries and allies alike to arrive at some type of deal.

[05:50:05]

But how different that might look? I think from President Trump's perspective he needs to arrive at a point where whatever he is able to offer to his base -- MAGA, the wider GOP base in the United States, his constituency -- a deal has to seem bigger, better, and bolder than what President Obama had agreed under the JCPOA.

So there is significant pressure on the U.S. negotiating team to press upon the Iranians the urgency of arriving at a deal but also to persuade the Iranians to agree to deeper concessions than they were willing to make previously.

ANDERSON: From the perspective where I am, at least, it does feel -- despite or in spite of what has been the situation here in the Gulf for the last 40 days and the sort of reckless and unprovoked attacks at countries like the UAE have weathered, it does feel that there is a different sort of complexity to this, including the involvement of so many more voices from around this region perhaps not at the table specifically but certainly sort of behind the scenes. And if -- and I think that's an important point here.

The U.S. military has released new radio communications from what is going on in the strait warning vessels to avoid Iranian ports. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

U.S. MILITARY: Do not attempt to breach the blockade. Vessels will be boarded for interdiction and seizure transiting to or from Iranian ports. Turn around and prepare to be boarded. If you do not comply with this blockade, we will use force.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Hmm.

Iran says four ships have still transited in and out.

The U.S. Treasury also adding more sanctions on Iran's oil and gas exports, and it has ordered -- Iran itself has ordered a suspension of petrochemical exports citing war damage and domestic demand.

I just want to look at the significance of the economic pressure that has been brought to bear, really since this blockade came into place to a degree, on the Iranian economy already in really bad shape, of course, before this war.

But what do you make -- what's your assessment of where Iran stands now? Many said it was in a much better position and had a stronger position going into these talks. What's your sense?

OZCELIK: I think it's difficult to deny how effective the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports has been thus far and it hasn't been too long. But the pressure that it has put upon Iran and perhaps the realization in Tehran that if this were to continue for a longer period that the pressure on the Iranian economy -- the stranglehold that it might have would only increase.

And as you said, Iran entered the war from a position of weakness from an economic point of view. Currency failing, the threat of hyperinflation, unemployment. And the protests that we saw in December and into January of this year were very much driven by economic concerns by ordinary Iranians forced out onto the streets to protest and demand solutions by -- from the Iranian government.

So on top of this, the pre-war condition -- on top of this add the significant joint operations by the U.S. and Israel that struck key infrastructure across Iran -- steel plants, petrochemical industry, the defense industrial complex of Iran itself.

And so layered on top of this now is the situation in the Strait of Hormuz which will have bearing on how quickly Iran is able to recover, which is why it is so essential -- and Tehran will see this, I suspect, how essential it is to arrive at some type of ceasefire that alleviates this economic pressure and leads to the removal of the lifting of sanctions, whether that's on a conditional phase -- a conditional phased approach or incremental one.

But I think that awareness is certainly widespread in Iran, if not in decision-making --

ANDERSON: Yeah.

OZCELIK: -- circles, certainly across society.

ANDERSON: Yeah, I think your point is very, very well made.

Burcu, always a pleasure. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.

All right. I'm Becky Anderson live from our Middle East programming headquarters here in Abu Dhabi in the UAE. Omar will have more news for you.

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[05:58:57]

JIMENEZ: All right, everyone. Before we go, we've got to talk about the first-ever "Game of Thrones" movie now has a working title, "Aegon's Conquest."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Clip from HBO/Warner Media "Aegon's Conquest."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Man, that scene bringing back a lot of memories for "GAME OF THRONES" fans.

But now Variety is reporting the first big-screen adventure set in the mystical world of Westeros will reportedly follow the original conqueror from the Targaryen dynasty. The film is the latest spin-off from George R.R. Martin's popular book series "A Song of Ice and Fire" which has expanded with the HBO shows "GAME OF THRONES" and the prequel series "HOUSE OF THE DRAGON," not to mention "A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS" as well.

HBO, I should mention, like CNN, is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery but the new movie and the franchise is part of Warner Bros. slate of films set for 2027 and beyond.

[06:00:00]

Just watching the dragons there -- I mean, come on. What more -- what more can you ask for in "GAME OF THRONES" -- and again, expected to get more of it. A long way to go until we get there though.

Thank you for joining us here on EARLY START this morning. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York. We've got more news ahead. "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now.