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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Industry Survey: More Price Pressure Ahead From Iran War; Chinese Android Beats Human Half-Marathon Record; Looking For Answers About Massive Gulf Of Mexico Oil Spill. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired April 20, 2026 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: So far, eight 10-tenths of a meter is the largest that has been seen. More on that, of course, as we get it.

Well, global markets reacting to the latest instability in the Strait of Hormuz. Gas prices are expected to rise in the states once again after Iran once again blocked the passage of most ships through the vital waterway. Meanwhile, the U.S. energy secretary says gas prices may not return to under $3.00 a gallon until, and I quote here, "next year."

Well, both U.S. and international crude oil benchmarks are higher. Here is where things stand right now.

Well, for more on this I'm joined by Ben Farrell. He's global CEO of Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply. He comes to us live from Oxfordshire in England. And it's good to have you on, Ben.

Your team has just released an important report surveying supply chain professionals who say this geopolitical instability in the region is massively disrupting their industry. Perhaps that's no surprise but the majority of those that you surveyed warned of significant price increases in three key areas. First, petroleum, metal ores and mining products. Second, shipping and logistics. And third, chemicals and chemical products.

Can you expand on those concerns and the takeaways of your report?

BEN FARRELL, GLOBAL CEO, CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF PROCUREMENT & SUPPLY (CIPS): Yes. I should start by just saying the context is we have offices and partners as well as members across the world. In fact, we have members of CIPS --

ANDERSON: Um-hum.

FARRELL: -- in 180 countries. So our research is global -- it really, truly is.

And this morning I've been in contact with a lot of our offices around the world just to check in and make sure I've sort of got the latest picture. And as you described, inflation is prevalent across the globe and so is the concerns and anxiety. So our report really reflected this reaching a new highwater mark in terms of concern. I mean, previously we've seen it in the spring of last year when

supply chains were responding to the -- to the -- to the U.S. protectionism through the tariffs and people were having to adjust their supply and the risk associated with this. But this is an unprecedented level of disruption and replanning and re -- you know, reimagining how supply is going to work, and this is delaying and costing.

ANDERSON: So the impact on consumers -- what this means for people's everyday lives is becoming clearer around the world as we see these increased prices.

What, if anything, can be done in the near term to alleviate these severe supply chain disruptions at this point?

FARRELL: Well, the burden of that response sits with procurement and supply chain professionals, and you can see that happening rapidly. I was really interested to talk to our teams in Asia this morning. You see in Pakistan, actually, three of the -- the three key ports there took more cargo in March '26 than they did in the entirety of the 12 months of 2025.

And you can see nations completing adjusting how they're thinking about supply. For example, in India, I was talking to our Indian director this morning and they're now procuring some fertilizer through Morocco, Oman. They're adjusting their oil supply, as you know, from Russia.

So all over the world there's rapid replanning and readjusting of what I'm calling the supply web now and how we respond to it. Essentially, it's been four decades of globalization that has now -- has now been disrupted, so the response is rapid replanning and that's happening on a -- on a daily basis.

And, of course, there are all sorts of implications about availability of shipping and changes in demand. So the teams are literally on around the clock to try and ensure people, you know, get what they need and the impact is managed to some extent, but you can see how widespread this is.

ANDERSON: Yeah. This is -- and I've been watching some of these sort of mitigation and adaptation sort of exercises around this region as well.

I just want to quote to you the head of the UAE's national oil company, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber who writes, "The global economy cannot afford more uncertainty. The strait cannot operate under threat. And let's call payment for safe passage what it is: A protection racket. Hormuz belongs to the world. It must be returned to the world. Exactly as it was."

And as I say, I'm seeing mitigation sort of efforts here in and around the region in new pipelines, et cetera. And again, in using road transports and different sort of supply chain sort of logistics going on rapidly.

What would be the long-term impact though if the strait is not reopened "exactly as it was," as Dr. Jaber puts it.

[05:35:05]

FARRELL: Well, I think this is the area to focus on really and as I said, four days -- decades of globalization. And then you take a state back -- a step back, rather, from the strait itself and think about the other sort of global chokepoints, both geographically and where, you know, materials like semiconductors, for example, are supplied from.

So we've got ourselves into a place of some real vulnerabilities and I think the long-term impact of this is considerable replanning and rethinking about business resilience, organization, and national resilience where key dependencies need to be surfaced and people have other plans. If there were to be some sort of tariff for transiting through the strait there you think that might have a knock-on effect elsewhere in the world, for example.

So I think this is -- this is a moment, you know, given what our report is saying, whether really the outcome is, you know, supply chain professionals and organizations around the world saying this has gone beyond the short-term. You know, manage the crisis to a fundamental rethink of global supply based on now.

I think a better understanding -- you know, this has really surfaced people's -- you know, made people really think about how it all works and to some extent shine a light on, you know, things that were otherwise invisible. So I think it's really important about, you know, considering the long-term implications of this and nations --

ANDERSON: Yeah, I know.

FARRELL: -- really thinking very carefully about it.

ANDERSON: Yeah, Ben. You know, I think we've been talking for some years now about reshoring and about what, you know --

FARRELL: Yeah.

ANDERSON: -- post-COVID -- what sort of the risk to global supply chains might -- that the impact of the risk to global supply chains. And I think you're absolutely right. You are seeing a real focus there on what's happening now and what might happen next. It's important stuff.

And it's good to have you on. Thank you very much indeed. Ben Farrell in the house for you.

Let's get you back to Erica Hill in New York.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Becky, quite the record to break. A Chinese android breaking a human world record. We'll have a closer look at the robot "Lightning" and how it managed to break that record ahead here.

(COMMERCIAL) [05:41:55]

HILL: Welcome back to EARLY START. Let's get to your business breakout at this hour.

A close look at U.S. futures. As you can see all of them in the red there ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street. Of course, as tensions rise between the U.S. and Iran oil prices rise as we've been tracking as well.

We told you about this Chinese android. Its name is "Lightning" and apparently this robot lives up to its name. At a recent Beijing, it bested the human world record for a half-marathon by more than six minutes.

CNN's Patrick Snell has those details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK SNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Humans and bots running side-by-side -- well, for a brief time at least -- until several humanoid robots blew past the pack in Beijing's half-marathon leaving their human counterparts in the dust.

ZHAO HAIJIE, MEN'S HALF-MARATHON CHAMPION (through translator): In the first five kilometers, five to six robots ran past me. The robot in the red outfit had very heavy footsteps and it was running incredibly fast. Its speed was much higher than mine.

SNELL (voiceover): The winning robot, developed by Chinese electronics brand Honor, finished the race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds besting human times without breaking a sweat. Spectators say they were impressed if not a little humbled.

WANG WEN, SPECTATOR (through translator): My biggest impression is that robots seem to have stolen a lot of the spotlight from humans. And judging from today's results the robots' speed far exceeds that of humans. I think this may signal the arrival of sort of a new era.

SNELL (voiceover): Some see it as a win for technology. The champion robot also broke the human world record for a half-marathon. But if it's any consolation the robot's design teams says it was inspired by professional athletes.

DU XIAODI, TEST DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER, HONOR (through translator): From the very beginning of the design our robot was modeled on outstanding human athletes, achieving long legs of about .95 meters. This is a major improvement and highlight in terms of its appearance and design.

SNELL (voiceover): It's a big step up from last year's race when the robots were much slower than humans and were operated by remote control. But this year about 40 percent of the robots ran the race autonomously, navigating the course on their own.

But robotics companies say achievements like this aren't just about winners and losers but perfecting skills that could be used to reshape more industries. But experts say despite this fast-paced performance these are still small steps in a much bigger race.

Patrick Snell, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: Still ahead here on EARLY START, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer facing a political crisis. How he is planning now to fight his way out of it. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL)

[05:49:05]

HILL: Welcome back. I'm Erica Hill. Here's a look at some of the stories we're watching today.

Iran's Foreign Ministry says there are no plans for a second round of negotiations with the U.S. Earlier, an Iranian official said, "We don't believe in deadlines or ultimatums to secure Iran's national interests." That announcement coming just one day after the U.S. seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

Eight children are dead in Shreveport, Louisiana in what is now the deadliest mass shooting in the United States in two years. Police say seven of the victims were the shooter's own children. He also shot and critically wounded two women, one of them his wife, according to authorities. The shooter was later killed by police.

There is a tsunami warning right now for parts of Japan after a strong earthquake struck off the country's northeastern coast -- the 7.4- magnitude quake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. And the Japan Meteorological Agency says waves as high as three meters -- that's nearly 10 feet -- are possible in at least three prefectures. The waves, though, that have been observed so far have been smaller.

[05:50:05]

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to address what will likely be an angry Parliament in the coming hours. He says he plans to set out the relevant facts over the Peter Mandelson scandal. Starmer is facing growing calls by opposition lawmakers to step down after revelations that Mandelson, the former ambassador to the U.S., failed a security vetting process.

Now, Mandelson is a veteran of Starmer's Labour Party who was fired last year after the depth of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein came to light, and he's now under a police investigation for allegedly leaking government to the late sex offender.

Prime Minister Starmer denies knowing anything about that vetting failure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: And that I wasn't told that Peter Mandelson had failed security vetting when he's appointed is staggering. That I wasn't told that he'd failed security vetting when I was telling Parliament that due process had been followed is unforgivable. Not only was I not told, no minister was told, and I'm absolutely furious about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: A spokesperson for the British prime minister telling reporters Starmer has no plans to resign.

The head of police in Ukraine's capital is stepping down following a mass shooting that left at least six people dead. The resignation comes after video emerged allegedly showing two officers running away from the sound of gunfire during Saturday's shooting in Kyiv. Both are suspended pending an investigation. Fifteen people were also injured in what investigators are calling an act of terrorism.

So here, if you look at this video, you can see video -- this is of the 58-year-old man who authorities say is responsible. After shooting multiple victims on the street the man had barricaded himself at a supermarket and took several people hostage. Authorities are still trying to determine a motive.

Pope Leo XIV is in Saurimo, a city in northeastern Angola. He just visited a local elderly care home and is set to celebrate holy mass next hour. Later on Monday he will meet with bishops, priests, and pastoral workers at a parish in the city.

On Sunday, the pontiff urged Angolans to overcome divisions created by nearly three decades of civil war. The pope saying his trip to Africa is meant to encourage the continent's growth Catholic population and to build peace and understanding between people of all faiths.

An oil spill off the coast of Mexico is said to be impacting not only local tourism but the fishing industry. Still to come why the Mexican government and environmental groups can't seem to agree on just what caused the disaster.

(COMMERCIAL)

[05:57:03]

HILL: Fishermen in a Mexican coastal community are struggling in the wake of a massive oil spill in the area more than a month ago. It actually happened off the state of Veracruz. The spill itself has since spread into several nature preserves. Mexico's president maintains though that the cleanup is under control. Some environmental groups, however, say the government is not being honest about what's going on.

CNN's Valeria Leon reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALERIA LEON, CNN REPORTER (voiceover): Fishermen's nets stained with tar, the most visible face of an environmental tragedy stretching over 600 kilometers or 400 miles off the Gulf of Mexico. An oil spill that began on March 2 and whose causes are still unknown.

While Mexican authorities say the oil is seeping from three different sources, including a ship that has not yet been identified, environmental organizations dispute that version. They say the root of the spill is a leak from a pipeline operated by Pemex, Mexico's state owned oil company.

Whatever the source, it has dealt a major blow to the region. Turtles, fish, and other marine life have been found washed up onshore coated in oil.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (through translator): We never imagined something like this would happen and now look. This has affected us as restaurant owners and everyone who depends on tourism.

LEON (voiceover): For local fishermen it has upended their livelihoods now that they are unable to work in the waters they depended on for decades.

LOCAL FISHERMAN (through translator): Since March 2, we haven't been able to fish. We usually catch crab and oysters but now we can't because no one will buy them.

LEON (voiceover): Mexico's government said at least a 100 tons of crude have spilled into the ocean. Cleanup crews have been deployed but residents say the damage is still visible and the economic impact has already been felt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The local community has gotten together to clean the beaches because we depend on tourism.

LEON (voiceover): President Claudia Sheinbaum has downplayed the impact saying the situation is under control, adding that during holy week hotel occupancy in the coastal city of Veracruz reached around 80 percent.

CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (through translator): They are ongoing cleanup efforts. The beaches have been cleaned, and people were able to safely go into the beaches of Veracruz.

LEON (voiceover): As the cleanup continues questions remain over what caused the spill and whether the leak has been stopped.

Meanwhile, both the region's ecosystem and its local economy stand on the brink of disaster.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: Thanks so much for joining us here on EARLY START on this Monday. I'm Erica Hill in New York. "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now.