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EU Officials Discuss $105 Billion Loan To Ukraine; Federal Reserve Nominee Kevin Warsh: I Won't Be Anyone's "Sock Puppet"; FBI Investigating Scientists' Deaths And Disappearances. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired April 22, 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: And you've on to explain in the past that you think what we will see next month in Beijing mid-May will be even more important than what we are expecting to see in Islamabad at some point.

What do you mean by that?

MUKESH SAHDEV, FOUNDER AND CEO, XANALYSTS: So Becky, I think now the numbers are clearly telling the story. The first number is that all the many years since the first term of the U.S. president China has built almost 1.5 to two billion barrels of crude stocks. And ultimately, Iran oil was going to China. Venezuela oil was going to China. So I see Iran as a series of things which the U.S. has to do before the U.S. can get a better deal out of China.

So I believe that the fact that Venezuela was discounting to China, Iran was discounting to China, and Russia is discounting to China -- so all these three actors against that the U.S. is actually working hard, all roads lead to China and that's the reason I say that.

ANDERSON: That is fascinating. Trump appears to agree on the importance of the China visit posting a week ago, "President Xi will give me a big, fat hug when I get there in a few weeks. We are working together smartly, and very well! Doesn't that beat fighting? But remember, we are very good at fighting if we have to -- far better than anyone else!"

Somebody whose judgment locally here in the region I really sort of trust said to me the other day watch two dates coming up as far as Donald Trump is concerned. Mid-May, this trip to China, and then July the Fourth, of course, which is 250 years' worth of independence for the United States. And I think he was very right in pointing those out.

I mean, do you believe that there is, you know, a real possibility these two superpowers mid-May will be able to sort something out when it comes to the strait, for example, and then the kind of wider story?

SAHDEV: That's an excellent observation and question, Becky. I think it's hard to, you know, predict the political outcome. I think if you look at the numbers my view is that this will last longer. If China had to agree on some sort of big concessions they would have done by now. So the U.S. has to work even harder to bring more pain probably to the region, to the economy, and probably only then the U.S. may be able to extract a favorable deal.

So my view is that it is based on the numbers and the data it is harder to see things resolving anytime soon and given the U.S. has been preparing well for this kind of a longer war, so the preparation on both side sides is for a longer war, not for a shorter war in the numbers.

ANDERSON: Given the threat that we've heard from Iran on oil facilities here in the Gulf, I just want to close this conversation out, Mukesh, with getting a view from --

SAHDEV: Um-hum.

ANDERSON: -- you on where this all leaves the Gulf States.

Is there a view that a realistic deal that addresses all of their concerns is likely at this point? What's your take? And as you answer that please just close out with the view out of India. It has been a really interesting sort of last seven weeks with regard to sort of Indian crude or Iranian crude and the kind of India economy story.

SAHDEV: I think I'll touch upon the last point -- the India economy story. I think that's where -- I'm in India and I've been talking to a lot of players, Becky. I think the pain is increasing, especially on the LPG side, and soon India does not have the storage as China has the storage, number one.

Number two, for the Gulf countries I think we have already seen those force measures coming out of Kuwait and other parts which do not have any option to bypass the Hormuz other than the Saudis. So I think that pain is increasing.

And probably U.S. blockade of the Hormuz from a different perspective in some ways, in my view, is probably a masterstroke, which without fighting too much and without doing damage to the infrastructures is all about increasing the pain so that the China, so that the Gulf countries come together and put pressure on Iran to agree to the terms which U.S. wants.

I think U.S. the president has very clearly kind of communicated he doesn't want a bad deal even if it takes longer.

[05:35:00]

ANDERSON: Um, fascinating.

Mukesh, it's great having you on this morning. Thank you very much indeed for joining us out of New Delhi.

All right, Erica, back to you.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thank you -- appreciate it. Thank you. European officials, as we were noting, discussing this loan of more than $100 billion for Ukraine. CNN's Clare Sebastian is live in London with more on that. Clare, hopefully, we have fixed our audio issues -- fingers crossed.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I think so this time, Erica. You'll let me know if not.

But look, as you were saying, this is going to be, we think -- there were signals yesterday from Europe's top diplomat Kaja Kallas that she expected positive decisions today on this massive loan that the EU painstakingly agreed in December. But then outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was blocking over what he said was a Hungarian decision -- a Ukrainian decision, rather, to stop oil supplies through a critical pipeline through its territory from Russia. Ukraine says Russia attacks that pipeline. But as of yesterday, President Zelenskyy says that the pipeline is fixed.

So now, in his words, there's nothing standing in the way essentially of this loan being unblocked because, of course, the signals that we're getting from the incoming Hungarian prime minister Peter Magyar is that he won't stand in the way of the decision that was made in December.

So it's complicated and it's been messy, but the point is this funding is existentially important for Ukraine. This is about 105 or so billion dollars to help cover a massive budget gap that the IMF has said could be in the region of $150 billion over the next two years -- money that is critically needed so Ukraine can continue to fund its defense.

And I think, look, the concern for Ukraine and certainly for Europe has been that in the months since that loan was agreed, not only have talks stalled because the U.S. has been distracted by its war with Iran, but Russia has also profited from that war. So that makes the situation even more urgent for Ukraine.

But Ukraine has not been sitting around waiting for this to happen. They have managed to hold Russia back as they started on what was a -- what was believed to be a new spring offensive. And they have continue and even stepped up attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. This was footage from Monday showing an attack on a Black Sea oil refinery -- a Russian refinery. And that has, according to reports, eaten into Russia's oil production figures. So they are having an impact.

But again, critically important that they get this funding, so all eyes will certainly be on that today.

HILL: Yeah, absolutely, Clare -- appreciate it. Thank you.

Still ahead here this hour, President Trump's pick to chair the Federal Reserve in the hotseat. What he told senators about interest rates and why one Republican is threatening to block his confirmation. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL) [05:42:20]

HILL: Welcome back now to EARLY START. It's time for your business breakout.

Let's take a look at U.S. futures -- where we stand now ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street. As you can see, trending into positive territory there for futures. Of course, a lot of focus as earnings continue today. Boeing, AT&T, Tesla among the companies we're waiting to hear from.

Let's check in now for some of today's business headlines.

German airline Lufthansa says it will cut some European routes and 20,000 short-haul flights in an effort to save jet fuel. Airlines are really struggling with potential shortages in addition to the higher prices because of the war with Iran. Jet fuel prices in Europe have more than doubled since the conflict began.

The Trump administration charging the Southern Poverty Law Center with nearly a dozen counts, including bank fraud. The Justice Department accuses the prominent civil rights organization of using funds to secretly pay informants in violent extremist groups without telling donors. The SPLC denies any wrongdoing and says the allegations are false.

Florida's attorney general launching an investigation into OpenAI, specifically whether the company bears any criminal responsibility for a deadly shooting at Florida State University last year and whether the -- whether ChatGPT helped the suspect to carry out the attack. OpenAI says the shooting was a tragedy but says ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime.

President Trump's pick to head up the Federal Reserve says if confirmed he will not do Trump's bidding. Kevin Warsh testifying on Tuesday before the Senate Banking Committee where he said President Trump had never asked him to commit to lowering interest rates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): Professor, what's a sock puppet?

KEVIN WARSH, NOMINEE FOR FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: I think it's a thing you stick your hand in.

KENNEDY: Yeah, kind of like this? Are you going to be the president's human sock puppet?

WARSH: Senator, absolutely not.

KENNEDY: Are you going to be anybody's human sock puppet?

WARSH: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Looming over this process, a Justice Department investigation of the current Fed chair Jerome Powell.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis says he does support Warsh but will continue to block his confirmation unless that probe is dropped.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): The problem that I have here is that we had some U.S. attorney with a dream or assistant U.S. attorney thinking it would be cute to bring Chair Powell under an investigation just a few months before the position was going to be open. And let's get rid of this investigation so I can support your confirmation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Jerome Powell's term as Fed chair ends in May.

Vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to testify before two Senate committees today. That's after he spent Tuesday on the Hill defending everything from his views on vaccines to agency shakeups and budgets. Lawmakers pressed the U.S. Health and Human Services secretary on whether the White House has tried to tamp down his vaccine rhetoric. They also blasted a number of his policies.

[05:45:10]

RFK Jr. was also questioned about the Trump administration's new pick to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- specifically, whether he would allow Dr. Erica Schwartz to operate without interference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RAUL RUIZ (D-CA): Mr. Secretary --

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: I'm putting a billion dollars in vaccine research.

RUIZ: (INAUDIBLE) Dr. Schwartz and her vaccine position.

KENNEDY: I'm putting a billion dollars in vaccine research.

RUIZ: No. Mr. Secretary, if Dr. Schwartz is confirmed, will you commit on the record today to implement whatever vaccine guidance she issues without interference?

KENNEDY: I'm not going to make that kind of commitment.

RUIZ: Because you probably won't and you'll probably fire her as well as you did Director Monarez because you will not -- you will not accept the recommendations based on science.

KENNEDY: You're getting your soundbite but you're not getting --

RUIZ: Mr. Secretary, it has --

(END VIDEO CLIP) HILL: The FBI is now looking for any links following the death or disappearance of at least 10 U.S. scientists who were connected to sensitive research. What their family members are saying. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL)

[05:50:30]

HILL: Welcome back. I'm Erica Hill. Here are some of the stories we're watching today.

The next rounds of talks between Iran and the United States on hold. President Trump has extended the ceasefire that was close to expiring but it's not clear just how long that truce will remain. The leader of Iran's negotiating team says the ceasefire extension means nothing. Meantime, a U.K. maritime agency says at least two container ships were hit by gunfire in the Strait of Hormuz today.

FBI Director Kash Patel says he's never been intoxicated on the job. Reporters asking him about his $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic. The magazine, which has called the lawsuit meritless, cites sources and colleagues who accuse Patel of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.

The funerals for eight children killed in a mass shooting in Louisiana will all be held together, the family tells CNN. The children who range in age from just three years old to 11 will also be married -- buried near one another. There has not been a date set according to the family, but we do know the funeral will not be open to the media.

The FBI is investigating the deaths or disappearances in recent years of at least 10 scientists who were connected to sensitive nuclear or aerospace research. The bureau says there are questions about a possible sinister connection among the cases.

CNN's Natasha Chen reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA CHEN, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The circumstances of these dozen or so people vary widely from people whose deaths had been publicly reported and explained with suspects arrested to people whose disappearances truly leave detectives stumped.

I've tried to reach out to as many family members and close friends of these people as I could and the reactions also range widely from some laughing this off as ridiculous to others hoping a federal investigation will finally give them some answers.

The request for briefings from the FBI, the Defense Department, Department of Energy, and NASA comes from the Republican-led House Oversight Committee. Here is the committee chair James Comer.

REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): When I first heard about this, I thought well, that can't be true. That sounds like some kind of crazy conspiracy theory. But once you see the facts it would suggest that something sinister could be happening and it would be a national security concern.

CHEN: But there's nothing sinister in the eyes of Julia Hicks, the daughter of Michael David Hicks, a scientist who died in 2023. He was named in those congressional letters. There were internet rumors stemming from no publicly listed cause of death or available autopsy. But his daughter told me she's the one who found him when he passed, and he had known medical issues.

She said he worked at NASA's jet propulsion laboratory for nearly 25 years on near-Earth comets and asteroids and how to deflect them from Earth -- nothing that she feels would put a target on his back. She told me, "I can't help but laugh about it, but at the same time it's getting serious," referring to this congressional attention.

And then on the other end of the spectrum you have disappearances like that of Anthony Chavez, 78 years old, who disappeared last year from Los Alamos, New Mexico. He was retired and had been a foreman overseeing construction of new buildings at Los Alamos National Laboratory, according to police.

A detective there told me he is at a loss. The clues show that Chavez was home the day before he was reported missing but left all his stuff behind. And though he was a hiker and could have gone to one of the many canyons in the area, it was also pouring rain that day, and he didn't bring a jacket.

Chavez's best friend told me he tried to get the FBI involved initially but was hung up on. He says it's about time the Feds look into this, and he believes Chavez was abducted. I asked him to elaborate on that, but he said the Chavez family asked him not to say anything more.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted last week about what she called "recent and legitimate questions about these troubling cases" that agencies would holistically review all the cases together and leave no stone unturned.

Now the FBI declined to comment. The Department of Defense said only that it would respond to the committee directly and the Department of Energy referred questions to the White House.

Natasha Chen, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL)

[05:59:00]

HILL: Police in Philadelphia say two men armed with assault rifles robbed an armored Brinks truck on Tuesday morning. According to CNN affiliate KYW it happened while the truck was a check-chasing business. A police source says the suspects may have stolen as much as $1.8 million. Surveillance footage shows them arriving in a blue car dressed in black and wearing masks. No injuries were reported. The suspects though -- they're still on the loose.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Wheelchair exploding.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fire! Fire!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: What you just saw there was the moment a woman's electric wheelchair exploded seconds after she got it outside her Florida home. Alexandra Anaya told CNN she'd woken up to hear the chair making clicking noises. She found then that it was hot to the touch. She says it was a mistake to be asleep while it charges. It's a store that she purchased secondhand at a thrift shop -- a chair, rather, she purchased secondhand. Thankfully, no one was injured.

[06:00:00]

A mini figure version of Ryan Gosling just broke a Guinness world record by launching into the stratosphere. A Lego set inspired by the film "Project Hail Mary" took off above Wales on Monday using a high- altitude balloon system. On board, mini figures of the characters, Ryland Grace who Gosling plays, and the alien Rocky. It set the Guinness world record for highest altitude launch and retrieval of a Lego set -- who knew that was even a record -- reaching nearly 115,000 feet above sea level.

Thanks so much for joining us this morning on EARLY START. I'm Erica Hill in New York. Stay tuned. "CNN THIS MORNING WITH AUDIE CORNISH" starts right now.