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AAA: Gas Prices Surge Again Overnight, Now $4.39 A Gallon; Trump May Face 60-Day War Powers Deadline On Iran Today; Trump Lashes Out At Germany's Chancellor Over Iran War. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired May 01, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- bigger the better.

[11:00:01]

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Are you ever going to touch it again after this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Probably not. I'm one and done.

SCHOLES: One and done.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One and done.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is just on a headband. I probably should have pinned it. But honestly, once you start drinking, it's kind of a sobriety test whether or not your hat is going to stay on or not. And it's doing good so far. Check in with me in about an hour.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHOLES: All right. Meanwhile in the NBA last night, we had a historic beatdown in Atlanta. The Knicks went on a 67-13 run. They had a playoff record 47-point halftime lead. As you can imagine, the Hawks got pretty frustrated in this one. Dyson Daniels and Mitchell Robinson ended up getting ejected after a skirmish later in the game. Knicks would go on to win by 51. They're now going to wait to win it between the Celtics and Sixers. Philly won last night, forcing a Game 7 on Saturday.

In the Stanley Cup playoffs, meanwhile, Wolf, your Sabres, another chance to close out the Bruins. You know, they were up 3-1 in this series but lost Game 5 in overtime. Wolf, they haven't won a series since 2007. Are you getting a little nervous?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Always nervous, but I have to leave you with these words. Go Sabres. Let's hope for the best. Andy Scholes, thank you very much.

And the next hour of The Situation Room starts right now.

BLITZER: Happening now, soaring prices. Gas up nearly 10 cents in a single day after relentless price increases. Is there any relief in sight? Critical deadline. Iran submitting a new peace proposal as the administration pushes past the legal 60-day limit on unauthorized military action. Will Congress get directly involved?

And severe terror threat. The U.K. says terror attacks are, "Highly likely" after two Jewish men are stabbed, stabbed in London. The latest in a very disturbing surge of anti-Semitic attacks. Now the country's chief rabbi is warning that if you are, "Visibly Jewish, you are not safe in Britain any longer." I'll speak with him live. That's coming up.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. Pamela Brown is off today. You're in The Situation Room.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

BLITZER: We begin this hour with breaking news. The price of gas soaring overnight. According to AAA, the national average price for a gallon of regular gas this morning, $4.39. It's up almost 10 cents in just one day and 33 cents from one month ago. Out in California, by the way, some areas are seeing prices upwards of $6.37 per gallon.

And on Thursday, President Trump was asked about the rapid rise in gas prices. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The average price of a gallon of gas is now $4.30 in this country.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And you know what? We're not going to have a nuclear weapon in the hands of Iran. The gas will go down as soon as the war is over. It'll drop like a rock. There's so much of it. It's all over the place, sitting all over the oceans of the world. The gasoline, the oil will go down rapidly as soon as the war is over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's go live right now to CNN correspondent, Gloria Pazmino. She's at a gas station in New York this morning. Gloria, what are drivers telling you this morning?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the gas prices are not going to be dropping as rapidly as the President was just saying there. In fact, experts agree that even if the conflict in the Middle East ends anytime soon, it's going to take at least a few months for these prices to stabilize. So there's a lot of frustration among drivers here in New York, which is seeing some of the highest prices across the nation.

I spoke to several people who told me this morning that it's taking them, you know, hundreds of dollars to fill up their gas tanks per week. I spoke to a man who told me he's spending $180 per week. And a woman who was going home this morning after her night shift as a nurse's aide, and she told me she was only going to fill up her gas just a little bit, $10, right here at this gas station, just so she can make it over the bridge to New Jersey, where she knows that gas is a lot cheaper. So that really shows you just the kinds of decisions that people are having to make, cutting back.

I spoke to some people who told me they're worried about the next few months because summer is coming. That's when a lot of families, when a lot of people will try to travel, and higher gas prices means they may not be able to do that. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we're taking the brunt of this war. We're feeling it in the United States, I don't see what they're getting out of this, but I know it's hurting our pockets. It's hard to travel now. I still got to get around, so this is going to be a lot. When you compare things to what you were, it's almost double.

[11:05:00]

PAZMINO: Have you felt that increase, rapid increase?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, absolutely. And it's not just the gas. It's everything. I'm going to return the car. I have a subscription, and I'm not going to drive for another month, you know. We'd normally be traveling a lot during the summer.

PAZMINO: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, Wolf, let's talk about the numbers. The national average right at $4.39. That's a $0.39 increase in just the past nine days, and a 40 percent increase since the conflict started in Iran in February. And let me show you the numbers here in New York. If you're gassing up at this gas station, you're going to get $4.69, so $0.30 higher than the national average for the regular, and $6.30 for the premium. A lot of people telling me today they noticed the difference from just a day ago. Yesterday, the price is increasing significantly. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Gloria Pazmino on the scene for us in New York. Thank you very, very much.

Meanwhile, the war with Iran is reaching a new milestone and facing a new test of presidential powers. Today marks 60 days since the U.S. and Israel launched their first military strikes. That's significant because of the Vietnam War era. Legislation requires the U.S. Congress to approve U.S. military action that lasts beyond 60 days. That law says if lawmakers don't sign off, the President is required to wind down military operations.

Let's go live right now to CNN's Kevin Liptak over at the White House. Kevin, the interpretation of that law tends to break down along pretty much along party lines, but what can you tell us? KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and the administration is making fairly clear this morning that at least in their view, for the purposes of this law, they think that the war is over. A senior administration official told me this morning that, "For war powers resolution purposes, the hostilities that began on February 28th have terminated, and they're citing the two-week ceasefire that went into place on April 7th."

They're saying that there has been no exchange of fire between the U.S. Armed Forces and Iran since that date, making the argument that at least according to them, the war is terminated and that no congressional authorization is necessary. That underscores an argument that the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, was making before Congress in testimony yesterday. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: On Iran, ultimately, I would defer to the White House and White House counsel on that. However, we are in a ceasefire right now, which our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire. So they're not in. It's our understanding, just so you know.

SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): OK, well, I do not believe the statute would support that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: So it's clearly a novel legal argument that the administration is trying to make. There's nothing in the statute that suggests there's a pause button on that 60-day threshold. It's an argument that presidents have made before. You know, almost every President since this law went into effect has argued that it is, in fact, unconstitutional.

The legal questions aside, you also have to wonder, is this war actually over, if the Strait of Hormuz remains in a chokehold? You know, all of the nuclear questions that were the essential reason for beginning the war in the first place have also yet to be resolved.

Now, Iran has come back with a new proposal. Remains to be seen how President Trump will receive that, whether it meets any of the red lines that he wants when it comes to Iran's nuclear program. Just last night, he was briefed on new military options by his commanders for if he wants to restart the war in that country. So a lot of decisions, I think, in front of President Trump as we hit this 60-day mark. Wolf?

BLITZER: During this ceasefire that's supposedly ongoing right now, is the U.S. continuing to blockade, to block Iranian ports from any service right now? I ask the question because that potentially could also be considered an act of war.

LIPTAK: It certainly could. And, in fact, President Trump has made repeatedly clear that the blockade remains in effect. He was just yesterday talking about how effective that has been in trying to pressure the Iranians to come to the negotiating table. And in his view, that because Iran maintains all of the stockpile of unsold oil, that that could potentially damage their energy infrastructure in the coming weeks. And so you see how he is trying to inflict as much economic pain on Iran as possible, but still leaving open the possibility that he could restart the war at some point. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Kevin Liptak at the White House for us. Thank you very, very much.

President Trump has threatened to pull some troops, major numbers of U.S. troops, from Italy, Germany and Spain. He says these NATO allies have refused to support the war with Iran. And the President has lashed out personally and bitterly, with extra force, at Germany's leader. Here is his social media post. Let me read from it.

[11:09:59]

"The chancellor of Germany should spend more time on ending the war with Russia-Ukraine, where he has been totally ineffective, and fixing his broken country, especially immigration and energy, and less time on interfering with those that are getting rid of Iran nuclear threat, thereby making the world, including Germany, a safer place."

Let's go to Berlin, Germany, right now. CNN's Sebastian Shukla is on the scene for us. Sebastian, what is the latest on this new flare-up of tensions between the U.S. President and the German chancellor?

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN INTERNATIONAL PRODUCER: Yes, good afternoon, Wolf. We can see from what the president has been posting in the last couple of days that he is absolutely seething with Germany, and particularly the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, over the comments that he made earlier this week, where he felt that the United States was being humiliated by Iran following the collapse of the talks to bring about the end of this war in the Gulf just last weekend.

What that unleashed from President Trump has been a torrent of consciousness, it seems, about the way that the President is viewing the relationship here with Germany. He said he wanted to pull those U.S. troops based here. There are some 35,000, the largest by quite some distance of U.S. servicemen anywhere in Europe, and that that has also continued by, you know, now poking holes in the policies of the German chancellor and saying that he has problems here at home, which is true to some extent.

But the value that the German chancellor places on the relationship with Washington is something that he's tried to put back into the conversation here in the last few weeks, few days. Wolf, he's really tried to emphasize the importance that the U.S. plays both in NATO and in Europe. Take a listen to what he had to say just yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRIEDRICH MERZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): What the German army is achieving here in Munster is not only impressive but also represents an important and indispensable contribution to a strong united NATO. We are carrying out this work here but also at other strategically important locations in Germany, side by side with the United States of America, side by side with our allies throughout NATO.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHUKLA: Now, Wolf, we just heard there from the German chancellor, but obviously what has happened in the last few days is not out of kilter what has been happening, and we've seen the President pointing at in the last few months since he came back into office in the White House. He's been pointing at various European leaders and saying that they need to do more. German officials that I've been speaking to have actually acknowledged that more recently they've actually managed to stay out of the anger of the U.S. President and have actually tried to foster that relationship much more than others.

The two of them had an amicable relationship up until the beginning of this war, and since then, Wolf, it's really gone downhill and it really seems to have topped off in the last few days. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Sebastian in Berlin for us, thank you very, very much.

And still ahead, oil falling from the sky in Russia as Ukraine intensifies its attack on energy targets. And now Putin is proposing a temporary ceasefire. Is the Kremlin losing its grip on the war?

[11:13:23]

Plus, could drones be the answer to stopping school shooters? Today, some Florida schools will begin putting those drones to the test. We're going to show you how they work. Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Happening now, Russia is preparing for its annual Victory Day Parade in Moscow to commemorate the Soviet Union's May 9th victory over Nazi Germany back in World War II. It's typically a headline event for Russian President Vladimir Putin to showcase his country's military might. But this year, the parade is being scaled back due to the war with Ukraine that continues.

Recent Ukrainian strikes deliver some damaging blows to Russian oil and gas infrastructure. And all of this comes as Putin spoke with President Trump by phone for more than an hour this week.

Joining us now, CNN National Security Analyst Beth Sanner. She's a former Deputy Director of U.S. National Intelligence. Beth, thanks so much for joining us. As you know, Putin raised the idea of a ceasefire with Ukraine during his call with President Trump to coincide with Moscow's Victory Day Parade. What does that signal to you?

BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It signals kind of desperation and a great deal of justified paranoia. He fears that Ukraine will rain on his parade literally with drones. And, you know, so he wants this temporary ceasefire. Of course, Ukraine says, we want a long-term ceasefire, right? And Putin, in this call with President Trump, made it clear that their terms, their very maximalist terms, that they won't even start to talk seriously to Ukraine unless Ukraine gives up wide swathes of territory. That's where Putin stands. So he's doubling down, but he's also worried.

BLITZER: President Trump told our colleague, CNN's Kaitlan Collins, that Putin also offered to assist in the Iran war, specifically in relation to Iran's enriched uranium. How do you read that?

[11:20:07]

SANNER: Well, because, you know, Putin wants to be seen as being helpful, and I think he's trying to balance off the fact that they were providing Iran with the tactics and the information, this targeting information, in order to allow Iran to better kill and target Americans.

And so, you know, President Trump brushed that off, but I think that President Putin knows that he needs to, you know, kind of suck up to Trump again, and so he had this lovely call where he offered. I was kind of proud of President Trump to say, like, I don't really need your help here, Vladimir. We'd better if you stopped this war.

But the fact is, is that Russian attacks, aerial attacks on Ukraine, which is against civilian targets, have more than doubled since President Trump came to office, compared to previous -- the previous year. So, you know, it's not working. And I think at this point, we know that Putin is not giving, and all the pressure is on Ukraine.

BLITZER: President Trump did not explicitly rule out Iran shipping its uranium to Russia, but suggested he was more interested in resolving the Ukraine war. Just how intertwined are these two conflicts?

SANNER: You know, I think that they are more intertwined in practical terms than in terms of the negotiation. And by that, I mean that, you know, Ukraine is reaching out to the Gulf and now has firm contracts and deals with Gulf States to provide counter-drone technology.

But also, Russian's oil refinery production is at a 17-year low because Ukraine is starting deep strikes into Russia. So it limits the amount that Russia can actually provide to Iran to help them. But, you know, they do that with intelligence. So I think these are more about, like, really the relationships and the implications. And one of the big implications is that we're not going to have any patriots to send to Ukraine.

So as Russia continues to build their ballistic missiles, they're going to be killing more and more Ukrainian civilians. And while, you know, all of that happens, you know, we hear Vice President Vance saying that he's proud that the United States isn't helping Ukraine anymore. And I think that that is callous and sad.

BLITZER: Beth, we've also been following, as you know, the latest terrorist incident this week in London in which two Jewish men were stabbed.

SANNER: Yes.

BLITZER: This was just the latest in a string of anti-Semitic attacks in the London area. What do you suspect is going on?

SANNER: Well, it does look like there's a potential that Iran and there's this shadowy group that's claiming responsibility for these attacks. And it does look like the attackers are more motivated by money than ideology. And so that suggests that Iran might be paying these people through online recruitment and be behind this kind of gray zone attacks. And this is totally in the Iranian playbook.

BLITZER: Very worrisome indeed. Beth Sanner, thank you very much for all that.

[11:23:23]

Still ahead, a surge in those anti-Semitic terror incidents has Britain's Jewish community very much on edge. Now the U.K.'s chief rabbi is issuing a chilling warning to those who are, "Visibly Jewish." He joins us. That's coming up right here in The Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Happening now, a new pilot program is beginning in Florida and is aiming to dispatch a swarm of tiny drones to potentially stop a school shooter. Law enforcement and school districts have been on the lookout for viable solutions. Now, one Florida campus is pre- positioning dozens of drones to launch at a moment's notice, tearing down hallways and feeding live footage to first responders if a shooting is unfolding. Could this technology be a viable solution? CNN Aviation correspondent Pete Muntean, got a hands-on demonstration to see how this new technology works.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, pilots, good to go.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here in this Austin, Texas, middle school, we're seeing how to stop a school shooting with a swarm of tiny drones. It's a new idea ripped from the world of indoor drone racing. Placing a nest of drones inside hallways.

MUNTEAN: What do you guys call this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've just been called it the box.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): And launching them remotely the moment a lockdown begins.

JUSTIN MARSTON, CAMPUS GUARDIAN ANGEL: So in a school shooting, most of the death happens in the first two minutes and it's really hard to get an effective response there in that first two minutes.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): Justin Marston is the founder of Campus Guardian Angel, the Texas startup that envisions drones mounted on the wall of every school nationwide waiting for an emergency. For now, the system is still in trials here in Texas with a pilot program launching in Florida and lawmakers in Georgia considering it next.

MARSTON: As soon as people see it, it becomes really obvious and compelling.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): To prove it, I got to watch a test live.

[11:30:03]

MUNTEAN: Bye.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): For this demonstration, the drone operators are right at our side instead of in a control room.