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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
1-on-1 With Senator Chris Coons; US Navy Secretary Ousted; Pontiff's Africa Tour; Sea Ice Melting at Dangerous Pace Near Arctic Circle; NFL Draft Gets Underway Thursday in Pittsburgh; Extreme Drought, Winds Impact Growing Wildfires; U.S., Gulf Allies Adopt New Tech to Counter Iran's Drones. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired April 23, 2026 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: THE STORY IS in Iran, where a naval blockade is intensifying pressure on the Iranian government. Senator Chris Coons joins us live from the US Senate.
THE STORY IS in Washington, DC where the Navy secretary is suddenly ousted. We talk live with retired Rear Admiral Andrew Loiselle.
THE STORY IS in the skies where jet fuel prices are causing major changes for airlines around the world. Travel expert Peter Greenberg is here with tips.
And THE STORY IS in the Arctic Circle where CNN's Bill Weir reports from near an iceberg to mark Earth Day.
BILL WEIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So stunning to look at for the first time and then so depressing to realize how far they've retreated in just recent years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS WITH ELEX MICHAELSON.
MICHAELSON; We're literally taking you all over the world on THE STORY IS, I'm Elex Michaelson. Thanks for watching. It is 9:00 here in Los Angeles, 7:30am in Tehran and 12:00am in Washington, DC where President Donald Trump says there is "no timeframe for the conflict with Iran and denies the midterms are driving his decisions.
The White House says it wants to see a "unified proposal" from Iran and knows who will sign off on a deal despite divisions in Tehran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We obviously know who we're negotiating with because our negotiating team has sat down with those individuals in person. But obviously there's a lot of internal fraction and internal division, which again, just proves the effectiveness of Operation Epic Fury in the first place. So again, the President is offering them a little bit of flexibility because we want to see a unified proposal to the President's very strong proposal. And he's made his red lines very clear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Meantime, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps captured two ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, and state media released this video showing soldiers boarding one of the vessels. Iran's president says Tehran still wants peace talks, but breach of commitments, blockade and threats are the main obstacle to genuine negotiations.
And as the US Navy keeps up its blockade of Iranian ports, the Navy secretary, John Phelan, was ousted from his position on Wednesday. Let's bring in CNN's Will Ripley live from Taipei.
Will, what more can you tell us about these ships allegedly seized by Iran in the Strait?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Elex, we know that they are a Panamanian flagged ship, the MSC Francesca, and a Liberian flagship, the Epaminondas. And those flags are significant and I'll tell you why in a moment.
But first let's go back to this video which was broadcast by Iranian state media, I think deliberately aimed to unsettling and it certainly is. You see these Revolutionary Guard Corps commandos with their faces covered, climbing up, brandishing their weapons. Apparently these ships were fired upon. One of the ships was damaged.
Iran says that they were breaking the rules and they might have been tampering with their navigation equipment. And both of the ships, according to tracking data, now appear to be stopped just off the Iranian coast.
The Revolutionary Guard commandos use these fast attack speedboats that you see in the video. They are heavily-armed, obviously much smaller than these ships, much smaller than warship. But this is a textbook example of asymmetric warfare capabilities because if you get enough of these small ships, you know, they're built and designed for swarm tactics, many small boats kind of surrounding and overwhelming, much bigger and in this case, unarmed targets.
The US estimates that there are still hundreds of these ships that are intact and in use right now by Iran, even though they believe up to half of the fleet has been destroyed so far in the nearly continuous bombardment. But the fact that you can have again such inexpensive, low cost small ships creating such a propaganda win, certainly by broadcasting these images, it's terrifying for cargo ships that aren't going to want to risk their own crews being detained, even though we believe that the Filipino and Ukrainian crew members on at least one of those ships, reportedly 21 of those crew members, are safe and sound right now.
But, Elex, clearly this just underscores how hard it is to track these small vessels, especially when they're operating on a narrow waterway like the Strait of Hormuz. And this is exactly how for a relatively low cost for Iran, they can just create a huge high impact to global shipping.
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Now, I mentioned earlier the ships are flagged Panama and Liberia. And that is why the White House is saying tonight that this does not count as a violation of the ceasefire, even though the ships were fired on. Listen to the press secretary.
Does the president view that as
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTHA MACCALLUM, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Does the President view that as a violation of the ceasefire?
LEAVITT: No, because these were not US Ships. These were not Israeli ships. These were two international vessels. These two ships were taken by speedy gun boats . Iran has gone from having the most lethal navy in the Middle East to now acting like a bunch of pirates. They don't have control over the strait.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIPLEY: But they can certainly create a lot of chaos on the strait, Elex, as we saw this coming, just hours after President Trump extended that fragile ceasefire. The US blockade also continues, Iran now seizing ships in response, broadcasting the images on their state media. And this strait, as you know, as we've been saying, 20 percent of global oil flows through there.
So this disruption risks continued spiking in energy prices and a whole lot of chaos around the world caused by those tiny little speedboats that we saw in that video, Elex.
MICHAELSON: Will Ripley starting us off live in Taiwan. Thank you so much. Let's go to Washington right now.
Democratic Senator Chris Coons is standing by live. He is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee working late. The Senate is voting right now past the midnight hour. So thank you for staying up for us. We appreciate it.
SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): Thank you. Elex. Great to be on with you. Yes, we're going to be voting, frankly all night on an irresponsible bill from the Republican majority rather than agreeing with Democrats on modest, responsible reforms to how ICE and CBP conduct policing.
Things like they should wear body cameras and identifying badges, and use judicial warrants if they're trying to break down the door to someone's home. They're jamming through funding for ICE and CBP on the floor of the Senate this evening.
MICHAELSON: So, OK, so let's go there. And what we're looking at right now is a live picture of the Senate floor. You're literally just walked off the floor. There's a whole series of votes that happen tonight . But this all goes back to the idea of funding the Department of Homeland Security.
We know it has not been fully-funded since February 14th. If the Republicans all stay together and they pass their bill tonight in the Senate and they're all stay together in the House, and they pass this funding on a party line vote using a process called reconciliation. If they're all together, is there anything that you all can do to stop it?
COONS: No, and that's why they're using this process. It is the one way that you can force through a bill in the Senate with fewer than 60 votes is this reconciliation process. It's a special budget process, and it should not be used for this purpose for appropriations. We hung together as a caucus and refused to fund ICE until there were modest, responsible reforms.
Republicans in the Senate, we unanimously voted to fund DHS, except for ICE and CBP, and then the House rejected it. So it's been ping ponging back and forth. This is Republicans way of solving this without addressing the real problem, the cruelty and the violence that we all saw in Minneapolis that caused this impasse in the first place.
MICHAELSON: But you think the Republicans have the vote to ultimately get this thing through?
COONS: I don't think they would have started tonight if they didn't have the votes in their caucus. We're going to be staying up late forcing votes on dozens of issues. I have an amendment, for example, with Elizabeth Warren that would hold ICE accountable and create a new accountability commission that would report back to Congress about the implementation of reforms. I also have an amendment I think I will get a vote on tonight, on housing costs and on focusing on one of the key drivers of affordability, which is we're not building enough high quality and affordable housing either for rent or ownership.
And that's why mortgage payments are too high, rents are too high.
MICHAELSON: There's a new poll out that shows about 1 out of 10 people think that Congress is doing a good job. Are you one of them? Do you think that's too high a number? 86 percent disapprove of Congress.
COONS: Look, what I think the American people are sick and tired of is division and dysfunction. And I continue to work across the aisle to introduce legislation and to get things signed into law. In December alone, President Trump signed five of my bills into law. And part of what I'm doing tonight is talking to my colleagues about measured, balanced, responsible legislation that will address things from energy efficiency to housing affordability.
But because there is so much division in our country, and President Trump dedicates so much of his time to trashing Congress as well as breaking all of the guardrails in our system, I'm not surprised that we are not viewed positively by a majority of Americans.
MICHAELSON: Of course, one thing Congress has not voted on so far is the war with Iran. There was never a congressional --
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COONS: No, react -- yes.
MICHAELSON: -- authorization.
COONS: Yes, right.
MICHAELSON: Right? I mean, for the war itself. And now we are in a position where we are where we are. So, based off of where we are right now, what do you think is an off ramp for the war that is acceptable to President Trump and Iran, or people can save face, but ultimately helps the United States and increases safety here?
COONS: Well, Elex, we did actually have a vote on the floor of the Senate earlier today under the War Powers Act on a resolution of disapproval that would have required the withdrawal of American troops from the theater. It was defeated. A majority of Republicans voted against it.
But to your question about what's a responsible off ramp, well, let's look at where we were before this war began. Iran had a large stockpile of highly-enriched uranium, about 900 pounds of 60 percent enriched. It's still in Iran. We don't know exactly where it all is, and we don't have a method to get it out.
A key piece of an acceptable off ramp would be Iran being willing to allow back into their country again the inspectors that would find, identify and isolate that, and their willingness to send out of the country for down blending and neutralization that stockpile of highly- enriched uranium. Second, President Trump said help is on the way to the Iranians who were protesting in the streets, who were massacred by the brutal irgc. We are no closer to having a free and open Iran.
There's an ayatollah, but he's the son of the former ayatollah. And the IRGC is still fully capable of oppressing their people. Biggest change since this war began, the Strait of Hormuz now closed. And yes, we've dropped a lot of bombs on ballistic missile launchers and sunk a lot of Navy ships, but Iran's prepared for this exact conflict for decades.
It was entirely foreseeable that they would use small, fast boats, that they would use cheap drones in order to attack us and our allies, to broaden the conflict, in order to shut down the Strait of Hormuz and impact the prices we pay at the pump and the cost for energy worldwide. So to me, there's going to be a very hard negotiation here where President Trump's going to have to make some concessions, and likely enter into a deal that will look an awful lot like the Obama Iran deal that he so derided.
I'll remind you, President Trump often attacked Obama's Iran deal because it resulted in Iran getting back about 1.7 billion of its own money that had been frozen for decades. In the last few weeks, President Trump, because he waived sanctions on Iranian oil, has flowed billions of dollars, roughly $14 billion into Iran's economy.
You don't have to read the "Art of War" to know it's not a great idea to help more money go into the coffers of two countries, Russia and Iran, that are currently engaged in brutal conflict. Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine got new life because the Trump administration also waived sanctions on Russian oil. They did this because they were trying to avoid a price spike at the pump here in the United States.
It hasn't had that effect, but it has put huge amounts of money into the pockets of Vladimir Putin and the ayatollah.
MICHAELSON: Do you think that the blockade that the United States is currently putting forward is effective at decreasing Iranian leverage and increasing American leverage, and potentially really hurting squeezing Iran's economy?
COONS: It is certainly smarter than going into the Strait of Hormuz and trying to take it over by sending ground troops, Marines, or the 82nd Airborne to try and occupy that part of Iran that is right next to this very narrow strait. And it is certainly easier than sending in minesweepers or trying to clear the Strait of Mines. But it's a war of attrition. This blockade is assuming that by cutting off new oil revenues to the Iranian regime, they ultimately, in weeks or months, will cry uncle and come to the negotiating table.
But there's a key difference between our society and theirs. The ayatollah and the IRGC are not interested in the opinion of their people, and they will absorb a lot of suffering, probably more than we will. And that's one of my core concerns, is that we need to be prepared for higher oil and gas prices, for higher fertilizer prices for a long time to come, if that blockade is ultimately the tool that President Trump intends to use to bring Iran to the negotiating table.
MICHAELSON: And lastly, how late do you think you're going to be there tonight? And what do you do to keep yourself up late at night? Is it sugar? Is it caffeine? Is it just naps? What's your strategy?
COONS: I do TV interviews. That helps keep me on edge.
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Yes, I need a cup of coffee here pretty soon, the over under in the informal casual betting pool or conversation among senators is somewhere between 3:00 and 4:00 this morning.
You know, look, I'm relatively young for a senator. I'm in my early 60s. There's a lot of folks I serve with in their 70s and 80s, one in his 90s. This is a pretty brutal way to jam through funding for ICE without needed reforms because this process only ends by exhaustion. It will only end when a majority of the senators say, we're done, we don't want any more votes, we all want to go to bed.
And bluntly, it's good to have a chance to explain this to your viewers and to tell them that what's going on here is a basic fight over values. Is the Trump administration, the Republican majority, willing to reform ICE and make it follow the same rules as state and local law enforcement all over the country? Nope. They're willing to keep us up all night to jam this funding through. MICHAELSON: Well, Senator Chris Coons, good luck staying up.
COONS: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: And if you want to encourage any of your other friends that they want to do TV interviews as well, we're here for the next couple of hours.
COONS: I'll send it your way.
MICHAELSON: We appreciate it.
COONS: Thanks, Elex.
MICHAELSON: Appreciate it. Thank you, Senator Coons. Now to other news.
As the senator was just saying, Ukraine's president says the war with Iran is taking the focus away from Russia's invasion of his country. President Zelenskyy telling CNN's Christiane Amanpour in an interview today that it would be a big risk to wait until the Middle East conflict is over to bring attention back to Ukraine. Here's some of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We speak about security in Europe and we speak about security in NATO, where the United States is the leader of the NATO. So I think that I'm sure that the challenge with Iran is important. And I'm sure that Americans and Europeans, by the way, have to think about it, how to help people, just ordinary people.
Again, I'm not speaking about one country or another. Just help people to stop this war. And I think this is the most important. But not to forget or not to think that -- we will speak about it a little bit later. Ukraine is not a little bit later. Ukraine is already in such big tragedy. So we have to find a way how to think and manage in parallel way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Volodymyr Zelenskyy said part of the problem is that the same US negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are involved in both the Iran and Ukraine talks. He says technical talks with the US are still taking place, but he doubts that there will be any high level meetings, at least for now.
In the coming hours, Pope Leo XIV will wrap up his 11 day tour of Africa. He's currently on the final stop in Equatorial Guinea where he'll celebrate mass at a stadium before flying back to Rome. CNN's Christopher Lamb has been traveling with the Pope and has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's an electric atmosphere in this stadium for Pope Leo as he arrives for this meeting with young people and families. The rain's been pouring down, but people have turned out in their thousands and they're showing incredible excitement to see Pope Leo who's been circulating in the Popemobile.
This is Leo's last full day of his Africa tour. He's been to four countries and the last day in Equatorial Guinea has seen him travel across three cities. And he's been taking part in an extraordinary number of events.
The Pope who is at 70, a relatively young pope, someone who's had to show incredible stamina to be part, to take part in all the events. But Leo here with a strong message of hope for people in Equatorial Guinea, which is an overwhelmingly Catholic country, but one that has to battle with a very repressive regime.
Leo visiting a prison, one of the worst in the world, in Bata, trying to encourage those prisoners and talk about some of the very difficult conditions they face. Leo during this time in Africa underlying his desire to be a missionary pope who goes out to parts of the world that you wouldn't necessarily expect a pope to go to.
But Pope Leo, of course, is a former missionary himself. And during his time in Africa he's seen in his element. Now, Leo will apart on Thursday from Equatorial Guinea on a flight back to Rome at the end of what is the longest visit foreign visit of his pontificate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Our thanks to Christopher Lamb there. An autopsy finds that the 14-year-old girl whom singer D4vd is accused of killing died of multiple penetrating injuries. Authorities say the body of Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found in the trunk of D4vd's abandoned Tesla back in September here in LA, five months after she was last seen alive going into the singer's home.
On Monday, D4vd pleaded not guilty to charges in connection with her killing, including first degree murder, sexual abuse of a child under 14, and mutilating human remains.
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Just ahead, resign or be fired. What sources are telling CNN about the sudden departure of the Navy secretary in the middle of the US naval blockade on Iran? We'll talk to a Navy veteran coming up.
Plus, six of the candidates vying to become California's next governor take to the stage to debate the state's top issues. More on what they had to say ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: A surprise announcement from the Pentagon, US Navy Secretary John Phelan is stepping down effective immediately. Sources tell CNN there was tension for months between Phelan and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. And Phelan was told resign or be fired.
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The announcement comes amid the US naval blockade of Iranian ports. Joining me now from Virginia Beach, retired US Navy Rear Admiral Andrew Loiselle. He's currently the CEO of Bucket Defense Solutions. Thank you so much for your service to our country, and thanks for staying up late with us.
ANDREW LOISELLE, RETIRED US NAVY REAR ADMIRAL: Thanks. Happy to be here.
MICHAELSON: What impact exactly does Phelan's ouster have on troops and assets in the region? Does this really matter in terms of the war itself?
LOISELLE: I would have to say no, it's not really affecting our troops that are deployed currently. So we typically, not typically, we always have an operational and an administrative chain of command, and the Navy secretary falls under the administrative chain of command. Once we deploy our sailors, marines, troops, they fall underneath the Geographic Combatant Commands control. So they are right now working for CENTCOM.
And so, if there are administrative matters, then certainly it would come back through the Pentagon and the Navy secretariat. But for operational purposes and the purposes of war fighting, they are working right now for CENTCOM.
MICHAELSON: How unusual is this, this sort of dynamic and this idea of sort of fire, you know, essentially get out or be fired?
LOISELLE: Well, I mean, there's always things that happen behind the scenes that, you know, are not public. So -- but certainly everybody who is a political appointee understands that they are serving at the pleasure of the President. And so, you know, if there are philosophical differences that develop between you and your boss, then eventually many of these things are attempted to be negotiated behind the scenes. But sometimes they rise to the surface, and these things happen.
MICHAELSON: Have you heard much from your sources and friends that are still there in terms of any tension that was there?
LOISELLE: Nothing beyond what you're seeing in the media already? There are several sources that are much closer than I am that have come out on news with their opinions, and I'm not in a position to state otherwise.
MICHAELSON: Let's talk about the war itself. And obviously the navy is very important to all of this. This blockade now in effect. What do you think is the best off ramp to end this war? Where should we go next?
LOISELLE: Well, bottom line is we've tried an awful lot. Some 13,000 odd targets, and that did not get the regime to really change their opinion. And as you saw in the initial set of negotiations, they showed up honestly with a negotiating attitude that indicated they thought that they won. And so that kind of tells you what victory looks like to the regime.
And the reality is, if the regime survives, they will consider that a victory. So now, as we go into potential further negotiations, the US has been very clear in what their six points are. There will be no negotiation on those points. And as long as the regime remains cemented in their current opinion that they won't give on those, then I expect that this is going to continue.
So what this is essentially doing now is becoming an economic blockade. And I've seen estimates as high as $450 million a day that this is costing the Iranian government. Now, as your previous interview just pointed out, this government really doesn't care a heck of a lot about the welfare of their people. We've seen that through the violence they've put out against their people and we've seen from their basic perspective that regime survival equals victory.
And so, they're willing to inflict a lot of suffering on their people in order to get to what they consider victory. And a negotiated drawn out process is a victory for Iran.
MICHAELSON: Rear Admiral Andrew Loiselle, thank you so much for sharing your perspective. Great to have you.
LOISELLE: Thanks.
MICHAELSON: Now to politics, televised debate in California's governor race just wrapped up a short time ago. Six candidates appeared on the stage, four Democrats, two Republicans. It was an opportunity to move the conversation forward after a couple of other candidates suspended their bids.
One of the top issues facing the state is the rising amount of people experiencing homelessness. Here's how two of the candidates graded current Governor Gavin Newsom on how he's addressed homelessness.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATIE PORTER, CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I'm a notoriously tough grader, but I would probably give him a B on homelessness. I don't think this has been an easy problem to solve, but I do give him a lot of credit for calling attention to the problem.
STEVE HILTON, CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Wow. By the way, I'd love to be in your class, Katie, if you get a B for what Gavin Newsom's done on homelessness, my goodness. Of course it's an F. It shames our state, the situation with homelessness.
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Nothing will change if you have one of these Democrats in power. It will be more of the same.
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ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Don't forget. CNN is hosting a California governor primary debate of our own Tuesday, May 5. I will be moderating alongside my colleague Kaitlan Collins. I look forward to that experience.
And by the way, in our next hour here on THE STORY IS, we will have Melanie Mason of Politico and Mike Madrid, political strategist, breaking down tonight's debate.
But up next here on THE STORY IS, higher fares and fewer flights. How skyrocketing fuel costs are affecting major airlines and their passengers. We'll ask a travel expert what to expect in the coming months.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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MICHAELSON: Earth Day is a good reminder of the dangerous impacts we're seeing from climate change. Some of the world's coldest areas are melting before our very eyes.
CNN chief climate correspondent Bill Weir went to the arctic circle, where the sea ice is disappearing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Greetings from the top of the world. We're rocking and rolling a little bit. Probably the highest live shot anyone has ever done in terms of degrees, latitude North.
We're on 79 degrees North in this beautiful chain of islands called Svalbard. The cold edge, as it were, and it's one of the most unique places in the world. One, because it's heating up much faster than the rest of the world and is giving us a glimpse of what climate change looks like in the near future for the rest of the arctic, as well.
And it's also a really interesting place based on a treaty that goes back to World War I, that pretty much lets any citizen of any country move to Svalbard, although geopolitical tensions these days have changed that. We can talk about that in a second.
But I've been meeting with these scientists, who spend their lives up here, trying to understand the changes of these glaciers that are going away, the sea ice melting. The North Pole could be ice-free within 25 years or so.
And one in particular, Hedda Andersen, a Norwegian glaciologist, was really frustrated by what's going on and really hoping people this Earth Day look at the signs and take notice. Here's a little sample with her.
HEDDA ANDERSEN, GLACIOLOGIST: This is all connected, right? The -- California is connected to the arctic, and it's connected by the oceans. And what happens in the oceans, it's what drives climate change up here and what happens up here impacts the rest of the world. It's like we need to wake up globally and understand that this is --
this is not something that just impacts the arctic. It impacts everybody. If you think oil and gas is expensive now, wait until the arctic melts.
WEIR: The Arctic Council, comprised of the countries that touch the arctic -- but Russia was kicked out after the invasion of Crimea. Donald Trump in the United States has pulled so much funding for climate science that there's this real sense of frustration and desperation that 50 percent of the arctic is not at the table right now.
Trying to figure out how to mitigate, how to adapt to these changes up here, as well. The politics in the States changes that and some of that science comes flushing -- rushing back North.
But right now, it's really tense. And Norway, which has generally been wide open to their neighbors, starting to tighten up. You see their military ships around more. They're trying to exert their sovereignty, taking the votes away from other foreign residents right now.
So, the arctic, a hot spot in more ways than one.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: A hot spot that looked very cold. Bill Weir, thank you for that.
Let's talk sports now. Were less than 24 hours away from a potentially life-changing event for hundreds of athletes. The NFL draft gets underway Thursday in Pittsburgh.
Heisman trophy winner Fernando Mendoza is a virtual lock as the No. 1 pick for the Las Vegas Raiders. The Indiana quarterback led his team to a national championship back in January.
Mendoza was in Florida on Tuesday, where he threw out the ceremonial first pitch in the Miami Marlins-Saint louis Cardinals game.
CNN WORLD SPORT anchor Coy Wire spent nine seasons in the NFL himself with the Buffalo Bills and the Atlanta Falcons, and he shares his thoughts on the intensity of draft day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: The NFL draft starts Thursday in Pittsburgh. Dreams will be made.
No touchdowns, no hits, yet, the draft pulls in millions, outdrawing most actual games. Why? It's hope on display. For franchises looking to flip their futures in real time; and for the young men who've been dreaming of this their entire lives. Your boy was a third-round pick back in the day.
And let me just tell you, not much sleep happening this week. You think you will be drafted, but you don't know if or when or where. Suddenly you're imagining a cross-country move in your head at 2 a.m. The pressure is real.
Let's take a look at some of the projected first rounders who might sleep a little better this week, starting with quarterback Fernando Mendoza out of Indiana. This guy processes defense like he has a supercomputer between his ears. Surgical passing; led the Hoosiers to their first ever national title. If his name is not called first overall to the Raiders, somewhere, a gm hit the wrong button and broke the internet.
Jeremiyah Love, running back from Notre Dame. Imagine trying to tackle a 215-pound bowling ball dipped in baby oil. He can run; he can catch. He can block. A Swiss army knife with cleats. His teammates say he's the last guy to leave the weight room, but the first to crack a joke in it. Ultimate team player.
Rueben Bain, Miami edge rusher. Now, critics say he has short arms. He says watch the tape, because this dude brings nonstop heat. He's a beast.
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Quarterbacks, consider this your warning. He's one of the most film- obsessed players in the class. He studies O-linemen like its finals week.
Finally, Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State receiver. I've seen him play in person. Body control like a ballerina. He has hands like there are sticky glue on them. He's smooth in space. Grew up playing multiple sports including track, which shows up every time he hits another gear.
So, there it is. Some of the top prospects and stories that are just getting started. Maybe one of them will go to your team.
On draft night, it's more than picks. Lives change, dreams launch, and NFL fans everywhere are thinking, maybe this will be our year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Maybe it will. Coy Wire, thank you for that.
And we'll have full coverage of the draft tomorrow Here on THE STORY IS.
For now, though, let's talk ketchup. The Heinz company, known for its iconic 57 branding, is starting a new NFL draft tradition in its hometown of Pittsburgh.
The inaugural Mr. 57 will honor the 57th pick in the draft with a lifetime supply of Heinz ketchup, a custom jacket, and the chance to be a partner in future promotions.
The Chicago Bears currently hold the 57th pick, and former Bears great Devin Hester, who was the 57th pick back in 2006, is partnering with Heinz for this event. Coming up, wildfires rage through Southeast Georgia, destroying dozens
of structures and forcing people from their homes. Just ahead, a look at what is fueling those fires.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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MICHAELSON: Wildfires in Southeast Georgia are growing amid extreme drought conditions.
In Clinch County, firefighters are working to clear trees and brush to contain the so-called Pineland Road Fire. That blaze has burned more than 29,000 acres so far.
The nearby Highway 82 fire has scorched about 5,000 acres and burned more than 50 structures. No injuries have been reported, but the blaze has prompted mandatory evacuations.
Smoke from both fires is creating poor air quality in the area and hundreds of miles away in Atlanta. Meteorologist Melissa Nord has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA NORD, CNN METEOROLOGIST: As the fires ignited and spread the last couple days, you can see those plumes of smoke all the way from space and those smoky plumes actually have been changing which direction they're going in because of the winds.
Look at the near surface smoke forecast through Wednesday night and Thursday. You can see that smoke drifting off to the North. So, that includes smoky skies and hazy skies over cities like Atlanta and even out towards Charlotte, North Carolina, during the day on Thursday.
Each one of those dots on the maps represents an active fire ongoing right now, and there's a lot of smoke in the atmosphere.
And the fire conditions outside, largely made worse by the ongoing drought. This is a look at the last 30 days. The percent of normal precipitation across the Southeast. T
hat really deep red color in Southeastern Georgia, those are precipitation variances from normal that are only about 5 to 10 percent of normal precipitation from the end of march through much of April.
So, in desperate need of rain across these areas, battling wildfires. New Drought Monitor coming out Thursday morning will likely show an expansion of some of these drought conditions and getting worse across the Southeast.
Now, there is a small amount of rain coming over the weekend and early next week, but this is not going to be enough to really dampen the wildfire situation outside. We really need, in some of these areas, in excess of a foot of rain
over a month to wipe out the drought altogether. So, a small amount of rain, but not enough to help the situation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: I think the conflict will end. I think gasoline prices will come back to where they were, or perhaps lower.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How fast will the prices of gasoline come down?
BESSENT: Again, that is dependent on when the when the war and the conflict end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The U.S. treasury secretary there with an upbeat prediction on gas prices, albeit short on details. The world has been weathering elevated energy costs for weeks now, and it is hitting consumers hard.
Here's a look at how the war with Iran is affecting some prominent airlines and, in turn, their passengers.
United Airlines says it will hike fares as much as 20 percent for the busy travel months ahead, due to those soaring jet fuel costs. CEO Scott Kirby says travelers have proven that they are willing to pay more to fly, at least for now.
He also predicted that higher airline fares are likely to stay put, even if fuel prices fall.
Germany's Lufthansa group says it is slashing 20,000 short-haul flights through October. First, 120 daily flights were axed on Monday and will remain canceled through May.
The Lufthansa Group, which includes Swiss and Austrian Airlines, says the flight cuts should save about 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel.
And Spirit Airlines is close to getting a $500 million bailout from the Trump administration. A source says a deal could be announced in the hours ahead. It's expected to include the federal government taking a stake in the struggling budget airline.
Any deal would likely cause backlash across the industry. Past bailouts have been done on an industry-wide, not an individual basis. It will be interesting to follow.
[00:50:03]
Now, all this comes as U.S. airports could soon face another wave of long security lines. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin says the emergency funds used to pay TSA workers will dry up by the first week of May, if something isn't done.
DHS remains shut down as lawmakers try to fund [SIC] a plan to -- find a plan, I should say, to fund the department. Workers went unpaid for about six weeks before President Trump directed DHS to use those emergency funds.
During that time, security lines at some airports exceeded four hours.
Now back to the war with Iran. Iran's use of cheap, mass-deployed drones is forcing the U.S. and Gulf allies to adopt new tech in its countermeasures. Bijan Hosseini has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BIJAN HOSSEINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When it comes to the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, one weapon is changing the game.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God.
HOSSEINI (voice-over): Drones. They're cheap, easy to deploy, and capable of overwhelming defenses in large numbers.
To stop them, militaries are turning to counter unmanned aircraft systems. This is a new front of warfare, one that companies like Leonardo have been building towards for years.
HOSSEINI: So right now, we're on the roof of a Leonardo site here in Basildon. And behind me, you can see some of the technology they've designed.
And this technology is actually being used across the Middle East to help thwart these drone attacks.
HOSSEINI (voice-over): Leonardo's system is called Falcon Shield. It's a fully integrated network that combines radar, radio signals, and ultra long-range cameras.
HOSSEINI: I can see a lot of screens right now.
CHRIS JENNIONS, LEONARDO U.K.: Yes, so this represents exactly what our customers have in the field.
HOSSEINI (voice-over): This may look like a video game, but this is what counter-drone warfare looks like. Operators monitor multiple sensor feeds in real time. All fused together, these help detect, track, identify, and defeat incoming attacks.
Once a drone is detected, there are multiple ways to respond. Some can be jammed, others disrupted.
But more advanced threats like the Shahed-type drones being fired from Iran, well, those require what's known as hard-kill options.
HOSSEINI: So, you have now this small aircraft kind of in the lens, and you can look at it. Who makes that ultimate decision? Is this a threat? Is that A.I.? Is that a human? Is that -- JENNIONS: No, it's always with the operator. David, in this case. So,
David's tracking.
HOSSEINI: It's a lot of pressure. David.
JENNIONS: That's right. He's looking at the sky. The software will advise. So, the software will say, we think this is a potential threat. What it will then do is say this is a drone of this type. Or it could say it's a drone that I don't recognize and provide advice on what to do with that. Depending on what effectors we have connected to the system.
HOSSEINI: So, what we're looking at right now is a simulation the team has put together. This is all based on real-world operational data. So, it's -- you know, it's a very realistic environment.
And we can see that the radar has picked up a threat. And then we can see this threat now on camera down here. And it has identified it as a one-way attack drone.
So, now David, in this case, who's sitting at the command-and-control center, is being told that this is a threat, what the threat looks like, and then he can make the decision to neutralize that threat.
HOSSEINI (voice-over): By using digital models and real-world tests like this drone here, Leonardo is able to improve Falcon Shield's detection and classification capabilities. The company says demand has surged in recent months.
HOSSEINI: How often are you seeing this kind of technology being used? Is it -- I mean, is this at the forefront now of --
JENNIONS: In recent weeks, it's been used daily. And -- and they've been seeing hits and engagements on an hourly basis. It's obviously -- we know the situation out there. This has -- has been protecting those air bases, day and night, from attack.
So, it's really come into its own in the -- in the -- in the last few weeks.
HOSSEINI (voice-over): What's happening here is the evolution of warfare. As drones become cheaper and more widely used, the technology to stop them is quickly becoming just as important.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Our thanks to Bijan Hosseini for that.
The release date for rapper Drake's upcoming album was hidden inside a huge block of ice. Just ahead, what some fans did to try to dig out the date. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:59:01] MICHAELSON: FIFA has released more World Cup tickets, with less than 50 days until the tournament begins. They're on sale to the general public. First come, first serve.
And the drop includes tickets to all 104 matches in the tournament.
FIFA says it will keep making last-minute tickets available throughout the World Cup up until the final match in July.
A publicity stunt by Canadian rapper Drake drew thousands of fans to a massive ice sculpture in downtown Toronto this week. The rapper posted on social media that the release date of his new album, "Iceman," was inside the ice block.
Fans used flames, flammable liquids, even a sledgehammer, to try to melt it or break it open to get the information.
Toronto's fire chief called the stunt dangerous, as fire crews melted the ice with warm water. One determined fan found a blue bag in one of the ice blocks, revealing that the album would drop on May 15.
A lot of work to get to that. Toronto's mayor said she was excited, though, for the album release.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR OLIVIA CHOW, TORONTO, CANADA: It surprised us. And Drake does bring -- he supports our city. And --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
