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What We Know with Max Foster
Pam Bondi Ousted As U.S. Attorney General; Trump: U.S. Objectives In Iran "Nearing Completion"; Iran: Drafting Hormuz Strait Monitoring Protocol With Oman; Israel, Iran Again Trade Strikes As War Drags On; Astronauts To See Whether Spacecraft Is Ready For Next Step. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired April 02, 2026 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:24]
MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Pam Bondi ousted as U.S. attorney general.
This is WHAT WE KNOW.
One of the most controversial members of Donald Trump's cabinet out of a job tonight, President Trump announced on social media that Pam Bondi is
out as attorney general and will move to the private sector. He said that her top deputy, Todd Blanche, would become the acting attorney general,
though it's unclear if Blanche will be a candidate to keep the job long term.
Bondi faced criticism from Democrats for pushing the Justice Department to investigate Mr. Trump's political enemies, though sources say the president
has been frustrated at those investigations haven't yet dug up much dirt. Her mishandling of the uproar over the Epstein files has also reportedly
angered her boss.
CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak joins us.
And I'm struck by the fact that they haven't, you know, appointed a permanent successor or suggested one at least does suggest this was quite a
quick decision.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right. I mean, I think it's clear the president had been frustrated with Pam Bondi for quite some time.
We saw them together yesterday. She accompanied him to the Supreme Court, and there has been a belief that perhaps she was pleading her case when it
became clear, including in public reports, that the president might be planning to fire her. He ended up doing that anyway. So those pleas didn't
seem to go anywhere.
But you're right. The president doesn't seem to have a permanent replacement in mind at the moment. And I think that might speak to some of
the difficulties he will have in trying to find someone who is more pliant or more loyal than Pam Bondi.
You know, she is someone who put the presidents face on a banner outside of the Justice Department. She really tried to execute on everything the
president made very, very clear that he expected her to do, namely to go after some of his perceived political rivals. She tried to bring
indictments against Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, of James Comey, the former FBI director.
I think the problem for Pam Bondi is that the grand juries weren't going along with that. The evidence wasn't there. The facts weren't there to
support those prosecutions. And so, as President Trump now tries to search out a replacement on a permanent basis for Bondi, I think he might find it
difficult to find someone who will be able to achieve what Pam Bondi was not able to achieve. And so that will be a task for him going forward.
You know, the other notch against Bondi in the president's mind was how she handled the Epstein files. This has been something that has clouded her
tenure really since the beginning of President Trump's term, when she brought in all of those influencers to the White House and handed them
binders that she claimed were the Epstein files. But it turned out to be a bunch of publicly available information. And it really kind of just slid
down there downhill from there for her. You know, even the president's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, who is ostensibly a longtime friend of Pam
Bondi's, acknowledged in an interview late last year that she had whiffed the entire thing.
I think President Trump also felt that she just wasn't communicating in public very well on the matter, including during congressional testimony
that nearly all of his advisors thought was a real disaster, a real kind of flop for her on that. And so, all of these things sort of stacking up
against Pam Bondi, you know, he does say that she's going to the private sector. He hasn't lined up for her an administration position, which he has
done for previous individuals that he's fired, which I think is notable.
You know, the president for so long had been wary of dismissing people he had lost confidence in. He is scarred in some ways by the experience of his
first term, which was these consistent firings. But after he fired Kristi Noem earlier this year, that went much more smoothly, I think, for him than
he thought. He now seems much more willing to dismiss people he no longer trusts.
FOSTER: I mean, could this be interpreted as the government admitting, it didn't handle the Epstein crisis effectively, broadly, and that someone had
to pay the price for that?
LIPTAK: I think it's the president's acknowledgment that Pam Bondi didn't handle it in a way that made President Trump look good. But I think that's
different, perhaps, than handling it in a way that, for example, provides justice to some of Epstein's victims or sheds more light on who else may
have been involved in all of this.
The president doesn't seem all that concerned about those aspects of the Epstein matter. He seems more concerned that Pam Bondi didn't do enough to
insulate President Trump himself from all of the fallout. And we have seen how this has just continued to dog him over the last year or so.
[15:05:03]
Every sort of drip, drip, drip, piece of evidence that sheds more light on the president's own relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, that ties all of
this to the president's own inner circle. That, I think, is what the president is frustrated about. I don't think he's necessarily all that
concerned that Pam Bondi hasn't done enough to bring justice in a case where so many people are still looking for it.
FOSTER: Kevin Liptak, appreciate it. Thank you so much for that update.
Well, as Kevin mentioned, Todd Blanche, who is or was Pam Bondi's deputy, now has been tapped to serve as the interim head of the Justice Department.
Posting online a short time ago, he thanked the president for the opportunity. Blanche has also served as Donald Trump's defense attorney
following his first term in office.
For some additional perspective on all this, let's bring in CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson.
Joey, I think Pam Bondi was also a personal lawyer, wasn't she, in effect, to the president. But as we were hearing from Kevin there, she didn't have
perhaps the experience to push through many of her efforts. I'm wondering if you know, the solution here would be to get someone that's very
experienced in exactly that type of job running the Justice Department.
JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yeah, I really don't think so. I don't think experience has anything to do with it. I think it's about as I'm
seeing it. And the most objective way I could put it, I think it's all about doing the president's bidding and succeeding in that regard and not
embarrassing the president. That's what I see.
I see you look at cabinet positions. Let's take secretary of state, for example, or Marco Rubio, certainly, you know, he has credentials, no issue.
But the secretary of war, was that not an analyst of a network? I'm not belittling that. Certainly very good, sure that he was prepared to run the
Department of Defense.
And so, I don't know that experience is the issue. I think she fell out of favor because of a number of things. Number one, the Epstein files, the
gross mismanagement of that. And I don't even think it's a mismanagement of it in terms of her, Max, trying to hide the people who are coconspirators
and out the actual survivors. I think based on the bundles and bungling of it, it just drew too much attention to it. That became a problem.
So, I think that has to be up front and center. That -- beyond that, she seemed to be a person who was all MAGA, all Trump. You remember her
appearance in the Judiciary Committee on February 11th, where she belittled the Democratic congresspersons, calling them losers. Some of them told them
that they were not skilled lawyers. It was just a circus.
But I think that ultimately, her inability really to gain convictions or even prosecute some of the president's enemies made him upset also.
So, I think that whoever they get and whoever they install in that position is just going to be a loyalist to the president to implement his agenda. I
don't think it will be a person who is, well-credentialed, not demeaning, but I don't think they're looking for a person who has a stack of
credentials. I think they're looking for a person who will carry forth what exactly what he wants to do, which is interesting given that the Department
of Justice has been since the beginning of time, an independent entity in the United States and should be separate from the White House, not a wing
of the White House.
FOSTER: Is it on opportunity as well, do you think, to reset how are they going to handle the Epstein files from here? Because obviously Pam Bondi so
closely associated with it and it didn't just upset survivors, it also upset many people within MAGA and created a real a fraction fracture,
didn't it? In that whole movement, if I can call it that, would it be an opportunity to try to resolve that in some way and move more pragmatically
forward?
JACKSON: You know, that's a great question, Max. And I think every, you know, life in and of itself, every day provides an opportunity, no matter
where you are, to be your best, do your best and to get after it right, so to speak. I think, quite frankly, that this is a blunder as it relates to
the Epstein files. She is, of course, Pam Bondi under subpoena to appear before the oversight committee. I believe it's on April 14th, which is
what, a week and change away. I think the fact that she was removed draws more attention to the Epstein files. I think it could affect the tenor and
the nature of what she might be willing to testify, too, although I think the president might have a lot to say about that. And we could see her
subpoena withdrawn.
And I think that really, the bull is out of the stable on the Epstein files. I think that this is to the core of your question. I think Democrats
and Republicans are coming together alike to some degree, right? We know that as it related to the billionaire Les Wexner, right, founder, not to go
far afield, but just an example, right, the founder of Victoria's Secret, Abercrombie and Fitch -- no, not one Republican showed up for his
questioning. When it came to Bill and Hillary Clinton -- no, the Republicans were there in full force and effect.
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I'm not suggesting politics doesn't play a role, but I'm suggesting that I think uniformly, people want to see justice with an abuser who apparently
abused children. Who else was involved? What did they do? Should they be accountable? Namely, the president himself, who's allegedly named about
36,000 times in the files.
And so, I think this draws more attention to the Epstein files. I think it makes it more of a mess, and I think it puts it back on the front pages as
Iran and the war that has taken it off. And so, yes, it could be an opportunity to reset, but I just don't see it, just given how people are
really gripped in and tangled in to wanting to know what's going on with Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.
FOSTER: Okay. CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson, thank you so much for joining us, as ever.
Now, President Trump's major address on the war with Iran may have been most notable for what he didn't actually say. The president didn't offer a
clear exit strategy for the U.S. or a plan to reopen the critical strait of Hormuz. He once again mentioned a shifting two to three-week time frame to
end American involvement in the conflict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are going to finish the job and we're going to finish it very fast. We're getting very close.
Everyone is talking about it. And tonight, I'm pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion.
We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We're going to bring them back to the stone ages where they belong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, global markets apparently didn't like what they heard from the president. U.S. investors suffering a serious case of whiplash today.
Stocks having pretty volatile week. The Dow earlier rebounding more than 600 points before dropping once again now down 0.2 percent.
Now, Iran's foreign ministry says Tehran is proposing a partnership with Oman to monitor traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. A senior Iranian
official says the effort would be aimed at securing safe passage for vessels, and not an effort to restrict shipping. That development couldn't
come at a better time, with the International Energy Agency warning that oil supply disruptions will soon hit Europe.
Our business at large, editor at large and anchor of "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS", of course, Richard Quest is here with us.
First of all, what didn't they like about the speech yesterday?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE: There was no reason to assume that things were going to get better. On the one hand, you have we're going
to end it in two to three weeks, which sounds very good. But then you have, we're going to bomb them into the Stone Age, which suggests there'll be
huge reprisals as they try to prevent that.
Put it all together, and you had the classic contradictory messages from the president that people have said this is exactly his hallmark. And
indeed, I heard it put very well by one commentator who said all last night was, was a reprise of his greatest social media hits. It was as if he'd
taken those social media posts, put them into a speech and delivered it.
FOSTER: And it wouldn't have been what he wanted to see, would it? Afterwards, the oil price going up.
But what do you make of this Iranian proposal? It seems actually quite workable, considering that, you know, America can work with Oman, Europe
can work with Oman.
QUEST: The problem with the proposal is that once you open the Pandora's box, which is what's happened, you have no idea what's going to come out or
how it's going. So now we're getting to a stage where we're looking at reasonableness of the Iranians charging people to go through the strait,
whether its cobbled together with Oman or put some register or some permission, basically putting together a regime that still gives Iran the
say so over who goes around the street. And that's something that won't be acceptable. I don't believe.
FOSTER: Is it free at the moment, then, effectively?
QUEST: Yeah, yeah. I mean, yes, there is not a toll gate per se at the moment. Whereas here, of course, what -- the going rate for a large oil
tanker is $2 million, $2 million to go around. And I mean that is -- it doesn't get much more protectionist than that. Nice ship you've got there.
Shame if something were to happen to it.
FOSTER: In terms of Trump's words, he seems to be having less effect on the markets broadly. Is it the case that until we get something substantive
from him, they will keep going up the oil prices?
QUEST: Yes. Because there's no reason for them to go down.
FOSTER: Yeah.
QUEST: The underlying fundamentals have not changed. So, we still see the Dow and the markets off. We still see oil up overall. We still see the
price of gasoline. There has to be a reason for other than a knee jerk reaction. And that does not exist at the moment.
FOSTER: Richard, thank you so much. Much more depth on "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" on that.
Now, heavy strikes have continued to hit Iran, meanwhile. Local media report a U.S., Israeli attack on a major bridge has killed two people. They
report the -- the report, the under-construction bridge would connect Tehran with the city of Karaj and was the tallest bridge, actually in the
Middle East.
[15:15:00]
And this video from social media shows a large explosion near Isfahan as well in central Iran.
Here's more now from CNN's Jeremy Diamond, who's in Tel Aviv.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: The last 24 hours have offered us the clearest indication yet that this conflict is showing no
sign of ramping down. As we heard, President Trump threatened to bomb Iran into the stone ages and a continuous exchange of fire between Iran and
Israel.
President Trump indicated that this conflict is going to last for at least the next two to three weeks. The diplomatic off ramp that we were starting
to see emerge between the United States and Iran has shown no signs of progress. And Iran, meanwhile, showed that it has the capacity to continue
firing ballistic missiles here at Israel.
What we saw in the hours before Israelis sat down for the Passover seder is Iran firing five separate waves of ballistic missile attacks just in the
span of about two hours. That's the heaviest fire that we've seen from them, basically since the early days of this war.
Israel, for its part, carried out strikes on hundreds of targets in Iran in just the last few days. We also saw Iran's proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah,
firing dozens of rockets today at Israel.
The Iranian leadership, for its part, responded in kind to President Trump's rhetoric about continuing the pace of this war. We heard from
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament, who said that Iran is, quote, "locked, loaded and standing tall," telling the United
States to bring it on.
Now, that may be bluster coming from the man who might sit down with the United States, ultimately at the negotiating table. But we are hearing
similar statements from other sectors of Iranian leadership.
The Iranian military also said that they were threatening more destruction in response to President Trump's speech, saying that the us could expect
even more crushing, more extensive, destructive action from us. And of course, Iran is also still maintaining its stranglehold on the Strait of
Hormuz as oil prices continue to skyrocket.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Just a few hours, the four astronauts headed to the moon will face the point of no return, and NASA is preparing for the crucial translunar
injection burn. It is the moment where the ship bursts free from Earth's orbit and heads to the moon. No human has done this since 1972.
After today's six-minute engine blast, it will be up to inertia and gravity to slingshot the ship around the moon and then back to earth. Everyone can
now breathe a sigh of relief, though, especially the crew. Now that Orion does have a working toilet. Shortly after launch, we learned that the only
toilet on board the capsule did have a problem. Otherwise, that ten-day mission would have probably felt much, much longer.
Our Ed Lavandera is at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
I mean, there was so much excitement, wasn't there? Yesterday at this positive launch. I think particularly in this news agenda, all that
collaboration that went into it. But every day actually brings a fresh challenge, doesn't it?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. No, this is every step of the way here will be a challenge. And, and that is the point of all of
this. It is a test mission. And part of what is happening right now is this crew essentially trying to see how this capsule works in space. And so,
it's almost like very rudimentary level. I mean, we're literally, as you in the lead in talking about just does the toilet work. That's the -- that's
what they need to ensure everything works properly so that future missions can work and then build on, on what has been accomplished here.
And that is one of the reasons why this mission has gone around the earth, orbited several times leading up to this monumental moment that is coming
here in the hours ahead. And what we will see here over the course of the next few hours is the astronauts running through tests, testing out
equipment and preparing the module for that injection burn that will propel them to the moon.
And at some point here this afternoon, there will be a final determination from the crew on board Orion, as well as the NASA officials. And here at
the Johnson Space Center in Houston and mission control, they will all gather and look at all of the data, look at all of the readouts from all of
the systems that they're testing to make sure that everything is as they go, because as you mentioned, Max, that once they decide to do this, the
only way back to Earth is to go around the moon.
So. this is basically the last chance for that to, to determine. And it is, you know, very intense stuff. We're talking about a moment that has not
happened in more than 50 years. They will be traveling more than 270,000 miles to the other side of the moon. There will be a period of about 30 to
50 minutes when they're on the other side of the moon, and there will be a communications blackout. You know, these are all of the things that this
crew and these teams are preparing for, and we are hours away from seeing that moment.
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FOSTER: Yeah. And we're just looking at the graphic there. Can you just explain to us how, you know, they're in a circular orbit, aren't they, at
the moment, I think, and they have to move into an oval orbit to sort of fling themselves towards the moon. Is that right?
LAVANDERA: Yeah. If you -- if you look at the, the, the graphic there and the, the orbits, these are not your like standard orbits that were like,
like satellites are traveling around the earth on. This is a much wider orbit. And part of that is to test out the different levels of
communication that they have.
And, you know, there's different mechanisms and, and I am not smart enough to explain it technically, all that, but you know, there is a reason why
the levels of the orbit that they're at, there is no scientific reasons. And reasons for the mechanics aboard this that they need to be able to test
that out.
So, there is a rhyme and a reason to the specific path that this capsule has been orbiting the Earth on at this moment. And then as I mentioned, it
just leads up to that moment where they're going to fire those rockets for about close to six minutes. And then that is the injection burn that will
send them out to the moon, and then it will do a figure eight around the moon and come back to Earth sometime late next week.
FOSTER: There's something new every day.
Ed, thank you so much for bringing us that.
Well, coming up, a decision on President Trump's sprawling White House ballroom project. There's still legal uncertainty, though, on whether the
construction can actually move forward from this point.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: French President Emmanuel Macron has hit back at Donald Trump after the us president made a joke about his marriage at the White House.
On Wednesday day, Mr. Trump referenced a video from last year where Mr. Macron appeared to be shoved by his wife Brigitte, on board the French
presidential plane.
[15:25:05]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Then I call up France, Macron whose wife treats him extremely badly.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: And still recoverin from the right to the jaw.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, that comment didn't go unnoticed by Mr. Macron.
Today, he said the president's comments were not, in his words, elegant and weren't up to par. And one of the French president's far left rivals called
Mr. Trump's comments completely unacceptable.
Well, airlines are facing some tough decisions as fuel prices soar and continue to soar. Industry CEOs are weighing options to minimize the
fallout from the war in the Middle East.
Kristie Lu Stout has more on that for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now, before the war, an economy class ticket on Cathay Pacific from Sydney to London would cost you $1,370 but
now it cost you more than $2,000 thanks to another jet fuel surcharge. And on some days, it's over $3,500.
LU STOUT (voice-over): Before the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran started, the global airline industry had forecast record profits of $41 billion for
2026. But with the price of jet fuel more than doubling, carriers are under pressure, and they're scrambling to cope.
Carriers ranging from Air New Zealand to Vietnam Airlines have started cutting flights.
Korean Air is shifting to emergency management mode to deal with the supply crunch.
And the President of the Philippines has said grounding planes is a, quote, "distinct possibility."
FERDINAND MARCOS, JR., PHILIPPINES' PRESIDENT: War ongoing in the Middle East.
LU STOUT (voice-over): To secure its own supply, China has banned exports of jet fuel. China's airlines are also finding opportunity during the
crisis.
LU STOUT: Adding thousands of flights to Europe thanks to China's ability to save fuel by bypassing the Middle East and accessing Russian Airspace.
LU STOUT (voice-over): Nevertheless, China's carriers remain exposed to the Iran energy shock. Air China, Eastern and China Southern Airlines are
all reporting cautious outlooks for the year. According to HSBC, fuel made up 35 to 38 percent of the operating expenses for all three airlines in the
first half of the year.
Why is Asia so vulnerable? Well, Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz. And the region relies more heavily on oil and gas that transit the
strait than any other parts of the world.
LU STOUT: So, while Iran maintains its iron grip on the strait, expect higher fuel costs around the world, from Asia to the United States, and
expect airlines to pass that cost on to you, the consumer.
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Tickets for the World Cup final are back on sale, but some fans are pulling out a yellow card instead of their credit card. The details
later in the show on that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:31:15]
FOSTER: Returning to our top story, Donald Trump firing his attorney general. Pam Bondi is the second significant member of the U.S. president's
cabinet to be ousted in recent weeks, after homeland security chief Kristi Noem was sent packing. Bondi was willing to do Trump's bidding and
launching investigations into his political enemies. But her failure to get actual indictments and convictions reportedly frustrated the president.
The other area where Bondi has come under fire is her handling of the Epstein files. She is scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill later this month
about how the Epstein files were released and redacted, and sources say people close to President Trump have blamed Bondi for making the uproar
over the Epstein files worse, and for giving the impression that the Justice Department had not been forthcoming in releasing the files.
CNN's Kristen Holmes is at the White House.
I don't think I'm being partial in saying there have been a huge number of mistakes here, particularly with the Epstein files and the redactions, you
know, non-redactions. But, you know, where would you say things went wrong here, Kristen?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, really, we started hearing about this idea of a replacement in January. And it was for
all the reasons that you had noted, although it started to die down, there was less talk about it. And then this week it really ramped back up. We
started hearing people. I was getting cold calls from people I hadn't talked to in a while, saying that they were hearing from President Trump
that he was calling around, asking allies should he fire Pam Bondi, who should replace her?
And we were told that they had -- President Trump and Pam Bondi had a tough talk last night in which they talked about her future, her role. And
essentially he told her that she was likely to be replaced. And at one point even mentioned that perhaps she would get another job in the
administration or a judgeship at that time. Then now, President Trump has officially fired her. The acting attorney general will be the then deputy
attorney general, Todd Blanche, who was a personal attorney for President Trump before joining the Department of Justice.
And I do want to read to you part of the statement that President Trump put out about Bondi said Pam Bondi is a great American patriot and a loyal
friend who faithfully served as my attorney general over the past year. We love Pam and she will be transitioning to a much needed and important new
job in the private sector to be announced at a date in the near future.
And that in itself, showing you that he was not giving her any kind of soft landing, the way he gave Kristi Noem, the special envoy job, the way that
he gave Mike Waltz at the beginning of his tenure, the job at the U.N. This is a job -- this is a moment in which he is saying she's going to go to the
private sector. Now she has confirmed that she will be there for one more month in the Department of Justice before going to this unnamed job in the
private sector.
But this was clear that the writing had really gotten so big on the wall that President Trump was going to follow through with it. But I will tell
you, you know, President Trump is so unpredictable that even people who are the closest to him, some of his closest advisers, even after he had talked
to Pam Bondi and was asking people if he should replace her, they still weren't sure he was actually going to fire her until he did.
FOSTER: Yeah. Kristen, thank you. Big news tonight.
Now it is the final moments of trade on Wall Street. Stocks are pretty flat. The Dow pushing ever so slightly into the red as you can see after
closing higher on Wednesday though. And there's been some optimism actually about a potential ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. Of course, we've
heard that before.
But this is our Business Breakdown.
Tesla says it has missed expectations for first quarter deliveries. The company has reported the weakest numbers in four quarters. This is
attributed to increasing competition, along with a decrease in U.S. E.V. incentives.
[15:35:04]
Shares of Tesla fell nearly 4 percent.
U.S. mortgage rates have climbed for a fifth straight week. The 30-year average fixed rate has jumped to 6.4 percent. Now, the rise may be
unwelcome news for those hoping to buy a home this spring, typically the busiest time of year for the housing market.
And gas prices are spiking in U.S. states that President Trump won in the 2024 election. The American Automobile Association says that includes
Arizona, Florida and Tennessee, with the highest gas prices are still in reliably blue states like California, where it's almost $6 a gallon.
Iran says it's drafting a protocol with Oman to monitor maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The crucial waterway has been effectively
throttled by Tehran amid the U.S.-Israeli war.
A senior Iranian foreign ministry official argues that even in peacetime, ship passages should happen under the supervision and coordination of
coastal states. This after dozens of countries discussed joint action to reopen the Strait of Hormuz at a virtual meeting hosted by the U.K. The
U.S. did not attend the summit.
Anna Cooban is here.
I mean, they're holding this summit, weren't they, because Trump effectively said, if you want your oil from the Middle East, you need to go
and get it yourself.
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS & ECONOMICS REPORTER: He really has put the onus on states that are not involved in this conflict directly. They're not
involved militarily to go and get the oil. He sort of says, rightly, that they are more dependent on the oil that comes out of the strait than the
United States is in terms of the actual supply.
But this meeting, I thought, was interesting. Max, for the simple fact that the U.S. wasn't attending. And we're seeing this coalition of countries
actually start to do something because they are realizing, or coming to be aware of the reality that they're going to have to do something to open
this strait, because Trump is now talking about potentially ending this war without reopening the strait from the United States.
Now, what came out of this meeting was an agreement to continue to apply pressure on Iran, the rejection of any sort of toll system. Maybe they'll
apply sanctions on Iran if Iran keeps it closed after the war ends. But I think from my perspective, the very fact that this coalition of countries
is coming together is significant in itself.
FOSTER: They don't want the toll system. Is that right?
COOBAN: No. They reject any sort of toll system which could not allow ships to pass through freely in an unrestricted way. Anything which sort of
makes it basically a month ago, it was free to navigate. And they are scared that even after the conflict ends, we've now reached a level, a
place where its fundamentally shifted, and we're not going to go back to what it was.
FOSTER: But at least it was progress on Iran's side to allow some free shipping, even if it was a compromise.
COOBAN: Yeah, I think -- I think there is -- I mean, just that -- just what you were pointing to there about Oman and Iran --
FOSTER: Yeah.
COOBAN: -- having these conversations around any sort of monitoring which might happen in peacetime after the war ends. I mean, I think from a lot of
countries' perspectives, this is better than what is currently the situation, but it still is not going back to what it was a month ago.
And so that is probably raising the hackles of investors and economists to say that this -- any sort of restrictions is going to probably keep prices
compared to what.
FOSTER: Yeah, this is all just a long negotiation now.
Anna, thank you so much.
Still to come, Florida authorities have released video from Tiger Woods rollover car accident. We'll take a look at what the video shows and what
it could mean for the golf star.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:41:17]
FOSTER: Florida authorities have released new body camera video of Tiger Woods' rollover accident. The crash happened last Friday afternoon on
Jupiter Island near his home, which can be seen on one knee next to the road near his SUV. The 50-year-old golf star failed a field sobriety test
was later found with prescription drugs.
I want to bring in Isabel Rosales.
I mean, for many of his fans, this is, you know, it's really shocking images they just never expected to see.
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, right. Maxwell, for the first time we are seeing those images of that failed sobriety test where we can
see just the moments after the crash out of Jupiter Island, Florida, near where his home is. We can see that he is calm, he is coherent, but yet
still we know from the arrest reports that deputies noted several signs of impairment that caused them to be suspicious that this needed to transform
from a crash investigation over to a driving under the influence investigation.
They noted that his eyes were extremely dilated, glassy, bloodshot, that he was hiccupping throughout the investigation. And all of this led them to
ask him for a field sobriety test, which he agreed to it. He noted to them he had not consumed any alcohol, but he had quite a few medications,
prescription medications earlier in the day.
Now, they had him go through this field sobriety test that he ended up failing. We know from the police report he miscounted steps. He didn't
follow directions, so they failed him on that and ended up doing this watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POLICE: Are you going to face my car and place your hands behind your back? Place them behind your back. There you go.
So, at this time, I do believe your normal faculties are impaired. Okay? And you're under the unknown substance. Okay, so at this time, you're under
arrest for DUI. Yes, sir.
Do you have anything on you that's going to cope your requests?
TIGER WOODS, GOLF LEGEND: I'll give it to you --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSALES: And as they were arresting him, they do a pat down and they notice in his front left pocket and pull out two pills, two white pills,
which were later found to be prescription hydrocodone. That is an opioid used for chronic pain.
Now, Woods has entered a plea here. I can show you right now the document that his attorney filed where he has waived his arraignment. He is also
pleading not guilty, and he demands a jury trial.
We know from a statement that he put out on social media, max, that he is taking time away to, he says, deal with his health. And that also means no
Masters for him.
FOSTER: Okay, Isabel, appreciate it. Thank you so much.
Well, coming up, a decision on President Trump's sprawling White House ballroom project, but there's still legal uncertainty on whether the
construction can move forwards.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:46:45]
FOSTER: The National Capital Planning Commission has approved U.S. President Donald Trump's $400 million White House ballroom build. The board
was stacked with Trump loyalists who voted in favor of the measure. But what comes next is pretty unclear. The East Wing project hit a hurdle when
a federal judge ordered the construction to stop earlier this week, so more hoops for him to jump through.
Well, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley joins us now.
I guess this wasn't a big shock to you, considering the makeup of that board, but, it's probably the court case that's going to be more
interesting, isn't it?
DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, U.S. PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Without question, we're going to have a very fascinating court case. The problem we're getting into
is executive orders. And Donald Trump, he believes you sign it and that is law. And it means nothing, an executive order. Eventually people are going
to challenge it, and it takes some time. It's a duration to weather to see if your E.O. sticks.
And in this case, Donald Trump simply took the wrecking ball to the East Wing of the White House. While people didn't notice, they did some of it at
high midnight and lied to the public, they'd do a little minor restoration. And so, we're dealing with the fait accompli. It's gone. It got bulldozed
down, and now the courts are saying, time out. We're not able to just circumvent law.
The national planning, Capital Planning Commission, conservation preservation groups are, are wanting to go after Trump for doing this. And
then President Trump stacked the deck, as you mentioned, with three extra rubber stamp people to get what he wants.
So, there's kind of a showdown going down over the East Wing of the White House, but, the law may say one thing, but then what's going to happen? You
got a big gaping hole in the ground right now.
FOSTER: He also said -- he thinks -- it needed doing and his project is going to be remarkable and a national treasure, but the core of this is the
fact that the, you know, the president doesn't own the White House, does he? It's the -- it's the public, which is why it needs to go through
Congress. This sort of project, in normal times.
BRINKLEY: Very well said. Absolutely, but we're not in normal times. Most presidents, Democrat or Republican, want and enjoy the idea of the symmetry
of our national mall and the way the monuments all fit in. It is a regulatory environment to kind of protect a very much a sacred space in
Washington, D.C, which is a reflection to United States writ large.
But President Trump sees himself as a brander and a builder, and he's trying to do instant legacy. And we see it with him trying to build an ark
for himself in Washington, D.C., putting his name to the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center in Washington, already planning this massive tower
hotel in Miami to honor himself once he leaves the White House.
I mean, he's aiming for Mount Rushmore to get his face on it if he can. So we're dealing with a very selfish president, one who's interested in his
projecting his own legacy and branding, not kind of the spirit of America that we should be celebrating as we're approaching our 250th birthday this
July 4th.
[15:50:07]
FOSTER: Okay. Douglas Brinkley, appreciate your time. Thank you.
Something else with the big price tag. Tickets for the World Cup this year. Prices for this year's tournament. Actually once again making a pretty
astonishing headlines. This after fans noticed the top tier tickets for the final have risen close to $11,000. The price had been in a half thousand
dollars after the tournament draw in December.
Don Riddell is with us.
I guess it comes down to demand and supply, but you know, it also excludes most people.
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, I mean, this feels like it's the World Cup for the 1 percent. In fact, that was already the case before this
latest development, Max. I mean, if you're planning to go and see the World Cup final in New York this summer, be warned, you will either need an
extremely rich friend or you are going to be paying through the nose for a ticket.
FIFA reopened their sales portal on Wednesday, and the top ticket price for the final, as Max said, has shot up to $10,990. That's 20 percent more
expensive than FIFA was selling the ticket for after the draw in December. And it's not just the most expensive tickets.
For example, category two tickets for that game on July 19th at MetLife Stadium are up from $5,575 to $7,380. That's an increase of 30 percent, and
the category three tickets have been jacked up by around 35 percent.
It is absolutely eye watering. The fans already felt as though they were being rinsed, accusing FIFA of treating this tournament like its own
personal ATM. It's many times more expensive than the last World Cup tournament in Qatar. FIFA recognized that there is much more disposable
income in the United States, and they're using the controversial dynamic pricing model to sell these tickets.
Essentially, this model means that they will charge whatever they think the fans are willing to pay, and there is a lot of FOMO around this event. The
fear of missing out. Many fans regard this as a once in a lifetime opportunity, and they don't want to miss out on it. But that doesn't mean
they enjoy paying these prices, and FIFA have made sure that they're profiting on the resale market too, taking a 15 percent cut from both the
buyer and the seller. Fans have also complained that it's actually very difficult even to access these tickets in the first place, through the
sales portals, there were more glitches reported when it reopened on Wednesday, after the last six teams secured their qualification for the 48-
team tournament.
There will be 104 games across three countries. The action kicks off in Mexico City on June the 11th and, Max. I assume most fans are going to have
to settle for watching these games on television.
FOSTER: It's just about to say well all be watching from home or you reporting on it, Don, but I guess you'll get to go. But you know, this is
the time when the media really plays into it, isn't it? Because that's the way most of us are going to see this.
Don, thank you so much.
RIDDELL: All right.
FOSTER: Now, for astronauts on their way to the far side of the moon. It's an historic undertaking. Of course, the Artemis II crew is now in day two
of their 10-day mission after blasting off from Florida on Wednesday evening.
Today, they adjusted the spacecraft's orbital path and commented on their phenomenal views of earth as well. They've also been getting some well-
deserved sleep in shifts, naturally.
Tom Foreman takes a closer look at the spacecraft for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDNT: Once Artemis has launched and passed through low Earth orbit about 100 miles up, all eyes will turn to this. The
interim cryogenic propulsion stage, or the ICPS. This is a booster and its job is to push the Orion stack up into a huge elliptical orbit, the highest
point of which will be some 40,000 miles plus away from earth.
Once that job is done, the ICPS will be done, too. It will break away for Orion to practice some maneuvers with, and then it will head back to earth,
where it is expected to burn up upon reentry. That's when our attention will turn back to the Orion stack here.
And let me start with the bottom part, the service module. It is an absolute powerhouse. It will supply oxygen and nitrogen and water and so
much more to the crew in the crew capsule up top there, including electricity from these great big solar arrays, which can be adjusted. So,
they're always facing the sun at an optimum angle. Another maneuver you might see at this time would be the rotation of the craft. One of the goals
there is to balance out the extreme heat on the sunny side of Orion, with the extreme cold on the shady side, the service module will stay with the
crew capsule throughout this mission right up until reentry.
But I'm going to take it away right now so we can talk a little bit about this extraordinary crew capsule, which has been built for deep space
exploration, quite unlike anything we've ever seen before. It weighs about 23,000 pounds at liftoff.
[15:55:05]
And look at the size of this. I'm going to make it life size next to me. I'm six feet tall.
This thing is 11 feet tall, more than 16 feet across, and it has the roomiest interior for a NASA craft since the space shuttle. That means the
astronauts will have room in there for sleeping and for eating. They have waste facilities. They even have some exercise options, and they may
appreciate all of that because even though they will be traveling many times the speed of sound, this is a very long journey, 685,000 miles from
the Earth to the moon and back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Fantastic explainer there.
I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW. Do stay with CNN.
END
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