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Texas Oil Refinery Fire Pushes Up Gas Prices; Report From Bubblemaps Raises Concerns About Potential Insider Trading on Polymarket; NTSB to Soon Update on Deadly LaGuardia Runway Crash; Delta Suspends Some Services for Congress Amid Government Shutdown. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired March 24, 2026 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:32:22]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": An oil refinery fire in Texas is pushing up gas prices that are already inflated because of the war in Iran. Diesel and gas futures rose sharply higher today after yesterday's explosion at the Valero facility in Port Arthur. For the 24th day in a row since the war started, a gallon of gas is costing you more today than it did yesterday. The average price of regular unleaded is now just $0.02 shy of $3.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich is watching the markets for us. Vanessa, explain how this oil refinery fire could impact gas prices.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS & POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Brianna, anytime you have an explosion at a top ten refinery in the United States, that is not good news for prices and for supply. But add a war in the Middle East, that becomes even more concerning. Here's where oil prices are right now. You have Brent crude trading at about $104 a barrel.

You have U.S. crude trading at $92 a barrel. That is coming off a little bit from the highs that we saw last week, but still above that $90 a barrel average. That is a more than 40 percent increase since a month ago. And of course, Americans have been feeling that pain at the pump. Just look at these prices. You're looking at more than $1 increase in the last month for most drivers across the United States right now.

And as you mentioned, in Port Arthur, an explosion just yesterday that still seems to be burning. These are images from that facility. This explosion happened in the diesel refinery portion of this facility, but because it is so scary and dramatic there, they had to close down the production of regular gas.

That's going to be offline for a couple weeks, and that is going to impact gas prices. But the diesel portion that you can see burning right here, that's going to be offline for a prolonged period of time, and that's going to impact diesel prices. What we have seen with diesel prices is a dramatic jump, even greater of a jump than we have seen with regular gas prices. You're talking about an increase of $1.62, and that is because there was already a shorter supply of diesel prices before the war in the Middle East broke out. This is really critical. Diesel is really important because so much of what we get here in the United States moves by diesel transportation.

So think about dairy, meat, produce, all these perishable items that come in on trucks and trains every single day. Then shipping, think about all the things that you're ordering online. That's likely coming by some form of truck, which uses diesel. And then if you're just a regular driver, but you use your personal truck for work, well, you're filling up at the pump.

[13:35:00]

Fuel price is expected to rise because of this fire in Port Arthur in addition to all of the pressure from what's going on in the Middle East. And lastly, Brianna, farmers, think about farmers right now. This is critical planting season and they are firing up their machinery which uses, of course, diesel. So that is putting a lot of pressure on everyday Americans but also on investors who, just last summer, they were in actually extreme greed mode.

But look where we are today. We're all the way back to extreme fear. This is actually where we were a year ago. So we've kind of gone full circle here. But of course, for everyday Americans, they are feeling that pressure of the gas prices at the pump, regular gas, Brianna, diesel prices. And that is largely because of the war in the Middle East closing that Strait of Hormuz through which 20 percent of the world's oil travels.

But you add in a major explosion and fire at a critical refinery, that only adds to that pressure, Brianna.

KEILAR: Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you for taking us through that. Boris?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Now to a CNN Exclusive about wagering on war. A new analysis shows that a single online trader has made nearly $1 million betting on military moves against Iran going back to 2024. According to the analytics company, Bubblemaps, this bettor has won a whopping 93 percent of five-figure wagers on Iran through the prediction market site Polymarket, raising concerns about insider trading on prediction markets.

We should note that CNN has a partnership with Kalshi, another prediction market site. CNN's Marshall Cohen has this exclusive. And Marshall, in some cases, this trader made his bets on Polymarket just hours before what are supposed to be classified unannounced strikes.

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Remarkable timing here and that's exactly why so many of the experts and analysts are raising concerns about possible insider trading. So you're exactly right, nearly $1 million that this trader netted over the last two years with these series of well-timed bets on Polymarket on its international offshore site, the folks at Bubblemaps, this analytics company, looked through all the data and they actually found dozens of trades going back to 2024.

Correct predictions ahead of Israeli airstrikes on Iranian soil in October 2024. They put money down last summer before the U.S. bombings of the Iranian nuclear facilities in the summer and they were at it again just a few weeks ago in the run-up to the Israeli-U.S. surprise attack against Iran that started the current war. And when all was said and done, they had $967,000. It's a lot and that's one number, but the real telling number, the revelatory part here is the win rate.

The experts I spoke to said that most bettors, shrewd traders that know what they're doing, they get around 51, 52 percent. You win a little more than you lose and you make a nice profit. This trader, 80 percent win rate for their bets about Iran and if you only look at the big bets, Boris, for more than $10,000, it was a 93 percent win rate, very concerning.

Before I give it back to you, let me just do a few disclaimers. Obviously, we don't know who this is. Polymarket is anonymous. It could be anyone. It could be someone famous or someone not famous at all. It could be totally honest without any insider trading at all. I want to make that very clear. We just don't know, but the timing is what's raising red flags.

We reached out to Polymarket for comment and they did not respond.

SANCHEZ: Hitting at 93 percent on these big bets though. I mean, forgive me for being skeptical, but how could it not be someone that has information that something is going to come? How would we even find out whether there's some sort of insider that is placing these bets?

COHEN: You know, if you think about it, some of the folks that study this stuff say there are people out there that look at open source material. It might not be easy to find but there are satellites that watch the oil tankers and the aircraft carriers.

SANCHEZ: How many pizzas the Pentagon is ordering is one example.

COHEN: Right.

SANCHEZ: Yeah.

COHEN: Technically, it's public information. It is open source and you're finding stuff that other people aren't or, that's the honest explanation, the less clean explanation would be that you or someone you know is in the know, and that's why a lot of lawmakers are concerned.

We've seen Democrats and a couple Republicans in the last few days and weeks proposing new legislation to try to crack down and I should note that Polymarket itself announced yesterday, new rules that they say will further enforce some of its policies against insider trading.

They have this offshore site where all these Iran bets were happening.

SANCHEZ: Yeah. COHEN: They also do have an approval for a U.S. site but it's not up and running yet.

[13:40:00]

SANCHEZ: So it could be anybody. Is it you, Marshall?

COHEN: It's not me. We're not allowed to bet.

SANCHEZ: You tell me off here (ph).

COHEN: I'll tell you, CNN employees are not allowed to bet because of our relationship with Kalshi.

SANCHEZ: Important reminder. Marshall Cohen, thanks so much for the reporting. Appreciate it.

Coming up, a CNN review finds that pilots raised concerns about miscommunication and air traffic control missteps at LaGuardia before this deadly collision. We're expecting an update from officials in just moments. Stay with us.

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[13:45:09]

KEILAR: We are waiting for an NTSB briefing coming very soon, where we're going to hear investigators and we're expecting them to give a clearer picture of Sunday's deadly plane collision at LaGuardia Airport. Officials are expected to provide some new information that has been taken from the plane's cockpit voice recorder and give some details on staffing levels inside of the air traffic control tower at LaGuardia at the time of the crash.

CNN has learned that pilots have previously complained about air traffic control missteps, communication issues, and other potential hazards there at LaGuardia. A review of government records over the last two years shows one pilot urging officials to "please do something."

Peter Goelz is a CNN aviation analyst. He's a former NTSB Managing Director. That is really interesting, what we're starting to get a picture of, some of these complaints from pilots as we are awaiting this briefing. What are you looking for from the NTSB here, Peter?

PETER GOELZ, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, the NTSB has had a full 24 hours on the ground. They've got seven working groups. They will have done their first analysis of the voice recorder. They've probably downloaded the data from the data recorder. So they are well on their way in their investigation.

I believe they will discuss some of their preliminary readings from the voice recorder, looking at exactly what the pilots saw, what they were facing, and the decisions that they made. And it is not surprising that there have been complaints about LaGuardia as there was about DCA, about Reagan National. These are extraordinarily crowded airspaces. They are sometimes understaffed in the tower. And on a night like the night of the accident, where you had system delays throughout the East Coast, the 10 to 12 o'clock hour was probably far more congested than normal.

KEILAR: Yeah. One of the pilots, and this is from a CNN review of the last two years of government records, one pilot said, "On thunderstorm days, LGA is starting to feel like DCA did before the accident there." Talking, of course, about that January 2025 collision here in the Washington, D.C. area that killed so many people.

How are investigators going to take those records and those reports into account as they investigate, but also as they perhaps make some immediate changes pending a longer investigation?

GOELZ: Well, on an airport like LaGuardia, which is slot controlled, you might have 75 -- up to 75 movements per hour. That's a lot. And if you schedule for those during the rush times, when you have a delay, you've got many flights pushed back into the 10 to 12 o'clock hour, which normally has perhaps 20 to 30 operations. You are putting a great deal of pressure on a controller staff.

And I believe that the NTSB will document exactly how much pressure, how much traffic there was, and they're going to make recommendations so that this accident doesn't happen again.

KEILAR: The crew of this fire truck, Peter, survived. We were told that one of the crew was released yesterday. Another was being held overnight last night for observation. It sounded like they were going to be released today. How valuable is what they can tell investigators and what would you want to ask them?

GOELZ: Well, you'd want to interview the crew member who has been released from the hospital as soon as possible. An eyewitness and participatory witness is always more valuable the earlier in the process that you can get to them. They'll want to know what their understanding of the procedures were.

What did they think that the controller had instructed them to do? And what was their reaction when the controller said stop? I mean, perhaps a better command would have been clear the runway. The last thing you wanted was that truck to stop dead center in the pathway of the aircraft.

[13:50:00]

And we don't know whether that happened, but there's a lot of questions that the crew members of that emergency vehicle can help answer.

KEILAR: Yeah. Also, it sounds like in the recording, it's a stop, stop, stop, stop. And then you hear truck one, stop. Is there confusion about who was being addressed in there? And at what point did the impact happen in that address? There's a lot to learn here, Peter.

GOELZ: Yeah.

KEILAR: And we really thank you for your expertise in this. Thank you very much. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Now, to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour. Delta says it is suspending some specialty services for members of Congress because of the impact the partial government shutdown is having on its resources. Instead of airport escorts and red coat services, Delta says lawmakers will now be treated like any other passenger.

In a statement, the airline said, next to safety, Delta's number one priority is taking care of our people and customers, which has become increasingly difficult in the current environment.

Plus, a career prosecutor has just been appointed U.S. attorney for New Jersey, likely ending a revolving door at the Justice Department branch that began with former Trump attorney, Alina Habba's appointment last year.

Robert Frazer, a veteran of organized crime cases, is now taking on the position. New Jersey is one of several states where judges have clashed with DOJ over illegal appointments of U.S. attorneys. The selection of Frazer marks a shift in tone by DOJ's leadership that's seen as more collaborative with the courts.

Also, a Park Police officer is recovering after being shot while investigating an incident in southeast Washington, D.C. last night. Park Police officials say that two officers were ambushed in their unmarked car by two men who began shooting at the vehicle Monday night. The officer was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Multiple federal law enforcement agencies are investigating the incident and expect to release surveillance footage with a description of the shooters. Stay with CNN. We'll stay on top of this story and many others. Be right back.

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[13:56:53]

SANCHEZ: New today, there are growing questions about whether the new Director of the Kennedy Center is actually qualified to handle the job. Matt Floca was previously the Facilities Manager with a background in operations and construction, and President Trump tapped him to head the institution as it prepares to undergo a major two-year renovation.

But sources tell CNN there are concerns about what they see as a lack of experience to run the Performing Arts Center. Let's bring in CNN White House Reporter, Betsy Klein. So Betsy, what is the president's thinking behind this decision?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right. Well, Matt Floca came to the Kennedy Center back in 2024 under the Biden administration actually. He was there in a facilities role. He had experience in the D.C. government and similar job, and also had been a project engineer at a construction company. One source told me, "He was in charge of HVAC and toilets. He's deeply an operations guy. He wants to talk about structural engineering and load capacity."

But that as you might imagine, came in handy when President Trump took over the Kennedy Center just a couple of months ago. He could talk shop with the president. They spoke the same language and they started to develop this very close relationship talking by phone frequently. And he also had a little bit of influence over the president because, at one point, Trump wanted to replace the gold columns at the Kennedy Center with marble and he convinced him to paint them white instead.

So when Trump made that decision to replace Rick Grenell, Floca ascended to become Executive Director of the Kennedy Center, and he is going to be overseeing this massive two-year renovation. But he doesn't have any experience running a performing arts institution. He doesn't have that donor management that's so critical as well as arts booking experience, the recruitment that's going to need to take place during that renovation.

He's also going to be overseeing the layoffs of about 75 to 175 staffers. So he's got his work cut out for him.

SANCHEZ: You've also learned that the administration is contemplating bringing someone to work alongside him to handle those aspects of the job that you outlined. How soon could that happen?

KLEIN: Yeah, and just to put it in very stark terms, one source told me, quote, "Matt has no experience with performing arts." A performing arts building, reporting directly to the president, reporting to the board, like he's got none of it. So he's grossly underqualified.

The source went on to say Matt's in a really tough place and I don't know that he's really set up for success and I don't know that he's really savvy enough to navigate when he doesn't really have a lot of experience to draw from.

So sources that we talked to described this as sort of a band-aid or stopgap appointment. Our colleague, Sunlen Serfaty spoke with one source who said that discussions are now underway to potentially appoint an additional leader that would work alongside Floca to fulfill some of those broader needs that we just talked about.

But another source familiar with the plans said that's actually not the case. They say there is strong support and confidence in Floca. So we'll be watching how all this plays out.

SANCHEZ: Wow, we shall see. Betsy Klien, thank you so much for that reporting. A new hour of "CNN News Central" starts right now.

KEILAR: Answers to what happened in the collision on Runway 4. Any moment, we expect to hear from NTSB officials. A cockpit voice recorder could offer clues into what happened at LaGuardia and we'll bring that to you live.

And new DHS Secretary, old problem. Will the swearing-in of Markwayne Mullin help Homeland Security solve the standoff that's causing long lines at America's airports? The White House could --