Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Severe Storm Threat Continues After Tornadoes, Hail and Flooding Hit Central U.S.; Trump Says, War With Iran Very Close to Over; New Accuser Says Eric Swalwell Sexually Assaulted Her in 2018. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired April 15, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, the president says the Iran war is very close to over, which is what he said four weeks ago. What, if anything, is he seeing now to make the new/old claim? What is the status of new possible negotiations?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Tens of millions of Americans are facing severe weather threats again today. This is after a round already of tornadoes, hail and flooding. You'll want to see some of this video coming in this morning.

And a true act of courage and heroism and captured on camera, a principal jumping into action, tackling a gunman as students sit nearby, truly averting what is sure to be a disaster.

Sara is out today. I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman. This is CNN News Central.

It is a day and one of those days to keep an eye to the sky in much of the United States today, especially once you get a look at the aftermath from the severe weather that ripped across the Central U.S. yesterday. Millions of people are in the threat zone today. Heavy rain stranded dozens of people left many, many more without power across the Great Lakes. Rivers are running dangerously high already after one of the wettest starts to spring ever.

And then there is this video we want to show you out of Iowa. Yes, take a look at this of a tornado touching down. More than a dozen tornadoes were reported across parts of Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, damaging more than a hundred structures. And that wasn't the only thing causing damage.

Yes, that is hail and a ton of it, baseball-sized hail pounding cars and homes and everything. That's also in Iowa.

So, while many people are beginning to survey the damage, pick up and clean up this morning. Millions more need to start preparing for more dangerous weather on the way.

CNN's Derek Van Dam is going to kick us off this morning, and you've got a lot to track today, my friend. DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh my goodness, Kate, another fierce day of severe storms on the dockets. We're going to start with these two incredible videos. We're not in Kansas anymore. We're in Iowa. This is a classic Wizard of Oz-type rope tornado. We call this a drill bit tornado. Look at that connection from the funnel to the ground, just causing the damage in open farmland.

But when you look at this video, just absolutely astounding to see what we call a rope tornado. Often, the tornado starts to weaken and it gets thinner and it gets a bit longer as well. The rotation tightens and it kind of starts to stretch. And often we start to see that twist and bend to the rope. And very rarely do we get this type of perspective of the bottom part of the vortex as it sweeps through this open farmland in Iowa. Wow, absolutely mind boggling.

So, today, the severe weather threat continues. We've got a level two of three across the Great Lakes. Through the Mississippi Valley, through the Southern Plains, very large hail damaging winds and tornadoes, I'm starting to sound like a broken record here.

No active tornado or thunderstorm watches at the moment. That's the good news, but we need that secret ingredient. What is it? It's the daytime heating of the sun, of course. We start to see the blossoming of these thunderstorms right around dinnertime tonight. So, heading home from work, Chicago, once again, Des Moines, southward to Kansas City, even into Oklahoma City, where we have the potential for more severe weather as these storms march east into the day on Thursday.

So, here's the continuation of the severe weather threat. Point your attention to Friday. This could be another big ticket day across the Central Plains. And then Saturday into the weekend, the Ohio River Valley has the potential for storms.

The other story about the severe weather is the heavy rainfall that has caused river gauges to set new records across Michigan and Wisconsin. Some of the flooding video coming out of this area is astounding, and it's heartbreaking to see that businesses and homes being inundated with this water lapping up to their doorsteps. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Yes. And when you put up those maps, I'm realizing I have a lot of family in the path of some very bad weather today.

Derek, all right, lots to watch.

[07:05:00]

VAN DAM: Yes, check on them.

BOLDUAN: Thank you. Yes, you as well. Thanks so much, Derek. I really appreciate it. J.B.?

BERMAN: Yes, those pictures are terrifying of the weather. I'm hoping some of the results of the flooding is really bad. I'm hoping the results as this, you know, system passes through aren't even worse.

BOLDUAN: Yes, exactly. BERMAN: All right. Very close to over, that is how President Trump is describing the war with Iran in a new interview this morning. Of course, it's also how he described it four weeks ago. This is the new assertion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX BUSINESS HOST: Is this war over?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think it's close to over, yes. I mean, I view it as very close to over. You know what? If I pulled up stakes right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild that country, and we're not finished. But we'll see what happens. I think they want to make a deal very badly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, that was the new statement. This is how he has been saying it repeatedly starting more than a month ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Are you thinking this week it will be over?

TRUMP: No, but soon.

REPORTER: Are you talking about days?

TRUMP: I think soon.

REPORTER: Okay. And with respect to --

TRUMP: Very soon. Look, everything they have is gone, including their leadership.

We've already won in many ways, but we haven't won enough.

You know, you never like to say too early you won. We won. We won the bet. In the first hour, it was over.

Well, I think we're going to end it. I can't tell you for sure. You know, I don't like to say this. We've won this. This war has been won.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, if there is something different this time, it could be hope over a new round of talks with Iran, possible new round of talks. If it does come together, Vice President J.D. Vance is expected to lead the U.S. team again.

Also new this morning, new satellite images appear to show Iran digging for missiles trapped underground and missile launchers after the U.S. and Israeli strikes.

Let's get right to CNN's Alayna Treene at the White House this morning for the latest on what you are hearing. Good morning, Alayna. ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Yes, look, I mean, we did hear the president give a number of comments during that interview with Fox News. Much of it not really new, including this idea that the war is very close to over. That's certainly though the hope that this White House has.

And I will say from the conversations I've been having with Trump officials is that they do hope they can get a second round of talks off the ground. And they hope that that could happen before this two- week ceasefire expires next week on April 21st. Of course, that's a big ask, and I've told that all of the discussions over this potential second sit-down face-to-face with the running officials is still preliminary, but that is what they are working toward and hoping that could, if not, you know, result in a final agreement, at least offer enough progress to extend the ceasefire and try to really find this diplomatic solution that many, many Trump officials really want at this point in time.

But, look, some of the things that the president did say in this interview with Maria Bartiromo, one was he talked about this blockade. He was arguing that it's been successful, of course, the naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, and said that he does believe that it's forcing the Iranians back to the table, kind of the intended effect that the Trump administration had when imposing that military blockade.

But he also talked about the economy. And the thing that I found really interesting is we did hear him earlier this week, you know, arguing that, yes, gas prices are bad and the economy might be bad for some time. He did try to walk some of that back though in this interview. I want you to listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Well, look, there's a hit because, you know, we go through it for whatever it is, six weeks, there's going to be a hit. But it's going to recover, I think, fully. Somehow they misquoted me. I think oil will be down to the levels it was. You know, they said, I expect oil to be high at the midterms. I don't expect that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So, you have him trying to argue that he thinks oil prices and the economy will be in better shape by the time the midterms come. Notably, the comments that he made come -- you know, they were published at least today, a day after he met with the House speaker, Mike Johnson, and people at the NRCC here at the White House.

Obviously, midterms have a lot of Republicans, especially kind of on edge with what we are seeing happening in the economy and with high oil prices, but the president trying to reassure a lot of Americans today with those remarks. John?

BERMAN: All right. Alayna Treene for us at the White House. The president really walking back statements that, by all accounts, he absolutely did make, now saying something diametrically opposed on the economy. Thank you. Kate?

BOLDUAN: I said it until I don't say it.

BERMAN: Exactly.

BOLDUAN: That's where we --

BERMAN: I never said it.

BOLDUAN: Welcome to the reality today. Don't listen to that man. That was me.

A fifth woman is coming forward with allegations now against now former Congressman Eric Swalwell accusing you of sexual assault, prompting a new investigation. We've got more on what she is telling CNN.

And some major airlines are warning that the soaring price of jet fuels linked to the Iran war could and will be him impacting your next plane ticket and air travel for quite some time going forward.

[07:10:03]

An incredible video, fishermen caught in the middle of a shark feeding frenzy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Wait, are those sharks?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: This morning, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Special Victims Bureau says it is investigating after a new woman went public with allegations against now former Congressman Eric Swalwell. Lonna Drewes is the fifth woman to accuse Swalwell of sexual misconduct or worse. She says Swalwell raped her at an L.A. hotel in 2018.

[07:15:01]

Drewes says she believes Swalwell drugged her drink.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LONNA DREWES, SWALWELL ACCUSER: I can't believe that he felt so cavalier that he would just drug me and then rape me and then choke me.

I couldn't move my arms. So, he was on top of me choking me, and all I could do was just watch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, Drewes' attorney declined to share detailed corroboration of her claims and CNN could not independently verify the allegations.

A former staffer has also accused Swalwell of rape that is now under investigation in New York. Swalwell has denied all these specific allegations.

With us now is CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig. Counselor, good to see you.

So, now you have a second woman coming out and accusing Eric Swalwell of rape. How does that change the legal situation?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Eric Swalwell is now in far worse legal jeopardy than he was 24 hours ago this time. First of all, just as a pure mathematical proposition, now we have two different investigations being run by two different district attorneys. So, there's two different cases, he's going to need to convince a D.A. or have a DA decide not to bring charges.

Beyond that, John, the two cases can, in some respects, cross reference one another. So, if the New York D.A. now looks at what's happening in California, the New York D.A. can only charge what happened in New York. But the New York D.A. might be able to say, well, let's look at what happened in California. We can use that as evidence in our case to show that this was a pattern or a practice by Eric Swalwell. And the same thing goes the other way for the Los Angeles county district attorney. So, things have just gotten more much worse and more complicated for Eric Swalwell.

BERMAN: What does it matter that they're in different jurisdictions, one in New York, one in L.A.?

HONIG: Yes. So, each act can only be directly charged as a crime in the actual county where it happened. So, the alleged assault in Manhattan can only be charged by the Manhattan, New York county district attorney. The alleged assault in West Hollywood can only be charged by the Los Angeles county D.A. That said, you can still, as a prosecutor, try to bring in this what we call other bad acts evidence. And that could include other assaults that happen in other counties. Potentially, it could also include the other allegations which don't involve allegations of rape, but do involve allegations of unwanted advances and photos and texts.

So, prosecutors can use that evidence. They do have to be careful though, John, because if you use too much of that other bad acts evidence to the point where it's prejudicial to the defendant, that can actually cause a problem. We have seen examples including one of the Harvey Weinstein cases where judges, appeals judges have overturned cases because prosecutors have used too much of that other bad acts evidence. So, it can be powerful for prosecutors but you need to use it in limitations.

BERMAN: So, Counselor, there are allegations here of drugging and intoxication. How does that play usually into sexual assault allegations?

HONIG: So, under California law, intoxication can negate consent. So, in other words, if a person has sexual contact with another person who is intoxicated to the point where he or she does not know what's going on, is unable to consent, that can be rape.

The law in New York is actually a little bit different. The law in New York is less forgiving to victims. The law in New York says intoxication in some cases may not negate consent. So, in other -- there have been efforts in New York to try to broaden that law to make it more like California.

But if you look at the allegations in New York, the issue of intoxication might not be relevant to consent because the person who's complaining about New York says that she said the words no. So, if she said the words no, that's going to be non-consent, regardless of any intoxication.

BERMAN: Again, Eric Swalwell, we should note, has denied making criminal acts. We will see how these investigations move forward.

Elie Honig, thank you for explaining it so well.

So, high drama late night action in the first NBA playoff play-in games, one team gets sent home after some last second heroics.

And the wildly popular drug so many people are taking for weight loss, now research shows a new benefit for a specific internal organ, one you really need to work well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BOLDUAN: Today is tax day, and I'm sure and hope that's not news to any of you, and average refunds this year are bigger. This is the first year since that major tax cut that was passed by Congress last summer. As of last week, the IRS reports it's already issued nearly 70 million refunds. If you have yet to file, there is still time to do so, or also push for an extension.

CNN's David Goldman is here with us now. Where should we begin?

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS REPORTER: Yes, happy tax day. And it actually is a happy tax day for a lot of people. It's about, you know, $3,500 of good news for the average American. So, that's their average tax refund. That's good. It's actually about $350 better than it was last year. So, that's good news too.

It's kind of where the good news ends is.

BOLDUAN: Yes, I was waiting for the but.

GOLDMAN: Yes, right. That's what I'm here for. So, the Trump administration, first of all, said about a thousand dollars was going to be the average increased refund. So, we're not really close to that, first of all. And then the second thing is that, remember, we've added all of those higher gas costs because --

BOLDUAN: Yes, take all the context, right?

GOLDMAN: Taking it all away. So, about $190 a month in added gas costs, or fuel, diesel, all of that. That's what the average American is paying every single month.

[07:25:03]

So, two months, your entire added refund just vanished.

It's not just that, right, because we've also talked about inflation.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

GOLDMAN: Inflation has been pretty good going into the year and now it's not so good, $233 per month on the same basket of goods that you were buying a year ago. You want to go four or five years back, that's closer to six or $700. That's according to Moody's, and that's because of the inflation crisis. But, obviously, that's going to take away your tax benefit from last year, just in a couple months.

So, it's good that we're getting a little bit of extra cash. We need it in this economy. But there's also some negative forces that are taking that away.

BOLDUAN: And just a whole lot of uncertainty right now. I mean, you've got -- the IMF is putting out some very scary kind of projections of where things are headed with the war in Iran and then, I mean, you kind of like add it all up. And I don't even know what's going on with oil prices this morning. I'm having a hard time even trying to make heads or tails of it, David.

GOLDMAN: Yes. I mean, oil prices are going to do what they're going to do, right? Think that a lot of the reason that the market is reacting, the way they're reacting is they're hopeful that a deal could get done. I wouldn't worry about the day-to-day.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

GOLDMAN: Over the course of the year, we're up about 40 percent on oil. We're up over a dollar on gas. That's what Americans are feeling because that's what they're actually paying. And so, day-to-day, these things are going to move a little bit. We're up about 1 percent, you can see. But we were down 1 percent the day before. We're up 7 percent the day before. I mean, we're talking about this every single day. Don't get lost in the noise. Think about what it means overall. That's where the bad news is kind of kicking in for people.

BOLDUAN: Yes. It's good to see you. Thank you so much.

GOLDMAN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: The yes, but is where David Goldman kind of lives on this.

GOLDMAN: That's what I'm here for.

BOLDUAN: Exactly. We still love you. You do it with a smile. Thanks, buddy.

Coming up for us, the king's speech, new details are coming in about King Charles' upcoming trip to Washington and his address to Congress.

And a woman's split second decision that saves her children's lives in the midst of a fire.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:00]