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One World with Zain Asher

Trump Touts Optimism that a Deal May End War Soon; Surging Fertilizer Costs Affect Farmers; Lawmakers Have Less Than 48 Hours to Reach DHS Funding Deal; TSA Unsure of Full Staff Return When Shutdown Ends; Asia Urges Reduced Energy Use Amid Fuel Shortages; Social Media Platforms also on Trial in California. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired March 25, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: President Trump maintains he's optimistic about talks to end the war with Iran. "One World" starts right

now. Despite Trump's optimism, 8000 U.S. elite soldiers are standing by to deploy to the Middle East. Plus, the Strait of Hormuz blockage is driving

up the cost of another important item, fertilizer. We're going to speak with agricultural experts to look at how this will impact your wallet.

And pressure is mounting in Washington to end the partial government shutdown. This as the travel chaos is showing no end in sight. Live from

Atlanta. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Zain and Bianna are off today. Great to have you with us. This is "One World".

Well, the U.S. is negotiating with itself. That's the word from an Iranian spokesperson taunting U.S. President Donald Trump. It comes one day after

he claimed Tehran wants to make a deal. Iranian representatives are letting the Trump Administration know they do not want to re-enter talks with

Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Though they are leaving the door open for U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance. For now, Trump claims Vance alongside U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio,

are leading the negotiations. As for the Strait of Hormuz, Iran plans to keep charging a fee for safe passage. Tracking data shows multiple vessels

have passed through it since Tuesday.

And while Trump is optimistic about a future deal, we're also hearing that around 1000 U.S. soldiers preparing to deploy to the Middle East soon. It

comes as strikes rage on across the region. Thousands of people have been killed since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran nearly a month ago.

I want to go straight now to our Jim Scuitto, who joins us live from Tel Aviv. Good to have you with us Jim. So, Iranian ballistic missiles have

again struck in parts of Israel, exposing gaps in the air defense systems there. Just explain what we know.

JIM SCUITTO, CNN CHIEF U.S. SECURITY ANALYST: Well, we saw this just a short time ago, just to the north of where I am, here in Tel Aviv, what

appeared to be a missile breaking through to the defenses and striking close to an Israeli power plant.

The Israeli military says it does not, did not strike the plant, but the video shows it was not an insignificant impact, and that wasn't the only

one in the last 24, 48 hours. Last night, there was a cluster munition that came down rained down, almost literally here in Tel Aviv, because those

clusters send out multiple projectiles and munitions, and they hit, they hit the ground. Those are hard for Israeli air defenses to intercept.

So, every few hours, there is something that gets through, which is a reminder that this war continues, even as there is talk of negotiations in

the coming days. I should say, Lynda, as I speak to Israeli officials here, they remain skeptical that Iran is on a footing to negotiate. That is that

Iran is willing to make concessions necessary to move towards a deal that would be satisfying to the U.S.

And just in the last hour or so, Iranian State TV, at least, is saying that that 15-point plan that the president has presented to the Iranian side,

that it rejects that plan. We'll see what that means going forward. This is, of course, a negotiation, but there is a lot of skepticism in this part

of the world that those talks will move forward in a substantive way.

KINKADE: Yeah, it's interesting. You note what Israel is saying publicly about this plan that Donald Trump is speaking about, given that Tehran has

already said they're not in negotiations with the U.S. Israel is not on board with this. So, what comes next, from an Israeli perspective, and

given that the U.S. is considering sending more troops to the region, is Israel considering an escalation at this point in time?

SCIUTTO: Well, Israel's position since President Trump brought up this idea of peace talks has been the war, from their perspective, continues

unabated. The Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz, said that Israeli strikes on Iran will continue with full force. And we see no evidence that,

as that has changed in the last -- in the last couple of days.

And, you know, it's interesting, Lynda, because I think we find ourselves in quite a similar position to what we were in four weeks ago, prior to the

start of this war, when you had the U.S. amassing forces here while negotiating or saying it was negotiating with Iran.

[11:05:00]

And then at some point, President Trump calculated that Iran wasn't moving, or wasn't moving quickly enough, and he ordered the start of this war. So

here we are again, the U.S. now, adding to the already formidable collection of forces here in the region, with region with several ground

units to at least give him the capability to order an escalation.

And the question will be, does he feel or decide that there is progress from the Iranian side and continue those talks, or does he escalate with

those, for instance, paratroopers coming this way, the Marine Expeditionary Unit already deployed. The president, at least has options to expand this

conflict to what would be.

And I think this is widely acknowledged, a new and more dangerous phase for U.S. forces, which would be to have forces on the ground.

KINKADE: Yeah, that certainly would be a significant escalation. Jim Sciutto for us in Tel Aviv, Israel. Our thanks to you. Well, as we

mentioned, the U.S. is expected to bolster its firepower in the Middle East. Sources telling CNN that around 1000 soldiers are expected to be

deployed in the coming days.

They'll be drawn from the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division, which also sent troops to the region in 2020 when tensions rose following the killing

of Iranian Commander Qassem Soleimani. Haley Britzky has new reactions to this expected troop deployment. She joins us now from Washington.

So, Haley, on the one hand, you've got Donald Trump talking about a possible deal with Iran and a 15-point peace plan, and on the other hand,

news that the U.S. is preparing to send more troops. What is the U.S. saying about that?

HALEY BRITZKY, CNN U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yeah, Lynda, so like you and Jim just mentioned, I mean, this is coming as the president says

he's very optimistic. Sounds very optimistic about a potential deal. And there are to point out, there are already roughly 50,000 U.S. forces in the

region.

So now we have this contingent from the 82nd Airborne which, as you said, deployed to the region as well in 2020. This is sort of the Army's Global

Response Force. They are meant to be able to deploy on an hour's notice. So, what we can expect right now is roughly a battalion sized from first

brigade combat team within the division, as well as a headquarters element, including the Commander of the 82nd Airborne to be deploying in coming

days.

And this is coming as Jim mentioned, these Marine Expeditionary Units coming to the region as well, two of them with amphibious ready groups. So,

in total, 4500 marines and sailors with each of those contingent. So, there's a ton of us firepower coming to the region, especially for a

potential ground operation.

We know that the 82nd Airborne will be in the region, just in case they're needed. They're essentially going to be the ready unit on the ground in

2020 you know, they were called in immediately, but they didn't. They weren't necessarily needed in that moment. They were there in case they

were called upon.

So, we don't yet know if they will be called upon for any sort of operation on the ground, but clearly, officials wanted them closer and on the ready

in case that were to happen. And this is this battalion that is going is sort of the readiest of this immediate response force meant to be able to

deploy on hours' notice.

And so even as we're seeing all of this coming in, as you've mentioned, I mean, the president is certainly saying he's optimistic about a deal Iran,

casting doubt on that reality. But certainly, it brings more options for the president and for U.S. Central Commander, Admiral Brad Cooper, for what

they decide to do next, having these soldiers from the division, as well as these marines and sailors all coming to the region at the same time Lynda.

KINKADE: All right Haley Britzky, good to have you with us. Thanks so much for joining us. Oil prices falling after President Trump said a deal to end

the war with Iran could be inside. This is our Brent Crude. The global oil benchmark is trading right now down almost 4 percent.

The U.S. benchmark, WTI, also dropped right now. It's down 3.74 percent. Markets still very volatile. However, of course, remember Iranian officials

have expressed doubts about Washington's claims that it's making progress towards a peace deal. U.S. stock markets are more than an hour into the

trading day right now as well.

Our Anna Cooban is following the investor reaction from London. Great to see you, Anna. So, oil prices have dipped sharply on the hopes that they

will be peace that they will be an Iranian peace deal. How confident are traders that diplomacy and a diplomatic breakthrough is imminent?

ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS & ECONOMICS REPORTER: Well, Lynda, I think the fact that we've mentioned this word already, volatility suggests that

there's some degree of confidence or relief this morning. I mean, or today, clearly, oil prices fallen. But how long lasting will that be?

I mean, we've seen Iran sort of rebuff the reporting that the U.S. is, as you know, they're in talks with the United States, saying that the United

States is effectively negotiating with itself.

[11:10:00]

And so fundamentally, from an oil market perspective, we're in the same situation as we were a couple of days ago when we saw oil at $114 a barrel.

That was the global bench mark. And Japan, I want to point to this particular country. It is particularly vulnerable to this crisis. It gets

90 percent of its oil from the Middle East region.

And today, the country's come out to say that it's a release 30 days' worth of its oil reserves to try and tide itself over. So, this is the reality on

the ground. It hasn't changed all that much, despite the sort of towing and froing the conflicting reports we're getting diplomatically from the U.S.

and Iran.

KINKADE: All right Anna Cooban we will chat again soon. No doubt we will continue to keep an eye on those prices. Thanks very much. Well, a new era

is beginning for the Church of England and the Anglican community worldwide. These are live pictures coming into us right now from Canterbury

Cathedral, as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury is enthroned.

Dame Sarah Mullally is the first woman to leave the church in its 1400-year history, and this is the service which will mark the start of her tenure.

Now among those in attendance are the Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as the British Prime Minister.

Mullally says she'll use her appointment to champion the voices of women. But the decision to appoint her has been controversial within the church,

with divisions over female priests as well as attitudes towards LGBTQ communities. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAME SARAH MULLALLY, FIRST FEMALE ARCHBISHOP: I am Sarah, a servant of Jesus Christ. I come as one, seeking the grace of God to travel with you in

his service together. I am sent as Archbishop to serve you, to proclaim the love of Christ, and with you to worship and love him with heart and soul,

mind and strength.

I come knowing nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified and in weakness and fear and in much trembling, God, our Father, we have marred

your image in us, Lord, have mercy. God, the son born of Mary, we have not always obeyed your commands to love one another. Christ, have mercy. God,

the Holy Spirit, you have given us creation to enjoy and respect, yet we have misused this gift.

Lord, have mercy. May the God of love and power forgive us and free us from our sins, heal and strengthen us by his Spirit and raise us to new life in

Christ, our Lord Amen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: There you have it. Sarah Mullaly, the first woman in 1400 years to be installed as the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Spiritual Head of the

Church of England and the Leader of the Anglican community worldwide. She described herself as Sarah, a servant to the church. We will come back to

that service with more throughout the coming hour. For now, we're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:15:00]

KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. The U.S. and Israeli war with Iran is driving up prices of more than just oil and gas. It's also raising

the cost of fertilizer, and that could mean higher grocery prices. About 30 percent of the world's raw materials for making fertilizer a ship through

the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, other issues have many farmers struggling to make ends meet. The costs of diesel fuel and farming equipment are up. And President Trump's

trade war with China has closed the Chinese market for U.S. crops. U.S. farm debt hit a record high last year.

Well, Tom Bradshaw is the President of the National Farmers Union of England and Wales, and Vanessa Garcia Polanco is the Policy Campaign's

Cohort Co-Director of the U.S. National Young Farmers Coalition. They both Join us now live good to have you with us.

TOM BRADSHAW, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL FARMERS UNION OF ENGLAND AND WALES: Hello.

VANESSA GARCIA POLANCO, POLICY CAMPAIGNS CO-DIRECTOR, NATIONAL YOUNG FARMERS COALITION: Thank you.

KINKADE: Tom, I want to start with you, because the warnings are clear. This is not just about energy. The Iran war could trigger a global food

crisis. How are rising fuel and fertilizer prices affecting UK farm production costs, and how soon might consumers feel that?

BRADSHAW: Well, farmers are seeing already inflated costs for red diesel, for fertilizer, gas that's going into fruit vegetable production, or glass

house production is also increased. So those costs that we're seeing at a farm are increasing immediately.

Now, some of that, particularly for peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, things like that, will go straight through to the retail shelf and will have to be

passed on to our retailers, and then it'll be down to them as to how much of that they can absorb and how much gets passed on to the consumer?

For red, diesel and fertilizer, particularly in commodity markets and here we're thinking about wheat, barley and RC grape. And over in the U.S., it

would be soybeans and corn. It's much more difficult, because they're global markets, for farmers to actually pass on those cost increases.

And many of our members are very concerned that they've got massively inflated risk at a farm level, increasing borrowings, as you've already

highlighted, and yet they may not see the market returns improve, and so farmers may not be able to pass on that extra cost burden.

KINKADE: And to you, Vanessa, the Strait of Hormuz is responsible for about 30 to 50 percent of global fertilizer trade and energy supplies. It's

causing fertilizer prices to not only surge and it's squeezing farmers margins. How does that impact new and small operations in particular? And

is the current U.S. farm policy framework robust enough to deal with a prolonged crisis?

POLANCO: Yeah, definitely. I would like to say that young farmers and small farmers tend to be more flexible and adaptable. When we see these kinds of

geopolitical economic shocks their business models and the diversity of their crops allow them to adapt more to a lot of this uncertainty.

And also, that generation of farmers tend to actually use less fertilizer inputs because they're more interested in building soil health and farming

regenerative and building with sustainable agricultural management practices. So, in that part, we are less worried.

But if you are a bigger operation one that is doing more commodities agriculture and definitely mono culture, you do not have the same ability

to adapt to this changing market in the need for fertilizers and the need for input, and just you are not maybe adaptable enough to effect.

[11:20:00]

KINKADE: Yeah, certainly going to impact some of those bigger operations, more. Tom, I want to go back to you because the EU and UK Leaders have

highlighted the need for diplomatic solutions to keep trade routes open, to avoid a fertilizer crisis alongside the energy and food crisis. This is

what the EU Foreign Policy Chief had to say, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAJA KALLAS, EU HIGH RESPRESENTATIVE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Nobody is ready to put their people in harm's way in the Strait of Hormuz. But like I said,

we have to find, you know, diplomatic ways to keep this open so that we don't have a, you know, food crisis, fertilizers crisis, energy crisis in

the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Now, she went on to discuss with the United Nations the idea of freeing up transport of oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz by

replicating a deal that gets grain out of Ukraine during the war. What solutions Tom are being considered right now? What urgent action should the

UK government take to protect farmers and to try and maintain some of the flow of input and output?

BRADSHAW: What this is doing to me is highlighting, once again, the vulnerability of our just in time food supply chain, the lack of resilience

that we have at a production level with the UK producing less food now than we did 10 years ago. We need to make sure we reinvest in domestic food

production.

We need to recognize that artificial fertilizers are a critical component globally are producing the calories that keep 8 billion people alive. And

so yes, the continuity of those supplies of diesel, of gas and of fertilizer are absolutely fundamental to underpinning global food

production.

And while we're going to see immediate impacts now, if this conflict were to keep on going for the next three to six months, the impacts over the

next year could well start to make what we're seeing at the moment look pretty small fry compared to what could happen if there is a longer-term

consequence.

And if we don't have the availability of that fertilizer for the long term, that it's going to have dramatic impacts on global food production. So,

making sure that we have that continuity of supply, but also looking domestically and saying, what is it that we need to invest in to make sure

that the UK has a more resilient food system, that the EU and the world has a resilient food production system, is something which I think is crucially

important to all consumers.

KINKADE: Yeah, exactly. And back to Vanessa disruptions to LNG, a key import fair, nitrogen fertilizer production, alongside the oil market, are

creating issues, not just for farmers here in the U.S. and the UK Wales, but worldwide. What would a coordinated policy look like to stabilize the

food systems?

POLANCO: It will definitely focus more what my counterpart just said, like definitely focusing on local interventions. We need to start thinking about

financial assistance directly to farmers and creating infrastructure locally and regionally that can provide fertilizer in other farm inputs

more regionally and locally. No be still dependent in those global markets. They are more shaken by geopolitical uncertainty.

KINKADE: All right, Vanessa Garcia Polanco and Tom Bradshaw, we appreciate you both. Thanks for joining us.

BRADSHAW: Thank you.

KINKADE: Still no deal inside for Homeland Security as pressure intensifies for Congress along security lines at airports get even longer. We're going

to go to Washington next for the latest. Plus, another day of long lines at U.S. airports. We'll take you to live to Houston, where lines have reached

for some four hours. Stay with us. More news next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:25:00]

KINKADE: Welcome back to "One World". I'm Lynda Kinkade. Here are some of the headlines we're watching today. White House officials say U.S. Vice

President J.D. Vance, could head to Pakistan this weekend to discuss ways to end the war on Iran. President Trump said J.D. Vance, alongside

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was in negotiations with Iran.

Sources tell CNN that Iranian representatives have let the U.S. know they don't want to deal with Trump's Special Envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared

Kushner. British police have arrested two men in connection with an arson attack in North London this week, which is being investigated as an anti-

Semitic hate crime.

Several ambulances belonging to a Jewish volunteer group was set on fire. Security footage of the incident showed at least three people involved.

Police are searching the two properties where the men were arrested.

The service is taking place to enthrone Dame Sarah Mullaly as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury. It marks a new chapter in the church's

1400-year history, the Prince and Princes of Wales are in attendance, as well as the Prime Minister of Britain. Mullaly's appointment has been

celebrated as a milestone for women in the Anglican community, but it's also been attacked by some factions of the church.

Time is running out for lawmakers in Washington to reach a funding deal for Homeland Security. They have less than 48 hours to go before they're due to

go on recess. At airports across the U.S., travelers continue to face long waits to clear security. In some cases, they're waiting more than four

hours.

The White House has now deployed I.C.E. Immigration Offices to several major airports. Let's break it all down for us now. Our Kevin Liptak from

Washington joins us now live. Kevin, the partial government shutdown is approaching six weeks. I'm wondering if lawmakers see any hope of reaching

a compromise before they take a nearly month-long recess.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, well, they had been planning, or they had seemed to have some momentum earlier this week. You

know, Republican Senators had been at the White House.

They had been meeting with President Trump, and they had felt among the leadership ranks of the Republicans in Congress that they had gotten the

president on board with this plan to fund most of DHS, including TSA, you know, very critically, but leaving out funding for immigration enforcement

and essentially leaving that pot of money for later on, they would try and muscle that through at some point in the future.

And it had seemed as if, for the president, had gotten on board. And so, there was some confidence as they returned to Congress and as they sort of

socialized this new plan among their members, that this would ultimately be the path forward. But the president seemed to throw some doubt in that

yesterday, he said he hadn't really digested what was actually contained in this proposal. Here's what the president said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I don't want to comment until I see the deal. But as you know, they're negotiating a deal.

I guess they're getting fairly close.

[11:30:00]

But as you know, they're negotiating a deal. I guess they're getting fairly close, but I think any deal they make, I'm pretty much not happy with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Now, the reason the president isn't happy with it is because he wants any proposal to include his voter ID law, the SAVE AMERICA Act, which

he says is necessary to prevent widespread voter fraud. Of course, that has been debunked. There is not widespread voter fraud in the U.S., but the

president has been insistent that any DHS funding bill also include that.

Now today, some Republican lawmakers are also balking at this plan because it doesn't include that funding for immigration enforcement, they say that

that is necessary to get their votes. And so, the confidence that I think existed on Monday seems to be dissipating somewhat by today.

By Wednesday, I think the question is whether, as you mentioned, whether this will be able to get resolved before Congress leaves town at the end of

the week. They will be gone for about two weeks for the Easter and Passover holidays. I think there had been a hope that the deadline would sort of

prompt the two sides to come together, to come to some kind of agreement.

Perhaps fearful that they themselves would get caught in these hellish TSA lines on their way to wherever they were going. But as of now, as of this

hour, it doesn't seem as if this plan is on track to get finished before the end of the week.

KINKADE: The pressure certainly is building, especially as we continue to see those poor passengers waiting for hours on end and TSA workers is not

being paid. Kevin Liptak, we appreciate you. Thank you.

Well, staff shortages, as we were just discussing, are causing painful delays for travelers right across the U.S. At Houston's George Bush Airport

this morning, the expected wait time for security was four hours. Management say they've only been able to open a third to half of the

security lanes.

TSA Union Leaders have criticized the Trump Administration's decision to put I.C.E. agents into certain airports. They say the I.C.E. agents are not

trained to do security screenings and are unfamiliar with the airports they've been sent to.

We're joining us now from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston as CNN's Senior U.S. National Correspondent. Ed Lavandera. Great to see

you, Ed. You have been tracking the wait times there at Houston for days. Now the I.C.E. agents have been deployed. Have they made any difference in

reducing the wait times for passengers there?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the I.C.E. agents haven't really been at the point that we stand now, helpful in any

way to increasing passengers getting through here as quickly as possible. They're simply just not manning the security lanes and the check points

and, you know, the luggage inspection and that sort of thing.

So that really hasn't changed. But you know, it's a crazy situation when I tell you that right now, at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, the wait

times are about an hour and a half to two hours, depending on which of the two terminals you're able to travel out of and that, in and of itself, is

an incredibly long amount of time.

But when you compare that to what we've seen the last couple of days, where the wait times have been four and five hours at times, you know, it seems

like a rather dramatic improvement. Now, airport officials tell me that's because Wednesdays are a low load travel day, and that's why we're just not

seeing as many people, because we're out here in the lobby of the main part of the terminal.

You see all these people waiting in line this morning for the morning rush beyond the glass wall you see over there the lines were spilling out into

the passenger drop off lanes in the parking lot, and that has kind of gone away. Over the last few days, I think we've shown you down here below in

the baggage claim area. This is where the lines were starting at one point, and actually even a floor below all of this.

And you can see today, the lines are not down there today, so that is welcome news. But again, that's because today is a low load travel day.

Makes it a little bit easier for the airport to handle the rush of people, because, as you mentioned, there's just a fraction of the security lanes

that are open.

The call out rates from TS employees have been approaching close to 40 percent over the last several days that we have data for, and that is what

is complicating the situation here at this particular airport. But this day of reprieve is really just a brief reprieve, because airport officials also

tell us that the airport traffic and passenger volume is expected to go back up tomorrow.

So, you see Thursday, Friday and into Saturday as well. Those long lines of four to five hours could very well be returning to this airport in the

coming days, starting tomorrow.

KINKADE: Wow. And Ed, we know hundreds of TSA officers have already quit. That's on top of the thousands that are calling out from work because

they're not getting a paycheck. I mean, even if this partial government shutdown ends by the end of this week before Congress goes on recess. I

mean, this pain could continue, right?

[11:35:00]

LAVANDERA: Yeah, no, there's, it's hard to say. You know that they've had to deploy and they've moved teams of TSA agents to various airports over

the last few days to manage the rush of passengers and to be able to manage that as best they can.

But everything, all of these teams are spread so thin at this point that it's very difficult to move in reinforcements to airports like this one

that need it. And that is the challenge that TSA is facing at this moment.

So, unless they can get these TSA employees paid and they can start coming back to work, remember, a lot of these TSA employees have had to work other

jobs because they're missing out on paychecks so, you know, so they're battling all of that, it just becomes a logistical nightmare.

KINKADE: Yeah, certainly does. Well, we appreciate you, Ed, being out there at Houston Airport, day after day, covering this for us. Ed Lavandera there

at George Bush International Airport in Houston, thank you. Well, countries in crisis, from the Philippines to Japan, the extreme measures multiple

Asian countries are facing as the war with Iran drags on, we'll have that story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Governments in East Asia are scrambling to deal with a growing energy crisis as the war in Iran disrupts

oil supplies. Japan has begun to release oil from official reserves. China has announced restrictions on some fuel exports, and the Philippines has

declared a national energy emergency as fuel shortages increase. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Philippines has become the first country in the world to declare a state of national energy

emergency, thanks to a war thousands of miles away. Long lines snake out of Manila's gas stations, and soaring fuel prices have left some of Manila's

Jeepney drivers uncertain how long they can stay on the road.

JOSEPH ORINION, JEEPNEY DRIVERL: Instead of being able to bring home the earnings, it goes to pay for a diesel what's left for us is very little.

STOUT (voice-over): It's all down to the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran, which has closed the Strait of Hormuz to all but a handful of ships.

STOUT: Asia is especially vulnerable to the supply shocks that's caused. It consumes more than 80 percent of the oil that crosses the strait.

STOUT (voice-over): In South Korea, the president has called for a 12-point country wide energy saving campaign, people are being asked to take shorter

showers, charge their phones during the day rather than overnight.

[11:40:00]

And only use their washing machines and vacuum cleaners at weekends. Fuel shortages have also caused some of Asia's flagship carriers to consider

suspending flights, while India's textile industry has been impacted. India imports around half of its oil from the Middle East.

And shortages have started to cause some factories to close or use carbon fuels, and some residents to abandon their kitchens. The cost of gas is so

high we are cooking on this open-air stove. This woman tells us. She is far from alone. People are queuing to fill gas cylinders and fuel tanks across

Asia.

From Kathmandu, Nepal to Colombo in Sri Lanka, where authorities have declared every Wednesday a public holiday for government institutions,

including schools, but exempting hospitals to manage energy resources. And it's not just fuel shortages that are causing hardship. Thai farmers say

there's a social stigma too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When we bring containers to buy fuel, people look at us and accuse farmers of hoarding. We simply can't handle the costs anymore.

Rice prices haven't risen with the costs.

STOUT (voice-over): Even Thailand, cities are not immune. The Thai government has ordered government employees to lower office air

conditioning, to save energy, and ditch suits and ties to keep cool. That edict even applies to news anchors, Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Thankfully we don't need to have the air conditioning here just yet, but certainly the measures being considered are serious. Sam Reynolds,

from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, joins us now. They are focused on infrastructure developments in Asia. Appreciate

you joining us.

SAM REYNOLDS, RESEARCH LEAD, INSTITUTION FOR ENERGY ECONOMICS & FINANCIAL ANALYSIS: Thanks for having me.

KINKADE: So, you've noted that Asian countries not only are taking the drastic measures we've just noted, but also switching to dirtier fuels as

one way to manage the immediate energy crunch that they're facing. How sustainable are those sorts of short-term strategies?

REYNOLDS: Yeah, I mean, I think we're seeing in the near-term defensive measures. Countries in Asia are still in defensive responses to this

crisis, and that means bringing coal plants back online. We've seen several countries, Taiwan, South Korea, Bangladesh, indicating that they're going

to bring nuclear facilities online over the next couple months in order to mitigate the crisis.

I think these may be sustainable for several months. It's noteworthy that coal prices are also going up in the region as a result. So, you still see,

you know, countries exposed to global commodity market shocks. In the longer term, what I'm looking for is longer term policy trajectory shifts

of potentially towards greater shares of renewable energy.

I think the bottom line is, the more expensive this crisis becomes for countries, the more likely we are to see shifts away from imported fuels

towards domestic sources of energy.

KINKADE: Yeah, talk to us about that time frame Sam. I mean, if this war continues for weeks, for months, the end of the year, I mean, how soon will

that structural shift take place where we see a bigger push towards renewable sources?

REYNOLDS: You know, I think we're starting to see some early signs of this. The South Korean President, very early on, said this Iran conflict is a

great opportunity to rapidly and comprehensively transition to renewable energy. I heard mention there of the Philippines state of emergency.

And part of that order states that the Philippines is going to accelerate deployment of renewable energy as well as electric vehicles. You know, I

think beyond that, we will start to see more of these shifts in various countries. I've heard reports that EV sales in places like the Philippines

and Vietnam are booming in just the last month alone, as buyers seek to insulate themselves from fuel price shock. So, I think we will start to see

more shifts going forward.

KINKADE: And I also wanted to ask you about the risks for, you know, some countries taking these short-term strategies right now. In terms of, you

know, countries like Thailand have basically temporarily banned the export of fuel from their country. I mean, even as these countries try to shield

themselves from the oil and gas crisis, what could the real impact be?

[11:45:00]

REYNOLDS: Well, I think you know these definitely -- these types of fuel export bans have broader implications on, for example, refined product

markets, and we've seen go haywire as well. In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 India implemented a food export ban that drove

food prices up for the rest of the region.

And I think what we're going to start to see is more bilateral arrangements like in the wake of 2022 we saw the Philippines reach a deal with Vietnam

to import more rice, so we could see more deals like that. Already, countries are turning to, you know, others with maybe excess fossil fuel

supplies.

Japan has been a notable reseller of LNG in the region. We've seen negotiations between South Korea, Taiwan and Japan to maybe start spreading

some of those fuels around.

KINKADE: And Sam, your analysis points to greater currency depreciation, rising inflation and certainly slower growth for net energy importers in

Asia. How severe could these impacts be, and which countries are most at risk?

REYNOLDS: I think the most exposed countries immediately are the ones that buy the most fuels from the Persian Gulf, right? Japan, Pakistan, the

Philippines, all buy over 90 percent of their crude oil from the Persian Gulf. Countries like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, all by about 60 percent

or more of their liquefied natural gas from the Persian Gulf.

Now, some of the wealthier countries in Asia, Japan, South Korea, have much larger reserves in storage of both crude oil and LNG. The emerging markets,

countries like Vietnam, again, Pakistan, Bangladesh, all have 20 days or less of crude oil storage. They're going to have to, you know, reach

alternative arrangements, potentially importing more from Russia.

The Philippines is cited as having 50 to 60 days of crude oil in storage, but those are privately owned stocks in the country's de regulated oil

market. And so that limits the government's ability to coordinate a long- term centralized release of stocks to mitigate this.

I think what we're seeing is fuel price caps and growing subsidies, and that subsidy burden is only going to one detract from other national

priorities in terms of the amount of funding available to spend. But two also, they can tend to send the wrong market signal. Fiscal measures like

subsidies and tax cuts only encourage continued demand of fossil fuels and may prevent a longer-term shift towards renewables.

So, I think, you know, some of the wealthier countries, again, Japan has spent over 70 spent over $77 billion between 2022 and 2024 on fuel power

and petrol subsidies. And I think Southeast Asian countries are simply not going to be able to sustain that level of fiscal support.

KINKADE: Sam Reynolds, great analysis, really good to get your perspective on the show. Thanks so much for joining us.

REYNOLDS: Thanks for having me.

KINKADE: Still to come, a trial in the U.S. it could shake off the social media world after the break, what convinced a jury to find Facebook and

Instagram's parent company, liable for child exploitation.

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[11:50:00]

KINKADE: A jury in New Mexico has found the tech giant Meta liable for failing to prevent child sexual exploitation on its platforms. The jury

ordered the company to pay $375 million in damages for practices it caused, unconscionable, unfair and deceptive.

New Mexico's Attorney General brought the suit in 2023 calling it Facebook and Instagram breeding grounds for child predators. Now, after the verdict,

Meta said it respectfully disagrees and it does plan to appeal.

CNN Tech Reporter Clare Duffy joins us now with a look at the implications of this case. Clare, it has been described as a landmark case. Just take us

through this incredible verdict and what it means for holding big tech accountable?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Yeah, Lynda the New Mexico Attorney General, Raul Torres called this an historic victory, and this is a really

significant moment. As we've seen for years, parents and advocates and lawmakers raising concerns about risks to children on me as platforms.

And this is the first time that a jury is holding the company accountable for those risks. Throughout this seven week, trial, jurors heard from

former Meta employees turned whistle blowers. They saw internal documents, all of which got at the Attorney General's core allegation here, which is

that Meta has known that its platforms pose a risk to children, could put them at risk of exploitation and abuse.

And yet hasn't done enough to solve that problem, because it's putting profits over the safety of its users. The jury agreed with that argument

here, finding Meta liable on all counts in this case, including, as you said, of unconscionable and deceptive trade practices. And I'll let you

listen to a juror, a couple of jurors describing how they came to this decision Lynda, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Social media has really become and as Meta as a company itself and what it has come to represent and should be trying to

represent better, and in just protecting teens and people that are going to be on those platforms.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It ultimately swung that way because the majority of the 12 people agree that there was willful violation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DUFFY: And importantly, this is not the end of this story. This is just the first phase of this trial. The next phase will be presented directly to the

judge. So, in addition to the $375 million you mentioned, we could see Meta order to pay additional financial damages and to make changes to its

platforms.

Now, Meta is appealing this decision, and I'll read you what a spokesperson told me following this decision yesterday. They said, quote, we

respectfully disagree with the verdict and will appeal. We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and are clear about the challenges of

identifying and removing bad actors or harmful content.

But Lynda, certainly a big moment here, and this could set a precedent that other states could follow.

KINKADE: And Clare, there's another major case involving Meta, which is, of course, the owner of Facebook and Instagram and YouTube, which is owned by

Google in Los Angeles, about how addictive these platforms are the jury is currently deliberating. Tell us about that case.

DUFFY: So yeah, this is part of the wave of legal pressure that we've seen against Meta and the social media companies broadly as people are trying to

take to the courts to get changes made to these platforms that we haven't seen required by regulations, lawmakers have sort of dropped the ball on

this issue of online child safety.

So that case in Los Angeles, as you said, accusing both Meta and YouTube of intentionally designing addictive features that have harmed young people's

mental health. The jury, in just a few minutes here, is going to be entering day nine of deliberation. So, we continue to await a verdict in

that case.

But again, lots of pressure on these companies and lots more that we're learning from the testimonies and the internal documents that are being

presented in these trials. With more to come, there are hundreds of lawsuits that these companies are facing right now from across the country.

[11:55:00]

KINKADE: Yeah, it's always interesting when you hear from people that worked at these companies testifying. Clare Duffy for us, great to have you

on the show. We will have much more on this developing story in the next hour of "One World", when I'll speak with a professor of technology and

civil rights law.

Well, finally, before we go, let's take you back to Canterbury Cathedral, where the Church of England has a new leader, Dame Sarah Mulley, has become

the first female Archbishop of Canterbury in the church's 1400-year history. This is the service to mark the start of her tenure.

Now among those in attendance are the Prince and Princess of Wales as well as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Her appointment has caused

controversy within the church because of differing views on female priests and the LGBTQ community.

She was a former nurse, now expected to lead the Church of England, the top leader for the Anglican community worldwide. We will continue to have more

coverage on this in the coming hour. For now, I'm Lynda Kinkade. Stay with CNN. Much more news of "One World" after the break.

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[12:00:00]

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