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What We Know with Max Foster

Iranian Source: Tehran Willing To Listen To U.S. Proposals; Qatar: Not Directly Mediating Talks Between U.S. & Iran; Death Toll Rising In Lebanon Amid Israeli War With Hezbollah; Mullin Sworn In As U.S. Homeland Security Secretary; TSA Wait Times Top Four Hours At Houston's Main Airport; NTSB Gives Update On Probe Into Deadly Runway Collision; Aid Flotilla Arrives In Cuba With Food, Medical Supplies; Trump: U.S. Speaking To Iranians Who Want A Deal Badly. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired March 24, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:32]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: After nearly a month of war, the United States and Iran may be ready to talk.

This is WHAT WE KNOW.

An Iranian source tells CNN the two countries have exchanged messages through intermediaries, and Tehran is willing to listen.

Despite hopes for a diplomatic solution, the war still goes on, however. Israel launched another wave of strikes on Iran's defense industrial base.

The IDF says the attacks are continuing with full force, and Israeli authorities say a barrage of Iranian missiles pounded sites in Tel Aviv,

wounding several people.

Two infants were among those injured in a separate strike in southern Israel.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is with us here in London, with more on the outreach between the U.S. and Iran.

And you've been hearing from the Iranian side.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I spoke to this Iranian source earlier today, and they basically told me that there

have been messages that have been exchanged, not directly, but indirectly, through mediators. They didn't say who these mediators were, but they, of

course, have been some that have sort of been named over the past 24 hours or so.

Egypt being one of them, Pakistan being one of them. The Turks also, we know that the Turkish foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, has very good

relations with Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister of Iran, and also with Steve Witkoff. So that certainly could be a possibility.

The Iranians are saying what's key to them is to have an agreement that is broader than just a ceasefire, that it would encompass, basically, the

conflict between the United States and Iran ending for good. And then they also want to keep you they want to keep a nuclear civilian nuclear program.

They said they didn't talk specifically about enrichment to me. So it's -- it's going to be interesting to see whether or not that evolves into direct

negotiations.

But it certainly seems as though when President Trump came out yesterday and said that he was in talks with the Iranians, maybe he went a little bit

too far. But it certainly does appear as though an outreach is taking place.

FOSTER: Well, he's just spoken now, implying that they're pretty much at a deal and saying there was a big present they sent yesterday without going

into any detail.

PLEITGEN: Yeah. Unclear what exactly that present could be. I think one of the other interesting things that President Trump said was that Iran had

essentially said they will never have a nuclear weapon.

Now, of course, we know that the Iranians have been saying that for years. And all of the negotiations, they've been saying that. What exactly changed

or what this outreach has brought, whether or not messages have been passed back and forth, it's unclear why President Trump has changed his position

on all this because, you know, if we look at the messaging from the past couple of weeks of this war, he has been claiming that they were very close

to a nuclear weapon, that it could have been just weeks away from a nuclear weapon, whereas the Iranians have always denied that.

So, it's unclear what exactly changed there. But I think one thing that we can see is that the tone today and yesterday is very different than what

we've seen in the past couple of weeks.

FOSTER: Interesting. He also said there has been regime change.

PLEITGEN: Well, I mean, look, the I would say the Islamic Republic today is certainly very different than before the war.

FOSTER: It's the same regime.

PLEITGEN: It's the same regime. It's the same. It's the supreme leader's son is in power. So, the power structure, I think from the Iranian side,

they would definitely say, no, absolutely not. This is just a continuation of the Islamic Republic. And, you know, over the years of covering the

Islamic Republic, that has always been their thing. The system needs to survive.

And the system has certainly shown itself to be very durable and very much capable of replenishing its ranks. And they say that they can do that for

an extended period of time, no matter how many people get assassinated, but certainly, if anything, I would say that today the, the governing structure

in Iran is probably more conservative and more hardline than it was before the war started.

FOSTER: Interesting. Fred, thank you so much.

Energy rich Gulf states like Qatar have already suffered economically, of course, from the war with Iran. This as Tehran hits oil and gas facilities

around the Persian Gulf.

Matthew Chance asked the Qatari foreign ministry about what contact Doha has had with Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJED MOHAMMED AL-ANSARI, QATARI FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON: We work very closely with the U.S. administration and with President Trump on

finding an end to the current escalations. We have conveyed very clearly that the attacks on Qatar have resulted in catastrophic results on the

energy sector and Qatar's economy.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Before the Iran war began at the end of last month, did you make the point to Washington

that, you know, this region and Qatar in particular would suffer enormous economic consequences, potentially because of the conflict?

[15:05:02]

AL-ANSARI: We've said since 2023, escalation left unchecked in the region will lead to not only regional spillover, but the total regional war that

will engulf all of us. And this is exactly what we are in right now.

CHANCE: So, you told Washington about the potential economic consequences. But they -- but they ignored you. What do you feel about that?

AL-ANSARI: They took the decision to go to war according to parameters that they think are, you know, related to regional security. This is their

assessment. So we're working very closely with them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, we're hearing some of the most explicit words yet about Israel's intentions in Lebanon, as well as escalates the war on the Iranian

backed Hezbollah. Defense Minister Israel Katz says Israel will control southern Lebanon up to the Litani River and won't allow evacuated residents

to return until the threat to northern Israel is gone.

Lebanon's health ministry says Israeli air strikes have killed more than a thousand people so far, including about 120 children. Across the border,

Israeli emergency workers say a woman was killed today by a Hezbollah rocket.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Beirut.

Has there been a shift in tone here?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I think we're ultimately seeing more public refrains of what many feared had been

Israel's policy, certainly in the Lebanese perspective all along. There's multiple elements to this, Max. Certainly, the Israeli defense minister,

Israel Katz, has talked about a security zone along the southern border of Lebanon and Israel's northern border. That's something he's mentioned

before. Little more detail as to how extensive, indeed that could be, even suggesting that some of the damage done to Gaza to implement a security

zone could be replicated, potentially in southern Lebanon.

And then the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, noted hardliner extremist, frankly, saying that ultimately Israel might end up taking a large parts of

southern Lebanon and annexing it essentially up to the Litani River. The first ultimate southern border that Israel told people to get out from the

south of the face of the conflict.

So, some suggestions from Israel exactly what its end goal might be. But I should tell you that isn't really matched by their ground movements yet.

They are fighting hard close to the border as far as we can see. Their airstrikes, though, are hitting across southern Lebanon have been, I think

it's fair to say intensifying in some areas recently, particularly around the southern city of Tyre.

Now that's important because it's below the evacuation line, first given below the Litani River. It's where many of the remaining civilians still

are. And it had three strikes near it earlier on today. No initial reports of casualties and some warnings from the Israelis initially.

But I think it has many deeply concerned that it compounds the fear put in place by Israels defense minister, Israel Katz, that they're going to blow

all the bridges along that river and basically cut the south off. Combine that with seven strikes here in Beirut on the southern area, where

Hezbollah has a significant presence in Dahieh, and also the drones. We heard over above, and also some of the debris that we saw land on Beirut.

It's not quite clear what happened there. There appears to have been, according to Lebanese state media, a rocket interception. Israel says, that

was launched from Iran, a reminder that Israel is bombing both Lebanon and Iran. So may not be the perfect source for that information, but we're

dealing here with a multiple faceted revolving conflict here where I should remind people, the Lebanese government has said they want Hezbollah to

disarm, as has Israel.

But Hezbollah still very much what we saw over recent days, holding strong in southern Lebanon. This could be a long-term project for Israel to

disarm. It could be a long-term complication for Lebanon to pick a side in that particular fight. And it's certainly an outcome, a conclusion far out

of anyone's reach right now -- Max.

FOSTER: Okay. Nick Paton Walsh in Beirut -- appreciate it. Thank you.

Now, Markwayne Mullin is the new U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary. President Trump attended his swearing in ceremony at the White

House in the last hour. Mullin's appointment comes during difficult times for the department, with funding stalled in Congress, airport screening

chaos and violent immigration crackdowns, of course. His predecessor, Kristi Noem, was fired just three weeks ago.

Annie Grayer joins us.

Annie, we had a sense of how he's going to take things differently?

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORER: Well, Secretary Mullin has made the case to lawmakers both behind the scenes and publicly, that he wants to approach

this job differently than his predecessor. In his confirmation hearing, he talked about how he's going to be willing to own up to mistakes. He talked

about how he was too quick to jump to conclusions about Alex Pretti's death in the circumstances -- circumstances surrounding that. He said he wants to

have a good working relationship with lawmakers.

[15:10:01]

And as there's been a lot of bipartisan complaints from both Democrats and Republicans that DHS under Noem did a lot -- just rebuffed lawmakers

requests and didn't work well with Congress, Mullin says that he wants to value lawmakers input early on in the process for all the various

initiatives that he's going to be overseeing and also work with local officials as well. But Mullin is going to be inheriting a department in

turmoil right now, particularly because it's still shut down. And negotiations on the Hill are picking up. Republicans are unified around a

plan that would fund the entire agency, minus ICE's law enforcement capacities and that is -- we're waiting to see if that has Democratic

support.

The ball is really in Democrats court right now, but Republicans negotiated this deal after meeting with President Trump at the White House on Monday

night. And the key provision to get him on board was that Republicans would try and push through their own standalone bill that would rely on just

Republican votes to provide more funding for ICE's enforcement measures, and also to try and push through Trump's voter ID legislation, the Save

America Act, which Trump has been very public about wanting Republicans to attach to any deal with Democrats. But that's been a nonstarter in the

senate because it just simply doesn't have the votes to clear the 60-vote threshold. There are no Democrats who support it, not even enough

Republicans who do so.

So we're in a holding pattern right now as Democrats are reviewing this latest proposal from Republicans. But the clock is ticking. The pressure is

on because lawmakers have seen the extensive lines at airports. They know - - they know the pain of TSA workers who are continuing to show up to their jobs without pay.

And so, the stakes and the pressure is on. It's just a matter of are Democrats going to say yes to this deal or do they are they going to make

further demands -- Max.

FOSTER: Yeah. Okay. Annie, thank you.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says more than 450 TSA agents have quit their jobs in recent weeks because they're not getting paid during

this government shutdown. As a result, today, there has been another day of frustratingly long security lines, as you can see. At Houston's main

airport, wait times have been more than four hours.

CNN's Ed Lavandera has this report from just a few minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This point here, you have about 45 minutes to an hour to get to the very front of the TSA

checkpoint. All of these people have navigated all of these lines that come down here. The lines actually extending outside behind that glass wall out

into the drop off area where there's four or five lines that go back.

But take a look. This is the first floor down. All of those people that you see below us, this is what would normally be the baggage claim area. This

is area the -- an area that has been converted into lines that are snaking back and forth as they come to, as they're coming up, eventually up to

where we are. And even beyond this, there's another floor one below them where normally you would catch the subway tram to connect between terminals

here at George Bush intercontinental airport. And that is where the line starts.

So, you know, but what is really striking, Boris, a couple of different things is that, as long and as brutal as these lines are, people have

really taken everything in stride. We've talked to countless people over the last two days about just saying that this it is what it is, and they're

trying to make the best of it.

But the politics of this situation is also kind of festering underneath all of this. And we've heard repeatedly. I mean, there's not a politician that

has been spared when you ask people about who they blame from the president to Democrats and just politicians in general, almost some people not even

sure exactly who to blame in all of this.

So, all of that really festering here among all of the passengers who in some cases are showing up seven to eight hours before their scheduled

flight times just in hopes of making these flights. And that is the challenge that all these thousands of people are facing here this

afternoon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Ed Lavandera there.

Now, coming up, the investigation is underway. We will tell you about the clues that are being gathered from the scene of that fire truck, plane

crash over in New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:22]

FOSTER: In just the past hour, we've got some new updates on the investigation into the plane at LaGuardia airport that crashed into a fire

truck as it was landing. NTSB investigators outlined a timeline of all the events that happened leading up to the crash. They say there were two air

traffic controllers on duty on Sunday when the crash happened, and one of them was performing multiple jobs at the same time. The chair of the NTSB

says it's not uncommon for controllers to perform double duty like this, but it is something that concerns her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER HOMENDY, CHAIR, U.S. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: It's also common practice across the national airspace, where you would have two

controllers in the tower cab during the midnight shift.

The midnight shift, as a reminder, is one that we have many times at the NTSB raised concerns about with respect to fatigue. Again, I do not know.

We do have no indication that was a factor here, but it is a shift that we have been focused on in past investigations

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: CNN's Richard Quest was following all of that.

I mean, we are very early in the investigation, but she's obviously looking at that because it's something she's warned of before.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE: Yes, I think it's becoming clear where the focus of the investigation is going to be, because the

facts, as was outlined in the press conference, are really straightforward. We know who did what and we know what the results were, what we don't know

is the underlying circumstances around it. There was a confusion over who was actually the ground controller, who was responsible for ground traffic.

Now we know the local controller, the air traffic controller gave the instruction to cross the runway, but who had been doing it until then, and

how did that person forget or ignore the fact that they'd cleared a plane to land only a couple of minutes earlier?

And that's one of the reasons I think you're going to get quite close. You see, its quite common in the U.S., not so elsewhere. Planes can be miles

out and they're cleared to land.

You'll find if you take, for example, London or some of the European bases, you literally are almost over the runway threshold before the tower says

cleared to land. But in the U.S. system, you can be cleared to land many miles out, cleared to land, cleared to land, cleared to land. And the

pilots supposed to do it.

You know, you're not supposed to, then find somebody on the runway. So it's becoming a lot clearer where the issues are and where they're now going to

have to investigate how it actually occurred.

FOSTER: And there's technology in place also as a backup. There's some concerns about that.

[15:20:01]

QUEST: Yes. You're referring to -- I'm just going to clear the ASDE-X system, the ASDE-X system. This is the system that monitors all the traffic

on the ground, the planes, the trucks, the cars, the baggage, anything that's moving on the ground this system monitors.

The problem is it does -- you need as much information fed into it as possible, not just radar blips and truck one did not have a transponder.

Beep, beep, beep, saying I'm truck one. I'm truck one. I'm truck one.

Instead, it just had a radar that showed a blip on the screen. As a result, this system was not able to determine that an incident was about to take

place. It was not able to put enough information together.

Another thing that the chairman or the chairwoman said needed to be addressed, that they'd warned about.

FOSTER: Okay, Richard, thank you so much for keeping across all of that for us.

QUEST: Sure.

FOSTER: An eagerly anticipated aid flotilla has begun arriving in Cuba after activists set sail for Mexico. The first boat was carrying food and

medical supplies. It also had solar panels, which organizers hope will help Cuba with its ongoing power crisis.

Here's Patrick Oppmann with more

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So right behind me, you can see this boat that is coming from Mexico. It is bringing aid, humanitarian aid,

food, medicines, solar panels, all items that are very badly needed in Cuba at this moment.

It is part of an effort, part of a flotilla of boats that will be arriving to show solidarity with Cuba. These are activists that support the Cuban

government that have wanted to show that the Cuban government is receiving backing as the U.S. tries to strangle off all energy, all oil shipments to

this island.

So, it's not a very large boat, but it has tons of aid aboard. Weve seen other aid arriving by air over the last several days. Certainly, there's

much more demand on the island right now than any one aid group, any one group of activists can meet, and we hear them singing and shouting to us.

And so, this is really more about the optics, the support that Cuba still receives. This group is not without its criticism, though, because they're

delivering the aid to the government. But we have seen some of them already arriving to hospitals that arrived by air.

So, while Cuba is dealing with the worst energy crisis in many, many years, dealing with a U.S. administration that is trying to bring the islands

government to its knees to force political and economic change here. Certainly, there are groups around the world that will continue to support

this island and the government that is in in control here.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Some breaking news from the world of football for you.

Mo Salah will be leaving Liverpool at the end of this season. That announcement just came through a few minutes ago from both the club and the

player himself. The Egyptian striker has scored more than 250 goals for Liverpool over the course of his nine-year career at Anfield. The club

statement calls him one of the greatest players in Liverpool's history.

Insider trading is not just limited to the stock market. Someone made $1 million on Polymarket wagering on military action against Iran. An

exclusive report on that coming up a bit later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:26:47]

FOSTER: More now on our top story. An Iranian source says Tehran exchanged messages this week with the United States through intermediaries and is

willing to listen to sustainable proposals to end the war. That source says it was Washington that reached out first.

On Monday, President Donald Trump said the two sides were talking and had reached major points of agreement, something Iran has yet to confirm.

So, what we want to know is, will the United States and Iran meet for high level talks?

Joining me now, our senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes.

Kristen, I speak to Fred Pleitgen. He's suggesting that most of the conversations will not be held directly. Certainly not until there's a

major development. But I think there's more positivity from the White House side.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. And we've heard a lot of positivity from the administration. We do have to keep in

mind here, this is also a way for president Trump to find an off ramp to that ultimatum that he dealt, saying that he was going to hit those

civilian energy sites on Monday if Iran did not open the Strait of Hormuz.

So, some of this was a bit of buying time here. But we do know that these communications are happening. There are multiple countries involved.

President Trump himself has said that Iran has agreed to several points on this 15-point proposal. He at one point said they agreed to everything. He

seems to have walked that back a little bit today, saying they agreed to most things.

We do not have that confirmed from the other side. In fact, sources told us that this was more of a proposal that was given to Iranians as expectations

given to them through the Pakistanis. And there still hasn't been confirmation if Iran has agreed to any of these expectations.

Now, President Trump did say that there are now more people involved in these negotiations. The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, as well as Vice

President J.D. Vance, in fact, one of the proposals had been for an in- person meeting as soon as possible, potentially at the end of this week or next week in Pakistan, that J.D. Vance could actually attend, although it

seems pretty unlikely, just given the security around that. However, that is something that is still floating out there.

Now, interestingly, President Trump just took questions. He was -- he was swearing in the new homeland security director. And during that time took

some questions on Iran and mentioned this. And it's unclear exactly what he's referring to, but he said that Iran gave a gift to the United States

that might pave the way for diplomacy.

He said it was oil and gas related that he wasn't going to get into what exactly the gift was, but the gift was only something that was going to be

possibly given by Iran, he said. It was a big present worth a tremendous amount of money. He called it a significant prize, and he said it was

related to the flow of the Strait of Hormuz.

So, we have a lot of questions as to what exactly he's referring to here. Obviously, we know Iran has kept the Strait of Hormuz closed. One of the

things that President Trump has continued to push for is the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. In fact, that was what the ultimatum was if they didn't

open up the Strait of Hormuz, he was going to strike these various power plants or power sites.

So, a lot of questions about what this gift was. But it does seem as though they are making some progress. And it is a turn to see. Now, the secretary

of state, the vice president, along with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, all involved in these negotiations.

[15:30:05]

FOSTER: Okay, Kristen, thank you.

Turning now to Ukraine, where Moscow launched one of its largest attacks in months. Ukraine's military says Russia fired nearly 1,000 drones within 24

hours, injuring dozens of people and killing at least two. More than half of those drones were launched at targets throughout the country in a rare

daytime attack. Residents in Lviv described the massive assault.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TETIANA KACHKOVSKA, LVIV RESIDENT (through translator): It's horrible. It's very scary. We work right here, right behind the building, and we saw

it all. We heard it all. It's very scary. Believe me. The fact that this is the history center is a separate tragedy, and I hope it will all be rebuilt

once the war ends. After all, we need help.

NAZAR KRUTNYK, STUDENT (through translator): It's just absurd. It's just crazy. As a UNESCO site, the Bernardine monastery is without a doubt a very

beautiful place, and the shards are just hitting right in the center. In my opinion, this is just absurd.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: While it is the final moments of trade on Wall Street, stocks are flat today. Markets open lower after a fresh strikes between Israel and

Iran overnight before recovering most of those losses, as you can see.

This is our business breakout.

The price of oil has risen again today after fresh fighting overnight between Israel and Iran. Brent crude climbed back over $100 a barrel this

morning that was flowing through to American customers, with U.S. gas prices rising to just shy of $4 a gallon, the highest price since 2022.

After years of talks, Australia and the European Union have finally sealed a landmark trade deal. The agreement will slash nearly all tariffs on

European products exported to Australia. The two sides have also agreed to bolster defense and security ties.

Social media giant Meta is being accused of failing to protect children from sexual predators. The lawsuit filed in New Mexico also accused

Facebooks parent company of not warning its users about the dangers of its platforms. The jury is now deliberating after a six-week trial that

featured testimony from Meta executives and former employees.

Bets on U.S. and Israeli actions against Iran show signs of insider knowledge, and that is according to analytics company Bubblemaps. In its

findings, shared with CNN, a trader made nearly $1 million from dozens of remarkably well-timed bets on the online platform Polymarket beginning in

2024. Polymarket hasn't responded to CNN's requests for comment, but on Monday it did announce new rules for its platforms aimed at curbing insider

trading.

What we don't know is, has there been insider trading on these prediction market sites before?

Joining us now, Ben Schiffrin, director of securities policy at Better Markets, a nonprofit group that supports financial reform.

Thank you so much for joining us.

I mean, are they regulated at all these sites, first of all?

BEN SCHIFFRIN, DIRECTOR OF SECURITIES POLICY, BETTER MARKETS: They're regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. But there is no

explicit prohibition on using inside information to profit off of prediction market platforms.

FOSTER: Well, exactly. So, if you have inside information, it would be illegal to use that on the stock market, but not illegal to use it on the

prediction markets. Is that right?

SCHIFFRIN: That's generally right. Now the CFTC does have anti- manipulation authority which could be used to go after these insiders that are trying to use their information to profit off of their bets. But you

could easily see them arguing that that authority isn't sufficient, which is why you need an explicit prohibition against using inside information.

FOSTER: So, we've had similar cases before. With insiders of brands or businesses that have made bets in relation to their inside knowledge. I

think what's alarming about this is that it's clearly coming, from someone in the public sector, isn't it? Because they could they're the only ones

that would have the information before it was released.

SCHIFFRIN: Well, with respect to the, you know, bets that are being placed on things like, is there going to be a war in Iran? You have to think that

the insiders or, you know, people well connected in the government, as you say, in the public sector. And that obviously is much more concerning than

if you're just talking about an insider at a business.

FOSTER: What are the policies like these organizations? I know a lot of organizations have banned their staff from using these platforms, but

that's almost a voluntary move, isn't it? You know, you know, is there a broad framework for companies in dealing with this?

SCHIFFRIN: Well, there needs to be actual laws that prohibit using inside information on prediction market platforms, right? The fact that companies,

certain prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket may say that they're going to prohibit insider betting on their platforms isn't

sufficient.

You can think about the analogy, as you mentioned before, to the stock market. Lots of public companies prohibit their employees from engaging in

insider trading. We don't just stop there. The SEC has authority to go after insider trading, sports leagues prohibit athletes from betting on

their games, and we don't stop there. The states that allow gambling, almost all of them prohibit athletes from betting.

It's the same thing here. You need actual laws that prohibit all prediction market platforms from allowing insider trading.

FOSTER: It's interesting though, isn't it? Because I think actually, if you look at these markets, people are looking for the insider traders,

aren't they? Because if you're betting on something like, you know, when will the war end? People know that there will be people using inside

information and they'll bet off the back of them. Isn't it just part of the game?

SCHIFFRIN: Well, certainly prediction market platforms are the next step in the complete gamification of finance. In some prediction market,

platform proponents say that it's good to have inside information out there. The problem is that the insiders aren't saying, I have this inside

information. I'm using it to bet. So, people don't really know whether the people are betting because they have information or not.

Now, if you're a foreign intelligence service and you want to see what's happening on an event contract as to whether or not there's going to be

military action in your country, you might see that there's a spike in activity. All of a sudden, the odds of there being an action in your

country go up dramatically in a short period of time, and you might use that knowledge to take preventive action that obviously raises national

security concerns.

But from other people's perspective, it's not going to necessarily be clear whether there's insiders that are in the market or they're just regular

bettors in the market.

FOSTER: Okay. Ben Schiffrin, appreciate your look at that incredible story. Thank you.

Up next, the Trump administration is giving nearly $1 billion to one of the world's biggest energy companies. The condition is that they don't build

any new wind farms in the U.S.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:40:38]

FOSTER: Four years ago, the French company TotalEnergies paid nearly $1 billion on leases to build wind farms off the East Coast. Now, the U.S.

says its agreed to cancel the projects and give the money back.

It's part of the Trump administrations ongoing campaign to stop wind farms from being built. Total says it will spend the money on fossil fuel

projects in the United States instead.

Joining me now is Ira Joseph from the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.

Thank you for joining us.

What do you make of it

IRA JOSEPH, GLOBAL FELLOW, CENTER ON GLOBAL ENERGY POLICY AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Well, I think it's a -- it's clearly shows the administrations

priority on developing oil, gas and coal resources in the U.S. and a -- and a, you know, less a less of a strong feeling about renewables in this case,

particularly, you know, wind turbines.

FOSTER: But it's not so much pro fossil fuels, is it? I mean, well, it is, but its anti-wind farms as well because it's deliberately not just trying

to encourage fossil fuels. It's going against wind farms in particular as a renewable.

JOSEPH: Oh, that's absolutely true. I mean other wind farms are being built off the coast of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. And if you look at

even in 2025, 92 percent of power generation capacity additions in the United States were of the wind, solar or battery variety.

So, it's, you know, it's one project of many and, and one that where legal measures didn't work to prevent it from happening. So, a buyout was

organized.

FOSTER: Yeah. And to be fair, the company took the money. So, it was their decision ultimately, wasn't it? But you would have seen many of Trump's

comments -- sorry, carry on.

JOSEPH: It was. And they -- and they're going to deploy that money likelihood in an LNG project they have called Rio Grande LNG down in Texas.

And they do produce a sizable amount of oil and gas production in the United States. They do have wind farms over seven gigawatts of wind farms

also all over the world, in Europe and in Asia, as well.

FOSTER: So they're adapting to the market, I guess you could say. But, you've seen Donald Trump talking about these wind farms and how each

windmill you know, effectively uses up more energy than it gains. I mean, just take us through what you've made of his assessments about these

windmills, as he calls them.

JOSEPH: Well, I mean, you know, with anything, you know, he's -- he has a position and he's trying to, you know, state his position, which he feels

is you know, he's against all wind farms of any kind and he's trying to leverage that position to stop them in any way he can.

Obviously, different people have different feelings about, you know, the efficacy of wind farms and they're largely successful in other parts of the

United States, and particularly in Texas. So, I think it particularly had to do not only with the fact that there are wind farms, but also the

location, which him being from New York is, seems to be nearer -- nearer and closer to his heart.

FOSTER: But that's where some will be with him, right? Because there have always been complaints that these are eyesores. And the industry hasn't

really accepted that. Just talking about the positive gain to the environment from them. But actually, a lot of people say they're very

damaging to the environment because they are so ugly, if they're particularly visible.

JOSEPH: Well, yeah, I mean, obviously everyone's esthetics are different. When you look at a wind farm, it depends on where the wind farm is

offshore. It's not exactly -- you're not exactly standing underneath the turbine itself. It's pretty far off in the distance. So, for some people

that's going to be an esthetic problem. And for other people, it's not going to be.

FOSTER: Are they getting a lot more efficient? Will we get to the point where you won't need as many windmills because they're getting more

efficient?

JOSEPH: Oh, a turbine efficiency has gone up. Just the solar panel efficiency has gone up as well. And just as batteries have become improved

as well. I mean, all forms of what's happening in the energy transition, particularly on renewables and battery storage side, have become more

efficient and the costs have gone down too.

So it's a -- it's a very positive story for renewables, despite the policy backlash and some of the policy measures that are trying to be taken here,

at least to slow it down in the United States. That's not -- not true, certainly in Europe and not true in Asia or the Middle East as well.

FOSTER: No, indeed.

Ira Joseph, thank you so much for joining us.

[15:45:03]

Meanwhile, a newly released global study from IQAir is sounding the alarm on the global rise in air pollution. The annual report analyzes air

pollution data from 9,500 cities in 143 countries. It's ranked Loni, India, the most polluted city on the planet. The study notes a significant jump in

air pollution there last year by nearly 23 percent, would you believe, likely driven by dust storms, seasonal smog, industrial emissions and crop

burning.

Now, the report says air quality is declining in many places around the world, only about 14 percent of cities worldwide met the WHO's air quality

guidelines in 2025. That's down from 17 percent the year before.

Now in Colombia, flags are flying at half-staff for scores of people killed in a military plane crash. At least 66 died. Dozens were injured when an

air force plane crashed right after takeoff on Monday.

It came down less than three kilometers from the airport in Colombia's southern Amazon region. The cause of the crash under investigation.

Officials don't expect or suspect foul play.

Still to come, how the war in Iran is impacting Iranian diaspora around the world, including here in London. We'll hear their mixed feelings after

this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: For the Iranian diaspora around the world, the unfolding conflict is a deeply poignant moment. No matter the distance from Tehran. Here in

London, many Iranians hold memories of the 1979 revolution and maintain strong connections to their homeland.

Our Jomana Karadsheh, some of them about their thoughts and their emotions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thousands of faces adorn this wall-turned-memorial. These are the victims of the Iranian regime who

paid the ultimate price for rising up against tyranny. For many Iranians in the U.K. diaspora, it has become the place to mourn and remember those who

have fallen in the fight for freedom.

And they've chosen to gather here for the start of Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

For this family, it's personal. A young relative was shot and killed during the brutal crackdown on protests in January. Mustafa's photo is the closest

thing they've got to visiting his grave.

[15:50:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just hope that this is the last time we experience such thing, and hopefully what they have done, their blood, it's going to

be used for good things. I still believe that the revolution has happened already. They have done it.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Nowruz is a time of celebrating life starting again. For this crowd, hope springs eternal, even at this time of war and

uncertainty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The second I look back on that wall with all of those brave people, I cannot stop myself from crying, but then again, look at my

child, and I see someone who doesn't know the pain behind and is going to grow in a country that is free.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Most here are monarchists, supporters of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's last Shah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bring our king to our country.

(CHANTING)

KARADSHEH (voice-over): And like him, they believe America and Israel's war in Iran is the only way to overthrow the theocratic regime. Their

gratitude for those who launched that war on full display. Nearby in this part of North London, known as Little Tehran, because of its large Iranian

community, more signs of support for Pahlavi and the war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump and Netanyahu basically did the most noble thing in their whole political life.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Everyone tells us it is hard to celebrate this year, knowing loved ones and innocent Iranians are under bombardment. That

initial euphoria that came with the killing of Former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for some quickly faded as the war got uglier and

deadlier.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And those are the mixed feelings that every day we need to deal with it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, the monster is dead, but in the same time (AUDIO DELETED), my neighbor is getting attacked.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): In every corner, hints of nostalgia for the Iran that once was but that even here brings intimidation and threats.

The CCTV video shop owners shared with us captures one of a series of vandalism incidents they say targeted local businesses.

KARADSHEH: And this is what they were targeting, the flag of Iran before the Islamic Revolution that has very much become a symbol for the hope that

so many have that regime change in Iran is near. They use paint balls, and you can still see the red paint splattered on the pavement here.

You also see it outside some of the stores in the area. And speaking to shopkeepers, they say that they had gotten threats before this happened

from individuals here in the U.K. who they believe are regime supporters, warning them to take down the flags.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): While filming outside this shop, people came up to us to tell us they fear what may happen if the war stops and the regime

survives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This regime, no one wants them, and then, except Donald Trump, no one can change them. This is why he says that.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Not everyone in the diaspora would agree with that and a foreign intervention with aims that seem to grow murkier by the day.

They're united in the hope that this war will soon end, as will the repressive regime.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: CNN has reached out to the Metropolitan Police for comment on the vandalism incidents in London.

Now, voters in Florida are heading to the polls to cast ballots in a special election. It's the district that includes Donald Trump's residence,

Mar-a-Lago. And earlier today, President Trump voted by mail even as he has sought to limit mail in voting and decried it for years, even calling it

mail in cheating

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You will never have an honest election if you have mail in it, and it's time that the Republicans

get tough and stop it because the Democrats want it. It's the only way they can get elected.

The problem I have with Colorado, one of the big problems they do mail in voting. They went to all mail in voting. So, they have automatically

crooked elections. And we can't have that.

Corrupt mail in ballots. We're the only country in the world that does it that way. Corrupt as hell.

You know, brought to my attention today that we're the only country that does -- that does mail in voting. Mail in voting means mail in cheating. I

call it mail in cheating. And we got to do something about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: A White House spokesperson tells us everyone knows the president is a resident of Palm Beach and participates in Florida elections, but he

obviously primarily lives in Washington, D.C.

Polls have just closed in Denmark's general elections, where the territory of Greenland played a pivotal role.

[15:55:00]

U.S. President Donald Trump made no secret of his desire to annex the autonomous region in recent months, but incumbent Prime Minister Mette

Frederiksen has taken a hard stance against the Trump rhetoric and enjoyed a late surge as a result of that, it seems. We can expect initial exit

polls in the coming hours.

And finally, NASA today announced its plans to build a permanent base on the moon. The U.S. space agency laid out a roadmap that starts with the

Artemis mission to orbit the moon which is due to liftoff next week. NASA plans to spend about $20 billion over the next seven years to build a lunar

outpost. NASA's plans also include a nuclear powered spaceship to take humans to Mars.

I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW. Do stay with CNN. We'll have more after the break.

END

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