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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Senate Passes Bill To End Government Shutdown, Sending It To House; Flight Cancellations Rise Amid Government Shutdown; Trump Administration Returns To Supreme Court In Food Stamp Fight; Arctic Blast To Bring Frigid Temperatures To Most Of The U.S.; Trump Hosts Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa At White House; Maxwell Getting Special Treatment In Prison; Buffett Releases Farewell Letter As Berkshire Hathaway CEO; A.I. Singer Climbs Billboard Music Charts; Online Sleuths Obsessed with "Fedora Man" After Louvre Heist; MLB announces New Gambling Rules Amid Sports Betting Scandal. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired November 11, 2025 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Caught on camera. Kilauea has been spewing lava from its summit crater about once a week since late last year. An eruption on Sunday sent molten rock shooting over a thousand feet into the air.
Well, there is no denying the power of the poultry pardon. Take a look at what's happening in Colorado. Now, that is where the governor Jared Polis has given two birds a new lease on life in his state's third annual turkey pardon. Nicknamed Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, they'll be spared a trip to the Thanksgiving table and will live out their lives at a local animal sanctuary.
The event also kicked off a food drive to help families facing hunger this holiday season.
That's it for this hour, but the next hour of The Story Is starts right now.
The story is end of the shutdown after the Senate vote. It's now back to the House. Republican Congressman Randy Fine is with us to explain why he is voting yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm exhausted. I am tired. I am mad.
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MICHAELSON: The story is travel troubles. While the politicians argue, the delays and cancellations continue to mount. We take you live from Seattle Airport.
Then, the Story Is, AI music. Journalist Bob Lefsetz is live to look at how new technology is changing what you listen to.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles, The Story Is with Alex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: And welcome to The Story Is. I'm Elex Michaelson. We are following breaking news from the nation's capital. The longest government shutdown in U.S. history could be over in a matter of days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On this vote, the ayes are 60, the nays are 40. The bill, as amended, is passed under the previous order --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Eight members of the Senate Democratic Caucus joined Republicans in voting just a few hours ago to fund the government. The House is set to vote on the bill on Wednesday and President Trump expected to sign it.
(BEGIN VIEOO CLIP)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Do you personally approve of the deal that's happening right now on Capitol Hill to end the government shutdown?
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: What deal we're talking about? But if it's a deal I heard about, that's certainly, you know, they want to change the deal a little bit, but I would say so. I think based on everything I'm hearing, they haven't changed anything and we have support from enough Democrats and we're going to be opening up our country. It's too bad it was closed, but we'll be opening up our country very quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICAHELSON: CNN's Kaitlan Collins with President Trump. Earlier, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer did not cast a vote on the bill to reopen the government. He voted no. He is getting a lot of blowback, though, from progressive Democrats and from President Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, I think he made a mistake in going too far. He --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Going too far how?
TRUMP: Well, he just went too far. He thought he could break the Republicans and the Republicans broke him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Democrats did not get what they wanted out of the shutdown, the extension of government subsidies for people who get their health care through Obamacare. But they're voting to continuing the fight as Republicans have promised a vote on health care sometime in December.
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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think the Democrats who backed this made a bad mistake?
SEN. ANDY KIM (D-NJ): Well, look, I would just say I certainly have a deep and profound disagreement on a lot of this, but shame on the Republicans for turning their backs on so many people and putting us in this place as a country where we have to see millions of Americans wondering whether or not they're going to be the affordable health care. We're the richest, most powerful country in the world. You should never have to put people in this kind of place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Joining us now is Republican Congressman Randy Fine from Florida. Thanks so much for being with us. And welcome to The Story Is for the first time.
REP. RANDY FINE (R-FL): Happy to be here. Thanks for having me.
MICHAELSON: Are you going to vote for this deal and if so, why?
FINE: Absolutely. Look, we need to get the government back open, so we're working for the American people. What Democrats did holding us hostage for 40 days to try to get health care for illegal immigrants was unconscionable. I'm really glad we're going to get the government back open and get back to work for the American people.
MICHAELSON: Of course, there's been plenty of independent fact checkers that say that this does not go to illegal immigrants. It's not allowed to go to illegal immigrants. But regardless of that point, there are going -- it does seem that there's going to be premiums going up because of these Obamacare subsidies going away.
Is that problematic for your constituents? Are you hearing from your constituents that they're concerned about their health care costs going up?
FINE: Well, I would challenge it on two things. Number one, the CBO did find that the Democrats wanted to change the law to add $200 billion in expense for free health care for illegal immigrants. That's not in dispute. But Democrats did not try to lower health care costs.
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That's one of the big lies about this debate. What they wanted to do was hide the increase by borrowing $1 trillion from our grandchildren to make it appear that costs were lower. But costs are what they are. Democrats have no interest in lowering them because their donors want to continue to get these massive amounts of money.
What Republicans want to do is actually bring down the cost of health care whether -- and we don't have to hide it so everyone will be able to see decreases in what health care costs. MICHAELSON: But you know there are plenty of your constituents that
are getting their potential health care premiums, and they're looking at the piece of paper and they're like, oh, my God, I can't afford this. What do you say to those people and how do you bring those costs down?
FINE: Well, I think that's -- I tell them we need to hold the Democrats accountable for this. They passed Obamacare, which was pitched as the Affordable Care Act, without a single Republican vote five years ago. They said it was such a failure that they used COVID as a justification to add, quote, unquote, emergency subsidies.
But even they wanted them to end after five years, and they did that without a single Republican vote. So what I say to my constituents is, it is a terrible situation. We have to fix it, but we can't bankrupt the company -- the country continuing to subsidize Barack Obama and the Democrats from failed idea of Obamacare.
MICHAELSON: So what does your solution look like?
FINE: Well, I think we're going to -- there's a lot of solutions. Health care is a complicated issue, but one of the things we need to do in this country is bring back the idea of health insurance. See, Democrats basically made health insurance illegal. They said you had to buy a health care plan. You couldn't buy something where you say, you know what? I'll take care of myself, but if I get hit by a bus or if I get cancer, that's where I need people to help me out.
They basically banned that through Obamacare. And so that is the fundamental issue that has made the system so broken over time. We need to take a look at everything. And Democrats didn't want us to do that. They kept the government closed, preventing us to have it from having an open and honest and transparent conversation about what was wrong with Obamacare.
They demanded we jam through a trillion dollars in borrowed subsidies in the middle of the night. We stood up to them. We won. And now we can have a real discussion about how we fix health care in this country.
MICHAELSON: Republicans can reopen the government without any Democratic support. You can do this on a party line vote if you keep everybody together. Do you have the votes to do that?
FINE: Well, let me be clear. I want to be clear. We couldn't do that in the Senate.
MICHAELSON: Right.
FINE: We had to get eight Democrats to vote with us. In the House --
MICHAELSON: In the House you can.
FINE: -- we can. In the House we can. That's correct. I don't know. I'm not whipping the vote. I'm the newest Republican member of Congress. All I know is I'm planning to vote for it and I'm hopeful that all my colleagues will as well.
MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, you're also in the news today for comments you made about Tucker Carlson. There's been a big fight in the Republican Party over Tucker Carlson's recent interview with Nick Fuentes, who is a white nationalist who has expressed antisemitic views for years now.
What do you feel about Tucker Carlson and have you heard from him since you've made these comments?
FINE: Well, I have. Look, I said a week ago, Tucker Carlson is the most dangerous antisemite in America. Democrats allowed antisemitism to take root in their party over the last several decades. I'm determined to not let that happen in my own.
Tucker has been burning up our phone lines, frankly, over the last week, begging me to come onto his show. It's something I don't know that I'm inclined to do and let him make money off of it. But you know, we're figuring out how to handle it.
The issue we need to deal with is Tucker and his fellow groipers and their antisemitism we can't afford to let what happened to the Democratic Party happen in the Republican Party too.
MICHAELSON: Well, if you want a neutral place to do it, I'd be happy to host you guys here on The Story Is. But grateful that you came on with us to share your views. Congressman Randy Fine of Florida, thank you so much.
FINE: Thanks for having me. Anytime.
MICHAELSON: U.S. air travel remains a mess right now because of the shutdown. Massive delays were recorded across the country on Monday, some of the highest in Chicago where arrivals were delay on average by about five hours. But those delays might increase as the FAA will further reduce operations this week.
President Trump is trying to incentivize air traffic controllers, saying he will push for a $10,000 bonus to those who don't take time off during the shutdown. And the Director of the U.S. National Economic Council says he's confident things will level out by Thanksgiving.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN HASSETT, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL DIRECTOR: And so now that the government looks like it's going to open. I have high confidence that by the Thanksgiving weekend that Secretary Duffy is going to be able to get it almost back to normal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So even if that happens, the head of the air traffic controllers union says employees mandated to work through the shutdown are not going to forget this experience.
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NICK DANIELS, PRESIDENT, U.S. NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSOCIATION: Now history will remember who is responsible for the shutdown. The public and media will debate who won. But we all know who carried the weight of it and who has to pick up the pieces when it finally ends. It's us, the federal workforce that has been the rope in this game of tug of war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Joining me now from the Seattle Tacoma International Airport is Samantha Lomibao, a reporter with CNN affiliate KIRO 7 News in Seattle. Samantha, thanks for joining us. What's it like there.
SAMANTHA LOMIBAO, REPORTER, KIRO 7 NEWS: Elex, I would like to say that it's actually moving pretty smoothly here at SEA. The airport wasn't super busy, but that could be just because of all the cancellations and the delays and people that are just truly planning ahead.
We did speak with a couple that came in actually early to the airport four hours to be exact because they just didn't want to take any chances. They were scared that their flight could be cut, could be delayed and they wanted to be prepared. They're actually heading out for a family vacation.
When they said that their own family can't make it to where they're meeting because they just canceled it altogether so they don't have to deal with any of it. So very frustrating. As you can imagine, a lot of people are just fed up with what's going on.
Some other people say that hey, they've planned ahead for it. One man we talked to was delayed of only about 30 minutes. So, some good news and some bad news. But yes, here at SEA we saw about 200 delays and about 50 cancellations. Now we don't know what's weather related or not, but that's definitely not usual here.
MICHAELSON: Were most people sort of expecting something like this, coming to the airport knowing it was going to be like this or what was sort of the general reaction?
LOMIBAO: People were pretty much expecting it. They've been watching the news. Every time we asked them how do you feel about the government shutdown, they were all pretty up to speed on exactly what was going on.
So like I said, people either just came here to SEA early or we even talked to some people that bought the travel insurance just in case because they don't know exactly what's going to happen. Like I mentioned, those people that came in four hours early, that's just to see if they could rebook the flight in case there were any kind of last minute cancellations. But it seems like it wasn't too busy. Maybe people are getting those
notifications ahead of time from their airline saying that their flight has been canceled.
So, maybe they are prepping ahead but like you said, it's only expected to get worse throughout the week with those cuts going up to 6 percent. So really only time will tell, but it seems like travelers are pretty prepared, but they're fed up and they are not happy, especially with Thanksgiving just two and a half weeks away.
MICHAELSON: Yes, let's hope it's going to better next week. It seems like it might be. Samantha, thank you so much for reporting for us tonight. Really appreciate it.
That Senate vote to end the government shutdown does not bring immediate relief for tens of millions of hungry Americans whose food stamps are cut off right now.
On Monday, Trump administration continued its fight to keep from paying those SNAP benefits during the shutdown, arguing before the Supreme Court that complying with last week's federal court order to fund the program would actually jeopardize shutdown negotiations.
Meanwhile, another federal judge lambasted the White House for sending what she called threatening letters to states which began processing SNAP benefits amid the chaos. The uncertainty is taking its toll on those who depend on the program to feed their families.
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JEANNE NIHART, SNAP BENEFITS RECIPIENT: When I logged into the app and saw that my SNAP benefits were distributed, I cried in relief. But the very next day I found out the news that the administration is trying to reverse those SNAP benefits that were distributed. So even after getting my SNAP, I still don't feel relief.
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MICHAELSON: The story is the weather. A live look right now from Atlanta, another airport. Right now it's about freezing, 32 degrees or so there. Even saw some almost snow flurries in Atlanta earlier today. All this because of a powerful arctic blast which is slamming much of the US. It's bringing dangerous lake effect snow to the Great Lakes record breaking cold across the east. More than a foot of snow has buried parts of Michigan, Indiana and the Chicago area knocking out power snarling traffic. CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam has more.
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DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: So many of us experienced our first snowflakes of the season from Michigan to Ohio, Indiana, even as far south as North Georgia. A few snowflakes reported in the northern Atlanta suburbs. This was of course Chicago or the greater Chicago area as heavy lake effect snow bands set up overnight thanks to an arctic blast of air allowing for that chance of snow to slide south.
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We have 1 to 3 inches of snowfall in the spine of the Appalachians favoring those higher elevation peaks. But it's really about the cold Arctic outbreak that is over settling across the Southeast. This is some of the coldest air this early in the season in decades for this region, potentially toppling dozens of records overnight. That's a hard freeze in Atlanta.
And by the way, high temperatures will actually be colder than the average low temperature for this time of year. Fortunately, it's a short lived cold snap and will start to rebound with our temperatures through the rest of the week and as we see temperatures warming into the 70s for the ATL by Friday and Saturday.
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MICHAELSON: Derek, thank you very much. For the first time in history, the White House welcomes a president of Syria. Still to come, the latest on Monday's meeting in the Oval Office. Plus, Warren Buffett has penned his final letter to shareholders as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
Still ahead, what he plans to do with his vast fortune after stepping down from his position.
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MICHAELSON: At least 10 people are dead, dozens more badly injured after a car explosion in Delhi, India, happened Monday near a Metro station at the historic Red Fort monument. Delhi's police commissioner says just before the explosion, a slow moving vehicle came to a stop near a red light.
The blast happened in that vehicle, but the cause is still unknown. Authorities haven't said whether it was done deliberately, but they're exploring all possibilities and investigating this under India's antiterrorism laws. Airports, railway stations and government buildings across India are now on high alert.
The president of Syria is now the country's first head of state to ever visit the White House. Monday's meeting with President Trump comes as Ahmed al-Sharaa looks to reverse his country's isolation on the world stage. CNN's Alayna Treene has the latest on the historic visit.
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ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITEH HOUSE REPORTER: In what was frankly a remarkable moment on Monday, President Donald Trump welcomed Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa to the White House. And this was the first time that a Syrian head of state had ever visited the White House in history.
Now it comes after al-Sharaa had previously led an Al-Qaeda backed rebel group to oust and overthrow the Assad regime, which had ruled for nearly half a century. He then appointed himself president in January and President Donald Trump had some kind words and complimentary words really for the Syrian president following their meeting. Listen.
TRUMP: he's a very strong leader. He comes from a very tough place and he's a tough guy. I like him. I get along with him, the president, the new president in Syria, and we'll do everything we can to make Syria successful because that's part of the Middle East now.
TREENE: The president used similar rhetoric when talking about the Syrian president during their first meeting. They actually met back in May when President Donald Trump was in the Middle East. They had tea while they were in Saudi Arabia.
And look, this is quite remarkable and also a once unthinkable meeting because previously al-Sharaa had been associated with Al-Qaeda, but he also had a $10 million bounty on his head as a jihadist. And so a very big moment in time for these two leaders and for the Trump administration's part, they really seek Syria and ensuring that they have more economic stability moving forward as a key part of their plans for a longer term Middle East peace deal, whereas Syria was really looking for a couple of things.
One, the easing of more sanctions. We should note that the president had previously lifted sanctions on Syria, but they decided to lift those sanctions for another 180 days. But also Syria wanted to show essentially that they are reversing that position of Syria's previous isolationism.
And I think Monday's visit to the White House, of course, accomplishment -- accomplishes that goal. And so as we look forward, we'll have to see what this relationship could look like and whether the easing of more sanctions, something Syria desperately wants, is still on the table. Alayna Treene, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Alayna, thank you. The U.S. Supreme Court will not take up a case that could have threatened same sex marriage. On Monday, the justices denied an appeal from former Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis. She now faces hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
It's a huge relief to LGBTQ advocates who feared that the conservative court might be willing to revisit the decade old decision to recognize a constitutional right to same sex marriage.
President Trump has asked the Supreme Court to review the E. Jean Carroll sex abuse and defamation verdict. In 2023, a jury found him liable for sexually abusing Carroll and defaming her by denying her story. Jury ordered Trump to pay $5 million. Trump has denied all wrongdoing.
It's unclear if the court will actually take up the case, but it likely won't be the last time the justices are asked to review litigation involving Carroll.
A top ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee says Ghislaine Maxwell is getting preferential treatment in prison. Maxwell was convicted of carrying out a sex trafficking ring with Jeffrey Epstein. MJ Lee brings us the details.
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MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell is hoping to reverse her fortunes with help from President Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you consider a pardon or a commutation for Ghislaine Maxwell?
TRUMP: It's something I haven't thought about. I'm allowed to do it.
LEE (voice-over): Trump, when asked, has repeatedly not ruled out the possibility of leniency for the late Jeffrey Epstein's notorious right hand woman. According to a whistleblower who was making new allegations, Maxwell is currently working on filing an application for a commutation.
[01:25:05]
REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD: She's basically being treated like an honored guest at a Trump hotel rather than a federal prisoner.
LEE: Congressman Jamie Raskin, the House Judiciary Committee's top Democrat, says the whistleblower also claims that Maxwell is receiving preferential treatment at the prison camp in Bryan, Texas, where she's currently serving out her 20-year sentence.
The favorable concierge style treatment is said to include private meetings with visitors, including snacks and refreshments for her guests. Maxwell's guests being allowed to bring in computers during their visits, and the camp's warden personally helping to send emails on Maxwell's behalf. Maxwell's lawyer and the Justice Department did not comment.
TODD BLANCHE, U.S. DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: Did you ever observe President Trump receive a massage?
GHISLAINE MAXWELL, CONVICTED CHILD SEX OFFENDER: Never.
LEE (voice-over): These new revelations coming less than four months after Trump's deputy Attorney General and former personal lawyer Todd Blanche met in person with Maxwell at her prison in Florida.
MAXWELL: I never witnessed the president in any inappropriate setting in any way. In the times that I was with him he was a gentleman in all respects.
LEE (voice-over): During the course of two days of interviews, Maxwell telling Blanche that she had never seen Trump behave inappropriately. Trump, who was friends with Epstein decades ago, has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein.
DAVID OSCAR MARKUS, ATTORNEY FOR GHISLAINE MAXWELL: Ghislaine answered every single question asked of her over the last day and a half. Ms. Maxwell would welcome any relief.
LEE (voice-over): Just days after Blanche's unusual July meeting with Maxwell, the convicted felon was transferred out of a low security federal prison in Tallahassee to a minimum security facility in Texas. The move drew the ire of critics, Democrats and Epstein survivors alike.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were horrified to learn that she had been transferred to a prison camp.
ANOUSKA DE GEORGIOU, EPSTEIN ABUSE SURVIVOR: It's one of my worst nightmares that she not only be transferred, but at the possibility that's very much going around that she might be pardoned.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: That was MJ Lee reporting. The world's biggest climate summit is happening right now in Brazil. Scientists, politicians and diplomats are gathered at COP30 to talk about ways to minimize a worsening environmental crisis.
Not in attendance. Trump administration which chose not to send a high level delegation this year. But California Governor Gavin Newsom is there saying he wanted to highlight climate action as one of the greatest opportunities of the 21st century, especially for California.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D) CALIFORNIA: We're running the fourth largest economy in the world, 67 percent, 2/3 clean energy in nine out of 10 days in 2025. Nine out of 10 days so far this year at 100 percent clean energy for part of the day. I don't know that there's another jurisdiction in the world that can lay claim to that.
And I make this point because if I was here a few years ago, we were the sixth largest economy in the world. Now we're the fourth. If I was here six years ago, we were the third state in America in terms of the total number of Fortune 500 companies. Now we're number one. We're proving the paradigm, the genius of and not the tyranny of or this is part of our economic strategy. It's an economic imperative.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Brazil tomorrow. Meanwhile, a British Muslim journalist is set to be released and allowed to return to the U.K. after spending weeks in U.S. federal immigration custody. London based journalist and commentator Sami Hamdi was detained by ICE last month while visiting the U.S. on a speaking tour.
Authorities told Hamdi he had overstayed his visa, but his supporters say his visa was revoked without prior notice because of Hamdi's public criticism of Israel's actions in the Palestinian territories. Warren Buffett says he's going quiet. Sort of. The famed investor has
released his last letter to shareholders as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway before he plans to step down as head of the company later this year.
In the letter, Buffett details how he will give away his fortune to philanthropy. He also says he will stop writing his traditional letter to shareholders in Berkshire Hathaway's annual report. Instead, he'll write a yearly Thanksgiving message.
Company vice chairman Greg Abel is tapped to be Buffett's successor.
Still to come, deciding the merit of music with AI generated creations filling the internet and now seeping into the Billboard charts, is it time to reassess our standards or double down on traditional art? How do we regulate all this? Our guest breaks it down. Next.
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[01:34:36]
(MUSIC)
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: So Xania Monet is storming up the Billboard Music Charts. According to the publication, the singer has hit number three on the Hot Gospel Chart and number 20 on the Hot R&B Chart. But she's not a real person. She's an A.I. amalgamation made to mimic singers like Keyshia Cole and K. Michelle.
Billboard says she's in good company, too, with at least six A.I. or A.I.-assisted artists who have charted so far.
Production tricks like Autotune and other tools have long allowed producers to fine tune singers who may not be the next Mariah Carey. But does A.I. infiltrating the music charts signal the coming of a time when human singers eventually lose out to A.I.-created idols?
Let's discuss it with music writer Bob Lefsetz, author of the Lefsetz Letter", legendary music journalist. Thanks for coming on THE STORY IS, for the first time.
What do you make of this A.I. artist?
(CROSSTALKING)
BOB LEFSETZ, AUTHOR OF THE LEFSETZ LETTER": Ok. You have to understand music business hates change. We lived through this 25 years ago with Napster. People complained in the music business, both in the music business and people outside with ticketing, et cetera.
So they are fearful of A.I. Talking to Don (INAUDIBLE), the producer about it, and he talked about the LinnDrum machine, which was the first one that came out. He got number three and he said, well, who had number one? It was Prince.
He played with it for a minute, didn't understand it. Then he heard Prince's "When Doves Cry" from "Purple Rain". He goes, oh, "it's a tool". A.I. is a tool. Well, people have to understand there is no copyright in A.I. ok.
Now there are a number of issues. The first issue, and this is not only with music, is scraping (ph), learning about -- learning these things cannot create music by themselves. They have to ingest.
MICHAELSON: Right now. Right now, they can't.
LEFSETZ: No, I don't -- well, if you look at how A.I. works, they train on whether it be news, music, whatever. That's how they do it. They can't do it in the abstract.
So they've been doing it with impunity. Do they -- some have settled. So the first issue is whether they should pay for the scrape.
Second issue is the result.
MICHAELSON: And when you say scrape, what do you mean?
LEFSETZ: That means that they literally list, they -- songs are now all digital and they put those digits on their hard drives and they use A.I., they send out a signal and they bring it back. They put the pieces together.
So they have all these songs so they can put together new songs.
MICHAELSON: Right.
LEFSETZ: Ok. But what you have to understand is it cannot create something new.
There was a band a couple of months ago called Velvet Sundown, a rock band. And it was quite good. They said it was real. Eventually the people who created it came out and said it was bad.
We are not living in a great era of music right now, so therefore, if you want to imitate, if you're an imitator of what's going on, you're in trouble.
But A.I. can never do something creative from scratch. And if you talk to the people in A.I. that -- we're not even close to that if it ever comes.
So when we have this story about this act, the first thing you do is look at the streaming numbers. Streaming numbers are about 3 million. That's not insignificant. There's no money in 3 million. But they don't leave -- the average -- most people can't get anywhere near that, ok.
MICHAELSON: Right.
LEFSETZ: So there is something going on, but it is a press story. People are glomming on to this. Young people do not listen to terrestrial radio. That's a manipulated chart in Billboard.
Everybody likes to talk about this. I remember when Aerosmith put out the first mp3 on the web, ok. It's kind of like, you know, there was -- it's kind of like U2 playing the sphere first. It happens first.
Does it have any meaning today? No, it just gets everybody talking. It's a sexy story, but it is not affecting what's going on.
Having said that, you can make a quite good imitation of the Beach Boys and the Beatles, but it can't create something new that you haven't heard before.
MICHAELSON: Yes, I mean, some of those are pretty interesting, though --
LEFSETZ: Right.
MICHAELSON: -- in terms of the music.
Speaking of the old music, which is as good as it gets, which is Michael Jackson, let's play a little "Thriller".
(MUSIC)
MICHAELSON: So "Thriller", making history. I guess you just dumped on the Billboard Charts, but -- they just announced that Michael Jackson is the first artist in the Billboard Top 100 to hit Top 10 in 6 different decades.
[01:39:46]
MICHAELSON: That song just charted again, probably during Halloween, and now he's charted from 1970s through the 2020s.
LEFSETZ: Listen --
MICHAELSON: Thoughts about that?
LEFSETZ: "Thriller" is a great song. That's an incredible album, "Off the Wall" before was an incredible album.
But the business is statistic crazy. Every week with Taylor Swift that comes out, she broke some record. It's almost like when you watch baseball. They said, how many were, you know, how many doubles were hit at 8:00 p.m. in November on the 16th of November. This baseball season is over.
It means nothing. It is a successful track. Just to go on, different charts are built different ways. Ok, if you want to know an accurate play, you go on Spotify, the numbers are available to everybody. You go on YouTube, ok.
The Billboard Chart is for the industry. It's a manipulated number, physical, which people buy vinyl as souvenirs, is weighted more than streams, but everybody's -- look, people buy physical, they don't even listen to it.
So "Thriller" is big. They play it at Halloween. They play the monster mash.
MICHAELSON: Sure.
LEFSETZ: He's got enough money.
MICHAELSON: Yes he does. And he's not even alive to enjoy it. But God knows his estate certainly does.
Thank you very much for coming in.
LEFSETZ: Good to talk to you.
MICHAELSON: Fun conversation. We appreciate it.
We thank you for watching THE STORY IS. Here on CNN International -- our international audience -- WORLDSPORT is next. For our CNN domestic audience, I'll be right back with more news right here on THE STORY IS.
[01:41:20]
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MICHAELSON: "Predator Badlands" has set a box office record for the franchise, according to "Variety", gathering $40 million in ticket sales on opening weekend in U.S. theaters, and another $40 million globally.
It led the domestic box office over less energetic performers, including "Christie". The boxing biopic starring Sydney Sweeney that made only $1.3 million in its debut. Big disappointment there.
These viral photos taken after the Louvre jewelry heist in Paris, have had people on social media playing detective. Who was that mysterious, dapper man in the fedora?
A lot of theories have been tossed around, including that he was a modern-day Sherlock Holmes on the hunt for thieves.
CNN's Saskya Vandoorne take on the case.
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SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN PARIS BUREAU CHIEF: We tracked down the mystery man from that viral AP photo taken as police sealed the Louvre after the jewel heist.
And he's not a detective, but a stylish 15-year-old school boy, Pedro Garzon Delvaux, who lives with his family outside Paris.
PEDRO GARZON DELVAUX, TEEN IN VIRAL PHOTO: I'm just a student who is 15 years old and like to dress classic.
VANDOORNE: Do you wear Fedora kind of every day?
DELVAUX: I save it for the weekend. I like to read like historic books, like maybe the movies, the old movies, because, like, the men are dressing like that, and I kind of like it. VANDOORNE: And how do your friends at school react to the way you dress? Do they appreciate your dapper style?
DELVAUX: Yes. Yes, they think I have a lot of aura.
VANDOORNE: I would second that.
VANDOORNE: So, who shaped his style? Not a streaming star, but a French resistance icon, Jean Moulin.
DELVAUX: I love that type of angle when you don't see all the face, but you see just a part of the face.
VANDOORNE: The waistcoat is Yves Saint Laurent, the jacket is Hackett. Much of it borrowed or inherited, including a vintage watch with a Cold War back story.
DELVAUX: I do the knot of the tie very fast, like this. Put the three things too.
VANDOORNE: There is one question that a lot of people would like to ask you, which is, do you know where the jewels are?
DELVAUX: Well, I don't know, but I know that we found some suspects.
VANDOORNE: You're not working the case?
DELVAUX: No, I'm not.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every day we would go down to the basement. He would have the ironing board set up and the tablecloth ready to go. And we would have regular masses. And he knew all the prayers. He could do it in Latin or in English.
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MICHAELSON: About the life of Robert Francis Prevost before he became pope. It's called "LEO FROM CHICAGO". It centers on the personal history of Pope Leo XIV and his roots in the U.S.
The documentary uses footage and images to tell his story, along with in-depth interviews, including with Leo's brothers, Louis and John Prevost.
The film's published in three languages English, Italian and Spanish on the Vatican News YouTube channel.
Still to come here on THE STORY IS the MLB is implementing new safeguards around bets on pitches thrown. We'll explain the new restrictions in the league's gambling crackdown right after this.
[01:48:41] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: Major League Baseball is rolling out new gambling safeguards just one day after two MLB pitchers were indicted for allegedly ribbing (ph) sports bets.
Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz have been accused of rigging pitches while playing.
New measures announced Monday will restrict amounts wagered on prop bets that track individual pitching stats, like a ball or strike, or pitcher's velocity. Parlaying each pitch results during a game is now banned, as well.
The MLB cracks down on large-scale betting schemes. Ortiz and Clase face multiple charges tied to wire fraud, bribery and money laundering.
Speaking with CNN's Erica Hill, famed sportscaster Bob Costas explained why targeting prop bets specifically is so critical.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB COSTAS, CNN COMMENTATOR: The essence of this is prop bets, whether it's in the NBA, the NFL or MLB, because it's so much easier to do. You don't have to throw the game.
These guys could easily rationalize, ok, I'm going to throw ball one, and the guys I'm in cahoots with -- whether I'm profiting and maybe they were or I'm just trying to help out a friend in an ill-considered way -- I'll throw a ball one. I'll come back and get the guy out.
It's not going to have any effect on the game. I'm not throwing the game. Prop bets are really where the danger lies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The New York Giants have parted ways with head coach Brian Daboll. Daboll's firing following Sunday's 24-20 loss to the Chicago Bears. That defeat put New York at two wins, eight losses its first ten games of the season.
Longtime NFL coach enjoyed a promising start, being named Coach of the Year back in 2022. But in a statement, the team called the past few seasons, quote, "nothing short of disappointing".
[01:54:48]
MICHAELSON: Rob Gronkowski is going back to where it all began. This week, the famed NFL tight end will sign a one-day contract with New England so he can retire as a Patriot for life.
Gronk played nine seasons with the team, helping them win three Super Bowl titles. He later won a fourth with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Gronk says retiring as a Patriot fulfills the wish of a close friend who died of cancer earlier this month.
Arctic weather in the U.S. made for a chilly Monday night football at Green Bays' Lambeau Field, already known as the frozen tundra, where the Philadelphia Eagles edged the Packers 10 to 7.
Look at this. In the third, Jalen Hurts to Devonta Smith for the touchdown right there. Green Bay scored late but they could not complete the comeback.
Here you see their touchdown -- didn't really make a difference though. They lose 10 to 7. Philadelphia's win makes it three in a row for them keeping them on top of the NFC East.
And this match between Ottawa and Calgary had to be stopped repeatedly so the lines could be cleared by a snow blower. We're talking soccer here.
The goalkeepers use a shovel to dig out the boxes. Despite the snow, Ottawa's David Rodriguez scored with what you would call a "icicle kick" there.
The 23-year-old from Mexico also scored the winner in extra time. Probably didn't have a lot of experience in Mexico playing in conditions like that.
Thanks so much for joining us here on THE STORY IS tonight. The news continues with Polo Sandoval after the break.
I'm enjoying it in 68-degree weather here in Los Angeles. Have a great night.
[01:56:29]
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