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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Trump Signs Bill To Release All Epstein Files; Trump Dines With Saudi Crown Prince, Business Leaders; Trump Admin. Ramps Up ICE Operations Around The Country; Sean Combs Facing New Sexual Battery Claims in L.A.; Iran Open to Resuming Nuclear Talks with U.S.; Nvidia Reports Strong Earnings Amid Fears of A.I. Bubble; Netflix Set to Debut Final Season of "Stranger Things". Aired 1-2a ET

Aired November 20, 2025 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:03]

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: A volcanic eruption in Indonesia sent thick clouds of hot ash soaring into the air and prompting evacuations in the area. Semeru is the highest peak on the island of Java, the most densely populated island in all of Indonesia. Spectacular video there.

Thanks for watching this hour of The Story Is. The next hour of The Story Is starts right now.

The Story Is, transparency. President Trump signs the bill to release the Epstein files, but there's a major loophole. CNN's Evan Perez with us after speaking with Attorney General Pam Bondi. Plus, new reaction from the hosts of Pod Save America, my exclusive sit down with Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor.

The Story Is, immigration. New protests in North Carolina and details about the possible next raids in New Orleans. With us live in studio, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Gustavo Arellano.

The Story Is, a new Diddy investigation. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister joins me to break down allegations that could result in new criminal charges.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles, The Story Is with Elex Michelson.

MICHAELSON: And welcome to The Story Is. I'm Elex Michelson, live in Los Angeles. In Washington, President Trump signing a bill directing the U.S. Justice Department to release all the files related to convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. He shared that news late tonight on social media, calling the move a push for transparency.

That law orders the Justice Department to release all files within 30 days, but some lawmakers are concerned the administration may find a way to block it. Here's what they said to CNN's Manu Raju.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. ERIC SCHMITT (R-MO): I've been saying for a long time that I think that all the credible information that can be released should be released. And so that's where we're at.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): At the end of the day, it'll all come out because those investigators will be concluded at some point. And then the present leadership of the Department of Justice will be held accountable if it fails to disclose what needs to be revealed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi says the administration is committed to following the law.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What changed since then that you launched this investigation?

PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Information that has come -- information, there's information that new information, additional information. And again, we will continue to follow the law to investigate any leads. If there are any victims, we encourage all victims to come forward and we will continue to provide maximum transparency under the law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: CNN's senior justice correspondent, Evan Perez, joins me now from Washington. Evan, you were in the room with the Attorney General Pam Bondi, during her briefing on all this. What did she have to say? What was that like?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: You could feel the whiplash that was going around inside the Justice Department, because keep in mind, you know, they've been going through this certainly since the beginning of -- since the beginning of the administration -- administration, when they promised transparency, they were going to release the files. And Bondi did this event at the White House where she was presenting these binders, supposedly with documents, but it turned out that most of the documents had already been made public.

And that backlash is what has fueled what we've had over the last few months. And so just in recent -- just in the last few days, the President ordered Pam Bondi to do a new investigation. She complied. She ordered a new investigation being done by the Southern District of New York, prosecutors there. And then two days later, he decides that he's going to tell Republicans to vote for the bill, which is sort of in conflict with what he had just ordered the Justice Department to do.

And so whiplash is the word, I think, that is happening that describes what's happening at the Justice Department. And certainly for the attorney general, who has largely done everything the President wants her to do, you know, she was sort of sort of like had the rug pulled out from under her today as the President basically made what happened, you know, today happen.

MICHAELSON: And at that time, when she came out with the binders and all the rest of it, there were a lot of folks on the right that were calling for Pam Bondi to be fired because of the Epstein case. And now she's still in that job. And now we have this next step. So what do we expect to actually see? What do we think these files actually look like?

PEREZ: Well, OK. So there's a lot of data that -- there's like terabytes of data that the Justice Department have -- has in their possession. And so a lot of it will never see the light of day, right? There's a -- there's a -- there's videos and other material that depicts some of the abuse that -- that Epstein, you know, had conducted against some of the victims, right, some of the survivors. And that will never come out because it is protected under federal law. You cannot re-victimize these victims.

[01:05:09]

What is in play, however, is a lot of the communications with people who are not accused of wrongdoing, but who perhaps continued to -- to -- to -- to associate it with Jeffrey Epstein even after his Florida conviction. And a lot of those communications, you saw some of that stuff coming out in recent days that was turned over by the -- by the Epstein estate to the committee. The Democrats put that out earlier in the week. And it's things like that that you're going to see a lot of.

And -- and I think that is one of the -- one of the concerns of the Justice Department has been there is also a federal law that protects the privacy of people. Again, if you're not accused of wrongdoing, the government is not supposed to release that stuff. And so that's one of the reasons why in July, the department issued that memo that said -- that said, we're not going to -- there's nothing to see here and we're not going to release anymore.

And so what this law does that was signed by the President, it allows the Justice Department to essentially disregard that part of the law. And -- and so that's what I expect is going to happen. The question now, Elex, is when that is going to happen.

MICHAELSON: Right. Evan Perez, who's been on this story for months and months, our senior justice correspondent in Washington, thanks so much for being with us for the first time here on The Story Is.

I talked about Epstein and more today at the Crooked Media headquarters with the hosts of Pod Save America, one of the most popular podcasts in the country. Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor are Obama administration veterans now with millions of viewers and listeners every week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: We see this big vote, obviously both parties voting for this after Donald Trump knew he was going to lose and then told people to vote for it. Is this an inflection point, do you think? Do you feel like this is a -- is a moment where the Republican Party is starting to move or is this just a one day sort of event?

JON LOVETT, HOST, "POD SAVE AMERICA": I think it's a pretty big deal that Trump felt like he had to come out and say that he was OK with people voting for it because he knew he was going to lose a lot of people because what he's doing doesn't really make sense, right. Because he's saying, I support you voting for a law to force me to do something I don't need a law to do, which gives away the game, which is his bullying just didn't seem to work.

And people were pretty mad that he was going after Thomas Massie's personal life and trying to buttonhole Lauren Boebert and going after MTG, Marjorie Taylor Greene. And, you know, Trump's been bullying people in a pretty similar way for a long time. I don't think it's has the force it once did.

MICHAELSON: Do you think it changes things? Do you feel like Republicans are going to feel empowered or?

JON FAVREAU, HOST, "POD SAVE AMERICA": Jon do you think you're starting to see the possibility that Republicans may realize that Trump could drag them down in the midterms and that after the midterms, he really will be a lame duck and they're going to have to be on the ballot again and, you know, 30 by themselves and there won't be any Donald Trump. And so, you know, that calculation may figure into their -- into their political decisions over the next coming months in here.

MICHAELSON: Although it seems, Tommy, every time we've thought that that was going to happen, people go the other direction.

TOMMY VIETOR, HOST, "POD SAVE AMERICA": Yes, yes. We January 6th felt like an inflection point, too. And, you know, here we are. I look, I do think it matters that a bunch of Republicans decided to tell him no on something that was clearly very important to him, the release of these obscene files. I would also just note that, like, Trump has some tough political sledding ahead of him. I mean, the economy is not really getting better.

Inflation's not going away. There is this looming problem of these ACA tax credits expiring and people seeing their health care premiums go up 75, 100 percent. So like there's a lot of things he's going to need to work with Congress to get done that he's kind of flailing at at, the moment that might drop, get his approval rating down further into the 30s.

MICHAELSON: Should Democrats be concerned about some of this Epstein stuff, too? I mean, we see Larry Summers having to step back at Harvard. Obviously, he was an advisor to Obama and to -- to Clinton and others. I mean, that they could get caught up in this, too.

FAVREAU: I think if you did something to get caught up in it, then it should be out there. Like Republicans feel like they're playing this like gotcha game with Democrats. But most of the Democrats I know and most of the Democrats I've seen speak about this are saying, you know, we want all the information out there. And if it damages someone because they did something embarrassing or worse, then so be it. Like if we want transparency, it's got to be transparency across the spectrum.

MICHAELSON: In terms of foreign policy, it's an interesting moment right now. President Trump hinting that there may be a deal with Russia and Ukraine. If he pulls that off, does he deserve some credit if he got that deal done and got a deal done in Gaza?

VIETOR: If he can get a peace deal that both sides agree to, he definitely gets some credit. The reporting I have seen about this deal is it sounds like something that Trump and his team have cooked up exclusively with the Russians that they want to then force on the Ukrainian side.

[01:10:08]

It's a lot like Putin's wish list going into the Alaska summit, where basically the Ukrainians give away 20 percent of their territory. They agree to make Russian an official language. They agree to downgrade their military substantially, both in terms of size and the types of weapons they can have. So it basically sets Ukraine up to be a sitting duck going forward.

And the broader context here is, as we're debating this, you know, plan that they rolled out today, over in Poland, the Poles are accusing the Russians of blowing up a railway line that was being used to resupply the Ukrainian military. So, as Trump is trying to cut this deal that gives Putin everything he wants, the Russians are not only, like, bombing Ukraine every single night, but they're also going after NATO allies. So, I don't think it's a done deal yet.

MICHAELSON: Yes. And meanwhile, Jon, we -- we see the President dining with the Saudi crown prince. And I don't like to use the word oligarchy, but this certainly felt like the oligarchy, with every major business leader, the richest people in America all there.

LOVETT: We have a lot of low moments of the presidency with -- with Trump. It was a low moment to have the red carpet rolled out for Putin and then have an authoritarian receive no questions from a Democratic press, basically have Donald Trump run cover for a Russian dictator. And then you have a very reasonable and tough question, an earned question, at MBS about Jamal Khashoggi, and Trump intercedes to say some despicable, morally depraved equivocating on a murder by a state that we've ever seen in the Oval Office to kind of run cover for this guy.

MICHAELSON: That the CIA says he knew and would help direct.

LOVETT: He did. MBS --

MICHAELSON: He signed against the CIA.

LOVETT: He sits there with his hands in his lap looking down while Trump protects him, like -- like he's there to run -- cover. I don't know if we're on CNN. All right, copy that.

MICHAELSON: Yes, cable. Go for it. Yes.

LOVETT: Trump says it. And it's a one or two day story. In any other era, it would be like a signal moment in that administration, and it's like abandonment of American values. But yes, he has a relationship with the Saudis that is both financial and ego, and he puts that above the basic Democratic values, human values, American priorities, and we see that all the time, including when you have a collection of billionaires and wealthy backers all in one room back slapping with the Saudis.

VIETOR: Remember in 2018, he came to the U.S. for three weeks, and he was treated like a king everywhere. In Hollywood, in Silicon Valley, in Washington, he went up to MIT and Harvard. A few months later, he authorized or ordered the execution of Jamal Khashoggi, this journalist who they butchered literally in the consulate in Istanbul. For about a year, maybe two years, the business community backed off a bit.

You know, they had this conference called the Davos in the Desert Conference in Saudi Arabia. Businesses sent their tier two guy. Now they're fully back. And frankly, I blame the Biden administration for that because Joe Biden, when he needed oil prices to go down, went over to Saudi Arabia, gave MBS the fist bump.

MICHAELSON: Yes, we're not going to shake your hand, but we're going to fist bump.

VIETOR: We're going to do one of these as if that makes it any better. In fact, it looked way, way worse. But then Donald Trump, he just doesn't care. I think the story that I read that mattered most to me this week in terms of understanding the U.S.-Saudi relationship was one of the Financial Times on Monday about a new resort the Trump organization is planning with the Saudis -- the Saudi-linked businesses in the Maldives, where they're creating an 80-unit luxury resort -- resort that is somehow based on the blockchain. You can buy fractal shares. It's the most nonsensical marketing crap ever.

LOVETT: You get a little gorilla. You get one of those digital gorillas that everybody's got. That are awesome. Yes. That I love.

VIETOR: And so Trump, you know, Trump was running interference for MBS because he just knows MBS can make him a lot of money. And that's why all those business leaders were there, too.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: The team from Pod Save America, we'll have more with them tomorrow night, talking about Barack Obama, the future of podcasting and more. But now to the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration, which is ramping up in North Carolina. The Department of Homeland Security says more than 250 people have been arrested in Charlotte since the weekend.

The immigration raids have sparked days of protests throughout that state. Democratic leaders there have denounced the raids and criticized federal agents' tactics, saying that they're not promoting safety. As CNN's Gustavo Valdes reports, the raids have left many communities living in fear.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The end of day at some Charlotte area schools is a bit different this week. Fewer vehicles are in line because many parents and guardians are afraid to send their children to school.

EMILIA MORENO, GRANDSON MISSED SCHOOL (through translator): Yesterday morning, I was walking to drop off my grandson in school, and I saw immigration arriving.

[01:15:05]

VALDES (voice-over): Part of Operation Charlotte's Web that has resulted in over 250 arrests this week.

VALDES: What have you been doing this week?

MORENO (through translator): Taking risks, running to cross the street, looking around and fearing every car has agents.

VALDES (voice-over): Others, like Mario, are afraid to leave their house. He agrees to talk to us through the window and doesn't want to show his face.

He says he hasn't left home since Friday. He lives near his daughter's school so they can walk to class. He says the girls get scared when they see so many classmates missing, so they try to reassure them that everything is going to be OK soon. The fear runs so deep that even our presence is questioned by neighbors like Marilyn Gomez.

MARILYN GOMEZ, VOLUNTEER: We're keeping an eye out on activity, on any vehicles that may look like they may be harmful for our community.

VALDES (voice-over): And helping families who need a ride to get their kids to school or assistance buying groceries. Many in the city have taken to the streets with daily protests. That is where we found Jamie Roldan, who is a teacher.

JAMIE ROLDAN, SCHOOL TEACHER: Students showed up with fear, asking questions about what is going to happen if I go home and my parents aren't there.

VALDES (voice-over): She says the only thing she can do is reassure them that people are fighting on their behalf.

ROLDAN: I tell them that I'm going to fight. If someone comes to my door, I'm fighting. You're not coming in my classroom and taking any of my kids.

VALDES (voice-over): For now, all they can do is be patient and hope that Operation Charlotte's Web ends soon. Mario says he is willing to wait a month behind closed doors. But even if his daughters can continue their education, he is afraid for his job and a way to support his family.

Gustavo Valdes, CNN, Charlotte.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: From one Gustavo to another. Gustavo Arellano is a columnist for the L.A. Times, a winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Gustavo, welcome to The Story Is for the first time.

GUSTAVO ARELLANO, COLUMNIST, LOS ANGELES TIMES: Gracias for having me. Congrats. Like Ronnie Hawkins told the band in The Last Waltz, big time.

MICHAELSON: Well, it's big time because you're here. So thank you very much. We've been talking for so many years and it's cool to have you here on CNN. Immigration is something you've been covering literally for decades. One of your latest columns for the L.A. Times is about car washes here in Southern California, which have been targeted by federal immigration agents.

What did -- and here's the headline, car wash workers already had it tough. Then immigration raids slammed them to the ground. What'd you learn by visiting car washes?

ARELLANO: Just how the Trump administration really goes for the easiest people they could go. They're bragging. Oh, we're taking down Tren de Aragua. We're taking down MS-13. No, they're going after men who devote their time to make wheels shiny. They have gotten at least 380 people in Southern California alone.

There's a car wash industry that represents like 3 percent of all the people there. They're going after men in their 50s and their 60s. People who have families, been 20, 30 years. It's absolutely terrible. And so there's groups, so they're protecting them to make sure that at least try to get them out of, you know, get bail or whatever, at least take care of their families.

MICHAELSON: Of course, the counter to that is, if you're in this country illegally, you could be removed from this country at any time. And they feel like that's a crime in itself, being in this country illegally. Why should you be able to cut the line?

ARELLANO: Because my dad cut the line. He came to this country in the trunk of a Chevy. But again, Trump, the Trump administration, they campaigned on this idea. We are going to get the worst of the worst. That was their own words. They keep saying that. When you put the stuff out on like on Instagram, on, you know, on the social media, they're saying this guy was a child molester. This guy's a rapist.

That's what they're trying to do. But stats have shown what like 70 percent of the people that they are detaining haven't even been convicted of any crime. Have no criminal charges outside of them being in this country without papers. MICHAELSON: And it's interesting here in -- in Southern California, so many people that are Latino are also Catholics, the biggest archdiocese in the country here in Southern California. We -- you wrote about the fact that the Catholic Church puts foot down on Trump's mass deportation policy, which is a start. It's interesting that the Pope, the first ever American Pope, now speaking out against the Trump administration immigration policy.

ARELLANO: I mean, look, the Bible keeps saying, be nice to the stranger. Welcome to Sojourner. Again and again, the Bible says so much about treating the stranger with respect, with dignity. What did Jesus say? The least among that, you know, the least among us, that's me in them. I'm -- I'm forgetting my Bible right now, but that basically is what he said like you have to take care of people.

And so this idea, when you have then people like J.D. Vance, who's also a Catholic, converted to Catholicism, saying, well, actually, we have to quote St. Augustine and the city of God. And we have to go to that big fat thing that the Catholic Church, look, I can't remember the book right now. No, go to Jesus. Jesus is pretty straightforward. The Pope, Pope Leo is pretty straightforward. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, that's why they put out their thing. And they're saying, we -- we're not opposed to security at the border.

[01:20:16]

We're not even supposed necessarily to deportations. But you cannot have these indiscriminate raids that just sow terror, whether it's in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte. That is not just doing, that's doing nothing to make this country safer.

MICHAELSON: Yes, and it's often said that L.A. is the nation's coming attractions. And we sort of have seen that with a lot of these raids starting here several months back. Now expanding to other parts of the country. We see now in North Carolina, it's about to happen in New Orleans. You visited Chicago when this was happening there. What are you seeing on the ground in terms of other places in the country?

ARELLANO: You're seeing people definitely like my Tocayo, Gustavo, in the previous segment showed. People are scared, but you're also seeing people saying, no, I'm not going to deal with this. I'm going to fight back legally. So in Chicago, I was with activists in Little Village.

That's his -- they call it the -- the heart of the Mexican Midwest, right there, 26th Street. That's their big avenue. And it was completely empty, except for people blowing on their whistles, honking, running up and down the street saying, La Migra, La Migra, because Bovino and his people were there.

That was a day, I think, when a judge said that what he and his people have done, Greg Bovino being with the Border Patrol, that it shocks the conscience.

MICHAELSON: Do you think, though, that the fear and the shock may be the point, that they really want people to self-deport, and that making people scared may get them to just leave the country on their own, which is a lot cheaper and a lot easier for them, and that maybe this is working, that the images for them are helpful?

ARELLANO: Oh, sure. No, the cruelty is the point. The terror is the point. And is that really a United States where we want to live in, where we terrorize the people who live in this country? We've always been the imperial power. We terrorize actual bad people. We terrorize the commies. We terrorize the fascists, the Nazis. And now you're turning inward to terrorize people.

That's not the America that I was brought up to believe in. And if that's what Trump America is, well, you know what? I'm going to push back.

MICHAELSON: We saw a lot of Latinos supporting President Trump in the last election. You think that -- that may be going the other direction?

ARELLANO: I've been writing about the Latino Trump vote since 2016, when Democrats are telling me it's not going to happen. And a lot of Latinos, 48 percent, most ever for a Republican, voted for Trump. But I've been talking to people, and they told me, again, what we said at the very beginning, Trump said he was going to get the worst of the worst.

When you go after the streetcar, the paletero, the frutero, that's not the worst of the worst. When you're going after Mexicans, Salvadorans who have been in this country 20, 30 years, and have family members who are in college, that's not the worst of the worst. So yes, now the -- the polls, you know, the polls against, for Trump, by Latinos, it's going downhill faster than make up your metaphor.

MICHAELSON: OK. Gustavo, great to have you here. Thanks so much for coming in. We appreciate it. You can check out Gustavo's work at the LA Times or at latimes.com.

[01:23:07]

All right, coming now, already serving years in prison, Sean "Diddy" Combs could be facing new legal troubles. We're talking about criminal charges, potentially. Why authorities in California are launching their own investigation into the rap mogul. Could Nathan Hochman be charging Sean "Diddy" Combs? That's next on The Story Is.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: Sean Diddy Combs is behind bars in New York, New Jersey right now, but he is facing a new investigation into claims of sexual battery here in California. The allegations come from a male accuser who previously filed a civil suit against Combs, claiming the rapper masturbated in front of him and made the man perform oral sex on him while they were working together.

It's not yet clear if the investigation will lead to new charges against Combs, who's already serving more than four years in federal prison for a prostitution-related conviction. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister is the expert on all things Diddy. She joins us now on set. Elizabeth, you've been covering for a long time now all of these civil cases against Diddy, which potentially could cost him money. This could be a criminal case, which could mean more jail time.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and that's really the difference with this. You know, Elex, as you said, there are so many civil suits that are pending against Diddy, roughly 70 civil accusers have filed suits against him, all of which he denies, by the way. Now, this accuser, his name is Jonathan Hay, he is one of those civil accusers. He filed a suit back in July.

But what makes this difference is this has now risen to the level of a criminal investigation. This week, we confirmed with the L.A. Sheriff's Department that they are investigating these allegations. At this point, we don't know the scope of the investigation. Of course, we don't know if it will result in charges, but that is the potential here, that it could result in criminal charges. And of course, if that happens, that could lead to another trial and potentially more time in prison.

MICHAELSON: But we do know that at least they find him credible enough to ask more questions and to open up a formal investigation, not to just dismiss this out of hand. So what is the basic charge here? What is this basic case? Because it's laid out in these court documents.

[01:29:45]

WAGMEISTER: It is. So it's laid out in the civil suit which again was filed in July of 2025 and also in the police report which we have obtained at CNN. Jonathan Hay alleges that both in 2020 and in 2021 that he was assaulted by Sean Combs. He is a music producer and he was actually working on a remix of Biggie. Of course, Biggie was very close to Sean Combs and was, you know, one of his first, you know, really what gave rise to Sean Combs as a music producer himself.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Right.

WAGMEISTER: So this accuser was working on a remix along with Biggie's son, CJ Wallace. He says that when he was working on that project in 2020, that Sean Combs was present and that Sean Combs masturbated in front of him. Then he says that a year later in 2021, that Sean Combs actually forced him to perform oral sex on him.

So these are very serious, disturbing allegations. Again, they are just allegations.

MICHAELSON: Right.

WAGMEISTER: But to your point, the L.A. Sheriff's Department is investigating them. I do want to read you, though. I reached out to Diddy's team. They are denying this.

(CROSSTALKING)

WAGMEISTER: Now, I want to read you the statement, but I do want to note they are not commenting on the specific allegations, nor are they commenting on the investigation.

But they say, quote, "As Mr. Combs' legal team has repeatedly stated for over a year now, he cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a media circus.

Let me make it absolutely clear, Mr. Combs categorically denies as false and defamatory all claims that he sexually abused anyone. He looks forward to vindicating himself in court where such matters are decided and not in the media, based on admissible material evidence, not rank speculation and unsubstantiated allegations."

That comes from his civil attorney, Jonathan Davis. But again, I do want to point out that's really a blanket denial. It's not talking about Jonathan's specific allegations.

(CROSSTALKING)

MICHAELSON: Specific -- he said, he's not getting into the weeds of that.

WAGMEISTER: No.

MICHAELSON: So it'll be interesting to see if we hear more from this accuser in the days ahead.

But in the meantime, how long is Diddy supposed to be behind bars for?

WAGMEISTER: Well, look, right now, he's incarcerated serving a four- plus year sentence in New Jersey for his federal conviction.

We spoke a few weeks ago, Elex, about how Diddy is appealing that conviction. So his team, his defense team is working hard to appeal his federal conviction, for which he's currently behind bars. And now this could spell out more criminal trouble for Diddy.

MICHAELSON: Interesting.

Elizabeth, thank you so much. Appreciate your reporting.

We'll be back with more of THE STORY IS right after this.

[01:32:36]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: A Pentagon delegation is expected to meet Ukraine's president in Kyiv in the coming hours. U.S. officials have already met Ukrainian military leaders on Wednesday, as the White House is reportedly pushing a new peace plan, its details still unclear.

U.S. peace efforts have appeared to run out of steam in recent months, but negotiators picked up this week after -- negotiations picked up this week after Moscow signaled it is open to a deal.

A senior Ukrainian lawmaker called the new proposal ludicrous and said it aims to make Ukraine surrender. Meanwhile, Ukraine is reeling from the latest barrage of Russian

strikes which killed at least 25 people in this city on the western side of the country.

Emergency services say dozens of others were injured in strikes that also hit targets across Ukraine, Poland and Romania, scrambled fighter jets during the attacks, while Romania said one of the Russian drones crossed into its airspace on its way to its target.

It seems the ball is in the Trump administrations court when it comes to renewing possible nuclear talks with Iran. Adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader speaking exclusively with CNN, has said that Tehran is willing to resume negotiations but that Washington has to make the first move and accept that Iran will continue to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.

Our Fred Pleitgen is in Tehran with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Five months after the 12-day Israel-Iran war, and after the U.S. struck Iranian nuclear sites, Iran says it's willing to talk to the Trump administration, but only on Tehran's terms, a senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader tells me in an exclusive interview.

Would you be willing to talk again if they made a move, or would you be willing to contact them again?

KARNAL KHARRAZI, SENIOR POLICY ADVISER, IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER: It all depends, if it would be based on mutual respect and equal footing.

PLEITGEN: Meeting with Saudi Arabia's crown prince at the White House on Tuesday, President Trump says he thinks Iran wants an agreement with him.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They'd like very much to make a deal with us, and they call us, and we'll end up probably doing that. That's Iran.

PLEITGEN: Tehran believes their powerful ballistic missiles forced the U.S. and Israel into a ceasefire in June, and any talks with the U.S. would be limited to its nuclear program, the Iranians insisting they will continue uranium enrichment.

[01:39:52]

KHARRAZI: There are ways and means how to ensure that Iran can continue its enrichment, but at the same time, assure the others that it's not going to look for a nuclear weapon.

PLEITGEN: So, Iran is going to continue to expand its ballistic missile program? Because I know that some of the ballistic missiles are very sophisticated.

KHARRAZI: No question about that. And it is only a nuclear issue that we are ready to engage with the United States and others. We are not going to speak with others or negotiate with others on the other issues, including missile activities.

PLEITGEN: On Tehran's streets, anger towards the U.S., but also some hope that maybe diplomatic movement is possible.

"In the end, there has to be reconciliation," this man says. "There is no way but friendship."

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: The BBC has apologized to Catherine, Princess of Wales, for blundering her name during its recent Armistice Day coverage. Network repeatedly referred to the royal by her maiden name, Kate Middleton, sparking complaints from viewers.

In a statement, the BBC acknowledged the errors and said she was correctly titled throughout the rest of the day's coverage.

This follows last week's apology from the BBC to Donald Trump for editing mishap in a documentary over which the president has threatened to sue potentially for $1 billion.

You are watching THE STORY IS with me, Elex Michaelson. Hopefully we didn't make too many mistakes, and hopefully nobody sues us for $1 billion.

For our international viewers, WORLDSPORT is next; for our viewers here in North America, I'll be back with more news. Stay with us.

And we go to break with a look outside our window here in Burbank. That is Warner Brothers Studios, that famous water tower.

Look over the horizon, Universal Studios. We're in the heart of Hollywood here.

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MICHAELSON: You're looking at the latest -- well this is not images from another solar system.

Now we're looking at images from another solar system. This is an interstellar comet. Only the third one ever to be observed.

NASA pivoted a variety of space probes and missions to capture the rare sight, but the images were only released now because of the government shutdown.

The comet is racing through our solar system. It will be closest to the earth on December 19th. After that, it will begin to leave the solar system. And once it does return, it likely will never come back. Nvidia posted strong revenue and profits Wednesday, beating Wall

Street expectations. This may have led to a sigh of relief amid concerns of a potential artificial intelligence bubble.

But as CNN's Anna Cooban reports, there are other factors in play.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS REPORTER: So the question of whether we're in an A.I. bubble and is it going to pop, is a difficult one. We don't yet know. But there are a few indications that might help us answer this question.

So take a look here. You've got capex spending by four of the big hitters. You've got Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta. Now capex is just a fancy way of saying companies spending money on physical stuff.

And a lot of this physical stuff at the moment are data centers that are really powering this A.I. boom.

And you can see here that by 2030, these four companies alone, they're expected to have a capex that is up to around $600 billion.

And we have an estimate from the International Energy Agency that this year, it's expected that total global spending on data centers will supersede that of the amount spent on the global oil supply. So that gives you a sense of how much money is going into this.

And then this chart here. I mean, look at this -- look at this mess. This is just an enmeshed web of companies investing in each other, billions of dollars with the promise of other companies buying their technology.

Now, what's worrying investors is that it's all a little bit cozy. You know, you can imagine one quarter, one company has very bad results or disappointing results. Investors head for the exit, not only with that company, but other companies, too, because their financial fates are seen to be quite tied together.

And then here we've got the S&P 500 price-to-earnings ratio. Now a high p to e sometimes can be an indication that a stock is overvalued. Not always.

But I'm going to take you all the way back to the late 90s. The dot- com bubble which did then burst, it then popped. We are now approaching the levels we saw around that period of history. It doesn't mean we're in a bubble. It doesn't mean it's going to pop. But yet again, it's another indication that's worrying investors, especially when you consider that a really big chunk of the S&P 500, its value is made up of tech companies that are spending big on A.I.

And then lastly, you've got Nvidia, one of the darlings of the A.I. world, hit a $5 trillion market cap just a few weeks ago. Its stock has fallen around 12 percent since then.

And we've seen big investors, Peter Thiels' hedge fund, Softbank in Japan say that they've dumped all of their Nvidia stock.

Now for different reasons, it doesn't mean that they don't think the company is valuable or that it's going to do well. But it is an indication that they aren't seeing that their best results, their best growth is going to come from this company.

Again, another crack in the picture that up until this point for A.I. has been nothing but positive and rosy, and that is making people worried and asking the question, are we in a bubble and is it going to pop?

Anna Cooban, CNN -- London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Big questions, Anna. Thank you.

Lainey Wilson pulls double duty as both host and award winner at the Country Music Awards. More on her standout night when we come back.

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MICHAELSON: Ella Langley and Riley Green's "You Look Like You Love Me" swept three categories at this year's Country Music Awards in Nashville, taking home prizes for Single of the Year, Song of the Year, and Music Video of the Year.

Hosting the ceremony was Lainey Wilson, who also won big, sweeping the categories of Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, and Album of the Year with her LP "Whirlwind".

Well, it all began with a group of kids on an adventure. Nine years later, "Stranger Things" is about to come to an end.

Rick Damigella tells us what we can expect from the final season of the Netflix hit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're really starting to lose it. Being stuck in here, no end in sight.

RICK DAMIGELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The end Is in sight for "Stranger Things" as the streaming series comes to a close.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We find Vecna. We end this once and for all. Together.

DAMIGELLA: Pop culture expert Victor Lucas expects big things from the last episodes.

[01:54:44]

VICTOR LUCAS, POP CULTURE EXPERT: It's the final season so we're going to see a lot of resolution with these stories that have sort of been threaded all the way along.

We're going to see whether, you know, the love that exists between characters is going to be continuing on.

We're going to see if we're going to lose any of the characters that we have loved along the way. We've already lost some that we have loved along the way. Rest in peace, Eddie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After what we've been through.

LUCAS: They're going up against Vecna, the evil entity that we really got to know in Season four. And it looks like the military is going to be playing a huge part in some of the action. Linda Hamilton is joining the cast from "The Terminator" movies.

And so I think everything's going to get ratcheted up a little bit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And ties us together.

LUCAS: It feels like a real event, and arguably one of the biggest events that Netflix has ever been able to put together.

DAMIGELLA: In Hollywood, I'm Rick Damigella.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: And the final episode is going to be in movie theaters.

Pope Leo has received a gift from his hometown of Chicago, a four-pack of beer from a local brewery delivered by the governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker.

The American mild ale is named The Pope, paying tribute to the pontiff and a play on the "Saturday Night Live" sketch about the city's football team, the Bears -- the Bears, the Bears, the Bears, the Bears. No word yet from the Vatican on whether the Pope will give the beer a try.

Thanks for watching. Tomorrow here on THE STORY IS, more of the hosts of "Pod Save America", an amazing invention using A.I., and our movie critic Grae Drake reviews the new "Wicked" movie. Is it actually good?

See you tomorrow.

[01:56:29]

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