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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Marjorie Taylor Greene Quitting Congress Amid Feud With Trump; Trump Says It Was A Great Honor To Meet Mamdani; G20 Summit To Get Underway Amid Debate Over Ukraine; Reports: Lakers Fire Joey And Jesse Buss From Front Office; Mason And Liffmann Break Down The NBA Season; Black Celebrity Publicist On Importance Of Building Networks; "My Publicist Is Black" Founder on Why Representation Matters; First Issue of "Superman" sells For Record $9M. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired November 22, 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: And we begin this hour with breaking news. I'm Elex Michaelson, live in Los Angeles. The Story Is in Georgia and in Washington, where Republican Representative, Marjorie Taylor Greene says she is stepping down from Congress in January, coming just days after her public fallout with President, Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Loyalty should be a two way street, and we should be able to vote our conscience. America first should mean America first, and only Americans first. Standing up for American women who were raped at 14-years-old, trafficked, and used by rich powerful men should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the President of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: So Greene and Trump were about as staunch allies as it gets, but their relationship soured mainly at the time of the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Last week, President Trump rescinded his endorsement called her a traitor. In her statement, Greene said she did not want to be in a nasty primary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREENE: I love my family way too much, and I do not want my sweet district to have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the President that we all fought for. Only to fight and win my election, while Republicans will likely lose the midterms, and in turn, be expected to defend the President against impeachment, after he hatefully dumped tens of millions of dollars against me and tried to destroy me. It's all so absurd and completely unserious. I refuse to be a battered wife. Hoping it all goes away and gets better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: A source says Greene contemplated resigning for days as threats against her escalated. President Trump had dismissed her concerns about her life was in danger. This was earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Marjorie Taylor Greene. I don't think her life is in danger. I don't think, frankly, I don't think anybody cares about her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Now compare those comments about a one-time ally to the reception President Trump gave to a political opponent. This happened just today. President gushing about his meeting with New York City Mayor, Zohran Mamdani called the whole thing a great honor, and said it was okay for Mamdani to refer to him as a fascist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you affirming that you think President Trump is a fascist?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI, NEW YORK MAYOR-ELECT: I've spoken about--

TRUMP: That's okay. You can just say it.

MAMDANI: Okay sir. Okay.

TRUMP: It's easier than explaining it. I don't mind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: So their meeting comes after months of attacks against Mamdani, who President Trump has repeatedly called a communist. Today, President Trump says they could work together on crime, housing, the cost of living in New York. You see them in front of the FDR portrait there. They spent more than half an hour meeting before reporters got in the room.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think he's different. All right. I think he's different, and that could be in a very positive way, but I think he's different than your typical guy runs, wins, becomes Mayor maybe, and nothing exciting, because he has a chance to really do something great for New York. We're going to help him, but I really think he has a chance to do a great job. I'll be cheering for him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Didn't mention anything about America or?

TRUMP: I think he is going to surprise some conservative people, actually, and some very liberal people. I met with a very, I met with a man who's a very rational person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Okay, there's a lot to unpack in all of this. So joining me now is Charlie Dent, a former Republican Congressman from Pennsylvania and Political Analyst Michael Genovese, a professor at Loyola Marymount University here in Los Angeles. Welcome to you both.

Charlie Dent, let's start with you as somebody who understands the Republican Party. And let's start with the Marjorie Taylor Greene aspect of this calling herself a battered wife. What's going on with her?

CHARLIE DENT, FORMER UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE: Well, the political path is littered with the carcasses of people who have discovered that loyalty is a one way street with Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene is the latest. She pledged her loyalty and her unconditional support to the President. She feels that support was unreciprocated.

It was clear that she was contemplating running for statewide office in Georgia and the White House and the President certainly discouraged that. So she was hurt by that. She's also hurt by the fact that she stood up for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, and was punished for that. Also was supportive of extending the Obamacare, the ACA health care premium subsidies. So she's been stung by that.

And so it just seems to me that she's been, she feels like she has been slighted.

[01:05:00]

She has gone through a political epiphany. It seems to this evolution to someone quite different, and I think she would even admit, she did admit that she was part of the blame for this toxic political discourse that we have in this country that she's contributed to it. And I think she has deep regrets, and so she's moving on, I guess.

And now I've always felt that, I'm all for forgiveness and redemption, but it's kind of hard to forget some of the things she said, particularly on the conspiratorial side of Jewish space laser she talked about those and did the plane hit the Pentagon on 911 and other incendiary comments. So she's evolving, and I think that's a good thing, but it's hard to forget all the things that she's done and said.

MICHAELSON: Michael Genovese, one of the things that she did was wear a hat to President Biden's State of the Union that said Trump was right about everything. And now she clearly doesn't feel that way. Were you surprised by this sort of sudden announcement?

MICHAEL GENOVESE, POLITICAL ANALYST: In a way, yes, because she has been a political provocateur for Donald Trump and for the MAGA movement. She was the celebrity star of the MAGA movement. She was the poster child for it. Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene were so close for so long on so many issues. He was her political hero. She idolized him. And now there's the big split. And there are two reasons, two words that describe the split, and the two words are Jeffrey Epstein.

Marjorie Taylor Greene sided with the victims and against Donald Trump and in favor of releasing the Epstein documents. And that led to political troubles, and it led to other troubles here. Her life has been threatened numerous times now. Her political life has been threatened. Donald Trump called her a traitor and threatened to primary her. I don't think she's out. I think she'll be back. She's still fairly young 51 and I'm just wondering when her Fox News program starts.

MICHAELSON: Question is though, Charlie, will the MAGA base get behind her? I mean, you understand what this is like personally, what it's like to go against President Trump. Every person who's gone against him has lost with the MAGA base. Where do you see her future?

GENOVESE: Well, it's clear that she -- it's clear to me that she's angling for maybe for some run for higher office, but she might be a little on a little bit of an island right now. I think she's going to have a hard time capturing or stealing the MAGA base away from Donald Trump. As long as Donald Trump is in the game, he's going to control that base not Marjorie Taylor Greene. So I'm not sure exactly what her political play is, other than the fact that she's -- she clearly is, I'm sure she's very hurt.

I mean, this is a woman who pledged her unconditional support to the President and wasn't reciprocated, and she's upset, she doesn't feel the President has been true to the MAGA movement in America First and all that. And she, I guess she thinks she can be the -- a better standard bearer, but that's not going to happen as long as Donald Trump is on the stage. So we'll see where this goes. But maybe she's planning for a future, a political future after Donald Trump exits the stage.

MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, Michael, it's interesting, because maybe a month or two ago, you wouldn't have been able to say that Zohran Mamdani would get better treatment in the Oval Office than Marjorie Taylor Greene, but that is the world that we're living in now. These two boys from Queens, very, very chummy. Do you think that's a political win for both of them, that they get to look big and bipartisan. Do you think it's a trap for Mamdani? How do you see that whole thing?

GENOVESE: I think we live in an Alice in Wonderland world, where up is down and down is up. What you see, I think, is that both people, Trump and Mamdani, they need each other. Trump, because he needs to maintain relevance and centrality in a party that's losing some of its support for the President, and Mamdani needs New York to get money from Donald Trump federal funds. And so there's a strange bedfellows involved here. They need each other. They can help each other, but it was a shock because they went from Trump calling Mamdani a communist, Mamdani calling Trump a fascist, and then all of a sudden, there's a great love in the Woodstock moment where there's a Kumbaya between them. And it was, it was sort of shocking to the system, that odd couple in the Oval Office making words of love.

MICHAELSON: I mean, when you think about this, Charlie, and you talk to constituents, does some of this make it obvious, or make it feel like all of this is just pretend performative BS, that we don't actually believe anything that we're saying. And then at the end of the day, this is all a performance, and we're all sort of part of the same elite club. Is there some danger in that?

[01:10:00]

DENT: Well, we are all dealing with whiplash right now. And I do think that there is a performative element to all of this without question. I mean, what we saw today in the Oval Office was, this was good Donald. I've seen the President. He can be, he can be very charming what he wants to be, and then in the next moment, he can be a real bully and very unreasonable. So we've kind of seen both sides. So I do think this is entirely performative. I don't think this little bromance is going to last too long. That was -- that that display today was for the cameras to show they could all get along Kumbaya. But they are going to be at loggers heads fairly soon. So don't expect this to last too long.

But, yeah, there. But I think this also speaks to a certain cynicism. These two are calling each other names throughout the campaign. I mean, pretty vicious names. I mean, these weren't just political disagreements. They are -- one's a communist, one's a fascist, and other sorts of comments to that effect. And they also sweep it aside in the name of governance. I get that that we have to all come together, but boy, after some of the words that were said, it's certainly causes a lot of people to be cynical.

MICHAELSON: But Charlie, if you're sort of a Mayor or a Governor or you need federal money. I mean, is this sort of a path forward? Is this a guide that maybe this is the best way to deal with him, and you say something nice and you kind of get what you want?

DENT: Well, I do think Mamdani was right to go to the White House, right to meet with the President, and he does need Washington's cooperation on any number of issues, so I think he was right to go down there and make his case and be civil, which he was. And obviously, I think he helped himself with that press conference. Although, I'm sure a lot of his allies are also kind of befuddled by the whole situation too, these two men who are diametrically opposed to anything, almost seeming to be quite friendly. But, yeah, it's in the Mayor of New York's interest to have a very strong relationship with the President.

MICHAELSON: But is there some danger Michael maybe that that image, when this whole campaign was about who's more against Trump, and his whole thing was that Cuomo would be too buddy, buddy with Trump. That that image, if things don't go well in New York, could come back to haunt him.

GENOVESE: Well, politics does make strange bedfellows, and they need each other. Donald Trump needs Mamdani because he wants to remain relevant. He is soon will become a lame duck, and there's a short distance between being a lame duck and a dead duck. And so Donald Trump needs the star power. He needs the center of attention. He needs the center of gravity in the White House. And Mamdani, as Charlie was saying, he does need money. He'll need government help, tribal government help. There are a lot of things that they will need to work on.

And so in one way, there's a self-interest involved for both. But I think this loving will not last to too long. MICHAELSON: There's a short distance between a lame duck and a dead duck. That's the line of the night from Michael Genovese. Thank you for that. I will remember that both of you very well dressed for so late in the night as well joining us from across the country. Really appreciate this conversation. What a night in Alice in Wonderland, as you said in American politics.

Updating you now on some breaking news here in Southern California, where nearly 200 firefighters are working to put out a blaze on a cargo ship in the Port of Los Angeles. This is some video from a little bit earlier from our station, KABC. Officials say that crews are keeping an eye on hazardous material. According to the ship's manifest is on board, we've seen firefighting teams trying to cool the ship from the outside to help with those still on board fighting the blaze. The good news here, all the ship's crew members were taken to safety. They've been accounted for, so there's no injuries here. We know that this port is very important. 40% of all goods into the U.S. comes through the ports of LA and Long Beach, so any delay there is really important as well.

We want to take you now some live pictures from Johannesburg, South Africa, where world leaders are expected to talk about a plan for peace in Ukraine. We've got a live reporter there. We will head there when we come back.

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[01:15:00]

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MICHAELSON: New reaction coming in at this hour to the U.S. plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war. President Trump is giving Ukraine until Thursday to accept the plan, which appears to give Russia almost everything it wants. He suggested that Ukraine's President should say, yes, because he doesn't have much of a choice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He'll have to like it. And if he doesn't like it, then they should just keep fighting, I guess.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The suggestion that you made, though, was that if he doesn't accept it, that the U.S. would pull back its support for Ukraine?

TRUMP: Well, at some point he's going to have to accept something. He hasn't accepted. You remember, right in the Oval Office not so long ago, I said you don't have the cards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Proposal includes major territorial concessions to Moscow, which Ukraine dubbed its red line in the past. Mr. Zelenskyy is describing his options as being between a rock and a hard place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): This is one of the most difficult moments in our history. The pressure on Ukraine is now at its most intense. Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner, or 28 difficult points or an extremely harsh winter.

[01:20:00]

The most difficult and further risk are life without freedom, without dignity, without justice and believing someone who has already attacked us twice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Russian leader Vladimir Putin says the proposal could be a good starting point for a final peace settlement, but a former U.S. diplomat says the plan amounts to surrender by Kyiv.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIDGET BRINK, FORMER UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: I believe that this so called peace plan is really a capitulation by Ukraine, and it fulfills Putin's wish list. It essentially delivers Putin a clear strategic victory. It's unthinkable for Ukraine, and it is not in our national security interest.

BRETT MCGURK, ATTORNEY AND FORMER UNITED STATES NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL COORDINATOR FOR THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA: This is dangerous, and I think Zelenskyy is not going to take the deal. And I hope the Europeans here can come in with a counter offer. I think that's being -- that's actually what's being prepared now in those capitals. So I hope they can come in and get the President's attention, because this is too fast, too rushed, and not strategic at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Ukraine is expected to be a hot topic at the G20 Summit in Johannesburg. This is a live picture from there, where it's 8:20 a.m. in the morning right now. World leaders are gathering this hour. European leaders are expected to meet on the sidelines of the event to try to come up with their response to the U.S. peace proposal. For more we go to CNNs Larry Madowo, who joins us live from Johannesburg.

Thanks so much for being with us. Some European leaders who are there in South Africa had a call Friday evening with President Zelenskyy. What did they talk about?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. They're called the E3. So Germany, France, and the U.K., their leaders did have a call with President Zelenskyy, and the headline from that is that nothing for Ukraine without Ukraine. So that was just the opening in this negotiation. The Europeans have to come up with some kind of counter offer toward this 28 points plan set forward by the Trump administration. And so they're due to meet here on Saturday, on the sidelines of G20 because they're all here. They're all here in Africa this week later, going to Angola. And this is what the European Council President, European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen tweeted after she also had a call with Zelenskyy together with the European Commission President that's Antonio Costa. We have spoken to President Zelenskyy. From day one, Europe has stood with Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.

Ursula von der Leyen said, we have been working for a just and sustainable peace with Ukraine and for Ukraine, together with our friends and partners. Today, we have discussed the current situation, and we're clear that there should be nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.

As next steps European leaders will meet tomorrow at the meeting -- at the margins of the G20, then in Angola at the AU African Union meeting. So they have to -- they haven't just scramble to come forward with some kind of deal here, because as all the analysts are telling us here on CNN, this plan seems to give Russia everything it needs. Ukraine ceding territory, limiting the size of its army, and agreeing not to join NATO, as the European leaders have to find a way to make sure that Ukraine is not conceding everything and Russia is not conceding much in this peace plan put together, Elex by President Trump.

MICHAELSON: Yeah. I mean, it sounds loud. There's a lot going on. It's Saturday morning at 8:20 a.m. in the morning right now, as we talk, a lot of people are there. President Trump is not there. He's not coming to South Africa for the summit. The U.S. is boycotting it. How is everybody else there seeing that? What are they saying about President Trump?

MADOWO: President, Cyril Ramaphosa who is the Chair of the G20 actually handing over, supposed to hand over to the United States said that's his loss. There was some reporting President Ramaphosa himself said that the U.S. was appearing to come back to the G20 process and wanted to be involved. The U.S. pushed back on that and said, no, they only want to be involved tomorrow, Sunday, at the end of that for the handover to have a G20 presidency and the leaders declaration. And the South African presidency has said that President Trump will not hand over to the charge d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy here.

So essentially the acting ambassador in South Africa. But the rest of the world is here. The only big snob is the United States who is not sending a representative. Their flag is still here. That's the United States flag among all the other G20 members, all the European leaders are here. Leaders from the Arab world, from the Gulf, from the rest of the world are all here to talk about sustainability, inclusion, and equality. That's the main focus for South Africa here, and they still have to make this work and make it seem that it's not a major diplomatic disaster, that the U.S. that's supposed to be taking over the G20 presidency is not attending this on those claims of a white genocide, which South Africa says are not real and are based off of some very misinformed people within fringes of South Africa society, Elex. MICHAELSON: Well, we know it's a big event because Larry Madowo is there live for us in Johannesburg. Good morning to you. Thank you for the reporting, and great to have you on the story as for the very first time. We appreciate it.

[01:25:00]

Here's a look at some of the stories we're following from around the world. In Nigeria, new photos have been released of the dormitory where 215 students and 12 teachers were abducted by armed bandits from a private catholic school. That's the latest in a string of attacks across the region. In the UAE, an Indian made fighter jet crashed during an aerial maneuver during the Dubai Air Show. The pilot did not survive. The Indian Air Force says it's launching investigation into what happened.

And in Japan, a massive fire engulfing more than 170 buildings in killing one person. The country's largest fire in nearly 50 years. You're looking right now at before and after pictures. The blaze spread so aggressively that it even made its way onto a small island offshore. Officials say 175 residents were evacuated, the cause still under investigation.

You are watching. The Story Is for our international viewers. Quest's World Of Wonder is next for our viewers here in North America. I'll be right back with a sports panel lot to dig into, especially with the Lakers. Thanks so much for watching.

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[01:30:00]

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MICHAELSON: Welcome back to The Story Is, I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at today's top stories. World leaders are gathering right now for a G20 Summit in South Africa. On the sidelines, many of them are discussing a U.S. draft peace proposal for Russia's war on Ukraine. Kyiv is facing a Thursday deadline to accept it.

Georgia Republican Representative, Marjorie Taylor Greene says she will resign from Congress in January. In a statement, Greene says she wants to avoid a nasty primary. That news comes just days after President Trump pulled his endorsement and called her a traitor. And a surprisingly friendly meeting at the White House between New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President Trump. After months of attacking each other, they both made a point to emphasize their common ground, with Mamdani calling their talks productive.

Take you live right now to the Port of Los Angeles. These are images coming from our station KABC, Los Angeles nearly 200 firefighters are working to put out a blaze on a cargo ship. Officials say crews are keeping an eye on hazardous material, which according to the ship's manifest is on board. The good news is, looks like they've made some progress there. We still do see plenty of smoke. All the ship's crew members were taken to safety, so there's been no injuries reported. This was all started as an electrical fire according to the Mayor of Los Angeles. We have lots of different agencies on board, hundreds of firefighters in boats fighting this fire as we speak.

Let's have some fun and talk sports and a shake up in the NBA. According to reports, the LA Lakers have fired executives Joey and Jesse Buss from their front office positions. The two brothers had key roles in the scouting department for the past decade, helping to find players such as Austin Reaves. The firing is part of a reorganization under new ownership, because their family no longer the owner. Joining me now to discuss this and more is our sports panel. Steve Mason is co-host of the Mason and Ireland show on ESPN Radio, and Grant Liffmann is the NBA Insider and Courtside Reporter for the NBA on NBC. Welcome to you both. Great to see you.

STEVE MASON, CO-HOST MASON AND IRELAND SHOW, ESPN RADIO: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

GRANT LIFFMANN, NBA INSIDER AND COURTSIDE REPORTER NBC: Thank you.

MICHAELSON: So Grant, you were working in the front office with the Atlanta Hawks.

LIFFMANN: Yes.

MICHAELSON: Now you're back to broadcasting for NBC. So you've sort of seen both sides of this, how it works. What happened with the Lakers?

LIFFMANN: Well, first of all, thanks for having me, Elex. Great seeing you again. I don't know if you know this, but quite the basketball player.

MASON: That's what I hear.

MICHAELSON: We used to play together back in the day. That's the reason he's on the NBA. He's quite a jump shot.

LIFFMANN: Stop it. No, no, no. When it comes down to this, anytime an owner takes over an NBA team, there's a good chance that there's going to be some shakeups of some kind. It is just how it's always been. In this particular case, this is a very unique situation, right? Where it's a family that has really run this team for a long time, a new owner comes in takes over the team, and what's going to happen?

Well, they look at the front office and say, where are the issues? And the issues really stem from a disconnect that has been happening between the Buss brothers and that scouting department and the General Manager, Rob Pelinka and his group. Jeanie Buss obviously oversees all of it, but really there is a disconnect between those two groups. And when a new owner comes in, what are they going to say? It's like, how can I clean this up a little bit? And that first place was there.

MICHAELSON: So Dr. Jerry Buss owned the team for many years. After he died, there was sort of a fight between the siblings and who was going to be in control. Jeanie Buss got to be in control. She's still technically the Governor, even though, she doesn't own the team anymore. MASON: Right.

MICHAELSON: She's staying, but her brothers are out, and her brothers voted against this deal, right?

MASON: That's why they're out, right? They voted against the deal. I mean, it's funny, they came out and said, we haven't talked to anybody in the organization for five months. Well, if you go back and you look at the calendar, that's about the time that the deal went through. And the brothers, the two brothers, Joey and Jesse voted against the deal, so it does make sense that they would be on the outs. And of course, Jeanie Buss is still the Governor, and Mark Walter would be the alternate Governor, the new owner, and he's got a vision for where he thinks his organization is going to go.

MICHAELSON: So Mark Walter, for people may recognize that name is the principal owner of the Dodgers, who just won the World Series for the second year in a row, and Andrew Friedman, who's helped to run baseball operations for the Dodgers is apparently now going to have a role with the Lakers. What's going on?

LIFFMANN: Yeah, well, I mean, they're bringing in the brain trust of the Dodgers.

[01:35:00]

It's a really good place to start for how well they've done with them but they also brought in Farhan Zaidi, who is the Head of the San Francisco Giants for a little bit, and then return back to the Dodgers. So Friedman, Zaidi they're really going to go through this and kind of really analyze and look through and audit the whole department and see where there's some issues.

And let's be honest, the Lakers are a little bit more antiquated in the way they've done things for a long time now, and so maybe they're going to modernize the way that the front office built and maybe bring a little analytics back into the picture as well. So that's what they've been known for, right? Friedman and those guys so.

MICHAELSON: And as LA sports fans, the Dodger track record is pretty good --

MASON: It's not bad. Not bad.

MICHAELSON: -- pretty good for the Lakers maybe to have an infusion of billions.

MASON: Sitting here a couple of weeks ago talking about winning game six. Absolutely, this organization is absolute state of the art. The Dodgers obviously, back to back world champions. And the one thing that you can do in the NBA, there's a salary cap, so you can only spend so much. They're never going to get a Shohei Ohtani type deal with the Lakers. But what they can do is they can build out infrastructure, more scouts, more international scouting, more analysis guys, data analysts, that kind of stuff. I mean, I think what we're going to see is kind of a dodgerization of the Lakers. And by the way, that's a really good thing.

MICHAELSON: Good. That's a good thing. Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks organization seems to be going the opposite way. You've been doing some reporting for NBC on what's going on there. Is Anthony Davis about to be traded?

LIFFMANN: That is the big question right now. And then Mark Cuban came out and said, no, he's not going anywhere. I'll say this, if I'm the Dallas Maverick. So what I'm doing right now is I'm standing pat, and I'm surveying the landscape, right? I'm going to be taking calls. I will actually do my due diligence to find out what type of value Anthony Davis has. But you have to remember, NBA teams are looking at this guy who's already getting older. He's getting into his mid-30s. He's also under contract for a few more years at very expensive number and he's not healthy.

MICHAELSON: And he hasn't been for years.

LIFFMANN: He hasn't been for years. And also, there's reports, and if you watch him play, he looked a little out of shape as well. So teams are looking at this.

MICHAELSON: He looks fat.

LIFFMANN: I don't, yeah, I'm not going to go there.

MICHAELSON: In the picture he looks fat.

MASON: Yeah, yeah.

MICHAELSON: And Luka looks fat last year, and he gets to the Lakers, and all of a sudden he look fat.

MASON: Yeah.

LIFFMANN: Luka, showing off the new bodies working for him. So really, at the end of the day, teams aren't just lining up to be like, oh, I want to trade for the guy that's hurting and out of shape right now, right?

MASON: Yeah.

LIFFMANN: So they really need to show that he can get out there and be healthy. And everything we've heard is that the owner is going to make sure of that. He is going to get out there and he's going to healthy. Once they see that, and Kyrie is not too far off either, then they can actually determine what they're going to do. But, yes, will they do their due diligence? Yes, is there a trade imminent? I would be very surprised.

MICHAELSON: And if they're healthy and in great shape, Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving are unbelievable players, and pair that with Cooper Flagg, it'll be interesting to see what that looks like.

MASON: Yeah, I mean, there's nothing wrong with the Dallas Mavericks that couldn't be fixed with the time machine, because if you go back --

MICHAELSON: Said about the clippers too.

MASON: Exactly. I mean, the worst trade in professional sports, maybe in professional sports history, trading Luka Doncic to the Lakers in exchange for a guy who we know has been injured a lot in his time with the Lakers. And what are the Mavericks do now? They got to figure out a way to build around Cooper Flagg.

MICHAELSON: Not great when your nickname is Street Clothes.

MASON: That is true.

MICHAELSON: Anthony Davis that was called by Charles Barkley. Tweaking of getting older, Travis Kelce.

MASON: Why did you point at me when you say getting older?

MICHAELSON: Well, no, I'm talking about Travis Kelce, but you look great by the way.

MASON: Thank you. Thank you very much.

MICHAELSON: And Travis Kelce looks great.

MASON: Yes, he does.

MICHAELSON: He just he grabbed the hottest girl in the world, number one pop star, but his football performance doesn't look quite the way that it used to. Is this the end for him?

MASON: I think we're at the end of the road, I think for Kelce at this point. And Kansas City, I mean, I've had debates with people. I don't believe the dynasty is over, but there are some people that say this is it for the chiefs. They're five and five. They got the Colts on Sunday. Lose out of the playoffs. I don't know if that's the case. I think they win that game, but I do think you can start to see a window for Travis Kelce. And I think he's at the end of it.

MICHAELSON: He's at the end of it. You think he retires at the end of the year?

LIFFMANN: You know what? I don't know if he retires, because obviously he still can play a little bit. But as a San Francisco 49ers Fan, I will never count out the Kansas City Chiefs, because Mahomes has tormented my team for so long that I just, you know what? Until Mahomes retires, I don't know that team is never out of it.

MICHAELSON: Quick pick, the biggest game in college football this week is USC, Oregon. Who wins that?

MASON: Lay the points.

MICHAELSON: You're saying that Oregon probably wins, but not by Pac- 10.

MASON: Yeah, I like USC. They got a fighting chance. Oregon's favorite for a win.

MICHAELSON: What do you think?

LIFFMANN: Big Pac-10 guy here, right, is that still around Oregon Ducks.

MASON: Yeah.

MICHAELSON: Okay. That's okay. And lastly, what's it like working on the NBA on NBC?

LIFFMANN: It's awesome. We were actually talking about this earlier, and this NBC cares so much about making a good product, and they have done such a good job. And I've gotten chance to work with Derek Fisher, Grant Hill, Reggie Miller, Jamal Crawford in studio. We got T- Mac and Carmelo and Vince Carter. It's like -- it has been --

[01:40:00]

MICHAELSON: And the theme song.

LIFFMANN: -- and the theme songs back, and Maria Taylor and the whole group from Sunday Night Football is also doing, it's been so much fun, and I -- you haven't gotten a chance to watch it yet. I will just say it's like everything you would expect out of a production from NBC, and what they've done with Sunday Night Football is now part of basketball and maybe baseball soon too.

MASON: Yeah, baseball soon.

LIFFMANN: But --

MICHAELSON: Reviews have been amazing. Congratulations.

LIFFMANN: Thank you.

MICHAELSON: As a kid that grew up in that era. I mean, must be wild to be a part of that.

MASON: Round ball. Rockets back.

LIFFMANN: Yes, it is.

MICHAELSON: You can check out Steve as well on ESPN Radio. Great job. Love Mason and Ireland. Hope USC can do it tomorrow.

MASON: Yes, I do too.

MICHAELSON: Thank you both for coming in.

MASON: Thank you.

LIFFMANN: Congratulations.

MICHAELSON: Still to come amid cuts to DEI programs across the country. The Founder of the My Publicist is black organization is doubling down on diversity. He's live on set when we come back.

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MICHAELSON: What do 2 Chainz, Babyface, and Keyshia Cole all have in common? Well, they share the same publicist. His name is Ernest Dukes and his Nottingham Agency. He's not just a top public relations expert. He's also spent much of his career advocating for more opportunities for minorities working in entertainment.

[01:45:00]

Dukes made waves and connections several years ago, when he wore this jacket. Beyonce's publicist is black. The fashion moment helped inspire the creation along with the queen bee's publicist and others of my publicist is black a group for black PR executives and representatives, and he joins us live now on set right here on The Story Is, Ernest Dukes. Thanks for being here.

ERNEST DUKES, FOUNDER & CEO, NOTTINGHAM AGENCY: Thank you for having me.

MICHAELSON: Congratulations on your success and your story, which really is inspiring. At one point, you were a dishwasher at Hometown Buffet.

DUKES: Yes.

MICHAELSON: And now you're one of the top publicists in the world. How did you do it?

DUKES: Hard work and consistency. I started working when I was 13, as like sweeping hair in the barber shop, and so the dishwasher is like, probably a natural progression from that. I was in high school when I was a dishwasher, and I've had a million jobs, since then, but my passion has always been in public relations and communicating and branding.

MICHAELSON: And when we showed that photo of that moment, and when you wore this outfit. Beyonce's publicist is black. What was the purpose of that message, and how did that moment change your life?

DUKES: So that that -- actually I love, that you said changed my life, because I wasn't expecting it to be any like life altering moment. It was more so something that I wore in in defiance of narrative that is oftentimes pushed to black professionals, specifically those who are in the public relations industry where. So let me take it back a little bit. Oftentimes, you'll see an artist who makes it to a certain level within their career, and then they're kind of told that if you want to cross over and become mainstream, then you need to eliminate the team who a lot of times looks like you, and who have started with you to get a team that can help elevate you to another level.

And so I had taken a meeting with a client, and I thought the meeting went well. And during those days, I would cast a check before I got it, per se. And so I'm thinking the meeting went well, I'm waiting for the money. The money never comes. And so I'm like, what's happening? And they said, well, the client decided they wanted to go with a white publicist because they wanted to get white press.

And I said, and they thought that just because I was black, that I can only do black press. And I said, well, Beyonce's publicist is black, and she's been everywhere. And they said, well, no, she doesn't have a black publicist. Her publicist is white, I'm sure. And I said, no, she's a black Caribbean woman from Grenada, like she's black. She's been with her from the beginning of her career.

And so it just so happened that they were coming to Los Angeles for their On the Run II Tour. And I wore that jacket, never thinking I would meet her at all. And then, as I got there, I ran into her, and one from that moment on, we started to build this relationship. And from that, this organization, my publicist is black, kind of grew into effect. And so within that organization, it's myself, it's Yvette Noel-Schure, who is the publicist that we're speaking about who represents Beyonce and so many others. And there's also Vanessa Anderson and Phylicia Fant, Terrell Thomas and Erica Tucker.

MICHAELSON: And so we part of what that you do there is to try to lift people up to get young people involved, to send a message to people that you can do it. We have seen a lot of the DEI programs in recent years, be cut back after there was a big emphasis. What's your message to young people who are maybe interested in getting into this profession, and what's your message about the importance of representation?

DUKES: I think it's more than just encouraging people they can do it. I think it's sending a message to an industry that marginalize us in an attempt to minimize us. And so my advice to those who are trying to come before come after us, if you, if I should say it that way is more so, like honoring those who came before you and doing your research like for me.

Oftentimes, like you have to be humble enough to want to go back and see who came before you and then pay the respects and take notes from what they didn't, because nothing is new under the sun, if you will. And so my advice to them is to, like really do your education, or I should do your research and learn those who came before you. And that's what I did. That's how I found Yvette Noel-Schure, because I really studied her. And so studying your craft is the main advice I think I would give to anyone trying to come into the industry.

MICHAELSON: Well, there's a lot of value in studying you, and hopefully this interview exposes more people to that story as well. We really appreciate what you do, and people can check out your work at Nottingham Agency, and also my publicist is black, where they can get more information about the organization. Congratulations.

DUKES: Thank you, brother. Appreciate it.

MICHAELSON: I really appreciate it, Ernest Dukes. More of The Story Is, we'll wrap things up for the week when we come back.

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[01:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: If you're planning on traveling for Thanksgiving this week, brace yourself. According the FAA, this year's holiday travel season is shaping up to be the busiest in 15 years. More than 52,000 flights scheduled next Tuesday alone. TSA expects to screen over 3 million passengers on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, a potential record. And if you're hitting the road to avoid the stress, the airport AAA expects 81 million Americans to travel at least 50 miles by road for the holiday, up more than a million from last year.

Scientists believe they have, for the first time potentially recorded a wolf using tools in the wild. This video is part of a new study on wolves living along the central coast of British Columbia.

[01:55:00]

Researchers say at least one animal used multiple steps to pull crab traps out of deep water, if it was caught on camera, retrieving a boy, then hauling in the trap line and pulling the fully submerged crab trap to access bait. Researchers believe this may be the first documented case of potential tool use in the species.

You're looking at the most expensive comic book ever sold. It is the first issue of Superman, published in 1939 back then, it sold for $0.10, but on Thursday, it sold for just over $9 million. Three brothers in Northern California discovered the comic while clearing out their mom's attic after her death last year. It's in remarkable condition, despite being found in old newspapers in a cardboard box.

The Auction House says this is the highest ever graded copy of the comic previous record for a comic book at auction was Action Comics 1 from 1938 that was Superman's first appearance. It sold for $6 million last year. Imagine just finding that and getting $9 million for it buried in newspaper.

Thanks so much for watching this week. It's been a busy one and a busy news night. I'm Elex Michaelson. We'll see you next week. We leave you with a live look at the Vegas sphere. Vegas is going to be busy this weekend, with the Formula 1 race taking place on Saturday.

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