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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Trump Met With Advisers On Venezuela As U.S. Ramps Up Pressure; Russia Says It Captured Pokrovsk, A Key Logistics Hub In Eastern Ukraine; Winter Storm Chan Set To Dump Snow, Ice In East; More Than 1000 Killed In Storms In Southeast Asia; Australia Police Bust Sydney Satanic Child Sex Abuse Ring; Israel President Weighing Netanyahu Pardon Request; Lane Kiffin Introduced as New Head Coach at LSU; "Zootopia 2" Breaks Animation Records with $559M Debut; Families Cope with Tragedy of Gun Violence; American Shopping Bag Goes International. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired December 02, 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: Lego portrait of President Trump in the Green Room. In the blue room, the official White House Christmas tree honors Gold star families.
Thanks so much for watching this hour of The Story Is. The next hour of The Story Is starts right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles. The Story Is with Elex Michelson.
MICHAELSON: And welcome to The Story Is. I'm Alex Michelson live in Los Angeles. Tonight the top story is President Trump weighing his next steps in Venezuela following a meeting with top national security officials in the Oval Office.
This comes as the administration is facing intense scrutiny over a double tap strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean. One in which the president initially claimed I don't know anything about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We'll look into it. But no, I wouldn't have wanted that. Not a second strike. The first strike was very lethal. It was fine. And if there were two people around. But Pete said that didn't happen.
UNIDENATIFIED FEMALE: Does that make you --
TRUMP: I have great confidence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you say there's no second trike?
TRUMP: I don't know. I'm going to find out about it. But Pete said he did not order the death of those two men. (END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: On Monday though, the White House acknowledged that secretary strike -- secondary strike did happen and that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized it. But they're now shifting responsibility. The head of U.S. Special Operations Command, Hegseth said he stands by Admiral Frank Mitch Bradley's decision, echoing the White House press secretary who claims that Bradley quote worked well within his authority and the law.
Some U.S. lawmakers fear the follow up attack on September 2 could actually amount to a war crime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DON BAACON (R-IL): If it was as if the article said that is a violation of the law of war. When people want to surrender, you don't kill them.
REP. MIKE TURNER (R-OH): Obviously if that occurred that would be very serious and I agree that would -- would be an illegal act.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Top U.S. military officials as well as the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees expect to be briefed by Admiral Bradley in the coming days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): They're tying themselves into knots trying to explain why this is legal. They should release it to the American people. Why is a document that is explaining why we are moving a battle group halfway around the world at huge expense and putting American service members and at risk every single day by operating in the Caribbean against these boats. Why is the justification for that classified? It should not be.
MARK WARNER (D-VA): We've got to get to the bottom of this. We also need to find out why the administration has not released the unedited version of the video that would pretty much demonstrate to at least Congress whether these individuals were in the water on the boat still combatants or not.
Now I trust our military leadership. I can't say the same in terms of any level of trust for Secretary Hegseth for some of this cabal that do did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Now, despite his calls for diplomacy, Venezuela's president remains defiant in the face of mounting U.S. military pressure. At rally on Monday, Nicolas Maduro danced to a remix of his own speech and said his country will not be subject to the peace of slaves. Stefano Pozzebon was there in Caracas and brings us the latest on the mood in. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Venezuela. Nicolas Maduro supporters came out in numbers this Monday. We're actually only a couple of blocks from the presidential palace. Maduro himself is speaking on a stage. What you're seeing here is the power base of the Venezuelan government. It's workers, unions, public employees. It's people who depend on government benefits for their livelihoods.
And this is a movement that has been on power in Venezuela for the last 25 years. Shows of force like this one send a message that the movement is not ready to give up power anytime soon. They've told us for example that this is just the latest of a long series of confrontations with Washington and that they hope that their leader Maduro is not going to bend down to the pressure coming down from President Donald Trump. This is not the majority of Venezuelans.
However, it shows that the government is still capable of rallying up the crowd and rallying up its power base and sends exactly the message that Maduro wants to that he's on a stage on center on television and seemingly unshakable. For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Caracas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Thank you. We continue our tour around the world now. In the coming hours, Russian President Vladimir Putin will host Donald Trump's most trusted negotiators in Moscow. Special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner are trying to sell Putin on the new terms of the U.S. backed Ukraine peace deal.
Remember, the proposal was initially criticized as being too deferential to Moscow's demands but it has been amended after negotiations with Ukrainian diplomats.
[01:05:10]
Putin is appearing to come into the meeting from a position of battlefield advantage. Look at what he's wearing there. We don't usually see him wearing military fatigues. Russian military officials say they are gaining ground in Ukraine, claiming to have taken a key strategic city in the Donetsk region. CNN's Matthew Chance brings us the latest from Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the mouthpiece of the Russian state, often voicing what the Kremlin is reluctant to say out loud. Now, Russian state television seems very upbeat about the upcoming Kremlin visit of Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's special envoy.
A lot of interesting and unexpected things are happening, comments this guest. We can now say the Americans are seriously committed to a diplomatic solution, adds another.
The sheer pace of U.S. diplomacy has been hard to dismiss. The latest tough but constructive talks in Florida between U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators took, quote, a step forward on some of the most problematic obstacles to ending the Ukraine war, one source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told CNN.
It would be very premature to say we finalized everything here, as a lot of things still have to be done, the source said. But the meeting was very focused and the most problematic aspects of the peace proposals were discussed in detail, the source added, hinting that tentative progress in some areas could be made.
Areas like NATO membership an aspiration for Ukraine, but a red line for the Kremlin. The issue of Ukraine surrendering territory that Russia has annexed but not yet conquered, something Kyiv has refused to do.
In his numerous Kremlin encounters, Witkoff, who touched his hand to his heart when he first met President Vladimir Putin, has taken flak for being too deferential. He's been at the forefront of prisoner exchanges between the U.S. and Russia, talk of future economic cooperation, and boasted of developing a friendship with Putin. A leaked transcript revealed Witkoff coached the Kremlin on the dealing with Trump, further fuelling allegations by his critics of bias.
But this time, on his sixth visit to Moscow as a Trump envoy, Witkoff has a hard sell, convincing a Russian strongman who has so far refused to compromise to step back from his maximalist demands and finally move to end the Ukraine war. Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Thanks, Matthew. Joining me now live in Los Angeles is CNN European affairs commentator Dominic Thomas. Welcome back to The Story Is. Good to see you.
DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Right, thanks for having me on.
MICHAELSON: So where do you see things in terms of where things stand right now?
THOMAS: Well, as we can see from Matthew Chance's report they're leading up, there's an awful lot of triangulation going on. You've got President Trump's delegation with the trusted son-in-law now very visible in that conversation, heading to Moscow or in Moscow.
In the meantime, President Zelenskyy is speaking to European leaders. And you can't help but feel that the case that he's making to them is to try and strike a counterbalance to this lingering fear that has defined this conflict, is that the discussions are asymmetrical.
They favor a United States run solution that he believes is not listening adequately to the kinds of things that are absolutely important and crucial to him, which forgets in this conversation the whole issue that there is an aggressor and there's a country whose sovereignty was violated and who has been fighting over the past few years and now almost a decade to try and ensure that those guarantees are there so that the peace will actually mean something.
MICHAELSON: Because at least today, Ukraine is literally not at the table.
THOMAS: They're not. No, absolutely not. They're in Europe. And so this triangulation is there, that is this powerful European Union plus Europe plus NATO body that is in conversation that will eventually come back into contact with the U.S. delegation and then hopefully.
But at the moment, there is this feeling that, and fear, genuine fear that the solution will be imposed as a final offer to Ukraine, take it or leave it. And that's not what the Ukrainian people have been fighting for over the past few years.
MICHAELSON: So he just outlined sort of the red lines we've seen for both, which are similar to what we started a couple of years ago. Right?
THOMAS: Right.
[01:10:03]
MICHAELSON: Ukraine says we're not losing any territory and they also want NATO membership.
THOMAS: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Russia says no NATO membership and we deserve some of this territory. How does that. Where's the compromise?
THOMAS: Well, for Ukraine, as I said, the destruction of their territory, loss of life, the fight that they have been engaged in over the past few years is a defensive one. It's about protecting sovereignty. What is the land? What are the rules? How does international law fit into that?
And so the idea here of having to come to a negotiating table that involves compromise, relinquishing those sometime making that defense futile is not something that they want. And a long standing peace for them is not something that can rely on a temporary U.S. leadership or temporary support from Europe.
They want something concrete, which is membership of NATO that will provide them with long term security and something that President Putin fears. It's a deterrent. Simply having the backing of a group of powers is not adequate to deter future incursions in that region.
MICHAELSON: Because we should remind people that if you're in NATO and one NATO country is attacked by then every other NATO country has to come and defend it like it is being attacked itself.
THOMAS: Absolutely.
MICHAELSON: Which is not the case right now for Ukraine because if Poland was attacked next door, the U.S. would be at war with Russia. But when Ukraine is attacked right now, the U.S. is not technically at war --
THOMAS: Right.
MICHAELSON: -- with Russia.
THOMAS: And so countries in the Baltics are incredibly concerned. We also saw paradoxically, once again, this is in many ways, you know, Putin's miscalculation, Finland and Sweden joining NATO. So that augmentation of that bloc went there. Their concerns that. Why are those concerns not those of Ukraine as well?
MICHAELSON: So the U.S. right now has not supported this idea of Ukraine in NATO with President Trump in charge of the United States. Do the other countries --
THOMAS: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- with Ukraine have all the rest of the votes?
THOMAS: They have pretty. Yes, I've met that they're yes. All in all, the support is there around the United States. It has fluctuated from being an idea that was entertained especially since President Trump over his two terms has been pushing for a remilitarization for greater commitments of NATO as a condition of the United States backing it.
So the arguments that apply to Sweden and Finland should also apply to Ukraine. And we can see that without that it's very difficult to find a solution that President Zelenskyy can comfortably agree to without a clear understanding that long term security agreements are in place to protect him.
And in the past, those agreements have been there going all the way back to 1990s with when as we've talked about before they surrendered their nuclear arsenal that has not lasted. It has not been worthy for them. NATO is the way forward for them.
MICHAELSON: They surrendered and then everybody else didn't do what they promised.
THOMAS: Exactly.
MICHAELSON: So they felt like there's not a lot of trust there. So you feel like if NATO lets in Ukraine, the U.S. agrees to that they would then potentially give up territory to Russia and that's the deal. I mean what does Russia get out of this? Because they got some cards still too.
THOMAS: That's the question is that there's the ways in which this discussion and negotiation is taking place. It's almost as if two parties are in -- are equally responsible for what's happening. There's a violation of international law here. There is the illegal occupation of annexing of territories. And that's lost in this conversation because from the very beginning it has been a David and Goliath dynamic. It's asymmetrical.
You've got a powerful nuclear wielding country that has threatened them and threatened other Eastern European boards from Poland to the Baltics and so on here too. So I think that as far as Ukraine is concerned, the question of NATO is absolutely crucial. If that's not there, they're going to have guarantees that are analogous to that. It's hard to understand what those would be short of it simply being NATO.
And I think that unless those guarantees are there, it's going to be very difficult to see this coming forward into a sustainable peace treaty and one that is attractive to the Ukrainian people that ultimately President Zelenskyy is going to be answerable to after this long war.
MICHAELSON: And if they can't get there in the near future, we could end up with just more fighting.
THOMAS: Absolutely. More fighting and also potential escalation in the region. And that's the big concern of Europe and of the European Union as we look at this, which is why the support is there throughout has been there is the proxy --
MICHAELSON: So much closer to it than the U.S. is.
THOMAS: And it's on the front lines a very real impact economically and politically as a distraction from the important business of European affairs as well.
MICHAELSON: Dominic Thomas, thank you for the insight. Appreciate it. So well said.
The story is the weather. Winter storms are snarling air travel across the U.S. at this hour.
[01:15:00]
Let's take a live look at airport delays. All flights earlier were temporarily grounded out of Chicago's airport on Monday. Doing much better now that winter weather is causing issues on the road. One child was hospitalized with minor injuries from a school bus crash in Illinois. Police in St. Louis, Missouri said they had to respond to numerous calls for crashes along major highways. A bus slid off icy roads there. Thankfully, no injuries reported.
Icy roads also causes two Kansas school buses to get stuck on a highway off ramp. Third bus called to pick up the students who were stranded. All the vehicles safely moved on after crews were able to treat the roads. And believe it or not, some states are about to get even colder weather. Talking about millions of Americans here. Sherrell Hubbard has our look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHERRELL HUBBARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The third winter storm in a week is dumping snow on parts of the central US. In the meantime, travelers still making their way back from their Thanksgiving destinations. We're at the mercy of the winter weather Monday.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMLAE: Just roll with it. Take a little extra time and just expect delays.
HUBBARD (voice-over): While snowy weather spread over parts of Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, reaching north into parts of the Great Lakes Monday afternoon, it's poised to deliver the first widespread snow of the season to the Northeast and New England.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Interior New England, this is the area we're concerned about with potential for 7 to 11 inches of snowfall. Some of the weather offices already upping the winter storm watch to a warning.
HUBBARD (voice-over): This new system following a previous one that jumbled travel this weekend, like this 45 vehicle pile-up Indiana Saturday or this Endeavor Air regional jet that slid off a Des Moines, Iowa Runway. Both the Indiana State Police and Delta Airlines say no one was hurt in either incident.
TERESA ROSE, PASSENGER: Just going down the landing strip. That's when he -- the pilot hit a little bit of ice and we just kept sliding.
HUBBARD (voice-over): In addition to snow in the north, it's rain that's going to be affecting the south with an icy mix in Arkansas and record breaking temperatures possible in the wake of the storm east of the Rockies. I'm Sherrell Hubbard reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Well, at least somebody's enjoying this weather. Look at Tim the brown bear. This is at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. The zoo says playing in the snow is a natural enrichment activity for animals. Tim, better enjoy it. Forecasters there say it won't get any more snow in the city until later in the week.
Still ahead, more than 1,200 dead, many missing and millions coping with the aftermath of severe storms in Asia. We'll take you live to the region when we come back.
Plus, police in Australia say they have busted an alleged satanic child sex abuse material ring. That story and more still to come.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:22:12]
MICHAELSON: More than 1,200 people have been killed by flooding and landslides caused by heavy rainfall throughout parts of Asia today. Cyclone fuel downpours battered areas Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia and Sri Lanka was struck by a separate storm. CNN's Mike Valerio is following developments from Beijing. Mike?
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Elex, you know, we really have two storylines here. First of all, let's talk about the scale of this storm. Two cyclones and the scale of cyclone Ditwah that hit Sri Lanka.
We heard from the president of Sri Lanka, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and in his comments to the nation Elex, he said that this is the worst catastrophe that the island nation has ever sustained, has ever had to go through. And why that is fascinating and horrifying at the same time is because that also would include the 2004 tsunami.
So whereas the death toll may not be as high from this disaster and the devastation pictures you're looking at right here, the extent of the devastation in Sri Lanka is larger than the 2004 tsunami, again, according to the president there.
So at this hour, what we have 336 people remain missing in Sri Lanka. That's the other storyline. The number of people who are still missing in the hundreds in neighboring Indonesia, across the Indian Ocean Then missing is 475 people, 659 people killed Indonesia, 410 people killed in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka was hit by Cyclone Senyar.
And you know, Elex, I was just talking to you a couple days ago about tropical storms, typhoons that had hit the Philippines, into Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia. So this region has certainly been beset by such a series of severe weather.
In Sri Lanka the other particulars that we have for you, 25,000 homes have been destroyed by this storm. 147,000 people are still in shelters. We saw Indonesia's President Subianto touring the damage and devastation yesterday.
But again, what we are looking for in the hours and days to come are these choppers from the Sri Lanka Air Force, from Pakistan, India's Air Force going to these cut off areas. Indonesia's air Force trying to send in fuel because so many roads have been washed out. It's just one thing after another for this corner of the world, specifically Southeast Asia and Southeast Asia, Elex.
MICHAELSON: Yes, and you got to think about, like, what infrastructure is even left after all of that. And 120 -- 174,000 --
VALERIO: Right.
MICHAELSON: -- people in a shelter, like that's -- that -- I mean, that's more than a football stadium of people with no place to go. So, man, a lot of pain and suffering.
[01:25:04]
Mike Valerio, thank you for that report. We'll stay on top of this story in the days ahead. Now to a disturbing development out of Australia. Police in New South Wales say four men have been arrested for their alleged involvement in an international ring where people were sharing satanic child sex abuse material. CNN's Ivan Watson has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police in Australia on an early morning raid breaking down a door in a Sydney suburb and arresting the alleged 26-year-old ringleader of a group accused of being engaged in some of the most depraved criminal activity imaginable.
JAYNE DOHERTY, COMMANDER, NEW SOUTH WALES SEX CRIME SQUAD: Police will allege in court that this international group were engaging in conversations and the sharing of material which depicted child abuse and the torture of children involving symbols and rituals linked to Satanism and the occult.
WATSON (voice-over): A crackdown on an alleged international satanic child sex abuse material ring. In all, police arrested four men in and around Sydney seizing multiple devices.
DOHERTY: Police will allege in court that the initial examination of those devices has discovered thousands of videos depicting the abuse of live children age between babies and 12 years of age. Amongst these deplorable images were also a number of videos depicting the abuse, sexual abuse of animals.
WATSON (voice-over): The suspects have all been charged with multiple counts of accessing or possessing child abuse content. They've been denied bail and are expected to next appear in court in late January. Australian authorities call the distribution of child abuse content a borderless crime that's growing thanks to the Internet. They're working with other international law enforcement to help identify and rescue children shown in the seized content.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Thanks to Ivan Watson for that report from Australia to Israel. Now where the president Isaac Herzog says he is considering Benjamin Netanyahu's request for a pardon with, quote, great care and responsibility.
Prime minister is on trial for alleged corruption and has always insisted he would be found innocent in court. But he now says it's in the public interest for the trial to end. Mr. Netanyahu did not admit guilt, which is traditionally required to receive a pardon in Israel.
President Trump paved the way for that unprecedented request, repeatedly calling for Netanyahu to be pardoned. The leader spoke by phone on Monday.
Well, it is one of the biggest stories in college football this season. Lane Kiffin makes a decision on where he will coach next season. And there's a whole lot of controversy at his old school ole mess, Ole Miss. That and more. Sagoon with us when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:32:50]
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: THE STORY IS sports.
Week 13, the NFL wrapped up with a clash between the New York football Giants and the New England Patriots on Monday night football.
Check this out. What a run there. The Pats dominated from start to finish, jumping out to an early 10 - 0 lead, 94-yard return there by Marcus Jones late in the first half.
New England quarterback Drake Maye hits Kyle Williams for 33-yard touchdown strike. Patriots win big 33 - 15, improved to a league best 11 and 2 record on the season.
Lots of MVP buzz for Maye. The best thing to happen to New England since Tom Brady.
Meanwhile, Louisiana State University has officially introduced its new head football coach. Lane Kiffin joins the Tigers after stepping down from rival Ole Miss.
At a news conference Monday, Kiffin said leaving Mississippi was difficult, but that coaching at LSU is, quote, "the best job in football".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LANE KIFFIN, FOOTBALL HEAD COACH, LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY: Our program here at LSU will be designed top to bottom to be the number one destination for elite players in all of America. That's why we're here.
Our immediate priority is assembling the best staff in the country and securing top talent. The mission is simple. Bring the best players in the country to LSU. And it starts right here in the state of Louisiana.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Kiffin coached at Ole Miss for six seasons. He guided the rebels to an 11 and 1 record this year, their best season in more than six decades, most likely the school's first ever college football playoff spot. But it will be without Kiffin coaching them.
Now to this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think we're a good team?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course.
I just wish I knew what we had to do to prove it to everyone else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:34:39]
MICHAELSON: Disney has struck box office gold with "Zootopia 2". It set a record for the biggest opening ever for an animated film with more than $550 million in ticket sales worldwide, a sorely needed win for Disney, which has struggled this year with several high-profile disappointments.
For that and more, let's bring in journalist and media personality Segun Oduolowu. Did I get it right?
SEGUN ODUOLOWU, JOURNALIST: You crushed it.
MICHAELSON: Ok.
ODUOLOWU: You absolutely crushed it.
MICHAELSON: Nice to see you.
ODUOLOWU: Good to see you.
MICHAELSON: Let's talk about "Zootopia" first.
ODUOLOWU: Ok.
MICHAELSON: That's a big win. I mean, at a time when the box office has been struggling.
ODUOLOWU: Huge win, huge win coming off one of the worst Octobers in Movie history. Zootopia set records with the largest animated film opening ever. It's a -- worldwide almost $560 million, over about $184 million here stateside. It's doing huge numbers.
I've seen it. It isn't that good. I'm not going to come on here and lie to you, Elex. Look, I saw it with my wife and my daughter. My wife was asleep next to me, and my daughter was just like, can we go? Like, it didn't capture the imagination.
And the first one was so well written. This is like movie popcorn. Its good in the theater, but it gets stale really quick. And I don't think there's going to be a lot of repeat viewing of "Zootopia 2".
MICHAELSON: That's what I call panda express orange chicken.
ODUOLOWU: I'm not mad at that. Yes.
MICHAELSON: It's the best 30 seconds. And then about five minutes later, you're like, what did I do?
ODUOLOWU: Yes, that sounds like my college life.
MICHAELSON: So. Ok, so -- so you say maybe skip it based off of what you said. But people in China. China was where we really saw big ticket sales for this thing.
ODUOLOWU: Well, if you've got kids, it's worth seeing. It's fun if you have kids that are into it. My daughter wasn't. She's five years old.
So if you -- if you enjoy that, if you have time, if there's nothing -- there's nothing else in theater for kids to really go and see, so this is a thing that parents can take their kids to, which is why I think you're seeing the huge number. But again, it's not that good.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And as you said, "Wicked" maybe not great for younger kids.
ODUOLOWU: Exactly.
(CROSSTALKING)
ODUOLOWU: And those are the two big movies.
MICHAELSON: Ok, let's talk about the big kids drama that everybody's talking about is Lane Kiffin and LSU. So he was the coach at Ole Miss. He says I wanted to stay as the coach at Ole Miss for the rest of the season. Even though I'm going to LSU, the big rival.
Ole Miss said, no, you're not.
ODUOLOWU: Yes.
MICHAELSON: You're out. And now his team has to continue on. Clearly, there's a lot of hurt feelings at Ole Miss. LSU though, paying him a whole lot of money.
(CROSSTALKING)
MICHAELSON: What's your take?
ODUOLOWU: We would run out of fingers if we were trying to point at who's to blame. You can't get mad at a Lane Kiffin when you operate in a system that creates mercenaries. And all he's doing is being the biggest, baddest mercenary the system's ever seen.
Leaving a team that is in the national, you know, on route for a national title in the playoffs, leaving that team to jump ship to a blood rival within the same SEC conference is -- it's ludicrous.
Like no one really ever sees this, but the money -- and so this is where it gets really interesting. Ole Miss was going to match whatever money was being offered.
Lane wanted to leave. Lane feels that with LSU and its pedigree, he can get more players, better players in and win a national championship.
MICHAELSON: Probably it's true though, right?
MK1: But here's the sneaky part. When he's saying all of that at the press conference, we're going to get the best players. Watch how many players he tries to poach from his Ole Miss team that is playing -- that's going to be in the playoffs.
He's leaving a better team in Ole Miss to go to a worse program in LSU, which has its own problems with the governor saying he was going to hire the next coach and all of that stuff.
It's really murky, but this is what college football is. It's a very murky place.
MICHAELSON: Right.
And we have the name and likeness money and everybody's throwing money around. But this whole idea that you're able to do this in the middle of the season, and he's not the first person to leave as a coach --- ODUOLOWU: No.
MICHAELSON: -- in the middle of the season. Players sometimes say, we're not going to play in the playoffs --
ODUOLOWU: Absolutely.
MICHAELSON: -- because of all this. That doesn't happen in like the NFL. There are rules that stop something like that.
ODUOLOWU: Well, for the longest time, the money in the NFL was so big that you wouldn't do it because that was the pinnacle.
You fought your whole life to get to this point. And if you didn't play, you were really looked at in a terrible way.
In college, when you say, I'm not going to play, it's I'm not going to get hurt so that I can be ready for the pros and people understand you have a short shelf life.
This jumping ship midstream is a little bit unprecedented because you're leaving when the school at Ole Miss said, we'll pay -- we'll match whatever they're offering.
And so it isn't about the money. Its more about what he thinks he can do. And Lane has done this kind of stuff before.
MICHAELSON: Yes. He's -- let's go through that.
ODUOLOWU: Ok.
MICHAELSON: Because as --
ODUOLOWU: You said -- you're all yes --
MICHAELSON: -- a USC guy.
ODUOLOWU: Yes.
MICHAELSON: We did not have the best divorce from lane Kiffin.
ODUOLOWU: You fired him on the tarmac.
MICHAELSON: On a tarmac, although they say that was a little misreported. But anyway, the concept was people were begging for him to leave. He got fired from the Raiders and had a horrible divorce there.
[01:39:50]
MICHAELSON: When he left Tennessee for USC, the folks at Tennessee felt deceived by that whole thing. I mean, not the greatest track record. And yet he's going to have the biggest contract, probably in all of college football.
ODUOLOWU: Not the greatest track record, but the one thing that he can do is he can coach. He is a darn good coach.
(CROSSTALKING)
MICHAELSON: He wasn't great at USC.
ODUOLOWU: He wasn't great at USC but --
(CROSSTALKING)
MICHAELSON: -- he for sure thinks that.
ODUOLOWU: But a lot of people were suffering at USC, you know, after Pete Carroll, it wasn't -- it wasn't what it was.
(CROSSTALKING)
MICHAELSON: He had a nice record after that.
ODUOLOWU: Everybody seems to do better when they leave USC. What's up with that? Defend your -- defend your alma mater.
MICHAELSON: Well, we had a bad period because we were cursed from rules that are no longer in place -- speaking of NIL.
ODUOLOWU: You mean rules that you guys flagrantly broke?
MICHAELSON: We got in trouble for that, which is all now, like nothing compared to everything else that's happening.
ODUOLOWU: Yes, everything -- everything now is the wild, wild west. You can pay players, you can pay coaches, and you will pay players and you will pay coaches.
MICHAELSON: Do you think there's a breaking point though for this? That this has just gotten to be so absurd, so ridiculous with the money that maybe there needs to be some sort of regulation.
ODUOLOWU: This might be the test case because this is offensive to a lot of people.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
ODUOLOWU: You have left these kids at Ole Miss high and dry. You -- Lane issued an ultimatum telling his coaches to get on the plane with him, to come to LSU, and only one did.
Lane's going to try and poach those players. Lane wanted to actually have his cake and eat it too. Let me coach Ole Miss in the playoffs and then I'll leave them to LSU and Ole Miss, rightfully so said, no, you're not going to do -- you're not going to -- we're not going to have you in the building actively recruiting these players to leave with you.
So I think this might be the test case. And if it isn't, then all bets are off and you're going to see all types of shenanigans. MICHAELSON: We should have known when his daughter posted pictures of
dating one of the players on LSU, who is now being coached by her father.
ODUOLOWU: Yes, coincidence? I don't think so.
MICHAELSON: Segun, great to see you.
ODUOLOWU: Always a pleasure.
MICHAELSON: Thanks for watching THE STORY IS.
International viewers, WORLDSPORT is next. For our viewers in North America, I'll be right back.
[01:41:47]
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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.
Pope Leo XIV has been meeting with religious leaders and young people during his time in Lebanon, speaking about interfaith cooperation and peace, a message of hope as that country grapples with instability.
Closing out his first trip abroad as pontiff on Tuesday with a visit to a hospital, a prayer at the Beirut port explosion site and a public mass at the waterfront.
Attorneys for Luigi Mangione are trying to get key evidence, including his diary entries tossed from his state murder case. The 27-year-old was in a New York courtroom on Monday, nearly one year after he was accused of gunning down a health care CEO on a Manhattan sidewalk.
Authorities in Stockton, California are seeking information in connection with a shooting that killed four and injured 11. Three children and 21-year-old, were killed in that shooting at a birthday party over the weekend. Police are calling it a targeted incident.
Stockton is a city of 320,000 about 130 kilometers, or 80 miles east of San Francisco.
Families there are grieving that senseless loss.
KOVR'S Tori Apodaca spoke to the father of a beloved son who was killed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK PETERSON, FATHER OF AMARI 14-YEAR-OLD SHOOTING VICTIM: I am -- I have an image of my son dying in my head over and over and over and over.
Then him smiling, then him walking away, then him smiling, then he coming -- like I'm -- I just keep seeing my son in my head.
TORI APODACA, KOVR REPORTER: It's painful images Patrick Peterson is now stuck replaying of his 14-year-old son Amari, who was shot to death while at a child's birthday party.
PETERSON: You know, his nickname was Ferrari Amari. That was my nickname for him.
APODACA: Ferrari Amari. Was he fast?
PETERSON: Yes, he was really fast.
APODACA: Images unlike the hundreds he has of Amari smiling, hung on the walls of his home.
PETERSON: Oh my God, they took my baby. He took my baby.
APODACA: Countless memories he's now holding close.
PETERSON: Maybe I should have just dove in front of the bullets. And maybe he'll still be alive.
APODACA: When bullets started flying. Peterson says it felt unreal. He grabbed his baby girl to duck behind a kitchen counter and then rushed to Amari when he saw he was down.
PETERSON: I'm on top of Amari. I'm trying to grab him. I'm like trying to see where he's hit because he's just sitting there just going -- and I'm just like, man, I'm like, where are you -- where are you hit at? Where are you hit at?
APODACA: He discovered a bullet hole the size of a nickel on Amari's chest. Despite being rushed to the hospital and life-saving efforts, Amari didn't make it, leaving Peterson, his wife and the other children who were there too heartbroken.
PETERSON: My daughter, she got hit. I could have lost her, you know. And she's -- it's going to change her for life. My son, it's going to change him for life.
APODACA: Peterson says he lost the boy who made him the man he is today.
PETERSON: I was his coach.
APODACA: Building Amari a life that he never had.
PETERSON: He got straight As. He was a good student. He was a good team player. He was athletic.
APODACA: Do you have any words for whoever is responsible for all of this?
PETERSON: If you have enough sense to pick up a gun and aim and shoot it, you got enough sense to take your responsibility of your actions.
APODACA: A senseless act that left two other children and a 21-year- old dead.
PETERSON: This was one of the shoes that he had on the night. And his blood is on there.
APODACA: And a father searching for peace, with parting words to his golden boy.
PETERSON: And daddy is sorry. And daddy love you. And daddy miss you. Because Daddy isn't going to ever be right without you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: We feel for that father. Our thanks to our affiliate KOVR for that report.
Lawyers for Sean Diddy Combs are fighting to keep Netflix from releasing a docuseries about the embattled music mogul. They've sent a cease-and-desist letter over the series called "Sean Combs: The Reckoning".
[01:49:45]
MICHAELSON: It is co-produced by Combs' longtime foe, fellow rapper Curtis "50-Cent" Jackson, and it includes footage Combs himself filmed.
In a statement Combs' spokesperson said in part, quote, "As Netflix and CEO Ted Sarandos know, Mr. Combs has been amassing footage since he was 19 to tell his own story in his own way. It is fundamentally unfair and illegal for Netflix to misappropriate that work."
Combs, of course, serving a four-year sentence after being convicted of transportation to engage in prostitution. "Sean Combs: The Reckoning" is slated to start streaming on Tuesday.
Coming up, Trader Joe's doesn't have any stores in London. So why are people there so enthusiastic about them? We'll show you next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:54:49]
MICHAELSON: So how does an American grocery retailer with no stores outside the U.S. become trendy in London? Easy. It's in the bag.
CNN's Richard Quest and Anna Cooban investigate.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Trader Joe's is a grocery store institution known for high quality and reasonable prices. They're everywhere.
The bags are also ubiquitous. They used to be a bit of a fashion statement here in New York, but now the way they've taken off overseas, it's worth a great deal more. ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS REPORTER: I'm in a trendy part
of east London on a fact-finding mission, because I want to know why these bags have really taken off in the U.K., despite the fact that Trader Joe's doesn't even have a store in the country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anytime I go anywhere, people are complimenting me on it which is odd because it's just a thing you would have in the states.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If people saw it on TikTok.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You see something, a piece of like something that people wear online. You see it, you like, -- you like it because you see it more and more and more. You get used to it and you think that's what you want wear because everybody wears it basically.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I did bring this back from L.A. All the way across the Atlantic Ocean to London.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It feels like it's not luxury, but something like niche. You know, you have to be in America to have one of those. So maybe that's the reason why people think it's cool, but it's basically just a supermarket.
COOBAN: As with all fashion trends, it's about individual taste.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wouldn't wear it, but I'm a black-only wearer.
COOBAN: Anna Cooban, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: I got them at home. Who knew? Maybe I should try to sell them.
Thanks so much for watching. I'm Elex Michaelson.
We'll see you tomorrow for more of THE STORY IS. The news is next.
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