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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Trump Airs Grievances, Claims Border And Economic Success; Tesla Cars Sales May Be Banned Due To Autopilot Feature; Anthony Albanese Announces Hate Speech Crackdown After Bondi Shooting; Roy Wood Jr.'s Holiday Special Airs Saturday on CNN; Trailer Released for Documentary on U.S. First Lady; Oscars Leaving Broadcast TV for YouTube Streaking in 2029; U.S. Navy Members Return Home in Time for Christmas; Museum Preserves Soviet-Era Tape Recorders and Bootlegs. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired December 18, 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: The next hour of The Story Is starts right now.
The story is primetime address.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Good evening America. Eleven months ago I inherited a mess and I'm fixing it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: President Trump makes his pitch to the American people, promising a wealthy 2026 with this to respond, Michael Knowles of the Daily Wire.
The story is cracking down on hate speech in Australia. We're live in Sydney as the nation warns the Bondi Beach antisemitic attack.
The story is autopilot under fire. Why California is looking into stopping Tesla sales in the Golden State.
The story is the first lady up close and personal. Comedian Roy Wood with us weigh in on Melania Trump's new documentary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles, The Story Is with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: Welcome to The Story Is. I'm Elex Michaelson. Tonight, the top story is President Trump's address to the nation. The president looking to prove the pollsters and even the American people wrong with a forceful, sometimes angry defense of his economic policies. He started with an attack on his predecessor Joe Biden, then blamed Democrats for the rising costs of health care, home prices, inflation and immigration. President insisting his policies on the border and with tariffs or
bringing down costs. He promised a $1,776 warrior dividend for U.S. service members sort of Christmas bonus. And he said the economy will get much better next year when provisions of his so called Big Beautiful Bill take effect.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: 11 months ago I inherited a mess and I'm fixing it. When I took office, inflation was the worst in 48 years and some would say in the history of our country, which caused prices to be higher than ever before, making life unaffordable for millions and millions of Americans.
This happened during a Democrat administration and it's when we first began hearing the word affordability.
I am bringing those high prices down and bringing them down very fast. And for the first time in years, wages are rising much faster and inflation. Much of this success has been accomplished by tariffs, my favorite word, tariffs, which for many decades have been used successfully by other countries against us, but not anymore. Now with the hottest country anywhere in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: CNN's fact check team points out that President Trump repeated numerous false claims during his speech. One example, the president claimed that inflation has stopped. In fact, inflation is actually at 3 percent, which is the same rate as when President Trump took office back in January. CNN's Daniel Dale has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL DALE, CNN SENIOR RERPOTER: He spoke of cutting prescription drug prices by 400 to 600 percent. Those figures are mathematically impossible. If you cut it by more than 100 percent, people would get paid to get their medications, which of course is not happening. He said the price of eggs has fallen, which is true. But then he said everything else is falling rapidly.
Everything else is not falling rapidly. In fact, even on groceries in particular, fall far more products have increased in price this term than have decreased. He said again, he secured 18 trillion investment this year. That number is total fiction.
Even the White House website uses a figure of 9.6 trillion. And my detailed review found that figure is a wild exaggeration. Accounting vague promises, vague, not even promises. And so on. He spoke of some states hitting $1.99 for gas. The lowest state average today is closer to 2.40. About 100 stations out of about 150,000 stations are below $2, according to the firm GasBuddy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Joined now by Michael Knowles, one of the best known conservative commentators in the country and host of the Michael Knowles Show on the Daily Wire. Michael, welcome to the story is for the very first time.
MICHAEL KNOWLES, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: Mr. Michelson, it is excellent to be with you, sir. As I've told you in the past, I will go on any show that you are on any network at any time. Very excited for the new gig.
MICHAELSON: Well, we've done multiple networks and multiple shows and multiple times. So I appreciate you joining this one and it's great to be talking with you. And it comes on a big news night. We just heard from President Trump tonight. Your big takeaway from his speech.
KNOWLES: President Trump pulled the old going to war in Venezuela fakeout to make all of the networks cover his recap of the first year wins on all of their networks in primetime. Love him, hate him. This man is the greatest media manipulator ever to hold the office.
Even I, I wasn't sure if we're going to war in Venezuela. Obviously there's a big military buildup, but there was a lot of scuttlebutt about that. That's why most people were tuning in. And what does he do? He comes out, he touts all of the achievements for the first year.
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He then dangles some new, I don't know, Christmas gift kind offers, including a bonus for service members, which he used as a way to defend the tariffs, the tariffs which are now in danger in front of the Supreme Court. So he's sending a message not just to the American people, not just to the networks, also to the Supreme Court. He does all of it in front of the coziest looking Christmas set that you ever saw at the White House. And he ends all of it by saying, Merry Christmas.
It was just a masterstroke. And a lot of people feel, myself included, we feel, you know, I've been had. I tuned in to see, you know, if there was going to be a war, and I've been had. However, I had a lot of fun watching it. I think it was a great speech.
MICHAELSON: Well, it's almost as cozy as you having a candle burning as we do this segment. But, you know --
KNOWLES: My speech is, or my studio, rather, is very set for adventure. The White House, though, a little more glamorous.
MICHAELSON: But in terms of the Venezuela thing, because that's not the issue that most people are thinking about. The most issue most people think about is the economy and how do we make things cheaper so that we can afford more things in our lives.
Let's put up some poll numbers recently for President Trump. Do you approve or disapprove of how he is handling the economy? Approve. 36. Disapprove, 57 percent. And the overall approval number not much better as well, with his approval number at 39 percent, his disapproval number at 58 percent.
Did you hear anything tonight that will change that reality that would convince anybody who is disapproving to approve of him?
KNOWLES: Yes, I think people are totally reasonable in their disappointment, I guess, with the economy in as much as the prices went up a lot over the last four or five years since COVID. And so I think one of the struggles for the White House right now is that the hard economic results of this first year have been good. They've beaten a lot of expectations. GDP growth has been good. Jobs have been good. The tariffs were told were going to destroy the global economy and they didn't. The tariffs actually have worked out pretty well. We'll see if the Supreme Court allows them to stand. So stock market hit record highs.
You know, President Trump obviously used this opportunity to lay the blame for the economic problems on Joe Biden and I think to offer some concrete solutions and say, look, we're doing this to bring health care down. The cost of eggs in particular actually has come down this much under my watch. And we got another three years for it.
MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, another issue he talked about concerned trans Americans. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We had men playing in women's sports. Transgender for everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So right before that, this headline from CNN, the House voting to basically put a ban criminalizing gender affirming care for minors. Sarah McBride, who is transgender Congress member from Delaware, had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. SARAH MCBRIDE (D-DE): They are obsessed with trans people. I actually think they think more about trans people than trans people think about trans people. They are consumed with this and they are extreme on it. They are bringing forward a bill that would put parents and providers at risk of being jailed, literally jailed for affirming their transgender child and following medical best practices.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Your response.
KNOWLES: This was a major issue that Republicans won on and won the popular vote on in 2024. And so the House came in and voted and said, we are going to ban the transgender surgeries for minors. Not even for adults, but for minors.
Most Americans agree with this. There were a handful of Republicans. I think it was four Republicans in swing districts that voted against it. But when President Trump comes out there in his speech and he says everyone was transgender for everyone. It's a little hyperbolic. It's kind of an amusing statement, but it is how a lot of people felt. They felt that this gnostic ideology, that somehow a man could secretly be a woman, that the body has nothing to do with who we really are and that we should experiment on kids because of it.
They felt this was being rammed down our throats from the highest levels of power. The people rejected it. I think they were right to reject it. And I think if Congressman McBride and the rest of the Democrats want to run on transing the kids in 2026 and 2028, please be my guest. I can think of no better issue for Republicans to have to fight against.
MICHAELSON: And lastly, quickly, as this is your first time on this show, just want to take a moment to talk about the big success of The Daily Wire. And at a time when there is so much out there and we're in this attention economy where it's hard to get attention, what do you think's been the secret to building such an empire?
KNOWLES: I think clearly the secret was when Ben Shapiro hired me and I tell him that every single day, there really should be no dispute about any such thing. You know --
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MICHAELSON: Humbleness is the secret, right, Michael?
KNOWLES: It's so obvious.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
KNOWLES: I mean, I'm really honored to have been a part of it. This is the 10th year of The Daily Wire. It seems like it was yesterday. And when we started, there really was not a lot of alternative media, new media, social media were kind of new, you know, as major forces in politics. You know, maybe eventually the wheels are going to fall off the wagon, but as of right now, we're still having a ton of fun.
MICHAELSON: Michael, thank you so much. Great to see you. Really appreciate you coming on the show.
KNOWLES: Great to be with you, sir. Thanks for having me.
MICHAELSON: At least four people are dead after the latest U.S. strike on an alleged drug boat. U.S. Southern Command released this video saying that the vessel was operated by a designated terrorist group and that it was hit on Wednesday international waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
The statement says that four male narcoterrorists were killed and no U.S. troops were harmed. At least 99 people have been killed since the U.S. launched Operation Southern Sphere. Democratic lawmakers say at least one of the strikes may have violated international law, potentially amounting to a war crime.
The LA county medical examiner has determined that Rob and Michele Reiner died from multiple sharp force injuries. Records confirm that they died on Sunday and their bodies were discovered by their daughter Romy. It was one day after the famed director was seen having an argument
with his son Nick at a holiday party his parents brought him to. LA county district attorney claims Nick stabbed his parents to death with a knife. Nick Reiner's attorney urged people not to jump to conclusions about the case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAN JACKSON, NICK REINER'S ATTORNEY: We ask that during this process, you allow the system to move forward in the way that it was designed to move forward, not with a rush to judgment, not with jumping to conclusions, but with restraint and with dignity and with the respect that this system and this process deserves and that the family deserves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: On Wednesday, Nick Reiner briefly appeared in court wearing a suicide prevention vest, his arraignment set for January 7.
Australia's Prime Minister is vowing tougher action on antisemitism, hate speech and gun control. Just days after the massacre at Bondi Beach, where the memorial to the 15 people gunned down during a Hanukkah celebration on Sunday has been growing.
Look at just the extraordinary number of flowers that are there now. Anthony Albanese says new laws will crack down on those who spread what he calls hate division and radicalization. Let's bring in CNN's Angus Watson who is live from Sydney. You're at Bondi beach, which is now back open. And Angus?
ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: Elex, that's right. I'm standing right now in what was up until Thursday morning, the crime scene, the bridge, you'll see behind me is where 50-year-old Sajiv Akram and his son, 24 year old Naveed Akram allegedly opened fire on a Hanukkah party that was taking place right where I was standing.
If I can try to take you back to that moment of for a second there would have been a face painting station here, painting children's faces. There was a petting zoo. There were people celebrating the first night of Hanukkah. The two assailants stood on that bridge right behind me where I am now and fired down upon them, killing 15 people and hospitalizing over 40.
Right to my left is where the hero of the hour, Ahmed al-Ahmed wrestled a gun away from one of those assailants and turned it on him to try to protect the community here. Now there's been a steady stream of people coming through this park on Thursday, taking a moment to try to process just what's happened.
This extraordinary horrific terror event here, capturing the community. The outpouring of grief that's taken place over the last few days has been extraordinary as well. People trying to get back to some sense of normality that will take a long time, I think. Elex.
MICHAELSON: Yes, indeed, it's quite a contrast, the sort of beautiful day at the beach and the horror of what happened there. Angus Watson live for us in Sydney. Thank you.
Meanwhile, victims of that massacre are being laid to rest. Our team coverage continues with our senior international correspondent Will Ripley, who has more on their funerals and the wider impact of the attack.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The hearse has just arrived with the bodies of one of the rabbis. Let's just pause for a moment. Take this in.
Funerals are now underway for the 15 people killed in Sunday's terror attack. And some of the hardest scenes are here in Redfern where family and friends gather to remember the youngest victim, 10-year-old Matilda. She leaves behind not just her parents, but her younger sister, Summer.
Sunday, the day of the attack was a day of face painting, playing with goats and having fun with her parents who say they were just briefly separated in the crowd, a moment that turned into a nightmare.
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VALENTYNA, MOTHER OF VICTIM: Like she's running around happy. And then second, what I see before my eyes is she's lying on the ground and I just can't explain how it happened.
MICHAEL, FATHER OF VICTIM: I rubbed my shirt and I was talking to her because she was --
VALENTYNA: She was in shock.
MICHAEL: She was in shock. She was telling me that it's hard to breathe.
RIPLEY: As this city mourns, families here are left with the same questions. How this happened and why?
ELLIOT, WITNESS: It's our loss. It's our community's loss.
RIPLEY: Elliot was there. He knows many of the victims.
What's it like to grow up as a Jew here?
ELLIOT: You just live in, like, utopia here. This utopia has just turned to dystopia.
RIPLEY: Have you noticed a rise in antisemitism since October 7, 2023?
ELLIOT: Incredibly, I mean --
RIPLEY: Here in Australia.
ELLIOT: Incredibly. RIPLEY: October 7th is when Hamas attacked Israel. The retaliation
that followed has killed or injured more than 10 percent of Gaza's population in the last two years. An independent U.N. inquiry said Israel is committing genocide. Israel denies that.
There have been protests worldwide, including here in Sydney. during this period Australia, like many places, has seen a massive spike in antisemitic attacks.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: We want to stamp out and eradicate antisemitism from our society.
ELLIOT: The restaurant we're coming up to here was burnt down. There's a school. There's a daycare that was also burnt down. There's been antisemitic graffiti. There's been kids having eggs thrown at them. There's everything.
It kind of has gotten lost. Not to us. We've been begging our government. We've been telling them
Swipe that way.
RIPLEY: OK.
ELLIOT: You'll read some of them.
RIPLEY (voice-over): He shows me the comments to social media posts about the attack.
RIPLEY: Can you guys see this? Hahaha. Rot in hell, Rest in Bondi Beach. Piss water, you ardent genocide defender. Oh my God, I can't go on actually.
ELLIOT: You know, I don't even need to comment on that because --
RIPLEY: And this is --
ELLIOT: I mean, this is constant. I mean, this is everywhere. Look at this view.
RIPLEY: I see what you mean by utopia.
ELLIOT: Things are going to be OK because at the end of the day, the one thing they can't take from us is that we live in the most beautiful place on earth.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Will Ripley, CNN, Sydney.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Powerful reporting. Our thanks to Will. Meanwhile, the manhunt for the person of interest in the Brown University shooting is now entering its sixth day.
Police say the description of the gunman provided by witnesses matches the description of the person authorities are now looking for. Authorities also want to talk with another person who may have crossed paths with that person of interest and may be able to provide some relevant information.
Police also released this map showing the area they are focused on where they say the person of interest was spotted on the day of the shooting. The yellow lines indicate where they were seen before the attack. The red lines where they were spotted after. The shooting at the Ivy League school killed two students and wounded nine people.
Speaking of Israel, Israel has now greenlit a new natural gas deal with Egypt, but reportedly only after pressure from the US. Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced the $35 billion deal on Wednesday to supply the fuel to Egypt.
According to an Israeli source, the Netanyahu government has been slowly walking the approvals for months, but it caved in after pressure from the Trump administration. Another source says the announcement was part of the groundwork for a potential meeting between the Israelis and Egyptian leaders.
They haven't met in almost a decade, but President Trump wants them to do that as he pursues regional peace deals.
Coming up, Tesla may be forced to stop selling its cars in California for a while the state says Tesla has been misleading consumers.
The L.A. Times business reporter who's been all over that story joins us live on set right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:23:51]
MICHAELSON: California is threatening to ban sales of Tesla cars over its Autopilot feature. A state regulator says using the term autopilot for Tesla's driver assist feature constitutes false advertising. California Department of Motor Vehicles says Teslas are not capable of truly operating on their own.
Tesla is criticizing the DMV action, but federal safety regulators say there are several investigations into accidents caused by drivers using the self-driving features. My next guest wrote about this story for the LA Times. Caroline Petrow-Cohen is their business reporter and joins me here on set. Caroline, welcome to The Story Is for the first time. Thanks for being here.
CAROLINE PETROW-COHEN, BUSINESS REPORTER, L.A. TIMES: Hi, thanks so much for having me.
MICHAELSON: So sort of what's the main story here?
PETROW-COHEN: So the California Department of Motor Vehicles basically told Tesla that they have 90 days to stop misleading consumers about the capabilities of their self-driving technology. So using words like autopilot, the DMV says that's false advertising and if they don't stop within 90 days, then the sales of Tesla in the state will be suspended.
MICHAELSON: So that's a big thing. What do they mean by false advertising?
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PETROW-COHEN: They basically mean that they're saying Elon Musk is telling consumers the technology can do more than what it can actually do. And it's leading consumers to believe that the cars can drive entirely by themselves with no human intervention, when the DMV at least says they actually can't. There needs to be an alert human driver in the seat or it's not safe.
MICHAELSON: Right. And you're supposed to have your hand on the wheel every so often.
PETROW-COHEN: Yes, yes. You're not supposed to have your hands off the wheel. You're not supposed to be texting or reading. You're supposed to be ready to intervene if you have to.
MICHAELSON: Though we know not everybody does it quite that way. And so we know that Tesla has had some problems with this technology in the past. In fact, there's a CNN story about a situation in Miami where they had to pay out $329 million in an autopilot crash. This was in Florida. And they've had challenges in the past, but this issue they're fighting in a different way.
PETROW-COHEN: Yes, I mean, in Miami that was a fatal crash. And this is also coming at a time that Tesla is trying to prove their autopilot capabilities. So the scrutiny over the features, it's definitely an issue for the brand.
MICHAELSON: Let's show Tesla's response up on the screen to this whole thing. And this is what they're saying, quote, this was a consumer protection order about the use of the term autopilot in a case where not one single customer came forward to say there's a problem, sales in California will continue uninterrupted.
PETROW-COHEN: So that's not really what the DMV says is going to happen. If Tesla doesn't comply within 90 days, then they say for just 30 days, sales will be suspended.
MICHAELSON: For 30 days. Then what happens after 30 days?
PETROW-COHEN: I think they'll be able to resume. Yes. So it's a temporary punishment.
MICHAELSON: But I'm sure they don't want that for those 30 days. Meanwhile, you bring up the bigger issue in the article of self- driving cars. Right. We know for years Elon Musk has wanted to and sort of advertise the idea of fully self-driving cars.
PETROW-COHEN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: He hasn't gotten there. Waymo has.
PETROW-COHEN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Google, which owns Waymo --
PETROW-COHEN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: and we see them all over the place here in California, in Los Angeles, San Francisco. Other cities are expanding. They're going to be out on the freeway. Why was Waymo able to do this and Elon Musk was not and talk about sort of the battle between those two companies.
PETROW-COHEN: Yes. So Elon Musk rolled out the Robotaxi in Austin, but it was reported to have quite a few glitches. And Waymo is operating safely in Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles. Yes, they are all over in LA. And experts have told me that part of the reason Waymo is actually winning this race is their approach to self-driving technology isn't solely based on AI. Whereas Elon Musk is saying that some of Waymo's hardware is actually too expensive and he's going to do it cheaper. But so far he hasn't been successful.
MICHAELSON: So Google has been willing to spend more money and that's why they're winning.
PETROW-COHEN: It's possible. Or Elon Musk just has something else to prove. I don't know.
MICHAELSON: Yes. Well, that is a huge story going forward. This is really interesting. You can check out your reporting at latimes.com. Caroline Petrow-Cohen, thanks for coming on. Great to have you first time.
PETROW-COHEN: Thanks for having me. Yes, thank you.
MICHAELSON: A Japanese woman is reportedly taking her love of AI to the next level. MS Kano, as she's called, is 32. After months of talking with an AI generated persona she named Klaus. She says she started to have feelings for it and eventually dated for a while before he popped the question. She said yes. Here you see her tearfully reading her wedding vows. The groom of course, appeared virtually despite their love.
Ms. Kano worries that Klaus could disappear altogether because ChatGPT is too unstable.
Speaking of unstable. OK, the new trailer is out for a documentary on First Lady Melania Trump. We'll hear what comedian Roy Wood Jr. has to say about that. Plus, details on his Christmas special. He joins us when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:34:01]
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson.
Let's take a look at today's top stories. President Trump is hailing his second term in office as a massive success. While addressing Americans Wednesday night, he highlighted his administration's efforts to curb illegal immigration. He also claimed that he has ended eight wars.
And he argued that he has made significant progress in lowering prices. That's despite a new poll showing his economic approval rating hitting an all-time low.
Warner Brothers Discovery is sticking with Netflix. The media giant, which is the parent company of CNN, has rejected a hostile takeover bid from Paramount and is advising its stakeholders to do the same.
WBD has agreed to an offer from Netflix to buy its studios and streaming assets. Its linear networks would be spun off into a separate company. It's linear assets include CNN.
[01:34:48]
MICHAELSON: A shift in the Oscars has shaken the entertainment industry, the academy awards announcing on Wednesday it is moving the ceremony from ABC Broadcast TV to fully streaming on YouTube in 2029. YouTube signed a multi-year deal and will hold exclusive rights to the Oscars through 2033. The awards show has aired on ABC for decades and will continue on ABC until 2028.
This Saturday, Roy Wood Jr. hosts a holiday special featuring the U.S. Air Force Band with comedy from Roy, Craig Robinson, music from Jessie James Decker and more. "ROY WOOD JR.'s VERY, VERY, VERY MERRY HOLIDAY SPECIAL Saturday at 8:00 on CNN and then watch CNN app.
And Roy Wood Jr. joins me now from Chicago. He's a comedian, the host of CNN's "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU".
It looks chilly there, but we love the background behind you. Roy, welcome back to THE STORY IS.
ROY WOOD JR., CNN HOST, "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU": It's a pleasure to talk to you. And thank you for giving me all three of my "verys" on my "merry". I appreciate you.
Some of these other people just "very merry", like no, it's three times "very". That's how you know its special.
MICHAELSON: Tell us about the special. What makes it so special? Some of the highlights.
WOOD, JR.: Well, I think what, what people are going to get is something that for, you know, for just a moment on the network, we're not talking about any politics. We don't even dabble in that.
It's literally a night with the United States Air Force Band from our historic Constitution Hall. and they're going to be playing a ton of holiday melodies.
And when I say this is fun for anybody that's three years old to 103 years old, which is also the age range of people in the audience.
MICHAELSON: So on your usual show, you talk about often the news of the week. So while I've got you, I want to get your take on a few headlines, including the new documentary that Melania Trump signed off on about her, that Amazon spent $40 million to get the rights to. The trailer came out today. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELANIA TRUMP, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Here we go again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can come in. You don't want to be outside. (INAUDIBLE)
M. TRUMP: Peacemaker and unifier.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MICHAELSON: Is this something that you want to check out? Do you think it's worth $40 million investment?
WOOD, JR.: I'm just happy that there's proof that Melania has been in the White House at some point this term, because she's been laying low. Like, kudos to Melania. Like, I wonder if that's part of why she laid low is to help build the excitement for the documentary.
I'll be honest with you, though, I'm kind of documentaried-out. There's been so many documentaries -- like it's to the point now when someone asks you if you've seen the documentary, you just go, no, I haven't seen it.
I'm still dealing -- I just finished "The Last Dance". No, I haven't seen the Diddy doc and I probably won't get to Melania until sometime in 2027.
I'm going to ask you a respectful question, though. What do we expect to learn from this? Is this to learn more about her, or her and Donald's relationship? Is this Melania's self-branding herself separate and apart from it?
That's what like -- I don't feel like we got anything like from the piece of the trailer that I've seen. I don't think we get a true idea of exactly what it itch is going to be scratched.
MICHAELSON: Yes, and Michael Jordan, of course, had a lot to say with how "The Last Dance" went down.
Other story this week. Oscars headed to YouTube, leaving ABC after decades there. It's now going to be streaming live. What do you make of that sort of watershed moment for the entertainment industry?
WOOD, JR.: I think we are officially in the Netflix versus YouTube battle for supremacy on television now. More TVs watch YouTube than mobile devices right now. I think that was the statistic from earlier this year. YouTube is as commonplace on your TV as any other channel.
So I think from a broadcast standpoint, I don't think it's going to be anything that jarring. YouTube is just trying to be a bigger player. And I think we're getting into the generation of people now where the people who were the first generation of cord cutters are now starting to become in that demo where they watch a lot of these Oscar-nominated films.
So I don't -- it's not that surprising to me. And I think that broadcast media is definitely at a crossroads, which is why you should download the CNN app and make sure that you're streaming CNN.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And it's -- and one of the things you can see there is your show, "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU". Do you -- do you have a -- as we approach the end of the year, do you have a favorite moment from this year, something that stands out to you?
[01:39:44]
WOOD, JR.: I would say, you know, we have the honor of having the Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett on twice. And I think both of her appearances definitely worth every penny. Like, definitely sharp as a wit, explosive as a firecracker, very funny. I think all of that -- yes. Yes.
MICHAELSON: You were with us on our first day on the air. It's great to have you back here, Roy Wood Jr. Of course, you can check him out on CNN's "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU". And on Saturday, "A VERY, VERY, VERY MERRY HOLIDAY SPECIAL", 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on CNN and the CNN app.
Thank you, Roy. And thank you for being a company man.
WOOD, JR.: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Here in L.A., the pink carpet is being rolled out for the first TikTok awards on American soil. The event has been held in 20 countries over the last five years, but this is the first time it will be held for U.S. creators.
TV personality La La Anthony set to host with music star Ciara performing at Thursday's ceremony. Both of them, of course, have been with professional athletes.
Some of the awards up for grabs include Best Video, Breakthrough Artist and CapCut Creator of the Year.
You're looking at footage from Brazil, where a replica of the Statue of Liberty collapsed this week. The mayor there says wind gusts of 80 kilometers, around 50 miles per hour, tore through the city and knocked over the statue, but luckily nobody was injured.
Launched through a department store chain known for having these replicas, the one in the video is just under 80 feet tall.
Just one week to go until Christmas Day and Mexico City is leaning into the festive feeling. The capital's main square is decked out in colorful decorations and lights. And hundreds of families showed up to watch the illuminated mosaics and LED displays switch on. Merry Christmas to them. Feliz Navidad.
You are watching THE STORY IS. For our international viewers, WORLDSPORT is next. For our viewers here in North America, I'll be right back for more news. Stay with us.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Military service members will receive a special we call "warrior dividend" before Christmas. A warrior dividend in honor of our nation's founding in 1776.
We are sending every soldier $1,776. Think of that. And the checks are already on the way.
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MICHAELSON: That's President Trump giving a speech to the nation a short time ago. He says nearly 1.5 million U.S. troops are expected to get that bonus check before Christmas.
The president said his tariffs brought in, quote, a lot more money than anybody thought. He didn't say directly, but that's how he plans to pay to fund the bonuses.
Now to a touching story of love and bravery as U.S. Navy military members return home just in time for Christmas.
Madison Wade from our affiliate King5 News in Seattle, reports on the happy homecoming.
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MADISON WADE, KING5 NEWS, SEATTLE: At the first sight of their loved ones coming home, these Navy families can hardly wait any longer.
OLIVER, FOUR-YEAR-OLD: My daddy's coming here.
WADE: Four-year-old Oliver hasn't seen his dad in 270 days.
OLIVER: I'm going to give him a big hug.
WADE: When you think about your dad, what do you think about?
OLIVER: About snuggling him.
WADE: Thousands of families gathered at Naval Base Kitsap despite the downpour for this monumental day.
KIMBERLY SEAVEY, NAVY WIFE: This is a very special one for us. Very emotional one. So I'm excited.
WADE: Kimberly won the longstanding tradition of first kiss with her husband, Tyler.
SEAVEY: He'll be getting off the -- he'll be one of the first to get off the ship. And then, he'll come and meet up with me, and then we'll give a little switcheroo.
WADE: The deployment was difficult for Kimberly. She navigated loss and grief by herself.
SEAVEY: I lost a pet, and I lost a couple of family members. And it just -- it kind of -- it was a little hard to deal with it by myself.
WADE: Which is why today is so important for her. Her heart will be whole again.
SEAVEY: Today is just overwhelming. I'm so overwhelmed.
WADE: And it's happening right before the holidays.
SEAVEY: It says, "My Christmas wish came true. Welcome home, babe." Because well, I get him home for Christmas, so.
WADE: As the families wait in the pouring rain, they begin to see their loved ones come off the carrier.
SEAVEY: I see him.
WADE: The anticipation is almost over.
SEAVEY: Do we go now?
WADE: Yes. It's time to be back together.
They are finally in each other's arms, as other couples weren't expecting a reunion like this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. Not at all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give daddy a big hug.
WADE: Love stories that weather the storm and distance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cheers for you.
WADE: Always find each other again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you want me to hold it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a really cool experience to be underway on deployment. But this is what I do it for.
WADE: In Bremerton -- Madison Wade, King5 News.
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MICHAELSON: Our thanks to Madison. Our thanks to all of them for their service. What a great story. Well, before the Internet and the age of streaming reel-to-reel tape
decks were a lifeline for western music for fans living behind the curtain -- the Iron Curtain, I should say. We'll show you how one man's collection is preserving this Soviet-era music history. That's next.
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MICHAELSON: Some remarkable video that scientists have never seen before. Researchers attached a camera to the back of an orca whale in British Columbia. And they found the orcas were cooperating with nearby dolphins to hunt for salmon.
It appears the dolphins were using their sonar to find larger salmon too big for the dolphins to handle. The orcas would then kill the big salmon, and the dolphins would share in the feast.
This kind of cooperation between killer whales and dolphins has never been observed before in the wild. Remarkable.
A month-long tug of war for NASA's top job is finally over, with President Trump's pick set to take the helm. Tech billionaire Jared Isaacman has been confirmed by the Senate as the space agency's new chief.
He is the CEO of the payment company Shift4 and a private astronaut, having previously been to space twice. Both times in partnership with Elon Musk's SpaceX.
While industry leaders are excited by his appointment, concerns have been raised over potential conflicts of interest because of his ties to Elon Musk.
Soviet-era reel-to-reel tape decks and recorders are finding a new life at a small museum in Kazakhstan, of all places, which has been preserving and collecting the machines and tapes for over two decades.
The owner says the bootleg tapes were the only way to access western music at a time when it was prohibited behind the Iron Curtain.
CNN's Polo Sandoval reports.
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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Before the Soviet era collapsed in the early 90s, most Western music was banned. But some people still found a way to listen to popular artists like Bob Marley or The Beatles on bootleg reel-to-reel tapes.
ANDREI KLIMENKO, COLLECTOR AND FOUNDER OF MUSEUM (through translator): We listened to what was prohibited to listen to -- foreign, European, American, English -- altogether Western music. SANDOVAL: Andrei Klimenko has been collecting these Soviet-era tape
recorders for two decades. And he runs a small museum in Almaty, Kazakhstan displaying more than 200 of them.
He says even though he can now legally listen to any music he likes, he still collects bootlegs.
KLIMENKO (through translator): I wanted to hear the sound I used to listen to when I was young.
SANDOVAL: During Soviet times, black market sellers in the USSR offered Western music. People would buy a record, then use a reel-to- reel to make a copy to share among their friends.
KLIMENKO (through translator): So we used to chip in on a record, copy it somewhere, and share this copy between ourselves. This is how we used to listen to music.
SANDOVAL: The museum owner says people of all ages enjoy visiting and hearing the tapes, even if they were born in post-Soviet times.
But those who were there for the Iron Curtain of music especially appreciate it.
EVGENY, MUSEUM VISITOR: This equipment has been close to my heart since I was a child. This museum even displays my first reel-to-reel tape recorder.
Polo Sandoval, CNN.
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MICHAELSON: Thank you, Polo.
Tomorrow, Frank Luntz, Alicia Kraus, Ethan Bearman are among our guests.
I'm Elex Michaelson. I'll see you tomorrow here on THE STORY IS.
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