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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Iranian Doctor: Everyone Is Trapped In Terror, Helplessness; Trump Claims Economic Success In Visit To Michigan; Newest Show In "Star Trek" Universe To Debut This Week; Interview with "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" Actor Gina Yashere; NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 to Return Early Amid Medical Concern; U.S. Investigating Device that Some Believe is Linked to "Havana Syndrome"; Transforming a Las Vegas Home Into an Art Gallery; Copernicus Releases Final Climate Data for 2025. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired January 14, 2026 - 01:00   ET

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

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ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: A Japanese astronaut captured these stunning images of the Aurora Borealis, also known as the northern lights from the International Space Station. Look at that. The effect is caused by charged particles that come from the sun and a steady stream or a solar wind. That astronaut is one of four members of the SpaceX Crew-11, who will be returning to Earth on Thursday. They're coming home earlier than scheduled due to a medical issue for one of the crew members. They're expected to splash down off the California coast early Thursday morning local time. And we will have special coverage of their return right here on an extended version of The Story Is which starts at 9:00 p.m. here on the West Coast and ends on at least 1:00 a.m. here on the West Coast.

So if you've ever thought two hours of The Story Is isn't enough. I want four hours and tomorrow is for you. Tonight, though, only two hours. Our second hour starts right now.

The Story Is, in Iran. President Trump vowing to help protesters after thousands were killed in the streets. We'll show you new video from inside the country.

The Story Is, wealth tax. California Governor Gavin Newsom slamming a proposal by fellow Democrats in an interview with Politico's Melanie Mason. Melanie's here live.

The Story Is, "Star Trek's" newest series. Star Gina Yashere is here to help us boldly go where no one has gone before.

The Story Is, in real life space, as NASA prepares for its first ever medical evacuation from the International Space Station.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles, The Story Is with Elex Michaelson. MICHAELSON: Welcome to The Story Is. I'm Elex Michaelson. We begin this hour with the deadly crackdown on protests in Iran. A U.S.-based human rights group now says more than 2,400 protesters have been killed by security forces since late December when those government just anti-government demonstrations first began. The organization says at least 12 of those killed are under the age of 18. CNN cannot independently verify those numbers.

The near total internet blackout is making it hard for information to get out of the country. President Trump is urging Iranians to keep fighting against the regime.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To all Iranian patriots, keep protesting. Take over your institutions if possible and save the name of the killers and the abusers that are abusing you. You're being very badly abused. I say save their names because they'll pay a very big price. And I've canceled all meetings with the Iranian officials until the senseless killing of protesters stops. And all I say to them is help is on its way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: U.S. State Department posted on social media that Iranian officials are planning to execute a 26-year-old protester on Wednesday. President Trump says the U.S. will take, "very strong action if it does so." Our Jomana Karadsheh has the exclusive reporting on what's happening now inside Iran. A warning, the images you're about to see are graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iranians are risking their lives to show the world the brutality the regime has unleashed. A ruthless crackdown, it's tried to conceal under the cover of a communications blackout.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There were bursts of automatic fire, screaming, people gathering, protests, the staccato of Dushka bursts, people shrieking and slogans in the street. I opened the window briefly. The smell of gunpowder and tear gas was everywhere.

KARADSHEH: This is the voice of a doctor who's just left Iran. He's sharing his account exclusively with CNN and the pro-reform news outlet Iran Wire. He still fears for his safety, so we are concealing his identity. We're bringing you this rare firsthand testimony of what he witnessed inside the country.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): He says the crackdown intensified dramatically on Thursday. It was just as we began getting pictures of larger crowds out on the streets of Iranian cities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Everything fell apart. At 8:00 p.m. the internet was cut. At 8:20, I got a call from the hospital. Doctor, come, you must come. When I arrived, I saw what we call a mass casualty situation. Every single one of the four operating rooms was full. I was there from 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. until the morning. I don't know how many surgeries I did, maybe 10:00 or 11:00.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): This is one of the few videos to have surfaced from inside Iran's hospitals. It shows some of the injured. But the doctor's testimony paints an even more distressing picture.

[01:05:11]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): From midnight Thursday onward the type of injuries changed. The live rounds started. By Friday evening all the beds were full. Most had pellet injuries and similar wounds.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Throughout these and previous protests the regime's security forces raided hospitals and hunted down injured protesters and the medical staff treating them. Turning places of healing into scenes of horror.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There was so much fear. Three patients contacted me through intermediaries. I was afraid to answer, wanting to make sure it wasn't security agents trying to trap me.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): The true scale of the carnage is only just beginning to emerge. Once again, so many Iranians find themselves abandoned and alone in this nightmare.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The hope being pumped by external media is not what we feel inside. Inside Iran, it's a mix of terror, desperation and a tiny flickering shred of hope.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Jomana Karadsheh, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: It's so tough to look at that. Joining us live now is CNN military analyst, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. Thank you for being with us. Thank you for staying up late for us. I'm curious, as a military strategist, when you look at those images, what do you make of the military strategy of the Iranian regime against its own people?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: That's a great question, Elex, and it's good to be with you. The real strategy here is one of intimidation. One of fear, as the doctor was mentioning in Jomana's reporting. And this is the way they coerce their people into submission. And that's what you're trying to see here.

Now, the question is, is this still going to be effective? Because we have to remember that the soldiers and the policemen who are doing this kind of work are actually from the same population that is being victimized here. So that's going to be, I think, a major issue. At what point is the population going to influence the military and the police forces to switch sides?

Now, when that happens, and it can happen, and it looks, you know, possible in this particular situation that it could happen, then all bets are off. And then the regime is, of course, in great danger when something like that happens. But the question is, will it happen in this particular go-around, or is that something that might happen in the future? That's something that we don't really know yet.

And especially with the access to Iran being cut off through the internet and through other means, it's really hard to assess that right now. But it is definitely a strategy of fear and intimidation that the Iranians are employing right now.

MICHAELSON: And we have heard that the protesters would like the U.S. to get involved to help make that happen, what you're talking about. What are the actual U.S. options on the table here? President Trump says that he wants to help. How can he?

LEIGHTON: Yes, that's going to be really difficult for the U.S. to do. So let's take a look at the disposition of forces. Right now we have no aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf or in nearby regions. There is one off of Venezuela in the Caribbean. There are a couple in Asia right now and one kind of in between Asia and the Middle East. So there are certain aspects here that the U.S. can influence, particularly through soft power, things like the Voice of America or similar services that provide information. That could be pumped up right now.

That could be something that could really help at least provide information to the protesters and other people in the resistance in Iran. But those areas have been curtailed through budget cuts and through personnel cuts over the past year. So that's, you know, one area where there is, you know, clearly a mismatch between what is actually happening and the strategy that should be employed in a case like this.

In terms of other weapons systems, the more kinetic options, you would have the possibility of using B-2 bombers. But that's such a really hard weapon to use in a case like this. That's something that you use against things like deeply buried targets like a nuclear bunker or something like that. That is not appropriate in a case like this.

So once again, the options are limited. And when you have a situation like this, really the only way to properly influence it is either, one, you put boots on the ground, which is something that's really unpalatable for the Trump administration. Or at least that's what they say is unpalatable to them. Or you influence things indirectly through covert operations and influence operations such as through media or through social media.

[01:10:12]

So that's what we're looking at here. And right now, I don't see that particular strategy evolving from the U.S. administration at this point.

MICHAELSON: Yes, and some of that covert stuff could be happening right now. We don't even know it because it is, in a sense, covert. That's the whole point. Cedric Leighton, retired U.S. Air Force colonel, really appreciate you sharing your perspective as only you can. Thank you so much.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Elex. Anytime.

MICHAELSON: We are also following a deadly incident in Thailand. Reuters reports at least 19 people there were killed after a construction crane collapsed north of Bangkok, hitting a train and causing it to derail. We're hearing there are more bodies in the wreckage that rescuers have not yet recovered.

At least 80 people were injured. Police say the crane was part of a high-speed rail project and crashed onto a passing train, which briefly caught fire. Rescue operation is underway right now. We'll bring you more information if we get more details.

Meanwhile, tensions are mounting in Minnesota as protesters there and ICE agents keep clashing in the streets. Hundreds of more immigration officers are now in that city following the deadly ICE shootings of Renee Good last week.

A few blocks away from where she was killed, another woman in another car was confronted by federal agents on Tuesday. Here's what happened.

Court hearings set for Wednesday in the Minnesota lawsuit against the federal government's escalating immigration enforcement. The suit is seeking a court order to halt the statewide crackdown by the DHS. Here's Minnesota Attorney General on why he thinks President Trump is targeting the state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEITH ELLISON, MINNESOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL: He's clearly mad at Minnesota because we rejected him at the ballot box three times straight. He's upset about that and he said so recently, and I'm sure you can probably roll tape on that. But I believe that he is -- that's why we have to go to court to stop him. That's why it is necessary for the state of Minnesota, city of St. Paul, city of Minneapolis to ask a court to intervene because I do not believe that the President will stop simply because there's evidence, clear evidence that this surge is not doing what he said he wanted it to do, which is to deal with crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: This comes as President Trump warns that a reckoning is coming to Minnesota. He took to Truth Social on Tuesday, attacking Minnesota Democrats and calling ICE agents patriots. U.S. Justice Department says there is no basis for a criminal investigation into the ICE agent who fatally shot Renee Good.

At least six Minnesota prosecutors have now resigned after pressure from the Trump administration to shift the probe to the actions of Good and those around her, not the ICE officers.

Well, we got some breaking economic news from just a few moments ago. Saks Global, the parents company of luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue, just filed for bankruptcy protection. This is according to Reuters, citing court documents filed in bankruptcy court in Houston, Texas. That company had struggled with a heavy debt load following its purchase of rival Neiman Marcus back in 2024.

Now, that breaking news coming as the U.S. economy's latest government fisher -- figures show consumer prices rising 2.7 percent December, a slight improvement over the last year, but little comfort to Americans still struggling with affordability issues. President Trump on a visit to Michigan claiming victory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: As of this morning, core inflation for the past three months has been just 1.6 percent. The numbers were just announced just before I came on stage. And GDP is smashing expectations with the fastest growth for this country in many years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: The president rattled off a series of other economic claims that have been refuted by fact check teams, including the team at CNN, including that inflation has stopped, which is not true, and that grosses prices are falling rapidly. The cost of prescription drugs, he said, are coming down up to 600 percent. We have not seen that happen.

Joining me now live in studio is Melanie Mason, a senior political reporter for Politico. Melanie, welcome back to The Story Is.

MELANIE MASON, SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER, POLITICO: Thanks for having me.

MICHAELSON: Talk to us about this moment for President Trump and how the economy and this issue affordability, which is a word he doesn't really like that much, hangs over so many things.

MASON: You know, I was struck when we were listening to his speech today in Michigan. You know, he tried to put so much of the blame on his predecessor, right? He was talking how much about how former President Biden handed him these, you know, terrible economic conditions that he has to recover.

[01:15:06]

And yet I'm struck at how much what we're hearing from him is similar to what we heard from then President Biden and saying, like, you know, the numbers actually say that things aren't that bad. Don't believe how you're feeling with your own personal finances. Things are actually quite good.

That's a tough place to be with the voters, because if voters are not feeling confident about the economy and they know how they feel about what their own personal finances are, it's hard to tell them that they're wrong. I think that President Biden found that out the hard way when he tried to tout Bidenomics.

MICHAELSON: Bidenomics, which was branding that was not very good. And Donald Trump, one of the world's great branders, you know, in history, who sell, sell, sell, is struggling. If you tell somebody, you know, what's happening in this country isn't happening, they may not know it. But if you tell somebody your prices are going down, they go to the grocery store and they see that their prices aren't. That's something the average person does know.

MASON: I think trying to say affordability is a hoax is just not necessarily going to resonate when people are thinking about how things feel unaffordable. And so I do wonder if we're going to see a messaging pivot as we get closer to the midterms. But it seems like he's pretty dug in on this being his economic message.

MICHAELSON: So affordability is certainly not a hoax here in California, which is about the most unaffordable state in the union. I almost said country, and some people think of it almost as its own country.

You just did a really interesting interview with the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, who some people see as a front runner to be the Democratic nominee next year. And one issue that is now center stage here in California is this wealth tax. So this is a proposal we want to put up on the screen, some of the specifics here. It's a 5 percent tax on the wealth of residents worth at least a billion dollars. This has not passed. Unions want to put this on the ballot in November. They don't have the signatures to do that yet. Governor Newsom, very against this.

MASON: And he's consistently been against this. We have been hearing this drumbeat from him that he doesn't like the idea of a state level wealth tax. And he will say we have 49 other states to compete with. And if billionaires feel like, you know, the state of California is going to come after their assets, they will just go to Florida or Nevada.

And sure enough, what we saw recently are these headlines that say that some of these high net worth individuals are doing just that. And so when you see things like Google co-founders leaving the state or preparing to at least show that they have plans to leave the state, I think that really sends a chill through his spine. And so what we've seen now is this steady escalation of him making it very clear that he does not support this proposal and that it's not just, you know, conservatives who are anti this, that there's actually a lot of concern among liberals, among Democrats, even among some other labor unions, even as there is some, you know, union support for this. And so I think we're seeing these fissures really start to come to the surface.

MICHAELSON: So there's basically two ways to get things done in California. One is to do it as legislation that the governor signs off on. He has stopped this from happening over the years. The other way to go around the governor is to do this in proposition form, go straight to the voters, put it on the ballot. You need about 900,000 signatures to get it on the ballot. And that's apparently what's happening here. A quote from your interview, which is interesting, we want to put up on the screen. This is Governor Newsom's last year. And he said, this is not how I wanted to spend my last year. But if this thing goes on the ballot, it's going to be a huge fight.

MASON: It's going to take up all the oxygen in the room. And, yes, I mean, we saw him last week give his state of the state address, his last big sort of table setting speech as governor, where he wants to set his narrative about what's happening in California. And here comes this conversation about the wealth tax. And it has just fully drowned out what he is trying to sort of portray about his tenure in the state.

And so, yes, it was very telling to me that he said, you know, this is not what I want to do. In fact, he then said, I just spent, you know, the fall spending more than one $1,800 million for Prop 50 for his redistricting measure. So I think he's not necessarily relishing the idea of maybe having to raise money to oppose this because he really, really does not like this idea.

I also just want to point out that this direct democracy concept, right, that is in California and other states that people can, if they collect signatures, put on the ballot. But he sort of lamented to me, or I guess I should say he observed to me that as people are calling him complaining about this idea and maybe lamenting the idea of direct democracy, he said he had a conversation with one person who said, well, that's ironic. You seem to like direct democracy quite a bit when you supported the recall against me. So sometimes people like the referendums or they like the ballot measures and sometimes not so much. Sometimes the same people.

MICHAELSON: Yes. And then, of course, he liked it when he did Prop 50.

MASON: Absolutely.

MICHAELSON: So there you go. Interesting. Also, you talk to him about his podcast. So if people will remember around this time last year, he launched This Is Gavin Newsom, which was a podcast that started with Charlie Kirk. He invited a bunch of Republicans on at the beginning. Steve Bannon was on the podcast. Sanjay Gupta has been on more recently, invited all sorts of folks. Newt Gingrich has done this. What did he tell you about the podcast?

[01:20:09]

MASON: So I was very struck about the idea that that he is fully leaning in to what he's accomplished in this podcast. He told me that it exceeded his expectations that he set out to do. And I think we should remember that Charlie Kirk interview was hugely controversial among Democrats. He got a lot of pushback from his own party because, you know, some of the comments he made about transgender student athletes that Democrats felt were sort of out of line with some of their values, but also just this idea that he's having these conservative influences.

MICHAELSON: And they felt like that he was not pushing back hard enough on them or something you asked him.

MASON: Yes, it was it was it was very friendly. And his -- what he told me is that was exactly the point, that he didn't want to have these sort of Democratic safe spaces conversations. He wanted to have the people over who are aligned with the MAGA movement to understand what makes them tick. And so a Steve Bannon or Newt Gingrich, he sounds like he was more excited to talk to them than some of his fellow Democrats.

MICHAELSON: Yes, well, it's a really interesting interview. People can check it out at politico.com. You can also get Melanie's work in the entire California Politico team by subscribing to the California Politico playbook. You get for free every day and read it as I do every morning. Melanie, thank you so much. Great interview.

MASON: Thank you.

MICHAELSON: Still to come, 60 years of "Star Trek" and new stories are still being told. One of the actresses in the brand new series joins me on set when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[01:25:48]

GINA YASHERE, COMEDIAN & ACTRESS, "STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY": Were you instructed to jettison your gear?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Uh, no.

YASHERE: Who do you think you are speaking with, boy? You are in the presence of Lura Thok, daughter of Ashmeret from the Klingon house of Dakhatash and the Jem'Hadar lineage of Khabaj. Master.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: That's a clip from the brand new "Star Trek" series called "Starfleet Academy." Gina Yashere plays Commander Lura Thok, a tough but loving professor teaching cadets how to be Starfleet officers. It debuts January 15th on Paramount Plus. Gina is here now without all that makeup. Welcome to The Story Is.

YASHERE: I wanted to wear it for you Elex, but you know, I don't know. I didn't have the hours to spare.

MICHAELSON: Yes. Who is Commander Thok?

YASHERE: Well, Commander Thok is the captain's number one, and she's also the cadet master.

MICHAELSON: "Starfleet Academy." This was a concept in -- for those of us that are obsessed with "Star Trek." Remember from "Star Trek Next Generation," when they showed Wesley Crusher and sort of the next generation of where they learn to be Starfleet officers. And now they've turned this into an entire series, right? It's the idea of training the next generation.

YASHERE: That's right. So I think the show is now ushering a new generation of audience. So we've got these young cadets anywhere between the ages of 17 and 23 coming in to learn how to be Starfleet officers in the future. And so I'm one of those people beating them into shape.

MICHAELSON: Yes. You're pretty tough, right?

YASHERE: I'm pretty tough. Yes. So I'm tough, but I've got a soft exterior. You might see it later on in the season.

MICHAELSON: OK. So when we look at that makeup, there's a lot going on there.

YASHERE: There's a lot going on.

MICHAELSON: What's the process like for that?

YASHERE: Well, it's three hours. It takes approximately three hours to get all of that on and about an hour to get it off. So it's different pieces that are actually glued to my skin. So they're separate pieces. There's two pieces that go here, one under the chin and neck, then forehead, and a whole piece that goes on top of my head. And that thing in the first season was heavy and hot.

MICHAELSON: And it hurt your neck, right?

YASHERE: Yes. I had to do special exercises to strengthen my neck muscles so that when it went on my head, it pulled my head back and I had to go, right. And so I've got very strong neck muscles now. But they -- you know, the team is fantastic, and they've improved the formula. So we're shooting season two right now, and between one and two, it's got lighter, it's got more breathable. So, yes, the prosthetic improves all the time.

MICHAELSON: So "Star Trek" is turning 60 years old this year.

YASHERE: Yes, it is, yes.

MICHAELSON: To think about William Shatner, who's still going all these years later.

YASHERE: Yes, yes.

MICHAELSON: Started as Captain Kirk and Spock and Sulu and all the rest of them. Sort of what's your relationship to the show and sort of what have you learned from "Star Trek" over the years?

YASHERE: I mean, I watched it as a kid. You know, as a kid, I watched the original "Star Trek."

MICHAELSON: The original series.

YASHERE: The original series.

MICHAELSON: Captain Kirk.

YASHERE: And then I kind of fell off it. I watched a couple of movies. And then when I got this role, I had to go back and become a retroactive Trekkie. So I watched DS9 because I wanted to learn the history of the Jem'Hadar, which is what I'm half of, and the Klingons and obviously the great Michael Jordan. So I literally went back and watched it and became a Trekkie anew.

MICHAELSON: And it's amazing, even back then, that Gene Roddenberry was so focused on these ideas of inclusion, diversity, and showing people that they could see themselves in space. And Whoopi Goldberg, who was played Guinan in the Next Generation, talked about seeing Nichelle Nichols on stage has made her think, oh, my God, there are people that look like me in the future.

YASHERE: Exactly. I mean, "Star Trek" has been woke from day one. Woke is a good word. It's been given negative connotations. But woke just means you're awake and aware of everything that's going in the world around you. And that's what he's always been about, and that's what "Star Trek" has always been about. And so we're just carrying on that legacy.

MICHAELSON: And some people don't really think about this, but "Star Trek" has also always had comedic elements in it, some episodes more than others. And you come from a standup comedian, professional background. How do you sort of think of that in terms of this role?

[01:29:58]

YASHERE: Well, the character, you know, she -- Lura is funny, but she doesn't know she's funny.

So, you know, I wanted to play her as a serious character, but inject humor with just an inflection of the voice, the shout, or timing. So yes, so I wanted to -- I think they knew when they booked me that they wanted to inject some humor into this character.

So yes, she's a very funny character.

MICHAELSON: They take advantage of that.

YASHERE: Yes, I enjoy that.

MICHAELSON: Well, it's great to have you here in southern California.

And I know we just are marking the one-year mark since the fires here. And you had a home in Altadena --

YASHERE: I did.

MICHAELSON: -- that burned and you just came back there with your wife, first time that she had seen it.

YASHERE: Yes.

MICHAELSON: What has that been like for you? How are you reflect on that one-year anniversary?

YASHERE: I mean, yes, it's very emotional because that was our forever home. We thought we were going to die in that house. You know, we put everything into it and it was -- it was like a community center.

All our friends and family used to come. We had some epic parties there. And it was kind of a hub. And we were friends with all our neighbors. We'd have street parties and we all got -- we all knew each other very well.

So coming back, it's very emotional and very sad because, you know, that was our home, you know, and it feels like it's an end of an era. But we still own the land and we're waiting for the result of the lawsuit. And hopefully we'll be able to come back and rebuild.

MICHAELSON: Hopefully can rebuild --

YASHERE: Yes.

MICHAELSON: -- and be back in that home not too long from now.

All right. We're going to end on some quick, rapid-fire questions. First thing that comes to mind.

YASHERE: Right.

MICHAELSON: What is your favorite TV show other than "Star Trek"?

YASHERE: Oh, there's too many to name. "Breaking Bad" was one. Comedies -- I loved "Scrubs", I loved "Malcolm in the Middle", I loved "Everybody Hates Chris".

MICHAELSON: Ok. So you're a big Bryan --

YASHERE: Too many.

MICHAELSON: -- you're a big Bryan Cranston fan, apparently.

YASHERE: yes.

MICHAELSON: Favorite comedian.

YASHERE: Oh, my. Probably I'm going to say Wanda Sykes, obviously.

MICHAELSON: Oh, great.

YASHERE: Obviously.

MICHAELSON: Favorite actor or actress?

YASHERE: Too many to name. Oh my God.

MICHAELSON: Pick one.

YASHERE: Denzel, Holly Hunter, Paul Giamatti.

MICHAELSON: Ok. Well -- two of those are in the show with you.

Favorite band or musical artist?

YASHERE: Oh. De la Soul (ph), Public Enemy, Missy Elliott.

MICHAELSON: And who is your all-time favorite "Star Trek" character?

YASHERE: Oh. I love Spock. I don't know why. It was the lack of --

MICHAELSON: Who doesn't love Spock? He's many people's all-time favorite.

(CROSSTALKING)

YASHERE: But then I also love Michael Dorns character.

MICHAELSON: Which is, of course, Worf.

YASHERE: Worf --

MICHAELSON: In both "Next Generation" and "DS9".

YASHERE: The greatest Klingon of all time. Yes.

MICHAELSON: He's pretty great.

YASHERE: Yes.

MICHAELSON: And I know you can do the Spock live long and prosper.

YASHERE: Only with my left hand. Good thing I'm left-handed. Live long and prosper.

MICHAELSON: That is impressive. I love "Star Trek". Have my entire life. I can't do it, so.

YASHERE: What?

MICHAELSON: I'll leave it to you.

YASHERE: How can you be a Trekkie and not be able to do that?

MICHAELSON: I don't know.

YASHERE: You must practice.

MICHAELSON: Congratulations on the new series -- excited again. People can check it out January 15th on Paramount+.

More of THE STORY IS right after this.

[01:33:03]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: In just over 24 hours from now, four astronauts will be on their way home, returning to earth more than a month earlier than their original mission, planned due to an undisclosed medical issue affecting one of those astronauts.

NASA's SpaceX Crew 11, set to splashdown off the California coast shortly before 1:00 a.m. local time. We will cover it live here.

Live now from Houston, Texas is retired NASA astronaut Colonel Terry Virts, currently a candidate -- Democratic candidate for Congress. Thanks so much for being with us

COL. TERRY VIRTS, RETIRED NASA ASTRONAUT: Thanks for having me on.

MICHAELSON: So how serious a medical condition does this have to be to bring an entire crew home? I know we don't have the actual diagnosis released publicly, but what do you think is going on here?

VIRTS: You know, this is something we've been ready since the beginning of the space station program 25 years ago. My crews knew that if there was a problem with one person, we'd all jump in the ship and come back.

The NASA medical community actually thinks there's a 1 to 3 percent chance every year that this might happen. So, we've been lucky so far. Knock on wood, this hasn't happened, but it's happening now.

We know that it's not too serious. If it was an emergency, you could literally jump in the capsule and come back to earth immediately. So they're -- they've waited about a week. So we know this is something that it's worth coming back to earth, but it's not an emergency.

MICHAELSON: So what will the next 30 hours or so look like for this crew?

VIRTS: Well, the next few hours until they leave the space station, well, they're going to get rested up and then it's going to be very busy making sure everything's packed. Packing capsules is a -- is a big deal. It's like packing for your family vacation in the minivan. But it's very intense because you can't go back once you leave, you're gone.

They're going to be fluid loading where you drink a lot of water and salty water like Gatorade or chicken soup, something like that. That helps your body readjust to gravity once you get the shock of, man, I've been floating weightlessly for months, and all of a sudden there's this intense gravity.

And then they're going to, you know, splash down, that's a shock and get on the boat. And all of a sudden, what was space and floating in this beautiful view of earth is suddenly the tyranny of gravity.

But the great friends and family that you get to be with and the food on earth too. So it's a big change coming up in the next few hours.

[01:39:44]

MICHAELSON: Is that what you missed the most, The food?

VIRTS: I missed my family and my friends the most. But yes, the food was pretty good too. I remember the first thing I had was a chicken sandwich. We had to stop in this Kazakhstan airport. We flew an old Russian

military helicopter a couple hours, and as we were going through this civilian airport, my flight surgeon went to like the kiosk and got a chicken sandwich. And it was awesome.

It was real bread. I hadn't had real bread in seven months. So that was the first -- that was the first food I remember.

MICHAELSON: So in our last segment, we were talking to an actress from "Star Trek", and I'm sure you, like so many astronauts, were inspired by "Star Trek".

And we want to point out a particular picture, talk to us about what's going on here.

VIRTS: Yes, I was -- I have so many connections to "Star Trek" I never expected. I was on the last episode of "Star Trek Enterprise" -- all these things. But when I was in space, we did three spacewalks in a week.

And the night before the third spacewalk, I was incredibly busy. I get this email from NASA public affairs. "Leonard Nimoy had passed away. Mr. Spock had died. So do something."

And I didn't know what to do. So I went down to the cupola. I did the live long and prosper and posted it out. And it got so many millions of views because -- it wasn't because of me. It was just a tribute, a very fitting tribute to Leonard Nimoy.

If you look at that picture, if you look at where earth is, it was Boston is in the background. You see that little hook? That's Cape Cod. And I didn't mean to do it. It was just, you know, blind luck.

But that's Boston. And Leonard Nimoy was from Boston. So there's actually a statue of Leonard Nimoy at the Boston Science Museum.

So it was a really cool tribute to one of my heroes, Leonard Nimoy. Everybody loves Spock.

MICHAELSON: Everybody loves Spock. And since your hand was covered a moment ago, maybe we can take your picture full. Do you want to give us one more live long -- let's, let's take him full. There it is.

Live long and prosper. Thank you very much for your service to our country. Thanks for joining us tonight. And best of luck on the campaign trail.

VIRTS: Thank you. I appreciate it. Looking forward to seeing my friends get back safely to earth.

MICHAELSON: And we will have special coverage of that splashdown tomorrow night on an extended four-hour edition of THE STORY IS.

That's it for us. For our international viewers, you've got WORLDSPORT up next.

If you're in North America, I'll be back with more of THE STORY IS. Stay with us.

[01:42:01]

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MICHAELSON: U.S. investors (SIC) believe they may have the source behind the mysterious illness known as "Havana Syndrome". It first emerged in late 2016 when U.S. diplomats stationed in Cuba reported symptoms of vertigo and extreme headaches.

The U.S. Defense Department has spent nearly a decade trying to find the cause.

Well now, sources tell CNN that Homeland Security investigators have been testing a device purchased in an undercover operation that may be the culprit. They say it emits pulse, radio waves and contains some Russian components.

The device is still being studied. The illness remains unofficially -- officially unexplained.

MICHAELSON: When people think of Las Vegas casinos, flashing lights and entertainment certainly come to mind. But some prominent art advisers want to remind people there's real art woven all around the city.

Reporter Jaclyn Schultz catches up with them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RALPH DELUCA, ART ADVISOR: Vegas is ripe to have a New York gallery energy here.

Vegas is non-apologetic. It's not trying to be New York or L.A. or Aspen or the Hamptons. There's kitsch, but there's also very serious people here who care about art.

JACLYN SCHULTZ, REPORTER: Heavy hitter, art advisor to the stars and Vegas resorts Ralph DeLuca has a passion for Las Vegas art. So much so, he collects rare poker chips from properties past, and gave this lion sculpture from the Mirage a proper home at his home.

When he wanted a home in Vegas, his friend Marty or Martin Scorsese, who notably directed the iconic movie "Casino", told him he would love the Paradise Palms neighborhood where the movie was filmed.

Years later, in an homage to Las Vegas, he is now partnered with Alex Shulan of Gallery Lomax, New York.

ALEX SHULAN, GALLERY LOMAX OWNER: Our partner Kalshi (ph) did the whole interior specifically for the exhibition.

We tried to install the artworks kind of in this natural native environment for them so that they flow naturally through the house.

SCHULTZ: To launch Lomax Las Vegas, an art gallery in a time capsule with interior designer Carlotta Champagne, the two artists featured throughout the home, Haji Shin and Matthew Maloof, were married in a Las Vegas chapel.

SHULAN: There's an opening for artists and for visual culture that doesn't exist in New York. People don't make a differentiation between if you're walking down the Strip between the environment and casino or an artwork, it all exists horizontally, which is really exciting to me as an art --

DELUCA: Artists are super excited.

SHULAN: In some capacity, like it shows people how you can live with art.

SCHULTZ: There are a lot of people who appreciate it, but it's envisioning how you can own it and have it in your home.

SHULAN: Totally.

DELUCA: So people come to these 20-foot-high galleries with cement floors and big white walls. And you can buy work and its great work. And now you're living with it over a fireplace or by a table or in your bedroom or your family room.

Even these two you're dealing with photography. You're dealing with paintings, how they could work together in different environments, crash course and how you could live with art in any type of home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Our thanks to Jaclyn Schultz.

Copernicus has released its final climate data for 2025. Ahead, what the Climate Change Monitoring Service said about last year's pretty hot temperatures.

[01:48:49]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: The European service that monitors climate change has released its final climate data for last year. And Copernicus says that 2025 is the third hottest year on record.

CNN's Derek Van Dam takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: New environmental data just dropped from Copernicus, European's earth monitoring services, and it's a shocker. 2025 was the third warmest year on record across the planet. Only marginally cooler than 2023 and cooler than 2024, which we know went down as the hottest year ever recorded on Planet Earth.

I want you to take note on this map, the global map here into the Antarctic region. This is an area where we had the warmest annual temperature ever recorded, according to this recent study. And into the arctic, we had our second warmest annual temperature ever recorded.

What's interesting about this is that the three-year period we're in, from 2023 to 2025, this is the first three-year period where the earth's temperature averaged above that 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold, The ever-important threshold set back in the Paris Climate Accord. And the last 11 years have been the warmest 11 years on record.

So that's really saying something about the trajectory of the temperature of our planet, right? So you look at this map and you can see some of the pre-industrial references for the -- let's say, the 1940s and 1950s and then the gradual increase in our temperatures.

[01:54:44]

VAN DAM: This is an astounding map as well. What you're looking at is where the extremes were the most evident throughout 2025. So this map kind of showing you where the extreme temperature days increased the most.

Take note of East Asia, southern portions of Australia, portions of Europe and into North Africa, as well as North America. These are the temperature days that we've seen on the increase that stress our human body, they stress the power grid and they further exacerbate droughts.

So as we continue to release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, no doubt we will have these continued emissions with business as usual. We will see the extreme heat stress days increase, but also the global average temperature increase unfortunately as well.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Derek Van Dam, thank you.

If you're afraid of heights, you might not want to watch this. Four professional winter sports athletes have completed an ultimate challenge. It's a 350-meter long course in the Italian alps that's just a few meters wide, called "slopestyle on the edge".

At an altitude of about 6,500 feet, steep cliffs either side, not a lot of room for risky landings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FELIX GEORGII, X GAMES WAKEBOARD CHAMPION AND SNOWBOARDER: The main challenge is to ride the course here is to be really, really precise, to land perfectly, to not try too crazy things that you are not sure with.

You want to do the stuff you know how to do it, land perfectly and keep going on the on the on the rest of the track.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MICHAELSON: He says after getting past the nerves, riding the tightrope is the best feeling ever. Good for him.

I don't think I'm ever going to experience that.

Thanks for watching THE STORY IS. Again, tomorrow a special edition will be on for four hours as that splashdown is planned from the -- we'll see you then.

Good night.

[01:56:37]

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