Return to Transcripts main page

The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Trump Announces Two-Week Ceasefire As Iran Agrees To Reopen Hormuz Strait; Oil Prices Drop And Stocks Rally After Trump's Ceasefire Announcement; Pakistan Has Emerged As A Mediator Between U.S. And Iran; Trump Agrees to Suspend Strikes on Iran for Two Weeks; Interview with "Hacks" Stars Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder; Artemis II's Orion Capsule Leaves Lunar Sphere of Influence. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired April 08, 2026 - 01:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:02:10]

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: The Artemis II crew is enjoying a delicious earthly treat on their journey as you can see from a jar of Nutella that's floating around the cabin. It was spotted right before the crew set the record for longest distance humans have traveled from earth and it quickly went viral. Good for them.

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

MICHAELSON: I'm Elex Michelson live in Los Angeles we are following breaking news here on The Story Is. Celebrations in the streets of Tehran.

Big crowds welcoming the news of a two week ceasefire between U.S. and Iran. President Trump announced the agreement on social media just hours before his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian government leaders are claiming victory, saying their military will coordinate passage through the Strait of Hormuz. That is the vital oil route effectively closed by Iran since the start of the war.

Pakistan mediated the agreement. Prime minister has invited the U.S. and Iran to Islamabad for direct talks on Friday, April 10. U.S. officials say Vice President JD Vance will likely be involved. The White House reports Israel has also agreed to the ceasefire, although a source says Israeli officials have concerns.

Pakistan's prime minister says the ceasefire agreement also includes Lebanon. The Israeli prime minister's office disputes that.

CNN covering the war with correspondents all around the globe. We'll hear from Ivan Watson in Hong Kong, Sophia Saifi in Islamabad later this hour. Right now we're joined by Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi, Mike Valerio in Beijing. But we start things off with Julia Benbrook live in Washington. Julia,

what are we hearing from the White House? We just heard from the president within the last hour.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We did. But taking a step back, you know, Tuesday started with this post where President Donald Trump said, quote, a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. And now less than 24 hours later, he is saying that this could be the golden age of the Middle East.

I want to pull up that most recent post. This came just after midnight, Eastern, 12:01 to be exact. And in this he said, quote, a big day for world peace. Iran wants it to happen. They've had enough. Likewise, so has everyone else.

The United States of America will be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz. There will be lots of positive action. Big money will be made. Iran can start the reconstruction process. We will be loading up with supplies of all kinds and just hanging around in order to make sure that everything goes well. I feel confident that it will like we are experiencing in the U.S. this could be the golden age of the Middle East.

[01:05:10]

Now this came after he announced that the United States had accepted a proposal from Pakistan for this two-week cease fire. And that came just less than two hours before Trump's deadline and his threat looming that he would target Iranian bridges and infrastructure.

One thing that he said was very important to any sort of a ceasefire deal was the Strait of Hormuz, that critical waterway where 20 percent of the world's oil typically passes through. And Iran's foreign minister said that its military will be helping coordinate the passage of vessels through that strait during the ceasefire. That in that post Trump is saying that the United States will be assisting in some way.

I have reached out to the White House for clarification on that. But at different points Trump has even floated the idea of a U.S.-Iran jointly run straight. Now not saying that is a for sure possibility, but that is something that he has floated which would likely get a lot of pushback.

And as his rhetoric has changed throughout this whole process, so have his deadlines. When he first threatened to target Iranian power facilities, he said a 48-hour deadline that was paused for five days, extended for 10, set for Monday and then that Tuesday 8:00 p.m. deadline and this two week ceasefire.

So what's next? What could negotiations look like? Pakistan's foreign minister has invited representatives from the United States and Iran to have talks on Friday. White House press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has confirmed to CNN that there are discussions about the possibility of talks, but essentially nothing is for sure. Nothing is set until we hear it from the President. MICHAELSON: Julia Benbrook, where it is now one o'clock in the morning in Washington. Julia, thank you. Now to Paula who is in Abu Dhabi where it's nine o'clock in the morning. Paula, good morning to you. What are you hearing on the ground there?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Elex, people have certainly woken up with a great deal of relief here in the region, in the Gulf region, in Israel, because there is this temporary ceasefire. Now no matter how many questions remain, no matter how temporary it may appear at this point, it is certainly a better position that this neighborhood is in than when went to bed last night.

Now we did see some incoming projectiles from Iran. Israel was had impacts in central Israel, we know here in the UAE, 3:30 this morning, half an hour before that deadline ran out. There were a number of interceptions as well. The same in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia. But it has been quiet since that point.

Now, we have heard a number of different responses from Iran. We've heard from the Foreign Minister welcoming this ceasefire, saying that the military will coordinate safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and that Washington has accepted the general framework of Iran's 10- point proposal.

We had a statement as well from the National Security Council, a more fiery statement claiming victory and going into that 10-point plan a lot closer. We have a quote from state media as that was read out. I want to play it to you so you can hear some of the things that Iran is claiming victory for. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Iran has achieved a great victory and forced America to accept its 10 point plan. America is committed to non-aggression, continued Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz, acceptance of enrichment, lifting of all sanctions, termination of all resolutions of the Security Council and Board of Governors, payment of compensation to Iran, withdrawal of American forces from the region and secession of war on all fronts, including against the Islamic resistance of Lebanon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: Now clearly there are some elements in there that would not be palatable to Washington. The lifting of all international sanctions, the acceptance of nuclear enrichment for example. But this is a starting point this two-week ceasefire, giving diplomats the space and time to be able to try and narrow the gap between the two sides.

But listening to that, and that is on Iranian state media, it does show you the two sides are fairly far apart at this point.

Now we did see some coming out onto the streets pre-dawn in Tehran to celebrate the temporary ceasefire. We did see burning of American and Israeli flags, the holding up of photos of the Supreme Leader. So clearly what was filmed was a pro regime gathering on the streets of Tehran.

[01:10:05]

But there was skepticism in what many were saying that there is no trust between Iran and the U.S. and that negotiations have happened twice in the past. But during those negotiations, the U.S. has carried out attacks against Iran.

So skepticism in Iran. There is skepticism in Israel. We understand from sources there as well. They -- there is almost a reluctance to have agreed to this cease fire, we understand, in Iran, because they did have a number of targets they still wanted to hit, but they have agreed to stop the military action in Iran.

It's not so clear when it comes to Lebanon. According to the prime minister's office in Israel, they say that this doesn't apply to Lebanon. What we heard from Pakistan's prime minister in announcing this temporary ceasefire was that it did include Lebanon and the U.S. President has not mentioned Lebanon at all. So that's something that really does need to be clarified. Elex.

MICHAELSON: Pretty important detail there. Paula Hancocks, thank you.

Now to Mike Valerio, where it is one o'clock in the afternoon. Good afternoon to you. The markets are open in Asia right now. What are we seeing?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're seeing stronger gains than when we talked to you last hour, Elex. Led by Seoul, our friends there across the sea, they're trading higher than 7 percent right now. The median is around 5 percent. Also led by Tokyo and Taipei because of course, these economies in our neighborhood in East Asia are the most vulnerable to a supply disruption when the Strait of Hormuz is cut off.

U.S. Futures, it's worth knowing they're singing the same tune. But certainly we said last hour, and it's true now are still sort of sinking in a lower key with less exuberance. U.S. Futures trading higher. The Dow, NASDAQ and S and P up around 3 percent.

And Brent and WTI. Brent, of course, the oil produced in the North Sea, WTI comes out of Texas, Oklahoma region, trading below that psychological barrier of underneath $100 a barrel.

We also want to talk about the auto sector is up. When we talk about titans in this part of the world, the health of Hyundai, Toyota, Nissan, all of those stocks are up. And you know, we always try to talk about how does this affect people at home when we talk about travel, airlines, stocks also through the roof. And we're talking about Chinese Airlines, Korean Air as well, trading now higher at this now 2:00 p.m. hour in Seoul, above 8 percent.

So there's the exuberance and then there's also the reality check. We're going to talk about the China factor to end our live shot. But the reality check, you know, we're waiting for market notes from Deutsche Bank as Europe wakes up from JP Morgan Chase in New York.

But, but Alicia Garcia Herrero, a friend of the broadcast, one of the Chief economists for Bank Natixis in Hong Kong, she's been telling us that of course, we have these numbers in the green today. But when we're back with you, 24 hours from now, we could be seeing a market correction of oil prices climbing, climbing, affecting people paying higher for gas wherever they're watching.

Because when you think about these economies, be it Taiwan, China, Japan, South Korea, they're going to conceivably say, OK, we have this pause, we have this ceasefire, which hopefully holds. Now we're going to buy a ton of oil to bolster our stockpiles, and that could send the price of oil much, much higher. So we have this moment of market jubilation.

But how long does it last? Does this Tehran toll become a thing? How do ships traverse, cross through the Strait of Hormuz? And then finally, we talked about China last hour. We're going touch on it briefly again, 3:00 p.m. so roughly two hours from now, we're expecting a briefing from the Ministry of Foreign affairs just up the street from our studio to learn about what role China played in securing this ceasefire.

The president of the United States telling AFP he thinks it is China that got Iran to sign off on this ceasefire. And were talking about, you know, exports being a major reason why China would want this ceasefire to happen.

But also, you know, we see on Instagram and TikTok so many people driving electric cars. Not everybody is in the future here in China. It's certainly a stunning society, but you got to think about the delivery drivers who need their gas prices low in this giant economy. You got to think about all the factories that rely on petrochemicals, that make all of our stuff that we buy overseas. They need oil prices low as well.

So it'll be interesting to see what role China plays going forward, what more details we hear, unless we forget five more weeks before President Trump arrives here and talks with Xi Jinping. Certainly neither side, according to our reporting, wants this war going on when they're trying to hash out these huge trade differences. Elex.

MICHAELSON: Which is part of the reason that Trump pushed back the trip so that it wouldn't be going on.

[01:15:04]

Julia Benbrook live in the US. Paula Hancocks in the UAE. Mike Valerio in China showcasing CNN's unique global reporting reach. Thanks to all of you. When we come back, we take you live to Pakistan, that country at the center of this cease fire deal. The view from Islamabad, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: A key player in the planned ceasefire agreement between Iran and the U.S. is Pakistan. It has stable relations with both sides and has positioned itself as a peace broker.

The Pakistani prime minister has invited the U.S. and Iran to come to Islamabad for further negotiations this Friday.

[01:20:00]

CNN's Sophia Saifi is following this live from the Pakistani capital. Talk to us about Pakistan's role as a mediator here. What can we expect from these talks?

SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Elex, I mean, this has been, this is a diplomatic game changer for Pakistan. It's being heralded as this diplomatic victory that's been coming from the beginning of this conflict. Pakistan has been involved in back channel negotiations with both Iran and the United States with the assistance of Egypt, Turkey and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

We had a very long night. There was a lot of -- everybody was really here on tenterhooks. There's been a lot of information that has not been shared. But last night there was a tweet by Pakistan's prime minister that came out around 12:30, quarter to 1 in the morning saying that he has requested that the United States extends the deadline and the Iranians immediately reopen the Straits of Hormuz.

After that, we had sources telling us that good news is on the way. President Donald Trump put out a tweet announcing the ceasefire with the names of Pakistan's powerful army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir and the Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif at the very beginning of that tweet.

And then we had the Pakistani prime minister put out a tweet in which he said that the United States of America, along with the Republic of Iran, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere, effective immediately.

Now, we are also being told in this tweet that there is going to be a meeting here in Islamabad on Friday. The historic days continue here for the Pakistanis. We're being told by a senior Pakistani source. CNN has been told that there is a possibility that Vice President J.D. Vance could be flying into Islamabad along with other stakeholders to meet an Iranian delegation.

These are being called the Islamabad talks. We're going to have to wait and see when that's confirmed. But if that is confirmed, this would be the first time since 2009 that an American vice president will be visiting Pakistan.

It's a huge achievement for Pakistan, and that is what it's being called here. It's very early in the morning. We're just going to have to wait and see how these developments unfold. But Pakistan's field marshal, Pakistan's foreign minister, Pakistan's prime minister and the intelligence apparatus, along with the civilian leadership have been heavily involved.

We know that President Trump has a good relationship with Pakistan's senior leadership. He said in the past that Pakistanis understand Iran, the Iranians, the Pakistanis have also had an excellent relationship with its neighbor Iran. And Pakistan also had a lot to lose if this went pear shape this entire conflict.

It shares a border with Iran. It's got the second largest Shia population in the world, which has strong cultural ties with Iran. Austerity measures were already being put in place with regards to the fuel crisis that was pending.

So, this is again something that is being celebrated. Pakistan has been known in the past for negotiating with the United States and creating diplomatic history. It happened back in the 1960s, when Nixon came through Pakistan with that historic relationship with China.

And speaking of China, like we've heard earlier, we're waiting to see how China, which is also a neighboring country of Pakistan and a strong ally of Pakistan, what China, what role China played, how effective the Egyptians, the Turks as well as the Saudis were. Pakistan has a military pact with Saudi Arabia.

And there were extreme concerns last night, late last night when these talks were ongoing and these were frenzied talks which were being led by the Pakistanis, whether Pakistan would be pulled in to this war. That is not the case. So we're just going to have to wait and see. But there's a lot of celebration and joy here in Pakistan, Elex.

MICHAELSON: I mean, you think about it, I mean, Pakistan really being a major, major player on the world stage here, to be able to potentially put this deal together when no other country was able to do that. Sophia, thank you so much for your live reporting where it is morning in Pakistan right now.

Joining me live here in Southern California is Hal Kempfer, retired Marine Intelligence officer, CEO and founder of the Risk Intelligence and Planning and host of the Strat podcast. Hal, good to see you. We just heard a lot of this from Sophia. But how does Pakistan end up in the middle of this? Why that country?

LT. COL. HAL KEMPFER, MARINE INTELLIGENCE OFFICER (RET.): Well, Alex, Pakistan was kind of in a unique place, obviously, geography, as was mentioned, they have a very large Shiite population, which means you have a very close affinity with Iran. So there was a lot of trust and confidence in Pakistan as an interlocutor between the U.S. and of course, the regime in Iran.

[01:25:05]

And then, of course, they have a very close relationship with the United States. We've always had a close relationship with them. We've worked with them on a number of different things. They're also a very powerful country. Don't forget, they are a nuclear power. They have nuclear weapons. So that gives them a certain gravitas in any negotiation. So they weren't seen -- they're almost seen as almost a neutral player.

I don't want to say they were completely neutral, but they were much more so than, say, Saudi Arabia or any of the other players in the Gulf. And I would also mention that Turkey kind of tried to position itself early in this conflict in that role, but it just didn't stick.

MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, we've been hearing throughout this newscast, including from our colleague Mike Valerio in Beijing, about China's role in all of this and its role in as an ally of Pakistan seems pretty key.

KEMPFER: Well, China has a unique position with the Belt and Road Initiative. They have put enormous investments in Pakistan, so they have huge influence, huge connections with Pakistan, but they've also put very significant investment.

And of course, if you look at, you know, how the world's aligned with BRICS, or if you want to look at, you know, the China, Russia, Iran, North Korea alignment that, you know, China has a --is a major player there. It is a regional player. Of course, they also buy a tremendous amount of Iranian oil. So they have a lot of influence.

So when they come up, you know, from, you know, and say, hey, look, we really need to get this straight open. We need to get the oil flowing. That has a lot of power in Tehran in changing their thinking.

MICHAELSON: I mean, was that ultimately kind of what did it. The strait, the oil, the money. The fact that all these countries are losing so much money that their biggest donors, the wealthiest companies, are saying to them, guys, what are we doing here?

KEMPFER: I'd love to say there's some higher purpose, but really it comes back to the straight. The straight, the straight. They got to get the straight open, got to get the oil out, got to get the liquefied natural gas out.

One of the biggest issues is fertilizer. You remember the Russia invaded Ukraine. Well, that kind of clogged up fertilizer coming out to the Black Sea. A lot of countries in the world switched over, a lot of markets switched over, and they were buying fertilizer produced in the Persian Gulf. Well, now that's shut down.

It is March now. We're in April. This is planting season. And that fertilizer isn't out there. So there is a global imperative to get that fertilizer out. Then other things like helium, which is used for fabricating high tech, all of these are crucial things to keep the global economy, you know, basically on track.

MICHAELSON: Hal Kempfer live for us in Los Angeles. Hal, thank you. More of our breaking news coverage after the break. Just ahead, we'll hear how Iranians are reacting to the temporary ceasefire from them. Plus some perspective from Hong Kong as we continue our live coverage around the world on this breaking news historic night and morning on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:32:25]

MICHAELSON: Welcome back to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

President Trump says the U.S. and Iran have agreed to a two-week ceasefire. Tehran says its military will coordinate passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz. The White House calls the agreement a victory for the U.S., saying it's achieved or exceeded its core military objectives in 38 days.

Iranian state media reports that all military units have been instructed to stop firing. Still, some missiles were exploding over Israel and Gulf states as the ceasefire was taking effect. Iran says the U.S. has accepted its ten-point plan, which includes pulling combat forces from the bases in the region and lifting sanctions against Iran.

Many Iranians in the capital of Tehran, which has been under heavy and constant bombardment these past six weeks, are celebrating the temporary peace deal. But many remain skeptical about how the war will unfold from here.

Pakistan's prime minister is inviting Iran and the U.S. to engage in further negotiations in Islamabad on Friday.

Let's bring CNN's Ivan Watson live in Hong Kong. Ivan, you've got more on what people in Iran are saying.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well, they're declaring victory and that we're hearing from the Islamic Republic of Iran, from Iranian state media and some of these scenes of Iranians out in the streets of Tehran waving their flag, in some cases burning U.S. and Israeli flags.

And there is still some skepticism out there, as we heard from one woman in Tehran. Take a listen

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: America has shown itself a hundred times until now. We have gone to the negotiation table twice when it attacked us. And this ceasefire again, foregoing and repowering itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: And you know that suspicion is echoed by Iran's national security council, which put out a statement saying that, quote, "our hands remain upon the trigger and should the slightest error be committed by the enemy, it shall be met with full force."

But you know what a remarkable change, Elex, we had just hours ago two governments talking about how they want to annihilate each other, and now they seem to be competing to declare the greatest victory after this month-plus long war.

I think anybody would agree that boasting is better than people getting killed.

MICHAELSON: Right.

[01:34:48]

WATSON: The National Security Council went on to describe some of the ten points of the plan, which President Trump has sounded quite open to for possible future talks that both sides say could perhaps take place in the Pakistani capital in the days ahead.

And according to the National Security Council, that would include regulating passage through the Strait of Hormuz, ending attacks on Iran and its proxies, withdrawal of U.S. forces from the region, compensating Iran, lifting sanctions, unfreezing assets and having a binding United Nations resolution guaranteeing peace in the region.

And a big question going forward, if there are in fact going to be face-to-face talks is, can these two sides come to agreement on some of these areas where there are clearly still some points of contention here?

MICHAELSON: Clearly are, and you expect some of the boasting at this hour. But it is good that we do not have bombs falling instead.

Ivan Watson reporting for us live from Hong Kong.

Let's go to some politics here in America. Republicans on Capitol Hill will hold on to their narrow majority for now, as CNN projects that Republican Clay Fuller will win the special election runoff in Georgia's 14th congressional district. Fuller defeats Democrat Shawn Harris, quashing Democratic hopes for another upset win against a Trump-endorsed candidate.

He told supporters Tuesday night that he will be a warrior on Capitol Hill for President Trump. Fuller will finish out the term of former congresswoman, Marjorie Taylor Greene, who quit earlier this year after a falling out with President Trump.

Both Fuller and Harris qualified for the general primary, happening in May for the midterm election in November. By the way, not a huge surprise that Fuller would win this district. Republican President Trump won that district by 37 points last in 2024.

Coming up, on a big night, we're going to have a little bit of fun. Emmy-award winning comedy series "Hacks" is back Thursday for its final season.

I sit down with the stars of the show as they reflect on their five- year journey. It's funny, it's emotional, it's surprising. And it's next.

[01:37:01]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: HBO Max's "Hacks" returns this week for one last season. I recently got a chance to sit down with the stars of the award-winning comedy for a hilarious, at times, emotional conversation. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN SMART, ACTRESS, "HACKS": In my opinion, there's never been a relationship like this in a movie or a tv show.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God, I am glad to be back.

MICHAELSON: "Hacks" is Back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my God.

M6; For its fifth and final season on HBO Max which shares a parent company with CNN.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She has risen.

SMART: Oh no. I was never dead. TMZ got a bad tip.

MICHAELSON: How are you processing the end of the show?

HANNAH EINBINDER, ACTRESS, "HACKS": Gosh, every day.

SMART: She cries a lot.

EINBINDER: I do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ladies and gentlemen, the Queen of Sin City, Miss Deborah Vance.

MICHAELSON: In "Hacks", Jean Smart plays Deborah Vance, an aging comedian fighting to stay relevant.

SMART: Marty wants to cut my dates.

He said he needs to appeal to a younger crowd.

MICHAELSON: Deborah gets help from a young writer named Ava Daniels.

EINBINDER: You're making it really hard.

SMART: You don't know what hard is.

MICHAELSON: Played by Hannah Einbinder, a stand-up comic in her first- ever acting role. What Jean, are you most proud of from the show?

SMART: On more than one occasion, an extra or a day player, could be anybody, will say during a break or something, they'll say, this is the most welcoming set I have ever worked on, and that -- it makes me happy.

MICHAELSON: What are you most proud of?

EINBINDER: you know, I would say Jean, getting to kind of touch her shoulder, be in close proximity to her. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's been doing this for 50 years. You're not going to beat her at her own game.

MICHAELSON: What do you think is the biggest thing that Ava learned from Deborah?

EINBINDER: You know, I think when Ava started working with Deborah, she's kind of -- there is a little bit of entitlement.

Looking for a spot for my kombucha.

SMART: Oh, God. Fine. Here, give it to me.

MICHAELSON: What do you think is the biggest thing Deborah learned from Ava?

SMART: Self-examination. She even says it at one point. She's -- she said I was perfectly happy with my life being a gorgeous Vegas stand- up comic.

And then you come along and you make me want more for myself.

She said. You're -- you're mad at me because I make you. She goes, yes. You know, because it's exhausting.

MICHAELSON: What's the biggest thing that you, Jean, learned from Hannah over the course of the last five seasons?

SMART: She actually, actually retaught me some important acting lessons.

EINBINDER: What?

MICHAELSON: Really?

SMART: No. It's true. Because -- no, because --

EINBINDER: How is that possible?

SMART: No.

EINBINDER; No more jokes about my physical appearance.

SMART: Oh, come on now. Those are grandfathered in.

She's so -- and I hate to overuse this phrase, but it's true -- she's so in the moment. And sometimes if you've been doing it for a long time, you get a little lazy.

I marveled at how she did that from day one. I remember thinking, damn, this girl is amazing.

EINBINDER: What?

SMART: Yes.

EINBINDER: Gee, thanks.

SMART: I never told her that.

MICHAELSON: There you go.

Then a reference to Smart's time on the CBS sitcom "Designing Women".

EINBINDER: Would you say I am AL.

SMART: You're TL.

EINBINDER: Oh my God, I'm TL.

Breaking news, CNN breaking news. I'm TL. AL means "almost life-like". TL "totally life-like".

SMART: AL was a was a compliment, a very high compliment of the gals on "Designing Women". And I came up with the -- with for each other. If we did something particularly well we'd go that was, that was AL, that was "almost life-like".

MICHAELSON: So what's -- that was quite the story we just learned from her. What is the biggest thing that Jean taught you, Hannah?

EINBINDER: God, I mean, it's not an exaggeration to say everything I know because again, like this is my first time acting.

[01:44:47]

MICHAELSON: "Hacks" has won 12 primetime Emmys so far, including a Supporting Actress trophy for Einbinder and Four Best Lead Actress wins for Smart, one for every season she's played Deborah Vance.

EINBINDER: I've just gotten to watch one of the most gifted actors, especially one of the most gifted comedic actors of all time. What -- like, I mean, the Academy agrees.

Those are facts.

MICHAELSON: Sure. I mean you only won the Emmy every single year -- four in a row.

EINBINDER: That's right.

MICHAELSON: Every time you've been nominated.

EINBINDER: Looking into her eyes is the education. You know what I mean?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You and Deborah Vance, Thelma and Louise or what?

EINBINDER: No, but I do want to drive off a cliff.

MICHAELSON: Often in the show, you guys are fighting. And then sometimes in the show, you're not fighting. Is it more fun when you're fighting, or is it more fun when you're getting along?

EINBINDER: I think it's more fun when we get along. SMART: I think so too.

EINBINDER: We like bickering. We like roasting each other.

SMART: Yes, the little insults.

EINBINDER: Yes. That's fun.

SMART: It's like -- when like when you --

(CROSSTALKING)

EINBINDER: Picasso.

SMART: Yes, that's one of my -- still to this day, one of my favorite jokes in the -- in the show. Can we do it?

EINBINDER: Let's do it.

SMART: Ok.

MICHAELSON: Season one, Ava takes Deborah's private jet for the first time.

EINBINDER: Let's see.

MICHAELSON: And Deborah isn't impressed with her comedy writing process.

SMART: Wow. It's like watching Picasso sing.

EINBINDER: You mean paint?

SMART: No.

EINBINDER: We love that one.

MICHAELSON: We end with some rapid-fire questions inspired by "Hacks".

Who's your favorite comedian of all time?

SMART: Phyllis Diller.

EINBINDER: Wow. I would say Steve Martin.

MICHAELSON: Great choice.

SMART: I was thinking of women.

MICHAELSON: Ok, well. You can --

SMART: Oh, yes.

EINBINDER: Get with it, doll. Sorry. Ok. The right wing has taken over. You better name a man right now. Hurry. They are going to take us away if you don't name a man. (CROSSTALKING)

EINBINDER: Come on.

SMART: Colbert.

MICHAELSON: Favorite casino game?

SMART: Blackjack.

EINBINDER: Got to be the Ace Ventura slot machine.

MICHAELSON: What is the best concert you've ever been to?

SMART: Harry Styles.

EINBINDER: Really?

SMART: He puts on amazing shows.

EINBINDER: Wow. I just would think that in your entire life, there would have --

SMART: I don't go to concerts that often. I did for the Beatles, though.

MICHAELSON: You went to the Beatles?

EINBINDER: This is what I'm saying.

MICHAELSON: You went to the Beatles.

EINDINDER: He's saying. She's saying Harry Styles.

MICHAELSON: Are you saying Harry Styles was better than the Beatles.

SMART: What.

(CROSSTALKING)

EINBINDER: I'm like, this is my point.

SMART: Wait.

EINBINDER: She's like, I went to the Beatles.

SMART: First of all, I was 12. I was in the (INAUDIBLE) section. I could not see or hear anything.

EINBINDER: Ok, ok, fine. But like, that's what I was --

SMART: Also they stood there and played like this and shook their hair. It's not like they were like running the breadth of the stage and doing all sorts of cool stuff.

MICHAELSON: Ok. So the major breaking news of this is that Jean Smart --

(CROSSTALKING)

EINBINDER: Harry Styles I better than the Beatles.

MICHAELSON: Harry Styles is better than the Beatles.

SMART: No, I did not say that. She said it. I saw.

EINBINDER: You saw it.

SMART: I said you put on -- you saw --

(CROSSTALKING)

SMART: And that will be my legacy.

MICHAELSON: And lastly, Deborah is obsessed with legacy. What do you think is the legacy of "Hacks"?

EINBINDER: I think the legacy of "Hacks" is Jean Smart. I was there sometimes, but like, I don't really care about that and no one else does.

MICHAELSON: What do you think we all can learn about love from Deborah and Ava from that relationship?

EINBINDER: Wow.

SMART: That it's resilient.

EINBINDER: Wow. Say that.

SMART: So true.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Do we have to do a new season just to get Harry Styles on there? So "Hacks" ten-episode final season debuts on HBO Max this Thursday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. That's 6 p.m. Pacific time.

By the way. I got a chance to watch it in advance of that, all ten episodes. It's great. I think it might be the best season so far. And yes, I cried at the end.

Coming up, the crew of the Artemis II still has a lot to do before their mission ends. We'll take a look at what's next as they head home to earth.

Stay with us.

[01:48:48]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: Well, check this out right here. Pretty amazing. NASA has released some of the 10,000 photographs taken by the crew of Artemis II during their trip around the moon.

This incredible image right here shows what's called an earth set, what appears to be the earth setting behind the surface of the moon.

The crew is now headed home.

CNN's Ed Lavandera has more on their return trip.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a crew that is on its way back to earth. The Artemis II crew and the Orion capsule have left the lunar sphere of influence. Now they're being pulled back to earth by the earth's gravity.

And they are preparing over the next couple of days for reentry, which is obviously the most critical, the most dangerous part of this mission that is left for them to conclude.

The capsule will be entering the earth's atmosphere through extreme conditions. Temperatures of more than 5,000 degrees going at intense speeds. Obviously, this is a very intense moment for this capsule and for this crew and for this mission overall.

And preparations are well underway to bring that crew back home. The Navy ship that will be out off the coast of San Diego, bringing these astronauts back to land, departed out into the waters today, preparing for all of the people and teams that are necessary to get that capsule in those astronauts out of the water and brought back to be checked out in San Diego before they return here to Johnson Space Center. So very critical moments in the days ahead.

And the crew is continuing to do other tests and configurations inside the capsule.

[01:54:48]

LAVANDERA: And then they will spend the day before the return here to earth reconfiguring that capsule so that all of the seats are prepared once again, so that they can be ready for that reentry, which is expected to happen Friday evening 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, 5:00 p.m. Pacific time, daylight hours. So we should have spectacular views of this Artemis II team returning back to earth.

Ed Lavandera, CNN -- Houston, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Yes, that's going to be especially fun for those of us here in southern California who might be able to literally watch this thing come in. Again, that's going to be about 5:00 here on the West Coast, off the Pacific Coast.

The astronauts will then return to Houston to likely meet up with their families and get checked out. But it is going to be hopefully a spectacular day. We've got a good forecast set for it as well. And we will have live coverage of that entire process throughout the

night during special coverage right here on CNN. You can also watch that on the CNN app as the Artemis II comes back home.

Thanks so much for watching THE STORY IS on this busy historic news night.

The good news of the night that we have a ceasefire and we do not have bombs dropping tonight.

We will have more coverage of that tomorrow here on THE STORY IS including our political panel. Bob Shrum and Mike Murphy are going to be joining us. Plus guests with a lot of interesting perspectives on the Iran issue.

Thanks for watching THE STORY IS.

See you tomorrow.

[01:56:18]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)