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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
More U.S.-Iran Peace Deal Talks Are In Discussion; Israel And Lebanon Hold First Direct Talks In Three Decades; Eric Swalwell And Tony Gonzales Officially Resign From Congress; Russian Students Duped Into Signing Contracts With Military; Several Foreign Ministers Call for Ceasefire in Lebanon: Orban Concedes Election Defeat after 16 Years in Power; Students Raise Awareness in Price and Production of Goods; Interview with "Rooster" Actor John C. McGinley; Powerball Expands to the U.K. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired April 15, 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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JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Spread like wildfire. So content that drives engagement like that not only makes sense, it's part of the government strategy. Or maybe Lula is trying to appeal to the global manosphere. From France's Emmanuel Macron to Americans like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Pete Hegseth, all in various degrees making physical prowess part of their political message.
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ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Julia Vargas Jones reporting for us here in Los Angeles. That's it for this hour The Story Is. The next hour starts right now.
The story is negotiations, discussions about ending the wars in Iran and Lebanon.
The story is repudiating Trumpism, the new leader of Hungary with a very different vision than America's president.
And the story is he's back. John C. McGinley with us to talk about the return of Scrubs and his new HBO series Rooster.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles, The Story Is with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: Something for everybody in the hour ahead. Welcome to The Story Is, I'm Elex Michelson live in Los Angeles. Tonight, the top story is a potential second round of U. S.-Iran peace talks. President Trump teased that something could be happening over the next two days as the two countries try to hammer out a deal.
Sources tell CNN that Vice President JD Vance is expected to lead the talks if they take place at all. And Vance says he's committed to fighting for the grand bargain that Trump wants with Tehran. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JD VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: I'd say in Pakistan we made a ton of progress, but the reason why the deal is not yet done is because the president, he really wants a deal where Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon. Iran is not state sponsoring terrorism, but also the people of Iran can threaten, thrive and prosper and join the world economy.
I think the people we're sitting across from wanted to make a deal and I know the president of the United States told us to go out there and negotiate in good faith. That's what we did. That's what we're going to keep on doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: All this as the U.S. military says it is continuing to blockade Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf. But tracking data shows multiple Iran linked ships have actually transited the Strait of Hormuz since the blockade started.
Meanwhile, Israeli and Lebanese officials have agreed to hold more direct talks following Tuesday's meeting at the U.S. State Department. Lebanon called for territorial sovereignty in a ceasefire to alleviate the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict.
And while Israel conceded both sides were on the same page on the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, Israel refused to commit to a ceasefire. You see Marco Rubio, the secretary of state in the middle there. In a moment we'll go to Kristie Lu Stout to talk about the economic reality of all this. But first, let's start with Ivan Watson, live for us in Hong Kong.
Ivan, what is the latest when it comes to this potential deal?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONENT: Well, I mean, the question is, will there be another round of negotiations? There is a very real deadline approaching, Elex, and that is the 21st of this month, Monday, when the temporary two-week cease fire will run out. President Trump in comments to the New York Post, suggested that something could be happening in Pakistan in a matter of two days. You've got a U.S. source who has told CNN that future talks are under discussion, but nothing has been scheduled at this time.
Some other sources familiar with what is going on there. They're saying that if there are to be talks, they're expecting the U.S. Vice President Vance as well as Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to lead the U.S. delegation.
Again, recall that both Iran and the U.S. they met in the Pakistani capital on Saturday, 21 of marathon talks that ultimately ended without any deal or grand bargain, as JD Vance has put it. And both sides then accused the other of not acting in good faith. The Iranian foreign minister accusing the U.S. of, quote, maximalism, shifting goalposts and a blockade.
Some of the sticking points are that the U.S. wants more than 400 kilograms of enriched uranium that is believed to be buried somewhere in Iran. After the U.S.-Israeli airstrikes, they want suspension of any enrichment for up to 20 years. Iran has come back saying, hey, we could suspend it for five years and dismantling of all enrichment as well.
And another sticking point is the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran is saying it will not open until there is a grand bargain achieved and the U.S. wants reopened immediately. Look at what the CENTCOM just put out about the Strait of Hormuz with the admiral in charge saying he's claiming that a full blockade has been fully implemented, that 90 percent of Iran's economy is fueled by international trade by sea.
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And that the U.S. has completely halted economic trade going in and out of Iran by sea. No, they're not hiding that the White House's goal is to squeeze Iran economically right now. The problem is a month and a half of war and disruption in the Gulf is also squeezing the global economy, cutting back on supplies of oil, gas, aluminum, helium, fertilizer as well. Who will blink first? And we don't know that.
MICHAELSON: Ivan, thank you. And that brings us nicely to the next part of our story, the global economic reaction to all of this. Our colleague Kristie Lu Stout also in Hong Kong with a look at that. Kristie, what about investors? How are they responding to what's happening right now?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's really interesting, Alex. Investors this day are deciding it's a good news day with investors and shares across the Asia Pacific region on the rise, tracking gains in the United States overnight. In fact, stocks in the United States closed near record highs on Tuesday. It just seems that the mood is being lifted by a push for peace with news that the U.S.-Iran are talking about potential another round of talks after those talks for peace broke down in Pakistan without a deal last weekend.
Let's take a look at the Asian trading day and take a look at how the markets are performing right now. And we'll check in on the Nikkei. You could see it's trading 7.10 of 1 percent higher, the cost being Seoul up 2.9 percent. Here in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng up 6.10 of 1 percent. And in Australia, the index there gaining about a tenth of 1 percent.
We continue to keep an eye on Brent crude. The price of Brent crude, the price of oil overnight was falling. It is on the rise, as you can see on your screen there. And we also keep an eye on gas in the United States. And even though it has fallen, it does remain elevated.
You know, currently, according to AAA, it's around $4.11 a gallon. That's the, pardon me, $4.12 a gallon on average in the United States. So there is in general, especially when you look at the markets here in Asia, tracking those gains overnight in the United States, there seems to be optimism.
But analysts are pointing out this, even though you do have a prospect for another round of peace talks that is lifting investor sentiment here, there is the physical reality that physical barrels of oil are not moving.
And on top of that, they're actually being lost. In fact, according to the International Energy Agency, during the month of March, 10 million barrels a day were being lost. And then compounding the matters further, you have the situation in the Strait of Hormuz where you have Iran asserting its control there, the so called Tehran toll booth, and of course, the U.S. naval blockade.
I want to share with you an exchange I had with an Hong Kong based ship owner, he's the chairman of Mandarin Shipping, Tim Huxley, about his perspective on the blockade. Watch this.
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TIM HUXLEY, CHAIRMAN, MANDARIN SIHPPING: You've got all of these ships anchored in the Gulf. I mean you've got the main loading area out of Iran, Kharge Island where all the oil is loaded. And remember, 90 percent of those exports go to China. So you've got the ships leaving Kharge Island going through the straits for Hormuz.
Now who is going to decide if that is a friendly ship is that choke point is where they will probably get boarded either by the U.S. or the Iranian forces.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was barely affected on the first day of the U.S. naval blockade. In fact, some eight ships, including three Iran linked tankers crossed the strait on the first day. Those three vessels were not heading to Iranian ports. They were not affected by the blockade. You're looking at a live visualization of marine traffic there.
But do keep in mind, in terms of comparison, before the war, guess just how many ships were crossing a day the Strait of Hormuz. That number was 130. Back to you, Elex.
MICHAELSON: Quite a drop off. Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. That's why we see all those oil prices where they are. Thank you so much.
Now to politics here in the United States and the resignations of now former U.S. Congressman Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzalez are now official. Swalwell, a Democrat, is facing several allegations of sexual misconduct, including now two allegations of rape.
In his resignation letter he wrote in part, I am deeply sorry to my family, staff and constituents for mistakes and judgment I've made in the past. I will fight the serious false allegations made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes that I did make.
Gonzales, a Republican from Texas, stepped down while facing a House Ethics Committee probe last month. He admitted to an affair with a staffer which violates the rules of the House. That staffer later died by suicide. Now both Swalwell and Gonzales faced possible expulsion votes
supported by members of their own parties. Democrats in particular demanded that Swalwell step down quickly.
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One of Swalwell's closest friends in Congress, in fact, someone who called him his best friend, Ruben Gallego, senator from Arizona, says he's shocked and disgusted by allegations.
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SEN. RUBEN GALLEGO (D-AZ): We all heard rumors in Washington, D.C. about Eric Swalwell for many years, and my family, again, was with him all the time, with his wife, with his kids. And we saw a different side of Eric that I never saw.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Looking back at it, when you first heard these rumors about flirtatious behavior, should you have done something differently?
GALLEGO: I think I should have talked to him about it. I think I should have told him, you know, this is what I'm hearing out there. And I think, you know, you should know about it. And if you're doing it, stop. You know, I fell into the trap again because I think I was too inside the family bubble now.
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MICHAELSON: The LA County Sheriff's Department says it is now investigating a new allegation of sexual assault against Eric Swalwell. On Tuesday, a woman held a news conference where she publicly accused Swalwell of rape. CNN's Kyung Lah spoke with her about those allegations.
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KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Another woman has stepped forward publicly. This woman, Lonna Drewes, is now accusing Eric Swalwell, the former congressman and California gubernatorial candid, of putting something in a drink and raping her. She says that this occurred sometime in 2018, and she has now filed an official law enforcement report for the L.A. County Sheriff's Department taking this now here in California to a different level.
She says that her incident happened in 2018. Drew says that she was really interested in running for local government, perhaps a local office, and she also wanted to extend her entrepreneurial business. She turned to Swalwell, someone she admired. She met him three times, and on the third time, she says that they went to dinner, that she believes he put something in her drink, and it was at that point an assault happened.
Here's what she told CNN after she held a news conference with local press. LONNA DREWES, ERIC SWALWELL ACCUSER: I can't believe that he felt so
cavalier that he would just drug me and then rape me and then choke me. I couldn't move my arms, so he was on top of me, choking me, and all I could do was just watch. And I passed out. I thought I was dead. I thought I died. And then I woke up at like 4 o'clock in the morning and he was next to me, and I left.
LAH: The interview was quite charged. Drewes had to take a break, and then another lawyer of hers came in, Lisa Bloom. And then she explained that the reason why she wanted to come forward is because of all the women who were speaking out. Here's what she said.
Why have you decided now to become public?
DREWES: My motivation was for other girls. I know that I can't be the only one. And so I kind of wanted to be a voice for other women, that they could feel that they could come forward and say something. And for a long while, I've wanted to say something. When I knew he was running for governor, I was like, oh, God, this can't happen. Somebody's got I've been waiting for somebody else to come forward.
LAH: The lawyers representing Drewes have not provided to CNN cooperating information. They're not providing that to the media at large. They say that they will first give that to law enforcement. We reached out to Swalwell, his representatives and his lawyer. We did get a statement that says, quote, congressman Eric Swalwell categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault that has been leveled against him. Kyung Lah, CNN, Beverly Hills.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Now the uproar over President Trump posting and later deleting this meme that depicted him as Jesus. Republicans are now denouncing that portrayal. House Speaker Mike Johnson says he told President Trump that the image had not been received as intended. Of course, Trump said that he was a doctor, not Jesus, but a doctor in this picture, CNN's chief media analyst Brian Stelter looks at the president's penchant for sharing content generated from AI. Brian.
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BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: President Donald Trump just can't help himself when it comes to AI images of himself.
SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-SC): I thought it was absured. He should add advisors warn him off of that.
STELTER (voice-over): Or maybe not.
VANCE: I think the president was posting a joke.
STELTER (voice-over): This week's Trump as Jesus meme joins a long list of shocking memes promoted by the president, from that racist video depicting the Obamas as apes to that gross video of him dumping sewage on protesters. [01:15:00]
Some you might have forgotten, like the time he shared a clearly AI generated video of himself saying this in a fake Fox News segment.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Every American will soon receive their own med bed card.
STELTER (voice-over): That refers to a conspiracy theory about fictional futuristic healing beds. Yet Trump posted it on Truth Social along with hundreds of other memes. He has erased the lines between real information and reckless imagination.
TRUMP: AI can be very dangerous to be very careful with it.
STELTER (voice-over): But that's what he said last month while denouncing fake pro Iran propaganda, which has been a real problem. But the dangers of AI don't stop there.
TRUMP: Pope Leo said things that are wrong.
STELTER (voice-over): Trump was watching 60 Minutes Sunday night when the Archbishop of Chicago condemned White House videos likening the Iran war to a video game.
CARDINAL BALSE CUPICH, ARCHBISHOP OF CHICAGO: We're dehumanizing the victims of war by turning the suffering of people and the killing of children and our own soldiers into entertainment.
STELTER (voice-over): The White House has responded to past criticism by saying the memes will continue. So far, they have put sombreros on Democratic leaders and imagined Trump as a pope and also as a king. It's all part of a visual language denigrating opponents while deifying the president, leaning hard into the beliefs of some evangelicals who see Trump as their savior.
AI has also given Trump a new way to deny reality, like when this online video of someone throwing bags out a White House window made the rounds and Trump said, no, that's probably AI generator. Actually you can't open the windows.
STELTER (voice-over): Yet sources told CNN that video showed real renovations. Trump also tried to claim this 2024 photo from a Kamala Harris rally was a eyed even though it was real too.
As for the sense deleted Christ like image --
TRUMP: I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor.
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": If I'm in a doctor's office and that man walks in, I'm thinking I die.
STELTER: The unusually sharp criticism from MAGA media showed that all the Trumpy trolling does not necessarily boost his standing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The image on its face is sacrilegious. I'm glad the President took this down, but you know, this was much ado about nothing and it all could have been avoided.
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: You don't have to swing at every pitch.
STELTER: Maybe that's good advice. But Trump does take a lot of swings. You know, he sees these images of himself in his social media feeds. These images stroke his ego, then he shares them with the world and then meme makers generate even more AI generated slop for him to share. It's a virtuous or vicious cycle and it keeps going on. Elex but this week, the Jesus image really seemed to strike a nerve.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Yes, it did. Brian Stelter for us in New York. Brian, thank you. Still ahead, new details on the tactics Russia is using to recruit its university students. It's an effort to lure them into military service. CNN investigates. When we come back.
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MICHAELSON: As Moscow faces mounting losses on the battlefield, Russian universities are funneling students into the military. They're using a mix of financial incentives, misleading promises and coercion. Our Clare Sebastian investigates how universities are applying the pressure, particularly to struggling students, as the Kremlin tries desperately to sustain its war in Ukraine.
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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is not a war themed computer game. It's a recruitment video designed to convince students to join Russia's drone forces. You were told you were wasting time on video games, says this clip, but there is a place where your experience is especially valuable.
The videos, which began appearing on university websites and social media pages around the start of the year, all advertise military contracts in Russia's newly formed Unmanned Systems Forces. Here you see a gamer on the left, a drone operator on the right. One university captioned it choose the right skin.
SEBASTIAN: But behind the flashy PR, there is a darker side to this. Few students will speak out publicly, but some of those we have reached have told us anonymously that the pressure on them is rising.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Everything changed this year, wrote one student. All the top people in the university are now calling on students to go to war. Students at risk of failure are a common target, hardly consistent with an effort to form an elite brigade.
In this video sent to CNN by one student, a woman tells the if I were you, I would consider an option to join the drone forces. It will be as if your missing credits never existed. Another student told us on a single day in February, his university almost expelled a third of our group and forced them to sign a contract on the spot to keep their place.
Through videos, posters and in person meetings, sometimes with soldiers serving in Ukraine, students are being promised an easier war experience, a one year fixed term, an opportunity to serve far from the front line, huge payouts and high tech skills.
And yet --
ARTEM KLYGA, RUSSIAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER: Everything is a lie. It's a simple contact with the Russian army without deadline, without special term.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): This is the small print. Russia's 2022 decree on mobilization, which was never cancelled states, every military contract remains in force until that decree is revoked. No exceptions and no guarantees. Experts and anti-war activists say that the drone unit is where they'll end up.
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GRIGORY SVERDLIN, FOUNDER IDITE LESOM: As soon as the person signs a contract, he's literally a slave of Ministry of Defense and he can be sent to whatever unit Ministry of Defense will need.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): It's not clear yet how many students have been recruited so far. The Russian Ministry of Defense has not responded to CNN's request for comment, but none of the students we spoke to are buying it.
I don't find this nonsense convincing, wrote one. I'm deeply opposed to the military propaganda. Among my classmates no one is considering signing a contract, even those in a very difficult financial situation, wrote another.
Russian losses in Ukraine have been mounting in recent months. Its system of enticing soldiers with huge salaries and bonuses under increasing strain.
KATERYNA STEPANENKO, RUSSIAN TEAM LEAD, INSTITUTE FOR STUDY OF WAR: There's a lot of estimates in terms of the recruitment getting more expensive for the Kremlin, which is why coercion is becoming more prominent.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): The main battle for peace is inside you, claims this recruitment video. Russia's internal battle for manpower is escalating. Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to CNN's request for comment.
Coming up, Israel and Lebanon have wrapped up a new round of direct talks in Washington. Still ahead, the latest on what emerged from the meeting and the growing calls for a lasting ceasefire.
Plus, the new road ahead in Hungary and what it means for the rest of the world.
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ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to THE STORY IS.
Let's take a look at today's top stories.
Tens of millions of people from the Texas-Mexico border up to the Great Lakes are at risk of severe storms -- tornadoes, strong winds, gusts, hail the size of baseballs will be possible in some places in the Central Plains and Upper Midwest. Major flooding is ongoing or expected at nearly a dozen locations along rivers in Michigan and Wisconsin.
President Donald Trump has hinted that U.S.-Iran peace talks could resume this week. Sources tell CNN that Vice President JD Vance is expected to lead a potential second round of negotiations with Iranian officials. Tehran says it will continue to take part in talks, despite saying Washington is, quote, "not trustworthy".
French President Emmanuel Macron is urging the U.S. and Iran to resume negotiations on Monday. He spoke with the leaders of both countries in a bid to prevent further escalation. He also took to X, insisting that the Strait of Hormuz be reopened unconditionally and that Lebanon could be included under the current ceasefire deal.
I'm joined now by CNN European affairs commentator Dominic Thomas. He'll help us unpack the meeting between Israeli and Lebanese officials in Washington on Tuesday.
Welcome back to THE STORY IS. Always, great to see you.
So we had this big meeting on Tuesday. Marco Rubio in the middle of it, you saw both sides actually sitting down. Big deal that they're actually sitting down itself though, right?
DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Yes. It's something it's what you -- it's what you want. It's what a coalition of world leaders expect and they want this moving forward.
They're all under tremendous pressure from their constituents and electorate to find some kind of peaceful solution and to unclog this economic jam in the Strait of Hormuz.
MICHAELSON: And we just heard about Emmanuel Macron -- I mean, Europe is pushing for this as well.
THOMAS: They are absolutely pushing it and as you say, Europe in the sense in the plural. No single leader wants to go it alone in this particular context. They don't want to get involved in some long involvement in the Middle East. They don't want to be on the front lines militarily.
But they are working together in a multilateral, multinational fashion to apply pressure to try and seek and achieve peace and to open up this economic jam as I just -- as I just mentioned, that is negatively impacting them, their economies and so on.
MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, this major election this week in Europe, which was Viktor Orban, the leader of Hungary, who basically was like a sort of pre-Donald Trump, right? I mean, just a model for Donald Trump in a lot of ways.
Donald Trump called in to campaign for him. JD Vance, the vice president, was there and he got repudiated by his own people.
Peter Magyar is now going to be the prime minister. Your reaction to this and the message it sends?
THOMAS: Yes. Yes. Well, I mean I think it's linked to some -- in some ways to what we were talking, you know, a moment ago, that it's clear that the unilateral actions of the president, the threats on Denmark, for example, Greenland and et cetera, have played out in this dynamic and they're outside of the Washington bubble.
There is just tremendous opposition to the what is unfolding in the Middle East and this impact is. So what we saw here too, in a sort of another attempt by the president and JD Vance to interfere in a European election, and it backfired.
Now, the main story is, of course, that after 16 years in power, Orban is no longer there, and that the Hungarian people came together to oust this particular leader.
But what's so interesting about it is exactly how you mentioned. This is the sort of relationship between the far right in Europe and President Trump, and the way in which he has tried to influence and divide Europe, NATO and beyond around these particular parties.
[01:34:47]
THOMAS: And I think it's easy or important to read in the outcome of this particular election a rejection of President Trump, his influence that I think in this particular case harmed Orban rather than helping him in his bid to hold on to the prime ministership.
MICHAELSON: I think it's been interesting over the years. Tucker Carlson has been a big fan of Viktor Orban. We've seen him talked up on Fox News prime time, the host talking about how great Viktor Orban is. Some of them taking their shows to Hungary over the years.
I mean, talk about for people that may not follow this that closely, what exactly Viktor Orban did that they like so much --
THOMAS: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- that a lot of folks, especially on the left, have been freaked out by.
THOMAS: Yes, absolutely. Well, I think that really what, you know, Orban became the poster figure for what we call illiberal politics, right, or illiberalism. In other words, the erosion of the judiciary, undermining the legislative, attacks on the media, and dividing the electorate over culture wars, right. And attacks on LGBTQ rights, universities, and so on and so forth.
So a lot of this became the playbook, not just for President Trump first time around, but also for Project 2025. This attempt to sort of weaken and undermine democratic institutions without resorting automatically to false military power and so on.
And in that many regards, he was the poster child of that. He also, ironically, as a member of the European Union, was a great detractor.
And I think that's the main difference between Magyar, the new prime minister, and him, is that Magyar is very much pro-Europe and will work with them. And the deep irony, of course, is that over the years, Hungary only contributed 1 percent of the total GDP to the E.U. but was one of the greatest recipients yet Russia-soft pro right wing, far right and so on. And they've been rejected in this particular election.
MICHAELSON: But Orban did something that Trump refused to do, which was concede.
THOMAS: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Right away. Called him and that -- that's a big deal.
THOMAS: That was a big deal. And I think it did send a message that in some ways having lost, mitigating the damage of that loss to maintain him within the political sphere in opposition without giving up hope of perhaps one day returning. That's one way of looking at it.
But it was an honorable move and it was a somewhat unexpected move because, of course, the control of the media in Hungary was at such a level that people believed that they would not be that easy to sort of oust him or get rid of him.
But what was so important is that Magyar not only won that one -- that famous Hungarian supermajority, which is so crucial in parliament, which will allow him to attack corruption, repeal some of the inroads that were made by Orban, and hopefully set Hungary on a new course of respecting democratic institutions and those of the European Union.
MICHAELSON: That's indication where the margin certainly matters.
THOMAS: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Dominic Thomas, we're all watching history together. Thank you so much for being our guide.
Now to this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our freedom is protected by our knowledge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Mk6: These students with the Rotary Action Group against Slavery in Ecuador made this video, sharing some of the most important lessons they've learned about how to fight against human trafficking and child exploitation.
It's part of CNN's "My Freedom Day", a student-driven worldwide event to raise awareness of modern-day slavery.
In Hong Kong, students completed a project to highlight the cost and production of everyday objects found around their campus.
CNN's Ivan Watson spoke with them about what they hope to accomplish with the activity.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What is the cost of your freedom? We're here marking the 10th anniversary of "My Freedom Day", a CNN initiative to combat modern-day slavery.
It's a student led action, and I'm with kids, students from the George -- King George V School who are engaged in an activity right now with these price tags.
Guys, can you explain to me a little bit, what are these price tags and what's kind of the point of this activity?
MOMOKA, STUDENT: Basically, we were able to make tags for common objects around school, so the school hoodie or laptops and tablets.
And I know a lot of students, they wouldn't really think about the origin of these products, but we really wanted to spread awareness for the workers and the cost of our freedom, and just build empathy for them.
WATSON: And these are children, these are teenagers your ages, who are stuck making perhaps some of the stuff that we use in day-to-day life, right?
GABRIELLA, STUDENT: It definitely brings into perspective, like the cost of like prices for us and for them.
[01:39:43]
GABRIELLA: Because even though these are price tags instead of the normal prices we would see online or in the shop, they have prices like invisible hands or hard labor because it really makes us think that the price of our items are their livelihoods.
WATSON: Do you guys have a sense of how big the problem is of modern- day slavery, especially for children?
EMILY, STUDENT: I think this project really helped to like, open my mind to more things, because I didn't really realize, like, you don't think of everyday items that you use, you really only think of like the main things that they raise awareness of. So it was good to see smaller things that are affected.
WATSON: So there's a bit of a taste here. The 10th anniversary of CNN's "My Freedom Day", which works with other partner organizations to try to spread awareness about this criminal activity and also it is student-led. So it is guys like you who are helping spread the word about this criminal activity. And there's an awful lot of work to be done because I think there are estimates of around 50 million people today stuck working in modern-day slavery.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Ivan Watson in Hong Kong. Thanks to Ivan. And we encourage you to tune into CNN all day for more on how students around the world are learning to combat modern-day slavery. You can follow the hashtag "My Freedom Day" on social media and check out CNN.com/MyFreedomDay for more information.
Thank you for watching THE STORY IS.
For our international viewers "WORLDSPORT" is up next, including a story from me. For our viewers in North America, I will be right back with the actor, John McGinley talking "Scrubs" and "Rooster". It's a lot of fun. He's next.
[01:41:27]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN C. MCGINLEY, ACTOR: I have been making a list of your transgressions in my mind. Would you like to hear them?
STEVE CARELL, ACTOR: Not especially.
MCGINLEY: You're broke, Crystal. You encouraged Dylan to think big. You lied about hockey. You put a lock on our special door (ph). You have not been back in the hot house since day one. And you may or may not be helping your ex-wife to take my job.
CARELL: Ok? I would like to be accountable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: That is a look at HBO's "Rooster", a new comedy series set on a college campus that explores the complicated relationship between a well-known author and his daughter alongside the power dynamics shaping the university around them.
Joining us now is John C. McGinley, who plays the university president, you just saw, alongside Carell. You also know him as the unforgettable Dr. Cox on "Scrubs", and he's currently in both.
John, welcome to THE STORY IS for the first time. Congratulations on your big moment.
MCGINLEY: Thank you. None of that is lost on me.
MICHAELSON: Yes. What a moment.
MCGINLEY: None of it.
MICHAELSON: For people that -- "Rooster" is great, by the way.
MCGINLEY: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: It's kind of complicated to explain.
MCGINLEY: Yes.
MICHAELSON: How would you explain it to somebody --
MCGINLEY: I would say fundamentally, it's a comedy set in a college campus. The Central A story is how fragile father-daughter relationships are, and I have two daughters, and Bill Lawrence has a daughter. And so he explores the fragility of that.
And then the peripheral story is about the students and the faculty. And that is a rich, rich environment of damaged people that comedy writers can attack.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And we see you playing this university president who is often shirtless, showing off your great body, congratulations, by the way.
MCGINLEY: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: And you take people to what's called the hot house --
MCGINLEY: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- where you sweat together and get real. And this is based on you.
MCGINLEY: Bill Lawrence, who wrote "Ted Lasso", "Scrubs" and "Shrinking" and our show, rented a house down the street from me out in Malibu a couple of summers ago. And I introduced him to something I'd been doing with Laird Hamilton (ph) for the last 25 years, which is the ice and the hot house.
And Billy really latched on to it. And we spent the summer doing that protocol, which was great. And then he called me in October and said, I'd really like to come out and talk to you about something.
And I'm a scaredy cat. And I figured actors, we trade on inadequacy and fear, and I figured I did something wrong. And I was going to the principal's office.
But that was not the case. In one hot house session, Billy offered me "Rooster" and "Scrubs".
MICHAELSON: Wow.
MCGINLEY: I never wanted us to leave the hot house because this is the stuff that dreams are made of.
MICHAELSON: Right.
MCGINLEY: And I'll be darned if both didn't realize fruition.
MICHAELSON: And then it was like, let's get in shape, right? Because now we've got to be shirtless and --
MCGINLEY: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- in front of America and the world.
MCGINLEY: Well, Billy made the hot house and the ice part of "Rooster", and I knew I was going to be in bathing trunks and nothing else. And so vanity dictated that I drop 43 pounds. I hired a guy --
(CROSSTALKING)
MICHAELSON: How did you do it.
MCGINLEY: I hired a guy named Nate Schmidt who came over and introduced me to bone broth at night and five ounces of protein in the middle of the day. Anything you could fit in your hand when you're at the store and as much salad as you want. And that's it, those are your two meals.
And if you keep working out the way I was and am and consume that number of calories, you're going to shred down.
MICHAELSON: And so the good news is you guys have been you're back for season two.
MCGINLEY: Hallelujah. Yes.
MICHAELSON: The bad news is you got to do that diet again, right?
MCGINLEY: Yes.
I'm shoulder-deep in it right now, Elex. And I'm hungry.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And all right, well, let's talk about the other show that you're in right now on prime time.
"Scrubs" is back. So many people love you in that role. How has that been, you know, getting back, is it kind of like riding a bike?
MCGINLEY: It was like riding a bike. If you got to play something 182 -- 192 times over the nine years, it's immediately accessible.
And Dr. Cox is such a damaged guy that the writers could come up with all these eccentricities that never made him redundant.
So in other words, when the leading man has to get the girl and the girl gets the guy, that storyline is kind of done. But, number 3 or 4 on the call sheet who's a really, really damaged guy, writers can write that. And so the thrill of Cox is all these eccentricities that the writers
have layered on top of one another all these years.
And now last week, we saw that the mentor has come back to the hospital and he's a patient and that will carry into next year. And so that dynamic with the mentor now being a patient and the people he was a mentor to having to be the caregivers is a delicious, delicious landscape.
[01:49:47]
MICHAELSON: How -- you know, how is this moment for you? Because I know you said you were thinking about maybe retiring during COVID, and now to be on two different prime time shows.
MCGINLEY: At the end of COVID, I fell in love with being daddy bear and driving people to soccer and bringing the apples and the water to soccer and taking care of my son, Max Herbert (ph), who was born with down syndrome and he's in great shape.
But we have a lot of vendors that we go to. And I started to get into the rhythm of the Papa Bear, and that really appealed to me.
And then to repeat the story, we just investigated. Billy came out to the sauna.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
MCGINLEY: And things changed, but from COVID from 2021 to about '25, I was really in daddy groove and perfectly happy.
And I'm a -- I'm an Irish storyteller and nothing, nothing fills my cup more, but being a Papa Bear did.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And I'm sure your kids got to be so proud right now to watch.
MCGINLEY: They are. They're all doing their own thing. Everybody's now -- Nicole and I are going to be empty nesters if you're not careful here in a second. And I got to lay in that precious period when people were like 12 to 16. And that's the -- and that's the delicious stuff. That's the delicious stuff.
MICHAELSON: Well, we are so proud of you. Rooting for you. Of course, you can see "Scrubs" on ABC.
MCGINLEY: I'm proud of you. I think you're knocking this out of the park.
MICHAELSON: Thank you very much. Appreciate that.
MCGINLEY: You're doing a great job.
MICHAELSON: "Scrubs" on ABC and also Disney and Hulu.
MCGINLEY: Yes. MICHAELSON: And then of course, "Rooster" on HBO, HBO max, which
shares a parent company with us here at CNN.
MCGINLEY: Right on.
MICHAELSON: Congratulations again.
MCGINLEY: Right on. Thank you.
MICHAELSON: We'll be watching.
MCGINLEY: Great to see you.
MICHAELSON: More of THE STORY IS right after this.
[01:51:28]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: Powerball is crossing the pond to the U.K. The American lottery game will join with the U.K.'s national lottery this summer, pending approval by the U.K. Gambling Commission.
It's the first time a lottery outside the U.S. will contribute to the Powerball jackpot. Officials are hoping the joint venture will build larger jackpots that attract more players. That'll be interesting.
Thanks so much for watching THE STORY IS.
I'm Elex Michaelson. We really appreciate you watching. Hope to see you tomorrow.
The news continues right after a break here on CNN.
[01:56:17]
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