Return to Transcripts main page
The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Iran disputes Trump's Claim It - Agreed To Everything; Trump - May Not Extend Iran Ceasefire If No Deal Is Reached; Trump Says Hormuz Open But U.S. Blockade Will Continue; Trump Outlines Key Points Of Potential Iran Agreement; Swalwell's Exit Upends California Governor's Race; Storms Slam Central U.S. With Dozens Of Tornadoes; California Judge Blocks Nexstar's Bid For Rival Tegna; Maria Machado Meets Spain's Far Right Leadership; Pope Leo Will Travel To Angola In The Coming Hours; Aired 12-1a ET
Aired April 18, 2026 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:00]
LAURA COATES, CNN HOST: As she explores antiaging, biotech, AI, and more. CNN original series Kara Swisher Wants To Live Forever premieres Saturday at 9:00 p.m. on CNN and the next day on the CNN app.
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN HOST: I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles. "The Story Is" starts right now.
"The Story Is" mixed messaging. President Trump Town's upcoming talks with Iran at the Strait of Hormuz is open, but Iran seems to disagree. With us to break it all down live, CNN Security Analyst Alex Plitsas.
"The Story Is" concern over the midterms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: For some reason, a President, Republican Democrat, the party does poorly in the midterms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: To talk about the administration's policies on Iran and the economy with my panel, Fabian Nunez on the left and Matt Klink on the right.
"The Story Is" Coachella Weekend Two with Karol G's performances making history.
And "The Story Is" finding Shakespeare. A chance discovery has revealed the exact location of the home of the famous author. We'll take you there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles, "The Story Is" with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: Thanks for being with us as we begin the weekend together, and we begin with conflicting messages and confusion swirling around the state of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire. Iranian officials tell CNN that they expect the next round of peace talks to happen in Pakistan on Monday. President Trump says he believes a deal will be reached soon, claiming that Iran has "Agreed to everything." Tehran pushing back. Iran's Parliament speaker is accusing President Trump of making several false claims about the negotiations.
Now the President says he may not extend the Iran ceasefire after it expires on Wednesday if there's no deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Maybe I won't extend it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
TRUMP: But the blockade is going to remain.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, you're going to --
TRUMP: But maybe I won't extend it. So you have a blockade, and unfortunately, we'll have to start dropping bombs again. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. I think it's going to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: A video just in from Air Force 1. Only a handful of ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, despite Iran's Foreign Minister saying it was now open to commercial vessels. Tehran is threatening to close the vital waterway again, unless the U.S. lift its blockade of Iranian ports. But President Trump says the blockade remains in force until a deal is a 100 percent complete with Iran. And the U.S. military says it can keep the blockade going for as long as necessary.
Let's bring in CNN National Security Analyst Alex Plitsas. He is also the Director of the counterterrorism program at the Atlantic Council. Welcome back to "The Story Is."
Hi. Thanks for having me.
MICHAELSON: All right. You're one of the smartest people in the world on all this stuff. There's a lot of confusion. A lot of people are spinning. There's probably a lot of BS out there. So tell it to a straight. Is the strait open or not?
ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, it doesn't appear to be at the moment. The rhetoric going back and forth suggests that it is, but only under limited conditions. And as you mentioned in the opening, only a couple of ships have sort of made it through. It's pretty much a critical time as the last oil supplies are starting to hit different locations across the world for boats that have left previously, which is why we just saw some sanctions waivers announced at the last minute for the Russians be, because that was meant to provide some relief for our Asian partners.
So things are getting down to the wire here critically. We've only got a couple of days left here to try to reach a deal, and we saw some very different competing narratives from the President and the Iranians all basically sparring online today.
MICHAELSON: So let's dig into what you just said about the Russian sanctions, because this just happened within the last hour. Explain kind of what that means and how this helps Russia and how this helps Asia.
PLITSAS: Sure. So, I mean, right now, oil has been kept sort of artificially low in terms of the pricing because it's been trading largely on sentiment. And the President has actually done a great job in terms of his communications and helping to keep that low, and that's why we've seen a competing narrative again from him both to our military in terms of, hey, keep going in the background, but also saying, hey, we're almost done. It's almost over.
But at some point, the lack of supply catches up with the demand and you have a problem and there's only so many relief mechanisms that you have to try to fix that situation. So we've seen some releases from strategic reserves where countries or organizations hold oil and reserve that they can release at times like this to help provide some relief on the market. We see some waivers for different types of for shipping actions, and now also we've got sanctions on different countries who have been involved in illicit oil trade.
So whether that be Iran or whether that would be in Venezuela with the previous government or in this case Russia being under sanctions, obviously, with the war in Ukraine. And so while providing some relief and allowing some of that Russian oil to flow adds additional oil onto the market, which then relieves some of the pressure to Asian markets in terms of the Russians being able to deliver, and then not having the sanctions penalties for countries on the receiving end of that.
[00:05:00]
MICHAELSON: So what does this potential deal look like with Iran? I know the Trump administration now is considering unfreezing $20 billion in Iranian assets, as these peace talks hit the home stretch, which reminds some of us of the Obama nuclear deal, with that President Trump so criticized at the time.
PLITSAS: It's hard to tell because so much that has leaked out has proven not to be true. So the parameters of the deal aren't completely clear, because it hasn't been made public. What we should expect though at this point is the President has made it clear at least from his perspective that the Iranians not obtaining or the ability to obtain a nuclear weapon in the long run is his primary concern. There were two major, policy sticking points that sort of led up to the conflict here at a meeting with mediators in the region and just in the run up to the war. Those were largely around the domestic enrichment inside of Iran, Iran of uranium, to be able to produce fuel for a -- for civilian energy purposes. But the same technology used to do that is then also able to be used to make weapons grade uranium, which you need for a nuclear bomb.
And so the president said, hey, we don't think you should have the ability to enrich domestically. The Iranians said, we disagree. That's a right of ours. We want to do it. The second is the JCPOA or the previous deal, as you just referenced, allowed Iran to keep that technology. And while the President pulled out of the deal, whether he did or he didn't, the Iranians made a conscious decision to enrich uranium well past the point of civilian nuclear purposes to about 60 percent. And there's 440 kilograms of that that are inside of Iran that the President wants handed over and outside of the country. Both of those two items he mentioned seemed like they were going to be dealt with, and the Iranians pushed back on both of those points today. So those two are unclear.
The other aspects would be, the missiles, the ranges, and things of that nature even though it's largely been degraded along with the drones. And then finally, it's the proxies in the region, which has been a big concern for everybody. That's the reason that the Iranians have tried to tie this to Lebanon, and, specifically, they keep saying Lebanon. But in reality, Israel has been bombing Hezbollah, which is the proxy group in Southern Lebanon, which has been used to attack Israel in the past. And so the Iranians have tried any -- to tie any deal to that as well.
MICHAELSON: Right. And you think, of all the different proxies that Iran has sponsored in that region, including Hamas and the Houthis and others as well, and have really been driving so much of the conflict throughout that region for so many years now, which is why this whole thing is so consequential.
Alex Plitsas, joining us live tonight. Thank you so much for starting us off. We appreciate it. He talked a little bit about oil. Oil prices plunging, stocks scared after we learned that the Strait of Hormuz would be reopening. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell more than 9 percent, at one point hitting its lowest level since March 10th. That's good news, remember. U.S. gas prices are starting to come down, but the national average is still hovering above $4 a gallon. It comes after the Dow soared more than 800 points earlier, recouping all of its losses since the war with Iran began. More good news.
President Trump outlined key points of a potential agreement with Iran during a rally in swing state Arizona on Friday. He told supporters the agreement would involve the U.S. taking control of nuclear material. That is a point Iranian officials have disputed. The President was in Phoenix to speak at an event hosted by conservative group Turning Point USA, which was founded by Charlie Kirk. The late Charlie Kirk his widow Erika Kirk was there. All this ahead of the midterm elections later this year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: When you add it all up, nobody's done what we've done. But for some reason, a President, Republican, Democrat, the party does poorly in the midterms. It doesn't make sense. I'm still trying to figure it out. We'll go out, I think, probably hire a couple of psychiatrists. What the hell is going on in your mind? How does that happen? Because it should be the opposite. We're doing well. We're doing our job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Let's bring in our political panel. Fabian Nunez is a steering committee member for the Save America Movement, former speaker of the assembly here in California. And Matt Klink, Republican strategist and Owner and President of Klink Campaigns Incorporated. Gentlemen, welcome back. Good to see both of you.
FABIAN NUNEZ, STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER, SAVE AMERICA MOVEMENT: Good to see Elex.
MICHAELSON: Matt as the Republican here, let's start with you. Are you hiring psychiatrists to try to figure out voters? What do you make of that?
MATT KLINK, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST, OWNER & PRESIDENT, KLINK CAMPAIGNS, INC.: Look, after this last week and everything that's gone on, I feel like I needed some time with one myself.
MICHAELSON: Yeah.
KLINK: No. Look, the President's right in the sense that the party in power typically loses seats in the midterm. 22 would be about the average, but because of the headwinds that Trump faces, he faced them prior to Iran, but with the economy primarily. But with Iran, it could be a wave election like the Obama when Obama in 2010 when he lost, what 65 seats. That's what it's looking like the senate is now potentially in play, and Donald Trump needs to get out there.
[00:10:00]
I know Fabian says, great. Get him out there. Donald Trump has to believe that he's the best messenger for himself.
MICHAELSON: So you're saying as a Republican strategist who does this for a living and looks at this data every day that you're worried about a loss of 65 seats in the house?
KLINK: No. I said that it could be a wave election. It's a -- it was always going to be a good election for Democrats. It's a question if it's a good election or if all of the swing states move to the left. And that's what is still being settled right now, but it's not a very favorable time to be a Republican running for office.
MICHAELSON: We had Mike Murphy, former Republican strategist on here recently who said the smartest thing Democrats could do right now is get out of the way. Do you agree with that?
NUNEZ: I think that's probably the best thing that we could do. Having President Donald Trump campaign in the midterms is the best message we can have as Democrats. Why? Because when he ran for President, he said a couple of things. He was going to put America First. Well, he's not doing that. He's starting wars around the world. He said that he was going to tackle the inflation issue. Inflation is now up to 3.2 percent. He said he was going to reduce gas prices. Gas prices on the average are close to $4 a gallon, around the country. And so where the economy is concerned, the President has failed. But if you look at the corruption, the grift, and all of the various things that he's doing to take America's superpower and reduce us to the level that he has, obviously, reputationally, even with the MAGA base, I think the President has failed his own supporters, his own constituents.
MICHAELSON: You're shaking your head.
KLINK: Donald Trump has a MAGA base rating of about 90 percent. He's got about an 85 percent rating amongst Republicans. That's not a concern for Donald Trump. What does concern Donald Trump are the independents that were so appalled by Biden and Harris that they moved towards Trump and J.D. Vance in 2024. And there has been an erosion across single white men, Latino men, African American men, and it's all because primarily from an economic standpoint things are not where they need to be.
I will point out gas is lower, still lower now than it was when Biden is President. But and in California, for we would love Forte Ardell gas. We haven't seen Fort Ardell gas in five years. So but it's all about affordability in the economy, and he Donald Trump's not --
NUNEZ: Yeah. Trump is also in his own base. If you look at white women, he's losing white men women in his base. Now he still has the Republican party, but it's starting to disintegrate. And when you look at these races, the candidates that are going to have his support for the most part, and he's campaigning for them, he's campaigning in swing states where these seats are. And it's possible between 30 and 45 seats, the Democrats will pick up in the House of Representatives. And it's now we can see a road map to getting us to Senate as well. So clearly the President, he can't message his way out of this. The problems that he has created for this country are real problems. There's no way to talk your way out of this.
MICHAELSON: How do you message what's going on with Iran right now? Because it's interesting, Matt, to hear the President trying to maybe simplify this message, which is what he's always done. A simple message of good and bad. We win, we get everything we want, and yet you see Iran saying, not so fast, that's not what happened. We saw yesterday he put out a message that the leaders of Israel and Lebanon were going to talk to each other, and then they didn't. I mean, some of the facts are sometimes different.
KLINK: Well, and, look, he's trying to be definitive in a part of the world that, I mean, literally is based on sand. It shifts beneath your feet depending upon which way the wind blows. Iran, by the way, didn't even agree on what they were agreeing to today, because the Foreign Minister said one thing. And the prime or the speaker of their parliament said the other. The challenge look. We do know the economic blockade is working. The economic blockade is now being sent to every single Iranian ship around the world. Give it three or four more days, and if their oil industry starts going dry, it's ruined for years because you can't stop that stuff. You have to keep the pumping going, but it's not going to end quickly. NUNEZ: Sorry. The fundamental question with this war is why are we in Iran at the moment? If you ask the past four Prime Ministers or I should say Secretaries of State of the U.S., they will all tell you that Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israelis have always tried to force us into a war with Iran because of their geopolitical situation. And they wanted the security, so they want us in Iran.
It is not in our nation's best interest to be in a war with Iran. And the fact that we're there, the fact that we did this, we're really taking Benjamin Netanyahu's lead.
[00:15:00]
And the way that we're that that we're blowing people up, mean blowing up a school with children and --
KLINK: The U.S. military is the most (inaudible) military in the world.
NUNEZ: And violating the Geneva Convention which we basically played a leadership role in establishing rules of engagement. We're violating every one of those rules. And I think people are seeing through this and are saying, wait a minute. America First. America must come first. And that's and that's where it suggests that this war is very unpopular.
KLINK: Every single Secretary of State, even including Barack Obama, they've all said Iran is an existential threat. They cannot have nuclear weapons. The only one who was doing something about it is Donald Trump.
NUNEZ: But that's not true.
KLINK: What the JCPOA?
NUNEZ: President Obama did something about it.
KLINK: -- that allowed no military inspections that allowed --
NUNEZ: It had independent inspectors to inspect.
KLINK: But no military inspections, there were terrorism. No missiles.
NUNEZ: Independent inspections. Independent inspections. And President Trump just pulled the rug from my grid and didn't replace it with anything. We can't replace that with the war.
KLINK: And pallets of cat.
MICHAELSON: I don't think we're going to agree on this one, but we do want to get a note in because it was one week ago tonight when Eric Swalwell, the story came out about him on CNN, and then in the course of just a couple days, he leaves the Governor's race, resigns from Congress. What an extraordinary thing. It is now sort of upended the Governor's race in the biggest state in the country, a state that you both work very closely as consultants on. Matt, you've got an op ed that just came out across the state today saying what happens now and looking at who benefits from Eric Swalwell being out. What is the conclusion?
KLINK: Yeah, right now it's Xavier Becerra.
MICHAELSON: He is Former HHS Secretary.
KLINK: Former HHS Secretary, former Member of Congress, former Attorney General. I think he's got the experience and the temperament to make a difference right now, but he's got to capitalize on it. And then the San Jose Mayor, it's like --
MICHAELSON: Matt Mahan.
KLINK: The Matt Mahan. Everybody is saying how great he is and all the great things he's going to do. Nobody knows who this guy is. And that's the biggest problem that he's facing.
MICHAELSON: But he raised a lot of money this week.
KLINK: Yes.
MICHAELSON: And he's got TV ads now running.
KLINK: Yeah.
MICHAELSON: And Xavier Becerra does as well. How do you see it as the democratic strategist?
NUNEZ: I just think that very few people are still paying attention to this race. And I know it's around the corner. But we need voters in California to really focus to look at the candidates, to vet the candidates, to see the level of experience that they all have. And by the way, these candidates, when they're going to debate, they got to check themselves a little bit. This has to be a more spirited race. Why? Because whoever we elect, the democrats when -- there will be a democrat in the runoff.
I know a lot of people are saying, oh, well, there may be the two republicans may make it to the runoff. It's mathematically impossible for that to happen in a state like California.
KLINK: Not impossible. Improbable.
NUNEZ: Well, very improbable. Very improbable. But in my view, it's not -- it's -- there's no way that that's going to happen. And I think what we need to see is we need to make sure that people have an opportunity to vet the candidates. I think it's too early to determine whether it's Xavier Becerra or whoever else.
KLINK: I agree.
NUNEZ: But one thing we know for sure is that on the Republican side, there will be a Republican in the run up. The question is, as Democrats, who is our most experienced? Who is the person that we should send? Obviously, I think it's Antonio Villaraigosa. But so far, he hasn't been able to punch through the clutter. But I think we have a lot of qualified people running for governor in this race. And we want to see them debate.
KLINK: And Fabian and I agree on this. Get them off the sound bite and get them engaging with each other to talk about the problems and the solutions that the voters deserve to hear.
MICHAELSON: And I always like a shameless plug. So that's why we are doing a debate here on CNN on May 5th, where we're going to be doing just that. Kaitlan Collins and I'll moderate that.
NUNEZ: But make sure there's some boxing. Make sure there's some give and take some boxing.
MICHAELSON: Yeah, terribly fun.
NUNEZ: We need that in this debate.
MICHAELSON: Another shameless plug. You mentioned Xavier Becerra. He's going to be joining us live in our next hour here on "The Story Is." Enough of my promos. Thank you both. Great to see you. We appreciate it.
Now we'll do another promo for what's coming up next here on "The Story Is." Severe storms have spanned destructive tornadoes across the Midwestern U.S. after the break. The latest on the damage, and a look at this weekend's forecast. Plus, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Machado meets far right leaders in Spain. She's trying to gather European support in the fight for Venezuela's future. That story and more straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Crossing it. It just crossed. Oh my god. Debris raining out of the sky.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Scenes of destruction from Illinois, tornadoes generated by severe storms swelled across the Midwest on Friday. At least 20 twisters who were reported across the region along with baseball sized hail and wind gusts over 70 miles an hour. More than 4 dozen tornadoes have been reported from Texas to the Great Lakes since Monday. The tornado threat is projected to lessen overnight. Forecasters are warning that some storms could still produce damaging winds and flash floods as they move east on Saturday. While the storm threat may be easing a bit over the weekend, days of heavy rain have left parts of Wisconsin and Michigan underwater. Check out this video. Some areas are reporting record high water levels as rivers overflowed their banks this week. We've got some breaking news tonight in the world of business. A federal judge here in California has just blocked Nexstar's attempt to take over rival TV station owner TEGNA.
[00:25:00]
In a ruling, the judge wrote that the merger is likely to violate antitrust laws. The two companies are now frozen until a trial can take place. Nexstar is already vowing to appeal that decision. CNN's Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter staying up late for us, live for us in New York with this breaking news. Brian, why does this matter?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: It's a big deal in part because it shows a divide between the federal government and the states. These State Attorneys General, Democrats, all of them, decided to sue to block this deal even as the feds gave it the green light. Nexstar tried hard to appeal to the Trump administration and even appeal to President Trump personally to get this deal approved. So the feds gave the go ahead, but the states tried to block it.
DIRECTV also filed suit. So the judge combined both lawsuits. He reviewed the evidence, and tonight he said, yeah. This looks like an antitrust violation. So as you said, he froze the deal in place. Now it's a big blow to Nexstar's attempts to get even bigger, and it's in some ways a rebuke to the Trump administration for not following through and challenging the deal.
We heard just now from California AG Rob Bonta. Here's what he wrote on X. He said, this merger is illegal, plain, and simple. The federal government may have thrown in the towel, but we'll keep fighting for consumers, for workers, for affordability, and for our local news. Then Nexstar says it will appeal the judge's ruling, and it calls this a pro-competitive transaction that will, "Make local stations stronger and support continued investment in local journalism and fact based news."
But many competitors and public interest groups and journalists believe the Nexstar was really going to take these stations, cut costs, lay off journalists, shrink the footprint overall, and that's the heart of the concern about this merger. So it's really interesting to see the Democratic State Attorneys General not only suing to block it because they believe the feds aren't doing their job, but also succeeding tonight, Elex.
MICHAELSON: Well, and let's talk about what this is, because some people may not know that their local NBC station or their local ABC station is actually not owned by ABC or NBC. It could be owned by TEGNA or could be owned by Nexstar. Sort of explain how this works and what this means for the average viewer at all who's used to watching local news?
STELTER: Yeah, right now Nexstar and TEGNA. These are rivals right now in markets like Denver. They own stations all across the country. Nexstar is capped from getting any bigger, but the government waived that cap in order to allow Nexstar to take over TEGNA. So Nexstar trying to get even more muscular, saying it needs to be able to compete in an environment dominated by the likes of Apple and Netflix. So that's been the argument from Nextstar.
But many on the sidelines have said this looks like an antitrust violation, and that's partly why the state sued. And it's not the first time we've seen this divide, right? Earlier this week, you were covering Live Nation Ticketmaster, an example of the federal government settling with Live Nation, but the state still fought in court. The states won. The jury sided with the states, and now Live Nation Ticketmaster might end up be broken up.
So we have to keep watching with these examples of a divide between the federal government and the states, mostly blue states, mostly Democrats who believe the feds are advocating their responsibilities, so they're taking action instead. And the context here is really interesting for the media business.
Right now, Bonta's office and other Democratic State AGs are reviewing the Paramount bid to buy WBD, CNN's parent company. In fact, earlier this week, Bonta's office said that the robust review of Paramount is ongoing. So we've seen two wins for the state AGs this week. A Live Nation deal this verdict, I mean, and the jury trial. And now you have this ruling from the court, say Nexstar and TEGNA cannot get together. So two wins in one week for these Democratic state AGs, and it makes you wonder if that's going to put wind in their sails as they look at the Paramount deal, Elex.
MICHAELSON: Yeah. And it's interesting. Bonta told me about a year ago that the Democratic attorneys general are on a daily Zoom call together where they come up with strategy and determine as a group, what to go after. And, clearly, this is a priority for all of them right now. Brian Stelter in New York, thank you so much, for the insight on this late breaking story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARLA CORINA MACHADO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER (translated): We will return, and I know that soon I will be able to welcome each and every one of you and reciprocate the immense honor you have bestowed upon our entire country. The keys, as you say, open doors, and today they symbolize as the Venezuelan nations opening up to freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: That was Venezuelan Opposition Leader Maria Corina Machado speaking in Madrid on Friday after receiving the City's Ceremonial Golden Key. Nobel Peace Laureate's visit to Spain is part of her broader European tour. She has not returned to Venezuela since receiving her Nobel Prize last December and is currently under investigation there. While in Spain, Machado met the country's representative and far right leadership. She's using the trip to lobby for support for her opposition party and its role in Venezuela's still uncertain future.
[00:30:00]
Machado did not meet leftist leaders during her visit. Airlines in Europe could soon feel the pinch from the war in Iran. Still ahead, a major warning about possible jet fuel shortages, which could leave carriers between a rock and a hard place, including the latest on Pope Leo's tour of the African Continent. We'll take you -- talk to you about the massive crowds that greeted him in Cameroon and where he's headed to next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:35:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: Thanks for watching "The Story Is." I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at today's top stories.
President Trump says he may not extend a tentative cease fire between the U.S. and Iran if negotiations fail to produce an agreement by Wednesday. Iranian officials tell CNN they expect U.S. and Iranian negotiators to arrive in Pakistan this weekend for the next round of peace talks. Those are expected in Islamabad on Monday, but the U.S. has not confirmed that the talks are actually even happening.
Iran is threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz again unless the U.S. lifts its blockade of Iranian ports. Only a handful of ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Friday despite Iran's Foreign Minister saying it was now open to commercial vessels. President Trump says the blockade remains in force until a deal with Iran is a 100 percent complete.
And Israel is lifting nationwide safety restrictions such as in-person work and school attendance as a fragile ceasefire with Hezbollah continues to hold. Lebanese President is pushing for continued direct talks with Israel, calling them critical and pivotal. President Trump says Israel and Lebanon could hold those talks in the U.S. in about two weeks.
Aviation companies are calling on governments to come up with a plan B if they start running out of jet fuel. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz could create shortages in Europe within weeks, according to the International Energy Agency. And as Richard Quest explains, airlines may have to start making some tough choices.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: It's being called a sobering warning that European airports and aviation fuel supplies could be only a few weeks from running out. Whether that's four or six weeks, nobody really wants to say. But the reality is that airlines are pretty soon going to have to start making decisions. Which flights are they going to prioritize? If their fuel suppliers say, look, we've only got so much fuel. We can't supply everybody.
Then we'll start to see what's already happened with some airlines like United in The United States, which has announced a 5 percent cut in its flying program. It is stopping the least profitable routes, is what you would expect. In Europe at the moment, they're still talking about changing aircraft, retiring fleets, maybe cutting back certain routes. But if this goes on much longer and the supplies continue to dwindle, then the real choice will have to be made. Do we fly that one? Do we fly that one? Or do we cancel that one? And then passengers will be left with Hobson's choice. Take it or leave it. It's pretty much like the airlines are doing when it comes to fuel. Richard Quest, CNN, London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Hopefully, we don't get to that point. Richard Quest, thank you. President Trump has taken more flack for the war in Iran from podcaster Joe Rogan. In the episode of his podcast released on Thursday, he said he was terrified by the sheer brutality of the conflict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE ROGAN, HOST, "THE JOE ROGAN EXPERIENCE": Anytime you're involved with you're shooting missiles into towns and blowing things up, blowing up infrastructure, blowing up bridges, and Israel's blowing up Lebanon now. It's like, what the are we doing? Like how is this still going on?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most people that voted for Trump or wanted Trump to be in office, one of the things that was attractive was this no more wars.
ROGAN: Sure. Of course.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And now we're in one of the craziest ones.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Rogan has earlier accused Trump of breaking promises to his voters by starting the war. Pope Leo the XIV will soon press on to Angola, the next stop of his Africa tour. Preparations are complete in the city there where the pontiff is set to arrive in a few hours. There, he'll meet with the President along with civic and church leaders. Pope is on a 10-day tour of the African Continent in Cameroon earlier. The pontiff referenced the problems that the country is facing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE LEO XIV: Despite the richness of the land in Cameroon, many experience both material and spiritual poverty. Do not give in to distrust and discouragement. Reject every form of abuse or violence which deceives by promising easy gains, but hardens the heart and makes it insensitive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: More than a 100,000 people turned out for an open air mass on Friday, the biggest crowd so far during the tour. CNN's Vatican Correspondent Christopher Lamb is traveling with the pope. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: I just underlines how the Catholic church in Africa is such a crucial part of the church that Pope Leo leads today. Around a third of the country are Catholics. And, of course, this is a place where there has been huge amounts of conflict between the French and the English speaking parts.
[00:40:00]
This is the French part of Cameroon. Hopefully, it was in the English part, on Thursday. Leo has been emphasizing his message of peace throughout his time in Cameroon. Of course, at the same time, President Trump has continued to attack him, and Leo, though, showing his determination to keep on talking about peace, about the world, who said being ravaged by a few tyrants with billions of dollars being spent on conflict and war. Leo showing his determination and to keep emphasizing the message that are important to him and to the church in a part of the world so crucial to the future and the present of Catholicism. Christopher Lamb, CNN, Douala.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Two major U.S. Catholic universities are set to face off in honor of the first American Pope. The men's and women's teams from Notre Dame and Villanova will play in Rome on November 1st to kick off the next season. Schools say the doubleheader is a way to celebrate their Catholic missions and Pope Leo, who is a Villanova graduate. Both teams will get an audience with the pontiff and celebrate a shared mass in Saint Peter's Basilica. How cool is that?
Well, one of sports' most high profile couples is calling it quits. WNBA legend Sue Bird and two time Women's World Cup champion Megan Rapinoe have announced they're ending their 10-year relationship. They broke the news together on their sports and culture podcast, calling the decision to split mutual. They say they're releasing six final episodes of that podcast as a farewell to listeners. They plan to pursue individual projects in the future.
Coachella is heading into its final weekend. Just ahead, we'll break down the influence singer Karol G has as the first Latina to headline the music festival in the California Desert.
And keep it right here, in our next hour, I'll speak live with California Democrat who's gotten a big boost from the recent upheaval in the state's gubernatorial race. Xavier Becerra live on our set. Next hour on "The Story Is."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: Happening right now, the Coachella music festival is heading into its final weekend. The Sierra marks 27 years for the gathering in the California Desert. It's changed a bit over the years. Headliners for the weekend, too included Christina Carpenter on Friday, Justin Bieber is up on Saturday, and Karol G ends it all on Sunday. She is the first Latina woman to headline the legendary festival. She's also the first Latina artist to headline a global stadium tour, selling more than a million tickets across 12 countries.
What you're looking at here are images of Karol G on weekend one at Coachella. Our next guest was assigned to cover that for Rolling Stone. Vanessa Diaz is an Associate Professor of Chicano and Chicana Latino Latina studies at Loyola Marymount University. She's also the author of a book about how Bad Bunny Became The Global Voice Of Puerto Rican Resistance. You see that book cover right there.
Vanessa Diaz, welcome back to "The Story Is." You were here before when we talked about Bad Bunny with the Super Bowl. Now this historic performance for Karol G. And this was a lot bigger than just an individual performance. Talk about the symbolism here.
VANESSA DIAZ, ASSOC. PROFESSOR, LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: I was -- I mean I was at the very first Coachella as a 16-year-old. And there -- it wasn't about talking about were there Latinas on stage. There were very few women there. And so at this moment, it's personal, but as a scholar of Latin music, to think about what it means when no Latina has ever graced that stage in the headlining set. It was massive, and the energy was so, so intoxicating. It was one of the greatest sets I've seen on that stage.
MICHAELSON: And you said -- you saw a little girl that sort of made you emotional, right?
DIAZ: It did, right? When I think about I'm a mother of two young kids, including a Latina, and I want her to feel like she can do whatever she wants. We're at a moment right where we are feeling the gravity politically of the targeting of Latinos and when we see the cultural representation like that, it does matter. The whole set was about women finding their voices and feeling empowered. I called it a master class in women's empowerment, and that's really what it was. And that little girl.
MICHAELSON: So this little girl on their parents' shoulders that you see in the crowd watching with this.
DIAZ: Screaming with joy. She was beaming because she's looking up there and she sees herself. And that matters. Representation does matter. And I felt the gravity of it in that moment.
MICHAELSON: So the last time you were here we were talking about Bad Bunny and his performance. Not only was it a great performance but it came at a time where Latinos, many of them feel under attack by some in the Trump administration and now this.
DIAZ: Yeah, I mean that was one of the things we talked about right at the Super Bowl halftime show, that beautiful display of flags, right, in this formal setting. It was like a reclaiming of our space here at a time when our communities are under attack. And at the Coachella show, we saw that same array of Latin American and Caribbean flags, Karol G holding her Colombian flag, and just evoking that pride that we need right now.
MICHAELSON: Talk to us about the performance itself, not just as a political symbolic thing, but it -- I mean, it seemed like it was just a really good performance.
[00:50:00]
DIAZ: I mean, it was an amazing You have Choreography and Creative Director by Parris Goebel who is just phenomenal. The story of it, again, it was this whole story about women finding their voice and owning their own power and being comfortable in their own skin. And then the dancers. There was about 40 dancers on these extravagant sets. It was so ornate. There was a salsa orchestra at one point. I mean, musically, it was fascinating. The choreography was wildly imaginative. One of my favorite parts was when they were dancing in this pool that was carved out of stones, and it was just -- there was a moment where the women dancers were pouring water over her.
It was like she was being baptized by these other women. It was just really powerful messaging and really full of pride.
MICHAELSON: Well, and it seemed like from what I could see and what I could see from your video, also that you shot, you had a great spot right there. Good for you. And which also reminded me a little bit of the Bad Bunny thing, which was, it was so joyous. It was not focused on hatred or fighting back or anything like that. It's like the best resistance is just showing joy, happiness, and love.
DIAZ: Yeah. I mean, I think she and Becky G both came out saying, speaking up for Latinos, showing their pride in their own identity, but also their pride and their strength. And it's true. We need these moments of joy and celebration to keep fighting. And I think this was one of those beautiful moments. And I'm really grateful I got to witness that history.
MICHAELSON: So that is going to happen again on Sunday night at Coachella.
DIAZ: Yes.
MICHAELSON: And for those of us who are probably not going, if you're at home right now watching us, you can watch it live on YouTube for free, which is pretty cool.
DIAZ: Coachella.
MICHAELSON: Yeah. There you go. All right, Vanessa. Thank you so much. Really appreciate it. And we can check out your article about all this right now at rollingstone.com for real insight in terms of what happened. Thanks. Thank you so much.
DIAZ: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: A researcher in London has stumbled upon the answer to a centuries old question. We'll bring you exactly what they have found, and it involves William Shakespeare after the break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: A rare Portrait of French film icon Brigitte Bardot is set to hit the auction block soon. It goes under the hammer at Sotheby's in New York next month where it's expected to fetch up to $18 million. The emerald green painting is one of eight produced by pop artist Andy Warhol. Only two feature Bardot with red lips. The chance discovery in an archive has revealed the exact location at the London home of William Shakespeare. Exactly where the bard lived in London had been a mystery for centuries. James Freighter went along to investigate the site of this historical discovery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES FRATER, CNN PRODUCER: It's long been known that Shakespeare owned a home in London. But where exactly has kept academics guessing for centuries? That is until now. It's generally believed that somewhere between the river and Saint Paul's Cathedral here in Blackfriars in these narrow streets that his property used to be. This modest blue plaque cautiously declares that the playwright purchased lodgings near this site. But in new research by Lucy Monroe at London's King's College, this plaque is actually spot on. This is exactly where Shakespeare lived at 5 Saint Andrews Hill. So what did his house actually look like?
Monroe says the property was L-shaped, not massive, but relatively substantial. And it would have sat above the gateway to a 13th century friary that used to stand here. Seventeenth century Blackfriars would have been a lively mix of people, gentry rubbing shoulders with an increasing number of tradespeople according to Monroe.
In her research, there were tennis courts nearby, there was a bowling alley, and many, many other entertainment venues. But also, there was the pub just next door where perhaps the bard enjoyed a drink or two.
Crucially for Shakespeare, it was less than a five walk from the Blackfriars Playhouse and just across the river from the famous Globe Theatre. The original house didn't survive the great fire of London in 1666 and is one of the reasons why the exact location has remained such a mystery. But at long last, no plague upon any houses as we now know exactly where his house stood.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: From Shakespeare to today's storytellers, one of the biggest book festivals in the U.S. is kicking off this weekend. Literary fanatics from around the world will gather here in California on Saturday for the LA Times Festival of Books. The festival will feature exclusive exhibitions and festivities with 100s of authors and celebrities including Sarah Jessica Parker, Larry David, Lionel Richie, Tom Selleck, and CNN's own Abby Phillip. A 150,000 people expected to attend. General admission is free. The book festival is a two day event ending on Sunday.
Thanks for watching the first hour of "The Story Is." The next hour starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The Strait of Hormuz is fully open and ready for business.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: "The Story Is" in the Strait of Hormuz. Is it open or closed? What does it mean for your gas prices? We'll go live in the region.
"The Story Is" here in California. Xavier Becerra --
