Return to Transcripts main page

The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Potential U.S.-Iran Talks Uncertain As Ceasefire Deadline Looms; Tim Cook To Step Down As Apple CEO; Singer D4vid Pleads Not Guilty To Murdering 14-Year-Old Girl; Singer D4vd Pleads Not Guilty to Murdering 14-Year-Old Girl; Trump Administration Begins Tariff Refund Process; Labor Secretary Resigns Amid Misconduct Investigation; FBI Director Sues "The Atlantic"; Interview with Cal State Northridge Men's Volleyball Player Jordan Lucas. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired April 21, 2026 - 01:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:21]

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Rev your engines and prepare for takeoff. "Top Gun" and "Top Gun Maverick" are returning to a theater near you this May. Paramount is releasing the 1986 blockbuster and the 2022 sequel to celebrate the original movie's 40th anniversary. Paramount's promotional tagline feel the need again.

Tom Cruise posted on X "Two films, one big screen back in theaters May 13 for one week only." And we should point out, of course, that Paramount is in the process of buying CNN parent company Warner Brothers Discovery. And there are reports that there could be a "Top Gun 3" in the works as well.

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

The Story Is time for a deal. The U.S. and Iran approach the deadline for a ceasefire extension.

The Story Is the future of Apple. Steve Jobs successor Tim Cook is leaving as CEO. What does that mean for consumers?

And The Story Is viral sensation. This college volleyball player racked up millions of views for his play on the court and his style in between points. Jordan Lucas is live on our set.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles, The Story Is with Elex Michaelson.

MICHAELSON: Thanks for watching The Story Is. I'm Elex Michaelson. And the top story is uncertainty over the state date of potential negotiations between the U.S. and Iran with the ceasefire deadline ahead. Sources say U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is expected to travel to Pakistan on Tuesday to take part in a second round of talks. But the situation remains fluid with heated public record rhetoric by both the U.S. and Iran. President Trump, who now says the ceasefire ends Wednesday evening, Washington time, is expressing optimism that Tehran will come to the table. He warns of consequences if they don't. But Iran's foreign ministry says Iran will decide on how to proceed, claiming ceasefire violations and provocative actions by the U.S. Are major obstacles to diplomacy. Iran also vowing retaliation for this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Motor vessel Touska, motor vessel Touska. Vacate your engine room, vacate your engine room. We're prepared to subject you to disabling fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: U.S. military there firing at then seizing an Iranian flagged cargo ship it says was attempting to violate the naval blockade of Iranian ports. Night footage later captured Marines boarding the vessel, which remains in U.S. custody. Iran is now calling for the, quote, "immediate release" of that ship.

CNN's Ivan Watson following all of this. He's live from Hong Kong.

Ivan, let's start, though, with the status of the negotiations. Where are we at?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's a big question. Will they or won't they meet in Pakistan this week? I think that the Iranian Foreign Ministry cast doubt on that possibility at a weekly press conference on Monday. Listen to the spokesperson for that ministry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ESMAEIL BAGHAEI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN (through translator): As of now, as I am speaking to you, we have no plan for the next round of negotiations. No decision has been taken in this regard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: And we've heard other statements coming out from Mohammad Ghalibaf, that's the speaker of Parliament who led the Iranian delegation for the first round of talks in Islamabad, saying things like, you know, we're not going to respond to threats and we're preparing new surprises, new cards on the battlefield during the course of this temporary cease fire. The Trump administration has come out with its own mixed messaging. And President Trump himself issuing threats, saying if a deal isn't reached that the U.S. would be prepared to destroy all of Iran's bridges and power plants. And he's had mixed messaging on whether or not the temporary two week cease fire could be extended.

Now, we have heard from individuals that are familiar with the talks that they do expect the U.S. Vice President, J.D. Vance to be leaving Washington and heading towards Pakistan on Tuesday. But watch this space to see what in fact will happen as Trump has pointed out that a ceasefire is due to expire Wednesday evening Washington, D.C. time. Listen to what one longtime hawk on Iran and former national security adviser to President Trump, now a loud critic of President Trump, John Bolton, has to say about the Trump administration's position going into these final days of the ceasefire.

[01:05:23]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, FMR. NATL. SECURITY ADVISER TO TRUMP ADMIN.: So they're in a situation where, as with the last time they went to Islamabad, they're right up against the deadline. I think if Trump extends the deadline again, the Iranians will really feel they've got the upper hand, that he's so desperate to avoid resuming military action that they just have to keep pressing on him and they'll come away with a pretty good deal from their point of view. That's why I think this approach was fundamentally flawed. I think the ceasefire itself was a mistake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: In the meantime, do not expect shipping to resume anytime soon. Iran's farce news agency actually put out video of what it claimed were ships going through with Iranian permission through the Strait of Hormuz through a safe passageway. Iran telegraphing that it is still dictating which ships are allowed to come through, even as the U.S. says it continues to enforce its own navy blockade of Iranian ports. Tehran put out a statement demanding the immediate release of the ship, the Touska, its sailors, crew and their families who were all captured by the U.S. Navy in its movement against that cargo ship, that Iranian owned cargo ship on Sunday. Don't know what Washington is going to say in response to that demand. Elex.

MICHAELSON: Yes. Dramatic video there too, as well. Ivan Watson starting us off in Hong Kong. Thank you.

Now we head to Northern California. Joining me live is Abbas Milani, the Hamid and Christina Moghadam Director of Iranian Studies at Stanford University here in California. Welcome back to The Story Is.

ABBAS MILANI, HAMID AND CHRISTINA MOGHADAM DIR. OF IRANIAN STUDIES, STANFORD UNIV.: Thank you for having me.

MICHAELSON: Is there a deal that the Iranian government could live with, that the United States could get behind?

MILANI: I think there is. I think between the bravura of the Iranians saying they're not going to go, there is no deal on the table. I think they want a deal and I think the outlines of a deal are there. In your piece when they were quoting the foreign minister, the most important word in that sentence was not for now, felan, anyone who understands Farsi, that means we are open for business, but it's going to be a little later when we show up. But they want to, I think, have negotiation.

And I think Mr. Trump also wants to have a deal. So I think there is a deal to be had.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

MILANI: Outstanding points are the Strait of Hormuz, who is going to control it, Iran's nuclear program, the fate of the 440 kilos of 60 percent enriched uranium, whether Iran will have any enrichment activities and maybe as important as everything, how much money the U.S. is willing to release immediately for the regime. The regime is desperate for some funds. And as I understand it, one of the sickening points last time they met was Iran's insistence on getting a far bigger chunk that the Trump administration was willing to release it.

MICHAELSON: So those are pretty big outstanding issues. I mean, how is that solved? I mean, where do you see that all coming together?

MILANI: Well, I think different parts of this problem will have different solutions because they have different levels of complexity. I doubt very much whether Iran will get what it wants in the Strait of Hormuz, which is to have essentially a veto power and who goes through and veto power with charging rights. They think they're going to make billions of dollars. I don't think the U.S. will stand for it. China clearly is not in favor of this.

Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates are clearly not going to stand by and allow Iran to have a veto power over one of the most important economic lifelines in the world. They might get some sanctions relief. I think the Trump administration is willing to give that up. Iran is putting some negotiated solutions for the nuclear deal to maybe dilute that 460 and maybe send some of it to Russia, some of it to China. There are different ways of getting it out of Iran's possible use for a bomb.

So there are complicated issues. But I think my sense is that both sides want to have a non-kinetic solution to this problem and thus there is a possibility that they will find the middle ground.

[01:10:12]

MICHAELSON: Let's hope so. That'd be in everybody's best interest at this point. Abbas Milani joining us from Stanford. Thank you so much.

Let's talk tech now. Also big in Northern California, Apple CEO Tim Cook is stepping down after more than a decade leading that company. His replacement will be John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering. He is a 25-year veteran at Apple and has played major roles in new product lines including the Mac, AirPods and the iPhone. But he's got some big shoes to fill.

During his tenure, Cook oversaw Apple's growth into a $4 trillion company. That's with a T. He is credited with helping make Apple a significant player beyond its tech products into areas including entertainment and health. The leadership change will go into effect on September 1st. Cook will be moving into the role of Executive Chairman of Apple's Board of Directors.

For more on this shakeup, I want to bring in CNN's newest contributor, Jacob Ward, a technology journalist and host of the "Rip Current" podcast. He joins us live from Oakland.

First off, welcome to CNN. Great to have you.

JACOB WARD, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Appreciate it, Elex. Great to be with you. It's fun to be colleagues.

MICHAELSON: Very fun to be colleagues. So when we think of Apple, of course, we think of Steve Jobs, one of the great visionaries in our modern history. He did so many products that continue to change the world from the phone, the iPhone, to the iPod, to the iPad, to the iMac. What is Tim Cook's main accomplishment? What is Tim Cook's main product when we think of his legacy?

WARD: Well, Elex, I mean, if you think about the world that Tim Cook inherited, right, was an incredibly sophisticated array of products that could have been incredibly expensive to build. You and I could have been -- you know, people are already paying the equivalent of, you know, a used car, right, to buy one of these phones. But the margin on that under Steve Jobs was very, very different. That wasn't a very profitable business. Now, I mean, compared to now, because now what Tim Cook made possible was an incredible supply chain.

The guy was a logistics genius. That's really what he was. Not a big strategic thinker, not a big innovator, but a logistics genius. So his big thing, his big breakthrough was China. Getting Apple to build those phones in China at an incredible margin.

The most recent profit margin for Apple was 46.9 percent for every dollar in revenue, making almost 50 cents in profit is insane by any --

MICHAELSON: Wow.

WARD: -- business standards. And then on top of that, he also regularized and streamlined the App Store, which has also become this incredible profit center. Just this year is the first year that the App Store has actually earned more money for that company than the phones did. And that's a profit margin of about 75 percent. So an incredible money fountain there. And finally, the big thing was to just keep that iPhone, right, and the whole product line as sexy as possible so that people would continue to just pay out the nose for these products at that incredible profit margin.

And he managed to do those three things. China, the App Store, and keeping it sexy, he did those. So hats off to him. But in the 15 years --

MICHAELSON: Yes.

WARD: -- that he has been there, you know, that's -- those pillars I just don't think really exist in the world anymore. They are about to crumble. And I think that's why this company is going to bring in new leadership here, Elex.

MICHAELSON: I mean, so are you -- are you saying as you're reporting that this was not Tim Cook's decision? WARD: I don't actually know this. You know, it could very well be. I mean, if I were in Tim Cook's position. I'm always sort of confused by anybody who's running these companies and why they don't just walk away with their billions at that time. You know what I'm saying?

But I don't -- I'm not as crazy as Tim Cook is. You know, you, you know, there's a hardworking guy who I'm sure, you know, wants to do whatever is best for the company. Whether he was asked to go or decided to go, I don't know the answer to that. But I would say that the board looking at that future probably is looking at this and saying, this is -- this was the guy for the era that were in, this open global trade kind of world that we were in. But now we're going to need new -- a new leadership in the age of AI, which is, of course, the big existential threat here.

MICHAELSON: Well, talk to us about the new guy who brings a different skill set. What will that mean for the products that we all buy?

WARD: Yes, so Ternus is known as an engineer, right? He is not a big picture thinker in the way that Steve Jobs was. He's not a logistics guy. He's an engineer. He likes to get into the weeds, get into the nitty gritty.

And so what he is credited with so far is, you know, you and me, we get to use our phones a lot longer without them running out of juice. Our connectivity is really reliable. The performance is really good. Those are all things that he was in charge of it hard -- at the hardware head. You know, but he has not necessarily done a lot of sort of breakthrough designs himself.

[01:15:01]

He's not overseeing a bunch of innovative new technology. But what we could see, you and I, is through him, I would imagine a real improvement to Siri, which right now is something of an embarrassment for Apple in the age of, you know, ChatGPT and Claude and the rest of it. Siri is kind of a holdover from an older time. And so I think it's probably Ternus's first job to try and make Siri as effective a thing as these other LLMs have been. So I would imagine that's something we're probably going to see.

And then they're going to need some new form factor at some point, right? This iPhone form factor that you and I have been holding for the last 19 years, it can't be that way forever especially in a world where you're no longer using apps to do things. AI is doing everything for you and anticipating your needs. So I think he's going to have to come up with both of those things pretty quickly here, Elex.

MICHAELSON: I mean, is there some thought, some speculation about what Apple looks like in the AI era?

WARD: Well, I mean, everybody and their mother is trying to come up with a new piece of hardware for the AI use case, right? Because we're no longer going to be in a world where you need an app with a phone, you know, with a camera that, you know, orders an Uber for you or the rest of it, if your AI agents are just running your errands and your life for you. And so people have, you know --

MICHAELSON: Wow.

WARD: -- tried to make pins and, you know, watches and Meta's got its glasses. Everybody's fighting for what the new form factor is going to be. And so it really could be anything, right? I wouldn't be surprised if we're all sitting around, you know, with contact lenses in someday that identify our friends and show us movies --

MICHAELSON: Wow.

WARD: -- and the rest of it, right? There's something new coming. We just don't know what it looks like yet.

MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, this is something you've been thinking about today. The fact that Apple, which just turned 50, right, has outlasted a lot of American companies.

WARD: Yes. You know, it is amazing when you look back across the array of companies, right? I mean, Apple is literally the greatest company in the history of money. You know, it is as successful a thing as a human being has ever put together. But you also have to look at, you know, 88 percent of the companies that were on the Fortune 500 list back in the '60s, I think, are all gone now, right?

No company is eternal. Ask Kodak, ask Pan-M. You know, these companies are not forever. And so when I think about this, you know, we think about life -- a life where you just couldn't imagine life without Apple somehow. But I think about, you know, Stetson hats, which was once a universal thing. You would literally not go outside without a hat any more than you'd go without shoes.

But that just changed. I mean, the world moves on and companies cannot last forever. Now, this is the greatest company ever. They have incredible cash flow. They have a 4 trillion, you know, market cap.

They're going to be fine for a good long while. But no company is permanent and change is the only constant in business. And that is of course, what John Ternus is going to have to deal with.

MICHAELSON: You think of all the companies that have come and gone just during the era of Apple. You think of like BlackBerry and Myspace --

WARD: Yes.

MICHAELSON: -- and all the different things that we've gone through as well.

WARD: That's right.

MICHAELSON: And Apple is still here so far.

WARD: And you want to -- you want to make a -- you want to make a tech CEO lose his mind, refer to his company as the possibility of being BlackBerry, right? It's that kind of fear that gets these guys out of bed every morning.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

WARD: And it's why a guy like John Ternus is going to work his butt off.

MICHAELSON: Wow. Well, we are so excited to have you on CNN. We just saw why. Great, great insight from you, Jacob. And by the way, people are really interested in. Bill Weir did an amazing documentary for CNN that you can watch on the CNN app looking at the 50 years of Apple and sort of what's next for them as well.

Thank you, Jacob. Look forward to having you back on the show often.

Still to come, the --

WARD: Thank you, Elex.

MICHAELSON: -- latest on the murder case against singer D4vd who was in court on Monday on charges in the death of a 14 year old girl. I spoke with the district attorney. We also got a legal expert breaking down what's really happening behind the scenes next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:23:22]

MICHAELSON: Singer David Anthony Burke, known by his stage name D4vd, was in an LA courtroom on Monday pleading not guilty to all charges in connection with the death of a 14-year-old girl. Burke is charged with first degree murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez after her remains were found in the trunk of his Tesla last September. The car appears to have been abandoned. David, who's 21, is also charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and mutilating human remains. An official cause of death has not yet been released, but prosecutors accused Burke of a gruesome murder with a deadly weapon after Rivas Hernandez threatened to expose his alleged criminal conduct and harm his music career.

If convicted, Burke could face a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or even the death penalty. Burke's attorney says that they will vigorously defend his innocence and are pushing for the earliest possible date to hold a preliminary hearing. He is currently being held in jail without bail.

Last hour, I spoke live with LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman about why it took so long for officers to bring those charges -- for his office to bring those charges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NATHAN HOCHMAN, LOS ANGELES COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: So on September 8, 2025, we found the remains of Celeste. She was found dismembered, badly decomposed in two bags inside of a Tesla's front trunk that was registered to David Burke, also known as the singer D4vd. After that moment in time, LAPD Robbery Homicide, along with the District Attorney's office, conducts a very comprehensive and rigorous investigation because you got to figure out who, what, when, where and how, and you don't have eyewitness testimony to show what happened the night of the murder, which we estimate to be April 23rd of 2025. So we had to go through tons of digital and forensic evidence. We had to speak to witnesses both who were cooperative and uncooperative, in order to assemble the totality of evidence that led to the charges today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:25:27]

MICHAELSON: Here with me now live is attorney and legal analyst Dina Doll. She's also host of the "Mistrial" podcast on the MeidasTouch Network. Welcome back to The Story Is. You were with us last week, and we talked about the fact that we'd know a lot more on Monday. So now we have you back on Monday to talk about what we know.

First off, what do you make of what the district attorney just said there to us?

DINA DOLL, ATTORNEY AND LEGAL ANALYST: Well, we do know a lot more, as he said, the who, what, why? I mean, the motive wasn't clear. Now the district attorney is saying that he killed her for financial gain, that he, she was -- he was basically committing child sex abuse against her and that she was a witness to that. And in order for him to still have a music career, he killed her to cover that up. That's a brand new piece of information that we didn't quite realize was going to be connected to the murder charge.

MICHAELSON: Which is interesting. You also found it interesting that they have a specific day that they say that she died. Any specific day that they say she was dismembered?

DOLL: Yes. And that specificity is unnecessary at this point. So that's what I thought was interesting because sometimes -- you know, her body was so decomposed. They could not have backdated her date based on her body. So we know it had to have been because of some sort of digital forensic evidence.

And in fact, they say that the last time she was seen was going into his house on April 23, which makes you think they have some sort of video surveillance, that kind of specificity there. This is probably why it took so long combing through surveillance, cell phone location data, et cetera.

MICHAELSON: I mean, he said that they have multiple terabytes worth of data. Because it's interesting that his team is asking for an early hearing, sort of a preliminary hearing within 10 days, which is, you're right, but most people don't do that, right?

DOLL: Absolutely. Defendant has a constitutional right to a speedy trial, but most defendants waive it. So they had a constitutional right to a speedy preliminary hearing. But in order to have a defense, you need time to look at the evidence. I mean, this preliminary hearing, the threshold is very low. Prosecutors have to show probable cause to hold him over to trial. You probably could show that just by the fact that the body was found in a car that was registered to him. So perhaps the defense strategically doesn't want the prosecution to prepare for this trial any more than necessary. We also might see them still request an extension. But that's interesting that they haven't yet done so.

MICHAELSON: I mean, so what would -- I mean, what -- what's their motive there? What would their idea be in trying to do that?

DOLL: To be able to have a better defense. Because as the prosecutor says, they haven't even gotten the evidence yet.

MICHAELSON: No, no, I understand why they would delay it.

DOLL: Oh, yes.

MICHAELSON: Why would -- why do they want it fast? I mean, they just -- they -- if they feel like they're -- the prosecutors are bluffing or what's the idea there?

DOLL: You give the prosecution less of a chance to prepare for the hearing.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

DOLL: Because the prosecution also assumes that the defense is going to want --

MICHAELSON: Yes.

DOLL: -- to postpone it. So there could be a little bit of a game there.

MICHAELSON: So David's got a high profile attorney who's worked on a lot of celebrity cases before, probably very expensive, done this sort of thing before, kind of a bulldog. What's David's defense likely like?

DOLL: His best defense still is. What I said last week is that this is a community car. Just because it's registered in my name, a lot of people had access to the car. The other thing is that music video could cut both ways. He could say people saw this music video and got that idea.

MICHAELSON: Yes. So we should explain what music video --

DOLL: Yes, OK.

MICHAELSON: -- you're talking about. So there was a -- there was a music video where he talks about killing somebody that he's in love with. There's another music video where he's in his own trunk of his car, potentially.

DOLL: Exactly.

MICHAELSON: So both of those things, strange, giving the circumstances here.

DOLL: It could cut both ways. The prosecution could say, you know, whether or not it's even admitted in trials is a separate issue. California, that's going to be harder to admit it.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

DOLL: But what if the defense decides to admit it? To say, yes, this person was framed, yes, this was out there, and now it's in the trunk. The other thing that I think is really interesting here is the fact that the prosecution is saying that he killed her in order to cover up the crime of the child sex abuse because she was a witness. But if that's the case, he did a very bad job by then keeping the body in the trunk for four months. You have to explain that as the prosecution.

They're not saying this is some heat of the moment passion crime.

MICHAELSON: Right.

[01:29:38]

DOLL: They're saying this was a planned crime to hide another crime. But then why would you hide the murder so badly? You have to explain that to a jury.

MICHAELSON: Was he a bad criminal? Did he have friends that were trying to help him with that? Were they bad criminals? Did they get Freaked out?

All these questions will hopefully get some answers as this moves ahead in the weeks and months ahead.

Dina Doll, thank you for giving us some insight tonight. We appreciate it.

DOLL: Thanks for having me.

MICHAELSON: Kash Patel is suing "The Atlantic" for defamation. Just ahead, what the FBI director is saying about the magazine's recent article alleging excessive drinking and more.

Stay with us.

[01:30:40]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: Welcome back to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson.

Let's take a look at today's top stories.

President Trump is insisting Iran is going to negotiate ahead of anticipated talks. Sources say JD Vance, the vice president, is expected to travel to Pakistan on Tuesday to take part in a second round of negotiations.

But the situation remains fluid. And Iran's foreign minister says Iran will decide on how to proceed as the ceasefire deadline looms.

A gunman opened fire on a crowd of tourists visiting the historic pyramids in Mexico. Authorities say the suspect shot and killed a Canadian woman before taking his own life. At least 13 people were injured, including six Americans who were taken to the hospital.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is stepping down after more than a decade leading the company. During his tenure, Cook oversaw Apple's growth into a $4 trillion company.

His replacement will be John Ternus, a 25-year-veteran at Apple and its senior vice president of hardware engineering. Leadership change will go into effect on September 1st.

Now THE STORY IS politics. And so much for President Trump's claim that other countries are paying the tariffs. Just two months after the Supreme Court struck down the most sweeping tariffs, American importers can now apply to get their money back. They are owed $166 billion in refunds, plus interest.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection estimates the process will take 60 to 90 days. Importers on record can apply through the CBP Web site, but not all tariffs are refundable just yet.

The Trump administration could still take action to delay or reduce the size of the refunds.

U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-Deremer is stepping down. The White House says she's taking a job in the private sector. Chavez Deremer was -- Deremer was also facing an internal investigation into possible misconduct and allegations of inappropriate behavior.

She is now the third cabinet member to leave the Trump administration in recent weeks.

FBI director Kash Patel has filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against "The Atlantic". The magazine cited more than two dozen colleagues and sources who describe Patel's alleged excessive drinking and unexplained absences.

Here's what Patel told Fox News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR: I'm happy to announce on your show that we are not going to take this laying down. You want to attack my character, come at me. Bring it on. I'll see you in court.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: "The Atlantic" calls the lawsuit meritless.

We get more now from CNN's chief media analyst, Brian Stelter, who joins us from New York, Brian.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Hey, Elex. Yes, this is a legal battle that could reveal a lot about the FBI in the Trump 2.0 era.

That's because FBI director Kash Patel, by choosing to file this defamation lawsuit, might be opening himself up to discovery. That's part of the legal process heading into trial.

But first, "The Atlantic's" going to try to get this lawsuit thrown out before it even reaches that point.

So the lawsuit, because it alleges defamation and claims the magazine is trying to maliciously smear Patel, it ends up repeating many of the allegations that are in the article that came out online last Friday.

Here's a quote from the lawsuit. It says "The statements in the article falsely assert that the director of the FBI is a habitual drunk, unable to perform the duties of his office, is a threat to public safety, is vulnerable to foreign coercion, is unreachable in emergencies, and behaves erratically in a manner that compromises national security."

"The Atlantic's" reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick says she spoke with more than two dozen sources -- FBI staffers, members of Congress, hospitality industry workers, which might mean bartenders or hotel staffers or something. She paints a picture of excessive drinking and of a failure to perform the basic responsibilities of the FBI director's job.

Many progressives and other Patel opponents are pointing to the story and saying that Trump might end up firing Patel as a result, partly because Trump is a well-known teetotaler.

But Patel's defenders, including many in MAGA media, are saying the article reads like a hit job because it has zero on-the-record sources, and they're wondering if some of the sources might even be made up, even though there's nothing to indicate that "The Atlantic" would do that.

Now, I mentioned "The Atlantic" says the lawsuit is meritless. They're going to vigorously contest this. And oftentimes defamation lawsuits do get thrown out in the early innings because the legal bar, the standard to prove actual malice is set very high.

It's hard for public figures to prove that a news outlet made something up or didn't care what the facts were when it went to press.

But Patel certainly is trying. He's doing a very aggressive kind of public campaign against "The Atlantic". That is, in some ways, drawing more attention to what's in the article, but is also very loudly disputing what's in it.

[01:39:44]

STELTER: Now, CNN has not independently-corroborated the anecdotes that are in the story, but if a judge does not throw this lawsuit out right away, both sides will be subject to what's known as the discovery phase. And that's where it could get really interesting. Patel's lawyers

could be able to question editors from "The Atlantic" about their work and the process behind the article. And then "The Atlantic's" lawyers will be able to question Patel, perhaps asking lots of uncomfortable questions about his conduct and maybe about his drinking.

Here's what First Amendment attorney Lee Levine told CNN. He said "The Atlantic" would have the same opportunity to take discovery to confirm the accuracy of its reporting, which would include taking sworn testimony not just of Patel, but of others with knowledge of the underlying facts.

A lot of twists and turns before it gets to that point but so far we see Patel being very aggressive here, defending his reputation and taking a page out of his boss' playbook.

President Trump has filed many of these defamation suits in the past, and now it's the FBI director doing the same, Elex.

MICHAELSON: Brian, thank you.

And as we know, if anybody lies under oath, then it's criminal charges for them.

Thanks for watching THE STORY IS with me, Elex Michaelson.

For our international viewers, "WORLDSPORT" is next. For our viewers in North America, don't go anywhere.

College volleyball player Jordan Lucas has gone viral for his serves and his celebrations at CSUN.

Well, you see him right there. Jordan is there to show us more of that and talk about why what he's doing matters to so many people.

That is right after the break.

You're watching THE STORY IS.

[01:41:16]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: Online views of men's collegiate volleyball is skyrocketing, thanks to one player from here in California. Jordan Lucas is an outside hitter for Cal State Northridge, and he doesn't hold back when it comes to celebrating a good play on the court. Buzz around his playing style even earned him a profile in "The New York Times", hailing him as Cal State Northridge volleyball's master of on- court celebrations.

Celebrities, brands and other public figures are also sharing in his excitement for the game.

Jordan Lucas joins me now here live. Welcome. Congratulations on your viral success. JORDAN LUCAS, MEN'S VOLLEYBALL, CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE: Thank you so

much for having me here.

MICHAELSON: So what would be a word that you would use to describe your own celebrations?

LUCAS: I would say animated. I feel like that's something that encompasses it all.

MICHAELSON: I mean, what's -- sort of what's the inspiration?

LUCAS: Being true to yourself and kind of being in tune with who you are and understanding that, you know, me playing the sport of volleyball and me being authentic to myself has allowed me to kind of exude that confidence that has led into my celebrations.

MICHAELSON: Yes. And so we have seen, you're openly LGBT, right? And very proud of that. And you come into a sport surrounded by a bunch of straight guys --

LUCAS: Yes.

MICHAELSON: -- who probably aren't that used to that as much.

LUCAS: Yes.

MICHAELSON: What was that like in the beginning?

LUCAS: I would say difficult in some ways. But you know, I feel like they -- once they understand, you know, that I can play at a level, at par, or better than them, then that respect comes in and they start understanding who you are, just not as volleyball player, but who you are as a person. And that's what kind of leads to this progress within the world.

MICHAELSON: Yes. I mean, speaking of that progress, because it's different for your generation --

LUCAS: Yes.

MICHAELSON: -- than it was for some other generations where there were gay players, they just had to live in the closet, right?

LUCAS: Yes.

Yes, for sure. And I feel like, you know, now with the access of social media and kind of seeing other people within the sport like myself, it has allowed younger athletes who are LGBTQ and who aren't to really kind of find confidence in themselves and who -- find out who they are.

MICHAELSON: So talk about the reaction. So this video starts -- seen by millions and millions of people showing your attitude and your athleticism and -- talk about some of the wildest reactions you've gotten. LUCAS: Oh, wildest reactions. I mean, I think for me, it's just the

celebrity kind of influence that's been going on right now of kind of people reaching out and kind of influencers and brands. And I think it's just such uncharted territory for me. But it's just the outpour of support has been amazing.

MICHAELSON: Yes. And there was this like one idiot commentator who said that you should be like punched or hit or something for this --

LUCAS: Yes. Popped (ph) --

MICHAELSON: -- popped because of this.

LUCAS: Yes.

MICHAELSON: And he ended up losing his job for that. So --

LUCAS: Yes.

MICHAELSON: -- not great. But for somebody that says maybe, you know, some of this is like taunting the other players or it's not great sportsmanship. What would you say to that?

LUCAS: I would say that in the world of sports, and especially at the division level, where you're playing at the highest level and every matchup that we're in is a top 20 matchup. So across the net, guys are talking trash. So you know, I'm just not going to -- I'm not going to sit there and take it.

So you know I'm going to kind of, you know, emote or show emotion to them as well. And that's kind of where my celebrations come in from.

MICHAELSON: Talk to us about your message for LGBT youth and for players that maybe thinking about going into volleyball.

LUCAS: I would say to be confident in yourself and that you are your biggest supporter and advocate. And that if you don't have that kind of identity and kind of reassurance of yourself, that you -- it will be hard for you to kind of grow within the sport just to stay true to yourself and understand who you are as a person.

MICHAELSON: And when they see you, what do you want them to see?

LUCAS: I hope they see like a glimmer of hope and maybe a path for them to kind of, you know, break away into whatever avenue they want to go into. And that's kind of my hope for it to hopefully be a light for others.

MICHAELSON: So you just had a big crowd in Hawaii, right? 10,000 people sold out to check that out.

LUCAS: Yes. Sold out both nights. Yes.

MICHAELSON: So what's next for your team?

LUCAS: We play this Thursday, April 23rd at 7:30 p.m. at UC Irvine in the Big West Tournament, first round against UC Irvine. So it'll be a pretty historic match from what a lot of people say.

MICHAELSON: All right. Well, that's going to be a lot of fun and a lot more eyeballs on it after this, thanks to you.

Congratulations.

LUCAS: Thank you.

MICHAELSON: Very cool.

All right. Show us some attitude or something, going to break. What do we got?

LUCAS: Oh, I would probably do a snap and a kiss.

MICHAELSON: There we go. Thanks, Jordan. Appreciate it.

We're back to wrap things up here on THE STORY IS.

LUCAS: Thank you.

MICHAELSON: Thank you

[01:49:35]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, everybody. Look at that.

Wow. Hi, everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: A homeowner here in California got quite a surprise as some unexpected visitors in a hot air balloon landed right in his Temecula backyard. Wow.

He told CNN he learned about it from someone who rang his doorbell and saw the balloon come down early Saturday.

Apparently, the pilot said the winds had died down, forcing the balloon to make an emergency landing. The crew eventually flew it back over the house, where a truck had arrived to take the balloon away.

Plus, proving how fast robot technology has come along in the last year, dozens of robotic athletes sprinted past human runners in a half marathon in Beijing on Sunday.

[01:54:51]

MICHAELSON: They were separated from the 12,000 humans by a barrier, with the winning robot finishing the race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, beating the half marathon record held by a Ugandan athlete by several minutes. The race was not without mishaps. All in all, the robots were more

reliable and autonomous than even 12 months ago. Apart from that one -- didn't quite finish.

Artemis II mission commander Reid Wiseman is showing us one of the most surreal views any human has ever seen. This is earth-set, the earth setting behind the moon.

Wiseman shared the video on social media, saying it's quote, "like watching sunset at the beach from the most foreign seat in the cosmos". And like many of us amateur videographers, he captured it with his iPhone.

A key component of Artemis III mission is on the way to the Kennedy Space Center. This is called the core stage. It is the largest section of NASA's space rocket launch system. It will propel that mission's crew to space in 2027.

NASA officials say it's the backbone of Artemis III, and its arrival will bring them one step closer to landing on the moon and will possibly pave the way to Mars. The idea is landing on the moon by 2028.

Thanks so much for watching THE STORY IS, a lot of great guests tonight. Ten live guest segments. We appreciate all of them for being here.

We appreciate you for joining us. We'll see you tomorrow for more.

The news continues right here on CNN after a break.

[01:56:24]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)