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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
U.S. and Iran Closing in on Memorandum to End War; Hantavirus- Hit Cruise Ship Quarantined with Three More Passengers Medically Evacuated; CNN Founder Ted Turner Dies at 87. Top-Polling Candidates Face Off In Los Angeles; Textile Recycling Taking Toll On factory Workers' Health. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired May 07, 2026 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: And thank you for watching. "THE STORY IS WITH ELEX MICHAELSON" starts right now.
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Elex Michaelson, live in Los Angeles. Here's what's ahead on THE STORY IS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: THE STORY IS close to a deal? New developments in negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.
THE STORY IS remembering Ted Turner. A look back at Christiane Amanpour's sit-down with him. Plus, media analyst Sara Fischer here live as is Atlanta Braves legend Dale Murphy.
And THE STORY IS debate night. Reality show star Spencer Pratt makes his debut on the debate stage for L.A. mayor on the same night as the final debate for California governor. Politico's Melanie Mason here live to break it all down.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: It's an honor to join you live on the Cable News Network founded by Ted Turner. We'll have more on him throughout the show. But the top story is signs of progress on talks to end the war with Iran. A source says Iran is expected to reply to the U.S. proposal on Thursday. And we are learning both sides are moving closer to an agreement on a short memo aimed at bringing the conflict to a close.
President of the United States, Donald Trump, on Wednesday touted good talks with Iran, saying there's never a deadline for an Iranian response. But that came after he issued a new threat that the bombing would start at a higher level in intensity if Iran doesn't agree to a deal.
Here's the president earlier in the Oval Office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think we won. Now it's -- now it's only a question of, look, if we left right now, Iran, it would take them 20 years to rebuild. You would call that -- we're in good shape, right? Fantastic. Yes. We're in good shape. And now we're doing well. Now we have to get what we have to get. If we don't do that, we'll have to go a big step further.
But with that being said, they want to make a deal. We've had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it's very possible that we'll make a deal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Now, one sticking point in negotiations has been future security in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says that safe passage through the strait is possible under, quote, "new procedures." We don't know is, what are those new procedures?
CNN's Ivan Watson live with Hong Kong, live from Hong Kong, with the latest on the talks.
Ivan, how close are we to a deal?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's hard to know. I mean, this isn't the first time that President Trump has dangled the possibility of a deal with Iran, Elex, since the war was launched by the U.S. and Israel on February 28th. That's two and a half months ago. And he's also continuing to issue threats amid some of the optimism, talking about the possibility that there could be a renewed bombardment, though we've been out of the kinetic, really kinetic phase of the war with Iran for some time now.
Here's what Iran is saying. The spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry has said that Iran is exchanging messages between Washington and Tehran through Pakistani mediators, that that is continuing and that Iran is currently reviewing the latest U.S. proposal, and it will send its response when it's ready to, again, those Pakistani mediators. We've also heard from the speaker of the Iranian parliament warning urging the people of Iran to save and conserve amid what is clearly economic pressure.
But Mohammad Ghalibaf went on to say that the people of America, in his words, are facing a serious challenge from rising living costs. And why is that? That's because since the launch of the war, the Strait of Hormuz has been closed. The U.S. continues to blockade Iranian ports. The U.S. military is saying that an F-18 fighter jet disabled an Iranian flagged tanker ship that was trying to reach an Iranian port, firing rounds into its rudder.
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And Iran unveiled this week something that it calls the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which will have some kind of new rules, in its words, for any ships seeking to come out. More than 1600 ships still stranded right now. Now, here's a big question. If there is the possibility of a deal
between Tehran and Washington, where does Israel fit in? And there's clearly concerns. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying he expects to speak with President Trump about these negotiations. Here's what he's saying publicly. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): There is full coordination between us. No surprises. We share common objectives. And the most important objective is the removal of enriched material from Iran. All enriched material and the dismantling of Iran's enrichment capabilities.
President Trump believes he can achieve this one way or another. However, we are prepared for every scenario.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: But, Elex, an Israeli source tells CNN that Israel, the Israeli government, is concerned about the possibility of last minute U.S. concessions to Iran to achieve an agreement, saying that Israel is really worried about the possibility about lifting economic sanctions against Iran. It wants restrictions on Iran's proxies in the region and in its ballistic missiles program. And it also wants any future agreement to allow Israel to continue to be able to respond to anything that it perceives to be a threat throughout the region.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And, Ivan, meanwhile, while all that is happening, there are still attacks happening in Lebanon, and we'll have more on that in our next hour.
Ivan Watson live in Hong Kong. Thank you so much.
Meanwhile, the top U.S. diplomat is set to meet with Pope Leo XIV in the coming hours. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is dismissing the notion that his trip is meant to reset diplomatic relations with the Vatican. President Trump has been especially critical of the Pope's calls for an end to the war with Iran. He repeated that criticism on Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It's very simple. Whether I make him happy or I don't make him happy, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. And he seemed to be saying that they can. And I say they cannot, because if that happened, the entire world would be hostage. And we're not going to let that happen. That's my only message.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Pope Leo has never said that he wants Iran to have a nuclear weapon. He has said that the mission of the Catholic Church is to preach the gospel and peace.
In the state of Georgia, Health officials are monitoring two people who just returned home from the cruise ship at the center of a hantavirus outbreak. Officials say they aren't showing any signs of infection and are following CDC recommendations.
The MV Hondius is currently in route to the Canary Islands after spending days off the coast of Cape Verde. Spanish officials have shared mixed reactions to the cruise ship's impending arrival.
CNN's Will Ripley has more on how experts believe the virus is spread, and what passengers on board may now be facing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Off the coast of West Africa, a cruise ship under quarantine. Three more passengers medically evacuated, all tied to a deadly outbreak of hantavirus, a rare typically rodent borne disease with no specific treatment or cure.
The open decks of the MV Hondius deserted. Dining rooms empty. Passengers told to stay in their cabins.
JAKE ROSMARIN, TRAVEL BLOGGER, PHOTOGRAPHER: Hi, I'm Jake, and I'm spending the next 35 days crossing the Atlantic, visiting some of the most remote islands in the world.
RIPLEY (voice-over): This is how the journey began for Jake Rosmarin, a Boston photographer, one of around 150 people on board.
ROSMARIN: People with families, with lives, with people waiting for us at home.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Health officials are now retracing the ship's route, trying to figure out where and when passengers became infected. Their 35-day expedition began from the edge of Antarctica, visiting some of the most remote islands in the South Atlantic.
MARIA VAN KERKHOVE, WHO DIRECTOR, EPIDEMIC AND PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS: On those islands, there are birds. Some islands have a lot of rodents. Others don't.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Hantavirus is usually picked up by breathing in particles from rodent droppings or urine. Symptoms often start like the flu, but can quickly cause severe breathing problems, organ failure and death. The incubation period one to eight weeks. Lab tests have yet to confirm it, but investigators think this may be a rare South American strain that sometimes spreads not just from rodents but between people.
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KERKHOVE: Among the really close contacts, the husband and wife, people who've shared cabins, et cetera.
RIPLEY (voice-over): This small boat medically evacuated a handful of infected passengers. Investigators say the outbreak began in early April. The first victim, a Dutch passenger, died on board April 11th. His wife died around two weeks later in a hospital in South Africa. A third passenger, a German national, died on board on May 2nd. A British passenger remains in intensive care.
Everyone else stuck on board undergoing medical checks, a situation Kent and Rebecca Frasure know all too well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't know how long you have to stay in the hospital.
RIPLEY (voice-over): I met them back in 2020. They were quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan.
What's the hardest part?
REBECCA FRASURE, PASSENGER OF A CRUISE SHIP, HOSPITALIZED DURING CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC: I'd say the unknown.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Rebecca, one of the first Americans to test positive for COVID.
There she is. She's standing in the window right now. Rebecca, here we are. Hi.
(Voice-over): She spent weeks in a Tokyo hospital. Kent was quarantined in their cabin.
What would be your advice for passengers stuck on this ship right now?
KENT FRASURE, QUARANTINED ON CRUISE SHIP DURING CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC: If you start thinking about what's happening around you, it is so difficult to stay away from a mindset where you're getting depressed and just like really fearful what's going to happen. You have to try to stay as upbeat as you can.
RIPLEY (voice-over): They know how difficult staying upbeat can be for everyone on the MV Hondius, facing fear and uncertainty on a floating quarantine zone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Our thanks to Will Ripley for that.
The top California gubernatorial candidates take the stage for another showdown before the primary one night after I moderated their last debate. Coming up, I'll discuss all of it with Politico's California bureau chief, Melanie Mason, here live. But up next, we're remembering CNN founder Ted Turner. We'll speak with baseball legend Dale Murphy about Turner's time as owner of the Atlanta Braves. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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MICHAELSON: THE STORY IS remembering Ted Turner, the legendary and outspoken media maverick who revolutionized television news when he founded this network, CNN. He passed away today at the age of 87 after a long battle with Lewy body dementia. But the billionaire businessman will be remembered for so much more than just this network. He was an international salesman, a statesman, a philanthropist, a conservationist, a sports enthusiast.
CNN's chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour, who knew him well, has this tribute.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED TURNER, CNN FOUNDER AND PHILANTHROPIST: I dedicate the News Channel for America.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): Ted Turner, the man who changed the world by creating CNN in 1980. It was the first on-demand global television news channel.
Were you trying to create a revolution with 24/7 news, or were you just trying to find another brilliant business opportunity?
TURNER: Both. And I thought it through very carefully. That's what I did. I studied the situation and I knew what I was doing. At least I felt like I knew what I was doing. And it turned out that I did.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): But Ted Turner's accomplishments have an even wider reach than the global network he built. A lifetime of work that put him ahead of the curve with every chance he took.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ted Turner.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): A true Renaissance man, Ted Turner defied labels. Yes, he became a billionaire businessman, but he was also a philanthropist, a conservationist, a sports champion.
TURNER: Aren't they cool? I never get tired of them.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): And an optimist, as he told me when I visited him on his Montana ranch in 2015, surrounded by his beloved bison, a species he had nearly single handedly brought back from the brink of extinction.
TURNER: Remember, I'm supposed to be shooting for something that's impossible to have happen in my lifetime.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): And he had the Midas touch every time he dreamed the impossible dream. In 1997, he donated $1 billion to help support the United Nations by creating the United Nations Foundation. It was a jaw-dropping gift that stunned the world. But like many of Turner's endeavors, it made perfect sense to him.
TURNER: As of January of December 31st, I was worth $2.2 billion, and I looked at it that morning real quick because I don't have a lot of time to look at my own statement. And I was up to 3.2 because the stock went up so much during the year. So I made it nine months. I'm only giving up nine months' earnings. It's not that big a deal. I'm no poorer than I was nine months ago, and the world is a lot better off. AMANPOUR (voice-over): Turner sold CNN to Time Warner in 1996 and
stayed on as vice chairman. By 2000, his fortune and his influence at CNN were waning after the disastrous Time Warner merger with AOL. But still, he pursued his causes. He avidly fought for the eradication of nuclear weapons. In 2001, he co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initiative, an organization that has worked to corral loose nukes and aims to reduce the weapons of mass destruction in the world.
TURNER: The only thing that we can do is have total nuclear disarmament. Either we all have nuclear weapons or we all don't have them. And I'm in real favor of not having them. We should get rid of all of them. We don't want to destroy the world.
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AMANPOUR (voice-over): He was a man who pushed boundaries. He met with dictators like Fidel Castro. He founded the Goodwill Games, which helped to ease tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War.
BERNARD SHAW, FORMER CNN ANCHOR: The skies over Baghdad have been illuminated.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): He insisted CNN must be behind enemy lines in Baghdad to report that side of the First Gulf War, cementing the network as the global leader in breaking news.
Before spearheading the media revolution, Ted Turner was a champion sailor, winning the prestigious America's Cup. Later, he bought his adopted hometown baseball team, the Atlanta Braves, and its basketball team, the Atlanta Hawks. A career that wasn't linear but radiated in so many different directions. A one of a kind. And when I asked him to look back on his achievements, some were sentimental and others, in true Ted Turner fashion, were about changing the world.
What do you most want to be remembered for?
TURNER: The good things I've done.
AMANPOUR: What's your proudest achievement?
TURNER: My family first, and outside my family, CNN.
AMANPOUR: And what advice would you have for any young person who came to say, Ted, you've done it all, what can you tell me?
TURNER: Clean energy.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): A cautionary and profitable piece of advice to any government or anyone from a true visionary.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: What a life. Christiane Amanpour, thanks for that great lookback. As a longtime Atlanta Braves baseball legend, Dale Murphy knew Ted
Turner well. The former NL MVP, seven-time All-Star joins us live now from Utah.
Thanks so much for being with us.
DALE MURPHY, FORMER ATLANTA BRAVE: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: How did Ted Turner change baseball?
MURPHY: Well, like someone said today, I read that, whether people know it or not, especially the young people, they're enjoying sports and watching the Braves and everything that they like to do as far as the sports world is concerned, in a world created by Ted Turner. It was revolutionary. If you remember, when I was growing up, we watched one game a week, and it was a national broadcast with announcers that didn't really know the teams, but would come on and we'd see a national broadcast.
Ted bought the Braves and decided to put them on for 140, 150 games wherever you had cable or a satellite dish. Even in the Metro Atlanta area, no blackouts. And what he created as a result of that was a couple generations. And it's still going of not only Atlanta Braves fans, but also baseball fans. So he revolutionized broadcast sports. And, you know, we're all beneficiaries of that. And to be able to be with the Braves in those early days, I remember I was in San Francisco walking along Fisherman's Wharf, and someone came up to me and said, hey, Murph, big fan.
And I said, great, where are you from? They said, oh, I'm from Anchorage, Alaska. This is the closest we could get to watch the Braves, but we watch every game up in Anchorage. And I'll tell you, it happens everywhere I go. Every state, there's a great phrase that's been coined. These are TBS kids. And they grew up watching the Braves and TBS, and there's fans all over, not only the world, but also, especially the United States. I mean, it was a remarkable time and it was amazing.
MICHAELSON: Well, as you think about it now, the entire economics of baseball and basketball and football is really TV deals, TV rights deals.
MURPHY: Yes. Exactly.
MICHAELSON: Because that's what pays everybody's salaries. It's not really the tickets. People going to the games. It's -- and it's also these regional sports networks that cover him on different cable networks.
MURPHY: Absolutely.
MICHAELSON: And all of that is why the tickets are so high. The salaries are so high, all of that. And that all kind of comes from Ted Turner, which is extraordinary. And it is why, you know, sports is the most popular thing on TV by a mile.
So what was Ted Turner like as a man? What was he like in the clubhouse?
MURPHY: Well, a little unpredictable. But you knew when he was in the clubhouse, that's for sure. I remember I was struggling one year and I was in the middle of the slump, and he walked into the clubhouse and said, hey, Murph, don't worry about this slump you're in. I mean, he didn't say it to me. He said it to the whole team. Don't worry about this slump you're in, Murph. You're saving me hundreds of thousands of dollars in our next negotiation. And I was like, whatever, Ted.
(LAUGHTER)
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MURPHY: And, you know, one memorable experience in typical Ted fashion, my agent said, Murph, we're going to go negotiate. This is your first big contract. We're going to go negotiate with Ted instead of the typical way, which is with the general manager. I said, I don't think I like this idea, but, OK, we went in there. He laid down on the couch, put his hands behind his head, and was looking up at the ceiling and said, OK, Murph, hit me with the bad news.
And we made a case for the contract. All I remember was he stood up and yelled at us, basically said, what? You got to be kidding? And as he was, as he was walking out of his office and slamming his door shut, he said, that'll never happen. And he walked out. So I looked at my agent. I said, and I said, I told you this was a bad idea. And he said, that's just Ted being Ted. He's negotiating.
And, you know, he knew, he knew I would crumble in a situation like that. But, you know, Nancy and I are very -- he took care of us players. I have no complaints. He wanted to win. He paid us top dollar. He was very competitive. We learned about his intensity from his experience in the America's Cup races. He was a great skipper. Determined. And, you know, it just took the rest of us a while to catch up to what he was thinking.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And if you had in one sentence, say, Ted Turner's legacy, what do you think it is?
MURPHY: Changed the world in ways that a normal person could just dream about, not only in sports, but as we've heard today, in philanthropy, environmentalism, peace, tried to get rid of nuclear weapons. Saw the world as a community, not just our local communities.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
MURPHY: That's more than one word, but it takes a lot of words to just -- to describe Ted.
MICHAELSON: Just a of hyphens and semicolons in that sentence.
MURPHY: Yes.
MICHAELSON: But you need that after this life well lived.
Dale Murphy, thank you so much for sharing your perspective. Great to talk with you.
MURPHY: Thank you very much.
MICHAELSON: Now let's bring into the conversation Sara Fischer, CNN media analyst and Axios media correspondent as well.
Sara, great to have you here in Los Angeles. Let's talk about the way he changed the world in terms of broadcasting now.
SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: Yes.
MICHAELSON: It all started with the Turner Broadcasting System, which in itself, even before he started CNN, was pretty revolutionary.
FISCHER: Yes. And actually, let me take you back even before that. He bought a local station in Atlanta. He renamed it Watch This Channel Grow. Right? That's a symbol of how aspirational he was. And he took that local channel, and he was the first to use satellite to make it nationally syndicated on cable. From there, he was able to build the Turner Broadcasting System in behemoth that we now know today, which has, of course, the TBS network, as well as CNN. Eventually Cartoon Network, eventually Turner Classic Movies.
MICHAELSON: Yes. TNT.
FISCHER: Yes. And so what he did was he -- was the first person to say, you know what? We can broadcast something locally to the entire country, and that had -- that changed the world.
MICHAELSON: And it changed -- and changed sports, as we heard in a huge way as well.
FISCHER: Absolutely.
MICHAELSON: But of course the thing he said that he was proudest of other than his family was this network.
FISCHER: Yes.
MICHAELSON: The Cable News Network. CNN.
FISCHER: Yes. And people thought he was crazy at the time.
MICHAELSON: Yes. Talk about the idea behind it and the start of CNN.
FISCHER: You know, the broadcasters owned national news. And at the time he had this wacky idea, cable news could go 24/7 in terms of live programing. Nobody had ever thought to do something like that with news. So he comes out in 1980, he creates CNN, and in some ways it was the perfect timing because he was the first person to really get some of the biggest global events broadcast to the American public 24/7.
You think about the Gulf War, think about the Iran hostage crisis. I think many years later, even in 2001, with what happened in 9/11, you know, we had other cable nets at the time, MS and FOX, but they were younger. They weren't as established covering these types of big stories. So Ted put CNN on the map so that there was a network there to give the American people this news and access. And that's amazing.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And really changed so many things. And you mentioned FOX. The head of FOX actually put out a statement, Rupert Murdoch.
FISCHER: Yes, he did.
MICHAELSON: And he wrote, "Ted Turner's vision for 24-hour cable news transformed the media industry and gave viewers everywhere a front row seat to witness history unfold. His impact as a trailblazer has left an indelible mark on our cultural landscape. He was a great American and friend."
Pretty glowing statement from the -- the man who runs the Fox News Channel, because there is no Fox News Channel without CNN.
And let's talk about that. How cable news itself has changed the country, the way we talk, some for the better, some for the worse.
SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: Yes.
MICHAELSON: But definitely changed our politics and the way we communicate in a huge way.
FISCHER: What was revolutionary about bringing news in that way to cable is that cable is not regulated the same way that broadcast is. And so you were able to be edgier. You could say different things. You could be more selective about your advertisers. That empowered these networks to take more of a political stance. That's why you have partisan cable networks in a way that you couldn't with national broadcast networks.
Now, of course, we know how that changed politics. It brought debates to the forefront. It brought pundits to the forefront. We didn't have that same type of pundit landscape in the broadcast world.
MICHAELSON: Because you didn't have the room, right? If you're doing --
FISCHER: Correct.
MICHAELSON: -- a 22-minute evening broadcast, you don't have the room to have a real debate. But if you're on 24 hours a day, you've got more time to fill and more space to explore issues.
FISCHER: Yes. It also brought local politics national. Because when you think about it, if you're a local congressman, you weren't going to get a spot on NBC News at night or on the "Today" show or "Good Morning America" in the morning. You were too small for that.
But you could, from the Capitol Hill rotunda, get on a cable network. And when you started to build a national profile, then you could start to raise money nationally.
He really started to change politics because he nationalized local politics in a way we've never seen before.
MICHAELSON: And cable news is in a different place now than even when he -- he left it. He kind of left it at the --
FISCHER: At the peak.
MICHAELSON: At the peak.
FISCHER: Yes.
MICHAELSON: And now it's in a -- in a new era.
FISCHER: It is in a new era. At its peak, more than 100 million American households subscribed to cable.
Right now, it's down to around 60 million. So, it's lost about 40 percent of its reach. And that's because, of course, more people are streaming content.
But cable is still big. I don't want to say that it's not impactful.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
FISCHER: Sixty million households. Major streamers would kill to have that kind of penetration. The challenge is as sports rights move to streaming, so many of the other networks.
But Ted Turner, he built this entire empire that now still reaches, to this day, 60 million people. There's something to be said for that.
MICHAELSON: And not only that, a brand like CNN reaches so many people in the digital --
FISCHER: Around the world.
MICHAELSON: -- and streaming plans in -- in 200 countries around the world --
FISCHER: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- and all the rest of it.
So, I'll ask you the same wrap-up question that I asked him. How do you describe Ted Turner's legacy in a sentence?
FISCHER: Ted Turner is somebody who inspired other people who had success to give back. Donating $1 billion to create the United Nations Foundation is what eventually led to the Gates Foundation. It's what eventually led to The Giving Pledge. It's what has inspired billionaires today to recognize that the right thing to do is to give back. That is his true legacy.
MICHAELSON: It is unbelievable that you think that one man was able to do this much with one life, but it shows that one man really can change the world.
FISCHER: Absolutely.
MICHAELSON: Or woman. Sara Fischer, great to have you in Los Angeles. Come visit us more often.
FISCHER: Thank you, Elex.
MICHAELSON: We'll be back with more of "The Story Is" as we remember Ted Turner.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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MICHAELSON: Back to debate nights for the top gubernatorial candidates in California. The feisty showdown saw the seven contenders discuss wildfires, immigration, homelessness, public safety and quality of life.
The Tuesday debate that I co-moderated with Kaitlan Collins saw, the same hopefuls try to set themselves apart from the pack. Voting for the June 2nd primary already underway.
Democrats, as we know, are traditionally dominant in California. But the top two vote getters advance November's general election regardless of party.
Joining me now live is Melanie Mason, the California bureau chief for "POLITICO." Melanie, welcome back.
The candidates debated with us last night on CNN. They debated tonight on the local NBC channel here in Los Angeles. Big takeaway from tonight's debate.
MELANIE MASON, CALIFORNIA BUREAU CHIEF, POLITICO: Well, my first big takeaway is that seven people on a stage, it's -- it's hard to break out, right? And so I do think that we saw both from last night and then tonight these candidates really trying to make their mark.
And I think part of it was that they figured out who they wanted to hone in on. And in both nights we saw that Xavier Becerra seems to be kind of it's his time in the barrel. I think that's reflective of the fact that he has been ascending in the polls.
MICHAELSON: So Xavier Becerra, the former HHS secretary, and we've seen him rising in the polls. And so the candidates seem to think, I can't get into the top two unless we knock him out. And that they were using a lot of their talk time, even knowing that it would give more time to Becerra to try to take him out because they felt like if they didn't, he would be running away with this.
Was it effective?
MASON: Well, I think that that's still to be determined, right? I mean, I think we need to wait and see how the polling sort of shakes out. And I think that we have to see if what happened over the last two nights makes it into television advertisements that will bake sort of more into voters' mindset. Because, you know, I think that there's certainly a certain audience that's going to tune into these debates live and these are sort of the political junkies that are really following this race.
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But whatever makes it to these commercials, whether it's on T.V. or on your computer, that's the stuff that I think is really going to stay with voters.
And I do think that there were some exchanges where Becerra seemed to be a little bit lost, a little bit taken, particularly by people like Antonio Villaraigosa, who's a sort of fellow Los Angeles native. And they were kind of really going toe-to-toe.
Matt Mahan, the mayor from San Jose, another person who I think really targeted Xavier Becerra. And I think that those could have some durability if they're able to put that on the air.
MICHAELSON: Who do you think were the strongest debaters?
MASON: You know, I think consistently throughout all the debates that we've seen, first, you've got to talk about Steve Hilton, right? I mean, he is a -- a Fox News personality, right? He's a talking head. And I found him to be really accessible as a dater -- as a debater. I think that he was, you know, talking to the audience in a way that was very crisp and clear. He also just seemed very comfortable, right? It seemed like he was having fun up there.
I think on the Democratic side, I think consistently, Matt Mahan has proven himself to be a strong debater. I think that he is able to pretty easily both introduce himself. I think we all now know that he is the mayor of the third largest city in California. But then very quickly pivot to either talking about his policies or criticizing the policies of his competitors. And that's hard to do in a, you know, one-minute answer.
MICHAELSON: Because he's trying to be the Goldilocks candidate, basically arguing that the Democrats have screwed up a lot of the governing of California, but the MAGA answer isn't the way. They're sort of a third way in the middle, which is a nuanced argument and a difficult argument to communicate.
Steve Hilton, by the way, is in a great position, which is part of the reason he can be so comfortable right now too. He seems like he could very well be locked into a position in the top two. And so he doesn't have to attack his Republican opponent right now. At least that's the way he sees the world.
Meanwhile, interesting night in Los Angeles, because it was the first time that we saw on stage the candidates for L.A. mayor battling it out on T.V., including Spencer Pratt, the reality show villain from "The Hills," who was running for mayor after his home was burned down in Pacific Palisades during the fires. He has blamed Mayor Bass for that.
Tonight, Nithya Raman, who is the Democratic socialist city council member who's running against them, said this during the debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NITHYA RAMAN, CANDIDATE FOR LOS ANGELES MAYOR: You're going to watch today as Mayor Bass and Spencer Pratt attack me, because they want to run against each other in the general election. Each of them thinks that running against each other is what's going to help them win.
SPENCER PRATT, CANDIDATE FOR LOS ANGELES MAYOR: Mayor Bass and I are definitely not working to -- I blame this person for burning my house and my parents' house and my town and all my neighbors down. I am not working with Mayor Bass.
Second of, if I wanted to run against anybody, it would be the council member who is terrible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Big test for Spencer Pratt. How'd he do?
MASON: I think you passed the test tonight. And I think that, look, the expectations are different for Spencer Pratt than they are for the incumbent mayor of Los Angeles or, you know, relatively long time city council member.
He's a novice to politics, right? And I don't think that he is somebody who's really, you know, presented very detailed policy plans, for example.
But I think people wanted to see this bombastic social media personality, what he was going to do on stage. And look, like, he put on his suit. He spoke in, like, relatively measured, you know, terms. He was more or less respectful. You know, he did call Mayor Bass a liar at one point.
But for the most part, it wasn't a -- a clown show, quite frankly. And I think that that was maybe what people were tuning in to see. And he passed that test.
MICHAELSON: People in this city, many of them, are very angry at the way that the government has worked. He channeled that anger effectively. And being an effective communicator on social media and T.V. pays off. He spoke like a human being articulating the way a lot of people feel. It'll be interesting to see if he gets a spike in the polls after that.
Melanie Mason, we'll see more about all of this tomorrow in the California "POLITICO" Playbook, which we encourage everybody to read every day as I do. Subscribe for free. Thank you.
We'll be back. More of "The Story Is" right after this.
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MICHAELSON: Thanks for watching "The Story Is." I'm Elex Michaelson.
Let's take a look at today's top stories. A source says, Iran is expected to respond on Thursday to a U.S. proposal to end the war. President Trump says, Iran wants to make a deal and touted good talks between the two sides of the past 24 hours. He also says, there's no deadline for when he expects an Iranian response.
President Trump is set to host Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva at the White House on Thursday for a working visit.
White House official tell CNN that two will discuss economic insecurity issues. The leaders are looking to build on previous talks towards potential trade agreements despite their past tensions.
The Kentucky Derby winner will not chase the Triple Crown. Golden Tempo will skip the Preakness. But trainer, Cherie DeVaux, saying that the colt ran the race of his life and needs some time to recover. Said the focus shifts to the Belmont Stakes in June. It is now the six times, since 2018, a Derby winner has bypassed the Preakness.
Here in the U.S. when you donate clothes to a charity like Goodwill, they could end up as a fashion waste in India where the materials are recycled and then resold.
[00:50:03]
Our Hanako Montgomery looks into this booming industry.
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HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In India's Panipat, the world's wardrobe is given new life. A million tons of discarded clothes get recycled here every year, arriving in relentless waves.
MONTGOMERY: This is incredible. Look at this. This is unbelievable. This entire room is covered in clothing.
Oh, my gosh, this has a tag that says "Goodwill." This is a thrift store in the United States.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): A lot of the garments are collected from charity bins across places like the U.S., U.K. and Japan, then sent thousands of miles across the world.
Once here, they're first sorted by color, shredded, and spun into yarn.
Then at another factory, they're woven into rugs and carpets to be sold back to the countries the clothes first came from.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the U.S., we are working with like TJ Maxx, and then like Walmart, Target, Hobby Lobby, Kirkland. So --
MONTGOMERY: So basically, all the brands that every American has heard of.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes, yes.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Panipat's textile recycling industry is worth billions. It powers the city and keeps people working.
Like Reeta, she's now the sole breadwinner. Her husband got injured doing the same job. And with little support from his employer to cover the medical bills, the burden falls on her.
REETA DEVI, FACTORY WORKER (through translator): It's really hard. Seeing him suffer like this hurts me too. I just want him to get better quickly.
MONTGOMERY: What are the conditions like in the factory? Is there a lot of pollution in the air?
DEVI (through translator): It's difficult to breathe because of the lint in the air.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): But they're not alone. Our investigation found this profitable fix for the world's and America's fast fashion waste comes at a sickening cost.
Most factories operate informally with little oversight.
MONTGOMERY: I've only been standing here for five minutes, and look, I'm already covered in dust.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): The air workers breathe daily is suffocating and inescapable, plumes of lint enveloping them wherever they turn.
But it's difficult to speak to workers under their employers' watchful eye.
So, we go visit a local doctor who treats the worst of cases.
MONTGOMERY: Do people die from these diseases?
DR. BHAWANI SHANKAR, PULMONOLOGIST, SATYAM HOSPITAL: If they inhale the same air daily, on the daily basis, yes, it definitely shortens their lifespan.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Subash has been in and out of hospitals for months.
MONTGOMERY: Are you in a lot of pain? Are you suffering?
SUBASH, FACTORY WORKER (through translator): Yes, it's painful. It's difficult to eat. It's difficult to walk.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): But quitting isn't an option. He has three kids to feed.
MONTGOMERY: Would you want your kids to work in this industry?
SUBASH (through translator): No, because we don't want our children to get the same diseases that we have. MONTGOMERY (voice-over): But it's not just the air, danger looms at every step of this recycling process.
MONTGOMERY: If you take a look, these workers don't have any gloves on their hands. They don't have any goggles either. They have absolutely no protection. And they're dealing with really hazardous chemicals.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Multiple reports show pollution from the textile recycling industry is worsening and so is its impact.
A 2022 survey found that in just five years, 93 percent of families reported health issues, 84 percent of workers suffer from job-related illnesses.
To understand why more isn't being done to protect the nearly a million workers this industry employs, we speak to the head of Panipat's Dyeing Association. He insists there's no real problem.
MONTGOMERY: So while we've been in Panipat, we visited a few dyeing units where they wear no masks, no goggles, no gloves being worn. Why is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They are uneducated that's why they don't wear masks. Everything is provided by the boss.
MONTGOMERY: What do you say to the people falling sick because of Panipat's textile industry?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): No, they're not falling sick because of this industry. It's because they eat tobacco.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): But in every informal factory we visited, not once did we see these rules enforced. Instead, we saw workers left breathless and exposed with nowhere else to go. But the damage extends far beyond factory walls to an ecosystem that millions depend on.
MONTGOMERY: They use really hazardous chemicals to bleach textiles, but they don't have good drainage systems, so the water is actually allowed to seep into the surrounding environment, poisoning the people and also the land here.
India's Environmental Court has found Panipat's textile industry is releasing untreated toxic wastewater, which also flows into the Yamuna River, a lifeline for millions including India's capital. It's repeatedly called for action, but gaps in enforcement have left these communities on their own.
We've contacted several government agencies for comment on our findings, none replied.
[00:55:04]
We thought we were giving these clothes a second life, but here, they're costing people theirs and leaving them and their city buried in our waste.
Hanako Montgomery, CNN, Panipat, India.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Coming up, we continue to pay tribute to CNN founder, Ted Turner, who passed away today.
In the next hour, we'll hear from NBA great, Dominique Wilkins, on the lessons he learned from Ted, who personally helped recruit him to the Atlanta Hawks.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we can't wait for tomorrow's concert in stage.
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
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MICHAELSON: Check out that reaction from the K-pop supergroup, BTS, some fans outside Mexico's National Palace.
The so-called BTS army waited for hours to catch a glimpse of the group who have been meeting with the Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum.
BTS will play their first of three shows in Mexico City in the coming day. Wow.
That's it for the first hour of "The Story Is." The next hour starts right now.
