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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Republican Thomas Massie Projected to Lose Kentucky Primary to Trump-Backed Candidate; Trump Endorses Candidates in Georgia and Texas; DOJ "Slush Fund" Could Pay Trump Allies; China's Xi Jinping Hosts Welcome Ceremony for Russia's Vladimir Putin; WHO: Central African Ebola Crisis 'Warrants Serious Concern'; FBI: Teen Suspects Appear to Have Been Radicalized Online; Los Angeles Mayoral Race Heats Up. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired May 20, 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 ANCHOR: You actually sat down with Spencer Pratt. How did that conversation go?
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: He was really interesting. We talked for almost an hour. We're going to have a lot of that tomorrow on THE STORY IS. But tonight on THE STORY IS, we'll be talking to his main opponent, Mayor Karen Bass, who he blames her for the fires, and that's the reason that he got into this race and it is one of the closest watched races in the entire country right now.
COATES: Well, so is your show. Have a great show, Elex.
MICHAELSON: Thanks, Laura. Great work tonight.
THE STORY IS starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON (voice-over): THE STORY IS election night in America. Ron Brownstein, live with the message voters are sending right now.
THE STORY IS high stakes meeting. The leaders of China and Russia together in Beijing as we speak. We'll take you there live.
And THE STORY IS the race for L.A. mayor. My exclusive one-on-one with Mayor Karen Bass on the Palisades Fire, homelessness and running against Spencer Pratt.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: And the top story is it is election night in America. High stakes primaries here in the United States, setting the stage for the big showdown in the crucial November midterms, which could change the balance of power in Washington. Some of the votes in these six states are still being counted, but we do have projections for the most contentious and closely watched races, which include the battle for Kentucky's Fourth House District.
Republican Thomas Massie, who has been a thorn in President Trump's side, was up against the president's hand-picked challenger. But Massie fell and fell short and conceded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): I have called and conceded the race. We been honorable the whole time and we're going to stay that way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The projected winner of that race, Ed Gallrein, said his focus is on advancing the agenda of President Trump and the Republican Party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED GALLREIN (R), KENTUCKY CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: I want to thank President Trump for his support, his endorsement and his counsel, as I navigated this campaign, which is a journey of unto itself, and for his courageous leadership of our nation at this critical time. I want to emphasize that. This critical time and juncture in history.
Thank you, Mr. President.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Now, President Trump has been gloating over Massie's defeat, saying he's a, quote, "bad guy who deserved to lose."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thomas Massie is a terrible congressman. He's been a terrible congressman from day one. Dealing with him is just a horrible. I don't think he's a Republican. And I think he's actually -- I think he's actually a Democrat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Massie is the latest in a series of Republican rivals steamrolled by the president's revenge campaign.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny is in Kentucky tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: President Trump's retribution tour continues with a stop in Kentucky taking out Congressman Thomas Massie after serving 14 years in Washington, he was handily defeated Tuesday night right here in Kentucky by a farmer and former Navy SEAL named Ed Gallrein. But make no mistake, this was a race between President Trump and Thomas Massie.
The president spoke about this congressman again and again right up until the very closing hours of election day. But after conceding defeat, Massie made clear he's going nowhere.
MASSIE: This started out as an election, and it turned into a movement. We --
(CHEERS)
MASSIE: We stirred up something. There is a yearning in this country for somebody who will vote for principles over party. And we have to figure out what was the purpose of having the biggest fight ever, biggest fight ever. Why did it -- why did it converge on one of 435 congressional seats right here in Kentucky? What was God's purpose? What is he showing us tonight?
ZELENSKY: Now, Massie does have more than six months left in his term in Congress. But after that remains an open question. But in a concession speech that sounded anything but, Massie praised his young supporters as they chanted, 2028, 2028. Of course, it's far too early to know if Massie will actually try and run for president in 2028, but he made clear that he believes this is the very beginning of a movement. So even though he lost his congressional race, falling to President Trump and his retribution tour, Massie made it clear he's just getting started.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Hebron, Kentucky.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Jeff, thank you.
We're also keeping a close eye on Georgia, where several unpredictable races have been playing out. The Republican race for governor headed for a runoff next month since no candidate received at least 51 percent of the vote.
[00:05:06]
Lieutenant Governor Bert Jones will face off against health care billionaire Rick Jackson, who is self-funding his campaign. Jones has President Trump's endorsement and served as a false elector in the 2020 election.
Winner of that runoff will face off against former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is projected to win the Democratic nomination for Georgia governor. That battle was not even close.
And the Republican Senate race also heading to a runoff since no candidate crossed that 50 percent threshold. Trump backed Congressman Mike Collins will advance along with Derek Dooley, who is endorsed by Georgia's outgoing governor.
Another race to watch comes next week in Texas. The runoff between incumbent Senator John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton heads into the Senate primary runoff with a new burst of support thanks to a late endorsement from President Trump.
Here's what he had to say about the president's voice of confidence. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEN PAXTON (R), TEXAS SENTE CANDIDATE: I'm so honored to have President Trump's endorsement. His endorsement, in my opinion, is the most significant endorsement that -- in my lifetime. So when he endorses it has a tremendous impact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Cornyn and the president have generally worked well together. But the incumbent senator was slow to support Trump for his 2024 bid for the White House. He also worked with Democrats to pass gun safety laws back in 2022. But Cornyn, not giving up hope just yet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): You may have seen that he endorsed Ken Paxton in this race, and I think that will certainly have an impact. But we're not -- we're not giving up the fight. I know who gets to choose our senators, and it's the people of Texas. And there's no substitute for that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Let's talk about this all with CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein, who is an opinion columnist at Bloomberg as well.
Since we're just talking about Texas there, does John Cornyn have a shot now?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, it was -- it was neck and neck going in. And I can't imagine how he overcomes this. You know, we haven't seen a president-elect since Franklin Roosevelt in 1938 try as hard to purge members of his own party who crossed him in primaries. And Trump is having a lot more success. You know, in a plus 35 Trump district like Kentucky, Trump is hard to beat.
But the grip that he has on his party is, as I think many Republicans recognize, not an unalloyed benefit for the party, because what you're seeing is that not only in the safe Republican places are Republicans feeling fearful of crossing him in any way. But even in swing and blue leaning terrain, where lining up and down and down with Trump is, you know, is a much riskier electoral choice.
MICHAELSON: So let's talk about Kentucky.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Nobody in the country, in terms of Republicans in Congress, frustrated President Trump more than Thomas Massie. Nobody crossed him more. He was against him on the Epstein stuff. I mean, this was -- this was very important for Trump.
BROWNSTEIN: And Trump has made the point, you know, look, if you are -- if you're in a Trump 30, plus 35 district, he has the ability to beat you if you cross him. And, you know, we saw that with Bill Cassidy in Louisiana. You know, I mean, Cassidy sold his soul basically because voting for RFK Jr. as a physician, when he made very clear that he did not believe that was the right thing to do. And yet it didn't -- it didn't save him.
There is no way to survive in Trump country if the president, it seems, is, you know, dedicated to beating you. But, you know, I kind of look at the other side of this as today the likely -- the certain Republican gubernatorial nominee in Wisconsin, Tom Tiffany, would not say that Joe Biden won the state in 2020 and basically called for the FBI to continue investigating election workers in the state.
OK, this is not Kentucky Four. This is a place where Donald Trump's disapproval rating is scraping 60 percent, high 50s. We saw this in Virginia last year, where the Republican gubernatorial candidate would not criticize DOGE or in New Jersey, where the Republican gubernatorial candidate would not criticize Trump for freezing the tunnel. And so, you know, if you can't -- if you feel that you can't differentiate yourself in any way, anywhere, that is a very hard equation at a moment where his national disapproval --
MICHAELSON: To win a general election. But you may not get a chance to be in the general election if you don't kiss the ring, right?
BROWNSTEIN: And that is the problem.
MICHAELSON: And look at every single Republican that in any way goes against him, they're getting knocked out one by one by one. Right?
BROWNSTEIN: Right. And this is the challenge for the party because, you know, what Trump won't acknowledge is that in big swaths of the country, you saw that in the "New York Times" poll, you know, in multiple polls, his approval rating is under 40 percent nationally. What is it in swing states and blue states? The only way for Republicans to win in big parts -- in big parts of the country, even that may be difficult, by the way, with that level of undertow, is to show that they are independent of him.
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Other than Susan Collins in Maine, it's not clear to me who, if anyone, they have given a pass to behave that way. So if you bind yourself to Trump in a state where his disapproval is 55 percent to 60 percent, you are really, really swimming upstream. Because historically, you know, as I said to you before, if you look at his first term in 2018 and 2020, in all of the exit polls in every Senate race, Susan Collins in 2020 is the only Republican senator who won in a state where his job approval was net negative. And there are going to be quite a few of those in November.
MICHAELSON: Let's talk about Georgia, which has become a really important swing state, something that Joe Biden barely won in in 2020. They have two Democratic senators right now. They have a Republican governor who has been one of the few people who has stood up to President Trump over and over again. We see the races there tonight, both for governor and for senator. How do you see what's happening in Georgia?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, first of all, Democrats had a disappointment tonight because they were not able to -- it looks like they were not able to flip either of those state's Supreme Court elections, which are technically nonpartisan. And I think the complaint is that the party didn't do as good a job as they do as the party does in Wisconsin, and making clear, even though it's technically nonpartisan, who is the Democratic candidate and who is the Republican candidate.
On the other hand, one thing I haven't heard discussed much tonight, you know, there are -- last time I looked right before we came on, there were about 150,000 more votes in the Democratic gubernatorial primary than the Republican gubernatorial primary. Even in 2018, kind of the blue wave year, there was still more votes in the Republican primary than nominated Brian Kemp than there were in the Democratic primary that nominated Stacey Abrams, about 50,000 more.
So that is something to keep an eye on. You know, the still, I would say Republicans would be favored for the governorship but the challenge to Jon Ossoff, Ossoff looks very strong at this point.
MICHAELSON: Who's the senator. Democrat.
BROWNSTEIN: The senator at this point looks strong, and it is likely that it will be Mike Collins, the -- you know, the Republican member of Congress over the Kemp backed football coach, Vince Dooley. But the ability of Republicans to challenge Ossoff, I think, is symptomatic of the problem as I was talking about. In everywhere outside of the Republican heartland, Trump is likely to be under 50 in November. And that means there are not going to be a lot of Republicans who win those races.
MICHAELSON: So now we have this interesting dynamic potentially happening in the Senate, assuming that John Cornyn gets knocked out. And then we know that Bill Cassidy, as you mentioned, the senator from Louisiana, just got knocked out. And Thom Tillis, the senator from North Carolina, is retiring. All of them now have no need to kiss the ring for Donald Trump. All of them have in some ways been hurt by Trump and the Trump machine.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Yes.
MICHAELSON: But they're still in the Senate until next January. And then there's a couple other Republican senators, Susan Collins, who's got to demonstrate independence in Maine in order to win, and Lisa Murkowski, who's got to demonstrate independence in Alaska in order to win.
BROWNSTEIN: Right.
MICHAELSON: That's now five people that might vote against the Republican --
BROWNSTEIN: And, and --
MICHAELSON: How does that -- BROWNSTEIN: You saw that today when Cassidy joined to create 50 votes
in favor of advancing debate on a war powers resolution on Iran. There isn't that much more legislatively that Trump wants to do between now and election day in November. But to the extent there is, you're going to see some of --
MICHAELSON: Well, he wants to pass a bill and reconciliation, right?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Right.
MICHAELSON: To fund the Department of Homeland.
BROWNSTEIN: As is true --
MICHAELSON: So that's an important thing.
BROWNSTEIN: And you know, that may be one where I would be more surprised to see some of these Republican senators separate from him, but there's no doubt they're going to cause him some headaches between now and November, although, again, again with Bill Cassidy, you know, if you feel like if Cassidy had come in second in the primary, would he have given that speech on election night, kind of needling Trump? Probably not. And that's kind of where we are in the Republican Party at this moment.
MICHAELSON: So temporarily, we have a situation where all these senators could go after him or not follow him. But longer term, you have a situation where we're going to have a more partisan thing, where people have almost no incentive to show any bipartisanship.
BROWNSTEIN: Fifty of the 53 Republican senators were elected in states that have voted all three times for Donald Trump.
MICHAELSON: Wow.
BROWNSTEIN: And, you know, and as you -- as we're redistricting the House, as you point out, virtually everyone, virtually every Republican in Congress next year, I think, will be from a state or a district that voted for Donald Trump. And in that circumstance, as we're seeing, he has a lot of leverage over them.
MICHAELSON: And almost no incentive for bipartisan compromise for anybody. And that impacts the entire country.
Ron Brownstein, on that note, great to see you.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me. Yes.
MICHAELSON: Thanks for being with us on election night. It's a big night when Ron is in the house.
President Trump is getting pushback on the war with Iran. The U.S. Senate advanced a measure aimed at restricting Trump's war powers. We just talked about this. Some by requiring congressional approval for any future military action in Iran. The measure advanced 50 to 47, with four Republicans voting with the Democrats. [00:15:03]
The vote comes as President Trump says he was on the verge of launching new strikes on Iran and postponed the attack at the request of several Gulf nations. But he says pause only temporary. President Trump also says the war with Iran is necessary despite being unpopular with voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Everyone tells me it's unpopular, but I think it's very popular. When you -- when they hear that it's having to do with nuclear weapons, weapons that could take out Los Angeles, could take out major cities very quickly. When they hear that, you know, when they're -- I'll tell you what, when we explain it to people, I don't really have enough time to explain to people. I'm too busy getting it done. But when they understand, I think it's a -- I think it's frankly very popular. But whether it's popular or not popular, I have to do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts with Iran are ongoing. But according to the vice president, the outcome remains uncertain. J.D. Vance, who led the U.S. delegation at the last round of peace talks, had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have an opportunity here, I think, to reset the relationship that has existed between Iran and the United States for 47 years. That's what the president has asked us to do, and that's what we're going to keep on working at. But it takes two to tango. We are not going to have a deal that allows the Iranians to have a nuclear weapon.
So as the president just told me, we're locked and loaded. We don't want to go down that pathway. But the president is willing and able to go down that pathway if we have to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Trump administration is defending itself against criticism over its so-called anti-weaponization fund. It is made up of nearly $1.8 billion of taxpayer money, and it is meant to go to people who claim that they were unfairly investigated by past administrations. The fund was set up as part of a legal settlement President Trump reached with his own Justice Department. Critics say it's merely a way for the president to enrich his allies. But Vice President J.D. Vance disagrees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: This is about compensating Americans for the lawfare that we saw under the last administration. The people that would get the money are people, some of whom have been prosecuted completely disproportionate to any crime they've ever committed. Circumstances, let's say a person is accused, let's say, hypothetically, a person is accused of doing something that they never actually did, that they got a kangaroo court, that they had a judge who mistreated them, I think that we should look at those things case by case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: White House officials, including the vice president, are not ruling out that taxpayer money could be paid to people who violently rioted at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021. Even those who attacked police.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I have a question on the war, but just to follow up, you previously told me that anyone who assaulted a police officer on January 6th should go to prison, so why not rule out giving them taxpayer funded money?
VANCE: Well, Kaitlan, what I said is we're going to look at everything case by case. There --
COLLINS: So why not rule it out?
VANCE: Because, Kaitlan, there are people who I don't know their individual circumstances and I don't rule things out categorically when I know nothing about a person's individual circumstances. We're not making commitments to give anybody money. We're just making commitments to look at things case by case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: CNN's Kaitlan Collins there in the briefing room today.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is also defending this payment plan. In a congressional hearing on Tuesday, some Democrats argue the anti-weaponization fund is actually a clear example of political weaponization itself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): This is an outrageous, unprecedented slush fund that you set up. Simple question, will individuals who assaulted Capitol Hill police officers be eligible for this fund?
TODD BLANCHE, ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, as it makes plain, anybody --
VAN HOLLEN: Just let me know if they're eligible for the fund.
BLANCHE: As was made plain yesterday, anybody in this country is eligible to apply if they believe they were victim of weaponization.
SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-CT): President Trump is the first president to sue his own government and then direct his chosen acting attorney general to reach this kind of settlement. Will you commit that none of President Trump's family will receive a direct payout from this fund?
BLANCHE: Yes. But what you just said is not true. I mean, if I can correct that.
COONS: Please.
BLANCHE: The president did not direct me to do anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Blanche was President Trump's personal defense lawyer when Trump was facing federal criminal prosecutions. Now, critics argue he simply doing the president's bidding to turn his role as acting attorney general into a permanent position.
All of it is raising questions as to why Trump's Justice Department was able to settle his own personal lawsuit against it. Now, on top of all this, the Justice Department quietly added another term to its settlement with the president. It permanently bars the Internal Revenue Service from prosecuting or pursuing claims against Donald Trump for past tax issues, including tax returns he filed before the agreement was reached. It doesn't just apply to Trump, it also covers his family, trusts, companies and other affiliates.
[00:20:04]
This addendum was dated Tuesday and was signed by Todd Blanche. Ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee condemned this addition as outright corruption.
Ahead, big meeting is happening right now in Beijing. Russian President Vladimir Putin is in the Chinese capital for talks with Xi Jinping. More on that summit. A live report from Beijing next. Plus, the latest warning from the World Health Organization as the death toll rises in cases spike in Central Africa's Ebola outbreak.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:25:05]
MICHAELSON: Chinese leader Xi Jinping rolling out the red carpet in Beijing for Vladimir Putin. The welcome ceremony for the Russian president kicked off just a short time ago, ahead of talks between the two leaders, which are happening right now. China's Honor Guard, a group of cheering children, were on hand for the event.
The Russian president has hailed relations between the two countries as having reached a, quote, "truly unprecedented level." His visit comes just days after Xi hosted President Trump with a very, very similar welcome ceremony.
CNN's Beijing bureau chief Steven Jiang, live now from the Chinese capital.
We understand that the meeting is happening now. Do we have any news coming out of the meeting so far? STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Well, they're happening behind
closed doors, Elex, but they are, the two leaders, are expected to hold a series of talks and meetings behind closed doors. First, one- on-one to discuss the most important and sensitive issues and then expand these talks to include other members of their delegations.
As we were talking about earlier, Putin, just like Trump, did bring a very large group of people along to accompany him for this trip. Not only government ministers, but also CEOs of some of the biggest and most important state companies and entities, including, of course, those in the energy and banking sectors.
Now, the list of the items on the agenda is very long, not only expanding cooperation on economic and trade fronts, but also in other areas like education. This is the Russia-China year of education. The two leaders are actually going to attend the opening ceremony on that. Just later today the two men will also have a signing ceremony, issue joint statements, as well as a dinner and even tea later.
But the underlying theme here, of course, is these two leaders very much bonded by their belief that -- and their vision that they want to reshape this world order that is no longer going to be dominated by the U.S. So presumably what they're going to discuss also what Xi and Trump had talked about. Remember, Putin has said he was watching that summit very, very closely. So we have seen not only they have in recent years expanded trade, but also put into action in terms of this so-called no limits partnership.
And to include almost every field you can think of, not just on these areas that's obvious, but also on media and messaging, which is why increasingly, you see the two government, their spokespeople and their state media aligned on major international issues from the war in Ukraine to the war in Iran. But the other side of the coin, of course, with this expanded trade volume surpassing 200 billion U.S. dollars again last year, you see Russia continues to rely more and more on Chinese consumer and industrial goods, while Russia is still primarily sending China natural resources. We're talking about crude oil, natural gas and metals.
A lot of those are conducted now in the Chinese currency. When you combine that with the Chinese industrial dominance and continued Western sanctions against the Russia, a lot of analysts say this is increasingly a vicious cycle for Putin and a virtuous cycle for Xi. So the key question out of these talks and these discussions today is how is Xi going to use this massive leverage over Russia and its implications for the rest of the world -- Elex.
MICHAELSON: And we're just getting a note in terms of the opening statement from Mr. Putin. And he wrapped that up by saying, quote, "Today our relations have reached an unprecedentedly high level, serving as a model of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction." That's from Vladimir Putin talking to Xi Jinping. More from that summit, I'm sure we'll be getting throughout the next few hours.
In the meantime, Steven Jiang in Beijing, thank you so much. We'll see you next hour. Hopefully with some new information.
The head of the World Health Organization says the scale and spread of the deadly Ebola outbreak in Central Africa warrants serious concern. It is now estimated that more than 130 deaths are linked to the virus, among more than 500 suspected cases. One of those cases is an American citizen who reportedly contracted the virus while working in the Democratic Republic of Congo. That individual, now being taken to a treatment facility in Berlin after a diplomatic request from the United States.
A senior U.S. State Department official also confirmed that a disaster assistance response team has been deployed by the DRC and Uganda.
CNN's Larry Madowo has more on the international effort to contain this outbreak
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The concern from public health experts in the region is that there's a likelihood that many people could be have -- could have been exposed to Ebola. They're just not showing symptoms yet. It might take until three weeks before that begins to happen. This area in Ituri, northeastern DRC, which is the epicenter of the outbreak, has a lot of insecurity.
[00:30:05]
About 100,000 people are displaced. It's a mining town. There's a lot of border traffic between this area, in Bunia, to Uganda, across the border.
So, even though Uganda says there's no local infections in the country, the two people who were confirmed were Congolese. One died and was sent back across the border and the other is receiving treatment. The people move back and forth.
Some may be asymptomatic right now, but in a few days or a few weeks, they might begin to show symptoms; and they might have come into contact with a lot of people.
MADOWO (voice-over): We've seen the numbers rise to more than 513 suspected cases, more than 130 deaths associated with Ebola.
So, as they do more lab -- lab testing, contact tracing, and surveillance, the numbers might as well skyrocket. And that affects a huge number of people within these countries: Uganda --
MADOWO: -- the Democratic Republic of Congo, and possibly South Sudan, as well. And you've seen these reported even in Kampala, which is a few hundred kilometers away.
So, that is why the WHO and many other experts say this could be much deeper of an outbreak than they currently know, and it could have already been spreading for a few weeks in the community before it was detected and confirmed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Larry Madowo for us in Africa. Larry, thank you.
The victims in the deadly shooting at a mosque in San Diego are being hailed as heroes for their actions to save lives. Their story and more on that investigation ahead from San Diego.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:36:09]
MICHAELSON: New details now on the investigation into the deadly shooting at a San Diego mosque.
We're learning the two teen suspects, who appear to have been radicalized online, shared a live video of Monday's attack that killed three people at the Islamic center.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK REMILY, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, SAN DIEGO: The victims who lost their lives yesterday were there to help others be part of a community that came together in peace.
Instead, they were confronted by teenagers who appear to have been radicalized online to believe that they didn't belong because of how they looked or where they worshiped.
Authorities say the victims of the shooting died while preventing the attackers from moving deeper into the building. With their actions, ultimately saving lives.
CNN's Kyung Lah reports from San Diego.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Were it not for the actions of three men -- a security guard, a man who's married to a teacher here at the school --
LAH: -- and an elder who has been here since this mosque was first formed -- it could have been so much worse, said the police chief of the San Diego Police Department.
These three men put their bodies between violence and hatred, and 140 school children who had managed to lock the doors of all of their classrooms.
Take a listen to the police chief.
CHIEF SCOTT WAHL, SAN DIEGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: The individuals that did this heinous act ran past the security guard, most likely not knowing he was there. You can see the security guard reach for his radio and put out the lockdown protocol. His actions, without a doubt, delayed, distracted, and ultimately deterred. IMAM TAHA HASSANE, DIRECTOR, ISLAMIC CENTER OF SAN DIEGO: They tried
to do something. They were hiding in the parking lot next to the kitchen. They tried to do something to protect, but unfortunately, they sacrificed their lives to protect the entire community inside the Islamic Center of San Diego.
LAH: And here's a look at those three men. Mansoor Kazziha. He is the elder here at the mosque. Amin Abdullah, the security guard, and Nadir Awad, a member married to that teacher here at the school there, has also.
According to the police chief, there was a manifesto along with that suicide note that was recovered, and that what it expressed was generalized hate.
They aren't sure if this mosque is the intended target, because the hatred expressed in all of the writings left behind basically was against everyone.
The teens, as far as how they were radicalized. It happened online according to the police department. They met online. They realized that they both lived in San Diego, and then they met in person, and then began their planning.
LAH: There were approximately 30 guns recovered. All of those guns belonging to one of the parents. There could be further charges, said the police department, depending on where this investigation goes, against those parents.
Kyung Lah, CNN, San Diego.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Fire crews here in southern California are racing to contain multiple brush fires that have forced thousands of people to flee their homes.
The Sandy Fire broke out on Monday morning in the hills of Simi Valley, about 30 miles North of Los Angeles, destroying at least one home. Authorities say the fire has scorched 1,700 acres and is just 5 percent contained.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was working out of my office. I saw dark -- darkness, you know, come out of my window. Something was blocking the sun. And I looked out the window, and I saw the fire right here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's, like, so weird. You look there, and it's blue. You look here, and it's like total fire. You know, it's pretty scary. I mean, we've lived here 24 years, and nothing like this has ever happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's men and women on the ground and from the air that are fighting this fire. But having the ability to drop up to 1,000 gallons of water per drop and a quick turnaround time from the lake nearby has been instrumental.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[00:40:09]
MICHAELSON: Firefighters say they made significant progress as weather conditions became more favorable. No injuries have been reported.
Meanwhile, two other wildfires broke out on Tuesday, just hours apart in Riverside County. At least five people have been injured.
The Bain Fire has scorched nearly 1,400 acres. It is 10 percent contained. And the Verona Fire has burned more than 400 acres, with 0 percent containment.
Up next here on THE STORY IS my one-on-one interview with L.A. Mayor Karen Bass. We'll go behind the scenes of her ambitious project to tackle L.A.'s homelessness problem and get her insights on the criticism she's facing as she makes the case for another term as mayor.
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MICHAELSON: The race for L.A. mayor is one of the most closely watched races in the whole country. Viral videos about the contest have been seen by tens of millions of people all around the world.
This week on THE STORY IS, we're bringing you extended profiles of the top three contenders.
We begin our series with the incumbent mayor, Karen Bass, who continues to face backlash for her handling of last year's devastating Palisades Fire and the city's homelessness crisis.
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MAYOR KAREN BASS (D), LOS ANGELES: This was my dream.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): L.A. Mayor Karen Bass gives us a tour of the St. Vincent behavioral health campus, which is under construction near downtown L.A.
BASS: This is the essence of what we need to do to solve the homeless situation in Los Angeles.
KAMALA HARRIS, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Madam Mayor.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): In 2022, L.A.'s first female mayor was sworn in by America's first female vice president after winning the city election by nearly ten points.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God. MICHAELSON: But some voters' anger over Bass's handling of the
Palisades Fire and the city's homelessness crisis has Bass facing challengers from the left and the right, including city councilmember Nithya Raman, a registered Democrat who's a member of the Democratic Socialists of America; and registered republican Spencer Pratt, a former reality TV star turned self-described community advocate.
MICHAELSON: What is one word that separates you from the other candidates for mayor?
BASS: Experience. Collaboration. I'm sorry. I had to throw in another.
We did not eliminate the -- the safety net.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Bass previously served as speaker of California's assembly in Sacramento and as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington.
BASS: You cannot run the nation's second largest city without intimate knowledge, long-standing relationships, and collaboration on every level of government.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Before politics, Bass was a nurse and then physician's assistant.
MICHAELSON: Does this bring you back to your days?
BASS: Absolutely. It does bring me back. I loved working in hospitals.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): St. Vincent Medical Center closed in 2020 due to bankruptcy, but this massive campus is now being reimagined over the next two years. They say it will include intermediate and permanent housing units and treatment services, all in one place.
MICHAELSON: What makes this different is that this is like one stop shopping, right?
BASS: Right. It's one stop shop. But that's what I've been crying for, is centralized services.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Bass says over the decades, L.A. hasn't invested enough in interim housing units like these that are opening soon at St. Vincent's.
That's a big reason, she says, there's an estimated 27,000 people living on the streets of Los Angeles, the largest unsheltered homeless population in the country.
MICHAELSON: When you talked to Jake Tapper in 2023, you said that your goal was to --
BASS: End street homelessness.
MICHAELSON: -- in L.A. by 2026. It's now 2026.
BASS: And we haven't ended it. MICHAELSON: We have not ended it, and we're not close to ending it.
How are you so off?
BASS: Well, basically, when I said that, it was at the beginning of my term. I am very committed to achieving that goal. I didn't anticipate some of the bureaucratic barriers.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): There's a different kind of housing crisis underway in L.A.'s Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
The January 2025 Palisades Fire killed 12 people and burned nearly 7, 000 structures. At the time, mayor Bass was in Ghana as part of a presidential delegation, and there were no firefighters pre-deployed to the Palisades, despite one of the most dire wind forecasts in years.
Last February, Bass told me this on FOX 11 Los Angeles.
BASS: Although there were warnings that I frankly wasn't aware of.
MICHAELSON: But what do you mean there were warnings you weren't aware of?
BASS: It didn't reach that level to me.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): In a new book called "Torch," CBS News reporter Jonathan Vigliotti writes, quote, "According to multiple sources, Bass was briefed before her departure about the National Weather Service's models. CNN cannot independently confirm CBS's reporting.
MICHAELSON: So, which is it?
BASS: That's just simply not true. So, I don't know what sources he's talking to, but that is a wholesale falsehood.
I will tell you that it wasn't just the city. The entire county was not prepared for this.
But what I also said to you, Elex, is that it was a horrible, horrible moment in my life. The point is, I wasn't here when my city needed me. And that is a profound regret.
MICHAELSON: But that book makes the point that you being in Ghana actually hurt the city's response. It argues that during the hour when the fire was building, that you were sort of out of touch, because you were focused on -- on the event in Ghana.
[00:50:06]
BASS: No, that's actually not true either. So, I'll have to read this book, and it would have been helpful if the author would have interviewed me.
MICHAELSON: Well, he said that --
BASS: Because --
MICHAELSON: He said that he asked for an interview for a couple of years and he never --
BASS: Well, that's news to me.
Let me just explain to you that when the fire broke out, it was nighttime in Ghana. And I was due to board a plane in a couple of hours. And I took the first plane out. I was in touch the entire time.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Not long after the fires, President Donald Trump visited the Palisades. In April, Bass and L.A. County supervisor Kathryn Barger went to the Oval Office. She says they asked the president to pressure banks and insurance companies to do more for fire victims.
BASS: He did tweet right after that about the banking industry, and that has been helpful in moving the needle.
SPENCER PRATT (R), L.A. MAYORAL CANDIDATE: Is Karen Bass targeting fire victims?
MICHAELSON: After Spencer Pratt lost his home in that fire, he decided to run against Bass, his first ever political campaign.
MICHAELSON: What do you think Spencer Pratt would be like as mayor?
BASS: I -- I can't even imagine. I don't think -- I understand he has a degree in political science, but he does not have a background or knowledge in how our government works.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Pratt responded to that on X. Quote, "We don't have to imagine Bass as mayor. We're living that disaster. That's why I'm taking her job."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who threw that?
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Pratt has been sharing out on his social media A.I.-generated videos he says are created by his fans.
MICHAELSON: What goes through your mind when you see that?
BASS: Well, actually, I think it's a very dangerous trend. One, because it is absolutely 150 percent fiction. But what's worrying me now is, is that his social media is now taking on a violent turn.
MICHAELSON: L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman decided at the last minute to challenge Bass. In past campaigns, they'd endorsed each other.
I think there are a lot of people in this city that like you, that respect you, that voted for you, but they're frustrated. They feel like there hasn't been enough change fast enough in the city, and they're not sure if you're up to the task to take it to the next level. What do you say to those people? BASS: Well, what I say is, is that we have absolutely made progress.
I'm frustrated that it hasn't been more. I still will fight for change every single day I'm in this office.
MICHAELSON: What would you say are your three proudest accomplishments as mayor of L.A.?
BASS: Three things. The first reduction in homelessness, in street homelessness. The first time. That is an accomplishment.
The fact that we have 42,000 units of housing being fast-tracked right now, with 6,000 of those units under construction.
The fact that crime, especially homicide, is at a 60-year low.
Those are three accomplishments right off the bat. But we have many more accomplishments, top.
The challenge has been getting the message out in the atmosphere now, where social media is there, and truth is something that's up for debate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: In our next hour, we will talk live with Jonathan Vigliotti, who wrote that new book about the 2025 California wildfires. We'll get his response to what you just heard from Mayor Bass.
You can watch our full, unedited discussion with Mayor Bass right now at YouTube.com/ElexMichaelson. It's almost a half-hour long.
Tomorrow on THE STORY IS I sit down with Republican Spencer Pratt, who makes his case to us. And on Thursday I sit down with Democratic Socialist Nithya Raman to hear her perspective.
But up next here on THE STORY IS, the latest on tonight's elections across the rest of America.
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MICHAELSON: About 7 million people visit the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris each year. And for almost a century, many people used a spiral staircase to climb to the top.
Well, now, part of the original steps is expected to fetch up to $175,000 at auction. CNN's Melissa Bell is there.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the very staircase that the man who created the Eiffel Tower, Gustave Eiffel, used to use every day to get up to his office at the very top of the tower. Now, this little piece of that very staircase is being sold at
auction.
But at 1.4 tons in weight, whoever acquires it is going to need a pretty big apartment and a pretty sturdy floor.
Ever since 1983, the staircase has given way to these elevators that take you all the way up to 280 meters above the ground, so less exercise, but a lot easier to get to the very top.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We will start at one -- 100,000 euro, and we will try to obtain the best price.
BELL: This is such an iconic monument and such a draw towards Paris. And yet, whoever ends up acquiring this little piece of Parisian history will never get this view.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: How do we keep going after that? That's like the greatest view that you're going to see. Well done.
That is the stand-up for the reel, as we like to say in the business.
That's it for this hour of THE STORY IS. The next hour starts right now.
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MICHAELSON (voice-over): THE STORY IS at the ballot box. How President Trump's hand-picked candidates are doing on this election night.
THE STORY IS in China. Vladimir Putin --
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