Return to Transcripts main page
The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
U.S. Launches "Self-Defense Strikes" On Iran; Netanyahu Vows To Increase Lebanon Strikes; ICE Agents Clash With Protesters Outside New Jersey Detention Center; Cornyn, Paxton Make Final Pitches In High Stakes Runoff; Lobster Prices Battered By Rising Cost Of Diesel For Fishing Boats; Pope Leo Issues Stark Warning Over Artificial Intelligence; Spaniard in Cruise Quarantine Tests Positive for Hantavirus; Knicks Sweep Cavaliers to Advance to NBA Finals. Aired 1- 2a ET
Aired May 26, 2026 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: And the coming day is also expected to be a scorcher. Western Europe is also suffering through an early heat wave. Most areas in the region are experiencing temperatures 10 to 15 degrees Celsius above normal this week.
Extreme heat couldn't stop Britain's annual cheese rolling contest at Cooper's Hill. Dozens of participants and onlookers braved the high temperatures for a wheel of Gloucester. A German YouTuber named Tom Kopke won the men's downhill race for the third year in a row, beating out the record holding winner who had brought home the wheel 23 times.
Thanks for watching the first hour of The Story Is. The next hour starts right now.
The story is in Iran, new military strikes and new questions about a potential peace deal. Benjamin Radd here live with analysis.
The story is in Texas. It's now primary day, the GOP Senate showdown between Senator John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It doesn't matter whether it was Paxton or Cornyn, whoever the Republican is, is going to win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: We're on the ground with new reporting. And the story is in the NBA. The New York Knicks sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers and heading back to the NBA Finals. Basketball reporter Jovan Buha here live to break it all down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles, The Story Is with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: Thanks for watching The Story Is. I'm Elex Michelson live in Los Angeles where it's 10:00 p.m. and tonight the top story is in southern Iran where earlier U.S. Central Command says the U.S. military conducted self-defense strikes, that's what they're calling them, self-defense strikes targeting Iranian missile launch sites and boats around the Strait of Hormuz.
The attacks come as Washington and Tehran are engaged in negotiations to end the war. But disputes remain over Iran's nuclear program and the lifting of sanctions. President Trump laid out his plans for destroying Iran's enriched uranium or nuclear dust, as he calls it, saying it will either be transported to the U.S. dealt with on site or taken to a, quote, another acceptable location.
Meanwhile, some Republican allies of the president who support a hardline stance against Iran say that the pending framework to end the war actually puts the U.S. at a disadvantage. The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, a Republican, said that Trump was being ill advised to pursue a deal that would not be worth the paper it is written on and that ceasing military action actually risks a perception of weakness.
Mike Valerio live in Beijing to start us off. Mike, we heard from Marco Rubio last hour. What do you know about his plans to speak more while he's on this Asia trip?
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're going to hear from him in about 45 minutes. He's going to make a stop at an airbase in Delhi before he slowly makes his way back to D.C. so while most of D.C. is asleep right now, he is the face of Washington that is awake. So he's meeting with Indian counterparts.
And I thought it was interesting he was on the plane. We played a sound bite at the last hour and he said before that sound bite, that the disagreements with Iran and moving on to the next level of ending this war are down to, and I'm quoting him here, a word, comma, a sentence. And he also spoke in a little bit more detail about the Strait of Hormuz. Let's play that again. And we're going to talk about it on the other side. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think they're going to be more or less likely to.
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, the straits have to be open. They're going to be open one way or the other. So they need to be open. What's happening there is unlawful, it's illegal, it's unsustainable for the world. It's unacceptable. I don't know of any country in the world that does it. The Russians are not in favor of the tolling system. The Chinese are not in favor of the tolling system. I mean, there's no country in the world that's in favor of the tolling system except the regime in Iran.
So that's not acceptable. That cannot happen. The straits need to be open, unimpeded, without toll. And obviously that needs to happen immediately, as soon as anything is agreed to --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALERIO: So around 1:45 our time, that's when we're expecting to get an update. He has a press gaggle that is on his schedule. Again, this side of the world is awake, Qatar is awake, where some of the talks are ongoing.
So we're waiting to see before he flies back to America if we're going to get another update again before the State Department comes back online for Tuesday morning.
So in terms of where we're going here, also just a couple more details on the strikes themselves. The U.S. military says that they launched these strikes in retaliation for a series of attacks against American warships in the Strait of Hormuz. And they hit Bandar Abbas, which is the headquarters, such as it is, of the Iranian navy, such as it is, in terms of the state that is in right now, which is almost destroyed, according to American and Western intelligence.
[01:05:10]
So where we're going, American officials have stressed that clashes have happened before in a ceasefire environment, specifically at the beginning of this month. They are trying to say that talks have not derailed because there have been exchanges of hostilities before, specifically in the earlier part of this month.
Trump's position on removing enriched uranium appears to be shifting ever so slightly from where he began the war with United States troops potentially going in to removing the uranium to potentially it being OK if the uranium moved to a different country like China or Russia to take care of destroying it.
If the Atomic Energy Agency, the U.S. civilian agency, or if its U.N. counterpart got involved also to oversee the destruction of that quote, unquote, nuclear dust, the enriched uranium, that would also be OK, according to the president's latest post on Truth.
And again, Iranian teams are still in Qatar. Negotiations have not ended there and Qatar is also where so many of these funds are located that have been frozen by this conflict. So more to come. Stay tuned specifically for Marco Rubio while he wraps up his trip in India. Elex.
MICHAELSON: All right. We'll have live coverage of that here on CNN. Mike Valerio in Beijing, thanks so much for starting us off. Meanwhile, an Israeli source tells CNN that the Israeli military is preparing to expand its operations in Lebanon in coordination with the US.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posting this video on social media Monday on the plan to intensify strikes against Hezbollah.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): But we are not taking our foot off the gas pedal. On the contrary, I said we need to push the gas pedal even harder. We will strike them. But what this now requires from us is to intensify the blows to increase the force. We will strike them decisively.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: We're also learning that Israel is pushing to renew strikes on Beirut to target senior Hezbollah figures that are there. As we look, a live look from Beirut at 8:08 in the morning, on -- 8:06 in the morning, I should say on Tuesday. A U.S. official has signaled that the White House supports Israel's continued operations against the Iran-backed militant group.
Let's talk more about all this with Benjamin Radd, senior fellow at the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations, teaching this semester at USC.
Ben, great to have you back. You've been our go to guy all throughout this. These new strikes, what do you make of them? Are they really self-defense as they're being described?
BENJAMIN RADD, SENIOR FELLOW, UCLA BURKLE CENTR FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: Each side is claiming one or the other, the United States says that there were IRGC gunboats that were speedboats, that were laying mines that were threatening U.S. ships in the Gulf and in the Strait. The Iranians are saying the United States was the aggressor, sending a series of drones and missiles, Tomahawk missiles, to attack Iranian missile sites. So really, who knows? The answer might be somewhere in between.
MICHAELSON: And what -- what does that do at a time when they're trying to negotiate a peace deal?
RADD: Yes, we've seen this before. We've seen this also with Israel and Hamas and Israel and Hezbollah, where there -- there's a cease fire, there's negotiations, and yet they exchange rounds. What's interesting here is that this was a series of back and forth. It wasn't just the U.S. and Iran each taking one strike at the other.
They went multiple rounds. And yet both sides are committed to continuing the diplomacy. Meaning they're not taking this as a moment to escalate and to reengage in actual kinetic warfare. They're saying this is something that needed to be done, let off some steam, and then they can go back to negotiations.
MICHAELSON: So when Barack Obama was president, he spent a lot of political capital and a long time negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran, which he got through. Donald Trump mocked that deal for years.
RADD: Worst deal ever --
MICHAELSON: When he came president, he tore up that deal. Now he's putting together his own potential deal with Iran. Are the terms for the potential Trump deal with Iran better or worse than the Obama deal?
RADD: Yes, that's a great question. From what little we know of this deal as it's beginning to surface, it doesn't look like it meets even the threshold that 2015 JCPOA deal had. It does nothing.
MICHAELSON: CPOA is the Obama.
RADD: The Obama deal. Exactly. It doesn't look like it's coming close to those terms. One of the concerns President Trump had was would there be a longer ban on Iranians, Iran's ability to enrich uranium? We're not seeing that language yet. Would Iran retain any enriched uranium capacity? What about the centrifuges? What about its ballistic missile capability, which President Trump said wasn't addressed? What about its support for proxy groups?
None of those things are in this deal that we've heard rumors of so far. But again, until we see actual evidence of what's in it, it's hard to say. But it doesn't look like it meets that threshold.
MICHAELSON: Yes. So we haven't seen the specifics yet, but just the leaks about the potential specifics have a lot of Republicans coming out against this potential deal which may shape what it is, right?
[01:10:08]
RADD: That's right.
MICHAELSON: I mean, it may have been one thing, but we may not get to that. Or President Trump could say, I'm not doing this because the last thing he wants to be called is worse than Barack Obama.
RADD: Or the TACO epithet that's used to.
MICHAELSON: Right. Trump always chickens out.
RADD: Exactly. And we've seen it from -- you had that tweet from Senator Wicker, we've seen Senator Graham saying the same thing, that basically the United States needs to seize the opportunity to eliminate the threat that Iran poses as a potential nuclear threshold state.
MICHAELSON: So if that happens, if these hardline Republicans take Donald Trump even more to the right, there isn't a deal anytime soon, then what happens? Are we back to fighting? Are we back to more military conflict?
RADD: I don't think we're back to where we were a few months ago. We're back to where we've been the last few weeks, which is basically, the United States maintains the blockade in the strait, Iran maintains sort of its closure, preventing ships that it doesn't want to go through, and we're sort of stuck where we've been the last few weeks again.
Then it becomes a matter of who can tolerate the -- the pain that inflicts. Can Iran sustain the continued weakening of its economy and its inability to sell its oil and to bring in goods that it needs? And can the U.S. and its allies sustain the economic damage that's being done with the straits being closed.
MICHAELSON: The strait being closed, and then higher gas prices for every American voter as they start to get ready for the midterms as well.
But you've talked about this Iran, you know, being pressured on our show several times before, and you've said that there is going to be a point where Iran can't take this anymore. Explain what you mean and when you think that might be.
RADD: Well, their currency continues to devalue. Their people cannot get the goods that they need. The government is having to restrict and ration resources. And so the question then becomes, at what point then does the public unrest begin to reemerge?
We haven't -- we've seen them relatively quiet since January, oftentimes because President Trump had even said, you know, stay quiet, stay low until we do what we need to do. Then you can rise up. That hasn't happened yet. So the question then becomes, at what point is the pain increase for them?
Do they demand more from their government, something that the government can't deliver? And then we start to see unrest, that we could be a few weeks away from that, we could be a month away from that. It's difficult to say because there's no real transparency into what's happening domestically.
MICHAELSON: Right.
RADD: But it is not good. I mean, it's -- people are trying to lead their lives right now, and so they're managing, but they're doing it on the most difficult of circumstances. And that is not sustainable for any government, democracy or not.
MICHAELSON: Right. Ben Radd, I wish we had better news. We appreciate your insight, though. Really helps us understand what's really going on. Appreciate you coming in.
Russia says its bombardment of Kyiv this weekend was the start of, quote, systematic strikes against military facilities in that city. Moscow fired more than 600 drones and 90 missiles overnight on Sunday, killing at least four people, wounding dozens of others. The attacks destroyed civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings and shops.
Moscow is also warning foreign nationals, including diplomats and international organizations, to leave Ukraine's capital as soon as possible. But Ukraine's allies are refusing to leave, including the EU's ambassador and the US. Here's what the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said about that war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUBIO: Right now, there is no active scheduled negotiations on one with Ukraine, but the U.S. is always prepared to play a constructive and helpful role. That opportunity presents itself. Look, every time you see these big strikes from one side to the other, it's a reminder of why this is a terrible war that's now gone on longer than the Second World War, and it needs to come to an end. And the U.S. stands ready and prepared to help do whatever we can to help facilitate the end of this war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: More than 70 diplomats visited a heavily damaged neighborhood in Kyiv on Monday, laying flowers and paying respects to the victims of Sunday's strikes.
You are looking at live images out of Southern California, where a threat of a catastrophic explosion of this chemical tank at an aerospace facility has now been eliminated. They don't think that it's going to explode, which is good news. But officials warn that the crisis is far from over.
Emergency crews say a crack in the tank has relieved a significant amount of pressure and that a constant deluge, which you see right now, all that cold water coming in has brought down the temperature of the toxic and highly flammable chemical which is held inside.
Authorities have also significantly scaled back evacuation orders. About 16,000 of the nearly 50,000 people originally displaced will remain under evacuation orders for now. But that means about 65 percent of people are going back home tonight.
[01:15:05]
In our last hour, I spoke live with interim Fire Chief T.J. McGovern, who is running this whole operation for an update on the response effort.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
T.J. MCGOVERN, INTERIM FIRE CHIEF, ORANGE COUNTY FIRE AUTHORITY: There's still a fire threat and we have to mitigate that. And so what we're looking at is controlling the internal temperatures. We don't want those temperatures to rise and cause a fire.
So, after the threat for the bloody was undone is now we can go in and we're starting to skin the outer shell of the tank. And as we're skinning the outer shell, what we're doing is we're pulling away the insulation and that's allowing us to use our copious amounts of water, our unstaffed deluge systems that we have. And now we're able to focus our hose streams to cool more the internal tank and watch those readings firsthand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Protesters and politicians are denouncing the treatment of detainees at a federal immigration detention center in New Jersey. And those protests came to a head early Monday morning.
This video shows masked off armed ICE agents running towards protesters, barricades and then skirmishes breaking out. Department of Homeland security says about 125 people were blocking the entrances and exits of the detention facility.
This comes after months of accusations that detainees are facing inhumane conditions. They're now reportedly conducting a hunger strike. DHS denies those claims. Democratic lawmakers and the New Jersey governor say federal officials are keeping them from inspecting the facility for themselves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. MIKIE SHERRILL (D) NEW JERSEY: Everyone, regardless of your status, should be treated with dignity, making sure that you make your doctor's appointments, that you get your medication. We're having reports that women who are menstruating have to ask every time they need products. That's humiliating. That's not the type of dignity we want people treated with here in New Jersey or anywhere in this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Other ICE facilities across the country have also faced accusations of subpar conditions.
Coming up, we talk politics. Texas Republicans heading to the polls in the day ahead to choose their candidate for the U.S. senate. Why one of them has already moved on to attacking the Democratic contender.
And the cost of the New England summer staple is on the rise. Still ahead, what some say is driving up the price of lobster rolls. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:22:00]
MICHAELSON: Story is politics as Republican voters in Texas will soon cast their ballots in the runoff between incumbent Senator John Cornyn and State Attorney General Ken Paxton. Endorsement from President Trump and a string of new nicknames for the Democratic candidate are shaking up this race. CNN's Arlette Saenz reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Republican duel in Texas heading to its final face off.
SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): I think Ken Paxton's flaws and the baggage he brings to the general election is going to be exploited to the fullest by James Talarico and by Democrats.
SAENZ (voice-over): Senator John Cornyn in his last stand against State Attorney General Ken Paxton, who received President Donald Trump's endorsement despite concerns raised by GOP leaders in Washington.
KEN PAXON, TEXAS REPUBLICAN SENATE CANDIDATE: I don't know if you all noticed this, but Donald Trump endorsed me this week.
SAENZ (voice-over): In a Sunday appeal to Texas Republicans. The president, writing on Truth Social. Paxton was very loyal to your favorite president, me, while Cornyn was very disloyal to me as president.
Despite Trump's opposition, Cornyn is pressing forward to keep the Senate seat he's held since 2002, insisting he's on the president's side.
CORNYN: I really don't think it was about me. I think it's very different from the Cassidy and Massie situation because I've been a Trump ally. I think he got frustrated with the Senate, not able to get what he wanted when he wanted it.
SAENZ (voice-over): Many GOP senators are not falling in line with Trump's support for Paxton, who has survived a series of personal and political scandals.
SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): This guy is an empty suit and will do us no service by being in the U.S. Congress.
SAENZ (voice-over): And some Republican voters say they're not swayed by Trump's pick.
RANDY MARSHALL, REPUBLICAN VOTER: I'm going to stay with Cornyn and vote for him. I think stability is the name of the game right now.
SAENZ (voice-over): Paxton is ready to turn the page. He stopped airing negative ads against Cornyn and is targeting James Talarico, the Democratic nominee.
PAXTON: Look, the party's an open door. We have to unite. We have a common enemy, James Talarico.
SAENZ (voice-over): The GOP is testing out lines of attack against Talarico, starting beef over a common breakfast taco order.
JAMES TARALICO, TEXAS DEMOCRAT SENATE CANDDIATE: Breakfast tacos.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Potato, egg and cheese.
TARALICO: That's right.
SAENZ (voice-over): And his past comments about reducing meat consumption.
PAXTON: How about tofu? Talarico. How about Talofrico? Talafrico.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: And he's a vegan. He's a vegan in Texas, and you can't get elected vegan in Texas.
SAENZ (voice-over): Talarico, who is not a vegan, has pushed back and argued Texas is primed to turn blue in November.
TARALICO: They're going to throw everything they have at us. They'll call our movement Untexan, unAmerican. They'll call us a threat. The only truth is we are a threat. We're a threat to their corrupt system.
SAENZ (voice-over): For now, Republican voters, even Cornyn supporters, still feel confident Paxton would defeat Talarico. BOBBY WALTE, CORNYN SUPPORTER: I think we're ready enough that it doesn't matter whether it was Paxton or Cornyn, whoever the Republican is, is going to win.
[01:25:07]
CYNDEE BALDWIN, UNIDECIDED REPUBLICAN VOTER: I think he would fare well against Talarico. I think it would be a good race.
SAENZ: The Texas Senate primary has already amounted to the most expensive U.S. Senate primary in history, with more than $30 million spent in this GOP runoff alone. Pro Cornyn forces have outspent Paxton and advertising by 4 to 1, and whoever emerges from this GOP runoff will face off against a formidable fundraiser and Democrat James Talarico, the Democratic nominee, raised more than $27 million in the first quarter of 2026.
The big question going forward is how much each of the national parties will invest in this state come November, as Texas could be critical to both Democrats and Republicans in their path to the Senate majority in this year's contest. Arlette Saenz CNN, McKinney, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: And Arlette will be part of our coverage tomorrow right here on CNN throughout the day. You can also get the latest results and analysis@cnn.com or on the CNN app.
Memorial Day weekend is wrapping up here in the U.S. and AAA predicted that a record number of Americans would be traveling by plane and by car, millions hitting the road. Even with gas significantly more expensive than last year due to the war with Iran.
The AAA national average currently stands at $4.50 a gallon. At last checked, the price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, is down just over 5 percent to about $98 a barrel. Rising fuel costs are not just affecting travel. The high cost of diesel is clawing at the affordability of a summer seafood favorite. CNN's Randi Kaye explains why the price of lobsters is red hot.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One more bite.
RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Are you willing to shell out big bucks for a lobster roll?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, not today I'm not. That's why I got a seven dollar clam chowder instead.
KAYE (voice-over): Lobster rolls are usually a popular summer item on the menu, but here in New England, some customers can't believe how expensive they are now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The great thing was that it was given to me. KAYE: If you had to pay for it, upwards of $40 a lobster roll. Is it worth it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it that? Is it that? Wow.
KAYE: Maine's lobster supply has been dwindling for years. And last year, according to Maine's Department of Marine Resources, they saw the lowest supply of lobster since 2008. All of that drives prices up.
PAUL BARKER, OWNER, PAULI'S: I remember when Lobster rolls was 16, 1799. At some places in the city, we're at $50. It just blows my mind.
KAYE (voice-over): Restaurant owners here say they are dealing with soaring wholesale prices and rising labor costs. And the price of catching a lobster has also put a squeeze on supply.
KAYE: In Maine, where about 80 percent of the country's lobster comes from diesel fuel prices are up 52 percent over this time last year, according to AAA. So for lobster fishermen, they have a decision to make. Do they really want to go offshore and burn that much expensive fuel in search of a lobster?
Oh, my goodness. I have never seen a lobster roll like this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's fantastic. And you can see this is big chunks of lost. This is the lobstitution.
KAYE: The lobstitution.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly.
KAYE: How much lobster is in the lobstitution?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You get almost a pound and a half of lobster right there.
KAYE: Oh, my gosh.
STEVE BARRESI, WULF'S SEAFOOD SUPPLY: Fuel costs are so high. Bait is so high. Labor is so high. Maintenance of their traps is so high. So by the time they get out, they're already in the red. Live lobsters are up around $2 a pound compared to last year, which translates to the higher meat prices.
KAYE: Which translates to more expensive lobster rolls.
BARRESI: More expensive lobster rolls.
JEREMY SEWALL, CHEF, ROW 34: It definitely impacted us this winter, and it just drove the cost through the roof.
KAYE (voice-over): At Row 34 in the Boston Seaport, Chef Jeremy Sewall says they serve about 200 lobster rolls a day in the summer months.
SEWALL: This is our warm butter lobster roll, which is our by far our most popular lobster roll. So it's just warmed up in whole butter and stuffed into a toasted bun.
KAYE: Oh, my gosh. What do these go for?
SEWALL: Well, currently they're on the menu for $48.
KAYE: Does a higher cost change your mind about ordering lobster roll?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not in this case, because it's a special treat, so I'm OK with it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have to pay for gas, but I also would love to eat a lobster roll.
KAYE: It's a tough choice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is.
KAYE: In an economy like this, people may be choosing between a delicious lobster roll and filling their tank.
SEWALL: Yes. And I would say go half a tank and come have a lobster roll.
KAYE (voice-over): Randi Kaye, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Veterans, military families, historians and musicians gathered at Arlington National Cemetery for a day of remembrance.
[01:30:00]
Musical performances and stories of service were part of the Memorial Day event honoring fallen service members who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the country. The candlelight program held as part of Americas 250th anniversary, also featured a moving performance of "Taps".
(MUSIC)
[01:31:17]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: Welcome back to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson.
Let's take a look at today's top stories.
U.S. Central Command says the U.S. military has launched self-defense strikes in southern Iran. They targeted Iranian missile launch sites and boats around the Strait of Hormuz. This as the two countries are engaged in negotiations to end the war. But there are still disagreements over Tehran's nuclear program and the lifting of sanctions.
Iran's national soccer team has yet to receive U.S. visas for the World Cup, which begins next month. President Trump has said that Iran is welcome to compete in the tournament, but urged the team not to stay in the U.S. for their own safety. They will stay in Mexico instead and travel to matches as needed. Iran's first match is against New Zealand here in Los Angeles on June 15th.
The threat of a catastrophic explosion of a chemical tank at a southern California aerospace facility has been eliminated, but the danger is not yet over as crews continue efforts to stabilize and secure the tank and the toxic chemical inside.
About 16,000 people of the nearly 50,000 people originally displaced by this crisis will remain under evacuation orders, at least for now.
Pope Leo has issued a stark warning about artificial intelligence in his first major theological publication as pontiff. The text, titled "Magnifica Humanitas" or "Magnificent Humanity", calls for the disarming of A.I. to prevent it from dominating and degrading human life.
CNN's Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: A pope weighing in on the debate over artificial intelligence. Leo XIV wants the church's voice heard on what he sees as a revolution, taking the unprecedented step of personally presenting an encyclical letter on the issues, one of the highest forms of papal teaching.
POPE LEO XIV, CATHOLIC CHURCH: Artificial intelligence needs to be disarmed. The word is strong, I know, but deliberately chosen because this moment needs words capable of attracting attention, awakening consciences, and indicating paths forward for humanity.
LAMB: Doing so alongside Chris Olah, a co-founder of Anthropic, the leading A.I. firm, which has been in a legal dispute with the Trump administration.
CHRIS OLAH, CO-FOUNDER, ANTHROPIC: Some might believe that matters of A.I are best handled by computer scientists like myself. They are mistaken. The questions raised by A.I. are bigger than the A.I. research community, not just in their implications, but also in their nature.
LAMB: An ethical and human-centered development of A.I. is a top priority for the American pope, who is known to be tech-savvy.
At the heart of his plea, an insistence that technology cannot replace the, quote, "grandeur of humanity", nor take the place of God or personal conscience. And that A.I. should not be controlled by a powerful few, and warning about its use in war.
Leo wants to influence those responsible for the new tech after a ten- year dialogue between the Vatican and Silicon Valley over A.I.
The Pope sees A.I as raising more than just technical questions. He sees it as asking profound ones about what it means to be human.
Now, in the past, the Catholic Church has made mistakes entering into scientific debate, but Pope Leo believes that faith and science, while asking different questions, shouldn't be in opposition, but help one another.
This encyclical likely to be a landmark text for Leo's papacy, a pope seeking to address a defining issue of the age.
Christopher Lamb, CNN -- Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: A Spanish national has tested positive for hantavirus after two weeks of quarantine in Madrid. The country's health ministry says the person was aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship and had been monitored as a close contact case.
[01:39:46]
MICHAELSON: The individual is now the second Spaniard aboard the cruise ship to test positive, and has been placed under specialized medical supervision.
Officials say it could take up to five to six weeks for hantavirus symptoms to appear, but are insisting that the newly-confirmed case does not alter the current risk for the general public.
The ebola outbreak in Central Africa will likely get worse before it gets better. That is according to the World Health Organization's director general, who is expected to travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday to assess the crisis.
Health officials say the deadly virus has killed at least 220 people, with more than 900 suspected cases reported. Some reports suggest response efforts are being disrupted by regional conflict and violent public disputes over burials for ebola victims.
While the threat of local exposure remains high, the W.H.O. insists the likelihood of a global epidemic remains low.
This comes as Italy's ministry of health says that two people symptomatic recently returned from Uganda, have tested negative from the virus in Milan.
In the U.K., people are searching for ways to stay cool while enduring their first heat wave of the year. On Monday, Britain broke its own record for the hottest day in May, with temperatures well over 30 degrees Celsius, western London reaching nearly 35 degrees, which is over 94 degrees Fahrenheit. And the coming day is expected to be a scorcher.
Western Europe is also suffering through an early heat wave. Most areas in the region are expecting temperatures 10 to 15 degrees Celsius above normal this week. And they're waking up to start a hot day again. You're watching THE STORY IS with me, Elex Michaelson.
For our international viewers, "WORLDSPORT" is next. For our viewers here in North America, I'll be right back to talk about the very American sport of basketball with Jovan Buha. Big night for the New York Knicks.
We leave you now with a live look at the strip in Las Vegas, which could soon be home to the newest NBA team.
[01:41:44]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: THE STORY IS a ticket to the NBA finals for the New York Knickerbockers. They swept the Cleveland Cavaliers with a dominating 130 to 93 win on the road just a few hours ago.
Karl Anthony Towns leading the Knicks with 19 points. Jalen Brunson named the series MVP. The Knicks will face either San Antonio or the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the finals.
The Spurs-Thunder series tied at two games apiece with game five tomorrow night in Oklahoma City.
Joining me here to break down a big week in basketball, NBA reporter Jovan Buha, host of "The Buha's Block" podcast. Also available on YouTube.
How are you doing?
JOVAN BUHA, HOST OF "THE BUHA'S BLOCK" PODCAST: I'm doing well, man. Thanks for having me.
MICHAELSON: What a night. So the Knicks, what a run that they're on right now, right.
BUHA: This is incredible. They've won 11 playoff games in a row. This is one of the most dominant playoff runs we've seen in NBA history. They have nearly a plus-20 net rating, which means they're outscoring opponents by 20 points per 100 possessions.
MICHAELSON: Wow.
BUHA: They have the best offense and the best defense in the NBA right now through the playoffs. Like this is historic stuff we're seeing.
MICHAELSON: So the conventional wisdom all season was that the Western Conference teams were more dominant than the Eastern Conference team. That whoever got out of the East would essentially be up for slaughter in the NBA finals. Does that feel that way anymore?
BUHA: It's starting to feel like the Knicks are a team of destiny. This is their first time being in the finals in 27 years. And again, they're having this historic run.
I still would lean OKC or San Antonio to win the NBA championship, depending on who comes out. But I think New York has a real shot here.
And you know, I think having a bit of rhythm going into that, right, and being on this win streak, maybe the West teams beat each other up and then whoever survives probably a seven-game gauntlet you go in and maybe New York can steal game one on the road. But I think it is going to be a big step up in competition.
If you look at Atlanta, Philly, Cleveland, going from that caliber of opponent to playing OKC or San Antonio in the finals, that is a stark contrast.
MICHAELSON: The last time the Knicks were in the finals 27 years ago, they played the San Antonio Spurs. Very different San Antonio Spurs.
BUHA: It would be poetic, yes.
MICHAELSON: But let's talk about that series. Obviously OKC, the defending champions, the Spurs have Wemby who's like nine feet tall, shooting threes -- unbelievable.
He's seven-foot-five, he's listed at. Might actually be taller.
BUHA: He's taller.
MICHAELSON: How do you break down -- and just hit a half-court shot. How do you break down this series? Where do you see it going?
BUHA: This has been a heavyweight bout. I think this has been one of the most hyped series of the 2020s. Like, clearly the two best teams in the league. Both teams won 62 plus games. And for a lot of people, this has felt like the real NBA finals. This is the big matchup. And then whoever comes out will again win against the East.
But you've seen some real adjustments in game four. San Antonio made a big adjustment against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They were throwing a lot of double teams originally through the first few games. They were down two one.
OKC had kind of figured out their defense. They played him more one on one with Stefan Cassell. Wemby lurking behind him. And you saw they shut down OKC a season low 82 points for OKC, a season low in three- point makes, season low in three-point percentage. So they really limited them.
I think a big factor here has been Jalen Williams and AJ Mitchell, OKC -- two of their top four scorers have been out. And I think that's really affected their offense.
So to me this is a bit of a war of attrition of like last team standing here on the San Antonio side.
You got Dillon Harper, De'Aaron Fox who are playing through injuries. So it might just be like which team can get to the finish line. And the closest to one piece.
MICHAELSON: You have a pick? BUHA: I picked OKC in seven. I'm going to stick with that. But I'm not
feeling great about it right now, especially with AJ Mitchell and J Dub up in the air.
MICHAELSON: I think it's going to be the Spurs. We'll see.
Your main job for the last few years has been covering the Lakers and there's a lot of speculation about Lebron James and where he goes. He's an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his entire career.
You're the guy on the inside. What are you hearing? Is he coming back to the Lakers? Is he going to Cleveland? Is he retiring? What are you hearing?
[01:49:47]
BUHA: I still think the most likely scenario is Lebron ends up returning to the Lakers. They can offer him the most money. They can offer him continuity. His son is on the team. His wife and daughter live in Los Angeles. And I just think it's the cleanest situation of, he plays one to two more years in L.A.
But it can get interesting now. You look at Cleveland just got swept in the Eastern Conference finals. I think they're going to shake things up this offseason, which depending on what they decide to do, they maybe could have some more money to play with, or they could be interested in a potential sign and trade for Lebron.
You're going to have some suitors for him. The issue right now, I think, is financial, where most teams that are going to be interested in Lebron can only offer him either the vet minimum, which is about $3 million, maybe up to four, or the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which is about $15 million.
The Lakers can give him more than that. They could pay him 20, 25, 30. They can actually spend some of their cap space on him. So I think that money talks to some degree with him.
And now he also recently said he might not, on his podcast, "Mind the Game", might not be deciding until August, which that would be, I think, a wrench in everything where at that point he might only have vet minimum contracts remaining for him.
So a lot of moving parts here with Lebron, and it's going to be the first time he actually has to negotiate for a contract. It's always been Lebron just gets the max because he's been a max player. And you can still argue he is.
But right now I don't think the market's there for the max. So it will be a real negotiation.
MICHAELSON: A reminder he made $50 million this year.
BUHA: Yes.
MICHAELSON: And so that would be quite a pay cut to go to 3.
BUHA: Quite a pay cut, yes. Yes.
MICHAELSON: But he has $42 million.
BUHA: I'm skeptical he takes the minimum. But we'll see.
MICHAELSON: Jovan Buha check him out, "Buha's Block". Great stuff.
We'll be back to wrap things up right after this.
[01:51:26]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: Live picture from the White House, where crews have begun building the temporary arena that will host the UFC Freedom 250 fight in June. You can see it right there, an arch right behind the White House. The arena expected to hold around 5,000 spectators who will be invited by the UFC and the White House.
It is believed to be the first professional sporting event ever held at the White House. UFC organizers say they will give away 85,000 tickets for an outdoor viewing experience scheduled for June 14th, coinciding with President Trump's 80th birthday.
Thanks so much for watching THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson. I'll see you tomorrow.
The news continues right here on CNN after a quick break.
[01:56:26]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
