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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Ken Paxton Wins Texas Republican Senate Runoff; Trump to Meet with Cabinet Wednesday Amid Iran Peace Talks; U.S. Men's National Team Reveals Roster; Paxton Expected to Win Texas GOP Primary; Xavier Becerra the Frontrunner in California Gubernatorial Primary; Dead Sea Slowly Dying. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired May 27, 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: Thousand dollars? First of all, what's more shocking, the Knicks back in the finals to you or the cost to see it courtside?
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: I mean, that's pretty crazy. Like, does Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet, are they paying that price or are they being given these tickets for free? Because you look at their whole courtside, it's like all celebrities. So are all of them putting up that money or are they giving that away to these people?
COATES: Well, if they are paying it, I'm not buying any more Kylie lip kits.
Have a great show, Elex.
MICHAELSON: She can afford it. You have a great show. It's going to be fun to watch the finals. But let's get back to the real news.
THE STORY IS starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: THE STORY IS in Texas. Attorney General Ken Paxton dominates Senator John Cornyn in the Republican primary, setting up one of the most high profile Senate matchups in the country. With us, Jeremy Wallace, political reporter for the "Houston Chronicle."
The Latino vote in the heart of that Texas race and the governor race here in California. Our political panel here to break that down. Gustavo Arellano of "The L.A. Times," and former state assemblyman Mike Gatto.
And THE STORY IS the World Cup. Team USA's roster announced today. Maurice Edu, who once played for that team, here live with analysis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: Thanks for watching THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles.
The top story is the Texas elections where CNN can now project that State Attorney General Ken Paxton will win the Republican runoff against incumbent Senator John Cornyn. This was the most expensive Republican Senate primary in U.S. history. Cornyn actually got more votes than Paxton in the primary, but no candidate reached the 50 percent threshold, and then came the runoff. And then came President Trump's endorsement of Paxton just over a week ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEN PAXTON, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE: When everyone in Washington told him to abandon me and abandon the people of Texas, he didn't listen. Instead, he gave his complete and total endorsement.
President Trump is the leader of our party and his endorsement in this most -- is the most powerful force in politics, and I'm honored to have his support, and I look forward to working with him in the Senate to deliver for Texas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Cornyn has served four terms in the U.S. Senate voting with President Trump more than 99 percent of the time, according to his campaign. Yet Trump said he wasn't loyal enough. Cornyn spoke with his supporters in Austin a few hours ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): I've spent most of my time in the Senate building the Republican Party in Texas and in the U.S. Senate, and I've always supported the Republican ticket, and I intend to do so again in this general election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Paxton will face Democratic State Representative James Talarico in the November midterms. Talarico posted this campaign ad shortly after Paxton's runoff win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES TALARICO, U.S. SENATE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE: The most corrupt politician in America just became the Republican nominee for the United States Senate. For 50 years megadonors and their puppet politicians like Ken Paxton have stolen from us, with their bribes, their bailouts, and their billionaire tax breaks.
Ken Paxton has gotten away with it. They've all gotten away with it. But that ends this year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Let's go live to Texas, where Jeremy Wallace is standing by. He's the political writer at the "Houston Chronicle," joining us live from Houston. Jeremy, welcome back to the show.
JEREMY WALLACE, POLITICAL WRITER, THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE: Oh, great to be on. I love being with you.
MICHAELSON: Thank you. So, I mean, this wasn't really even close. Are you surprised at all by the margin, how lopsided a victory it's been Paxton?
WALLACE: A little bit. (INAUDIBLE) was just a guy who, like his time had passed him. And so I don't know if, like, he was ever able to catch up with MAGA voters and say, no, no, I really didn't mean that. You know? It's like I'm now a pure MAGA guy, but, look, Ken Paxton was never going to let the voters forget that. And certainly, clearly, from what you saw from, you know, Donald Trump and Paxton, he didn't forget either.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And one thing we know Donald Trump likes to do is give people nicknames.
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And it was interesting that Paxton has been trying out nicknames about Talarico out there. Talk about what some of those are and what this general election matchup is looking like.
WALLACE: Yes, I think we're going to hear a lot of different nicknames. Look, they're already hitting them pretty hard and trying to make them sound like a vegan, which he may not be. In fact, we've seen him eat meat before, so I'm not sure kind of what's going to happen there, but they're going to throw everything they can at him. Anything that sounds less Texan, right? You know, so, but expect one thing for sure.
This is going to be an incredibly negative race when it comes down to it. You know, Paxton has a lot of baggage that Republicans are going to have to help him get to the finish line to make sure they hold the seat still. And that means they're going to have to go super negative on James Talarico, who's not fully defined yet to a lot of voters. And it's going to be a race now to see if the Republican can define James Talarico as something terrible, something that is anti-Texan, or will James Talarico have the money to make the case that Paxton is just too corrupt for Texas even if you're a Republican?
MICHAELSON: So we know Democrats have not won statewide in Texas since 1994. Talk about the math challenges for the Democrats to get over the top. So much was made of Beto O'Rourke and his chances against Ted Cruz. He ended up a few points short. Where are those extra 2 percent, 3 percent, 4 percent to actually win?
WALLACE: Yes. OK, so here's the thing. A couple of key numbers to remember. Not too many. I don't want to do too much math this late at night.
MICHAELSON: Thank you. WALLACE: But, look, you know, Beto O'Rourke ended up losing to Ted
Cruz by 219,000 votes, right? That's pretty close for Texas. We've added two million voters since that election. So you can see in a lot of those voters have been added to, you know, what I like to call the blue spine, which is the urban areas along Interstate 35, these are urban, diverse areas that have been adding population and voters. So there's no doubt that we've added two million additional voters since that election.
So there's a chance, if the Democrats wanted to find an opening, there is the math there that says you might be able to pull this off, but they have to get a lot of things right. And most importantly, they need a candidate that can be aggressive, like Beto O'Rourke. People forget the lesson about Beto O'Rourke was he was kind of your untraditional politician. He was not restrained. He wasn't careful what he did. He just went on instinct.
And what we've seen in past Senate campaigns that tried to mimic it, we've seen very cautious, paint-by-number type candidates. You know, no offense to Colin Allred, but when he ran for the U.S. Senate, he kind of did that against Ted Cruz. And you saw it didn't produce any of that energy that you really saw with Beto O'Rourke. So, Talarico, the lessons there for him, he's got to be more, you know, aggressive in what he does and less careful and less worried about what all the consultants are telling him to do.
MICHAELSON: Well, and it seems like they're really trying to paint him, frankly, as not very macho, right?
WALLACE: Right.
MICHAELSON: I mean, they literally are calling him low-T Talarico, Tala-freak-o, calling him a vegan, which apparently is the worst thing you could call somebody in Texas. And so will he be a personification of strength or weakness and defining Talarico in the next few weeks will be a really interesting moment as well.
Jeremy, you're going to stick around with us in the next hour. We're also going to get into some of the congressional races that are happening in Texas, which are really interesting and not necessarily the way we thought it would be even a few months ago. So thank you for being with us for a big night for your state. Really appreciate it.
WALLACE: Absolutely. Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Now, though, we want to go overseas to Iran, which is accusing the U.S. of violating their ceasefire as the two sides try to work towards ending the war. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is threatening to retaliate after the U.S. launched what it called, quote, "self-defense strikes" on Iranian missile sites and boats around the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran claimed the U.S. also breached its airspace and that its forces struck down a drone and opened fire on an F-35 jet and another drone. Meanwhile, President Trump set to hold a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday with the war now at a critical juncture. A source tells CNN all Cabinet members are expected to attend.
Let's bring in CNN's Mike Valerio, live for us from Beijing once again.
Good afternoon to you, Mike. What is the latest in terms of negotiations?
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Elex, we want to get to some news that's happening out of Beijing and New York first that plays into negotiations.
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China's chief diplomat, Wang Yi, is chairing high level U.N. security meetings in New York. And he's saying that essentially there are still glimmers of hope. All sides, he told reporters a short time ago, are still talking to one another. So the theme of this live shot and our reporting is really what is happening to the ceasefire as it is tested by these U.S. strikes and threats of Iranian retaliation.
So Wang Yi, again, China's chief diplomat, saying that every step forward in the negotiations brings a glimmer of hope and that all countries, be it Iran, China, Pakistan, involved in the mediation are still talking to each other. So that is certainly a good sign. Pakistan's chief of the army, Field Marshal Asim Munir, was in this town in Beijing on Monday to continue the negotiations.
So where we stand, I think that we have four main buckets in terms of where we are. Noon on Wednesday in this part of the world, beginning with the Iranian warning and the Iranian saying that they have the right. They have the right to retaliate and test this ceasefire if there are more American strikes. So we're watching to see what if any signs of Iranian retaliation potentially materialize over the next few hours.
So far, nothing. So certainly good news and more details we're looking for on why the U.S. fired in the first place. They said that warships came under attack. The Trump Cabinet meeting, we're going to wait to see during the daylight hours of D.C. on Wednesday if there's any movement. You and I talked about this yesterday in the memorandum of understanding.
Of course, it's come under huge criticism from very conservative members of Trump's tent on Capitol Hill, with so many of them on X and other social media platforms worrying that it could be another iteration of the Obama administration Iran deal. So now that the Iranians have left Qatar, they've left Doha, we're going to wait to see if what they have told the Qataris make its way to the Cabinet table, the Cabinet meeting and if the president's position shifts at all.
The Strait of Hormuz, 25 ships Iran says have passed through the Strait of Hormuz with permission from its navy. So not quite a tolling system, which nobody except Iran seems to want. But it's been very hard for us at CNN to confirm that independently because of GPS jamming and interference. We're going to wait to see if 25 more ships, or if that number increases as we go through the week.
And then finally, internet connectivity. My favorite quote from somebody bravely interviewed, bravely, you know, agreeing to be interviewed by CNN, is calling this filter net. Filtered internet. Not all internet connectivity restored in Iran after the president of Iran ordered that yesterday. But certain elements, we're starting to see posts on Instagram of people reclaiming their time and beginning to put their points of view on Instagram and Iranian social media.
So we're waiting to see if more internet connectivity is restored in the hours ahead as it's now sunrise in Tehran -- Elex.
MICHAELSON: Yes. It's interesting. The content that says nice things about the regime seems to be uploaded a lot faster than the content that doesn't.
VALERIO: Yes.
MICHAELSON: And, you know, a thing or two about that. All right, Mike Valerio live for us in China. Thank you so much.
Nearly two million Muslim pilgrims gathering on Mount Arafat near Mecca on Tuesday to mark the annual Hajj pilgrimage's most important day.
Let's take a live picture from the observance, which is happening right now in Saudi Arabia, which comes against the backdrop of the Iran war and the ongoing uncertainty in the region. The day at Arafat is seen as the spiritual peak of Hajj. 7:13 in the morning there right now.
The Israeli military is ramping up its campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying it struck more than 100 targets of the militant group overnight. Lebanon's Health Ministry says Israeli airstrikes killed at least 31 people, wounded 40 others on Tuesday, in one of the deadliest days since the ceasefire began last month. Meanwhile, an Israeli military official says IDF soldiers have expanded ground operations beyond the, quote, "yellow line," a self-declared military security zone in southern Lebanon.
Belgian police say it's too early to say whether a school bus driver intentionally drove through a closed railway barrier before being hit by a train on Tuesday morning. Officials say the driver, an attendant and two students were killed. Five other children were seriously injured and are hospitalized. Authorities say the driver tested negative for drugs and alcohol and had no prior convictions.
The rail operator says footage shows that the barriers were down and the traffic lights were red when the accident happened. An investigation now underway.
At least one person has died after a large chemical vat ruptured and imploded at a paper and packaging facility in Washington state. That vat contained a mixture known as white liquor that's used in the papermaking process, contains hazardous materials.
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Officials say at least nine people were injured, including a firefighter. Nine people still unaccounted for. Rescue teams working to stabilize the tank before they continue recovery efforts. The tank may still contain roughly 90,000 gallons of that white liquor, but officials say there is no immediate threat to the public.
This is good news here in Southern California. Officials have just lifted all evacuation orders related to the overheating chemical tank at an aerospace facility in Orange County. The Orange County Fire Authority posted on social media that there is, quote, "no chemical leak, no threat of explosion, no threat of fire and no risk to the public." At its peak, 50,000 people were told to leave their homes after a tank containing a highly flammable chemical began overheating on Thursday.
Teams were able to bring the tank's temperature back down with cooling water, a crack relieve the pressure. Now that the threat of catastrophic explosion is gone, officials say it is safe to go back home. But hazardous materials teams still monitoring out of what's being called an abundance of caution.
THE STORY IS the blistering heat wave that's been smashing temperature records across much of Western Europe. Some of those highs at times reaching 10 to 15 degrees Celsius above normal this week. The U.K. could get some relief in the coming hours, but there is no cooldown in the forecast for parts of France and Spain. Temperatures from England to France have reached the mid-30s Celsius. That's about 90s Fahrenheit. We're still weeks away from the official start of summer in the northern hemisphere.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's quite intense. It feels a little early for it to be this hot, but it feels so different. I'm from the states originally. It feels really different even this temperature in New York versus in London. It feels much hotter here, even when the temperature is the same.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it's quite unbearable. I've had to install AC in my bedroom. Other than that, just staying hydrated, trying to stay in the shade as much as possible. I'm trying to do as little movement as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Fourteen Italian cities are under an Amber heat health alert. In France, a government spokesperson says there have been seven deaths linked to the record-breaking heat there. The heat wave is caused by a powerful heat dome, which is a high pressure system that traps hot air.
President Trump's health back in the spotlight after his latest physical exam at Walter Reed. What he had to say after his three-hour medical visit. Plus, the U.S. Men's National Team announces its roster for the upcoming World Cup. We'll talk about who made the cut with a former member of that team. The big surprises, the snubs, and what's next, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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MICHAELSON: The U.S. Men's National Team has its roster ready to go ahead of the fast approaching FIFA World Cup. Half of this year's team is made up of returning players from the 2022 tournament. The 26- player squad was unveiled in front of a cheering crowd near New York's iconic Brooklyn Bridge. During the event, the team said support from fans is critical.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAURICIO POCHETTINO, HEAD COACH, U.S. MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: And what I can tell to the fans, believe in that team and be with us and translate the energy that we need, because I think to create that energy between the team and the fans is going to help us to earn what we want.
CHRISTIAN PULISIC, U.S. MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM PLAYER: I'm trying to take it all in and enjoy the moment as best I can. It's another World Cup. There's no need for extra motivation, but having my friends, my family around, and just being on home soil, it makes it just that much more special.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The newly finalized roster must now be submitted to FIFA for approval before June 1st in order to be officially recognized. Team USA's opening match against Paraguay is set for June 12th right here in Southern California.
With me here in Southern California tonight is Major League Soccer and World Cup analyst Maurice Edu, who is also a former player on the U.S. Men's National Team.
You'll be broadcasting the World Cup for FOX Sports coming up in just a few weeks now.
Welcome to THE STORY IS.
MAURICE EDU, MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER AND WORLD CUP ANALYST: Appreciate you having me, man. Hearing you say that out loud, it just kind of hits home that we are here. The World Cup is here.
MICHAELSON: Yes. I know. We've been talking about it for so many years. So you are one of the very few people on Earth who knows what it feels like to have your name called to make a World Cup, to represent the United States. What does it feel like? What's going through these guys' minds today when you get that call and you make the team?
EDU: Honestly, it's a rush of emotions. But the one that I experienced first was relief because there's like so much anxiety. You're nervous, you're anxious, you're excited because you feel like you've done everything to that point to get to that stage. All the sacrifices, all the qualifying games, you know, time away from family, it all sets you up for that moment. So there's relief, but then there's excitement. And there's pride. You're looking alongside you, the other guys that have been chosen to represent their country and play for something so much bigger than themselves, you're just -- you're excited for the journey ahead of you.
MICHAELSON: So some guys were obvious, like we knew that Christian Pulisic would be a part of the team, was one of the biggest name guy. But there was a big snub. Diego Luna, who's literally a part of ad campaigns for the World Cup, didn't make the team. What happened?
EDU: It's -- listen, we always -- I feel like this always happens. Every World Cup cycle there is a surprise. There's a snub. I remember in 2014 I got cut from the team. I thought I was a snub, but Landon Donovan was cut from that team. He was the actual big snub. And listen, the manager made a decision.
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Diego Luna had done everything to that point. He was a big part of this team the last year and a half going into the cycle. The manager chose to go a different direction and brought in a guy like Gio Reyna, who wasn't playing as much with his club team. But maybe he leans on the fact that Reyna has been to a World Cup already. He's been a big part of the national team in big games and come up with big performances.
So at this point you got to just focus on what the group is going forward, cheer them on, give them that support they need, and hopefully they go out there and do something special this summer.
MICHAELSON: Yes, people didn't necessarily expect that Reyna would be a part of the team, but now he is. So how do you define success for this United States team?
EDU: Well, the thing about it, Elex, is our U.S. Men's National Team has only ever won one knockout round game in the World Cup, which is kind of surprising when you say it out loud. And now that the field has been expanded to 48 teams, to get to a quarterfinal, which is what I deem as success, that means they have to go one step further and win two knockout round games.
So to me, that's where the bar is. This is a generation of players that has so much talent, so much expectation, so much pressure, but also so much responsibility playing in a home World Cup. So I look at this group and I believe they'll reach the demands and they'll meet the expectations that we've put on them, which in my mind is get to a quarterfinal. And at that point, the country is going to be galvanized and I think they can win a quarterfinal match.
MICHAELSON: Yes. At that point, they would have gone further than any other team. And by the way, shout out to the women because --
EDU: Oh, my god. That's why I made it clear the men's -- MICHAELSON: Quarterfinal is nothing when it comes to their dominance
over the years. So we've got a situation now where they are going to be back on American soil for the first time since 1994. We were pretty young back then. A lot of people watching weren't even born back then, including a lot of these players.
EDU: Yes.
MICHAELSON: What does that mean, that the home field, not only for the United States, but also for Canada and for Mexico as well?
EDU: It's everything. When you play in a World Cup, first of all, it's the greatest stage that you can ever reach in this sport. But then to have the opportunity to play at home, we've seen so many examples of home nations going the furthest they've ever been in a tournament when they had that home support. The example I always use is South Korea in 2002. They got to a semifinal, right?
No one expected that. So why can't the same be true for us? We have a talented group of players. We have a manager that's accomplished so much at the club level. And so the stage is set. That support is going to go a long way for us, for Mexico and for Canada as well.
MICHAELSON: And something to think about, you've also said is the travel for some of these other teams.
EDU: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Maybe think about the climate in different parts of the world, too, as people come here.
EDU: We've seen it all the time. Whenever teams come here, we saw it last summer, the club World Cup. These European teams came here and they struggled in the heat. So dare I say, teams that are more in this region on a more consistent basis, or teams like Ecuador, Colombia, South American nations, maybe an African nation makes a deep run because they're more suited to dealing with the climate and the travel.
MICHAELSON: Yes, a place like Dallas or someplace like that. If you're playing, there can be really, really hot in the middle of the summer.
Talk to us about, for you, what it's like to be broadcasting this, to have this stage, what that feels like, what your expectations are.
EDU: You know what? I never expected or imagined that I'd be in this position. I was fortunate to play in a World Cup in 2010. And I remember you just mentioned 1994. I remember vividly all the scenes that surrounded this tournament when it was here in this country. And here we are decades later, we're at a much better place in terms of logistics in this country. The sport has grown in this country.
So now to be a part of it on the broadcasting side, I was there in Qatar, but here in our home nation, I'm excited to take in all the scenes, call games, be at the stadium, be able to take my kids to games and let them experience it as well. It's just a moment that's going to really fulfill everything that I've looked and sought to do in this sport.
MICHAELSON: And lastly, just in terms of this moment for soccer in this country, because as we know, the other football.
(LAUGHTER)
EDU: The other.
MICHAELSON: The other football is so dominant and soccer professionally has not quite been there with the basketball and with baseball. What does this do you think do for soccer?
EDU: This just to me, honestly, it's my hope is that you're going to have your casual fans who are going to become passionate fans, die- hard fans. They're going to see this sport at the highest level. They're going to see the passion from a global standpoint of how other cultures and countries celebrate this sport.
And then the other part is my hope, my expectation, what I'm speaking into existence is that our national team is going to make a deep run in this tournament, and that's going to galvanize this group. It's going to -- the spinoff effect of that is future generations are going to be inspired. We're going to see more investment in this game at all levels, in MLS, NWSL, youth level, and we're going to have another boom like we had after 1994.
MICHAELSON: As we know, it is the number one sport in the world, the biggest tournament in the world, the biggest stage there is, and you're going to be on there broadcasting. Good luck to you. Can't wait to watch you and really excited to see Team USA start their run June 12th right here in Southern California.
Maurice, thank you.
[00:30:07]
Now to another sport, the NBA play-offs, where the defending champion, Oklahoma City Thunder, have taken a three-game to two-game lead over the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference finals.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropping 32 points in game five. Stephon -- Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 24. Final score: 127 Thunder, Spurs 114.
The winner in the West will face Jalen Brunson, Karl Anthony Towns' the New York Knicks, who swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals.
Big story tonight. CNN projects Ken Paxton will win the Texas Republican Senate runoff. Our political panel here live next to break down the numbers and look ahead to the November election, with a special emphasis on how the Latino vote could be so pivotal in Texas.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:35:31] MICHAELSON: Welcome back to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at today's top stories.
CNN projects Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will win the Republican runoff for U.S. Senate and face Democrat James Talarico in the November midterms.
Paxton, who got a late endorsement from President Trump, will replace incumbent Senator John Cornyn on the Republican ticket.
The Republican Senate primary in Texas was the most expensive in U.S. history.
President Trump set to meet with his entire cabinet at the White House on Wednesday. The top-level meeting comes at a critical time for the war with Iran.
It was originally due to be held at Camp David, but the president said he was relocating it because of possible bad weather.
NASA announced new details about its upcoming plans to build a permanent base on the Moon. The agency on Tuesday awarded contracts for rovers astronauts will drive on the lunar surface, as well as cargo landers.
NASA also shared that the first three missions to begin building operations on the Moon will start later this year.
By the way, we will have with us Garrett Reisman, former NASA astronaut, live in our next hour to break down those missions to the Moon. He's amazing.
President Trump is reporting another clean bill of health after his latest physical exam at Walter Reed National Military -- National Military Medical Center.
He posted on Truth Social that everything checked out perfectly. He thanked the center's staff.
This is Trump's third physical since January of last year, when he became the oldest U.S. president ever inaugurated. Comes just a few weeks before his 80th birthday.
The White House physician is expected to release a report of the exam in the next day or two. We clearly didn't get very many specifics from the president's report.
Back to our top story. President Trump's revenge tour, in a way, claims another victim, this time in Texas, where CNN projects that Ken Paxton will win the runoff against incumbent John Cornyn for the U.S. Senate Republican nomination.
President Trump's late endorsement proved key to Paxton's win. The Republican infighting also led to the most expensive Senate primary in history. Paxton had this message after his victory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEN PAXTON (R), TEXAS SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: I want to thank every single Texans [SIC], and I want to let them know that I want to earn your support.
Tonight is not the end of a campaign. Tonight is the beginning of the fight to preserve every value we hold dear. The future of Texas and the future of America is on the line, and I intend to do everything I can to expand our movement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Let's bring in our political panel tonight: Gustavo Arellano, a columnist with "The L.A. Times." And Mike Gatto is a former California state assemblyman, Democrat.
Welcome back to THE STORY IS, you.
Assemblyman, welcome for the first time.
MIKE GATTO, FORMER CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLYMAN: It's great to be here.
MICHAELSON: Great to have you here. So, let's start with you, Since you're a first-timer. your big takeaway from this race?
GATTO: The Trump brand will continue to dominate the GOP for years to come.
My prediction is that whoever gets the presidential nomination in two years will nominate a Trump as vice president, one of the kids.
And a lot of times we, as Democrats, like to think that this is a good thing. But I think it's a bad thing for the party.
The more that Trump is on the ballot, the more that we have this toxicity -- let's face it -- in this country, the more that we tolerate worse candidates on the Democratic side.
MICHAELSON: What do you make of this race tonight?
GUSTAVO ARELLANO, COLUMNIST, "THE L.A. TIMES": He is really -- "he" being Trump -- just elevating anyone that spreads any fealty about him and is just as -- as you said, revenge against anyone who even -- I don't even know that Senator John Cornyn was against Trump. I thought he was a total Trumper. And now we're being told --
MICHAELSON: Well, he voted with him over 99 percent of the time.
GATTO: That's not good enough. Right?
MICHAELSON: It's hard to get. But he had made some comments about him in 2023, where he suggested that maybe it's time to move on from Trump.
This was part of the time when Trump had sort of gone down. There were other Republicans running for the nomination. He did not express total support for Trump, and that would apparently give it --
ARELLANO: You must get it: what more does Trump want? He wants one- million-percent fealty. And that's dangerous.
Like democracy, last I heard, is supposed to be about polite disagreements, not just the crushing of your opponents' if -- or your own supporters, if they do not like you completely.
GATTO: And let's be clear: we've had presidents in the past who have had that type of popularity within their party. Barack Obama is one example.
But never one willing to weigh in on party primaries like that. I mean, meddling in the Senate, which is another branch of government, is unheard of for presidents past.
MICHAELSON: Let's talk about the Latino vote in Texas. You have been the chronicler of the Latino vote as much as anybody in this part of the world for a long time.
[00:40:04]
We saw a big shift of Latinos towards Trump in 2020, a lot of that, because they were frustrated by what was happening at the border.
Now, it seems like we're starting to see, based off of polls, a shift back towards the Democrats.
ARELLANO: That's the interesting thing with the gerrymandering that happened in Texas, is that a lot of it was being done with the idea that there was going to be more Latinos sticking to that GOP sensibility for years to come. But then, Trump got in the way.
And Latinos are not just a one-issue voter on the border, whether one or the other. The economy is absolute crap, especially for Latinos.
When we talk about the working class, increasingly, especially in the American West, we're talking about Latinos. Gas prices hits Latinos with our Ford F-150 trucks or all of that. Those blue-collar jobs. And so, Texan voters are getting tired of that.
Even right now, you saw who was supporting Paxton. I saw maybe three kind of Latino faces in a sea of about 30. Like, that does not bode well for Paxton if he wants to win.
We'll see what James Talarico has to say, though.
MICHAELSON: And if Talarico is going to win this thing, it's going to be because of Latino voters.
GATTO: Yes, I think so. I think it's safe to say, though, that -- that the Latino vote is very diverse in this country. Latinos are very diverse.
And for generations, at least as long as I've been in politics, people have been talking about this shift that was going to occur from, you know, Latinos, Catholics to the GOP.
We started to see it, as you noted, Elex, a couple of years ago. But I think that wave might have crashed and is starting to recede.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And meanwhile, here in California, we have the chance to elect the first Latino governor in modern history. There were -- a Latino governor, like, a century ago.
ARELLANO: Romualdo Pacheco. Say his name.
MICHAELSON: A long time ago. And that's Xavier Becerra, who polls show right now is probably the frontrunner.
But there's been a lot of attention at him, and a lot of his opponents have been pointing to a clip from our show from last week. He was on with us when I asked him sort of what changes he would put, because a lot of people say he's the candidate of the status quo. Here's what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: What changes, from a policy perspective? What's different with you than what we've seen over the last four years with Governor Newsom?
XAVIER BECERRA (D), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: We'll get things done. I think --
MICHAELSON: You're suggesting he hasn't?
BECERRA: No, he's done quite a few things. But we'll get more things done, and we'll get them done a lot faster. Because the crisis is -- is upon us. And it takes someone who's actually had to deal with crises to know how to get us out of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So, it was about a two-and-a-half-minute clip. He did not name a specific policy.
So, Tom Steyer, who he's running against, shared that out. Matt Mahan, who he's running against, shared that out. Steve Hilton put out an entire video of him watching our interview, going point by point, criticizing what Becerra.
And yet, Becerra still seems to be in the lead.
ARELLANO: He is the Chicano Stuart Smalley. He's good enough. He's smart enough. And doggone it, people like him. That's literally what I'm -- It's a joke, kind of.
But that's literally why people like him. They want some norm core feel-maxing Chicano as their president.
They do not want --
MICHAELSON: For governor.
ARELLANO: For president. Yes, exactly. Eventually for president. One glorious day, right?
No, they want him as governor. They do not want Antonio Villaraigosa saying, hey, he's yesterday's news, even though Becerra is part of that.
MICHAELSON: Former L.A. mayor, who's running for governor, as well.
ARELLANO: You know, they do not -- they think Tom Steyer, at least the older generation, thinks Tom Steyer is too radical.
The younger generation, though, loves them. They don't have a problem with a billionaire running as governor, because they see all of his progressive policies.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And it's interesting in terms of Steyer. He voted today -- because we have early voting for a month -- in San Francisco. And here's some of what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM STEYER (D), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: There's been a lot of change in this race. And, you know, I think people are going to decide late. And that's -- I think that's sensible, because it's been so confusing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So, he is a billionaire. He spent over $200 million on this race, a record for a primary. Of course, a lot of people know him nationally, because he ran for president. What do you make of his chances?
GATTO: I mean, I still think there's a chance that a lot of Democratic voters who are undecided brake for Steyer, maybe a 20 percent chance.
But I think the more likely scenario is that he's lit that 200 million on fire.
I'll tell you what's really fascinating is there's a former colleague of mine in the legislature who has endorsed five candidates in this race. That's how topsy-turvy this race has been.
I mean, she literally has gone through the field, and -- and she ended up with Tom Steyer. So, perhaps that's a kiss of death.
MICHAELSON: Oh, my god. Kiss of death.
ARELLANO: Uh-oh.
GATTO: Yes, but -- but I'll tell you one thing that people underestimate.
You know, people often talk about machines in the context of ethnic politics. They ignore one very, very big, powerful machine in California. And that's the Gavin Newsom machine.
And those folks are squarely behind Xavier Becerra now. And, you know, it's not coincidental that he has ascended so fast.
MICHAELSON: And he was not their first choice.
GATTO: Correct.
MICHAELSON: You know, they wanted Alex Padilla to run, which was clear.
GATTO: Right.
MICHAELSON: The senator. He did not.
ARELLANO: Right.
MICHAELSON: And then there were some questions about where they would go instead. And they sort of have landed on him.
[00:45:03]
And Matt Mahan, who's running -- the mayor of -- mayor of San Jose, who has been against Newsom a lot, because of that, they're not for him.
ARELLANO: And you see why Newsom is going for Becerra when you have Becerra saying, Oh, I'm just going to continue more of the same. Newsom did OK, couldn't necessarily criticize him.
They picked well, if they want to continue this Newsom machine.
GATTO: They do not want a critic while he's running for president.
MICHAELSON: All right. Mike, Gustavo, great to see both of you. Thanks so much for coming in.
We'll be back with more of THE STORY IS right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [00:50:14]
MICHAELSON: It is coming up on noon in Laos, where a desperate attempt to rescue seven people from a cave is ongoing, one week after they became trapped.
Cave divers are squeezing through narrow, flooded corridors to try to reach them.
The seven villagers had gone searching for gold, but reportedly, were stranded after heavy rain triggered flash flooding and blocked their exit.
One rescuer says it's possible that those stranded are sheltering in a dry section.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKKO PAASI, INSTRUCTOR TRAINER, TECH DIVE ASIA: And the visibility is zero, so the -- making ground is very slow process. And we need to think about our safety, as well.
So, we are 30 meters away from that chamber and hoping that soon, we will read and find out if they are alive or if they've been dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Rescuers have expressed hope that the people will be found alive.
In the lowest place on earth, the Dead Sea is dying. The lake's water level has plummeted in recent years, leading to what one resident calls an ecological disaster.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports from the Dead Sea.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jake Ben Zaken is one of the only people licensed to operate a boat on the Dead Sea. And for the last 12 years, that's what he's done.
DIAMOND: So, you know it well.
JAKE BEN ZAKEN, FOUNDER, SALTY LANDSCAPES: Yes, I got to see all the faces.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Giving him an unparalleled view of one of Earth's natural wonders and the fast-moving environmental disaster threatening its existence.
BEN ZAKEN: So, every year we get about new 7.5 meters of new shoreline, because the sea is dropping.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The Dead Sea is dying. Its surface area has shrunk by about one-third in the last 50 years, and its salt-encrusted shores now stand as a testament to the rapid pace of change.
BEN ZAKEN: This is last year, two years ago. Every step, it's a year.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Each step shows how much the sea level has dropped from one year to the next, at a rate of about four feet per year, like nothing else in the world.
Dr. Yael Cairo has been studying the Dead Sea for over a decade.
DIAMOND: There's no other place on Earth like the Dead Sea.
DR. YAEL KIRO, GEOCHEMIST, WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE: No, no.
DIAMOND (voice-over): To understand why it is shrinking and what can be done about it. KIRO: The main reason is because of the utilization of the water
resources around the Dead Sea. This contributes around 60 percent of the drop.
And then there is the Dead Sea factories, both the Jordanian and the Israelis, that pump directly the brine and evaporate it, in order to extract minerals. And they contribute about 40 percent for -- from -- for the lake level drops.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Israel's Dead Sea Works and Jordans Arab Potash Company pump tens of billions of gallons of water out of the Dead Sea each year, evaporating much of that water to extract potash and magnesium, key fertilizer ingredients.
Some who want to save the Dead Sea have proposed building a pipeline and pumping water in from the Red Sea. Others advocate for replenishing the Jordan River, allowing the water to flow naturally into the Dead Sea.
But while ideas abound, government action is still missing. The impact isn't just environmental; it's also financial. This graveyard of palm trees and graffitied buildings was once a thriving beach resort. The road leading to it explains why it's been abandoned.
DIAMOND: Tourists used to take this road all the time to get to the Dead Sea, but now sinkholes like this one line its path, and the whole area has been abandoned.
And the concern is that more sinkholes will continue to happen as the Dead Sea drops, and tourism will be severely impacted.
DIAMOND (voice-over): These sinkholes are caused by an underground layer of salt that is now dissolving.
DIAMOND: This sinkhole is a direct result of the Dead Sea water levels dropping.
KIRO: Yes, since the lake level started to drop, this salt layer, instead of being exposed to the Dead Sea brine, it is exposed to more fresh water. And then, eventually, you get a collapse.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Aboard his boat, Ben Zaken says he sees new evidence of the Dead Sea's manmade decay every day and the uncertainty it spells for its future and his own.
DIAMOND: What do you call all of this? I mean, what we're witnessing, the way in which it's sinking. How do you qualify all of it?
BEN ZAKEN: You can say an ecological disaster. You know, because it is. And it's also a demographical disaster, because it is. And it's also one of the wonders of the world, because it is. You know, I qualify it as home.
[00:55:02]
DIAMOND (voice-over): Jeremy Diamond, CNN, the Dead Sea. (END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Thanks to Jeremy and his talented team of photojournalists for that extraordinary story.
Still ahead, more details on NASA's bold new plans for a permanent base on the Moon. Former NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman will be here live in studio to explain how all that's going to work.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: Check out this video shared by Health Secretary RFK Jr. He appears --
