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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
U.S. And Iran Reach Tentative Deal For 60-day Truce Extension; Russian Drone Crashes Into Apartment Building In Romania; Blue Origin Rocket Explodes On Launchpad During Ground Test; Governor's Race Heats Up Ahead Of Tuesday Primary; Suspect In Three Puna Murders Caught; Rescue Divers In Laos Works To Extract 5 Men From Flooded Cave; Rescue Divers in Laos Working to Extract Five Men from Flooded Cave; Heat Wave in Western Europe But Cool-Down Expected Soon; Actors Named "Chris" Outnumber Women over 60 in Lead Roles; Movies to Watch or Skip; Shrey Parikh Wins Scripps National Spelling Bee. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired May 29, 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: Models and robots strutted down the Runway together at a fashion show in Seoul. The event on Thursday was billed as, quote, Physical AI Fashion Show, machines and humans, more coordinated outfits and dance to synchronize choreography. The organizer said the show aimed to present robots not as replacements for humans, but as companions capable of sharing emotion. That's very "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
Thanks for watching the first hour of The Story Is. The next hour starts right now.
The story is a tentative agreement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JD VANCE, U.S VICE PRESIDENT: There are a couple of issues on the nuclear stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The U.S. and Iran could have a deal on the table. Now it's just missing President Trump's sign off.
The story is the race for California governor, Republican candidate Steve Hilton live on set to talk about his campaign as we approach Election Day Tuesday.
The story is rocket blast Cape Canaveral skies turn orange after a Blue Origin rocket explodes a takeoff.
And the story is what to see or skip. Film critic Grae Drake joins me live. Talk about this week's new movies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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.
Tonight, the top story is a potential breakthrough in the Iran peace talks. Pakistan, a key mediator between the U.S. and Iran, says that its foreign minister will meet with the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Friday. This comes as we're learning that the US has reached a tentative agreement with Iran.
U.S. officials say the potential deal would include reopening the Strait of Hormuz, lifting the U.S. blockade on Iran's ports. It would also set off 60 more days of negotiations to address Iran's nuclear program.
They will also use that time to figure out what to do with Tehran's enriched uranium. Then there's the outstanding issue of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets and sanctions imposed by the U.S. and Europe. The Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, says it's hard to say whether President Trump will ultimately sign off on this deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: We're going back and forth on a couple of language points. I do think that we've made a lot of progress here. It's very clear that I think the Iranians, they want to deal and they want to open the streets of Hormuz. We want them to open the streets of Hormuz.
There are a couple of issues on the nuclear stuff, the highly enriched stockpile and also the question of enrichment. So, you know, we're going back and forth with them. We do think they're negotiating, at least so far in good faith that we're making some progress. Hopefully we'll continue to make progress. The President will be in a position where he can endorse the agreement, but obviously that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: For more, I want to bring in Alon Pinkas, the former Israeli Consul General of New York. Thanks so much for being with us. We hear about this. No nuclear terms on the table yet. Do you think that's what's holding President Trump back?
ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAEL CONSUL GENERAL TO NEW YORK: I mean, I'd like to think that he wants guarantees, parenthetically, that he wouldn't get from the Iranians to relinquish their stockpile of roughly 440 kilos, which is 907 pounds -- 970, I'm sorry, pounds ahead of the 60-day period that you just reported, Elex.
I don't know. Look, you know, trying to figure out Trump's decision making is just an impossibility. He's just not amenable to any kind of presidential analysis. You know, like previous presidents, he is hectic, he contradicts himself. He says, one day, without the enriched uranium, this is 60 percent enriched uranium, which is considerably dangerous.
Without this, there won't be a deal. The next day, he says, I don't care about it. It's buried deep under the ground in Isfahan. You don't know what motivates him. Now, all of a sudden, it's just about opening the Strait of Hormuz. There are, as you mentioned, or as your reporter mentioned, the, the outstanding issue of $25 billion worth of frozen Iranian assets.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
PINKAS: So on the one hand, I could see this agreement, but it's nothing more than an extension of the ceasefire.
MICHAELSON: Of course, Trump's supporters would say some of that unpredictability is an asset and keeps people off their games when he's negotiating with them. But let's talk about Israel's role in all of this. We know that the U.S. and Israel started this war together, carrying out the attacks together. Are they on the same page right now? And do you think that Netanyahu could get behind this deal?
[01:05:08]
PINKAS: No, he will not get behind this deal. But unlike 2015, when he went and lashed at President Obama in a speech to Congress behind Obama's back over his head, choose your expression here. There is very little he could do. He's got no wiggle room, he's got no latitude.
Now, they are not on the same page. Going back to your question, Elex, they are not on the same page and they are not on the same page because the war, when you look at what it set out to achieve the war is a total failure. Sad to say, I'm not gloating or anything. I'm Israeli.
I've been under all these missile fires and sirens and everything. The regime has not been toppled. There has not been a popular uprising. The nuclear, well, the enriched uranium is unaccounted for. The nuclear program has not been destroyed. Iran's missile capability. As reports coming out from the Pentagon in the last two weeks, Iran either retained or rebuilt its missile production and launching capabilities. So in that respect, the war is a failure.
Add on one more element, which is where Israel and the U.S. diverge. Israel, well, Mr. Netanyahu, to be exact, more or less promised Trump, promised President Trump that the Iranians not only will the regime collapse, but the Iranians would never dare attack the Arab Gulf states, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and others. They did.
And then in a famous meeting in February 11 in the White House, Mr. Netanyahu was asked if there is apparently reportedly was asked if the Iranians could ever try and shut the Strait of Hormuz. He said absolutely not. I can't tell you for certain. But he said, but it is not likely.
The moment that happened, the U.S. and Israel diverged. Now, Trump cannot blame Netanyahu because that would be an admission that he was either duped or dragged into a war, that it was unwinnable or had no deliverables. So he just went his own way because Israel and it's been reported widely and Israel has been sidelined from these negotiations. MICHAELSON: Yeah.
PINKAS: And so Israel will not agreement because effectively it looks a lot either like a non-agreement, meaning the status quo, meaning that this solidifies what I said, that the war has failed to achieve any of its objectives. And worse, it looks a lot like the 2015 Iran deal, the so called JCPOA.
MICHAELSON: So real quickly, because we're out of time. If the U.S. signs this agreement, does Israel continue military conflict against Iran then?
PINKAS: No. Against Iran for sure not. The big question, Elex, is whether Israel continues on escalating the war in Lebanon --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
PINKAS: -- which when the ceasefire began, when the ceasefire began, Trump said that Lebanon is part of the deal and therefore Israel, he said, quote, unquote, enough is enough. OK, so for three days, enough is enough. But no Israel, back to your core question, Israel cannot and will not do anything with Iran if there is an agreement.
MICHAELSON: Alon Pinkas, thank you for your analysis and for waking up early for us in Tel Aviv. Thanks so much.
Just into CNN, two people are wounded after a drone struck an apartment building in Romania during a Russian attack on a nearby port in Ukraine.
Romania's Defense Ministry says it happened during Russian strikes overnight. The Ukrainian port about 65 kilometers away from the Romanian town. CNN affiliate in Romania says the drone hit the apartment building's roof. Russian drones and missiles have repeatedly breached the airspace of NATO members in Europe, including Romania. The country has seen at least 28 such incidents, including one that forced it to scramble fighter jets.
Now to a shocking sight at Cape Canaveral. This video is really wild. A Blue Origin rocket blew up on a launch pad a few hours ago during a ground test known as Hot Fire. Look at this.
The massive fireball turned the skies orange. The good news, especially when you look at that, everybody's OK, no casualties at all. Everybody was away from that. But the New Glenn rocket that was supposed to be part of lunar missions, clearly not going anywhere.
Blue Origin calling all this an anomaly, which is space speak for an explosion or a mishap. The founder of Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos, wrote on X, quote, it's too early to know the root cause, but we're already working to find it. Very rough day, but we'll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying.
[01:10:10]
Last hour I spoke live with Space Futures Professor aurie Leshin, who used to run NASA's JPL. She told me that this is the largest explosion she can recall at that facility ever. And she explained what it means to for future missions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURIE LESHIN, PROFESSOR OF SPACE FUTURES, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY: This is going to be a setback for sure for Blue Origin's plans and for NASA's plans potentially, because Blue Origin is a key partner in the next set of Artemis missions, which are ultimately designed to get our crew down to the surface of the moon.
But the next mission, Artemis 3, was supposed to be the Orion capsule, which of course we all saw during Artemis 2 taking the astronauts around the moon. Another Orion capsule was supposed to dock with the landers that would ultimately take them down to the surface in Earth orbit. And Blue Origin had one of those landers.
So it's going to be tough because that mission is supposed to happen next year and it's hard to see how they're going to be ready to launch and operate their lander in Earth orbit on that kind of time frame.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The U.S. treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says it is a new day at the Federal Reserve following his first meeting with the new Fed chair, Kevin Warsh. The two had breakfast on Thursday. Bessent says he believes Warsh will do the right thing to balance inflation and growth. Warsh is closing out his first week at the helm of America's central bank following his swearing in last Friday.
He's widely viewed as being aligned with President Trump, who has aggressively demanded rate cuts. Warsh faces an early test with inflation rising due to the war with Iran, making interest rate cuts harder to justify. The Treasury secretary declined to answer questions on The Trump administration's $1.8 billion quote, unquote web anti weapon fund. He cited ongoing litigation as he referred additional questions to the Department of Justice. Critics have alleged that the legality of the fund worried about the legality of the fund at least two separate lawsuits.
Bessent also dismissed California Governor Gavin Newsom's plan to tax 100 percent of any proceeds from that anti-weaponization fund for California residents. Treasury secretary gave a terse response when asked about that on Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor Gavin Newsom has floated this idea of a 100 percent state tax on Californians who receive money from President Trump's anti-weaponization fund. Your response to the governor's call for 100 percent.
BESSENT: There's no cure for stupid.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MICHAELSON: We are counting down to Tuesday's primaries here in California with a very tight governor's race in the spotlight. Republican Steve Hilton is appealing to voters throughout the state with his promises to reduce taxes for workers and cut back on bureaucracy for businesses.
The latest Public Policy Institute of California poll shows him running essentially neck and neck statistical tie with Democrat Javier Becerra. A reminder, the top two vote getters advance to the general election regardless of party. And you see in third place there is Tom Steyer, who spent over $200 million on this race.
Joining me now live in studio is Republican candidate for California governor Steve Hilton. Great to see you. We've invited all the leading candidates here. Great to have you here.
STEVE HILTON, REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: Fantastic to be here, Elex. Thank you.
MICHAELSON: So for a while, there was a fear among Democrats that there would be top two Republicans and that the Democrats would be locked out. Now there's a chance that there could be top two Democrats --
HILTON: Exactly.
MICHAELSON: -- and a Republican locked out. What do you think is most likely? How do you see the state of the race?
HILTON: Well, I think the starting point is that this state desperately needs change. You can see that in all the other polls, not talking about the race, but just asking Californians, do they think the state's going in the right direction or the wrong direction. Clear majority saying wrong direction, we need change. That's why it's so concerning that there may be a possibility of two Democrats.
I don't think it's likely. I think the most likely scenario looking at the polls across the board is myself and Javier Becerra. But as you mentioned, Tom Steyer is moving up. He's got a lot of money to spend.
And so I think it's incredibly important right now for everyone who wants change in California, not just Republicans, Democrats, Independents, to understand that we've got to get. The only change candidate with a realistic possibility of getting in the top two is me.
And so any vote for another Republican for another one of the 60 or so candidates on the ballot really is a waste of this opportunity to bring change to California.
MICHAELSON: So some of Javier Becerra's Democratic colleagues and opponents have accused him of being the candidate of status quo. And so he was here on our show last week and I asked him about that criticism and asked him what he would do differently, watch.
[01:15:05] (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?
JAVIER BACERRA, DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: We'll get things done. I think you're suggesting he hasn't. 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 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 a multi minute clip that you actually did an entire video responding to it piece by piece. But he never laid out a specific policy change.
HILTON: No.
MICHAELSON: So I want to give you an opportunity to lay out. I'm going to say top three quickly.
HILTIN: OK.
MICHAELSON: If you can give us. Top three policy changes that happen with you in charge.
HILTON: I'm going to give you the priorities. The mission, cut your costs. Help your business, fix your schools. Those are going to be the three key areas. Cut your cost starts with cutting taxes. It's the most direct way we can help people get more money in their pockets. We've got the highest cost of living in the country. So my tax plan starts with your first hundred grand tax free.
MICHAELSON: How do you make up that revenue?
HILTON: It's only -- the revenue is about, depending on how you measure it, around $10 billion to make that happen. We just estimated that the total amount of fraud in California and waste and abuse of public money over the last five years is 425 billion. That's about 80 billion a year. There's plenty of money.
Remember, they've doubled the budget --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
HILTON: -- in the last 10 years and yet everything's worse. I'm sure we can find some savings there. That's the first point. 100 first hundred grand tax free vehicle registration drives Californians crazy. In most other states it's $100 or less. Here in California, you're lucky if it's 6 or $700 to register your vehicle. Some people are paying over a grand for that. That we're going to cap at the flat basic registration rate of $71. The $800 a year that small businesses have to pay just for existing. We're going to scrap that. These are things that are positive, practical things to make life more affordable for Californians. That's the first and most important thing because we just got to give people some relief from these high costs.
MICHAELSON: In terms of the role of the governor, Governor Newsom has seen that role as fighting back against Donald Trump, who is deeply popular, deeply unpopular to most Californians. And a lot of Californians have said they wanted somebody to fight back against him. And you saw how he responded to this idea of the anti-weaponization fund.
HILTON: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Here's what Governor Newsom said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV GAVIN NEWSOM (D) CALIFORNIA: One thing that I think we're going to try to do with your support is tax 100 percent. Anyone from California that receives any of those funds, we want to tax 100 percent of those proceeds. And that's an action the state of California can take. It's an action we look forward to taking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: What do you think of that proposal, and do you think that this anti-weaponization fund is a good thing?
HILTON: I think it's time we had a governor that actually focused on helping Californians. How does any of that help a single person in California? How does it help the small business owner who's just drowning in regulations? How does it happen to family? Try and make it through the month when you've got gas prices $2 higher than the rest of the country?
He's doing nothing to help Californians because the only thing Gavin Newsom's interested right now is running for president. And that's why his entire focus is picking fights with President Trump. We've got to focus on turning things around in this state.
MICHAELSON: But you know that there are Californians who are open to the idea of, let's make some changes. Maybe let's take that tax cut, let's low the vehicle registration fee. But they're also very focused on the fact that they don't like President Trump and they're worried that you will not fight back against him when it comes to fighting for California. So is there an example of something where you would? Where you think that he's maybe doing the wrong thing and you want to push back on it on behalf of the people of the state?
HILTON: I certainly would. My job is to get the best possible results for California. Now, as it happens right now, I think the things that the Trump administration is mostly focused on in terms of California are things I agree with, frankly, opening up oil and gas production. So that's a big part of how we reduce gas prices, managing our forests better so we can reduce wildfires.
Actually, the vice president trying to find fraud in the medical budget in California, these are things I agree with. But Gavin Newsom is fighting. So actually, I think having constructive cooperation is a good thing for California. If there are things I don't agree with, of course I'll say so.
MICHAELSON: Are there any examples of that?
HILTON: Not when it comes to California. So far --
MICHAELSON: I got federal funding for the fires, which they haven't done so far?
HILTON: In the Palisade?
MICHAELSON: Yes.
HILTON: Yes. But the main reason that that's not happening as we want it to happen is because of the incompetence of the government here in Los Angeles. I've got to say, I'm not -- I'm not a huge fan of this idea of taking away the customs and border protection from our airports so the international travelers will have to go to other states.
[01:25:07]
I think we've got to make sure that California remains open for business and tourism in every way.
MICHAELSON: So in the last hour we had on Lanhee Chen, who knows and likes you, and who is the best performing Republican in the state in many years, he lost by nine points. He didn't lose by 25 or 30 points. He lost by nine points. But where do you make up that other nine or 10 points? How do you get there in a state where the numbers, the math is so tough?
HILTON: Well, excuse me. The most important number is what I touched on earlier. Mid to high 50 percent, sometimes as high as 60 percent of Californians think we need change. So my job is to show that that's a positive practical change. That is not ideological and everyone can get behind it. It is not particularly partisan. That's how I'm running this race.
I think that when you look at Lanhee's race, did a fantastic job last time, but we've had another four years since then of one party rule. And I think a lot of people, even if they don't think of themselves as Republicans who never joined the Republican Party or anything like that, can agree that it's just not healthy to have one party running absolutely everything for as long as that 16 years they've run both chambers in the legislature, every big city, in every big county, all the statewide offices.
I think it's time not just for change, just for some balance. The Democrats are probably still going to run the state legislature when I'm governor. We're going to have to work together to make things happen. I think that people are not across the country in the world. Don't quite realize how frustrated can Californians are with what's going on. I think this year is going to surprise a lot of people.
MICHAELSON: It's going to be interesting. The whole world is watching this race right now to lead the fourth largest economy in the world, which I know you want to make the third largest economy.
HILTON: It's going to happen when we get rid of the regulations.
MICHAELSON: And Steve Hilton writing to be the first Republican governor of California since Arnold Schwarzenegger. Great to see you.
HILTON: Thanks, Elex.
MICHAELSON: And I know we've been talking since the first day of your campaign.
HILTON: Exactly.
MICHAELSON: And here we are, June 2nd, the last day to vote in the primary. By the way, Tom Steyer is going to be with us on Monday night.
Specialized drivers begin a precarious rescue of five men who've been trapped deep inside a flooded cave for more than a week. Why the mission is so tricky and what the stranded men say they desperately need. That's next on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:26:478]
MICHAELSON: A suspect accused of killing three men on Hawaii's Big Island is now in custody after an island wide manhunt. Hawaii police say 36-year-old Jacob Baker was arrested earlier Thursday. Investigators say the three victims were all elderly men between the ages of 69 and 79. Police have identified two of them as Robert Shine and John Carse.
Shine shown here was the first victim found on Monday. Authorities say his body was discovered partially submerged in a cement pond. Carse's body was found after police conducted a welfare check at his home. The third victim was 79 years old. His identity has not yet been released.
A team of specialized divers is taking the first step towards what it hopes will be the rescue of five men trapped deep inside a flooded cave in Laos. Crews starting to pump water up to the surface in hopes of bringing the men to safety. The five men entered the cave more than a week ago searching for gold deposits.
A torrential downpour triggered flash flooding inside the cave system, blocking their exit. And it took rescuers days to even find them. Now comes the even tougher part, getting them out. Mike Valerio has been following all of this.
Mike, we talked to you an hour ago. I understand you have an update now about what's happening.
MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The update is that they're determined to make this happen today. That is a direct quote from the president of the Lao People's Volunteer association which is running this rescue and their pumping, getting all that water out of there has been much more successful than they thought it would be.
So that is the headline, but I want to jump to a soundbite. You were talking before the commercial break of what the people inside there need. And the short answer is food, but better food and rice, to be even more specific. So let's listen to the sound bite. It's about 37 seconds long inside the cave. We'll talk more on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we don't get any food, we're out of strength. If we're still here after another two days, we'll be dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. All right. Let me check how you're doing first so we can figure out how to get you out. I want you all out of here right now. But the passage is flooded. We're trying to pump the water out. The teams outside are working hard to clear it for you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're weak, and we're really hungry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. OK. We'll bring more food in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please bring rice and some proper food.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. OK. We'll get it to you as soon as we can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALERIO: So they've been able to bring in more food since then and medical supplies, and they've had some sort of medical check to make sure that everybody is OK. That also, we should note, is from Tuesday and this is Friday. So certainly just giving you an idea of their state of mind, what they need or right after they were found.
So when we were talking last hour, we were telling you that the main objective was to bring a generator two and a half miles from essentially where the main road ends into this huge thicket of giant jungle roots, shrubs, huge trees.
[01:30:02]
And they've been able to move a bigger generator closer to the cave site, which has allowed them to pump water out faster.
I didn't realize this, though. We've gotten from this update that we mentioned at the top of the segment, that everybody needs to be out of the water when it is being pumped out because of the risk of electrical shock while the pump is working.
So that, of course, means that everybody has to get out, it takes about three hours we learned yesterday to go from Point A at the beginning to Point B, where the five men are, about 260 meters -- 850- some-odd feet into that tunnel system.
So again, the main headline, they're hoping to do this today. If the rain stops, and there's about a 79 percent chance of rain today, it starts to drop off significantly after today.
But that is our main headline here. Cautious optimism in the middle of this jungle in Xaisomboun Province, Laos.
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Mike Valerio. Stay with Mike and CNN for coverage of that because it will be quite something if they're able to pull this off in the next few hours. Thank you for that.
VALERIO: Yes.
MICHAELSON: A court in Austria has sentenced the man behind a foiled terrorist attack on a Taylor Swift concert to 15 years in prison. The court found the 21-year-old, whose full name has been withheld from the public, guilty of various terrorism-related charges.
He was arrested the day before the first of three planned concerts in Vienna nearly two years ago that were part of Taylor Swift's record- breaking Eras Tour.
All three dates of the sold-out concert were canceled, much to the dismay of fans and Swift herself, who said afterwards it was, quote, "devastating".
A blistering heat wave has been scorching western Europe for days now, but some may get a break from the brutal temperatures soon. Our forecast next.
But we go to break with live pictures from Saudi Arabia. It's almost 8:30 in the morning there where Muslim pilgrims are taking part in the ritual known as "stoning of the devil" as Hajj comes to a close.
We'll be right back.
[01:32:06]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: People across western Europe have been sweltering under extremely high temperatures, which set new records in several cities this week. By the weekend, though, things are expected to cool down in parts of France.
CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar has our forecast.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: An early blast of heat is making late May in Europe feel like the dog days of August. A powerful heat dome which traps hot air over a region like a lid on a pot, broiled parts of the continent this week, sending temperatures 10 to 15 degrees Celsius higher than what's typical for this time of year.
Tourists tried to make the best of it.
NIMA GHESHLAGHI, GERMAN TOURIST: Theoretically, it should be cooler than this, but unfortunately we are seeing this global climate change, yes, happening in real life, yes.
CHINCHAR: The high heat is expected to continue in Spain and Portugal through the weekend, capping off a week of extremes across the continent.
RUBEN DEL CAMPO, SPANISH WEATHER AGENCY (through translator): In western Europe, there has been a spell of very high temperatures, not only in Spain but also in Portugal, our neighboring country, which has also reached 38 to 39 degrees Celsius.
In France, temperatures have also exceeded 33 degrees Celsius.
In the U.K., a milestone has been reached. For the first time since records began, temperatures have hit 35 degrees Celsius somewhere in the British Isles.
CHINCHAR: That was on Tuesday, when the U.K. had its hottest day ever- recorded in May. But some areas are still struggling from the effects of the high heat.
Bottled water was handed out in emergency stations in Kent, England because thousands of people were without tap water due to high demand.
But there is a cool-down expected in parts of France like Paris, which for much of the week was sizzling above 30 degrees Celsius. By Sunday, those temps are finally expected to drop.
But workers in Bordeaux in southwest France, where temperatures surpassed those in the capital, say it's been brutal to be outside.
HENRI VISSE, FRENCH ROAD WORKER (through translator): It was very difficult. There was the heat from the engines, the heat from the equipment and no air. So naturally we made more stops. We took more breaks.
CHINCHAR: Summer hasn't even officially begun yet, but forecasters say it's an early indication of what's to come.
Spain's Weather Agency is warning of possible dangers ahead, saying the brush on the ground could quickly dry out, igniting yet another deadly fire season.
Allison Chinchar, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: THE STORY IS the legal battle over tap water in Italy. The country's supreme court has ruled that a five-star hotel did not break any laws when it repeatedly refused to serve a guest tap water.
The guests sued after hotel staff said they would only serve bottled water, priced at about $8 during her stay back in 2019. The guest argued that access to water was a fundamental right.
The supreme court said the country's law do not require restaurants or hotel owners to serve tap water. The judges made their decision in November, but the ruling has only just hit headlines in Italy.
[01:39:44]
MICHAELSON: If you are a male actor named Chris, you have a much better chance of getting a lead film role than if you are a woman over 60.
It's a strange statistic, but it underscores just how difficult it is for women of a certain age to get major parts.
The report from Age without Limits looked at the top films in the U.K. between 2023 and 2025. CNN's Ivana Scatola has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVANA SCATOLA, CNN SUPERVISING PRODUCER: Chris Pratt, Chris Pine, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans. Apparently Chris has its own movie genre now.
That's because a lead actor named Chris showed up more times than a female lead over 60 in the U.K.'s 100 highest grossing films in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
The analysis from anti-ageism campaign, Age Without Limits, also found that successful films were four times more likely to have a talking animal as the lead character than a female actor over 60.
Six of the top grossing films featured an actor named Chris, while just five starred a woman over 60. Jennifer Saunders in "Allelujah", Nia Vardalos in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding III", Diane Keaton in "Book Club, The Next Chapter", Demi Moore in "The Substance", and Jamie Lee Curtis in "Freakier Friday".
Oscar winner Emma Thompson backed the campaign, saying in a statement, "Women are half the population and we get older. So where are the stories about us?"
In a survey of 4,000 people in the U.K., one in three said there weren't enough films featuring a female lead over the age of 60. Only one in 30 felt that there were too many.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: You're watching THE STORY IS.
For our international viewers, "WORLDSPORT" is next. For our viewers here in North America, I'll be right back with the movies to see or skip. One of our favorite guests film critic Grae Drake, standing by to talk with us live.
Stay with us.
[01:41:32]
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRENDAN FRASER, ACTOR: We invade France Monday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm concerned that what you're saying is impossible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They won't like this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are two major storms advancing towards the Normandy coast even as we speak.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: That is a clip from the new World War II drama "Pressure". American-Canadian Oscar winner Brendan Fraser stars as General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Wow. Irish actor Andrew Scott plays a Scottish meteorologist.
Here to tell us more about that -- what to watch, what to skip. Grae Drake, our film critic from cbr.com, back with us. Hi, Grae.
GRAE DRAKE, FILM CRITIC, CBR.COM: Hello.
MICHAELSON: What a cast. What a topic.
DRAKE: Yes. Weather.
MICHAELSON: Is it good?
DRAKE: Weather is sexy now, Elex.
MICHAELSON: Brendan Fraser not so much in that role, but that's -- when are we going to see him hot again?
DRAKE: Listen, he's working so hard to get buff for "The Mummy", so --
MICHAELSON: Ok.
DRAKE: -- it's right around the corner.
MICHAELSON: Ok.
DRAKE: But in the meantime, this movie's fascinating. I've seen it twice.
MICHAELSON: Wow.
DRAKE: There was so much pressure for the D-Day invasion to go well, obviously, but the weather did not seem like it was going to cooperate.
So Andrew Scott's character comes in, up against Chris Messina's American meteorologist. The two of them disagree what the weather is going to do in Europe the weekend preceding the proposed D-Day invasion.
MICHAELSON: Wow.
DRAKE: It is so intense.
MICHAELSON: Such high stakes.
DRAKE: Such high stakes. I can't believe how interesting they made this.
I didn't love Brendan Fraser's casting as Eisenhower. However, as a concerned member of the service who's in a position of power, he was great. Let's just not call him Eisenhower and he was perfect, right?
MICHAELSON: Why is that? Because he physically doesn't look like him at all --
DRAKE: I felt like he --
MICHAELSON: -- and is like six inches taller.
DRAKE: I felt like he was playing it a little wrong with what I know Eisenhower to be from documentaries. But I do know that he cares so much about the role and how badly their preparation for D-Day went. That's an operation nobody even knew about.
And so many people died practicing for D-Day that there was even more pressure on this. And so the title of the movie, not just a clever name, this is such a good film. And you will be absolutely shocked at how we achieved the invasion.
MICHAELSON: That's quite the sell. Oh, that's your best review in a while.
"Backrooms".
DRAKE: Get ready.
MICHAELSON: What is this?
DRAKE: The part that I can easily explain is that Academy Award nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor is a guy that owns a furniture store. His life is not going the way that he wants.
He discovers that in his basement of the furniture shop, he can walk through a wall and end up in this sea of yellow, just a yellow room where there's like a pile of chairs in the center.
And in the next room, it's also yellow and everything seems weird. So he tells his therapist, Academy Award nominee Renate Reinsve and she's like, what? Just like you are right now.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
And this looks like that Apple show "Severance".
DRAKE: Which is what inspired "Severance".
So "Backrooms" is an Internet phenomenon that started as a thing on a picture on "Fortune" that the Internet started writing lore about. And a kid named Caine Parsons made short films that are available on YouTube, creating the "Backrooms" lore. And now he gets to make this into a feature film for A24.
So it's fascinating. It's so disturbing. I can't fully articulate why. It doesn't make a lot of sense. It's going to mean something different to everyone. It is one of the most exciting, interesting, intriguing, and frightening things I've seen in a long time.
MICHAELSON: So that sounds like watch it.
"Tuner".
DRAKE: Love.
MICHAELSON: What is "Tuner"? Real quickly in like a minute.
DRAKE: "Tuner" is Leo Woodall, who was in -- who was in "White Lotus" --
MICHAELSON: "White Lotus".
[01:49:44]
DRAKE: -- and he is a piano tuner for Dustin Hoffman's company. But there's a little bit of romance and there's a little bit of thievery going on. That's really all you need to know. It mixes a lot of genres. The sound is incredible, and the story is actually surprising.
This is a great week for kind of odd little movies. "Tuner" fits right into that because I was always interested in what Leo was doing, whether it was smooching or stealing.
MICHAELSON: Yes, he's compelling. And of course, it's great to see Dustin Hoffman back.
DRAKE: Absolutely. Especially as that character. Oh, just tune my piano any day.
MICHAELSON: Grae Drake, great to see you. All positive reviews this week.
DRAKE: Positive.
MICHAELSON: Last week it was all negative. So we love it. Thanks so much.
Get out your dictionary. You'll definitely need it to decipher the final words in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. We'll meet the C-H- A-M-P-I-O-N just ahead.
[01:50:39]
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Scripps National Spelling Bee champion.
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MICHAELSON: THE STORY IS a new champion of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. He is 14-year-old Shrey Parikh from right here in southern California -- San Bernardino, California -- Inland Empire in the house.
The field of contestants was whittled down to nine for tonight's finals. And for the third time in history, it went to a spell off.
Shrey, correctly spelled 32 words in 90 seconds, setting a new record. Here's a look at the action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Melengket (ph).
SHREY PARIKH, SPELLING BEE CHAMPION: M-E-L-E-N-G-K-E-T.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Teraglin.
PARIKH: T-E-R-A-G-L-I-N.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Homelin.
PARIKH: H-O-M-E-L-I-N.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chikungunya.
PARIKH: C-H-I-K-U-N-G-U-N-Y-A.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bromocriptine.
PARIKH: B-R-O-M-O-C-R-I-P-T-I-N-E.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cashaw.
PARIKH: C-A-S-H-A-W.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Wow.
Global recording artist Bad Bunny is joining the cast of the upcoming new movie "Toy Story 5", as the toys go up against a smart tablet that threatens to render traditional toys obsolete, Bad Bunny plays a fashionable toy called "Pizza with Sunglasses", a cool and mysterious member of a small but mighty community of forgotten toys. "Toy Story 5" will be released in theaters worldwide in three weeks, ahead of a big premiere tonight in London with Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. Look like a lot of fun.
Thanks for watching THE STORY IS.
I'm Elex Michaelson. I'll see you tomorrow for more.
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