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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Ballots Still Being Counted in Races for Governor and L.A. Mayor; Marathon Voting Session on Republican Immigration Bill; Iranians Mark 37th Anniversary of Khomeini's Death; Hezbollah Leader Rejects Lebanon-Israel Ceasefire; U.S. Student on Family Trip to Japan Vanishes after Argument; U.S. Charges Tech CEO with Supplying Equipment to Iran; Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow Share Memories of Making 'Friends'; World Cup Cities Prep for Tourist Amid Safety Concerns. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired June 05, 2026 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Friday night or Saturday night.
[00:00:02]
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, a Knicks ticket would be --
MICHAELSON: Would you?
COATES: A thousand bucks would give you, like, a popcorn, maybe. And they want you to know, it's not a once-in-a-lifetime.
All right, Elex. It was an important question, though. What food are you buying?
MICHAELSON: So, I like popcorn, obviously, but I'm a big fan of Sour Patch Kids at a movie. And I really like that we now have the theaters that serve the alcohol, which is -- which is a great addition to the movie-going experience.
What about you?
COATES: Mine. I like popcorn, I like Goobers, and I often sneak in beef with broccoli.
MICHAELSON: What?
COATES: I mean, look. Everyone's different. Have a great show. I do.
MICHAELSON: What does that smell like for everybody?
COATES: Smells delicious.
MICHAELSON: OK. All right, I like that.
COATES: Beef with broccoli. I like --
MICHAELSON: Thank you so much. Have a great night.
COATES: Bye!
MICHAELSON: We've got to go to a movie together, apparently. THE STORY IS starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON (voice-over): THE STORY IS happening now in Washington. The Senate working overnight and debating immigration.
THE STORY IS here in California, where ballots are being counted as we speak. And we still have no idea who's advancing in the race for governor and L.A. mayor.
And THE STORY IS in Hollywood. Our Elizabeth Wagmeister catching up with Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow for an actors-on-actors "Friends" reunion.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: A lot going on all at the same time right now, but we start with our top story in Washington, where the U.S. Senate is in a marathon voting session ahead of the final passage of the GOP's $70 billion immigration Bill.
That Bill has been stalled for weeks because of President Trump's so- called anti-weaponization fund.
This is a live look at the floor. They have all these votes on random amendments. That goes all throughout the night. You see several of the senators talking to each other on the floor right now between some of those votes.
The $1.8 billion fund compensates people who claim that they were victimized by the government. Critics say it would serve as a slush fund for Trump allies.
A small group of Republicans have refused to back the immigration Bill unless that fund was explicitly killed. There have been multiple failed efforts to shut down the fund as part of this marathon vote-a- rama.
Also, part of the voting blitz, an amendment to prohibit funding for President Trump's ballroom. That was defeated, even with nearly half a dozen Republican senators crossing the aisle to vote with Democrats on that particular issue.
Also tonight in Washington, new allegations coming to light against Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner.
"The New York Times" interviewed six women who dated Platner in the past. Some described him as a, quote, "fun and caring partner" and said that they felt safe with him.
But three others talked about relationships they called complicated, as well as volatile and toxic, quote, "unsettling and emotionally wrenching."
They said Platner could be charming and charismatic, but he was also demeaning to women. And at least one case, even physically threatening, adding that he drank heavily and was regularly unfaithful.
Platner has responded to the allegations in the last few hours, listening to him on MS Now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAHAM PLATNER (D), MAINE SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: There are some allegations in this piece that I just want to be kind of unequivocal about: are simply not true. Anything alleging physicality, anything alleging that I knew what my tattoo was. These are the statements of someone who is politically motivated.
In this piece, there's a lot about my struggling; not being a good boyfriend; certainly, self-medicating with alcohol. And I've been very up front since the beginning of this campaign that that was a pretty dark period of my life after I came back from my combat service.
And that's what that combat -- that's what that kind of life looks like.
And -- and so there are things in this that I absolutely will take responsibility for and have been speaking about openly for months now. But those serious allegations are just not true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: In that same interview, Platner said he is not dropping out of this race.
Speaking of politics, here in California, we're keeping a close eye on the vote counting in two high-stakes primaries. Republican Steve Hilton still leading the governor's race. But as more mail-in ballots are tallied, Democrat Xavier Becerra has been closing the gap.
Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer also improving in nearly every count that was reported. It was a good day for Tom Steyer today.
In the L.A. mayor's race, about two-thirds of the votes have been counted. Current Mayor Karen Bass has earned a spot in the general election, according to CNN, but it is still too early to know who she's up against.
City council member Nithya Raman has been gaining on reality star Spencer Pratt. She gained about 4,000 votes today in terms of the differential.
[00:05:07]
The top two vote-getters land on the November ballot, regardless of party, this one likely going down to the wire. California is notorious for its drawn-out vote counts, which can take
days, even weeks. That is largely due to the millions of mail-in ballots that must be processed.
And since Democrats are more likely to mail-in their votes, that often results in a blue shift, especially with so many Democrats deciding late.
Now, even though President Trump's picks that he showed some favoritism to -- Steve Hilton, who he formally endorsed; Spencer Pratt, who he said nice things about; both doing well -- he has wasted no time calling the elections in California a fraud.
For years, he's been claiming, without evidence, that California's votes are rigged. He said over and over again that, if Jesus counted the ballots, he would have won California, despite the fact that he lost by millions of votes. And he had a similar theme today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: You see, that's what's happening in California. They're rigging the election.
Those numbers are coming down rapidly. They found a lot of mail-in ballots last night, shockingly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: L.A.'s mayor responded to his false claims about, quote, "big cheating," writing, quote, "Trump only says this when MAGA candidates like Spencer Pratt start losing. L.A. will count every vote."
Lot to talk about with our political panel tonight: "L.A. Times" columnist Gustavo Arellano, and Huntington Beach city council member Andrew Gruel. Orange County in the house here tonight.
ANDREW GRUEL, HUNTINGTON BEACH CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: The best county in the world, right?
GUSTAVO ARELLANO, COLUMNIST, "L.A. TIMES": Its true, 100 percent. We agree on that.
GRUEL: Awesome. OK.
MICHAELSON: I mean, some -- L.A. County's got a lot of positive things, too. But we don't need to get into all of that.
Let's talk, though, about -- about the counting and what you make of it. I mean, California has made a choice. That mail-in ballots, at the very last minute, including postmarking it on election day, should be allowed to come in for seven days. And it leads to a very long process.
ARELLANO: It is a long time. I agree. But the whole reason for this is to get more people to vote. And if you want to take it that way, it is an abject failure. You
still have a pathetic -- what are we at now? I think 30 percent of all ballots -- possible ballots are in; probably get to 40 percent.
That still means that 60 percent of California voters are not voting, even though you have it there. So, to me, that's a bigger scandal, that people are not voting, even if we're giving them all this time.
Maybe at a certain point, you just tell the voters, hey, we tried to baby you. It didn't work. Back to the old ways.
MICHAELSON: What do you make of the counting process?
GRUEL: Well, it just takes way too long, right? And the reality is, is that regardless of the specifics as to whether there is any rigging going on, as Trump states, regardless, when it takes this much time, that long, slow simmer, it kind of breeds all of this curiosity, if not conspiracy. And that's what we got to fix.
So, even if you're going to do it up until the last minute on the final day, then have it counted and calculated within 24 hours, regardless of what that takes.
MICHAELSON: But right now, that would be against the law, because the law says, if it's postmarked on election day, there's up to seven days for it to even come back to the -- to the -- the vote centers.
ARELLANO: And look, even with these long counts, Republicans in California did much better in 2024. There are more Latino Republican legislators now than ever before.
So, this long count has not necessarily been against the Republican Party. Trump just likes to whine. Whine, whine, whine, whine.
GRUEL: Well, but I think it's important to mention, too. It's actually the United States Postal Service that's bringing those ballots, which is under Trump's purview.
So, maybe he -- he can work together with all the local officials, and they can come up with a plan whereby maybe, you know, it's that 12- hour delivery.
MICHAELSON: I mean, you think there are other changes that should be made in terms of the rules?
GRUEL: Changes in -- Yes. I mean, I think that, No. 1, we probably need to just cut off all the seven-day mail-in ballot piece, as I've said.
And then, No. 2, I think that we, as Gustavo said, we need to actually encourage more people to get out and get to the polls early, and encourage people to vote early, if that's what it's going to be.
MICHAELSON: Yes. Meanwhile, what do you make of the results themselves? It looks good for Xavier Becerra in terms of advancing. Most likely. We'll see what happens with -- with Tom Steyer and Steve Hilton. How do you see the race?
ARELLANO: Not surprised with Hilton. I mean, California has still, you know, very many parts of it are red. So, of course, you're going to have a Republican into the election and the general election. Tom Steyer. Yes, you know, following --
MICHAELSON: Not necessarily, by the way. Not necessarily that Hilton's going to make the general.
ARELLANO: I think he will. I think he will. I think he will.
Tom Steyer, yes, he's making gains. But California voters, again and again, have rejected self-funded millionaires and billionaires. Al Checchi, Michael Huffington, Meg Whitman. And I think Steyer is going to be one of those.
MICHAELSON: How do you see it? And Steve Hilton, somebody you've known well for a long time, launched his campaign and ended his campaign in Huntington Beach.
GRUEL: Yes. Well, first of all, I think it's going to be a fun season, right, of campaigning. Because you've got Steve Hilton, who knows the policy well. He's incredibly eloquent. He's well-spoken, as I mentioned, but he also knows how this is going to affect California.
He's got the experience and I think Becerra, right. You see what he's done. He's been in government for so long. So, I think the two of them are going to have substantive debates about policy. And that's what this comes down to.
[00:10:09]
MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, though, you see, in terms of the Spencer Pratt, Nithya Raman thing, Nithya Raman creeping up, creeping up. she's sort of hitting the marks exactly where she needs to be to potentially take over. It's really, really close.
How do you see that? And of course, the Spencer Pratt people who see that day after day, and then worry about fraud?
ARELLANO: I still think Spencer pulls it out, because as you -- you know, especially in Los Angeles, they're just such an anger going on. And all of his voters have been motivated to come out.
You see where the votes are being spread right now, at least as they're being tabulated. Nithya hasn't really spread across the city the way Spencer has or the way Karen has.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
GRUEL: Yes. I mean, I agree with that. I think Spencer's in. And I think that everybody wants Spencer to be in, whether they say they do or they don't, because it's really good press. It's good media. Ultimately good money. Right? And that's what it comes down to, in addition to the fact that this is going to become an international race. I mean, it's not just Los Angeles. Everybody's looking at this from
the outside in, because you've got the classic situation where you have an outsider, right, who has certain attributes that match that of Trump -- a reality star -- and people are watching it. They're excited about it.
MICHAELSON: Looking at the numbers, though, the way it's trending, Nithya Raman has a very, very real shot of -- of actually making the top two.
Let's talk about Graham Platner, who we just saw; yet another scandal. He's trying to run against Susan Collins, who Democrats have been targeting for years in Maine, keeps winning and winning and winning.
Do you care about this scandal? Do you think people in Maine are going to care?
ARELLANO: Maine is not as progressive as Graham and his supporters are making it out to be. Maine is also kind of a more conservative state culturally.
I know some Mainers. Mainers are interesting people. The Mainers that I know, they're not really excited with Graham. They don't particularly care for Susan.
I don't think it's really going to hurt him. I mean, we're -- we're in a country where we know the sexual proclivities of our president or his peccadilloes, if you will. And so, if the presidents doing it like that, I don't think people are really going to care about when it comes from a Democrat.
MICHAELSON: Do you think this is the best candidate Democrats could get?
GRUEL: I'm shocked that that's who they put up. See, I went to college in Maine, and I New England really -- New England really well. And I -- and I agree with that sentiment that they're more conservative. I think that he's making it out to be that he's got this as a shoo-in.
But I also don't necessarily believe that the way in which he's covering his own scandal, he's doing the right thing. Because he's getting caught in lies that he already used in order to try and cover up previous scandals. And it's coming out. And I think there's more that's going to come out.
MICHAELSON: So, he wants to be in the Senate. The Senate right now is working late into the night. It's after midnight there. We have some live pictures from there. This vote-a-rama happening. The issue of immigration, which we've been talking about for months here.
Now we're looking at Senator Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, speaking.
But how do you see the immigration issue, which is something that the Republicans have been trying to pass for months and haven't been able to get over the finish line on in terms of funding ICE. ARELLANO: How has it worked in the polls for Republicans with those
indiscriminate raids that happened all through 2025? You lost your swing vote, the Latinos -- are now. Yet you're trying to pass $70 billion more in just unchecked funds for la migra? What are we thinking about?
At a time where gas prices are through the roof. Iran is still Iran. Price of living is really immigration the most important issue for the United States right now. Maybe it was in 2014. Even then, of course, I'd say no.
But no. The Republicans are just jumping. They're jumping into a minefield of their own making.
MICHAELSON: As the Republican here, how do you see this and the politics of it?
GRUEL: Yes. See, this is classic federal government right here. And this is what I hate about it. It's junk.
And I say it's junk, because we've got a $70 billion Bill and we're arguing about the ballroom. And we're arguing about the anti- weaponization fund.
Nobody's actually getting into the granular detail as to how we're going to fix the immigration system. It's just throwing money at the problem.
See, as a Republican, I think we need to spend a lot less money. So, generally, I would say cut the number in half and then tell me how you're going to use that money properly in order to fix this problem.
We talked about this months ago, and nothing's happened.
MICHAELSON: Yes. Maybe that's why you're not in Congress.
GRUEL: That's why I'm not in Congress.
MICHAELSON: That sounds too logical.
Andrew Gruel, Gustavo Arellano, great to see both of you. Thanks for making the drive in from Orange County. We really appreciate it.
ARELLANO: Gracias.
MICHAELSON: Thank you.
President Trump says he would be open, even honored, to meeting Iran's supreme leader if there's a deal to end the war. But he told reporters today he would very quickly restart the war if Iran killed U.S. troops.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Tehran. And we should note, CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government, but maintains full editorial control of its reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're at an event here in Tehran to mark the death of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini.
And as you can see, a lot of people have turned out here to pay their respects.
Now, in this year, as Iran is in this conflict with the United States, of course, this event also has a special meaning for the people who have come here.
[00:15:05]
There's a lot of people that we are seeing who are waving red flags that say "revenge" on them, because, of course, there are still a lot of people here who want revenge for the killing of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
And that's also something that was voiced here by the crowd.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We don't trust America. Never.
PLEITGEN: Never?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Ever.
SEYYED AHMAD KHOMEINI, KHOMEINI'S GREAT-GRANDSON (through translator): There is no reason for the Islamic Republic of Iran to grant concessions. We have no reason to back down from our position. We were not defeated in war, nor have we been defeated in diplomacy. We demonstrated that we are capable of resisting and that we are highly resilient.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): At the same time, of course, the context that all of this happens in is extremely important.
There are talks that are going on between the U.S. and Iran, where both sides say they are trying to get to --
PLEITGEN: -- a memorandum of understanding that would then pave the way for broader peace talks, to try and end the war between Iran and the United States for good.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Also, though, of course, the security situation, especially in the Persian Gulf, remains extremely volatile, with the U.S. hitting some targets on some Persian Gulf islands. The Iranians, for their part, saying that they were hitting targets affiliated with the United States in places like Kuwait and in places like Bahrain, as well.
So, the security situation, very volatile; the ceasefire, very fragile. At the same time, both sides say they are trying to find a way out of the impasse.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: The leader of the militant group Hezbollah has rejected a ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel. He says that deal, struck Wednesday in Washington, is an imaginary ceasefire that requires Hezbollah to stop fighting while Israel continues its aggression.
The Israeli military reports an Israeli soldier was killed by Hezbollah anti-tank missile on Thursday. And the U.N. says one of its peacekeepers was killed in a mortar strike in Southern Lebanon.
CNN's Mike Valerio, live for us in Beijing, tracking all of this. Mike, what's the latest?
MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have attacks in Southern Lebanon that are continuing. And file this as another example, Elex, of a ceasefire that is announced in this conflict, and the hostilities and the fire continues.
And I think, you know, when you get farther into the leader of Hezbollah's comments -- we're talking about Naim Qassem. He's calling this a, quote, "roadmap to exterminate a segment of the Lebanese people and enslave the rest."
And we only bring that incendiary language to the table to contrast it with what we hear from President Trump in the Oval Office when he says that things are improving in terms of the negotiations. That, from the Hezbollah side, does not seem like an improvement.
Now, we want to play a soundbite. It's about 30-plus seconds long. Our own Isobel Yeung was able to interview a member of the Lebanese Parliament from Hezbollah. We're talking about Ibrahim al-Moussawi.
And she asks him, why bring Lebanon into this war? Let's listen to what she asked him. We'll talk about it on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hezbollah decided to enter this war on March the 2nd. You know, you knew before starting this war that the Israeli response would be huge, that thousands of people were likely to die, which they have. What made you decide that that level of human suffering, which we've witnessed over the last few months, was worth it?
IBRAHIM AL-MOUSSAWI, MEMBER, LEBANESE PARLIAMENT: I don't want to go into the philosophy of life and death here. The Israelis continue to carry aggression. So. there was, at one point, when we have to respond to all of these aggressions.
When the Israeli-American war -- again, they started the war against Iran -- we felt this is a proper window to respond.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VALERIO: OK. So, we bring him in, because we were talking about this exact point this time yesterday: how the ceasefire agreement was made between the state of Lebanon, Israel, and the United States.
But we were going back and forth -- you and me, Elex -- about, well, was Hezbollah included in these negotiations in the State Department. And they were not.
So, you have the state of Lebanon, including -- including the prime minister, Nawaf Salam, saying that the decision to go to war should be a decision made by the state, not an armed group or a political party within the Lebanese political system.
This is a conflict that has 1 in 5 Lebanese displaced.
And to bring it back home to the United States. Why this is so crucial is because Trump says that he needs a ceasefire to happen in Lebanon to make progress with Iran.
So, if this ceasefire does not materialize, does that mean that the American side is stuck trying to reopen the Strait of Hormuz when our gas prices are still elevated and still generating an economic shock around the world -- Elex.
MICHAELSON: Yes, impacting so many people.
[00:20:00]
Mike Valerio in Beijing. Mike, thank you.
Ukraine's president is urging his Russian counterpart to meet face-to- face and negotiate the end of that war. Volodymyr Zelenskyy making that proposal in an open letter to Vladimir Putin on Thursday.
The Ukrainian leader wants a firm date for that meeting, which would be held in a third country. He's calling for a ceasefire during those talks.
Kremlin says the two leaders could meet in Moscow. Mr. Zelenskyy says this is a nonstarter.
Russia has largely shot down proposals for a face-to-face meeting in the past. Some experts say it would be politically difficult for Mr. Putin to agree to meet Mr. Zelenskyy.
And just hours ago, U.S. House lawmakers approved the first major pro- Ukraine Bill of President Trump's second term. It authorizes $8 billion in new arms sales and bans oil imports from Russia.
An American college student goes missing on a family vacation in Japan. A look at the search efforts and what his parents say happened shortly before their son disappeared. That's ahead on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:25:30] MICHAELSON: A massive search is underway in Japan for an American college student who went missing six days ago.
James Weston Higginbotham was traveling with his family in Kyoto when he disappeared. His family says the Auburn University student went into the woods to blow off some steam after an argument. They haven't seen or heard from him since.
Our Hanako Montgomery has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NANCY HIGGINBOTHAM, SON MISSING IN JAPAN: Yes, this is -- yes.
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nancy and Keith Higginbotham can only think of their missing son.
N. HIGGINBOTHAM: Every single second, you think about your kid. And then you have the flashbacks of when he was 2, and when I was breastfeeding him. The birthday parties we've thrown for him.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): The family of four is on a first-time holiday across Japan, but 20-year-old Weston Higginbotham left his parents and brother on Friday night, and they haven't seen him since.
The college student appeared to have switched off a GPS function on his phone and is believed to have taken a train away from Kyoto.
N. HIGGINBOTHAM: It's not unusual for Weston to blow off steam going to, you know, the woods, so -- and just exploring. That's his happy place.
MONTGOMERY: But it was unusual that he turned off his location
N. HIGGINBOTHAM: When he turned off his location.
KEITH HIGGINBOTHAM, WESTON'S FATHER: That was really --
N. HIGGINBOTHAM: And that was so concerning, because it's so out of character for him. And I -- I just felt it.
K. HIGGINBOTHAM: His mother's intuition, she kept saying, something's not right.
N. HIGGINBOTHAM: I said, something's not right. Something's not right. I knew something was wrong.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Weston is a keen outdoorsman, a vegan, and an environmentalist.
His mother said they had bickered after Weston got upset with her for using ChatGPT because of A.I.'s environmental impact.
MONTGOMERY: Weston was last seen at this train station on May 29, and since then, the Japanese authorities have been searching the woods in this area, where they believe he might be. MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Torrential rain and typhoon winds have
stopped the search at times, while strangers have reached out to help the family, despite the language barrier.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Many of us can't even imagine.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Vigils were held back home in Alabama for a young man described as both popular and caring. The search for him continues, but without any new leads.
K. HIGGINBOTHAM: I don't want anybody to think that we're thinking of him in the past, because we're not.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Hope that Weston is OK: trapped or lost in the Japanese forest.
Hanako Montgomery, CNN, Kyoto.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: President Trump's former national security adviser turned adversary has reached a plea deal over mishandling of sensitive material.
Three sources say that John Bolton intends to plead guilty to one felony count of illegal retention of sensitive national security information.
One source says Bolton also agreed to pay more than $2 million fine that could allow him to avoid some prison time.
The court docket shows a hearing is set for June 26th.
This plea deal doesn't include charges related to allegations that Bolton took home or shared classified documents with two unauthorized individuals, his wife and his daughter. It only includes the charge that he wrote down sensitive information as part of his personal papers.
The Kennedy Center's top lawyer has directed staff to begin stripping President Trump's name from the building by June 12th. That's in an internal memo obtained by CNN.
The center's general counsel also ordered staff to immediately revert all official documents to the institution's original name, or simply "Kennedy Center."
The move comes just days after a federal judge ruled that the Kennedy Center's board broke the law by renaming the building.
The judge also blocked the center from closing for renovations. The ruling marks the latest setback in the president's attempt to leave his mark on Washington.
But his efforts there, far from over. The president now says that he plans to have a new walkway built that will connect the Lincoln Memorial to the Potomac River, and it may or may not bear the Trump name.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It's called the promenade. The promenade. They want to call it the Trump Promenade, but I don't know if I want to do that. But it's going to be beautiful. It's a beautiful project, and it's going to take the Lincoln Memorial right down to the Potomac, which it was always scheduled to do. But when they built the roads, that was the end of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: And after weeks of renovation work, crews are starting to refill the reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial.
The president said last month that the cost to redo the massive pool would be less than $20 million. He initially promised a price tag of 2 or 3 million.
[00:30:08]
Still ahead, it could be several days or weeks before officials here in California tally all the votes in the state's primary election. And the two biggest races are still undecided.
President Trump says there's fraud and that the DOJ is looking into that. We'll talk to the head of the DOJ out here to see if that's really true.
And later, CNN and "Variety's" series, "Actors on Actors," is back for a new season of heartfelt and revealing conversations between some of the biggest stars on television. Elizabeth Wagmeister is here with a look at some of her conversations, including with Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:35:25]
MICHAELSON: Officials here in California still counting the votes and mail-in ballots from Tuesday's primaries. California is known to have a drawn-out vote count as local officials work through millions of mail-in ballots.
Some don't even arrive until after election day, although they need to be postmarked by election day. It could still be days before the race is resolved.
Republican Steve Hilton, currently leading by a narrow margin. But he's criticizing the pace of the vote counting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE HILTON (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: This election is turning into a yet another Democrat fiasco. It is a complete disgrace that now, nearly two days after the election, barely half the votes, just over half the votes have been counted.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you believe anything nefarious is going on?
HILTON: We're watching everything very closely. Our team is on top of everything. We've got lawyers standing by if needed. At this point, we haven't seen any need to intervene in that way, but we are very frustrated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, President Trump is alleging, without providing any evidence, that there is, quote, "big cheating in California." He says that that is under investigation by the U.S. Attorney's office.
So, let's talk to the guy who runs that office. Joining us now is first assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli.
Bill, welcome back to THE STORY IS.
BILL ESSAYLI, 1ST ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY, CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA: Elex, how are you?
MICHAELSON: Good. So, are you investigating voter fraud?
ESSAYLI: Well, I'm not going to comment on any specific investigation. What I will tell you is that we do monitor and we do look for fraud in every election. This is no exception. Any election that has a federal candidate on it, we do monitor and we look for fraud.
And there's no question there is fraud in every election. The question is how much fraud?
We know that California, there's been many people prosecuted for illegally registering a vote or not being qualified to vote. And the response is always it's not widespread.
And the problem with California, to be frank, our system sucks. It really does. We have universal vote by mail. We have no voter I.D., and that is a recipe for fraud. And it makes it almost impossible to know how many people are eligible to vote in California.
We've tried hard to audit the voter rolls. We have sued the state of California. The federal government is entitled to review those voter rolls, and they have stonewalled us. That case is before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals as we speak.
And so, we'd like to audit it. We want people to have confidence in these elections.
MICHAELSON: But let's be clear. The president of the United States said that there's cheating going on in California. Do you have any evidence that there is cheating going on in California? Certainly, cheating big enough to turn the outcome of one of these elections?
ESSAYLI: Well, those are two very different questions. Absolutely, there is evidence that people are cheating; 100 percent. We have multiple investigations into people who voted who should not have voted.
MICHAELSON: Are there any people in particular? Are you -- are you bringing any charge --
ESSAYLI: There will be charges. I'm not prepared to announce them yet, but we do have open investigations into voter fraud. There's no question that there's voter fraud in California.
We just prosecuted, announced charges against one individual about a month ago who was registering homeless people to vote on -- in downtown L.A. She was paying them to register at false addresses to vote.
So, there's no question there's voter fraud. The question that you said is very important. Is it widespread? Will it affect an outcome of election? We don't know.
The system is not designed to detect or prevent fraud. The system sucks. And the president is frustrated, as are we.
I was very outspoken about this in the legislature.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
ESSAYLI: And the legislature doesn't seem to care. So -- but I think voters will have a chance to potentially change the system in November. That's up to them.
MICHAELSON: OK. And just one more time. When you -- when he says that there is cheating and that there's an active investigation into that cheating by your office, can you confirm that?
ESSAYLI: I'm not going to discuss any specific investigation. I will tell you that we do have -- in general, we do have investigations, and we are looking to charge people relatively soon for election fraud.
MICHAELSON: OK. Let's talk about something that you are prepared to talk about.
ESSAYLI: Yes.
MICHAELSON: and a case that just happened yesterday. Really, an extraordinary case in -- in Orange County of an Iranian-American dual citizen who was living in a $35 million house --
ESSAYLI: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- that you raided yesterday. This is that -- that gentleman. Talk to us about what you're charging him with and what -- what you say he was doing.
ESSAYLI: Yes. This is really a shocking case. I mean, he's a dual citizen. He's here. He's living in the U.S. in this mansion like a king. And the whole time for the last -- really a lot of years, he's been
aiding the government of Iran by supplying them with sensitive computer components.
These are computer components that are made in the U.S. Their exports are restricted. They are not to go to countries like Iran. And he was shipping them through intermediaries and making a killing doing it, buying that mansion.
[00:40:00]
So, we actually uncovered this as part of an IRS investigation. There were some suspicious wires. IRS looked into it, and they discovered this big scheme.
And we arrested him yesterday. He's looking at a long time in prison, and we're taking that house.
MICHAELSON: And the potential that he was involved with the Iran nuclear program, as well. Right?
ESSAYLI: One of -- yes, one of the agencies he supplied computer components to was the Nuclear Agency of Iran.
MICHAELSON: Wow.
ESSAYLI: Shocking.
MICHAELSON: Another big thing that just happened today, MacArthur Park is a park here in Southern California that's very well-known. It has become a -- really a hot button of a lot of criminal activity over the years, a lot of problems there.
There's been a big push to try to clean it up. Today, you all, in addition with the local government, raided that park. What did you find?
ESSAYLI: Well, we found a lot of people using drugs, a lot of people under the influence of drugs. We arrested, I think, about 13 people just in that one hour that we were there.
Look, the president has said and the attorney general has said, we're not going to deal with open-air drug markets. We're not going to allow this in a civilized society.
MacArthur Park was an open-air drug market. So, our first phase was to go after the suppliers and the dealers, and we've hit them hard.
We hit the 18th Street gang. We've -- you know, we've charged close to 30 individuals with federal charges for distribution. And today, we teamed up with the LAPD to go after the users and deal with the demand side.
We want these people to get help. We don't want people shooting up. There's a guy who had a seizure in the middle of our operation. He needed medical assistance. He could have died easily if we weren't there. People are dying every day. It's not acceptable.
So, we're going to enforce the law. If they don't accept rehab, they're going to get arrested. And they're going to enforce the law as written.
MICHAELSON: And is it coincidental this happens right before the World Cup comes to Los Angeles in a week?
ESSAYLI: You know, I don't really care why L.A. is willing to do it, as long as they're willing to do it. Better late than never. And we're welcoming the partnership of LAPD. They've been great partners, and we look forward to working with them.
And this stuff that -- this raid today is going to happen continuously for the next few months.
MICHAELSON: Bill Essayli, thanks so much for coming in. Appreciate you sharing your views.
We'll be right back. Have a little fun, talk "Actors on Actors" with Elizabeth Wagmeister, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:46:48]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LISA KUDROW, ACTRESS: When it was the Gellers' anniversary party and Phoebe -- there was an oyster and she -- Oh, it was Alec Baldwin was in that one.
JENNIFER ANISTON, ACTRESS: Oh, my God!
KUDROW: And he was like, here, eat this. Like OK. And she flicked it on the floor.
And then Joey comes over. Are you having a good time? He's like, no, it's horrible. I waited forever for the buffet line. Then I finally got there and almost slid on a --
I almost -- I almost slid on a giant booger.
Why is it so stupidly -- it's so stupid.
ANISTON: Sorry.
KUDROW: That an oyster-size booger came out of someone's nose? Oh, he just decided.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: It is a new season of Variety's "Actors on Actors." That was a preview of the most recent episode with "Friends" stars Lisa Kudrow and Jennifer Aniston. Entertainment correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister is here in studio now
to tell us all about them. Elizabeth is back. You've been out on maternity leave since December.
WAGMEISTER: Yes. It feels like an eternity.
MICHAELSON: It is great to have you back. Welcome back to CNN. Great to see you.
WAGMEISTER: Thank you so much. I miss you so much.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
WAGMEISTER: But I have been watching you from home. You've been killing it.
MICHAELSON: Thank you.
WAGMEISTER: I love watching THE STORY IS. And baby Harry loves watching THE STORY IS.
MICHAELSON: We'll talk more about baby Harry in a moment, but let's talk about some of our other friends, at least from TV.
WAGMEISTER: Yes, yes.
MICHAELSON: Lisa Kudrow and Jennifer Aniston. You were there for all this. What did that feel like?
WAGMEISTER: OK, so what you just watched, you saw them cracking up. I mean, they could barely speak. They were laughing so hard.
I was on set. And that is how we all were. They -- of course, Lisa Kudrow and Jennifer Aniston, they've known each other for years. But seeing them come back together again, it's like not a day has passed since they have been on that set.
And in the full conversation, which I encourage all of your viewers to watch on the CNN app, they're reminiscing on way back when, in the '90s, when they started on "Friends." And as you saw all those episodes, Lisa Kudrow, in fact, just watched "Friends" for the first time. She hadn't actually watched the series.
MICHAELSON: Wow.
WAGMEISTER: And she was telling Jennifer Aniston about how she watched it and all of her thoughts. And that's what you saw there, when she was cracking up.
MICHAELSON: And she thought -- and she thought the show was funny.
WAGMEISTER: She did.
MICHAELSON: And so, the way "Actors on Actors" work, it's been this long-running series where two actors sit down with each other, some of them longtime friends. Some of them really don't know each other. And they have this -- this back and forth, which is on the CNN app, as you mentioned.
And then after that, they talk with you for a conversation, which is right now on the CNN YouTube page. Let's look at some of your conversation with Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WAGMEISTER: You knew that you had something special right from the start?
ANISTON: I knew these people were really special, and I knew the show was really special. So, I mean, something --
KUDROW: But that didn't mean that it got picked up. And the --
ANISTON: You know, we didn't know it then. The back nine. Then we got the back nine, they call it.
KUDROW: We got the back 11.
ANISTON: We did?
KUDROW: Yes, it's usually 22 episodes.
ANISTON: Yes.
KUDROW: You do a pilot, then 12 and then nine more. The back nine.
ANISTON: Yes.
KUDROW: But we got the back 11 every year, 24.
[00:50:01]
ANISTON: Wow. Oh, that's right.
KUDROW: Yes.
ANISTON: See, I forgot that.
KUDROW: Oh, see, I remembered something.
ANISTON: You did.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: That was a -- that was a different era of TV, which is fun to look back on.
And so. as we mentioned, they obviously have known each other forever. They're literally friends. That's the whole premise.
But then two other stars that really didn't know each other, Sharon Stone and Keke Palmer.
WAGMEISTER: Yes. So, that is our latest episode that is out today. And this is really the beauty of "Actors on Actors." You have some reunions of friends and costars. You have other people who meet for the first time.
Keke Palmer, Sharon Stone, obviously from completely different eras of Hollywood, but they really bonded over this newfound sisterhood. So, let's take a look at a part of their conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHARON STONE, ACTRESS: I'd like you to stand on your head and fart the national anthem. Your response shouldn't be my character wouldn't do that. But how would my character do that and why?
KEKE PALMER, ACTRESS: OK.
STONE: And what would I be wearing? Or am I naked? Or how --
PALMER: How does it -- how do I ground this?
STONE: Why -- do they -- Why?
PALMER: How do I ground this? How do I make this true for me?
STONE: Right.
PALMER: How do I find the real --
STONE: Is she drunk?
PALMER: You know.
STONE: Is she mad? Is she sick? What? Why?
You need to know why. And you need to know every specific --
PALMER: That's right.
STONE: -- detail of what you're doing. And in the end, that will be the greatest scene in the film.
PALMER: OK.
STONE: It's not "My character wouldn't do that." How about, wait until you see how my character does that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WAGMEISTER: So, this conversation, Elex, went off the rails in all the best ways.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
WAGMEISTER: You just have to watch. You have to be there.
MICHAELSON: Did they fart out the national anthem?
WAGMEISTER: They didn't, but --
MICHAELSON: That would -- that would really be off the rails.
WAGMEISTER: Yes, they -- if they did it, that -- yes.
MICHAELSON: If they got to -- that would be viral.
Meanwhile, let's talk about you. We've got some images of baby Harry, who is so cute. This is your first week back. First off, that's really baby Harry. Baby Harry's a little bigger than that. Now there's your husband, Michael, who's about seven foot four.
WAGMEISTER: Yes, he's very -- he's actually taller than you.
MICHAELSON: Yes, yes.
WAGMEISTER: Fun fact for your viewers.
MICHAELSON: He's not seven foot four. He's six seven, I think. And there's -- there's --
WAGMEISTER: And there's you.
MICHAELSON: With Mike Valerio.
WAGMEISTER: Yes.
MICHAELSON: When I met baby Harry.
WAGMEISTER: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Talk about how Harry has changed your life and what you love about him.
WAGMEISTER: Oh, my gosh. I mean, he's changed my life in -- in every way. You know, I mean, we -- we work so hard at these jobs that we love.
But now I have this -- this other little man to go home to. And it just -- it really -- it puts a whole new perspective on life.
But I am so happy to be back at work. It was incredible to have that time with him at home. But now, you know, he'll see. Hopefully, he'll be proud to see his working mom.
He's not watching this, because he's sleeping. He's only five months old. It's a little late.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
WAGMEISTER: But as soon as he's old enough, he will be staying up late to watch THE STORY IS.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
WAGMEISTER: And I'm so glad that you got to meet him when I was on maternity leave. He already loves his Uncle Elex.
MICHAELSON: Oh, well, the feeling is mutual. And a shout-out to Grandma Jane, who's watching him tonight to allow you to come in with us tonight.
Thank you, Elizabeth.
WAGMEISTER: Thank you, Elex.
MICHAELSON: Great to have you back.
We'll be back with more. And we want to first tell you to watch the latest season of Variety's "Actors on Actors." New episodes dropping daily. You can catch all of it on the CNN app. Subscribe to all access. It's worth it. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:57:54]
MICHAELSON: With World Cup matches just days away, one host city, Atlanta, is encouraging everyone to use public transportation to avoid traffic.
Of course, in Los Angeles, that's not possible, because there isn't enough public transportation.
CNN's Ryan Young takes a look at how World Cup cities are preparing for visitors amid potential safety concerns.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARKWAYNE MULLIN, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Through 11 different cities, we're going to have 78 Super Bowls in 38 days.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Across the U.S., and Canada, and Mexico, this year FIFA World Cup on tap to be the largest tournament in history.
With stadiums averaging nearly 70,000 seats, organizers expect the event to draw 5 million fans. That will also mean intense security.
Some recent unprovoked attacks give people reason to worry. In Los Angeles, where the U.S. tournament kicks off, police say someone stabbed and beat a 70-year-old woman back in March, leaving her with a broken neck.
Not far away in Long Beach, California, last month, police say another woman was stabbed and left hospitalized.
And last week in Atlanta, police say a woman was fatally stabbed on a train operated by MARTA, the city's public transportation line. I
n months past, the Transportation Department called for improved safety measures in cities to include Chicago, D.C., New York, L.A., Charlotte, and Philadelphia. Now, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wants an investigation in
Atlanta, saying every American should be disturbed by the horrific crimes we have seen on MARTA in the last month.
YOUNG: There's a big focus on safety and whether or not MARTA can meet the need when it comes to all the international guests that will be coming to town.
And some things have really frightened people in the city, especially a deadly stabbing that happened just last week. Having people asking questions: Is MARTA safe enough and ready for the World Cup?
GARY GALE, ATLANTA TOURIST FROM CALIFORNIA: I think there should be extra security for sure on a day-to-day basis, especially with the World Cup coming up.
ISABELLE HUMPHRIES, ATLANTA COLLEGE STUDENT: Traveling alone would not be an option right now for me on MARTA.
MORGAN BANDERLINDEN, ATLANTA RESIDENT: Safety is an issue for sure. OK, based on what happened last week. So, definitely, hesitant but still doing it. It'd be great to see a little bit more security on -- on the trains.
YOUNG (voice-over): MARTA continues to tell its riders the system is safe.
CHIEF SCOTT KREHER, MARTA POLICE DEPARTMENT: This was a senseless crime and violence will not be tolerated on MARTA.
YOUNG (voice-over): Atlanta Police recently ran a mass casualty training exercise.
