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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Israel & Iran Halt Strikes After Escalation In Hostilities; Spencer Pratt Falls Short To Nithya Raman In L.A. Mayor's Race; Trump, Without Evidence, Claims Fraud In California Vote Count; China's Xi Calls for "Strategic Cooperation" with N. Korea; Trump Formally Nominates Blanche for U.S. Attorney General; Growing Frustration over Sky-High World Cup Ticket Prices; Democrats Weigh Platner Scandals Ahead of Tuesday's Vote; Palisades Fire Suspect Appears in Court Ahead of Trial. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired June 09, 2026 - 01:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:02:12]

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: The Story Is in Iran. After military activity over the weekend, are President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the same page? The Story Is the California elections. We know who's advancing in the L.A. mayor's race, but is there really fraud? Deep dive into how the system works.

And The Story Is in Pyongyang where North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un has rolled out the red carpet for China's President Xi Jinping.

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.

And just in the last hour, President Trump talked about Iran. He's up late going to the Knicks game. But speaking about this issue and a new yet familiar timeline from the U.S. president on ending the conflict there, President Trump suggesting that the U.S. will be declaring, quote, "total victory over Iran in the next two weeks." And just moments ago he said, quote, "Iran will not have a nuclear weapon." His comments coming on the same day that Israel and Iran agreed to halt strikes against each other following the worst escalation of hostilities since April.

Israel had been preparing a significant attack on Iran when President Trump called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging him to back off strikes in response to an Iranian attack. Trump telling Axios that he warned Netanyahu that if he continued to strike Iran, he would, quote, "be on your own very soon." The intervention appeared to have worked. Still, both sides are warning that they are ready to resume attacks if provoked.

We go live to the region. CNN's Paula Hancocks following all this. She is live in Abu Dhabi.

Paula?

PAULA HANCOKCS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Elex, we've seen Israel and Iran pull back from the brink at this point. I think we could call it a pause, hostilities. There's no guarantees, though, at this point that the guns will remain silent because both sides have put conditions on this decision to halt operations against each other. We heard from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that if there is any indication that Iran is going to carry out any further strikes, then there will be significant repercussions. We've heard from Iran saying that if Israel continues to strike southern Lebanon or Lebanon as a whole, then they will carry out what they call severe and crushing responses.

Now, just about an hour after, less than an hour after this pullback from the hostilities, we did see Israel striking Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel also saying that Hezbollah had been firing on -- close to Israeli troops in southern Lebanon. So the pullback is tenuous. The cease fire is fragile, and it's a similar situation to what we had seen just about 48 hours ago.

[01:05:19]

Now we have, as you say, just heard from the U.S. president, Donald Trump, talking about the situation in Iran. Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't think there are any sticking points. I think we're very -- we're very close to having a very, very good, strong, powerful deal. If we go and bomb, which we can do very easily if we want, and we spend another two or three weeks bombing, they'll have nothing left whatsoever. But you won't have the strait open for months.

If we do the bombing, you know, a lot of people are going to be killed. Who wants to do that? I don't. And we'll get -- we'll have a signed document that's actually stronger than doing the bombing.

What has proven to be a very powerful thing is the blockade. The blockades turned out to be much stronger than bombing. And it was really a combination. It was our initial thrust and then the blockade. But, you know, their economy is really suffering and they're going to make a deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: Now, President Trump also claimed earlier today that he was going to be able to declare total victory over Iran within the next two weeks. We do need to take that with a pinch of salt, though. We've certainly seen a number of timelines coming from the U.S. president. Much of the optimism has been from the U.S. president, not replicated in either Israel or Iran. In fact, one of my colleagues was looking at the number of times that President Trump has claimed there is going to be a deal or that Iran wants a deal. And he counted 37 times that the U.S. president has said that a deal is close. Elex.

MICHAELSON: Paula Hancocks starting us off in Abu Dhabi. Paula, thank you so much.

We want to go now to Israel. Alon Pinkas is the former Israeli consul General to New York. He joins us now live from Tel Aviv.

Are President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu on the same page?

ALON PINKAS, FMR. ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL TO NEW YORK: They're not even on the same book at this point, Elex. And I think the divergence began about a week or two weeks into the war where none of the basic premises that Mr. Netanyahu promised Trump, that materialized, none of them, you know, transpired, and the war went from one failure to another. So, no, they're not on the same page, as is evident in how Trump is talking about Netanyahu in the last two weeks.

MICHAELSON: Yes, because it's interesting. He's talked about their warm friendship so many times before. But he's not the first president to clearly be frustrated with Benjamin Netanyahu in private. I mean, there's plenty of books about Joe Biden sort of cussing behind the scenes when talking about Benjamin Netanyahu, we know he's gone at it with different U.S. presidents. This seems like it's part of his history.

PINKAS: Yes, I mean, it's a recurring theme with him, both on a personal level and how it impacts the U.S. Israel relationship. He is under the impression for the last 30 years that he knows better than American presidents what America should do. He is under the impression that he understands superpower, the practice of being a superpower and how to project power and what to do in the Middle East better than they know. He also thinks and is under the impression that they don't understand the Middle East.

So he had this spat with George Bush Sr. when he was deputy foreign -- Netanyahu was deputy foreign minister, again with Bill Clinton, again with Barack Obama. Under the George W. Bush administration, he was only briefly a finance minister. And then, of course, famously with Joe Biden and now with Donald Trump. Even at the end of Trump's first term, they had a major falling out. So, yes, there's a history right there, Elex.

MICHAELSON: Is that an ambulance we hear, or is that a warning siren or what is that?

PINKAS: Ambulance. I know, it's just -- I mean, I don't want to say it's nothing because it's an ambulance, but it's an ambulance.

MICHAELSON: Right.

PINKAS: No siren.

MICHAELSON: OK. Yes. In terms of what's going on in Lebanon, and they've had plenty of warning sirens and ambulances there --

PINKAS: Yes.

MICHAELSON: -- you know, some feel like Israel has gone above and beyond and gone over the top there. What do you think?

PINKAS: Yes.

MICHAELSON: And what is the end game for Israel when it comes to Lebanon?

PINKAS: Well, look, Lebanon is a complex thing because on the one hand, Israel vowed to destroy and eviscerate and annihilate Hezbollah, which is a state within a state, practically. And then Netanyahu claimed that he had done so by late 2024, killing of Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general, degrading their military capabilities, degrading their missile arsenals, the famous beepers that exploded in people's hands. And Netanyahu was all, you know, all smug and boastful about, look what we did, we do -- we put them back decades, generations.

[01:10:36]

But that wasn't the case. And again, this sort of began in 2025, late 2025, and escalated in 2026. Now, to eviscerate Hezbollah, Israel needs to occupy the entire state of Lebanon. That's not practical, that's not feasible, that is not viable. That won't happen.

So instead, Israel is going back to a policy that failed time after time, and that is creating a buffer zone. That explains the explanation of the last two weeks.

The thing is, Lebanon is not isolated anymore, Elex. It is now linked by the Iranians, by the Iranians to any future framework agreement between Iran and the U.S. And so any escalation in Lebanon has an immediate impact, a negative, immediate impact on the likelihood of an agreement between the U.S. and Iran.

And lastly, if I may, Netanyahu also has a political -- there's no end game from a strategic point of view, but there is a political game here. He is -- he is headed toward an election. He needs to maintain a permanent state of war. In his mind, that's the only thing that provides him with the chance. Gaza is more or less done and did not succeed the way he had bragged that Hamas will be dethroned and Hamas will be expelled and Hamas will be destroyed, et cetera, et cetera.

Iran, well, we know what's happening with Iran. And so the only theater that was available was Lebanon.

MICHAELSON: Ambassador Alon Pinkas will not be getting a fruit basket from Benjamin Netanyahu after that segment. But we appreciate you sharing your perspective.

PINKAS: I pride myself on being very mellow about him in this particular show.

MICHAELSON: Yes. We appreciate you sharing your views and your expertise from Tel Aviv. Good morning to you.

PINKAS: Thank you.

MICHAELSON: The Story Is the NBA Finals as the San Antonio Spurs have won Game 3 against New York Knicks. That's the final shot of the game right there. The Knicks needed a miracle down by four, two seconds left. The loss especially tough for the Knicks in front of a sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden. Victor Wembanyama scoring 32 for the Spurs. Jalen Brunson dropping 32 for the Knicks. New York leads the series two games to one. With game four on Wednesday night in New York.

Fans showering President Trump with boos. There's a few cheers in there when he appeared on the Jumbotron during the Star Spangled Banner. The president attended the game as a guest of Knicks owner James Dolan, the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game.

Fans were asked to arrive at Madison Square Garden at least two hours early to clear security. Police and the Secret Service locking down a five block radius around the arena. No match watch parties were allowed outside the Garden. We'll see if that changes for the next game in a couple days.

Still to come, a big shake up after the latest vote count in the race for L.A. mayor. We'll talk about who's projected to face the incumbent Karen Bass in November. We've got quite the political panel. Brian Tyler Cohen and John Ziegler making his debut on The Story Is next.

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[01:18:11]

MICHAELSON: The Story Is California's elections. Here in L.A. CNN can now project that city councilwoman Nithya Raman will face incumbent Karen Bass in the race for mayor in November. Raman takes the second spot from Republican Spencer Pratt, the former reality T.V. star. Pratt had the lead over Raman for several days after the June 2 primary, but fell behind over the weekend after more votes were counted.

But because of the lengthy process, President Trump is claiming without evidence that California is rigging its elections. He wrote on Truth Social, quote, "Not possible for Spencer Pratt to have lost the L.A. runoffs after the big lead he had, Third World Nation, rigged elections.

And here's what Trump said over the weekend on NBC's "Meet the Press" about what he claims was fraud at the 2020 presidential election and now in California.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They sent people to jail who did nothing wrong.

KRISTEN WELKER, NBC NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Just to be very clear, there's no evidence of what you're saying. But -- TRUMP: There's a lot of evidence.

WELKER: -- let me ask about Todd Blanche. Let me ask about Todd Blanche?

TRUMP: Listen to me. Listen to me.

WELKER: Let's talk about Todd Blanche.

TRUMP: There's tremendous evidence. There's nothing but evidence.

WELKER: It's not been presented in a court of law.

TRUMP: The election was rigged. It was a dirty election.

WELKER: Mr. President --

TRUMP: And it's happening again right now in California.

WELKER: -- you've never presented evidence --

TRUMP: It's happening right now in California.

WELKER: -- that the 2020 election was --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Let's bring in our panel, John Ziegler with us for the first time. He is host of "The Death of Journalism" podcast. And Brian Tyler Cohen is back, the host of the "No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen" podcast. Gentlemen, welcome.

John, welcome to the show for the first time. Let's start with you as our newbie. What do you make of Spencer Pratt, all the buzz around him and how he ended up doing?

JOHN ZIEGLER, HOST OF, "THE DEATH OF JOURNALISM" PODCAST: Well, I'm a conservative, as you know, and I can't stand the Democratic establishment in Los Angeles and California. But this entire Spencer Pratt campaign was a Theranos Elizabeth Holmes level fraud from the beginning. And it was a damning indictment of our entire media ecosystem that this even got this far.

[01:20:03]

And let's be clear about how it started. It started on X, where there are a lot of MAGA influencers who are either morons or grifters or both who don't understand that if a video goes viral with three or 5 million views on X nationwide, that means a minuscule number of L.A. voters have actually been exposed to it. The average L.A. voter had less understanding of Spencer Pratt's viral videos than I would have of the KPop Demon Hunters if I didn't have two young daughters. I mean, that's how out of touch they were with what's going on X.

There was no chance Spencer Pratt was ever going to win. And the fact that he didn't make the top two is not because of fraud. It's because of the fact that this is an extremely, as you know, very liberal town. Spencer Pratt was unqualified. He ran a very air surface campaign.

No infrastructure, no get out at the vote. This was not a shock, this was not fraud. And everybody should be embarrassed in this. The media bought into this because they love the narrative. The legacy media and now the right wing media, instead of admitting they were wrong, is trying to pretend that well, no, it's fraud because Donald Trump says it's fraud and they don't want to admit that they were idiots and realizing -- and not realizing that Spencer Pratt could ever possibly be the next mayor of Los Angeles.

This whole thing is an embarrassment. It's idiocracy.

MICHAELSON: Brian.

BRIAN TYLER COHEN, HOST OF "NO LIE WITH BRIAN TYLER COHEN" PODCAST: I think this is the first time I've ever full throatedly agreed with one of your conservative guests. I completely agree. The whole thing is so embarrassing, especially for Republicans, because it exposes the game that they're playing. It exposes this con that Republicans are putting forward where they will just basically cry fraud no matter what happens.

If they really think that people -- like, are they really trying to convince us right now that they believed that were it not for this massive amount of fraud taking place in California that a Republican were to become mayor of Los Angeles, the cradle of progressivism in the United States, one of the most liberal cities we have in the entire country. And so it just goes to show that just like it's a con here, it was also a con every single time Donald Trump opens his mouth and said the exact same thing from the 2020 election on forward.

MICHAELSON: But --

ZIEGLER: But let's get there. It was nice that the Democrats let Steve Hilton get into the top two in the governor's race. That was very nice. I appreciate that. That was -- was that a -- was that a by -- did they bypass the system?

COHEN: That's --

ZIEGLER: Was that a misstep on your part when you were fixing this?

COHEN: You know, and this is what we've seen over and over. For example, Republicans claim that every election in 2022 was rigged as well. OK, so we rigged it, but only to -- but -- OK, so we rigged it, but we allowed Republicans to take control of the House and the Senate? So there are all of these holes and flaws in their arguments that never seem to be accounted for.

MICHAELSON: That being said, didn't Pratt bring up a lot of important issues that are real issues? That the fires, all sorts of mistakes when it came to that, that the homeless situation is a mess, that there are a lot of people on drugs in the middle of the street where people don't feel safe? I mean, he's speaking to the way people actually feel. And, and that's why a lot of people connected to him.

ZIEGLER: Hundred percent. Although he got the exact same percentage of vote in Los Angeles as Donald Trump did in the 2024 election.

MICHAELSON: Man, it lower, actually.

ZIEGLER: And by the way, I think he has set the path for Raman to beat Bass for a lot of different reasons, one of which is the most underrated part of this story. And I'm going to take you guys on, especially the Democrat here. How come no one's talking about the fact that an incumbent mayor endorsed by Gavin Newsom, the presumptive Democratic nominee in 2028, and endorsed by Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic nominee, couldn't get 35 percent of the vote?

MICHAELSON: Yes.

ZIEGLER: What an unbelievable, damning indictment of her and the Democratic establishment in California, as well as the embarrassment of this incredibly long vote counting process, which is ripe for people to misunderstand it as corruption. It's incompetence, not corruption.

MICHAELSON: Yes, but yet here's what Vice President J.D. Vance said tonight on Jesse Watters on Fox News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Somehow we find ourselves in a situation where, number one, they're still receiving ballots. Not just counting ballots, Jesse, they're still receiving ballots. And number two, the way that they're coming in just so happens to work out such that the Republican is getting kicked out of the final two. So it's a Democrat versus Democrat runoff. That seems pretty shady to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: He says it's a shady election.

COHEN: So basically what he's saying is that the Democratic establishment conjured up this whole plan that would, in effect, make it more difficult for Karen Bass to win the election. That was the whole -- that was this grand scheme, according to J.D. Vance, that we wanted -- that Karen Bass orchestrated an election where she is now pretty likely to lose because it's -- I mean, at 50-50 at this point between her and Nithya Raman, as opposed to just having Spencer Pratt win and then basically allowing herself to go on a five month vacation. It is not difficult to get elected as a Democrat in Los Angeles.

MICHAELSON: Well --

COHEN: That again, escapes J.D. Vance.

MICHAELSON: And part of this conversation also, if you really want Republicans to win, which I know you do --

[01:25:01]

ZIEGLER: Yes.

MICHAELSON: -- is that this gets rid of confidence in the system and it depresses turnout amongst Republicans who now probably won't turn out and certainly may not turn out when there's big issues like the wealth tax or other things in the fall that could really hurt Republican voters.

ZIEGLER: Thank you so much for mentioning this, because as a real conservative, maybe the last one still standing that doesn't support Donald Trump and America, this really bothers me greatly because we are eroding trust in our system, which would be bad for the country as a whole. But specifically for Republicans, specifically here in California. We've got a gubernatorial candidate on the ballot, and as you said, an incredibly important billionaire theft situation that needs to be, in my opinion, soundly defeated, which may not be because Republicans may not show up because they're being told their votes don't count when there's no evidence or logic behind that. It's incredibly nefarious from a standpoint of our society, our political system, and, yes, Republican politics.

MICHAELSON: Yes. And we know that, you know, President Trump sometimes makes up his own reality and then sometimes also goes after people that he doesn't like very clearly.

COHEN: Right. And ironically enough, Donald Trump just created a media offenders list, so basically an enemies list for content creators, and he put my name on it. And so if you search whitehouse.gov for this media offenders list, you'll find my name. And I just think, you know, for a guy who presented himself as this free speech champion, this crusader against censorship, for him now to go after YouTubers, podcast hosts, I mean, it's just the peak of weakness.

Donald Trump is a fragile, small, petty, little man. And the reality is that I wear his scorn as a badge of honor to be named alongside people like Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert. And the reality is, if Donald Trump is so eager to release lists now, he should probably start with the one that he's on 38,000 times.

MICHAELSON: OK, well, that's -- you're referencing the Epstein list, of course.

John, maybe you got to get on the media fender list at some point. So you might --

ZIEGLER: Trump is no fan of mine.

MICHAELSON: Yes, I know.

ZIEGLER: He sucks.

MICHAELSON: So let's talk, though, about the system in California, because we're all sort of saying that there isn't fraud, but that doesn't mean that there could -- it couldn't be improved. And there should be changes to the system, right? What would you change in terms of the way elections? ZIEGLER: A 100 percent. I think it is embarrassing, not just the vote counting process, but can we get rid of this sham that the idea of universal mail-in balloting is not vulnerable to some level of fraud. It is a joke. Anybody who is elderly or newly deceased is going to have relatives in that home who are going to be able to take those ballots and do whatever they want with them. Now, does that change an election in a place as large as Los Angeles or California?

No, but it's still fraud. It's still wrong. And frankly, I actually think we ought to be making voting as difficult as possible. Too many people are voting that don't have any idea what the hell they're voting for. The fact that we're making it so easy is, I think, a problem not just for Republicans, but also for society at large.

COHEN: I could not disagree more. And I think it's actually perfectly emblematic of the conservative position, which is create a straw man, get angry about that straw man, and then start to attack it. You have created -- you've created --

ZIEGLER: Am I wrong about main-ins?

COHEN: You have created --

ZIEGLER: Am I wrong about the vulnerability of mail-in ballot?

COHEN: You have created --

ZIEGLER: No, I'm not wrong. You (inaudible) I'm wrong.

COHEN: You have created a hypothetical situation --

ZIEGLER: No, it's --

COHEN: -- and then attacked that hypothetical situation. The reality is that neither you nor Donald Trump, when he was on that interview with Kristen Welker, could name any instance, a single instance, of widespread voter fraud. And so they can get -- you all can get mad about --

ZIEGLER: He said twice --

COHEN: You all can get mad about individual instances that you've conjured up in your heads, but unless you can show actual proof of widespread voter fraud, then you are just getting mad at something that we do not have evidence of right now.

MICHAELSON: You think mail-in ballots to every single person, even if they don't ask for them, which often goes to people that no longer live in these homes, doesn't create some sort of problem.

ZIEGLER: Thank you.

COHEN: Correct. I do not. I think the more people -- I think -- I think automatic voter registration, mail-in ballots to everybody is doing whatever we can --

ZIEGLER: It's good for Democrats.

COHEN: -- doing whatever --

ZIEGLER: It's very, very good Democrats.

COHEN: No, no, hold on. Utah has full mail-in voting.

MICHAELSON: Last (inaudible), Brian.

COHEN: Utah has full mail-in voting. And in fact, that state is interesting in particular because Utah wanted to see how many non- citizens were voting. And so they did a full study of all of their 2 million registered voters. They found one undocumented voter on their voter rolls.

ZIEGLER: I never said undocumented people voting.

COHEN: That person -- that person had never even voted.

ZIEGLER: I never said. It's not the issue.

COHEN: And so in all of these instances --

ZIEGLER: Straw man.

COHEN: -- in all of these -- it's not a straw man. That's an actual study that occurred. But in all of these instances, there have -- there has no evidence of widespread fraud --

MICHAELSON: Yes.

ZIEGLER: and not a single Republican can point to one.

MICHAELSON: All right, we got to go. We got to bring you guys back. That was fun. John Ziegler, Brian Tyler, Cohen, thank you both for coming in.

Still to come, Chinese leader Xi Jinping preparing to leave North Korea after meetings with Kim Jong Un. We'll have the latest on the new chapter both leaders are opening. We go live to Asia when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:34:23]

MICHAELSON: Chinese leader Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are pledging closer ties. North Korean state media says the two have agreed to open a new chapter of relations.

Xi is in Pyongyang for his first visit to the country in seven years. Chinese state media reports the talks have centered on expanding cooperation in trade and industry.

CNN's Beijing bureau chief Steven Jiang joins me with the latest. Steven, it looks pretty warm and friendly in those images that were seeing from Pyongyang.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, definitely, Elex. And the two leaders are keeping a very busy schedule on the second and last day of Xi's state visit to North Korea. They went to pay respects to Chinese soldiers killed on the battlefields of the Korean War.

And then went to visit a school run by North Korea's ruling party, planting a tree there together to mark the friendship between the two sides.

So all of those visual cues, on top of the pomp and pageantry we saw on Monday, very much trying to reaffirm this special bond between the two neighbors forged out of the Korean War and often described to be as close as lips and teeth.

So the message here is the two sides still very much see everything eye to eye, strategically and ideologically despite this narrative that North Korea's growing ties with Russia come at the expense of its relationship with China.

Now, of course, Russia can offer North Korea with security and military guarantees, but the Russian economy is simply in no position to offer Kim the kind of economic benefits and support he needs. So Beijing is quite confident in its continued role to be North Korea's most important ally.

Actually, Xi Jinping, according to the Chinese readout, made a point of saying no matter how the international situation evolves, this special bond will never change.

Xi, of course, also proposed or offered to expand and deepen mutual coordination and cooperation on a whole range of issues, not only on the economic and trade fronts, but also notably on diplomacy, law enforcement, and even the armed forces.

But what's also interesting is what's not being said in these Chinese readouts. That is, the North Korean nuclear weapons programs.

Remember, after Trumps visit to Beijing, the White House claims both Xi and Trump have confirmed their shared goal of denuclearizing North Korea.

But most experts agree, if anything, China has all but accepted North Korea as a de facto nuclear power, even without saying so publicly.

So at this stage, it does seem to be quite pointless for Xi to waste political capital on this topic. If anything, some analysts say China may still be wary of a nuclear-armed North Korea, but it could also use that as a buffer between itself and the U.S. forces in the region, especially those stationed in South Korea and Japan, Elex.

MICHAELSON: Steven Jiang for us in Beijing, thank you so much.

The U.S. Senate will decide whether acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will get the job on a more permanent basis. President Trump formally nominated Blanche on Monday to serve as the country's chief law enforcement officer.

But the man who once served as Trump's personal attorney could face a complicated confirmation process. Critics from both parties have taken issue with Blanche's handling of the Epstein files and creating the controversial anti-weaponization fund to benefit Trumps allies.

I want to show you a live look. This right here is the stadium in Mexico City ahead of the World Cup opening match between Mexico and South Africa on Thursday.

It is now 11:37 p.m. in Mexico City. Mexico's goalkeeper saluting his president, who handed over the national flag during a World Cup sendoff ceremony. The world will be watching the Mexican national team when they take on South Africa in their opening match on Thursday.

Football fans all over the world would love to be there, but even in Mexico, ticket prices are not for the faint of heart.

CNN's Valeria Leon explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For a country that lives and breathes soccer, this World Cup remains out of reach for many. Sky-high ticket prices and just a handful of matches on home turf leaving many Mexican fans feeling left out.

Francisco Ferreira compares access to Mexico's past World Cups to this one.

FRANCISCO JAVIER FERREIRA, FOOTBALL FAN (through translator): It doesn't feel the same. Back then, it felt like Mexico's World Cup. Now, it feels like it belongs to the United States. And the ticket prices, they're impossible.

LEON: The opening match in Mexico City with some tickets now selling for as much as $16,000 on official FIFA sites and on resale sites even higher, a staggering amount that puts this tournament far out of reach for all but the ultra-wealthy.

In Mexico City, the average family earns just over $2,000 a month, roughly the cost of a single ticket. And in a city where many local fans were able to attend World Cups hosted here in 1970 and '86, many feel they've been priced out.

But the frustration started months ago. FIFA's lottery-style sales system, designed to manage global demand, left thousands without access even at base prices.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I haven't been able to get tickets, but if I do, I'll be there.

MONICA, SOCCER FAN (through translator): I hope Mexico wins. But either way, I just want it to be exciting. A good show, of course.

[01:39:48] LEON: At this rate, the cheers of Mexican fans will mostly be heard outside the stadium.

Valeria Leon, CNN -- Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: We are now just a couple days away from the World Cup kickoff. Team USA plays its first match on Friday against Paraguay right here in Los Angeles.

Right after that game, our Coy Wire will be live with us for a special post-game edition of THE STORY IS live from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. We're excited for that.

But we still maybe have more depending on where you're watching us from. For our international viewers Coy and the "WORLDSPORT" team is next.

For our viewers here in North America, I'll be right back with more, including a look at a very competitive, interesting race in Maine.

Plus, my conversation from over the weekend with Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:44:47]

MICHAELSON: Democrat hopeful, Graham Platner still appears likely to win Maine's Senate primary election on Tuesday. But a recent flurry of scandals has put his campaign under intense scrutiny.

CNN's Arlette Saenz attended his latest rally in Portland.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRAHAM PLATNER (D), MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: The reason they keep getting everything wrong is they think this is a race about me. But it isn't. This is a race about us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Graham Platner --

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In his final town hall before Maine's Senate primary, Democratic candidate Graham Platner faced a friendly crowd willing to look past his recent scandals.

Whether that will be the case in November remains to be seen, and there's one group of voters who could be the deciding factor.

CHERYL CAMERON, MAINE DEMOCRAT: I wish I had brought a sign saying, "Church ladies for Graham".

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. SAENZ: Female voters made up 59 percent of the electorate in 2020, and

they were far more likely to back Senator Susan than they were to support President Donald Trump at the top of the GOP ticket that year.

In this year's Senate race, a poll conducted before the recent revelations came to light showed Platner leading Collins among women by double digits in a hypothetical match-up.

JAN ANDERSON, MAINE DEMOCRAT: We're definitely voting for him.

SAENZ: OK.

ANDERSON: I -- honestly, I would vote for a doorknob over Susan Collins.

SAENZ: But Republicans are hoping Platner's latest controversies, including a "New York Times" report last week detailing allegations of unsettling behavior with past girlfriends, and in one case, physically threatening behavior or an accusation that he knew a tattoo he got while serving in the military was a Nazi symbol won't sit well with voters.

PLATNER: Anything alleging physicality, anything alleging that I knew what my tattoo was -- these are the statements of someone who's politically-motivated.

SAENZ: Democratic primary voter Renee Barthelman is among those feeling Platner's past is problematic.

RENEE BARTHELMAN, MAINE VOTER: The more and more and the closer and closer we get to tomorrow, the less and less comfortable I've been.

SAENZ: And so what do you think you'll do in November? If it's Platner versus Collins.

BARTHELMAN: Collins. I'm not happy with everything Collins says. I'm not happy with the way she votes in Congress lots of times. So she isn't my first choice. But of the two, I would rather see her there.

SAENZ: But many Maine women who spoke to CNN said they remain on board with Platner despite the controversies.

CAMERON: He's not a perfect guy, but I agree with his politics, and apparent -- if his wife can deal with that, who am I to argue?

SUSAN GORMAN, MAINE DEMOCRAT: The problems that are facing Maine in this country are too serious for us to focus on this purity politics.

SAENZ: Platner is favored to win Tuesday's Democratic primary, but Maine's governor, Janet Mills remains on the ballot despite suspending her campaign.

Mary Sue Emhiser is among those Democrats voting for Mills anyway.

SAENZ: Why do you say it? MARY SUE EMHISER, MAINE DEMOCRAT: If he's the only person running against Susan Collins, I will support him because my whole goal is only to beat Susan Collins. With my nose pinched, I'll vote for Graham Platner.

SHARON PORTELANCE, MAINE DEMOCRAT: The comments that have been made about women, the relationships that -- I mean, it just keeps sort of coming and that as a woman, it's a little tiring. I was really concerned.

SAENZ: And so do you think that you would vote for him in the primary on Tuesday?

PORTELANCE: Chances are I will.

SAENZ: Maine was always a central component of Senate Democrat strategy to try to reclaim control of the upper chamber. Democrats need to flip four Republican seats heading into November, really raising a lot of questions about whether Platner will be able to overcome these controversies and help Democrats in their quest to reclaim Senate control.

Arlette Saenz, CNN -- Portland, Maine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Our thanks to Arlette.

Over the weekend, I hosted an event for the Writer's Block group, talking to Connecticut's Democratic Senator Chris Murphy about his new book, and I asked him about the possibility of Platner joining him in the Senate's Democratic caucus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: What do you make of Graham Platner?

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): Yes, yes, yes. I mean, obviously, this has been a big week for Graham Platner. listen, this is -- this is a guy who has served this country, who has gone through some really tough things in his life, has made some big mistakes, has been open about those mistakes.

And it's going to be a decision for the voters of Maine. Some of these allegations are serious. They are. And he is going to have to explain to people about why these things happened and why he has changed.

But if this is going to be a character election in Maine, there is a question of character in continuing to support a president that is terrorizing immigrants in this country, that is stealing from the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:49:48]

MICHAELSON: We'll have a lot more of that conversation tomorrow on THE STORY IS.

But coming up next, the man accused of sparking the deadly Palisades fire here in California set to go on trial. The latest from court and what's at stake for the defendant when we come back.

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MICHAELSON: Firefighters in San Diego County are working to put out the Sorrento Fire, which has now grown to at least 90 acres. The latest update from CalFire says its 40 percent contained, and forward spread has been stopped.

CNN affiliate KFMB reports the brush fire was called in Monday morning, quickly spread. Police say all evacuation orders were lifted, but they are still urging residents to use caution. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

[01:54:48]

MICHAELSON: Jury selection is underway in the trial of a man accused of igniting what became one of the most destructive fires in California history. 30-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht appeared in court Monday in connection with the deadly Palisades fire.

Prosecutors say he started a fire near a hiking trail in the Palisades just minutes after midnight on New Year's Day 2025.

Firefighters thought they had extinguished that blaze, but it reignited six days later and exploded into the Palisades Fire.

He has pleaded not guilty. His defense team says he is being made a scapegoat for the L.A. Fire Department's failure to fully extinguish the earlier fire.

The trial expected to begin on Wednesday. If convicted, Rinderknecht faces between 5 and 45 years in federal prison.

Thank you all for watching THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson.

Tomorrow we'll be back. Among our guests tomorrow is an extended interview with Senator Chris Murphy.

We'll be talking more about the NBA finals.

Plus our political panel and a lot more.

The news continues here on CNN after a break. Thanks so much for watching THE STORY IS.

[01:55:54]

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