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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Trump Teases He'll Give A "Really Long Speech" In July 4th Heat; U.S. Advances With Thrilling Win Over Bosnia Despite Red Card; Russia Launches Deadly Large-Scale Missile Strikes On Kyiv; Rescuers Not Giving Up As Death Toll Reaches Nearly 2,300. Preparations Appear to be Underway at Madison Square Garden for Nuptials of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce; House Candidate Denies Explicit, Racist Text Allegations; Daredevil Couple Reaches Top of Empire State Building. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired July 02, 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]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And if you're wondering why someone who can literally get married anywhere in the world chose Madison Square Garden as the likely venue, well, it is infamously secure. There are no windows in this building, as I mentioned. There are underground tunnels and garages where we're learning guests will be going in and out of so they are undetected by the paparazzi. And we are also learning now that the police may shut down the streets around Madison Square Garden for the next two days while these events are happening.
Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: And there's not a lot of places where you have room for a thousand guests, but that is one of them. Thanks for watching the first hour of The Story Is. The next hour starts right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles, The Story Is with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: And thanks so much for watching The Story Is. I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles.
The story is attendance and angst. After touting an unforgettable birthday party, the Trump administration is now nervous about how many people will actually show up at the National Mall on July 4th.
The story is surviving in the rubble. Rescuers in Venezuela are working to save a man buried 29ft underground. That's happening right now.
And the story is love is all around. In New York City after Daredevil proposal at the top of the Empire State Building, the city is preparing for a possible mega celebration for Taylor Swift's wedding. We just heard about it. Some TMZ's Harvey Levin joins us with even more of the inside scoop coming up.
But the top story is President Trump promising what he calls the, quote, most unforgettable birthday party any country has ever seen. He'll help kick off America's 250th anniversary celebration with a July 4th speech on the National Mall.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: By the way, on July 4th, it's going to be approximately 107 degrees out. And I'm going to go and I'm going to make a really long speech just to show that I can do anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Sources tell CNN the White House is getting worried about how many people will actually show up to celebrate on Saturday. Tightened security measures, triple digit heat and a schedule set to run well into the night may have people turn away.
President Trump visited North Dakota on Wednesday, flying on the new Air Force One for the first time. He praised the luxury jet donated by Qatar and said that the U.S. quote, couldn't build a plane like this. The president also shrugged off concerns that he may be profiting off his job after new disclosures revealed he made more than a billion dollars from his crypto businesses last year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Critics would say you're profiting off the presidency.
TRUMP: Well, you know why I'm profiting because the stock market's going up. Everybody's profiting. If you have a -- you have a 401k? How's your 401k done? It's about up 85 percent. Thank you, President Trump. So we're all profiting. I'm profiting because I have a lot of money and a lot of cash.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Let's bring in our panel, former federal prosecutor and former U.S. House candidate, Democrat Will Rollins, and Elizabeth Barcohana, a Republican strategist and attorney.
Elizabeth, what do you make of this CNN reporting that President Trump, concerned about the crowds, apparently was very frustrated that the last time he went to the National Mall there were not big crowds, that some of the pictures showed that there weren't a lot of people there. We've seen some reporting from the fair there and wide open spaces. And, you know, that's not necessarily a great look.
ELIZABETH BARCOHANA, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST AND ATTORNEY: Well, the wide open spaces were outside. And as you said, we're going through a heat wave over there in Washington, D.C. it's going to be very hot. And most of the attractions were actually indoors around the periphery of that space. And there were a lot of people there. It just -- I guess it depends on when you catch the, the video or the footage.
MICHAELSON: Your thoughts on this whole thing and the idea of this speech.
WILL ROLLINS, FORMER U.S. HOUSE CANDIDATE: I think we're spending a lot of our collective national attention on crowd sizes still to this day. And I probably could make it through the speech. It would take me a lot of cold beer to do it. But, you know, maybe people are just pissed off that they can't afford a used car and the guy just got a brand new $400 million, 747.
MICHAELSON: Well, you may be able to watch it live on CNN on Saturday night. I mean, we're in at this interesting time because the birthday of the country should be a bipartisan celebration, right? This idea of us turning 250 and yet we're in a moment when a lot of people are not necessarily feeling proud to be an American, which I think is a really bad thing. And we have some graphics we want to put up.
How proud are you to be an American? Gallup asked that. Extremely proud. 33 percent right now in 2001. This was before 9/11. It was at 55 percent. And it breaks down, not surprisingly, by political party.
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70 percent of Republicans right now say that they are proud, extremely proud to be an American. Independents at 28 percent, Democrats, just 14 percent. Do you feel proud to be an American?
ROLLINS: I do, yes. And my message to my fellow Democrats is, you cannot only love this country when you win. And I would say the same to Republicans, because the shoe will be on the other foot. And the values that this country has stood for has fought, that people have died and sacrificed to make this country what it is today.
I mean, that transcends party and it transcends all of us. And July 4th should be a day when we remember what makes this country great.
MICHAELSON: Yes. I mean, what do you make of that sort of increasingly partisan nature? We're so tribal right now where people don't even say that they're proud of the country.
BARCOHANA: Well, that's been a trend for a long time. Even when, you know, President Biden was the president, when President --
MICHAELSON: At that point, it was oftentimes flipped, where we saw a lot of Democrats saying they were proud and Republicans not so proud.
BARCOHANA: Republicans have always had national pride. Michelle Obama said the first time that she was ever proud to be an American was when her husband was elected president. You know that type of rhetoric comes mainly from the left. Republicans are always proud to be American.
We have a lot of patriotism where the MAGA party, and that's who we are. But, you know, going back to what we talked about earlier, when you teach kids to hate America, or you focus on the negative and the problems and call it an oppressive. And that original sin was slavery, and that's the true founding of America. When you teach that to kids, when they grow up, they learn to not feel pride in that country. And they want to --
MICHAELSON: But isn't it important to talk about America, warts and all? A way to love the country is to talk about it honestly. And that slavery was a huge problem, that there were a lot of bad things in this country, including interning people, turning away people. I mean, there are problems with America. That doesn't mean you don't love the country.
BARCOHANA: Listen, Elex, I went to public school in California when it was good.
MICHAELSON: As did I.
BARCOHANA: And I learned, you know, true American history. And it is very unrelatable to me to hear Americans talk about how they're not proud of this country. It is the greatest country on Earth. And especially as a Jewish person living here, as a child of an immigrant, I grew up all my life hearing that this is the greatest country on Earth. It is so foreign to me to know that there are Americans out there who are not proud of who they are.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And part of that discussion, honestly, we see some of the language, especially with some folks on the Democratic Socialists of America who talk about the fact that they're not that proud of America and want to see some radical changes here. And part of the national conversation has been about this Democratic socialist wave. In the last hour, we spoke live with Nithya Raman, who is running for mayor of Los Angeles. And I talked to her about why she's a Democratic Socialist. And here's some of what she said. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NITHYA RAMAN, LOS ANGELES MAYORAL CANDIDATE: This is not about ideology. This is about making a city that really works for working people here in the city of Los Angeles. And that's what I'm committed to delivering.
MICHAELSON: But do you consider yourself a capitalist?
RAMAN: You know, we are in a capitalist system. It's a city government.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
RAMAN: It's the role is the mayor of Los Angeles. You operate within this context, and I'll do whatever it takes in order to deliver for my residents.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Well, she did not get real specific on why she was a Democratic Socialist. She didn't really answer that question about capitalism straight on. What do you make of that? And what seemed to be a clear political strategy to try to get away from the branding or some of the thoughts of the Democratic Socialists of America, even though she's a member.
ROLLINS: I think she's focusing on affordability because that is the number one issue for Americans right now. They really aren't caught up in some of these other foreign policy issues that are much less popular with the broader electorate. And I think it's smart as a political strategy to focus on those issues of cost of living. And I really think at the end of the day, a House majority and a Senate majority and a national electoral victory is not going to come via the DSA.
I think the councilwoman is certainly smart enough to know that, but she also knows that is a popular brand and in Los Angeles. And I think the reality for the Democratic Party is to make sure that they're not getting bogged down by some of the more unpopular positions that the DSA holds, but also being a big enough tent to put up people who can win in districts where it really matters.
MICHAELSON: So there's been a lot of criticism, especially on the right, on the way that big blue cities have been run. And there's been a lot of people on the left and the right that have warned what happens if the DSA runs a city that's happening now in New York. And Zohran Mamdani is polling very well in New York. We've got the latest numbers from Sienna College, New York Times, 58 percent favorable in the city, just 26 percent unfavorable. Those are really strong numbers.
[01:10:05]
What do you make of those numbers and this idea of who should run cities?
BARCOHANA: Well, first of all, we have four democratic socialists on our 15 member city council. Nithya Raman is one of them. She was the first. You don't have to have a majority of democratic socialists for them to make a real impact on governing.
You know, she also said tonight there isn't a democratic socialist way to fill a pothole. Well, first of all, the potholes are not filled in LA. And second of all, there is a democratic socialist way to defund the police. There is a democratic socialist way of providing health care to citizens, which is by the way, single payer.
She focus on tenants' rights and she uses terms like working people. Those are Marxist socialist terms and she's using them deliberately but then walks away from the label. Look, when the democratic socialists started, they knew, and they say this openly, they knew that they couldn't start their own socialist party.
So the plan always was to be an insurgency movement within the Democratic Party and take it over. And they are doing just that in front of our eyes. Mamdani this week froze the rents. You know, when you do that --
MICHAELSON: Promise to do that.
BARCOHANA: Well, of course. And he's delivering on his promises.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
BARCOHANA: None of these things like it based.
MICHAELSON: People liked it pretty off of the polling.
BARCOHANA: Well so far -- I mean they think they like it. But when you freeze the rents, you constrict supply. Right. And then rents elsewhere go up.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
BARCOHANA: Landlords cannot make ends meet and you villainize the landlords who are the people providing the housing that you say that you're trying to provide to the people.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
BARCOHANA: It make sense because it's Marxism.
MICHAELSON: Well, we have to leave it there now, but there's a lot more we could get into and look forward to doing that both with both of you. Elizabeth, Will, thanks so much for a great discussion tonight.
ROLLINS: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Soccer fans. Soccer fans here in the States will have the whole holiday weekend to celebrate. The U.S. Men's National Team is advancing to the round of 16 with a two nil victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. You can see the big cheers right now for that.
The Dragons were no match for the Stars and Stripes who played the last 35 minutes of the match shorthanded. CNN World Sports Coy Wire was at the stadium to watch it all.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: Well, if sports are an emotional roller coaster, this one skipped the brakes. American fans saw joy, then panic relief and now euphoria. Their World cup dream is still very much alive and it is full steam ahead. Fans wearing stars and stripes were flying high hours before kickoff.
And once again, the U.S. team came out breathing fire. Breakout star Folarin Balogun lit the fuse early, burying the opener and breaking out the LeBron James celebration. King James saw it and gave it his royal seal of approval on social media. But then, plot twist.
Balogun given a red card. So 30 nerve wracking minutes of 10 Americans against 11. But Malik Tillman uncorked a laser 20 meters out after a yellow card that hit the back of the net like it had a boarding pass. Cue the bedlam. The U.S. win 2 nil first World Cup knockout win since 2002, and only their second one ever. America is marching on to the round of 16. I asked the soft spoken Tillman how he felt after he scored that second goal.
MALIK TILLMAN, U.S. MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: I'm a different type of person on the pitch. Of course, maybe you know it, you don't really see my emotions. But then if he's got to go like this, I mean, I think also you guys saw my emotions and them. That's a great feeling. And of course not very proud moment for me.
CHRIS RICHARDS, U.S MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: I think it's a proud moment and it's a moment that we can gain a lot of confidence from that. We've kept two clean sheets in the last four games and I think before then we didn't quite have the best record when it came to clean sheets. So again, it gives us a lot of confidence going to the next round.
WIRE: All right, Next mountain to climb. Belgium in Seattle. And it comes with a glass case of emotions. Their top goal scorer Balogun suspended after that red card.
For now though, American fans are floating on cloud nine, maybe 10. Losing your top score could crack a team or it could further forge one. Championship runs are rarely smooth. They are forged in moments exactly like this. And the next moment for these fans should also be a good one.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELON: Let's hope so. Coy, thank you. Joining me now here in studio is Keith Costigan, play by play announcer for the MLS on Apple TV. Keith, what a night.
KEITH COSTIGAN, PLAY-BY-PLAY ANNOUNCER, MLS ON APPLE TV: Great night. A night 24 years in the making. We've not won a knockout stage game in 24 years. The last was in 2002. It's an expanded World Cup this year. So by default, we're just getting back to the round that used to be previously the round of 16.
[01:15:03]
But it's a great night, great win. And we break a hoodoo against European opposition as well. Hadn't won in 10 against the European side. That changed tonight.
MICHAELSON: What do you think was the key to victory?
COSTIGAN: I think the way we've been playing. I always remember watching U.S. teams as backs against the wall, defend, fight, scrappy on set pieces. Every game so far in this World Cup, we've been the front foot team and it was the same today. We actually went into this and as favorites. We lived up to that billing. We were patient in possession. We got our goal right on the stroke of halftime, deserved.
And then in the second half, we had the adversity, we had the red card and we responded magnificently. So I think in terms of, you know, ticking all the boxes in terms of a win, we got everything we wanted out of tonight.
MICHAELSON: Objectively.
COSTIGAN: Objectively.
MICHAELSON: This is a good red card.
COSTIGAN: Yes, look, it's tough. I can understand why people are mad and I know it's all over social media we're seeing the pictures of Messi doing a similar challenge and then saying, oh, is there a different rule for Lionel Messi? I would argue neither are red cards. If you look, people will say there's no intent.
As we see the replay of it, Balogun goes down on the back of the Bosnian defender. There is no intent, but that's not in the language of the law. It is if you're endangering an opponent. The unfortunate thing for this is Balogun played so well, he's going to be suspended. I don't think every ref gives this, but I have seen them given.
MICHAELSON: And Messi kind of does get a little right.
COSTIGAN: He's getting a little.
MICHAELSON: LeBron James gets a little. Michael Jordan used to get a little. That's sort of, kind of what happens.
All right, U.S. is going to play Belgium next.
COSTIGAN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Belgium played today versus Senegal, had quite a comeback. Talk about the Belgium team. What did you see from them?
COSTIGAN: Well, we played them a few months ago and Belgium played us off the park and you thought there was a massive gulf, but they have not played well in this World Cup for 85 minutes today against Senegal, they were outclassed. I do not know where this comeback came from. They brought on Romelu Lukaku, their top goalscorer in history, but he's an aging striker. He's not at his very best anymore.
They pulled this one out of the ashes. I think we're playing a Belgium side at a perfect time. Belgium will probably go in as slight favorites based on the history, but I think it's a very winnable fixer for the US.
MICHAELSON: Let's talk about England today. Survived barely. How'd they do that?
COSTIGAN: Well, England are interesting because they're trying to win the World Cup for the first time in 60 years. They have a German coach and they wanted to go away from a previous English coach who was very negative and perhaps his tactics weren't exactly endearing to the fans. The German coach, Thomas Tuchel, plays pretty much exactly the same way. So they were down to Congo, who've been a revelation in this tournament as well. They had a really good result against Portugal, but England came good and we've seen this throughout the tournament. I know I've been watching your show and you've had people on talk about the stars delivering. Harry Kane when it mattered most today for England delivered two top class goals. Their next test, maybe the best game of the World cup so far. They go to the Azteca to play Mexico --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
COSTIGAN: -- who have an incredible record there. That is going to be one of the games of the tournament.
MICHAELSON: How do you see that game?
COSTIGAN: I mean, Mexico only lost two games in over 80 at the Aztec. It's at altitude. I was listening to the English media coming in here and they were already saying, well, we can't really train for that. They were already coming up with these excuses.
MICHAELSON: Excuses.
COSTIGAN: Exactly.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
COSTIGAN: I'm going to say I want Mexico to win, but don't rule out Harry Kane and the English.
MICHAELSON: I mean, you kind of want Mexico win just to watch what that country does. Credible party they just had was so much fun. They're still partying here. Tomorrow, here in Southern California. Spain versus Austria. How do you see that?
COSTIGAN: Well, Spain haven't played at their very best. I think they're one of the favorites, incidentally. If you want to be really brash and look forward, we could play them in the quarterfinals. But Lamine Yamal is one of the best players in the world.
There's no doubt about that. He's 18. He's already won the European Championships. He's slowly working his way into the competition. I would argue out of all the superstars, he's the one that really hasn't arrived on the big scene yet in the World Cup. So I'm watching out for that.
I expect Spain to win, but. But traditionally they've struggled. They've worked their way into tournaments and that's what we've seen so far from them.
MICHAELSON: So if the U.S. beats Belgium, you say the likely next match would be against Spain back here?
COSTIGAN: Yes. We have not picked the easy path. It would be Spain --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
COSTIGAN: -- then potentially France and then Messi final. That's the dream.
MICHAELSON: It's a dream for FOX Sports.
COSTIGAN: Yes, it is.
MICHAELSON: That's a whole lot of money if they are able to pull that off. Keith, great to see you. Let's keep talking.
COSTIGAN: Yes. Thank you.
MICHAELSON: We got a few more weeks of this stuff. Well, we want to go back to, you know, the important, the top story here on what's happening in Ukraine. Ukraine's president warned that his country, that Russia was preparing a massive new strike. Hours later, drones and missiles started raining down on Ukraine's capital.
Plus, deported, then disappeared. Dozens of Venezuelans sent back to the country by the U.S. are now missing after last week's deadly earthquakes destroyed the hotel. We'll hear from someone who made it out alive. An amazing story, coming up.
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[01:24:09]
MICHAELSON: These are live pictures from Kyiv, where it is after 8 o'clock in the morning as rescuers search for survivors in a partially collapsed residential building. The city's mayor says people remain trapped under the rubble after a barrage of Russian strikes overnight.
Officials say at least one person is dead and 11 others have been hospitalized. Many residents took shelter in underground metro stations as the attack unfolded.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned that intelligence indicated that Russia was preparing a major strike. The attack comes after Ukraine launched an unprecedented wave of drone strikes deep inside Russia in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, the death toll in Venezuela after two powerful earthquakes has now risen to almost 2,300 people more than a week ago about 2000 U.S. troops are assisting local volunteers in the search for the missing.
[01:25:04]
And Chilean firefighters have found a man inside a collapsed building. He saw the man survived 29 feet underground. They're giving him food and water until they can hopefully get him out. Amazing story there. The search continues for a group of Venezuelans who had just arrived back in the country after being deported from the U.S. the day the quakes hit. They were staying at a hotel in La Guaira, which collapsed in the disaster.
Some of them managed to escape, but others are still missing. CNN contributor Stefano Pozzebon spoke with one woman who made it out alive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): It's been a week since a double earthquake devastated Venezuela, but for Ninoaska Gutierrez, the pain feels very fresh.
NINOASKA GUTIERREZ, SURVIVED EARTHQUAKE AFTER BEING DEPORTED (through translator): My legs were straight, but I had a bean on top of me, trapping me. I couldn't feel my legs.
POZZEBON (voice-over): She said she escaped miraculously with just minor injuries, scrapes and bruises, slipping from under the rubble and walking for two miles before finding help. But this latest tragedy, part of an endless list of blows. She fled Venezuela's economic crisis in 2018 and had been living in Minnesota as an undocumented immigrant since 2024.
GUTIERREZ (through translator): This year, two U.S. citizens died for defending us. The U.S. administration really made a mess with the migrants.
POZZEBON (voice-over): Scared by the unrest in Minneapolis, she moved to Miami, where after an incident with her daughter, she was arrested, charged with a misdemeanor, and transferred to ICE custody.
GUTIERREZ (through translator): I was held for seven days in the worst conditions you can imagine. They treat us like animals.
POZZEBON (voice-over): Deported on June 24, she and other 145 migrants landed in Caracas just hours before the tremors began.
GUTIERREZ (through translator): They took our handcuff off. Thank God, because finally I was going to be free.
POZZEBON (voice-over): Gutierrez and the others were in this hotel when the walls began to shake, the floor crumbling under our feet.
POZZEBON: I mean, when you got out of there, what did you see?
GUTIERREZ (through translator): I couldn't believe it. I don't know if I was conscious or not. Everything was so fast. And I asked God, why did you allow this?
POZZEBON (voice-over): Venezuelan authorities are yet to say how many of the 146 deportees died in the earthquake. Many are still missing.
In a statement to CNN, ICE said that when an individual is no longer in ICE custody, the agency is no longer responsible for them. At home, Gutierrez is somehow trying to rebuild her life. She reconnected with her daughter, Oriana, a daughter she had not seen in four years. And in signs that life goes on despite the tragedy, her niece has just given birth to a healthy baby. Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Barquisimeto, Venezuela.
(END VIDEOTAPE) MICHAELSON: Charities are on the ground providing aid to those affected. For more information about how you can help those earthquake victims in Venezuela, please go to CNN.com impact or you can scan the QR code on the screen right now.
Qatar is reporting, quote, positive progress after indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran in Doha. Qatar says the two sides agreed to continue discussions after progress on issues tied to the memorandum of understanding.
Coming up, it is a real life love story. Preparations underway for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's upcoming wedding festivities. TMZ's Harvey Levin is fired up. What we know about their star studded plans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 1000 percent excitement. She's never an inconvenience. Taylor can do whatever she wants.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:33:21]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm with CNN, anything you can share?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I can't.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No? All right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like my job.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fair.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Security has been beefed up around Madison Square Garden in New York ahead of an expected wedding celebration this week for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
A law enforcement official says extra police will be deployed to the area. Crews have been buzzing around the venue. Sources say there will a "rehearsal", quote-unquote, on Thursday for about 100 guests.
Joining me now with all the details is Harvey Levin, executive producer, founder of TMZ.
Harvey, always great to see you. Welcome back to THE STORY IS.
HARVEY LEVIN, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/FOUNDER, TMZ: I'm happy to be here, Elex.
MICHAELSON: So what do we know about this wedding and is this rehearsal actually the wedding.
LEVIN: So, we know that the celebration is at Madison Square Garden. We know that. And that it should start, the cocktail hour is supposed to start around 4:00 on Friday, July 3rd.
As for the wedding, I'm -- it is simply unclear. I mean we had a guy today that we interviewed for our TMZ live show who said he's going to both and that the wedding is on the same day but not at the same venue. So, we will see if that's the case.
[01:34:47]
LEVIN: But whatever is the case, it seems like the wedding is going to be smaller, but this party is just a gigantic spectacle.
MICHAELSON: And talk to us about some of the names we know associated with this spectacle, what its -- what we know in terms of what it's going to look like.
LEVIN: Well, it's going to look like an amusement park. You know, they were -- they were unloading golf. Seriously, they were unloading golf clubs today. So they're probably going to have a putting green or something like that.
So they've got trees And they've got a castle that they're putting up. So they're going to try to transform Madison Square Garden into a wonderland.
And look, I'm just going to say it because everybody's so excited about this. There is an absurdity to this, which is that Taylor Swift has kept this so super-secret, you know, over the last few months.
You know, telling guests you can't tell anybody anything and sometimes not even telling guests where it's going to be, you know. Embossing their names on wedding invitations, you know, making this seem like a nuclear secret.
But when you think about it, there is no way this would have been kept a secret until the time of the wedding, because they are turning Madison Square Garden into Disneyland. So everybody would have seen that this week.
So what was the point of all the secrecy and all the talk of secrecy, if the cover was going to be blown way before the wedding anyway?
I know she wanted a big wedding, but man, this -- you know, there is a report. We haven't confirmed this. There is a report she's invited the starting lineup of the Knicks to the wedding. I mean, it's just -- this is crazy.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And we just showed some of the ideas. One of the rumors is that there's, like, a black-tie dress code for some of this as well. No phone policy for guests, vendors, security.
The good thing about Madison Square Garden, you don't have windows. You have underground parking. So you have a way to control it in a way that you wouldn't for a lot of other venues.
We've heard that Stevie Nicks is going to be a part of this, performing. What are some of the other -- the names that you're hearing in terms of who's on the guest list? Who's going to this, who we expect to be a part of this?
LEVIN: Well, I mean, Sabrina Carpenter rolled into town. We know she spent five hours today at, Gigi Hadid's house. So clearly they're very, very good friends.
Gracie Abrams, we're told, is going to be there. I mean, they're going to be a lot of celebrities there, no question about it.
And look, you know, you've got two different worlds here, both of which have a lot of famous people.
You've got Travis' world, you know, with huge stars in the world of sports and celebrity now. And then you've got Taylor Swift, who traverses everything. So there will be tons of stars there for sure.
It's going to be really interesting to see how pictures of this come out. Is this going to be Taylor and Travis? Because we know we saw a big film crew show up today. So, obviously, you know, I don't think they got a guy with a -- with a -- with one of those consumer cameras shooting the wedding. So, this was a serious film crew that came in.
So it will be interesting to see. Do pictures leak? Are they going to release things in dribs and drabs? What are they going to release first, the wedding ceremony or the reception or all of the above?
MICHAELSON: Yes. And is there some guy doing maintenance at Madison Square Garden or cleaning the bathrooms? Who's got a cell phone? Who's able to just get something and sell it for a lot of money?
We'll find out when those pictures start to come out. But Harvey, I don't know how you didn't get invited. How are you Not there? I mean, what's wrong? What's wrong with these people?
LEVIN: Isn't it a shock?
(CROSSTALKING)
MICHAELSON: Yes, it is a shock. Yes. You're the only person. I mean, a thousand people, if they had ten people on the list, that would be one thing. But, yes.
Harvey, we'll, of course --
LEVIN: You don't know me well enough. Hard pass for any wedding.
MICHAELSON: Ok, I won't invite you. Now, I don't have pressure if I ever get married. Harvey Levin, thank you so --
LEVIN: I didn't know you were making an announcement right now.
MICHAELSON: No. Harvey, thank you so much. Of course, you can check out Harvey's coverage on TMZ over the next few days.
Appreciate it, Harvey. Great to see you.
LEVIN: Good to see you, Elex.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHANIE WRIGHT, FRIEND OF MARK LAMB ACCUSER, JILLIAN STANNARD: I signed the petition to put him on the ballot for sheriff, because at the time, I didn't know anything about this. And he was a member of the church. And usually that means he's a good guy, right?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: When we come back on THE STORY IS, fighting allegations. A U.S. House candidate from Arizona denies some salacious claims.
We'll lay out the accusations and hear his response.
[01:39:49]
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK LAMB, ARIZONA CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: I've been called a racist. Ive been called a misogynist.
I'm going to tell you folks, these are lies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: That is former Pinal County Sheriff and Trump-endorsed candidate for Arizona's Fifth Congressional District, Mark Lamb. He denies reports from "The Arizona Republic", which uncovered and published explicit, threatening, and racist text messages going back to 2016.
His Republican rival calls the allegations disqualifying, and some voters in the ruby red district seem to agree.
CNN's Leigh Waldman reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEIGH WALDMANA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the desert of the East Valley, a congressional race is turning up the heat.
LAMB: They never talk about the job that I did. They only talk about personal things, personal lies and attacks.
WALDMAN: Not across party lines, but between two Republicans and a deep-red congressional district.
DANIEL KEENAN, ARIZONA CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: You know what would be nice? Instead of me having to answer Mark Lamb's questions, if he could answer the questions.
WALDMAN: Business owner Daniel Keenan and former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, who's been endorsed by President Trump and who is facing allegations of sexual impropriety and racist and discriminatory comments, according to reporting by "The Arizona Republic".
[01:44:49]
WALDMAN: In one online exchange from 2016 uncovered by the "Republic", Lamb made a racist joke in response to a post from a member of a border vigilante group who used the N word.
CNN has not independently verified many of the claims detailed by the "Republic".
WRIGHT: I signed the petition to put him on the ballot for sheriff because at the time, I didn't know anything about this. And he was a member of the church. And usually that means he's a good guy, right?
WALDMAN: Stephanie Wright is a longtime friend of Jillian Stannard, who accuses Lamb of facilitating a sexual relationship between her then husband and Lamb's wife.
WRIGHT: She offered to share some of the pictures, and I saw them on her phone and I -- it was just yuck. Like it was enough to solidify that this was truth that she was sharing.
WALDMAN: In 2018, Wright says she and Stannard reported the behavior to leadership at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, where Lamb is a member and both women are former members.
Lamb is now running for Congress on a platform of faith, family and freedom.
LAMB: There's a lot of work that needs to be done, and we need real patriots in Washington to do it.
WALDMAN: Lamb's campaign declined CNN's request for an interview or to respond directly to Wright's claims. But in a statement said "The stories printed in the 'Arizona Republic' are decade-old lies and slander from long-discredited individuals who have been attacking Sheriff Lamb and his family for years."
Charmon Puhlman agrees.
CHARMON PUHLMAN, SUPPORTER OF MARK LAMB: It's a gut feeling, something inside of me, and hearing him and hearing Keenan that I know it's lies.
WALDMAN: Keenan is digging in and has spent six figures making the allegations a centerpiece of his messaging.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Local news has reported on Mark Lamb's disqualifying behavior, sending pornographic images of himself and his wife to unwilling recipients.
WALDMAN: After coming out to see Keenan speak, Kathy Atkinson says she's grateful there's an alternative to Lamb she can vote for.
KATHY ATKINSON, ARIZONA VOTER: It's really the allegations about his personal life that I think, you know, we're kind of on a path that this behavior is becoming more mainstream. So I'd like to speak against that.
WALDMAN: Wright, a three-time Trump voter is certain if Lamb becomes the Republican nominee, he won't have her vote.
WALDMAN: To the people who are supporting him because he is the front runner in all of this who say, look, this is ten years ago. It was something happening in his private life, why should it matter?
WRIGHT: You know? And that's a hard question to answer because I can see that. And people do change and, you know, situations change.
So I think that it matters now because it shows a character pattern. It shows that he is not who he claimed to be.
WALDMAN: Leigh Waldman, CNN -- Gilbert, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: We want to bring you some breaking news right now. It is an update on Russia's latest attack on Ukraine.
Officials now say at least ten people were killed and dozens of others injured. Our latest update was one person killed. Now we're up to ten people killed. And unfortunately, that includes a child.
Rescuers are searching for survivors in a partially-collapsed residential building in Kyiv. This is a live picture from there. The city's mayor says people remained trapped under that rubble.
We'll continue to follow that breaking news.
We'll be back with more on CNN right after this.
[01:48:14]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. What's all the hoopla going on over there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two geniuses climbed to the top of the Empire State Building at the top of the spire. It's a male, female dressed in black. They had some flag they were waving when they were up at the top. And he just proposed to her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: What a New York reaction there after a couple known for scaling skyscrapers climbed to the top of the Empire State Building. By the time they made it back to the ground, they were engaged and under arrest.
CNN's Jason Carroll has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the couple that caused so much chaos down here in the streets of New York because of what they were doing way up there on the top of the Empire State Building, has been identified.
Ivan Kuznetsov, 32 years old, and Angela Nikolau, 33 years old are both from Orange, New Jersey, and they face a number of charges, including reckless endangerment, criminal trespass, criminal mischief and burglary.
Now we just got some new video in from the NYPD that they released late Wednesday, showing what happened when they were finally able to bring this couple into custody. It all happened very calmly.
And in fact, at one point, Angela Nikolau said to the officer, I'm fine, I'm fine. The officer asked, do you speak any other languages? And she said, Russian.
Now this whole ordeal started just about noon. That's when the initial call came in that two people dressed in black, wearing black masks, had somehow gotten to the top of the Empire State Buildings antenna.
And very quickly, folks down here were speculating in terms of what was the motive? Why were they up there? What were they doing? Well, that very quickly became apparent when you could see the couple hugging, kissing, and then at one point, the male got down on his knees and it was clear that this was some sort of high-flying engagement.
Well, we're going to have to see what they're going to have -- the price they're ultimately going to have to pay for their antics.
Down here on the ground, we were talking to a lot of people who were out here on the lunch break, taking it all in. Listen to what onlooker had to say.
ELISA MORALES, WITNESSED EMPIRE STATE BUILDING STUNT: I saw the banner. I understand the message. If it is a proposal, I don't think that's a proposal I would want. But I commend them for using something personal to try to make a more global impact.
[01:54:51]
CARROLL: At one point, the couple unfurled a huge banner that read the following "when the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace".
Of course, a reference to Jimi Hendrix. Investigators are still trying to determine how they were able to get past an area not open to the public, and make their way up to the top of that spire. This raises a lot of questions about security. The Empire State Building, just a few blocks away from Madison Square Garden, where the Taylor Swift event is going to be taking place on Thursday and again on Friday.
You also have the World Cup going on in New York. You've got the holiday weekend going on.
This raises a whole host of questions about whether there should be increased security at other tourist sites, such as the Empire State Building.
Jason Carroll, CNN -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: What a time to be in New York, and what a new standard for proposals.
Every World Cup has unique souvenirs for fans to collect, and this year's hot new item is a charm bracelet. These fan bands are free and come with charms linked to host cities, like a slice of New York Pizza at Newark, New Jersey Stadium. More than 700,000 bracelets have already been given out at FIFA fan festivals, where fans have been waiting in line for hours for their special token.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because it's all over the Internet. A lot of people are talking about it and it's -- I think it's really worth it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We waited about an hour and yes, I love the bracelet. They seem really cool.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's worth it. It's worth the wait.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's worth the wait.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a souvenir from the World Cup, from the game. You can't get it anywhere else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Thanks for watching. I'm Elex Michaelson.
See you tomorrow.
[01:56:28]
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