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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
U.S. Completes Latest Wave Of Iran Strikes As Naval Blockade Resumes; Bipartisan Group Of Senators Unveil Graham's Russia Sanctions Bill; ICE Pausing Most Traffic Stops Following Deadly Shootings In Maine And Texas; U.S. House Passes Bill To Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent; Firefighters Battling Blaze in Forest Near Paris; One Dead, Two Missing after Boat Capsized Near Alcatraz; Spain Headed to World Cup Final; Los Angeles Investing Heavily in Green Tech for Summer Games. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired July 15, 2026 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Wednesday morning and even more rain and significant flooding is possible in the region through the end of this week. 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: Coming up, the story is a naval blockade in Hormuz and the president once again threatening military action. But is it enough to break the standstill with Iran?
The story is changes at ICE after multiple deadly shootings of civilians. DHS is pausing agent traffic stops and requiring body cameras. But is that too little, too late? A Maine state representative joins me.
And the story is Bastille Day under heat and fire. A wildfire burning on the outskirts of Paris may have been deliberately set. I'll speak with a guest who can literally see the flames from her home.
Thanks so much for watching This Story Is. I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles. Tonight, the top story is the U.S. Navy blockade on Iranian ports now in effect as the Central Command says it has concluded a fourth day of strikes on Iran. President Trump says the strikes will, quote, continue until I say it's enough.
Tehran blames Washington for causing the breakdown of the seafire and says it has no obligations to the 14-point agreement made with the U.S. last month. Gulf countries are on high alert for Iranian retaliation. Earlier video geolocated by CNN appears to show an Iranian drone striking a warehouse in Kuwait. Meanwhile, President Trump is walking back his proposed 20 percent toll on cargo moving through the Strait of Hormuz. The president says it will be replaced by Gulf state investments in the US. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: They would love to invest more money in the United States at record amounts and that would be very acceptable. And this way there's no fee. I don't like the concept of a fee, but at the same time, it's not fair that we're protecting this strait for the entire world. But it's unfair that we're not in somehow compensated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: CNN's Kevin Liptak is at the White House with more on President Trump's latest threats against Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Trump is issuing fresh warnings against Iranian civilian infrastructure, including bridges and power plants, as he ups the rhetoric against Iran to try and break loose some sort of resolution to this conflict.
Now, the president has made those threats before, including as recently as last week, and hasn't followed through on them. And it's not clear that they will yield the type of concessions from Iran that so far they have failed to yield during the previous threats that the president has made. But I think it all adds up to a commander-in-chief who is really casting about looking for a way to break loose what has essentially become a stalemate in Iran.
And you saw over the course of the last several days the president searching for different options, including the naval blockade of Iranian ports that went back into effect on Tuesday, Central command saying that 20 U.S. naval warships and hundreds of American military aircraft are enforcing that blockade.
You also saw the president sort of go back and forth on this idea of imposing a 20 percent fee on vessels that are trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz. The president in an interview on Tuesday, declined to say potentially how long all of this would last, saying, saying only that the U.S. strikes on Iran would, quote, continue until I say it's enough. Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Kevin, thank you. Last hour, I asked former U.S. ambassador and Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill what he makes of President Trump's latest threats.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER HILL, FORMER U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: To go after power plants. It strikes me that he's saying of all kinds and bridges of all kinds. Sounds a little like he's going after civilian infrastructure. And that's quite problematic. And I'm sure that's going to get us to a solution here.
Look, I think everyone wants this war to end, but escalating it and going after what could well be civilian targets is probably not the way to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: U.S. lawmakers have unveiled a sweeping bipartisan bill aimed at intensifying sanctions on Russia's energy economy and defense industrial base. Senators on both sides of the aisle are now urging Congress to pass the legislation, calling it a fitting tribute to the late co-sponsor, Senator Lindsey Graham. All this comes as United Nation reports that June was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since April of 2022.
U.S. congressman Mike McCaul recently met with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Kyiv. McCaul told CNN he sees an opening for Ukraine to take the upper hand in this conflict.
[01:05:04]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R-TX): What I saw on the front line operations was the Ukrainians taking back Russian occupied territory. They were actually winning this fight now. So now is the time to put pressure on Putin. These sanctions that Lindsey and I have been working over the last year and have finally gotten White House, you know, the green light.
His last comments on Earth were optimistic about how we were going to pass them into law. So for purposes of peace, not war, because we achieve peace through strength.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: In Biddeford, Maine, residents are remembering a 26-year- old Colombian immigrant who was shot and killed by ICE officers even though he wasn't the target of their enforcement operation. Department of Homeland Security is now pausing most traffic stops by ICE agents and they're planning to equip each arrest team with an agent wearing a body camera. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has more on Monday's shooting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A 26-year-old Colombian man, Joan Sebastian Duran Guerrero, was shot and killed in an ICE involved shooting Monday morning in Maine. A CNN review of photos and videos of the scene offers new insight into the timeline of the deadly incident. It's the second fatal shooting involving ICE agents within a week coming just days after a Mexican man was killed in Houston.
The latest shooting happened at this intersection in the city of Bedford. Duran Guerrero was driving this white Kia. It's just feet from the apartment building where Duran Guerrero lived. There is still a lot that's unclear about what led to the shooting, but here's what we do know. At 7:17 a.m. a doorbell camera from a nearby home captured the sound of gunshots.
You can hear five shots fired in just over a second in the distance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, is that a car?
ALVAREZ (voice-over): Another video which caught the sound of gunshots is time stamped to 7:17 and 52 seconds. Then this surveillance video picks up three seconds later showing Duran Guerrero's car entering the intersection and then slowly moving in circles.
In another angle you can see two federal agents standing outside the car as one of them has his hand on the driver's side door, apparently trying to bring it to a stop. Behind the circling car are at least two federal law enforcement vehicles blocking the road with their lights flashing.
They're in front of Duran Guerrero's apartment indicating where the incident may have started. Duran Guerrero's car spins for over a minute, making four and a half revolutions. Federal agents finally try to stop it with one of their unmarked vehicles, first appearing to strike the front left side and then pinning it from the side.
In this photo you can see four bullet holes in the car's windshield. On the driver's side, two federal agents approach Duran Guerrero's door, one with his gun drawn. Upon reaching the door, he holsters it. They break the window and open the door from the inside.
One of them pulls Duran Guerrero onto the street. He appears limp and his head hits the ground. Then officers appear to handcuff him in.
In other footage, one of the agents can be seen wearing a vest that indicates he's an ICE agent, the other a Border Patrol agent. Three other agents all wearing ICE vests could also be seen around the car.
Then at 7:21 a.m. local police arrive on the scene as one ICE agent kneels over the Duran Guerrero. By 7:23 a.m. about six minutes after the shots were fired, both local and federal officers are seen providing medical care to him.
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said that ICE was conducting targeted surveillance of an illegal alien. Then it says an illegal alien departed the residents in a vehicle. Notably, they don't specify whether that is the same person they were targeting. DHS says that the vehicle attempted to flee the scene and fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon.
The statement did not explain why the ICE officer thought the driver was a threat. U.S. Senator Angus King says DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him Duran Guerrero was not the target of the operation. According to a neighbor, Duran Guerrero was a quiet and reserved person who had a wife and a three-year-old daughter. He was authorized to work in the U.S. and had a Social Security number, according to the Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition.
The Maine Attorney General's Office is conducting an investigation into the shooting. The DHS Inspector General and FBI are also investigating.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Our thanks to Priscilla Alvarez for that. For more, I am joined by Maine State Representative Tavis Hasenfus. Welcome to the story is.
TAVIS HASENFUS, MAINE STATE HOUSE DEMOCRAT: Thank you for having me.
MICHAELSON: From what you've seen so far, do you think that the ICE officers acted appropriately here?
HASENFUS: Yes, I think any time that there's an opportunity to deescalate a situation, we would like our law enforcement community to do that. And I don't want to jump to any conclusions until the investigation is complete. But certainly anytime there is an opportunity to apprehend a target without the use of deadly force or force at all, I think that's advantageous.
[01:10:10]
And hopefully the investigation that is done by the FBI and the Attorney General's Office will shed more light on to the appropriateness of the officer's actions.
MICHAELSON: What are the key questions that you have for ICE after seeing all of this?
HASENFUS: You know, I think the key questions are, one, you know, if in fact, this wasn't the individual that was to be targeted or the subject of this investigation, you know, was it necessary to, you know, have guns drawn and proceed in the way that they did. The other question I have is, you know, if why were there no body cameras? I believe that body cameras were authorized and funded for in the last funding bill for ICE. And it's just very disappointing that this has happened and the previous shooting has happened. And we may -- we don't have any body camera footage for this.
So I think that's another question. And my, you know, the most urgent question is, you know, a question that I asked back in January with a letter say, what is -- what are we doing to ensure that ICE agents have the proper training and the same level of training that FBI agents have or even officers within, you know, the Maine State Police or main police officers?
MICHAELSON: So Senator Susan Collins, Republican from Maine, is saying that big reason why there weren't body cameras is because of the Democratic government shutdown from earlier in the year. She said that she asked Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin to pause ICE traffic stops like this one for now and that they are paused that he agreed with what she said.
Are you satisfied with her response, with her leadership and the way that ICE is responding to that?
HASENFUS: I mean, unfortunately, it's too late for Mr. Guerrero and all of the community in Maine that is reeling from this incident. That being said, I do think that having a pause in reviewing the procedures that ICE uses to ensure that they are the best procedures for public safety, to protect the officers and the targets of an investigation is the appropriate step forward.
And I hope that it's done with good intentions and that we really can get to the bottom of this and, and address this ICE issue, because it seems all too often we're dealing with these shootings, you know, whether it was Minnesota and now it's here in Maine. And enough is enough. It needs to stop.
And I commend anybody in Congress who can put politics aside and take a step to ensure that we are doing everything we can to protect the public, protect immigrants and protect officers.
MICHAELSON: Tavis Hasenfus, Democrat, Maine state representative, thanks so much for being with us.
HASENFUS: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: So what effect will this deadly ICE crackdown have on Latino voters in November's midterms? I'll put that question to our political panel in just about 15 minutes from now. And up next, though, we're talking about the image you're seeing here. Europe's deadly heat fueling wildfires across the continent.
French officials are investigating possible arson for a wildfire burning near Paris. We're live in France. When we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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MICHAELSON: Welcome back to The Story Is. I'm Elex Michaelson. And let's take a look at today's top stories. China's economy grew at a slower than expected pace of 4.3 percent in the second quarter of the year. It is a sign that sluggish consumer spending at home is outweighing the recent strength of Chinese exports. And the turmoil in global trade caused by the Iran war is taking a toll on China's economy.
President Trump's acting attorney general faces a confirmation hearing in the coming hours. Todd Blanche will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, but his nomination for the permanent role is no sure thing. He's expected to get no Democratic support after Senator Lindsey Graham's sudden death. Republicans on the committee can only afford to lose one vote.
President Trump is set to make a televised primetime address to the nation on Thursday. He says it will include new information on what he calls election security. That topic has long been a focus of the president, who continues to exist without evidence that the 2020 election was stolen.
Our panel is back to look forward to that speech. Mike Madrid, co- founder of Lincoln Project, founder of the Latino Working Class Project Gustavo Arellano, columnist for the L.A. Times. Gentlemen, welcome back. Senator Jon Ossoff was on MS Now with Jen Psaki, sort of speculating about what President Trump might say. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): I expect him to use whatever he puts out there on Thursday as a pretext either for some attempted unconstitutional use of federal power to interfere in the election or to give his proxies and loyalists in state and local jurisdictions some cover for whatever they might attempt or to lay the groundwork for challenging the result.
And the bottom line is that this is a real and live threat to voting rights in the United States right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: There's a lot of reporting to suggest he may bring up that 2020 election in Georgia, including Senator Jon Ossoff's election.
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MIKE MADRID, COFOUNDER, THE LINCOLN PROJECT: I think that's exactly what he's going to do. I mean, but let's remember this even predates that he was suggesting in 2016 he would have won California if there had been a fair and honest election. This is just something that the president cannot get past, this idea that he could lose anything at any time. It's got to be something about fraud worse than that.
I think that was what Senator Ossoff is saying, which is, this really is toxic to and undermines confidence in elections, which at some point, we have to begin to admit is the point of what Donald Trump is doing. He's trying to undermine the basic undercarriage of democracy. And it's not slowing down, it's actually ramping up.
MICHAELSON: What -- does this help Republicans?
GUSTAVO ARELLANO, COLUMNIST, LOS ANGELES TIMES: At a certain point? No, because again, it is about the economy for everyone except the most devoted of Trump's supporters, which have always been around 35, 36 percent, a not insignificant part of the population.
But all this whining, I would hope at this point the American public says, yes, like already, stop it already. Get us back into prosperity. Whining about losing in 2016 and 2020, '24, and all of this stuff, it just doesn't end.
MICHAELSON: And the danger, Mike, also if Republican voters don't have confidence in the election, then they don't vote.
MADRID: Yes.
MICHAELSON: And that hurts the Republican Party. We saw some of that potentially here in Los Angeles with Spencer Pratt when he was running. Now, talking about the frustration over that if you tell people don't vote by mail, then the other side votes by mail. Your side doesn't. MADRID: Elex, that's exactly right. And that's -- that's the problem. Look, Republicans have been facing a turnout problem since Trump was reelected. 2025 we're seeing depressed Republican turnout numbers. He's adding more reasons not to be voting, not to show up, not to believe in the outcome of elections. He does it by -- suggesting that there's problems with voting by mail. Now he's going back and really getting the 2020 elections. He's been doing it since 2016.
So at some point, you do hope that brighter, smarter, more trusting minds will prevail. But there is a wide swath of Americans that will just continue to buy whatever he sells.
MICHAELSON: The biggest issue since he came down that golden escalator is immigration. He started talking with his first ever speech as a candidate about Mexico and about immigration. He continues to make immigration a key issue. We see ICE in the news once again with a couple different shootings that involved ICE. In the last week in our last hour, we talked with Ken Salazar, the former interior secretary, former U.S. ambassador to Mexico. He's got a new book out talking about the issue of immigration. Here's some of what he said live on our show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEN SALAZAR, FORMER U.S. INTERIOR SECRETARY: It was a time when President George W. Bush, when John McCain, when other people of the Senate, good people who are still there, were saying, Lindsey Graham, he used to work on this issue with us all the time.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
SALAZAR: And all of a sudden those people who are looking for durable long term solutions really are no longer a voice within the Republican Party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: To you, other than the being outdressed by Secretary Salazar. What do you make of those comments? And the way that immigration for 40 years has not been able to be solved by our Congress.
ARELLANO: This is going to continue again and again until this country finally once and for all realizes that immigration is a net benefit. And so we need to figure out how to do it in. I'm not going to say a proper way because my dad came to this country in the trunk of a Chevy, but at least allow for the possibility that the people who come here are not actually in invaders, but want to do better for this country and better this country, period.
MICHAELSON: Is there any political incentive, given the way that our system is set up right now, rewarding social media division, the bases, everything. Is there any political incentive to actually get a deal done on immigration? MADRID: No. Look, as somebody who came from what the secretary was saying, from that George W. Bush school and era, worked for George W. Bush on Latino issues. I remember kind of being swept in and enamored by the idea that we could have a bigger, broader society and country. All of that changed after 9/11. America fundamentally changed.
And it wasn't just the Republican Party. We have to remember the Democratic Party. Now the official plank of the Democratic Party is the Lankford Bill. It is literally one of the most conservative positions that the Republicans.
MICHAELSON: Senator from Oklahoma.
MADRID: From Oklahoma was adopted --
MICHAELSON: Was negotiating this with President Biden.
MADRID: Precisely. And Kamala Harris adopted it at her convention as the nominee. And so both parties have. The overturn window has changed. Having said that, I'm not sure that there's a political solution. I think it will fundamentally come down to an economic requirement, is we are going to start having industries shutting down. We're going to start seeing the inflationary pressures from labor shortages start to really take hold. And there is an economic imperative.
The Chamber of Commerce has been pushing and pushing and pushing. The business community will lead us to the point where the Republican Party is going to have to put up the votes at some point.
[01:25:03]
Will it be before the midterms? Of course not. But I could see something happening hopefully shortly thereafter.
MICHAELSON: But after George W. Bush and after 9/11, during that period there was the so called gang of eight in the Republican Party.
MADRID: Let by Marco Rubio.
MICHAELSON: Marco Rubio --
MADRID: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- and Lindsey Graham was a part of that as well. And they read the political tea leaves that was politically disastrous. It's part of the reason that Marco Rubio was not able to win the Republican nomination in 2016. And we've seen how far they've moved on that issue.
Now one issue that does seem to be bringing people together is daylight saving time.
MADRID: Who says Congress can't do something?
MICHAELSON: They can't do something. So the House passed a thing to keep daylight saving time permanent. It's unclear whether there are the votes in the Senate to do this or not. Mike, what do you make of the politic of daylight saving time and is it time to finally make this happen?
MADRID: I don't know. I mean I think it is fascinating that the Senate might hold up something like this. This has been an issue that's been bubbling.
MICHAELSON: Can't see the light.
MADRID: Well done. Look, I think they should probably get it done. Just to say they can go back in the midterms and say we got something done on daylight saving.
MICHAELSON: Right.
MADRID: There is some sunshine out there --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
MADRID: -- and see if that's going to work because otherwise things look very, very dark for the Republicans heading into the midterms.
MICHAELSON: But should we. I mean, it is --
ARELLANO: It climbs all around.
MICHAELSON: No.
ARELLANO: Look, this is such a nonissue but again, this is not --
MICHAELSON: It's not necessarily a non-issue.
ARELANNO: Yes, it is At the end about --
MICHAELSON: Think about how it impacts people's lives. Everybody here is perhaps more impacted by that.
ARELLANO: You know, a lot of stuff that comes something called seasons and the sun. You don't have as many light like light hours as usual.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
ARELLANO: And then at the end so you get one more and is that really going to improve your life in this world? Look, if it's a bipartisan thing, it's all conspiracy theories. But look, this is just silly season. When there's so many other issues affecting the United States right now, affecting voters, affecting everything. This is what they're going to get on. If that's a little plank towards something better, then OK, sure, but it's just silly season.
MICHAELSON: But do you think it's -- it's better. You think it's a waste of time?
ARELLANO: I don't care.
MICHAELSON: Do you care? Do you -- do you care?
MADRID: I don't care.
ARELLANO: I'm all in.
MICHAELSON: Bringing the passion for this thing. Great to see both of you guys. Thanks so much for coming in. Appreciate your insights always.
Up next, French officials are investigating possible arson for a wildfire burning near Paris. We go live to France when we come back. We had a brief technical problem, but we'll take you there live when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:31:58]
MICHAELSON: France commemorated Bastille Day with its annual military parade in Paris, but a red alert heat wave impacted other celebrations, including the traditional Bastille Day Firefighters Ball, which was canceled.
That decision made as firefighters battle a wildfire raging in a historic forest just south of the capital.
CNN affiliate BFMTV says police have detained four people as part of an investigation. One teenage volunteer firefighter admitted that he had set fire to twigs, according to officials.
A second man said that he accidentally started a fire by throwing out his cigarette.
Joining us now is Rayanne Dupuis, a resident of Fontainebleau, who lives about two miles or three kilometers from one of the fire sites. Good morning to you.
RAYANNE DUPUIS, RESIDENT OF FONTAINEBLEAU, FRANCE: Good morning.
MICHAELSON: What are you seeing, smelling, breathing? We notice that you're joining us from outside.
DUPUIS: I'm in my front garden of my home right now. I'm hearing vague noises of air traffic resuming. We're assuming it's going to be helicopters and Canadairs, as we were seeing all day yesterday, flying overhead.
I'm about three kilometers away from the fire site that was just behind the chateau. From my front stoop, we could see plumes of smoke.
From the center of the town, just helicopters were flying over, the bombardier helicopters, and Canadairs were going over into the fire.
This morning I -- we're not breathing smoke. We had some whiffs of smoke last night. I think the breeze has been in our favor. But unfortunately, over the days when the fire started, it was exceptionally windy and within this heat wave, which just made matters -- it made the wildfire spread more quickly.
So we've been very -- we personally, at this end of the town, have been quite lucky so far.
MICHAELSON: It's good to hear it sounds like it's improving a bit compared to yesterday. We do know that multiple people are currently in custody for possibly starting the fire, including a 19-year-old firefighter who said that he had set fire to twigs.
How do you react to that? The idea that all this might have started from that.
DUPUIS: I think the general -- because the news started coming out last night for us that they had -- that there was early on because there were so many different places where the fire started, there was some suspicion of criminal activity or intent.
When it started being revealed that indeed they were apprehending suspects, it's hard to explain. It's almost like a feeling of betrayal. There's a lot of anger in this town.
This forest is like a friend to people who live here. I mean, people have a very personal connection.
[01:34:47]
DUPUIS: I live -- one of the accesses to the forest is about 400 meters from my house. We go there every day, walk my dog, go running. I mean, the forest is a part of our lives and we are completely -- Fontainebleau is completely ensconced within the forest.
So to know, I mean, there's a lot of passion beyond the visitors that come. So there's a lot of anger, there's a lot of emotion around this to think that -- to think that this could have happened accidentally seems completely plausible because it has been so hot.
We've had successive heat waves since the end of May, and no appreciable rain at all. So we knew how dry the forest was and people were starting to get worried about accidental fire.
The intentional or even accidental -- when there's been so many warnings is really profoundly upsetting.
MICHAELSON: Well, and let's talk more about that heat. An estimated over 2,000 people have died during France's recent heat wave in a first world country.
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, says that climate change is a hoax. From what you're feeling firsthand and seeing firsthand, is climate change a hoax?
DUPUIS: Things are changing -- things are definitely changing. And we are all realizing and it's in -- it's in everybody's mind that we're going to have to adapt.
I mean, one of the things because the heat wave started so early -- schools, hospitals that are not properly -- well as most people now know, Europe does not have the same amount of air conditioning in buildings.
Buildings are built differently here. And we haven't had these problems repeatedly. We would have a few days of heat. We would get up to 35 degrees Centigrade for a few days, maybe a week.
But to have the relentless heat waves that we've had have made everything more challenging -- education, the end of school.
So people are really trying to and we're realizing were going to have to prepare. This is just going to become -- it's been a trend and it's going to continue.
People dying -- I mean, we've also had drownings because people are looking for all kinds of means to cool off. We have the Seine here. People have been swimming in the Seine. We do anyway, but it's been its been very generalized.
And all over France, people are finding -- trying to find ways to keep cool. And the elderly are greatly affected, obviously.
MICHAELSON: Well, we feel for you. We're glad that today seems a little bit better for you and your beautiful garden, by the way. And we --
DUPUIS: Thank you very much.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And we are thinking of all of you as well. Hope you're able to stay cool today.
Rayanne Dupuis, thank you so much.
Up next --
DUPUIS: It's a pleasure. Thank you very much.
MICHAELSON: Up next, a major rescue operation is underway right now in California after a boat overturned and they're looking for survivors.
Also, we're talking World Cup. Spain took down the World Cup favorites France to claim a spot in the final. The highlights and a preview of what "The Wall Street Journal" calls the biggest rivalry in all of sports.
Keith Costigan here next.
[01:37:47]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: Rescue teams are urgently searching for two people in the San Francisco Bay after a boat capsized near Alcatraz Island. Authorities confirmed that one person died after being pulled from the water. 16 others were rescued and taken to a nearby hospital.
Divers, helicopters, several boats, all helping search for folks right now.
Authorities described the three-deck vessel as a pontoon pleasure boat. Initial reports indicate there may have been a fire, but authorities say they found no evidence of that so far.
Let's talk sports.
They have been partying. Watch this.
That's the streets of Madrid after the Spanish national team beat France two-nil in their FIFA World Cup semifinal match. Spain opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with a goal from a penalty kick.
Goal number two came early in the second half. France and superstar Kylian Mbappe couldn't pierce the Spanish defense, which posted their sixth shutout in the tournament, a new World Cup record.
La Roja now headed to the final for the first time since 2010. Spain will now face the winner of the second semifinal match -- England versus Argentina on Wednesday.
Joining me now is Keith Costigan, play-by-play announcer for MLS on Apple TV. Former professional soccer player himself.
So Argentina versus England. Let's look forward to the next few hours.
"The Wall Street Journal" had quite a write up about this, calling this "the greatest rivalry in sports braces for its biggest game ever".
Here's part of their writing, which I thought was quite something.
"The brief history of these five games includes a match so violent that it prompted the introduction of red cards. A goal so controversial it became known as the Hand of God; a goal so sublime it became known as the Goal of the Century.
Allegations of vile racism, endless chants about the Falkland Islands, the ejection of soccer icon David Beckham, and an effigy of a player hanged outside a London pub."
That's in five matches, all that has happened.
KEITH COSTIGAN, PLAY-BY-PLAY ANNOUNCER, MLS ON APPLE TV: Wow.
MICHAELSON: All that has happened.
Do you agree with the premise? The greatest rivalry in sports?
COSTIGAN: It is a great rivalry. I think you can't go beyond an Argentina-Brazil rivalry. You see it so often. There's just genuine hatred between those two countries.
We don't see England play Argentina often, but when they do, there is a lot of hatred. There is a lot of history. Going back to Diego Maradona, you mentioned the Hand of God goal. I'm
Irish, so it's a goal celebrated in Ireland, too. David Beckham's infamous red card. And the effigy was of him outside of a London pub. England disowned David Beckham for two years after that red card.
So there's so many great storylines in the game. England feel like tomorrow is their day of destiny. They feel like it's revenge for them tomorrow.
So how do you see this, this going out? I mean, England obviously has some great stars -- Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham. And then Argentina has perhaps the greatest star of all.
[01:44:48]
COSTIGAN: Yes. I think look, England is the country that invented the game. Tomorrow they come up against a player that perfected the game. That's the way I look at it.
MICHAELSON: Wow.
COSTIGAN: Messi is the best. It's very difficult to vote against Messi or bet against Messi in this situation.
But England, I think, have been the better team. Argentina have sputtered along in the knockout stages. There's less time in between games in the knockouts. And Messi has looked less and less impactful because of that. Maybe the age is catching up. I say this and watch him have a brilliant game tomorrow.
But there's just something about England. They found a way. We all talked about Harry Kane coming in and Jude Bellingham has now lived up to the billing as a world star, too. They have two genuine world class winners.
If England are ever going to get one over Argentina, it's going to be tomorrow.
MICHAELSON: Well, the only person who has been really competitive in terms of being as big a star in the World Cup recently, has been Kylian Mbappe.
COSTIGAN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Shut out today. France, supposedly the best team in the tournament shut out by a team that has only given up one goal in the entire tournament.
Credit to you. You picked Spain. Almost everybody else picked France. How did you see today's match and why were you so right?
COSTIGAN: Well, I think you look in the semifinals, three teams are about to. Individuals just mentioned Harry Kane, Messi. And you look at Mbappe.
But Spain are about the collective. And the last two meetings against France they dominated. The last one, they were actually leading 5-1 at one stage. France got a couple of late goals to make it look a lot closer.
But the way they defend, they get numbers around the ball. They make it difficult to play forward and they basically drain you. So even when you have possession, you don't have that energy and fire to go forward.
So Mbappe was quite gracious after the game in defeat, France tried to high press. They tried to play Spain at their own game. Couldn't do it.
I think Spain had the best collective team in world football right now.
MICHAELSON: And because of that, are they the favorites going into the final?
COSTIGAN: Yes, I still -- I go back to this boxing analogy where they're like Floyd Mayweather. They don't knock you out, they dominate you. They'll have more shots. They'll have more passes. They'll have more possession.
But they leave you hanging around in the game. They don't have a killer in the final third, so you could easily see them dominating for 75 minutes. And in England or in Argentina, get a late goal.
MICHAELSON: And quickly, with our World Cup rapid fire. First thing that comes to mind really fast. Ok?
COSTIGAN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Best player in the tournament.
COSTIGAN: Oh, Messi.
MICHAELSON: Most disappointing player in the tournament.
COSTIGAN: Wow. Cristiano Ronaldo.
MICHAELSON: Most fun fan base.
COSTIGAN: Has to be Norway. They've been incredible.
MICHAELSON: Best player on social media.
COSTIGAN: Vozinha, the goalkeeper of Cape Verde. He's got like 20 million followers now.
MICHAELSON: And who's going to win it all?
COSTIGAN: Spain.
MICHAELSON: There we go. It's been so fun watching this with you.
Keith Costigan, thank you so much. You can check him out on Sirius and of course, MLS about to start up on Apple TV as well.
Coming up, the search continues for the source of a parasitic infection spreading in the U.S. What ties the multiple investigations underway in several states?
This is really gross, but important. And we talk about it when we come back.
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MICHAELSON: It's kind of a gross topic, but we want to make you aware of it so you can hopefully avoid it.
An outbreak of diarrhea from a parasite has now expanded to more states, and investigations are underway to confirm the source. Fast food chain Taco Bell says it is removing some ingredients from its menu as a precaution.
CNN's Michael Yoshida reports.
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MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Health officials warning about lettuce and salad greens as they search for the source of a diarrhea outbreak across several U.S. States.
DR. CAITLIN RIVERS, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EPIDEMIOLOGIST: It's really a race against time to identify what's causing the outbreak so that it can be pulled from the shelves and keep people safe.
YOSHIDA: Michigan's chief medical executive saying early information has shown lettuce as a common product that regularly comes up during the investigation.
Still, officials say other foods have not been ruled out and no specific type of lettuce grower or supplier has been identified.
Cyclospora cases can be hard to track because patients may have to remember what they ate weeks earlier.
DR. NATASHA BAGDASARIAN, CHIEF MEDICAL EXECUTIVE, MICHIGAN: So we're going back and asking them where they ate, which restaurants they went to, which fast food chains, which menu items they ordered, which grocery stores they go to.
YOSHIDA: So far, Michigan and Ohio have reported more than 3,000 cyclospora-related diarrhea cases. At least 44 people have been hospitalized in Michigan, and at least 46 in Ohio.
DR. RIVERS: The longer that contaminated products are being sold, being served in restaurants available to consumers, the more people who will become infected.
YOSHIDA: 31 states have reported cases to the CDC, though it's not clear if they're all connected to the same outbreak.
Cyclospora does not usually spread person to person. People typically get sick after eating or drinking something contaminated weeks earlier.
To reduce risk, health officials recommend buying whole heads of lettuce instead of pre-washed lettuce, throwing away outer layers and washing inner leaves. And thoroughly cook your fruits and vegetables as well.
I'm Michael Yoshida reporting.
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MICHAELSON: Well, this week the world is focused on the World Cup here in the United States. But two years from tonight, that global attention will again be fixed on Los Angeles for the opening ceremonies of the 2028 Olympics.
Basketball will be played just south of Los Angeles at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood.
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MICHAELSON: Can you believe two years from today there will be Olympic basketball here?
RUSSELL WESTBROOK, FORMER NBA STAR: It's going to be amazing, man. I think the city, this arena, the people. It's going to be exciting for L.A.
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MICHAELSON: Earlier today, I caught up with nine-time NBA all-star Russell Westbrook, who won the Olympic gold medal with Team U.S.A. back in 2012.
This week, the L.A. native is co-chairing The Road To 2028 summit with Matt Peterson, who runs the Los Angeles Clean Tech Incubator.
[01:54:49]
MICHAELSON: They announced $600 million in public and private commitments to invest in green technology ahead of L.A.'s Games, which is expected to be a massive logistical challenge for this whole region.
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MATT PETERSON, CEO, LOS ANGELES CLEAN TECH INCUBATOR: With the Olympic and Paralympic Games, it's the equivalent of seven Super Bowls every day for weeks here in Los Angeles. So you think about all the stuff that's going to take, you know, has to take place to make that happen.
A lot of cars, a lot of trucks, a lot of busses, a lot of stuff moving around. MICHAELSON: And announcing $600 million in commitments. That's some
real money.
WESTBROOK: That is real money. It's going to be -- it will show. And I think the Olympics will give us an opportunity to be able to do that with LACI's help to be able to show the things that we're working on.
PETERSON: Ensure that there's more clean trucks on the road, electric trucks moving the goods from the ports of L.A. to the warehouses to the venues.
So it's really this moment where we show the best of L.A., California and American innovation, entrepreneurship to demonstrate to the world how we're leading by example.
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MICHAELSON: All that also includes a massive investment in solar battery storage and EV charging systems to have cleaner fleets and cleaner air ready to go two years from tonight.
Now to baseball. In the 2026 All-Star Game, New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger got the scoring started in the first inning with a two-run single up the middle. The American League would add another run in the first for a 3-0 lead that held until the eighth inning.
That's when White Sox infielder Miguel Vargas blasted a solo home run into the second deck in left field.
Final score 4-0, American League. It's the first shutout in All-Star Game in 13 years. No runs for the National League.
Thanks for watching THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson.
I'll see you tomorrow.
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