Return to Transcripts main page

The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

616 Dead, 2,500 Plus Missing After Catastrophic Flood; Like A Tsunami U.S. Survivor Describes Flooding Disaster; Hollywood's Problems Star In The Los Angeles Mayoral Race; Clancy Has Pleaded Not Guilty To Three Counts Of Murder; Inside Sacred Salt Lake Temple, Closed To Outsiders For 133 Years; Aired 1-2a ET

Aired August 29, 2026 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:00]

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Dolly was first introduced to the iconic venue at just 13-years-old alongside Johnny Cash, beginning of a legendary career that span nearly six decades. A number of artists are slated to perform to honor the life of the extraordinary legacy of the little girl from East Tennessee.

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: I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles. Coming up this hour on "The Story Is" a race against time. Rescuers are sifting through mud and debris hoping to find survivors more than 72 hours after catastrophic floods devastated communities along the Nepal-China border.

"The Story Is" no verdict yet. Jurors in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial have yet to read a decision as they asked to review key evidence. Neama Rahmani, Legal Expert here live to break down what all that could mean.

And "The Story Is" sacred in Salt Lake City. CNN's Nick Watt inside look at a temple that has been closed to outsiders for more than a century, but that's about to change.

But we begin in with that catastrophic flooding along Nepal's border with China. Police in Nepal say the death toll has risen to more than 600 people. More than 2,500 people are still missing on both sides of the border, including hundreds of foreign nationals who are visiting the region. Authorities are closely monitoring two new lakes that were formed by Wednesday's disaster, adding to the growing concerns about further flooding and landslides.

But the remote terrain in the Himalayas and the difficult conditions are complicating relief efforts in some of the hardest hit areas. Officials are also watching for another round of monsoon storms that could develop through the weekend. CNN team heard helicopters flying from barracks in Nepal a short time ago as rescuers operations resumed.

An army official says seven military and seven civilian helicopters rescued about 900 people on Friday. Massive landslides, flash floods have wreaked havoc across the region, destroying buildings, washing away bridges, burying towns under feet of mud and debris. The UN says tens of thousands of people are in urgent need of food, water, and other aid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE DUJARRIC, U.N. SPOKESPERSON: We're starting to get a better sense of what are immense needs of the population. Our partners working on food security estimate that at least 20,000 households across the Nuwakot and Rasuwa districts may need food assistance. Over 50,000 people require emergency water, emergency sanitation, and emergency hygiene support. Partners working on nutrition estimate that some 17,000 children, 1,500 pregnant and breastfeeding women, and 9,000 adolescents need immediate nutrition support.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: CNN's Hanako Montgomery and her team visited one of the hardest hit areas in Nepal where they found a town destroyed and buried in mud.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look at how this town has been devastated by the flooding. I mean, this entire area completely covered in mud and debris that's been brought in from the river just over there. The first floor of all these buildings, I mean, just completely filled to the brim with mud. And as you can tell, it's raining right now, which is exactly what the Nepali authorities were fearing. They fear that this additional rain could contribute to a secondary flood. It's also made it pretty difficult for them to find remaining survivors because, of course, it's really hard to find individuals in these remote parts, especially if choppers can't land, and they can't get to those people safely.

But I want you to take a look here. I mean, look at how much mud there is. This is several feet high. And because of the rain, it's also made a lot of this mud pretty loose, making it a little bit difficult to walk around here. But take a look at this. I mean, electric lines completely destroyed. This debris here, this looks like pipes, metal pipes. And, I mean, it looks like threads here. That's how badly destroyed it is. And, wow, look at this truck.

Take a look here. The front end of this truck is just submerged in mud. I mean, hopefully, there was no one riding it at the time, but you can see it just completely tipped off the edge here. Wow. And now because of this heavy rain, it's now created almost a stream that's leading back to the river. I don't know if you can see down there. But you can tell the river, I mean, tide is still pretty strong. The current is still pretty strong. And, again, this is what Nepali authorities are fearful of because with this rain, with monsoon season, it could mean that we see further devastation. Look here. I mean, this wall completely destroyed. And this is the scene that we keep seeing playing out across different remote villages in Nepal that were worst affected by the flooding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:05:00]

MICHAELSON: Dramatic pictures from Hanako Montgomery who continues to reporting on the ground. Hanako, thank you.

Two of the only known Americans to survive the flood are now sharing their harrowing ordeal. They tell CNN's Will Ripley that water came rushing down the mountain like a tsunami. They say they only survived because their tour guide helped them up the mountain to higher ground.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANJANA RAJA, NEPAL FLOOD SURVIVOR: So the way it came is came just like a Tsunami. It just came going all the way up. And just like a tsunami, the how it sweeps going like a row. It just took the buses, the houses, people, everything. We saw people just getting sucked in the water. It was so traumatizing to see that. People are screaming, but, of course, water doesn't hear anything. It just kind of sucked them in. I don't know if they were thrown away somewhere in the shore, but then this happened. It was just a span of 30 minutes. In 30 minutes everything was swept and gone. It was -- there was no water after that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: The son of an American couple who survived the flood spoke with CNN about the moment that he received a phone call from his parents, who we just saw there, letting him know that they are OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIKRAM RAVI, PARENTS SURVIVED NEPAL FLOOD: Suddenly, I get a phone call, and it's from my mom, so I pick up, and she's just crying. She's crying. She's saying, Shiva saved us. Shiva saved us. This massive mudslide tsunami is actually the word she used to trampled villages and buried hundreds of people. There's so many people dead, and I'm just sitting there like, what is going on? I mean, I think my first emotion was confusion because it's just something I wasn't prepared for. Like, the news wasn't out yet as far as I'm aware. I got more context about the whole situation over the next few days, but I guess, looking back on this retroactively.

I'm just thankful that I was able to hear her tell me that she's OK rather than, again, having to go look for her in this impossible ordeal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Joining me live now is Chris Miller. He is the Culinary Director for the World Central Kitchen, which provides hot meals to disaster victims. He is live right now from Kathmandu.

Chris, thanks for being with us. Thanks for the work that you do. If you can, describe what you're seeing on the ground.

CHRIS MILLER, CULINARY DIRECTOR, WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN: Well, thanks for having me today. What we're seeing on the ground right now is it's catastrophic. We're in Kathmandu, so we're about two hours about an hour to two hours south of where the devastation is. We're starting to see it. But we have a team right now that are up in the Bidur region and the Trishuli Bazaar region. They're handing out meals right now as we speak. They left a few hours ago. But what they're seeing up there is just whole towns are gone.

I mean, what you're showing on the -- what we're seeing on the video right now is just whole towns are gone. So people are sheltering in the nearby areas, the goat herding areas. They're sheltering there. We're providing meals to them, hot meals, sandwiches, anything we can do to support those communities.

MICHAELSON: Of course, World Central Kitchen, does some of the most important work in the world at disaster after disaster after disaster. Unfortunately, this is far from your first disaster trip. How does this compare to other trips you've been on?

MILLER: Yeah. I've been -- I've seen a lot in my time with World Central Kitchen, but what's different about this is the speed in which this happened. Everyone I'm -- I've talked to that has that's being evacuated, has come in to Kathmandu or to the regions we're in just north, it happened so quickly. Within 20, 30 minutes, like, the town was gone. And the videos that we've seen, these people we've talked to, it's just it's just catastrophic. I mean, there's no other -- I can't think of another word except for catastrophic, dreadful. It's crazy what's happened.

MICHAELSON: So talk to us about the process now, what this weekend looks like for you and your team, and what's the greatest need for you all?

MILLER: Well, right now, we are focusing -- we are partnering with local restaurants here in Kathmandu that are providing the meals, and then our team is taking them up to those two regions I mentioned earlier. But right now, our focus is partnering with local organizations such as the Nepal Chefs Association, Community Self Reliance, which is a NGO here on the ground, and Nepal Scouts, which is an amazing -- we just had a meeting with them that they're an amazing organization here.

[01:10:00]

They're scouts. There's about 60, 70 of them. They know the area. They know. So we're going to use these organizations to get into those really affected areas to communicate, to provide meals. We're going to start setting up field kitchens with these organizations. They're ready to cook. We're going to get up there tonight and actually set up empty door community kitchen. So we're going to start setting up these field kitchens, community kitchens. So our biggest focus this weekend is getting those areas set up as far north as we can get. Once we get those set up, we'll just moving forward and keep moving forward and keep moving forward. And that's why, World Central Kitchen partnering with local NGOs, local restaurants, local associations, that's our superpower. We they'll they get us the access, and we support them. We follow their lead and let them show us how to do it, we support them in any way we can. So, that's our focus this weekend.

MICHAELSON: Chris Miller with World Central Kitchen feeding people in the middle of a disaster zone as you have so many times before.

Thank you so much for joining us on "The Story Is" and be safe this weekend, and best of luck to you and your crew.

MILLER: Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.

MICHAELSON: Still ahead here on "The Story Is," many entertainment industry workers are having a tough time staying afloat, and their struggles are having an impact on the LA mayor's race. We talk to the guy who brought us Entourage about why he says Hollywood is not doing well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: From devastating wildfires to entertainment productions leaving Los Angeles, Hollywood struggles are taking center stage in the city's mayor's race. With many industry workers struggling to stay afloat, CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister looks at how Hollywood's future is now a political fault line.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got news, California. Baywatch is back.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The announcement was buzzy. Tax incentives lured the iconic Baywatch reboot back to its original home on the Southern California Coast.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Best job in the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Best job in the world.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): But a symbol of LA's resurgence in Hollywood production became a hot topic on the mayoral debate stage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's what happened in Baywatch. City and county weren't talking to each other.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): When Baywatch began production on LA's famed Venice Beach, it was met with another LA icon. Red tape. No overnight parking. No driving on the beach. No fires on the beach. We're a lifeguard show, the Baywatch co-creator told variety. What do you mean we can't drive a truck on the beach?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're at the historic Venice Lifeguard Tower.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Mayor Karen Bass and county leaders scrambled to avoid election season embarrassment, easing restrictions and keeping Baywatch from leaving the city. But the fiasco became a symbol of the difficulties of shooting in Hollywood's own backyard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It drives me crazy.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Doug Ellin created another iconic LA show, Entourage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this city has collapsed in the last five years. There is no fucking denying it.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): He's been a vocal critic of Bass and her progressive challenger, Nithya Raman, and a supporter of former reality star Spencer Pratt, who lost in the primary but won over a large group of frustrated Hollywood creatives.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many people in your circles were secretly supporting Spencer Pratt?

DOUG ELLIN, CREATOR ENTOURAGE: A lot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But they were too scared to say it?

ELLIN: A lot. And big people.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Many of them live in and around the Palisades, devastated by the LA fires in 2025 and concerned about homelessness that has become a citywide issue.

ELLIN: I don't think people should be walking down the street terrified that somebody on drugs is going to come after them, and I don't think that's insensitive to anybody. I think that that is just common sense. And just to be clear, I don't like Trump. I didn't vote for him. And when you see people who just go, well, Spencer Pratt is he's Trump. He's this. He's that. It's very, very frustrating, and you can't really get your voice heard.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): With Pratt out of the race, where do those votes go? Bass is the establishment Democrat. Raman, who's on the LA City Council, is a Democratic socialist. Her husband is a writer and producer who worked on Modern Family and 30 Rock. Bold faced names have pledged support.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm supporting Nithya Raman in this race.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): From Chelsea Handler and Mindy Kaling to Adam Scott, Tina Fey, and Natalie Portman.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Karen Bass is that person.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Bass has more legacy supporters like Samuel L. Jackson, Jane Fonda, and Magic Johnson. Along with the handling of the fires, crime is also an issue as high end home break ins have surged in LA, hitting stars like Entourage's Kevin Connolly, Nicole Kidman, and Brad Pitt.

ELLIN: I find it to be a very scary time right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your house was broken into.

ELLIN: I was sitting in my car and I got a ring alert that there's someone on my balcony when I turn it on and I see two guys kick in the doors to my house. It's a very unsettling feeling. And when you have a three-year-old, my house has never felt the same.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Bass, though, points to overall reductions in crime.

KAREN BASS, MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES: Crime, especially homicide, is at a 60-year low.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Raman is the more liberal of the mayoral candidates, but says she's not afraid to pivot from democratic socialists when needed.

NITHYA RAMAN, LOS ANGELES MAYORAL CANDIDATE: I supported Measure ULA, the mansion tax. And just a few months ago, I stood up and said, I don't think it's working in the way that it was intended.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Where Pratt voters land just might tip the scales in the November election. Ellin says he'll reluctantly choose the incumbent.

ELLIN: So I will go in and I'll close my eyes and go Karen Bass, I hope you do better this time. I don't know what else can I do?

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:20:00]

MICHAELSON: All right. Thanks to Elizabeth for that. Let's unpack that with our panel. Joining me once again on "The Story Is" Caroline Sunshine, who's a Communications Aide for the Trump 2024 campaign, and Lucas Acosta, Principal with Pebble Beach Press, former Director of Broadcast Media with the Biden White House.

Welcome back, both of you. Lucas, how do you read this? Because on the one hand, there's this -- the very sort of hyper local Los Angeles story, but also there's this bigger story of democrat led blue cities and this fight for the soul of the democratic party.

LUCAS ACOSTA, PRINCIPAL, PEBBLE BEACH PRESS: Sure. But I think another key point that was made in that package is sort of where is Hollywood and how do we fix it, right? And I think that that directly points to Karen Bass as one of the most effective leaders that you could possibly have in this race. So when I talk to studio heads, I worked at Disney for two years. They constantly talk about tax credits. It's not necessarily production issues or red tape that are the reason why they're struggling to film in LA. Sometimes they really want to, but the tax credit incentives from various states or other countries are preventing them from doing that. Karen Bass is the one who wrote the original tax credit bill.

She's the one who has the relationships both in Washington and Sacramento and has been advocating to expand that tax credit. When that happens, jobs are sure to come back to LA. Meanwhile, Nithya Raman, on the other hand, is missing votes on the City Council for to expand access to the industry in the city. She's ignoring her own constituents. She's just been completely MIA.

MICHAELSON: But why hasn't Karen Bass brought that tax credit home then?

ACOSTA: Oh, I mean, she started it. The California tax credit was recently expanded last year partly due to her leadership alongside Gavin Newsom. I mean, I think that everyone would agree that we want to see that tax credit further expanded, and I think Karen Bass would be the first person to tell you that that should be expanded. But, again, Nithya Raman is not necessarily the person who I believe can actually deliver on that promise.

MICHAELSON: Your reading, your response to that story.

CAROLINE SUNSHINE, COMMUNICATIONS AIDE, TRUMP 2024 CAMPAIGN: I think in a healthy functioning country and city, if you have a leader like Karen Bass who presided over the disaster of the Palisades fires and really left citizens completely out to dry, and we're a year and a half out from it now and only a handful of structures have been rebuilt, that person would have just resigned from office. But because she's a career politician, she's back with new fresh ideas like giving meth addicts teeth. I mean, I don't know how many meth addicts you guys know.

MICHAELSON: In fairness, I mean, it's a democratic election. She was number one in the primary.

ACOSTA: Exactly.

MICHAELSON: She -- Spencer Pratt didn't even make the top two.

SUNSHINE: Yes. But I don't know if giving meth addicts teeth is the leadership that Los Angeles is looking for. Again, what do you think happens when you give a meth addict teeth? They're either going to sell them or they're going to do more meth. So I don't think that's the solution to things. And then where I feel for the citizens of LA is if you don't like the job that Bass has done, which is a disastrous tenure, what's your alternative?

Nithya Raman who thinks that the idea of fire prevention is to tell you, you can't have to afford the July barbecue. That's what I mean. Bad you go from bad to worse.

ACOSTA: Yeah. Meth addicts with teeth might be a great talking point, but I think that LA voters care about three issues. They care about boosting the film industry, like reducing crime, and reducing homelessness. And I think that Karen Bass' record, she announced earlier today, an incredible reduction in crime.

MICHAELSON: And the last two more than the first one.

ACOSTA: Like, she has done, like, an incredible job in this city reducing crime. And, yes, homelessness has seen some issues in the last couple of years with some rising. The inside safe program has been incredibly effective.

MICHAELSON: Well, then why is homelessness up this year? But that's a whole -- yeah. We could get into all of this. Meanwhile, there is the record of California and Los Angeles is something that Gavin Newsom is going to have to answer to. He's going to South Carolina this weekend. He says that California is, example, the fourth largest economy in the world, that we're something that the rest of the country should want to emulate. How does the California record, do you think play with the Democratic base in other parts of the country, Lucas?

ACOSTA: Well, I think that Gavin Newsom's most attractive quality to a lot of Democratic voters right now is his sort of stick it to Trump. I think that he has done a really good job on social media sort of trying to emulate that model, that sort of modality, but I'm not sure that that's going to take him very far. It might get him a lot headlines right now, but I'm not sure it's going to bring him a lot of votes come 2028.

MICHAELSON: Well, and the question is, is that where the Democratic base going to be in 2028? Also, will Gavin Newsom adjust his strategy by 2028 and show a different side of him as well? Because that may not be where the energy is, especially after the midterms. How do you see Newsome in South Carolina and the democratic race right now?

SUNSHINE: I'm not in the business of giving free advice to Gavin Newsome, but if I did, I would say, why are you in South Carolina instead of having rebuilt the palisades?

[01:25:00]

You currently have a job. Your job is to lead the people of this state. You are part of that rebuilding effort. Your record speaks for itself. A leader who was serious about the people that they lead and who would want a serious shot at running for President would spend all of his time rebuilding those Palisades and say, look what we've done. But instead, he's a career politician, so he's headed to South Carolina. Great job.

MICHAELSON: Your thoughts on that?

ACOSTA: Hey, it's going to be an interesting primary, and I'll leave it there.

MICHAELSON: Yeah. And, of course, the challenge for the Palisades and for Hollywood is the Palisades is just a small percentage even of Los Angeles. So most of the voters that living in the city have no connection to the Palisades. Many of them don't have a connection to Hollywood, but almost all of them have a connection to homelessness and crime and all the rest of that as well. LA is such a huge city, 4 million people in the state of California, 40 million people as well.

SUNSHINE: And they deserve so much better.

MICHAELSON: Caroline, Lucas, thank you both for coming in. Appreciate it. Great to see you both.

Next on "The Story Is" jurors in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial failed to reach a verdict on day two of deliberations. Ahead will speak to a former federal prosecutor about the case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: Welcome back to "The Story Is" I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at today's top stories. Police in Nepal say the death toll from the catastrophic flooding along the border with China has risen to more than 600 people. More than 2,500 people are still missing on both sides of the border, including hundreds of foreign nationals. Police say more than 2,300 people were injured in Wednesday's disaster. Another round of heavy rain is expected this weekend, threatening to complicate search and rescue efforts.

Norway's Prime Minister says the entire nation is in mourning following the death of King Harald. A long line of people paid their respect at a makeshift memorial in Oslo on Friday. The king died earlier in the day at age of 89 after 35 years on the throne. He was Europe's oldest reigning monarch. King Harold was succeeded by his son who thanked Norwegians for their support and compassion.

President Trump is praising a new deal that he says gives the U.S. access to 65 billion barrels of Venezuela's vast oil reserves. He says the move will more than double American oil reserves and lower gas prices. The deal comes as U.S. emergency reserves have fallen to their lowest level since the early 1980s. The national average price of gas now above $4 a gallon.

Day two of deliberations in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial ended on Friday without a verdict. Clancy's defense attorney says the jury sent one note to the judge asking to see prescription pill bottles and the knife that Clancy used when attempting to take her own life. CNN's Ivan Rodriguez has the latest from Massachusetts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Day two of jury deliberations in the Lindsay Clancy trial are now over. Behind me, you can see a group of reporters following her defense attorney, Kevin Reddington. Friday morning, Reddington said the jury asked to see Clancy's prescription pill bottles, which was originally shown weeks ago in court, as well as the knife she used to cut her wrist and neck before jumping out of a second floor window.

Clancy was prescribed about a dozen different medications between September 2022 and January 2023 as her mental health declined. The jury is deciding whether Clancy should be held criminally responsible for killing her three children in 2023. The jury has options. Not guilty by lack of criminal responsibility, guilty of first degree murder, guilty of second degree murder, and guilty of manslaughter.

The jury is made up of nine women and three men. Deliberations will continue Monday morning. In Plymouth, Massachusetts, I'm Ivan Rodriguez.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Let's bring in Neama Rahmani, President of West Coast Trial Lawyers, former Federal Prosecutor joining us live here on "The Story Is." Neama, welcome back. Pill bottles and knife, what does that tell us? Why do they want to see that?

NEAMA RAHMANI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Elex, I think both those categories of evidence are good for the defense. This is why pill bottles, of course, are mental illness, right? That was a big defense theory in the case. And, of course, the knife is Lindsay Clancy's suicide attempt. Now the prosecution did argue that it was potentially a fake or exaggerated suicide. I personally think that was a bridge too far.

Again, some of this is reading the tea leaves, but you certainly don't want the jurors asking for the exercise bans, for instance, if you're the defense. I think this is a good sign for the defense. Of course, you don't know if it's the majority of the jurors who are asking this to try to convince the holdout jurors or something else, but I think you got to be feeling good if you're Lindsay Clancy's defense attorney right now.

MICHAELSON: Let's put up on the screen, the different options for the jurors that Ivan just talked about. And this is not just a simple yes or no. First up, they got three different kids. So for all three of the kids, these are options. Either not guilty, not guilty by lack of criminal responsibility, which in most states would be reason of insanity, guilty of first degree murder, guilty of second degree murder, guilty of manslaughter. So all the jurors have to go through all of those options for all three kids. That's part of the reason that this process could take a while.

RAHMANI: Oh, no question. As a general rule of thumb, jurors tend to deliberate for one hour for each full day of testimony. So we're talking about five weeks. That's about three days. So I'm not surprised they didn't return a verdict today, even though, never underestimate the power of a weekend to get 12 men and women to agree on something. But you're right. I mean, you have the full gambit here. First degree murder, that's life without the possibility of parole. Second degree life, possibility of parole. Manslaughter, up to 20 years. Not guilty by reason of insanity or criminal responsibility, of course. Confinement to a mental health facility.

[01:35:00]

Not guilty, highly unlikely. Of course, it's on the verdict. I would be shocked if anyone thinks that Lindsay Clancy is not guilty when she admitted to it.

MICHAELSON: So if she was not guilty, she would just walk away with nothing?

RAHMANI: She will walk out or in her wheelchair. I mean, the folks that think that Patrick did it really want to not guilty, but, again, I don't think that's a real possibility here.

MICHAELSON: Especially when she said that she did do it. So in terms of all those options, I know psychologically human beings really like limited choices. There's something about that. How does that complicate it and complicate the jury room when there are those many choices?

RAHMANI: I think you nailed it. If you're really looking at this case and you're being intellectually honest, it's either first degree murder, right? First degree murder in Massachusetts premeditated and with cruelty or an atrocity. Killing your three kids, that's it. Or it's not guilty because you're not criminally responsible. Manslaughter, that applies when you're criminally negligent, you're reckless, you're driving home today, you're under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you kill someone. It doesn't necessarily apply in this case.

Now, could be a split verdict, compromise verdict. There's horse trading in that deliberation room. If that happens, I think the jurors just wanted to go home. But really it really should be one or the other if you're being true to the law and you're applying the facts to the jury instructions.

MICHAELSON: The issue of postpartum depression, which has been at the center of this, and she says postpartum psychosis, which is another level than what most women obviously deal with. But do you think that the treatment of that, the conversation about that, the legality of that changes because of this case?

RAHMANI: Oh, no question. It's really raised awareness about it. Now, obviously, women have been suffering through postpartum depression and even psychosis for a long time, so really the makeup of the jury matters. And obviously these are gross generalizations, but you have nine women, tends to skew older, which is not uncommon for these long cause cases, right? Not many folks have more than a month to sit on a jury unless they don't have a job, they're not in school, they don't have young kids. So you do get a lot of retirees.

Now women can also be harder on other women. So this could really go in any direction, but I do think if you are the defense, you like the makeup of the jury. Nine women tend to skew older.

MICHAELSON: And online, at least, it seems like a lot of women are siding with Lindsay Clancy, which has been interesting, and there's a real (inaudible), right? RAHMANI: No question you see a clear divide on social media. Men, woman on one side. Again, gross generalization, but you got to see that there's a lot of women that are supporting Lindsay Clancy right now.

MICHAELSON: Neama Rahmani, who's been with us every step of the way, former Federal Prosecutor and President of West Coast trial lawyers. Thanks so much for being with us. And we'll see what happens Monday. There could be a verdict. And, of course, we'd love to have you back if that happens.

Coming up on "The Story Is," for more than a century, outsiders had been barred from one of the Mormon church's most sacred spaces. After the break, CNN gets an exclusive glimpse inside the towering temple in Salt Lake City ahead of its grand reopening.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: Typically close to outsiders, the building at the heart of the Mormon church is opening its doors to everyone. Following a major renovation, the church will temporarily allow public tours of its temple in Salt Lake City. Even non-Mormons are welcome. CNN exclusive U.S. National Correspondent Nick Watt gives us a rare glimpse into the temple and a religion many view as secretive and shrouded in mystery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK WATT, U.S. CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For roughly 17 million devotees worldwide, this is the holiest of holies where sacred covenants are made with God. For more than a century, no one else was allowed inside this temple.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on in.

WATT: Thank you. Never until now. For the past 133 years, unless you were in good standing with the church, you were not allowed to walk into the temple. I'm not in good standing with any church. So why am I allowed now? Well, because they are opening this temple up for the world to see. This used to be in the historic temple.

WATT (voice-over): They are the perhaps misunderstood, some say mysterious Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, aka the Mormons, although most no longer like that label.

WATT: Why are you letting us in?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want the world to see the joy and happiness that comes in a greater understanding of the blessings that our heavenly father has in store for us.

WATT (voice-over): Right now. Well, as you can see, the temple is being renovated. We've been allowed to take a peek. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got a sort of modern day Michelangelo situation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do. Yeah.

WATT (voice-over): There are a few rules for the construction workers on this massive multi-year project.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the contract with the general contractor, it says no, vulgar language, no loud music. It's part of the level of decorum we expect, right?

WATT: So these are the dressing rooms where church members change into their all white attire before going into the temple. Now all of this construction is new, made to look old. Look, if you take a look at that chandelier, that is modeled on a chandelier from a catalog from the time that the old temple was built.

WATT (voice-over): Construction on the Salt Lake Temple began in 1853 where church leader Brigham Young stuck his cane into the ground. It took 40 years to complete.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And these pioneers had to use materials that were available for them at that time. So you can see that the plaster that they used, they reinforced it with horsehairs.

WATT (voice-over): Oh, how construction technology has changed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the stone walls of the temple are right above us here.

WATT (voice-over): Nearly 200 million pounds of temple now resting on 98 earthquake proofing base isolators.

WATT: How much movement does this give you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 5-feet in any direction. So when earthquake happens, imagine the floor moving that way and the temple above it moving less.

[01:45:00]

WATT: And so the idea here for you is to make sure that this temple survives long after we're all gone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right. Yeah. Well into the future. After the lord comes, we want this temple to be in service.

WATT (voice-over): They call themselves latter day saints because they believe that second coming is not too far away.

WATT: Is this sort of, like, god's mission for you is to strengthen this? I mean, or am I barking up the wrong tree there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not at all. I believe, I've been prepared by God to be on this project. WATT (voice-over): That they say Satan is trying to sabotage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to see hard times because the adversary is trying to make it as hard as he can on you to not finish.

WATT: You're seeing the sort of the sort of powers of the lord and --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And evil. Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Salt Lake Temple you see outside is called the house of the lord.

WATT (voice-over): When the remodel is finished, there will be a window when you too can visit. See inside where the faithful are wed or sealed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A husband and a wife, a man and a woman kneel across an altar with their hounds interlocked, and they're sealed not just for time, but for time and eternity.

WATT (voice-over): And you'll be able to see the baptistery.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a railing for the baptistery. Bronze with a --

WATT: A round the font. OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's bronze with a brass finish, probably.

WATT: We from the outside, we definitely do feel that there's something secretive and maybe stuff going on that we just don't know about.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like to say.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah. It's sacred.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sacred not secret.

WATT: Sacred not secret.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

WATT: And this is going to be open for six months?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: April through October.

WATT: And then you dedicate it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shortly after that.

WATT: And then people like me are not allowed in it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then if you come --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you can. Yeah. You can join with us. Come on. Get part with us.

WATT (voice-over): Short of converting on temple grounds, there is this brand new visitor center with a scale model of the temple.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We call this the Veil Room.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then we enter what is referred to as the Celestial Room, representative of that space and that opportunity we have to live as heavenly beings.

WATT (voice-over): And there are replica temple rooms that will remain open for all to see. This is the replica baptistry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so here, people are wearing all white. They're wearing a sort of white jumpsuit. They come in, and they're fully submerged. Yes.

WATT (voice-over): Baptized multiple times on behalf of ancestors who might never have had the chance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to help you feel comfortable about what we're doing.

WATT: This is This is the first full time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First full time temple open house in a visitor center. Yeah.

WATT: Is there a gift shop?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: So no gift shop. Nick Watt here with us.

NICK WATT, U.S. CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Very disappointing.

MICHAELSON: With us now. What a fascinating tour.

WATT: Yeah.

MICHAELSON: Because this has been so secretive for so long. When you actually got in there, what surprised you most?

WATT: The fact that we got in there?

MICHAELSON: Right.

WATT: Really was the first thing. And then that they were very open to talking. And this -- I was sort of on eggshells. I would ask a lot of questions about their theology and say, I hope I'm not offending. I hope I'm not barking up the wrong tree. And they were very open about it. So it was great that they let us in. It was great that they talked to us, and I don't think I managed to offend them. And actually I think they laughed a few times, which was great. I think they realized that I was doing this in good faith and wasn't trying to trip them up and was just trying to find out what was going on. And so we had a really good conversation. Listen. I don't --

MICHAELSON: You're not personally a Mormon.

WATT: I'm not.

MICHAELSON: I liked your use of good faith, which was no pun intended there as well.

WATT: No.

MICHAELSON: But what did you learn about the religion that that maybe you didn't know?

WATT: Well, I mean, I am -- I was really surprised by this idea of them believing that they will live a celestial life afterwards. And actually speaking to them and having them explain that to me, I found fascinating. Of course, I've read about this stuff, but to actually have somebody tell you that this is what they believe, this is what they sincerely believe, I find that interesting. Listen, part of the great thing about our job is we get to speak to people who we don't necessarily understand and don't know much about and get to ask them. What's your deal?

MICHAELSON: Right.

WATT: And it was really cool to have them answer.

MICHAELSON: Fascinating reporting. Nick Watt, great to see you. Thanks so much for coming in.

WATT: Of course. Thanks, Elex.

MICHAELSON: We'll have more of "The Story Is" right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: Tennis superstar Roger Federer is one of the sports all- time greats. Now a new honor, the 20 time grand slam champion will be inducted on Saturday into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Vetter retired four years ago. He told CNN World Sports Don Riddell that the honor is a chance to reflect on his career as he claims his place alongside the legendary tennis players he's long admired.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: If you could play anybody already in the hall of fame, if the tennis gods would grant you that, who would you pick and why?

ROGER FEDERER, 20-TIME TENNIS GRAND SLAM CHAMPION: Yeah. So I would have a little list probably together. I would love to play maybe Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, and again against Pete Sampras. I think those would be my favorite players to play against. I've always admired their personalities, what they have achieved, and what they represent in the game. So that that would be a very special match.

[01:55:00]

RIDDELL: It's wonderful that now you get to sit alongside them in the hall. Roger, I followed your career very closely. And from your first big win at Wimbledon to your very last match, there were a lot of tears. I would imagine this ceremony will be quite emotional for you. So when do you think you might start getting choked up on Saturday?

FEDERER: Yeah. It's a good question. I'm also not sure yet so far. I've arrived in Newport a couple of days ago after playing the exhibition match with, Andy Roddick, Agassi, and McEnroe in New York where we had an amazing time, and I've been answering a lot of questions already about entering the hall of fame. And it's just nice to be in front of the meeting and talking about all my memories. And so far, I've been actually really, really good. So I'm -- maybe I don't want to say confident that tomorrow I get through it without any tears or not getting too emotional, but maybe also I'm just really, at peace with my career.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Congrats to Roger Federer and also Mary Carillo who are both being inducted this weekend.

Thanks for watching "The Story Is" all week long. I'm Elex Michaelson. Have a great weekend. We'll see you back here on Monday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)