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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Trump and Vance Close Out Two-Night GOP Event in Texas; Father Recalls Slain Journalist Son; Iran-Backed Houthis Capture Yemeni Red Sea Port City; Anthropic Blocked Attempts to Use A.I. to Develop Bioweapons; OpenAI Agents Breached Closed Link, Surfed Web, Called FBI; Havana Plunged in Darkness as Power Issues Worsen. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired September 11, 2026 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:03]
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you all for watching. Here comes Elex Michaelson.
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Elex Michaelson, live in Los Angeles.
Coming up, Donald Trump bringing down the house in Dallas as the first midterm convention ever comes to a close. We'll break down his final message to voters.
Plus, we'll hear parts of Vice President Vance's fiery message for Democrats and the one person who disrupted the convention.
And it's been 25 years since the tragic events of September 11th. We'll see how people across the country are marking this somber anniversary.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: It's 9 p.m. here in Los Angeles, 11 p.m. in Dallas, where President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance have just wrapped up their Republican midterm convention. The president saying he was going to be brief but spoke for more than 30 minutes, repeating his pledge to give American adults a $5,000 dividend if Republicans keep control of the House and Senate.
But it was the vice president, J.D. Vance, who delivered the keynote speech of this night. He was interrupted by a protester and by chants of "J.D. 48!"
Vance paid tribute to his friend, the slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, killed one year ago today. And he urged Republican candidates to focus on the party's achievements and defeat the Democrats, who he called lunatics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: We've got to send a message this November that the country does not belong to the radicals. It does not belong to the bureaucrats. It does not belong to the highest bidder.
This country was handed down to us by our parents and their parents before them. We received this national birthright, and we are going to fight for it by electing Republicans this November.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The president closing out the night with a musical salute featuring "America the Beautiful." Earlier, he asked those attending the convention to quote, "cheat like hell" and swear that they would vote in November's midterm elections.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Please raise your right hand. I pledge --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I pledge --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I pledge --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I pledge --
TRUMP: -- to the greatest president in the history of the United States --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- to the greatest president in the history of the United States --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- to the greatest president in the history of the United States --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- to the greatest president in the history of the United States --
TRUMP: -- that loves us so much he can't even breathe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- that loves us so much he can't even breathe --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- that loves us so much he can't even breathe --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- that loves us so much he can't even breathe --
TRUMP: -- that I will go out with my family, my friends. I'll do it anyway. I don't care if I'm registered or not. I'm going to try and cheat like hell like they do.
They'd never -- there's never been bigger cheaters. They don't care.
I am going to go out, and I'm going to get my friends, my family, and we are going to vote on November 3rd, or we are going to vote before that.
We swear that on November 3rd, we are going to go out and vote. And you know what? If you want, you can vote Democrat. But I don't think there's one person in this room that's going to vote Democrat. I don't think so.
So, I don't have to preface. I don't want to waste the words "vote Republican." Just go out. If you vote, you're voting Republican. OK, so help me God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: And he said, if you don't, you could go to Hell.
Joining us live now from Dallas, Texas, is Joe Lovinger, who is the Texas reporter at Bloomberg News. You were inside the arena for much of the night tonight.
Welcome back to THE STORY IS.
It was really interesting to see this contrast. This was supposed to be the night of J.D. Vance, but then, President Trump comes out, says he's going to be brief, gives a 30-minute speech, has a whole musical performance.
How did you see the -- the very real contrast between the current president and, potentially, a future presidential candidate?
JOE LOVINGER, TEXAS REPORTER, BLOOMBERG NEWS: That's right.
President Trump came into this convention with the key goal of basically looking down the barrel of the camera and saying, I'm on the ballot in November. He has been told by his advisers that whenever his name appears on ballots, the Republicans do better.
And so, his goal is to galvanize Republicans by saying, if you don't get out there and give me a Republican majority in the House and Senate, then my agenda will be dead.
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So, he wanted to get out there and make his personal appeal. So, we saw a lot of the same things that you'd see at his rallies, talking about what he views as his administration's wins on tax policy. in foreign affairs.
And then, we also saw this announcement that came as a surprise even to some Republicans in the room, of what he's called the Trump dividend. These are $5,000 checks he said that he would send out to all American adults if Republicans win the House and Senate in the midterms.
Now, this immediately drove a wedge in his party. You know, some members pointed out, including Chip Roy, that this -- this would add about $1.2 trillion to the national debt at a time that markets are already showing a lot of concern about, you know, rising bond yields and the cost that this might, you know, add to U.S. borrowing.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
LOVINGER: So, you know, President Trump sort of -- you know, we got what we would expect from President Trump in -- in his rally speeches.
J.D. Vance, on the other hand, tried to get out there and talk about -- we heard a lot about the birthright. And he talked about the American dream and how he wants his children to be able to save up and buy a home, you know.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
LOVINGER: And so, we sort of saw the contrast there.
MICHAELSON: And -- and a real contrast in styles. President Trump largely off the teleprompter, improvising things, doing the weave, as he likes to say.
J.D. Vance much more like a traditional pre-Trump politician, sticking to the script and hitting a lot of the talking points.
But there was a moment that was unscripted for J.D. Vance when there was apparently a protester waving a Mexican flag. This is what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: What the people at home missed is that we just had a protester interrupting us and waving the Mexican flag.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boo!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boo!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boo!
VANCE: Well -- well, my friend, if you love Mexico so much, get your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) over there. I'll buy you the plane ticket.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: What was that like in the room? It seemed like people really appreciated that moment.
LOVINGER: Yes, I'll point out that was one of the biggest applause lines of the night for J.D. Vance, was -- was that -- that line about getting back to Mexico.
And I'll also say that I think this really highlighted the duality of J.D. Vance and the reason that so many saw him as a bright, rising star in the Republican Party. Because for so much of the night, he talked about the profundity of becoming a father and -- and his, you know, religious journey and -- and remembering his friend Charlie Kirk.
But then, at the same time, he was able to kind of coarsely tell off a protester who he disagreed with. So, you know, he's -- he's able to tap both sides of the Republican Party. He can kind of speak to the MAGA base, but he can also, you know, very
eloquently speak about religion and policy. So, I think, you know, J.D. Vance right now is trying to kind of make clear that he can carve his own lane, his own political future in 2028 and beyond.
And so, I think in this speech, we saw the seeds of what that might look like.
MICHAELSON: Exactly. And it was hard to imagine a moment like that happening before the era of Trump, where that sort of response would be that quick, and that response would be like that from the crowd. You know, our politics has changed, for better or worse, depending on your perspective, because of President Trump and the way that he speaks to a crowd.
Joe Lovinger from Bloomberg News in Texas, thanks so much for being with us. We appreciate it.
LOVINGER: Thanks for having me.
MICHAELSON: Let's stay in Texas right now and get the Republican view. Elizabeth Barcohana is an attorney and a Republican strategist and a member of the Los Angeles County GOP central committee.
I guess on the floor. I love that. Thank you so much for joining us from the floor.
Let's start with the moment that you got to enjoy, which is always my favorite part when you cover a convention: the balloons coming down. Here's some of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC: "AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL")
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So, I mean, this looked like a presidential convention. You had all the pomp and circumstance. You had the Italian opera singer. You had all this stuff going.
What do you think Republicans, at the end of the day, got out of this?
ELIZABETH BARCOHANA, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: We got out of it an energized, unifying message going into the next 60 days to put aside any disagreements that we may have within the party and to focus on defending our majority; you know, really making sure that the American people understand what is at stake.
A lot of the day was a little bit different from yesterday, because today, obviously, is the anniversary of Charlie Kirk's assassination. Tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of September 11th.
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And there was also -- you know, we heard from victims of October 7th. And we heard from victims of sanctuary -- parents of victims of sanctuary city policies; and states like my home state, California, giving commercial driver's license to illegal aliens, who then go out and cause accidents and cause devastating injuries or death to -- to children and Americans.
And so, there was definitely part of the afternoon where there -- it was very sad. And we really remembered what it is that we're fighting for and these moments that bring us together as Americans.
MICHAELSON: As J.D. Vance was speaking, there were some chants about "J.D. 48," which would make him, potentially, the 48th president. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: We've got to take stock, my friends. We've got to take stock of what we've accomplished.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: J.D. 48!
VANCE: When -- when we came into office --
(CHEERING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Forty-eight! Forty-eight! Forty-eight!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Forty-eight! Forty-eight! Forty-eight!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Forty-eight! Forty-eight! Forty-eight!
VANCE: Let's --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: I know you're going to say we're focused on the midterms. And clearly, people are focused on the midterms.
But -- but this was really a big audition for him and a big moment.
What do you make of the "J.D. Vance for president" talk? Do you think the convention was with him? What are you hearing amongst the people you talk to? Is he the guy you want, or do you want somebody else like Marco Rubio or somebody else?
BARCOHANA: Listen, I think it's natural for -- I don't know if I'm losing audio here. I think it's natural for people to look ahead to 2028.
But the reality is we have an election in less than 60 days. And he is the vice president. He is part of this administration. And so, what he said tonight was we all -- you know, he said "we." He includes himself as part of this administration, including all of its agenda items and its foreign policy and all of that.
And he said, you know, I don't expect you to agree with 100 percent of everything that we do, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
You know, he had a lot of really, really nice moments, I think coming as your previous guest said, you know, coming from the point of view of a father. Me as a mother --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
BARCOHANA: -- you know, I really appreciated that -- that perspective.
MICHAELSON: Well, I -- and I appreciate your political ability to not get into the 2028 talk in that answer. Elizabeth Barcohana, thank you.
BARCOHANA: I'll come back in 60 days with you, Elex.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
BARCOHANA: And we'll talk about it then.
MICHAELSON: OK. And thank you for holding the phone up and and staying up late for us on the floor, looking good with that shot.
BARCOHANA: Yes, absolutely. I thought it would be nice for the viewers to see.
MICHAELSON: Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
We're going to stay in Dallas right now. Jane Kleeb is the president of the Association of State Democratic Committees, the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, very much not joining us from the floor of the convention. And I think that's --
JANE KLEEB, VICE CHAIR, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Was not invited.
MICHAELSON: That's an intentional choice there.
Let's start with you and what some of the vice president said about Democrats. Here's that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: They're not the party of FDR or JFK. Hell, they're not even the party of Bill Clinton anymore. The Democrats are the party of hatred. They're the party that despises America and the people who built it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: What's your response to that? What is the Democratic Party right now?
KLEEB: There's only one party that is the party of hatred and cruelty, and we've all seen that in the streets of America, when you have ICE literally tearing families apart. And that is the MAGA Republican Party.
Democrats have always stood for families. We've always stood to make sure that our public schools get the funding they need; that families are being able to go from a working class to a middle class.
And it's remarkable that J.D. Vance and Donald Trump continue to punch below. And that's always what they do as the Republican Party, whether it's they're punching below on issues of trans and villainizing trans athletes or trans kids, or whether they are, you know, claiming that we're all socialists and communists, that's all they have. Because they break their promises.
They told us our grocery prices were going to be lower, that gas prices were going to be lower, that farmers' markets were going to be wider, that we were going to have bigger trading partners. And none of that has happened.
But yet, when Democrats are in office, we have more jobs. We have more opportunities. Our cattle and corn prices are higher. And this is why we are winning races.
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In 2025, we won 90 percent of the races as Democrats, and in the early part of '26, same thing. And then, when we have the results in the latter part of 2026, we're going to show that we're not only winning in battleground states anymore, we're winning all over, because we're organizing everywhere.
MICHAELSON: In terms of the ICE perspective, I know there's some, even on the left, who complained that Barack Obama was the deporter in chief, and they complained about some of the way that they handled that situation. But -- but let's keep moving.
We'll talk about the way that -- that the party was talked about by some of the other folks there tonight. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): And this is no longer the Democrat Party that we once knew. This is a new Democrat Party. And they're against everything that they used to stand for.
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: The Democrats abandoned all of these values and all of their traditional values, offering Americans only one policy, one policy that they stood for. The unbridled, sociopathic, and blind hatred of a single man, Donald J. Trump.
GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): Together, we are going to demolish the Democrats. We are going to keep Texas red.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So, RFK Jr. there, former Democrat, saying that the real thing that brings the party together is the hatred of Donald Trump, and that there isn't really a policy agenda. What do you say to that?
KLEEB: Democrats are united in a policy of fairness and justice for all. We always have been united on that policy. We certainly want all Americans to be able to afford health care. We
don't think that Americans should be going bankrupt in order to get the health care that they need.
We want young people to be able to afford a home and be able to think that they have the security to be able to raise a family. So many young people that we talk to right now think that they can't afford to not only get a home, but they can't afford to have a child. And that has never happened before, right?
I have three girls. My oldest is telling me, and all her friends are telling me -- and this is not just in my life. This is -- we have so many young people in -- all across the United States that are saying, I don't think that I have enough money to have children or buy a house.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
KLEEB: This is something that we, as Democrats, know how to solve.
When you look at job markets and you look at job numbers, when Democrats are in office, the job numbers go up; the economy goes up. And then somehow, we hand those reins -- the economy gets better. We hand the reins over to the Republicans, and it goes into the gutter again.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
KLEEB: And we, as Democrats, have to stop playing games and have to get tougher. And that's exactly what's happening now. You're seeing Democrats fight back.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
KLEEB: And we're no longer just talking in the ivory tower. We are fighting back.
MICHAELSON: Last question. This is yes or no. Did watching this make you wish that you had a convention?
KLEEB: No. We are happy that we are at the doors, making calls, texting folks, most importantly, having those one-on-one conversations with voters, using our resources to organize everywhere.
MICHAELSON: Jane Kleeb, the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, joining us live from her mission in Dallas to respond to the Republican convention tonight.
Thank you so much.
KLEEB: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: We are covering the Republican mid-term convention throughout the night here on CNN. More on Vice President J.D. Vance's speech still ahead. Plus, we've talked about this. Americans marking the 25th anniversary
of the September 11th attack. All living U.S. presidents plan to be in New York except for one.
Plus, we are hearing from the father of Daniel Pearl, the journalist who was murdered while reporting on the war on terrorism just months after the 9/11 attacks. He joins us live in studio to talk about his son's legacy. And he wants the world -- what he wants the world to remember more than two decades later.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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MICHAELSON: Live pictures from New York, where it's just past midnight, September 11th.
Events are scheduled throughout the day to mark the 25th anniversary of the terror attacks. First responders, military personnel will -- we're paying tribute at the midterm convention for the Republicans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: We're now learning that former first lady Michelle Obama will join former President Barack Obama tomorrow for the memorial at Ground Zero in New York. We just looked at live pictures from Ground Zero.
Former presidents George W. Bush, Joe Biden also planning to attend, along with their wives, Laura Bush and Jill Biden. Sources tell CNN former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will also be on hand.
Donald Trump is the only living U.S. president who will not be there, instead marking the occasion at the Pentagon. That's because he wants to give a speech, according to sources, which is not allowed at the New York ceremony.
Of course, nearly 3,000 people were killed on September 11, 25 years ago, in an attack orchestrated by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Nineteen hijackers seized four commercial airliners and crashed them in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.
Our next guest lost his son in the aftermath of those attacks.
Daniel Pearl was "The Wall Street Journal" reporter who was kidnapped and murdered by Pakistani terrorists in early 2002. He traveled into Pakistan to cover the war on terror, launched in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. He was abducted in Karachi.
Daniel Pearl's father, Judea Pearl, is joining us live. He is also the author of this book, which is called "Coexistence and Other Fighting Words," which is available now.
Judea Pearl, welcome to THE STORY IS. Thank you so much for being here. And thank you for your son's sacrifice for us.
You know, a lot of people reacted to the sight of those towers coming down in different ways. How did your son react? What was his mission that he felt called to after seeing those images?
JUDEA PEARL, FATHER OF DANIEL PEARL: Yes, he was surprised by the fact that people can hate us so deeply. And he was determined, then, to find out why.
He traveled in the Middle East, in the Southeast Asia for a long time. So -- and he haven't met that kind of hatred before. He was always accepted as a journalist, you know, with a reverence and with friendship. And he transmitted friendship.
And so, he was -- he was determined to find out what made these people act the way they did. He went after the mentor of the shoe bomber, by the name of Gilani, who was supposed to be living in Karachi, and tried to interview him.
He was lured into an interview. It turned out not to be an interview, but to be an abduction. Yes.
And he was one of the first journalists that was abducted at that time. And so, many journalists felt personally attacked.
MICHAELSON: And you've worked throughout the years since then to sponsor scholarships for journalists, to highlight journalists in war zones, to help enhance protections for journalists, which we appreciate.
Certainly, here in Los Angeles, you work with the L.A. Press Club to sponsor a scholarship, an award to showcase people that are doing these kinds of dangerous reporting in war zones.
What do you think was the answer to his question of why do people hate us so much?
PEARL: They hate us because of their mother milk, which means --
MICHAELSON: Meaning what?
PEARL: I mean education. They are educated in a theology and a narrative that depicts America as the evil in this planet, failing to recognize that American exceptionalism is valid. Namely, we are the greatest exporter of liberal values, liberal values that even the Muslim world declared that would like to adopt.
MICHAELSON: Yes. How do we best honor Danny Pearl's legacy 25 years later? What's the most important lesson that we all can learn from him as we continue to move through all of this?
PEARL: I really don't understand the question. He -- he probably would be very disappointed, had he been alive today, with the polarization that we have in our society. And that is probably not what he would have expected to find.
Because we-- after the tragedy that we went through, we hoped that it will be a turning point.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
PEARL: That people will recognize that, No. 1, the journalists are not to be attacked for what they represent -- you know, the -- the company or the country, but for what they are and what they write.
But it didn't materialize. Today, journalists are in a greater risk --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
PEARL: -- everywhere than they were at the time.
MICHAELSON: Right.
PEARL: And what else can I tell you about the -- in terms of East-West relationship, it's even worse.
MICHAELSON: Yes. So, what gives you hope? Real --
PEARL: My hope is my students and my -- the Jewish faculty --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
PEARL: -- that has been awakened by seven -- October 7th.
MICHAELSON: And the next generation gives you hope.
PEARL: The next generation. Yes.
MICHAELSON: Dr. Judea Pearl, congratulations on the book. Again, it's called "Coexistence and Other Fighting Words." And thank you so much for all that you've done to help educate the next generation.
[00:30:09]
And here in Southern California, there's a school named after your son, as well.
PEARL: It is. A high school.
MICHAELSON: Which is a great legacy that lives on, as well. Thank you so much.
Stay with us here on THE STORY IS. We have more coming up after the break. We go to commercial, though, with live pictures from New York City. That, of course, is the memorial that stands at Ground Zero with the names of all of those who are lost, lit up tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:35:23]
MICHAELSON: The U.S. is expanding its military support for Saudi Arabia as the kingdom fights Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
More than 100 U.S. military advisers are on the ground in Saudi Arabia. They're providing intelligence and targeting support for Saudi strikes against the Houthis.
The increased U.S. support comes as fighting on the peninsula has intensified in recent days. The Houthis on Thursdays captured a strategic Red Sea port on Yemen's coast. Controlling that port could allow the militant group to threaten a key shipping waterway, the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
CNN's Nic Robertson recently visited the area and met with officials leading Yemen's fight against the Houthis. He has more details now from London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: -- were increasingly alarming reports that the city was coming under heavy Houthi attack, that a lot of Houthi forces were being mobilized towards it.
There was a period in the night where the communications went off, was cut. Sources I was speaking to, who were trying to connect with field commanders and officials inside of Mocha couldn't reach them.
When the sun came up this morning, it appeared that the -- the government still had some vestiges of control in Mocha.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): But within a few hours, it became very clear that the Houthis had taken control.
ROBERTSON: And I heard from another source, as well, who was involved in trying to sort of help in the defense of -- of Mocha. And he said, Look, we were speaking to CENTCOM in the U.S. about the situation on the ground, speaking directly, this source said to Admiral Cooper, trying to get the U.S. attention -- he said, several days before Mocha fell -- about what was happening.
And he said, you know, he was being told from U.S. officials that the Saudis are watching. The U.S. is watching, and there'll be Saudi air support. And he said that didn't come.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): The road South along the strait, that's not well defended.
It gives them maneuverability, as well as leverage, that support on the Red Sea that they now control. That will be somewhere that they can launch boats out of.
The Bab al-Mandab Strait really narrows down there. Mocha is close to where it narrows. It's going to give the Houthis a big advantage in trying to sort of interdict shipping there, as well as, you know, the expectation at this stage that they may take Perim Island.
There will be nothing in terms of sort of -- ROBERTSON: -- massive firepower, or men and materiel that can get on the road to stop the Houthis from moving from Mocha further South all the way so that they control the whole of the Red Sea coastline within Yemen, all the way up to and including Perim Island.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: That was Nic Robertson, reporting from London.
Let's take a look at some other top stories making news right now.
Our top story: Republicans have wrapped their midterm convention, touting their achievements and calling Democrats the party of crazies.
President Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance spoke on the final night of the event in Dallas, Texas. The president urging people to turn out to vote in November's midterms, even to quote, "cheat like hell" to keep Republicans in control of Congress. He was joking about that.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law sweeping reforms aimed at protecting children from potential harm linked to social media and artificial intelligence. The legislation, written by Long Beach Democrat Josh Lowenthal, bars social media platforms from offering addictive features to users under 16.
It adds safeguards for companion chatbots and expands privacy protections.
Social media companies could be penalized up to $1 million per child if they're found negligent of harming children.
The artificial intelligence company Anthropic says it has blocked multiple accounts from possibly trying to use the company's A.I. models to develop biological weapons.
In a report published Thursday, Anthropic acknowledged it couldn't be certain whether the accounts intended harm or were doing research for legitimate scientific purposes.
Anthropic is known for its Claude model.
It also noted, and disrupted efforts to use the company's A.I. models for surveillance operations, scams, and the development of conventional weapons like drones and missiles.
Joining the discussion about A.I. activities is Kenneth DeGraff. He is the climate and technology lead at "The Truth in the Machine" and the former chief climate and technology advisor to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Welcome to THE STORY IS for the first time.
KENNETH DEGRAFF, CLIMATE AND TECHNOLOGY LEAD, "THE TRUTH IN THE MACHINE": Thank you.
MICHAELSON: So, you're in the news yourself, because you did your own investigation into what happened recently with Anthropic.
[00:40:02]
There was this story of these A.I. bots getting loose and doing all this damage. You found that it's actually worse. I want to put your post up on the screen.
"A -- OpenAI robots got into a closed link shortener, surfed the web with Google Docs and Translate, then called the FBI with a stranger's key. My questions after finding hidden keys left by OpenAI's agent swarm."
So, what did you find? What -- what -- what really happened here?
DEGRAFF: Well, there was --
MICHAELSON: For the average person.
DEGRAFF: Yes, well, there was a lot of news about the Hugging Face hack, where OpenAI agents or robots had gone into a website that they didn't -- and used keys that they didn't have -- they were not theirs. They found them on the Web.
And just like here, or just like that, when Congress asked dozens of questions about it, including about what other kinds of hacks happened, the company, OpenAI, responded with a lot of information about what we already knew and -- as the public.
What we -- they didn't answer was about anything else that happened. And so, a few days later, after they responded to Congress to -- to these reasonable questions, other websites announced that they had -- too had been hacked.
And once they announced that they had been hacked, I knew that there -- there were more out there. And so, I started doing my own digging.
I really resent when Congress -- when companies fail to tell Congress the whole truth. And so, I did my own investigation, and I found a lot.
MICHAELSON: What did you find?
DEGRAFF: Well, not only in the case of Hugging Face, where they -- where these robots found keys that might have been hidden and tucked away on the Internet that didn't belong to them and used them in this case to -- to use -- to call an FBI's crime database.
What was notable here was that they did it on a Vanderbilt link shortener. Now, these are software tools that Vanderbilt, in particular, had, and other universities had, that would make complicated, really long links, something you could send in an email to somebody, but only be able to be created by human employees for Vanderbilt work.
Turns out these agents, these robots had made hundreds of pages on the Vanderbilt site without Vanderbilt's permission, linking and giving robots -- future robots, new tools to be able to -- to crawl and new -- new websites to visit, which is a new dangerous tool.
Because they ended up creating a two-way message board out of it. And as I said, commandeered Google Docs and Translate, tools that Google never gave them permission to use.
MICHAELSON: So, why do we care about that? What does that actually mean for the average person?
DEGRAFF: Yes. It is actually a big deal here, because these were read- only research tools. And if you and I started asking questions of these OpenAI, these -- of these chat -- these chat bots, and they started leaving digital traces everywhere on the Internet that you went, there wouldn't be an Internet anymore.
People -- these tools used other people's machines, they're other people's data, other people's bandwidth and their keys, which are new capabilities that have not been discussed.
MICHAELSON: So, you come from Congress. You were one of the top aides to Nancy Pelosi, who ran Congress. You understand the way that Congress works.
If you were still there, and you got to help write the legislation to regulate A.I., which is something they're thinking about, what's the most important thing that Congress needs to do to keep us safe?
DEGRAFF: Well, it is outrageous that a person like me had to be somebody to find this information. It should be coming from the company themselves with an apology. Right?
And so, first, we have to start with literacy. Half of American adults can't read. They're going to be -- they're suffering in the face of A.I., if they can't understand what they're reading.
But these companies have a duty to report when there's -- when their tools do us harm. And in this case, when they start hacking over -- hacking other people's websites, leaving tons of digital dirt and -- and garbage around, they need to be taking responsibility for it.
And regulators need the investigative authority. too.
I feel a whole lot better when I see Jennifer Homendy of NTSB after every crash on TV talking about the facts. Right? There are tons of experts that both parties can -- can agree with to be able to help lead these investigations. We need them.
Brussels got information about the German website I mentioned earlier. They went to the regulators in Brussels.
OpenAI has told Congress not even a footnote. And we still have no information about this important hack on Vanderbilt that we deserve answers to.
MICHAELSON: Do you think Congress can actually get something done?
DEGRAFF: Well, I hope so. And if they can't, we'll know if they interview CEOs in the House. You remember those hearings in the Senate when senators would ask questions of Facebook about how do you make money? And the Internet's a series of tubes.
I'll know Congress is serious when they get the CEOs under oath, a company that's going to tell -- that's going to hide all this information in a footnote deserves to be asked questions under oath.
MICHAELSON: Well, it is kind of the issue of our time, and it will be interesting to see if these legislators, many of them in their 70s and 80s, understand what's going on. Let's hope that they do.
Kenneth DeGraff, we may -- humanity may be dependent on it. Thank you so much for coming in. We appreciate it.
DEGRAFF: Any time.
MICHAELSON: Still to come here on THE STORY IS, we are going to be talking about Cuba's worsening energy crisis.
[00:45:02]
Patrick Oppmann in Havana, next.
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MICHAELSON: Cuba continues to struggle with a worsening energy crisis as the U.S. oil blockade shows no signs of easing.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann drives through the streets of Havana at night, revealing a city swallowed by darkness.
[00:50:06]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is one of the issues that a lot of intersections, their traffic lights are no longer on anymore. And so, it becomes very dangerous to drive at night.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Here's what Cuba looks like as the island's failing energy infrastructure nears total collapse. Aging power plants with no access to fuel, as a U.S. oil blockade turns the lights off longer and longer.
Cubans have lived with power cuts most of their lives. But this is the worst they can ever remember it.
OPPMANN: We stopped here, because I'm actually shocked to see this. This is Havana's Central Park. We're surrounded on all sides by hotels. They're all in total darkness. We've arrived at where there's a blackout. You can actually look up and see the stars.
Taxi! Taxi! Taxi!
OPPMANN (voice-over): Taxi driver Yasmani (ph) tells me there are few tourists to drive and blackouts every night, all night. YASMANI (ph), TAXI DRIVER (through translator): How do I pass the
time? I play dominoes or sit on our porch and fan my daughter so she can sleep and go to school the next day.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Power is off now in most of Cuba most of the time these days. And Havana, a city famous for its nightlife, has become a city of shadows.
As we drive around in the dark, the only large gathering of people we see are Cubans waiting in a bread line that is fast being depleted.
OPPMANN: The only thing here now is that life has just become more and more unaffordable. So, if there's any food product that's on sale, people immediately get in line and try to get it, because it is going to run out.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Anger boils over in the nighttime heat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
OPPMANN (voice-over): "You wait for them to put the light on," he says. "And for them to take it away. There's nothing else to do. It's criminal to go to sleep without power and then wake up without power. It's too much."
Even if their leadership blames the crisis on the U.S. pressure campaign, many Cubans tell me they are furious at how the government distributes the little power there is.
OPPMANN: So, you can see we're kind of at the edge of where there's power. And then you look over here, and -- and the power cuts out.
This is what they call circuits. And so, some people's power will be on. And then you can almost look across the street, and the power will be off.
And the frustrating thing is it's not divided equally.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Cuban officials say they've been forced to prioritize power for certain areas and industries as the U.S. wages what they call an economic war against their country.
But as the U.S.-Cuba stalemate drags on and negotiations are at a standstill, regular people say they're the ones paying the price.
A few blocks further on, we find residents playing dominoes under light provided from batteries. Blackouts now last more than 24 hours in this neighborhood, they tell us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
OPPMANN (voice-over): "Every day we are too tired," she says, "to go to work, to take kids to school. We're all exhausted."
Life feels like it has ground to a halt, increasingly unlivable. But there's nothing left for people to do, other than fan themselves as they face another long night in the dark.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Coming up next hour, my conversation with retired New York firefighter Tim Brown. What he remembers about 9/11 and the terrorist attacks that changed everything. He was right there in the middle of it. He joins us next hour.
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[00:58:26]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very impressive.
MICHAELSON: THE STORY IS dominance down under. The first ever NFL game played in Australia just wrapped up, and the San Francisco 49ers crushed the team that is supposed to be the Super Bowl favorites, 27 to 7.
Niners quarterback Brock Purdy led the team to victory, throwing three touchdown passes. Look at that stadium, by the way. Over 100,000 people there. One of the biggest, most attended games in the history of the NFL.
Brock Purdy throw 200 yards. The Rams defense, which is supposed to be so amazing, wasn't that amazing. This was some of the only offense you saw from the Rams the whole game. Puka Nacua and -- and Matthew Stafford there.
More than 100,000 fans there, the seventh largest regular season crowd in NFL history.
The next international game this season will be the Baltimore Ravens taking on the Dallas Cowboys in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. That's in week three.
And so, now, the Rams have to take a long flight back with a coach who's probably very, very frustrated by their performance. Remember, the Niners showed up more than a week early to get ready to be used to the whole thing happening in Australia.
The Rams said, We're only going to show up 24 hours before. And it looks like maybe the Niners and Kyle Shanahan chose the right strategy there.
Thanks for watching the first hour of THE STORY IS. The next hour starts right now.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: I'm Elex Michaelson, live in Los Angeles.
