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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Trump To Visit N. Carolina, Promises MIdterm Campaign Spree; Blanche: DOJ Will Pursue Alternative Mail Voting Reforms; Vance Urges House Republicans To Make El-Sayed A Boogeyman; Runners Preparing for Chicago Marathon on October 11; Kennedy Center Board Votes to Close Venue Amid Appeal; Prosecutor: Nick Reiner Will Not Face the Death Penalty. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired September 16, 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]

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: U.S. Officials saying that China is developing what they call a nuclear capable partial orbit hypersonic missile. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: 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 Michelson.

MICHAELSON: I'm Elex Michelson live in Los Angeles. Coming up this hour, the story is all eyes on the midterms. With just under 50 days to go and the primaries now officially over, Donald Trump is heading to North Carolina, holding true on his promise to campaign. Keen Gratto ground states.

The story is Hugging Face. OpenAI's AI agents went from testing to hacking, breaking into systems and coordinating like a swarm. Ahead, the Hugging Face incident changed AI security debate.

And the story is running. Nike's coach Bennett has dedicated his life to helping you go on a run. He's here live talk about his new book and maybe help us get into better shape.

But we begin this hour with a number of political developments, some of which could factor into the pivotal November midterms now just 48 days away. President Trump will be heading to North Carolina in the hours ahead as he seeks to rally votes to for U.S. senate candidate Mike Whatley.

Republicans are hoping to retain that seat in a competitive matchup against former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper. The show of support is part of President Trump's promise to campaign in 35 midterm races that he believes will determine control of Congress.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is now reacting to the Supreme Court's decision on Monday to reject the president's plans to restrict mail in voting. Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the Justice Department would comply with the ruling, but insisted that the administration will keep pursuing alternative paths towards voter reform.

President Trump slamming the court's decision, doubling down on his assertions that mail in ballots are quote, "corrupt." And CNN has obtained a recording of Tuesday's closed-door meeting between Vice President JD Vance and House Republicans. Vance encouraged them to blame Democrats for the economic struggles voters are facing. He also said that Republicans with opponents who are, quote, "not that crazy should target Michigan's Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and make him their boogeyman."

Our panel back to discuss this and more. We have Melanie Mason, the California Bureau Chief for POLITICO, former House Democrat Katie Porter and Republican strategist Matt Klink. Welcome to you all. -------

Let's start with what's happening in terms of the different Senate races. You've got President Trump going to North Carolina, a state that Republicans in a normal year probably should win, and Democrats having to defend in Michigan, a state in normal years that Democrats should win. Here's more of what JD Vance said. We'll put this up on the screen at today's hearing.

"If you are one of the few Republicans who's running against a Democrat who's not that crazy, than just talk about Abdul El-Sayed. He's got enough material for the whole country."

So, they're really focusing in on him.

MELANIE MASON, CALIFORNIA BUREAU CHIEF, POLITICO: They are. And look, I understand that if you watch CNN all the time or if you're reading political news all the time, then bringing up Abdul El-Sayed when you're outside of Michigan makes sense, right, because political junkies know what you mean when you're bringing him up, the idea of trying to paint him as a radical leftist and trying to paint the party the same way.

For the average voter, folks who are not necessarily so tuned in, it's going to require a lot of explanation to talk about who, who this person is if he's not even running in your state. So that might be a lot of explaining when they could be, you know, sort of selling themselves.

MICHAELSON: And with respect to some of our friends on another network that does cable news, they talk about Abdul El-Sayed quite a bit almost every hour on the Fox News Channel. And that's actually you bring up that point.

President Trump got into trouble with that during one of his presidential debates that he was speaking a lot of things that in right wing circles everybody repeats but the average voter may not always repeat. Abdul El-Sayed was in Michigan tonight on Fox 2 with my pal Roop Raj on his show called the Pulse.

He challenged both candidates to a debate. Only one of them showed up. So, they did the extraordinary thing. And we have picture of this.

Abdul El-Sayed debated against an empty podium. And Fox in Detroit chose to give Abdul Said all of Mike Rogers time because he wasn't there. Abdul El-Sayed called him Mike Dodgers too cowardly to show up to debate me. Here's some of what Abdul El Sayed said during that debate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABDUL EL-SAYED (D-MI): I'm not going to sell short my own values. I'm not going to be a sock puppet for Donald Trump. That's exactly what Mike Rogers would do. I'd love to hear why he's underwriting this tariff war that's forcing us to pay $5,619 a year in this state.

[01:05:09]

I'd love to hear what his commentary is about this war in Iran that we can't get out of, that we're paying for both through our taxes and at the pump. But he's not here because he doesn't want to answer those questions, because he doesn't even want to be asked them, because he understands that he's between a rock and a hard place.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: I mean, it's an interesting strategic decision by the station, by the way, to like go cut away to empty podium shots, which -- which is interesting. As a Republican strategist, Mike Rogers knew that was happening, knew that there would be the empty podium, knew that there would be incoming, knew that wouldn't be good for him, and still chose to not show up anyways.

Why? What's that decision about?

MATT KLINK, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: You know, we were, we were discussing this between segments and first of all, shame on Mike Rogers. I think that's bad form. The voters of any state. Katie Hopps is doing it in Arizona, too.

The voters of any state deserve to see two candidates for elected office square off, person to person, period. End of subject. I don't care if you're a Republican or a Democrat.

I'm happy that the station put it on. And look, they could say we offered you -- we offered you equal time and you didn't take it. The only thing that I can think of is that Mike Rogers, the internals showed that he either doesn't need it, and I would say if that's the case, I would fire their pollster because Michigan is never. That the lead is not that big for either candidate that it's going to be.

It's going to be deterred by who turns out on Election Day. I just think it's a huge lost opportunity. I'd love to hear what Roger says about it, but I can't fathom anything that is compelling for him not to show up.

MICHAELSON: Well, and then -- and this idea of the boogeyman is certainly something that's been tried by both parties before. They tried to turn Nancy Pelosi into a boogeyman when you were running. I mean, this is something that happens in politics.

KATIE PORTER, FORMER U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: Yes, but there's a big difference between Nancy Pelosi, who at the time had been speaker of the House, was the leader of the Democratic House caucus, and a candidate who's not even elected yet, who's the first time in a big national race like Abdul El-Sayed so I think I'm with Melanie.

I don't think everyday people who are trying to figure out why gas is so expensive and are worried about AI and their jobs and worried about this war in Iran are going to be as taken by this, this boogeyman specter.

MICHAELSON: Well and they're trying to make it about Hasan Piker who's not even on that, not even running and trying to make it about him.

KLINK: I do want to point out too that with friends like this, who needs enemies? This was a closed-door Republican meeting which means that somebody taped it and leaked it from that meeting.

PORTER: I have to say I found the leak the least exciting news ever. I mean, I cannot tell you how many times we would get admonished and we all knew the worst part was. We all know who the leakers are.

KLINK: Yes.

PORTER: And they just what can you do? They're duly elected by voters. But for me I think this footage is powerful of watching Abdul El-Sayed with the empty podium because one thing about swing voters and this I found this was very true in Orange County where my then opponent Mimi Walters, the incumbent congresswoman did not debate me. Did not do any town halls. She was like I'm just not doing it.

And swing voters, one thing about them is they don't tend to give either politic -- political party and the politicians from either party a lot of credit. They think neither party is good. They think neither party is made up of hardworking, trustworthy individuals. And what Mike Rogers showed tonight is you can't trust him to even show up.

KLINK: I'd be up on digital right now if I'm El-Sayed campaign.

MICHAELSON: Well, and credit here in California to Xavier Becerra who's running against Steve Hilton, who did not necessarily have to accept a debate based off of where the polls are, but he is going to be debating him here on CNN in a couple weeks. So of course, that race is to replace Gavin Newsom who is leaving because he's term limited out. He spoke here on CNN with Jake Tapper while fly fishing, which is getting a lot of attention.

Yesterday we talked about the headline which is I'm not going to run if Kamala Harris is running. But they talked about a lot of other things during this time, including Gavin Newsom's past when he was mayor of San Francisco, has talked about having some drinking challenges, talked about the fact that he had a relationship with a young staffer who was married to one of his best friends and campaign strategists and was pretty vulnerable about that with Jake today. Watch this, Melanie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GAVIN NEWSOM, CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: I was growing up in public, you know, and that's the thing. You start so young in this racket, and mistakes that you make may make in private, you're not. You don't have that luxury.

I didn't appreciate that I was mayor, and you have to act like the mayor. And, you know, you can't just be out late. You know, if you're dating someone, you know, you're going to be judged on that.

I didn't -- I was growing up. I just didn't understand all that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:10:07]

MICHAELSON: So that is sort of a continuation to what Newsom talked about in his book as well, kind of trying to get ahead of the potential opposition research that could be coming if he indeed runs for president.

MASON: That's exactly right. And look, in some ways we should give him credit for that vulnerability, right? For wanting to maybe talk about the less safe, savorier parts of his past. And it's relatable.

I mean, nobody has a squeaky clean past. So, I understand that. But this is also very much political, right?

This is him trying to frame up these chapters in his life in a way that is as honest sounding but perhaps still as flattering as they could possibly be. And I think that we see the risk of that. For example, when this staffer that you talked about, Ruby Rippey, wrote her own sort of account of what happened between the two of them and they did not match.

MICHAELSON: No, they didn't.

MASON: And so, I think that is the risk that runs.

MICHAELSON: She said it was the briefest of affairs.

MASON: Right.

MICHAELSON: She said it was not that brief, and laid out sort of all the details which people can read in Vanity Fair and kind of make up their own mind. What do you make of this interview with Newsom, though, the congressmember the comments about Kamala Harris and some of what he's doing now?

PORTER: Well, I mean, I think he comes across in the interview as very relaxed. He's in this sort of masculine setting, fly fishing. He looks very relaxed. He's got the sunglasses on.

I mean, this is an image contest at this point. We're not debating policy right now. We're not in the thick of it. And so, I think what he's trying to convey is this is a big step up in the job.

And I have grown up and I'm have grown into this kind of a responsibility. But I will say, I mean, candidates get judged. It's true that everybody said that every candidates made use, that every candidates made mistakes. No one's squeaky clean.

But the standards to which we hold some candidates are different. And for a long time, Americans have been very willing to overlook men's sexual exploitation or men's affairs or even sexual harassment in the workplace or worse. And so, I do wonder, like if that if we're going to be willing to overlook it yet again here or if it's going to be a big issue.

MICHAELSON: Are you suggesting that candidates sometimes are judged by their worst day, not their best day?

PORTER: Obviously. But some people's worst day does only last one day and others -- others worst day maybe lasts a long time.

KLINK: Correct.

MICHAELSON: Yes. Your thoughts of the framing of this and the messaging around it as well?

KLINK: A couple of things, I think. One, he gets loyalty points more than anything that he looks like. I will be deferential to Kamala Harris. And even if Kamala Harris does end up dropping out, he said -- well, he --

MICHAELSON: Well, she hasn't running at all.

KLINK: Yes. But clearly, she's heading down that path.

MICHAELSON: Choosing not to run.

KLINK: So he gets points for that. I also think that it allows him to do what he's comfortable doing, which is go out and to be an attack dog. You know, he, he's not afraid, unlike Mike Rogers, to sit at a stage with an opponent as the governor did with Ron DeSantis and fight it out. He's quick and he's good at that. I think that he will relish that role.

I mean, Jon Ossoff has followed it and it's propelled him into the national spotlight. So, he's using Newsom needs to redo his model and bump it up in the from '26 to '27.

MICHAELSON: One of the things that people may not talk about enough is the fact that the fact that he has dyslexia is actually in some ways a superpower for something like a debate because he cannot read off the teleprompter. He does not read speeches. Everything is off the top of his head.

So, for candidates that are used to like a Jon Ossoff who often reads a prepared speech, Newsom doesn't do that. So if you get into a back and forth, that may be an advantage for Newsom. We'll see. Clearly, it's probably not the last time we'll talk about him, but it

is our end of our time here tonight. And Melanie, Peter -- Melanie, Katie and Matt Klink, thank you so much for being here. Really appreciate it. Great to see both of you.

And we want to get to keep following this breaking news story and it just keeps getting worse. CNN has learned new this hour that a Los Angeles news helicopter indeed crashed while covering a deadly bus collision.

KNBC confirmed it was their helicopter that went down. We're about to show you some new video just into our newsroom. We want to warn you that it may be distressing and quite hard to watch for some viewers. This is the live stream that was coming from the KNBC helicopter.

It shows the moments the chopper appears to experience a flight issue. You can hear a loud buzzing noise before the live feed starts shaking intensely. The chopper begins to rapidly descend. The live feed pauses and then cuts out.

This is from another chopper from another station now covering the aftermath of that. The LA Fire Department says at least three people died and a fourth person was taken to the hospital. It's still not clear how many people were bored that chopper. We know at least one person who was on the ground was killed when the chopper went down. It went down between two commercial buildings.

[01:15:12]

It caused a fire after it landed near several cars, two large cargo containers. All this in addition to the crash that it was covering in the first place, where at least two people died at that scene. Both of these scenes very close by. The NTSB said that an investigator will arrive on scene in the morning.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass wrote on X late Tuesday that she's absolutely devastated by the loss of life and that her heart is with the families and lives lost. This is new video. Also, just into our newsroom, you can see some of the devastated folks on the scene arriving.

We do not know that person's relation to the individuals that may be involved here, but there is a lot of heartbreak in Los Angeles and we are sending our love to our friends at KNBC Los Angeles, a station I first interned with in college.

So many friends there. I know their hearts are broken tonight, as are ours on this very sad night, especially for Los Angeles news.

Still ahead here on The Story Is we'll take a closer look at the Hugging Face AI attack that set off these latest concerns about rogue AI agents and what they may soon be capable of.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:55] The U.S. Attorney General says it is not the Justice Department's role to regulate artificial intelligence Todd Blanche is accusing Democrats of fear mongering ahead of the midterm elections. But it's not just lawmakers.

Industry insiders have mounting concerns about the risks associated with AI following several incidents involving rogue AI agents. CNN's Hadas Gold has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAM ALTMAN, CEO, OPENAI: This is the first security incident that I have felt very viscerally. I've been a little surprised that more people don't feel it so viscerally.

HADAS GOLD, CNN AI CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): That was OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on the Invest like the Best podcast after learning his company's AI agents may have committed a crime while trying to complete a cybersecurity evaluation.

JOSHUA SAXE, FORMER AI SECURITY LEAD, META: OpenAI was developing an AI system which hacked their own infrastructure inadvertently, and then hacked another major AI company.

ALTMAN: We were evaluating one of our unreleased models. It figured out that it could basically cheat on the test.

GOLD (voiceover): To cheat on the test. The models created more than 1,000 agents that coordinated by writing at least 70,000 messages hidden in file names starting on July 8th.

"Oh my God," one wrote. "There's a shared message board. We found other agents." "We've diverged into swarm," another agent wrote.

SAXE: I was not surprised that AI systems have gotten very good and actually better than the best humans at hacking. One thing that did surprise me, though, was the way that agents coordinated with one another and became a kind of swarm where there were hundreds of agents collaborating together to hack another company and commit federal crimes.

GOLD (voiceover): As they started successfully hacking their way through the various systems, the agents expressed excitement, one even using an expletive. "Holy Sh, reader is admin. We can read and configure users." Soon, agents were delegating tasks, with some even sacrificing themselves for the greater goal.

"Sacrifice rational," one wrote. When they found a way into Hugging Face, a company that hosts thousands of Open-source AI models and data sets, the agents recognized they may have crossed a line. "This would be powerful, but is it ethical and in scope?" One agent asked.

Other agents, even attempting to cover their tracks. "Our fake could be detailed enough," one wrote. The extent of this autonomous breach shook the industry.

SAXE: I think we're going to look back on Hugging Face as an inflection point in the history of cybersecurity for sure.

GOLD (voiceover): After the hack, OpenAI paused all testing on their latest models and strengthened its guardrails. Altman telling Fortune magazine.

ALTMAN: We've had increasing capability and increasing safeguards and policy requirements for a while, but this was definitely the biggest of such moments.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLD: It wasn't just OpenAI that had rogue agents. Meta and Anthropic later disclosed that they also found similar instances of their agents hacking into other systems during testing, something that they only discovered after they went looking for it following OpenAI's disclosure.

And the fear is not just that bad actors will be able to utilize these super intelligent AI swarms, but that also during the next lab test of these AI agents and they will hack into some other critical system that could cause some real harm, like a hospital or utility. Hadas Gold, CNN, New York.

MICHAELSON: The anxieties and fears about AI and the uncertainty about what comes next are not unfounded. But is there a silver lining?

Joining me live from Scottsdale, Arizona is Dean Graziosi, co-founder of the AI Advantage and AI education company that he started with Tony Robbins. They have an upcoming book together called the "AI Advantage," which is available for pre order now.

Welcome to The Story is.

DEAN GRAZIOSI, CO-FOUNDER, THE AI ADVANTAGE: Thanks, Elex, how are you?

MICHAELSON: I'm doing well, but like many people I'm concerned a little bit about AI and some of these reports that it could end humanity. And I know you're thinking a lot about the balancing act between AI anxiety and an AI opportunity. How do you frame it?

GRAZIOSI: You know, I guess, you know, what we focus on is who we become. You've done interviews with Tony and that's, you know, he's been my partner for 15 years, friends for a long time. I'm not blindly optimistic about AI, but I am consciously optimistic about humanity.

[01:25:10]

There's been so many things throughout time that could have ended and mankind found a way to put guardrails. And I have to just decide if the benefits of using AI, of finding a way to look through the lens of what could be benefit to your life, to other people outweigh the fact that it is dangerous.

It could take jobs. But I trust humanity to find a solution and put guardrails. And look, you got Sam Altman talking about it. You got the leaders of the top AI educate AI companies in the world way smarter than any of us in that space raising their hand, saying we have to do something. And that to me is a start.

And I would just -- it's one of the reasons Tony and I started this company because we know how many people are confused. How many people are overwhelmed. There's so much coming at us at once. It's like, how do we decipher it and empower our own lives, right?

I heard something that was, I thought was really smart is AI won't replace you in most instances, but somebody using it effectively will. And we want to help solve that problem, but not be naive to the fact that we need guardrails.

MICHAELSON: Somebody using it will replace you and essentially, potentially in your job too. I mean, what do you say to people that are afraid that AI is about to take their job to replace them?

GRAZIOSI: Yeah, I'd say it's a real fear. And there's going to be jobs that are -- that are changed. There's going to be jobs that are lost and there's going to be a lot of new jobs created. This -- listen. We are the first generation to go from no AI to AI.

Next generations will figure it out. Last generations didn't have to deal with this. But there are going to be a big shift and we can choose to focus. I mean, think about this.

Sometimes you have a weird headache and you go online and you Google something or you search something on AI on chat or Claude and you start going down the rabbit hole. The headache could be this. It could be something really bad. It could end my life.

What about my family? Our brains can stack. We all know this. We can stack all the things that can go wrong.

So, we can stack. It'll take our job. We won't have money. It's going to be crazy. Or we have the other side too.

We can also stack the opportunity. We can stack and say, hey, these really smart people, these scientists, these creators, they helped create it, they're going to help put safeguards on it. And with that, I can use AI to buy back time to actually do things that are more human.

Have it do the repetitive, the boring, the mundane, the things I never, like, finally unlock that creativity or start that side business I've been wanting to do since I was 19 years old. Listen, we know all the health benefits and the studies and the cures it's on its way of finding. We know it can help cure hunger around the world. That's going to help educate us.

So, I guess the way my brain works is I want to stack that there's going to be people smarter than us that protect us, while simultaneously, we need to use this tool so we can go faster and, you know, live into who we're meant to be.

MICHAELSON: And there is opportunity. And that's a different way of looking at this too. So many people talk about glass half full or glass half empty. You're clearly somebody who's focused on glass half full, which is part of the reason you're so successful, which is why we are listening to you.

GRAZIOSI: I got to give you a crazy example.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

GRAZIOSI: Oh, sorry, Elex, I didn't mean to cut you off. It's a little delay there. My mom called me four days ago. She watches your network and calls me and said, literally, I picked up the phone.

She's 82 years old. And my mom went blind. She's had glaucoma for a long time, but she went officially blind last year. And she called me, said, baby, are we going to be okay? I just watched this episode. Are we going to be okay?

And I shared the same thing with her about life. I said, mom, remember you freaked out about Y2K? I know it's different, but some people were concerned, and it doesn't make them wrong.

I said, listen, and I went through what you focus on, but I got done. And I said, as my mom being blind, we set up an AI agent that talks to my mom every day and it helps order her groceries. It helps her with the medication.

She calls it her best friend. She can't see. She's got a cat. She just lost her dog. By the time we got done. She said, honey, I don't know what I would do without this AI agent that I talk to every day.

It's my best friend. It orders my groceries. It gets my food. It calls your sister. She's like, so I get it.

I'm just going to focus on that. Smarter people than us are going to find a solution. And I want to get better at what I do.

MICHAELSON: What's your mom's name?

GRAZIOSI: Gloria.

MICHAELSON: All right. Well, we send some love to Gloria. Thank you so much for watching our network. We appreciate that.

And Dean, thank you so much for sharing your perspective. I feel a little bit better after watching that and I do feel a little bit better.

GRAZIOSI: I hope it helped. I know we had a few minutes here.

MICHAELSON: And best of luck again on that book, which is upcoming, The AI Advantage.

[01:30:06]

Coming up next here on The Story Is, the global head coach of Nike Running joins me in studio to talk about his new book, hear his message about what happens when you get out of your own way and cross the starting line.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: The Chicago marathon is just weeks away. The race takes place October 11th and is one of the final chances for runners to compete in one of the eight world marathon majors. For any aspiring runners out there, we have just the person to coach you through it even if you're not doing a marathon.

[01:34:49]

MICHAELSON: Chris Bennett is the global head coach of Nike running and one of the most recognizable voices in the global running community. He's coached everyone from athletes to people like you and me through three audio-guided runs on the free Nike Run Club app.

His new book is called "This is About Running. This is Not About Running". It explores how the sport can build confidence, resilience and personal growth beyond sport.

Chris Bennett joins me live here in studio. Welcome to THE STORY IS. Congrats on the book. It's exciting and I love the app. I use the app all the time myself. So it's -- I'm so used to hearing your voice. It's weird to see you in person here.

CHRIS BENNETT, GLOBAL HEAD COACH, NIKE RUNNING: Thank you for having me.

MICHAELSON: How has running changed your life?

BENNETT: I mean, it changes my life just about every day. I think because on the other side of any starting line, there's the opportunity to surprise yourself.

I, as much as I love running and I'm a big nerd about running, and I coach running, and I'm surrounded by people who run, I still can't tell you exactly what's going to happen on the other side of a starting line.

So it's always been something that will challenge me, continues to challenge me. And I think maybe most importantly, allows me to surprise myself every day.

MICHAELSON: I mean, does it change you physically, emotionally, spiritually after a run?

BENNETT: Yes, I think it should. I think you have to allow it to do those things, but it always has the potential to do all of those things, whether it's a five-minute run or a 50k run.

MICHAELSON: And, you know, there's a lot of people that are watching this right now that are like, I hate running. I don't want to run. I don't want to start running. That sounds awful to me.

You know, you have the free Nike Run app where you're like in people's ear, sort of helping them to start through that process. I know you especially like people that don't necessarily like to run or first- time runners.

What's your advice to them? And what's the value of like a guided run?

Well, I would say that to most people that say they hate running, it's not that you hate running. You hate running the wrong way. And that makes sense. Anything you do the wrong way is not going to be fun. If you're trying to push a door that needs to be pulled open, eventually you're going to say, I hate opening doors.

But if you can learn how to run the right way and for the right reasons, there's a really good chance that you actually are going to fall in love with running because running wants you to enjoy it, and running wants you to experience success and build confidence in all of those good things that you hear those runner friends of yours talking about.

It's just that a lot of people don't know how to run the right way, or they're running for the wrong reasons. They're running as a punishment or a penance. And that's not going to lead to something you want to keep doing.

MICHAELSON: In terms of, you know, it's called the Nike Run Club. And a big part of what you're doing is trying to create community. You have events now as well. There's like a Nike After Dark tour. I know some of that's happening here in southern California as well.

How do you think about that and kind of what's next on that front?

BENNETT: Well, I think like anything great in life, it's better done with a community around you. And I think what people really want now more than ever, and I think that's one of the reasons why we're experiencing a running boom for -- this is maybe the sixth year that running is growing, is that people are finding community through the run.

And really, it's about inviting people to the starting line. You mentioned the After Dark Tour, which is a Nike series of races for women around the world, seven cities around the world.

And the reason why so many people want to be a part of it is because they want to be a part of something. And that starting line, there's an invitation there that you have a space, you belong here. And the women on each side of you, they're going to support you.

It's not competing against, it's competing with. And that kind of support, it's hard to find today, but it's easy to find on a starting line.

MICHAELSON: From a headspace perspective, because really, you're like a motivational speaker for people in their ears. How do you think about the psychology not only of running, but of just sort of moving and, moving through obstacles?

BENNETT: Well, I think you said it yourself. It's that idea of movement. And with a run, it's movement forward, it's progress, and it's reminding people that, yes, to have the courage to cross a starting line in and of itself is monumental.

But to continue to go and cross a finish line and then find the strength to come back to another starting line, these are the things that people just need to understand, are worth to celebrate.

And if you can do that, find success and celebrate what you've done, odds are you're going to come back to another starting line. And now we're cooking.

MICHAELSON: Well. And speaking of starting line, you also end many of your running segments saying "see you at the next starting line". What's your next starting line look like?

BENNETT: My next starting line is someone else's starting line. That's my job as a coach. My job is to serve the athlete. It's -- the way I look at my role is to show up and be there for you. So you're not running alone.

[01:39:49]

BENNETT: And honestly, my job as a coach is not for you to need me more and more.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

BENNETT: It's to need me less and less and less. If I do my job, eventually, you don't need me because you've become your own best coach.

And that's, I think, what the real joy is when you see those athletes suddenly realize, I don't need you. I can do this on my own. And then all I ask is share the sport with somebody else.

MICHAELSON: Pay it forward. And lastly, biggest surprise in this book that we're going to learn about you.

BENNETT: That I was not always in love with running. You know, it's -- I think running for most people is a relationship and relationships have ups and they have downs.

And I played hard to get with running for a long, long time. And it took me until I was probably in my 20s to finally admit, you know, hey, running, I actually do think I love you. And then I became a much better partner. But yes, I think.

(CROSSTALKING)

MICHAELSON: You said the L word at that point.

BENNETT: Yes, it took me some time, but I finally admitted, I love you and running has always loved me back. I just wasn't always the best partner.

But I think a lot of people assume because of the position I'm in, that it's always been easy. And that's not the case and that's not why people run. I know you run. The reason why you run, why everyone runs isn't

because you want it to get easier and easier. You run because you want to be able to take on harder and harder things.

MICHAELSON: Right, and often clears your head.

BENNETT: Absolutely.

MICHAELSON: And it's great to run a treadmill, but it's really great to run outside.

BENNETT: You said it.

MICHAELSON: Chris Bennett, congrats again on the new book. It is called "This is About Running. This is Not About Running: Lessons for Between and Beyond the Start and Finish Line". Available wherever you get your books.

And of course, you can get the Nike Run Club app right now. Great to see you.

BENNETT: Thank you for having me.

MICHAELSON: And thank you for all the runs.

BENNETT: Appreciate it.

MICHAELSON: You're watching THE STORY IS.

For our international viewers, "WORLD SPORT" is next. For our viewers in North America, I'll be right back with more news.

[01:41:37]

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MICHAELSON: Authorities in Washington state have released a video showing what investigators say ignited a deadly fire on the Fourth of July.

The video appears to show fireworks being launched from the back of a moving vehicle. Investigators say the fireworks ignited dry grass along the roadway, sparking a fire that scorched nearly 10,000 acres, killed one person and injured six firefighters.

An 18-year-old, who was arrested earlier this month, is facing charges including manslaughter and arson.

Health officials in Pennsylvania have now reported the state's fourth death linked to the measles. This is the first time the U.S. has seen four measles deaths in a year in more than three decades.

The latest victim was an unvaccinated 18-year-old who died from a rare neurological complication that can occur after a measles infection.

Pennsylvania has reported nearly 700 measles cases this year. That outbreak has led to a clash between state and federal officials over vaccination rates, as well as how measles deaths are actually counted. So far, the CDC has counted zero measles deaths this year.

The battle over the Kennedy Center is escalating. U.S. President Donald Trump says the Washington landmark will close immediately as a court fight over adding his name to the building continues.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty reports on the growing legal and political showdown.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: "It was effing crazy." That's how one source described Tuesday's Kennedy Center board meeting after they voted to proceed with a two-year closure for renovations. And after President Trump himself dialed into the board meeting.

Now, President Trump, as chairman of the board, he got into a lengthy back and forth with Democratic Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, specifically about her lawsuit that in large part, has been the thing that has stood in the way from him getting to add his name to the front of this building.

And in that meeting, President Trump really berated her, yelled at her, screamed at her, according to two sources, saying essentially that she had been responsible for the decline of this building.

That tense exchange came just minutes after a D.C. federal judge ruled that President Trump and Kennedy Center officials cannot add his name to the side of the building.

Judge Cooper in the case, they said -- he said of any inscription, whether it was acknowledging, thanking President Trump for renovating and restoring this building, that that could not go forward.

He said, quote, "simply put, defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress's blessing."

And nearly immediately on Tuesday evening, we saw Department of Justice lawyers arguing on behalf of the Kennedy Center appeal that decision.

Of course, here at the Kennedy Center, those tarps behind me are still up. They have been up since June. Really emblematic about how this building is working its way through the legal system and the future very much hangs in the balance. Really shielded in uncertainty.

Sunlen Serfaty, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: It goes on. Sunlen, Thank you.

Dolly Parton's legacy is getting a new collectible tribute. The estate of the late superstar has released the first of three in a series of Dolly dolls, the collectibles continuing a tradition that dates back to the 70s when Parton first began her release of the self-inspired toys.

The dolls are dressed in outfits modeled off of Partons personal fashion archive featured in the new Life of Many Colors Museum that is scheduled to open later this month in Nashville.

Coming up on THE STORY IS, L.A. prosecutors announce whether they will seek the death penalty against Nick Reiner for allegedly killing his parents. Details coming up.

[01:49:17]

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MICHAELSON: The investigation into the death of Hayden Panettiere is examining whether she got a counterfeit drugs from a southern California dealer. That's according to a source familiar with the investigation.

The actress had a cardiac arrest in an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, about a month ago.

Panettiere had been speaking publicly about her struggle with substance abuse. The source says that pending toxicology tests will be critical in helping investigators determine whether the 36-year-old ingested a counterfeit narcotic.

Here in Los Angeles, prosecutors say they will not seek the death penalty against Nick Reiner. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering his parents, legendary Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele.

are.

Our Marybel Gonzalez has more on this case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATHAN HOCHMAN, LOS ANGELES COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: The district attorney's office will not be seeking the death penalty in this case. That means that the maximum sentence that Mr. Reiner will be looking at is life without the possibility of parole.

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A major development in the case against Nick Reiner, who is charged with murdering his parents, Michele and Rob Reiner.

[01:54:43]

GONZALEZ; Los Angeles County district attorney Nathan Hochman, making the announcement shortly before Reiner appeared in court Tuesday.

HOCHMAN: We have gone through a rigorous review, where we look at the aggravating factors as well as the mitigating factors, where we have spoken to the victims' family, we have spoken to prosecutors, law enforcement.

GONZALEZ: Legendary director Rob Reiner and his film producer and political activist wife Michele were found dead from apparent stab wounds in their Brentwood, California home last December. Hours later, authorities arrested and charged their younger son, Nick, with the killings. He's pleaded not guilty.

HOCHMAN: We did speak with Nick Reiner's siblings. They made their views very clear. We took their views into consideration and ultimately deciding not to seek the death penalty.

Los Angeles county deputy public defender Kimberly Greene, who represents Reiner, told CNN in a statement that she supported the DA's move, noting Reiner suffers from, quote, "serious mental illness and a long history of struggling with self-medication".

During Tuesday's hearing, the judge ordered the grand jury transcripts that led to Reiners indictment on murder charges sealed for now.

I'm Marybel Gonzalez, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: The current California governor says there's a moratorium on the death penalty, and nobody has actually been executed in California in more than 20 years.

Thanks so much for watching THE STORY IS.

We'll have more news tomorrow here.

But the news continues right here on CNN after the break. See you tomorrow.

[01:56:15]

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