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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Interview with Representative Haley Stevens (D-MI); Students Protests as Cornell Faculty Weigh No-Confidence Vote; Russian Plague Lab Worker Dies of Pneumonia of "Unknown" Origin; Former Prince Andrew Seeks Legal Review of Police Searches; Trump Denies Polling Saying He's Losing Latino Voter Support; South Korea: North Koreans Fighting for Russia Ordered to Kill Themselves to Avoid Capture. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired October 06, 2026 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Remember, everyone, you can stream my show live or watch on demand any time with an "All Access" subscription. Just scan that QR code on your screen or go to CNN.com/Watch to learn more.
And thank you so much for watching. "THE STORY IS WITH ELEX MICHAELSON," that's next.
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles.
Coming up, THE STORY IS four weeks to the finish line. President Trump on a red state blitz ahead of the midterms.
THE STORY IS outrage at Cornell. Students and faculty making their voices heard, demanding changes over the school's handling of an alleged gang rape.
And THE STORY IS medical mystery. A lab worker at a Russian plague research facility has died from an unknown infection. Now dozens of people are quarantined. Let's speak with a top infectious disease doctor on what you need to know.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: Four weeks from tomorrow we will be getting results in the U.S. midterm elections. President Trump has been on the road trying to rally the MAGA faithful as Democrats are running strong, even in states that he won by big margins two years ago.
The fact that the president spent part of Monday in Nebraska campaigning for Senator Pete Ricketts. That state is feeling the economic strains of Trump's war with Iran. Independent State Senate nominee Dan Osborne hopes that voter frustration will tip the scales in his favor at the polls.
Meantime, the vice president of the United States, J.D. Vance, is in Alaska. He's trying to boost the campaigns of Republicans including Dan Sullivan, one of President Trump's closest allies in the Senate. Alaska is on a short list of states expected to flip during the midterm.
Democrats appear to be ahead at the moment in a state that has not elected a Democratic senator since back in 2008 when Barack Obama was on the ballot. The traditionally Republican-leaning states up for grabs also include places like Ohio, Texas, Kansas, and Iowa. These numbers from the latest "New York Times"-Siena poll shows just how tight those races are. But President Trump believed he is the key to helping his fellow party members win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think when I travel there, their numbers go way up. We have massive crowds. We have another sold-out crowd today. We went to Ohio. We went to Texas. We went to Oklahoma. We're going to Michigan. We're going all over the country.
When I go there, they pick up a lot of steam. When I go there, they win. And that's what I'm doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So President Trump mentioned Michigan there. And he's not the only big name expected to visit before November. Former president Barack Obama set to campaign with Abdul El-Sayed, the state's Democratic nominee for the Senate. He's set to release dozens of ads for Democratic candidates in the coming weeks, as well as make other campaign stops. Barack Obama, the most popular person in the Democratic Party.
Joining me now is Congresswoman Haley Stevens. She represents Michigan's 11th District and was very, very close in the race against Abdul El-Sayed for the Democratic nomination there.
Welcome to our studio. Great to have you in the house.
REP. HALEY STEVENS (D-MI): Thank you. It's great to be in person.
MICHAELSON: For the first time. All right. So Barack Obama heading to Michigan. Kamala Harris recently head to Michigan. Both of them targeting black voters who largely supported you in the primary.
What are you hearing from the black voters who supported you in terms of their frustration or maybe unwillingness to support him the first time around and where they're at now?
STEVENS: Well, and look, we've got a gubernatorial election going on. Jocelyn Benson, who were super bullish about. The Democratic Party is not defined by just one person. Right? You often hear, oh, we're the big tent party. How about we're the party that says you matter, that your access to health care that is not going to bankrupt you matters. That's really on the line. People are being pushed to the brink. You've got Detroiters leaving the middle class in just two years' time because of Trump's reckless tariffs and these policies that are driving us off a cliff.
Elex, this doesn't work for us. So, yes, we're firing people up. It's the last couple of four weeks of the campaign. We're excited. I'm excited. I got Christina Hynes in Michigan 10 who I'm raising a ton of money for, getting out the vote for Macomb County. Right? We're going Democrat. Sorry, I shouldn't be pounding. But, you know, it's an exciting time.
MICHAELSON: But you basically didn't answer the question in terms of black voters.
STEVENS: Oh, well --
MICHAELSON: Who supported you in terms of where they're at and your message to them.
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STEVENS: Well, look, I'd say this. I cherish the relationship that I had on the primary with Michigan's black community from Muskegon to Flint, Saginaw, and into Detroit. And people know what's on the line. You know, they're -- look, people are familiar sometimes with not getting their first choice in. But they also know that our Republican nominee, he's certainly not going to lift a finger for Social Security and Medicare, and, you know, a host of issues that are on the ballot.
You know, you see Hakeem Jeffries, he is going to make history and be the first black speaker of the House. He's out campaigning. He's out supporting Christina Hynes and Kelly Barr in Michigan's north, and Sean McCann in Kalamazoo. I mean, we could have a supermarket sweep in Michigan, winning all the seats. So I'm not trying to hop around here. I just -- I can only speak to, you know, what, I, you know, hear, of course, which after I lost that primary, what was I doing? Walking around and I'm saying to people, are you excited to go out and vote? They said yes.
And so -- and it's the Democratic Party. You know, we're not demagoguery. Republicans, what is the Republican Party? It's the party of Trump. What are they going to do when he retires or gets out of office?
MICHAELSON: Well, and he spoke about Michigan and saying that he wants to go there. Abdul El-Sayed said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDUL EL-SAYED, DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE FOR U.S. SENATE IN MICHIGAN: Please, I'm asking you, come to Michigan. All right. Your -- clearly, your candidate can't speak for himself. He doesn't have anything to say. Clearly you are the answer. And you should tell everybody why they should imagine you on the ballot.
So, Donald, here is the gantlet. Here's the challenge. I think you are too afraid to come to Michigan because you know when I beat your candidate and you came, I'm actually beating you.
So, Donald, welcome to Michigan. I dare you to come.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Thoughts on that?
STEVENS: Wowie-wow. Well, I will say it is interesting to see the president alongside the vice president groveling for votes in deeply red states with statewide Republican elected, incumbents is what they call them. I mean, even that bozo guy in Texas, Paxton? You know, I couldn't believe that on your chart. He's way low. He's way low in the polls.
MICHAELSON: The attorney general.
STEVENS: I mean, it's unbelievable. So he's going to come to Michigan. What's the statewide Republican who's going to be standing there with him? Because we don't have one yet. And what's going to happen is --
MICHAELSON: You think Mike Rogers would stand next to him?
STEVENS: Well, he hasn't been elected statewide. He's just a nominee.
MICHAELSON: Yes. Yes.
STEVENS: You know, that's what I'm getting at. We've had eight years of Gretchen Whitmer, Jocelyn Benson, Dana Nessel. Talk about a good AG and somebody who is defending, you know, the liberties of people.
MICHAELSON: But then -- but then, shouldn't Michigan be more of an advantage for the Democrats right now? The fact that --
STEVENS: Yes, that's why Trump has to go grovel in Alabama and Texas or wherever he's been. And he's going to, you know, just lag in --
MICHAELSON: But Michigan in that scenario shouldn't be close. Right?
STEVENS: Well, look, we're a swing state.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
STEVENS: You know, I mean, look, I'm not going to deny it. I mean, you see Whitmer winning by double digits in '22 and then Trump coming in in '24. and being a swing state, I'll tell you this. You know, I'm here in the West Coast talking to you. Are -- my congressional district had 470,000 people who voted in 2024. Some of the districts in this area, something incredible is going to happen. People are going to vote.
But why do you have half the people voting out here in some of the congressional districts? Exercise your ballot. You know, I can make it -- you're not asking me assumption questions. I appreciate it. Every election is an assumption until it occurs. But let's take a minute and pause and think about what happens when black Detroiters come to the polls and we make it easier for people to cast their vote, because we got rid of no excuse absentee. I mean, give me a break, and you got Trump over here who's trying to
pass this SAVE Act, whatever that means. You know, they won't do the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which was bipartisan up until a handful of years ago.
MICHAELSON: Quickly, you're wrapping up your time in Congress. You just went on a congressional delegation, Republicans and Democrats to India. Your district actually has more Indian Americans than any other district in the country.
STEVENS: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Your big takeaway from your time in India. What did you learn there?
STEVENS: Look, we got to be standing alongside open, free market, democratic trade partners like the country of India, who's been very clear that they are not China. They reject autocracy and that, yes, in a democracy, things move slower. That is something that I heard. But they're also doing tech and they're doing middle class expansion, and they want to work with us, which I find exciting.
They are not funding our detractors for the most part. Right? They really are not. You know, you got China in cahoots with some of these rogue regimes around the country -- around the world, rather, you know. Look, you got free Tibet. We haven't said that in a long time. You can't even get a picture of the Dalai Lama in there. He's -- you know, they have a whole exiled community.
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And this is a remarkable story of human rights that needs to be told. The kids at home need to remember, China doesn't have the open internet. All right. You post something they don't like, you could be in jail. And you're certainly losing your internet rights. We've got freedom. We've got a lot of voices, a lot of people talking, a lot of people hunting for truth, trying to speak a truth, trying to move the needle forward.
MICHAELSON: Sure.
STEVENS: And I'm proud to have been a part of that in my eight years in the Congress. I love this country. I love being on the ballot, you know, and now I'm kind of watching. I'm eating some popcorn, talking to you. And, you know, well, not both at the same time, but thanks for the water.
MICHAELSON: We need better snacks. There is some popcorn in the green room.
STEVENS: Yes. Oh, good. Oh, good.
MICHAELSON: Haley Stevens, thank you so much.
STEVENS: Hey, thank you.
MICHAELSON: Always fun to talk with you. Appreciate your perspective.
A Chicago woman who was shot multiple times by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent has filed a federal civil lawsuit against the U.S. government. Marimar Martinez seeking compensatory damages, alleging negligence, battery assault, and malicious prosecution. Federal authorities had initially accused Martinez of ramming an agent's vehicle prior to being shot. That case later fell apart, and prosecutors dropped all charges.
Her attorneys say a forensic reconstruction shows that the CBP agent, Charles Exum, was not in any danger when he fired his weapon. They hope the evidence will lead to criminal charges against him. The lawsuit comes almost exactly one year after the incident occurred. At a news conference on Monday, Martinez and her attorney said other fatal shootings involving federal immigration agents motivated her to pursue legal action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER PARENTE, ATTORNEY REPRESENTING MARIMAR MARTINEZ: The indictment was dismissed. We were done. She's like, Chris, I'm done. I don't want anything to do with this. I'm done. And it wasn't until Minnesota happened when Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed, where she said, we have to do something.
MARIMAR MARTINEZ, SHOT BY BORDER PATROL: Right now we're just focused on moving forward with the civil case and just heal emotionally and physically. What's happening is not normal. We shouldn't stay here and normalize what's happening.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: CNN, MS NOW and Politico have just submitted a new court filing in their battle to maintain their White House access after President Trump barred the outlets last month for, quote, "negative stories." A judge temporarily restored their credentials, and the outlets are now seeking a longer term injunction. In today's filing, the news organizations argue that the Trump administration has offered shifting justifications for the ban, including national security concerns, but have not submitted evidence to support those claims.
The filing comes after Politico was barred from Air Force One today, leaving the flight without print pool coverage after other outlets refused to take its place.
Former "American Idol" contestant Caleb Flynn has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of his wife. Just before that sentencing relatives read heartbreaking statements written by his 10 and 12-year-old daughters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Dear Daddy, I don't even know where to start. How could you do such a thing? I looked up to you. I loved you with all my heart. And then you lied to everyone. Mommy was the perfect person, the absolute perfect person. What did she ever do to make you hate her so much? She loved you and she cared for you. She took care of you. She loved you with all her heart. She was my best friend. And then you chose to kill the only mother I ever had. I miss her so much. So, so, so much. You have no idea."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Prosecutors allege the 40-year-old fatally shot Ashley Flynn, in part due to his nearly two-year affair with a fellow 24- year-old worship leader at their church. They also argue he staged the crime scene to make it appear as if an intruder had killed his wife. Flynn denies the charges, but the judge told Flynn his actions were abhorrent and that using his position in the church to manipulate others was, quote, "deeply disturbing."
Students and faculty at Cornell University are demanding change over the school's handling of an alleged gang rape by several fraternity members in 2024. Members of Cornell's Faculty Senate are introducing a resolution to take a vote of no confidence against the school's administration.
CNN has reached out to Cornell for comment on that. Meanwhile, protesters rallied on campus today, chanting shame and resign in reference to university administrators. And a seven-hour sit-in is planned for Wednesday in solidarity with the alleged victim.
CNN's Gloria Pazmino has the latest on the renewed criminal investigation in this case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another bombshell in the investigation of an alleged sexual assault at a Cornell University fraternity house two years ago.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want me to give my recollection of the entire night?
PAZMINO (voice-over): New audio obtained by ABC News reveals a phone call between Jane Doe and the fraternity member that she says invited her to the house the night of her alleged assault three weeks earlier. ABC reports that Doe secretly recorded the call, in which she asked the other student for details of the night.
"If I just know what happened, then I can feel a little bit better and move on and maybe be able to stay at the school," she tells him, according to a recording of the call.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you -- you come in, say hi, we start dancing for like maybe three to five minutes. And then I pop the question. You say yes. Then I remember like, we didn't know who else to bring. So I go up to -- who was on the dance floor, too. And I pop the question and he's like, yes. And then we go upstairs.
PAZMINO (voice-over): Jane Doe's lawyer has said that she was blacked out during portions of the alleged assault. According to ABC she asked on the call how she ended up in a threesome.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You did tell me you were sober, by the way. You did. You said you hadn't been anywhere.
PAZMINO (voice-over): ABC does not use Jane Doe's voice in the clips it has released, but says she responded, "That is not true. I never would have said that." Documents reviewed by CNN show Cornell University campus police drafted letters seeking records from Verizon and T-Mobile just one week after Jane Doe reported her assault. It's unclear if investigators sent the request and whether the Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten was aware of them.
THOMAS GIUFFRA, ATTORNEY FOR JANE DOE: If this was a normal investigation that was done in New York City, for example, they would have gotten search warrants. They would have grabbed every single one of these phones of these guys. There were videos. And, you know, where I think those photos and videos are now? I think they're in the bottom of Lake Cuyahoga because once they knew there was a problem, they cleared everything out and they got rid of it. And the fact is that the investigators let that happen.
PAZMINO (voice-over): Doe's attorney has said two of the men named in the lawsuit were expelled from the school.
ABC is also reporting this Cornell University Police Department body cam footage from November 2024 when police told one of the suspended students that he was no longer welcome on campus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can look at that. Per the temporary suspension, he is barred from any of the grounds owned, operated and maintained by Cornell University.
LETITIA JAMES, NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL: The governor has entrusted my office with this investigation.
PAZMINO (voice-over): Today, an attorney representing one of the students is calling on New York State Attorney General Letitia James to recuse herself as special prosecutor based on a social media post from days earlier where James expressed support for the alleged victim.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Gloria Pazmino reporting there.
Still ahead this hour, how health officials are working to ease anxieties after the death of a plague researcher in Russia. We'll speak to an expert on infectious diseases when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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MICHAELSON: Yemen's Saudi-backed government forces claim to have retaken key positions near the Bab al-Mandab Strait from the Iran backed Houthis. Yemen's military spokesperson says that government forces have succeeded in controlling the strait, which has become a vital alternative route since the Iran war severely disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The Houthi-controlled media denies reports that Yemen and Saudi-led forces are advancing.
Yemen's military also claims it has regained control of a key road leading to the port town of Mocha. CNN has not independently verified any of these claims, but if successful, the offensive would loosen the Houthis' grip along the Red Sea coast.
Officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan convened on Monday for an emergency meeting where they agreed to deploy military resources to Saudi Arabia as part of the Mecca Defense Pact.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization says it is seeking answers from Russian health authorities about the death of a worker at a plague research lab. Local media have identified her as 28-year-old Daria Shipilova, Russia's infectious disease agency says that she died last week after being diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown origin. The specific cause of Shipilova's death has not yet been reported or confirmed, and Russian officials say they have found no evidence linking her death to her work as a plague researcher.
She worked at an anti-plague research institute in Siberia. Authorities say they are implementing anti-epidemic measures. Local media report quarantine restrictions in several hospitals, including the one where she was treated and died. Dozens of people are reportedly now in isolation. The World Health Organization says the public risk appears to be low, based on the information currently available.
The U.S. State Department says it is monitoring the situation and urging Russian officials to, quote, "share accurate information quickly and openly."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: There's very limited travel between the U.S. and Russia obviously, but like anything else, something like that gets out, it could quickly spread. So we're watching and monitoring it closely. I don't think it's cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus and a cause to just keep an eye on it. And we're doing that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Dr. Ravina Kullar joins me now. She's an infectious disease expert, an epidemiologist, and serves as a spokesperson for the Infectious Disease Society of America.
Doctor, welcome back to THE STORY IS. So for people that have never heard of this, what is pneumonic plague?
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RAVINA KULLAR, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT AND EPIDEMIOLOGIST: Yes. So pneumonic plague is a rare but it's a very deadly form of lung infection. So an individual that gets it, they're going to get a severe form of pneumonia. And it's due to a certain type of bacteria. Now there's different types of plague. This is the one that is the most severe and the most deadly and the most contagious. We think of bubonic plague, septicemic plague, but this is pneumonic plague, which is very deadly.
MICHAELSON: And back in the 1300s, yes, we're talking about the 1300s, they called this the Black Death?
KULLAR: That's right. Because it was so deadly, because there were over 100 million people that died due to this, because there was no antibiotics that were available at that time. And what makes it so deadly is that it's transmitted from individuals to individuals. Other types of plague, you only get it from animals, only spread between animals to animals. But let's just look at the last recent human-to- human transmission actually happened right here in L.A. in 1924.
And the individual that caught it was from a rat. And then that individual ended up getting infected and then spread it to many other humans. And what makes it so scary is that this pneumonic plague, it can really manifest itself into different other viral infections like influenza, pneumonia. So it can be misdiagnosed.
MICHAELSON: So it's been more than 100 years since we've even had human-to-human interaction.
KULLAR: Oh, yes. Definitely has been.
MICHAELSON: And so -- and part of the good news now that you pointed out is that there are antibiotics, but you got to get those fast.
KULLAR: That's right. I mean, I would say it's so deadly. So you're going to have a risk of dying within -- you have a 100 percent chance of dying unless you get antibiotics within the first 24 hours. We have antibiotics now thankfully, and they're very effective, but we don't know whether this specific strain that was -- that this individual ended up dying from whether she was working on a specific strain that developed resistance to different antibiotics. So it's something we don't know. That's a case that can be very scary.
MICHAELSON: Well, and we think about, you know, working in a lab and then the lab potentially get out, which is what a lot of people think happened with COVID.
KULLAR: Yes. Yes.
MICHAELSON: Now. Of course people we're mocked for saying that years ago. How does this compare to COVID?
KULLAR: Yes, that's a great question. I think now we compare like everything to COVID. So the great news is, is that it's much less contagious than COVID. COVID, you typically, you catch it from asymptomatic individuals. For pneumonic plague, you have to be very sick in order to really pass it on. And pneumonic plague, you can only catch it if you're within close proximity of somebody else. With COVID, that was not the case. You can spread it from just
standing far from someone else, but it's very deadly. It's much more deadlier than COVID. And what makes it also different, we have antibiotics.
MICHAELSON: Right.
KULLAR: For COVID, we had nothing that was there at that time.
MICHAELSON: When it started off, there was no vaccines or nothing.
KULLAR: That's right.
MICHAELSON: In terms, though, you know, the secretary of state there just talking that people should not be alarmed. I mean, is there reason to be alarmed, especially with basically maybe one person infected that we know of?
KULLAR: I think we're all alarmed just because we're dealing with Russia. Right? You think of different countries that we just don't trust. Russia, China, maybe North Korea.
MICHAELSON: Right.
KULLAR: I think it was -- if it was coming from another country that we maybe trust a little bit more, we wouldn't be so alarmed. But I think right now we have nothing to be alarmed about. We just need to make sure that Russia stays steady and tells us everything that's going on. They're very forthcoming. That's the main thing. And those individuals that were close proximity to this individual that died, they're being quarantined and hopefully they will sequence whatever she ended up dying of and they will be transparent with all of us.
MICHAELSON: Let's hope so for the survival of all of us.
Dr. Ravina Kullar, appreciate your insights. This whole thing, of course, is a reminder that we're all in this together.
KULLAR: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Thanks so much for being with us.
KULLAR: Thank you, Elex.
MICHAELSON: We go now to Spain, where clashes broke out in Barcelona following a mass protest demanding housing reform. Some demonstrators built barricades, started fires, threw objects at officers. That unrest follows weeks of nationwide protests over the housing crisis. Last week, parliament rejected emergency housing decrees and now the Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called a snap election for November 29th, saying a progressive majority in parliament would help pass housing reforms.
The French government is calling for calm as students there prepare for a nationwide day of protests on Tuesday. A local newspaper reports one teenager lost his hand and part of his arm Monday after picking up a police dispersal grenade that detonated. It is the third week that students have been demonstrating against teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and rundown schools. More than 4,000 teenagers have been arrested since those protests began.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is asking a judge to review whether recent police searches of his home were, in fact, legal.
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The former Duke of York was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He has not been charged, and police say their investigation is ongoing.
The outcome of the judicial review could decide what evidence is admissible. CNN's Max Foster explains in London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: When Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested back in February, taken to a police station --
FOSTER (voice-over): -- and questioned on suspicion of misconduct in public office, his homes were also searched.
The home he was living in on the Sandringham estate owned by the king, but also the home he was moving out of in Windsor. It's those searches --
FOSTER: -- that Mountbatten-Windsor is challenging now.
So, we know that the police were also assessing whether or not Mountbatten-Windsor leaked confidential information --
FOSTER (voice-over): -- to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during his time as U.K. trade envoy.
FOSTER: If Mountbatten-Windsor does manage to be successful with this judicial review, which will be heard on Thursday in London, then it could mean that the search warrants that Thames Valley Police used were illegitimate, and any evidence that was gathered during those searches may not be admissible --
FOSTER (voice-over): -- in court against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, or used in any sort of investigation against him. We'll wait to see what that hearing finds. We are likely to hear on the same day, what the result is --
FOSTER: -- whether or not this judicial review that he's calling for is successful.
Meanwhile, Buckingham Palace and the king are keen to distance themselves from this legal process.
FOSTER (voice-over): A royal source telling me that this is a matter for Mountbatten-Windsor and his lawyers. They have no role in it, and they won't be paying for it either. We know that the king does support Mountbatten-Windsor financially,
but it's been made clear to him, I'm told that these monies should not be used to fund --
FOSTER: -- a judicial review. We should point out that Mountbatten- Windsor has denied any wrongdoing in relation to his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Max Foster, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Max Foster, thank you.
Still to come on THE STORY IS, with the U.S. midterms just weeks away, some folks are already voting. Can President Trump help Republican candidates win over voters? Why is he going to so many deep red states? Our political panel next.
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MICHAELSON: President Trump pushing back against recent polling showing a drop in his approval rating.
An NBC-Telemundo poll shows the president losing critical support among Latino voters, a key voting bloc that helped him return to the White House two years ago.
The poll also shows more registered Latino voters say they want Democrats to win control of Congress. Here's what President Trump said when CNN asked him about the results.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your approval ratings with Latino voters has dropped down to 27 percent.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm not doing (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's your message to them?
TRUMP: You're fake news. You're CNN; you're fake news.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's your message to Latino voters?
TRUMP: My poll numbers are great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Let's talk this over with our political panel for the night. Joining me is Michael Tubbs, the former mayor of Stockton, California, and founder of End Poverty in California. And joining me is Matt Bilinsky, an attorney and host of "The Prevailing Narrative" podcast. Gentlemen, welcome back to THE STORY IS.
So, Matt, they asked him what his message to Latino voters was, and it was CNN is fake news, which is one choice in terms of a message.
MATT BILINSKY, ATTORNEY/HOST, "THE PREVAILING NARRATIVE": Sure.
MICHAELSON: That maybe isn't the best thing that people are looking for. What would be an alternative message to Latino voters?
BILINSKY: Yes, Donald Trump needs to play on people's, you know, short attention spans and things of that nature and try to remind Latino voters of why they shifted to him in 2024 in the first place.
A couple issues: in particular, crime, the crime issue, because it's gotten better under the Trump administration, is not as poignant to people. I think if he really focused on that issue and said, listen, remember the last time the Democrats were in power, one of the things that turned you guys against them and, you know, kind of made -- made you more receptive to my message. You realize how soft on crime they were.
I came in and solved that, and that's why everyone forgot about it.
You know, I don't know that you might not like how ICE treated some of your communities but remember what the border was like before I came into office.
So, there's a couple issues that have kind of fallen by the wayside, because they're not -- they're not as acute anymore. I think he needs to remind Latino voters of those issues.
MICHAELSON: Your thoughts on that?
MICHAEL TUBBS, FOUNDER, END POVERTY IN CALIFORNIA: Yes. I think Trump's best bet is to keep lying and deflecting, because he has no real record for Latino voters on which to run on. When you look at everything he promised, from border security, we see ICE as it terrorized communities.
MICHAELSON: He definitely -- he definitely stopped people at the border.
TUBBS: At the expense of Americans --
MICHAELSON: I mean, people going across the border has gone way down.
TUBBS: At the expense of Americans dying, or breaking up families of Latino voters who were supportive of immigration enforcement, saying, Hey, hey, too much. You took it too far. You're -- you're not -- you're not going after criminals. You're calling all of us criminals, which is different than what he campaigned on.
MICHAELSON: Didn't he campaign on mass deportations?
TUBBS: He campaigned on getting rid of criminals. And then what we've seen -- and then what --
MICHAELSON: They held up signs at the RNC, saying, "Mass Deportations."
TUBBS: But what he campaigned on and what he's delivering on, what people understood are different things.
But I think that's why the polling you talk about shows that Latino voters have shifted on him, on immigration. Not because his language has shifted, but because of what they've seen done to themselves, to their communities, and to the economy. Right?
The fact that immigration is not divorced from the high rates people are paying for everything these days, but because folks aren't going to work; because folks are afraid; because communities are having such crisis, it's having an impact on people's pocketbooks.
[00:40:10]
So, I don't know what his message is. His message is going to have to be lie, deflect, blame CNN, blame Obama. Wait -- hopefully, that -- to your point of short attention spans, that people forget, and he gets lucky again. But I just don't see how that's going to happen.
MICHAELSON: It does seem to be a trend with him, when he gets a question about a topic he doesn't have a good answer for, it is blaming the reporter or blaming the news organization and not sort of self-reflecting on why, maybe, those poll numbers are the way that they are.
So, that -- the midterms continue. One of the most interesting races in the country is happening right here in California, over the question of a wealth tax.
This is a one-time 5 percent tax on billionaires' assets. There's more billionaires in California than anywhere else in the country. It's getting a lot of national attention.
Bernie Sanders has been campaigning for several days in California on this topic. Here's what he's saying out on the stump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): In my view, Proposition 40, the California Billionaire Tax Act, is the most important ballot initiative in the country, because it deals with the most important issue facing this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Senator Sanders, here in Southern California.
You think this is a good idea?
TUBBS: I definitely think the issue of wealth inequality and affordability are tied. Right? We have reports saying that we're at the highest rate of wealth being concentrated with the top 1 percent and 0.1 percent since the Great Depression, the Gilded Age. So, that problem does require some solutions.
I do believe a wealth tax is probably best done at a national level.
But with that being said, the fact that there's so many people excited; the fact that there's so many people who are supportive of a wealth tax in California forces us to grapple with the issue. Why is that?
And it's because no one in California can afford housing; because no one in California can afford health care, particularly with the Big Ugly Bill and the health care premiums going up; childcare, et cetera.
So, we can be mad at Bernie. We can be mad at wealth taxes, but we have to grapple with the fact that the vast majority of people in the state are angry, because they're doing everything. They're working. They still can't afford to live here.
And we have to have solutions, whether it's wealth taxes, or making it easier to build homes, or -- or a guaranteed income. We have to have something that's responsive to what people are feeling.
MICHAELSON: You say this is best done on a national level. That's the same position of the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, who is against the state wealth tax. So, you're going to be voting no?
TUBBS: My -- I -- I will vote up and down the ballot for the extension of the teacher's tax to pay for education. I'll be voting for the bond measure to -- to make housing more affordable.
And I've been on the record saying, I think a one-time tax isn't the best use of -- isn't the best for California today. But I'm not against the concept of a wealth tax.
MICHAELSON: Your thoughts?
BILINSKY: So, if we want to talk about solutions. So, Bernie Sanders' solution and the people behind this wealth tax, their proposed solution is, if you give the government more money, we're going to make people's lives better. We're going to solve these problems.
But then you look back and say, well, you know something? We seem to have given you more money. You go back and look at California. Ten years ago, the California state budget was $170 billion. Now, it's $340 billion.
So, where in that extra $170 billion that you have asked the taxpayers for, that you've gotten from billionaires. Because let's be honest, it's not -- it's not many working people are paying that. All the wealthy people, all the businesses that sold, that has contributed to that extra $170 billion in tax revenue.
You didn't solve the problem with that 170 billion. So, what makes me think that you know how to solve these problems with more money, just because it comes from wealthy people who apparently, you're very resentful of?
TUBBS: I would say, just in this case, though, this tax is specifically for health care, for health insurance, for free. So, we know it's not -- not -- your point -- your point is well taken.
But for this issue, it's for health insurance. It's for health premiums, to make sure that folks can afford health care in California.
BILINSKY: Yes. So, other -- but my question would be -- and I think you acknowledge the validity of it -- that $170 billion that you increased in the budget didn't use that. Apparently, there were higher priorities than delivering health care. What were you using the money on?
TUBBS: Well, I think part of the issue is that President Trump and the Republican-led Congress, with the Big Ugly Bill, has gutted health care for a lot of folks. And now health care premiums are going up. And --
BILINSKY: Once again, not to cut you off --
TUBBS: No, no.
BILINSKY: -- but it's a -- it's a -- this is the California budget and this is for the Cal -- the -- the politicians running California --
TUBBS: But the California budget is, in part, affected by what happens at the federal level.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And no doubt, Matt, that coming in the next couple of years, when those health premiums go up, because that's when they're slated to. That's going to be a real issue not only for California, but for people all over the country, and is going to be very unpopular when folks see their health insurance costs go up.
That's going to be a big question for the next Congress. Do they restore those subsidies? That's one of the issues that isn't really being talked about that much right now. That is probably the difference between a Democratic House and Senate, and if the Republicans are in charge.
We have more to get to with you guys in terms of the midterms, speaking of that, when you guys are going to join us at the top of the hour.
[00:45:05]
Matt, Michael, thanks so much for being here.
Also, coming up here on THE STORY IS, we want to talk about. Thank you both for joining us.
North Koreans troops fighting for -- against -- or North Korean troops fighting for Russia facing severe consequences if they're captured. CNN speaks to one North Korean defector about the deadly methods that they're taking to avoid that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:50:16]
MICHAELSON: Some disturbing news out of Russia's war with Ukraine. South Korean intelligence says North Korean troops fighting for Russia have been ordered to kill themselves to avoid the shame of being captured.
CNN's Will Ripley has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): South Korean intelligence says North Korean troops have explicit orders to kill themselves to avoid capture. They say at least one soldier even shouted, "General Kim Jong-un" before pulling a grenade.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SHOUTING)
THAE YONG-HO, FORMER SENIOR NORTH KOREAN DIPLOMAT: All the people in North Korea are brainwashed.
RIPLEY (voice-over): One of Pyongyang's highest profile defectors says when North Korean soldiers die fighting for Russia, their leader praises them as heroes. Doors opened for the soldiers' grieving families. Brand-new apartments on a special street in Pyongyang. Their children promised places in elite revolutionary schools, a path to privileged jobs.
THAE: The social status of your family would be upgraded to a kind of, you know, elite or ruling class. Your house, your -- your parents would be moved from countryside, a very remote area to the capital of North Korea, Pyongyang.
RIPLEY (voice-over): But North Korea's former deputy U.K. ambassador, Tae Yong-ho, says if a soldier is captured alive, like these two carried out of Russia's Kursk region last year, the consequences can be reversed.
THAE: There would be a very heavy punishment. Their social status would be downgraded.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Of the thousands of North Koreans sent to fight for Russia, only two are known to have been captured alive. In Ukrainian captivity, with their identities concealed, they told CNN affiliate NBC, "I don't know if my mom is alive. I worry she could be in trouble because of me. If I had a hand grenade, I could have killed myself and not become a P.O.W." Seoul's national intelligence service says they decided to go to South Korea, arriving by their own free will earlier this month.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: These guys are not easy to capture alive. RIPLEY (voice-over): South Korea was shocked when Ukraine's president
revealed the transfer at the U.N. Seoul wanted to keep it secret, in part to protect the soldiers and their families. But Ukraine says there was no confidentiality agreement.
THAE: I am protected by South Korean border guards 24 hours.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Thae defected with his wife and two sons. I met the brother and sister he left behind in Pyongyang. In what they called a voluntary interview, they disowned him.
RIPLEY: In South Korea, Thae said that he did this to break the slavery chain.
"One hundred percent evil propaganda," his sister told me. Thae feared his family was being forced to speak against him.
His brother said, "If I don't wash this sin away by myself, my sons and future generations will have to work harder to pay for this."
Now, Thae says Ukraine should target North Korean troops with leaflets and loudspeakers, telling them they don't have to die.
THAE: They are very young, in early 20s. They have a very bright future.
RIPLEY (voice-over): But Ukraine says thousands more may soon be headed to battle in the name of their leader.
Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Still ahead on THE STORY IS, we're learning more about the FlyDubai copilot accused of attempting to hijack the airplane. We'll have more on what his likely target was next hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:58:34]
MICHAELSON: THE STORY IS sports.
An emotional Monday night football game in the NFL. New Orleans hosting Atlanta in a big rivalry. The Saints commemorating 20 years since the reopening of the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina.
They beat Atlanta in that game back in 2006. But tonight, the Falcons absolutely dominated Atlanta with five rushing touchdowns in the game, tying a team record.
Bijan Robinson had two of them, including this 59-yarder. That's good if you have him on your fantasy team.
The Falcons win it big, 46-to-24. Washington Capitals Captain Alex Ovechkin says that the 2026-27 season
will be his last. The National Hockey League's all-time goal scorer made the announcement, ending his more than two-decade long career on Monday.
He broke Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal-scoring record last year when he netted his 895th, a mark once thought untouchable.
It is one last tango for the greatest of all time. In the day ahead, Lionel Messi will make his final appearance for Argentina at, where else? Buenos Aires' Monumental Stadium.
That final whistle will mark the end of an international career spanning more than two decades and the beginning of the post-Messi era in one of the world's most beloved sports.
Messi's tenure with Argentina's national team hasn't always been easy, but the little boy from Rosario won the hearts of his country forever when he brought home the World Cup trophy in 2022 after nearly a four- decade drought.
He will continue playing, by the way, for Miami in MLS.
