Return to Transcripts main page

The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

U.S. Government Shutdown Hits Air Travel With Delays, Cancellations; Supreme Court Lets Trump Temporarily Pause SNAP Payments; Transportation Secretary Warns Flight Cuts Could Jump To 20%; Thune Rejects Democrats Unto Reopen Government; Thune Calls Dems' Plan To Reopen Government "Nonstarter"; Congress At Impasse With No Deal In Sight To Reopen Govt.; U.S. Judge Trump Illegally Ordered Troops To Portland; Probe Blames Missed "Hot Spots" For Ventura Fire; Trump Gives Hungary Exemption From Russian Energy Sanctions; Uma Duwaji: Wife Of Mamdani Sparks Intrigue; NCAA Six Basketball Players Accused Of Game Fixing; Lakers See Early Season Success Without Lebron James; Mace Pushes Back After Airport Incident; Cornell Reaches Deal With Trump Administration. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired November 08, 2025 - 1:00   ET

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

[01:00:00]

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Kristi says it could sell on Tuesday for $30 million. That would rank it as the most valuable blue diamonds ever sold at auction.

While the world's tallest teen made a historic debut on Thursday, he became the tallest player in U.S. college basketball history. 19 year old Olivier Rioux played center for the University of Florida as they beat North Florida. The Canadian player is 7 feet 9 inches tall. Keep in mind that the rim is 10 feet above the court. He can almost dunk without jumping, and he makes Victor Wembanyama look short.

Thanks for watching this hour. Stay with us. The next hour of "The Story Is" starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Change to 11:30. Change to 3:00 .

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: The Story Is weekend of flight delays. Airlines, passengers say enough is enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just difficult to understand how they just can't figure this out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: The Story Is breaking right now. A judge rules President Trump's deployment of the National Guard in Portland was unconstitutional. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZOHRAN MAMDANI; NEW YORK CITY MAYOR-ELECT: To my incredible wife, Rama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: The Story Is, who is Zohran Mamdani's wife? He profiled the Gen Z artist about to become New York City's first lady.

The story is sports betting. Scandals engulf both the NCAA and the NBA. Sports journalist, Jovan Buha and Arash Markazi join us live.

(ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, "The Story Is" with Elex Michaelson.)

MICHAELSON: And welcome to "The Story is" I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles where we are following two major stories tonight impacting a whole lot of Americans. Airlines will cancel hundreds more flights into this weekend. That's a live look at LAX.

But first, we go to a new ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that could literally have millions of Americans wondering how to afford food for themselves and their family. The top court is temporarily letting the Trump administration pause SNAP food security payments. That ruling had required the administration to cover food stamp payments for millions of Americans who need the help. But now U.S. Department of Agriculture will no longer have to transfer $4 billion to cover those payments at least for the moment.

That decision comes three weeks before American Thanksgiving, which often features bountiful meals. It'll be extra tough for many American families who rely on food banks and SNAP.

ONITA NORRIS, SNAP RECIPIENT: Rather than myself having, like, a full plate of food along with my kids, I'm making sure that they have a full plate of food and their bellies are full, and I may have either less or I may not eat what they are eating just for the sake that they are getting enough.

RENE MARSH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So mom's having to sometimes skip a meal or curb?

NORRIS: Yes. Yeah. It feels like I'm failing them.

MARSH: I just don't understand how we've come to a point where we're using food in politics and being essentially political pawns.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: CNN's Rene Marsh reporting there. As for the government shutdown impacting your travel, more than a thousand flights canceled Friday, at least 5,000 delayed. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says the percentage of canceled flights could rise from 4 percent to 20 percent if the shutdown doesn't end soon. SEAN DUFFY, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: The airlines have been good partners. They don't love this. They're going to lose millions of dollars because of this. It's challenging for them to take down flights. And to those passengers that are upset, listen, call your Democrat Senator, 14 times they voted no to open up the government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Major airlines are already announcing hundreds of cancellations for this weekend. Saturday, Southwest is cutting about a 100 flights; United, a 168 flights; American, 220 flights. Americans impacted by the flight cancellations are angry, frustrated, and just plain annoyed, and that includes airline industry officials.

Take a listen to the chief operating officer of American Airlines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID SEYMOUR, AMERICAN AIRLINES COO: Let me be clear. We need to get the government reopened. We need to get, this aviation system back, and I implore our members of Congress to get together and get the government reopened, so we can get back to normalcy. Aviation is super critical to this nation. It's super critical to our traveling public.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: The President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association told CNN that union members will continue to work to ensure the safety of the flying public despite not being paid. And there's unwavering support for the air traffic controllers coming from the head of the pilots union.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. JASON AMBROSI, PRESIDENT. AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION: I'm not just a pilot. I'm also a passenger. I flew out of DCA this morning back here to Atlanta. I can tell you that my pilots are telling me that they stand with our brothers and sisters at air traffic control and the Transportation Safety Administration.

[01:05:00]

So, the fact that they are still not getting paid, that there isn't no end in sight to this, is just frustrating beyond belief.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Meantime, the levels of frustration and uncertainty are rising among people trying to fly throughout the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've been here since 4:00 this morning. But the thing is there's no flight to Syracuse. So we're going to Raleigh, North Carolina, then we're going to Buffalo, then someone has to pick us up. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Can't get you hotel comp. You know, no transportation comps. They wouldn't get us on another airline. Not even a little money for lunch. Pretty much just send you back to where you came from and call it a day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: CNN's Pete Muntean is at Reagan National Airport in DC. He covers all things aviation for us. Pete, welcome to "The Story Is" for the first time. Talk to us about what is happening behind the scenes right now.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, behind the scenes, you know, airlines have been really scrambling to try and make sure they can meet this Trump administration mandate to essentially cut 4 percent of flights from their schedule through Monday. And then that number goes up on Tuesday to 6 percent, 8 percent on Thursday, 10 percent on Friday, which is really interesting because then we get in the 2 week zone of the Thanksgiving travel rush.

You know, there are a lot of questions at the airlines about whether or not they've been having to carry out travel pain for political gain by the Trump administration even though the Trump administration maintains this is all about safety, that air traffic controllers who've been continuing to work without pay during this government shutdown are simply too stressed out, and it's making the air travel system unsafe.

MICHAELSON: Yeah. Secretary Duffy, said that the airlines, this is going to cost them millions of dollars. Do they just have to eat this? And what are the airlines saying to you?

MUNTEAN: They do have to eat this, essentially, and they're going to lose out on tens, if not hundreds of thousands of seats. You know, behind the scenes, they're really having to scramble and move things around to try and shed these flights and then get those passengers who would have been on the canceled flights on different flights or provide weave refunds.

There's a big communications lift that they have to do try and reach out to passengers, not only on the app, but also via text, also via email. So it's really, really hard, for airlines, and they tell me they're essentially dealing with this like they would deal with a massive winter storm. Although in this case, it's not localized to maybe just one area or one region, it's at 40 different airports across the country making this a lot more difficult.

MICHAELSON: And almost every, airport around the country. I know your folks speaking to folks there at Reagan National, what are they saying to you? You're also hearing about delays at places like SFO and San Francisco.

MUNTEAN: The big thing is that this has not really made it so that these air traffic control staffing triggered delays that we have seen since the start of this government shutdown. They've not really gone away. In fact, on Friday, they went up. We saw about 35 facilities with short staffing on Friday, and that was a big impact. The delays climbed into the thousands on top of the hundreds of flights mandated to be canceled by the Trump administration. So this has not been easy. And even in the tower at San Francisco International Airport, they did not have enough controllers there to staff the tower, so the FAA had to slow the pace of flights into there.

The West Coast has not been immune to all of these problems. Really, every place across the country has not been immune to all these problems, and it really goes to show how much stress air traffic controllers are under after getting another $0 pay stub in their emails just on Thursday. You know, it's really insult to injury, and a lot of people are asking, why is it, that air traffic controllers simply can't continue to get paid during a government shutdown? Maybe that's something that members of Congress should consider after the shutdown is over.

MICHAELSON: And you know who is getting paid? Members of Congress.

MUNTEAN: That's right. Exactly.

MICHAELSON: There you go. So they figured it out for themselves. Maybe they could tap into that budget to help other people as well.

MUNTEAN: That's a very good point.

MICHAELSON: Pete Muntean, who is -- covers aviation for us. What a time to be in that line of work, work in in overtime. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

MUNTEAN: Yeah. Thanks, Elex.

MICHAELSON: You're doing such a great job. Meanwhile, a member of the Trump administration is admitting that the shutdown is having devastating impacts on the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN HASSETT, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL DIRECTOR: We're starting to see pockets of the economy that look like they might be in a recession, that we're not in a recession because of this, but there are pockets that are really hurting. And if we go another month or so, then then who knows how bad the economy could be this quarter? And we know whose fault that will be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:10:00]

MICHAELSON: Kevin Hassett is one of the President's top economic advisers. His comments come as Congress remains at an impasse after Senate Majority Leader John Thune rejected a new proposal by Democrats calling it, quote, "a nonstarter."

You see a live picture right now from the Capitol where it's after 01:00 in the morning. The Senate will be voting on Saturday, which is very rare. In a few hours, they'll be back open. But that most important vote to reopen the government remains unlikely.

As for President Trump, he is back in Florida. President earlier telling lawmakers to stay in the nation's capital until an agreement to reopen the government is reached, but he left. He also tried to tamp down the impacts of the shutdown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Prices are down under the Trump administration, and they're down substantially. We did a great job on groceries and affordability. The only problem is the fake news, you people don't want to report it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: CNN's Sunlen Serfaty is on Capitol Hill right now. Sunlen, we were told all week this thing's going to get done by the end of the week. We're close to a deal. Clearly, no deal. What happened?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And no deal right now on the horizon either. It's the Senate on Friday really worked hard and tried to negotiate, but they were, at the end of the day, left with nothing. In fact, almost seems that both sides are more entrenched and dug in on each of their side.

There was some optimism earlier in the week that they could come around to a deal, but what we saw on Friday on Capitol Hill was Senate Democrats led by Chuck Schumer, their leader, come out with what they said is their counterproposal.

And their counterproposal was, in part and among other things, a one year extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies, these health care subsidies that really are at the heart of this debate, that they would push to get a vote on that and include it in the bill in exchange for reopening the government.

Now that is a nonstarter for Republicans up here on Capitol Hill, and we saw, the Republican leader, John Thune, very quickly say that's a nonstarter. They know we want to negotiate those reforms. We're not tying it to the government to reopen. So this is simply a debate they could have been having a few weeks ago, and here we are as, the pressure is certainly amplifying on leaders up here on Capitol Hill to negotiate a deal.

Now I will tell you that the Senate will be in a rare Saturday session. They will come back at noon eastern time on Saturday, but there is no deal. There is no vote imminent. And, the Senate majority leader John Thune says, when there is a deal, when there is something to vote on, we will vote. So it is very telling that right now, they're coming back. They will be adjourned at 12:00 noon eastern, but no vote on the horizon.

MICHAELSON: Is there any outline of any sort of anything in terms of a circuit breaker here? Because I would imagine the political pressure is only going to intensify as these flight delays pile up across the country, and now this suddenly starts hitting so many people.

SERFATY: It certainly is, and lawmakers are very aware of that. And as this drags on, they will certainly feel that pressure growing. There is a big question to mark on where this ends because put simply, they took steps back to on Friday on Capitol Hill. Many step backs.

In fact, on Thursday, there was a feeling that many centrist Democrats were potentially coming around to the promise of holding Chuck Schumer, coming out and saying, look. We want this attached.

So, again, even though lawmakers are feeling the pressure, even though they will be negotiating in theory and up here on Capitol Hill this weekend, there is no deal in sight. There is no late night discussions happening right now. Lawmakers are home for the night. They will reconvene here on Saturday day, but the path forward is very unclear at this moment.

MICHAELSON: I'm sure it's so frustrating for so many people when they see others having to work without a pay check and Capitol Hill, on the house side at least, nobody even working.

So, Sunlen Serfaty, we're glad you're working for us. Wish you had better news for us, but we appreciate you, joining us for the first time here on "The Story Is". Thank you so much.

SERFATY: Thanks.

MICHAELSON: A federal judge has ruled that U.S. President Donald Trump illegally ordered the National Guard to Oregon. Trump administration claimed it needed to send troops to defend against protesters violently rebelling at an immigration facility in Portland, but the U.S. district judge, who this is key, was appointed by Trump, ruled that there were only isolated instances of violence that did not meet the legal requirements to deploy federal troops to the city.

This ruling maintains the status quo in Oregon where national guard troops cannot currently be deployed. Last hour here on "The Story Is" I spoke live to a Portland City Council Member who is celebrating this victory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[01:15:00]

CANDACE AVALOS, MEMBER, PORTLAND CITY COUNCIL: We are really proud of the hard work that our city attorneys did and our attorney general to fight back, because Portlanders are not intimidated by the Trump administration. I think we showed the country how we stand our ground and how we win.

MICHAELSON: And what is sort of that lesson, to the country? Because this is something that we have seen in other cities, including here in Los Angeles as well.

AVALOS: Absolutely. The federal government is insisting on overreaching in places where they have no business and clearly not doing their job where they should be, like funding SNAP, making sure that people have health care.

So I think the federal government should focus on what is their duty so that us local leaders can continue to, enforce our ability to support our communities and our local sovereignty as municipal governments.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: No response yet from the Trump administration. They could appeal this to the Supreme Court.

You're looking at video here from Ventura County, California where an investigation has found that the mountain fire back in August was actually reignited from an earlier outbreak firefighters thought that they had put out.

Nearly 250 homes were destroyed in this one. According to an LA Times report, investigators say extreme Santa Ana winds likely blew smoldering debris from a burned tractor tire into dry brush, which set off the new fire. Officials admit they left behind so called hot spots, but believe that they pose little risk.

Well, district attorney in Ventura County said there was no evidence of criminal liability. The county department of fire department is ordering an independent review of how firefighters handled the original blaze. Why did they make that decision?

Recently, by the way, federal prosecutors said that the Palisades fire, which burned 7,000 structures in Los Angeles, also was the result of a previous fire that reunited a hot spot that was not put out.

Donald Trump praising Hungarian leader Viktor Orban as he said the country will be exempt from sanctions tied to Russian energy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He's a very powerful man within his country, but he's also beloved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Coming up, the President's reason for that exemption and more on Orban's very warm welcome at the White House. That's just ahead.

We go to right, though, with a quick look at the U.S. markets. The Nasdaq suffering its worst week since April. Tech stocks taking a bruising week over a potential artificial intelligence bubble. Nasdaq closed lower by 0.21 percent. Dow Jones and S&P 500 ended the week in positive territory.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:00]

MICHAELSON: Russian energy was a big topic on Friday when Hungary's prime minister visited the White House.

Donald Trump is giving Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban a one year exemption from US sanctions for buying Russian energy. Both leaders say Hungary needs the exemption because it's a landlocked country.

Well, she is about to become New York City's first lady, and until now, she's been something of a mystery. At just 28 years old, mayor- elect Zoran Mandani's wife, Rama Duwaji, has drawn praise and some criticism. CNN's Gloria Pazmino, has more on who she is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAMDANI: And to my incredible wife, Rama.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mayor Elect Zohran Mamdani isn't the only one making history in New York City.

MAMDANI: Hayati, there is no one I would rather have by my side in this moment and in every moment.

PAZMINO (voice-over): At just 28 years old, Rama Duwaji is also making history, the first Muslim member of Gen Z to become first lady of New York City. Duwaji hasn't played the traditional role of first lady in waiting. She didn't campaign alongside her husband during the heated race for city hall. She skipped interviews and television talk shows.

While Mamdani was on the trail, the self-described illustrator and animator's work appeared in Vogue, the BBC, and New York Magazine. Behind the scenes, a source tells CNN Duwaji weighed in on the campaign's brand identity and advised Mamdani on how to better use social media.

MAMDANI: My wife is big into thrifting, but knowing that I was going to do the polar bear plunge and that I would ruin the suit, I thought best to be a thrift guy.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Despite her quiet persona, Duwaji speaks loudly through her art. Her work features illustrations of Middle Eastern women, the plight of Palestinians, the conflict in The Middle East, and the hunger crisis in Gaza.

In an April interview with Young, a quarterly art magazine, Duwaji said her art was an effort to speak about what's happening in the U.S. and Palestine and Syria as much as I can. In the same interview, Duwaji talked about using art to process the current political climate, saying, things are dark right now in NYC. I worry for my friends and family, and things feel completely out of my hands.

During the campaign, a social media post mourning the death of Palestinian journalist Saleh al-Jafarawi sparked some criticism. The IDF alleged Jafarawi was affiliated with Hamas. The claim has never been verified.

Of Syrian descent and a Houston native, Duwaji moved to Dubai when she was nine, attending the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar. The couple met in 2021 on the dating app, Hinge, shortly after Mamdani was elected to the New York State Assembly. By October 2024, they were engaged. They celebrated in Dubai, followed by a courthouse wedding at the city clerk's office in Lower Manhattan.

Shortly after Mamdani launched his campaign for mayor, questions began to swirl about the couple. A New York Post headline suggested their relationship was a secret. Days later, Mamdani released photos of their civil ceremony on Instagram, writing, Rama isn't just my wife. She's an incredible artist who deserves to be known on her own terms. Already, Duwaji is sparking trends.

[01:25:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Rachel? No, girl. The Rama.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Social media is abuzz with posts about Duwaji's haircut.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Super short, chic artist, cool girl haircut.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Her fashion choices.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear independent designers when they could wear anything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The sheath dress is dead. Rama Duwaji killed it.

PAZMINO (voice-over): And the symbolism behind her election night outfit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The frequency top by Palestinian Jordanian designer Zeid Hijazi.

PAZMINO (voice-over): We asked Mamdani how he and Duwaji are adjusting to all the new attention.

MAMDANI: Life is very different. It is different in some ways that are that beautiful, in some ways that are tough.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: You are watching "The Story Is" with me, Elex Michaelson. For our international viewers, more news is coming up. For our viewers here in North America, I'll be back with our sports panel, you see him standing by. Jovan Buha and Arash Markazi. They're great. We got lots to get into. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:30:00]

MICHAELSON: Welcome back to "The Story Is". I'm Elex Michaelson. Here's a look at today's top stories. The U.S. Supreme Court is letting the Trump administration pause SNAP benefits, at least for the time being.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson ruled in favor of the government, pausing a lower court's ruling. That lower court ruling requires the Trump administration to cover food security benefits for millions of Americans. However, the order does not resolve the underlying legal questions that the case raises that could come in the next few days.

U.S. airlines are cutting hundreds of flights this weekend following orders from the Trump administration. The cancellations are expected to get worse as the shutdown stretches on. At least 32 air traffic control facilities across the country reported staffing shortages on Friday.

A federal judge has ruled President Donald Trump illegally ordered troops to Portland, Oregon. The judge found Trump administration failed to prove protests at an immigration facility were out of control, warranting a national guard deployment. This is the first permanent ruling to block President Trump's use of military force in a U.S. city.

The issue or "The Story Is" sports, the NCAA has banned six college basketball players who played at three schools following investigations into sports gambling. Those schools are the University of New Orleans, Mississippi Valley State, and Arizona State. The athletes are no longer enrolled at their schools.

Investigators say the players manipulated games and shared information with known betters. They were part of a larger game fixing investigation into 13 college basketball players from six schools.

Joining me now to discuss this and more is our sports panel, Arash Markazi, the founder and CEO of the Sporting Tribune, and Jovan Buha, an NBA reporter and the Host of Buha's Block podcast, which you can also watch on YouTube.

Arash, Jovan, welcome to you both. Great to have you here.

ARASH MARKAZI, FOUNDER & CEO, THE SPORTING TRIBUNE: Thanks for having us.

MICHAELSON: So is this -- because we hear about this NCAA thing, and we hear about this right after we heard about an NBA cheating scandal that that led to players, coaches being arrested. Is this a bigger thing? Is this a one off?

MARKAZI: You know, the folks that you have to watch for is sort of like the have and have nots. The players that we've seen who are involved in this don't have, like, the big contracts, the big money. With the NBA, it's like a guy on a two way contract, a non-guaranteed contract. With college, he doesn't have the NIL.

So the those are the, you know, players like in the locker room saying, where's mine? And so if someone comes to them and say, hey, you can make some easy money by throwing a game, not scoring as many points, tweaking your hamstring. I think that's but I don't think it's as widespread in terms of, like, this is not, like, an issue that's affecting Kevin Durant or LeBron James. These are sort of, like, the, like, non-guaranteed players.

MICHAELSON: And we're talking about, like, prop bets or things like that. Right?

JOVAN BUHA, NBA REPORTER: Yeah. The prop bets forgot. Like, the ninth man on a basketball team. Those should probably be a race at this point. Right? Like, it should be the star players that are moving the needle, the Lucas, the Lebrons.

MICHAELSON: So what does it what does that mean? What does a prop like an example like?

BUHA: So prop like could be like a player, you know, three and a half rebounds. Are you going to take the over under on that one and a half steals, something like that? So, it's, you know, category specific bets for each player.

MICHAELSON: And if you're one of those players, you can stop yourself from getting three and a half rebounds or really try very hard to get four or five.

BUHA: Fake injuries.

MARKAZI: Yeah.

BUHA: People have faked injuries to come out of games.

MARKAZI: And this is actually why legalized gambling is good because a lot of these bets are made, for example, on DraftKings or FanDuel. And so if you see, let's just say, for example, 6 figures coming in on the twelfth man scoring more than three points, that raises a red flag. Why is all this money coming in on this guy no one cares about?

You know, generally speaking with Prop bets, it's I'm going to score less than that because I'm going to tweak my hamstring, and I'm going to leave the game two minutes in.

MICHAELSON: I mean, I know you you'd say that legalized gambling is good, but it seems a little excessive when you watch some of these games now, Jovan, and you see every other thing is like, here's how you bet on it in sports. And it seems the leagues are in on this. The broadcasters are in on this. Everybody's making money, and yet there can be real damage that comes from some of this gambling.

BUHA: Yeah. And I will note, like, looking at the NBA situation, Chauncey Billups is a guy who has made a lot of money in his career.

MICHAELSON: Yeah.

BUHA: And it's a poker scandal, so it's, like --

MICHAELSON: NBA champion, he is the head coach.

BUHA: -- so it's like NBA adjacent, although there's some NBA figures involved. Terry Rozier is also a guy who's made some money, like, more of a bench player at this phase of his career. [01:35:00]

But, when you start to see the guys who have made, like, a little bit more than -- like, Jontay Porter was a guy who's, like, two way, kind of lesser known NBA guy. but it started to expand a little bit. You got Damon Jones as well.

Like, it feels like it's a little bit bigger than what has come out. But, you know, that that'll there's a lot of money being thrown around and a lot of people are getting paid.

MARKAZI: I think there's going to be more stuff coming out.

MICHAELSON: And it's interesting, it seems like a lot of the broadcast networks are now all in bed --

BUHA: Oh, yeah.

MICHAELSON: With the sports bettors, and that's created some interesting, situations as well.

Meanwhile, let's talk about the games themselves. In NBA, something you both cover so closely. What what's the headline of the NBA season you're most interested in right now?

MARKAZI: So for us locally, and Jovan can touch on this, I think everyone in Los Angeles is focused on the Lakers. And while we --

MICHAELSON: Not the Clippers?

MARKAZI: Not the Clippers. Not the Clippers.

MICHAELSON: Sorry. Sorry guys.

MARKAZI: Listen. This is a Lakers and Dodgers tag. So we're --

MICHAELSON: When they get 17 titles, then they can we can focus on that. Go ahead.

MARKAZI: We're transitioning from the Dodgers to the Lakers. And as well as the Lakers are playing the second best team in the league, Jovan, no one's really talking. Like, LeBron James, a top 10 player in this league will join this team at some point. But the way that they're playing right now, they've developed a culture that this culture and this system works when they don't have Luka, when they don't have Austin Rees. So when they're at full strength, I think this is a championship contending team.

MICHAELSON: What do you -- what's your big takeaway? Nobody covers the Lakers like you.

BUHA: Yeah. So, I mean, I brought some numbers for you. So they're seven and two, second best record in the West, tied for second best record overall. But they played the fifth toughest schedule in the NBA, by strength of schedule, and they've done this without LeBron James for all nine games. Luka Doncic has missed four games. Austin Reeves has missed a couple games. He's about to miss another game against Atlanta. So the fact that, like, they've been able to win with -- they've had seven different starting lineups. Like, it's been incredible. Luke is averaging a 40 point triple double, basically.

MICHAELSON: Yeah.

BUHA: It's just it's been it's been a really fun start.

MICHAELSON: It's crazy to say this, but is there an argument that in some ways they may be better without LeBron because they pass the ball more, they know their roles, it's and maybe there isn't as much congestion.

BUHA: I'm going to dead this narrative here. I know some people have said that. Like, certainly, there's an element of -- yeah, everybody has to do a little bit more. Everybody's a little bit more involved. But I refuse to believe that arguably the greatest player of all time, at worst, the second best player of all time is not going to help this team on both sides of ball.

He just finished sixth in MVP voting last year, sixth in all NBA voting. I mean, I think that guy's going to make the Lakers better.

MICHAELSON: The Kobe haters might come after you for calling him at least the second, isn't greatest. Your thoughts on, in terms of where the Lakers go from here.

MARKAZI: Listen, they are a good team right now, but for them to be a championship team to Jovan's point, they need LeBron to play like he did a year ago. And if they have that, they're the only team in the league that I believe has two of the top 10 players.

And, again, with Reese playing the way that he is, the best third option in the league, this is a real team. This is a real championship contending team. Well, we're all homers here, and we also --

MARKAZI: 100 percent.

MICHAELSON: We also all are USC Trojans here, as well. And one of our old college classmates, Mark Sanchez, has had a rough go of it in the last few weeks. He's ended up in an incident where he's charged with attacking somebody. Ends up getting stabbed. It was a whole thing. He's now out at Fox Sports. Drew Brees is in. Your thoughts on that situation?

MARKAZI: Yeah. I mean, we still don't have all the answers. I guess, like, the trial's coming up in December. So listen, Fox had to move on. I mean, like, there's no doubt about that. And when we find out what happened or at least hear from Mark, maybe we'll get some clarity into his future. But we're talking about the fourth broadcast crew.

If you're Fox, like, you cannot have this being a lingering thing, and they got lucky that a really good broadcaster to get in. I think Drew Brees tried to do the Tony Romo where he transitioned from being a quarterback into a broadcaster. He was good, not great. He's had some time off. I think he'll he will thrive in that role.

BUHA: Yeah. He he's been adamant. If you see any recent interview with him, he wants to be a broadcaster. He's been positioning for this. So I think it's a really big opportunity for him. I guess that's the silver lining in this all, but, obviously, a unfortunate situation for Mark Sanchez.

MICHAELSON: Yeah. Meanwhile, big night for the USC Trojans.

MARKAZI: That's right.

MICHAELSON: They had a rare --

MARKAZI: Friday night game.

MICHAELSON: -- fight on to them. You think they have a chance at making it into the college football playoff?

MARKAZI: They do. It all comes down to that game in Eugene. You know? Like, they've had some good wins, but where Lincoln Riley has struggled is in these top five, top 10 matchups. If they can find a way to go up to Eugene to beat the Ducks, this is a college football playoff team, and that that is the one thing that he has not done is kind of get them past that hump. And they have a very talented team, but they have a great recruiting class coming in. So I am very excited about the team not only this year, but next year.

MICHAELSON: Yeah. Lincoln Riley's teams have not always been the best in the class when it really matters.

MARKAZI: That's right.

MICHAELSON: So I guess we'll see, what happens with that. But great to see both of you guys, so we can check out. Jovan again, "Buha's Block," the podcast, and on YouTube, and check out Arash's reporting at the sportingtribune.com, and we can see you on the radio and all over the place on social media, both you guys as well. Thank you so much.

[01:40:00]

Coming up, a South Carolina Congresswoman is being criticized after a confrontation with airport police in South Carolina.

Coming up, why Nancy Mace says her tirade against the officers was justified.

Before we go, live look at LAX where it's just after 10:30 there. We know there's plenty of delays coming at LAX this weekend. Now to a look at the sphere in Las Vegas, one of Arash Markazi's favorite place. It's amazing he's not there tonight. Check that out.

And here is a look on the East Coast. This is where New York City's skyline looks like at 01:40AM. And a reminder once again as we look at New York that the Lakers are better than the Knicks. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: A U.S. Congresswoman is firing back at critics of her behavior at a South Carolina airport. According to an incident report, Representative Nancy Mace went on a profanity laced tirade against police at the Charleston Airport last week. South Carolina Republican called the officers incompetent after her security escorts did not meet her when she arrived.

[01:45:00]

Mace defended her behavior on social media, and during a news conference, she pointed to her concerns about security. CNN's Tom Foreman, shows us what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): I absolutely a 100 percent confronted the airport employees who put my safety at risk.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 0South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace insists Charleston airport security guards were late to meet her car and to escort her to her flight. Official reports from the incident and time stamps on surveillance video reveal conflicts.

The guards expected a white BMW at 06:30. At 06:33, they say they were told she was running ten to fifteen minutes late. She then reportedly showed up in a gray car, and they were summoned to meet her at a security checkpoint inside. The fallout there, however, is undisputed. Mace talking loudly to guards, cursing, and saying, this is no way to treat an effing United States representative.

MACE: Did I drop an f bomb? I hope I did. Did I call them incompetent? If I didn't, they absolutely earned it.

FOREMAN (voice-over): The state's U.S. Senators have jumped to the airport's defense. Tim Scott posting, it is never acceptable to berate police officers, airport staff, and TSA agents who are simply doing their jobs. Lindsey Graham calling them professional and diligent. But Mace has unleashed a torrent of attacks on her critics.

MACE: They're offended that a woman who gets thousands of death threats a year would be concerned about her safety. Why is that?

FOREMAN (voice-over): And she has called the airport officers who reported her behavior dirty cops.

MACE: You're giving other cops a bad name, and I'm coming for you. So you need to know that.

Tranny, tranny, tranny. I don't really care. You want penises in women's bathrooms, and I'm not going to have it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay.

MACE: No. Thank you. FOREMAN (voice-over): It was already a tumultuous year for the hard charging MAGA supporter who has flung insults at trans citizens. Speaking on the house floor, she accused her ex fiance and three other men of rape, an accusation that's been denied and that her ex fiance has countered with the defamation lawsuit. And now she is saying she will sue some of those involved in the airport drama.

MACE: Like, it's so weird. It's very strange.

FOREMAN (voice-over): It has all driven one of her former consultants to tell CNN, it's time for Nancy Mace to resign and get the mental help she needs. Mace is not having that either.

MACE: You know, being anti-corruption, anti-rape, anti-murder, anti- illegal, and that makes me crazy. Sign me up.

FOREMAN (on-camera): Mace is now running for governor. And although she hasn't offered to sit down with CNN to discuss all of this, her office says this is really just about protecting her security in a perilous political time.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Our thanks to Tom. Cornell University is getting $250 million of federal funding restored. Fifty league school has made a deal with the Trump administration. Cornell has agreed to pay the U.S. government $30 million over three years, invest $30 million in research programs that benefit U.S. farmers, and give the government some undergraduate admissions data. In return, Trump administration will close all pending civil rights and other investigations into Cornell.

A new FDA warning about unapproved and misbranded Botox sold online. The agency notifying owners of 18 websites it says are selling the dangerous drugs. Officials say they've received reports of injuries, including toxic side effects linked to the injections.

The FDA is urging patients to get Botox only from licensed medical professionals and to seek immediate care if they experience symptoms of botulism. Those symptoms can include difficulty swallowing or breathing, slurred speech, or muscle weakness.

While there is more to come on "The Story Is" including a run of the mill dog walk that turned into a shark rescue mission. We'll have that story after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:50:00]

(VIDEO PLAYING)

MICHAELSON: Some extraordinary footage here of a woman rescuing a shark that was trapped in a shallow tide pool. The woman, Colleen Dunn, says she discovered that shark while out walking her dogs. And since it took place in Manzanita, Oregon in early October, Dunn says she was initially hesitant to touch the shark at all, but she says she couldn't bear to watch that shark suffer. For carrying the shark back to safety, it was able to regain its movement and swim away.

A new humanoid robot from a Chinese vehicle maker is turning heads and sparking some conspiracy theories. The robot called IRON moves so fluidly has people online convinced it may actually be a person in disguise.

CNN's Mike Valerio explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is IRON, a cat walking robot unveiled by Chinese EV giant, XPENG. Its debut caused quite a bit of a stir online because it may look just a little too real. Many suspected that it was actually a woman hiding inside. Some even did frame by frame analysis, pointing out what seems to be a bra and an ear.

The discussion got so heated that XPENG posted a second video to clarify that IRON is indeed a machine, not a human being. And the company's cofounder and CEO is calling on people to spread the word.

[01:55:00]

HE XIAOPENG; XPENG CO-FOUNDER AND CEO: (Foreign Language).

VALERIO (voice-over): But it's not really surprising that people think the robot is fake because the company has said its goal is to build the most human like robots. And the female looking iron is equipped with a so called skeleton muscle skin bionic system designed to mimic human movements.

Xpeng says it plans to mass produce the robot by the 2026 for uses like industrial inspections. IRON is the electric car company's foray into China's rapidly expanding humanoid robotics market, expected to reach a $120 billion by 2030 according to Chinese state media.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: That is wild. And as a Star Trek: The Next Generation fan it reminds me very much of data.

Thanks so much, for joining me tonight, this morning, whatever time it is where you are. Really appreciate your attention all throughout the week on this crazy week where we've been here in L.A., in San Francisco, and Sacramento, all over the state of California.

We'll have more news after the break. But as always, we like to take a live look from around the world, and this is what it looks like at LAX right now. And not too bad. We've got a live look at a lava flow that's happening in Hawaii, Kilauea Volcano, which is pretty amazing. That is a picture. And it's 2:50 in Hong Kong.

Have a great weekend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)