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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Trump Addresses Epstein Files; Fears About Mudslides And Flooding In Southern California's Burn Areas; Remembering Coach John Beam. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired November 15, 2025 - 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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ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: "The Story Is" starts right now.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I know nothing about that.

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MICHAELSON: The story is, Epstein Files: Did President Trump find a way for the Justice Department to not cooperate with Congress? With us, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Robert Garcia. The story is, Atmospheric River.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People in that area should definitely be prepared for potential flooding.

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MICHAELSON: Fears about mudslides and flooding in Southern California's burn areas. The National Weather Service joins us live.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John Beam, a legend now, 40 years coaching football.

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MICHAELSON: The story is, Murder in Oakland: A legendary high school football coach featured on a Netflix documentary, has died. Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee is with us, live.

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

MICHAELSON: I'm Elex Michaelson, and welcome to "The Story Is" from a rainy Los Angeles. The top story is in Florida, where President Trump is staying this weekend on the flight to Mar-a-Lago. He addressed the contents of 20,000 pages of documents from Jeffrey Epstein's estate released this week. It's the first time he talked about that on camera. The President brushed off reporters' questions about his knowledge of the late sex offender's activities and redirected his focus towards Democrats.

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REPORTER: What did Jeffrey Epstein mean in his emails, where he said, you knew about the girls.

TRUMP: I know nothing about that. They would have announced that a long time ago. It's really what did he mean when he spent all the time with Bill Clinton, with the President of Harvard, who, you know, who that is, Summers, Larry Summers, whatever his name is, and all of the other people that he spent time with. Jeffrey Epson and I had a very bad relationship for many years, but he also saw strength, because I was president. So he dictated a couple of memos to himself. Give me a break.

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MICHAELSON: Now, former president Bill Clinton is one of the several high profile figures that will be investigated over potential ties to Epstein. President Trump ordered the probe, Friday. The Attorney General has already appointed a federal prosecutor to lead it. A Clinton spokesperson responding, saying, quote, these emails prove Bill Clinton did nothing and knew nothing. The rest is noise meant to distract from election losses, backfiring shutdowns and who knows what else.

But the probe could impact the Justice Department's willingness to hand over files on the Epstein investigation to Congress, since they typically are not supposed to hand over documents when there is a quote, ongoing investigation. So now, out of the blue, all of a sudden, there is an ongoing investigation opening up just days before the House is set to vote to release the files.

Joining us now is the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Congressman Robert Garcia, Democrat from Long Beach. Congressman, welcome to "The Story Is" for the first time.

REP. ROBERT GARCIA (D-CA): Yeah, happy to be here. Thank you.

MICHAELSON: So do you think that this investigation of Democrats is really just a work around from President Trump to stop the information from going forward?

GARCIA: I mean, look, it might be, I think, I think at the end of the day, obviously, Donald Trump is panicked. He has the power to release the files right now today. He campaigned on releasing the Epstein files. So did the Vice President, and this idea that he has no interest now in actually getting the files to the public, when the survivors and the victims of Epstein are demanding it is incredibly concerning, and every American should be concerned about the treatment now that Ghislaine Maxwell is getting.

Someone who did monstrous actions against girls and children at the time, and so all of this points back to the White House, and why is the President covering this up, and why is he now trying to deflect a real investigation for moving forward.

MICHAELSON: Can you talk about what's happening behind the scenes with Republicans right now? It seems like there's just like an avalanche of Republicans who are coming out in favor of releasing the files.

GARCIA: There is. There's been a bunch today, many of whom I've been talking to over the last week or so, and I've had many private conversations with many more. I think you're going to see a very strong number of Republicans vote with Democrats. It's going to be bipartisan, and then that bill will go to the Senate. And I think the number is going to be so strong, it's going to be very difficult for the Senate to also not advance the bill.

Look, all of this could end today if Donald Trump just went back to his campaign promise and -- and released these files. And what's really disturbing is right now, he's trying to deflect by cherry picking this new investigation when we know very well that there have been hundreds of FBI agents that have worked to compile the Epstein files that currently sit at the Department of Justice. He's got to release those.

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MICHAELSON: Is there, though potentially, some problematic behavior on the Democratic side, as you've investigated this?

GARCIA: Absolutely, and I could care less if you're a Democrat, Republican and independent, how powerful you are, how much money you have. If you have harmed women and girls, you need to be exposed, and there needs to be justice for the survivors. And I've been clear about that from day one. Whoever is in these files and the powerful men that abused at some point, children in their lives need to be held accountable.

MICHAELSON: Do we have any idea what's actually in this file? Why is it that the President, clearly so badly doesn't want this information out?

GARCIA: Look, we have an idea of some of the information. I'll mention -- the documents that have come out in the last few days that we released, which are, I think are pretty interesting and certainly raise a lot of questions about the relationship between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. All those documents we got from the Epstein estate.

So we've been subpoenaing the estate. They've been working with us to get us documents. That pales in comparison to what the Department of Justice has. They have an enormous trove of documents, of photos, of possibly videos, and other artifacts that are critical to our investigation.

And we know that if you think back and you go back to when Jeffrey Epstein was actually charged, the prosecutors in that case wanted to charge multiple men. They wanted to go after money laundering, not just sex trafficking. And instead, Jeffrey Epstein gets his sweetheart deal from Alex Acosta, who, of course, then goes on to become Trump's Labor Secretary.

We need to understand why was there this intention to go after so many other co-conspirators? The names of those men, what they did are at the Department of Justice, and we need to expose them and get justice for all of the women now who are demanding it.

MICHAELSON: Robert Garcia, Democrat, joining us from Long Beach, thank you so much. Really appreciate your perspective.

GARCIA: Thank you.

MICHAELSON: There is a political breakup happening now that almost no one could have seen coming about six months ago. President Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene are on the outs. Check out this post by the President on Truth Social where he says that he no longer endorses the congresswoman from Georgia. Marjorie Taylor Greene has recently criticized the President for traveling around the world and for neglecting issues facing Americans at home.

Here she is on CNN's The Situation Room.

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REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): keeping him on non-stop tours around the world and non-stop meetings with foreign countries' leaders, is not America first. It's just not. I think domestic policy should be the most important issue that the President and the Republican controlled House and Senate are working on, and that showed up in the election on Tuesday.

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MICHAELSON: The Republican congresswoman has also repeatedly upset the president by calling for full transparency on the Jeffrey Epstein filed. She's one of the reason why this vote is happening. So this is what the president had to say about her late tonight aboard Air Force One.

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TRUMP: By the way, I stay home 95-98 percent of the time. The last thing I want to do is travel 22 hours in an airplane as nice as this plane is. So you know, Marjorie Taylor Greene is not any way, I mean, she is a very different thinking than I have. Something happened to her over the last period of a month or two where she changed, I think politically. I think that her constituents aren't going to be happy. Already I have people calling me. They want to challenge her to a race in her district in Georgia.

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MICHAELSON: Remains to be seen whether their differences are truly irreconcilable. Meanwhile, President Trump says he will sue the BBC over what he calls a misleading edit to his speech ahead of the January 6 storming of the Capitol.

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TRUMP: I think I have an obligation to do it. Look, I'm not looking to get into lawsuits, but I think I have an obligation to do it.

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MICHAELSON: That new interview just in. The BBC apologizing for the misleading video edit, and the corporation's Director General and head of news resigned. President Trump previously threatened to sue for a billion dollars. Now he says he'll probably sue for between $1 billion and $5 billion. The BBC said it strongly disagrees that there is any basis for a defamation claim.

The story is, the weather in Southern California. In the coming hours, a new, stronger Pacific storm will move into the area. It is the second in the past two days, and is expected to bring several inches of rain. It could also cause life threatening flooding, mudslides and debris flows.

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This is especially true for areas that were scarred by the recent fires in the Los Angeles area, especially the Pacific Palisades and the Altadena area. The first storm has already caused flooding and mudslides on parts of a highway in southern Santa Barbara County.

A quick look at other stories that are making headlines around the world, including this.

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Video shows key Russian oil port taking fire from Ukraine.

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MICHAELSON: This dramatic video shows the moment Ukrainian drones and missiles hit a key Russian oil terminal. Ukraine says the strikes caused a major fire and damage to oil facilities in the port of -- on Thursday. Ukraine is ramping up strikes on Russian oil infrastructure to disrupt the cash flow for its war machine.

For a second straight day, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is sending an anti-war message to Americans. He urged them on Thursday to stop what he called the insane hand of those who want to bring war to South America and the Caribbean. The U.S. has deployed military forces in the Caribbean, saying it's for anti-drug operations, but Venezuela believes the U.S. actually wants regime change and wants him out.

More than 20 people were arrested during a protest outside a Chicago area Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Friday. The largely peaceful protests turned chaotic when some demonstrators pushed past the designated protest zone. The Cook County Sheriff's Office says four officers were injured. The top border patrol official and some of his agents have left Chicago and are now headed to Charlotte, North Carolina. Local officials there were not initially aware of those plans. The Sheriff office has since been told that personnel would be arriving Saturday or early next week.

You are watching. "The Story Is." We'll take you live to Las Vegas, where tourism often goes up or down based off of the American economy. Up next, Business Expert Ryan Patel is here live to help you make smart decisions with your money based off of everything that's happening. Plus we'll check in with CNN Nic Robertson with the latest on flooding in Gaza. And as you know, this is a region that certainly doesn't need this.

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MICHAELSON: More now on the atmospheric river here in Southern California, a live look at conditions. There are concerns about flooding. Todd Hall is a Senior Meteorologist with the National Weather Service. He joins us live from there in Oxnard. Todd, welcome to "The Story Is." What are you most concerned about right now?

TODD HALL, SR. METEOROLOGIST, NCAA/ NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE: We're concerned about the flooding with -- with these rains that are happening, we're looking at. We've already had between -- anywhere between a half inch to -- up to five inches of rain in some of our areas of southern California, and we're anticipating another two to four inches overnight, tonight and into Saturday morning.

MICHAELSON: What time are we especially concerned about?

HALL: It would really be from right around daybreak, Saturday through, maybe on noon, Saturday to 2:00 p.m. potentially where we could see the heaviest rains move through the Los Angeles Basin.

MICHAELSON: We know we've had these horrible fires. That means the ground is not that strong in those areas. Is there enough force, enough rain coming down to potentially have real mudslides? What's required to make that happen?

HALL: Well, what is -- what is really needed is we need that -- for that to happen, is we would need the -- we would need a heavy downburst of rainfall in a short period of time. So right now the atmosphere is -- has a lot of moisture with it, and we're seeing that -- we're seeing a lot of that instability that was starting to come together with the storm system.

And as that interacts with the complex topography in Southern California, we will start to see a lot of those rainfall rates start to creep up where it could even create half an inch to almost one inch per hour on some of these burn areas, and in our partnership with you -- with USGS, those thresholds could be met that could cause some of the mud and debris from those fires, from those burn scars to come down on -- on populated areas. MICHAELSON: And we know those areas be ready to potentially evacuate

if that call comes. Meteorologist Todd Hall, thanks for all the work that all you guys are doing staying up late and early tomorrow keep us safe.

HALL: Thank you.

MICHAELSON: We appreciate it. Speaking of flooding, after days of heavy rain, Palestinians in Gaza are now dealing with flooding. The flood waters there swept into the main pediatric hospital in northern Gaza on Friday. You can see this tough picture, a baby being carried out of the flooded ward in Gaza City. More now on what's happening there from CNN's Nic Robertson in Jerusalem.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It's water seeping into tents. It's water gushing in through holes in roofs and non- existent roofs and a patchwork of efforts for people to give shelter to their families when there are tens of thousands, if not more, tents that are waiting to be allowed into Gaza by Israel, stored up in countries like Jordan and massive overstuffed warehouses unable to get it into -- to the people that need it in Gaza.

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So it's a reminder that look, it was about 10 centimeters of rain that fell, almost four inches. It started 2:30 in the morning, absolutely torrential, not the worst flooding that Gazans have experienced over the years, but in terms of their current predicament and situation with -- and you can see it, you know, broken homes, broken infrastructure, broken sewage networks.

You can see in some of the images, water, literally in the -- in the overstuffed and broken sewage systems flowing out of those sewage covers saturating around the tents. But in all of this, as we've seen during the war part of the last couple of years, it is children who suffer the most. And this witness in a parent in Gaza says, still the same. It's the children that they worry about the most. This is what he said.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We had to look after our children in these conditions. There are children here as you can see, this child was submerged in the water. We carried some of the children, and some of the children have been working to get rid of the water. This is our situation, and it's actually harder than the displacement itself.

ROBERTSON: So you know, you have this situation where there is a cease fire, where there's sort of the bare bones of an agreement of how you move forward on a cease fire, but really no international momentum, and there's no way, obviously, that -- that a switch can be flicked, that that can all be put into place, that suddenly people can have shelters.

But the reality for those people in those saturated, oversaturated tents is they're going to have a winter of this. Because even that glimmer of hope, the glimmer that there could be an international stabilization force, so there could be an inflow of reconstruction for them, for their livelihoods, for their children. It's not happening, and it really just underscores the lack of momentum there on that ceasefire that looked so optimistic just a month ago.

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MICHAELSON: So much suffering. Nic Robertson reporting from Jerusalem. Thank you, Nic.

About 100 indigenous protesters from Brazil's Amazon blocked the main entrance to the UN's Cop-30 Climate Conference.

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Video shown of the demonstration of indigenous protesters.

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MICHAELSON: The peaceful demonstration on Friday was the second in four days protesters demanding to be heard about threats to the Amazon forest from agribusiness and other commercial plans. The protests ended after the climate talks. President joined them for a conversation.

Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom visited the Amazon rainforest after days at those climate talks in Brazil. He criticized President Trump's decision not to send a high level delegation to the conference.

Speaking of President Trump, he is cutting some of his tariffs on groceries. He signed an executive order, Friday lowering tariffs on things like beef, coffee, tomatoes and bananas. The move comes as grocery prices around the country are rising. Also on Friday, the White House said it is reducing tariffs on imports from Switzerland from 39 percent to 15 percent which could lower the price of things like watches and medical equipment.

In exchange, Swiss companies agreed to invest at least $200 billion in the U.S. So how much have prices gone up in the past month? We may never find out. That's because the White House says some reports may never be released. Those include wholesale inflation, retail sales and consumer spending. Without these data points, it's hard to pinpoint the exact state of the U.S. economy.

But it has been a wild ride on Wall Street this week. On Thursday, a big sell-off. On Friday, the Dow fell just over half a point. The S&P was flat. NASDAQ rose a 10th of 1 percent ending a three day losing streak. A lot to unpack there.

Ryan Patel joins us now. He's a Senior Fellow at the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. Ryan, welcome to "The Story Is" for the first time. Thank you very much. So we see the market go up and down dramatically, then kind of back up. What's going on? What's really happening right now? RYAN PATEL, SR. FELLOW, DRUCKER SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT, CLAREMONT

GRADUATE UNIV: Well, you said it was a wild ride. It was not an easy ride this past week. And I think we're going to see more of that. And a part of that is, you know, I've said the markets are resilient, and take this word however you want to take it, but it's a positive (inaudible) a little bit. The market is fragile, and you're supposed to expect that. And just by what -- you just mentioned, with President Trump decreasing some of the tariffs on certain items.

What does that signal? That means the prices have been higher. People are actually feeling it. We see consumer spending going through this past Halloween season, not spending as much, and now we're going to be going into the Black Friday season. People are wanting to hold that dollars. And so we're feeling in the grocery store that point.

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MICHAELSON: Yeah, because he keeps saying that prices are not up, but the move indicates the fact that they actually are up. So will we see prices drop on a lot of these goods, of things that people buy every single day?

PATEL: Well, I think there's a key point in there what he had said that I think we should, I think focus as an economy, is that he stated, and what he was trying to do with the tariffs was to put -- to take off tariffs on things that we're not good at, meaning the U.S. economy can't produce as much. Well, that makes sense, because you can't tax everything that will be expensive to us.

And so I think we should see those prices over time, feel it. But I mean, this is the pull back. This is where the world is great. Avocados here in California was a big deal. Think that was on the list as well that he was taken off. So yes, I think people are going to start to feel a little bit less, (inaudible). But again, it takes time. It doesn't happen overnight.

MICHAELSON: Right, and all these things are just happened so quickly. So based off of what's happening in the move -- in the market, you say it's fragile, what's the smart thing to be doing with your money right now?

PATEL: Save. I think when -- when I look at what businesses and investors are doing, they are adapting to this growth. Now it's a little slower so where are they adapting to actual change? So if you're an individual, yes, you say the magic numbers. Try to keep a saving rate for six months, but I'll do you one better. Keep a list of things that you want right now and need. There's a difference.

We're going to have a holiday spending season coming up. Figure out what you actually need, and look for those deals early, before Cyber Monday, Black Friday, try to get them on cheaper so that way you're not spending a little bit, 25 percent more and 10 percent. Every dollar counts going into the season, and hopefully puts you in a better spot to save, going into next year.

MICHAELSON: Seems like a lot of people right now are renting and not buying. Why is that?

PATEL: Interest rate and -- and there's a couple things I think. Obviously, one is the interest rates, right? And the reason why I say that is that the housing market prices is not enticing enough for someone to come off and take the risk of renting. And I think we see a lot of that. The mind has shift. 10 years ago, people were like, I want to buy a house and I want to be able to move.

MICHAELSON: The risk of buying, you're talking about.

PATEL: Correct, risk of buying. And so now people are choosing, well, I'll just rent 10 years. That's OK. I've been doing it for the last five years. There isn't an ability to invest my money back into the housing appreciation. I think the shift's changing, and I think we'll also see when the interest rate does drop, so I think we'll see prices may drop or increase, that more new buyers can come in, but we don't see those right now, because the attractiveness of -- in renting right now has been pretty -- a lot more attractive.

MICHAELSON: And President Trump's been clear he wants a new Fed chair, and he wants interest rates to go down. Ryan, thank you so much. Great to have you here, hopefully the first of many conversations.

PATEL: Appreciate it.

PATEL: These newly released images shot from the Washington Monument offer a new look at the demolition of the White House's East Wing. Photos give a sense of the scale of President Trump's big ballroom project. Work has been underway for weeks as crews clear space for the proposed 90,000 square foot ballroom. President Trump says the ballroom will cost $300 million. It will be privately funded by donors and will not cost taxpayers

anything. That's what he says.

Meanwhile, Britain's King Charles has just celebrated his 77th birthday, and to mark the occasion, Buckingham Palace released this image of him taken at one of his estates. Earlier, Charles and Queen Camilla traveled to Wales, where he received a birthday cake in the shape of a local castle and in London, Cannon salutes were fired near Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge. Royal watchers say the king's trip is a sign of his determination to keep working while receiving cancer treatment.

Up next, CNN's Bianna Golodryga is here to talk about her new fictional book about a topic that's all too real for many these days, antisemitism. For Bianna this is personal. You'll learn her story when we come back.

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MICHAELSON: Welcome back to "The Story Is." I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at today's top stories. For the first time on camera, President Trump addressed the release of thousands of emails from Jeffrey Epstein's estate. The President brushing off reporters' questions about his knowledge of the late sex offenders activities. Mr. Trump ordering a probe into possible connections between Epstein and several high profile, mostly democratic figures.

Officials in Argentina say an explosion at a chemical plant there has sparked a major fire in a town outside of Buenos Aires. Federal authorities say they are coordinating with local teams to respond. Around 20 people were injured in the blast, according to Argentina's Federal Emergency Agency.

Palestinians in Gaza are now dealing with flooding after days of heavy rain inundated that enclave. The rain and high water has drenched tent encampments for thousands of displaced Palestinians. Officials have received hundreds of pleas for help according to the Gaza civil defense, which says resources are non-existent as Israel restricts supplies to that area.

Since the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel, we have seen a rise in antisemitism around the world directed towards adults and even towards young people in schools. CNN Anchor and Global Affairs Analyst Bianna Golodryga has co-authored a new book with Yonit Levi titled, "Don't Feed the Lion" which helps address the issue of antisemitism and Bianna joins me now here on set. Bianna, welcome to "The Story Is" and congrats on the book.

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BIANNA GOLODYRGA, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you so much. It's great to be here. Welcome to CNN. It's nice to meet you in person, finally. Thank you very much. Likewise. The book is great.

GOLODRYGA: Thank you.

MICHAELSON: And you talk about Theo, who is a young person who's -- loves this soccer star. The soccer star makes an antisemitic comment, and he sort of faces a crisis because of it. What inspired this?

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, we have three main protagonists in the book. There's Theo, who's 13, his 11-year-old sister, Annie, and then Gabe, who's a 13-year-old friend and ally who moves to the city. It's a fictional book. It takes place in Chicago, and the idea for the book was initially -- the seed for it really was planted before October 7.

I have a 13-year-old son now. At the time, he was 10, and there was a famous NBA player and a number of celebrities that had been making antisemitic posts on social media, and there were really no repercussions for it. People were apologizing for them. Everyone seemed to be apologizing for them, but them. And I remember my son, who was a huge sports fan, asking one day as we were on our way to a basketball game, you know, should I even go? Do they want me to be there? Why don't they like us?

And it was such a gut punch, and I didn't have an answer for him, so I figured, you know, I'm going to talk to your school and teachers and see what resources they have on antisemitism specifically for your age group. And I was really surprised that there were none. This was post- George Floyd's murder, and there had been, thankfully, so much invested for kids and resources on racism, on other forms of hate towards other minorities.

And I was surprised to see there wasn't much in terms of antisemitism. So the seed was planted then, and then, as you noted in the introduction, sadly, after October 7, Yonita and I early on, predicted that we would likely see another spike in antisemitism. So we said, you know, let's write the book that we can't find.

MICHAELSON: And so you made that a reality. And you've been talking to young people around the country as this book is now out.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah.

MICHAELSON: What are they saying to you?

GOLODRYGA: It is amazing how many people have come out and said, this is exactly the book that we've needed. There have been so many incidents that have been brought to our attention. We were at an event in New York City just this week, and an eighth grader raised his hand. Mind you, this is 2025 in New York City, the home of the most Jews in the world outside of Israel.

And he said that there was a swastika carved on his desk with Heil Hitler written next to it. And obviously he said it really upset him, and it really bothered him. And his mother called me after, I mean, the room, you could just hear a pin drop. There were so many gasps. And she said, you know, we've been dealing with this. We're talking to the school, but this was the first time he felt comfortable enough to raise this in public.

So the more conversations we can have like this, with students, with teachers, Jewish students, non-Jewish students, I think the better this will be.

MICHAELSON: How does that make you feel, knowing that that kid felt seen for the first time because of what you wrote?

GOLODRYGA: It is a conversation that I think many families across the country and across the world are having, and I think in terms of being at school or turning towards adults in their lives, teachers, educators, coaches, they just lacked that -- that pipeline, that -- that connection to them. So this isn't something that just happened to my son and something that was affecting him. I knew it was affecting children around the world, and we were just hoping to at least -- this isn't a panacea by any stretch of the imagination.

But we wanted to write a good book that kids would want to pick up, but also feel like, hey, this is a subject matter I don't know that much about, or, hey, this speaks to me and some of the issues I'm facing.

MICHAELSON: So you were born in the then Soviet Union. You came to Texas as a young person.

GOLODRYGA: As one does, right?

MICHAELSON: Where weren't a whole lot of Jews, but you said you said you didn't really face much antisemitism, but now you're concerned about your kids facing it. What do you think changed? Because I feel the same way. I grew up in Agora Hills here, lot of Jews around, never faced antisemitism, but now it's different.

GOLODRYGA: Listen, there are a number of factors, and I'm by no means describing myself as an expert here, as an educator on antisemitism. We know it's been with us for millennia. We came here as Jewish political refugees, my family and I in 1980. There's no other country I'd rather be in. But sadly, we are losing our last survivors of the Holocaust.

Anybody who thought that antisemitism had ended after the Holocaust, sadly, was mistaken it. It was mistaken. You're seeing from the right, from the left. Social media has only made it that much worse, and that is why it's so important to have resources, not just our book, but these types of conversations about it as well.

MICHAELSON: You know, after October 7, you really became a champion for the hostages and their families and worked hard to profile a lot of people and make sure that their stories were told when some of them were not being told.

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Did you feel a special responsibility in that moment? Can you talk about how you sort of personally dealt with that story?

GOLODRYGA: Well, you know, as a human being, everything that we saw on October 7 was just earth shattering. I think, for Jews, especially knowing that that's the ancestral Jewish homeland, that was the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust, and hearing more and more of the stories and again, happening in 2023 so much of this was filmed on Go Pros and you have Holocaust survivors, grandparents, children, infants that have all been taken hostage, all civilians, all innocent.

And what has been wonderful about CNN is that I've been given the platform to be able to spend so much time, to be able to travel, I think, four times now, to Israel since October 7, to really get to know these hostage families and to speak to their loved ones, and to finally meet, thankfully, so many of them that have come home. Sadly, not all of them.

But it was important. I think CNN, you know, did a really good job in telling the whole story. This isn't a binary thing.

MICHAELSON: Right, I mean, how do you --

GOLODRYGA: There's tragedy in Gaza --

MICHAELSON: And how do you balance that with what's happening in Gaza, with so much heartache and pain there?

GOLODRYGA: You tell the story. We have the real estate for it. We have so many channels. We have so many incredible reporters. It's not a one side versus the other side. It's these are human stories that need to be told around the world. It's not a competition as to who is suffering more. And I had a real connection to a lot of these hostage families. I still do. I talk to them all the time, and you know, they are slowly rebuilding their lives.

October 7 was an earthquake for the country, to say the least. And so many of them said every day felt like October 7, you know, until their loved ones came home, the country couldn't heal until the hostages came home. I think there are a few of the remains of hostages, I think maybe two or three that have yet to be returned.

But since there's been a ceasefire, humanitarian aid has been able to go in, and most of these families have been able to have some sort of closure.

MICHAELSON: That's very heavy stuff. We want to end with something fun and light.

GOLODRYGA: OK, let's do it, please.

MICHAELSON: This is your cultural favorites. This is rapid fire.

GOLODRYGA: OK, great.

MICHAELSON: First thing that comes to mind real quick, OK?

GOLODRYGA: OK.

MICHAELSON: Bianna Golodryga, what is your favorite TV show?

GOLODRYGA: It used to be the Real Housewives. I don't even watch TV anymore, but that was my like -- that was --

MICHAELSON: Soon to be (inaudible).

GOLODRYGA: -- my pleasure television. Yes.

MICHAELSON: Favorite book other than your own.

GOLODRYGA: My favorite book. Anna Karenina.

MICHAELSON: Favorite sports team.

GOLODRYGA: Houston Rockets.

MICHAELSON: There you go. Musical artist or band.

GOLODRYGA: I'm old school. George Michael, Freedom.

MICHAELSON: It's a great song for your story.

GOLODRYGA: Favorite. Exactly.

MICHAELSON: Kind of your theme song.

GOLODRYGA: I didn't even think of that yes.

MICHAELSON: And what -- last question, who is your role model?

GOLODRYGA: My parents, my mom.

MICHAELSON: And what's the most important lesson you learn from them?

GOLODRYGA: Being true to yourself and taking risks and being patriotic.

MICHAELSON: And they've done all of that, and what a legacy they have with you.

GOLODRYGA: Thank you.

MICHAELSON: Thank you so much. Congrats being in person.

GOLODRYGA: So nice to meet you in person. Thank you.

MICHAELSON: So important. "Don't Feed The Lion" available in bookstores everywhere, and you can see Bianna on CNN International, every day as well. We'll be right back with more of "The Story Is."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:45:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He woke up pissing fire.

JOHN BEAM, U.S. FOOTBALL COACH: When I tell you to shut up, it better stop.

Why are you talking when he's talking?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because Beam is a man of real talk. He really kept brothers off the street. He's a father figure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This dude want to win everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh damn.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the game is the hustle, I'm putting my money on Beam.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beam going be Beam every day.

BEAM: Y'all going to be my age one day, look.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Beloved former football coach John Beam, who you just saw in that clip from Netflix's "Last Chance U" has died. He was shot and killed at California's Laney College on Thursday. Police say the 27- year old suspect was acquainted with Beam, but did not have a close relationship with him. Beam was known for his tough love, mentorship style and being a champion for second chances, giving people an opportunity to get college scholarships as a last chance. That's where the "Last Chance U" comes from.

Joining me now is the mayor of Oakland, Barbara Lee, and Madam Mayor, welcome to "The Story Is" for the first time. I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sorry for the city's loss. In fact, one of your nephews was one of his players, right?

MAYOR BARBARA LEE, OAKLAND (D-CA): Thanks so much, Elex, for having me with you for a few minutes. You know, first, let me just say my heart and my love and my condolences go out to Coach Beam's family, his friends, our entire community, we are all in mourning. He was larger than life. You know, he was a coach at Skyline High School, where my nephew attended.

He was my nephew's coach. This was years ago, and the coach touched so many people's lives, people who didn't even know each other, he worked with. He actually mentored so many young people who were marginalized, who didn't have a chance. He gave them a second chance. And I remember my nephew talking about how many doors he opened for young people to go to college. He knew how to get scholarships for these young people who never would have attended college had it not been for Coach Beam.

[00:50:00]

And so this is a huge loss. Not only was he a coach, the Athletic Director at Laney Community College. He was a mentor and he was a friend and he was a life coach for so many people. We miss him. We're in a state of shock, really. It's very difficult, but people here in Oakland, we're resilient, but we all love him, and we have to remember his life and his legacy so that we can help our young people like he helped so many here in Oakland.

MICHAELSON: I know you spent time both at the school and at the hospital. What are people saying to you?

LEE: Oh, this is really something. Because at the hospital, of course, I was there, you know, communicating with his family. This was a very sad time, last night on one floor, and then on the next floor up was the young man who was shot at Skyline High School, who thankfully is recovering. So I went to visit him.

And, you know, it is --

MICHAELSON: That was a separate incident for people. Those are two different incidents that happened in back to back days, right?

LEE: Back to back days. Thanks Elex for clarifying that. Yeah, this is in many ways overwhelming. So this young -- young teenager was in the bed, of course, in the hospital, but he's recovering, thankfully. And here our coach passed away. But what happened at the school was, you know, there were two young people with two guns, and the police responded quickly.

The young people and when I met with them, they asked me the especially the assistant principal and the staff, said, please communicate how wonderful this school is, how the young people responded quickly, how the police came quickly, how the staff had the proper emergency plans in place, and that this school is an awesome school.

And so I'm using this opportunity Elex, to say the Skyline High School deserves a lot of support from our community, and we are supporting the young people in the school, but also they are wonderful students and teachers and faculty, and they deserve our love also, but it's going to take a while for folks to recover from this, but people understand we've got to get the guns off the streets of Oakland.

MICHAELSON: Yeah.

LEE: They're everywhere in America, and that's bottom line.

MICHAELSON: And lastly, I mean, it was early in the investigation, a suspect has been arrested for the murder of this coach. But what do we know about the back story? What happened there?

LEE: The police are still investigating it. We don't have a lot of information yet. I'm sure we will learn more as the investigation continues, but we -- what we do know is that Coach Beam is not with us anymore, and we do know that, you know, gun violence is something that we are working on, we've got to address in a big way.

And we also know that people in Oakland are mourning. We miss him. He has a national -- people knew him nationally, as you know, internationally, and so it's a loss and a void that is going to be hard to fill, but we have to lift him up, his legacy, and look -- see how he was such a role model for everyone, and his values of service and of helping those who needed a helping hand should be a lesson to all of us.

MICHAELSON: Yeah, and folks may want to watch "Last Chance U" on Netflix this weekend in his honor to learn more about his story.

LEE: Please do.

MICHAELSON: Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, my friend, thank you for joining for the first time on "The Story Is." Hope to have you back soon to discuss a happier story, but it's important to shine a light on this life well lived.

LEE: Thank you. We want you to visit Oakland also. We're so happy that you have this new show.

MICHAELSON: Thank you very much. I'll see you in Oakland soon. An Idaho State judge has ruled that Bryan Kohberger must pay for the urns of two of the University of Idaho students he killed. Prosecutors had asked for around $3,000 in restitution to reimburse the families for the urns holding the students' ashes. On Thursday, the judge agreed, noting that Kohberger has received nearly $30,000 in donations since his arrest.

Kohberger pleaded guilty to the murders of four University of Idaho students in a deal that allowed him to escape the death penalty that many of the families were not happy with. Here is a live look at Hong Kong Harbor, where it's just past 1:30 p.m. Stay with us. More of "The Story Is" right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: The Screen Actors Guild Awards has for years started with famous actors saying their names and then saying, I'm an actor. Well, now the awards will have a new name. It will be called "The Actor Awards." There's the statue of an actor. The annual televised award show honors actors and only actors, in 13 categories, while the SAG- AFTRA union represents 160,000 actors, announcers and journalists, including myself. The organization suggested the old name for the award show needed to be clearer. We honor actors in film and television they said. The next Actor Awards will be presented next March.