Return to Transcripts main page

The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Miss England - Empowered - To Inspire Others After Win; Pope Leo In Turkey; DC Shooting; U.S. Pauses Visas For Afghans After DC Shooting; Airbus Warns Thousands of Passenger Planes Need Repairs; Death Toll At Least 128 And Expected To Rise; Retail Sales Up In The U.S. For Black Friday Purchases; KGO - Three People Injured In Shooting At California Mall; How To Beat Holiday Stress By Improving Sleep; Gratitude And Service; Luntz - Cadets Have Made Me A Better Person; Louvre Tickets Will Soon Cost More For Non-Europeans; Aired 1- 2a ET

Aired November 29, 2025 - 01:00   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 HOST: -- New Miss England says it feels, "Incredibly empowering become the pageants first openly lesbian winner." 20-year-old Grace Richardson was crowned last week in Central England. She says she decided to mention her sexuality during interviews with the judges, and adds that it's empowering to use her platform to make a difference.

Thanks for watching this hour, we've got lots of breaking news on the next hour of "The Story Is" which starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: "The Story Is" papal visit. Pope Leo the XIV making his first visit to a Muslim place of worship.

POPE LEO XIV, HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: I am pleased to begin the apostolic journeys of my pontificate with a visit to your country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are still so many people dealing with shock and grief trying to process this tragedy.

MICHAELSON: "The Story Is" D.C. shooting as the National Guard mourns their own at multiple vigils tonight, President Trump proposes a major change to the U.S. asylum policy. Plus "The Story Is" sleep. One of the world's top experts is here on our set to help you get more of it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles. "The Story Is" with Elex Michaelson.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: And welcome to "The Story Is," I'm Elex Michaelson. We will take you live to Turkey with Pope Leo, the XIV at any moment when he emerges. We'll take you there. But in the meantime, we begin with this. Family and friends are honoring Sarah Beckstrom, the National Guard member who died after an ambush style shooting near the White House. They held a vigil late tonight in Webster Springs, West Virginia, near her old high school. People gathering there to remember the 20-year-old U.S. Army Specialist. They lit candles and sang songs. Andrew Wolfe, the other Guard member who was shot Wednesday is still fighting for his life. Backstrom's former boyfriend telling CNN she was a loving, caring person.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM CARR, SARAH BACKSTROM'S FORMER BOYFRIEND: She is ecstatic, outgoing, little more of a home body, though. She didn't really like messing with people, so she was happy with just being with family. She loved going hunting. Oh my gosh, last hunting season, she was ecstatic to go out. And when she got her first buck, she was beyond excited. I was getting letters about it and pictures, and she couldn't explain how happy she was. She loved fishing. It was a huge passion, especially from her grandpa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Jeanine Pirro, the Prosecutor leading the shooting investigation says the suspect will face a murder charge. Law enforcement officials tell CNN, authorities now have interviewed those close to the suspect, including his spouse and his five children. He said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, which they say stemmed from his fighting that he did while in Afghanistan, while working with the CIA.

Now, the vetting process for Afghans is now under scrutiny by the Trump administration, which granted the suspect asylum earlier this year, that was the Trump administration that gave him asylum, but now the U.S. is halting all asylum decisions. Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says the pause will stay in place until, "We can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible." Meanwhile, the State Department announced it has stopped issuing visas for travelers with Afghan passports. All of this coming after President Trump said that he would, "Permanently pause migration from all third world countries."

Let's go now to Hal Kemper, who is a retired Marine Intelligence Officer. He's also the CEO and Founder of Global Risk Intelligence & Planning. Hal, welcome to "The Story Is" for the first time.

LT. COL. HAROLD KEMPFER, CEO & FOUNDER, RISK INTELLIGENCE & PLANNING: Well, thanks, Elex. Good to be here.

MICHAELSON: So as authorities investigate, they're digging more into the suspects past. We know he came into the U.S. through the asylum process. What do you think went wrong here?

KEMPFER: It's very difficult to tell Elex. Lakanwal, he was in this special unit that was -- he was in there for about eight years. He was working with our special forces with CIA. Obviously, just to be in that unit, he had to be heavily vetted, heavily reviewed on a constant basis, although they did very intense special operations. So he did probably have PTSD, but when he came over, he would have been at the top of list. He would have been one of the first people that we brought over. So I'm not at all surprised he's here, but we're trying to figure out what was his motivation, what caused him to do that?

And so far, nothing's showing up on the violent extremism and to show that he'd been radicalized or something like that. So we're trying to figure out what exactly triggered him to do something like this.

MICHAELSON: You worked with a lot of these Afghan nationals in Afghanistan. Can you talk about the value to the U.S. that they had, what they was like working with them?

KEMPFER: Well, I didn't work with the Afghan nationals in Afghanistan, but I have worked with, I've been over to the Middle East many, many times. I have worked with Afghan nationals.

[01:05:00]

And there's a very intensive training process, we bring in our trainers and work side-by-side with them. At many times, there's joint operations, where they'll be working in concert with our own units. So there's a lot of back and forth, and there's a lot of trust. Now overall, in general, there is what sometimes referred to as green on blue, and that was a big problem, big problem in Iraq, where I was big problem in Afghanistan, where we would have units that we trained units that local, national units that we were working with, and we would find that they would shoot, basically kill our personnel, and that they had been turned by the opposition, so to speak. They had been radicalized, or they were stuck in there.

But there's nothing to suggest this is the case. We're not quite sure what his issue was. We're not sure what his motivation is. Although he did have severe PTSD, and he could have -- this could be, and it's a hypothetical that that he was just growing in frustration, because basically, Afghanistan, something he had fought so hard for, is kind of like being left on the side. And so that may have been what triggered him to do this violent response.

MICHAELSON: So we know that one person did something bad. We don't know that the other hundreds of thousands of people that came over did anything bad. What do you think of this idea of basically impacting all migration, all asylum because of one person?

KEMPFER: Well, it certainly looks kind of like a knee jerk reaction. We've seen that in the past, where there is a degree of uncertainty as to what to do. So they just freeze everything in place. And I've lived through situations like that many times, in a variety of situations where they simply just freeze everything and just stop it.

The problem is we're not quite sure what we missed. Were there signs? Were there indicators? Is our system of vetting? Is it something where we're just not going back periodically enough to figure out if someone changed over a period of time? Do we need to take other action? All these things are huge issues that we're going to have to look at. I don't think we can just freeze it in place the way it is.

And you have to remember these are people who basically did exactly what we wanted to do. These are people that we went over there and said, look, we want to build this Afghan national government, democracy and they went, they put -- they went to harm's way.

MICHAELSON: Hal Kempfer, thank you for sharing your perspective. Appreciate it.

KEMPFER: Thank you, Elex.

MICHAELSON: Take you live now to Turkey. Pope Leo the XIV is walking into the Blue Mosque in Turkey. It's his first visit as pontiff to a Muslim place of worship. This is a live picture right now. Let's listen in for a moment see if we can -- if he says anything.

Christopher Lamb, CNNs Correspondent who is there in Turkey, he joins us on the phone. Christopher, thanks for being with us. Talk to us about the significance of this moment that we're watching together live?

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN, VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Elex, it's a very significant moment because it is the first time that Pope Leo has gone to a mosque since election as pope. He was elected, of course, about six months ago. This visit to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul is very significant part of his trip to Turkey, which is all about trying to underline unity and harmony between those of different faiths.

And so his visit to the mosque sends a very strong message about that importance of dialog between believers. Leo, I just seen him walk past me in the courtyard here of the mosque. He was accompanied by Muslim leaders, including the President of Turkey's, Ministry of Religious Affairs who are showing him around this mosque. It's a beautiful building. I'm standing in the court. As I said, I can see the minarets in front of me. I've just been inside, and the interior is really gorgeous and breathtaking. It's called the Blue Mosque because inside there are thousands of turquoise mosaics that decorate its interior.

Leo, I think, like everyone else, will need to show his respect to this place of worship and take off his shoes and go into the mosque and take part in this gathering, and he's going to, as I say, be shown the mosque by those Muslim leaders.

[01:10:00]

And he will -- he's not expected to speak today. He is simply expected to visit the mosque, and we don't know yet, but maybe spend some time in prayer. Of course, he's not the first pope to visit this mosque. Pope Francis visited the Blue Mosque in 2014, and Pope Benedict also visited this mosque in 2006. Francis when he came to this place of worship, did bow his head in prayer. Francis, of course, was a pope who really sought to build bridges with the Muslim world. He made a number of trips to Muslim majority countries.

He sought to underline the importance of religious leaders and religions working together to build peace, and that's something that Pope Leo has been emphasized on his trip yesterday in Iznik in Turkey, where he went to celebrate an important Christian anniversary. Leo said that religion can never be used to justify violence or war or fanaticism. So his decision to go to this mosque puts into action what he's been saying, and of course, it comes during this trip to Turkey. Leo will tomorrow be going to Lebanon. So this visit, I think is very important, as Leo continues to build on what Pope Francis started, which was an outreach to the Muslim world.

MICHAELSON: And as we're looking live, we see the pope of giving be given a tour here. He is in those white socks, of course, as you would expect this Mosque from the 17th century, this must be such a remarkable moment for you to also be there and to experience this history together, Christopher. Thank you so much for sharing your perspective, and what an amazing moment. It must be something on the ground there.

So we will continue to follow those live pictures and if and potentially go back there as well. But we also want to follow this breaking news that could impact your weekend, if you've got to travel. Thousands of Airbus passenger planes have been essentially grounded for an urgent software update. Airbus says pilots could lose control of A320 series of planes during intense solar storms. This warning comes after an October JetBlue flight suddenly plunged in altitude, sending 15 people to hospital. Most of the planes can be prepared in about two hours, but several airlines are already experiencing disruptions, including Air New Zealand, ANA Holdings and Jetstar.

CNN Aviation Analyst, Mary Schiavo joins me live now. Thanks so much for being with us. So walk us through what is really going on. It's been reported as a software issue update.

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, it's a software issue update, but those can be very important. And especially in the United States and anyone around the world that operated the 737, it was a software issue among other things. But it started with the software issue that brought down to 737 MAX 8. So when this JetBlue flight off the Coast of Florida experienced a sudden un-commanded dive, meaning the pilot did not do it except this time on an Airbus. I mean, that was certainly a very worrisome event. And so to have this not only figure out what happened to that plane, but also have the fix in place and ordered in literally 30 days or under 30 days that was really quite a feat, and it was a good turnaround on the time.

And so when the order came out, it said it must be done immediately, an aviation regulation parlance, that means you have to do it before you can fly that plane again. And so there are about 6,000 of these, 6,400 of the planes that are affected. But the most of it requires just a reversion to prior software, software patch, which American Airlines is the largest operator. They have about 340 planes affected. They said they can do it on each plane in two hours, and they will be done later today. But other airlines can't do it so fast. They don't may not have the staff on hand to do it that quickly. Some airlines have suspended operations. So it depends all over the world carrier- by-carrier, and these planes are everywhere, quite ubiquitous.

MICHAELSON: So there's a whole lot of people that are going to be flying this weekend, especially in the United States, Sunday, the busiest travel day. How is this going to impact them?

[01:15:00] SCHIAVO: Well, it could. It very well could. And some carriers have a lot more of these aircraft than others, and some carriers in the states are almost entirely an Airbus fleet, as some are almost entirely a Boeing fleet, but several are an Airbus fleet. And so the best advice for everyone is to call their carrier or go online find who is delayed, et cetera. But with those aircraft that only need the software fix, and some will need a hardware fix as well, and those will take longer. Those could be grounded for days or even weeks, but the best advice is to call the carrier, because some carriers are saying they can do it literally, two hours per plane and in a day or two.

MICHAELSON: Mary Schiavo, thank you for staying up late with us. We really appreciate your insight. Have a great weekend.

Now to Hong Kong. Hong Kong in mourning after the deadly residential fire that killed at least 128 people. Officials there observed a three minute silence for the victims and have called for a five day mourning period. Police officers from the victim identification unit have arrived on the scene, and with 200 people still missing, the death toll looks likely to rise. Police have made 11 arrests in connection with the fire they're investigating possible corruption and use of unsafe building materials for renovations. Hanako Montgomery is live in Hong Kong right now.

Hanako, what's the latest on the recovery and the victims and their families in terms of the folks you've been talking with?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Elex, I'm actually at the base of the apartment complex where that deadly fire tore through seven buildings, and I just want to show you this constant vigil that's been happening here at the space. We've seen a constant stream of people laying down these flowers, laying down hand written notes and letters to mourn the over 100 people who were lost in this deadly fire.

And we've seen, I mean, people of all ages, young kids with their parents, also the elderly. And the atmosphere here Elex is extremely somber. I mean, of course, very naturally, people are crying and praying to again, mourn those who were lost in this fire. And Elex, we've been speaking to survivors and also first responders who were on the scene on Wednesday when that fire first broke out, and even the first responders were talking about just how difficult it was to see those scenes unfold. Give this a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEO, NEW TERRITORIES EAST REGIONAL COMMANDER, HONG KONG (Interpreted): This community feels like our home. When you see your own home go up in flames, it is truly overwhelming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MONTGOMERY: And Elex, of course, those 200 people who still remain missing, many people here in Hong Kong fear the worst that those individuals will now be counted in that death toll that authorities are saying likely to rise Elex.

MICHAELSON: Yeah, such a staggering death toll. Meanwhile, there have been more arrests. What do we know about the people who have been arrested?

MONTGOMERY: Yeah, Elex, the Hong Kong authorities on Thursday arrested eight individuals on suspicion of manslaughter. And then on Friday, we heard that authorities arrested a further three individuals in relation to the building renovations. Now the authorities haven't determined what exactly caused this fire and what caused it to spread, but they are saying that some of the building renovation materials being used, like polystyrene foam, which is highly flammable, might have contributed to spreading the fire from one building to the next.

Now there are also questions about the alarm bells in these buildings. Some of the survivors we spoke to said that they didn't hear any alarm bells go off when they were evacuating the buildings, and only knew that there was a fire when they looked out the window and saw their building engulfed in flames. So there are lots of questions still that remain unanswered, Elex. And authorities are saying it could take up to a month to actually uncover what exactly happened at this horrible, horrible fly fire that's claiming more and more lives, Elex.

MICHAELSON: Hanako Montgomery, live in Hong Kong. Thank you so much.

Obviously, a lot of breaking news happening. We're going to sneak in a quick break. We'll be back with more of "The Story Is" right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: Back to our live pictures. Pope Leo, the XIV, is touring Istanbul's Blue Mosque in Turkey. It's his first visit as a pontiff to a Muslim place of worship. Pope is on day three of his trip to the Middle East. It is his first overseas trip as pontiff. You see him there in white socks as a sign of respect, everybody taking off their shoes as they tore this 17th Century Mosque, which was also visited by Pope Benedict the 16th and by Pope Francis. I don't know if he is about to speak now, but we see him walking down the stairs and maybe standing down to pray. So we'll continue to follow that trip.

Meanwhile, we want to get to some other news today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What stores are we hitting today?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah. We love the bargains. They're great. They get great. They're not as good as they used to be, but they're still really, really good. They're so much better than the UK. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: A lot of folks love a bargain. Big day of online shopping across the U.S. for Black Friday.

[01:25:00]

Adobe Analytics say consumers spent $8.6 billion by 6:30 p.m. eastern online. We just looked at people in-person shopping, online shopping. That amount is up 9.4 percent from last year. However, those numbers do not factor in inflation. Adobe attributes the growth to steeper discounts than initially forecast. The final Black Friday online spending amount could hit a new record of nearly $12 billion in sales.

U.S. stocks ended higher in short post-Thanksgiving trading session on Friday, all three major indexes advance thanks to optimism. Federal Reserves will cut interest rates. That's it for us on international, we'll see you on our domestic viewers next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: Welcome back to "The Story Is," I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at today's top stories. The gunman accused of killing a National Guard member and critically wounding another will face a murder charge. That's according to U.S. Attorney, Jeanine Pirro. 20- year-old Sarah Beckstrom, died after she was shot Wednesday just blocks from the White House. The suspect is an Afghan national who worked with the CIA in Afghanistan and came to the U.S. in 2021 and was granted asylum by the Trump administration this year.

More arrests in the follow up to the deadly residential fire in Hong Kong, at least 128 people have died, another 200 still unaccounted for. Investigators are looking into possible corruption and use of unsafe building materials.

A major airplane recall is threatening to disrupt holiday travel. Airbus announced thousands of passenger planes need an urgent software update. Without that fix, pilots could lose control of certain models during intense solar storms. Most of the planes can be repaired in about two hours. American Airlines, Delta, and JetBlue have already started that fix.

We're also keeping an eye on a developing story out of Northern California. CNN affiliate KGO says three people are injured after a shooting Friday at a mall holding Black Friday sales in Santa Clara. KGO says the victims are hospitalized. Their injuries are not life threatening. Police say this is not an active shooter situation, and the incident appears to be isolated.

Well, if you are traveling this weekend, you might want to plan for some delays. Here's a live picture at LAX, where it is just after 10:30 p.m. at night, one of many airports bracing for the post- Thanksgiving travel rush that is unfortunately coinciding with that major winter storm. On top of the Airbus issues, we are tracking the system as it makes its way through the U.S., bringing rain, snow, sharply dropping temperatures, more than 20 million people currently under winter storm warnings. CNN Meteorologist, Allison Chinchar has more.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Tens of millions of people are in the path for this next system, and the target point is really going to be across areas of the Midwest for some of the bigger impacts, especially areas of Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, even stretching down into Missouri.

Now, when we start off Saturday morning here, you can see around 9:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., the heaviest snow is over many of those same states down to the south, where we've got slightly warmer air, you're going to be looking at the potential for strong to even severe thunderstorms by late Saturday. Now you're talking about the focus for all of that snow to be places like Chicago, Detroit, even into Cleveland.

And then by early Sunday, we start to see the bulk of the winter weather begin to spread into areas of the Northeast and even into the mid-Atlantic, causing potential travel problems there. As we finish out the latter half of the weekend. Winds are also going to be gusting pretty high 30, 40, even 50 miles per hour in some spots, this is going to take all of that snow that fell and blow it all over the place, unfortunately, reducing visibility, making it even more difficult out there on many of the roads.

Overall, the target point for the heaviest snow is going to be this pink area you see here, where we could pick up as much as eight to 12 inches of snow before this system moves out. Keep in mind, though, that many of these same areas had snow just earlier this week, so this is going to be on top of what they've already had on the southern side, where we've got the warmer temperatures. This is actually going to turn into the potential for strong to severe thunderstorms, especially for states like Texas and Louisiana.

Cities like Houston and Shreveport could be looking at strong, damaging wind gusts, some large hail, and we also can't rule out the potential for an isolated tornado.

MICHAELSON: Well, the holiday season, as we know, can be a time of celebration, but can also bring stress, exhaustion, and sleep deprivation. Health experts say getting one really bad night of sleep is common when it happens often, it could be a sign of a disorder. So how can you get better sleep? Dr. Eve Glazier joins me now with some tips. She's the host of the podcast Medically Speaking with Dr. Eve Glazier.

Doctor welcome. You're also one of the top people at UCLA on this topic. So sleep is an issue. Everybody's got to do. Everybody's thinking about. You've compiled a list of some good habits. We want to put this up on the screen. This is stuff you want to do that we're talking about. You should have a consistent wake-up time. Don't go to bed until you're sleepy. Dim lights before bed, cool, dark, quiet bedroom, and if awake and wired, get up. That one to me was surprising. What do you mean by that?

DR. EVE GLAZIER, PRESIDENT, UCLA HEALTH FACULTY PRACTICE GROUP: Absolutely, I mean, I think all of us have had that experience at 2:00 a.m. in the morning, right, where you're like ruminating, and your thoughts are like just going around in a circle. Don't stay in bed, like don't sit there and like, stew, get up.

[01:35:00]

I mean, one of those points which is really important, which is don't get into bed until you're actually sleepy. Really make your bedroom your sleep sanctuary, and really dim those lights before you go to sleep, so that you're actually sleepy when you go to sleep. One thing I really want to point out that's important is the consistent wake up time.

And the big bonus, pro hack is go out in the morning and get outdoor sunlight, because sunlight is actually what tells your brain you're awake. Stop making melatonin, and it anchors your internal clock.

MICHAELSON: So literally, there's some people say that you like walk outside.

GLAZIER: Literally.

MICHAELSON: Look at the sun, right?

GLAZIER: Yeah. Well, it's not like look at the sun. I'm a medical professional.

MICHAELSON: Right. But get it. Come in, right? Yeah.

GLAZIER: Yeah, get that sunlight into your eyes. I mean, it's good for so many reasons, but absolutely, have your coffee outside. Take your dog for a walk. It actually makes all the difference.

MICHAELSON: Let's talk about some of the red flags. This is stuff we got to worry about. This is beyond. Let's put this up on the screen, chronic, loud snoring, still exhausted after enough hours in bed. Morning headaches, rising blood pressure, excessive daytime sleepiness. If all this happens, what does this say to you? Morning headaches, inability, irritability, brain fog, supplement, dependence.

GLAZIER: What does it say? It says start a conversation with a doctor like me. I'm a primary care doctor, so we can really assess what's going on. Something that's really important to emphasize is that sleep is a foundational pillar of your health. It's not just a luxury, it's an actual necessity. And so if things aren't going well, you're not sleeping well. As you mentioned, here's all of these red flags that we're talking about. There are things that we can do, there are tools, there are therapies and there's support.

MICHAELSON: Let's talk now about some of the good habits. This is the good stuff that we're supposed to do, or what helps, I should say what helps getting asleep? Go through them. Magnesium, good, bad. GLAZIER: Magnesium can be good in low doses, and it can be very popular. Helps people rest and relax. In high doses, you can get GI issues, diarrhea, which kind of defeats the purpose.

MICHAELSON: OK.

GLAZIER: But, yeah, low dose.

MICHAELSON: Medical herbal supplements.

GLAZIER: So herbal supplements, those are things like, so for example, melatonin, very, very popular. Melatonin is a hormone, not a vitamin. Again, also good in low doses, big doses can cause people to feel like really knocked out.

MICHAELSON: OK, so if we take a shot of me right now, I'm wearing this, which is called an Oura Ring, this is something that tracks my sleep every night.

GLAZIER: Yes.

MICHAELSON: Is that good? Bad? You like it?

GLAZIER: Well, I could turn around and ask you. But what I would say in general is that sleep trackers can be helpful if they're motivating, if you actually change behavior, and like brings awareness to what I'm talking about, how a critical sleep is. But if you're obsessing, I don't know you, Elex, you can tell me if you're obsessing, right?

MICHAELSON: I'm not obsessing. It does make me feel a little guilty that I'm not kidding enough.

GLAZIER: Guilty is better than like anxiety.

MICHAELSON: Yeah.

GLAZIER: Right. That is not helpful. It's also -- it's been for long- term trends.

MICHAELSON: As a Jew, I'm very used to guilt. So this is like one more sorts of something else.

GLAZIER: And it's like on your life index finger no less.

MICHAELSON: All day. That was -- I do like it. CBD good? Bad?

GLAZIER: CBD can be helpful, especially for reducing pain and anxiety. So kind of those feelings upstream of sleep.

MICHAELSON: And obviously, alcohol, not good, right? And caffeine, not necessarily.

GLAZIER: Well, caffeine, it can really enhance your awareness. But if you really in awakeness, but if you really feel like you're like reaching for caffeine all the time to stay awake, again like start a conversation. Alcohol, you mentioned, you started out the segment talking about the holidays, alcohol in moderation, great. It's a sedative. So sometimes people are like, Oh my gosh, I'm going to have some glass of wine help me get sleepy. But actually it has the reverse effect, and it fragments your sleep and prevents you from getting into that deep sleep.

MICHAELSON: Yeah, I mean, the nights when I've had even a little bit of wine, I feel like my sleep is way off.

GLAZIER: I can't even tolerate it.

MICHAELSON: It's actually made me want to drink a lot less recently because of the sleep issue. Now that I'm tracking it every day.

GLAZIER: Exactly a little tip though, if you are going to imbibe, drink -- put a little buffer like have it two to three hours before you try to go to sleep. It helps.

MICHAELSON: OK. Now let's put some other things in terms of what help. Well, we just talked about some of the things that help. One of the other questions that I had was some of these world leaders that apparently don't ever sleep. I don't know if that's just tall tales. President Trump gets very little sleep. The leader of Japan talked about like two hours of sleep. President Trump maybe three, four hours of sleep. How does that happen? If that's what they really get?

GLAZIER: Exactly. I mean, I guess I -- what I would say is that, listen, if you're one, if you have this rare genetic mutation where you only require four hours of sleep, and then you wake up and you're ready to, like be a leader of the free world. Great, but with all due respect, most people who are trying to perform are performing despite that exhaustion, not because of it. So really, I would much rather have a leader who, because all of these things are connected to performing right.

[01:40:00]

So good judgment, remembering who you're speaking to, emotional regulation, all of those things are dependent on having good sleep, so powering through exhaustion. I mean, I think, and I'd love to like get away from that narrative of being exhausted as a badge of honor.

MICHAELSON: Right. And naps help.

GLAZIER: Naps can be very helpful. They are very helpful tool. Quick tips about naps. 20 to 30 minutes is a sweet spot. Try to do it before 3:00 p.m. otherwise it kind of messes with your going to bed time. You want it to be restorative, but you don't want to get into that very deep sleep. You're going to wake up super groggy.

MICHAELSON: Yeah. Thank you very much.

GLAZIER: Yeah. Thanks for having me.

MICHAELSON: You're great. So nice to meet you.

GLAZIER: Really nice to meet you, Elex.

MICHAELSON: Your work as well in the podcast, thank you so much, absolutely.

GLAZIER: Absolutely. Thanks for having me.

MICHAELSON: Coming up giving thanks. When we come back, I'll speak to Communication Strategist, Frank Luntz about what he has learned from teaching cadets at West Point. It is a great Thanksgiving weekend story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: On this Thanksgiving weekend in America, there's a lot we can learn about gratitude from West Point cadets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would just say I'm filled with a great sense of gratitude. This country has given me so much, and I'm eager to give back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This country is my everything. This country gave me life, and this country continues to give me life. And I'd like to quickly brief on Duty, Honor, Country. Duty, Honor, Country is the what, how, and why of West Point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Frank Luntz is best known as a legendary political strategist and pollster, but his all-time favorite job is teaching those cadets at West Point. Frank joins us now.

[01:45:00]

Welcome to "The Story Is" for the first time.

FRANK LUNTZ, POLLSTER AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIST: Thank you, and it's an honor to do this. And it's particularly special this Thanksgiving weekend that we get a chance to do it on behalf of the cadets at West Point.

MICHAELSON: So why are you grateful for them?

LUNTZ: They changed my life. They gave me purpose. I got to step away from politics, to step away from the anger and the division, the polarization and being among people who selfless surfaces, how they live every day, who the phrase duty, honor and country actually means something. They cannot lie, they cannot cheat, they cannot steal, and they cannot tolerate anyone who does. This is the highest ethical and moral young people I have ever met, and the being trained to be warriors, but warriors with courage and warriors with character, and that's what I appreciate so much of them and about them, and most importantly, in some ways, they want the truth. And it is an honor to provide them with that truth as best as I can. MICHAELSON: And you've introduced them to many of the top leaders in the country. We're just looking at some images of that. On stage you also asked what they want the American people to learn from them. Here's some of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want the American people to know that at West Point, we are training leaders of character, like I said, that we are trying to build a culture of great leaders in America, and it is my pleasure to lead, serve, and protect their sons and daughters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: I mean, we just showed you talking to them in front of many of the great leaders of the country. But what do you think is the lesson about leadership that we and they can learn from them?

LUNTZ: Well, it's three fold. First is that leadership is not something that you necessarily learn, it's what you become, and that's essential, because leadership doesn't happen Monday through Friday. It doesn't happen on weekends. It's something that becomes who you are. Second is that you don't sacrifice morals, you don't sacrifice character in the pursuit of leadership, and in the end, the two of them go hand-in-hand. And three, that the only place I know in America where character is a part of leadership and everything that they do from the moment they wake up in the morning, which, by the way is often at 5:00 a.m. or 5:30 a.m. to the moment they go to sleep at night. And these are individuals who are spending 18 or even 20 hours a day, studying, exercising, and particularly training, that you carry it with you wherever you go, and it's who you become.

MICHAELSON: Well, we are at a time where we're so divided and where there's so often a feeling of hopelessness. So a remarkable moment is when you ask one of the cadets, what gives him hope? Let's show that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have so much hope for the future. I'm not signing up. None of us are signing up for a future. We don't believe is going to be good. We have so much hope. We believe we can build a better future. Won't just happen, that we will be part of the solution, and that despite politics or division, that we are one people and we will fight for the future. We want to see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Frank, you are the master at words. You're paid a lot of money to tell people what words to use. I can't imagine you can even do it better than that.

LUNTZ: I can't. And the three words I would say to them, God bless you. God bless you for your mission and your purpose. God bless you for your commitment to the country and the constitution. And God bless you for changing me, for making me a better person. These cadets and how they live, I'm the worst person in the room when I walk in to teach them, and they uphold all the things that we hold near and dear to our hearts as Americans, as believers in the constitution, and our commitment to a better future. And the chance to bring these cadets and their voices to the American people is what I'm most grateful for at this Thanksgiving weekend.

MICHAELSON: Frank, we're grateful for you and grateful for them, and grateful you took some time to join us here on "The Story Is." Thank you so much.

LUNTZ: Thank you. It's my honor.

MICHAELSON: And we go to break with more images of those cadets. We'll be right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: "The story Is" sports. It was must see TV in the NBA cup as the Lakers took on the Dallas Mavericks on Friday. Game was close in the fourth. The Lakers, though, came out on top 129 to 119. The Lakers had already clinched the group. The MAVs were already eliminated. By the way, it was Anthony Davis's first time playing in LA since being traded. The Milwaukee Bucks lost the New York Knicks on Friday, 118 to 109 you see Giannis there on that horrible floor.

[01:55:00]

Knicks, Jalen Brunson scored 37 points with Miles McBride adding another 19 in the fourth quarter. The Knicks advance to the knockout round of the NBA Cup. A stunning defeat for the reigning Super Bowl champions, as the Chicago Bears beat the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday on Amazon, the bears have been having a strong run lately, winning nine out of 10 games. Final score here 24 to 15. That is the second straight loss for the reigning champs. Philly lost last week on the road to their division rival the Dallas Cowboys.

A trip to the Louvre Museum in Paris will soon cost visitors more. Travelers from outside of Europe will see entrance fees rise by 45 percent starting next year. Museum officials say the price hike could bring in up to $23 million a year. That extra money will go towards upgrades to address structural issues. Large crowds have put considerable strain on the centuries old building and its staff. The plan to raise fees was made months before the brazen October robbery of priceless jewelry. So this isn't just a way to make up that cash.

Thanks for joining us. Thanks for watching all week. I'm Elex Michaelson. Have a great holiday weekend. See you on Monday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)