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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Miami; Prince Harry Takes on Publisher Over Unlawful Information Gathering; Trump Marks One Year of Second White House Term; Trump Marks One Year of Second White House Term; Indiana Wins College Football Title Over Miami; NASA Announces Artemis II Lunar Mission. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired January 20, 2026 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:29]
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles. THE STORY IS starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: THE STORY IS fight over Greenland. CNN's Nic Robertson is there as tensions rise.
THE STORY IS college football classic. CNN's Coy Wire live from the field of the National Championship. Plus, Andrew Siciliano here in studio to break it all down.
THE STORY IS mission to the moon. Bill Nye, the "Science Guy," joins us to discuss his successful push to fund NASA.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: And welcome to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson.
We begin with breaking news from Miami, where President Trump just lost the National Championship Game where he saw Indiana win and had Greenland top of mind. Just moments ago, President Trump doubled down on his ambitions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, we have to have it. They have to have this done. They can't protect it. Denmark, they're wonderful people. And I know the leaders, they're very good people. But they don't even go there. And, you know, because the boat went there 500 years ago and then left, that doesn't give you title to property. So we'll be talking about it with the various people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The president will soon be heading to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum. And in the days ahead, he'll be coming face to face with many of the European leaders he's now targeting with a new round of U.S. tariffs.
Those are the latest threats which come as key allies continue to challenge U.S. claims over Greenland. E.U. officials are not ruling out economic retaliation, but continue to stress their need for dialogue. The president and CEO of WEF struck a similar tone on Monday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARGE BRENDE, PRESIDENT AND CEO, WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: I think dialogue is a necessity, not a luxury. So we're trying to get the key people here. We have more than 65 heads of state and government here to even find common ground in a time where everyone looks after their own self-interest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen spoke with the U.S. congressional delegation in Davos, where she also stressed the need to respect Greenland's sovereignty.
All this comes as European NATO allies are sending military personnel to participate in joint military exercises around the Arctic Island. According to Denmark's military, there will be a, quote, "substantial increase" in the number of Danish troops positioned in Greenland, with deployments already underway.
Joining me now from Greenland is CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson.
Nic, what's the feeling on the ground right there?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, there's a sense of unity and there's a sense -- we've heard from the prime minister of sort of speaking in a dignified way. But there's also this real sense that events are somewhat out of their control, that they're watching their destiny being shaped without having a strong enough hand in it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Greenland's prime minister and his people are walking a tightrope at anti-U.S. protests over the weekend in the capital Nuuk, the biggest yet, trying not to inflame already overheated international tensions. The prime minister not mentioning President Donald Trump by name, saying, "We're all standing here together today to show that we're united and we're not accepting what's happening to us."
Many here feeling like bystanders to their own destiny.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now I think as a generation, we're kind of scared for the future because it feels like we don't have enough power to make our own decisions fully.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's scary to think about it, and it's scary at night to try to sleep, and it's the talk of the day every day. A couple of days ago, we talked about buying a rifle.
ROBERTSON: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTSON: For defense?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For protection. Yes.
ROBERTSON: Wow. That's serious.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. It is serious.
ROBERTSON: Gun store owners we've spoken with say they're not seeing a spike in sales, but purchases of camping stoves, gasoline, freeze dried food is going up driven, they say, by the crazy language President Trump is using and concerns that events here really are out of their control.
[00:05:20]
(Voice-over): Now Denmark's move to have NATO allies trained for Arctic security has further angered President Trump, who is threatening tariffs on the contributing countries.
Compared to other NATO partners, how tough are the conditions up here?
SOREN ANDERSEN, DANISH JOINT ARCTIC COMMAND CHIEF: It is very, very tough. And that's also why we have to train up here.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): The Danish commander-in-charge tiptoes around the politics of it all.
As a NATO commander, are you personally surprised that a NATO partner could be threatening another NATO partner?
ANDERSEN: Look, I will not go into politics, but I work perfectly together with the U.S. military. We have done that for decades in Bosnia, in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and we do it also today.
ROBERTSON: As a Dane who suffered a lot of losses in Afghanistan, as many per capita as the United States, is it disappointing to you that we're in this position?
ANDERSEN: Frankly, it is.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Yet even while marginalized, no one here is giving up hope yet.
You think this is going to be resolved diplomatically?
SVEND HARDENBERG, GREENLANDIC BUSINESSMAN: I think so. Well, all of us are hoping that that will be solved and the dialogue has started. And I'm assuming that that will go in a very positive direction for everybody. ROBERTSON (voice-over): Greenland born exec Svend Hardenberg is
running point for his mining company to get a minerals and rare earths project mired in local politics into production and turning a profit for Greenlanders.
HARDENBERG: We will be paying the Greenland government just on royalties equivalent to U.S. dollars 5.5 billion in that period of time. And then you have, you know, job creation, infrastructure investments.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): He is bullish about Greenland's potential, sees benefit in Trump's business first style, but even he is staying out of the red hot diplomacy.
Would the United States help with that development?
HARDENBERG: I don't know.
ROBERTSON: If the United States had control in Greenland?
HARDENBERG: Well, that's a scenario some would speculate on, I would not speculate on that.
ROBERTSON: You don't think it's even a remote possibility that the United States is going to control Greenland at some point?
HARDENBERG: I don't think so.
ROBERTSON: Why not?
HARDENBERG: It's -- when I'm looking at how everything is transpiring. I don't see that as an option.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): In a land of uncertainty, Greenlanders are embracing what they can control, themselves, letting go of tensions on skis and skates. Or escaping the geopolitical strains with music and comedy. Hard reality. No one here is laughing for long. Still hoping Trump runs out of bluster.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON (on-camera): And the language they're continuing to hear from President Trump really does give them cause for concern. And I think everyone here is looking forward to the middle of this week. President Trump will be in Europe. He'll be at the World Economic Forum at Davos. A lot of European leaders will be there. President Trump is giving a key speech. And the expectation or hope from here is that maybe while he's there, an off-ramp to all of this tension can be found.
But I think the judgment at the moment is the rhetoric has been such that that is a high hope and it may not happen. They may not get that pause this week that they're hoping for -- Elex.
MICHAELSON: And Nic, do most people seem to agree with the last guy you talked to there, basically like this is never going to happen, the U.S. is never going to be in charge? Is that the majority opinion?
ROBERTSON: Everyone here feels that way. Almost entirely. No one really believes that the United States will do it. But they live in fear they might because they saw what happened in Venezuela. So it's a genuine fear. But I think the gut instinct is, and that business executive I spoke to, is familiar with people in the White House, is familiar with doing business in the U.S., is a real mover and shaker here.
And I think he does sort of speak for the majority and perhaps have stronger bearings on this than most, but it's a genuine fear. Venezuela was an object lesson for the people of Greenland, and they hope it's not going to be them.
MICHAELSON: Nic Robertson, reporting for us from Greenland. Nic, thank you so much. Really appreciate the reporting.
The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to join President Trump's so-called Board of Peace that will oversee the reconstruction of Gaza. Putin is now said to be reviewing that invitation. His closest ally, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, has also been invited to join.
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French President Emmanuel Macron was asked to participate, but a Foreign Ministry spokesperson says France has decided not to take part. We learned that President Trump has also invited Israel to join the board as a founding member state. President Trump will chair the board.
To Minnesota now, sources tell CNN that the FBI had briefly opened a civil rights probe into the federal agent who shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis this month. But that investigation has shifted away from the agent, Jonathan Ross, and now focuses on Good herself and her widow. Some inside the Justice Department see that switch is politically motivated. At least six federal prosecutors in Minnesota have resigned because of it.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department is appealing a federal judge's ruling restricting federal agents from arresting peaceful protesters or firing pepper spray during nonviolent demonstrations. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem calls that ruling, quote, "ridiculous."
THE STORY IS the weather. In Michigan crews have cleared a busy section of Interstate 196 after a massive pileup of more than 100 vehicles on Monday morning. Authorities say as many as 40 semi-trucks were involved in that crash. At least 10 injuries have been reported. Amazingly all of them minor. The interstate was shut down in both directions for miles. The National Weather Service warned of snow and blowing snow, with totals near 14 inches in parts of western Michigan.
Now the big story here in America tonight, sports, and a new champion in college football, the Indiana Hoosiers, led by Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, winning their first ever title. They beat the Miami Hurricanes 27-21 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Look at them there. Mendoza finishing the game with 186 yards passing,
a 12-yard TD run. The Hurricanes had a chance to go ahead on the final drive of the game, but quarterback Carson Beck threw an interception to seal the win for Indiana.
CNN World Sport anchor Coy Wire is there live.
Coy, what a game, what a season and what an alum you have with you.
COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Yes, what an alum is, right? What a game, what a season and what an alum. Great to hear your voice, Elex. The last time I was with you, we were covering the Rose Parade. And Hoosier nation had those streets flooded. Here they are, top of the mountain. And who better of a guest to have than super alum Mark Cuban?
Now, Mr. Mark here was born in the same hospital as the Hoosiers head coach, Curt Cignetti. Talk about the aura, the presence, the principles that he has that has built this powerhouse.
MARK CUBAN, ENTREPRENEUR: You know, you don't go from Elon to Indiana University of Pennsylvania to James Madison and win championships all the way and don't have a system and don't know how to win.
WIRE: Right.
CUBAN: And what Coach Cig has been able to do he follows his own path. You know, everybody else is trying to bid the most on the highest ranked or highest recruited quarterback or whatever. He's like, no, I know the players I need. I need guys who know the rules of high football IQ and are going to work within the system. And then he's got the coaches that know that you're not going to have a guy for four years anymore, right?
You'll have one, maybe two, and you've got to be able to have a quarterbacks coach that can take Fernando Mendoza and turn him into a Heisman winner. All, you know, in a preseason and then during the season. That's not easy. And I think that's really what separates him.
WIRE: Yes. I just love his discipline, his attention to detail. And it just permeates his entire program. And you mentioned those players, the type of guys he goes after with that character. You mentioned Fernando Mendoza. Elex showed a bit of his highlights just a moment ago.
You know, what is it about that young man, all he is and all that's to come for him in the future?
CUBAN: I mean, you can tell when someone's a champion. You can tell when someone knows how to make the play. There's always time and score, right? It's different when it's the beginning of the game, it's zero-zero, versus it's, you know, 21, 14 and you've got to score. It's fourth and five. They take the field goal squad off the field because they trust you. And then he makes one of the most -- a run that will go down in history as one of the best championship game runs ever.
You know, he gets knocked down. He puts his hand on the ground, he gets up, he dives into the end zone. It was spectacular.
WIRE: Bloody lip and all. He's a true warrior. Heart of a champion. Now, I know they're probably going to be celebrating back on campus for probably, like, a week straight. How do you sum up what this means to Hoosier nation, their first ever college football national championship?
CUBAN: You know, when you're the underdog like we have been for like however many decades, yes, you know, then everybody is rooting for you. So right now, everybody around the world loves college football like we (INAUDIBLE).
MICHAELSON: Signal problems with Coy and Mark Cuban there. Hopefully we get that signal back.
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Mark Cuban, of course, so well-known for "Shark Tank." So known as an owner of the Dallas Mavericks, who won a title there, but now celebrating with his team. And we see the energy tonight from Indianapolis. This is one of the biggest nights in the history of that university. And it really is such a spectacular thing. So unfortunately I guess we're not getting that signal back. But our thanks to Coy and to Mark and congratulations to all of Hoosier Nation, 16-O season.
We've got Andrew Siciliano coming up a little bit later, familiar name for sports fans. And he's going to join us to talk about this big moment in about 15 minutes or so. But in the meantime, we want to get to some of the other news of the night, including Prince Harry taking on the tabloids. He and some other famous plaintiffs are suing the powerful publisher of "The Daily Mail."
Plus, we're going to take you to Spain, where there is mourning after a deadly train crash. We talk, get the latest on the deadliest railway disaster in more than a decade.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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MICHAELSON: Many parts of Kyiv, Ukraine are once again without power and water after Russia's latest bombardment. Ukraine's air force reported a missile and drone attack in Kyiv earlier. A CNN team also heard explosions in that city, and the mayor says at least one person is injured. Russia launched a massive attack on Kyiv's energy infrastructure earlier this month, leaving hundreds of thousands of households, businesses and schools without power and below freezing temperatures.
Spain's prime minister is promising to get to the truth behind the cause of a train crash that killed at least 40 people and injured dozens more. He's also declared three days of mourning. A preliminary report on Sunday's crash in southern Spain shows the tail end of a northbound train derailed and crossed onto an adjacent track before being struck by a southbound train. Video of the aftermath shows passengers escaping through the roof of one train and even climbing out windows.
Passenger inside one of the carriages took this video, capturing the scene just after the crash. Look at this. Spain's transport minister called the whole thing extremely unusual, noting it took place on a straight stretch of track that was recently renovated.
Beaches are closed in the latest Australian state of New South Wales after four shark attacks in 48 hours. Officials say the most recent attack along the northern coast, a surfer, suffered minor injuries to his leg after being bitten. Three other attacks occurred in Sydney. A 12-year-old boy, 25-year-old man in critical condition with serious leg injuries, and an 11-year-old escaped unharmed after a shark bit his surfboard. Officials say heavy rains have created ideal conditions for bull shark activity.
Prince Harry's high stakes privacy battle against the publisher of "The Daily Mail" is officially underway. The prince and six other public figures say they were the victims of phone hacking and other illegal practices. Opening arguments have begun with the royal expected to testify later this week.
CNN's Max Foster has details on the case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Prince Harry is back in court for his third legal showdown against the British tabloids in recent years.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you confident?
FOSTER: The Duke of Sussex and six other household names in Britain are suing the publisher of "The Daily Mail" over alleged unlawful information gathering. Actors Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost joined the prince in court on Monday. Singer Elton John is amongst the claimants, bringing the civil case forward.
For the next nine weeks, the plaintiffs' legal team will argue that Associated Newspapers Limited, ANL, the publisher of "The Daily Mail" and "The Mail on Sunday," obtained and published information via illicit means, including phone tapping and hacking and engaging in impersonation and deception to obtain confidential records known as blagging. The publisher has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and says the allegations are, quote, "preposterous."
The duke has already won similar legal battles against two of Britain's top publishers. The court awarded him damages in the case against the Mirror Group newspapers in 2023, and last year he settled with Rupert Murdoch's News Group newspapers.
DAVID SHERBORNE, PRINCE HARRY'S BARRISTER: News UK have admitted that "The Sun," the flagship title for Rupert Murdoch's U.K. media empire, has indeed engaged in illegal practices.
FOSTER: On Monday, his lawyer told the court that being targeted by journalists made the duke feel paranoid beyond belief. Harry previously said the toxic press were partly behind his decision to step back from royal duties, and moved to the U.S. with his wife Meghan and son Archie. Prince Harry expected to take the witness stand on Thursday.
Max foster, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: So we saw a great game tonight. Congratulations to Indiana. It was a really -- turned out to be a great game. Two great teams, wonderful teams with a lot of talent. We enjoyed it very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: That was President Trump just moments ago after attending Indiana's national championship win over Miami.
Joining me now is our political panel for the night. We've got Bob Shrum, former Democratic strategist, director of the USC Center for the Political Future, as well as Jennifer Horn, host of "The Morning Answer," heard on 870 AM here in Los Angeles.
Welcome to you both.
[00:25:01]
Bob, welcome to the show for the first time.
BOB SHRUM, FORMER DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Glad to be here. Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Jennifer, you're an old pro at this time. Good to have you back.
JENNIFER HORN, HOST, "THE MORNING ANSWER" ON 870 AM: Thanks, again.
MICHAELSON: So, Bob, it's interesting because you've worked on strategy for so many different candidates over the years. Clearly, President Trump strategically places himself at every big cultural event. He was at the Super Bowl. He was at the Daytona 500. He was at the Army-Navy game. He's at UFC game. Whenever there's something that everybody at the country is focused on, he's there. We've never really seen that before with presidents to this level.
SHRUM: Well, look, he was the host of the Kennedy Center Honors.
MICHAELSON: Right.
(LAUGHTER)
SHRUM: The ratings collapsed, but he was the host. I think he goes because it's one way to communicate with his base. He is not delivering on a lot of the stuff that they care about, especially in terms of, say, affordability. Millions of people are about to lose health care. And so I think this is a way to stay in touch with the hard core Trump supporters.
I don't think it works with independents. And I think the polling data kind of indicates that. But it probably does work with a certain portion of his base. And by the way, he likes being the center of attention.
MICHAELSON: Well, he also -- he also knows ratings, right? And he realizes that Americans love football.
SHRUM: Right.
MICHAELSON: If you look at TV ratings, the highest rated shows by and large are football games, and he puts himself right there.
HORN: Yes. Yes, he absolutely does. And this is how he connects with people as a billionaire. He looks like an average Joe who just loves football. And I think --
MICHAELSON: And wears a suit to a football game.
HORN: And wears a suit to a football game, which is a little weird.
MICHAELSON: And sits in a private box.
HORN: Well, you know. He does -- first, I think he enjoys it. He is a fan of sports. I mean, he is a guy's guy who loves the sports. I think he really likes to go. That's number one. But it's also free advertising for him. It's free marketing and great PR to stand up and wave during the national anthem. And you know, I think this shows that he's an average fan of these great sports. And he gets himself in front of that audience.
MICHAELSON: Yes, I mean, it's pretty smart if you think about it in terms of that.
HORN: It is.
MICHAELSON: Let's talk, though, about his poll numbers. You brought this up, Bob. We are now on the East Coast. It is January 20th, which is exactly one year since President Trump took the oath of office.
SHRUM: Seems like five.
MICHAELSON: Yes. I mean, it seems like 10. I mean, you think about everything that has happened in this year. This was a new CNN poll. Year one of Trump's second term was failure 58 percent, success 42 percent. How do you rate it?
HORN: Oh, you know, I'm 100 percent. I'm still smiling ear to ear, waking up knowing that President Trump is in the White House. This has been an incredible year. The country is better for it. He has gotten a lot done. And I would say while some polls are going to show him up or down, I think it's important right now to look at polls to see what's important to the American people. But I don't think any of us should just live or die on the polls in January, when we are coming up to a very important midterm year. SHRUM: There is not a single reputable public poll that shows him
doing well. I said earlier, he has not delivered on affordability except for a minor decline in gas prices. If you look at food prices, for example, they're still very, very high, and going up. People are losing their health insurance, and there's no solution to that. We're seeing attacks on civil rights, civil liberties. And with the Greenland fiasco that we are in the middle of we are in danger.
He is in danger of doing something I think no one ever thought could happen, which is shattering the NATO alliance. And you might end up not with NATO, but with ETO, the European Treaty Organization.
MICHAELSON: How do you -- I mean, there's a lot that Bob just threw out there. How do you -- how do you respond to that?
HORN: Well, just on the polling as to where we are today, I would imagine, Bob, and I don't want to speak for you. I respect you very much, but I would imagine you thought Barack Obama did a pretty good job at this point during his presidency. And President Trump, if you look at RealClearPolitics, has actually got a higher approval rating at this time this very week, this very day, than Barack Obama did.
And so, look, I think we can look at the polls. And I think there's always room for improvement. But when it comes to President Trump and his approval rating, he's still very strong with the base. I think independents are still there with him. He's never going to win over the left. And as far as Greenland goes, Greenland would be a very strategic thing for us to have. Now, do I want to see our military go in there? Absolutely not. But do I want to see a Golden Dome to keep all of us safe? I think I do.
SHRUM: First of all, there's no question that with respect to Greenland, the price that we are going to pay in terms of our alliances and everything else is way out of proportion to what we would gain from getting Greenland, where by the way it's going to be difficult to mine these rare minerals because of the weather and everything else. Secondly, I think in terms of the polling, I mean, when you say 58 percent of people say that he's a failure, 42 percent say he's a success, that's pretty convincing. And the only way RealClearPolitics gets to the point that they get is they include a lot of polls that most people would not regard as -- as neutral.
[00:30:14]
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: To your point, though, about that, it feels like 5 or 10 years. Jennifer, can you remember a presidency where so much happened in a year?
JENNIFER HORN, HOST, "THE MORNING ANSWER" ON 870AM:: No. I --
MICHAELSON: It feels like an entirely different world.
HORN: Look, this is why I love President Trump. This is why I support President Trump, because he actually makes a list of things he wants to get done; and he actually does it. I like the speed of Trump. What drives me nuts? You and I live in
California. Actually, all three of us live in California. And the pace at which things happen in California is a snail's pace compared to Trump.
So, I actually like politicians who are outside of the box and who come in and actually get things done, check off their list, and move on to the next. I think it's --
MICHAELSON: Can you -- can you remember anybody that has moved faster?
SHRUM: No, but I don't -- he's not outside of the box. He's often outside of the Constitution. And I think -- I think that is a serious problem.
Sure, I remember someone. Franklin -- I don't remember him personally. I wasn't there.
MICHAELSON: I was going to say.
SHRUM: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in 100 days, transformed this country and kept transforming it for 12 years.
I think Trump's done a lot. You're right. He's done a lot that's wrong. And not much that's right.
HORN: Well, and that's probably how many of the people on my side of the aisle might feel about FDR.
MICHAELSON: Somebody -- somebody.
SHRUM: FDR is regarded -- FDR is regarded by historians --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
SHRUM: -- as one of the two great -- greatest presidents in American history.
MICHAELSON: We're not --
SHRUM: Trump, in the latest historian survey, was regarded as one of the worst presidents in American history.
MICHAELSON: OK, we're not going to do the New Deal tonight.
HORN: Come on.
MICHAELSON: But we are going to do, Bob, somebody --
SHRUM: I -- I know a lot about it.
MICHAELSON: Somebody -- somebody that you were around for, which was Martin Luther King Jr.
SHRUM: Yes. MICHAELSON: And, you know, it's Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And I'm
wondering, based off of your life experience, what you think he would think of this moment? And what are the lessons we can learn from his life in this moment in American history?
SHRUM: He'd be appalled by this moment. He'd be appalled by the rollback of civil rights and civil liberties. And he would be urging people to protest. I mean, that was how he moved things along.
I mean, President Kennedy said to him, keep putting the pressure on. Keep protesting. Make it possible for me to go forward with the civil rights bill.
I think he would be out there telling people that you have to make your voices heard. You have to dissent. You have to say that America stands for something better than this.
MICHAELSON: Yes. Jennifer, what do you think are the lessons that you take from his life?
HORN: Look, I think he stood for protest and for civil rights for American citizens, not for illegal immigrants. I think that he stood for peaceful protests, not storming into churches, and not impeding police and law enforcement operations.
SHRUM: Or shooting. How about shooting peaceful protesters?
MICHAELSON: Let her -- let her finish.
HORN: Right. But people shouldn't be impeding with -- with law enforcement operations. I think that's really important.
I also think that he'd call for unity. And I think right now, our country, both sides of -- of our country right now, are in their own corner, and nobody wins when that happens. Whether it's Republicans in their corner, Democrats.
Martin Luther King Jr., I think -- you know, I love listening to people speculate how he would vote. I don't think any of us could make that call. But I will tell you this. I think he would be appalled that we are so hateful and that all of these -- these personal attacks on people, it needs to stop.
MICHAELSON: Yes. Yes.
SHRUM: And I think you'd be appalled by the personal attacks Donald Trump constantly directs against everybody --
HORN: There's a lot.
SHRUM: -- including his predecessor.
HORN: A lot of personal attacks on all sides of the aisle.
MICHAELSON: Yes. When I spoke with John Lewis a couple of years ago about this, he said that Dr. King would tell people to speak up, stand up, and get out there.
SHRUM: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Bob, Jennifer, great to see you.
HORN: Thanks.
MICHAELSON: It's important that we all talk to each other. And I love that we do so civilly.
SHRUM: Thank you.
HORN: Thank you.
SHRUM: OK.
MICHAELSON: We appreciate it.
Coming up, college football crowns a new champion. We've been talking about it all night.
SHRUM: What a game.
MICHAELSON: What a game. Andrew Siciliano of RedZone fame is here to talk about the big game. What's next for Mendoza? What's next for the NFC/AFC championship? A lot to get into with him when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:38:39]
MICHAELSON: Welcome back to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at today's top stories.
At least 21 people are dead, dozens others missing after a fire tore through a massive shopping plaza in Karachi, Pakistan.
Fire broke out late Saturday evening and spread rapidly through the mall, which houses at least 1,200 shops. It took firefighters more than 24 hours to extinguish the blaze.
This is Karachi's biggest fire since an industrial site went up in flames in 2012, killing more than 260 people.
China's birth rate has hit a new record low, with deaths outnumbering births for the fourth year in a row, according to new government data.
China's population dropped by more than 3 million last year, though it still remains the world's second most populous country with 1.4 billion people. India, No. 1, of course.
Legendary Italian fashion designer Valentino has died. The 93-year-old was known for his signature red dresses, as well as outfitting celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda, Jennifer Lopez, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
Valentino sold his company to an Italian conglomerate in 1998 for 300 million bucks. He retired from fashion in 2008.
Joe Zee will be with us next hour to talk about his legacy.
But now we're talking about sports. The first ever college football championship for the Indiana Hoosiers. They beat the Miami Hurricanes 27 to 21 at Hard Rock Stadium.
Their quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, named the offensive player of the game with 186 passing yards, one rushing touchdown, after winning the Heisman Trophy.
Miami had a chance to win the closing minutes. Here it is. Quarterback Carson Beck picked off with time running out.
Joining me here in studio, Andrew Siciliano, host of "Inside Coverage" on Yahoo! Football fans know him. DirectTV's, The RedZone Channel for so many years, 18 seasons there.
Great to have you here. So many of us love you.
ANDREW SICILIANO, HOST, YAHOO!'S "INSIDE COVERAGE": Great to have -- great to be here, Elex.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
SICILIANO: Great to actually have such an amazing introduction. Seriously, thank you. I appreciate it.
MICHAELSON: And great to hear that voice. So, let's talk about it. Indiana, is this one of the greatest stories in the history of college football?
SICILIANO: I think we overuse -- we're a little hyperbolic these days.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
SICILIANO: Screaming and yelling.
MICHAELSON: Everything.
SICILIANO: Everything is the greatest ever or the worst ever. This is the biggest game of all time. Win or get fired. Whatever.
But I don't know that you can come up with a better story. Everything is unbelievable. No, it isn't. This is truly unbelievable.
Two years ago, Indiana won three games. In the last two years, they've won 27 games. They went 16-zero. They won a national championship.
Miami, I don't know if they're a blueblood. They haven't won a national championship in 25 years. But Indiana was the worst program in major college football coming into the season. In 139 years of college football, they had lost nearly 200 more games than they had won.
They just ran the table. They beat everybody that was put on their schedule. And in Miami, they beat Miami with a kid that Miami didn't want, at quarterback, that somehow won the Heisman.
MICHAELSON: Yes, because Fernando Mendoza grew up watching Miami --
SICILIANO: Two miles away.
MICHAELSON: -- thinking about playing for Miami. He ends up going to CAL, then ends up transferring to Indiana. And nobody thought of him as a potential Heisman Trophy guy a couple of years ago. Now, he's a Heisman Trophy winner and potentially No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.
SICILIANO: Heard a story over the weekend. He was at CAL a couple of years ago, focusing on -- on finance and maybe a career in real estate. His -- his most famous online profile was his LinkedIn page and still is.
He said this week he only uses LinkedIn and YouTube on his phone. He got rid of all the other social media pages.
And this guy was telling somebody, I don't know. If I go to the NFL, I'll be a third string quarterback. I'm probably not going to make any money. I'll probably have, you know, whatever career for a couple of years. Probably not my thing.
Now, he's going to be the No. 1 pick in the draft. I mean, it's -- he -- it's a long time between now and the third week in April. But Tom Brady was there today, minority owner of the Raiders John Spytek.
MICHAELSON: So, the Raiders have the first pick for people.
SICILIANO: Correct.
MICHAELSON: The Raiders have the first pick. Tom Brady is one of the owners of the -- of the Raiders. A lot of people are thinking he's going to have a hand in picking their next quarterback.
SICILIANO: He will. Absolutely.
MICHAELSON: And there he is, watching this game as the highest paid scout in the history of football.
SICILIANO: Absolutely. Along with the coach. I'm sorry. They don't have a coach yet. The G.M. and the owner. And they're interviewing coaching candidates there. And yes, he should be the No. 1 overall.
MICHAELSON: You think he's going to be good?
SICILIANO: I do. He's kind of awkward looking. He runs, his teammates say, like a baby deer. But the game-winning touchdown was -- was him scrambling.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And his interviews are very specific.
SICILIANO: They're odd. He's -- he's lovable. There are people that joke he's an A.I. bot, but he isn't. That's who he is. He's engaging.
MICHAELSON: Yes. SICILIANO: He's exceedingly intelligent.
MICHAELSON: And he's the champ. Undefeated.
SICILIANO: And he's the champ.
MICHAELSON: Unbelievable.
Meanwhile, it's time for NFL championships. We've got two big championship games on the AFC side. NFC side this weekend. We start with Rams versus Seahawks in Seattle. Your thoughts going into that one.
SICILIANO: So, I think they're the two best teams in the NFL. And you could argue that this NFC championship game is the Super Bowl before the Super Bowl. Not in any way to discount the Patriots nor the Broncos. Broncos obviously, now, with the backup quarterback.
But we knew, when these two teams met at SoFi down the road from where we're sitting right now, middle of the season, that this would probably be three rounds. Scheduled for two, but they would likely meet in the playoffs.
I think it's perfect. I think the Rams kind of want to sort of go back up there and take what they thought they should have had, week 16. They had some things that didn't go their way, including a somewhat controversial call that didn't go their way. They think they're the better team. But Seattle is playing as well as any team in the NFL.
MICHAELSON: You have a pick?
SICILIANO: I mean, I think you and I are both kind of partial to the Rams.
MICHAELSON: We are. We are doing this from L.A.
SICILIANO: I -- I am going to lean Rams --
MICHAELSON: OK.
SICILIANO: -- for now. Yes.
MICHAELSON: We love Sean McVay.
All right. AFC championship probably easier to pick, right? Because Bo Nix, the quarterback of the Broncos, gets them there. But then has this injury and is out for the season.
[00:45:06]
SICILIANO: Which is heartbreaking.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
SICILIANO: Second year; kids come through a lot. He has his team on the verge of a trip to the Super Bowl. He does the post-game interview. He limps off like -- we think he's fine. And an hour later Sean Payton, the head coach, comes out, calls an impromptu news conference, and says, oh, by the way, he broke his ankle.
So, Jarrett Stidham is the only backup in the NFL this year that did not throw a pass in the regular season.
What if I told you I actually like the Broncos?
MICHAELSON: You do?
SICILIANO: I do. Denver's got the defense. Denver led the NFL in sacks.
MICHAELSON: Wow.
SICILIANO: I know Drake Maye could win the MVP. I reserve the right to change that pick by Sunday.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
SICILIANO: But yes, for now.
MICHAELSON: Well, it's great to see you.
SICILIANO: Likewise. Thank you.
MICHAELSON: And we're going to be able to watch you during the Olympics.
SICILIANO: Yes.
MICHAELSON: We're used to seeing you with the RedZone. Now we're going to see you with "The Gold Zone" on USA. All the gold medal things going back and forth, right.
SICILIANO: Yes.
MICHAELSON: It's going to be very exciting.
SICILIANO: It's going to be fun. We did it -- actually, the fourth time we've done it but rolled it out big for Paris. My Red Zone brother Scott Hanson, Matt Iseman, Jac Collinsworth.
Basically, eight hours a day of everything live from the Olympics. If there is a medal being contested, an American in any sport that you need to see, we'll show it live.
MICHAELSON: Can't wait to see you. Thanks so much, Andrew.
SICILIANO: Thanks for having me.
MICHAELSON: Great to see you.
We'll be back with Bill Nye, the Science Guy, talking NASA. Stay with us.
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[00:51:05]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACOB BLEACHER, CHIEF EXPLORATION SCIENTIST, ESDMD, NASA: This is a very historic moment. An exciting moment. We're rolling out the integrated SLS and Orion for a flight that will carry four of our friends, our NASA family members, around the Moon, and bring them safely back to Earth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Late last week, NASA announced that four astronauts will do a swing around the Moon without landing. It's known as the Artemis mission. And it is, in -- thanks in part to congressional funding advocated for by our next guest.
Joining us now from Washington, Bill Nye, the Science Guy. He's also the CEO of the Planetary Society.
Bill, Bill, Bill, welcome to THE STORY IS for the first time.
BILL NYE, CEO, PLANETARY SOCIETY: We love that song. So, NASA's --
MICHAELSON: We love you.
NYE: NASA's budget was going to be cut 20 percent overall; science budget was going to be cut 47 percent, almost half. And you can find these exciting graphs on the Planetary Society website, if you're looking for something to do.
But we got -- our members, 40,000 members around the world, we got -- we sent over 100,000 emails and letters to members of Congress and the Senate, and they pushed back against the president's budget request, restoring funding to a level that's, in uncorrected dollars, higher than it's been in decades. So, that's all -- that's good.
And so, this part of this Artemis II mission is part of this overall push to return people to the Moon.
And the thing I give to you, the hard-hitting investigative reporter at this cable news network. Why did somebody want to cut the NASA budget in half? Well, a little odd, but --
MICHAELSON: Why do you think?
NYE: -- you said no time. Well, I think there's a -- there was a belief that there's fraud, waste, and abuse; that federal employees are bad people, and so on and so on. And so, people realized that just wasn't the case.
MICHAELSON: Obviously. We landed on the Moon in 1969. This next mission is going to go around the Moon with the hopes of the next mission, after that, landing on the Moon.
Why does it matter? Why does the Moon matter in 2026?
NYE: Well, OK, two reasons at least. First of all, the political. People have been promised that they're going to go -- someone's going to go back to the Moon -- for the last 60 years. And so, this is part of that.
And the other thing you might expect, a person might expect. If you had water ice in the vacuum of space, it would evaporate. But there is apparently water ice -- water ice in the South Pole of the Moon. It doesn't evaporate. There's some process that keeps it there.
And so, that's some solid science that would be possible to execute, if you can get astronauts on the surface with the capability to walk around and investigate this.
And furthermore, there's this engineering hypothesis dream that you could melt the ice; turn it into hydrogen and oxygen, and use a rocket for rocket fuel, just the way the space shuttle upper stage did.
By the way, what's near and dear to me -- do we have time to talk about this? What's near and dear to me: on the surface of Mars right now are rocks in sample tubes that look just like this one. The real ones are not made of plastic, and in it is a rock sample that we want to bring back to Earth.
Recently, people who are studying this problem seem -- they believe they have found these flecks, the leopard spots in the rocks that resemble, in every way, similar spots to rocks we find here on Earth that were once living things.
MICHAELSON: Wow.
NYE: If we were to discover life on another world, it would change this one. And so, you can't do that without funding NASA.
[00:55:01]
And I remind everybody, while we're running around with all this international conflict and all this stuff, NASA is the best brand the United States has.
MICHAELSON: And -- and the Bill Nye, the Science Guy, brand is pretty strong, too. And it helped to make that happen. Congratulations, Bill Nye. Of course, the CEO of the Planetary Society.
You can find out more information about all of his work by checking out their website.
Bill, thank you so much. Great to see you.
NYE: Thank you. I look forward to seeing you again. Let's change the world.
MICHAELSON: Let's change the world. There's a mission.
We'll be right back. More of THE STORY IS after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
