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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Trump Met with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem for Two Hours; Widespread U.S. Flight Disruptions from Winter Storm; Top General Under Investigation Amid Anti-Corruption Drive; Remembering Kobe Bryant Six Years after His Death; Friends, Colleagues Remember Alex Pretti; Threading the Needle of World's Tallest Hotel. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired January 27, 2026 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Elex Michaelson live from Los Angeles. THE STORY IS starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: THE STORY IS in Minneapolis. A possible inflection point in our national debate about immigration, including a leadership change on the ground.
THE STORY IS travel nightmare. Airlines struggling to keep up after a deadly winter storm impacts half the country.
And THE STORY IS remembering Kobe Bryant. Six years after his death, his longtime teammate Derek Fisher is here live.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: And we start with breaking news from the White House. The "New York Times" reporting now that Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security secretary, met in the Oval Office for two hours with President Trump along with her top aide Corey Lewandowski. According to "The Times," Noem requested that meeting on a day that Trump made a leadership change in Minneapolis.
That live picture from the White House, again, where Kristi Noem had a two-hour meeting tonight.
Now, Greg Bovino, who has been the top Border Patrol official in Minneapolis, he is expected to leave the city on Tuesday along with some of his 3,000 agents there. According to CNN's Priscilla Alvarez, DHS suspended Bovino's access to his social media accounts effective immediately.
Now, all this comes after President Trump and White House officials were reportedly frustrated by how Bovino and Noem handled the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. A reminder, take a listen to some of their claims. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: This individual, who came with weapons and ammunition to stop a law enforcement operation of federal law enforcement officers, committed an act of domestic terrorism.
GREG BOVINO, BORDER PATROL COMMANDER-AT-LARGE: This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The White House now attempting to distance itself from some of those remarks. Border czar Tom Homan is now set to take over ICE operations in the city, effectively demoting Kristi Noem.
President Trump claims that he had, quote, "very good phone calls" with the mayor of Minneapolis and Minnesota's governor about de- escalating this crisis. Governor Tim Walz, of course a Democrat, says President Trump agreed to talk with the DHS about letting state officials join the ongoing shooting investigation. And Mayor Jacob Frey is expected to meet with Homan on Tuesday.
Some Republicans, including Senator Ted Cruz, say the administration could have done better with the handling of the fallout of the shooting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): What I think the administration could do better is the tone with which they're describing this. That immediately when an incident like this happens, they come out guns blazing. That we took out a violent terrorist. Hooray.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Many in the Minneapolis community say they are ready for federal agents to leave their city.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not our community that's causing the damage. Clearly, we've had more heart than that. But him and his troops have caused the damage. And we don't deserve that. Our kids don't deserve to witness that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What people see across the country is a little microcosm of what's been happening to our people. I'm sorry. You can't drive down a street without being worried that, oh, an ICE agent is going to ram my car. I might look at them wrong. They're going to smash my window, pull me out. A neighbor of mine walked by, an ICE agent gave him the finger. They got in their car and started chasing her. Really? I mean, you know, this is a 60-year-old woman, and they're going to chase down. Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Students at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities staged a walkout, held an anti-ICE protest on Monday. Many described the growing fear in their community following the shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm really angry. I'm angry and I'm sad, like, all of the time.
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I'm a university student. I can't focus on my classes. I have a lot of friends who are really scared to go outside right now. You know, regardless of their citizenship status. Like, people are really afraid, and they have a right to be, you know. Just on our campus, we have ICE agents staying just a few streets away here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's surreal and it's scary, and it hits you a lot more personally than you would expect it to, you know, but I think, on the other hand, it's also something that all, like the community response has been very, very energizing to see. I'm disgusted by what's happening. I'm disgusted by what ICE is doing. But I'm fired up and I'm ready to get involved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Joining me now live from Minneapolis is Jason DeRusha, a journalist, radio talk show host there, who has been giving us perspective from the ground through all of this.
Jason, welcome back to THE STORY IS.
JASON DERUSHA, JOURNALIST AND RADIO HOST: Thanks, Elex.
Does it feel today, with Bovino moving out, with Trump actually talking to Walz and Frey, like maybe the fever is breaking a bit?
DERUSHA: Cautious optimism about that, right? We've heard a lot of words and it's going to be about action at this point. But let's be real. What a day of at least activity on the political front. I think a lot of us are saying like, why weren't these conversations happening at the beginning of this instead of having two people whose lives have been lost in this? And frankly, an entire governmental agency whose credibility is now, I would say, in the toilet after what happened this weekend.
MICHAELSON: Because it's been interesting. We know that the liberals have been against President Trump, and we know that he not only doesn't seem to really care about that, but in some ways delights in that. But it seemed like this weekend some of his own folks, even some of his own folks in law enforcement, were saying that was a bad shoot. Something is wrong here.
DERUSHA: Yes, yes. And obviously each shooting that involves a law enforcement agent or an officer, you can get in the weeds on the exact details, the legality, on and on and on. But when they come out afterwards and tell you that Alex Pretti was intent on, you know, maximum destruction like he was some sort of monster, outrageous, outrageous. And today in Minnesota, the Chiefs of Police Association asked for a meeting with the White House, and then having these conversations finally with the governor.
We also had here a number of Republican elected officials who are very supportive of the president say we need ICE to either pause or get out, period. And that is quite a change. That is new this weekend.
MICHAELSON: So talk about how much of an impact this has had. I mean, you can't really put the Genie back in the bottle, but how do you go forward in terms of the folks in Minneapolis to find some healing and to move forward and get out of this crisis state?
DERUSHA: You know, I will say, the way that the people here have acted, obviously, the most dramatic visuals of this are sort of the tense interactions, the people following ICE and yelling at ICE and all of that. But on Friday, we had tens of thousands of people very peacefully marching through the streets of Minneapolis on an afternoon that it was 20 below zero. I think we've seen a type of protest here that was forceful but also peaceful.
So it's very different from when we had a burned down city and destroyed businesses after George Floyd's murder. This is very, very different. So I don't know that the healing is going to have to be between the state and the federal government. That is a new dynamic. But I do think the people here are ready to get back to business.
MICHAELSON: And based off of what we're seeing late tonight, that protest may have been effective and may be an inflection point in this whole national conversation about immigration.
Jason DeRusha, thank you so much for joining us live from Minneapolis. Really appreciate your perspective.
DERUSHA: Thanks, Elex.
MICHAELSON: After this second fatal shooting in Minneapolis, the clock is ticking for Congress to avoid a partial government shutdown as we look live at Capitol Hill at 12:09 a.m. there. Democrats agreed to end last year's shutdown when Republicans promised to consider extending important health care subsidies. But now the holdup is a bill funding the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer says his party will not provide the votes to pass a package of six appropriation bills unless DHS funding is separated.
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Schumer says it is, quote, "woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE." The White House is against separating that funding. The deadline, by the way, to pass any new legislation is Friday. Let's talk weather now. More than 200 million people are under alerts
for extreme cold now gripping every state east of the Rockies. The arctic blast coming in the wake of a monster winter storm that's left behind ice, snow and major power problems.
You're looking now at New York's Times Square, where it is currently 16 degrees Fahrenheit, and the normally bustling even after midnight shot looks very, very quiet. The city there expected to stay below freezing for at least the next 10 days, something that has never ever happened before.
Already the brutal cold has sent record daily lows in the Plains. More records expected in the south and east as the cold stretches through the week. There's been more than 15 deaths reported across several states, including Texas. Some have been attributed to hypothermia, others from shoveling snow. Damage caused by ice in Mississippi and Tennessee is being described as devastating.
Right now more than 550,000 customers in several states are without power.
Michael Yoshida joins me now from the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Michael, what -- first off, thank you for being with us. We feel for you being stuck outside. What is the latest on the flight disruptions in the U.S. right now?
MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Elex. Yes, it's cold here, obviously. Thankfully not snowing, but we continue to see those flight disruptions. Here in D.C. Reagan National, we saw I think about 45 percent or so flights canceled again today. You look across the country, those impacts spread out as well, particularly in the northeast where we saw a lot of all of this snow and ice falling, coating the ground.
We know when we look in the Boston area, we saw, I think it was around two-thirds, a little bit less of flights canceled there today. You look in the New York area, you're talking JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, the others, a little under 50 percent at points throughout the day where we're having flights canceled. It's obviously a big issue for those trying to travel following this storm.
The airline saying one of the big problems, those planes, those crews, they're out of position as a result of all of the delays and cancellations from throughout the weekend as a result of this storm and now saying it's going to take a little bit of time to get caught up with everything. So hopefully now that the snow has stopped falling here, obviously we still have to deal with some of the ice and the cool weather, but hopefully they can get caught up and get travel back and running for many who need it across the country.
MICHAELSON: Obviously we're looking at the Capitol behind you. You're at the heart of the federal government right there. How is the storm impacted the work of the federal government? YOSHIDA: Yes, well, the big thing, and when we talk about you
mentioned the Capitol there, here in D.C. you can see we have piles of snow and ice, obviously making travel difficult. We've had the federal offices, buildings. They've been closed today. Going to be closed again tomorrow. As for all of the work that usually goes on in that building behind me, we know the House was out of session when the storm hit, but the Senate, they were set for a very busy week.
Obviously we have try and get some spending bills passed before that potential partial government shutdown option potentially happening later this week. They were supposed to have some work and some votes in there today. That got pushed until tomorrow as a result of this storm. So we'll see how things shake out. Again, we just talked about those travel issues in terms of getting everyone here, getting the work done as the week moves forward.
MICHAELSON: Michael Yoshida, thank you so much for joining us. I feel for you. An open invite if you ever want to join us in sunny Southern California.
YOSHIDA: I will definitely take you up on that. Thanks.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got you, bubba. You OK, bud?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't (EXPLETIVE DELETED) him under. Come on, bubba.
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MICHAELSON: A bit of good news in the midst of this punishing winter storm, the St. Louis Fire Department rescued a dog that had fallen through ice. They deployed their Marine Rescue Team, who braved single-digit temps to paddle a dinghy out to the stranded dog. The cold canine pulled from the frigid water, taken to safety. Department says the pup is doing well and expects to make a full recovery.
Still to come, Derek Fisher joins us live to talk about the death of Kobe Bryant. But up next, the circle is closed. That message from the Israeli president after the body of the last hostage was recovered from Gaza. What this means for the ceasefire. That's next.
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Plus, the price of gold hits a record high. We'll break down the numbers on how its value has skyrocketed in the past year. And later, we take you to Dubai, where elite wingsuit fliers zip through the world's tallest hotel at draw-dropping speeds.
We got a little bit of everything tonight here on THE STORY IS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: For the first time since 2014, there are no Israeli hostages dead or alive in Gaza. The Israeli military announced that the remains of the final hostage have been recovered. The police officer's body was taken into Gaza after he was killed in October 7th attacks. He was 24. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of first sergeant.
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Hamas says the return proves its, quote, "complete commitment to phase one of the ceasefire deal," and called on Israel to fulfill its obligations. Israel had agreed to reopen the Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt when all the hostages were returned. The prime minister's office now says the crossing will be for pedestrians only, not for goods or humanitarian aid, and it's not clear when that will even open.
The U.S. Military is fortifying its position in case of a potential strike on Iran. Sources tell CNN the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group is now in the Indian Ocean. President Trump has threatened military actions over Tehran's crackdown on anti-government protesters. Rights groups report at least 5500 have been killed, with an additional 17,000 deaths still being reviewed. Allies are urging the U.S. not to strike.
NATO secretary general is painting a bleak picture for the future if the U.S. decided to leave the military alliance. He says member nations would need to increase defense spending to 10 percent of their GDP and invest billions building up their nuclear capability.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK RUTTE, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: So when President Trump is doing good stuff, I will praise him. And I don't mind him publishing text messages. And if anyone thinks here again that the European Union or Europe as a whole can defend itself without the U.S., keep on dreaming. You can't, we can't. We need each other.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The NATO chief encouraged the U.S., Denmark and Greenland to continue negotiating over Greenland's future.
Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, says she has had enough of Washington's orders. She made those comments at an event for oil workers amid pressure from the U.S. to resume oil production. Rodriguez, who had been serving as Nicolas Maduro's deputy until his capture, has been walking a tightrope to keep the White House and Maduro loyalists happy. Trump had previously claimed the U.S. was going to run Venezuela following Maduro's ouster, but later endorsed Rodriguez as the country's interim leader.
Now to a shocking shakeup in the upper echelons of the Chinese military. Its top general under investigation for serious violations of discipline.
CNN's Will Ripley reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The stunning fall of Chinas most powerful general, Zhang Youxia, battle- tested survivor and longtime lieutenant to President Xi Jinping, seen by many as untouchable. Until this.
A 30-second shock announcement from China's Defense Ministry. Zhang is suspected of leaking information to the U.S., allegedly revealing secrets of China's nuclear weapons program, the "Wall Street Journal's" Lingling Wei reports, citing a high level Chinese military briefing.
LINGLING WEI, WSJ CHIEF CHINA CORRESPONDENT: Our reporting only shows that such a briefing happened and the leaking state secrets was one of the allegations that was disclosed during the briefing. We haven't been able to really verify any of those allegations.
RIPLEY: Why would a Chinese general leak such sensitive information to the United States, if indeed that happened?
WEI: There are all kinds of speculations. There has been a track record of the party, you know, drumming up charges against people they wanted to take down.
RIPLEY (voice-over): General Zhang, second in command of the People's Liberation Army, behind only Xi himself, purged and accused of corruption, along with the PLA's top operational commander, Liu Jun Li. Zhang and his boss share an elite upbringing. Two sons of communist revolutionaries, making this purge earth shattering.
Chinese state media accuses Zhang and Liu of undermining Xi's ultimate authority over the military. China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, likely seeking an unprecedented fourth term next year, turning on lifelong allies and hand-picked proteges.
JONATHAN CZIN, FORMER CIA OFFICER: This really demonstrates nobody in that system is safe, truly.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Former CIA officer Jonathan Czin spent years analyzing China's military.
CZIN: Getting rid of somebody he's known for so long and talking about him violating the chairman responsibility system does make me wonder, is he starting to veer more into kind of a paranoid or dictator mode?
RIPLEY (voice-over): The lack of clear answers is fueling intense online speculation. Inside China government censors only allow comments supporting the investigation. Outside China, unverified rumors of a shootout between security teams loyal to Zhang and Xi. There is no evidence those claims are real.
CZIN: I think this is more reflective of the information vacuum inside the system.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Zhang now joins a long list, more than 20 senior military leaders removed since 2022. CZIN: Xi has somehow concluded that the rot is so deep in the PLA and
the mismanagement is so gross at the top that he needs to clean house with an entire generation of leaders.
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RIPLEY: What happens to people when they're purged?
CZIN: They come out, they look gray. They look gaunt. They look haggard. It's pretty rough.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Imprisonment is common. Execution still legally possible. In Xi Jinping's China, power offers no protection from the chairman's purge.
Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: President Trump says he is raising tariffs on South Korean goods from 15 percent to 25 percent. In a Truth Social post, he claims South Korea is not living up to a trade deal reached in July. This will impact imports of lumber, cars, tech and pharmaceuticals from the country. South Korea's presidential office says it received no formal notice or explanation of the details, and that its trade minister will travel to Washington for talks.
Global trade tensions have sent gold prices soaring to record highs. They topped $5,000 an ounce for the first time late Sunday. Experts say gold is seen as a safe haven in times of market uncertainty. Gold prices have already jumped 15 percent this year. That follows last year's record breaking performance when prices shot up 65 percent, the largest annual gain since back in 1979.
Well, it has been six years since Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash. Just ahead, we'll remember the NBA legend with a former Lakers teammate who won five championships with Kobe. Derek Fisher is standing by live right now. He will join us with some incredible, inspiring, funny, remarkable stories, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: Welcome back to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at today's top stories.
[00:31:31]
The Trump administration is changing its immigration enforcement leadership in Minneapolis. Top Border Patrol official Greg Bovino will be departing the city Tuesday following the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti over the weekend.
White House border czar Tom Homan is expected to manage ICE operations in Minneapolis moving forward. French lawmakers will have passed a -- have now passed a bill that
would ban kids under 15 from using social media. It's backed by the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, who says it would help protect children's mental health by limiting screen time. The bill now heads to the Senate.
If enacted, France would become the second country, after Australia, to implement this type of ban. California, looking at this type of ban.
U.S. flight cancellations are expected to return to near normal levels Tuesday after a winter storm brought widespread travel disruptions.
Thousands of flights were canceled for a second day on Monday, following a monster storm that brought ice and at least a foot of snow to more than a dozen states.
More than 550,000 customers still without power right now.
Well, today marks six years exactly since Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others lost their lives in a helicopter crash here in Southern California.
Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant started in the NBA together in 1996. They won five championships together as teammates. Derek is now an analyst for "The NBA on NBC" and head coach at Crespi Carmelite High School. Derek joins us live here on set.
Welcome to THE STORY IS for the first time.
DEREK FISHER, FORMER TEAMMATE OF KOBE BRYANT: Thanks, Elex.
MICHAELSON: Thank you for coming in. And can you believe it's been six years?
FISHER: I cannot. There are days, you know, I know it's real. And then there are days where it feels like there are pieces of him that are still here. So, it's always strange when we get to this date each year.
MICHAELSON: And you spent more seasons with him than anybody. So, let's go back to the rookie year, 1996. You had graduated college. Kobe came in as a 17-year-old, one of the youngest players in NBA history. And you describe him in that period kind of like a robot?
FISHER: Yes. I mean --
MICHAELSON: How so?
FISHER: I -- I couldn't fathom being a high school kid and being in the NBA six months later. And so, when I say robot, it was -- it was he was programmed. He had already programmed himself to want to be one of the greatest basketball players to ever touch the ball. He knew that about himself from day one.
And that is -- it's not a normal mindset. Most of us, when we start something new, we're trying to learn and figure some things out along the way before we decide we can be the greatest at it. He made that decision at a very early point.
MICHAELSON: And did that rub some teammates the wrong way early on?
FISHER: At times it rubbed us all the wrong way, because when you're on a team, right, part of it is, yes, you have great aspirations and goals for yourself, but they have to fit in with the team construct and what the goals and objectives of the group are.
And sometimes, when a person is so driven individually, those things don't always align.
But over time, I think everyone got to a point where they could appreciate that laser focus and commitment to being the greatest is also what elevated many of his teams to being some of the best in the world.
MICHAELSON: I mean, was he the most ambitious player you ever played with?
FISHER: Yes. And I'll say yes knowingly.
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MICHAELSON: Yes.
FISHER: I've played with some great players that maybe didn't wear it on their sleeve the way he did.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
FISHER: But he wore it on his sleeve, and he wanted people to know he was that ambitious, that he wanted to be that great. He was comfortable handling the adversity and the struggles that came with wanting to be that great. And it's something that inspired and motivated us on a daily basis.
MICHAELSON: So, you guys win three titles: you, Shaq, Kobe, that whole crew. And then in 2004, there was sort of a weird ending to the season with Karl Malone and Gary Payton. And that team breaks up.
FISHER: Yes.
MICHAELSON: And Kobe stays, and kind of everybody else goes away. And that was not easy for him, right?
FISHER: It was not. I was in Golden State for two years, and then a third year with the Utah Jazz. And during those three years, that was our first time not being on the same NBA team together.
So, we would talk and text and connect over the phone more than we ever had as teammates, because as teammates, we could always talk in the locker room, on the bus, on the court --
MICHAELSON: Yes. FISHER: -- at the hotel, on the plane. And so, that was replaced by distance. And it forced us to communicate and connect in different ways.
And he really struggled with not just the losing, how they were losing, but -- but being on a team that he didn't really feel like everyone was willing to exhaust themselves to be as great as he wanted them to be.
MICHAELSON: Because now, he's the man. Shaq's off the team.
FISHER: Right.
MICHAELSON: It's all about him. And then you go back on the team. They acquire Pau Gasol, and you guys win two more titles together.
Describe sort of the monkey that came off of his back on that first championship without Shaq.
FISHER: Yes. I mean, I think he was really driven by wanting to prove, not even necessarily to other people, but to himself, that he could be the leader of a championship caliber team.
Shaquille O'Neal is a big set of shoulders, and we all got on his back for years. And now Kobe's shoulders had to be the one that could carry us over the top.
He relished the opportunity. He wanted it badly, but it took losing to the Celtics in 2008 to also learn how to become a better leader on a championship-caliber team.
MICHAELSON: We were just looking at some pictures from 2008, as well, which was the Olympic team in 2008, which was called the Redeem Team. That was because USA had lost in the Olympics before Kobe.
There was teammates with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade and Dwight Howard and Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony and Jason Kidd and -- and Anthony Davis and other folks.
And he was kind of the big dog at that point. He'd been doing this for a while, and he was a mentor to all these guys. How did that, you think, change the NBA? Because he -- he because he changed all of them.
FISHER: I mean, I think, you know, getting -- getting a chance to see him on a daily basis is unlike anything you can describe. And all those guys on that Redeem Team had played against him for many years. They'd seen him at the all-star game for many years, but they hadn't really seen him on a daily basis.
And -- and I believe that redeem team experience for many of those superstar players impacted how they viewed their own work ethic mindset, commitment to winning.
He sold out for the gold medal. Even so much, he was willing to destroy his own Lakers teammate, Pau Gasol, to win the gold medal. And that was something that inspired that group to win the Olympics that year. And he left a lasting legacy on that group of players.
They were already great players. But you think about the guys on that team, and what they were able to accomplish, post-2008, was pretty remarkable, as well.
MICHAELSON: And you think about his impact on the league today still, and not just the league, but how many people are now named Kobe that are professional athletes. You see in football and all these other sports, as well.
So, around that time, that's when Kobe was a young father. And you guys were traveling together and he said something that left an impact on you. You're sitting on a plane -- you, Kobe, Phil Jackson's nearby. What did Kobe say to you?
FISHER: We were just having a conversation about, you know, life and choices and decisions. And, you know, we talked about many things, whether it be NFL football and his love for the Eagles. And at that time, my love for the Cowboys. That's for another day. And we talked about Jay-Z music lyrics.
And -- and we also talked a lot about just kids. And he was a girl dad. I was a girl dad. And I asked him a question about how he's viewing, you know, his life, his career, his business.
And he started -- he started a statement, and he stopped. And he said, you know what? I'll just say it like this. I had to start thinking that, like, how is this decision going to impact my daughters 20 years from now?
And in a split second, you get it. Like when you hear a father say that it's easy to understand and relate to, regardless of whether you're in the NBA or not.
[00:40:09]
And it was a pretty profound moment of just kind of sharing and vulnerability and a -- and a look into how his heart was on the inside, around his girls, his family and his wife.
MICHAELSON: How do you think fatherhood changed him?
FISHER: I mean, anybody that has girls, you're changed forever. I know. No matter how tough you are or where you're from --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
FISHER: -- your daughters change you forever. And I think for Kobe, he learned -- like, the male ego is a very, very crazy thing.
MICHAELSON: Yes, indeed. Especially his.
FISHER: It is a crazy thing.
MICHAELSON: Yes. FISHER: And a daughter helps you learn how to love unconditionally in
ways that other things just don't quite teach you. And I thought it helped him come outside of his own experience and start to think about how his decisions impact other people.
It's not just about me, but how does every decision I make impact other people around me? And I think his daughters really helped bring that message home for him and made him a better person, a better father, a better husband, a better teammate, and he was able to lead his team to victory.
MICHAELSON: What is the Mamba Mentality, and what are -- what do you think is the leadership lessons that we all can learn from Kobe's life, regardless of if we're playing basketball?
FISHER: Yes, it's the Mamba Mentality to me is not this -- we -- it deserves to be as big as it is, but it's very basic. It's all possible if you truly want it and you're willing to do the work for it. That's all it is.
We can dress it up and, you know, Vanessa released a book recently like it. It deserves the look that it gets.
But it's very simple. Kobe was a human being, just like the rest of us. And he decided, through his mindset, that he was going to outwork, out-train, be more disciplined, be more committed to his craft than others. He was going to master his job in a way that other people weren't willing to do as well.
And that's -- that mentality, he coined it, but it's not owned by him. And I think that's what's so remarkable about it, is that we're all capable of having it. It's just a choice of whether or not we're willing to put the work in.
MICHAELSON: And lastly, real quickly. At the end, towards the end, did you think that he was the happiest you'd ever seen him being a father? And he seemed like he was in a different place, right?
FISHER: Yes. I never saw him coaching his girls in basketball. I -- he was -- he was more patient than most people thought, but I didn't foresee him coaching his girls in club team basketball.
And so, when I saw the joy in how he was doing it and how serious he was taking it, and the way he was balancing his professional aspirations. He wanted to be just as great in other things outside of basketball also.
Another thing profound that he said, was if -- if he's only remembered as one of the greatest basketball players to ever play the game, he didn't live his life fully. And so, what he was doing after basketball, it -- to me, it looked like it was more gratifying and satisfying to him and fulfilling than even some of the great moments he had on the court.
MICHAELSON: Derek, thank you so much for sharing these memories. It's really inspiring to hear from you. And as a lifelong Laker fan, thank you for all the joy that you've brought to so many of us, as well.
FISHER: I appreciate it.
MICHAELSON: It really, really means a lot.
FISHER: Thank you for having me on the show.
MICHAELSON: And we're thinking of Kobe and his family and sending them love tonight, as well.
FISHER: Always.
MICHAELSON: And you can check Derek out on "The NBA on NBC." You're doing a great job there, as well.
FISHER: Thanks.
MICHAELSON: We'll be right back with more right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:48:30]
(BEGIN VIEO CLIP)
DR. DMITRI DREKONJA, FORMER COLLEAGUE OF ALEX PRETTI: He was a great guy. And I think the best way I've found to describe him is that he's someone that, within the first 30 seconds or 60 seconds of talking to him, there would be a smile on his face and there would be a joke out of his mouth. He was just a happy guy and a helpful guy.
He was always looking to see what can I do? He was just -- yes, that was a happy, helpful guy.
You would be thrilled if he was your neighbor. You would be thrilled if he was your coworker. And I was thrilled he was my coworker.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: That was Dr. Dmitri Drekonja, a former colleague of Alex Pretti. He was the second U.S. citizen to be shot and killed by federal law enforcement agents in Minneapolis in less than a month.
CNN's Sara Sidner has more about Pretti's life from those who knew and loved him.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thirty-seven-year-old Alex Pretti was an ICU nurse. His job involved treating critically ill patients at the Minneapolis Veterans Medical Center.
ALEX PRETTI, ICU NURSE KILLED BY ICE: May we never forget and always remember our brothers and sisters who have served so that we may enjoy the gift of freedom.
SIDNER (voice-over): That's him, giving tribute to a veteran who died.
A chaplain who worked alongside him for ten years at the V.A. Hospital, spoke of him in a Sunday service.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was known for his kindness and gentleness.
SIDNER (voice-over): Border Patrol agents shot Pretti multiple times, his body slumping dead on the pavement on Saturday. Friends say, and video shows, he was trying to protect a woman agents were shoving as Border Patrol agents came to the neighborhood hunting someone else.
[00:50:01]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely he was standing up for someone.
SIDNER (voice-over): Pretti's friends and neighbors say he began protesting ICE actions after an ICE agent killed Renee Good during her encounter with ICE.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Alex that I want the world to remember was out on the streets yesterday with 50,000 people on general strike in a mass nonviolent protest.
SIDNER (voice-over): Pretti grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He was a Boy Scout, sang in the Green Bay Boys Choir and played football, baseball, and ran track at Preble High School.
PATRICK STUMBRAS, FORMER CLASSMATE OF ALEX PRETTI: A lot of people had a lot of respect for him. An attack on Alex feels like an attack on all of us.
SIDNER (voice-over): His former high school classmate described him as someone with a zest for life.
STUMBRAS: I don't have words to describe the amount of rage that I have when he's described as a domestic terrorist, but he was there to help people. He was there to -- to -- to spread a message of warmth and love in this -- in this country.
SIDNER (voice-over): He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2011 with a degree in Biology, Society, and the Environment. He was a research scientist before he became a registered nurse.
He was an outdoorsman who also loved the theater and the arts.
His parents released a statement describing their son. "Alex," they said, "was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends, and also the American veterans whom he cared for. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact."
A former teacher recalled, he was a good student who loved helping people: "I'm not one bit surprised that his final act on this Earth was to help a woman who had been viciously thrown to the ground."
CHRISTOPHER DISALVI, FRIEND OF ALEX PRETTI: This is a guy who was trying to serve others, too. He was genuine. He was kind. He was friendly to everybody that I know.
SIDNER: There are no shortage of people who want to talk about Alex Pretti and the person that he was. Over and over again, the anger growing because of how the government, the federal government, in particular, is talking about him. People here saying they are doing everything they can to slander a good man's name.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Our thanks to Sara Sidner for that report from Minneapolis.
Still ahead at the top of the hour, we'll take a closer look at the upcoming departure of ICE official Greg Bovino from Minneapolis as the legality of his actions come under scrutiny. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:57:06]
MICHAELSON: You have got to see this groundbreaking aerial stunt around the world's tallest hotel from five elite athletes in Dubai. CNN's Bijan Hosseini caught up with these daredevils. Check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BIJAN HOSSEINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is 6 a.m., and we just arrived to Skydive Dubai, where inside, there are five of some of the bravest people in the city.
And they're attempting to do one of the most precise and craziest stunts ever performed in Dubai. They're planning to fly through this hole at the top of the world's tallest hotel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, in the next five minutes, I reckon we should start gearing up.
HOSSEINI: You've done some crazy stunts here in Dubai. You've base jumped off the Burj. You've flown through buildings before. How does this compare to your past jumps?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, they're all different. They're all unique, I guess. This one is cool, because it's, like, right here. And as we saw the building getting built, we saw that this hole was appearing. And it was like, man, we have to fly through that.
SIMON WHITTLE, PROFESSIONAL SKYDIVER: We've been talking about this for months and months. We've all been wingsuiting for years to get up to the kind of level where this is achievable.
So, you could say our preparation started five, ten years ago. I've been jumping for 20 years.
But yes, as the date comes closer, you do more and more practice jumps. And we've probably put in at least 40 or 50 specific practice jumps for this situation. Lots of talking, lots of planning.
HOSSEINI: All right. So, they've just taken off. They're going to head to about 6,000 feet. It should take them around ten minutes. And then we'll see them jump out. And they'll thread the needle.
How do you prepare a jump like this mentally and physically?
Well, the preparation started years and years ago. Obviously, I've been skydiving for, like, 20 years. I've been base jumping for 9 or 10 years.
So, for the approach, we're just trying to fly it smooth and controlled, so that the team can fly together. And we practiced that a few times just from skydiving. So, jumping out the plane up high, we get together, we fly, we kind of simulate how many seconds we' re going to fly straight when the turn comes, when the dive at the building comes, just so that that's second nature. Pretty much.
HOSSEINI: Nick just dived down. He's about to go through. And there they go. My gosh! Oh, my!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was cool. It was a flying through the glass. You know, having the -- the reflection. It's like flying through a narcissistic funhouse. So, it was great for us.
HOSSEINI: How many jumps have you done.?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Skydives, over 20,000. And probably about 3,000 base jumps.
HOSSEINI: Does it ever -- does it ever get boring? Does it lose that feeling of --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. We don't get to fly through a building every day. So, no.
HOSSEINI: How do you top this one?
WHITTLE: Well, I'm not sure, to be honest. I mean, Skydive (ph) Dubai always comes up with cool stuff, so let's see. But this is definitely one of the highlights so far for me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Wow! That is so wild.
