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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Representative Ilhan Omar Attacked at Town Hall; Tom Homan Now in Minnesota to Manage ICE Operations; Winter Storm Causes Air Travel Delays and Cancellations; Iran Sends Defiant Message as Tensions with U.S. Simmer; U.S. Consumer Confidence Hits Lowest Level Since 2014; Jury Selection Underway in Landmark Social Media Trial; NTSB: Fatal D.C. Crash Didn't Have to Happen; How a Network of Minnesotans are Observing ICE Operations. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired January 28, 2026 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:00]
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Biting my tongue, thinking, stick with the stats, Laura, but you know I'm all over that story thinking, what's the real issue here? There's been some bad press about him lately. Is that -- and by the way, that's been a bigger issue for people than, like, the deflategate. Sorry, John Berman. Somewhere he's awake right now yelling at me for even mentioning it. I'm so sorry.
You know what? I better change my tune. Have a great show, Elex. John Berman is going to call me and yell.
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much, Laura. We won't be talking about deflated balls on THE STORY IS, which starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: THE STORY IS attack on a congressman. Substances thrown at Ilhan Omar in the middle of a town hall. CNN's Sara Sidner was there and spoke to her exclusively.
THE STORY IS President Trump shakes up his team and talks de- escalation in Minnesota. CNN's Ron Brownstein is here live to explain how this is a game changer for immigration.
And THE STORY IS social media. The biggest names in tech now on trial here in L.A. in an unprecedented case. CNN's Clare Duffy was in the courtroom today, and is with us on set tonight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar there, attacked while speaking at a town hall event in Minneapolis Tuesday night. In the video, seconds after Omar calls on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to resign, a man approaches her, sprays an unknown liquid on her with a syringe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ILHAN OMAR (D-MN): Kristi Noem must resign or face impeachment.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED). What is that?
OMAR: I don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: CNN's Sara Sidner was at that town hall. She saw all this happen.
Sara, what did it look like from your perspective?
SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Look, there was a lot of fear initially. People couldn't figure out what happened. He was towards the very front of all of the rows of people who had come to the town hall, which, by the way, she has monthly. We are in north Minneapolis. She had it at the Urban League, and as soon as he sort of jumped up and came towards her.
It was interesting to note that as he went around the side, he had what looked like a syringe in his hand, some sort of liquid he sprayed out of it, and you could immediately smell it. It smelled kind of like vinegar, a vinegary substance. We still don't know exactly what was in that syringe. An investigation we now know is underway. But after he did that, Ilhan Omar herself, the congresswoman, went for him.
She cocked her arm back and it looked like she was going to lunge toward him. But before she had a chance to do that, her own security detail jumping on him, taking him to the ground, eventually wrestling his arms behind his back and taking him out of the vicinity so that he could be brought in by police.
Ilhan Omar herself looked over. They were telling her security detail. I watched them talking to her, saying, we need you to stop. We are concerned about what this is. We don't want you to continue. She says, no, I'm going to continue. I will not let anyone intimidate me. And she stood in front of the crowd that was still there, who clapped for her as she continued talking about the situation here when it comes to immigration. But, yes, I mean, there was a lot of concern and there was fear among her staff about whether or not she was going to be OK -- Elex.
MICHAELSON: Well, and then right after that, she spoke exclusively with you, Sara. What did she say?
SIDNER: Yes, I just happened to pull my cell phone out after our photographer, Jerry Simonson, was focused on the person who was wrestled to the ground and being taken out, and I asked her if simply if she was OK. And here's how she responded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: Representative Omar, are you OK?
OMAR: You know, I'm going to go figure if I am, but I feel OK. I feel that it is important for people, whether they are in elected office or not, to allow these people to intimidate us, to make us not fight for our constituents and for the country we love. And as I said, you know, I've survived war. And I'm definitely going to survive intimidation and whatever these people think they can throw at me because I'm built that way.
SIDNER: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: I'm built that way. Her last words there as she went to the back, where she eventually began getting checked by medical staff. But yes, this was a moment that did freak everyone out in the room, considering that just like many other members of Congress, Ilhan Omar has gotten threats. She's gotten death threats. But her staff tells me this is the first time that she's ever faced any kind of attack inside her own town halls, which she has regularly.
[00:05:07]
Like I said, once a month here, and we are standing here in north Minneapolis, where her constituents came to listen to what she had to say. And she was very pointed about what she feels is going on in her own community, and very clear that she wants ICE out. She wants Kristi Noem out. And she wants ICE to leave this community because she says it is just breaking her community apart -- Elex.
MICHAELSON: Well, and that suspect is now out. He is facing third- degree assault charges at this point.
Sara Sidner, who has been working tirelessly on this story, doing incredible reporting. We're grateful to have you on THE STORY IS for the first time. Wish it was under better circumstances, but always a pleasure to talk with you. Thanks so much for being with us.
SIDNER: You're doing a great job. Thank you, Elex.
MICHAELSON: That's very kind, Sara. Thank you.
That Omar incident comes the same day that border czar Tom Homan arrived in Minnesota to take over ICE operations. President Trump is saying he plans to de-escalate the situation in Minnesota as the White House tries to distance itself from DHS claims about the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're doing a big investigation. I want to see the investigation. I'm going to be watching over it. I want to very honorable and honest investigation. I have to see it myself.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MICHAELSON: Homan met with the governor of Minnesota, as well as the mayor of Minneapolis and the city's police chief. He says while they don't agree on everything, the talks were a productive starting point. The governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, spoke exclusively tonight with CNN's Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TIM WALZ (D), MINNESOTA: I'm not interested in a more efficient metro surge. I'm ready for them to get out of here. And I think that's where Minnesotans are talking about. So it was -- it was progress. Look, I never got a call from Bovino or Noem. Nothing. No, nothing, when they're coming here. And Tom Homan landed last night and he called me last night and asked if he could have a meeting, and he was there at 9:00.
So, look, I think it's -- that's progress. But they started this fire. So we're not giving anybody credit for putting it out. But right now, what we need is we need a return to normalcy by these ICE agents out of here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Walz did say that he felt like Homan acted like a professional in a way that Bovino never did.
A live picture right now from Capitol Hill, where it's just after midnight. A growing number of Republicans are calling for an impartial investigation into Alex Pretti shooting. Senate majority leader John Thune now among them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): The death of Alex Pretti was a tragedy and there should be a full and impartial investigation into the shooting. I'm glad that the president is sending Tom Homan to Minnesota, and I hope that his arrival will help restore order to the situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Several other GOP lawmakers also in support of a full investigation into the incident. Some senators, including Thom Tillis, are voicing sharp criticism against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Trump aide Stephen Miller over their handling of the fallout. Remember, Tillis is retiring, so he does not have to face a Republican primary ever again. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Senator, do you have confidence in Secretary Noem?
SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): None at all.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But do you think Noem should step down? TILLIS: I think Noem needs to decide what -- I mean, I think if Noem
looks at her body of work, I could not be, if I were in her position, I can't think of any point of pride over the last year. She's got to make her own decisions. The president does. But she is taking this administration into the ground on an issue that we should own.
Stephen Miller never fails to live up to my expectations of incompetence. I can tell you, if I were president, neither one of them would be in Washington right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: That's again, he's on his way out of Washington.
Now this comes as CNN is also learning new details about the shooting of Alex Pretti. A warning, the video you're about to see is disturbing. An initial DHS report claims that two officers fired their weapons during the incident over the weekend. It remains unclear if bullets from both guns actually hit Pretti.
Joining me now for all on this is CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein, joining me live here in Los Angeles.
Ron, welcome back to THE STORY IS. When we last spoke last week, you mentioned the fact that the nation's tolerance for killing white people.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Middle class, middle aged, white people was probably a lot lower than Stephen Miller would predict or prefer. That was the -- what I wrote in mid-January. And I think it is -- it has been, you know, borne out.
MICHAELSON: I mean, talk about this as an inflection point because it is clear that Donald Trump has dramatically changed at least the optics of this.
BROWNSTEIN: With Tom. Well, I think also, you know, I think that, look, they envisioned, I think, a kind of a sequential march through blue cities.
[00:10:01]
I mean, Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, Oregon, Charlotte, North Carolina, Minneapolis, where they would undertake this kind of highly militarized immigration enforcement, which was designed not only to address undocumented immigrants, but also to send a message, I think, to blue cities and blue states about the imposition of federal force.
MICHAELSON: And to encourage people to self-deport.
BROWNSTEIN: And to -- right.
MICHAELSON: To say, you should get out of here. Part of the scariness is the point.
BROWNSTEIN: And I think the evidence is that, as I said last time we were here, that the cost of this approach was rapidly exceeding the benefits to the point where it was hard to imagine them extending it to a scale that would be required to deal with the magnitude of the problem. Don't forget, they've probably arrested somewhere around 350,000, 400,000 people.
There are 14 million undocumented immigrants. After this, look, Trump has not backed down entirely. There's still a lot going on in Minneapolis even today. But I just question if it's really plausible to imagine that after this, they're going to send 3,000 agents into the streets in San Jose, in Boston, Seattle, Columbus, much less New York City, like they have basically exposed I think here that this is not a viable path to dealing with the problem they have set out.
I think this is Stephen Miller's Stalingrad. I really do.
MICHAELSON: And of course, that's a reference for people in World War II, which was --
BROWNSTEIN: In World War II, where Hitler's army was stopped.
MICHAELSON: Right.
BROWNSTEIN: They didn't lose the war, but they lost the ability to keep progressing. And it really was the inflection point ultimately.
MICHAELSON: So when we talked last week, I brought up the fact that maybe Stephen Miller would be out of a job at some point. You seem skeptical of that. We have now seen clearly a demotion of Kristi Noem.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Bringing in Tom Homan. Her and Tom Homan are not close. And that is a win for him and a loss for her.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Greg Bovino out. He was the guy running it. They took away his social media accounts because they literally wanted him to shut up.
Do you think it's possible that if Donald Trump no longer sees Stephen Miller as useful, and that he is so bringing down Donald Trump's poll numbers and his power, that even Stephen Miller, who is the architect of all of this, could be on his way out, too?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, look, we've learned that loyalty, you know, from Donald Trump is a one way street. It's hard to envision permanent alliances between him and anyone whose last name is not Trump. And even that, as you note, might be a little questionable. Stephen Miller is the walking id of the MAGA movement, particularly in its focus on the racial characteristic of the country.
I mean, you know, when you talk about the core of Trump's coalition, it is voters who are the most uneasy with the way the country is changing demographically, culturally and socially. I mean, you have seen tweets from Stephen Miller and from Donald Trump that go beyond even the question of legal and undocumented. Trump has tweeted about all foreign born Americans. Essentially, there are too many.
You know, we are at an all-time high as a share of the population. So, yes, I think anything is possible if your last name isn't Trump. But Lindsey Graham said tonight he's going to be -- Stephen Miller will be the last person out of the White House with Donald Trump. And I would still bet on that because Stephen Miller is the personification of the emotions and the animosities that drive his movement.
MICHAELSON: And Stephen Miller has wanted to do this since he grew up as a high schooler in Santa Monica. Deeply liberal, talking about a lot of these things even decades ago.
Interesting. President Trump and many of the folks in his administration talked about guns in a way that the NRA has never talked about guns. This is a party that often says the only way to deal with a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. Alex Pretti showed up to this event with a gun, which was legal, allowed to do. Had a permit to do.
BROWNSTEIN: Right. Right.
MICHAELSON: Here's what President Trump said today.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You can't have guns. You can't walk in with guns. You just can't.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What about the Second Amendment?
TRUMP: You can't walk in with guns. You can't do that. It's just a very unfortunate incident.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Of course, we know that there have been several rallies with conservatives and protests where they had guns. You know, Kyle Rittenhouse showed up with a gun, turned into a hero. January 6th, we saw different people with concealed carry there.
BROWNSTEIN: I remember in the '90s going to NRA conventions where Wayne LaPierre talked about jackbooted government thugs who were trying to take away your guns. The real message of this and Trump's flipping on the guns is that there is only one North Star here. It is the consolidation of power. I mean, everything else is disposable. I mean, certainly, defense of the Second Amendment has been as -- absolutism on the Second Amendment has been as integral to the modern Republican coalition as any single policy position, and they are willing to jettison even that when it seems to get in the way of what they are trying to do in terms of consolidating control and power on the ground.
[00:15:09] And I think that tells you that this consolidation of power is not just a means, it is the ends. It is the end. And everything else is disposable. Anything that is an impediment to that can be jettisoned. And I think that is a very clear message to pretty much everyone in the Republican coalition.
MICHAELSON: And you think about Charlton Heston when he led the NRA, talking about take it from my cold, dead hands.
BROWNSTEIN: Cold dead hands.
MICHAELSON: And apparently somebody --
BROWNSTEIN: He had a great mid-century modern house, actually, where I once interviewed him. That's another story.
MICHAELSON: There's an -- that'll be a different segment.
BROWNSTEIN: That's a different segment.
MICHAELSON: Ron, thank you very much. Something light at the end of a very heavy segment. We appreciate you coming in.
Now to this, the death toll from this weekend's U.S. winter storm has risen to at least 30, as states are still recovering damage from ice and bitter cold has been most significant in the southern U.S. In a stretch from Texas east towards Tennessee, flight delays, cancellations remain a huge issue at this hour as well.
Let's talk about that and more now live from Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. Austin Walker from CNN affiliate KTVK and KPHO standing by.
Austin, what's the situation like there?
AUSTIN WALKER, REPORTER, KTVK/KPHO: Yes. So this really just is a nasty domino effect. We're seeing parts of the country just really riddled with ice. And the problem is it's bleeding here into Phoenix Sky Harbor. We're seeing hundreds of delays and hundreds of cancellations and really is leaving a lot of people wondering what to do next.
We're currently at Sky Harbor's Fourth Terminal, in the baggage claim area. Outside of the customer assistance area, you can see a lot of people here trying to figure out those next steps forward. But really the problem if we turn, look at this line, it's not as bad as it was a few hours ago, but still people waiting, you know, hours trying to get their bags so they can rebook with a different airline to try to get home right now.
American Airlines really is the culprit. Right now, we're seeing a lot of their flights canceled and delayed. People like you see good spirits right now, but some people pretty angry, right? That one, yes, pretty angry as they're trying to just make it home after hours and hours of traveling.
We did speak to American Airlines, though. They sent us a statement. They told us that the problem here is DFW. That is their biggest hub, and they're seeing crazy sheets of ice. They're seeing a lot of issues with deicing those planes. So again, it's a domino effect. We're seeing those flights canceled and delayed. And that is just feeding into Phoenix Sky Harbor as we're seeing again those delays and cancellations just continue to stack up.
It's getting difficult for travelers, too, as they're trying to get these bags. One woman waiting four hours, leaving, coming back, waiting another four hours. Really is just a never ending cycle, they're saying. And hopefully there is some grace to come with it.
MICHAELSON: Well, Austin, that is certainly an advertisement. Not to check bags and to try to carry on the next time I go on a flight, because a reminder of what can happen with that.
WALKER: Yes, exactly.
MICHAELSON: We wish them well. Hopefully there's some light at the end of the tunnel soon as some of these travel problems get worked out. We appreciate you joining us live from Phoenix, Austin. Thank you.
Tensions are simmering between the U.S. and Iran. But President Trump suggests a deal could still happen.
CNN is on the ground in Tehran. Fred Pleitgen joins us next talking to Iranians about what could happen next there.
Plus, a landmark trial against Meta and YouTube is underway here in Los Angeles. Why TikTok decided to settle in the 11th hour, and what this case could mean for the future of social media.
CNN's Clare Duffy was in court today. She's with us on set a little later as THE STORY IS comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:23:07]
MICHAELSON: The backlash over President Trump's immigration crackdown has spread to the Winter Olympics. Italian politicians are urging the prime minister to block U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from assisting with U.S. security at the games next month. One Italian lawmaker called ICE, quote, "a violent, unprepared and out of control militia." Federal agencies have supported security for U.S. diplomats in previous Olympics, but the mayor of the host city, Milan, says the games do not need ICE agents for security and, quote, "They are not welcome in Milan."
Ukraine's president is condemning a Russian oil -- Russian strike on a passenger train that killed five people in the northeastern Kharkiv region. He wrote onto Telegram, quote, "In any country, a strike on a civilian train would be considered exactly the same way, purely as terrorism." The attack happened just hours after Russia launched more than 50 drones on the southern city of Odessa, killing three people and injuring at least 25 others. The president of Ukraine, Zelenskyy, says Russia's attacks are
undermining recent peace talks, which are set to continue next week in Abu Dhabi.
President Trump says Iran may be trying to negotiate a deal with Washington amid a growing U.S. Military buildup in the Middle East. The most visible part of Trump's armada, an aircraft carrier and a group of guided missile destroyers, has already arrived within striking distance. Meanwhile, Iran's leadership is sending a strong warning about possible retaliation if it is attacked.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Tehran talking to Iranians caught in the back and forth between their government's warnings and President Trump's threats.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Iran's leadership is sending a very strong and defiant message to the United States and specifically, of course, to the Trump administration. You could see it here on this gigantic poster on Revolution Square in Central Tehran.
[00:25:03]
The message on this massive poster is, "If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind." Obviously meaning if the United States attacks Iran, Iran will retaliate in a massive way, which could, of course, lead to a major military confrontation between the United States and Iran. And that's also something that's on the minds of many of the people that we've been speaking to here as well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I'm not sure what to say. I think they're all collaborating with one another against the interest of the Iranian people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I don't think Trump dares to attack. He's more bluffing.
PLEITGEN: All this of course comes as President Trump weighs his options on what to do next. The U.S. has pulled together a substantial military force here in this region, but the Iranians also say they've replenished their stockpiles of ballistic missiles and are ready to hit back hard any time. Now of course all this comes in the wake of those large protests that happened here in Iran in the early part of January.
And when you're out on the streets here, you can see that there are people who are still traumatized by what happened that day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There were a lot of people out there in the streets when I had to leave home. I don't know what to say, but the situation was very bad. Now that the internet connection is restored, we only now know that so many were killed.
(END VIDEOTAPE) MICHAELSON: Our thanks to the fearless Fred Pleitgen, reporting from Tehran for us.
To Israel now, and for the first time since the October 7th terror attacks, the Hostage Square clock is no longer ticking. For more than two years, the digital stopwatch in Tel Aviv counted every minute, hour and day since 251 Israelis were abducted by Hamas. But after the remains of the last hostage was returned on Monday, Israel turned off the clock, symbolizing the end of this very dark chapter in the country's history. Hundreds gathered to countdown as the clock finally stopped on day 843.
President Trump claims that he is making America affordable again. But is the math mathing? Justin Wolfers, one part economist, one part comedian, joins me next with his analysis.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're also making America affordable again, a problem caused totally by the "Crooked" Joe Biden administration.
[00:32:06]
I mean, you know, I inherited this problem. They say prices are too high. They -- I just took over. They said -- I'll never forget. I come here, I'm in three days. I have a news conference three days into my administration. What about the price of eggs? They've gone up like five times more. I said, I just got here. I didn't know about it. I'm sorry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: That was President Trump speaking today in Iowa. With me now is Justin Wolfers, professor of economics -- economics and public policy at the University of Michigan.
Justin, welcome to THE STORY IS for the first time.
JUSTIN WOLFERS, PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS AND PUBLIC POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: It's exciting to be here, mate.
MICHAELSON: Thank you.
So, President Trump obviously has, you know, rosy glasses in terms of the state of the economy. What is the real state of the economy right now?
WOLFERS: Gee, so why don't we give it a letter grade? I'm going to go with a B minus. And I'm going to remind your viewers of the extent of grade inflation in the United States.
So, look, the good news is things aren't terrible. The bad news is things aren't great. The unemployment rate has been drifting up for the past year.
Inflation is higher than the Fed would like it to be. Our standing in the world has been remarkably undermined by our on-again, off-again tariff stances and attempts to take over other countries at random moments.
The budget deficit is -- is extremely large and probably too large for this stage of the business cycle. And you've got things like consumer confidence currently at pretty close to an all-time low.
So, there's a lot of people feeling pretty miserable out there.
MICHAELSON: Well, let's put that consumer confidence number on the screen right now so people can get a sense of what you're talking about. This is one of the lowest numbers that we have seen for consumer confidence. It has fallen to 84.5, the lowest reading since back in 2014.
Now despite that, this is what President Trump said today about the economy. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: But today, just after one year of President Trump, our economy is booming, incomes are rising, investment is soaring, inflation has been defeated. Our border is closed, totally closed.
And America is respected all over the world like they've never been respected. One year. I thought it would take us two years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: And this is interesting, because President Biden actually had some of this same frustration, where he would try to talk up the economy, talked about Bidenomics, but people didn't feel it.
And if you don't feel it in your own life or your own reality, it really doesn't matter what numbers you see on, you know, CNBC or FOX Business, or you know, CNN Money Market. It's all about -- it's all about your own life, right?
WOLFERS: Well, I think things are actually even more different here, which is, I think the president may have told half a dozen lies in less than a paragraph just there.
[00:35:08]
He said that investment is booming. It's fallen for two quarters in a row.
He said prices are falling. That's absolutely not true. Prices are rising, and they're rising faster than the Fed would like it, at sort of high two point something, low three point something percent, depending on what measure you look at.
He -- he said the economy is booming. That's absolutely not the case. And he said the United States is respected as it's never been around
the world before. But every cross-national survey actually shows that respect for the United States has plummeted over the last year.
MICHAELSON: Well, and to that point, last week was the Davos conference, and he got some serious pushback from Canada's Mark Carney, the prime minister there. Here's what Carney said about Canada's response to his tariffs. This was Carney today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: We discussed, as well, what Canada is doing, positively. And this is the context of our discussion. What Canada is doing positively to build new partnerships around the world.
I explained to him our arrangement with China. I explained to him what we're doing, 12 new deals on four continents in six months. He was impressed. And what we intend to do going forward, as well as the opportunity to, of course, move forward on CUSMA.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: How is the rest of the world seeing the United States right now?
WOLFERS: Yes, mate, I don't know what your school experience was like, but you know, around about middle school, someone comes to the cafeteria, and they decide they're going to play the role of the middle school bully. And it works for them for a while. They shake a few kids upside-down, and a few quarters fall out of their pockets.
But then, all the kids grow up, and they move on to high school. And they realize they don't have to include the bully in their friend group. They tell that guy to go sit elsewhere. That bully discovers he has no friends.
Everyone else goes off and forms better, deeper friendships through the rest of high school. And some of my high school mates are still my best mates.
And I mean all of this, of course, as a metaphor for our place in the world, which is what's happened right now, is Carney has encouraged middle powers to stand up. Carney has gone looking for friends elsewhere.
This China deal that he struck means that the Canadians are now going to be buying electric vehicles from China. You know where they're not buying them from now. That's the United States.
We've seen much closer relations between Europe and Latin America, and we've seen everyone else looking to find better friends right now.
And so, right now, we're that guy who thought he was pretty cool when he was the middle school bully, but we're getting frozen out of the grown-up, adult relationships. MICHAELSON: Well, my middle school bully, after I got on TV ten years
later, called me to apologize. And I didn't really want to give him for -- forgiveness, because sometimes those people --
WOLFERS: Why don't you look him in the eye right now and tell him what you really think, Elex?
MICHAELSON: I think I just did.
So, thank you very much for joining us from the University of Michigan. Go, Blue. I like the -- the Wolverine representation behind you in your shot. Justin, great to have you on the show for the first time.
WOLFERS: Appreciate it.
MICHAELSON: For millions of families worried about how social media affects their kids, a historic case is now underway, a first-of-its- kind trial right here in Los Angeles. And it could help decide whether big tech is putting kids' health at risk.
Just hours before opening statements, TikTok dropped out with a last- minute settlement, leaving Meta and YouTube to stand alone. Snapchat dropped out last week.
CNN's Clare Duffy was in court today as jury selection got underway. She joins me now.
Clare, thanks so much for being here. Welcome to THE STORY IS for the first time.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks for having me. I'm glad to be here.
MICHAELSON: So, real briefly, what is this case actually about?
DUFFY: So, this lawsuit was brought by a California 19-year-old known by her initials, K.G.M., accusing the big tech platforms -- Meta, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat -- of creating these platforms, knowingly addicting her, and causing her mental health harms that led to suicidal thoughts and self-harm.
There are more than a thousand other similar cases that have been filed by families across the country with very similar claims here. So, this is an important case, because the outcome of this trial in the K.G.M. case could have ramifications for how all of those other cases are resolved.
MICHAELSON: And obviously, big money at stake here. And to that effect, it's kind of surprising that TikTok, right before this whole thing gets underway, makes a settlement. How significant is that?
DUFFY: Yes, it's really interesting, because this case, this lawsuit, has been years in the making. So, it's not like these companies didn't know this was coming. So, the fact that we've seen Snapchat drop out last week, TikTok, just
one day before jury selection began here, does suggest that perhaps these companies did not want their executives to have to take the stand, did not want their internal documents to be discussed publicly during this trial.
[00:40:08]
But again, this is just one case. So, TikTok, Snapchat remain defendants on hundreds of these other cases.
However, I did talk to plaintiff's lawyer Mark Lanier outside of the courthouse this morning, and he said these settlements could set the stage for TikTok and Snap to settle some of these hundreds of other cases, which, again, could put these companies on the hook for billions of dollars in damages.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And so, let's talk now about some of the ramifications, because we know that Meta is still in this whole thing. Also, we know that Google is still in this. What happens if they lose?
DUFFY: Yes, it's interesting, because both Meta and Google -- and I mean, we've heard as much from TikTok and Snap publicly. These companies deny this idea that their platforms harm the mental health of young users.
They've pointed to the features that they've rolled out in recent years, like parental control tools, limits on how much teens can access certain kinds of content or scroll through their feeds.
Just a few weeks ago, YouTube rolled out a new limit for parents. This option to limit their teens' scrolling on its YouTube shorts feature.
So, they say they have taken efforts here. But what I've heard from parents is that those tools just aren't enough, and they put too much burden on parents and, in some cases, on kids themselves, to navigate and try to have a safe online experience.
What they would like to see is regulations or guardrails that require these platforms to make their platforms safe from the beginning, without having to navigate this sort of patchwork of tools, features.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
DUFFY: So, that is the sort of thing that I think we could see come out of this trial. Mark Lanier said that he does expect that, if they win this case, the platforms could have to make some of these changes. Take a listen to what he told me this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK LANIER, PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY: Without a doubt, we will see changes to how these companies operate: the platforms, the features. They've got to have direct changes, or the companies would have to pay money, ad infinitum. They're going to want to pay to settle the past, and they're going to want to change the way they do in the future. (END VIDEO CLIP)
DUFFY: So, it is going to be really interesting to see how the jury weighs these arguments, whether they do believe that the platforms should have done more to keep teens safe.
MICHAELSON: And it's interesting that the jury is going to be allowed to use social media during all this. They're all lining up for selection, looking at their phones.
Clare, thank you. We should encourage people to check out your podcast called "Terms of Service," as well, where you can see deeper dives on this and other issues. Great to have you here in L.A. for this trial.
DUFFY: Thank you so much for having me.
MICHAELSON: Nearly a year after a deadly midair collision, U.S. federal investigators have public -- made public their findings and some sharp criticisms. We take you to Washington and show you what the findings are, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:47:27]
MICHAELSON: Nearly a year after a midair collision between a U.S. Army helicopter and American Airlines jet, the NTSB says it did not have to happen. That crash killed 67 people near Washington's Reagan National Airport.
Sherrell Hubbard reports on a major meeting today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNIFER HOMENDY, CHAIRWOMAN, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: We should be angry, because for years, no one listened. This was preventable.
SHERRELL HUBBARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The National Transportation Safety Board chair saying the crash should never have happened.
HOMENDY: It's one, I believe, failure after another.
HUBBARD (voice-over): The NTSB saying Tuesday's hearing was not meant to place blame, but to ensure such a tragedy never happens again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: PAT two five, do you have that CRJ in sight?
HUBBARD (voice-over): The board shared never-before-seen animation depicting the mid-air collision from the point of view of the helicopter pilots.
The green shows their view through night vision goggles, while the gray areas represent blind spots in the cockpit. BRIAN SOPER, NTSB INVESTIGATOR: The local controller stated they were
concerned about both the close proximity of PAT two five to PSA Flight 5342 and their converging courses.
HUBBARD (voice-over): This image from investigators shows where the Black Hawk made contact with the American Airlines jet. Another image shows the chopper after the crash.
BRICE BANNING, NTSB INVESTIGATOR: Examination of the recovered wreckage indicated that the helicopter's main rotor contacted the underside of the airplane's left wing, resulting in the outboard section of the wing separating in flight.
HUBBARD (voice-over): According to the NTSB, the route at the time of the collision allowed the Black Hawk to fly as close as 75 feet below planes descending to land.
HOMENDY: Seventy-five feet, at best, separating a helicopter and civilian aircraft. Nowhere in the airspace is that OK.
HUBBARD (voice-over): I'm Sherrell Hubbard, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: And of course, they have outlawed that from ever happening again in that particular airspace.
The NTSB's final report, expected to be released in the coming weeks.
A federal judge ruled that a 5-year-old boy and his father cannot be imminently deported.
Liam Conejo Ramos was taken away from his family's suburban Minneapolis driveway last week after federal agents apprehended his father. They're being held at an ICE detention facility for families in Texas.
Homeland Security says Liam's father is in the country illegally, but the family's attorney says he committed no crimes. He was doing everything he was supposed to do legally to seek asylum in the U.S.
[00:45:05]
A network of protesters in Minneapolis are routinely engaging with federal officers who conduct immigration enforcement. The organized group monitors ICE movements in real time. They blast out information for others to swarm the enforcement sites.
We've seen similar groups in other cities around the country, including here in Los Angeles.
CNN's Shimon Prokupecz has a closer look at how these ICE observers work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR LAW AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): The sound of ICE observer whistles descending on an Indian restaurant in Minneapolis after a group tracked two off-duty federal immigration agents eating dinner inside.
The observers are part of a neighborhood grassroots network some figures in the Trump administration have labeled domestic terrorists.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, guys, I'm on Franklin Ave. just patrolling back and forth towards Lyndale.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Local citizens tracking and documenting ICE operations in real time. CNN saw how a local group operates from the inside.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're on Franklin Avenue, and the request is for us to sort of keep an eye on this strip.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): This woman is fearful and didn't want to be named or show her face on camera. She drives through her neighborhood, scanning for signs of ICE activity, staying in constant contact with other volunteer observers, mostly through the encrypted chat platform Signal. Ready to alert others if agents appear.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think people do this work, because it works. Finding an ICE car and observing what it's doing will deter ICE from activity.
I've seen more people jump in over the past two weeks than I ever have.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Through local meetings and group chats, thousands of observers coordinate across the Twin Cities.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not ICE.
PROKUPECZ: You were just looking to see if that car was ICE.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): They log suspected ICE vehicle information into a shared database, then post locations in real time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are telltale signs. Tinted windows, SUV two drivers, usually male, wearing, sort of, like, military gear.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): When agents are spotted, observers swarm, whistling, chanting, and recording.
PROKUPECZ: I watched that network mobilize here. The observers came to this location after they learned that two off-duty ICE officers were inside having dinner. They tracked them based on the vehicle they were driving.
That car was parked over here. Someone saw the license plate. They put it in a database that they have been collecting of ICE vehicles here. And then, all of a sudden, several more of the observers started
showing up. And at some point, they confronted the ICE officers who were inside.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): On Sunday, Vice President J.D. Vance tweeted about an incident matching this description, claiming, "The ICE officers were doxed, the restaurant was mobbed, and the agents were locked inside."
He blamed the ICE observers and local police for creating chaos and linked it to Alex Pretti's death.
PROKUPECZ: The protesters were outside here. Some of them went inside and confronted the off-duty ICE officers. They were not violent.
And the ICE officers, realizing who they were, called for backup. The backup arrived and was able to take them outside.
And what the protesters were doing is much of what we've been seeing: blowing whistles and yelling at them and telling them to get out of their city.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): ICE observer citizen video documenting federal enforcement activity has become vital as the encounters with ICE have escalated, often contradicting the Trump administration's public account of events.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Many observers have been stopped simply for observing government activity or documenting what they're doing with their cell phones or yelling at them on the street. And that's all constitutionally protected activity.
And if the government feels like the fact that people are witnessing what they're doing and spreading the word about it and protesting, is interference with it, it just shows how wrong that government activity is.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): After two of their own were killed in altercations with federal officers, the dangers of this work are clear.
PROKUPECZ: Even with that, with all the dangers associated with it, that doesn't faze you or stop you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's a call for people who are in positions of privilege to go out and exercise their rights to witness what's going on and -- and try and do something about it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Our thanks to CNN's Shimon Prokupecz for that report.
Be sure to stick around for our next hour. A U.S. Army veteran is searching for her husband after he was deported by the Trump administration. She's been documenting her efforts on TikTok ever since her husband was detained last year. She'll speak with me live in about ten minutes. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:54:30]
MICHAELSON: These flames might look frightening, but they're actually part of an ancient celebration off the coast of Scotland on the Shetland Islands.
Hundreds gathered to celebrate the Viking heritage known as Up Helly Aa. The ritual marks the return of sunlight after the winter solstice.
It begins with a parade of torch bearers marching through the streets in full costumes. Then, in a fiery finale, they hurled their torches into a replica Viking galley.
That image, I think, plays very differently depending on where you're looking at it from.
Thanks for watching. Stay with us. The next hour of THE STORY IS starts right now.
