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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

U.S. Government Shutdown Draws Near, No Deal Yet On Spending; Signs Show Iran's Influence Is Waning Among Its Proxies; San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan Announces Run For Governor. Minnesota Investigators "Hopeful" for Federal Cooperation; Trump Declares National Emergency over Cuba; First Lady's Film Gets Presidential Prase at Premiere; Kids and Their Parents Can't Seem to Get Enough of "Bluey"; First Half of "Bridgerton" Season 4 is Out on Netflix. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired January 30, 2026 - 01:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[01:00:00]

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: He is an executive producer and had editorial control.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELANIA TRUMP, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Everyone wants to know. So here it is. Hi, Mr. President. Congratulations.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Did you watch it?

M. TRUMP: I did not. Yes, I will see it on the news.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Sources say Amazon's MGM Studios paid $40 million for the deal, plus a $35 million marketing budget. First Lady has been making the rounds to promote the film, which releases in theaters on Friday, including she rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

Amazon has not yet announced a streaming date, but Prime Video has committed to releasing a docu series containing additional footage along with the film.

We will have a complete report from the red carpet coming up in this next hour. The Story Is which starts right now.

The story is government shutdown possibly averted. Democratic Congressmember Jennifer McClellan live on set with us to explain what's going on behind the scenes right now.

The story is --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm running for governor of California because we can do better. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: San Jose's Democratic mayor and frequent critic of Governor Gavin Newsom, Matt Mahan is live with us for his first TV interview as a candidate.

And the story is axis of resistance. CNN's Paula Hancocks breaks down the Iran's influence is decreasing among its allies.

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

MICHAELSON: Welcome to The Story Is. 23 hours from right now the federal government will shut down unless lawmakers agree on a spending bill. Standing by live, one of those lawmakers who will talk to us in just a moment.

But first, we show you live pictures from Capitol Hill where there are some signs of progress. The top Senate Democrat says a bipartisan compromise has been reached. But the Republican majority said late tonight, the leader, John Thune, said his whole caucus is not ready to support that just yet, that they'll come back tomorrow, hopefully be in a new day, and they'll be able to reach a deal if and when the bill passes the Senate. It still has to go through the House. It's unlikely that vote will happen before Monday.

So we are bracing for at least a partial shutdown this weekend, which will be the second shutdown of President Trump's second term. Remember, just a few months back, the funding impasse lasted for 43 days, which was a record, caused a lot of pain for federal workers and many other Americans. Air travelers had to worry about airport chaos and we saw canceled flights because of all that.

The president posted on Truth Social that he hopes both sides will, quote, give a very much needed bipartisan and yes vote. During the last shutdown, the bone of contention was expiring health care subsidies this time it's the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, specifically funding for the ICE agents who have been carrying out those raids and even were part of operations that left two Americans dead.

Democrats are demanding funding for the entire Department of Homeland Security be removed from the overall spending bill and then be voted on separately with proposed reforms. There's potential progress on two weeks to do just that. CNN's Manu Raju picks up the story from Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In a big concession to Democrats, the White House agreed to only extend funding for the Homeland Security Department for two weeks amid Democratic demands that new policies be negotiated over how President Trump has deployed ICE agents across the country.

This in the aftermath of two kill, two shooting, fatal shootings in Minneapolis involving ICE agents and causing enormous concern around the country. And the White House, recognizing the public backlash, moved towards the Democratic position, something we have not seen very often in Donald Trump's time in office.

But the next two weeks will be critical to figure out if a deal can in fact be reached to meet the Democratic demands, which range from requiring ICE agents to wear body cameras, to have them remove the face masks that they wear in the field, to tighten how they actually go about using search warrants, and also to change use of force policies and roving patrols.

Those are all part of the Democratic list of demands. Will Trump ultimately agree to that? Can they agree to that in the next two weeks? That is going to be a huge question.

Here's another big question. When will the House give final approval to the bill to keep the government open? Because the House has been out of session all week long on a recess and it is not expected to come back into session until Monday, and that is after the shutdown deadline.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:05:00]

MICHAELSON: So with me now here live in Los Angeles is a member of the House, U.S. House Democrat Jennifer McClellan of Virginia. Welcome to The Story Is. Good to have you here in Southern California.

The fact that you are here in Southern California is an indication the fact that the House is not in session. If this bill, what's been laid out tonight ends up before the House, how would you vote?

REP. JENNIFER MCCLELLAN (D-VA): Well, if this bill comes forward, I already voted on all of the pieces of it except for the Department of Homeland Security bill. It was separate bill in House and yet they were stitched together for the Senate to vote on.

And I'm ready to vote for the provisions I already voted for. I am not going to vote for DHS funding without very significant reforms to deal with this public safety crisis that ICE and DHS and the Republicans have created.

MICHAELSON: What are you hearing? Do you think that we're on the precipice of a deal? Do you think that this deal is going to get done to keep the government open? I mean, we may have a couple days where there's a partial shutdown, but I mean, more or less done by Monday.

MCCLELLAN: I think so. I think Republicans recognize that what's happening in Minnesota is a tipping point, that the Trump administration has gone too far, that they're losing the trust of the American people and that the reforms that Democrats are putting forward actually are popular with the American people.

You see no other law enforcement agents who hide their identity, who don't show their id, who wear masks? And a lot of what we see ICE agents and Border Patrol agents doing, you would never see other law enforcement officers do without investigation, without being held accountable. We're just asking that you have the same thing happen with ICE.

MICHAELSON: And it seems pretty remarkable how the politics on this has changed pretty quickly, hasn't it? I mean, and you feel that with your Republican colleagues?

MCCLELLAN: Absolutely. I don't know why it took the deaths of two American citizens when over 30 people have already died in ICE custody in 2025 alone. We have seen before the TV cameras showed up in L.A. and Chicago and Minneapolis. We've seen across the country where this overly aggressive activity with ICE agents has created this fear in our communities among U.S. citizens, people who were in this country legally.

I saw in my own district, people who were doing what they were supposed to do, going to courthouses to pay traffic fines, who were basically kidnapped by ICE agents and deported. We've seen, you know, children snatched and this five-year-old kid who now is sick in an ICE detention facility. The American people are very concerned about what they're seeing.

MICHAELSON: Let's talk about ICE detention facilities, because there is a proposal to build one right next to your district.

MCCLELLAN: Yes.

MICHAELSON: It's a 500,000 square foot potential ICE detention facility. You're opposed to this?

MCCLELLAN: Absolutely.

MICHAELSON: Don't they have to go somewhere? I mean, what, what are we supposed to do with this?

MCCLELLAN: Well, first of all, I think part of the problem is this arbitrary mass detention deportation quota that the Trump administration seems to have. And they are putting people in facilities with very poor conditions that are not meeting medical care that the detainees need, that are not providing sanitary conditions. I mean, they're warehousing people.

And this facility in particular is a warehouse that ICE wants to come and convert into a detention center. And we have already seen, whether it's other facilities in Virginia or other facilities across the country where the conditions are deplorable, where they're putting human beings, including American citizens, including people who are in this country legally, who are being detained in violation of their due process rights.

And it is so bad that Hanover County, which is a Republican county itself, their Board of Supervisors came out and said, you know, we don't want this here. And they're hoping that ICE reconsiders.

MICHAELSON: Another big news story in Virginia that's also a national news story is the question of redistricting. Congressional lines. We have seen this already happen in Texas, the Republicans there changed the lines for Congress to help Republicans. Here in California, the response, Democrats change the lines to help the Democrats. In Virginia, the Democrats want to change the lines to help the Democrats. Right now it's a 6 to 5 split in terms of Republicans or Democrats and Republicans. You want to move it potentially to a 10 to 1 split or a 9 to 2 split, depending on the map.

How is that fair? And when does this whole thing end?

MCCLELLAN: So I wish we didn't have to be here at all. But this -- let's remember how this started. This started when Donald Trump bullied Republican legislators -- legislatures to do mid-decade redistricting because he didn't think that the Republicans could keep the House any other way.

[01:10:10]

And so rather than allowing that to go unchecked, I think we need to level the playing field by having Democratic states respond. So the Virginia redistricting amendment actually is very narrow. It says it's temporary, that it is only in response to other states changing their lines mid-decade absent a court order, which is exactly what happened in Texas.

Again, I don't want to be here, but we can't just sit back and let Donald Trump change the rules of the game and not try to level the playing field. And at the end of the day, it'll be up to the people of Virginia. It's a -- this is a constitutional amendment that will require them to vote to approve it in a referendum.

MICHAELSON: Which is what happened here.

MCCLELLAN: Which is what happened here.

MICHAELSON: And California it passed overwhelmingly here in a largely Democratic state. And I think you have the votes.

MCCLELLAN: I think we do have the votes. There's a poll that just came out either yesterday or today that showed that 51 percent of the people support it.

MICHAELSON: Well, it'll be interesting because these things could determine who controls the House ultimately because it could be close. And we see other states like Florida trying to move for more Republican districts. So we're seeing this happen across the country. Congressmember, thank you so much for visiting us during your Southern California.

MCCLELLAN: Sure.

MICHAELSON: I hope you enjoy our weather, at least.

MCCLELLAN: I do. It's 17 degrees at home. Nice change.

MICHAELSON: Enjoy it. Nice to see you. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

In a few hours, there will be protests across the country against the president's immigration policy. Organizers are calling for a general strike and a national shutdown. They're urging people to not go to work, not show up for school, not to spend money at businesses. They're demanding an end to ICE operations happening across the US. National protest movement was spurred in part by the killings of those two citizens by federal agents in Minnesota in recent weeks.

President Trump says that he has been speaking with Iran's leaders and his recent threat of military action. He says his message is two part, no nuclear weapons and stop killing protesters. The president warning the U.S. has a lot of very, very powerful ships sailing to Iran right now and it would be great if we didn't have to use them.

Even Iran acknowledges that thousands of people have been killed in the latest protests. Its nuclear program and crackdown on protesters aren't the only issues that Western countries have with Iran. CNN's Paula Hancocks explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Iran has long been accused by the west as being the puppet master of its allies across the Middle east with its axis of resistance. But Iran is weaker and more isolated than it was before October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel. It may threaten retaliation for any U.S. military strike following Tehran's violent crackdown on anti-regime protesters, where thousands have been killed and arrested across. But does it have support?

One by one, these proxies have faltered. Let's take a look at what's happened. We'll start with the most powerful Hezbollah in Lebanon. They once boasted the largest non-state military in the region. They fired rockets towards Israel shortly after the Hamas attack. And after more than a year of conflict, Hezbollah is a shadow of its former self. Its leader, Hassan Nasrallah assassinated.

Hundreds of Israeli rigged pagers and walkie talkies simultaneously exploded inside Lebanon, killing or maiming countless fighters as well as civilians. Much of its missile arsenal is gone. When Israel attacked Iran, Hezbollah, long considered Iran's last line of defense, was largely silent.

Meanwhile in Syria, the fall of Bashar Al Assad in late 2024 severed Iran's critical weapons supply route to Hezbollah via Syria. He has been replaced by a former Al Qaeda affiliate leader, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, who is embracing Gulf leaders and the West. Iran has lost another key ally.

And then of course, there's Hamas. Israel's war in Gaza has decimated their military capabilities. Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader considered the architect of the October 7 attacks, killed along with most of his political and military leadership. Its ability to govern or wage war is crippled, so its role as an Iranian proxy is for now negligible.

Pro-Iranian militia in Iraq and to a lesser degree in Syria have launched attacks on U.S. bases in those countries for years. Their pledge to attack U.S. interests if President Trump decided to attack Iran's nuclear program amounted to very little.

The Houthi rebels in Yemen, once considered the least significant threat, appear to be militarily intact. Their most damaging impact has been largely economic, targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea with drones and missiles as a means to punish Israeli interests.

[01:15:03]

The US carried out airstrikes on the Houthis before signing a ceasefire agreement last year, canceling it out as a useful Iranian proxy.

And finally, Iran itself. The Israeli and U.S. attacks on Iran's missile and nuclear program in June 2025 exposed Tehran's vulnerabilities. A country that has always boasted about its influence in the region to its people can no longer do so.

So what is next for Iran and what next for the axis of resistance?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Thanks to Paul Hancocks for that. New candidate is joining the already crowded race for California governor, and he is different than the others. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is joining us live next. It's his first national TV interview since joining the race, and there's a lot to get into with him, including back and forth with the governor, Gavin Newsom. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:19]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT MAHAN, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA MAYOR: We don't just need to be against something, we need to be for something. A government that proves it can solve problems for working people once again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: That is San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan on his first official day as a candidate for California governor. You see him there with his wife and kids. The moderate Democrat who has called out the current governor Gavin Newsom on several occasions is getting a lot of support, especially from Silicon Valley.

Matt Mahan is a 43-year old former tech entrepreneur, a former public school teacher, a Harvard grad. He's known as a tough on crime mayor and has often criticized the state of California's approach to crime and homelessness.

Let's go live to San Jose where Matt Mahan joins us for the first national TV interview of his campaign for governor. Mayor welcome back to the story is and congrats on the run. MAHAN: Thank you, Alex. It's good to be with you.

MICHAELSON: So when we talked about this many, many times before, you said that you had young kids, you wanted to focus on them. It wasn't the right time. What changed?

MAHAN: Well, I still have young kids and we'll be focused on them. But I think it's really important that we fix our problems in California. I believe we can do better, frankly, and I know it. Because in San Jose we've been getting back to basics on making it easier to build housing, getting people indoors into basic dignified shelter, intervening when cycles of addiction or causing people to harm themselves and others, addressing public safety issues. And it's working.

We've reduced the number of people living outside by about one third by building basic dignified shelter when it's available. We do a lot of outreach and we effectively require that people come indoors and we've saved lives. It's what we're doing is working. But the state needs those solutions and frankly, to follow through on this mission, I've begun in San Jose.

We need more help from state government. We need our state to be as fast, focused and accountable as we've been at the local level. And I think as the mayor of a big city, I have the best perspective on what our biggest challenges are and how we can solve them with a different kind of leadership in Sacramento.

MICHAELSON: And you pointed out your wife said it's time to run. Right? And maybe she wasn't totally all in, but now she's in.

MAHAN: Yes. I got home -- I got home the other night about three weeks ago, and she looked at me and said, I think you need to consider doing this because we're both worried about our future. We're worried about the future of California, about our country. We think California needs someone who will fight for our values but also fix our problems.

And I think that in the long run, the best resistance is results. It's actually delivering safer neighborhoods, cleaner neighborhoods, better schools, better jobs, and showing that our values, our diversity in California work and practice.

MICHAELSON: What's the biggest difference from a public policy perspective between you and the current governor, Gavin Newsom? What changes with you in charge?

MAHAN: Well, I think Gavin Newsom has been a really courageous governor in a lot of ways. He's done more on homelessness than any past governor. He has stood up to abuses of power from this administration. He's articulated the case for our democratic institutions. He's done a lot of good work.

And I think the next governor, whether it's me or someone else, has the job of building on many of the things he's done on homelessness care court (ph), setting up tools to help people get mental health care. He has done a lot to reform CEQA so we can build housing faster. So there are a lot of areas of agreement, but, of course, it's always the disagreement that gets heavily publicized. And, you know, probably the biggest difference has been around addiction.

I've had family members who have ended up on the streets because of severe addiction. And I know that in those cases, it requires a certain amount of tough love to help people turn their lives around. You have to be willing to intervene, to impose consequences, to give people a choice for treatment, but also make sure they're held accountable for it.

There has to be accountability, and that saves lives. It makes everybody better off. And I just don't think the state has been bold enough in being willing to intervene in cycles of addiction and mental illness and get people the help that they need.

MICHAELSON: I mean, you've -- you've often criticized the governor for some of his style, for basically being so focused on memes and attacking President Trump and not enough focus on state issues and getting results for people here.

[01:25:10]

That's gotten a lot of publicity. Jeremy White, politico reporter, is at a Bloomberg event with the governor today, and he asked him about you. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D) CALIFORNIA: I don't know enough about him. I don't. I wish him good luck.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said, you've jumped blindly into meme land. I believe was.

NEWSOM: Well, I've tried to put a mirror up. I don't -- I don't know that quote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: So he said, I don't know enough about him. Which reminded some folks of Mariah Carey when she talks about Jennifer Lopez, who she doesn't like, when she says, I don't know her, when clearly she knows her. So, I mean, what do you make of that? And are you worried that the governor may try to sort of hurt you behind the scenes because the idea of having you in there, you, if he's potentially a Democratic nominee, may not be helpful to him?

MAHAN: No, I think this has been played up, particularly in the media. But the truth is, even folks who share a lot of values and are very aligned, we're both Democrats, we're both pragmatic, we both try to solve problems. But we can have differences of opinion, as we did on Prop 36 and on requiring treatment in severe cases of addiction that's leading to crime. We just had a difference of opinion over the best way to tackle that problem.

On style, the point I was really trying to make, I don't particularly care what the governor's tweeting. I just would like more of his attention on what we're doing in our cities and how the state can help us. And I mean, to me, it's just really important that all of our leadership in Sacramento, and I'm not just picking on the governor.

I want to see the legislature and all the institutions of state government be more focused and accountable on the core challenges facing Californians right here at home in our neighborhoods. You know, it's access to good schools, good jobs, affordable housing, addressing crime and homelessness. The basics we've got to do better. We have to deliver. And again, I just am making the case that the best resistance is delivering results and showing a better example.

MICHAELSON: Well, open invite to come in here because I'd love to have a deeper dive conversation about affordability, about making housing more affordable and some of those issues that are really driving not only California politics but around the country. But a good introduction to you tonight on your first night as a candidate. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. Thank you so much for being with us.

MAHAN: Thanks, Elex. Look forward to it.

MICHAELSON: We'll be right back with more of The Story Is right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:32:05]

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Minnesota state investigators say they are hopeful an agreement with federal law enforcement can be reached to cooperate on the investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents. An agreement to cooperate would mark a significant turn in the probe.

Department of Homeland Security has so far not shared evidence with state investigators, including body camera footage from officers that day or from Pretti's cell phone. State investigators say federal officials blocked them from processing the scene of the shooting in the immediate aftermath.

New video analysis of that day shows how two federal agents actually escalated the encounter with Pretti into a fatal shooting. A warning -- the videos are graphic.

CNN's Gianna Toboni reports. Gianna Toboni.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GIANNA TOBONI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This CNN analysis focuses on the two officers that raised their guns, seen here -- one wearing a green shirt and black hat, and the other in a tan beanie -- and sheds light on how their actions escalated the situation before it became deadly.

At 8:56 a.m., we see this officer in the green shirt for the first time in this video. Later, you'll see he's wearing a bulletproof vest labeled "U.S. Border Patrol", along with a patch of the state flag of Texas.

Here he is on Nicollet Avenue. You can see him shaking his spray as the sound of whistles blare in the background. We see Alex Pretti for the first time here in a video filmed from a car driving by.

Pretti and three other people are across the street. They're standing next to a federal officer.

Seconds later, an officer pushes Pretti to the sidewalk. Pretti is filming while stepping backwards.

A moment later, this person falls to the ground as an officer begins to restrain him. The officer in the green shirt rushes over to assist him. Together, they dragged this person off the street as protesters yell at the agents.

That first officer in the green shirt would next be seen sitting inside his car here.

We now want to turn your attention to the second officer wearing a tan beanie. According to a report from Customs and Border Protections investigative body, officers ordered these female civilians and later Pretti, to move out of the roadway, and they did not.

At that time, Pretti can be seen directing traffic past the officers and protesters. The officer in the tan beanie shoves the two women in the middle of the street, prompting Pretti to yell out.

ALEX PRETTI, ICU NURSE: Hey, do not push them into the traffic.

TOBONI: Watching the shoving across the street, the officer in the green shirt is now standing outside of his car.

[01:34:48]

TOBONI: Meanwhile, the officer in the tan beanie turns his attention to Pretti, pushing him out of the way before shoving one of the women to the ground.

Pretti steps between them and the officer pepper sprays him in the face. As Pretti tries to help the woman to her feet, multiple officers grab him and pull him to the ground.

At this point, the officer wearing the green shirt and black hat approaches. You can see him reach for his spray here and then attempt to use it on the people pushed against the car. It appears to malfunction.

As we slow this footage down, you can see that he then turns toward Pretti, who is being held down by other agents. According to CBP, they were attempting to take Pretti into custody and that he resisted.

Based on these videos, Pretti can be seen on the ground with more than five officers around him. At this exact moment, on the other side of the scrum, the officer in the tan beanie starts beating Pretti in the head with a metal spray canister. Another officer in a gray coat removes Pretti's handgun from his

waistband directly in front of the officer in the green shirt here, though, it's unclear if he sees it.

He pushes the officer in the gray coat to the side, drawing his gun and pointing it at Pretti, who is down on his knees, bent forward. One second later, we hear the first gunshot.

The officer in the green shirt's gun now becomes visible again. We see him fire the second, third and fourth shots. We can see the officer in the tan beanie raise his gun and a fifth shot is heard while the other officer's gun is pointed to the ground.

There's a one-second pause where Pretti is lying on the ground, face up. He appears to be completely incapacitated.

Then the officer in the green shirt points his gun again. Shots six, seven, eight, nine and ten are all fired while Pretti is lying face up on the street. This officer fired at least four of those five shots. You can see the recoil and bullet casings, eject. The other officers have all backed away by this point.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: We want to go to some breaking news.

The president is up late tonight and he just posted this within the last few minutes. And he's describing Alex Pretti not from the video you just saw, but another video which just came out this week.

He says, "agitators and perhaps insurrectionist Alex Pretti's stock has gone way down with the just-released video of him screaming and spitting in the face of a very calm and under control ICE officer then crazily kicking in a new and very expensive government vehicle. So hard and violent, in fact, that the tail light broke off in pieces."

This is that video that they're referring to. This happened about a week before the shooting of Pretti.

So President Trump trying to change the conversation away from the video of his death that he just saw to this video saying that it changed things.

"The ICE officer he described as calm and cool, not an easy thing to do under these circumstances. Make America Great again."

Now we want to go to this comment. This was a DHS statement about the story you just saw. CNN reached out for a statement, says "Many of our agents have backgrounds in the military or local law enforcement and Border Patrol agents receive extensive federal law enforcement training at federal law enforcement training centers, just as ICE officers do."

Other news from President Trump. He signed a new executive order declaring a national emergency. It's threatening to impose tariffs on goods from countries that provide oil to Cuba. Meanwhile, Cubans are bracing for a conflict with the U.S. as tensions

keep escalating between the two countries.

Jorge Pinon is a senior research fellow at the University of Texas at Austin Energy Institute and a former oil executive. He joins us now from Austin.

Welcome to THE STORY IS for the first time.

JORGE PINON, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS: Thank you. Nice to be here.

MICHAELSON: So we talked about this executive order to impose tariffs on goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba. What's really going on here? He's been pushing the Cuban leader to, quote, "make a deal". What does President Trump really want?

PINON: He wants change, give us a political model and also economic model to more open society, more freedom. Again, both political and also from the economic point of view.

The orders today from the president, we're surprised, we knew that Venezuela was no longer sending oil to Cuba. Cuba has a deficit of about 60,000 barrels a day.

[01:39:52]

PINON: Mexico, was the other supplier of oil to Cuba, was in question whether they were going to cut back supplies or not. Now it is clear that Mexico will cut supplies of oil to Cuba. Also, because there is a June meeting for the North American Free Trade Agreement. And that's very important for Mexico.

So basically, in the next three hours after midnight tonight, no oil from any country will come into Cuba. And then those countries that do so will risk, having a problem with U.S. export/import tariffs.

MICHAELSON: Well, we know Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, and his Cuban background himself. He's wanted to see regime change for many years. It's clearly personal for him.

Is oil the key to that? Can you have regime change without dealing with the oil issue?

PINON: No. Not really. They were looking for a pressure point. Over the years, they have tried many, many pressure points beginning in 1961 with the Bay of Pigs invasion and so on.

Oil is the lifeline. Oil is the engine of any economy. Energy -- clean energy is important. Cuba has been having problems with the electrical supply. Blackouts in the country of more than 24 hours, 60 percent of their electric power generation is down.

They were depending on really oil, like diesel and gasoline and jet fuel from countries like Venezuela and Mexico. So by cutting the oil off you really cut the oxygen off the economy of the country. MICHAELSON: Yes.

PINON: Cuba doesn't have any strategic reserves. So I think in the next couple of weeks, Cuba will have to come to the table, and decide what it wants to do.

Jorge, a reminder that so much of this world economy and politics and everything comes down to oil. And you are one of the experts in this space. We appreciate you sharing your perspective.

PINON: Thank you. A pleasure being with you, guys.

MICHAELSON: For our international viewers, WORLD SPORT is next. For our viewers in North America, I'll be right back.

[01:42:15]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: We have breaking news.

Two sources tell CNN that President Trump will nominate Kevin Warsh to become the next chair of the Federal Reserve. That announcement expected in the coming day. Warsh is a former governor of the Fed who served five years under former President George W. Bush.

Warsh met with President Trump at the White House on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the matter. The White House announced nothing is final until we hear it straight from the president.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell's term ends in May. He has repeatedly been bashed by the White House for not lowering interest rates as quickly and dramatically as President Trump would like. Remember, Trump himself appointed Powell during his first term.

President Trump and two of his sons are suing the IRS and Treasury Department for $10 billion. They claim the government failed to protect their personal and corporate tax information when a former contractor leaked the records to the press.

That contractor has been sentenced to five years in prison. The president's legal team called him a quote, "rogue politically- motivated employee", adding President Trump continues to hold those who wrong America and Americans accountable.

President Trump heaped praise on the first lady at Thursday's red- carpet premiere of her film "Melania". The president called his wife a historian and said the film, which releases in theaters on Friday, was beautifully hot -- beautifully shot, I should say.

It details a period of about three weeks around the couples return to the White House in January last year. Sources say. Amazon/MGM Studios paid $40 million for the deal, plus a $35 million marketing budget.

Senior White House reporter Betsy Klein has more from the black carpet in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Melania Trump is giving us an education in the business of being the first lady. And she has taken a very different approach to her role during President Trump's second term in office, largely staying under the radar, splitting her time between Florida and New York.

And now all of that has changed in the ramp-up to the release of her eponymous documentary, "Melania".

Now first ladies, former first ladies, write books and appear on the public speaking circuit all the time. What is different and unprecedented here is that a sitting first lady is profiting off access to her private life.

Now she is proving that allowing the world to peel back the curtain on her private life is a multimillion-dollar commodity. When we think about what to expect from this film, it's worth noting Trump is serving as an executive producer on this project. That means that it was made with her full participation and editorial control.

And setting aside the question of whether this is a good political investment for Amazon in order to curry favor with the Trump administration, they are taking the bet that audiences are going to show up.

Since Donald Trump entered the political arena many years ago, Melania Trump has become somewhat of a Rorschach test for American political observers, is she this MAGA queen or is she the leader of some secret underground resistance?

She has made very clear during the promotional tour for this film that she is her husband's wife. They are incredibly politically-aligned.

Now, is that going to translate to ticket sales at the box office? Amazon, for now is taking that bet.

Betsy Klein, CNN, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: A popular cartoon series for preschool kids has become really popular with another group of people. Find out who else is watching "Bluey" next.

[01:49:33]

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MICHAELSON: Singer Marc Anthony is giving Nick Cannon a run for his money. He is expecting his eighth child soon. The 57-year-old and his wife, Nadia Ferreira, who's 26, have been married for three years.

They announced the baby's pending arrival on Instagram, releasing this image. Anthony and his wife, already share a two-year-old son named Marco. Anthony's oldest child is 31 years old. He most famously shares 17-year-old twins with his ex-wife Jennifer Lopez.

The Australian animated series "Bluey" is the most streamed show in the U.S. Kids cannot seem to get enough of "Bluey", and it's not just kids who are watching.

CNN's Angus Watson, a dad and a "Bluey" fan breaks it down for us from Australia.

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ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: If you've ever put "Bluey" on for your kids and realize that you're watching too, there's a reason. It's a really creative, thoughtful and entertaining show.

[01:54:46]

WATSON: For the second year in a row, "Bluey", the Australian cartoon, is the most streamed show in the U.S. According to Nielsen, Americans watched over 45 billion minutes of "Bluey". That's a staggering number, considering that most of these episodes run to about eight minutes long.

Kids keep watching and parents keep re-watching. I know that my four- year-old son and I are obsessed with this show. And there's more on the way. A full length "Bluey" film will be in cinemas before 2027.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Thanks to Angus. Enjoy that "Bluey".

The first half of "Bridgerton's" fourth season, which isn't really for kids, is now on Netflix.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YERIN HA, ACTRESS: I cannot dance.

LUKE THOMPSON, ACTOR: A lady who cannot dance.

HA: You are quite the teacher.

THOMPSON: You are perhaps the most intriguing person I've ever met.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: The season focuses on the romantic life of second son, Benedict Bridgerton, played by Luke Thompson. He meets his love interest at a masquerade ball, but little does he know that the woman behind the mask is actually a maid.

Yerin Ha plays the female lead in this Cinderella story. Several other Bridgerton siblings have also returned for the season.

Part two of Season 4 drops on Netflix February 26th. Thank you so much for watching THE STORY IS.

I'm Elex Michaelson. I'll see you tomorrow with the star of another romance, "Wuthering Heights", will be here in our studio.

Plus we're talking sports and more.

All when we're back tomorrow for THE STORY IS. Have a great night.

[01:56:27]

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