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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Heavy Explosions Reported In Several Parts Of Tehran; Iran's Overnight Attack Leaves Trail Of Injuries And Shattered Homes In Israel; Iran Threatens Region's Oil Facilities If Israel, U.S. target Its Energy Infrastructure; Suspect In Old Dominion University Shooting Was Convicted ISIS Supporter; Iran UN Envoy Says Tehran Won't Close Strait Of Hormuz; Iran's Propaganda Machine Aims to Shape International Opinion; Separating Truth from Falsehood in Iran's War Propaganda; World Baseball Classic Quarterfinals. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired March 13, 2026 - 01:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:29]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to the Story Is. I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles, where it's 10 o'clock. It's after 8 o'clock in the morning in Tehran. And tonight, the top story is the war with Iran.

Iranian state media reports that heavy explosions rocked several parts of Tehran a short time ago. Some residents in the Iranian capital said they felt their houses shaking. Iran's Red Crescent Society says an attack on a toll station wounded three of its aid workers. All that breaking news just in.

Israeli authorities, meanwhile, say a missile strike has wounded dozens of people and damaged buildings in northern Israel. It happened after sirens sounded and the Israeli military said it had detected missiles fired from Iran.

Meanwhile, rescue efforts are underway after an American refueling plane went down in western Iraq. That's according to Central Command, which says the plane was not hit by hostile or friendly fire.

A U.S. official tells CNN at least five crew members were on board. We do not know their conditions at this time. A lot happening at this hour. Let's bring in CNN's Ivan Watson. Ivan, what do we know about the latest strikes between Iran and Israel?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We know that Israel, there was a town in northern Israel that was hit by what's been described as a missile and it wounded more than 50 people in a town called Zarzir, which has a considerable Arab Bedouin population in it. Let's take a listen to what an Israeli rescue worker had to say about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We arrived at the site of a massive impact in Zarzir. There was extensive destruction at the scene and a considerable commotion. The teams arrived and carried out searches and the rescue of trapped individuals. The site is a complex of four houses. We conducted searches in all of the homes, cleared the apartments and worked to extinguish fires in the area of the impact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Now, we don't know if this was a result of an Iranian ballistic missile or a rocket or drone fired by Hezbollah across the border in Lebanon. For the first time on Wednesday, we heard a claim from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps that the two allies had coordinated their attacks on Israel.

The Israeli military says it is considering expanding its attacks and operations into Lebanon. The death toll continues to rise there from the daily bombardment of southern Beirut, central Beirut and southern and eastern Lebanon as well.

Two of the people killed were faculty dean and a professor at Lebanese University in Beirut who were in the courtyard of that campus killed by an Israeli airstrike on Thursday, with at least 580 people killed in Lebanon in some two weeks of fighting.

Meanwhile, in Tehran reports before dawn of houses shaking from a bombardment that began before dawn in the eastern part of the capital. And the Iranian government is vowing to continue its fight, with the first statement coming from its new supreme leader, who we haven't seen yet, the son of the slain supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowing to continue and exact revenge upon Iran's enemies.

MICHAELSON: The question is, what kind of physical condition is he in and was he injured by some of those attacks that killed so many of his family members? We'll still have to see. That's why we want to see video of him, to have a sense of that.

Meanwhile, the other big headline of the day is this U.S. refueling plane that went down in Iraq. And Ivan, you have some interesting reporting that it's not exactly modern technology on board, right?

WATSON: I mean, these planes, the actual aircraft are old. The most recent one that was delivered was 1965. These KC135 Stratocaster flying fuel tankers. Of course, they've had upgrades internally and upgrades of their engines. But this is an old model of aircraft, older than me and you, Alex.

And we haven't heard much from U.S. Central Command about what exactly happened here, only that there was a loss of this aircraft.

[01:05:00]

It involved a second aircraft that landed safely and it was down somewhere over western Iraq. And they're doing rescue operations for the crew. We believe there are five members on board. And that Central Command ruled out hostile fire or friendly fire.

Why is that important? Because in the first days of this war, three F- 15E Strike Eagles, American fighter jets, were shot down over Kuwait, two shot down by Kuwaiti friendly fire. In those cases, all the crew members parachuted safely. We don't know what's going to happen in this case.

And already an Iranian allied militia in Iraq has claimed responsibility for shooting down this flying fuel tanker. Also, another group has vowed to make targets of all French troops on the ground. Why is that important?

Because the French president has confirmed the death of one French soldier at a base in northern Iraq from some kind of a strike there. A French military presence that's been on the ground there, he says, since 2015 to fight against ISIS.

Remember that terrifying armed group? Well, the French base was targeted. And Emmanuel Macron, the French president, says the Iran war should not be linked in any way to the efforts on the ground to combat a terrorism that France has been part of in Iraq for the better part of a decade. Back to you.

MICHAELSON: And saying that the war in Iran cannot justify any attacks, as we just showed. Ivan Watson, thank you for all that information coming to us from Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, Iran is threatening to set the region's oil infrastructure on fire if its own energy sites are attacked. Look at that dramatic video there. Since the war started, the U.S. says it's hit more than 5,500 targets inside Iran, including more than 60 ships. Tehran has also been targeting cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted global energy trade.

CNN's senior producer Bijan Hosseini joining me once again live from Doha, where it is now Friday morning. Bijan, what is the latest on these strikes on tankers in the Gulf region?

BIJAN HOSSEINI, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Hi, Elex. Good morning from here. Yes, as you mentioned, a huge focus of Iranian firepower on energy infrastructure in and around the Gulf recently. You and Ivan were just talking that we did hear, purportedly heard, from Iran's new Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. We say purportedly because it was a written message that was broadcast across state TV. As you two rightly pointed out. We haven't seen or physically heard from him since strikes began on February 28.

But in the message, he said, obviously, his father died with a clenched fist, one last symbol of resistance. He praised the IRGC for their response in Israel and the U.S. attacks. And then he went on to say that if U.S. bases weren't shut down in the region, that attacks would continue against those targets. And more importantly, he said that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed.

We're clearly seeing them back up those comments. Yesterday, two foreign oil tankers in Iraqi waters were hit. An eyewitness telling CNN that he saw a very bright explosion and the explosion was very loud. He said it was followed by another explosion. We know that one person was killed in that attack. Dozens of other crew members were forced to abandon ship there.

This comes a day after Iran attacked the fuel storage tank in Bahrain. This massive fire breaking out. Really dramatic footage there of civil defense trying to battle out that flames. And authorities telling residents in four nearby villages to stay inside, keep their windows shut, which suggests some sort of potential environment fallout from that and the similar story in Oman. In the port of Salalah, we saw another attack on a fuel storage tank. Iran called that one highly suspicious.

They said that Oman was a friendly neighbor and that they were going to investigate that attack. But we're clearly seeing these attacks play out all throughout the region. And we're still seeing a bombardment on land as well. Elex.

MICHAELSON: Yes. And what are you seeing actually where you are? And reports of explosions in Dubai as well, right?

HOSSEINI: Yes. For the time being here in Qatar, relatively quiet. We did get some alerts yesterday. We know that there were missiles and drones sent to the country here. Those were all intercepted. Today, Saudi Arabia announcing a barrage of drones fired into their country that they've intercepted. And then in Dubai, as you mentioned, we know that Dubai confirmed that debris from a drone fell on a building in DIFC. This is Dubai's financial district.

You know, Dubai over the last 30 years have really built up this massive infrastructure and hub when it comes to the global economy, and that is centered around DIFC, some of the world's biggest bank.

[01:10:010]

Some of the top international law firms all operate there. We do know that majority of those employers are being asked to work from home for the time being.

MICHAELSON: Bijan Hosseini in Doha. Glad to hear that things are a little more safe where you are. Thank you for your continued reporting day after day.

Meanwhile in the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security says the man who rammed a Detroit area synagogue was a naturalized citizen from Lebanon. The 41-year-old suspect died when his car caught fire shortly after he crashed into Temple Israel on Thursday.

Authorities say the man had a rifle, a large amount of explosives in his vehicle. The Temple Israel, which is located in West Bloomfield, Michigan, includes a daycare center and a school. A security guard was knocked unconscious when the car struck him as it smashed into the building. No teachers or students were injured in the incident. The FBI says it is investigating the attack as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community. In our last hour, I spoke live here on set with Steve Leder, Rabbi

Emeritus of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, biggest temple in Southern California, about the increase in antisemitism and what people can do to help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE LEDER, RABBI EMERITUS, WILSHIRE BOULEVARD TEMPLE: One thing I can assure you is that no one suffers pain better alone. No one. And right now we feel like we are suffering alone. And so I want to say to our allies, to my Christian brothers and sisters, my Muslim brothers and sisters, the Islamic center of Southern California, where after a mosque was attacked in New Zealand, 10,000 miles away, a bunch of us rabbis were there to stand shoulder to shoulder with them.

I haven't gotten a call back yet about what's happening in Detroit or the incidents that have happened at my congregation. So please, please to our -- to our righteous brothers and sisters, show up for us. Be at services tomorrow night. Call your local rabbi, ask your minister or your imam to get engaged with your neighborhood synagogue. We have to show up for each other. We Jews are a tiny people.

Jews live in significant percentages in about 30 of the 435 congressional districts in America. We are a tiny people and we are maligned and we are suffering. And when you prick us, we bleed. So please, please show up for us as we've shown up for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: A fatal shooting at a Virginia university that left one person dead and two others injured is now being investigated as an act of terrorism. It happened Thursday morning at Old Dominion University in Norfolk when a gunman opened fire on a classroom full of students

Virginia's Governor Abigail Spanberger identified the victim who was killed as Army Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, an instructor at the university. Officials have identified the shooter as convicted ISIS supporter and U.S. military veteran Mohamed Jalloh. He pleaded guilty in 2017 into attempting to provide a material support to a terrorist group. CNN's Brian Todd is in Sterling, Virginia with the latest on that gunman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're here in Sterling, Virginia, in the middle of a group of upscale townhouses where we believe the suspect in the Old Dominion University shooting live. That Suspect identified as 36 year old Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former Virginia National Guard member who spent nearly seven years in prison after pleading guilty to trying to support ISIS, the terror group. Officials at the time saying that he tried to procure weapons for an ISIS attack.

Now, at the residence where we believe the suspect lived, I knocked on the door three separate times. Twice. A man answered, first pointing to a sign that was taped in the front door, the sign saying we do not wish to speak to the press. He pointed to that sign and said, we really don't want to speak to anyone right now. And then he closed the door.

The second time he answered, he said, I'm trying to be as nice to you as I can about this, but you have to understand we're going through a really tough time now and we don't want to talk to anybody. We also spoke to five different neighbors from the neighborhood. They describe a very large family living at that address, a family of multiple generations. But they said the family didn't really interact with anyone in the neighborhood and the neighbors really didn't interact with them.

One neighbor told me that he would sometimes pass the suspect by when he would walk in the neighborhood. He said the first time he did that, he said hi to the suspect, but the suspect didn't say anything back and just looked down on the ground, down toward the ground, rather.

And he said every time he would pass the suspect after that, it would be the same thing. The suspect wouldn't say anything and would just look down to the ground. This neighbor said, quote, something about him didn't sit well with me.

Another neighbor said, quote, I'm surprised that they released him and let him come back here.

[01:15:00]

Also, accounts from Old Dominion University from law enforcement sources are pretty grisly regarding the scene of the shooting at that ROTC classroom at Old Dominion. Sources telling CNN that when the shooting unfolded, the suspect was subdued by other students, and at least one other student stabbed him to death. Brian Todd, CNN, Sterling, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Thank you, Brian. Still ahead, global gas prices are rising, and it's all because of a narrow waterway off the coast of Iran by the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted the global energy markets and how high those prices could get.

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MICHAELSON: Well, President Trump is clearly up late and frustrated by media coverage of the war with Iran, posting well after midnight.

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This, and it's quite a dramatic statement. We are totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran militarily, economically and otherwise. Yet if you read the failing New York Times, you would incorrectly think that we are not winning. Iran's navy is gone. Their air force is no longer. Missiles, drones and everything else are being decimated and their leaders have been wiped out from the face of the earth. We have unparalleled firepower, unlimited ammunition and plenty of time. Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today. They've been killing innocent people all over the world for 47 years. And now I, as the 47th President, United States of America, am killing them. What a great honor it is to do so. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

So President Trump, as the president, saying that he is honored to be killing people, also stating that Iran has nothing left, which is clearly not true based off the fact that they are launching missiles and drones into neighboring countries.

But clearly frustrated with the coverage that he is getting from the New York Times late tonight, the president posting that just a few minutes ago.

Now we want to get to Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, who says that Iran will not keep the Strait of Hormuz closed. Those remarks coming hours after the new supreme leader vowed to keep the vital waterway closed as a tool of pressure. The discrepancy between the two men hasn't really been explained. The U.N. Envoy insisting that Iran remains committed to freedom of navigation.

He blamed the U.S. for destabilizing the region and creating the current situation in the Strait. Let's go back to CNN's Mike Valerio in Beijing. And Mike, this very much impacts all of our gas prices.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And I think that disconnect could show that there's so much disarray in the upper echelons of Iran's leadership. So, crucial to keep in mind for our viewers. But yes, if there's a shortage, the Strait of Hormuz and energy disruption, that's not just an over here on this side of the world thing, because American oil producers sell to the global market. American oil producers in Texas or California or wherever are not going to be like, well, let's sell our oil really cheaply because there's a shortage and a disruption.

American oil prices are going to go up and then all of us back home who drive in the United States are going to pay the price. So to illustrate that end, where were and where we are right now, the AAA average was 298 a gallon for gas in the United States. Again, the AAA average. If you're in New York, Jersey, California, you're paying a lot more than that. And now it's at $3.60 this juncture of where we are right now. So an increase of 62 cents.

And I think it's key, you know, when we talk about what can the administration do with, you know, this executive order or that, we have really blockbuster reporting, I encourage everybody to read it. On CNN.com, Zachary Cohen, Phil Mattingly, Kevin Liptak, Kylie Atwood, very much saying, not just suggesting, but saying that the Trump administration was not prepared for this kind of caliber disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.

They have one paragraph that says that Trump administration officials acknowledged to lawmakers that they did not plan for the possibility of Iran closing the Strait because from their point of view, the oil supply from the United States is in great shape.

It still is. They had a win from their point of view in Venezuela and the strikes in June of last year, the Iranian regime threatened to close down the Strait of Hormuz. They did that in the 80s, haven't done it since. And the White House, according to this new CNN reporting, did not think that the Strait was going to close because they thought it would hurt Iran more than it would hurt people at the pump, American consumers.

But I think we see from these poll numbers from people who are really starting to hurt here in Asia with gas shortages that this certainly is hurting real people and it's a consequence that they did not fully foresee. Elex.

MICHAELSON: Yes, I mean, what is the reaction in Asia? How are people responding to this? They think this is a good idea.

VALERIO: No, that's -- I don't mean to be cavalier with that answer, but the short answer is no. I mean, we have news today that South Korea, this hugely important democracy, a very big economy, Seoul is a giant economic engine in the same range of Chicago, Paris and London. They're putting caps for the first time since 1997 in South Korea on the price of gasoline that you pay at the pump.

Because people are so concerned that all of these economies, be it Japan or South Korea, India, all these energy supplies that go through the Strait of Hormuz have to come to Asia because we don't really make a lot of our energy, aside from renewable energy over here on this side of the world.

[01:25:00]

So it's a lot of criticism. You see, according to our reporting, that the four-day work week is coming into effect in the Philippines to try to save money. Thailand is suspending overseas trips for government purposes and people are being urged to work from home.

In India, the government is urging oil and gas refineries to prioritize sending energy to people at home or rather than industry. So, I know if you're watching from, you know, back home that this may seem like a faraway thing except for annoying trip to the gas station if you're lucky enough to find it just annoying. But there are people who are starting to wait in line at gas stations in Bangladesh, India. And it could have a real effect for America's image on this side of the world.

MICHAELSON: But we should point out that there are plenty of Republicans and plenty of Iranian Americans who say it's going to be a temporary bump, but it's worth it if it leads to a free Iran. They say that Iran, you know, has been a terrorist state for years, that ultimately it will better for the world. So people are seeing these different places. We just want to acknowledge that there is mixed opinion on this as well.

Mike Valerio joining us from Beijing. Mike, thank you. Iran's propaganda is embracing artificial intelligence to flood social media with fake videos about the war. Still ahead will talk to an expert of how to recognize AI Generated videos like this one.

Plus, how the U.S. is using artificial intelligence for its own propaganda. Stay with us.

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[01:30:56]

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Weve been talking about this. The first public message attributed to Iran's new supreme leader has been released. Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public since the announcement that he would take over the nation's highest office after the death of his father.

Khamenei did not appear on video or released an audio statement and said his purported written message was read out on Iranian state TV.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AYATOLLAH MOJTABA KHAMENEI, IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER (through translator): I gave this assurance to people that we will not forget. We will revenge on the blood of your martyrs. This revenge is not only for our martyred leader. It's actually for those who are martyred by the enemy. We will take a full revenge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Iran's propaganda machine has really gone into overdrive since the conflict got underway. Its aim is to portray Iran's strength and military accomplishments, often with extensive use of A.I.

But as Nada Bashir reports, accuracy is far from the priority.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Iranian state media celebrating the first statement from its new leader. This comes as the pro-Iranian propaganda machine is in full swing, portraying a resolute image of strength on television and social media.

Like this A.I.-generated image that appeared to show the U.S. embassy on fire after an Iranian strike in Sauri Arabia.

Misinformation has been rife from the outset of this war. Iranian leaders have, for example portrayed attacks on Israel as having completely decimated cities and key military assets.

One parliamentary representative claimed last week that all Israeli security and intelligence centers were being struck by Iranian missiles. And in this social media post from Iran's secretary of the supreme national security council, Ali Larijani, posted last week, he claimed that more than 500 U.S. soldiers had been killed in just the previous few days. In reality seven U.S. service members are confirmed to have died during the war so far.

A.I.-enhanced images have also circulated claiming to show a destroyed American radar installation in Qatar. The unverified claim was also shared in an article by "The Tehran Times" newspaper.

It is false claims like this that have spread doubt amongst international audiences over the veracity of attacks both inside Iran and beyond.

Iranian state media has also, as expected, been highly-selective in its coverage. Take, for example, the devastating attack on Iran's Minab Elementary School, which killed more than 168 young girls and 14 teachers, according to state media.

The widespread coverage of the aftermath and the mass funeral held for the victims is a stark contrast from the regimes response to the thousands reportedly killed earlier this year during anti-regime protests.

Of course, both the U.S. and Israel are also striving to shape coverage of this latest conflict in a never-ending battle to control the narrative with reporters and members of the public in Israel subject to a military censor and President Trump making vague statements like this.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've won. Let me tell you, we've won. You know, you never like to say too early you won. We won. We won the bet, in the first hour it was over.

Nada Bashir, CNN in London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: For more, I'm joined by investigative journalist Audrey Henson. She's also the author of "The Drey Dossier" on Substack.

Welcome, Drey. Thanks for being here. You look at sort of the intersection of politics and tech and A.I. and all of these issues. Do these deep dives into this on your Substack and on YouTube? How do people know what's real and what's not?

[01:34:47]

AUDREY HENSON, AUTHOR, "THE DREY DOSSIER", SUBSTACK: It truly is. I feel like cognitive warfare at its core, it's beyond propaganda at this point. And I asked myself the same question every day. It's almost exhausting trying to differentiate what's real from what's fake.

MICHAELSON: So let's show some examples of what we're talking about. This is some of what Iran has put out. This is a video that they said is the Tel Aviv airport. But one thing you can notice is that some of the bags are moving on their own, which I guess is a bit of a telltale sign. But for people looking at this quickly this looks like the airport's under attack. It wasn't. This is not real.

Another video we want to show you they put out captured American troops to make it look like Iran had taken these folks as POWs, you see them there. That's not true. That whole thing is fake.

And then they've done some stuff that clearly is fake, but is sort of mocking the Americans. We've video that they used Legos.

This was the Iranian embassy in China of all places, sort of mocking what's going on here, claiming that President Trump is doing this because of the Epstein files. You see a video of Netanyahu and Trump as Legos. So that's another part of all of this.

What's Iran's strategy here?

HENSON: You know, I mean, it's hard to say what their exact strategy is, but, you know, they've always been very clever when it comes to cyber warfare. When you don't have the amount of funding that we do or that the IDF has when it comes to this kind of war, I think they really excel and people tend to forget how clever they can be with the cyber warfare.

I mean, just all of this misinformation that's coming out on both ends, you know from our administration as well. It's, yes, it almost surpasses propaganda at this point.

MICHAELSON: Well, and the American administration is taking this to a new level in terms of using A.I. for comedic effect. I mean they put out a video on the White House account of President Trump doing his best impersonation of the Will Ferrell, Christopher Walken, SNL More Cowbell sketch describing him as the Grim Reaper.

Let's take a listen to this.

(MUSIC)

MICHAELSON: I mean, it would kind of be funny if it wasn't such a serious topic.

HENSON: If this wasn't the president.

MICHAELSON: Right. But this is -- this was something he posted on his Truth Social account. And there's been this sort of repeated thing of treating this like a movie a video game, not a real war where real people are dying.

HENSON: Yes, it's very much coded for social media. I mean that's where this information spreads. There's something you said earlier, if you're looking at this quickly it's hard to differentiate and that's exactly the point.

I think that people are going quickly. It's emotional. It's very, very high stakes. And so people are sharing things just as soon as they see them and trying to spread information. And that's where the wires got crossed.

MICHAELSON: So what do we do? Give us some help. How do we -- how do we judge all this stuff?

HENSON: It's -- there are so many technical, I'm sure, facets of this that you could look at and you could really, you know, diagnose these, these videos as either A.I. or not.

But I'm finding that the tools in which to put this kind of video out is outpacing the verifying tools. So even the tools I used six months ago still aren't able to, you know, read these Iranian videos that are being put out today. So I like to slow down and I say verify before you amplify.

MICHAELSON: Yes. And how do you -- what do you think this is doing to us as a society?

HENSON: It's numbing us. I think the whole point is to overwhelm us and numb us and for us to disengage because if you don't know what's real or fake, then you start to pull yourself away from it.

And that's exactly what I think many governments would want, because people who are disengaged don't protest, don't call their congressmen, don't, you know, put up much of a fight for whatever wars they're going to. And that seems to be the point in my mind.

MICHAELSON: To exhaust us to the point that we don't care, and we don't think it is real, even though it is real.

HENSON: Yes.

MICHAELSON: There are people dying on both sides of this conflict because of it. Audrey Henson -- Drey, thank you very much. Again, you can check her out. Her work, "The Drey Dossier", on Substack.

HENSON: Thank you for having me.

MICHAELSON: Coming up, we're going to have a little bit of fun because we need to do something fun. The World Baseball Classic is heading to the quarterfinals.

We break down what to expect with Jeff Passan of ESPN, the guy who knows more about baseball than probably anybody in the country. He's our guest, next.

[01:39:31]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: THE STORY IS sports and the World Baseball Classic is about to enter the quarterfinals, and it is shattering ratings records. Fox says the USA versus Mexico game on March 9th scored more than 5 million viewers, setting a record for the most watched WBC game in history.

Overall, ratings are up 142 percent across Fox's networks, where baseball's best compete on behalf of their countries. You see the list of quarterfinal matches right there.

With us now is Jeff Passan, ESPN's senior baseball insider. Perhaps the best source baseball writer in the country. He joins us from Houston, where he's covering the WBC for ESPN.

Jeff, welcome to THE STORY IS for the first time.

JEFF PASSAN, ESPN SENIOR MLB INSIDER: It's great being here, Elex. Thanks for having me.

MICHAELSON: So why is this tournament so special and so fun and connecting in such a profound way?

PASSAN: Baseball is a global game, but the globalness of it tends to congregate specifically in Major League Baseball. It's the highest level of baseball that there is around the world. And while there are leagues in Japan and other places, they don't stack up to Major League Baseball.

And yet, before the World Baseball Classic started 20 years ago, there was really no competition from major leaguers to compete in and represent their country.

[01:44:45]

PASSAN: Only amateurs were allowed in the Olympics back then, so Major League Baseball and its efforts to try and globalize the game beyond the United States and Canada and the Dominican Republic and Japan and to branch out into the rest of the world, believe that the WBC over time would grow into an event that not only players loved, but fans loved as well.

And two decades into it, the fans are finally catching on that hey, this is something that the players absolutely adore, where they get to wear their countries' names across their chest and were, you know, they spend so much time with their teams, but they jump from team to team in Major League Baseball.

They're not going to be changing countries, the countries that they are representing are meaningful to them. And that meaning comes out on the field in a spectacular way in this tournament.

MICHAELSON: And it helps that the end of the last tournament ended with Shohei Ohtani on the mound, Mike Trout at the plate. Shohei striking out his then Angels teammate for a win for Japan. It did not get more exciting than that.

And on the American side this, time there's a pitcher named Paul Skenes, one of the best pitchers in the world who's an Air Force guy. Right. Talk about his background, his patriotism and how that has really rallied the American team.

PASSAN: Elex, Paul Skenes is one of the two best pitchers in the world right now. And he's only two seasons into his major league career. And his path to the Pittsburgh Pirates, to the National League Rookie of the Year and to the National League Cy Young last year actually started at the Air Force Academy, where he was a cadet for two years.

And after that he transferred to Louisiana State, became the number one overall pick and is a superstar of the highest order right now.

But the love of the country, he never lost that. I mean, he was planning on being an airman and he was going to fly planes. And, you know, I think he looks back at that wistfully that because he is so spectacular at baseball, that that never was an opportunity that he was going to have. But he still believes in patriotism. He still believes that America is the best place in the world to live. And when Aaron Judge, the captain of Team USA, the New York Yankees

superstar, he was the first player who was recruited to this team by USA Baseball. Paul Skenes was the second.

MICHAELSON: That is amazing. We've seen just the patriotism on the sleeves of so many people and this sort of is a larger narrative of what's happening in all American sports.

We just saw at the NBA All-Star game, they set it up as USA versus the world, sort of their own version of the World Baseball Classic there.

We've seen the NFL going into all different countries around the world with games. There's this real effort to globalize American sports, Jeff.

PASSAN: You know, I don't think it's really an effort, though I think it's just the natural extension of what sports is.

We all have different politics. We all have different cultures and different values. Sports is universal. Sports abides by the same rules wherever you are, or at least some sort of similar rules, but the same order.

And so it's very easy to go out and spread the game around the world. And we saw the NBA do it. You know, they got into China. They got into Europe. They got into Africa earlier than all the other major men's professional sports in North America.

You see the NFL playing games all around the world.

Major League Baseball has an advantage, a real opportunity. In the Dominican Republic baseball is life. In Japan baseball is the number one sport and the best player in the world. The best player I've ever seen Shohei Ohtani. Maybe the best player in the history of the game is from Japan.

So it feels like this was just a natural extension of the globalization that's taken over the world, and that sports is just gone along for the ride.

MICHAELSON: And the World Series last time around getting higher ratings in Japan than even here in America with Shohei and his Dodgers winning.

So who wins the World Baseball Classic?

PASSAN: I'm not one for predictions, Elex, because they never go well.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

PASSAN: But I will say this. This is the most talented American team we have ever seen in baseball. And despite the slip up that they had against Italy, they do have the best pitching left in the tournament right now. And I always say pitching wins baseball games.

MICHAELSON: And lastly Jeff, I know your mom is a big CNN viewer. Do we want to give a shout out to your mom?

PASSAN: Hi mom. I made it to CNN.

MICHAELSON: There we go.

[01:49:44]

MICHAELSON: Jeff Passan, one of ESPN's best, and great to be borrowing you here tonight on CNN. Thank you so much.

And of course, you can check out Jeff's great work on ESPN and ESPN.com.

We'll be right back with more of THE STORY IS right after this.

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MICHAELSON: Former secretary of State, John Kerry, says the energy shock resulting from the American and Israeli war with Iran has the potential to be very dangerous.

Kerry, who of course, wrote the Iran nuclear deal, spoke with CNNs max foster at the Sustainable Markets Initiative Summit in London. He added that no one should underestimate Iran's capacity to drag the war out in a long conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: It's one of the worst crises in decades?

JOHN KERRY, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I would. I think it is because it has the potential of getting even more out of control.

[01:54:49]

KERRY: I mean, I think if people have a feeling that there's no off ramp and it's going to have a profound impact. You've already seen what's happened to oil production, gas production. You've seen what's happened to prices.

That will flow down into everybody's economy if it goes on too long. And I think it's really important to avoid the potential of somebody completely misreading or further misreading how one choice will affect others.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: To space now. After several delays, the U.S. space agency, NASA, has set new dates for the launch of its Artemis 2 moon mission. Liftoff is now set for April 1st with six alternate dates. It will be the first crewed lunar trip since the Apollo missions 50 years ago.

The ten-day crewed mission would loop around the moon. The rocket has had problems with various fuel leaks, but on Thursday officials finished a two-day flight readiness review, an evaluation of whether the spacecraft rocket and ground systems are prepared for launch.

Big weekend here in southern California, stars and hopefuls gather to celebrate the Academy Awards. We've got lots of coverage right here on CNN.

"HOLLYWOOD AND THE OSCARS, STILL GOLDEN", the special documentary Saturday at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time. You can watch it on the CNN app.

And on Sunday, CNN and Variety are live on the red carpet for Hollywood's biggest night. Be sure to tune in at 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon on the East Coast, 1:00 p.m. on the Pacific Coast right here in southern California.

You can watch it all in the CNN app. Our pal Elizabeth Wagmeister will be there for CNN and Variety's Ramin Setoodeh.

Thanks for watching. I'm Elex Michaelson. I'll see you on THE STORY IS tomorrow.

[01:56:29]

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