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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Netanyahu: Trump is the Leader, I'm the Ally; Pelosi on Russia's Role in U.S.-Israeli War with Iran; Kids Caught in Crossfire as IDF Ramps Up Lebanon Offensive; Missing U.S. College Student Found Dead in Barcelona; How the NFL is Cashing in on Sports Gambling. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired March 20, 2026 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
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ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Elex Michaelson, coming to you live from Washington, D.C., tonight for a special edition of THE STORY IS.
Right now, here in Washington, U.S. and Israel's war with Iran has lawmakers skeptical there's an actual strategy from the White House. I spoke to Speaker-emerita Nancy Pelosi about that and more. We will get to that in a moment.
But we begin with the news of the day, and the top story once again, new attacks across countries in the Middle East and growing concerns about the impact on the global economy.
First up, Israeli sources confirm an Iranian ballistic missile struck an oil refinery in the Israeli port city of Haifa. So far, no injuries reported. Emergency teams are assessing the damage.
And take a look at this dramatic video from Southern Lebanon.
(BERGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Further rocket attacks were reported against Nahariya and a minute --
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MICHAELSON: A TV news crew narrowly escaping a missile strike. The crew were injured but are said to be OK. Still, their car was hit. Video recorded a short time later shows the vast extent of that destruction.
At the White House, President Trump met with Japan's prime minister. He denied a Reuters report that he's considering deploying thousands of U.S. troops to the Middle East, instead bragging about the U.S. success.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We've obliterated their -- just about everything there is to obliterate, including leadership. Their navy's gone; their air force has gone. Their anti-aircraft equipment is gone. We're flying wherever we want, Pete. We have no -- nobody even shooting at us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Those comments coming on the same day that two sources tell CNN that a U.S. F-35 stealth jet made an emergency landing at a U.S. air base in the Middle East after it was struck by suspected Iranian fire.
The president also had this to say about the impact of the war on the economy, as oil prices surged to nearly $120 a barrel before falling back a little bit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I saw what was happening in Iran, and I said, I hate to make this excursion, but we're going to have to do it. And I actually thought the numbers would be worse. I thought that it would go up more than it did.
And I said, you know, if I do that, oil prices will go up, the economy will go down a little bit. I thought it would be worse, much worse, actually. I thought there was a chance it could be much worse. It's not bad, and it's going to be over with pretty soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, sources say the Pentagon is asking for an additional $200 billion to fund the war. That's billion with a "B." A number of U.S. Lawmakers expressing skepticism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. LAUREN BOEBERT (R-CO): I will not vote for a war supplemental. I am so tired of spending money elsewhere.
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): Yesterday, we voted on the floor not to even discuss publicly this invasion of Iran. Now comes a $200 billion price tag. This is not acceptable.
SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): I think the original wording was around 100 billion. So, we need to look at it.
SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): Let's wait and see what it -- what the request amounts to.
REP. ERIC BURLISON (R-MO): It will give me comfort to -- if they pass an audit, and then I'll know that at least they're keeping track of the dollars.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Whatever it costs to finish this is worth it.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MICHAELSON: Very different views there.
President Trump is once again distancing himself from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel's strike on Iran's gas fields.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I told him, don't do that, and he won't do that. We didn't discuss. You know, we do -- we're independent. We get along great. It's coordinated. But on occasion, he'll do something. And if I don't like it. And so, we're not doing that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: But an Israeli source tells CNN Israel carried out the attack in coordination with the U.S., contradicting the president's claim. An American source also told CNN that the U.S. was, quote, "aware of the strike."
CNN's Jeremy Diamond has a chance to ask the Israeli prime minister about that and more at a news conference on Thursday -- Jeremy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: You've assassinated Iran's supreme leader and dozens of other senior Iranian officials.
The result of that so far has been the appointment of a new supreme leader, considered to be even more hardline than his father. The Iranian regime is not showing any signs of collapse as of now.
So, I wonder what do you say to those who say that killing those individuals is, in fact, empowering the hardliners in Iran? And are you confident that your strategy will still lead to regime change?
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I'm not sure who's running Iran right now. Mojtaba, the replacement ayatollah, has not shown his face. Have you seen him? We haven't.
[00:05:11]
And we can't vouch exactly what is happening there. There is a -- there is a cloud here that's not clear. What we see is that there is a lot of tensions inside the -- the people who are edging for the top.
I think the authority and the hold that Khamenei has had is not going to be translated to anyone, not to Mojtaba if he's there and not to anyone else.
Yes, yes. We're seeing cracks. We're seeing cracks, and we're trying to propagate them as fast as we can. Not only in the top command. We're seeing cracks in the field.
You know, it's sort of like a hollowed-out, rotten piece of wood that's holding on the outside. But there's a lot of rot inside. We're seeing some defections. We're seeing fear and trepidation in the IRGC units that are manning the -- the ballistic missiles. You know why? Because they're afraid to die. They're not -- they're not all suicidal.
We're going to hit them again and again.
DIAMOND: You've also indicated today that you made a commitment to President Trump not to strike these oil and gas facilities in the future.
Should President Trump come to you one day and say oil prices are too high, it's time to end this war, will you listen to him? And do you need the United States in order to continue this campaign alone?
NETANYAHU: I don't think any two leaders have been as coordinated as President Trump and I. He's the leader. I'm, you know, his ally. America is the leader. But ultimately, President Trump makes his own decisions. And do I respect them? Yes, I do.
DIAMOND: The question is whether you would or could continue the war without the United States. Could you without the United States, without the refueling capabilities, for example?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to close. Thank you so much. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister.
NETANYAHU: You exhausted your questions.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Jeremy Diamond pressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today.
Now to my exclusive conversation with Speaker-emerita Nancy Pelosi about the war with Iran. She's reacting to CNN's reporting that Russia is giving vital intel to Iran.
Multiple people familiar with U.S. intelligence tell CNN that Russia is sharing information with Iran about the locations and movements of American troops, ships, and aircraft.
I introduced Pelosi tonight at an event for the USC Center for the Political Future at Union Station, and we spoke backstage.
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NANCY PELOSI, FORMER U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: In my 30 years of experience as -- on intelligence, our first priority has always been force protection. It's always been force protection. It's about our troops. Protect our troops.
So, if that is so -- and it seems to be verified and even expanded that Russia is providing intelligence to the enemy at the exposure of our troops, the president should be making a serious objection to that.
However, he said, when he was in the conversation with Putin, Putin was OK with what was going on in Iran. Of course he was, because he was getting the price of oil to go up, which strengthened him in the war in Ukraine. So, the whole thing is terrible.
MICHAELSON: What should be the U.S. response?
PELOSI: Well, the president of the United States, he's in touch with his buddy Putin. He's got to say to him, we consider this an act of war against our troops that you are providing intelligence.
MICHAELSON: An act of war?
PELOSI: Yes.
MICHAELSON: That Russia is an act of war against the United States?
PELOSI: That's right. Yes, because they are providing intelligence to endanger our troops. So, back off.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Well, a lot more on that with Pelosi and that event throughout the next two hours.
But right now, we want to bring in retired U.S. Air Force colonel and CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton, joining me live here in Washington tonight.
What do you make of what Speaker-emerita Pelosi just said? And this concept that Iran, according to CNN and other media outlets, is helping -- Russia is helping Iran?
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes absolutely. Elex, you know, one of the key things here is what Speaker-emerita Pelosi was saying actually is true.
Intelligence, especially military intelligence, is focused on the force protection issue. And what that means is we have spent, throughout the years, really throughout the decades, we have spent millions and perhaps billions of dollars securing the safety of our troops as best we could, especially when they're deployed in forward areas.
One of the reasons we have low casualty rates compared to previous historical events, such as, let's say, World War Two or Vietnam, compared with modern wars, is that we take the force protection piece very seriously.
[00:10:03]
And when you look at this particular situation where the Russians are reporting -- reportedly have these intelligence connections with the Iranians and are providing bona fide intelligence to them, that really results in great danger to our troops and potentially was the cause of some of the deaths that we've recently had in the attacks, like in Kuwait and in other places throughout the Middle East.
MICHAELSON: And potentially part of this F-35 being hit, too.
So then, she says an act of war, which would mean you've got to retaliate if somebody's got an act of war against you. I mean, what's the U.S. response to that?
LEIGHTON: Well, it certainly should be tougher than -- than what we're seeing right now. At least what we're seeing publicly is extremely mild, to say the least, from the current administration.
So, when you look at what Speaker Pelosi has said, yes, it is. You know, something like that is a potential act of war. The way to handle those kinds of things is to make it very clear to the other side, in this case, Russia, that their actions are absolutely unacceptable. And if they don't cease, then there will be consequences. And you might spell out what some of those consequences could be.
You know, in this case, you know, anything from increased sanctions, which sounds, you know, kind of -- kind of mild, but you could also go into other things where you start taking out elements of the shadow fleet, for example. You know, those tankers that go between Venezuela and Iran and Russia and several other places.
So, those are the kinds of things that really need to be done. In essence, what we need to do in order to make sure that our troops are protected is take these kinds of things seriously and not basically sweep them under the table. And that's, I think, what's sadly happening here.
MICHAELSON: Is there any way at this moment, based on everything we're seeing, that this war doesn't escalate? I mean, is there any sign of -- of tamping down the tensions?
LEIGHTON: I -- you know, you would hope that there would be. But, you know, all diplomatic efforts that I'm aware of at the present time seem to have really stalled out. That doesn't mean that there's -- there isn't something going on right now.
But you know, what I'm looking at, Elex, is that there are so many escalatory factors right now. And in particular, when you look at exactly what's happening with the attacks on the energy sector that are impacting Qatar, that are impacting Iran, that are impacting Israel, that is clearly an escalation.
And that's impacting the civilians that are, you know, citizens of these respective countries and that is then forcing those governments, potentially, to ramp up responses of their own to the attacks from either Iran or Israel, depending on who they are.
And that, then, could result in a spiral that could very easily get out of control if were if were not careful, and I'm afraid we're not being very careful these days.
MICHAELSON: Yes, I mean, talk more about -- about what happened in Qatar, because on the one hand, you've got the United States saying, we didn't know what Israel was doing. All these reports that Israel told the United States that it was coordinated.
First off, does that make sense that the United States wouldn't know what Israel was doing? And secondly, why is this whole thing so significant?
LEIGHTON: Yes. So, first of all, it does not make sense, because one of the things, Elex, is that, you know, when you conduct air operations with another country, you do a lot of coordination. And that coordination in this case and this type of an operation would involve things like aerial refueling.
And you would also need to de-conflict where your aircraft are going versus where the partner's aircraft are going.
So, because of that very fact, they would -- people at CENTCOM would have definitely known where the Israeli aircraft were -- were headed in general terms, at least.
MICHAELSON: So, essentially, then the president, what he's saying, that just doesn't make sense.
LEIGHTON: Yes.
MICHAELSON: I mean, he's probably lying about that, right?
LEIGHTON: Well, he's -- you know, it's certainly not an accurate reflection of what must have happened here.
Now, what is possible is that he personally did not get told that that specific target was happening. That's theoretically possible. But somebody in the U.S. clearly knew that they were going after this -- after this oil field.
And you asked earlier about the significance --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
LEIGHTON: -- of this oil field. So, this oil field is actually divided between Iran and Qatar. So, the Iranian side, the Pars South airfield is -- is a -- airfield, excuse me, oil field and gas field -- is a fairly extensive one.
But the bigger one is actually the Qatari one. And that field is a bit larger in terms of not only area, but it's also a bit larger in terms of the gas production that it does.
Basically, the gas production from Qatar is about 18.5 billion cubic feet of -- of gas every day, 18.5 billion.
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The Iranian side produces about 2 billion cubic feet of gas per day.
MICHAELSON: Wow.
LEIGHTON: So, there's a vast difference here. But the Iranian field actually produces 80 -- 70 percent, excuse me, 70 percent of Iranian gas consumption.
So, Iranians use their gas for cooking you know, for heating, which is totally normal. But then they also use a lot of gas for electric electricity generation so if this field were basically rendered inoperable, it would have a significant impact on the welfare of the civilian population in Iran.
And, you know, cutting them off of their energy supply would have a significant impact and would probably -- that would probably be very detrimental to the United States and Israel going forward, especially if they want to facilitate regime change.
At least that's a potential outcome.
On the Qatari side, they derive about 80 percent of their government revenue from their portion of this gas field. So that is you know, that's why this is huge.
And you have to remember, Qatar produces one-fifth of the worlds liquefied natural gas. And most of that goes to Asia. So, this is a big, big deal.
MICHAELSON: When you think about how small a country that is and the fact that they have that much, which is why they are such a wealthy country.
Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton, always great to see you. Great to be on your turf in Washington tonight and be able to spend some time with you in person. Thank you so much.
LEIGHTON: You bet, Elex.
MICHAELSON: CNN is also reporting from inside Lebanon, where the death toll from the war has reached 1,000. This is a live picture as the day starts in Lebanon. It's 6:16 in the morning there right now. We do see some dark clouds overhead.
The Lebanese prime minister now calling on the U.S. president to stop Israel's ongoing bombardment of Hezbollah targets. An exclusive interview with CNN. The prime minister called for an immediate ceasefire and direct talks with Israel. And he said Donald Trump is in the best position to make that happen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NAWAF SALAM, LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER: President Trump, more than anyone else, I mean, can play a decisive role in bringing this war to an end.
So, we call on a greater engagement of the U.S. I mean, all Lebanese, they are victims. This war has been imposed on -- on us. We didn't seek it. We didn't choose it. And now, our main objective is how to end it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The prime minister there talking to CNN's Nick Paton Walsh.
Meanwhile, Israelis ramping up its airstrikes and ground offensive in Lebanon. And as CNN's Isobel Yeung reports, it is children who often get caught in the line of fire.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: Oh, Yasmina and Malika. I swear, she was like the moon, her face so bright.
ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This mother is carrying the body of her six-year-old daughter, Yasmina. Israeli bombs pierce her grief.
She's also burying her three other daughters, nine-year-old Malika; Zahra, 12; and Zainab, 13. Along with their cousin, 11-year-old Sadiq.
YEUNG: Just absolutely heartbreaking scenes as body after body after body, tiny little bodies. These ones having to be carried on their bed because there's just only parts and remnants and pieces of them left.
YEUNG (voice-over): These are just five of over 110 children killed this month. The IDF say they're targeting Hezbollah infrastructure and that Hezbollah are using civilians as human shields.
CNN obtained permission from Hezbollah to film in Southern Lebanon.
YEUNG: It is just apocalyptic around here. And to think that, I mean, just a couple of weeks ago, this was a buzzing, lively neighborhood with shops. And these were people's Houses. And now, it's just all been turned to rubble.
It must be so eerie staying here. And yet, you still do see people. You see people in their homes.
What are you still doing here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I stay here.
YEUNG: Why are you staying?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I go where? This is my House.
YEUNG: Are you the only person who stayed, or is there other -- other families who stayed, as well?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I no get family. I no marry. You want to marry me. Huh?
YEUNG: These kids obviously have been out of school for the last two weeks, since the beginning of the war, and this group now is trying to do some activities with them, try to have some semblance of normalcy. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: I feel like we are scared and terrified and displaced.
YEUNG: What are you scared could happen?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: I'm scared one of us will be killed.
[00:20:04]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: Lebanon used to be prosperous. The whole of Lebanon is finished. Completely. There is no Lebanon anymore. Hopefully, what happened in Gaza doesn't happen to us.
YEUNG: What would you say to the people who have power over this war right now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: What do you want from us? Children can't continue their education or do anything. You've ruined our lives.
YEUNG (voice-over): It's a pain no child should know. A generation who should have their entire lives ahead of them. Now pulled into a war they never chose, and crushed beneath the violence that engulfs them.
CNN, Beirut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Our thanks to Isobel Yeung, who continues her remarkable reporting from the ground, talking to the everyday people impacted by this war.
By the way, Israel's military says it will look into the incident that CNN has documented involving children's deaths.
Still to come, much more of my conversation with Speaker-emerita Nancy Pelosi. Plus, political analysis from former "Hardball" host Chris Matthews.
But up next, the latest on the college student missing in Spain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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MICHAELSON: U.K. health officials say two young people are dead and at least 27 others are sick amid an outbreak of meningitis. At least ten cases have been traced to a nightclub frequented by students from the University of Kent in Southern England. Meningitis is spread through close contact and can be potentially life-threatening. Symptoms include fever, headache, rash, and vomiting. People who have been in contact with infected students are being treated with antibiotics.
Still, officials say it's too early to tell if the outbreak is contained.
The family of a University of Alabama college student who went missing in Spain says they're working with local authorities to figure out what happened after 20-year-old Jimmy Gracey was found dead in Barcelona.
Marybel Gonzalez has more.
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MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): James "Jimmy" Gracey, a 20-year-old junior at the University of Alabama, was last seen by a friend around 3 a.m. local time Tuesday outside a Barcelona nightclub called Shoko.
Thursday afternoon, a spokesperson from Barcelona law enforcement confirms Gracey's body was recovered in shallow waters off Somorrostro Beach, a stretch of beach in front of the nightclub.
The spokesperson says, quote, "Everything points to it being an accident, not a criminal act."
Gracey's aunt spoke to CNN before his body was recovered and described his good character.
BETH MARREN O'REILLY, AUNT OF JIMMY GRACEY: Jimmy is a great kid. Midwest guy, loving life down at University of Alabama, chaplain of his fraternity, honors student in the accounting program there. Beloved son of his mom and dad, great older brother, hockey player.
GONZALEZ (voice-over): Gracey arrived to the city Monday to visit friends for spring break and went out that night, but got separated from the group.
CALVIN MCLAY, FRIEND OF JIMMY GRACEY: He's been working closely with local authorities and Senator Britt's office, the State Department, U.S. embassy here in Barcelona.
GONZALEZ (voice-over): Employees at Shoko nightclub declined to comment about Gracey's disappearance, but confirmed they have turned over CCTV footage to police. It's unclear whether the security footage shows Gracey.
Gracey's mother says police also have his phone, who said it was recovered after being stolen.
I'm Marybel Gonzalez reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE) MICHAELSON: When we return, my interview with Speaker-emerita Nancy Pelosi. What she says about how President Trump is handling the war with Iran. Plus, her thoughts on Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:32:46]
MICHAELSON: At a hearing here on Capitol Hill Thursday, U.S. director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard outlined some of America's goals for the war with Iran. She says they appear to be different than what Israel is focusing on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does the intelligence community assess Israel's goals in this in this war to be. And are those goals aligned with the goals of the United States?
Are the goals aligned?
TULSI GABBARD, U.S. DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: The objectives that have been laid out by the president are different from the objectives that have been laid out by the Israeli government.
We can see through the operations that the Israeli government has been focused on disabling the Iranian leadership.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And how does that differ from our goals?
GABBARD: The president has stated that his objectives are to destroy Iran's ballistic missile launching capability, their ballistic missile production capability, and their navy -- the IRGC navy and mine-laying capability.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Many Americans have been skeptical of the U.S. military action in Iran, especially the Trump administration's reasoning for getting involved in the first place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're appalled by the Iran war. We're -- we can survive the gas prices, but we just think it's an illegal war that should have never happened. We're not buying that (EXPLETIVE DELETED) that they were. you know, a threat to us, an immediate threat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pure imperialism.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Imperialism, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A very unnecessary war. And we grieve for those who are losing limbs and lives.
I'd like to see the republicans grow some spine and Congress to enact its role, which is checks and balances and governance. It's time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I agree with that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Of course, New York, home to one of the most Democratic areas in the country.
Now earlier, I spoke with Speaker-emerita Nancy Pelosi to get her thoughts on the war with Iran. And I asked her what leverage that Congress has to potentially stop what's going on.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PELOSI: The only thing that really matters is public opinion. Public opinion weighs in. The president cannot ignore that, nor can the members of Congress who are giving him all the sway, who abolished the role of Congress given by the Constitution to declare war, A.
[00:35:08]
B, the president listens, mostly, though, to the stock market. And as you see, it's gone down thousands of points from where it was when he was bragging about 5,000 -- you know, a high stock mark, 50,000.
So, it is -- it's something that the public has to weigh on it. Like I said, public sentiment is everything. You've heard me say that before, and the public has to weigh in.
Here we are in a situation where the president has not made his case for this war. He has not come to Congress as the Constitution requires for this war. And he doesn't have a plan. So, we don't know what the end game is, and we don't know what's next. Most strategists, war strategists will tell you when you go in, you have to know when you can come out.
MICHAELSON: But he says they're one of the world's top sponsors of terrorism around the world, that it makes it safer to get that regime out of there.
PELOSI: Well, let me just say this. There's no question that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. And that engaged in their support for Hamas and Hezbollah is dangerous to the world.
Barack Obama did something so masterful with the nuclear agreement with Iran he even had Russia and China on board. The president tore that up and then decided he'd do this in a warlike way.
So, it is -- yes, they shouldn't have it. And if the president is right that he has diminished their capacity for nuclear opportunity to -- to enrich uranium, if he's -- if that's correct. And if, as they say, they've destroyed the Iranian army and if, as they say, they've diminished drastically the capacity for the -- for their missiles and the rest, ballistic missiles, declare victory and come home.
MICHAELSON: Last time we talked, it got a lot of attention when you called President Trump a vile creature. After what's happening in Iran --
PELOSI: That's right. You did you put that out there.
MICHAELSON: What do you call him now after what's happening in Iran?
PELOSI: There's just -- you know, here's the thing. He's the president of the United States. He takes, as we do, an oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Our founders were brilliant. They did not want a monarch, and they did not want a president who could, by whim, engage in warfare. And that's why they gave the power to declare war to the Congress.
Now, the War Powers Act gives the president certain privileges if we are attacked.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
PELOSI: If we are attacked. But right now, it -- to the extent that we're there and the extent we don't know how much farther he'll go. But he should come to Congress.
When he speaks to Congress, he's speaking to the American people to say to them, we're putting our precious treasure, our men and women in uniform, in harm's way.
We're taking hundreds of billions of dollars to do it. After he had already taken $1 trillion out of Medicaid, a half a trillion dollars out of Medicare, hundreds of millions of dollars out of food for children, to give tax cuts to the richest people in America. Now he's spending money on war.
MICHAELSON: I mean, he would say that we were attacked over the years, including the hostage crisis and the USS Cole, and all the rest of that. But you would, obviously, argue that there was not an imminent threat. In terms of --
PELOSI: That's not what we're calling an immediate attack on our country, as 9/11 was.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
PELOSI: As 9/11 was.
MICHAELSON: Yes. Also --
PELOSI: And what about -- what about the threats from North Korea, his pal in North Korea? I mean you know, you're talking about something 40 some years ago as a threat to us now.
MICHAELSON: In terms of also the last time we talked, you were standing next to Dolores Huerta.
PELOSI: Yes.
MICHAELSON: And, you know, news this week -- PELOSI: Oh, my God.
MICHAELSON: -- of somebody who you've been very close with for many decades saying that Cesar Chavez raped her. And there's a sort of a reckoning about him, somebody that so many people in California have championed for so long.
I'm just curious your reaction to that story and -- and what you think should be done about his legacy now?
PELOSI: Elex, thank you for bringing up in such a sensitive way, something so devastating to all of us, shocking beyond words. Our thoughts and prayers, of course, first go to the survivors and the other -- especially the minors. Especially the minors who were affected by this when they were little girls.
The -- look, a movement is not just about one person. It isn't. It's about the values that -- that propel it. And those values are still there.
So, I think that we praise the work of the farm workers and take down any recognition of Cesar Chavez.
MICHAELSON: And lastly, this is your last term in Congress.
[00:40:04]
PELOSI: Yes.
MICHAELSON: How do you see the next few months, sort of the end of your term? What's your focus now?
PELOSI: My focus is singularly focused: win the House for the Democrats. We will need three to make Hakeem Jeffries the speaker of the House. I want 30 or more. Or more.
And that is what it is. And it isn't -- so we can take ourselves to a place where issues are not so partisan, that there is respect for the Constitution and the role of Congress.
The exquisite beauty of the Constitution was the separation of powers. No monarch; separation of powers. Article I, the legislative branch.
So, we fight to make sure that the role of the people and the House of Representatives elected every other year, clearly with the ear of the people.
So, again, I want us to win the House, restore our constitutional role to a place that is. I'm absolutely certain we will win.
What we have to do, we have to protect the election. We have to win the election. And we have to show why and what we will do when we win. And I'm absolutely certain it will happen.
MICHAELSON: Speaker-emerita Pelosi, it was great to see you.
PELOSI: Always.
MICHAELSON: Thank you so much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Our thanks to Nancy Pelosi, the most powerful woman in the history of the United States government.
Now, one of the issues on voters' minds this November will likely be affordability. Wholesale inflation hit its highest rate in a year last month. And that was before the war with Iran even started. Now, we're seeing volatile oil and gas prices.
Also, at that USC event earlier, I spoke with Chris Matthews, host of "Hardball" on Substack, longtime MSNBC host, about how the conflict is impacting the U.S. economy.
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CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST, "HARDBALL": The prices are going to be much higher. And I don't know how you keep interest rates down in this environment. I think -- I -- this is on a totally issue, a totally separate.
When I look at the steps President Trump takes: spending more money than Democrats and another 200 billion for this war. I'm sorry, that's driving prices up. That's simple economics.
You run up the GDP. You run up prices with that. That's what happens. He wants a Fed chairman in there. He's putting a guy in there who's going to lower interest rates. That's more GDP. That's more business spending.
All the pressure and the tariff which led to the tariffs. All this stuff drives up prices. There's nothing -- nothing he's doing to lower prices.
So, affordability is going to be a big issue out there when the working guy who does decide these elections gets to vote.
MICHAELSON: You think advantage, Democrats right now?
MATTHEWS: Thirty seats in the House starting in Pennsylvania, there'll be three. They'll win in Scranton, Lehigh Valley, Harrisburg. There's the first three. They'll get 30, which is -- which is in the mix on a good year.
On the Senate side --
MICHAELSON: Exact number that Pelosi said she wants: 30.
MATTHEWS: Well, I know what they're doing, I know that. But I tell you, my numbers don't come from her.
MICHAELSON: OK.
MATTHEWS: I know I'm being --
MICHAELSON: She's got pretty good numbers, too.
MATTHEWS: She's very good.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Pelosi, known as one of the greatest vote counters in the history of Congress.
Our thanks to Chris Matthews for that. You can see more from him later on, on my YouTube page: YouTube.com/ElexMichaelson.
Tens of billions of dollars are being waged on major -- wagered on major sports leagues across the U.S. Just ahead, how the National Football League and others are cashing in. That's next.
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MICHAELSON: Welcome back to THE STORY IS from Washington. I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at today's top stories.
Countries across the Middle East are reporting new drone strikes. The Saudi Defense Ministry says it shot down at least a dozen drones over Eastern parts of the country Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates also reporting new missile and drone attacks.
Muslims around the world are celebrating the holiday of Eid al-Fitr as the holy month of Ramadan comes to a close.
Tens of thousands of worshipers are gathered for special Eid prayers at the Grand Mosque in Mecca. This is a look at that, which is home, of course to the Kaaba, Islam's holiest site.
Crews at the Kennedy Space Center are rolling out the Artemis II rocket as they prepare it for launch as early as April 1. This is a live look at the 12-hour process as they slowly shuttle the towering rocket from the vehicle assembly building to the launch pad.
The Artemis mission will take a crew of four astronauts for a ten-day trip, looping around but not landing on the Moon.
THE STORY IS sports. It's estimated that fans will gamble roughly $3.3 billion on March Madness this year, but that's only a fraction of the money wagered on another American sport: football. An estimated $30 billion last season.
Sports betting is exploding across the country. But who's really profiting? CNN's Nick Watt takes a look at how the NFL, the most bet- on league in the country, is cashing in itself.
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NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Distances, speeds, times, individual player stats. That data means we can now bet on pretty much anything and everything.
[00:50:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, they pulled out the Bet MGM app and put together a live parlay.
WATT (voice-over): Live during a game.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: BetMGM sports book. Make it legendary.
WATT (voice-over): The ads are everywhere, and leagues like the NFL are making a lot of money selling that data to sports books.
HARRY LEVANT, GAMBLING ADDICTION THERAPIST: I'm in favor of the legalization of sports gambling. That's not what this is. This is A.I. technology, taking a known addictive product, delivering it at light speed in ways that couldn't be done without the leagues being complicit partners.
TIMOTHY FONG, CO-DIRECTOR, UCLA GAMBLING STUDIES PROGRAM: If you're gambling on sports with higher frequency, there's going to be a much higher likelihood than you have gambling disorder.
WATT (voice-over): A year or so ago, I made a documentary about sports gambling, sat down with an NFL executive V.P.
WATT: How much money do you make on selling your data to the sports books?
JEFF MILLER, NFL EVP FOR COMMS, PUBLIC AFFAIRS & POLICY, HEALTH & SAFETY INITIATIVES: We have a licensing deal with Genius Sports. It then sends it to the sportsbook.
WATT: Which -- but how much money do you make?
MILLER: I don't think we necessarily disclose that but -- but we don't make anything bet on any individual bet. It's just a typical licensing deal.
WATT (voice-over): Well, not exactly. The NFL actually owns a chunk of Genius Sports by taking shares in exchange for data. They won't tell us how much. SEC filings show at least 6 percent right now.
MATT FLECKENSTEIN, CHIEF PRODUCT AND TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, GENIUS SPORTS: Let's take a look at Bet Vision.
WATT (voice-over): This is Genius Investor Day in December. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is front and center. A lot of talk of Bet Vision, a new Genius product that allows fans to place a bet live by tapping a player.
FLECKENSTEIN: The end result is an immersive, intelligent interactive tool to convert traditional fans into high-engagement in-play betters.
LEVANT: The NFL -- let's be clear -- has invested in a company whose stated mission is to convert their fans. Not only get them to gamble, but convert them, turn them into live in-game betters, which are most profitable for the gambling industry.
WATT: And most problematic from an addiction point of view?
LEVANT: Without question.
WATT (voice-over): The NFL declined an interview for this story.
"This partnership allows us to monitor betting patterns, identify suspicious activity, and take action to safeguard the integrity of the game," a spokesperson wrote in an email, adding, "We work with experts and community partners to address and mitigate gambling risks."
During the battle to legalize sports betting, Goodell argued very strongly against all this back in 2012.. The NFL and others sued to stop it.
Asked under oath about the greatest threat to the integrity of football, Goodell said, "Gambling would be No. 1 on my list." And he said, "If you're a 49er fan, we want you rooting for the 49ers to win, not to lose. But I win my bet."
ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: We're investors also.
WATT (voice-over): Goodell has changed his mind dramatically. Genius posted his investor day interview on YouTube.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, you -- so you're happy with the relationship first five years?
GOODELL: Yes. We are very happy.
JACK DAVISON, CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER, GENIUS SPORTS: Our goal is simple. We build products that help sports books increase handle, improve margins, and engage and retain players.
WATT (voice-over): Handle is the amount of money the public gambles. An estimated $30 billion was wagered on the NFL last season and --
DAVISON: And the U.S. Market is expected to nearly double over the next five years.
LEVANT: The goal is a live stream where you can bet 100 percent of the time that you're watching that game in a live feed.
WATT: Tell me how I should behave to do it properly, responsibly, to enjoy it, but not be overwhelmed by it.
SHANE KRAUS, DIRECTOR, BEHAVIORAL ADDICTIONS LAB, UNLV: Place all your bets before the game starts and no more bets. That's it.
WATT: Really?
KRAUS: Yes. And the goal is going to be eliminating, I think, some of the very high-risk things. Live betting and parlays.
FONG: Gambling disorder had one of the highest rates of suicidal thinking. We classify it in the same chapter that we do with all the other addictions: tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, opioids, cocaine.
WATT (voice-over): The NFL's investment in Genius grows with gambling well beyond the gridiron.
Genius has more than 650 global sportsbook partners on some of those deals. Genius takes a share of revenue, not just a flat fee.
More than 400 leagues and federations sell their data through Genius, including England's Premier League soccer, where bets are now live 97 percent of the time in games, and A.I. odds setting has improved the margin for one sportsbook by 23 percent.
DAVISON: These are structural improvements to the economics of in-play trading, and another way we're empowering our sports book partners to maximize their revenue.
LEVANT: Revenue. That's what the gambling industry calls it. You will not hear me use that word because what we're talking about are losses. How much the public loses.
This is not what the American people asked for. We liked our sports before it became the equivalent of a nonstop slot machine.
[00:55:00]
WATT: I reached out to Genius Sports for comment. They passed me on to the NFL. And the NFL said, listen, when sports gambling became legal, we really had no choice but to engage, so that we can check the betting patterns, make sure that it's all on the up and up. They also flagged their education prevention and support initiatives to help problem gamblers.
But when I asked them about this issue of converting traditional fans into high-engagement in-game betters, they didn't really answer that question.
Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Thank you, Nick.
Got some big news about the return of BTS. We'll have details of the K-pop album that millions of fans have been waiting for.
Plus, of course, the latest on the war. When we come back.
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