Return to Transcripts main page

The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Iran Preparing for Possible U.S. Attack on Kharg Island; Iranian Foreign Minister Questions U.S. Calls for Negotiations; Meta, YouTube Found Liable in Social Media Addiction Case; Houston Airport Warns Wait Times May Cause Missed Flights; Trump-Xi Summit Postponed by Iran War Now Set for Mid-May; Asian Countries Scramble to Tackle Growing Energy Crisis; MLB Stadiums Roll Out New Eats for 2026 Season. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired March 26, 2026 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:00]

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Listen, I want to hear what's coming up on your show.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: We got lots of great stuff coming up on the show including the lead lawyer that just argued this big social media case win.

COATES: Right.

MICHAELSON: So we're getting into that. Plus later, talking about the big baseball game of the night. Opening night just happened on Netflix, plus of course all the latest from the Middle East, all coming up on THE STORY IS.

COATES: All right. Well, have a great show. See you.

MICHAELSON: Thanks, Laura. Have a great night. We'll see you tomorrow.

For now, THE STORY IS starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS with Elex Michaelson.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Elex Michaelson. Welcome to THE STORY IS.

And THE STORY IS once again in the Middle East. It has been nearly a month since the U.S. and Israel launched the war with Iran, and it appears that Washington is stepping up diplomacy efforts to try to bring it to an end. U.S. Central Command released new footage of strikes in Iran, even as the White House says talks are proceeding. Iran's foreign minister, though, denies any negotiations, saying there's only been an exchange of messages.

Here's what President Trump had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly, but they're afraid to say it because they figure they'll be killed by their own people. They're also afraid they'll be killed by us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Now the White House says the timeline for the war is still four to six weeks and issued this warning if Iran doesn't make a deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: President Trump does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell. Iran should not miscalculate again. Any violence beyond this point will be because the Iranian regime refused to understand they have already been defeated and refused to come to a deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Meantime, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the broader campaign against Iran is still ongoing. Sources say Israel is concerned that the U.S. could declare a one month ceasefire to allow for talks with Iran.

CNN spoke to Netanyahu's foreign policy adviser.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPHIR FALK, FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER FOR ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: Well, Iran always lies. We've learned that. They always lie. But more importantly, our objective is to remove the existential threat posed by this ayatollah regime. The best way of doing that is to remove the regime. Another way of doing that is to decimate their capabilities, decimate their military capabilities until they get to the Stone Age.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Jim Sciutto in Tel Aviv today.

Amid all this, more U.S. Forces are heading to the Middle East, and we are learning that Iran is building up defenses of Kharg Island to protect against a potential U.S. ground attack. That tiny island handles nearly all of Iran's oil exports. Meanwhile, frustration on Capitol Hill on Wednesday after lawmakers received closed door briefings about the war in Iran. One Senate Democrat says he thinks the Trump administration has no plan for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): What they did confirm for us in that briefing today was that there is no way to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. There is no military plan to open the strait. The strait is effectively going to remain closed until the war ends. So that's bad news for American consumers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Chris Murphy, Democratic senator from Connecticut.

As we look live at Capitol Hill, it's just after midnight there, the White House was -- the House briefing was reportedly acrimonious with one Republican storming out, another calling it the most contentious he's seen. But dissatisfaction was evident on both sides of the aisle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JASON CROW (D-CO): We're not getting answers from the administration on the end game, on the strategy, on how they're going to protect the 50,000 troops who are in that region, how we're going to de-escalate, and what our ultimate goal is. And our service members deserve better.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Would you support troops on the ground in Iran at this point?

REP. DERRICK VAN ORDEN (R-WI): No, I've been 100 percent crystal clear from the beginning. No. The answer is no. We can achieve the strategic goals that Donald Trump wants to achieve without doing that. I don't support that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: For more on the potential U.S. ground operation on Kharg Island, CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports from Tel Aviv.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's no question that the Israelis, like a number of military experts, understand that any potential U.S. Military invasion of Kharg Island would carry tremendous risks for U.S. personnel who would be involved. One Israeli source telling us that there is concern that should U.S. Marines take control of Kharg Island, that Iran could immediately retaliate using a variety of weapons at its disposal, including shoulder fired missiles and drones.

Keep in mind that Kharg Island is only about 20 miles away from the Iranian mainland, and this source also said that the hope is that they won't take that risk and that they will instead fire at the oil fields, but that there's simply no way to know.

[00:05:05]

And this comes, of course, as Israeli officials are monitoring very closely to see which track President Trump is going to follow here. Is he going to follow the military track as he is building up this force of Marines and Airborne -- 82nd Airborne troops as well? Or is he going to pursue this diplomatic track that could potentially see U.S. and Iranian officials in Pakistan as early as this weekend to discuss a way out of a potential escalation of this war? I was speaking to an Israeli official tonight who made clear to me

that, look, Israelis are prepared for all of the potential scenarios that President Trump is considering at this moment. They're clearly letting the United States stay in the driver's seat here as President Trump considers next steps. But there's no question that they feel like they haven't yet achieved all of their objectives, and they would very much like to continue this military campaign.

But they are open to a diplomatic pathway if, and that's a big if, if those objectives can be achieved at the negotiating table as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Jeremy Diamond for us in Tel Aviv.

For more on the diplomatic track Jeremy just talked about, we go to Ivan Watson, who joins us live now from Pakistan -- Ivan.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Elex. That's right. Pakistan is one of a number of countries that have been involved in kind of the mediation and the attempts to create channels of communication between the Trump administration and the embattled leadership in Tehran in the midst of this raging war. There are other countries as well, Turkey, Egypt, Oman.

But we've heard from two senior Trump administration officials that there is a possibility that there could be talks as early as this weekend here in Pakistan, and that the Pakistanis were instrumental in delivering a 15-point list of expectations from the Trump administration to the Islamic Republic of Iran for what they would like to see to try to find an offramp to the war. In response, we've seen in Iranian state media Iran issue a number of conditions that it would want.

And they seem pretty intense when you're looking at this war, that they want a complete halt to aggression and assassinations, the establishment of concrete mechanisms to ensure the war on Iran does not resume. A clearly defined payment of war reparations and damages. With the bombing continuing day after day and night after night, those costs are certainly mounting from the amount of damage that has been incurred by the joint U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign.

And also to guarantee that Iran can exercise sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. And what that exactly means is not clear. They've closed that vital channel for the past now more than three weeks, and now are only allowing a trickle of commercial shipping through. And it appears that they're imposing the conditions, Iran is, of which ships may pass right now, which has added to the surge in energy prices around the world.

President Trump has indicated that he's claiming that Iran desperately wants a deal. Take a listen to what Iran's top diplomat has said about the current state of talks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): I will explain that there is no negotiations but the fact that the enemy who sought our unconditional surrender now talks about negotiations, requests talks, and mobilizes its highest officials to negotiate with the Islamic Republic. This means accepting defeat. So far, the people of Iran are armed forces and all segments of the nation are truly the winners.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: So you have both President Trump, who's been saying that the U.S. won this war from basically the first hour of the conflict and Iran declaring a victory at the same time. While there is a flurry of kind of behind-the-scenes communication going on, there's a lot of posturing, clearly, so we don't know exactly where the truth lies, and we're just going to have to watch closely if there is the possibility of some kind of negotiation coming together, as we've heard indications possibly as early as this weekend.

But keep in mind, you know, there was an active negotiation, there was diplomacy going on between Iran and the U.S. a month ago, and two days later, the U.S. and Israel began their surprise bombing campaign of Tehran that in the first day resulted in killing Iran's supreme leader and a number of other top Iranian officials, Elex.

[00:10:05]

MICHAELSON: Well, if there is a negotiation Ivan Watson will be right there in the middle of it. Live for us in Islamabad, where it is now Thursday morning.

Ivan, thank you so much.

We want to now bring into the conversation Rob Wooldridge. He's a retired brigadier general with the California Army National Guard. He joins us from Arroyo Grande in California, where it is now Wednesday night.

Thanks for being here. Welcome to THE STORY IS for the first time.

BRIG. GEN. ROB WOOLDRIDGE (RET.), CALIFORNIA ARMY NATIONAL GUARD: Good evening, Elex.

MICHAELSON: So one of the headlines of the day is that President Trump is sending troops to the region. But just because he's sending them doesn't necessarily mean he's going to use them, right?

WOOLDRIDGE: That's right. The troops that they're talking about, in addition to the Marines that they're sending some more Marines there, but they're talking about a brigade of the 82nd Airborne and the 82nd Airborne serves as the immediate response force. So at any given time, one brigade from the 82nd is on a two-hour recall to be wheels up in 18 hours and go anywhere in the world.

MICHAELSON: And you know what that's like because you were one of those paratroopers before. What could they do if they're there? What potentially could be their mission?

WOOLDRIDGE: They, first of all, they get there fast. That's the biggest thing is it doesn't take months or weeks or something to get them where they need to go. They can be there, you know, again, wheels up in 18 hours of notification. But they're a very light force. So if the Pentagon is pre-positioning, that brigade, it's a little bit smaller than brigade, it's two battalions, the brigade commander and the division commander.

But if they position it somewhere in the Middle East, they could be on the ground anywhere they need to be within a few hours. And typical missions are airfield seizure. So the 82nd will jump onto an airfield, whether it's military or civilian, seize it, and then you can start to flow in heavier troops with more equipment, you know, like strikers or you can even fly in tanks. But they would seize the airfield so that you can flow in heavier forces, or it could be like a raid where they don't intend to stay. And paratroopers jump on to some sort of target, do damage and then are pulled out.

MICHAELSON: And meanwhile, the Marines would be focused on more of the amphibious part of this, right?

WOOLDRIDGE: Likely, although the Marines have significant airlift that they're able to use as well. That MEU is very capable, the Marine Expeditionary Unit, the one that's there in CENTCOM now and the one that's on its way. They have a lot of not just aircraft fighters, you know, they're going to help in any type of assault, but they have a lot of lift assets, helicopters that will help get them back and forth. But they typically stay within, you know, a couple hundred kilometers of the beach because that's where all their supplies flow through.

MICHAELSON: So you have been involved in the military for decades and studying this concept of Iran and potential conflict with Iran for decades. What makes Iran specifically so challenging, especially for boots on the ground?

WOOLDRIDGE: Well, first of all, I mean, they've got over 90 million people in the country, the country, the topography, the geography is very difficult. There's a lot of, as you're -- if you were trying to move inland from the Persian Gulf or the Arabian Gulf, depending on what you call it, if you're trying to move inland to the northeast, there's these, you know, thousand or 2,000 meter ridges that you have to cross.

And they're canalizing, you know, making your formations very small. Or, you know, very tightly packed. So it's a difficult place to fight. And the IRGC, which is the real force that you have to contend with the Revolutionary Guard, that's about 200,000 strong. So that's a lot more than the 2,000 that we're talking about sending now, or, you know, at least putting in the region now.

MICHAELSON: So if you really want to do that, it sounds like you got to send a whole lot more people before you're ready to really take that on. We will see what happens. We know for a lot of Americans, that's a red line. They do not want to see ground troops in Iran. Rob Wooldridge, thank you so much for your service to our country and

thanks for sharing your perspective tonight.

WOOLDRIDGE: All right. Thank you. Good night.

MICHAELSON: Now to the bombshell ruling here in California against two social media giants. A jury on Wednesday found that YouTube and Meta knew that their platforms were dangerous and failed to warn users of the risks. This case involves a 20-year-old who claims the companies intentionally got her addicted and harmed her mental health. Both YouTube and Meta are planning to appeal.

[00:15:01]

CNN contributor Kara Swisher says this could be a turning point for social media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARA SWISHER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It just takes a drop in the ocean for these kind of things to sort of shift. And I do think people are shifting, regular citizens, because our regulators and our political class has not done anything about this because our legislation, our regulation has not stepped in, our liability has to step in. And I'm glad to see it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Snap and TikTok were also sued. They settled before the trial began.

Here's Sherrell Hubbard with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK LANIER, PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY: We've sent a message with this that you will be held accountable.

SHERRELL HUBBARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A historic setback for Meta's Facebook and Google's YouTube. After a California jury found the social media giants were negligent in the design of their platforms knew their designs were dangerous and failed to warn users of those risks.

DOMENIC ROMANO, FOUNDER AND MANAGING PARTNER, ROMANO LAW: Infinite scroll, algorithmic recommendations, autoplay videos. The lawyers were successful in persuading the jury that those features enticed young users to compulsively engage with the platforms.

HUBBARD: The companies were found to have caused substantial harm to the plaintiff now 20-year-old Kaley, who said she developed anxiety, body dysmorphia and suicidal thoughts after being hooked by the platforms as a child. The companies were ordered to pay $3 million in compensatory damages. Jurors also recommended additional punitive damages. JULIANNA ARNOLD, ONLINE SAFETY ADVOCATE: We now know that they were

manipulating our children for profits while we were watching and trying to keep our families safe.

HUBBARD: Both companies say they will appeal, with Meta adding, "Teen mental health is profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app. We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That Meta acted willfully by engaging in an unfair or deceptive trade practice.

HUBBARD: The verdict comes a day after a New Mexico jury found Meta liable for violating that state's consumer protection laws and failing to protect children from sexual predators.

I'm Sherrill Hubbard reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: So we'll have more on this topic when we come back. You just heard from the plaintiff's attorney there. He will join us for a one-on-one interview, next. Plus more TSA agents quit as the partial U.S. government shutdown drags on. But President Trump suggests they may be getting some additional help. We'll tell you who that may be, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:21:51]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LANIER: Its message is one that's important to Kaley and her family but it's a very great importance to a generation of people who have been affected. There are so many families who've been tragically hurt through the addiction of social media, and we've sent a message with this that you will be held accountable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: That is lead attorney Mark Lanier and supporters reacting just after a jury here in Los Angeles found Meta and YouTube liable for creating products that led to harmful and addictive behaviors by young users. Mark Lanier joins me now.

Welcome to THE STORY IS for the first time.

LANIER: Hey, I'm delighted to be here and appreciate your focus on this issue. It's a very important issue.

MICHAELSON: So what was the first thing that your clients said after this?

LANIER: It was interesting. My client was stunned and almost wordless. She wanted me to know her appreciation for what we had done as legal team, but also for what the court and the jurors had done. So her first words were ones of gratitude.

MICHAELSON: What is the message do you think that's being sent by this?

LANIER: You know, at some point, these social media companies make their money off what they call the attention economy. They're selling the time we spend on their platforms. And that's fine if they want to do that business, but they must do it responsibly. They can't take advantage of young pre-developed minds and purposefully engineer addiction into their platforms so that those children spend more time than they should just to profit the companies.

MICHAELSON: We know these companies are some of the biggest companies in the world. They are worth so much money. Are you surprised that the amount, $6 million essentially, was not higher. And it sounded like some in the jury wanted to go higher but they couldn't be consensus on that.

LANIER: Yes, that's true. Some of the jurors did advocate for much, much bigger figures. The thing about it is, let's say the jury gives $1 billion instead, under the law, it's got to be ratcheted back down anyway into something in range of where the actual damages were found. So the net effect of this is actually more positive for the future development. So you've got 2,000, 3,000 more cases like this in the shoot.

When you realize they may be worth about six million bucks apiece, that's got much more value than if we'd have had a runaway train and we get a $3 billion reward. That's not going to help those other 3,000 cases processed through any kind of a settlement system should one come about.

[00:25:04]

MICHAELSON: That's an interesting spin on it. So you have fought some of the biggest companies in the U.S., and won issues like asbestos, talcum powder, opioids. What made you take this case and is your next case going to be more in the social media vein?

LANIER: I think I took this case because this is a generational issue. This is the point of the spear. This has never been tried before in a U.S. court. To hold these companies accountable for addiction was just too important an issue for me to sidestep it when I've been asked to try it. So I got asked to try it last fall and made the decision that it was the right thing to do. I'm glad we did it.

Next one up, I've got a big antitrust case against Google that will be coming up for the way they monopolize the ad space. And so I represent Texas and about 15, 16 other states. And under the antitrust laws against Google, I get to see them again.

MICHAELSON: I'm sure they're looking forward to that. So in terms of what specific change you think that this might prompt for social media, what do you think is coming next because of this case?

LANIER: I'm hopeful that social media will actually adopt some measures to make themselves less accessible to the developing minds of preteens and even young teenagers. I hope that instead of purposefully adopting features that are almost guaranteed not to work, that they'll actually adopt features that do work so that children aren't up all hours of the night during school nights, scrolling, death scrolling endlessly on their platforms instead of getting the sleep they need, for example. Those types of changes need to be adopted, and it's going to take the companies to do it.

MICHAELSON: Mark Lanier, thank you for joining us at the end of a very big historic day for you and a historic day for social media around the world.

LANIER: Take care, Elex.

MICHAELSON: Another day into the partial U.S. government shutdown and another failed attempt by the Senate to agree on funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

Here's the moment the latest vote failed to pass.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The yays are 54, the nays are 46. Three-fifths of the Senate duly chosen and sworn, not having voted in the affirmative, the motion upon reconsideration is not agreed to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Now Republican lawmakers thought the Democrats had accepted their offer to fund DHS, except for certain operations handled under Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. But Senate Democrats sent a counter-offer, sticking to the demands they've been wanting since the start of the shutdown.

The White House had already agreed to some concessions last week as part of broader talks. That offer was dismissed by top Republicans as, quote, "rehashing old ground." Now, other officials are warning the performance of more agencies may be at risk the longer the shutdown goes on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. THOMAS G. ALLAN JR., U.S. COAST GUARD: Every day the shutdown drags on, moves us closer to a tipping point, and we know through experience it will take us about two and a half days to recover from every day we are in a shutdown. If the shutdown ended today, we wouldn't catch up until July 3rd.

VICTORIA BARTON, FEMA ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS: FEMA provides critical funding, training and preparedness support to communities across America, including security planning for major events like the FIFA World Cup and America's 250. With the current lapse, FEMA's ability to support Americans before, during and after disasters is at risk. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Now, the partial government shutdown is also making matters worse for both air travelers and TSA agents who are working without pay. Department of Homeland Security reports at least 480 TSA officers have quit since the shutdown began, and more than 3,000 TSA employees didn't show up to work on Tuesday. Though still clocking in, will miss a second full paycheck this weekend. TSA deputy administrator detailed the dire situation many of his agents are facing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HA NGUYEN MCNEILL, TSA DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR: Many in our workforce have missed bill payments, received eviction notices, had their cars repossessed and utilities shut off, lost their childcare, defaulted on loans, damaged their credit line and drained their retirement savings. Some are sleeping in their cars, selling their blood and plasma, and taking on jobs, second jobs to make ends meet, all while being expected to perform at the highest level when in uniform to protect the traveling public.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: My apologies. Many of her agents. The TSA union leaders have already mentioned that officers feel forgotten and abandoned since ICE agents were deployed to some airports. But President Trump suggested more reinforcements may be on the way.

[00:30:10]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: If we have to, we're going to send in the National Guard, if we need to. Because we only -- you know, we have 6,000 ICE agents, and we have 40,000 of the other people that they're helping out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Here's a live look at airports across the country, starting here in Los Angeles, where it's about 9:30. You can see traffic backed up, as it usually is at this time. But the lines there have not been too bad, compared to other airports around the country.

Let's head to the East Coast, Philadelphia, where it is now Thursday morning. And we see the pictures there.

And finally, to Houston, where it is now after 11:30 at night. And lines here have really been massive, with some passengers waiting for five hours to get through.

Houston is where we once again sent our Ed Lavandera today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The nightmare travel scenario will continue here in the coming days at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Officials tell us that, even though on Wednesday, we saw some of the lowest travel volume of the week, and the lines were significantly shorter, they expect traffic at this airport to continue increasing going into the weekend. Heavy travel days like Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday, and those lines of four-plus hours long could very much be in the cards once again.

The area where you're seeing behind me, even though today is a lower volume day, there's still a great deal of waiting having to be done by these passengers, who are simply trying to navigate all of this situation here, and they will have to continue to do so.

We are -- we're told by, according to TSA officials, that there was a call-out rate of about 43 percent here at this airport on Tuesday. We don't have Wednesday numbers until the day after -- the next day. So, those are the latest numbers.

But those, significant number of call-outs at this particular airport that happened on Tuesday, which are the latest figures. And they have been close to 40 percent throughout much of the week.

And that is the reason why, at the airport, like here at George Bush Intercontinental, you're seeing only two of the terminals open to security screening, and that is expected to continue as TSA officials are trying to make the most of where they have their manpower and how many lanes they can keep open at any given time.

But here, the bottom line, though, is that in -- officials here at this airport are really urging people to plan ahead, and to expect incredibly long lines once again come Thursday and Friday here at this airport.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Houston, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Much more to come here on THE STORY IS, including the latest on a newly rescheduled meeting between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. We'll go live to Beijing, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:37:45]

MICHAELSON: President Trump's visit to China is back on. Originally set for the end of this month, the trip was rescheduled after the war with Iran started.

The White House now says it will take place May 14th and 15th, and there will be a reciprocal visit in Washington later this year.

Let's go to CNN's Mike Valerio, who is standing by for us in Beijing. What do we know about this, Mike? And what are people in Beijing saying about it?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're not saying anything quite yet. And that's notable, because usually the Chinese side doesn't confirm these high-profile meetings until a couple of days ahead of the meetings happening.

But the big picture, the meeting is back on, May 14th through April [SIC] through -- Let me say that again. The meeting is back on: May 14th through May 15th between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and American President Donald Trump.

So, the meeting was postponed in the first place, because the U.S. president posted on Truth [SIC] that he needed to be in D.C., the war in Iran raging, and originally set the timeline for a postponement of between 5 and 6 weeks.

So, that brings us roughly to the new dates for this meeting: May 14th and May 15th.

So, also, what's notable about this is because we're wondering: could this potentially be a window into the president's thinking of when, from his point of view, he sees perhaps major combat operations in Iran, with Israel, winding down.

The whole reason for postponing this in the first place, again, was because of the war in Iran raging, perhaps taking the oxygen out of these hugely consequential discussions between the two biggest economies in the world.

So, what are they going to talk about when the president is here in Beijing?

MICHAELSON: Right.

VALERIO: A whole litany of things. First and foremost, tariffs. There are still tariffs that are left over from the first Trump administration that are impacting myriad Chinese businesses. China wants them out of the picture. We're going to see if they stay in the picture.

Then, there are advanced American chips used to power A.I., very limited availability for Chinese tech powerhouses to buy those chips. We'll see if that changes with this new meeting.

Then, there are soybeans for our friends in the American heartland. You know, right now, the Chinese government is buying those soybeans. But in the past, soybean purchases have been much bigger. Private companies have been buying American soybeans. But that is not exactly the case right now. We'll see if that also changes.

[00:40:11]

Finally, investment deals and Taiwan relations. Are there going to be any blockbuster aviation or manufacturing deals announced between the U.S. and China as a token of goodwill? And then Taiwan. Worth pointing out, Taiwan has always been a point of

discussion between Beijing and D.C. But what is different now, Beijing has been angered by the uptick in arms sales from the Trump administration to Taipei.

So, of course, Beijing considers Taipei and Taiwan, writ large, as part of its territory. Worth pointing out: Beijing, the current government here, the communist government, has never controlled Taiwan.

So, we will see what progress, if any, is made on all of those fronts, May 14th and May 15th.

MICHAELSON: So, there's a lot of negotiation to be happening before the two leaders get in the room.

VALERIO: Yes.

MICHAELSON: Because presumably, once they get in there, they kind of want that deal to already be done before they walk in.

Mike Valerio with us in Beijing. That will be a -- quite an assignment for you, most likely, May 14th and May 15th. Look forward to talking to you then.

VALERIO: Looking forward to it.

MICHAELSON: Yes. All right. The U.S. Postal Service says it is planning to impose a fuel surcharge for the first time ever, thanks to rising energy costs and that war with Iran.

The 8 percent fee is temporary and will only apply to packages, not to letter mail. It's expected to take effect next month.

Other postal carriers, like UPS and FedEx, already have automatic surcharges in place that kick in when fuel prices go above certain thresholds.

Countries in Asia are doing whatever they can to manage the growing energy crisis, as the vital Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Philippines has become the first country in the world to declare a state of national emergency thanks to a war thousands of miles away.

Long lines snake out of Manila's gas stations, and soaring fuel prices have left some of Manila's jeepney drivers uncertain how long they can stay on the road.

JOSEPH ORINION, JEEPNEY DRIVER (through translator): Instead of being able to bring home the earnings, it goes to pay for diesel. What's left for us is very little. STOUT (voice-over): It's all down to the U.S. and Israel's war with

Iran, which has closed the Strait of Hormuz to all but a handful of ships.

STOUT: Asia is especially vulnerable to the supply shocks that's caused. It consumes more than 80 percent of the oil that crosses the strait.

STOUT (voice-over): In South Korea, the president has called for a 12- point countrywide energy-saving campaign. People are being asked to take shorter showers, charge their phones during the day rather than overnight, and only use their washing machines and vacuum cleaners at weekends.

Fuel shortages have also caused some of Asia's flagship carriers to consider suspending flights, while India's textile industry has been impacted. India imports around half of its oil from the Middle East.

And shortages have started to cause some factories to close or use carbon fuels, and some residents to abandon their kitchens.

"The cost of gas is so high we are cooking on this open-air stove," this woman tells us. She is far from alone. People are queuing to fill gas cylinders and fuel tanks across Asia from Kathmandu, Nepal, to Colombo in Sri Lanka, where authorities have declared every Wednesday a public holiday for government institutions, including schools but exempting hospitals, to manage energy resources.

And it's not just fuel shortages that are causing hardship. Thai farmers say there's a social stigma, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When we bring containers to buy fuel, people look at us and accuse farmers of hoarding. We simply can't handle the costs anymore. Rice prices haven't risen with the costs.

STOUT (voice-over): Even Thailand's cities are not immune. The Thai government has ordered government employees to lower office air conditioning to save energy and ditch suits and ties to keep cool. That edict even applies to news anchors.

Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Still ahead, Major League Baseball's opening day featured booming bats, hot pitching, and some next-level ballpark eats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: You know, if you're just doing this.

Oh, oh my God, I think I could finish that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: CNN's Andy Scholes has our preview of the big-league bytes coming up. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: Welcome back to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

Four people are dead after the latest U.S. strike on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean. U.S. Southern Command says Wednesday's attack hit a vessel operated by a designated terrorist organization.

More than 160 people have now been killed in these strikes on alleged drug boats since September.

President Trump will hold his next cabinet meeting in the hours ahead. This will be his second cabinet meeting of the year and the 11th of his second term. Last one was in late January. He appeared to doze off during his December cabinet meeting, but the White House denies that.

[00:50:09]

In the coming day, Venezuela's ousted president, Nicolas Maduro, will appear in a New York federal court. The status hearing will focus on the timeline of the case and other pretrial issues.

Maduro and his wife have pleaded not guilty to charges related to drug trafficking, money laundering, and corruption. U.S. Forces took them from Venezuela in January.

The U.S. music industry is taking a big hit from the Supreme Court. On Wednesday, the justices unanimously ruled that an Internet service provider is not liable for bootlegged downloads.

Record labels fought to hold providers responsible on copyright infringement claims for failing to cut off users who were known to have pirated music.

A jury initially awarded the labels $1 billion, which was later rejected by a federal appeals court.

Well, Savannah Guthrie has given her first interview since her mother, Nancy, went missing nearly two months ago. She sat down with her NBC colleague and friend Hoda Kotb on Wednesday.

In a gut-wrenching clip released by NBC, Guthrie describes waking up in the middle of the night, imagining what her mother must have gone through.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, CO-HOST, NBC'S "TODAY SHOW": Someone needs to do the right thing. We are in agony.

HODA KOTB, NBC: Yes.

GUTHRIE: We are in agony. It is unbearable.

I wake up every night in the middle of the night, every night. And in the darkness, I imagine her terror.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Nancy Guthrie was taken from her secluded home in Arizona the night of January 31st, without her phone or critical medications.

The search for the 84-year-old is ongoing. The Guthrie family has maintained close communication with law enforcement since the apparent kidnapping.

(BEGIN VIDE CLIP)

SARAH MULLALLY, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY: I am Sarah, a servant of Jesus Christ. I come as one seeking the grace of God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: That is Sarah Mullally, the first female archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England's nearly 500-year history.

She was officially installed on Wednesday in a ceremony mixing tradition with global symbolism.

Two thousand guests attended the ceremony, including the heir to the British throne, Prince William; his wife Catherine, the Princess of Wales; and religious leaders.

Archbishop Mullally is the spiritual leader of 85 million Anglicans around the world.

Well, Hawaii is trying to dry out after massive flooding. In about 20 minutes, the governor of Hawaii, Josh Green, will join us live for the latest on the recovery efforts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:57:30]

MICHAELSON: The boys of summer are back. The 2026 Major League Baseball season opened on Wednesday in San Francisco, with the visiting New York Giants -- New York Giants -- New York Yankees crushing the home team, the San Francisco Giants, 7 to 0.

The Yanks grabbed a big lead early, scoring five runs in the second inning, dominating the Giants, who were held to three hits the whole game.

The game was streamed exclusively on Netflix. First time that's ever happened.

And for the first time ever, the league is now using robot umpires, a video system that lets players challenge balls and strikes a few times a game.

Yankee infielder Jose Caballero made the league's first challenge on a called strike in the fourth inning. The robot ump confirmed the human ump got it right.

MLB teams are threatening [SIC] fans to -- are treating fans to fresh and innovative food menus for the new season. It's a threat to eat something fresh.

Our Andy Scholes got to sample some of the big league eats.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHOLES: With the new season, new foods are coming to ballparks across the country, and Levy restaurants brought some by our studios for me to try.

And Cubs fans this season, they're going to get this chicken and churros creation, which was just awesome. In Arizona, sweet tooth fans, they're going to love the Take Me Out To The Ball Game Shake. It is an absolute masterpiece.

But nothing is bigger than what they're going to have in Miami this season.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the fans of the Marlins this year, we have the Machete. It's our house-made two-foot quesadilla; has carne asada inside, Oaxaca cheese, and mozzarella cheese for that perfect cheese pull. Diced onions, cilantro and a nice salsa verde. And you even get your own Machete carrying tray.

SCHOLES: You'd have to, because it's two-foot-long, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

SCHOLES: Oh, boy. Dropped a pepper. Look at the size of this thing. I'm going to try to take a bite. I mean, how jealous is everyone in the stadium, though, if you're just doing this?

Oh. Oh, my gosh, I think I could finish that.

I ate half of that pretty easily. You give me nine innings, I could finish that bad boy by myself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Andy Scholes, that looked good. Although, do you really want something like that, or do you just want a hot dog if you go to a baseball game? You just want some popcorn or Cracker Jack. Do you want something the size of, like, basically home plate? I don't know. To each their own.

At Dodger Stadium here in L.A., we have Dodger Dogs, which, you know, you can't go there without it.

Good luck, everybody, with opening day. We'll be talking more about opening day in our next hour, really breaking down all of that.

But let's start our next hour of THE STORY IS with breaking news.