Return to Transcripts main page
The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
U.S. Blockade In Strait Of Hormuz Underway; U.S. Eyes Potential Second Round Of In-Person Talks With Iran; Orban Concedes Defeat In Parliamentary Election In Hungary; House Reps. Swalwell, Gonzales Announce Plans To Resign; Trump Clashes With Pope Leo, Who Vows To Continue Speaking Out Against War; Trump Denounces Pope for His Opposition to Iran War; Man Accused of Attack on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Has Been Charged; American Released as Search for Missing Wife Continues; Artemis II Crew Reflect on Their History-Making Mission; 39th Annual Edison Awards Spotlighting Best in Innovation. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired April 14, 2026 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A portrait of every on air journalist at CNN. And Adenle says it was for a simple reason.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just something that is a kind gesture from us to say. I say thank you CNN for putting yourself out there to help stop modern day slavery and give voice to those who are voiceless.
ASHER: It's a project that took over two months and they just finished their work.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Slum decided to say, oh, let's work with volunteer artists and children from our school to complete two 222 artworks of reporters anchors saying thank you to sending reporters across the world.
ASHER: It's proof kindness is contagious. Greatness can come from anywhere and talent can't be confined to within four walls. Zain Asher, CNN, (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Our thanks to Zain and the entire CNN crew for making that happen. Be sure to join us on Wednesday, April 15th for My Freedom Day. It's a worldwide event to raise awareness of modern day slavery. We'll be bringing you special stories all day and all night right here on CNN.
Thanks for watching this hour of The Story Is. The next hour starts right now.
U.S. military moves into the Strait of Hormuz attempting to open up oil supply. The story is President Trump versus Pope Leo XIV.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think he's very weak on crime and other things.
POPE LEO XIV, CATHOLIC CHURCH LEADER: Someone has to stand up and say there's a better way to do this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Father Alan Deck here live to weigh in on an unprecedented feud.
The story is astronaut homecoming, heartwarming moments with the crew of Artemis II.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles, The Story Is with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: And welcome to The Story Is. I'm Elex Michelson live in Los Angeles. It's 10:00 p.m. here, 8:30 a.m. in Tehran. The top story right now, the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf. President Trump says the U.S. will sink any Iranian ship that comes near that blockade. But he says we're still open to talk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are another round of talks planned with Iran and if so, will you send Vice President JD Vance?
TRUMP: Well, he's done a good job with Steve and Jared. They've all done a very good job and I can tell you that we've been called by the other side. They'd like to make a deal very badly. Very badly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Sources say U.S. officials are exploring options for a potential second round of in-person talks with Tehran to before the cease fire expires next week. Meanwhile, Iran's president warns that threatening the Strait of Hormuz will have widespread consequences for the world and says that Tehran will resume negotiations only under international law.
Meantime, Israeli and Lebanese officials are expected to meet for talks in Washington in the coming hours. U.S. official says Secretary of State Marco Rubio will participate in those negotiations.
Let's start things off with CNN's Ivan Watson, who is live for us in Hong Kong. You right now are out covering a shipping conference in Hong Kong. And the big question I'm sure many people have there how is all this going to impact global shipping going forward?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well, Elex, it's basically frozen around the Gulf and has been severely disrupted now for six weeks with no signs of a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. The ships have stopped moving effectively through the Strait of Hormuz. They've been drastically curtailed.
There is one ship, a tanker, that did come through sometime after the U.S. Navy blockade went into effect. One ship that had been under sanctions from the U.S. government for transporting Iranian oil did pass through, but another one turned back.
So when you have ship owners gathering here at this international conference and the head of the International Chamber of Shipping, which represents 80 percent of the world's merchant fleet, they are looking as bystanders at their industry being severely disrupted.
Mostly, of course, when it comes to the tankers that transport oil and gas, where that has come to an effective standstill. And they have no real say over what will happen moving forward. So the head of that association, a century old trade association, is saying that the U.S. blockade is a step backwards.
And he's also sounding the alarm about Iran's practice that went into effect after the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran on February 28.
[01:05:06]
That Iran's practice of charging a $2 million toll for each ship going through that could lead to a slippery slope where other global trade choke points like say the Strait of Hormuz or the English Channel or the Strait of Malacca, that people could conceivably try to impose similar tolls there, which would just raise the cost of shipping and curtail free trade all around the world.
This is not just an abstract thing. This is something that consumers are feeling when they go to buy gas at the pump, when they pay their electricity bills.
And now we're getting a warning from the UNDP about the potential costs of that around the world with a report saying that the Asia Pacific region alone, this could cost it some 97 to $299 billion. That's roughly 0.3 to 0.8 percent of global domestic product GDP. That's because of the rise in cost for transport, electricity and food.
And even more ominously, that this could pull push some 32 million people into poverty. So this is not just abstract. The cost of the disruption and the economic costs that we're feeling rippling out from the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz are being felt and will be felt around the world. Even though we're close to a week into a ceasefire, people are no longer being killed in the Gulf. They're still being killed in Lebanon and on the Israeli side of the border by that conflict.
But the economic costs were just beginning to tabulate and there's no end in sight, Elex, to those costs. Back to you.
MICHAELSON: Just staggering numbers, Ivan Watson, when you lay it out like that, live for us in Hong Kong. Thank you. Joining me live here in Los Angeles is Dalia Dassa Kaye. She is a senior fellow at the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations and she is the author of "Enduring Hostility: The Making of America's Iran Policy," which was always relevant, but especially relevant now.
Dalia, welcome back to the show. Ivan's talking about shipping. Let's talk about the Strait of Hormuz. Where are we at? What's the deal?
DALIA DASSA KAYE, SENIOR FELLOW, UCLA BURKLE CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: Well, as your report suggested, it's not looking good. And this is one of the reasons I think this has risen to the top of the negotiating agenda. Reopening the straits is absolutely critical. The problem is the U.S. backed blockade is unlikely to do that and it's going to come with a lot of cost. And I think there's a lot of feeling that this is kind of being done on a whim.
The U.S. didn't really, you know, inform our allies in the Gulf, in Europe and elsewhere that this was the plan. I think there was a lot of surprise. And yes, while it will inflict pain on Iran, it's also going to just further inflict pain on all of us and basically close down the strait to all shipping.
MICHAELSON: I mean, how does the blockade basically work?
KAYE: Well, we don't really know yet. We haven't seen it tested. But the idea will be, is that it's a blockade on the port, so not the entire strait. But the idea is that any ship that is violating the sanctions and trading with Iran and taking Iranian oil out of their ports would be targeted. And you would basically capture that vessel and interdict it and board it and so forth and seize the oil on that ship.
So the idea is to inflict pain on the Iranians. The problem is all of the risks that this would entail. Because one, first of all, Iran has other ways, you know, not to get its oil out, but other ways to get imports in the country. It has a lot of land borders, but the biggest risk.
And this is why even the Saudis today, there are reports suggesting the Saudis are not enthusiastic about this plan because they're worried that they're going to get hit. Iran is threatening that ports in the Gulf are going to get hit. And they're also worried that the Iranians are going to try to shut down through the Houthi proxy group that they're aligned with the choke point in off the coast of Yemen.
MICHAELSON: Wow.
KAYE: So it's really complicated. There's not a simple way to open this street.
MICHAELSON: No, there isn't. And which makes the negotiations complicated. We had JD Vance in Islamabad this weekend, came up short, did not get to a deal. Here's some of him talking about the process.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JD VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: The ball really is in their court. We've made clear where we're willing, again, to be accommodating, and we've made clear where we absolutely need to see the nuclear material come out of the country of Iran.
This is ultimately why we left Pakistan, because what we figured out is that they were unable, I think the team that was there, one that was unable to cut a deal, and they had to go back to Tehran, either from the Supreme Leader or somebody else, and actually get approval to the terms that we had set.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Tough assignment for JD Vance, who we know is probably the most skeptical of the entire Trump administration then to have to go in there at this time to try to fix it.
[01:10:05]
KAYE: Yes, absolutely. And, you know, it's clear, I think both sides are looking for an exit strategy. But, you know, how you get there is really the tough question. And you're not going to get there after a day of negotiations. This is too difficult of a conflict. And, you know, our hostility with Iran, as my book talks about, has lasted 47 years. It's not going to end in a day. And it's not going to end if there's ultimatums and if both sides aren't making compromises and the positions are far apart.
MICHAELSON: Well, let's talk about that book --
KAYE: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- because it does look, and we show the cover of it again, at the sort of enduring hostility. What are the most important lessons from history that we can think about and learn right now that might help us inform, you know, what to do next in this moment?
KAYE: Yes. Well, we are in new territory, but I would say there are a couple. One the vice president just alluded to actually, when he talked about the domestic politics on the Iranian side. We have our own domestic politics across the spectrum, political spectrum that makes it really hard to deal with Iran because this is a state that policymakers view as abnormal, not an easy rational state to deal with.
And the political upside is not very high of trying to engage the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially not in the aftermath of a brutal repression within the country that really was the beginning of this whole lead up to war. So it's going to be very difficult. So one lesson is domestic politics really make it hard.
But despite that, the other, I think, takeaway is again and again, despite all the difficulty, constantly, both sides and the American side often tries to go back to the negotiating table because that's really where any of this ever gets resolved.
And I have a feeling that's likely will things will end up. It's just a question of how much more cost we're all going to pay as this conflict continues.
MICHAELSON: And you say Iran is often underestimated by America.
KAYE: Often underestimated. That's one of the other big takeaways. We often misread the Iranians. We think continued pressure is going to work. And oftentimes that just has the leadership digging in more. And now we still have the Islamic Republic leadership there, and they may even be more hardline and more vengeful than they were before this war started. So it's going to be a very, very difficult road ahead.
MICHAELSON: After so many of their Family and friends were killed in --
KAYE: Absolutely.
MICHAELSON: Dalia Dassa Kaye from UCLA. Congrats on the book. Great to see you.
KAYE: Thanks.
MICHAELSON: Voters are celebrating in the streets of Budapest, Hungary, as the country welcomes its newly elected Prime Minister, Peter Magyar. It marks the end of a 16-year reign under nationalist pro-Russian leader Viktor Orban. Many European leaders are breathing a sigh of relief as Magyar promises to root out corruption and rebuild Hungary's ties with the EU and NATO. CNN's Melissa Bell is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a landslide victory for the people, according to Peter Magyar.
PETER MAYGAR, PRESIDENT, TISZA PARTY (through translator): Together we replaced the Orban regime. Together we've liberated Hungary. We took back our country.
BELL (voice-over): A fresh start, he told an ecstatic crowd after trouncing MAGA darling Viktor Orban that had been decided neither in Brussels, nor in Moscow, nor in Washington, despite MAGA's best efforts.
VANCE: We have got to get Viktor Orban reelected as Prime Minister of Hungary, don't we?
TRUMP: And I love that Victor, I'll tell you, he's a fantastic man. We've had a tremendous relationship. Great leader.
BELL (voice-over): But early on Sunday night, it was clear that none of the endorsements had helped.
VICTOR ORBAN, OUTGOING HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The election result is painful for us, but it's clear.
BELL (voice-over): So clear that tens of thousands made their way to the streets of Budapest to celebrate something they could hardly believe. BELL: How do you feel tonight?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Too good. Too good. Orban, Putin go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can see all around the people, the streets. Everyone wants change.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm really excited because it's going to be a new thing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I never thought this would actually happen. I've been praying for this for 16 years. So I am super happy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just want to apologize for our last 16 years.
BELL: At his very first press conference on Monday, Peter Magyar vowing to act quickly. Hungary, he said, had been left indebted, robbed and devastated. He also answered this question, why? What his defeat of Viktor Orban might mean for movements like MAGA.
MAYGAR (through translator): I believe this is a major loss for them. Viktor Orban was their poster child insofar as he could be. He represented this fight against Brussels.
BELL (voice-over): Budapest, he said, would also no longer finance the intellectual infrastructure of the global far right. Its think tanks and learning centers like the MCC where JD Vance spoke last week.
MAYGAR (through translator): I think this was a criminal offence. Party financing mixed up with government expenditure. CPAC can come to Budapest, but not on Hungarian taxpayers' money.
[01:15:00]
BELL (voice-over): On Sunday, Hungarians celebrated being a part of a democratic revolution. Peter Magyar says that's just the start. Melissa Bell, CNN, Budapest.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICAHELSON: Back here in the United States in the past few hours, two U.S. lawmakers announced their plans to resign from the House of Representatives. Democrat Eric Swalwell and Republican Tony Gonzales were both facing possible votes to be expelled from Congress.
Gonzales had admitted to an affair with the staffer, who later died by suicide. And Swalwell's announcement comes days after CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle reported multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against him, including rape, a charge he denies strongly.
Post on X, Swalwell apologized for what he called mistakes in judgment in his past, but vowed to fight the, quote, serious false allegation. One of Swalwell's accusers says she is glad the congressman is resigning. Ally Sammaarco told CNN she received unsolicited nude photos from him. She spoke exclusively with my colleague Pamela Brown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALLY SAMMARCO, CWALWELL ACCUSER: I think that it was 100 percent the right thing for him to do. I think it should have been done even sooner. But I'm glad that he did it. I don't think that putting him back into a congressional office would have been good for anybody. And I don't think those women in his office or on Capitol Hill in general should be around him for one more day.
So, I am glad that they won't have to endure that and it's over for them. He never should have ran for governor to begin with, knowing what he knows. And nobody else is responsible for what happened to him. And Eric Swalwell is responsible for Eric Swalwell, not the media and definitely not the women.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Last hour I spoke live with Ally's husband, Adam Parkhomenko and asked for his reaction to Swalwell's resignation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADAM PARKHOMENKO, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: I think it is incredibly needed, but I think there's a long way to go. You know, when you have somebody suspend their campaign and then you have somebody who is backed into a corner. And if you look at his statement in terms of resigning, he doesn't say accusations plural. He says accusation. In terms of what he is going to go after, there's a lot more to do.
And what is that to do? That is accountability. Accountability and justice for the victims. And I think that we're going to hear from many other women. I'm so proud of Ally stepping up because in that CNN article that came out on Friday, she was the first and one of the only to date women to put her name on the record. Her story is very similar to others, although they all have different stories. But if it wasn't for that CNN report, I don't think we would be where we are today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Coming up, President Trump doubling down on his criticism of Pope Leo. What's behind the feud between the White House and the Vatican? We talked to a father from here in Southern California, live on set with us next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:22:25]
MICHAELSON: President Trump says he's got nothing to apologize for in his ongoing feud with Pope Leo XIV. The pontiff is on a 10-day trip to Africa, praying on his plane for a ride for an end to the war in Iran. President Trump calls the Pope weak and wrong. CNN's Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb is traveling with the Pope.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. President and a U.S. Pope in a very public war of words.
POPE LEO XIV, CATHOLIC CHURCH LEADER: Welcome aboard.
LAMB (voice-over): Leo XIV responding to an extraordinary broadside against the Chicago born pontiff by President Donald Trump. Speaking on board the papal plane to journalists covering a major election 11 city visit to Africa, the first American Pope made it clear he won't be intimidated.
POPE LEO XIV: I have no fear. Neither the Trump administration nor speaking out loudly about the message of the gospel. That's what I believe. I am confident on what the church is called to you.
LAMB (voice-over): The Pontiff insisting the mission of the church is to build bridges, not engage in politics.
POPE LEO XIV: We're not politicians. We're not foreign policy with the same perspective that he might understand it. But I do believe in the message gospel. Blessed are the peacemakers.
LAMB (voice-over): Leo has repeatedly spoken out against Trump's actions in Iran. President Trump fired back on Sunday night, lashing out at the Pope over his criticism of the U.S. and Israel's war involving Iran.
TRUMP: We don't like it. We don't like a Pope that's going to say that it's OK to have a nuclear weapon. We don't want a Pope that says crime is OK in our cities. I don't like it. I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo.
LAMB (voice-over): On Truth Social, Trump went further calling the Pontiff weak on crime and terrible foreign policy, even saying he prefers the Pope's brother Louis Prevost, who has shown his support for MAGA. Upping the ante, Trump also posted an AI image on Truth Social depicting himself as a Christ like figure healing a sick person with American flags and eagles in the background. The image was later deleted.
TRUMP: I did first it and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with Red Cross as a Red Cross worker there, which we support. And only the fake news could come up with that one. It's supposed to be me as a doctor making people better.
LAMB (voice-over): Trump also claimed the Pope was only elected last year because he is American, suggesting the church chose him to better deal with his presidency. Pope Leo has repeatedly condemned the use of religious language to frame the military operation in Iran.
[01:25:00]
PETE HEGSETH, U.S DEFENSE SECRETARY: Rescued on Sunday, flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday, a pilot reborn, all home and accounted for. A nation rejoicing. God is good.
POPE LEO XIV (through translator): Jesus is the king of peace who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them. LAMB (voice-over): A Vatican official, Father Antonio Spadaro, saying
Trump is attacking. Attacking what he cannot control a moral voice on the global stage. Trump does not argue with Leo. He implores him to return to a language he can control. But the pope speaks another language, one that cannot be reduced to the grammar of force, security or national interest. Christopher Lamb, CNN, Algiers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Joining me live here in the studio is Jesuit Father Alan Figueroa Deck. He's a distinguished scholar in pastoral theology and Latino studies and at Loyola Marymount University. Father, welcome The Story Is. Great to have you here.
How you feel about the Pope right now?
JESUIT FATHER ALLAN FIGUEROA DECK, DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR IN PASTORAL THEOLOGY, LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: I'm very proud about the Pope. I think that he's done what we could expect, and he's done it very well with dignity. He's giving voice to the values of the gospel, which is what he's supposed to do. And he's staying in the lane of morality, social morality.
Apparently, Vice President Vance doesn't know that there's a social aspect to morality, not just an individual aspect to it. And so, yes, the pope's doing what he's supposed to do. And I'm very proud of him as an American and as a Catholic.
MICHAELSON: Do you remember you've been doing this a long time. A president ever getting into a back and forth like this with the pontiff?
DECK: Certainly not a president. You know, the government of the United States at different times has been on the other side of issues, or the church has been on the other side of issues that were important to the United States. But it certainly has never come to showing what I would consider a kind of lack of respect for the head of the Catholic Church. I've never seen that. No.
MICHAELSON: I mean, it seems like the president got outraged last night because he was watching the Masters. Then he watched 60 Minutes right afterwards. They had three cardinals on who were criticizing a lot of the American policies when it comes to the war, when it comes to immigration, when it comes to a lot of the foundational sort of Trumpism edicts.
And clearly the president was not happy with that and feels like, well, if you're going to attack me and my policies, I can hit you back.
DECK: Yes, I guess we shouldn't be surprised because we know that's the way President Trump reacts to things, huh?
MICHAELSON: Yes.
DECK: But it shows a lack of temperance, a lack of moderation, a lack of judgment, really, so. And when you think he's gone as far down as he can, he seems to sink even lower.
MICHAELSON: Well, there's that picture, right? The picture where he clearly is dressed as Jesus. I mean, to say that he's dressed as a doctor. I don't think anybody's ever seen any doctor ever wear that outfit in an operating room. I mean, that's -- and yet he puts this out, then comes up with this BS excuse that he's a doctor, and then takes it down. I mean, how do you interpret that?
DECK: Well, I think many people, religious, Catholic people, and I would say evangelical Christians, and Christians in general, would say that he's trying to put himself in the place of Jesus, or, if you will, in the place of God.
So the problem is he wants to be the center of attention. And, you know, the Pope is just pointing out that there's a higher standard and one has to take responsibility to a higher authority.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And by the way, I probably shouldn't have said that. It was BS. I mean, that's his explanation. It's just hard to see a lot of evidence of that in the past.
So, where do we go from here? Because there's a lot of people that kind of don't like this intersection of religion and politics and like there to be a bit of a separation or uncomfortable with the idea of their religious leaders telling them about political leaders. How do you see it? And sort of, where do we go from here?
DECK: I think that the Gospel of Jesus has always been a source of challenge and difficulty to people because it has all kinds of implications and consequences.
[01:29:38]
Jesus and the scriptures speak about being peacemakers and seeking peace and loving our neighbor and loving others and loving the stranger. All of these things are in the scriptures, are in -- are in the life of Jesus and in the teachings of Jesus.
So yes, do these things have implications on the political order? Yes they do. The church seeks to inform us about values, and those values are being lived personally in our families, in our work, in our homes, but also in our political society.
So the Christian faith is always going to have implications for our social and political and economic life.
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. But isn't it interesting that President Trump overwhelmingly won the Catholic vote last time?
DECK: Well, overwhelming, yes. It was about 56 percent, something like that.
MICHAELSON: Yes, yes.
DECK: Not of all the groups within the Catholic Church, because the Catholics were fairly, fairly divided. But yes, it's true. MICHAELSON: Yes.
DECK: And I think many of them are now asking themselves, why did I vote for this gentleman? Because we're seeing exactly, you know, what he believes in and what he wants to do.
MICHAELSON: Father Allan Deck, thank you for sharing your perspective. We appreciate it, from Loyola Marymount.
Still to come, their ten-day odyssey captured the world's imagination. Now, the four Artemis II astronauts share their lessons from space with the rest of us.
[01:31:26]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: Welcome back to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson.
Let's take a look at today's top stories.
The U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf is underway, and President Trump warns that the U.S. will sink any Iranian ship that comes near the blockade.
Meantime, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has vowed to retaliate. And Iran's president warns the blockade will have global consequences.
At least 14 tornadoes were reported across the central United States on Monday, as severe storms continue to make their way across the country. Three tornadoes, one of them caught on video here, touched down in Minnesota.
Forecasters say the severe storms remain a threat through Friday, bringing heavy rains, winds and possible hail and flooding from Texas to the Great Lakes.
The new class of WNBA draftees is reaping the rewards of a labor deal signed just last month. The Dallas Wings had the first pick in Monday night's draft and picked UConn's Azzi Fudd. Fudd is set to earn half a million dollars this upcoming season. That's nearly seven times what last year's top pick and now teammate Paige Bueckers made. Her rookie salary was just under $79,000.
The U.S. military says it struck an alleged drug trafficking boat in eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people. According to U.S. Southern Command, no U.S. service members were harmed in the operation.
At least 170 people have been killed in strikes on suspected drug vessels as part of the Trump administration's Operation Southern Spear.
The man accused of throwing an incendiary device at the home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has been charged with attempted murder and attempted arson. Authorities believe 20-year-old Daniel Moreno Gama from Texas not only attacked Altman's home, but also the San Francisco headquarters of OpenAI.
Here's what the FBI had to say about the charges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT COBO, ACTING SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, FBI SAN FRANCISCO FIELD OFFICE: The defendant is alleged to having traveled across state lines with the intent to dual target an individual and a major technology company.
This was not spontaneous. This was planned, targeted and extremely serious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The suspect faces more charges at the federal level and possibly others related to domestic terrorism, according to officials.
An American man detained in the Bahamas in connection with his wife's disappearance has been released without charges. Brian Hooker had been arrested and held for several days of questioning by Bahamian police.
Brian told investigators that his wife, Lynette Hooker, fell overboard during a sailing trip. He said she had disappeared after falling off a dinghy into rough waters the night before, which left him stranded as well.
Bahamian authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard have been combing waters near the island for over a week, but Lynette Hooker has not yet been recovered.
The investigation is ongoing. It's not clear whether Brian Hooker is now. Brian Hooker is now free to leave the country.
Well, once a crew, always a crew, says the four astronauts whose history-making flight around the move brought so much joy to us here on earth. Now they're reflecting on the journey that took them farther into space than any humans had ever gone in 4.5 billion years.
Here's CNN's Tom Foreman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 3,2,1 -- booster ignition and liftoff.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From their spectacular launch to their historic lunar loop --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To all of you down there on earth and around earth, we love you from the moon.
FOREMAN: -- right through their triumphant return, the Artemis crew had plenty to say.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Splashdown, sending post-landing command now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Splashdown confirmed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your Artemis II crew.
FOREMAN: But their welcome home at times left them speechless.
REID WISEMAN, ARTEMIS II COMMANDER: I have absolutely no idea what to say. This is -- 24 hours ago, the earth was that big out the window and we were doing Mach 39. And here we are back at Ellington at home.
[01:39:44]
FOREMAN: Commander Reid Wiseman's space family joined him in an emotional moment in orbit, naming a crater on the lunar surface after his late wife.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a bright spot on the moon, and we would like to call it Carroll.
FOREMAN: Reunited with his daughters on earth, Wiseman posted a simple message on X. "Mission complete."
Another post on social media found pilot, Victor Glover, met with a makeshift parade by his neighbors, and he made a point of the gathering.
VICTOR GLOVER, ARTEMIS II PILOT: Some of us have never met before, and you know whose fault that is? Ours. So let's choose to do this. Let's be this more. Let's be neighbors.
I don't know if you heard me say it, but god told us to love him with all that we are and love our neighbors as ourselves.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So that's great.
FOREMAN: Christina Koch's dog, of course, had no idea where she went, but she warmly greeted the mission specialist back from cold space, just as Koch says so many others have too.
CHRISTINA KOCH, ARTEMIS II MISSION SPECIALIST: Planet Earth -- you are a crew. Thank you.
FOREMAN: And Canadian mission specialist Jeremy Hansen's wife suggested the whole world indeed seemed to be watching.
CATHERINE HANSEN, WIFE OF ARTEMIS II MISSION SPECIALIST JEREMY HANSEN: I can't keep up with the messages anymore. So I am just so grateful for the outpouring of support.
FOREMAN: While her astronaut husband felt it every mile along the way.
JEREMY HANSEN, ARTEMIS II MISSION SPECIALIST: When you look up here, you're not looking at us. We are a mirror reflecting you. And if you like what you see, then just look a little deeper. This is you.
FOREMAN: Time and again, the message from all of them was clear. They had a vision of the moon that no humans have ever had before. And yet what changed is how they see this planet we all must share.
Tom Foreman, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Thanks, Tom.
For our international viewers, "WORLDSPORT" is next. For our viewers here in North America, I'll be right back.
[01:41:45]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: Some of the world's biggest breakthroughs are about to be honored at the global Edison Awards, often called the Oscars of innovation. Those awards happen this week in Fort Myers, Florida.
And our pal, Segun Oduolowu, is the host of the awards. He joins us now with a preview. Segun, welcome. Great to see you.
SEGUN ODUOLOWU, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: Great to see you, Elex. Thank you for having me. You've always made me feel welcome here. And being a host of the Edison Awards, I'm excited to tell you all about it.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And so it's all about new cool toys, right? And we start with some augmented reality glasses here.
ODUOLOWU: Yes. So these are by a company called Xreal and Xreal is out of China and I'm going to push play and look at that. See that reaction, that right there. It's going to take away all need for screens.
These glasses are now being marketed for retail. There's so much you can do with them. But the reason that I say this is a big part of the Edison Awards is this Xreal company is in China, their CEO is a man named Chi Xu. And you can buy these. It's going to change the way -- we won't need screens. I'm going to pause it before you get way too happy.
MICHAELSON: And you can hear it, too. I mean, it's great audio.
ODUOLOWU: Yes. So the sound comes --
MICHAELSON: -- surround sound.
ODUOLOWU: Yes. The sound comes through -- comes through the stems right here. Or you could hook up earphones to them.
These are great, right? We've seen augmented reality glasses before, but this is changing the way that we can view and even the way we can work.
This, the Dot Pad X.
MICHAELSON: Dot Pad X.
ODUOLOWU: From Dot Inc is revolutionary. So this is for the visually- impaired. And usually you could only read Braille one line at a time. This allows you to read like graphics, multi-level Braille.
And for visually-impaired, I asked their creator or you know, Eric Ju Yoon Kim, why would you do this? Like if you're hearing -- if you're visually-impaired, you can of course, listen to stuff.
And what they told me is its different to listen than to actually read and understand the context of reading. And you're not literate if you're just hearing the words.
This allows people to not only read but follow on with graphics. So this is revolutionary --
(CROSSTALKING)
MICHAELSON: Like your phone front page, you know --
ODUOLOWU: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- can be that.
ODUOLOWU: Yes. Your whole --
MICHAELSON: It gives you all the apps and everything which is pretty cool.
ODUOLOWU: Gives you all the apps and everything.
Next, we move to this big guy. This is the backpack bed and this is out of -- this is by a company out of Australia. It is waterproof. It is weatherproof. It is fire retardant.
It will actually I mean, as you can see, all of that fits into this backpack. And for the cost of about $140, you -- a person who is unhoused, can now have their own -- their dignity, really.
MICHAELSON: And that could also be really helpful for refugees as well.
ODUOLOWU: Absolutely.
MICHAELSON: We've had so much of that in terms of (INAUDIBLE).
ODUOLOWU: Absolutely.
The numbers are staggering. Over 30,000 of these have been given out to eight different countries.
MICHAELSON: Wow.
ODUOLOWU: And people don't buy them. Like homeless people aren't buying them. Companies are buying them, and then they're being made and then they're being shipped out. So it's really altruistic. (CROSSTALKING)
ODUOLOWU: This of course, this is from GALY. This is cellular grown in a lab, cocoa that is made, that is being that's been turned into chocolate. So I will let you --
MICHAELSON: All right. Let me try it.
ODUOLOWU: I let you try a piece right. Now, the reason that I said before that this is all a representation of the Edison Awards, the Oscars of innovation.
The glasses are from a company in China. This is from a company -- Dot Pad X is a company in Korea. The backpack bed is from a company in Australia. This is from two South American creators -- one Brazilian, one Chilean. Their company is based in Boston.
Like all of this is how global the Edison Awards are. The Edison Awards have, you know, they've honored people like Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Martha Stewart, this year Adam Silver, and a certain big-time musician who has gone to great lengths to make sure people are seen the way they want to be seen.
It's coming out tomorrow, so I can't necessarily tell you who it is, but I'll just say, if you are ever caught out in the rain, you'll need an umbrella.
MICHAELSON: Rihanna's going to be there.
[01:49:46]
ODUOLOWU: Elex, you're a fantastic journalist. I cannot I can't confirm or deny anything that Elex is saying. All I can do is munch on this beautiful chocolate by GALY.
(CROSSTALKING)
MICHAELSON: This actually tastes really good.
ODUOLOWU: It's great, it's great. And say that the Edison Awards, they honor the best and the brightest. Sitting next to you, I feel like I'm in good company.
MICHAELSON: That's going to be amazing. So you and Rihanna together.
Congratulations, Segun. You'll have to report back how it is.
ODUOLOWU: I will. I will.
MICHAELSON: We'll be back with more of THE STORY IS. What a sweet segment this has been.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: A new round of music legends have earned spots in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The performer category includes everyone from Phil Collins to Iron Maiden, New Order to Wu Tang Clan, as well as Luther Vandross and Oasis, and the man who may have the most famous snarl of all time will also be inducted this coming November.
[01:54:52]
MICHAELSON: Billy Idol is the subject of a new documentary called "Billy Idol Should Be Dead". But he is very much alive, our conversation with him on our set tomorrow on THE STORY IS.
And in China, dozens of humanoid robots will race against humans in a half marathon this Sunday. The robots went for a test run over the weekend to work through technical glitches and safety concerns.
The race will feature more than 100 robots, some fully autonomous, others remote-controlled. Last year, a human crossed the finish line first. But this year, teams are pushing their technology to see if a robot can outrun a person.
Thanks so much for watching us. I'm Elex Michaelson. We will see you tomorrow with Billy Idol.
The news continues right here on CNN after a break.
[01:55:37]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
