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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Trump Heads To China With Musk, Cook And Top CEOs For Xi Talks; U.S. Releases 53 Million Barrels Of Oil From Strategic Reserve; Economic, Political Problems Persist After Maduro's Ouster; Putin Suggests Russia's War On Ukraine "Coming To An End"; Sean Duffy Faces Backlash For New Family Reality Show; ADL: Anti-Semitic Attacks in U.S. Hit Record High in 2025; "Sleeping Dog" Documentary Investigates UAP Sightings. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired May 12, 2026 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: The Lakers are facing elimination from the NBA playoffs tonight and if they lose it could be the final game of LeBron James NBA career or his final game as a Laker. 41-year-old has brushed aside questions about his potential retirement as an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. He could also resign with the Lakers or with any other team.
Right now the Lakers and Thunders are locked in a tight game tied at 92 in the fourth quarter. Lakers playing really hard, LeBron playing well. This game over on Amazon Prime. We'll see if the Lakers have enough fight to take it to one more game.
In the East, the Cleveland cabinets have ended their evened their series at the Detroit Pistons. Important distinction there. Donovan Mitchell exploded for 39 points in the second half with a 112-103 victory. Thanks for watching this hour of The Story Is. The next hour starts right now.
The story is historic summit, how an in person meeting between President Trump and President Xi could impact the war with Iran.
The story is rise and antisemitism. Even Sesame Street is being targeted with hateful rhetoric. Jonah Platt, host of the Being Jewish podcast is here live.
And the story is the UFO files. Jeremy Corbell with us live as his new documentary is released. What he knows about the next disclosure from the federal government.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles, The Story Is with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: Thanks for watching The Story Is. I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles. We begin with President Trump's high stakes appearance on the world stage this week. He's scheduled to leave in the day ahead for Beijing and talk with the leader of China, Xi Jinping.
The war in Iran will undoubtedly top their agenda as President Trump may have to choose between a diplomatic off ramp or renewed military action. Trump and Xi expected to discuss tariffs and also tensions with Taiwan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Look, I have a great relationship with President Xi. We're doing a lot of business, but it's smart business. I respect him a lot and hopefully he respects me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The White House says more than a dozen business leaders will accompany the president to Beijing. Look at some of their names here. Among them Apple CEO Tim Cook and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. As for the war with Iran, sources tell CNN that President Trump is now giving serious thought to resuming major combat operations in the region.
They say the president has been voicing frustration and impatience with how Tehran is handling the negotiations to end the war. Here's what he said earlier at the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Right now after reading the piece of garbage they sent us. I didn't even finish reading it. They said, I'm not going to waste my time reading it. I would say it's one of the weakest right now. It's on life support. I would say the ceasefire is on massive life support, where the doctor walks in and says, sir, your loved one has approximately a 1 percent chance of living.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, Iran's top negotiator took to social media to warn against any aggression, saying in part, we are prepared for every option. They will be surprised. Let's start things off with CNN's Kristie Lu Stout live in Hong Kong. And Kristie, we have some breaking news when it comes to oil.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Elex, this just in the United States is releasing 53 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserve. All this in a bid to minimize the pain for U.S. consumers as that critical waterway, the Strait of Hormuz, remains effectively closed during 10 weeks of war and hopes for an imminent peace deal have been dashed.
This is U.S. President Donald Trump has been calling the ceasefire with Iran, quote, on massive life support after he received and rejected that counterproposal from Tehran. Here's a reminder of what Iran countered with. Iran was asking for the following. It was asking for an end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, compensation for war damages and end to sanctions, an end to the U.S. naval blockade, resumption of Iranian oil sales, guarantee of no further attacks, Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. All this according to Iranian state media.
U.S. President Donald Trump has outright rejected this. And so the price of oil is climbing. We're monitoring the price of Brent crude, also monitoring the price of West Texas. Brent crude continues to rise. It's up 6-10 of 1 percent.
[01:05:00]
WTI remains at elevated levels. We're also keeping an eye on the price of gallon gas at the -- at the pump. And right now in the United States, the average cost of gas at the pump is $4.52 a gallon according to AAA, the highest level since 2022. And that spike in gas and diesel is costing American families nearly 300 USD a month.
And the U.S. President is aware of this. Again, breaking news. This is why it's just announced that the United States is releasing 53 million barrel oil from a strategic reserve. On top of that, U.S. President Donald Trump says that he will reduce the federal gas tax.
But while these measures are being taken to give some support for the ailing U.S. consumer, Tehran is defiant. Tehran is digging in. Just as just a reminder of the tone that we're getting from Tehran, this from its parliamentary speaker saying this quote on X, there is no alternative but to accept the rights of the Iranian people as laid out in the 14-point proposal. The longer they drag their feet, the more American taxpayers will pay for it.
So here we are, the Strait of Hormuz, it remains virtually sealed off. Just last week, Elex, according to shipping data, there were only three vessels laden with crude oil that managed to exit the Strait of Hormuz. Back to you.
MICHAELSON: And it'll be interesting to see how that all those barrels being released potentially impact the price of oil, impact the price of gas in the days ahead.
LU STOUT: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Meanwhile though, you just talked about this ahead of the meeting with President Trump and Xi in Beijing. The U.S. has issued new sanctions for Iranian oil shipments to China. What can you tell us about that?
LU STOUT: Yes, this came from the U.S. Treasury Department was announced on Monday. A number of companies, individuals are being targeted with sanctions, sanctions for facilitating Iranian oil shipments to China. And on the list included a number of companies based in Hong Kong, including four Hong Kong based companies. And this followed a previous round of sanctions that was announced on Friday by the Treasury Department.
On that list, two China based companies and a Hong Kong based companies. And analysts have pointed out no Chinese banks have been targeting just yet. But this is kind of ratcheting up the pressure and expectation a little bit ahead of that critical meeting between Donald Trump and the Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this week between May 13th and the 15th.
It is widely expected that Donald Trump will press on Xi Jinping to somehow find a way to pledge to rein in Tehran and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz which is so badly needed. And that is why we have that breaking news line that we just delivered at the top of the hour. The United States making this announcement that is planning to release 53 million barrels of oil from a Strategic Reserve, all in a bid to minimize the pain for American consumers during this war. Back to you, Elex.
MICHAELSONL Kristie Lu Christine starting us off with that breaking news from Hong Kong. Thank you, Kristie.
Meanwhile, the cruise ship at the center of a hantavirus outbreak is now en route to the Netherlands where it will be disinfected. There are still 25 crew members and two medical professionals on board. All remaining passengers disembarked the ship on Monday.
More than a dozen American passengers are now back in the U.S. where they are being monitored at facilities in Nebraska and Georgia. Two were flown to Atlanta for further assessment and care at Emory University.
Georgia's governor Brian Kemp, expressing confidence that medical experts in the state are ready to handle the possibility of hantavirus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN KEMP, GEORGIA GOVERNOR: We're doing like we've done in the past with COVID-19. If you remember, we took patients and our fellow Georgians off of cruise ships at Dobbins Air Force Base, the Georgia National Guard. We're as prepared as any state in the country to do this, and it's just the right thing to do.
I mean, you think if you were one of those passengers that was stranded, especially if you were from Georgia, you would want your state to come to your aid. And that's exactly what we're going to do. And there is nobody better to handle that than the folks at Emory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: CNN's Karin Caifa has more details.
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KARIN CAIFA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Americans evacuated from the cruise ship at the center of a deadly hantavirus outbreak touched down in Omaha, Nebraska, early Monday, home to a specialized quarantine unit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over the next several days, passengers will undergo an initial health assessment and receive guidance on next steps from the CDC experts and other partners.
CAIFA (voice-over) Officials said 16 passengers remained at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, one in a biocontainment unit for care, the other 15 in quarantine for monitoring.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone here is asymptomatic and afebrile and do not have a temperature at this time.
CAIFA (voice-over): Two others are in a biocontainment unit at Atlanta's Emory University with one experiencing symptoms. Passengers who remain asymptomatic will be given an option to complete a 42-day monitoring period at home or in the medical facilities. Health officials emphasize this is a variant that does not spread easily.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me be crystal clear, the risk of hantavirus to the general public remains very, very low.
CAIFA (voice-over): But stop short of a guarantee it won't spread to the general public.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are no guarantees in life. We're putting as many measures in place as possible to ensure that people are safe and healthy and we keep the community safe and healthy as well.
CAIFA (voice-over): Meanwhile, in a message posted by the cruise ship's operator Monday, the ship's captain thanked the crew, passengers and others who for their support.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What moved me the most was your patience, your discipline, and also kindness, kindness that you show to each other.
CAIFA (voice-over): At least three people have died from the current outbreak, according to the World Health Organization. In Washington, I'm Karin Caifa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: President Trump still appears fixated on adding a 51st state, telling Fox News that he wants it to be Venezuela.
(BEGIN VIDEO CIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS HOST: He kind of surprised me a little bit because he said, John, I just want to tell you I'm very serious about this so you can talk about this. I'm serious about beginning the process to make Venezuela the 51st state.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: But Venezuela's acting president says that's never going to happen. Speaking from The Hague, Delcey Rodriguez said that while Venezuela is working on a, quote, diplomatic agenda of cooperation with the Trump administration, it will never contemplate losing its independence.
After U.S. captured Venezuela's strongman Nicolas Maduro, they allowed Rodriguez, Maduro's former vice president, to take his place. CNN is learning that neither the U.S. nor Venezuela discussed any role for opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado. That's according to a Qatari source who spoke to CNN.
Our Christiane Amanpour spoke with Machado, who is pushing to be part of her country's future.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIA CORINA MACHADO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER: The wide majority of the Venezuelans that have been involved with the regime, they did it for fear. And we have opened our arms and given them the security that they will be part of this recovery of Venezuela. This is not revenge. We will not do to them what they did to us. We will guarantee they will have safeguards and rights respected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Venezuela has been under the leadership of Delcey Rodriguez for four months now. But many Venezuelans say even with Maduro gone, very little has changed. CNN's David Culver has our report from Caracas, Venezuela.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He says you can't go any closer because the police have blocked it off and you can see they've got a big barricade.
CULVER (voice-over): A public demonstration, and we can't get in. These Venezuelans are calling on their government to raise wages and ease repression. The police keep turning folks back.
CULVER: He's trying to tell us that there's another side to go to. We've driven all the way around this area for about 30 minutes and we haven't found a way to enter.
It looks like now we might have found one possible entry here. But I mean, it's now towards the end of the march and demonstration. She's saying elections have to come for a radical change.
He says they took him in the U.S., Maduro, but left the rest of the system in place.
CULVER (voice-over): Delcey as an acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, who governs behind layers of security, several blocks of armed guards.
CULVER: Got a mobile command force right there.
CULVER (voice-over): Not surprising given how her predecessor's rule ended on January 3rd when U.S. forces captured Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores. Their names and faces now plastered across Caracas billboards, graffiti, homemade signs. The government at least wants them back.
CULVER: The reality is Maduro, a man who ran this country for some 13 years, even though his face is everywhere here in Caracas while he's in custody, locked up in the US. The system he built that is still standing. And that's not lost on the people here.
CULVER (voice-over): Especially the families of the more than 450 political prisoners still in custody.
CULVER: We've driven about an hour outside the Capitol. We're headed to El Rodeo, which is considered to be one of the better known prisons where many of these political prisoners are believed to be held.
CULVER (voice-over): At the prison gate, family members live out of tents waiting for weekly visits.
CULVER: Because they don't have the money to make the trip multiple times, they camp out and on days like today, they have visits with their loved ones.
CULVER (voice-over): Though the repression has not totally lifted, it has loosened a lot.
CULVER: It's also worth noting that not everyone feels like the United States should be involved in Venezuelan matters.
You think he's crazy? At a pro government rally, we had folks coming up to us to say Venezuela is not a colony, that sovereignty here matters to them.
[01:15:06]
CULVER (voice-over): For most here, the deepest suffering is economic. The official minimum income just went up to $240 a month. Most Venezuelans earn far less, and food alone costs nearly three times that amount. There is a small bubble of wealth, nice cars, weekend clubs. But most here live like Maria Perez's family, inside her parent's home. The scarcity is hard to miss.
CULVER: This is your dad? Yes, she said. Her dad is a diabetic. Her mom's got severe arthritis. When it comes to health care, it's really bad.
CULVER (voice-over): Her home is a 20-minute walk uphill from her parents. No real roads to get there.
CULVER: They only really have running water, she said every 45 days and so sorry, I'm out of breath a little bit. But the remainder of the days they rely on these big tanks.
CULVER (voice-over): Venezuela's leaders acknowledge how dire the economic situation is and they often blame U.S. sanctions, though the Trump administration points to years of corruption, mismanagement and authoritarian rule as the cause.
CULVER: Most everyone that we spoke with over the past few days has given us some version of the same sentiment, and that is that they're grateful that the U.S. captured Maduro. They're glad that he's gone. But as to what happens next, when you ask them that question, they stress that is for Venezuelans to decide, though they also emphasize they need the rest of the world to keep on watching. (END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: David Culver for us in Caracas. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is defending his latest project, a reality show Road Trip, filmed with his family over the last seven months. Duffy says it's fine because taxpayers didn't fit the bill. But then who did? That's straight ahead.
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MICHAELSON: Vladimir Putin says he thinks his so called special military operation in Ukraine could end soon. His cryptic comments come as Russia faces a stalled front line, a deeply strained economy and far reaching Ukrainian drone attacks. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh explains the significance of that statement.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice-over): A peculiar parade for a peculiar admission.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I think that the matter is coming to an end. But it is a serious matter.
WALSH (voice-over): President Putin has almost never talked about the end of his war in Ukraine unless in the context of an unlikely total victory. But after a massively and embarrassingly reduced Victory Day parade on Red Square, but absolutely none of the hardware that in past years marked Russia's display of military, military might. He went a little further, suggesting an old German friend, a former chancellor, might be a mediator for direct talks with Europe.
PUTIN (through translator): Personally, I would prefer the former chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. Gerhardt Schroeder.
WALSH (voice-over): And even calling the man he loathes and has refused to meet for talks. Unless it's here. Mr. Zelenskyy.
PUTIN (voice-over): I simply heard once again that the Ukrainian side, Mr. Zelenskyy is ready to hold a personal meeting.
WALSH (voice-over): Why the change of tone or even heart? Putin has long faked it when it comes to peace talks. Perhaps this was aimed at an audience of one, Trump, who had declared the ceasefire Putin wanted for his parade.
TRUMP: I'd like to see a big extension.
WALSH (voice-over): Protecting this show from Ukrainian aerial attack. Zelenskyy seized the moment to issue a decree drop trolling Putin that he authorized the Kremlin's parade by ordering his forces to pause attacks on central Moscow for its duration. The ceasefire itself was, as in previous iterations, barely observed. Outside of the parade. VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): There was no. Silence on the front line. Today there were hostilities. We have documented all of this. We can also see that Russia has no intention of ending this war. And we are preparing for new attacks, unfortunately. But there must be peace.
WALSH (voice-over): Ukraine may lack manpower, but now has robots, thousands of them. Zelenskyy announcing in April the first robot capture of a Russian position. And they offered their anti-drone technology to Arab Gulf nations reeling under Iranian attacks. Even if it is like here, a drone shooting a Russian drone with a shotgun strapped to it, Putin instead has mounting problems.
Airstrikes leaving Moscow feeling vulnerable, Internet blackouts to stifle dissent, economic warning lights blinking red. And so comments about an end may not just be designed to placate Trump, but also his own elite. That an unpopular and savagely costly war may have an end in sight. Just don't expect him to say how yet. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Warsaw.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: The U.S. Supreme Court is facing a flurry of redistricting cases ahead of the midterm elections. It has now cleared the way for Alabama to use a congressional map more favorable to Republicans. A lower court had blocked the map for violating the Voting Rights Act, but the Supreme Court has sent it back for additional review.
Meantime, Virginia Democrats are asking the Supreme Court to reinstate a congressional map benefiting their party. The emergency appeal follows last week's Virginia Supreme Court decision voiding an attempt to redraw the map in an April referendum.
While Americans are struggling, are facing surging gas prices driven by the war with Iran.
[01:25:00]
The head of U.S. Transportation is taking a road trip. Secretary Sean Duffy is releasing a short YouTube reality series where he travels the country with his wife and children.
Duffy says it's paid for by a nonprofit and that no taxpayer dollars were used. But the show is drawing criticism for its timing and its sponsors, which includes some of America's leading transportation, oil and gas companies.
CNN's Tom Foreman has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What a beautiful family.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another reality show, another road trip. But it's a familiar path for this family.
TRUMP: Taking a little trip.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
TRUMP: Little trip all over.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and his wife Rachel Campos Duffy of Fox News met on MTV's Road Rules All Stars and they and their nine children are channeling that past in this five- part YouTube series.
SEAN DUFFY, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: We're encouraging everyone to go take a road trip to celebrate America's 205th. Welcome to Montana.
FOREMAN (voice-over): But the rollout of their made for TV trip through at least 17 states is hitting rough roads with serious safety questions about air travel and several incidents including a Frontier plane striking and killing a pedestrian over the weekend, a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship and gasoline prices way up amid the U.S. fight with Iran. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg posted, this is brutally out of touch. Regular families can't afford road trips anymore because Trump and his war put gas prices through the roof.
DUFFY: Someone has to pay for this operation. I got to go to work.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Duffy says no taxpayer dollars were involved. Neither he nor his family were paid and sponsors picked up the production tab. But looking at some of those corporate backers, government watchdogs warn that the secretary is enjoying a road trip that appears to have been funded by the very industries his agency oversees.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wore my boots that John Rich gave me.
DUFFY: They're very sexy.
FOREMAN (voice-over): The Duffys are push posting that the radical miserable left just hates the show because it's too wholesome, it's too patriotic, it's too joyful.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think mud's kind of mad.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know you're mad.
DUFFY: We're not going to fight on this trip. Put your seatbelts on.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Still, critics say the power couple is on thin ice. Although the project was reportedly shot mainly on weekends and holidays, it took seven months.
DUFFY: There's a crisis and Pete Buttigieg decides to ignore it.
FOREMAN (voice-over): And back when Buttigieg led transportation, both the Duffys attacked him for doing anything other than his government work, even for taking paternity leave when his twins were born. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What the hell was he doing? And we were in the
middle of a supply chain time, right?
DUFFY: He's not doing his job.
FOREMAN: So some who heard the Duffy's complaints back then say what they're hearing now sounds an awful lot like hypocrisy no matter where you go on the map. Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Foreman, thank you. Some breaking news from the world of sports. The Los Angeles Lakers season just ended moments ago and now LeBron James, one of the greatest players of all time, has some decisions to make.
The game just ended. Final score, Thunder 115, Lakers 1 10. That means that the Oklahoma City Thunders, the defending champions, have now swept the Lakers out of the playoffs. They swept their first round series as well. This was the closest the Lakers got in any game. They were right there, put up a big fight, but in the end, the defending champs, just too much.
James, who is now 41 and playing like he's 27, has brushed aside questions about his potential retirement as an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. He could sign with any team. He could sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers where he started his career. He could resign with the Lakers where his son is on the team. Or he could go somewhere else. Or he could decide I've had enough and retire. So interesting to see what he does in the months ahead.
In the meantime, though, Oklahoma City Thunder head to the Western Conference finals where they will face either the San Antonio spurs or the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Coming up. Get back to the news as we see a rise in antisemitism worldwide, even Sesame Street is not safe from online Jewish hate. Jonah Platt, host of the Being Jewish podcast, is here live, standing by to break it all down. Stay with us.
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[01:33:52]
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks for watching THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson.
Let's take a look at today's top stories.
The war with Iran will likely top the agenda as President Trump visits China this week. He leaves Washington in the day ahead for Beijing, where he will meet with Chinese leader, Xi Jinping.
Sources tell CNN not to expect significant progress in talks between the U.S. and Iran before the Trump-Xi meeting. Meanwhile, sources say President Trump is considering resuming combat
operations in Iran. That comes as President Trump rejected Iran's response to the White House's proposal to end the war.
On Monday, the president voiced his frustration to reporters, saying the current ceasefire with Tehran is on, quote, "massive life support".
18 passengers from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship are now back in the U.S. and are being monitored at medical facilities in Nebraska and Georgia. The ship at the center of the outbreak is now en route to the Netherlands, where it will be disinfected.
[01:34:44]
MICHAELSON: There are still 25 crew members and two medical professionals on board. All remaining passengers disembarked the ship on Monday.
As we mark Jewish Heritage Month, a new report from the Anti- Defamation League found that anti-Semitic attacks in the U.S. hit a record high last year. 2025 was also the first time in six years that these assaults turned deadly for American Jews.
Two Israeli embassy staffers were shot and killed in an attack outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington last May. About a month later, a firebomb attack on a Jewish march in Boulder, Colorado injured over a dozen people, including an 82-year-old woman who later died from her injuries.
And attacks even reached political leaders. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro had his home broken into and set on fire just hours after he celebrated Passover with his family.
Compared to 2024, the overall number of incidents last year decreased. But the report notes that the attacks targeting Jews, quote, "remain considerably higher" than total in years prior to the October 7th, 2023 Hamas massacre in Israel.
I want to bring in Jonah Platt, host of the "Being Jewish" podcast. Jonah, welcome back to THE STORY IS.
JONAH PLATT, HOST, "BEING JEWISH" PODCAST: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Why the uptick?
PLATT: Well. It's become more socially acceptable to go after Jews. And there have not been the requisite social consequences for doing so. It is a pervasively hostile atmosphere.
What's interesting, the Community Security Trust, this is the U.K.'s top Jewish security agency, they just put out a report showing that what indicates an increase in anti-Jew violence are other incidents of anti-Jew violence.
So, for example, the killing of Jews on Yom Kippur this year in Manchester, when that happened, there was a spike in anti-Jew attacks.
So what we're seeing is when people see Jews being attacked, it sort of gives a green light, says Jews are vulnerable, attack some more.
And you see that violently on the street. and you see the same thing, verbally violent, socially violent, in polite social circles and on social media.
MICHAELSON: And on social media, including in places that usually you think of are pretty innocent, like "Sesame Street" --
PLATT: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- did a post about this Jewish Heritage Month, here's what they put out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi there. Abby and I are here to wish everyone a very happy --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jewish American Heritage Month.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- Jewish American Heritage Month.
As a proud Jewish American, I am so, so excited to celebrate my community and heritage this month and every month. One of my favorite traditions is --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know how to make matzo ball soup.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now everyone's going to ask me to make them some.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, well, I know I am. I just love that soup.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So I mean, that's as like innocent as it gets. Yet that post had all sorts of anti-Semitic comments of people talking about a Jewish invasion and people saying really nasty things, even to "Sesame Street".
PLATT: Yes, it's very much a parallel mindset. These things are connected. The violence you see in the street and the attacks on Jews, you see on social media, it's the same mindset that brings people there.
We mentioned the violence in London. Recently, two Jews were stabbed on the streets in the Golders Green neighborhood. They looked visibly Jewish. That's why they were stabbed.
But the attacker's reasoning is because Palestine, right. Even though the attack itself had absolutely nothing to do with it. He didn't ask those people's opinions on the war. They look Jewish and it was ok to go after them.
That's what you see on "Sesame Street's" Instagram page. We're talking about something Jewish. It's ok. Let's go after them because Palestine.
Even though that's not really a reason for anything, but it's being used as the excuse to just unleash on Jews.
MICHAELSON: Yes. Last time I checked, that Muppet didn't greenlight an attack in Gaza.
PLATT: Right.
MICHAELSON: Right. I mean, just because somebody is Jewish doesn't necessarily mean that they support everything that Benjamin Netanyahu did, and vice versa.
PLATT: Right.
MICHAELSON: Somebody may be Christian, and they're a big supporter of that. And so to blame this actress and the Muppet for something that happened politically halfway across the world is kind of insane.
And SAG-AFTRA put out a sort of innocent note about let's celebrate Jewish Heritage Month. And their post was also flooded with a bunch of anti-Jewish hate.
And we're seeing some sophisticated versions of this as well. In the last hour, our Jomana Karadsheh reported for us here on CNN about the Islamic regime. And apparently their efforts to spread what they call anti-Zionism and fund some of this.
She was posing as somebody messaging with them. Here's some of what she found.
[01:39:45]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With me they get straight into it. What are my capabilities? What action can you take against Zionist individuals or assets? Do you have access to specific individuals or information, they ask?
I ask what they mean by access to specific individuals or information.
People who work in security and military agencies, such as the Shin Bet, the army and the Mossad, they say.
And I asked them if they're only recruiting people in Israel. They said, no, we can hire anyone who can harm Israeli interests or individuals.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MICHAELSON: So some of the Iranian folks are denying that this is something that's put out by them. But still, we see the investigation there. And it gets to this -- this also issue of people using that word "Zionist", but really they mean Jews.
PLATT: Right. Of course.
It's different when you're talking about, let's say, whatever Iranian agent that might be. And what you're seeing on say, a social media post about Elmo. People are again, using this as an excuse to unleash on Jews.
I mean, you mentioned a moment ago that, you know, you might not even know a person's opinion on Israel. It doesn't actually matter, right? I mean, and it speaks again to that data.
You don't see a spike in in anti-Jewish events when Israel does something. You see the spike in anti-Jewish events when people attack Jews.
It's really just about the pervasive atmosphere. And is there a social cost for doing it or not? Right now, there really isn't. There isn't a strong enough social cost for saying that stuff and doing that stuff. You get to sort of just get away with it.
MICHAELSON: Well, and we've seen some of that in the United States. Sometimes when racism is seen as socially acceptable, more people all of a sudden are racist, which makes you think that some of that was maybe behind them to begin with.
So hopefully we can bring some of this back and talk about Jewish heritage in a positive way as well.
PLATT: I sure hope so.
MICHAELSON: Jonah Platt, you can check out that content at his podcast, "Being Jewish", available wherever you get your podcasts.
We'll be right back. Thanks for watching THE STORY IS.
[01:41:57]
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Corbell an investigative journalist who helped obtain and release the DOD footage of UFOs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm afraid he's going to die.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Years ago, I went searching for the truth about UFOs, and I found it.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MICHAELSON: That's a clip from the trailer for "Sleeping Dog", a new documentary billed as the culmination of a decades' long investigation on UFOs and UAPs, or unidentified anomalous phenomena.
The documentary's release comes just as the Pentagon published never- before-seen files on reported sightings of those UAPs going back decades. And new files are set to be declassified on a rolling basis.
Joining me now is Jeremy Corbell, investigative journalist whose work is featured in "Sleeping Dog". He also co-hosts the "Weaponized" podcast.
Jeremy, welcome to THE STORY IS.
JEREMY CORBELL, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Thanks for having me again.
MICHAELSON: Congrats on the new movie. Tell us the basic premise of it.
CORBELL: Sure. It's a -- it's a very personal movie to me. "Sleeping Dog" kind of drops at a strangely perfect moment. The government is finally being forced to show what its hid for decades. And this film is the story of that.
It kind of examines, I guess, the larger battle of hidden evidence, whistleblower testimony, government secrecy. and it kind of brings all of that into public view.
It is my personal journey looking at that as a journalist with George Knapp.
MICHAELSON: And the battle for journalism to get access, including lots of threats.
CORBELL: Yes, the film exists because the government chose silence and we were provoking change with this. You do see in the film some of what has happened to the whistleblowers and journalists that have pursued this over time.
I'd say intelligence agencies have stepped way out of bounds.
MICHAELSON: What -- so last week was we had this historic release of UFO files. Finally, something you've been pushing for a long time. What was your big takeaway from that?
CORBELL: Yes, 500 million visits in the first 24 hours. So that's not curiosity. That's a mandate. You know, the public is finally demanding --
MICHAELSON: 500 million. So they posted this online and there were 500 million visits to the government's website to look at this information.
CORBELL: Absolutely. And it just shows how the public is ready for the truth. They're hungry. They have an appetite for the truth on whatever UAP represent. MICHAELSON: And there was one thing in particular that you wanted to
point out, and this is in some of your evidence, which is featured in your documentary.
This was a UAP over Syria back in 2021. And we see the motion of it. Describe what we're looking at here.
CORBELL: Sure. So this is footage that George Knapp and I obtained and we put out to the public. We were able to verify source and authenticity.
And it is our duty as journalists to put that out responsibly. So we did. This was actually not in the government releases, but what it shows is astounding. It shows in our own governments words, "instantaneous acceleration", something that should be impossible. There's no visible sign of propulsion.
And what you're seeing is actually a government investigation. Their examination and their authenticating this and labeling it "UAP with instantaneous acceleration".
There's nothing in our hardware that can do this. This outperforms anything in our inventory. And that should concern every American.
MICHAELSON: So we know that the government is going to be releasing more information, likely in the next 30 days. What do you expect to see from them and what kind of pressure campaign are you going to put on them to make sure that they release it?
[01:49:48]
CORBELL: Right. Well, I think it's the court of public opinion. Everybody sees how popular this is, that people are ready for the truth, that they want the truth. They've been hungry for this.
It is now obvious our government has been lying to us about their own study of UAP. They've admitted they exist, but we've had people hand up swearing in under oath in Congress that not only are there craft, but there were pilots bodies. There are beings associated with these craft.
And if these people are to be believed who are standing up in front of Congress, we have that evidence. We also have evidence of exploitation programs, so reverse engineering of these craft.
So what we're getting is a very slow beginning to what I hope is going to be a much more robust process of informing the American public about the UFO reality and presence.
MICHAELSON: Well, the documentary literally just released like an hour or two ago. And this is your first interview you've done since its release.
And it's fitting because the documentary starts with you interviewing with me, which I was surprised to see. The whole thing starts with that and my previous employer. So it's great to see that as part of it as well. It was cool to see
that cameo.
Congratulations on the documentary. People can check it out right now at Amazon and Apple and get it wherever they get VOD.
Jeremy Corbell, congratulations on this, and plenty more to talk about in the weeks and months ahead as more of these disclosures come out.
CORBELL: Yes, man. Journalism at its core, it doesn't just report on power, it moves it.
So watch "Sleeping Dog" closely. It's going to provoke more releases.
MICHAELSON: It already has.
Jeremy Corbell, I don't think this week would have had this release if it wasn't for you. Thank you so much.
We'll be back with more of THE STORY IS right after this.
[01:51:38]
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(MUSIC)
MICHAELSON: The famous rooftop where The Beatles performed their last public gig will be turned into a museum dedicated to the band set to open next year. The museum will feature archive material from The Beatles record label and a recreation of the studio, where they recorded their hit "Let It Be".
We're out of time, so we've got to let it be for now.
I'm Elex Michaelson, I'll see you tomorrow for more THE STORY IS.
[01:56:26]
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