Return to Transcripts main page

The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Sir David Beckham Honored With Hollywood Star; Kennedy Center Asks For More Time To Remove Trump's Name; Trump And Iran Say A Potential Agreement Is within Reach; Iran Says Tentative Agreement Addresses Conflict In Lebanon; Trump - Top Tren De Aragua Leader Killed In U.S. Strike; SpaceX IPO Makes Elon Musk World's First Trillionaire; Family Heartbroken After IDF Killed 7-Month-Old Baby; Aired 1-2a ET

Aired June 13, 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)

DAVID BECKHAM, FORMER PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLER: I've always been a dreamer, but I could never have imagined that an honor like this would come to a working class English soccer player like me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN HOST: Thanks for watching the first hour of "The Story Is." The next hour starts right now.

And welcome to "The Story Is." I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles ahead.

"The Story Is" Trump and Iran inching closer to an agreement or so they say.

"The Story Is" World Cup fever. Team USA comes out on top. Coy Wire live outside SoFi Stadium.

"The Story Is" disclosure, a new set of UFO files released. We talked to a UFO expert whose film helped to get those new images released, but we begin with breaking news.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles, "The Story Is" with Elex Michaelson.

MICHAELSON: Let's take you live Washington where the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts is asking for more time to comply with a judge's order to remove Donald Trump's name from the building. This is a live picture of the work that is going on there after 1 o'clock in the morning. A federal appeals court upheld a judge's order requiring the center to remove Trump's name by midnight on Friday.

As you can see, they obviously missed that deadline because his name's still up there. Justice department attorneys representing the center say the work is ongoing, but thunderstorms in the area caused delays. They say crews expect to complete the removal in the coming hours. Meanwhile, there's a whole crowd of hundreds of people that have lined up and are staying up late at night because they want to see that symbolic visual of Donald Trump's name being forcibly removed from the building. It's not clear when exactly that's going to happen. They've been building scaffolding. You see the crews there potentially ready to go. If that name starts coming down, we will bring you that moment live here on "The Story Is."

But there's another big story we're following, and that's in the Middle East where Iran has launched a fresh wave of attack drones. U.S. military says it shot down several drones that were trying to disrupt commercial shipping near the Strait of Hormuz. All that comes as the U.S. and Iran are closing in on a potential agreement that could be signed by the end of the weekend.

It would trigger 60 more days of negotiations, but both sides are giving conflicting details about what would actually be included in that framework. A senior Trump administration official says Iran would fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz while the U.S. would end its blockade on Iranian ports. The official said the agreement would also lead to the dismantling of Iran's nuclear program and the destruction of nuclear material. But Iran's Foreign Minister says that still has not been worked out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (translated): Now the topic of the nuclear issue has been postponed to five agreements. So there are different reasons for this, and now we cannot discuss that. The demands were not acceptable, so there are issues, on which we could agree.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Iran says the agreement would also include sanctions relief and a plan to resolve the conflict in Lebanon and, "all other fronts." Let's bring in retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral, Robert Harward, who's a former Deputy Commander of U.S. Central Command. He's currently a fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America.

Good to see you again. We've been told over and over and over again that we're close to a deal. What makes this one different? What are you hearing?

VICE ADMIRAL ROBERT HARWARD (RET.), FMR. DEPUTY COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: I'm hearing that they're getting close, that they have some agreement on most of the objectives the President is looking like, looking for at least. And but like anything else in Iran, you just never know. And this thing could drag on again, but the President is obviously banking on the financial hardships he's creating for the regime and the people of Iran, which really undermines the regime internally.

At the end of the day, I think that's his after opening the Straits of Hormuz, accomplishing the nuclear objectives, that's the top of his list. And as long as he control the resources that go to Iran, be it the money for oil, the blockade -- through the blockade, he believes time is on his side.

MICHAELSON: And that's where the blockade is helping to hurt Iran's economy at the moment as well. Of course, the United States economy has been hurt somewhat by the Strait of Hormuz being closed and some of the gas prices that have gone up because of that as well. We know that this whole thing started with the United States and Israel launching attacks at the same time. We've heard about tension between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu in the last week or so. How do you see Israel's role in all of this?

HARWARD: I think they're both lockstep together. They know their objectives. They are pursuing them. And, of course, for Israel, Lebanon and Hezbollah is the top of their list, but that pales in comparison to the concern the President has, as you said, on the world economy.

[01:05:00]

So the top of his list, he wants that oil flowing through and then world commerce back on track, and he's willing to even let the Iranians sell their oil if he can meet that objective. So that's the first step. And then we can through the time period of the MoU to establish 60- days, they can start working the nuclear issue.

But, again, as we've all seen, Iranians have yet to give up anything, unless they're getting something in return. And if they're able to sell the oil their ship, that gives them some breathing room. Because right now, the President's absolutely choking them without any resources coming into the country to pay for the IRGC, pay for their arms, build their resources. That's where the President really has the upper hand and the advantage at the moment.

MICHAELSON: And another big story breaking tonight, which is Tren de Aragua, the leader of that domestic terrorism or terrorist organization, according to United States, killed tonight by the United States of America. The significance of that.

HARWARD: Well, we've always -- our policies have been no difference on counterterrorism. We identify the leaders, and we get them. We don't matter how long it takes as we did with, Obama, I'm sorry. With the UBL, when Bin Laden, that took us several years to hunt him down. So all these guys, when they're on the list, they're a target for list, and that should discourage anyone else from pursuing those careers.

So, again, it's just a matter of time, but we have organizations and structures that track them each and every day for as long as it takes to get them. A real testament to our military capabilities to combat terrorism.

MICHAELSON: Robert Harward, thank you so much for joining us live from San Diego.

It's been 32 years since the U.S. last hosted. On a different note, it's been 32 years since the U.S. last hosted the World Cup. The home squad did not disappoint in their first match at home beating the underdog Paraguay 4-1. For more, let's go live to CNN World Sports. Coy Wire who is live from Los Angeles Stadium. SoFi is not getting to promote itself this week. Koi, great to see you. You're in the middle of that. We had on one of the grandfathers of U.S. Soccer last hour who said that this was the greatest game in the history of the U.S. men's team. Do you agree with that?

COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: He's not lying. From what I've read and from what I just witnessed, Elex, I will concur. The atmosphere in there was electric. A Super Bowl crowd, that found the turbo button. Let's put it that way. It was a sellout. There was a lot of talk. Will they sell enough tickets? Sold out. 70,000 plus. Bringing the volume from the jump.

Let's look at some of these highlights, Elex. The celebrity spotting was almost as entertaining as the match itself. Katy Perry got the party started singing beforehand. He had Beckham. He had Tom Cruise, Halle Berry, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the house, and then Christian Pulisic took center stage.

Captain America forced an own goal early, then threaded a ridiculous nutmeg assist to Folarin Balogun. And as for Balogun, the man came firing a laser off his left foot. He had a brace before halftime to make it 3-0, and it was a statement from the U.S. Now Paraguay did score once. They tried to make it ugly. The Americans made it look beautiful.

Scoring again through Gio Reyna. Four goals, Elex, most ever by Americans in a World Cup game. Flo Balogun, he says that this is something he has visualized. We caught up with him afterwards. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FOLARIN BALOGUN, USMNT: I visualized my debut in the World Cup scoring. But, yeah, the reality that surpassed that was scoring two goals, and the second goal was a fantastic goal as well. So, as I said, a very dreamy night.

CHRISTIAN PULISIC, USMNT: Being in America, having this crowd around us, seeing the red, white and blue, all the -- all our red and white striped shirts in the crowd, it's awesome. I mean, here at the USA Chance, it's really pushing us forward. And so we just hope it continues like that, and I'm sure it will. We're just thankful for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: I don't know as you were prepping for your show, Elex, if you got to see any of it, but the U.S., they played with swagger, man. Already more goals in this World Cup than all four of their games in the last one combined. Mauricio Pochettino's squad look like a team that's not just playing in a World Cup, Elex. They are planning to make some noise in it.

MICHAELSON: Don't tell the bosses that I watched the whole thing quite. So let's talk about what it was like, though, to be inside. I didn't get that assignment. I know you said before when we were talking to you yesterday that you've covered the Super Bowl, you've covered Olympics, you've covered all the biggest games, but you'd never been to a men's World Cup before. How did it differ actually being inside and feeling it, especially from an American perspective?

[01:10:00]

WIRE: Yep. Literally just got goosebumps again just thinking about before the ball was even kicked, even before I got in the stadium, felt like America had already scored. Now, Elex, do I remember correctly? Did you say that you used to play, like the saxophone when in high school when you were growing up? Do I remember that when they were together --

MICHAELSON: That is true. You do remember that. Yes. Yes.

WIRE: Yeah. I do remember that. Listen. It was like you should have been out here, man. Hours before kickoff, fans were flooding the streets of LA to get in a sea of red, white, and blue during the march to the match. They were singing. They were dancing. vuvuzelas were blaring. I swear you could have been out here and having a blast with us. I saw a red, white, and blue afro, Elex. American flag overalls. One fan was dressed head to toe as a bald eagle and honestly looked like Halloween in America had a baby at times.

And then the main event, I mentioned that sellout crowd, Katy Perry starting the party. The celebrities were everywhere. I even bumped into Owen Wilson near the media entrance, and I think he may have -- we may have had a World Cup crasher because I didn't see a credential on him. He was able to get in. No problem. Once the match started, chants of USA echoing all night long. As you mentioned, I've been to nearly 20 Super Bowls. This was as loud and energetic as any sporting event I've ever seen.

After the final whistle pouring out of the stadium, fans were buzzing about the win the way the Americans won. They were confident. They were aggressive, and they were entertaining. So if opening night was any sort of indication, this team looks like it is locked, loaded with belief, and ready for whatever is coming next.

MICHAELSON: Well, and they're coming back to Southern California in a few weeks, but talk about what's next for team USA?

WIRE: Yeah. Next immediately for team USA, they'll head on up the West Coast, up to Seattle. They'll face Australia, the Soccer rules that place is going to be welcoming them again after what they just saw they're going to be pumped to cheer them on there, then they'll come back down here to play turkey.

And you better be here with your saxophone. Hopefully, I'll be here too with you. Now what they have to do, who are the top two teams in each of these groups of four, they are automatically going on to the next round. If they don't make the top two, there's still a chance some things have to happen. But the way they look tonight is showing every indication that they're going to continue to make an impressive run here at this 2026 World Cup. MICHAELSON: And the amount of goals that you have could matter in determining that, which is why that extra goal that they got right at the end was helpful potentially for their argument on that front. Coy Wire, great to have you live on our show and hope to be out there with you indeed the next time that they play here in Southern California.

WIRE: Let's make to happen may be.

MICHAELSON: Hopefully, the bosses are listening to that too. Listen to that part, not the early part.

Now we go to live pictures from the White House. They're going to have quite the event this weekend. The UFC fight on the South Lawn will go ahead as planned after a federal judge rejected a last minute bid to block the event. You can see, the lights turned off now after 1 o'clock they were doing quite a light show earlier in the night. The judge ruled on Friday that the two people who filed the lawsuit to try to stop this don't have legal standing to actually challenge it. Judge also said that canceling the event would because significant financial harm since the UFC has already spent more than $60 million to make this happen.

Multiple fights scheduled for Sunday, which is President Trump's 80th birthday. A friend of President Trump, Elon Musk, had a pretty big day. He became the world's first trillionaire after his space technology company, SpaceX, made its debut on Wall Street's NASDAQ market. The company exceeded expectations, finishing the day at over a $160 a share, which is up over 19 percent from its opening price of a $135. SpaceX is now valued at over $2 trillion making it the sixth most valuable publicly traded US company.

As for Musk, his personal net worth now estimated to be around $1.26 trillion. Here's how Musk reacted to news of his company's blockbuster debut.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, SPACEX CEO: And let me tell you, if people had told me this was the going to happen, I was like, man, you must be smoking some really good crack, because I think this company's going to fail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Now despite SpaceX's success on Wall Street, some are urging caution as the company hasn't actually turned a profit in a couple of years. CNN Tech Journalist Jacob Ward explains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACOB WARD, JOURNALIST: I think the short answer is audacity. I mean, it's really -- it's not the financials, right? It is not the profitability of this company. I mean, we think about investing in companies as being investing in the machine that makes money for that business. That machine does not make money for this business, at least not yet. They have aimed for the stars is the jokey way to put it, but, of course, it is the earthly debts that are dragging the financials down here.

[01:15:00]

You have a company, SpaceX, the rocket company, the Starlink maker, that was profitable. They turned a profit of something like $400 million back in 2024. They after sinking billions into building rockets, it seemed like madness at the time when they were back when they were trying to get something off a launch pad and almost ran out of money doing it. They turned a profit. Amazing.

Then Elon Musk pulls in X AI, his effort to try to get back on top in the AI race, and attaches all of its incredible debts to SpaceX. And now you have a company going public that loses billions of dollars a year. And so this has to do with trying to fund what Elon Musk says the company is going to need, which is enormous amounts of compute, these data centers that he calls Colossus that he's building. He's going to need all of that cash in order to build those, he says.

But now suddenly, all these rocket customers, all these $66 a month Starlink customers are actually funding an AI company that at one time wasn't even connected to this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Thanks to Jacob Ward for that. Controversy is growing over the killing of a seven month old boy by Israel's military. Still ahead, his family tries to make sense of what happened while new video images appear to contradict the military's version of events.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: A Palestinian family is trying to come to grips with the loss of their seven-month-old baby killed by Israeli troops. Officials say they opened fire on a family car near the West Bank city of Hebron earlier this month. Israel's military said the soldiers believed that the vehicle was accelerating towards them, but a video obtained by an Israeli human rights group appears to tell a different story.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond has the details. Just a warning, some images in this report are graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Amid shrieks and cries, a portrait of despair. A father cradling his bloodied baby. His hand pressed to the seven-month-old's head as he looks around helplessly.

You were trying to do anything you could to save him.

FAHD ABU HAIKAL, SLAIN BABY'S FATHER: Yes. Outside all things. I saw my son was severely injured in his face, and I didn't just I want to go out and carry him to the hospital.

DANIA ABU HAIKAL, SLAIN BABY'S MOTHER: I started shouting. They shot my son. They shot my son.

DIAMOND: Their son, Sam, was sitting in his mother's lap in the back seat of their car when an Israeli soldier opened fire, striking Sam in the head. He is the 13th child to be killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank so far this year, according to the Israeli human rights group, B'Tselem.

The Israeli military claimed its soldiers, "perceived a vehicle accelerating toward them." But this video obtained by B'Tselem paints a different picture showing Fahd's car slowing to a stop. The video has no audio, but the person who filmed it told B'Tselem this soldier opened fire just as the car was coming to a stop. Both Fahd and his mother, who was in the passenger seat, identified the same soldier and moment of fire.

FAHD ABU HAIKAL: I raise my hand, he shoots. I set my hand on the steering wheel, this area, and he shoots us.

DIAMOND: Blood still stains the car, which Fahd says was close enough for the soldier to see through the windshield.

FAHD ABU HAIKAL: When you see something in front of you and aim at him and shoot him, it's not my mistake because you see him. He has a family, has his two sons and his wife and his mother and shoot. There's no mistakes in this situation. There's one shoots to kill.

DIAMOND: Sam's grandmother has returned the first time to the street where her grandson's life was taken. She still can't make sense of it all.

FERIAL ABU HAIKAL, BABY SAM'S GRANDMOTHER: We expect that they will say to us, go out, return, you must return, shoot in the air, but he -- they didn't do anything. Only they shoot him.

DIAMOND: The Israeli soldier who opened fire was standing right about here, only about 10 meters or 30-feet away from the vehicle carrying baby Sam, but we have limited video of what actually happened, because Israeli soldiers then came to this area and confiscated all of the surveillance video from this street.

The Israeli military says it's opened a criminal investigation into the matter. They also said that they expressed, "deep sorrow for any harm caused to uninvolved civilians."

Amid her immeasurable grief, Sam's mother, Dania, is also recovering from her own painful wounds. Part of the bullet that killed her son also went through her face, and pieces of shrapnel are still lodged in her chest. But she is also enduring another pain, one known only to mothers whose babies have died.

DANIA ABU HAIKAL: When my chest is making milk for my son, it starts to hurt me. And I start pumping the milk away from my body, I always cry. Because it's a mother and son bonding. Yeah. He was all my life. DIAMOND: Beyond that grief and pain, there is also anger here and a determination to fight for her baby boy.

[01:25:00]

DANIA ABU HAIKAL: The Israeli soldier that shoot at us, he should be punished. He shouldn't get away like always.

DIAMOND: Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Hebron, the West Bank.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: A heartbreaking story. Thanks for watching. "The Story Is" for international viewers, well-traveled is next. For our viewers in North America, I'll be right back with a story about new information when it comes to UAPs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: Welcome back to "The Story Is." I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at today's top story.

Sources tell CNN the U.S. and Iran could sign a potential agreement as soon as this Sunday in Geneva. The White House is optimistic, and Iran says an agreement, "Has never been closer." But there are still conflicting details about the framework coming out of Washington and Tehran.

It was a historic day on Wall Street as Elon Musk's SpaceX debuted on the NASDAQ market, making him the world's first trillionaire after his company, SpaceX. Space technology company exceeded expectations with its share price ending at a $160. It's more than 19 percent higher than its opening price of a $135 a share. SpaceX now valued at over $2 trillion.

Another night of protests in Albania, demonstrators there taking the streets on Friday calling for the government to resign. They want officials to scrap a proposed luxury resort linked to U.S. President Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner. Proposed location is near a projected wetland that's home to flamingos, seals, and sea turtle nesting sites.

The U.S. government has released a new batch of newly declassified files related to unidentified aerial phenomenon, also known as UFOs. They offer new details of UFO sightings that U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies have collected over several decades. Some of the 72 never before seen files are of old sightings, but several are more recent. And many are firsthand accounts from civilians and military personnel who reported mysterious glowing orbs in the sky, including the one you're looking at there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've had repeated instances of something operating in the airspace over restricted nuclear facilities, and it's not ours.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are otherworldly things that are performing maneuvers that haven't been seen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have seen with my own eyes non-human craft and non-human beings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even presidents have been operating on a need to know basis, but that begins to ramp out of control.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: That was part of the trailer for last year's documentary, The Age of Disclosure. The film revealed a decades old global cover up of non-human intelligent life and a secret cold war over their advanced technology. Dan Farah directed and produced The Age of Disclosure. He's with us here in studio.

Great to see you again. You've been with us sort of every step of the way on this. Today's new disclosure is coming. What was the big thing we learned today?

DAN FARAH, FILMMAKER, THE AGE OF DISCLOSURE: There were several big reveals in this tranche of evidence that was declassified. Most notably, it revealed that there's an active FBI investigation at a site in the U.S. that has regular UAP activity. There's federal agents boots on the ground there. They're witnessing this activity with their own eyes. A second piece of evidence released today was a report of a significant UAP event over Cheyenne Mountain Military Base.

MICHAELSON: That's what we're looking at right here. So what is this?

FARAH: So that's an artist drawing of what these five credible military witnesses saw. They saw a Tic Tac shaped UFO hovering over Cheyenne Mountain Military Base, which is one of the most secretive military bases in the United States. It's the Command Center for NORAD. And they -- these five credible people witnessed this, and then they watched it instantly disappear.

MICHAELSON: So this is where the United States works on its nuclear capability, right?

FARAH: Oh, it's the Command Center for NORAD and for Northern Command. And it's also a significant bunker -- nuclear bunker. The third significant thing in today's tranche was a memo from 1948 from the head of naval operations, essentially informing the entire navy to be on the lookout for UAPs because of an increase in flying saucers at the time, and it was 1948. So that one's significant because it just shows how far back this goes.

MICHAELSON: Yeah. And some of the stuff we've seen before has been a lot of military sightings or sort of grainy military video, but there was more about sort of regular civilians seeing this as well. FARAH: Yeah. There's a lot of a lot of quality real videos that that the government had gotten access to from private citizens, and then they released them today. But, certainly, the reveal that the FBI has boots on the ground. Actual federal agents at sites in the U.S. right now actively investigating UAP activity that is ongoing, that's really significant. And I know from my sources, that's not the only site. There are multiple active sites in the U.S.

[01:35:00]

MICHAELSON: So what are you hearing in terms of what comes next? Because we know these disclosures are rolling, and they often come out late Friday night.

FARAH: Yeah. So what's happening right now is the White House is trying to get access to all the evidence that exists throughout the national security kingdom. Every one of these federal agencies and branches of the military are their own little silo. And within those silos, they hold secrets even from each other. So, the White House is an outsider in that equation trying to get access to the biggest secrets of all time. And so they're getting a lot of pushback. It's not an easy process for the White House. And so as they continue to relentlessly pursue this evidence, they're going to keep getting more access, and then they will continuously declassify material from there. So that's why it's happening in these tranches.

MICHAELSON: Because the clip you -- we just showed from your documentary, you interviewed then senator Marco Rubio who talked about this idea that the President wasn't necessarily brought in on all of this information. Now Marco Rubio is the Secretary of State. He's also the National Security Adviser, and he's a part of this whole disclosure process. How do you see that your film helped make this happen today?

FARAH: Well, look, Rubio is certainly arguably the most powerful force behind the scenes for disclosure and has been for years. He was also a key participant in my documentary. He reveals on camera that, the truth is hidden from sitting presidents. He breaks down how defense contractors play a major role in this and have more control than our elected officials. He really breaks down the lay of the land because he has come to understand it better than most elected officials. He so -- the doc my hope was that it would lead to a presidential action. It would lead to the White House taking action, and that's exactly what happened. It led to happening.

MICHAELSON: Yeah. So that's happening in real life. And your film is called the age of disclosure, which is available on Amazon Prime. It's one of their best-selling documentaries ever. Meanwhile, this weekend, there's a film called Disclosure Day by a guy named Steven Spielberg. And you recently went to the premiere.

FARAH: I did. I did.

MICHAELSON: To see the sort of the two films coming together. And there was an entertainment weekly headline that came out about you and about your film and sort of the two films going together. This is what it said. Steven Spielberg credits the age of disclosure doc with raising awareness for new alien thriller Disclosure Day. The two of you actually have a relationship.

FARAH: Yeah. I was -- I had the amazing experience of getting to be one of the producers on Ready Player One, which he directed. But big picture, I would have never made this movie if not for the impact of Steven Spielberg's work on me. Movies have the unique ability to open people's eyes and minds to new ideas, and certainly no one's done that more for the topic of UAP and the thought of is there a life from elsewhere that's here than Steven Spielberg. And my two favorite movies since I was a kid, Close Encounters and ET. And they made me curious about those big questions like, are we alone in the universe?

Does the U.S. government know more about this topic than the public? And then it was years later on the set of Ready Player One watching him direct that I felt really inspired to want to direct something one day. I started thinking about what that would be, and then I came back to this this documentary that I always wish existed, a very credible, serious, sober doc that only interviews people who have direct knowledge of this topic as a result of working for the U.S. government.

MICHAELSON: How's Disclosure Day?

FARAH: I loved it. I loved Disclosure Day. And I got to tell you, this this age of disclosure that we're living in, there would be no age of disclosure without the age of Steven Spielberg. That is for sure.

MICHAELSON: Dan Farah, congratulations on the film, and thank you for helping break down a moment in history that we're all living through together.

FARAH: Thank you.

MICHAELSON: It's not just science fiction anymore.

FARAH: Thank you for covering it.

MICHAELSON: Sure. The NBA championships had to Game 5 on Saturday ahead. The San Antonio Spurs desperately need a win, or will the New York Knicks reclaim a title they last had a half century ago when they first started to see the aliens but didn't tell us about it. Stick with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: The New York Knickerbockers could give their fans something tomorrow. They have thirsted for decades. Their first NBA Championship in 53 years. When they play the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, the Knicks lead their best of seven series, three games to one after an astonishing rally. They flipped a 29 point deficit to win Game 4 on Wednesday, the greatest comeback in the history of the NBA finals.

For San Antonio, Game 5 at home will be a must win do or die proposition if they have any hope of taking home the Larry O'Brien championship trophy this year. Let's hear from someone who knows all about NBA championships. Zaza Pachulia won two of them with the Golden State Warriors where he is now the Liaison for Business and Basketball.

Zaza, welcome to "The Story Is" for the first time.

ZAZA PACHULIA, TWO-TIME NBA CHAMPION: Hi, Elex. I know we both are based in California. It's kind of a -- it's -- we're not there in the finals, but we've been there many, many times. So thanks for having them.

MICHAELSON: Well, the warriors have, of course, won it many times. The Lakers have won it many times. The Knicks haven't won it in a very long time. And all those Warriors championships didn't get the TV ratings that that's are -- we're getting right now. The Lakers championships didn't as well. This is the highest rated NBA finals since Michael Jordan and the Bulls back in 1998. Why do you think this series is connecting in the way it is beyond just the fact that it's the biggest TV market in the country than New York?

PACHULIA: Elex, I think you answered this question. 53 is a long time to be waiting for something special. Obviously, winning the championship, it's such a big thing for the players, for the organization, for the city, even the whole state. I was actually at New York for Game 3 and 4, and you could feel the vibe. It's insane what's happening there.

I was telling my friends, and I have not felt this kind of energy around the NBA finals since actually the warriors when we played 2017- '18 in the finals. So it's great to be a basketball fan. It's great to be a NBA fan. It's definitely great to be a Knicks and Spurs fan because there's so much energy, so much hype around this game right now.

[01:45:00]

So we see, beautiful game basketball on the court, and we see a lot of hype and supporting off the court.

MICHAELSON: When OG Anunoby tipped in that ball at the end of the game to put the Knicks up after they were down by 29 points, was that as loud as you've ever heard a building in basketball?

PACHULIA: It was. It was. Obviously, the Knicks worked so hard to come back, and it's not easy to come back when you're down 29 points, especially against a really good team and especially in the NBA finals. And it was so loud that, people are all over the place, to be honest, but, like that's why this game is so beautiful. It's never over until it's over, Elex. And you've been we've continue to witness this. Basketball is very dynamic sport. Again, we just experienced and witnessed that 29 points is nothing in this game. So, it was such a fun game to be part of it. MICHAELSON: Well and, of course, a Warriors team that you were not a part of were up 3-1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and LeBron James came back to win. So it is not unprecedented that if even though you're up 3-1, it is possible to still come back and win. But Mike Brown is trying to do everything he can to make that not happen. He's the head coach of the New York Knicks. He used to be the assistant coach of the Golden State Warriors when you were on that team coaching for Steve Kerr. Give us some insight into him, his strategy. He's been around for so long, been on so many teams, been fired so many times, and yet he's having perhaps the greatest moment of his career right now.

PACHULIA: First of all, let me ask you about getting fired so many times. That this is how I answer to all these owners and all these GMs whoever fired you with winning the championship. It's not how you start. It's about how you finish it. Second of all, when it comes to the mindset, Elex, obviously, it's always hard to -- for a closeout game, and especially this closeout game means they're winning the championship, especially on the road.

Every single detail matters. Every single point, every single mistake matters in this situation. So it's going to be very hard. He knows it. He's been there many times, but I'm sure he's going to do his best to prepare his team to close out and not necessarily come in back home and play New York, Game 6. On the hindsight, if you are a San Antonio Spurs, obviously, you want to make sure stay alive and just win one game because that's how you put the pressure on the Knicks and they have to win at home because last thing that makes one wants to happen is to play game seven on the road.

So I think we're going to see some amazing basketball at Game 5. It's really those guys going to play hard and do everything possible to win. It's a must win for both teams.

MICHAELSON: And last question, one word answer. Who wins tomorrow?

PACHULIA: It's -- the series has been so close, Elex. You just never know. Like, looking at the Knicks winning the two road games. And then, obviously, Spurs winning Game 3 on the road. I really hope the Spurs wins because I want to continue to watch this amazing basketball. They're just my personal. Wish, but we'll see.

MICHAELSON: And it will be fun to see the Knicks have the opportunity to win it on their home court, after 53-year drought as well. Zaza Pachulia, thank you so much, for giving your insights. It's going to be a fun weekend of basketball.

We're back with more of "The Story Is" right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: As technology has advanced dramatically over the decades, many air traffic control towers still rely on a time tested tool. CNN's Correspondent Pete Muntean explains why that's changing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: The airlines have changed and so have the hairstyles, but the technology, not so much. Paper is still the backbone of America's busiest control towers. Pen and paper.

AMEE PATEL, FAA DIR. OF AIR TRAFFIC SYSTEMS: Pen and paper.

MUNTEAN: Old school.

PATEL: Old school.

MUNTEAN: Known as flight strips, these small printouts detail critical information for air traffic controllers including the flight number, departure airport, route, and destination. They are physically passed from controller to controller and updated by hand.

PATEL: He has to physically get up and pass it to the local controller. The local controller then validates, gives all the verification, and then talks to the pilot, and then gives them clearance to take off.

MUNTEAN: Amee Patel is leading the FAA's transition from paper strips to digital, the latest target of the Trump administration's multi- billion dollar air traffic control overhaul.

PATEL: It's just old. We've been doing it for so many years, and there's a better way of doing it. They're not heads up. We want to maximize their heads up time so they're more efficient.

MUNTEAN: At least two of these strips are printed for each of the 55,000 flights in U.S. airspace each day. The digital replacement for these are at 17 different air traffic control facilities, and the goal is to grow that number fivefold by 2028.

PATEL: We've got all of our flights ready and queued up. Once she's confirmed, she's going to press it to go over to ground control.

MUNTEAN: OK. So now it's over here.

PATEL: Now you'll see over here, they can make any changes and edits. They now send it to local control.

MUNTEAN: Paper is great for taking notes, but not for tracking your plane in the sky.

[01:55:00]

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy calls this just the start towards building a brand new air traffic control system by the end of 2028. Congress has already given the White House $12 billion, and Duffy wants another $10 billion for software upgrades. The Trump administration says crews have already upgraded half of all aging copper communication lines linked on last year's radar blackouts in Newark. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our scopes just went black again.

SEAN DUFFY, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Look at how fast we're building. Look at the technology that we're using. The way we thought how we build. Give some faith, give us some money, and don't make us wait.

MUNTEAN: Though the cash may not convert controllers, convinced the old ways are still the best. Dave Riley was a controller for 32 years.

DAVE RILEY, RETIRED AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: I would definitely be very skeptical and would want to make sure that it does all the things that we can do with paper strips and have the reliability that a paper strip and a pen would have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Thanks to Pete Muntean. Next week, I'll join you from Austria, where I'll sit down for an exclusive joint interview with Kamala Harris and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Have a great weekend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)