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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Trump's "Patience Is Running Out" With Senate Leadership; White House Correspondents' Dinner Redo; Recovery Operations Continue One Month After Twin Quakes; Protesters Held Vigil after Police-Involved Shooting; Lawmaker's Killer Sentenced to Two Life Terms Plus 47 Years; Some Gun Shops with Past Violations Get Licenses Back under Trump; 11 Rescued after Float Plane Crashes of Coast of Seattle; U.S. FDA Advisory Group Mulls Easing Restrictions on Peptides. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired July 24, 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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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The people are learning and there will be a happy ending.
CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carolina Peguero, CNN, Miami.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks. Thanks for watching the first hour of The Story Is. The next hour starts right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles, "The Story Is with Elex Michaelson."
MICHAELSON: I'm Elex Michaelson. Coming up on The Story Is no sign of slowing down. Why President Trump wants to see more of the same when it comes to airstrikes on Iran.
The Story Is CNN on the front lines. We'll take you to a hotly contested region in the Pacific to see why China and the Philippines are facing off at sea.
And The Story Is some gun shops that lost licenses under President Biden for breaking federal rules are now back in business under Trump, the result of a CNN investigation coming up.
But the top story is the escalating war with Iran. The New York Times reporting that Iran rejected a new U.S. ceasefire deal delivered by Iraq. It's not clear what was actually in it, but it comes as the U.S. military says it completed a 13th straight night of airstrikes. Iranian state media reporting at least four people have been killed. In public, President Trump is showing little appetite to return to the negotiating table.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're doing very well against the Islamic Republic of Iran. We're doing extremely well. They would like to do something, but I say they're not ready yet. They need more of the same. They're not ready yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Iran says any further actions on infrastructure will be met with a, quote, "severe and escalatory response." Kuwait claims that Iranian forces launched repeated drone attacks on Thursday as Tehran continues to bombard U.S. allied Gulf nations. The U.N. secretary general is warning that the situation in the Middle East is, quote, "getting out of control."
Now that widening conflict in the Middle East is taking a toll on oil prices. Brent crude jumped more than 6 percent on Thursday, briefly hitting $100 a barrel before retreating slightly. There are growing fears about the world's oil supply after Houthi rebels in Yemen targeted Saudi tankers in the Red Sea. Riyadh has been using the sea as an alternate route to avoid the Strait of Hormuz. The actions are raising fears that more violence could cut off that critical component of the global oil market.
Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure to limit President Trump's war powers on Thursday, with four Republicans siding with the Democrats. But the Senate failed to advance a similar measure. All this marks the chamber's first direct vote on the issue since the end of the ceasefire. President Trump has sharply criticized Republicans for voting to advance previous war powers resolutions, calling them losers and make his job harder.
The White House is making a major about face on a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia. On Thursday, President Trump said that the deal is off unless the kingdom normalizes diplomatic ties with Israel. That announcement coming less than 24 hours after the agreement was signed without that condition. The White House said that the change didn't come at the request of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who strongly opposes any such deal.
But here's the administration's explained -- explanation for why the new condition was not included in the first place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why was that condition not mentioned yesterday when the Energy secretary announced it?
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, look, the president is always the final dealmaker, as you know, and this is something that he has mentioned on numerous occasions. The president just put out this statement a few hours ago. I don't believe he's had a call with NBS in the hours since. However, this is something that he has raised in previous conversations and has also said many times in the past.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: President Trump is unwilling to give up on tariffs despite their unpopularity. A little more than an hour ago, a new round kicked in, reigniting the global trade war. This means that dozens of the U.S. trading partners are now being hit with levies of 10 to 12 and a half percent on goods imported to the U.S. These new tariffs replace the temporary 10 percent global tariff that are now expired.
The White House says that President Trump is not going to allow his trade policy to be undermined by a court, Supreme Court, which includes three members that he himself appointed. It's unclear if this Plan C will survive or it too will be shut down by that same Supreme Court which ruled against the sweeping tariffs he imposed last year. CNN's Mike Valerio is in Beijing.
MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The rationale from the trade representative and people who are working on this in Washington is that these nations, from their point of view, do not have protections strong enough, like American protections to safeguard against products made by forced labor entering their country. So the rationale is if you have Country X, that's allowing a product made with forced labor into their market, that harms American producers because the price of product X is coming way down. It's made with forced labor. So that's harming American producers because they have to compete with these products that are made with forced labor that are being sold at very low prices. That's the justification that the United States is weighing.
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MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, President Trump is upset that the U.S. Senate has not passed his SAVE America Act. The controversial bill toughens voter identification rules, but it does not currently have the votes to pass. To be adopted, some Democrats would have to vote with Republicans to cross the 60 vote threshold. Another option would be to change Senate rules so the bill could pass with a simple majority. But many Republicans oppose that move.
On Thursday, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed that Mr. Trump is frustrated with the leader of the Senate for the Republicans, John Thune. Listen to both of them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The president seemed yesterday frustrated with Leader Thune when he was speaking in Georgia. Is his patience running out with Leader Thune?
LEAVITT: The president spoke about this directly yesterday. His patience is running out. He wants to see as much of the SAVE America passed as possible by the August recess.
SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD), MAJORITY LEADER: Maybe she or somebody else ought to get on the phone and get the votes, right? It's 50 around here. And so instead of, you know, pointing the finger at Republicans, they might think about going after the people who are stopping it on the floor, which is the Democrats. And if there are Republicans that they think are gettable, get on the phone.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MICHAELSON: Let's bring back our political panel. Melanie Mason, POLITICO bureau chief for California, and former Democratic strategist Bob Shrum.
Bob, that was pretty blunt from Senator Thune right there. Clearly frustration on both sides.
BOB SHRUM, FORMER DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Look, the word loser is right. It's just Trump is applying it to the wrong person. He ought to be looking in a mirror because in terms of what's happening in the Middle East, in terms of the tariffs and their impact on inflation, where we're headed in the midterms and the SAVE America Act, all of it, he's not going to win any of it. I mean, look, there are a -- there are Republicans who will not vote for this. It's not just Democrat.
MICHAELSON: And why is that? What is --
SHRUM: Well, I'll give you one example. I'll give you one example.
MICHAELSON: -- what is the Republican opposition?
SHRUM: Let's say a woman gets married and she takes her husband's name. Where's her birth certificate? Her birth certificate is going to have the name she was given when she was born. It's a ludicrous proposition. Nobody is against enforcing election laws.
And there is very little evidence, according to the Heritage Foundation, which did a study on this, there's very little evidence that there's any cheating in elections. But what he wants to do is shrink the voter pool and hopefully get to the point where lots of folks, especially minorities and Hispanics and African-Americans, can't vote. And he thinks that'll help the Republicans.
MICHAELSON: Of course, he says this is all about election integrity. He's worried that people are who --
SHRUM: He says he won. He said ignore this.
MICHAELSON: -- who are --
SHRUM: He said he won in 2020.
MICHAELSON: -- who are here illegally are going to vote. He points to what happened in New Jersey, where they had people that were registered to vote who should not have been registered to vote. And he points to the fact the voter ID is --
SHRUM: That was a fraud. That was a fraud. That was the DMV.
MICHAELSON: -- is step -- it was -- it was -- it was an error on the computer.
SHRUM: Yes.
MICHAELSON: But these are his points. But, Melanie, to the broader politics of this moment in one of my favorite shows, "Hamilton," there's a song where they say, they don't have the votes. In this case -- or you don't have the votes.
MELANI MASON, CALIFORNIA BUREAU CHIEF, POLITICO: Right.
MICHAELSON: And in this case, you don't have the votes, right?
MASON: Right. I mean, how much more blunt can Senator Thune be? And in fact, challenging the president, go find the votes. And I think the fact that you're seeing resistance from his own party, and remember, there are quite a few senators right now who don't feel like they owe very much to Donald Trump. I mean, people like Senator John Cornyn of Texas or Thom Tillis of North Carolina, I mean, their careers are effectively over because of, you know, the president not endorsing them or not backing them.
And so why would they do them a solid right now if they don't necessarily believe in the policy, nor do they really want to get behind this priority?
MICHAELSON: Yes, there's sort of a karma thing going on when it comes to some of that as well. Meanwhile, you know, President Trump has had this notoriously complicated relationship with the media. He loves the media. He watches more of it than just about any president we've ever had.
He watches T.V. all the time. He may be watching now. If so, Mr. President, thank you for watching. But then he often slams the media publicly and then chats with them privately.
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White House Correspondents' Dinner obviously got postponed because of the shooting that was there. Tomorrow, the White House Correspondents' Dinner is happening. President Trump is there and going to be speaking. Why was this so important for him? And how do you reflect on his relationship with the media?
MASON: Well, I have to think that the White House Correspondent Association feels a little bit relieved right now because the administration has backed away from the subpoenas that they were doing of these New York Times reporters with regards to their reporting on Air Force One, because that would have been a very awkward dinner.
MICHAELSON: Yes. So this is -- this is -- the DOJ today announced that these subpoenas --
MASON: Right.
MICHAELSON: -- are not going to be enforced and that announcement happening maybe not coincidentally right before this dinner begins.
MASON: Right. Because, look, a reporter's, you know, relationships, reporter's commitments to their supporters, that's sacrosanct. And so the fact that the administration was seeking to get these reporters to divulge that information, you know, that really is, I think, for a lot of reporters, a red line. And so if that had been going on at this dinner, if that was the subtext, I think that would have been very awkward.
And look, I think we should note that there have been Republicans -- I mean, sorry, Democrats and Republican presidents who have clashed with the media over things like this. You know, President Obama had subpoenaed phone records of reporters. So this is not unique to President Trump. But I think that you're right in that it is unique in terms of the scale and scope.
I mean, the fact that he is so openly antagonistic and yet so openly obsessed with the media as well, I think that is so unlike any other president we've had.
MICHAELSON: I was at the dinner earlier this year, Bob, when that shooting happened. And then President Trump went to the White House briefing room later that night. He was very warm and classy to the media that night, which those of us that were in that room were deeply appreciative of. It'll be interesting to see the tone of his remarks in the hours ahead.
I'm curious, as somebody, you have been to many of these dinners over many years, do you think that we should still do them? And, you know, what do you say to critics who look around the country and think that it looks very out of touch and this --
SHRUM: Well, they raise a lot of scholarship money for people at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, so there's a rationale for doing it. Turning them into nerd proms is probably something you don't have to do.
And by the way, if the president's watching, let me make him change channels. In terms of these subpoenas, Joe Biden had set a whole series of standards that you had to follow before you could even ask a reporter about this. And he's just ignored those standards. And the federal judge today basically said, if you don't withdraw those subpoenas, I'm going to quash them.
MICHAELSON: One of the last times you were here, we actually did get word that he was watching your segment, although he complimented the Republican panelists and not you.
Bob, thank you for being on. Melanie, always great to see you both as well.
As global trade faces disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a separate maritime dispute is putting another crucial sea route at risk. Talking about the South China Sea, it's home to a strategically significant spot, the Scarborough Shoal, which is claimed by both the Philippines and by China. Scarborough Shoal is not far from the Philippine coast and falls inside the Philippines economic exclusion zone, but that is not stopping China from throwing its weight around. CNN's Ivan Watson is on a boat traveling through these contested waters and there were some tense moments. Here's his report.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Elex. That's right. We're in the South China Sea. I'm aboard a Philippine government vessel. It is currently being shadowed by a Coast Guard ship from China, which is kind of a speck on the horizon here.
The situation a couple of hours ago was dramatically different. You had Chinese coast guard ships surrounding this ship, as well as several other ships from the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and operating in very close proximity to the ship where I am right now, I would say seven, 10 yards away off the port bow and blasting it with water cannons repeatedly, was tense. At times it looked like the Chinese ship might ram us, perhaps even accidentally.
I -- all told, it was a confrontation where the Chinese maritime security forces were trying to prevent this and several other Philippine government boats from approaching Scarborough Shoal, one of several hot spots in the South China Sea that both China and the Philippines claim for themselves. In the case of Scarborough, Chinese forces have basically controlled this uninhabited rock for the last couple of years, stopping Filipino fishermen, fisher folks from being able to fish there and rejecting a competing claim from the Philippines, where they claim to own it. The fact of the matter is that China basically claims almost all of the South China Sea for itself, disregarding competing claims from the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei.
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And what we've seen out in this part of the -- in this rare opportunity is how these two governments are engaged in a test of wills where neither side is willing to back down and they frequently have their ships and planes coming in very close contact. There have been skirmishes that have led to damage to the ships, injuries to personnel as well. And this is a bizarre scene that plays itself out over and over again out in these contested waters week after week. And we got a very rare up and close view of just how strange this is. Giant ships, according to the Philippines, at least 26 Philippine and Chinese ships out here in the last couple of hours in very close proximity coming within yards of each other. Fortunately, nobody reported to be hurt.
But a strange maritime drama that plays itself out in these waters week after week.
MICHAELSON: Ivan Watson, thank you for that.
It's been one month since a pair of devastating earthquakes rocked parts of Venezuela. Still to come, we speak live to the emergency response lead for the International Rescue Committee about what is happening right now on the ground. Plus, a migrant family ends up in limbo after self-deporting from the U.S. How their decision to leave the country on their own still keeps them away from home.
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MICHAELSON: More than 30 villagers across Spain have been evacuated as firefighters battle one of the country's largest wildfires on record. Nearly 80,000 acres have burned in the fire, which is fueled by a heat wave that's scorching the Mediterranean region. Spain has already suffered 22 major fires this year alone. And less than two weeks ago, 13 people were killed when a blaze swept through a southern community.
Millions across the U.S. southwest are at risk as two of the country's largest reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, fall to historic combined lows amid the Colorado River crisis. CNN's Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir is there.
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: That system as really the water tank of the west. And it is at record lows after the most recent evaluation. Lake Powell now at 23 percent of capacity. Lake Mead just over a quarter of capacity. And the fear is that if the drought continues, we're in a 25 year drought in this part of the country there, if it just continues, which is expected to and there's another warm, dry winter like we just had last winter that it could reach dead pool.
Lake Powell could get so low that there's not enough water to turn the turbines and make electricity.
MICHAELSON: The dwindling water system generates electricity for about 700,000 homes. It irrigates millions of acres of farmland and supplies drinking water to 40 million people. That's why this really matters.
It's been one month since twin devastating earthquakes struck Venezuela, leaving widespread devastation behind. The quakes killed more than 5,000 people, but officials say the final death toll could be twice as high. Aid organizations say that mental health care is one of the greatest needs for survivors. But the country is still working to restore health services after the quakes. The International Rescue Committee says more than 38 hospitals and 400 schools were damaged or destroyed, raising concerns about long term access to health care and shelter.
Let's bring in Rafael Velazquez Garcia. He is the emergency response lead for the Venezuela earthquakes at the International Rescue Team. He joins me live right now from Bogota, Colombia.
Thank you so much for being with us. Thank you for the work that you're doing on the ground.
RAFAEL VELASQUEZ GARCIA, EMERGENCY RESPONSE LEAD, INTERNATIONAL RESCUE CMTE.: Thank you for having me.
MICHAELSON: Your organization is warning that the window is closing to put the country on a sustainable path to recovery. Why? And what happens if that window closes?
VELASQUEZ GARCIA: It is increasingly clear that in Venezuela, the health system was already at a breaking point even before the earthquakes. The humanitarian response plan that the United Nations had for the country had more than 7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. Now, these two earthquakes, as you pointed out earlier, have costed the life of more than 5,000 people. We know that there's more than 30,000 people still missing, 16,000 people injured, 38 hospitals damaged, 400 schools damaged, used as temporary shelters. And we are seeing more and more the impact in the larger communities, not just people who lost a dear person, a loved one, not just people whose houses have been lost, but also people who may have had a chronic condition like diabetes, like asthma, who are no longer able to access those health points that they needed before.
And that's why we're prioritizing access to health systems, water and sanitation systems, and protection services.
MICHAELSON: Describe what you are seeing on the ground right now, and what do you feel is the most urgent need.
VELASQUEZ GARCIA: So as you know, the International Rescue Committee responds to crises like this all over the world, whether the Beirut blast or the current Ebola response in Congo. It is hard to describe the level, the extent of the damage that we see in La Guaira, in Caracas, in Miranda. You're talking about kilometer after kilometer of buildings that are completely collapsed. You do see people who refuse to leave these areas because they're still hoping they're able to recover the body of a dear one. People who refuse to leave these areas because that's all they have, that's their houses and they have limited options.
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The school year starts in September. So added to the fact that those schools need to be repaired, you now have at risk thousands of communities that whose children are not going to be able to resume classes. It's important that the focus was in search and rescue operations in the early stages following the earthquakes. But then the window that we have now to start early recovery, to restart livelihoods, to restart the local economy is key to start on that front as well.
MICHAELSON: Rafael Velasquez Garcia, doing such important work on the ground. Thanks so much for being with us.
VELASQUEZ GARCIA: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: More than two dozen American states are suing the Trump administration over its efforts to withhold billions of dollars in disaster aid and counterterrorism funding. That lawsuit filed by a coalition of 26 Democratic led states argues that the administration is using federal funding to force states to change their election systems. That's despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud it claims to be addressing. States could lose 20 percent of funding under this policy.
The grants help states prepare for terror attacks, cybersecurity threats and major disasters. An immigrant family faced a difficult choice after their husband and father was arrested and deported from the U.S. His wife and two daughters made the tough call that got them to a safer place. But they are still far from home. Valeria Leon has the story from Mexico City.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): ICE raids across the U.S. have not only resulted in deadly shootings, but in families being torn apart. Venezuelan mother of two, Jessica Urriola, was left alone with her daughters in Houston, Texas after her husband was detained by ICE and deported to Venezuela in 2025.
JESSICA URRIOLA, VENEZUELA MIGRANT (through translator): He left for work and that day immigration officers stopped him. It was during the mass raids and immigration took him away.
LEON (voice-over): The family entered the U.S. through a CBP1 appointment in 2024, part of a Biden era program used by nearly 1 million people before the Trump administration shut it down. As U.S. immigration policy sharply shifted when President Trump retook office, Jessica feared she could face the same fate as her husband. She decided to self deport with her daughters.
URRIOLA (through translator): I didn't want the same thing that happened to my husband to happen to me. If they detained me, who would my daughters be left with?
LEON (voice-over): For more than a year now, they've been living in Mexico City where 16-year-old Yescarlys has been able to play soccer for the first time during an event organized by the European Union for refugee children. But her biggest wish is to reunite with her father.
YESCARLYS GARCIA, URRIOLA'S DAUGHTER (through translator): I'd like to go back to Venezuela. I want to see my dad.
LEON (voice-over): Without the money and documents to travel, they remain stranded in Mexico.
URRIOLA (through translator): We're waiting to see if we can get help with a humanitarian flight because we don't have the resources to return to Venezuela.
LEON (voice-over): Nearly 13,000 third country migrants have been deported from the US to Mexico since January 2025. Mexico denies the claims that serving as a U.S. safe third country for asylum seekers. President Claudia Sheinbaum says the country receives migrants for humanitarian reasons.
CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We are a humanitarian country and when people of other nationalities arrive, they are not turned away.
LEON (voice-over): Despite Mexico's goodwill, ICE raids continue to leave families split apart and spread out across nations wondering when they will be able to reunite.
Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Across the U.S. some gun shops that lost their licenses under President Biden for breaking federal rules are now back in business under President Trump, all thanks to newly relaxed rules. The findings of a CNN investigation with Josh Campbell, next.
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ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: CNN has obtained video of a deadly police-involved shooting that has sparked outrage in Madison, Wisconsin. We have to warn you, the images you're about to see are graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's got a taser. He's got a taser.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Taser. Taser. Taser.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Now take a look at this. The video later shows one officer moving what appears to be a knife in front of the suspect's body and putting it behind. You can't see where the knife came from, and it's unclear which of these officers actually fired the shots.
On Thursday, protesters held a vigil for the man who was killed, identified as Corey Ruiz. Police say he pulled a knife on officers who chased him after someone reported a person checking parked vehicles on Wednesday.
The whole incident led to an angry reaction during a police press conference on Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF JOHN PATTERSON, MADISON POLICE: The thinness of trust in the city right now did not start --
[01:34:45]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all should just shut this down. You can stop talking because we don't want to hear anything you've been saying.
You're going to say the same thing you all say every time a black body gets shot down in this city.
SABRINA MADISON, COMMON COUNCIL PRESIDENT: And I'm angry, there's like, no way around it. And while we know that there will be investigations and all of that, the thing for me is that his death is final.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Police say they are now conducting an active homicide investigation. They also called for an independent probe. The man who fatally shot a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband
has received his sentence. Last year, Democratic former State House Speaker Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark, and even the family dog were shot and killed in their home state.
State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were also shot and seriously wounded that day.
Vance Boelter pleaded guilty to federal charges related to killing one couple and injuring the other. On Thursday, he was sentenced to two life terms plus 40 years, but not before he heard the families and victims of his crimes describe the trauma and how the losses have affected them.
Some family members voiced anger that the guilty plea meant that he wouldn't be sentenced to death.
Hundreds of gun shops lost licenses under a zero-tolerance rule under the Biden administration when they violated federal regulations. Well, now CNN has found some of them are back in business under Trump administration after the president canceled that zero-tolerance rule.
Our investigation found nearly a dozen shops are newly licensed, despite past serious violations. In two cases, federal authorities had traced dozens of crime guns back to the stores.
CNN's Josh Campbell investigates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump campaigned on loosening regulations the gun industry viewed as overzealous.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Your Second Amendment will always be safe with me as your president.
CAMPBELL: And he followed through. In addition to repealing Biden's zero-tolerance policy on gun seller violations, Trump also scrapped a program tracking dealers who had repeatedly sold guns that were later found at crime scenes.
The Trump administration has also invited gun shop dealers who lost their licenses under Biden to reapply.
ATF confirmed that it has granted new licenses to at least 23 of them, but wouldn't share the names of those shops.
A CNN investigation independently found that nearly a dozen gun shops that had their licenses yanked under Biden are now back in business. The owner of one of those gun shops agreed to speak with us.
WILL BOSWELL, OWNER, THE TACTICAL EDGE: We were not giving out guns to people that didn't or -- like that should not have them or purposely like not running background checks just to get a sale done.
We've never done anything like that. We will never do anything like that. But the way that the ATF portrayed that and spoke to us, it made us feel like criminals.
CAMPBELL: When The Tactical Edge lost its license in 2023, the ATF cited repeated violations over several inspections, including failing to run background checks, which The Tactical Edge denies, and not properly completing ATF forms during gun sales.
BOSWELL: It's not up to us to say approved or denied. It's up to our government agency that looks into that person that has all the information that we don't have access to.
CAMPBELL: You maintain that even those form errors wouldn't lead to the transfer of a firearm to someone who maybe shouldn't have it.
BOSWELL: On the form, specifically. I truly do not see a path that that would happen if I do my checks and balances here. And I know that this firearm is going to a person that is legally able to own a firearm. Once it walks out that door, I don't have control over it.
CAMPBELL: Marianna Mitchem is an ATF veteran who serves as an adviser to the gun control group Everytown. She reviewed The Tactical Edge's revocation records.
MARIANNA MITCHEM, FORMER ATF OFFICIAL: By the time they got to the third inspection, and the same violations were happening, at that point, ATF has to choose to protect the public when there is a willful violator of the gun control act.
CAMPBELL: The ATF told CNN it takes seriously the need to have proper oversight over dealers. "We're trying to make sure we deploy our resources with a focus on those who are actually engaged in business."
Still, Mitchem worries the ATF isn't empowered to go after violators in the same way under Trump.
MITCHEM: It's devastating to see ATF pivot away from that. If you stop the trafficker and you stop the gun store from supplying those traffickers, you stop the downstream violence.
TREVON BOSLEY, VIOLENCE PREVENTION ADVOCATE: This is the memorial wall, which we have been building up for years.
CAMPBELL: These are the faces of those lost to gun violence on full display here in Chicago's South Side.
BOSLEY: As the years gone, we had to add more and more families and expanded even further. It's so many lives on this board that are no longer here.
My brother is actually here. He's right up there -- Terrell Bosley.
[01:39:46]
CAMPBELL: Trevon Bosley is a violence prevention advocate working to keep illegal guns off the streets of his hometown.
There were previously gun dealers around this country that had their licenses basically taken away because they were unlawfully selling guns.
BOSLEY: Yes.
CAMPBELL: Now, a lot of those places are getting these licenses back.
BOSLEY: Yes. It's insane that, you know, we worked hard to get to the point where some of these bad actors were being held accountable.
But now, as these gun dealers are receiving their licenses back, as violence prevention funding is being slashed across the country, we have even more guns now flooding back into the hands of, you know, those who don't need to have them.
CAMPBELL: Josh Campbell, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Now, to some breaking news just into CNN. Check out this photo. It is a frightening scene off the coast of Seattle as a float plane headed for the San Juan Islands crashed into the Puget Sound shortly after takeoff, catching fire in the water.
Amazingly, when you look at this, no one died. Authorities say ten passengers and a pilot were on board. Everybody has been rescued.
A spokesperson for the charter service says four passengers are being treated at area hospitals for injuries ranging from head trauma to broken bones and cuts.
The others were taken to a nearby Coast Guard station, but everybody should be ok.
Thanks for watching THE STORY IS.
For our international viewers, WORLD SPORT is next. For our viewers here in North America, I'll be right back with a deep dive on peptides and whether they could help you lose a lot of weight. Or are they dangerous? Or both?
A doctor who specializes in this joins me live on set, next.
[01:41:33]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 14th meeting of the pharmacy compounding advisory committee.
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MICHAELSON: Opening remarks there for a two-day meeting, outside advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The group is considering whether compounding pharmacies should be allowed to dispense certain peptides.
The group is made up of health professionals who prescribe, produce or promote the compounds, which they say can improve muscle recovery, reduce inflammation and promote longevity.
The advisers narrowly voted Thursday in favor of loosening restrictions on some peptides, and will vote on three more on Friday. Critics say the compounds have not been proven safe and effective.
Let's dive into this with Dr. Sean Hashmi -- a board-certified nephrologist, obesity medicine specialist and the founder of Self Principle, a nonprofit focused on health education.
Welcome to THE STORY IS. So much attention, so many people thinking about this, and a lot of people, they hear peptides. They don't even know what that means.
So let's put this up on the screen. You describe what are peptides. You say they're tiny building blocks that the body makes.
They are not new. This is not a fringe thing. Some of them are FDA- approved and some are awaiting FDA approval.
DR. SEAN HASHMI, A BOARD-CERTIFIED NEPHROLOGIST, OBESITY MEDICINE SPECIALIST: Well, the big thing to know about peptides is right now it's a hot term, but peptides have been around for over 100 years. We actually have 80 FDA-approved peptides available right now.
Now, the most common one that most people have heard of is insulin.
MICHAELSON: Right.
DR. HASHMI: But there's also really amazing stuff on the market right now. For example, we have the GLP-1, semaglutide, tirzepatide. These are also peptides.
MICHAELSON: What people would see in Ozempic or Wegovy or something like that.
DR. HASHMI: Exactly.
MICHAELSON: Right.
DR. HASHMI: And they're not negative terms per se.
MICHAELSON: And -- but now the question is, could we expand what is approved?
So these are some of what peptides claim to do. BPC-157 says it's going to heal injuries and help, you know, TB 500 claims to speed injury recovery. There's claims about raising growth hormones, boosting metabolism.
These are all parts of what they claim. The question is do they actually do that? DR. HASHMI: And that's the question all of us want to know. There's a
difference between me saying I try something and it worked versus doing the gold standard, which is a double-blind, randomized, placebo- controlled trial.
And the reason we say that is because if you believe in something, studies show that that placebo effect can be as much as 30 percent.
MICHAELSON: Wow.
DR. HASHMI: And so when you're taking this stuff, we want to know we all took a Hippocratic Oath, we want to know, is it truly safe? Or is there dangers that we really need to be aware of? The first aspect of our job is to keep you out of harm's way.
MICHAELSON: And so Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is the Health Secretary, he's a big fan of peptides. He's appointed a lot of these advisors who are fans of peptides, and they are approving some of these peptides, even just in the last few hours.
The one you're most excited about, you say, is BPC-157. Why are you so excited about that? And what could that do?
DR. HASHM: Well, I'll tell you, anybody who was an athlete in their former life and when they were younger, we all have chronic injuries. I have two torn ACLs, really bad knees.
And if the promise of BPC-157 holds true in terms of speeding up healing, and I'm able to be more active and do sports, it would be amazing.
The challenge with that statement is what is the data? And there is a total of just three clinical studies in humans.
And what's fascinating about it is we say so much positive about it. Yet those studies had 30 patients total --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
DR. HASHMI: -- in all three, and none of them had a control group. None.
MICHAELSON: But now it will be legal for people to get this.
DR. HASHMI: So it will be legal. The question is will it be safe?
MICHAELSON: Yes.
DR. HASHMI: And that's a whole different conversation.
MICHAELSON: And in terms of weight loss, what are you most excited about? Retatrutide?
DR. HASHMI: Yes. So when you look at all of these changes that are happening with GLP-1, GLP-2 are the two agonists as one. Retatrutide is true. We call it GLP-3. But reta is definitely something that we're all excited about. But with that excitement comes a little bit of hesitation too, because the heart rate goes up a little bit more than what we saw in the previous generations.
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MICHAELSON: Yes.
DR. HASHMI: The weight loss is great, but we know that 30 to 40 percent of the weight you lose on these drugs comes from muscle. So there's a danger in that.
MICHAELSON: And retatrutide is something that is not yet FDA-approved, but a whole lot of people are trying it out and seem to have very good results.
And you prescribe the GLP-1s and other weight loss medication to your patients. You believe in that, at least, especially what's been FDA- approved.
DR. HASHMI: Absolutely. We always say lifestyle is the foundation. And then if they need additional help, we provide it as a balance. And not as you can only diet your way out. But we want to find the best balance.
That's the same thing with peptides is it's not peptides are bad. Insulin is a peptide.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
DR. HASHMI: We've used it over a hundred years. But the key is can we give it safely, effectively, for the right duration? And do we know when we stop it?
MICHAELSON: And the right amounts and all --
DR. HASHMI: That's right.
MICHAELSON: -- the rest of it as well.
Dr. Sean Hashmi, thank you so much.
So many people are thinking about this. And we appreciate you giving us some expert perspective.
We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, a look at some of the big stories in the day ahead.
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MICHAELSON: Here's a look at the stories were tracking in the day ahead. The International Criminal Court is set to meet to Consider removing
its chief prosecutor. Karim Khan was suspended last month. He's accused of having non-consensual sexual interactions with a female staff member.
The woman says his early interactions made her uncomfortable, but the misconduct escalated over time. Khan denies the allegations.
President Trump and many of the country's top journalists will attend a do-over of the White House Correspondents Dinner. First lady, Melania Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and the Secretary of State Marco Rubio, are not available Friday due to scheduling conflicts or perhaps for security reasons.
The dinner was postponed in April after a gunman opened fire in a hallway of the hotel hosting the annual event.
We will have live coverage of the White House Correspondents Dinner on CNN at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 p.m. Pacific. And afterwards, we'll break it down when I see you again for THE STORY IS tomorrow.
I'm Elex Michaelson. Thanks so much for watching.
The news continues next right here on CNN.
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