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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Senate Panel Postpones Vote on Todd Blanche Nomination; Gironde Fires "Stabilized" in France; Dr. Anthony Fauci Invokes Fifth Amendment More Than 100 Times at COVID Hearing; Zuckerberg Warns Against Centralizing A.I. Development; William Shatner And His Daughter On How They Both Beat Cancer; "Merlin The Duck Helps Owners Find A New Home". Aired 12-1a ET

Aired July 30, 2026 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:36]

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Elex Michaelson, live in Los Angeles.

Coming up, THE STORY IS retaliation. President Trump follows through on a warning to hit back at Iran after they targeted American forces. How this attack is fueling new concerns about a dangerous escalation in the Middle East.

THE STORY IS Blanche blowback. A stunning setback for the president on Capitol Hill as his pick for attorney general now in jeopardy. Ahead, the high stakes showdown inside the Republican Party that put Todd Blanche's path to attorney general in serious doubt.

And THE STORY IS beating cancer at age 95. William Shatner is still looking towards the future. Hear his deeply personal journey about fighting stage four cancer at the same time as his daughter, and winning, and why he's now playing heavy metal music.

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

MICHAELSON: Our top story, new developments in the Middle East, where the U.S. military launched new strikes on Iran after President Trump pledged to hit the country, quote, "very hard." Iranian state media reports that explosions could be heard in several locations across southern Iran. CENTCOM now says the, quote, "heavy wave of strikes," unquote, has wrapped up.

It also says dozens of targets were hit, including military command centers and missile and drone facilities. Tehran had launched multiple ballistic missiles towards U.S. forces in the region on Tuesday, and all of them were intercepted. President Trump warning that Iran -- to Iran that the U.S. would retaliate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to be hitting them very hard because it's our term to hit them. They know it's coming. They're asking us not to do it. But they nevertheless took a shot. So it's our turn. We're going to hit them very hard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Iranian state media releasing this video from an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz. It says that search and rescue operations are ongoing after U.S. missiles struck a residential home. Officials say two children have been pulled from the rubble, and the search is on for three other family members.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is bracing for a possible second wave of Russian airstrikes. Earlier, Kyiv residents rushed to take cover in shelters and subway stations. Look at this dog among them. That is after officials said that Russian missiles targeted the capital and two other cities. At least one person was killed in Kyiv.

Ukraine's air force later said that another wave of strikes was on the way. President Zelenskyy had warned that Moscow was preparing a massive attack.

A major showdown unfolding on Capitol Hill. The Senate Judiciary Committee has postponed a Thursday vote on the nomination of Todd Blanche to become the next attorney general of the United States. His approval now in jeopardy over concerns about the Justice Department's $1.8 billion so-called Anti-Weaponization Fund and a deal struck in May that would give President Trump, his family and their organization immunity from IRS audits for prior tax issues.

A no vote from Republican John Cornyn or Thom Tillis would keep Blanche's nomination from moving to the full Senate. Here's what Cornyn told Manu Raju about where he's at.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): Maybe they think I'm just going to give up or, you know, go along, but they're mistaken.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Why do you think they're not getting the message from you?

CORNYN: Maybe they think they can roll me.

RAJU: Can they roll you?

CORNYN: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Blanche, who previously served as Donald Trump's personal attorney, has insisted that this Anti-Weaponization Fund is dead. But, and this is important, he's refusing to put that in writing. President Trump says that there may be another reason for Senator Cornyn's opposition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Blanche is outstanding. And I thought he's -- I thought it was pretty routine because he's so good. You just wouldn't find a better person. So I don't know, maybe John Cornyn is upset with me because I didn't endorse him. I don't know what it is. But I haven't heard that there's a problem. I heard he's going through quite nicely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Well, he's not going through tomorrow like he was supposed to because there is very much a problem right now.

[00:05:01]

Our political panel here to discuss that and more. Brian Tyler Cohen is author of one of the best-selling books in America right now, "The Day After: How to Wield Power in a Post-Trump World." And Katie Zacharia is former Homeland Security Department spokesperson and now senior communications adviser for Truth Social and the Trump Media and Technology Group.

Welcome back, both of you.

Brian, why not just put this Anti-Weaponization Fund thing in writing?

BRIAN TYLER COHEN, HOST, "NO LIE WITH BRIAN TYLER COHEN" PODCAST: Because they have no intention of not doing it. I mean, if Todd Blanche and Donald Trump are willing to put his very confirmation at risk for this whole fund, it goes to show that, you know, when they say, oh, were, you know, take our word for it, we definitely, totally don't have any intention of pursuing this further. But they're not willing to put it in writing.

And even if that means sinking Todd Blanche's nomination for the time being, if that's a risk they're willing to take, it goes to show that they obviously have every intention of the world of making sure that he can dole out as much money as he wants to all of these people who engaged in the insurrection.

MICHAELSON: I mean, why not put it in writing, Katie?

KATIE ZACHARIA, SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER, TRUMP MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY GROUP: Well, multiple sources have confirmed tonight, either FOX News -- FOX News reporter, and also "Daily Wire" reporter saying that the DOJ has transmitted something to Thom Tillis and Senator Cornyn of the sort. Obviously I don't know what it is. In addition, he said in sworn in his sworn testimony that this was not on the table. Multiple times he said this.

So I don't -- I know that they're saying that this sworn or that this written transmission hasn't been received or sent, but other sources have said otherwise.

MICHAELSON: And you think that that's a good idea, that they should back down from the Anti-Weaponization Fund?

ZACHARIA: Well, I'm not going to speak on whether or not he should. I think right now it's getting him over the finish line. I have been on this show before and discussed the 1776 Anti-Weaponization Fund and the facts behind it and the supporting case of Obamas precedent that he sent, with a fund similarly situated. However, I do believe that sources have received these transmissions and I actually don't think it's in jeopardy as people are saying.

COHEN: I think it is insane the notion that any Republican if the roles were reversed would allow a Democratic president billions of dollars to dole out to his political allies. If any Democratic president had some fund that they could pay off the ACLU and the NAACP and Planned Parenthood, Republicans and right-wing media would be apoplectic and --

MICHAELSON: Or even like in 2020, Republicans were so frustrated by all the looters during the summer of 2020 and George Floyd and all the people that came in and did property damage and all the rest of it. Should those people get money?

ZACHARIA: For the people that are looting?

MICHAELSON: Yes.

ZACHARIA: This is not what the Anti-Weaponization Fund is.

COHEN: These were insurrectionists. 1500 of them were convicted and then subsequently pardoned by Donald Trump. Those are the people who are going to be eligible to get money out of this fund. I mean, this is just his way to thank them basically for their loyalty to him.

ZACHARIA: The Anti-Weaponization Fund is predicated on the fact that we had unprecedented weaponization of our legal system against President Trump and against many people, including pro-life activists and people who lost their jobs. And this isn't a personal slush fund. This is going to people who need to be able to fight back on the weaponization under Merrick Garland and Joe Biden.

MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, there's got some new poll numbers from CNN that just came out today. I want to put them up on the screen. Trump's approval rating right now, the lowest of his second term, the lowest it's been since January 6th at 34 percent approved, 66 percent disapprove. Is President Trump in touch with your problems? Put this up on the screen. With the problems of ordinary Americans, 27 percent yes, 73 percent no.

Katie, how do you see that going into the midterms?

ZACHARIA: Well, it's interesting, Elex, because just a week ago I was watching CNN where they said President Trump had the highest approval rating at 83 percent within his own party, higher than Bush and higher than Obama. And now a week later, he's not in touch with the party and he's the worst rated --

MICHAELSON: He's at 78 percent within the party now.

ZACHARIA: He was -- yes, it was 83 percent within the party just a week ago. And look, I look back at Ann Seltzer. I'm old enough to remember where she predicted Kamala would win Iowa and she lost. She predicted a three-point lead, and it was a 16-point spread. And Seltzer lost her job on this poll. So as much as these polls are reflective of maybe some Americans feeling distaste, the poll has changed weekly. So I don't think it's actually reflective of Republicans' feelings on President Trump.

COHEN: I think that we have seen a number of polls where the trajectory is the same on all of them. Donald Trump is reaching record low approval ratings, whether it's, you know, any of the polls that have been tested lately. And I think that's a testament to the fact that his entire presidency is a graveyard of broken promises. I mean, this guy promised he would lower costs on day one. Instead, he started a trade war that sent the cost of everything surging.

[00:10:03]

Touted the fact that gas prices were lower. Now gas prices are higher than they've been in years. Promised that inflation would go down. Inflation is higher right now than when even public enemy number one, Joe Biden, was presiding over this country. It's 33 percent higher. Promised that there would be no new foreign wars. We've been in a war for God knows how many months with Iran now.

And of course, that the Epstein files would be released and you have a government-wide coverup of exactly that. So on issue after issue, Donald Trump has shown that he doesn't care what he said on the campaign trail. It was just stuff to get people's votes. Now he's focused solely on, you know, helping himself and his family, and those are the only people that are doing well in this economy.

MICHAELSON: Of course, Trump and Republicans don't all see it that way, and we'll have an opportunity to get more into that in the next hour when Katie and Brian join us once again.

Thanks so much for being with us tonight.

We want to get some other news now. Now. And in southern Japan, emergency crews still cycling through earthquake rubble, searching for signs of life. Japanese authorities have updated their preliminary death toll to 28 after Tuesday's powerful 6.8 magnitude quake. It is unclear how many people are missing and injured. Japan's prime minister said it is a race against time to find those trapped in the debris of a partially collapsed mall.

These images from inside the wreckage are coming from police body cams. Look at how dramatic that is. Elsewhere, damage assessments underway. Here's what we see. Part of a temple that has been flattened and houses not faring well either. The roofs caved in, some of the walls toppling here. Tens of thousands of homes have lost power and temperatures in Japan are soaring.

THE STORY IS in Europe, where emergency officials in the E.U. warn that Greece and Italy could soon face the same type of wildfire threat as Spain and France. We're already seeing some signs of that. Officials on the Greek island of Lesbos advised that residents should evacuate their homes in some coastal areas after a fire broke out on the island of Crete. Two firefighters died while trying to contain a wildfire there. And specialists in fighting forest fires were sent in from Athens to the Greek island of Paros to help contain another wildfire there. The weather remains a concern in Spain and France going into the

weekend. Temperatures in parts of Spain expected to reach up to 38 degrees Celsius. That's about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The country's weather service expects very high or extreme levels of fire danger through at least Sunday, with no rain in sight.

In France, officials say fires in Gironde have been stabilized, but the danger of flareups still puts the area at risk.

CNN's Melissa Bell is in France with more on the firefighting efforts there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: French authorities are saying that the fire, the 42,000 hectare fire, the Gironde Mega Fire, has been stabilized but not fixed. What that means is that it hasn't particularly progressed in terms of area of surface over the last 24 to 36 hours, but they continue to fight it within because you've had these very hot temperatures, up to 42 degrees in some parts of France.

And what we've seen are some flareups of the fire within that area. And that has meant firefighters getting back to try and stamp them out, helped by locals who've again been very much involved using their pickup trucks, their tractors, their Jerry cans mounted on those to try and help the firefighters in their efforts. Essentially, it is such a large area and it continues to smolder. It is extremely hot. Flames pop up in different parts and continue to threaten homes.

We've also seen the return of some of those more than 20,000 people who were displaced. Some of them were allowed to return home. About a third of them. Many of them still haven't been able to get home. Those who have, have found either homes that were devastated or in parts of the forest that were devastated. Others have found homes intact because they'd been evacuated as a matter of precaution.

So there has been that solace at least for those who are able to get back to their homes and find them unscathed. But still, the fight continues. Again until authorities tell us that it is fixed, it means that it can continue to progress at the whim of winds and high temperatures, and within it, the vegetation is such, the nature of the vegetation, the nature of this fire that has been so extraordinary in its ferocity, means that on very hot days like this, the flareups are inevitable.

The question is now what happens over the next couple of days even as firefighters continue to battle this emergency here in the Gironde region. We've seen as a result of those very hot temperatures, another heat wave. We've had so many of the course of this season that picked up. We've seen fires start in Burgundy. The fire that was on in the south of France has again flared up today. So they're fighting these fires on multiple fronts. But this one is the one that is really preoccupying French authorities. And for now, the fight is far from over.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Melissa Bell in France. Melissa, thank you.

[00:15:02]

From fires in Europe to flash flooding in New York. Ahead, we'll show you the dangerous conditions across the northeastern United States. Plus tension on Capitol Hill, where Dr. Anthony Fauci took the Fifth over and over and over again during a Senate hearing on the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, one Republican senator is threatening to hold him in contempt of Congress. We'll go live to Washington.

And later, we go in depth here in Los Angeles with William Shatner. The legendary actor opening up about beating cancer, performing heavy metal, and the character he would consider playing again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:20:06]

MICHAELSON: The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady for the fifth straight meeting, as new Fed chairman Kevin Warsh and policymakers continue to grapple with the uncertainty over inflation. The central bank left its benchmark lending rate unchanged. A range of 3.5 percent to 3.75 percent. But the decision was not unanimous. Before the meeting the usual hints about the Fed's next move was noticeably missing amid a lack of guidance from Warsh.

Here's what he had to say about the decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN WARSH, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR: So I wouldn't characterize what we did as anything like a pause. I would characterize what we did as a rigorous review of the economic situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Chairman Warsh's remarks stirred up volatility. The Dow tumbling more than 2 percent, more than 1100 points, its worst day in more than a year. The S&P and the tech heavy Nasdaq both fell more than 1.5 percent.

Now to this. THE STORY IS taking the Fifth. America's former top infectious disease expert invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination more than 100 times during a contentious Senate hearing. Dr. Anthony Fauci refusing to answer questions Wednesday at the hearing on the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that Republican Senator Rand Paul's, quote, "obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution justified this."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, FORMER DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I respectfully decline. I respectfully decline. I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Senator Paul is now vowing to force a vote next week on holding Fauci in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify. Fauci led the government's response during the COVID pandemic. The hearing did little to advance claims by Paul and other Republicans that Fauci covered up the origins of the virus. Republicans, clearly frustrated by all the pleading of the Fifth, vented their frustration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): You forced people to watch their loved ones die alone over the phone. It's disgusting.

SEN. JOHN HAWLEY (R-MO): During the pandemic, you got rich, didn't you? You got rich while people were dying.

SEN. BERNIE MORENO (R-OH): , Here I am sitting in front of you six years later saying, who the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) do you think you were for doing that? It is a total disgrace what you did to this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: President Trump had this reaction to the Senate hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I watched the whole thing today, but more importantly, I was a part of the whole Fauci -- I inherited Fauci. He was here from the 1980s. So I had him for a period of time. And I disagreed with him on a lot. I would have had to close down the whole country if I listened to him. COVID was a disaster. But Fauci did not help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Joining me now from Washington, someone who covered that hearing, Kate Santaliz, the congressional reporter for Axios.

Welcome to THE STORY IS for the first time.

KATE SANTALIZ, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, AXIOS: Thank you for having me.

MICHAELSON: So when it comes to Anthony Fauci and when it comes to COVID, both parties are not only in different places, they're on different planets. And we saw that today. Sort of what's each side's point?

SANTALIZ: I mean, that's exactly right. And we knew this from the start of this hearing that both parties were on completely opposite pages about why they were doing this hearing in the first place. So Republicans pitched this hearing as an accountability hearing. They wanted answers about the origins of the pandemic, the way the government handled the fallout of the pandemic and the lockdowns that followed as well. We even saw Chairman Rand Paul in his opening statement say that Fauci

covered up the origins of the pandemic and elevating this theory that he's talked about for a long time, that the pandemic originated in a lab in Wuhan, rather than a wet market like Fauci has previously stated. So that was where Republicans were when we first started off, and then Democrats, on the other hand, basically said that this was a show trial designed to entrap Fauci and get him to perjure himself, something that Republicans could use to prosecute him or investigate him.

So Democrats spent a lot of their time actually thanking Fauci for his decades of service and praising him for all of the work that he did there. So in the end, both sides really left dug into their positions, feeling validated that they were right about why this hearing was happening. But there was no new information learned because, as you've said, Fauci did not answer a single question over this three-hour long hearing.

MICHAELSON: Yes, we didn't learn anything. But both sides got clips that they can show to their algorithms on social media. At one point, an interesting moment, Senator Rand Paul, who was leading the hearing, kicked out Dr. Fauci's lawyer. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): You are not recognized, sir.

Security, please remove him from the room.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:25:01]

MICHAELSON: What's the backstory there?

SANTALIZ: Yes. I mean, overall, I just have to say this is definitely one of the more contentious hearings we've seen on Capitol Hill in the last year. And there have been a lot of heated hearings. So when it comes to that particular moment, that was at the beginning of this hearing. So really setting the tone for the start of this. Anthony Fauci's lawyer was trying to explain why his client was pleading the Fifth Amendment, was trying to explain that to the committee members. And Rand Paul continuously was cutting him off, saying that the lawyer was not authorized to speak on behalf of Fauci or address the committee.

The lawyer continued trying to speak, and eventually Rand Paul moved to call security and removed the lawyer from the hearing room, which is a little bit unprecedented. That does not happen very often on Capitol Hill. And that also was just one of many contentious moments that happened in this hearing.

Another big talking point that we saw from Republicans was using this diary that was released over the weekend, thousands of pages that showed what Fauci was thinking at the start of this pandemic, how he was feeling about how the government should handle safety and the lockdowns, and about his newfound fame from being in the spotlight as part of his role. Republicans used especially that a lot.

We saw Senator Josh Hawley even display an image of Fauci in on the cover of "InStyle" magazine, arguing that he used his position to enrich himself. Senator Moreno was very critical of how he handled the lockdowns, even at one point insinuating that Fauci's handling of these lockdowns is what encouraged him to run for office. So lots of firing moments, but again, no new information learned.

Republican senators really went hard on him, but there was no new information that was gained from this hearing.

MICHAELSON: And so now Senator Paul threatening to hold him in contempt. But it's not clear that there would be the votes with the full Senate to actually do that. So it's not obvious that Dr. Fauci is in any imminent legal danger after all of this. But we shall see and continue to follow it in the weeks ahead.

Kate Santaliz, thanks for the great wrap-up. Really appreciate it.

SANTALIZ: Thank you.

MICHAELSON: When we return, a new warning from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg about who gets to use artificial intelligence and who controls access to it. And later, remember Merlin the Duck? He became a viral celebrity in Mexico during the World Cup. We'll tell you what he's doing now that the games are over.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:30:07]

MICHAELSON: Welcome back to "The Story Is." I'm Elex Michaelson.

Let's take a look at today's top stories. The Japanese government has released a preliminary death toll of 28 from the powerful earthquake that struck southern Japan on Tuesday. Some of the victims were found in the wreckage of a partially collapsed shopping mall where there was a possible gas explosion. Thousands of military and emergency personnel are searching debris throughout the prefecture for survivors.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has postponed a Thursday vote on President Trump's pick for attorney general. Todd Blanche facing questions over the Justice Department's controversial $1.8 billion so- called anti-weaponization fund. And a ban on potential IRS audits of President Trump, his family, and businesses.

The late U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham was laid to rest on Wednesday at a funeral attended by friends, family, and lawmakers in his home state of South Carolina. His life was celebrated at the U.S. Capitol and Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday and was eulogized by the president. Graham died July 11th at age of 71. Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is pushing for artificial intelligence to be more accessible. He is warning that the technology should not be centralized and controlled by just a few tech leaders.

In a rare interview this week, Zuckerberg called "The New York Times" and told them that he supports, quote, more openness when it comes to developing A.I. software. He said, quote, "I think it is literally impossible to have a single benevolent superintelligence that is simultaneously aligned with everyone at once."

He gave that interview to my next guest. Mike Isaac is a technology reporter for "The New York Times." He joins us live right now from San Francisco.

Welcome to "The Story Is" for the first time.

MIKE ISAAC, TECHNOLOGY REPORTER, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Hey, thanks for having me.

MICHAELSON: Mike, you told me that Mark Zuckerberg is the most competitive person you have ever met. He almost never calls the media. He almost always does things in a very strategic way. So, what is his competitive strategy in calling you?

ISAAC: Yes. That's exactly right. He has been someone who basically doesn't talk to the mainstream press anymore. He likes posting on his Instagram and -- and sort of taking things himself to the people.

But this is really a key area for him right now. He sees companies like OpenAI and Anthropic as the leaders in artificial intelligence right now. And he has basically spent the last few days, a week or so basically calling folks like myself. He -- he wrote an op-ed in "The Wall Street Journal."

And he's basically been saying, there's a threat of what's going to amount to centralization of artificial intelligence and building it if the U.S. government supports regulation that may cement the power of companies like OpenAI and Anthropic.

[00:35:11]

And so Zuckerberg has been sort of sounding the alarm and saying, no, we need to keep it open. We need to keep competition fair and -- and let people have more access to it, which is why, you know, he ended up on the phone with me yesterday kind of trying to make that case.

MICHAELSON: Is there some irony in Mark Zuckerberg, the guy who runs Facebook and WhatsApp and Instagram and has billions of users around the world complaining about one tech company being too big and having too much control over our information?

ISAAC: You are -- that irony is not lost on me and definitely not on you. You're exactly right. You know, they've been gone -- they've been taking to court multiple times from the FTC to the DOJ saying they've performed anti-competitively. And I think with Zuckerberg, though, he knows exactly what he's doing when he makes these phone calls. He knows -- he -- he's well aware that Facebook serves roughly half the planet through the apps that it uses.

And he knows that, you know, he can use this sort of bully pulpit on occasion to get what he wants. And in this case, he's trying to lobby regulators in the White House to kind of help other companies to catch up and just race to build artificial intelligence against Anthropic and OpenAI, two of the leading startups in the space right now.

MICHAELSON: And it's interesting that Sam Altman, who runs OpenAI, was on Capitol Hill today talking to legislators about this very topic. So, you're the tech guy. Most of us don't understand all this tech talk.

So, I want you to explain this to us like -- like, say, let's say you're on "The Daily," which does it well. Let's do a "Times" one and break this --

ISAAC: Got it.

MICHAELSON: -- break this down for me.

If Mark Zuckerberg gets his way, what does that mean for the average person? If Sam Altman gets his way, what does that mean for the average person?

ISAAC: It's funny. I was talking to my colleagues on "The Daily" this week, so you may get your wish soon enough.

But it -- it -- it really does come down to how people are developing artificial intelligence. If someone like Sam Altman, who runs OpenAI, wins out in Washington, that could mean basically cementing the power of his company.

And in the future, perhaps, there will only be a few -- few companies that folks might use A.I. products from like ChatGPT, which is made by OpenAI. Or Anthropic has its own product called Claude, which is less popular, but still pretty important to businesses.

If Zuckerberg and other allies of his, like, Jensen Huang of NVIDIA or f-- or olks at Microsoft, if they win out, it could be kind of a -- a -- a completely open field for who may win that battle, which means perhaps you'll be using some sort of A.I. product from Meta in the not too distant future.

Perhaps, ChatGPT won't be as important. Perhaps, you might use a Microsoft or a Google product.

And a lot of folks in the Valley are -- are rooting for that future, but it's unclear where -- now where the government's actually going to land on this. And they're still, as of this moment, trying to figure out how to make everyone happy or potentially not happy, I guess.

MICHAELSON: It certainly seems like Mark Zuckerberg likes one big company in control when he is that company. But when he's not big company in control, it's all about, let's have competition and make it more fair to everybody.

Mike Isaac, thank you for your reporting.

ISAAC: Nailed it.

MICHAELSON: You can check out your reporting at nytimes.com and -- and give a shout out to Michael Barbaro and the team at "The Daily." We're fans here on "The Story Is." Thanks so much.

He has defeated aliens and criminals, and most recently cancer, at the same time as his daughter. 95-year-old William Shatner talks about that battle and his next big gig. Guarantee you, this one was not on your bingo card.

This is one of my favorite interviews I've ever done. Stick around. You're not going to want to miss it. It's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:40:05]

MICHAELSON: It's almost impossible to believe, but William Shatner is 95 years old. He's not ruling out another run as Star Trek's Captain Kirk.

I recently sat down with him for an emotional interview with him and his daughter about surviving cancer together, learning to live in the present. And a surprising new career boldly going to play music festivals.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: This idea of both of you getting stage four cancer at the same time.

WILLIAM SHATNER, CANADIAN ACTOR: Yes. I thought it was a brilliant idea.

MELANIE SHATNER GRETSCH, WILLIAM SHATNER's DAUGHTER: I know. We were really clever.

MICHAELSON: William Shatner fought aliens as Captain Kirk on "Star Trek."

SHATNER: Where are the Tribbles?

MICHAELSON: Brought criminals as T.J. Hooker.

SHATNER: Let's take a ride downtown.

Oh, please.

MICHAELSON: And fought courtroom battles with Denny Crane on "Boston League." SHATNER: It was an accident.

MICHAELSON: But in real life, he fought stage four skin cancer while his daughter, Melanie, was battling stage four breast cancer.

[00:45:02]

Who was first? You were first.

Melanie, self-discovered a lump on her breast. At first, doctor said it was fine, but she insisted, they recheck it.

GRETSCH: Under her breath she said, no, I would have missed that.

MICHAELSON: When do you think about that moment, that if she hadn't rechecked?

GRETSCH: A hundred percent, I would have --

MICHAELSON: You may not been here.

GRETSCH: I know that I wouldn't have been.

MICHAELSON: While Melanie was sick, her dad asked a doctor to check out a lump on his neck.

SHATNER: Really put his hands on this. You better get this out.

GRETSCH: I just thought, I -- I don't think I can survive losing him. Like I think I'll just -- it'll be too much for me and I'll die too.

MICHAELSON: Doctors removed Shatner's mass and gave him immunotherapy.

SHATNER: One day, a year or two ago, my oncologist said, you're free.

MICHAELSON: How did that feel?

SHATNER: Never occurred to me that I wasn't going to get better. I just -- that's my -- my genetic makeup, I guess. I just -- I'm -- I'm optimist. So many good things have happened to me in my life.

MICHAELSON: Melanie's treatment, a double mastectomy, six rounds of chemo, 30 rounds of radiation, and a year of immunotherapy. She's now in remission.

SHATNER: Just a few years ago, both diagnosis would have been, pack your bags and get ready to die.

MICHAELSON: Melanie celebrated with a family trip to Disneyland.

GRETSCH: Like a kid -- like a kid or a football player. I was like, I'm going to Disneyland.

MICHAELSON: But typically shy Melanie also spoke publicly at the Susan G. Komen walk to fight against breast cancer.

GRETSCH: Once I allowed dying to be part of my life, I finally felt free to live.

When I got up there, I realized, I'm not scared. I'm actually so excited to like connect and talk to these people and say, I'm here. I'm one of you.

SHATNER: Here's her story.

MICHAELSON: Father and daughter are now talking about their journeys in their new podcast, "No Time But Now."

SHATNER: There's no time but now to lead your life.

I mean, if you could go at the speed of light, you'd live forever.

MICHAELSON: Shatner loving the process of interviewing guests about fully living.

SHATNER: And you're dazzled by it, by the inner story of everybody. Every human being is carrying around a gem of their story. And if they could make you feel what they felt, then you're into the story.

MICHAELSON: And is that why you love the podcast format so well?

SHATNER: I didn't even know what a podcast was.

MICHAELSON: The podcast has meant quality family time for the father of three daughters.

We know William Shatner, the actor so well.

GRETSCH: Yes.

MICHAELSON: What's William Shatner the dad like?

GRETSCH: He --

SHATNER: He didn't hear him all the way. Let's hear.

GRETSCH: He's fun, infectious, tireless, loyal, protective.

SHATNER: Got to give something bad. It's not so far (INAUDIBLE).

GRETSCH: Sometimes.

MICHAELSON: Melanie was born two years before the debut of "Star Trek" on NBC in 1966.

Star Trek is 60 years old.

SHATNER: I know.

MICHAELSON: How do you think about that?

GRETSCH: That's so old.

SHATNER: It's so old. (INAUDIBLE) from my point of view. It's my -- my middle age.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise.

SHATNER: It's a phenomena.

MICHAELSON: Right.

SHATNER: It's a phenomena that I have discounted from time to time.

MICHAELSON: Shatner's upcoming book, "William Shatner and You," is about how his roles change the lives of his fans. Something that makes him emotional to think about.

SHATNER: So many people have come up to me and said, I'm -- I am this because of you.

MICHAELSON: Well, I've had the fortune of interviewing so many astronauts because I'm obsessed with space because of "Star Trek."

SHATNER: That's why.

MICHAELSON: And all of them say --

SHATNER: And me too.

MICHAELSON: -- all of them say, that you're --

SHATNER: "Star Trek."

MICHAELSON: -- the reason why.

SHATNER: Yeah. Yeah.

Once again, we've saved civilization as we know it.

MICHAELSON: To me, "Star Trek," more than anything, is about an exploration of what it means to be human.

Do you think that as well?

SHATNER: See, that's beautifully put. And I agree with that.

I'm from Iowa. I only work in outer space.

MICHAELSON: Would you play Kirk again?

SHATNER: Depends on the story.

MICHAELSON: Depends on the story, but you're open to it?

SHATNER: I'm open to everything.

MICHAELSON: What did you learn about humanity from "Star Trek?"

GRETSCH: Because of who he is and the humanity he has and the depth -- like the depth of his humanity and his ability to like lead and have this energy that is like, follow me, come with me. Like that -- that is why he was so powerful on the show.

SHATNER: Let me tell you an observation I'm having right now. People compliment me, oh, we like to visit and we like that. And, you know, there's thank you very much.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

SHATNER: But there's a -- there's a mask. But my daughter, just now, talking about me that way without the mask, with her total honesty of what she feels about me, gives me an insight into myself, allows me to -- to think kindly of myself once again by the earnestness and the honesty of which she just projected.

[00:50:03]

MICHAELSON: Wow.

SHATNER: Wow. That was a moment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lift off.

MICHAELSON: This is another memorable moment. In 2021, Shatner flew to space in real life for 11 minutes aboard the Blue Origin capsule.

But from your perspective, what was that like?

GRETSCH: Horrifying.

MICHAELSON: Was it?

GRETSCH: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Captain James Tiberius Kirk is boarding our Blue Origin spaceship.

GRETSCH: I felt so terrified at thinking of you being scared.

SHATNER: Scared?

GRETSCH: Yes. Because how would you not be?

SHATNER: Oh, Jesus.

You -- you think, am I going to -- am I going to die?

I'm so filled with emotion about what just happened.

MICHAELSON: I think so much of your life is about the future and looking forward to the future?

GRETSCH: I am.

MICHAELSON: What are you most excited about in the future?

SHATNER: My heavy metal.

MICHAELSON: That's right. Shatner is performing heavy metal music for the first time.

SHATNER: Ah, beginning to get it. It isn't so much, when do I come in? It's, I got to feel the music and then come in with the lyrics.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

SHATNER: And it's all about passion.

GRETSCH: Rage. Rage.

SHATNER: Rage.

MICHAELSON: Do you -- do you see your dad as a heavy metal star?

GRETSCH: No. I missed that one.

MICHAELSON: His band, set to play at Riot Fest in Chicago this fall and then --

SHATNER: And I'm doing the one in the desert in spring.

GRETSCH: Oh, God.

SHATNER: The one --

MICHAELSON: You're doing Coachella?

GRETSCH: Coachella.

MICHAELSON: You're going to do Coachella?

SHATNER: Half (INAUDIBLE).

(CROSSTALK)

MICHAELSON: Playing -- playing -- playing heavy metal?

GRETSCH: My -- my -- my daughter was like, that's not Coachella.

SHATNER: It's right.

MICHAELSON: If you're keeping score, Shatner, at age 95, is working on a new podcast, new music and new books.

Is that the secret though to be excited about the future?

SHATNER: You've got to be. You've got to be excited about it. "No time but Now" is the name of the podcast.

Now, however if you're 95, you don't have many moments left.

MICHAELSON: That in mind, the legacy he's most proud of is helping others, including his family.

What is forever is my helping you who need a hand. And that reverberates for the rest of time. That's the legacy. (END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: My thanks to Melanie and William Shatner for one of my favorite interviews I have ever done.

Shatner's podcast officially went live today. In September, his new book comes out. And he's set to play heavy metal at Riot Fest in September as well. Live long and prosper.

All right. Still to come, parts of New York declare a state of emergency due to flooding. More on the record-breaking rainfall there.

Plus, our top stories, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:55:25]

MICHAELSON: Storms across New York are set to weaken in the coming hours, but severe rain has already caused dangerous flooding across the state. Look at this video here. Some areas seeing record rainfall in the state. With the highest total hitting nearly a foot in southern New York. That's more than twice the amount of rain some areas see in the entire month of July.

Multiple counties in the eastern New York declared states of emergency. They deployed rescue teams to help stranded motorists and others trapped by the flood waters. Other cities in the northeast are still at risk of flooding on Thursday with more pockets of heavy rain still set to fall.

We have an update on Merlin the Duck. Remember this guy? It became Mexico's unofficial mascot during the World Cup. The two-year old male became so popular. He was even taken to meet the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum.

As Valeria Leon reports the feathery celebrity has now helped his struggling family find a new home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Merlin the Duck became an unlikely star after going viral during the World Cup.

His fame transformed the life of the Mexican family that raised him.

Karla and her sons, Cristian and Carlos, used to sleep inside a tiny street side shop in Mexico City where they sold bottled water.

KARLA GOMEZ, MERLIN'S OWNER (through translator): Living in a shop working seven days a week, putting in exhausting hours and carrying heavy loads was very difficult. Sometimes, I would cry at night.

I was always apologizing to my sons for making them live in a shop.

LEON (voice-over): Cristian told us how they crawled inside each night and how that reality weighted heavily on his mother.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): My mom slept up here. I slept down below and my brother slept down there.

LEON (voice-over): After their story caught the attention of local authorities, Mexico City's government gave the family a home.

With Merlin in their arms, Karla and Cristian returned to their former neighborhood, greeting the street vendors who witnessed their struggle along with their sudden race to fame.

GOMEZ (through translator): For the first time in many years, we were able to sleep peacefully.

LEON (voice-over): Now that the World Cup has ended, they've dropped by the old shop to pick up Merlin's favorite soccer ball.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I'm happy thanks to him. We have a house now and he can sleep wherever he wants.

LEON (voice-over): For this family, their lucky duck changed everything from surviving day by day to dreaming about what comes next.

[00:55:09]

GOMEZ (through translator): I want to pursue the business side of this. I want to start making clothes for ducks.

LEON (voice-over): Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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