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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Sources - Trump's For General Looks For Off-Ramp From Iran War; Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey Sign Mutual Defense Pact; Court - Trump Unlawfully Constructing White House Ballroom; Teen Kills 5 Teachers IN Deadliest School Shooting In Years; Trump Urges U.S. Attorney To Revisit Reflecting Pool Case; The Pentagon Releases Fifth Batch Of UFO Files; Aired 1-2a ET

Aired August 08, 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]

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Here in Los Angeles, Netflix is taking promotion to a new level. A man is living inside a fully furnished living room, except the room is built into a billboard roughly 30 feet in the air. The installation mimics the plot of Netflix new sci-fi thriller, The Last House. In the film, a family of four is trapped inside their home with no way out trying to survive as resources dwindle. As you can see, there's so much promotion on the Sunset Strip, not even that weird.

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: Coming up on "The Story Is," looking for an off ramp. President Trump's top military commander has a blunt warning for the administration about the war with Iran.

"The Story Is" united in Michigan. Democrats rally in Detroit after a key primary win ahead of the midterms. Our panel here to debate the future of the Democrats.

And "The Story Is" release number 5. A fifth round of declassified Pentagon files on UFOs has just been published. Dan Farah, Director of The Age of Disclosure, is here live in studio to explain what it means to all of us.

We begin with this though, the top U.S. General whose job is to fight the war with Iran says that the U.S. needs to find a way out. General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, is looking for an off ramp in the conflict as U.S. military options remain limited. Three sources familiar with the matter say Caine has privately made clear to other Trump cabinet members and top advisers over the last few weeks that military options on the table to escalate the conflict could backfire and air power alone not likely to achieve President Trump's stated objectives for the war.

It is highly significant that Trump's most senior general is privately arguing that there is no easy military solution to end a war that the President himself chose to enter. Here's what former U.S. Ambassador Chris Hill told me last hour when I asked him live, does an off ramp exist?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS HILL, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR: But I think what General Caine is saying to the political leadership is, he has done everything he can do from the military perspective. It's clearly not bringing this conflict to an end. We're at the six month mark. And I think he's saying you need to step up the diplomacy. And I think one of the problems with the diplomacy is, it's one thing to be unpredictable, but I think we are becoming unreliable.

And I think some of the messaging to the American people is, at best confusing, and at worst, frankly, rather misleading. So I think we've kind of reached a moment where I think this administration needs to do some serious thinking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, Iran is showing off some of the U.S. and Israeli aircraft it says it brought down during the nearly six month war. State run media sharing these images of the remnants of a U.S. Air Force F-15 fighter jet, several drones, and what appears to be the engines of a commando special operations aircraft.

The leaders of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan signing a NATO style mutual defense pact in Mecca on Friday as the Iran war looms over the whole region. That agreement stipulates that an attack against any of them shall be regarded as an attack on all of them. That means that Turkey and Pakistan could now potentially be drawn into the war with Iran if Saudi Arabia comes under attack.

Pakistan and Turkey each share a border with Iran, and both have strong reasons to prevent the conflict from spiraling. The pact gives Saudi Arabia a powerful new layer of protection amid doubts over whether the U.S. can still be relied upon to protect its allies. Riyadh's relations with neighboring United Arab Emirates have also frayed. Now all this comes as Israel expands its military reach across the region.

Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin could try to test NATO's resolve in the years ahead. Three sources familiar with intelligence reports U.S. officials believe he could launch a limited hostile action against a NATO country. It could range from a cyber-attack to a small scale incursion without necessarily crossing the threshold for a full response. The goal of all this would be to test NATO's commitment to Article 5, which says that an attack on one member is an attack on all members. One source says the most highly likely targets would be Baltic countries or Poland.

To politics now in the United States, a big democratic rally Friday night in Michigan for Senate nominee Abdul El-Syed. He, along with his fellow democrats, trying to unite a party after a tough primary battle. Among those in attendance was potential 2028 presidential candidate, Pete Buttigieg. Both men calling on Democrats to put differences aside ahead of November's election.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE BUTTIGIEG, FORMER U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Now look. It's no secret that we all may not have voted the same way on Tuesday. That's OK. That's how it works. But however you voted in Tuesday's primaries, there is a reason you went out and voted in the first place.

ABDUL EL-SAYED, MICHIGAN DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE: My name is Abdul El- Sayed. And I am so proud to be your Democratic nominee for U.S. senate. And also in the spirit of unity, in the spirit of the work, in the spirit of coming together. I want to thank both of my colleagues who ran, Haley Stevens and Mallory McMorrow for an incredible race.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Our panel back with us, Republican Mimi Walters and Democrat Jake Levine. Congress member Walters served, representing Orange County. Jake, you just ran in the contentious democratic primary yourself against Brad Sherman. I don't think you've done a unity rally with him yet. Talk to us about what this is like from a candidate perspective and from a party that's fractured.

JAKE LEVINE, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT: Sure. Well, it -- and I'm sure the Congresswoman can speak to this as well, but these things get personal. They get intense, and you become emotionally invested. And I think that what we saw today and what really we need to be doing as a democratic party is recasting the -- very healthy criticism. I ran against an incumbent sitting member of Congress on the thesis that our party needs to get younger.

It needs to get more aggressive. We need to focus on the corruption in Washington. But now El-Sayed, the Democrat in Michigan need to focus squarely on MAGA, on Trump, on Rogers, and prosecute the case for an affirmative agenda that speaks to working class people, that is a winning case. We see that winning all over the country. It's time to put the divisiveness behind us and move on to the general election where we can all agree on the importance and the stakes at hand.

MICHAELSON: Interesting, that Pete Buttigieg, who now lives in Michigan, and has said to me that he's interested in running for President or at least thinking about that, was out there. Let's hear some more from what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE BUTTIGIEG, FORMER U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: We're going to win because we understand that the project at the moment is not to return to some previous status quo. It's to make sure that things are better, not just than they are today, but than they ever were before. Remember when they told us we had to pay those tariffs that cost us $1,000 a household, because it would bring back manufacturing.

The opposite is happening. Just like when they told us they would drain the swamp only for the swamp to be the swampiest it has ever been, and the only thing they drained was the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial. We can do better than that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Some of that anti-corruption message. But Congress member, it's interesting that at a time when Abdul El-Sayed is seen as pretty far to the left by some, these 2028 presidential candidates, Pete Buttigieg and then tomorrow Gavin Newsom, are there in Michigan on a stage with him saying he's our guy.

MIMI WALTERS, FORMER U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: Well, because those people vote in primaries. And both of them want to run for President, and they want to get the democrat nomination. That's exactly why they there.

MICHAELSON: And Michigan is going to be one of the early states next time around.

WALTERS: 100 percent. And that's why they're there because they need to win the Democrat primary. They'll worry about the general election if they get out of the primary.

MICHAELSON: I mean, it's interesting because the issue of Israel was really important in this race. Haley Stevens, who came very, very close in this race, was on with us last night, described herself as a Democratic Zionist on our show. I asked her, what do you say to people who are concerned about Israel, your supporters who voted for you because they don't believe that El-Sayed is a fan of Israel? She said, "People need to make a personal and private decision to me last night." And Mike Rogers seems to me making a direct appeal to those people. Here's the video he released today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CASSIDY, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN: And to the vast majority of people across Michigan who do not want to throw their support behind a campaign filled with anger, divisiveness, calls for violence, and the views that are out of touch with your values, well, you have a home with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: By the way, his wife did not speak during that video. She just sat there the whole time, which is an interesting visual. But beyond that, this idea of Mike Rogers seeing these Haley Stevens pro- Israel supporters is up for grabs. You think that works?

WALTERS: Absolutely. And that's exactly what he needs to do. Listen. El-Sayed went into this election thinking he was going to win overwhelmingly, and he won by 1 percent. There's a huge divide by now.

[01:10:00] MICHAELSON: Just 12,000 votes.

WALTERS: Huge divide with the Democrat party right now in Michigan. And those voters are up for grabs as far as Mike Rogers sees, and he needs some of those votes to put him over the top.

MICHAELSON: I mean, are you concerned by some of that and also some of what's happening? El-Sayed, not a democratic socialist, certainly supported by almost all of them, and we do see that expansion of democratic socialists across the country.

LEVINE: Well, I think El-Sayed needs to broaden his message to speak to working class people. He -- the early polling, and I have confess I haven't checked since, suggested that he didn't do as well with working class voters on a working class message. And I think that he needs to find a way for that message about more money in your pocket, money out of politics, Medicare for all, for that to resonate with the working people of Michigan.

And it's a very important project for Democrats across 2028 because so many people are being squeezed by this administration, by Trump, by Republicans in Washington who are allowing the ridiculousness of something like the $350 million, $400 million ballroom to get built while people can't put a roof over their heads.

MICHAELSON: Yeah. I mean, he and a lot of the Democratic socialists really connecting with college educated white people.

LEVINE: Yeah.

MICHAELSON: And that's where we saw a lot of his support. Another issue making news on this day is the ballroom that President Trump wants to build at the White House. A judge saying you can't do that because you didn't get congressional support, putting it on, but saying you got two weeks to keep doing it as this case is eventually going to be appealed to the Supreme Court.

Hillary Clinton talked about this issue on the pivot podcast with Kara Swisher. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FMR. U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: When I was in Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein, I had meetings. I was then a senator. I had meetings in some of his palaces, and they were quite reminiscent of, what we are seeing in our own White House. It's just insane.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: How do you feel about this as a former member of Congress? Are you concerned that there isn't more of a congressional role here?

WALTERS: Well, I believe that there should be more of a congressional role. And history has shown that whenever there's been a major renovation to the White House, it's the People's House. And it's under the jurisdiction of the national parks, that Congress should be the one that makes that decision. So I do get a bit concerned that such a big project is being taken on without congressional input.

MICHAELSON: And lastly, because we're out of time, just quickly, Max Miller, there's some questions about whether the Congressman from Ohio should step aside. Both of you say?

WALTERS: Step aside.

LEVINE: Step aside.

MICHAELSON: It'll be interesting to see if that happens as the deadline on that is in the days and hours ahead. Mimi Walters, Jake Levine, thank you so much both of you for joining us for the first time. Great to have you here on "The Story Is."

WALTERS: Thanks for having us.

LEVINE: Thanks Elex.

MICHAELSON: People in Thailand trying to come to grips with the deadly school shooting there. We'll have a live report on the latest including other killings before that school massacre.

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MICHAELSON: People in Thailand are in mourning a day after the country's deadliest school shooting in recent years. Police say the 14-year-old suspected shooter stormed the school where he was also a student and then opened fire on Friday. Five teachers were killed. 30 other people were injured. The boy then shot himself and later died. The Thai leader says stress related schoolwork may have been a motive in the shooting.

CNN's Gage Goulding is live for us in Hong Kong. Gage, the focus is on the five teachers who killed or killed dozens more hurt. This massacre apparently started hours earlier.

GAGE GOULDING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And that was a detail that we learned throughout the day yesterday and overnight, right, is that there was obviously a big focus on what happened at the school, but gunshots starting there around 09:30 in the morning local time Friday morning. But around 4:00 A.M. according to Thai royal police says that this suspect, 14-years-old mind you, started shooting and killing his grandparents at a home which was about roughly 90 minutes north of Bangkok. So I'm going to take you through that timeline there, right?

This is video from inside the home provided to CNN by law enforcement. But around 4:00 A.M., that's allegedly when this 14-year-old shot and killed his own grandparents who he lived with, what we're told. And then a little bit later, not sure exactly when, but got on the bus with that firearm in dozens of rounds of ammunition, went to the school, and then opened fire during the second class of the day. And this school here has roughly about 3,000 students in it.

Law enforcement telling us that he appears to have you can see the computer there that they're seizing, researched mass shootings in the past, and that's a part of why they seized what you're seeing there. What's even more difficult to hear is, for anybody that has children or little ones in their life is that there were dozens and dozens, probably hundreds of kids that were hearing all of this happening on a Friday morning and what they had to do to ensure that they were just trying to survive. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

18-YEAR-OLD HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT (translated): We started hearing some noise in building five, and we had no idea what happened after that. At first, I thought they were sounds of firecrackers or someone banging onto something loudly, but then we started realizing they were not.

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KITTIPHAT CHULERD, STUDENT (translated): I called my friends into a room, and we set up a barricade at the door because we could not lock it. We then waited for authorities to tell us what to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOULDING: And you can only imagine the thoughts that were going through their minds there, video provided by the police there showing kids, obviously, frantic getting out of those classrooms there. The big question though, we're hearing that it may have been studies related stress that was the motive behind this. The shooter's father speaking with CNN saying that he his son is guilty and that he hurt these people, but he is still unsure as to why, Elex, his son did this.

MICHAELSON: So sad and the thought of study related stress causing somebody to do this is just hard to comprehend as well. CNN's Gage Goulding for us live in Hong Kong. Thank you.

Amanda Knox, the American student convicted and then later acquitted of her roommate's murder in Italy is facing a new wave of backlash. She is performing a one woman standup comedy show at the Edinburgh Fest Fringe Festival. She says it honors the memory of her deceased roommate, Meredith Kercher, and explores her own wrongful imprisonment. But Kercher's family is calling for her show to be canceled, and their petition has gotten thousands of signatures.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE KERCHER, MEREDITH KERCHER'S SISTER: Whilst, I appreciate comedy is there to push the boundaries and it very much normalizes and trivializes violence against women and Meredith in particular. I think in this case, it's a position where it's not a generic topic. It's targeting an individual traumatic case and an individual person and family. And I feel very strongly that Meredith wouldn't agree with that. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Meredith's sister there. Mark Stephens, is an expert in media law, Solicitor General with the Howard Kennedy law firm live in Europe. Good morning to you and welcome back to "The Story Is."

MARK STEPHENS, SOLICITOR, HOWARD KENNEDY: Nice to be with you, Elex.

MICHAELSON: You are an expert in media law and the concept of freedom of speech. There's no question that Amanda Knox has a right to say this. The question is, should she say it?

STEPHENS: Yeah. I think that's absolutely right. And, really freedom of expression answers the question of whether something may be said, but ethics ask the question whether it should be said and in the way and at the time and at whose expense. And I think that's part of the issue here. Meredith Kercher, as you said in your setup there was found innocent, but she was tried in the public -- court of public opinion. And there is essentially two truths going on here, the grief, the indelible grief of the Kercher family on the one hand, and the humiliation and gendered approach of Amanda Knox.

And Amanda Knox is now having to explain that to her daughter. And so, essentially, what she's doing is using a scalpel, she hopes, rather than, poking fun because comedy's always been used to deal with traumatic and very difficult subjects. I think the key here is she poking fun at the death of Meredith Kercher? I think the answer to that would be, that would be a very foolish thing to do even if you were allowed to do it. But, is she using comedy to access some kind of greater truth? It's clear that that has to be done carefully and respectfully, and we'll only know that if we see the show.

MICHAELSON: Yeah. And to that point, most of the critics have not seen the show. I mean, there are thousands of people who have said she shouldn't be doing this, but the show itself is a sellout, every single performance of it. Here's some of the reaction from audience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AUDIENCE MEMBER: I feel it's her right to tell her story. Yeah. And I feel the people that do judge her or ask for the cancellation of the show, there's always this sense of them not believing her to be innocent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's genuinely funny, and she has obviously found a way to use humor to, help us survive.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I now feel that she is genuinely innocent. And she's paid her dues, and we should give her a break.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: We just got about a minute left, but this concept of true crime, this is big business, right? And sometimes you say that can kind of feel icky.

STEPHENS: Yeah. It can. I think one of the problems with true crime is so often it's treated just as content.

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When it's used for good, for essentially finding injustices and the rest, that's always a very good thing. But often, I think it can be overdone. And I think we kind of need a Hippocratic oath for these kinds of shows where we do no harm. And I think that's the issue here. And I think, the audience reaction there tells you, what you need to know. And I think we are really in danger of essentially relitigating whether she's guilt or innocent. And I think part of the distaste is that lingering suspicion that she was guilty. And as a consequence of that, people are horrified at the show.

MICHAELSON: Mark, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

We've -- for international viewers, Elite Escapes is next. For our viewers in North America, I'll be right back.

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MICHAELSON: It is after 01:30 in the morning in Washington, and they're still working in the United States Senate. That is where acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears to have enough support to be confirmed. That vote could happen at any time. They're working on other matters as well. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy said that he will support Blanche's nomination for Attorney General, despite, losing the support of two other senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

Cassidy's support gives Republicans a clear path to confirm Blanche. Cassidy spoke about why, in the end, he decided that he's going to vote for Blanche.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CASSIDY, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN: Mr. Blanche is not perfect, and he will tell you this. But the choice is not between perfection and Mr. Blanche. It is between Mr. Blanche and another acting Attorney General who may not run the department effectively under President Trump and who indeed may not be as good as Mr. Blanche. This is not a referendum on President Trump. It is a decision regarding Mr. Blanche in very specific circumstances.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: A federal appeals court ruled Friday that President Trump is unlawfully constructing a massive new ballroom at the White House. The court said only Congress has the authority to make major changes to the White House. But judges paused implementation of the ruling for two weeks, while Trump appeals to the Supreme Court, which said late Friday he intends to do. President Trump is calling on U.S. attorney Jeanine Pirro to revisit her decision to drop vandalism charges related to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Former Olympian David Hearn was previously charged with vandalizing the pool, but Pirro dropped the charges, saying the $14 million renovation of the pool was botched. Trump says that Pirro's decision was, "hasty." He continues to insist that the pool was vandalized.

Take a look at this. It is part of the Pentagon's fifth release of UFO files. They contain reported sightings of UAPs or Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon. This one recorded in Colorado. The files include other sightings over the Pacific Ocean and in The Middle East. The release also contains FBI renderings based on firsthand witness accounts. Now this information came about in large part as a result of a recent documentary.

The Age of Disclosure on Prime Video promises to reveal an 80-year-old cover up of information on UAP and now non-intelligent human life. The documentary led to the President authorizing a historic disclosure process. Here's a clip.

(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, and we don't know whose it is. That alone, just that statement alone deserves inquiry, deserves attention.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rubio and I are aligned a 100 percent. We do not find it acceptable to have unknown aerial phenomenon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just not an issue, at least as of yet, in this country that lends itself to some sort of partisan or ideological divide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: That interview when Rubio was in the senate, not Secretary of state yet. Joining us now is in "The Story Is" Dan Farah. He is the Director/Producer of The Age of Disclosure. Dan, welcome back to "The Story Is." You've been with us as we've gotten these different tranches from the government. What's the big headline today? What did we learn?

DAN FARAH, DIRECTOR/PRODUCER, THE AGE OF DISCLOSURE: Yeah. Probably the most interesting thing in this release is numerous reports of triangle shaped UAP, seen over sensitive military sites, eyewitness reports by credible military personnel, and over the course of many decades. And I know from my own sources that these triangle UAP have been seen all over the world for decades.

MICHAELSON: And you say they're big?

FARAH: They're very big. Yeah. They're large. They move in ways that no known aircraft can, and this is a reoccurring type of UAP that's seen all over the world. MICHAELSON: So that's pretty alarming. And part of what your film has helped lead to is the Trump administration changing the rules when it comes to NDAs for the government. Talk to us about the rule change that just happened recently, and are we starting to see any effects of that? Are we learning anything new because of it?

FARAH: Yeah. So as the White House tries to find all the most meaningful evidence of UAP that sits within various federal agencies and branches of military and private defense contractors, they found that a lot of people who have worked on these classified programs are afraid to tell even the White House what they know because they've signed really strict non-disclosure agreements.

[01:35:00]

So just a few days ago, the administration put out an official statement. The Trump administration put out an official statement, making it clear that they will waive non-disclosure agreements signed by people who have worked on these classified UAP programs, if those people are willing to come forward in a classified setting and tell either the FBI or the White House what they know. And that's a major step forward for disclosure. It could potentially remove, the last major hurdle to getting to the real evidence.

MICHAELSON: From your sources, do if anybody did that this week after that?

FARAH: I think some people have started doing it. Yeah.

MICHAELSON: Yeah.

FARAH: And also from my sources, the evidence that's been released in these tranches so far barely scratches the surface of what actually exists.

MICHAELSON: Who's leading this from the White House perspective?

FARAH: So the President has appointed Stephen Miller as Head of Policy to oversee this entire process, both the rollout of the evidence they get access to. So they get access to evidence, and then they'd evaluate and decide of that what can they safely declassify to the public. So he's running point on that process, and he's running point on this process of waiving non-disclosure agreements for those who have direct knowledge and have worked on these programs and are willing to come forward.

MICHAELSON: So Stephen Miller, who oversees the process in his words of removing illegal aliens from the country is now leading the charge to discover aliens from outer space potentially?

FARAH: Essentially. Yeah. Yeah.

MICHAELSON: That's wild.

FARAH: And the other the other significant part of the disclosure process that's playing out right now and getting a lot of momentum is Senator Rounds and Senator Schumer. They co-sponsored a bipartisan act called the UAP Disclosure Act, which is meant to bring about disclosure legally. It's a legal means for Congress to move this all forward. And that that has been blocked several years in a row.

MICHAELSON: Yeah. It's something you talked about in your documentary.

FARAH: Yeah.

MICHAELSON: That there was not a path forward on that.

FARAH: Yeah.

MICHAELSON: But now maybe there is.

FARAH: There were a lot of people that were compromised by those involved in this cover up who have stopped this this piece of legislation from moving forward over the last few years. But now, following the President's directive to declassify evidence, there's a lot of support for this act in the house and the senate. So Schumer and Rounds are bullishly pushing it forward with lots of support, and chances are it'll actually pass into law end of this year.

MICHAELSON: If that passes, what does it actually do?

FARAH: It opens the door for a real next level disclosure process. So it's a lengthy act. There's a lot of terms in there, but it clears a lot of legal roadblocks.

MICHAELSON: It is amazing that this is all happening and that it's all happening relatively fast.

FARAH: Yeah.

MICHAELSON: And your film, of course, part of that process, if people want to watch The Age of Disclosure, it is streaming now on Prime Video where you can rent or buy it. It is one of the most successful documentaries in the history of Prime Video. Dan, thanks for the great insight. It's fascinating to follow this.

FARAH: Thanks for having me.

MICHAELSON: Still ahead, a grim milestone for the Western U.S., record low water levels, and the deepening Colorado River crisis. Our Bill Weir traveled there. He reports next.

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MICHAELSON: The heat from above average temperatures and a new round of gusty winds is affecting fire crews battling multiple wildfires in the Pacific Northwest. Three fires near Spokane, Washington have scorched more than 10,000 acres over 4,000 hectares. The National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings for Spokane and other parts of Eastern Washington for the weekend. Smoke from wildfires is also hurting air quality in parts of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.

The largest water reservoir in the U.S. has plunged to a record low. Lake Mead supplies water to more than 20 million people, but it is now lower than it's been since it was created 90 years ago. CNN's Bill Weir takes us there.

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BILL WEIR, + CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We've hit a grim milestone in the American West. Lake Mead, the biggest of our reservoirs out here, has reached historic lows at its lowest level since this lake was created with the construction of Hoover Dam back in the 30s. 27 percent capacity right now. And just for perspective, this boat marina, you can see floating just below us here, used to be way up on the hillside. But about 75 percent of this reservoir is gone in the last two decades, a result of a 20-year mega drought fueled by climate change and increased demand. This is a basic supply and demand problem in the American West, but it is so vital because this is the water that starts as snow in the Rocky Mountains and then keeps 40 million people alive and their pets and livestock and lawns and swimming pools and over 5 million acres of agricultural land comes out of this.

And historically, the seven states that share this, the two dozen tribes, Mexico also shares this water, have failed to agree on how to evenly divide it. So the federal government finally had to step in recently. Interior department put out a framework that for the next 10 years will be a series of cuts to try to conserve this water, because we're about 1.5 million acre feet short of what is needed by the population currently in the West, which is stable or growing. And at least for the next couple of years, it's the Lower Basin desert states, California, Arizona, and Nevada that would have to cut the most, maybe up to 40 percent, maybe up to 50 percent of their allocated water from here. Places like Phoenix have been preparing for this. Places like Nevada have set the national standard for water conservation.

And so the taps are not going dry anytime soon, but this is not sustainable. There is hope prayers that this El Nino will bring enough snowfall this year to recharge these to give people a little more breathing room. Seven states could come together with a new agreement, which would be great. They could end up in the supreme court, which experts agree would be horrible. This is fueling a lot more talk about desalination in the American West, which some say is expensive, but without it, without water, you got no casinos, you got no data centers, you got no other water intensive golf courses or anything else that Americans love.

[01:45:00]

And so the conversation should be about building like Israel did and Singapore did a lot more desalination. But here we are. It's a slow motion disaster that's been going on for a long time. We pay attention when it hits these sort of record numbers from here on out, but as a reminder that this is a problem that is not going away. Bill Weir at Lake Mead, back to you. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Such an important issue. Bill Weir, thank you for that reporting.

The future of driving without a driver is already here. Not just autonomous cars, but big rigs on the highways. Ahead, Ed Lavandera hops aboard a big rig driving itself.

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MICHAELSON: Starting to see more and more driverless cars on American roads and enormous semi-trucks with no one behind the wheel could be coming up right behind them. The potential upside, they go long distances without the danger of driver fatigue. Potential downside, they could push truckers into the unemployment line. CNN's Ed Lavandera sat in the passenger seat in Texas.

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ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We are climbing into the cabin of a 55,000 pound time machine. And the question at the heart of the right were about to take. Is how far into the future are we really going?

JENS HOLTINGER, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, VOLVO GROUP: So we're going to take a drive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to take a drive.

HOLTINGER: let's drive.

LAVANDERA: Well, none of us are driving apparently.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. None of us driving.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): This trailer rig was built by Volvo, and a company called Aurora develops the computer system which drives the vehicle.

HOLTINGER: There is double steering system.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Inside the cabin with me is Jens Holtinger. He's Volvo's Chief Technology Officer, and in the safety driver's seat, but not touching the steering wheel, is Terry Walker. We've been invited to take a test drive in this autonomous truck down Interstate 45 South of Dallas. The steering wheel has a jittery start as it pulls out of the truck yard, but it quickly settles down.

HOLTINGER: So what you see here is actually what the vehicle is seeing. So vehicle is in the constant surveillance. Now we're on the interstate, starting to pick up some speed. LAVANDERA (voice-over): The multiple cameras and radar systems detect all the cars and objects around the truck. They tell me the Volvo truck is designed to cruise in the right lane at 10 miles per hour under the speed limit.

HOLTINGER: Oh, this is interesting. Yeah. Just switched lanes. Yeah. See if there's a police officer has someone pulled over.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): With good weather and long open highways Texas has become ground zero for several companies testing and refining autonomous trucks. But more of these trucks are expected to be on the highways in the years ahead without safety guides in the driver's seat. As we cruise down the road, there's debris on the highway. The truck changes lanes.

HOLTINGER: Oh, it's picking up the tire debris on the road. You see it, Joe?

LAVANDERA: I do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So now it's going to straddle it out.

HOLTINGER: So it was navigating between the tire debris on the road?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

HOLTINGER: So here's a truck with its hazards on. We've slowed down to about 45 miles an hour.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): This time, the Volvo truck changes lanes and passes the slower rig.

LAVANDERA: What do you tell people who don't like the idea of being next to a massive truck like this with no driver inside?

HOLTINGER: It's a driver that has constant surveillance, 360 degrees, 500 meters ahead, never gets tired, never gets distracted. We are quite confident that we have a very safe setup.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): That is a concern for people like Michael Perez with the Teamsters Union representing drivers in Texas.

LAVANDERA: Do you view these trucks as a threat, or do you view them as a benefit?

MICHAEL PEREZ, TEAMSTERS LOCAL 745: I do look at them as a threat.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): We met Perez at his Union Hall in Dallas. For 22 years, he drove short haul distances. He worries autonomous trucks will put lots of people out of work, and he's skeptical these trucks are as safe as the company's claim.

PEREZ: Humans and especially trained CDL truck drivers, they make decisions in real time where a machine is all computerized, and we feel that the technology is not there for them to be safe and be able to make decisions the way a human can. LAVANDERA (voice-over): Volvo says it plans to deploy at least 300 of these trucks without a safety driver early next year. We put the concerns to some of the top executives at Volvo and Aurora.

CHRIS URMSON, CEO AND CHAIRMAN, AURORA: I really think if you are a truck driver today, you're going to be able to retire a truck driver. Skepticism is rational, right? This is something new. It is game changing, and people should have questions. The fact that it can operate indefinitely and it doesn't get distracted, it doesn't get confused, it doesn't get tired means that it's paying attention to everything around it, and it's really going to be a big benefit in driving those accidents towards zero over time.

LAVANDERA: So you think it's a fundamental economic disruption?

NILS JAEGER, PRESIDENT, VOLVO AUTONOMOUS SOLUTIONS: This truck doesn't need, a lunch break, doesn't need a coffee break, doesn't have, mandatory break times. You can go much further. You can go faster, and that is, of course, super valuable.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Before our drive comes to an end, we came across one last test. While we were focused on our interview in the cabin, a woman walking on the shoulder of the highway comes into view.

LAVANDERA: Oh, there's someone right on the road right there.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The Volvo truck changes lanes briefly until it passes the woman safely.

LAVANDERA: We spent about an hour riding in the truck. It was a controlled set route, but it did give you a sense of how the truck generally operates. And we also spoke with a number of experts to talk about where this industry is headed, and they all told us that for the foreseeable future, you're going to see these autonomous trucks in the Southwest and in the Sunbelt States where there's generally good weather and wide open highways.

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Where it gets much more complicated will be in urban areas as well as mountainous states like in the Rocky Mountains as well as the Northeast and Midwest where there's severe winter weather to contend with. But the bottom line is there are a number of companies, not just Volvo, pushing to put more of these autonomous trucks on the highways. Ed Lavandera, CNN Dallas.

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MICHAELSON: Fascinating, Ed. Thank you. Here is a heartwarming display of maternal instinct across species. A lioness caring for a newborn tiger when the cub's mother gave birth to triplets prematurely. The tiger mom was focused on her two other offspring. The unlikely bond at an animal park in China captured public attention. Some on lockers were concerned that the lioness might harm the cub.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GAN HONGPING, GAMEKEEPER, CHANGLU TOURISM AND LEISURE EXPO PARK (translated): The cub was never at risk. As soon as we realized what had happened, we separated the adult lions and tigers and placed the newborns in an incubator for proper care.

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MICHAELSON: Park says its four lions and five Siberian tigers have been living happily together for years.

I'm Elex Michaelson. Thanks so much for being with us all week here on "The Story Is." Have a great weekend. We'll see you Monday.

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