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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Trump Rolls Out the Red Carpet for China's Xi Jinping; Judge Weighs Trump's Media Ban; OpenAI Agent Hacks Australian Government Database; Prince Harry Slams Artificial Intelligence, Urges Slowdown; Trump Meets with President Xi of China; New Video Shows Moments Before Venezuelan Man Shot by ICE; Some Property Owners Looking to Sell Homes for AI Stock. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired September 24, 2026 - 00:00   ET

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

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JACOB WARD, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Male-funded companies on average make a $0.31 return on a dollar invested. They run more efficient companies and they get a tiny fraction of the numbers. So do I think that's a reason to lie to investors? No. Is there an enormous world in Silicon Valley of people outrunning the truth of what they've made? Elon Musk has done it for years, but our federal securities laws, as you know, they punish you for lying about what you can do now, not for falsely policing what you've done produce in the future.

COATES: I'm curious if they've learned anything from her.

Jacob Ward, thank you for coming. Nice to see you.

WARD: Appreciate for being here. Thank you. Thank you.

COATES: Remember, you can stream my show live or watch on demand anytime with an "All Access" subscription. Scan the QR code on your screen or go to CNN.com/Watch to learn more.

Thanks for watching. Here comes Elex Michaelson with "THE STORY IS."

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up, THE STORY IS a historic visit. Chinese leader Xi Jinping now in the U.S., personally greeted by President Trump ahead of a series of meetings. Standing by live, the former U.S. ambassador to China.

THE STORY IS the first known A.I. hack of a government system. The Australian prime minister warning that OpenAI has gained access to his country's health care database.

And THE STORY IS forget about cash. Some sellers now want you to buy their homes with A.I. stocks.

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

MICHAELSON: The top story is President Trump and the first lady greeting Chinese leader Xi Jinping as he arrived in the U.S. and the U.S. literally rolled out a red carpet. Unfortunately, we can't show you video of the arrival because pool coverage of President Trump's activities is suspended amid his White House ban on CNN and other media outlets.

For the next two days, the leaders are expected to discuss the war with Iran, U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, and the explosive growth of A.I.. U.S. Treasury secretary says the countries have extended their trade truce through January.

Joining now to talk about all of this is the former mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, the former U.S. ambassador to India as well. Joining us live from New York, where he is attending events surrounding the United Nations.

Mr. Garcetti, Mr. Ambassador, welcome back to THE STORY IS.

ERIC GARCETTI, FORMER LOS ANGELES MAYOR: Great to be back with you, Elex. Thanks.

MICHAELSON: Talk about the stakes of this meeting. Why is this meeting so important?

GARCETTI: Well, these are the two heavyweights, the two big giants in the world that are circling each other over everything from climate change and the future of energy and electric vehicles to those precious A.I. conversations who will be in the lead and what the values of our international system will be.

I remember preparing President Obama for his first trip to China, and then President Hu at the time, his visit to the United States. And back then, it was a much more optimistic time. While the U.S. and China have a stable relationship right now, and clearly, President Trump has emphasized the importance of that, we are now much more rivals who sometimes compete, who will sometimes have conflict.

But it's very clear that China is planning for the future and confronting that future with its vision. The question is, will America, under President Trump, have as bold a vision to win that future, but also to do it with democratic values that have always distinguished us from China?

MICHAELSON: And one of the biggest issues right now is artificial intelligence. We know that there's going to be a big state dinner at the White House, big meetings with basically all the biggest tech leaders in the world there, with these two leaders talking about A.I.. And we are really at a fork in the road in terms of whether we regulate it, how we regulate it. How important is this particular moment in the history of A.I.?

GARCETTI: It's critical to us, to our children and to our society. And I think it was very marked at the general assembly speeches that I think the president sees this essentially just as a competition. And sure, we want to be at the cutting edge of anything that is the future. But the values countries like Australia that want to protect the government databases of our private information and their children. Emmanuel Macron talking about, from France, the ways that the E.U. is

confronting doing this before it causes a disaster. A hack that takes out a power system or something that could take down the financial system of the world. I was with a group of American mayors here today, and while international leaders write tomorrow's headlines, they're writing, I believe, the history of the future, we had a compact around A.I. and data centers, for instance, that now over 200 million citizens and their leaders are a part of, saying that these should not be at our human expense.

[00:05:09]

They should not overheat our cities. They should not cause our energy bills to go up. They should not take our personal information. So the question for our national leadership is, will they answer the call of what local communities are saying here in America and around the world, that enough is enough. Slow down. Make sure the protection and the values are there, not just the competition to be at the cutting edge.

MICHAELSON: Right now Gary Locke, who is the former U.S. ambassador to China, also the former governor of Washington state and the former commerce secretary. Quite the resume.

Mr. Ambassador, welcome back to THE STORY IS. You know what it's like to prepare for these meetings. You know what it's like to be inside the room. Talk about what it's like inside the room with the president, with the Chinese president, and how this goes. Take us inside.

GARY LOCKE, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO CHINA: Well, a lot of -- thank you very much for being on your show. And it's good to hear from the Ambassador Garcetti. But let me just say that these meetings are highly scripted. And oftentimes the agendas, the talking points and the possible agreements and the issues are laid out in advance by the staff. But apparently this upcoming summit between President Xi and President Trump has really had very little planning. And therefore, expectations of deliverables are not very high. We really shouldn't expect much to come out of this particular summit.

MICHAELSON: And it comes at a time where views about China are changing. We want to put up on the screen the Pew Research Center surveyed 20 countries and found that people in many countries now view China more positively than the U.S.. 75 percent say the U.S. interferes a great deal or fair amount in the affairs of other countries, 45 percent of China does. Want to put up also this. When asked who is somewhat or a reliable partner, 49 percent say the U.S. is more reliable, 69 percent say China.

Ambassador Garcetti, how do you read that? And what are folks saying at the U.N. about the way that the U.S. and China are perceived around the world?

GARCETTI: Well, I think it's an extraordinary moment when the values that put us ahead, the cooperation that put us ahead, the diplomacy that put us ahead in the world, for instance, when I was ambassador in India, we had over 80 percent of Indians admire America. We realized how fragile that can be when a single leader decides to embrace enemies and punch friends who take stable relationships and destabilizes them when the only thing constant is his inconstancy, the only thing that's reliable is his unreliability.

And countries, not only their leaders, feel that, but I think everyday citizens do. When America has always stood for something imperfectly but stood for something better, we have adhered and built this international system, and now we have political pyromania instead of that stability. And I'm optimistic that can snap back, just as when those approval ratings were low at the end of the Iraq war and a new president came in and renewed that American promise.

But right now, you have somebody spending all of the capital we put in to making America great and using it as a personal account to destroy those relationships.

MICHAELSON: Well, now let's talk about Americans' view of China. We put this up on the screen, 25 percent say that China is an ally or friendly, 76 percent say that China is unfriendly or an enemy.

Ambassador Locke, is China an enemy? And if so, why do you think so many people feel that way?

LOCKE: Well, certainly China is a major competitor. They're trying to dominate in so many sectors of the economy, from biotechnology to even the space race. But A.I. and certainly high tech and electric automobiles and so forth. And so Americans have really come to understand that China can actually choke off many of the things that we need. And therefore, there's great concern about China's ambitions and their methods of trying to dominate or be world class leaders, whether it's theft of intellectual property, trade secrets, or cyber hacking into our infrastructure and to our databases and personnel records.

So there's a lot of concern and suspicion about what China is doing and how they're doing it. But at the same time, our two economies are so interdependent and rely on each other. So much of what Americans use every single day and purchase every day is made in China with no affordable substitutes.

[00:10:03]

At the same time, China needs American technology, medicines. They very much value American goods from agriculture to blue jeans.

MICHAELSON: Mr. Ambassador, do you think China is an enemy?

GARCETTI: Which ambassador?

LOCKE: Well, I think --

(CROSSTALK)

MICHAELSON: Sorry. Sorry. Ambassador Garcetti. It's too many ambassadors. (CROSSTALK)

GARCETTI: No. They are clearly the rival.

LOCKE: -- in the Asia Pacific.

MICHAELSON: We'll go to Ambassador Garcetti.

GARCETTI: So it's always great to be with you, Gary Locke. I think they are clearly rivals. For a long time they have not played by certain rules of the international system. But ironically, when we have somebody so willing to break the rules, it makes them suddenly look good in the international system to too many people. I think now is the time, if these two leaders are serious, for China to recognize they have to not just play by the rules, but construct a stable world around rules that have values that we have long embraced.

And vice versa, it's time for our leadership to realize that we are at our strongest when we have coalitions of many countries that can counteract how China would rewrite those rules. Countries like India, which we've had a strong relationship with right now that's somewhat imperiled. In Southeast Asia, with Europe. But when we thumb our nose at so many different places all at the same time, when we take literal allies and call them enemies, it's very easy for China to look like the good guy, when in reality America should be.

So they are not our enemies, but they certainly are rivals. They're concerned, as Ambassador Locke said, we are closely tied our futures together, so we can't afford to have war or things like that with each other. But this is the time for us to use diplomacy. Instead we're using, you know, our political speeches for the fall, for a domestic audience instead of establishing that order for the next generation.

MICHAELSON: Well, it's going to be fascinating what happens in the hours ahead. And it is such an important time in the history of the U.S. and China and such an important time in the history of A.I.. And it will be interesting to see what happens as these two superpowers get together.

We've got two ambassadors for the price of one tonight and lots of other titles as well. Ambassador Locke, Ambassador Garcetti, Mr. Mayor, as I'm used to saying, thank you guys so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

GARCETTI: Good to be with you. Thank you.

MICHAELSON: We are looking ahead to two major speeches at the U.N. General Assembly in the coming hours, where Garcetti is. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expected to use his address to defend Israel's military campaign in Gaza. Netanyahu's visit comes as he faces pressure at home ahead of his reelection fight next month, and conflicts in Lebanon and Iran.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will also be addressing the UNGA. However, the Trump administration has again refused Abbas visa, so he will likely address the chamber via video. Iran's president used his U.N. address on Wednesday to send a direct

message to President Donald Trump that Tehran will not back down. President Pezeshkian accusing the U.S. of bullying, saying pressure and sanctions will only strengthen Iran's resistance and that Tehran would never bow its head or bend at the knee. But Pezeshkian also called for diplomacy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MASOUD PEZESHKIAN, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Iran must be understood by Mr. Trump and those who seek to bully us, that we are ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations without accepting the language of force.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Only a few minutes into Pezeshkian's address, the sole U.S. delegate in the room walked out. Meantime, Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that the U.S.-Iran talks on the sidelines of the UNGA were a continuation of earlier conversations and not a major breakthrough.

We are now awaiting a federal judge's ruling on Donald Trump's media ban that could come at any time. Judge Timothy Kelly is weighing whether to restore White House access to three news outlets, including CNN. At a hearing on Wednesday, the judge said he would rule, quote, "as soon as I can."

CNN's Katelyn Polantz has all the details from Washington -- Katelyn.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Elex, we're about six or seven hours past the end of this court hearing and still no ruling from Judge Timothy Kelly in Washington, D.C., on whether CNN, MS NOW and Politico can get their White House press passes, the access to the White House grounds, and to cover the president at the White House, whether that will be restored.

This is a pretty narrow case, potentially one where Judge Kelly could just look to the past law that is on the books and has been there for 50 years. The judge started off this hour and a half long hearing this afternoon, a really critical hearing for the First Amendment, for the tests of the free press and for these individual media organizations.

[00:15:06]

He started off the hearing making clear that there was only so much he could do. He could not deviate from the law that had already been set, which was quite clear for White House press passes, hard passes held by journalists working at the White House on a regular basis. The White House would have to give them fair notice. They would also have to be able to get a response, go through a process, all part of the due process provisions that are guaranteed by the Constitution and the Fifth Amendment.

All of that would have to take place if a White House pass was going to be pulled or dropped by the White House for a news organization or a journalist.

Elex, it's a pretty clear standard there. And in this case, the First Amendment lawyers representing CNN, MS NOW and Politico, they argued quite clearly to Judge Kelly that it just didn't happen that way, that it was an abrupt dropping of these press passes. Attorney Ted Boutrous arguing in court, he said it was out of the blue. And if Judge Kelly doesn't restore these passes, quote, "the shenanigans will continue."

The Justice Department, though, they went very aggressive in their argument, calling it a national security risk to have news outlets that report on potentially classified or secretive information of the U.S. government, even inside the White House. Even if those stories weren't coming from White House reporters, White House sources or White House press pass holders.

That argument is about how the White House wants to be able to control who's on the property, who the president might trust, which outlets he wants there, and not all of that maybe a question for another day, though. We are still waiting to see exactly what Judge Kelly says in this ruling and how far he goes.

Back to you.

MICHAELSON: Katelyn, thank you. If he puts out a ruling, we will bring it to you live here.

Still ahead this hour, new concern over artificial intelligence after Australia's prime minister reports the first known case of rogue A.I. agents hacking a government network. The details in a live report next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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MICHAELSON: Meta has unveiled new smart glasses that come without a camera. The Ray-Ban-Meta audio glasses were revealed at the company's Connect Conference on Wednesday. That comes amid backlash against camera equipped glasses, which can take video and images without people's consent. Meta's new product can still record audio and offers no clear signal to bystanders when it's recording audio, so critics say it doesn't really address the privacy concerns.

But Meta says there is a market for its audio glasses regardless of the privacy debate. The device will start shipping to customers next month with the price tag of about 350 bucks.

We are now learning of a new incident involving A.I. agents going rogue. Australia's prime minister says an OpenAI agent hacked into a database of the country's national health care system, accessing public and nonpublic files. The incident happened in June, but OpenAI says it has only became aware of it in August. The prime minister said he spoke to OpenAI CEO at the U.N. and expressed Australia's, quote, "extreme concern."

CNN's Hanako Montgomery live in Tokyo with more on this. It sounds pretty concerning, Hanako.

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Elex, as you just said, the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he expressed extreme concern to Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, directly. And as you stated also, Elex, this is the first known case of A.I. hacking a government network. But it's also the latest example of A.I. agents acting in ways that their human operators didn't intend.

This is the Australian Prime Minister Albanese explaining to reporters what exactly happened during a sideline meeting at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: No personal information is believed to have been accessed at this stage, but investigations are ongoing. Evidence currently available is there is no broader compromise to the services Australia Network. Nonetheless, this situation is obviously unacceptable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MONTGOMERY: Now, as you heard Albanese say, there's currently no evidence that any personal information was breached. But we do know that the A.I. agent got into Australia's Medicare statistics database. We also know that it accessed both public and nonpublic files, including aggregate health statistics and internal file names. And according to an OpenAI spokesperson, the agent even wrote files into the system.

Now, OpenAI said that the security breach actually happened back in June, when one of its agents was conducting research into health care expenses and spending when one of its agents actually bypassed some security blocks and got access to information that it wasn't authorized to do so. But the company only learned of this security breach two months later, back in August, when it was conducting checks on its models.

Now, the Australian government was actually only informed, though, of this breach on September 10th, when a notice was sent to a generic inbox. So that's basically three months after the security breach actually happened.

[00:25:02]

Now, Albanese expressed concern over this delay as well, saying that essentially it's not acceptable. And given the severity of the situation, the government needed to be informed much sooner.

Now, looking ahead, we do know that the Australian government is launching a forensic investigation. They are also considering a lawsuit, and Albanese has said that potentially three other government networks were also affected by this security breach.

And again, Elex, just for some context, I mean, we, again, know that this is the first case of a government network being hacked by A.I., but it's certainly not the first time OpenAI's agents have hacked a company. We know back earlier this year when essentially A.I. agents hacked an A.I. company, Hugging Face. We also know, again, that the topic of including more guardrails for A.I. is certainly being discussed at the United Nations General Assembly this week, as more and more A.I. CEOs and governments are urging for stronger guardrails and again, just more protocols in terms of using A.I. more safely -- Elex.

MICHAELSON: Yes. The first government hack that we know of, and this even happened months ago. So we don't know if more have happened even since then.

Hanako Montgomery, from Tokyo, thank you for your reporting on this story.

Prince Harry has branded artificial intelligence, quote, "the ultimate sycophant." In a speech in New York, the Duke of Sussex called for a slowdown in the development of A.I.. He was forced to complete the speech in two different sections due to a technical glitch in his teleprompter. I know a thing or two about that.

CNN's Max Foster has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: And that's it.

(LAUGHTER)

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: You couldn't make it up. Prince Harry takes to the stage to warn of the dangers of technology, and the technology fails. Specifically the teleprompter.

PRINCE HARRY: We do not have years for what comes next. And that's it.

(LAUGHTER)

FOSTER: Well, before that, he did get a chance to deliver his warning about the effects on children of artificial intelligence. He was speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative gathering in New York.

PRINCE HARRY: Social media learned how to capture our attention. A.I. is learning how to enter our relationships. It doesn't just want your attention, it wants your attachment. It wants to be the thing you confide in. The thing that remembers you. The thing that tells you it understands you. The ultimate sycophant. And for a child, that distinction matters enormously.

FOSTER: Prince Harry only managed to deliver half his speech before that teleprompter fail, but he returned later to deliver the second half once it was fixed.

PRINCE HARRY: Hello again. So A.I. got into my speech so I was asked to come out and finish it. FOSTER: And on message, returned to the stage. And this also marks

Prince Harry's first visit back to the United States since the family left and relocated to the United Kingdom.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Our thanks to Max Foster. It's more fun when you speak off the teleprompter personally.

But up next, more on our top story. Chinese leader Xi Jinping, now in the U.S., for talks with President Trump. Mike Valerio off prompter in Beijing, when we come back. Plus, Ukraine's president calls Vladimir Putin patient zero in a speech at the U.N. We'll explain what he means by that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: Welcome back. I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

[00:33:35]

Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, thanked U.S. President Donald Trump during her U.N. General Assembly address.

Rodriguez welcomed what she called, quote, "President Trump's willingness to resume the path of diplomatic relations and cooperation" with her country.

She also promised that Venezuela will hold elections and transitions to a full democracy. But she didn't specify when a vote would actually be held.

The leaders of two top A.I. companies went before the U.N. Security Council with one clear message: the industry needs international standards and cooperation.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei delivered remarks separately to the council on Wednesday, both urging world leaders to come together to help manage the threats posed by rapid A.I. developments and capabilities.

President Trump is set to begin talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in the day ahead. They're expected to discuss the explosive growth of A.I. and war with Iran and U.S. Arms sales to Taiwan.

U.S. Treasury Secretary says Washington and Beijing have agreed to extend their trade truce through January.

Let's bring in CNN correspondent Mike Valerio, live in Beijing with more.

Mike, welcome back to the show. Talk to us about this trade truce, what it is, and why it was extended.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, extended through January 10th. Elex. And extended because, otherwise, this is essentially both of these superpowers promising no surprise tariffs anymore. At least until January 10th. And we're expecting that in the long term, right as we approach the holiday season.

[00:35:11]

Otherwise, if this trade truce were not agreed upon, our average -- and I stress, average -- tariff on Chinese goods coming into the United States would have risen from 30 to 54 percent again, right as we're on the threshold of all of these Chinese imports coming for the holiday season.

So, in terms of what else we're watching for on the agenda in the next 24 hours as it relates to the economy, we're going to be watching to see three main topics on the screen: whether any other reciprocal tariffs come tumbling down in the name of goodwill.

And we're expecting, you know, the potential for non-sensitive items, tariffs on non-sensitive goods between the two countries to come down in the name of goodwill.

Will Xi Jinping also press for more advanced United States chips? That has been a big item of contention as since the Biden administration. Nvidia chips, for example, have been off limits. Their top chips have been off limits as the U.S. and China are neck and neck in this A.I. race.

And we talked to -- when we talked to developers throughout the country in the A.I. space, they say it's really hurting us that we don't have American chips. Although China is very near behind in terms of catching up.

And then more specifics on the A.I. dialog. You know, this had been a thing agreed upon during their last meeting in Beijing. And Bessent at JPMorgan's headquarters in New York -- Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary -- said that they're going to meet in two months' time.

But this story is accelerating so fast, as we heard from Hanako in Tokyo a couple of minutes ago. Is two months really good enough?

So, it will be interesting to see what the president of the United States, what Xi Jinping says on that front about this A.I. dialog, Elex.

MICHAELSON: And there's a lot scheduled to happen in the day ahead that we will not see --

VALERIO: Yes.

MICHAELSON: -- in the typical way that we would see, because, of course, we do not have a working TV press pool because of the media ban.

VALERIO: Yes. Let's put up the board of the main events that we were expecting. And, you know, as I was coming into work today on the subway, Elex,

people were mentioning, you know, we can see more here through Chinese state media than you can see at home.

And I said, You know what? You got a point. You have a point in this strange moment.

So 10 a.m. is the White House South Portico greeting, where the leaders and the first leaders are going to meet on the South Lawn of the White House.

10:15, that's when Trump and Xi deliver opening remarks. 11: 30 is when they both meet in the Oval Office. Then we have a little bit of an intermission.

And 8:15 or excuse me, 8:10. That's when the state dinner happens with all the tech bros, tech titans. We should hear from both leaders before the state dinner, as well.

So, two opportunities to hear from both of these guys on Thursday. So, a lot going on. It'll be interesting to see what, if anything, we can see -- Elex.

MICHAELSON: Are you saying people in China are mocking the U.S. For repressive government?

VALERIO: There's a little mockery going on. A little bit, a little bit.

MICHAELSON: All right. Mike Valerio, live in Beijing. We'll see you at the top of the hour with more. Now to this.

Thanks, pal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: For the first time in Russia's history, we now hear that its pride, its oil industry, is running off fumes.

But oil itself is not Ukraine's target. Our target is Russia's ability to finance this war, to drag it out, to make it more brutal and more destructive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: That is Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, addressing the U.N. on Wednesday, speaking about Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelenskyy called him patient zero, saying he spreads the idea of war and must be stopped.

As Zelenskyy spoke, a Russian strike hit the headquarters of his political party in Kyiv.

Russian attacks across the capital Wednesday killed two people and injured dozens more. And just hours ago, Kyiv's mayor said a new missile attack killed another two people.

Despite Russia's war in Ukraine, Putin has been invited to the G-20 summit in Miami in December. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the invitation Wednesday, saying it would give Putin an opportunity to engage with other world leaders.

But one European Union official says Putin stands to gain something else from that invitation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAJA KALLAS, E.U. FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPRESENTATIVE: It's very clear why Putin wants this. He wants to show that nothing to see here. You know, I'm a leader amongst the other world leaders. There's nothing wrong.

But actually, why? Why would the Western world want, or the Americans want, a person who has ordered killings of people in a situation where, you know, last two months have been the deadliest for Ukrainian civilians throughout this war?

[00:40:16]

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Still to come, we're learning more about the events that led to an ICE agent shooting at a Venezuelan man in Texas over the weekend. We'll show you new video of the incident.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:45:08]

MICHAELSON: Elizabeth Holmes has been approved to move to a halfway house near Austin, Texas, according to ABC News. The transfer is scheduled for August of next year.

The Theranos founder was convicted in 2022 and then sentenced to 11 years in prison for defrauding investors while running her failed blood testing startup. Her sentence has since been reduced by one year.

The federal Bureau of Prisons declined to provide more information on the move.

Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for a 2006 felony sex crime in New York.

Weinstein's sentencing for sexually assaulting a one-time TV production assistant, came after he was found guilty at a retrial last year.

His initial conviction in 2020 was overturned after New York' s highest court ruled Weinstein [SIC] was prejudiced by testimony of other women whose allegations were not part of the case.

Sexual assault allegations against Weinstein in 2017 set off the #MeToo movement.

New police and social media video is shedding light on a shooting in Austin, Texas, on Sunday. A U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement officer shot a Venezuelan man, who his attorney says was making food deliveries at the time.

CNN's Ed Lavandera in Texas with that video.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the moment when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and wounded Wilbur Garces Perez Sunday afternoon in Austin.

But less than six minutes earlier, the 28-year-old Venezuelan immigrant had been stopped and pulled over by ICE officers.

A source familiar with the incident tells CNN that Garces Perez fled the scene in his car.

New videos released by Austin Police, along with surveillance videos obtained by CNN, help reveal some of the moments that led up to the shooting.

It's 12:44 p.m. The dash cam of an off-duty Austin police officer shows two ICE officers standing by the driver's side window of a blue Toyota sedan driven by Garces Perez. There are also two dark SUVs surrounding it.

Right after this video is recorded, Garces Perez apparently fled the scene, sparking a chase in the surrounding neighborhood.

At 12:45 p.m., he's seen driving past a bingo hall about a half mile away, with two black SUVs following behind him with their lights and sirens on.

Seconds later, the chase passes a gas station, which again captures the two unmarked ICE vehicles still in pursuit. At 12:46 p.m., less than a minute later, the blue Toyota is seen again in the gas station surveillance video, but this time moving in a different direction.

Two dark SUVs are still following closely as the pursuit crosses the intersection.

At 12:47 p.m., the blue Toyota passes the gas station a third time, headed back toward its original direction. One dark SUV follows the car through the intersection. We don't see the second dark SUV this time.

About 30 seconds later, at 12:48, video shows the blue Toyota driving in the direction of a highway overpass, one dark SUV in pursuit.

Seconds later, a woman livestreaming on her phone captures the sounds of squealing tires and gunshots under the highway overpass. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): On Monday, Garces Perez took questions from journalists by speakerphone while he was in detention in an ICE facility. This is what he said about what happened, according to a translator.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: An SUV rode next to him and tried to hit him. He thought it was, like, an aggressive driver. Turns out it was not.

He asked the -- the ICE officer if he could please at least pull over so that they could detain him. They said no, and they sideswiped him, basically.

He did a U-turn to try and find a spot to park so that he could go with them. And they basically ran into him and then shot him.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Questions remain over what happened in the gaps between the videos and what led the ICE officer to fire his weapon.

The Travis County district attorney, Jose Garza, says local investigators are requesting key pieces of video evidence from the Department of Homeland Security, and interviews with the ICE officers at the scene.

So far, Garza says DHS has not responded to those requests.

JOSE GARZA, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS: There's a range of evidence that is in the possession of the federal government that would help local law enforcement officials assess whether or not there are any violations of state law. And to help this community understand what may have transpired on Sunday.

LAVANDERA: We reached out to Wilbur Garces Perez's lawyer to ask about why he fled the scene and the pursuit. We have not heard back.

And the videos don't explain what happened in those final moments that compelled the ICE officer to fire his weapon. He wasn't in the path of the blue Toyota.

DHS has still not commented on that either.

And we spoke with Congressman Greg Casar, who met with Wilbur today at the detention facility in South Texas. He said that during their visit, he was in a wheelchair, had just received an injection for pain, and that a doctor is recommending that he have surgery to remove the bullet from his back as soon as possible.

[00:50:12]

Ed Lavandera, CNN, San Antonio, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Ed, thank you. Coastal areas in the Northeast are experiencing minor flooding and

gusty winds ahead of a potential Nor'eastern [SIC] that could bring damaging winds and significant flooding.

That powerful storm system could lash much of the East Coast over the weekend.

The Nor'easter, named for the direction its punishing winds will come from, is still in its formative stage, well off the East Coast, but it's on track to head North and strengthen through the weekend.

Would you sell a house for stock in A.I.? Some property owners are looking to do just that. More on this new trend, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:55:37]

MICHAELSON: Rome's world-famous colosseum was closed to the public on Wednesday after a worker fell to his death. It's the first time the landmark has been shuttered since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Twenty-two-year-old Andrea Moretti was installing a new lighting system while suspended above the highest point of the amphitheater, when he fell around 30 feet.

The closure was implemented after the first group of tourists left the building.

Italy's culture ministry said, immediately closing the colosseum could have compromised safety and public order.

A judge in Tennessee has granted Dolly Parton's estate a temporary restraining order against the late singer's nephew and his private security company.

According to court documents, the company managing the estate is accusing Bryan Seaver of threatening to destroy the country music icon's legacy.

Seaver's company had provided security to the late singer. He was also selected by Parton to announce her passing.

The estate says they terminated Seaver and his company for, quote, "terrorizing conduct."

Seaver did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The A.I. boom is having a ripple effect on some real estate markets, specifically here in California. That's because some property owners are hoping that would-be buyers will pass on cash, and instead make an offer with A.I. stock.

CNN's Natasha Chen explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some people want a stake in A.I. so badly they're willing to sell their homes for stock.

CHEN: Like the owner of this vacation home. He's listing it for 2.35 million. He'll take it in cash, of course, but he really wants to sell it for A.I. stock.

VIJAY CHATTHA, HOPING TO SELL HOUSE FOR A.I. STOCK: Yes. Well, welcome to Chattha Valley. We've been here since 2012.

CHEN (voice-over): Vijay Chattha has a communications firm, not an A.I. company. But he says he wants in on the profit when companies like Anthropic and OpenAI go public.

CHATTHA: You have a second bedroom, larger, with a sitting room and an en suite bathroom.

CHEN (voice-over): Chattha figures one way he can get stock in these A.I. companies is to find an insider willing to give him some.

That's because usually founders, employees, and early investors are the ones who have pre-IPO stock, stock that's about to make them very rich.

CHEN: This is a really interesting time. And you are asking specifically for pre-IPO?

CHATTHA: Yes.

CHEN: Tell me about why.

CHATTHA: A.I. itself is not only going to impact all of our lives, but we are training the data. We're training the models.

So, in many ways, we are the product. We should be able to participate in it.

CHEN (voice-over): The San Francisco Bay Area has seen booms and busts before. This time, the boom is happening here in A.I. Alley, where you can find companies like Anthropic.

CHEN: Hundreds of people who work around here could become millionaires or multi-millionaires.

KELLY CROFT, REAL ESTATE AGENT: And not just millionaires, but like lots of zeros.

CHEN (voice-over): Real estate agent Kelly Croft took me to San Francisco's Marina District. This house here sold this summer for 3.5 million over the asking price, for a total of about 10.5 million.

CHEN: So, Kelly, you work for Redfin. There was a Redfin report that the wealth from these A.I. employees could buy up almost a third of San Francisco property. Have you been seeing a crazy buy-in like that?

CROFT: I have a buyer, for example, that I started working with last year. He works for A.I. in the city.

So, they've doubled their budget just because of the momentum of A.I. and the valuation of these companies.

CHEN: When you see listings that are asking for cash or A.I. stock, have you seen anything like that before in your real estate career?

CROFT: I have not. There's a lot of controls on that. And in many cases, the board has to approve the buyer. It's also, you know, a very small group of people who would even be approved. So, talk about elitism.

CHATTHA: Probably the fastest wealth growth in the history of time, in any one particular region that I think we can even remember.

CHEN: Will you be disappointed if someone is buying this for cash instead of stock?

CHATTHA: I will not be disappointed.

CHEN (voice-over): Natasha Chen, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Our thanks to Natasha.

And our thanks to you for watching the first hour of THE STORY IS. The next hour starts right now.

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

MICHAELSON: I'm Elex Michaelson, live in Los Angeles. Coming up this hour, THE STORY IS a historic visit.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping now the -- in the U.S., personally greeted by President Trump.