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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Becerra, Hilton To Face Off In California Governor Debate; Google's Co-Founder Has Spent More Than $100 Million To Oppose A Billionaire Tax; U.S. Supreme Court Sides With Trump Administration In Third-Country Deportations; Russian Attack Kills Two, Wounds Four in Kyiv; A.I. Execs Agree to "Self-Police" after White House Meeting; New York AG to Review Cornell's Response to Rape Allegations; Six Flags to Close Roller Coaster after Years of Injuries; L.A. Restaurant Survives COVID but Not the Rising Costs. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired September 30, 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: Is right now. Thanks for watching the first hour of The Story Is. The next hour starts right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles, The Story Is with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles. Coming up, the story is the midterm elections. President Trump asserting his influence hours before the California governor debate in our studio.
The story is controversial deportations, Supreme Court clearing the way the Trump administration. Administration deport immigrants to countries other than their own. What that ruling means?
And the story is AI safeguards, top tech leaders promising to self- police their artificial intelligence systems. How would that work?
We begin with this exactly five weeks from tonight. The results of the 2026 midterm elections will be rolling in. And if you believe the polls, it will not be a good night for Donald Trump and his Republican Party.
But the president says he's not worried about a thing. He continues to claim that prices are coming down, billions of dollars in investments are pouring into the country, and the U.S. is winning the war with Iran. But his assessments do not align with voter sentiment, as illustrated by his record low approval rating and plummeting consumer confidence.
The president is moving forward with an aggressive campaign strategy with appearances planned this week. And in reliably red Oklahoma and Alabama.
The Senate's top Republican says Trump's presence in Republican strongholds will help to boost voter turnout. But a number of candidates in close races are trying to distance themselves from the unpopular president. Here's what the vice president had to say about the challenges for Republicans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JD VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Are there headwinds? Of course there are. I'm a realist about this stuff. Is it hard for the party that controls the House, the Senate and the presidency to win a midterm election? It almost never happens, but this is very different. Number one, we have a very unique president. Number two, we have a bunch of crazy people running on the other side.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: One of the midterm races here in California is the governor's race, Democrat Javier Becerra versus Republican Steve Hilton. The two candidates will debate each other for perhaps the only time tomorrow night in our L.A. studio right here on CNN, moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.
Here's a look at why California and this race matters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D) CALIFORNIA: In a state where the future is happening first.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): California's current governor often says this state is the country's coming attractions. It's home to 39 million Americans, the fourth largest economy in the world, and many of the world's leading companies in tech, entertainment, agriculture and more. Gavin Newsom is termed out and one of these two candidates will replace him and write California's next chapter.
XAVIER BECERRA, FORMER UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: Are you ready?
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Democrat Javier Becerra came in first in a bruising, expensive primary battle against a crowded field. He's the son of Mexican immigrants. He became a member of Congress in 1993.
BECERRA: It seems to me we have to find a way to provide money to the pot.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): He served as California's Attorney General and then as President Joe Biden's Secretary of Health and Human Services. Becerra has kept a relatively low profile since the June primary.
BECERRA: We will not be bought, we will not be bullied and we are never backing down.
MICHAELSON: His opponent, Steve Hilton has been virtually everywhere.
STEVE HILTON, REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA: I feel this incredible energy everywhere we go.
MICHAELSON: He's a Trump endorsed Republican who once worked in the British government with Prime Minister David Cameron, then served as a Fox News host and is now a first time candidate.
HILTON: Wake up California. Change is coming.
MICHAELSON: Steve Hilton is trying to be the first Republican to win statewide in California in 20 years.
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, FORMER CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: I Arnold Schwarzenegger.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): The last Republican governor was Arnold Schwarzenegger, then a famous movie star married into the Kennedy family.
JERRY BROWN, FORMER CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: I, Jerry Brown.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Since then there's been 16 straight years.
NEWSOM: I, Gavin Newsom/
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Of Democrats controlling all of state government.
HILTON: Enough is enough. Enough is enough.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Hilton points out that California has the country's highest gas prices, the most people experiencing homelessness and among the most expensive housing.
HILTON: It's actually on CNN, he was asked --
MICHAELSON (voice-over): On the stump, Hilton often references this CNN interview where I asked Becerra how he's different from Governor Newsom.
MICHAELSON: What changes from a policy perspective? What's different with you than what we've seen over the last four years with Governor Newsom.
BECERRA: And we'll get things done. I think --
MICHAELSON: You're suggesting he hasn't.
BECERRA: No, he's done quite a few things. But we'll get more things done and we'll get them done a lot faster.
HILTON: He didn't really have an answer. So he's clearly saying basically things are fine. Maybe a little tweak here and there. I'm saying they're not fine.
MICHAELSON: That message resonates with Hilton's supporters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see a lot of problems with high taxes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think California's in a heap of trouble.
[01:05:00 You know, I'm really concerned about my children, my grandchildren.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): But does that message play with non- Republicans? A recent PPIC poll shows just 27 percent of likely California voters approve of Trump's job performance.
MICHAELSON: There are twice as many Democrats versus Republicans in this state. In a place like this, farmers market voters say President Trump's endorsement of Hilton is a deal breaker.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bam. You got it. Yes, that's it. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think that Trump and his party has the best intentions for California.
SAM DHUPER, CALIFORNIA VOTER: And I think anyone who's backed by MAGA at this point just has lost, should be losing everyone's vote.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Hilton hopes to change that dynamic at CNN's debate this week. Among the pressing issues, housing affordability, the future of AI, immigration and dealing with the president.
MICHAELSON: Is the debate the most important day of the campaign?
HILTON: So far for sure. It'll be the moment when that choice is really clear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Our panel is back. Politico's California bureau chief Melanie Mason and CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein. Welcome back both of you.
I should point out that we asked Xavier Becerra for an interview for that and we were told that he is scheduling conflicts. We asked for public events that he was hosting in the days ahead and he said that they were doing private events. So that's kind of tells you about that campaign. And yet he's doing this debate and it is probably the biggest moment of this whole campaign.
MELANIE MASON, CALIFORNIA BUREAU CHIEF, POLITICO: Well, look, I mean you have sort of the national eye of CNN. I mean, I do think it nationalizes this, this race. I mean, obviously there are a lot of California specific issues that these candidates are going to have to talk about. But I think the fact that it is going to be in this setting and we're going to have it in the context of these broader midterms.
I think, you know, naturally the conversation is going to be a lot about President Trump. And that's exactly what Xavier Becerra wants this debate to be about because that's the ground that he's most comfortable on. I mean, I do think one public event that he has had recently is for against Proposition 39, which is this voter ID initiative. And what does he talk about that this is a Trump backed initiative to impose voter ID. He wants to talk about President Trump and how he is in opposition to him because that's the type of message that resonates with California voters.
MICHAELSON: And we're grateful that he agreed to the only debate here on CNN and did is -- but is not doing local debates maybe for that reason?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, I mean, look, I mean, there is, there is a legitimate dispute about what is the role of the governor vis-a-vis the federal government. Right. I mean, that is a, that is a legitimate difference between the two of them. It's not just that Becerra wants to talk about Trump because Trump is unpopular.
Trump has done a lot of things that collide with the values that of a majority of Californians and policies that California has enacted over the years. So the question of whether the governor is going to stand up against the president is a relic like the ICE -- the ICE enforcement. What would Steve Hilton, and that's a good question, right? I mean, if, if Steve Hilton is governor --
MICHAELSON: Maybe Jake and Dan are watching.
BROWNSTEIN: If Steve Hilton is governor in 2029 and Donald Trump launches, what would his response be? But having said that, I mean, Becerra is really, I think, kind of taking this to a -- to an extreme that is somewhat disrespectful of the voters. I think, you know, they deserve a little more sunlight on what he would do. And as governor, I mean, he really hasn't filled in his plans, you know, better than I on almost anything. Even his -- his kind of core competency of health care.
MICHAELSON: Well, and let's show up this Public Policy Institute of California survey. In early September, 52 percent said that the state is headed in the wrong direction. The state, of course, run by Democrats.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: 77 percent saying the nation is heading in the wrong direction. That says a lot.
MASON: Well, and I think that so much of this election is going to come down to. Look, we know that Californians, just like kind of Americans writ large, are not feeling great about the direction of things, but who gets the blame for that? So yes, California has very high gas prices, as Steve Hilton mentioned in your piece. Do they blame California and perhaps their climate and environmental policies, or do they blame, you know, President Trump and the Iran war?
And I think that, you know, a lot of partisanship, I think drives where people assign blame. And again, this is a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans two to one.
MICHAELSON: And Ron, I want to play some of, more of -- some of the folks I interacted with at this farmer's market, which I think is instructive to that poll.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was a card carrying Republican for 42 years and I voted in every election since I was 18. But when my party gets perverted and bloated and sick, I have to walk.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You look at gas prices all, you know, because of Trump's Iran war. This is not the Democrats fault.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hilton doesn't know anything about California. He's not even from the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: And she pointed out --
BROWNSTEIN: Right.
MICHAELSON: -- the fact that he would be the first Latino governor in this state --
BROWSTEIN: Right.
MICHAELSON: -- in over 100 years in a state with a majority minority population. And you got Steve Hilton, who is a British American who doesn't look or sound like Latinos in California.
[01:10:04]
BROWSTEIN: Right. I mean, you know, the one asset, and it's a big asset that Hilton has, is that, as you say, most people in California don't think things are going great in the state. And we saw during the primaries that really, on those crowded debate stages, I'm not sure there was anyone other than Becerra who really defended kind of the, you know, kind of the progress of the last 16 years with Democrats in unified control of government. But Hilton has a lot of obstacles, and the ones that she cited, I think are important, that, you know, he kind of looks like a transplant.
But even bigger is this question of how he would deal with Trump, because Trump has tried in a lot of different ways to kneecap California, strip their authority under the Clean Air Act, to set their own climate rules, which they've had since 1970, punish UCLA over its diversity policies, Medicaid cuts that would -- well over a million people would lose their coverage.
What are you going to do about that as the governor?
MICHAELSON: But the California Democratic track record is not exactly either.
BROWNSTEIN: No, that's, I mean, that's the asset.
MICHAELSON: You look at things like high speed rail. You look at the performance on homelessness. You look at the influence of special interests. You look at the way that the state handled COVID. I mean, you look at issue after issue that have created real problems in this state. And yet those folks, when you bring those issues up, say, we don't care because Donald Trump endorsed Steve Hilton. So we are not going to even listen to what he has to say about those issues because we are so frustrated with the president that it doesn't matter.
BROWNSTEIN: And that's why I said the one big asset he has is that a majority of the state does think that things are going in the wrong direction in the state. The problem he has, I think, is the same problem as so many other Republicans anywhere outside of the core MAGA terrain, that unless you are willing to show independence from Trump, unless you can convince voters that you will stand for it. You will work with him when he's benefiting the state, and you will stand up against him when he's threatening the state, it's really hard to get heard than anything else.
MICHAELSON: The challenge is Steve Hilton says he did not ask for President Trump's endorsement. And the day that he got that endorsement, he was on our show, and I said to him, what do you say to people who say this? Because of this, you will make the top two. You will get in there you will beat Chad Bianco, you will make the top two and you now have no chance of winning.
And he said, no, that's not exactly true. But you sort of look at it, it's hard to think of how he could have maybe made that top two without the endorsement. But now it's like an anchor around his neck.
MASON: He needed to consolidate Republican voters in order to get into the top two because, you know, California does not have, you know, a Democratic nominee and a Republican nominee. So that was absolutely necessary. And sure, perhaps he didn't explicitly ask for this endorsement, but there's a real difference in sort of the Steve Hilton behavior of the primary versus now in the general because in the general election right now his campaign is sending out text mess saying --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
MASON: -- you may not like Donald Trump, but give me a chance. He was not sending those text messages out to voters in the primary because he needed to keep these Trump fans in his corner. And so I think that is fundamentally his biggest problem is how he explains that change of tone.
MICHAELSON: There's another really interesting race on the California ballot that's being watched around the world and it's over this issue of a billionaires' tax. This would be a wealth tax for everybody that has over a billion dollars in assets and it would be a 5 percent one time tax. And look at this headline. A Google co-founder is spending $100 million Sergey Brin to defeat California's wealth tax. It could become one of his best investments.
Let's show this. It seems like a lot of money, except that Sergey Brin's net worth estimated around 270 billion means he'd face a nearly $14 billion hit under the tax and which proposes a 5 percent charge on the total assets of state residents with a net worth over $1 billion. Melanie, break this down for people watching around the world. What's
happening on this front and where are the polls on this front too?
MASON: I mean, I think the numbers that you just laid out point to precisely why this issue has been such a hot button because you just look at those figures and they are staggering. And I think it speaks a lot to the frustrations that people have about the wealth inequality, the discrepancies that we are seeing and how it's just gotten bigger and bigger.
So the fact that you, a person who can spend $100 million and not really think about it on a campaign, that infuriates a lot of people. But at the same time, this is a proposition that actually I think is really on the margin right now.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
MASON: If it's going to pass or not. We've seen in polls that it's pretty close between the two. And I think part of that is because even I think Democrats or Democratic leaning independents, who I think are very, very angry about the concentration of wealth in this country, that there are some real concerns about the construction of this particular tax. And you have Democrats such as Governor Gavin Newsom, Xavier Becerra, in addition to Steve Hilton --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
MASON: -- all saying that they oppose this, and Democratic interest groups like Planned Parenthood, California Teachers Association.
[01:15:00]
So there have been fractures within the Democratic coalition that I think have chipped away at what would be maybe a natural voting base for it. And it makes this race really, really close.
BROWNSTEIN: You know, I think it's a lot like --
MICHAELSON: Real short.
BROWNSTEIN: I think it's a lot like Medicare for all. Even if you like the policy, it's really questionable whether it's plausible, feasible to do it in one state. But it is. Whatever happens with this, it is a marker that this is going to be an issue in the Democratic primaries in '28.
MICHAELSON: Recent polling showed 48 percent of likely voters in favor. It needs to get to 50 percent in order to pass. That's going to be fascinating. We fun tomorrow to watch the debate, which of course starts at 6:00, clock Pacific, 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN. Melanie, Ron, I know you both will be watching, as will I. Thank you so much for joining us.
Coming up here on The Story Is, the Supreme Court is once again allowing for the Trump administration to resume its controversial deportation policy. What that ruling means for migrants in the US. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:20:13]
MICHAELSON: The Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to resume its controversial deportation program. Temporary ruling allows the government to send migrants to countries other than their own, including places where they have no ties. The court's three liberal justices dissented. The justices will hear arguments in the case later this year.
The administration launched the policy last year as part of President Trump's expanding immigration crackdown. An estimated 25,000 people have already been removed from the U.S. under this policy.
Joining us now from New York is attorney and immigration analyst Raul Reyes. He's also a CNN opinion writer and a USA Today contributor. Welcome back to The Story Is.
RAUL REYES, CNN OPINION WRITER: Nice to be with you, Elex.
MICHAELSON: So what's the main impact of this ruling?
REYES: Well, look, this ruling, it was an emergency ruling. So it is temporary, it is not final. But it has enormous consequences for immigrant detainees and also for our system because what it means is that the Trump administration can continue sending detainees to remote places around the world, places where they have no connection whatsoever. And when I say remote, I'm talking about countries like Rwanda, Eswatini, South Sudan.
Some of these countries are places that our own State Department tells U.S. citizens that it is too dangerous to travel. So for now, until December when the court will hear oral arguments on the meantime, on the merits, it is giving green light to the administration to continue sending people deliberately to these places where they have no connection to language, culture or the background in these, these four nations.
MICHAELSON: Obviously, this is a controversial policy. Why would countries agree to this?
REYES: The main reason that countries agree to this policy to take detainees from another nation is financial. The U.S. government has already paid out, I believe, $41 million to foreign governments to enter into these agreements to take deportees. And it's also involved -- this also involves a sort of diplomacy where the U.S. will with threatens to withhold aid to nations in Africa, in South America and Central America if they don't make these agreements, if they don't agree to these deportations or they threaten these countries with things like tariffs or visa bans.
So these smaller nations do, they are incentivized to agree to the -- to the U.S. government's terms. In some cases we are talking about, like Equatorial Guinea, this is a dictatorship in Africa. And we are talking about our government sending these nations money in deals that were largely negotiated in secret. We only know about them because of investigative reporting.
MICHAELSON: Talk about the politics here. Of course, whenever we bring up the issue of immigration, there's so much on that front.
REYES: Right, right, right. But politically, look, whether you like this policy or not, this is a win for the Trump administration because they can continue with their policy. In my view, this conservative Supreme Court majority has been very deferential to the administration and immigration. So there's a good likelihood that they will allow them to, after all arguments in their final ruling, to keep doing this.
But we have to remember the kinds of people that are being sent to these nations. These are -- we are sending men, women, children, people with serious medical conditions, people with disabilities. Very often they have one day's notice before they are sent to places like in Africa or in South America.
So the calculus in terms of human suffering is just unimaginable. It may be a win for the administration right now, but for sure this will be -- this is just going to highlight the immigration issue in the midterm elections. I think for the Trump administration, people who support mass deportations, this is an important victory because Trump's immigration agenda is not popular with the majority of the public right now.
So although they seem to be taking an end run around Congress and the way they're basically reshaping immigration law so far, the Supreme Court is giving them their blessing.
MICHAELSON: And of course, the Supreme Court is the Supreme Court. So there's nowhere else that you can appeal once they make their decision.
[01:25:02]
Raul Reyes, thanks so much for sharing your perspective. Really appreciate you joining us.
REYES: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Some breaking news just into CNN. Russia is battering Ukraine's capital region with new airstrikes. Ukrainian officials say at least two people have been killed in the overnight attack. At least four more are reported injured.
Kyiv's mayor says fires have broken out and the regional governor says a missile and drone strike has also damaged infrastructure, facilities, houses and cars. Again, new strikes just reported in Kyiv.
Next on The Story Is, top AI executives have a solution to rising fears on the dangers of technology. We'll tell you what they agreed to do after meeting with President Trump at the White House. Plus, students at Cornell University say they're outraged but not surprised how the school has responded to an allegation of gang rape at a fraternity house.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:30:25]
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump says he and the heads of top A.I. companies have signed what he calls a morally-binding agreement on regulating the technology. Leaders from Google, Anthropic, Meta, OpenAI, Nvidia and X met at the White House Tuesday and agreed on policies to self-police their A.I. models.
Not a lot of women in that picture. We saw Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff.
The president has largely dismissed growing concerns about the dangers of the rapidly evolving technology, suggesting that the government could not slow down on A.I. development or risk falling behind China.
Here's what he had to say about the current oversight in place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it the belief of everybody that you're meeting with today that no guardrails, no regulation of A.I. -- superintelligence, as you call it -- is necessary?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, there's a belief that there should be tremendous self-regulation, and we automatically have regulation with the Department of Justice, the FBI -- all of that. But the self-regulation is very important.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The commitment signed by these executives, which is voluntary, outlines what steps their company should be implementing. Part of that is better internal cybersecurity controls and watchdog teams. They'll also work with independent operators to review problems that arise.
Joining me live is Chris Mattmann. He's a data science and technology expert, an expert in the A.I. space. Chris, welcome back to THE STORY IS. Welcome to our newsroom.
Does self-governing work? What does that even mean?
CHRIS MATTMANN, DATA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EXPERT: Yes. Elex, I'm not sure that it's going to work. And the real big challenge, you know, with it is that none of the signatories and this statement that they signed is binding.
To your point, you know, what they signed up to do are things that most of these tech companies are already doing in some form, which is they're already identifying when there's a cybersecurity issue. They're the ones that are self-reporting when their bots are going out to places like Hugging Face and hacking those companies.
And they're the ones that are also calling for like Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, to have these outside regulators kind of coming in and really looking at their alignment steps, which are the process to make these models behave, you know, using human values. So a lot of this stuff is already happening. And the question is what teeth does it have?
MICHAELSON: Yes. I mean, let's listen to some of that. I mean, it's pretty extraordinary to see all of them in the same room, right? At one time -- this sort of opportunity for historic conversation.
Here's a mashup of some of what they said afterwards.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK ZUCKERBERG, CEO, META: The idea isn't that this is the only thing that we will ever do. It is that this is a start and an accord that the whole industry could come to.
JENSEN HUANG, CEO, NVIDIA: We are going to have to create new technologies to advance the capabilities of A.I., but we're also creating new technologies that advance the safety of A.I.
All of this technology is being developed by the industry today. And you see behind me just an incredible number of leaders in our industry moving together as one.
ELON MUSK, CEO, SPACEX: Well, I think it is worth highlighting the part of the positive benefits of A.I., which we'll --- S.I. -- pardon me. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: He knows a thing or two about the way the President Trump likes to brand. I mean, first off, what did you see just in the body language, the whole thing of all these guys you've studied and known for years, all in one place, all of whom are competitors, all have their own giant egos, all sitting there with the president.
MATTMANN: Yes. I mean, Elex, a couple of funny points for me is that, you know, Elon Musk, who has called basically for jailing people like Sam Altman, is standing there next to Greg Brockman, you know, who's the president of OpenAI and, you know --
MICHAELSON: And was in this big lawsuit with him. Yes.
MATTMANN: -- and was in this big lawsuit and, you know, had really crazy deposition, you know, come out in discovery. He's standing there next to him and, you know, just like nothing happened.
And then additionally, what you mentioned is a really important thing. It's like to understand the relationship that these big tech executives have with the president, like Jensen Huang is a great example. He has a cordial relationship with President Trump. Most of the time he stayed afoul or outside of, you know, his radar. Unlike, you know, people like Elon Musk, who, of course, famously fell out of the Trump administration but is now sitting here talking about how A.I. is going to bring a job shift, which is actually something that he previously denied when he was in the administration. So it's kind of crazy.
[01:34:45]
MICHAELSON: Yes. And let's show this document that they -- that they all signed, which essentially lays out this roadmap. And let's hear what President Trump said about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It's almost like a constitution in a way.
(CROSSTALKING)
TRUMP: And the biggest -- and the biggest people in the world signed that. And I signed it as president. And it really is a form of protection.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this accord that everybody signed, is it binding in any way?
TRUMP: I think its morally binding. Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: That's not really a thing, is it?
MATTMANN: I don't think it takes super intelligence to understand, you know, that morally binding is not an enforcing, you know, and some of the world's smartest minds were there. And so I think that they know that that's not something that's enforceable.
MICHAELSON: S.I. can get you out of that contract.
So, you know, the thing that people really care about is how does this impact me? And is this going to take away my job?
So there's a CNN headline I want to put on the screen. This is from a McKinsey study, and it says that "A.I. could force 11 million U.S. workers into new careers by 2035. New careers is different than no career, right? But what do you see when you read this?
MATTMANN: Yes. Elex, what I see is something that has been discussed for the last sort of five years, but is actually becoming a huge issue with the midterm elections coming and also with the future 2028 presidential elections.
People now realize that it's not just sort of truckers in the Midwest that are going to get replaced driving by Tesla trucks. And it's not just potentially food service workers that are getting replaced by people tapping on a McDonald's machine to make their order, rather than talking to them that its actually affecting a broad swath of knowledge work, what we typically call like, you know, white-collar work.
And it's coming for information jobs. It's coming for writing. It's coming for creative. It's coming for places that --
MICHAELSON: Journalists.
MATTMANN: -- journalists, you know. And it's coming in those areas. And so given that, I think it's on people's minds. Not necessarily -- because the argument -- and Elon Musk actually made an eloquent argument, I would say, outside the White House today. He said, look, a lot of people, you know, used to get in big buildings in New York and their job was they were human computers. They would do calculations to do -- to calculate an interest rate at a financial firm or a bank.
He's absolutely right. And a lot of those jobs have been replaced in a way, by digital workers, but it's freed the humans to think more creatively and have more interesting work.
There is a potential for that, but a lot of these people who are responsible for the policy, both in the administration as well as the candidates, I would say in the 2026 election midterms as well as, you know, Congress, but also future '28 candidates for president. They need to have a policy position that talks about upskilling in the age of A.I., what the job transition is, and how we use A.I. safely and effectively, and use it in a way to benefit society.
MICHAELSON: And that's the difference between potential government regulation and business regulation, because those business guys, they don't have any responsibility over those people. Their responsibility is to their shareholders and their bottom line.
But a government that is fully functioning should look out for its citizens. And so that's a big part of this.
Chris Mattmann, thank you so much. I know we'll have this conversation continuing in the days, weeks and years ahead.
(CROSSTALKING)
MICHAELSON: Thank you so much for joining us.
We want to get to this story right now. And it involves the New York Attorney General and its decision to review Cornell's response to an alleged gang rape at a fraternity house.
This month a former student filed a 101-page civil suit, claiming that she was sexually assaulted by seven fraternity members back in 2024. The suit also claims the university and prosecutors mishandled the investigation.
The case has sparked a wave of outrage. The local district attorney says he's now reopened the case to seek a grand jury review of the allegations.
But some Cornell students say this all is too little, too late.
Earlier, CNN's Erin Burnett spoke to the editor-in-chief and senior editor of "The Cornell Daily Sun", who broke the story of the lawsuit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOPHIA DASSER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE CORNELL DAILY SUN: There is shock. There is outrage But there's this underlying feeling that the majority of students are unsurprised by the situation.
And there's this huge wave of solidarity and kinship with Jane Doe that I think both Cereese and I have experienced through our -- in our inboxes and our voicemails.
It was one of the reasons why "The Sun" then released a sexual misconduct tip line Specifically for community members to talk about their Title Nine processes at Cornell.
But we've been absolutely floored by how positive the reactions to the coverage and how supportive the community has been to Jane Doe. And so we are really, really grateful to the community at large.
CEREESE QUSBA, SENIOR EDITOR, THE CORNELL DAILY SUN: I don't think you could really expect the national attention it got.
[01:39:42]
QUSBA: And I think that's largely due to the fact that we included graphic details of the lawsuit -- that the lawsuit wrote, and we did not sugarcoat anything in our coverage.
And we've continued to offer transparency to the Cornell community, but also to everyone.
DASSER: I think at the end of the day, "The Sun" is really asking for something that everyone deserves, which is a level of transparency and accountability.
We are students. We have the right to demand safety from our university administrators. And we have the right to demand things like anonymized data reports of outcomes and sanctions and punishments from cases that were reported.
To "The Sun" it was extraordinarily concerning that the last we had heard on any solution from the case was a sexual assault task force that had approached sexual misconduct as an educational problem, one that could be solved with workshops and lectures and Web site links.
And within the paper and kind of clearly to anyone who's reading those Web sites, the individuals who would probably be committing the sexual misconduct are not the individuals who will be showing up to these workshops. So we fundamentally believe that this was a poor approach to the issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: You are watching THE STORY IS.
For our international viewers, "WORLD SPORT" is next. For our viewers in North America, I'll be right back with more on the big debate scheduled for tomorrow here on CNN, again the governor's debate happening.
We'll have post-game reaction here tomorrow at this time on THE STORY IS. Thanks so much for watching.
[01:41:25]
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MICHAELSON: Flash flood emergencies have been declared in parts of Southern New Mexico. Heavy rain has pummeled that state with water levels in the Rio Grande rising dangerously.
The river has breached levees, and officials warn that one dam is at risk of quote, "imminent failure". Several communities around the river have been ordered to evacuate to higher ground.
The Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park here in southern California says it will permanently close its most famous roller coaster. The move comes about a month after a CNN investigation led by Kyung Lah exposed a long history of life altering injuries and deaths linked to the X2 ride.
CNN documented more than a dozen reports of serious injuries and hospitalization associated with that coaster, including at least two deaths.
Two women ended up in the same emergency room with brain injuries after riding the roller coaster just six days apart in July.
And last month, attorneys suing Six Flags said more than 100 people claim they suffered brain injuries from the X2 ride in the past two years alone.
Speaking of Kyung, here in California, affordability is one of the top issues in the race for governor. Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton both campaigning to address that issue.
Kyung Lah spoke with a restaurant owner in Hollywood who says that he had to close his doors because of the economic challenges in our state.
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KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tonight is last call at employees-only restaurant and bar, a final pour for owner Tom Sopit closing after nearly ten years in West Hollywood.
TOM SOPIT, RESTAURANT OWNER: It's just becoming increasingly tough to operate in this state and in this city. So we decided to close.
LAH: A bittersweet end to service. After surviving the pandemic.
SOPIT: I'm concerned. LAH: This was Sopit in March 2020. COVID 19 gripped the country.
Sopit's restaurant shut down with all the others. His rent was $1,000 a day.
SOPIT: Yes.
LAH: He was completely underwater.
SOPIT: All we can do is help each other.
LAH: Help is what he did. Sopit's (INAUDIBLE) staff prepped free meals for any worker who lost their job.
For weeks, he donated food to emergency rooms across Los Angeles. He turned his parking lot into an outdoor patio, pivoting with ever- changing protocols.
How do you survive that but you have to close now?
SOPIT: Through the years, the economics of the state and the country has really changed. We've tried. It's not like one thing that took us out. It's just -- what I like to say death by a thousand cuts.
Affordability has really impacted our state. Cost of goods, the cost of labor is much higher than everyone else in the country. California labor laws are really tough.
Insurance is a big part of it with wildfires controlling the premiums and the increases, all the carriers leaving the state. And that's why it went up so quickly.
LAH: How much did the shrinking of Hollywood impact you?
SOPIT: Oh, immensely. It disappeared overnight. We're not really Hollywood anymore. All these people that are -- used to work here used to work in the city of Los Angeles are now gone. All the businesses closed early because there is no foot traction. It's a completely different city now.
LAH: Tell me about what you see when you drive around West Hollywood.
SOPIT: There's a lot of for lease signs up, a lot of businesses that are shutting down. Many just a few months after they open. It's really sad.
LAH: Sopit voted for Gavin Newsom, but is today a registered Independent. He says the political system is failing people like him. Your advice to the next governor of California?
SOPIT: My advice is focus on the issues. Focus on the real challenges. Drive up and down the street. Get -- get your hands dirty.
I think you can't just keep taxing businesses and people. How are we just keep paying more taxes but somehow the state just keeps going downhill. That doesn't make sense. There has to be some real change there. LAH: I asked Sopit whether it matters who the next governor of
California is. He says that he's very pessimistic, that he's not sure it matters who occupies that office.
[01:49:47]
LAH: But he does add that whoever wins the election, that person begins to tackle the issue of affordability.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: And affordability the number one issue of concern. Be sure to tune in Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 6:00 Pacific for that California governor's debate.
Democrat Xavier Becerra will face off against Republican Steve Hilton in our studio. CNN's Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will moderate. And we will have a post-game wrap up this hour tomorrow on THE STORY IS.
Coming up next on THE STORY IS, the 2028 Olympic torch beginning its relay. We'll tell you where it's headed, next.
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[01:54:54]
MICHAELSON: The 2028 Olympic torch will make history by traveling through all 50 states before arriving in the host city here in L.A. The torch will be lit at the games' birthplace of Olympia, Greece and begin its journey in Atlanta, which hosted the last U.S.-based Summer Olympics in 1996.
Organizers say it will be one of the largest relays in Olympic history. The full route is set to be announced next year.
Argentina's national football team will be back on the pitch in the coming hours as they take on Bolivia with a new captain and without legendary forward Lionel Messi.
Cristian Romero has been named new captain following Messi's retirement from international football. Before he hangs up his boots for good though, Messi will rejoin the squad for a farewell match against Benin. That match takes place on Tuesday, wrapping up a three- match friendly schedule for the World Cup runners up.
Of course, he also is still playing for Miami in MLS. So it's not retirement yet for Messi. Just farewell to the national team.
Thanks so much for watching THE STORY IS. We will see you again here tomorrow at a special time. 10:00 p.m. Pacific to midnight Eastern, 1:00 a.m. Eastern until 3:00 a.m. Eastern.
Hope you'll watch the "CNN GOVERNOR'S DEBATE".
In the meantime, the news continues here on CNN right after this.
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