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Hollywood Braces For Writers Strike With Both Sides Far Apart; Former U.S. Marine Killed In Ukraine; Ed Sheeran Back In Court, Accused OF Copying "Let's Get It On". Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired May 01, 2023 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: So, he wrote this to Chairman Durbin last week. He said the undersigned justices today reaffirm and restate foundational ethics principles and practices to which they subscribe and carrying out their responsibilities as members of the Supreme Court of the United States.

This statement aims to provide new clarity to the bar and to the public on how the justices addressed certain recurring issues and also seeks to dispel some common misconceptions. And then the statement went on to describe which rules the justices do follow, but also how they really can't disclose everything because of security concerns.

So, regardless of the explanations here, there are many now in Congress who are just questioning if these justices have enough of an ethics code. Especially, Sara, with these recent revelations you know that Justice Thomas, for example, accepted luxury trips, even did that property deal with a Republican Megadonor, and never really disclosed these details. So, a lot is coming out, and a lot of criticisms as well.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: It could certainly create a trust deficit with the public. I want to ask you about something else that came out. Justice Alito telling the Wall Street Journal that he has a pretty good idea of who leaked the court's draft opinion in the Dobbs case. What more are we learning there?

SCHNEIDER: Yes. A stunning statement, for sure, Sara. But he didn't give any more details. He said he didn't exactly have enough proof.

But what Justice Alito indicated is that he believes it was someone who did not want to see Roe v. Wade overturned, which, of course, is ultimately what happened. And he also threw very cold water on this theory that maybe it was someone from the conservative side who leaked it. Because the theory goes that if it was a conservative, maybe they were trying to lock in the five-four vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.

And here was Justice Alito's very telling angry response to that. He said that's infuriating to me. Look, this made us targets of assassination. Would I do that to myself with the five of us have done that to ourselves? It's quite implausible.

So, really pushing back on this idea, Sarah. And interestingly enough, he also said that the leak really did lead to quite a pervasive atmosphere of suspicion and distrust, which he says has mostly been dispelled but still a tough time for the justices to.

SIDNER: You know it was interesting in that quite a few people did have access to that draft.

SCHNEIDER: Yes.

SIDNER: Thank you so much, Jessica Schneider, there live for us from DC. John?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, at midnight tonight, production on most television shows could be shut down if a deal is not reached by that deadline. 98 percent of writers for TV, movies, and streaming shows voted to strike if no deal is reached. As of this moment, the two sides seem pretty far apart.

CNN's Senior Media Reporter Oliver Darcy is with us now. Oliver, what are the sticking points here?

OLIVER DARCY, CNN SENIOR MEDIA REPORTER (on camera): Hey, John. Yes, Hollywood is really holding its breath because this would be a major disruption to the workflow if this strike does go through if a deal is not hashed out in the next few hours. Some of the major sticking points actually relate to how TV consumption has changed over the years with the streaming era.

And so, writers are saying that you know shows on streaming services like Netflix, usually, they're shorter, they not last 20 Episode seasons anymore, there may be about 10 episodes. And so, that results in less writers getting hired for the shows and less work being available.

And it also has to do with the residual fee. So, back in the day, you would have a show, let's say like Lost, House, and those shows would be re-aired on broadcast networks or on cable networks for some time. And they would earn these residual fees as a result. And they're saying those residual fees that kept them going between jobs, they're not as common anymore and that's something that they want to see addressed in a deal.

And so, there are some sticking points as it relates to how consumption has changed since these two sides first hashed out a contract many years ago. This would be the first stoppage of work in really 15 years -- major stoppage of work in Hollywood. And what you would see, John, is first impacted would be the late-night comedy shows. I would expect that those would immediately start playing reruns in the days and weeks ahead.

But if this deal is not hashed out and this drags on for some time, shows that we were set to premiere in the fall could also be pushed back. So, a lot hangs in the balance in the next few hours, John.

BERMAN: Yes. And there haven't been many signs of progress at least not yet. Oliver Darcy, great to see you. Thank you very much. Kate? KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: New numbers coming in showing just how deadly the conflict in Sudan has become. All the more reason that we are seeing more and more people including Americans rushing to get out of the country. And we have the very latest on the ongoing efforts to escape Sudan coming up.

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[11:39:02]

BERMAN: Just in to CNN. We are learning that a former U.S. Marine was killed in Ukraine on the outskirts of Bakhmut, which you can see right there, last week. Cooper Harris Andrews was 26 years old. His mother tells us he was killed in a mortar blast.

Andrews appears to have worked for an activist group known as the Resistance Committee. The group says he was killed assisting the evacuation of civilians from that city. And, Kate, that is where so much of the fighting has taken place over the last several months. The Russians want to take that city. The Ukrainians have been in fierce resistance.

BOLDUAN: And we actually have some new video in, John, from Bakhmut of exactly this latest volley of rockets that we've been seeing coming in from Russia. Overnight, Russia launched a new round of missile attacks in Ukraine, including in Bakhmut. We want to show you this strike on Ukrainian forces there. Watch this.

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[11:40:00]

BOLDUAN: A bit east from there, in Dnipro region, at least 34 people were injured, including five children. And in Kherson, one person was killed, another three hurt in this round of attacks.

CNN's Nic Robertson, he's in Kyiv for us. And, Nic, Russia has launched a series of missiles just in the last four days into the country. And Russia says that they're -- they've hit their targets, but what are you really seeing? What's the reality on the ground?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. We know that Russia has pretty much zero credibility and their claim might be believed by Russians back home, but here it just doesn't hold water at all. Ukrainian officials say that there were 18 Russian missiles fired here. 15 of them were taken down.

I mean, we heard the sirens here in Kyiv last night. Some people took to the metro station to take shelter, but a lot of people just carried on their lives as normal because the air defenses in Kyiv over the past few days have been pretty much a hundred percent successful. They've taken down all the incoming missiles.

So, when Russia says it hits its targets, that's just not true. Are they saying that the intended target was all that -- were all those civilians, the houses, the schools that Ukrainian officials say that they hit in the south of Ukraine, those 34 civilians, five of them children? Is that what the Russians are saying that that was the intended target?

So, Russia seeming to have zero credibility where they are being a more credible force is in Bakhmut. And this video show that. That was -- that was a really close strike to that -- where that camera was positioned with the Ukrainian forces.

And looked at -- just looked at other videos from Bakhmut today and you can see the soldiers are so close to each other, one of them that the Ukrainians are literally looking at an apartment window and almost right down below them, that's the Russian forces. It's toe-to-toe in Bakhmut.

BOLDUAN: Wow.

ROBERTSON: The town is almost pretty much destroyed now, but Ukrainians refuse to give in. There are a few kilometers that they still control. They are refusing to give in on that. But it appears they take greater losses than the Russians when it's on terror -- in terms of territory, but they are inflicting, they say, greater losses on the Russian side.

So, it's clear why they don't want to give up that fight easily there. They may not hold the territory, but their take -- they're putting losses on the Russian side. And, of course, ultimately, that will be to their advantage.

BOLDUAN: It's great to have you there, Nic. Thank you so much. John?

BERMAN: All right, new today. The UN's refugee agency now believes more than 800,000 people may flee Sudan because of the ongoing conflict there. An estimated 73,000 have already fled. We have a video showing evacuees who managed to get onto a tugboat to cross the Red Sea. They are then welcomed into a bigger Saudi ship for the transfer.

The U.S. consul general in Jeddah says about one thousand Americans have evacuated since the start of the conflict. This morning, a hundred Americans reached the shores of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

CNN's Kylie Atwood at the State Department for us. Kylie, give us an update on this effort to get so many of those American citizens who are still there out.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes. Well, John, over the weekend, there were two U.S. government-organized convoys that left Khartoum headed on that long treacherous journey up to Port Sudan. And that's where those Americans were then able to you know get on efforts to get them over to Jeddah.

What we know according to a U.S. official at the embassy in Jeddah is that there were about a hundred Americans, as you said, who arrived on a U.S. naval ship from Port Sudan over to Jeddah just this morning. And so, that is significant because this is the first U.S. government- organized convoy that actually brought these Americans out of Khartoum to a place where they can safely get out of the country.

Obviously, after quite a bit of pressure on the U.S. government from Americans who were in the country saying that the U.S. government wasn't doing enough, what they had been doing was referencing them to the convoys that were led by U.S. allies, flights out of the country by US allies.

But these were the first two U.S. government-organized convoys for these American citizens and also locally employed staff. Sudanese who had worked at the U.S. Embassy in Sudan and other citizens from other allied countries. We'll watch to see if there are further convoys that the U.S. government actually organizes to get more Americans from Khartoum to Port Sudan or to places where they can safely get out of Sudan.

But what we don't know is exactly how many Americans were on both of these U.S. convoys. What we are being told by the State Department is that about a thousand Americans have been -- have gotten out of the country. Those efforts have been facilitated by the U.S. government, so they've been involved in those efforts.

But they also say that they're less than 5000 Americans who have asked the U.S. government for some kind of support in Sudan, not all of those want to leave the country. So, we'll watch to see you know how this demand ends up over the course of the next few days and if there are further U.S. convoys that are needed, John.

[11:45:06]

BERMAN: Kylie Atwood, thank you so much for your report, and keep us posted on all this. Sara?

SIDNER: Ed Sheeran back in New York courtroom today. We'll get an update on his battle to prove one of his Smash Hits did not copy a Marvin Gaye classic.

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BOLDUAN: Michael J. Fox is speaking very candidly in a new interview about living with Parkinson's disease. Fox is 61 years old, and he's been battling this horrible disease now for 30 years.

[11:50:02]

And he tells CBS News he doesn't expect to live to see 80 years old. Despite all of that, Michael J. Fox also says that he is fighting still to remain positive. Listen to this.

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MICHAEL J. FOX, ACTOR: I recognize how hard this is for people. And right now, is the hardest for me. But I have a certain set of skills that allow me to deal with this stuff. And I realize with gratitude, optimism is sustainable. And if you can find something to be grateful for it, then you find something to look forward to and you carry on.

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BOLDUAN: Fox also revealed that he recently underwent spinal surgery and he said it was a benign tumor which affected how he walks. And in a sign of how tough things are getting for him, Michael J. Fox says that he suffered two broken arms, a broken hand, and broken bones in his face because of taking several falls recently. Sara?

SIDNER: Wow. He's an inspiration. All right.

Singer Ed Sheeran is back in court this morning as he fights a lawsuit accusing him of taking key parts of his Grammy-winning song, Thinking Out Loud, from the Marvin Gaye classic, Let's Get It On. CNN's Chloe Melas joins us live from outside the courthouse in New York. You just got out of court. What happened today? Because last week, you got to hear him play the guitar on the stand.

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER (on camera): Well, Sara, I heard him play the guitar again. So, Ed Sheeran is in the courthouse right behind me. He just took the stand about a half hour ago. And his testimony is expected to take most of the days, so he has his guitar behind him because he is trying to prove his point that the chords in Thinking Out Loud are not similar and not an exact replica of you know Marvin Gaye's, Let's Get It On.

I just want to remind everyone exactly what we are talking about here because we have heard from musicologists who have taken the stand talking about the melody, the rhythm of the song but take a listen for yourself a little bit of each song.

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MELAS: So, Catherine Townsend who is the heir to Ed Townsend, who co- wrote that song with Marvin Gaye, she is back from having a medical issue. She is back in the courtroom today. We actually saw Ed Sheeran walk up to her before the court, give her a hug, and exchanged some pleasantries.

As he was walking in the courthouse today. I screamed out to him hey, so what do you have to say to your fans who have been supporting you during this trial? And he simply just turned and looked at me and he said, thank you.

You know, Sara, this is a very high-profile situation. Ed Sheeran, he has previously won a copyright infringement suit last year with a different song. He has settled on another one. It is common for celebrities, especially high-profile artists to find themselves in the courtroom.

And Taylor Swift and others have been sued before and some have been successful, some not. Some do settlements right before. And clearly, both sides are really standing their ground with their own conviction and It's going to be up to this jury. One of the things that they're talking about today, I just want to tell you quickly, is the performance that Ed did in Zurich, Switzerland in 2014, where he plays Thinking Out Loud, then switches over to Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On. And that is something that will be interesting to hear from Townsend's side of them cross-examine him on that performance and why did he play both of those songs, Sara.

SIDNER: I'm sure that it's evidence that's going to be used in this particular case. Chloe Melas, thank you so much for joining us from outside the courtroom.

BERMAN: So, while we're on the subject of music --

BOLDUAN: Music.

BERMAN: Music. Former First Lady Michelle Obama on stage with Bruce Springsteen during a concert in Barcelona on Friday. I think we have some pictures.

SIDNER: Good job, John.

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BERMAN: So, look at that for a second.

SIDNER: She's killing that tambourine.

BERMAN: No. let me show you here. That is Michelle Obama right there. That --

SIDNER: In the cool carbo -- cargos.

BOLDUAN: I'm awake.

SIDNER: Right? Who's next to her?

BERMAN: That's Patty. This is Bruce Springsteen's wife right here.

SIDNER: Oh, yes.

BERMAN: And then over here, not seen anymore --

SIDNER: Is he?

BERMAN: -- is Kate Capshaw.

BOLDUAN: Wait, there.

SIDNER: There she is. (INAUDIBLE) here.

BERMAN: Kate Capshaw from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Dome, right?

BOLDUAN: Fame. BERMAN: Fame. And they're all singing Glory Days there. It's pretty like August Backup group you have. You know if can score them as backup, it's not bad, right?

BOLDUAN: I was thinking of something funny about this. It's like when you think about the glory days like Michelle Obama is like I'm not even thinking about glory days. She's living her best life right now.

SIDNER: She's in her best life. She truly is.

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[11:55:08]

BOLDUAN: There's a lot of leather going on, and I'm very supportive of it.

SIDNER: I am too. But you know what? I have always wanted to be a backup singer. Always. Like just anywhere.

BOLDUAN: Why not --

BERMAN: Just --

BERMAN: Apparently, anyone can go up on stage in a Bruce Springsteen concert and sing backup.

BOLDUAN: But can you play the tambourine?

SIDNER: That's harder than it looks, by the way. I'm --

BOLDUAN: Are you serious?

SIDNER: I'm serious. It's harder than the triangle. More cowbell --

BERMAN: No place for the triangle up there.

SIDNER: No.

BOLDUAN: It's all relative apparently.

BERMAN: I don't think that's part of any Bruce Springsteen, so.

BOLDUAN: I'm going to -- I'm going to stick to watching and applauding from the audience.

SIDNER: Excellent. Great work.

BERMAN: Well, let them play you out.

BOLDUAN: Even though I have golden pipes.

BERMAN: Thank you for joining us before state -- Kate starts thinking. This has been CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "INSIDE POLITICS" is up next.

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