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Actors Union Reaches Tentative Deal With Movie & TV Studios; DOJ Arrests 3 Accused Of Running "High-End Brothel Network"; FDA Approves New Weight Loss Drug Zepbound; Biden Addresses UAW Autoworkers In Illinois. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired November 09, 2023 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:34:38]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: The longest actors' strike in history is finally over. Overnight, union leaders approved a tentative deal which they are calling a major victory.

CNN's Camila Bernal is in Los Angeles with the details on this.

What more do we know about this agreement, Camila?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Brianna. So the full details will be disclosed tomorrow to board members. And then they will be made public to the union members, who will have to vote to ratify it.

[13:35:02]

But in the meantime, union leaders are saying that this is a historic deal. They're calling it extraordinary.

And it's for a number of reasons. There's the economics. Because, yes, they are getting higher wages, especially when it comes to minimum wages, when it comes to bonuses for streaming and for their benefits.

But there's also the A.I. protections of it. And that was extremely important for so many members of this union who want to have a place at the table despite what's coming when it comes to artificial intelligence.

So this was something that was a sticking point until the very end. Negotiators were still talking about it right before essentially closing this deal.

But of course, they are ecstatic. They are happy about what they have accomplished.

And I want you to listen to the union president, Fran Drescher, in how she described how she sees the future but also the gains that they have made.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) FRAN DRESCHER, SAG-AFTRA PRESIDENT: I'm already thinking about the things I want to get in the next contract that we didn't get in this contract.

But we broke so much ground. There is so much language in this contract that covers so much new ground that has never been in any other contract before. And that was the point of this negotiation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: And a lot of the members that I've talked to have said it's worth it, what we've gone through over the last couple of months, if we're getting what we needed and what we asked for. It took them a long time to get them to where they are now.

But look, everyone is just ready to go back to work. Everyone I talked to has told me that they're looking forward to going back to telling stories.

It's going to take some time. A lot of people in the industry seem to think that things won't really go back to normal until January.

But nonetheless, everybody just looking forward to those productions starting up again. There's optimism about summer movies and what's coming up next year for shows and streaming.

And so this is sort of the beginning of that work restarting after so many months of everything being shut down. We're talking billions of dollars in losses here.

But again, the members that I talked to have told me it's worth it if we are going to get what we need. So after very difficult months this is sort of the light at the end of the tunnel -- Brianna?

KEILAR: OK. So things get back to normal for them, the union members, maybe in January. What about for us, the movies and shows what we want to see? When will that get back to normal?

BERNAL: Yes, that's a great question. And I think that will depend on the vote to ratify this agreement. Right? We likely will see it happen soon.

But after that, it's really when you're going to see timelines for a lot of the shows and a lot of the movies. But as I mentioned there's optimism about summer movies.

You know, just a couple of weeks ago a lot of people were saying, if this deal doesn't come through, you're not going to have summer movies, you're not going to have tv shows next year.

So now finally people are like well, you know what? Maybe we will have those summer movies and we will have new shows starting in January or the beginning of the year.

A lot of them were in preproduction or prepping before the strike. So hopefully, those shows will get started a lot sooner. But it will take some time before we see everything go back to fully being normal here in Hollywood.

KEILAR: All right. I'll be doing those rewatches that I've been preparing anyways.

Camila, thank you so much for that. We do appreciate it.

Boris?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Now to some of the other headlines we're watching at this hour.

Shell is suing the environmental group Greenpeace for more than $2 million in damages. The oil company tells Reuters that a group of activists boarded a moving oil vessel earlier this year, calling it, quote, "unlawful and extremely dangerous."

The Greenpeace activists reportedly chased the ship on inflatable boats and used ropes to climb aboard the vessel. In a press release, Greenpeace called it a, quote, "intimidation lawsuit meant to silence peaceful protests."

And happening now in New Jersey, officials are searching for this man, Gregory Yetman. He's wanted in connection with the January 6th attack on the U.S. capitol.

Police say that Yetman escaped into a wooded area last night as officials tried to serve a search warrant at his home. Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI.

And the federal trial is under way for the man accused of attacking Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

David DePape is charged with attempted kidnapping and assault in last year's assault -- attack at Pelosi's home in San Francisco. If he's found guilty, he faces decades in prison. A trial date for a separate state charge will be decided later this month.

[13:39:31]

Still to come on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, the Department of Justice says it busted a high-end brothel network that had elected officials and military officers as clients. The details in just a few minutes.

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KEILAR: The Justice Department moves in on what it calls a high-end brothel network used by elected officials, military officers and government contractors with security clearances.

Three people have been arrested and charged here, and search warrants are still being executed in multiple states to find potential clients.

CNN's Jessica Schneider is following this story for us.

We should note -- and this is like one of those news stories where you kind of see the tsunami coming at you -- no client names have been released. What are we expecting to see here?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: We could get a lot more details because this is a very sprawling scheme that's still being investigated. The FBI is saying that they've identified hundreds of clients, men who

have frequented these brothels and there could be hundreds more.

So this investigation actually dates back to the summer of 2020. Three-plus years ago. It's still ongoing.

The FBI has the personal information of a lot of these men because they had to give the personal information to get into this network. They paid a monthly fee. They got text messages.

[13:45:05]

So the FBI, interestingly enough, has also been working with some of these men who have been cooperating with this investigation, giving them information.

So these brothels apparently were located right outside of Boston, also in eastern Virginia in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

And this is how it's described in the affidavit. It says:

"Both the Boston and the Virginia brothels are high-end because of the high cost associated with the rental units, the location of the rental units, as well as some of the professional disciplines of the sex buyers.

"The price for commercial sex for a fee, which ranges from approximately $350 to upwards of $600 per hour, depending on the different services, suggests that customers are paying a premium price compared to standard rates.

"Agents have identified several customers through surveillance, phone records, customer interviews."

And when prosecutors spoke out about this yesterday, Brianna, they said that the men who frequented these brothels, the professions for them were extensive.

They include politicians, elected officials, military officers, government contractors with security clearances, executives at pharmaceutical companies and tech companies.

And the way the prosecutor put it, he said, pick a profession and they're probably represented.

So prosecutors say that there were Web sites that clients paid a monthly fee to, they got these text messages, they went to these brothels, these apartments that were being rented for $5,000 a month or more.

So this was a sprawling scheme. This investigation still ongoing. It's interesting -- will be interesting to see if any of these men who

frequented these brothels are ever charged. And how much more information comes out about all of these because it was a big scheme.

KEILAR: Look, the government sees people with security clearances or elected officials going to these things, they worry about blackmail.

SCHNEIDER: Absolutely.

KEILAR: These are now vulnerable individuals --

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SCHNEIDER: And centered right around Washington, D.C., where several of the brothels --

KEILAR: Exactly. So much sensitive stuff goes on here, obviously.

What kind of charges are we talking about?

SCHNEIDER: Well, they are charged with interstate trafficking, because a lot of these women, mostly Asian women, they say were coerced into traveling across state lines, relocating to these brothels to provide these sex services.

Also financial crimes, because of the way they tried to hide the money that was incoming. So three people charged so far, but there could be more because the investigation still ongoing.

KEILAR: Wow. I think I'll see you another day on this story.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: Jess, thank you so much.

And still to come, it's been prescribed off label for months for weight loss, but the FDA just approved Mounjaro to treat obesity. But it's under a new name. And we'll explain why next.

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[13:52:18]

SANCHEZ: The FDA just approved a new drug in the battle against obesity. You may have heard of the diabetes drug, Mounjaro. Now it's under the new name of Zepbound. And the drug can be used for chronic weight management in people with weight-related medical problems.

Let's bring in CNN's Jacqueline Howard.

Jacqueline, in clinical trials, this drug showed to be very effective. What more can you tell us?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: That's right, Boris. In clinical trials, people taking this drug experienced on average about 20 percent weight loss. And keep in mind, the drug is in the same class as other weight loss

drugs we've heard about like Wegovy and Ozempic. It's the same formulation, as you mentioned, as Mounjaro.

The only difference is who the drug is indicated for. Mounjaro is a diabetes drug, whereas under this new name of Zepbound, it's approved for people with obesity or who are overweight, who have weight-related conditions.

Now, what we know about Zepbound, it is administered as an injection, given once weekly. Side effects are similar to what we see with other weight loss drugs, that nausea or vomiting or stomach pain.

And the price tag, it costs about $1,000 per month before insurance.

So the idea here, Boris, is that this is another option out there for people who are looking for help with chronic weight management. The only hurdles would be if they're able to access it and, again, that cost before insurance -- Boris?

SANCHEZ: So, Jacqueline, on the question of access, how many people are going to be eligible to use the new drug?

HOWARD: Well, again, it's for people with obesity or who are overweight. And according to the FDA, about 70 percent of American adults have obesity or are clinically overweight.

So they would be potentially eligible for this medication, if their doctors decide to prescribe it. So this is another option that potentially could help many, many people out there -- Boris?

SANCHEZ: Jacqueline Howard, thank you so much.

We do want to take a look at a live picture now. This is from Illinois. President Biden is expected to speak there at the podium. He's meeting with leaders of the United Auto Workers union. Just secured a major deal with three big automakers in the United States.

[13:54:43]

Of course, we'll bring you his remarks as they happen. Stay with CNN.

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KEILAR: Straight to the president now in Illinois, where he is speaking to union workers at a reopened auto plant.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Tammy Duckworth can't be here because of her Washington voting. And I've got to stay back.

And by the way, they fight tirelessly for the people in Illinois. And Durbin busted his neck in this job, too, as well.

Look, folks, they've worked nonstop to bring good jobs back to Belvedere.

(CHEERING)

BIDEN: Two people. Two people on my team are here who did so much to support the UAW negotiations.

Our acting secretary of labor, Julie Sue -- where are you, Julie -- and Gene Spurling.

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BIDEN: I think -- I think Sean -- I think --

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[13:59:58]

BIDEN: I think Sean would tell you they did a hell of a job.

And thank you to all the state and local leaders here today.

But most of all, to the members of the UAW, you're as tough, tough, tough as they come.