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Port Strike Could Lead to Shortages on Store Shelves; Israeli Defense Minister: Next Stage Will Begin Soon; FBI: Crime Rate Continues to Fall Across U.S. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired September 30, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: ... it's running out. Tens of thousands of U.S. port workers are preparing to walk off the job in a move that could have huge implications for supply lines and what you see on store shelves.

Plus, crime has been one of the key issues on the campaign trail. What is the reality behind the rhetoric? We're going to dig into freshly released new FBI stats when we come back. Stay with CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Time is running out to avoid what could become the most disruptive strike to the U.S. economy in decades.

[15:35:00]

Tens of thousands of port workers are set to walk off the job at midnight eastern time. The looming strike could shut down 14 ports, you see them there, from Maine to Texas. Talks between the union and major shipping lines have stalled at issue here, pay raises and port automation.

Matthew Shay is the CEO and President of the National Retail Federation and he's here to discuss with us. Thank you so much.

A lot of people I think don't even realize this is happening but they will soon enough. What is this going to look like?

MATTHEW SHAY, CEO AND PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION: Yes, well Brianna, I think what we're facing is something that truly is unprecedented. We haven't seen a stoppage at a port since 2002 on the west coast. That was an 11-day strike and that resulted in six months of backlogs and delays.

So we're talking about everything from produce to energy to automotives, automotive parts, pharmaceuticals, health care and of course the things that are coming in for the holiday season. And some of those are seasonal goods that have been pulled forward. So normally the busiest shipping months of the year are August, September, October for the fall season and the holiday season. This year we saw that move back to June, July, August. So people did try to prepare. But in my conversations even with the CEOs of the largest retailers in

the country, there's only so much you can do to prepare for this because some of these items either aren't ready to be shipped or they're not appropriate to be stored all that time. They can't be rerouted to the west coast for cost reasons. So they're going to have real implications if we shut the ports down.

KEILAR: The American Farm Bureau mentioned that 1.2 million metric tons of bananas for instance about a quarter of the nation's supply go through these ports that could be on strike that we mentioned here. What's the effect on the supply chain which I think people's reference point is really the pandemic on bananas and more broadly going to be?

SHAY: Well the east coast ports are responsible for more than 40 percent of what we bring into the United States on an annual basis. So it's almost half of what we're importing and the west coast ports are operating almost at capacity already although they've got the ability to take some of those goods that could be rerouted.

But of course the things that we'll recognize and experience first are perishable items, food products, there will be beverages, the drinks product, the end of the year holiday season is a big time for celebrating various holidays and get-togethers and gatherings. So much of the wine and beer that comes into this country and spirits is imported as well.

So I think there's a whole range of factors that'll happen and as customers move away from those items that in say in the perishables category that aren't available they'll substitute. And as they move to substitute for other goods then those goods will cost more. So it's going to have a ripple effect and I think at a time when we're just turning the corner on inflation after two and a half years of really high inflation what we're going to do now is raise prices again and that's the last thing the economy needs and particularly with their segments on what's happening in the southeast and the hurricane the worst possible time to shut these ports on the east coast when these people that are really in dire circumstances need relief.

KEILAR: Yes very good point there. So I mentioned what this is about it's about pay and it's about automation and what these port workers or the union representing them wants is a pay raise that ultimately will put them at a place slightly higher than what their west coast counterparts make. They're also opposing fully automated equipment which the shippers say hey we need this we need this to be competitive.

Where do you see this landing? Is this a fair ask that they're asking for the workers?

SHAY: Well we've had many conversations with the administration with the White House. Yesterday I spoke with Secretary of Labor Julie Suh about this. We've talked to the Council of Economic Advisors going all the way back to the beginning of this year. And official talks between the U.S. maritime shippers, USMX, and the ILA broke down in June so there haven't been any official conversations. We haven't weighed in on the issues involved here those are for the

parties to sort out and settle. I think our view is to see the economy continue and the supply chain to continue to function effectively.

We don't think it's appropriate to shut the economy down over a labor dispute. Anytime any bargaining unit closes an individual location whether it's a retail location a manufacturing distribution facility there are implications for those workers those families those communities. But this is on a scale beyond what a single bargaining unit could do anywhere else. If you shut the economy down over these issues it seems sensible to keep the parties talking to try to resolve this and not to bring the economy to its knees and crash the economy as a negotiating tactic.

KEILAR: Matthew Shay thank you so much for your insights we do appreciate it.

SHAY: Thanks, Brianna.

KEILAR: And still to come President Biden urging Israel to stop special forces raids in Lebanon as the U.S. believes Israel could imminently launch a limited ground incursion at any moment. We'll have new details next.

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SANCHEZ: In the Israel/Hezbollah war, we are now hearing that the Lebanese army has evacuated posts at the country's southern border. That may be the strongest sign yet that Israel is on the verge of a ground incursion into Lebanon. Israel's defense minister said today that the, quote, next stage of its war will start soon.

The State Department confirmed that Israel has informed the U.S. about a number of operations and sources say that Israel has begun conducting small raids in Lebanese territory as part of preparations for a potential ground offensive.

[15:45:05]

Let's go now to CNN's Nic Robertson who's live for us in Haifa, Israel. Nick, what more are you hearing about the potential for ground operations?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It seems that the shaping operations are already underway, not just those limited elite commando raids across the border over the past couple of days targeting Hezbollah positions, but what we're hearing from the very northernmost point of Israel, Metula and a couple of the small towns nearby. The IDF has closed those areas. There's now a military closed zone.

It is, if you will, the most vulnerable part of Israel to Hezbollah. It's surrounded, Metula itself, a tiny, tiny town. I was there earlier this year, surrounded on three sides, where in recent years the IDF has discovered Hezbollah trying to dig tunnels under the border.

That is now a closed military area and from just a couple of miles away from there in Kiryat Shmona, the sound of heavy artillery fire can be heard. Now, that also is a potential shaping operation for a military ground force to go in.

We saw it in Gaza. We've seen the IDF do this in Lebanon before, where they will pound an area where they think Hezbollah may be hiding out with heavy artillery before ground troops go in.

The other indicators that we've seen beyond the defense minister in the last few hours saying the next phase steps in the war against Hezbollah are about to begin is the accumulation of military hardware along the border. Tanks, armored personnel carriers, the defense minister speaking earlier today with the Golani Brigade, one of the prime sort of infantry units that the has at its disposal.

We know that further along the border, there's the 98 elite commando division as well. So all the units the IDF would need for a ground incursion are in place. The questions that stand out tonight are what is the aim of a ground incursion that the defense minister appears to indicate is imminent and close and how large would be the forces involved in it?

And it really does just seem a matter of time before it begins.

SANCHEZ: Nic, the IDF has been active on multiple fronts, not only with Hezbollah in Lebanon, but also obviously Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen. And you were actually on board an IDF carrier when airstrikes against the Houthis were being carried out. Tell us more about that.

ROBERTSON: Yes, this was an IDF embed aboard a fuel tanker. It was a Boeing 707 aircraft there. All the seats have been stripped out and there are these pressurized fuel tanks in that sort of narrow fuselage area.

And at the back of this Boeing 707 is a feeder tube and a very experienced officer working that feeder tube to line it up to refuel F-35s. And that's what I witnessed. I climbed aboard that aircraft in southern Israel, flew out over the Red Sea, south, south, south over the Red Sea. I didn't know where we were going. F-35 after F-35 was nuzzling up to the back of this 707, filling up with fuel. And well, after about an hour and a half of that, the F-35s peeled off. And I was told that they had just conducted a mission in Hodeidah, Houthi- controlled part of Yemen. And they were targeting there a power station and a fuel dump.

And the reason I was told, the IDF press officer with me said the reason they had done this was twofold.

One, the Houthis have been firing ballistic missiles over the past couple of weeks into central Israel. We have certainly seen that. The Houthis had claimed on Saturday to have fired one at Ben Gurion Airport, main international airport. And the other message here was very clear. It was a message to Iran that Israel has a long reach. It can do these long, more than 1,000- mile raids with its fighter aircraft, pack a punch. And that's a message to Iran to stay out of the fight that Israel is about to engage in more deeply in Lebanon.

SANCHEZ: Nic Robertson, live for us in Haifa. Thank you so much, Nic.

Next, what brand-new numbers from the FBI reveal about the reality of violent crime in our country this year, as the issue remains a major one in the presidential campaign.

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KEILAR: New today, the U.S. crime rate is continuing its downward trend, according to brand new FBI statistics that were just released today. Murders, for instance, dropped 23 percent during the first six months of this year compared to last year. And that is just one of the many stats showing fewer crimes being committed across the country.

CNN security correspondent Josh Campbell is with us now on this story. Josh, what more are you seeing in these new FBI numbers?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna, you know, we saw during the 2020 pandemic that crime levels had spiked in various different areas. But we're now continuing to see this decline.

New figures released today by the FBI. They looked at January to June of 2024. And what they found, as you mentioned, murders are down 23 percent. Reported rapes are down 18 percent. Looking at violent crime, that now appears to be down about 10 percent. So all, you know, good directions there.

It's important to note that these preliminary figures do have some limitations. For example, this is voluntary reporting by police agencies. About 15,000 of the nation's 19,000 agencies so far did report information for these preliminary numbers.

But this comes after just last week, the FBI released figures from 2023, more robust, fulsome figures that showed crime down across several different factors.

[15:55:00]

And finally, it's worth pointing out that crime has obviously been front of mind for those in the presidential race. Donald Trump, Kamala Harris talking about it.

Trump raised some eyebrows yesterday at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he appeared to be calling for police brutality in order to help stop shoplifting, saying, quote, all it would take is one rough hour to solve the problem and send a message to criminals.

So, again, that raising a lot of eyebrows. That's not the first time that Trump has appeared to call for excessive use of force. Back when he was president, he said that law enforcement officers should get rougher on suspects in their custody.

That led to a rebuke from the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, telling his agents, ignore what the president said.

KEILAR: All right, Josh Campbell, thank you so much for going through that for us. We'll be right back.

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KEILAR: All right, you've got to see this. It's pretty cool. As New Zealand reclaims the world record for the most people to perform a Haka, which is a traditional dance of the country's Indigenous Maori people.

The official count, 6,531 men, women, and children doing the Ka Mate at a rugby stadium in Auckland, New Zealand.

[16:00:00]

And with that dethroning, decade-long record holder, France.

SANCHEZ: I did not expect France to hold that record. I want you to look at who is in the crowd, though. Late night talk show host, Conan O'Brien, can be seen practicing beforehand.

O'Brien says he just happened to have been in New Zealand filming a show when he found out about this. Of course, he could not resist. Just for our viewers to let them in behind the scenes.

Brianna practices one of these Haka dances right before the show to get geared up for it. It is intimidating. Do you want to share it with the viewers, Brianna?

KEILAR: Oh, you know what? It's just time right now for "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper, starts right now.

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