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Hollywood Writers And Studios Could Reach Deal Today; No Deal In Sight With Less Than A Week To Avert Government Shutdown; Defense Secretary Austin Arrives In Djibouti; Asteroid Sample Lands In U.S. After 7-Year Trip; Top New Jersey Democrats Call On Menendez To Resign; Texas Officials Reaching "Breaking Point" Over Migrant Surge. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired September 24, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:42]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin in Hollywood where after the last four days of marathon negotiations, striking writers and studios could reach a deal as early as today. It's a glimmer of hope for an end to a strike that has dragged on for nearly five months and impacted the production of scores of TV shows and movies.

CNN's parent company, Warner Brothers Discovery, is a part of the negotiations with the union.

CNN's Camila Bernal joining me now from Los Angeles. So Camila, how hopeful are people?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred look, people are just really on pins and needles. They're very hopeful but also very cautious because they know that at the moment there is no deal. This is day five of these marathon sessions, but they're waiting to see exactly what is going to come out of all of these negotiations.

A lot of people want to return to work. They want to see a deal happening, possibly today. That is a very likely possibility because we had heard that by the end of the weekend, was essentially a doable timeline. But we're waiting to see exactly what happens.

These are very complicated issues. The writers really wanting to get higher wages when it comes to residuals and streaming. They were also very focused on artificial intelligence. That's also complicated part of the negotiations.

But really, it's just a waiting game now because what we've seen over the last couple days, this has been a strike that has really paralyzed Los Angeles, the industry. And it's been sort of a domino effect in terms of the economic impact. Estimates are $5 billion in terms of an economic impact. So there's been a lot of people who have been struggling with about

five months where they haven't been working. And part of it is wanting to get the demands that they asked for.

And so even if there is a deal by the end of the weekend, the members, more than 11,000 writers, they have to ratify the deal, so they'll have to look at it and decide whether they want to vote yes or no on it.

And furthermore, it's going to be hard to go back to normal because the actors are also on strike. So SAG-AFTRA also needs to come to a deal with these major studios, and that could take more time.

So really things won't necessarily go back to normal, but there is hope on the horizon here. And it's, of course, what people have been waiting to hear for months now, that possibly there is a deal in sight, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. It will indeed be nice if there were some breakthroughs. Camila Bernal, keep us posted.

Let's talk more about all this now. Eric Deggans is a media analyst and the TV critic for NPR. Eric, great to see you.

So we're talking about the last four days in particular of these, you know, hard-core negotiations. What is it about these negotiations that are suddenly now bringing so much optimism?

ERIC DEGGANS, TV CRITIC, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO: Well, I think first the fact that the actual moguls, the people who actually run these companies are said to be participating in these talks.

Previous iterations of talks involved representatives of the group that represents all the studios that are involved and party to this agreement.

Now we're hearing that actual industry leaders are in the room and they're hearing these proposals and they're offering their feedback. It's also made it clear that they're really interested in closing a deal rather than batting around proposals and playing in the press, trying to win public sentiment.

It's been obvious that the public has been on the side of the striking writers and actors in poll after poll. And I think the studios realizes they really need to prove that they're serious about this, and they need to get down to brass tacks.

If the strike goes on much longer, for example, the entire broadcast season will probably be scuttled, and we won't see much new scripted content on broadcast TV stations. They kind of have to wrap this up at least by the end of October if there's hope of salvaging the season.

[14:04:57]

WHITFIELD: It has been a long strike, right. I mean I think relative it seems very long. May is when the writers began striking. And you know, they want to change -- among the many things, they want to change how they are paid, arguing that the old model doesn't really reflect the emergence of streaming as a major platform.

And you know, you heard some of the things, you know they want higher pay. They want some better structure about the residuals and all that, too.

Do you see that the writers are going to have to acquiesce more than, say, you know, the big movie houses?

DEGGANS: No. I think we've reached a point where the writers and the actors guild in particular realize that this is a do-or-die moment for their organizations. If they allow the current structure of streaming, compensation for streaming to exist, it will become so much harder for people to earn a middle class living or slightly better.

You know, stars will always be the stars but you know, a great many people kind of trying to live in the middle, and if they don't create a structure where they're better compensated going forward, it will be much harder for people to live in that middle.

So for example, something as simple as -- when streaming services started, the seasons for their shows could be as short as ten episodes or eight episodes or seven episodes.

Now, in broadcast television, they used to be 22 episodes long, 25 episodes long. And if you were a writer who got paid for every episode that you worked, you could see how your income would shrink tremendously if you're working on a show that only had seven episodes versus 25.

And that's just the simplest way of looking at this. There are many complexes, you know, sort of aspects to how writers get compensated including what do you do about artificial intelligence and its ability to mimic the efforts of writers, and how do you limit that, so that people get credit for the work that they've created.

There's a lot of important stuff on the table.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And the latter, that's become a really big one. So if the writers reach a deal, what happens with the striking actors' negotiations? The actors' strike, you know, began in July. Do you see that they're looking at the writers' strike or the outcome as a real framework for how they'll proceed?

DEGGANS: I think that's the hope. I think the hope was always that one of the two guilds, either the writers or the actors, would forge a deal with the studios that would then become a template that could allow them to talk about issues for the other group because a lot of the concerns that each group has are similar.

There's also a similar fear among actors about being replaced by artificial intelligence. There's a similar concern among actors about compensation when you work on a streaming project and how much work do you put into a streaming project before you get paid. Can you put in a bunch of volunteer work and be told at the end we

don't need your services? Shouldn't you get something? And what happens once that show is created and it's had a life on a cable channel or a streaming service and then it goes where else. Can you get paid when it goes somewhere else? And can that payment be substantial.

These are all issues that the writers are talking about. And if they find some solution for the writers, I think there's a hope that there would at least be a template that the Screen Actors Guild could use in their negotiations.

And of course, if the writers do come to an agreement with the studios, that will put pressure on the Screen Actors Guild to find a solution because the writers will have proven that it is possible.

WHITFIELD: It's so fascinating. Well, let's hope, you know, for an amicable ending to all this so people can resume, you know, their craft and their lives.

DEGGANS: And I can keep reviewing TV shows --

WHITFIELD: What's that? And what?

DGGANS: I said I can keep reviewing TV shows because I love doing that.

WHITFIELD: I know. And we love it that you do that and do it so well. Eric Deggans, thank you so much. Great to see you.

DEGGANS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Turning to Capitol Hill where time is ticking for Congress to avoid a crippling government shutdown this week. Lawmakers now have just six days to pass a spending bill to fund the government.

But House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is still fighting hard-right GOP holdouts and he doesn't have the votes to get a stop-gap funding bill passed.

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REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): No, ma'am. I have not voted for a CR, continuing resolution. I didn't vote for one under President Trump and I haven't voted for any in the past.

I think it's just completely throwing away our duties. You know, we have a duty to pass a budget. We've got a budget committee. And for the last I think 30 years we haven't even passed a budget. Could you imagine, you know, your church or your synagogue or your temple or your charitable organization or your business or even our states, all 50 states pass a budget. Daggum, we can't seem to -- we just don't do it.

[14:09:59] BURCHETT: And part of the reason is it's easy, and part of the reason is it hides a lot of things from the public.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez joins us now from the White House. So Priscilla, I mean the deadline is just days away now.

President Biden is now weighing in on this potential U.S. government shutdown. What's he saying?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's saying that it's incumbent on Republicans to get this done and that any delay and a shutdown would disrupt American lives. Take a listen to what he had to say at an event last night.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let's be clear. If the government shuts down, that means members of Congress -- members of the U.S. military are going to have to continue to work and not get paid. A government shutdown could impact everything from food safety, to cancer research, Head Start programs for children.

Funding the government is one the most basic responsibilities of Congress. It's time for Republicans to start doing the job America elected them to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, for weeks White House officials have been warning about the implications of a government shutdown by saying that there would be disruptions to air travel. And it also could take a toll on the economy.

And on Friday the Office of Management and Budget started formally the process of telling agencies that they had to dust off their plans and prepare for this potential. That is what they often do when we get so close to the deadline. And in this case what agencies are doing is reviewing their plans, looking at who would get furloughed and have to work without -- or as well as those who would have to work without pay and looking at what activities and services the government provides that would have to come to a halt.

Now, we also heard from Republicans yesterday who tried to lay out a path forward and also tried to project some confidence and saying they could try to get enough done for there not to be a shutdown, but the reality they say is that they just don't have the votes yet within their own conference making all of this still an uphill battle and causing anxiety within the government as to what happens in the event of a shutdown, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. All very important questions. Priscilla Alvarez, thank you so much.

WHITFIELD: Now to Africa where U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has just arrived in Djibouti, the first stop of a three-nation tour on the continent.

This morning Austin was welcomed with a large red carpet ceremony followed by a meeting with the country's leadership at the presidential palace.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand is on the ground for us in Djibouti. So Natasha, what does the secretary hope to accomplish at these meetings?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes Fred, so these meetings in East Africa this week, they have really been focused on counterterrorism efforts. Obviously, that's a main priority of the United States when it comes to its operations in Africa. The U.S. does have a limited number of troops on the ground in Somalia as well as Kenya.

And so his conversations today with the ministry of defense here in Djibouti as well as the Djiboutian president, they were really focused on making sure that the fight against terrorism, in particular the terrorist group al Shabaab are going the way that that the United States wants them to go.

He also met with the president of Somalia here in Djibouti again to kind of to discuss how the counterterrorism efforts against al Shabaab are going, especially because the U.S. has about, you know, 800 troops on the ground in Somalia right now.

So not a huge footprint but they are helping them conduct counterterrorism operations that the U.S frequently does, calling air strikes to help target these terrorists.

So all of this is just to make sure that that partnership is stable. He will be going to Kenya tomorrow to discuss all of this with Kenyan defense leaders as well. And then he will make his way to Angola later this week to basically discuss opening up a military defense partnership and seeing the kind of avenues that the U.S. can explore in that (INAUDIBLE).

But a really key part of this trip as well has been the discussion of course, of the Wagner mercenary group, the Russian mercenary group that really exploits kind of ungoverned spaces here in Africa. And when there is instability, chaos, terrorism, of course, Wagner tries to fill that hole and convince certain governmental leaders that they can provide security.

So the U.S. wants to push back against that. They want to say, look, we are partners in this fight against the terrorists. You don't need Wagner.

And in fact, Senior defense leaders told us here travelling with the secretary of defense this week that a number of countries here in Africa have actually come to regret partnering with Wagner mercenary group in the name of fighting terrorism, and that they have come to the U.S. and said, look, we would much rather partner with you because when we bring Wagner into these countries, all we really get is trouble and human rights abuses. So that is also going to be a priority here for the secretary of

defense. Wagner is still kind of looming large here in the continent and they don't seem to be going away any time soon, Fred.

[14:14:54]

WHITFIELD: All right. Natasha Bertrand, very vital concerns on this three-African nation tour.

All right. Back in this country, Ophelia is now a post tropical cyclone and continuing to dump rain across the northeast today. Coastal flooding and high winds are also a threat to millions across the region. Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland declared states of emergency as storm surges top three feet along parts of the coast.

CNN's Allison Chinchar is tracking the storm for us. Allison, when is this going to, you know, wind down?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. Yes.

The real answer to that is going to be late tomorrow, which means it still has several more hours to drop even more rain than it already has in a lot of areas.

Right now still looking at heavy rain across portions of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and at times Connecticut and Massachusetts. When you look back at how much rain has already fallen, especially over North Carolina and Virginia where pretty much it's done at this point, these are impressive rainfall totals.

Jacksonville, North Carolina, topping out at almost 9 inches. Winterville, North Carolina, just over 7. Even areas of North Carolina and Virginia widespread numbers around that 4 to 5-inch range. And it's why you've had have flooding there.

We still have flooding concerns today. The threat begins to shift a little bit farther to the north. So the main focus today especially for coastal flooding is going to be New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and portions of Virginia where we could end up picking up about 1 to 2 feet of that flooding along those coastal areas throughout the afternoon and evening tonight.

Now, for tonight, the bulk still focused over the mid-Atlantic. But as we go to the overnight you're really going to see that vast majority of rain really focused along coastal New England and coastal northeast before it finally pushes back out by the time we get to tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow evening. Now, that's one system we're watching.

We've also got an atmospheric river event taking shape in the Pacific Northwest and also some severe storms across the central U.S. Now, the main threats here are going to be damaging winds, large hail and the potential for some tornadoes. That focus is going to be Dallas down through San Antonio and also over toward Shreveport, Louisiana.

You'll see we already had storms ongoing today, but a lot of it really fires up late this afternoon and will continue into the evening hours. And in some of these cases, especially across right there around ArkLaTex, it will also continue through the overnight.

So do be sure Fred, that they have a way to get those emergency alerts before you go to bed.

WHITFIELD: All right. Great advice. Allison Chinchar, thanks so much.

All right. Still to come, a rare, cosmic gift. A NASA spacecraft flew by earth today and delivered a sample collected from an asteroid. What NASA scientists hope to learn from the sample, next.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

It's a scientific sample seven years in the making.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Touchdown. SRC has touched down.

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WHITFIELD: For the first time in U.S. history, NASA is returning an asteroid sample from space.

Joining me right now is CNN space and defense correspondent Kristin Fisher. So tell us about this remarkable mission.

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, the Osiris Rx spacecraft left earth way back in 2016. It traveled more than 4 billion miles to the asteroid Bennu and back before finally making its way back to earth and releasing a capsule. That capsule that you see there right now over the United States.

And inside was about half a pound of rocks and dirt and soil from the surface of that asteroid itself. And you know, this is the first time that NASA has ever done anything like this.

Japan actually did something quite similar a few years ago, but they didn't collect as much as this mission has been able to. Half a pound of material from this very ancient asteroid Bennu. And so the capsule entered the earth's atmosphere travelling at about 27,000 miles per hour. It sustained temperatures of about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

After these big parachutes, you can see that one right there, very small, though, on the right-hand side of your screen, helped the capsule descend to just about 11 miles per hour before touching down back on planet earth.

So Fred, the big question now, you know, why was this mission so important? And it's really two-fold. First, for the scientific reasons. Bennu is what's considered to be an ancient asteroid which really contains the seeds of life, things like water, carbon.

And so there's a theory that it was asteroids like this that actually seeded the earth when it impacted the earth or asteroids like it, impacted the earth, it seeded planet earth with life and that's how all life came to be perhaps on planet earth. So scientists really want to get some answers about that, the very origins of our solar system itself.

And then the other reason they wanted to do this mission was because, Fred, Bennu has a very, small chance -- a very, very small chance of actually hitting planet earth in the year 2182. So about 150 years from now.

It's a long ways off, it's not nearly as big as the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs, but it's big enough that NASA is a little concerned about it. They wanted to get up close and see what it's all about.

So now, this sample is in a clean room. Very important not to contaminate the sample with any particles from here on earth. And then it's going to be flown to the Johnson Space Center where it will actually be opened up to the public and we'll be able to actually see what is inside in about two weeks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh. So this was kind of a preemptive landing because we think that asteroid is going to, you know, impact earth -- anyway why not do it early.

So I'm wondering, it's extraordinary how they collected it, but then the delivery is extraordinary, too. Did it land -- that capsule land where they wanted it to land in order to, you know, get an easy retrieval?

[14:25:00]

FISHER: It landed exactly where it was supposed to land. It landed in this really remote part of the desert in Utah. And you could see some of those recovery teams on the ground. They had people waiting in four helicopters, and they swarmed the capsule once it landed.

It was very important that, you know, -- there's concern that you don't want to contaminate the capsule with anything here on earth. So you see them wearing gloves, protective clothing, and they also had to make sure that the battery pack on the capsule, the sample return capsule wasn't leaking any toxic gases.

You had one person go out, kind of be the guinea pig, test it out and then everybody else came back to carefully bring it back to that clean room.

But the capsule survived reentry, survived landing. So far mission success for NASA, Lockheed Martin and the entire Osiris Rex team.

WHITFIELD: That's pretty incredible. I mean the science behind the collection and the delivery all of it super fascinating.

Kristin Fisher, thanks for being bringing it to us. Appreciate it.

FISHER: Of course, Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up growing calls within his own party for Democratic Senator Bob Menendez to resign. This after indictments on federal bribery charges.

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[14:30:42]

WHITFIELD: There are growing calls from top Democrats in New Jersey for Senator Bob Menendez to resign after being charged with several corruption-related federal offenses. But Democratic leaders in Washington are so far divided on whether he should step down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): These are, in fact, indictments that have to be proven. Under the rule of law, the person who is accused is entitled to the presumption of innocence. It's the responsibility of the government to prove that case.

REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-NJ): I'd call on him, given the gravity of the charges, to step aside, as I said. I think right now given how we've got elections coming up, there's a lot of distractions, obviously, giving the senator time defend himself, I think it was best is that he step aside.

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): I'm leaving that up to Democrats in New Jersey. They have a Democratic governor.

KRISTEN WELKER, NBC NEWS HOST: But you're a Democrat, Congressman.

CLYBURN: Yeah.

WELKER: Doesn't this cast a cloud potentially over your party at a critical moment? Should he step down?

CLYBURN: I don't think so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The U.S. Justice Department accuses Menendez and his wife of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, including gold bars, cash, home mortgage payments and a luxury vehicle in exchange for the senator's influence.

And today, Senator Menendez was supposed to co-host a Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration in his New Jersey hometown, with producer and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda. But at the last minute, the event was postponed.

CNN's Polo Sandoval joining us now.

Polo, so what is Senator Menendez saying? POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the New Jersey senator remains

reluctant to step down, Fred. That's amid an increased chorus of criticism and also those calls from members of his own party to step down. As you mentioned, we were expecting to hear from him at his annual Hispanic Heritage Month event. And we reached out to his office, CNN has, to try to find out the official reason that event was postponed. But, look, that list of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle calling for his resignation, it goes on.

And here are a few more who made the rounds for his Sunday morning programming, including a Democratic member of the House of Representatives who explained why this allegations have a potential to impact them in their chamber as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): I do believe it is in the best interest for Senator Menendez to resign in this moment. As you mentioned, consistency matters. It shouldn't matter where it's a Republican or a Democrat. The details in this indictment are extremely serious. They involve the nature of not just his, but all of our seats in Congress.

MARTHA RADDATZ, ABC NEWS HOST: You think he should resign?

REP. MIKE TURNER (R-OH): Absolutely. I think everyone has been calling for his resignation. I think the body of allegations are certainly of the kind that it makes it very difficult for him to do his job.

SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): If you step down from chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, that's a serious step. I think Senator Menendez is going to have to think long and hard about the cloud that's going to hang over his service in the United States Senate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And then there's Senator John Fetterman who became the first Democratic member of the Senate in light of these allegations to call for his resignation last week. There are those like Dick Durbin who we heard from a short while ago seems to punt down to Menendez, but also his constituents, saying that they should decide this issue of potential resignation.

WHITFIELD: And then, Polo, in the wake of this indictment, a Democratic congressman from New Jersey has announced he will run against Senator Menendez. What more can you tell us about that?

SANDOVAL: Yeah, it didn't take long to hear from Representative Andy Kim who since 2019 has represented New Jersey's third congressional district, the Democrat actually taking the social media announcing his plan to run against the New Jersey senator during the upcoming re- election. You'll recall that he actually made headlines, at least Kim did, back -- after the January 6th insurrection, was photographed picking up some debris after rioters took to the Capitol. So, again, that's one name but something certainly tells us that he will not be the only opponent that may presently -- potentially throw their hat to the ring come next year.

WHITFIELD: All right. Polo Sandoval, thank you so much.

SANDOVAL: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. With me now to talk more about all of this and about Senator Menendez's charges is Joon Kim.

[14:35:02]

He is a former acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

All right. Good to see you.

So, based on what you've seen so far, how strong is this case against Menendez?

JOON KIM, FORMER ACTING U.S. ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: Good to see you. I looked at the indictment. There's a lot of facts in there. Obviously, as we've heard, you know, he's presumed innocent until proven guilty, but the evidence does seem to be quite strong. There's a lot of detail in the indictment including, as we've heard, allegations of close to $500,000 in cash, kilogram bars of gold, a $60,000 Mercedes convertible, text messages like Christmas in January. I think the evidence as laid out in the indictment seems quite strong.

WHITFIELD: And so, the evidence in terms of, you know, cash or gold car -- gold bars or even the car and then records of mortgage payments, that could certainly, you know, make a statement, you know, of opulence, but then the prosecutors have to tell a story about how these items came into his and his wife's possession.

Is it your feeling that that is going to be the greatest challenge that prosecutors have? Because they've got to connect the dots. Or is it your feeling that they have that?

KIM: Right. They have to tell a story and connect the dots, as you say. It has to be the cash, the gold, the car, in exchange for some official action of some kind. And actually, if you read the indictment in the U.S. Attorney Damian William's statement, he gets in front of that and notes that even in the senator's own website, it talked about actions he was not allowed to take, actions that are not normal constituent services.

And that includes things like intervening in a criminal investigation or trying to influence a matter involving private business, because they will have to show he took certain actions that is not -- that are not just normal constituent services in exchange for those -- the value that they got and the bribes.

And it does look like they know they need to do that. So they laid it out pretty clearly in the indictment. And some of these actions, like intervening in a criminal investigation, it's hard to argue that's appropriate or normal consistent services or it had nothing to do with the cash that came from the people you're trying to benefit. And if you see in the indictment, again, they went out of their way to establish those links, including fingerprints on the envelopes and the like.

So, I think they know -- they know what they need to show and prove and laid it out in the indictment pretty well.

WHITFIELD: And why do you believe the justice department seemed to work so hard to establish that in this kind of speaking indictment form?

KIM: Yeah, a few reasons. One, obviously this is a case that's going to get a lot of public attention. I think they knew the likely defense that was going to be asserted, saying this was just normal consistent services and how can you tie the quid for the pro quo? Because it needs to be a quid pro quo.

They knew this would be an important case that they would need to be established because he's already been convicted of previous charges. I'm sure they've worked hard to make sure that they have evidence of all the links that they need to establish, and truly respond to the defense arguments that they are likely to hear.

WHITFIELD: Okay. And this is, you know, not the first time Menendez has faced bribery charges. You know, the last federal case against him ended with a hung jury. The judge dropped all the charges against him.

But do you see similarities in those allegations or that alleged activity to this, you know, recent, you know, litany of charges?

KIM: Yeah, there are similarities. I think what is quite surprising is, if you look at the facts, how soon after the last case, the allegations are that he started engaging in these other actions. So, in many ways, it's quite brazen, but there are similarities. I think this case appears stronger in terms of the types of benefits he received. It wasn't -- the last case involved trips, hotel visits.

There were arguments about, you know, pre-existing friendships and, you know, the argument that they were criminalizing relationships, personal relationships he had.

[14:40:04]

It's a little harder to argue that when, you know, the value you're receiving is not a trip or a vacation but gold bars or literally cash in envelopes, or a convertible and monthly payments for it, that stopped the month after they were visited by the FBI. So, there are similarities, obviously, because it's -- they're both allegations of corruption and using the office for personal gain.

But these allegations and the evidence presented so far seem stronger and clearer in terms of the impropriety if they establish the evidence of the conduct.

WHITFIELD: And in this case, the allegations including these charges that he's accused of, you know, secretly aiding the government of Egypt. All right. Joon Kim --

KIM: Yeah.

WHITFIELD: -- thank you so much. Thanks for being with us this Sunday.

KIM: Sure. Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, the mayor of El Paso says the city is at a breaking point. The city is opening overflow shelters as it braces for a surge of migrants while Mexico agrees to deport migrants before they reach the U.S. southern border.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:45:27]

WHITFIELD: All right. Now to Texas where the influx of migrants at the U.S./Mexico border are reaching a breaking point. Right now, the city of El Paso, Texas, is receiving more than 2,000 migrants a day, forcing officials there to open an overflow shelter in a recreational center to deal with the influx.

And now, we're also learning that Mexican officials met with U.S. customs and border officials to come to an agreement on preventing migrants from using the railway system to reach the U.S./Mexico border.

CNN national correspondent Rafael Romo is here with more on this.

So, how did this agreement come about? And is there is a feeling that, you know, it will work or make an impact?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, let's start by saying that there's a lot of frustration and desperation at the border. Is it going to work? Let's see how they'll implement this.

And, frankly, you can really hear the frustration in the voice of the El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser when he spoke Saturday about the immigration crisis his border city is facing. The mayor emphasized his city has only so many resources and right now, they're stretched to the limit or right now a breaking point. He expressed his concerns only a day after Mexico made an agreement with the United States to deport migrants from its border cities to their home countries.

Mexican officials also agreed, and this is very important, to take a total of 15 actions to deter migrants from taking the perilous trek north, including negotiating with origin countries like Venezuela, Brazil, Nicaragua, Colombia and Cuba, allowing U.S. Border Patrol agents to expel migrants to Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, submitting the daily report on the number of migrants on cargo trains in Mexico, traveling north and establishing checkpoints on railroads and highways. These actions, Fred, can come soon enough for border leaders like Leeser. This is how he described the situation his city is facing right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR OSCAR LEESER, EL PASO, TEXAS: The city of El Paso only has so many resources, and we have come to what we look at as a breaking point right now. And so, we have to look at different resources. One of the things that we're doing is we're prepared for the unknown. We have a broken immigration system. And this is a system we have to work within. Until it's fixed, you know, we seem to be doing the same thing over and over again. They keep sending us money, and we keep trying to find shelter, and try to make sure people off the street, make sure our community is safe, make sure they're safe. But at the end of the day, the immigration system has not changed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Again, Fred, a lot of frustration from the mayor. And the city of El Paso opened an overflow shelter for 400 people Saturday, which will operate of their Tobin Recreation Center in northeast side. El Paso city manager Mario D'Agostino said his city currently has 6,500 migrants in its custody and it's receiving -- listen to this, Fred -- 2,000 migrants per day. It's just incredible what they're having to face right now.

WHITFIELD: Wow. So, once that facility opens up or, you know, overflows and is full, they've got to figure out what else to open up until there's some other kind of fix.

ROMO: Yeah. If you take into account that it's 2,000 people per day and they're opening a shelter for only 400 --

WHITFIELD: Yeah.

ROMO: -- it's only going to be so far --

WHITFIELD: Yeah. It's overflowing before it can even be opened.

ROMO: That's right.

WHITFIELD: All right. Got you. Rafael Romo, keep us posted. Thank you so much.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:53:15]

WHITFIELD: All right. The powerful earthquake that killed nearly 3,000 people in Morocco left many communities isolated from receiving any help. Thankfully, the World Central Kitchen was on the ground within hours to help feed some of the hardest hit areas in the country. The organization so far has served more than 400,000 meals.

Joining me right now is Zomi Frankcom, the Morocco activation manager for World Central Kitchen.

Zomi, great to see you.

I'm sure people were so relieved and happy to see you with your ability to serve hot meals so quickly.

You're there in Morocco now. Where -- where and what is the greatest need?

ZOMI FRANKCOM, MOROCCO ACTIVATION MANAGER, WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN: I'm terribly sorry. We seem to have a bad connection so I hope you can hear me. I'm just in a village not far from our kitchen at here in Asni, and so what we're hearing and seeing on the ground since World Central Kitchen arrived, not more than 24 hours after the first wake is really just incredible outpouring of support from Moroccan communities.

We are seeing really the heroes of the day which are some of these road crews who are cleaning up and making roads possible so that we're able to access communities and bring them fresh, hot meals as you see from our relief kitchen in Asni. We also have another which is in another town. And so, we are now cooking thousands of meals and taking those by every means available, which can be by mule sometimes, we've also been using dirt bikes and just the incredible community of Moroccans who helped us and guided us along the way.

[14:55:01]

WHITFIELD: Oh, okay, well, hopefully, we can continue this conversation because what you said is so fascinating. I can hear you clearly. Hopefully, you can hear me clearly, too.

So, it's been 15 days since the earthquake. And that you are delivering some meals via mule and that is remarkable. People aren't choosey about the food that they're going to eat when they are in need but what is it that you all are serving? What are you able to serve that is bringing such comfort?

FRANKCOM: So the chefs are guided by people like the chefs from the Moroccan Culinary Association and have really influenced our menus. So, for example, on Friday, it is customary and traditional in Morocco to eat couscous. So our chef made delicious couscous meals.

We've had Tajin-style Moroccan meals with things like preserved lemon and beautiful, fresh herbs. And we've also been working closely with an organic apple cooperative. So, every day, our apples include a wonderful, crunchy, juicy, organic apple.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that is so beautiful that you are able, you know, to be culturally sensitive. I'm sure that helps and really warms the heart in a very special way.

Zomi Frankcom, thank you so much. We're only cutting it short because our signal is so difficult right now, but you all are doing a great job. And we are so glad you are able to help us. Thank you so much.

FRANKCOM: Thank you so much.

WHITFIELD: And for more information about how you can help victims of the Morocco earthquake, go to CNN.com/impact.

And we'll be right back.

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