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U.S. Government On The Brink Of A Government Shutdown; First Trump Codefendant Pleads Guilty; Russian Sympathizer Is Leading Candidate For Slovakia PM; Over 100 Ukrainian Settlements Under Russian Fire On Friday; UAW Says Long Way To Deal With Ford; Arrest Made In Killing Of Rapper Tupac Shakur; Rugby World Cup. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired September 30, 2023 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from the United States and around the world. I'm Laila Harrak.
The U.S. government less than 24 hours away from shutting down. We'll look at the Republican infighting that's making a deal nearly impossible.
Plus a state of emergency in New York City as highways, subways and even LaGuardia Airport are flooded.
And a murder mystery nearly 30 years in the making. Police just arrested a suspect in the shooting death of rapper Tupac Shakur.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Laila Harrak.
HARRAK: The U.S. government is down to its final day of operation before it must shut down, beginning at midnight, Sunday, Eastern time. On Friday, rebellious Republicans roundly rejected U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's latest attempt to gain their support.
Unless there is a breakthrough this weekend, active duty troops and border agents may soon have to work without pay. Food assistance for millions could be at risk. Government loans to farmers, students and small businesses wouldn't be processed.
And air travel could be disrupted if unpaid TSA workers don't show up, as has happened before. And the list keeps on going. Well, after his failed vote on Friday, McCarthy emerged from his conference suggesting a new option.
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REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: I think if we had a clean one without Ukraine on it, we could probably be able to move that through. I think if the Senate puts Ukraine on there and focuses Ukraine over America, I think that could cause real problems.
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HARRAK: We get the latest now from CNN's Manu Raju on Capitol Hill.
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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As Congress is staring at a government shutdown, if there is no deal by 11:59 pm on Saturday night, speaker McCarthy is making a new demand.
He is saying that the Senate, which is trying to move a bill, a bipartisan bill through its chamber, he says the Senate must drop, as part of that bill, $6 billion that's included for aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia.
He said that if the Senate continues to push for aid to Ukraine, the government will shut down. That is a new threat that McCarthy is making and suggesting perhaps that there could be a short term bill to keep the government open for two weeks if Ukraine is dropped.
There's still a lot of questions about whether or not the country could actually get the votes to do that. If he relied on Democratic votes to do, that would that be enough to push him out of the Speakership?
Because that has been a warning that has been leveled by a number of conservative members, saying that, if McCarthy does rely on Democratic votes, that will be enough to kick him out of his job.
Something that the Speaker has brushed, off but a threat that is very real. Now this comes as there is growing tension within the GOP ranks amid these divisions. Some of them are moderate members, furious at the conservative hardliners, who have scuttled the Speaker's plans on Friday afternoon.
The Speaker tried to get a bill through the chamber on Republican votes alone. With spending cuts, border security measures, things that Democrats oppose but also are opposed by some of those far-right members who wanted deeper cuts.
Some of them now are warning about political blowback if the government does shut down, saying they would fall on their party.
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REP. MIKE GARCIA (R-CA): It's a very dangerous tactic to take to say I want to shut the damn thing down. It especially doesn't benefit the conservative platform.
REP. MICHAEL LAWLER (R-NY): At the end of the day, any final bill is going to be bipartisan. And if somebody doesn't realize that, they're truly clueless. SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): Well, I think it's bad policy and it's bad
politics. They don't realize that, you know, that means not paying our Border Patrol agents, not paying our military, our veterans and perhaps slowing down the payment of Medicare and Social Security benefits. That doesn't achieve the goal.
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RAJU: The Senate and the House are coming into session on Saturday. That rarely happens. But there is some expectation that there will be votes in both chambers. In the Senate, there will be a procedural vote to move forward with that bipartisan proposal.
We'll see if the Senate leaders suddenly change their plans in a way to meet McCarthy's demands. In the meantime, McCarthy is going to assess whether or not he can get Republican support for a short term bill that does not include Ukraine aid but maybe does not go far enough as many of those hardliners would like --
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RAJU: -- all raising major questions about whether a shutdown will indeed happen, how long it would last and the ramifications that would happen, both economically and politically, if this were to play out. Major questions as Congress returns to session on Saturday to see if they can find a way out of this -- Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
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HARRAK: As McCarthy struggles to rein in the hardliners, the Senate's leaders were clearly unhappy the U.S. appears to be heading into a costly and unnecessary government shutdown. Take a listen.
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SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: Shutting down the government doesn't help anybody politically. It doesn't make any meaningful progress on policy. And it keeps unnecessary hardships on the American people, as well as the brave men and women who keep us safe.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MAJORITY LEADER: The Speaker needs to abandon his doomed mission of trying to please MAGA extremists. And instead, he needs to work across the aisle to keep the government open. Things seem to be getting worse for the Speaker rather than better. And it's time for him to try bipartisanship.
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HARRAK: Well, with us now from London is Leslie Vinjamuri. She's the director of the U.S. and the Americas Programme at Chatham House.
So good to have you with us. It's difficult to see what path forward.
Do you see anything that could head off a shutdown of this late stage?
LESLIE VINJAMURI, CHATHAM HOUSE: It is very difficult to see, especially with a failed vote on Friday. As we see, the far right's very small but, in this instance, very powerful group of members from Republicans from the House, who are digging in their heels and making it very difficult for Kevin McCarthy to make that decision to bring a bill to the House that could actually be passed.
And I think that is the crux of the problem. We know that there is a problem solvers' caucus working to come up with a bill that could potentially be taken forward in the Senate first. But again, there's no guarantee that that would then go to the House.
The House is now saying that it wants to focus on passing those longer-term spending bills rather than a short stopgap measure, which is what is really needed. And you know, we just heard that focus on Ukraine aid.
But the other really big issue here are two things. One is that it's very difficult to get a broad enough number of people to vote for what have been very extreme cuts across some very important welfare programs. That was in that bill yesterday. That's why Democrats opposed it.
And many Republicans for different reasons come together to block McCarthy. And the second thing is that in that stopgap measure that the Senate is mulling over, border security would need to go into that in order to get enough Republicans on board. And getting that agreed fast enough to prevent a shutdown will be quite difficult.
HARRAK: Quite difficult. I want to talk about President Biden. He's keeping a very low profile.
What kind of leverage do the Democrats haven't all this?
VINJAMURI: Well, again, if you look at, this is really something for Congress. Congress has to appropriate the money. And if you look across both the Senate and the House, the majority of members of Congress and senators would like to see a deal, would be willing to work very, very hard across the aisle.
It's not easy. The U.S. government has faced this before but the situation that we're in right now, having this radical, partisan polarization, where you've got a very small, very vocal number of Republicans in the House, about 20-21 that McCarthy's beholden to.
And they're not looking at the interests of -- certainly not of the country, not of Congress and not even of their own party. These are individuals who are making a name for themselves, who are very popular on social media, who are raising money on the back of taking very extreme positions.
So how do you bring those individuals into some sort of notion of a broader collective interest? That's really the problem. It comes down to very hard deals. And at the far end, there is a question of whether or not speaker McCarthy can survive this particular period politically.
HARRAK: That was going to be my next question. I mean, all eyes are on the House Speaker. He is literally in the eye of the storm. Describe his position right now. A lot is riding for him on this.
Can he professionally survive this?
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VINJAMURI: Well, again, he is beholden to -- if you go back to how he came to his position, multiple votes, very large number of compromises.
And he's come up through and with, necessarily, the support of House Republicans, who simply are not demonstrating any willingness to strike the kind of bipartisan compromises or even compromises within their party that have been the bread and butter of congressional politics for a very long time, even prior to this period of radical partisan polarization.
So he's in an extremely difficult position and he has not so far demonstrated that he is willing to bring the bills to the House that can get a broader number of votes. And so, it is very difficult to see the path forward right now.
HARRAK: Very difficult to see the path forward. You know, we're going into the election next year.
What kind of ramifications could this have?
HARRAK: It is the big question. Pew has done a study recently, showing that fewer than two in 10 Americans have trust in the government. This was just run; clearly a significant part of this is linked to.
(INAUDIBLE) intend to ignore for a very long time this conversation that tends to bubble up about whether there will be a shutdown in the government, that assumption in the ninth inning, that something will be passed and the government will remain open.
There are sometimes temporary shutdowns of a few days. But this is different, not only this Congress but this particular moment.
The question, then do people blame the president?
Do they blame Congress?
Which party do they blame?
And in the short term, certainly, those Republicans that have gained office in seats in districts that really went for Biden are the most vulnerable. They are certainly very concerned. They can see that they will take the blame if the government is closed, certainly for an extended period of time. It doesn't, in the medium term -- if a shutdown continues, it doesn't
reflect well on anybody. It hurts the Democrats, it hurts the Republicans and it certainly hurts the president.
So all in all -- and most members of Congress, most members of the Senate, they understand this. They know this. They've been around the block. And they are working hard under extremely different, difficult circumstances.
HARRAK: Leslie Vinjamuri, thank you so much for joining us.
VINJAMURI: Thank you.
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HARRAK: A surprise development in the Georgia election subversion case. One of former U.S. president Donald Trump's codefendants has now taken a plea deal to avoid jail time. In exchange, he'll have to testify against the others. CNN's Katelyn Polantz reports.
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KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Pieces are falling into place as the first trial related to January 6th and accusations against Donald Trump is set to go forward in a little less than a month.
And the first piece that fell into place on Friday is that a defendant in that 19 defendant case in Fulton County, Georgia, has pleaded guilty. His name is Scott Hall. He's a bail bondsman in Georgia. He's pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor charges, conspiracy counts related to interfering in elections.
And Scott Hall, you might not have heard his name before; he isn't a minor player, though. He is a person in Georgia that was very well connected after the 2020 election. He was in touch with a top official at Donald Trump's Justice Department, named Jeffrey Clark, who is now also a codefendant with him.
He was also in touch with people who were leaders in the Republican Party, who became fake electors for Donald Trump, additional codefendants. And he was part of that effort where people are accused of hacking into voting machines or systems in Coffee County, Georgia, a rural county, after the election.
So Scott Hall's plea deal, it does include him already being sentenced, getting five years of probation, community service and a few thousand dollars in fines.
But on top of, that he must testify at upcoming trials if he's called by prosecutors. And that trial, that is set to go in October, when jury selection will begin in Fulton County, Georgia, that is currently against two of the 19 defendants in this case, Sydney Powell and Ken Chesebro, both attorneys who worked around Donald Trump after the election. Donald Trump is not set to be a defendant at that trial but both
Powell and Chesebro, as they get ready for trial, they're are going to have to make decisions just like other defendants in this case.
There were attorneys, prosecutors in this case in Georgia on Friday who indicated that they are going to be offering plea deals to them and to potentially other people in this case. That's very expected.
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POLANTZ: And there is very likely to be others that would be taking plea deals, just as Scott Hall did in this case.
But Ken Chesebro and Sidney Powell, they'll have to make their decisions first since they're going to trial first. At the same, time there are other pieces coming into play here, where the case is not being moved, it's not been split up further, after several people who had affiliations with the federal government in some way, those fake electors, as well as Jeffrey Clark, that Justice Department official.
They had all tried to move their case to federal court and a trial judge said, no, that's not going to happen; it's all going to be staying together in state court.
So right now, we have two sets of people going to trial, first in October and then the rest later on. And we're going to be watching for more possible guilty pleas in the near future -- Katelyn Polantz, CNN, Washington.
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HARRAK: People in the northeastern U.S. will be trying to dry out and checking for possible damage after Friday's record-setting rainstorms that overwhelmed the region.
There is more rain in the forecast in the coming hours. But nothing like the torrential downpours that brought life-threatening flooding on Friday, overwhelming homes, businesses, streets and subways across New York and surrounding areas.
More rain fell in one single day at New York's Kennedy Airport than any other day on record. According to flightaware.com, 512 flights into or out of the city's three major airports were canceled on Friday.
And the governors of New York and New Jersey declared states of emergency because of the storm. CNN's Polo Sandoval has more on the story.
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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chaos in New York City, as heavy rain pounded the five boroughs in the surrounding areas and more is yet to come.
Brooklyn saw a month's worth, some 4.5 inches in only three hours. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is unbelievable. I've never seen this situation happen, this is crazy. I don't know how they're going to get this water out.
SANDOVAL: Knee-deep water flooded streets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In about 10 minutes, it was waist high.
SANDOVAL: Forcing some citizens to abandon their cars and others to create makeshift failures to protect their homes and businesses. Flooded subway stations in Brooklyn, had at least 10 lines suspended and even buses taking on water while still in service.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my goodness.
SANDOVAL: As they tried to wade through the floods. New York's airport wasn't spared either. LaGuardia's historic air terminal flooded. In the Bronx, the National Weather Service warning that the Bronx River reached major flood stage with the levels hovering close to five feet. Mayor Eric Adams declaring a state of emergency for the city.
MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D-NY), NEW YORK CITY: This is time for heightened alertness and extreme caution. As your home, stay home. If you are at work or school, shelter in place for now.
SANDOVAL: The mayor facing criticism for taking so long to clear the state of emergency and to address the public.
ADAMS: This administration operates as a team.
And I want my commissioners, my deputy commissioners, the leaders of this team who are closest to the ground of the situation to communicate throughout this administration, we have good team leaders that are confident, that understand the subject matter and they know how to lead.
Leadership is not only the mayor, it is all those who are placed in those positions. That's what you saw.
SANDOVAL: According to "The New York Times," Adams attended a campaign fundraiser Thursday to celebrate his 63rd birthday earlier this month. He did not declare a state of emergency until shortly before noon on Friday just before the press conference, hours after the deluge of rain that begun.
Officials said Friday the wettest day on record in the city since Hurricane Ida two years ago. They warned it's not over yet.
GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D-NY): Our priority once the immediate and -- the immediate aftermath of the first wave of this storm, it could come back again.
SANDERS: During the height of the storm, one New York City official said that what was experienced on Friday offers a window into the future, saying that climate change is moving much faster than the infrastructure can respond. It is why we saw many roads flooding in New York City -- Polo Sandoval, CNN, Brooklyn, New York.
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HARRAK: Russia marks the first anniversary of its illegal annexation of four regions in Ukraine. But as Moscow celebrates, people in those regions could have draft letters on the way. We will explain.
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HARRAK (voice-over): A major arrest in the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur almost three decades after he was gunned down on the Las Vegas Strip.
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HARRAK: Voting is now underway in Slovakia for a general election that could see a Kremlin sympathizer return to power. Former prime minister Robert Fico's party has been leading in the polls. He is pledging to cut off military support for Ukraine if he comes out on top.
That is causing alarm in the West. The election will determine who will be the country's fifth prime minister in just four years. CNN's Scott McLean takes a closer look at what is at stake.
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SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Slovakia is a NATO member, an E.U. member. It borders Ukraine and it has been one of its strongest allies since the outset of the war. It has sent helicopters, air defense and artillery systems but that may soon stop.
That's because the leading candidate for prime minister of Slovakia is a man named Robert Fico. He has been prime minister twice before. He is a well known quantity in the country. He is also openly sympathetic to Moscow, claiming that it was "Ukrainian Nazis and fascists," in his words, who provoked Russia into war.
He says that sending weapons to Ukraine only prolongs the conflict.
MCLEAN (voice-over): So he says that if he takes office, he will not send Ukraine even one more round of ammunition. He is framing this as a Peace Initiative, especially in light of rising inflation, rising cost of living that is squeezing people's budgets.
[04:25:00] MCLEAN: Slovakia has also taken in more than a hundred thousand Ukrainian refugees, which is further straining the public purse. And there's also this, FICO doesn't think that Ukraine can win. Listen.
ROBERT FICO, SLOVAKIAN PRIME MINISTERIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): Please, can someone explain to me why tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of soldiers should be dying on either side of this conflict?
They will have to sit down anyway and find an agreement because Russia will never leave Crimea, never leave the territories that it controls in Ukraine.
So what is this conflict good for?
MCLEAN: What is especially remarkable is that Fico was forced out of office by scandal in 2018 but because of, at least in part, political chaos and infighting in recent years, Fico has managed to not only rehabilitate his image, he is now the frontrunner.
Slovakia, though, has a lot of political parties and it is very likely that he will need the support of another to govern as a coalition and while FICO may pair with a more moderate party, he hasn't ruled out the possibility of pairing with a far-right party with even more extreme views on Russia and Ukraine -- Scott McLean, CNN, London.
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HARRAK: Ukraine says Russia has launched at least 50 drones in a new wave of attacks in southern Ukraine overnight. Military officials say 30 drones were shot down. But others hit an infrastructure facility, causing a massive fire.
Meanwhile, Russian president Vladimir Putin stuck to his standard script as he marked one year since declaring an annexation of four occupied regions in Ukraine.
He addressed the nation in this video released on Friday, claiming again that the annexation reflected the will of the people and complied with international norms, which is not true, of course.
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HARRAK (voice-over): Crowds were cheering for Russia at a large concert in Moscow that marked the anniversary on Friday. Despite Mr. Putin's words, the annexation did violate international law and was widely condemned. The referenda that preceded the annexation's were largely dismissed as shams.
But some people in Moscow still got behind the Kremlin's message.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I think this concert is a very touching occasion. I go to Donetsk. I know what it is like to be under fire and I understand what we are fighting for. So I came in support.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Since I have an education in history, I am in favor of our Russian territories being with us and, most importantly, the people. People have already suffered so much that it is time to return to our native lands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRAK: For more, Katie Polglase joins us from London.
Talk to us about the Kremlin's message here.
KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE RESEARCHER: The message here is that these areas are part of Russia, that what has happened in the last 1.5 years has been part of a voluntary reunification with Russia, rather than an illegal annexation, an invasion of Ukraine, as Ukraine and the Western allies are framing it.
Clearly this is heavily disputed and these areas are still receiving a lot of fighting. A lot of these areas are close to the front line. We reported just earlier this week various deaths and fatalities in Kherson. This is one of the areas that has been annexed and they are now celebrating this one year anniversary.
These areas are still very much contested. But according to the Kremlin narrative here, clearly it is that these areas now belong to Russia. And there has been a voluntary will to become part of Russia, rather than Ukraine seeing it as an illegal annexation.
This is part of the narrative that Putin has been conducting. And he mentioned just earlier this week, Ukraine was the aggressor in this regard and Ukraine had been stopping people from expressing their will to join the Russian motherland. Have a listen to what Putin had to say.
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VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): There were attempts to scare them, strip them of their right to decide their own future, their fate, to take away things that are dear to every person -- culture, traditions, mother tongue.
All the things that were so hated by nationalists and their Western patrons, who organized a coup in Kyiv in 2014.
People of Russia supported the free and unequivocal choice of our brothers and sisters wholeheartedly. People of Russia understood it and deeply felt the main thing: by protecting our compatriots in Donbas and Zaporizhzhya (ph), we protect Russia itself.
We fight together for the motherland, our sovereignty, spiritual values and unity, our victory.
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POLGLASE: Now clearly it is something Putin's wanting to express, here that there is support for joining Russia. It is also worth bearing in mind that not only is there, fighting but civilians have been evacuated from several of these areas.
We were talking earlier this month about parts of Zaporizhzhya being evacuated by the Ukrainian authorities because of attacks, shelling in those areas. These areas are still heavily disputed, heavily contested. But clearly the message from the Kremlin is that there is, stability, control.
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POLGLASE: And these areas are no longer disputed but part of the Russian motherland.
HARRAK: Meanwhile, the Russian leader issued another conscription decree.
POLGLASE: Again, this is part of a notion that these areas are now Russian and therefore these are Russian citizens. So decrees apply to these areas as well and those include military conscription. Again, very notable, because whether they will be fighting.
But it becomes part of a broader narrative about these areas being part of Russia. Ukrainians not only in these areas but other areas still in Ukrainian control, now being able to access travel to Russia without a visa or documentation.
All of this trying to create a positive message. They are areas that are free, wanting to join with Russia, have closer cooperation with the Russian authorities, rather than areas that are clearly disputed and in come cases under clear military control, military conscription as well.
Clearly part of a broader message and also very practical and needed for the Russian authorities as we head into the winter. This counteroffensive on the Ukrainian side making some marginal progress.
The NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said the counteroffensive is making gains. All of this is a concern to Russia. They need further support, not only ammunition but they also need further soldiers. So conscription in that sense will be very much needed.
HARRAK: Katie Polglase in, London thank you so much.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
HARRAK (voice-over): This was the scene inside Iran on Friday, one day before the city marked the first anniversary of Bloody Friday, when Iranian security forces killed 82 marchers and injured hundreds more. It happened during protests last year over the death of Mahsa Amini while she was in morality police custody.
Activists in Zahedan said on Friday their memorials were met with gunfire. They say authorities tightened security before the anniversary but government-run news says security forces are present every week in the city.
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HARRAK: Another day, another failed vote in the Republican-controlled House to avoid a government shutdown. Now the GOP leader pitching one more idea. Details on that just ahead.
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HARRAK: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Laila Harrak and you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is now suggesting a new option to avoid a government shutdown. But he's almost out of time. Less than 20 hours remain before the government is officially out of money.
On Friday, McCarthy tried but failed to get a short term measure through the House of Representatives. Well now, McCarthy is proposing taking up the Senate's bill but without the additional aid to Ukraine.
The Senate is expected to hold a procedural vote on that stopgap bill later today. The Speaker said he thinks he might get enough Republicans on board to support the Senate legislation if the aid to Ukraine is taken out.
It's worth noting that these same lawmakers will still get paid, even if there is a long shutdown. Not so for more than 1 million active duty military who will be required to keep showing up every day, even sacrificing their lives but forego a much-needed paycheck. CNN's Oren Liebermann has more now from the Pentagon.
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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: On the last military payday before a looming government shutdown, Joanna Nicoletti is worried about the unknown.
JOANNA NICOLETTI, U.S. MILITARY SPOUSE: We have childcare costs, we have student loans. We have bills to pay. We have a mortgage to pay.
And where is that money going to come from? LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Shutdown would leave Nicoletti's family and 1.3 million other active duty service members without, pay even as they have to keep working. Nicoletti and her Army spouse, a recent family emergency makes it even harder.
NICOLETTI: We were not anticipating this on top of an already financially challenging time.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Ginger Gerrish lost her husband's paycheck during the last shutdown in 2018-19. At the time, Congress made sure the military got paid except for the Coast Guard, where he husband serves, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security. This time, there is no such measure to pay troops.
GINGER GERRISH, U.S. MILITARY SPOUSE: It is difficult when you can't count on your elected officials to protect you, when you're literally protecting them and your country.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): It is not just military paychecks that would stop during the shutdown. Some Defense Department childcare centers will close and onbase commissaries could close if this goes on too long.
A quarter of all active duty service members already experienced food insecurity in recent years. According to a study commissioned by the Defense Department, a shutdown will only make things harder, especially for junior enlisted. Organizations like the Armed Services YMCA are ready to offer more help now.
DORENE OCAMB, CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, ARMED SERVICES YMCA: Making sure that, if we need to, we are adding food distribution events, either through our branches or through our cardinal organizations to ensure that at least once a week there will be a food distribution in those areas, where possible.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Melissa Shaw says service members in her husband's unit have put on a brave face about a potential shutdown. But the concern is real.
MELISSA SHAW, U.S. MILITARY SPOUSE: Over the last 24 hours in particular, we've had a chat thread going with many other families in our unit. And what they are telling us is, right now, they're choosing to be optimistic. They are choosing to hope for the best and plan for the worst.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): A military life requires the willingness to make sacrifices for the country, like facing the challenges of deployments and moves. But a shutdown is different, not a threat from an enemy but a self-inflicted wound.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is always the sacrifice. And this is just another way that we are potentially being forced to sacrifice so that my staff and their family can serve.
LIEBERMANN: In previous shutdowns, Congress has acted to make sure that the military gets paid even if and when the government stops functioning in the shutdown. But Congress has not done, that at least not yet in this case.
It means we are a very short time away from 1.3 million active duty service members having to work without pay -- Oren Liebermann, CNN, in the Pentagon.
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HARRAK: The president of the United Auto Workers says there is still a long way to go before the union reaches a possible deal with carmaker Ford. Despite Ford saying earlier in the day that the two sides were making significant progress toward a deal.
The union chief, says they are far apart on core economic proposals about wage increases, retirement, health care and job security amid the industry's transition to electric vehicles.
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HARRAK: The UAW again expanded a strike against GM and Ford on Friday, with thousands more workers joining the picket lines at factories in Illinois and Michigan.
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SHAWN FAIN, PRESIDENT, UNITED AUTO WORKERS: And so nothing has changed from day one of where we, stand and what we expect. You know, it is unfortunate companies chose to wait, almost seven weeks to get serious about bargaining.
They put themselves in this position. So, no, expectations have not changed. Our demands have not changed. And we are bargaining hard. We have been there every day.
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HARRAK: Meanwhile, the union says negotiations are progressing with Stellantis. In total, more than 25,000 workers are striking across all three automakers.
A trailblazer in American politics has died. Dianne Feinstein was the longest serving woman in the history of the U.S. Senate. Elected in 1992, the Democrat was also the longest serving senator from California and the first woman senator from the state.
She chaired the Senate Intelligence Committee and led a review of the CIA's detention and interrogation program, following 9/11. She became mayor of San Francisco in 1978 after the mayor and a supervisor were assassinated.
The experience led her to becoming a strong advocate of gun control measures. She was behind the assault weapons ban that Bill Clinton signed into law in 1994. She announced earlier this year that she would retire at the end of her term as the oldest member of the Senate.
Feinstein had been in failing health for years. Fellow Democrat Chuck Schumer eulogized her on the Senate floor.
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SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MAJORITY LEADER: So today, we grieve. We look at that desk and we know what we have lost. But we also give thanks, thanks to someone so rarefied, so brave, so graceful a presence served in this chamber for -- that someone like that served in this chamber for so many years.
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HARRAK: Dianne Feinstein was 90 years old.
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HARRAK: After nearly three decades, an arrest in the killing of rapper Tupac Shakur. Duane Keith Davis told police about his role in Shakur's death in 2009. But that confession was part of what is called a proffer agreement.
That could not be used against him. But that all changed when Davis started talking publicly about his involvement in Shakur's death. CNN's Josh Campbell picks up the story.
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JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The murder of Tupac Shakur, a mystery leading to and the speculation and conspiracy theories for decades since the rapper was gunned down in Las Vegas in 1996.
He was in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, for the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon boxing match and was shot four times while riding in the passenger seat of a Black BMW alongside Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight.
Just 25 years old, Shakur died six days later. His killer or killers were never apprehended. But tonight, a breakthrough in the investigation.
LT. JASON JOHANSSON, LAS VEGAS POLICE DEPARTMENT: We are here today to announce the arrest of 60-year- old Duane Keith Davis, aka Keefe D, for the murder of Tupac Shakur.
CAMPBELL: The Las Vegas police say Davis was the leader and, quote, "shot caller" of the South Side Compton Crips, a gang that had an ongoing feud with the street gang closely affiliated, police say, with Suge Knight.
According to police, it was this fight captured on surveillance video from a Las Vegas hotel between Orlando Anderson, another member of the South Side Compton Crips, and members of Death Row Records that police say ultimately led to Shakur's death.
JOHANSSON: That's when Duane Davis began to devise a plan to obtain a firearm and retaliate against Suge Knight and Mr. Shakur.
CAMPBELL: The plan, police say, was Terrence Brown, DeAndre Smith and Orlando Anderson to ride together in a white Cadillac and hunt down Knight and Shakur as they made their way to a Las Vegas nightclub.
JOHANSSON: As they were driving west on Flamingo Road near Koval, they located the black BMW, which was driven by Suge Knight, and in the passenger seat was Tupac Shakur. They pulled up near the passenger side of the vehicle and immediately began shooting at Mr. Knight and Mr. Shakur.
Following the shooting, the white Cadillac fled the area.
CAMPBELL: Davis is the only surviving suspect, police say and ultimately it was his own words that reignited the investigation. Davis describing the moment he says he had with Anderson whom he calls Lane a gun while riding in the white Cadillac.
In audio featured in the documentary, "Murder Rap: Inside the Biggie and Tupac Murders."
DUANE DAVIS, SUSPECT: I gave it to Dre and Dre was like, no, no, no. And Lane was like, "Dude, pop the dudes."
CAMPBELL: Davis told a similar story during a BET interview in 2018.
JOHANSSON: It wasn't until 2018 that this course was reinvigorated as additional information came to light, related to this homicide. Specifically, Duane Davis' own admissions to his involvement in the homicide investigation that he provided to numerous different media outlets.
CAMPBELL: For family and fans of Shakur, Davis' arrest is bittersweet after waiting an agonizing 27 years for answers to the murder of an artist who impacted the lives of so many in the music industry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I miss my brother. So you know, I'm glad that something is happening. I'm glad something's happening.
CAMPBELL: Now CNN is attempting to locate attorney information for both Davis and Suge Knight. Finally we learned an interesting detail on Friday. A retired Los Angeles Police Department officer who worked this investigation told our colleague, Jake Tapper, that Davis had allegedly confessed to police back in 2009.
However, that took place during what is called a proffer session. That is when a prosecutor meets with a defendant. They agree to gather useful information from a witness or defendant. But that information can't be used against that person.
This former LAPD officer saying, it wasn't until later, once Davis started speaking publicly about this, case that authorities had what they believed they needed to charge him -- Josh Campbell, CNN, Los Angeles.
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HARRAK: CNN has confirmed that French billionaire Bernard Arnault is being investigated for alleged money laundering. Prosecutors are looking into questionable real estate transactions involving Arnault and a Russian oligarch.
But the French publication, "Le Monde," cited a person close to Arnault, who says the transaction was in compliance with the law. Arnault is the world's second richest person behind Elon Musk. He owns LVMH, a luxury goods giant with 75 labels, including Louis Vuitton.
Still, ahead New Zealand is facing a record fourth title at the Rugby World Cup with two weeks in between matches.
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HARRAK: They needed win against Italy to keep their hopes live. A preview of today's matches, that is next.
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HARRAK: Now to the Rugby World Cup, where New Zealand's All Blacks jumped into second place in Pool A after a resounding win against Italy on Friday. CNN's Patrick Snell has the highlights.
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PATRICK SNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A huge game for Rugby World Cup powerhouse New Zealand, who faced Italy on Friday night in Lyon. The All Blacks are looking to win the tournament by a record fourth time.
But they're up against a Missou (ph) team that knew that if they could seal the famous win, they would be through to the quarterfinals with the Kiwis on their way home. That's easier said than done, of course.
And sure enough, with just 6 minutes on the clock, it would be Will Jordan who puts New Zealand ahead. It's a stunning try. Beauden Barrett (ph) landing his cross field kick, just perfectly for Jordan. And the flying winner taking the ball in his stride, brilliantly somehow managing to ground the ball cleanly with the rest of his body in the air.
How is that even possible?
He gets the job done. New Zealand would leave nothing to chance in this game, going on to score a total of 14 tries, really one-sided victory, some stunning tries, though. We showed you just one there from Jordan. And this superb, free-flowing move that culminates in Mark Telea (ph)
going over in style for his team. A massive victory for the three-time world champions. As I said, leaving nothing to chance.
The match also featuring a 33-minute hat-trick from scrum-half Aaron Smith as the New Zealand run out, very easy winners 96 points to 17. New Zealand will seal their spot in the last eight with a victory over Uruguay in their final pool game. That's on Thursday. The Italians have to beat the host nation France if they are to get to the quarterfinals.
After just one game on Friday, a full slate later Saturday with three matches in France, Scotland will be seeking a second victory in Pool b as they take on Romania. Fiji will do the same against Georgia. That's in Pool c. A win for Fiji will be bad news for Australia.
Argentina's Pumas still in the mix, having played the game less. They take on struggling Chile. And that one in Pool D will be all over the rugby action. You can count on it this weekend on CNN's "WORLD SPORT." But for now, it's right back to you.
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HARRAK: Our thanks to Patrick Snell there.
Mexico has opened an exhibit of rare Aztec artifacts that haven't been seen publicly since they were buried more than 500 years ago. The remarkably well preserved wood carvings include masks, scepters and ancient weapons, such as spear throwers.
Most were excavated from the ruins of the Aztecs' holiest shrine. They're now on display at the adjacent museum in Mexico City. The curator says they give us a rare glimpse into previous Hispanic arts and religious practices.
And that wraps up this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Laila Harrak, we will be back with much more on that looming U.S. government shutdown after a quick break. Do stay with us.
