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House Speaker McCarthy in Jeopardy With a Threat to Oust Him; Biden Asking Congress to Approve Ukraine Aid; Spain's Deadly Nightclub Fire Leaves 13 Dead; Ethnic Armenians Get Help From United Nations. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired October 02, 2023 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead on "CNN Newsroom," one crisis ends as another begins. Why U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's decision to work across the aisle to avoid a government shutdown has now put his leadership role at risk.

U.S. funding for Ukraine also on the line after being left out of the government spending bill. What that could mean for Kyiv's fight against Russia.

And the search for victims in Spain after flames ripped through a nightclub leaving more than a dozen people dead with fears that number could rise.

Thanks for joining us. Well, after Congress narrowly passed a short- term spending bill to keep the government open, U.S. President Joe Biden is now urging lawmakers to approve new funding plans before the next deadline. He says lawmakers should pass a year-long budget deal and authorize war aid for Ukraine within the next month and a half. He's also calling on both parties to act fast, saying they should stop waiting until the last minute to get things done.

But getting House Republicans in line for a vote could become more challenging in the days ahead. A far-right Republican who opposed the spending bill says he will soon try to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy after he worked with Democrats to pass the measure. Matt Gaetz told CNN that he will soon force a vote on whether to remove McCarthy, saying the Republican leader cannot be trusted.

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REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): I do intend to file a motion to vacate against Speaker McCarthy this week. I think we need to rip off the Band-Aid. I think we need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy. Look, the one thing everybody has in common is that nobody trusts Kevin McCarthy. The only way Kevin McCarthy is Speaker of the House at the end of this coming week is if Democrats bail him out.

(END VIDE CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Arlette Saenz has more on the congressional tensions and President Biden's challenge to lawmakers.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden said it's good news a government shutdown was averted, but he's urging lawmakers to get to work as the next government funding deadline is about 45 days away. The president is pushing Congress and lawmakers to avoid these last minute down to the wire negotiations as played out over the weekend. And what the president wants to see is House Republicans stick to that budget agreement that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy had arranged with the White House last spring during the debt ceiling fight.

The president also lamented the brinksmanship that is occurring up on Capitol Hill and said that this down-to-the-wire talks was a quote, "manufactured crisis" by Republicans. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I'm sick and tired of the brinksmanship and so are the American people. There's no excuse for another crisis. Consequently, I strongly urge my Republican friends in Congress not to wait. Don't waste time as you did all summer. Pass a year-long budget agreement. Honor the deal we made a few months ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: One big question for President Biden is whether he'll be able to secure additional aid for Ukraine. The president asked for about $24 billion in funding for the war-torn country, but that was dropped from this deal that was struck over the weekend as there was opposition among some hardline Republicans in the House. The president is urging lawmakers to stop playing games and get this aid passed.

The president and House Democratic leadership have suggested that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will be putting forward a separate vote on Ukraine aid in the coming weeks. But so far, McCarthy's office has not detailed any plan for when or how to do that, leaving many questions and the fate of that Ukraine aid up in the air. Arlette Saenz, CNN, the White House.

CHURCH: The Republican division in the House doesn't seem to be impacting Donald Trump's campaign for president. On Sunday, he said he was not aware of the potential plan to oust Kevin McCarthy from his speakership.

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UNKNOWN: Do you support Matt Gaetz's efforts to remove McCarthy as speaker?

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I don't know anything about those efforts, but I like both of them very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Trump made those comments during a campaign stop in Iowa. He highlighted the state's agricultural industry and pitched himself as the best candidate for farmers while also slamming his opponent, Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis.

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TRUMP: No one gets abused on trade like the American farmer except for four years we had Trump. I took good care of you. I took good care of you. Because I respect the farmer. His entire career has shown that Ron DeSantis is a sworn enemy of the American farmer. How does that play in Iowa? I don't know. Senator, does that play well in Iowa? An enemy of the farmer. They call him an enemy of the farmer. But that means he's going to be an enemy of the farmer as soon as an election will be over. In Florida, he's been voting horribly, and he's been vetoing funding and support for farmers left and right. You know that? Yet now he's trying to lie about his record.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: In the hours ahead, Trump will appear in person for the start of his civil fraud trial in New York. The former president, who arrived in the city just a short time ago, made that announcement earlier on social media. New York Attorney General Letitia James brought the lawsuit alleging the former president, his elder sons, and his company engaged in fraud. Just last week, the judge overseeing the case ruled that Trump is liable for fraud and that he overvalued his properties on financial statements for a decade.

The New York attorney general is seeking $250 million in damages and a ban on the Trump serving as officers of a business in the state. CNN's senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein, joins me now. He's also a senior editor at "The Atlantic." Always great to have you with us.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, Congress narrowly averted a government shutdown Saturday with House Democrats helping to pass a stopgap measure, which has put Republican Gavin McCarthy in jeopardy. Can he survive an attempt from the far right to oust him as speaker, do you think?

BROWNSTEIN: The remarkable answer to that question is it depends on what Democrats do. And you know, in the House, much like in a parliamentary system, the minority party usually has very little power. But in this case, there are enough Republicans who are probably willing to depose McCarthy if enough Democrats also vote to do so, which is what you would typically expect.

But the Democratic leadership is playing its cards very close to the vest and not sending out clear signals about whether they will join in this effort to vote out McCarthy. CHURCH: And President Joe Biden says the brinkmanship, which we've

seen, has to end. So, what role might the Democrats play in any effort to remove McCarthy from the speakership and of course to prevent funding for Ukraine to continue along with the uncompromising spending cuts that the GOP want to see happen?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, first of all, it's really an unprecedented situation. We have not had a motion to vacate in effect to fire the Speaker since 1910 and in that example, I do not believe the minority party was the decisive block of votes. We know, as I said, that the vast majority of Republicans will vote to keep McCarthy in place. But because there are enough that will vote to put him out, Democrats can join with them and actually remove him.

One school of thought in the Democrats says the devil you know. McCarthy has been a very partisan speaker he wants an impeachment inquiry into Biden without any hard evidence to justify it, but at least you kind of understand who he is and now twice with the debt ceiling and with the government shutdown he has behaved in a generally responsible way building a bipartisan vote to avoid potentially catastrophic economic consequences.

The other point of view of the Democratic Party says, you know, puts the emphasis on the other part of the sense. McCarthy has been a deeply partisan speaker. He has generally conceded almost whatever the far right wants, and that Democrats should not lift a finger to save him. Plus, there is certainly an understandable view among many Democrats that the more chaotic a Republican's management of the House becomes, the better it is for the Democrats' chances of winning it back in 2024.

I really don't know what they are going to do. My instinct is that the White House will kind of fall on the devil you know side of the equation and that will probably lead to enough Democrats supporting him for him to survive, but I wouldn't rule out the other possibility either.

CHURCH: And Ron, on another issue we're keeping a close eye on, Donald Trump's trial gets underway today in New York, the first of multiple trials. The civil fraud lawsuit against him and his eldest sons, their companies and several executives comes after a state appellate court denied Trump's motion to stay the trial.

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So, how are things looking for him politically as his legal woes mount? And what are the implications of this specific trial, do you think?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, first of all, you know, there's no question that within the context of the Republican primary, he has been able to convince the vast majority of Republican voters, and maybe they didn't need that much convincing, to see all of these indictments and all of these other trials, the civil verdict in New York on the sexual abuse claim, what's coming here with this already sweeping ruling from the judge. He's been able to convince Republican voters to see it in the way that he wants them to see it, as an attack on them through him.

You know, they're going after you, but I'm just in the way, is what he says. It's a very different question what this might mean to a general election. You know, I think people are much too quick to write off the idea that this could be a significant burden for him if he is the Republican nominee. Americans are hesitant about re-electing Joe Biden. We see that about concerns about his age, about inflation. So, it's not as if Donald Trump's legal troubles are a silver bullet for Democrats.

But I think that many Republicans are been too quick to assume that because none of this is phasing Republican primary voters, that it will be equally indifferent for general election voters. When you have a candidate whose case for managing the economy is based on his business acumen and his companies are being convicted of systematic fraud or judged to have committed systematic fraud, that is a potentially serious challenge for the core, really, of his candidacy, the idea that he can manage the economy better than Biden.

CHURCH: Ron Brownstein, thanks so much for your analysis. Always appreciate it.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: The White House is reassuring Kyiv and the American public that the United States' support for Ukraine is not wavering. The U.S. president is saying the country will not walk away from Ukraine. He is urging House Republicans and the Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, to keep critical military and humanitarian aid flowing. Meanwhile, Ukraine's defense minister says he's received similar reassurances from his U.S. counterpart posting on social media that Lloyd Austin promised that U.S. support will continue.

All this comes as Ukraine honored fallen soldiers on Defenders Day. President Zelenskyy saying nothing will weaken the country's fight against Russia. For its part, the European Union's foreign policy chief says the bloc will increase its military support to Ukraine. Josep Borrell says he hopes the U.S. will eventually do the same.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEP BORRELL, EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF: To tell the truth, we were surprised by the fact that the last-minute agreement has taken a decision that we have to regret deeply. I have the hope that this will not be a definitive decision and Ukraine will continue having the support of the U.S.

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CHURCH: CNN's Nada Bashir joins me now live from London. Good morning to you, Nada. So, what's been the reaction in Ukraine to U.S. funding not yet being approved by Congress?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, look, Rosemary, as you heard there, it sparked concern by E.U. partners, but this has also certainly sparked concern within Ukraine. International support for the Ukrainian government, particularly from the United States, has proven crucial since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. We've heard those repeated warnings from President Zelenskyy that a drop-in international support could have severe consequences for the war effort.

And in fact, we saw President Zelenskyy meeting with President Biden in Washington, D.C. last month where he made yet another push for further support for additional funding from the U.S. government to support that ongoing counteroffensive. But we did hear from President Zelenskyy yesterday. He spoke of the war effort, of the progress that the Ukrainian armed forces are making on the front lines despite the decision taken by Congress on this temporary budget. This was a message of confidence from Zelenskyy. Take a listen.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translation): Tough times have made us strong, and the strong bring victorious times closer, step by step, today, tomorrow, every day, every minute. No one should and no one will manage to switch off our resilience, endurance, grit, and courage on either scheduled or emergency basis. They have no expiration date, end date or final point after which we would stop resisting and fighting except for one, our victory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: Now, Rosemary, the U.S. budget currently includes provisions for some $1.6 billion in defense support. It also includes $1.2 billion in other direct funding. And there are other projects the U.S. has been involved in with a focus on the humanitarian relief effort.

[02:15:02]

And we've heard those warnings that a drop in that support, that a potential shutdown, if that were to occur, could have dire consequences for Ukraine for the war effort. But we have heard from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson saying that the Ukrainian government is working closely with counterparts in the U.S. They are still in talks focusing on averting these consequences, focusing on ensuring that a new budget passed by the Congress, which will be under consideration over the next few weeks will include provisions for additional funding.

And while of course we have seen those objections, the waning support amongst the Republican Party for additional funding for the Ukrainian war effort, we've heard those repeated commitments of support from President Biden vowing that Washington will not turn its back from Ukraine.

CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Nada Bashir joining us live from London. Appreciate it. Well, late California Senator Dianne Feinstein will lie in state at San Francisco City Hall on Wednesday. Her funeral will be held the following day and will be closed to the public. Feinstein passed away last week at the age of 90 and was the longest serving female senator in U.S. history. California Governor Gavin Newsom will appoint Laphonza Butler to

Feinstein's Senate seat. Butler is currently the president of Emily's List, a group that works to elect democratic women who support abortion rights. Butler will be the only black female senator serving in Congress and just the third in U.S. history.

Still to come, we'll go live to Spain to get the latest on a deadly fire that ripped through a nightclub on Sunday, killing at least 13 people.

Plus, the UN arrives to help refugees leaving Nagorno-Karabakh, more on their journey to Armenia when we return.

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CHURCH: Turkey says it has destroyed 20 targets in northern Iraq belonging to the PKK just hours after the Kurdish militant group claimed responsibility for a bombing outside the Turkish Interior Ministry in Ankara. The ministry says two attackers killed a civilian and stole his vehicle. Two police officers were able to stop the attackers but were injured in the process. PKK is designated as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and Europe. It has been waging an insurgency against Ankara for four decades.

At least nine people have been killed in northeastern Mexico after the roof of a church collapsed. Officials believe around 100 people were at the church on Sunday when it happened. At least 40 people have been injured, according to local officials, and rescue efforts are ongoing. Dozens of people are believed to be trapped under the rubble. Mexican National Guard units and Red Cross volunteers are on the scene to help with the search and rescue.

We turn to Spain now where at least 13 people have died in the country's deadliest nightclub fire in decades. The cause of the blaze, which broke out early Sunday in the south eastern city of Murcia, is not yet known, but officials fear the death toll could rise as search operations continue. Journalist Al Goodman joins us now live from Madrid. So, Al, what more can you tell us about this deadly fire?

AL GOODMAN, JOURNALIST: Hi, Rosemary. A police spokesman in Murcia, told CNN late Sunday, just hours ago, that there are other nationalities, not just Spaniards, among the victims of this deadly fire. Now, the mayor of Murcia, that's Spain's seventh largest city, vowed the full weight of the law once they find those responsible for this tragedy. The mayor said 13 bodies have been recovered. Here's what he had to say about what investigators have found so far. Let's listen.

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JOSE BALLESTA, MAYOR OF MURCIA, SPAIN (through translation): Thirteen bodies have been found. All of them are now at the Institute of Legal Medicine for Autopsies. Of these 13, three have been identified through fingerprints and the rest cannot be identified through this test and will have to be identified through DNA tests.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOODMAN: Now the deputy mayor said in addition to those 13, another five people have been reported missing by their loved ones. So, authorities are trying to find out what may have happened to them. Four people were injured. This fire was an area, a nightclub district in an industrial area a bit out of the downtown of the city. It was three nightclubs in a row. The bodies were found and the main damage was done at a nightclub on the end.

Authorities say they don't know whether the fire started there and burned across to the other two or if it started in the middle and burned out both ways. What they do know is that it started on the second floor of this nightclub and burned up to the roof which collapsed. The police spokesman saying that because it started at 6:00 in the morning, a lot of people had gone home.

He says the fire could have been much worse, the damage much worse, the toll much worse if it had started on the ground floor say at around 3:00 in the morning when everything was packed. It's the deadliest nightclub fire since the 1990s when 43 people died in a separate city in a separate event. The worst was back in the 1980s when 81 people died. Authorities are trying to stop these and especially this latest one gets to the bottom of what happened there. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Al Goodman covering that tragedy in Madrid. Many thanks for the details there.

Well, workers from the United Nations have arrived in Nagorno-Karabakh to help refugees as they leave the region for Armenia. Azerbaijan reclaimed control of the breakaway region, leaving Karabakh Armenians two choices, stay and accept Azerbaijani citizenship or leave. Here's what some refugees are saying.

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UNKNOWN: We hear that they raped somebody's daughter-in-law, daughter, and it is stuff like this, and this nests in your mind and you just can't imagine living there.

[02:25:03]

UNKNOWN: How can we live with Turks when we remember how we have lost our heroes, our boys? I left so many things there, but I'm not concerned about it. If there is a choice between leaving things behind and staying, I choose leaving.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: More than 100,000 refugees have fled to Armenia amid the crisis, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency. The U.N. says at least 31 percent of the refugees are children and nearly 20 percent are elderly. Many citizens have lost hope of returning after the president of the region dissolved state institutions. The U.K. is deploying around 200 soldiers to Kosovo amid rising

tensions in the country. They will be supporting a NATO peacekeeping mission that's been operating in Kosovo for more than 20 years. It comes more than a week after an attack on police that left one officer dead and another injured. Three armed men were also killed in the attack. The U.K.'s defense ministry says their troops will join a contingent of 400 others already in Kosovo.

Still to come, former Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico's party won a significant slice of the vote. But can he get the coalition he needs to return to power? Details just ahead.

Also coming up, officials in France say they're not about to let bed bugs pose problems for Paris as the city gets ready to host next year's Summer Olympics.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well Poland is looking ahead to an election that gives voters two starkly different choices when it comes to governing the country. Massive crowds gathered Poland's capital Sunday for a rally. The liberal opposition is hoping the Million Hearts March can build momentum before the October 15th vote. They are framing the election as a national referendum on the conservative Law and Justice Party. Many voters say they're ready for a change.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I have two daughters and I would like them to be able to believe in a good, calm and intelligent country, not to be afraid for their future, and to be able to live freely.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I want a Poland that is free, democratic, European, open to the world, friendly, that doesn't isolate itself. I want people to reconnect with each other as they did before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The Law and Justice Party has controlled Poland since 2015. The opposition says the ruling party is looking to leave the European Union, but the Law and Justice Party denies those claims. Meantime, voters in neighbouring Slovakia are waiting to see who will lead their next government. The party of former Prime Minister Robert Fico got the highest percentage of votes in parliamentary elections over the weekend. Fico says as prime minister he would do everything he could to kickstart peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

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ROBERT FICO, FORMER SLOVAK PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We think Ukraine is a huge tragedy for all, and if SMER formed the cabinet, whether it has the prime minister or not, we will do our best even in the EU to get peace talks under way as soon as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: However, Fico's party has not secured enough votes to govern on its own and will have to form a coalition government. CNN's Scott McLean has more on the crucial vote.

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SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well a man who blames Ukrainian Nazis and fascists for provoking Russia into war has won Slovakia's election. On the campaign trail, Robert Fico pledged to cut off military aid to Ukraine if he won. Slovakia has been one of Ukraine's staunchest allies since the outset of the war, sending helicopters, artillery and air defence systems.

But Fico's basic argument is that sending weapons and ammunition only prolongs a war in which Russia will never accept defeat. And that is an appealing message in a country that is struggling with inflation and the cost of hosting more than a hundred thousand Ukrainian refugees. Fico's party won by a more comfortable margin than some poles have predicted but he will still need a governing partner in order to govern the country.

And he had not ruled out pairing up with the far right party that broadly shares his view on Russia and Ukraine, but that party didn't quite make the 5 percent threshold needed in order to take seats in parliament, so it is more likely that he will now aim to work with the Halas Party which has been more vague about Ukraine.

On the one hand arguing that Slovakia has given all it can afford to give, and on the other hand it says that Slovakia should continue to manufacture ammunition for Ukraine, which is ultimately good for the economy. So Fico's policy toward Ukraine and Russia is likely to be moderated out of political necessity, and he has been prime minister twice before so he has a track record of being pragmatic in order to govern.

The voter turnout, by the way, the highest that it's been in 20 years. But it will likely take weeks before Slovaks ultimately find out who will be part of that coalition government. Scott McLean, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come, Paris is preparing to welcome tons of visitors for next year's Summer Olympics, but first France is working hard to get rid of one pesky problem. The details ahead.

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[02:37:40]

CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Well France is sounding the alarm as a widespread bedbug outbreak sweeps through Paris. The pests have been spotted at places like movie theatres and on public transportation. It comes as the French capital is preparing to host next year's Summer Olympics. CNN's Melissa Bell reports.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A nasty commute, and not just for the passengers you can see. French officials say that bedbugs have infested Paris' transport networks and the wider city. The race is now on to exterminate the bugs with less than a year to go until the Olympics.

From metros to high speed trains, videos have shown them taking over some cinemas and even Charles de Gaulle Airport, which is making for an itchy situation as France prepares to host the rest of the world next summer. French officials are preparing to take measures to contain the scourge, with transport operations gathering this week to try to find ways of getting rid of the pests. But that's not enough for some who say the thought of sitting on a bus or a train next to the uninvited seat mates makes their skin crawl.

LAURA MMADI, TRAIN PASSENGER (through translator): That really traumatized me. I'll keep my luggage closed to prevent them from getting to my home. Also I'm not from here so when I get home, I will have to wash all my clothes.

LUC VILLETTE, TRAIN PASSENGER (through translator): I mean, the fact that we can actually see them means there are a lot of them. And in addition, they are being seen in the day when they usually come out at night. So there is a big problem somewhere.

BELL (voice-over): Paris Deputy Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire says that no one is safe from the problem because the bugs can be picked up anywhere. A recent government report estimated that about one in 10 French households had had bedbug infestations between 2017 and last year. Though some fumigation companies say that business is higher than usual, and more urgent.

SACHA KRIEF, PEST CONTROL STORE MANAGER (through translator): We've had customers calling us up crying, desperate for a solution. And it's very, very costly when you have to throw away all of your bedding, when you have to undergo works in your apartment, and so you get into a sort of paranoia.

BELL (voice-over): And whilst bedbugs may be a growing nuisance in Paris, health experts say that they're not considered dangerous, causing merely itching and rashes.

[02:40:04]

And their numbers are increasing, not just in the French capital, but around the world as people travel more and the bugs become more resistant to pesticides, an irritating problem, but not one, say french officials, that should pose a threat to the upcoming olympics. Their plan, to stop the bedbugs biting as soon as they can. Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: The house where Adolf Hitler was born is said to be converted into a human rights training center for police officers, and construction is expected to start soon at the building in Austria near the German border. The three-story structure will undergo a substantial revamp. Authorities hope it will prevent it from becoming a pilgrimage site for Nazi sympathizers.

The building's fate has long been a contentious issue in the town, with this latest plan has been met with resistance. In Hawaii, three more zones will reopen in Lahaina for the first time since last month's devastating fires. Officials say restrictions will be lifted for several zones on Monday, and residents and property owners will be able to return to their homes.

At least 97 people were killed after wind-driven fires spread erratically, nearly leveling the historic town. And thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. For our international viewers, WORLD SPORT is coming up next, and for our viewers here in the United States and in Canada, I will be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment. Do stay with us.

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[02:45:38]

CHURCH: Welcome back to our viewers here in North America. I am Rosemary Church. 75 thousand health care workers could walk off the job in the US on Wednesday, it would be the largest health care strike in the nation's history. The walkout against Kaiser Permanente is supposed to last three days, and Kaiser says it's already putting contingency plans in place if the strike happens. CNN's Camila Bernal has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When I talked to a union worker, she told me that her biggest concern is the shortage of workers having to do the job of multiple people. She said, look, even if you're short staffed on custodians, they may not be able to clean a room and that means that whoever is at the hospital is going to have to wait longer to be able to have a room.

So she says it's not only waiting times at the hospitals but also waiting times to get an appointment. It may take months to schedule an appointment to see your doctor, and she says all of this is in part because of the shortage of workers. Here's how she described it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not okay to have to do the job of two or three people at a time. So now you can imagine how hard it is and the toll it takes on us health care workers, especially with our lives, our families. It's not easy having to deal with that kind of stress at work, and then still having to bring it home to our families.

BERNAL: In addition to the shortage of workers and staff, the coalition of eight unions is asking for raises across the board. They also want job protections against outsourcing. They're also wanting updates to retiree medical benefits and advance notice for workers that are returning to the office. And this strike, if it happens, would begin on Wednesday, having huge impacts across the nation.

On the west coast, including here in California, and on the east coast, in places like Virginia and Washington, D.C.. Now Kaiser says they're at the table, they are negotiating and will continue to do so. In a statement they said that they are actually continuing to do this but have already agreed on a number of issues.

They also say they have a plan in place if there is a strike on Wednesday, and they've said that both hospitals and emergency rooms will remain open. The worker that I spoke to told me that, yes, they are worried about what's going to happen on Wednesday, but she says that they are fighting for their patients. Camila Bernal, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: A team of experts is using artificial intelligence to help a paralyzed man move his arms and hands again. The technology is still in its infancy but if trials are positive it could be used to help millions regain mobility again. CNN's Nick Watt reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVE MARVER, CEO, ONWARD: If you talk to people with paralysis, it's their number one priority. They want to restore hand and arm function even above -- they prioritize that above the ability to stand and walk again

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here's how it works. An implant is placed on the brain above the motor cortex. AI, in that implant, deciphers intent to move arms, hands, fingers. Then relays that information wirelessly to another implant in the body, so bypassing the damaged spine. AI in that implant triggers the right muscles to actually make those movements. They call this thought driven movement. Dr. Jocelyne Bloch performed the surgery.

DR. JOCELYNE BLOCH, NEUROSURGEON, LAUSANNE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: We remove a little bit of bone. We replace this piece of bone by this set of electrons. And then we close the skin. This implant is going to work wirelessly and activate the spinal cord stimulation.

WATT (voice-over): Her partner, a neuroscientist, first had this sci- fi idea years ago, then waited for tech to catch up.

GREGOIRE COURTINE, NEUROSCIENTIST: If you are paralyzed with your hands and you can just open and close, it's a new change, so then you can eat. You are getting independence. The change in the activity of daily living is dramatic. This is why this new product is so exciting.

WATT (voice-over): We met Bloch and Gregoire Courtine in July to discuss their previous project, another world first, fitting a similar device to this man who lost the use of his legs after a bicycle accident.

[02:50:08]

GERT-JAN OSKAM, PARALYSED IN A CYCLING ACCIDENT: Now the implants are able to capture my thoughts of walking and able to transfer it to the stimulater in my lower back.

WATT (voice-over): But they say restoring arm and hand function is actually harder.

MARVER: It's more refined, especially if you want to extend the restoration of movement to the fingers and not just the arms. So, help them grasp something, or help them to use individual digits.

WATT (voice-over): While it is still too early to provide full results, onward told us, we are pleased to report that the technology works as expected and appears to successfully reanimate his paralyzed arms, hands and fingers.

MARVER: We will learn a lot from that first person, then we will expand to four or five people. And then if that goes well, we'll conduct a global pivotal trial and hopefully get FDA approval and make it available.

WATT: A lot of work still to do, no doubt, but with these trial surgeries, they have proved that this can be done. Something that many people thought was impossible, movement can be restored after a spinal cord injury, and so many people could benefit from that. One legal ethicist told me we have an ethical imperative to continue this research.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well Sunday was a good day to be a fan of the NFL's Buffalo Bills. The team's safety, Damar Hamlin, made his season debut against the Miami Dolphins. It was his first appearance in a regular season game since going into cardiac arrest on the field in January.The 25 year old had been on the team's inactive list for the last three weeks.

The Bills, meanwhile, put on a monster performance against the Dolphins, winning 48-20. Well it's another history-making day for decorated gymnast Simone Biles. Unbelievable. While competing at the World Artistic Gymnastic Championships on Sunday, she became the first woman to land the Yurchenko Double Pike Vault during an international competition.

The high difficulty skill is historically done by men and will likely now be named the Biles Two in honor of the 19 time world champion, making it her fifth named element. Well despite the European team's commanding lead heading into Sunday's final round, the Americans gave them a scare at the Ryder Cup in Rome, but in the end team Europe prevailed. CNN WORLD SPORT anchor Don Riddell has all the highlights.

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: You know, there is nothing quite like the Ryder Cup for passion, drama and intensity, and the events of this week in Rome will live long in the memory for the European players and their fans. Right from the off on Friday morning, the home team was in command against the USA, and they entered Sunday Singles with a five point lead.

That meant that Europe only needed to take four of the 12 points available to win the cup, and their captain, Luke Donald, stacked his lineup to get the job done quickly. Jon Rahm secured a half point against Scottie Scheffler before the young Norwegian Viktor Hovland thumped Collin Morikawa for Europe's first full point of the day. And in the fourth match, Rory McIlroy beat Sam Burns to make McIlroy the leading point scorer of the week with four.

Tyrrell Hatton's win against Brian Harmon put Europe on the precipice of victory but then the Americans had something to say. And when Brooks Keopka, Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele all won their matches, suddenly Europe's win wasn't quite so assured. It was Tommy Fleetwood who got them over the line when Rickie Fowler conceded a putt on the 16th green. Europe had done enough to win back the cup, and for their captain, Luke Donald, the emotions were overwhelming.

LUKE DONALD, EUROPEAN RYDER CUP CAPTAIN: You know, they played for more than themselves this week. They came together, we shared special moments, special memories, and it makes it that much sweeter to come out on top.

RIDDELL: In the end this was a convincing win for the Europeans by 16 and a half points to 11 and a half. They have now won 5 of the last 7, 8 of the last 11. And it means the USA haven't won on European soil now for 30 years. But the celebrations have barely started before McIlroy was already outlining his intentions for the next one in two years time

RORY MCILROY, LEADING POINTS-WINNER AT 2023 RYDER CUP: I have said this for the last, probably, six or seven years to anybody that will listen. I think one of the biggest accomplishments in golf right now is winning an away Ryder Cup. And that's what we're going to do at Bethpage.

[02:55:02]

RIDDELL: Yeah the next one is going to be played at Bethpage in New York. It's a famously raucous venue which should favour the Americans. The last five cups now have been won by the home team so even though Europe dominated this one, it's already going to be a tall order in 2025. Either way, can't wait for that. Back to you.

CHURCH: Thanks for that. Well birthday wishes have been pouring in from all around the world for former US President Jimmy Carter on his 99th birthday. The White House had this massive card on its front lawn and leaders wished him well and shared memories.

But there were also notes from Ecuador, Costa Rica, Europe, Australia, and every corner of the United States, including from his hometown in Georgia. That is the church where Jimmy Carter taught Sunday school, wishing him a happy 99th birthday at the start of Sunday service. US President Joe Biden also delivered this birthday message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN, US PRESIDENT: Mr. President, happy birthday, pal. I have known a lot of presidents, as you have, but I admire you because you have such incredible integrity, character and determination. One of the smartest things I ever did, you may remember, I was the first senator to ever endorse you because I knew who you were.

And you haven't changed a bit. You've never stopped. And I consider it a great honor to know you and to have worked with you. And I just hope I can be one half the president you've been. God love you. Happy birthday, pal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Happy birthday, Mr. President. And thank you for your company this hour. I am Rosemary Church. I will be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment. Do stick around.

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