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TS Ophelia Makes Landfall Along NC Coast; 53K People Without Power in NC and VA; Writers, Studios Set To Meet For 4th Consecutive Day Of Negotiations; CNN Gets Exclusive Look Inside Florida's New Rail Line. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired September 23, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Welcome to CNN this morning and welcome to Fall. It's Saturday, September 23, 1st day of autumn. I'm Victor Blackwell.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: I don't know if I was ready for Fall just yet, but I guess, you know, we're here. I'm Omar Jimenez in for Amara Walker. Thanks for spending part of your morning with us. Here's what we're watching for you.

Thousands of homes are without power as Tropical Storm Ophelia lashes the East Coast with strong winds and heavy rain. We've got to look at the cities and the storm's path and the impacts we'll see throughout the day. Plus, the country is quickly hurtling toward a shutdown as talks among Republicans in the House have broken down over a deal to fund the government. How federal agencies are preparing, and the talks happening today to try to keep a shutdown from happening.

BLACKWELL: Hollywood writers and studio executives will meet again today. They're trying to work out a deal to end the writer strike that has paralyzed the industry for months. Why will it take time to get production up and running again, even after deal is made? We'll answer that for you.

JIMENEZ: Plus, CNN takes you inside the new high speed rail service connecting parts of Central and South Florida. Why some say it could usher in a new era of rail travel in the U.S.

BLACKWELL: Let's start with the storm. And tropical storm Ophelia has now made landfall in North Carolina. This pretty strong tropical storm washed ashore about 2 hours ago near Emerald Isle with winds around 70 miles per hour.

JIMENEZ: And the storm is bringing life threatening storm surge, flash flooding, damaging winds and power outages. You see some of the flooding there on those roads. 53,000 people are in the dark in both North Carolina and Virginia, with the majority of those outages being in coastal Carolina. The impacts of the storm are expected to stretch all the way up to New York and New Jersey. The governor in Maryland has already declared a state of emergency in preparation for the storm and the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves have postponed tonight's game that was scheduled to happen in DC.

BLACKWELL: Let's get right to CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar. All right. Let's talk about first the biggest impacts of Ophelia right now.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right, that's going to be the rain bands, but we also do have some tornado warnings beginning to pop back up and that's going to continue through the afternoon. Now we just got the latest update at the top of the hour. Winds now dropping back down to 65 mile per hour but they're still gusting up to 85 miles per hour. So you still have those wind gusts that would be hurricane force equivalent. The sustained winds still at tropical storm force.

Now again, the storm itself moving to the north at 13 miles per hour. You've got a lot of rain bands, even rain bands as far away as New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey. But the focus of the real heavy rain is still going to be across North Carolina and Virginia for much of the morning.

We also have that tornado warning just to the west of Elizabeth City there and we will likely see some more tornado warnings pop up as we go throughout the rest of the day. There's also the potential for damaging winds and even some large hail with some of these storms.

Now, as the track continues to move off to the north, it's eventually going to start to veer back towards the east and out over the open Atlantic as we wrap up this weekend. But in the time between, you're still looking at very heavy rain bands that will spread from North Carolina and Virginia today, more so into places like Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia by the time we get to the evening and then tomorrow, the focus really becomes the Northeast. Places like New York, even as far away as Boston, likely to pick up some rain showers.

Flooding is going to be a big concern. You already have the James River in Virginia, the location at Jamestown already at major flood stage. Now we're headed towards low tide, so that number should drop back down into only minor flood stage over the next few hours. But by 6:00 o'clock this evening, tonight, when high tide returns, that number is expected to go back up into major flood stage, and that water will flow over into the roadways and unfortunately, likely maybe into some homes and businesses.

That's not the only case or location where we have the potential for some flooding. You can see that spread out over Virginia, North Carolina, even into places like New Jersey and Delaware. Tomorrow, the main focus becomes places like New York and Philadelphia.

BLACKWELL: Alison Chinchar watching it for us. Thanks so much.

JIMENEZ: We're also watching for potential chaos on Capitol Hill. We're now one week away from the government shutting down if Congress doesn't do its job and pass a funding bill.

BLACKWELL: So the initial plan let House Speaker Kevin McCarthy strike first, get the votes to pass a bill, then send it to the Senate for changes before heading back to the House for a final round of votes and negotiations. But now with the infighting in the House, senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is ready to step in and start.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Leader McCullough and I are talking, and we have great deal of agreement on many parts of this. It's never easy to get a big bill, a CR bill done. But I am very optimistic that McConnell and I can find a way and get a large number of votes, both Democratic and Republican, in the Senate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: CNN's Jasmine Wright joins us now from the White House. Jasmine, obviously a lot to keep an eye on, a lot of implications, of course, from the White House perspective, what is the Biden administration doing to prepare for a shutdown?

[08:05:05]

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Omar, the White House is directing Federal agencies to effectively get ready for a potential shutdown. Now, they issued that guidance on Friday as we saw many House Republicans leaving Washington with no clear plan in place. So the White House Office of Management and Budget issued guidance to federal agencies, effectively telling them to get ready their plans and procedures if a potential shutdown were to happen, what they call mandatory, but standard practice. When we get to about seven days ahead of that shutdown guideline, when we know that his deadline, which we know that is September 30.

So that includes things like how many employees would have to be furloughed. Wwhat employees would be deemed essential, and therefore have to work through the shutdown. Now, we know that was happening on the White House side. But on the Capitol Hill side, we know that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the House Rules Committee were preparing a set of individual long term spending bills that Kevin McCarthy would want to put on the House floor by Saturday, hoping that they would garner enough GOP votes to pass. That work is continuing throughout the weekend, but there are some problems with that.

First of all, we don't even know if those long term spending, those leaner than what we expected, would actually get enough votes to pass on the House side. But we do know that they have basically no Democratic support. Take a listen to the White House really describe their reaction to Kevin McCarthy's plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Now, the question for House Republicans is very simple. Do they continue to pursue increasingly extreme bills that would hurt their constituents by slashing education, slashing health care, Meals on Wheels and much more? Or do they keep their promise and abide by the bipartisan agreement two thirds? Two thirds of House Republicans voted for this bipartisan agreement just four months ago, back in May. It's not complicated here. It's truly not complicated because a deal is a deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: So there we heard from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre outlining clearly that the White House is not in favor of this new plan. We know that these four bills that if they did pass, the House side, would effectively be dead on arrival on the Senate side. So according to the House side, the Senate side, and now the White House, we are still, as we wake up this Saturday morning, no closer to averting a potential shutdown. Omar, Victor.

JIMENEZ: One week is going to come pretty quickly. Jasmine Wright, thank you very much.

BLACKWELL: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayokis is headed to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas today. Thousands of migrants crossed into the U.S. near Eagle Pass in the past two days, and the city's mayor says they feel abandoned, and so they're pleading for help.

JIMENEZ: Now, Texas Governor, Republican Greg Abbot says he's sending additional buses to Eagle Pass and El Paso to assist border communities. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has more on the challenges at the southern border.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Omar and Victor, the White House concludes the week with more than 8,000 daily encounters on the U.S.-Mexico border each day this week. That is a market increase from late May when there were about 3,500 daily encounters. Those are numbers that held for much of the summer. But this latest surge is causing strain on federal resources and fueling concern within the administration.

Now, Homeland Security officials are monitoring the situation. They can't quite say what exactly led to this surge, but they do cite economic conditions in Latin America as well as the climate crisis as drivers of migration. Now, the administration took steps this week to try to alleviate some of the burden along the U.S.-Mexico border and in communities, including, for example, sending 800 new active duty military personnel to serve in a supporting role. That is something that they have done before, as well as adding capacity to border facilities.

Those facilities are ill equipped to care for people long term, but this is to build out capacity so that they can at least accommodate those who are arriving to process them through. And the officials also said that they are continuing to conduct deportation flights. But all of this really underscored and the images underscored the immense humanitarian, political and logistical challenge for the administration as they face unprecedented mass migration across the Western Hemisphere.

Now, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will be visiting the border today, where he will be joining the President of Honduras. The two will be in the Rio Grande Valley, another area of the border that has been seeing an increase in border crossings. And they're expected to talk about cooperating to try to stem the flow of irregular migration and how the two can work together, along with partners to address what is an immense challenge across the Western Hemisphere. Omar. Victor.

BLACKWELL: Priscilla Alvarez, tanks so much. New Jersey Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, he's rejecting Coles for his resignation after being charged with several corrupt related offenses by the Justice Department. Menendez and his wife Nadine are accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for the senator's influence. This is the second time in the last decade that Menendez is facing corruption charges.

[08:10:16]

JIMENEZ: And prosecutors say the bribes included gold bars, cash, home mortgage payments and a Mercedes. Menendez responded to calls for his resignation, saying he is, quote, not going anywhere and that he and his wife plan on fighting the charges. CNN's Kara Scannell has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAMIAN WILLIAMS, U.S. ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: Some of the cash was stuffed in the senator's jacket pockets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indicted again, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez facing corruption related charges for the second time in ten years. Prosecutors announcing a three count federal indictment against the Democratic senator and his wife over their dealings with three New Jersey associates and businessmen starting in at least 2018.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAMS: The Senator and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for Senator Menendez using his power and influence to protect and to enrich those businessmen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCANNELL: The alleged bribes include more than $550,000 in cash hidden in the Senator's home and safe deposit box, a Mercedes Benz convertible, and gold bars worth tens of thousands of dollars, among other things. The indictment also alleges the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair, quote, "provided sensitive U.S. Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the government of Egypt."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAMS: Behind the scenes, Senator Menendez was doing those things for certain people, the people who were bribing him and his wife.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCANNELL: The senator issued a defiant statement in response to the U.S. Attorney's latest allegations. "I have been falsely accused before because I refused to back down to the powers that be, and the people of New Jersey were able to see through the smoke and mirrors and recognize I was innocent." Menendez has long maintained his innocence in this latest probe into his dealings, telling CNN back in April.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BOB MENENDEZ (D-NJ): This inquiry will end up, I believe, in absolutely nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCANNELL: The senator faced similar corruption charges in 2015. He fought off conspiracy, bribery and other fraud charges related to political favors to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MENEDEZ: To those who were digging my political grave so that they could jump into my seat, I know who you are, and I won't forget you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCANNELL: That case ended in a mistrial, a partial acquittal and all charges against the senator being dropped. In this latest case, Menendez remains defiant, saying he won't be, quote, "distracted by baseless accusations".

A lawyer for the senator's wife said that she denies any wrongdoing. All five defendants are due in court Wednesday to face these charges. The U.S. Attorney's Office says this investigation is still ongoing, and that comes amid growing calls by New Jersey lawmakers for the senator to resign. Victor, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Kara Scannell, thank you. Up next, President Biden is getting some encouraging news in the race for 2024. We'll show you the positive numbers he is seeing in New Hampshire.

BLACKWELL: Plus, the latest on a pair of major strikes the negotiations happening in the auto industry and in Hollywood. Also, the White House unveils its latest step in the push to stop gun violence. We'll explain how the new Office of Gun Violence Prevention could make a difference.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:17:22]

JIMENEZ: A new CNN poll shows President Biden leading in a rematch with Donald Trump in New Hampshire.

BLACKWELL: Although dissatisfaction with both men remains high, both Biden and Trump, there are signs that anger towards Trump could outweigh dampened enthusiasm for another term for Biden. CNN's David Chalian breaks down the numbers for us.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, guys. This is CNN's new exclusive poll in conjunction with the University of New Hampshire, our first state specific poll of the cycle. And in this hypothetical matchup between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, Joe Biden wins New Hampshire pretty handily, 52 percent to 40 percent. 8 percent are unsure.

Remember, Biden did beat Trump three years ago in New Hampshire. So this may be a blue leaning battleground state, but if you look at the results here by party, I think this is interesting. Trump actually is beating Biden among independents by six percentage points. So why is Biden leading the state?

Well, take a look. He's at near universal support among Democrats. 94 percent support him, whereas Donald Trump is only at 79 percent support among his own. Republicans that is helping Joe Biden get over the hump there.

But both of these guys are widely unpopular in the Granite State. 56 percent of New Hampshire voters tell us they would feel negatively if Joe Biden was elected President. 62 percent worse tell us they would feel negatively if Donald Trump was elected President. And it's the same story with their overall favorability numbers.

Joe Biden's upside down, 35 percent favorable, 53 percent unfavorable, a net negative of 18 points. But Donald Trump is even more unpopular in New Hampshire. 30 percent favorable, 62 percent unfavorable, a net negative of 32 points. Overall, Joe Biden's approval rating in New Hampshire is well above what it is on the national scene. 46 percent of New Hampshire voters approve of the job he's doing. Nationally, he's hovering around 39 40 percent, so this is friendlier turf for him.

I should also note in the Democratic primary, Joe Biden's crushing it. 78 percent of likely Democratic primary voters are with Joe Biden, and only 9 percent for Kennedy Jr. 6 percent for Williamson. And remember, Joe Biden is trying to change the order of the primaries. He wants South Carolina to go first.

If New Hampshire ignores that and they go ahead, they may be penalized, and therefore Joe Biden may not appear on the ballot. But 69 percent of primary Democratic voters tell us they would still write in Joe Biden, so that would not be much concern. We also tested Kamala Harris's standing in New Hampshire.

Among likely Democratic primary voters, you see here about two thirds of them, or 63 percent if you add these together, are enthusiastic or satisfied with Harris as Biden's running mate. But a quarter of likely Democratic primary voters, 26 percent, are either dissatisfied, satisfied or angry with Harris as the running mate. As for her overall standing of popularity in the state of New Hampshire, with the broader electorate, she's underwater like her boss 23 percent favorable rating, 54 percent unfavorable. And about a quarter of New Hampshire voters are either neutral or unsure. David Chalian, CNN, Washington.

BLACKWELL: Thank you very much, David. Joining me now to discuss Tharon Johnson, former south regional director for Obama 2012, and Brian Robinson, Republican strategist. We have not been together in a very long time and I am happy to have both of you gentlemen on.

Brian, let me start with you. And we're a week out from a potential federal government shutdown. Chuck Schumer, the majority leader in the Senate now says that maybe the Senate should start if the House can't get it together. Do you see a path that avoids a shutdown, considering what McCarthy is juggling now?

BRIAN ROBINSON, PRESIDENT, ROBINSON REPUBLIC: Well, it certainly seems to be getting harder with every passing minute, just because what the hardliners in the House Republican Caucus are calling for is going to take more time to get done before this deadline. Now that said, there's going to be a tremendous amount of pressure on Kevin McCarthy to get something done. We know on the political side, as here we are a few months from getting into a very important election year, that government shutdowns don't play well with the electorate and we can often have a debate about who is responsible for a government shutdown. Both sides can be intransigent, but in this case, it is a certain portion of the Republican Party that is telling everybody we're the reason there's going to be a government shutdown.

Luckily, there's some saner heads prevailing in the Senate and if they can get the process moving, of course, constitutionally it's got to begin in the House. And so nothing's going to happen until Kevin McCarthy is able to round up those four or five members who are stopping everything.

BLACKWELL: Well, Theron, Kevin McCarthy could work on a deal with Democrats. Democratic leadership has said that call has not come. It probably is a little ways off. Should Democrats work with the speaker to come to some deal or should they let him ride?

THARON JOHNSON, FORMER SOUTH REGIONAL DIRECTOR, OBAMA 2012: Well, Victor, this is a political disaster for the Republican Party right now. I mean, think about what Brian just kind of displayed. And let's not forget, Victor, this is a new speaker who had a dozen of rounds of voting and he had problems with his own caucus, att that moment. He was losing support from the Freedom Caucus.

And so while I'm up here in DC right now, the Congressional Black Caucus, I talked to a lot of Democratic members yesterday and they were out and about. And Democrats right now we're worried. We're really worried about the lack of leadership from the Republican Party, particularly with Speaker McCarthy and members in the House to basically come together and basically do their job. I mean, a government shutdown is not good for anyone. And so will Democrats make a deal with the Republicans? Well, I have to just repeat what Leader Jeffrey said, and that is until that call comes, the Democrats have to keep their powder dry.

Now, I do believe that they are worried that the country right now needs the government working at a time where we see that Biden is leading the polls. As you just showed, the economy is getting better. We got to make sure that Republicans are doing their part because they are the leader of the House right now. It was speaking McCarthy. But there are some willing and dealing that I'm sure can go on if that

call comes. But ultimately right now, this is left up to the Republicans.

BLACKWELL: So, Brian, let's talk about what the potential cost, possible cost for that negotiation, for that cooperation will be. This is Democratic House Whip number two in the party, Catherine Clark with Politico on what the framework of a deal to get something passed could be if McCarthy comes to the Democrats. Listen.

Okay, so we don't have the sound. What she says in this sound bite is that they will need -- what they want. Democrats want the disaster funding passed. Democrats also want the ending of the impeachment inquiry. Is that a price that Republicans should pay, that speakers should pay if necessary?

ROBINSON: Well, at this juncture, that's really more for the Freedom Caucus to decide than it is for Kevin McCarthy to decide. They've got a very important decision to make here. Do they want the Republicans to make these funding decisions within the caucus that are Republican led decisions, or are they going to force a situation where McCarthy has to go and look for votes elsewhere?

[08:25:17]

Now, both sides have some tools and some weapons in their belt. Obviously, the Freedom Caucus can then go straight at Kevin McCarthy and threatened to end his speakership, which has been fragile from the moment it started after taking multiple rounds, historic level of voting to get him in there in the first place. So he was never in very firm footing. We knew in January that this is where we would be in the last week of September.

This was as predictable as the sunrise that this was coming. But the Freedom Caucus has a decision to make. Do they want Democrats to have a bigger say in the budget? Because that's what's going to happen because eventually we're going to get a budget passed because the American people will revolt and it will be bad for Republicans if it doesn't get done.

BLACKWELL: But do you think it's worth ending the impeachment inquiry for Speaker McCarthy to say, all right, we'll put this aside. If you can work with Democrats, get some the funding passed for disaster relief. What else did she say? She wants continuing support for Ukraine as well. Is that worth it?

JOHNSON: If that's a question, I would say this.

ROBINSON: It will be big (inaudible).

BLACKWELL: Go ahead, Tharon.

JOHNSON: Go ahead, Brian. Okay, I would say this. Look, that's sort of the catch 22 that the Democrats are in right now, because you said something that's so key here, Victor, is that the impeachment of Joe Biden, which is just baseless and just I think a political reaction by the Republican Party needs to be dropped. But you talked about mean that's funding, that the U.S. Government has basically made a decision that we got to be partners with Ukraine.

And so I think what Democrats are saying is, hey, this is a clear display of the Republicans' inability to govern. This is about leadership. This is about stepping up. So until the call is made, I think you got to make sure that you present these demands. But you got to get in a negotiation room. But ultimately, Speaker McCarthy's got to get his own party together first.

BLACKWELL: And Tharon, let me stay with you. President Biden will be going to Michigan on Tuesday. He's going to join a picket line with the UAW workers. No president's done that in more than a century. The Trump campaign senior advisor Jason Miller tweeted, the only reason Biden is going to Michigan on Tuesday is because President Trump announced that he's going on Wednesday. UAW thus far has withheld its endorsement of Biden's reelection. Democrats have been critical of the President. The White House's response to this strike. Is Miller right that Biden's going because Trump's going.

JOHNSON: Listen, Victor, you know this. President Biden has been a supporter of the women and men labor movement for decades, even when he was a U.S. Senator and as a Vice President. And now as a President, he has talked about how he has supported these women and men who have been on the front line, who are hardworking Americans in the labor movement. And you look at what he's done with his policies.

I mean, you see $86 million in pension relief for union workers. And so him deciding to show up in the picket line is unprecedented. But it's the right thing to do.

Now, the White House has been very careful, Victor, not to say, hey, we're not going to get into taking sides on the negotiation. They're going to continue to be neutral mediators. And ultimately --

BLACKWELL: How do you be a neutral mediator if you show up on the picket line with UAW workers?

JOHNSON: Well, you got to go back --

ROBINSON: Exactly.

JOHNSON: -- and look at the origin of this, right, is because, look, he was going to send two of his cabinet members and they requested him to come. And so that's the part of the narrative we got to put in there. The President has been very specific about his support for labor. He's been very specific that they need higher wages, they need better jobs, and we got to make sure we keep these jobs in the U.S. So ultimately, he was requesting that he answered that request.

BLACKWELL: Brian, I got to give you a little time to respond to this, and then we got to go.

ROBINSON: Well, Biden isn't just asking for fairer wages. He is aligning himself directly with the demands being made by the union by going on that picket line. And, no, you can't be a moderator. You can't be the person bringing everyone together and finding consensus when you are on a picket line. We haven't had a president do this in 100 years. And there's a good reason for that, why it hasn't happened in the television age, because it doesn't look particularly presidential. He looks like an activist. And that is not what Americans are looking for from the White House when it comes to leadership.

BLACKWELL: Well, let me also read this statement then we're going to wrap here. The UAW President Shawn Fain said that, "Every fiber of our union is being poured into fighting the billionaire class and an economy that enriches people like Donald Trump at the expense of workers."

[08:30:00]

So as Trump heads to Michigan as well. That's the View union on Trump's visit. Tharon Johnson, Grian Robinson, thank you very much. Good to see you, gentlemen. We'll be right back.

JOHNSON: Good to see you, Victor.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Hollywood writers might be a step closer to finalizing a deal with studio executives. This is day 145 of their strike.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot to hash out between them. There have been signs of progress, though, and they're set to continue negotiations today. Let's turn to CNN's Natasha Chen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Omar and Victor, even with no agreement, after three long days of negotiating, the fact that they put in this time back at the table make many in the industry feel this was a sign of serious commitment to find a solution.

This comes after more than four and a half months of writers being on strike with very little negotiating. The two sides met in August, unsuccessfully, and only came back to the table on Wednesday this week. Members of the Writers Guild have remained on the picket lines through it all with some feeling hopeful in light of the recent bargaining sessions..

MATT CHESTER, WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA: I'm, you know, guardedly optimistic, I suppose.

[08:35:00]

I think the fact that they have been speaking for two days, presumably making progress without any one side making any major leaks about plans or, you know, being upset about the other side or feeling that the other side is being intractable is a good sign.

CHEN: The talks involve negotiators for the Writers Guild along with top executives of major studios like Netflix, NBC, Universal, Disney and Warner Brothers Discovery, which owns CNN. Any agreement they make would still need to be ratified by the rank and file members before it takes effect.

The chief global strategist at the Milken Institute told me the cost of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes has surpassed $5 billion across the US. And the Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded a drop in more than 34,000 employees just in the Motion Picture and sound recording industries between May and August. That does not include many people laid off from small businesses like prop shops, restaurants and cleaning services that all serve these studio productions. Omar and Victor, back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Natasha Chen. Thank you. Now a bit of progress as Hollywood strikes continue, the Writers Guild and the studios issued a rare joint statement this week. But even if they do reach a deal soon, we may not see filming resume quickly. That's why we're going to talk to UCLA film and TV professor Jonathan Kuntz, who's here live from California right now.

So, good early morning to you. I really appreciate it. I want to start with the negotiations between the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA and the studios, for the most part since this began back in May, have been shrouded in mystery, especially over the past few weeks.

This joint statement, though, is really the only sign we've gotten that talks are happening. So can you explain the significance of this, including the significance of actually getting a joint statement?

JONATHAN KUNTZ, UCLA FILM AND TELEVISION PROFESSOR: Well, it is very significant. It means that everybody, I think, has really gotten serious here. The fact that they're able to work together to make a joint statement is encouraging after weeks and weeks of nobody talking to anybody else.

And then also very important, as has been pointed out, is the fact that four of the key leaders on the management side are right in these discussions, led by Ted Sarandos of Netflix and Bob Iger of Disney. So if anybody can reach an agreement, it's these folks in the room now.

JIMENEZ: Yes, for some, you would hope that's a welcoming sign that it's not just negotiators that they are actually in the room trying to get this across the finish line. And look, while there is important progress that the writers are fighting for, the actors are fighting for and others, the question for a lot of people is when are shows going to be able to resume production? And while progress with the writers is good overall, reaching a deal with actors in SAG-AFTRA is something else entirely, right?

KUNTZ: Oh, yes, it's a complicated. Issues are being debated here. And it's concerning issues that it's not like there's any easy answers to this. It's not just a little bit more money here or there. The key issues, well, there's the issues of the writers room for the writers, that's kind of insider stuff. But getting some sort of residual structure for streaming, this is huge. This is big. This would be kind of precedent setting.

And then finally, there's the issue of AI, which is what's bothering everybody. That's the great unknown for the future. In many ways, the Writers Guild are out there in the front of everybody else trying to figure out a way to manage and control this new thing that threatens in some ways to put a lot of people out of business.

JIMENEZ: Yes, and of course, AI has already touched so many facets of life, and I think people have seen how powerful AI can be and in some cases dangerous. But I give people some perspective on how the residual picture has changed when it comes to streaming, because obviously, when these fights were going through different mediums, when content was going to whether it was TV or DVDs or whatever it might be, residuals have come up in the past. Why is streaming residuals such a sticking point right now?

KUNTZ: Well, first off, the writers, not surprisingly, want to be compensated. The more popular their shows are, the more people that are watching them. They want to be compensated with more money for that. In the old days, this was something that was pretty easy to determine. You count the tickets at a box office, you look at the Nielsen ratings, you count unit sales, you know how many people were watching a movie or watching a television series.

But with streaming, it's all different, because with streaming, they're selling subscriptions. They're not selling things program by program.

And while they may know how many folks are watching each program, that's their secret data that they used to create future programs. And that gives them, they think, their advantage over other streamers. So the streamers, led by Netflix, are going to be very reluctant to release any of this data.

And any kind of a formula that's going to be crafted to pay the writers based on the popularity of shows when they're streaming is going to have to be very carefully crafted.

[08:40:06]

It's going to be a very tricky formula and it's going to be completely original and new to this situation.

JIMENEZ: And again, any progress that's made with the Writers Guild, then you have to come around and figure things out with SAG-AFTRA as well. So there's still a lot to go here as far as getting these programs.

KUNTZ: A lot of precedents.

JIMENEZ: Of course.

KUNTZ: There's a lot of precedents being set here. What happens with the Writers Guild --

JIMENEZ: Yes. KUNTZ: -- will certainly impact when the SAG-AFTRA comes back into the room.

JIMENEZ: Of course, of course. Jonathan Kuntz, thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: Coming up, a transportation milestone in America. A highspeed passenger rail is finally beginning service in the US. Could this be a breakthrough for domestic travelers?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:05]

JIMENEZ: Florida's new high speed train just took its first trip from Miami to Orlando.

BLACKWELL: It will run at more than 120 miles per hour. It promises passengers a break from the traffic filled interstates. CNN's Pete Muntean got exclusive access inside the brand new trains.

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PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): The trains are polished, the stations are ready, and for the first time, passengers are seeing this 125 mile per hour view. The latest extension of Florida's Brightline is now open, linking Orlando international airport to West Palm Beach in 2 hours, then onto existing service in Miami. Our cameras were the first on board for the final preps before the grand opening.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to Brightline.

MIKE REININGER, CEO, BRIGHTLINE HOLDINGS: It's super exciting.

MUNTEAN: Brightline CEO Mike Reininger tells me this 10-year long effort is only the start. These trains are fast, but Brightline's next project promises even faster speeds. Above 200 miles per hour. Brightline West would run along Interstate 15 in California from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, cutting drive time in half.

REININGER: We internally talk about this as Version 1.0. Brightline West will be the first true high speed rail system built in America ever.

MUNTEAN: Plans put Brightline West on par with highspeed trains in Italy and close to the top speed of Shanghai's Maglev. In Japan, bullet trains are clocking speeds of more than 370 mph.

RAY LAHOOD, FORMER TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: High speed rail is coming to America.

MUNTEAN: Ray LaHood served as transportation secretary during the Obama administration.

LAHOOD: This is not a pipe dream. This is reality. MUNTEAN: The bipartisan infrastructure law has devoted $66 billion to

rail projects. Brightline wants a $3.75 billion grant to break ground on its new project soon. But as a different high speed rail project in California is stalling and costs are soaring, not everyone is on board.

REP. TROY NEHLS (R-TX): This gives high speed rail a bad look.

REP. JOHN DUARTE (R-CA): This, Mr. Secretary, is a useless project.

MUNTEAN: As it opens in Florida, Brightline is offering two classes of service $79 on way in its main cars, $149 one way in its premium cars. There are power outlets in every seat, and the bathrooms way bigger than the airlines.

JIM MATHEWS, PRESIDENT AND CEO, RAIL PASSENGERS ASSOCIATION: A lot of people are going to go to Florida, and maybe they ride that train and they start to say, this is what trains can be like.

MUNTEAN: The current American standard, Amtrak's Acela can reach 150 miles per hour, but only in a few small segments of the northeast corridor. For travelers who have already embraced rail, higher speeds can't come soon enough.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We definitely need it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: High speed rail would obviously be amazing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It'll be nice if I can get here in half the amount of time, which will be great.

MUNTEAN (on camera): Clearly the hope is this is not the end of the line for high speed rail. Brightline West is planned to open by the L.A. Olympics in 2028. And I asked Brightline's CEO where else we could see projects like it. He says city pairs that are too short to fly and too long to drive. Think Houston to Dallas or Seattle to Vancouver. A lot of possibilities. Victor, Omar.

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JIMENEZ: Pete Muntean, thank you. Now, tomorrow on CNN, Chef Jose Andres is taking his three daughters on a culinary adventure through his Spanish homeland. Here's a preview.

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JOSE ANDRES, FOUNDER, WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN: Baby let's go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got it.

ANDRES: Come on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go. I'm going. We weigh too much. What is the best way to eat our way around Barcelona?

ANDRES: This is the best way to eat around Barcelona. In a more bite you're going to stop right, left, here, there, everywhere. Man, I'm hungry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tapas. Tapas. Tapas.

ANDRES: Yes. We're going to do tapas. I'm hungry. In America, I became famous for bringing Spanish style tapas into my restaurants. In its most traditional form, it's ham, cheese, sausage or tomato bread. In the old days, people put these open face sandwiches over their glass to keep the dust out.

The name tapas actually comes from the Spanish verb tapar, which means to cover. For busy workers, it was intended to be a quick, easy and inexpensive way to refuel.

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JIMENEZ: Sorry, I zoned out. It looks so amazing. You can catch this at 9:00 tomorrow night right here on CNN. We'll be right back.

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[08:53:50]

JIMENEZ: Before we go, here are some of the stories we're keeping an eye on. At least five students are in critical condition this morning after a bus crash in Orange County, New York, on Thursday. Two people were killed in the crash. The bus was headed to an event for a high school band camp at the time.

According to a state police spokesman, 22 students have been discharged from the hospital. Investigators say a blown front tire may have caused the crash.

BLACKWELL: The White House has introduced a new Office of Gun Violence Prevention. Vice President Kamala Harris will lead it. President Biden says it's part of his administration's efforts to combat gun violence across the country. He says the office will help put his signature gun legislation into action after it passed last year and find more ways to curb gun violence.

All right, we'll be back again in an hour.

JIMENEZ: Smerconish is up next. But first, be sure to tune in tonight for a CNN special event. 12 CNN journalists, including our Victor Blackwell, spotlight the inspiring stories of change makers that have made a lasting impact. These individuals don't always make the headlines, but they do make a difference.

[08:55:00]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we go. Here we go. Come on, let's go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was about how many people can't you help?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Join us for Champions for Change. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel a source of inspiration and pride just

coming together.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want you guys to truly forget the word can't.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As CNN journalists spotlight the change makers who inspire them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She teaches you to break through that fear to get to where you need to be.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Turns out that one human being can do a lot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's opening a door for people that are desperate for freedom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These aren't throwaway animals. These are precious beings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See how these community champions use creativity, heart and grit to lift society up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When the music starts, something happens.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I surround myself with positive people. They help me be that inspiration.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Champions for Change, a special event tonight at 8:00 on CNN.

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