Hello everyone. Thank you for joining me this sunday. Im fredicka whitfield. We begin in hollywood where after the last four days of marathon negotiations, striking writers and studios could reach a deal as early as today. Its a glimmer of hope for an end to a strike that has dragged ob for nearly five months and impacted the production of scores of tv shows and movies. Cnns parent company, Warner Brothers discovery, is a part of the negotiations with the union. Cnns Camila Bernal joining me from los angeles. Camila, how hopeful are people . Reporter people are really on pins and needles. Theyre very hopeful but also very cautious because they know at the moment there is no deal. This is day five of these marathon sessions, but theyre waiting to see exactly what is going to come out of all of these negotiations. A lot of people want to return to work. They want to see a deal happening, possibly today. That is a very likely possibility because we had heard that by the end of the weekend, was essentially a doable timeline. Were waiting to see exactly what happens. These are very complicated issues. The writers wanting higher wages when it comes to residuals and streaming. They were also very focused on Artificial Intelligence. Thats complicated part of the negotiations. Real lits just a waiting game now because what weve seen over the last couple days, this has been a strike that has really paralyzed los angeles, the industry, and its been sort of a Domino Effect in terms of the economic impact. Estimates are 5 billion in terms of an economic impact. Theres been a lot of people who have been struggling with about five months where they havent been working. Part of it is wanting to get the demands that they asked for. So even if there is a deal by the end of the weekend, the members, more than 11,000 writers, they have to ratify the deal, so theyll have to look at it and decide whether they want to vote yes or no on it. Furthermore, its going to be hard to go back to normal because the actors are also on strike. Sagaftra also needs to come to a deal with these major studios, and that could take more time. So really things wont necessarily go back to normal, but there is hope on the horizon here. Its, of course, what people have been waiting to hear for months now, that possibly there is a deal in sight. Fred. It will indeed be nice if there were some breakthrough. Camila bernal, keep us posted. Eric dug against is a Media Analyst and the tv critic for npr. Great to see you. Were talking about the last four days in particular of these hard core negotiations. What is it about these negotiations that are suddenly bringing so much optimism . Well, i think first the fact that the actual moguls, the people who actually run these companies are said to be participating in these talks. Previous iterations of talks involved representatives of the group that represents all the studios that are involved and party to this agreement. Now were hearing actual Industry Leaders are in the room and theyre hearing these proposals and offering their feedback. Its also made it clear that theyre really interested in closing a deal rather than batting around proposals and playing in the press, trying to win public sentiment. Its been obvious that the public has been on the side of the striking writers and actors in poll after poll. I think the studios realizes they really need to prove that theyre serious about this, and they need to get down to brass ta tacks. If the strike goes on much longer, for example, the entire Broadcast Season will probably be scuttled, and we wont see much scripted content on broadcast tv stations. They kind of have to wrap this up at least by the end of october if theres hope of salvaging the season. It has been a long strike. Relative it seenls very long. May is when the writers began striking. They want to change, among the many things, how they are paid, argue that the old model doesnt really reflect the emergence of streaming as a major platform. They want higher pay. They want better structure about the residuals and all that, too. Do you see that the writers are going to have to acquiesce more than, say, the Big Movie Houses . No. I think weve reached a point where the writers and the actors guild in particular realize this is a doordie moment for their organizations. If they allow the current structure of streaming, compensation for streaming to exist, it will become so much harder for people to earn a middle class living or slightly better. The stars will always be the stars. A great many people kind of trying to live in the middle, and if they dont create a structure where theyre better compensated going forward, it will g much harder for people to live in that middle. For example, something as simple as when streaming services started, the seasons for their shows could be as short as ten episodes or eight episodes or seven episodes. Now, in broadcast television, they used to be 22 episodes long, 25 episodes long. If you were a writer that got paid for every episode you worked, you could see how your income would shrink tremendously if youre working on a show that only had seven episodes versus 25. Thats just the simplest way of looking at this. There are many complex aspects to how writers get compensated including what do you do about Artificial Intelligence and its ability to mimic the writers, so people get credit for the work theyve created. The latter has become a really big one. If the writers reach a deal, what happens with the striking actors negotiations . The actors strike began in july. Do you see theyre looking at the Writers Strike or the outcome as a real framework for how theyll proceed . I think thats the hope. The hope was always that one of the two guilds, either the writers or the actors, would forge a deal with the studios that would then become a template that could allow them to talk about issues for the other group. A lot of the concerns that each group has are similar. Theres also a similar fear among actors about being replaced by Artificial Intelligence. Theres a similar concern among actors about compensation when you work on a streaming project and how much work do you put into a streaming project before you get paid. Can you put in a bunch of Volunteer Work and be told at the end we dont need your services . Shouldnt you get something . What happens once that show is created and its had a life on a Cable Channel or a streaming service and then it goes where else. Can you get paid when it goes somewhere else . And can that payment be substantial in these are all issues that the writers are talking about. And if they find some solution for the writers, i think theres a hope that there would at least with a template that the Screen Actors Guild could use in their negotiations. Of course, if the writers do come to an agreement with the studios, that will put pressure on the streen actors guild to find a solution because the writers will have proven that it is possible. Its so fascinating. Lets hope for an amicable ending to all this so people can resume their craft and their lives. And i can keep reviewing tv shows because i love doing that. I know. And we love it that you do that and do it so well. Eric deggins, thank you so much. Great to see you. Turning to capitol hill where time is ticking to avoid a crippling Government Shutdown this week. Lawmakers now have just six days to pass a Spending Bill to fund the government. House speaker Kevin MccarthyIs Fighting Hard Right gop holdouts and he doesnt have the votes to get a stopgap funding bill passed. No, maam. I have not voted for a cr, continuing resolution. I didnt vote for one under President Trump and i havent voted for any in the past. I think its just completely throwing away our duties. We have a duty to pass a budget. Weve got a budget committee. And for the last i think 30 years we havent even passed a budget. Could you imagine your church or your synagogue or your temple or your Charitable Organization or your business or even our states, all 50 states pass a budget. Daggum, we just dont do it. Part of the reason is its easy, and part of the reason is it hides a lot of things from the public. Cnns Priscilla Alvarez joins us now from the white house. Priscilla, the deadline is just days away now. President biden is now weighing in on this potential u. S. Government shutdown. Whats he saying . Reporter well, hes saying its incumbent on republicans to get this done and that any delay and any shutdown would disrupt american lives. Take a listen to what he had to say at an event last night. Lets be clear. If the government shuts down, that means members of Congress Members of the u. S. Military are going to have to continue to work and not get paid. Government shutdown could impact everything from food safety, cancer research, Head Start Programs for children. Funding the government is among the most basic responsibilities of congress. Its time for republicans to start doing the job america elected them to do. Now, for Weeks White House officials have been warning about the implications of a Government Shutdown saying there would be disruptions to air travel. It also could take a toll on the economy. On friday the Office Of Management And Budget started formally the process of telling agencies they had to dust aur their plans and prepare for this potential. Thats what they often do when we get so close to the deadline. In this case what agencies are doing is reviewing their plans, looking at who would get furloughed as well as those who have to work without pay and looking at what activities and services the government would provide that would have to come to a halt. We heard from republicans yesterday who tried to lay out a path forward and tried to project some confidence saying they could try to get enough done to avoid a shutdown, but the reality is they dont have all the votes yet within their own conference. Causing anxiety in the government as to what happens in the event of a shutdown. Fred. All very important questions. Priscilla alvarez, thank you so much. Now to africa where u. S. Defense secretary lloyd austin has just arrived in djibouti, the first stop of a threenation tour on the continent. This Morning Austin was welcomed with a large Red Carpet Ceremony followed by a meeting with the countrys leadership at the president ial palace. Cnns Natasha Bertrand is live on the ground in djibouti. Natasha, what does the Secretary Hope to accomplish at these meetings . Reporter fred, these meetings in east africa this week, they have really been focused on Counterterrorism Efforts. Thats a main priority of the United States when it comes to its operations in africa. The u. S. Does have a limited number of troops on the ground in somalia as well as kenya. His conversations with the Ministry Of Defense and the gentleman beauty president , they are making sure the terrorist Group Al Shabaab are going the way dwrats wants them to go. He also met with the president of somalia here in djibouti to discuss how the Counterterrorism Efforts against al shabaab is going, especially because the u. S. Has about 800 american troops on the ground helping them conduct counterterrorism operations. They often do call in air strikes to try to counter these terrorists. He will be going to kenya tomorrow to discuss all of this with Kenyan Defense leaders as well. And then he will make his way to angola later this week to basically discuss opening up a military Defense Partnership and seeing the kind of avenues the u. S. Can explore with the al goal lans. The Wagner Mercenary group exploits ungoverned spaces here in africa. And when there is instability, chaos, terrorism, wagner tries to fill that hole and convince certain governmental leaders that they can provide security. The u. S. Wants to push back against that. They want to say, look, we are partners in this fight against the terrorists. You dont need wagner. Senior Defense Leaders told us here travelling with the secretary of defense this week that a number of countries here in africa have actually come to regret partnering with Wagner Mercenary group in the name of fighting terrorism, and that they have come to the u. S. And said, look, we would much rather partner with you. When we bring wagner into these countries, all we get is trouble and human rights abuses. Thats also going to be a priority here for the secretary of defense. Wagner is still kind of looming large here in the continent and dont seem to be going away any time soon, fred. Natasha bertrand, vital concerns on this threeafrican nation tour. Bafrjts v. Back in this Country Ophelia is a post Tropical Cyclone and dumping rain across the northeast. Coastal flooding and high winds are a threat to millions across the region. Virginia, North Carolina and maryland declared states of emergency as storm surges top three feet along parts of the coast. Cnns Allison Chinchar is tracking the storm for us. Allison, when is this going to wind down . The real answer to that is going to be late tomorrow, which means it still has several more hours to drop even more rain than it already has on a lot of areas. Right now still looking at heavy rain across portions of pennsylvania, new york, new jersey, and at Times Connecticut and massachusetts. When you look back at how much rain has already fallen, especially over North Carolina and virginia where pretty much its done at this point, these are impressive rainfall totals. Jacksonville, North Carolina, totaling almost 9 inches. Winterville, North Carolina, just over 7. Even in virginia widespread numbers around the 45 inch range. We still have flooding concerns today. The threat begins to shift farther to the north. The main focus today is new jersey, delaware, portions of virginia where we could pick up 12 feet along the coastal areas throughout the afternoon and evening tonight. For tonight, the bulk still focused over the midatlantic. Youll see the vast majority of rain focus along coastal new england and coastal northeast before it finally pushes back out by the time we get to tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow evening. Thats one system were watching. Weve also got an Atmospheric River event taking shape in the Pacific Northwest and also some severe storms across the central u. S. The main threats here are going to be damaging winds, large hail and the potential for tornadoes. That focus is going to be dallas through san antonio and toward shreveport, louisiana. We already had storms ongoing today, but a lot of it fires up late this afternoon and will continue into the evening hours. In some of these cases, especially right around arklatex, it will continue through the overnight. Do be sure you have those Emergency Alerts before you go to bed. Great advice. Allison chinchar, thanks so much. A rare, cosmic gift. 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