Good morning, everyone. It is saturday, september 16th. Im amara walker. Im victor blackwell. Youre in the cnn newsroom. We begin this morning with dangerous Weather Conditions brought by now post Tropical Cyclone lee. As necklace starts to feel the impact as new england starts to feel the impact of the storm, Boston International airport is experiencing a spike in flight cancellations. So far, 25 of flights leaving boston have been canceled. That is according to flight aware. While the storm is not expected to make landfall in the u. S. , the outer bands of the powerful storm are expected to pack strong 50 to 60 mileanhour winds and bring storm surges that can cause flooding throughout the new england post. Authorities are telling people to prepare to go home and stay there, as the storm pushes north through the day. Lee is also expected to cause dangerous rip currents along the atlantic coast, with many states warning people to stay out of the ocean this weekend, because of the dangerous surf conditions. Were covering this storm with derek van dam, cape cod, Allison Chincar in the weather center. Moving closer to the water now, what are you seeing, now, where youre expecting, what youre expecting over the next few hours . It looks like were having Audio Trouble there and lets turn it over to Allison Chinchar and let us know what to expect. Were taking a look at where the storm is now, and some of the biggest impacts we have from this area are actually over maine. This is a live look at bar harbor maine, lots of rain coming down. It has been very heavy at times. You can see the trees in the Background Whipping around, too, and indicating the wind gusts are continuing to increase across the area. Those rain bands, we are looking at some of the yellow, the heavier rain, just now starting to slide into the bar harbor region with bands pushing into boston, providence, rhode island, and some heavy rain across nova scotia and new brunswick, canada. Now one thing to note, the system itself, the name may have changed and now post Tropical Cyclone lee and the impacts from the storm have not changed. It has Hurricane Force winds, sustained winds of 80 Miles Per Hour and the wind gusts up around 100 Miles Per Hour, it is moving to the north, at about 25 Miles Per Hour. And it is expected to make landfall over the southern portion of nova scotia, in just the next few hours, and then it will continue off to the north and east. Heres a look at again the forecast for the wind, even though the bulk of the heavy winds will be on the righthand flank of this storm, mainly focused over portions of nova scotia, and new brunswick, you are still likely to have wind gusts around a, even 60 Miles Per Hour, for maine, portions of new hampshire, and massachusetts, and that is enough to bring down trees and cause some subsequent Power Outages. Wind is still going to be a big factor, even though the strongest winds will likely be more over canada, the u. S. Is still going to have some impacts. Rainfall as well, rain bands are going to continue off and on across maine, connecticut, rhode island, new hampshire, massachusetts, and well into the afternoon hours, and once we get to the evening, then the rain really is just focused on maine. And by tomorrow morning, the bulk of that rain is really just focused over canada. And things will start to dry out here on the u. S. End. Until that happens, you have to keep in mind, a lot of these areas of new england have a tremendous amount of rain this summer, and even over the last few weeks, so that ground is already saturated and now youre adding two, three, four inches of additional rain, so it is not going to take much to trigger some further flooding, thats why you have this slight risk here across portions of maine, stretching from caribou all the way to bar harbor and just to the east of portland. Thats where were going to see the biggest chance in terms of the flooding potential. But again, maine is not the only area, youve also got massachusetts, the area where derek is as well, and again, we will be looking at this, two main concerns here with the storm, the winds and the Power Outages that could be caused from that, and then also the potential for flooding. Allison, thank you. Derek has a new mic. Lets go back to the cape. What you are seeing there . Yes, i think people will forgive us, victor, were out in the middle of a Tropical Storm, right . So technical difficulties should be expected. But we worked on it. And what i was trying to portray to our viewers is that the Wind Direction here on the cape, cape cod, and massachusetts, has changed. And now, were starting to see the westerly component behind the storm, push up the swells, and nantucket is about 15 miles over my righthands shoulder. This storm has ballooned in size. And even though were 450 miles from the center of the storm, were still feeling the impacts here on cape cod. We have been stressing that for several days now, the back of the storm has been so big, it is why we expected to see these impacts, especially along coastal new england and particularly in cape cod where i am. So we will get to the graphics, and hopefully we can give you a better handle on how close of a call it really was for us in cape cod, and the cape cod bay area. You can see, we just went through a low tide cycle. And that was at 7 13 this morning. Were working towards high tide. So the water is pushing. But the bulk of the storm now has moved a little further on. So we didnt time high tide with the most powerful winds from what was hurricane lee, so that is good news. So hopefully that will hold back some of that potential coast situation, and swells in nantucket, approaching 20 feet. You can still see the Flood Warnings that are in place right along the coastline. Down east maine. And into cape cod. The coastal areas of massachusetts. And the current wind gusts here, this is fascinating, there was a 55 mileanhour wind gust, so that is Tropical Storm force in nantucket, and right now, theyre gusting to about 39, so thats still Tropical Storm force. And we anticipate these winds to last here, another three to six hours, before the system finally makes landfall, into, it looks like the Canadian Maritimes and nova scotia. But regardless, it is a large storm, impacts well outside of this area, and just checked on this as well, in maine, theres now 44,000 customers without power, so anticipated to go up, because the strongest winds now impacting Eastern Maine and it is very easy to topple trees there, and take down power lines, so we anticipate that number to continue to climb this morning. So victor, amara, the storm kind of playing out like a noreaster here. I think thats what people anticipated. Thats how they braced their properties for. Thats how they braced their homes for. And theyve been through it before. So they know how to handle it. Derek van dam, and Allison Chinchar, thank you both. The United Auto Workers and the big three car makers are expected to continue negotiations today. It is day two now of the uaw targeted strike. Thousands of members are walking the picket lines in three cities. Theyre demanding pay increases, a return to traditional pensions, and protections against job losses as the Industry Shifts to Electric Vehicles. This is the first time in uaw history, that it has led strikes against all three of americans unionized automakers at the same time. Cnns gabe cohen joins us from toledo, ohio. I see theyre already on the picket lines. What are you seeing there . Thats absolutely right. The crowds that we have seen over the past 36 hours now, let me see if i can actually give you a look, as we come down to the street, were outside this stellantis factory in toledo, and a half mile from this complex, there are groups all the way across, outside every single gate at the factory. 5800 workers, in this complex, they are on strike now, and the uaw members, 13,000 across country and look we know theyre heading and we can get back on the sidewalk now, we know theyre heading back to the Bargaining Table today, the two sides here, and the union says they sent counteroffers to each of the big three, ford, General Motors and Stellantis Yesterday and now waiting for a response. We dont know the details of what is in those offers but we did get a better sense late yesterday about how wide the divide has been between these sides with the head of the union saying 80 of the members demands, 80 have not been met in any of the offers that they have seen up to this point from the automakers, so it doesnt seem like were nearing a deal at this point. Look, it is day two. We are hearing a lot of energy from these folks, chanting, cheering, i want to bring in derek, the strike captain, is that right, for this group . That is correct. Of all the factories, the plants across the country that have been selected for this initial tactical strike, you guys were one of them. What was your reaction when you heard that news . I felt that they did a good job, hitting them with their money maker here, and the wrangler is one of the highest profitable vehicles in the company, and he is showing them that he is serious. Youre talking about the jeeps that are made here, about a thousand a day. They are back in the Bargaining Table today. Your leadership, along with the automakers, we have heard strong words from both sides. What is your message for the Union Leadership today as they head back to the Bargaining Table, speaking for so many of the members here. We stand behind you guys. We like the demands that the union has. And we are out here supporting you. And we feel that is what we deserve. And what is the frustration, do you think, after months of negotiation, it has led to this, what are the biggest points of frustration, do you think, that members are feeling right now, that led to this moment and this strike . Our pay has not kept up with inflation. And our temperatures are being abuse our temps are being abused here, we have temps who have been here for six years, with no benefit, no guaranteed time to full time, and our bay is not on par with the price of Everything Else going up in the country. We heard the ceo of ford saying if they gave in to all of the unions demands, it would bankrupt the company. What do you make of that . I dont believe that. I feel they show record profits, and we deserve a record contract. Thats our stance. Thank you so much. Really appreciate it. And good luck. So as you can hear, guys, day two, it will be interesting to see if any progress is made up in michigan at that Bargaining Table, between the union and the automakers, but for now, look, so many of these workers have told me that they prepared for this, they were told months, even years ago, that a strike could be coming at some point, and they should be saving their money, not easy to do, if youre living pay check to paycheck, as some people have told me they are, but still, they knew a strike could be coming, and so many have said theyre ready to do this for as long as it takes. Victor, amara . Lets hope it doesnt take too long. Gabe cohen shall appreciate your reporting. Thank you. Lets go to cnn white house reporter, kevin, we heard from President Biden yesterday, just hours after the thousands of workers walked out. It sounded like President Biden he stopped just short of endorsing strike but he did seem to show his support for those workers. Reporter yes, very forcefully coming out on the side of the unions, and that was notable, because as these talks have proceeded over the last several months, President Biden and the white house have avoided taking an explicit side in all of this, really hoping that the auto workers and the automakers could come to some sort of agreement. That all changed in the Roosevelt Room yesterday. The president coming out and saying that record profits for these automakers must translate to Record Contracts for the workers who he has said had seen their wages eroded over the past several years, as well as their benefits. Now, listen to a little bit more of what the president had to say. No one wants a strike. Say it again. No one wants a strike. But i respect workers rights to use their options over the collective bargaining system. They have been around the clock and the companies have made some significant offers but i believe they should go further. Record corporate profits mean Record Contracts for the uaw. Now, this strike is really coming at the intersection of so many important priorities for President Biden, really striking at the heart of his political identity. Of course, hes referred to himself as the most prounion president in history. And a key part of his economic agenda is boosting wages for the middle class. But at the same time, he has the imperative of maintaining a strong economy, and certainly, the strike, if it goes on for a while could have serious effects nationwide. You also see the president s push to transition to Electric Vehicles really coming into play here. One of the key sticking points for the auto workers is ensuring that that transition to Electric Vehicles comes with good wages, the same number of jobs for auto workers and of course, you have to play into this, the electoral politics of michigan, and of course, it is a key battleground state, the president is still pursuing, an endorse from the uaw, and now we did say yesterday that he was dispatching two key aides, James Sperling and the acting Labor Secretary, to troo detroit to try and get support for these two sides but it does remain to be seen how much effect they have as the talks condition. Kevin, in washington, thank you. Joining me now is Michigan Democratic representative Debbie Dingell, of course, representing michigan, you are the exact right person to talk to this morning. Thanks for joining us. Let me start here. I understand you spoke with the president of the uaw, what can you tell us about what we should expect as we go into this first negotiation to the start of the strike, and if there is any momentum toward one another. So, good morning. I have been talking to him from the day he was sworn in as president and the fact of the matter is i gave one keynote to the Bargaining Convention after he became president. I have been talking to these auto workers for months and i know whats on their mind. He has been very clear, after, from day one, i can count on people, this is part of being very clear, and he was very clear after he got elected that he would target all three companies which nobody took too seriously until this past week. He is very clear what needs to be done, what the workers want. They gave up cola in 2008 and 2009. In real wages, of what they were making, in 2008 and 2009, they are behind what that meant then. They need an increase in their pay. People are working on the assembly line, doing the same job, and they want job security. And were at a cross roads. You talked about it earlier, a minute ago, when you talked about the transition from the internal Combustion Engine to Electric Vehicles. There are a lot of issues here. So cola being a cost of living adjustment, just so folks who are not keeping up with the acronyms and make sure theyre on board as well. Sorry. Thats all right. I goch you. Ill catch it if you drop one. And you said youve known for months there was a good chance of a stroke but around labor day President Biden said he didnt think there would be one. Let me ask you about the reporting from politico today, after that happened, the uaw president , representative and Debbie Dingell and others were watching in a labor day parade in detroit when they learned of bidens comments and dingell would then say that he called longtime Biden Adviser and screamed at him over the comment. According to a person familiar with the talk and granted anonymity to discuss details. Are you out of your fing mind, dingell said, per the person. First, did that conversation happen . And second, leading up to the strike, what is your assessment of how the white house handled the messaging and the potential for the strike . Okay, so i dont know what friend decided to hear this, but im not going to deny that im debbie and sometimes when i get incensed my language gets incensed. All right. And i have had regular ongoing conversations with the white house, and Steve Sperling was assigned to this, i talked to him regularly, i talked to the Labor Secretary last night, acting Labor Secretary, for some time, so i am somebody who believes very strongly that the president should not mingle at least in this negotiation or this in strike. I think that they need to determine, and work with, wo