Not backing down, even though this case includes incriminating photos of gold bars, huge chunks of cash. Menendez says hes done nothing wrong and is confident hell be vi vindicated. I understand how deeply concerning this may be. However, the allegations levelled against me are just that, allegations. I recognize this will be the biggest fight yet. As ive saitated throughout the whole process, i firmly believe when all the facts are presented i will be exonerated. Weve been tracking this. Cara, we know the facts ads presented by the prosecution, all the cash, the gold bars and why the prosecution says he had it. What was his defense for having all this . Reporter so Senator Menendez really focusing on the allegations in the indictment to some extent. Hes been accused of taking cash, hundreds of thousands of dollars of gold bars and a mercedesbenz convertible in exchange for helping three new Jersey Business men and aiding the government of egypt. The senator saying the cash the fbi found when they searched his home last year, he said that was Old Fashioned and he just withdrew money from his Savings Account and stored it like that in his home. He didnt address the gold bars and the mercedes. On the issue of egypt, he rattled off a list of accomplishments and positions hes taken as a senator saying hes been tough on jimt. Hes not aided egypt and he tried to hold them accountable for human rights abuses. He spoke to these calling from democrats for his resignation saying that sometimes prosecutors getting wrong nodding to that 2015 indictment where he was facing similar charges. He ultimately survived that politically and through the Justice System. Hes saying he wants people to not rush to judgment. Heres more of what he said. A corner stone of the foundation of american democracy and our Justice System is the principle that all people are presumed innocent until proven guilty. All people. I ask for nothing more and deserve nothing less. The court of Public Opinion is no substitute for our revered Justice System. We cannot set aside the Presumption Of Innocence for political expediency when the harm is irrevocable. Reporter menendez did have some of his constituents there saying hes not lost the confidence of new jersey. He refused to answer any questions. Jim . Notable. Hes in court soon . Reporter yeah. Menendez is due in court along with his wife and the three new Jersey Businessmen on wednesday where theyll go before a judge to face these charges. Menendez hasnt said what his plea will be. It seems clear hell enter a plea of not guilty. This will be his second time going through the Justice System on charges that are serious corruption charges. He will be having this play out over the next several months or a year. That overlaps with the big question here. Is he going to run for reelection . He did after the last criminal case. The senior senator from new jersey, will he run for reelection next year . Lets go to manu raju on the hill. Manu, weve seen a lot of attacks on the Justice System when republicans, including the former president , have been indicted. Weve not seen attacks on the Justice System by the democrats. A number of them have called for his resignation. Reporter yeah, and a lot of them from new jersey saying he should step aside. Hes facing a primary challenge from congressman andy kim. The criticism is not translating or not being echoed yesterday among senate democrats. Only one, John Fetterman of pennsylvania, calling for him to resign. Democrat leaders are saying what menendez is saying. He has a Presumption Of Innocence until proven guilty. Some saying they acknowledge the charges are very serious, but menendez is due his time in court. Senator dick durbin echoed what Chuck Schumer said friday, that menendez should be allowed to fight this out in court. In terms of resignation, thats a decision to be made by Senator Menendez. I think Senator Menendez has to think long and hard about the cloud thats going to hangover his service in the United States senate. I believe that its in the best interest for Senator Menendez to resign in this moment. As a latina, there are absolutely ways in which there is systemic bias. I think what is in the indictment is quite clear. Reporter youre seeing a split with House Democrats and senate democrats. Alexandria ocasiocortez responded to him saying because hes a latino hes being targeted. Alexandria ocasiocortez pushing back on that criticism from menendez. Well see when Democratic Senators return to washington tomorrow and well ask many of them about these charges. How many more of them will say he should fight this in court . How many others will say its time for him to resign . Do you have a sense of the Majority Leaders Calculus here . There are political implications of course. Were going into an important election cycle. Reporter this is a hugely important decision for menendez himself about whether or not to run for reelection. He didnt say so himself in those remarks he gave to the press. He wouldnt answer questions from the press. Chuck schumer is aware that if bob menendez were to run, it could make his efforts to keep the senate that much harder if this seat is a vulnerable seat, something that could switch to the republican side. Theres a huge map they have to battle here. Chuck schumer has dealt with this the same way as when bob menendez was indicted. He didnt call for him to resign. He said he should step aside as chairman of the Senate Foreign relations committee. These time hes also stepping aside. Well see what happens when hes pressed on questions on whether hell back bob menendez for reelection. A Brief Statement from schumer on friday praising menendez time in office and saying he supports his decision to step aside as chairman. Manu raju, thank you. Breonna . Congress has just one work week left to avoid a Government Shutdown. Infighting among House Republicans has stymied progress. The white house is blaming a small group of what they called extremist republicans. Agriculture secretary detailed the ground level impacts of a shutdown at the white house briefing. Hes joining us now to talk about that. Mr. Secretary, thank you so much for being with us. I want to cover just the real effects of what will happen if theres a shutdown. One thing interrupted you talked about this is nutrition and Health Assistance to women, infants and children, the w. I c program. What happens if those funds run out . They wont be able to get the nutritional items they need. Nearly 7 million women, postpartum, pregnant women, young children, babies, nearly 50 of americans young population is in wic. Were talking about a Significant Impact that shouldnt have to be. A deal is a deal. A majority of House Republicans voted for the Debt Ceiling Deal and it seems to me this is an unnecessary consequence of not recognizing that a deal is a deal. How long until Meals On Wheels is affected . Well, those programs get impacted at various times. For example, the s. N. A. P. Program, our largest nutrition program, 41 million americans rely on it, we probably have resources to be able to get through the month of october. If a shutdown were to last longer than that, we would see those families negatively impacted by the shutdown. Its not just nutrition assi assistance. Its farm loans, farmers who need help to pay their bills. They wont be able to get it because the Farm Service Loan office will be shut down. It wont have anybody there. A young couple wishing to purchase a home in Rural America wont be able to do so because the office cant be staffed. There are real consequences to real people as a result of the shut shutdown. This is what people in washington dont understand. They like to play the game, but the game has serious consequences to real property. You mentioned how marketing loans would stop. The crop report is due in october, october 12th. That would be interrupted at a Critical Point for soy beans and corn. Are there risks to the food supply . Theres not a risk to the food supply, but theres a risk to the ability to make a profit as a farer. Many small producers have a difficult time as it is. Without the Marketing Information and the loans, it will be very difficult for them. That adds a considerable amount of stress to families working hard to make sure we have adequate food supplies. Its a n Unfortunate Con consequences. Its also the federal parks. Theyll be shut down. Theres no reason for this when there was a deal struck and parties voted for it. Should democrats throw Kevin Mccarthy a life line and vote for a c. R. To keep the country open . I think the speaker has to do his job. He worked hard to get it. Now he has to do it. Its in his hands. Its his members and the extreme element of his caucus thats Holding Everything up. Some way, somehow he needs to deal with those folks that gets a budget thats consistent with the deal that was struck by a majority of House Republicans, a majority of House Democrats, a majority of the United States senate and signed by the president. That is the answer here. We went to Great Lengths to strike this deal which cuts spending. My department will see a cut. Were willing to accept that cut, but were not willing to accept a cut that will cripple the usda from being able to do its work for so many people in Rural America. I want to ask you about india. Canada and india are in a row right now because the canadian Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau called out india for alleged involvement of an assassination of an activist on Canadian Soil. The u. S. Ambassador to canada confirmed there was a partnership to support what trudeau was saying to india. The u. S. Government has major interests in maintaining a positive relationship with india. A couple weeks ago you welcomed india reducing tariffs on certain american al cugricultur products. How do you send india a message its not okay to send someone to assassinate someone on Canadian Soil . The u. S. canadian relationship in trading is extremely important. We have quite a number of issues when it comes to india with trade. My focus is on what i can control which is the trade relationship between the United States and india. We need to work to break down barriers. We welcome the tariff relief, but theres more india needs to do. Mr. Secretary, thank you for being with us. Jim . Cnn obtained a new survey by Bank Of America that 2 out of 3 employees feel prices are rising faster than their paychecks. Why this could be a problem for President Biden. Both biden and trump are headed to michigan this week to battle for that swing state. How support for the unions could play into this. Later, the Writers Union reaches a tentative deal with the studios. Details on how soon shows could start and where actors stand in their strike. Youre watching cnn news central. Well be right back. Paycheck isnt keeping up with inflation, youre not alone. According to a new Bank Of America study more than 2 out of 3 wage earners dont think their wages are growing fast enough. Thats up from february 2022. This despite that inflation has dropped dramatically from the peak 9. 1 in june of 2022. Matt egan is the man who obtained the look at this data. Matt, what are your takeaways from the survey . Its a sobering report and a reminder that a lot of americans are stressing out about money. Some of these numbers are moving in the wrong direction. 67 of employees surveyed say that prices are going up faster than their paychecks. Thats up from 58 early last year. This is understandably unnerving a lot of people. If you look at how many people say theyre financially well right now, its just 42 . That is the lowest percentage since Bank Of America started tracking this in 2010. This is lower than just after the great recession, lower than end even during the covid recession. Its surprising because the rate of inflation has cooled off significantly. Prices are going up at less than half the pace they were at the peak last year. Heres the problem, prices are still going up, just not as much as they were and inflation is cumulative. Theres this snow balling effect. Everything from eggs, car rentals to a night out at a restaurant is a lot more expensive than it was before covid. Even though Government Data shows that paychecks are starting to catch up, a lot of americans feel like they cant keep up with the prices. What about for women . The numbers are particularly stark for women. Bank of america found that 38 of women say they feel financially well. Thats down pretty dramatically from 55 early last year. Women are also more likely to say that Financial Stress is keeping them up at night, that they feel like they wont be able to make ends meet due to inflation. Look at this. 39 of women say they have to look for additional employment just to try to keep up with rising costs. 39 of women say that, just 17 for men. Its evidence of the pay gap where women make on average less than men. Also, big picture here, this is just another reminder of why americans are giving President Bidens Economic Performance such low numbers. They feel like they cant keep up right now. There is a political element to this. Thats why we have eva mcken with us. Theres a lag effect to this. Folks will feel things as the numbers change and inflation is cumulative. A lot of that effect is still there. It might explain these really bad economic Approval Numbers that biden has. Reporter yes, jim, and the data seems to be getting worse for the president. This is a persistent issue, not just for President Biden, but democrats broadly. When you speak to voters, they give republicans a bit more credit when it comes to Economic Issues even though the policies that democrats champion like extending the Child Tax Credit are popular with most americans. Thats why what were likely to see and what we saw in the midterms is democrats make other arguments in concert with the economic one. They cant run on the economy alone. Well hear about reproductive fre freedom, preserving american democracy. That may make up for not being able to convince voters on the Economic Issues. Eva, stay with us. Were following the campaign. President biden and former President Trump, how theyre responding to labor strikes. Biden set to join the picket line tomorrow in michigan. Trump also planning to visit Union Members in that state. Theyre making those trips. Nathaniel myerson has more on that. The impression of unions had gone down for decades, now its reversed. Reporter weve seen support for unions grow since the financial crash in 2008. Right now 66 of the public approves of unions according to gallop. Were seeing strong support for the uaw members. 75 of the public sides with workers over the auto companies. This support is bipartisan. 85 of democrats, 77 of independents, 66 of republicans are siding with uaw workers. How about participate rates . They were way down for a long time. Some evidence it was picking up again. Where do they stand now . Reporter jim, the strong public support for unions is not translating into strong union pr t participation. Weve seen the numbers decline. In 2022 10 of the public belongs to the union. In 1979 uaw membership peaked at 1. 5 million members. Now its down to under 400,000. Thats remarkable. Less than a third. Eva back with us on this. Its interesting were going to be seeing trump and biden this week talking to these Union Workers. Its not just about the auto workers. They set the pace for the middle class. This is a bit of a battle for the middle class. Theyll be doing it in different ways. They are. President biden has more at stake. Hes the president and so he is taking a very clear side here. You know, it could come back to bite him. We know these are very delicate negotiations. Ultimately he wants to be seen as on the side of the American Workers and he wants to remind folks that its democrats that Support Policies that support Union Workers. Meanwhile, the former president will go down there and blame democrats for this push for green policies and say thats the real reason for the auto industrys woes. Eva and nathaniel, thank you so much. The pentagon confirms that ukraine has gotten its first delivery of u. S. Made abram tanks. What it could mean for the counteroffensive against russia. Well have that next. The first batch of these 31 u. S. Made abram tanks have arrived in the ukraine. President zelenskyy said the tanks are preparing to reinforce ukrainian brigades. The commander of russias Black Sea Fleet was killed in an attack. Sources say he died and more than 100 troops were wounded when the headquarters was hit. In a case of possible retaliation, a russian drone attack on odesa has left at least two people dead. You can see an abandoned hotel which was hit in that strike. Joining me now retired general mark kimid. Ukraine in the midst of a major counteroffensive in the east. A relatively small number of abram tanks coming. Consequential in your view . Its about the size of a half of a u. S. Army battalion. Its not a large force, but it is the best tank in the world. We have to be modest that these are not wonder weapons and they could not get on the battlefield before the winter sets in. We saw that with the german tanks. They have been important, but no one ingredient changes the entire mix. I want to talk about the black sea strike. This is not the first time ukrainians have shown their ability to strike commanders, they sunk the Black Sea Fleet in early stages of the war. Theyve struck other ships and other port facilities. I was told that the Black Sea Fleet is frozen because of the these attacks and cant operate so much there. Is that true and is it becoming more true with these attacks . I think it is. I think even more important than that, jim, is we keep focusing on the counteroffensive up north. Theres a lot of action going on down in crimea. It could be that the ukrainians are having better affidavit against the russians in crimea than up north. We have to keep watching this because i dont think this is the last attack the ukrainians will do down there. Bigger picture for a moment i understand you just returned from turkey, a crucial vote coming on swedens admittance into the alliance. It seemed like eturkeys president ascended to the vote. Well, its important to remember in 2022 it was not the president of turkey, but the grand assembly that prevented the americans from using turkey to get into iraq. The real Sticking Point will be in their parliament, their grand assembly, in terms of what they expect from sweden. I was in turkey when the Parliament Said no to allowing u. S. Forces to go through turkey into iraq. Before we go, you mentioned how ukrainians are having success in the black sea and that might be telling. Whats your position right now on the status of the counteroffensive as a whole . I think that we will probably go into the winter this year the way we did this year, very fearful that the russians will use the winter time to email bolster those defenses they have along the border between the Ukrainian Forces and the russian forces. I think its going to be a tough winter. I dont think well see any decisive battles until next spring. General kimmitt, thank you so much as always. Thank you. Breonna . Hollywood writers are preparing to put down their protest signs after a tentative deal was reached with the studios. Are the actors next . Well have a live report from los angeles. Plus, the army corp. Of engineers is scrambling to protect new orleans Drinking Water. Well explain why next. President biden is applauding the tentative deal between hollywood writers and the major studio. Its expected to end the second longest strike in the history of the writers guild. Wga leaders call the deal meaningful gains for all writers. The guild has told writers to stop picketing and join the ag ag actors still striking. The strike has cost the industry 5 billion at this point. Camilla, its possible the writers could get the green light to return to work tomorrow. How likely is that . Reporter its uncertain at this point, but its likely theyll get the green light this week according to the statement from the wga. Every writer told me they want to go back to work. One said, i want to go back to making magic and tell stories. The union says you have to wait until we give you the green light because were still on strike. Theyre working on the fine print, that legal contract. Theyre saying theyre dotting every i. Thats taking longer. After that do that, well see a vote by the leadership. Thats expected tomorrow. After that vote happens, the contract will be made public for us and the writers. Theyll be able to ask questions and see whether they like this deal or not. A lot of the writers said they trust the negotiators and they believe they got them what they wanted in regards to wages, streaming and Artificial Intelligence. Sources saying, yes, Artificial Intelligence was the last Sticking Point. It hasnt been easy for the writers. Were getting to the end of the process and theres so much hope, breonna, in the horizon for the writers and everyone in the industry. What about the s. A. G. Aftra strike, whats next there . Reporter thats the problem. Even if the writers go back to work, we need the actors as well. A lot of people in the industry believe, yes, this will likely motivate them to get back to the table, but they have their own demands. Its going to be difficult. I want to read part of the statement that s. A. G. Aftra released after the deal was made. They said since the day the wga strike begun, s. A. G. Aftra stood beside them on the picket line. We encourage the amtpt to return to the table and make the fair deal we deserve and demand. Theyre asking to go back to the table, which is good news. The question is how long will it take . Already time is running out for the rest of the year in terms of tv shows and movies next summer. Theres still a lot of waiting around to see production go back to normal. Again, everybody wanting to go back to work. Camilla, thank you for the report. Jim. Now to the other hinds. Cuba said its emabassy was attacked over the weekend. According to officials two Molotov Cocktails was thrown at the embassy. There were no injuries and no significant damage. Also, oscarwinning actress so sofia loren underwent surgery after falling in her home. She suffered several fractures to her hip and thigh bone. Her agent said the surgery went, quote, very well. The Womens National soccer team sent out Megan Rapinoe with a win in her final match. They defeated south africa 20 in a friendly in chicago on sunday. The 38yearold won two world cup titles and one gold medal in the olympics. Shell be missed. What a ride. Widespread drought has made water levels along the Mississippi River so low that salt water from the Gulf Of Mexico is creeping upstream and that is putting new orleans on the brink of a Drinking Water disaster. The mayor said the situation is critical. We have bill weir tracking the story. How did things get this bad and what is new orleans doing to fix it . You have to start in the 80s when Congress Told the army corp. Of engineers to dig bigger channels and Salt Water Intrusion got worse. The corp. Of engineers said they have to build speed bumps to stop that salt water from coming in. They thought they might have had to do it every five years. They had to do it every other year because the mississippi is so low right now. Right now its affecting a couple thousand people in the south there, but it doesnt just affect Drinking Water. It affects Barge Traffic again. Last summer the price of shipping a bushel of soy beans went up 300 . Now they have to move millions of gallons of fresh water to keep diluting the saline. They have maybe bottled water ready. A lot of people taking that step. Rushing to the shelves, empties stores. New orleans officials saying dont do that yet. The folks down south, they need that bottled water. A lot to think about for the next month. People always prepare once they worry something may be headed their way, even if they dont need to. Bill weir, thank you so much. Its very alarming. Jim . Years after the start of the pandemic some people are still struggling with long covid. Scientists could be closer to figuring out why. Thats next. A tragic milestone in the number First Responders who died with 9 11related illness wes two more fdny members dieing this month. The head of the union that represents new York Firefighters marked this passing in a News Conference a short time ago. In the coming days well bury the 343rd member of the fdny that passed after september 11, 2001, but sadly, he will not be the last. There are thousands of new york city firefighters and other people related to the cleanup that have been diagnosed with cancer and the number will continue to climb for us without an end in sight. Fdny officials are seeking more funding. According to those officials, thousands of firefighters, as you heard there still struggling with cancer and other illnesses related to 9 11. The department, they say, averages three to four deaths each and every month. Jim . That number is just startling all these years after 9 11. Well, was there a glimmer of hope for people suffering from long covid. The oftendeiltating symptoms linger long after the virus has passed and that hope comes in two long, but detailed studies that offer a biomarker for that chronic condition. The biomarker could lead to better tests and therefore treatments for people who are often treated as medical mysteries. Cnn medical correspondent meg terrell joins us now. This has been one of the medical mysteries and theyre feeling it and the numbers support that. The question is what to do about it so i wonder what weve learned here and what kind of hope it offers. Yeah, jim. Even years into this pandemic, this is still the very early days of the science of understanding long covid and it affects just a huge number of people. Its a small percentage of the adult population, about 6 according to cdc estimates from june of 2023 and thats actually going down over the years which is good, but thats 15 million American Adults who were estimated to have symptoms of long covid right now and these symptoms could be varied and they include things like fatigue and brain fog, memory issues or confusion, shortness of breath and the sort of umbrella of different symptoms that affect all different parts of the body that scientists are trying to better understand so we can develop better tests or tests at all or better treatments for long covid and theyre lending to our better understanding here. So take us some more into the data here as to what its telling folks. We just learned from an announcement from the Biden Administration related to this that its going to have more free tests for the public . Could this could this have a benefit here . Well, certainly knowing if you have covid has a definite benefit and thats what those free tests aim to do and people can start ordering those today. In terms of these two studies on long covid, one of them found that people who have symptoms of long covid have elevated and they have lower levels of the Hormone Cortisol in their blood and that could be one potential thing if they understand it further to help you develop tests for long covid and they found evidence of irregulation and they found people hospitalized for covid several months later on mri had evidence of organ damage and so were starting to understand what differentiates people with this horrible longterm condition from other folks and that could really help the science in terms of tests and treatments. No question. We look forward to hearing those answers. Breeanna . Kevin mccarthy caught between a rock and some hard liners. The speakers delicate dance to avoid a shutdown and fend off threats to his leadership. 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President biden and former President Trump both heading to michigan and ground zero for the highstakes Autoworkers Union fight. Plus, what a possible Government Shutdown just days away. House speaker Kevin Mccarthy is facing a defining moment. Does he risk a shutdown or does he cross hardliners by working with democrats. Bob menendez rejectioning calls to resign in his first Public Statement since being indicted on bribery charges. We are following these major developing stories all coming in right here to cnn news central. These are live pictures that we are watching here out of somerville, South Carolina where former President Donald Trump is delivering remarks at a campaign event. He will not be at the second Republican Debate on wednesday, but this week its still gearing up to be his busiest 2024 Campaign Stretch yet. Hes in michigan on wednesday to talk to Union Workers and california on friday and iowa on sunday. Trumps visit to michigan will come one day after President Biden will be there. The president plans to walk the picket line alongside uaw workers. Joining us now is Cnn National Correspondent Kristen Holmes in South Carolina and Kayla Tausche and jeff zeleny. Kristen, first to you. We know trumps skipping a Republican Debate and spending his time instead in four important primary states and he doesnt think there is much competition for the gop nomination. Well, jim, part of what were seeing this week is early voting. The next couple of weeks, as well and these are gearing up this campaign is not just for the general election which is what weve been talk a lot about with this trip to michigan, in South Carolina, iowa and New Hampshire these are trips