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SpaceX's Starship Rocket Explodes Shortly After Liftoff; Time Running Out For Biden, McCarthy To Hash Out Debt Ceiling Deal; System That Spawned At Least Eight Tornadoes East, 50M At Risk. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired April 20, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: The most powerful rocket ever built, unfortunately, never made it to space. SpaceX's highly anticipated launch ended in an explosion. What this could mean for the mission back to the moon?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And another mistake ends in gunfire. This time, it was over a runaway basketball. A six-year-old girl and her parents were shot after a disagreement over a ball rolling into their neighbor's yard. We're live in North Carolina for the latest in the hunt for the suspect.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And the threat remains. Hours after a deadly tornado outbreak across the Midwest and South, more could be coming. We'll tell you where the threat is highest. We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SCIUTTO: We begin this hour with this SpaceX rocket mission that wasn't. The historic Starship was supposed to travel around the earth in 90 minutes but only made it moments past liftoff. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Power was icing on the cake.

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SCIUTTO: Yes, they are cheering there but it did explode. Still, SpaceX is calling the launch something of a success. Joining us now retired, NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao. Leroy, good to have you on.

Listen, I know as they say space is hard. I know it is hard to get a rocket just as high up as it did. And this is a huge rocket. But I'm a little skeptical of this idea that this was some sort of victory here given that it ended in a catastrophic explosion like I -- like that. How do you read this?

LEROY CHIAO, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Well, actually, it really is a success that they got as far as they did. This is by far the largest rocket ever launched, 16.6 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. Compare that to even NASA's rocket launch of Artemis One back in November, that was only about 8.6 million pounds of thrust, so almost twice as much.

You've got a cluster of 33 first-stage engines. The only other rocket that even tried to do something like that was the Soviet moon rocket way back then, and it didn't even get that far. The most -- the only way -- it only got about 50 seconds into flight before it exploded.

So, the Falcon super heavy booster did work. It was not without some problems. We saw some engines had been shut down. And, of course, we saw that Starship failed to separate and then the vehicle exploded.

So, there definitely were some big successes here. Perhaps the biggest one is that the booster works. And it didn't blow up on the launch pad because destroying the launch pad would have set them way back.

SCIUTTO: Let me ask you an honest question here because there were some of the astronauts who are going to be on top of this type of rocket at some point for the mission to the moon and then ultimately, the idea of going to Mars, they were watching this. If you were watching this, would that give you pause?

CHIAO: No, not at all. Because this is normal in a rocket and spacecraft development program is if you're aggressive, and you know you are moving quickly. You're going to have these kinds of accidents, and you're going to learn from them. And that's going to help you develop your vehicle more quickly.

If you're NASA, you've got to be super-duper careful because you've got federal funding coming in. And if you have a failure like this, well, you might get your program canceled.

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So, they are going to take a lot longer and they're going to go a lot slower. And just for example, this rocket that NASA launched, I mean, it's been going in one form or another in 20 -- for 20 years. The SpaceX is only been working for a few years on this thing, and they got this far. That's pretty impressive.

SCIUTTO: I hear you. Listen, historically, there were accidents so that there was a fire famously on the launch pad before the -- before the moon mission. They look at that. They make corrections and then move forward.

I do want to ask you about something because our Miles O'Brien made this point. You mentioned those 33 engines. Three of them, I believe did not fire. He noted that they were weighted to one side that might have been responsible for sort of spinning out as it was heading up. Does that look to you as a possible explanation for this?

CHIAO: Yes. It sounds like from preliminary reports that perhaps three engines didn't ignite at launch, and then looking at some camera shots as it was going uphill, looked like maybe six total engines, so maybe three shut down during the ascent. And so, that could have steered the rocket one way.

It does have a control system and thrusters on the booster that would correct that. But you know, you would have seen that deviation. But we'll just have to wait for the announcement of the investigation to tell us what exactly happened. But those are good thoughts and I would say right now those are probable causes.

SCIUTTO: Leroy Chiao, I will speak to you guys a little bit of envy because you know, like everyone, I really want to be an astronaut. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and I'm sure we'll keep up the conversation. Brianna.

KEILAR: A basketball gets loose and then an explosion of gunfire. Six- year-old Kinsley White, you can see this wound on her face from a gunfire -- a bullet fragment, and her dad were seriously wounded. Her mom grazed by a bullet. Police say a neighbor, 24-year-old Robert Singletary, is the man who opened fire after this basketball just rolled into his yard. And today, a manhunt is underway for Singletary.

CNNs Dianne Gallagher is at the scene of the shootings. Dianne, you actually spoke to this little girl's mother. Can you tell us what she told you?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): That's right, Brianna. And look, she says that she is just as concerned as all of the neighbors here right now because Robert Singletary is still out there. One neighbor telling me she hasn't slept since the shooting.

Now, they say that Singletary moved into the neighborhood a few weeks ago. And ever since then, that he has had problems with the numerous children in the neighborhood that were running through his yard, playing in his yard, and he's often yelled at them and had arguments with their parents. They thought nothing was any different on Tuesday when a bunch of kids of different ages were playing basketball actually at this hoop right here behind me.

The ball rolled into Singletary's yard, and that's when neighbors say he started yelling at those children. One of those kids went and got his dad. That child's dad came back, confronted Singletary. The neighbors say something to the effect of don't cuss out my kid. If you have a problem, you can come to me.

That's when they say Singletary went inside and got a gun and began shooting at that man who escaped uninjured. And then the neighbors say Singletary turned around and the other children and the parents including Kinsley White and her father who were standing over here, put them in his sights.

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ASHLEY HILDEBRAND, HUSBAND AND DAUGHTER SHOT BY NEIGHBOR: He looked at my husband dead in the face and he said I'm going to kill you. And he started shooting with my daughter standing right there beside of him and several other kids around them. So, they took off running and he started chasing him all the way up into our yard and shooting the entire time.

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GALLAGHER: Now, her husband, Jamie White, is still in the hospital in Charlotte with several internal injuries from that gunshot. Kinsley White had bullet fragments removed from her face. She now has those stitches, Brianna. And Robert Singletary is still out there. U.S. marshals are helping local officials in that manhunt.

KEILAR: Yes. Dianne, we see the wound here in this photo. It's truly just senseless.

GALLAGHER: Yes.

KEILAR: Thank you for that report. We appreciate it. Boris?

SANCHEZ: A family member of that white homeowner accused of shooting a black teenager simply for ringing the wrong doorbell is now speaking out. As the prosecuting attorney said there was a racial component to the case, Andrew Lester's grandson has a lot to say about his grandfather.

CNN's Lucy Kafanov joins us now live from Kansas City. And, Lucy, the 84-year-old initially said that he was scared to death of Ralph's size. Now, his grandson is saying that he saw his grandfather become increasingly paranoid over the last few years.

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes, Boris. This is an interesting interview because so much about Andrew Lester has been unknown until this point. We haven't heard much about his background, his worldviews, what could have prompted him to do this if he indeed is convicted of what he's accused of doing.

Now, his grandson, Clint Ludwig was on CNN this morning speaking out about his grandfather, saying "he was disgusted by Lester's alleged attack on Yarl" calling it a "horrible tragedy." He described his grandfather as somebody who had become radicalized in recent years by what he called racist conservative views. He said as his grandfather got older, he began buying into various conspiracy theories and would say "weird racist things." Take a listen.

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CLINT LUDWIG, GRANDSON OF ANDREW LESTER: The warning signs were there. I wasn't shocked when I heard the news. I'm really sad that this happened.

He didn't need to do this. This didn't have to happen. They didn't need to be scared of a young -- a young kid coming to his door at night. It's absurd.

He needs to get his paranoia. And this isn't just for him too, a lot of people in that -- in that world. The paranoia and atomizing the society is -- it's going to lead to some really bad stuff. (END VIDEO CLIP)

KAFANOV: Now, this was the point of view of Lester's grandson. He admitted that he had not been close with his grandfather in recent years. We have yet to hear from other family members and acquaintances. So, it is important to stress that this is one individual's perspective.

Lester, meanwhile, did appear in court yesterday. My producer was in the room. She said that he appeared calm. He tried to interact with a judge. He tried to speak with a judge but he did not appear on argumentative.

He is out on bond. Part of those bond conditions include reporting to police within 24 hours. So, that should be today at some point, and then once a month afterwards.

He is prohibited from owning any weapons. He's supposed to surrender his passport and remain here in Missouri. He's also not allowed to have any contact with Yarl or his family. We are expecting him back in court again on June first, Boris.

SANCHEZ: All right. Really fascinating comments and context from his grandson there. Lucy Kafanov in Kansas City. Thank you so much, Lucy. Jim?

SCIUTTO: Rescues cleanup underway in several states after a deadly tornado outbreak. And they're working with the threat of even more twisters on the way. We're going to have the latest on the forecast ahead.

Also ahead. A debt ceiling standoff. It continues. There are real- world implications for you and me if lawmakers cannot make a deal here. How you could be impacted by a potential default? That's next.

And talk about a really rough wake up call. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says there will be accountability for whomever sent out an emergency alert test at 4:00 a.m. across the entire state. We'll have more on that just ahead.

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KEILAR: Time is running out here in Washington to avert a U.S. credit default disaster. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has proposed raising the debt limit for a year, paired with some serious spending cuts though. President Biden has already swatted away the plan. And if their standoff isn't resolved soon, it could put a serious dent in your bottom line.

Let's bring in CNN business and politics correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich to explain. What is at stake here just for regular people as we watch this game of chicken play out, Vanessa?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS & POLITICS CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes. Brianna, Congress really needs to raise the debt ceiling so that the U.S. can continue to pay its bills and so that everyday Americans can continue to pay their bills. Right now, what we have in place is something called extraordinary measures. That is where the Treasury Department can move around money in order to pay our bills so that Congress has more time to raise the debt ceiling.

But here is what is at stake for everyday Americans. If we do not raise the debt ceiling and we default on our bills, that will mean that borrowing costs will go up. So, we're talking about mortgage rates, we're talking about credit cards, and we're talking about auto loans.

Also, Social Security payments will be impacted. So, many millions of Americans rely on these checks every single month. Also, veterans' programs will be impacted by this. Federal employees' salaries will be impacted, and also Medicare. So, when we talk about not raising the debt ceiling, we are talking about impacting some of the most vulnerable Americans right now, Brianna.

KEILAR: So, what's the timeline here? How long do Congress and the White House have to hash this out, and figure out how to go forward?

YURKEVICH: Well, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen has said that it is unlikely that these extraordinary measures will be exhausted before June. But the Congressional Budget Office says that that timeline is more like July through September. Now, one thing that could change the game here is tax season. Right now, the government is looking at what kind of taxes are coming in.

So, if they've overestimated or underestimated that could change the timeline, Brianna. And they say the proof is in the receipts. Well, the proof is very much in the tax receipts. That's going to determine ultimately, just how long Congress has before we default on our bills, Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Vanessa, we'll be looking to see how long that will help us eke out. Appreciate the report. Boris?

SANCHEZ: The storm system that tore off the roof of this Oklahoma High School is now threatening 50 million people from Texas all the way to Wisconsin. It's possible they are going to see hail, rain, flash flooding, and even more tornadoes. Yesterday there were at least 15 reports of twisters across three states.

The National Weather Service confirmed that this system spawned at least eight tornadoes in Oklahoma. The most severe rip through the small town of Cole, where three people were killed.

And officials fear the death toll is going to continue to rise. A local meteorologist, as a matter of fact, had a close call with the tornado. Watch this.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voiceover): Just moving extremely slowly and it has pivoted back up to Nortel. Let's go back even further. Keep going back. We're good. Keep going back further. Just keep going back until I tell you to stop.

The tornado was just our South right here. Damon is pulling in tremendous inflow into it, continuing to produce damage. We have large hailstones being pulled into the tornado.

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SANCHEZ: Large stones indeed. CNN meteorologist Chad Myers is watching this in the Severe Weather Center. Chad, any indication of where the most intense storms are going to be?

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CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on camera): Well, for today, I think Quad Cities, back over just to the west of Chicago, that's kind of the center of the bullseye, Boris. But we can be all the way, from Wisconsin all the way down into Texas. That's the area here that could still see some of these storms rotate.

Really, yesterday wasn't a big tornado day per se, it was going to be a hail day. And that's kind of what we're thinking today. Big hail day. But we saw what the tornadoes did in Oklahoma and other parts of -- parts of Iowa as well.

The same thing could happen today. Just because we think it's going to hail or the models are saying hail, doesn't mean that they just can't just rotate rather quickly. One severe thunderstorm warning just west now of Quincy, Illinois. Farther down to the south. This is the area for sure that is going to see the biggest threat of large hail, possibly tennis ball. We had tennis balls yesterday.

But here's the risk. All the way from Chicago, Wisconsin all the way back down even into Texas, that's the risk today. Yesterday, the risk was higher, but still, today, not zero. Somewhere between two and five percent were yesterday. We were in the ten percent range when it comes to how close a tornado could get to you.

Now, we move you ahead later on this afternoon. The sun is out right now, warming up the ground, warming up the atmosphere, making these storms bubble. That's what they do. They want to rise.

There's cold air above, the warm air at the surface. Like a hot air balloon, that warm air wants to go up. It always does.

By tomorrow morning, maybe a bumpy morning or in early morning for you in Houston, there certainly could be some thunderstorms early, early in the overnight hours. Four or five o'clock could see some lightning and thunder there for sure. The alarm clock may not wake you up. It may be the thunder.

There's where the biggest threat for I think the hail will be. Here's what the biggest threat might be for some flash flooding. There could be areas with three to four inches of rainfall just today alone. So, keep that in mind, many threats.

This is going to be a multi-day threat as well because it will move farther to the south into the southeast for tomorrow as well. On your Friday, you could still see some severe weather, Boris.

SANCHEZ: A lot to keep an eye on.

MYERS: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Chad Myers, thank you so much. Let's turn now to Payton May. She's a reporter at CNN affiliate KOKH. And she is in Cole, Oklahoma, where several people were killed.

And, Payton, we understand that this morning officials said they were having a hard time accessing certain areas because of the damage caused by some of these twisters. Bring us up to speed where that search and rescue effort is now.

PAYTON MAY, CNN REPORTER (on camera): Yes, Boris. Well, it's a very rural community here. We're about 45 minutes south of Oklahoma City. So, the search and rescue really continued overnight into the morning. There were a lot of reports of people still inside their shelters.

Now, the community woke up to devastation. There's a home behind me here. As you can see, it's kind of completely caved in the walls here. What's kind of interesting is the closets maintain untouched. And that's one of those areas that typically, law enforcement will say is more of the safer area.

And I'm going to bring you around the house a little bit here. This family, there were four family members sheltering in and above the ground shelter. They are again, all safe. These windows, front door completely blown out.

We're going to give you a look inside the home a little bit. You can see that closet which I was talking about a little earlier, untouched. The clothes still hanging up in there. But then you have pianos, chairs, bookshelves. The entire back of the home, completely blown out. Debris scattered across the whole lawn.

And this is a very small community. Around 600 people live in Cole, Oklahoma. Again, you said three casualties so far confirmed. We have not heard anything different than that. So far, the governor did just pay a visit to Cole to kind of pay his respects to the community. He did say that the governor -- the government here would be helping clean up, repair as quickly as they can.

I'm going to show you across the street here there's a wedding venue. And I spoke with the family that owns that wedding venue. They were hiding in a manhole last night when the storms are coming through. They actually took shelter under that manhole.

They said there was water seeping through. They were thankfully OK. But again, the community is kind of coming together today just to assess the damage, make sure that everyone is safe, and again offering those thoughts and prayers to those three people who did pass away.

Reporting live in Cole, I'm Payton May.

SANCHEZ: Payton, thank you so much. Wish the best for those folks, especially because they are still dealing with the potential for more weather. Jim, over to you.

SCIUTTO: My goodness, forced to hide in a manhole. Well, now some of the other stories making headlines this hour. Melting ice is driving a rapid rise in sea levels. A new study shows that the Earth has now lost enough ice over the past 30 years to create an ice cube 12 miles high. The lead researcher says a huge amount of ice has melted with global implications.

In Florida, a rude awakening you could call it. Many people's cell phones sounded a blaring alarm and got this message at 4:45 a.m. this morning. It was a test of Florida's Emergency Alert System. The state says it is working to remove the party responsible for that message.

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And bye-bye BuzzFeed News. CNN has learned that the news website's news division is shutting down. The company is also laying off 15 percent of its workers. Brianna?

KEILAR: Still to come on CNN NEWS CENTRAL. An IRS agent is asking for whistleblower protections to share allegations of mishandling in the Hunter Biden probe. We'll have some details just the head. And after the Supreme Court extended the stay for a widely used abortion pill, the countdown is back on for a ruling. We'll have more on that.

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