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U.S. President Joe Biden Holds Candlelight Ceremony at White House as U.S. Surpasses 500,000 COVID-19 Deaths; British Prime Minister Unveils Plan to Ease England's Lockdown; Facebook to Restore Australia's News Pages; U.S. Attorney General Nominee Wins Bipartisan Praise; New York Prosecutor Gets Access to Trump's Taxes; Sister of Myanmar's First Protestor Victim Speaks Out; NASA Releases First Video of Spacecraft Landing on Mars; CPAC Schedule Includes Trump as Speaker and 7-Part Series on 'Protecting Elections'; Airlines Ground Planes with Similar Engines to Boeing 777. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired February 23, 2021 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause.
Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, half a million dead in just one year. The staggering pandemic death toll in the U.S., which is only expected to rise in the coming months, even as new infections decline dramatically.
Road map to freedom; the British prime minister laid out his road map to end coronavirus restrictions, a journey back to normalcy criticized by many as having taken way too long.
And the sounds of a Martian breeze.
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VAUSE: It's a staggering number, almost impossible to grasp, 500,000 people dead in the United States, the highest in the world by a long shot. And almost every expert and public official will now admit loss of life on this scale could well have been avoided.
Put simply, the U.S. response to the pandemic has been the worst in the world due in part to a former president who lied about the disease and downplayed the threat and to those who made wearing a mask a political issue. U.S. flags have been lowered to half staff for five days at federal buildings and embassies around the world.
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VAUSE (voice-over): The country's consoler in chief, President Joe Biden and the first lady took part in a moment of silence at the White House. They stood by 500 lit candles outside, each one representing 1,000 American lives cut short by this pandemic.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today we mark a truly grim, heartbreaking milestone, 500,071 dead. That is more Americans who have died in one year in this pandemic than in World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War combined.
That's more lives lost to this virus than any other nation on Earth. But as we acknowledge the scale of this mass death in America, remember each person and the life they lived, they're people we knew and people we feel like we knew.
I read the obituaries and the remembrances, a son who called his mom every night just to check in, the father's daughter, who lit up his world. The best friend who was always there.
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VAUSE: No family knows more about the pain of losing a loved one during this pandemic than the Fusco family from New Jersey. In March last year, Rita Fusco became the second recorded death from the COVID- 19 in the state.
Within a week the coronavirus had claimed the lives of her mother, Grace, as well as brothers, Carmine and Vincent. A few weeks after that, her aunt also died. Five close relatives dead, at least 19 others in the same family all infected.
That included Rita's brother, Joe, who is with us this hour.
Joe, thank you for being with us. Appreciate it.
JOE FUSCO, BEREAVED COVID-19 SURVIVOR: Thank you for having me.
VAUSE: It hasn't been a year since the virus claimed so many of your nearest and dearest.
How difficult was it on Monday, seeing that 500,000 mark pass?
And did the memorial at the White House make it any easier?
FUSCO: It doesn't make it any easier and it's not very easy to hear that 500,000 other people have died. It's not easy.
VAUSE: Tell us, what was it like back in March, when this first started, with your sister falling ill and then you and your mom and everyone else. Take us back.
FUSCO: It started, where a few of us got sick and my two brothers were sick and then everyone -- and we didn't understand what was going on. We thought we had the flu and we just thought whatever. And then they went into the hospital and then they were on ventilators instantly.
Then two days later, my mom and I took my mom and my sister to the hospital and then the next day me and my other sister went to the hospital. And Friday morning, I heard my older sister, Rita Jackson, she passed.
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FUSCO: And the next thing I know was 30 days later and waking up with a beard and don't know what the hell went on.
VAUSE: So you spent a month on a ventilator, not knowing what was happening?
FUSCO: I was on a ventilator for a month.
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FUSCO: I can't tell you what it was like on the ventilator. It wasn't good for my family though because they were on pens and needles, they had already lost 4 members. And they were lucky enough, my older sister, she didn't have to go on a ventilator, she was out in like 9 or 10 days. And my younger sister was on a ventilator for 20 days.
So they had some hope but I was just still there 30 days later. Easter Sunday I woke up.
VAUSE: What are the long term effects for you, any recurring symptoms?
FUSCO: Yes, the blood pressure is still an issue with me, I'm on more medication than I ever was to maintain a level that would be high back then. There is still numbness down my left side. It's still hard to do what I used to do strength wise.
Emotionally, it's tough, it's getting tougher now, as it gets closer to a year that I lost my brothers, my mom, my sister and my aunt. It's rough, it's rough. People just realize that maybe they would understand that this disease is no, joke
VAUSE: You think things have changed with this new administration in the White House, compared to the last one, in any way positive?
FUSCO: Well, it sure seems like it is. It sure seems that he's talking to good game right now but let's see. Let's see. I am a Republican and I don't agree with a lot of the stuff that went on in this last year. I think it could be done a lot better.
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FUSCO: They say that it's being solved because we have a new government and a new president. And I can't agree with that yet.
VAUSE: Researchers have a hunch for your family there was maybe something more going on here than just transmission, something in the DNA. And Johns Hopkins University is looking into that.
What are the details there?
FUSCO: There are not many specific details. We have been told that they have been able to isolate some markers. But nothing that they would care to say, hey, look at this, we have figured it out. Nothing anywhere close to that.
But they have identified some markers and they are continuing to keep it up and keep informing us of what is going on. They do believe there is some genetic, hereditary something going on there. For me, there was 11 brothers and sisters and my mom and my aunt. And eight of us, six others were fine. It just went through them.
VAUSE: Well, Joe, thank you so much for being with us and sharing your experience. And I know it's not the easiest of days, to see so many people die from this disease, a death could've been prevented in so many cases. Thanks for being with us
FUSCO: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, after imposing restrictions too slowly, then lifting them too soon, the British prime minister has now unveiled a road map to end current Britain's coronavirus lockdown. Schools will reopen in 2 weeks, then gyms, outdoor gatherings, restaurants, everything, will slowly follow to the end of June.
This all depends on the vaccine rollout continuing successfully. If there isn't another surge in new hospital patients and new variants don't undermine the country's progress. The prime minister warns there will still be bumps along the. Way
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BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: I will make a statement on the road map that will guide us cautiously but irreversibly toward reclaiming our freedoms while doing all we can to protect our people against COVID.
Today's measures will apply in England but we're working closely with other devolved administrations for setting out similar plans. The threat remains substantial, with the numbers in hospital only now beginning to fall below the peak of the first wave in April.
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VAUSE: Well, to La Jolla, California, and Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist and professor of molecular medicine.
Doctor, thank you for being with us.
DR. ERIC TOPOL, CARDIOLOGIST AND PROFESSOR OF MOLECULAR MEDICINE: Thanks, John, good to be with. You
VAUSE: Here's a little bit more from the British prime minister live post lockdown.
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JOHNSON: There is that more credible route to a zero COVID Britain or indeed a zero COVID world. We cannot persist indefinitely with restrictions that debilitate our economy, our physical and mental well-being and the life chances of our children. [00:10:00]
JOHNSON: That is why it is so crucial that this road map should be cautious but also irreversible.
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VAUSE: It's like we're back to the old days of cost-benefit analysis of opening up and taking the risk.
TOPOL: Right. At one level it maybe John but it's not going to be anything like now. We're going to see, because of the vaccination, we'll see excellent containment, hopefully by year-end. Even well before year end.
So yes, the term endemic means it will be around. But at levels that it will not be a problem like we'd live through the last year.
VAUSE: Much of the plan relies on the vaccines. Boris Johnson referenced data that shows just one shot, instead of 2 from Pfizer is effective. Is he too reliant on those vaccines?
TOPOL: It's very interesting you bring this up because in the U.K., there has been a dramatic decline of cases and it's hard to dissect how much of that was a lockdown which has been very effective and also the vaccination program which has been very aggressive and certainly more than in the United States.
It looks as if the lockdown is playing a significant role and, on the other hand the vaccination, that part is perhaps equally as important. But the idea that it's a slow reopening because you can't tell which of these -- and the vaccination has a ways to go to be more complete -- it's a good idea.
So I think the way he described in that clip is really the right way going forward.
VAUSE: You mentioned it is a slow return to normalcy, if you like. Here's the timetable. Next month, schools reopen; a few weeks later outdoor gatherings as well as sports will be allowed.
Pubs, restaurants, retail shops, gyms have remained close for at least a month. Then international travel could be back by May. Almost all restrictions lifted by June 21st. That is the goal but.
As "The Sun" newspaper put it with one headline, "The Wait Escape: Boris sets England on snail pace return to freedom."
VAUSE: There's criticism this is all too slow.
You don't believe that's the case?
TOPOL: Well, it can be adjusted. If the cases come down like we're seeing globally right now, and fast and this virus is at peak fitness and is going down and the damage it can do, it can be accelerated. But unlike the U.S. where we got hurt by reopening too quickly. This
happened in many other countries, in Israel during its second lockdown, in between the next one. So it's wise to be prudent and you can always go a little bit faster.
But setting expectations for a careful watch. Because if this is more of a lockdown effect, then there will be a resurgence of cases. The vaccine is unquestionably having an impact but that's mostly in people who are older. And obviously there's a ways to go to get to the herd immunity population level vaccinated there.
VAUSE: If you look at this, plan there seem to be parts of it that are complicated and not sure how it all works. Here's an interview that the U.K. vaccination minister did.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On the 29th of March, from what you seem to be saying, if 2 families are more than 6 people for example, 10 people, they can meet, can they?
NADHIM ZAHAWI, U.K. VACCINES MINISTER: Correct. So it's as long as it's 2 families. They can meet outdoors.
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VAUSE: It went on and on. It does seem that there's a lot of complicated detail in all this and it doesn't seem to rest well with the public on how this is going to work?
TOPOL: I think your point is well taken there, John. We don't have science to tell us how many people in a gathering. Obviously, the outdoor scenario is better.
But one thing that deserves emphasis, the U.K., the B117 identified in the U.K., has wreaked havoc in many countries and while there has been a sense that it has been squashed there, I think we're just beginning to see it here in the U.S.
Israel has had a really tough time battling with it. It's emerging now because of the most aggressive vaccination in the world. So I think the idea of going slow and avoiding the indoor gatherings, which we know are a liability, these are good things.
VAUSE: Doctor, thank you so much for being with, us we appreciated.
TOPOL: Thank you John.
VAUSE: We have this just in to CNN.
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VAUSE: Facebook will restore its news pages in Australia after banning people there from finding or sharing news on its service last week. The social media giant says it came to an agreement that will support the publishers it chooses. Last week's ban followed months of tension which had proposed 14 tech
platforms to pay news publishers for the content they use.
Korean Air has joined a growing list of airlines grounding dozens of Boeing 777 airplanes. United Airlines Flight 328 was minutes into its flight from Denver to Honolulu on Saturday. One of the engines caught fire. The plane returned safely to Denver, luckily, no one was hurt.
There have been significant developments in the investigation and Pete Muntean has our report.
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PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That Pratt & Whitney engine that failed so dramatically, only minutes into the United Airlines Flight 328, is really coming into focus here.
Investigators are saying, for the first time, the right engine showed signs of lingering damage, wear and tear. Perhaps the most significant finding today from the National Transportation Safety Board. In fact, its investigators said that one fan blade, 22 of them in the right engine, broke free at its base.
In fact, investigators say they found the fan blade, not too far away from, here in a soccer field, part of that mile long trail of debris, left over Broomfield, Colorado, as the flight crew tried to turn the crippled plane back for a safe landing, here at Denver International Airport.
This is so significant, especially since investigators for the first time are also showing us new photos of damage to the rest of the plane. They say part of the plane's fuselage was damaged, although, that part that was damaged, mostly superficial, not all that critical.
This investigation is just beginning. Investigators are sending one of those broken fan blades to a Pratt & Whitney lab for analysis -- Pete Muntean, CNN, Denver.
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VAUSE: He is no longer president and Donald Trump now loses a major battle over his tax returns. Find out who gets to see them.
Also, rare agreement among Republicans and Democrats, praising Joe Biden's pick for attorney general.
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MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL NOMINEE: I very much want to be the kind of attorney general that you are saying I could become. I will do best to be that attorney general.
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VAUSE: Joe Biden's choice for attorney general has promised to keep politics out of the U.S. Justice Department. Under his hearing on Monday, Merrick Garland appears headed for a Senate confirmations by making commitments to fully prosecute those who attacked the U.S. Capitol.
Notably, though, he refused to weigh in on Donald Trump's role. Garland said he had not spoken to Joe Biden about an investigation into his son, Hunter. And he promised to fight discrimination in law enforcement and the criminal justice system.
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GARLAND: I come from a family where my grandparents fled anti- Semitism and persecution.
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GARLAND: The country took us in and protected us. I feel an obligation to the country to be able to pay back. And this is the highest, best use, of my own set of skills to pay back. And so I very much want to be the kind of attorney general that you are saying I could become. I will do my best to be that kind of attorney general.
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VAUSE: Barack Obama nominated Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016. Republicans though denied him a hearing, because the president was in the last year of his term.
A ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court says that U.S. prosecutors now have access to 8 years of Donald Trump's tax returns but the public will not get to see them. The former president says the Supreme Court never should have let this fishing expedition happen but they did. CNN's Pamela Brown has more on the investigation.
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PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A criminal investigation, spanning more than 2 years, that could threaten former president, Donald Trump, his businesses and members of his family.
Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance, investigating whether the Trump Organization violated state laws which could include tax fraud, insurance fraud or other illegal schemes.
Now a break in the case, with Vance's office being granted access to eight years of Trump's tax returns and financial records, concluding a legal battle that lasted for 16 months. And, two trips to the Supreme Court.
Originally, focusing on allegations of hush money payments made to two women who said that they had sexual encounters with Trump before the 2016 election. Trump has denied the affairs and knowledge of the payments.
The Trump Organization has said that it has paid all applicable taxes and is in compliance with the law. Trump himself has called it a, quote, "fishing expedition."
TRUMP: This is a continuation of the witch hunt, the greatest witch hunt in history. Never been anything like it. People want to examine every deal you've ever done, to see if they can find that there's a comma out of place.
BROWN (voice-over): Vance's been pursuing other lines of investigation as well. Prosecutors have subpoenaed one of Trump's creditors, Deutsche Bank, which has lent Trump more than $300 million, interviewing 2 of its employees.
They also interviewed Trump's former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, who testified to Congress how Trump would exaggerate or minimize, the value of his assets when seeking loans and insurance or favorable tax treatment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did the president or his company, ever inflate assets or revenue?
MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And was that done with the president's knowledge or direction?
COHEN: Everything was done with the knowledge and at the direction, of Mr. Trump.
BROWN (voice-over): Also subpoenaed, records relating to fees that the Trump Organization paid to consultants, including one to a company owned by Trump's daughter, Ivanka.
According to people familiar with the matter, who tweeted that the investigation was, quote, "harassment, pure and simple."
The investigation, recently expanding to include the Trump family compound in Westchester County and tax deductions related to development plans for the property, according to lawyers and people familiar with the investigation.
Trump himself, seeming worried about the legal jeopardy he may face, now, as a private citizen. A source telling CNN he has been asking his associates about the potential criminal exposure he may face after his impeachment trial is over -- Pamela Brown, CNN, Washington.
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VAUSE: Elliot Williams is a CNN legal analyst, former federal prosecutor, former deputy assistant attorney general and is with us this hour from Washington.
Elliott, thank you for being with us.
ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hi, there.
VAUSE: It is pretty safe to assume that the incredible lengths Trump has gone to prevent the release of these tax records is a reflection of how damaging the information would be if they were received by the public?
WILLIAMS: It's hard to say. The president was the first in, I think, 40 or 50 years, since Richard Nixon, in the United States, to have not submitted his tax returns for public view.
So whether it is simply a fear of disclosure to the American public or something else, we will never know. The simple fact is, he's an outlier right now among former Presidents of the United States.
VAUSE: From a legal point of view, what's Vance looking at here?
WILLIAMS: It's hard to see how there is anything but legal peril facing the former president of the United States, because of the fact that his foundation, the Trump Organization, and that he, personally, all had investigations into them looked at.
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WILLIAMS: Both in terms of financial irregularities, irregularities and how he is financing soft financing on real estate deals.
So whether one of them turns into either criminal or civil liability or all of them do, the simple fact is, when multiple investigations are being brought against the same person, the risk is significantly high that one of them may pan out and turn into something.
VAUSE: You mentioned multiple legal investigations, which are underway, so let's look at some of them right now. There are many problems for the former president.
Just like the Manhattan DA, Cyrus Vance, New York's attorney general is investigating how the Trump Organization valued property assets. There's also the investigation which is a defamation lawsuit from women who say they were sexually harassed by Trump.
Trump's niece, Mary Trump, has filed a lawsuit. There is also a possible charge of incitement by the D.C. attorney general. There is also what we're looking at here with possibly two investigations in Georgia in Trump's attempts to pressure state officials to overturn the election results in the state.
Trump has always played the long game when it came to legal cases, delay, delay, delay and will that work this time?
It's a bit harder to take on the -- to publish justice or the Manhattan DA as opposed to Joe the plumber who paints this in color (ph).
WILLIAMS: Excellent reference to Joe the plumber, who was someone who came up since the 2012 election in the United States. What is amazing about when you read off the litany of potential legal issues against the president, they are in every facet of life for the president of the United States.
So there are criminal investigations by the federal prosecutors that the U.S. government prosecutors of New York. There are civil investigations being brought by -- as well as criminal investigations, I believe, brought by the attorney general of the state of New York.
The state of Georgia is investigating the president for election violations and there is all of these questions about January 6th and the insurgence, the insurrection of the United States Capitol. The president's potential role in that.
So it is a mix of different forms of liability, it is almost a crash course in the American legal system. When the states can prosecute or when the federal government can prosecute.
But both personal, financial and official actions of the president are all under investigation now. And it is just hard to see how at least some of them or at least one of them doesn't turn into a quite significant legal peril for the former president.
VAUSE: It was testimony before Congress by Trump's former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, which sparked the part of the property investigation which Vance and Manhattan is looking into, the New York attorney general. Listen to Cohen, what he had to say on Monday.
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MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: One thing I can turn around and tell you, he should start maybe speaking to somebody about getting a custom-made jumpsuit because it does not look good for him, that is my prediction.
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VAUSE: By jumpsuit, he meant prison jumpsuit. So is he right?
Does this mean the case that almost sends Trump to jail?
WILLIAMS: At a minimum -- you know, I hesitate, having been a prosecutor myself, I hesitate to say whether any one individual will be found guilty or not.
Certainly, there is a number of criminal investigations open right now with the president and we will just have to see. As I mentioned, it is just hard to see, given the sheer number of them, how the president does not face some.
The other thing is that the Supreme Court of the United States just ruled that his tax releases, his tax forms, must be released to federal prosecutors. Think about a decade or however long of the president of the United States' tax returns, given all of the real estate filings and everything we're talking about, his value of buildings and so on. It is a potential trove of information for prosecutors and it could
lead to even more investigations, again, either in the former president's personal conduct or even actions that he may have taken as President of the United States.
Certainly, Mr. Cohen was glib about the risk facing the president and is he immediately going to jail but certainly, at a minimum, he does have a lot of lawsuits and a lot of potential prosecutions and investigations to either cooperate with or start defending himself with.
At a minimum, even if he doesn't get that jumpsuit, he'd better have a good lawyer.
VAUSE: Quickly, before we go, you mentioned the possibility of further investigations. Cyrus Vance, DA, tweeted on Monday, the work continues.
Is that a reference, do you think, to further charges coming out of the tax returns?
WILLIAMS: I think so, because given how voluminous the tax returns are, the president, he's a wealthy man and he has a lot of business dealings. I know, from being a prosecutor myself, following the money leads to further investigations, so, I would not be shocked if more came from that.
VAUSE: Elliott, thank, you.
WILLIAMS: Thank you John.
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VAUSE: Next up on CNN NEWSROOM, her sister was shot and killed while protesting the military coup in Myanmar. When we come back, she speaks exclusively to CNN.
And who is behind a deadly ambush on the Italian ambassador's motorcade in Congo? Congan officials say they know. We have details after the break.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coups have no place in our modern world.
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VAUSE: While peaceful protests grow against Myanmar, the military response has been increasingly violent, warning protesters this past Sunday they will die if they confront security forces.
And that means the U.S. and the E.U. are raising the pressure, imposing sanctions on the military leaders behind the coup earlier this month. There are already reports of several protesters killed in clashes with
Myanmar's police. In an exclusive interview, CNN's Paula Hancocks spoke with the sister of a young woman shot dead amid the unrest.
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PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the moment Mya Thweh Thweh Khine is shot dead in the head, taking cover from the water cannon at a February protest in the capitol, Naypyidaw. She can be seen here wearing a helmet. A gunshot is heard, and she drops to the ground. Her sister was by her side and thought she had fainted.
MYA THATOE NWE, SISTER OF SLAIN PROTESTOR (through translator): I shouted, "Help! Help me move her to the side." Someone said that we should take her helmet off. Only then did we realize she'd been shot. I was praying to Buddha for her to recover, for nothing to have happened. How do I explain this feeling? If I describe it, I keep seeing it.
HANCOCKS: Mya Thweh Thweh Khine leaves behind a 4-year-old daughter. The sister says the whole family is devastated, but proud.
MYA (through translator): For us, she is still a kid, even though she was 20 years old. She was carefree, loved to go out, to eat, and to read horror stories.
HANCOCKS: She turned 20 while in critical condition. Her family marked the birthday at the hospital. The military tried to transfer her to the military hospital while she was still being treated, according to one of the doctors, but he says they refused.
That doctor is now in hiding, fearing arrest. He would only speak to us if we concealed his identity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe that they want to make -- they wanted to take off the media attention and also, they would try to conceal the evidence of this incident.
HANCOCKS (on camera): Do you think there was ever a chance to be able to save her?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With this type of injury, it is already -- we have to say it is already been too late when she arrived at the hospital, because she's already -- she's already in a state like coma.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): X-rays show the bullet lodged in the patient's brain, and the doctor says the autopsy confirms it was a live bullet that killed her. The family had asked her doctors to share the medical report and autopsy with CNN. Her sister says her only crime is that she threw a water bottle at police.
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The military issued a statement in the military-controlled newspaper, saying they Mya Thwe Thwe Khine was throwing stones at the riot police. The military also says the bullet that killed her is not the same ammunition used by police, claiming only anti-riot weapons were used. Amnesty International accuses the police of firing live ammunition into the crowd of protestors.
Amnesty says it investigated this photo from AFP news agency and says it was taken across the road from the protesters. According to Amnesty's investigation, a police officer is holding a locally-made variant of an Uzi sub-machine gun, but it is not claiming that this person fired the shot that killed Mya Thwe Thwe Khine.
CNN cannot independently verify the image, and it is unclear who fired the shot that killed Mya Thwe Thwe Khine. The military says the police will handle the investigation.
Supporters lined the streets of her funeral procession Sunday. She has become a symbol of the pro-democracy movement.
Her sister says she'll be back out on the streets after the mourning period and has a message for the military.
MYA (through translator): We do not hate the individual soldier or the policeman. We're all from the same country. But we don't want to dictatorship, so please, don't side with the thieves, but with the civilians. And don't bully us, even if you can't join us.
HANCOCKS: Mya Thwe Thwe Khine is the first casualty in Myanmar's fight for casualty. Two more deaths over the weekend have already shown she is not the last.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.
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VAUSE: The Democratic Republic of Congo is blaming a Rwandan rebel group for an attack on a convoy which killed Italy's ambassador and two others. Flags in Italy are flying at half-staff for Luca Attansio and his police bodyguard. Their driver, from the World Food Program, was also killed.
CNN's David McKenzie reports the area is known for being dangerous.
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DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This area has been, for years, chronically insecure, and there are multiple armed groups operating in that area, both in terms of insurgent type of groups; also just those wanting to rob and kidnap people for ransom.
I looked at a recent study on the incidents in North Kivu, and there have been multiple just this year.
Obviously, the fact that an ambassador, a major ambassador of a western power, was killed in this action, right close to the borders of Virunga National Park and the border regions of Rwanda and eastern the DRC, shows you that this area is still extremely unsafe, and questions will be asked about the security detail and the decision to travel.
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VAUSE: Six park rangers were killed in that area last month.
Iran has upped the ante in the standoff over its nuclear program. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei says his country could enrich uranium up to 60 percent if it needs to, in order to develop new technologies.
Sixty percent would put Iran on the way to weapons grade enrichment, which is 90 percent.
The ayatollah tweeted that Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons but will not limit its enrichment to 20 percent, as well. He says Iran will enrich uranium to any extent necessary, even if that means heading towards the 60 percent mark.
The European Union will propose new sanctions on Russia over Alexei Navalny's prison sentence.
The Kremlin critic is spending two and a half years behind bars for violation of parole when he was flown to Germany for treatment for poisoning. Russia's foreign ministry calls the sanctions illegal and disappointing.
The E.U. says it needs to do more to support those in Russia defending political and civil freedoms.
Coming up, they call it Tango Delta. Touchdown on Mars. We've got the video of NASA landing its rover on the red planet. That's straight ahead.
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VAUSE: Well, for the first time, we now know what it looks like to land a probe on Mars. NASA has released video of the rover Perseverance touching down. A front-row seat to a dramatic descent to the Martian surface.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) indicates to the port.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Navigation has confirmed that the parachute has deployed, and we are seeing significant deceleration.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Key to accept.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Perseverance slowed to sub sonic speeds, and the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) has been separated. This started our constant velocity, which means we are conducting our sky plane (ph), about to conduct a high plane (ph) maneuver. Maneuver has started.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're getting signals from MRL (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tango delta.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Confirmed. Confirmed. The Perseverance is on the surface of Mars, where it will be seeking (ph).
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VAUSE: NASA calls it the seven minutes of terror. It begins about four minutes after entering the Martian atmosphere. Parachute deploys about 11 kilometers above the surface.
Perseverance also captured this panoramic shot from its landing site, as well as the very first sounds on the planet's surface. Listen to a Martian breeze.
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(WIND SOUNDS)
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VAUSE: NASA officials hope this video and the sounds will inspire space enthusiasts for years to come.
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THOMAS ZURBUCHEN, NASA ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR SCIENCE: The video of Perseverance is sand and land and the amazing panorama are the closest you can get to the landing on Mars without putting on a pressure suit. That video, I believe, should become mandatory viewing for young people, not only who want to explore other worlds, but who will built spacecraft to take them there, but also want to be part of diverse teams, achieving all the audacious goals of our future.
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VAUSE: Perseverance will spend the next few years searching for signs of past life on Mars. Also, ways to sustain human life in the future.
And we'll have more on this story. I'll speak with a NASA scientist next hour. But the historic video and all the Mars mission's video that's coming out, as well as all the sounds and how they're doing it, because it's kind of neat this time. Right here on CNN, next hour.
I'm John Vause. Stay with us. I'll be back with more news in about 15 minutes. In the meantime, WORLD SPORT is up next.
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