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Four People Dead, 130 Rescued As Flood Waters Deluge Nashville; Members Of Congress Visit Scenes Of Atlanta Mass Shootings; Interview With Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV); Two Killed, Eight Injured During Multiple Shootings In Virginia Beach; More Pushback Against Controversial New Law In Georgia Restricting Voter Access; California Theme Parks To Begin Reopening This Week; Derek Chauvin Trial Begins Tomorrow; Little Progress In Freeing Ship Blocking Suez Canal. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired March 28, 2021 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:29]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Deadly flooding. People, homes and cars swept away by fast-moving floodwaters in Tennessee. We'll take you live to Nashville.

Plus voting rights fight as fallout continues on Georgia's passing the restrictive voting law. Fresh reaction from Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock right here on CNN.

And opening statements, the Derek Chauvin murder trial begins tomorrow morning in Minneapolis. All live in front of television cameras.

Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with breaking news. Dangerous flooding today in the Nashville area that has killed four people and left dozens more in need of rescue. Some homes were damaged as rivers and creeks overflowed their banks after record rainfall. Nashville's fire department says it has helped rescue at least 130 people so far.

CNN's Martin Savidge joining me now live from Nashville with more on this.

What have you been seeing, Martin?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred, yes, it's been a very long night for those swift water rescue teams that had been working in a lot of neighborhoods. This is the Elysian Fields neighborhood. We're located to the south of Nashville. Flash flooding, we have to stress that, because flash flooding is some of the most treacherous. The water very powerful. You can see what they did here. This shed came from someone's backyard, now has deposited here in the road.

This whole area, though, was under water at some point, roughly maybe three feet of water or more ended up in people's homes. Most of the homes here are single story. You can see, again, just more of the damage that's been done. People have also tried to salvage what they can, placing it in the yards to dry. But really what it was is that in the middle of the night you had the water suddenly rising.

People realized that they wanted to get out of the neighborhood, but they couldn't figure out exactly which was the safest way to go. And by the time they began to realize they had to go, the water was already thigh deep in many places. It continues to drain in areas here. And that's the thing about flash flooding. You look at this and you say well, where is all that water? It is still here. It's running off, though.

It's cleared out. But it's done a tremendous amount of damage. In fact it's estimated that there was about maybe six to eight inches of rain that fell. That would be the second most -- well, second highest amount of rainfall here since about 2010. But it was one of the largest rainfalls to ever happen in the month of March. So not like they were expecting anything like this. And it's been an extremely rough couple of days.

The streets here are choked with people trying to salvage what they can, trying to figure out what comes next and trying to essentially begin piecing their lives back together. At least four people have died, and it's possible that we will learn more with the press conference coming from the city shortly -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll look forward to that. Clearly very arduous tough time right now for folks there in the Nashville area. Thank you so much, Martin.

Let's check in with meteorologist Tom Sater who's in the CNN Weather Center.

So, Tom, what's left of this system, if anything, and what could potentially be next?

TOM SATER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, I think some major river flooding will continue in the next couple of days, Fredricka. Area streams and creeks are going to start to recede. But this is devastating not quite as widespread as the historic flooding they had in 2010. But you have to remember, I mean, they've had eight days of rainfall this month. So the ground can't take much more of it.

And the radar here, I'm going to show you is the last 24 hours, runoff in the urban is twice as high as it is in rural areas, mainly because of the concrete, the steel, the streets. So it doesn't take much. However, no city can handle over seven inches of rain in 24 hours.

Flood watches continue in the central and eastern part of Tennessee into the high terrain of North Carolina. But when you look at the amount of rainfall that has fallen, it's been staggering, widespread, four to eight inches in some spots.

But in the international airport, there you have it, a two-day total. This is the second highest two-day total in their history at seven inches. But notice on the left part of your screen, that was 2010. So double the amount of rainfall. Just amazing, though, that some of these areas continue to see the rivers rise rapidly. When you have creeks such as this, Mill Creek, that's in Wood Vine,

now you can see where it's up into the moderate zone and then of course the Cumberland River. This runs through downtown Nashville. It's going to be riding high and cause some flooding as well. Not as bad as it was in 2010. But mainly this event also came with some winds.

[13:05:02]

But the problem spot was along I-40. It was mainly areas from Nashville eastward to Mount Juliet. But some beautiful areas unfortunately, Brentwood, Franklin, really struck hard by these heavy rains. Now the problem is that there's more rain on the way in coming days. Right now you can see that severe weather threat as it made its way with some pretty strong winds across areas of Georgia, Atlanta, into the Carolinas.

But the next system will be quickly approaching. Our severe weather threat today, however, is mainly in the mid-Atlantic. You can see there you got level three out of five from areas of around Del Marva into areas of southeast of Virginia. But again this entire frontal system has just been a pain. Remember, we had quite a few tornadoes just the other day. A good 15 of them. And again that goes on top of the, you know, 23, 24 we had on Thursday and then the 64 we had eight days before that.

So, again, definitely we're watching the flood watch that's in effect. The rivers are going to rise. The larger one, Cumberland, but most of the area streams and creeks are starting to fall off now so it's some very good news. But it's going to take days to clean up. And even structural damages as far as some roads have buckled and been washed away. So some of this cleanup and construction could last for weeks.

WHITFIELD: All right, Tom Sater, thank you so much. We'll check back with you.

All right, meanwhile, members of Congress are in Atlanta today visiting the scenes of that shooting rampage at three Asian spas. Eight people were killed including six Asian women. Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus will retrace the steps of the shooter to show the killings were an anti-Asian hate crime.

This comes amid a turbulent time for Asian Americans who have seen attacks against them rise dramatically since the start of the COVID pandemic.

CNN's Natasha Chen has more from Atlanta.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fred, several members of Congress are paying visits to the three spa locations where a gunman killed a total of eight people on March 16th. They include Congresswoman Judy Chu, Congresswoman Grace Meng, Congressman Andy Kim, Congressman Al Green and Congresswoman Carolyn Bourdeaux. Some of these people are members of the AAPI Congressional Caucus.

They're very concerned about this incident on the heels of reported 3800 anti-Asian hate incidents since the pandemic began. They started their morning at Young's Asian Spa in Acworth and Cherokee County. And their press release said they wanted to then drive down here to Gold Spa and Aromatherapy Spa in Atlanta to show how far the gunman had to travel to target these places.

Now as they are doing this, a couple of days ago, a couple of the victims' families held funeral services to say goodbye to their loved ones. These members of Congress are also here to pay respect and lay flowers at each of the locations. They'll also meet with some victims' families as well as doing a roundtable with local elected AAPI leaders before giving a press conference at the Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce.

Fred, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, Natasha Chen, thank you so much in Atlanta.

All right, these mass shootings come as Congress weighs action on gun reform. My next guest knows the pain felt by families of gun violence all too well. At 19 years old he lost his father in a shooting.

Here with me now, Democratic congressman from Nevada, Steven Horsford.

Congressman, so good to see you. So this issue is deeply personal for you and your community. Las Vegas was the scene of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. Two bills were recently passed in the House addressing expanded background checks. But what do you want your colleagues in the Senate to understand as they take up this issue?

REP. STEVEN HORSFORD (D-NV): Well, I want my colleagues in the Senate and I want Republicans in the House and the Senate to actually listen to their constituents and not to the gun lobby. As you said, my father was shot and killed when I was 19 years old. I never had a chance to say goodbye. And my home city of Las Vegas where I was born and raised is the place of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

We have passed two comprehensive bills out of the House with Republican support, but I also want those bills passed by the Senate and put on President Biden's desk so that we can address the fundamental issues that are contributing to gun violence in our country. Also, to support the Break the Cycle of Violence Act that Senator Booker and I have introduced to really target community-based interventions so that we can stem gun violence wherever it may occur.

WHITFIELD: But what's it going to take to get this gun legislation or anything related passed? I mean, it seems to be an uphill battle, particularly now with such polarization, especially in the Senate where Democrats only, you know, hold a one-vote majority. Virginia Senator Tim Kaine tweeted last night, and this is his tweet, "We cannot stand by as more families lose loved ones. The time for Congress to act on gun violence is now."

So do you believe the momentum is there because following a mass shooting, a horrific occurrence in this nation, there seems to be momentum, and then suddenly it disappears? HORSFORD: Eighty-five percent of Americans support comprehensive

background check legislation and closing the gun show loophole and other commonsense reforms. So all we need Congress to do is to listen to their constituents and not to the gun lobby.

If we do that, and if we center the voices of those who have been affected by the violence and the pain, then I believe that we will get this bill passed by Congress, and I know because of President Biden's compassion, his resolve to pass this legislation, that he will sign it.

WHITFIELD: What are the areas in which you believe there will be and could be bipartisan support in the Senate?

HORSFORD: Well, definitely the commonsense background checks bill has bipartisan support. The gun show loophole, as I said, is a bill that many Americans believe should be passed so that only law-abiding citizens can purchase guns, and then the legislation that Senator Booker and I have advanced, the Break the Cycle of Violence Act, we will be reintroducing this bill because it's about putting resources in communities.

It's not just about guns themselves, but it's also the things that are contributing to gun violence in many of our communities throughout the country.

WHITFIELD: Another big issue facing Congress, immigration. And again, you have a personal connection to this issue. Your mother came to the U.S. as a young girl from Trinidad and Tobago with your grandmother. So what can you tell us about their story?

HORSFORD: Well, my mother, who has shown me what it means to be resilient and to never give up, came to the United States with my grandmother when she was just a teenager. Like many people who immigrate to the United States, they came here for a better life, initially to New York and then they made their way to Las Vegas. But after my grandmother fell sick, my mom ended up getting trapped in a broken immigration system.

So I know all too well the families that are dealing with this broken immigration policy. They want to see Congress act. And so when I hear from the Dreamers, when I hear from TPS holders, when I hear from people who are trying to seek asylum like the families that I've met at the detention centers in my very own district, I listened to them. And all they want is to be able to keep their families together and to live the American dream.

Yes, we need to secure our border, but we can do that while also respecting and having dignity for those who are seeking immigration status in our country. We are a nation of immigrants, and it's all about keeping our families together.

WHITFIELD: Congressman Steven Horsford, thank you so much for your time and your story, and sharing that with us.

HORSFORD: Thank you, Fredricka. Appreciate it. WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, Georgia's new voting law being called

un-American and Jim Crow for the 21st Century. Will the move backfire on Republicans? And what can President Biden do as other states consider similar measures?

Plus, new information on a deadly shooting in Virginia Beach. Police open fire killing a black man and the officer's body camera was turned off.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:17:53]

WHITFIELD: There are new questions swirling around a very violent night in Virginia Beach leading to two deaths, three separate shootings and one police-involved shooting with the officer's body cam not activated nor recording.

CNN's Brian Todd is in Virginia Beach for us.

So, Brian, what do we know about these shootings? All unrelated or is it being pieced together that they are in some way related?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, a lot of that is still being pieced together. And what's extraordinary about 36 or so hours after these shootings took place is the information that we don't have, crucial information that we don't have from police who either don't know this information or choosing not to release it at this time. Police told us a short time ago that they had executed search warrants this morning to try to obtain more evidence in this case.

This is where the shootings unfolded on Friday night, starting with the first set of shootings over here at this parking lot where about eight people were injured. Nobody was killed in that set of shootings, but they have three suspects in custody connected to that. Then a short time later, a set of shootings occurred down 19th Street down here, where 29-year-old Deshayla Harris was killed. Police have said that she died in some kind of a crossfire, that she was a bystander.

Then this is the shooting that's really in question now, the shooting of Donovan Lynch, which then occurred on the corner of 20th and Pacific Avenue, right over there. Donovan Lynch, the question of whether he was armed or not came up in a news conference last night with Chief Paul Neudigate. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF PAUL NEUDIGATE, VIRGINIA BEACH POLICE: I've seen some of the community concerns about Mr. Donovan -- or Mr. Lynch being unarmed. What I can tell you is that there was a firearm recovered in the vicinity of where this incident occurred. We would like to be more forthcoming, but unfortunately, we do not have body cam footage of this incident. The officer was wearing a body cam, but for unknown reasons at this point in time it was not activated.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP) TODD: And police have still not named the officer involved in that shooting, and they said last night that they had not spoken to that officer just yet. We have asked the police what was going on with that officer, why they haven't released that information yet and whether that officer hired an attorney.

[13:20:07]

They have not gotten back to us on that information, Fredricka. We're still pursuing a lot of answers from the police this afternoon.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Lots of unanswered questions so many hours later.

Brian Todd, thank you so much.

All right, still ahead, Senator Raphael Warnock sounds off on Georgia's controversial law restricting voter access. How he plans to fight it, straight ahead.

Plus, a black voter makes a chilling discovery after watching Brian Kemp sign the bill into law. She says her family knows all too well about the plantation painting on the wall behind the governor there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:25:09]

WHITFIELD: More pushback against a controversial new law in Georgia restricting voter access. President Biden says the Justice Department is taking a closer look at the measure, and civil rights groups have filed multiple lawsuits challenging it. Critics argue the new law disproportionately targets Democrats and black voters by limiting drop boxes and putting new restrictions on weekend and absentee voting.

Supporters of the GOP measure including Georgia's governor call this an election security law and continue to cite the big lie on the 2020 election regarding non-existent widespread voter fraud. This morning on CNN Georgia's first black senator called the new law voter suppression and vowed to fight it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Do you think this law restricting voting rights in your state is a backlash to your election specifically?

SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA): Well, you know, I am very clear that this is not about me. This is really about preserving the voices of the people and their democracy. And I honestly think, Dana, politicians focused on their own political ambition is what's gotten us here in the first place.

BASH: Yes.

WARNOCK: You have legislators who are running scared. And so rather than having the people select their politicians, the politicians are trying to cherry-pick their voters. This is an assault on the covenant that we have with one another as an American people and it's my job to protect it.

BASH: And I understand what you mean. I guess maybe the question isn't about you personally, but about what you represent?

WARNOCK: I think, you know, we've seen this over the history of our country. Our democracy expands and it contracts. We have this amazing idea when you think about the long march of human history, this experiment in self-government, one person, one vote.

And it was stated in the charter documents of our nation, but we've always had to fight for it. When Jefferson offered up those ideals that all men are created equal, I guess he meant all men because women weren't included.

People of color, black people have had to fight for their vote. And honestly, it is disconcerting that here we are again fighting for what's basic. But we will not be worn down. We intend to stand up to this moment. And I think it's important that people understand that while race certainly is a part of this equation, young people and others are being marginalized, at the end of the day this is about our democracy. This is about the covenant we have with one another as an American people.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, that interview this morning with Senator Raphael Warnock.

We've got so much more straight ahead right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:32:03]

WHITFIELD: All right. We're back now to talk about the new voter law in Georgia. The governor of Georgia calling it an election security law. Critics calling it a voter suppression law. Julian Zelizer is a CNN political analyst and a historian and professor at Princeton University. Also with me is Michael Harriot, a senior writer for "The Root."

Good to see both of you.

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you.

MICHAEL HARRIOT, SENIOR WRITER, THE ROOT: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right, so, Julian, you first. You know, does this Georgia law help the 250 other proposed bills across 43 states gain momentum? There are so many critics who say those 250 bills are very similar, the objective is very similar to what this Georgia law is.

ZELIZER: Well, I think that context is how we need to think of this. There's the context that since the Supreme Court knocked out the VRA, the Voting Rights Act, in 2013, we've seen an expansion of these restrictive laws. And since February, we have over 250 bills, according to the Brennan Center, further seeking to restrict legislation. So, yes, this is an acceleration of this effort to restrict democratic rights and to make it more difficult rather than easier for Americans to vote.

WHITFIELD: And so, Michael, the president is calling it and many critics of this law calling it un-American, calling it Jim Crow for the 21st Century. But then what are the challenges in trying to undermine or undo this law that has been signed into effect by the governor of Georgia?

HARRIOT: The challenge is mostly fighting back Brian Kemp's long history of voter suppression. He became governor from being secretary of state where he was even more egregiously a vote suppressor. He purged thousands of votes according to studies. He -- some votes disappeared in the 2018 midterms, votes just disappeared exclusively in black neighborhoods. I've been writing about that.

WHITFIELD: His opponent in that race was Stacey Abrams. Go ahead.

HARRIOT: Exactly. And so he's been a long time -- he's on video saying that the goal of his party in Georgia should be to stop African- Americans from voting. It's caught on camera so he can't deny it. And so the challenge is that Georgia has a long history of this going back to the Original 33 when they expelled 33 black lawmakers from the state legislature in 1868.

So this state has been repeatedly engaging in this kind of voter suppression because that is the only way that this state -- it's such a large African-American population, that the only way they can win is to suppress black voters. And I think that --

WHITFIELD: High black population particularly in the high-density areas in cities of Georgia.

[13:35:01]

So then, Michael, what you are underscoring is how blatant the effort is, you underscoring the history of it. And then let's talk about the optics of what we saw on the day of the signing on Thursday. Georgia's Republican Governor Brian Kemp signing the bill behind closed doors surrounded by white men alongside him with a painting of a plantation behind him, while outside an African-American state lawmaker is getting handcuffed after knocking on the door because she wants to witness this live stream event.

The senator now facing two felony charges for knocking on that door. And we're also hearing from outraged African-American woman who says her ancestors worked as slaves and share croppers on that very plantation that is depicted in that painting. In fact this is what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIMBERLY WALLACE, FAMILY WORKED ON PLANTATION IN KEMP VOTER SIGNING PHOTO: That's the plantation that my family worked on, the Callaway Plantation in Wilkes County, Georgia, on -- like generations of -- my father picked cotton there, my father. We're not talking about like back in the 1800s. We're talking about share cropping and the way they made money off of people for nothing. My father picked cotton and had to take a mule to Athens, Georgia.

This is like -- when I tell you that I'm upset, and I'm upset from them. Like I feel my ancestors pushing me here to tell the story. It was very rude and very disrespectful to me, to my family, to black people in Georgia that he signed -- that whole visual was very disrespectful.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Michael, do you think that was the governor's intent, that he conscientiously helped craft that moment the way in which it was played out?

HARRIOT: Well, let's be objectively clear about this, right? So either it just so happened that he was perfectly posed under a picture of a plantation that I don't seem to see in most of the other photographs of him signing bills in the governor's -- in the state headquarters, right? So if you look online, if you do a Google search, he's always sitting at his desk signing the bills, even when he's surrounded by people, except for this photo. Right?

So if you Google the pictures of his office, you won't even notice that photo except -- I mean, that painting except in this photo. So it seems to be intentional, or the other possibility is that in the entire state of Georgia, Brian Kemp couldn't find a single black person to stand with him to sign that bill.

WHITFIELD: Or even a white woman. I mean, it's --

HARRIOT: Right.

WHITFIELD: It's perplexing. So, Julian, might this potentially backfire? We hear from so many people across the state who are saying this only galvanizes people even more to make that extra concerted effort, you know, to turn out at the polls just as they did in record numbers in November as well as January.

ZELIZER: Sure. It can backfire in two ways. One is to increase the vote of the very people who the legislation is trying to suppress. And that's what we're talking about. More mobilization, more registration. It can also stimulate President Biden to take more forceful action.

He can move forward with proposals, for example, to allow this legislation not to be subject to the filibuster in the Senate, meaning the national legislation to strengthen voting rights, and that would undercut what's going on in Georgia.

So we have to see, but it has to be grassroots, presidentially led initiative right now that will change what's going on in states like Georgia.

WHITFIELD: Business, there's been a lot of pressure, particularly from groups who have already filed lawsuits in Georgia who say business can play a role here, too. Senator Raphael Warnock was asked about that, how influential businesses could be, and he said, you know, while he's not offering pressure to get businesses to, you know, pull back money or boycott or anything like that, but he says everyone can play a role.

How might that move the needle particularly as it pertains to laws that suppress the vote, Michael? How much of an onus, you know, can businesses play and have?

HARRIOT: Well, you know, we're one of the country's biggest airline hubs, Delta, even though they issued a milquetoast statement --

WHITFIELD: Oh, let me give you that statement, in fact. We have that right here. So Delta released this statement and in part it says, "The legislation signed this week improved considerably during the legislative process and expands weekend voting, codifies Sunday voting and protects a voter's ability to cast an absentee ballot without providing a reason.

[13:40:12]

For the first time drop boxes have also been authorized for all counties statewide and poll workers will be allowed to work across county lines. Nonetheless, we understand concerns remain over other provisions in the legislation and there continues to be work ahead in this important effort.

We are committed to continuing to listen to our people and our communities, and engage with leaders from both parties to ensure every eligible employee and Georgia voter can exercise their right to vote." Now, I know, Michael, you were about to, you know, embark on an answer on that.

But then it also seems like Delta, when reading that statement, they want it both ways, not wanting to ruffle any feathers, but simultaneously perhaps it's ruffling feathers by neither condoning nor condemning vociferously, but instead trying to do both.

HARRIOT: Right. I think if you don't stand against this law, you have to be standing for it, right? So that statement, because they didn't come out and vociferously say, look, the state should stop doing this, then they in some way are for this law. And the businesses like Delta, the movie industry for the large part, is moving towards Georgia. And all of these industries, the sports --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: And some directors have said I'm not even going to do any more movies here until there's change.

HARRIOT: Right. And athletes. The Masters is coming there, and people are calling for some of the golfers to boycott the Masters. These are the kinds of things that can make these people change their mind because, you know, these white people are happy to see black people come and act in movies and play basketball and play golf in their state, but then they don't want their citizens to vote and to exercise their right to an equal democracy in their state.

So these are the kinds of things that can put pressure on the state and the finances and the people who are supporting this law because we know these GOP people are rich white people. I mean, there's no other way to describe it.

WHITFIELD: And, Julian, less than 10 seconds. The power of the purse.

ZELIZER: The power of the purse is immense. If you pressure business and if business pressures politicians, but they have to take a stand. You don't obtain civil rights by not ruffling feathers. And if business wants to be on the side of democracy, they have to ruffle feathers and they have to be much stronger. But the power of the purse matters in the economy and in politics.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll leave it there, gentlemen. Thank you so much. Julian Zelizer, Michael Harriot, appreciate it.

All right, tomorrow morning, the long-awaited trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin gets under way. How the city and the nation is preparing, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:47:17]

WHITFIELD: All right, now to a message from top health officials to Americans. Another spike in COVID-19 cases is avoidable. Vaccines have people feeling more optimistic than ever, but risk factors are out there. From new variants to pandemic fatigue and relaxed restrictions, all things that current vaccination levels can't fix on their own. Dr. Fauci says that combination is letting recent history repeat itself. States are reopening while case rates are still high. And now they run the risk of moving higher.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, BIDEN'S CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER ON CORONAVIRUS: When you're coming down from a big peak and you reach a point and start to plateau, once you stay at that plateau, you're really in danger of a surge coming up. And unfortunately that's what we're starting to see. We got stuck at around 50,000 new cases per day, went up to 60,000 the other day. And that's really a risk.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: This week, amusement parks are preparing to reopen across California. After a long year of empty roller coasters they're finally set to welcome back with a whole slew of safety protocols.

Paul Vercammen is live for us at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia.

So, Paul, how are they getting ready?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, talking about those protocols, I'm in the world's fanciest thermometer. You will not be able to enter the park on Thursday if your temperature exceeds 100.4. So my cameraman, Doug, how am doing? What's my temperature?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 97.5.

VERCAMMEN: 97.5. So I'm in. I go through here, the idea at Magic Mountain is this is all contactless. You don't touch anything. Your ticket is on your phone. And when you go through security, you are also scanned or infrared imaging, not padded down. We talked to the safety manager here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN MIYAHIRA, PUBLIC SAFETY MANAGER, SIX FLAGS MAGIC MOUNTAIN: While you're here, there are some things like social distancing, physical distancing. We have signage on the floors to remind individuals to stay separated. There's also a rule about wearing your mask at all times including while you're participating in our rides.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: And by the way, should your mask fall off on a ride, they have replacement masks. Now this is Six Flags. You might recognize it from the movie "Vacation" with Chevy Chase. It was Walley World. Yes, we're talking about a funny movie but seriously this is a big part of a local economy, 2,000 jobs. They'll bring back 1500 people when this opens up at 15 percent capacity on Thursday. And the workers here are just euphoric.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's over the top because being far away from Six Flags has just been a nightmare because interacting with people, having that interaction, that friendliness, it just -- I miss it. And it's great to be back.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

[13:50:10]

VERCAMMEN: And many counties in California are close to going down another tier, less restrictive orange here. That means that more people will be able to go into this park and others. Baseball stadiums and the rest. Something that we are obviously keeping an eye on.

Back to you now, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, one step at a time, one careful step at a time. Paul Vercammen, thank you so much.

All right, don't miss this unprecedented event with Dr. Sanjay Gupta when the medical leaders of the war on COVID break their silence. CNN Special Report, "COVID WAR, THE PANDEMIC DOCTORS SPEAK OUT" begins tonight at 9:00 p.m.

All right, opening statements begin tomorrow in the televised trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Under the knee of Chauvin, George Floyd's public death sparking intense debate over racial injustice, police accountability and the criminal justice system as a whole. Chauvin faces murder and manslaughter charges in Floyd's death. 15 jurors have been selected, six men, nine women, nine of those jurors are white, four are black and two are of mixed race.

CNN's Omar Jimenez has more on what we can expect and what's at stake.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The eyes of a movement. One that sparked protests worldwide in the name of George Floyd, shift to a courtroom in Minneapolis.

JUDGE PETER CAHILL, HENNEPIN COUNTY DISTRICT COURT: Anything else for the record?

JIMENEZ: Now to opening statements in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer has pleaded not guilty to the charges he faces, second-degree unintentional murder, second degree manslaughter, and third-degree murder in the death of George Floyd. Outside the courtroom emotions will be running high. There have already been multiple protests throughout the city.

CHIEF MEDARIA ARRADONDO, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE: They've done so peacefully, and they've assembled and gathered peacefully. We continue to expect more demonstrations.

JIMENEZ: But the destruction that happened in May 2020 in the aftermath of Floyd's death is still fresh on the minds of city officials, and it's why the building that houses the courtroom has virtually become a fortress due to increased security measures with the mayor saying there's more to come.

MAYOR JACOB FREY, MINNEAPOLIS: Residents should be expecting a gradual increase in law enforcement and National Guard presence as we progress through the trial.

JIMENEZ: The first step in this trial --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How does that make you feel?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm OK with that.

JIMENEZ: -- was getting through jury selection, which lasted exactly two weeks.

CAHILL: You will serve on our jury.

JIMENEZ: Resulting in 15 jurors, 14 of which will be a part of the trial.

CAHILL: This 15th juror was to make sure that we could have 14 people show up on Monday.

JIMENEZ: Their identities remain unknown for now. Attorneys for the Floyd family are pleased the trial can now proceed and wrote, "This is not a hard case. George Floyd had more witnesses to his death than any other person ever." And it will be witnesses who now come to the stand, called by both prosecutors for the state and defense attorneys for the Derek Chauvin. Among what we know will be talked about --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put them up on the dash.

JIMENEZ: A portion of a 2019 George Floyd arrest for which he was never charged, but one where he ended up being sent to the hospital instead of jail, an interaction with police defense attorneys for Chauvin argued was similar to May 2020. A paramedic from that day in 2019 is also expected to testify.

CAHILL: The whole point here is we have medical evidence on what happens when Mr. Floyd is faced with virtually the same situation. Confrontation by police. At gunpoint. Followed by a rapid ingestion of some drugs.

RICHARD FRASE, CRIMINAL LAW PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: Our system of justice is a bit on trial. Can we give Mr. Chauvin a fair trial? Because that's essential. Can we give the state a fair chance to find him guilty under the law and the evidence?

JIMENEZ: The trial is expected to last up to four weeks. All the while a city, a family, a movement, watches anxiously over what criminal accountability looks like in the death of George Floyd.

Omar Jimenez, CNN, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

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[13:58:45]

WHITFIELD: Officials in Egypt say they are now bringing in tug boats and considering the last ditch option of removing containers from the ship that is blocking the Suez Canal. A vessel the length of the Empire State Building ran aground in the canal Tuesday and ever since there has been a traffic jam of hundreds of ships destined for ports around the world.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Egypt for us.

So, Ben, what's the latest?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest is that this round-the-clock operation continues, now at 24 minutes past 11:00 local time this evening. That is when the seasonal tide reaches its peak and they're hoping that that will provide that opportunity, along with the arrival of two heavy tug boats, to free the Ever Given. But really this is kind of the end of this phase of the operation.

The Egyptian president Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has already given orders that preparations should be made to start removing some of the containers from the Ever Given in the hopes of lightening the ship to free it. The problem is that there are 18,300 containers on the ship to remove them, you have to bring in floating cranes.