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U.S. Justice Department To Probe Minneapolis Police Practices; U.S. Vaccinations Dip, Experts Fear Vaccine Hesitancy; India Hospitals Facing Severe Oxygen Shortage; Sheriff Promises Public Will See Fatal Shooting Video Of Andrew Brown Jr.; Armenians Cheer U.S. Designation Of 1915 Massacres A Genocide; Jerusalem Waking Up After Night Of New Clashes; Justice Department Says Trump Supporters Could Be Incited To Violence; QAnon Movement Spreads To Japan; Family And Friends Celebrate Life Of DMX; "Nomadland" Director Faces Heated Criticism In China. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired April 25, 2021 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): As Johnson & Johnson's vaccine comes back online, new numbers show a dip in the number of shots administered in the U.S. last week. Some experts are blaming vaccine hesitancy.
Plus, desperation and despair: India's health care system nears collapse as the country sets another record for new COVID cases.
And the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory gains traction in an unlikely place: Japan. Why the movement's message resonates with followers there.
Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to all of you watching here, in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
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BRUNHUBER: We begin with signs that the coronavirus vaccine supply in the U.S. may soon outstrip demand. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 93 million people have been fully vaccinated. Over the past few weeks, average daily vaccination rates have started to fall. CNN's Polo Sandoval takes a look at what might be behind the drop.
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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine is cleared to go into arms again, a slight but ongoing drop in overall shots being administered a day, that average number, according to the CDC, dipped below 3 million this week.
The Biden administration attributing it to vaccine hesitancy. It is a trend that the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation has been closely watching even before J&J's pause.
DR. CHRIS MURRAY, DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH METRICS AND EVALUATION, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: Facebook runs a survey every day and we look at that data on a daily basis and that has shown that vaccine confidence in the U.S. has been slowly, but steadily going down since February.
You know, not by huge amounts like a percentage point a week, but that starts to add up.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Some of that hesitancy being felt more among Republicans. A Monmouth poll recently showed 43 percent of GOP voters said they will likely never get a COVID vaccine compared to five percent of Democrats.
The head of the CDC said Friday that the government must perform quote, "extraordinary outreach" when it comes to educating clinicians and patients.
DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: All right, I am getting the injection now.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Baltimore's former Health Commissioner, Dr. Leana Wen received a J&J dose before the pause. If given the option, she encourages certain women avoid it given the fresh findings about extremely rare blood clots.
WEN: Since there are two other vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna that do not carry this very small risk, I don't think I would have chosen to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine myself knowing that risk.
And I wish that the CDC and the FDA had gone further in their discussions yesterday to explicitly put a warning for women under the age of 50 to say, if it is available to you, consider choosing one of the other vaccines that do not carry this particular risk.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): The consensus remains the same among health experts, all COVID vaccines authorized for use in the U.S. remains safe and effective.
DR. ABDUL EL-SAYED, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: If you look at the tradeoff here, this is still far better -- it is far better to choose to take the Johnson & Johnson vaccine than to go unvaccinated given what we know about the risks of COVID.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One thousand shots.
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SANDOVAL (voice-over): A local Canadian pharmacy in Toronto celebrated administering its 1,000th vaccination this week, as here in the U.S., efforts at a much larger scale continue amid vaccine hesitancy.
SANDOVAL: Well, here in New York state, about 31 percent of the population already considered fully vaccinated in an effort to try to keep increasing that number, multiple locations and vaccination sites continue to open up, including here in New York City, where the American Natural History Museum is now serving as a mass vaccination site, even offering free admission to the museum as an added incentive -- Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.
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BRUNHUBER: India has smashed another global record for daily coronavirus cases for the fourth day running. More than 349,000 new infections were reported by officials Sunday.
India also posted another record daily death toll. Hospitals are overwhelmed by COVID patients and there are widespread shortages of critical medicine supplies, including oxygen. Experts say the country's case surge could correlate with a rise in variants. And that includes the so-called double mutant variant first identified in India.
Anna Coren tracking all this from Hong Kong.
Anna, the U.S. government says it'll deploy support to India to help with the crisis. And looking at the heartbreaking numbers there, it's clearly, sorely needed.
ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: It's desperately needed, Kim, but this help could be too little, too late, for people who need it now.
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COREN: They needed it yesterday. I mean, you are talking about family members taking their loved ones to -- to hospitals, who are struggling to breathe, and hospitals turning them away saying we don't have enough oxygen for the people here, let alone new patients.
One hospital chief we spoke to said he will only admit patients who bring their own oxygen cylinders and their families can, then, go and get the oxygen. This is the -- the acute shortage being felt at hospitals, right across the country and also, in -- in the capital, in New Delhi.
You talk about those variants, Kim. Those variants and -- and that -- that one particular variant, the -- the very contagious variant that has been detected in the U.K., also, in Switzerland. We are getting reports of other places, possibly, Australia. Australia's looking into it.
Those cases are affecting at least half the number of people in Delhi, who have COVID. So I think it just gives you an idea of how contagious this variant is. We spoke to one man, Kim, whose story, his tragic story, really, illustrates the -- the -- the pain, the frustration, the utter desperation that so many people in India are currently going through.
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COREN (voice-over): Forty-two-year-old Vishwaroop Sharma believes he is living in hell. Three days ago, he drove his critically ill father who contracted COVID to a Delhi hospital and pleaded for help. With no beds, no oxygen, they were forced to wait outside, Sharma rubbing his father's back, trying to offer reassuring words. But no help came.
VISHWAROOP SHARMA, SON OF COVID-19 PATIENT: He knew he was going to die. He was saying, I'm going -- I won't be able to breathe. I need something, I need -- I need more medicine. But nothing is provided to him. And he died in front of me, in front of my eyes.
COREN: Sharma told CNN he returned home to find his mother, now a widow, struggling to breathe. She, too, had contracted the deadly virus.
With the help of friends, he purchases an oxygen cylinder on the black market. And for the next few days, he drives from hospital to hospital with his mother in the backseat, breathing through an oxygen mask. Finally, he finds an available bed at a hospital 100 kilometers away.
SHARMA: She was controlling me that don't be worried. I'll be back. I'll be back. Don't worry. If God is with us, I'll be back.
COREN: India is facing a second wave that's turned into a tsunami, catching the nation's government completely off-guard that failed to stockpile or prepare for this moment.
On Thursday, the country reported almost 315,000 new COVID cases and more than 2,100 deaths, the highest number of daily infections and deaths, ever recorded in any country since the pandemic began. And medical experts say that number is only going to rise.
DR. SRINATH REDDY, PRESIDENT, PUBLIC HEALTH FOUNDATION OF INDIA: Given the number of infections we already have and the people that might have already been infected, I do not expect the case count to go down for three or four weeks and the death count to go down, until at least two to three weeks thereafter.
COREN: Hospitals are at breaking point, with an acute shortage of beds and oxygen. The capital, Delhi, has less than half the required oxygen for COVID patients, despite India being one of the world's largest producers of medical and industrial oxygen.
The high court has criticized the central government's handling of the oxygen crisis, describing the shortage as ridiculous. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced measures to increase the production and supply of oxygen, but the duty of the government now falling to private citizens.
TEHSEEN POONAWALLA, ACTIVIST, TV HOST: It's a horrible situation. It's as if the government has completely abdicated its responsibility. There is no helping there. The health system has completely collapsed.
COREN: Activist and TV host Tehseen Poonawalla and his wife, Monica, are using their celebrity influence and resources to help desperate Indians source oxygen, cylinders and hospital beds, which, they believe, shouldn't be a privilege but a fundamental right.
Thousands are appealing to them on social media, but for every 50, they say they can only manage to help one.
POONAWALLA: They call us with hope and we can't fulfill it. It's very difficult. Imagine you have oxygen and you don't have (INAUDIBLE). Imagine you have oxygen in the country and can't transport the oxygen. And therefore, people are dying of oxygen. It's criminal.
COREN: For Sharma, a student studying law, he knows firsthand how much his country is now suffering. As he prepares to pick up his father's remains from the crematorium, he is praying that COVID doesn't take his mother, as well.
SHARMA: I'm totally helpless, because I have -- I have lost my father just three days ago and I've left my mom in a hospital. And I'm so helpless. I'm all alone now.
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COREN: And, Kim, this is just one story. As the health ministry said, more than 2,700 deaths were recorded on Sunday. The experts believe that number could actually be five times higher because of the -- the -- the crematoriums that are backlogged, that are working around the clock, the acute shortage of oxygen, of the people dying in the parking lots of these hospitals.
I want to read you a -- a -- a quote, if you'd like, from the prime minister, Narendra Modi. He gave his monthly radio address, a few hours ago. And he -- he has finally addressed the second wave.
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COREN: He says, "After successfully tackling the first wave, the nation's morale was high, it was confident. But this storm, the second wave, has shaken the nation."
Well, many would say that the confidence that India and the government was feeling after that first wave is the reason it then became complacent, that it didn't stockpile, that it didn't prepare for what many say was inevitable, that they allowed life to resume to normal, for social gatherings, religious festivals, political rallies to take place.
The prime minister, himself, just earlier this week, attended a political rally, where there were thousands of people, many of them, unmasked, crammed together. India is now facing a national emergency. The government needs to step up. It needs to get those oxygen supplies, the -- the medication.
It needs to help its people because, as we are seeing, Kim, every single day, these people and -- are -- are dying and -- and on a massive scale.
BRUNHUBER: Incredible. Thanks so much, Anna Coren in Hong Kong.
The fire at a Baghdad hospital that treats COVID-19 patients has left at least 24 people dead and dozens more injured.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Officials say oxygen tanks exploded, causing the massive blaze. These are some of the moments when the fire started. Firefighters scrambled to get it under control, as health care workers fervently tried to evacuate patients from the burning building.
Officials say at least 200 people were saved. Iraq's prime minister has ordered an immediate investigation. He says allowing the fire to happen is a crime and those responsible should be held accountable.
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BRUNHUBER: London's Metropolitan Police say eight officers were injured trying to disperse anti-lockdown protesters. Several thousand people marched through central London Saturday, calling the coronavirus a hoax and a myth. Most, obviously, weren't wearing masks. And they were openly defying the ban on mass gatherings.
In the past few weeks, England has relaxed its lockdown measures. Nonessential shops and outdoor restaurants are open but indoor gatherings are still banned until mid-May at least.
All right. Still ahead, a sheriff in North Carolina is vowing truth and transparency after another fatal shooting of a Black man by police.
Plus can the trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve be repaired?
Vice President Kamala Harris weighs in on that, after the break. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Another fatal police shooting of an African American man in the U.S. has sparked outrage across the country. Andrew Brown Jr. was shot and killed by deputies in North Carolina on Wednesday.
Protesters are calling for the body camera footage of the incident to be released. Now the sheriff says he is working to do just that. CNN's Natasha Chen reports.
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NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It has now been more than three days since Andrew Brown Jr. was shot and killed by a Pasquotank County sheriff's deputy as they were executing a search warrant and an arrest warrant, which the sheriff said about a task force (ph). Now the public has been calling for the release of the body camera footage, including the family of Andrew Brown Jr. And they're comparing this process to the speed at which other jurisdictions around the U.S. have released their body camera footage after similar police use of force cases recently.
It seems that other places have released video much sooner than this county here. The sheriff in Pasquotank County here explained on Saturday afternoon that it is not up to him.
In a Facebook video that he posted, he explained that it requires a judge to grant the release of that video and that, if he gets the assurance of the State Bureau of Investigation that releasing the video would not hinder the investigation, the county would also formally file a request on Monday to have that video released.
On Monday, we're going to potentially see the same thing. The Elizabeth City council met in an emergency meeting on Friday to also request for that video to be released. And a number of news organizations, including CNN, will also formally file for that video to be released.
A lot of questions could potentially be answered by seeing this video. The family discussed that at a press conference Saturday afternoon, where we heard from the oldest son of Andrew Brown Jr.
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KHALIL FEREBEE, ANDREW BROWN JR.'S SON: With all these killings going on, I never expected this to happen so close to home. Like, he left a close and tight family, with each other every day talking to each other every day. And we, my brothers, my sisters, we is what drove him as a person. We is what made him better.
And now I got to live every day, my newborn without getting a chance to meet him at all. That's going to hurt me every day. I just want justice.
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CHEN: At that press conference, community leaders also referred to the 9-1-1 audio that has been publicly released, where emergency responders are heard saying that Brown was found with a gunshot wound to the back, which is very concerning, of course, for the family, especially when a witness also told CNN that she saw deputies firing at Brown's vehicle as he was allegedly driving away.
So again, many questions that could potentially be answered and helped by seeing the video, which, so far, no one has seen, not the family, not city officials in Elizabeth City. And so people are eagerly awaiting those formal filings on Monday -- Natasha Chen, CNN, Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
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BRUNHUBER: The latest police shooting is sure to be one of many discussed on Capitol Hill. As lawmakers try to find some common ground on police reform in America. Vice President Kamala Harris says, legislation is needed so trust between police and the public can be, finally, restored.
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KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I, absolutely, believe there is a way to rebuild trust. But it will not happen by itself.
So for example, the president and I are supporting the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. We believe that is a step, toward building back that trust, which is about saying that there should be accountability.
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BRUNHUBER: And the Department of Justice is looking for accountability following the guilty verdicts against Derek Chauvin. The DOJ has opened a civil investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department and its practices. Leaders have pledged to fully cooperate.
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BRUNHUBER: Joining me is Cheryl Dorsey, retired sergeant with the Los Angeles Police, the author of "Black and Blue: The Creation of a Social Advocate."
Thanks for joining us. So the DOJ is investigating the Minneapolis Police Department. During the Obama administration, there were about 25 of these types of investigations.
Under the Trump administration, the attorney general issued a directive, discouraging federal oversight of police agencies. Now that policy being reversed.
My question is, do these types of federal probes into local police departments actually lead to improvements?
CHERYL DORSEY, RETIRED LAPD SERGEANT: Well, you know, they may behave during the time that there's a consent decree in place or when agencies understand someone is actually looking over their shoulder.
But by and large, you know, for officers who work patrol, these kinds of measures really do little to deter bad behavior. We know this is true because we see it happening over and over and over again.
My concern is, while they're revving the engine back up, that's great, I appreciate all of that. There's talk of, you know, initiating new policies or procedures and reform.
But what are we going to do about the problems that have been existing for decades, over these 18,000 police departments? BRUNHUBER: Well, they're trying to get at that in Congress. They're talking about police reform. We've seen bipartisan efforts. But the main sticking point is the issue of holding individual officers more accountable, both criminally -- you hear people referring to 242 -- then civilly, the concept of qualified immunity.
So here we're going to play something that Stacey Plaskett, the Democratic congressional delegate for the U.S. Virgin Islands, said here on CNN.
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REP. STACEY PLASKETT (D-VI): Qualified immunity has, in many instances, become the hood for bad police officers to, in fact, act as modern-day Ku Klux Klan members against Black and Brown people in this country. And it has got to stop.
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BRUNHUBER: Clearly strong words there. Do you agree?
Does any meaningful police reform have to include an end to the laws protecting individual police officers from prosecution?
Is that a deal breaker for you?
DORSEY: Absolutely.
If you're not going to hold the officers accountable, what's the point?
Holding an agency accountable, maybe, is being talked about, rather than having the liability shift to the responsible officer.
If you don't do anything to deter the bad behavior of one officer who may be committing this conduct, how then do you stop that bad behavior?
You have, in Derek Chauvin, an officer who was engaged in obvious misconduct, which led to 22 personnel complaints, only one of which he was ever disciplined for. And so clearly, over his 19-year career, he learned nothing, collecting personnel complaints as if they were gifts from a good friend.
BRUNHUBER: You just touched on holding police departments accountable. I mean, that's the solution that Republican Tim Scott has proposed. As a compromise. He wants, you know, police departments, instead of individual-police officers, to be held responsible.
But I am wondering, I mean, at the end of the day, it's our tax dollars that pay for police departments. So any -- any financial sanction levied against them is basically our money.
But if this is the only way to get anything passed, would you, you know, hold your nose and -- and accept that as a reasonable compromise? DORSEY: I would not. And so, the question for me that begs to be
answered is, if officers are conducting themselves appropriately, if they're not violating policy, if they have no intent to murder, maim, Black and Brown folks, what then are they so afraid of?
What is it about accountability that sends shivers up the spines of police chiefs, police unions and, ultimately, police officers?
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BRUNHUBER: That was retired police sergeant Cheryl Dorsey there joining us.
Armenians are celebrating the long-awaited recognition by the U.S. of genocide during the Ottoman Empire.
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BRUNHUBER: We will explain why President Biden took this historic step, now. And what the Turkish government has to say a it. That's just ahead.
Plus, several nights of unrest in Jerusalem.
Why now?
We'll explain in a report from the city, coming up. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: And welcome back to all of you watching us here, in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber and you are watching CNN NEWSROOM.
The U.S. government has now formally recognized the mass killings of Armenians during World War I as a genocide. The Turkish government has always rejected that term and summoned the U.S. ambassador to complain. Turkey is a key NATO ally and past American presidents have always sidestepped the issue.
CNN's Joe Johns explains why this U.S. President decided to do it now.
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JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: It's been a long time coming but the American president has now declared, in a statement released over this weekend, that the atrocities that occurred in Turkey 106 years ago, being commemorated this very weekend, were, in fact, genocide. Here's part of that statement.
The president writes, "Each year on this day, we remember the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman era Armenian genocide and recommit ourselves to preventing such an atrocity from ever again occurring."
This recognition has been years in the making. In fact, many American presidents have declined to take such a step out of fear of damaging the strategic relationship between the United States and Turkey.
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JOHNS: Turkey has also repeatedly denied that there was ever genocide.
So the question is, why did Joe Biden decide to do this at this time?
Number one, there has been a big lobbying effort that's gone on for decades here in the United States to get this recognition to actually happen. Joe Biden used it as part of his campaign promises while he was running for president.
Also, the Biden administration has been working very hard to try to stress the importance of human rights here in the United States.
There's also a tough relationship between the President of the United States and Turkish President Erdogan. In fact, Joe Biden called Erdogan on Friday, indicating to him that he was going to make this statement. Previously the president of the United States has referred to him as an autocrat.
The Turkish government did respond with a long statement. Some of it was muted, however, once again, denying that there was ever a genocide, also suggesting Joe Biden may have had domestic political motivations for putting his statement out.
At the end of the day, the government did promise to maintain dialogue and cooperate with allies. The question going forward is whether there will be any more blowback as a result of this episode -- Joe Johns, CNN, with the president in Wilmington, Delaware.
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BRUNHUBER: And our Arwa Damon is covering the story from Istanbul.
Obviously, very divergent reactions to this announcement. Take us through the reaction where you are in Turkey.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Pretty much a unified voice coming from the government here, Kim, one of condemnation, one of a certain level of anger and irritation towards the United States' position.
Turkey has long maintained that the definition of genocide should not be applied here, that the context of what took place needs to be considered and that hundreds of thousands of other people were killed alongside the Armenians and that some of those killings were taken out -- carried out -- by Armenians themselves.
That being said, Kim, the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as he does every single year, did pass on his condolences to the descendent of Ottoman Armenians. And he did allude, to a certain degree, in statements made before President Biden came out with his declaration, to the history between Armenians and Turks, saying that, perhaps it was best to leave the past behind and try to build an identity -- that building an identity on pain is highly unfair to future generations.
Now once President Biden did make his declaration, we heard some fairly harshly worded statements. The Turkish foreign minister called it a vulgar distortion of history and he went on to tweet, "We are not going to take lessons about our history from anyone," calling this political opportunism.
At the end of the day, what we are seeing is, once again, the pain of a population that has been highly politicized, right now, one of the many issues at the epicenter of an incredibly fractured relationship between the United States and Turkey.
What is interesting to note, though, is that both parties did pledge to have a bilateral talk on the sidelines of the NATO summit, to take place in June -- Kim.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks so much for your reporting there, in Istanbul. Arwa Damon, appreciate it.
People in Jerusalem are waking up after another night of clashes. The Palestinian Red Crescent says 14 Palestinians were injured as chaos erupted around Jerusalem's Old City. CNN's Hadas Gold is there at the scene of the unrest.
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HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm standing in front of Damascus gate, one of the entrances to the Old City of Jerusalem. This has been the scene of near nightly clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police.
Palestinians have been protesting the erection of barricades in this plaza that has prevented Palestinians from congregating here, a popular place, especially during Ramadan.
Protesters have been throwing glass bottles and rocks and the Israeli police have responded with stun grenades, rubber bullets and foul- smelling water, the stench of which you can still smell today.
Last night the Palestinian Red Crescent said about 14 Palestinians were injured in the clashes. Tensions have been boiling in Jerusalem for several days now, not only because of the clashes here in front of Damascus gate but also because of individual incidents of physical violence between Palestinians and Israelis that have been going viral online.
And also last week a march of several hundred Jewish extremists, who, at one point, were shouting, "Death to Arabs."
[04:35:00]
GOLD: Those tensions have now spread down south, where Gaza militants have been shooting rockets toward Israeli communities.
Two nights ago 36 rockets were fired. Last night three rockets were fired. So far no injuries have been reported. The Israeli army saying they have responded with airstrikes targeting Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas has said that these rockets have been fired in response to the tensions in Jerusalem, saying that they are doing so as part of its national and moral duty in protecting the interests of the Palestinian people.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged calm in a statement but said that all options are on the table. The Israeli army chief has also canceled an important visit to the United States this week as a result of these tensions. The international community is also reacting with growing concern.
The U.N.'s Middle East envoy, Tor Wennesland, said that provocative acts across Jerusalem must cease. The U.S. State Department has also condemned the rockets fired from Gaza, with spokesperson Ned Price tweeting, "The rhetoric of extremist protesters chanting hateful and violent slogans must be firmly rejected.
"We call for calm and unity and urge authorities to ensure the safety, security and rights of all in Jerusalem" -- Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem.
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BRUNHUBER: Fifty-three crew members onboard an Indonesian submarine are feared dead after the navy confirmed the vessel had sunk in the Bali Sea. Search teams found debris believed to be from the submarine at a depth much deeper than where the ship and the sailors could survive. CNN's Blake Essig is following the story for us from Tokyo.
Blake, with hope seemingly now all but lost, what's next?
BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kim, you know, the mood on the ground in Indonesia is a mixture of heartbreak and fading optimism. After four days of searching, hopes of finding the missing Indonesian submarine and its 53-person crew alive appear to be over.
Now the navy chief of staff said several pieces of debris have been found. And the status of the missing sub has been changed from missing to sank. Now a total of six items were presented, including a bottle of grease, which the crew would use to grease the submarine's periscope; part of a torpedo launcher, a mattress for praying, part of a metal tube and fuel.
Now officials also said that these items were floating a couple miles from where the submarine first started its descent in a depth about 800 meters deep. Authorities said earlier the submarine couldn't survive at depths beyond 500 meters.
Based on the findings, navy officials concluded an explosion did not occur. Instead, it is believed that the submarine cracked under pressure, allowing the debris to escape.
Now the 44-year-old sub went missing Wednesday during a torpedo drill in the Bali Strait. At this point, the submarine still hasn't been located. Today, Indonesia has sent out 20 ships and five aircraft to look for the submarine, including one from the United States, searching an area about 40 kilometers north of Bali.
But again, Kim, it seems our worst fears in this case have been realized, as debris from the missing sub, with 53 souls on board, has been recovered.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Tragic. Thanks so much, Blake Essig. Appreciate it.
More than 100 firefighters are working to contain an enormous fire raging in Northern Ireland's Mourne Mountains.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): This sped-up video shows the flames on a hilltop above some homes. The fire erupted on Friday and has spread to Northern Ireland's highest mountain, Slieve Donard. An assistant fire chief calls it one of the most challenging fires they've ever had to deal with.
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BRUNHUBER: Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, how the far right QAnon movement is expanding to include a dedicated group of followers in Japan. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Months after the deadly riots on the U.S. Capitol, a number of federal judges and Justice Department officials say that former president Donald Trump could, still, incite his followers to violence.
That's because he is repeating the conspiracy theories that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him and that there was widespread voter fraud. Federal officials say that poses a danger to national security. CNN's Marshall Cohen explains.
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MARSHALL COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Justice Department and federal judges in D.C. are worried that former president Donald Trump's continued lies about the 2020 election could incite his supporters again to commit violence in the future.
This came up a few times this week at some of the cases stemming from the January 6th Capitol insurrection. Most of the nearly 400 people facing charges were arrested and released. But a few dozen have been sent to jail, before trial. Some of them are trying to get out.
But Trump's recent comments are making that more difficult. The rioters, by and large, were motivated by Trump's false claims the 2020 election was stolen. And prosecutors are now arguing that the threat hasn't gone away.
And that's because Trump keeps lying about the election in TV interviews, speeches and press releases, including a statement Friday, that falsely claimed there was, quote, "large-scale voter fraud."
One judge cited Trump's comments in a ruling, against releasing one of the rioters who allegedly attacked police officers on the Capitol steps.
And another federal judge pointed out that it's not just Trump who is still pushing these false narratives. It's also right-wing media outlets, blasting the airwaves with the same disinformation that radicalized many Trump supporters in the first place.
The bottom line is this: by continuing to lie about the 2020 election, Trump is actually making life harder for some of his strongest supporters, people who are in jail cells, right now, because of what they did on January 6th.
And the Justice Department has seized on that to persuade judges here in D.C. that some of those people are just too dangerous to release while they are awaiting trial -- Marshall Cohen, CNN, Washington.
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BRUNHUBER: After first surfacing in the U.S., the far-right QAnon movement has expanded to become a sophisticated and active network in Japan. And it has ideologies and influencers of its own, as CNN's Selina Wang reports.
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PROTESTERS: Fight for Trump.
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Protesters march against President Joe Biden's inauguration. No, this isn't the U.S., it's Japan. Waving American flags and carrying signs like these, among them, QAnon supporters.
QAnon may be in disarray in America after Trump's election loss, but not in Japan. Its niche, yet by many accounts is growing. One group calls its QArmyJapanFlynn, after Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. One member, Hiromi, is an acupuncturist, divorced with three children.
WANG (on camera): What does QAnon mean to you?
[04:45:00] HIROMI, QARMYJAPANFLYNN MEMBER (through translator): I used to think it was my fault when things didn't go well. It was because I wasn't educated or didn't have talent or money. But when I found QArmyJapanFlynn on Twitter, I felt so much more certain about my place in the world. WANG (voice-over): Hiromi believes the U.S. election may have been
stolen from Trump, but adds her group did not support the violence during the Capitol Hill riots.
Experts say QAnon's spread of baseless conspiracies is a danger to Japanese society, but Hiromi says, it is about giving those who are struggling a feeling that they can change society.
Another member, 2Hey, graduated from college and studied architecture. He has one son, used to work in real estate and is now a delivery worker.
WANG (on camera): What do you think of Japanese society today?
2HEY, QARMYJAPANFLYNN MEMBER (through translator): It's so tough to stay afloat, even with both parents working. I kept thinking something was so wrong. And that's when I discovered QAnon.
It's not about whether Q believes in Trump or not. We want everybody to realize there is something wrong with the status quo. This movement isn't just limited to Japan. It's a global movement. That's why I joined.
WANG (voice-over): QAnon in Japan shows how easily unfounded claims can move from the darkest corners of the internet to draw in people from around the world.
In January, Twitter suspended the accounts of the members we spoke to. They say they've now moved to other platforms and are recruiting offline, including J here, who is a financial consultant but now travels across Japan to recruit, spreading misinformation along the way.
MELANIE SMITH, HEAD OF ANALYSIS, GRAPHIKA: it's been one of the most self-sustaining communities and the most resilient. I think, the major danger of QAnon is just an undermining of voices that are intended to deliver public information.
WANG (voice-over): QArmyJapanFlynn members tell CNN their numbers have increased during the pandemic. They say they have members across the country, male, female, rich and poor.
WANG (on camera): Experts say recent actions from social media companies and Trump's defeat won't stop the conspiracies from flourishing.
QAnon is rooted in the belief that the government and established institutions are lying to the public, an idea that many experts say will far outlive Trump and the 2020 elections -- Selina Wang, CNN, Tokyo. (END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Hollywood's biggest award show is just hours away and, while many are excited, one Oscar nominated film and its director are facing a growing controversy in China. We will have that story, next. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: The final goodbye to a music superstar. A monster truck escorted by motorcycles carried the coffin of rapper and actor DMX to a memorial service at Brooklyn's Barclay Center.
Inside, his family and friends gathered for a celebration of life. DMX's fiancee and his 15 children paid tribute during the online memorial. She spoke of the late rapper's love of Jesus and his fans. The three-time Grammy nominee died on April 9th at the age of 50 after suffering a heart attack in his New York home.
In Hollywood, the film industry is preparing for its favorite night of the year. The glitzy Academy Awards show. And while excitement builds, one front-runner is sparking major controversy in China. CNN's David Culver explains.
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DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A few months back, you may not have known the name Chloe Zhao. But now, the Chinese movie director is gaining worldwide fame and her film, "Nomadland," is ranking in the most prestigious film awards.
CHLOE ZHAO, FILM DIRECTOR: I love what I do. I want to tell stories for a living. I don't want to do anything else.
CULVER (voice-over): Earlier this year, she made history, becoming the first Asian woman to win a Golden Globe for Best Director. Then, she was named Best Director at the British Academy Film Awards. There is growing expectations that she will take home another couple of statues this weekend.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's continue with the nominations. Chloe Zhao, "Nomadland."
CULVER (voice-over): If she wins the Academy Award, she will make history once again, becoming the first Asian woman winning Best Director at the Oscars.
Her moving "Nomadland" is a poetic portrayal of the life of America's marginalized nomadic community in the Wild West. But her journey began in the Far East. CULVER: It's here where she was born and raised. She lived here until
she was in her early teens, before moving on to boarding school in London and then ultimately, to the U.S. There, she pursued her dream in filmmaking.
CULVER (voice-over): But in China, it is her stepmother who is a bigger celebrity, Song Dandan is a famous comedy actress. On the night Zhao won the Golden Globe, Song proudly shared the news on Chinese social media.
"You are a legend in our family," she wrote, adding, "I believe your story will inspire countless Chinese kids."
Song's 21 billion followers rapidly spread the news. State media was quick to call Zhao the pride of China and "Nomadland" was slated to be released in Chinese theaters on April 23rd.
But the hype and praise was quickly overshadowed by a nationalistic backlash, comments Zhao reportedly made during a 2013 interview with filmmaker Magazine Surface, and sparked controversy. She was quoted saying that, China is "a place where there are lies everywhere."
In another interview with an Australian website in December, she was misquoted as saying, "America is now my country."
The site later corrected her quote to say, "America is not her country."
But the damage was done. Chinese nationalists piled on, accusing her of insulting China. One saying, "She is anti China and anti the Communist Party," another calling for China to boycott "Nomadland."
Back on the streets of Beijing, folks are a bit more accepting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I don't think the director's film should be tied to what she says or does. I want to watch her work. But she should probably be careful of what she says.
CULVER (voice-over): Others, happy to see a Chinese movie director become so successful.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We should find time to go and watch the movie.
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CULVER (voice-over): But it is now unlikely they will be able to watch the film in a Chinese movie theater. The online controversy has led it to be pulled from cinemas across China. Neither Zhao nor Searchlight Pictures have commented.
MICHAEL BERRY, UCLA CENTER FOR CHINESE STUDIES: There certainly has been a real wellspring of this new, highly nationalistic and patriotic sentiment that has come up. This is really one of the unfortunate aftereffects of this kind of troll culture. And it also shows us that it's not just regulated (sic) to Weibo or to other Chinese social media platforms.
But it really does have real world impact when those in power actually pick up on the same discourse and start to endorse it.
CULVER (voice-over): In a matter of days, Zhao went from beloved to having her film banned in what is now the world's biggest movie market. But as the online criticism stack up in China, the accolades continue to roll in from the rest of the world -- David Culver, CNN, Shanghai.
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BRUNHUBER: We have some out-of-this-world scenes for you. SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule reached the International Space Station on Saturday.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is the first to ingress onto the International Space Station.
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): You can see there, the four-astronaut crew was greeted with hugs and smiles by colleagues already on the ISS. For the next six months, they will do research NASA hopes will help in the development of drugs and vaccines.
ISS now has 11 astronauts and cosmonauts, one of the largest crews the orbiting station has ever hosted. Four members of the team fly back to Earth on Wednesday.
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BRUNHUBER: That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber and I will be back, yet again, with more news. Do stay with us.
