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Airlines Adjust As Vaccinations & Travel Demands Take Off; Death Toll Climbs In Brazil As Some Nations Test Reopening; Biden, Harris Hitting Road To Rally For Sweeping Agenda; Daily Beast: Associate's Letter Says Gaetz Paid For Sex With Minor; GOP Leads Ballot Audit In Arizona; The Most Famous Horse Race Of The Year. Aired 7-8 ET

Aired May 01, 2021 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:00]

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: The TSA has screened more than million people each day at America's airports for seven weeks straight, Pete Muntean, CNN, Reagan National Airport.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Well, help is pouring in from around the world as India reports a record 400,000 new COVID cases in a single day. The Biden Administration's top medical adviser Anthony Fauci now likens the crisis there to a war.

Also tonight, Arizona replays the big lie why the so called cyber ninjas paid by Republicans to provide security aren't so keen on reporters watching the recount? And how Donald Trump's allies are sweating the Rudy Giuliani raid, which might be next on the investigators head list?

I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM on this Saturday. And tonight, emergency COVID aid is pouring into India from around the world. The first shipments of supplies from France left Paris today as supplies from the U.S., Germany, the UAE and others began to arrive.

The aid comes as India struggles with and suffers under a second wave of Coronavirus infections. The death toll is now more than 211,000 and today the country reported more than 400,000 new infections, shattering the global record. Hospital beds are in short supply. The same goes for medicine and oxygen in many parts of India. COVID patients are flocking to makeshift tents for care. CNN's Sam Kiley reports.

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A sensor reveals dangerously low levels of oxygen stifled by COVID-19. This canister of gas buys this patient time. All of these patients arrived barely able to breathe. This isn't a medical clinic. It's a tent on the outskirts of India's Capital run by volunteers.

Without the initiative being shown by these volunteers from the Hemkunt Foundation, who is providing oxygen on the street on the outskirts of Delhi they say many dozens perhaps over 100 patients would be in deep trouble medically now, they already had one death just over there earlier on today.

They've treated over 100 people who've come in, desperate for oxygen unable to breathe and it's all about this the supply of these oxygen cylinders. It's a 300 mile drive each way to get one of these filled and brought back to Delhi. They cost about $25 when filled.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KILEY (on camera): How easy has it been to find oxygen?

INDERPREET SINGH, HEMKUNT FOUNDATION VOLUNTEER: Oh my God, trust me this has been the toughest thing we are facing.

KILEY (voice over): With COVID-19 infections and numbers of deaths breaking records daily in India many patients in Delhi have given up on hospital treatment, where they know that oxygen is scarce and beds often shared. Pankaj Chandrawal said he was turned away by three hospitals. He took off his oxygen mask demanding to be heard.

PANKAJ CHANDRAWAL, COVID-19 PATIENT: What they are just not entertaining anything. And they're just refusing all the things I cannot tell to whom I can blame. It is both government and the hospitals also.

KILEY (voice over): Bottled oxygen is mostly produced outside Delhi and neighboring States are prioritizing their own needs. And so the city gasps and many die unrecorded in their homes. Tatenda Shanti (ph) collects the bodies of patients who die at home. He'll pick up three in this one hour run. Many are even afraid to take their dying loved ones to hospital. Prashant Sharma's family decided to keep his grandmother at home.

PRASHANT SHARMA, MOURNING HIS GRANDMOTHER: We were scared seeing the condition around. So we got scared if we go to any nearby hospital, who is going to be in touch with her? Who is going to give us the information exactly information what is going on within the hospital?

KILEY (voice over): India's government has promised a vaccination campaign with renewed vigor but with around only 2 percent of the nation inoculated so far. That's cold comfort here. Sam Kiley, CNN, Delhi.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And India is not the only country struggling to contain the virus from vaccine shortages in Brazil to travel surges and China. Let's go to our CNN Journalists around the world for the latest on the pandemic.

STEFANO POZZEBON, REPORTER: I am Stefano Pozzebon in Bogota, Colombia. And this week, Brazil became just the second country on earth to formally cross the threshold of over 400,000 victims of COVID-19 and as the South American country faces yet another critical moment in its struggle against the virus.

On Friday, Brazilian Health Minister Marcello Queiroga urged other countries with extra vaccine doses such as the United States to share those doses with Brazil as they try to curb the spread of the virus.

[19:05:00]

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ivan Watson in Hong Kong. We're seeing big crowds at the Great Wall of China. In fact, China is anticipating record numbers of domestic tourists breaking pre pandemic numbers throughout the five-day, Labor Day Golden Week holiday and that's because this is going to be the first national holiday without COVID-19 travel restrictions in China since the COVID-19 virus was first detected there in December of 2019.

So the bookings for hotels, car rentals and flights are going through the roof right now. Chinese cannot really travel internationally, certainly not here in Asia because we're seeing a surge of deadly COVID infections in South Asia and that leaves Chinese tourists nowhere to go, but to travel within their own country.

CYRIL VANIER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: I'm Cyril Vanier in London and will you look at these pictures? No face masks, no social distancing thousands of people indoors. We haven't seen anything quite like this in the UK in well over a year a rave in Liverpool yesterday part of an experiment to see how nightclubs could come back safely?

Party goers had to show a negative COVID test to get in. And they'll take another test five days after the event to monitor any infections. Also what you don't see in the pictures scientists were in there as well monitoring airflows to see where COVID might spread?

As part of the government roadmap out of locked down all activities and that includes large scale live events, sports, music, entertainment, things like that, or due to come back online late June.

BROWN: And now to the U.S. and an important milestone, the CDC is reporting more than 100 million Americans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 that is a sign of progress. And that brings a lot of questions with it as well. I want to bring in Dr. Saju Mathew, he is a Primary Care Physician in Atlanta, and he is here to answer all of your questions about the Coronavirus or at least some of them I should say.

I actually have one quick one for you. It's a personal question. I'm getting my second shot on Monday Dr. Mathew and I have heard about the way it can make people feel. Is it OK to take Tylenol after it if I'm not feeling well? Or could that interfere at all with how effective the vaccine is?

DR. SAJU MATHEW, PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN: Good evening, Pamela. I'm so excited you're getting your second shot. Listen, we definitely don't tell people to take Tylenol or Advil before the second shot. But after your second shot on Monday, if you still feel a bit uncomfortable pain of injection site fever or chills, then you can take Tylenol or Advil.

BROWN: All right. Good to know. So let's go to our first viewer question. This one has - has the question I had a severe case of COVID last July that required a two-week hospital stay. When I got my first Pfizer shot two weeks ago it brought the symptoms back nauseated, fever, fatigue and body aches. Should I get the second shot?

DR. MATHEW: 100 percent yes, absolutely you must get the second shot. The second shot is actually the most important shot Pamela; we have studies to show that it increases the antibodies by tenfold, and also increases your cellular immunity T-cells and B-cells that can help fight variants.

Also for our viewer who asked that question. We also have studies to show that if you've had COVID before and you've recovered and you get the vaccine, it really protects you from a re infection. So yes, absolutely get that second shot.

BROWN: Yes, because there are people and I've heard it anecdotally that just don't want to get the second shot. They say, oh, I've gotten the first one. I don't need to get the second one. You are saying get that second shot.

I want to go to another viewer question. This one asks, why should the progress for the downturn of COVID-19 be reported on a regular basis? People hear this and think they don't need to be vaccinated. I've heard people saying this they think it's going away. So Dr. Mathew, what do you say to that?

DR. MATHEW: I mean I completely can understand the sentiment of the viewer. In fact, all my friends make fun of me. They're like, whenever Saju is on air, he's going to tell us how bad you know the virus is? But listen, I think the exact opposite from the viewer.

I think it's important for us to also share the positive news. The cases are going down overall in the U.S., hospitalizations are down, and the death rates are down below 1000 Pamela for the first time. So I think it is important to tell our viewers the truth, and let's science speak for itself.

You know, when people start seeing everybody going to Disney World and weddings, people are going to get the impression that this pandemic is behind us. It's not we're still plateauing at 50 to 60,000 cases a day and in order to talk about containment, where we can put a box and seal this virus. We have to get down to 3500 cases a day.

[19:10:00]

DR. MATHEW: So definitely some good news but we need to be careful.

BROWN: Right. And I think, you know, from what I understand from this question of the viewer is saying that people are now seeing oh, things are opening back up, things are getting better. I don't need to get vaccinated. Your message is, no we also need to get vaccinated. We're not out of the woods yet, from what I hear from you. OK.

DR. MATHEW: That's right.

BROWN: And this is a really, really sad question that came to me via Twitter. This woman writes, my nephew, who we see pictures right here. My nephew died two weeks ago from COVID-19. He was only 33. It seems that it's claiming more and younger lives. Why is that he literally died within 72 hours of being diagnosed?

DR. MATHEW: Yes, it's so sad Pamela, what a young age. You know, I'll tell you what's happening right now is the faces in the ICUs are changing. It's no longer the older people because we are protecting 65 years and older 60 percent of our patients 65 years and older have at least gotten one shot.

So they are not the ones present to the ICU. Guess who is? The people that is young between 30 and 50, because they have not been vaccinated. Also, the variants tend to be more contagious and more deadly. So you're seeing sicker people, but also younger people in the ICU than we would have seen early in the pandemic.

BROWN: Right. So basically, the variants now are more deadly, more transmissible than how COVID started out from the beginning, correct?

DR. MATHEW: Correct.

BROWN: Yes. This is another viewer question. And I think this is on a lot of people's minds about gathering with others. What should you do? This viewer asks, if my mom and I are fully vaccinated, but we have a relative or two who haven't gotten their shots yet? Can we still get together? Or is it best to wait?

DR. MATHEW: That's a good question. I think I answer that almost on a daily basis at work. So here it is. I've got a small little factoid that you can actually go by. And it involves three items, masking, social distancing, and the ability to actually be outdoors. So it's really outdoors, mask and social distancing.

So what I mean by that is, if you're around people that are not vaccinated, or you don't know their status, like the viewer set, if you're outdoors, you just need one more element, which is masking or the ability to socially distance.

If you're indoors, for whatever reason, obviously, you need two items, which you is need your mask, and you need to be able to socially distance. So to be a little bit more granular with this question it really depends Pamela, also on the age group of the family, and how much risk you're willing to tolerate?

Are these people over the age of 65? And what could happen if they actually get COVID? If it's a much younger group, then your risk tolerance will be much lower. But those are the things to keep in mind before you get together with people that are not vaccinated.

BROWN: And you still believe that even though we are seeing younger people be hospitalized, and the death rates go up, right?

DR. MATHEW: I'm sorry, Pam.

BROWN: I'm just saying you still think in terms of the risks for people, it's much higher for people who are 65 and opt in below, even though as we were just talking about, we are seeing more young people end up in the hospital and even die with these new variants. DR. MATHEW: Yes. I mean, I think the risk is really high for so many people because the variants are more deadly and contagious. But overall, if you look at the number of people that have died from COVID, 80 percent of in people over 65.

But once again, the young people must get vaccinated because these variants are more deadly, add more contagious.

BROWN: Very important message there, Dr. Mathew, as always, thank you so much for answering our viewers' questions for answering my question as well much appreciated.

DR. MATHEW: Thank you, Pamela.

BROWN: Well, a new twist in the Matt Gaetz investigation after one of his allies reportedly confessed to sleeping with a 17-year-old girl and allegedly implicated himself and Gaetz in the process. Also, tonight, I'll ask a doctor about her difficult decision to enroll her 16-month-old son in a COVID vaccine trial.

Plus, tonight live coverage next hour as three NASA astronauts make their way back to Earth. But before all of that President Biden he is ready to take his multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure plan on the road. We're going to tell you what it will pay for and how he plans to get America back to normal by the Fourth of July? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:15:00]

BROWN: Well, President Biden's road to our picks up again on Monday as he works to sell his nearly $4 trillion plan for revitalizing the nation. But the sweeping commitments in photo ops only get him as far as Senate Republicans and moderate Democrats are willing to go along for the ride.

His COVID relief package made it through on party line votes. And on the horizon the fourth of July of course, when Biden is counting on the nation to be closer to normal as COVID cases go down and vaccinations go up. CNN's Arlette Saenz is in Wilmington, Delaware, where the President is spending the weekend. So Arlette, both he and the Vice President they have a busy week ahead?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They certainly do Pamela. And President Biden will be wrapping up Air Force One once again as he's looking to take this sales pitch directly out into the country.

The president's goal here is trying to build support for the sweeping economic proposal with voters out across the United States and hoping that those voters will then in turn urge their lawmakers up on Capitol Hill to get on track and on onboard with this plan.

Now let's take a look at where the president plans on visiting this week. On Monday he and the First Lady will travel down to Virginia where they are set to visit some schools there as they are looking to tout that $1.8 trillion proposal that focuses on child care and paid family leave as well as other education proposals.

[19:20:00]

SAENZ: The vice president will be traveling to Wisconsin and Rhode Island and then on Thursday, President Biden is heading down south to Louisiana with stops in New Orleans and Lake Charles, that community was devastated by Hurricane Laura, just last summer.

And what's also interesting about that state is that it's home to a Democratic Governor and two Republican Senators, as the president is trying to build bipartisan support for this plan. Now, these trips next week follow on the two visits that he made to Georgia and Pennsylvania right next door to here in Delaware just yesterday, where he visited an Amtrak station as he tried to sell the infrastructure proposal that he's laid out to Congress.

And one of the arguments that he made was that investments in infrastructure will help keep America competitive with the rest of the world, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We have a huge opportunity here to provide fast, safe, reliable, clean transportation in this country. And transit is part of the infrastructure. And like the rest of our infrastructure, we're way behind the rest of the world right now. We need to remember, we're in competition with the rest of the world.

People come here and set up businesses, people stay here and people grow because of the ability to access, access, and transportation, access all the infrastructure is what allows us to compete.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now while he's making this sales pitch out on the road back in Washington, he still needs to court those lawmakers as he is looking to build bipartisan support for these measures. Now, we have heard both Republicans and moderate Democrats expressed some skepticism about these plans.

But the president has said that he is willing to sit down with Republicans and hear what they have to offer and see where they want to negotiate? One person that he has had a conversation with is Shelley Moore Capitol, the Republican Senator from West Virginia.

He has invited her and other Republicans to the White House to sit down with him to hammer out some of the details of this plan. But the big question right now is how far the president might be willing to negotiate in order to get bipartisan support? And he of course, also has to hold on to his Democratic coalition, Pamela?

BROWN: All right. Arlette Saenz, live for us from Wilmington, Delaware, much appreciated. And coming up on this Saturday, Congressman Matt Gaetz already under investigation for alleged sex trafficking and prostitution is denying accusations that are reported confession letter written by one of his associates. CNN Legal Analyst Joey Jackson and Political Reporter Marc Caputo join me next to discuss don't miss it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:25:00]

BROWN: A damning new report and the sex trafficking probe involving Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz. "The Daily Beast" says it has obtained a so-called confession letter from a Gaetz associate. Now in this letter, Joe Greenberg claims that he and the Florida Congressman paid for sex with multiple women including a girl who was just 17- years-old.

The letter was reportedly drafted as part of an effort to obtain a pardon from then President Trump through close Trump ally Roger Stone. Here to break it all down for us CNN Legal Analyst and Criminal Defense Attorney Joey Jackson and National Political Reporter at "POLITICO" Marc Caputo. He has covered Florida politics for many years.

Wow! What a story this is? Joey, I'm going to start with you. I think when most people learn about this letter, they thought why would you document this stuff? I mean, is this a normal thing to do when seeking a pardon?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It certainly is not Pamela, good to be with you. And so just by way of background, apparently, and allegedly, as the story goes. He was trying to that is Mr. Greenberg and associated the Congressman who's under investigation. Mr. Greenberg, we know under investigation and under indictment himself and attempting to curry favor and get apart.

And he was attempting to put in documentary form of prior history with respect to what he was involved in? Who he was involved with, his loyalty to the former president, et cetera? That apparently, and allegedly was prepared for Roger Stone, it went through allegedly, again, many drafts. And so you have this document.

And so whenever there's a document with references, criminality, that's never a good thing. And it's particularly bad for the Congressman. No, the Congressman did not draft the letter. But it's problematic in that you have Joe Greenberg, waxing poetic with respect to potential crimes that they committed, those things were documented. That's not a - that's potentially a major issue.

And then, of course, when you have a person like Joe Greenberg, who's facing issues of his own, the problem becomes do you turn state's evidence that is you have information you're looking to protect yourself? To what extent will you now you know, give information to the government with respect to what you know about congressional illegalities concerning Mr. Gaetz?

And so it's problems all the way around? The investigation continues. We'll see what if any charges emanate from this letter, and how impactful it is moving forward? BROWN: And we should note that Gaetz has denied all the allegations that were laid out in this letter in this political story. Marc, Republicans and Congress, they have been pretty hesitant as we know to stick up for Gaetz before this letter surfaced. What about now? Are you aware of any joining Kinzinger and the he needs to go camp?

[19:30:00]

MARC CAPUTO, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, POLITICO: I'm not aware that there are any more people in the Republican Party who are calling on Gaetz to step down. There's a lot of chatter about that on social media, but Democrats are talking about it. Important to note here, we've been talking about this for about a month now. So far, we haven't seen any actual evidence outside of Greenberg saying that Gaetz did this.

We've had suspicions for quite some time that Greenberg had been cooperating with prosecutors, had been telling them that Gaetz was involved in this criminal activity, because Greenberg is facing a 33- count indictment for a variety of crimes. I mean, a lot of crimes.

One of those crimes, incidentally, the first underlying crime is actually Greenberg falsely accusing a rival of pedophilia. So, if he happens to plead guilty to those, and then he wants to testify in some way, shape, or form against Gaetz and say, oh, Gaetz had sex with a minor, that could be complicated.

I think the important thing here is to understand what we don't know. What we don't know, is what does that woman say? She was 17 in 2017. She turned 18 in December of that year. What has she told prosecutors, if anything?

What sort of evidence does she have if she has told them that Gaetz had a sexual relationship with her when she was a minor? That's kind of the big unknown, and the case is largely going to pivot or hinge on what she says.

As for Greenberg, he does have some challenges. We now know that he has admitted to some of the crimes that he has been accused of. And we also know now that it's pretty clear that he is trying to strike a deal and alert the Congressman. The question is, can he? Does he have enough that's useful for them to do that?

BROWN: What do you think Joey? Can he? Is he credible enough? Could that letter he wrote be admissible in court?

JACKSON: So here is how it goes, Pamela. Obviously, he has these legal issues and from a defense perspective that I'll jump to the prosecution. What you're going to say is that obviously he lacks veracity. He has no credibility, are we really going to rely upon him?

He is motivated to tell the government everything and anything that could not be true. It is self-serving because he is trying to get out of things himself. Right?

And so that will be highly problematic in the event that there is testimony. There's a credibility issue.

From the prosecution's perspective, it is not just the letter. It's the information contained within that letter. And remember, Pamela, you're not just relying upon an informant or a witness's information, you're vetting that information, you're tracking and tracing it.

What did he say? Are there records to substantiate that? Were there text exchanges going back between him and Gaetz? Are there e-mails going back and forth? Are there phone records or other documentation? Are other people in the circle privy to this information?

So therein lies the issue, right?

The letter itself is not really, you know, the thing that you worry about, it is all the things contained in there, and whether the government can prove and establish through tracking and tracing that that information is credible.

So yes, in that regard, Pamela, the information will be admissible in court. How credible it is remains another story for another day, once it is challenged.

BROWN: I'm curious though, Gaetz has -- he has denied everything as I point out earlier, he has not been camera shy since this all became public. This is something we're also seeing with Rudy Giuliani.

From a legal perspective, is that a wise approach? And then Marc, I'm going to go for you for the political perspective. But you first, Joey.

JACKSON: So you know, what happens, Pamela, is that there's really two imperatives from -- the one imperative is people tend to think and this makes us lawyers cringe, that you have to really get it ahead of the narrative, right? You have to get out there and really get an advantage from a public relations perspective to get your story on record, to deny it, to deflect, to do those things that you need to do.

The problem is that that information is out there. Whenever you're out there, and you're, you know, making statements and talking about things, that's subject to review. It's subject to scrutiny. It's subject to evaluation. So it can come back and hurt you.

So I get and understand the need to get out there and profess your innocence and to say things, but you have to also understand the government, what they do with respect to looking at that information and burying it, burying you with it at some subsequent time, and therein lies the issue.

BROWN: So let's talk about the politics of this, Marc. I mean, Gaetz is even going on a political tour now. And he's also doing pretty well in fundraising. What does all this say about the reality of Republican politics right now?

CAPUTO: Well, I think, what it says also, the reality of Gaetz's brand of Republican politics, which is kind of the Trump school. It's that there's the court of law and the court of public opinion.

And if Gaetz suddenly was quiet, and he had all of his statements that are being issued through his lawyer, well, the press would basically eat him alive. Democrats would eat him alive.

And then you could see his colleagues in the Republican Caucus start to really think, well, this guy might be guilty. Maybe we need to strip him of his committee assignments and the like.

So for Gaetz, his personality and his politics and the imperative for him is to be out there and fight, fight, fight. I mean in the end, assuming he is telling the truth, it does make sense. He would go out there and say, look, I've been accused these terrible things. I'm innocent of course. If he is not telling the truth, it might be the same conclusion.

[19:35:14]

CAPUTO: Again, we don't know. But what is pretty clear is that Gaetz is doing what Gaetz does, which is he is going on offense. He is fighting back, and he is saying, look, not only am I not guilty, I'm showing that I'm not guilty by being out here openly and in the sun.

So, it's again, a lot we don't know. We're going to have to wait and see if that's what prosecutors come up with, if anything, and we've got a lot of years to go and there's going to be a lot of time for them to decide what they're going to do.

BROWN: All right, Marc Caputo, Joey Jackson, thank you both.

JACKSON: I appreciate you, Pamela.

BROWN: Well, re-living the big lie, objective reporters and Cyber Ninjas, we're going to take you inside Arizona's bizarre ballot recount.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:40:00]

BROWN: A pitched partisan battle over the 2020 election is raging on in Arizona right now. The G.O.P. controlled State Senate is carrying out a third audit of Arizona's largest county even though two prior bipartisan audits found zero evidence of widespread fraud or other issues.

While one pro-Trump outlet has been given access to the live stream of the audit, journalists are routinely being denied access. And just yesterday, a local reporter was kicked out after photography -- after photographing rather, a former state lawmaker who was revealing ballots.

And CNN's Kyung Lah law was denied entry. Here is her stunning report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The

Carnival has arrived at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix. This one, in the parking lot is called the Crazy Times Carnival.

Inside the Colosseum is a different sort of spectacle, replaying the big lie in the 2020 election. This is yet another tally of the nearly 2.1 million ballots in Maricopa County. But this so-called audit is unlike any other.

These are ballot counters heading into a shift.

LAH (on camera): Have you ever done election counting before?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. But it's -- there's nothing to it. It's -- it is pretty obvious.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No thanks.

LAH (voice over): Most don't want to talk. Others --

LAH (on camera): We are just trying to do a story about the town.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't trust you.

LAH (voice over): Openly partisan, as you see displayed on some cars and in what they say.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you OAN?

LAH (on camera): I'm sorry, what?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What news group are you from?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm from CNN.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Okay, no, thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People are wondering what to look out for in that audit.

LAH (voice over): OAN or One American News Network is the small far right-wing outlet that has promoted false claims that Donald Trump won the 2020 election. OAN is also live streaming the event and its hosts had helped raise funds for this exercise.

We were initially told we could not enter the publicly owned Arizona State Fairgrounds. But when we tried again, another time.

LAH (on camera): Hey, I'm Kyung Lah with CNN.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CNN, okay. You guys will be on the second level.

LAH: So we can get in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

LAH (voice over): We follow that officer's instructions.

LAH (on camera): There is media parking.

LAH (voice over): But then, these guys showed up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not authorized to speak to the press or the media.

LAH (voice over): Even though these uniform men look like police, they're not. They're a volunteer group called the Arizona Rangers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you're trespassing.

LAH (voice over): This man talking to me is wearing a badge from Cyber Ninjas. That's the Florida based company being paid $150,000.00 by the G.O.P. controlled State Senate to conduct this election review.

But here's what Republican, Jack Sellers, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman thinks about Cyber Ninjas.

JACK SELLERS, CHAIRMAN, MARICOPA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: Everything they're doing is just so unprofessional, that it's really bothersome. I don't really feel that it benefits me any to get into the weeds too far on all the craziness that I see going on.

LAH (voice over): Sellers knows the difference. He leads the Republican Majority Board of Supervisors, they already conducted two audits with bipartisan observers in public view that found no evidence of widespread election fraud.

The Board of Supervisors fought the State Senate in court to keep the ballots, but lost and turned over the ballots.

SELLERS: When you accept responsibility for an election, it can't be about a party. It can't be about a person. It has to be about representing all the voters.

LAH (voice over): Arizona news agencies and their lawyer fought to get a reporter into the site where the count is happening and days into the audit got in. A news camera then caught the unusual process of ballots being scanned with UV lights.

In a news conference, the hired representative for the Arizona State Senate struggled to explain why.

LAH (on camera): What are the UV lights for?

KEN BENNETT, ARIZONA SENATE LIAISON FOR MARICOPA COUNTY: The UV lights are looking at the paper and as part of several teams that are involved in the paper evaluation.

LAH: For what? What purpose?

BENNETT: I personally -- I personally don't know.

KATIE HOBBS, ARIZONA STATE SECRETARY: It's really -- it's a phishing expedition for stuff that we know doesn't exist.

LAH (voice over): Arizona's Secretary of State warns what's happening in Arizona may just be the next page in the playbook of the big lie.

HOBBS: They cried and cried for an audit for months and they finally got it, and they are going to try to use this and get at other places, too.

LAH (on camera): So you think that what happens here will impact other places?

HOBBS: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.

LAH: A judge rule that this tally can continue for now, but expect more litigation, legal battles in the days to come. As far as this Carnival, the Crazy Times Carnival, this one at least ends in 10 days.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Phoenix.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: It is the fastest two minutes in sports, the most famous horse race of the year and Andy Scholes is live at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Up next.

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[19:49:33]

BROWN: Well, it is Derby Day in Kentucky, my home state. It is back on the traditional date as well. The first Saturday in May. COVID pushed the race in September last year, but today, the fancy hats, they were back and a few masks even though everyone was strongly encouraged to cover up.

Andy Scholes from CNN Sports is at Churchill Downs right now. Andy, what a beautiful day, it looks like there. I am just -- I'm having total envy right now. Not, only do we have a Kentucky Derby winner right now, also a huge almost return to normal for one of the great American traditions in sports.

[19:50:11]

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and Pam, I know you've been to this event so many times being from Kentucky and I tell you what, you could not have picked a better day for the Kentucky Derby. It was just beautiful out here, and fans were back at the event this time around, just under 52,000 were on hand which is the most fans we've seen at a sporting event since the pandemic started.

And those fans here, they got to see some history because Bob Baffert, the trainer for Medina Spirit, I mean, what can you say about him? He is the Tom Brady of horse trainers.

He once again comes through with a win here at the Kentucky Derby. He is now won seven of them. That's more than any other trainer in horse racing history and Medina Spirit, you know, not one of Bob Baffert's most dominant horses like American Pharaoh, or Justify, both of them which won triple crowns, but Medina Spirit jumping out to the lead from the start of this race and able to hold off favorites, Essential Quality and the others there at the end to get the win.

And Bob Baffert now won three of the last four Kentucky Derbies. He said, he is just lucky to have so many great horses that he trains and it was also a great weekend for jockey, John Velazquez. He has now won his fourth Kentucky Derby. He also won the Kentucky Oats yesterday, so he is having a great weekend.

But Pam, you know, Baffert, he's already won two triple crowns with American Pharaoh in 2015 and Justify in 2018. We'll see if he gets another shot at it with Medina Spirit at the Preakness in two weeks.

BROWN: We'll see. There are so many signs, I just love it watching you and hearing you talk about just the return on normalcy there and even celebrities are there. You mentioned Tom Brady, I think, he might be there today. He usually likes to go to the derby.

So just the celebrities are coming back. And it's just nice after last year, the Derby was rescheduled, then the year before that, you'll recall that the horse, the winner was disqualified. So it's just nice that it was a seemingly standard day. So what was experience like being at this largest sporting event since the pandemic began?

SCHOLES: Pam, I'll tell you what, if you would have just taken me and put me here and not told me what year it was, I might have told you I was in 2019 because you know, you did have to wear a mask once you went through the gates, but once you are in, I would say 99 percent of people took those masks off and we're just enjoying the races where they were sitting or on the grounds in different places.

So you know, it definitely felt like a pre-pandemic sporting event and like you said, you know, lots of celebrities here having fun. Tom Brady is here. Aaron Rodgers was here.

So I'll say that, it felt like a very normal sporting event, the most normal sporting event I've been to, you know, since March of 2020.

BROWN: I've got to say that warms my heart to hear. I'm partial obviously, being a Kentuckian, but I love also seeing the women in their fascinators. You know, it looks like they're drinking bourbon and mint juleps and so forth, having a good time as it should be.

Andy, let's turn real quick to the NFL draft for a minute. Today is the final day of the draft. The first picks get most of the headlines as you well know, but the last player picked gets a dubious honor, too.

SCHOLES: Yes, Mr. Irrelevant, it's always kind of a fun honor if you end up being the last pick of the NFL Draft because they make you -- they get you a big jersey with Mr. Irrelevant. You also get to take part in Irrelevant Week, which is in Huntington Beach, California normally. They haven't announced, I guess, the plans yet because of what's going

on with the pandemic, but the player usually gets to go to Disneyland with his family gets the Lowsman Trophy, Pam, which is the opposite of the Heisman Trophy.

It's actually a trophy of a player fumbling, but you know, it's all in good fun and a lot of people you know end up rooting for Mr. Irrelevant. This year, Grant Stewart from my school, the Houston Cougars, so I'm definitely rooting for him. Hopefully, he has a long NFL career.

BROWN: Hopefully so. Andy Scholes, thank you so much. A good day for both of us, I guess.

SCHOLES: All right.

BROWN: Well, it's one last family dinner as four astronauts prepare to head home from the International Space Station. Look at this picture. Undocking is in just a few minutes and we're going to bring it to you live.

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[19:59:03]

BROWN: Well, tomorrow, an all-new season of "United Shades of America" begins with a very timely look inside policing in America as host W. Kamau Bell examines the toll police brutality takes on communities of color.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Interactions with law enforcement, even if it doesn't lead to arrest can lead to higher likelihood of suspensions and expulsions. But also what you don't hear about is what it -- what it does, how it feels.

W. KAMAU BELL, CNN HOST, UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA: If you're in a place where you're always surrounded by law enforcement. It takes away your ability to especially in school to be a kid.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

BELL: Do something wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right. That's right. That's right. Kids, I think their innocence gets stolen.

BELL: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We spent, I think $16,000.00 per student in our school system. But last year, right here in this county, we spent $490,000.00 a year per youth to keep a kid in detention. So basically half a million dollars.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BROWN: And be sure to join us for the season premiere tomorrow night

at 10 Eastern, only on CNN.

And some sad news to pass along tonight, Oscar-winning actress, Olympia Dukakis has died. She won an Academy Award for her role in "Moonstruck."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSE CASTORINI, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY OLYMPIA DUKAKIS: She is coming back this morning. What's the matter with you? Your life is going down the toilet. Cover up that damn thing. Come on, put some make up on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Well, Dukakis was also well known as Clarice in "Steel Magnolias." She was the cousin of former Massachusetts Governor and Presidential candidate, Michael Dukakis.

Olympia Dukakis was 89 years old.

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