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Bali Reopens to International Tourists; Border Reopening Met with Relief in Canada; William Shatner Becomes Oldest Person Ever in Space; Shatner's Voyage Raises Question About Space Tourism; Police Pull Man from Car Engulfed in Flames; NHL Stars Back on the Ice. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired October 14, 2021 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

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ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Isa Soares. If you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour.

U.S. lawmakers investigating the January 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill are expected to hear from two former Trump aides today. Committee members say if they don't show up to deliver their depositions, they could possibly face jail time.

And in Norway, authorities have arrested and charged a 37-year-old man armed with a bow and arrow after five people were killed. The motive is still unknown. Of course, we'll continue to follow that story for you.

Now, signs of progress in the global fight against COVID, the World Health Organization says deaths dropped 10 percent last week, and the number of new cases fell 7 percent. Much of the world as you can see there is now in the yellow and green, but new infections and fatalities are up in Europe.

Well as the global number of new COVID infections continues to fall, one of the world's top tourist spots is trying to get up and running again. Indonesia's resort island of Bali had been off limits to international tourists about a year and a half. But now the COVID situation is improving. Bali is officially reopening its doors to visitors from a select group of countries.

Let's bring in Manisha Tank who joins us now live from Singapore. And Manisha, really tourism is their bread and butter here. The main source of income. This is an important step no doubt for them.

MANISHA TANK, JOURNALIST: That is right, yes, Isa. In fact, one minister, the maritime affairs minister pointing out that 54 percent of Bali's revenue comes from the tourism sector. That gives you an idea. So, this is a celebratory moment really for those who live on Bali whose income and livelihoods rely on all these tourists who come from all over the world. Of course, it's a very famous destination. It's been featured in

movies as well and in books. So, it's something that everyone would have heard of Bali as a destination. And here in Southeast Asia, it's something that many people can do in a short hop in three or four days. It's also very close to the Australian coast.

But let me tell you, Singaporeans won't be going or the residents of Singapore won't be going to Bali or the Australians. Because there is a list of 19 countries from which Bali is now prepared to accept visitors. On the list, though, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, France, these are some really important sources of revenue for the Balinese. So yes, it is a big moment.

But why is it coming now? This is partly of what you were saying earlier actually, it is falling rates of new cases of coronavirus across Indonesia, which is really grappled with the crisis in the last few months.

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We do now know that across the country vaccination rates are running at about 20 percent, but the health ministry tells us that in Bali, those who have had a double dose of the vaccination is running at around 90 percent, and over that for those who had a single dose. And that really is at the crux of what you'll need if you want to come to Bali, Isa. You will have to be double vaccinated.

And also at your own expense, you will have to undergo a five-day quarantine in a hotel room that doesn't mean you can walk around the resort. It really does mean quarantine. On top of that, you would need to have COVID-19 insurance worth $100,000. There is a lack of clarity, though, over some of these measures. And that's one of the reasons why the airport hasn't been filling up with tourists. Here's what one spokesperson had to say.

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TAUFAN YUDHISTIRA, NGURAH RAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT SPOKESMAN (through translator): Until today, Bali international airport still hasn't received any international flight slot request, whether a flight to or from Bali. But instructions from the national COVID-19 task force said that Bali is now an entry point for international flights to Indonesia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TANK: That was Taufan Yudhistira a spokesperson from the international airport there. So, even though it's a moment to celebrate, I would say it's baby steps for now -- Isa.

SOARES: Yes, and Manisha, very briefly, do you know whether the U.S. is part of that list?

TANK: The U.S. is not currently on that list, and we can expect given some of the comments that we've been getting from the health ministry, that this reopening will be reevaluated over the coming weeks. But for now, no, the U.S. is not on it. Along with a number of very important countries so as far as tourism goes for Bali.

SOARES: Manisha Tank for us in Singapore. Great to see you, Manisha. Thanks very much.

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. lifting those border restrictions was met with a great deal of relief here in Canada. No one thought the border would stay closed for 19 days let alone 19 months when this pandemic started. At issue now is what will fully vaccinated mean in terms of going into the United States.

Here in Canada more than one in 10 Canadians has likely what they call a mixed dose. So, they might have gotten AstraZeneca, but then they may have gotten a Pfizer or a Moderna to follow that up.

Right now, they are waiting to hear from the Centers for Disease Control in the United States as to whether or not that constitutes being fully vaccinated. Having said that, Canadians now can finally cross the border in November again if they are fully vaccinated, and that was actually met with a great deal of relief in the United States as well.

It has been those communities all along the border, from Washington state to Maine that have been saying, look, Canada opened its land border in August. It is time for us to do the same. Our communities are suffering. Our businesses are suffering. Many expect that there will be some wrinkles along the way in the coming weeks or months. The border is certainly going through some staffing issues. But again, this will usher in a new stage of this pandemic, something many people on both sides of the border have been waiting for.

Paula Newton, CNN, Toronto.

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SOARES: And just ahead right here on CNN NEWSROOM, a floating weightless, actor William Shatner talks about his historic trip to the edge of space.

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WILLIAM SHATNER, ACTOR: What you've given me is the most profound experience.

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SOARES: Now a speech from Captain Kirk in the 1960s TV show Star Trek is proving especially poignant today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SHATNER: But I must point out that the possibilities, the potential, the knowledge and advancement is equally great. Risk, risk is our business.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: More than 50 years later, actor William Shatner took a huge risk, traveling to the edge of space on the Blue Origin rocket. He called it a profound experience and stressed the need to protect the planet earth. CNN's Kristin Fisher has all the details for you.

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ANNOUNCER: Engine start. Two, one.

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And with that, 90-year-old Star Trek icon William Shatner became the oldest person ever to travel to space. Shatner and three other passengers were propelled through the desert of west Texas to the edge of outer space aboard a new Shepherd spacecraft developed by Jeff Bezos' rocket company, Blue Origin. It's the same spacecraft that took Bezos to space this summer.

Bezos, a lifelong Star Trek fan, flew Shatner as a guest, along with Blue Origin executive Audrey Powers, and two paying customers. The out of this world adventure lasting just ten minutes from takeoff to landing, leaving all four passengers, including Shatner, mesmerized by the view.

SHATNER: Weightlessness. Oh, Jesus. No description.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is nuts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Earth.

FISHER (voice-over): Shatner and his crew mates experienced about three minutes of weightlessness before the capsule started its descent back to earth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There go the drop parachutes.

SHATNER: That was unlike anything they described.

FISHER (voice-over) morning: After landing safely, a Blue Origin team secured the capsule, and Bezos himself did the honors.

JEFF BEZOS, BLUE ORIGIN CEO: Hello, Astronauts.

FISHER (voice-over): Cheers as each of the four passengers walked out of the capsule, including Captain Kirk himself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Captain Kirk himself, the great William Shatner.

FISHER (voice-over): Shatner telling Bezos, it all happened so quickly. SHATNER: It was unbelievable. Unbelievable. I mean, you know, the little things. The weightlessness, but to see the blue color whip by, and now you're staring into blackness.

FISHER (voice-over): Shatner clearly taken aback by the gravity of the moment.

SHATNER: I'm so filled with emotion about what just happened. I just -- it's extraordinary. Extraordinary. I hope I never recover from this.

FISHER: William, you had one of the most, perhaps one of the most interesting lives that any human could possibly have. Where does this stack up on your list of life experiences?

[04:45:00]

SHATNER: This is enormous. I'm overwhelmed. And it takes more than a little thing to overwhelm me.

FISHER: You said, everybody in the world needs to see it. Why? What do we need to see?

SHATNER: Yeah, but it's not tourism. Everybody in the world needs to have the philosophical understanding of what we're doing to Earth -- and you hear this so often, the necessity of cleaning our Earth and stopping right now the apocalypse that's coming our way.

FISHER: So, William Shatner really walking away from this experience convince that the world would be a better place if more people had a chance to go into space and see what he saw. But right now, the cost of going up in one of Blue Origin's new Shepard rockets or Virgin Galactic Space Ship 2, it's exorbitantly expensive. And Blue origin won't even say how much the two paying customers on this flight paid. So, I asked them directly. They wouldn't tell me what they spent. All they would say is whatever they paid Blue Origin they both felt that it was worth it.

Kristen Fisher, CNN, Launch Site 1.

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SOARES: Well, William Shatner's voyage and other recent missions are raising some challenging questions. Who gets to go to space, and who controls its valuable resources? Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has some answers for you.

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NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON, ASTROPHYSICIST: They should not be the perch of the privileged few or the privileged billionaires. And I see over the coming years that right now we are bearing witness to the birth of an entire economy, an entire industry. I mean, imagine 100 years ago you're watching people fiddle over their airplanes, trying to turn them into something that can carry more than just one passenger. I look forward to the day where the solar system basically becomes our

collective backyard. And I'll tell you something else. You have many people who watch you who care about geopolitics. Think about this. A big cause of geopolitical conflict beyond politics and religion has been limited access to restricted resources. Yet space is -- has unlimited resources, unlimited energy, unlimited natural resources and minerals and asteroid, unlimited sources of water and comets. And so, if the solar system becomes our backyard, I foresee a day where an entire category of armed conflict simply evaporates because no longer are any of these resources scarce.

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SOARES: An incredible rescue caught on camera. See how police pulled a man from a burning car, most likely -- stay with us for that story. That's next.

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SOARES: Now, this just in to CNN. Police in Norway say the man suspected of killing five people in a bow and arrow attack, a story that we brought you about 30 minutes or so ago, we are being told now that he had recently converted to Islam. Authorities say they had previously spoken to the man expressing concerns about signs of his radicalization. The 37-year-old Danish man is accused of killing four women and one man in the attack. All of them we have learned the last hour or so, between the ages of 50 and 70. Police say they believe the suspect, who is in custody right now, did act alone. Of course, we'll keep on top of that breaking news story as soon as there are more developments, we shall bring it to your attention.

Now, we have incredible video showing heroism in action. Two police officers in Garland, Texas, pulling an unconscious man from a car engulfed in flames. Take a look at this.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Buddy, come on. Let's go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't get to him. I can't get him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where's he at?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's right here. He's right here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on. Come on, man. Come on. We have to get you out. Come on. Come on. Come on, man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you see the hand?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's his hand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give him the hand. Come on, man. Get him the hand. Get out. Give him the hand. Come on. Come on! UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got you. Yeah, I got you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Amazing work by those officers right there. This was the scene when police arrived captured by one officer's body camera. They saw one man on the ground, apparently ejected from the car, but he was unconscious and they pulled him away from the flames. Moments later they realized the other man was inside that car. Both of the rescued men are said to have non-life-threatening injuries. There's no word on what caused the crash.

Now, I really want to bring you this story. Patrick Snell has more on this. Sharpen your skates, hockey fans. The NHL -- here I go -- season is finally here. Patrick Snell has that and more for you.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Isa, thanks. New NHL season up and running. Wednesday night seeing the opening games for both the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers who went head-to-head in D.C. And a really special occasion for the Capitals Russian superstar Alex Ovechkin who scored twice in his team's 5-1 victory, Ovechkin getting to 732 career goals and moving him past hockey hall of famer Marcel Dionne. Into sole possession of fifth-place all-time in league career goals.

Drama a plenty. Crickets Indian Premier League into Kolkata, Night Riders booking their spot in the final against Chennai after a thrilling last got victory over the Delhi Capitals. Rahul Tripathi six of the last but one ball, ceiling the triumph there.

And in the UEFA Women's Champions League, Danish star Pernille Harder ceiling a very impressive 2-1 win for Chelsea at Italian power house Juventus.

And men's footie Barcelona star Sergino Dest with a stunning strike for the United States in World Cup qualifying against Costa Rica. That was the leveler. America win it 2-1. Isa, with that, right back to you.

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SOARES: Thank you very much, Patrick.

Now, the Rolling Stones have retired their classic hit "Brown Sugar." Singer Mick Jagger says they phased out the '70s hit from concert lineups but says the song could always make a return. The song begins with a reference to a woman being sold into slavery. Critics have been railing against the song for years condemning its violent stereotypical portrayal of black women. The band is currently on a tour in North America.

Now, Adele fans can officially start their count down clocks -- and I know a few. The British singer song writer has announced a new album titled "Thirty" it will be released November 19. It is her first album in six years. Adele took to social media to say she's learned a lot of blistering truths about herself along the way. But says she's never felt more peaceful in her life. The superstar has been teasing her first new single off the album the past week and we've shown you some of it. "Easy On Me" drops on Friday.

And finally, it turns out beer and bleu cheese have been enjoyed by Europeans as far back as nearly 3,000 years. That finding now coming from an unlikely source, ancient feces. Scientists analyzed samples of preserved human excrement found at underground salt mines in western Austria. And found to fungi that are used to produce bleu cheese and beer. The findings are giving researchers into how sophisticated culinary practices were in the Iron Age. If you're just waking up to that, a very good morning.

And that does it for me. Thanks very much for joining us. I'm Isa Soares. "EARLY START" with Christine Romans and Laura Jarrett is up next. They will have much more of course on our top story following the investigation into the January 6 Capitol Hill insurrection. Have a wonderful day. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye-bye.

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