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Biden's Stalled Agenda; U.K. Police Designate Fatal Stabbing Of MP A Terrorist Incident; U.S. FDA Recommends J&J Booster; U.S. Capitol Police Officer Indicted For Obstruction Of Justice; Lebanon In Crisis; ISIS-K Claims Responsibility For Mosque Attack; Texas School Official Backs Anti-Holocaust Books; NASA Launches Mission Toa Explore Asteroids; Chinese Astronauts Dock With Nation's Orbiting Station. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired October 16, 2021 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Live from CNN headquarters in Atlanta, a warm welcome to all of you watching here in the United States and around the world, I'm Paula Newton and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
Police now say a murder of a member of British Parliament was an act of terror.
The U.S. is on the verge of approvals for yet more COVID booster shots.
But in Chicago, a battle over politicians and police over anti- vaccinations.
And plus why Steve Bannon and others who refused to testify about the Capitol riot could face criminal charges.
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NEWTON: And we begin this hour in the U.K., where police are calling the fatal stabbing of a member of Parliament on Friday an act of terrorism.
A short time ago, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Labour leader Keir Starmer and home secretary Priti Patel arrived to pay their respects. Long time Conservative MP, Sir David Amess is the second MP to be murdered this way in five years.
Police quickly arrested a 25-year-old man on the suspicion of murder. The British media reports he is believed to be a British national of Somali heritage. Police later said they were searching two addresses in London as part of that investigation.
CNN's Phil Black is on Downing Street but we want to begin our coverage with Nada Bashir in Leigh-on-Sea.
Nada, you were just there when the prime minister made that all- important visit. It's been shattering there.
How are people reacting to the news overnight that this is indeed a terrorist act?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula, people in this community are shocked by the news that this is indeed being treated as a terrorist incident. We are seeing numerous members of the community coming to the police cordon, leaving flowers in memory of Sir David Amess.
They say he was a kind, caring member of the community and deeply engaged with those he represented. He was a Parliamentarian for years and that it could take place in a quiet seaside town shocks the residents.
And it's being handled by the U.K. police counterterrorism unit and they are saying that the early evidence shows that the motive of the attack to be linked to Islamist extreme ideology, that's a major, of course, concern for those in the government and live in the area.
But they are saying they don't believe there is another person involved. They do feel he acted alone. And they are appealing to local residents to provide any support they can with the investigation, for camera footage, trying to help police piece together this puzzle as to how this could have happened in this town.
But as you mentioned, this town is completely shocked by the death of Sir David Amess. This visit by the prime minister just an hour ago, echoing his remarks, describing Sir David Amess as one of the gentlest and kindest politicians in the country. And the news is shattering for all who knew him, Paula.
NEWTON: And the character of this local politician, it's struck everyone.
Phil Black to you at Downing Street, Boris Johnson was just there page his respects, a really poignant show of unity, because he was there with the opposition leader. A lot of questions, right.
Five years ago, Jo Cox brutally murdered in a similar way.
What seems to be the answer, especially since we've been hearing over the last few hours from so many politicians, who tell us about the abuse they suffer and death threats they've receive?
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Paula, you're right. Even before this, there have been long-standing concerns that the long-standing tradition, that allows voters to have easy access to their elected representatives, is no longer appropriate. It's out of date because it's unsafe.
And you have to realize there is pretty strong evidence that is the case.
[05:05:00] BLACK: The death of Sir David Amess and Jo Cox, another MP was stabbed in 2010, although he survived. It's not just these isolated violent moments, it's a mood of political discourse in this country, which now sees politicians enduring abuse, threats, hostility, pretty much on a daily basis.
And that daily reality is very much intentioned with what many people see as the core part of the MPs' job which is to meet the people they represent one-on-one, in intimate settings, hear their concerns and try to help them with their problems.
That is, in many ways, a long-standing pillar of British democracy. But we're hearing promises that this is going to be looked at. And it would seem that perhaps this country, its political class in particular, hit a tipping point in what they are prepared to accept.
But it will be with regret, I think. Any changes, no matter how necessary, to put up barriers between members of Parliament and those they represent, will be seen as, well, a diminishing of British democracy in some way. No one will be happy about this. But increasingly, there does appear to be a growing case that change must happen. Paula.
NEWTON: And it's stunning to think, Phil, even when Theresa May, when she was prime minister, still had the open office hours. The fact that they're saying, look, this has to happen in a completely different way. Phil, thanks for being there on Downing Street.
And Nada Bashir as well.
I spoke with Peter Neumann, a professor at King's College London, I asked him what he made of the police determining so quickly that this was a terrorism investigation.
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PETER NEUMANN, INTL. CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF RADICALISATION AND POLITICAL VIOLENCE: I think the reason they did that was because they discovered the name of the suspects in a prior investigation.
They probably came across him or he was reported into the sort of Prevent scheme, the preventing radicalization program of the British government. He must have come up somewhere.
And what they are doing now is probably they are going through all of his possessions, especially through his laptop, his mobile phone, to see who else he is connected to, to make sure that this was really an act on its own rather than part of a campaign.
Whether he received instructions from other people, whether there were other people involved in preparing this act of terror or something else, that's what they are busy with right now.
NEWTON: It does seem that so far they don't believe they're searching for another suspect. The history of the U.K.'s battle against extremism runs deep, right? And police, while they might be heartened by the fact that he acted alone, you've been covering this for the better part of 15 years, you mention that prevent strategy. That's the U.K.'s counterterrorism strategy. You yourself have spoken that, even that strategy, as comprehensive as it can be, can only go so far.
What elements do you think have still been so difficult to grasp for the U.K. and law enforcement?
NEUMANN: Well, we've seen over the past 15 years, when we had 2005, the terrorist attacks in London, 7/7, that was a coordinated attack. They were talking about groups that were organizing it in a hierarchical fashion. That isn't so easy anymore. That doesn't happen anymore in U.K.
What we're seen now are lone attackers, that are part of a sort of jihadist or extremist milieus; they are hovering around, there's plenty of them.
But it's often not quite sure to what extent they are connected, to what extent they are actually ready to do it. And for the police to have several thousand people like that, it's impossible to monitor them all the time.
So you always have the risk of one of them basically doing something on their own in a place like Essex, where you have not necessarily a lot of police on the ground.
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NEWTON: Peter Neumann there, professor of security studies at King's College London.
And now for those in the United States who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the booster, the numbers just don't lie. Nick Watt from Los Angeles.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do have 19 out of 19 unanimous yes votes.
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): FDA advisers just agreed with Johnson & Johnson, a second dose of their vaccine is a good idea.
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DR. PENNY HEATON, GLOBAL THERAPEUTIC AREA HEAD OF VACCINES, JANSSEN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT: It will increase efficacy against severe disease. It will increase efficacy against all symptomatic COVID. And it will increase the breadth of the immune response against variants.
WATT: And they say adults should get that second shot at least two months after the first. Now Johnson & Johnson says their vaccine's protection against severe disease and death remains robust.
But the V.A. study found that back in March, vaccine protection against all infections was high across all the vaccines. By August, there was erosion. And look at Johnson & Johnson, fell from 88 percent to just 3 percent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think this frankly was always a two-dose vaccine. I think it's better as a two-dose vaccine.
WATT: More than 9 million Americans have already had a booster. Great. But this isn't. More people are getting a booster every day than getting their first shot. And unvaccinated adults are 19 times more likely to be hospitalized and 11 times more likely to die.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I urge everyone who's eligible for vaccines to get them.
WATT: In Chicago, starting tonight, cops must submit to testing or prove they're vaccinated. Their union says half haven't had the shots.
JOHN CATANZARA, PRESIDENT, CHICAGO FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE: But even the ones that are still, like myself, believe that a forced mandate is absolutely wrong.
MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT (D-IL), CHICAGO: What we've seen from the Fraternal Order of Police and particularly the leadership is a lot of misinformation, a lot of half truths and flat-out lies in order to induce an insurrection. And we're not having that.
WATT: Finally, good news for the U.S. tourist trade. November 8th, fully vaccinated foreigners can enter this country. This policy is guided by public health says the White House, stringent and consistent.
On the news you probably didn't want to hear but the CDC and the U.S. just updated its guidelines for the upcoming holiday season. Outdoor gatherings still best. If you're inside, still wear a mask or, top of their list, just get vaccinated -- Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
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NEWTON: And a new study shows lottery incentives -- you'll remember those cash rewards -- did not motivate people to get a vaccine. Researchers looked at 19 states and found the number of people initiating vaccination actually went down. Researchers speculate that lotteries may be less enticing than actual cash.
Now protesters in Italy meantime are making their angry voices heard over the country's mandatory COVID-19 green pass.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No green pass. No green pass.
NEWTON (voice-over): You'll note here that the vast majority of Italy's population is in fact already vaccinated. But some Italians believe this government mandate has no place in health care. CNN's Barbie Nadeau has the latest.
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BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Italy has become the first Western democracy to mandate a government-issued health pass on COVID. Starting Friday, everyone who pulls a paycheck in the public and private sector have to pull a green pass to prove they're fully vaccinated or have a recent negative COVID test to go to work.
If they show up without it, they can be fined up to 1,500 euro. Employers who don't demand it face fines of 1,000 euro.
Most Italians are compliant. More than 80 percent of the population is vaccinated but not everyone is happy with the government playing such a role in health care. Some have taken to the streets to protest the mandate, violently smashing a labor union office last weekend and gathering here in Rome's Circus Maximus to make their voices heard -- Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, Rome.
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NEWTON: Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is spending another night in a California hospital. He's been in the intensive care unit, getting treatment for sepsis after a urinary tract infection spread to his bloodstream.
He must remain in the hospital for monitoring because the antibiotics must be administered intravenously. His spokesperson says he's in good spirits and his health is trending in the right direction. We wish him a speedy recovery.
The January 6th committee has questions for those involved in the Capitol siege. And now a Capitol Police officer has to answer obstruction charges filed against him. Details after the break.
Plus, U.S. President Joe Biden admits his ambitious spending bill will likely face cuts. What he says are areas of potential compromise. That's next.
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NEWTON: The U.S. House Select Committee is embroiled in a legal confrontation over subpoenas for witnesses with information on the January 6th riot at the Capitol.
Now many Capitol Police officers were attacked or injured during the insurrection. But now an indictment has been laid against one of their own. Details now from CNN's Ryan Nobles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A Capitol police officer is being charged with obstruction of justice, accused of warning someone who participated in the riots on January 6 to pull down their pictures of the insurrection from social media.
Michael A. Riley, a 25-year veteran of the force, is accused of spending private Facebook messages to Jacob Hiles, with posted pictures from that day and wrote, "Feeling cute, might start a revolution later," after tagging himself on Capitol Hill.
Riley told him he was a Capitol police officer who, quote, "agrees with your political stance."
In one message Riley allegedly wrote, quote, "Take down the part about being in the building. They are currently investigating and everyone who is in the building is going to be charged."
Chief Tom Manger responding quickly to the arrest, placing Riley on administrative leave.
"Obstruction of justice is a very serious allegation. The department was notified about this investigation several weeks ago.
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NOBLES (voice-over): "Upon his arrest the officer was placed on administrative leave pending the completion of the case."
The arrest comes as new video emerges from that day that shows Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone being pulled from inside the Capitol out into the mob by a rioter.
At one point, another rioter puts what prosecutors say is a Taser on the back of his neck. Fanone suffered from a heart attack that day and is still dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Meanwhile, the investigation into the attacks is heating up on Capitol Hill.
REP. BENNIE THOMPSON (D-MS): Steve Bannon shouldn't hide behind executive privilege when he wasn't even in the government just because former President Trump says it.
NOBLES: Select Committee Chair Bennie Thompson said his team will use every resource at their disposal to hold the people behind the insurrection responsible. The committee meets Tuesday to formally refer criminal contempt charges against Bannon who says he is following Trump's directive not to testify.
Next Thursday is the deadline for documents to be submitted by two Stop the Steal rally organizers. Then on Thursday and Friday, the committee has scheduled depositions of three different people who planned and executed the event. Thompson making it clear, no one, including the former president, is above the reach of their investigation.
THOMPSON: I would say this at this point nobody is off limits to a subpoena from this committee.
NOBLES: And the committee is hoping their aggressive stance with Bannon will send a message to other potential witnesses that they are not messing around.
REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): We have the power, basically equivalent to the court, to get to these answers and we are dang determined to do that.
NOBLES: As for that Capitol Police officer charged with obstruction of justice, his attorney sending CNN a statement, saying that he plans to fight the charges.
And he's also getting support from his police union, the chair of that union putting out a statement saying there shouldn't be a rush to judgment against Riley and that he is innocent until proven guilty -- Ryan Nobles, CNN, on Capitol Hill.
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NEWTON: Now President Biden has actually issued the strongest comments yet from the White House on those who refused to cooperate with the committee. He made it clear they should be prosecuted.
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope that the committee goes after them and holds them accountable.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Should they be prosecuted by the Justice Department?
BIDEN: I do, yes.
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NEWTON: President Biden is acknowledging he's not going to get everything he wanted in the $3 trillion spending plan. While visiting Connecticut, Mr. Biden suggested free community college may be an area that does get cut. It comes as his Build Back Better agenda has hit a brick wall on Capitol Hill. CNN's Phil Mattingly has an update.
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PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Biden hitting the road and the playground to unlock his stalled agenda.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Too many folks in Washington still don't realize it isn't enough just to invest in our physical infrastructure. We also have to invest in our people.
MATTINGLY: Seeking to rally support for the child care component of his dual-pronged and currently frozen multitrillion-dollar package.
BIDEN: Both bills are not about Left versus Right. They're not about, you know, moderate versus progressive.
MATTINGLY: Facing criticism for not selling that agenda, Biden using public remarks in Connecticut to press the urgency of the moment.
BIDEN: These views are about competitiveness versus complacency.
MATTINGLY: While privately, top advisers have made clear they've grown impatient with the pace of the talks. As two key moderate Democrats, Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona, remain on the fence.
SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): My number has been 1.5.
MATTINGLY: Either senator committing to a top line price tag which they've sought to keep at roughly $2 trillion. Sinema privately insisting on a vote on the bipartisan $1.2 trillion Senate-passed infrastructure proposal first, a nonstarter for House progressives.
Manchin's sources say he has laid out a series across the package from the scale of the paid leave and free community college proposals to an expansion of Medicare and the coal state Democrat opposed to many of the proposed climate measures.
Biden has spoken to both this week, according to officials and talks remain ongoing. As the calendar ticks toward the end of the year, two critical dates are consuming Democrats.
The October 31st expiration of surface transportation funding, an unofficial deadline of sorts and the November 2nd Virginia governors race where pressure is mounting to pass the infrastructure proposal.
SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): I hope the House will get that to President Biden's desk ASAP. It will really help here.
MATTINGLY: Democrats concerned inaction could have electoral consequences.
KAINE: We will get both done. I'm confident. Obviously, the sooner we can get one and then the other done better for people and the better for this race in Virginia.
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MATTINGLY: While the president was pitching his proposals in public behind the scenes for the last several days. White House officials have been engaged in intense negotiations with key outstanding lawmakers, I'm told, going to a granular level to each plank of the proposals basically trying to close out the proposals.
It's not something necessarily they had a timeline at this moment but one thing that's made clear by officials over the last few days now is the time for decisions to be made -- Phil Mattingly, reporting for CNN, at the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE) NEWTON: Violence in Beirut leading to the worst street battles in
years. Now some Lebanese fear that could be a prelude for another civil war. That's ahead.
Plus, Chinese astronauts are back at their nation's space station. Their plans for the next six months.
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NEWTON: And welcome back to our viewers in the United States and all around the world, I'm Paula Newton and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
Now memories of civil war are haunting many people in Lebanon following the nation's worst street violence in more than a decade. On Thursday, someone opened fire on a Shia protest in Beirut which led to street battles there. And seven people lost their lives.
Now some Lebanese now fear that violence could just spin right out of control. Ben Wedeman is on the ground for us.
There's that saying, never waste a crisis.
Is there a sense, Ben, that the country is pulling back after the shock?
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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There's a sense that perhaps, this time it will not go over the edge, Paula. There are still vivid memories of the civil war. There is anger at what has happened. There is massive frustration at the collapse of the Lebanese economy, anger at the fact that the investigation into the August 2020 port blast here in Beirut has really led nowhere.
But those memories of the civil war are still very vivid for many people here, particularly, because of what happened on Thursday and where it happened.
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WEDEMAN (voice-over): They fire round after round into the air, supporters of the Shia Amal movement, after the funerals for those killed in Thursday's violence, the worst the Lebanese capital has seen in more than a dozen years.
All the dead were from the Shia sect, including members of the two main Shia parties, Hezbollah and Amal. Their leaders have accused the Lebanese Forces, a Christian party, of the killings. The Lebanese Forces reject the accusation.
Here in the neighborhood of Shia, the men with guns aim in one direction, at about a 45-degree angle up the street, at the adjacent district, the predominately Christian neighborhood of (INAUDIBLE).
And what goes up must come down. It was on the road that divides the two neighborhoods that the Lebanese civil war began in April 1975 and, for many, there is a fear Lebanon is going full circle.
"Of course, we hope this isn't going to lead to a civil war," says Hassan.
WEDEMAN: This may not be the start of what some say is a civil war. But what this does show is that there is no shortage of weapons in this country.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): State authority, however, is in short supply. Soldiers stand guard just a few blocks away but don't intervene, while gunman spray bullets into the sky.
Erez Ibrahim (ph) lives on the other side of the old dividing line.
"Here, the entire neighborhood was reminded of the events of civil war," she tells me.
It's hard to ignore the echoes.
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WEDEMAN: And, Paula, it was in this area, just two years ago tomorrow, that the so-called Lebanese revolution happened. That was the moment where there was -- that rare moment of unity, when Lebanese across the sectarian spectrum came together, calling for a better country, a better future.
But even though it was two years ago, it seems like much longer than that. Paula.
NEWTON: Yes, indeed, Ben, especially for the young generation of Lebanon, who desperately want to stay and make a life in their country. Ben Wedeman on the streets of Beirut, appreciate it.
Now for the second day in a row, Friday has become a day of terror. Dozens are dead after an attack on a mosque in Kandahar. ISIS-K says it's responsible. Nick Paton Walsh has a report on the latest round of bloodshed. And a warning: you might find this report both graphic and disturbing.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice-over): The victims came here to worship during Friday prayers at a Shia mosque in Afghanistan, an act faith that, for two weeks in a row, has been the target of suicide bombers.
Witnesses say multiple attackers entered a packed Shia mosque in Kandahar on Friday, setting off a series of blasts and killing dozens of worshippers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The firing started after we ended the prayers. Then two or three explosions took place. We were thrown toward the window. Many people murdered or wounded were laying there.
WALSH (voice-over): The blast comes just a week after a similar suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in Kunduz, in which 46 people were killed. ISIS-K, the Islamic State's affiliate in Afghanistan, claimed responsibility.
The back-to-back attacks, just fuel for escalating fears that ISIS-K, enemies to both the Taliban and the West, are growing in strength in this new, troubled Afghanistan. They are threatening to undermine the Taliban's one key pledge to their new subjects: peace and stability.
The Taliban says it has ordered its fighters to arrest those responsible for this latest attack.
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WALSH (voice-over): Not only to protect the minorities it now governs but also because any attack on Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban, is, for this new administration, just to close to home -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.
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NEWTON: Now a school official has sparked an uproar about teaching history in Texas. Why she asked teachers to bring in books with opposing views on the Holocaust. That's ahead.
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NEWTON: A Texas school official is under fire for suggesting teachers need to include books with, quote, "opposing views" about the murder of Jews, Roma and other groups during World War II. CNN's Brian Todd reports on a Holocaust history scandal with implications right across the United States.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A dustup in Texas tonight over the teaching of Holocaust history in schools. The superintendent of the Carroll Independent School District in Northern Texas has apologized for comments made by an administrator at a recent teachers' training session.
School administrator Gina Peddy was taped, telling teachers that, if they have books about the Holocaust in their classroom libraries, they should also include books that have, quote, "opposing views" of the Holocaust.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) GINA PEDDY, SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR: Make sure that, if you have a book on the Holocaust, that you have one that has opposing -- that has other --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you oppose the Holocaust?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What?! What?!
PEDDY: Believe me, that's come up.
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TODD (voice-over): The audio, secretly recorded by a staff member, first reported by NBC News and obtained by CNN, caused an uproar on social media and concern among groups that monitor hate and extremism.
OREN SEGAL, VICE PRESIDENT, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE CENTER ON EXTREMISM: The idea that opposing views of the Holocaust would in some way sound legitimate to anybody is a sign of the time perhaps.
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SEGAL: It's anti-Semitism, it's Holocaust denial and it's the thing that animates extremists. There are no two sides to this issue. There are no two sides to the Holocaust.
TODD (voice-over): In apologizing, the school district superintendent said, quote, "The comments made were in no way to convey that the Holocaust was anything less than a terrible event in history. We recognize there are not two sides of the Holocaust."
At the root of this incident, a law signed by Texas' Republican governor Greg Abbott, which took effect on September 1st. The law says a teacher cannot be forced to discuss a, quote, "widely debated and currently controversial issue of public policy or social affairs."
And if a teacher does engage in that kind of discussion, the teacher is required to, quote, "explore such issue from diverse and contending perspectives without giving deference to any one perspective."
A source told CNN many teachers in the Carroll school district found the law confusing, which Gina Peddy alluded to in that training session.
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PEDDY: We are in the middle of a political mess. And you are in the middle of a political mess. No one knows how to navigate these waters.
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TODD (voice-over): This comes at a time when some politicians are putting strange and often inaccurate spins on watershed events. In May, a Republican Congress man from Georgia said this about the January 6th attack on the Capitol.
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REP. ANDREW CLYDE (R): You know, if you didn't know the TV footage was a video from January the 6th, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: It's all of one piece. It is all rooted in this messaging that says your America, the America of white, Christian, 1950s America, is being taken away from you and we have to use extraordinary means, whether it's limiting what's said in the classroom or storming the Capitol to prevent that.
TODD: CNN has reached out to Gina Peddy, that Texas school administrator, who made those remarks on the Holocaust books, for any comment on this story. We have not gotten a response -- Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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NEWTON: Ahead for us, Chinese astronauts are orbiting Earth again. Details on their space program's very ambitious goals. And what this means for other countries in the space race.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Liftoff, Atlas 5 takes flight sending Lucy to uncover fossils of our solar system.
NEWTON (voice-over): OK. The first NASA effort to fly by asteroids is headed into the heavens. The mission named Lucy is exploring a 12-year mission to explore Jupiter's Trojan asteroid swarms. Yes, 12 years.
Lucy will provide the first high level images of what they look like. The mission will help researchers to peer back in time to learn how the solar system formed 4.5 billion years ago. It can also help scientists learn how our planets ended up in their current positions.
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NEWTON: Meantime, three Chinese astronauts are settling in on their nation's space station.
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NEWTON (voice-over): They blasted off earlier today on a six-month mission to help build the uncompleted orbiter. As CNN's David Culver tells us, China is pursuing an aggressive space race with the United States.
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DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ninety-year-old "Star Trek" actor William Shatner blasted into space, becoming the oldest man to reach such heights amid great fanfare in the U.S.
WILLIAM SHATNER, ACTOR AND ASTRONAUT: Oh, wow.
CULVER: Thousands of miles away, here in the Gobi Desert, China's latest space mission may not set any records but it does show a major step forward in this country's fast-growing and increasingly ambitious space plan.
CULVER (voice-over): CNN gaining rare access to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China. Shenzhou-13 carrying three Chinese astronauts to the soon to be completed space station, called Tiangong or Heavenly Palace.
China has touted their space station as next generation, an alternative to the International Space Station. But the 15-country ISS has already been occupied for more than 20 years. The U.S. passed a law barring China from participating, leading some experts to question --
PROF. DAVID BURBACH, U.S. NAVAL WAR COLLEGE: If we brought China in to work with us on ISS, would China have felt as compelled to develop their own fully independent program as quickly?
CULVER (voice-over): It's Hollywood coming to reality. Sandra Bullock spared during "Gravity," saved by a Chinese space station on her way back to Earth.
Wang Yaping told us in 2015 it's her favorite film. She's one of three Chinese astronauts on this mission. The mission also including a newcomer to space travel, Ye Guangfu, who took part in cave training with astronauts from five countries in 2016.
YE GUANGFU, CHINESE ASTRONAUT (through translator): I hope one day I can fly with other international astronauts in space and welcome them to visit China's space station.
CULVER (voice-over): But Western astronauts will need to study up first. These operation interfaces are in Chinese and Chinese state media reports European astronauts are already taking language courses so they can visit the Chinese space station.
Despite a late start in the space race, China is rapidly catching up. It has returned samples from the moon and, like the U.S., put a rover on Mars, all within the last year.
It's also got big plans for commercial ventures and for deep space exploration, including to build a base on the moon with Russia and send humans to Mars in the 2030s. From launching billionaires to cosmic explorations, the U.S. is still leading.
With plenty of headline-grabbing launches and a long history of success, putting 12 men on the moon.
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CULVER (voice-over): But the more pressing challenge: prioritizing the multibillions in funding needed for the U.S. to hold onto that lead.
Some experts believe the added competition from China might fuel more innovation.
BURBACH: If you're somebody who wants to see humans land on Mars and more scientific probes throughout the solar system, geopolitical competition is probably not the worst thing in the world.
CULVER (voice-over): While Captain Kirk is helping capture U.S. imaginations to propel the U.S. forward in its tightening space race, China's three astronauts now embarking on a six-month mission, the country's longest yet, to secure their footing out of this world -- David Culver, CNN, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China.
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NEWTON: Joining me now is Blaine Curcio, he's founder at Orbital Gateway Consulting.
Listen, big day for China. There seems to be more milestones for them in space.
In a general sense, what are their ambitions and how quickly are they rolling through the ambitions?
BLAINE CURCIO, FOUNDER, ORBITAL GATEWAY CONSULTING: Sure, thanks for having me, Paula. If you look at China's ambitions on a high level, I think China wants to become what they call a comprehensive space power, one of the leading in the world and possibly the leading space nation in the world.
So if we get a little more specific, that would include having significant domestic launch capabilities, their own space station, various science technology missions and different constellations of various satellites.
So basically pretty comprehensive space capabilities across a wide variety of applications.
And if we think about, why do they want those capabilities, what would they use those for in terms of ambitions, I think there would be soft power aspects. From a domestic consumption perspective, people like to see their country going into space. It stirs patriotic feelings and probably there's an economic angle as well.
So there's a lot of provincial and city governments trying to support the space sector. Whether that's sustainable long term, it's not clear but that's what's happening now. And then there are some of these very big projects, like a lunar base or space stations, where there's really only a couple of different countries that are going to be doing these projects.
If you're any of the 200 countries that wants to be involved, you would need to partner with one of those countries. From that perspective, if China has this suite of capabilities, it makes it a more attractive partner for a lot of different countries.
NEWTON: You mentioned international cooperation.
But how important is this really as a competitive sphere for China as well, to either keep track with the United States or possibly even surpass it in terms of space exploration?
CURCIO: There's a certain -- yes, there's a certain degree of competition. And a certain degree of trying to, I'd say, maintain pace, with the leading companies or countries in the West.
But I do think it's also important to consider that there's a rather -- there seems to be a degree of reactivity as opposed to being proactive. Up until 2014, there was zero space in China at all. It was very state controlled and there was not a lot of room for innovation.
Really once you started to see SpaceX and other companies make leaps and bounds, that's when you saw the impetus on the Chinese side to open up, more potentially disruptive innovation.
And we've seen more recently the phenomenon with the Starlink, this big project done by SpaceX to deploy satellite internet around the world. And they've launched a jaw-dropping number of satellites, something like 1,500 satellites over the last 18 months.
And again, no one in China was really talking that much about this constellation concept until really Starlink was announced and others. And it didn't accelerate until Starlink started to accelerate. So there's certainly a competitive environment.
But at the moment I think it's more reactive rather than proactive. I don't think China is at the point where they are, you know, coming up medium term or even 10-year term time horizon projects that would be world leading. I think a lot of it is still playing catch-up for the moment.
NEWTON: And we're used to China having played catch-up over the decades. Then they catch up and surpass.
On one specific point, though, do you think those ambitions could expand to weaponizing space in any shape or form?
Especially given the intense rhetoric over the last few years?
[05:55:00]
CURCIO: So in terms of specifically weaponizing space, I think we've seen pretty clear messages from the government in China about needing to have sustainable use of space. And needing to have, you know, some degree of coordination and collaboration, that kind of thing. That being said, a lot of specific technologies that are being
developed by the space sector would certainly be dual use. I mean, the Chinese government does have a very explicitly laid-out program of military civil fusion.
That is basically an idea you that would have many technologies that would be developed that could have either military or civilian uses. And there would be a lot of commercial space companies that are developing technologies ahead of military use. So militarize space perhaps rather less likely.
But having technology that's being developed for space, having military applications, I think that's certain and also rather par for the course, I think.
Yes, certainly, par for the course with the United States as well, I'm sure you would argue. It's interesting, though, just to see how this unfolds and really a certain benevolence to it. Blaine Curcio, thanks so much, appreciate your time.
CURCIO: Thanks, you as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: A sign of maybe some normalcy, it's party time in Amsterdam.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON (voice-over): Clubs, bars, discos reopening after the government in the Netherlands lifted COVID restrictions. One enormous event, Amsterdam's dance music festival, is underway through Sunday.
The party has been scaled back, with COVID precautions, including onsite testing. But still, business owners are thrilled.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAN-WILLEM VAN DE VEN, DIRECTOR, ADE MUSIC FESTIVAL: We have been closed for 20 months, so it's good to see how resilient this business is. And how many people are eager to dance and connect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: And that does it for me and this hour of CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Paula Newton. For our viewers in United States and Canada, CNN's "NEW DAY WEEKEND" is up next and for everyone else it's "CONNECTING AFRICA."
