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Deutsche Bank Warns Major Recession is Coming; Jessica Watkins Becomes First Black Women on Space Station Crew; Ukraine's Religious Leaders Call Russia "Terrorist State"; Funeral for Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright Soon at the Washington Cathedral. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired April 27, 2022 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:33:40]
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: A new warning for the economy. Deutsche Bank is now predicting a major recession for the U.S. The bank says that a deeper downturn lies ahead as the Federal Reserve tries to knock down stubbornly high inflation. Economists predict interest rates rising so aggressively that it could damage the economy through mid-2024.
CNN's Matt Egan is with me live to discuss. So we should note, this isn't the consensus of other major banks, right, but it is a warning sign about the future of our economy here.
MATT EGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Bianna. It speaks to this broader concern about the risks around high inflation and what the Federal Reserve has to do to knock it down to healthier levels. Deutsche Bank first, they were the first big bank really to come out and say, we think there's going to be a recession. They thought it would be a mild one. Now they're saying, actually, inflation is so high that we fear it's going to be a major recession.
I mean, consumer prices are rising at the fastest pace in 40 years. In a perfect world, the Fed would be able to sort of tap the brakes gently on the economy, sort of gradually raise interest rates. But the concern is that they're going to have to do more, that they may have to slam the brakes on the economy and the more they do, the greater the risk here.
Let me read you a key line from the Deutsche Bank report. They said that the only way to minimize the economic, financial and societal damage of prolonged inflation is to err on the side of doing too much. Again that speaks to more aggressive rate hikes here.
[10:35:01]
Now the good news is that, as you mentioned, most economists do not see a recession. Goldman Sachs, for example, they think that a mere slowdown of the economy could be enough to tame inflation but the truth is that no one actually knows how this is going to play out. I mean, Deutsche Bank, not Goldman Sachs, not even the Federal Reserve itself. But we do see more signs of nervousness on Wall Street. You know, just about a half hour ago, the Dow was up 350 points or so.
About 1 percent. Now it's down 75 points. This is after a series of wild swings we've seen in just the last few days. I mean, yesterday, the Dow was down 800 points. About 2.5 percent. Last Friday, we saw a sharp decline. I think this speaks to the uncertainty here, and a realization that risks are rising around the economy.
Hopefully, the Fed can thread the needle here. Getting inflation under control without short circuiting this recovery. We'll see.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. The markets reacting to earnings reports, right, and the news out of Russia cutting off its oil and gas supply to certain countries. Oil prices spiking a lot of volatility out there.
EGAN: A lot of uncertainty.
GOLODRYGA: Matt Egan, thank you.
EGAN: Thanks, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Well, this morning, history was made as SpaceX launched a new crew of four astronauts to spend five months at the International Space Station.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Five, four, three, two, one, zero. Ignition. And liftoff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: The mission's crew is one of the first equally comprised of men and women, including Jessica Watkins, who will be the first black woman to live and work in space for an extended period.
CNN's space and defense correspondent Kristin Fisher joins me.
Kristin, tell us more about today's important launch and the significance really of this mission.
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna, this mission is primarily a scientific expedition. This crew was going to be spending the next several months conducting research and experiments and microgravity, weightlessness up at the International Space Station. But this is also a training mission of sorts for this entire crew, because they are all in the running to be assigned to NASA's next big thing, its next big program called Artemis, which is when NASA is going to attempt to return American astronauts to the moon for the first time in so many decades.
And so, what NASA has said is that when they do that, they want to return to the moon, not just men, white men, they want the first woman and the person of color to land on the moon, too. And so that's why there's also been so much attention on Jessica Watkins. She is going to be the first black woman to spend an extended period of time up at the International Space Station on what's called a long duration space flight and that sort of training is absolutely critical for what you will need if and when she is one of the astronauts that gets to go to the moon.
And she also has this very unique skill set, Bianna. You know, she's not a test pilot, she's not a doctor, she's a geologist. And she in particular studies rocks on Mars. She actually played an integral part in working with NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars, and so it's a unique skill set but it's one that you would want if you are landing on the surface of the moon or someday, Mars, and looking for water.
So Jessica Watkins really getting a lot of attention today for the historic role that she plays in this mission, as mission specialist -- Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Love seeing that smile on her face and really the message this sends to boys and girls, right, of all backgrounds in this country and across the world about what they can do and what they can achieve if they do want to aim for the skies and the stars.
Kristin Fisher, thank you.
FISHER: Thanks.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: A terrorist state. That's how several religious leaders are describing Russia for its relentless attacks on Ukraine.
Coming up, my conversation with the archbishop of Lviv next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:43:37]
SCIUTTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin cloaks himself in his Orthodox Christian faith, or at least claims to. And the Russian Orthodox Church's leader has come out in support, very public support of the invasion of Ukraine, despite all that we have witnessed here.
In the wake of these atrocities, some religious leaders are now slamming the Kremlin, calling Russia a terrorist state.
I sat down with one of the leaders behind that letter, Metropolitan Archbishop of Lviv of the Latin Rites, Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki, just yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: Following the alleged war crimes in Bucha, you and other of Ukraine's religious leaders, you put out a statement calling Russia, quote, "a terrorist state." I wonder what made you say that in that moment.
MIECZYSLAW MOKRZYCKI, METROPOLITAN ARCHBISHOP OF LVIV OF THE LATIN RITES (through translator): We have issued this statement based on the testimonies of eyewitnesses. Cardinal Krajewski came here to Ukraine, had time to pray for the victims and for all of us. These events are a huge shock and a tragedy.
SCIUTTO: When you see Russian Orthodox priests who have given their support, their public support to this war in Ukraine, what's your reaction to see fellow priests do that?
[10:45:02]
MOKRZYCKI (through translator): It is completely a mystery to me how pastors, how priests, how even the head of the Orthodox Church can voice such support for Putin. Priests should be pastors, they should be prepared to give their life, they should clearly know the difference between right and wrong. I think they either are not real priests or they're totally dependent and kowtowing to Putin.
SCIUTTO: Your job must be its most difficult during times like this when people see so much suffering. You called on, and I'm quoting you, everyone to pray for those who gave their lives for all who suffered for peace for the motherland. I think that God will give us the long- awaited peace and the sacrifice will not be in vain.
When people are seeing what they're seeing now, how do you convince them to be hopeful?
MOKRZYCKI (through translator): We are close to our flock, to our faithful. We not only pray for peace, for their suffering to end but we act through love. We visit refugees, we help them. We visit our own flock, we talk about their sufferings, and we see that -- we tell them that the rocket attacks, the explosions, the smoke over the towns, villages and cities in Ukraine can't overshadow our faith. Like after Good Friday's suffering comes the Sunday resurrection. The same applies to our human faith.
SCIUTTO: As you know, Vladimir Putin claims to be a religious man, and he often cloaks himself in the Orthodox faith, even on Easter Sunday, lighting a candle in the midst of the war. If you had a moment here to address Vladimir Putin, what would you say to him?
MOKRZYCKI (through translator): I would say that if he stands before God, he must stand in truth. He cannot be a hypocrite. He can't pretend to have faith. This is not worthy of a true Christian and not at the president of a country to pretend in this way. This is not in Christian behavior. But also, inhumane, and certainly God will never accept the prayers of such priests or the Russian president.
SCIUTTO: Archbishop, thank you so much. It's very nice to meet you.
MOKRZYCKI: Thank you very much. God bless you.
SCIUTTO: Thank you for taking the time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: And up next, remembering a trail blazer. President Biden is set to deliver a eulogy for former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. We'll take you live to Washington National Cathedral, up next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:52:16]
GOLODRYGA: And you are looking at live pictures inside of Washington National Cathedral where the funeral begins at Washington National Cathedral for former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, the first woman to hold that position. There you see former President Obama with former Treasury Secretary Bob Rubin there, former First Lady Michelle Obama was just visible just a moment ago where she sat down. There's Antony Blinken, secretary of State, walking in as well.
Albright died last month from cancer at the age of 84. Several top government officials will pay tribute to her, including President Biden who will be delivering the eulogy. Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will also be speaking.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux joins me now.
Suzanne, more than 1400 people, we hear, are expected to be in attendance. What more can you tell us about today's service?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning. It is a beautiful sunny and windy day here in Washington, D.C. outside the Washington Cathedral and really celebrating. It's a time-honored tradition of acknowledging the most high esteemed public servant and so we saw just about 15 minutes ago that the hearse arrive here at the cathedral with close relatives. Some departures from some of the traditions that you normally see here at the cathedral.
Instead of the military presence, there were those of her security detail who had been by her side for her many years as a diplomat. Her time as a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations as well as the secretary of state. We saw her daughters Alice and Anne and Katie as well who are inside at this moment, and close family friends, Kathy, her sister and brother, John. She has six grandchildren as well. All in attendance here.
But yes, I mean, make no mistake. This is a who's who of really extraordinary public servants, both current and former administrations. Inside, we will hear from President Joe Biden who will be delivering a eulogy as well as President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton inside of the cathedral as well. You have President Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama, as well as the former Vice President Al Gore.
And just many, more than 70 or so are members of Congress, bipartisan who have also come here to pay tribute along the way, and it really is an incredible cross section that you see inside there of the kind of love and respect that Madeleine Albright earned and deserved in her time of service.
[10:55:02]
One of the interesting things that also we'll be listening to is the musical selection, really beautiful stories behind that. One of them, Chris Boddy, who is a trumpet player. He famously had invited Madeleine Albright up to the stage for the Kennedy Centers, when he had a concert and actually had her do an impromptu set on the drums where she was playing the drums. She was nicknamed as the sticks.
GOLODRYGA: Yes.
MALVEAUX: And we will be hearing from him as well as many others who will be honoring her life today.
GOLODRYGA: Speaks to her legacy and how revered she was to see a who's who really come and pay their tributes to Madeleine Albright.
Suzanne Malveaux, thank you so much.
And thank you all for joining us today. I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York.
SCIUTTO: And I'm Jim Sciutto in Lviv, Ukraine. "AT THIS HOUR" with Kate Bolduan starts right after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
