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Fisherman's Floating Seaweed Could Win $100 Million and Help the Planet; "Finally Home, The Trevor Reed Interview," Airs Sunday Night at 8:00 Eastern; Florida Deputy Charged After Taser Sets Suspect on Fire; Justice Department Unveils New Efforts to Combat Hate Crimes; Boeing's Starliner Successfully Launches to ISS. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired May 20, 2022 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:30:00]
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): So Marty, who is also an engineer, went to the drawing board and he settled on floating thousands of high-tech buoys in the north Atlantic, each holding a little kelp forest while a ring of limestone serves as the antacid for the ocean.
Solar power runs a camera and instruments connected to the cloud. And, when a crop is cut, and falls into the deep, Marty gets a carbon credit from a billion-dollar fund set up by Canadian e-Commerce giant, Shopify.
WEIR: You have a couple high-profile investors behind you.
MARTY ODLIN, CEO, RUNNING TIDE: Uh-huh.
WEIR: Do you think that will be enough if government can't get its act together?
ODLIN: No.
WEIR: This has to be --
(CROSSTALK)
ODLIN: No, it's just the math. People spend billions of dollars to see if there's an oil field, right? And what we're trying to do is build the oil industry in reverse.
WEIR (voice-over): He images the Portland docks coming back to life, to capture carbon the way they once built ships to beat Hitler.
ODLIN: It's a race that no one loses as long as someone wins. Like, I don't care like, you know, like -- as long as somebody wins this race, like, cool, right?
WEIR (on camera): Right. Right.
ODLIN: I don't care who moves the most of it.
WEIR (voice-over): So he's thrilled to see competition, like Beth Zotter, among the Silicon Valley startups betting on big kelp.
WEIR (on camera): So if you end up being the Henry Ford of carbon to seaweed, this is your Model A, I guess.
BETH ZOTTER, CEO & CO-FOUNDER, UMARO FOODS & PROJECT LEADER, TROFX: Exactly. Yes. This is -- this is Gen 1.
WEIR (voice-over): She envisions massive seaweed farms anchored close to the shore. But since rope can tangle sea mammals, her team invented a whale-safe scaffolding, screwed in place by underwater drones, and fed by upwellers that use wave energy to spin up nutrients and cold water from the deep.
ANNOUNCER: Amanda and Beth have two offers on the table for their seaweed-based bacon company.
WEIR: And before her crops are hauled and dumped, another one of her companies will extract the plant protein and turn it into meat alternatives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll do that deal.
ODLIN: What are we waiting for? Are we waiting for all the fish to go away? I've seen enough go away. Do I have to wait for -- does the ocean have to be completely dead before we get our act together?
And it's -- I -- but you see, I think all this anxiety, all this frustration that people have is just because we haven't been unleashed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CABRERA: OK. There's your Friday inspiration.
This contest is open to anyone around the globe. And it runs through 2025.
He was held captive in Russia for almost three years before being freed in a prisoner swap last month. And now former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed is speaking to our own Jake Tapper about the horrendous conditions he says he experienced and how he survived.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR, "THE LEAD": What was the worst conditions that you had that you experienced during that time?
TREVOR REED, FORMER U.S. MARINE FREED FROM RUSSIA: The psychiatric treatment facility. I was in there with seven other prisoners in a cell. They all had severe, serious psychological health issues.
Most of them, so over 50 percent of them in that cell were in there for murder or, like, multiple murders, sexual assault and murder. Just really disturbed individuals.
And inside of that cell, you know, that was not a good place. There was blood all over the walls there where prisoners had killed themselves or killed other prisoners or attempted to do that.
The toilet is just a hole in the floor, and there's crap everywhere. All over the floor. On the walls.
There's people in there also that walk around that look like zombies.
(CROSSTALK)
TAPPER: Were you afraid for your life?
REED: I mean, I did not sleep there for a couple of days. So I was too worried about who was in the cell with me to actually sleep.
TAPPER: You thought they might kill you?
REED: Yes. I thought that was a possibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: "FINALLY HOME, THE TREVOR REED INTERVIEW" airs Sunday night at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
Hate crimes are on the rise across the country. And now the Justice Department is taking new steps to fight this terrifying trend.
[13:34:03]
And a man is left with burns on 75 percent of his body after a botched arrest. And now the deputy involved is facing charges. The stunning video ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: Both a Florida deputy and the suspect he was trying to apprehend are facing charges following a botched arrest that ended in a fiery explosion.
It happened at a gas station in February where deputies were trying to arrest a 26-year-old biker, Jean Barreto.
And this video is from the scene. It shows the deputy tackling the suspect, knocking over his bike, and spilling fuel in the process. While that same deputy then deployed a taser, despite being next to gas pumps, setting Barreto on fire.
Several officers were hurt, and Barreto is still in the hospital today with burns to 75 percent of his body.
CNN's Carlos Suarez is joining us from Miami with more now.
Carlos, explain what led to all of this.
CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ana, this whole thing happened back in February when a group of riders on dirt bikes got dangerously close to some cars south of Orlando and there were reports that at least one of the men was armed with a gun. [13:40:02]
Now video of that chase was released by the Oceola County Sheriff's Office and it shows deputies going after the group as they made their way in and around cars. And at one point, they got onto a sidewalk.
According to the sheriff's office, one of the riders eventually came to a stop at a gas station to fill up. It's at that point that one of their deputies tried to tackle him, was able to get him on the ground, and in the process, knocked over his dirt bike which caused some gas to spill.
At that point, we're told that the deputy used a taser, which caused a fire. And it was a decision that the sheriff there said was, quote, "egregious."
Now the rider has been identified as a 26-year-old Jean Barreto. And he suffered burns to most of his body. And he remains in a hospital where he has undergone a number of surgeries.
Now, the sheriff's office says that he did match the description of one of the men that had a weapon. But his attorney was quick to point out they not only had the wrong man. They never found a gun on him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK NEJAME, ATTORNEY FOR JEAN BARRETO: Who flees and eludes and stops for gas along the way? Particularly when they're only one mile away from their residence? It was clear he went to get gas before he went home. That's what's logical. That's what happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SUAREZ: All right. So the deputy was identified as David Crawford. He's being charged with a single count of misdemeanor culpable negligence.
Barreto himself is facing a number of charges, including resisting arrest without violence -- Ana?
CABRERA: That's quite the story.
Carlos Suarez, thank you.
The first funeral in the Buffalo grocery store massacre is underway. Loved ones right now are gathering to remember Hayward Patterson, a deacon, a father of three.
He was known as the neighborhood taxi for offering a ride to anyone in need. He was gunned down while waiting outside the store. Ten people were killed that day because they were black.
CNN spoke with a woman who knew five of the victims.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GENEVA SMITH-JOHNSON, KNEW FIVE BUFFALO SHOOTING VICTIMS: It's -- it's like a nightmare. You hope you're going to wake up and it's not true. Evil is in the world. It's unfortunate. Evil is always present.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Today, the Justice Department is unveiling three new initiatives to combat hate crimes.
New guidance for police and community officials to raise awareness and encourage prevention. Grant opportunities for state-run reporting hotlines. And the hiring of a new language access coordinator to help with reporting of hate crimes.
Let's discuss with Cheryl Dorsey, a retired LAPD sergeant and author of "Black and Blue, Creation of a Social Advocate".
Sergeant Dorsey, thanks for being here.
Hate crimes have risen year after year it seems. Why, and will the initiatives change that?
CHERYL DORSEY, RETIRED LAPD SERGEANT & AUTHOR: Well, you know, we'll have to wait and see if these initiatives will make a difference. I mean, all of what's happened thus far has done very little to stop mass shooters. I think accountability is a part of it.
I think that the administrators of the law enforcement agencies and politicians and civil rights attorneys, who step forward for the money grab, you understand that, whenever there's an atrocity like this, do very little to demand substantive change that would put an end to mass shootings.
We've had 198 just this year alone.
CABRERA: It's awful. And obviously mass shootings one thing. Not all mass shootings are hate crimes.
But in this particular initiative that we just laid out by the Justice Department, they're focused specifically on the hate crime aspect of this most recent mass shooting.
Do you think there's anything missing that the Justice Department didn't grab as part of this latest effort?
DORSEY: Well, I'm not really sure, obviously, all of what they're looking at. And I understand there may be angst because may think the Department of Justice is not moving quickly enough in their investigation.
I understand, as a 20 -year law enforcement officer, that these things take time. Oftentimes, you only have one bite at the apple. And you want those investigators involved in the incident to take their time and make sure that they uncover everything they need.
We know this person is responsible. We know they have been indicted by a jury. We know that they were target specific.
And so all of the things that we're hearing about, maybe he was suffering from some kind of delusion and paranoia because of COVID, and maybe he didn't get enough hugs that day, and so we shouldn't hold him responsible. I hope and pray that A.G. Merrick Garland will do just that.
CABRERA: The president of the NAACP will meet with Attorney General Merrick Garland today. One issue likely to come up in all of this is the spread of white supremacy across social media.
And the Buffalo shooting suspect was allegedly radicalized online. We've learned at least 15 people joined the suspect's private account on the social site, Discord, in the lead up to this rampage that he had then livestreamed.
[13:45:05]
How can law enforcement tackle this social media aspect of all this?
DORSEY: Well, I think you need to hold everyone that's involved accountable. And it sounds like there's at least 15 people on the periphery who were invited by this shooter to come in and partake in the review process as he prepared to engage in this racially motivated mass shooting.
But listen, I don't expect much from DOJ. Sadly, they disappoint me every time.
Because they know that racism is an issue, not only with this mass shooting and other incidents, but they know that racists have infiltrated police departments and they have done little to stem the tide.
I hope the NAACP asks the right questions but, more importantly, follows through to make sure we get accountability and real justice.
CABRERA: Sergeant Cheryl Dorsey, I appreciate your perspective and experience. Thank you for sharing it with us.
DORSEY: Thank you.
CABRERA: Third time is a charm. After two failed attempts, Boeing successfully launches its Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station. What it's bringing to the astronauts living there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:50:38]
CABRERA: Flight attendants routinely go above and beyond what's in their job description, especially these days. But one in particular just took it to another level, by delivering a passenger's baby during flight.
Frontier Airlines says Diana Geraldo (ph) sprang into action when a woman went into early labor on Tuesday during a flight to Orlando. Well, you see the outcome there.
The flight attendant calmly escorted the passenger to one of the lavatories. Yes, she gave birth in an airplane bathroom. And then that flight attendant went back to the cabin to help crew members prepare for an early landing.
We're told the mom and new baby girl are doing all right and that her middle name will be "Sky" in tribute to where she was born.
It just keeps getting more miraculous. We told you about this flight where a passenger with no flying experience jumped in to land the plane after the pilot lost consciousness.
Well, now we know what happened to that pilot. It turns out he suffered a tear in his heart's main artery. That's a very serious condition that is often fatal.
Listen to the doctor who treated him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. NISHANT PATEL, CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON WHO TREATED PILOT: I mean, the story is miracle after miracle, really.
The moment he was describing to his friends on the plane that, hey, guys, I don't feel well, I have the worst headache of my life, I'm feeling fuzzy, dizzy, that is the exact event that the tear occurred in his aorta. So to be able to survive that acute event was really quite remarkable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: The pilot was released from the hospital earlier this week and is expected to make a full recovery.
Finally, we have liftoff. A major milestone after years of problems for Boeing's Starliner spacecraft.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: And liftoff.
Starliner is headed back to space on the shoulders of Atlas, powered by a workforce dedicated to its success.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: So this is designed to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. But this was an unmanned test mission. The Starliner is on track now to dock tonight following two failed attempts, one in 2019 and one last year.
Let's bring in CNN's space and defense correspondent, Kristin Fisher.
Kristin, this launch was not without its own problems. What happened? KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE & DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Ana, you saw the
launch itself was perfect. But the problem started about 30 minutes in. One of the spacecraft's thrusters, which is essentially the thing that propels the spacecraft to the right place, it stopped working.
And then the backup thruster stopped working. Now, fortunately, the backup to the backup thruster did end up working.
And now Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is on its way to dock with the International Space Station, which is slated to happen a little over 7:00 Eastern time tonight.
But if you take a look at what Boeing says, Boeing says, quote, "The system is designed to be redundant and it performed like it was supposed to."
So the backup systems did work. And by all accounts, so far, this is not expected to impact the overall mission.
But, Ana, when you zoom out and take a look at all of the problems that this spacecraft has had from Boeing, there was a first launch attempt to dock with the International Space Station back in 2019, and they had some major software glitches. It never even docked with the space station.
Then they tried to launch last August. That didn't happen because of some stuck valves.
And so the reason this is all important, Ana, is because NASA wants to make sure it has not one, but two vehicles capable of taking its astronauts up to the International Space Station.
They don't want to be reliant upon Russia to take its astronauts up there, which is what they did for about a decade.
Now, SpaceX has been very capable of doing it. They've done it seven times -- excuse me -- five times so far, seven crewed space flights total.
But so far, Boeing hasn't been able to do a single one. Hopefully, this test flight changes that.
CABRERA: Quickly, when could we expect the first crewed mission?
FISHER: It should have already happened for Boeing. But now, if this goes according to plan, it could happen by the end of this year. So fingers crossed everything works on this test flight.
CABRERA: OK, Kristin Fisher, thank you so much for bringing that to us.
[13:55:00]
FISHER: You bet.
CABRERA: It's nice to end on a happy note, right? Especially at the end of a week.
That does it for us today. Thank you for spending your Friday with us. I hope you have a fun and safe weekend. I'll see you back here on Monday, 1:00 p.m. Eastern, just like as always. Until then, you can always find me on Twitter, @AnaCabrera.
The news continues right after this.
