Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Washburn Fire Threatens Yosemite's Sacred Sequoias; Steve Bannon Tells January 6th Committee He Wants To Testify In Public; Rally Underway In Uvalde Demands Accountability In School Shooting; Highland Park Hosting A Memorial Vigil For Shooting Victims; Funeral Services For Shinzo Abe Planned For Monday And Tuesday; NASA Set To Reveal First Images From The Webb Telescope; Patagonia Remains One Of The Last Untouched Places On Earth. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired July 10, 2022 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[20:00:00]
PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: America with W. Kamau Bell tonight at 10:00 on CNN.
Your next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: A major reversal from Trump's controversial former adviser.
REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): We got the letter around midnight from his lawyer saying that he would testify.
BROWN: Steve Bannon, now telling January 6th investigators that he's willing to testify.
STEVE BANNON, FORMER DONALD TRUMP ADVISER: All hell is going to break loose tomorrow.
BROWN: And that he'd prefer to do it publicly.
REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): I'm certain that the committee would be very interested in hearing from him.
BROWN: The broken community of Uvalde still demanding answers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hard to grieve when there's no closure.
BROWN: As the sheriff prepares to testify on Monday. Meantime, police in Japan say the man accused of assassinating Shinzo Abe had a cache of weapons in his home.
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A number of homemade pistols made out of pipe and adhesive tape. And he had also considered using explosives.
BROWN: New details on what might have motivated the attack. And the scramble to save Yosemite's ancient sequoias as wildfires close in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm standing right in front of the Grizzly Giant and we've got a sprinkler system set up around it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We want to take you right now to Mariposa, California, where evacuations are underway as fire threatens Yosemite's ancient sequoias. Our Nick Watt has just arrived on the scene.
Nick, how serious is the situation there, and what are they doing to protect these incredibly special trees?
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have just heard that the fight is going in the right direction, but it is still a huge fight. The flames are within a mile or two of Mariposa Grove which is home to about 500 of these giant, beautiful, ancient sequoia tress, so the way that they are trying to contain this fire, the way they're trying to keep those trees safe, they have 360 personnel on the ground, including Hotshot crews who are digging trenches around Mariposa Grove, a kind of break to try and stop the flames coming in.
They are also attacking this fire from the air. We have seen a 737 that's making rounds to Fresno Airport, dropping retardant up here, and a DC-10. They've been dropping retardant along this ridge here to try and contain the fire on the other side of it.
Now in the grove itself, they have a sprinkler system set up at Grizzly Giant which is the biggest of these trees, 209 feet high. They're trying to keep the tree wet obviously and also keep the humidity up around the tree so that if the flames do reach there, the tree will be safe.
The other issue, not just the flames, embers can kick up in the wind and take the fire large distances. That is the other fear. So right now an air of cautious optimism, but this is going to be a big fight to come as the weather is scheduled, Pam, to be hot over the next few days and that's a big issue. They are also fighting in very, very difficult terrain. There are a lot of old dead trees which are fuel but also dangerous for the firefighters.
It is rugged, rugged terrain which makes it hard for those 360 people on the ground to get to the flames and to contain this fire -- Pamela.
BROWN: And Nick, just to give people some perspective. I mean, these are not just any trees, right? If you've ever seen a sequoia tree they are huge, they are some of the oldest living things on the planet. Some estimates show that they've been around for 2,000 years. These trees are not just national treasures. They are world treasures.
WATT: Absolutely. And listen, they've been around for 2,000 years, so they have survived a few fires, no doubt. Some of these trees can have bark that's about two feet thick and also their branches are quite high so it does take a pretty big fire to really threaten one of these trees, but what we're hearing is that the intensity of the fires that are moving through California over the past few years, that's the issue.
Sure, you know a little lightning strike fire these trees can muscle that out, but a huge intense fire feeding off of dry undergrowth, remember, right now we are in an extreme drought here, and that kicks up these intense flames that can threaten these trees. You know, we saw it last year down in Sequoia National Forest. General Sherman, they were actually putting aluminum sort of foil around General Sherman, which is the biggest tree down there, to protect it. Here they are doing the sprinkler system.
These are part of American and frankly pre-American history. They are something that we as a country definitely want to save.
Now the other thing we want to save, Wawona Hotel, 150-year-old beautiful wooden clapboard hotel. That's been evacuated. That is also near these flames. That is something else they are trying to protect this.
[20:05:04]
This fire isn't so much about human beings being in danger. It's about history being in danger. It's about nature being in danger. These magnificent trees being in danger. That is what these 300 and something people are doing here fighting from the ground and from the air is to save these trees -- Pamela.
BROWN: Nick Watt live for us there. And we thank all those firefighters on the front lines helping to push back this fire to protect those trees. Thank you so much.
And turning now to the congressional investigation into the attack on the Capitol and what could be a new star witness for the January 6th Committee. Steve Bannon, a former trusted adviser to Donald Trump now says he is willing to testify. His offer comes as he faces trial next week on criminal contempt charges for defying a congressional subpoena.
Bannon had argued he wasn't allowed to cooperate because Trump claimed executive privilege. It was an argument rejected by the committee and federal prosecutors. But in this letter to Bannon, Trump waives that claim of privilege.
The committee will want to focus on Bannon's conversations with Trump and what Bannon witnessed in the plot to overturn the election results, and it will also want to know more about his remarks on the day before the insurrection.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BANNON: All hell is going to break loose tomorrow. Just understand this. All hell is going to break loose tomorrow. It's not going to happen like you think it's going to happen, OK? It's going to be quite extraordinarily different, and all can I say is strap in. The war room a posse, you have made this happen, and tomorrow it's game day so strap in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Let's discuss with Elie Honig, CNN senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor.
Hey, Elie. So Bannon's ominous remarks came the day before the riot. Sadly they seemed to accurately predict exactly what would happen. How critical is he in the committee's investigation?
ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Pam, if Steve Bannon were to testify truthfully and fully, and I have a major question about whether that will ever actually come to pass, I think the committee is going to want to go right to the heart of the preparation behind the January 6th attack.
Like you said, first of all, Steve Bannon made those remarks on his podcast on January 5th. I think they're going to want to know, were you just sort of speculating and getting lucky here with your guesses or was that based on something and if so what? Related to that, let's remember, Steve Bannon was part of that group of Trump advisers who were meeting in the Willard Hotel, the war room, in the days leading up to January 6th, along with Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman and others.
And if I had a chance to question Steve Bannon as part of the committee, I would want to know everything that he knows that went on in that war room, all the planning and importantly, was Donald Trump or Mark Meadows or anyone else from the White House kept up to speed about what they were planning?
BROWN: So what do you think of this sudden course reversal then by Bannon? Do you think that this is all a stunt?
HONIG: Count me skeptical, if you will, so I think there could be a couple of things going on here. First of all, let's remember Steve Bannon is about to go on criminal trial starting a week from tomorrow for a contempt of Congress. The argument there, the prosecution argument is he wrongfully refused to testify. Well, perhaps Bannon thinks that if I put it out there now, I am willing to testify, maybe that will get through to a few jurors and maybe they will think how can you convict a guy for refusing to testify if now he's willing to testify?
The problem is he's charged for the crime that he committed back months ago when he defied the committee's subpoena with no legal basis. I think the other thing that could be going on is an attempt to make a statement here about the committee. Let's remember, Bannon's lawyer has said he wants to testify in public.
I seriously doubt the committee is going to give him a public forum to go off on whatever rant he wants in front of the cameras, and if they refuse to give him, that then that gives Bannon and Trump the opportunity to say, look, they are not even letting people who want to defend Donald Trump talk. So I think there's a couple of angles being worked here.
BROWN: I want to get your take on this. So I have a couple of sources tell me that Pat Cipollone, the former Trump White House counsel, when he was testifying behind closed doors Friday, he was not asked to corroborate some of the testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, former White House aide, star witness for the committee, and she had made claims about what Cipollone had said on January 6th.
My colleague Jake Tapper asked the Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren about this today and she said we never call witnesses to corroborate other witnesses or to give their reaction to other witnesses. If this committee's mission is to investigate what happened on January 6th, what do you make of that?
HONIG: Well, it is true that generally you wouldn't sit down with a witness and say, hey, this other witness said such and such, what do you think of that? That said, Pam, you are correct. Generally, you want to test the witnesses against each other. So you don't call it out explicitly. But I think if I was questioning Pat Cipollone I would use a lot of the testimony that Cassidy Hutchinson gave to shape my questioning.
And on that note, Zoe Lofgren and others have said that Cipollone didn't say anything that contradicted Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony.
BROWN: Right.
HONIG: So there's sort of an interesting strategic approach there.
[20:10:00]
BROWN: Right. I mean, she said that, Adam Kinzinger said that, well, he wasn't asked about it so he didn't contradict it, and I'm told by sources, if he had been asked about it that he would not have corroborated specifically that the statement that he said there are going to be criminal charges if they went up to the hill. Now, of course, that wasn't under oath because he wasn't asked about it, but it's just worth pointing that out.
I want to pivot to a legal theory headed to the Supreme Court. It could literally upend democracy. It is a case that pits North Carolina's Republican controlled legislature against state courts that threw out congressional maps after determining they were gerrymandered.
Elie, some warned that a ruling by the Supreme Court's conservative super majority could give state lawmakers new power to ignore voters and pick presidents. Is that a legitimate concern?
HONIG: It is, Pam. This is a really big deal, and it could impact the future of the way we vote throughout the United States. So the United States Constitution, the federal constitution, says that state legislatures have the right to decide how their state will vote on federal officials, Congress and the president. However, that has long been interpreted to mean subject to review by the state court.
So let's say the state legislatures come up with some obviously unconstitutional way they're going to pick their presidential electors. We're going to flip a coin or we're only going to let the electors from certain party casts vote. Well, obviously the state courts would say no, you can't do it that way. That's unconstitutional.
But if the petitioners, essentially the plaintiffs here succeed, then state legislatures will be able to do whatever they want when it comes to drawing districts and when it comes to the manner of voting, and there's nothing that the state courts or anyone else can do to review it or to reverse something that's unconstitutional.
BROWN: All right. Elie Honig, that is certainly something we're going to stay on top of on this show. Thank you so much.
HONIG: Thank you.
BROWN: Up next, police in Japan find a cache of weapons including explosives in the home of the man accused of assassinating the former prime minister. Our Blake Essig is live in Tokyo with more on that. Also ahead for you tonight, firefighters doing everything they can to save Yosemite's ancient sequoias as wildfires burn dangerously close.
And the director of the stunning new CNN original series "PATAGONIA" talks to me about the wonders of one of the last untouched places here on earth.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:16:26]
BROWN: The people of Uvalde, Texas, are marching tonight demanding answers and accountability in the school shooting massacre. Families are gathering right now in Uvalde's downtown plaza. Soon they could be getting some answers. We're told a source tells CNN that the state investigation committee could be releasing its report within 10 days.
Chelsea Torres from affiliate KABB joins me now and is covering the latest of developments and the "Unheard Voices" march.
Hi, Chelsea. So people have waited a long time for information. What are they saying tonight?
CHELSEA TORRES, KABB REPORTER: Pamela, you know, people are still seeking those answers. It was over 100 degrees here in Uvalde, and people marched, hundreds of people from the community of Uvalde marched from Robb Elementary here to the Uvalde town square which where many of these victims' families are speaking right now to a crowd, chants of no justice, no peace have been taking place.
Many signs of "School zone, not a war zone," even a sign that said "Fire Pete Arredondo," which is the Uvalde police chief who was in charge and has been blamed of this tragedy that happened on May 24th.
Now the community that I've been speaking to, a lot of the people that I've been talking to, say the families of the victims are the ones that actually wanted this march. And it's because they're seeking answers. They want to know what is really going on and who is being accountable.
They believe that they keep hearing fingers being pointed during the investigation, and they just want to know. They want justice and they want the answers and they are hoping that this march in particular really sheds light and gives those answers that a lot of these families are searching for.
I spoke to one family member today, Layla Salazar's grandfather, who says he's really just hoping that this march is getting the word out and let's a lot of electoral candidates know what's going on here in Uvalde and hoping that they can actually give those real answers.
I even spoke to Beto O'Rourke earlier, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate. He says he actually made it in today here in Uvalde just hours ago, and he's hoping that he can be in support to give those answers to the people of Uvalde.
As of right now, though, we know that tomorrow there is going to be a Texas House investigation committee, and up until last week we were told and we had known that Uvalde's sheriff Reuben Nolasco has not been cooperating with the investigation and that's only because he said that he believed he did not want to interfere with the investigation.
As of last Wednesday, we were told that he will be giving a testimony tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. in Austin but through a Zoom for that committee, investigation committee. As of right now, though, we know that a lot of these family members of the victims are emotional. They are angry. They are upset. They have been screaming. There's been crying, and mainly because they just want to know that their children are going to be protected for the future.
Reporting live in Uvalde, I'm Chelsea Torres.
BROWN: Thank you so much, Chelsea Torres. We appreciate it.
And the streets of downtown Highland Park, Illinois, are open again less than a week after the July 4th attack. The area has been a massive crime scene since a gunman opened fire from a rooftop killing seven people and injuring dozens more.
Camila Bernal is there. She joins us live. So, Camila, lots of people are going to the scene. Can you show us the makeshift memorial? We sort of see it behind you there.
CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Pam, absolutely. We are kind of standing a little way away from that memorial just to be respectful of the people that are here because there is actually a group of people here, and I do want to explain where we are. There's several different memorials in this area.
[20:20:02]
But this one in particular is right across the street from where that shooter was, so everything you see here, the candles, the flowers, the portraits that were actually drawn by a local art teacher, all of this was brought here today because this area was closed off to the public for the entire week, so I've seen a lot of hugs, a lot of tears, people who just come here to support each other, to spend a moment of silence, to really process.
For a lot of people it's really hard to be out here while others say, you know, that this is helpful for them, and so we're just seeing more and more people coming here. I saw recently a mom hugging her two boys, and so it's just been somber and touching and very emotional, as we see that process of grieving and of what comes next for this community. I talked to one mother who was here on the Fourth of July, and this is how she explained her process.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REBECCA WEININGER, HIGHLAND PARK SHOOTING SURVIVOR: What I'm doing is I'm evolving. I'm not healing. I'm evolving. There is a new me that is coming out of this, that is embracing this pain, and embracing the newness of this, that is hugging this community closer, and in speaking louder. And I'm going to do that through acts of love and I'm going to do that with my voice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERNAL: And a lot of people using their voice to say that they want change, and that includes the governor of Illinois J.B. Pritzker who says that he wants three things, three different areas where he wants to see changes. He wants to see a ban on assault weapons. He says he wants to see changes in red flag laws, and also says that there needs to be changes when it comes to high capacity magazines. He says no one should be able to have 90 bullets at the ready.
He also spoke to CNN about the motive behind this shooting. He said that among the evidence there is a symbol of white supremacy, but he did say that he doesn't know whether or not that shooter targeted a specific group of people. Of course, as people here are grieving, they also want answers -- Pam.
BROWN: Camila Bernal, thank you so much.
We have new details about the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The latest on the investigation and a live report from Tokyo coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:26:50]
BROWN: The president's home in Sri Lanka is still overrun by protesters. Look at this. They are occupying every inch of the house including the home gym and swimming pool. The U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka is calling for a peaceful democratic transition of power after both the president and prime minister agreed to step down.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is shifting some blame for the unrest toward Russia. He claims the Russian food blockade in Ukraine is causing global food insecurity which could be exacerbating the situation in Sri Lanka.
And turning now to Japan where the international community continues to mourn the loss of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. A wake is planned for him on Monday and a memorial service will be held on Tuesday.
I want to bring in CNN's Blake Essig from Tokyo.
So, Blake, we're learning more about the plot to assassinate the former prime minister. What's this about a mysterious group the alleged gunman claimed Abe was a part of?
BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, we don't have the full story, but we are starting to gain a little more insight, a little more clarity into the possible motive behind former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's assassination. NHK, Japan's public broadcaster, reports that the suspect targeted Abe because he held a grudge against a group that he believed Abe had ties to that was linked to his mother. We expect to get more details here in the coming days.
Now CNN has contacted local police, but they won't name or provide information on that group. We've also learned that the suspect told police that he had originally planned to kill Abe using explosives before deciding to use a homemade game. NHK, citing police, say that they found explosives and several other homemade guns at the 41-year- old suspect's home. Now these guns, including the one used to kill the former prime minister, were made with iron pipe barrels and wrapped with duct tape.
Now some of these guns had two, three, even six barrels. It is important to note that at this point the suspect who's believed to have murdered former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hasn't yet been formally charged. Meanwhile, Kyoto News did speak with a former colleague of the suspect who described this man as totally ordinary, quiet and that he seemed mild mannered.
Now not exactly the characteristics or description of a man who was admittedly determined to assassinate the former prime minister. According to NHK the 41-year-old suspect considered carrying out the crime a day earlier at a separate campaign event but decided against it because he was looking for a space that was less guarded, and in the end Abe was shot twice from several yards away while delivering a speech in the city of Nara in support of ruling party candidates ahead of yesterday's Upper House election.
Now in the days that have followed, many questions have been raised about the former prime minister's security. The chief of police in the prefecture where Abe was assassinated says he can't deny that there were problems and that he takes full responsibility for the failures that led to Abe's killing.
According to NHK there were police in place, but they didn't identify a suspicious man, only reacted after the shots were fired. And to make sure, Pamela, that a similar situation never happens again the National Police Agency is going to review his security plan and again make some changes so this never happens again. [20:30:10]
BROWN: All right. Blake Essig, thank you so much.
And a new effort is under way to free two Americans held captive in Russia. Sources tell CNN that former New Mexico governor and diplomat, Bill Richardson, will travel to Moscow in the coming weeks to discuss the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan. The U.S. government considers both Griner and Whelan to be wrongfully detained.
Richardson has a long track record of helping to free Americans held abroad including playing a role in Trevor Reed's release from Russia in April.
Well, some Democrats say they are lose patience with the leader of their party, President Biden. What it could mean for his future. Up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:36:56]
BROWN: Just into CNN a former spokesman for the extremist right-wing group the Oath Keepers is expected to testify at Tuesday's January 6th Committee hearing. This is according to a source familiar with the hearings. Tuesday's hearing will focus on Trump White House connections to extremist groups.
Also new for you tonight, former Trump strategist and election denier Steve Bannon now says he's willing to testify before the January 6th Committee. This is a huge reversal and comes ahead of Bannon facing trial for refusing to comply with the committee subpoena. The lawmakers will want to focus on Bannon's conversations with Trumps and the efforts to overthrow the election in the days and weeks leading up to the attack on the Capitol.
This is the first topic we want to bounce off of CNN national politics reporter Eva McKend.
Eva, thanks for being here. So how significant is it if Bannon does indeed testify before the committee?
EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pam, I'm curious to see if the committee and Bannon actually even come to an agreement given the conditions that he's outlined. We'll have to see. Also, it's important context to remember that this comes after he received Trump's blessing and also as he faces the threat of potential jail time. There is some motivation for why he suddenly seems to perhaps want to cooperate now.
We also have to question how much he actually will reveal if questioned. We know from a political perspective that the former president has raised real concerns with Republicans and the effort that they or lack of effort that he -- in his view that they have mounted in order to defend him. And so is Bannon really coming to this in order to disrupt the process? I think more so than add anything to the record.
BROWN: I think that's a really good way to put it, and he is known to be a disrupter. So I think that's smart.
I want to talk about President Biden seemingly losing confidence in members of his own party, especially progressives. The overturning of Roe v. Wade has become the latest strain. Many Democrats are saying that Biden has been too passive in protecting abortion rights and his departing communications director gave the statement to "The Washington Post" saying, "Joe Biden's goal in responding to Dobbs is not to satisfy some activists who have been consistently out of step with the mainstream of the Democratic Party."
Abortion rights activists out of step with the Democratic Party. What do you think the strategy is? That was a pretty feisty statement there.
MCKEND: It was, and I think it's just an onslaught of criticism and a response to that. But listen, this is not uncommon among Democrats. We often see this consistent sort of infighting, and I think progressive lawmakers would argue that their frustration speaks to what they hear from folks on the ground.
Go to any of these protests around the country, and you will find mostly people who traditionally, historically vote for Democrats, who are saying we are tired of voting for Democrats and not getting the results that we had hoped, and so that is their perspective.
But, Pam, also keep in mind, the moderates have not let off this president easy as well. He has received a lot of pushback from moderates in his party as well, some of whom are running away from him as he visits their states as they are on the campaign trail, so there is a lot of disunity among Democrats right now, something frankly you just don't see among Republicans. When former President Trump was in office, Republicans by and large stayed in line.
BROWN: Yes, they sure did. I covered the Trump White House, and they did. I want to get to this really important reporting that you contributed to. Black women feeling invisible in the fight for abortion rights. Explain why, and why the loss of reproductive rights can have devastating consequences for black women.
MCKEND: Yes. I think that it is so important as we continue to have this conversation about reproductive care that we focus on the most marginalized groups. Black women are more likely than white women to die of pregnancy-related complications. I spoke to a woman in Kentucky, a black woman in Kentucky.
[20:40:02]
She now works for the ACLU there, but she got an abortion when she was in her early 20s and she described it as really wanting to chip away at what she views as a cycle of shame. She told me that she already had two kids in her early 20s. This is in eastern Kentucky, Pam. I know you're very familiar. She was concerned about being able to continue to feed those children and was not in a position to have another child.
And so, you know, now we are seeing all of these abortion stories in a post-Roe world emerge, and I'm sure we're just going to hear more and more. And so I think it's important to listen to those stories because it is not only I think abortion that goes away when these abortion clinics are eliminated in rural black communities. It is also the entire apparatus ancillary care, other reproductive services that many poor black women rely on.
BROWN: Such important reporting, Eva. Thank you. And by the congratulations, I know you just got engaged.
MCKEND: Thank you.
BROWN: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Just days from now we're going to see the best pictures of space that humans have ever seen. That's when NASA will release the images from the James Webb space telescope. Some NASA leaders who've seen them say it was an emotional experience for them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAM MELROY, NASA DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR: What I have seen just moved me, as a scientist, as an engineer, and as a human being.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:46:03]
BROWN: Scientists and space enthusiasts all over the world ready and waiting for the very first images to beam back from NASA's James Webb telescope. Those lucky few who have already had a sneak peek say they are unlike anything they have ever seen.
CNN's Kristin Fisher explains why this is such a huge step for space exploration.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And lift off.
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Six months after the most powerful telescope ever made launched into space --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Control center --
FISHER: -- the team inside the Webb Space telescope's flight control room is preparing to reveal what astronomers all over the world have been waiting for, for decades. The telescope's first full-color images which are expected to be lightyears more impressive than the test images released last month and will include the deepest image of our universe that's ever been taken.
KEN SEMBACH, DIRECTOR, SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INSTITUTE: Our view of the universe is definitely going to change on July 12th. FISHER: Ken Sembach runs the Space Telescope Science Institute in
Baltimore, Maryland, home to Webb's Mission Control. And he predicts the day that Webb's first images are released will be on par with the day that Galileo became the first person to ever point a telescope to the sky.
SEMBACH: There will be the universe we knew from before Webb and the universe we know after Webb. I really mean that. I think our perspective will change.
FISHER: NASA says some of the images released on July 12th still need to be taken. Others have already been captured and are being kept secret. But NASA's leadership has gotten a sneak peek.
MELROY: What I have seen just moved me, as a scientist, as an engineer, and as a human being.
THOMAS ZURBUCHEN, NASA ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR: A sense of awe, and frankly got emotional.
FISHER: But getting emotional about the telescope is something Lee Feinberg has learned to bury after working on Webb for more than two decades. The telescope's most recent brush with death took place just a few weeks ago when a micrometeoroid struck one of the telescope's massive golden mirrors, which are critical for its operation.
KEN FEINBERG, WEBB'S OPTICAL TELESCOPE ELEMENT MANAGER: Earlier in my career, it might have been a punch in the gut. But what I've learned about working on big projects like this is things are never as bad as they first seem or never as good as they first seem.
FISHER: He was right. The telescope survived the strike. And NASA is now on the verge of handing this $10 billion telescope over to the scientists, whose research proposals have been selected for the first year of observations.
FEINBERG: It is just doing as well as we could have ever hoped if not better. And so I think the scientists are just going to be extremely happy to use it. And we're going to be excited to see what gets -- you know, what comes out of it.
FISHER: Kristin Fisher, CNN, Baltimore.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Tonight, CNN is going to give you a remarkable look at Patagonia. Its remote, harsh, stunning, and it's one of the last untouched places on earth. The producer and director of tonight's CNN Original Series "PATAGONIA: LIFE AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD" joins me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:53:43]
BROWN: The CNN video from a short time ago shows a firefighting plane dropping fire retardant in California's Yosemite National Park. A growing wildfire is threatening the famed Mariposa Sequoia Grove. Crews are also using sprinklers to help protect the ancient trees. They are some of the oldest living things on the planet. The so-called Washburn Fire has already burned more than 1500 acres.
Patagonia, remote, harsh, stunning. It is one of the last untouched places on earth, and now the new CNN Original Series "PATAGONIA: LIFE AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD" takes viewers on an immersive journey to the breathtaking and varied region revealing people, places and animals you simply will not see anywhere else. Here's a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is Patagonia. See this land of extremes like never before where animals and humans, once enemies, now fight together against new challenges.
[20:55:09]
What does it take to live in one of the most wild and isolated places on earth?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: OK. Wow, I am so excited to watch this. "PATAGONIA: LIFE AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD" producer and director Kate Laurie joins me now from Bristol, England.
Hi, Kate. The footage you have captured in this series is epic, truly epic. Tell us more about Patagonia. What makes it such a special place and what challenges is it now facing?
KATE LAURIE, PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR, PATAGONIA: LIFE AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD: Hi, Pam.
BROWN: OK. I don't know if you heard me. So just tell us more about what makes Patagonia such a special place and the challenges that it now faces.
LAURIE: Yes, absolutely. Well, Patagonia is an extraordinary place. It has a huge diversity of habitats which are home to a huge wealth of wildlife and some species that are found nowhere else on the planet and lots of parts of Patagonia unspoiled. They are remote, they're inaccessible, so there's plenty of places that are still pristine and unexplored.
But despite all of that, Patagonia is still facing many threats, many environmental impacts, but what's great about this series is that we uncover a lot of those.
BROWN: And the series really takes an interesting look at how some former enemies in the wild are now becoming allies, particularly humans and pumas. What's going on there?
LAURIE: Yes, absolutely. There are lots of local people in Patagonia that have changed their attitudes towards the wildlife, and they've realized that co-existence isn't just possible, but it's often necessary and there is a wonderful example in the mountain episode.
There is a gaucho called Merko who used to hunt, used to persecute pumas because they'd often take their cattle. But he has now realized, recently realized that pumas, they play a very important part in the ecosystem. They keep them healthy and he's now actually a puma guardian.
BROWN: Wow, what a beautiful story that is. You know, a lot of people are looking at this, just looking at the incredible footage that was captured. This was mostly a local crew. They were so thoroughly embedded in these communities and environments. They were able to capture some images that had never been captured on video before including the Patagonian ice dragon.
Tell us about what they found.
LAURIE: Yes, so what excited me most about this series was that we weren't just filming the wildlife. We were filming with local people and telling their stories, and from the very beginning CNN were very keen for us to work with local crews, on and off-screen contributors, and we realized very quickly that we actually couldn't make this series without them. And as one contributors, an entomologist called Isai Madriz. We actually called him the bug detective.
He worked with the crews on a few stories, but there's one where he actually took the crew on to a glacier. They upscaled down a crevasse and it was all in search of a tiny insect called the Patagonian ice dragon. So, I mean, Isai, he spends months at a time in the field so there's no one more qualified to help us on our missions.
BROWN: Well, absolutely. And the crews also captured some unusual wildlife behavior in Patagonia as well as including among a special pod of dolphins. Tell us about that.
LAURIE: Yes. They're orca, they're also known as killer whales, and it's off the coast of Argentina, and there are -- the orca, they have actually learned an ingenious way to hunt their prey, seals and sea lions on the coast. But the most remarkable thing about this is that this hunting behavior is seen nowhere else on the planet, and it's also amazing because only two families in the world have learned this behavior.
So they actually -- they are all taught. It's all passed on by generation so the matriarch teaches the calves, and they actually strand themselves on the beaches so every time they do it, they are actually risking their own lives because if they get stuck it's game over.
BROWN: Yes. Wow. So lastly what do you hope viewers will take away from watching the series?
LAURIE: Well, I hope that they are blown away by the beauty of Patagonia and I hope they're captivated by the stories. And I think they'll be surprised by the scale of threats that Patagonia faces. But I know I was when I was there, but I hope with that it will encourage viewers to understand and to remember that we need healthy eco-systems to live on a healthy planet.
BROWN: Anything else you want to add before we watch it? Very quickly.
LAURIE: Just I really hope you enjoy the show.
BROWN: All right.
LAURIE: Thanks for having me.
BROWN: Well, we can't wait. Katherine -- Kate Laurie, thank you.
The all-new CNN Patagonia Original series, Life on the Edge of the World premieres less than one minute from now. Thank you for joining me this evening. I'm Pamela Brown. I'll see you again next weekend. Patagonia: Life on the Edge of the World starts right now.
