Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Extreme Weather; Russia's War On Ukraine; Protesters Storm Iraq's Parliament For Second Time; U.S.-China Relations; Monkeypox Outbreak; Chinese Rocket Debris Enters Atmosphere. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired July 31, 2022 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is hard to see everyone losing people that they truly love as a community and us as a community can't do nothing about it.
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Rescuers are working around the clock in Kentucky to locate any more survivors of the deadly flooding. This as families learn the worst about their loved ones.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Plus Ukraine's president calls for mandatory evacuation in the east of the country, warning that those who stay behind are at mercy of Russia's aggression.
And the race to stop the spread of monkeypox; as cases and deaths rise around the world, fears that containment will be a massive challenge.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM can Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: We begin in eastern Kentucky and another day of devastating discoveries and heartbreaking loss.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): This is the aftermath of horrific flash flooding where at least 25 people are confirmed dead. A local mayor called it just the tip of the iceberg. We'll get an update in the coming hours.
Floodwaters have washed away roads, destroyed bridges, making ongoing search and rescue efforts for the scores of missing harder. Governor Beshear says damages could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars and the emotional toll is immeasurable. Many are still coming to grips with the loss.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Honestly, there's nothing no one can do or say to prepare anyone for something like this, not knowing how bad it's really going to get, it's just heartbreaking to see our community so messed up right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kids that's lost their lives, there're six or seven that died. And I have a 9-year-old boy. And if I would've lost him, I'd been over -- I am sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He made it. That's all that matters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he made it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: For many in eastern Kentucky the situation is obviously very dire. The mayor of Hazard says the local water treatment plant is completely offline in an area that serves thousands of people.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR DONALD MOBELINI, HAZARD, KENTUCKY: The main problem is, you know, the infrastructure, our water infrastructure system has gone down. I mean, it washed away, the plant has broken down.
We have no water. We really don't have any water coming out of our plant to go to any house in Perry County, and we're all relying on bottled water and it has been, you know, just -- whoever could bring us bottled water, that's what we're distributing to 25,000 to 29,000 residents.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: For too many residents of eastern Kentucky, the true scale of their loss is becoming heartbreakingly real. Evan McMorris-Santoro has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When the flash flood came to this part of Kentucky, locals watched houses, cars, their lives get submerged by water, wondering just what kind of damage would be done.
Now that those waters have receded, they are getting a chance to see it. A huge swath of destruction across many counties in this area and crews still going out, trying to find people who may be trapped in their homes, maybe to resupply (ph) in their homes and may have perished when those waters came through.
One local here in Breathitt County described the impact on this area of these floods. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DREWEY LEE JONES, BREATHITT COUNTY, KENTUCKY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Thinking about all the devastation that I've seen all over the county, they some things that can't be rebuilt. These people that -- there's water that had got in homes that had never been concerned with water issues. Now their homes are gone.
Where are all these people going to go?
Where are they going to live if they don't have a family member that they can go to?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Here in Jackson, crews are staging from this shopping center parking lot, going out and trying to find people amongst the destruction. People say it will be a long time before this place recovers at all and it will need a lot of help to get there -- Evan McMorris-Santoro, CNN, Jackson, Kentucky.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[04:05:00]
(WEATHER REPORT)
BRUNHUBER: Earlier I spoke to Kentuckian Zach Caudill, who has been doing his part to help his community and he explained how he was out there helping and the challenges he faced rescuing others. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZACH CAUDILL, FLOODING VICTIM AND VOLUNTEER: I have been trying to help just donate within my community. I have been donating medical supplies, water, food items, items for animals. Just anything that I can to all the different families here, been all around the county, trying to get that.
And I've been going around, making sure that everyone is safe and accounted for.
BRUNHUBER: And you a the boat, is that right?
You've been out on the water trying to help folks?
CAUDILL: Yes, there's several different boats and jetskis and like, I've used all four of my kayaks that my family owns and (INAUDIBLE) out on those. Some rescuers are still out on boats in some areas, trying to get people help.
BRUNHUBER: Describe what you're seeing out there, the conditions. What's making it such a challenge to try and find them.
CAUDILL: Yes, it is complete devastation. It's just our hometown is utterly wrecked (ph). The entire region has been hit insanely hard. It is something that you never would've thought would happen.
And now in the blink of an eye, everything is just gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Our thanks to Zach for joining us earlier. And if you would like to safely and securely help people affected by the floods who may need shelter, food and water, please go to cnn.com/impact and you can find several ways to help there.
After testing negative for COVID on four consecutive days, U.S. President Joe Biden has tested positive again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hey, folks. Joe Biden here. Tested positive this morning. I'll be working from home for the next couple of days. I'm doing fine. Everything's good. Commander and I have got a little work to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: The president says he has no symptoms but is isolating while working from home. White House physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor thinks it is rebound COVID positivity.
It has been noticed in a small number of patients who have been treated with Paxlovid. Biden canceled his travel plans and the White House has also implemented contact tracing efforts.
[04:10:00]
BRUNHUBER: Ukraine is telling some civilians they will have to get out of the Russian line of fire. But that means hundreds of thousands of people will soon be on the move. We'll explain.
Plus protests in Iraq are escalating with demonstrators. We'll have a live report.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: Ukrainian forces have just, in the words of a pro-Russian official, rained on the parade. Moscow says a Ukrainian drone hit the Black Sea fleet in Sebastopol and five people were injured.
The attack happened while Russian forces were celebrating their Navy Day holiday. But after the strike, the official said the rest of the celebrations were canceled. And Ukraine is ordering civilians in the Donetsk area to get out.
President Zelenskyy says hundreds of thousands of people are still in the region, which is in the crosshairs of the main Russian offensive. And he said the goal is to save lives. Here he is.
[04:15:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENSKYY (through translator): There's already a governmental decision about obligatory evacuation from Donetsk region. Everything is being organized. Full support, full assistance, both logistical and payments (ph).
We only need a decision from the people who have yet not made it for themselves. Please follow the evacuation. We will help you. We are not Russia. We would do everything possible to save the maximum number of human lives and to maximally limit Russian terror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: And in the south the Russian artillery rained down over the past 24 hours killing one and leaving six injured. They have been taking Russian fire almost every day the past month, including an attack on a bus stop, where the death toll has now climbed to seven people.
Jason Carroll is monitoring developments in Kyiv but first let's go to Nic Robertson, live in Mykolaiv.
Nic, where you are, it has been pounded by Russian shelling; the mayor calling it the worst they have seen.
What is the latest there?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, we were around talking to people and residents have been telling us that as well. This is the heaviest shelling that they have endured since the war began.
Around 1:00 am, we could hear a number of impacts in the city, cluster munitions going off, heavy strikes. And around 5:00 am some of the heaviest strikes were heard enough to rattle the windows of the building that we were in.
And going out right after that to -- or shortly after that, I should say, to take a look at the impact sites, we found one residential house, where rescue workers were still trying to get out the man and woman, husband and wife, believed to be in the building.
Neighbors we spoke to there told us that they had been awoken by the noise at about 5:00 in the morning, had gone to their neighbor's house, a large mansion, to try to help get him and his wife out.
As far as we could understand from rescue workers, the couple was still believed trapped in the rubble. The neighbors thought that they were in the basement of the building. That situation, that rescue situation, still seems to be ongoing at the moment.
What we're hearing from city officials, they can confirm today from the overnight shelling one person dead, two injured; a number of schools hit, a hotel hit, a sports facility hit, a residential building hit.
And we were able to see one of the craters close to that house. And that crater was huge. For me to stand in it, it was way over the top of my head and several meters across. So very big munitions falling on the city.
And talking to the immediate neighbors there, I asked them what they were going to do. One man said, we just have to repair our house. We don't know what we'll do it with. We need to get some plastic on, wood on. The roof's been ripped off, the windows are blown out.
And another neighbor told me I've already moved my wife and children out of the city. I may myself move out. The mood of other residents, others have told us as well, it was troubling, it was a bad night for them. They said not a lot of sleep. But they were intent on staying here.
BRUNHUBER: You paint a dramatic picture of the devastation and damage caused by all that shelling. Really appreciate your reporting there, Nic Robertson in Mykolaiv.
And now to Jason Carroll in Kyiv.
I want to go back to President Zelenskyy's calls to evacuate Donetsk, a huge undertaking. So walk us through what is behind it and how it would work.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And it will be a huge undertaking as you say. And they have seen some fierce fighting there in the east. But this is really more about what is to come.
This is why this order, this evacuation order, coming out now. There are hundreds of thousands of people in the region, tens of thousands of children. This evacuation order especially going out to those who have children or know people who have children, are urging them to get those children, those families out now while they still have time.
The reason for that, reason why I say for what is to come, it is the colder frigid temperatures. There will be no gas likely, likely no electricity, trouble getting access to clean water.
So this is the reason why this evacuation order going out now. so this is the reason why this evacuation order going out now. Hundreds of thousands need to get out and that will take time. So the Ukrainian government saying now is the time to get out before things get worse.
BRUNHUBER: Appreciate that, thanks so much, Jason Carroll live for us in Kyiv.
[04:20:00]
BRUNHUBER: And thanks as well to Nic Robertson in Mykolaiv.
Russian president Vladimir Putin is in St. Petersburg, marking his country's Navy Day. Ships, troops and aircraft will be on display as the day goes on. And Putin is set to give a speech and attend other events. The Russian leader has compared himself to Peter the Great, St. Petersburg's founder, as he tries to justify his war in Ukraine.
Russia's state-owned energy company, Gazprom, says it is cutting off gas supplies to Latvia, a member of the E.U. and NATO. Gazprom accuses the country of violating conditions but it has been scant on details.
Moscow has cut off gas to E.U. countries in the past when they refused to pay in rubles. A Latvian energy firm had just announced it was buying gas from Russia but not from Gazprom and it wasn't paying in rubles.
Latvian officials are downplaying the impact, saying that they were able to cut off all Russian gas imports next year.
And with some exemptions, the E.U. has agreed to reduce natural gas demand by 15 percent this winter. And Germany has declared a gas crisis, as Russia limits supplies and has local governments trying to save as much energy as possible.
In the capital, Berlin, they are switching off or dimming the lights of some 200 buildings, including landmarks like the city's victory column.
In Iraq, sessions of parliament are suspended until further notice after thousands stormed the green zone twice in one week. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): This was on Saturday. Protesters loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr are angry that one of his rivals has been nominated as prime minister.
ALI KASIB, PROTESTER (through translator): There were 18 years that should have been enough to resolve what they spoiled. We will not keep recycling trash and people are using their voices to say no to forming a corrupt government by replacing one face with another face.
We oppose everyone, including Nouri Al-Maliki and Mohammed al-Sudani. This group is not demanding to form a government and if they wanted to form a government, they would have aligned themselves with authority. We agree on any independent person but we do not agree on trash returning again. They have destroyed the people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: And those protesters are still occupying the parliament building today. Iraq has been gripped by political uncertainty for months. CNN's Nada Bashir is following the latest developments from Istanbul.
So there have been calls for deescalation and peaceful dialogue.
Any signs anyone is listening? NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, at this point, we are still seeing protesters occupying the parliament building. This is after they breached the green zone yesterday; thousands of protesters, many of them loyalists to the Shiite cleric.
We saw the protests on Wednesday. That was the first in the series of demonstrations that we've seen, the largest that Baghdad has seen since October. And this follows months and months of political stagnation.
There is a real sense of frustration amongst these demonstrations, most of them loyalists. And we spoke to some of them on the ground, many of them expressing distrust in the entire political system and a real sense of anger over the stagnation we've seen.
And deadlock in government over these last few months, Iraq facing severe economic crisis, rising food crisis and, of course, high unemployment rates. So there is a real sense of frustration there.
We are still seeing demonstrations and there is a real fear and concern now that, if dialogue isn't achieved by the rival factions within Iraq's parliament, we could continue to see the protests and the political crisis escalate over the coming days. Kim.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASHIR (voice-over): A months-long political stalemate now boiling over. For the second time in less than a week, supporters of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have breached the heavily fortified green zone, tearing down concrete blast walls and storming parliament, an act of protest against nomination of the rival Shiite leader Mohammed al- Sudani for the position of prime minister.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They must dissolve Parliament immediately, it is over. The only leader if Muqtada al-Sadr. He is the one who should rule.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We've had enough. We're fed up with the injustice and harm these governments have brought to Iraq.
UM HAYDAR, PROTESTER (through translator): We want to free our homeland, our people and our young men from this injustice.
[04:25:00]
HAYDAR (through translator): There are no jobs, no prospects for a good life for our young men. People are dying from hunger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASHIR (voice-over): Al-Sudani was nominated on Monday by the pro Iran coordination framework alliance. But his candidacy has triggered fierce backlash from supporters of his main Shia opponent, who has gained popularity for positioning himself against both Iran and the United States. Al-Sadr's faction withdrew from politics last month, despite emerging
as the largest parliamentary bloc in October elections. A show of force against months of political deadlock over the establishment of a new government.
Security forces in Baghdad have cracked down on the demonstrations, using water cannons and tear gas to disperse crowds. According to the health ministry, more than 100 protesters were injured. In response, Iraq's outgoing prime minister appealed for calm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUSTAFA AL-KADHIMI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The political blocs must sit down, negotiate and reach an understanding for the sake of Iraq and the Iraqis. A thousand days of quiet dialogue are better than a moment in which a drop of Iraqi blood is shed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASHIR (voice-over): The U.N. assistance mission for Iraq has also called for the deescalation of tensions, describing the situation as deeply concerning. And earlier this week, the U.S. State Department issued its own call for peace.
NED PRICE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: There is no place for violence in these demonstrations, either on the part of security forces or on the part of protesters.
BASHIR (voice-over): But as Baghdad is rocked by the biggest demonstration the city has seen since elections in October, there is growing concern that these latest protests could open floodgates to further political instability in Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASHIR: Now look, Kim, we've seen a number of political leaders in Iraq across the spectrum calling for dialogue, calling for all leaders of the political factions within Iraq's parliament to come together over the coming days to reach some sort of agreement, ease the tensions that we have seen in parliament, of course, spilling out on to the streets in Baghdad.
We've heard, in response to the protests, from the U.N. secretary general, Antonio Guterres, urging for tensions to be deescalated by all parties involved in these protests. But as you saw there, we've seen a heavy crackdown by the security forces there, a real sense of frustration from the protesters.
And whether these parties within the parliament can actually come to some sort of resolution and agreement to reach that crucial dialogue that is needed right now, it remains uncertain.
We have heard those calls from numerous international partners and within the Iraqi parliament, the Iraqi prime minister yesterday, urging for all leaders within the political factions in parliament to come together over the coming days as part of a meeting to discuss the ongoing tensions.
BRUNHUBER: Really appreciate the update, Nada Bashir from Istanbul for us.
Coming up, devastated residents in Kentucky brace for the potential of more flooding.
And plus the controversial golf tournament at Donald Trump's New Jersey course, why relatives of the 9/11 victims are furious about it.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.
Let's go back to the top story. Flood-weary residents in eastern Kentucky are bracing for more rain in the forecast. At least 25 people are confirmed dead after massive flooding ravaged the area. And one local mayor called that just the tip of the iceberg.
The governor says the damage could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars. For the devastated residents, true scale of their own loss is becoming all-too real.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA OUTLAW, FLOODING SURVIVOR: I don't know if anybody can move back into these homes for a long time, if ever.
My in-laws have lost everything. Animals are without. People are without. Homes are destroyed. We just need help. We need as much help, please, I'm begging anyone who sees this, help my town, help my people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Governor Andy Beshear says that the damage to homes and infrastructure will likely take years to rebuild.
Crews are making progress against a large wildfire burning near Yosemite National Park in California. The Oak Fire is now 59 percent contained. It has burned nearly 20,000 acres, destroyed over 182 structures. The fire started a week ago and the cause is still under investigation.
Officials say lack of rain, drought conditions and dead trees have been factors in the fire's spread.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a delegation of representatives are headed to Asia today. In a statement, Pelosi's office said the trip will focus on security, economic partnership and democratic governance in the Indo-Pacific region.
There was no mention of a stop in Taiwan but the possibility has led to tension between the U.S. and China in recent days. Selina Wang is joining us live in Beijing.
So more saber rattling from Beijing ahead of the possible Pelosi trip. Bring us up to speed.
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the anger just continues to mount here in Beijing just over the possibility of this Pelosi trip. And we've seen more signals coming from China's military as well.
State media reported on a military drill this week on the Chinese province just across the sea from Taiwan. And at a military press conference today, the military spokesperson said that China's warplanes and its capabilities to fly around Taiwan would bolster its abilities in any potential conflict.
And in recent weeks, we've seen near daily incursions of Chinese warplanes into Taiwan's self declared air defense zone. So all of this and angry statements from the military, from official sources in China, all of that points to how much Beijing does not want this trip to happen.
And in that two-hour plus call between President Biden and Xi Jinping, Xi Jinping said, "China firmly opposes separatist moves toward 'Taiwan independence' and interference by external forces and never allows any room for 'Taiwan independence' -- forces in whatever form.
[04:35:00]
WANG: "Those who play with fire will perish by it and I hope the U.S. side can see this clearly."
From Beijing's perspective, to have Nancy Pelosi, who is one of the most powerful politicians in America, to have her going to Taiwan, well, they see that as tacit support for Taiwan independence, which is a clear red line for Beijing.
Some experts say the fiery rhetoric is just strong language, it is bluffing and that China doesn't actually want a conflict any more than the U.S. side does.
However, on the other hand, there is also concern that, given the sensitive timing of this, that Xi Jinping at this moment cannot look weak. And that increases the risks that he makes some kind of overreaction or a rash move that includes a military component.
Because we're just months away from a key political meeting, when Xi Jinping is expected to seek an unprecedented third term. So very provocative timing right now.
But even though most experts don't think China would make any direct hostile actions, the concern is with this tense moment, it increases the chances of a miscalculation or an accident that could escalate into real conflict. BRUNHUBER: We'll be watching this for sure. Selina Wang in Beijing,
thanks so much.
(SPORTS)
BRUNHUBER: Up next here, health experts and officials are warning, more has to be done right now to halt the global monkeypox outbreak. My next guest explains what resources are needed and where to use them.
Plus remnants of a massive Chinese rocket appeared to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. We'll have details.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:40:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: We're tracking the growing outbreak of monkeypox around the world. The World Health Organization says more than 19,000 cases of the viral disease have been confirmed in 78 countries so far, including five deaths. And a high proportion of cases are reported from countries outside where monkeypox is typically found.
Europe is at high risk and Spain reported its second death Saturday. And in New York City, the epicenter of the outbreak here in the U.S., officials have declared a public health emergency, becoming the second major American city to do so, following San Francisco.
And health experts are increasingly concerned over the number of monkeypox tests, with labs operating at a fraction of capacity. And without crucial testing, it is difficult to know the true extent of the outbreak. Elizabeth Cohen explains why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: A key to getting the monkeypox outbreak under control is testing -- and lots of it. That's why the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has engaged with five commercial labs to increase testing capacity.
And now those five labs can do 70,000 specimens per week. That's a lot. But CNN has found, by checking in with these labs, that actually the demand of these labs is very low. Doctors aren't sending in specimens in any large numbers. Let's take a look at a few examples.
For example, at the Mayo Clinic, one of the commercial labs, they have the capacity to handle 1,000 samples a week. And over the past two weeks, they've received 45, not per week but 45 over both those weeks.
And Aegis, another lab, they have the capacity for 5,000 a week. And they've received zero. They haven't received any samples thus far. A third lab, LabCorp, one of the largest commercial labs in the United
States, they say they've received more than this. But still, the number of samples coming in has been extremely low.
So this is problematic for several reasons. One of them is that you can only find out who has monkeypox if you test them. Then you can isolate them, you can do contact tracing. Also, in a country as large as the United States, you want to know where your cases are, so you can send resources to the right places.
Let's take a look at monkeypox cases in the United States. So you can see the number of cases has risen dramatically at a time when they're trying to get this under control. A month ago, there was about 244 cases. Now there's about 4,600 cases.
There is several reasons for the low demand in labs. One of them is that most of the cases, really almost all the cases, have been among men who have sex with men. This community often goes to sexual health clinics to get their care.
[04:45:00]
COHEN: Now these clinics say that they are underfunded and about half of them don't even use commercial labs because they say it is too expensive. So if you have lots of patients going to clinics that don't send their samples to private labs but those private labs have a lot of capacity, obviously there is a disconnect there. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: For more let's bring in Dr. Christian Happi, professor of infectious disease genomics at Redeemer's University in Nigeria and director of the World Bank's African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases. And he is joining us from Boston.
Thank you so much for being here with us.
Where is monkeypox the most concerned now in Africa and how quickly is it spreading?
DR. CHRISTIAN HAPPI, REDEEMER'S UNIVERSITY: It is spreading in central and West Africa for a few years now. And we believe that it is very important that we pay attention to it. Now that the monkeypox has been declared pretty much a pandemic and has really caught the attention of the global world.
BRUNHUBER: Absolutely. And so while, you know, here in the U.S. we've already started vaccinating vulnerable people and we've ordered some, you know, three quarters of a million doses. But in Africa, where almost all of the deaths have occurred, there are no vaccines yet being given.
Is that right? HAPPI: That is absolutely correct. And I think today we're paying the price of what I call global neglect. We're paying the price of lack of foresight. We're paying the price of what I call selfishness because when monkeypox started in Africa -- I mean when we had a resurgence of Africa, starting in the year 2016, the global health organization looked away.
There was no mobilization of stockpile of vaccines that could have contained it in a way that would have prevented the present pandemic that is spreading all across the world.
BRUNHUBER: Does this surprise you given that, you know, vaccine equity issues have been such a huge, you know, thing of -- you know, issue of concern during the pandemic of COVID?
I mean, it seems as if we've learned very little in terms of the international response to an outbreak here.
HAPPI: It is obvious from what is happening today that we have learned nothing from the COVID pandemic. And definitely we will eventually get to vaccine equity when we as humans realize that we're only one human species that is under, you know, a threat.
And that is eventually will be, if that is not taken, extinct microorganism. We will achieve vaccine equity only when we realize that human life is the same and equal, regardless of the color of your skin, regardless of your economic and financial status, regardless of where you are in the world.
BRUNHUBER: That is absolutely right. And you talked about having a window to contain this. I've been speaking to experts who were on the WHO monkeypox committee about why it wasn't declared a public health emergency and they said that it didn't meet the criteria yet.
So do you feel that they really should have acted sooner?
And would it have made a difference?
HAPPI: I do believe that if they had acted sooner, that would have made a big difference. And when I talk about sooner, I'm talking about when we had a resurgence in Africa in the years 2016 and 2017.
If at that time we mobilized a stockpile of vaccines, if at that time we would have taken all the necessary and appropriate measures, it would have been better. But today we're making the same mistake and mismanaging this pandemic the same way we mismanaged the COVID-19 pandemic right at the beginning.
We need to ensure that vaccine stockpiles are mobilized all over the world because if you think -- if we think that we're just mobilizing the vaccines in the global north and neglecting developing countries, eventually all we're doing is prolonging the spread and prolonging the time that it will take to achieve global containment.
BRUNHUBER: That is absolutely right. We'll have to leave it there but hopefully we are learning at least some lessons now and that they can apply them if it is not already too late. Appreciate your time so much, Dr. Christian Happi.
HAPPI: Thank you very much. Thank you for having me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: An uncontrolled rocket hurtling toward Earth. New video seems to show remnants of it burning up in the Earth's atmosphere. More on that when we come back.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:50:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: New video appears to show what seems to be bits of a massive Chinese rocket, burning up over the Indian Ocean. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): These images are from Malaysia. The rocket blasted off a week ago, delivered a new module to the Chinese space station and then fell into an uncontrolled descent toward Earth. Here is reaction from retired astronaut Scott Kelly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT KELLY, ASTRONAUT: In this case, they actually buried the core stage all the way into orbit. And it takes several days for it to come down.
And my understanding is that just the Chinese government has not been very forthcoming with, you know, the orbital parameters so we can better predict where this is going to land. And also, you know, they are just not taking responsibility for their space hardware.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: China says most of the remnants burned up during reentry near the Philippines. This is the third time China has been accused of not properly handling space debris from its rockets.
It is still a mystery; someone or maybe some people here in the U.S. are sitting on a lottery ticket worth a lot of cash, more than $1.3 billion.
[04:55:00]
BRUNHUBER: That Mega Millions ticket sold at this service station near Chicago, had the correct numbers but so far no winner or winners have shown up to claim the grand prize.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That winning ticket was sold at a Speedway gas station in December in Des Plaines, Illinois. That lucky retailer will receive $0.5 million in the selling bonus for selling the winning ticket.
As far as the winner is concerned, we have not heard from the winner yet. We don't know whether they even that they won the prize. So I encourage everybody to check your ticket.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: If that is you, you have 12 months from the date of the drawing to collect your winnings.
The 16 teams that started the women's euro soccer championship have been narrowed down to two, Germany against England.
The Germans are looking to win a record ninth championship. The Lionesses have played in the championship game twice but have never won it or any major trophy in women's football. The match kicks off in a few hours.
A robot created by Stanford University is taking the plunge, diving down to deep sea shipwrecks and exploring the ocean floor. OceanOneK resembles a human diver with arms and hands and eyes that are able to capture the underwater seascapes in full color. Scientists say the robot gives them an unheard-of window into our underwater world.
That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'll be back in a moment with more news. Please stay with us.
