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Heavy Rainfall Expected Across The U.S.; Ukrainian Grain Shipments This Month Reach 650 Metric Tons; Former Trump Attorney Michael Cohen On Trump's Handling Of Classified Documents; London Steps Up Polio Vaccination Campaign; Mexico's Drought, Record Highs; Gary Busey Facing Sex Offense Charges; Alec Baldwin On "Rust" Shooting; Unmanned Artemis I Set To Launch End Of August; Iconic TWA Terminal Revived As '60s-Era Hotel; Bugatti Hopes New Convertible Will Be World's Fastest. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired August 21, 2022 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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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, heavy rain is threatening millions of Americans with the potential for flash floods to hit major cities in the central and southwestern U.S. We'll have the latest from the CNN Weather Center.
Plus the deadly siege on an upscale hotel in Somalia's capital city finally comes to an end. We'll get who's claiming responsibility for the 30-hour standoff.
And Russian media reports a car explosion has killed the daughter of an influential Russian philosopher and key Putin ally.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: We begin with the extreme weather threat across the central and southwestern U.S. A tropical storm warning has been lifted for far southern Texas but rain from that system could spread into Oklahoma and Louisiana through midweek.
Strong winds are expected as the storm moves further inland. Meanwhile, more than 12 million people across the southwestern and central U.S. are under flood watches.
In parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, the risk of flash flooding is high, with these areas expecting heavy rain and thunderstorms throughout the day. In New Mexico, residents are doing what they can to prepare for the worst.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Water backs up into our yards and also so far we made almost 50 sandbags. We have some that we made last year but we're making more to prepare for that rain.
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BRUNHUBER: And in Utah, extreme weather forced a search and rescue mission at Zion National Park Saturday. Several hikers were swept off their feet by a flash flood. Parts of the park are closed while officials continue the search.
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BRUNHUBER: A woman hiking with friends near Portland, Oregon, has died after falling about 100 feet. She was on a trail in the Columbia River Gorge when she fell on Friday and suffered a head injury.
Bystanders tried to save her and started CPR. The waterfall in the Columbia River Gorge is the most visited recreation national site in the Pacific Northwest, with about 2 million tourists visiting each year.
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BRUNHUBER: Russian state media report that the daughter of a prominent supporter of president Vladimir Putin was killed when the car she was driving exploded. And we're now learning Russians have opened a criminal investigation. Our senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen joins us from Moscow with details.
Still a developing story but what do we know at this point?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that this happened late last night on the outskirts of Moscow.
Apparently she was coming in this Land Cruiser vehicle from a patriotic event she had attended with her father, Alexander Dugin, who is, of course, a prominent ideologue and philosopher here in Russia.
He very much pushes a lot of the expansionist theories of a future Russian empire and also very much supports Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the annexation of the Donbas.
Darya Dugina, what we know happened, she was traveling in this vehicle, when the vehicle blew up, according to the investigators, and then caught fire. She was dead on the spot.
There are some here in Russia, sort of some of the things we're hearing from prominent circles in the pro Kremlin camp especially, who very much believe that Alexander Dugin himself may have been the target of this attack, that someone wanted him dead.
He is, as we stated, someone who is quite prominent. And so it is unclear who is behind this. There are already some who are blaming the Ukrainians for this. But right now the investigative committee says it has launched a murder investigation into all this.
But of course, as you can imagine, big news all of us here in Russia, a lot of reverberations in pretty high echelons, if you look at the Kremlin-controlled media and the political sphere as well.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, we'll keep following that story for sure. CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen from Moscow, thanks so much.
In Ukraine, there are warnings Russia may use the upcoming Independence Day holiday to launch some of its worst violence yet. On Wednesday, Ukraine will mark 31 years since it declared independence from the Soviet Union.
For part of the occasion destroyed Russian tanks are being put on display in Kyiv. For more, David McKenzie joins us from Kyiv.
What more do we know about the spheres of violence tied to Ukraine's celebrations?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Obviously it is speculation but speculation being fueled by the highest level of the Ukrainian government. The next few days here in Ukraine are very, very significant.
It marks both the 31st anniversary from gaining independence from the Soviet Union, as well as six months of this bloody war that has completely turned this country upside down and the continued fighting, brutal fighting on the various front lines.
Authorities here have put up this pretty symbolic and dramatic installation, several armored personnel carriers along the main street near Maidan, the square famous for the 2014 push to reduce links with the -- with Russia.
And the president, President Zelenskyy, has warned of possible incidents. He said that Russia shouldn't be allowed to have despondency in this nation. Here is what he had to say.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We should be aware that Russia may try to do something particularly disgusting and particularly violent next week. That's our enemy. But Russia was doing something disgusting and violent every week during those six months constantly.
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MCKENZIE: So for many weeks now, Kyiv itself has been free from missile or rocket attacks. Since the Russians removed their forces from the outer reaches of the city, it has become progressively more normal. But more normal is certainly a relative term because this nation is still at war. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Absolutely. And, David, there has been, you know, a lot of celebration around the deal that has enabled the first shipments of grain to leave Ukraine's port.
Is that leading to more optimism about a larger peace deal?
MCKENZIE: I think it isn't, in a broader sense, because, despite the comments coming from the Turkish president and senior officials over the last few days, hopeful that this might lead to broader discussion about some kind of end to the fighting, that is being roundly criticized here in Ukraine, including from President Zelenskyy, who said -- and this is what they've said for several months now.
Until Russia removes its forces from occupied territory, there can be no chance for any kind of discussion. But it leads to the obvious question, which is that the front line itself hasn't seen dramatic moves in many months now, in fact. And that grinding conflict is having a massive impact on Ukrainian forces, certainly on Russian forces.
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MCKENZIE: And this war feels like it isn't really changing much, despite the ongoing impact it is having on civilians and soldiers alike. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: All right, thanks so much, David McKenzie, appreciate it.
A deadly siege in a luxury hotel in Somalia is now over. And we're learning the death toll has risen. At least 30 people were killed after gunmen stormed the Hyatt hotel in Mogadishu Friday evening. Dozens of others were injured. CNN's Larry Madowo is following this story from Nairobi, Kenya.
What more are we learning about this attack and those behind it?
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kim, we're learning that 106 people were rescued from that hotel in the 30-hour plus siege that took place there. The death toll climbed to 30 and it is feared it could be much higher when the full account of what happened here is told.
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for this attack but CNN has not independently confirmed that responsibility. Al-Shabaab has been described by one U.S. official as Al Qaeda's largest global affiliate.
We know that gunmen affiliated with the group came into the hotel by detonating three explosives at the gate and came into the building and took some hostages, started firing at staff, at guests there. And this went on for hours.
I want to show you video from last night. It speaks to the fierce gun battle we have seen here. Police told CNN that an elite counterterrorism force was inside the hotel engaging the gunmen. We haven't heard talk about casualties from either side. We'll get to know that, we hear, from the health ministry.
But still being -- they're waiting for this to be over because there are people who are unaccounted for, loved ones, family members waiting outside the hotel for word about their loved ones. Some were sent to hospitals around; some hospitals were taking in
people in critical condition, some bodies. This is believed to be the largest siege by Al-Shabaab in Somalia since they were driven out of the capital, Mogadishu, in 2011. They control large parts of southern and central Somalia.
But this appears to be a direct message to the president who was elected a few months ago and promised to neutralize the terrorist group. Al-Shabaab carried out attacks here in Somalia and Kenya and, as recently as 2020, they carried out an attack at a U.S. base in northern Somalia, where three U.S. servicemen were killed.
And we know the U.S. has been carrying out several airstrikes against targeting Al-Shabaab, including one last Sunday that killed 13 Al- Shabaab fighters.
BRUNHUBER: All right, thanks so much, Larry, in Nairobi, Kenya.
In Turkiye, at least 34 people have been killed in separate traffic accidents. We want to warn you the first video is graphic.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): And it captures the terrifying moment a truck carrying fertilizer lost control and plowed into pedestrians in cars in southeastern Turkiye; 19 people were killed and 26 others injured. Turkiye's health minister says the failure of the truck's brakes was to blame.
Then to the east of the first accident, 15 people died when a bus veered off the highway and crashed into an unrelated traffic crash. Among the dead were three firemen, two paramedics, two journalists and eight bus passengers.
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BRUNHUBER: Health officials in the U.S. are trying to stop the spread of the monkeypox virus and they're using pride events this weekend to do it. We'll have details ahead.
Plus, Brazil's presidential campaign is heating up and the leading candidates are out in force rallying their supporters. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Turning now to the FBI search of Donald Trump's Florida home, we expect to learn this week whether a federal judge will unseal all or part of the affidavit seeking the warrant.
The FBI agents seized nearly a dozen sets of sensitive materials at the location, including some marked with highest secrecy. The Biden administration isn't commenting publicly. But some officials are privately expressing concern over how and why Trump had them. Michael Cohen offered his opinion. Listen to this.
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MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP PERSONAL ATTORNEY AND FIXER: I believe that Donald was going to use it as a get out of jail free card, I think he was going to look to ultimately extort America in order to prevent them from incarcerating him or at least indicting him.
If you put me in handcuffs, this goes out to China, North Korea, it goes out to Russia.
Would he use information to blackmail the country in order to keep him free?
Absolutely, 100 percent.
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BRUNHUBER: Now the Biden administration isn't commenting on the search of Donald Trump's home in Florida. But privately, many officials admit they're concerned that top secret documents were seized from the former president.
Trump claims he issued a standing order to declassify the materials. But 18 ex-Trump officials dispute that any such order was ever given. CNN's Arlette Saenz has the latest.
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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The White House has largely refrained from weighing in on the FBI search of Mar-a-lago. But CNN has learned that a U.S. official has expressed concern over the classified documents taken by former president Trump, especially when it comes to what it could mean for the intelligence community moving forward.
Now the White House does not have any window into what exactly was contained in that material. But officials are concerned that it could put the sources and methods that the intelligence community uses to gather information at risk.
There are also some diplomatic concerns as well and whether there might be any tensions with allies over some of those documents that were taken by the former president.
Now the White House has really adopted this very tight lipped strategy when it comes to addressing that FBI search --
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SAENZ: -- trying to maintain some distance from the Justice Department's investigation. The White House has said that President Biden has not been briefed on
the probe and that they are simply learning of the latest developments as they have emerged through the press.
Now meanwhile, the man who served alongside former president Donald Trump, former vice president Mike Pence said that he took a different approach to classified documents when he left office.
In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Pence was directly asked whether he retained any classified information when he left the White House.
And he responded, quote, "No, not to my knowledge."
He also declined to weigh in any further on the FBI search and the documents that the former president might have taken saying, quote, "I honestly don't want to pre-judge it before, until we know all the facts."
So far no further comment from the former vice president as to the way that president Trump handled those documents. But the current White House, behind closed doors, is expressing concern about how this all played out -- Arlette Saenz, CNN, Wilmington, Delaware.
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BRUNHUBER: Nearly six weeks before Brazilian voters go to the polls, the two leading candidates held competing rallies on Saturday. The current front-runner with the pointed message for the current president, who is now backtracking on claims of a rigged election. Stefano Pozzebon has the story.
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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All leading candidates in the presidential race in Brazil chose to campaign this Saturday with the two front-runners, the former president, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, and the current president, Jair Bolsonaro, holding rallies in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro respectively.
Lula is leading the race by a comfortable margin, according to the latest pollsters, and it shows a historic location for his speech this Saturday, holding his rally at the site of one of the largest pro democracy rallies and protests against the Brazilian dictatorship in the 1980s.
The left wing leader, who already served two mandates in the early 2000s as the president of Brazil -- and he's now on his sixth presidential campaign -- was present at that rally almost 40 years ago.
He spoke on Saturday, flanked by his current running mate and the former president of Brazil, well aware he's the one leading the race. So Lula had a warning to his rival.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LULA DA SILVA, BRAZILIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): Get ready, Bolsonaro. Don't worry about Lula. We're not going to do anything to you.
Who will dismiss you?
It is the Brazilian people, who are tired of your lies.
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POZZEBON: On the other hand, Bolsonaro led one of his usual motorcycle parades in the state of Rio de Janeiro and he appears to distance himself from recent remarks.
In the latest few weeks, he questioned the credibility of the Brazilian election system and triggered fears that he might try to overturn the results in these elections this October. On Saturday, Bolsonaro struck a different note and said he would respect freedom and democracy when the results come through -- Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Bogota.
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BRUNHUBER: Monkeypox has caused officials to declare a local public health emergency in King County, Washington. An urgency proclamation was signed on Friday. Officials say it will give them flexibility to respond effectively. There have been nearly 300 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the county.
The Biden administration has declared it to be a national public health emergency, with 14,000 cases confirmed by the CDC.
Meanwhile, monkeypox vaccines are being made available at pride events in Charlotte, North Carolina, as part of a Biden administration plan to accelerate distribution of the vaccine. They're providing 50,000 doses at gay rights celebrations around the country.
The CDC says more than 41,000 monkeypox cases have been confirmed worldwide. The U.S. has by far the highest number of cases with more than 14,000. Next is Spain with nearly 6,000; Brazil, Germany and U.K. round out the top five. They all have at least 3,000 cases each.
Meanwhile, polio is spreading in New York state. Last month one case was diagnosed in Rockland County. Just a few weeks later, the polio virus was found in wastewater in New York City.
But the CDC says further testing shows it was in state wastewater as early as April. A former CDC official says the situation proves vaccinations are more important than ever. Listen to this.
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DR. RICHARD BESSER, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR, CDC: We're always at risk of new infectious agents or infectious agents that we thought were in our history, of them coming back to our country.
And what it says to me as a pediatrician and a parent is it is so important to ensure that our children are vaccinated fully and on time so that, if and when things like polio are reintroduced to our country, our children are fully safe and protected.
And there a lot of children out there who are not fully vaccinated.
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BRUNHUBER: New York health officials say the Rockland County case is just the tip of the iceberg and suspect there are several hundred cases in the community.
A Tropical storm warning has been lifted for parts of south Texas but that doesn't mean the danger is over. We'll get details after the break.
Plus, July was the second hottest month in Mexico in decades and with extreme heat comes a shortage of water. Ahead, efforts to conserve the country's dwindling water supply when we come back. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
A tropical storm warning has been lifted for southern Texas but rain will still drench the Lone Star State and could spread into Oklahoma and Louisiana through midweek. High winds and flash flooding are also possible.
But it is not just those states expecting extreme weather. More than 12 million people across the southwestern and central U.S. are under flood watches in parts of Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas. The risk of flash flooding is high with these areas expecting heavy rain and thunderstorms throughout the day.
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BRUNHUBER: In Spain, firefighters are battling multiple massive wildfires. The largest has a 74-mile long perimeter.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): This video was shot near the tourist destination of Valencia. Thousands of people have already been evacuated and new fires are still popping up. So far at least 11 people have been hurt. No E.U. country has been hit harder by wildfires this year than Spain. More than 700,000 acres have already been scorched.
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BRUNHUBER: And China is enduring its worst heat wave in 60 years with no relief in sight. Multiple cities have been reporting temperatures above 104 degrees Fahrenheit. That's more than 40 degrees Celsius.
In the Yangtze River, water levels have fallen dramatically over the last few months. The drying river has revealed Buddhist statues thought to be more than 600 years old, sitting atop a newly exposed island.
And Mexico, like so many other places around the world, is in the midst of a devastating heat wave. July was the second hottest month in Mexico since 1953, when the high temperatures are coming amid a severe shortage of water. Rafael Romo has more on the story.
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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SR. LATIN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice-over): It had the feel of an outdoor festival or county fair. But this public gathering in northern Mexico is a citizens group response to a crisis: a severe drought that has caused extensive water shortages in Coahuila state.
During a recent day-long event they called Waterton (ph), they were collecting bottled water for distribution in neighborhoods where taps have run dry.
"It is urgent to send truckloads to those communities," this organizer says, adding that their goal was to collect 10 metric tons of bottled water for those in need.
ROMO: While this is not the only Mexican state facing a severe drought, it is so dry in a town that borders West Texas that Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador declared an emergency there late last month as most of the country suffers rain shortages since 2020 and 2021.
"In an emergency situation, people's needs should be the priority," the president said. His decree means that the government can tap into industrial and agricultural water allotments to quench people's thirst.
The leader of the largest industrial association in Monterrey rejected any suggestion that companies are taking more than their fair share of water.
GUILLERMO DILLON, NUEVO LEON INDUSTRY TRANSFORMATION CHAMBER (through translator): There are companies that are not using all their water but, on paper, they have the right to use that much water.
Well, those permits can be transferred so the water utility company can legally take more water from the subsoil to inject it into the drinking water network of the Monterrey metropolitan area.
ROMO (voice-over): Monterrey, one of Mexico's most important cities, is Nuevo Leon's capital state. The industrial hub of nearly 6 million depends mainly on two reservoirs, including Cerro Prieto. But as these national satellite images show, its water levels dropped to 0.5 percent of its capacity of 393 million cubic meters in the last seven years.
For residents like Ruth Gonzalez, the situation means spending several hours every day in a desperate effort to find enough water for her family's daily needs. She says there was no water in her neighborhood and was afraid she wouldn't be able to find any at the vending machine, which proved to be true for a third day in a row.
Earlier this month, drought conditions and low levels at a reservoir in central Mexico prompted rationing measures in Mexico City, the capital, and the adjoining Mexico state. At more than 26 million, together they formed the most populated metropolitan area in the entire country and one of the largest in the world -- Rafael Romo, CNN.
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BRUNHUBER: Still to come, actor Alec Baldwin deflects blame for last year's fatal movie set shooting and says the tragedy, quote, "has taken years off his life." CNN's one on one interview with Baldwin next.
And this --
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EASTON OLIVERSON, SNOW CANYON LITTLE LEAGUE PLAYER: I will see you soon. Thank you for the prayers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Easton, you starting to feel better, bud?
OLIVERSON: Yes.
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): This 12-year-old Little Leaguer is making a remarkable recovery after a serious head injury. We'll have the details ahead. Please do stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: All right, some breaking news coming in to CNN. Japan's prime minister Fumio Kishida has tested positive for COVID-19. The government made the announcement a short time ago.
According to a statement, Mr. Kishida took a test Sunday around 10:00 am local time after experiencing a slight fever, cough and other symptoms. Since last night, he is said to be recuperating at his private residence. We'll bring you more information on that as it becomes available.
Police say actor Gary Busey is facing sex offense charges for an incident that allegedly happened during the annual Monster Mania convention in New Jersey. Police in Cherry Hill say the 78-year-old actor faces two counts of criminal sexual contact and two other charges for the incident last weekend.
CNN has reached out to representatives of Busey for comment but police say the investigation is ongoing.
Actor Alec Baldwin spoke to CNN about the fatal shooting on the set of the film "Rust" last year. He says he doesn't believe he or anyone else will face criminal charges from the incident, which killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
But he calls it a tragic episode that has taken years off his life and cost him professionally. Chloe Melas has more.
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CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER (voice-over): Ten months in and confusion still persists over the sequence of events that led to a deadly shooting on the set of "Rust."
This week, an FBI report concluded this gun could not be fired without the trigger being pulled while the gun was cocked and eventually malfunctioned after internal parts fractured.
In his first interview with CNN, Alec Baldwin denies pulling the trigger.
ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: I never once said -- never -- that the gun went off in my hand automatically. I always said I pulled the hammer back and I pulled it back as far as I could. I never took a gun and pointed it at somebody and clicked the thing.
MELAS: While waiting for the results of the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office investigation, Baldwin says he hired his own investigator.
BALDWIN: That private investigator, as you probably know, did not have a difficult time accessing the staff of the sheriff's department and that person told us, quote-unquote, "We've known in the department since January that Alec would not be charged with a crime."
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MELAS: A sentiment echoed by his attorney.
Do you think that there is a possibility, though, that he could face charges at all?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would be a huge miscarriage of justice.
MELAS: But the then president fanned flames against him. BALDWIN: The former president of the United States said he probably shot her on purpose, to me, was really the only time I thought that I needed -- that I was worried about what was going to happen.
Because here was Trump who instructed people to commit acts of violence and he was pointing the finger at me and saying I was responsible for the death.
MELAS: No one has been charged for the tragedy on set but Baldwin said there are two people responsible, Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and Assistant Director Dave Halls. Through their attorneys, they accuse Baldwin of defecting blame. But Baldwin points to the findings of an occupational safety report.
BALDWIN: Hannah Reed handed the gun to Halls and said, don't give it to Alec until I get back to the set, I have got to do something else and he proceeded to the set and, A, handed me the gun.
MELAS: Baldwin said Gutierrez-Reed should have known the difference between dummy rounds, which make a rattling sound and live ammunition.
BALDWIN: I mean, anybody on Earth to works in that business can determine that.
MELAS: Baldwin raised questions about the supplier of guns and ammunition for the film, Seth Kenney, being sued by the armorer. An FBI report said 150 live rounds were found on set.
BALDWIN: What was the provenance of all the bullets on the set?
Where did those come from?
MELAS: Well, according to the FBI report, as far as I'm aware, the bullets were commingled.
BALDWIN: Right. So if that's the case, then who commingled them?
Did Seth Kenney provide her with prop ammunition where he commingled live rounds with blank rounds?
MELAS: Questions Baldwin says kept him up at night as he replayed the final days of a talented friend and cinematographer.
BALDWIN: And she was great at her job and she died and she died and that hurts me every day. You know, every day of my life, I think about that. It's horrible.
MELAS: in January, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film's armorer, sued the film's ammunition supplier, accusing Seth Kenney of selling her a cache of dummy ammunition with live rounds mixed in.
Kenney's attorneys filed an answer last month denying any allegations and asking the court to dismiss the case but admitting his company was the sole supplier of ammunition to the set.
Alec Baldwin said that the last ten months have been tough, especially when it comes to finding work and that he's been fired from five jobs. But he's leaning on the support of his family, specifically his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, who is expecting their seventh child this fall -- back to you.
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BRUNHUBER: Little league World Series player is giving thanks as he recovers from a severe skull fracture. 12-year-old Easton Oliverson of Utah got hurt while falling from a dormitory bunkbed almost a week ago.
Despite the injuries, Easton surprised doctors when, hours after surgery, he showed signs of improvement. He had this message for his supporters. Look.
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OLIVERSON: Hey, this is Easton. Thank you for the prayers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Easton is starting to feel better, bud?
OLIVERSON: Yes, I'm feeling better.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Awesome. Team Easton, we love you, buddy.
OLIVERSON: Love you, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: That's so great to hear. On Friday, Easton's teammates honored him by writing messages on their gear and placing them on the field during warmups. His team lost that game but they have a chance at redemption later today.
Just ahead, TWA stopped flying more than two decades ago. Now its iconic terminal has been brought back to life. CNN's Richard Quest takes you to a hotel that is literally straight out of the '60s.
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BRUNHUBER: For the first time in 50 years, NASA plans to send humans to the moon. The giant step toward that goal takes place later this month, with the launch of an unmanned rocket in the beginning of the Artemis program. CNN's Christina Macfarlane reports.
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CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A mega moon rocket on a slow 6.4 kilometer ride aboard a giant NASA crawler before reaching its launch pad this week.
One of the final steps before the unmanned Artemis I begins a mission set to journey farther than any spacecraft built for humans before.
It is the first time in about half a century that a NASA-built rocket is set for a lunar-bound liftoff. On August 29th, the Artemis I mission is set to begin a 42-day journey that travels around the moon before returning to Earth.
Sitting atop its rocket is NASA's Orion astronaut capsule, designed to separate from the rocket in space. It carries 54 kilograms of cargo, including a commander Moonikin, a suited mannequin that can collect data on what a human crew might experience.
Two other Phantoms, Helga and Zohar, will be aboard, made of material that mimics the soft tissue of organs and bones of a woman.
This time the mission is unmanned but the launch of the most powerful rocket ever built kicks off a more ambitious plan. This is the start of NASA's Artemis program, which aims to land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface by 2025. Eventually build a lunar base and make way for further exploration to Mars and maybe even beyond -- Christina Macfarlane, CNN.
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BRUNHUBER: TWA went out of business in 2001. More than two decades later, an investor has revived a piece of aviation history, turning the airline's former terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport into a retro hotel. Richard Quest has the story.
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RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST (voice-over): To arrive at this hotel is to step back to another era, when flying was glamorous and stepping on a plane meant wearing your Sunday best.
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QUEST (voice-over): At the center was one of the pioneer great carriers, Trans World Airlines.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): New ideas, new terminals across the country.
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QUEST (voice-over): TWA finally failed in 2001 and the building was abandoned and has remained empty for years. That is until the hotel investor Tyler Morse decided to realize his dream and ambition. TYLER MORSE, HOTEL INVESTOR (voice-over): It is a jewel box. And I've
loved it for decades. It sat dark for 20 years. The opportunity to bring it back to life was a once in a lifetime opportunity. My wife calls this building our third child.
QUEST (voice-over): When the Flight Center opened in 1962, Kennedy was still called Idlewild. The building was a masterpiece from the great architect Eero Saarinen. It was designed like a bird.
MORSE (voice-over): We restored it back to exactly as it was in 1962. So the swooping arch here, this is the largest columnless volume in the world. There is only four points of contact with the ground. It is 65,000 square feet. There is two piers in the back and two piers in the front.
QUEST (voice-over): Could you economically build something like this today and justify the sheer amount of space that it has taken and the cost of doing it?
MORSE (voice-over): Never. Not a chance. You could not build this building today. You couldn't get the permits to build this building today.
QUEST: How many times did you think, "I really want to buy that building, I want to buy that building," before you actually executed and bought it?
MORSE: For years, for years. Well, I had to win an RFP with the Port Authority, a Request for Proposal. So it is a very complex project.
I dealt with 22 government agencies on this project, everybody from the FAA to Secretary of the Interior, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the City of New York, all of the community boards. And it is a byzantine project. But this building deserves it.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
QUEST (voice-over): And so began the herculean task of bringing the bird back to life.
MORSE (voice-over): It was like someone turned the lights out and left their cup of coffee on the desk.
QUEST (voice-over): And was there still papers from the time?
MORSE (voice-over): Sure, oh, yes. We have --
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST (voice-over): Tickets and --
MORSE (voice-over): -- ticket jackets. We have found the old beer cans, from when they constructed the site. There were a lot of people drinking on the job.
QUEST (voice-over): The hotel's owners even tracked down a plane it had flown for TWA. That was before being bought by drug smugglers.
MORSE (voice-over): Welcome to Connie (ph).
QUEST (voice-over): It is bigger than a -- it is quite a generous space.
MORSE (voice-over): Quite good size, right?
I mean, this is first class.
QUEST (voice-over): And of course there would be the odd bed as well, the bunkbeds and all sorting for the really long stuff.
MORSE (voice-over): Yes, well, this is -- you had the chateaubriand in these seats and the finest champagne.
QUEST (voice-over): And yet, they dwindled away, this classic salami- slicing, sell off these routes and sell off these routes and refinance this and do this. But you felt there was an inevitability of the demise.
MORSE (voice-over): Yes. I mean, TWA was the airline of the pope. Both Paul VI and John Paul II exclusively flew TWA. The Beatles flew TWA. But they could not translate into the modern age.
QUEST (voice-over): Could TWA have survived?
MORSE (voice-over): No, TWA would never have survived. After 1978 and airline deregulation, you could compete on price. But for 50 years prior to that, people had been competing on service.
The way you compete on service is the quality of the food, the quality of the champagne, the quality of the terminal. And now all of a sudden, you had to compete on price. And they couldn't make that cultural mindshift. So everybody went out of business.
(CROSSTALK)
MORSE (voice-over): -- American, United, TWA, Pan Am, everybody went out of business.
QUEST (voice-over): TWA hasn't flown for years. And for those longing for the days of elegance in the air and friendly service in despair, here, the memories live on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: That was our Richard Quest reporting.
Bugatti has a new car in its roster and the French automaker is hoping it will be the world's fastest convertible. The 1,600 horsepower was revealed on Friday. Bugatti says only 99 will be made for the humble price of just $5 million. Well, they sold out before they were even unveiled. They haven't said what the expected top speed of the car might be.
[05:55:00]
BRUNHUBER: But it'll last while Bugatti's famous 16-cylinder engine.
James Bond used many cars in more than 2 dozen films in the spy franchise. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DESMOND LLEWELYN, ACTOR, "Q": You'll be using this Aston Martin DB5 with modifications. Now pay attention, please. Wind screen, bulletproof, as on the side and the rear windows.
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): But it is the 1964 Aston Martin DB5, used in the movie, "Goldfinger," that's considered the best known Bond car. In 2018, Sean Connery bought this 1964 car for himself, two years before he died at the age of 90. That was the only DB5 he actually ever owned.
The car sold at auction on Thursday for $2.4 million. A substantial portion of the proceeds will go to the Connery family philanthropy fund.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Bueller, Bueller?
This is a roll call to let you know a spin-off is in the works for the 1986 classic, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." And while we're here for that, take a look.
(VIDEO CLIP, "FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF")
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): According to "Variety," the revamped version of the high school romp will be called "Sam and Victor's Day Off" and it will focus on the two valets not named in the original film, who took Cameron's dad's red Ferrari on a joyride after Ferris dropped off the car at a parking garage.
The new film is being led by the team who created "Cobra Kai," the spin-off series of another '80s film, "The Karate Kid."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: There you go. I'm Kim Brunhuber. "NEW DAY" is next.
