Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Trump Dismisses Affidavit Release, Possible Evidence Of Obstruction; British Energy Regulator Raises Energy Price Cap 80 Percent; Zaporizhzhya Power Plant Reconnected To Ukraine's Power Grid; Ukraine Exports 1 Million Tons Of Food; Latvia Topples Soviet Empire Monument; Moderna Accuses Pfizer Of Patent Infringement; Mississippi Inundated With Excessive Rainfall; China Particularly Vulnerable To Climate Change; NASA's Artemis Set To Launch Monday. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired August 27, 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 in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.
The U.S. Justice Department releasing the document that led to the FBI search of former president Trump's private home. What it revealed about the classified files he was keeping there.
Plus the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant is reconnected to the Ukrainian power grid.
And China's climate change goals are put to the test.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: We're getting our clearest look yet into the U.S. Justice Department's investigation into classified documents kept at former president Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.
The affidavit to obtain a search warrant details what investigators expected to find, including taking classified national security materials as well as evidence of obstruction. We have more on the key takeaways from the unsealed document.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Now public, a heavily redacted version of the affidavit that led to the FBI search at former president Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home.
In it, shocking new details, the FBI telling a judge that there was probable cause to believe that additional documents that contain classified NDI or that are presidential records subject to record retention requirements currently remain at the premises.
There is also probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction will be found at the premises. The Affidavit also revealing startling details about improperly handled documents that were marked with the highest levels of security clearance.
STEVE HALL, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: And as a former CIA guy, it sends chills up and down my spine when I hear that there's HCS information in somebody's basement and not secured as it properly should. It's just -- it's really, really bad.
BROWN (voice-over): HCS standing for human intelligence control system, which is a classification designed to protect people working around the world for the U.S. government.
And 14 of the 15 boxes retrieved in January by the National Archives, 184 documents had unique classification markings, 67 marked as confidential, 92 marked as secret and 25 marked top secret.
HARRY LITMAN, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: The top secret stuff and compartmental can get people killed. It is completely alarming. Nobody down there except, well, not even Trump any longer, even has a clearance at all.
BROWN (voice-over): According to DOJ, the document is heavily redacted to protect witness information and other key details from the ongoing criminal investigation.
Prosecutors explain in their legal memo to the judge, information in the affidavit could be used to identify many, if not all, of these witnesses. If witnesses identities are exposed, they could be subjected to harms including retaliation, intimidation or harassment and even threats to their physical safety.
We're also learning new insights as to what led to the investigation in the first place.
The National Archives made a criminal referral to the DOJ in February, saying there was significant concern after finding the boxes retrieved by the archive contained highly classified records and are mixed with other records and not properly identified.
This, leading the DOJ and FBI to launch their own investigation, issuing a subpoena in June for classified material and ultimately the search at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month.
Trump reacted on his social media platform leaning into the fact that the affidavit is quote, "heavily redacted," and calling it "a total public relations subterfuge by the FBI and DOJ."
BROWN: They have reviewed a number of civilian witnesses as part of the investigation and sources tell me that the FBI's interviewed former and current Trump aides which helps explain why the FBI believed there was classified information at Mar-a-Lago.
[04:05:00] BROWN: This is why they took the step to issue the search warrant and they took away 11 sets of documents marked as classified after the search warrant was executed -- Pamela Brown, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump isn't the only one defending his actions in the wake of the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago. His allies have been standing behind him and lashing out at his critics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC TRUMP, DONALD'S SON: My father has worked so collaboratively with them for months. In fact the lawyer that's been working on this was totally shocked.
SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): It's like what we thought about the Gestapo.
SEN. PAUL RAND (R-KY): Do I know that the boxes that they took from Mar-a-Lago, that they won't put things in those boxes to entrap him?
How do we know they will be honest with us?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Earlier I spoke with CNN's Areva Martin and she weighed in, that anything he took home automatically became classified.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: What we're hearing from a lot of Republicans is that he somehow declassified all of these documents. And implicit in their arguments is that, because he engaged in these broad scale declassifications, that the documents belonged to him.
We know Donald Trump had the very distorted idea that government property was his property and he had the authority to do whatever he wanted, include handling them in such a negligent and cavalier way.
We don't know when he made those notations on the documents. What we do know is that surveillance tape was turned over to the Department of Justice and that they saw people going in and out of the storage facility.
They saw boxes of the documents being stuffed into containers. And there was lots of concerns about how safe, if at all, these documents were. We don't even know if duplicates were made, if photocopies were made, if pictures were taken of the documents, if they were uploaded onto some sort of computer system.
There's so much we don't know. But what we did learn today, Kim, is that Donald Trump removed documents that he was not authorized to do so and he remained in possession of them almost 18 months after he left the White House.
BRUNHUBER: From Trump's point of view, his lawyers responded to a judge's request that he elaborate on his request that a court appoint a special master to oversee the review of that evidence.
What if anything did we learn from that?
MARTIN: We learn that the legal team that Donald Trump hired to file that motion is incredibly incompetent. The documents that they filed, first of all, it was before the wrong court, before the wrong judge.
They didn't state a clear cause of action. There were issues with the service of the filing that was made by these attorneys and even this Trump-appointed judge said, look, demonstrate to me that I even have the legal jurisdiction to make a ruling, to make a determination consistent with what was requested in that motion.
So it is very clear that he is having a difficult time finding competent counsel since he has left the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: That was CNN legal analyst Areva Martin.
And can you head to cnn.com for a deeper dive into what the affidavit does and doesn't say. And it breaks it down into easy to understand language.
U.S. stock markets ended the week in negative territory after investors got a warning about inflation from the Federal Reserve chairman. The Dow Jones closed down more than 1,000 points, 3 percent. The S&P 500 fell more than 3 percent and the Nasdaq closed nearly 4 percent lower. All three were down about 4 percent for the week.
Protesters in the U.K. say people will die this winter because they won't be able to heat their homes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PROTESTER: Whose streets?
PROTESTERS: Our streets.
BRUNHUBER (voice-over) The country's energy regulator has approved a huge price hike starting in October. Average household bills could climb to more than $4,000 a year. CNN's Scott McLean has more from London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the steep rise in energy prices is not by any stretch unique to the U.K. It is a huge problem across Europe. France and Germany are recording record-high electricity prices and E.U. energy ministers are now planning to convene an emergency meeting to discuss what to do about their new found energy war with Russia.
In the U.K., the country's energy regulator has announced the price gap for household energy prices.
[04:10:00]
MCLEAN: Electricity and gas will rise by 80 percent. It is now almost three times what it was a year ago. Now this price cap is really a cap on profits that companies can take above the wholesale price of gas and electricity and there are other expenses.
For the average British family with average energy usage, it means about $350 U.S. is spent per month on gas and electricity, which is more than 10 percent of the median after-tax household income In the U.K.
Now the energy regulator in the U.K. says that the reason that prices are going up is because post-COVID, the economy bounced back quicker than expected, creating more demand and because of cuts in Russian gas exports to Europe, which are down some 77 percent compared to the same time last year.
The head of the British Energy Regulator tried to put all of this in context, like this.
JONATHAN BREARLEY, CEO, OFGEM: And when I look at the prices in winter, they're already 15 times what they normally are. Now if that were to happen in petrol, that would mean it would cost us 400 or 500 pounds just to fill up our car. So the cost of energy are changing dramatically.
Now, unfortunately, we do need to reflect that cost and that's why the price cap is changing today.
MCLEAN: Now this is all likely to put major pressure on not only the caretaker prime minister Boris Johnson, who has already announced a series of measures meant to ease pressure on household budgets, but also on his likely successor, who, polls indicate, will likely be Liz Truss.
But proposals to ease pressure on ordinary households has so far been modest and fairly non-specific. She is pledging to cut taxes and to increase domestic oil production, something that may help in the long run but certainly not right away -- Scott McLean, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Bearing the victims of war. Just ahead, how Ukrainian cities that were the scenes of atrocities in the early days of war still suffer with death and grief.
And a look ahead at why the French president is praising Algeria. Stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:15:00] (MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: Ukraine appears to have dodged a bullet in the latest incident involving its Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant. The facility is now back online and reconnected to Ukraine's power grid.
The plant lost the connection on Thursday after fires damaged a key power line. That created fears of a potential nuclear incident. President Zelenskyy later warned the situation will be back to square one if the plant is disconnected again. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I want to emphasize that the situation remains very risky and dangerous. Any repeat of yesterday's event; that is any disconnection of the plant from the grid, any actions by Russia that could trigger the shutdown of the reactors, will again put the plant one step away from disaster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Nada Bashir joins us from London.
What's the latest?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you laid out there, the nuclear plant may have been reconnected to the grid. We saw the second power unit reconnected late yesterday evening in Ukraine.
But there is still real concern over the security situation around the plant. It is, of course, a precarious front line falling under Russian control. There have been accusations from both sides, the Ukraine government accusing Russia of holding the power plant as hostage, even accusing Russian armed services of stealing military hardware.
Knowing that the Ukrainian forces could not strike the plant due to fears of a nuclear accident, it is increasingly difficult to verify the situation on the ground. There have been repeated calls by the United Nations for its nuclear watchdog, IAEA, to be granted access to the plant to assess the safety of the plant and the situation on the ground.
We heard yesterday from the Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, saying that the Russian Federation will do everything it can to facilitate such action. But we've heard this sort of rhetoric from the Russian government time and time again with little to no concrete steps actually being taken to ensure such access to the nuclear power plant.
And as you heard from President Zelenskyy, this really was a worrying situation, moments away from a potential nuclear accident. And that risk of a further nuclear accident continues to persist.
So there is real concern from the international community about the impact this could have, not only on Ukraine and the situation there but obviously for the European continent as a whole. BRUNHUBER: Still a very precarious situation. And on a positive
front, good news about the amount of grain that's been exported from Ukraine.
What more can you tell us there?
BASHIR: It really is a milestone. According to Zelenskyy, some 1 million tons have been exported from Ukraine's southern Black Sea ports over the last month.
And this is all part of the Black Sea grain initiative deal, which was brokered by Turkiye and the United Nations, with both representatives from Ukraine and Russia present in order to secure the safe passage through the Black Sea, through the Turkish Strait and onward to the global market. This deal was off to a rocky start.
[04:20:00]
BASHIR: We saw the attack on Odessa just a day after the deal was signed. But since, it has proven to be successful. Just yesterday, another maritime corridor was established and opened by the joint coordination with the hope of shortening the transit time for exports from Ukraine onwards to the global market.
And that will help vulnerable nations most dependent on Ukraine's grain exports. And there is hope that has been expressed by the Turkish government, by the United Nations, that this could lay the ground for further talks between Russia and Ukraine.
BRUNHUBER: That grain a huge impact on millions. Nada Bashir, thank you so much.
U.N. Human rights office estimates nearly 5,000 Ukrainians have been died during the war. But bodies are still being recorded months after atrocities were committed in Bucha.
CNN's David McKenzie takes a closer look at how Ukrainians are reeling from the impact of past horrors and bracing for new ones. I want to give you a warning, the images in this report are graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Bucha, they lived in peace, had families and names. But they died in a war that no one here wanted. Behind each number, an unknown victim, a life worthy of Father Andrii Havelin's prayer.
Each person had their own life and each had one and only one. It's not just bodies that we are burying. For us, these are people who lived once, people to whom the Russians brought suffering and death.
Bucha is now synonymous with the horrors and brutality of Russia's war of choice. When the army retreated, their burned out tanks were cleared. Bucha seems almost normal now. Almost but not. Not here. Not anywhere in Ukraine, because they are still discovering the dead. The police forensic team gathers evidence at a shallow grave. They say a man was shot as he fled. They found more than 1,300 bodies in greater Kyiv alone.
Everything changed on February 24th, says Kyiv's police chief. They invaded our country and started killing people. It is very difficult for any country to prepare for this because you never expect such cruelty.
The cruelty, the sheer weight of loss for Oleksandr is hard to comprehend.
This is where the shots were fired, he says and where the car was on fire. His family, like others, tried to flee the Russian advance. They came to Bucha from Ukraine's war in the east. They were happy here. They were inseparable. The boys, a joy for their father.
But as they escaped Bucha, he says a Russian armored vehicle struck their car again and again. Everyone died. Only Oleksandr lived.
My oldest would have been 10. My youngest, 5, he says. It's very hard. Justice must be restored. Everything must be done to destroy the Russians, to destroy the nation completely. Probably you can't say that. But I want this whole nation to not exist at all, so that they would not be so much grief.
So much grief, too much for any nation to bear in a war that still shows no end -- David McKenzie, CNN, Bucha, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: A huge symbol of the former Soviet empire that once included the Baltic Republic of Latvia has been demolished. A 260-foot tall monument was toppled. It was to commemorate Russia's victory over the Nazis.
[04:25:00]
BRUNHUBER: Latvia passed a law in June to allow cities to dismantle symbols of illegal occupation by the Soviet and Nazi Regimes.
France's president is praising the Algerian government for stepping up its gas exports to Europe. Emmanuel Macron said the added supply of Algerian gas will help European countries to meet their energy needs without relying on Russian gas. Melissa Bell has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: France's relationship with Algeria has always been fraught and France's presidents' visits always complicated.
This one came in the particular context of forces as other European countries need the precious natural gas supplies that Algeria has in abundance. As he left the cemetery, Emmanuel Macron had to speak to the issue of
natural gas. Even ahead of the visit, Elysee sources had been at pains to dampen down speculation that any big deal had been made.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): There are countries much more dependent on gas and in particular, on Russian gas. This is where we need to make a collective effort.
This is not just about France. So that is why we're not at all in competition with Italy. I thank Algeria for increasing the volumes that pass through the pipeline, because the pipeline is not full. There is a margin of increase. And we can increase it by a little more than 50 percent of the capacity in use today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELL: The focus has been much more about the fact that this is a visit they hope that will finally mend the relationships that have been so fraught ever since the French colonial period, ever since the Algerian war for independence.
For the two countries to look at those historical questions and find some type of understanding about what went on in order that some reconciliation can take place. What was particular about this attempt, it came in context, of course, of the desperately needed gas supplies for European leaders.
And France is looking to Algeria as a country it needs in order to look ahead. That, of course, required looking also at the past -- Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Still ahead, the improperly stored, highly classified documents, what the affidavit tells us about why the FBI wanted to search Donald Trump's home.
And Donald Trump has described those documents as his personal property. Look at why it's a typical reaction from the former president and why it could compound his legal problems. Stay with us.
(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, this is CNN NEWSROOM.
More on the top story, the affidavit that led to the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. It shows that the FBI requested the search after finding 184 classified documents in boxes recovered from Trump in January.
The document goes on to say that the FBI believed highly sensitive national security documents hadn't been turned over yet.
In a Friday night court filing, Trump's legal team reiterated their request for a special master. They cited the redacted affidavit, saying its release raised more questions than answers.
And Donald Trump insists he did nothing wrong when it comes to the troves of presidential documents he took to Mar-a-Lago. He's repeatedly referred to those papers as his personal property. And as Tom Foreman reports, it was a predictable response.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They illegally raided my home and took things that should not have been taken, my top secret documents, mine.
From the get-go, the former president has heavily implied the FBI seizure was not to protect public records but to plunder his private property. Allies have rushed to his side, laying into the Justice Department.
MARK LEVIN, CONSERVATIVE TALK-SHOW HOST: Every darn thing they do is intended to weaken the Republican Party.
FOREMAN (voice-over): But if Trump had a legal or legitimate right to hold on to highly secret government documents, to intermingle them with his other papers in Florida resort, as the affidavit says, why was that not made clear before it all reach this point?
HALL: I can't think of a good reason and everybody says yes, I understand why the former president would take this incredibly classified information home with him.
TRUMP: I'm going to bomb the (INAUDIBLE) out of them. I don't care.
FOREMAN (voice-over): The thing is, Trump has a long history of making everything about him.
TRUMP: I will build a great, great wall.
FOREMAN (voice-over): And laying personal claim to public assets, for example repeatedly talking about my generals, my military.
TRUMP: My generals, the generals are going to keep us so safe.
And what I do is I authorize my military.
My generals and my military.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Some people close to the armed forces pushed back.
LEON PANETTA, FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Our defense system belongs to the country and it's not the presidents military. It's the military that the United States of America.
FOREMAN (voice-over): But this tendency has appeared time and time again. On the campaign trail --
TRUMP: Look at my African-American over here. Look at him.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Dealing with the pandemic --
TRUMP: I said to my people, slow the testing down, please.
FOREMAN (voice-over): And on January 6th, when witnesses say Trump repeatedly referred to the mob descending on the capital as my people.
FOREMAN: Maybe it's all just semantics, just the way Trump speaks. But federal authorities and many legal analysts say when Trump he talks about these documents is dead wrong. They never were his, they certainly aren't now and he could pay a price for acting like they were -- Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Just days from now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could authorize the first updated booster to protect against COVID Omicron variants. The CDC would need to sign off on the usage and the shot could go into arms shortly after that.
[04:35:00]
BRUNHUBER: This comes as vaccine producer Moderna is suing Pfizer and BioNTech, alleging patent infringement. Pfizer and BioNTech say they've developed their own technology.
There's been no shortage of extreme weather lately, including in Mississippi's capital city, inundated with record levels of rain and facing more flooding.
Plus, China is facing a growing energy crisis. It's ramping up coal production as extreme heat cripples the country's renewable energy sources. We'll have the story after the break. Stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: Powerful storms ripped through parts of Western Massachusetts Friday, bringing heavy rain and damaging winds. In the town of East Hampton, strong gusts knocked down multiple trees and power lines. Authorities say there were no reports of injuries.
The risk for severe weather continues for other parts of New England includes Boston and Bridgeport, Connecticut.
In Mississippi, Jackson residents may have to leave. The Pearl River is expected to crest well above flood stage. The mayor says those in flood-prone areas should be ready to evacuate within 48 hours.
(WEATHER REPORT)
[04:40:00]
BRUNHUBER: Now to Pakistan, where relief efforts are underway following severe rains and floods that have killed more than 900 people and affected at least 33 million.
Pakistan says it's sending in the army to assist in operations in what it calls a humanitarian disaster. Troops are conducting rescues, helping people find shelter and offering medical assistance to those who need it.
A very different scene in East Africa, which is in the midst of a 40- year drought. The World Meteorological Organization said the area is set to miss its fifth straight rainy season. It's on the verge of what's being called an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe; 50 million people are at risk of hunger due to food insecurity, with Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia particularly at risk.
What's worse is the forecast from October through December shows high chances of dryer than average conditions.
Well, from deadly flooding in Pakistan to severe drought in parts of after parts of Africa, climate change is wreaking havoc around the world. China is ramping up coal production to keep the lights on. Kristie Lu Stout has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: The challenge is immense. A record-breaking heat wave has been scorching China since June, drying up riverbeds, threatening crops and livestock, triggering wildfires and shutting down factories.
And it could also jeopardize China's carbon commitments. China is the world's biggest carbon emitter. And earlier Xi Jinping promised to strictly control coal-powered projects and limit the increase in coal consumption.
The goal: to reach peak CO2 emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. While China has been racing ahead in the acquisition of renewable energy sources, like solar and hydropower, it is still beefing up coal power production to keep up with demand.
And the extreme heat has clipped some of the momentum. Across Sichuan province, drought has cut its hydropower capacity by half. Some 80 percent of the province's electricity comes from hydropower.
To make up the shortfall, Sichuan has been running its largest coal fired plant nonstop and temporarily closing factories to save power.
So will the energy fallout from the heat wave make it harder for China to de-carbonize?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK BEESON, UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY: I think there's good evidence that's true and members of the politburo have been advocating this, saying that they have to go back to coal because it's more reliable. So the chances of them doubling down on the supply of coal- fired power stations will be increasingly high in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: China's top scientists have warned that the country is particularly vulnerable to climate change.
[04:45:00]
STOUT: According to Yuan Jia-Shuang, "In the future, the increase in regional average temperatures in China will be significantly higher than the world," unquote.
As China feels the devastating effects of climate change,, plans for international cooperation to tackle the threat have been upended. In response to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan, China cut off climate talks with the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICHOLAS BURNS, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO CHINA: China represents 27 percent of all global emissions. The United States, 11 percent. We're the two largest carbon emitters. It's vital for the rest of the world that the U.S. and China continue to talk on climate change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEESON: In the long term, unless we find ways of cooperating internationally, no country on Earth can solve this problem on their own.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT (voice-over): Kristie Lu Stout, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Just ahead, how this could be a last hurrah for a tennis legend. Stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:50:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: All right, we're looking at live pictures of the Artemis rocket right now. And, of course, NASA's keeping a close eye on the weather ahead of Monday's inaugural launch of its next generation Artemis rocket.
Weather conditions need to be just right for it to successfully take off. There are two backup launch windows later in the week in case it gets called off. It is set to go around the moon, farther than any spacecraft built for humans ever has. It will eventually return humans to the moon and make way for exploration of Mars.
(SPORTS)
[04:55:00]
U.S. cable network HBO is renewing one of its most anticipated offerings, "House of the Dragon," for a second season after showing a single episode.
(VIDEO CLIP, "HOUSE OF THE DRAGON")
BRUNHUBER: The "Game of Thrones" prequel premiered to record ratings last Sunday; 20 million viewers watched the first episode on various HBO platforms in the U.S. CNN and HBO are part of the same parent, Warner Brothers Discovery.
I'm Kim Brunhuber, please stay with us. I'll be back in just a moment with more CNN NEWSROOM.
