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NASA's Artemis I Mission Prepares For Launch Tomorrow Morning; Jackson Mayor Urges Evacuations As Center Mississippi Braces For Flooding; Federal Government Ending Free At-Home COVID Tests Starting Friday; The Data Behind Rebound COVID Infections; Beto O'Rourke Hospitalized; Electorate Energized By Summer Of Divisive Topics; Ukrainian Rock Band Leader Trades Guitars For Guns; Animal Sanctuary In Mexico Raided After Videos Show Emaciated Animals. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired August 28, 2022 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[20:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The water, as you can look, is still rising. I just don't know what to do but pray.

MAYOR CHOKWE LUMUMBA, JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI: If you are capable of getting out now, get out now.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Meantime, President Biden getting blowback from Republicans for suggesting semi-fascism drives Trump's allies.

GOV. CHRIS SUNUNU (R), NEW HAMPSHIRE: He called half of America semi- fascist because he's trying to stir up controversy. It's horribly inappropriate, and he should apologize.

CEDRIC RICHMOND, SENIOR ADVISER TO THE DNC: He reinforces that Democrats have the right message to continue to highlight the dangers presented by the extreme MAGA Republican Party.

BROWN: Also tonight, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse warning unchecked cannabis use could be damaging young brains.

DR. NORA VOLKOW, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE: We need to recognize that what may be OK for an adult may not be OK at all for an adolescent.

BROWN: And counting down.

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: The Artemis rocket is finally on the launch pad ready to fly for the first time on Monday.

BILL NELSON, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: It's no longer the Apollo generation. It's the Artemis generation. And that brings new discoveries.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, it's NASA's long overdue return to the moon, and T-minus just a few hours until hopefully launch time of the U.S. space agency's most powerful rocket. The program is called Artemis, the first phase blasting off in the morning, unmanned but setting the stage for the return of a manned landing on the lunar surface once again.

Just a short time ago Vice President Kamala Harris touched down in central Florida. She and the second gentleman planning to watch the liftoff in person.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As the head of the Space Council I can tell you I'm so proud of what is happening in terms of our space program and the leadership that the United States is providing to the world. The Artemis program is the beginning of the next era of what we have a history and a tradition of doing, of providing vision and inspiring innovation in a way that is going to benefit all mankind and womankind, and so very excited to be here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: CNN's Rachel Crane is at the Kennedy Space Center. So, Rachel, how do things look?

RACHEL CRANE, CNN BUSINESS INNOVATION AND SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Pam, right now Mother Nature is on our side and NASA says that conditions are 80 percent favorable for a launch tomorrow. Now the launch window opens at 8:33 a.m. Eastern Time and it's a two-hour launch window. But people aren't just keeping an eye on Mother Nature when it comes to this launch.

That's because that rocket behind me, the SLS, it's never flown before, and several rehearsals leading up to tomorrow's launch didn't exactly go as planned. There were many issues with leaks and valves. In fact, NASA had to run that rehearsal four times before they were able to deem it a success, but despite all of the nerves here surrounding tomorrow's launch, there's also a lot of excitement. That's because this launch is years in the making. Billions of dollars have been poured into this program.

I had the opportunity to speak to one of the engineers on the Orion spacecraft. Take a listen to what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARA MALATESTA, ARTEMIS 1 ENGINEER: I have never been so excited for anything in my entire life. This is a literal dream come true. I drove out to the pad yesterday just to have a chance to say my good-bye to Artemis 1 and I can't wait to see it go tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CRANE: And Pam, it's important to remember that tomorrow is an uncrewed test launch. That's because they are hoping to run the vehicle through all of the paces before they put human lives on the line. NASA is really hoping to test the heat shield on the Orion spacecraft. That's because that heat shield, when it re-enters the earth's atmosphere from lunar orbit, it will withstand temperatures of 5,000 degrees. That's half the temperature of the surface of the sun, so they need to make sure that the environmental conditions inside the capsule during that dynamic phase of re-entry are such that a crew would in fact be safe.

Also as I want to point out this vehicle never flown before. They need to make sure it functions as intended. They also want to run through the retrieval of the Orion spacecraft so they know that they can get those astronauts out safely when they do eventually return from this mission to the moon. NASA is hoping to put crew on board for the very first time with Artemis 2 next year and they intend to put the first woman and the first person of color on the moon in 2025.

So, Pam, if tomorrow's launch is a success, NASA is hoping that this will be a 42-day journey. They'll be conducting also all kinds of science on board. They'll be beaming back photos to us, so as we've pointed out earlier, a lot of excitement. Pam, back to you.

[20:05:05]

BROWN: Yes. A lot. For good reason. Rachel Crane, thanks so much.

And earlier this evening, I spoke with retired NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEROY CHIAO, RETIRED NASA ASTRONAUT: Well, it's always exciting when there is a launch of a new vehicle and this has been a long time coming. This rocket is actually has more thrust. Generates more thrust at lift-off than the Saturn 5 Moon rockets, although it carries a little less payload to orbit. But nonetheless it's an exciting thing, it's been a long time coming. The first iteration of this program if you will was around 2004-2005, got redesigned by the Obama administration in part because of the committee that I was part of, the review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee in '08-'09.

And so this rocket has been in development since '10. 2010, and finally here we are in 2022 getting ready for its maiden flight. So getting back to the moon is, you know, we haven't been there for almost 50 years since Apollo 17 back in 1972, so this is very exciting, it's a stepping stone to Mars, if you will, to develop and test all of our hardware we're going to use to train astronauts as well as all of the scientific objectives of going back to the moon.

BROWN: Why do you think it's taken so long to get to this point to go back to the moon?

CHIAO: Part of the reason is, you know, most large organizations and NASA is not immune from this nor the contractors that design and build the spacecraft. As they grow bigger and larger they grow a little more bureaucratic, a little less efficient, and so unfortunately it's taken longer and, you know, a lot more money than it would have in the past. For reference, the Apollo program, I mean, the NASA was created in

1958, in 1969 somewhat less than 11 years later we landed the first humans on the moon. This program in one iteration or another has been going since 2004-2005. So, you know, that's kind of just a reference point. But we are here now and so the launch is exciting. It certainly costs a lot more than most of us thought it would. It's taken a lot longer than most of us thought it would, but at least we're here now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And Artemis 1 launch window opens at 8:33 tomorrow morning at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Well, with everything in place for a launch, the only thing left to chance now is the weather. So let's bring in meteorologist Britley Ritz from the CNN Weather Center.

Britley, how do the next few hours over the Kennedy Space Center look.

BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, we do have showers and thunderstorms just off the coastline. That land breeze setting up where the land itself is cooler, the waters are warmer. That cooler air pushes that warmer water up and voila, we get the chance for a few thunderstorms, so we're watching that closely. There are three concerns over that two-hour window and with that 20 percent chance of that weather violation between the cumulus clouds, the surface electric field so the friction developed as that rocket launches.

And the precip chances that we talked about. So that preliminary date here at 8:33 tomorrow morning, there are two dates that are set just in case we do have weather. Of course, the 2nd and the 5th of September. Take a look here. With minute-by-minute future radar from Cape Canaveral showing you the scattered chances for showers and thunderstorms throughout the morning off the shoreline.

Now here's the deal. If we get a bit of that wind shift pushing more to the southeast, we then bring in some of that moisture on our coastline, but there's a 10-mile radius between cloud cover and lightning that we really have to focus on. The winds themselves pretty low, but we're keeping our eye closely on all of this for you, Pam.

BROWN: All right. Britley Ritz, thanks so much for that.

Well, get out now. That is the warning from the mayor of Mississippi's largest city as record-setting rains are pushing the Pearl River to a dangerous crest in Jackson. And it brings back horrible memories of devastating flooding in that area just two and a half years ago. Mississippi's governor has declared a state of emergency, and we're going to hear from Jackson's mayor in just a couple of minutes.

But, first, CNN's Nadia Romero with the latest.

What are you seeing there in Jackson right now? Clearly some flooding there where you are, Nadia.

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Pamela, and as the sun goes down, those concerns continue to rise right along with the floodwaters, so we know that we're expecting the Pearl River, not far from here, to crest at about 35 and a half feet. That's about several feet over flood stage. And you can already see that the water is making its way to this neighborhood on the northeast side of Jackson, Mississippi, and there's some natural indicators.

You can look at this stop sign here, and you can see how far the water has come up from just a few hours ago this afternoon. The house across the street right next door, the water has made its way further up that driveway.

[20:10:05]

Now it's covering about half the driveway, and it wasn't that far up earlier when we started our day out here in this neighborhood. Now we spoke with a man named Shawn Miller who lives right next door. He says he feels like he's just recovering from the last storms they dealt with back in 2020 that brought all of these floodwaters. Back then we saw the third highest level of crest for that Pearl River, historic flooding that impacted his home and all of his neighbors. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAWN MILLER, JACKSON RESIDENT: I thought we ended up was at about $60,000 in damages. And so a lot of -- one thing I hated about it even just like the costs of just relocating, that wasn't -- that's something that I had to eat and the time of being away from your home is just uncomfortable. I've got a family of five. I had to move to a two-bedroom apartment. So just being uncomfortable. It can then really, really compensate for that.

I was out about six months. Probably another like another $15,000 for, you know, living away from home. You're paying -- you're essentially paying two mortgages, so it adds up real quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: It definitely added up for Shawn Miller and his neighbors. We spoke with another couple, the Holders. They have been living in this community for 20 years. They are just down the street. They were worried about driving their car or their truck right through these floodwaters not knowing what was beneath it. They said last time that it flooded so badly they had to use fishing boats to get in and out of the neighborhood.

Pamela, take a look at all the debris that we can see right now. This is the concern when you have rising waters. You have debris. You have trash. You have critters. You have bacteria. And oh, the smell. It doesn't smell great when you're in the boiling sun here in Mississippi and you have these floodwaters, so even if you only have two or three inches that make it into your home, everything has to go. The subfloor, the carpet, the drywall, and that's where the money comes in. The costs continue to rise as the flood wares rise as well -- Pamela. BROWN: All right. Nadia Romero, thanks so much. That's quite the

visual there helping to explain what's going on there on the ground there in Jackson, Mississippi.

And earlier tonight I spoke with the mayor of that town. He says the city and much of the state learned valuable lessons from the flooding two and a half years ago. Here's some of that conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUMUMBA: We've had a significant amount of experience with flooding in our city due to the recent flood of 2020. And so that has, you know, now given us an opportunity to better prepare and better understand what we're contending with. And so it has been our mission to speak to the residents early and often, giving them all of the detail of what they need to do to evacuate. How they should prepare evacuation kits, working with a strong coalition from not only city departments but county representation and representation from the state.

And so I've been pleased with the response and, you know, just disappointed in the fact that my residents have to contend with these same challenges so frequently.

BROWN: Forecasters have revised downward the crest of the Pearl River from 36 feet to 35 and a half. How significant is that to residential areas?

LUMUMBA: Well, of course it's always good news to know that the projections are going down. However, at 35.5, that is still a level that is sufficient to cause a significant damage to certain homes. And so we don't want our residents to take the evacuation warnings lightly. We want them to get out and be prayerful that the worst does not come. We will certainly be delighted if they can return to their homes not suffering significant damage. But we don't want to risk the potential that it could happen and they be present within their homes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, thank you so much. And he says by and large residents have heeded the call to evacuate and he has seen the community come together to accomplish that.

Well, you're in the CNN NEWSROOM on this Sunday. Still ahead for you tonight, a big cat sanctuary beloved by celebrities is too good to be true, it turns out. Disturbing new reporting from our Rafael Romo coming up later in the hour.

But first, Democratic candidate for Texas governor, Beto O'Rourke is off the campaign trail after a bacterial infection sends him to the hospital. We're going to have the latest on his condition, and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:18:42] BROWN: Well, the Biden administration says it is ending the government program offering free at-home COVID test to all Americans. Beginning Friday the tests will no longer be available on the COVID.gov Web site. The White House is pointing the finger at Congress for not funding the free tests.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is at the White House for us.

So, Arlette, this announcement reads more like an attack ad than a signoff. What happened here?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, the White House is placing the blame directly on Congress after efforts to pass additional funding for COVID-19 response have stalled up on Capitol Hill. Now the White House has been warning for months that this might happen, that there would be constraints placed on the resources available for COVID-19 if Congress did not pass these billions of dollars' worth of funding that they had requested.

And a White House official tonight said, quote, "We have warned that congressional inaction would force unacceptable trade-offs and harm our overall COVID preparedness and response and that the consequences would likely worsen over time." Now this official also said that while the tests that are being sent to the homes will end on Friday, they are preserving some tests that they have on hand for the possibility of a surge of COVID-19 in the fall.

But it's very clear that the White House is unhappy with Congress for not passing this additional funding and that they are also willing to call them out for it as well -- Pamela.

[20:20:01]

BROWN: Certainly. Arlette Saenz live for us at the White House tonight, thanks so much.

And First Lady Jill Biden continues to isolate after testing positive for a rebound case of COVID. She was prescribed the antiviral drug Paxlovid.

As CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen reports, these COVID rebound cases are probably more common than previously thought.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Pfizer says that only 2 percent of people who have COVID and take their drug Paxlovid experience rebound, but certainly we have heard story after story of people who have had rebound, and it really does make you wonder if that 2 percent is right. So let's take a look at what the latest study, this is a big study from the National Institutes of Health says about people who have COVID-19 take Paxlovid and experience rebound.

This study says that actually 5.4 percent experience rebound within a month. Now that's certainly higher than 2 percent, but, again, in many ways just anecdotally it seems like it's even higher. Let's take a look. So President Joe Biden, he had COVID-19, took Paxlovid. Experienced rebound, so did his wife, First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden. Dr. Anthony Fauci, Stephen Colbert, the list goes on. Dr. Peter Hotez, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, both familiar faces, doctors you see often on CNN. They both experienced rebound after taking Paxlovid.

One of the reasons that people say this could be happening is you only take Paxlovid for five days. Now the FDA has asked for more studies. Perhaps people need to take it for longer. Now, having said that, there are some people who really could benefit from Paxlovid even if they do get rebound. It could be worth the risk, so the people who would benefit the most from Paxlovid, it's people who are 65 and older, people who are immune compromised and people who have underlying conditions such as diabetes or heart disease.

Now there's no question that there are people who benefit from Paxlovid. For example, there's an Israeli study that looked at elderly people and it compared people who took Paxlovid and those that didn't. What they found is that without Paxlovid people were four times more likely to end up in the hospital with COVID-19.

So the bottom line is if you're at high risk for becoming severely ill with COVID-19, then Paxlovid really might be worth the risk of having rebound. Rebound might be OK if indeed the drug saves your life. For people who are younger, people who are healthy, it might not be worth the risk of getting rebound.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Thanks so much, Elizabeth Cohen.

Beto O'Rourke home tonight and off the campaign trail after a bacterial infection sends him to the hospital. We're going to have the latest on his condition after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:27:07]

BROWN: This just in. Police in Detroit are searching for a man linked to four separate and apparently random shootings this morning. Ballistic tests show the same gun was used and investigators believe it was the same gunman. Homeland Security, the FBI and ATF are among the agencies joining this investigation. Police say none of the victims were robbed and appeared to have been chosen at random.

Well, Democratic candidate for Texas governor Beto O'Rourke is back home in El Paso after being hospitalized Friday. He became sick with a bacterial infection and says he was treated with IV antibiotics. He'll be off the campaign trail as he recovers and he promises to be back on the road as soon as he's able.

CNN national politics reporter Eva McKend is here to discuss. So what is your reaction to this news?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm glad that he is off the trail, Pam, and taking care of his health. He is a very active campaigner, though. In recent weeks he has been in the reddest part of the state trying to make his case to voters there saying that he understands he can't win with Democrats alone, and now this is sort of sidelined him and he's not able to do this.

In the critical days ahead these candidates want to be out on the trail as much as possible. He now can't do that until he recovers from this illness.

BROWN: All right. Well, let's talk about the midterms. He's been out campaigning for that. Midterms is right around the corner. You follow the candidates, you talk to voters when you crisscross the country, give us the polls. How energized are voters just a little over two months ahead of the midterms?

MCKEND: Well, it seems like people are certainly starting to wake up. We are seeing this burst of really outrage. I don't know if enthusiasm is the right word, but they are clued in on the Democratic side in the wake of Roe being overturned. What I'm also seeing from voters or hearing from voters is that they are craving authenticity. I think in Pennsylvania we see Lieutenant Governor Fetterman who is the Democratic candidate for Senate just having so much success there despite an illness of his own because the voters there tell me they feel like they know him.

He's been on the scene in Pennsylvania a long time and so his race is going to be an interesting one to watch against celebrity doctor Republican candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz.

BROWN: And one of the issues clearly energizing Democratic voters is abortion. That's what we're seeing. Earlier tonight I spoke with Charlie Crist, the former Republican governor who's trying to win back the office as a Democrat. He's challenging rising Republican star Ron DeSantis and Crist is seizing on abortion as a deciding issue. Here's what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHARLIE CRIST (D-FL): I do respect a woman's right to choose and the governor that we have doesn't. As I said the law he signed doesn't even have exceptions for rape or incest. I mean, that's barbaric.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Now he used to be pro-life, say he was pro-life, now he said very clearly that he is pro-choice. He says if elected he'd use an executive order to restore abortion rights, but I thought it was telling because he brought up the abortion issue multiple times through the course of the interview. What does that tell you?

[20:30:03]

MCKEND: Well, he thinks like many Democrats that this is an issue that they can win on, because, you know, we're not only talking about abortion, Pam. We're also talking about care in the wake of a miscarriage and how that entire situation has now changed seemingly overnight, so this is why Democrats are talking about this so much because they feel like they can appeal to voters and especially women, and they feel like races that maybe just a few months ago that they were sort of doomed in, that they were -- it was a foregone conclusion, for instance, that they were going to lose the House.

So they're saying, hey, maybe we actually have a chance. If we can talk about this issue, it changes the landscape.

BROWN: He clearly has not fundraised as much as Governor Ron DeSantis. I mean, Governor Ron DeSantis has a huge war chest. Is Florida winnable for a Democrat like Charlie Crist?

MCKEND: You know, Florida, Democrats, they're having their heart broken in Florida.

BROWN: Yes.

MCKEND: I'm not sure. But I know that Democrats across the country feel like running on abortion has changed the dynamic of many of these races. Can it help in a place like Florida? I just think it's too soon to know for sure.

BROWN: Want to talk about President Biden's plan to forgive college loan debt. It's facing criticism from both Republicans and moderate Democrats. Has he cost his party momentum with this?

MCKEND: Not at all, Pam, really because, you know, President Biden had no choice. He had to fulfill a campaign promise. This is something he said he would do, and Democratic voters, especially base voters, are actually sick and tired of Democrats saying that they are going to do a whole host of things whether it is extend the child tax credit, raise the federal minimum wage and not being able to deliver.

Now they'll say it is not their fault. They don't have the support of Republicans to get those policies passed, but Republicans didn't make those promises. Democrats did, and so the president in making this a key issue when he was running, I think really had to fulfill a campaign promise. Now I've seen Republicans already seize on this. They have got ads out suggesting that now waitresses and mechanics are responsible for paying for the education of elites, but I don't know. They might be insulting folks there because waitresses and mechanics, they have student loans, too.

BROWN: Right.

MCKEND: And so we'll have to see in the weeks ahead how this continues to play but really I think the president didn't really have a choice.

BROWN: Yes. The debt forgiveness plan, the majority of people impacted by it are working-class, middle-class Americans.

Eva McKend, thank you so much.

And you're in the CNN NEWSROOM. A popular animal sanctuary too good to be true after videos revealed the disturbing reality for the exotic cats living there. Details ahead.

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[20:37:01]

BROWN: New tonight Russian and Ukrainian officials say shelling in towns near a massive nuclear plant hit about three miles from the reactor. Authorities in the city are handing out iodine pills to resident as fears grow of a possible nuclear accident. And this week marked six months since Russia's brutal and completely unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Residents there are suffering from sky high energy prices, food shortages and, of course, exhaustion from these months under siege.

The U.S. this week pledging nearly $3 billion in additional security aid to Ukraine as well as providing a new counter drone system. And Russia's President Vladimir Putin this weekend signing a pair of executive orders that provide Ukrainians with some financial benefits and the right to work in Russia.

Ukrainian rock band leader turned soldier Taras Topolia put his life and his career on hold to fight for his country. His band attracted a whole new fan base after posting videos on social media while clad in combat gear in Ukraine and now the rock star has joined forces with other artists like Ed Sheeran and U2 to raise awareness of Russia's invasion. All while moonlighting as an army medic.

We have checked in with Taras numerous times since his first video on social media and we are so excited to welcome him back this time from Kyiv.

Hi, Taras. Great to see you. How are you doing? You know, I think about you. We connected. You first came on the show many months ago in the early stages of this war, now we are six months in. How are you holding up?

TARAS TOPOLIA, MEMBER OF UKRAINIAN BAND "ANTYTILA": Hello, everybody. I'm just now I'm at home in Kyiv standing in my library, and I just went back from the Warsaw where we took part in a concert with Ed Sheeran so I'm feeling so happy that it happened, and I'm feeling good definitely.

BROWN: I mean, not so bad to be, you know, performing alongside U2 and Ed Sheeran. We saw on your Facebook page that your band just released a new song and music video. Tell us more about that.

TOPOLIA: Oh, we made an English song special for the documentary about the us, the journalist spent a few days with us on the frontline, and made the documentary in case of this, so some parts of this documentary we released an English version of our song and I continue. I hope that we'll have an opportunity to continue to doing music and also English music, and as you can see we survived during six months of the war.

We are live. The (INAUDIBLE) Antytila band are saving lives and because of this I am feeling that maybe God has some plans on us.

BROWN: Our connection is a little unsteady here, but I'm going to ask you, how has music helped you through this war?

TOPOLIA: Oh, you know, music definitely creates moral, not only our moral but moral of whole Ukrainian nation, and music helps to doing the best -- to doing your best because you know both music gives (INAUDIBLE) goose bumps, music sometimes makes you cry but music every time gives you some emotions that's very important. We're essential. Sometimes when the people are crying, when they are in hard circumstances it helps. Sometimes while we are fighting on the frontline music gives power. It gives -- I don't know. So music has a magical power.

BROWN: Yes.

TOPOLIA: I think you know but like information but on the emotional level. We definitely know because before the war we get to the stadiums and we definitely know what music usually do with us, with people, with those people who are listening.

BROWN: Yes. What a gift you have given.

TOPOLIA: It is magic, definitely.

BROWN: It's magic. I love how you put that, and like I was saying, when a gift you are giving to your fellow Ukrainians there by providing this music and these videos performing alongside U2 and holding concerts. It's really incredible, and I should note thank you for waking up middle of the night there in Kyiv, 3:41 a.m. so as always thanks so much, Taras.

TOPOLIA: Yes.

BROWN: Hopefully you can go back to sleep after this. Stay safe out there. Thank you.

TOPOLIA: Thank you.

BROWN: We'll be right back.

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[20:46:54]

BROWN: An animal sanctuary in Mexico seemed like the perfect home for lions and tigers. It even attracted A-list celebrities and politicians, but videos revealed the horrific reality the animals were actually enduring. So sad.

CNN's Rafael Romo has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice-over): On social media and on its Web site it looked like what every animal sanctuary should be -- happy and well-fed animals, playfully enjoying themselves in wide open areas. But according to animal rights activists, the Mexican Animal Protection Group, and Mexican authorities these idyllic inaction were far from reality at the Black Jaguar-White Tiger Foundation.

(On-camera): The animal sanctuary became so popular that even celebrities like Katy Perry, Paris Hilton and the Kardashians have visited the site in Mexico City's south side and posted selfies on social media. Even a former Mexican president was among the guests.

(Voice-over): But videos of the real conditions the animals endured recorded by former employees and animal protection groups shocked and horrified many when they first surfaced earlier this summer. They show a sick lion lying motionless on the ground, another lion biting its own tail apparently because it was too hungry, and severely emaciated exotic animals seemingly too weak to run or play.

The Mexican Association of Zoos, Breeders and Aquariums reported that the animals received no medical care and not enough food especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

ERNESTO ZAZUETA, PRESIDENT, MEXICAN ASSOCIATION OF ZOOS, BREEDERS, AND AQUARIUMS (through translator): You can see their bones. Some are scabies and some were missing an eye, another an ear, another the tail. They have eaten themselves.

ROMO: Eduardo Serio is the man behind the Black Jaguar-White Tiger Foundation. For years Papa Bear as he called himself was very public about his work at the sanctuary sharing it widely on social media. His success was such that the Mexican government agency in charge of animal protection would send confiscated animals to Serio's sanctuary.

CNN's calls and messages to Serio requesting an interview have so far gone unanswered. His attorney told us his client is not currently doing any interviews. On his foundation Instagram account, Serio said that the sanctuary depended on private donors and that donations considerably decreased at the beginning of the pandemic.

We've lost 70 percent of our donations, Serio said, when people lost their jobs. They had to cut any gifts.

EDUARDO SERIO, FOUNDER, BLACK JAGUAR-WHITE TIGER FOUNDATION (through translator): These horrible videos that they took are definitely true, but as I was telling you, I am not a zoo. I do not hold pure precious beautiful animals like works of arts in a museum. Now I dedicate myself to rescuing all kinds of animals.

ROMO: Serio's attorney has filed a motion seeking to prevent his client's arrest. He says that Serio is someone whose only goal was protecting abandoned animals, some of which were already in bad shape when they were taken in by the foundation.

[20:50:07]

SALVADOR PADILLA ESTRADA, SERIO'S AND BJWT FOUNDATION'S ATTORNEY (through translator): What happened was that naturally due to the situation of the pandemic, donations dropped, and as a consequence they tried to adjust with good quality food but that did not arrive at the same frequency which does not mean that they were not fed. All was done under the care of veterinarian who tried to meet the needs of the animals.

ROMO: In early July heavily armed Mexico City police in tactical assault gear raided the Black Jaguar-White Tiger animal sanctuary. The more than 200 lions, tigers, jaguars and other exotic animals at the site were sent to zoos and animal shelters around Mexico where animal protection groups hope they will be properly fed and taken care of.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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[20:55:36]

BROWN: And this just in, Washington Commanders rookie running back Brian Robinson is in the hospital tonight after being shot earlier today. Details are still sketchy, but reports say he is in stable condition with non-life threatening injuries. The former Alabama standout was drafted by Washington in the third round back in April. We'll bring you more details on this story as we get them.

And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM. First, it was the hotdog straw and now a hotdog popsicle. CNN's Jeanne Moos has more on the new dog on the block.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Why stick to hotdogs on a bun when you can try a Cold Dog on a stick like a wiener flavored popsicle only creamier.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, wow.

MOOS: They've redecorated the Oscar Mayer wiener mobile for the debut of the Cold Dog.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not an Oscar Mayer hotdog. It's a gelato based.

MOOS: Oscar Mayer teamed up with Pop Bar, makers of fancy frozen desserts on a stick. The Cold Dog even has the illusion of mustard. Everyone who tried it said the same thing.

(On-camera): But it really tastes like a hotdog.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you like it?

MOOS (voice-over): It's not nice to talk with your mouth full, especially if the nicest thing you can say is it's not horrible. The Cold Dog was inspired by Oscar Mayer's stupid or genius campaign featuring imaginary items like a hotdog rake and a hotdog cake, but they decided to make the Cold Dog a short-lived reality.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like this is something I'll have in my freezer for a very long time. MOOS (on-camera): Very long.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very long.

MOOS: I'm following you.

(Voice-over): We stepped inside the wiener mobile for a quick tour. As we exited there was an NYPD officer we feared might be giving the wiener mobile a ticket. Instead, he wanted to try a Cold Dog.

(On-camera): Tastes like what?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like smokey.

MOOS: Smokey.

(Voice-over): The smoked hickory flavor seems to supply the hotdog taste which both officers liked.

(On-camera): And then after I finished eating it, it continued to taste like a hotdog even when I wasn't eating it anymore.

(Voice-over): It's that lingering wiener aftertaste that sticks with you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: OK. That is disgusting to me.

All right, so before we go tonight, I need to say a few words about the fearless leader whose steady hand has guided this team. This is the final show with our executive producer Adam Charlton steering the ship. He's moving back to England where his wife and their two children await his return.

Adam has been away from home for 16 years. His career with CNN taking him across the globe with stops in Europe, Hong Kong, and for nearly the past 10 years the U.S. His children were born here in the United States, but as he wrote in a deeply personal op-ed posted on CNN.com not long ago, the fear of gun violence is ending his American dream.

I don't want to focus on why he is leaving but why we will miss him so very much. Adam's fingerprints can be found across every part of this show that he launched alongside me and the rest of the team a little over a year and a half ago. His tireless work each week brings this show to life. He is the calming voice in my ear doing everything from telling me to wrap, sometimes multiple times, when my interviews go too long, and that typically happens, to guiding me through breaking news.

We will remember his infectious smile and his good nature, how he always kept things positive, even under great pressure. And he always made us laugh. Always. Has the best sense of humor, important qualities in a business like this when the news is so often grim and the pressure is immense. He has all helped us grow as journalists, pushing us outside our comfort zones like even last night when he pushed me to do a poll on spanking in schools. I'm glad he had me do it.

It is time now for Adam to reunite with his family across the pond, and from his family here at CNN, I want to say thank you. See you soon. We will miss you, and that British sense of humor beyond measure.

And don't forget, you can tweet me @pamelabrownCNN. You can also follow me on Instagram. You can also follow Adam. He's on Instagram, too, Adam Charlton.

Thank you so much for joining us this evening. I'm Pamela Brown. I'll see you again next weekend. The CNN Original Series "DIANA" is next.