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Hopper: 12.6 Million Passengers Scheduled To Fly On Labor Day Weekend; Los Angeles County Wildfire Burns Through 5,000+ Acres; Artemis 1 Team Readies For Launch Tomorrow; Updated Boosters Available For Americans Aged 12 Years And Up. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired September 02, 2022 - 14:30   ET

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

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[14:34:39]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Nearly 13 million passengers are scheduled to fly this weekend in the U.S., which caps off a summer of air travel chaos. Since Memorial Day weekend, about 55,000 flights have been canceled.

CNN's Pete Muntean is at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.

How is it looking there, Pete?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, the big question now, Alisyn, as you mentioned, is whether or not airlines can keep it together as so many people are coming back to travel. Hoppers expects about 12.6 million Americans to travel domestically.

[14:35:09]

But it's been such a bad summer for flight cancellations, 45,000 in the U.S. alone since June 1st. We saw 800 alone just this past Tuesday, mostly because of bad weather.

But remember, airlines got a lot smaller over the pandemic and they've been dealing with staffing shortages.

Today, so far so good. But the numbers are going up a little bit. We've seen about 2,200 delays nationwide, according to FlightAware, about 130 flights canceled. Those numbers still pretty small.

The good news here is that just in time for this holiday weekend rush, many airlines have completely rewritten the fine print that is attached to your ticket, re-writing what you are entitled to if you are canceled or delayed, in some cases improving those policies in a big way.

I want you to listen to passengers I've been talking to. Many of them say they've been the lucky ones lately, although it's really hard to shake the frustration of being canceled earlier in the summer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MELISSA HABEDANK, TRAVELER: It's staggeringly frustrating because you can be there, about ready to board, and it's like, god, not again, really? Can't something be on time?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: We are not totally out of the woods just yet. The FAA says it's anticipating thunderstorms in places like Florida, Atlanta, in Texas, along the Gulf Coast.

But it is pretty good right now. Just check the FAA's air space systems Web site, not many ground delays, not many ground stops right now. The only one in the country right now, only one, at Dallas Love Field, a bit of a departure delay because of thunderstorms -- Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: OK The airlines cannot control thunderstorms, so we'll give them that pass.

Pete Muntean, thank you very much.

Now the National Weather Service is warning of a high risk to the general population as the heat continues to scorch the west. More than 45 million people are under heat alerts across California, Nevada, Washington and other states.

Forecasts today call for temperatures above 100 degrees. Some regions are literally on fire. Lightning strikes sparked two fires in Yosemite National Park, scorching more than 5,000 acres.

And in Los Angeles County, a wildfire has spread to more than 5,000 acres in less than 48 hours.

So let's get to CNN's Natasha Chen in Los Angeles.

Natasha, we know that that area is facing a long list of heat-related emergencies, so what are officials saying now?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Alisyn, speaking of that fire north of L.A., a couple of freeway lanes are shut down because of that.

Fire officials say that should be a wake-up call to show us what could potentially happen in the coming few days, with explosive fire behavior. Already this week, seven firefighters treated for heat related injuries.

But the warnings aren't just about fire. It's also about water. When we have two beaches in the area where people are warned not to swim or play or surf, for example, at Santa Monica Pier, because of high bacteria levels, higher than health standards would allow.

I want to point out there's also warnings for air quality due to all of this heat, a warning for people to try and stay hydrated, stay out of the heat.

That's why this park that we're at in north Hollywood is pretty empty, even though it's normally very busy.

Still, we found one runner this morning who was running in the heat on purpose to train for outdoor sports.

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MICHAEL GUTHRIE, LOS ANGELES RUNNER: No, because you condition your body for that. So you drink a lot of fluid, Gatorade and that will help you out. You can feel if your body is getting overheated. So, you know, I try to do between three to five miles.

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CHEN: Got to be really careful if you are trying to do that.

Another thing, California residents are being asked to voluntarily conserve energy during the peak hours, to not stress out the electric grid.

So personally, I will be turning that thermostat way up between 4:00 and 9:00 p.m. today.

And people who own electric cars are being asked not to charge them during those peak times as well.

So a lot of considerations here, Alisyn, as we try to get through the next few days, through Labor Day, the most intense and longest heat streak so far this year, according to the National Weather Service.

CAMEROTA: Everybody has to do their part right now.

Natasha Chen, thank you very much for that reporting.

[14:39:34]

All right, take two. NASA will try again tomorrow to launch Artemis 1. We're live from the Kennedy Space Center with the likelihood for takeoff.

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CABRERA: NASA will try again to launch its Artemis 1 moon mission tomorrow. You'll remember that Monday's launch was scrubbed because of an engine cooling issue and the weather.

If all goes well, the Artemis Orion spacecraft will travel more than one million miles total. The mission will take about six weeks to go from earth around the moon and back.

There will not be any astronauts onboard this time. Instead, the mission will deploy 10 small satellites that will each perform scientific pursuits of their own.

Joining me is CNN's space and defense correspondent, Kristin Fisher, who is at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, in Florida, I should say, and retired NASA astronaut, Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger. [14:45:02]

OK, great to see both of you.

Kristin, how confident are the mission managers that all the issues have been resolved and tomorrow will be a go?

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE & DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, NASA says it's very confident on the technical side of things.

They've worked through two of the big problems that they encountered on Monday. They fixed the hydrogen leak they encountered during fueling.

And they've also learned that there wasn't actually a problem with the system that cools down that pesky engine number three. It turns out it was a bad sensor.

And so NASA's very simple plan to this very complicated mission, the simple fix is to ignore that bad sensor. And so that is what they are going to do on the technical side of things for this second launch attempt.

On the weather side of things, things are also looking pretty good. We got some very rare access inside the 45th weather squadron's' control room. This is the place where they make all of those "go, no- go" weather calls.

What we learned is, tomorrow, there's 60 percent favorable weather at the beginning of the launch window, 80 percent favorable at the end of the launch window.

So weather-wise, NASA has a very solid shot on Saturday for a 2:17 p.m. Eastern time launch.

And if this launch is a success, Alisyn, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson says it will put NASA on track to returning American astronauts to the moon by 2025, and beat China, which is trying to do the exact same thing.

Here is the administrator on CNN just this morning.

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BILL NELSON, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: Yes, there's a space race.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Who is winning?

NELSON: Well, let's see. This is the first step and this is the largest, most powerful rocket ever.

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FISHER: So that's what's at stake here. The NASA administrator saying the U.S. is in the middle of a second space race. Some critics say that characterization is simply too strong. But at

the very least, this is a strategic competition that the United States is in with China to get back to the moon and someday beyond -- Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: Really interesting, Kristin. And very cool you got that insider access from NASA.

Dottie, there are so many variables that go into a launch, between the weather and a bad sensor. I can't believe that they ever actually all align and that there's a successful launch, but somehow there is.

And so on moments like this, 24 hours beforehand, how tense are engineers as they wait and watch to see if this is going to happen tomorrow?

DOTTIE METCALF-LINDENBURGER, RETIRED NASA ASTRONAUT: Well, the great thing about NASA is that everyone trains for their positions and for the work they're going to be doing.

So engineers are critically looking at their systems and they know what tolerances they have and they know what they can and cannot do. And they are talking about this open and honestly.

So it's not so much as tense. It's just knowing what you can and cannot do and making those decisions at the right time.

I know, as a person from the outside now, watching, I woke up super early, earlier this week, with the hope to see a successful launch. But I also realize absolutely that all these things do have to align.

So I'm really glad to hear that the troubleshooting is working, just as it is planned to.

And I'm also really glad to hear that the weather window is looking so favorable. That's exciting.

CAMEROTA: Yes, so we can feel your excitement.

Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, Kristin, thank you both so much. We're excited, too. And obviously, everybody is holding their breath and waiting to see what happens tomorrow.

Great to talk to both of you.

[14:48:53]

OK, so Americans 12 years old and up are now eligible for boosters against multiple strains of COVID-19. When should you get yours? That's next.

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[14:53:15]

CAMEROTA: Many Americans signing up to receive the CDC's newly authorized COVID boosters. These updated shots specifically target the Omicron variants.

CNN health reporter, Jacqueline howard, joins us now.

Jacqueline, who's eligible for these boosters?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Alisyn, anyone who's 12 and older and has completed their primary series is eligible for this boost. It could be used as a first booster, second booster, third booster, as long as you're in that category.

Here's what we know. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are available. The Pfizer updated booster is administered as a 30-micro gram dose for anyone 12 and older, as you see on the screen. Moderna is administered as a 50-gram micro dose for ages 18 and older.

And these are free vaccines. To find a location to sign up for your vaccination, go to vaccines.gov, as you see on the screen.

And, Alisyn, Dr. Anthony Fauci said just this morning that these updated boosters will benefit everyone. Have a listen.

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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I do believe there will be benefit essentially for everyone but clearly more benefit for the elderly and those who have underlying conditions.

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HOWARD: And the reason why Dr. Fauci said this will be a benefit is because these vaccines have been updated to target the variants that are circulating now, the Omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5.

Alisyn, some public health experts say this could be the start of us having an annual boost, just like the current vaccine has been updated to target BA.4 and BA.5.

We could see possibly a rollout of annual vaccinations, annual boosters, just like how we have updated flu shots each year, we could see in the future potentially updated COVID-19 boosters.

[14:55:03]

But for now, Alisyn, these updated boosters are available for 12 and older. And people can start signing up for their vaccinations this weekend.

CAMEROTA: OK, Jacqueline Howard, thank you.

A federal judge unsealed a detailed list of the property seized during the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago in August. What they found and what it means for former President Trump, next.

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