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Elizabeth Holmes Reports to Prison Today; Weekend Travel Surpasses Pre-Pandemic Levels; Rising Cost of Weddings; Miami Heat Beats the Boston Celtics. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired May 30, 2023 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At $9 billion at its peak. Theranos attracted an impressive list of investors and retail partners with claims that it had developed technology to test for a wide range of medical conditions using just a few drops of blood.

ELIZABETH HOLMES, FOUNDER, THERANOS: So, this is the little tubes that we collect the samples in. We call them the nanotainer. They're about this big.

FLORES: Holmes appearing on magazine covers and was hailed as the next Steve Jobs.

HOLMES: I've always believed that the purpose of building a business is to make an impact in the world.

FLORES: The company began to unravel after a "Wall Street Journal" investigation in 2015 reported that Theranos had only ever performed roughly a dozen of the hundreds of tests it offered using its proprietary technology and with questionable accuracy.

Investors and retail partners backed out and in June of 2018 Holmes pleaded not guilty, ultimately she was indicted for fraud, before being convicted last year. Her rise and fall depicted in the hit Hulu show "The Dropout."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't understand the business.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you don't understand the science.

FLORES: Despite her conviction, Holmes told "The New York Times" that she plans to work on health care-related inventions behind bars. Quote, I still dream about being able to contribute in that space.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: Now, back to that inmate handbook. Those 82 pages. It states that once Holmes turns herself in, she will go through a social and medical screening that all inmates have to maintain a job, that the pay range is between 12 cents and 40 cents. Now, it's unclear if that's per hour. That's what I'm assuming. But it's not clear based on that handbook. It also says that initially all inmates are assigned to the food

service area. Now, Poppy, it also says that inmates wake up at 6:00 a.m. every morning and they have to make their own bed.

Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Rosa Flores, thank you for the reporting there in Bryan, Texas. Appreciate it.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: This just in, travelers really packed into U.S. airports over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, surpassing even those pre-pandemic levels.

CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean is live in Washington.

So, Pete, there was some expectation that we could see these higher numbers. Give us the latest.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, airlines have really passed the test here, Erica. And that's the big headline. Not only were cancellations low, but airlines carried 300,000 more people over the Memorial Day holiday than compared to 2019, back before the pandemic. The TSA just told us it screened 2.58 million people at airports nationwide yesterday. That was the second of two waves. People come home. The first wave, people leaving home, that was even bigger, 2.72 million people screened at airports nationwide on Friday. That's the highest number we have seen since 2019.

Day after day, the numbers were bigger than pre-pandemic figures. A lot of huge superlatives there. Also the fact that cancellations were relatively low. Seven hundred in total between Thursday and Monday. When you take that five-day period and compare it to the same period last year, airlines canceled 2,700 flights, really kicked off these cascading meltdowns that lasted all summer long, 55,000 in total between Memorial Day and Labor Day. So, this past weekend was only about a quarter of what we saw last year.

Spoke to Scott Keyes of Going and he said that this is really critical. It shows that the airlines did a pretty good job here, but they simply cannot let their guard down going through the summer.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT KEYES, FOUNDER AND CHIEF FLIGHT EXPERT, GOING.COM: I think we can say, without reservation, that airlines have passed the test.

I am hopeful that means we're going to have a pretty good summer when it comes to flying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: We have rush after rush ahead. July 4th, Labor Day. Although the top driver of delays and cancellations really is the weather. That's the "it" factor when it comes to the summertime. We will see how airlines handle these big thunderstorms that come through. It can throw things off. A real domino effect that can cause cancellations and delays systemwide.

HILL: And that, of course, is out of their control.

MUNTEAN: Yes.

HILL: Pete, I also want to ask you about this. Air New Zealand says it's going to start weighing passengers before they board the plane on certain flights. This is not the little puddle jumpers where anybody who's taken one of those flights, they know that you get weighed along with your bag and you get placed where you need to be.

No.

HILL: They say this is so that they can gather some data on the weight load and the distribution for planes.

What more do you know about this program? What do you think it will really tell them?

MUNTEAN: The good news here is that this is not in the U.S. And this is a pretty limited trial run. Air New Zealand only doing this on flights from Auckland until July 2nd. The airline really needs to set a new baseline here for what it considers the standard weight of passengers. The good news here in the U.S., this has already happened.

[08:35:00]

For a long time the FAA considered the standard weight of a person on an airplane to be 170 pounds in the summer, 175 pounds in the wintertime when they're carrying more coats and bags.

That changed back in 2021. It went from 190 in the summer to 195 in the wintertime. You know, things are getting different. People are getting bigger and they're carrying more things. People are often incentivized to bring carry-ons onboard a plane. That's why the FAA did it here in the U.S.

HILL: Yes, I don't like my children to check bags. So I'm one of those people.

HARLOW: Me too.

HILL: They have to fit it in the overhead and they have to carry it themselves.

MUNTEAN: That's right.

HILL: I'm also happy I'm not getting weighed before I get on the next plane. I'm not going to lie.

MUNTEAN: Same.

HILL: Pete, appreciate it, my friend. Thank you.

MUNTEAN: Anytime.

HARLOW: How big are your carry-ons?

HILL: My carry-ons? Well, I always have -

HARLOW: Like, do they fit?

HILL: Always.

HARLOW: Oh. I'm like the embarrassing one.

HILL: You're shoving it in?

HARLOW: Yes. And then I'm unpacking it on the seat because I can't get enough in it.

HILL: We're going to have - we'll have a little packing tutorial.

HARLOW: Thank you. I need that. I need that.

Well, listen to this, dozens of tech executives, researchers, even celebrities are teaming up to warn the world about what they call the possible -- and these are their words, quote, risk of extinction that comes with artificial intelligence.

HILL: Yes.

HARLOW: The so-called godfather of AI, Jeffrey Hinton, also on the other side of your screen you see Sam Altman, he is the CEO of the company that created ChatGPT, and the musician Grimes, are just a few of the big names who signed this very succinct statement, very short, just released this morning by the Center for AI Safety. Here is what it reads. Quote, mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.

Fascinating.

HILL: Uplifting. Uplifting outlook there.

HARLOW: Uplifting. But I'm glad they're warning.

HILL: Me too. So, then, what's the plan to stop it? I feel like the genie's out of the bottle.

HARLOW: Well, they have a lot of power, the people in charge of the bots, companies have a lot of power in that.

HILL: Let's hope so.

A ninth person, we're learning, has been rescued from that collapsed apartment building in Davenport, Iowa. Officials, though, say that there are still others who remain unaccounted for. So, what does that mean for this search? What we're learning and also what it could mean in terms of when they can demolish that building.

HARLOW: Also, the average price of a wedding going up since last year. What's behind the rise in costs?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:41:38]

HARLOW: As you get your morning started, here are "5 Things" to know.

Drones striking the heart of Russia. The Kremlin is accusing Ukraine of attacking Moscow with at least eight drones, but the Ukrainians are denying any direct involvement.

HILL: The debt limit deal about to face its first major hurdle today. The powerful House Rules Committee will decide whether that bill will even make it to the floor.

Nine people shot, including a one-year-old child, along the boardwalk in Hollywood, Florida. We're told at least one person has been detained in that shooting.

HARLOW: Search teams reportedly found a ninth survivor more than 24 hours after an apartment building partially collapsed. This happened in Davenport, Iowa. The rescue came after city officials made plans to demolish the building.

HILL: The Kansas City teenager who was shot in the head after ringing the wrong doorbell making his first public appearance since that shooting. Ralph Yarl participated in a fundraiser walk to raise money for people dealing with brain injuries.

HARLOW: Those are the "5 Things" to know this morning. Don't forget to download the "5 Things" podcast every morning, Go to cnn.com/5things.

HILL: So, most wedding isn't complete without a little music. You need a deejay, a band, maybe a wedding singer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM SANDLER, ACTOR, "THE WEDDING SINGER": Cindy and Scott are newlyweds. Whoopidydoo (ph).

He loves her, but she loves this guy right here. And he loves somebody else. You just can't win. And so it goes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: That is, of course, Adam Sandler in the 1998 comedy "The Wedding Singer." God, that was '98?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes.

HILL: What you would have paid for a wedding singer back then, nowhere near what you would pay today. So, just how expensive is it to say I do in 2023? Joining us now, CNN's senior data reporter Harry Enten.

All right, what's the morning number? I'm guessing its large. ENTEN: It is large. All right, this morning's number is $29,000. That's the average cost of a wedding in 2023. $29,000. That's up 17 percent from pre-pandemic back in 2019.

And if you want to get married in the state of New York, good luck you because the average wedding costs most in Washington, D.C., $45,000. In New Jersey, $44,000. In New York, $44,000. I hope you are saving a lot of money. I know I am.

And why are the weddings becoming so expensive? Look at the 2022 wedding costs versus back in 2019. Deejays, up 25 percent. Makeup artists, up 20 percent. Flowers, up 20 percent. Wedding dresses, up 19 percent. And hairstylists, up 18 percent. So, the cost of a wedding becoming larger because the components are becoming more and more expensive.

HARLOW: Is your girlfriend watching because I just heard you say you're saving.

HILL: I was thinking the same thing.

ENTEN: She probably - she's either watching live or she's going to watch it on tape.

HARLOW: How is the state of marriage in America these days?

ENTEN: Yes, so, the state of marriage perhaps not as strong as you would want. So, age 18 - age 15 plus who are married, back in 1960, look at that, a little south of 70 percent. Look where we were in 2021, less than 50 percent of those age 15 plus are in fact married. It's --

HILL: I'm OK with some of that.

ENTEN: You're OK -

HILL: I don't think anybody should be married at 15. I'm just going to say that right there.

ENTEN: And I'll just note that the median age of first marriage, way up now versus 1960, up by nine years and seven years.

HILL: That makes me feel better.

[08:45:00]

HARLOW: OK.

ENTEN: Yes.

HARLOW: Thanks, Harry.

ENTEN: Thank you.

HILL: All right, Miami dominating Boston, set to go head-to-head with the Denver Nuggets in the NBA finals later this week. Bob Costas is here to talk all things basketball.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So there's (ph) a game seven they stand eye to eye with history and they did not blink. The Heat are going to the NBA finals!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Oof, and there we go. Oh, it was a rough one for beantown. I mean there was so much excitement.

It took seven games, but the Miami Heat got their revenge against the Boston Celtics, taking the lead in the first quarter and really never looking back. They won last night's match-up 103-84. A hard-fought series, to put it mildly.

The Heat, of course, won first three games and then it was Boston making that historic comeback, taking the next three, including that buzzer beater game six in Miami, which forced everybody back to Boston. But it turned out in the end the Celtics didn't have it in them to get it done.

So, the Heat making history. The first time in 24 years that an eighth seed has won a conference championship. So now it is on to the finals where they will face the Denver Nuggets. That kicks off June 1st.

[08:50:01]

Also the first time the Nuggets are in the finals. Seventh appearance for the Heat.

There's a lot of numbers there.

BOB COSTAS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: A lot of numbers.

HILL: But at the end of the day -

COSTAS: Yes.

HILL: There's also a lot of heart and a lot of excitement about this team. There's been so much talk about Jimmy Butler, not just with my teenage boys, but, you know, sort of in general.

COSTAS: Yes.

HILL: But I learned it from them. But I do love his whole story. He ends up MVP or the Eastern Conference finals, right?

COSTAS: Yes, for the finals.

HILL: He is -- he vowed that he would get them over the hump and he - he really did. COSTAS: Yes, although, not to change that narrative, but last night

was a letdown because game six was so dramatic and so exciting. And you had the chance for history. The Celtics perhaps coming back from the 0-3 deficit. But even if the Heat had won the game, it was not a dramatic or exciting game. They took charge of it in the first quarter and never let up. The Celtics were never really in the game.

Now, Boston fans have to put up with this, the Bruins had the best regular season in NHL history and they lost to an eighth seed.

HARLOW: Right.

COSTAS: The Florida Panthers, who are now in the finals. The Celtics were overwhelming favorites and they had the seventh game at home, even after coming back from that 0-3 deficit, and they lose to the Heat. So, two heartbreaks for Boston fans.

Meanwhile, the Heat and the Panthers are in the NBA and Stanley Cup finals respectively. It has never happened in the history of both leagues where teams from the same city, or basic area, won both the Stanley Cup and the NBA championship in the same year.

HARLOW: Yes.

COSTAS: In 1994, the Rangers won the Stanley Cup and Knicks were up on the Rockets 3-2 in the NBA finals, but Houston won game six and seven in Houston. So, that has never happened.

HILL: So this could be huge.

COSTAS: Yes. And both would be very large underdogs, Heat and that Panthers, underdogs.

HILL: Yes.

HARLOW: Harry had - Harry Enten had both the trophies in here last week.

COSTAS: Right.

HARLOW: So maybe they'll be heading to Florida. We'll see.

So much is always made of home court advantage. Not in this series.

COSTAS: No, not in this series. The Celtics won, what, the - the Celtics won two of three in Miami.

HARLOW: In Miami.

COSTAS: And the Heat won three out of four, including game seven, in Boston.

HARLOW: Yes.

COSTAS: So, you play all year long for home court advantage our home ice advantage, as the case may be, and sometimes it doesn't prove to be much of an advantage at all.

HILL: It doesn't always work out.

The Heat also a little bit of an underdog team in some ways.

COSTAS: Oh, yes.

HILL: And that - I mean I love a good underdog story, I'll say, selfishly. So I'd love to see that happen.

COSTAS: Uh-huh.

HILL: But it's great too I think just the message that it sends about who they are as a team. What is that culture for this team?

COSTAS: Well, Erik Spoelstra, who kind of for a long time -

HILL: Coach.

COSTAS: Was perceived as just being Pat Riley's sort of, I don't know how you'd put it, like Riley's really running the team and - and he's tutoring Spoelstra. But Spoelstra has been there for so long and has done so well, he now ranks among the very best NBA coaches.

And apparently there is a culture there. You know, the NBA, when it was on NBC in the '90s, I was around it all the time, so I'm not going to pretend to be there on a day in day out basis, but they have got a culture there that works. And when they lost game six at home in ridiculous fashion, the putback by White right at the -- with one- tenth of a second to go -

HARLOW: That was amazing.

COSTAS: Everybody thought they'd be completely deflated. They had coughed up a 0-3 lead. They're going to Boston for game seven. And Spoelstra said in the immediately after, like seconds after, as soon as he sat down for the interview, we can't wait to play game seven. We wish it would tip off right now. We're good to go. You know, there was no hang dog aspect to this.

HARLOW: Yes.

COSTAS: So that's the right message to send.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets have almost two weeks of rest. And I'd rather have rest -- people talk about, oh, they're rusty, they're out of rhythm. I'd rather have the rest. Here now the Heat have to turn around and go to the altitude of Denver for the first two games -

HARLOW: Yes.

COSTAS: Against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, who are a very, very good team.

HARLOW: Can we talk about Jokic for a minute?

COSTAS: Yes.

HARLOW: Because this is his biggest stage for sure that he's had.

COSTAS: Uh-huh.

HARLOW: A younger player. Jimmy Butler, obviously, has a lot of the attention. But how do you expect Nikola Jokic to perform?

COSTAS: Well, he's a two-time MVP, finished second this year in the MVP voting to the 76ers Joel Embiid.

For casual fans this will be a revelation. Around the NBA, it's already known. This is a multi-skilled player. At first glance he doesn't appear to be that athletic, whatever the heck that's supposed to mean. Larry Bird didn't appear to be all that athletic and he was one of the greatest players of all time.

HARLOW: Fair.

COSTAS: You know, Jokic has - has a bag of tricks, if that's the way to put it. He just - he does things -- he shoots the ball from distance, he has an inside game. He's one of the best players in recent history.

HILL: So, we have a lot to watch.

COSTAS: Yes.

HILL: Before we let you go, there was a lot made before the season started about some of the changes with Major League Baseball.

COSTAS: Yes.

HILL: Larger bases we know. So, games are faster.

COSTAS: They are.

HILL: They're ending, what, maybe 30 minutes quicker. More bases being stolen. Ultimately, is this working out?

COSTAS: Yes, it's working out almost exactly the way they intended. It's not just the length of games, which, as you say, are about a half hour shorter, it's the pace of games.

[08:55:02]

I did a game on the Major League Baseball Network a couple of weeks ago in St. Louis. The Cardinals beat the Dodgers 16-8. It lasted barely more than three hours.

HILL: Wow.

COSTAS: Like three hours and four minutes. No one complains about that because there was so much action and so much stuff going on. But you shouldn't have a 2-1 game that the home team wins so you play eight and a half innings and that lasts three and a half hours, which is what was happening.

Baseball is supposed to have a pleasing leisurely place, not a plodding, lethargic pace. And so they've achieved that in terms of the pace and now outlawing shifts there's more base hits. There's also more athletic plays within the infield. Instead of the ball being hit right at somebody, because analytics has them perfectly positioned, the guy has to range to his left or his right and you see more exciting plays.

They also increased the size of the bases. Some people liken them to pizza boxes. But the thing that really has increased the stolen bases is you're only allowed to throw over twice to chase the runner back during any given at bat.

HARLOW: Oh.

COSTAS: And that - that allows the base runner to be a little bit more adventurous.

HILL: Yes. It makes for a fun game.

COSTAS: There you go.

HARLOW: Yes.

HILL: Great to see you. Thanks for being here this morning, Bob.

COSTAS: You too.

HARLOW: Thanks, Bob. Thank you.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Time for your "Morning Moment." A look at last night's Manhattanhenge. That's what they're calling it. Lighting up the streets of New York City. For four days a year the sun aligns perfectly through the spaces between the buildings. The effect lasts only a few minutes when the beam of light shoots through the streets that run east to west.

[09:00:05]

Spectators can catch that phenomenon again tonight about 8:12 p.m. Eastern Time.

I've never seen it. I didn't know it existed. I go to bed at 8, but I'm going to stay up tonight until 8:13.

HILL: You might not be able to see it at your house, though.

HARLOW: Wonk, wonk, in Brooklyn, wonk, wonk.

HILL: The good news is, lots of people will post pictures about it.

HARLOW: All right.

HILL: So, we can look at them in the morning.

HARLOW: Thanks.

We'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for being with us.

"CNN NEWS CENTRAL" is now.