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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

SpaceX Will Launch 4 Astronauts to the International Space Station; CDC Advisers Meeting to Discuss Fate of J&J Vaccine; Sen. Tim Scott to Give GOP Response to Biden's Address to Congress; U.S. Sending Airborne Assets to Help with Search for Missing Sub. Aired 5- 5:30a ET

Aired April 23, 2021 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:11]

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Is the Johnson & Johnson vaccine safe enough to resume in the U.S.? We should find out today.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. now helping the desperate search for a missing submarine, 53 crew members will run out of oxygen by tomorrow.

JARRETT: And in less than an hour, four astronauts from three countries will launch into space. CNN is live from the Kennedy Center, that's coming up.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is EARLY START, a big day. I'm Laura Jarrett.

ROMANS: It really is. Nice way to end the week, right, with a space launch.

I'm Christine Romans. It is Friday, April 23rd. Happy Friday, everybody. It is exactly 5:00 a.m. in New York.

It's also 5:00 a.m. at Cape Canaveral, where in less than an hour, Crew-2 will launch to the International Space Station. The latest joint venture between NASA and SpaceX.

And our Rachel Crane is there, CNN's innovation and space correspondent.

And, Rachel, we know the mission was delayed for a day because of the weather. Conditions look good today, right? So, tell us what you're seeing and what the mood is there, Rachel.

RACHEL CRANE, CNN INNOVATION AND SPACE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Christine. Well, right now, all systems are a go, it has been a smooth countdown and we are tracking no issues for the scheduled launch today at 5:49 Eastern Time this morning.

Now, let me tell you about where we are in the countdown of today's launch. The astronauts are currently suited up. They are strapped into their seats. The hatch of space capsule Endeavor is closed. There has been a series of systems checks, comms checks, leak checks that have been conducted. And the next major milestone that we are waiting for is 45 minutes before launch. So, we're just minutes away from that, when SpaceX launch director will do the go for propellant call.

And 35 minutes before countdown, that's when they will start loading up over a million pounds of propellant, liquid oxygen which they called locks and RP1 which is the rocket grade kerosene. So that will be loaded into the system here and what's really unique about the rocket today and the spacecraft is they are both flight proven. They have both flown to space already.

The Falcon 9 booster that you see, you can actually see the scorch marks and soots on it which is SpaceX, you know, they decide not to repaint it, why spend the money, why waste the time. They are proud of those scorch marks because that is a tent pole of their strategy here, reusability, reusing the systems they fly to space.

So, let me tell you about the astronauts that are on board. We have a multinational crew, we have a JAXA astronaut Ashi (ph) Hoshide. We also ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and we have two NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough, the commander, and the pilot is Megan McAthur. And what's unique about Megan is her husband is Bob Behnken.

If you remember, back in May of 2020, her husband was on that Demo 2 flight, that historic flight that took off her from Kennedy Space Center. I was lucky enough to witness t that was the first crewed mission from American soil in nearly a decade. So, Megan is actually flying in the exact same seat as her husband did nearly a year ago.

So, a lot of excitement here, Christine, at the Kennedy Space Center. I was starting to get the launch butterflies, the astronauts, you know, they're very cool and composed but I'm sure they're getting jazzed too. Everybody here around here, you can start to feel the energy is changing as we are now, we're within an hour of that launch window, that instantaneous launch window -- Christine.

ROMANS: You described it to me, it's literally a power -- a power couple at work and really exciting. We know there is a lot of energy there and we will be back with you shortly.

We know a lot of people are up early or staying up late so they can make sure they don't miss a single moment of this launch. Rachel Crane, thank you.

JARRETT: You can just feel Rachel's excitement. You just love it.

All right. Now, to this, the CDC's vaccine advisers meet today to discuss the fate of Johnson & Johnson's single-dose coronavirus vaccine. In just the last few hours, CNN has learned officials in Oregon are looking into a death that could be linked to that shot. And in Texas, a woman who received the vaccine is now hospitalized with potential blood clots.

But still important here, no official link between these rare clots and the vaccine has actually been confirmed. And out of nearly 7 million shots the number of reported clots remains remarkably small. South Africa and the E.U. have already decided to start using the

Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said last night he wouldn't be surprised if the U.S. makes a similar decision as Europe, opting to have the vaccine carry a warning but finding that the shot's benefits ultimately outweigh the risks.

ROMANS: All right. All of those shots, warmer weather, money flowing to Americans, a multi-pronged boost to the economic recovery. We know weekly jobless claims hit the lowest of the pandemic 547,000 people filing for the first time for jobless benefits, a claim still far higher than pre-pandemic levels but we can see here on that chart, the layoffs are slowing.

[05:05:09]

About 17.4 million people receiving some sort of jobless benefit. That shows you the depth of the crisis. But we are seeing a spring thaw in the jobs market. And the IRS and Treasury sent out another 2 million stimulus checks bringing the total to 161 million payments. That's worth more than $397 billion. That's money going into Americans' pockets.

And travel is picking back up. American Airlines says the recovery is beginning. Earlier this week, American said it's bringing all of its pilots back on the job and hiring new pilots for the first time since the pandemic began. Its top executive stressed to the employees the pandemic, though, far from over.

ROMANS: And fears of a capital gains tax increase rattled investors Thursday, the Dow fell 423 points. Look, we knew higher taxes for investors were coming. It's the main part of President Biden's economic platform. Despite the decline stocks are still near record highs.

JARRETT: More questions this morning about what happened to Andrew Brown Jr. He was fatally shot by police in North Carolina on Wednesday. Neighbors describing a chaotic scene, a car pulling away, then shots fired. The county sheriff's office, well, it claims its special operations and tactical team was trying to serve Brown with a felony drug arrest warrant.

ROMANS: The deputies' body cameras were activated but the State Bureau of Investigations says in North Carolina body cam footage can only be released with a court order.

Meantime, in Minneapolis, Daunte Wright's family and friends remembered him at his funeral Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DALLAS BRYANT, BROTHER OF DAUNTE WRIGHT: He was literally the life of the party. When he came in, you know, the smile, his laugh, his laugh was really contagious.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't get to tell him I loved him before he left.

KATIE WRIGHT, MOTHER OF DAUNTE WRIGHT: The joy that Junior brought to Daunte's life was truly amazing. He was so happy and so proud and he always said he couldn't wait to make his son proud.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: So hard to look at that baby there.

And in Columbus, Ohio, the woman who was providing foster care for Ma'Khia Bryant said they were arguing over their home being messy before police showed up. Bryant appears to be lunging toward another person with a knife as an officer shoots her. Some are asking if there is another way that he could have deescalated the situation. That investigation remains ongoing.

ROMANS: All right. Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina will deliver the Republican rebuttal to President Biden's joint address to Congress next week.

Daniella Diaz live on Capitol Hill this morning.

Daniella, why Senator Scott?

DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CONGRESSIONA REPORTER: Christine, it's a big job and it doesn't seem like there's another person that can do it right now than Senator Tim Scott. You know, he has been tasked with delivering the Republican message, response, to President Joe Biden's address to the joint Congress next week where Biden will lay out the priorities of his administration.

So it's a big job, as I said, and, you know, I can't imagine anyone else doing it other than Tim Scott. It's incredibly timely because he is currently negotiating on behalf of Republicans on police reform legislation given Derek Chauvin's guilty verdict this week. Right now, Scott and Congresswoman Karen Bass who is negotiating on behalf of Democrats are working on a bipartisan bill to pass through the Senate so that they can get ten Republicans so sign on to this legislation.

But they are still trying to reconcile their differences on this issue. For example, Scott opposes Democratic efforts to lower the legal standard to prosecute individual officers and Congresswoman Karen Bass is pushing to change federal law to ensure that police officers can be charged for reckless misconduct rather than willful misconduct under existing law. Right now, it's about trying to lower the threshold needed to prosecute individual officers but they are both incredibly optimistic that they will be able to reach a deal.

So, you know, it's incredibly timely given the fact that Scott is negotiating on behalf of Republicans on this legislation that he will deliver the counter-message on behalf of Republicans to President Joe Biden's speech next week.

ROMANS: All right. We know you will be covering it all for us. Daniella, thank you.

Laura?

JARRETT: Japan set to declare a state of emergency in Tokyo to control a surge in COVID cases. What this means for the Summer Olympics just three months away.

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[05:13:34]

JARRETT: Hundreds of feet deep and running out of air, the United States now sending what it calls airborne assets to help with this desperate search for a missing Indonesian submarine. Time is critical. Oxygen on the sub about to run out and quickly with 53 crew members trapped on board.

Blake Essig is live in Tokyo for us.

Blake, overnight we know the Indonesian navy detected some sort of object at the search site. What more can you tell us?

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Laura, this search and rescue operation is focused on an area about 60 miles off the coast of Bali. And earlier today, Navy officials said that a ship with sonar capabilities detected an unidentified object with high magnetism about 50 to 100 meters below sea level. But at this point, we have not received updates regarding what that might be.

Sadly, the facts as we know them right now don't paint a positive picture for the 53 people on board this missing Indonesian sub. If the crews are still alive and that's a big if at this point, Navy officials say that the submarine only has enough oxygen for the crew to survive until Saturday at 3:00 a.m. local time, that's about nine hours from now.

Navy officials say that this particular sub built in the late 1970s doesn't have a rescue seat and has a dive capability of 500 meters but it's believed to be at a depth of about 700 meters. Now, if that's the case experts say the submarine could implode under the pressure.

Now, with a submarine rescue expert telling CNN that its salvation is entirely in its own hands.

[05:15:03]

Now, contact with the submarine was lost on Wednesday morning and an oil spill was detected shortly after that. Officials believe that the spill is a result of the submarine tank leaking because the submarine is too deep or that the crew released all the fluid on board to help the submarine rise to the surface.

Now, all that being said this is still a search and rescue mission and the clock is ticking to bring the 53-person crew back home safely -- Laura.

JARRETT: Yeah, nine hours is not a lot of time to get this done. Blake, thank you so much for staying on top of it. ROMANS: All right. Japan is expected to take serious any measures to

contain a dangerous surge in coronavirus there, all part of a late push to salvage the summer Olympics.

Selina Wang is live for us in Osaka, Japan -- Selina.

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Christine. That's right.

It is extremely concerning. We are just three months away from the Tokyo Olympics and the situation here continues to get worse. Japan is struggling to contain the fourth wave of COVID cases which is largely driven by more contagious COVID variants.

You have the prime minister imminently expected to announce a state of emergency that would cover host city Tokyo, Osaka, two other prefectures as well. This is not a hard lockdown but it is going to require likely large establishments like shopping malls to temporarily close.

But the big question is, is this even going to work? Tokyo, Osaka and many parts of Japan have been under a quasi-state of emergency that requires restaurants and bars to close early. Japan even recently revised its laws to allow penalties for rule violators but so far, none of that has worked. COVID fatigue has clearly set in, you can see that walking through the streets of Japan, still major crowds on streets and trains.

And meantime, you have less than 1 percent of the population fully vaccinated. The majority of health care workers also even haven't gotten a vaccine. And here in Osaka where I am right now this is the epicenter of this wave, about 80 percent of the cases here experts say are driven by these more contagious variants. So, concerning indeed just months away -- Christine.

ROMANS: That statistic less than 1 percent of the Japanese population vaccinated, that's a remarkable number considering the international event they are about to hold.

Selina Wang in Osaka, thank you.

Laura?

JARRETT: Still ahead, no red carpet to walk, no Hollywood parties. The pandemic upending award shows this year and many viewers have tuned out. So what does this all mean for the Oscars this weekend? That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:21:56]

ROMANS: Twenty-one minutes past the hour.

The basketball world is mourning the death of a 19-year-old NBA draft prospect.

Carolyn Manno has that story in this morning's "Bleacher Report."

Hi, Carolyn.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Christine. This is really difficult news to start with.

Terrence Clark only 19 years old and it was just a couple months away from realize ago dream to play in the NBA after finishing his freshman season at Kentucky. There's been a lot of reaction on social media about this. He was killed after a car accident yesterday in Los Angeles. He was preparing for this year's draft there. One day earlier, in fact, Clutch Sports Group announced that he had signed with the sports agency.

Kentucky coach John Calipari among those tweeting: I am absolutely gutted and sick. I ask that everyone take a moment to say a prayer for Terrence Clark and his family, may he rest in peace.

Celtics coach Brad Stevens spoke about the loss of the Boston native after last night's game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAD STEVENS, BOSTON CELTICS HEAD COACH: I had never met him, I know my son looks up to him and hard to talk about a basketball game with even the idea that that's floating out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: We certainly wish his family the best.

In Dallas last night, Lakers star Anthony Davis returning to the court for the first time since early February, the star missed 30 games dealing with injuries. Understandably, there's little bit of rust. Davis finishing four points after playing limited minutes in a loss to the Mavericks.

But the defending champs is all about being healthy for the playoffs next month. LeBron James out indefinite after suffering a high ankle sprain last month, as well.

Tom Brady is ripping the NFL over a new rule that let's players wear pretty much any number they want. The Bucs quarterback calling it dumb, telling fans to be ready for a lot of bad football. At some point, though, he must have realized how cranky he was being. He retweeted asking I would like to speak to the manager, please. His numbers are not changing.

And take this bunny out to the ball game. This handsome therapy bunny's name is Alex. He stole the show at the Giants game last night. Alex, four and a half months old, his owner say that he's turning out to be quite of sports fan. Went to a NASCAR race and said to be going to a Warriors game as well.

Rabbits are good luck. Therapy bunnies are apparently a thing, you know, as the Giants won. JARRETT: Is it just me or is that bunny wearing a bow tie?

MANNO: The bunny is wearing a bow tie in Giants colors. You are correct.

JARRETT: All right.

MANNO: And, in fact, actually his owners, Laura, lost their restaurant during COVID so he is a therapy animal for him and they said that he has brought them a lot of joy. So, I'm here for it.

JARRETT: He looks loveable.

MANNO: Yeah.

JARRETT: All right. Carolyn, thank you. Appreciate it.

Well, we all know it's been a tough season for award shows struggling to keep viewers through this pandemic. Will Sunday's Oscars be able to buck the trend?

CNN's Chloe Melas has a look ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Good morning.

Amid a global pandemic, shuttered movie theaters and after a two-month delay, the Oscars are officially happening this Sunday. The event will return to the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles as well as live locations at L.A.'s Union Station, the U.K. and in Paris.

[05:25:04]

The show's producers, Steven Soderbergh, Stacy Sher and Jesse Collins have said they want as much of the show to be in-person not on Zoom. As for who is hosting there isn't one.

When it comes to the show history has already been made. Women account for a record breaking 76 nominations and two of those women were nominated in the best director category for the first time. "Nomadland" director Chloe Zhao and Emerald Fennell for "Promising Young Woman."

When it comes to who will win, all eyes are on Chadwick Boseman to be awarded best actor for his role in Ma Rainey's "Black Bottom." For best actress there is lots of buzz for Andra Day and for "The United States Versus Billy Holiday". And for the coveted best picture category "Nomadland" is looking likely to take home that prize.

Christine, Laura, back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: I have a lot of movie watching to do over this weekend to get ready. That's for sure. All right. The astronauts are suited up, there they are, the first

stage of liquid oxygen loading. That is under way. And we are less than 30 minutes away from liftoff next.

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