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Rescues Underway After Condo Building Collapses Killing At Least One Person; NYC Votes To Remove Roosevelt Statue From History Museum; Wedding Planners In High Demand As COVID Restrictions Lift. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired June 24, 2021 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hospitalizations, and one death. For males, it prevents 5,700 cases of COVID, 215 hospitalizations, and two deaths. What the risk is -- and you can see in red at the bottom of the screen -- is anywhere between eight and 69 cases of myocarditis.

This is the type of data that these committees look at to try and determine whether to move forward. Do the benefits outweigh the risks? Clearly, they do. There's even a risk of getting myocarditis from COVID, itself.

So I think you've got to be transparent. You can't ignore it. This is a message of healthcare providers as well. So if a person in that age group has symptoms -- chest pain, shortness of breath -- something that might be worrisome -- they should get it checked out and know that it's easily treatable.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: You raise a point there that I just want to reiterate. There's a risk -- and it's important that they get this data out there -- of myocarditis from the vaccines. But there is a -- the same type of risk from getting COVID. It has been shown to cause myocarditis.

GUPTA: Right.

BERMAN: Athletes -- a huge percentage of -- not a huge percentage -- an important percentage of athletes who have recovered from COVID ended up showing signs of myocarditis later one.

GUPTA: Yes, and treatable. I mean, that was the thing as well. I mean, myocarditis sounds scary and it is -- it can be. But these -- there's different ranges of it and this was mild and treatable. And I think that's a really important message.

I've talked to lots of parents, John. I know your kids are in that age range as well. It's probably something that crossed your mind.

But if there were symptoms, get it treated. This is a message to patients but to providers as well. BERMAN: We watched them. We watched them for a few days after their

second dose and I'm so glad we did. I'm so glad that this warning is out there, Sanjay. Thank you so much for explaining what it means.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, and there's options in vaccines --

GUPTA: You got it.

KEILAR: -- as Sanjay points out, which is also important here.

So we're following this breaking news out of Miami and this is a developing story here as we're looking for more new information and getting more information about this building that has partially collapsed.

There are rescues underway. We're talking hundreds of rescuers. We know that at least one person is dead. We don't have word yet on other causalities. And we're going to speak live with someone who is helping save people there.

BERMAN: And a controversial statue of Teddy Roosevelt in New York now coming down. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:37:00]

BERMAN: We have breaking news from South Florida. These are the images coming in from Surfside. This is just north of Miami Beach. Dozens of rescue teams responding to this building -- this apartment building -- condo complex with 100 units that partially collapsed.

We do not know how many people were inside or might be trapped in that rubble. We believe there are about 100 units in the building.

The collapse happened at 2:00 a.m. so you can understand the concern. At least one person is dead, 10 others injured. And there have been people on the ground there working through the rubble looking for survivors.

So we want to bring in Nicholas Balboa, an eyewitness who helped rescue a 12-year-old boy from the rubble. Nicholas, thank you so much for being with us. Thank you for your efforts on the ground there.

Can you just tell us the scene? Describe what you have seen and been doing.

NICHOLAS BALBOA, HELPED RESCUE PEOPLE FROM COLLAPSED BUILDING (via telephone): I mean, it was -- it was just horrific. The first thoughts that came to mind were the images of 9/11 -- you know, just the building be destroyed, debris everywhere. Just a complete and total mess. I mean, I was thinking to myself just how could anybody survive this.

And it's -- as I was thinking that I heard a voice yelling and I decided that I'm going to try and get closer and see maybe if I can see where he's at. And finally, I got close enough to hear him and said can you see my hand? And he was sticking his hand up -- the little boy -- the little 10-year-old kept sticking his hand up through the debris and I could see his hand and his fingers wiggling. We made an effort to try and get to him.

KEILAR: And tell us about that. Tell us about getting to him.

BALBOA: So we -- I had gone to the front side of the building. I had heard the crash. I felt the ground shake. It felt like an earthquake.

So I walked around the front of the building and fire crews were getting there. They were pushing everybody back. I wanted to try and get a better view of what had happened so I went around one of the apartment buildings to the north of that building. I went around the back and walked along the beach and I was able to get literally right there, pretty much on the property and close enough to hear the little boy screaming.

So we began to climb the rubble -- myself and one other individual -- because we heard him. There weren't any firefighters or police officers nearby and we just -- we felt like we needed to do something. So we took it upon ourselves to try and get there and locate him.

Once we were able to locate him, I took my phone and began to flash my light to try and signal somebody to come over. And we got a fire -- we got a police officer to come over and he was able to get a light in on the situation and signal fire to come over as well. So then they began their efforts to get him out. It was him and his mother.

[07:40:00]

We could hear him. We could see him clearly. His mom, we weren't able to see. We weren't able to hear her so I don't know what her status is but God willing, she's OK.

BERMAN: You felt the ground shake. You heard it. It seemed like there was an earthquake. You pulled a child from the rubble.

When you were there -- we're looking at images of this building now and we understand it was a condo with about 100 units inside. It happened overnight and the concern, obviously, is how many people could have been inside?

And so, as you were there rescuing that child, any sense of any other people that might be trapped?

BALBOA: I mean, to be completely honest, especially what the little boy was under -- he was under this bed. The bed was on top of him so his mattress, the frame -- so he was obviously sleeping.

And so, it occurred -- this happened at -- I looked at my first image it took about 1:40, 1:30. So it occurred right around 1:30 this morning. And so, I can only imagine how many people were in their apartments either sleeping or watching T.V. or just whatever -- just living their lives unbeknownst to them that the building is about to break away. KEILAR: And Nicholas, where were you when you heard it, and were you asleep?

BALBOA: I was not asleep. I actually happened to be outside. I was walking my dog. And I live about a block up the street.

KEILAR: Yes.

BALBOA: So I heard the ground shake. I was -- South Hardy is another street. It runs in the opposite direction. I was on Hardy so I ran up to Collins, which is where the building was on and I saw the plume of smoke -- or really, just dust and debris kind of go flowing through the corridor of buildings.

So I rushed back upstairs to put my dog in my apartment and then rushed back downstairs to the scene. And then as I was -- I was getting to the scene, fire crews and whatnot were showing up and they were pushing people back.

And I don't know -- just, I -- like I said, I just -- I wanted to try and get a better view to see exactly what had happened so I went around to the backside. And it was eerie -- like, quiet. It still just -- it was almost like out of a horror movie.

And I had no idea -- if it wasn't for us -- myself and the other gentleman being on the backside of the building and as quiet as it was, I have no idea how long it would have been until they found him.

KEILAR: Can you just put into context for us Nicholas how big of a part of this building came down?

BALBOA: Oh, with the pictures that I took, the building -- it was at least -- it was the entire backside of the building. So I would say the building is probably somewhere in the neighborhood of about in between a half to a football field in length, so it's quite a large building.

KEILAR: Wow.

BERMAN: We can see it.

BALBOA: And it's 12 stories tall.

BERMAN: A huge chunk of it now just a pile of rubble.

Nicholas Balboa --

BALBOA: Yes, and it's made out of all concrete.

BERMAN: -- we appreciate you joining us this morning. We are grateful to you for the work that you did and putting yourself at risk to save a boy. Thank you for everything.

BALBOA: I'm not a hero. I just hope somebody wouldn't leave me and they would -- they would help me.

BERMAN: All right, we're going to go Leyla Santiago who is on the scene now with another witness -- Leyla.

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John. I -- we've been here all morning and we've been talking to officials learning the latest. I want to give you an update on that. We understand one person was treated at the hospital -- or was treated here, transported to the hospital, and died there. And at least 10 others were also treated here.

Now, I want to introduce you to Barry Cohen. He was rescued from the balcony of his third-story apartment, correct, Barry?

BARRY COHEN, RESIDENT OF COLLAPSED BUILDING: Yes, that's correct.

SANTIAGO: Barry, walk me through the moment you realized that this wasn't a storm. That this wasn't a bomb, as you described in our conversation earlier. What was the moment you realized what was happening?

COHEN: When we walked out of our -- out of our apartment and we were going to see how we were going to get out of the apartment. I looked down the hallway and it's a very long hallway, probably 100 yards -- 75 yards -- and there was nothing there. It was just a pile of dust and rubble and paint falling from the ceilings.

And we went up the hall to try to get down the stairs to go get out of the building and we went down three flights of stairs. And we tried to open up the door that would lead to the pool deck and it was blocked. And it also looked like the metal had bent of these steel doors.

[07:45:13]

So we went down to the garage in the basement and when we got there water was pouring down from the pipes that are in that area and water was probably up to my shins. And we realized that we had to get out of there because staying down there we could drown.

And so we went back up to the apartment and when we got to the apartment we went out into the balcony again. And by that time, the fire department was there -- fire trucks. Surfside police was there. I was identifying myself to the Surfside police so they knew that it was me that was up here, thinking that maybe that I would get their attention.

And then we -- it must have been about 20 minutes -- it felt like a lifetime -- that we were still stuck in this apartment on the balcony. And finally -- and I guess they had to get the logistics ready to come to approach the building.

And then they brought a cherry picker -- you know, the hook and ladder -- and I had already taken a chaise lounge because we were going to have to climb over the balcony. And so, I'd already taken that and put it together so that when the firemen got there we were able to -- my wife and I --

And a lady -- I don't know her name but she -- I know she was in the building with me and she's probably somewhat elderly and we were able to get her up on that. And we got into the cherry picker and --

SANTIAGO: I imagine you felt a lot of relief in that moment.

COHEN: Well, before there, I felt the whole building was going to just collapse. So once the -- we were in the -- in the cherry picker a feeling of relief just came over me that was incredible that I'd survived this tragedy.

SANTIAGO: Barry, you told me earlier that as you were in your apartment, where you've lived for three years, waiting for some sort of help -- some sort of rescue -- you prayed.

COHEN: Yes, I did.

SANTIAGO: What did you pray for?

COHEN: There's a blessing that -- May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he shine his countenance upon you. I don't know all of the words. I know it in Hebrew; I don't know it in -- may he grant you all your desires and may you have peace. And that's the one I pulled out that time.

SANTIAGO: And did you think that this was possibly going to be some of your final moments in life?

COHEN: Absolutely. When we were waiting for the fire truck to get -- approach the building -- I mean, it -- you know, the building was -- it was still shaking. There was a -- you know, it just seemed like it was very unsteady. And I just -- knowing how -- what it looked like outside my door, I thought that any minute we could be that same pile of rubble.

SANTIAGO: Well, we're certainly glad that you are OK -- that you and your wife got out OK. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us. I know it's a lot.

COHEN: My pleasure. Thank you.

SANTIAGO: Thank you, Barry.

COHEN: Thank you. God bless you.

SANTIAGO: All right, John, Brianna.

BERMAN: Thank you so much, Leyla.

And again, we're looking at these pictures as they continue to pick through that rubble and search for possible survivors there. At least one person dead, 10 injured.

Imagine the fear of being a survivor in the part of the building still intact, concerned that the part standing might still fall down.

Again, we're expecting a news conference shortly and we'll bring that to you the minute it happens. And we're also going to keep the pictures up on the screen here so you can follow along as this continues throughout the morning.

[07:50:00]

On the other side of your screen there, after years of debate, the New York City Public Design Commission voted unanimously this week to remove the statue of Theodore Roosevelt, which is at the American Museum of Natural History.

The museum requested this removal last summer, writing that "...the statue which features Roosevelt on horseback flanked by both a Native American and an African man communicates a racial hierarchy that the museum and members of the public have long found disturbing."

Here now to discuss, CNN political commentator and former special assistant to President George W. Bush, and our friend, Scott Jennings. Scott, I take it you are not a fan of this decision.

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: No, I totally disagreed with it last summer. In fact, I'm not a New Yorker but I come often enough that I had a membership at this museum, which I let lapse because of the museum's position last summer.

I think this is a totally wrongheaded decision. I think it's a misreading, frankly, of what the statue was intended to portray.

And I think it's, frankly, just giving in to the mobs out there that are tearing down statues all over the country. When they started it was well, don't worry, it's just the Confederates. Teddy Roosevelt was no Confederate and neither was Washington, Lincoln, Grant, and some of the other statues that we've seen come down.

And I don't like a history museum, frankly, engaging in the erasure of our history.

BERMAN: I just want to make one point here. What they say -- and they say there was no ill intent when the statue was created or placed there. I think it was put there permanently in 1940.

And it's not like they're just removing a statue of Teddy Roosevelt in a vacuum. They're not erasing Teddy Roosevelt.

The issue, they say, is the depiction of Roosevelt with a Native American and the African man and how people have looked at that. And it wasn't just last year. People have talked about the statue for years there and the depiction of somehow, has Roosevelt superior to them. So it's this specific statue that they have an issue with, Scott.

JENNINGS: You know, I just disagree with that interpretation. I don't think it was meant to be superiority of Roosevelt over the two people that he's with. In fact, they look like a team -- a trio.

And it's an allegory. They aren't specific people. It's an allegory about Roosevelt's engagement with people on two different continents. But if you look at the people that he's with they are fierce. They are proud. They're carrying guns. They are not being subjugated. They are not enslaved.

They are not in any way subservient to Teddy Roosevelt, they're part of his team in what I think the sculptor was intending. I believe I read a quote from him, at one point, saying Roosevelt's friendliness to all races.

So, I -- look, I think -- you could argue about it. People are going to have different interpretations of it. But we have gone through this period John for the last several months where everybody wants to throw away these statues of American icons. Roosevelt was a great president but he was a great American.

And I think there are people out there who really do want to cut the string on the balloon of American momentum because they want fundamentally and radically change the country. And if we have no history and we get rid of our history, then it's easier to do that.

And so, I wish the museum had stood up for Roosevelt. His father, of course, helped build the museum and it's a great facility. But I think they made a bad decision here.

KEILAR: The Roosevelt family supports this decision.

I do wonder, Scott, as you're talking about kind of the dynamics of looking at this sculpture what it would say if Teddy Roosevelt was the one standing and either the Native American or the Black man were the one on the horse? That was something I was thinking about as I tried to think about the dynamics here with the role reversal. What would you think about it then?

JENNINGS: I mean, I appreciate the depictions of Teddy Roosevelt and the greatness of his explorations and his adventure -- his spirit of adventure that he had and how that's sort of part of our great American momentum. And I do not believe -- based on my reading of it -- that the sculptor intended for Roosevelt to be lording over these folks that are in the statue with him.

So it wouldn't bother me how they were depicted. I just like it that Roosevelt is being depicted for what he was -- a great person and a great American.

And the idea that a museum would get away -- would want to give away or tear down a statue that was depicting sort of American exceptionalism, to me, says something about this direction of trying to erase American history.

And Roosevelt -- he was no Confederate. I mean, this is not --

KEILAR: No, no -- I --

JENNINGS: To me, it doesn't have anything to do with race.

KEILAR: Why do you think the Roosevelt family -- I mean, they disagree with your assessment. Why, do you think?

JENNINGS: Well, apples fall far from trees. I mean, I -- look, and here's the thing. I don't begrudge anybody their opinion. As you said, there have been people that have different opinions about this and other statues.

I mean, there was another statue -- a Lincoln statue that was -- people were upset about during some of these protests, that the sculptor and even Frederick Douglass had praised, and there were people that had a different opinion and they wanted to tear it down.

[07:55:02]

So everybody is entitled to their opinion. But I think the opinions here are getting carried away and we're getting away from the intent of what the sculptor wanted and the intent of the message, which was Teddy Roosevelt was a great American, a great New Yorker, and his family, of course, helped build the museum.

So that's my opinion. You know, opinions vary. And I just think as somebody who appreciates the need for us to have underpinnings to our American history and our American icons, I don't like it that one of those icons, in this case, who I think is a great American is being done away with.

BERMAN: Look -- and I -- we certainly appreciate you coming on and talking to us about this, and we appreciate your opinion. He's all over the museum, still. It's not like he's not part --

KEILAR: Yes.

BERMAN: -- of the American Museum of Natural History now.

KEILAR: He's not being canceled.

BERMAN: He's all over the museum, still.

But I do understand what you're saying and I think it's an important discussion to have. And I think this is a -- this is, in some ways, the most nuanced discussion -- this statue -- in this larger discussion that we're having about our history. So I appreciate you coming on, Scott. Thank you.

JENNINGS: I hope -- I hope the statue winds up somewhere where folks can still see it --

KEILAR: Yes.

JENNINGS: -- because the idea that we would take a statue down and totally, like, destroy it --

KEILAR: Scott, just to be clear, I do think it will. It's supposed to be moved to someplace where Teddy Roosevelt's legacy --

BERMAN: Yes.

KEILAR: -- is going to be basically prominently displayed. So --

Scott, thank you so much.

I think this is the most fascinating --

JENNINGS: Thanks, guys.

KEILAR: -- discussion to be talking about. And also, if you're talking about the intent of what the sculptor was --

BERMAN: Yes.

KEILAR: -- that takes us -- if then you're going to talk about statues of the Confederacy, the intent of those statues was actually --

BERMAN: Yes.

KEILAR: -- not even right after this award to celebrate the Confederacy.

BERMAN: And I take all Scott's points. I just think --

KEILAR: Yes.

BERMAN: This statue, in particular, has been discussed in New York for a long time.

KEILAR: Yes.

BERMAN: It wasn't just last year. It wasn't after the death of George Floyd. It's been talked about for a long time and lots of people have looked at it and there's been this talk. We'll see where it goes from here.

KEILAR: All right.

Well, folks aren't just walking, they're running down the aisle. It's like crazy wedding season because COVID restrictions are being lifted, weddings are resuming. And there's marriage mayhem, quite frankly, as the newly-engaged battle 2022-somes (ph) for venues and more.

And we have CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich, who is live with the details. This is -- I mean, just I think anecdotally, people understand this. There have been people who have been putting off weddings. They've had these very long engagements. And now, you've got almost like a traffic jam of them.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. And here tonight at the Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn, this space is going to be transformed for a wedding. The new wedding weekend here is actually Thursday through Monday now instead of the traditional Friday and Saturday, just to meet this pent-up demand.

And next month, a milestone here at this hotel. They're welcoming their first 200-person wedding. That's a sign that wedding season is back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON RHEE, OWNER, RHEEFINED COMPANY WEDDINGS AND SPECIAL EVENTS: Do we have this one in stock?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

RHEE: Do you we have the five cake stands? Check those off.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

RHEE: So many different windows. This is going to be perfect. This is exactly what they're looking for.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): This is a day in the life of L.A wedding planner Jason Rhee. After a year without a single wedding, it's open season.

RHEE: Last week we turned down six weddings. You have two years of couples that are just foaming at the mouth to celebrate.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): Twenty-twenty's canceled weddings are now being rebooked, along with dates for newly-engaged couples. The convergence of the two is creating intense demand and pressure.

RHEE: I think there's a little bit of a panic booking that's happening right now.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): The pandemic wreaked havoc on an industry often called recession-proof. It lost 34 percent in revenue last year, with small businesses like Rhee's shutting down.

RHEE: I think that that's, again, something that we all are trying to honor as we move into this next crazy wild, wild west version of wedding planning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This does have a little bit of wine in the sauce.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): At Brooklyn Winery, 15 engaged couples are food-tasting for their upcoming weddings. The venue, once a Friday to Sunday operation, is now booking weddings during the week.

RACHEL SACKHEIM, CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER, BROOKLYN WINERY: The day of the week no longer means anything in the sense that demand for any date is the same as demand for a Saturday date.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): The working winery even canceled their upcoming September grape harvest in order to free up dates.

YURKEVICH (on camera): How critical are weddings to the success of the winery?

SACKHEIM: The weddings are the most critical part of this business, without question. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Julia Testa, this is Genevieve.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): Julia Testa's flower business in New York City is normally 90 percent corporate events, but desperate couples are now giving her a new revenue stream.

JULIA TESTA, OWNER, JULIA TESTA: We're just doing more weddings than we ever have before. We created a wedding department, essentially.

RHEE: The client comes in. The couple is happy.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): Rhee's advice to couples right now, patience. Supply chains are still tight, prices and higher, and dates are few and far between.

RHEE: It is a little challenging right now that we can't offer as much as we can to our couples and to our clients.