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Gene Nora Jessen Is Interviewed About Being One Of The First Women To Train For Space; Wally Funk Back In Space After Six Decades Of Waiting; Eighty Wildfires Are Scorching More Than A Million Acres In The Western U.S.; COVID Is Hitting Arkansas Hard; Jordan Windle's New Perfect Dive Won Him A Spot On The Olympic Team. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired July 21, 2021 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

JOHN AVLON, CNN NEW DAY HOST: Up next, the western wildfires now so huge even the east coast can see the effects.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN NEW DAY HOST: And Wally Funk --

AVLON: Wally Funk.

KEILAR: -- Wally Funk ends her 60-year wait to get into space. We're going to talk to a friend of hers who actually went through astronaut testing just like she did back in the 1960s. You don't want to miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF BEZOS, AMAZON FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN: Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow. That's incredible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (inaudible).

BEZOS: I mean, everything you though (ph) -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Pure joy right there as 82-year-old, say it with me now, Wally Funk because she's our favorite realizes her lifelong dream getting into space aboard Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin rocket 60 years after she tested to be an astronaut in the Mercury 13 program. Back then only men were chosen to go to space, and joining us now is the only other living member of the women in the space program, fellow pilot and friend of Wally Funk, Gene Nora Jessen.

[08:35:00]

Gene Nora, thank you so much for being with us. I know that you were able to revel in the excitement of Wally being chosen to go up on this little expedition, and I wonder if you've been able to speak with her since she's come back and what it was like watching her? GENE NORA JESSEN, AMERICAN FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR: Oh, I have not made contact yet, but I will and because we do - we do talk, but it was great fun watching that. I've known -

(LAUGHTER)

-- I've known her for years and years. We grew up together in aviation, and I knew what this meant to her, and I was just thrilled that she got to go.

KEILAR: What was that like for you, for both of you going through that rigorous testing as part of the Mercury 13 program?

JESSEN: Oh, it was a challenge, and it was a lot of fun. We're all excited about things that are going on in aviation, and we were selected to participate in the program. 13 of us passed those tests, and, in fact, a lot of times people talk about training. It was not training. It was testing. It was physical testing to take those tests.

And so, she and I both happened to pass those tests, and we've stayed in contact through the years. She and I - I learned to fly at the University of Oklahoma and she learned to fly at Oklahoma State University. Both had big flying schools and competitions and meets together and so on, so we grew up together in aviation.

KEILAR: She's becoming a bit of a hero here in her 80s. I think she's getting her due -

(LAUGHTER)

-- and people are paying attention to what you achieved as well. I wonder what it's like - what is it like having that renewed attention and watching her enjoy some notoriety now?

JESSEN: I am so pleased for her because she had this in her mind all these years that she was going to go in space, and I guess I'm more a realist. I just went along in aviation and was very happy in aviation.

Well she was in aviation, too. She was doing a lot of flying, but she kept talking about space. She wanted to go in space, and we grew up in airplanes together in Oklahoma. I was at Oklahoma University. She was Oklahoma State University, so we had lots of combined competitions and so on.

So we grew up together in aviation and I've known all these years that she had in her mind that she was going to go in space, and she did it. I'm just real thrilled for her.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: Yes, it's amazing. I think everyone is thrilled watching her. You - do you want to go into space?

JESSEN: Yes. Well but not with the drama that she did it. She's had it on her mind all these years, and I guess I'm more of a realist. I didn't think that that was going to happen any time soon, and - (CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: But if you could now, Gene Nora, if it was - would you like to do it now? It's an opportunity potentially.

JESSEN: Oh, of course I would. Naturally I would like to do that, but it hasn't been my whole mind my whole life planning that like it was with Wally. Wally has had that in her mind all these years, and more power to her that she got to do it. And so, I, of course, right off the bat made contact and congratulated her and so on because we grew up in aviation together, and I know how many years she wanted to do this, so it's been wonderful.

KEILAR: Yes. We've had a great time watching her, and we really appreciate you coming on today. Gene Nora Jessen, thank you so much.

JESSEN: You bet. It's fun.

KEILAR: Up next, the desperate battle underway against the wildfires that are raging through the west.

AVLON: And the dire warning about schools from one of the top doctors in one (ph) southern state.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:43:00]

KEILAR: There are 80 wildfires scorching more than a million acres in the western U.S. and forcing thousands of residents from their homes. Smoke from those fires is now stretching all the way to the east coast. You can take a look at the hazy skies as seen from a plane, and this is over New York.

CNN's Dan Simon is live in Nevada with more on this. I mean, these fires are huge.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Good morning, Brianna. This fire burning near the California-Nevada border has been a stubborn one. This broke out on the Fourth of July with a lightning strike, and it remained very small until this past weekend when it went from over 500 acres to now about 40,000 and it is 0 percent contained.

We saw helicopters making water drops on an area yesterday and they were barely making a dent. Now fortunately the property loss has been minimal, but you do have a number of communities that have been forced to evacuate. Those people have no idea when they'll be allowed to go back to their homes.

Of course, this is just one of many fires burning out west. You have 80 wildfires that are raging across 13 states, the most serious one in Oregon, the Bootleg fire. That fire now the size of Los Angeles, and it's creating its own weather. Now normally the weather dictates what the fire will do. In this case experts say is the opposite where this big smoke plume can create thunderstorms, which in turn can create lighting and even fire tornadoes (ph). So this is a terrible situation impacting the western United States, and of course all that smoke is travelling your way to New York. Brianna -

KEILAR: Unbelievable. Dan Simon, thank you so much. Up next, fears of COVID outbreaks as schools reopen after the summer. The top doctor in Arkansas is going to tell us what he's seeing.

AVLON: And the third time approves to be the charm for a U.S. Olympic diver. We're going to share his inspiring story. That's coming up.

[08:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:49:04]

AVLON: COVID is hitting Arkansas hard. That state reported 852 new cases on Tuesday alone, and experts say it is spreading like a raging forest fire. Some fear the numbers will only get worse when kids return to school this far, and joining us now is Dr. Jose Romero. He is the Arkansas Secretary of Health and the Chair of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice, so exactly the right person we should be talking to right now.

Dr. Romero, specifically you've said that one of your biggest COVID fears is a significant outbreak in schools this fall. Why? What's changed, and how do you think it could be avoided or mitigated?

DR. JOSE ROMERO, ARKANSAS SECRETARY OF HEALTH: Good morning. Thank you for having me. Yes, that is one of my major fears for this is that we will have widespread spread of this virus in school settings.

[08:50:00]

And the reason I'm saying this is that because we know now from experience from watching it over the last five or six weeks that this virus is highly-transmissible, and we're seeing outbreaks in sites that we didn't see last year. So we're seeing closures in daycares. We're seeing closures in summer camps, and all that leads me to believe that in a setting where you don't have strict mitigation that it will spread very, very quickly like our schools.

AVLON: That is - that is the nightmare scenario, and it was, you know, the silver lining to the first round of COVID we saw, but this is getting much more dangerous. And you're seeing evidence of it right now. A Washington Regional Medical Center in Arkansas releasing a PSA stressing to the public that their ICU in your state is now full of young, healthy, and unvaccinated patients and sicker than they've ever seen. So is that what you're seeing? And why do you think these young people are putting themselves at risk?

ROMERO: Yes, that's exactly what we're seeing. So our evaluation of these hospitalizations shows that 95 - 90 percent - 98 percent - excuse me - to 95 percent of - 99.5 percent - excuse me - of all individuals that are currently hospitalized are not vaccinated. And I think the reason why they're not being vaccinated is multi-factorial.

One is that they don't see this as a serious illness that can affect them because they're young and healthy. The second is misinformation, misinformation that is being propagated through social media at this time.

AVLON: Well I want to get - stay in Arkansas for a second. It's leading the nation in cases in the last week per 100,000 residents, but only 35 percent of the state's population is fully vaccinated. So what's it going to take in Arkansas to get more shots in arms? What are you learning about the best practices?

ROMERO: So we're learning that we're taking the message to the public, so our Governor, Asa Hutchinson, and myself are engaged in town halls reaching across the state in some of the smaller cities and towns so that we can begin to address these misconceptions and the need for vaccination, but outside of that there's nothing else that we can do except try to education and explained to the public that this is a serious health issue and that it will continue until we have enough individuals in our states vaccinated to limit the spread of this virus.

AVLON: I mean, door-to-door is what we've got, but that number, 35 percent, is a potential death sentence for those folks. Dr. Jose Romero, thank you very much for joining us on NEW DAY. And we've got a former -

(CROSSTALK)

ROMERO: Thank you for having me.

AVLON: -- Army Ranger accused of using his military training to help mobilize rioters at the Capitol. We have new video from the insurrection.

KEILAR: But first to Tokyo Olympic dream that began in an orphanage in Cambodia. A Team USA diver shares his remarkable journey next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:55:38]

AVLON: An Olympic dream 15 years in the making. In his third attempt to make the U.S. Olympic Team, 22-year-old Jordan Windle's near- perfect dive won him a spot on the U.S. Olympic team, but Windle's journey started at a Cambodian orphanage. His birth parents died when he was an infant, and they Jerry Windle, an American veteran who always wanted a family, adopted Jordan when he was 18-months-old and nursed him back to health. And that's where Jordan's Olympic journey really began.

Jordan Windle joins us now. Jordan, what an extraordinary American story from a Cambodian orphanage to the Tokyo Olympics. Tell us about what or who got you to where you are today.

JORDAN WINDLE, DIVING, TEAM USA: Yes. Thank you for having me, and you know, my dad, you know, adopted me at 18 months and he pretty much shot me in the (ph) sport of diving at the age of 7. And so, you know, from that point on he sacrificed so much. I've been diving for 15 years now, and the journey itself has been extraordinary, and you know, I couldn't be more thankful for what he's done for me.

KEILAR: So he - Jordan, he nursed you back to health? Tell us about that.

WINDLE: Yes. So when I was in the orphanage I was very malnourished and I had a lot of parasites, and I was very, very sick, you know, as an infant. And from that point on my dad took care of me and, you know, we went to many hospitals. I had to get a lot of shots and get seen by a lot of doctors just to get my health back to where it should be when I came into America. And you know, he really did save me from that point on.

AVLON: And your dad obviously is not able to join you in Tokyo, but he was in the stands that day when the dive you got you a spot on the Olympic team. Tell us how proud he was.

WINDLE: You know, my dad really is my biggest supporter. You know, you could see the emotion that he had after every single one of my dives really, and you know, having him there with me was everything, and it meant the world to have that support. And you know, I did it for him and hopefully I can make him proud during the Olympics.

AVLON: You already have.

KEILAR: Yes. I think he's going to be proud of you no matter what, but look. I know you have your eye on the prize, and this is a very different Olympics that you are in. How is it going so far? What is it like there where you don't have crowds, you don't have even your dad?

WINDLE: Yes, it's definitely different, you know, finding out that we're not going to be able to have an audience, not any parents are able to show up, so just no spectators. And so, you know, keeping that in mind it was difficult because I wanted it to be a normal Olympics. I wan to have the atmosphere, you know, the roar of the crowd when someone hits a big dive, but also it gives off, you know, less pressure to a lot of the athletes, which makes it a little easier on some unexperienced divers such as myself.

So you know, no matter what I think this is a great experience for me and I'm going to give it my all.

AVLON: Of course you are, but what's the atmosphere like? What's the conversation like between the athletes with COVID hovering over these games and cases rising?

WINDLE: I think overall, you know, everyone is a little, you know, weary about where they're going and what we're doing. Obviously we're restricted on where we can go. We can't leave the village. We - you know, we have to keep our distance, obviously keeping everyone safe and following COVID guidelines within our teams.

So overall, you know, everyone's doing a great job and we're following the rules and we're going to keep it going to hopefully have a great Olympics.

KEILAR: You feeling good? You feeling ready? AVLON: She's pumped!

WINDLE: Yes, yes. I'm really stoked. I can't wait. I trained really hard for this, and I'm just excited to compete against amazing divers around the world.

KEILAR: Jordan, we are cheering you on from afar. Can't wait to see what you do. We're so excited for your dad cheering you on from afar as well. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful story with us.

WINDLE: Thank you guys for having me.

AVLON: Best of luck (ph). Be well.

KEILAR: All right, I'm Team USA. I'm team Jordan.

AVLON: Heck yeah!

KEILAR: He's awesome.

(LAUGHTER)

AVLON: That is an American story, a great American story. A nation of immigrants representing in Tokyo.

KEILAR: Yes, look. He's not getting - this was the thing (ph). These athletes, they're not getting that experience, but they've trained for this. They're going to deliver for people who are watching them even though a lot of folks can't be right there to see them.

[09:00:00]