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Clarence Thomas Hospitalized; Hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson; Chinese Airlines Crashes; Mark Neville is Interviewed about his Ukrainian Photo Book; Gas Thefts Rising. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired March 21, 2022 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: The latest on his condition? What do we know?

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, we really don't know much more than what we knew last night. We know now he's into his fourth day in the hospital. We know that they've said it was an infection. We know that they were -- that he was treated with antibiotics. It's definitely not Covid. He's had the Covid shots and he's had the vaccine and he's had the booster.

But, you know, four days in the hospital, it's concerning. It's concerning. But what the court has said is that his symptoms have abated and that he's resting comfortably.

Now, we will know more, you know, as each day goes on to see, is he moved? Will he -- you know, he lives in Virginia. Will he go back home or will we hear his voice eventually at the Supreme Court? They're in arguments all Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday this week.

Justice Ginsburg did participate remotely from her hospital bed back in 2020.

So it just seems like they're taking precautions. And hopefully everything will be just fine. But all we know is that he's still in the hospital.

KEILAR: Yes, his symptoms abating.

BISKUPIC: Yes.

KEILAR: So that's -- that is a good sign, we should say, and, of course --

BISKUPIC: Yes. And I want to say, he was treated with antibiotics and apparently they've been effective enough to put him in a good position at this point, yes.

KEILAR: OK. Well, certainly our best wishes to his recovery.

BISKUPIC: Right. Right.

KEILAR: I do want to ask you, because this is a huge day today. You have Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson beginning her confirmation hearing on The Hill.

BISKUPIC: That's right. Today -- you know, this -- these are often very choreographed affairs. And today will be the most structured with the senators making their opening statements where they will tell us what they're interested in. You know, they -- they will, you know, talk -- the Democrats will be very warm. The Republicans will offer some warnings. But then, to me, what the most exciting part will be is when she herself presents who she wants -- who she wants Americans to see her as to the senators and to the public, you know, to have these televised hearings. They've been televised since 1981 when Sandra Day O'Connor was unveiled to the American public.

So, we got a little taste, Brianna, of the way Judge Jackson wants to present herself from what she did in February when she came out with President Biden. And she talked at the start about how deeply held her faith is. She talked about being from a law enforcement family. She gave a lot of thanks to people who have been so important to her in her life. And I think she'll strike a lot of the same themes. And then there will be no questions.

Then the real back and forth. The potentially dramatic high points and tense moments will come on Tuesday and Wednesday.

But this is quite an historic moment with the first African-American woman justice potentially on deck here. And also one thing that could come up, which, frankly, will come up, is her background as an assistant federal public defender. We have to go all the way back to 1960s and Thurgood Marshall for a nominee who did so much work on the criminal justice said, representing defendants. And that gives her this breadth of experience, but it also makes her vulnerable to questions about, you know, you represented this bad actor, you represented -- you were working on behalf of someone at Guantanamo, a detainee. And those are areas that are already being mined by Republicans.

But she has been through this three previous times before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Most recent last year when she was up for her current position on the D.C. Circuit Court. So she knows what's coming at her. And she will probably be ready to try to reassure senators and, again, speak to the American public.

KEILAR: No one has been watching her the way they're going to be watching her during this process.

BISKUPIC: That's right. That's right.

KEILAR: Joan Biskupic, thank you so much.

BISKUPIC: Thank you.

KEILAR: Berman.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, breaking news, a Chinese airliner carrying more than 130 people has crashed in the mountains of southeast China. We have the details next.

Plus, multiple explosions heard overnight in Kyiv, including this huge blast at a shopping mall. CNN is on the scene, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:38:29]

BERMAN: All right, breaking overnight, a Chinese airliner, with 132 people on board, has crashed in southern China. Government aviation officials confirm that a China Eastern Airlines jet went down in the mountains in southeast China.

CNN's Will Ripley live with us has the breaking details.

Will.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, this is shaping up to be China's worst air disaster in at least a decade, possibly longer, and an indication of the seriousness of this is that the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has just put out a statement calling for a full investigation, expressing condolences and sending rescue teams to this area.

This -- this crash occurred in Guangxi region, it's a mountainous region. You can see these videos that are being shared on Chinese social media and also reported in Chinese state media, seeing these plumes of smoke rising up from -- from the hills there. And also on social media you can hear explosions in the background.

So, when you have 123 passengers and nine crew members and a plume of smoke that big in a mountainous region, you can only imagine that -- what the rescuers might be finding as they approach that crash scene. And it is a difficult area to reach, as you can see the terrain there, pretty heavily forested.

China hasn't had a fatal airline crash, John, since 2010, when 44 people died when an airliner went off the runway. They had a slew of accidents back in the 1990s you might recall. But in the last 20 years or so, China's really improved its safety record in the skies, largely due to more stringent traffic control measures and also a largely young fleet of planes.

[06:40:03]

So if indeed this crash is as bad as it does appear to be at this stage, this is a big deal in China. And the airline, China Eastern Airlines, actually has turned their website black and white as of this hour, even though there's no official statement posted on their website. Black and white, certainly an indication that the news in the coming hours may be very bad, John.

BERMAN: I know it sounds grim.

All right, Will Ripley for us. Keep us posted, Will. Thank you.

A Ukrainian mother protecting her baby from harm after a Russian strike on her building in Kyiv. Olga and her husband were at home feeding their one month old daughter when the missile hit. Olga says she used her body to shield the baby from flying shrapnel and shattered glass.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLGA, WOMAN WOUNDED WHILE COVERING BABY FROM SHELLING (through translator): I was wounded in the head and blood started flowing. And it all flowed on the baby. And I couldn't understand. I thought it was her blood. Dimitro (ph) was taking the baby away. I'm screaming that she is covered all in glass, all in blood. He tells me, Olga, it's your blood, it's not hers.

And in the morning, I woke up to feed the baby again. I gave her a bath. And I just sat down to feed her. And I like to sit down with knees up like this. And I cover her with a blanket so she's warm too. And that's what kept the baby alive. I just got her covered in time. And then Dimitro jumped up and covered us too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Covering each other.

Olga sustained multiple injuries and is recovering in the hospital. The father, Dimitro, was treated for his -- for wounds to his leg.

So, a photographer spent the last seven years taking these photos of everyday Ukrainians dealing with life while, in his words, an inevitable war was looming. We'll speak to him ahead.

And Ukrainian forces pushing Russian troops away from the city of Mykolaiv toward Kherson. That was the first city, Kherson was, that Russia was able to take.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh spent three days near the front lines with Ukrainian marines. He'll show us what he saw, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:46:24]

KEILAR: British photographer Mark Neville has been documenting the daily lives of Ukrainian for years now. He lives in Kyiv. And through his photos, he hoped to raise awareness of the trauma that ordinary citizens faced while the threat of a Russian invasion loomed.

But as the buildup of Russian troops escalated, Neville hurried the publication of his book. And four days before the invasion, his photo book, "Stop Tanks with Books," hit the shelves and Neville sent copies to hundreds of world leaders, politicians, even celebrities who he believed had the potential to stop a war from happening in Ukraine.

Mark Neville is joining us now from Kyiv.

Mark, thank you so much for coming on today and sharing she's images with us. They are -- they're amazing pictures. And I wonder what your hope was for people seeing these photos.

MARK NEVILLE, BRITISH PHOTOJOURNALIST IN UKRAINE: Well, thank you for having me.

My real desire was to try and get people in the west to recognize a version of themselves in these pictures of Ukrainians because Ukrainians have been maligned for so long now by the Kremlin. All these kind of ridiculous myths about Ukrainians have come out over the past eight years like Ukraine is a fascist anti-Semitic state. Well, that's nonsense. I mean complete nonsense. We have a, you know, a Jewish prime minister here, (INAUDIBLE), a Jewish president.

So, you know, all these myths have come out. And my aim with the book was to try and get these world leaders and politicians, these diplomats, these celebrities to connect with the emotion of these people. And doing to kind of weaponize the form of the photo book to try and get people to support Ukraine more. So, I don't think it's enough just to sit back and watch the genocide of the Ukrainian people. I think we really need to step up and we need to introduce a no-fly zone over Ukraine and we need to do it now.

So, really, it was about trying to use the power of art, the culture to connect with people, because I really believe that it's -- it's -- it's culture, it's art that changes society, that changes our views about a conflict. It's a poem about World War I. It's a pop song about Vietnam. These are the things that change people's perceptions.

KEILAR: And I think the images of just daily life, right? We saw them there. We saw people swimming. They're just enjoying a day in the sun. We saw people on the farm with their goats. These are the moments of daily life. This beautiful scene with these small children. A woman smoking a cigarette near a playground. These are the scenes that aren't happening right now.

NEVILLE: Well, that's right. And what I'm showing in the book, which was made over the past four or five years, and we (INAUDIBLE) say it went to print just before war started. We rushed to get the book out to this target audience of 750 political heavyweights and celebrities who we thought could change public policy, governmental policy in the west and support Ukraine more.

So we urged, even in the original draft of the book a year ago, we were urging for a fast track for Ukraine to EU membership, for NATO membership. A really tough time (INAUDIBLE) Russia all the things that seemed very prophetic (ph) and normal now we were asking for years ago. And the thing is, this war has been going on for eight years now. And this is what really angers me and upsets me. But the west has done pretty much nothing in that time to help Ukraine. Support has been very intermittent.

[06:50:02]

But I remember making a project in 2017 about the 2.5 million people who had already had been displaced because of the war in eastern Ukraine, 2.5 million already. And I tell you, I talked to more -- I talked to hundreds of Ukrainian families and not once, not once did any of them ask me for anything. They didn't ask me for money. They didn't ask that for help relocating. The only thing they wanted to do was sit me down, make me a cup of tea and tell me that -- their story. And that is exceptional.

KEILAR: Yes.

NEVILLE: These people really taught me something. They really taught me something, incredible kindness, bravery and generosity. And I tell you what, if the situation was reversed and America needed help or Britain needed help or Germany needed help, and Ukrainians were able to give it, they wouldn't hesitate. They would step up immediately. So, they're not asking -- they're not asking for us to do anything that they wouldn't do themselves.

KEILAR: The book is beautiful, Mark.

NEVILLE: Thank you.

KEILAR: You know, one of the things, though -- I will say, I want to thank you so much for being with us.

Vladimir Putin tries to say there is no Ukrainian national identity. Well, you captured it. It is there all over these pages.

Mark Neville, thank you so much for being with us.

NEVILLE: Thank you.

KEILAR: Ukraine rejecting an ultimatum from Russia for the city of Mariupol to surrender. What will this mean for the thousands who are still trapped there.

Plus, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy saying that he is ready to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but he says that if negotiations fail it could mean this is World War III.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:55:51]

KEILAR: Skyrocketing gas prices have fueled a new nationwide crime wave with brazen thieves stealing gas from cars, trucks, and gas stations themselves.

CNN's Adrienne Broaddus is live for us in Chicago.

Adrienne, what is behind the dramatic spike in these thefts?

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, good morning.

I spoke with members of law enforcement across the country, and they say the spike in gas is likely fueling this crime. And the thieves are bold. Not only steeling from individuals and targeting gas stations, like this one, but they're also focusing on car dealerships.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE GROSS, OWNER, GROSS AUTO GROUP: There was a pretty strong odor of gasoline.

BROADDUS (voice over): They smelled it before they saw it.

GROSS: As soon as you put it in the air, everybody could see that someone had actually drilled a hole into the fuel tank. Right here is where he was able to drill all the way through the fuel tank.

BROADDUS: Mike Gross said this Jeep, a trade-in, was sitting on the parking lot of the dealership he owns. This is the drill Neillsville Police say gas thieves used.

GROSS: So, there was maybe three or four gallons of gas in there. And he did probably close to about $1,500 of damage in order to try to steal $15 to $20 worth of gas.

BROADDUS: From Wisconsin to Atlanta and California, thieves, likely fueled by rising gas prices, are stealing from individuals and targeting gas stations with diesel. In Houston --

JERRY THAYIL, MANAGER, FUGUA EXPRESS GAS STATION: We ended up losing about $5,000 to $6,000.

BROADDUS: That's Jerry Thayil on security camera chasing the driver he says stole 1,000 gallons of fuel from his family's gas station over a three-day period. At first he thought his sensors were off.

THAYIL: This makes me just -- it makes me kind of frustrated and angry. I can't pass this off to my customer.

BROADDUS: The van is seen on security footage parking on top of the underground fuel tank.

THAYIL: And they'll break the lock and then they'll -- they'll have a trap door inside their mini van. They'll open that up, break the lock inside our little -- our little tube that goes into our tank. And they'll -- they'll insert their own tube and then start their pump. And then that's when the diesel is suctioned into their van.

BROADDUS: Also in Texas, security cameras captured trucks filling up with diesel at this Chevron station throughout the night. The owner told CNN, 2,000 gallons of gas were gone, and the value, at least $10,000.

CAPT. JONATHAN ZITZMANN, HARRIS COUNTY CONSTABLE'S OFFICE: This is an especially egregious crime with individuals taking advantage of businesses like this.

BROADDUS: In North Carolina, surveillance video shows thieves apparently used equipment to bypass paying. Then, more than 15 cars pull up, fill up and get away with $1,600 in fuel, prompting the owner to take extra security precautions.

And in Washington, the Everett Police Department posting a warning on Facebook telling residents to park in a garage or a high-traveled area due to the increase in gas theft.

Back in Wisconsin, work to replace Mike's damaged tank begins.

GROSS: I was talking to an insurance adjuster and he said he's seen several times now where people have started fires by trying to steal gasoline in this method. So, not only is it not the smartest way to try to get gas out of there, but it's also a pretty dangerous way as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROADDUS: Dangerous, indeed.

Also in Wisconsin, police say the person or group responsible for damaging Mike's Jeep, an 18-year-old and a 15-year-old.

Meanwhile, if you're wondering what extra steps you can take to protect yourself, if you have an older vehicle, try one of these. Law enforcement say these locking gas caps can help cut down on that gas theft.

Brianna.

KEILAR: Very important tip there.

Adrienne, thank you so much for that report. Really appreciate it.

And NEW DAY continues right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[07:00:01]

KEILAR: Good morning to viewers in the U.S. and around the world. It is Monday, March 21st. I'm Brianna Keilar in Washington with John Berman, who is live from Lviv, Ukraine.