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Artemis I Set to Lift Off on NASA Mission Back to the Moon; 2 Killed at Safeway Store by Gunman Carrying AR-15 Style Rifle; Ukrainians Get Iodine Pills Near Nuclear Plant as Fears Mount; U.S. Intel Conducts Damage Assessment of Trump Docs. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired August 29, 2022 - 06:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to viewers here in the U.S. and around the world. It is Monday, August 29. I'm Brianna Keilar with John Berman.

[05:59:34]

And here in a matter of hours, the United States is hoping to embark on its return to the Moon.

You're looking at live images from the Kennedy Space Center, where the uncrewed Artemis I mission is set to lift off between 8:33 a.m. and 10:33 a.m. Eastern. Right now, the weather does appear to be cooperating.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Artemis I will fly around the Moon with three mannequins, including one nicknamed Commander Moonikin Campos. It is using the most powerful rockets since Saturn V took astronauts to the Moon for Apollo XVII, nearly 50 years ago.

The Artemis program aims to land humans on the unexplored lunar South Pole of the Moon in the next few years and ultimately, serve as a way to get to Mars.

NASA administrator Bill Nelson says, "We're returning to the Moon to live, work and survive."

Let's get right to the Kennedy Space Center. CNN space and defense correspondent Kristin Fisher is there. Kristen, how are we looking so far?

KRISTEN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: It is too soon to say, John. NASA has already successfully troubleshooted two big issues this morning. That's the good news.

The first issue was they made it through some pretty severe potential lightning storms that were a little too close to the launch pad for comfort for fueling.

And then the other big issue was they encountered a hydrogen link [SIC] -- leak during the fueling of that big main core stage. That's that burnt orange main part of the rocket that you can see on the launch pad. They encountered some similar issues during previous tests, but this time they were successfully able to work through it. So that's the good news.

But the bad news is all that troubleshooting, all of those lightning delays, it really ate into some of the -- it ate into some of their countdown clock.

And so they really wanted to launch at the beginning of the window at 8:30 because, hey, it is -- it is August in Florida, and that is when the weather is likely the best.

Now it's looking like it may be moving closer to that 10:30 time frame, though NASA officials still have not given an updated estimate on when exactly they are targeting to launch.

John and Brianna, if it does launch, it is going to be such a spectacle for all of us to see: for people on TV and for those of us here. We're actually going to be able to feel this rocket in our chest, because we have not seen something like this since the '60s or '70s, when the Saturn V rocket launched the Apollo astronauts to the Moon.

And this rocket on the launch pad right now even more powerful. Between 100 and 200,000 people have come to the Kennedy Space Center and the surrounding areas to watch it, including Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the head of the National Space Council.

And, you know, one of the other extraordinary things about this rocket, in addition to being, you know, just kind of an engineering marvel of course, it has done what very few things have been able to do. It has survived the administration change from the Trump administration to the Biden administration. I mean, how many programs can say that they have been able to do that?

And not only does the Biden administration -- did they allow it to continue, but they've really embraced it and -- and supported it. And part of the reason for that and part of the reason it has such big bipartisan support on Capitol Hill is because this moment really does kind of signify a chance for the United States to really secure an early lead in what has now become a second space race. Only this time it is not with the Soviet Union. This time, it is with China.

And some NASA officials say, Hey, this is -- this is only a competition. It's not quite a space race. But NASA administrator Bill Nelson told a German newspaper back in July that he believes the U.S. is in a space race with China, and that's why today's test flight, uncrewed test flight, is so important, John and Brianna.

KEILAR: And hopefully, it is going to go ahead as planned here. Kristen, of course, we'll be checking in with you as these events hopefully unfold here throughout the morning.

I do want to bring in astrophysicist and George Mason University professor Hakeem Oluseyi to talk about what we're seeing here. OK, just the status of what we're seeing this morning, does it feel like we are good for this to proceed?

HAKEEM OLUSEYI, ASTROPHYSICIST/PROFESSOR, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY: You don't know until you actually know. So what we've heard so far is sort of good news, given what's occurred. So where the Kennedy Space Center is, is actually the No. 2 place on the planet for lightning strikes, right?

So I live there for several years. And we have lightning researchers at the universities there because of that.

Now, the hydrogen fuel leak is even more concerning, but they sound like they've been able to handle that, as well. So again, if you work in space, whether it's an astronomer or launching things into space, you're accustomed to this. Inclement weather, right, and technical difficulties are incredibly common, and you just have to wait and see.

KEILAR: Yes. I would joke, having covered the shuttle launches, it was almost like a paid -- almost a paid vacation sometimes, because you always knew it would generally get scrubbed there at least once or twice. You'd always be waiting a couple days.

OLUSEYI: Yes.

KEILAR: Tell us about what this is. This is just a huge rocket, but we've seen it before, something like it.

OLUSEYI: Yes, so this is similar to the Apollo V rocket, right, the Apollo rockets that took our citizens, our astronauts, to the Moon back in the 1960s and early '70s.

But this one is just slightly more powerful. So we haven't built anything like this. If you're in the world of space, then you're used to the old heads, telling you all the time about how we lost all this knowledge from the Apollo program; how, you know, if we had to do it again today, it would be so difficult.

[06:05:14]

Well, here we are, right? 2022 and we've done it again.

And what this does is, you know, we -- it was brought up in the last segment just a little bit. But, you know, we think in terms of exploration. We think in terms of economy.

But there's a huge geopolitical component to space these days, right, because other nations have caught up. It's competitive, both in lower Earth orbit as well as going to the Moon.

KEILAR: I'm hoping this weather window holds. It's looking pretty good, certainly for the front half of it. But as we're talking about what the point of this is, this is unmanned.

OLUSEYI: Right.

KEILAR: Artemis II would be manned. Why do we, why does America want to be back on the Moon?

OLUSEYI: Well, there's a lot of reasons to be back on the Moon, right? So, you know, sometimes we talk this space stuff. Everything is framed. And we're going to save humanity, right?

But, you know, there are real practical reasons for going back. And the two that are, you know, the most pressing are resources, right? We have to secure resources for our future, for our society. And so we're looking now to the Moon, to the asteroids and to the moons of other planets, not so much for asteroids but also for -- excuse me, not so much for resources, but definitely the Moon and asteroids.

The other is the geopolitical element of it. Right? So we are in a competition with other nations, particularly China. And, you know, to the extent that people can grab what they can. Those are resources they're going to control.

And of course, everyone is concerned about the militarization of space. Right? You know, you want to take the high ground in a military situation. What higher ground is there than the Moon?

KEILAR: That's a very good point. So all right. Stick around if you don't mind, because the launch window here is set to open in a little more than a couple of hours. We're going to have some special coverage. And Hakeem, you'll be right back with us. Thank you.

OLUSEYI: Thank you.

KEILAR: That's going to begin at 8 a.m. with our special report, "RETURN TO THE MOON."

BERMAN: All right. New overnight, two people were killed in a shooting in a Safeway grocery store in Bend, Oregon. Police say the gunman used an AR-15-style rifle and that the person believed to be the shooter was also found dead at the scene in an apparent suicide.

CNN's Brynn Gingras joins us now with the latest details on this. Brynn, what have you learned?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, a little bit more about that. We're learning that some of the employees actually hid in the freezer as the gunman moved around the grocery store.

Now, the motive is still unclear this morning. Authorities, including the FBI, conducted a search warrant, and they're trying to find some answers with that. But this is just one of many ongoing investigations this morning after multiple shootings this weekend all across the country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GINGRAS (voice-over): In Washington, D.C., NFL running back Brian Robinson Jr. was shot twice in the leg Sunday night in what authorities say may have been an attempted robbery or carjacking. The suspects fled the scene.

In a statement released on Twitter, the Washington Commanders said their rookie running back "sustained non-life-threatening injuries."

Robinson was drafted in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft out of the University of Alabama.

In Houston, a man dressed in black set fire to a building and shot people fleeing that building.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This suspect unfortunately, and very sadly, and very evilly, set fire to several residence, laid wait for those residents to come out, and fired upon them.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Three people were killed and two others injured, according to police. The spokesperson said the fire department arrived to fight the flames but had to retreat when they heard gunshots.

The suspect was later found dead nearby after exchanging gunfire with a Houston police officer.

In Detroit, four shootings on Sunday morning linked to the same weapon left three people dead and one injured.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It appears to be very random. One was waiting on a bus. One was walking his dog, and one was just on the street.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Police put out a photo of the suspect, wearing all black with a hooded jacket.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The pictures are out. The images are out.

GINGRAS (voice-over): And following hours of intense search by multiple agencies, the suspect was found.

In New York City, one person killed four others hurt Saturday night on the Coney Island boardwalk in Brooklyn. The NYPD believes it's looking for one gunman in what is now at least the second shooting at Coney Island in a month.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GINGRAS (on camera): And in another instance of gun violence, two people were killed and two officers injured in Phoenix when authorities responded to a call. The police chief there fed up in his press conference, asking how many more officers have to get shot and people killed before the community takes a stand. John, you can imagine that's a sentiment felt all across the country.

BERMAN: Yes. Not the kind of weekend you want to see at all. Brynn Gingras, thank you very much.

KEILAR: This morning fears are growing in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, near Europe's largest nuclear power plant. Authorities there are now handing out iodine pills in case of a nuclear disaster.

[06:10:07]

CNN's Sam Kiley is live for us at a school in Zaporizhzhia, one of the 13 locations in the region where officials are giving away those pills.

Sam, what can you tell us?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, I'm at the Lycee (ph) 99 in the Khortytsia region, which is the area of Zaporizhzhia closest to the nuclear power station, because it's within the 50-mile [SIC] -- 50-kilometer radius around the nuclear power station deemed at risk by the Ukraine authorities.

So here they've been giving out pills, iodine pills, single-dose iodine pills, predominantly to people under 40, to be taken in the case of an emergency if there was a radioactive leak.

And this all coming on the day that the U.N. says that the International Atomic Energy Agency would be setting off from Vienna right now today to try to get into the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station with the permission both of the Ukrainians and the Russians.

And that is being seen as something of a breakthrough; could conceivably lead, ultimately, perhaps to the demilitarization of that nuclear power plant.

But actually, since those calls have been made by the international community, the Russians have actually increased the numbers of people at that location.

And last night, yet again, there was significant shelling close to the power station, power plant, that both sides blame each other, with the Ukrainians blaming the Russians for inflicting this damage in Enerhodar, the town next to the nuclear power plant.

Nine people injured in that shelling of a civilian area just outside the plant. But it's yet another indication of just how tense this is, but also how much both sides can exploit this for propaganda purposes -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, Sam, tell us about the objective here and the possibilities for how this plays out.

KILEY: Well, the objective of the U.N. inspectors is to try to, first of all, find out what really is going on there. They -- if they get in, they will be inspecting the level of Russian military presence, the behavior of Russian military troops there, and also, taking a close look at the safety procedures there.

Because you've got Russian and Ukrainian people working there, some Ukrainians actually commuting into that area periodically from Ukrainian-held territory. They're working under duress. There's great concerns that the safety procedures, the maintenance levels, all of these things are slowly or rapidly degrading.

So they've got the civilian issue, the technical issues, and then you've got the military issues for the inspectors to look at.

There is this call for demilitarization, but it's coming -- this is a front-line position. It is used by the Russians to fire out from. We know that for certain. Somebody is shelling back in with shorter-range mortars. Local peoples have told CNN that they absolutely insist it's the

Russians shelling their own locations to make the Ukrainians look bad. We don't have corroboration of those claims, but they are repeated by people we've met who have come out of that location.

And all of this, off course, is concentrated around Europe's biggest nuclear plant. There are six reactors there, two of which are active. And at its peak, it supplies 20 percent of Ukraine's electricity.

So there's also suspicion that either the Russians will try to cut that supply off, particularly as winter is coming, but also possibly even divert it into their own network, although that itself is also fraught with technical difficulties, Brianna.

KEILAR: Sam, such important reporting from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Thank you for that report.

The intelligence community is conducting a damage assessment after the seizure of top-secret documents and other classified documents from Mar-a-Lago, as it's revealed that spies may have been put at risk.

In the meantime, Senator Lindsey Graham says there will be riots in the streets if Donald Trump is prosecuted. We're going to break down all of the latest developments.

BERMAN: And preparing for a return to the Moon and beyond. Artemis I scheduled for liftoff just about two hours from now. We'll give you an update from the launch pad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:18:28]

BERMAN: Director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, has sent a letter to House Intelligence and House Oversight Committee chairs saying the intel community is conducting a damage assessment of the documents taken from Mar-a-Lago. Those documents include 67 marked confidential, 92 marked secret, and 25 marked top-secret.

Joining me now, CNN senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, Elie Honig.

Elie, from Friday over the weekend, the blanks keep getting filled in. We know more than we did before. First off, we now have more details about what was taken from Mar-a-Lago way back in January, or handed over, I should say.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Right, John. Monday morning, class back in session. Search warrants. We'll be on 101. We're into advanced-level classes now.

Yes, I think one of the biggest things we learned is what was taken in those initial 15 boxes by the National Archives, which led to DOJ getting involved. We now know why this became criminal, which led to the subpoena, which then led to the search warrant. So we learned that, in that visual batch of 15 boxes. D-O -- excuse

me, the archives seized 184 total classified documents, including 25 documents at the highest level of classification, top-secret.

And within that group, there are some really highly-sensitive documents, including a lot of acronyms in this; documents relating to HCS, human intelligence control system, spies, our agents out there in the world putting themselves at risk. FISA, which is essentially wire taps relating to foreign intelligence issues.

Also a couple other interesting details and nuggets buried within this affidavit. First of all, we learned that several of the documents also appeared -- contained what appears to be FPOTUS, former president Donald Trump's handwritten notes.

[06:20:09]

Now, the big question is, were those from when he was president, which would not be a big deal. You're allowed to write on classified documents. Or afterwards, which would show he was accessing these documents at Mar-a-Lago.

Another really interesting note was that highly-classified records were unfoldered. Unfoldered. I looked that up. Do you know what that means?

BERMAN: Not in folders?

HONIG: Unfoldered, yes. Not in folders. Intermixed with other records. And again, that shows that people were handling and accessing these documents while they were down in Florida.

BERMAN: We also learned about the number of witnesses and the types of witnesses here.

HONIG: Yes. We learned through a little bit of prosecutor speak here. Prosecutors are being a bit opaque, I think, on purpose. A significant number of civilian witnesses, a broad range of civilian witnesses.

First of all, civilian witnesses means not FBI agents, who sometimes are your witnesses for these things, but regular people. Now, a broad range, a significant number; we can't put a number on that. But I can tell you, no way a prosecutor uses that language for one witness or two witnesses. So we're talking about a good number.

And this really jumped out at me. DOJ writes in the affidavit that they are worried about harms including retaliation, intimidation and harassment and even threats to their physical safety.

But here's the important part. As the court has already noted, these concerns are not hypothetical in this case, meaning those things have already happened to witnesses.

BERMAN: Right. References to obstruction inside the affidavit.

HONIG: Yes, so one of the bases for getting this affidavit is concerns about obstruction. Of course, tampering with witnesses would count, but there's also a concern about what happened with documents.

Now, they include a letter from DOJ to Donald Trump's lawyers back in June, asking that a room at Mar-a-Lago where the documents had stored been secured and all the boxes be preserved in that room in their current condition. So DOJ tells the people down at Mar-a-Lago, keep these here. Keep them secure. Don't move them.

But we learned in the search warrant that DOJ said we need to search in all these different areas, including a storage room in the residential suite, Pine Hall, Donald Trump's office, and other spaces. And Maggie Haberman has reported they did find documents in the closet of Donald Trump's office, so that suggests those boxes and documents had been moved around.

BERMAN: There was a surprise inclusion in the filing on Friday, which was actually a letter from Trump's attorneys.

HONIG: Yes. So this is a letter from Donald Trump's attorneys, where they say to DOJ, Hey, we want you to know, in our view, a president has absolute authority to declassify documents.

Now, as a legal matter, that may be true. There's been a long debate about whether the authority is absolute or just very broad. But do you know what's missing from here? Any assertion that he actually did declassify the documents, which is part of it.

And of course, remember, we've had reporting that 18 former White House officials have said that there was never any such order. Completely fiction, nonsense, ridiculous, B.S., laughable. So it is highly doubtful that that happened.

BERMAN: Very quickly in 20 seconds or less, the special master, a judge seems inclined to grant that.

HONIG: Yes. Not surprising. This is not an outrageous request. If it is granted, what that means is those documents will first be filtered, reviewed by a special master, an outside independent third party, who will determine whether there are potential privilege issues. If no privilege issues, those documents will go over to DOJ.

BERMAN: Elie Honig, thank you very much for that.

Beto O'Rourke off the campaign trail in Texas because of a bacterial infection. We have the latest on his condition, ahead.

KEILAR: Plus, an urgent warning from the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, ahead on potentially dangerous flooding. He's telling residents to, quote, "get out now."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:27:46]

KEILAR: A state of emergency is in effect in Mississippi this morning after record rainfall and severe flooding. The mayor of Jackson, the state's largest city, pulling no punches, with an urgent warning to residents over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR CHOKWE ANTAR LUMUMBA, JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI: If you are capable of getting out now, get out now. Get out as soon as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: CNN's Nadia Romero is live for us in Jackson, Mississippi. Nadia, give us the latest on the situation there this morning.

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Brianna. We are waiting for that Pearl River to crest at about 35 feet or higher and we know that's going to have an impact all around Jackson, especially here in the Northeast side.

You can see behind me, we are already experiencing plenty of flooding. When we were out here yesterday, this water hadn't made its way that far up the driveway. So we can see it slowly but steadily moving and creeping in towards people's homes.

And that's why some of the school districts, the Jackson public school districts, closing some of their schools today, moving those students back to virtual learning.

As we drove around Jackson this morning, we could see plenty of roads that are impassable. If you want to get through here, you can still with a truck.

But the neighbors tell me that when they had severe flooding back in 2020, they had to use fishing boats just to get through their neighborhood.

Now, the power has been out at least for 12 hours. It was -- the power went out yesterday on Sunday. So that means no air conditioning in the hot Mississippi sun. That means that your food and your fridge and your freezer are spoiling. And that's why you heard that urgent message from the mayor to get out, evacuate, if you can.

Many people in this neighborhood already have. I want you to listen to two neighbors we spoke with who are just so worried about what this new storm could bring. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAWN MILLER, LIVES IN JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI: Yes, it's a little bit concerning. You worry about it. You know, you cut the power off. You're living in the house. You -- you pretty much had to pick up and leave. You no longer have a home, so you're relocating; and you don't know what to expect for the unknown.

So you're in a blind for a lot of stuff, and you've just got to come back and hope for the best.

MICKEY HOLDER, LIVES IN JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI: We put sandbags all around the house, all we could do. You know, the home and the stuff inside now is material things. We can't worry about material things. We can replace them. As long as I've got my kids and my wife out, nothing else matters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: You heard from Mickey Holder there. He was talking about making sure he got his family -- family (AUDIO GAP). -- doing this for a couple of years now.

[06:30:00]