Return to Transcripts main page

New Day Sunday

Biden Defends Upcoming Visit To Saudi Arabia Against Criticism; Biden To Meet With Saudi Crown Prince During Middle East Trip; Cipollone Asserted Executive Privilege To Some Committee Questions, Was Asked About Trump Pardons, Pressure On Pence; Healing Begins For Highland Park Community After Mass Shooting; Omicron Subvariants Fuel Summer Surge Of COVID-19 In U.S.; CDC: Nearly A Third Of Americans Living In Counties With "High COVID-19 Community Level"; U.S. Daily COVID Cases Exceed 100,000 For Two Weeks Straight; CDC: Less Than 10 Percent Of U.S. Monkeypox Testing Capacity Used In June; CDC: 791 Probable Or Confirmed Monkeypox Cases In The U.S.; Public Health Officials Raising Concerns About Stigma Due To High Early Case Count Of Monkeypox Among Gay And Bisexual Men; Protesters Demand Transparency In Jayland Walker Shooting Case; Jacob Blake's Father Joins Activists In Akron Demanding Answers Following The Shooting Of Jayland Walker; Massive Fire Destroys 17th Century Hotel In Massachusetts; Yosemite Fire Grows To Nearly 1,200 Acres, Threatening Famous Trees; Uvalde Victims' Families Speaking Out Against Authorities. Aired 6-7a

Aired July 10, 2022 - 06:00   ET

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


[06:00:51]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Buenos dias and welcome to your NEW DAY. We're grateful to have you this Sunday, July 10. I'm Boris Sanchez.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Whitney Wild. Thanks for starting your morning with us.

SANCHEZ: Great to be with you, Whitney. We start this morning with President Biden defending his decision to visit Saudi Arabia as he travels to the Middle East next week against criticism and controversy surrounding the trip. The president set to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Remember though as a candidate for president Biden vowed to make Saudi Arabia a pariah. Now as president he says his visit to the country is critical to U.S. security.

WILD: That's right. In a "Washington Post" op-ed the president writes, "It's my job to keep our country strong and secure. We have to counter Russia's aggression, put ourselves in the best possible position to outcompete China, and work for greater stability in a consequential region of the world. To do these things, we have to engage directly with countries that can impact those outcomes."

The president's trip has come under criticism because of Saudi Arabia's role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. U.S. intelligence says the Saudi crown prince was responsible for ordering Khashoggi's murder. SANCHEZ: Let's get some perspective on President Biden's trip with CNN political analyst Julian Zelizer. He's also a historian and professor at Princeton University. Julian, good morning. As always, grateful that you are up bright and early with us.

The president framing this visit as critical to U.S. security. I'm wondering what you make of his op-ed.

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, he's trying to defend what is a shift from a focus on human rights, which he promised upon entering office, to more of a practical geopolitical approach to dealing with Saudi Arabia and the region. And he's come under a lot of criticism, and he's trying to lay out what the policy is. It's unclear if that will satisfy the critics, but he's trying to justify the shift. And also to say that he is still concerned about human rights despite what the visit might appear to look like.

SANCHEZ: The White House, though, saying that this is not actually a shift. I do want to play some sound for our viewers because Biden struck a very different tone on the campaign trail. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREA MITCHELL, NBC NEWS ANCHOR: President Trump has not punished senior Saudi leaders. Would you?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes. We were going to, in fact, make them pay the price and make them, in fact, the pariah that they are. There's very little social redeeming value of the -- in the present government in Saudi Arabia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Biden also said the United States would not sell more weapons to Saudi Arabia. In fact, the Biden administration has. Doesn't this visit acknowledge what we heard from former President Trump that ultimately the United States needs Saudi Arabia as a key ally in that region?

ZELIZER: Well, it really goes beyond the former president. This has been an issue with Saudi Arabia since our alliance and our relationships with the country have become closer really since the 1980s at least. And it's constant this tension that we see.

So, yes, part of the backdrop is Democrats were so critical of the former president and now President Biden is trying to justify why this is different. But even if the administration says human rights is still front and center and there's limits to what the administration will do, they are going to be under the spotlight and he's going to have to keep explaining what is the rationale for this despite the kinds of statements you just played.

SANCHEZ: And part of the rationale, Julian, has to do with the energy supply, right?

ZELIZER: No. When you're dealing with the region, the energy supply is front and center. And now this comes in the aftermath of something that wasn't happening when the president started his term. Russia's war against Ukraine and the kind of international chaos it has caused including with gas prices. So, yes, there's many arguments that the administration will put them forward but as this op-ed is published in the pages of the journalist who was murdered it's going to be impossible to avoid this kind of criticism.

[06:05:11]

SANCHEZ: It also comes amid a number of other challenges in the Middle East. Obviously the Iran nuclear deal, the United States exiting that during the Trump administration, and now there's sort of this stalemate between Iran and other countries that are interested in reinstituting it. Do you envision a scenario where President Biden makes some headway in that regard during this visit?

ZELIZER: Well, for sure. This is part of what's been happening in the region. He is not wrong in the op-ed that there has been more stability. More countries are coming into an alliance essentially against Iran. And I'm sure as important as gas prices are and energy are this is another top priority. And the more that he can solidify the region against Iran, the more progress there will be in trying to remake some of what had been done with the Iran deal originally.

SANCHEZ: So we've listed a number of topics that are going to be the focus of his visit. I'm wondering what it would take for you to consider this trip a success.

ZELIZER: My guess is there won't be anything to come out of it because it's really long-term diplomacy that he is engaged in. So the measure for success obviously in the short term would be something with energy prices within the United States. But this is a long-term project and the goals that you have outlined creating stability in the region, creating stability against Iran, these are going to take years.

So I don't think we're going to know in the next month if this was a success or not. And obviously the more that he can calm the criticism, if he can, that will be important to the administration.

SANCHEZ: Julian Zelizer, we got to leave the conversation there. Always appreciate getting your perspective. Thanks.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

WILD: We're learning more about former White House counsel Pat Cipollone's testimony to the January 6 committee. Cipollone testified under subpoena Friday. A source says the committee asked Cipollone about pardons including for the Trump family and whether Trump wanted to pardon himself.

The committee also questioned Cipollone about the pressure campaign on then Vice President Mike Pence among a long list of other thing. The source tells CNN that Cipollone did invoke executive privilege in his interview and this was despite the committee's attempts to pose questions that would not have required him to do so.

A spokesman for the committee called Cipollone's interview productive, and said that he provided -- quote -- "critical testimony on nearly every major topic in the investigation." The spokesman says that the testimony also corroborated key elements of Cassidy Hutchinson's very explosive public testimony nearly two weeks ago. The committee will hold its next hearing -- next public hearing on Tuesday so we'll see portions of that in that hearing.

SANCHEZ: And we will of course carry it live for you right here on CNN. It's been nearly a week since the deadly Fourth of July mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, that left seven dead and dozens more injured.

WILD: Officials there are calling on this very close-knit community to come together, to lean on one another and begin the healing process as so many struggle to understand how this sort of violence could happen. CNN's Camila Bernal has the latest.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Boris, Whitney, residents here in Highland Park finding different ways to cope and to deal with the drama and what they lived through on the Fourth of July. For many it was about coming here to this rally to support each other.

Others that I have talked to have told me that they need time. I talked to one resident who has lived here for 26 years. He was at the parade. He says he was very close to the shooter. And he says now he goes back to the memorial every single day. And he says that's one way that he is healing. And he says talking also really helps.

A lot of people that I've talked to have told me that they go through waves of emotions where sometimes they're sad, sometimes they break down, other times they're just in shock and feel numb. I also talked to a mother who was at the parade and she was there with her husband and her two-year-old.

She says her husband ran with her two-year-old. She stayed behind trying to help the elderly. And what she told me when I asked about healing was, I'm not healing. I'm evolving. And she said that part of that means taking action and speaking out against gun violence. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REBECCA WEININGER, SURVIVED HIGHLAND PARK SHOOTING: Every morning when I wake up, my soul is still crushing from what I heard and what I saw, and the people who were separated from their children, and the children who were crying and are different today because they experienced a fear that they should never experience and that injury doesn't stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:10:06]

BERNAL: And the rally was somber. It was emotional. But it was also a time for this community to come together.

Organizers were asking for a couple of things. One of them being donations and support for the victims and for those that were injured. But the other thing they were asking for was legislative action. They say that is what comes next. Boris, Whitney.

WILD: Camila, thank you. Well, new versions of the Omicron variant are fueling a summer surge of COVID-19 here in the U.S. that has health officials urging many Americans to return to masking indoors.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Coronavirus infections nationwide are up six percent with more than 100,000 new cases reported every day over the last two weeks. CNN's Nadia Romero has more on where COVID cases are rising the fastest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New CDC data shows about a third of the U.S. population is now living in a county with a high COVID 19 community level, which means the agency recommends universal indoor masking. Counties coast to coast are on the list. New York City, an early 2020 pandemic hot spot, is in a high-level area.

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D), NEW YORK: Our goal is to make sure whatever we put in place is going to stem the infections, keep down our hospitalization, and, most importantly, keep down those who die from COVID.

ROMERO: Johns Hopkins Universities reporting new cases rising slowly. A hundred and eight thousand new cases reported every day over the past two weeks up around six percent from the two weeks prior. The spread of COVID-19 causing concern in Los Angeles County, too.

DR. BARBARA FERRER, DIRECTOR, LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH: It is looking more likely as cases and admissions continue to increase that we'll enter the high community level designation later this month.

ROMERO: Plus, health experts warn data on the rise in COVID-19 cases may not tell the full story due to the widespread use of at-home test kits.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the honor system if you test positive, you don't show up. And so that's not showing up in the data. So there's certainly more out there.

ROMERO: A recent preprint study based on health records from the Veterans administration shows that catching COVID-19 over and over again appears to increase the chances a person will experience new and sometimes lasting health problems after their infection. People who had two or more documented infections had more than twice the risk of dying and three times the risk of being hospitalized within six months of their last infection.

On the vaccine front, on Thursday, the White House saying only about two percent of children under the age of five have received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine since the FDA gave emergency use authorization on June 17th for both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. The two Omicron subvariants the CDC cites as the cause of the recent surge may partially escape the immunity produced by COVID-19 vaccines and prior infections. But experts say the current vaccines and boosters provide substantial protection against severe disease.

DR. MICHAEL RYAN, WHO HEALTH EMERGENCIES PROGRAMME: In people who were fully vaccinated, particularly people who are boosted in the vulnerable groups, we're not seeing a rise in ICU admissions. We're not seeing a serious rise in deaths. But what we are seeing is the gaps in immunity being exposed.

ROMERO: Nadia Romero, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Nadia, thank you so much for that. It's not just COVID cases that are rising, monkeypox cases also surging across the country. And amid the growing numbers there is concern about a lack of testing and the vaccine rollout. What you need to know about monkeypox coming up.

And, still ahead, CNN sitting down with some of the families of the Uvalde school shooting victims. You're going to hear their anger and frustration as they still struggle to get answers from law enforcement.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:18:01]

WILD: Welcome back. The CDC says the United States used less than 10 percent of its total monkeypox testing capacity between May 17th and the end of June. A report released Friday by the agency says some clinicians and patients had challenges navigating the public health testing procedures including getting the right approvals. This comes as the World Health Organization says the number of monkeypox cases around the world has increased by 80 percent since late June.

Dr. Saju Mathew joins us now to discuss the latest. So, Dr. Mathew, thank you so much for joining us this morning.

So my first question for you is what is your reaction to the CDC saying less than 10 percent of the U.S. monkeypox testing capacity was used last month? Does that mean that we have big challenges here? Does it mean that, you know, people just can't access the testing that they need to? What is your initial reaction?

DR. SAJU MATHEW, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Yes, good morning, Whitney. I think it's really a combination of all of it. You know, I'm a primary care physician seeing about 15 to 20 patients a day. The other day I saw a patient who is bisexual with a rash in the genitalia area. I suspected that it might be monkeypox. So what I did was to call an infectious diseases doctor because we don't necessarily have the means to test and send it to a laboratory. However, the CDC has decentralized the system so now there are about five different laboratories that we can work with. We don't have to eventually get CDC's final confirmation. So I think with the decentralization process things will get better. But, remember, this is a fairly new disease to most American physicians. So if you see a rash, especially in the genitalia area, you need to have a high index of suspicion.

WILD: So what is the biggest challenge to widespread testing at this moment?

MATHEW: I think the biggest challenge is really access. So if somebody comes into a doctor's office, will they have the capability to swab the area? And, remember, not everybody with monkeypox will have a rash.

[06:20:01]

If somebody comes in and says, "I have fever, chills and flu like symptoms," and they may have potentially been exposed to somebody with the virus, you know, you're not going to be able to swab or culture anything because there's not a rash. So we are coming up with a swab where you can actually swab the throat and other areas of the body. So, I think, it's really a combination of not having access, the fact that a lot of physicians are uncomfortable with the diagnosis. And, mind you, the rash of monkeypox, Whitney, looks very much like the rash in somebody who has shingles or chickenpox. So a lot of different challenges to overcome.

WILD: So there is a vaccine available for monkeypox. Who should get the vaccine and at what stage? Is this something they should get preemptively? Is this something people should get once they believe that they have possibly been exposed? What are the options here?

MATHEW: Both. The good news about the monkeypox vaccine is that it can be used for somebody who says, "Hey, listen, I think I'm in a high- risk group. I want to make sure I don't ever get monkeypox."

But you can also use it in somebody who says, "I think I was exposed. This person called me and says he thinks that he might have monkeypox." It can also be used as post exposure prophylaxis as long as we use it relatively quickly and in the first week or so of the potential exposure.

WILD: Early data suggesting that a large number of reported cases are among gay and bisexual men. But the reality is anybody can contract this disease. So how do public health officials avoid the stigma of pointing out that this is affecting a certain community while also giving that mostly -- that community that's disproportionately affected the adequate attention? What is the balancing act there?

MATHEW: Yes, that's a balancing act, you know, Whitney. And, I think, what's really important is we need to be open about which populations at this time is being affected the most by monkeypox, and that is the gay community. We need to be honest about that. These are men who are having sex with other men and bisexual men as well. But at the same time we should be careful about not stigmatizing the disease and preventing people who are not really open about their sexuality from seeking care.

We all remember what happened in the early 1980s with the HIV epidemic where it was so stigmatized as a gay man's disease and we know that not to be true. So it is a balancing, I think, act. We need to be open about the high risk populations. And anytime there's an infectious disease it tends to affect the margins of society before it gets into the mainstream society. So anybody can get it with prolonged intimate contact. It doesn't have to be necessarily sexual activity.

WILD: Well, you raise a point about not being ashamed when you go to your doctor, being honest with the people who are -- who are there to care for you and that is one way to certainly stop the spread. Dr. Mathew, thank you very much.

MATHEW: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Still to come, protesters in Akron, Ohio, are demanding action after a fatal police shooting last month. We have an update after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:27:19]

SANCHEZ: Checking in on this morning's other top stories. Protests continue in Akron, Ohio, following the deadly police-involved shooting of Jayland Walker.

WILD: Officials say eight officers fired dozens of bullets resulting in more than 60 gunshot wounds. Activists have accused the city of hiding information. They are calling for full transparency and for the names of the eight officers to be released.

They were joined yesterday by the father of Jacob Blake. Blake was left paralyzed after Kenosha, Wisconsin, police shot him seven times. Police were never charged in that case. CNN affiliate WISN reports that Jacob Blake Sr. was arrested this week while protesting in Akron.

SANCHEZ: Officials in Massachusetts say a fire has destroyed a historic hotel on Nantucket Island. The Veranda House hotel was completely renovated in 2020 but the building itself dates back to the 17th century. You see this video from the Nantucket Current. There are heavy flames and smoke covering the building. None of the hotel guests or staff were hurt in the fire but three firefighters had to be rushed to area hospitals for minor issues. At this point the cause of the fire still remains unclear.

WILD: Authorities in California say a wildfire burning in Yosemite National Park has grown to nearly 1,200 acres. High temperatures, dry air, that's causing the fire to grow steadily since it was first reported on Thursday. Since then communities and campgrounds have been evacuated, but officials say the fire may still pose a threat to the park's giant sequoia trees. Some of those trees are believed to be more than 2,000 years old. SANCHEZ: So there is this scathing report about the law enforcement response to the Robb Elementary School shooting, and it's drawing scrutiny from local officials. The mayor of Uvalde is trying to poke holes in a portion of that report that states that a police officer could have taken out the shooter before he entered the school, but apparently didn't get clearance to open fire on the suspect in time.

WILD: CNN's Shimon Prokupecz spoke with grieving families from the mass shooting who are frustrated, they are angry, and they're mostly feeling this way because the information has been so inconsistent from authorities and they are equally angry with the police action taken on that terrible day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VELMA DURAN, SISTER OF ROBB ELEMENTARY VICTIM IRMA GARCIA: It was just like putting salt on an open wound.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE PRODUCER (voice-over): Every drip of new information adding to the pain for the families of the victims.

DURAN: It's just really hard because there's just so much suffering and it's hard to grieve when there's no closure.

PROKUPECZ: More than 50 family members gathered together in Uvalde to meet with CNN.

[06:30:04]

The son, brother and sister of teacher Irma Garcia and the father of 10-year-old Jackie Cazares spoke on camera. Six weeks after their loved ones, 19 children and two teachers were killed, they still need answers.

When you say there's no closure, what are you looking for?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People to be held accountable.

PROKUPECZ: A new report this week said an armed Uvalde police officer had an opportunity to shoot the gunman before he went inside the school, potentially stopping the tragedy before it began.

Today the Uvalde mayor disputed that claim. the investigation is now the subject of intense scrutiny with conflicting reports and merging and political infighting between local leaders and top state officials. It's more confusion more frustration for these families.

When you hear about some of the new information that's now come out, what are you thinking?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They should have gone in starting their -- starting their training to stop an active shooter as the first thing they're supposed to do? It's aggravating that they didn't do that.

PROKUPECZ: What we know for sure is that police just feed away in the hallway waited and waited to unlock doors, a lack of effective command, the officers poorly positioned inside the school were all issues highlighted in Wednesday's report from the advanced law enforcement Rapid Response Training Center.

Irma Garcia's brother is a police officer in San Antonio. He says the action in the hallway is unfathomable.

MARCUS LOZANO, BROTHER OF IRMA GARCIA; I love my brothers in blue but it's just like any profession, you know. This profession is not made for everybody but when it's time to suit up, when -- you know, stiff -- stare death in the face, you know what you're going to use.

PROKUPECZ: Cristan Garcia, Irma's oldest child says he's gone numb trying to hold his emotions inside.

CRISTAN, GARCIA, SON OF IRMA GARCIA: Why did my mom had to go to the door and look death in the freaking eye and try to lock that door.

PROKUPECZ: After his mother died in the shooting, his father died two days later from a heart attack. Now, he wants accountability. One thing I don't want those officers that were in those hallways, I want them to resign.

PROKUPECZ: So you want all those officers gone that on --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

GARCIA: The minute I heard that my mom is dead, I yelled out, I should have taken that bullet because I'm in the military. I know what has to be done. I signed up for that. My mom protected those kids but no one protected her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My daughter was a fighter. Took a little bullet to the heart and still fight. She fought hard for her dear life and these cowards couldn't go in.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Shimon Prokupecz, thank you so much for that report. We want to let you know that we're going to hear directly from officials in Uvalde later this morning as Texas State Senator Roland Gutierrez joins us to discuss his frustrations with the investigation. He has been on this from the very beginning warning of a cover up. That conversation coming up in the next hour. Stay with us.

Up next, a look at the massive protests in Sri Lanka and how they lead to resignations at the very top of the country's government.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:35:00]

SANCHEZ: After a day of unprecedented violence, Sri Lanka's president and prime minister have agreed to step down. On Saturday, anger over the nation's economic crisis reached a boiling point. There was dramatic video of more than 100,000 people in the street calling for both leaders to resign and storming the presidential palace.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We have video of that too. It was dramatic. It was chaotic. Certainly, a sight to behold. They also broke into the Prime Minister's home at his private residence and set that on fire. CNN Senior International Correspondent Will Ripley has more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Not enough fuel, food, or medicine. But there is one thing in Sri Lanka that's not in short supply. Anger. Crowds reached a boiling point Saturday in Colombo after months of demonstrations and the country's worst economic and political crisis.

Throngs of protesters stormed the presidential residence, demanding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resign.

FIONA SMRIMANA, PROFESSOR: To get rid of the President and the Prime Minister and to have a new era for Sri Lanka. Also, I feel very, very sad that it didn't go earlier. Because have they gone out earlier, there wouldn't have been any destruction.

RIPLEY: Under pressure from the streets and by members of party leadership, the President informed Sri Lanka speaker of parliament, he will step down on Wednesday. The speaker relayed that decision to the nation asking protesters to return to their homes.

There's no need to destabilize the country any longer, he says. Adding, he respectfully request the cooperation of everyone on behalf of the country and for the country's future in order to maintain peace. A piece shattered by the biggest day of demonstrations yet. That included the burning of the home of the country's Prime Minister. He too says he's willing to step down to make way for an all-party government.

Home to some 22 million people, Sri Lanka is witnessing its worst financial crisis in seven decades of severe foreign exchange crunch, bringing the country to its knees. There have been long-winding queues for fuel now limited to only essential services. Power cuts relentless.

Analysts say the current crisis a result of poor economic decisions over the years by Rajapaksa and his government. Under the Sri Lankan constitution, if both president and prime minister resigned, the speaker of parliament will serve as acting president for a maximum of 30 days in which time parliament will elect a new president from one of its members. It would be a sweeping change for Sri Lanka largely brought about by its own people, many who have nothing left to lose. Will Ripley, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Will, thank you so much. So, this week, we're going to see images from the most powerful telescope ever created. What should we expect to see? A discussion with an expert moments away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:45:00]

WILD: Exciting week in space. This is the week NASA will release the first high-resolution images from the James Webb Space Telescope.

SANCHEZ: The Webb telescope is the most powerful ever made. And NASA has shared the first five cosmic targets of the Webb Telescope on Friday, providing a teaser for what we can expect to see in the full image release.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAM MELROY, DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR, NASA: What I have seen just moved me as a scientist, as an engineer, and as a human being.

THOMAS ZUROUCHEN, ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR: a Sense of awe, and frankly, got emotional.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Let's bring in Janet Ivey. She's the president of Explore Mars Inc, and the CEO of Janet Planet, also the CEO of some of the snazziest backgrounds you're going to see on CNN. Janet, good morning. Always great to have you. The images are coming pretty soon. What are you expecting from them?

JANET IVEY, PRESIDENT, EXPLORE MARS INC: You know, Boris and Whitney, it's just going to be amazing. And I've got like, this is a little bit of what I use with kids in the last two weeks, explaining what we're going to see and how exciting this is. I think it's just as Deputy Administrator Pam Milroy said. I think it's going to be a moment of awe.

Remember this we are made of starstuff. So, what we're looking back into with these infrared cameras with the spectrographs -- and again, that sounds all fancy, and boring, but what it tells us is the combinations and chemical compositions of stars, what minerals are on these planetary surfaces. They're going to tell us how fast the stars are rotating, detect and characterize these things.

And once we realize that we also are star stuff from the iron in our blood, to the carbon in our DNA, to the calcium in our teeth, we are made from the very same elements that exist in the hearts of stars and that we are related to our universe atomically. I think it's going to be a moment of awe on Tuesday when these are revealed at 10:30 Eastern.

WILD: Well, these are going to be released in full color. So, what is this going to show that we have never seen before? These are going to be some of the deepest -- my understanding is the deepest parts of the universe we haven't explored yet and the only time we're seeing it in this rich color.

IVEY: Exactly. Again, it's like if you -- we need to bow to Hubble its legacy in in reverence because it paved the way. But James Webb Space Telescope is 100 times more powerful. So, some of the targets chosen are things that we've already seen like the Carina Nebula. Hubble gave us a brilliant image of magic mountains there. But we're going to be able to see further.

What happens in spectroscopy is that you can't -- like it kind of filters out. And it's like, less subject to interference with dust. And so, then we're going to look at Stephan's Quintet. And it's like paths that. We're going to be able to literally see further and farther with the James Webb. And I think it's going to come into focus just exactly how powerful this telescope is, and how much more there is to learn about our solar system.

SANCHEZ: Who knows what we're going to find out there. There was a little bit of concern, though, Janet, because it took so much work to get the telescope out there, years and years of engineering and sophisticated technology. And then it got hit by these micro meteors. But it sounds like that's not -- that's going to ruin the images. It's still going to work out just fine, right?

IVEY: That's right. It's like it has -- one of the 18 mirrors has been hit by a micrometeorite. But again, this is, I guess, when you have 18 of them, right? So, again, profound engineering, and again, a profound amount of time. But it's like it had to be unfolded like origami. It's like it had to be -- had instruments that could cool the one side so to keep and block out the sunlight to get these pristine images.

And engineers at NASA, European Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency, all the partners have been working tirelessly to make sure that everything is in proper working order. And now, we believe that this mission will not only go on five to 10 years, but possibly 10 to 20. And it's going to reveal amazing discoveries, things.

I think, you know, the Hubble has been just really inspiring every astronomer I've ever known. And so, I can only imagine that the James Webb Space Telescope is going to usher in a whole new generation of astronomers and astrophysicists. But again, a little micrometeorite. Yes, it's troubling, but not insurmountable. And that's, again, what all these space agencies do so well, is do the hard things.

[06:50:39]

WILD: And they know how to navigate challenges certainly.

IVEY: Definitely. That's always a good thing, right?

WILD: Absolutely. Janet Ivey, thank you so much for joining us.

SANCHEZ: Thank you so much, Janet.

From the stars in outer space to the stars in center court, Novak Djokovic, going for his seventh Wimbledon men's title. We've got a preview of the match next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Some history at Wimbledon as a Russian foreign player takes her first title.

WILD: Coy Wire telling us more about this and this morning's Bleacher Report. Coy?

COY WIRE, NBC NEWS SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Good morning Whitney and Boris. Elena Rybakina were born in Moscow but has played for Kazakhstan since gaining citizenship in 2018. She's the first player representing Kazakhstan ever to win a major. The 23-year-old six footer facing three seats Ons Jabeur, the first Arab woman to play a major final, so some history here.

Jabeur took the opening set with ease but then Rybakina settled in, found her game and never looked back. Rybakina had taken the next two sets in dominant fashion. Ranked 23rd, she was pretty stoic, motionless for becoming the second-lowest rank woman ever to win Wimbledon since rankings began in 1975.

But being asked about what her parents would think of this win, now that got her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELENA RYBAKINA, CHAMPION, 2022 WIMBLEDON: Probably they're going to be proud. You wanted to see emotions?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All eight, later today, it'll be Novak Djokovic taken on the firecracker Australian Nick Kyrgios in the men's final. Djokovic is going through his 21st Grand Slam title walk Kyrgios' plan, win a Grand Slam final for the very first time.

Let's ship up to Boston now. Yankees-Red Sox, one of the greatest rivalries in sports into extra innings. New Yorker five to three in attempt, but Boston gets a spark from an unlikely source. Jeter Downs, named after Yankees legend Derek Jeter, but recording his first-ever Major League hit for the Red Sox bringing them within one.

And then it was Alex Verdugo knocking in two runs with none other than Jeter Downs sliding into home for the walk off win. And oh yes, yesterday also happened to be the 11-year anniversary of Derek Jeter is 310. How is that for some Yankees-Red Sox history?

Well, speaking of history, the Mets retiring legendary first baseman Keith Hernandez's number before their game with Miami. And current first baseman Pete Alonso paying some homage to the icon by growing out his stash looking a lot like Hernandez.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE ALONZO, FIRST BASEMAN, NEW YORK METS: The boys wanted me to shave and have a mustache and then it was like, you know what, if the boys wanted, I'll give it to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WIRE: This one goes to the 10th inning to Whitney and Boris and that's where we're finding Nimmo. Mets Brandon Nimmo hitting the shot back to the pitcher Tanner Scott but he blows the throw to the first, so Tomas Nido scores and the Mets wrap up. Keith Hernandez day with a walk-off win by the floor.

Finally, WNBA All-Star Weekend in the shy. Three-point competition yesterday and hometown star Allie Quigley makes history. The Chicago skies guard dropping a record 30 points and record for straight title in the competition. And in the skills challenge, it feature eight teams consisting of one Pro and one elite youth basketball league player.

Liberty star Sabrina to putting on a show with high school standout, Zoe Brooks. They take the title. UNESCO plan in her first-ever WNBA All-Star game later today. I want Eastern. It's going to be wild like Whitney. It will not Boris like Sanchez. It's going to be awesome.

SANCHEZ: I look forward to it.

WILD You had to take your shot, Coy.

WIRE: Yes.

SANCHEZ: He always does. Coy never misses -- Coy never misses an opportunity.

WIRE: That's OK.

SANCHEZ: Coy Wire, good morning. Thanks so much. All right, before we get to the next hour of NEW DAY, we want to remind you about a new CNN original series that premieres tonight. Patagonia: Life on the Edge of the World takes us on an amazing journey along Patagonia's Atlantic coast where animals and people survive against the odds. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The beaches along Patagonia's Peninsula Valdez offer little in the way of sustenance, but its rich waters teeming with life. Below the surface, diver Lucas El Rio is collecting mussels and he has company, 42 tons of it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's never a dull moment when you're working alongside giants.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: It is an incredible series. And you can watch the fill first episodes tonight at 9:00 p.m. Easter right here on CNN.

[07:00:00]