Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Biden's Family Urging Him To Stay In the Race, Keep Fighting; Democrats Fear Replacement Scenarios As Much As Keeping Biden; Supreme Court To Rule On Trump's Claim Of Immunity Tomorrow; Far-Right Leads First Round In French Elections; 5 Former Corrections Officers Arrested Over Death Of Inmate; Boeing Starliner's Return Delayed By Weeks; New Panda Diplomacy For U.S.-China Relations; Music Mecca Macon, Georgia Earns Best Town To Visit List. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired June 30, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:42]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Alisyn Camerota in New York, and we do begin with breaking news.

President Biden is back at Camp David tonight. He's surrounded, we're told, by his family. This meeting had been planned for months, but it is fair to say that there are serious conversations we can imagine happening there tonight.

We do have new reporting this hour at what is taking place at Camp David and what the president is being urged to do.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez and Isaac Dovere are here with us.

Priscilla, let me start with you. What have you learned?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the president has been huddling with his family at Camp David for this previously scheduled visit, but of course it came at a critical juncture and senior Biden advisers are telling CNN that he has been encouraged by his family to stay in the race and that they are offering their support.

Now we know the president has been trying to collect data anecdotally from his allies to get a sense of what they are seeing and thinking after Thursday night's debate performance. We should note, however, that everyone is still taking the temperature of course, while the family is standing by the president and encouraging him to stay in the race, there is still a lot of unknowns here, especially as there has been so much from allies of the president.

Democratic lawmakers concerned about what they saw on Thursday night. That is what they have had to contend with, not only with the rank and file, but also donors who have expressed anxiety over what is going to happen next and whether there is any replacements in the pipeline. So the president clearly having some tough conversations with his family at Camp David. They are pivotal and all of his decision-making, they are the key players, and they are encouraging him to stay in the race as of now -- Alisyn, CAMEROTA: Isaac, you also have new reporting about how some Democrats

feel about the idea of replacing President Biden at the top of the ticket. What are you learning?

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Alisyn. Look, first of all, there is deep fear of going forward with Joe Biden right now, but also deep fear of what it would be to replace him. Remember that would mean going into the convention. It only happens if Joe Biden decides to drop out because of the way the delegate rules work. But also, there are obviously a number of people who would be potential replacement candidates who I'm hearing from people around them have been getting hundreds of texts and e-mails starting on Thursday night during the debate and keep on going ever since.

And some preliminary plans starting to be thought out and watching each other, watching each other's moves, trying to figure out, is this going to happen? Are we about to go into what would be I think a decade-plus here of crazy politics. One of the craziest moments yet if it were to happen.

CAMEROTA: Yes. Good characterization.

Isaac, where does Vice President Kamala Harris stand in all of this?

DOVERE: Look, in the way that this would go, if it would go, obviously, we're talking about a hypothetical, Kamala Harris has been at Joe Biden's side, including importantly on Thursday night defending him and since. Most people believe that she would have the early edge to this. Again, this would require Joe Biden dropping out. First of all, there's -- if you play that scenario out, there are a lot of people who think that would lead to him tapping Kamala Harris and saying she should be the successor.

Also, she has strength as the first black vice president, the first woman to be in that job. All those things important in building the coalition. Importantly too, she would be able to take over the entire Biden fundraising operation and apparatus because it's the Biden- Harris campaign. So legally, she has a piece of it, too. But that doesn't quell a lot of the fears that are deep in a lot of people's minds about her as a general election candidate. And that would potentially be a problem for her.

But if that's what were to happen, we'd be talking about multiple ballots, multiple nights, really good television for us to report on, for people to watch, maybe not so great for the Democratic Party.

CAMEROTA: Isaac Dovere, Priscilla Alvarez, thank you for sharing your new reporting with us at this hour.

Joining me now is former Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas.

Governor, thanks so much for being here. What are your thoughts at this hour, more than 48 hours after the presidential debate and everything that you've just heard about our new reporting. Do you think Joe Biden should continue to run for a second term?

[18:05:05]

ASA HUTCHINSON (R), FORMER 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, thank you, Alisyn. And my thoughts are that what we saw at the debate performance is not easy to erase 50 million people watching it with many more following it in different ways. It is an impression that sticks and so I don't see how he can overcome that. The only way to do it would be if he granted one-on-one interviews that are spontaneous where he's got to respond, where he can show his mental acuity, and then obviously a debate in September.

But these are a ways off. And he has to build that and the question is, can he do it? And after the performance, this question as to whether he could do it. The Democrat Party is in a difficult quandary here. Do they unite which they have done behind a weak candidate or do they throw it open for an uncertain future? Those are not too favorable ingredients. Clearly, Donald Trump, despite his criminal conviction, has had a very good week and he's got momentum right now.

But we have to remember, he is a flawed candidate as well. And so a lot of unpredictability you can't get cocky about yet if you're the candidates.

CAMEROTA: Our Priscilla Alvarez, perhaps you've just heard, is reporting that -- has some reporting about what's happening behind the scenes at Camp David. And she says that Joe Biden's family is urging him to stay in the race. Do you think that's the right decision?

HUTCHINSON: Well, I mean, first of all, this puts the family in a very difficult position. I think about my children and my grandchildren. They love me. They're going to support me and it's hard for them to say, Papa, don't run, or, you know, Joe, don't run. And, you know, so there's that family loyalty and they're concerned about, you know, what is history going to look at as to the Biden presidency.

And what they fail to see is that if he did what the party would say is in the good of the country and put the country above his own interest, then he's going to be viewed very, very favorable. And he would be viewed in history as doing something that was good to beat Donald Trump and to change the direction of our country. And so, you know, they're in a quandary. It's a difficult position, but I hope that Jill, Dr. Biden is the one that has his confidence and can speak honestly with him.

And that's what she needs to do. And quite frankly, I think that you'd have a very stronger contest in November if we have new voices and new faces.

CAMEROTA: So it sounds like you think that he should decide not to run.

HUTCHINSON: If the Democrats want to win, yes. I think it was a disastrous error, a mistake that is hard to overcome and I quite frankly don't think he can overcome that. So, you know, if you want to let Donald Trump walk into it, then I think Joe Biden is the person. But if you want to take the gamble and the risk to say, this is worth fighting for, let's open up that convention, and that to me is a better gamble to take under these circumstances.

CAMEROTA: I mean, you understand this calculus of deciding whether to stay in a presidential race or get out. And I imagine it's a really hard calculus. And so what do you think he's wrestling with tonight?

HUTCHINSON: I think he wants data, and so, you know, the polling numbers will take a while to come in where you really have confidence. Everybody can say Donald Trump won the debate. But the question is, does it move any numbers for November? And is it something you can survive? So that's going to take a little time. And so the Democrat Party and their leaders are saying united very publicly, standing right behind Joe Biden.

I got a feeling the conversations behind the scenes are quite a bit different, much more honest. So he's got to take that into consideration. But what he's looking for is data. And, you know, he has been in the public arena. He's been in public office for, what, 50 years? And so he doesn't know anything else. I've been blessed that I've been in the private sector. I won and I've lost races, so I understand the dynamics you could move back and forth.

I don't know that he understands that, you know, there's life beyond the presidency, and that's a sad thing, but he's got to come to recognition of that. His family needs to be honest with him and he's got to look at the data. It'll take a couple of weeks to do that.

[18:10:03]

CAMEROTA: Governor, who do you think the Trump campaign would be most threatened by at the top of the ticket?

HUTCHINSON: The Trump campaign, you know, he's in a strong position whichever way they go because if they, you know, move Joe Biden out, then as Steve Bannon said today, this could play in Donald Trump's favor. He's going to say they're playing trickster on me again. Bait and switch on me. He's going to sell that case. And then secondly, whoever they replace it with is going to have a strong progressive Democratic record that he's going to have an easy time running against.

Now the difference is he's a flawed candidate to begin with. He's a convicted felon. He's got -- he has not united the party with the Nikki Haley supporters, and so he would have a fresh name out there that he would have to do battle with. And many people would look for an alternative, even though you're going to have the traditional differences between Republican leader and a Democrat leader.

So I think he'd be ready to take on whichever way. I don't think you can say he'd be disadvantaged, though, by the switch.

CAMEROTA: There's also new Axios reporting -- Axios reporting that we reported last hour, basically that says that some of President Biden's top aides have been shielding him and protecting him and keeping some of the staff, the White House staff at an arms distance, and so it came as a surprise, a shock to them to see Thursday night's debate.

Does that sound right to you? I mean, is that what normally happens with presidents?

HUTCHINSON: Was not what should happen. The president really needs to make sure he has differing views that are presented to him that you don't have people that are locked out. You have to have some controls, but you don't want to have that isolated environment. And it sounds like that whenever he went to Camp David, he had a set of trusted advisers and others were excluded from it. And they monopolized the time, worked on the preparation for Joe Biden, and apparently wore him out, and didn't let Joe Biden be Joe Biden.

And so whatever happened there was not a good outcome. He needs to hear for a broad range of advisers. He can't be isolated even though they're -- the staff is going to try to -- the senior staff will try to protect him but that could be the worst thing if you isolate those that he needs to be hearing from.

CAMEROTA: Governor Asa Hutchinson, thank you. Always great to get your perspective.

HUTCHINSON: Thank you, Alisyn. Good to be with you.

CAMEROTA: We are just hours away from the Supreme Court ruling on Donald Trump's claim of immunity from criminal charges for his attempts to overturn the election after he lost to Joe Biden in 2020. The decision could have wide-ranging effects on the powers of the president for years to come.

Joining me now is CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid.

Paula, set the scene for us for this highly anticipated decision.

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Look, Alisyn, this is the last day of the Supreme Court term. They usually reserve their biggest cases for this day. And of course, the case that everyone is watching and waiting for is this question of whether former president Trump has immunity that would help to shield him from Special Counsel Jack Smith's federal January 6th prosecution.

Now on the lower courts Trump lost this at both the district court and the appellate level. This was rejected. The idea that he would have immunity to protect him here was rejected by those judges. But the fact that the high court has even agreed to take this up suggests that they do see possibly at least some immunity for the former president for his at least and possibly official acts.

So he -- this, of course, all stems from the 2020 effort to subvert the election outcome. And a big issue here is whether his acts were official or private. So it's going to be fascinating, Alisyn, tomorrow to see exactly how they decide this. Widely expected again that they will find at least some immunity. We base that off of what we heard in oral arguments. And then the question is, all right, where does that case go from there? Does it go likely back down to the courts? I think at this point,

Alisyn, it's highly unlikely that this case could go to trial before the election.

CAMEROTA: And what about the other cases, Paula? I mean, what about the classified documents case? Will this ruling tomorrow affect that as well?

REID: It's not expected to, it depends what they say. But at this point it's not expected to impact the classified documents case. That case, of course, doesn't even have a trial date. The judge, Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, has taken a lot of time to hear issues that some other judges may not want to take a lot of time to consider.

[18:15:06]

There's no trial date on the calendar for that case, even though sources really who have no dog in this fight, tell me it's unlikely that any judge would have been able to bring that case before the November election. And the reason the election matters so much is of course if Trump is reelected he can make either one of these federal cases go away. He can have his attorney general dismiss Jack Smith and the cases against him.

CAMEROTA: And Paula, how will the justices decide if what President Trump was saying after he lost the election on January 6th was private or presidential?

REID: This is going to be one of the tests that we're looking for. Assuming that they do recognize some immunity, do they set specifics about what is an official act or what is not an official act, or do they more likely set out some sort of test that the court will then have to apply? That's going to be fascinating to see where you can get a majority of the court to agree to, again, set out some sort of standard.

It is not expected that they're just going to say, you know what, we agree. He doesn't have immunity. We affirm the appellate court. They took up this issue because they see something here. Justice Gorsuch described this as, quote, "a decision for the ages."

CAMEROTA: Paula Reid, thank you for setting the table for us for tomorrow.

Well, France is facing political uncertainty after far-right candidates scored big gains in the first of two days of voting. Plus an historic and extremely dangerous hurricane bears down the Caribbean with a life-threatening storm surge, dangerous wind gusts of up to 130 miles per hour. We'll track it for you.

And a pair of NASA astronauts keep getting told their flight home is delayed and they'll have to wait as NASA and Boeing scramble to fix the spacecraft that's supposed to bring them back to earth.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:21:31]

CAMEROTA: Breaking news out of France tonight. The country's far-right party is leading the first round of France's parliamentary elections. This is according to projections. In a surprisingly week showing, President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party came in third. Voter turnout was at 67 percent. That's the highest in a first round in nearly 30 years, according to French officials.

CNN's Jim Bittermann is following all this for us live from Paris.

Jim, you've explained how this is complicated. So is the far-right party the official winner or is there more voting to be done?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's certainly the official winner. There's no doubt about that, but by how much is the real answer to the question because in fact they have enough that they're going to really frustrate Emmanuel Macron's next three years in office. But whether it's enough to have a majority and to put their man in as prime minister, that's another story.

Here at the prime minister's office, the mood is pretty dark and it's not just because it's after midnight. It's because of the fact that that drubbing that the president's party took with the surprise elections and the kind of disappointing outcome for him. The other parties involved, the other sort of parties on the left, and Macron's party in the center, have both said that they're going to do everything they can to make sure that the extreme right party, the National Rally Party, does not win the elections a week from now, does not win enough seats to take over the majority in the parliament because that would be the first extreme right party here in France taking control of power since World War II -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Jim Bittermann, thank you very much for bringing us all of the breaking news from there tonight.

Back here, Hurricane Beryl is now a category four as it closes in on the south eastern Caribbean. Experts say Hurricane Beryl is an extremely dangerous storm with sustained winds of 130 miles per hour. Hurricane warnings are in effect for St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Vincent, and the Grenadine Islands, plus Grenada and Tobago.

Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is in the CNN Weather Center with more.

ELISA RAFFA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hurricane Beryl continues to gain strength and intensify. On Saturday we were talking about a tropical storm. On Sunday, we're talking about a major hurricane. Look at that eye that has developed in the last 24 hours. It's clear, is symmetrical, and it is a sign of an incredibly strong and destructive storm developing, could be looking at some catastrophic impacts for the Windward Islands as we go into the workweek.

This is the farthest east that we have had a hurricane in June in the tropical Atlantic. It is the third earliest and major hurricane on record in the Atlantic. And it is the earliest major hurricane within 100 miles of Barbados and Grenada. Simply put, we do not get storms this strong, this early in the season. Look at the destructive hurricane-force winds that could hit the Windward Islands as go into the workweek.

We're talking about some destructive, catastrophic impacts. Storm surge could be up to six to nine feet in some locations coming in with the intense hurricane force winds. We'll continue to find Beryl head towards Jamaica as we go into the middle of the week. And then eventually the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico by Friday.

We're talking about rapid intensification because these ocean temperatures are just so incredibly warm, middle and upper 80s, that's about three to five degrees above average and much more typical for August.

[18:25:01]

That's why we're talking about a major hurricane about four to six weeks ahead of schedule. Hurricanes love warm ocean waters. It is their food and their fuel. As our oceans become warmer because of climate change, that's more food and more fuel available for rapid intensification. We can see strong storms become even stronger at a faster pace and we have seen that trend in recent years.

CAMEROTA: Elisa, thank you very much.

Five former corrections officers now charged in the death of an inmate. A fellow inmate tells CNN he witnessed the man's final moments. CNN's exclusive new reporting ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:02]

CAMEROTA: Five former corrections officers in Missouri now facing a combination of charges for the deaths of an inmate. Othel Moore Jr. died in December after the officers pepper-sprayed and restrained him. Now a former inmate tells CNN exclusively what he witnessed that led to Moore's death.

CNN's Omar Jimenez has that exclusive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JORDAN SELLER, FORMER INMATE, JEFFERSON CITY CORRECTIONAL CENTER: I watched the people that are supposed to be protecting me kill somebody that brought on such a such a fear. You know, the realization that these people can kill me and there's nothing I can do about it.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jordan Seller is a former inmate at the Jefferson City Correctional Center, a maximum security prison in Missouri. And he's talking about five now former corrections officers, Justin Leggins, Jacob Case, Gregory Varner and Aaron Brown have all been charged with second-degree murder and second-degree assault, while Bryanne Bradshaw was charged with second- degree involuntary manslaughter in the killing of inmate Othel Moore Jr.

Seller, who was serving a six-year sentence for second-degree rape, believes he witnessed Moore's final breaths just feet away after what began as a search of the cells on his prison block.

What happened with Othel?

SELLER: They come in like 100 deep, that's barely an exaggeration. They tried to come in and pull everybody out as fast as they can, search those as fast as they can and get out.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Seller says Moore was asking to be put in two sets of connected handcuffs, typically done he says to ease tension on the shoulders of larger inmates.

SELLER: They're just refusing to listen to him. And so they start treating the situation as if he's being non-compliant. So they mace him. He can't see. He spitting out mace. He's coughing. Can't breathe and he's telling them I'm allergic to maze, you guys need to hurry up and get medical here.

JIMENEZ: Seller says Moore coughing and choking was then brought closer to his cell.

SELLER: They had some kind of chair like contraption.

JIMENEZ: He says officers then slid a mask over Moore's mouth typically used to stop inmates from spitting.

SELLER: Of course, he's refusing this because there's no reason for them to put a spit mask on. He don't know what's going on.

JIMENEZ: Then he says they put what appeared to be a motorcycle helmet over Moore's head.

SELLER: Immediately he's jumping, hopping, and you can hear him screaming. Hell, I can't breathe. I can't breathe. Take it off. I can't read. I'm allergic to maze. I need help. You know, and then it gets worse and worse. Slowly his screams are getting weaker and weaker. And he -- I believe I watched him die before they even took them out the wing. Never watched anybody die before.

JIMENEZ: Where were you as all of this was going down?

SELLER: Yes, I was I was in my cell.

JIMENEZ: How close?

SELLER: I'm 10, 15 feet away. I felt like I was going to cry, but it wouldn't go, it wouldn't happen. I just -- I want to lay down, you know, a little bit afterwards after he was already gone out the wing and I just got angry.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Othel Moore was declared dead that day. Nearly everything Seller told CNN was corroborated by the county prosecutor. In a release, the prosecutor said during a contraband sweep of the prison, Moore was pepper sprayed twice before being placed in a spit hood, leg wrap and restraint chair, and transferred to a separate housing unit where he was left in the hood, wrap and restraint chair for approximately 30 minutes.

And a probable cause statement describing the restraint process said that more showed no aggression to any members of the correctional emergency response team during this process and was on video being compliant. His cause of death was this asphyxiation, the prosecutor wrote, citing a medical examiner's report.

LOCKE THOMPSON. PROSECUTING ATTORNEY, COLE COUNTY, MISSOURI: Most places in the Department of Corrections are on camera for obvious reasons, and those were the camera angles that were seized as part of the evidence in this case. Hopefully we can get justice for Mr. Moore and his family.

JIMENEZ: The family is now filing a federal civil lawsuit.

ANDREW M. STROTH, ATTORNEY FOR OTHEL MOORE'S FAMILY: I've reviewed hundreds of police cases, prison cases. This is one of the most egregious cases I have ever seen.

JIMENEZ: Moore's killing was part of the deadliest year in Missouri prisons in at least the last decade, according to state data obtained by CNN. That's despite the overall prison population being at its lowest over the same period.

SELLER: I did a lot of -- did a lot of good for myself in there.

JIMENEZ: Jordan Seller, now free, says his reason for coming forward is simple.

[18:35:04]

SELLER: See something that's wrong, that needs to be addressed, something needs to change.

JIMENEZ: You feel like what you saw was murder?

SELLER: Absolutely.

JIMENEZ: Now we've attempted to identify attorneys for these officers, but haven't been able to make contact. They're expected to make an initial appearance in front of a judge Monday, according to the county's prosecuting attorney.

Now, the state's Department of Corrections says it is now discontinuing the use of the restraint system in which Moore was held, but also that 10 people involved in this incident have now been terminated in total, and that they are starting to implement body-worn cameras in their restrictive housing units and at maximum security facilities, starting with Jefferson City Correctional Center.

Omar Jimenez, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CAMEROTA: Our thanks to Omar for bringing us that story.

Well, NASA says still no firm date for when two astronauts can return home as the agency and Boeing try to figure out what's wrong with their ride home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:43]

CAMEROTA: NASA delaying two Americans' return trip home from the space station again. Engineers still trying to troubleshoot the Boeing Starliner's thrusters. Despite the delay a NASA official says, quote, "I want to make it very clear that astronauts Butch and Sunny are not stranded in space," end quote. The mission was only supposed to last days. It began three weeks ago and now could go on for months.

CNN aerospace analyst and science correspondent Miles O'Brien joins us now.

Miles, great to see you. Is this somewhat standard that astronauts have to wait indefinitely for a return date or is something going terribly wrong here?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AEROSPACE ANALYST AND SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT: Over the years, Alisyn, it has indeed happened. Just last year you may recall NASA astronaut Frank Rubio went to space. He was supposed to stay there for six months and the Soyuz Rocket, the Russian Soyuz Rocket that he was supposed to fly home on was damaged in space and it was not deemed fit to land. And so his mission was more than doubled. He ended up spending 371 days in space, setting a record that he didn't intend to.

And so these scenarios do happen. There have been other occasions when astronauts have been delayed for various technical and other reasons.

CAMEROTA: Do you understand why NASA and Boeing keep delaying these two astronauts' return?

O'BRIEN: It's in abundance of caution. I think they, you know, engineers can't stand it when they don't know the root cause of a problem, that is, after all, what they're all about. These helium leaks and these thrusters which failed mysteriously on docking, all of these things might be related, might not, but they don't know for sure. And the hardware involved is part of the capsule which actually gets jettisoned as it comes home.

And so once they come home, they won't have the hardware to look at and figure out what went wrong. So what they're doing right now for the next two weeks, they're going to run some thrusters that are identical on the ground through a gauntlet of firings that would be similar to docking and re-entry, and try to see if they can figure out what might be causing all these problems. And then after that potentially clear them to land in Starliner.

CAMEROTA: And so, Miles, if for some reason they determined that the Starliner is not safe to bring them back, is there another way to get the astronauts home?

O'BRIEN: Well, if it was an emergency, they probably would get in the Starliner and come home. Just this past week on Wednesday they had a near miss with some space junk, and all of the crew members on the station had to go to their respective lifeboats as it were, and strap in just in case. It's a precaution that happens occasionally. And in fact, Sunny and Butch went to the Starliner so they would have, if something happened and the space station got hit, they would have come home with it. So they're sort of cleared already for an emergency landing on Starliner.

Having said that, if they decided they wanted to use another vehicle there's a lack of seats right now. The Crew Dragon, which is attached, is capable of carrying seven passengers, but there are only four seats on board, so it would have to be jerry-rigged situation in some way to make them safe. And I'm not even sure that's possible. Now, there will be a new Crew Dragon that will come up in September.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I don't like hearing jerry-rigged in space travel, you know?

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: No. That's not a good thing in space travel.

CAMEROTA: No. That's not a good combo. But how long --

O'BRIEN: You don't want to try to fix it with gaffe tape.

CAMEROTA: No. I mean, that's what it sounds like. Don't MacGyver anything up there. So how --

O'BRIEN: No.

CAMEROTA: Right. So how long can they safely stay? I mean, since they were supposed to be there for, I guess, a few days, how long can they safely stay in space?

O'BRIEN: Well, there's really no practical limits. There's plenty of resources on the space station, plenty of, you know, food and water, and all the consumables required for a crew to stay up there. So no reason that they have to be rushed down. The Starliner itself has a battery, which is good for 45 days, but NASA said it's been charging nicely while attached to the space station. So they doubled that now to 90 days.

[18:45:03]

The spacecraft itself is rated to stay in orbit a little over 200 days but that's not -- that's a separate issue from the crew itself. The crew is, relatively speaking, they are in space, but they're safe and they can stay there for a while.

CAMEROTA: Miles O'Brien, great. Thank you very much for all the information. Always great to talk to you.

O'BRIEN: You're welcome, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Well, it's called panda diplomacy. How a pair of giant pandas from China are settling in after arriving in the U.S.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:12]

CAMEROTA: Two young pandas arriving at their new home at the San Diego Zoo. They are the first new panda bears loaned to the U.S. in more than 20 years.

CNN's Paula Newton looks at what they mean for China-U.S. relations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Meet two of China's newest ambassadors to the U.S. Not official titles of course, but that's not what it takes to impress these visitors at the San Diego Zoo.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're like cute.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like their spots.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're really cute and fluffy.

NEWTON: Two giant pandas, 3-year-old female Xin Bao and 4-year-old male Yun Chuan are settling in at the zoo after leaving their habitat in China last week. It's the first time China has loaned new pandas to the U.S. in more than two decades. The zoo says the pandas are being closely monitored after their journey and won't be seen in public for several weeks.

The pandas reportedly already know a few commands in English and are being treated to some of their favorite snacks like fresh bamboo, fruit, and a special cornbread. And a new enclosure tailor made to remind them of home.

MEGAN OWEN, SAN DIEGO ZOO WILDLIFE ALLIANCE: Our renovated giant panda habitat is inspired by the habitat of giant pandas in their native range. So there's a lot of vertical structures and hillside, and many, many things that harken back to the mountains of Sichuan.

NEWTON: China's giant panda partnership with the U.S. began in 1972. And it was a success. The animals became star attractions at zoos across the country and several cubs were born. But in recent years, most of the pandas and their cubs have returned to China under the terms of the loan agreements. The last two pandas at the San Diego Zoo left in 2019. Three pandas at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. returned to China last year, leaving Atlanta the only zoo at the time in the U.S. to still have pandas, and those are scheduled to leave, too.

The number of the furry envoys of friendship dwindled as relations between Washington and Beijing became less friendly. But last year, after a face-to-face meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping suggested new pandas could be on their way. Their preservation something both countries can agree on.

MAO NING, CHINESE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (through translator): The cooperation has made positive contributions to improving giant panda conservation research and enhancing people-to-people friendship.

NEWTON: The National Zoo says it, too, will get a new pair of pandas from China later this year. That's good for the global panda population, which is classified as vulnerable according to the World Wildlife Fund, and good for a generation of children in the U.S. waiting for Yun Chuan and Xin Bao to make their debut. The joy of seeing the beloved creatures up close and in person the very best part of panda diplomacy.

MELINA AMAGUIN, ZOO VISITOR: She's never seen pandas before, but how do you feel about pandas coming?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy.

AMAGUIN: Happy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Very cure. Paula Newton, thank you.

Well, from Little Richard to Otis Redding and the Allman Brothers, Macon, Georgia, has deep roots in the music industry. Some call it the birthplace of southern rock. Macon is about 90 minutes south of Atlanta, and it's one of CNN's top American towns to visit.

We sent Derek Van Dam down I-75 to learn more about how the town's revitalized music scene is growing and drawing fans of all musical genres.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to Macon, Georgia, a town whose music history has shaped much of the music we hear today.

SAM STEPHENS, RADIO PERSONALITY: Tedeschi Trucks. VAN DAM: This is Sam Stephens. She grew up in a small town outside of

Macon, but still remembers coming to the city as a kid.

STEPHENS: I have always described Macon as my first big adventure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 100.9 on the Creek.

STEPHENS: Listen.

VAN DAM: Now as the voice of 100.9's "Creekside" morning show in Macon, alongside her co-host, Charles Davis, Sam was the perfect person to show us around town.

STEPHENS: We want to put the spotlight on the music history and also bring you what's up and coming and brand new that's continuing on the legacy of a lot of those great older artists that we play. CHARLES DAVIS, RADIO PERSONALITY: When you speak on what southern rock

was and what it meant to the country during, you know, the '60s and '70s, that started here.

VAN DAM: Otis Redding, known as the king of soul, Little Richard, one of the pioneers of rock and roll, and the Allman Brothers, who revolutionized southern rock, all have ties to Macon.

Sam took us to meet Richard Brent, the executive director of the Big House Museum, which was formerly the house where members of the Allman Brothers lived.

[18:55:06]

And every music legend that came through Macon had to stop by Capricorn Studios, which has been preserved to look just as it did back then.

And, yes, it seems like everyone is still keeping the music alive here.

(SINGING)

STEPHENS: Macon music history is now. Macon is on the cusp of this beautiful renaissance musically and revitalization as a community. But we're making -- I can't.

DAVIS: Do it. Just do it, Sam. Just do it. Just do it, Sam.

STEPHENS: We're Macon it happen right here, folks.

DAVIS: God, why are you making an infomercial right now? Do I need to give them that smile?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Our thanks to Derek Van Dam for that.

To learn more about Macon or check out the rest of our top 10 list, you can visit CNN.com or scan the QR code on the screen right now. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)