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CNN Live Event/Special

99 Percent Of Americans Will Be Able To See At Least Part Of Eclipse; Excitement Builds As Millions In U.S. Await Total Solar Eclipse; Total Solar Eclipse Crossing Over North America; Special Flight Gives Passengers View Of Solar Eclipse From Sky; Hundreds Of Couples To Marry In Arkansas During Eclipse; Zoo Monitoring Animal Behavior During Solar Eclipse. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired April 08, 2024 - 12:00   ET

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

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[12:01:02]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Welcome to CNN special coverage, Eclipse Across America. I'm Boris Sanchez alongside Brianna Keilar. And we're live at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is right in the path of totality for today's solar eclipse. Soon, this place is going to be filled with some 40,000 fellow eclipse watchers.

But according to NASA's calculations, we're just a small portion of the roughly 32 million Americans who are going to be able to see the moon completely block out the sun for several minutes later today.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: But if you're not in that path, do not worry because you will likely still see some action. This afternoon about 99 percent of the country will have a view of at least a partial eclipse whether cooperating. So, this is a celestial event. Keep in mind that will not happen again for another 20 years in America.

So, we're going all out here. We have a crew. As you can see there in Niagara Falls, crowds starting to gather there. We've also got an epic mass wedding set to take place in Russellville, Arkansas. We're going to take a look at that. And then there are scientists of course, keeping an eye on how animals like giraffes react in Dallas to the eclipse. They do some funky things. So, they're keeping an eye on them.

SANCHEZ: We're also going to do some funky things. So, you're going to want to stay tuned to all afternoon. Right now, let's go to space correspondent Kristin Fisher, who's with us today.

KEILAR: And Kristin, just set the scene for us because there are no people in the stands behind you. But they are going to be there once the track opens for this massive watch party here in Indianapolis.

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: They are. It's absolutely huge. The largest gathering of people to watch this total solar eclipse across the United States. Boris and Brianna, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway are right behind me. They have just started letting some people in. You can't see anybody in the stands over there. But they're starting to filter in and sit down in the stands.

Just beneath me there's going to be some race cars going around. And just some things getting people excited because we're still a little ways away from the eclipse starting. And, you know, Boris and Brianna, I was speaking with an astrophysicist recently about why total solar eclipses has really -- have really captivated everybody's attention and imagination.

And he described it as the solar system, the galaxy, the universe, really just falling right down onto your lap. That's the moment when you realize like, whoa. I am just a very small human in a very big universe. And there's really nothing else quite like it.

Here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, there is also dozens of NASA astronauts. And you know, these are people who have actually been to space, right? They have seen some of the coolest sites that -- that so few humans have ever actually seen. And yet, a total solar eclipse is still for them at the top of many of their bucket lists. And not just any total solar eclipse guys, but this one.

And here are just two reasons why this total solar eclipse is just so exciting. One, the duration of totality twice as long as what it was during the last total solar eclipse back in 2017. And then the other really cool thing is that the sun is almost reaching its peak cycle of activity. It's very peak of when those solar flares and coronal mass ejections would be taking place.

And so, when we see the moon totally cover the sun at about 3:06 pm eastern time. Boris and Brianna, we could get a much more active sun than what we saw in 2017. So, and fingers crossed Boris and Brianna, so far, the web is looking pretty good.

SANCHEZ: It looks amazing out here. And we should point out, she said it's a bucket list moment for a lot of folks including some astronauts. Later on, we're going to hear from her parents. Her dad has had a total solar eclipse on his bucket list for years. He's never been able to see one today could be his first shot.

[12:05:00]

KEILAR: Because of the weather and I think third time is going to be a charm.

SANCHEZ: Hope so.

KEILAR: It's happening.

SANCHEZ: So, CNN again is live all along the path, covering this eclipse from all views and all angles.

KEILAR: That's right. We're all over this. So, let's kick it off with Ed Lavandera who is at the Dallas Zoo with a very interesting look at what is going to be happening during this eclipse. Ed?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Brianna, I know what it feels like to be you. This is going to be my co-host for this. This must be what it's like anchoring with Boris -- and animal today to pay a lot of attention. You like that? All right, so we're at the Dallas Zoo. We have a lot of fun today. All right. Thank you. Thank you. (inaudible) that one for about 10 seconds. Kind of keeping tabs on what the animals and how they're going to be reacting.

This is Tebogo. Let's feed him. Oh, good job. Good job. All right. So, they're going to be paying a lot of attention to how the animals react. Back in 2017 in South Carolina, giraffes galloped other animals, you know, either tried to put themselves to sleep is the real questions. That's exactly how a lot of these animals reacted.

There's not a lot of research that has been able to be done on all of this. That's why they're going to be crowdsourcing a lot. A lot of the guests here at the Dallas Zoo today are getting this form where they can write down observations and pass it along to the experts.

So, as we go throughout the day, we'll have a lot of fun. I can't promise you. We'll see any kind of meeting and that sort of thing. But we do know where there'll be love is in the air. And that will be with Stephanie Elam in Arkansas, where 300 people are getting married. Stephanie?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is right. And we're talking about 358 couples who are expected to be here, getting married in this massive soccer field in Russellville, Arkansas. They've got the stage up. They're going to have some performers. They've got brides coming in. You're starting to see the sparkly dresses, the white dresses. And you've also got some hot air balloon rides going on over here.

This is a town of about 30,000 people and they're expecting about 100,000 people are here today, but they've been preparing for this big event. They've been preparing for all of these people to come here. People have been planning for months to come be a part of this massive elopement. And what's going to happen is they're all going to get married right before the eclipse.

Then everybody is going to look to the skies, which I should also mention. We thought we were going to get rain. So, take a look at this gorgeousness that we've got here in Arkansas. We are winning where we are. And we are going to watch the eclipse and right after that, they are going to -- then have their first answer.

So, we're looking for a lot of fun here. And you know what, even if it is going to rain in Niagara Falls, it doesn't end up -- it doesn't end the fun there. Back to the anchors.

SANCHEZ: I think we were going go to Harry Enten there. There were some issues with the signal. It looks amazing where she is. It looks pretty good in Dallas to where Ed was. I just want to say if he's comparing me to a giraffe. It wouldn't be a bad idea for you to feed me during the show as well --

KEILAR: We can do --

SANCHEZ: Keep me alert and awake. KEILAR: Or you need the energy? This is going to be four hours of amazing television. We're going to do that Boris. But let's go now to Torreon, Mexico. We're going to be from the beginning until the end of this, perfectly placed. It is expected to have the longest duration of totality at four minutes and 28 seconds.

SANCHEZ: CNN's Gustavo Valdes is there. Gustavo, take us through the excitement, how are things looking where you are?

GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, it is a lot of excitement. They're expecting about 30 to 40,000 people in these what they call an urban forest. You can see the green space starting to fill up. People are treating this as a picnic. And the organizers are hanging free glasses for people to -- every now and then look up and see what this guy is going to do. Right now, it's a little bit overcast. It's cloudy, but we hope that it clears out.

We have people from all over Mexico. This guy was ready for us. He came with his CNN hat. Where you came from?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From Monterrey, Mexico.

VALDES: From Monterrey. It's about five hours away. Excited about the eclipse?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I'm very excited because it's probably could be our last opportunity to hear this kind of phenomena here in Mexico. So, I'm very happy to be here.

VALDES: Very happy. They drove up for hours. There were no hotels. It was really hard to get a flight in. And the other side of this hill, there is a group of about 36, 40 Spaniards. They flew all the way from Spain to be a witness of this event. And on the other side, unfortunately, they put this big screen. They thought we needed a TV screen to look up on the sky and see the eclipse.

But on the other side, there are tens of -- dozens of scientists on the other side, including NASA. Dorian has an observatory with two telescopes. One of them is actually dedicated to look up to the sun all the time. So, they're going to be able to do experiments on the sun as we see the eclipse. And something we are going to be paying attention to are birds.

These trees, all morning long were full with all kinds of local birds. This is not a sanctuary, it's just like the natural habitat. And they were making a lot of noises as the sun was rising. Now they're a little quiet perhaps, because of the people. If the generator -- if we managed to turn off the generator, we might be able to hear changes on the birds. They are experts also listening and trying to take notes and see what happens to the animals during the eclipse.

[12:10:00]

SANCHEZ: A lot of folks are going to be paying attention to the animals. We're really excited to see how they respond to this celestial phenomenon. Gustavo Valdes looks like a great party in Torreon, Mexico. Yeah. So right now, tens of thousands of stargazers are flocking to the small town of Kerrville, Texas to experience the solar eclipse. It is one of the closest places to the border with Mexico, where folks are gathering to watch.

CNN's Rosa Flores is there for us. And Rosa, you look amazing. What do you have on?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let me share this with you guys. There was no bigger party than in the state of Texas. I know my other colleagues are in other locations, but you know that everything is bigger in Texas. Now wait, can you guys see me or am I experiencing complete totality? Oh, no, no, no. I was not experiencing complete totality.

This is a quick PSA because we are so close to go into totality. If your glasses look like this, don't use them to see the sun because they're not good. You've got to have the international standard to make sure that you protect your eyes. This is exactly what you're going to need.

And let me just tell you something. There's been so much excitement here in Kerrville because when we started today, there was complete cloud cover. Right now, I'm seeing a blue sky. Right now, we're actually seeing the sun. So, all of these are good signs that we might be able to see a great eclipse.

I want to bring in Judy because she's here from Chicago, and everybody has to wish her a happy birthday. Happy birthday to you.

JUDY BLOCK, CAME TO PARK TO WATCH ECLIPSE: Thank you. Don't I think a wonderful day to have a birthday?

FLORES: This is wonderful. Everybody's wishing you a happy birthday now. Why choose Kerrville?

BLOCK: We had family in San Antonio who invited us out to visit and family from everywhere. Baltimore, Chicago, Tennessee, everywhere, came out to join and have celebration together.

FLORES: What are you hoping for? Because I know you've already experienced one eclipse in 2017.

BLOCK: I did. I'm just hoping to enjoy with my family, my loved ones and the beautiful weather.

FLORES: Wonderful. Do you think that we're going to get a miracle --

(CROSSTALK)

BLOCK: Yes, yes. Sunshine and total eclipse. Yes. What do you think, McKinley? Eclipse? Yes. And whether we get it or we get rain, we're happy to be together. It's a wonderful day.

FLORES: Thank you, Judy. We really appreciate it.

BLOCK: Thank you. FLORES: And I want to show you if we have at this wide shot of this park because there are a lot of people here. I talked to the mayor. She told me just moments ago that I-10 (Ph) is backed up. So, more people are coming to this park to enjoy the festivities and hopefully fingers crossed, Judy, a full eclipse here from Kerrville. Back to you guys.

KEILAR: Thank you so much, Rosa. And we're ready as well with our glasses that meet the international standard. And a happy birthday to Judy.

SANCHEZ: Yeah.

KEILAR: It's a big month. Look, we did a lot of preparation for this. We talked including to an astrologer. Big month for Aries, including for Judy. Big moves -- big moves ahead for her, no doubt. But the big question -- and also, it's really a big question as well where Rosa is, is the weather going to cooperate today.

SANCHEZ: Yeah. It is a big deal and a lot of spots. Chad Myers has been following the path of totality and the clouds as well. Chad, potentially some big winners, some losers as well today.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Lots of winners right through the middle part of the country, right through the Ohio Valley. Very few clouds in the sky. Now the race is on for Kerrville. Will the eclipse happen? Or will all the clouds that are coming across the Rio Grande get there first? It is going to be very, very touch and go for those people here.

Something else I want you to think about here. Now we talked about this three minutes of totality. That is only along the middle part of the line. You know, in hurricane season, we say don't look at the line, look at the cone. If you are on the very edge of the cone, your totality may only be 10 seconds. Your moon is going to go by and then all of a sudden, you're going to get a diamond ring. You're going to get totality. And that diamond ring could come back very, very quickly.

Prepare for that if you are not near the middle because everybody's expecting two to three minutes. And that's just not the way this happens. We're going to move all the way up here across in parts (inaudible). This is a live picture of the cloud cover right now. There's just nothing out there.

But then all of a sudden Harry Enten has to go to Buffalo, my hometown, and they had clouds all the way through Niagara Falls. Buffalo, Cheektowaga, where I was from and then back up here toward New Brunswick, things look a lot better from there.

There will be severe weather later today. So, all the people that are out there trying to celebrate in Kerrville and San Antonio and Dallas, you need to prepare and be ready to go somewhere. If you're still there four or five o'clock this afternoon because things are going to go bump in the night. There's going to be large hail. There may even be a random tornado or two. [12:15:00]

You need to know what county you're in. Because if you don't hear the warning or you don't see it, you go, oh, I'm in Collin's County. Well, you don't know where that is. You could be in trouble. Guys back to you.

SANCHEZ: Yeah. Important to keep those warnings in mind especially, with severe weather potentially in the forecast. Chad Myers, thank you so much for that. There is one assignment that I'm truly envious of today. Some very lucky people are going to get to watch the solar eclipse from thousands of feet in the air.

KEILAR: Yeah, really amazing. And that includes CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean. He is with us now from the Dallas Fort Worth airport where he's actually about to board a flight for his sky- high eclipse experience. This is amazing, Pete. Tell us what you're going to be doing?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Truly amazing. And you know, especially considering the big story here in Texas is the clouds and how low they are, which will obscure so much of totalities impact here over Texas. Here in Dallas Fort Worth, it's low clouds outside. Not so here at gate E15. Delta flight 1010 about the board. We're going to be above the clouds at 30,000 feet. They've been poring over the charts for a while.

In fact, you can see all of the eclipse special theme here. They've been playing music all day. A lot of passengers showing up. There are still tickets left on this flight. 950 bucks is what I found this morning, only middle and aisle seats left right now. I'm lucky enough to be in a window. Seems like we're going to get through these clouds relatively quickly.

I want you to listen now to Delta meteorologist Warren Weston, and he says we're going to be up and through this really quickly, and then we will see totality and the diamond ring that everyone's looking forward to, listen?

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WARREN WESTON, DELTA AIR LINES METEOROLOGIST: Unfortunately, here in Dallas where we are today, there's quite a bit of low cloud cover. So, it might hinder the eclipse experience for the people here in Dallas. But fortunately, we're going to be on an airplane. We'll be able to get above all this very quickly and very easily. And we're just hoping that we can stay clear the clouds at flight level today.

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MUNTEAN: OK. So, the good news is, we're going to be boarding here in a little bit. This is one of two flights Delta is offering. The first one was from Austin to Detroit. That one sold out in 24 hours when they announced it back in February. This is the second flight, not totally full, but almost. We will have a bigger plane on this flight. It's a Airbus A320. We'll be watching this from 14-inch-wide windows. The good news here is we will be above the clouds and be able to see this pretty easily Boris, Brianna.

SANCHEZ: We look forward to seeing those pictures, Pete, that diamond ring. I'm excited for the beads too -- the Baily's bead.

KEILAR: That comes before the diamond ring right, where you see the moon starting to -- eclipse getting close to the total eclipse. You see little kind of circles of light, and then it moves into what looks like a diamond ring. That it's the total eclipse. And listen, clouds aren't a problem. If you're above them. Pete knows that. It's going to be amazing.

Next, what do you get when a years in the making eclipse crosses the country. Oh, you know naturally right, hundreds of couples committing to each other. It's a mass wedding that is about to get underway in Arkansas. Stephanie, tell us about it.

ELAM: Oh, Boris and Brianna, the love is in the air. very few clouds. We're very happy about it. We are here in Russellville, Arkansas where 358 couples are about to get married, including David and Toni. I'm going to talk to them right after this break.

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[12:23:34]

KEILAR: Bonnie Tyler would be so proud because it truly is a total eclipse of the heart. If your heart is a moon --

SANCHEZ: And a sun.

KEILAR: Yeah, that's right. OK, well couples are going to say, I do during today's solar eclipse. It's going to be amazing.

SANCHEZ: Yeah. We've been talking about the diamond ring. What you see when you look up in the sky, but we're going to see some diamond rings in Russellville, Arkansas. That's where Stephanie Elam is live for us. A celestial ceremony is set to start Stephanie, as soon as total darkness sets in. You've been talking to couples there, taking part in this mass wedding. Well, they look great.

ELAM: Don't they, they look fantastic. Hey, Brianna and Boris, I got to tell you. I am surrounded by a beautiful sky and lots of love. I've been talking to people who are so in love today. And it is just a great environment. I want to introduce you right now to Toni and David who are getting married today. They are from here in Arkansas. So, whose idea was it to get married here?

TONI PHILLIPS, BRIDE: It was --

DAVID WELLS, GROOM: It was a mixture.

PHILLIPS: Yeah.

ELAM: A mixture?

PHILLIPS: Yeah. WELLS: We both heard about the eclipse and that they were having weddings for about eight months ago. And I love the stars and space and stuff. And we've decided we'd go ahead and get married.

PHILLIPS: Yeah.

ELAM: That's awesome. So, is your family here?

PHILLIPS: Yes. My mom is and then his mom and stepdad are.

ELAM: OK. So how long -- how long have you guys been together like, to even know that you might end up here one day.

PHILLIPS: Off and on for the last 10 years.

ELAM: OK. So, you know each other --

PHILLIPS: Oh, yeah.

WELLS: Yeah.

ELAM: A little bit. What are you most excited about today?

[12:25:00]

WELLS: Finally, we're getting married to a woman I love.

ELAM: Look at that. I think you might have found a keeper.

PHILLIPS: Oh, yeah.

ELAM: All right, so to be clear, the wedding is going to happen before total darkness. So, the wedding will happen first and then everybody is going to look up at the sky, all of us. I'm assuming you guys will stop looking each other for a few minutes.

PHILLIPS: Yeah.

ELAM: And then they're all going to look up at the sky and we're going to watch the eclipse, and then you're going to have your first dance. What do you think it's going to be like getting married with 357 other couples?

WELLS: It will be a bit chaotic. But I think it'll be -- it will be amazing.

ELAM: A once in a lifetime opportunity. That's for sure. Either of you nervous?

WELLS: Not really.

PHILLIPS: No.

ELAM: Oh, you guys are ready. OK, so they're ready. All right, Toni and David are ready for this, Brianna and Boris. Lots of love here. We are excited. It was supposed to rain. It's not raining. Happiness abounds here in Russell, Arkansas.

SANCHEZ: A fantastic sign that the weather is coming through better than expected. Stephanie Elam, live from Arkansas. Thank you so much. So, today's eclipse isn't just captivating humans, animals are going to be affected as well.

KEILAR: That's right. CNN's Ed Lavandera is live for us at the Dallas Zoo. And Ed, we know that some critters, they actually respond in pretty unusual ways. They did this during the last eclipse. What are you hearing from experts about what you should be watching for there?

LAVANDERA: Well, a couple of different things. And we've got our eyes on. We got elephants over here. We got zebras, we got giraffes, we've got some kudu, we've got all sorts of different types of animals and primates on the other side of the zoo, as well.

So, it'll be interesting to see exactly what happens during this -- almost four minutes of totality when it comes over Dallas. There's not a lot of research that has been done with all of this. So, a lot of animal experts and groups across the country are kind of doing crowdsourcing, asking people to send in what they observe in the path of this total eclipse.

So, we're going to talk a little bit more about this with Kari Streiber of the Dallas Zoo. What are you guys looking for today?

KARI STREIBER, VP MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS, DELLAS ZOO: Well, we're excited to welcome everybody today. We are asking them to participate with us in terms of observing and researching the animals. So, we've actually got a very simplified version of what our team would typically use to watch animal behaviors.

And we're handing it out to guests and saying, let us know what animal you're observing. What were they doing? Write a description, draw a little picture for us. And tell us what phase of the eclipse you were in?

LAVANDERA: In 2017, I think it was in South Carolina. Some tortoises made it, others protect their young. Others go very quiet. So, it seems like there's a wide array or they could just blow it off and be like, oh, I have no care in the world, right?

STREIBER: Absolutely, absolutely. We're excited to see it. And our teams are out and observing as well. We'll see what happens. A little bit of sun just popped out. So that's a good time.

(CROSSTALK)

STREIBER: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. We're ready for it.

LAVANDERA: This is to Tebogo, who made his CNN debut just a few minutes ago.

STREIBER: Yeah.

LAVANDERA: And there are a number of giraffes out here. And at night, you told me that they put themselves to bed. So, one of the things that we'll be looking for is whether or not they kind of like follow that path, right?

STREIBER: Yeah. We'll see what their natural behaviors are. If they really are reacting to what they're seeing and kind of what they're observing themselves. Or if it's just going to be a normal day for them and they see, it get a little cloudy. It's Texas. We have thunderstorms all the time. We get those clouds come in. So, they're used to some changes in the space around them, but we'll see what they do today.

LAVANDERA: Awesome, awesome. So that's why we're going to be keeping tabs on. The weather has been cloudy. There are some breaks here this afternoon. We'll hopefully it'll break up a little bit more, so we can get a clearer picture of this. But we will be looking at the animals on the ground to see how they react, Boris, Bria.

KEILAR: So, a fascinating, Ed. We cannot wait to see what they do. The silly guys behind them. I think they're going to do -- I think they're going to do some wild stuff.

SANCHEZ: The giraffes apparently, the last time around started galloping. We'll see -- that'll bring us a live shot of the giraffes, potentially galloping the tortoises maybe mating, I don't know.

KEILAR: Yeah. Anything can happen today. That's what we know.

SANCHEZ: We're just about 20 minutes away from the start of the first partial eclipse in North America. It's happening in Mazatlan, Mexico. We're going to bring that to you live. But first, we know that Cleveland rocks right, right now it's really rocking. CNN's Miguel Marquez who's there for us live. Miguel, a pretty big crowd behind you and what's that?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's getting big. It's going to get much bigger. Cleveland totally rocks. There's going to be tens of thousands of people across the city and at 3:13 when it is totality here. Look at that sky, perfectly blue. We'll have more. Coming up.

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