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Boeing 777 Engine Fails Midair, Rains Debris Over Colorado Neighborhood; Interview With Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX); Dr. Fauci Urges Americans To Follow Public Health Guidance. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired February 21, 2021 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this hour with a pair of scary moments as two Boeing planes over separate continents have engine fires just hours apart.

In the U.S., passengers on a United Airlines flight, a Boeing 777 captured the moments an engine failed shortly after takeoff. New video in to CNN showing chunks of debris raining down over a Denver suburb, one piece actually crashing onto a man's parked truck.

And we're also getting new details about a plane over the Netherlands. Two people were injured by falling debris after an engine caught fire on a Boeing 747 cargo plane. Pieces of that plane went slamming into cars and houses.

We've got full coverage of this developing story. CNN's Omar Jimenez is at the Denver Airport; CNN aviation correspondent, Pete Muntean is in Washington. Also joining us is Mary Schiavo. She's a CNN aviation analyst and a former Inspector General for the U.S. Transportation Department.

Omar in Denver, let's begin with you. What is the latest about this investigation?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, for starters, investigators were quite literally picking up the pieces from this right engine failure on United flight 328 just a little bit after takeoff here at the Denver International Airport Saturday afternoon.

And part of why this was so insane is pieces from this engine were literally falling from the sky into the neighborhoods below. I mean, you take a look at this video. While there were some fragments that fell, these were large pieces, chunks that were falling, damaged trucks as we saw, but also could have destroyed homes, killed people or at the very least injured them.

Thankfully, none of that happened, somehow. And while all of that was unfolding on the ground, you had people in the sky on this plane, who heard a boom as they described and looked over and saw that right engine damaged, obviously missing what had now fallen to the ground at this point. The flight was bound for Honolulu, but luckily, they weren't over the

ocean when this happened. So they promptly turned around and were able to land safely.

And I know people get made fun of for clapping when a plane lands, but this was maybe one of the few times it was merited as passengers cheered as they exited the plane being guided, of course by the pilots and crew throughout all of this.

And now moving forward, this investigation lies in the hands of the National Transportation Safety Board to figure out how this could have happened.

WHITFIELD: Mary, investigators, you know, they want to find these pieces. They want to get their hands on all the pieces because these are the clues to figure out exactly what happened, that along with you know hearing the flight recording from the pilots, what will they be searching for exactly?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, the N.T.S.B. issued a very important report just last year about inspecting the fan blades on jet engines just like this, and that was based on a United Airlines incident in 2018.

And the N.T.S.B. concluded that the engine manufacturer in that case, Pratt & Whitney and also in this case, had not trained its inspectors. And so there were flaws in these blades in the engine. And from the pictures I saw on the internet from passengers on the plane, it does appear that there is a fan blade at least one broken or missing.

So the N.T.S.B. is going to already be at the scene armed with this previous investigation that they just completed in 2020, and they are going to be looking for every piece because they have to know if the flaw in the engine had been there for many years. It's a 20 plus year old plane.

That's not saying the engine is that old, so they're going to want to know if this was a flaw that was embedded for years sort of a smoking time bomb, if you will, or if it was something that happened more recently, and was it missed in inspection.

So the N.T.S.B. has a lot to do with similar incidents that have happened, they will be comparing them.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And it's just extraordinary seeing these images, too.

So, Pete, these are big planes. And when we're talking about engine failure, talk to us about the readiness of these pilots, the training involved so that they can continue to fly these planes, hopefully with one engine.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: It is such a testament to these pilots training because they really train for this and drill for this all the time in simulators. You know this can be one of the most catastrophic things that a pilot is confronted with. Thankfully though, these flight crews are very professional and run

through this all of the time. It's so incredible to see these images of smoke trailing from behind a 777, it really looks more like a World War II bomber rather than a passenger airliner.

So to be confronted with this, not only do they have to tamp down the startle factor of that loud boom that you heard neighbors talking about and telling Omar about, but then they have to run through the procedure, make sure they do everything right and they are drilled for this to make sure it is almost wrought that they can do this automatically.

But what's so interesting to me, I just played back some of the air traffic control audio recording and you can actually hear some of the 777's fire alarm system in the initial radio calls that the pilots are making.

It really speaks to how quickly they had to spring into action here to get this airplane on the ground right away.

[15:05:15]

WHITFIELD: Amazing piloting. Mary, is this coincidence? I mean, you've got the commonality here of Boeing. They are different models, but both within hours, different continents, have debris, pieces falling from the engine.

SCHIAVO: Well, and it's not coincidence when you add in Japan Airlines had a similar incident just in December 2020, and then the previous United Airlines incident in 2018.

So these many instances are not coincidence and thus, the N.T.S.B. will be looking for this because that's what the N.T.S.B. does. They look for patterns, they do analysis to determine what's going to go wrong next.

The N.T.S.B. doesn't exist just for what went wrong in this case or in the past. They're trying to troubleshoot to tell us what's going to go wrong next, so we can fix it before it happens and they do this with their analysis.

And so I don't think any of this is a coincidence. It's something probably related to inspections of these engines. They're the same manufacturer, I believe, the latest information is to say manufacturer, Pratt & Whitney, and they are approximately the same age.

So coincidence goes out the window and what the N.T.S.B. is going to be doing is trend analysis.

WHITFIELD: Mary Schiavo, Pete Muntean and Omar Jimenez, thanks to all of you. Appreciate it.

All right, meantime, let's talk about what Texas is still going through. Yes, it is warming up, thawing out. But the state remains in a major crisis. More than 14 million residents, about half the state's population, still without clean water. They remain under a boil water advisory after the frigid temperatures froze or broke countless water pipes, the severe weather to blame for at least 50 deaths in several states, in fact.

For the very latest, let's bring in Natasha Chen in Houston, where residents are once again lining up this time for some relief, and you've got the Mayor with us as well.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fred, the city has now given out more than two million bottled water to people here. Mayor, can you tell us what the current situation is? A lot of people still don't have running water and there's still a boil water notice here.

MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER (D), HOUSTON, TEXAS: There's still a boil water notice. The goal that we were shooting for was to be able to get that lifted on Monday, it could be sooner. I will tell you, the system has normalized. The pressure is good.

And based on our internal sampling, I think things are good. But we're waiting for the State to give us the greenlight. So that could -- that literally could happen at any moment.

I've said, Monday, but hopefully before. They are still -- but even with that, there are still people, thousands of families across the Houston region with busted water pipes, which means they don't have water. They've had to turn off their water.

So even with the boil water notice, if that is lifted really soon, they're still going to need water.

CHEN: Exactly. And you've talked about the shortage of plumbers and the shortage of supplies. So people are having trouble getting those pipes fixed.

TURNER: And the reason being is because you're dealing with a statewide crisis. It's not just like in a hurricane where certain portions of the state, this is statewide.

So even if you can find a plumber, plumbers still having to find the supplies and the materials. I made a request on F.E.M.A., to provide additional licensed plumbers, supplies, materials, all of that as quickly as possible, along with water.

CHEN: And it's important, as you said to, for people to check and make sure that the person they're hiring is licensed from wherever they are.

TURNER: You would like to think that everybody is good, and people are who they represent themselves to be. But it's very important that people check a licensed plumber. You could go on the Texas registry to find them.

And if they're plumbers, for example, coming from out of the state coming in, they still need to be licensed and you still need to be able to -- should be able to look them up. But don't -- but don't just, just because someone says that he or she is a plumber, don't put out the money that you have and then end up not getting your home repaired.

CHEN: Now yesterday, we visited a home in Houston. The homeowners also have busted pipes. And one of their concerns is their perception that they told us that the more affluent neighborhood seemed to get taken care of first in disasters after hurricanes, and now during the storm with power restoration, with water service. What do you say to people who have that complaint?

TURNER: Well, you know, in many cases, based on historical precedent, that is the case. You know, I grew up in one of those communities that is under served and under resourced, I still live in that same neighborhood. So in many cases, that has been the case.

But we, in this city, we have been laser focused on making sure that we have equity in everything, equity in the repairs. So the power has been restored across the city. With respect to the water pressure, that's being restored across the city.

We're being very sensitive to communities that are already on the margins, have suffered incredible from Hurricane Harvey, from the coronavirus, and now they're dealing with the blackouts.

[15:15:12]

TURNER: So I understand their concerns, but let me assure them that we see them. We are very sensitive to their needs. We don't want those who are at risk, more vulnerable to be on the back end of anything.

So we're going to do our very best to make sure that there's equity in distribution just like on this water distribution.

Yesterday, mass distribution in the Northeast, which is a community of color, a lower socioeconomic area, and so we've been all over moving things around. But I do understand that, but we're not going to leave anyone behind.

CHEN: Thank you, Mayor. And I know you've been putting bottles of water in these cars as well. So thank you.

And, Fred, as he mentioned, the greenlight from the State could be coming soon to lift the boil water notice here in Houston. Already as of this morning, 154 boil water notices have been lifted across the state.

So slowly, but surely, some improvements. But still, more than 14 million Texans are seeing water service disruption at this time -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Right. Still a long way to go. All right, Natasha Chen, Mayor Turner, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

All right, with me now to talk more about the crisis that continues to play out there in Texas is Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher. She is a Democratic Representative from Texas. Congresswoman, it is good to see you.

REP. LIZZIE FLETCHER (D-TX): Thank you for having me. I'm so glad to hear your focus on what's happening here in Texas. Thanks for including me today.

WHITFIELD: Absolutely. And so what's happening where you are? How are you doing? How's your family? How about at your home? Water? Power? Well, I see lights on and you're with us via computer, but if you're at home, how are things?

FLETCHER: That's right. Well, thank you. My family is doing fine, all things considered. We, like so many people across our city have had some busted pipes, we were out of power for a little over 48 hours here, some of my family members longer.

And everything we just heard Mayor Turner describing I think is right across our community, but we feel fortunate that we had a little bit of notice. On Monday, my parents' power went out first. So I had time to fill up my bathtubs.

And we are still under that boil water notice here in Houston and throughout much of my district, although we do have some of the jurisdictions in my congressional district as well where that boil water notice has been lifted.

And so, there is hope. We are slowly emerging from the power crisis. But this water crisis is very real. And I, like the Mayor, Mayor Turner is my Mayor, and like him, I've been handing out bottled water, working with our City Council members, with Harris County Commissioners to make sure that people across our community get bottled water, drinking water, and also water for other uses, and there's just such a great need right now across our community and across the entire State of Texas.

WHITFIELD: So clearly, you knew what to do with, you know, putting water in your bathtubs. You were born and raised in Texas. But you know, beyond the energy stuff, which we will talk about in a minute, what do you believe happened here?

Do you feel like as a whole, Texans were caught off guard, you know, not ready for this kind of weather?

FLETCHER: Yes, it's a great question. And I think there was a cascading series of failures here. As one person I talked to recently put it, you know, this was like a hurricane out in the Gulf, and in fact, that's how I responded to it.

I have a bag ready for hurricanes that has a weather radio and lamps in it and emergency candles. I didn't need the off this time, but you know, I went and got my bag and filled up my bathtubs, but really, we didn't have the kind of notice we have for a hurricane even though ERCOT was looking a week before the events at a real power loss.

And so I think there was a huge communication failure to those of us who had our power shut off, as well as real risks to the grid. And so we have seen that this catastrophic power failure was magnified by a failure to communicate with customers by an inability to roll those blackouts so that some people have been without power for 72 hours or longer.

It's one thing to roll your power off for four or five hours at a time, and I think we could have made adjustments if there have been better communication.

But really, we have to reevaluate our entire system here and see what failed. I think there are failures at every level, but especially failure of government and paying attention to the information we have had for years about what we need to do to protect not just our grid, but to protect our neighbors and our citizens of the state of Texas.

WHITFIELD: And how will you go about reevaluating? You serve in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Texas State leaders have not pushed utilities to winterize the grid, the power lines, the power plants you know in the past. You're calling for an investigation into ERCOT for starters, which runs, you know much of the Texas grid, but what can Congress do in this reevaluation?

[15:15:10]

FLETCHER: Well, that's right. The Energy and Commerce Committee has called for a full investigation, and my colleague Marc Veasey from Fort Worth, and I serve on that committee and are very grateful for the quick and early support of our Chairman and Subcommittee Chairman on getting an investigation rolling, calling on the F.E.R.C. to work with us as well.

Now, the F.E.R.C. evaluated a failure in Texas 10 years ago, and had several recommendations, including winterization of our equipment. And what we've seen is the way the Texas system is designed, we don't have incentives for power providers to do that winterization, there are not financial incentives.

And the other thing is in this market-based system, we don't really have excess capacity, and that's to bring costs down, but we've seen the cost over the last week in lives. We've seen the incredible devastation and disruption from this loss of power across our state.

And so, we really need to reevaluate both winterization as well as capacity issues and we need to look at oversight and regulation.

Ultimately, the Governor of Texas, the State Legislature oversee not just ERCOT, but the Public Utility Commission. We need to make sure that there are enforceable standards, and I think that what our committee can do on Energy and Commerce is talk about the best practices.

But also, we need to look and see what all of these systemic failures are. And here in Texas, I think people are willing to reevaluate how it is that we do things to make sure that our number one priority is met, which is keeping people safe.

And I always say, keeping people safe is the first responsibility of government and our government in Texas failed us this week.

WHITFIELD: One of your constituents is Senator Ted Cruz, and you've said in response to his Cancun trip this week that leadership matters. Is his apology enough?

FLETCHER: Well, I really haven't focused on Senator Cruz this week because what I'm seeing is leadership across our community.

I know that my colleagues in Congress are out doing what I'm doing. I know that our -- I mean, we just saw Mayor Turner, who has been such a champion this week. Our County Judge, Lina Hidalgo, and mayors, City Council members, County Commissioners, the leadership structure here locally, really has been superb, under very difficult, challenging times.

And I should also add that in a time where our state government has really made it difficult for local governments, you know, there are sort of a lot of responsibility and yet, an attempt to take away authority.

And so there are some real structural problems that we need to focus on here in Texas, when it comes to how our government can work together, and it's something I think we do well, we did it well in August, when we had Hurricane Laura bearing down on us. I saw Federal, State and local government working together very well.

We haven't seen that, as well, before this crisis, I hope we will continue to see it after this crisis. And I'm working with our Division of Emergency Management, which is working with F.E.M.A.

Now, there is a way to help not only during the disaster, but in this recovery, and that's what I hope and expect to see from our leaders at every level.

And I'm really proud of our leaders here in Houston and Harris County who have worked so hard to get our community back on its feet.

WHITFIELD: When we hear from some Texans who say they want to hear from senior leadership, they are talking about members of Congress and the U.S. Senate. And you know, you're with us right now. We've seen other Members of Congress who have been on the ground, helping to distribute aid.

But then there have been some that we haven't heard or seen much of including Senator John Cornyn. Have you heard much about his whereabouts? His commitment? And where he is?

FLETCHER: You know, I haven't been in touch with Senator Cornyn directly, either. I have been in touch with other Members of Congress. We have had calls with ERCOT this week.

We've had calls with the Texas Division of Emergency Management every morning, and I hear my colleagues asking questions on those calls as I am. So I know that many members of our congressional delegation are very engaged in responding with their communities. And of course, there are so many things the Federal government can do

in moments like this. And one of the critical pieces is distributing aid.

And I led my colleagues on Thursday in urging President Biden to sign the major disaster declaration as quickly as possible which he now have done.

WHITFIELD: And he will be visiting Texas this week. Yes, and he is visiting Texas this week. Do you think it's particularly important for the President to see firsthand where the need is and to show his face and make --

FLETCHER: I do think so, and I think he has been very respectful in saying he wants to come at the appropriate time when it's not a burden on the recovery efforts, and so I appreciate.

I think many of us over the last week when we had no power and no sense of when it was going to be restored. And now of course, there's the water crisis. It's important to know that people are seeing that; that the President of United States understands the devastation here and is doing everything he can to help.

So I'm glad to see the response from President Biden. He has been on top of this since before the weather hit, signing that initial disaster declaration.

And I think it's really important for us here in Texas to see that and to see it from all of our elected leaders.

[15:20:21]

WHITFIELD: All right, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, thank you so much for your time. Appreciate it and all the best.

FLETCHER: Thanks so much.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come this hour, growing fears of an upcoming COVID surge due to the U.K. variant. How Dr. Anthony Fauci says we need to prepare.

Plus stunning new details coming out of court documents surrounding the Capitol insurrection. Why an alleged leader of the Oath Keepers claims she met with the U.S. Secret Service and was only there to provide security.

And later, a delivery driver stranded in the bad weather in Texas gets an unexpected surprise from the couple who live at her last delivery, a place to hunker down for five days. The three will be joining me live.

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[15:25:11]

WHITFIELD: Dr. Anthony Fauci says Americans may have to wear masks into 2022 in order to protect against the coronavirus. The nation's top infectious disease expert saying the U.S. could reach some level of normalcy by the end of the year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I think you always want to be prepared for that type of thing. I don't think at all that it is inevitable that that will happen. The way you mitigate against that, Dana, is you do two things, you continue to abide by the public health measures and recommendations of universal wearing of masks, keeping physical distance, avoiding congregate settings, particularly indoors, washing your hands, the things that we speak about all the time. That's a very good way to prevent any infection, be it a variant or not.

The other thing that's important that our viewers should appreciate, is that the vaccines that we are currently distributing now, the Moderna and the Pfizer vaccines work very well against the U.K. variant, the 1-1-7.

So the better we do at getting vaccine into people's arms as quickly and as expeditiously as possible, that will be another important tool against preventing this additional spike that we want to make sure does not happen with the U.K. variant.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You've been very open about the fact that you've been skipping Holidays with your family, you're fully vaccinated. Are you seeing your family?

FAUCI: Right now, not yet. Not yet. I mean, I would look forward to it within a reasonable period of time as the rest of my family gets vaccinated. And obviously I'm with my wife every day, she has gotten her first dose and will soon get her second dose.

But my children, when they get vaccinated, obviously I look forward to seeing them and I'm sure that by that time, recommendations will come out to guide us in a more precise way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, California is a state hit hard by coronavirus and the Governor, Gavin Newsom, talking now.

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): ... down to 3.1. Today, we recorded just over 6,700 cases. A month ago we had over 20,000 cases.

So in all instances, positivity rate, case rates, we're moving in the right direction. We're also moving in the right direction as it relates to hospitalizations.

Hospitalizations are down 41 percent in the last two weeks, 39 percent reduction in the ICUs in the last few weeks, all very encouraging signs.

We're building out a system, a supply system that can allow us to administer four million vaccinations a week. We're currently averaging 200,000 vaccinations. In fact as of yesterday, 201,000 vaccinations every single day, we did 1.4 million last week.

But I want to put that in perspective, we received less than that from the Federal government last week. Our only constraint now in terms of more vaccines into the community, meaning people where they are, where we are here in Inglewood and elsewhere is supply limitation, manufactured supply.

Obviously, the impacts of this extreme weather have had an impact here in the State of California as it relates to our supply, 702,000 doses were impacted specifically, primarily Moderna doses, Pfizer is a little bit delayed. Moderna's -- we're going to be behind a little bit more.

But that's 702,000. It is a point of consideration as it relates to our acceleration of the administration of vaccines over the course of the next week.

But nonetheless, we're building out a system, we're building capacity, only constraint only limitation is supply.

I want to thank the Biden administration not only for the partnership, as it relates to these two F.E.M.A. sites that both went operational on Tuesday, and the other additional satellite sites on Thursday. We were up just as an example, yesterday, in Hayward, California vaccinating our teachers as a priority utilizing these pop-up and mobile sites.

Incidentally, we also committed to 300 plus thousand doses over the course of the next month for our educators as well, starting with a minimum of 75,000 doses set aside and growing 10 percent of all the additional available doses -- first doses that is -- that come into the state will be set aside for educators.

So we are prioritizing our educators, have been doing that, 35 counties had previously already been prioritizing the administration of vaccinations to their teachers, including Long Beach, a perfect example, 34 other counties in addition to the work that was being done in that city.

But nonetheless, we recognize our responsibility to do more, not only across tiers, getting our teachers, but focusing on farmworkers. We are down at Coachella Valley and an equity coalition and collaborative focusing on farm workers and pop-up sites in partnership with ranchers and with farm managers.

[15:30:10]

NEWSOM: We also are doing the same in Central Valley, in Madeira a couple of days ago in Fresno, doing similar sites through a company called Optumserve, 20 satellite sites with Optumserve can all focus and frame on equity, speed, efficiency, focus on delivering, not a platitude, but on the promise that we're promoting to do more and better in terms of reaching out to the diverse communities in this state.

We put out a dashboard a few weeks ago that aggregated -- about a week ago, that aggregated our capacity in terms of what we have delivered to our diverse communities, and it showed we're falling short and we've got to own that.

The reason I'm here is we own that. We recognize our responsibility to do more. We're not doing enough. We need to do significantly more programs like this. The African-American community deserves nothing less --

WHITFIELD: California Governor Gavin Newsom there saying California COVID cases are down significantly. I'm quoting him now, they are moving in the right direction.

CNN's Paul Vercammen is at one of the pop-up vaccination locations where the Governor just toured. Tell us more -- Paul.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Governor came down here today. I am at this news conference, Fredricka. And it was his mission to observe firsthand these joint sites between F.E.M.A. and the California Office of Emergency Services.

And in this particular instance, they split off from the mass vaccination site at CalState Los Angeles and they went into this community in Inglewood, an underserved community. And the concept of the idea clearly is to get more shots in the arms of African- Americans, as well as Latinos.

So Governor Newsom came here on this tour and he is going to go elsewhere today to observe this in person. You may know there's a recall effort, the Governor has been under fire. Some people in the State of California have criticized him, others have applauded him.

And he's trying to allay some people's fears. Among other things that he has been highlighting is, he said he is setting aside 10 percent of future vaccinations for teachers.

There has been a lot of debate in California about when to reopen schools and some of the unions in the poorer neighborhood say we just don't think it's safe quite yet, while other districts say the C.D.C. and others are giving us guidelines to say let's get on in and reopen the school. So it's a fiery debate and that's why the Governor is here to try to address a whole myriad of COVID-19 concerns, issues and policies in California.

WHITFIELD: And so Paul, will there be, you know, more of this effort to bring vaccination sites particularly to underserved communities, because we have been seeing those long lines at say, like Dodger Stadium, but then the complaint is not everyone has the means in which to be in a car and in a long line.

So pop-up or mobile locations are really important for so many communities.

VERCAMMEN: That's exactly right. So there's both mass vaccination sites in some of the underserved communities and these pop-up sites. And because Los Angeles County is such a crazy quilt of different operations, somewhat under the radar this week, AEG, Dignity Health, LA Galaxy had a soccer stadium, and they vaccinated some 20,000 people way under the radar right in the middle of an underserved community.

And then we are also seeing, as you pointed out, Fred, when Dodger Stadium gets back up and running, it can help address this issue. And we're seeing a lot more of these flexible, mobile or pop-up sites.

So these tents will be here for a couple of days, these vaccination tests, and then they will move elsewhere, again, targeting these communities, and this is just seeming to catch some momentum, if they can just catch their breath because of the inability to distribute vaccines throughout LA County, it looks like they could have a very good week this week in Los Angeles with multiple partners and agencies, giving doses.

WHITFIELD: All right, Paul, and again, no matter the vaccination sites, we did hear from the Governor who did say and warned that supply is still an obstacle, a problem.

All right, thank you so much, Paul Vercammen for bringing all this to us from California.

All right, straight ahead, a leader in an alleged Oath Keepers conspiracy in the Capitol insurrection claims that she met with Secret Service agents and was given a VIP pass to the January 6 rally. Moments ago, the Secret Service gave a response to CNN. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:39:07]

WHITFIELD: Damning new details are being revealed about some of the people who stormed the Capitol last month. A lawyer for Jessica Watkins, one of the leaders of the Ohio Oath Keepers militia group now says that she was invited to the Trump rally back on January 6 to provide security for VIP guests.

She also now claims that she met with the U.S. Secret Service before the event. CNN's Katelyn Polantz is tracking this story for us. So Katelyn, what are you learning?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Right, so this is new from a filing that we got from the defense team last night for Jessica Watkins in a major case, she is a major defendant in the Oath Keepers case, that's a paramilitary extremist group that the Justice Department is saying took part in the Capitol riot.

But what Watkins is saying is that she was not violent in the Capitol riot and instead that she was given VIP pass to the Trump event, that she was expected to be escorting legislators and others as they walked to the Capitol, and that she met with Secret Service agents.

[15:40:11]

POLANTZ: Now, we don't know the full context of that at this point and what she means by that. There isn't much more detail available to us, but the Secret Service has denied this in a statement. This is what they said today: "To carry out its protective functions on January 6, the U.S. Secret Service relied on the assistance of various government partners. Any assertion that the Secret Service employed private citizens to perform those functions is false."

Now remember, this comes in a case against nine alleged members of this Oath Keepers militia group, and really, there are more questions that are being raised about what this group was doing, what they believe they were doing.

Some of them, including Watkins are saying they believe they were responding to the call of President Trump, that they were ex-military and that they believe they are some sort of offering law enforcement assistance to Trump in the situation where there was the Electoral College in Congress asserting or confirming.

But really, there are a lot of questions that remain. We will see Watkins in court on Tuesday, where the Justice Department will have a chance to respond to these claims -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Seemingly every day new dribbles of information or reports. Katelyn Polantz, thanks so much.

All right, coming up, a Texas delivery driver calls for a tow truck after she gets stuck on an icy driveway. But then the tow truck never shows up. What happens next is nothing short of a miracle. The driver and her unexpected heroes joining me live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:45:52]

WHITFIELD: All right, we have breaking news. The City of Houston just announced that it will lift the boil water notice effective immediately. Residents there have been without water since Wednesday.

President Biden is expected to travel to Texas in the coming days following that devastating week of below freezing temperatures and winter storms.

The conditions causing widespread power outages across the state that impacted millions of homes and businesses. Well, it's impacted 14 million people who are still without clean water.

Amid the tales of people struggling to survive, this heartwarming story shows that Texas hospitality is a real deal.

Two strangers took in a delivery driver for five days after she got stranded outside their home while delivering groceries.

And joining me right now is this amazing trio, the delivery driver Chelsea Timmons and the two homeowners Nina Richardson and Doug Condon. Good to see all of you.

CHELSEA TIMMONS, DELIVERY DRIVER: Hi.

NINA RICHARDSON, TEXAS HOMEOWNER WHO TOOK IN DELIVERY DRIVER: You, too. WHITFIELD: Oh, fantastic. This is a lovely warm it up story and boy,

do we need that. So Chelsea, you first. How did all this happen? What was going on?

TIMMONS: So as you said, it was just routine grocery delivery. There was definitely a high demand for groceries that day as everyone prepared for the winter storm.

Nina and Doug's delivery was actually scheduled for Saturday before the storm actually hit, but the stores were so overwhelmed that they couldn't get everything out.

So Sunday, there was a lot of backlog of groceries to go out and their order was one of them and it was the one that I happen to accept that day.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh. And so here you are about to make this delivery. You're on this road. Now, what happened that you got stuck, you know, describe what happened and that I understand you did call for, you know, tow help but that didn't happen. So fill in the blanks for me.

TIMMONS: So I got a text from them. I told them I was on the way, I got a text from Nina saying "Be careful, the stairs are slippery." So I just had that in my mind the whole time as I was headed to their home.

Their home actually sits lower than the main road and their driveway is a pretty steep slope going downhill and I went down the hill very slowly trying to be very cautious. But every time I tapped the brake, nothing was happening, and I just closed my eyes as my car just slid down the hill into their flowerbed.

After that, I called them I told them what happened. We called a tow truck and waited for hours. And they never -- they never showed up.

And finally that evening, they called and said that the conditions have worsened that nobody could get to.

And I actually never received a call back from the tow company until Wednesday, I believe, is when they finally called me.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh. So Nina, you know, here, you know Chelsea is making these, you know, delivery of these groceries to you. She's gone through all this. You know, now she can't get out of there. Your instinct, I understand was near immediate to just say why don't you stay here?

RICHARDSON: Oh, for sure. There's no way we would have sent her out into the cold. And so, you know, we just said come on in and make yourself at home upstairs in the guest room. And, you know, she sat at the table for a little bit and seemed really uncomfortable.

And so we you know, kind of over time, things warmed up quite a bit and she ended up really kind of just fitting into the rest of the family and we treated her like everybody else. WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh, I'm looking at these great pictures. I mean,

Chelsea you got to know the dogs. I mean, you know and you all are like, you know immediate family. So Doug, you know, tell me what this whole experience was like. I mean, what you all were bracing for and then come to find out, you get this gift of a new friendship all by way of you all trying to get some groceries in the house.

DOUG CONDON, TEXAS HOMEOWNER WHO TOOK IN DELIVERY DRIVER: Yes, I mean, I'm sure like everyone else in Texas, we had no idea how bad it was going to be, but you know, we were watching the conditions on Sunday and it was just getting worse and worse and we just knew that it was unlikely that Chelsea was going to go anywhere Sunday night.

And then you know one day just kind of led to the next and you know, we just kept playing it by ear. And, you know, if she wasn't going to get any assistance from a towing company, we certainly were not going to put her back on the roads until we felt entirely comfortable that the conditions were safe for her to head back home.

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WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh, Chelsea, you must have been shocked, though initially when they just said, you know, stay here. Was it shock you were feeling? Was there ever any reluctance? Or did you feel like well, you know, I don't know what my choices are otherwise, anyway.

TIMMONS: There was always just a sense for me to try to make sure I was showing them I wasn't trying to bum, trying to invade their space for too long. Though I definitely, every day, every morning before I left my room, I had to come up with the strategy, let them know what I was doing.

And every day when I presented it to them, they're like, okay, whatever. I definitely tried to make a break for it a few times. I just kept saying the roads are a little more clear today. I think I can at least head out to a hotel.

And I think once they found out that home-home for me was all the way in Houston. That's when they were just like, you know, a hotel just --

WHITFIELD: How far is that from where you ended up?

TIMMONS: They are way in West Austin, so it was about a three-hour drive.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh.

TIMMONS: So, and typically I come to Austin and just stay the weekend and I had already had plans to head back home that afternoon before this happened, and every time I suggested just trying to make it to the hotel down the street, they were just like, well, what would you eat? Well, what if the hotel loses power? Just wait until it's clear for you to make it all the way back home.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Oh my gosh, that was harrowing all the way. So Nina, something tells me you all are all now fast friends, forever friends. RICHARDSON: You know, it's funny, because we've got two grown

daughters, Sarah and Campbell, who a lot of times tease each other about who is the favorite child and like day four, we get a text from Campbell and she's like, oh, great, Chelsea is now the favorite child.

WHITFIELD: That's wonderful. Well, thank you so much. Thanks for coming to each other's aid because you all helped each other out in the end, right, didn't you?

Chelsea Timmons, Nina Richardson, Doug Condon. Thanks to all of you. Appreciate it. I love hearing this story. It's really nice.

TIMMONS: Thanks.

CONDON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:57:00]

WHITFIELD: Stanley Tucci travels to the Great City of Rome in search of some perfect pasta on tonight's brand new episode of our new CNN original series. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STANLEY TUCCI, CNN HOST: (Speaking foreign language.)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).

Are you ready?

TUCCI: (Speaking foreign language).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

TUCCI: I know. I know. You have basically four ingredients. Pasta, eggs, the one chalet and cheese. That's it.

TUCCI (voice over): But when I try it at home, it's never this good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in foreign language).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking in foreign language).

TUCCI: My mother does that, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in foreign language).

TUCCI: I can just die now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, that just makes me even hungrier. Don't miss "Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy." Tonight at nine Eastern and Pacific only here on CNN.

All right, despite much sadness and devastation from COVID-19 to the deadly winter storm, this is a special day.

The most extraordinary influence and creator of my life, my mother Nola Jane Simon Whitfield turns 88 today, double infinity is how I'd like to see it.

She's more than my mom, of course, she's mom to my brother and sister, too. Grandma to eight, great grandma to five. And before that and throughout, she has exemplified grace, strength, elegance, determination and dignity.

As one of seven kids to Fred and Evelyn Simon, she graduated from Texas HBCU Prairie View A&M University, a groundbreaker. She was the first black Miss 7-Up model gracing magazines. And after marriage, she and dad lived across the globe.

And during one of her pregnancies with one of my siblings, she has described to me the humiliation of being told she couldn't go into a white-only bathroom at the airport in one of America's southern states. She was pregnant and she had to go. Well, she defied the harassment went to that bathroom anyway.

Well, today still with chutzpah, she is a retired Program Analyst of the National Institutes of Health, still beautiful like roses and sharp like the thorns, she will get her second COVID vaccine soon and when it's my turn, I will, too get vaccinated.

After so many months, I look forward to that belated birthday hug for our magnificent mom. Happy birthday, mom.

We love you.

Thanks so much for being with us today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. CNN NEWSROOM with Erica Hill starts right now.

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