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Biden Touts Infrastructure Bill; Interview With Rep. David Scott (D-GA); Eight Dead, Dozens Injured As Crowds Rush Stage At Astroworld Festival; First Weekend Of COVID-19 Vaccinations For Kids Ages 5 To 11; Day Two Of High-Profile Georgia Trial Set For Monday; Missed Warning Signs Ahead Of January 6 Riot. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired November 06, 2021 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:15]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this hour with a monumental moment in the Biden presidency. After months of Democratic Party infighting and hours of the tense negotiations, the U.S. House has finally handed President Biden a major and much-needed legislative victory, passing his $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill late Friday night.

In the last hour the president celebrating the historic bill which is the single largest investment in public works in the nation's history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A once-in-a-generation investment that's going to create millions of jobs and modernize our infrastructure, our roads, our bridges, our broadband, a whole range of things, to turn the climate crisis into an opportunity.

And it puts us on a path to win the economic competition of the 21st century that we faced with China and other large countries and the rest of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. We have a team of correspondents covering this for us. Eva McKend is on Capitol Hill and Arlette Saenz there at the White House.

Arlette, let's begin with you. This is a big win for the president. But he has a lot more work to do to pass his full economic agenda. So where does the White House go from here?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly this was a day of celebration for President Biden as he got that $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan across the finish line but there is so much more work that still needs to be done on that larger spending package, that's around $1.9 trillion. And President Biden expressed confidence that it would ultimately pass both the House and the Senate. We know last night that progressives and moderates struck that deal and reached this agreement to vote for it by the week of November 15th.

Now, one question is whether moderates will stick to that plan and then what happens when it gets to the Senate when senators like Joe Manchin wants to see changes and he is, of course, one of those key holdouts.

But take a listen to what President Biden said about his confidence in getting that larger package passed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I'm not going to get into who and what made what commitments to me. I don't negotiate in public. But I feel confident -- I feel confident that we will have enough votes to pass the Build Back Better plan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZA: So we will see how that all pans out over the course of the next few weeks. But for right now the White House is certainly taking a victory lap when it comes to that infrastructure proposal.

The president calling it a "blue collar blueprint" for America. He also touted the ability of Republicans and Democrats to work together on it and spoke about the jobs that it will bring to the country, the transformation to the infrastructure of the country, also the resilience that it will help towards extreme weather events.

Now, the president has said it will take about two to three months to see the impacts of this bill start to take shape in the country. And he's also plan on heading out to sell it. He said he'll be visiting some ports next week.

But certainly, for the Biden administration they have been waiting for a very long time to be able to say those words that the president said today, finally infrastructure week and he finally got that big win, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Arlette, thanks so much.

Eva on Capitol Hill -- so it took quite a while for the Democrats to finally pass this bill but they didn't do it alone. There was Republican support, at least a dozen Republicans on board.

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: That's right, Fredricka and that was key to this bill passing last night. For many months Democrats have been fighting amongst each other, progressives and moderates, very different visions saying that -- moderates saying that the bipartisan infrastructure bill should pass on its own. The progressives have wanted this bipartisan package and the larger social spending bill to pass together. But what we saw last night is President Biden really put pressure on Democrats and leaned on them said to them that we need to get this done. And it was a mix of that pressure and moderates giving progressives some assurances that in the coming days they will in fact support passage of the social spending bill that led to us seeing some movement last night.

Now, that wasn't sufficient for all progressives. Six of them did not vote for this bill but 13 Republicans supported the bill and that is what ultimately allowed it to pass and there were enough votes.

Take a listen to Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. She leads the Progressive Caucus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): We feel really proud of what we were able to get and how far we've come in just four weeks because we held the line over and over again. We also made the determination that the country needs to continue to move forward.

[11:04:55]

JAYAPAL: And so we feel like we got the best of all worlds. We got a commitment on this vote, which -- and every single one of those individuals looked us in the eyes and said they are voting for it.

And so, you know look, we've got to move things forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: So just some examples of what is actually in this bill.

It expands high-speed Internet. It funds new climate initiatives. It addresses water quality. It provides funding for new charging stations for electric vehicles. These are priorities that Democrats have had for years and a lot of them are included in this infrastructure bill.

All eyes now though turn to moderate Democrats. Are they going to keep their word and in fact support the larger social spending bill when it comes up for a vote later this month, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. All will be watching. Thank you so much, Evan McKend and Arlette Saenz.

All right. There's no quick end in sight for the current supply chain crisis that has been eating into your wallets. But the infrastructure plan could go a long way to stopping the next one.

Joining me right now to discuss is Democratic Congressman David Scott, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. So good to see you, Congressman.

So millions of families right now are struggling. In what ways do you believe Americans will feel or see relief coming from this plan? REP. DAVID SCOTT (D-GA): Well, they will see some immediate relief in

terms of jobs. In our rural communities, we were able to get $68 billion in to finally bring rural broadband to our rural communities. That is so vital. And also we made many changes to child tax credit.

We must understand that we are going through a crisis. And when you're going through a crisis like COVID, that defines the whole thing. And so there are many women who are in the labor force. People don't understand that us men, we don't carry all of the load. There are children, there are differences here.

And so I'm very delighted with it. I'm very happy with it.

Here's the point that I think we need to get through. What a great moment for a great president. I say that because greatness is always measured on the valleys you got to climb out of, the hills, the mountains. Joe Biden did that.

And for the fact that he has already moved to help us with our food supply and our supply chain when he did the move to move in 24/7 which means we now can move freight and goods 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

People may think that's a small thing, but to get our drivers on the highways in the morning hours, in the hours when the roads are not clogged. It's a little thing, but it's a big thing. And I'm proud, very proud to be here to help President Joe Biden with this great victory.

WHITFIELD: So, Congressman, it is a big thing because this has been an effort that has been under way over many -- spanning many administrations. And over the last few months in the current administration.

How much do you attribute this bipartisan support to the president perhaps leveraging in a way, unlike he's been able to do in the last couple of months, he was able to leverage last night with some last- minute calls, nudging, to members on both sides?

SCOTT: Yes. And that's the other important thing, Miss Whitfield, and I'm glad you brought that up.

There's been so much divide, pitting Democrats against Republicans. You recall back in the Obama administration when we had the big financial crisis, we didn't know what to do. I was here, played a role in that. I was asked to come up and do something and you remember I think I was on one of your shows back then.

When we put together the hardest-hit program. They came to me on financial services and said, Scott, do something because I knew we didn't have it right on the first blush at that. And so we did -- it was the hardest-hit.

[11:09:48]

SCOTT: Down in Georgia we got $339 million to be able to keep folks in their homes. A lot of shots about it, but here's the deal. We could not have done it without crossing over the aisle and bringing Democrats and Republicans together.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: And it really would not have happened without -- I apologize for interrupting -- but it really would not have happened if not for the Republican support, particularly because you had six Democrats who voted against the bill in the House. And you know, it would have been dangerous if just three Democrats would have voted against it.

So now what does this tell you about the road ahead in terms of the negotiations or what you can count on within your own Democratic caucus? These are mostly progressives who voted against it. You can't necessarily -- no one can presume that the Democrats are going to vote in some monolithic way.

So clearly the six progressives -- it's going to take a little bit more arm twisting to get them on board with the rest of the party and even those Republicans who voted for this package.

SCOTT: Well, I think you have to understand that we have to let every member who comes here do their job the best way they feel they can do their job to please their constituents. And we all have different constituents.

And so I'm proud of the progressives. They made a contribution. They came. They overwhelmingly -- you have relatively a little over a hundred progressives. So six, well, that means if we got a hundred, 94 out of 100 isn't bad.

WHITFIELD: Ok. That's the half glass full. Democratic Congressman David Scott, a pleasure to see you again. Thank you so much.

SCOTT: Always a pleasure, Miss Whitfield, thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much.

All right. This breaking news overnight. Panic and chaos at a music festival in Houston. At least eight people died and many more injured when a crowd rushed the stage at the Astroworld Festival.

One of the victims taken to an area hospital is just 10 years old. As many as 50,000 people were attending the festival when a crowd surged the stage as rapper Travis Scott was performing.

Earlier in the day a stampede of people rushed through the VIP entrance entering the event. You see the video right there. Several metal detectors and people were knocked to the ground. At least one person was injured during that rush. And that preceded that fatal crush at the stage.

CNN's Rosa Flores is in Houston for us. So Rosa, dozens of people injured in all of this. How could this happen?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, that's what authorities are now trying to figure out, Fred. But here's what we know. According to authorities, this is a sold-out outdoor concert with about 50,000 people.

And at about 9:15 yesterday, the crowd started to compress towards the front of that stage and panic ensued. Authorities say that by 9:38 this turned into a mass casualty event.

One officer describing the moment when they asked promoters to stop this concert because of what was going on. He described it like this, saying that there were multiple people on the ground in cardiac arrest and having other medical issues and that medical personnel were doing CPR right then and there. And that medics and police were completely overwhelmed.

I talked to one concert goer who described it like this. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGEL RODRIGUEZ, ATTENDED CONCERT: It was so hard to move your arms. And it was so hard to breathe that I was like pushing there in front of me just like to get a breath -- just to breathe.

There's nothing you can do to stop from like 20 people pushing against you, so you've got to wait until they push back and then just hope that you don't fall over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Authorities say that throughout the night about 300 people were treated on site; 23 were transported to local hospitals, the youngest 10 years old.

Authorities say that at least eight people have died, but they warn that that number could change because people were transported to the hospital in critical condition. The IDs of those eight people have not been released.

Astroworld Festival releasing a statement saying that their hearts are with these individuals who have died and with their families, of course. Now, they are cooperating with local authorities they say.

And police, Fred, are investigating. Today they are reviewing video, trying to figure out exactly what happened. The other thing they're trying to figure out is why people were not able to escape. They're looking at that video to look for clues on that as well. And I should mention that the concert for today has been cancelled, Fred.

[11:14:50]

WHITFIELD: And it's extraordinary to hear the sentiment of that young man, to think that there's some strategy to surviving a concert the way he described how he was able to survive.

All right, Rosa Flores, thank you so much.

All right, coming up, across the country millions of families are breathing a sigh of relief as young children begin to get vaccinated. I'll speak with a doctor next about how to talk to your kids about getting the shot.

Plus a nearly all-white jury will decide the fate of three white men accused of shooting and killing a 25-year-old black man last year. The latest from the emotional trial straight ahead.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Some big news for little ones this week. Millions of children between the ages of 5 and 11 became eligible to receive Pfizer's COVID vaccine. CDC's independent vaccine advisers voted 14-0 in favor of the child-size doses of the vaccine for the younger kids.

[11:19:52]

WHITFIELD: California surgeon general Dr. Nadine Burke Harris joining me right now. Dr. Harris, so good to see you.

So this is -- and all smiles. That's great, we should be all smiling about this. This is a major milestone that brings us all closer to ending the pandemic, right?

I mean, do you think younger kids see this as a way that they can be, you know, active participants in helping us all get through this pandemic?

DR. NADINE BURKE HARRIS, CALIFORNIA SURGEON GENERAL: Yes, that's right. My own little ones were high fives when they found out that it was approved.

WHITFIELD: Really? Cool.

DR. HARRIS: And yes. It's about protecting themselves, protecting their community and moving through this pandemic so that we can bring it to a close as soon as possible.

WHITFIELD: That's great. My little ones didn't give high fives but, you know, we're talking openly and they're open and excited about it. You know, excited. And they're getting their shots in about a week from now.

So while kids, you know, may want to, you know, get back to life as they once knew it, they may not love the idea, you know, of getting that prick in the arm.

So during CNN'S TOWN HALL with "Sesame Street", Big Bird asked this question. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIG BIRD, "SESAME STREET": Did it hurt when you got the vaccine shot? Were you scared?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was a little scared, Big Bird. But my mommy and my poppy helped me. And Little Gatito helped me too.

BIG BIRD: Oh, Gatito. Rosita, is that your lovey?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Si, si. When I was getting ready for my vaccine, I sat in the chair and I held Gatito over my belly like this and I watched Gatito move in and out on my belly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, that's good advice, to bring some sort of comfort. How do you -- you know, what do you recommend to us parents on how we should talk to our little ones about getting the vaccine?

DR. HARRIS: Yes, the most important things are to be honest, right, as we heard. Yes, it might hurt a little just like any other poke. And then offer lots of nurturing comfort, help kids feel safe, and also help them understand why we're doing it, how important it is and how they are part of our fight against COVID-19.

WHITFIELD: You tweeted this week also about the indirect impacts of this pandemic on kids. So what are some of the things that you're seeing and what are your concerns?

DR. HARRIS: Yes. One of the things that the CDC cited in their review of the data around the impacts of COVID-19 was the increase in adverse childhood experiences with this pandemic. We have seen that, you know, as more kids have been home, high levels of stress, that there are more kids who are experiencing significant adversity.

And we saw the American Academy of Pediatrics just declared a national emergency for children and youth mental and behavioral health so our kids are dealing with a lot. And that's why this vaccine is so important to help us bring a close to this pandemic.

WHITFIELD: What are some of those other adverse experiences that you're seeing in kids, you know, whether it pertains to how they're learning, how they're having difficulty learning, perhaps even the lack of activity so many experience, particularly over the last 18 months.

I mean what are you seeing in kids? How is it being manifested in, you know, what you're seeing in them?

DR. HARRIS: When we talk about adverse childhood experiences, we talk about the criteria that the CDC looked at in their landmark research study. But what we see is that more kids are, for example, having parents or caregivers who are struggling with their mental health or with substance use or, unfortunately, there has been more intimate partner violence as a result of the pandemic.

And how that shows up in kids is it can be in their learning or behavior, so more difficulty with learning and attention and things like that. More challenges with mood.

But it can also be with their medical health. So increased risk of asthma or diabetes or things like that as a result of the activation of the stress response that affects children's developing brains and bodies.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh, I bet you so many kids are really kind of holding it in. You know, they're trying to handle it as best they can, but lo and behold so many kids are so stressed out. And you see it exhibited in those ways that you just gave us.

So the Los Angeles Unified School District says it will actually offer the vaccine for their students, but those between the ages of 5 and 11 are not required to get it.

In general, people are going to be going to their pediatricians, right? But do you think other school districts might be following suit of the unified school district in Los Angeles?

DR. HARRIS: Well, we allow school districts to be able to do things based on the local prevalence of, you know, COVID infection and spread, so we'll see different school districts will do things different ways.

But what we do know is one of the things we've done in California is offer a lot of school-based vaccination opportunities because we -- it's part of our commitment to equity.

[11:24:58]

DR. HARRIS: We want to make sure that the vaccine is accessible and that every family has the opportunity to protect their children with this vaccine.

So pediatricians' offices will have it. We'll have school-based vaccine sites and community vaccine sites as well.

WHITFIELD: Do you see ultimately it will be a required, you know, shot, immunization for the younger age group like it is for some of the older kids in certain schools?

DR. HARRIS: Well, in California, we do anticipate and we do have a plan to have it be required once it is fully approved by the FDA. So we're not there yet. Once it's gone through the full FDA approval process, then it will be a required vaccine like all the other vaccines that our kids have to get in order to enter school. And that's for the safety of our school staff, for our kids, for our teachers, for everyone in the educational environment.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, I hope my kids are watching because you sure put a nice face on this whole notion of kids getting vaccines. And while my kids are kind of ok with it, I think they'll be even more encouraged after listening to you.

DR. HARRIS: Well, it's great for them to have a sense of purpose and recognize their power in helping us to end this pandemic.

WHITFIELD: Fantastic. Thank you so much. Be well.

All right. Coming up, tears were shed on the first day of the trial in the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery. We are live in Brunswick, Georgia with the latest, next.

[11:26:29]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

The trial of three men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery is set to continue Monday morning after an emotional first day of proceedings on Friday. Arbery's mother could be seen and heard crying as videos played from the day her son was killed.

Prosecutors argue the three men in court targeted Arbery after wrongly assuming that he was a burglar. The defense claimed in turn that they had ample reason to believe that and that Arbery was killed in self- defense.

Martin Savidge is following the trial for us from Brunswick, Georgia. So Martin, walk us through day one of this trial, very painful day, especially for Ahmaud Arbery's mother.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you're exactly right. And that's the thing that jumps out the most from day one. This is very much a community that's still on edge because of the tragedy that occurred, because of the question surrounding it as to why and because of protests and the national outrage that's been triggered as a result.

But as you point out, for the family showing up yesterday, it was a day they at one point worried they might never see. I mean after all, it took two months for any arrest in this case but then it's also a day where we see the evidence. And the key witness here is that cell phone video that was taken by one of the defendants that shows Ahmaud Arbery being killed.

And Wanda Cooper Jones had for the most part avoided seeing that entire video until yesterday when she made a conscious decision to watch it as it was played.

It was played both by the prosecution. It was also -- portions of it used by the defense. And as you point out, the prosecution is saying, look, these three men made assumptions -- the wrong assumptions, and driveway decisions, the decisions being to get their guns, get in their pickup trucks, chase and eventually kill Ahmaud Arbery.

The defense is saying they had reason to believe he had committed a crime. They were using an old Georgia law of citizen's arrest and then it turned into a struggle over (INAUDIBLE) weapon one of the men had and Ahmaud Arbery was killed in self-defense. It was tragic but of course, it was all legally justifiable.

And then after all of that emotional testimony, Lee Merritt (ph), who's the attorney that represents the Arbery family and one of them talked about what it really meant to them all. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LEE MERRITT, ARBERY FAMILY LAWYER: Ahmaud Arbery committed no crime. His only crime was being black.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

MERRITT: And the defendants cloaked in their whiteness decided that that was enough. And somehow today they have presented themselves as the victim. It's an affront to this family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: The attorney says that Ahmaud Arbery was killed twice, once with a shotgun and now his reputation being killed in court by the defense, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: That's powerful. All right. Martin Savidge, thank you so much for that. So I want to bring in now former federal prosecutor Shan Wu for more legal analysis now.

Shan, so good to see you.

I mean prosecutors say Arbery was chased down and killed. You saw that on the videotape. The defense attorneys say it was self-defense. I mean does the video speak louder than their words?

SHAN WU, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Absolutely, Fred. The video speaks much louder than their words. There's going to be a strategic decision about their words. They're going to have to decide if they're actually going to testify to try explain their actions.

But that evidence is very powerful evidence for the prosecution at this point because it really raises such a specter of the terrible, violent history in our country of lynchings, frankly.

WHITFIELD: And there was this citizen's arrest law in place at the time. Martin, you know, made reference to that. It has since been repealed. But how will the defense use that law to their advantage?

[11:34:48]

WU: They're primarily going to try to argue, as we've seen in the opening, that these were citizens engaged in a lawful action. It was not a lynch mob, it wasn't racially-motivated. That they had a right at that time, as the judge will ultimately instruct them, that they could basically act as deputized citizens.

You know, the other side of that, of course, it's very much vigilante justice and that's probably why that law was repealed.

WHITFIELD: And then, of course, the prosecution was successful in helping to argue the, you know, confederate flag that is on the front of their vehicle and the words that were also shouted out by these, you know, alleged suspects, you know, the defendants before opening fire. How powerful are those elements going to be in how this was racially motivated? WU: Those are very powerful elements and there was a fight beforehand

where the defense wanted to keep that out arguing that it was too prejudicial. But always important to remember for our viewers that the standard isn't whether it's prejudicial or not.

If that was the case, nothing would get in because it's going to help one side or the other. It has to be balanced as the judge did in this case as to whether it's probative.

And for a murder charge here, the intent, the motivation behind it is important and that is strong evidence that there may have been racial animus here. And of course, there's also separately a Department of Justice hate crimes prosecution going on.

WHITFIELD: This was so hard, obviously, for Arbery's mother to watch and really for even the jurors. Some of the jurors grimacing, covering their faces. So what can be more impactful than that video?

WU: I think that video is very much the heart of the case. I think that's why it's such a hard decision for the defense counsel. They're going to need to try to put a face, humanize, if you will, their clients.

The prosecution's job is to make it real to the jury this was a human being, a young man who was not charged with any crime.

The defense needs to try to make their people sound like they're reasonable people, and that's going to be a tough choice for them. It's hard to do without actually hearing from the defendants. But very dangerous to put on a defendant.

When I was a prosecutor, I was rubbing my hands with glee if the defendant was going to testify because you can really do a lot of damage to them on cross examination.

WHITFIELD: So one question that's being asked over and over is why this trial was allowed to move forward, despite complaints from the prosecution over discrimination in the jury selection. It's an all- white jury.

WU: Yes. So that actually is really quite fascinating, stems from the lawyers' abilities on both sides, prosecution and defense, to use what they call preemptory challenges. And the United States Supreme Court case that allows challenges which could get rid of jurors of any race as long as the lawyers can offer a race-neutral challenge.

You know, ironically that was meant to combat racism in juries but as time has gone on, it's become clear that's easy to evade, that's very easy to present a race neutral reason.

When I was a young prosecutor, in our training grizzled supervisor would say it's the red headed rule, which is, of course you're never striking somebody for a racial reason but if you just don't like redheads that would be fine.

That's an exaggeration but people can always come up with a race neutral reason. So you hear the judge here expressing some frustration that he thinks there may be some racial intentionality behind those (INAUDIBLE).

Now, I have to put that back on the judge, if that's what the judge thinks, he ought to do something about that and sustain the challenges.

But so long as a lawyer can offer what appears to be race neutral reasons for striking it, that ultimate composition doesn't matter and it can be very biased as you see here.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And I should say a nearly all-white jury.

WU: Right.

WHITFIELD: All right. Shan Wu, thank you so much. Good to see you.

WU: Good to see you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, an exclusive report on how an overhaul of the Capitol police intel unit may have led to missteps ahead of the deadly insurrection.

[11:39:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The chairman of the January 6 Committee is now warning a former Trump DOJ official who refused to speak to investigators yesterday. Congressman Bennie Thompson saying they will take strong measures if Jeffrey Clark continues to refuse to cooperate.

Clark is a key figure in Donald Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election. Clark not only pushed election fraud theories, a Senate judicial committee report says he was part of Trump's attempt to harness the Justice Department's power to pull off a coup.

Ever since the January 6 insurrection there has been a lingering question about why so many warning signs and red flags were missed. Today we can partially answer that question.

CNN is learning a well-intentioned overhaul of the Capitol Police Department actually produced confusion and scrambled priorities at precisely the wrong time.

CNN's Whitney Wild has this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In the days after the January 6 riot, inside the unit that helped prepare Capitol police security plans that day, there was outrage.

"I am filled with anger and frustration," one intelligence employee wrote to Capitol police leaders on January 9th. "We analysts have been reporting for weeks that patriot groups are commenting on social media their intentions to storm the U.S. Capitol with overwhelming numbers. I hope this information was briefed with the veracity it deserved."

[11:45:02]

YOGANANDA PITTMAN, ACTING CHIEF, U.S. CAPITOL POLICE: It has been suggested that the department was either ignorant of or ignored critical intelligence. There was no such intelligence.

WILD: U.S. Capitol police breakdowns have been well-documented. But now CNN has obtained internal documents and source interviews that show frustrations and confusion in the intelligence division after the department brought in two outsiders to overhaul the Mission Critical Unit just two months before the riot.

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Implementing change is always difficult, even in times that aren't that trying. The intelligence section, obviously you had a unit that was understaffed and undertrained. And so it would take time to bring them up to speed.

WILD: Sources say after Jack Donoghue and Julie Farnham arrived at the Capitol police, changes and priorities happened rapidly and sources say without enough training.

Sources tell CNN the new demands scrambled a unit already struggling after years of inspector general reports pointed to dysfunction. They were pulled in so many different directions, it would have been impossible to catch what they should have, a source told CNN.

RAMSEY: It was a time when, you know, making changes like that is something that obviously, you know, would give you some pause as to whether or not that's the right time to do it.

WILD: The department tells CNN threats against members of Congress spiked in 2020. Those cases became the highest priority. The department says analysts were asked to expand their skill set and insisted leaders offer training. These changes are essential, even if certain individuals on the team do not embrace them.

(on camera): Thursday, Julie Farnham appeared before the House Select Committee investigating January 6th according to a source. Members are examining these big intelligence breakdowns as part of its sweeping probe into that day. But the source declined to provide details about the nature of what was discussed.

Whitney Wild, CNN -- Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much, Whitney, for that report.

And don't miss a new episode of the "CNN ORIGINAL SERIES: DIANA" where we go inside her complicated relationship with the press. It airs Sunday at 9:00 p.m.

And we'll be right back.

[11:47:09] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. A woman in Lake Tahoe, California is counting herself lucky after surviving an attack by a bear. And she says it all happened so fast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAUREL ROSE VON HOFFMAN CURZI, BEAR ATTACK SURVIVOR: I could see the freezer door half open, and food just going -- whew -- whew -- and it was like in an instant, all, my gosh. This is a bear. And the next thing that happens is that I'm being torn apart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Gosh. I mean this 66-year-old retired doctor, well she is recovering right now.

And guess what? She was already a fighter. She's been getting chemotherapy treatments for lymphoma. A super survivor, indeed.

All right. We'll be right back.

But first in this week's "Mission Ahead", a first of its kind treatment. Goggles that helped a blind man see after 40 years.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These goggles helped a blind man see for the first time in decades.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's something that I see.

CRANE: This 58-year-old started losing his sight as a teenager from a genetic condition called retinitis pigmentosa or RP. Most who suffer from RP lose their vision permanently.

But a first of its kind treatment from biotech GenSight Biologics suggest that some sight can be restored.

JOSE ALAIN SAHEL, GENSIGHT BIOLOGIS: What I heard from the patient is that this is giving him impression that the eye is alive again.

CRANE: Using a technique called optogenetics, scientists genetically modify retinal cells, making them eye sensitive to amber light. Then the patient wears custom goggles embedded with a specialized camera that transform images from the real world into pulses of amber light that are beamed directly into the eye.

But researchers weren't sure if patients could interpret this new visual language into sight. After seven months, they had a breakthrough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to try to print it out. Not sure about the distance. There.

SAHEL: So the patient was able to grab the object, to point to them and to count.

CRANE: Because of the pandemic GenSight conducted its study with just one patient. But experts still believe the limited results are significant.

EHUD ISACOFF, LOWY MEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE: This is a very, very convincing result. Even though it's only one patient. And now the effort will be focused on which method of this kind is the best.

How can you refine it? Will you be able to recognize the face of somebody? Will you be able to read?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How does it feel? Too tight? Too loose? You're good?

CRANE: Nine patients are currently testing GenSight's treatment and the company is working to expand the clinical trial.

SAHEL: It's a golden era for many conditions nobody thought we could treat. So sometimes you (INAUDIBLE).

CRANE: Rachel Crane, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Pretty extraordinary.

All right. Coming up, Aaron Rodgers will watch his Green Bay Packers from the sideline this weekend. He revealed he tested positive for COVID and is unvaccinated but he's also spreading misinformation about the COVID vaccine. Much more on that, straight ahead.

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

We begin with this breaking news from overnight. A deadly tragedy at a music festival in Houston, Texas.

At least 8 people were killed and many more injured when a crowd surged a stage at the Astroworld Festival.

One of the victims injured in the chaos is just 10 years old.