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Memphis Police Shut Down Scorpion Unit Tied To Deadly Beating; Video Shows More Than 20 Minutes Passed Before A Stretcher Arrived For Nichols; Shooting In Baltimore Kills One And Wounds Two Others; Zelenskyy: Long-Range "Vital" To Countering Russian Attacks; Ukrainian Diplomat: Western Allies To Send 321 Tanks To Ukraine; Superintendent Ousted In Wake Of Richneck School Shooting; Damar Hamlin Thanks Fans, First Responders In First Public Comments; Novak Djokovic Wins Record- Tying 22nd Men's Grand Slam. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired January 29, 2023 - 11:00   ET

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

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[11:00:35]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, thanks so much for joining me today. I'm Jessica Dean in Washington, D.C. in for Fredricka Whitfield. We begin with a major shift in Memphis just a day after horrific video showed the brutal police beating of Tyre Nichols. The city's police department announcing its permanently deactivating its so-called SCORPION unit.

All five officers charged in Nichols' death were members of that unit and the move is coming after Nichols' family and protesters around the country demanded it be dissolved. The attorney for Tyre Nichols' family, Benjamin Crump, telling CNN This Morning that the decision is a positive step. But the work is far from over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN CRUMP, NICHOLS' FAMILY ATTORNEY: In communities of color, they often have different types of police in them, many of our white brothers and sisters have in their community. And this video illustrates it that is this culture that says it doesn't matter whether the police officers are black, Hispanic or white, that it is somehow loud for you to trample on the constitutional rights of certain citizens from certain ethnicities and certain communities. And we have to have a larger conversation about this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: CNN Shimon Prokupecz has has more now from Memphis.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: A significant move here by the Memphis Police Department, the police chief announcing that they are disbanding the SCORPION unit. This is the unit that the five former officers were a part of, their tactics have been called into question. Of course, we saw their aggressive moves when they pulled over Tyre Nichols. And when it was learned that these five officers were part of that SCORPION unit, many of the community members and, of course, Nichols' family all came out asking that the police chief disband this unit. Now what this unit does is that they drive around and unmarked cars aggressively fighting crime, and some of their tactics have come into question.

And because of the concerns raised by the community, the police chief said that she met with officers in that unit and they all decided that in the interest of trying to heals the wounds here and try and help some of the work that the police department and the community knows they're going to need to do to try and win back their respect, she is going to disband it. And then we'll see what happens. You know, certainly there's a lot more work here to do as this investigation continues.

Shimon Prokupecz, CNN, Memphis, Tennessee.

DEAN: Shimon, thanks so much.

And for more now, I want to bring in former NYPD Lieutenant Darrin Porcher. Darrin, great to see you. Thanks for being with us this morning. We know based on Shimon's reporting their police in Memphis, acting pretty swiftly to disband the SCORPION unit. Do you think that's the right move here?

DARRIN PORCHER, FORMER NYPD LIEUTENANT: Well, good morning, Jessica. And good morning to the viewers. Do we think that this is the right move? I think that there needs to be an adjustment because there needs to be a terminal piece of enforcement in that community.

The SCORPION unit was able to gain precipitous drops in crime. However, unfortunately, they violated the civil rights of citizens in the process. That being said, the oversight must be accordingly appropriate to ensure that you have an enforcement unit that protects the citizens of that community in Memphis.

It was clear that the unit was faulted. And there should have been a greater level of supervision. But as we move forward, what is going to fill the void to protect those citizens in our community?

DEAN: Right. And so it sounds like what you're talking about is how are you balancing all of that, right, like the need for that -- for policing in this area, but also to protect, of course, the civil rights and protections that all the citizens there need and the oversight. It's interesting, because just a day ago, the Memphis Police Chief really was defending the unit and saying that it was responsible for over 2,000 felony arrests, removing 800 guns off the streets.

How do you think they move forward in kind of balancing all of that to ensure there isn't a rise in crime, but also that something like this never happens again? It sounds like what you're saying is it may come down to oversight.

PORCHER: Jessica, you're absolutely right. I think that needs to be a tabletop exercise amongst the policymakers within the police department in the community to assess and address the needs of that community as it relates to crime reduction.

[11:05:06]

It's clear that we need to have policing in these communities. But at the same token, what is the happy medium? And that's what I believe the police in the community are going to have to come up with a strategy and implemented accordingly to ensure that that community is safe.

DEAN: And how do you think they move forward building back trust in that community, because it seems, at this point, it is broken?

PORCHER: Well, transparency is key. Fortunately, the police department introduced the video coupled with firing the officers based on the inappropriate content. Now, what are the building blocks that are necessary to get that police department back to a position where they can effectively act as public servants for those citizens?

And it starts with having well trained officers and greater oversight. When we all look at the video, it was no surprise that there was no leadership in relation to the office that -- officers that beat the deceased in this particular case. So we need a greater level of oversight and we need greater trained officers. And we need a periodic assessment to ensure that the unit is working appropriately for the citizens of that community.

DEAN: Kind of this holistic approach to overhauling all of that. They put out a statement and the department said the officers currently assigned to the unit unreservedly agree with the next step and that it's in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate it.

What does a move like this do for members of that unit and then as a department moving forward in terms of -- do you think this is a moment where they can pause and look around and say to each other and themselves in a broader context and say, how do we do this better, and how do we learn from this? Is that what is called upon them right now to do?

PORCHER: Well, right now, we're going to have an administrative pause on what the actions or the operational focus of the police department would be. And during that administrative pause, that's when we're going to have an assemblance of what's -- what works and what does not work.

It's probably going to be a pilot project that's going to be rolled out by the department. It's going to be retooled or renamed as something else in place of the SCORPION unit. And they're going to see both the positives and the negatives in terms of how that unit can function in a way that they can best support the community.

You -- reassessment component is extremely important. And oftentimes, it involves bringing in members of the community that can assist police policymakers to ensure that this is a quintessential process and unit moving forward. So I think that we need to take a step back, give it a month to two months, and that's when the reassessment will occur to determine if, in fact, the new unit is doing what's necessary and right for that community.

DEAN: And even the name, SCORPION, so many people I talked to yesterday, experts, former police officers, law enforcement experts saying even the name just sounds aggressive. And now we know that it is no more.

All right, Darrin Porcher, thanks so much. We appreciate it.

PORCHER: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: In Baltimore, at least one person was killed and two others wounded in a shooting on Saturday night. Police believe at least one gunman opened fire at an intersection hitting people on the sidewalk and also inside a vehicle.

A 43-year-old man who was the driver was killed in that shooting, resulting in a car crash that injured two children. There's a three- year-old who's now in stable condition and a two-month-old, who's listed in critical but stable condition. The mayor there in Baltimore calling on the community to step up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BRANDON SCOTT, BALTIMORE: Another person's shot, over what? And I see a lot of folks and really at this point, I'm talking to folks who look like me, to black men in Baltimore. I see a lot of folks trying to be, acting like they're tough, but they're really weak because only weak people shoot somebody when you know children are right there.

And if you harboring that person, and that's your homeboy, if that's your man and that's your cousin, I don't care who it is, then you're weak too. And we need to step up and be better for ourselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Again, a three-year-old and two-month-old injured in that shooting. Police say the two surviving adults are both in stable condition.

Let's turn now to the war in Ukraine, where President Zelenskyy says his military needs long-range missiles to go along with the tanks that have now been pledged by the U.S. and its allies. That request following a barrage of hundreds of Russian missiles and artillery strikes in recent weeks.

Let's bring in CNN Senior International Correspondent Frederik Pleitgen, who's live in Ukraine. And Fred, Ukraine saying this is a race against time now.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's certainly what they believe. And it's with those main battle tanks but also for those longer-range rockets. And, you know, Jessica, from the past couple of days, from the front line here in eastern Ukraine, one of the things that we have been picking up is that things are seriously heating up along that front line.

[11:10:03]

We were in town yesterday north of here called Kreminna where there was a massive artillery battle going on. The Ukrainians there were saying they were advancing for a while. But the Russians have seriously beefed up their forces after mobilizing hundreds of thousands of Russians, and are now fighting back and are trying to do a counter offensive.

Around where I am right now, near the town of Bakhmut, the Russians are actually gaining ground mostly using mercenaries from a private military company called Wagner that really advanced at really big own losses. But nevertheless, those advances are being made. And that's something that's happening across the frontlines here in eastern Ukraine.

And that's why the Ukrainians are saying they urgently need those main battle tanks to try and push the Russians back and win back some of their territory. Here's what we learned.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Revving like a dragster, the crew from the 28th Mechanized Brigade warm up their Soviet era T-64 for battle.

We have problems with ammunition, we're running low, the commander tells me. And that's the only problem we have. We get enough spare parts. Our commanders work all the time to sustain the tank and repair it. That commander who goes by the call sign David races the 40-year- old beast towards the front line like a steam engine train.

(on-camera): A lot of Ukraine's made battle tanks are as old as this one. That's why the military says they urgently need those new western main battle tanks. They say around 300 to 400, to try and turn the tide in this war.

(voice-over): The problem, Ukraine is running out of Soviet era tanks and is having increasing trouble replacing those lost in battle or needing repair. The 28th helped liberated Kherson in the south and then was sent here. It has already been a long war for this unit.

Ukrainian soldiers on the front around Bakhmut are elated. Western nations are sending modern battle tanks M1A2 Abrams from the U.S., German made Leopard 2s and British Challenger tanks.

But the Ukrainians are also masters at using the old Soviet tanks they have now to best effect. Firing, reloading, taking aim and quickly shooting again. The tank engineer who only gave his name as Maxim (ph) says the soldiers from the 28th could operate these vehicles blindfolded.

If we fire from a covered position, we use this device, he says. It's old and analogue, but pretty efficient, very precise.

Ukraine's forces say their tanks have been extremely important and effective here in Bakhmut, taking on the mercenaries of Russia's Wagner private military company who often use convicts as cannon fodder to try and storm Ukrainian positions with almost no fire support. The tank commander says they are constantly working to stop Wagner's advances here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): We just fight against them. If we stop, they will come closer and we will lose our houses and families. We stand here to allow people to peacefully live in their homes.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): But Ukraine's army is under growing pressure around Bakhmut as the Russians pour more armor into this area. The promised western tanks probably won't arrive fast enough to make a difference in this battle, but these soldiers hope they will turn the tide of the war.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: And that's why the Ukrainian, Jessica, say they need those tanks as fast as possible. And as far as those long-range missiles are concerned, we spoke to a couple of really high-ranking Ukrainian officials. And they say the reason why those are so important is that the Ukrainians, of course, got the HIMARS, multiple rocket launching systems from the U.S. a couple of months ago. Those were really effective at hitting Russian supply lines and also hitting Russians weapons depots as well.

What the Russians apparently have done since then, is they've moved all of that, their supply lines and their major weapons depots further away from the front line. So the Ukrainian say they need missiles that are longer range to be able to hit those. And that's a matter of keeping their soldiers alive, Jessica?

DEAN: Right. Fred Pleitgen with great reporting there in Ukraine. Thanks so much for that update.

Tomorrow, students and teachers in Virginia returned to the classroom for the first time since a six-year-old allegedly shot his first-grade teacher as questions about whether the shooting was preventable continued.

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[11:15:30]

DEAN: Students and staff out of Virginia elementary school will return to class tomorrow for the first time since a six-year-old student allegedly shot a teacher. Police saying the first grader brought a gun to school earlier this month and shot Abby Zwerner inside a classroom at Richneck Elementary. The teacher survived the shooting, but the fallout continues to grow in the wake of that incident.

And joining me now is CNN Correspondent Polo Sandoval. And Polo, it seems like there is some uncertainty as classes resume. Do we know how things are going to look for these students and for the teachers too? POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Uncertainty, Jessica, but also some concerns that continue to grow amid some of the parents there in Newport News, especially as these children get ready to head back to class. We've had an opportunity to speak to some of these parents who certainly are growing concerns not just about the safety but also about what the school district is doing to ensure accountability here.

Is that many parents that we have heard from feel that they dropped the ball in terms of preventing this shooting from happening. That shooting happen just over three weeks ago. The injured teacher's attorney alleging that officials were told by, not just teachers, but also staff that that student at least three times, we're told, that that student did have possession of a firearm but that they failed to act.

The attorney representing the injured teacher saying that she plans to file a civil suit against the school district claiming that they failed to act. School officials, for their part, they have declined to comment subject to pending litigation. But the 25-year-old teacher, she has since been released from the hospital.

[11:20:01]

Parents of the child saying that they continue to pray for her recovery and also explained that their son suffers from a disability. And those parents of that child saying that their gun, that they've legally possess was secured before the shooting took place.

But again, really the parents of this -- in -- you know, who are preparing to potentially send their kids back to school tomorrow for the first time since that shooting in early January, they certainly are concern. Michelle Brown telling my colleague Nicole Gaouette that she is not ready to send her third grader back to school right now. She says that she feels that the school district dropped the ball.

And many of them asking for more than just what they've already done, including the resignation of the assistant principal at the school and also relieving the superintendent of their duty. So again, there's still many questions right now. But also much hope that these students will have perhaps just a measure of normalcy returned back to their lives.

When they head back tomorrow, again, still to the question of whether or not all parents will feel comfortable sending their children back to school. But several already telling CNN that they're just not ready for that.

DEAN: Yes, a lot of anxiety around that. Polo Sandoval, thanks so much.

SANDOVAL: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: In the span of one short week, the nation went from reeling over mass shootings in California to the brutal video of Tyre Nichols' deadly beating.

Up next, I'll talk with Deepak Chopra about how to cope and heal in the wake of these countless tragedies.

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[11:25:37]

DEAN: It's been a difficult and painful week in the United States bookended by tragedy from Monterey Park to Memphis. The familiar sense of nationwide anger and warning can be tough to process, even if we're far removed from the event itself.

And I want to bring in Dr. Deepak Chopra, to help us find ways of navigating these mounting tragedies. He's a clinical professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, San Diego. He's also an author and the founder of The Chopra Foundation.

Dr. Chopra, it's always lovely and wonderful to talk to you and so insightful. On an individual level, I wonder where we begin to kind of hold the heaviness of what's happening in our country, because I think there is this collective grief that we've been going through for years now and it continued. Just -- it's this incident after incident and after incident, how do we hold that?

DR. DEEPAK CHOPRA, CLINICAL PROFESSOR OF FAMILY MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH, U.C. SAN DIEGO: So Jessica, what we're looking at is the pathology of both personal trauma and collective trauma. So what we call anger is the memory of trauma, hostilities, the desire to get even. And then that leads to fear, anxiety, which is the anticipation of trauma again.

Some people blame themselves, they blame others, this leads to guilt, shame. And ultimately, the loss of energy of all of what I've said is depression. Right now, what we're seeing is collective trauma, persistent recycling of this trauma and new cycles, social media, distractions. And again, we're also, you know, have the collective fear right now of an impending recession, inflation, loss of jobs, and then what's happening in Ukraine.

You know, we see this all the time and we get traumatized. And so, one of our basic needs as humans in the hierarchy of needs, the base of the pyramid is safety, security. When a society loses that, that's when actually we have a crisis, and we have a crisis right now. And so, I can only suggest that we, first, grieve collectively. This is a moment of grief for all of us.

To be in denial is actually going to increase the anger and so on. We need to grieve. We need to create safety networks with families, friends. I use the four As, attention, deep listening, affection, deep caring, appreciation, deep gratitude and acceptance of what is. We have no choice.

And what I found in my personal life is that no matter what the crisis is, if you ask yourself, close your eyes, you know, in your stillness, you ask yourself, what am I grateful for? Notwithstanding what happens, notwithstanding what is happening.

That feeling of gratitude removes all hostility, allows you to get in touch with your deeper self, and opens the door to healing.

DEAN: Grounding in that way. And for Black and Asian communities, there is this collective grief around these hateful attacks like what we've seen this week, and they're being attacked. They feel in danger, not safe, as you're saying, that that core need that we all have, not safe for simply who they are. And they're trying to heal from that type of trauma. How specifically -- what do you want to say to those specific communities?

CHOPRA: Even to those specific communities, please take care of yourself. Please take time to breathe deeply, to feel your body, to embrace your grief, to find your peace and help each other, create safety networks. Hostility will only lead to further recycling of trauma and there is natural. So, you know, there's a difference.

Anger is the inflammatory response we're getting right now as a result of trauma. It will express itself and then, you know, we have to then embrace the grief and support each other and support each other. We -- you know, there are ways to activate the autonomic nervous system and right now, we're in sympathetic overdrive, collective burnout.

But, you know, if you take time to breathe, to do some exercise, yoga, sleep properly, take care of your nutrition, activate the vagus nerve through even smiling and chanting.

[11:30:01]

There are many ways you can find right now to activate the part of our autonomic nervous system that is called the parasympathetic nervous system, which is now referred to as the reset, renew, and repair and healing system. And we need to activate that collectively as well.

DEAN: And I think it's so interesting in these situations, of course, millions of Americans never met Tyre Nichols, for example. But millions of Americans have now witnessed how he was brutally killed in those horrific last moments of his life.

And it's a dehumanitizing -- dehumanizing trend, I guess, when victims are kind of put into this narrative that they can't really write, they can't control it, that that's maybe the only way some people will ever know him or see him even though we've heard that he loves photography, he loves skateboarding, he was a human, a whole person.

Can you speak to the importance of keeping his humanity alive and others who become victims and things like this, how we can keep their humanity alive?

CHOPRA: Our collective humanity right now is as at risk. When you see these inhumane attacks, you have to ask yourself, what happened to our humanity as a collective species? And so to give that humanity alive, his humanity alive, we need to actually start treating each other with good manners, respect, deference, politeness, and most importantly, respect.

When you lose respect in a society, drama starts. So lack of respect is the number one cause of humiliation, which is the number one cause of drama as well and the recycling of trauma. Respect yourself, respect everybody, and start with that. Start with respect and gratitude collectively. Respect each other.

DEAN: Yes, respect each other. Find a moment for yourself, to center yourself and find, you know, those nuggets of gratitude. It's so wise.

Deepak Chopra, thank you so much. It's great to see you.

CHOPRA: Thank you, Jessica.

DEAN: Damar Hamlin is speaking out for the first time since he suffered a cardiac arrest on the football field. His powerful message, that's ahead.

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[11:36:34]

DEAN: Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin is speaking publicly for the first time since suffering cardiac arrest in the middle of a game earlier this month. In a video posted to social media, Hamlin thanked his doctors, teammates, fans. He also explained why he decided to wait before speaking now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAMAR HAMLIN, BUFFALO BILLS SAFETY: As I continue to make so much progress recovering, I think it's finally a good time to share a few things. I think it was important for me to wait and speak publicly at the right time, as it was just a lot to process within my own self, mentally, physically, even spiritually.

While I'm so thankful to everybody, I know that it isn't enough just to be thankful. This is just the beginning of the impact that I wanted to have on the world. And with God's guidance, I will continue to do wonderful and great things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: It is so amazing to see him up and talking. Hamlin was discharged from the Buffalo hospital on January 11th. And doctors say he has made remarkable progress in his recovery.

Today's superstar Novak Djokovic just earned an historic win claiming his 10th Australian Open title and securing a record time 22nd Grand Slam single's title, that when coming just a year after he was deported from Australia over his COVID vaccination status.

CNN's Sports Anchor Coy Wire has the highlights.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Jessica, it's been a whirlwind year for Novak Djokovic, filled with highs and lows but he breathed a huge sigh of relief this morning in Melbourne winning his 10th Australian Open title. It's also a record tying 22nd Men's Grand Slam title to his name. Djokovic defeating 24-year-olds Stefanos Tsitsipas in free hard-fought sets, taking the first set easily but then needing tie breaks to take the second and third. Djokovic won his first Grand Slam title when he was just 20 years old. But now, at 35, the Serbian showing just how much this all still means to him.

Afterwards, he pointed to his head, then his heart before breaking down into tears. He was sobbing uncontrollably, Jessica. He then climbed into the stands celebrating showing even more emotion and you can't help but think that he was so emotional, in part, because of how he was demonized by many after being deported from Australia ahead of last year's Aussie Open due to his vaccination status.

He had to overcome injury as well. But here he is again, regaining the world number one ranking with the win, sharing a message for youngsters afterwards. He's talking about never giving up no matter what you're going through.

All eyes now turning to the French Open in May, Jessica, and a potential showdown for Grand Slam number 23 between Djokovic and none other than that person with whom he's tied, Rafael Nadal. The Early Edge is going to Nadal, the king of clay who's won at Roland Garros 14 times that's more than any player at any major ever.

DEAN: All right, Coy Wire for us, thanks so much.

For the first time in history, it is women who hold the purse strings in D.C. and control the most powerful levers of government when it comes to the nation's money.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ROSA DELAURO (D), RANKING MEMBER, APPROPRIATIONS CMTE.: People would say, you know, we have to give you a seat at the table. Hell, we are the table. This is it. We are the table.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Hear from these four history-making women, that's next.

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[11:44:18]

DEAN: Just over a week after the Treasury Department announced the U.S. government has reached its borrowing limit, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said today he's agreed to meet with President Biden to discuss raising the debt ceiling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: Well, we're going to meet this Wednesday. I know the President said he didn't want to have any discussions, but I think it's very important that our whole government is designed to find compromise. I want to find a reasonable and in a responsible way that we can lift the debt ceiling but take control of this runaway spending.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: McCarthy and hardliner Republicans are hoping to leverage the need to raise the debt ceiling in order to negotiate concessions and spending cuts from Democrats. Last week, the White House said President Biden is looking forward to sitting down with McCarthy but also stressed raising the debt ceiling is not a negotiable issue.

[11:45:08]

And Speaker McCarthy assumed his new power in Washington, D.C. back in his California home district, faucets are running dry. And some say the solutions he's proposing to fix the crisis don't go far enough. CNN's Rene Marsh investigates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In California's drought ravaged central valley, wells have gone dry.

GLORIA MENDOZA, DROUGHT VICTIM: (Speaking Foreign Language).

MARSH (voiceover): Gloria Mendoza relies on five jugs of water delivered to her home in Tulare County every 15 days for drinking and cooking, but it's not always enough. Two hours southeast, in Kern County, Randy Kyt's Community Well is also dry.

RANDY KYT, DROUGHT VICTIM: You can't flush toilets. You can't keep your house clean. You can't, you know, have drinking water.

MARSH (voiceover): Despite the recent parade of intense rainstorms, both Tulare and Kern counties have experienced the most weeks of severe drought in the past decade, compared to just about any other part of the country. Both counties have long been represented by Congressman Kevin McCarthy.

MCCARTHY: On our district, the community of Tooleville, has run out of water.

MARSH (voiceover): When asked how the newly elected House Speaker will wield his power to help fix his home states' water crisis, his office says, McCarthy has been a staunch advocate on water issues, introducing broad legislative solutions like grants for enlarging reservoirs and dams and increasing infrastructure to store rainwater during wet seasons.

PETER GLEICK, PACIFIC INSTITUTE: Those old solutions are not the answer to California's water problems. There are no more places to build dams. There's no more new water to fill dams today, given climate change, given overdemand.

MARSH (voiceover): McCarthy has voted against bills, addressing climate change and drought. And since becoming speaker has dissolved the congressional Democrat's Select Committee on the climate crisis. His office did not respond when asked whether addressing climate change is a part of the solution.

GLEICK: Anyone, frankly, who talks about trying to solve our water problems without talking about the reality of human caused climate change doesn't understand the scope of the problem.

MARSH (voiceover): In McCarthy's district, trucked in water, fills emergency community tanks that connect to household plumbing for sanitary needs like washing dishes. But it's not safe for drinking. Mendoza shows us what she believes the water that reeks of chlorine has done to her laundry.

The non-profit, Self-Help Enterprises, uses state funding to deliver 7 million gallons of trucked water and 30,000 gallons of bottled drinking water per month to some 9,000 people in the central valley.

TAMI MCVAY, SELF-HELP ENTERPRISE: We have seen kids taking baths at local gas stations. Being bullied at school because they don't have access or -- because they don't have clean clothes.

MARSH (voiceover): Mendoza whose story represents many of the poorest communities bearing the brunt of California's water crisis has this message for McCarthy.

MENDOZA (through translator): I want to live like you. I want to be able to have water running through my house.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: And our thanks to CNN's Rene Marsh for that report.

For the first time in U.S. history, four women lawmakers are leading the most powerful levers of government on Capitol Hill. Two Republican and to Democratic women, now serving as chairs and ranking members of the very powerful House and Senate Appropriations Committees.

The influential group is commonly known as the Four Corners. Powerful spinning panels oversee an annual federal budget of roughly $1.7 trillion and are responsible for crafting policies that affect nearly every American part of life.

CNN Capitol Hill Reporter Melanie Zanona sat down with these four women for a rare joint interview as they take control. Melanie, what they have to say?

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, Jessica, as you know, these are going to be some of the most powerful and important people in Congress over the next two years, and they happen to be all women for the first time ever. But this is going to be a tough task ahead for them, because they have looming deadlines to fund the government.

To avoid a debt default, they have to raise the nation's borrowing limit. And so, it's going to be up to them to try to pull the country back from the brink of fiscal calamity. And that is going to be no easy task, given the thin margins in the House and the Senate and given the hyperpolarized political environment. So I sat down with this bipartisan group to talk about how they plan to approach their work, the pressure to show that women can do the job just as effectively if not better than their male counterparts. And to reflect on the significance of the moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DELAURO: I think it was in 1973, there were two women who headed up a committee or subcommittee of ours, it was about the beauty salon. It was never viewed that women could take on the issues of foreign policy, budget, finance, any of these areas. Women who was just soft side of the government.

And when you think about, it's four of us here, five with Shalanda Young who are controlling really the powerful levers of government.

[11:50:12]

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), RANKING MEMBER, APPROPRIATIONS CMTE.: We wanted to create an opening for a male to be had at the --

DELAURO: The barber shop.

COLLINS: I was thinking when you were talking about the soft issues --

DELAURO: Right.

COLLINS: -- because when I first was sworn in in 1997, one of my male colleagues said, well, I assume you're going to want to focus on education, and child care, and just, you know, a list of which are incredibly important, and I care deeply about. But I said, yes, those are really important. And I want to be on the Armed Services Committee.

ZANONA: And we've seen the level of brinkmanship when the men were in charge. So now that the men are out of the room, do we think it'll be any different?

DELAURO: But, you know, just as -- I think we have to empower one another. There's maybe not the sense that you have to outdo or outshine or so forth. We know what has to get done. And we want to make sure that we're giving each other the strength to do it, and the room in which to make things happen.

SEN. PATTY MURRAY (D), CHAIR, APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: It's not like I have to win, you guys have to lose. That's not how any of us approach this. I approach this as, we all have to win.

DELAURO: Right.

MURRAY: And when you approach it with that, then you listen better, you collaborate better, you realize you have to make concessions, and you make them. We can be tough.

DELAURO: Yes.

MURRAY: And we can be nice.

DELAURO: We've all had tough conversations.

COLLINS: And often (INAUDIBLE) together.

DELAURO: We've had tough conversations party to party. We've had tough conversations within our own parties.

MURRAY: Right.

DELAURO: I suspect that, you know, that's what you have to do.

COLLINS: But Patty hit on a very important issue. We want all of us to succeed. Because if we succeed, it's better for the Congress, and it's better for the American people.

REP. KAY GRANGER (R), CHAIR, APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: We're also good listeners. Women are good listeners. And you learn a lot by listening, not just talking. But we do share information than what we're doing, which is very helpful.

ZANONA: No one's under illusion that there's going to be an easy task, especially given the newer (ph) margins in the House. How difficult is this job going to be?

MURRAY: There's going to be hurdles thrown at us every single day. And we all recognize that. There's going to be people who try and keep us from being successful every single day. I have no doubt this is going to be one of the hardest things I've ever done since I've been here. What I feel good about is I have great partners on both sides of the Capitol and on both sides of our caucuses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZANONA: Now, we have seen some barrier breaking on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. So last year, Shalanda Young, she was a former Hill staffer, she became the first black woman to lead the Office of Management and Budget which oversees the execution of the government's budget. So really, women are going to be holding all the purse strings in Washington. Jessica?

DEAN: You know, they share our great interview, great insight into what's going to be quite a process. Melanie Zanona for us, thanks so much. And we'll be right back.

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[11:57:35]

DEAN: Police in Israel say they have sealed off the home of the gunman who carried out a deadly attack near a synagogue in Jerusalem. Israeli officials also say the home will be demolished and the suspects' family is under arrest. Seven people were killed in Friday's attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also vowing to strengthen Jewish settlements in response to the attack.

CNN's Hadas Gold is in Jerusalem. Hadas, more developments since yesterday. What's the latest there tonight?

HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jessica. The Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing a series of steps in response to what turned out to be two shooting attacks, the one on Friday night that killed seven and then one that on Saturday morning that injured two.

The most immediate is an increase in the deployment of security forces. And as you noted, plans to seal and then ultimately demolish the homes of both attackers. This is something that is the Israeli officials often do. They say they call it deterrence methods for terrorists.

And then further on, what Benjamin Netanyahu wants to do is one of the issues. He actually wants to increase the number of gun permits to everyday Israelis. He says that the more civilians who are carrying guns around on the streets, he says the more protected they will be. He wants to issue thousands of more gun licenses, something that's much more difficult to obtain in Israel than it is in the United States.

And then another issue he wants to do that will be much more controversial, he says he wants to revoke the Israeli identity cards and residencies of families, of terrorists and those that support terrorism. Now, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned these actions, saying that collective punishments will only increase regional violence.

And they also note that there have been dozens of seemingly retaliatory attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, saying that they burned dozens of cars and damaged plenty of buildings. Tomorrow, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be here for a pre-planned trip to both Israel and the West Bank who couldn't come at a more important time. The sense of urgency is incredibly high.

I spoke to a former Israeli officials, military officials and others who say that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will really be needed to help ratchet down the pressure and especially try to restore the security coordination between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. The Palestinian Authority cutting off that security coordination on Thursday in the wake of that deadly Israeli military right in Jenin, that Thursday, ended up being the deadliest day for Palestinians in the West Bank in over a year.

So a lot of pressure on these meetings between Blinken and Israeli leaders. He will then also be going to Ramallah to meet with the leadership of the Palestinian Authority. A lot of hopes that this visit will really help to calm the tensions here because the former officials and experts I've been speaking to say that the atmosphere, the temperature on the ground is so high, that they just don't know what will be that spark that will really completely blow up the entire situation. Jessica?

DEAN: All right, Hadas Gold, for us in Jerusalem. Thanks so much.

I'm Jessica Dean. Coming up on CNN, Dana Bash talks to the attorney for Tyre Nichols' family Ben Crump.

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