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U.S. Recovering Debris From Downed Chinese Balloon; Russia's War On Ukraine; Interview With Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA); Prospective Staffer Files Complaint Accusing Rep. George Santos Of Sexual Harassment; Miami PD Defends Black History Month Cruiser Amid Backlash; Pentagon: Another Chinese Spy Balloon Transiting Latin America; President To Give State Of The Union Speech On Tuesday. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired February 05, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:35]

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

A dramatic takedown and now a race to recover pieces of that suspected Chinese spy balloon. The U.S. military shooting it out of the sky on Saturday just off the coast of South Carolina. You watched it with us live.

President Biden on Wednesday ordering the balloon to be destroyed as soon as possible. His top military brass advising the president to wait until it was safely over the ocean.

Efforts are now under way to collect the fallen debris which will be taken to the FBI lab in Quantico for analysis.

The balloon had made its way across the country after first being spotted in Montana on Wednesday. Its appearance over the U.S. and the military operation to take it down complicating the already tenuous relationship between the U.S. and China. Beijing accusing the U.S. Of overreacting and expressing strong dissatisfaction over the balloon's destruction.

We have reporters around the world covering all of the angles.

Let's begin in South Carolina where the balloon was shot down just about 24 hours ago. CNN's Dianne Gallagher is in Surfside Beach. So Dianne, what has the recovery of debris been like?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, we're told by a senior military official that the recovery began shortly after that suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot out of the air here in the Myrtle Beach area, about 6 nautical miles from the shore here.

Now look, we're experiencing rain and cold weather today. It's very difficult to see out there. So you probably can't see any activity going on, but we were told that there were vessels that were from the Navy and the Coast Guard that were already in the area to get into place to create a perimeter.

Now they had anticipated, according to that Defense official, that it was going to be deeper water than where it actually landed. We're talking about 47 feet which means they say that this should be a fairly easy recovery once they're able to sort of get it under way.

You know, they talked about not wanting to shoot this down over land. That was from the Department of the Defense. In part, we see why that may have been.

They told us that there's a roughly seven-mile area that debris from this balloon has scattered across the ocean here off the coast of South Carolina. Now, we're told that when a salvage vessel arrives, they're going to have Navy divers that are going to try to get part of the remnants of that as well as unmanned vessels that can essentially pick the structure up and put it onto that salvage vessel, that recovery vessel where there will also be intelligence officials, those from the FBI as well as military officials who can immediately start looking at what they've been able to get from this. And then take that, as you said, Fred, back to Quantico and continue studying it.

Now look, you may notice I'm the only person standing out on this beach right now in this cold rain. They have asked people who are beach combers, anybody with metal detectors or anything like that, if you see something, city officials have said, there's a phone number to call, not to take it home, not to put it up on eBay or anything like that. That federal officials want anything that they can get from this balloon, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Any and all items. All right. Dianne Gallagher, thanks so much in Surfside Beach, South Carolina.

All right. CNN's national security reporter Zachary Cohen joining me live now for more insight into the behind-the-scenes kind of operations of how this came to be, this shootdown. Zach, walk us through the process.

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Fredricka. We're really learning a lot more about what happened in the days leading up to the dramatic events yesterday, as you said, that we saw play out right here live on CNN.

Now in the days leading up to yesterday's shootdown, we know military officials were tracking this balloon as it crossed into Nero (ph), Alaska and then into the continental United States.

But it wasn't until it was on a direct path into the continent of the United States that senior Biden administration officials and senior military officials became so concerned that they decided they needed to brief the president himself.

Now, that was on Tuesday. And our sources are telling us that Biden's initial reaction was that he was inclined to shoot down the balloon and the military drew up options for him to do so.

[14:04:57] COHEN: Now we know that on -- by Wednesday Biden had given the order for his military to shoot down the balloon.

But military officials recommended that he wait until the balloon had crossed out of the United States, not over land anymore and it was not a danger to citizens and to infrastructure. He said until it crossed into the ocean where it could be shot down safely.

That took a few days to happen. And we saw that playout yesterday as an F-22 Raptor fired a single missile and took the balloon out of the sky.

Now, as Dianne said, the recovery effort is already under way. We know that navy divers are on scene and FBI officials will analyze the debris that can be recovered. But the Biden administration is also going to face a lot of questions about why it took so long to shoot down the balloon and why it was allowed to traverse across several states in the United States and in theory, potentially pick up sensitive data and also send that data potentially back to China where it originated from.

WHITFIELD: All right. Zach Cohen, thanks so much, in Washington.

All right. I want to bring in now CNN White House correspondent Arlette Saenz. So Arlette, the balloon floated over the U.S., you know, the same week Secretary of State Antony Blinken was to make this high-stakes visit to China. So what were the diplomatic factors at play here?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, Secretary of State Antony Blinken ultimately postponed that trip with officials saying it wouldn't be productive to travel to China as this balloon incident unfolded over the country.

And one of the big challenges for the Biden White House going forward would be how to approach this relationship with China. Officials simply aren't buying China's claim this was an errant weather balloon.

One senior administration official I spoke with last night said that they are confident that China was trying to seek and gather information over possible military sites.

Now additionally, they've been pointing to some of the technical components of this balloon. Things like that collection pod and also the solar panels that were located on that metal truss below it. They're arguing that that is not consistent with standard meteorological devices.

Now as President Biden asked his team to formulate plans for shooting down this balloon, he really was taking two things into consideration. One, he wanted to maximize the safety of Americans, but he also was very explicit that he wanted to ensure that they were maximizing their ability to recover that payload, trying to glean as much information about this device as possible. And that is what is under way right now through this recovery operation. Now over the course of the past few days, as this incident unfolded,

President Biden faced quite a bit of criticism, particularly from Republicans who have said that he did not act soon enough and also that this portrays America as weak in its approach towards China.

Take a listen to Senator Marco Rubio, the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): They calculated this carefully with a message embedded in it. And I think that's the part we can't forget here. It's not just a balloon, it's the message they're trying to send the world that "We can do whatever we want, and America can't stop us".

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now officials here at the White House argue that the president was deliberate and acted responsibly in his decision to wait to shoot down that balloon until it was over water. Of course, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are expecting to get briefings very soon.

The so-called Gang of Eight leaders could be briefed as early as Tuesday. And there will be a senate classified briefing on February 15th.

WHITFIELD: All right. Arlette Saenz at the White House, thanks so much.

All right. Let's talk further now. With me is Democratic Congressman John Garamendi of California. He's a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

Congressman, always great to see you.

So we've just learned as Arlette was saying, that top leadership in both parties, both chambers and key intel committee members could be briefed as early as Tuesday. So what kind of information do you believe should be shared with congress about what transpired?

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI (D-CA): Well, Fredricka, first of all, it's great to be with you and thank you for carrying this story -- very, very important story.

That balloon was an observation balloon to try to sort out what the United States is doing. We are very, very sophisticated, and a lot of the things that are not being said on your show or any other show is what exactly the United States is doing while that balloon was traveling across from Alaska all the way to South Carolina.

I can assure you that we were gathering information. We probably gathered information the Chinese did not want us to have -- communications systems, the way in which they're communicating from that balloon, probably the satellites. Also what it was that the Chinese were looking for as they were on

this little journey. And also all of the detail, and we'll go back and we'll take all of that apart. And we'll learn from this.

[14:09:49]

GARAMENDI: I suspect the strong words that you're hearing from the Chinese are not nearly as strong as the Chinese government is giving to whomever was responsible for sending this balloon and allowing the United States to gather so much information about what the Chinese are up to.

WHITFIELD: So do you think that information gathering, the U.S. information gathering of that balloon helps explain the gap between making the observation or at least the public knowing that the observation was being made as far back as Wednesday when it was sighted over Montana throughout its journey to the coast? Do you think that that was part of the strategy?

GARAMENDI: I do. I do. We can surveil surveillance programs, and we do it. We do it all the time in many, many different ways. And so yes, I'm absolutely certain we were surveilling it. I'm absolutely certain that we were listening, observing very carefully how the balloon was communicating back to China, and we probably know as much about -- probably more about this than the Chinese do.

And they're not happy. We have in our hands or will shortly have in our hands whatever information they have. We'll be able to determine how sophisticated it is or not. And it is an intelligence trophy that we will be using.

Keep in mind this is not the first time this has happened. During the Trump administration at least three times these observation balloons transited the U.S. territory, probably Alaska as well as the continental.

We don't know. We were never told about that. There were no intelligence briefings during the Trump period about those three times in which this happened before.

WHITFIELD: So then I wonder, when you say you believe there were some important intel being grabbed, that's still being met by a lot of criticism from Republicans who are looking at this as, you know, the president just waited too long, the White House waited too long.

Now we know from the president that he was advised to wait until it was over water. There are Republicans who say this exhibited a certain level of weakness, the amount of delay that this balloon was allowed to, you know, traverse a good part of the United States before being taken down.

What is your response to that or do you believe there will be I guess a different level of acknowledgment after the briefings.

GARAMENDI: Well, let's be clear. The Republicans are trying to grab at every straw they can to somehow diminish the fact that this president has been extraordinarily successful.

Just look at the economy of the United States. Last six months, inflation going down. 12 million jobs being created in two years, the greatest number of jobs created during any four-year period by any previous president.

All of these things -- the unemployment rate, lowest since 1969. And they're looking for anything they can to try to diminish the extraordinary record of the Biden administration with regard to China.

The Biden administration through the military, through the Armed Services Committee in the House in which I'm a senior member, as well as the Senate, we have been ramping up every part of the American security program dealing with China.

And the Republicans have been part of that effort to deal with that and now they're basically floundering around trying to find some way to harm this presidency and this administration which has done a terrific job.

With regard to the balloon, if you want to talk about balloons, let's talk about the three times the balloons transited the United States during the Trump period where nobody that I'm aware of was ever told it happened. And certainly Trump did absolutely nothing either with the military or with the public.

So let's get on with this. We've got a lot of very good things going on. We have a very strong military. At some point we'll learn that we -- we'll learn more about this balloon and when we first observed its arrival into the United States territories.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let me pivot now if I might to Ukraine. You know, a new military aid package of more than $2 billion will be on its way including long-range missiles, but no fighter jets as Ukraine has continuously requested.

Is this enough to allow Ukraine to try and get the upper hand or best defend itself?

[14:14:55]

GARAMENDI: Well, the issue of fighter jets has been ongoing for really since this war started. There's some very good reasons that the United States did not previously send fighter jets to Ukraine. First of all, the pilots have to be trained, all of the ground, all the maintenance programs, all of the connections, the intelligence connections, the communications connections need to be set up.

The American systems are far different than the systems that Ukraine had in place prior to the war. They basically were using Russian jets and they're certainly capable of flying those and doing a good job with them.

Going forward, if you bring these new F-16 platforms into this war, it's going to require a very, very significant support structure as well as the equipment, the weapons and the ongoing maintenance. Does Ukraine need them?

Well, at the same time Russia has a very sophisticated air defense system deployed on the outskirts or on the border between Ukraine and Russia. Those S-400s are very sophisticated, have a very, very long range, can hit into the central part of Ukraine.

It's not at all clear that it is in the interest of Ukraine to have our jets so that they'll be shot down as they try to defend the eastern part of Ukraine, the Donbas region, which is certainly subject to those S-400 air defense system that are just in that neighborhood.

So we'll see what happens here. The rest of this package is extremely important, and we will in very short order, together with our European allies, sending armored vehicles of all kinds as well as the heavy tanks.

We've committed to send at least 50 Abrams tanks. Once again, they're completely different than the European model, the Leopard tank which is being talked about, as well as the French and the British tanks. Those are diesel engines.

The Abrams is a completely different engine system, runs on a turbine, uses jet fuel and not diesel fuel. And the maintenance of those tanks is extensive and on going. And so these tanks will all arrive, and they will arrive in time for the spring. That is the European tanks will arrive in time for the spring offense or defense as the case might be.

The long-range missiles, those will be there in short order. And keep in mind that all of this equipment is flowing into Ukraine on a steady basis. And the Ukrainians are trained on how to repair and maintain all of this equipment including the new equipment that's coming in.

Also the Ukrainians are extraordinary in being able to update and adapt.

WHITFIELD: We'll leave it there for now. Congressman John Garamendi, thank you so much.

GARAMENDI: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, another week, another controversy for Republican Senator (ph) George Santos. This time he's being accused of sexual harassment. Details next.

[14:18:19]

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WHITFIELD: The controversies just keep mounting for embattled Congressman George Santos. The New York Republican is now being accused of sexual harassment.

A former prospective staffer for Santos says he filed a police report and House Ethics complaint alleging the freshman congressman made an unwanted sexual advancement toward him during a private encounter in his office.

Well, this comes as Santos is under scrutiny for false and fabricated claims about his background and his campaign financing.

CNN's Eva McKend joining us with more on this. so Eva, what more are you learning about this new allegation?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: Fred, Derrick Myers (ph) says on January 25th, that's a little less than two weeks ago, Congressman Santos touched his groin before allegedly inviting him to his home. That's according to a copy of the House Ethics complaint provided to us her at CNN.

According to Myers Santos also asked him if he had a profile on the dating app Grinder. This former prospective staffer says that exchange occurred in the office on Capitol Hill and told CNN it may have been witnessed by another staff member.

Now, I'm going to read a little bit from this here -- from this complaint that he submitted to the House Ethics Committees. He says "I kindly declined the karaoke invitation by telling the congressman I was not a fan of bars and clubs and that I was not a good singer. The congressman proceeded to take his hand and move it down my leg and into my inner thigh and proceeded to touch my groin."

Now Myers says he declined the alleged advance and a few days later Santos began to question him over his past work as a reporter. Myers then says his job offer was withdrawn.

Now Santos for his part, a spokesperson and an attorney for the congressman not responding to our request for comment. Myers making it very plain to us though that there is no corroborating evidence here and even telling us it's simply going to be "his word against mine".

Though Myers did file a police report, and Fred, as many of our viewers know, it's illegal to file a false police report. Myers also alleges in ethics complaint that he began work for Santos before he formally registered as a staff member and was designated instead as a volunteer at the time of this episode.

He's actually asking the ethics panel to investigate that arrangement and questions if this was even ok to do under House rules.

[14:24:56]

MCKEND: But Fred, this is just another chapter in this long saga, this list of political and legal problems facing the Congressman, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Eva McKend, thanks for bringing that to us. Appreciate that.

All right. The Miami Police Department is defending its decision to sponsor a cruiser meant to celebrate Black History Month. The newly designed patrol car is wrapped in the colors red, yellow and green and features images of raised fists. The department debuted it last week, just days after authorities

released video showing the deadly encounter between Tyre Nichols and five ex-Memphis police officers.

Joining us right now CNN's Nadia Romero. Nadia, I mean critics are saying a host of things about this vehicle, this squad car, the city mayor's involvement.

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Correct. Right.

WHITFIELD: What's the reply and where did this come from? Where did this idea even come from?

ROMERO: Let's start there. How did we get here? Let's start there. Ok. So this actually came from the Miami Community Police Benevolent Association. That's important because it is the second oldest black police officers organization in the country. and so this wasn't paid for by taxpayer dollars, but instead by $2,500 from this black police officers' group that thought this would be a great way to honor black history and to honor the black community within Miami, the city of Miami and also honor the long history of black officers within that police department.

So that's why so many of them were surprised by this backlash. They say they thought this would be a great idea, that many of the people who were involved in crafting this, designing this, were actually black themselves.

And so they were surprised once this video hit social media, blew up and got criticism far and wide.

Take a listen to Lieutenant Carr as he explains this controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. RAMON CARR, MIAMI COMMUNITY POLICE BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION: This was something for us to honor everyone. This had nothing to do, you know with being disrespectful, being disgraceful. This is something like a source of pride for us, and it still is.

And so we know people was going to have their opinion about whatever but this is something that ourself and the chief was able to work on and were gracious enough that he was able to allow us to do this, because it is a collaboration between us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: So here is why people are calling this performative and tone deaf. Let's talk about real issues that black people are dealing with in the city of Miami and the county as a whole. The ACLU of Florida did a whole survey a whole research and found out that black non- Hispanics in Miami-Dade County make up about 17 percent of the county, but disproportionately are about 40 percent of the arrests in that county.

So the criticism is, if you really wanted to connect with black community members, listen to their cries, their demands, especially since the death of George Floyd.

We also know that back in 2020 and in 2019 that that same black police officers group filed a complaint against the police department alleging racism within its ranks.

So unfortunately, Fred, this isn't the only police department that's dealing with this controversy. We're also seeing the same thing in Columbus, Ohio unveiling a wrapped car as well to signify their support for black history. But local activists, community groups are saying there's real things you can do, and this isn't one of them.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nadia Romero, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

All right. Still ahead, a second suspected Chinese spy balloon is spotted over Colombia and Costa Rica. What we know about that one straight ahead.

[14:28:38]

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[14:33:09]

WHITFIELD: Officials in Costa Rica and Colombia have now confirmed sightings of a large white balloon similar to the one the U.S. military shot down off the coast of South Carolina yesterday. The Pentagon has confirmed a second suspected Chinese spy balloon is currently traveling across Latin America, but its exact location right now is unclear.

Journalist Stefano Pozzebon is live for us from Bogota, Colombia.

So, Stefano, what -- what are you learning about this balloon?

STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Yes, quite a few developments in the last few hours because there are some unconfirmed sightings over Venezuela. We know that the balloons were being seen on the Costa Rican skies on Thursday. And then, in Colombia, where I am, between Friday and Saturday, the Colombian air force released a statement on Saturday evening saying they had monitored the balloon and according to their assessment, that air vehicle did not constitute any threat to the security of Colombia. So they just saw the balloon leave the Colombian airspace.

The balloon was cruising eastward at about 30 miles per hour yesterday in the afternoon. And then very likely, it would continue its march over the Venezuelan skies or perhaps over the Caribbean Sea. And today, a few people post, you know, social media sightings that the balloon is indeed perhaps on the Venezuelan skies.

But just to give you an idea of the context here, the Venezuelan foreign ministry, just a couple of hours ago, issued a statement protesting and lamenting the aggression, as they call it, from the United States in downing the balloon over South Carolina yesterday.

[14:35:03] So, you can see that Venezuela is a staunch ally of China in a land, Latin America, that is fiercely contested between Washington and Beijing. Over the last few years, investments from China through the Silk Road Initiative here in Latin America has increased a lot.

China is the biggest commercial partners of some giant Latin American economies, Argentina and Brazil. That means that Latin America right now is in the middle of this contest between these two superpowers. It used to be the Washington backyard, that it clearly is no longer like that -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Stefano Pozzebon, thank you so much.

All right. In just a couple days, President Joe Biden will deliver his second State of the Union Address to Congress. What message should we expect? We'll discuss right after this.

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[14:40:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. This week, President Biden will deliver the annual State of the Union Address to a divided Congress. It's the president's chance to highlight key points and items from his agenda.

And, of course, right now, Biden is rising high on this stronger-than- expected job growth last month in numbers just revealed. Now, he's also receiving both praise and scrutiny over his ordered shoot down of the Chinese suspected spy balloon.

For more now, I'm joined by CNN political analyst Julian Zelizer, and he's also a historian and professor at Princeton University, as well as co-author of the new book "Myth America."

Professor, good to see you.

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Thanks. Nice to be with you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you.

So, you know, a president will traditionally say the State of the Union is dot, dot, dot, you know, fill-in-the-blank. What's your prediction of what this president might say?

ZELIZER: Well, I think he'll say the State of the Union is good. He will point to the recovering economy, meaning job growth and inflation seems to be calming. He'll talk about accomplishment.

I do think he wants to talk about pretty extensive legislative record to counteract the idea that somehow he's a failed president or a struggling president.

And, finally, a little aspiration is always part of these speeches, kind of giving a hint even with divided government of where he wants to take things which is both about next year but also about setting up an argument for the 2024 election. WHITFIELD: And, you know, given the developments this weekend, how do

you think his message is being rewritten from, you know, Friday's job report? I mean, lots has happened since Friday.

ZELIZER: Yeah. I mean, foreign policy has a way of creeping up on presidents, and the State of the Union addresses. They're obviously, I would assume, going to address what happened this weekend with the balloon. There was going to be I'm sure a foreign policy section that revolved primarily around Ukraine, but I think he'll talk about his strategy with China and how he plans to handle this tension in the coming years without allowing it to get too bad which is his strategy overseas in general.

WHITFIELD: And you mentioned, you know, Biden will be addressing a divided Congress on Tuesday. He will still try to find moments of aspiration. But, you know, he's been in this kind of arena before, over 30 years on Capitol Hill as a senator and, of course, as a vice president. So, he knows how to navigate, but the divisions have reached an all new kind of low.

So I'm wondering what you think he can either say or do that will demonstrate that he's not ignoring that, he is looking for ways in which to navigate and does see that it will not disrupt his agenda.

ZELIZER: It's a balancing act. In 2011 after Republicans took control of the House, President Obama did talk more about ways in which he was going to try to cut spending and negotiate over certain policies without giving up his broader agenda.

So I assume you'll hear a little bit of this from President Biden, especially as the negotiations related to the debt ceiling are taking place. But he's not going to go too far. Think of the midterms, he really made a central theme of this campaign, a party that governs versus a party that is chaotic and unstable. I don't think he's going to give away that theme too much even in the State of the Union. So I think you'll hear a little of both.

WHITFIELD: OK. National security, you know, and on the world stage always, you know, find their ways into State of the Union, but, you know, security on a domestic level is something very different and unique. And, you know, this president, vice president, all members of Congress at the Capitol on Tuesday, U.S. Capitol police are ramping up security as would always happen during a State of the Union.

And things are different these days, particularly after January 6th. Non-scalable fences are being added. Democrats say they are concerned for Biden's safety and the safety of others attending after magnetometers were removed from the entrance to the House chamber. The event is a national security special event, which puts secret service in charge of the planning and unlocks significant resources.

So, members of Congress and others are already prohibited from carrying firearms onto the House floor where the address is given. Is that enough? Is there something different about the tone that you want to address? ZELIZER: Well, I mean, it's a sad state of affairs if this is not just

a State of the Union, a message to Congress, but it's being done in almost a fortress.

[14:45:08]

And I don't think Biden wants to ignore that. It is still part of our political climate. It has been since January 6th. And, obviously, all precautions are taken so safety is achieved. But I don't think he should not remind Americans of the kind of normalcy and stability he has been trying to see as commander-in-chief which includes the safety of all members of Congress, all politicians who should not have fear for their lives and should be able to focus on policy and even partisan politics.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll leave it there for now. Julian Zelizer, always great having you. Thank you so much.

ZELIZER: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: And we'll be right back.

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[14:50:16]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. California is looking to take a dramatic new approach to the water wars in the southwest. Sources tell CNN, state water district officials have suggested shutting out cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas to keep the river system from drying up.

Let's bring in CNN's Camila Bernal, who is live for us in Los Angeles County.

So, Camila, walk us through this proposal and how it would impact millions of people.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred. So, about 40 million people depend on Washington from the Colorado River. About half of that, 20 million more or less are here in southern California. So, it would have huge implications here. But the reality is, these negotiations could impact people all across the country. And while everyone agrees that we need to cut down on water usage, no one agrees on the how.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARAH LARIVIERE, BURBANK RESIDENT: This is the kind of mallow plant here. This is called cowboy's cologne.

BERNAL (voice-over): By planting mostly native and drought resident plants, Sarah Lariviere's garden saves her time and money, but most importantly, water.

LARIVIERE: In the winter, I don't really have to water. Maybe every three or four weeks, maybe not at all. But in the summer, maybe every seven to ten days.

BERNAL: This kind of water conservation might eventually be mandated in states that depend on the Colorado River's vanishing water.

JONATHAN ZASLOFF, UCLA LAW PROFESSOR: There's not enough water. Everybody wants more of it.

BERNAL: These seven states have not been able to agree on how to achieve unprecedented water cuts. Months of bitter negotiations have collapsed and it's now California versus everyone else.

ZASLOFF: California's side is that they essentially made a deal back in the late '60s, or early '70s, if things are going to be running dry, then they get guaranteed a certain amount. The other states are saying, well, yes, but we've got this real crisis. So, let's do it in a different way.

BERNAL: UCLA professor Jonathan Zasloff says the law and the size of the state give California an advantage.

ADEL HAGEKHALIL, GENERAL MANAGER, METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT: What we're saying is let's do it slowly and gradually, let's talk about how we do it, because we need to collaborate. We have rights. Water rights are at the table.

BERNAL: But the six other states are showing their strength through the coalition.

THOMAS BUSCHATZKE, DIRECTOR, ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES: I think all six of us will continue to collectively band together but also be willing to compromise more towards the middle.

BERNAL: All seven states are now waiting for the federal government to weigh in.

ZASLOFF: What could happen eventually, I think, is that the secretary of the interior is going to say, I'm going to make my decision in three months and I'm not going to tell you what I'm going to do. And then with that kind of incredible uncertainty that might bring them to the table.

BERNAL: Another option is an expensive, lengthy and high-stakes legal battle at the Supreme Court.

ZASLOFF: It's much better to get a political decision than to get a litigation decision with a Supreme Court that they've learned is not particularly reliable on getting the facts right or getting the equities right.

BERNAL: So they continue to negotiate and encourage the more than 40 million people in the West that depend on this water to conserve in any way possible, because more severe consequences could become a reality.

ZASLOFF: We can't think of water just as water, as just something that you drink. It's going to be everything that you do, not only in terms of landscaping, but in terms of your food, in terms of your energy.

BERNAL: Experts believe the seven states probably won't agree on how to cut about 30 percent of the river water allocation.

LARIVIERE: So, when we moved in, this was all grass.

BERNAL: But individuals can do their part.

LARIVIERE: I think there's more all of us can do and I do think it's our responsibility.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERNAL (on camera): And solving this issue is going to take time, whether you do that through a negotiations or litigation and there are experts that I talk to who told me, look, we don't have time. The climate is changing and it makes it even more difficult because you just don't know how much water you're going to have next year or the year after that. It is impossible to predict -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Camila Bernal, appreciate it.

In a few short years, two brothers from Florida fueled the opioid epidemic legally. See the true story that "Variety" calls a gripping documentary portrait. The new CNN film "American Pain" premieres tonight at 9:00 p.m.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The George brothers did not start the opioid crisis, but they sure as hell poured gasoline on the fire.

[14:55:08]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's talk about growing up in Florida.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anything to do with money perks Chris and Jeff's interest. The big money was out of the pain clinics.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This window dressing that allowed them to deal drugs legally.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a line all the way down the street.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was like a frat house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were the Disneyland of pain clinics.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They thought they were smarter than everybody else and they could get away with it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I felt this whole thing spiraling out of control.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Florida was the never-ending pill bottle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of these patients drive from out of state. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People were dying because of them. They didn't

care.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was just bat (EXPLETIVE DELETED) crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I put on the wire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These people buried themselves.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have the signal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Baby I'm (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only in America.

ANNOUNCER: "American Pain", tonight at 9:00 on CNN.

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