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Jack Teixeira, 21-Year-Old Air National Guardsman, Arrested And Charged With Leaking Top-Secret Pentagon Documents; Military Factions In Sudan Erupt In Fighting Around Capital Of Khartoum; Police In Farmington, New Mexico, Shoot And Kill Man After Going To Wrong Address When Responding To Domestic Violence Incident; City Of Minneapolis Paying Out Millions Of Dollars In Lawsuits Related To Actions Of Former Police Officer Derek Chauvin; Federal Prosecutors Looking Into How Lawyers For Witnesses Were Paid In Investigations Surrounding Former President Trump; Mexican Navy And U.S. Coast Guard Searching For Three Missing Americans After Departure From Mazatlan; Falling Water Levels Of Colorado River Threaten States In Southwestern U.S.; United Kingdom Prepares For Coronation Ceremony For King Charles III. Aired 2-3p ET.

Aired April 15, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

EVA LONGORIA, ACTRESS: I grew up with ranch style frijoles. Every day of my life I think I ate these.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are going to spend maybe three hours boiling the frijoles, and these ones are all ready.

LONGORIA: So you just use that, but you add other stuff to it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes. With chorizo, bacon, onion, chili moron, bell pepper and some spicy jalapeno. In Monterey we make carne asada because, well, always.

LONGORIA: Always.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If there is a birthday for someone, there's carne asada. There is a funeral for someone, carne asada. Football, soccer championship, carne asada.

LONGORIA: And Eva is here, so carne asada. Es un evento.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Don't miss a new episode of "Eva Longoria, Searching for Mexico," tomorrow, 9:00 p.m. right here in on CNN.

The Newsroom continues right now.

All right, hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. And we begin this hour with new details in the case against a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman. He is accused of leaking top-secret Pentagon information. Jack Teixeira was charged under the Espionage Act during his court appearance yesterday, and his arrest follows an intense weeklong search for the source of the online leak of secret documents. He is accused of posting documents that exposed sensitive intelligence the U.S. has on both allies and adversaries.

CNN senior national security correspondent Alex Marquardt joining us live from Washington with more on this. Alex, what more we learning about the suspect and the road ahead for him?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, Teixeira may have known that his world may soon -- would have soon been coming crashing down around him because it was revealed in the affidavit just yesterday that he actually searched for the word "leak" on his classified government computer, perhaps looking for what investigators may be finding on their hunt for this leaker. Now, sure enough, they did find him after just a week, arresting him in his parents' home just south of Boston.

But what we know about the 21-year-old now is that he signed up for the Air National Guard back in 2019. Two years later in 2021, he got his top-secret security clearance. And the reason that he was able to get that clearance and needed that clearance and then able to access all this information is because he works for a military outfit out of Massachusetts called the 102nd Intelligence Operations Wing. They prepare classified intelligence products for senior military commanders all around the world.

And Teixeira himself was what is known as a cyber defense operations journeyman. That is essentially military speak for an I.T. specialist. On the on the networks that that he was working on, because there was such classified information, you had to be a specialized I.T. person, essentially. He needed to have those clearances in order to be able to do his job.

But Fredricka, now there will be much bigger questions about who can access what kind of information, because this really does highlight the fact that so many thousands of people, including very junior people in the U.S. military, have access to extremely sensitive information.

WHITFIELD: And then, according to "The Washington Post," Alex, those documents also included an assessment of Taiwan's air defense. To what degree?

MARQUARDT: Yes, this is one of the many revelations that is coming out of what we believe to be hundreds of these classified documents that were posted online for months by Teixeira. This reveals, and this was reported by "The Washington Post," U.S. assessments about a potential invasion of Taiwan by China and the fact that China, the U.S. believes, would be able to quickly establish air superiority in an invasion of Taiwan, which is very important, would be very important for China.

They go on to say in these assessments that Taiwanese officials doubt that Taiwanese air defenses can accurately detect missile launches, and that Taiwan, that barely half, barely more than half of Taiwan's aircraft are fully mission capable, and that moving Taiwanese jets to shelters would take at least a week.

So Fred, this kind of revelation shows U.S. thinking into China, reveals the honest us intelligence assessments of Taiwan and China, and it also exposes U.S. intelligence vulnerabilities. These assessments say that the U.S. is having a hard time gathering intelligence on China because, for example, China is using civilian boats in some of their military activities. And so, therefore, the U.S. intelligence is having a hard time gathering information on China. That is a vulnerability, Fred, that the U.S. certainly would not want China to have. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, fascinating. Alex Marquardt, thank you so much. Of course, this is now information the U.S. military intelligence didn't want anybody to have. All right, thank you.

[14:05:00]

All right, world leaders are calling for peace amid fierce fighting in Sudan. Moments ago, a Sudanese army chief denied claims by a paramilitary group that it has control of the presidential palace in the capital of Khartoum. Tensions between those forces and the army erupted into violence today.

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(GUNFIRE)

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WHITFIELD: Heavy gunfire and fighting has been reported around the palace and army headquarters. The U.S. ambassador to Sudan said he is sheltering in place amid the clashes. The military has been in charge of Sudan since a coup in 2021 and the prior ousting of the former long term president.

For the very latest now, let's bring in CNN's Larry Madowo. So Larry, what more do we know about what's happening right now?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We know there has been a terrific day of violence across especially Khartoum, the capital, but in other parts of Sudan as well, and we are hearing of the first reports of casualties. Two people killed at Khartoum airport, another person, a different part of the country.

And now we're not just seeing the physical violence in the streets, the fighting, the heavy artillery, the fighter jets patrolling the air, but also war of words between the two men who are at the top of this power struggle.

Sudan is run by a sovereign council, which is a combination of military and civilian leadership. The Rapid Support Forces is this paramilitary, powerful group that is parallel to the official Sudanese armed forces. And the two military groups kind of came together back in October, 2021, to overthrow civilian rule, and they have been in this uneasy relationship since then. This month, they should have handed over power back to civilians. But

these tensions have been building over the past couple of weeks, and they all came to a head this week. And now this unprecedented situation that people worry could escalate into full blown civil war, which Sudan has seen before.

And now we've seen a statement, an interview from General Hemeti. He is the leader of the Rapid Support Forces that are supported by Russia, and he's called his opposite, his rival, General Burhan, a criminal, a liar, a thief, and a corrupt man.

So this is not going to ease any tensions. If anything, it's going to escalate these tensions in what is already a tense situation. And the U.S., U.K., the United Nations, the African Union are all calling on these leaders to cease fire. They are calling on them to go back to the negotiating table and work out that timetable for a return to civilian transition that's been delayed for so long. It is the wish of many Sudanese who have gone through a lot of instability, but also in recent years, a lot of economic hardship because of these difficulties in the country, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Larry Madowo, thank you so much.

Back in this country, newly released video from an officer involved shooting in New Mexico shows three police officers firing their weapons at an innocent man outside his home. Farmington police were dispatched to respond to a domestic violence incident, but they went to the wrong address. Fifty-two-year-old Robert Dotson answered the door and was armed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, heads up.

(GUNFIRE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots fired, shots fired.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Dotson died at the scene. Joining me right now is CNN national correspondent Camila Bernal to walk us through the newly released bodycam video. And I mentioned outside his home, but when you look at that video, it looks like he was inside his doorway.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he was opening the door, and the officers had the wrong house number, Fred. That's why this is such a difficult story. It happened at around 11:30 at night. This happened on April 6th, and it was because there was a domestic violence incident that was reported in another house.

So officers go to Robert Dotson's house. They knock on the door. Then they kind of move further back because he is not answering the door. And at some point, he decides that he is going to come out of his house, but he does have a gun in hand. In these videos that police recently released, one of the officers is heard saying that he believes he heard a gun being racked, and then that is why they started shooting. Again, we have to slow down the video, essentially, to see exactly what happened here. So here is what the police chief said about what this looks like when you slow down the video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF STEVE HEBBE, FARMINGTON POLICE: When you show the slowed down version, you see him opening the door with his left hand, in his right hand is the gun. And as he pushes the door open, then he comes together, and both hands appeared to grip the weapon and they're pointed at one of the officers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: Now after all of that happened, his wife also came downstairs. She also had a gun and fired at the officers. It's unclear exactly which one of the officers, there was three of them, so we don't know exactly how many shots were fired or which officers specifically fired. This is all under investigation. All three officers are placed on administrative leave at the moment. So it is the state police now handling all of this.

[14:10:03]

I also listened to the 911 call. It was extremely heartbreaking because Dotson's teenage girl just is talking to dispatch and telling that dispatcher that she doesn't know what's going on. She believes her father is injured, that her mom instructed her to call 911. She's with her brother and the dog. It is just heartbreaking, Fred. And the chief of police saying that there's not a lot you can do here because this was simply a mistake. They went to the wrong house, and they're admitting it, and now there's nothing you can do about it, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Camila Bernal, thank you so much.

All right, still ahead, the city of Minneapolis is paying out millions of dollars in lawsuits related to the actions of the former police officer who murdered George Floyd. Newly released video showing Derek Chauvin restraining two other people on the ground with his knee to their necks years before Floyd was killed. We'll have details.

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[14:15:07]

WHITFIELD: New body camera footage shows former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin using excessive force on two separate incidents about three years before he murdered George Floyd. The video was released by the plaintiffs in two civil lawsuits against Chauvin and the city of Minneapolis. The city now reaching settlements in those cases totaling more than $8.8 million.

CNN national correspondent Natasha Chen has more detail, and we have to warn you, the body camera footage you're about to see is very hard to watch.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Minneapolis City Council on Thursday unanimously voted to approve these two settlements for John Pope and Zoya Code, awarding Pope $7.5 million and Code $1.375 million.

These two incidents happened both in 2017, and the two people through their attorney decided to release the body camera footage. We're going to show you some of it and have to warn you that it's very difficult to watch. We're going to start with the video of what happened with John Pope.

He was 14 years old at the time, and you're going to see police arrive on scene for domestic disturbance call. Here's what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get on your stomach now. What did I say?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do not kill my son, please. Please, do not kill my son.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: And now you're seeing Officer Chauvin with his knee on Pope's neck there. According to the lawsuit, this lasted for more than 15 minutes. Very difficult to watch. And you definitely saw in that earlier clip Chauvin hitting Pope with a middle flashlight. Attorneys in these cases say that this incidents with Pope and Code are strikingly similar, and that Chauvin used his, quote, "signature pose" with the knee on the neck.

We're going to show you next the clip from what happened in Code's incident where, again, it is very disturbing to watch. You're going to see Chauvin dragging Code out of her house during a domestic disturbance call. Here's that video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lift me up. You weak? You strong enough? Ow. That's how you're going to slam me on the ground. That's how you're going to do me, just like all the other black people, huh? Just watch the rest, huh?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: Chauvin is currently serving a sentence of more than 20 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd. That happened in 2020, and of course, these two incidents were three years earlier. The Minneapolis mayor apologized on Thursday and said if the supervisors had done their job and fired Chauvin in 2017, George Floyd would not have been murdered.

WHITFIELD: Natasha Chen, thanks so much.

All right, coming up, new details about the investigation into Donald Trump's handling of classified documents. Federal prosecutors are looking into how his lawyers were paid, and if those lawyers did anything to influence witnesses. That's next.

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[14:22:15]

WHITFIELD: We're learning new details in the special counsel's investigation into former President Trump's handling of classified documents. Multiple sources tell CNN that federal prosecutors are pressing witnesses for details about how Trump has paid for their lawyers. Investigators want to know whether any of those lawyers have attempted to influence witness testimony in an attempt to protect Trump.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz has the story.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: We're learning of a new facet in the ongoing probe into Mar-a-Lago documents held by Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago after the presidency, and also obstruction. We know that the special counsel's office, Jack Smith, his team has been looking very closely at whether there's been obstruction in that case, and new reporting from Sara Murray and I shows that investigators are also asking about how witnesses have been handled as they are becoming people who saw things and are testifying to a grand jury in that case.

Now, the question that the investigators are asking is about the role that lawyers representing these witnesses are playing. Do the witnesses know how those lawyers are being paid? Do they know that Donald Trump himself is being paying -- is paying for those lawyers to represent those people? And are they being coached or persuaded in some way to answer questions and participate in the investigation in a way that could benefit or protect Donald Trump?

Those are all questions that are being asked. We don't know what the findings are yet, but this is another piece of this obstruction investigation around the classified documents that is ongoing right now. We also know that investigators are interested in the lawyers for witnesses in the January 6th probe who are being paid by Donald Trump. And there's more than $16 million that Trump and his PAC Save America have put towards lawyers that defend people around him as well as him himself in these investigations.

And so all of that is being looked at in the probe, and there's clearly some piece of following the money to the payments of lawyers that is being done right now by the special counsel's office in this probe. Of course, Donald Trump and his team have been trying to paint an us-versus-them culture of Mar-a-Lago and the people there and trying to say that his aides are being pressured by Special Counsel Smith, especially in this documents in boxes inquiry. But at this time, no one has been charged, and it's unclear exactly where this fits in the investigation.

WHITFIELD: Katelyn Polantz, thanks so much. With me now to talk about all this, Michael Zeldin. He is a former federal prosecutor and a former special assistant to Robert Mueller at the Department of Justice. Always great to see you, Michael.

[14:25:02]

MICHAEL ZELDIN, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Hi Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, so that the special counsel prosecutors would be asking witnesses for details about how Trump paid for their lawyers, are we talking about the beginning stages of an investigating of witness tampering, potentially?

ZELDIN: Well, it could be, but we have to back up one second to say in investigations of corporations or other organizations, it is not unusual for the corporations to pay for the lawyers of individuals. You'll see it where the CEO or the CFO of an organization is being paid by the corporation for his or her attorney. But his or her attorney individually must represent the individual. I should say it differently -- that individual's loyalty is to the individual solely, not to the corporation.

And so in this case, if the prosecutors have a belief that these lawyers are not representing their individual clients, but rather trying to shape their testimony to favor the Trump Organization or Trump individually, that could be a problem.

WHITFIELD: OK, and would it be problematic if paying for these -- paying for the representation would come through Trump's Save America PAC?

ZELDIN: If the payments are just for lawyers to represent their clients individually and wholeheartedly, then I don't think it's a problem that the PAC is paying for it. If, however, the pack and the lawyers, or the lawyers and Trump are engaged in some effort to shape the testimony of those witnesses, then, to your earlier question, it can be witness tampering, it can be obstruction. But I think that the prosecutors must have a predicate of some sort before they start delving into that area of inquiry.

WHITFIELD: OK, now let's shift gears slightly, because you know a lot of attention now on this Air National Guardsmen, and he is charged with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents. And he's facing prison time.

And now a correlation, if you could. With the prosecutor Jack Smith now handling the former president's Mar-a-Lago documents case, could Trump be looking at similar charges, because he allegedly took classified documents, and a Trump aide somehow had classified information in a laptop? Is there any similarity of these cases in terms of the way in which classified information was taken in an unauthorized manner and potentially conveyed to a lot of eyes?

ZELDIN: Yes. So Biden, Pence, Trump all appeared to have taken documents that they shouldn't have taken, classified documents, and that is prima facie mishandling of those documents. Those cases tend not to really be prosecuted unless it was purposeful.

But what makes these cases different is if there is a sharing of that information with a third party. So in the case of the intelligence leak that you just referenced, there was social media sharing of it, and that's what's going to get him in the deepest trouble. In the Trump case, yes, the information, if it was shared, there's reporting that it was on the laptop of a third party, that there may have been showing of a map or other information to third parties.

That sharing of classified documents really takes it to a very different level than the simple mishandling that we see in the Biden and Pence and first step of the Trump cases. So there's stuff to be looked at here that analogizes, but it's the sharing that I think gets people in the biggest trouble.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll leave it there for now. Michael Zeldin.

ZELDIN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, the U.S. treasury secretary says the economy can still dodge a recession despite the recent banking crisis. Two U.S. banks collapsed last month, raising fears that they could push the economy over the edge. It happened as the Fed started to dial down its interest rate hikes designed to tame inflation.

But earlier this week, the wholesale inflation dropped to its lowest level in more than two years. In an exclusive interview, Secretary Yellen told CNN's Fareed Zakaria she is cautiously optimistic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:30:00]

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": You think you can achieve what people are calling this immaculate slow down, where you slow down the economy enough to cut inflation but not so much that it throws a lot of people out of work?

JANET YELLEN, TREASURY SECRETARY: That's right.

ZAKARIA: Mostly economists have often viewed this as a tradeoff.

YELLEN: I think that what people call a soft landing is possible. So I do think there's a path to bring down inflation while maintaining what I think all of us would regard as a strong labor market. And the evidence that I'm seeing suggests we are on that path.

Now, are there risks? Of course. I don't want to downplay the possibility that there are risks here. But I do think that's possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: U.S. economic data released last week showed continued signs of cooling in areas such as inflation and consumer spending. And you can catch Fareed's whole interview with the secretary tomorrow morning on "Fareed Zakaria GPS" at 10:00 a.m. right here on CNN. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:35:13]

WHITFIELD: Right now, The Mexican Navy and U.S. Coast Guard are searching for three Americans who have not been heard from since April 4th. The three, who were all said to be experienced sailors, were last heard from near Mazatlan, Mexico. Their families issued a statement saying they had planned to head to Cabo San Lucas for a stop but never arrived.

With me now is Commander Greg Higgins with the U.S. Coast Guard. Commander, glad you could be with us with whatever update you can give us. Walk us through the timeline.

COMMANDER GREG HIGGINS, SEARCH MISSION COORDINATOR, U.S. COAST GUARD: Good day, thank you. Yes, what we know is the sailing vessel ocean bound, left Mazatlan, Mexico, on the fourth as you said. We know that they checked out of their marina on the second, remained in that area, and we have cellphone information that they were in that area, and then departed on the fourth, confirmed by both cellphone and Facebook posts, with the intention of arriving in Cabo San Lucas on approximately the 6th of April.

They have not -- go ahead.

WHITFIELD: I was going to say, and what about communication as they were embarking on that journey to Cabo?

HIGGINS: We don't have any communication with them, nor do we have any reports that anyone sighted the vessel after that point in time on the fourth.

WHITFIELD: How large is the vessel.

HIGGINS: They have a VHF radio, but that's it. It's a 45-foot sailboat.

WHITFIELD: OK. And has there been any corroboration of anyone seeing them at any juncture of the journey?

HIGGINS: There is not, and so that's what we're hoping to find that info and, in that capacity, to assist the Mexican Navy who has the lead for the search efforts.

WHITFIELD: So can you reveal all of the tools at hand during the search efforts? I mean, who's part of this search?

HIGGINS: I can't. I know the Mexican Navy now based in La Paz, Mexico, has the lead for search efforts, so there are numerous Mexican naval search and rescue assets that are working the case. For our portion to support the excellent partnership that we have with Mexico and the Mexican Navy, we've conducted search planning, so we're using computer search tools to identify where the vessel may be based on environmental conditions, winds, and currents, where it may have drifted if they became in distressed, as well as Coast Guard aircraft, searching, with the permission of Mexico, and Coast Guard searching as well.

WHITFIELD: And what can you tell me about the conditions? Because the Pacific in that general area is known to be very rough.

HIGGINS: It is. When they began their voyage, we know that the conditions were not optimal for that type of trip, though, certainly, there were sailing vessels out there during that time. Winds potentially over 30 knots and seas 15 to 20, maybe more feet, at the time of their voyage. It's a long trip for, even in good conditions, from Mazatlan to Cabo. That's two days, and certainly on to San Diego, which was their eventual destination. And since then, it has improved marginally.

WHITFIELD: All right, so generally, you said that's a two day mission, and thus far it's been 11 days since anyone believes they started off on their journey.

HIGGINS: You have two days to Cabo San Lucas.

WHITFIELD: All right, Commander Greg Higgins, of course, we're hoping the best for you all's efforts to find these three sailors. Thank you so much for your time. Appreciate it.

HIGGINS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, saving the Colorado River. The Biden administration has revealed water cut proposals to save the crucial river system from collapsing. In one of the plans, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and other major cities could face huge water cuts, next.

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[14:43:20]

WHITFIELD: At least one person is dead after a shooting took place along an interstate highway in Texas involving motorcycle gang members. According to law enforcement, a 32-year-old man was shot on Friday on Interstate 45 near Spring, Texas, and later transported to a hospital where he died from his injuries.

Police are also investigating a separate motorcycle gang related shooting, they say, that took place nearby. The Montgomery County sheriff's office tells CNN fatalities and a critically injured person were involved. Police are searching for a suspect and investigating whether both shootings are related.

Officials are meeting today to decide whether thousands of people in Indiana can return to their homes days after a massive fire at an Indiana plastics recycling plant triggered evacuation orders. And today, officials will look at air and water samples for contamination before making a decision.

The state fire marshal said the enormous blaze that sparked Tuesday was quote, "definitely toxic." The EPA reported dangerous chemicals and asbestos were found at the fire center, but not outside the evacuation zone.

All right, back here in the U.S., the Colorado River provides water and electricity to more than 40 million people in seven western U.S. states. But the future of that water supply is in question. The Biden administration has released highly anticipated water cut proposals to save the river system from collapse. Under the scenarios, states, tribes, and farmers could be forced to cut about 684 billion gallons of water. That's equivalent to what the entire state of Arizona uses in just one year.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

[14:45:11]

KAFANOV (voice over): As water levels for the Colorado River's major reservoirs remain at alarmingly low levels, exacerbated by more than two decades of drought and chronic overuse, the federal government releasing a dire assessment of the painful choices facing the American west.

TOMMY BEAUDREAU, DEPUTY INTERIOR SECRETARY: We cannot kick the can on finding solutions and the women and men responsible for managing this system for the benefit of 40 million Americans and countless ecosystems.

KAFANOV: Snaking across the southwest and into Mexico, the Colorado River is the lifeblood of the region. It waters booming cities while nourishing some of the nation's most fertile fields and generates hydroelectricity for the southwest. But without massive changes to how the water is used and distributed, all that could soon be at risk.

TOM BUSCHATZKE, DIRECTOR, ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES: We have a lot of hard work and difficult decisions ahead of us in this basin, but those paths have dire consequences in some cases and may spur opposition or even litigation.

KAFANOV: The options presented by the Interior Department to cut 2 million acre feet in water usage in 2024 are grim. One prioritizes the needs of thirsty farming regions in California, which along with native tribes have a higher water priority claim. But that could devastate major western cities like Las Vegas, which gets 90 percent of its water from the Colorado River, as well as Los Angeles and Phoenix.

Option two, spread the pain evenly among all the users, which could lead to lengthy court battles.

A third option, doing nothing at all, might have the highest cost if the river continues to dwindle.

CAMILLE CALIMLIM TOUTON, COMMISSIONER, BUREAU OF RECLAMATION: This no action alternative, we will see the most impacts to the system. We can expect water levels to continue to decline, threatening the operations of the system and the water supply of 40 million people. KAFANOV: While an unusually wet winter is providing some relief, it's not enough to solve the Colorado River crisis.

BEAUDREAU: Everyone who lives and works in the basin knows that one good year will not save us from more than two decades of drought.

KAFANOV: For some communities in Arizona, the dire future is a present reality. Part of Maricopa County, about an hour's drive from downtown Phoenix, the Rio Verde Foothills community was a slice of paradise until it began to run dry. Too many homes, too little water.

KAREN NABITY, RIO VERDE FOOTHILLS RESIDENT: I think everybody thinks the government or somebody's going to take care of it. And, unfortunately, I think that's what most of the U.S. is thinking. And they need to wake up, and people need to start conserving water now before it's too late.

WILL THELANDER, ARIZONA FARMER: We lost all of our water.

KAFANOV: Drought has already pushed farmers like Will Thelander to the brink.

KAFANOV (on camera): Do you fear that the future of farming in Arizona is under threat?

THELANDER: Yes. No one can produce it like the Colorado River can for food. It's just, nowhere on earth is it done like that. So, yes, I'm really worried. Fifty years down the road, unless we come up with solutions, farming won't be here.

KAFANOV (voice over): But time to come up with those solutions is running out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Lucy Kafanov, thanks so much for that.

All right, coming up, carriages, crown jewels, concerts, Buckingham Palace, and the BBC releasing some of the plans for the coronation of King Charles III next month. We'll tell you all the details next.

But first, the state of California has the highest rate of homelessness in the country, and often living among the thousands of unsheltered people are their four legged and furry family members. While many are trying their best to take good care of their beloved pets, human owners often struggle to provide them with much needed medical care.

This week's CNN Hero has made it his mission to offer judgment free veterinary care at no cost on the streets of California. Meet Dr. Kwane Stewart.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DR. KWANE STEWART, CNN HERO: I've seen people give up their last meal for their pet, and people who have $3 for their name, and after I'm done with the treatment, they will try and give me that $3.

This is your partner, obviously, huh?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's my best friend.

STEWART: They see me with my stethoscope and my bag.

Yes, you look good. This old dog was days away from dying.

And then they start sharing stories about their dog and the history.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He makes me feel good. And he loves me, and I know he loves me.

STEWART: I can treat about 80 percent of the cases I see out of a really small bag.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you do vaccines too? Oh, that's really cool.

STEWART: It's antibiotics, it's anti-inflammatories, flea and tick, heartworm prevention. It's all there. It's at no cost to them. It's free. I'm building a network of trusted volunteers, technicians, hospitals and clinics we can go to, we can call on.

You can take a listen here.

[14:50:07]

It doesn't matter what your situation is or what your background or past is. I see a pet need, and I see a person who cares for them dearly, who just needs some help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: To see Dr. Stewart hit the streets to save animals and bring a grace and dignity to the humans who care for them, go to CNNHeroes.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:55:05]

WHITFIELD: All right, the royal countdown is on. Just three weeks from today, King Charles III will be crowned as the new British sovereign. Buckingham Palace revealed details of the ceremony, which will begin the morning of May 6th and continue through the 8th. There will be an abundance of crowds, carriages, jewels, and even an emoji.

CNN royal commentator Emily Nash joining me now live from London for more of the coronation details. She's also the royal editor for "Hello" magazine. Alright so, Emily, good to see you. So give us a sense of how the excitement is building there for this coronation.

EMILY NASH, ROYAL CORRESPONDENT, HELLO! MAGAZINE: Well, I've been out today, and there's been all sorts of memorabilia out in the shops. People are starting to get excited. There's a hell of a lot of marketing around this event. But polls suggest that people aren't quite fully embracing this at the moment. I predict that over the next three weeks people will get more and more enthusiastic, especially about that all important long weekend.

WHITFIELD: OK, so this will be the first time since 1952 that England has had a king. So that too is an incredible marker. So are there going to be certain traditions that will be honored that perhaps wasn't seen for the crowning of and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth?

NASH: Well, I think that we're actually going to see fewer traditions at this coronation than in 1953, but some of them will remain secret and hidden. We're being told that the king's anointing with holy oil will not take place on camera, and that's because this is something dating back more than 1,000 years that is symbolic of the king's relationship with God and with the church. So a lot of history, a lot of tradition will be there, but it's a smaller scale of fair than it was for Queen Elizabeth II.

WHITFIELD: OK, and the palace announced 2,000 people were invited to be part of the congregation in Westminster Abbey. And then there's one look at the invitation, and apparently that's kind of ruffling some feathers, because it says the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla, and apparently, it's the latter part, the Queen Camilla part that's ruffling feathers. What's going on?

NASH: Well, unfortunately, there is still a population of people here who don't accept Camilla as being the queen. She is seen as the queen consort. Those are the words that the late Queen Elizabeth used to describe her over her Platinum Jubilee celebration. But Camilla by right, by constitution, is Queen Camilla. No other queen consort has been called queen consort. So I don't see why there should be any difference for her.

But there are still some people who believe that she was the other woman in the relationship with Princess Diana, for example. The majority of people, I think, realize she makes the king happy, and she's worked very hard over the last few decades to prove her devotion and dedication to duty.

WHITFIELD: OK, so then let's talk about some of the notable names, people who received the invitation and have said yes, their plan to be there. We do understand that Harry will be there but not make Meghan, Meghan, I should say. Who else is a yes, who's a no?

NASH: Well, we know that Jill Biden is coming to represent the United States, not the president. But we do have lots of heads of state there. And interestingly, some foreign crowned monarchs, which hasn't happened previously at a British coronation. Again that comes down to the king or queen of the day having this very intimate, although very public, moment with their people and with the church.

But we will see, for example, the crown prince and princess of Japan, royals from Denmark, from Belgium, from the Netherlands, and elsewhere around the world. So I imagine we'll also see some celebrities in the mix on the day. WHITFIELD: OK, and maybe a sign of a modern king, modern monarchy. There's going to -- there's an emoji? Describe what this emoji is all about.

NASH: Well, this shows the St Edward's Crown. This is the crown that has been used to crown all sovereigns in this country for around the 1,000 years. This is not the original one. It was remade in the 17th century. But you'll see it on the day, and this symbolizes so much about the coronation. They first did it with the Platinum Jubilee for the celebrations for the queen last year, and it's really showing that they're looking to the future as well as the past.

WHITFIELD: And that was what we saw on the queen's casket, right, because it was, it was just mind blowing, so gorgeous. I mean, the real thing was. The emoji --

NASH: Absolutely, yes. It's completely priceless.