with victor blackwell and christi paul. >> always glad to have you with us this morning. i'm christi paul. definitely, the shutdown, let's talk about that. it lasted two weeks now. >> we're starting the third week. the white house and congressional democrats will meet again today to try to negotiate a deal to reopen the government. >> 14 days into the partial shutdown, 15 really, both sides seem entrenched. they seem unwilling to concede. yet they're going to meet at 11:00 to see if they can make headway. we have more on the growing appetite for compromise on capitol hill. >> reporter: -- i'm proud of doing what i'm doing. i don't call it a shutdown. i'm calling doing what you have to do for the benefit and safety of our country. >> the shutdown's lasted two weeks, as we said. president trump says if the deal isn't reached, it could last months, it could last years. >> yeah. later this morning, the white house has scheduled, as we said, another meeting. vice president mike pence will lead this one. it's a followup to yesterday's meeting which reportedly started with a 15-minute tirade from the president. reportedly he cursed at congressional leaders. >> the president later called the meeting productive. democrats called it contentious. after that meeting, the president warned that he could go around congress if he so chose and build a border wall under military funding. with the latest cnn white house reporter sarah westwood. what are you hearing this morning about the meeting at 11:00, and what could be different about it? >> reporter: well, you're right that what we saw out of yesterday's meeting was two very different tones from congressional democratic leaders and the president with congressional democratic leaders hinting that there is no end in sight. they didn't make any progress toward any kind of agreement to reopen the government yesterday. with president trump calling it somewhat productive, saying perhaps there could be common ground, for example, on beefing up security at ports of entry. the debate over border wall funding still remains contentious, even as the staffs of congressional leaders and president trump, what he dubbed a working group, will be meeting in the executive office building here on the white house complex. the president's group includes, as you mentioned, vice president mike pence, homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen, jared kushner, his son-in-law and senior adviser. and president trump suggested, though, that if he doesn't get funding for the wall legislatively, he might be willing to consider declaring a national emergency for border security in order to secure appropriations for his wall. take a listen. >> can call a national emergency because of the security of our country. absolutely. no, we can do it. i haven't done it, i may do it. i may do it. but we can call a national emergency and build it very quickly. >> reporter: house democrats have passed a package of bills that would reopen the government, fund most of the unfunded part of government until the fiscal year and fund the department of homeland security temporarily while negotiations go on, but that's dead on arrival in the senate. there's no end in sight for the shutdown as president trump remains dug in on permanent funding for the wall. >> fingers crossed. something can be happening today between all the leadership there. thank you very much. appreciate it. joining me to discuss this, daniel lipman, reporter and author of "the political playbook," and tiffany cross, managing editor for "the beat d.c." welcome. timothy, first, it's good that both -- tiffany, first, it's good that both sides are talking, there's another meeting. they don't seem any closer to a deal than they did three weeks ago before this started. what's your expectation for what can happen today? >> i think trump has dugged in his heels. this is his shutdown, he said it in the meeting with nancy pelosi and chuck schumer. he's trying to walk that back. i find it interesting, though, that the gop who purports to support small government is going to stand by while he attempts to buck the constitution and bypass congress to shut down or to build this wall independent of congress. i think that's going to be a challenge for republicans to defend. and i want to really make this point and stress this, victor, that we have to remember why the shutdown is happening. it's over the superfluous wall where they're stoking fear to justify this. they're saying they're catching ten terrorists a day crossing the border. congresswoman judy chu, chair of the asian american caucus, wants the receipts for that. she's asked nielsen, where are the terrorists, where do they originate? are they in military court? u.s. court? what happened with them. of course, we've gotten no answer because there's no answer to give. i don't see either side bucking. i think with nancy pelosi having that gavel back, it's going to be hard for her to back down. with the president doing this incite a base that, you know, i would dare say doesn't have the intellectual curiosity to choose anything other than his twitter feed or right-wing conservative media as their gas well -- gospel. i don't think either side is willing to move too much at this point. >> daniel, let's talk about the element of declaring a national emergency and going around congress in large part to build the wall. what has been, if there has been some, the congressional reaction if the president would do that? >> democrats would fight very hard against that. you could see a battle in the courts where people say that the -- president trump is going above his powers. and this is not the way things are supposed to happen. you're not allowed to move government money from one department to something that congress has not approved. it would be a question for people like senator rand paul and mike lee, two major libertarians in the senate, who are trump backers in some ways, and say -- ask what do you think of this proposal given that, well, you support trump in some ways, but other -- this is, you know, clearly unconstitutional. >> there's often the line that's drawn even among members of the same party when the president and members of congress are of the same party. it's when the president tries to usurp the powers designated to and for the -- for congress when the line often is drawn. tiffany, i want you to listen to the president's exchange with april ryan on empathy and the hardship 800,000 workers are facing either being furloughed or asking to be working without pay. >> you're saying months, if not years, for the shutdown. do you have in mind a safety net for those who need their checks? >> the safety net is having a strong border because we're going to be safe. many of the people you're discussing, i really believe that they agree with what we're doing. >> the last segment offered without any evidence. what is the role? what have we learned from past shutdowns about the role of empathy when it comes to the potential political pain of one party or another? >> well, first you have to have some. i think this president has demonstrated that he doesn't. the billionaire private citizen, donald trump, did not pay workers. and now the person whose first job in government is as president of the united states is not paying workers. i think the lack of empathy comes because he's never lived paycheck to paycheck. he's never faced hardship. as evidenced in "the new york times" article that laid out his huge investment that his father gave to him. he's somebody privileged his entire life. he doesn't understand how government works, and he doesn't understand how a lot of the working class affords to live every day. and i know a lot of people have been saying the federal workers will get back pay, but that's not true for everybody. there are a lot of contract workers who are struggling right now. there are going to be people who don't ever get back pay. the working class, people in the food services industry. i think this is going to be a challenge. listen, we know --yon w.h.o. donald trump is talk -- i don't know who donald trump is talking to or who he's talking to, when call the white house you can't get through because of the government shutdown. that's another mistruth that he's hearing from all these people saying they support the shutdown over a wall that most americans don't want. >> daniel, the "wall street journal" is reporting and cnn has matched the reporting now that the president after saying he doesn't like to call it a shutdown said that he prefers the term strike. this is not obviously a strike. what does that tell us about how the have the peviews the 800,00 federal workers sitting at home or going to work and have no guarantee of pay? >> it doesn't show that he has a ton of respect for them given that they want to be working and hundreds of thousands of them are actually on the job. you've seen a couple of -- maybe 100-plus tsa workers who don't want to go into work. but the vast majority of people who are keeping the government running and essential services, you know, operating, they are working without getting a paycheck while, you know, president trump, it's a big question whether he and a couple members of his cabinet and other senior officials, whether they're going to take that pay raise that they were supposed to get of potentially thousands of dollars. and so that contrast is going to be very damning for democrats to potentially use in 2020, and they will argue that you look at the polls, and this is not something that americans support in terms of the majority. and you're going to see republicans on capitol hill eventually, and you're seeing cory gardner and susan collins saying enough is enough, we've to stop this. we don't want a government shutdown for a year. this would hurt the moderate republican prospects in 2020 among senate and house. >> let's talk about that, tiffany. mitch mcconnell said he's not going to bring anything to the floor until there's an agreement between congressional democrats and the president. but at what point -- hearing that the president says this could go on for months, years, maybe even up until 2020, that's unimaginable. but that is that dug in. does mitch mcconnell have to start protecting his majority in the senate and have to send something to the white house potentially and consider overriding the president's veto? >> absolutely. this has been the big problem. republicans have stood by while this president's petulant behavior has caused irrevocable damage to hundreds of thousands of workers, and people who, like i said, contractors and agencies, federal agencies, so in this effort to protect the border, border security, we're actually less safe during the shutdown. i think what it's going to take, like daniel said, you have susan collins and cory gardner bucking the party, and you need more republicans like that to speak out on it. i have my doubts that that will happen. for the past two years we have not seen a lot of people buck the party. i'm not sure that we'll see that going into an election year. when mitt romney was bold enough to call the president out on some of the things that we've seen, his own party attacked him, his own niece attacked him at the rnc. i'm not sure that we'll see a lot of bold steps by the republicans on that effort. but i really do think that's what it's going to take. we have new leadership in the house. we're going to see democrats fight. it's going to take republicans on the right side to step up and -- who claim to be patriots, who care about the working man, it's going to take those people to move to force the president's hand. >> all right. the next meeting is at 11:00 this morning. tiffany cross, daniel lipman, we'll see if there's progress. thank you both. >> thanks. >> thank you. following breaking news out of california this morning. at least three people are dead and several wounded after a shooting at a bowling alley. this happened in torrance. upon arrival, officers say there were multiple people with gunshot wounds inside the building. listen to what witnesses describe. >> a lot of people ran into -- back into the bar area, behind the seats on, the floor, under the benches. people were crying. it was not comfortable. people were looking for their parents. it's a family league. you got mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, everyone's friends in that league. >> authorities haven't identified a person of interest yet. we will stay on this obviously, bring you all the information as soon as we get it. hundreds of tsa employees are calling out sick at major airports across the country. how this could impact airport security and your travel plans. and it looks as though robert mueller isn't done with the russia investigation. the special counsel's grand jury just got an extension for him. at booking.com, we can't guarantee you'll find gold on your wild west vacation... but we can guarantee the best price on that thar rental cabin or any hotel, home, boat, yurt, whatever. ♪ just don't get carried away with the wild west thing. hey guys. get the best price on homes, hotels and so much more. booking.com, booking.yeah some of you are honda owners and some of you are toyota owners, right? 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[ rhythmic tapping ] hey, the rain stopped. -a bad day on the road still beats a good one off it. -tell me about that dental procedure again! -i can still taste it in my mouth! -progressive helps keep you out there. please don't blame the messenger here, but you can expect a bit of a delay if you plan on flying during the government shutdown. mass sickouts at major airports across the country are happening. hundreds of transportation security administration officers who are working without pay are calling in sick. now officials with the tsa say at least three major airports are being impacted here. >> at new york's jfk as many as 170 employees called out each day this week. callouts have increased by nearly 300% at dallas-fort worth national airport. and two north carolina airports have experienced a 10% increase. a tsa spokesman says, quote, security effectiveness will not be compromised, and performance standards will not change. however, some officials say there may be a few random pat-down checks -- fewer, i should say. and some passengers may be given expedited screenings. i want to bring in a cnn transportation analyst and former inspector general at the u.s. department of transportation. good morning. good to have you back. if you were back in charge at the department of transportation, how would you deal with this? >> unfortunately the law sets forth how you deal with it. the tsa employees are important to the safety and security of the american public. and federal law, particularly something called the anti-deficiency act, strange little law, been around since 1976, says that they must go to work because they are so important. and the tsa is very important. if you work, you are guaranteed to be paid when the government comes back, unlike folks who are on furlough. you're guaranteed to be paid. but they do have to continue to work, and the government rules still apply. you can take other employment to make ends meet, but they'll have to comply with the government ethics rules, financial disclosure rules, and technically you are not supposed to call in sick if they're not sick. they can require it. federal law already sets it forth. by the way, you could have stopgap funding to get them back to work, but of course they're in the department of homeland security. that's where the problem lies. in their department. >> is their department. okay. so when you have this many out sick, you have to assume this is organized to some degree, yes? >> well, one would assume. but let's hope not. remember, there was also a lawsuit filed about the -- the furloughs and the shutdowns. so one would hope it's not organized to violate any of the requirements and the ethical standards and the employment standards of the federal department, but it would appear to be so. you know, i prefer to think that these people are trying to find other work to temporarily pay their bills. you know, i was in the governor for so long. i went through lot of shutdowns, including the long nest history under president clinton. -- longest in history under president clinton. and those around the government, keep your furlough money on hand. if you have to go through it, you're used to it. ford, clinton, carter, bush, reagan, they all had shutdowns. the tsa is relatively new as a government agency goes. they were formed after september, 2001. a lot of these people haven't been through a shutdown. and so they don't know that the possibility exists, or they're not familiar with it. but this happens a lot. the clinton one was five days followed by 21 days. we didn't have the tsa back then. airlines did airport security. >> do you fear that security's going to be compromised because of this? >> oh, certainly. when you don't have your full work force there doing and putting their heart into work, of course. the tsa's extremely important. you know, a safe transportation system is what allows our nation to work. yes it could be compromised. but certainly their leadership and their supervisors will be doing the best that they can to carry on during this time. but sure, the possibility is there to have safety and security affected. >> as this continues day after day and if it continues for a significant period of time, is there an expectation that these people will continue to work week after week without getting paid? people can't do that. they can't live that way. >> the law expects it, but there can, like i said, there will have to be stopgap measures. people have to pay their bills. they will start to resign. by the way, if they work, don't pay -- aren't paid and then resign, the law says they still have to be paid retroactively if they work, aside from any stopgap measures. everybody hears about the government voting retroactively to pay people who do not work. it's automatic if you did work. you cannot volunteer for the federal government, by the way. you have to be paid. so over time if it goes a long period of time, i would expect people to drift away to other jobs where they can have a paycheck. >> all right. thank you very much for sharing this morning. >> thank you. it is a test of wills and many other things as president trump and congressional democrats negotiate a deal to end the government shutdown. there's no end in sight. a growing number of lawmakers on capitol hill are calling for compromise. and newly sworn in representative rashida tlaib is standing by her controversial comments on impeaching president trump. we'll tell you what she's saying now. what makes this simple salad the best simple salad ever? great tasting, heart-healthy california walnuts. so simple, so good. get the recipes at walnuts.org. pain from a headache whcan make this...ld, ...feel like this. all-in-one cold symptom relief from tylenol®, the #1 doctor recommended pain relief brand. tylenol®. i am a techie dad.n. i believe the best technology should feel effortless. like magic. at comcast, it's my job to develop, apps and tools that simplify your experience. my name is mike, i'm in product development at comcast. we're working to make things simple, easy and awesome. we're looking forward to the next big meeting between the white house and congressional democrats at 11:00 this morning. the question is will maybe able to negotiate a deal to reopen the government. >> both sides seem entrenched and unwilling to concede here. apparently there is room for compromise. manu raju has this report from capitol hill. the shutdown could take years to resolve. just one of the headlines that came out of that white house meeting that occurred between the president, congressional leaders on friday, something that nancy pelosi described as somewhat contentious at times because of the realization that they are nowhere near a deal to reopen a portion of the government that had been shuttered for 14 days, 800,000 employees affected by the shutdown. no end in sight because of the president's demands for his border wall at the meeting. he said that he wanted $5.6 billion for his wall. that is something the democratic leaders flatly refused to go anywhere near. they say they're willing to give $1.3 billion for border security generally. they don't want to give a dime for his wall. this leaves the question, where does there go from here. and do the senate republicans face pressure to reopen the government that would not fund the president's wall. on capitol hill on friday, one republican congressman, pete king, said it's time for the president to not listen to the hard-line faction within the house republican conference. >> i thought it was wrong to hold hundreds of thousands of employees hostage. i would say they have nothing to do with it. i think the president should negotiate, the democrats should negotiate. i don't know what's going on behind closed doors. i think if chuck schumer and nancy pelosi weren't bound by their base they'd be able to negotiate more. and the president should listen to the freedom caucus. >> reporter: on the democratic side, too, there's some level of impatience from at least one freshman democrat, congressman jeff van drew of new jersey, who said it's time for pelosi to negotiate, perhaps come a little bit closer to the president's number because of the pinch that people are starting to feel not getting their paychecks. >> she should cut a deal essentially? >> mooin my opinion. there's people in my party who don't agree. there are people not working and not getting paid. i wish we weren't. i don't -- and the republicans are digging in too much. everybody's digging in too much. you know who doesn't like it in my opinion? the vast majority of the american public. >> reporter: for the most part house democrats believe that pelosi has taken a position they can support. even some of her sharpest critics like kathleen rice of new york who voted for another candidate for house speaker told me she supports nancy pelosi's position, and most voice that view. in a closed door meeting on friday morning, i am told. the question is who's going to feel pressure, who's going to ultimately cave. the president said he's willing to go for the long haul. majority leader mitch mcconnell has taken himself out of the process, said it's up to the president and the democrats. the question, will anyone budge. no sign it's going to happen any time soon. cnn, capitol hill. a big part of your government, the one that you pay for, your tax dollars here, is closed for business for the 15th day. the vice president mike pence will lead a meeting between leadership staff from both parties later this morning. you know the museums and the zoos are closed in washington. but it's so much bigger than that. and it will likely affect you or someone you know or something you care about. if this is the year that you wanted to start a small business, the agency that handles small loans for that is not processing loans right now. maybe you're planning for a major life event like getting married. congratulations, but you may have to wait because the d.c. court that handles marriage licenses is closed. and in just a few days, all federal courts could be impacted because they're projected to run out of money on january 11th. maybe you're thinking about or in the middle of buying a house. depending on your type of loan, your closing could be delayed. the irs is impacted, too. most workers there are off the job. that's great, you might think to yourself, unless your refund, the one you're banking on, is processed later than usual. and if you're a farmer waiting on further assistance because you've been dinged by those retaliatory tariffs from trump's trade war with china, you may have to wait until after the shutdown to get a loan from the usda. if the shutdown continues much longer, it could delay a major january report from the usda which farmers use to make plans for the rest of the year. >> the january report has a lot to do with 2018's production and acres, and a lot of farmers and traders base a lot of what they're going to do in the coming year on what that report tells us. >> some environmental and food and drug inspections have also ground to a halt. and you've probably seen the pictures of the national parks, left mostly open but largely unstaffed. the videos of overflowing trash, human waste, or pictures of this guy who broke his leg at big bend, and no first responder could come so he was rescued by strangers. right now when smokey the bear says only you can prevent forest fires, he means it because the u.s. forest service that works to prevent forest fires has stopped, as well as staffing at ranger stations. while the coast guard got their pay through the end of december, the president made sure of that, it's harder, though, for them to enforce fishing laws and perform boating checks like the kind that catches drug smugglers. there are a lot of americans making compromises they don't want to go through the shutdown which is more than we can say for the president and congress. >> with mortgages, auto loans, credit card bills, you know, they're all due. thousands of federal employees, they need financial help. according to the navy federal credit union, 4,500 members have applied for interest-free loans. a credit union spokesperson says as many as 100,000 of its members are eligible for those loans. right now the program only covers one paycheck but could be extended if the shutdown drags into another pay period. banks such as wells fargo, bank of america, and chase are offering payment assistance, as well, for mortgages and other loans. and they're considering reversing overdraft fees. robert mueller's grand jury just got an extension. and one democratic lawmaker's predicting it means there will be more indictments to come this year. and newly sworn in representative rashida tlaib says president trump has met his match. the president calls her remarks disgraceful. why tlaib is standing by her controversial 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(sighs) i hate missing out missing out after hours. not anymore, td ameritrade lets you trade select securities 24 hours a day, five days a week. that's amazing. it's a pretty big deal. so i can trade all night long? ♪ ♪ all night long... is that lionel richie? let's reopen the market. mr. richie, would you ring the 24/5 bell? sure can, jim. ♪ trade 24/5, with td ameritrade. ♪ 35 minutes past the hour. good morning to you. new details on the russia investigation. special counsel robert mueller's washington-based grand jury getting an extension which means that the special counsel is not done with the russia probe. >> cnn has details. >> reporter: the grand jury hearing evidence from special counsel robert mueller has been extended, allowing the investigation to continue. the chief judge of the district court in washington agreed to a request by mueller's team to extend the grand jury's term. that happen 18-month term which began in july of 2017 was set to expire this weekend. under federal rules, the judge could extend the term up to six months if she finds it's in the public interest. mueller's grand jury has voted to indict roughly three dozen individuals and entities so far on charges ranging from hacking to lying to the fbi. and they've heard testimony from multiple witnesses. the extension means the grand jury will continue to hear evidence in the investigation, and robert mueller isn't finished. cnn, washington. >> the grand jury started meeting in july, 2017. since then they've heard from dozens of witnesses, several indictments have been handed down, and in recent months there have been signs that they will press on. watch. >> what it tells me is that robert mueller has miles to go before he sleeps or stops. there are going to be more indictments in this new year, as i have predicted repeatedly. the record of this special counsel investigation is already extraordinarily substantial. and that's the reason why the judge concluded that it was in the public interest for this grand jury to be extended for another six months. remember, he could have empaneled a new grand jury and transferred all the evidence to that grand jury. it's a mark of this grand jury's interest in this case that they were willing to continue to serve in this capacity, which is extremely onerous for the substantial citizen. there are substantial sacrifices involved, and they are a key part of our system. bottom line, i believe that we're going to see substantial work still to come. >> that was senator blumenthal predicting more indictments in the russia investigation this year. representative rashida tlaib is standing by her controversial call for president trump's impeachment. speaking exclusively to cnn affiliate wdiv, the congresswoman from michigan defended the explicit language she used. >> i know that if i was a man, it might have been differently. i know that for me, i've always been this way. i mean, i think no one expects me to be anything but myself. the girl from southwest detroit, the little sass in attitude. i think, you know, president trump has met his match. >> president trump and house speaker nancy pelosi reacted to tlaib's words in different ways. take a look. >> her comments were disgraceful. >> i don't think it's anything worse than the president, what the president has said. >> senator mitt romney also weighing in tweeting, representative tlaib took the politics of washington deeper down the drain. elected leaders should elevate, not degrade our public discourse. the 116th congress is making history as the most diverse congress ever. >> yeah. it includes the newly elected young congresswoman from california, katy hill. senior national correspondent kyung lah saw sat down with her as she made her way to washington. >> reporter: a predawn flight for katy hill from los angeles to washington, d.c. a journey that's turning this citizen into a congresswoman. what is your hope when you land in d.c.? >> well, playing nice isn't really something that's kind of like in my vocabulary. i just do what i think is right. we are regular middle-class people. we're young, we look like and speak like the people that we're there to represent. i think that that's different from what it's historically been like. >> reporter: the 116th congress is different and historic. younger, more racially diverse, and more female. a record-setting 127 women elected. among them -- >> this is about -- >> reporter: 31-year-old hill. >> hi, it's katie hill. >> reporter: she ran as an unknown first-time candidate and defeated a republican male incumbent, flipping her california district. in true millennial form, hill's been sharing her ride on social media since her victory. >> hey, everybody, last day of first week of training here and orientation here in d.c. >> reporter: from meeting fellow members and adjusting to fine dining while flying cross country. does it all mean you'll govern differently? will government be different now because of people like you? >> i believe so, and i believe that we're a big enough class, we dropped the average age of congress by ten years, more than ten years. more women than ever. so the face of congress is changing. it literally is far more diverse than it ever has been. >> reporter: hill who had never lived outside of california or even traveled with so many bags -- >> thank you very much. >> reporter: -- is sharing an apartment with fellow democratic congresswoman -- >> welcome to our home -- >> reporter: lauren underwood of illinois. she also unseat a man. >> hi, everybody! >> reporter: a four-term republican incumbent becoming the youngest black woman ever elected to congress. >> neither of you guys look like the traditional members of congress. >> isn't that something? >> reporter: together, they're the third and fourth youngest women members of congress. what does all of this mean for governing moving forward, having women like you in congress? >> i think it's going to be hard. we don't walk in and everything automatically changes. my walk through the door was definitely a, wow, this doesn't feel like me. you know, my office was my two staff's apartment in this sort of shady part of town. looking for cans all over the place. this is definitely different. >> reporter: inauguration morning -- >> to the capitol and what -- >> hi, how are you? great to see you -- >> reporter: a crush of cameras welcomed her. >> from congresswoman-elect to dropping the "elect" -- >> i guess so. it feels good. it feels like we can finally get to work. >> reporter: hill's cross-country journey ending, marking the beginning of her new role as a congresswoman. >> and potential 2020 caucus-goers in iowa getting their first face to face with senator warren. >> the massachusetts democrat kicked off a five-city tour in council bluffs, iowa. her announcement on new year's eve kicked off the 2020 presidential primary season more than a year before the first votes will be cast in iowa. speaking to voters last night, warren argued the 2020 election should be about a single issue. >> if we're content with government working for the rich and the powerful, keep voting republican. >> no! >> if you believe that government ought to work for all of us, then i think that's what the democratic party should be all about, and that's what 2020 should be all about. [ cheers ] >> warren is the first major democrat to announce a potential presidential run. a long list of candidates are expected to join the campaign in the coming months. still to come, there's a manhunt going on right now in texas for the gunman who killed 7-year-old jazmine barnes. the family, the entire community, they want justice. we're talking to -- we did talk to the little girl's mother, that's ahead. >> took my baby from me, and you have no care in the world. the man who shot and killed 7-year-old jazmine barnes is till out there this morning. texas authorities released this steps of the suspect, and they're asking for the public's help to track him down. >> look at your screen, whatever your doing. >> yeah. let's put it back up, actually. the harris county sheriff said his department will not rest, and here's the picture again -- will not rest until they find justice for jazmine. >> now, congresswoman sheila jackson lee said she's reached out to acting attorney general matthew whitaker to organize a federal task force to investigate this shooting. nick valencia talked to that little girl's mother. >> reporter: sitting at home, her gunshot wound still bandaged, la porsche washington is devastated. >> took a 7-year-old life, and you can never replace that. no amount of money, no amount of gift. no amount of support, anything can ever replace my child. our child. >> reporter: washington and her four daughters were on a sunday morning coffee run when they were ambushed. >> the next thing you know, i didn't even hear the first gunshot. all i remember is my glass shattering. >> reporter: her 7-year-old daughter, jazmine barnes, was sitting in the back of the car. she was still in her pajamas when she was shot and killed. >> i turned the light on in the car, and turned around and looked at my baby. and she was leaned over on the door, and blood was everywhere. >> reporter: wounded, washington raced to the hospital. >> the hospital was seven minutes away. i was flying down the beltway until my car started to shake. when my car started to shake, i told my babies, i was like, y'all, the tire is out. i was like, i can't make it no further. >> reporter: surveillance video shows the suspected shooter fleeing in this red pickup truck. he's still on the run. >> you're being a coward if you don't step forward and do the right thing. >> reporter: alexis dilbert, jazmine's 15-year-old sister, was in the passenger seat and made eye contact with the gunman. what did his face look like? >> he looked sick. when he looked in the car, he looked sick. his face was pale. his eyes were blue. his face was thin and pale. >> reporter: the harris sheriff released this sketch. they've added more patrol cars on the streets of houston focused on finding the killer. >> we're staired to leave our house. we're scared to go to the store. >> reporter: there's been an outpouring of nationwide support including a large reward, even a houston texans football player pledged to pay for the 7-year-old's funeral. >> jazmine is, when i say she's just my -- she's my love child. she always want to hug and kiss on you. and she loved the world. >> reporter: nick valencia, cnn, houston, texas. civil rights attorney and activist s. lee merritt is with us. thank you very much for being with us. have you talked to the family? how they're doing this morning? >> the family's growing increasingly frustrated with the fact that this killer hasn't been found yet. and there's been no lead. that's a difficult thing to deal with as they get closer to the funeral. >> so there have been -- there's been a lot of interest in this case, a lot of people have come forward wanting to help, you being one of them. what is it about this case in particular that makes you get involved? >> well, for me, it was the loss of innocent life. jazmine herself was just a beautiful, loving little 7-year-old girl. she was completely -- her family was completely innocent. it was an unprovoked attack. i think it has a lot to do with the evening, as well. it was a week ago today, new year's eve, when a lot of us were coming together to be with our families and prepare for a new year. we were awestruck by the tragedy. and you couple the senselessness of it all with the fact that it was around the holiday season where we all want to love on each other. it became even that much more to deal with. >> you said that you believe the shooting was racially motivated. what evidence do you have that would lead you to that? >> so there's no direct evidence. because this person hasn't been captured yet we don't know that he was a white supremacissuprem. we don't know what was going on in his head. there's some indications that are difficult to ignore. you can take an inference from the fact that this was a black family that provided no other impetus for the attack at all. you couple that with the fact that a similar attack took place in this neighborhood, houston, less than a year prior or just over a year prior where an unknown white man attacked a black family with no real motive other than hate. you couple that with the rise of hate crimes in the nation that's been chronicled by the fbi who said that hate crimes are on the rise for the third year straight. the primary target is african-americans. lastly, you point out that this area of houston is known for a racial element. in particular a white supremacist element. >> you heard us say that congresswoman sheila jackson lee has reached out to the acting a.j. to mobilize a federal -- a.g. to mobilize a federal task force to investigate this. are you getting any word that the a.g. will support an investigation? >> well, we don't know whether or not the a.g. will respond. we're certainly grateful that congresswoman lee is taking that this step. we believe that it's appropriate here. i think every resource available should be poured into finding the killer and dealing with the greater issue at hand. >> social media activist sean king is teaming up with you on this effort. and just win winslow, miami heat player and somebody who's a houston native, he sent condolences to the family yesterday. so many people want to be involved in this, want to help in some way. what kind of support is being offered to this family beyond that? >> right now we're really focused on the young women -- what's often missed, four other victims besides jazmine. her mom was shot, and there were three other girls, the 15-year-old, 13-year-old in the car, and they witnessed jazmine being slain in front of them. and they were victims of that -- those hails of bullets themselves. luckily the other girls were not struck. but the emotional damage that came from this is something they'll be living with for a long time. so members of the houston community from the clergy to just everyday people like one group led by a young woman named andrea odom is loving on this family, going shopping for them, checking on them. so the houston community has gathered around them, and it's gone not only from celebrities like shaquille o'neal but average everyday people. >> you mentioned the case in 2017 that you believe this is connected to. if they couldn't find the suspect in that case now more than a year later, what makes you confident they can do so this time around? what has to change to find a suspect in this case? >> you know, even before this incident happened, sheriff gonzalez admitted that his department and sheriff gonzalez is the sheriff of harris county, the office that is investigating this case. he admitted that they made a lot of mistakes in that case. he pointed out that the shooting that took place near -- after hurricane harvey and the department was in crisis dealing with all the tragedies associated with that hurricane, they failed to even respond to that call's statement until almost three months later. most of the leads had been cold. witnesses at that time -- more importantly the sheriff's office was getting daily updates, was increasing the patrols who as a task force is committed to reviewing leads. i think that, frankly, they're taking jazmine's case seriously this time. we're hopeful that we will not have the same result, that it will go for over a year without being resolved. >> s. lee merritt, we appreciate so much you taking the time to be with us. a reminder, there is a community rally this afternoon at the walmart parking lot where jazmine was killed. we appreciate your time this morning. thank you very much for being here. >> thank you for having me. the cdc says flu activity has spiked across the country causing a rise in the number of children who have died. more in a moment. this is not a bed. it's a revolution in sleep. the new sleep number 360 smart bed is on sale now during our lowest prices of the season. it senses your movement, and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. it can even warm your feet to help you fall asleep faster. so you wake up ready to make your resolutions, reality. sleep number is ranked #1 in customer satisfaction with mattresses by j.d. power. it's the final days of the lowest prices of the season. the queen sleep number 360 c4 smart bed is only $1299. ends sunday. sleep number. proven, quality sleep. (ba♪y crying) ♪hold on, i'm comin' ♪hold on, i'm comin' ♪hold on don't you worry,♪ ♪i'm comin' ♪here we come, hold on♪ ♪we're about to save you i'm comin', yeah♪ ♪hold on don't you worry,♪ ♪i'm comin' officials running the migrant shelter in texas say they expect all children to be held there to be released and placed in sponsor homes within weeks. according to officials at the tent city shelter, the population has been steadily dropping since the department of health and human services eased background check requirements. >> they expect to close the facility completely by the end of the month. an hhs spokesperson told cnn they have flow updates on the -- no updates on the matter. did you get the flu shot? maybe you got the flu. maybe you got both. new numbers released by the cdc yesterday show 19 states have high levels of flu activity, and that number more than doubled in just one week. >> the cdc also reports the number of children who have died has increased, as well. at least 13 children have died this year because of the flu. be sure tonight to tune in to see the original film "love gilda." it is the incredible story of comedy great gilda radner in her own words at 9:00 p.m. only on cnn. we really cannot resolve this until we open up government. >> i'm very proud of doing what i'm doing. >> we told the president we needed the government open. he resisted. in fact, he said he'd keep the government closed for a very long period of time, months or even years. >> absolutely i said that. i don't think it will, but i am prepared. >> let us work without having anxiety over our next grocery bill. >> all those things already pre-budgeted. when something like this happens and you're not going to get your next check, it's like, okay, what do i do. this is "new day weekend" with victor blackwell and christi paul. >> good saturdayni