i'm never going to stop -- >> senator chris murphy heard republicans may be open to only incremental change, is that your sense. >> well i'm always going to push for some change, any change, but incrementalism is not going to bring these kids back, it's not going to provide the reform that over 90% of america can agree on, basic, universal background checks, why should we be incremental about that, you can't get 90% of america to agree on anything but they agree on this so we need to push hard and be very vocal about it it is what our children demand. it's not about the second amendment. it's been what the gun industry is trying to do to sell more guns. i grew up a hunter, been using

guns since i was 12 years old, and i became a army ranger and i am a gun owner now and never wwas was it an issue. ar-15 until last couple years when the gun lobby wanted to sell more gungs that's when it became part of the dialogue. we need to stop the insanity and get back to reasonable discussions how to save peoples lives. >> the president is leaving it up to you, the white house is staying out of the capital negotiations on guns, is this speech a sign that's going to change the president's involvement, would you welcome the president's direct involvement? >> i would love the president's involve. he has been directly involved. he's pass the executive orders. the president is not a king, he

cannot just fiat claim something to be the case. we have a system and it starts with congress to pass laws, house of representative ins in my time in congress we've passed most of the major legislation and goes to the senate to die like most things do but we're going to go back next week and fast again because that's what the american people deserve and we're going to send it back to the senate and people should have to justify the vote and stand by the vote, so we're going to make u.s. them vote going to make them vote but we need the american people to put pressure on those who are unwilling to come to the table. >> do you think americans should take this to the ballot box come november if nothing changes, do you think they had? >> absolutely. they will. without question. because parents are fed up. i'm fed up. children are fed up.

we don't have to live like this. we don't. since when have we become a country that can't solve major problems. that's not the story of america. the story of america is we do big and hard things. so we have a big, hard thing ahead of us and we have to get it done. but there are people who are not willing to do it so it's time for them to get out of the way. it's time for the american people to fire those people and to hire people who are willing to do big and bold things. >> congressman, president biden reflected on a moment in the memorial he attended. this is more from the president, watch. >> as we left the church a grandmother who had just lost her granddaughter passed me a handwritten letter that read, quote, erase the invisible line that is dividing our nation. come up with a solution and fix what's broken and make the changes that are necessary to

prevent this from happening again, end of quote. >> so clearly that letter impacted him in a big way and goes back to what the president campaigned on, he promised unity. >> right. you get you know you get unity when you make people's lives better. it requires truth and courage and requires those who are not willing to be courageous or truthful to get the hell out of the way so we can do what needs to be done to save our kids lives. >> congressman thanks for joining us this evening. >> thanks, don. >> there have been so many mass shootings in this country it's hard to keep track of them. here's what president biden said about that today. >> just do something. for god's sake, do something. after columbine, after sandy hook, after charleston, after orlando, after las vegas, after

parkland, nothing has been done. this time that can't be true. this time we must actually do something. >> it is very it similar to what president obama said almost 10 yearsing what a gunman killed 26 people, at sandy hook. >> as a country we've been through this too many times whether at a elementary cool at newton or shopping mall in oregon or a temple in wisconsin or a movie theater in aurora or a street corner in chicago these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods and these children are our children. and we're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this regardless of the politics. >> let's discuss now cnn senior political analysts and also

commentary analyst here to discuss, good evening. john, we'll start with you. the message is the same in the last decade what do you think that maybe changes things >> what's happened in the last decade is more death, more mass shooting, mass murder and nothing changed because after sandy hook 54 voted but it was filibustered and if we can't get action on common sense gun safety after children die then we never will so they gave up and death toll is out of control. i think there's regret about that action. so i think there's a window, a window where maybe you can get something modest bipartisan done in the senate that's the hope that joe biden and i were speaking to, specific things, red flag law, assault ban would

be ideal, raising the age to 21. things we can agree on. that's not too much to ask. >> ron, you had been looking into this, are the american people behind the president when it comes to gun reform? >> well, sure. i mean the dynamic has been the same for a long time. there's a majority in support for the assault weapon ban, over 60%, and ban on high-capacity magazines over 60%. and roughly 90% are in support of universal background checks, that extends among democrats and even republicans who don't own guns agree and support those positions but the republican gun owners are the one group that opposes those ideas and they have a veto in the republican party. easy to forget in 1990, there

were 30 republicans an 9 senate republican -- i think the questions for republicans is what has changed from a policy point of view. since then. as john said there have been more deaths, mass shootings. why were those policies acceptable then and unacceptable now and the only reason is the shifting nature of the revolution and reliance of voters -- >> i think what we're seeing across the country and even within the republican party people are saying as president biden said they've had enough of the violence of the shootings and it's time for hope for change. i'm hopeful and optimist that we will see change. i was fascinated by a poll i saw

today, uga poll that polled people across the country, they view a lot of this as mental health issue not just a gun violence issue that is something that needs to be taken into consideration. president biden touched on that, it can't just be focused on the guns. he mentioned several outlooks, john outlined many of them, looking at expanding the background checks, the mental health issue -- >> i don't think anyone is saying just focused on the guns most people are saying it should be comprehensive. every person i spoke to are saying it should be comprehensive and only ones saying -- >> -- actually a lot of the republicans i am speaking with are saying they are not being reached out by democrats, linsey graham said he is happy to sit and have conversations but democrats are not willing to

find common ground on it. so look, i think three things are going to come out of this as we try to seek meaningful, important common-sense reform -- -- >> wait -- why do democrats have to reach out? why can't republicans reach out. i think it's a bigger and more important issue for republicans they face more scrutiny come november if they don't deal with this issue. >> everyone needs to put the partnership aside three things come out of it, progressives are not going to get everything they want and republicans are not going to give up everything they want and democrats are not going to get anything unless they bring brother sides together and have talks. we heard democrats saying they are willing to put legislation out for a vote without bipartisan inputt. we can't have that. we truly need bipartisan,

comprehensive but bipartisan. >> i want to play republican senator who held a town hall in iowa yesterday. this video is from iowa starting line. it shows how he responded to a question on banning ar-15 style weapons. watch. >> 400 million guns in the united states, 15 million are ar-15 so, you're going to still have ar-15s even if you stop selling them right now. >> the answer is not to do nothing. there are things we can do. >> you find them and you get writ of them. you put them in jail. >> the answer to your question is a process answer. whatever we do through the cornyn-murphy cooperative effort to make schools safe and to do what you can with guns, that probably would not get 60 votes and i'll say --

>> quick filibuster then. >> there you go. look, conservative -- one of the most conservative. we reached out to his office for comment but haven't heard back. constituents are clearly angry. this is more dangerous for republicans, i do believe, in this move come november than for democrats. >> i think the issue is the parties are captive to their basis, particularly the republican party as grasley pointed out but the push back in iowa, folks are saying you are telling me you can't do anything? that's not the american way. you deal with issues and find common ground. you said it's going to get 60 and immediately filibuster, that's the issue. you have to have faith in the negotiations with the democratic senators, everybody has to give

a little, kwet is can they get 10 republicans that's the standard. it's not so cynical unless they treat it that way. >> it's not just guns but you cannot exclude guns. it's comprehensive. >> red flag issues is both. >> thank you all, i really appreciate it. there's so much gun violence every day and a lot of the shootings don't make the headline but they're a huge part of the problem, so what do we do about them? >> do we as a nation have the god-given right to live free from this scourge of gun violence, of senseless suffering, of death and despair, because we cannot keep doing this. an entire generation of children are learning that the adults they look up to cannot or will

not protect them.

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the 18-year-old suspected gunman in last month's racist mass shooting in buffalo appearing in court today, a grand jury indicting him on 25 counts, including a domestic act of terrorism motivated by hate in the first degree, ten counts of first degree murder and one count of criminal possession of a weapon. in the second degree. the suspect pleading not guilty of all charges. the shooting in the market left ten dead and three injured. thanks for joining us, gentlemen, good evening. this is the first time new york has used the charge of domestic terrorism motivated by hate. he's facing 25 charges in all. should more of these mass murders be charged with domestic terrorism in. >> absolutely.

this has been a glacial process getting to this point. we should have had more teeth to the legislation in connection with charging people that commit these horrific acts, such as what we saw happen in buffalo. we need to move forward. another thing is look at what's happening to the asian community. they have been just totally overwhelmed by hate crimes. this is something that's happened to the african-american community for years on end. it unfortunately seems as if we've become contrite and we've accepted it, but now we have legislation moving forward that will better assist in ensure that people are prosecuted accordingly. >> it's not just mass shootings but the small, every day gun violence that's eating away at the fabric of new york. today in new york a man was indicted for killing a food delivery because he did not get enough duck sauce. last week a man was randomly shooting at random cars.

where does this kind of callousness in people's lives come from? >> don, it is out of control. i can't explain why people do what they do, but it's clear if guns fall into the wrong hands, then these are the tragic results. and it is time for us to do something. the daily homicides, the daily shootings, they do significant damage. not only lives are lost but families, communities, it just -- it's a poison. it's just so much to continue to way that we've got to stop it. we have to stop this. >> and it's every time i turn on the news here in new york, you see a senseless murder, somebody being killed or shot in the subway, all kinds of just

madness. there are so many of these smaller killings that it barely registers with the public but they actually make up a huge portion of gun death. >> absolutely. the communities of color most specific have been under siege in the wake of gun violence. it seems that we've gained a level of comfort in surviving in the ecosystem of gun violence. these do not get the headlines. we have not gotten the necessary representation from law enforcement and elected officials in connection with the gun violence that's plaguing the communities of new york city, los angeles and chicago. i give president biden a lot of credit for standing up to the gun manufacturers and the far right. i'm going to tell you, i'm a republican but at the same token, i am diametrically opposed to the gun violence that's plaguing our country. silence is violence. we need to take some action and it needs to come into effect

now. because if it doesn't, we have 400 million guns in the united states and only 360 million people. at what point do we identify, hey, we have a catastrophic problem here that other countries are not experiencing. >> there's a case in california where police arrested a 16-year-old after acting on a tip that he was allegedly recruiting students to carry out a mass shooting at a high school. among the items they recovered in a search of his home were assault rifles. how is it so easy for teen-agers to get access to assault weapons like this? >> the times we're living in, the access to these weapons, to parts of these weapons, is definitely a concern. for a 16-year-old to be able to actually start to plot and then

start to obtain what's needed to pull off a plot to kill others, it's just amazing. and then we have to look at copycats, social media, where's the parental guidance, mental health issues. it's just so much that we have to deal with and at least tonight we heard president biden mention numerous issues, including mental health, including going after the manufacturers of these guns. so this was a significant night but we have a lot of work to do. we keep talking about it and people are steady dying every single day. and just because you aren't part of the measurement for a mass shooting, four victims or more not including the shooter, what about if you die in a triple shooting, a triple homicide, a double, a single? these people, these lives matter to their families and we really have to do a better job.

>> thank you, anthony. thank you, darren. i really appreciate it. the january 6th committee announcing public hearings, promising previously unseen material from the day of the insurrection. former white house council john dean weighs in next. boom! i won't be cleaning mold and mildew next week. thanks to this. did you know lysol disinfectant spray can actually prevent mold and mildew growth? spray it every week to break the cycle. ♪ lysol. what it takes to protect.®

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in theaters june 10th. now a cnn exclusive. republicans who texted trump white house chief of staff mark meadows with urgent pleas on january 67th say that trump could have stopped the violence, that as the house committee investigating the insurrection

announces the first public hearings. joining me, mr. john dean, the focus of the new series "watergate, blueprint for a scandal." a former administration official said trump, quote, failed at being the president. another said he derelict in his duty to speak out while the capitol was being attacked. is it the burden of the committee to prove that trump failed? >> i don't think that's a difficult truth, don. the insurrection was something he helped orchestrate and i don't think we're going to have any trouble proving that piece of information. >> a lot of folks have been waiting on the timing of this. when exactly are they going? they were going to asked you'll these hearings, the january 6th

committee announcing its first public hearing is going to take place next week and present previously unseen material documenting what's happened on january 6th. and we've seen so much from that day, vice president pence being escorted out of the senate chamber. what sort of new material do you expect them to share. seems like we know an awful lot. there's more? >> we do. who knows what they know. they've done a massive collection of information. they've got really an impressive witness list. it's just the opposite, don, as watergate. watergate started with low-level people and they bored the bee gees us out of everybody. the network threatened to pull coverage if they didn't get more exciting witnesses but they went step by step by step. they upped the game here. they have much more important

witnesses, much more knowledgeable witnesses. i think it's going to educate the public faster. >> i want to talk about the witnesses. do you think it's going to happen in primetime. do you think that's going to make a difference to the american public, people won't be at work, they might be at home? >> it makes a huge difference being in primetime, yes. >> the committee has started reaching out to witnesses and informing them of their desire to appear as witnesses. how important is it for the committee to line up witnesses that are going to be compelling to all americans? as you said, they threatened to -- the networks threatened to pull it unless they got more interesting witnesses. compelling witnesses, how important is that? >> it's important. witnesses are unpredictable. there will be some examination. i think they're going to use counsel to cross-examine witnesses.

that will draw things they're not expecting. there will be conflict, which is always good for television. they have learned a lot from watergate, iran-contra, the clinton proceedings. they understand television now then when, say, 85 million people tuned in to watch me. >> you in the 70s. you didn't even look at the video. does it seem like another life? >> it was another life. >> similar glasses. i want to play a clip from the cnn series "watergate: blueprint for a scandal." watch this. >> one of the questions that halderman asked me was can i be loyal to richard nixon. it struck me as a strange question because i thought we were all on the same team.

>> the loyalty is about being a member of the group. that becomes the paramount value. if you're not loyal, then you are get kicked out of the group. so to maintain your tribal membership, you have to go along with whatever the weaker says, and that's incredibly dangerous. >> a vice president, a member of the cabinet, a member of congress who was a member of the president's party, he should always consider that he is dispensable and to do what the man wants. >> i mean, that takes me back to my childhood. i remember my parents, my grandparents watching the hearings and watching the news as to what was going on. i remember our president leaving in shame on a helicopter, being taken from the white house. the watergate scandal -- >> you had the -- >> remember he stood there and did that. >> it was kind of a defiant salute he did at the end. >> that comparing january 6th, both are these are about presidents trying to hang on to power. what happened at the capitol, how does that compare to what happened -- >> what happened on january 6th is so much worse than watergate by a hundred degrees.

what we're talking about right now threatens democracy. if we don't get it right, if we don't get out of this mode where authoritarian leadership is accepted blindly, this is what nixon gave us a hint of. i think there's a difference, though. somebody like trump showed he had no shame. you couldn't embarrass trump. you can't can't. now the republican party is taking that attitude. they don't care if you shame them. and that's very dangerous for a democracy. a democracy has to be humble, it has to really -- not of itself but of the people it's governing and we're way out of whack right now. >> that is a good way, we're way out of whack. >> it's a kind way of saying it. >> it's so good to see you in person. thank you for coming in. >> thank you for doing this. >> i hope everyone watches this. it's very important. as you said, our democracy is on

the line. the all new original series, "watergate, blueprint for a scandal", sunday at 9 p.m. thanks to john dean. >> and the case that exploded online, johnny depp and amber heard. is dan here? has anybody seen him? there he is, in the background.

a lawyer for amber heard tells cnn the reason the jury ruled favorably for johnny depp was because of his wealth, power and fame. depp was awarded more than $10 million in damages, his ex-wife

was awarded $2 million. amber heard says she's appeal the verdict. dan abrams, i'm so happy that you're here. he's the co-author of "wealth, power and fame," "alabama versus king." >> if you look at the verdict together, there's no question they didn't believe amber heard and they did believe johnny depp. the victory that amber hear got was a technical one.

it was a statement that depp's lawyer made about -- >> was this heard by more than one person? >> exactly. so they don't believe the friends got together and cooked this whole thing up. when it came to johnny depp's claims for defamation, he won on all three, it says they didn't believe amber heard. >> a defamation case against a public figure -- >> harder here than in england. >> so what does this say about defamation cases going forward? does it set a precedent? >> it doesn't say anything about defamation. it says in this case these jurors didn't believe amber heard. when you listen to the statement from amber heard's lawyer, it's basically insulting the jurors, saying that these jurors were too blinded by his power and fame. couldn't be that they saw the evidence. people who saw the evidence had real problems with amber heard's

account. >> alabama v. king, martin luther king and the civil trial that launched the civil rights movement. you wrote the book with fred gray. how important was this case in establishing king as a national civil rights leader? >> it was the case. martin luther king was a local minister who had been asked by fred gray and one other person to be the spokesperson for this boycott that they were conducting in montgomery of the busses. that became a very successful boycott. it became so successful that the local authorities said we got to get these people back on the busses, how are we going to do it? let's prosecute martin luther king based on some ancient boy boycott statute. the first time he's ever mentioned in the national media is in this trial. martin luther king testifies in his own defense. fascinating stuff. >> you believe he is one of the

most underrepresented -- he was just 25 years old at the time. he also represented rosa parks, claudette colvin, the freedom riders, numerous school segregation lawsuits. the most impactful things about the struggles of folks who were living in montgomery, alabama and the people who were dealing with what of happening at the time. >> what an honor. i'm talking a piece of history working on this book with him. it was great! getting to work on this book with him, the most impactful this evening working on this book was reading the accounts from the individual citizens, ordinary folks in montgomery. witness after witness who testifies about how horrible it was to ride the bus. how they were called the "n" word. you had to pay your money, you

had to walk outside of the bus and whack back into the back of the bus and sometimes the bus drivers would just keep going. it was indignity after indignity and it was really a reminder of what it was link in alabama in 1956. that was more impactful than almost reading through martin luther king's own testimony. >> i can't wait to read this book. i have to read the book because i know van is going to -- >> he'll check on you. did you finally read the book? >> i am going to read the back. the book is called "alabama v. king, martin luther king jr. and the criminal trial that launched the civil rights movement." thank you, dan. >> thank you for having me. >> i also want to make sure you ever know about this, juneteenth, a global celebration for freedom, the first global celebration of juneteenth since it became a national holiday. i'm going to be there along with a whole bunch of stars lifting

up their voices sunday june 19th, 8 p.m. eastern only here on cnn. so six teachers on leave in rochester, new york for allegedly sending text messages about students that have been called racist. cnn investigates after this. she's feeling the power of listerine. he's feeling it. yep, them too. it's an invigorating rush... ...zapping millions of germs in seconds. for that one-of-a-kind whoa... ...which leaves you feeling... ahhhhhhh listerine. feel the whoa!

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shock and outrage in west chester, new york, sixers teach

six teachers placed on leave texts allegedly sent between the teachers. six teach. placed on leave after making denegrate jokes and insulting students by name was skpoeded >> you are supposed to be the example . >> i was horrified by the reference used to describe our children. >> in the text messages posted to facebook by a mother mentioned in them showed one

calling the b word and c word and i also hate the students before adding lol. another saying quote wish one student would beat the f out of another student. the students are majority black and brown with a teaching staff majority white combination we see across the country and all schools need anti bias training particularly where students come from different backgrounds. 15% have taken her up on the training. >> we'll continue to offer and make sure to have as many individuals participate training because it's important. >> in one the group text a

teacher in mostly black district -- and another -- the teachers remain on leave as the investigation continues. she said termination is potentially on the table. >> there's a difference between saying things you shouldn't and being humiliating a student and the text messages, the images, rather, that i read were humiliating. >> wow. mcmorrison joined me now. i hardly know what to say. you heard the superintendent calling text messages racist,

her words, vulgar what are the teachers and union saying. >> the teachers are mostly keeping quiet. the union said everyone deserves dignity and respect and -- there's a due process here f there's a union. it will be a long process before we get to the bottom of this. obviously, you can see from the superintendent, how outraged she is. >> this is not the first time. this is the second time in two months for this school district. another teacher was placed on leave after parents alleged he made his students pick seed out of cotton. what's that all about? >> it's remarkable experience for you from the district in rochester. just a few weeks ago, this teacher was placed on leave after an exercise in which students say they were learning

about slavery and the teacher had them pick seeds out of cotton. there were things posted by parents. what the parents say, they are outraged. they say there's a culture in this school system where some of the teachers, the students feel like, they're not respected by the teachers and maybe they're treated differently because of their race. and that's exactly what the superintendent is talking about. she says that in order to combat this culture, it's to take it head-on and do the anti-bias trainings. and only 15% of teachers have done it so far. >> thank you. i appreciate it. with no end in sight to the baby formula shortage, many parents are forced to look elsewhere to feed their children. for some, breast milk banks are getting their through this crisis. this week's hero, lucy fink, a breast-feeding mom who is donating her excess milk after

sharing her journey with an online audience. >> my son is 12 weeks old and he eats 4 times a way. it was my tiktok and instagram followers that alerted me that i had an oversupply of breast milk. pumping from the start was a mystery box for me. i know it is that way for a lot of other moms, as well. ever since having my content, about my nursing journey, i was express one or two more times in a day. i googled how to donate breast milk in new york city. it was easy and fast and the process was rewarding and now with the formula shortage, it's needed manier than ever. >> and a cute baby there. to learn more about her efforts, go to cnnheroes.com. and you can nominate someone you think should be a cnn hero. thanks for watching, everyone. our coverage continues. good evening, as you look at the white house president just addressed the nation, there have g the wrong detergent.

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♪ welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. i'm max foster outside st. paul's cathedral in london where we're about to enter day two of the celebrations to mark the queen's 70 year platinum jubilee. but the headline act won't be appearing today. and i'm kim brunhuber in atlanta following our other top stories including america's gun violence epidemic.

president biden