neither party offered the solutions, offered the results or have the ability to get it done. >> we're out of time but we have a whole lot more to talk about because the threat of a government shutdown is still very much hanging over washington right now because the deadline is mid november and who knows how that's going to happen. frank luntz, thank you so much for joining us. i really appreciate it. >> it's a privilege, dana. >> and later today a memorial service will take place to honor the late senator dianne feinstein at san francisco's city hall. a private burial will follow. the 90-year-old feinstein was the first woman elected to the senate from california, where she already established herself as a force there for decades. she passed away last thursday after multiple health issues. speakers at her memorial will include vice president kamala harris, senate majority leader chuck schumer, and feinstein's long-time friend and colleague from san francisco nancy pelosi.

the serv the service will also include taped remarks from president biden. may her memory be a blessing. thank you so much for joining "inside politics." "cnn news central" starts now. russia just unleashed a new brutal attack on ukraine, killing at least 51 people including a 6-year-old little boy, after a strike on a grocery store. cnn is live on the scene. >> plus no speaker and a long list of problems. the house frozen until republicans elect a new leader, putting funding for the entire u.s. government and crucial support for ukraine in serious doubt. and president biden building the wall after all. he just paved the way for new

construction at the southern border despite saying he would not build another foot of the wall. we're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to "cnn news central." we have breaking news out of ukraine. this right here on your screen is new video showing the devastating aftermath after a russian missile strike hit a small village in the kharkiv region earlier today, killing at least 51 people. one official saying the impact was so strong that the gender and the age of a 6-year-old little boy who died is in question. a child. officials also say there were no targets in the area and the attack happened as people were holding a memorial for a deceased ukrainian soldier. >> that strike appears to be one of the deadliest against civilians this year and it happens as ukrainian president

volodymyr zelenskyy is warning western allies not to slow down military aid, saying any pause in the conflict would only help russia rebuild its military over the next few years. zelenskyy in spain today trying to court allies to his cause. let's go to cnn international correspondent fred pleitgen who's sooent of that russian missile attack where dozens were killed. fred, take us there. what are you seeing? >> reporter: hi there, boris. well, i can say it's an absolute scene of devastation. you can see if you pan over there, that's actually the building that was hit right here. the ukrainians are saying this was both a supermarket and a cafe. but as you guys can see there's not very much that's left of it except maybe a bit of the foundation. they were saying as you guys pointed out there was that memorial service going on to a ukrainian soldier but they also told us the people at that memorial service were all local people. we asked several times the authorities here and they say there was not a single military

person inside here. this village is also very small and certainly doesn't appear to have very much in the way of military in it. but you can see right here just how big the explosion was that ripped through here. the cleanup crews have been working here and they said they managed tovls recover some bodies from underneath. they managed to recover also a people who were still alive underneath but the carnage is just absolutely massive. and they say one of the reasons for that, guys, is because they say the russians used an iskander missile for this. it's a medium-range missile but one with an extremely powerful warhead, about a 1,000-pound warhead that obviously does things like this to a building like that. and i want to show you around because we're actually standing right in the middle of this devastation. you can see here it's a parking lot or something. the car's absolutely destroyed. there's a little bit of a playground over there that was also destroyed. if we look over there where the lights are that is actually where a lot of the bodies are still being recovered. i don't want to take you guys over there simply because i have

to say a lot of those bodies are in really, really bad condition because the explosion obviously extremely powerful that ripped through here. but certainly the cleanup crews still very much at work. we can see forensic experts who are at work as well still trying to identify people even though i have to admit in a lot of cases it is really very difficult work. we've seen them clear a couple of bodies after putting them into body bags, and there were some pretty devastating scenes that we witnessed here when we were here earlier. there was one gentleman who was standing over one of the body bags and crying and refusing to go away, and it turned out that it was actually his wife who had been killed here. it was also a local man from the area. and then he helped the cleanup crews actually load the body of his own wife onto a truck to be carried away. a really devastating scene that we're witnessing here. and once again you can see behind me that this actually, despite the fact that it was -- i wouldn't even really call it a full-on supermarket. i would say it was a little bit

of a store that had a cafe in it, really not a very large building at all. absolutely annihilated by this rocket the ukrainians say that hit it. you guys have heard from the ukrainian president, from volodymyr zelenskyy, blaming the russians. the local authorities here, we spoke to the police here already, and they are also saying they consider this to be an act of terrorism. they once again emphasized that there were no military people inside here. but there certainly were a lot of people killed. we have that number. 51 people at least who were killed. we know that the crews here are still going through here. and they tell us that they believe that they might find further remains but at this point in time finding any sort of survivors underneath they say is pretty much impossible, guys. >> you know, fred, you have been covering this war since the very beginning. there have been so many brutal attacks. the last biggest attack on civilians was of course in april of 2022. and i'm wondering, just put this

into perspective for all of us. for our viewers who are watching this. and so many months into this war might be thinking it's another horrible, brutal attack. but what makes this one so significant, just so horrific? just in the context of this war. >> reporter: yeah, i would say one of the things that makes it so significant is the carnage. and i think one of the things you're saying, pamela, is absolutely correct. as we can pan over here once again just to show our viewers what exactly happened here and how bad the devastation is. but you're absolutely right. this is not a single incident. incidents like this have been happening before and i've been at similar venues where i've seen similar destruction of areas that were clearly civilian. there was one major attack in february of this year in the town of dnipro where an entire residential building was annihilated by a missile that is normally designed to destroy an aircraft carrier. now you have a missile here that

is really -- can't be described as anything else than a tactical battlefield missile. the missile that if the ukrainians are correct that was used on this building is something that is normally used to destroy and to kill gigantic troop formations and destroy armor. and obviously if it's used on a building like this then the aftermath you can see right here. but again, this is not something that is a rare occurrence here in this war. it's something that's happened time and again. and one of the things that we have to point out is that we are in an area in kharkiv oblast in the east of the country. we are fairly close to an area of the front line that's been active, but we're not that close to an area of the front line that's been active. i would say that the nearest russian position from where we are right now is probably about 25 miles away. so this is by far not a front line area. this is certainly not something where people who are living here would have been ready for this. they would have understood we are in an area that could have

been a target for a gigantic attack like this one. so definitely people were certainly caught off guard. this place was caught off guard. this place is a really tiny village as well. there are no major structures here. there's a few smaller houses. and certainly from what the ukrainians are saying there isn't any military here in this village. and that's one of the other reasons why this is so devastating. and certainly to get back to your point it isn't the first time that we have seen civilians hit by extremely heavy weapons that are designed to kill large number of troops but used on civilian areas with massive carnage like what you guys see behind me right now. >> yeah. you can see even in the dark as the camera pans just the scope of the devastation there, far reaching. fred plight gren ukraine, thank you so much for the update. we want to discuss this attack and more now with former u.s. ambassador to nato kurt volker. thank you so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us. right away i want to get your reaction to this brutal russian

strike. it's the deadliest on civilians for at least a year plus. not an apparent military target but rather a service for a ukrainian soldier that had passed away. your reaction seeing those images. >> yeah, it's absolutely devastating and horrific to see those kinds of images. but this is what the ukrainians are facing every day. this may have been one of the largest attacks in a long time that killed civilians. but it is by no means alone. there are attacks on ukrainian cities virtually every night. and this is intended to terrorize the plopulation and ty to force them to submit to russia's takeover. this is exactly why russia needs to be stopped. this is not a border dispute. this is not some kind of conflict where russia has legitimate security concerns and they're trying to address them. this is a brutal aggression in order to take over a sovereign state and to destroy its people and to destroy ukrainian identity. and u.s. assistance in this is critical.

so we have to keep this going because if f. we don't stop russia in ukraine we're going to face this again and again in other places. >> on that note, ambassador, does it surprise you that an attack of this scale using the kind of missile that fred was describing comes at a time when there are questions about support for ukraine not only here in the united states but in spain, in italy among the polish as well. >> well, vladimir putin is always trying to send a message. and in this case he talked about nuclear weapons in a speech earlier today, and then he has this major attack as well. he's trying to send a message to the west to warn us off, don't try to help ukraine, maybe we'll use a nuclear weapon. don't try to help ukraine, it's futile, we'll just kill them all. and i think that's the kind of evil and the kind of deliberateness to putin's aggression that we really need to see for what it is and be prepared to stop it. >> on the question of how to

stop it, the main talking point from those who oppose additional aid revolves around corruption and making sure that that aid gets to where it needs to go. the battlefield. i have spoken to experts who essentially say that concerns over corruption in ukraine are overblown. they say that zelenskyy has been proactive in handling concerns, firing people with the ministry of defense who are even perceived as being corrupt. they argue that those concerns, those apprehensions should not slow down western support. where are you in that argument? >> well, there's no country that has zero corruption, including our country. so we can't have too high a standard here. and in the case of ukraine they are doing their best to deal with corruption as it is but particularly in the military, in the military forces. there is such a premium on fighting back to defend against the russians. there is very little scope for corruption there.

and in addition to that the way u.s. assistance works, we provide money to the pentagon. the pentagon provides weapons to ukraine, not money. those weapons go to the battlefield. and the money is used to replenish u.s. supplies with new equipment. so there's very little chance of corruption through that system. we're actually supporting u.s. defense industry, u.s. military capabilities and supporting ukraine with all the capabilities. >> so would you say, then, that it is a mischaracterization by leadership in congress to voice this apprehension, to voice opposition to more aid for ukraine? and if so is there something that can be done to sway them or public opinion to help the cause of defending ukraine from the russian invasion? >> right. well, there are two separate issues. one of them is the american interest in seeing ukraine defeat russian forces inside

ukraine so that we don't see russia attacking elsewhere, triggering a nato article 5 commitment that gets the u.s. directly involved. by spending less than 5% of our defense budget. we are seeing ukraine destroy at least half of russia's conventional military capability, which is reducing the threat to nato and the united states. so that is a good investment for u.s. interests. separate from that is the question is there any corruption in ukraine, how do we address that? and there i fully agree with those who want to see strong accountability measures so that we are tracking the assistance that we provide, we are following up to make sure there is no corruption in the system and we are working with president zelenskyy and his team to root out that corruption. >> so is it an issue of communications? is it selling the idea to the american people that is lagging behind? because public support doesn't appear to be behind the idea of more aid to ukraine. >> it is an issue of communications to a large degree because when you dig into this a

majority of people say they still believe that ukraine has a right to defend itself, ukraine should win, we should help ukraine. but then it breaks down when you say well, how much money and for how long is it worth it? but then when you go further and you explain that, as i just did, with the military assistance this is not money leaving the united states, this is money going to our pentagon, we're providing weapons to uk sxraukraine. and ukraine is actually succeeding on the battlefield. over half of the territory take benn i russia last year has been taken by r back by ukraine already. the remainder is slow and hard going. but they've taken back 54% already. and they need to be supported to continue to take back the rest. and finally, if we don't help them do this, we run a risk of russia attacking other countries where we will be directly involved. and we'd rather avoid that by helping ukraine win now. >> yeah, not to mention the loss of life we're already seeing. this brutal attack today.

at least 51 people killed in eastern ukraine. an attack on what appears to be a grocery store, not a military target. ambassador kurt volker, we have to leave the conversation there. we appreciate your time. thanks so much. >> thank you for having me. >> of course. pam? >> i want to get straight to capitol hill because as ukraine deals with this new onslaught from russia the future of u.s. aid for kyiv r. mains at a standstill. especially now as jockeying for the speakership remains. where do things stand in the speaker's race? >> reporter: the race to replace kevin mccarthy is officially under way. there have been two candidates who jumped into the race. that includes steve scalise. he's the number two republican. he's really seen as the heir apparent. he has a lot of institutional advantages since he is already in leadership. and then there is jim jordan. he's the chairman of the house judiciary committee. he's beloved by conservatives. and both men have been furiously working the phones and meeting with members over the past few

days trying to line up supporters. i'm also told jim jordan has spoken to former president donald trump about his speakership. it's unclear whether trump would get involved although he is toying with the idea of coming here to capitol hill next week as republicans prepare for their candidate forum on tuesday. at this point it is really unclear whether either of those candidates can get 218 votes on the house floor and overcome the same challenges that bedeviled kevin mccarthy. two of the issues that are already cropping up as potential issues in this race is what to do about ukraine funding and also whether to reform the motion to vacate the speaker's chair. that tool that was used to remove kevin mccarthy. but there's also a lot of raw emotions and frayed relationships inside the conference. it's hard to overlook that. and it might make it even more challenging for republicans to come together quickly. jim jordan was asked about this earlier today, about reporters, about those eight republicans who took down kevin mccarthy. here's what he had to say.

>> i disagree with, you know, what took place, but those guys are friends of mine and, you know, that's the message i've been talking to my colleagues about is who can bring the eight into the part of the team, who can unite our team. i think i can do that. if i didn't think i could do that, wouldn't run. >> reporter: now, there could be repercussions for those eight members who voted against kevin mccarthy. there's already calls to expel congressman matt gaetz from the house republican conference. but at this point they can't do anything, pam, until they elect a new speaker. all business is paralyzed in the house until they do, and it's just really unclear if and when republicans will be able to come together on a speaker, pam. >> and all this taking on more weight with this brutal attack in ukraine against civilians and ukraine aid hangs in the balance. thank you so much, melanie zanona. much appreciated. well, president biden just addressed news that his administration will build a new border wall in texas despite his promises to not build, quote, another foot. his jaw-dropping response is

next on "cnn news central."

today president biden is taking new action with the immigration crisis at the southern border. action that appears to contradict a key campaign promise. his administration has cleared the way for 20 miles of new border wall construction in south texas because of what homeland security calls an acute and immediate need. that urgency driven home by chaotic scenes like this one near el paso yesterday. you can see dozens and dozens of migrants rushing past border agents. keep in mind el paso isn't even where these new barriers are going. the new stretch is going to be built in star county to the southeast. the practical effects on the ground remain to be seen. but the mexican president says the u.s. is acting irresponsibly and the move domestically could be risky politically for biden. why? this was his stance on the issue during his last campaign.

>> trump campaigned on build that wall. are you willing to tear that wall down? >> there will not be another foot of wall constructed in my administration. >> the president also said today that former presidents have said to him that they wish that they had built a wall. do you recall -- >> i don't know a single one -- i can't think of a single one who said that. we need border security, but that's not the border security we need. >> cnn's kayla tausche is at the white house for us. so kayla, what went into this decision? why is it happening now? >> reporter: well, boris, the white house says this was part of a use it or lose it package of funds that expired at the end of the fiscal year if it wasn't used. and just last hour president biden got a question from a reporter in a pool spray about whether he believes border walls work, and he said he tried to use this money for other things

but couldn't. >> i'm going to answer one question on the border wall. the border wall, money was appropriated for the border wall. i tried to get them to reappropriate it, to redirect that money. they didn't. they wouldn't. and in the meantime there's nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what was appropriated. i can't stop that. >> even so the homeland security secretary cited that acute and immediate need in the official notice authorizing this border wall construction. and the move comes as border encounters have surged in the hundreds of thousands just in recent months. to start this authorization the administration is going to be waiving 26 federal laws including but not limited to the clean air act, the safe drinking water act and the endangered species act. boris, so far there is no final word on when this new construction is set to begin. >> a situation to continue monitoring. kayla tausche, thank you so

much. from the white house. pam? >> interesting comments from president biden just now. let's discuss further with former acting director of immigration and customs enforcement under president obama, john sandweg. president biden claims he can't stop this move, he doesn't think the border wall will work. what do you think? is this just a waste of money? >> well, listen, we're talking about 20 miles of border fencing in an area that's actually seeing declining numbers. a lot of the traffic as was referenced in the report a moment ago has been moving west back to the tucson sector in arizona and el paso sector in west texas. so while the administration's trying to downplay this and say their hand was forced by this appropriation, i do think this reflects the growing political and operational realities of the situation. we have increasing numbers at the border and the administration's coming under political fire from allies who are having to deal with the influx of migrants in their cities. so look, at the end of the day i think operationally this will have minimal impact.

less than 20 miles on a border of 20 miles. social some operational benefits potentially to the border patrol but it's not going to solve the problem. but i do think it reflects the growing need to try to dig deep to find anything to address what's going on. >> and i want to get to how you solve this problem later. the million-dollar question. right? but first i just am hoping you can help us better understand the fact that this order includes the waiving of 26 laws, many of them environmental-related. you know, when i saw that, i wondered how does an administration just unilaterally waive a law? >> yeah. well, there's a special law that was passed by congress back in 2006. i mean, this border wall debate has been going on in this country for almost 20 years now. but back in 2006 congress gave the secretary of dhs the power to waive flfrlt laws for construction of a border wall. it has never been utilized by a democratic president. i do think that while the administration is trying to

downplay the significance of this the bottom line is while they might have been obligated to spend the funds it's not clear that they're obligated to waive the various environmental restrictions as well. there is a lot of significance to this in the sense it's the efficiency democrat administration to invoke that authority and waive these environmental laws. but at the same time again we really are only talking about 20 miles of border fencing in a remote area in south texas. >> that's really interesting context. let's look at the recent polling. it shows pretty widespread dissatisfaction, as you see on your screen for our viewers, with biden's handling of the border. but it also shows half of americans don't think more border wall is a solution. what other policy solutions are available and politically achievable? >> yeah, look, it's very hard. right now we have legislation, asylum legislation that essentially gives the right to individuals who set foot in america, claim fear of persecution in their home country.

they cannot be removed unless and until an immigration judge decides that they don't present a valid claim. and that is the crux of the problem. we have never funded the immigration courts to fund anywhere near this volume. so you see the administration is really struggling. they've inherited a very difficult problem. this was going on long before the biden skradministration. but they have very limited tools to solve it. like today you're seeing secretary mayorkas, in mexico meeting with president lopez obrador. try to get mexico to do a better job of limiting the flow of individuals through mexico. the problem only becomes when they set foot in the united states. clearly there's very little we can do to stop people in mexico from approaching our border. we can only deal with it once they get here. so that's part of the reason why you're seeing this delegation in mexico tailed, is to just put additional and work harder with mexico to see what else they can do to limit the flow to our border. but look, it's a very challenge problem and one that was long, years in the making.

>> yeah, decades. john sandweg, thank you very much for coming on to offer your perspective. well, donald trump's civil fraud trial is now back under way in new york and for the first time since it started trump is not there. so what's the mood like without the former president in the room? we are live right outside that courthouse up ahead.

it is now day four of the trump new york fraud trial, and

today without the former president in attendance. his son eric who's also charged in the civil case absent as well. donald trump spent the first three days of the judge attacking the judge and the attorney general. back on the stand today, though, trump's former long-time accountant. let's get an update with cnn's kara scannell who's live for us outside the courthouse. she's been watching today's proceedings. so kara, what's been going on? >> reporter: so boris, they finished the cross-examination of trump's former long-time accountant after he was on the stand across three days. and now they've moved inside the trump organization, calling the former controller jeff mcconnie. he just retired earlier this year but he has been the person that put together these financial statements that are at the heart of this case. and what the state has begun to do for the first time is to connect the financial statements to the lenders, the people who gave the trump organization money. and this goes to one of the claims that the state has in this case.

these statements were issued to receive favorable interest rates. we've seen the seven springs family property being issued for the first time in a document. and also a deutschebank loan is being referenced and how they incorporated these financial statements into their credit report. this is the first time we've seen this case move a little bit away from just the financial statements and on mcconnie's notes that he'd put in a handwritten note at the top of one of the statements that the final review would be done by djt. donald trump. so connecting him and the former president to these statements for the first time. but these are all still the building blocks of this case. we're only in day four, and it's expected to last as much as three months. but the state is starting to move forward, kind of transitioning the case in some of these other areas that they're looking to make the claims on, boris. >> yeah. a long list of witnesses still to get through. so kara, trump's legal team is also trying to get his hush money trial dismissed and simultaneously trying to push

his classified documents case until after the 2024 election. talk to us about those moves. >> reporter: yeah, so trump's legal team filed a motion to dismiss the indictment in the hush money case brought here in new york, and one of their arguments is they're saying that the state had taken too long to bring this case because it has been something they investigated for almost five years before they seated this grand jury and asked the grand jury to indict the former president. and they're saying that the timing here is suspect, that it was brought just a few weeks after trump declared that he was running for re-election in 2024. so trying to make the argument of election interference. this is a common argument we've heard from trump. he's made it in some other cases. he certainly makes it publicly as he is trying to say that all of these indictments he's facing are politically motivated in an attempt to interfere in the election. it's a long shot argument. they've also made some other legal arguments here and they're hoping to get a hearing before the judge on some of these issues. and in the classified documents case his lawyers today making the pitch to delay the trial

until after the election. it's currently scheduled for may, but they're saying that they have not gotten the evidence that they should from prosecutors and even citing that one of the toernz on that case is in the courthouse right behind me. boris? >> kara scannell, thanks so much for the update outside that manhattan courthouse. thanks. still to come, gobsmackingly bananas. that's how scientists are describing the record global heat. ahead, why this year is on track to be the hottest in recorded history. and commander has left the building. cnn is learning the bidens' dog has been involved in a lot more biting incidents than have been reported and now he is off the white house grounds. stay with us. we're back in just moments.

2023 is on track to become the hottest year ever recorded, even after a summer of record-smashing heat. september managed to somehow get even worse. >> and we're already seeing abnormally hot temperatures for october. grand rapids, michigan beat its 1953 record with 86 degrees. albany, new york broke its 1967 heat record with 85 degrees. and burlington, vermont hit 84 degrees, breaking a previous record set in the late 1800s. minneapolis meantime canceled its annual twin cities marathon. cnn meteorologist chad myers is here tracking all of these records being broken across the map. and chad, meteorologists seem to be stunned by these extraordinary temperatures. >> right. september's over and above record temperature, it was -- i've seen the words gobsmacked. i've seen just so many words on the internet where people just

can't believe it. and going back to the marathon that they had to cancel, it's like a marathon should be a record about two hours and one minute. it's like somebody coming in and running it in an hour and 45. people would be going what did i just witness? and i think that's what the scientists are saying. what did i just witness? we know that june, july and august were the hottest summer ever on record, but no one ever expected this september to be 1.75 degrees c, 3.1 degrees fahrenheit above preindustrial levels. no one saw that coming. we don't even know what's going to go on from here. now, the earlier part of the year was a little cooler than 2016. but as i zoom into where we are now, we are so far above 2016 that if we average the whole year together i think 2023 will be the warmest year on record. that's probably just a certainty. we see all of these months here. these are the hottest months on record. all of these are july, august, you know, back out here -- our july and august this year were

very hot but all of a sudden one month stands out. september. there's not another september on this map and not for many, many more bars that way. so this was so far and above what a normal july should be across north america. a cooldown is coming. it is. i promise. but it's not going to help much because a warm-up is coming in the west. what goes up must come down kind of thing. but yes, we are going to see some relief from those record high temperatures. we are going to be dropping by in some spots 30 degrees fahrenheit. this is what the globe looks like right now. and i know it may not have been hot in your area or may not have been cold in your area but we have to take a look at this globally. there aren't too many spots that are blue. that means that was a below normal summer so far. because there weren't very many places. guys? >> wow. way to put it in perspective. that marathon analogy really did. and even here in washington, it's october, it's not feeling fall-like. it's not feeling like it typically does and it really makes you think.

for more perspective let's bring in our chief climate correspondent bill weir. bill, i mean, these average temperatures appear to be above the threshold. many countries had promised to avoid in the paris climate agreement. what has been done so far to lower these temps? and is there anything more world leaders can do to combat this extreme heat? >> absolutely, pam. there's so much that can be done. first let's just go back to that chart that chad had up there. i think it's worth showing again. these are esteemed climate scientists from around the world looking at this copernicus chart. surprising, astounding, bewildering, flabbar gaftding. steven rams dorf at potsdam says we understand global warming caused by fossil fuels for four decades has been going as predicted. we don't understand that red stripe at the right side there. the surprise upward leap that's happening now. and that worries me, he writes. so yes, we are in uncharted territory. but at the same time there's a new report from the international energy agency, not exactly a group of tree-hugging

hippies. these are folks who pooh-poohed clean energy for a long time. anand look at these charts. this is solar and electric car vehicle sales and heat pumps and battery storage additions. so much of this clean technology is becoming so cheap and widespread really fast they now predict -- a couple of years ago, 2011 they were predicting we would hit 4.8 degrees warming. that would be the end of life as we know it on this earth. right now the iea is predicting we're on track for 2.4 degrees warming. still not the paris accords of 1.5. still means probably losing coral reefs and making a lot of the belly of the earth uninhabitable. but a lot better than where we were headed before. and now it's just a question of how hard the big petro states, the big companies fight this transition. iea predicts we're going to hit peak planet-cooking pollution this decade maybe by 2025, in

just a couple of years, and then start to flatten that curve down there. but it's just a matter of how much the vested interests want to fight this transition. and how much pain that will cause. >> very frightening all around. bill weir, thank you. and still ahead, one of the top candidates for house speaker stayed in d.c. and working the phones to lock down support. we're going to have a live report from the capitol. plus there's a lot of bite going on at the white house. commander biden is in the doghouse after being blamed for more biting incidents than previously reported. details next on "cnn news central."

♪ commander, the bidens' dog is losing his white house privileges. cnn has learned the 2-year-old german shepherd had more biting incidents than previously reported. the secret service acknowledged 11. but sources tell cnn's betsy klein that that number is actually higher and it includes executive staff and other white house workers. and the bites have ranged in severity with at least one requiring hospitalization. so as the first family works for a solution for the ongoing issue, cnn has learned that commander is gone from the white house. brandon mcmillan join us, three-time emmy-winning host of "lucky dog" and author of

"complicated guide to a dog lover." i love dogs, i think this is crazy, this dog at the white house bit so many people and remained there now, according it my colleague's betsy kline's reporting, excellent reporting, he's off the white house premises. help us put this in perspective. commander is 2. he's still a repeat biter. is this something that actually can be fixed, can you make him a nonbiter now? >> all i can tell you is there are no untrained dogs, just untrained owners. this dog was let down from the get-go. >> you say the dog was down from the get-go? what can actually be done? anything, or is it just engrained, you know? >> well, i can't speak about the dog because i haven't met the dog. i will say this, the white house is not exactly the best

situation for a dog. now, i've never been at the white house, but common sense would tell me the white house has a lot of moving parts. tons of people. tons of chaos going on. it's the wrong situation for most dogs. if i had to guess, i would bet this dog doesn't know who his other than was. >> he is a german shepherd, i'm a lover of all breeds. does the breed have anything to do with this? you typically associate them as police dogs, you see them at the airport for operational security and so forth. so does the breed have anything to do with this? or is it more about the bloodline? or the environment as you say, the white house environment, though i will note, you're not hearing about this kind of situation with past white house dogs. >> breed has nothing to do with this. there are millions of german shepherds living in the u.s. right now and the chances of us hearing about a german shepherd bite are slim to none, it's not

even a blip on the radar. this dog has bit, 11, 12 times now, something is wrong. if i had to guess, the dog is simply in the wrong environment. there are two kinds of german shepherds. there's the working line and the companion line. now, i don't know what line this dog is, i'm going to go out on a limb here and guess it's more the working line german shepherd. the working line, it's not fit for the environment of the white house. dogs for thousands of years, they were working animals. they had jobs. suddenly in the last hundred years or so, we took the jobs away. this is where the behavior issues began. german shepherds without a job, yeah, they're not a great dog. they need a job. this dog was in constant chaos. that's why i say it's not did the dog's fault, the bog was let down from day one. >> that's an important perspective. it's not about the breed.

it's unfair to the dog and people working around the dog a situation like that. i want to ask you, though, these biting incidents they have ranged from severity being hospitalized. to medical staff having to attend to the person being bitten. if this dog was not the first dog of the white house, i have to ask the question, would this dog still be alive? >> well, most dogs, when they bite, they go under investigation from animal control. and it's up to animal control what they do with the dog. if the dog bites twice, there's a good chance it's going to get put down. three times, that's a strike three, you're out. >> brandon, thank you for offering your perspective, appreciate it. >> thank you. well, president biden takes action to build a section of the wall at the southern border. so get is, why now? stay with "cnn news central."