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Widespread Teacher Sick-Outs And Protests in Detroit, Michigan; Governor Apologized for the Flint Water Crisis; Some Nasty Winter Weather Threatening Millions Of People From Eastern Tennessee Up Toward Boston. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired January 20, 2016 - 15:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:32:39] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Mildew that covers ceilings and coats walls, dead rats inside hallways and under lockers, bathroom stalls without doors. These are just some of the working conditions that are sparking widespread teacher sick-outs and protests in Detroit, Michigan, because today 88 schools, that is 90 percent of the Detroit public school system, is closed because of the protests. That is the most to close thus far. Likely not a coincidence that this happens the very same day that President Obama is in town. Live pictures there of where he's about to speak in Detroit. He is speaking at a car show to praise Detroit's auto industry's resurgence.

So let's go to Jean Casarez who is live at Detroit's plaza. She has walked some of the hallways of some of these schools. She's seen this with her very own eyes.

You know about the teachers. How are parents handling the sick-out?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, there are differences of opinion here. I want to tell everybody we're downtown Detroit right now. We are awaiting an outdoor rally from some of the teachers that are involved in this sick-out. So to happen in about an hour, but some of the teachers have already arrived. And they've told me that, we care about the students, we care about the conditions in the school, or we wouldn't stand out here.

It is 19 degrees right now. And, as you say, it's no coincidence because right to my left is the (INAUDIBLE) center. That is the convention center here in Detroit. We are awaiting President Obama to speak very close to this rally. And they say the conditions of the schools, which I did see -- and it's not all the schools, but its floor that's are buckled, gymnasiums that students can't exercise in, pools that don't have water, boiler that's don't heat. One teacher just told me she has to keep her coat on all day and so do her students and you can't learn in an environment like that. But not everybody believes the sick-out is the way to go. The Detroit Parents Network spoke to me, the CEO, several minutes ago. Here's what they believe about the situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHARLONDA BUCKMAN, CEO, DETROIT PARENTS NETWORK: That it should not take a sick-out for children in this community to get the things that they need. All of us as adults are responsible to make sure that they are prioritized and that's not what we see happening at this moment. So I feel like as parents one of the things we do as a parent organization is make sure that parents' voices are lifted up on behalf of their children. They are champions for their children. And they have some opinions in this matter as well, some very strong ideas and opinions about what should be happening.

[15:35:07] CASAREZ: And what are you hearing today?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And here's what they said. They said that they believe in the teachers. They want the teachers to have all the resources they should have. But they don't agree with the sick-out because you are putting parents in a situation where they have to go to their jobs. And this morning they were scrambling to try to find help, someone to stay with their children, and they are also concerned about the safety of the students because on a day they're not at school, they can be out and about. And that means there could be issues with their safe safety, Brooke.

But the real question here is how to pay off the debt. $515 million is what the school district owes. The legislation that is now in place has to be voted on, but it would be for the state to assume the debt. So while they have the water crisis in Flint and now the debt hanging over their heads here in Detroit, it's a lot to handle for one state.

BALDWIN: It is a lot. We will be listening for the president to see if he addresses the school issue, the debt, and of course what's happening in Flint, Michigan.

Jean Casarez in a very cold Detroit, thank you so much, Jean.

And speaking of this water issue here, you know, the governor apologized for the Flint water crisis in his state of the state address. But the calls are mounting for Michigan governor Rick Snyder to quit. The city continues to be overwhelmed by its lead- contaminated water system. President Obama met with Flint's mayor. She called the crisis a travesty and gave the president a first-hand account of all the health problems that people have been suffering me.

Joining me is an attorney Gretchen Whitmer, public policy lecturer at the University of Michigan and former Michigan senate Democratic leader.

So Gretchen, welcome. Nice to see you.

GRETCHEN WHITMER, PUBLIC POLICY LECTURER, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: So let's get to your live tweeting from last night. This is during the governor's state of the state, you know. You tweeted about your disappointment with the amount of time, you know, he spent talking about Flint and Detroit. You thought it wasn't enough. You noted how much time he spent explaining what's wrong with his cabinet. Do you think he was deflecting?

WHITMER: Well, here's what I think. As a parent, every time I turn on the faucet, I think about the families in Flint. I think about the parents, the kids. And last night was a real opportunity for this governor to tell the people of Flint, I've got this under control. I'm going to find out what went wrong, and I'm going to fix it so you never have to worry about this again. Instead, unfortunately, I think we heard blame and meanwhile the water still is poisoned in Flint. We need action. We need vision. And we need accountability.

BALDWIN: Tell me about your time with him in the statehouse days because you aren't of that calling for his resignation. Tell me why.

WHITMER: Well, I think resignation just means his lieutenant governor becomes governor and I don't think that's a real fundamental change. I'll tell you that I've said that ever since he took office that budgets are not merely balance sheets. They're a statement of your values. And the bottom line is that this is a governor that took over a city and had his people make decisions to save money. And that's what exposed these people to lead poisoning. And it's not just Flint. It's everyone in Michigan who should be worried. This water goes into the aquifers and this is the same group of people we think are protecting all of us let the people of Flint down. We all have a vested interest in fixing this problem.

BALDWIN: You know, part of that is figuring out who knew when, how things were covered up, you know, and all the different levels all the way from the top top, you know, federal down to local. Folks have called for Governor Snyder's head, you know. Let me bring this up, though. He doesn't actually have to release emails. He's exempt from that sort of request. But he says he absolutely would. The fact that he's willing to do that, Gretchen, what does that tell you?

WHITMER: Well, let me tell you, when you look at the national rankings, Michigan is dead last when it comes to transparency, when it comes to accountability. And so, the governor offering to release some emails, this is a step in the right direction, but we should require that all of these communications be open to the public, to scrutiny. Not just emails from two years but when the decisions go under emergency management back from 2011, every year he's been in office.

And in fact everyone in his cabinet should not just subject their emails but their phone logs, their calendars, their meeting notes, that should all be for us to examine, to ensure that we know what happened, where the decisions were made, so we can fix it and make sure this doesn't happen. This is the Michigan brand. We have got to communicate to the world we can do better and we're going to. And that's what it's going to take.

BALDWIN: Gretchen Whitmer, thank you.

WHITMER: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Millions of people are in the path of the first monster snowstorm of this season. Airlines already offering to allow customers to reschedule their flights. A look at who will get hit hardest, next.

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[15:44:17] BALDWIN: Look outside your window for me. And if it's clear and sunny, that may be about to change. Some nasty winter weather threatening millions of people from eastern Tennessee up toward Boston. And experts say it could bring historic amounts of snow to some places.

Let's go to meteorologist Tom Sater.

Tom Sater, hit me.

TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: This one will. I mean, you and I both spent our time in Washington, D.C. And you know, Brooke, just whispering the word "snow," chaos ensues. I can already hear snowmageddon II. But a blizzard watch is already in effect. This could be historic. And it's possible by the end of the weekend we could see over a million people without power. I'm not kidding here.

All of these are winter storm watches in blue and the blizzard watches. They are going to change to warnings a little bit later on today because the storm is approaching. Now, a little bit of snow may leave a dusting to an inch. That's a preview of things to come. Most of the moisture made its way into the western U.S., a storm center now leaving Colorado is going to dive down the south.

It really begins tomorrow with the setup of icing into parts of Arkansas into northern Mississippi and areas of western Tennessee. Severe weather south of that in areas of Alabama and Mississippi, maybe tornadoes. But then it kicks in, significant icing in parts of Tennessee across the commonwealth of Kentucky. Icing will start to take the form of maybe a third inch to a half inch in parts of south and North Carolina. That is going to down trees. And then it's the snowfall.

Back in all of the areas to the south across the Tennessee and Ohio valleys, but then really picking up as the storm center will change and transfer its energy to an area of low pressure off the coast.

Look at the wind gusts. This becomes a nor'easter. Classic nor'easter, 45, 50-mile-per-hour winds in Washington, D.C. You only need 35 for blizzard conditions. It continues, 60-mile-per-hour gusts New York City, 35 to 40. We're looking at high tide with a full moon on Saturday, significant coastal erosion and coastal flooding. But with the icing, with the heavy amounts of snow and wind, power outages.

Now, this proof. New York City, we are not really sure right now because computer models which have been in agreement for several days could still vary. There is going to be a significant drop off in New York City. But when it comes to Washington, D.C., records go back to 1884. And hose 132 years there's only been three snow events at 18 inches or higher. And we're looking at the next one.

Computer models vary. Some would give us 28 to 30 inches of snow. Another model kicks it up to 20, Brooke. This is going to be significant. So again, it is going to unfold, but each model run will help us get closer to that forecast.

[15:46:50] BALDWIN: Walked into my office the other day and somebody hung my CNN storm of the century jacket sort in the middle of it. I'm like, guys, are you telling me something? This is my future looks like covering all of stuff?

Tom Sater, thank you very much. I know those D.C. days quite well.

Still ahead here, Sarah Palin joining Donald Trump on the campaign trail moments ago after her big endorsement of the Republican front- runner. But can she help deliver a victory for him in Iowa? That's the question.

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[15:51:42] BALDWIN: All week long here on CNN we have been sharing stories about different people who have changed our lives. We, anchors here at CNN, this is part of a special airing this Sunday called the person who changed my life. Right now I would like to share the story of my colleague Alisyn Camerota.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): My wedding 14 years ago, a day that for many years I thought would never happen. My story begins on the crime show "America's Most Wanted" when I was 26 years old.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did you think when you started reading in the paper that he was a serial killer?

CAMEROTA: No, I didn't fall in love with a serial killer. And, no, the person who changed my life was not a fugitive. She was fellow crime reporter Maria Villalobos.

Maria was this 32-year-old married woman. And I was in my 20s. And the idea that I would become great friends with some what I consider to be an old married lady at the time seemed impossible.

MARIA VILLALOBOS, ALISYN'S FRIEND/FORMER COLLEAGUE: I met her when she was 26, very cool. Life progressing fast for her. Dating lots of guys.

CAMEROTA: Though we were in different life stages, Maria and I did become fast friends and started spending almost all of our free time together.

VILLALOBOS: Come on, time to go.

CAMEROTA: I soon started vacationing with Maria and her husband.

VILLALOBOS: Alisyn and Matt looking at the map.

CAMEROTA: Even following them on one trip all the way to London. It was during that time with Madame Maria that I started feeling something was missing in my own life. I had relationships, but I did not have what they had, my own family and commitment. And I had no idea how to get it.

My parents got divorced when I was eight, so I wasn't around a lot of happily married people. And to have Matt and Maria who were, you know, were six years older man me, I just saw how they worked together and I'd never seen anything like that.

Maria and I reunited recently in Boston at the aptly named mama Maria, one of the many places I'd crashed their dinner date almost 20 years ago.

VILLALOBOS: I remember. You had just gotten a cell phone.

CAMEROTA: I had?

VILLALOBOS: And you were always on it, checking boyfriends calling you. How was your new year last night?

CAMEROTA: Fine.

VILLALOBOS: She would bring over every boyfriend to meet us. She really wanted the seal of approval from us. And we would always sometimes tease them and say to the boyfriends like we better not get too close because someone else is going to be coming. We would all laugh.

MATT DANILOWICZ, MARIA'S HUSBAND: She typically had about three or four guys she was spinning around at any given time. But I think I have come to learn with the wisdom of some years that actually for women that's not the ideal situation.

CAMEROTA: Everything throughout my 20s felt like I had been sort of repeating possibly not productive patterns in my love life. I had just turned 30 years old. And I felt like I don't know what I'm doing with my life. It felt very empty.

[15:55:00] VILLALOBOS: That's when my Mama Maria's advice came in and I had to start cutting you off at the knees.

CAMEROTA: I remember that. You would be like you need to straighten your room. And I was like, why, and you're like pick up your clothes off the floor.

VILLALOBOS: Right. And when I would tell you, you need to cook for your boyfriends. You need to make them dinner. You need to make them cookies, you probably thought, you know, you're being so sexist.

CAMEROTA: I wasn't thinking sexist, I thought old fashioned.

VILLALOBOS: What I was trying to say is take your mind off yourself and put it to someone else. Let them know that you care about them. Give them of your time. And I always thought that you pretended that you didn't like them. Like you didn't need them. And I was like that's not working for you. CAMEROTA: Like a football coach, Maria began videotaping my bad

plays, documenting my selfish behavior and playing it back for me. Like this time when I was complaining about my life right in front of my boyfriend.

VILLALOBOS: And you walk in the door, it's New Year's Day, and here's what you do.

CAMEROTA: A horrible year. So embarrassing.

VILLALOBOS: She wasn't as giving. The concept of giving of your time to go buy someone a present or bake them cookies or make them dinner was very foreign to her.

CAMEROTA: I started to follow Maria's advice. I never baked any cookies, but I did start thinking about other people's feelings and letting them know I cared. After about, I don't know, three years, I guess, three or four years in Boston, Matt got a job far away, in Madison, Wisconsin. And I was really, you know, bereft and upset. I thought that I was not going to be able figure it all out without Maria.

VILLALOBOS: So I was like, I'm going to leave. You're going to fill that hole, the hole I left with other people, with new people. And you're going to get married.

When she met Tim, things became quiet. There was no drama. It was easy. The wedding makes me very emotional because her mother came up to me when I least expected it and said like the most beautiful thing to me. And she said, Maria, you changed my daughter. And it was one of the nicest things that anybody has ever said to me.

CAMEROTA: When I thought about what really changed my life the most, it was getting married and having kids. And then I had to think, who helped facilitate that, and the answer was Maria.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Husband and wife.

(APPLAUSE)

VILLALOBOS: I think that you had it in you all the time. You just needed like a little tweaking at the beginning, but it's like such an honor to see you so happy.

CAMEROTA: Sometimes you just need a little tweaking. And of course a dear friend to tell you that. I credit Maria with helping me find my way to a happy marriage and three children who allow me to love unconditionally every single day.

She was just so loving and supportive. I really don't know what I would have done without her in my life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Finally I get to meet her. We have talked about her so much. Alisyn Camerota, you're like my CNN big sister. Is that a fair

assessment?

CAMEROTA: I appreciate that because everybody needs a big sister. I appreciate that.

BALDWIN: Did she have any idea? Obviously she knew how much you were touched by her and all of her -- all of your man eating ways.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: Well, she has been very honored to be named as the person who changed my life. She's been very gracious about it.

BALDWIN: Is there a lot of people in our lives to choose?

CAMEROTA: Of course. And many people have had an impact. But she's the person who really took time. You know how annoying it is when you have a friend that can't get it right and a friend who keeps saying I don't know what I did wrong. I don't know. What do you think I should do with this guy? And that's annoying. And she endured it and she gave me thoughtful advice the whole time.

BALDWIN: Your husband is such a hunk and such a lovely human being. I've met him. But what does he think of your relationship with Maria? I mean, do you still talk about her like --?

CAMEROTA: Well, I did just get some phone calls from Tim this morning who why am I getting email and calls from my friends and co-workers who said that you had some piece on CNN today about our life? I said I did tell you about this.

BALDWIN: Surprise, honey.

CAMEROTA: He said, yes, you did vaguely mention it. He loves Maria. He loves Matt, her husband. He is also a great guy. So we are all still good friends.

BALDWIN: We all need those people in our lives.

CAMEROTA: We do.

BALDWIN: We're better people for it. Alisyn Camerota, thank you so much for sharing.

CAMEROTA: Pleasure.

BALDWIN: Don't miss a special Sunday night 8:00 eastern here on CNN.

"The LEAD" starts now.