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Wall Street Shrugs Loses; Monster Snowstorm; Sanders Keeps Up Pressure; Two Crises in Michigan; National Guard Handing Out Water in Flint; Previewing the Sundance Film Festival. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired January 21, 2016 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00] ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Traders are telling me, don't get too comfortable. There's not going to be stocks really stabilize until you see oil prices stabilize, which continue to fall just a bit today. This trader telling me, he expects to see the lows that we saw yesterday tested again. And only the real trick to seeing if things are ready to stabilize for real is if you see stocks bounce back. And I'll tell you what, Carol, stocks have a big hole to crawl out of. Just this year, and that's three weeks, the S&P 500 has $1.6 trillion in value. So, yes, we had the opening bell ringing and stocks flat. So we do see green arrows, at least for the moment.

Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Alison Kosik, thank you.

So, Christine, I'm supposed to say, you know, Wall Street is down significantly for the year, but like it's January.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It's January and this has been the worst start to trading ever for the Dow.

COSTELLO: But it's only January.

ROMANS: You're right. There's a lot that can happen this year. What the market is telling us they're very concerned about everything that's happening overseas and you're starting to get people questioning whether stocks are too far ahead of themselves here. The U.S. economy still is growing. You've got jobs being added. You've got auto sales that are strong. You've got home prices continuing to improve. So the worry is what could happen, not what is happening in the U.S. economy. But it's fear spreading around the world. The market plays on fear and agreed. It's a spectrum of fear and agreed. And right now it's all about fear.

Let me show you what that looks like around the world. All of those red countries, those are stock markets that are in a bear market, Carol. That's jargon for a 20 percent drop. Imagine losing 20 percent on your investment. That's really ugly. Correction is a 10 percent. That's a lot of other really important markets. So it shows you just how painful it's been. For many of you, you think of the stock market as the names you know in the stock market, maybe that you invest in or the products that you use. Look at some of these big companies with their huge losses from recent highs. Walmart, down 32 percent. Goldman Sachs, Apple, Disney, those are companies that do a lot of different things, right? In some cases the strong dollar is something that's hurting their exports. But you're starting to hear people say, wait a minute, at what price is this sweater on sale so much that I want to buy it and put it back in my closet? That's what people are starting to talk about now.

COSTELLO: All right, Christine Romans, thanks so much.

It's being described as a monster storm. Some 75 million Americans in its path. And in Washington, D.C., was sent reeling last night by an inch of snow. But the forecast is ominous. Blizzard-like conditions and possibly two years (ph) of snowfall in this lone, massive storm. We're going to hear from the D.C. mayor in just about 30 minutes and hopefully she will explain why the city came to a standstill last night. And some people were trapped in their cars for more than six hours after just one inch of snow fell on the highways.

Let's get to the Weather Center now and check in with meteorologist Chad Myers, because lots and lots of people are going to get -- are going to experience a snow apocalypse.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: They will. There's no question. The new models are run right now and the scariest model has the low just off probably Corralla (ph) and Duck (ph) here into North Carolina, pushing significant amounts of rain and snow into the northeast cities. I- 95 really will be a cutoff. If you're along this line, right through here, to the east there will be a lot of sleet and just mess. But if you're I-95 and westward, it's all snow. And there is easily 36 inches in the forecast for someone. That's the bad news.

Now, I still don't know where that's going to get to yet, but will it be Gathersberg (ph), Rockville (ph), will it be Tomonium (ph), Towsend (ph), how far west of Baltimore are we going to have to talk. And then New York City, you probably are only looking at -- only looking at 6 to 8 inches of snow. Hopefully enough plows to work that out.

If the snow moves a little bit farther to the north, those numbers in New York could go up significantly. And they also could go down significantly if this storm pulls out to the ocean and not to the north. We'll get to that in a second.

Blizzard watch for New York City, For Long Island, for Baltimore and D.C. Winter storm warnings all the way back to Memphis with ice coming down. Charlotte, Nashville, Greenville, Columbia, ice coming down for you. Even Raleigh/Durham, the High Point, Winston Salem area, lots of ice coming down for you. Farther to the west, into the Piedmont, I think you'll get more snow than ice, but it's going to be close. There's a demarcation line right through D.C. To the west of there is all snow. To the east is all rain. Bouie (ph) could get nine, where Gaithersberg (ph) could get 30. That's how -- and that's not even a far drive. That's 30 minutes without traffic, back across parts of D.C., and that's the wind as well.

So here's what it looks like now for the next couple of days over the next couple of cities here. We are going to look at temperatures in the 30s in every city. New York City, 6 to 10 inches. Much less north. Much more south. Philadelphia, 10 to 18. And then maybe even 14 right in the city. But if you get west a little bit, I think maybe closer to Harrisburg, but not quite into York, into Lancaster, you're probably looking at 18 inches. Baltimore 10, 20 to 30. D.C., 20 to 30 as well. And then slightly less to the south where it mixes in with Richmond, but it's ice and Charlotte is an ice storm that you don't want to deal with.

[09:35:08] Carol.

COSTELLO: Wow. Chad, you've got the whole world in your hands right now. I'm only making jokes because I'm not looking forward to the snow.

MYERS: Should I sing something about Coca-Cola?

COSTELLO: Oh, gosh, please don't.

MYERS: All right.

COSTELLO: Chad Myers, thanks.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders crisscrossing between Iowa and New Hampshire in a final sprint for those very first votes. Now Clinton saying she's down in the polls but not out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: As the clock winds down to the first votes of the 2016 campaign, Bernie Sanders is giving Hillary Clinton an unexpected and intense battle for the hearts and minds of Democrats. But when those votes are cast, will Sanders be able to seal the deal? CNN's senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny live in Iowa this morning to tell us more.

Good morning.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Carol.

I mean Bernie Sanders is really trying to convince Iowa Democrats to take a chance on him, follow their hearts, follow their true ideals and their actual beliefs here. So I can tell you, this contest seems so close, so locked with him. of course, he is doing so well in New Hampshire. He's coming some of that spills over here into Iowa.

But as we've been traveling across the state talking to some voters, we're finding a lot of voters who like Hillary Clinton just fine, but they love Bernie Sanders. Take a listen to an interview we did with Lori Arnold (ph), a woman from Fort Dodge, Iowa, who put in a nutshell exactly what's going on here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LORI ARNOLD: I think Hillary has done a tremendous amount for our country, for the average person. Unfortunately, I think Hillary has taken some special interest groups and added (INAUDIBLE) a little with those. And Bernie hasn't. Bernie's taken money, ten bucks here, ten bucks there and that's how he's building what he wants to see done with this country.

[09:40:22] ZELENY: Do you think he can deliver on everything that he -- he says?

ARNOLD: I don't think any politician can ever deliver on everything they say.

ZELENY: Right.

ARNOLD: But I think he comes pretty darn close.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So apparently you hear it right there, pretty darn close. So voters are willing to go -- at least follow their hearts with Bernie Sanders. At least some of them are. And the challenge for Hillary Clinton right now is trying to convince them that her experience and -- is necessary for this kind of race right now. I mean -- and she knows exactly what he's happening. Her campaign is talking to voters. Of course she has a lot of support here. But last night in Burlington, Iowa, she was telling voters, asking voters to take a chance on her. You know, she said, I know I'm a -- you know, I know I'm a little bit down in the polls here, but, you know, stick with me here.

So, Carol, as we head into this final weekend of campaigning and then into next week, before those Iowa caucuses in some 11 days, this is the dynamic here. Are voters going to follow their hearts with Bernie Sanders, or follow their heads, as Hillary Clinton is asking them to do. A tight, tight race here in Iowa, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Jeff Zeleny reporting live for us this morning.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, will Detroit teachers ditch school again today to bring attention to run down schools, while the city is suing to keep them in class.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Two major crises shining a harsh spotlight on Michigan. In Detroit, teachers are back at work this morning despite their protests over hazardous school conditions.

[09:45:00] And in Flint, President Obama is now speaking out after appointing a federal health official to oversee the city's water disaster.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am very proud of what I've done as president. But the only job more important to me than president is the job of father. And I know that if I was a parent up there, I would be beside myself that my kids' health could be at risk. That's why over the weekend I declared a federal emergency in Flint, to send more resources on top of the assistance that we've already put on the ground.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Jean Casarez is in Detroit. She's following both stories for us this morning. Hi, Jean.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi. You know, so much going on in Detroit. And the latest is that teachers are back to work, students are back at school, but not before the district actually filed late yesterday a legal document asking a judge for a preliminary injunction restraining order so the students (sic) cannot mount another sick-out. They want these teachers in the school.

Well, yesterday President Obama, as you say, did come to Detroit. He attended the North American International Auto Show. Also spoke with the United Auto Workers. But he also had a meeting with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan about the crisis with the public school system. Here is what the mayor said after that meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR KAREN WEAVER (D), FLINT: Everybody should have clean water, and it's just a travesty when -- you know, it's ironic when you live in the Great Lake State and we don't have clean water. So this is something that it continues to be a disaster for us, because we don't know at which point we will be able to drink the water yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And now we do want to look at a full screen that the governor of the state made true to his promise he was going release e- mails on the Flint water crisis. And so he did that yesterday.

Here is an e-mail that comes from September 2015. And what this e- mail to the governor says is, "I can't figure out why the state is responsible except that then treasurer Andy Dillon did make the ultimate decision to switch the water sources so we're not able to avoid the subject."

Now, it was one month later the governor then made the decision to go back to the Detroit City safe water to protect, at that point, the health of the people of Flint, Michigan.

But one last thing, the teachers that are named in that legal document have 30 days to respond. Because, Carol, once again, the district is asking a judge or for the teachers to not be able to have a sick-out anymore, that they must stay in that classroom.

COSTELLO: OK, I want to go back to that e-mail for just a second and Flint's water crisis. So essentially what that e-mail is demonstrating is that there was a lot of finger-pointing going on. Is the state responsible? Is the city responsible? Is the federal government responsible? And in the meantime, there is bad water in Flint. Do I have that right?

CASAREZ: Yes. And what the e-mail is really saying is finally, really an admittance, I would say, from the governor's staff that someone, a state official, made the decision that that Flint water and the Flint River should become the source. And so that brought the state in for liability responsibility. And the governor then one month later switched it back to the Detroit system.

COSTELLO: All right. Jean Casarez reporting live from Detroit this morning.

For weeks, people in Flint have been forced to live off cases of bottled water. With me now to talk about the effort to get water to those residents is Major General Gregory Vadnais. He's with the Michigan National Guard. Welcome sir.

MAJ. GEN. GREGORY VADNAIS, NATIONAL GUARD (on the phone): Thank you.

COSTELLO: General, how many bottles of water has the National Guard delivered?

VADNAIS: To date, the latest update I've got is over 90,000 cases of water have been distributed, either at -- to our points of distribution or the door-to-door efforts.

COSTELLO: 90,000 cases, and the reason so much water is needed, is not only can you not drink the water, but people can't bathe in it either, right?

VADNAIS: I'm not sure with the bathing part. I thought that we're good with the bathing piece. And understand too that we have been distributing water filtration systems that do take the lead out.

[09:50:03] And so that's been a big push so that we can transition at some point to, you know, clean water coming through a faucet at the home that's filtered.

COSTELLO: Do you have enough water?

VADNAIS: We do. FEMA has got -- pre-positioned over 30 trucks. We've got it at Selfridge International Guard Base, and so our supply chain is pretty well set and we're confident that we've got enough in place and we'll have enough to meet the needs.

COSTELLO: What is the most difficult situation that you've seen in terms of somebody in desperate need of water?

VADNAIS: Well, you know, it is -- at best, it's difficult and inconvenient. And, you know, we see and we get, at our points of distribution, at the fire houses, we'll have elderly people coming in. Obviously, it's difficult for them to get out and our soldiers are ensuring that, you know, we're getting the water to their vehicle or doing whatever we can do to assist them. So, you know, those kinds of things get a little tough to deal with. But we're dealing with it.

COSTELLO: Did you ever think that you'd have this kind of mission on your hands?

VADNAIS: Well, no. This is certainly not something that we had on our radar. But I will tell you that we are manned, trained, and equipped to deal with, you know, any domestic emergency that's out there. That's what we do.

COSTELLO: It is indeed. And we're happy for it and we're glad. Thank you so much, Major General Gregory Vadnais, for joining me this morning.

I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:56:20] COSTELLO: The Sundance Film Festival kicks off today. From race relations to ISIS to gay rights, nothing is off limits. CNN's Stephanie Elam gives us a preview of the nation's most prestigious film festival.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's that time of the year when Hollywood types leave the palm trees behind, grab their parkas, and come here to Park City, Utah, for the Sundance Film Festival. And sure, that means the parties, the glitz, the glam, but the real draw is the movies.

MATTHEW BELLONI, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: It really sets the tone for the year in culture in film and television.

ELAM (voice-over): For documentary filmmakers, this festival is the place to be.

BELLONI: It's really the only place to get a high-profile launch for a nonfiction film. And a lot of these films go on to get bought by television networks and by theatrical distributors and make a big difference.

ELAM: Be it fiction or a documentary, this year's slate of films may ruffle feathers.

BELLONII: A lot of the most anticipated films are ones that are not only potentially controversial but are seeking that controversy. You have documentaries about Anthony Weiner. You have documentaries about ISIS. You have a film called "Birth Of A Nation", which is about a slave uprising told from the perspective of the slaves.

ELAM: But no matter the topic, every filmmaker comes to Sundance looking to make a deal.

BELLONI: In addition to the theatrical distributors, there are Netflix, Amazon, HBO, Showtime, CNN, all of these different venues that are going to Sundance, looking for great movies o buy.

ELAM: The ultimate goal -- turn Sundance buzz into Oscar gold.

BELLONI: Let's take "Brooklyn" for example.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So what were you doing (INAUDIBLE)? Don't the Italians have chance chances?

BELLONI: This film was seen at Sundance last year. It was bought by Fox Serachlight and now, a year later, it's in the Oscar race as a Best Picture candidate.

ELAM: Stars can also get some shine from Sundance. Take "Boyhood" and "Whiplash", both debuted at the festival and went on to be nominated by the Academy in 2015 for Best Film, and ultimately led to Oscar wins for Patricia Arquette in "Boyhood" and J.K. Simmons in "Whiplash".

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we go. Five, six, seven.

J.K. SIMMONS, ACTOR: Were you rushing or were you dragging?

BELLONI: Jennifer Lawrence was nothing before she had a movie, a tiny movie, at Sundance. That movie got a lot of attention; she got "Hungers Game" and became a huge star.

JENNIFER LAWRENCE, ACTOR: You will rescue Peeta at the earliest opportunity, or you will find another mockingjay.

ELAM: A huge star and an Oscar winner.

(on camera): So chances are a few of the films debuting here may soon be coming to a theater near you.

Stephanie Elam, CNN, Park City, Utah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: All right, checking some top stories, 58 minutes past.

And in Baltimore a judge rules against prosecutors in the Freddie Gray case. William Porter, on the right, the officer there, will not have to testify against his fellow police officers. Porter is awaiting retrial and his forced testimony could have delayed the other trials for months. Six officers are charged for the death of Gray, who suffered a fatal spine injury while in custody.

The governor of Oregon demanding that federal authorities end the armed protest in a wildlife refuge. It's been three weeks since protesters first seized the property in a dispute over federal land policies. The governor says the hands-off approach is not working.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KATE BROWN (D), OREGON: The residents of Harney County have been overlooked and underserved by federal officials' response thus far. Federal authorities must move quickly to end the occupation and hold all of the wrongdoers accountable. This spectacle of lawlessness must end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:00:07] COSTELLO: The governor says the occupation is costing the state about $100,000 per week.