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Status Update on Long Island Railroad; All D.C. Government Offices Closed Monday; Possible Bloomberg Bid?; Five Deaths in Virginia After Monster Snowstorm; Child in Flint, Michigan Shows Signs of Lead Poisoning; The Person Who Changes Anderson Cooper's Life. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired January 24, 2016 - 18:00   ET

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

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: No question. Stephanie, have fun out there.

[18:00:01] It is certainly a gorgeous setting. Enjoy it.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Poppy.

HARLOW: All right.

Top of the hour, 6:00 p.m. here on East Coast. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York.

So glad you're with us. We're expecting a status update on a major, major transit headache affecting New York City right now.

We're talking about the Long Island Railroad. As you see, no trains running in or out of New York City on that line right now. Three hundred thousand people in the greater New York area depending on that reopening for tomorrow's rush hour.

The system is one of the last major pieces of the city's mass transit system that is not operational right now in the wake of the blizzard. Rail yards are still buried under about two feet of snow, stranded trains blocking some tracks and many switches still frozen. Those still need to be thawed.

Our Ryan Young live inside Penn Station.

I know we're waiting for a press conference at 6:00. Any update on your end?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not so far. But of course one of the things we're noticing Poppy is all the people. It seems like every half hour, more people are kind of piling in to Penn Station.

If you go upstairs, I mean, back to back. People are just everywhere. One thing you talking about, the Long Island railroad, as you look here, you can see all the service suspended. That's all up there. They're saying, look, they're trying to get those rail lines back open. We know 2,000 people are at work. You have to think about historic snow, people being called in to work.

They have to find a way to get to work. And then once they get there, they have to get all things working so people could travel, 300,000 people travel one at a time.

As you look around, you can see the tons of people piling into this place. As drove from New Jersey today, Poppy, we saw the roads were open. The side streets were the ones that had the issues. But to think about that, historic storm and New Yorkers already clamoring to get back to normal life here, and we're talking about a transit system that services so many people inside this city. An update hopefully coming within the hour and we'll bring it you live as soon as we get more information.

Part of the city already back in service. We see the big trucks moving through town, plowing and snow everybody, people walking. Now, we've got to figure out what's going to happen with this rail line.

HARLOW: Absolutely. All right. As Ryan said, we'll bring that to you live as soon as we do get that press conference and that update.

Ryan Young, thank you so much.

Let's take you to Washington, D.C., now, the nation's capital virtually paralyzed by deep snow and ice, even this Sunday afternoon, even after the snow stopped. The first death in Washington, D.C., being reported in the last hour, an 82-year-old man had a heart attack while shoveling snow outside of his home.

Elsewhere in the city, all metro airports shut down hundreds of flights canceled, crews scrambling to move piles and piles of snow and ice. All the schools there in Washington, D.C., will be closed tomorrow. Also, Washington, D.C., government offices will be closed. Only limited bus and subway service will resume in the morning.

Do not expect major, major moves from Congress. Lawmakers there, the House has postponed votes scheduled this week due to this monster storm. Senators delayed work until Wednesday. We just heard from Washington, D.C.'s mayor, Muriel Bowser, about this effort to clear all the snow off the roads.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER (D), WASHINGTON D.C.: We're making a lot of progress. We are nearing the end of day one of the dig-out. Our crews worked all night and all day, and we have deployed most of the 400 new pieces of equipment I mentioned to you this morning.

While we have made progress, there is still a lot more to do, and we will work to continue to clear our major arteries. A lot of the black top you're seeing in many cases, we still have restricted on those lanes so either we don't have the full number of lanes that we should or we have some -- also some concerns about how we get through intersections and turn their sections and sight lines and the rest. So, there's still a lot of work that has to be done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Let's go straight to our meteorologist Jennifer Gray. She is in Washington for us. It is -- it is dark there, and it's cold. And it's going to get colder.

I know the big concern tonight and tomorrow is black ice.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, absolutely. It is getting colder. You can definitely tell the difference from when the sun was out shining bright earlier this afternoon. It actually felt quite nice.

Of course, anything would feel nice compared to what we were experiencing in the last 48 hours. But you're right. We had a little bit of melting going on today. Now the sidewalks are getting very, very slick. The roads are very, very slick. So we are going to be dealing with the possibility of that black ice tomorrow morning.

But it's not just tomorrow. We'll have a little bit of melting tomorrow and then a re-freeze on Monday night and again on Tuesday night and Wednesday night. We're going to have this for several days on end.

And I know a lot of people are itching to get outside, get back to work, the get on the roads, but it is going to be a dangerous situation as we go into the early morning hours basically each morning throughout this week. We'll have a little melting throughout the day and then we have that re-freeze overnight.

[18:05:02] One thing to add to what you were saying about all of the offices being closed, we just heard word that the federal government will also be closed tomorrow as well. So, that's one more thing to add. We are seeing quite a few people out and about, but we're still seeing those plows go through, which is good news.

We know the main roads are looking better and better, but it is the secondary roads that are still having quite a bit of trouble, Poppy. But the city getting back on its feet little by little. Next couple of days I'm sure it will be much, much better, Poppy.

HARLOW: Yes, no question. Thanks to everyone who makes that possible, all the people plowing and shoveling all that snow for us.

Jennifer Gray live for us tonight in Washington -- thank you.

If you are planning to get on a plane tomorrow, you may want to bring your favorite book, something great to read, because right now all D.C. metro airports are still shut down, that is rippling throughout the country causing a lot of delays and cancellations.

If you go to FlightAware.com, here's what you'll see, more than 3,500 flights are canceled in the U.S. today, nearly 4,000 more flights delayed. Nearly 1,000 flights already canceled for tomorrow.

Seventeen point eight inches of snow fell at Washington, D.C.'s Reagan National Airport, the fourth largest snowfall ever recorded there; 28.3 inches of snow falling at Virginia's Dulles International Airport, that is the second largest snowfall they've seen. And at Baltimore's airport, brand-new record 29.2 inches of snow.

Rene Marsh live at Washington's Reagan National Airport.

Do we know when things are going to be somewhat back to normal?

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Poppy. We've been poking and poking because we want to know what the situation for the D.C. area will be.

And we have not received official word as yet. An update from here, flights are still grounded both at Reagan National as well as Dulles Airport in Washington D.C. area. They are still shoveling out there.

I just peeked out there. And, you know, we have been showing you this all day. It is absolutely abandoned here. No one is here besides us, Poppy.

When does it change? Still waiting for official word from Washington D.C. However, things do look good at other airports, New York City airports having a limited number of flights going in and out tonight. Of course, that continues tomorrow. Same thing in Philadelphia. They've resumed flights.

Baltimore have resumed flights as well. You know, what people want to know is, when will things get back to normal? It will take quite a few days, well into next week, before we are back to, quote/unquote, "normal".

I can tell you in speaking with a lot of these airlines, they say they have been able to rebook a lot of these passengers. So, if you're not someone who's getting on a flight heading to your destination on Monday, you could be heading there on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. This process will continue throughout the week, Poppy.

HARLOW: All right. Rene Marsh, thank you so much. Keeping an eye on it for us. A very empty Reagan National Airport. Rene, thank you.

And as we continue to talk about what was clearly an epic winter storm that affected 85 million people and brought really a lot of us on the East Coast to a halt, what has now moved off the coast and out into the Atlantic, take a look. This is drone video, beautiful video, showing what looks like a peaceful winter scene in Staten Island, but the weather is till a major factor disrupting and dangerous for millions of people.

Tom Sater joins us now in the CNN severe weather center.

The concern now, if I'm right, Tom -- even you've got that adorable little one in the screen next to you enjoying the snow -- but the concern now is this deep-freeze and the black ice and what comes with it, right?

TOM SATER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right, Poppy. The good news, though, we're not looking at a deep freeze where we're on a polar vortex where now water pipes are going to break. I think we're going to see, sure, refreezing every night.

As you look at the beautiful drone video from Staten Island, it is a beautiful site. However, it's only pretty until the lights start to flicker. And let's not forget the over 100,000 who lost power in the Carolinas. If you're at the end of the power grid, it's going to take some time. I know they're working diligently to restore power, but again, it could be several days.

Now, every area you see in pink has picked up over two to even three feet. That's a number of states right now. That will have the black ice in the morning. It's a different time, Poppy, from when you and I went to elementary school.

Schools right now are not going to take on that liability. So, I wouldn't be surprised and mainly in rural areas as well from Kentucky into West Virginia, western parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania where schools are maybe closed for a week. And I understand that with that black ice because there will be hundreds and hundreds of more accidents and several of them with all the states.

Interesting to note, we had 30 airports closed. The main ones are still open. We did have an international flight this morning from Doha, actually land in Philadelphia. They had one runway open.

But when you look at the totals and see JFK at 30 1/2, but Reagan National 17.8.

[18:10:04] There's a discrepancy going on right now on the process they underwent to take the measurement because it was 25, a stone's throw over at Arlington. So, that number may change. It will be interesting to see what comes up with that. It's hard to believe that New York City missed it by the hair on your chinny chin chin with a tenth of an inch. It's like training your whole life, Poppy, to be a sprinter in the Olympics and you miss out on the gold by a hundredth of a second, you know?

HARLOW: I'm fine with the fact that it wasn't --

SATER: Yes, sure. Yes.

HARLOW: I'm fine with that.

Meteorologist Tom Sater for us, thank you so much. We'll check in with you in a little bit.

Coming up next, though, an apology from the Pennsylvania turnpike chairman for keeping people stranded in their cars in this blizzard, look at that, for 24 hours. We'll go straight to Sara Ganim live in Philadelphia, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: If you were in or around Philadelphia last night during this blizzard, it was an absolute mess, especially on the Pennsylvania turnpike. The chairman of the Pennsylvania turnpike commission now offering a public apology for the seven-mile standstill during the blizzard. People stuck for 24 hours saying, "I can promise you there will be a thorough analysis of the events that led up to this incident as well as a review of what occurred over the course of the last 2 1/2 days. I want to be certain we do a better job the next time something like this occurs and that we can learn from this tragedy."

Sara Ganim is live for us in Philadelphia today.

Obviously, people are enjoying it, having fun, sledding behind you. But, look, you've got him calling this a tragedy, what happened.

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You know, some of those people were stuck on the turnpike for 24 hours.

Now, thankfully today, both lanes are reopened. People who were stuck for that day are on their way home or in a shelter. You know, the National Guard had to be called in to help rescue them. They were stuck on the turnpike near an interchange, really could not leave their vehicles. It was during a blizzard.

And they had nothing -- nowhere to go, no one to help them for some period of time. Now, it did take about 20 to 24 hours before they started to be rescued. The good news today is that everyone is on their way. You heard the apology from the turnpike director.

Now, there are some other good news here. This is cleanup day in Philadelphia today. They've got some trucks are hauling away snow.

[18:15:00] They brought in a snow-melter to get rid of it for good. Philadelphia schools will be closed tomorrow, which is good news probably for the kids who have been cooped up all weekend. And you can see behind me, they found a way to release some of that energy- sliding down the rocky steps at the Philadelphia art museum.

You can see a lot of people having fun. It's a good way to end a weekend that as you mentioned was pretty miserable as times here. You know, we were out in it here in Philadelphia. There were winds up to 40 miles an hour, 20 inches of snow ended up being the fourth largest storm.

Now, there were repercussions of that, of course. No major incidents in the city of Philadelphia or around it, but in York, Pennsylvania, an airport hangar roof collapsed under the weight of the snow. Officials working to clean that up as we speak, that happened earlier today.

But, for the most part, in Pennsylvania, now that the turnpike issue is cleaned up, now that we know that no one was injured in that incident and we know that there were no major incidents in Philadelphia, everyone is kind of enjoying the relief of knowing it's all over here, Poppy. I know that we are and I know these people are.

HARLOW: As they should. Looks like a very fun night there in Philadelphia.

Sara Ganim, live for us, thank you so much, Sara. Appreciate it. Coming up next, the presidential politics we go. And the big

question: is the presidential race about to get a little bit of a spring surprise?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'd love to have him coming because I love the competition, frankly. I mean, it would be great if Bloomberg -- I'd love Bloomberg to come in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So, will former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg jump into this race? That's Marco Rubio. We're talking about someone else. Will Mayor Bloomberg jump into the race? We'll talk about it, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Eight days and counting until the Iowa caucuses. A brand new poll out from FOX News shows Donald Trump's lead is increasing by a pretty wide margin over Senator Ted Cruz and the rest of the GOP pack. Trump coming in at 34 percent support among those likely Republican caucus-goers. That is an 11-point bump from just two weeks ago. Cruz has 23 percent, followed by Marco Rubio at 12 percent.

Rubio picked up an endorsement yesterday from the influential Iowa newspaper, "The Des Moines Register".

[18:20:02] But the question is, is it a little too late for Rubio in Iowa?

Let's talk about all of this and more. Mark Preston executive editor of CNN Politics is with me live from Iowa.

Big night for the Dems there tomorrow night, the CNN town hall. But when you look at Rubio on the Republican side, the endorsement is a great thing, no question. Can it really cut into the huge, huge lead Trump now has in that state?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: You know, Poppy, at this point I agree. I think it's a little bit too late for Marco Rubio to make a hard charge at winning the Iowa caucuses. It has come down to Donald Trump and Cruz.

There had been criticism about Rubio had not been doing much in Iowa, as well in the state of New Hampshire. But as establishment Republicans are looking for someone to rally around, there's been a lot of talk about rallying around Marco Rubio. I think that this point, though, what he's looking for is a strong showing, perhaps a strong third showing which he can maybe try to use to get a little momentum when he heads into New Hampshire, Poppy.

HARLOW: All right. And talking about the Democrats, when you look at them right now, they're preparing to make this final pitch to voters in Iowa. Interesting, we know from the latest CNN poll, Mark, right, that 20 percent of Iowa likely caucus-goers on the Democratic side haven't made up their mind.

So, give me your cheat sheet. What are the three things you're going to be watching for?

PRESTON: Well, a couple of things, the pragmatist versus the heart. You know, this campaign is based upon ideas and ideals. Hillary Clinton has been making the case right now, Poppy, that she's the most experienced, she's the most pragmatic, she's the one who can come back to Washington and try to work with Congress to get things done.

Meanwhile, you have Bernie Sanders talking about bringing on a revolution, a political revolution to upend the political establishment. We heard him talk about that here on the campaign trail just today.

As well as that, you really see Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley talking to Iowa voters tomorrow. The question is, will they go beyond the discussion of policy differences and will it get personal?

This campaign, which has been fairly tame on the Democratic side, we've seen a lot of vitriol on the Republican side, is starting to get personal. And the very last one is O'Malley's last stand. Martin O'Malley who spent an incredible time in Iowa trying to drum up support for his campaign, has never gotten out of the low single digits.

Can he do something tomorrow to at least have a strong enough showing that will keep his campaign moving forward beyond Iowa into New Hampshire and onward? So, I think those are three things we should be looking for tomorrow when they take the stage here at Drake University, Poppy.

HARLOW: Absolutely, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN, hosted by our Chris Cuomo.

You will be there. Mark Preston, you're a busy man, thank you for taking the time.

PRESTON: Thanks, Poppy.

HARLOW: Of course.

Now to a possible shake-up that would make this presidential race a little more crowded, certainly an interesting potential shakeup. Sources telling us here at CNN that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is seriously considering an independent run for president, particularly if it looks there will be a much in a general matchup between Bernie Sanders and either Donald Trump or Ted Cruz. Trump and Sanders already weighing in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'd love to have him coming because I love the competition, frankly. I mean, it would be great if Bloomberg -- I'd love Bloomberg to come in. SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My reaction is

that there will be -- if Donald Trump wins and Mr. Bloomberg gets in, you're going to have two multibillionaires running for president of the United States against me. And I think the American people do not want to see our nation move toward an oligarchy where billionaires control the political process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Joining me now, historian Julian Zelizer, a professor at Princeton University, author of "The Fierce Urgency of Now."

Thanks for being with me, Julian.

JULIAN ZELIZER, HISTORIAN & PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Thanks for having me.

HARLOW: So, it's interesting. When you look historically at how a third party candidate can hurt one side or the other, it's not necessarily going to play out that way if Bloomberg does jump in. What's different this time?

ZELIZER: First of all, we don't even know who's running at this point in either party. But certainly I do think many Democrats are worried that a Bloomberg candidacy, if it happens -- he's talked about this many times -- it would hurt Hillary Clinton a lot more than it would hurt Donald Trump or a Ted Cruz. It would be a little like 2000 where Ralph Nader ate away at some of the voting that would have gone toward Al Gore in places like Florida.

HARLOW: I will say what's different this time is he's actually commissioned last week a poll to be done to see how he would do, and according to "New York Times", he said that he's willing to spend a billion dollars of his own money to jump in. A billion dollars.

ZELIZER: Yes. And I think he's looking at Donald Trump and there's part of him that is seeing right now a self-funded, not totally self- funded, self-starting candidacy for someone with this much wealth could work.

So, I think Part of him is enticed I think by the idea this time it's real. The way campaign finances changed has now opened up the playing field for someone with significant wealth to actually have an impact and even make a run for the presidency.

[18:25:04] HARLOW: Yes, I should note he did say back in 2010 on the record that he would not run. But, hey, everything changes in politics. That's for sure.

Let's move on. I want your take on another big topic of focus right now. A lot of reporting this week about these two factions in the GOP right now, there's one trying to topple the front-runner Donald Trump, the other trying to stop Ted Cruz.

Can you remember -- I mean, you are a historian, a presidential historian, Julian. Can you remember any other time in American history when the GOP was actively trying to take down its two front- runners?

ZELIZER: It's been a while. You know, part of what's going on is the front-runners are not who a lot of the party supports. So usually the front-runners are lined up with what the party expected, and that's why this has become so topsy-turvy. And that's why you have journals like "The National Review" making a big push to try to knock down these two candidates who have moved right to the forefront.

So, it is pretty different than what we've seen for a while. Even in 1980, the insurgent then in some ways was Ronald Reagan. But the party was pretty much behind him by the time he ran.

HARLOW: It's also interesting when you look at some of these new numbers out of Pew Research, right? They looked back at the job approval ratings for presidents all the way back to Eisenhower, and they found that over time, the opposing party has become increasingly negative in how it views a sitting president.

When Eisenhower, a Republican was in office, 49 percent of Democrats approved of the job he was doing. If you compare that now Julian to 14 percent of Republicans, only 14 percent, who approve of President Obama's performance.

Could Trump's success as an outsider candidate be a symptom of that?

ZELIZER: Sure. That's a symptom of the kind of polarization we've all been talking about for a while, with the intensity of the dislike for the incumbent in the White House really intensifies. And I think he is clearly playing on that. He's playing on other things. He's capitalizing on the role of television and the media, on the way campaign finance works as well.

But certainly, he is playing to a polarized electorate. That's part of why we have Trump ascendant.

HARLOW: It's been interesting to watch. It will get even more interesting if we see another like former Mayor Mike Bloomberg jump into this race. It sounds like he's considering it. We'll watch.

Julian, thank you.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

HARLOW: Exactly one week before Iowa chooses, Clinton, Sanders, O'Malley go face to face with voters. It is the final pitch, the last televised event before caucus night on February 1st. Our very own Chris Cuomo will moderate live tomorrow night from Iowa, the Democratic presidential town hall, 9:00 p.m. Eastern on right here on CNN.

Up next, the storm may be over. Travel, headaches, nightmares linger up and down the Eastern Seaboard, especially for the nation's capital. Airports closed there. Thousands of flights canceled. A live report next.

Also, a very important story, a chilling reminder of what Flint, Michigan, is facing in a catastrophic water crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: One of the problems is the Walters' house is one of furthest away from the treatment facility. It probably explains why the testing here was one of the highest, 13,000 parts per billion. To give you some context, 5 parts per billion would be caused for concern, 5,000 parts per billion is associated with toxic waste. This home -- 13,000 parts per billion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: A shocking statistic and one that suggests why this crisis is so deeply troubling for families in Flint. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is there with more, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:32:01] HARLOW: All right, you are looking at live pictures this evening of a beautiful capital, Washington, D.C., in the wake of a record-breaking blizzard in many parts of the East Coast. Federal officials announcing just moments ago all those offices, federal offices and D.C. government offices will be closed there tomorrow. Schools closed as well. Limited bus and subway service resuming in the morning, crews are scrambling right now to move piles of snow and ice. The mayor says she needs the public's help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER (D), WASHINGTON, D.C.: We're still operating under an emergency in the district. And we will have to for anybody who impedes our ability to get plows down the street, if you come out, you get yourself stuck on one of our streets. I have to tell you we will aggressively ticket you and tow your vehicle. So it will not continue to impede our snow operation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: D.C.'s airports are shut down. Thousands of flights are canceled. The numbers tell the story. 17.8 inches of snow falling at Washington Reagan National Airport, the fourth largest snowfall ever there. 28.3 inches buried Dulles International, the second largest snowfall there. In Baltimore, a new record, 29.2 inches falling at BWI.

Our Nick Valencia is live for us tonight in Fairfax, Virginia.

Pretty much a standstill, right, inside the beltway?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is. Not very many vehicles moving along those interstates or thoroughfares. We are right in the middle of the cleanup effort. Those thousands of vehicles that have been sent out onto the roadways, spreaders, snowplows and heavy machinery helping along with the cleanup. Here we are at one of those spots here. This mountain not necessarily

created by the snowfall certainly by one of those snowplows. So this was 34 hours of continuous snow here in Fairfax, Virginia, more than 30 inches falling. And it's going to be a very expensive storm to clean up.

The governor of Virginia spoke about that earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TERRY MCAULIFFE (D), VIRGINIA: This is a very expensive storm. It is costing the commonwealth $2 million to $3 million an hour. I believe that at the end of the day this will probably be our most expensive snow event ever, could top over $100 million.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: We did speak to the Virginia State Police earlier. They tell us that there's been more than 1400 accidents on those roadways. A majority of those have been minor accidents. But the concern over the weekend were disabled vehicles, even some of those emergency vehicles got caught up in that -- those treacherous, treacherous conditions here.

The good news is, residents woke up this morning, the sun was out. Degree temperature was about 53 degree difference from yesterday. It's starting to get chilly. Virginia State Police saying they are concerned. Even though the sun is expected to be out tomorrow, no more snowfall. But all the snowfall that melted, Poppy, is expected to re-freeze. So even if those roadways seem passable right now, tomorrow morning could be a different story.

Power companies of course worried that those trees could be saturated with water falling down into those power lines, creating even more of a mess for residents in this area that have already been through so much this weekend -- Poppy.

[18:35:11] HARLOW: No question. All right, Nick Valencia, live for us tonight in Fairfax, Virginia. Thank you so much.

Coming up next, a very important story for you to see. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta in Flint, Michigan, where frankly so many clues were there about the dangerous, undrinkable water in Flint.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Looks like a pretty obvious clue.

DR. MONA HANNA-ATTISHA, HURLEY PEDIATRICS PROGRAM DIRECTOR: Yes. So red flags like loud alarms should have been going off in people's brains. If it's corroding engine parts, what is it doing to our plumbing that is predominantly lead based?

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARLOW: What led to so many thousands of people drinking contaminated water, water with lead in it? We're talking about thousands of children as well. The effects of it irreversible. Our Sanjay Gupta with us, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: The federal government, the state government in Michigan trying to fix the water crisis in Flint. The EPA admitting it failed the people there. On Thursday, President Obama pledged $80 million to improve the infrastructure there. At the same time, the EPA's regional director, Susan Headman, resigned this week. The department reportedly knew for months that people in Flint were at risk of drinking water with lead in it but did not alert the public soon enough.

Michigan's governor this week apologized for his handling of the crisis on Thursday and today Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush spoke about it specifically defending the governor on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" calling for more accountability, though, from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, first of all, I think it's pretty clear that when you have local, state and federal agencies not talking to each other, blaming each other, no one being held accountable, you get this result. And it is a tragedy.

I admire Rick Snyder for stepping up right now. He's going through the challenge and he's fired people and accepted responsibility to fix this. This is going to be a long-term challenge. But it does point out that we're -- we have a 20th century regulatory system on a 21st century world.

[18:40:01] Someone needs to change how we go about Washington's role in this where there's more accountability and more transparency so that when reports are done, they're thoroughly vetted. You don't -- you know, you don't need an insular regulatory agencies that are blaming each other. That's what happened in this case, and it's just wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Residents in Flint right now living with the consequences of the failure of government agencies to protect them.

Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports from Flint.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: Look right at me. Look right at me.

(Voice-over): When her son Gavin started to become ill, it was subtle. So subtle the end waters wouldn't have been blamed for missing it. GUPTA (on camera): OK. Look right at me. Keep your head straight.

How about over here, how many fingers?

GAVIN WALTERS, FLINT RESIDENT: One.

GUPTA: OK, good job. Look up. Look down. Do you have any -- do your fingers feel numb at all?

(Voice-over): But one day she looked at Gavin and then looked at his twin brother Garrett, side by side, the difference was staggering.

LEEANNE WALTERS, MOTHER OF GAVIN: The size he is right now is pretty much the size he was last February, February 5th of 2015.

GUPTA (on camera): So almost a year ago.

L. WALTERS: Almost a year ago, yes.

GUPTA: How much does he weigh versus his twin?

L. WALTERS: He's 35.8 pounds and his twin is 53 pounds.

GUPTA (voice-over): For months, they have drinking the same water. But Gavin was showing the effects of being poisoned by lead and such is the nature of lead poisoning, it can affect people very differently, even twins.

(On camera): Do you remember what the number was?

L. WALTERS: 6.5.

GUPTA: And what is normal?

L. WALTERS: Nothing. There is no safe exposure to lead.

GUPTA (voice-over): It's a mantra repeated by doctors all over the world,. No lead, not even a little bit is acceptable because we know more than ever what it does to the body.

When lead is ingested or inhaled, no organ in the body is spared. Lead even attacks the DNA, affecting not just you, but your future children. All of it essentially irreversible. Equally frustrating, the symptoms could show up now or years from now.

L. WALTERS: Wait, watch and see, how do you live your life like that?

GUPTA (on camera): It's upsetting.

L. WALTERS: He's 4.

GUPTA (voice-over): The lead was coming from the corroded pipes carrying water. The longer the water was in the pipes, the more hazardous it became.

(On camera): One of the problems is that the Walter's house is one of the furthest away from the treatment facility. It probably explains why the testing here was among the highest, 13,000 parts per billion.

To give you some context, five parts per billion will be cause for concern, 5,000 parts per billion is associated with toxic waste. This home, 13,000 parts per billion. But, of course, it's not just one home. It's an entire community here in Flint. 100,000 people live here. 10 percent, 10,000 of whom are under the age of 6. They are the ones who are most at risk.

HANNA-ATTISHA: When pediatricians hear anything about lead, we absolutely freak out.

GUPTA (voice-over): It wasn't a freak out at first but doctors in Flint started hearing whispers about elevated lead levels in the water in 2014. So Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha started looking at lead levels in her young patients, and what she found was shocking.

HANNA-ATTISHA: The percentage of children with lead poisoning doubled in the city of Flint. And in some neighborhoods it actually tripled.

GUPTA: She sounded the alarm to state officials as loudly as she could but no one listened. Instead --

HANNA-ATTISHA: We were attacked. So I was called an unfortunate researcher, that I was causing near hysteria, and that the state numbers were not consistent with our findings.

GUPTA: Maybe denial was so easy because of this. Flint, a city surrounded by some of the largest fresh water lakes in the world, was now delivering some of the world's most contaminated water to its citizens.

(On camera): In October of 2014, General Motors you say stopped using the water because it was corroding their parts.

HANNA-ATTISHA: Right.

GUPTA: That seems like a pretty obvious clue.

HANNA-ATTISHA: Yes. So red flags, like sound loud alarms, should have been going off in people's brains. If it's corroding engine parts, what is it doing to our plumbing that is predominantly lead- based?

GUPTA (voice-over): Water that could corrode engine parts, just imagine what it was doing to the body and brain of Gavin Walters.

HANNA-ATTISHA: These kids did nothing wrong. They did nothing wrong except being poor.

GOV. RICK SNYDER (R), MICHIGAN: In May, Professor Mark Edwards from Virginia Tech and Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha sounded an alarm about lead in Flint's water.

GUPTA (on camera): The governor says look, you can having anything you want, anything, Mona?

HANNA-ATTISHA: I want a rewind button to April of 2014. That's what I want because you can't undo this. You cannot undo this.

GUPTA: If there's ever been a U.S. city in need of a rewind button it's Flint, Michigan. More than a third of the people here are living in poverty. Life expectancy is 10 to 20 years shorter than the rest of the state. There is not a full scale grocery store anywhere in sight.

[18:45:00] HANNA-ATTISHA: And then we got lead, like if you were to think of something to put in a population to keep them down for this generation and generations to come it would be lead. It's just a loss of words.

GUPTA (voice-over): But they, Dr. Mona, LeeAnne, the hundred thousands of citizens of Flint, have to believe that clean water will return, one day soon.

(On camera): Do you know why people have been putting you on TV lately?

G. WALTERS: Yes.

GUPTA: Why?

G. WALTERS: Because they wanted to put us on TV.

GUPTA: Yes.

G. WALTERS: So they can see us.

GUPTA: Because you're handsome.

G. WALTERS: Yes.

GUPTA: Yes.

(Voice-over): Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Flint, Michigan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Sanjay, thank you so much for that story. We will stay on top of this for you and bring you the latest out of Flint as we have it.

Still to come, a touching tribute to the man who changed my colleague Anderson Cooper's life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: He gave me the sense that I had value, my ideas mattered. That instilled in me a confidence I don't think I would have otherwise had.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Hear Anderson's story about his father coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern in just over an hour's time, CNN journalists share the people who had such a profound impact on them that it affected the course of our lives.

This is the culmination of our week-long series here on CNN called "The Person Who Changed My Life." Here's Anderson Cooper's story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: I was 10 years old when my father died, and, even though I didn't know him for very long, he changed my life in ways that no one else has. My dad's name was Wyatt Cooper. He was just 50 when he died. I used to think that was old, but now that I'm 48, 50 seems pretty young.

I recently found a scrapbook my dad kept when he was a boy, gum wrappers and old newspaper articles, the flotsam and jet sum of small- town life in the 1930s. My dad had always been interested in movies. His scrapbook is filled with pictures of actors and ticket stubs for film he went to see as a child.

[18:50:06] He went to UCLA and worked as an actor for years, mostly on stage and television. That's him in a cheesy movie with Mario Lanza called "The Seven Hills of Rome."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wyatt, good luck tonight. I heard it's a complete Sellout. I'll be out front leading the cheering section. Thanks, Wyatt.

COOPER: He also wrote screenplays and magazine articles but when he married my mom in 1963, he moved to New York. When my brother and I were born, we became the center of his world. I know he considered us his greatest achievements.

WYATT COOPER, ANDERSON'S FATHER: I, all my life wanted very much to have children and quite specifically I wanted to have sons. So I think I could reverse the roles and they become the recipients of the kind of fathering that I had wanted and hoped for.

COOPER: I've always looked a lot like my dad. And that's one of the reasons I think I felt so connected to him. There was something about the way he talked with me, even when I was very little, that made a huge impact. He was always open and honest with my brother and me. He really listened to what we had to say. He gave me the sense that I had value. My ideas mattered. That instilled in me a confidence I don't think I would have otherwise had.

W. COOPER: We talk a great deal about moral and character values but also they ask me questions like, Anderson, my youngest son asked, how much does a stuntman make? Because that's what he would like to be now. He can't make up his mind whether he wants to be a stuntman or a policeman.

COOPER: My brother were included on nearly everything he and my mom did. When people came to dinner, we sat at the table and were part of the conversation. That's me welcoming Charlie Chaplain to our house when I was just 5 years old.

When you grow up secure in the love of a parent, it gives you a foundation that can carry you through all sorts of events in your life. That feeling of security and confidence, I still carry that with me today.

When someone dies, you think you'll never forget anything about them, but over time, memories fade. I can't remember what my dad smelled like or the sound he made when he came through the front door. But there are things I'll never forget. Laying with my head on his stomach as we watched TV together. I remember the rise and fall of his breath. The beat of his heart. I remember him typing on his old typewriter late into the night. I remember that feeling of having a father, being loved, and feeling safe.

A person can change your life by the things they say and do, what they teach you, but they can also change your life by leaving. By their absence. And my dad's death changed me in ways that I'm just now starting to understand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All over world, and how we are a minute away from 1978 and the giant ball has begun its descent.

COOPER: I remember New Year's Eve, 1977. I watched the ball drop in Times Square on television.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy new year, folks.

COOPER: My dad was in the hospital. I knew he was really sick. I was really scared what the new year would bring. He died just five days later, January 5th, while undergoing a heart operation.

I'm not sure I understood the finality of his death at the time, but I began to retreat into myself. I became less outgoing, more introverted. I also became much more independent.

Hi, I'm Anderson Cooper. This is a special edition of Channel 1 for Wednesday, May 11th.

I began working to earn money, began learning in earnest how to take care of myself.

Loss changes you, particularly when you lose a parent at a young age. The world suddenly seems a much different place. More dangerous. The person I was before my father's death, the person I was meant to be, was far more open, more interesting than the person I'd become.

I wish it wasn't so, but the self-reliance I learned has also served me well. I often wonder what my father would think of me, what he would say to me, what advice he would give. I close my eyes and try to imagine him watching me on television or calling me on the phone to discuss a story I've written. I know he would be proud, but I wish I could hear him tell me so.

W. COOPER: My relationships with my sons is quite extraordinary, and I think extraordinarily close, and we understand each other in the most extraordinary kind of way.

[18:55:00] COOPER: I heard his voice for the first time since I was 10 years old when a 1975 radio interview he gave was restored by the Clock Tower Radio and put on their Web site.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wyatt Cooper, families, a memoir and a celebration.

COOPER: But I wish he'd been able to hold on just a little bit longer. I do feel lucky I had my dad for as long as I did. His death changed me, but his life changed me more. For that, I'm forever grateful.

W. COOPER: My feelings about what I want my sons to be, I certainly want them to be, let's say, a better man than I.

My sons are very aware that I have certain expectations of them. And that is that they will behave with honor and with dignity.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Beautiful tribute there from Anderson to his father. You can see all of our stories tonight in one hour, 8:00 p.m. Eastern. The special, "The Person Who Changed My Life" right here on CNN.

We also want to know who changed your life. You can tweet us with #mylifechangers. We'll show your responses at CNN.com/lifechangers.

You can also find a lot of photos there, videos from all of us here at CNN about who those special people were for us.

Coming up next, the Eastern Seaboard digging out today after a storm of epic proportions, setting records, shutting down roads and airports. But there's hope for airports in one city. So we will tell you where that is, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Top of the hour, I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. Thank you for being with us this Sunday evening. The nation's capital now trying to dig out from this weekend's monster blizzard. Deep snow and ice covering most of Washington, D.C., right now. We just learned limited flights will resume at D.C. metro airports tomorrow morning. The first storm-related death in Washington also being reported tonight.