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Large Family Feels The Increasing Pinch Of Inflation; EPA To Mandate Stricter Water Quality In Benton Harbor; Packers Quarterback Rodgers Told Reporters In August He Was Immunized. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired November 04, 2021 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: We know the pandemic is wreaking havoc on the economy but families across the country are still fighting to make ends meet as inflation drives up prices of just about everything.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro takes a look at how one family in Texas is coping.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTA STOTLER, PARENT: All right, let's go tackle this.

EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): What does inflation mean for American families? This is the story of the Stotlers' weekly shop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good to see you guys.

K. STOTLER: Good to see you.

LARRY STOTLER, PARENT: We have two biological kids and then my wife and I have a big heart for adoption, so we a sibling group of two, then three, then one and then we have a kid living with us right now who's kind of a foster situation.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice over): It feels like money isn't going as far as it used to.

K. STOTLER: OK, let's see what we can do.

I think probably in June, it was about a dollar's worth a dollar, so now that dollar is worth about 70 cents.

All right, now we're moving on to dairy, which is right there.

We started seeing everything going up. Grocery prices went up. Gallon of milk was $1.99, now it's $2.79, well, when you buy 12 gallons a week, times four weeks, you know, that's a lot of money.

That's what I'm talking about. Thanks bro.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your welcome.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice over): Again, this is what they buy every week.

K. STOTLER: If you want to get any of these that are a $1.79, you can pick five boxes' worth.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice over): Grocery shopping means tough choices right now.

L. STOTLER: We're not buying the most healthy stuff because prices have gone way up. But I feel kind of guilty sometimes we can't afford the really good things that would be healthier also.

K. STOTLER: OK, so P.F. Chang's is like the elite. So, let's --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You mean elite price? Or elite quality?

K. STOTLER: Like both.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, said both.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what we're saying.

K. STOTLER: So, where the family-size meals?

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice over): The Stotlers keep a close eye on their budget and they shop deals.

K. STOTLER: This is 20 ounces. How many ounces is that? 24, so get that one.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice over): Krista loves a coupon.

K. STOTLER: Buy this and get Rotel and chips free. That's what it's supposed to be.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice over): But these days the family grocery list and the money they carefully plan to spend sometimes don't match.

[15:35:00]

K. STOTLER: We're at $90 already and we've got a basket and a half left. But God is good and always provides, so let's see where we'll go.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice over): The math at the grocery store worked out.

K. STOTLER: OK, so I don't need this, we're going to take that off, and then we'll add these items. Awesome, guys, you all did great.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice over): Then they had to add in the rest of the week's shopping, that gets delivered.

K. STOTLER: Oh look, the Walmart stuff came.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice over): The grand total? $310.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: How much would you have spent maybe back in March so you could do the same thing?

K. STOTLER: So probably we would have only spent probably about 150, $200 something like that in March because it was quite a bit less.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice over): The Stotlers are feeling the inflation squeeze to the tune of an extra $100 a week they say. That's just for groceries. This family may be larger than many.

K. STOTLER: Let's go through the line by birthdays. Whoever has October birthdays gets to go first.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice over): But they live the same middle-class life as their neighbors. The squeeze is getting tighter and that means that middle class life could be changing.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: If the prices keep rising the way they've been rising through the next six months, what's going to, you know, happen to life in this house?

K. STOTLER: If it continues, we're just going to have to get more creative and maybe pick up an extra job if we have to, you know, doing food delivery or something like that to help make up the difference.

L. STOTLER: You can go down to beans and rice and still sustain pretty economically. We don't want to have to do that. You want to enjoy what you're purchasing, but there is another level you can get to just to make sure you make it through.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice over): Evan McMorris-Santoro, CNN, Cannondale, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: All right, thanks to, Evan, for that really drives it home watching how that family struggles.

BLACKWELL: It is tough for large families.

CAMEROTA: OK, so weeks after Benton Harbor, Michigan declared a state of the emergency over tainted water, Federal regulators are stepping in, but is anything changing? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:40:00]

CAMEROTA: In response to the desperate pleas from the people in the town Benton Harbor, Michigan, the EPA just ordered city officials to immediately improve the city's water quality and monitor its water systems.

Residents claim that corroded lead pipes have been leaking into the town's drinking water for years. That prompted city officials last month to declare a state of emergency, but residents and community activists say the process is not moving fast enough. Let's bring in Reverend Edward Pinkney. He's the President of the

Benton Harbor Community Water Council. He has spent years advocating for cleaner water. Reverend, thanks for much for being here. Three years, three years the water tests in Benton Harbor have shown elevated levels of lead. Why? How has it gone on so long?

REVEREND EDWARD PINKNEY, PRESIDENT, BENTON HARBOR COMMUNITY WATER COUNCIL: Well, here's the problem. The Mayor, the Governor, Fred Upton, the Senate -- the state Senators, the state Representative, they've all been missing in action.

Because for it to take three whole years for you to do anything if there's a problem. And here's the thing. If we had not filed that petition, you and I would not be talking today. There would be no action at all. It would be another three years of the residents living in Benton Harbor drinking this contaminated water.

CAMEROTA: That is true.

PINKNEY: -- which is --

CAMEROTA: Yes. We would not have known about it, I totally agree. We talked about Flint a lot. We did not know what was going on in Benton Harbor. But you've been working on this on the ground. You've been trying to get the attention I know of the EPA, of as you say your state officials. I mean you've called out someone specifically. Who is at fault here most in your mind?

PINKNEY: Well, I think the Mayor of Benton Harbor should have done more. This is my belief because if he would have been hollering and screaming that the water is contaminated to protect the residents of Benton Harbor, and I believe that there would have been some kind of action behind this.

But one of the things that I do know, there would be no action unless we didn't get national attention, and what we have gotten now is national attention, and that's the only reason something is being done.

CAMEROTA: Well.

PINKNEY: Let me say this real quick. Can you imagine if a white lady was standing in front of you today with her baby and her two children, and she's telling you that this lead is killing her baby? Joe Biden would be here right now. He would take a helicopter here to explain to the people that he's going to resolve this matter in six months or less.

CAMEROTA: It's hard to imagine the scenario that you just laid out. I agree. And so, are you saying that because Benton Harbor is primarily black, that's why the residents have suffered through this?

PINKNEY: Oh, absolutely. There's not a doubt in my mind. Environmental racism is here and we have to do something about it.

CAMEROTA: Why hasn't the Mayor done anything? PINKNEY: Maybe his lack of knowledge. You know, sometimes, people -- when you think about water, you don't ever think about water being bad. And that's why people even today continue to drink the water.

But when we first completed the first sampling, he should have been along at that time to try to do something. And try to correct the problem immediately. This problem has lingered on for more than three years and that's three years too long. We don't know how many people have died from this water. We don't know how many people have suffered kidney disease, liver disease, heart disease.

[15:45:00]

We don't even know the effects of it when it happened of people being missing in action rather than standing up and attacking this problem. So, I really put the fault on him. He should have blew the whistle a long time ago and he failed to do so.

CAMEROTA: Explain what the situation is like on the ground in Benton Harbor. Are people drinking the water? Are people using the water? Are you getting enough bottled water? What's it like today?

PINKNEY: Well, here's the thing. The Governor has pumped in 90,000 cases of water, which is good. Which is good. But my feeling is that we go door to door. I make sure that the residents of Benton Harbor receive this water. That's my goal. It's a lot more work but it's got to be done.

My team, the Benton Harbor Community Water Council, we make sure that only the residents of Benton Harbor receive this water. Because we're the ones, the Benton Harbor resident is the one with the major problem. And the only way to get out there is to go door to door and make sure they have clean safe water.

CAMEROTA: It sounds like the lead levels there may be going up. I mean I was reading that the lead levels have been higher in recent samplings than they were in the initial exceedance, lead exceedance in the fall of 2018.

I mean it's just unthinkable that it's going in the wrong direction. Do officials at the EPA have they given you enough attention when you've tried to reach out to them, have they been responsive?

PINKNEY: Well, you know, they're getting better. And the only reason they're getting better is because of the petition. And see that petition has set the stage now where they almost have to do something, you see.

One of the things the EPA have done, they strictly put the blame on the city of Benton Harbor. But there is enough blame to go around. You got the city of Benton Harbor -- they should be blamed. You got Eagle, the state, they should be blamed. You got the EPA. They should be blamed. All three of these individuals, or -- well, they all should be blamed and should be all held accountable. You can't let one of them off the hook.

CAMEROTA: So now that you have national attention, what can we do for you? What do you want everyone to know?

PINKNEY: One of the things that we must do, we must keep it into the forefront. We don't need another Flint, Michigan. But right now, we do, Benton Harbor is Flint, Michigan whether they like it or not, we must keep it the forefront and keep hammering away at them to make sure that they do what they're supposed to do. That is crucial at this time.

There's no ifs, ands and butts about it. We must keep that pressure on them. Because if we don't there going to go when the cameras go away, they're going to go away.

CAMEROTA: Yes, well, Reverend Edward Pinkney, we will check in with you every week. We really appreciate you telling us what's really happening on the ground there and we of course will stay on it.

PINKNEY: Thank you, so much.

BLACKWELL: Can't let this happen to another community after we learned so much about Flint, now to know about Benton Harbor --

CAMEROTA: For years.

BLACKWELL: -- the same thing.

CAMEROTA: For years and we didn't know about it.

BLACKWELL: Glad they're doing the work they are there.

NFL star Aaron Rodgers, he will not play this weekend. He reportedly tested positive for COVID after telling the world that he was immunized.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:50:00]

BLACKWELL: The Green Bay Packers will take the field against the Chiefs without one of their star players this week. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers will miss Sunday's game against Kansas City because of COVID- 19 protocols. As several outlets are reporting that Rodgers has tested positive for COVID and that he is unvaccinated.

CAMEROTA: CNN has been unable to confirm his vaccination status but in August Rodgers was asked about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you vaccinated and what is your stance on the vaccinations?

AARON RODGERS, NFL QUARTERBACK: Yes, I've been immunized. You know, there's a lot of conversation around it, around the league. And a lot of guys who have made statements and I mad statements, owners who have made statements. You know, there's guys on the team that haven't been vaccinated. I think it's a personal decision. I'm not going to judge those guys.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Here to discuss with us, Nancy Armour, a columnist for "USA Today" Sports. Nancy, he clearly misled people. If he is unvaccinated that response is clearly, he is misleading. He said yes when they asked have you been vaccinated. He said yes, I've been immunized. How else can we interpret it?

NANCY ARMOUR, COLUMNIST, USA TODAY SPORTS: Absolutely. And you know looking back now it is very obvious that he was trying to obfuscate, dissemble a lie -- whatever word you want to use.

But I think at the time, you know, he was so as a matter of fact about it, that people just figured that he was using the words interchangeably but clearly, he was not.

BLACKWELL: Yes, well, this is the guy who hosts "Jeopardy" in the off- season, right. So, the selection of words, he is probably a wordsmith. And it seems like he knows what he is doing there as he says I'm not going to judge those guys who have chosen not to get vaccinated separating himself from people who have been unvaccinated.

So, what are the implications for Rodgers and for the Packers now that we have this reporting?

ARMOUR: Well, there are a couple different things. First is on the field, the Packers have one of their biggest games of the season on Sunday in Kansas City and they will be starting Jordan Love. It'll be his very first NFL start in a stadium that is one of the loudest in the league. So, that is a challenge and given the way that the playoff seedings are done now every game is important. So, a loss here could mean the packers are -- you know, don't get a first-round buy.

And then if you look at in terms of the league response, you know, both Rodgers and the Packers are going to be waiting to find out what the NFL decides. The NFL has in previous cases when they've found teams and players not adhering to protocols have fined them. You know, six figures last year for the New Orleans Saints, I believe the Seattle Seahawks, the Las Vegas Raiders.

And there clearly have been instances of Rodgers not following protocols. And it's going to, you know, would they suspend him? Would they fine him? These are all things we're waiting to hear from the NFL.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about that because he clearly misled the public there and the press there. But do we know if he misled his teammates? And what protocol wasn't he following?

ARMOUR: Well, it does seem as if the rest of the team knew about it.

[15:55:00]

Because there wasn't -- there didn't seem to be a whole lot of surprise when the news came out. Matt LaFleur, the coach of the Packers has been very careful to draw a line, saying that Rodgers adhered to protocols in the football space. That was the term that he used today, which means in the locker rooms he apparently was wearing masks. In the hallways he was wearing masks.

But LaFleur also made it clear that press conferences where Rodgers has not been wearing a mask, that's not his domain, so that means that the protocols were flouted in some way, shape or form.

There also was a Halloween party this weekend that several of the Packers players attended including Rodgers. The NFL has a very long list of things that unvaccinated players are not allowed to do and that Halloween party would probably be among them.

So again, you know, the NFL has a lot to look at. We don't know when we're get a decision or any word from them but I can't see them letting this slide whether it's Rodgers himself or the packers as a team.

BLACKWELL: Yes, all right, Nancy Armour, a columnist with "USA Today" Sports. It will be, I guess, pretty crucial how this new rookie quarterback performs this weekend to determine if that's influential on what they do with Aaron Rodgers. Because if he's problematic but Love performs well, maybe that gives them some options as they continue the season.

CAMEROTA: Maybe it does. All right, our thanks to Nancy there.

And THE LEAD with Jake Tapper starts after a very quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)