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Flint Water Contamination; Diplomacy with Iran; The Person Who Changed Michaela's Life. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired January 18, 2016 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00] PAUL BEGALA, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Republicans, who are a little more establishment oriented, may do much better in New Hampshire, which is the Marco Rubio hope. It's the Chris Christie hope. It's the John Kasich hope. Even, dare I say, Jeb Bush, although I think he's got like slim and no hope. But I think you're going to see a completely different race when we move in the Republican side to New Hampshire.

Also, New Hampshire is an open primary. Anybody can vote. Any - either party. You wake up in the morning. If you're unaffiliated, you can choose. That makes it really exciting and makes it harder to poll there in some ways, but I think it's terrific.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Paul Begala, Ana Navarro, great to have you with us this morning.

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And, of course, you know, we're so close to the -

BERMAN: Thank you so much, guys. What a fun time it was.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, absolutely.

Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: All right, new questions being raised this morning about the water contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan. You heard it brought up in those closing statements in the debate last night. Why didn't the governor in Michigan step in sooner, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: New questions this morning about the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. That water contaminated with lead. And now people are asking about Governor Rick Snyder's initial response. Some of those questions actually coming from the national campaign trail.

[08:35:06] Let's get right to CNN's Sara Ganim, who is live in Flint this morning.

Good morning, Sara.

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

Yes, the people in Flint, the residents here, are continuing to demand answers for how this happened and why it took government officials so long to act. There was a rally here yesterday in Flint. The Reverend Jesse Jackson here among the residents, calling for the resignation of their governor, Rick Snyder, saying that it took him too long, nearly a month, I should say, to act, nearly two years after it was his administration's decision to change the drinking water here. Drinking water that later became contaminated with lead because it was so highly corrosive.

Now, last night this all turned political in the Democratic national debate - the presidential debate. Bernie Sanders calling for Rick Snyder's resignation, as well, and Hillary Clinton saying she believes this would have never happened in a town if it wasn't poor, as Flint is very poor. She's saying it would never have happened in an affluent city in this state.

Rick Snyder defending himself, tweeting last night after the debate that, "political statements and finger pointing from political candidates only distract from solving the Flint water crisis." But the hits keep coming. Just last week, Snyder announcing they're now looking into whether a spike in legionnaires' cases is related to the Flint water crisis. Ten people died in the last two years because of the legionella bacteria, which is water born.

Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right, Sara, thank you so much. We'll keep pressure on those politicians to make sure there's some change coming.

Time for five things you need to know for your new day.

At number one, relief for families of the Americans released from captivity in Iran, including "The Washington Post's" Jason Rezaian. The U.S. now leveling new sanctions on Iran over ballistic missile testing.

Meanwhile, authorities in Iraq are searching Baghdad for three missing American contractors. It's believed they were kidnapped by a group of gunmen.

Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton clashing on gun control, Wall Street and Obamacare in that heated debate in Charleston. Two weeks to go before the Iowa caucuses. Sanders and Clinton are neck and neck in that state.

Meanwhile, Ted Cruz banking on a bus tour to boost his standing in New Hampshire, while Republican frontrunner Donald Trump ramps up his attacks, calling Cruz nasty, a hypocrite and someone you cannot make deals with.

The nation honors the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today. President Obama and the first lady will observe the holiday by taking part in a service project.

For more on the five things, be sure to visit newdaycnn.com.

Poppy, over to you. HARLOW: All right, thanks, Michaela. Appreciate it.

Turning now to the huge, huge diplomatic developments this weekend. A prisoner exchange between the United States and Iran. Also international economic sanctions lifted against Iran. But many critics are unhappy with the broader U.S. nuclear agreement with Iran, including some of Iran's Middle Eastern neighbors. We're talking about Israel, Saudi Arabia.

Let's talk about all of this, the big picture. Joining us now, CNN's Fareed Zakaria, host of "Fareed Zakaria GPS."

Your show was on when President Obama came out yesterday morning and made that address. Let's remember, this is a nuclear agreement. There are still sanctions from the U.S. against Iran, including the new ones this weekend. There are still hardliners in Iran. Of course, you have Rouhani, you have Zarif. Is this a new chapter or is this a new book?

FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST, CNN'S "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": It's a new chapter. It's very - very well put. I think that it is a new chapter because, exactly as you say. You know, if you think about Richard Nixon's opening to China -

HARLOW: Sure.

ZAKARIA: This was the moment where China comes in from the cold, the United States reestablishes relations. That was very different because they faced a common enemy in the Soviet Union and there was a supreme leader of China who had clearly made his mind up. Mow (ph) had decided to shift course. Here, you have a supreme leader who waffles, who waffles every day because he's got his hardliners, he's in probably one of them himself, and then he's got the moderates who seem more popular. So he's always juggling between those two.

And while the United States and Iran do face a common enemy in ISIS, it's not quite the same because the big strategic rivalry remains between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

HARLOW: Yes.

ZAKARIA: The U.S. is on Saudi Arabia's side. So I don't think we'll see a kind of opening to Iran in quite the same way, but the incremental steps for the last two or three years have all been positive. And each one is opening up new opportunities. Just as the nuclear deal opened up the opportunity for the hostage issue, resolved the sailors problem, something that had taken almost two weeks -

HARLOW: And then there's John Kerry, said they were separate tracks. He just told John Berman that they - they were very different negotiations. Do you - do you believe that?

ZAKARIA: Of - they were very different negotiations with the same people.

HARLOW: Right. ZAKARIA: And if you're finding - look, let me give you an example. The

American journalist held in Iran in that prison for the longest time before Jason Rezaian was a man named Maziar Bahari, a "Newsweek" reporter. I was the "Newsweek" international editor at the time. We tried very hard to figure out whom to talk to. It was very difficult because the United States had no relations with Iran. So I talked to Hillary Clinton, secretary of state. She really wanted to help. There was no path in. She couldn't pick up the phone and talk to anybody.

[08:40:30] Maziar had a Canadian passport, so we - I talked to the Canadian prime minister. They tried but, honestly, Canada does not have the influence the United States has.

HARLOW: Right.

ZAKARIA: So the fact that you have Kerry having developed a very strong relationship with his counterpart Zarif means that when something you - like this happens, it can get resolved. There is a path. When these people were leaving in a scene almost out of "Argo" -

HARLOW: Yes.

ZAKARIA: Jason Rezaian's mother and wife are not allowed to leave.

HARLOW: Right.

ZAKARIA: At the airport, they literally stop them. So Kerry picks up the phone -

HARLOW: Makes the call.

ZAKARIA: Calls Zarif. They manage to solve it in half an hour.

HARLOW: So also what could have tripped this all up is that image that is now known around the world of the, you know, American military members being held temporarily in Iran. And John Berman is - end of his interview, a fascinating interview with Secretary Kerry this morning - asked Kerry about that. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: Very appropriate. So -

BERMAN: Do you - did you send a message essentially that said, if you don't release these sailors, then all bets are off with the - with the implementation of the nuclear deal?

KERRY: I'm not going to discuss what I said or didn't say, but suffice it to say that I made it crystal clear how serious this was. It was imperative to get it resolved. I think they believe that and knew that instinctively. And within a matter of hours, we had an agreement that this was going to be resolved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: A non-answer that says quite a lot, Fareed. ZAKARIA: Well, and what it again tells you is the value of diplomacy

and diplomatic connections because Kerry and Zarif were able to talk five times in six hours to get this resolved. Now, if you didn't have relations with Iran, if you didn't have conversations going on, we still don't have an embassy -

HARLOW: Right.

ZAKARIA: You know, you wouldn't have been able to do anything. And these kind of things become very, very difficult, and countries find it very hard to back down in these kinds of moments.

HARLOW: We have ten seconds left. Yes or no, did you think this day would come, in the near term at least?

ZAKARIA: I hoped, but I - honestly, more has happened than I thought would happen.

HARLOW: Wow. All right, Fareed Zakaria, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

Back to you guys.

PEREIRA: Hey, Poppy, you know words like inspiration and game changer tend to get tossed around a lot, right? Well, coming up, someone who is living proof. You're going to meet the person who changed my life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:46:34] PEREIRA: So CNN is launching this fantastic new series this week about the people that changed the lives of our CNN anchors. The people that you will meet had a profound impact on all of us, affecting the course of our lives, and even our careers.

Today I'm going to introduce you to a very special woman in my life. Her name is Moyra Rodger. She's the woman who showed me that all it takes is for one person to see what you don't.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: I spent almost ten years here in Victoria, and so every time I come back, it definitely feels like home.

Growing up as an adopted child, I always sort of felt somewhat random. And as I was growing up, trying to figure out who I was, part of that was also what I wanted to be. I always tell people, TV happened to me by accident.

Moyra Rodger was a producer at CHEK TV. When I met her, she was producing a campaign, as PSA, called "Imagine a World Without Contract." And they needed ethnic and diverse looking people.

MOYRA RODGER, CEO, MAGNIFY DIGITAL INC.: So we put out an open call to the residents of Victoria to come to the studio and get in front of the camera and just see how they feel, for us to take a look and see how they were reacting. PEREIRA: So I answered the open casting call, went down to the local

TV station, and ended up being cast in this campaign.

RODGER: And I can't describe what happened to the atmosphere when she walked in. I thought, wow, there's something really extraordinary about this person.

PEREIRA: So following the taping of the PSA, my dad had already sort of ingrained in all of us that if somebody gave you an opportunity, you should always show gratitude and thank them, follow up with maybe a thank you card or a gift. So I did. I was a bit of a crafty person, and I decided that I would decoupage a terra cotta plant pot for her, wrote a little thank you card and took it down to the TV station for Moyra. She followed that up when she received my gift with a phone call and invited me to lunch.

It was at that lunch that she said something so profound to me that it changed my life.

PEREIRA: Hey, pal. How are you? When's the last time you were here, huh? Been awhile. How are you?

RODGER: Great.

PEREIRA: You hungry?

RODGER: Thanks. You bet.

PEREIRA: Awesome. It's so great being back here. I can't believe that we're (inaudible). When you and I came for lunch -- That's why I brought you here. You know that this is why I chose this spot for lunch today.

RODGER: Absolutely.

PEREIRA: You remember that, too?

RODGER: Yeah. We had lunch on the patio.

PEREIRA: You looked me dead in the eye and said, you need to seriously consider a career in television. The voyage that your suggestion sent me on. Think about that time in this city. There was nobody that looked like me on TV.

RODGER: Here we go.

PEREIRA: My color, my size, my ethnicity, my last name, my big curly hair, none of that was an impediment to you.

RODGER: It was the big old curly hair.

PEREIRA: It was kind of -- To you, it was kind of like, well, why wouldn't you? And I remember being so terrified, but you had such confidence. You were so resolute that I couldn't not believe you.

RODGER: Something really special happened way back in that studio all those years ago.

PEREIRA: So you can see why it was easy for me to figure out who influenced my life.

RODGER: Well, I'm still very flattered and humbled and think it's --

PEREIRA: You're not going to take it, are you?

RODGER: Well, I certainly have been a champion for you and always will be. I also feel kind of protective of you. So I will go that far as to acknowledge that.

[08:50:06] PEREIRA: I'll take it. You know what I was thinking? After we kill our salads and the calamari, what say you if we go and see if we can find Gourd at CHEK.

RODGER: That would be great.

PEREIRA (voice-over): Gourdie Tupper was my co-host at my very first TV gig. It was on a show called "CHEK Around" at the local TV station where Moyra worked. It was because of Moyra's belief in me and her suggestion that I audition for the show that I met Gourd and fell in love with television.

GOURDIE TUPPER: Michaela!

(LAUGHTER)

PEREIRA (on camera): Hi, honey. So I should let you say hi to --

TUPPER: Moyra.

PEREIRA: We haven't seen each other in for like --

RODGER: Forever.

TUPPER: At least a week. No, it's been years.

RODGER: It's been years.

PEREIRA: Wow, look at this. It looks exactly the same. Are you ready, Gourd? Have you looked at this?

TUPPER: Oh, wow.

PEREIRA: (inaudible) welcome you to (inaudible) Farms day two.

TUPPER: Yeah. Still here.

PEREIRA: Michaela Pereira's hair today was fashioned by --

TUPPER: Wow!

PEREIRA: This was our office.

TUPPER: (inaudible) PEREIRA: Born to be wild

TUPPER: This is not the common person we rent to.

PEREIRA: OK. So watching all of that old tape is crazy.

TUPPER: I loved it. You know, if I was the type of person to cry, I would have. Seriously, it was like -- I haven't seen those for 20 years.

PEREIRA: That is so crazy to think about that because it started with the promo. That's where we worked together.

RODGER: But it wasn't long after that you were looking for a new co- host.

TUPPER: Yeah. We got to the end of the list and I said, well, that's it. We have not found a person. I don't know what we're going to do. And Nick, our camera guy, he said, well, one more person has been added to the list, it's this girl Michaela Pereira. And after two minutes of talking to you, I just looked at Nick and he looked at me and we said, there we go.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

PEREIRA: All right. This morning, another high-ranking announcement --

(voice-over): It is so rare to see someone else believe so much in another person. This was a woman who believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. There was nothing in it for her.

The truly inspiring among us, the true heroes in life, they don't do it for selfish motives. And they rarely want their recognition. So it would make sense that she doesn't want any recognition.

(on camera) There she is. Hey! Hi, pal.

RODGER: Hello.

PEREIRA: How are you? Welcome to CNN and New York. How are you?

RODGER: Great.

PEREIRA: One piece of advice that you've given to me that has been invaluable: be yourself.

RODGER: I don't think you know how to do it any other way.

PEREIRA: Maybe now, yes. But think about a 20-something-year-old kid who didn't go to communication school or broadcast journalism school, just came up learning on the job and is surrounded by a whole lot of people who don't look like her, who didn't start out like her, and when you kind of got in front of me and waved that flag, like, hold up, be yourself, it changed the game for me. Being myself has been the only thing I could do that I could bring to the table that I knew that I could do with 1,000 percent authenticity. So thank you for that. And I wanted to give you this little gift.

RODGER: It this a decoupage?

PEREIRA: Now, it's an upgraded version of a decoupage pot because you --

RODGER: Oh my gosh. That's beautiful.

PEREIRA: The flowers in it, you have continued to nurture my career the way a flower grows, you know. And I just cannot thank you enough for all that you've done for me and continue to do for me and for the friendship and the mentorship you provided me.

RODGER: Oh, Michaela, that's beautiful. Thank you so much.

PEREIRA: So here's a little elegant vase to put your flowers in to say thank you, babe.

RODGER: Thank you.

PEREIRA: I love you.

RODGER: Love you, too.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: I have to say, first of all, thank you to CNN for giving us -- You guys know we don't get -- often get a chance to say thank you to the people that, you know, sparked our journey. And so the fact that we get to do this was --

HARLOW: And honor them in that way.

PEREIRA: Yes.

BERMAN: Two things. No. 1 --

PEREIRA: Uh oh. Uh oh.

BERMAN: No, no, no -- No. 1, like how awesome -- you know, being yourself is great advice for someone like you when your self is awesome to begin with, right? So that's a nice thing.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: No. 2, what is decoupage?

HARLOW: I was thinking the same thing.

PEREIRA: How do you guys not know what decoupage is?

BERMAN: And see that's important because it changed your life. I want to know what it is.

PEREIRA: You know what? I'm going to show you how to decoupage. It's when you like do a thing on a pot. BERMAN: Is it a noun or verb? Is it a pot or what you do to a pot?

PEREIRA: You don't know what decoupage is?

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: So the great thing is Moyra is dying right now because I know she's watching. She's up early on the West Coast.

HARLOW: Hi, Moyra.

PEREIRA: Hi. She was so not -- I had to really convince her to allow me to do this piece on her because that's not what she's about at all. She doesn't want the recognition. Um --

HARLOW: I have to say two things.

PEREIRA: OK.

[08:54:57] HARLOW: One is when I tell people I work at CNN or when they come here and tour, I can't tell you how many say, do you know Michaela Pereira? Do you work with Michaela Pereira? Because what they see is what we feel when I walked past your office at 3:00 this morning, which is the real deal. They feel that and I just wonder --

PEREIRA: Except with makeup on.

HARLOW: We all have a little help. But I just wonder when what she saw you realized?

PEREIRA: To be perfectly honest, it wasn't until I had sort of loved and lost and been down and picked myself back up again and had been rejected a thousand times, both in love and in jobs. You know what I mean? It took me awhile. I don't think it was well until my early 30s that I really was like, oh, oh. You know. And then to be able to implement that is a whole other thing.

Can we just brag one thing, I want to say, is the woman who produced that, a fantastic lady by the name of Marley Martinez. She produced this piece for us and she just started her own voyage by starting at a TV station in Alabama, in Birmingham, and she's watching now. So thank you, Marley, for being a part of my --

BERMAN: Yeah, she dropped the mike. She was like, I can't produce any pieces after that. I'm done.

PEREIRA: Listen. Tomorrow you're going to hear all sorts of more stories and -- all week, in fact. Tomorrow, you'll learn who the person is that changed Anderson's life. And then it will be Alisyn and then it will be Chris and then on Sunday, Anderson and I are hosting a two-hour broadcast of all of the pieces, "The Person Who Changed My Life." Tremendous opportunity.

BERMAN: Fantastic. All right. "NEWSROOM" with Pamela Brown this morning picks up right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)