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U.S. Forces Pursue ISIS; Exposure to Lead in Flint; The Person Who Changed Don Lemon's Life. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired January 21, 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] SEN. ANGUS KING (I), INTELLIGENCE SELECT COMMITTEE: 40 percent of the illegal aliens in the U.S. are here because they're overstaying visas. And we don't have a very effective process of keeping track of them. So there's plenty of work to be done. But all this focus on the very limited number of refugees from Syria, who are freeing horrible situations --

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Right.

KING: I believe is misplaced and doesn't really protect the country.

CUOMO: Well, then take it a step further in terms of where the source of this problem is, which is what you're doing in the war against ISIS. There's confusion now about whether or not you can pursue them into the Afghanistan legally. But it seems like the brothers and sisters down there are ignoring the reason that there's any confusion about the mandate is because you won't take a vote on the use of force and the president's still operating off a 2001 authorization in times and conditions that are totally different than that. Why doesn't Congress own it?

KING: Well, you and I have been talking about this for over a year. I totally agree. Tim Cain and I and a group of others have made ourselves obnoxious on this issue, which somebody told me the other day I'm very well equipped to do, by saying, you know, it's time for the Congress to step up and meet its constitutional responsibility and to find what it is the president can do, how far he can go to (INAUDIBLE) U.S. military power.

CUOMO: The Democrats don't want to do it either though. The presumption is the Republicans don't want to do it because they get to have it both ways, but there are a lot of Democrats who don't want this vote either.

KING: Oh, listen, this is an equal opportunity employer, this avoidance situation. And I completely agree with that. And it's -- it's something that the Congress needs to do. Nobody wants to take a vote. Everybody -- you know what Congress really does well, Chris? You know from observing it. We really are great at standing on the sidelines and criticizing. And criticizing what the president does or not -- or doesn't do, but we're not willing to take the responsibility ourselves. And I -- I -- like I say, I've been pushing this for a long time.

Tim Cain of Virginia has been the real leader on this. And it is absolutely something we ought to do. The president submitted a proposed authorization. I think it was 11 months ago. And nothing's happened. So, yes, you're absolutely right on that. When it's something we ought to do, but it's not high on folks' agenda because they don't want to take that vote that they're going to have to answer for five years from now.

CUOMO: Well, I would take the objective position that you can't be obnoxious enough on this issue. I would call out the people that don't want to have the vote and just expose the process for what it is. Be like one of those lobsters on that very fetching tie that you have on today, senator. A very good nod to Maine.

Senator King, as always, thank you for being with us. Appreciate it.

KING: Thank you, Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Mic.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Very little gets by you, Cuomo. It's amazing.

All right, we have all seen the brown colored water and heard the outrage coming from Flint, Michigan. Up ahead though you're going to hear from a resident who says she and her children have been sickened by that lead contamination.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:36:03] PEREIRA: All right, here we go with the five things to know for your new day.

At number one, a potentially historic snow storm approaching the East Coast. Blizzard watches, winter storm advisories are in place for some 76 million people. The Washington area could break records with as much as 30 inches by the weekend.

Sarah Palin firing up the troops for Donald Trump. The two hitting the campaign trail together in Oklahoma on the heels of Palin's raucous indorsement of the Republican frontrunner.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder releasing hundreds of e-mails revealing miss steps, shifting the blame in the months leading up to the Flint water contamination crisis. State lawmakers have approved a $28 million tax plan to help fix that problem.

Meanwhile, Detroit teachers are back in the classroom this morning after holding their latest sick out over building conditions. School officials want a court action to prevent further walk -- work stoppages.

Stock futures are pointing up this morning on the heels of another terrible day. The Dow closing down 249 points on Wednesday.

And you can always get more on the five things by visiting newdaycnn.com.

Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, well, this morning, despite an apology from Michigan's governor over the water crisis in Flint, many residents still want him held accountable. One of those critics says she's developed autoimmune disorders from the Flint water and the health of her children is deteriorating. Melissa Mays is part of -- she's one of the class action lawsuits filed over this disaster and she joins us now.

Melissa, thanks so much for being here on NEW DAY.

MELISSA MAYS, SAYS SHE DEVELOPED AUTO IMMUNE DISORDERS FROM FLINT WATER: Thank you for having me.

CAMEROTA: Before we get to your suit and what you want to see happen, can you tell us, what is the status of your family's health?

MAYS: Well, my youngest is having -- he basically has no immune system. His white blood cell count is four. Anytime somebody sneezes, he gets sick. So he's missing school constantly. My middle child has bone pain. He wakes up in the middle of the night crying because his arm bones, leg bones, they hurt, and there's nothing you can do for that. My oldest, his teeth are just crumbling. And they're not baby teeth anymore, so we're not sure what to do.

CAMEROTA: How long -- how long did it take to get to this position? I mean when did you realize that something was terribly wrong with your water source?

MAYS: In January of 2015, we had received the TTHM (ph) violation notice. That they said for the past nine months we were drinking and showering in poisoned water. So we knew that it wasn't just hard water, because that's what they had been telling us, that it was a serious, serious contamination issue and we had to do something and that's when we started protesting.

CAMEROTA: Before did got the notice, did you notice that something was wrong with your water?

MAYS: Oh, definitely. It was almost immediate. The smell was terrible. We would have yellow water, sometimes blue/green, sometimes a brownish color. It just smell awful. It was different. And we started developing rashes, hair loss, all five of us, even our cat was just losing clumps of hair. And bone pain, muscle pain. We just figured, we're just getting sick, we're just tired, you know, maybe it's stress because they said the water was safe.

CAMEROTA: When you read the timeline of how we got to this point, it just reads like a laundry list of errors made by various city officials all along the way. People tried to raise the alarm. We've had the doctor on here who tried to send out this clarion call that something was terribly wrong and she says that officials poo-pooed her findings. Who do you blame the most?

MAYS: I blame the officials at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. This was their one job, to ensure that we had safe water, that it was being treated properly and tested and monitored properly. And that's one of the lawsuits we have. We have to demand that they stop this because it's not just Flint they're going to poison. If they're going to continue to be this incompetent, it's going to be the entire state of Michigan. So I blame them. I blame the emergency management system set up by the government, because we had no voice and neither did our city officials. And, yes, definitely, ultimately the governor.

CAMEROTA: I mean that's who you hold most responsible. You --

MAYS: Yes.

CAMEROTA: What do you want to see happen to the governor?

MAYS: I want to see him fix this. Not just throw bottled water at us. We're not begging for bottled water. We don't want that. We want our pipes replaced. We want medical help. We want it now. And then I want to see him deposed and I want to see the truth come out of him. And he -- ultimately, I would like to see him in jail. Definitely not in a position of power to be responsible for anyone else ever again.

[08:40:06] CAMEROTA: You want to see him go to jail?

MAYS: Yes.

CAMEROTA: We just had a former state senator on, Bill Ballenger, who says that these claims are vastly exaggerated. Let me play for you what he said on our air this morning.

MAYS: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL BALLENGER (R), FORMER MICHIGAN LAWMAKER: This is terrible publicity for Flint. Its vastly exaggerated. The percentage of children and people affected in these tests is probably less than 2 percent. People have got to stop pointing fingers of blame and assigning culpability to public figures and concentrating on solving the problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: We can see your frustration. What do you -- what do you want to respond to him?

MAYS: That's what they told us -- I was actually told in January 2015, when we contacted Erin Brockovich and she started helping us, that I had put a black eye on the city of Flint. That, to keep this quiet. It was no big deal. Apparently poisoning children is OK. The people who are suffering, the people like my family and the 100,000 other people that are in pain and miserable, paying $200 per month for water we cannot use, afraid to be shut off because we'll lose our kids, none of that's overblown. We cannot get medical help because you can't afford it on top of all of this. And the people that need testing the most don't get it. CAMEROTA: He says that it's probably less than 2 percent of the

people. Is it possible that your family is just this very unfortunate fraction of the people in Flint?

MAYS: I'd like to think that. I wish that that was true. But we have meetings consistently and constantly. The citizens talk. People contact me through Facebook. They're having the same symptoms as we are, for bone pain, muscle pain, seizure, and tremors, all of these things to pop up in different people, different ages, different backgrounds, no, it's not a coincidence. It's not just us being unfortunate. We just happen to be the most vocal about it. And most people, they don't -- they can't afford to go to the doctor, so they just don't know yet.

CAMEROTA: What are you seeking in your lawsuit?

MAYS: We're seeking -- well, we want new pipes because obviously it doesn't look like the governor's going to give us that just out of demands. And we need reprieve from these bills. We shouldn't have to pay for a product that's poisoning us. And we need medical help and we need damages because, again, our home, our pipes in our home, our water heaters, all damaged or destroyed.

CAMEROTA: Melissa Mays, we wish the best for you and your family.

MAYS: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Thanks so much for being here with your story on NEW DAY.

What's your take on this story? You can tweet us @newday or post your comment on facebook.com/newday. We'd like to read those comments.

Michaela.

PEREIRA: She's a powerful voice.

All right, so we've been getting kind of personal this week, introducing you to our heroes, our mentors, even relationship gurus. Coming up, you're going to hear about the person that changed Don Lemon's life.

CUOMO: He needs all that.

PEREIRA: Hey.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:46:18] PEREIRA: It's been a really special week here at CNN. We've been sharing stories about the people who had an incredible impact or influence on our lives. It all culminates in a two-hour special this Sunday hosted by a guy you may have heard of, Anderson Cooper, and myself called "The Person Who Changed My Life."

This morning, guess who is in the hot seat? CNN anchor Don Lemon.

CUOMO: There he is. PEREIRA: I cannot wait to hear this story.

CAMEROTA: I can't wait to hear it either.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to church. We're going to church. You know, sometimes in life you go through some things. And I went through some things. And I am a loner. Chris knows. Chris and I hang out.

PEREIRA: You're a social butterfly.

LEMON: No, I am. People think that I am.

CUOMO: Makes me feel good as your friend when you call yourself a loner, by the way.

LEMON: I'm pretty much a loner. I've been a loner for most of my life. So it shouldn't be surprising as you'll hear in the piece that the person who changed my life -- They had no idea that they did and I didn't even really know him personally. So here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SINGING)

LEMON (voice-over): It might sound strange, maybe even impossible, but the person who changed my life is someone I've never even met.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah...

LEMON: Through the power of his voice and his message, Bishop T.D. Jakes pulled me out of a crisis more than a decade ago. And I wouldn't be where I am today if I hadn't heard for his words.

BISHOP T.D. JAKES, PERSON WHO CHANGED DON LEMON'S LIFE: I hear it in my spirit. Somebody say I hear it in my spirit. You should hear things in your spirit that contradict what you hear with your natural ear. You have got to be willing to be criticized because you are hearing on a level that other people don't hear and you are seeing on a level that they don't see and you are building for things that they don't even understand because it hasn't appeared yet. But it's -- Oh, y'all don't hear what I'm saying?

LEMON (on camera): Do you know how much I listen to you?

BISHOP JAKES: No. I'm shocked.

LEMON: You are the voice in my head. You are the voice in my head. In many ways you have changed my life.

BISHOP JAKES: Wow. When I got the letter that you could have picked anybody as a hero, as a mentor, and that you chose me I was like -- I thought it was a joke. But what I am so grateful for is that I could say anything that made anybody's life better, you know. That I could do something that other people would find useful. Because I grew up not thinking that I had anything at all to offer to anybody. LEMON (voice-over): This is a story about dreams. For as long as I

can remember my dream was to be a journalist. So I worked my way up, all the way to NBC News in New York City.

(on camera): It was very exciting. But I was never at home. So I took a chance. I believe in taking chances. I took chance for my big network gig. And I went to Chicago to become a local news anchor.

They told me when I came there I would do the big stories and specials and that I would be the anchor. And then I ended up knocking on people's doors and doing local how -- how do you feel about your child who's dead?

And I said I don't want to do this. I took a stand for myself. And I got suspended and almost got fired. So I went to this really low place. And I had to reach and find something to keep me alive. And at that low point I found T.D. Jakes.

BISHOP JAKES: Look at your neighbor and say, neighbor...

CROWD: Neighbor.

BISHOP JAKES: You don't have to believe...

CROWD: You don't have to believe.

BISHOP JAKES: This is my dream.

[08:50:00] CROWD: This is my dream.

LEMON: There was a sermon that resonates with me that saved my life. I could probably repeat it by heart.

BISHOP JAKES: Wow.

LEMON: Yeah.

BISHOP JAKES: You probably do it better than I do.

LEMON: But it's called "My Dream."

BISHOP JAKES: But to all of you that have a dream that's bigger than you. To all of you who have a dream and it looks like the people don't want to get with the program, I want you to say it. Say hey neighbor.

LEMON: Hey neighbor.

BISHOP JAKES: You don't have to believe, in my dream.

LEMON: You don't have to believe in my dream.

BISHOP JAKES: Wow.

LEMON: And I do that in the gym. I look at people on the next machine. BISHOP JAKES: Oh really?

LEMON: Or I'll be running --

BISHOP JAKES: They're going to lock us both up.

LEMON: And they just look at me and laugh and I just keep moving.

BISHOP JAKES: Look at your neighbor and say I don't have time to wait. I don't have time for you to figure who I really am, what I really meant, understand my true heart, take into account how I was raised, where I came from or what I've been through. By the time you get through that I'll be an old man and be dead.

LEMON: That was all I needed to hear. He had me right there. So my dream wasn't to go to a poor mother's house and say how do you feel about your kid who's dead. My dream was to make people in the world better through my work. You have to be fearless. How you do it? I think you just do it one step at a time. When I'm going -- when I went through what I went through in Chicago, as I would run on that path, I would just say one foot in front of the other.

BISHOP JAKES: You thought I wasn't gonna survive? Ha, ha, ha. Girl, please. Let me --

LEMON (voice-over): Listening to T.D. Jakes, I came to realize that I had the power to change my situation.

BISHOP JAKES: I can (inaudible) because I got something. I'm not intimidated by any man because I got something.

LEMON: That we all have the power to control our own lives.

(on camera): The difference between negativity and positivity is just -- [snaps] -- that.

BISHOP JAKES: Absolutely.

LEMON: You've helped flip that switch for me. How do you do that?

BISHOP JAKES: Well, I think if there's something unique about me, I have been down. I have been broke, I have been depressed, I have been suicidal. I have had my car repossessed. I know what it is not to have all my utilities or I know what it is to use my neighbor's phone. So when you've seen life from down under and you finally get up over where you can talk the fuel that pushes me comes from where I came from, not where I'm going to.

LEMON (voice-over): After I came to CNN, I interviewed Bishop Jakes about his work, his books, and the news of the day. But I never told him how much he inspires me or what he means to my life.

(on camera): Most of my adult life, the father figure that I've had in my head is you.

BISHOP JAKES: That's amazing to me. LEMON: So thank you for the tough love, the inspiration, for

understanding me when I didn't even know you and now that I know you for understanding me even more.

BISHOP JAKES: To know that I am helping you gives my life meaning. My destiny is to help you reach yours. And the one thing that I know for sure, when you started talking a moment ago, I heard your heart speak. And hearts don't lie. Hearts really don't lie.

(SINGING)

LEMON: When someone changes your being and the way you look at the world and life, that is invaluable.

(SINGING)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: Hearts do not lie, Don Lemon. He was a light, a beacon in your life. You two are a mess over there. Aren't you?

LEMON: Yes.

CAMEROTA: That was beautiful, Don.

CUOMO: That's why I carry the handkerchief.

LEMON: Thank you, Chris.

CAMEROTA: I know. Thank you.

LEMON: Yes. He makes everyone feel as if he's speaking just --

PEREIRA: To them.

LEMON: To them. And --

PEREIRA: It comes through from the television, doesn't it?

LEMON: He is. But here is the thing that I want everybody to know. People wonder why I do what I do and I give the commentary that I give and I have the point of view that I have. I came from nothing. Nothing. And if I can do it, you, little black boy or little black girl at home, can do it as well. There are no excuses of where you came from. And so if I can do it, you can do it. We all can do it. And then I said the difference between positivity and negativity is that. It is all how you look at your particular situation and how you react to it.

[08:55:02] PEREIRA: But it also sometimes takes somebody else.

LEMON: Somebody else.

PEREIRA: Yes.

LEMON: Like a T.D. Jakes to show you that and that's why I would like to lead the way to show people that. And sometimes it comes off as people don't understand. They think that, you know, you're judging, you think you're better or whatever. Sometimes people say I think that I'm white. I know who I am. I'm a black boy from Louisiana, a little black boy, who had big teeth and big ears who grew into it, thankfully. And who grew up with a single mom who taught me that -- you go out there, I don't care what people tell you you can do. She would tell me, quite honestly, if this person can do it, you can do it. If that white kid can do it, you can do it. You just work your ass off, she says. And that is how you are going to do it. And don't let anyone tell you who you are. You decide who you are. You are not the "n" word.

PEREIRA: That is why this has been such an interesting process for all of us. It's been really revealing to each one of us, but also for you at home. And you can get more on some of our pictures, you will see some video, you will see some bad hairdos. Go to CNN.com/lifechangers. While you're there also tell us who changed your life. You can tweet us using the #MyLifeChanger. And as we mentioned, catch Anderson and I this Sunday. It's all of the pieces together. It's a two-hour special. Bring your Kleenex box. "The Person Who Changed My Life," 8:00 p.m. Eastern. It's really inspiring.

LEMON: Thank you, Bishop Jakes. Thank you so much.

CAMEROTA: That was great to hear from him.

PEREIRA: Up next, guess who?

LEMON: Oh, Ms. Costello.

PEREIRA: Yes. Because she's going to share her story in the 10:00 hour of "NEWSROOM" which conveniently starts right after this short break.

CAMEROTA: Perfect.

PEREIRA: That was beautiful, Don.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)