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New Day
Millions Brace for Massive Blizzard; EPA Official Resigns Amid Flint Water Crisis; Trump: Master of the Counterpunch? Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired January 22, 2016 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:33:14] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Here it comes. A major winter storm is on the move. Some 75 million people are in its path. Washington and the Mid-Atlantic States are expected to get several feet of snow from this blizzard.
Let's get the latest forecast track and snowfall totals with CNN meteorologist Chad Myers -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Michaela, yes, this storm has been forecast now for days and days and days. I don't want anybody to wake up on Monday and say, well, what a surprise forecast, what a surprise storm. It just didn't happen.
This has been forecasted very accurately. Now, New York City may get surprised. There's still a potential for two feet here. Now I'm going to go with eight to 12 as our forecast, but there's the potential if this storm continues to develop like it is right now.
Snow on the north side, icing in Memphis, Nashville, big ice storm eventually for Ashville and Charlotte. This is going to be a crippling ice storm and there's a football game in Charlotte this weekend. We're going to see what happens there.
The snow is the major impact because it'll be so deep. Ice is a major impact, yes, ice will bring down power lines, but the snow will cripple travel across the entire mid-Atlantic, up through Philadelphia, and up through New York City.
So, here is Friday, this is Friday, 1:00, we begin to see snow in D.C. by tomorrow morning, it is snowing in New York City, still snowing in Philadelphia. Notice this line, right there, that is the demarcation of very heavy snow, and very heavy rain. And right along that, right to the west of that line is where the heaviest snow will fall.
That's D.C., Boston, and Baltimore into Philadelphia, all the way up and down I-95. Now Boston is seeing snow, four inches for you. You've been out of the forecast.
There's the bullseye, west of Washington, D.C., probably in the Blue Ridge parkway area, somewhere around 36 inches, but considering 75 million in winter storm warnings and blizzard warnings combined, and 29 million now in blizzard warnings up and down the East Coast.
[06:35:08] This is a major event for the entire country. And it's just starting right now.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Big numbers. Natural disaster, nothing we can do about it, we turn from that to Flint.
Manmade disaster. A lot could have been done about it. New concerns about the water supply in other cities. Just how safe is the water that you drink by the way? Is this a window into an infrastructure problem that many of us may be dealing with?
We have surprising and disturbing facts, next.
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CUOMO: Shake-up over the Flint water crisis. The Environmental Protection Agency official in charge of the region that includes Flint, Michigan, resigning under the city's public health crisis. Our next guest says Flint isn't the only city dealing with lead contamination in the water. He says many cities and towns across the nation are also at-risk.
He is the Virginia Tech professor Marc Edwards. He took samples in Flint, exposing the lead problem in 2014.
Professor, thank you for joining us.
Tell us why you got involved. You were actually contacted by a parent who was concerned about their kids in Flint, Michigan, what did you learn there about the water? And what was the reception to what you learned?
MARC EDWARDS, VIRGINIA TECH PROFESSOR: We sampled a home of a mother of twins, one of whose growth was lagging and she knew there was a problem, and found out the child was lead poisoned. We found hazardous levels coming out of her tap. She also figured out that Flint was not following federal law that keeps lead on the pipes by dousing did an inhibitor to the water supply.
CUOMO: What was the misstep?
[06:40:01] Was it that they didn't know how to treat the water? Was it that they simply didn't treat the water? Didn't they do it incorrectly? What was the problem?
EDWARDS: They simply forgot for some reason to add this inexpensive inhibitor to the water. It would have only cost $80 to $100 a day to give Flint residents the minimum protection offered under federal law. And for some reason, they forgot to do that initially. And then they covered it up, as people started realizing problems in the system.
CUOMO: Covered it up, that's a loaded allegation. Do you feel that you can show that they had opportunities to know what the problem was and denied it?
EDWARDS: Yes. We did, Freedom of Information Act requests that have shown that the EPA knew about this as early as April 2015, and that the state knew about this even before that. It's indisputable, that's why people are out of their minds right now in anger.
People really want top know what's going on in Flint right now. It's not only a water crisis, it's a crisis of confidence in government because they realize the people who were paid to protect them simply failed and left their kids in harm's way.
CUOMO: Can you reverse this process? Can they fix the pipes? I know it has something to do with the PH levels and more scientific from there, can this be fixed without fixing the actual supply lines?
EDWARDS: The lead -- the lead and water problem and the bacteria problem with the Legionnaires' disease can be fixed and in fact has been fixed. We can't say the water is safe yet because they haven't completed a new federal testing round, probably things that are much better with the water supply right now since about October of this year. But what's happened is people are out of their minds with anger and fear and justifiably so because they've been, frankly, lied to for a very long time. And they don't trust anything anyone --
CUOMO: Look, it's understandable. And we're going to have to wait on tests, certainly not going to go on anyone's word when it comes to lead. Few things are as destructive to the human body.
You're saying look, what happened in Flint is real, it was manmade, it may be able to be corrected. It is not the only place. As far back in 2001, you were taking water samples in places and showing that lead is water is still a real problem.
How widespread and why?
EDWARDS: I don't think there's another Flint occurring right now because at least all other cities and states around the country are following the minimum protection of the federal law. Flint was unique in that they were the only city in the United States who had no plan to keep lead out of the drinking water from 2014 to October 2015.
We do have serious lead and water problems in other parts of the United States, other cities with lead pipes. EPA knows about this and they're trying to do a revision to the existing water, to better protect.
CUOMO: To end in Flint where we began. Do you think they have the right people in place to know how to treat the water there now? Did they bring in some experts to figure out what to do so that it doesn't happen again?
EDWARDS: Yes, right. At the present moment, they have brought in the world class experts from EPA. And hopefully they'll be allowed to do their job.
CUOMO: World class experts from the EPA, but the same agency that knew about this and didn't do anything what they could have.
Professor, thank you for doing what you could, doing the measuring and getting the word out. Appreciate it. Please stay on them with the science, and we will always be in contact.
Appreciate it, professor. Thank you very much.
EDWARDS: Will do that. Take care.
CUOMO: Now, just so you know, accountability obviously matters. There seems to be a lot of blame to go around. What matters more is fixing the problem. That's why we keep pushing the idea of what is the plan? Where is it? We keep reaching out to Rick Snyder, state health department, Department of Environmental Quality.
They're not accepting the request for interviews, that is not acceptable to people looking for information and giving confidence in the situation there, Alisyn.
ALISYN CAMEROTA: They have a lot of explaining to do, and we will stay on that, Chris.
Meanwhile back to politics, Donald Trump criticizing "The National Review" after the conservative magazine came out against him. Yet another example of Trump hitting back his critics. Will his counterpunch strategy keep working? That's next.
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[06:48:16] CAMEROTA: It's been a mild winter so far on the East Coast, but that's about to change in a big way. The mid-Atlantic is about to get clobbered with a powerful winter storm. 75 million people in its path. 29 million of them are under blizzard warnings at this hour. Parts of the east coast could get two feet of snow with Washington, D.C. expected to get hit even harder. Up to 30 inches there. Close to 5,000 flights already cancelled.
PEREIRA: Breaking overnight, North Korea says it has arrested an American college student Otto Frederick Warmbier for alleged hostile activities against the country. State media reports he attends school in Virginia and he was in North Korea on a tourist visa. Warmbier was traveling with a tour group who says his family is currently working with the State Department.
CUOMO: In East Africa, terrorists claiming responsibility for an attack on a beach resort in Somalia overnight. Twenty people killed. Officials say a suicide car bomber crashed into a restaurant in Mogadishu, as other gunmen moved into an adjacent hotel. The Somali government says all of the attackers have been killed.
CAMEROTA: Former Alaska airlines captain facing charges this morning for allegedly flying a plane while drunk. The charges relate to two flights. Back in 2014 when David flew from San Diego to Portland, then John Wayne airport in orange county. His blew was randomly tested after landing, and it appeared over the legal limit. He retired shortly after taking the tests, up top 15 years in prison if convicted.
PEREIRA: A prominent conservative magazine slamming Donald Trump. What does he do? What he always does -- returns with a flurry of counterpunches. The strategy appears to be working, we'll take a look at his biggest hits, coming up.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[06:53:23] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I hit back -- I only hit back when I get hit. I'm a great counterpuncher.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERERIA: All right. That was, who else, Donald Trump, you recognize the voice. Explaining to us back in September when attacked, the counterpunch strategy is one he's used multiple times to diffuse attacks against him. John Berman is here with the breakdown on how Trump returns jabs with knockouts of his own.
This is, he's admitted it. He said this is what he does. He's a counterpuncher. He doesn't attack unless already attacked. Here's Ben Carson talking about what he thinks of Donald Trump's religious convictions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I don't in any way deny my faith in God, humility and the fear of the Lord. I don't get that impression with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PEREIRA: Now, he does it in a Ben Carson kind of way. I have a feeling Donald Trump had a counterpunch for that.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He did it. He did it right here and he did it right here on NEW DAY. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If you look at his past, which I've done, he wasn't a big man of faith. All of the sudden, he's become this man of faith. And he was heavy into the world of abortion. If you look back, you will find he's a very much different Ben Carson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: All right. So, what Donald Trump is talking about there, Ben Carson was a Democrat when he was a kid, became a Republican later in life. Ben Carson also a doctor for a long time, and supported for a wild fetal tissue research.
Now, Donald Trump what he did there is questioned Ben Carson's two strengths, faith and medical expertise, how did Ben Carson respond? He apologized. He ended up apologizing to Donald Trump.
PEREIRA: Which is not something you generally see, is it?
[06:55:01] Hillary Clinton largely stayed out of the fray, but she's been stepping up attacks against Donald Trump. He unleashed his strongest counterattack against her recently. Tell us about that.
BERMAN: It was interesting. Remember, they're old friends. She went to his wedding. This is a little bit of an exchange between a guy and his wedding guest here. Hillary Clinton, what happened was this, Donald Trump was talking about he used a Yiddish slang term --
(CROSSTALK)
PEREIRA: It won't be repeated here.
BERMAN: How Barack Obama beat her in 2008. And also made fun of her bathroom breaks during a Democratic debate. So, Hillary Clinton said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's not the first time he's demonstrated penchant for sexism. And so, I'm not sure again if anybody's surprised.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: A penchant for sexism. See what Donald Trump did with that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I demonstrated, a penchant for sexism. Can you believe it? Me? She wants to accuse me of things, and the husband's one of the great abusers of the world, give me a break. Give me a break.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: All right.
PEREIRA: He's playing in a different level it almost seems.
BERMAN: He goes right after Bill Clinton, and there are a lot of people said, whoa, whoa, why are they dredging up the past? Why did they bring up Bill Clinton's sex life here?
I've got to say, a lot of people on the right, a lot of Tea Party people on the right said, finally, finally there's a candidate who's brave enough to do this. And in some circles, primary voters, Republican primary voters, that was very popular.
PEREIRA: All right. Ted Cruz. Interesting, there was a bit of a bromance butting there, things have changed. He has taken up the Ted Cruz attacks, he says because look at him, he's rising in the polls.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think he may shift in his new rallies to play "New York, New York", because, you know, Donald comes from New York and he embodies New York values. And listen, the Donald seems to be a little bit rattled.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PEREIRA: When you take on New York, that's when Donald Trump changes his tone a little bit.
BERMAN: This is an interesting case, because Donald Trump claims he is only a counterpuncher.
Well, this all started, this break-up of the bromance largely started because Donald Trump started questioning where Ted Cruz was born. The fact that Ted Cruz was born in this country, I like to call Canada. You know something about that.
PEREIRA: Yes.
BERMAN: Donald Trump started asking these questions all the time, is Ted Cruz even eligible to run for president, then Ted Cruz responds with this, Donald Trump has New York values thing. How does Donald Trump respond to that? He says you know what, no one likes Ted Cruz. Forget about this guy, listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: He's a nasty guy, nobody likes him. Nobody in Congress likes him. Nobody likes him anywhere once they get to know him. He's a very -- he's got an edge that's not good. You can't make deals with people like that. And it's not a good thing. Not a good thing for the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: My friend, Ted Cruz, the one I've been hanging out, the one I did a rally with. Nobody likes him. And now, you know, over the last 24 hours, Donald Trump has new attacks, he had his moment, he missed it, it's all over for Ted Cruz. I'm going to leave him behind like the rest of the --
PEREIRA: The question is of others that are vying for the same seat, are they going to pivot the type of counterpunch? Sometimes you have to go in a different direction instead of engaging in the same game that the guy whose winning at it is engaging in.
BERMAN: There are two theories here, both could prove wrong. A lot of people on the establishment say we missed a chance to attack Trump when we could. If we bloodied him early on, you've seen the trawl of people who tried.
PEREIRA: The bodies left behind.
BERMAN: Rand Paul, the very first question, the first thing he did was attack Donald Trump. He's in what, 3 percent now.
PEREIRA: All right, JB, always good to have you despite the disparaging remarks about my home country.
Following news, let's get to it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CUOMO: This storm is coming and it's looking like the real deal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All our agencies are getting ready right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My concern is that the town is going to shut down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're bracing for the first big storm of the winter.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: If you nominate Trump and Cruz, I think you're getting the same outcome.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You're seeing the Republican establishment abandoning Marco Rubio, and they're rushing to support Donald Trump.
TRUMP: He's trying to paint me as part of the establishment. And you know what? There's a point as which let's get to be a little establishment. We got to get things done, folks, OK?
PEREIRA: "Washington Post" reporter Jason Rezaian heading home this morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are still Americans left behind.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And this case has been going on for almost nine years now.
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to your NEW DAY.
A major winter storm bearing down on the East Coast. Forecasters say the snowfall could be historic for the mid-Atlantic. More than 75 million people in the path of this massive storm, 30 million people already under blizzard warnings at this the hour.
CUOMO: Now, sometimes when you hear this, the models are wrong, you're like, eh, they say this all the time.
Don't make that mistake. Washington, D.C. area could get the worst of it. It's already taken a beating from very little precipitation, yes, there are good and bad reasons. But we know that 30 inches of snow could be on the ground there. There's no chance there's going to be none.
