live to you. the storm is making it's way up to the east coast, threatening to shut down cities. a case against the republican candidate. a crisis is flint. a water emergency

we begin with a monster winter storm making its way up the east coast. an estimated 50 million people are in the path of the storm. officials say ice and blizzard warnings could last until sunday in some states. this n.a.s.a. photo shows why this system could rate near the top ten most powerful storms on record. john terrett is brazing the elements for us. he is in washington dc which could see nearly two feet of snow. >> reporter: it began snowing here at about 1.15 here and it was been steady since. roughly two inches on the ground at the moment, maybe a bit less. the problem is as you take a look at the white house right now, it looks beautiful. it doesn't give you any hint of

the danger to come, but the white house looks terrific. the problem is that this storm is going to sit on top of washington dc until late tomorrow according to the forecasters. that's why even though it's only 22 days old, they're already calling it the storm of 2016. >> reporter: the monster storm is to fors casted to dump at least two feet of snow. the hardiest taking it all in. the president lincoln at the end of the mall doesn't look too pleased. this is an event made worse by high winds >> we see this as a major storm. it has life and death implications in all the residents of the district of colombia should treat it that way. we need the city's full

cooperation. >> reporter: she has reason to worry. only this week dc had just a dusting of snow and ice. >> the snow we anticipate is wet and heavy. which means we can expect to see downed trees and power lines. the winds are expected to be 30 miles an hour up to 50 miles an hour through saturday evening and we believe that we're going to see wind pick up throughout the day. in fact, forecasters call this event having thunder snow in matters of the storm. >> reporter: 70 to 80 million americans are said to in the eye of this storm. no new york the governor says it's not the worst storm the state has ever seen, but it shouldn't be taken lightly. >> right now we're bringing down

many trucks and 400 sthaf and salt spreaders, 60 national guard are-- 600 national guard are on the ready >> reporter: thousands of flights have been cancelled. things not expecting to be back to normal until sunld at the earliest. the big fear is power outages. many transmission lines are above ground. >> reporter: how well reremember snow nageddon. in northern virginia and south merrylands, the issue is too much snow landing on roof tops and they then collapse. the buildings are older and maybe not so well maintained.

it will be a real problem it will be a problem for sure. thank you for that. our weather man on the storm. kevin, a view from space. there it is. >> reporter: that's right. so many problems with this particular storm. the one good thing is that this particular storm, we have really known about when wha it was going to do for the last three to four days. now that it has come together, it is more than what we thought. there's a lot to talk about with this storm. we have icing down to the south, thunder storms in florida. it is the know that is making it's way to the north-east. we're talking about washington dead in the center. we are getting snow towards staten island. it will ee -- evaporate before hitting the ground. look at the warnings. the blizzard warnings and storm

warnings. it is particularly those blizzard warnings that are the most dangerous. all of long island, down towards pensylvannia. here in the cape the winds are picking up. that's part of the conditions there. we do have evacuations that are going on, on the coastal regions of new jersey. a blizzard is a winter storm. you have to have many things, that is 35 mile winds. it has to last more than three hours. in this storm we're talking about it lasting more than 24 hours. this is a closer look at what is happening. you can see the snow line coming into staten island new york. take a look at the amount of snow we will have by tomorrow. down here towards virginia,

three feet of snow, up towards here we're talking two feet. around the new york metro area, it could be up to 18 inches of snow. look at these winds. 21 mile per hour winds down towards washington 33. that's where you get knows blad blizzard conditions and power outages thank you. a rare school shooting in canada today where five people were killed and more injured. the suspect is now in custody. the community school serves 7 through 12 grade in the aboriginal community of lallach. north korea has detained a 21-year-old american college student for alleging committing a hostile act. more on the story and on north

korea's history of arresting foreigners. >> reporter: this news came through on the north korean state media kcna saying that north korea had detained a student for a supposed hostile act against the state. also this media report saying that that act was tolerated and manipulated by the united states government. the name of this man is was given. there has been some cooperation from a tour, young pioneer tours. they say this man was on their tour and he was detained on 2 january. they say that they're acting closely with the swedish embassy in pyongyang, also with the north korean ministry of foreign

affairs and the u.s. state department trying to get this man released. he is not the first u.s. citizen to be detained in north korea. there have been instances of mission activity. one tourist left behind a bible in a hotel. these things have got people in trouble in the past. also last year there was a south korean student with a u.s. green card who was studying in the u.s. he was detained after crossing illegally into the country. so this isn't the first of its type. a new development, a u.s. student detained inside korea ash carter called on some coalition partners to start pulling more of their weight.

al jazeera's correspondent has more >> reporter: the u.s. likes to boast that it has more than 60 countries in the coalition fighting i.s.i.l. in iraq in syria, but today at the world economic forum in switzerland, defense secretary ash carter admitted a small number of those countries are actually doing the heavy lifting. he signalled out france, britain, germany, the netherlands, italy and australia as the only significant fighters. he called on all the countries of the world to do more. he said in an interview with c n.b.c. essentially that because no country is immune from attack from i.s.i.l., no country should get a free ride. >> in two weeks i will bring together the defense ministers of everyone else who is on paper, a member of the i.s.i.l. coalition but many are not doing

enough at all. we're prepared to do a great deal because we have the finest fighting force the world has ever seen. we can do a lot ourselves, but we don't ask people for favours or grant favours, so we're looking for other people to play their part the pentagon continues to say that it is making slow progress in the fight against i.s.i.l., even as it admits that the city of ramadi that was supposedly liberated a while back, there is still significant fighting going on there and still every day they are clearing more neighborhoods and freeing civilians from i.s.i.l. control in ramadi. it is a slow fight. the pentagon is saying it is making significant fronts on heighting i.s.i.l. in the pocket book. there are reports suggesting that i.s.i.l. has had to cut the pay of its fighters by 50%. the pentagon also conceded today that despite the efforts to make

this the most precise bombing campaign ever, that they have now confirmed that at least 16 civilians have been killed by u.s. or coalition air strikes. they announced several more deaths that were confirmed in strikes in july, but, again, they say while these strikes were within the law of armed conflict, they regret that any innocent civilians have lost their lives national security correspondent for us. the u.s. appears to be expanding an airstrip in north-eastern syria. that's according to satellite images provided by security analysts. the expansion would make it ewesable for larger transport such as a cargo plane. the u.s. military is not denying this report, but has said u.s. forces have not taken control of the airfield. another refugee tragedy on the sea to tell you when two over crowded boats sank off the coast

of greece. at least 46 people killed, 17 of them children. more than 70 people managed to survive. rescue teams are searching for more survivors. german chancellor asked for conditions to keep refugees from venturing to europe. >> reporter: the pressure may not have shown as she welcomed her turkish counterpart in, but angela merkel is treading a lonely path at the moment. as the german and turkish cabinets talks focused on immigration and fighting terrorism, she again rejected the idea of closing europe's borders. >> translation: we have once again heard about terrible numbers of people dying in the seas between turkey and the e.u. children as well. we just cannot allow the illegal traffickers to have supremece here and that people endanger

their lives and people earn money when they do not have the best interests of these human beings in their minds. that's why we have to make sure that this illegal immigration is changed into legal immigration. >> reporter: on friday a reminder of the of risks people are still taking to reach europe. despite scenes like this on the greek island, some of her closest allies are warning it's time to set a limit on new rivals after germany took in nearly a million last year. in december the e.u. agreed a three billion dollar funt to help turkey integrate refugees. obama has offered to contribute substantially to help ease europe's refugee crisis. some experts warn it might not make a huge difference. >> it has to do with refugee flows themselves. they're not all syrians. we have a significant proportion of afghans, iraqis, uraniums and kurds.

obviously staying in turkey is not attractive to them talks here are a sign of just how much angela merkel who is under pressure like never before needs turkey's help. it is not certain if ankara has the means or the will to deliver. before friday's meeting, the turkish prime minister warned that the e.u. money wouldn't be enough, but he insists he has acted to slow the migrant flow. >> translation: turkey has declared a number of plants and i will put them in action. we are determined to make refugee lives better. we have passed legislation to refugees to gain employment in turkey and we're also working on visa requirements on refugees to prevent them being exploited. >> reporter: ahead of next month's summit, the chancellor is worried and whatever help they can get for calls that are getting louder all the time

new fears about the mosquito born virus linked to severe brain damage in new born. the center for diseases expanded into more areas. the colombian government is urging women to delay pregnancies. our correspondent reports. >> reporter: in this clinic in central colombia future mothers anxiously wait for their doctor's visit. some of them were sick with zika virus, a mosquito born disease that specialists believes causes congenital effects in babies. >> translation: i saw it on the television. i'm worried and that's why i'm here now. >> reporter: thousands of babies have been born in brazil with unusually small heads and brain damage.

their mothers were infected by zika. the virus has infected more than 13,000 people in colombia since october making it the second worst hit country in the region. authorities say it could infect as many as 700,000 more in coming months, so they're warning women to avoid getting pregnant. >> translation: they should consider postponing practising nancy for-- pregnancy for six to eight months. there can be serious consequences. >> reporter: up to this point there hasn't been any confirmed cases in new born babies related to zika, but officials say it's only a question of time. >> translation: unfortunately, we can't avoid all cases. there's no cure for the virus and no way of being fully protected. this is the reality >> reporter: it can be spread by the same mosquitos that carry

dengue fever and chicken gunya. this woman is pregnant and she hasn't been infected. she has been careful to rid her home of still water and uses repellant and mosquito nets at night >> translation: the problem is there's a lot of women who are not well informed and not taking precautions. that's how it is spread. now the government is telling people not to get pregnant and it's not going to work. >> reporter: the government is promising to start a health campaign to convince people to change their habits. with no cure for the virus, many fear the disease could turn into an epidemic the first federal trial against general motors over faulty ignition switches has been dismissed. an oklahoma man whose bags did not inflate in 2014 was suing the car company. yesterday the judge questioned whether the documentation was doctored and injuries

exaggerated. lawyers from both sides requested a dismissal. it is linked to 124 deaths. the air bag recall is expanding. this new recall is linked to one death and three air bag ruptures in tests. this faulty fatality happened in an ford ranger pick up. the first death in a vehicle other than a honda. up next, republican infighting. the feud between a magazine and republican who leads in the polls. a water emergency. a lack back at the source of the crisis and how the government failed flint.

the leader of the group occupying a national wildlife refugee in oregon left a meeting with an f.b.i. agent today. he objected to conversation being in front of cameras. the armed occupation will super its third week tomorrow. the iowa caucuses are less an week away and conservatives are opening fire on donald trump and he is hitting back. >> reporter: just over a week until the iowa caucuses and republican front runner donald trump is now taking fire from more than a dozen conservatives in the nation. against trump, the national

review magazine wrote that he is a philosophically unmoored opportunist, hockster. many added their own comment trees: sna >> reporter: at a news conference donald trump was dismissive. >> it has got the circulation way down. not many people read it any more. people don't even think about the national review. so i guess they want to get publicity. >> reporter: new polls suggest that donald trump has retaken the leave in iowa over ted cruz. the latest cnn survey of iowa republicans indicates donald trump is ahead 37% to 26.

ted cruz is important trying donald trump as part of the establishment >> if you think we need more republicans in washington do cut a deal, then i guess donald trump is your guy >> reporter: donald trump responded invoking president regan and house speaker. >> ronald reagan will get on with tip o'neil. they would make great deals. >> reporter: while the direct clashes between donald trump and ted cruz are matter of fact, in television ads their fight has become rough. on friday trump unveiled an ad on hammering ted cruz. >> it allows those to come in out of the shadows. >> reporter: for his part ted cruz is blasting trump for laws boosting eminent domain >> eminent domain.

to enrich the fat cats who rol them like trump >> reporter: as trump and cruz battle at the top, jeb bush has pulled his resources out of iowa and is focused on the new hampshire primary. >> jeb has been a very good father, a wonderful son, hard worker, his heart is big. when push comes to shove, people are going to realise jeb has real solutions >> reporter: based on the latest policies, though, the biggest establishment threat to donald trump is not jeb bush, it's john kasich whose moderation is playing well with independent voters >> when we work together to solve problems, we leave a legacy. >> reporter: john kasich's policy could further weeken others. establishment candidates who

policied better in southern states and are counting on new hampshire to make them the donald trump alternative. trump's standing appears to be getting stronger even with the attacks on him intensifying. more republicans, he says, want to jump on his bandwagon on >> we are getting calls from everybody that it's actually amazing following up on our segment from last night on the issue of the oscars in diversity, to thed academy motion pictures, arts and sciences has pledged to change their membership by 2020. the changes were approved unanimously by the board thursday night. among the changes yes, the voting status of voting members will be reviewed every 10 years. 94% of the members are caucasian and 77% male. the board did not take any action on oscar balloting. that was deferred to a later date. straight ahead on the program

our crisis - our special on the crisis in flint. poisoned water and sick children. how it all happened and what is being done about ited, and living on bottled water. our special report, crisis in flint, a water emergency is next. next. on bottled water. our special report, crisis in flint, a water emergency is next.

back to april 2014. before flint michigan's water turned to poison. the taste >> it tasted like drinking out of a pool the smell. health effects. nearly two years later a state of emergency. >> i'm sorry and i will fix it tonight our al jazeera special report, crisis in flint. a water emergency. the water in flint, michigan, is still not fit to drink. today there is more fallout from the crisis. a short time ago came word that the governor has suspended two employees at the department of environmental quality. we do not know their names, but we know they are the subjects of an investigation that could lead to their firing. the city's water emergency did not happen overnight. officials at allevels admit people made mistakes. it has been classified as a man

made disaster. governor rick snyder has called it his katrina. he accepted responsibility and vowed to set things right. sni snyder denied that in recent weeks it has attracted headlines. it can be tracked back to april 2014. that is when in an effort to say money the city left the detroit water system and drew water from the flint river. complaints about its quality began almost immediately. our correspondent has been following this story for us and she joins us from flint. >> reporter: there really is no easy fix to improving flint's water crisis. the city's ageing infrastructure flas a huge role in-- plays a huge role in where the city is today. poor monitoring by the state is

also to blame. what does it taste like to you? >> chlorine. that's exactly what it tastes like. it's pretty much takes like you're drinking out of a pool >> reporter: al jazeera america first reported complaints over the quality of flint's tap water on january 22 2015. our first interview was with jimmy stuart, a mother of three. >> reporter: what do you mean it separates? >> white wine on the top and clear on the bottom like it's supposed to look >> reporter: concerns over the taste, smell and appearance of the water had started pouring in months earlier. >> water is a human right. >> reporter: that was after a cost-cutting move the city under the leadership of an emergency manager cut ties with the detroit water system and began pulling water from the flint river. residents noticed the change almost immediately. at a town hall meeting the

quality of the water pitted residents against the city and the michigan department of environmental quality, the mdeq. >> these people feel that their bodies and their lives and their well-being is being compromised >> reporter: despite issuing boil water advisories and violating the drinking water act, it was said the water was safe to drink. i questioned howard croft who was the director the public works >> reporter: how can you say the water is unsafe and then say it's okay to consume or bathe in? i think people are seriously confused and scared >> again, that's another reason to bring in experts, is to separate fact from fiction. there are people who have concerns on certain aspects of it, but the notice that went out said this is not an emergency. >> reporter: a report released later that summer, researchers found that unlike the detroit

water system, water from the flint river was core owe sieve. still no action action by city or stafl officials and tempers continued to boil >> i have created a term. i call it the flint water gate 2015. >> reporter: in september we talked to this woman who said her four year old's health was deteriorating. she too blamed the water >> we noticed when he would come into contact with the water, his skin would break out in a scaly, really red irritated rash. >> reporter: a blood test that she provided us showed that her son had abnormally high levels of led. concerned about increasing water complaints that same month the doctor, a paediatrician at the medical center, revealed the results of a study she had done showing that the percentage of

those five years in younger well serrated led levels-- elevated. >> the only thing changing in this time period was the water. looking at the levels from 2013 and then from 2015, it was in 2014 that the war switch happened. that was the biggest thing >> reporter: how dangerous is this? >> it drops your iq about four points. it has significant impacts on cognition, on behaviour, adhd-like symptoms >> reporter: that's when the message from officials changed. the mdeq admitted that state officials never employed corrosion controls to the river. >> we know flint needs a sustainable and secure water supply for today and into the future, and this is what we are absolutely committed to. >> reporter: that same month michigan governor rick snyder said flint was switching back to

the detroit water system. it was too late for the mayor. on november 5 the mayor lost his bid. >> our kids have been damaged by the poisoning and what we've been doing is asking the governor, the state, to be accountable. >> reporter: days later mr croft resigned. in less december mdeq director stepped down. three weeks later governor snyder declared a state of emergency and activated the national guard >> fill this before you ran any other tap sources. >> reporter: this is sites where people can pick up free bottled water. there's no timetable on how long they could be here. it could be weeks or even months. >> they lied to us. they kept saying we could use

the water. >> reporter: on january 16 president obama declared a federal state of emergency in flint. >> i know if i was a parent up there, i would be beside myself that my kids' health could be at risk >> reporter: on the night of his state of the state address, he issued an apology. >> i'm sorry most of all that i let you down. you deserve better. you deserve accountability. you deserve to know that the buck stops here with me. >> reporter: facing growing criticism on the following day, snyder released 273 pages of emails from 2014 to 2015 regarding flint's water. some were heavily blacked out. one message from snyder's chief of staff said that some in flint were turning the issue of children's exposure to led into a political football. >> reporter: do you think that the governor's emails show

transparency? >> it shows me that the governor wasn't very involved in this issue, that his staff was dismissive and defensive. >> reporter: on thursday i sat down with former flint mayor. that same day the environmental protection agency's regional administrator ofrdz her resignation. she had been turned to last june about the water quality. he says she shot him down. >> reporter: do you think you could have done more? >> i look back and wish i did do more. >> reporter: he says the blame lies with the officials. who do you hold accountable? >> i believe the state department of environmental quality did not regulate the flint water. it goes all the way back to the beginning. we've got bad information, we got bad water and now the problem needs to be fixed.

>> reporter: once a major hub for the american auto industry, flint is predominantly african-american and poor. in august this woman contemplated leaving >> i'm going to let the house go or i'm going to move in with somebody. it's sad, but that's what is happening t i understand people when they leave >> reporter: others say they have no choice but to stay >> this is home. we shouldn't have to move out in order to able to survive. it's a survival thing, so we will keep going the way we are, cross our fingers, pray and hope everything is okay >> reporter: criticizing state and local officials owe over the handling of the issue, it was announced on thursday an emergency order to take over led sampling in the city. the office of u.s. rep says that governor snyder will have to answer to congress during a meeting next month, more than a year after the problems came to light and danger still per cysts. >> reporter: there have also been connections made between

the water and a deadly outbreak of legionnaires disease. there are so many different moving parts to this crisis here in flint. both the federal government and state law makers have launched investigations into what went wrong you've been, obviously, covering this story for some time now. what is the sense that you get from people there in flint? are they hopeful the situation will be resolved? forget about a timeline for getting it resolved. are they hopeful that it will eventually get resolved? >> reporter: i can tell you that i really have noticed a difference. when we first started reporting this story a year ago, a lot of people felt like their voices weren't being heard, that they were being ignore in order. people would complain but no-one seemed to care is what i was hearing from a lot of residents. here we are a year later talking to people at one of those sites where they were collecting bottled water. they said we're getting the

national attention, the national guard is in town and we feel people are taking us seriously now. they are hoping a resolution comes sooner rather than later thank you. our guest is a representative of neally. the governor rick snyder wad asked if state was a factor in the response-- if raise was a factor in the response. he said-- if race was a factor in the response. in your view was a factor because he said it was not. >> definitely the governor did not respond in a timely fashion nor did his executive departments, nor did his executive staff take this issue seriously. so i would say that they treated flint as a second class city.

i don't know if it was race or economics, but definitely the people of flint did not get a fair look at when they were complaining about these issues, nor did the local elected officials get an opportunity to talk to the governor. as a state representative i sent him a letter last year that did not give a look at. he claimed i sent it to the wrong email, but i know the executive staff had it and i know the complaints of the residents were enumerated in that letter. the governor was only doing what he has to do. i would applaud all those who are pressuring him to do what is necessary by the citizens of flint i have this picture, it is dated april 25 2014. it features city employees and elected officials raising glasses of treated water, water that was treated, water from the flint river. we've got it up now. were you in that room?

>> no. i was not in that room on that day. i have toured the water treatment facilities. it's not the treatment facility. let's not make that mistake. it's the treatment of the water in the process and the lack of the treatment that caused this catastrophe here in the city of flint. the genesis of this problem is with the emergency manager. governor snyder has not mentioned that fiasco about that one dictator inside of the city of flint making unilateral decisions for this community to cut costs. this was a tragic event just for those few pennies that were saved. many lives have been impacted and some have been impacted permanently i want to drill down on this idea of pennies being saved here. that goes back to the water treatment plant. what went wrong there? did they forget to pay for this anti corrosive material, the

agents, the chemicals, to treat water from the flint river or did they not want to pay for the chemicals to treat the water to save money? >> as i understand it, they were not allowed to treat the water appropriately from a misinterpretation of the rules inside the michigan area, that meq did not give the permit to allow the treatment facility to add those control elements into the water that could have saved residents inside the city of flint. so it was disallowed by the mdq and that's why i think you're seeing the fallout in that state department, but the emergency manager should have not made the move to make the flint water a primary source of water before all those things were vetted. that move has put us into a tail spin. we're trying to figure our way out of this now emergency managers, you've mentioned that a couple of times

and you've mentioned that in our last interview together. do you see the powers of the emerge managers being eroded and being returned to city mayors? >> emergency managers, in the state of michigan, this is a law that gives one individual total authority over a municipality. whatever they say goes. it strips the check and balance for residents. you cannot have that. right now the same emergency manager that pulled the trigger on the city of flint for this water fiasco and tragedy is now tearing up the detroit schools. this is a wrecking ball moving through the state of michigan and we need to look at that law. governor snyder needs to own it. he signed it into law twice against the will of the people. they voted it down once. he put it back in and made it

referendum proof is the legislature going to - and we remind everyone watching that this is a republican controlled legislature - going to give the money he needs to make flint whole, the money necessary to allow him to deliver on his promise when he said in the state of the state address, "i will fix it"? >> well, i think they're moving forward in that direction, but this is a good opportunity to take a look at our legislators and find out who is going to be acce accessories or who are going to be the allies to involve this problem. it is just the first step that is needed to correct this problem. we have organized chaos on the ground. we have a lot of bodies moving, we have a lot of donations in our city, but right now we need

a more permanent and sustainable solution for this community and we need to get there fast was it a mistake for the president not to visit flint when he was in michigan? >> no. president obama has been great through this whole process. i mean, allowing dollars to be given to this community, other additional resource, even to have his voice as a father and his parent as to what this would have meant to him with his children, i'm only just to say thank you to him for that. so his goodwill is felt here inside the city of flint. as we move forward, we need to make sure that trust, accountability and transparency is pressed upon governor snyder. he needs to come forward and do more than he has thank you for that.

good to have you back on the program again upnext the day in the life. how the people of flint are getting by without clean water. next the day in the life. how the people of flint are getting by without clean water.

>> we're here to fully get into the nuances of everything that's going on, not just in this country, but around the world. getting the news from the people who are affected. >> people need to demand reform... >> ali velshi on target. amid all of the bickering about who was responsible for the flint water emergency, there

are daily lives being impacted. >> reporter: the day starts earlier for this woman and her two children. for months it has started far more complicated. >> we have some water heating up over here >> reporter: their lives revolve around bottled water and boiled water. teeth brushing, cleaning, hair washing become like chores u >> you've got to take care care of your kids the best you can because one day we're not going to be around and they will still be affected by this >> reporter: a year ago she came down with strep throat. she blamed the tap water. >> i feel like we're camping. >> reporter: bottled water is now a way of life >> >> i go through eight to ten on a cleaning day, on a day i have to save my water, five.

>> reporter: she even tries to avoid using the washing machine or washing dishes. that's why the family often eats off paper plates. >> look at all this plastic going to the landfill. >> reporter: just about every day she joins the steady pr aid of-- parade of residents. everyone gets one case for day. >> she had been using her stamps to buy water. >> reporter: i only had that much water to survive on. >> reporter: some critics have questioned how bad the flint water problem is >> it has been overblown in a sense it has been described to the state and the nation and the world for that matter as being like city-wide catastrophe, everybody's water is poisoned. that's not the case. >> reporter: this man who heads the state university research team that blue open the flint water controversy, says some

neighborhoods like these in red tested higherest for led levels. others tested in the mid-range, but that doesn't tell the whole story. >> if you had a small amount of water in your tap water, but you drink a lot of water, it would add up. you have to figure out how much you were exposed to, how much you actually got into you and over what time period. >> reporter: on this day stevens was given a water filter that experts say should block the led for at least one of the faucets in her home >> i don't trust it. >> reporter: by the time dinner rolls around, she like so many others have to think ahead >> if we want spa get ee - spaghetti for dinner, we have to boil five bottles of water for that. >> reporter: the local state and federal officials now blaming

each other and stevens is disgusted by all of them >> they were lazy. they wanted a cheaper way out. you get what you pay for. >> reporter: she has no faith they will undo the damage in her life >> if you're calling in relation to the cities's water situation. >> reporter: that they put in motion >> when will we catch a break and go back to a normal life? >> reporter: you heard her say that she doesn't trust at the time water filters that have been handed out. they have nothing to do with flint, but a lot of these folks are feeling the same thing. they feel so burned about what they have heard from various sources, they don't know who to trust any more thank you for that. up next, the state of flint, how a once thriving community was sent into a downward spiral.

for decades flint michigan was a booming factory town, but the heavy industries that employee thousands and make it a great city to live also set the stage for a water crisis. >> reporter: flint was a manufacturing power house in the first half of the 20th century. general motors was here and jobs were plentiful. >> everything was booming. housing was booming, we had new housing areas go up.

flint was booming. the place to be. >> reporter: she had lived in flint over 56 years. >> there were jobs here. >> reporter: her family was drawn to the economic stability of the thriving auto industry. >> you had a jim, you had a family, upped the home, you had the cars. you had the american dream. >> reporter: have you thought about moving anywhere else? >> i think about it every day >> reporter: long time residents still remember the good times. what was it like growing up in flint? >> it was an industrial town. we had auto shops and there was lots of jobs. very aeasy to work in a factory without any problem at all. >> reporter: in its heyday it supplied g m with countless automotive parts. by the mid 1970s it ran 7 plants with 12,000 employees. the problems began in the late 1960s when factories began to

disappear. >> i had the crew down here with michael moor. he is supposed to meet richard smith at noon. >> reporter: this documentary showed our g m's decision to shut down several plants sent the city into a downward spiral that it has never managed to recover from. >> reporter: the last remnants of the plants are being in the process of being torn down. in 1980 flint had the highest median wage for workers underage 35. by 2013, median wages dropped by nearly 40%. today flint is in a freefall, unemployment, poverty rates and violent crime have soared. now the water crisis brought on by government efforts to save money. >> i'm really upset now. anybody in the government making decisions for me i know longer trust them. >> reporter: it is the latest in a series of challenges that this

community is all too familiar with that's our special report, crisis in flint, a water emergency. i'm tony harris. thanks for watching. watching. the blizzard of 2016. tens of millions of americans in its path. the storm is already causing major problems on the east coast. this picture gives you the idea of the size. the blizzard is taking direct aim at washington, d.c. john terret is there tonight, john. >> that's right, john good evening from the nation's capital where i can tell you it began snowing at about 1:15 eastern this an got steadily heavier ever since. i would guess right now, one to two, maybe three inches on the ground. and the problem is this storm is so large and the forecasters tell us it's going to sit