tv New Day CNN January 20, 2016 3:00am-6:01am PST
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particular university. they have thought potentially they would keep the attackers in two main blockings of that area. but it's taken a long time to clear them out. of course, now the devastating tool of this attack will slowly become apparent. there could be as many there could be 600 students there. you say, it isn't precisely clear who's behind this. one part of the pakistani taliban have denied responsibility. saying an attack like this would not be, quote, according to sharia. what is also clear is how pakistan's been cracking down on militants in this area, potentially a reason for this attack. and after peshawar, so much pakistani public opinion uniting
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against the taliban threat inside pakistan. alisyn? >> let's bring in our counterterrorism expert and senior fellow at the foundation of defense for democracies. what do we know about this group and what have you learned about their claims of responsibility? >> well, tpp was cracked down on significantly as the correspondent said, following the peshawar massacre. that ended up significantly damaging the group. it was very strong at the start of 2015. just after it carried out that attack. pakistani public opinion united against it. it ended up fragmenting in a number of ways. entering this year was considered to be a shell of its former self. that is not indicative of the overall state of militant fundamentalist groups in pakistan, which are quite strong. that organize was damaged by the attack. the one significant thing, as your correspondent said, there
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are conflicting claims of responsibility, one statement the tpp is denying it. one commander, umar mansor does claim the attack. the resemblance to the peshawar attack is significant. umar maksor was also the mastermind of the peshawar attack. >> that attack was so sickening and heinous, what are they trying to accomplish? >> if you look at it through andth can an ethical or strategic lens, it's hard to make sense of this. if you go back to the peshawar attack, the school attack, one of the significant thing about that school, a lot of the children of military commanders went there. he talked about if our women and
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children die has martyrs, we'll make yours die as well. it was not clear if it was a revenge attack. part of it was a symbol for members of pakistan's military establishment, they were saying we can get at you personally. as for this attack, it's not clear yet. it is noteworthy that the university, bacha khan is named after an anti-taliban party, a known liberal. it's not the first attack on a university, unfortunately, in the past year. if you look at the garissa attack that occurred in kenya, you had over 100 students slaughtered in that attack by an al qaeda affiliate group, al shabaab. >> we talk a lot about isis, the global community is focused on how to fight isis. we don't talk as much about the taliban. should we be focused more on the taliban if this is in fact their doing? >> yes, so, the way pakistan divides it up, this is a bit of
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an artificial distinction, they divide up the afghan taliban from the pakistani taliban. there are a number of different taliban groups. in afghanistan where isis has very loudly burst on to the scene, the taliban has been engaged in a crackdown on isis. one of the things about tpp, number one, it's a taliban group that actually has attempted attacks on u.s. soil. there is the potential times square bombing several years ago orchestrated by tpp. the second thing is that in pakistan, where quite obviously al qaeda had its major base of operations for some time and ayman alza -- al zawahiri is probably still there today. the taliban is skiing as part of
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that for a variety of reasons, including operational cooperation but also the fact that all of the major al qaeda leaders have pledged to the leader of the afghan taliban. that doesn't really mean that the taliban is running the show. but to them, it is rife with significance. >> thank you for helping us understand all of the breaking news this morning. we appreciate it. let's get over to michaela. to our other top story, potential turning point in 2016 race. 12 days to the iowa caucuses. donald trump hoping that an endorsement from former vice presidential candidate sarah palin will give him the edge over ted cruz. will it help him win over more evangelical and tea party supporters? we saw interesting covers on some of the new york papers this morning. >> that's definitely true, michaela. sarah palin is a figure who certainly knows how to stir things up. it's not clear if she's going to
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change a lot of people's mind, move people to trump's favor but she could motivate the voters, show up and turn out at the polls in a cold place like iowa. when a race is this close, donald trump does not want to take any chances. >> are you ready to stump for trump? >> sarah palin is back. center stage and throwing her support behind donald trump. >> we're going to give them hell. >> nearly a decade after the conservative fire brand rallied rochus crowds, palin is taking on a new mission, shoring up trump against some of his rival's potent attacks. sara barracuda came out swinging. >> are you ready for a commander in chief that will let our military do their job and kick isis ass. no pussy footing around.
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>> reporter: and assuring voters that trump, a former democrat, is a conservative. palin even casting the businessman has a populist who just happens to be a billionaire. >> yeah, our leader is a little bit different. he's a multibillionaire, not that there's anything wrong with that. but it's amazing. he is not elitist at all. >> reporter: yesterday, trump pressing pause on his proomry battles. >> i'm going to be connecticut front tagsal today for a change. >> reporter: to relish his celebrity endorsement. >> this is a woman that from day one, i said if i ever do this, i have to get her support. >> reporter: as cruz ended a tough day on the trail with a double whammy, losing palin. >> regardless of what sarah decides to do in 2016 i will always remain a big, big fan of sarah palin. >> reporter: and facing new attacks in iowa as governor
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terry branstead, a republican heavyweight says cruz needs to be defeated. >> he hasn't supported renewable fuels. >> reporter: it's a jab cruz says was to be expected. >> it is no surprise that the establishment is in full panic mode. >> reporter: sarah palin has sort of faded from the limelight in recent years but she will be back on stage. we're expecting her today in iowa with donald trump and, again, later today with him in tulsa. we'll have a much better sense of how republicans feel about her now. alisyn and chris, back to you. >> good question, sara. stay with us. let's bring in cnn political analyst and presidential campaign correspondent who just happened to break this story, maggie haberman. and matt louis. what is the significance of this and is there a surprise to it? >> look, there's two schools of thought. one is that sarah palin helps
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him enormously, she maximizes the media attention on him. she makes it harder for ted cruz to get attention. she still has a lot of appeal in iowa. there are conservatives she's tended to over the years in terms of building relationships with. she combats the questions about his fidelity to conservative principles. there's another school of thought which is that sarah palin has let her brand go. this is more helpful for her. both things might be true. i certainly think this is an endorsement ted cruz would rather have had than not had. >> which school of thought do you fall into? >> palin has faded in recent years but her endorsements really still seem to matter. she endorsed ted cruz. she endorsed joni ernst in iowa. at a time when endorsements don't matter that much, this one could. it's not so much that it helps trump is that it hurts ted cruz.
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>> yes. >> what a bad day he had yesterday. >> why didn't, matt, just to stick with you for a second, why didn't she endorse ted cruz? >> maggie alluded to palin wanting to generate buzz and attention. the best way to do that is to endorse trump. i also think that ideologically and stylistically she's actually much more similar to trump than cruz. you know, cruz and trump are both populous conservatives. i think palin is more populist than conservative. >> sara, trump is not known for being understated in terms of running the campaign. they were very quiet about this, though, which was somewhat uncharacteristic. the cruz campaign seemed to be putting out very obvious signals all day long they didn't want this to happen. what were you picking up as the state of play there? >> i think the cruz campaign wanted to get ahead of it. the trump folks, they like to control their own message. they like to be able to stage a
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big event and they knew how they wanted to roll this out. they want sarah palin that evening during prime time on the big stage with him. and donald trump isn't a guy who likes to share the stage. he essentially handed the microphone over to her after he got through an abbreviated version of his stump speech and let her do her thing. it was at a college. the crowd we saw, there were a lot of younger voters and a lot of people heard sarah palin's one liners and this is the first time they are hearing them. they didn't hear her in 2008. they sailed over the crowd's head. it will be interesting to see how she does in norwalk, iowa and how she does later in the day. >> she had all sorts of energy. one of the most interesting things was donald trump's facial expressions and body language. he -- i couldn't tell if he l e likes handing over the limelight or if he was enjoying it or not
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enjoying it. >> i was thinking about 2012 and the trump endorsement of mitt romney. he stood there with the same look on his face. i do think this was not a great day for ted cruz. you had his spokesman here yesterday morning essentially take a swipe at palin. i don't think he intended to do that. that's how it was taken. cruz later had to clarify that. any day you are contending with someone else's media message like that, it's not a great day. >> is it does remind me of when mccain picked palin and there was an initial flush of enthusiasm, it went straight up and came straight down for equally obvious additional reasons. let's see what happens here. one of the things that was more clear, matt, your take on this. the governor in iowa is a player full stop. he comes out and comes after ted cruz almost without introduction. that seemed to be a big blow. what is your take on why the governor came out so strongly
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and what the impact will be so close to the caucus? >> terry plbranstat is potentiay the most important politician in the state. ethanol is the third rail of iowa politics. you know, iowa is littered with the corpses of people who have not bowed down to ethanol. this will be a real test. ted cruz is taking a more free market conservative approach on that issue of renewable fuels. the establishment -- the iowa republican establishment do not like that. if i want to see if cruz can overcome that. if so, it's a game changing moment. john mccain famously, you know, went against ethanol and later he had to backtrack and he said -- i think he said he was eating his cereal with ethanol in the morning or something like that. >> that is a mccainism, too. maggie, obviously ted cruz knows
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that. he's going against this ethanol -- the government subsidy or whatever you want to call it, propping up ethanol. he knows how important ethanol is to iowa. he is making a political calculation. it's an interesting one. >> ish. he's been a little bit over the place on this. it's not been that clear a path. i agree with matt. i think terry branstat doing this is very unusual. >> he was here on set with us and he didn't want any part of choosing a side. this is all good for iowa. let the caucuses decide. that's all i want is for the people to make the decision. and then this. >> i think we're seeing two things at play, three things. one relevants very much to the ethanol issue. one relates to the fact for whatever reason ted cruz creates animosity with other people. he is disliked by a wide swath of his colleagues. we saw that with mccann validating the birther issue that donald trump brought up. and you are seeing it, i think here now, also i think there is concern within the iowa establishment about who wins the
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caucuses for preserving the future of the caucuses. and that is some of what this is. donald trump, they could probably write off and explain away a little better than ted cruz winning it. they are feeling like the future of the caucuses is threatened. >> maggie, matt, sara, thank you for all of that analysis. we want to let you know about a big event coming next monday. this is happening in iowa, exactly one week before the caucuses. bernie sanders, hillary clinton and martin o'malley will go face-to-face with voters in iowa. this is a cnn town hall. it's live from des moines. chris cuomo will moderate. it's the final pitch for the democratic candidates before the first votes are cast. it's an opportunity for iowans to ask questions of the three democrats. that is next monday night, 9:00 p.m. eastern live only here on cnn. >> we need to spar with him to get him ready for that. >> no, no, it's all about the people who are there. i'm just there to see who will drink the most ethanol among the candidates, beat the mccain
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standard. bernie sanders is blowing hillary clinton away in new hampshire. how important is a win in iowa for hillary clinton? that's ahead. ♪jake reese, "day to feel alive"♪ ♪jake reese, "day to feel alive"♪ ♪jake reese, "day to feel alive"♪ coughing...sniffling... and wishing you could stay in bed all day.
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♪ i got the discounts that you need ♪ ♪ safe driver ♪ accident-free ♪ everybody put your flaps in the air for me ♪ less than three weeks now until new hampshire's primary and senator bernie sanders opening up a commanding lead over hillary clinton. a new cnn/wmur poll shows sanders now leads clinton by
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27%. in the granite state. in december he had a ten-point lead. joining us to discuss what's going on in the democratic side is cnn's senior political correspondent brianna keilar and back with us, maggie haberman and matt lewis. sanders has 60% in new hampshire over clinton's 33%. he's from the neighboring state. is that what you attribute this to or is something else going on? >> i think it's a little bit of both. the neighbor state factor is very real. this has always been expected with him. that's a bigger gap than we've seen in some other polls. it does seem to be where the trend line is going. i think hillary clinton is having a problem in the final two weeks of this closing. the debate was basically a draw. i think she scored some good points, i think sanders scored from good points. you were always going to see a tightening in this race in the end. i do think sanders has been able to capture people's imaginations within the democratic party
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base. i think we're going to find out, especially frankly in iowa, i think less so in new hampshire, but i think we are going to find out if people are feeling they want to be pragmatic which is what they are being told by the clinton people or are they angry? the same type of populism we have seen on the republican side, we are seeing on the democratic side. >> especially in new hampshire. especially for those of us who had to walk the frozen ground, it is often a passion play. brianna keilar, being on the ground in new hampshire, what are you hearing about the energy surrounding sanders other than just a neighboring state senator that might feed into the new polls? >> i think there's something to add to what maggie said. there's something about him. obviously he is someone who they're familiar with. he's from a neighboring state. not just new hampshire. i was just in alabama of all places where bernie sanders was. what sort of struck me was that especially once you get away from new hampshire, there's a thing about bernie sanders that is shiny and new which is fascinating when you're talking
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about someone who is 74 years ole and has been in washington for a really long time. compared to hillary clinton, there is this thing that you sense, i think at a rally for bernie sanders, which is very different than these events harrisburg haddi i-- hillary cl has where he's speaking to something so many voters are feeling. they felt this in new hampshire and alabama. the system is sort of stacked against them in a way. he sort of is speaking to the wrongs they think need to be righted. also one of the things i really noticed, certainly being in the south, being in a city like birmingham, where you have three-quarters african-american city, bernie sanders is struggling when it comes to minority support. >> matt, let's talk about the new developments in the hillary clinton e-mail situation. the inspector general of the intelligence agencies has come out and said they have found e-mails she sent or received that were in an even higher classification than top secret,
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they were super duper top secret. she as always, her campaign says not when she received or sent them. they later were classified as such. let me pull up another interesting poll from cnn this morning. and that is least honest democratic candidate was the question. hillary clinton far outweighs her competitors there. she gets 55%. as you see, the numbers have been going in the wrong direction for her. >> at least honest is a nice way to put it also. >> double negative. >> it assumes honesty. >> very good point. >> so the numbers are going in the wrong direction and she's far ahead of o'malley and sanders in terms of that. so do you think that the e-mail scandal is affecting this? >> well, look, i think first of all it's very serious. whether or not it impacts the race, it is incredibly serious to have a potential president of the united states who had such poor judgment, higher than top
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secret information on a private server that could have pretty easily, i think, you know, been tapped into by our enemies. so you have to question her judgment. that's a very serious thing. i think that anybody else would have probably been in jail for doing something like this. >> deal with the push back. her team is going to say three things. okay? in support of her. the state department said she could use the private server. don't talk about her discretion, it was okay. two, the e-mails that were classified, most of them were done after the fact and those that were done before the fact, there were various different standards and people disagreeing with the level of the information. it was no clear violation. and third, they say, well, it's been vetted to death and nothing has been found. there is no indictment. let it go. rebut. >> i think that's clintonesque
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she was secretary of state. the burden is on her to make sure that information that is in fact top secret has not been officially classified as top secret yet, is kept safe. i think this feeds into -- >> they say it was safe. >> he's saying the content. >> she should have known the content was hot. >> they say there is no -- there is no one determiner of what's top secret, there are often different levels. it wasn't hacked and government sites are hacked all the time. what are you accusing them of because it never happened. that's their push back. >> i think that they're playing sort of fast and loose. look, she was the secretary of state, the buck stops with her. i really think that if anybody else had done this, they would be in serious legal jeopardy right now. this feeds into a judgment question about her. i also think it feeds into the truthfulness question about her and the obfuscation.
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she said there was no top secret information on the server. >> that's the problem. >> technically at the time it wasn't. she should have known it was information that was highly important and would have and should have been classified. >> more on that throughout the program. great to see you guys. thank you. the question is whether or not this will matter specifically in iowa. there's a great way to find out. ask democrats from iowa. that's what we're going to do, only here on cnn. one week before iowa chooses, we're going to have everybody, bernie sanders, hillary clinton, martin o'malley, they're going to go face to face with who matters most, the voters in iowa. it's a democratic presidential town hall live from des moines. i'm going to moderate. the final pitch for all candidates before the first votes are cast. they will get to look at people who are living problems in iowa and who want answers. next monday night, 9:00 p.m. eastern, live only on cnn. mick? all right. we're hearing for the first time from one of the americans freed
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in last week's prisoner swap with iran. what does this former marine have to say about his years in an iranian prison? we have a live report, next. every day you read headlines about businesses being hacked and intellectual property being stolen. that is cyber-crime and it affects each and every one of us. microsoft created the digital crimes unit to fight cyber-crime. we use the microsoft cloud to visualize information so we can track down the criminals. when it comes to the cloud, trust and security are paramount. we're building what we learn back into the cloud to make people and organizations safer.
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the medical center to speak to journalists, he sounded strong and clear. he looked well. that's how he said he was feeling. he didn't want to dwell on the negatives of how hard it was to endure, four years of captivity in an iranian president. he did say at times, the pressure were inhumane. the things he said that kept him strong were his marine training, not wanting to let down the reputation of the marine corps and the support he knew existed back home. the word he was receiving inside the prison of efforts back in the u.s. to get him out. he was hearing about those efforts. so were the people who were holding him. this is what he said about that. take a listen. >> everyone from the president, the congress, even the iranian officials who our captors were seasonally amazed have asked us. why is it they're working so hard for you? i just said, that's america. they love their citizens. >> now, one of the other freed
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prison prisoners, "the washington post" journalist, jason rezaian who's also receiving treatment at this facility, we haven't heard from him yet. we have seen him in a new video released by "the post." it shows a lovely intimate moment between him and his wife. she's apparently showing him a video circulating online that mocked the idea he could possibly be a spy for the u.s. so of the three americans receiving treatment here now, we've seen or heard from two of them. by all accounts, they're both doing really well. back to you, chris. >> appreciate it, phil. apologies for residents of flint, michigan. is that enough? is that in time to undo the long-term damage in the city's water crisis? several class-action lawsuits are now being filed. we're going to speak with an attorney for one of those cases. there are lots of different plaintiffs, lots of different claims. what's the situation right now? look at what's in that bottle.
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you deserve better. you deserve accountability. you deserve to know that the buck stops here with me. >> a lot of people in michigan are saying, yes, but it didn't. that's michigan's governor, rick snyder apologizing to the people of flint for the city's contaminated water supply. he laid out a course of action during the state of the state address, including a request for $28 million to deal with the toxic water. the state is facing class-action lawsuits because, for many, sorry isn't enough. let's bring in one of the attorneys handling those cases. michael pitt. what is the current state of health in people using water in flint, michigan and the surrounding areas. >> good morning, chris. thanks for having me. right now, the governor, the
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county health department, the state health department are telling the people not to drink the water. some people have been told it's okay to bathe. i think the prudent course of action is not to put vulnerable individuals, babies, elderly people in that water until there can be an assurance from an independent source, a reliable source that the water is safe. >> the problem going forward, some thought the remedy was to switch back to the detroit system which i believe was done this past october. that's not enough they're saying now because the lines themselves have been deteriorated because of the water that was flowing through them. is that your understanding? >> that's my understanding. there are some that say the lines have been irrepairably damaged and will never be repaired. others are less concerned about the irreparable damage and are
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waiting to see whether the anti-corrosive agents which have been added and supplemented since october will repair the lines. it remains to be seen whether or not those lines become serviceable again. >> now, the situation right now is fairly clear and empirically provable. your point is to look back and say, it was known. it was multifaceted and it's neglect and wound up costing people their health and maybe their lives. how confident are you you can make that case? >> very confident. marc edwards, the professor from virginia tech who has been on the ground in flint since last summer has done a remarkable job of establish iing the documentation and time lines necessary to establish the case. the department of health and human services saw elevated
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blood lead levels in september of 2014, which coincided precisely with the exposure to the water. they sat on this information for ten months. they faced a public health emergency but told nobody. and it was only because a very courageous doctor, dr. mona hannah-atisha, a local pediatrician called him out and showed from her own statistics this spike. that's when the state finally admitted they had this information and that they confirmed what she was telling them. at that point -- go ahead. >> it's such a pernicious allegation that the state would know people's health were at risk, serious risk and do nothing. what is your case for why that would have been done? what would have been the motivation for the state to conceal such lethal information?
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>> because they are required by federal law to take blood from children 1 to 2 years old. they have tens of thousands of lab studies that they look at. they saw the problem at a certain point. i think they were ashamed, embarrassed, humiliated. they were not responding in a proper way to what the evidence was showing. and when they were confronted, they still denied it. it was only until late september that they finally admitted that they had the data and they had been sitting on it since september of 2014. it is pernicious, i agree. the lawsuits are going to get to the whys these individuals did it. >> of course, the greatest
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tragedy here is lead poisoning in children, you can do things to help but it cannot be removed at least with the current understandings of science. council, thank you for being with us. as you further develop the case, please come back to us and let us know what you have so we can make people aware of the facts on the ground as they're being argued. >> we'll stay on that story, chris. a major snowstorm brewing for the mid-atlantic and the northeast. how much snow is on the way? and who will get hit the hardest? we have that forecast for you, next. parking is hard to find. seems like everyone drives. and those who do should switch to geico because you could save hundreds on car insurance. ah, perfect. valet parking. evening, sir. hello!
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we're following breaking news for you this morning. at least 19 people killed in a mill tan the attack at a university in northwestern pakistan. the pakistani taliban commander claims responsibility but a faction of the group denies that. pakistan's army says four attackers were killed and government troops have regained control of all buildings and rooftops. donald trump looking for love from iowa voters after winning the endorsement of sarah palin, the former vice presidential candidate says trump isn't beholden to anyone and she's prepared to stump for him. palin is choosing trump over senator ted cruz whom she endorsed for senate in 2012. ben carson taking the pause from politics to mourn the loss of 25-year-old braden joplin, died from injuries he suffered
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in a van crash tuesday on an icy road in iowa. carson spoke of joplin's brightness and offered condolences. >> our hearts go out to his family and to all the families involved, including the family in the pickup truck. you know, life is so fleeting. we have to make the most of every bit of it that we can. >> the carson campaign plans to return to the stump on thursday. actor jamie foxx becoming a real-life hero, pulling a man from his burning truck. 32-year-old brett kyle was driving under the influence when he went off the road and flipped over several times. the actor heard the crash, called 911 and rushed to help the emt help pull him out. brad kyle wrapped his arm around the actor and thanked him for
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saving his son's life. >> what you do in an instant, i hope we would all react that way. >> i don't know. >> i hope. i hope. >> i think what he did was rare and brave. >> the burning car scenario is terrifying for everyone. >> well done, jamie foxx. >> republican candidate john kasich and his family speaking to cnn about life on the campaign trail. what he's like away from the spotlight. dana bash's exclusive interview with the family, coming up next. (air horn, trap door opening) rootmetrics, in the nation's largest independent study, tested wireless performance across the country. verizon won big with one hundred fifty three state wins. at+t got thirty-eight, sprint got two, and t mobile got zero. verizon also won first in the us for data, call speed, and reliability. at+t got text. stuck on an average network? join verizon and we'll cover your costs to switch.
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turning to new hampshire, kasich and his family sat down for an exclusive interview with dana bash. it is the first time kasich's daughters have done a sitdown interview with their candidate father. dana joins us now with the details. dana? >> reporter: good morning, michaela. most of the talk in the gop race is about donald trump and ted cruz. but there is a red hot contest going on for the establishment alternative. john kasich is practically been living in new hampshire. he's hoping a strong showing will make him that guy. over the last few days, the kasichs were altogether, he, his wife and twin 16-year-old daughters and they did sit down with me on their campaign bus for their first interview do ad state. >> yes. >> i said if i would become the story here, you'd win the presidency. >> i said the nomination and then the presidency. up until now, celebrity candidates have been the story.
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i'm not a celebrity candidate. if i get smoked here, i'm not going to carry on a fairy tale. >> what does smoke mean? >> get beaten badly. >> third, fourth. >> on twe'll know on the 10th o february. unless everything is repealed we'll do extremely well here. i am going to come out of here and contrary to what some people think, we've got activity in many states now. and i'm very optimistic about the future. >> mrs. kasich, the last time i was here with your husband in new hampshire, he kept saying i wish my wife and daughters were here. to see this. because he was excited about the reaction and reception he was getting. what's it like to be out here? >> it's fun nor us. we enjoy watching what john does and seeing people's reaction to meet him. we get time to go away when we meet people in the community which is fun for us. >> this is the first time you're
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sitting down with your parents to do an interview. what is it like to be the daughter of a presidential candidate? because you really have a unique experience here. >> it's a good experience going on the road but it's pretty much normal at home. >> it's all the same kind of. >> most 16-year-olds don't hang out on presidential campaign buses. >> we've grown up with him doing something in campaigning, because when we were like 10 we had a bus for his governor election. >> that's true. this is kind of normal for you. >> uh-huh. >> while we're on the subject i couldn't help but notice your dad tried to get you to speak at this event and you were reluctant. i was a 16-year-old girl once. i remember if my dad breathed wrong i was mortified. i love him, obviously. i can't imagine what it's like to be sitting there with cameras on you and you're in the public eye. >> i think it's a fun experience. >> we spoke at the last town hall meeting.
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>> did you like it? >> only for ten seconds. >> yes, it was fine. >> what do people know about your dad that only daughters can know? >> that he's very loving and caring and a godly person and the best candidate. >> a godly person. what do you mean by that? >> he always isn't afraid to talk about god to anyone. because that's what he believes in. and he's taught us that our whole life. >> i'm glad to hear the girls i've always tried to tell them that life is short and you do the best you can. the lord is watching and he's our pal. right? and our supporter. and it's been great for them to absorb that and hear that today. >> i've seen it written that you had sort of a religious conversion of sorts when your parents were killed by a drunk driver almost 30 years ago. but usually just in watching you, unlike other republican presidential candidates, you don't talk about your faith. you don't wear it on your sleeve as much.
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and you said actually i'd rather have an eternal destiny than try to cheapen the brand of god. what do you mean by that? >> i was doing a radio interview and the commentator said why don't you talk about god more, you could get more votes. i'm like, are you kidding me, it doesn't work that way. >> you're his wife, in private moments, do you think, if they could only see him like this. >> with john, what you see it what you get. i don't think there's a mysterious john kasich lurking out there somewhere. if they've seen him at all, they know him. >> this is not one of these adoring wives, you know, where my husband, i mean, are you kidding me? i mean, it just doesn't work that way. >> how does it work? >> she's just -- she treats me like a husband. she doesn't, you know, she's not like always, oh, he's so great. would you pick up your socks?
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that's the thing that drives me crazy. i wear a pair of socks. she thinks it's nuclear waste or something. it's ridiculous. i will tell you, it was sort of funny, when i was out of politics i had a speaking career and i needed somebody to help book my speeches. she started on a monday morning at 9:00 and by 11:00 i fired her. >> i quit. >> she says she quit. >> why? >> she couldn't take it. >> i couldn't work for him. he would tell me what to do. i didn't like that. >> it was two hours, sweetie. come on. >> it was enough. i didn't need the money that bad. >> mrs. kasich, i'm going to ask you a question and ask it delicately. your husband is known to be impatient sometimes. sometimes prickly. are you the john kasich whisperer? are there times when he comes and home and you say, maybe you should not act like this.
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>> i have told him to act like the grown-up in the room. >> because he needed to be told that sometimes? >> it's been a while. he's doing very well. being the grown-up in the room, i think. >> my wife has told me, you know, john, you know, you're the leader of the state. act like it. so she's not going to tell you that but i'll tell you, yes, there are times and the one thing that people don't understand sometimes about me is i grew up in conditions where no one would have ever expected a kid like john kasich from mckees rocks to be a top-tier candidate for the president of the united states. i had to fight my way to the top. can we change a few things? we all can get better. but i like me. >> do you want to weigh in on this? >> i like who he is. >> me, too. >> so interesting to see a bit of the kasich family dynamic. you know, i'm thinking about the
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fact that emma and reese, they say the twins they've grown up in this world, campaigning with their dad, et cetera, et cetera. this is the first time they've done a sit-down interview. did anybody talk about why their parents thought this was the time? >> yes. governor kasich told me that they don't like to have their 16-year-old daughters exposed to the media for obvious reasons. a lot of parents, most parents who are in politics believe that about their kids they said they're not going to do it much but they thought this time it would be finance for them to be on television and always have it to look back on and someday show their kids and their grand kids what it was like for their father to run for president. now, michaela, maybe i'm reading too much into it. that sounded to me like someone who deep down knows this may be fleeting. john kasich is having a blast. he's relaxed. he clearly loves town halls and meeting people. he started calling himself, i have to tell you this, the prince of likeness, saying that
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at a time when a lot of candidates are appealing to voters fears and frustrations, he's trying to tap into their optimism. >> a great get. by the way, your dad stu is really awesome. >> i agree. >> thanks, dana. we're following a whole lot of news this morning. let's get right to it. this is cnn breaking news. >> good morning, everyone. welcome ba to your "new day." we do begin with breaking news. a terror attack on a university in pakistan killing at least 19 people, including students. armed terrorists, scaling walls at the university, opening fire and setting off explosions. there are conflicting reports about whether the pakistani taliban is to blame. >> now, if it is, that's the same group behind the heinous massacre at a nearby school. they killed 140 people, including 132 kids. let's get to nick paton walsh, live in beirut with the breaking details. what do we know now?
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>> reporter: only 25 miles between that school, the army public school hit in peshawar in late 2014 and this university in chassadra. this stuck out in exposed farmland. in the past hour and a half, that the clearance operation is over. the death toll amongst those inside the university seems to be 19 and then after that, the four attackers themselves. that is obviously devastating for their loved ones but less than it could have been in the case, given there are 3,000 students and 600 staff. a swift enough response it seems from those security forces and yes, you mention who's behind this. there is a claim of responsibility from one taliban leader in pakistan, umar mansoor, the man behind the peshawar attack, too.
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confusingly, an official statement from the official pakistani taliban saying they're not behind it, condemning it, in fact, saying it's not according to sharia, islamic law. the pakistani public got behind that after the deadly massacre in peshawar 13 months ago and now yet another attempt to use educational institutions as a way to inflict a toll on innocent civilians in pakistan by the taliban. chris? >> as you know all too well, they can call it whatever they want but the at the end of the day it's just about murder. joining us now, paul cruickshank. let's start with a macroview of this part of the world. i've spent plenty of time there. it seems although we hear pakistani forces are being tough, they're breaking down, it seems that these groups all too often can launch on any scale they want and get anywhere they
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want and do something like this. what's the reality? >> well, the reality is that these groups have been weakened significantly in the last 13 months in pakistan, in the pakistani tribal areas. the pakistani military has hit them hard. they are reeling to a certain degree. that's why we're seeing them lash out with these attacks. that peshawar school massacre in december 2014 was also in response to pakistani military operations. these operations being launched to avenge the strikes, the operations by the pakistani military to send a message, stop hitting us so hard. clearly these groups still have a certain amount of resilience in the northwest part of pakistan in the tribal areas. some of these militants have been pushed out into afghanistan from those tribal areas, chris. >> when we're talking about the northwest frontier provinces, there is this odd layering of authority right here in the u.s.
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in europe, you think you are a designee of the sovereign, france, belgium, the united states, not there, especially in this part of pakistan. most of the people there identify with tribe first, the military often has to ask for permission in one way or another to go into areas. how does this complicate this fight? >> well, particularly in the tribal areas of pakistan it has complicated the fight. it has been difficult at times for the pakistani military to go in. there has been a certain amount of support in some of these areas for the militants, militants who are part of the same tribes. but we have seen a significant amount of progress in this last year by the pakistani military. that's why these militant groups are lashing out here, chris. with this sort of conflicting claim of responsibility, you've got one commander, mansoor, who just got off the telephone with our local reporter in pakistan saying i was responsible for this.
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and the main group, they actually sanctioned it but they're going to deny it for political reasons. that's what he essentially has said now to cnn. the pakistani taliban having their cake and eat it, that peshawar attack back in 2014, even al qaeda criticized them for carrying out that attack. they may have carried out this attack and then denied it. confusing, i know, but all part of the local dynamics in pakistan. >> also not known for straight-line moral standard. what would be the perverse notion of righteousness in an attack like this? how is it justified on any level to these minds? >> number one, pure revenge against the pakistani military, against the pakistani state. number two, they don't believe in any kind of secular education, that people should just get a religious education, go to madrases and people in their view aren't proper muslim,
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getting this kind of education. they see it as a potentially legitimate target, chris. >> even though we've seen these two attack which is play to anyone's sensitivities because there are so many kids and innocence involved, pakistan, how does it size up in terms of relative stability in the region? >> i think pakistan is relatively stable right now. the military has made significant strides against the jihadis in the tribal areas. there's, of course, still some support within the pakistani intelligence establishment for the afghan taliban. they make a distinction between the pakistani taliban and the afghan taliban. relatively stable right now, always concern about the relationship with india that that could flair up, there have been some of the pakistani militant groups launching attacks in india, like back in 2008. if you see another one of those
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kind of attacks, you could see renewed tension on the continent. >> you have two schools attacked in such a small time period, the place is seen as relatively stable given the rest of the environment in that part of the world. paul cruickshank, thank you as always. appreciate it. to our other top story. a big boost for donald trump. former vice presidential candidate sarah palin throwing her support behind trump just 12 days before the iowa caucuses. will it help get trump -- let trump win over skeptical evangelicals and tea partiers? cnn political reporter sara murray live in norwalk. >> it is an open question whether a sarah palin endorsement could help change people's minds. it could help motivate republican voters to turn out for donald trump and when the race is this close in iowa, you don't want to take any chances.
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>> are you ready to stump for trump? >> sarah palin is back. center stage and throwing her support behind donald trump. >> we're going to give them hell. >> nearly a decade after the conservative fire brand rallied raucous crowds as john mccain's 2008 running mate, palin is taking on a new mission, shoring up trump against some of his rival's most potent attacks. sara barracuda came out swinging. >> are you ready for a commander in chief that will let our warriors do their job and kick isis ass! no more pussy footing around! >> they've been wearing it like a suicide vest. >> reporter: and assuring voters that trump, a former democrat, is a conservative. >> oh, my goodness gracious, what the heck would the establishment know about conservatism? >> reporter: palin even casting the businessman has a populist who just happens to be a billionaire. >> yeah, our leader is a little bit different.
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he's a multibillionaire, not that there's anything wrong with that. but it's amazing. he is not elitist at all. >> reporter: yesterday, trump pressing pause on his primary battles. >> i'm going to be confrontational today for a change. >> reporter: to relish his celebrity endorsement. >> this is a woman that from day one, i said if i ever do this, i have to get her support. >> reporter: as cruz ended a tough day on the trail with a double whammy, losing palin. >> regardless of what sarah decides to do in 2016, i will always remain a big, big fan of sarah palin. >> reporter: and facing new attacks in iowa as governor terry branstad, a republican heavyweight says cruz needs to be defeated. >> he hasn't supported renewable fuels. and i believe it would be a big mistake for iowa to support him. >> reporter: it's a jab cruz says was to be expected. >> it is no surprise that the establishment is in full panic mode.
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>> reporter: now we're expecting to see sarah palin with donald trump this morning in iowa as well as later this afternoon in tulsa, oklahoma. one of the questions about how effective this endorsement will be is how often will we see sarah palin? will we see her out stumping regularly for donald trump, see her doing interviews and continuing to defend him about some of the attacks about his conservatism. that is still an open question. alisyn? >> sara murray, thanks so much for all that material. we can bring in now cnn political commentator and host of "smerconish," michael smerconish. good morning. >> good morning. >> we saw sarah palin in full campaign mode. she trotted out lots of old and new palinisms. what do you think her endorsement does for the donald trump campaign? >> i think it's significant. it's part of a trifecta of good news that trump has had, given his just props. he had a good debate
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performance. now he picks up this endorsement, plus the influence of governor branstad. it's creating momentum in his favor at precisely the right time. alisyn, i don't know what kind of influence she has left. whatever sway she still holds, i think she holds in iowa among evangelicals. she is the original anti-establishment candidate. there are so many similarities between the two of them, gender aside, so i'm not really surprised by this but it's a big coup. >> ralph reed says he knows how much weight and cache her endorsement holds. palin's brand among evangelicals is as gold as the faucets in trump tower. endorsements alone don't guarantee victory but this may turn the fight over the evangelicals vote into a war for
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the saoul of the party. >> i think a real influence of a palin endorsement is in getting people to come out in less than two weeks on a cold night and invest two to three hours of their time. because now it comes down to the ground game. they're within the margin of error in most of the polls that i see. it's a function of who can drive their vote to actually show up that night. >> you know, ted cruz is arguably more conservative than donald trump. why didn't palin endorse ted cruz? >> i think, as i reflected on not only issues but personalities. i watched that whole presentation. it was hard not to yesterday, last evening. i note the similarities between the two of them. they have a celebrity quotient, anti-establish fervor to them. they overlap on many issues, each of them referencing palin and trump, wants to run against the man, whomever those might be who are in power. i don't think it was a strict issues calculation.
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i had the opportunity to interview governor palin recently in las vegas at one of the cnn debates and asked her about the field. she spoke warmly of both cruz and trump. that's why i wasn't so shocked. but i don't think it came down to issues. i think it came down to gravitas and a vibe she felt from trump that she wasn't getting from cruz. >> as you know, governor terry branstad of iowa made an appeal to vote for anyone but ted cruz. this is over ethanol. do you think this will have a big impact? >> i thought it was the real surprise yesterday. again, a feather in the cap for donald trump to get the endorsement of sarah palin. but it seemed like out of nowhere governor branstad injected himself into this. he's been around for a long time as you've no noted throughout t course of the broadcast. he's not seen as a partisan player in a situation like this. this is the real gift trump picked up yesterday. branstad won't come out and endorse but frankly he doesn't have to because iowa is a
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two-person race. >> let's talk about the democratic side for a second. because the latest cnn polls show bernie sanders running away with new hampshire. let me just put these up. he's getting 60% to hillary clinton's 33%. is this a new hampshire anomaly, michael, or is this indicative of a larger worry for hillary clinton? >> well, is it an anomaly for both new hampshire and iowa? you point out correctly that he's running better in new hampshire than he is in iowa. he's doing extremely well in both states. the question is whether he can sustain momentum. >> somebody just tripped over a cord somewhere. >> sensorship. >> exactly. >> we appreciate michael smerconish being here. over to chris. next monday night in iowa, it will be seen only here on cnn, of course. one week before the iowa caucus. we'll have bernie sanders, hillary clinton, martin o'malley, awe going face-to-face with who matters most. the voters in iowa.
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it's going to be a cnn democratic presidential town hall, live from des moines. i'll be there to moderate. it's the final pitch for all the candidates before the first votes are cast. real people with real problems. they get to look at the candidates in the eye and say what will you do for me? that is next monday night at 9:00 p.m. eastern, live only on cnn. mick? another big event that was inevitable, winter finally flexing its muscles. a big storm is about to dump snow from eastern tennessee to the tip of maine. meteorologist chad myers has a look at the latest forecast. >> blizzard conditions happening on saturday, michaela. the first part of snow coming through indiana, illinois, ohio, kentucky. we're watching a storm system just developing in the rocky mountain states. by tomorrow, it starts to get into oklahoma an kansas and the gulf coast states. by saturday, it's pounding the northeast. let me move you ahead tomorrow
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into friday night. it begins to snow in d.c. friday about 8:00. not snowing in new york city yet. but the low is on its way up to the northeast. that snow will go all saturday long. heavy snow, i'm talking 14 inches of snow, maybe 20 in d.c. 10 to 14 in philadelphia. likely 10 inches in new york city and much less. maybe 0 to 1 in albany. there will be a quick transition to nothing to the north but what also is going to go on with this snow, heavy at times, heavy for 24 hours will be the wind. look at the wind gusts. by saturday afternoon, new york city 40. between the buildings, 60. philadelphia almost 55 mile per hour wind gusts with the snow blowing sideways. you may never see 10 inches of snow on the ground because there will be a 6-foot drift next to the bare ground. it will be a brutal nor'easter. we'll talk about that at 8:00. >> i don't understand why winter lasts so much longer than
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summer. the math doesn't add up. >> it didn't really start until today. >> it's your lattitude. >> you heard him. it's your attitude. >> i have a terrible winter attitude but a great summer attitude. nobody is happier about summer. >> it does give you a chance too show off all those tattoos you have. >> sun's out, guns out. >> there's a hash tag. >> read what's there. michigan's governor is apologizing for the contaminated water crisis in flint. it is still going on. there is no past tense. it is right now. how do they plan to do that? we'll talk to a michigan senator about it, next. you may think it's a result of brushing too hard. it's not. it's a sign of early gum disease... listerine(r) can help reverse... early gum disease in just two weeks. listerine(r). power to your mouth™!
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if it doesn't work fast... you're on to the next thing. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair has the fastest retinol formula to visibly reduce fine lines and wrinkles in just one week. neutrogena®. to you, the people of flint, i say tonight as i have before, i am sorry and i will fix it. >> but it hasn't been fixed. that was michigan's governor apologizing, talking to the people of flynn the for the enormous health crisis that's been going on for years. lead contaminated water. not the only problem facing michigan. in detroit, teachers are staging
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sickouts, 83 public schools closing for the day because of what the teachers say are desperate situations. president obama heading to the motor city today. we have senator debbie stabenow, democrat from michigan. president obama going to detroit to talk about the automotive resurgence there. >> right. >> is that off message considering the grave hardships in that state? >> well, first ever all, chris, we have seen a great turnaround in the auto industry. that's the good news. but what is happening in flint is really outrageous. you're right on. it's not done. it's almost been two years. since the very beginning, when people complained about the smell, the taste of the water, epa did testing and the governor attacked the epa for being wrong. then a flint pediatrician found out there were higher lead
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levels in children. they attacked the pediatrician. it was only finally, after there was great public attention on it, that they even took this seriously at all. today, you still can't drink the water. you can't bathe your children. one gentlemen said you can't take a shower in bottled water. i'm trying to make sure every low income mom who is mixing baby formula is not doing it in that dirty water, even though i have a commitment since last fall to make sure every mom has ready to feed formula, there's been no sense of urgency on behalf of the state to make sure moms know this. this is really outrageous. >> look, you know, it's easy to say now, right? now it's all over the place. it has to be owned. the governor saying he's sorry. the problem is you have all these lawyers and people getting together to sue because you should have known. it should have been there and you have president obama going to talk about the automotive resurgence. isn't it true that not until gm
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said we can't use this water, it's rusting our parts was there anything addressed publicly. and only then, gm got switched to a different line and the flint people had to keep still drinking the same water. how do you justify something like that, senator? >> you don't. there's no way to justify any of this. i have to say in this particular case, every single person who made a decision, every single decision was made by the governor in this state government. every single one. and you're absolutely right on this. now, there were people that put forth the testing information this summer to try to get it out there. the pediatrician, others talking about it, all of us that were going to them and saying what do you need? there's a problem here, let us help. no sense of urgency whatsoever. right now, even though we're glad the president is in michigan but i'm going to be leaving after talking to you to go meet with the point person he's put in charge from health and human services and the mayor
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of flint so that we can focus on what we can do federally but it doesn't take the place of the fact that the state government has the legal and moral responsibility. they just announced over $500 million surplus in the state. there's not a major commitment to making sure dollars go to fix this quickly. and it's -- i continue to be stunned as we look at the slow walking on this. >> it's always easy to point fingers in the aftermath. >> there's a lot to point right now, i have to tell you. >> i understand that. the federal government had a big hand in there. they did testing early on. they came up with wrong conclusions. >> they came up with right conclusions and the state rejected it. >> in the time line, you had the feds saying the water was okay to drink. if the feds did believe it wasn't safe to drink, i don't know why they didn't make that information public. when did you find out, senator? when did this come to your desk?
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>> last summer as i was talking with community leaders. we went to the state. everyone assured us and the people in the community that this was safe. and then meeting with the pediatrician in september when it became clear to me that in fact higher lead levels were there for children, i immediately went into action to make sure that low-income moms were not mixing their baby formula with this water. i went to the u.s. department of agriculture to get a commitment early to be able to bring in extra dollars for ready-to-feed formu formula. in the fall the state said that everybody had ready to feed formula who wanted it, they had no sense of urgency. they weren't doing any outreach on this. i spent the entire fall trying to deal with what is the only thing that can be done to mitigate what's happening to these children. that's better nutrition. once the lead is in your body, it never leaves. >> that's the best you can do.
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lead poisoning is horrible, pernicious. you have to change the pipes. >> no question. >> the federal government did not declare this a disaster. it's an emergency but not a disaster. that means they're not going to get as much resources. you have to change the pipes. it's very expensive. you can't even put floors on your schools. despite the automotive resurgence, the money is not getting where it it needs to be, is it? >> we have a situation where state government is controlling all of those issues you're talking about. we'll back them up and support them. but the new pipes, they can make the decisions. they fund and control the drinking water revolving loan fund. you're absolutely right. it needs to be new pipes, unfortunately right now, this is something that is supervised, owned, operated, administered by state government as it is in most states. we want to support them. this is not about just passing the buck. it's about getting to the place
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where decisions are made so we can fix this for the families of flint. so i'm going to be there. we're all going to be there to do everything we can to help. but if the state will not step up and do what needs to be done financially for this community, it's not going to happen. so we've got to push for a sense of urgency and more than just lip service and handing out bottled water. you're absolutely right. in the end, it's about the pipes. it's about the pipe going to the home. not just the main line. and it's a major infrastructure effort that needs to go on to fix this. >> to be sure, senator, it's got the attention of everybody who matters now. certainly the media. this is not going to go away. we'll be there every step of the way. u.s. senator has a big voice and big jurisdiction. we look forward to seeing what you do. we'll stay on this. >> absolutely. absolutely. >> thank you, senator. >> thank you. >> good luck to you and the people of michigan. >> thank you. the family of a freed american prisoner are eagerly
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awaiting his return to the u.s. after being released by iran. one his close friends joins with us reaction, next. thousands of people came out today to run the race for retirement. so we asked them... are you completely prepared for retirement? okay, mostly prepared? could you save 1% more of your income? it doesn't sound like much, but saving an additional 1% now, could make a big difference over time. i'm going to be even better about saving. you can do it, it helps in the long run. prudential bring your challenges
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. new details are emerging about the deal that led to the release of five americans from an iranian prison including the fact that it almost never happened. jim sciutto spoke with the lead negotiator for the u.s. about this high stakes swap. he joins us now from washington. >> reporter: the u.s. was negotiating with the hardest of hard-liners in iran. we're talking about the intelligence, the judiciary. during this more than year of negotiations, there were blowups, arguments and even to the very last minute, a chance that the whole thing would fall through. here's what brett mcguirk had to tell me about it. >> no, i said the entire thing is off unless they are on the airplane. >> you would have killed the deal if jason's mother and wife were not on that plane? >> part of the deal, that's part of the deal, period. >> do you think the iranians at that point were trying to change the terms?
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what were they trying to do? >> it's unclear. there's a lot of people in the iranian system and the people who hold the keys to the prison cells that never wanted this to happen. >> those are the people who held the keys to the sentences and i'll tell you, i've spoken to diplomats involved in this deal and there was great concern that if they did not get those americans out, jason rezaian in particular, might be facing a sentence of 10 years, 20 years, even the possibility of a death sentence in iran. imagine that prospect had this deal not come through. really a remarkable event that this all came together. >> you put it the right way, jim. thank you for being able to get us deeper into this situation as always. jim sciutto. one of those americans freed, amir hekmati. he's speaking out expressing deep gratitude. listen to this. >> i want to thank everybody for all the support. i feel extremely lucky, alive for the first time in a long time and very humbled at
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everybody's support. >> alive for the first time in a long time. just imagine what he has endured, hekmati, more than four years in an iranian prison. didn't know what his future would be. his family awaiting his return to the u.s. joining us now is one of his close friends, arash ansari. it is good to speak to you under this set of circumstances. what can you tell us about how your friend is feeling now? >> absolutely. good morning, chris. thank you. all i can say is that i'm overcome with emotions. this is really a great time. this is the best week in the last 4 1/2 years that i can remember. and to see amir speak, to see the healthy state that he's in, it just -- it's a proud moment for all of us. we're excited to embrace him. >> what do you know about what made this finally happen?
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>> you know, so far i know very little about the exact details. i know that's something that amir would like to share upon returning to u.s. soil. but i was, you know, very, very anxious when the news was released because he was still in iran. and until i knew that he was on, you know, on the german soil and at our military base, i couldn't be comforted in celebrating that amir had been released. >> now, tight community out there, the persian community in detroit. you obviously know the family well. there had been so much support over the years. but it had to be so hard for the family, outwardly they were always saying we know he's going to come home. there had to be a feeling that this day may never have come, right? >> it was very difficult. his family has been through so much. this is a long period and there is bouts of not being able to
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get any communication from amir. and this took a very strong toll on the entire family and all of us who loved amir. >> now, he looks good. that's true. we do not want to minimize what he's been through. who knows how he feels on the inside but also just, again, on the outside, you're a big guy, 200 pounds. you say my buddy amir was basically the same size i was. he's obviously much thinner now. who knows what that's about. it could be the stress let alone the diet. you have to be thinking about putting your arms around him when he gets home in different ways. what's the plan? >> yes. that's very true, chris. everyone was so happy and the congratulations. amir looks good. in my head i was like, he looks great, he looks better than i anticipated. that's a fantastic thing. but, you know, he's lost a lot of weight and maybe i see that more than anyone else. but i'm excited to have him back
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to give him the biggest hug in the world and do whatever it is that amir wants to do. you know, i'm sure there's a rest period. he wants to spend a lot of time with his parents and family. after that, if he wants to go to the gym, whatever it is he wants to do, i'm here to support him. i'm very excited about that. >> i'm sure that will be a very good day when the heaviest thing weighing on his mooned is the workout you'll put him through. a reminder for people to -- >> absolutely. >> the first 18 months he was in solitary. we all know what that means in terms of your confinement. but only a couple of meters by meters, his cell was very tight. he was only allowed 15 minutes of outside activity. think about what that does to you physically and emotionally. what do you hear about from the community in terms of what he they're going to do when he comes home. is there a celebration being planned? >> everyone wants to celebrate this momentous occasion. i think everyone is just paying a lot of respect to the fact that amir is now free.
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he can speak for himself. he can say what it is that he wants to do. and that's the greatest freedom of all. so we're going to take it, you know, we're going to take it one step at a time and just kind of see how amir feels when he comes back. everyone is absolutely ready to celebrate. i think there's going to be more than one celebration and party in order. >> what did you hear in his voice? what could you tell without him even saying it? >> you know, absolute inner strength. the world got to see the amir that i've known this whole time. and i'm very happy about that. very proud of him. everyone saw his strength, after 4 1/2 years, to come and speak so well to showcase the positivity that he did, there's no way to describe that emotion. i think everyone knows what i'm talking about upon seeing him speak. >> well, there's a lot of pain. there's a lot of outrage that he
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was ever held in the first place. but you deal with what's in front of you in life. right now you've got good things coming your way. you know what, hopefully it will reverberate all around detroit. we know the city is in some hard ways in what they're dealing with with the schools and everything else. hopefully this is good news. arash, send our best to your family and friends. >> i will. >> don't overtrain him in the beginning. go easy on him. >> i'm afraid he's going to take it hard on me. back to politics. donald trump looking to pull away from ted cruz in iowa by bringing out a big gun. what will sarah palin's endorsement do? (air horn, trap door opening) rootmetrics, in the nation's largest independent study, tested wireless performance across the country. verizon won big with one hundred fifty three state wins. at+t got thirty-eight, sprint got two, and t mobile got zero.
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been had. they need to get used to it. >> sarah palin's endorsement of donald trump comes less than two weeks before the iowa caucuses where polls show trump and ted cruz running neck and neck. what happens now? joining us is cnn political commentator and donald trump supporter jeffrey lord and former communications director for ted cruz, amanda carpenter. you were flabbergasted yesterday when sarah palin came out for donald trump. why didn't she endorse your former boss, ted cruz? >> that's for sarah palin to explain. because i do think the endorsement does beg a lot more explanation. listen, i was very thrilled when sarah palin burst on the political scene in 2008 with the rise of the tea party. i think back to the single most animating issue behind the tea party and that was the 2008 bank bailouts. that was anyish th ishsue that
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people, it made people recognize the establishment, republicans and democrats coming together to prop up wall street. donald trump was for the bailouts. donald trump was for the stimulus. donald trump disrespects property rights. they're his support for eminent domain. he threatens the press which i think is a big violation of the first amendment when they write stories he doesn't like. these are big, big issues. and i just really question whether, you know, the tea party support that sarah palin has enjoyed for so long can go along with this endorsement given donald trump's positions on these very important issues. >> how do the tea party and conservatives square that with donald trump and sarah palin's endorsement? >> i think there's a lot of frustration in the tea party that things have not been able to get done in opposition. i love ted cruz. i think he's terrific. the fact of the matter is, though, that as a senator, he's not been able to get things done
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in terms of whether he was defunding obamacare or what have you. i think -- i'm not really sure this is connected to senator cruz per se. but i do think there's a considerable frustration out there that there is no one willing to stand up and take the heat who's got the sort of heavyweight mask behind them to get things done to get the establishment in line, et cetera. i think that is a perception here with donald trump. one that he's not aone, t onfra that he has the political heft to get things done. >> sorry to interrupt. but that means they're willing to overlook his previous support for stimulus and bailouts. >> i think to some degree. with the sense that they can bring him around if he's not already brought around to some of this. the fact that sarah palin is there for him, this is significant, in terms not just in the short run politically but if he wins having people like
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sarah palin around him is significant. >> amanda, yesterday that wasn't the only thing that happened yesterday. also the governor of iowa, branstad came out and said vote for anyone but ted cruz because of his position on ethanol pap how b -- how bad of a day was this for ted cruz? >> this is a sign that the big guns are coming out for ted cruz. the target is on his back. people are coming after him. donald trump rowelled out a sarah palin endorsement in iowa right now. governor branstad said anybody but ted cruz right now. they see the momentum that he's getting. just a few weeks ago, the ethanol lobbyists were running around telling journalists that cruz had allegedly caved on ethanol. now they flipped around and saying he must be stopped at all costs they're in panic mode. donald trump, this is another negative for him. cruz has said he'll stand up to the crony capitalism and end the ethanol mandate. donald trump won't do that.
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that is frankly why i'm confused when sarah palin stands up and says we will stop special interests. donald trump hasn't done that. he's lambasted ted cruz for standing up to the ethanol lobby. i have to say, this makes no logical sense to me, save for the fact that maybe sarah palin has made the calculation that polls and personality matter now more than conservative principles. >> jeffrey, amanda cleverly avoided my ratings system that i gave her for how bad of a day it was for ted cruz. do you agree with her that this shows that donald trump is getting nervous that he's rolling out the big guns, about ted cruz encroaching on him? >> i don't know that it's a question of being nervous. oo you' if you're one of the front-runners, you have to keep your eye on the ball game here, which is winning. you're going to do what you're going to do to win. ted cruz is going to do that. donald trump is going to do that, frankly any of these candidates are going to do that.
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that just makes -- that's sort of the normal thing to expect here. so i mean, this has been a big plus for him. ted cruz, as much as i like him had a bit of a bad hair day yesterday. >> we'll leave it there. jeffrey lord, amanda carpenter, thanks so much for your perspective. great to talk to you. what is your take on all of this? tweet us at "new day" or post your comment on facebook.com/newday. michigan's governor is apologizing for flint's water crisis and vowing to fix it. we take to take a look at how dangerous lead poisoning is. dr. sanjay gupta is in flynn the. we'll ask him about the long-term effects, just ahead. and tears in my eyes. and so many little things that we learned were really the biggest things. through it all, we saved and had a retirement plan. and someone who listened and helped us along the way. because we always knew that someday
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michigan's governor now apologizing for the water contamination crisis in flint. his apology as people are looking to federal agencies to clean up the dangerous levels of lead in the water. how bad is this health crisis? and what is going to be done to help the children of flint? dr. sanjay gupta is there in flint seeing firsthand what's going on. glad you are there. we need to get perspective. we know about the political games and the conversations and the pressure on local leaders and federal leaders, but i want to talk to people about the danger of lead. give us the understanding of the implications this has on one's health. >> well and let me just preface by saying i've traveled to many places around the world and done these sorts of stories about contaminated food, contaminated water. this is as bad as many places that i've seen anywhere around
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the world. just behind me you can probably see is the flint river. that is sort of the source of many of these problems. they started taking water from the river instead of lake huron and that was the beginning of the problems back in the spring of 2014. what you will hear from doctors and public health officials is that there is no such thing as the safe level of lead in the body. think about that as you look at some of the numbers. cause for concern across a society, across a community. five parts per billion. this is lead in the water. what they found is that the 90th percentile. they had 20 parts her billion here in flint. more than five times as much. the highest level this last number here. 13,000. these are from last summer. it is unbelievable. these are as high levels of lead as we've seen anywhere.
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and the concern is impact on health now and for years to come. >> i want to play sound from somebody who knows sadly firsthand. a flint resident from the coalition for clean water. listen to her account. >> fortunately my haelt has been the worst so far. seizure, tremor, diverticulosis. out immune disorders. my son, bone pain, bone breakage. they have such a compromised immune system. they want to play basketball and i'm afraid to let them because o how weak their bones are. i'm watching them slip in school where they excelled. they are struggling in areas they never had problems with them and it is infuriating. >> they are stelling brook baldwin about some of the symptoms there. how would somebody know sanjay that they are -- that they have been poisoned? >> well it can be challenging in
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the beginning because so many of the symptoms of lead poisoning can resemble other things. for a child it could have difficulty in school. they may start having developmental delays. they could feel tired, lethargy, sluggishness, things like that. you may not think lead poisoning. essentially not in the united states. you wouldn't think a that as the cause. in adult, one thing to remember that this is a heavy metal that gets into variousing ors in the body. it can cross the blood brain barrier and so it effects the brain obviously. and children are most susceptible to this because of their brains still developing. the sad part michaela, beyond the obvious, is it is a very difficult thing to reverse. the heavy metal gets in there and binds so tightly to these
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cells you can't get it out of there. it is very difficult -- >> so you are saying it is very difficult sanjay. does that mean -- we keep hearing this word "irreversible." there is a possibility you can get it out? >> in people with very high levels of lead in their blood, sometimes they will do something known as chelation therapy. it is an aggressive therapy and it is almost more to try to save someone's life than to try to remove more mineral amounts of lead. but you get more substance into the blood that binds the lead and tries to extract it from the blood. again it is aggressive. it can make you very sick in the process and it is not going to remove all of the lead by my means. the other thing is that people who have been exposed to lead now, making sure they are on a good diet may sound obvious but the reason, a diet high in iron for example, iron can help displace some of the lead as well from the cells.
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it is irreversible in the sense that it sticks so tightly. but this is what they are dealing with right now to combat the symptoms. >> and avoinds is key. tell people quickly what they can do now. >> here in this society and the united states, many developed societies around the world we've just really reduced the amount of lead. you don't have leaded gasoline. no leaded paint. for people living here, they are drinking a lot of bottled water. there are fames right now bathing their children in bottled water. that is what's happening here. but the other thing that they can do if they are using any of the water is to use cold water, not hot water. the hot water is more likely to have lead in it. you know again michaela, it is almost silly to be talking like this. you should be able to trust the water coming out of your tap and right now they can't do that here in flint. >> it is an urgent crisis that needs to be dealt with. sanjay thanks for giving us the
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scientific aspects of it. we appreciate that. following a lot of news. let's get to it. good morning. welcome to your "new day." at least 19 killed, dozens more injured. armed militants attacking a university in northwestern pakistan. >> a army run grade school that killed 132 children. nick peyton walsh is live in beirut. what is the latest. >> reporter: the latest is a colleague of mine in pakistan has spoken to a man claiming responsibility for this attack. um
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um umar masour. he says he is behind this attack. he sites cites the pakzny military operations in pakistan. he says that 330 of what he refers to as his colleagues or friends have been killed by the pakistanny military, have been hung, executed in what he says are over 20,000 military operations. that is his obviously illogical justification of what they did today. he names the four attackers. security forces have problems with below visibility because of intense smog clinging to the university when they tried to express that attack.
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thousands of students can potentially be on campus. so that death toll while staggeringly awful is smaller than could have been expected but yet again the taliban have a break-away faction openly claiming they are behind this attack. >> nick, thank you so much for all of that. joining us now is cnn counterterrorism analyst phil muddy. do you think this is the work of the pakistanny taliban? >> i do. this is their hardland. as nick mentioned the pakistani military had operations in this area starting about 2014. if you are going to send special forces and the army into our turf they are saying you are going to pay a heavy price and that story has been consistent
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for a year half. >> 13 months ago we saw that hideous attack where 132 grade school children were killed. is now university students and workers killed. i mean this is their mo. this is what they think will help recruit people? to kill children? >> some of them think this. there are a couple of things you have to consider here alisyn. first is a lot of factualism in the taliban in afghanistan and pakistan. that accelerated with the announcement of the leader of the taliban. and there are leaders within who think this is a mistake. i think you will see in the coming day or two reports from the taliban disavowing this and other taliban leaders saying this is inappropriate. but there is a hardline core saying this is our turf. this is an area that wasn't even controlled by the british. the pakistan ny government has
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never really controlled this territory. so as soon as they move in you have tribal leaders who will respond. >> are they equipped to fight them adequately? >> i'd say sort of. if you are looking at large scale military operations to move into towns where there are a lot of civilian casualty, the pakistan military can move in with brute force. i don't think the pakistani military and intelligence services are capable of this. that is why you are seeing operations that are so devastating not only by the taliban but by the pakistan military. the pakistans are engaged in brute force operations in villages and a lot of civilians are dying, which also feeds some support for the taliban. it is not just people attracted by an organization that murders innocence. it is people saying hey to the government, you are moving in
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and killing our own people. we have no option but to sign one the taliban. >> we call on you all the time, does this attack suggest that the u.s. counterterrorism officials should expand their focus to include the taliban more? >> i would say no for the simple reason that if you look at the focus of the united states there are two things you have got to think about. number one, direct threats tot united states. that is al qaeda, which is starting to move back into the afghanistan. that is a concern for the united states. that is the elements of isis and coordinating attacks in places like san bernardino. this is dprismt that public and political perspective. from governments facing civil wars. the afghan government and pakistani government, they are facing civil wars from the taliban. the taliban is not necessarily a direct threat to the united states. so when you are in the situation room in the white house you have to make clear in these difficult
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times to differentiate between which groups are directly threatening citiy ies in the we and which groups are threatening countries like afghan and pakistan and that is a huge difference. >> -- a ceremony that was honoring the founder of the school wlofs a pacifist. so i guess the message they are sending is there can be no peace. peace doesn't work. >> i don't think we'll see peace here for some time. the tall sban not going to back down and as u.s. forces withdraw, that border is going to become a back door. the taliban will move into the afghanistan so that back door creates real inability for the pakistani milt troy crush the taliban. we're going tab watching this
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for a long time. taliban. donald trump winning the endorsement from sarah palin. hoping her support will give her an edge with tea party voters in iowa. will her support give trump a boost? and a boost his campaign hopes. live in iowa, donald and sarah i guess appearing together in their first rally since that endorsement. >> you're right mila. that is absolutely what we're expecting here. i think it is still an open question whether she can change voters minds if they are divided between, say, donald trump and ted cruz. one thing for sure, in a race this tight you don't want to take any chances. >> are you ready to stump for trump? >> sarah palin is back. center stage and throwing her support behind donald trump. >> we're going to give them hell.
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>> nearly decade after the conservative fire brand rallied raux crowds as john mccain's 2008 running mate, palin is taking on a new mission. and she came out swinging. >> are you ready for a commander in chief who will let our warriors go their job and go kick isis ass no more pussy footing around. they've been wearing this political correctness kind of like a suicide vest. >> and reassuring iowa voters that trump, a former democrat is a true conservative. >> what the heck would the establishment know about conservative. >> palin even casting the businessman has a populist who just happens to be a billionaire. >> yeah he's a multi billionaire. not that there's anything wrong with that. but amazing.
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he is not elitist at all. >> yesterday trump pressing pause on his primary battles. >> i'm going to be non confrontational for a change. >> to relish his celebrity endorsement. >> this is a woman that from day one, i said if i ever do this i have to get her support. >> as cruz ended a tough day on the trail with a double whammy. >> regardless of what sarah decides to do in 2016 i will always remain a big big fan. >> and facing in i attacks in iowa. as governor branstead says cruz needs to be defeated. >> he hasn't supported and i believe it would be a big mistake to support him. >> cruz says, it's to be expected. >> it is no surprise that the establishment is in full panic mode. >> now essentially these events here in iowa and later today in tulsa, you are getting two
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celebrities for the price of one. so we'll see what that does for the crowds and the price of energy over the day today. back to you. >> sarah murphy, thank you for reporting. so what does palin's endorsement mean? is it a boost in iowa? we'll get the perspective of a man with a lot of skin in the game. the national co-chair of senator ted cruz's presidential campaign. bob, good to have you on the show. you have had lots of ups recently. now it looxz like you are going to have to weather a couple of downs. or not. what is your take? >> i think the race is going to be a lot of fun right now. we're twelve days from the caucuses. everything is coming into the play. the reaction we seaforeceived f our base was kind of like they are confused. they love sarah palin but they don't see it matching up, say, with donald trump.
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i this i this they are still doing to be voting for ted cruz. because i think he's the consistent. he's the conservative. he's going to be on both sides of the aisle and deliver a conservative message. >> why did she do this? >> i don't know. you would have to ask sarah pal palin. and this race is not going to come down to sarah palin or bob vander plots it is going to come down to ted cruz or donald trump. and i think when they see ted cruz as they did in the last debate, he's the one who's demonstrated not just the right message but has the experience with the right message. and he has a trust factor that you will deliver. and that is why you are seeing the establishment in full panic mode. that is why you are seeing donald trump coming all in. because they know how important iowa is right now and it is coming down to cruz and trump. >> palin always seen as an outsider. somewhat of a rebel.
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so saying the establishment is getting nervous, that doesn't apply to her endorsement, does it? >> that does not apply to her at all. we've always seen her as the tea party conservative. which matches up in a line with ted cruz. the way ted cruz campaigned to be the u.s. senate with the tea party and the conservative taking on both sides of the aisle, he's done that in the u.s. senate. when i talk about the establishment i'm talking about the governor coming all in yesterday saying with have to stop ted cruz. everybody knows he's a republican but he's a big government governor and he likes the aman mandates. and he wants to -- >> it is about the ethanol. we had the governor here on the show on "new day." and he was anything but wanting to commit to a candidate. he loved the process. let the voters go at it. let the caucuses happen. it will be great.
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but ethanol is something that matters to the people of iowa he says and the senator is on the wrong side and intimated that the senator has been on both sides. fair criticism? >> not at all. i think ted cruz is going to be great for ethanol because he's going to allow ethanol to get to the free marketplace. what the real deal is his son is a hired gun to take out ted cruz. that is what he gets a paycheck for. >> how so? >> because he's being paid by if ethanol lobby to go around and follow ted cruz's bus and saying take out ted cruz. and now we have the governor saying we have to stop ted cruz. iowans will see this. iowans want a principled conservative just like america wants a principled conservative. they want someone with experience, the courage of conviction who will go to d.c.
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and make a difference. >> what do you think right now? your estimate is going into the caucus, how strong is the ground game from you guys? we've heard the super pac took big steps to have feet on the ground in iowa. how is it looking right now? what is your prediction at this point? >> right now ted cruz has by far and away the best infrastructure, the best ground game in the state of iowa, a ground game that has historically proven to produce results on caucus night. but you are also going up against uncharted territory. an unknown with donald trump and the big rallies. how many come out to the caucus on february 1? that is why this race is nip and tuck. everybody is going all in. but let's let the ideas and candidates and the message win the day and let iowans choose. >> you are in the game and the
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temptation is to look forward, but indulge me. is there any part of you this says the senator should have been smacking trump around from the beginning? see what happened? we played nice, he came back to bite us and now he took one of our own in sarah palin. any of that? >> not at all. we like donald trump. he's been a good friend. >> how can you like a guy who says that you are not an american and probably not eligible to run for president? that is tough to like. >> we disagree with him on some policy issues. so i don't think senator cruz should just go be attacking donald trump. i think senator cruz should stay on message and about the policies and the conservatives that going to work for the country. at the end of the day donald trump and ted cruz are going to be on the same team. sarah palin and myself are going to be on the same team. we're going to be all in to
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defeat hillary clinton. >> see you out there in ai. >> god bless you chris. >> you as well. there is no question the iowa caucus is going to matter. because of the momentum in the race and for iowans. one week before the iowa caucuses happen, we have bernie sanders, we have hillary clinton and martin o'malley. all are going to go face to face with the people who matter the most. the voters in iowa. they will hear from real people who have real problems and want to hear what will be done for them. it is going to happen in des moines. i'm going to moderate. it is the final pitch for all of the candidates before the first votes are cast. a unique opportunity for iowans, not pundits to ask questions of the three democrats and push for answers. that is next monday night 9:00 p.m. eastern live only on cnn. >> just into cnn president obama now plans to meet with detroit's mayor about the city's school closures. more than 80% are closed again
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today as teachers again plan another day of sick outs over poor working conditions and school funding. in the meantime other troubles plaguing michigan. rick snyder apologizing and laying out a course of action to deal with the problem. >> after five days coast guard suspending the certainly for 12 marines. the difficult decision made after round the clock searches involving the navy, national guard and hawaiian emergency officials. debris was spotted and all four of the chopper's life rafts were recovered. all empty. the first winter storm of the season making a beeline for
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the's coa east coast. >> i see a big low pressure system guys. a storm that just battered new york city three or four years ago and could do it again this time. mississippi, arkansas and even tennessee will get snow. snow into d.c., new york city and philadelphia. here is how it shapes up. by thursday it is in the south. and this is where we hate storms in the winter as they turn to the north and turn into these northeasters. there is the low. if the low travels, and this is still three days away before it is really here. if the low travels to the east and does not turn then there is no snow in boston at all. done. not too much in new york either. if the storm decides not to do that and turns to the north like
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that, that is when these really big city, new york, philadelphia get even more involved in the event. so here is how it shapsz up. here is how we work this. this is a very large storm. we're talking probably the size of 17 or 18 states across the northeast. there goes the low. if it goes to the north and the northeast. that is when we truly see a major snow event, blizzard, 15 inch, 20 for new york city. that is still not the forecast right now but that is the forecast for d.c. that is the forecast for a lot of big areas there in the mid atlantic, maryland, virginia, delaware, dover, all the way into the philadelphia. we'll watch to see where that track goes. as the major difference one way or the other and it is going to make major differences in the forecast. -- >> look a my face. >> zoom? >> can't wait to break out the custom made ear muffs. >> you know it is going to be bad. --
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>> [ inaudible ]. -- we're not falling for it chad -- >> but -- [inaudible]. >> i'm in the south. and that is going to be cthe color of your lips if you don't stop. >> this is going wreak havoc on any travel plans for the weekend for sure. >> yeah. the winds will be 50 miles per hour on saturday. if you are planning of getting on a airplane that plane may not be there because they don't want to be stuck in a snow storm. >> road trip. >> not with you. >> that hurts. >> -- incredible poll numbers. favorability for bernie sanders in his face-off against hillary clinton. should clinton's campaign be worried? her press secretary is going to be on with us on "new day" we'll get their response. there's only so much enamel,
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. senator bernie sanders making stunning gains in new hampshire. a new poll shows sanders with a commanding lead over hillary clinton. ahead of her by 27 percentage points in the granite state. also a favorability rating of 91% to clinton's 65. clinton's campaign press secretary brian fallen joins us to talk about this more. let's talk about the republican side for a second. what do you think of the sarah palin's enkors of trump? >> i'm not a pundit of what's going on in the republican side but i think it's fair to say that it's a boon for donald trump's prospects in the iowa caucuses. but i think that in turn is very problematic for the republican party. the more likely donald trump becomes the nominee, the more
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harrowing i think it is in terms of their general election prospects and i think that actually explains something going on on our side. >> which is what? >> -- republicans openly rooting for bernie sanders. on our side. openly touting sanders and helping him with some-iz attacks on hillary clinton. i think they are worried about their primary and they think the best chance to off set the potential bad outcome is to try to help bernie sanders get nominated on our side. >> this new development in the skt clinton e-mail story. the inspector general has come out and said they have found e-mails that are classified as the higher designation than top secret. for top secret. this is a problem. how are you -- what is your response to what they have found? >> this is fundamentally the same issue that's within going
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on since the summer. we have an interagency dispute about what is classified and what is not. the state department has attested that these e-mails that were on hillary clinton's system were not classified at the time they were sent or received. and then his finding that led to that federal review came under challenge a couple of months ago. so this letter is a reaffirmation on his part about what he contends is classified information. interestingly there was a important report last night that suggested that what's at issue here is just a forwarding of a "new york times" article on a drone program that's being conducted in pakistan. i think most americans if they saw the actual e-mails would agree. >> so that is the content you say this is. you believe this is just an article that the inspector general has found an article that was forwarded. there is nothing more there to
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it than just an article. >> the inspector general has been deliberately vague. he's suggested there is classified material but then refused to which e-mails he's talking about. but then it was another government official told politico that may be all it is. >> our pundits have been on and they say regardless of the content or the designation at the time it speaks to judgment. and to secretary clinton's judgment and that she shouldn't have done it or forwarded these or dealt with them on her private server. the latest polls, which of the candidates are most honest? -- sorry, least honest. clarify that. hillary clinton gets the least honest candidate. versus his rivals of martin o'malley 5%, bernie sanders, 2%. do you think the e-mail saga is playing into these numbers? >> no i think the republicans are continuing to try to trump
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it up and resurface the allegations for the purpose of hurting her campaign. i think this was a very coordinated leak yesterday. >> why do you think that. >> two months ago a political report that directly changd the finding of this inspector general. and i don't think he liked that. so think he put two republican senators up to sending him a letter so he would have a excuse to resurface this. >> and -- the questions about her judgment are effecting the numbers. >> i think the numbers are a testimony to the fact that he has been through the ring ner terms of republicans targeting her. we have not just been attacked by our other democrats running against us in the primary. we have 15 some odd republicans who's job they think is to go after hillary clinton the harshest. that's not been true of senator
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sanders. i think that is starting to change now based on tightening of the polls and as they happens you see some of the details of his healthcare plan being questioned. the washington post today has a very nice editorial. and the we're proud of the support from planned parenthood. and just yesterday the human rights campaign. and quite strangely, bernie sanders has react to those two endorsements by criticizing those two groups. it was strange. >> iowa is less than two weeks away. bernie sanders seems to have momentum there. his numbers are surging not to the degree we're seeing in new hampshire but certainly in iowa. what is your plan. >> there is no one better positioned to lead the fight against the republicans not just in the general election in november but when it comes to governing in terms of getting things done.
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and if you look at what happened just last week, a completely non political issue of this water crisis in flint. and you had a lot of other candidates putting out statements calling for resignations. hillary clinton actually deployed staff to the state to figure out what practical steps can we take to -- >> is what did she find out? >> she actually got results. the governor there after several weeks worth of scrutiny had rejected full federal assistance from the obama administration. and as a result of hillary clinton leading the call for him two hours after she made a very high profile appearance challenging him publicly he relented. that is an example i think of her ability to get things done and be a fighter. bernie sanders has a lot of slogans, a lot of empty solutions that i think are coming under challenge now that he's had to put the details out.
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all right. here we go with the five things for you new day. at least 19 killed at the attack in northwestern pakistan. back at home donald trump hoping an endorsement from sarah palin will get him voters in iowa. and another boost more sanders. and to michigan, governor rick snyder apologizing now for the water contamination crisis in flint and vowing to fix it. this as president obama plans to meet with detroit's mayor.
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>> one of the americans freed in the iran prisoner swap is speaking out for the first time. the marine veteran says he feels alive for the first time after four and a half years in prison. for more visit "new day" cnn. m cnn.com. >> we have to talk about what's going on in hollywood. calls for an oscar boycott growing louder. academy award winners speaking up saying hollywood needs to change. joining us now. cultural critic mila angechaela picture. spike lee is going to a knicks game this year. he was on gma this morning. let's listen to what he had to
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say. >> the academy, my man michael strahan over here. he know what is i'm talking about of the this whole academy thing is a misdirection play. >> how? >> we're chasing the guy down the field who doesn't even have the ball. the other guy is high stepping into the end zone. this is further than the academy awards. the gate keepers. >> cbs. >> yes. >> he's not boycotting he's simple not going. he and his wife are not going. he's not calling for a boycott. he wants to make sure people don't get their eye off the ball. >> right. >> i sew appreciate spike, and jada pinkett has always been a bad ass. i i would like to see more of the george clooneys. and leo dicaprio go wtf. because their integrity is what's at stake. if your full experience isn't there, meaning are you really the best if you don't have to
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contend with idris? was the best director really the best if others weren't even on the ticket? everyone's integrity and hollywood's humanity is at stake. so while the black voices are out there. we need more george clooneys. we need the industry to say that we all suffer if we don't expand. >> howard, it is interesting, you know, so many people have pointed to the fact that chris rock is african american. he's hosting -- >> reggie. >> reggie. fantastic producer. african american and the president herself is really in a curious position. she's tried to implement change. there is only so much the academy can be expected. and you can't expect it to be presto change over tonight. >> right. well last near when the same thing happened she said academy
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members have to open their thinking. this year we said we have to make some dramatic changes. you have an academy membership that is 93% white. and it is really hard to fathom how this could happen to years in a row. particularly in a year where there were such extraordinary performances by african american actors. >> so is a boycott the right course of action? >> i think it has to be a multi platform strategy. and some will boycott. some will resist. some will demonstrate. maybe there was a "charlie hebdo" demonstration last year. maybe chris rock will have some amazing biting commentary. >> chris rock he's not known for that. >> i really do hope that others -- that the white actors, 4/5 of the world is not white. >> see -- [inaudible]. >> people of whiteness have to
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get involved. in a way that it shows that this is a community. >> okay. but real quick. i want you to make the quick point and then get to howard again. there are going to be people who say look, jada pinkett, sour grapes. her husband just didn't get nominated. this is just pc gone too far. make the case of why diversity in hollywood matters to society and the business of hollywood? >> what i just said. most of the world is not white. we must know each other's stories. in the time we're saying black lives matter, our stories matter. and if we don't share our stories we are doomed as the culture not to expand, not to evolve. and it always takes pressure from the people to change institutions. to change systems. and this is -- you know, when stalone got his golden globe and did not recognize his director, ryan coug ler was looking right
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at him. he did not recognize his leading man. michael b. jordan the fine -- >> ed torlzing. >> sorry. but what happened he said he had a senior moment. is hollywood having a senior moment not recognizing. >> do you think this is going to be a clarion call for hollywood? do you think this is going to be a time we look back and say finally hollywood woke up and realized something's got to give? >> i think spike lee really called it. yes the academy has some problems with it -- some of the decision making they have made. the academy typically has been very liberal, which is interesting. i don't think it is inherent racism among academy members but there is a structure problem in terms of heads of studios, people who are able to green light movies. and what my left hand michaela said is really important that we
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have to tell our stories that will resonate around the world and the movie business every day becomes more and more a world business number one. number two, every day america and the world becomes more and more diverse. and if you are not there you are behind. >> well the two of you thank you so much. you handled both michaelas very well today. >> here is a question one new york man gets all the time. how would are you? when you see him you are going to know why. here is dr. sanjay gupta with this week's turning points. >> reporter: when mario was pulled from the audience on jimmy kimmel live he seemed like a typical kid from brooklyn. >> he had a cigar and he would sit back in his chair and i would come by. but looks can be deceiving. >> how would are you? >> 36. >> mario has this rare condition
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known as pan hypopituitaryism. his pituitary was damaged in utero and doesn't make enough essential growth hormones. he spent much of his childhood in and out of hospital. >> the hospital i had to watch my sit comes. i would curl up in bed and why? i wanted to be an actor. >> he got parts on tv, in spite of and because of his size. >> how would are you? >> how would do you want me to be? >> when cnn suggested the actor take testosterone to force puberty he said no. >> my life was okay. career was moving forward. don't break something that doesn't need to be fixed. >> and now 43, mario has added author, hoping to inspire others. >> i'm happy being mario basco. this height, this size, this
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so this morning we continue to share the stories of the people who changed our lives. this is part of the cnn special airing this sunday hosted by michaela and some guy named anderson cooper. >> some fella. >> today about my dear friend villa lobes who changed my life and my love life. >> ooh. >> when she became my relationship guru. >> my wedding, 4 years ago. a day that for many years i thought would never happen. my story begins on the crime show america's most wanted when i was 26 years old. >> what did you think when you started reading in the paper that he was a serial killer? >> no, i didn't fall in love with a serial killer. and no the person who changed my life was not a fugitive. she was fellow crime reporter,
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maria via lobos. >> maria was this 32-year-old married woman and i was in my 20s and the idea i would become great friends with what i considered ab old married lady at the time seemed impossible. >> i met her when she was 26, very cool. life progressing fast for her. dating lots of guys. >> though we were in different life stages. maria and i did become fast friends and started spending almost all of our free time together. i soon started vacationing with maria and her husband. even following them on one trip all the way to london. it was during that time with matt and maria they started feeling something was missing in my own life. i had relationships, but i did not have what they had. my own family.
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and commitment. and i had no idea how to get it. >> my parents got divorced when i was 8. so i wasn't around a lot of happily married people. and to have matt and maria who were six years older than me and i just saw how they worked together and i had never seening in -- anything like that. maria and i met in boston recently. at one of the many places i crashed their date almost 20 years ago. >> i remember. you had just got an cell phone. >> i had? >> and you were always on it checking boyfriends calling you. >> hofs your new year last night? >> fun. >> she would bring over every boyfriend to meet us. she really wanted the seal of approval from us. and we would always sometimes tease them and say to the boyfriends like, we better not get too close because someone else is going to be coming.
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we'd all laugh. >> she typically had three or four guys she was spinning around at any given time. but i think i've come to learn with the wisdom of some years that actually for women that is not the ideal situation. >> everything throughout my 20s felt like i had been sort of repeating possibly not productive patterns in my love life. i had just turned 30 years old. and i felt like i don't know what i'm doing with my life. it felt very empty. that is when my mama maria's advice came in. and i had to start cutting you off at the knees. >> i remember that. you would be like you need to straighten your room. and i was like why? and you were like pick up your clothes off the floor. right. >> and when i would tell you you need to cook for your boyfriends. you need to make them dinner. you need to make them cookies. you probably thought i was being
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sexist. but but what i was trying to say is take your mind off yourself and put it to someone else. let them know that you care about them. give them your time. and i always thought that you pretended that you didn't like them. that you didn't need them. and i was like that's not working for you. >> and videotaping my bad plays, documenting my selfish behavior and playing it back for me. like this time when i was complaining about my life right in front of my boyfriend. >> and you walk in the door, it's new year's day and here is what you do. >> worst year of my life. horrible year. i'm so happy that '97 is over. >> so embarrassing. >> she wasn't as giving. the concept of giving off your time. to go buy someone a present or bake them cookes or make them dinner was very foreign to her.
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>> i started following her advice. i never baked any cookies but i did start letting people know i cared. >> couple years in boston matt got a job far away in madison wisconsin and i was really bereft and upset. because i thought i was not going to be able to figure it out without maria. >> i was going to leave. and you're going to fill that hole that i left with other new people and you are going to get married. >> when she met tim things became quiet. there was no drama. it was easy. the wedding makes me very emotional. because her mother came up to me when i least expected it. and said like the most beautiful thing to me. and she said maria, you changed
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my daughter. and it was one of the nicest things that anybody has ever said to me. >> when i thought about what really changed my life the most, it was getting married and having kids. and then i had to think who helped facilitate that and the answer was maria? >> husband and wife. >> i think that you had it in you all the time. you just needed like a little tweaking at the beginning. but it is like -- it is such an honor to see you so happy. >> sometimes you just need a little tweaking. and of course a dear friend to tell you that. i credit maria with helping me find my way to a happy marriage and three children who allow know love unconditionally every single day. >> she was just so loving and supportive. i really don't know what i would have done without her in my
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life. >> young women need someone there to show them the way and you had maria. that is so great. >> totally. i mean i didn't have any older sisters or anybody. and you do need somebody to slap sense into you and say you are being a spoiled brat or whatever it is they want to say. >> i had no idea you were such a player girl. >> i was afraid that was going to be one of the -- >> when you put it in the piece what do you think? >> i thought it was going to come from him -- >> i think that -- well forget it. i'm not even going to try to justify it -- >> a lot of the stuff you can still do by the way. it is not too late. did you see the head butt she gave at the same time wedding. congress. right in the head. >> watching this piece with chris heckling was a whole new added dimension to it. >> it is hard for me to believe because you are so not the way you are painting yourself in this a piece i'm just surprised by it.
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>> maybe i've learned something. >> part of it is growing up. but part is staring something in the spaface that you might not e been ready to see. >> and the right person at the right time. we know her husband. this is a guy, if you don't like him there is something wrong with you. >> i really do feel that if somebody is going to tell you what's wrong with you, to do it with love and support is wonderful. >> tough love. >> i -- >> ashleigh banfield shares her story in the 10:00 hour. visit cnn.com/life changers and tell us who changed your life. also on sunday you can catch mill la and anderson cooper hosting a two hour special. right here on cnn. >> carol costello after the break. i'm trying to save her. the future belongs to the fast.
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and good morning, i'm carol costello. thank you for joining me. we're awaiting breaking news this hour. any moment, freed journalist jason rezaian is expected to walk out. when he does he may make a few remarks. and in other news a deadly attack on a university in pakistan. key u.s. allies says all four terrorists have been killed as they opened fire on a
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