visit the holocaust museum because our children most know this chapter of our history. >> a very moving moment at the israeli embassy right now. brian, thanks very much. that's it for me. we'll continue to follow all the news. erin burnett "outfront" stops right now. donald trump skipping tomorrow's debate, staging a rival event. trump and cruz both about to speak. they'll be live this hour as cruz dares trump to debate mano y mano. let's go "outfront." good evening to all. i'm erin burnett. the breaking news, donald trump and ted cruz the republican frontrunners both speaking live

in just a few moments. the now bitter rivals are in two crucial states tonight. trump in south carolina. cruz is in iowa. it's the first time we'll hear from trump directly since his bombshell announcement he is skipping tomorrow night's gop debate. his rally will be at the exact same time in the exact same town itself. he tweeted moments ago fox is to blame for his missing the debate. his tweet, it was the childishly written and pr statement by fox that made me not do the debate more so than lightweight reporter megyn kelly. the stakes couldn't be higher with the race in iowa a dead heat between trump and cruz. we are in gilbert, south carolina, where trump will be speaking live at any moment.

>> reporter: donald trump's campaign has made it official, issuing a press release this evening that the gop frontrunner will be offering his own counter programming to tomorrow's fox news debate. instead of debating his rivals, he'll appear with veterans groups. he'll be out on stage in a few moments where he's likely to fire back in his war of words with fox news. >> they can't toy with me like they toy with everybody else. >> reporter: it's a high stakes of political chicken just days before the iowa caucuses. donald trump is showing no signs of backing down from his threat to skip the fox news republican debate tomorrow. >> so let them have their debate and let's see how they do with the ratings. >> reporter: asked earlier today whether the gop frontrunner was keeping the door open just a crack, his campaign manager all but slammed it shut. >> you know, donald's is fragile

soul. >> reporter: if trump is afraid of megyn kelly, cruz crowed, let's debate one on one. >> you know, if she asks him mean questions, i mean, his hair might stand on end. >> reporter: trump fired back on twitter. >> can we do it in canada? >> reporter: trumps complaints show weakness. >> i think it's a little weird. life is unfair. you've got to make tough decisions. you have to challenge things. you have to deal with foreign leaders that don't agree with you. >> reporter: trump blames it all on fox news for putting out a sc sarcastic statement. >> when they sent out the wise guy press releases a little while ago done by some pr person, i said bye bye. >> reporter: trump lashed out on twitter. i refuse to call megyn kelly a

b bimbo because that would not be politically correct. >> in many cases, i probably identify more as a democrat. >> reporter: it's all a risky move for trump as ads are airing attacking trump. >> do you think i'm a better moderator than i am? >> i could never beat you. you have done a great job, by the way, and i mean it. >> reporter: it's worth pointing out donald trump is finding an ally in rush limbaugh who says fox news is acting like it has been jilted at the alter. talking to people in this conservative crowd, erin, it is clear many here will be watching trump tomorrow night, not fox news. is in any way he could do both

events tomorrow night? officials said flatly they're happening at the same time. sounds like he's out, erin. >> let's go outfront to trump's campaign manager. your campaign neck and neck in iowa. neck and neck in iowa. you are obviously taking a risk by closing the door completely to appearing tomorrow night. why take that risk? >> it's not neck and neck in iowa. the poll that came out today has him winning over his closest competitor. it's about the issue of fairness. fox news decided to put out a statement which was completely inappropriate. they want to taunt mr. trump about vladimir putin and dismembering the cabinet and listening to his twitter followers. i don't think that's worthy of a top tier presidential candidate to go through. it's really on fox news.

trump has been the clear winner of the last six debates. he's won every national poll. he was the clear winner of the last debate. it's very simple. he's able and willing to debate, but he's not going to do it for the network itself is not going to be fair. let's just remember when cnbc had moderators on that were unfair to the candidates, the republican national committee sanctioned them by removing nbc moving forward and giving cnn that debate instead because fairness is important in allowing the candidates to talk to the people directly and not having personal attacks. >> the statement from fox, just for those who aren't aware, included in part saying, we learned from a secret back channel the iranian government and putin will treat him unfairly. it has been escalating nastily. you said mr. trump will not change his mind. this is done. he will not be there tomorrow

night. has fox news spoken to you or mr. trump since last night? >> i've had no conversations. mr. trump has had no conversations. we just put a statement that says mr. trump is going to be at drake university tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. eastern. we're going to raise money for the veterans of our great country that are treated like third-rate citizens. we have hundreds of media credentialed people that are going to be there. the va is a disaster. it's time to put those people first. that's what we'll be doing tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. eastern. >> is that going to be broadcast on networks? is that going to be something people can watch? what are your plans on that front? >> well, it's open to the media. obviously as all of mr. trump's speeches are, if the networks choose to come and cover that, we welcome that opportunity. it's open. if they want to live stream that, they're welcome to do that as they do that for many of his speeches.

i think the american people are going to look at that fox news debate with a series of career politi politicians on that stage. >> new york magazine today reported trump was not taking ale's calls after announcing the boycott. he'll only deal with rupert murdoch to resolve the dispute. is this true, this would come down to rupert murdoch and donald trump? >> i don't think so. i don't know of any conversation that took place between mr. trump and mr. murdoch and for that matter mr. trump and mr. ailes. we set up our own event at drake university. i think we'll have a much better viewership than what you'll see on the fox news debate tomorrow night. >> you have said this is about

fox news and being treated fairly and it's not about megyn kelly specifically. can you explain, so everyone can understand, why mr. trump is appearing in a fox interview tonight? >> it's not specifically about megyn kelly. mr. trump has appeared on fox multiple times, hundreds of times since the course of this campaign has begun. he's answered every single tough question that's been brought to him and he's won every debate. he's not at war with fox. this is about being treated fair on the debate stage. i don't think based on the information they put out he could be treated fairly on the debate stage. it's my obligation to mr. trump to ensure he has an opportunity to talk directly to the american people. that's why we'll take that tomorrow night at drake university. >> i guess i'm just trying to understand. it's about this pr statement that they put out insulting him

and how we would be as a world leader, but he still is going on fox news tonight, right? it does seem a little bit confusing, you can see, right? >> it's not confusing at all. fox news is comprises of a whole series of anchors. the interview he's doing tonight with bill o'reilly was long scheduled before this. we did that as an obligation. when we make a promise, we keep it. instead of participating in the debate tomorrow, we'll do our own event where we'll raise money for veterans who so needily deserve it. >> fox news mentioned you also, corey, directly about trump's decision. in part they wrote today in their statement, megyn had a, quote, rough couple of days after that last debate and he would, quote, hate to have her go through that again.

we can't give in to terrorizations toward any of our employees. did you make threats? >> look, not only did i not make threats, but the conversation with the fox news executive, his daughter works for the rubio campaign. he's one that writes the debate questions. maybe he has his own ulterior motives. i'm not sure. there were no threats made. the bottom line is this isn't about me. it's not about megyn kelly. it's about the way fox news put out a statement about donald trump that is wholly inaccurate and unfair. >> so you're saying this is fox news, they have someone who is dealing with all of the negotiations, actually supporting and advising marco rubio? >> no, i said the fox news executive, their daughter is a senior executive on the marco rubio campaign. >> their daughter, okay. ted cruz is going to be there

tomorrow night. this could be a make or break moment for him. it might not work that way, but it might. he's challenging donald trump to a one on one debate. i know donald trump tweeted today, okay, in canada, making a joke of it. is this a challenge he would accept if it continues to be donald trump and ted cruz in this race? >> of course. at the end of this race it's going to come down to two republican candidates. if ted cruz is that candidate, we'll be happy to debate him one on one. if ted cruz is the last man standing next to donald trump, we'll be happy to debate him. ted cruz's campaign is desperate and has been falling apart in the state of iowa. his poll numbers continue to drop because people are starting to question if he has the legal right to run for president in

the united states. >> one final question for you, corey. mr. trump tweeted today one other thing about megyn kelly. i refuse to call megyn kelly a bimbo because that would not be politically correct. instead i will call her a lightweight reporter. why put the word bimbo anywhere near this tweet? >> he didn't use that language. he said he wasn't going to do that. his opinion is that megyn kelly a lightweight. he's entitled to that opinion. his tweets always speak for themselves. we'll let them stand. >> corey, if you're not going to call someone a bimbo, you don't write i refuse to call them a bimbo. you just don't do it.

>> i guess that's a matter of opinion. >> corey, thank you very much. i appreciate you taking your time to be with us. "outfront" next, is cruz the new top target? the love-hate relationship between trump and fox. bernie sanders, he met with the president today. soup and sandwich and clean and real, and feeling good, sort of. and 500 calories or less. the clean pairings menu. at panera. food as it should be. i'm here to get the lady of the house back on her feet. and give her the strength and energy to stay healthy. who's with me?! yay! the complete balanced nutrition of great tasting ensure. with 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. ensure. take life in!

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you're looking at live pictures out of west des moines iowa. five days to go until the caucuses. ted cruz has been slamming donald trump for skipping tomorrow night's crucial debate and challenging trump to a one-on-one faceoff. does ted cruz's campaign have a plan to turn this whole debate debacle into an advantage for cruz? >> they do, erin. it's flooding the zone. there's a real recognition inside the campaign that trump is in this most crucial period for the iowa caucuses, sucked all the oxygen out of the room. he's hitting every aspect of how donald trump is working. they've had them create websites

comparing him to scrooge mcduck. they're trying to keep themselves in the bloodstream and that's extremely important obviously with just a few days left before voters hit those caucuses. >> thank you very much. live with ted cruz tonight. ted cruz is going to be speaking momentarily as is donald trump. we'll be taking those live. this is the first time donald trump has publicly come out and addressed this issue himself since last night's bombshell announcement. jeffrey lord -- here are my guests. he's announced an event for wounded warriors at the same time in the same city. this is a done deal. does ted cruz lose his

opportunity to take donald trump down before the iowa caucuses. >> donald trump, someone who several times relied on student deferments to dodge vietnam is now hiding behind veterans to dodge a debate. the bad thing is he thinks this is all about ratings and has touted the fact, oh, this is going to hurt fox's ratings. the reality is this is about respect for the process, respect for the people of iowa, and the american people who have relied on this last important debate before the caucus as an opportunity to see the candidates on stage together, showing their contrast on the issues and pleading their case. he is depriving them of that opportunity. if he's afraid of a moderator on the debate, he's not going to hold his own when it comes to foreign policy. >> ted cruz has stepped it up in terms of challenging trump.

he wants to debate him before the caucuses. trump's campaign manager told me cruz is doing that because he's desperate. >> if ted cruz is the last man standing next to donald trump, we'll be happy to debate him. ted cruz's campaign has been desperate. it's been falling apart in the state of iowa. he's talked about how great his ground game is and his poll numbers continue to drop because people are starting to question if he even has the legal right to run for president of the united states. >> trump said he would do the debate and do it canada. should he take it more seriously and not dismiss ted cruz who he is running neck and neck with in iowa? >> i don't think he's dismissing ted cruz. i think he's got a good ground game out there. he's on the attack. this is what you do in presidential primaries. this is completely normal, believe it or not. i don't think there's anything new about this. he is going to go after ted

cruz. ted cruz is going to go after him. rush limbaugh had a great explanation for this today. donald trump has been acting outside the bounds of the normal political formulas and it baffles and frustrates and angers establishment folks. they don't know really quite how to deal with it. i think cruz is left here trying to figure out what to do. he's grabbing the first thing he can think of here, which is challenging that debate. >> jeff, at some point -- it might look empty and it might be lonely, but it could cost him iowa. you worked with ronald reagan. in 1980 ronald reagan skipped a debate before the iowa caucuses. he lost iowa. could this be the mistake that could cost trump iowa?

>> is a risk? sure, it's a risk. i was listening to some of the cnn commentary. one young man said they like donald trump because he takes action. another said he's not politically correct. in walking away from this debate, he is taking action. he's showing, not speaking, not talking, he is illustrating what leadership is all about, just as ronald reagan did when he walked away from the table with gorbachev. he's also fighting political correctness by saying flat out i'm not doing this just to be politically correct. i'm sorry. >> i will say this. i agree with jeffrey 100% on the fact that donald is showing quite a bit by running and hiding from this. he is showing to the american people and the people here in iowa that he will make a commitment and then dodge it and run the other way. say one thing and do something completely the opposite. this was planned long ago.

we have known from the very beginning that megyn kelly was going to host this debate. he knew long ago he was going to dodge this republican debate. he should have participated in cnn's democratic town hall over the weekend. he's been a democrat longer than he's been a republican. ted cruz has been a consistent conservative. he has been strong on the issues his entire life as opposed to donald trump who has contributed tens of thousands of dollars to democrats over the years. he has supported abortion. he has supported gay marriage. he is certainly much more of a democrat than he is a republican. he didn't want to go up on the stage tomorrow night and have ted cruz point it out a few days before the caucuses. >> if donald trump is willing to debate right off the whole muslim issue, you would think he would be willing to debate now if it is a point of fear. we think he may address this at his rally in south carolina. this is donald trump live. if he does, we're going to jump

in on that. outfront next, the rift if their relationship now seismic, the inside story on this unprecedented battle. and bernie sanders meeting privately with president obama after the president endorses his rival. what did obama tell sanders? that's coming up. ♪ every auto insurance policy has a number. but not every insurance company understands the life behind it. ♪ those who have served our nation

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breaking news. donald trump speaking at a rally in south carolina live at this moment for the first time publicly expected to address the fallout after he shocked everyone by pulling out of tomorrow night's republican debate. trump has not spoken to anyone at fox news about his decision to not attend the debate, so how did it all start? brian stelter is outfront. >> reporter: hamilton and burr, the hatfields and the mccoys, add donald trump and fox news? it could have been a match in media heaven. trump and fox news boss are old friends. both are successful conservative businessman who know how to put on a show. >> i have the most loyal people.

i could stand in the middle of fifth avenue and shoot somebody and i wouldn't lose any votes. >> reporter: this fight unprecedented for a tv news network. >> i don't know what games roger ai ailes is playing. >> reporter: now the two men are at logger heads with some even comparing this to a monster movie. trump as frankenstein. megyn kelly is in the middle of the controversy. >> the debate will go on with or without mr. trump. >> reporter: she clashed with trump at the first debate of the season prompting trump to ask for a fox boycott. >> you could say there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever. >> reporter: ailes was furious.

trump telling journalists what to ask is not how the media works in this country. they struck a tenuous truce, broke it, and then picked it back up again. >> this is the first gorgeous blond that he can't wrap around his finger. >> reporter: people are now choosing sides with rush limbaugh siding with trump, saying fox is acting jilted. >> donald trump knows by not showing up he's owning the entire event. some guy not even present will end up owning the entire event. >> reporter: so who needs whom more? fox or trump? thursday's ratings might start to answer that key question. erin, this is a situation where it seems trump is winning. fox news seems to be on the defensive in some ways. it's a pr nightmare for them.

>> this is a fascinating story. outfront are my guests. you're got this back and forth going on which ends with trump saying bye bye, literally. could this hurt his stand with io io iowans? are they going to say, we're not going to vote for this guy because he didn't show up at the debate? >> there's a risk, but i don't think it's a large risk. you go back to early american history. there was a famous flag with a rattlesnake with the words "don't tread on me." there's something about that and the spirit of what donald trump has done here. i'm concerned about what kind of president he'd be. on this particular issue, i don't think he would have dodged the debate if megyn kelly was

the only issue. when fox issued an insulting statement about trump, he said i'm out of here. bye bye. he stood up to the media. i think it drives home the point that donald trump is running as a guy who is not going to be owned by anybody and he's willing to stand up to people and walk away. i also thought frankly he was smart to schedule this thing with veterans. people ought to take their advertising venue and give it to veterans. i think people like that kind of thing. >> i just want to read this statement that david's referring to as extraordinary. this is what fox news said that donald trump said prompted him to back out. quote, we learned from a secret back channel that putin plans to treat donald trump unfairly when they meet with him if he becomes president. it is pretty extraordinary that

a news organization would say something that is frankly so unjournalistic and unprofessional. how should trump have responded to that? sure, i'll show up at your debate. >> welcome to the big leagues, donald trump. donald is a pretty nasty guy. he got a little bit in that press release of what he dishes out every day. the bigger issue is what is he going to do if he's president and someone asks him a tough president. megyn's question was only quoting donald trump's own words. don't tweet them out. don't call women bimbos. don't say they're bleeding out of whatever. he's mad that his own words were thrown back in his own face as a presidential candidate. i think he overplayed the veterans here. i had multiple veterans furious

today that called into my radio showing if you want to go to war with fox news, fine, but don't use our tragedy, don't use me sitting in a wheelchair to your advantage politically. they were very turned off by this move because they do not feel this is genuine. they feel like this is the lowest form of political move by donald trump trying to claim i'm going to stand up for the veterans when in reality he doesn't want to show up for a debate. and the veterans who fought for this country, they were livid with donald trump for using their tragedies to his political advantage. i think this was a really sick and perverted move by donald trump to do that and i agree with the veterans that called in. >> this adds a whole new layer to it and it's a fascinating one and it could be a negative one. one that could be a positive one is winning over conservative talk show radio hosts. rush limbaugh had this to say today. >> i've got news for you. he is controlling the media, and

it is his objective. he is controlling the media. he controls the media when he's not on it. he controls the media when he is on it. he controls the media when he's asleep. >> is this something that you think will be a good thing for trump, even though it is fox news traditionally the voice of conservatives? americans will say, good, tell them to go take a hike too. >> i think what americans are looking for now who are scared and anxious about the future is somebody who is strong and decisive and somebody who is willing to stand up to vested interests in this country and say sometimes you get it wrong. if you want to insult me, i'm not going to walk into some s setup on your debate. this signaled he would be very likely walking into a setup.

why should he say, hey, wait a minute, you go over the line, i'm not playing? hold on. perhaps you're a decorated veteran. i don't know. i work with veterans organizations. i don't know who called into your show, but the veterans i know appreciate the fact that someone's been willing to say i'll raise some money. let's make this a cause. >> do it on another day is their point. one veteran said to me if he really believes in this as much as he claims he does, do it the day after. he can do an event any time he wants to do an event. he has a private jet to do it whenever he wants to do it. the fact that he uses veterans with their tragedy of war -- >> final word, david. >> okay. listen. he's been urging fox and other

networks to take some of the extra revenue they're getting off these large debate audiences, which he is the big magnet drawing in, to do something for the veterans. now he's going to do it for himself. >> he hasn't done it yet. >> he's holding an event to try to put emphasis on veterans. i don't think that's exploitation. somebody needs to stand up. i think american voters are looking for somebody who is tough enough who can take it, who can stand up instead of meekly go along with whatever is handed out by the media. i'm not playing by those rules. >> thank you both very much. i hit pause on that. a fascinating conversation. bernie sanders surging in the polls. hillary clinton pressuring him to add another debate. and a virus linked to horrible

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in washington today senator bernie sanders met privately with president obama at the white house. the meeting coming just five days before the iowa caucuses where polls show sander and clinton in a dead heat. what happened? brianna keilar is out front where both sanders and president bill clinton are live tonight in duelling rallies. >> reporter: bernie sanders off the campaign trail this morning for an oval office meeting with president obama. >> we've got to do a lot better to protect the middle class and working families, but it's also important to remember how far we have come in the last seven years under the leadership of president obama and vice president biden. >> reporter: sanders aligning himself with obama just days after the president talked of hillary clinton to politico. >> she can govern and she can

start here day one more experienced than any non-vice president has ever been, who aspires to this office. >> reporter: sanders insists he doesn't think the president is playing favorites. >> i think he and the vice president have tried to be fair and even handed in the process, and i expect they will continue to be that way. ♪ >> just days away from the first in the nation nominating contest in iowa, sanders took a detour to minnesota with an eye on the super tuesday contest in early march. >> my god, what a turnout. >> reporter: 15,000 people at his rally in st. paul. several thousand coming out to see him in deluth. hillary clinton is hoping the

democratic party will sign off on an unsanctioned debate now in the works. >> i would like the chairman of the party and the campaign to agree we can debate in new hampshire next week. that is what i'm hoping will happen. >> reporter: the sanders campaign has yet to agree to participate in the extra debate. clinton took aim at sanders saying he can't deliver on his promises like his call of medicare for all americans. >> he has a different idea. i fear it would lead to gridlock, not action. it would throw us into a contentious national debate that would not move us forward, and i don't think the people i have met in iowa can wait. >> reporter: hillary clinton began her day in iowa, but this evening she is fundraising on the east coast with some help from jon bon jovi. bernie sanders speaking tonight in mason city, iowa. hillary clinton at investment firm fundraiser in philadelphia.

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tonight, u.s. officials confirming new cases in america of a rapidly spreading virus that has been linked to horrible birth defects, including brain damage in newborns. it's called the zika virus, and cnn is learning tonight that minnesota has confirmed a case there. and as you can see, nine states now, at least, have had incidents of this virus in recent days. it's pretty terrifying in each case, the person believed to have contacted it after traveling to a popular vacation destination in latin america or the caribbean. that is why the cdc is now urging pregnant women to consider avoiding these countries. thousands of people have been affected in them. in brazil, they even recommended that people not have babies for the next couple of years. just to give you a sense of the terrifying scale of this in some places. our chief medical correspondent, dr. sanjay gupta, is out front.

sanjay, you have covered a lot of outbreaks. this one is particularly concerning. why? >> i think it's just this influence on pregnant women, you know. these moms-to-be. you hear a lot about types of pathogens, ebola obviously very frightening. but i've never seen in all the times i've been covering these outbreaks something that so incountries crim nationally affects pregnant women and causes micro selfly. and just to give context, erin, in brazil, there were 140 or so babies born with this condition in 2014. in just the last three or four months, there's been over 4,200 children born with this. 51 have died. so the numbers have just gone up tremendously, and i can't imagine, erin, what it must be like to be hold, you just shouldn't get pregnant for the next couple years. >> it's shocking. and what exactly -- when these babies are born with this, what is it doing to them? >> well, it's a viral infection. and what they have found is that the virus itself was found in

the brains of some of these babies who have died. they have found it in the omniotic fluid of women who became infected with zika virus while pregnant. so exactly how this virus causes these particular neuro defects is unclear still. they're trying to unravel that. but it seems pretty clear there is an association between the infection and the birth defect. >> so the babies have smaller heads that are born with this? i mean, is it a life-long birth defect? what can you tell us? >> i think the best way to describe it is that at the time the baby is developing in utero, this virus sort of interferes with the development of the brain and the skull. so when the child is born, you see a small skull, a small head with respect to the rest of the body. and obviously a small brain inside. and, yeah, it often is a life-long problem. i mean, again, 51 of these children have died. oftentimes they have intellectual and cognitive

delays as a result of this, so it is a significant problem, no question about it. >> and now you know, as you talk about in brazil, they're saying not to have babies for the next couple of years. it is stunning. besides birth defects, though, have there been cases of this being spread from human to human, especially as we now see this cropping up in states around the united states? >> well, so the way this spreads -- let's be really clear on this. what we know so far, a mosquito known as the egypti, the type of mosquito, bites somebody who has the infection, leaves that person, goes and bites somebody else. that may sound really obvious, but that is how it's spread. so keep that in mind. that is most typical. it doesn't spread like the flu or a cold, for example. there have been a couple of case reports where it has spread through potentially sex, as well. it's unclear that that can happen. malaria, for example, which is a mosquito-borne virus, does not spread that way. but it does spread human to human in terms of mom to child. again, through pregnancy, even at the time of labor.

we know that to happen. >> all right. well, dr. sanjay gupta, thank you very much. i know you're going to be covering this a lot more as the days go on. thank you. >> absolutely. you got it. thank you. next, lead poi so i think in america, the governor in michigan has no idea how many kids could be poisoned in flint. an exclusive interview, next. our truck? it's touring across america telling people about idaho potatoes. farmer: let's go boy. again this year the big idaho potato truck is traveling the country spreading the word about heart healthy idaho potatoes and making donations to local charities. excuse me miss, have you seen our truck? you just missed it. ahhh! aw man are you kiddin' me? ever since i had a pretty bad accident three years ago. the medical bills - the credit card debt all piled up. i knew i had to get serious my credit. so i signed up for experian.

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now the massive public health crisis in flint, michigan. beleaguered governor rick snyder just appointed a committee to investigate the toxic water supply. what will that do? in flint, officials switched the water source. first it was lake huron and then to the flint river. what that meant was poisoned water was being pumped into homes across the city. now lead poisoning levels are double what they were before the change, and no one knows how many children could be poisoned. poppy harlow spoke exclusively with governor rick snyder today who said the state literally doesn't know how many children are at risk. >> that's the problem here, is we know the ones that have higher levels to do appropriate follow-up care. it's really we need to establish the right medical protocols, the public health pieces, the educational process. to watch these kids for years that didn't have higher blood levels in terms of a blood test, because they could be affected. >> so you're saying there are 100 children now who have tested for high levels of lead. but because it's harder to test

for it after an extended period of time, there may be many more. >> there could be many more, and we're assuming that. >> you're assuming many more. >> yes. >> so say we're sitting back here in five years. will those lead pipes be replaced? >> i hope a lot of work has been done on that topic. it's too soon to tell, because i can't tell you how many pipes and where they are. but as a practical matter, we should be working on that, very clearly. >> would you be able to it be the safest thing, governor, given what they have been through? >> it's a question of how to work through it and the best fashion to make sure we're getting all the resources. because i view this lead infrastructure -- the water -- >> other than money. what would stand in the way of replacing them. >> well, we've got a statewide issue too in terms of lead pipes. >> and you can see poppy's entire exclusive interview with governor snyder. that is at the top of the hour with anderson cooper. and thank you so much for joining us. be sure to set your dvr to record "outfront" so you can watch our show at any time, any place. i'll be back tomorrow, same

time. obviously, a lot to talk about with all the fracas going on with donald trump. "ac 360" starts right now. good evening, thanks for joining us. tonight the biggest, baddest. this time it's personal high stakes showdown in all of american politics. oh, yeah, and also the caucuses on monday. and that republican debate tomorrow. basically, sometimes bizarro planet called politics got knocked off its axis with fox news. that is him campaigning in north carolina. the showdown became a war last night when he backed out of the debate taking shots at moderator megyn kelly for he says treating him unfairly for a snarky press release that fox put out. today he called kelly a lightweight, because, as he put it, he refuses to call her a bimbo. calling her a bimbo, he tweeted, would be politically incorrect. that's the kind of day it's been. it's also been a day for fox news, which used to be a gop gate-keeper to scramble to fix things for trump and for tru