i practiced law 34 years in charleston, west virginia. west virginia is a great state, great city, wonderve people. your town is a ghost town when this happens. every single establishment that had a health department permit, every restaurant, hotels, shut down. when you can't use the water, you can't clean, you can't sanitize and it came at the height of cold and flew season. >> so yet, the company -- >> again, that's -- you can't drink the water. >> a lot of people there. you filed a lawsuit against freedom industries and it has filed for bankruptcy. how much do you expect to actually get out of that company now? >> jonathan, it's complex. the first thing, when this happened, you have to understand, we started getting calls right away. not only was i affected, my family, my law firm. everyone in the community. at every level. 300,000 people are affected. the question becomes: what is this? how bad is it? you have got to understand, when it came out that it was a chemical leak and it had been leaking for hours and hours and hours, and then

the city of charleston, west virginia, now considering the lawsuit against the company responsible for the chemical spill that tainted the water. and people around the country taking a day off to remember a king. >> there are concerns today that the syrian peace talks may be over before they begin. united nations has now invited iran to the conference set for geneva in switzerland. opposition groups say that is a none starter and they're threatening to pull out. secretary general ban ki-moon he addressing the situation. >> i will have more to say about this situation in a day. for a moment let my appear again for all involved to keep the needs of the syrian people foremost in mind. >> meanwhile it will day one in the newell deal o nuclear deal t the deal overshadowed over the late breaking developments regarding syria. >> reporter: ban ki-moon has finally invited iran to the party. >> that iran would play a positive and constructive role. therefore, as convener and host of the process i have invited iran to participate. >> reporter: a year and a half after the first syrian meeting in g

i'm tired in charleston west virginia meghan lopez r t. well some signs of hope for the crisis in syria u.s. secretary of state john kerry is in paris meeting with his russian counterpart sergey lavrov the diplomatic leaders discuss the possibility of negotiating a cease fire in the three year long syrian civil war are to correspondent igor pissed off reports. well one of the first things that we've heard from u.s. secretary of state is that russia the u.s. and the un are completely on the same page that the only solution of the conflict in syria is a diplomatic one mr kerry also said that both the soon enough and to the opposition are equally responsible for the atrocities committed there now we've also seen a slight shift on iran since a lot of barbara he needs your own special envoy on syria and syria lauber off the ball for saying that they want to see iran taken part in the geneva two conference this is a key player in the region this was something that the u.s. has previously against but now according to u.s. secretary of state washi

i'm tired in charleston west virginia magnum up as our tea. some signs of hope for the crisis and syria us secretary of state john kerry is in paris meeting with his russian counterpart sergei lavrov. if allied leaders discussed the possibility of negotiating a ceasefire and a three year long syrian civil war. rt correspondent your peace cannot reports. well one of the first things that we've heard from us at the jail stages that russia the us and un are completely on the same page. that's the only solution the prophet in syria is a diplomatic one. mr kerry also said that officer in the forties and the opposition are equally responsible for the atrocities committed there were also seen a slight shift on iran since though a lot about breaking the un special envoy on syria and sergei lavrov. people were saying that the water see that iran taken part in the geneva to conferences is a key player in the region this was something that the us was previously a guess but now according to the us secretary of state washington wouldn't mind seeing sarah a

attorney for west virginia has begun an investigation which means possibly that he could face criminal charges down the road. back to you. >> doug mckelway, live in charleston, west virginia. thank you very much. >>> following many of controversy and complaints over the botched obamacare is dropping the plan that a developed the website. white house said it was not effective enough in fixing the complex system. elizabeth prann has the latest on this. >> reporter: the white house dumping cgi forward, the main contractor responsible for building healthcare.gov after the contract expires next month. one of the world's largest consulting firms will take over the task, exsenure. the price tag is $90 million for a one-year deal. this is while the administration continues to tout recent improvements and increasing enrollee numbers. just today the president claiming improvements to the economy due to his signature piece of legislation. >> thanks in part to the reforms in the affordable care act, health care costs now eat up less of our economy. over the past four years costs have grown at the slowest rate on record. >> reporter: critics say a change in contractors

authorities announced an investigation today into a chemical spill that's largely shut down charleston, west virginia. the spill tainted the elk river and cut off the supply of water for drinking, cooking and bathing. we'll hear from the mayor of charleston, later in the program. >> woodruff: the federal government will recognize more than 1,000 gay marriages performed in utah since late december. attorney general eric holder announced today the same-sex couples are eligible for federal benefits, for now. a federal judge struck down utah's ban on gay marriage in late december. the state is appealing the decision. >> woodruff: the president of afghanistan, hamid karzai, may not sign a deal letting u.s. troops stay there, at least not any time soon. "the washington post" reported today the u.s. ambassador has cabled washington that he doubts karzai will sign before elections in april. that's much later than washington wants, but a state department official said this, today. >> we recognize that at this time it is up to president karzai to determine what it is in afghan-- afghanistan's best interest, an

robert gray is in charleston, west virginia. there are now reports that the city is preparing to sue. what can you tell us? >> reporter: indeed, good afternoon, del. city council members have talked to local businesses. they're convening this afternoon in what they call a closed door meeting, an emergency executive session with city council members where they're considering to file a lawsuit with losses caused by the comment spill and water outages here. they could have a vote as early as tomorrow evening. in the meantime a lot of people here are drinking bottled water, and not drinking it out of their taps, and the concerns are everywhere. in west virginia roadside water distribution sites dot the highways and county roads. >> well, some are still afraid to actually drink the water. >> over the past 11 days nearly 300,000 people have lived through the unprecedented do do-not-use order from west virginia american water, but the problems are not over yet. >> we're still getting complaints from from various residents. in and out o

west virginia. she held a town hall meeting in charleston to discuss this bill with local residents. ut the lastund inspection was done on this company and that tank farm was in 1991. erin brockovich >> that waserin brockovich speaking to west virginia residents in a town hall meeting monday night. she's joining us now from charleston, west virginia and also joined in washington by mike elk. he has extensively covered chemical regulations in the united states including at the west texas fertilizer plant where 50 people died in an explosion last year. we welcome you both to democracy now! let's start with erin brockovich . what did you find that the town hall meeting last night? >> good morning. >> it is great to have you with us. >> we were glad we got the town hold together on extremely short notice because we weren't even sure if we would have a facility here. for the folks that came out, i actually heard numerous stories that were disturbing at many levels, but they were mostly very calm. they were frustrated. they felt a sense they could not get through to anybody to give them fur

doug is live in charleston, west virginia. did you get any information out of that press conference that just took place, doug? >> reporter: it's still going on to the best of my knowledge now. here's the bottom line. a lot of people are involved all speaking of the various components. bottom line they say that the west virginia american water company is a big company, is system is extensive. it's going to take extensive study and testing. that means it is probably going to be a matter of days before the water service is restored and it will probably happen in a phase-in approachal consumption of the water being the last phase. as a result of that, charleston people and the surrounding counties will continue to get their water the way you see it behind me right here, from trucks np is one of 16 distribution centers here. there are many others in the surrounding counties. people are behaving very calmly here. yesterday when the alert was issued, however, that was not necessarily the sas everywhere. listen up. >> a lot of people

>> anne thompson, charleston, west virginia, tonight. anne, thanks. >>> tonight journalists from many news organizations, including this one, are pouring over hundreds of documents just released in new jersey having to do with the intentional traffic jam on the george washington bridge back in september. they are looking to see if anything in the documents goes against what governor chris christie said in his marathon mea culpa press conference just yesterday, blaming his appointees and proclaiming his own innocence. we get the latest on this tonight from nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: the busiest and most important bridge connecting new york city and new jersey backed up in ft. lee with no warning for four days. more than 900 pages of documents released today reveal that transportation officials appointed by governor christie shut down the lanes without telling the head of the agency that manages the bridge. when he found out, port authority chief patrick foye was angry, calling it abusive and a violation of everything this agency s

storage tank for freedom industries right now west virginia governor earl ray tomblin has declared a state of emergency for nine counties surrounding charleston west virginia schools and businesses have been closed and the three hundred thousand or so residents that have been affected by this spill are told not to drink the water not even to wash their hands with it you know something else to keep in mind here is that some of the symptoms that are involved in this or that authorities are warning residents of is burnings wrote hands and arms and skin local grocery store owners have described the mad dash by local residents there as pandemonium in order to get. their hands on some clean bottles of water residents there are even resorting to buying bags of ice and sporting drinks and soda and things like that in order to have something to drink as there is a shortage right now at the moment on the road to west virginia maggie lopez r.t. and r.j. international now a look at local fisherman under threat in west africa and of course if you're joining us now from the u.k. it's going underground with action to a ton see so stay tuned with us for that

so a lot of moving parts here today in charleston, west virginia. the story keeps on getting more viveting as people here are still not quite sure whether all is well. tony? >> robert, appreciate it. robert ray for us in charleston west virginia. 16 people were killed today in a bombing in a restaurant in kabul. the afghan government says three suicide bombers were involved. it happened at a neighborhood home to several embassies and foreign consulit's a. the taliban issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack. russia president vladimir putin said it is okay to be gay. just don't tell the children. just weeks before the start of the olympic games in sochi. >> yes. the former -- >> if you think that i created they had uniform, you are strongly misguided. we aren't banning anything. we aren't rounding up anyone. we have no criminal punishment for such relations unlike many other countries. so one can feel relaxed about please leave the children in peace. >> gay rights have become a con tentious issue because russia passed a law last year

>> well, the residents here in charleston, west virginia are concerned about the fact that you know it'seen a few days since the water bans are lifted and people have been flushing their pipes out but a lingering odor is rounds like an licorace or candy and after the water is flushed out describing the smell inside their homes and others described discoloration and we are in a restaurant here this morning where folks have been having brunch throughout today and this particular restaurant is serving only bottled water to its customers and they are using the water just to clean the dishes. they own three restaurants here and they have been impacted pretty heavily by what has happened. we have reached out on numerous occasions to west virginia water company here asking for answers as to what the smell is, why the water ban was lifted when there is little data known and all the people who have gone to the hospitals here. listen to this, over 400 patients have been treated at 10 different hospitals and reported for chemical exposure since january 9th, that is according to the west virginia he

susan saulny, abc news, charleston, west virginia. >>> and we move, now, out west, tonight, to show you a videotape as investigators are on the hunt for a mysterious arsonist. in san jose, authorities believe 1 man has set up to 13 fires since last wednesday, all of them in the early morning hours. and have you seen this man? they are looking for the man in this surveillance video, seen walking back and forth several times, minutes before a fire broke out across the street. and sketches of the possible suspect have been posted. families are forming neighborhood watches to try to protect their homes. >>> and next, tonight, the judge versus the giant power of professional football. today, a federal judge in effect said, show me the money. asking the nfl to prove that they are really paying enough to the athletes who suffered brutal concussions on the field. abc news correspondent and legal analyst, ryan smith, has our story. >> reporter: in football, the hits are punishing. like this. >> he took a heavy hit. >> reporter: and this. >> his helmet came off at the goal line. >> reporter: seve

storage tank from freedom industries right now west virginia governor earl ray tomblin has declared a state of emergency for nine counties surrounding charleston west virginia schools and businesses have been closed and the three hundred thousand or so residents that have been affected by this spill are told not to drink the water not even to wash their hands with it only to use it to flush the toilet and case of a fire emergency meanwhile president barack obama has declared a federal emergency in west virginia fema and the department of homeland security are both getting involved in the relief efforts right now as investigators try to figure out how contaminated the water is how serious the problem is and how they can go ahead and fix it now the president of freedom industries the company that actually leaked those chemicals put out a statement just a little bit ago today and i want to read part of it it says quote we have been working with local federal and safety and environmental entities including the coast guard army corps of engineers and homeland security and are following all necessary steps to fix the issue our team has been working

. >> in west virginia, some residents are again allowed to start using the tap water, but about 200,000 others have not been given the all-clear. jean casarez is in charleston, west virginia. what's happening with the water supply down the ohio river, jean? >> reporter: well, wolf, here's the situation. this is the elk river right behind me, which is the water source for the people here in charleston, west virginia and nine counties. the elk river feeds into the canal river, which feeds into the ohio river. and so ohio's water authority has shut off two valves, just as a precaution. now, their water companies do have reserves, so it doesn't mean the people are out of water there, but kentucky also followed suit for a short time. they turned off two of their intake valves in protection for their people. those have now been turned back on. but right here in charleston, west virginia, 300,000 people were without water. water to bathe in, drink or cook with. and now we're learning that one-third of those people have gotten the green light to turn their water back on, but what that means is two-thirds of the people are still waiting to use water. they still have

when you just think about what happened in charleston, west virginia, this chemical was a mile and a river from the water supply company. the water supply company had no idea that chemical was there and had no way to test for that chemical once it got in the water supply and had no idea of what impact that chemical called mchm would have on people. and i was talking to the cdc this afternoon, the cdc doesn't know what kind of long-term impact this chemical will have on people. the short-term impact is up for debate because there are so few studies done o it. most of the studies done have been animal studies and as a result, as the cdc says as it gets more information, it is changing its advisories. last night it issued an advisory to pregnant women in the charleston west virginia area not to drink the tap water until all mchm is out of the system. the problem with that, it came 48 hours after people were told to turn on their taps. and so i called the cdc today, what's going on? why did it take 48 hours to come out with this advisory? and they said, it's because as we get more inform

lingering questions about the safety of water in charleston west virginia as the owner of the companyresponsible creates another company after filing for bankruptcy. >> hurricane sandy relief money held hostage. >> what is done to put the dream of going to college within reach of more students?

we are in charleston, west virginia. tell us more about this company. >> reporter: good morning carol. a lot of questions obviously asked about this company now. a lot of people waiting for their water. a hundred thousand have been told they can turn on faucets now. 200,000 are still waiting for the same. the issue, fear of contamination is spreading beyond charleston. two cities in kentucky as well as cincinnati, ohio are doing everything they can to prevent the possibility of contaminating their water supply. the spill that happened in charleston, west virginia is 200 miles away from the water treatment facility in cincinnati, ohio. officials in cincinnati say they'll turn off two of their intake valves to allow it to pass without contaminating their water spliechlt they say steupp. they say this is taken in precaution. two cities turned off intake to let the plumes pass and not to risk the contamination. people here know what something like this could do. it isn't pretty and hasn't been pleasant. >> i want to talk a l

elena is in charleston, west virginia.e learning new information about the possible health impact of this leak on people who may have been exposed. in what way? >> well, we just learned that 91 people were seen in the emergency room. about four of those people were actually admitted. the severity of their symptoms ranged and also, their symptoms includes nausea, dizzyness, headache, sore throat. aside from the health concerns related to this, there's also the inconvenience of having to deal with not having usable, running tap water in this area. this is an incredibly difficult situation for the more than 300,000 people who are being affected right now. now, the only thing people can really use is tap water to flush their toilets. you can imagine how challenging that is for these people. now, authorities here learned about this leak on thursday. they say they first heard about it when residents started calling them to report the smell of licorice in the air. they investigated it and ended up here at this chemical company. i

. >> reporter: on the banks of the elk refer in charleston west virginia, perhaps you can see the facility, freedom industries containers that's where the chemical spill occurred about ten days ago. now we reached out to the water company here that is trying to treat everything and eliminate the licorice odor in the air in people's homes, here is what they had to say to us. we realize through no fault of our own the public's trust in the water has been shaken, nothing is more important than to rebuild the trust. we recognize that major challenges lie ahead. we will work with our interagency partners to restore the customers confidence in the water. significant test results shows the chemical has not been detected at our water treatment plant since january 13th, they say. they also went on to answer another question we had as to why the licorice smell continues to be in the air and also people's homes. they say water still may have an odor. the odors can be detected at a level far below what the centers for disease control detects as harmful. 100,000 times lower than the adverse affect leve

west virginia. doug is in charleston, west virginia, tonight. >> don't make baby formula with it, don't brush your teethh it, don't wash with it, don't shower with it, don't drink it. you can't just boil it. it's not a boil water advisory. it's a do not use advisory. >> a company that helped process coal, first noticed a leak blocks down stream from the water company in downtown charleston, west virginia. an unknown quantity, probably thousands of gallons of a foaming agent used in the processing of coal, was now leaking from a tank and overrunning a containment area into the elk river from which hundreds of thousands of west virginians get their drinking water. the governor declared a state of emergency, warning west virginians in a nine-county area in and around charleston not to use their tap water. >> until we receive an all-clear, we are focusing efforts on hoping the most vulnerable, those in hospitals and in nursing homes. we have asked the department of health and human resources bureau of public health, senior services, and west guard, to develop a long-term plan to help insure that adequate su

elizabeth cohen is there in charleston, west virginia. this is a painful story for so many people because we just take water for granted but here in west virginia, because of this chemical leak at this plant, freedom industries, these folks can't even take a shower or take a bath. >> reporter: i know. it really is a terrible situation and you think of all of the things that you use water for and, of course, you think about how you use it in your own house. think about how a hospital uses water for so many things and that's why hospitals here, millions of them have had to shut down their elective surgeries. unless it's an emergency, you're not coming here. you can imagine how dangerous that can be for people who were really expecting to have these elective surgeries. i mean, it's a terrible, terrible situation. >> and we're going to be speaking shortly, elizabeth, with the governor of west virginia, earl tomlin. we've got a lot of questions for him. the governor is going to join us and elizabeth will join us as well. what can the federal go

west virginia is facing bankruptcy. faces several investigation he after last weem's chemical spill near charleston, west virginia. those are the headlines. i'm john siegenthaler. i'll see you back here at 11:00 eastern. america tonight is next. i'll see you tonight at 11:00. >> there were explosions at reactor 2 and reactor 4. that's when i started thinking, this is it, i'm done for. >> how worried were you? >> translator: enough to make me crazy. when i needed people they used subcontractors to hire us. i'm among the victims who were thrown by. >> translator: we were walking on a knife's edge, wondering where the worst-case scenario would occur or not. >> it's been almost three years since the fukushima nuclear disaster and once again the stricken plant is in the news. we traveled here to japan to find out what's really happening at fukushima daiichi and to explore the fallout for those who continue to live the worst nuclear disaster since chernob chernobyl. lifelong rancher and his cattle was his life. he was buying supplies at a hardware store when the magnitude 9.0 earthquake hit. >> translator: there was a h

disculpas no son suficientes para aliviar molestias que aproximadamente 300.000 residentes de charleston west virginiaontaminado el agua con quÍmicos. >> no consume el agua, a no ser que use para limpiar los inodoros o para los incendios, cuando habitantes dijo que sus hogares tenÍa un color azul reportaron a autoridades las que han confirmado un derrame de agente spum ante en tanques de reserva una empresa que fÁbrica quÍmicos, la filtraciÓn llego al rÍo elk. >> hemos trabajado toda la noche para remover el material de nuestro lado no estÁ aquÍ y lo hemos llevado a lugar, han recomendado a no consumir el agua del grifo y el descontento no se hizo esperar. >> es la ciudad mÁs poblada del estado y esta contaminaciÓn provocÓ el cierre de escuelas y oficinas, obligÓ a la legislatura estatal a cancelar sus actividades por el dÍa, aseguran que la sustancia quÍmica no es mortal pero declararon en emergencia a 9 condado nos se puede consumir el agua ni siquiera para lavar la ropa, ya que pueden causar irritaciÓn de la piel, vomitos y diarrea. >> esta residente asegura que estÁ derritiendo el hielo para baÑar

disculpas no son suficientes para aliviar molestias que aproximadamente 300.000 residentes de charleston west virginiaeniendo por una filtraciÓn que ha contaminado el agua potable con quÍmicos. >> (en inglÉs). >> no consume el agua, no ser que la use para limpiar inodoros o combatir un incendio dijo gobernador. >> reportaron a autoridades las mismas que han confirmado el derrame de un agente spum ante que se utiliza en proceso de carbÓn. >> una empresa que fÁbrica quÍmicos para la industria de construcciÓn y minerÍa, la filtraciÓn llego al rÍo. >> (en inglÉs). >> hemos trabajado toda la noche para remover el material de nuestro lado y ya no estÁ aquÍ, lo hemos llevado a otro lugar dijo el presidente de la compaÑÍa pero han recomendado a la poblaciÓn no consumir el agua de grifo y el descontento no se hizo esperar. >> es la ciudad mÁs poblada del estado y la contaminaciÓn provocÓ el cierre de escuelas y oficinas obligÓ a la legislatura estatal a cancelar sus actividades por el dÍa autoridades aseguran que la sustancia quÍmica no es mortal pero declararon en emergencia a 9 condados no se puede consumir

our alexandra field is live in charleston, west virginia. what's the latest for these people?er: they are waiting for this water to come back on. at the same time, they are waiting for water to run from the faucets. they are asking how and why this happened. awh what kind of oversight was in place. the last time they inspected that plant was back in 1991. that's when it had a different owner. it was doing something else entirely. the dep says because this was now being used as a chemical storage facility, not a chemical manufacturing facility, it didn't need water pollution permits or air permits, all it needed was a storm water permit. inspectors hadn't been out there. the other issue is the type of chemical stored out there. it was not listed as extremely hazardous or toxic so it wasn't subject to the same kind of regulatory procedures as some other dangerous materials. of course, the question now presents itself, why, when we know it contaminated the water and at least 300,000 people can't use their water. we asked the governor what is the next step. he said his focus is re

that lack of knowledge worries many west virginia residents. jeni burns is a charleston business owner. >> i'm not cooking with this water, i'm not drinking with this water. in fact, here i wash the dishes with bottled water. rinsed them with bottled water and dried them. >> reporter: several lawsuits have been filed against freedom industries and, scott, the bankruptcy filing earlier today will have an impact on how those lawsuits proceed. >> pelley: jeff, thanks very much. today there were reports that the most-wanted man in russia is dead. docu umarov led islamic militants in chechnya fighting for independence from russia. he had threatened to attack the upcoming sochi olympics. mark phillips, who will be covering the games, has our report. >> reporter: docu umarov is the bearded man on the right in this video which appeared on a russian jihadist web site just yesterday. although the green vegetation suggests it was shot sometime ago. russian security services won't confirm umarov is dead, but another video has appeared in which a senior figure from the same insurgent

that's sort of the mantra here as most of the people in charleston west virginia are going about here. the smell in some parts of the city are is like a licorice or a cough drop. the government here is sending out messages to the media, saying they're doing testing on the plant and the elk river and that the water is safe. yet if that is the case, what is the odor, why are some homes still having the odor, and some people reporting discoloration of the water. when we were driving to the restaurant this morning there were two major tanker trucks out there that are flushing the system in the hospital ten days after the chemical spill. let me talk quickly to an advocate mia, in west virginia. what is your advocacy group what are you about? >> the group is people concerned about chemical safety. we are concerned because our community is the only place in the world that the chemical mic was called, that was stored in five times the amount of what caused that disaster until just a few years ago. so we are -- i he am from the community i was born and raised here and i have ties with the chem

. >>> the water contamination that has been affected over 300,000 people in charleston, west virginia, is the only latest incident of pollution by the coal industry. the environmental protection agency said coal plants are now responsible for 50% to 60% of all types of pollution in the united states. loopholes and deregulation has allowed the contamination of waterways and well water sources to go unchecked for decades. and it's more dangerous than the charleston elk river. >>> the royal majesty pulled into port in miami with 16 people sickened by a stomach virus that is believed to be the noro virus. for many it turned their dream vacation into a sea nightmare. >> the whole night at the hoy toilet. >> we all brought medication and we were cautious. >> the ship returned to miami where it was scrubbed and disinfected. they're now offering passengers an opportunity to reschedule their trips. >>> more details are emerging about the friday suicide attack at a kabul restaurant. national security adviser susan rice called the attack a heinous and cowardly attack. >> only after sunrise was t

no water to drink, bathe or cook with for 300,000 people in and around charleston, west virginia as health officials try to figure out how dangerous the water conditions are. federal investigators are stepping in to investigate a chemical leak there. we'll have a live report at the top of the hour. >>> a leader who dedicated his life to the state of israel. president obama used those words to describe the israeli prime minister, ariel sharon, who died. a look at sharon's live and legacy at the top of the hour. the former head of the homeland security will weigh in on robert gates' controversial new bookmaking waves at the white house and around the country. all that and much more coming to you on america's news headquarters. join us. >>> a media frenzy over the chris christie bridge controversy. >> calls at this hour for defense to step in. >> firestorm brewing around new jersey governor chris christie. the focus is the george washington bridge. >> a traffic jam derail his white house hopes? >> scandal surrounding the new jersey governor, chris christie. >> president obama and his former s

erin joins me now from charleston, west virginia. good to see you again.eing with us. >> thanks. nice to hear you. >> right at the scene again of another water related environmental disaster. how can this happen? how can it be they have not been inspected since 1991 at that storage facility? we saw the pictures of the rusted walls and pipes there. how is this possible in the state of west virginia? >> that's a really good question and it's an all too common occurrence that we see playing itself out, not only here in west virginia but really in every state across america. we have a lot of oversight issues, agencies are overburdened and under funded. they are understaffed. they don't have funds and it's just a lays faire attitude has been developed that safety doesn't matter and it's really frustrating and concerning to every single one of us, but it's a situation and scenario that plays itself out beyond this situation, which is frightening, because you're looking at leaking storage tanks and facilities and chemicals being released very close to our intakes

. >> and our elizabeth cohen is in charleston, west virginia, covering this for us.th, you actually visited this factory site today. what was it like? >> reporter: you know, i'll tell you, brianna. they told us that this chemical smell is like black licorice. and when we went there, ooh, boy, are they right. there is this overwhelming smell of black licorice and i don't mean that in a yummy way. it is really pretty overpowering and you feel a little nauseous smelling and breathing it in. freedom industries has not returned our phone cause. not only that, they are not even returning the phone calls of the utility of the water company who you just heard from. they said look, we're trying to reach them and they're not talking to us. what we do know about this chemical, brianna, it can be harmful if you're exposed to it in its undiluted form. if you took a whiff of the chemical, it could hurt you. what we don't know, what happens when you're exposed to it in its diluted form. it went into the water system. we don't know what it can do to you in its diluted for the. brian

west virginia in the weight of a toxic chemical spill. a state of e mergency in west virginia after a chemical used to clean coal leaked into the elk river in charleston. people in nine counties have been told not to drink, bathe or wash their clothes in tap water. a federal investigation has been launched. jonathan martin is at the scene. jonathan, what's being done in terms of getting people the relief that they need? >> reporter: fema has helped, they brought in water. the truck behind me. that was one of the trucks full of bottled water. he's gone. so many people have been coming by here, getting the bottled water they need and there is also behind me, you can see, a lot of people to bring canisters and fill those up to take home. a lot of people bringing some big canisters because they just don't know how long this water crisis will last. so, again, some 300,000 people told, do not drink this water. do not bathe in it. really, only they are being told that they can their toilet, the system. so at this point, that's what they are told they can do now. this all started on thursday, thursday morning, when this company freedom industries, an industri

. >>> it's getting much more frustrating for residents in charleston, west virginia, and the surrounding areas today. hundreds of thousands of them are now in their fourth day without tap water because of a chemical spill. officials say it could be days before clean water is flowing again. luke russert is in charleston with the very latest on the story for us. luke, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lester. since thursday, nearly 800 calls to the west virginia poison control center have been caused by the leak. this as it stretches into the new workweek. four days later, hundreds of thousands of west virginians have no access to safe tap water. it remains unclear when life will return to normal. >> we have employees that have worked the system, that are extremely knowledgeable of this system, are out collecting samples and looking at flushing activities at this time. but we're talking days. >> reporter: the chemical leak is causing great hardships. at hospitals, elective surgeries have been canceled and water is being brought in for any lifesaving procedures. for moms with infants

i'm greg jared, glad you are with us. 3 hub,000 people in charleston, west virginia are experiencinghird day without any tap water. forcing businesses and restaurants to close but it may be making people sick. and based on the press conference that just ended a short time ago, the prospect for any usable water soon is looking grim. doug mckelway is live in charlotteton, west virginia, with more.

. >> that is jonathan martin reporting from charleston, west virginia. so what is p.p.h.? that's a question that we put to our science and technology correspondent, jacob ward. >> reporter: pph is a polyglycol ether. it was in the literature that they handed officials this morning. they warned of it being a skin irritant and has less oral toxicity than the chemical we have seen released but it is very bad for the skin. to have this in one's bathing water would be quite bad. >> we'll continue to follow the story throughout the day and bring more details as they warrant. the affected area, has the largest cumulation of chemical makers than anywhere else, and there have been mistakes, mishaps. dupont would pay a settlement to members of a town that they claim was contaminated with chemicals. >>> the east coast continues to dig out after that massive winter blast. the latest storm coming with heavy snows, strong winds and it left behind some very, very cold temperatures. donachie outside of penn station in new york, john, the largest commuter railroad in the country and travel

>> brown: that was a dominant question at wednesday's town hall meeting in charleston, west virginia. officials say a chemical spill that fouled the elk river has dissipated and they've rescinded the "do-not-use" orders for some 300,000 people. but three weeks later, shamaya lewis and others are still anxious. >> who do i trust? do i trust the water quality specialist that's been told to call me and i've been continually following up on-- i spoke to him again yesterday-- or do i trust you all to go ahead and let my children, you know, bathe and stuff in the water? i'm extremely frustrated. >> brown: testimony at a state legislative committee hearing also yesterday did nothing to ease the frustration. >> the biggest problem is-- and my biggest concern is-- we still don't have a good handle on what it is we're being exposed to or at what concentrations. >> brown: scott simonton co- chairs the state environmental quality board. he said traces of formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, showed up in water samples from a restaurant. >> i can guarantee you that, that the citizens of this valley ar

the chemical company that's the source of a leak contaminating tap water in charleston, west virginia and nine surrounding counties says it's working to prevent further contamination. but about 300-thousand people were told to use water only for flushing, this past weekend. a 48-thousand gallon tank filled with the compound m-c-h-m, which can cause digestive and breathing problems, was found leaking from freedom industries into the elk river, last thursday.the coal treatment facility is about a mile upstream from the state's largest water treatment plant.stores ran out of bottled water, within hours and numerous businesses closed. salvage companies from 6 nations are bidding for a contract to dismantle the costa concordia. the ship capsized in january of 2012 and remains stuck off the north west coast of italy. it was righted last september. the plan is to tow away the 114-thousand ton vessel by june. the price tag for the entire clean up operation is an unprecidented $817 million dollars. the largest insider trading case to date involving a former s-a-c manager continues today...in o

. >>> jonathan martin joins us now from charleston, west virginia, jonathan, i got to wonder if not for drinking and washing what can the tap water be used for? >> sorry, what did you say, stephanie? >> jonathan, what is the latest on when this ban on drinking water might be lifted? >> reporter: okay, thank you, sorry about that. the latest is that they will believe they have the chemical levels in the water lower. they're trending in the positive direction but the governor here in west virginia said he is not ready just yet to give the all-clear. they still need to do more tests. they need to have a broader sample pool. the good news is that there is water for people to use. they have to bathe with water from these tankers like the one you see behind me. this is set at the local hospital. they have a lot of bottled water for people to use here. still as this goes into another day without people being able to use their tap water you can imagine a lot of people are just very, very frustrated. >> reporter: elizabeth and her daughter have not showered for three days. the case of bottled wa

water from the ohio water to be tested for the mchm, the coal processing chemical that made charleston, west virginia's tap water unusable. >> this machine takes a sample and breaks it down to its original component. >> reporter: including mchm which is present in the sample. that is dangerous to human health? >> this is well below any type of health levels that are being talked about now. >> reporter: still, cincinnati's water intake valves from the river are closed as a precaution, and the city is using its reserves, even though the chemical had been severely diluted on its 200 mile journey. the authorities first detected the chemical spill thursday at freedom industries. it travelled down the elk river to the river and found in ohio. and the chemical was found in the drinking water there and several other intake drinking water areas. impacting thousands who make their lives along the water. down river in louisville, the water intake valves will remain open and the authorities will catch whatever chemical remains. back in charleston where some tap water still smells like licorice and is discolored au

. >> and that was jonathan martin reporting from charleston west virginia. so what is pph?hat's a question we put to our science and technology correspondent jacob ward. >> pph is a polyglycol ether, it is basically a solvent on the literature, they warned of it being a skin irritant. it was used for mineral flotation, whatever that means. it has less oral tock advertisety. but it is irritating to the skin. >>> leaders from the assad regime and syrian's opposition groups are meeting face-to-face today. but in syria the fighting goes on. millions of refugees living outside of their cities in camps. many say they don't believe the peace conference will end the violence. nick schifrin is at the conference in switzerland. >> everybody has been talking about one thing here, trying to create a transitional government that all sides can agree on that will remove assad from power. but assad is not only dismissing the idea of stepping down, he is actually talking about running again for president. so what diplomats are talking about is small baby steps towards peace. perhaps prisone

water safety and so on it does seem to me on the same day that this leak was reported in charleston west virginia the house passed resolution two two seventy nine known as the reducing excessive deadline obligations act so the vote was split pretty much down party lines with republicans all voting yes and democrats pretty much all voting no and what it amends is both the solid waste disposal act in the comprehensive environmental response compensation and liability act so what that means is it says that these companies don't have to have enough insurance for the cleanup in case something spills it also says that this is the government has to consult with states before it puts more regulations and place now something else that came up with west virginia state law that passed seventeenth of two thousand and thirteen says that there's another chemical called solenn which is used in mountaintop removal processes and then actually raise the threshold to be able to have that in the water supply so a lot of more stripping of environmental regulations more kind of you know increased. benefits for the cor