we welcome the secretary of state of west virginia. the secretary of the west virginia department of environmental protection. this includes eric olsen, the senior strategic director for health and the defense counsel. including president of environmental compliance of united order red mr. michael mcnulty, the general manager in west virginia and a partner in hollingsworth and mr. peter weaver, the vice president of government affairs international liquid terminal association. we will start with mr. tenet. >> mr. chairman. >> i have a lot of family in west virginia who have been adversely affected and please don't think that i'm not interested. it is great to see the secretary of state and i'm delighted to be here and we look forward to hearing from all the witnesses. >> i think it's obvious that the members of the senate that there are many committee hearings going on including the most important committees and for our witnesses will be part of our record. so the written testimony will be made part of the record and you may foresee it

we can seeether, that is being done by the west virginia legislature. i expect the same response in congress. we need to be a constructive partner to the people of west virginia. thank you very much for your testimony. with that, the hearing stands adjourned. >> the house returns at noon. to suspension bills are on the agenda with votes after 6:30 p.m. meanwhile, the senate gavels in at 2:00 p.m. to consider reducing military retirees under the age of 62. the reduction was part of the budget agreement that both chambers passed last month. a procedural vote is expected at 5:30 p.m. 60 votes a be required to advance the bill. c-spantch the house on and the senate on c-span2. i have often said that when i am traveling on amtrak that i run to the quiet car. it will provide consumers, more opportunities for data rich engagement. it will open up the market for more competitors to provide. when you look at the international ecosystem, i have 90% of engagement is data only. a very small part of it is conversation. it is up to the carriers, the airlines. >> the s

chemical called for and into the elk river contaminating the water supply for three hundred thousand west virginians now the e.p.a. is saying that west virginia residents shouldn't be worried about this latest spill as the creek was not connected to a main drinking water source nor did the coal slurry contain the dangerous age and chemical but these assurances have done little to placate the fears and worries of west virginians are now heavily reliant on the coal industry and its economic benefits well earlier today i spoke to investigative journalist carl gibson was on the ground in west virginia about the latest developments regarding both spills i first asked him if he believe the e.p.a. has claims that the coal slurry contained none of the potentially deadly chemical and see. h m. tets was a guy who lived in charleston he drove to the side of this bill the morning after and he told me that you know when you smell the air you smell that licorice and that licorice is the smell of and c h m which was the chemical spilled into the elk river on january night another environmental activist stockman from the ohio valley environmental coalition s

sense of freedom industries spilled the chemicals into west virginia's water supply new information has come forward suggesting that the spill is much bigger than first reported and dangerous chemicals including formaldehyde are now being found in the air as residents of west virginia continue to be concerned about the safety of their drinking water democratic senators barbara boxer joe manchin and john rockefeller proposed the chemical safety and drinking water protection act that would require state inspections of above ground chemical storage facilities this bill has not yet been referred to committee for more on this we turn to our to correspondent make a. first west virginia residents were told that their water was unsafe to drink now one expert warns that the air in charleston could also be toxic take a deep breath because this one is a doozy west virginia environmental quality board member scott simon testified in front of west virginia's joint legislative oversight commission on state water resources that he conducted tests and found trace amounts of cancer causing for the hide

people in west virginia that were affected by the spill. sure so those west virginians they're suing the department of environmental protection for failure to regulate coal industry and they have the right to do that under section seven thirty three of the surface mining control and reclamation that called. section seven thirty three of that bill that law allows for citizens to basically suit their state regulatory agency that from charge regulating the binding and you know ensuring there are environmental controls proving that they have not done so in which case they can supersede that stage regulatory autonomy and the federal e.p.a. can step in and do you know regulating that the state was and so. you know what are the odds of that call because i mean you've written about the ties with west virginia coal with west virginia politicians like governor already and joe mansion so do you think that this reliance of politicians having the state has on big coal is going to have an outcome on that or to what extent is that going to have an impact.

the century tofoundation was talking act west virginia culture in and around regulation. the point this is the state that sued the epa and issues a friends of coal license plates, official west virginia tags, and that culturally west virginian s hate the kind of regulation that would have prevented this thing in the first place. dwug th do you agree with that? and if so, parallel to that, how is your bill going to change the landscape? >> that is so unfair. i've sued the epa because of their overreaching. do you believe the state of west virginia and our industry tapd coal we produce, energy for this nation for over 100 years and give us the country we have today, do you believe we should be held to a different standard than other parts of mining -- other mining states around the country? that's all i said. treat us as one of these wonderful 50 states that make up this beautiful union. and it's been awful what we've had to go through. with that being said, they think we turned a blind eye, that we could care less. i don't want to drink bad water and i don't want to smell

those are the last words we have. >> a spokesperson forn the west virginia -- person for the west virginia department of health sass june 30th, 2011, was the last investigation. at the time the as si and the departme department of environmental protection agreed to: >> no legislation was ever introduced. >> it's challenging considering that i'm the first person that introduced it to the state in 2009, before the chemical safety board. to be here again at this moment saying the same thing is challenging. >> this person represents a group from people concerned about chemical safety. it formed in 2004, a chemical was released, killing thousands. it was made and stored at a plant in institute west virginia. nigh hopes public outrage that contame nated the drinking water for 300,000 people will bring tougher regulations. >> a senator talked about his pregnant wife avoiding the water. one of the reasons these issues are swept under the rug is because a lot of people in decision making power aren't dealing with the ramifications first hand. >> two bills have been introduced requiring stricter ove

what is the image of west virginia. ne want to invest in a state with environmental hazards and very little regulations. these are the issues brought to the forefront. listen to this quote from a person who lived here his entire life. he said i love this state, thought i would never leave, but now it's a real consideration. very troublesome times here in the state of west virginia and people looking and hoping that state officials take these regulations, put them into law and actually act on them this time and not push it to the side as they have so many years in the past, devil. >> robert, on top of all of that, freedom industries declares bankruptcy. >> it is in deep trouble, the company blamed for the spill on the elk river in bankruptcy, though the lawsuits keep coming, but they are protected under chapter 11 right now, but the company not coming out and saying anything to the public or the press since that awkward press conference january 10 where one of the people has run the company was actually drinking a bottle

shenandoah valley, the panhandle of west virginia into frederick county, so watch out. nt looks wet. in fact, that could be patchy ice because temperatures are at or below freezing in most of the locations, including nearby suburbs in maryland and virginia. near the bay right at freezing. hour by hour, we'll have sunshine in and out through the morning. near 30 by 8:00. then by noon, the mid-30s. aught to be near 40 degrees by mid-afternoon. here's the timing tonight for icing. some rain likely beginning to move in around 8:00 to 9:00 with icing north and west. so a combination of rain and light icing initially. but then the icing begins to accumulate 10:00 p.m. through midnight all the way into dawn tomorrow when we have the ice accumulation. i'll show you that area that's going to get the highest amount and we'll look at the timing on when it will be ending coming up in about ten minutes. now a look at our traffic with danella, good morning. >>> good morning. not seeing any accidents to warn you about right now, but i'm checking an accident at prince william parkway. s

i think working together i'm glad to see that is what is being done by the west virginia legislature and i expect the same type of respond here in congress that we can be a constructive partner to the efforts of the people of west virginia so again thank you all very much for your testimony and with that, the hearing stands adjourned. senators had the day off for the annual policy retreat and burgess everett with politico is a congressional reporter and i guess being a congressional reporter means covering these retreats. first senate democrats at national park in washington hearing from president obama and former president bill clinton. what is the significance of the timing of their hearing from president obama? >> is significant because in some way senate democrats have been breaking from the president on certain issues and some of that is related to the 2014 elections. it's also a big moment for legislation in the senate. unemployment insurance still is not then revised and they are preparing to go forward with a minimum wage increase so i think they are preparing to strategize as

the west virginia chemical spill one month later. >> scientist say it's safe. sidents are afraid of the water system here. perhaps not the best way to start off 2014 for the people of west >> it's fair to say residents of west virginia are frustrated. a month after the chemical spill they don't know when it will be safe to drink the water. this weekend some protested. robert ray has more on that. [ chants ] >> it's been a dizzying stressful month in west virginia. this is a place worth fighting for. frustrated citizens took to the streets. thousands demonstrating against the coal-cleaning chemical that spilled into the water supply, affecting 300,000 people. >> many people in neighbourhoods like these are not drinking the water. the center for disease control says it's clear to do so. last week some of the schools closed down because teachers and students smelt the odours and became nauseous. >> in their hillside home, michelle and her daughter are boiling tap water, using bottled water to drink and brush their teeth, wondering when the smell will go away. >> it

and we love our state, but we have two daughters, and as i told several friend, the cost of live here in west virginia is too high. >> public officials and public concerns to restore faith. and water distribution sites are open, and the chemical smell lingers with the fears of long-term affects. charleston, west virginia. >> meantime, farmers in west virginia are also having problems with water, but their situation is with the drought. it's affecting crops and the economy around the world in what is being called a crisis. we'll have that later in the show. >>> unemployment is 6.7%, and that's the lowest in five years, but millions of americans say they need help. so the issue of extending long-term unemployment benefits. john, what's the very latest with this particular bill? >> well, the latest news, del, the vote at this hour is being postponed until the 2:00 eastern time. and let me remind you, this is the emergency unemployment compensation act. they got it drafted under the bush administration, and it has been reopted every year. it lapsed and millions of americans are without their long-term une

and right here in the united states protesters express their anger over the toxic spill in west virginia. >>> and then the firestorm over 401k cuts making it worse by comments about sick kids. >> an aid convoy came under attack in the syrian city of homs. today, four aid workers were injured. one truck was hit by bullets while another was hit by mortar shells. this cuts short the three day cease-fire agreed upon friday. 80 people were evacuated from the city, and many more are expected to leave throughout the week. >>> attacks on the civilians are on the rise in afghanistan where last year was the deadliest year for civilians since 2009. we have that story from kabul. >> reporter: it's people like this who bleed the most in conflict. civilians shot, blown up and battered by two warring sides. a teenager was simply standing too close to a suicide-bomber last week. >> there was an explosion. it threw me and i was unconscious. after that i got up and was very dizzy. i fell down again and i couldn't see. >> reporter: he's part of a growing number of civilian casualties here. according to an

the first place. that was our tease. now to west virginia where there is more trouble for residents drinking water state officials are scrambling to contain a coal slurry spill into a creek it's the same area where hundreds of thousands of people were told just a couple weeks ago not to drink or touch their tap water after a toxic chemical leak meghan lopez reports cleanup crews are working day and night in the aftermath of a major chemical spill in west virginia but i am not talking about the thousands of gallons of four meant the psycho hexane methanol that spilled into the river last month a completely different leak is now the top concern of west virginia officials instead of freedom industries this one came from patriot coal just eighteen miles away it happened early tuesday morning at the company's cannot eagle prep plant near winifred west virginia when a valve rupture one hundred thousand gallons of coal story flooded into feels a creek during a three hour time period blackening six miles of the creek as well as half a mile of the ca

i just want to say to the people of west virginia through mr. hoffman and mr. mcnulty and the great secretary of state, and how much i want to stand by you in this crisis and i thank you, mr. chairman. >> i had mentioned earlier, and i thank you for that. i acknowledge you had a conflict earlier, nice to have you sitting next to me at the committee and give the opportunity. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate you holding this hearing about such an important topic. we have people literally all over the world, some heads of state that i had to visit with. thank you very much for putting up with me. i would like to kind of follow up along the same lines as senator boxer, mr. mcnulty, you mentioned the importance of public disclosure of potential sources of contamination to allow the public to prepare or regulate them. which i agree. i am very much in favor of doing that. do you or any other witnesses have any thoughts how we can balance that, the value of public disclosure with the need to protect the site in the post 9/11 world? we don't want to create a situ

and nicole that's according to the environmental group the sludge safety project the west virginia coal association spoke with r.t. today and said that the spill of coal slurry is not a danger to west virginia's residents since there aren't any public water intakes immediately downstream from that plant that is the spokesman went on to say that the association will work with the department of environmental protection once the cleanup is complete to discuss how this spill happened and its environmental impact and that impact could be significant according to the d e p they warned that the leak could affect the surrounding area and might contaminate the groundwater now for its part patriot cole says it is fully cooperating with investigators as it looks into the cause of the spill in a statement to r.t. the company said quote containment activity began immediately after the site and is continuing in fields creek and is our top priority cleanup activities are underway and will continue until the state regulatory officials determine the spill is remediated the e.p.a. says the leak could hav

stand by for the results of the tap water in west virginia. >> erin brockovich joins us. she will join us live coming up here on "the situation room." ♪ ♪ ♪ where you think you're gonna go ♪ ♪ when your time's all gone? [ male announcer ] live a full life. the new lexus ct hybrid with an epa estimated 42 mpg. ♪ the further you go, the more interesting it gets. this is the pursuit of perfection. did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪ with limited availability in select markets. i dbefore i dosearch any projects on my home. i love my contractor, and i am so than

you could see this is the courthouse here in charleston west virginia where the hearing occurred on the second floor. a busy morning, a couple hours, the congressional hearing a rare one at that, as they came here on the ground, to get a sense for it, they talked to the president of the water company, they spoke to the department of health here, asking top questions to the people, looking at how the spill could have occurred, how it could have been prevented, what happened in the aftermath of this mrn emergencyd where we stand one month after the spill. tough questions to the local water -- >> we're having difficulty with robert ray. one of the things that came out to the hearing robert told us in an earlier report, the members of the congressional committee drank bottled water. >>> the state department saying north korea withdrew its invitation to a official to discuss kenneth bae's release. at the request of bae's family, the reverend jesse jackson traveling onorth korea. accusing him of antigovernment activities. >>> military exercises between the u.s. and south korea set to begin at

having army exercises with south korea. >> congress wants answers in the west virginia chemical spill. members of the house will hold a field hearing at a courthouse in charleston. as robert ray reports, residents don't trust the water. [ chants ] >> it's been a dizzying stressful month in west virginia. >> this is a place worth fighting for. >> frustrated citizens took to the streets, protesting the 10,000 gallons of m.c.h.m. that spilled into the water supply on january 9th, affecting 300,000 people. >> many people in neighbourhoods like these are not drinking the water, even though the centers for disease control and prevention says it's clear to do so. most are smelling the chemical and some of the schools closed because teachers and students smelled the odours and became noushous. >> in their hillside home above charleston, this family is boiling the tap water, using bottled water to drink and brush teeth. they wonder when the chemical smell will go away. >> it's highly stressful and emotional and mentally exhausting. you don't know what to do. we have had mixed messages. >> she

perhaps not the best way to start off 2014 for the people of west virginia. folks here seem to have no faith in the government, and seem to not believe what scientists are telling them at this point. sips the one -- since the one month, january 9th, al jazeera america has been out here and formed our own water testing. we have pressed the governor of the state, asking him to do home testing on the pipes and listened to the struggles of the residents >> [ chants ]. >> it's been a dizzying month. >> this is worth fighting for. >> citizens took to the streets, protesting the chemical that spilled into the west virginia water supply, affecting 300,000 people. many people in neighbourhoods like these in the capital city are not trig the water. even though the centres for the disease control and prevention say it's clear to do so. some of the schools closed down, teachers and students smelt the odours and became nauseous. >> in their hillside home, rochelle and her two daughters are boiling the tap water, using bailed water to drink and brush their teeth, wondering

the west virginia dep is kind of the paradigm of agency capture phenomenon, the dynamic by which therotect us from pollution become the kind of sock puppets for the industries that they regulate. the same thing is true in north carolina and in fact we have seven river keepers in north carolina ten days ago filed suit against duke energy about this very ash pile, saying that you've already been warned by epa this is a danger and we're suing you. and four days later, the ash pile collapsed and dumped 80,000 tons of highly toxic waste into the dan river turning hundreds of miles of the dan river into a witch's brew. we have -- the dep is supposed to be down there, should be down there, but we don't see them. we have seven river keepers and a group of former marines who work for the water keep movement who are down in the water testing that water. we have drones flying all over the ash piles and keeping track of them. and we don't see the west virginia dep anywhere. so this is a -- this is a systemic problem. and it's a problem of our democracy that these industries have become so powerf

this morning the senator from west virginia came out and said that the regulation in west virginia is soft, and said he is angry upset and embarrassed as we spoke to the panel. some interesting notes as well, the secretary of state of west virginia who just started speaking talked about public mistrust and the fact that the numbers have been changing and no one knows what is occurring. she said one day it is one chemical, the next day it is two chemicals. there's confusion. she went on to say she has gotten notes from residents saying that they are taking snow from outside and bringing the snow into their house so they can bathe in it and even drink the water. center from maryland said some interesting things from earlier. let's roll that. >> yes, the reckless conduct of a private company, freedom industries, was responsible for the spill, and the failure to report properly, but our system needs to be adequate to protect against all contingencies, and it was not in this instance, so i think we need to look at how we can strengthen our laws to make sure the public indeed has safe drink

the people on probation, as usual. >> good evening. thanks for joining us. i'm joie chen. we begin with a disturbing development in west virginia's drinking water crisis. it's been four weeks since a chemical spill tainted the water. more than 300,000 west virginians were affected. we learnt today that five schools had to close after complaints of foul liquorice odour returned to the drinking water, three weeks after state official gave the water the all clear. residents have been assured that the drinking water is safe. the level of distrust is growing. we are joined by a reporter for west virginia public broadcaster, via skype. tell us the latest incident. it started at the schools? >> they started flushing the schools themselves, and reflushing. what we know is that at a high school and elementary school yesterday, as they flushed the systems again, a liquorice smell started to resurface. we had a teacher at one of those schools fant, and students -- faint, and students complaining of eye and skin irritation, their noses burning. the school immediately closed. today we heard of three more elementary schools who were experienci

plus the west virginia chemical spill one month later. >> i am robert ray in charleston, west virginiawhere residents are still worried one month after the chemical spill into the elk river. i will have that story coming right up. >> al jazeera's investigative unit has tonights exclusive report... >> from coast to coast... >> people selling fresh water for fracking... >> stories that have impact... >> we lost lives... >> that make a difference... >> senator, we were hoping we could ask you some questions about your legal problems... >> that open your world... >> it can be very dangerous... >> i hear gunshots... >> the bullet came right there through the widdow... >> it absolutely is a crisis... >> real reporting... >> this...is what we do... >> america tonight, only on al jazeera america. >>> ross, america is learning a lot about michael sam. >> a land mark moment. he came out to espn saying he is gay. the the 24-year-old was an all-american at missouri and the defensive player of the year. he came out to his teammates in august. the 6's 2" sam is expected to be a mid round pick in the

the congressional committee is holding a hearing at charleston, west virginia, investigating a chemicalll that tainted the water supply of residents in west virginia. >>> attorney general erik holder is giving gay couples widespread rights from courts to prison. the u.s. cannot refuse to recognize same-sex marriages. >>> president obama set to meet with french president fran sunny hollande in a couple of hours. the french leader is flying to the u.s. for a state visit. climate change will be one of the topics that the two will cover. >> meteorologist: i'm meteorologist dave warren. these are winter storm warnings in the pink, adviserries and watches. now this is over the same area that had that snow and ice that caused a lot of problems on the roadways. this was a last storm. this is how people are getting ready for this storm, heading to the gorgery store, stocking up on everything, breads, egg, milk, toilet paper, that's how it goes. that's what we're watching for the next few hours. we'll see the light rain and snow continue but it will really start to fill in across the southern pla

robert ray has the latest. >> you're poisoned water has got to go. >> it's been a stressful month in west virginia place we're fighting for. >> frustrated citizens took to the streets this weekend, protesting the 10,000 gallons of coal cleaning chemical called mchm that spilled into the west virginia water play january 9, affecting 300,000 people. >> many people in nakeds like these in the capitol city are still not drinking the water, even though the centers for disease control and prevention said it's all clear to do so. most people are smelling the chemical in their homes. last week, some of the schools closed down because students andesers smelled. >> it's highly stressful. it's so emotional, and mentally exhausting. you don't know what to do, because we've had such mixed messages. >> beckner has spent over $1,000 on water and medical bills, experiencing the nausea and itchy eyes that so many people have reported. >> i've gotten sick, been on antibiotics for two weeks. >> she blames the odor from the chemical. that smell is lake michigan rich and makes her sick. >> we're all smelling it strong

. >>> still to come in the "newsroom," is water in west virginia safe to drink? the u.s. senate is holding a hearing to examine the chemical spill that left hundreds of thousands in the state without water for days. we'll talk to west virginia secretary of state about new water concerns in west virginia after the break. [ female announcer ] right when you feel a cold sore, abreva can heal a cold sore in as few as 2 1/2 days when used at the first sign. without it, the virus spreads from cell to cell. unlike other treatments, abreva penetrates deep to block the virus, to protect healthy cells so cold sores heal fast. as fast as 2 1/2 days when used at the first sign. ♪ learn more at abreva.com. don't tough it out. knock it out! fast. [ female announcer ] only with abreva. open to innovation. open to ambition. open to bold ideas. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here and pay no taxes for ten years... we're new york. if there's something that creates more jobs, and grows more b

♪ sleep train ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ >>> a team of forensic scientists at the west virginia lab recovered the items found to their prime suspect's home. using the charcoal tube method, arson investigator tom simpson placed samples of bramblett's stained blue jeans in a can and then heated it. the vapors were trapped in a tube filled with charcoal. then fed into a gas chromatograph, a device that can analyze the precise chemical composition of a stain. even though bramblett's jeans had been submerged in water, simpson discovered the stains were diesel fuel, the same accelerant used to start the hodges' fire. the blacked-out entry on bramblett's time card presented another challenge. forensic documents examiner gordon menses used a video comparative specter with various light sources in order to see underneath the black ink. slowly, the information came into view. >> i was able to come up with an original entry that was 5:08 m, which would have been 5:00 in the morning on monday, according to to what i understand about the time clock. >> 5:08 in the morning was only moments af

half the world's goods are shipped through they say water. >> leaving west virginia. >> the cost of living here in west virginia is too high for my children. >> why some say the water cop tam nation scare is forcing them to pack up and leave. >> it's the body standing up, that he took. that caused mr reeves to fear for his life. >> killed over a tax message. a became hearing for an accused gunman is head. a decision by the hug. >> new technology allows amputees to feel with bionic hands. >> i'm ross shimabuku, winter games is underway tomorrow. there's action on and off the slopes. >> and taking a live look at a beautiful supy day in -- sunny day in sochi, russia. >> good morning, welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. federal officials trying to calm fears on the water in west virginia. >> first the temperatures, meteorologist nicole mitchell is back. >> definitely problems this morning. because of yesterday's snow and ice storm it brought down so many powerlines that parts of philadelphia, for example, one the hardest hit, temperatures 25 degrees and through the region in

at one point the second half the west virginia led by 32 points west virginia wins 102-77. >>> syracuse is trying their hand at some olympic-style curling. nice try. this could be their secret to their undefeated 23-0 season. >>> the finalists for the westminster dog show face-off today. how cute. we'll find out who will be best in show. this year's show is going to have 190 different brands. theed is poodle won in the nonsporting group for the 29th time. no other breed has more victories. it's always the poodle. >> i had a poodle growing up. they are great dogs. >>> and it was a perfect storm in the united kingdom for wind surfing. make that three storms creating 80 mile per hour winds. superb conditions for the event. gutsy. look at that. >>> and did you hear about this one? at the olympics in sochi, there's a beer fridge at the canada olympic house that only opens by scanning a canadian passport. what about everybody else? >> find some canadian friends. >> cheers to team canada. >>> the most powerful woman in american business speaks out today for the first time. >>> plus a reporter

the same chemical was made and stored at a plant in institute, west virginia. utrage over the freedom industry's chemical spill that contaminated the drinking without fore 300,000 people will drink tougher regulations. >> one of the senators was talking about his pregnant wife and how she avoiding the water and impacting him a personal level. one of the reasons the issue get swept you understand the rug is because people in decision-making power aren't deal with the ramifications of that irrelevant decisions firsthand. >> reporter: two bills have been introduced requiring stricter oversight of chemical facilities in the state. too late for this incident but maybe preventing a future one, robert, ray, charleston, west virginia. tony, people want did he sayings i have and dramatic action here in the coming weeks and months. they want their lawmakers to get together and formulate high-powered regulation that will stop environmental spills like occurred on january 9th. the overall sentiment here in charleston and the counties around the capitol is they are fed up wi

chris christie is standing firm on the scandals surrounding lane closures on the west virginia. the embattled new jersey governor made it clear that he has done nothing wrong, as several of his top aides face subpoenas to find out what the governor knew and when. david shuster has more. >> appearing on a new jersey radio program governor chris christie hit back at critics and an appointee. >> what is going on now is a game of gotcha. when did i first learn about this or that. well, the fact of the matter is i've been very clear about this. before these lanes were closed, i knew nothing about it. i didn't plan it. i didn't authorise it. i didn't approve it, i knew nothing about it. >> over the weekend david wildstein, who engineered the lane closure said the governor knew about it when it happened, not after as chris christie insisted at his last news conference. chris christie said he may have read media reports, but is not sure. >> if i read it or someone said something to me about traffic issues, it wouldn't have been meaningful to me. i didn't know there was a problem. chris c

. >> a month after the west virginia spill, fears that the water is still not safe. [ ♪ music ] >> hittingith the

new concerns about the water in west virginia even though officials insist that danger from a chemical spill has long passed. >>> ice dams, the trouble freezing temperatures are causing on the waterways from the great lakes to the east coast. >>> and aww, the puppies that will have their day in tomorrow's other super bowl. >>> good evening, his state is about to host the super bowl but it is a sport of bare knuckles new jersey politics that has governor chris christie on the ropes tonight, facing a new allegation that he did indeed know all about a politically engineered traffic snarl on the george washington bridge, something he has strongly denied. the charge is being made by a lawyer representing a key figure in the controversy. so far it has not been backed up by any evidence. but with christie standing as a likely presidential contender the claim has quickly gained traction, and tonight christie is fighting back hard. nbc's kelly o'donnell has covered it from the start and joins us from fort lee, new jersey. >> reporter: good evening, lester, this is a real balancing act for the g

we are in compliance with all the standards set by the agencies like the cdc, west virginia bureau of public health, and we have been since january 13. i recognize the customers fear associated with the smell of something in their water. >> the hearing in west virginia failed to definitively a soundless whether the water is actually safe to drink. the state's highest health official said she believes the water is usable, but added "everybody has a different definition of safe." there are reports that water still smells like licorice, asigned of contamination -- sign of contamination. the obama administration is to lay new requirements for employers to provide health insurance to their workers under the new health care law. medium-sized employers will have until 2016 to comply, while larger employers will only need to cover 70% of full-time workers by next year. former government contractor whose case ignited a firestorm over the obama administration's targeting of journalists has pleaded guilty to leaking foxments on north korea to news. steven kim faces a likely sentence of 13 months

one in six people in the state of west virginia had no drinking water for days. can forgive people for thinking the safety of their drinking water may still be uncertain given upward revisions in the amount of chemical that was spilled and even late revelations from company responsible that showed that it was not just one chemical that spilled, but two. forgot to mention the other one. the company's called freedom industries. they filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy just about a week after the spill. after weeks of questions about responsibility and damages resulting from the spill and freedom industries' liability for it, there's news today a grand jury investigation opened up in west virginia complete with subpoenas. west virginia epa confirmed today two of their employees are among those who already testified in the federal criminal investigation. there is this issue of how to punish the people who are responsible for this disastrous spill. but there's also now the issue going forward of how to stop this from happening again. and that may fall in part to senator j

. >> it's been a month since the west virginia spill. many do not trust the water there. >> despite the smell of liquorice, it doesn't rise to the level of being unsafe. demonstrators are shipping away from the company causing the spill. >> hundreds marched. they were furious at freedom industries. shooting off access to water. they are protesting the water company, accusing it of not providing enough examination. after 14 schools were closed because of smelly water, there's no confidence the problems have been film. who you trust is the community question. "i was told to take a shower because it was safe", i had eye for example the >> the teed, they think, is starting to turn for politicians. ism marches like this hopefully will show them that industry may be the gravy strap. >> the protests will continue. >> the demonstrator are mailing a list of demands including a piece of black lick requiquoril. >> following the drug trail - how does iron make its way foo the u.s. >> an ice storm in the north-west brings treacherous driving condition

the spills the two spills now in west virginia were from the chemical that is used to supposedly clean the coal and then the coal slurry that is left over after you supposedly clean the coal and then as he said north carolina the coal ash that happens after you burn this so-called clean coal and then you spill all this crap and it gets in the water supply and can't get it out of the water supply and you can't clean it up they're going to try to dredge the river in north carolina which is going to kill all of the aquatic life that's not already been killed by the fall that point is when you weigh. until these problems happen to try to solve them best you can do is try to mitigate them you know you see cameron a conservative out in the u.k. and through prime minister you know saying that he is willing to spend any amount of money that is needed to deploy the military to deal with the unprecedented rains and floods they're having don't wait until it's too late and what the climate scientists are yelling and screaming about with their own fire is that it is either too late already or it is

that same day, nearly ten hours after the incident started. 300,000 people in charleston, west virginiaed by the ban, and it took more than a week to restore water service for those affected. and though it is one month after the initial spill, people in the affected areas still do not have official consensus about the quality of their drinking water. several west virginia schools dismissed students early last week, because they were concerned with water safety. two people went to the hospital. one teacher fainted and several students claimed burning sensations in their nose and eyes. according to west virginia's secretary of state, people are so fed up that they have taken to melting snow just to give their kids a bath. and in north carolina, 82,000 tons of coal ash mixed with 27 million gones gallons of contam water spilled into the river when a pipe began to leak last sunday. that's enough material to fill more than 40 olympic swimming pools. coal ash can contain such materials as mercury, led, arsenic, and radio active uranium. this spill affects an area of 25 miles that stretches fr