>> i think there's a really deeply engrained sense in west virginia. it's very hard to find a west virginian who doesn't know someone who is or perhaps is even related to someone who is really deeply in poverty. and so while much of the chemical valley is in fact a decidedly blue collar to middle class area, many residents i think see themselves and really see their employers as all that kind of stands between them and you know, this kind of crushing poverty. >> so basically what you're saying is these mishaps are the cost of living? >> yes, for many. there's -- yes, there's kind of a tradeoff that you can either -- either put up with the mishaps or you lose insurance for your children or you know can't send them to college and so forth. so that's in you ways for a lot of west virginians these kinds of risk are just a cost of generally doing business and living their lives. >> joe, i'd like to ask you this question and i'd like jennifer to follow up on this as well. in 2008 two workers were killed in an explosion, the u.s. chemical safety board asked th

host: back out to morgantown, west virginia, to west virginia university.ut 30,000 students are involved -- enrolled at the university, and one of them is samantha runyan. you are on with congressman rahall. your question. the kingstion is about cole highway. the king cole highway authority was established to promote the development of a modern highway in the southern counties of west virginia, which happens to be the poorest area of the state, and almost 14 years later, this project is still incomplete. connection the between infrastructure development and economic -- particularly given the connection between church development and economic growth, i am concerned why this has not been a priority, and what you plan to do to facilitate the completion? your: thank you for question, a very good question, and believe you me, the king cole highway is still a top priority. it is a top priority of mine and many who want to see that road become a reality as a way to southp south virginia -- west virginia, to look beyond coal. i have gone to the head of the environm

this is an enormous crisis in west virginia right now. a lot of people have to leave these areas because there's no water, no bottled water that's left either. let's talk about what's going on with the west virginia governor earl tomlin. thanks very much for joining us. i know that you're over ta water treatment plant behind you. how bad is this situation? >> well, it's pretty bad. as you mentioned we do have way over 100,000 -- we don't have the exact number yet -- of people who are without water. obviously all the restaurants are closed down, the hotels are having to close down. schools were out yesterday. it's just a real inconvenience for the people not being able to use their water with the exception of flushing toilets. so we're working to put all the state resources we have together. we're doing water tests on an hourly basis and the chemical level is declining, but we're just not sure exactly how long it's going to take until it's acceptable to lift the do not drink ban that the west virginia american water company has placed on u

jonathan martin joins us again from charleston, west virginia. jonathan, what did you hear out of this bless conference, do residents, the 300,000 residents that are affected do they have reason to be hopeful that soon they will be able to use the water? >> certainly. this is a news that they wanted to hear. the government said all along that this would happen by zone. no one really expected for the water to just be deemed safe across the board all together. as you mentioned they'll do it by zones. some of those zones have already been told that they can lift the water ban by this time. they've been told to go through a 20-minute flushing process and they'll get credit for that water, and they can flush out their system. they're doing several things. setting up an interactive an line map so people with see if their zone has been lifted. >> the water company does not want to be overwhelmed, jonathan martin we'll keep updates, thank you. the supreme court is looking at a potentially landmark case. the high court will examine whether or not the pres

sam is calling in from fairmont, west virginia. good morning, you're on with nick rahall, congressman of the third district. joe, how llo, nicky are you doing? 'm stuck here in pittsburgh. natalie tweeted me two days before that? and your staff they can't do anything either what are they going to do, let them hang us down here or whatever. host: tim, what's your question? caller: my question is, why did she tweet me two days before that happened down there? and that's for paint on ships not only fraud. host: do you know what sam is talking about? guest: i'm afraid i don't. host: we go to danny in ogden, utah. caller: thank you for taking my call, i want to thank c-span for the great job you do. i want to take a step back for one moment and get the gentleman to comment on the unemployment extension question and also the living wage question. i feel that it's -- i'm not quite sure the words to you. almost immoral for us to have a system in which someone can put 40 hours per week into our free market system and not get a living wage f

a lot of moving parts here in west virginia. the story continues and people here still not drinking out of the taps and moving towards mostly bottled water. >> robert ray joining us from west virginia. robert, thank you very much. it an american still being detained in north carolina hoping the u.s. can help secure his release. kenneth bae has been detained for more than a year. he was seasoned to 15 years of hard labor for what north northa called an attempt to topple the regime. >>> two suicid suicide-bombers attacked, and many say the threats is real. >> dressed in black and holding ak-47's, the two men in this video claim to be the suicide-bombers responsible for the twin attacks at a train station and on a bus in volgograd last month. they're shown building the he bombs and trapping them to their bodies before heading to their targets which killed 34 people. in this video an ominous message for vladimir putin. they say if the olympics proceed they will continue attacks. a similar video is offered to tourists attending the g

however, i can tell you the state of west virginia should have known we have the state of west virginia did an assessment and was looking very, very cable at what was up there to the extents i could. we recommended further investigated needed to be by local authorities. >> let me get your reaction before you run out of time. the fact that freedom industries has now been created by -- taken over by another company and another company is formed out of freedom industries, what do you make of that? >> good corporate structuring. you have a very successful very wealthy who acquired several operations combined them under the umbrella of one country and within a short time period of him doing that, the massive spill that's caused untold millions damages already plus the health concerns of people day-in and day-out. there were several days that went by. it's okay to drink the water when the centers for disease control came out with guidance and said, we don't want pregnant women to be drinking the water. so there is a long-term question as to what are the health affects has individuals from dri

she's joining us now from charleston, west virginia and also joined in washington by mike elk. e 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 further explanation. and then many, many questions that were excellent that needed answering. i think a couple of things that really startled me were photos that people had taken as the water had come on. the color. there was great concern from people who the water had already come on -- the smell

some people in west virginia can use their tap water again.e days ago a chemical leak contaminated the water supply of 300,000 people. >>> new jersey governor chris christie facing more questions today. federal authorities investigating his ties to sandy relief funds. they are looking to see if christie improperly used money for the storm cleanup for an ad starring him and his family. >>> world leaders gathered to pay their last respect to the former israeli prime minister. he died wednesday at the age of 85. he was honored with an official state ceremony in jerusalem. >>> first target, then neiman marcus, and there may be more. when target was hacked they waited four days to tell customers but only off it was reported by a cyber blogger. similarly, neiman marcus waited nine days. also a report by the same online journalist, but an exclusive reuter's report says at least three other big retailers were hacked, but we don't know who they are, because they haven't come forward yet. bob, welcome. >> hi, john. >> so, i mean this new revelation you

that's the first thing i had to do in west virginia. once you get the finances in order, you can do a lot of things, but if your finances aren't in order it really cripples you. my grandfather would say make a coward out of you the decisions you make if you have unmanaged debt. if you think about the last time we balanced the budget, last year 2001, you were involved when that began. but in 2001 when president clinton left, where we were with spending, whether we were with revenue, we're far off of ta track right now. i says, john, if we have to have a big fix, don't you think we have to have a fair revenue where people have faith and confidence that we're doing it the right way? >> when you were governor -- i remember we talked about this one night. when you were governor, you did decisive thing, a freeze on employment for a while. shouldn't the president had responsibility for showing the leadership. >> i'm hoping these next three years the president will be serious about fixing our financial crisis. >> look, speaking of, we talk abou

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

what are people in west virginia, in that part of west virginia, being told?icting reports and what is the experience they're having of whether the water is safe or not? >> chris, there's no single answer to that. i'm seeing photographs on facebook of people with chemical burns on their legs, chemical burns on their hands. this after they've been told that the water was safe. nobody knows anything here. everybody's trying to run away from this issue, whether it's joe manchin trying to blame the cdc, representative shelly moore capito saying she finds this all amusing, tomlin saying, don't blame the coal industry, or west virginia american water saying, well, they're doing their sergeant schultz, they know nothing. >> well, here's the question i can't figure out, who is determining whether the water is safe and what's the criteria they're using? that seems like a simple question no one's willing to answer. >> it would seem simple, chris, but the fact of the matter is, there are more and more reports coming out that say that there is no real answer. there's a re

i don't want it to be one bit diluted. 100% pure west virginia transparent gold. let me take a sizable gulp while you watch this clip. >> 300,000 people in west virigina v- are told to stay away from their tap water, not use it for anything. a chemical spill may have contaminated the drinking water. [ laughter ] >> jon: sorry, i was enjoying this delicious water so much i missed what they were saying. what were they saying? >> a chemical spill in the elk river may have contaminated the drinking water. >> jon: okay, i heard it that time. [laughter] i did taste something just a skosh difference. an undertone just a sous sant, a note of -- >> residents noticed something was wrong when the water smelled like licorice. >> jon: there was that smell and also the water game them explosive diarrhea and vomitting. how do you get that with a fracking in candy land? how does this happen? >> the crisis began when a toxic chemical used to process coal looked out of a 38,000 gallon storage tank. it overflowed into the water north of water treatment plant that provides drinking wa

and it's been one week since the chemical spill and west virginia's elk river officials have told residents it's all right to drink water unless you're pregnant or have an update on the week later in the show. it's thursday january sixteenth five pm in washington d.c. and we are david and you're watching our t.v. we begin today with the news that another innocent civilian has become the victim of a u.s. drone strike in yemen the attack was thought to have been intended for suspected islamist militants in the southeastern part of the country however it took the life of a farmer instead witnesses say the farmer had been walking home in the village of a how to early wednesday when he was abruptly killed by the shrapnel of two rockets according to reuters a local government official has confirmed the report but as declining to give further details this attack comes just a month after the massive drone strike killed at least fifteen people travelling in a wedding convoy human rights organizations argue that there were no islamic militants in that convoy and that only recent innocent civilians we

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 g

right now for example around three hundred thousand people in nine counties across west virginia still don't have access to clean water today as state and federal officials continue to try to clean up a massive leak of toxic chemicals state officials started restricting water use on thursday after it was discovered that almost seven hundred seventy five hundred gallons of m.c.h. a chemical used to clean coal had seeped out of a storage facility owned by a company called freedom industries and leaked into the elk river a major local source of drinking water short term effects of contact with them c.h.m. including itchiness burning of the eyes diarrhea and in some cases vomiting long term effects are still pretty much a mystery west virginia's governor earl ray tomblin as declared some areas safe for drinking but the state isn't home free just yet there's still a long ways to go for the spill is cleaned up and as of yet there is no specific timetable for when areas affected by the spill will be cleared for everyday water use meanwhile public officials have some explaining to do the plant

i'm tired in charleston west virginia meghan lopez r t. some signs of hope for the crisis in syria u.s. secretary of state john kerry is n.p.r.'s meeting with his russian counterpart sergey lavrov the diplomatic leaders discuss the possibility of negotiating a cease fire and the three year long syrian civil war are to correspondent you are pissed off reports but one of the first things that we've heard from u.s. secretary of state is that russia the u.s. and the u.n. 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 meet you on special envoy on syria and syria level off they both were 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 washingt

health and human resources put out a statement saying quote scott simon turns presentation to the west virginia joint legislative committee today is totally unfounded and does not speak to the health and safety of west virginians they also argue that familial height is only created under extremely high temperatures but simonton is not the only expert speaking out richard denison a toxicologist at the environmental defense fund said he thought the center for disease control might have called the all clear too early given the fact that the only research ever done on this chemicals health effects were tests on lab rats done back in one nine hundred ninety he also pointed out that only adult rats were exposed to the chemical so it is hard to determine the effects on children now to be fair the c.d.c. never used the word safe to describe the water when it gave the all clear instead they said they would quote not expect any adverse health effects below one part per million meanwhile we are also learning that the amount of c h m spilled into the elk river is bigger than originally estimated it now sta

hundreds of thousands of west virginia.

of three hundred thousand people and nine in the west virginia counties have been told not to drink bathe or wash clothes in this contaminated water of a report from the area head. one time obey has been the holding war on terror detainees for twelve years the facility is known for waterboarding forced feedings and indefinite detention but will it ever close and what will happen to those still in limbo at the facility we'll try to answer some of those questions ahead and in south dakota and indian reservation the faces a host of problems from incredibly high unemployment to alcoholism locals worry what may happen if a ban on alcohol is lifted we take a deeper look at this reservation that a leader in the show. it's friday january tenth eight pm in washington d.c. i'm perry i'm boring you're watching r t america and west virginia a chemical spill into the elk river caused governor earl ray tomblin to issue a state of emergency and nine counties and a water ban for three hundred thousand people over five thousand gallons of a coal preparation chemical has a skate from a tank at freedo

let's go to west virginia, where coal is king.an 120 million tons of coal in 2012 alone. and a key part of that mining enterprise is a company called freedom industries, which distributes a chemical used to clean coal. freedom industries is based in west virginia's capital city, charleston. and right now, the company is under fire, after a rupture in one of its storage tanks leaked chemicals and threatened the water supply of thousands. the elk river, which runs through charleston and connects to the ohio river, flowing into cincinnati, was tainted after 7,500 gallons of the compound named, and i'm going to say this slowly, and quite likely incorrectly, methylcylohexane pilled into the water. nearly 300,000 residents were urged not to drink or bathe in their running water. that was on the ninth. since then, they have given the go ahead for residents to drink the water again. all the blue on that map means that the water is fine. unless you're pregnant. a statement on the water company's website read, quote, due to limited availabi

why a chemical spill in west virginia is hurting ploal businesses.ll that and ds loca -- local businesses. all that on "real money". >> everyday... at the us - mexican border, someone dies... >> two hours in, we come up on a body >> now, in a breakthough television event, al jazeera america takes you beyond the debate. experience first hand the tragic journey of these migrants. >> a lot of people don't have a clue what goes on when you live near the border. >> six strangers with different points of view... >> i don't believe in borders... >> our government is alowing an invasion... >> get to experience illegal immigration. up close and personal... >> it's very overwhelming to see this many people that have perished... >> a lot of families that don't know where their babies went... >> i wanna make sure her life, it's remembered... >> what happens when lost lives are re-lived? >> the only way to find out is to see it yourselves... >> hey guys wanna come to the united states? >> this is al jazeera america. live from new york city. i'm richelle carey wit

. ♪ after ten days without water all west virginia residents have finally been told they can now drinkrom their taps again and the ban was lifted a day ago many are complaining about a very peculiar spell and robert ray is live on the scene in charleston and say the water is safe now so what exactly are residents still concerned about? >> well, the residents here in charleston, west virginia are concerned about the fact that you know it's been 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 compa

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

. >>> no water for hundreds of thousands in west virginia after thursday's toxic chemical spill. >>> 50 years ago, the historic announcement that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer. . >>> word came early this morning that the former prime minister offitsis, ariel sharon has died. the deck rated ex general and leader has left an indelible mark on the mid east, he passed away in a tel aviv hospital. he was 85 years old. >>> in 1984 at the tender age of 13, he joined the underground para military force where he fought in the battle for jerusalem during israel's war for independence. in 1967 he was in battle again, commanding a division during the 6-day war. during the yon space kippur war, they surrounded the egyptian third army which turned the tide of the army. he was appointed defense minister in 1981 just in time for israel to invade lebanon in 1982. a commission indirectly found the defense force responsible for a massacre of palestinian simpleians, eventually leading to shareon's reluctant resignation. he stays a political -- staged a comeback in 2001, winning a victory to becom

residents were unable to use their tap water after the west virginia american water company admitted that a storage tank of the chemicals. or metho cycle hexane methanol had leaked into the city of charleston is water supply so you think a story that actually affects hundreds of thousands of americans would garner round the clock coverage from us media this weekend we all know that hollywood celebrities just don't get enough air time. and. hollywood's biggest names line in the red carpet for the annual golden globe awards caprio got friendly when you got guys walking around with. our luggage only would we think of last night. it was a book hollywood does two things really well water is give out awards and the other is to themselves and the other is to throw parties and last night good good both. now to be fair c.n.n. was largely on the case since the beginning but i can't say the same for the other partisan hacks on corporate television thankfully the situation has improved since friday according to west virginia's governor earl ray tomblin and officials are gradually lifting the wat

their spill is not west virginia's own. chemical plume that started in the elk river in west virginia is now starting to drift downstream in ohio and kentucky and rifting towards indiana. today the ohio river sanitation reported the chemical spill reached the locks and dam, that chemical licoricy smell is now in ohio. it is still moving. as the slurry closed in on cincinnati the 3rd highest city, the mayor there is preparing to shut down the travels tonight for 48 hours. it starts tonight. trying to keep what happened in west virginia from what happened in cincinnati, too. a federal investigation into this ongoing disaster is now under way. members of congress have started calling for a regulatory hearing to figure out how this could have happened. you know who is not calling for a leg e regulatory hearing? the most prominent member of congress, woes district includes parts of greater cincinnati. >> i am entirely confidence that there are ample egs regulations on the box to help protect the health and safety of the american

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

but west virginia water, west virginiaian american water has 40,000 miles of line that they run water through. and that, that goes out to a lot of people. and we want them to take advantage of whatever technology is out there and fix this. and i believe that it must exist in this day and age that they can fix this and allow these people to get back to normal. >> all right, mayor danny jones of charleston, west virginia, thanks so much for your time. >> thank you. >> woodruff: the president of the violence stricken central african republic resigned today, after mounting pressure from regional leaders for failing to stop the country's slide toward anarchy and sectarian bloodshed. the rebel leader, michel djotodia seized control of the country nine months ago, bringing a muslim rebel movement to power, one blamed for looting, kidnapping and killing. in december, a christian militia attacked the capital and the fighting has only escalated, leaving more than 1,000 dead and nearly a million people forced to flee their homes in fear. we have this on-the-ground report on reaction to the resig

state and federal authorities are working around the clock in charleston west virginia after a spill leads chemicals into the elk river just one mile upstream from a local water treatment facility so the spill comes from a forty eight thousand gallon chemical 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 pu

weeks after a disastrous spill in west virginia, traces of the chemical remain.ficials say a study shows the levels are safe, but that study is now being questioned. cnn's athena jones is working the story for us. what's the latest? >> hi, wolf. first it was the toxic chemical mchm. then the company responsible for the spill said another chemical pph was also dumped into the water though in smaller amounts. now there's these questions about studies talking about the chemical's safety. it's enough to leave a lot of west virginia residents concerned about the quality of the water authorities are saying is safe to drink. charleston, west virginia, residents are still nervous about using the water three weeks after a chemical spill at freedom industries contaminated the elk river. >> i just want to know who do you trust? >> reporter: west virginia american water has rescinded the do not use order for thousands of area residents showing that test chemicals dumped into the water have dissipated. >> do i trust the water quality specialist that's been told to call me and

a different water problem remains in west virginia. hundreds of thousands is have been given the toek drink their without. but people are confused and worried. >> you can see over my shoulder the tanks holding the chemicals from freedom industries. what happened affected 300,000 and the water supply in west virginia. we spent most of saturday talking to residents about their concerns, and did independent testing on the water. here is what we found out. it's been a week since 7500 gallons of toxic chemicals used to clean coal spilled into the elk river. many residents are concerned as to whether their water is safe. >> inside the cooler are testing materials for the water in this woman's house. how long will it take to get the results back. >> five to seven business days. >> jennifer youse is nine moths pregnant. >> we haven't consumed the water in the house. it didn't taste or smell right. >> she and her family are not drinking the water. after the center for disease control issued the warning on wednesday, she was confused. >> we got

residents were unable to use their tap water after the west virginia american water company admitted that a storage tank of the chemical for meto cycle hexane methanol had leaked into the city of charleston is water supply so you think a story that actually affects hundreds of thousands of americans would garner round the clock coverage from u.s. media this weekend we all know that hollywood celebrities just don't get enough air time. it was the biggest names line in the red carpet for the annual golden globe award. you got friendly you've got guys walking around with. only what you think of last night. it was a book hollywood does two things really well was is give out awards the other is to themselves and the other is to throw parties and last night good good both. now to be fair c.n.n. was largely on the case since the beginning but i can't say the same for the other partisan hacks on corporate television thankfully the situation has improved since friday according to west virginia's governor earl ray tomblin and officials are gradually lifting the water drinking ban on a zone by

of the israel's greatest generals and strongest leaders has died, and hundreds of thousands of west virginia residents are still without water after thursday's toxic chemical spill. >>> it's been 50 years since the surgeon general warned the public that smoking kills, but still, health advocates say more needs to be done. >>> word came early this morning that the former prime minister of israel, ariel sharon, has died. the decorated ex-general and controversial leader left a mark on the middle east. after a stroke and eight years in a coma, sharon passed away in a tel aviv hospital at the age of 85. nick is in jerusalem and joins us now live. nick, in a very telling statement, one of sharon's sons told reporters outside of the tel aviv hospital that he decided to go when he decided to go. sharon is widely regarded as doing things on his time and in his terms. why exactly was he so polarizing, and why is his legacy so complex? >> reporter: yeah, morgan, just to give you a sense, what a lot of people called sharon was king ark after his original first name. a lot called him a murderer and bull

our country's national habits are at the heart of west virginia's regional tragedy.e. hundreds of thousands of people cannot even wash their hands in west virginia and it is where in the national dialogue? >> it's in the lower third in news speak. it's just remarkable to me because in a way i say in the piece that bridge gate is sexier. everyone drinks water. it's a huge scandal. people are asking whether or not christie will survive this scandal. the governor of west virginia, to get elected, you have to roll with the coal companies. the state knew about the storage of this dangerous, dangerous chemical. they did nothing. i just hope we can actually look at this and start asking some questions maybe even about bridge gate. we're spending a lot of time about the inconvenience that was caused to the people who were trying to commute, but we didn't ask why so many people commuting by car? why are there so many individuals trying to get to new york? that's a problem that's much bigger than whatever happened with chris christie. >> this reminds me of the west, texas fert

>> and delays. >> reporter: montgomery, lowdon, culpepper, king george, grantham, west virginia. checking just at the moment. >> you can do like howard is doing, go to wusa9.com. >>> hey weatherwise we have light freezing rain moving in right now from west to east. causing some glaze, mainly on elevated surfaces, sidewalks, the roads at the moment, at least, knock on wood, seems to be okay and treated. >> we are going to take this very seriously. that could be a problem. that is going to be a problem for several hours. be left with just raow

. >>> and now, we turn to the big story out of west virginia, tonight. there are thousands of families finally turning on the tap water for the first time in days, after that frightening contamination. so, we set out to answer two questions. is the water finally safe? and if it is, will officials drink the first glasses? and is it possible that the residue is now heading towards ohio, cincinnati? tonight, susan saulny from abc is on the ground for us once again. >> reporter: eloise demint was told her water was finally safe to drink again. >> let's do it. >> reporter: and we were with her when she turned the faucet on for the first time. it looks clear. but then, we leaned in to smell. if you lean close, you can smell licorice. >> i can. >> reporter: licorice. the telltale scent of the chemical that has contaminated the water supply for 300,000 people. today 38,000 are able to use the tap water for bathing and drinking. but with that smell, eloise isn't taking chances. >> i don't want to drink that. i'm not about to drink it. i don't even want to wash my

the state of emergency in west virginia. new details on the chemical leak that's threatening the water supply for hundreds of thousands. the governor sets in. >>> the hacking of the retail giant, the security breach far worse than they first told us. >>> most members of congress are worth seven figures but who earns more? republicans or democrats? >>> plus globe trotters, hollywood's award season kicks off sunday with the winners decided by car salesmen and real estate agents. tonight, water is on the way to west virginia. washington is sending it in the wake of the dangerous chemical spill into the elk river. this was just moments ago fema trucks arriving in charleston, west virginia bringing the water to hundreds of thousands who can't drink or bathe or use the tainted supply. a federal disaster declaration has been issued for the affected counties. at the same time, an investigation has begun into what happened, why, and who may be responsible. until then, the water supply there is off limits. jonathan martin is on the sc

a live report from west virginia coming your way in just a few moments. but first, israel, mourns the death of a remarkable warrior statesman. earn that nation's respect with military leadership and patriotism. ariel sharon has died. 85-year-old was in a coma for eight years after suffering a stroke back in 2006. sharon garnered the nickname the bulldozer early in his career because of his reputation for stopping at nothing. connor powell joins us live from jerusalem with more on the life and legacy of israel's controversial former prime minister. connor? >> reporter: uma, he was loved and loathed, he was controversial. there was no doubt that ariel sharon was one of the significant leaders in israel's history. he was nicknamed the bulldozer. he was a special forces kmcommao who later turned into a politician. at the height of his power as prime minister, he suffered a debilitating stroke and has been hanging on in a coma for eight years. he was controversial, no denying that. not only around the world but here in israel. hailed as a war hero and a war cr

in west virginia a chemical spill into the elk river caused caused governor earl ray tomblin to issue a state of emergency and nine counties and a water ban for one hundred thousand people over five thousand gallons of a coal preparation chemical has escaped from a tank of freedom industries and the state's capital the link was discovered last night but it's possible has been going on for longer our correspondent megan lopez has more. state and federal authorities are working around the clock in charleston west virginia after a spill leaks chemicals into the elk river just one mile upstream from a local water treatment facility so the spill comes from a forty eight thousand gallon chemical 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 toil