>> the mountains of west virginia have provided generations with jobs in coal. but on january 9th, 2014, the state woke up to an example of the costs of it's industrial economy. a tank containing a chemical used the process of coal production had leaked its contents into the elk river, just a mile upstream from the largest water treatment plant in west virginia. >> water is scarce following a warning from west virginia's governor, do not drink, bathe, cook or wash clothes using tap water.., >>...chemical leak, a chemical used to clean coal, leaked from a storage facility... >>...the states health department says the water was contaminated with a potentially harmful chemical, mchm... >> a federal investigation is on-going - but this spill was just the most visible of many incidents in west virginia - where, in the past decade, the coal industry has recorded thousands of water violations. fault lines has come here to find out how the state's main industry affects its most vital resource. >> little testing have been done on the chemical that leaked from these tanks

coal from west virginia is facing competition from other states and from natural gas. and after extracting the most easily accessible coal over the past few decades, companies have turned to a faster - and more aggressive - process to get what's left: - mountain top removal. the top of a mountain is blasted off to expose the seams of coal. heavy metals that have been locked in rock for millennia are exposed to air and water. >> pretty much anywhere you see cleared areas up here on mountain tops, those are surface mining sites. chemicals like the one that leaked into elk river are used to wash the coal at prep plants like this - to separate the coal from rock and clay. the waste that is left over - known as slurry - is pumped into impoundment lakes. sometimes it's piped into abandoned underground mines. if it leaks out, slurry can be a major source of contamination to groundwater >> mining impacts ground water, period. the problem is you've got just a myriad of contaminants and contaminant routes or pathways - surface waters, groundwater, air exposures - and so all kind

is the drug abuse problem that we have in west virginia and across the country. and those are the issues that west virginians are talking about. and that's why i am running, that this is about the people that, this is about putting west vachlts first and focusing on west virginia and making sure that we have the voices of west virginia presented. >> i understand that on west virginia but if a majority of the democratic party nationally is in one position, for instance, on energy policy, why should a west virginia voter send a democrat there who may not be able to woo their party? why shouldn't it make more sense, well, they'll send a republican because the republican party seems to be more incentivized to support the coal history than the national party on the democratic side? >> well, what west virginians do is they look at the can't, too and they look at the person and they look at the record that i have as secretary of state, one who cuts a budget and saves money and gives back $3 million to the taxpayers of west virginia. and, you are know, when we take a look

this is the other story of west virginia. is a state that's trended more and more republican in national elections, but within its borders the democratic party remaines alive and well. natalie tenant, the nominee for senate, is one of those democrats who currently holds office in the state. she's won two races for secretary of state, also previously a television news reporter and also first female to serve as west virginia university's mascot. and now she's her party's choice to run for the senate. deep and strong democratic tradition make s it a wild card in this year's battle for control of the u.s. senate. yes, it's a state that's hostile to president obama and the national democratic party, but it hasn't given up on the democratic party altogether. it could remain more competitive than we're expecting it it to be right now. if natalie e te innocent wins this race and denies a seat they are count iing on picking up, i will blow up the midterm math. if democrats can win this race, it gets harder to see them losing the senat

coal companies are no longer located in west virginia. so you have i think one county, wyoming county, it is a major coal county, over three-fourths owned by three companies all three are out of state. so the people that live there, if they need permits want to do anything in their county, they have to deal with out of state companies. all those who are profiting they don't have to live there. and live with the repercussions of it. this is something -- i know that we have leck missty thatle cos from the cole, we all benefit from west virginia, but the people who have to live with those every day. they are very aware of how they profit from that. >> but they arele cooing to that balance of concern about their own futures. >> they have a sense of the coal industry is not doing well right now, and the coal industry is kind of framing that as it's obama's war on coal. when, in fact, you can look at eight switch from coal to natural gas. it's also that so much of the coal has been taken out, and that so much cheaper coal is coming from some of

the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rahall: this legislation is a reminder that unfortunately -- and unfortunately a stark reminder that b when given a chance, working together in a bipartisan fashion, we can produce results for the american people. i salute the chairman of our committee, mr. shuster from pennsylvania, for his tireless efforts in this regard. and as well our subcommittee chairman mr. gibbs and our ranking member on the full committee, mr. bishop. one of the first acts of our federal government was to improve navigation. on august 7, 1789, the first congress federalized the lighthouses built by the colonies and appropriated funds for their operation and maintenance. today in the 113th congress we keep faith with that fundamental premise of government by advancing legislation that authorizes u.s. army corps of engineers to improve navigation on our inland waterways and our ports. this is an effort

>> west virginia has always been what i call fiscally responsible. fiscally conservative. we have never had the luxury of having money we could just throw at things. every individual that runs their house shod about the same scenario. with that being said, the social values that we are who we are, we are a god-loving, god-fearing, and -- >> republican state? >> well, i don't know if you -- why they always determine that to be -- it >> well, i mean if you like the a republican president and if for the first time since eisenhower, you get a republican senator that would tell you something. >> i respectfully disagree. the energy policy that the president has or the lack of an energy policy as far as i'm concerned, because tough use everything, all the above energy to be energy independent, to be more secured as a nation, not to be fighting words we shouldn't be in for far too long. rebuilding america. so, with all that being said, we have had a lot of people lose good jobs are, 60, 70, $80,000 a year jobs in the coal industry, energy market, now to look at minimum wage jobs t

. >> press tien chemical valley west virginia is the heart of american coal industry and probusinessregulation conserve actives have long fought to keep thought way. one conserve active strangely has broken ranks republican delegate cindy fritch. >> we need reasonable regulations on every industry. >> you are a republican looking to regulate this industry? >> yes. >> there must be something in the water. >> there was hopefully not anymore. >> 200,000 people are scrambling to find water to drink after a massive chemical spill. >> the cause of predicable an aging infrastructure coupled with lax regulations but the effect was shocking. >> i drank the water and it tasted funny. >> so you ingested a chemical and it turned you into a democrat? >> i'm still a republican. >> a republican who previously fought against environmental regulations but now mere raucousry wants regulations. how did this happen. >> break down that day for us. >> i stayed until after 5:00 at the capital. i went to the hotel room and starting using the glass wear and drinking the water from the tap. it did taste bad.

politically, get it done. >> i 4rlive in west virginia. i know it's a powerful industry politically. it has a decision on your kid's drinking water and whether your did has a asthma attack. i think americans are supportive i of common sense protections that. tackle coal solution that threatens our air, health, water and standards for children. >> so you want the president to do this? it's something that he could do under the clean water act that goes back to 1970, but no president has done it? from what we're hearing, this would be the biggest slap on the coal industry that we've seen in a long time but maybe the country is awake to this now? jon, do you support a cap and trade on a state level which is being talked about? >> we looked at cap and trade before when it was going through congress. cap and trade can be used as a way to increase the technology development. it comes down to the details. let me be clear. what coalblue and the democrats who are a part of coalblue are about, we're about finding ways to have the cleanest energy we c

to the gentlelady from west virginia. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from west virginia reserves the balance of her time. the gentlelady from california is recognized. ms. waters: thank you very much, madam speaker. i yield to the gentlelady from ohio, the co-author of 3584, as much time as she may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from ohio is recognized for as much time as she may consume. mrs. beatty: thank you, madam speaker. thank you, ranking member waters, thank you for all of your support and your leadership. madam speaker, i rise today in strong support of h.r. 3584, the capital access for small community financial institutions act, as amended. today i stand here joining my colleague from ohio, congressman steve stivers, in support of final passage of this bipartisan legislation. i thank the gentleman for introducing this bill on which i partnered as a lead democrat. in show of bipartisanship, we were able to work together to have the leg

in west virginia we determined it took 123,000 hours of volunteers knocking on doors.f you're a democrat being good luck finding 123,000 volunteer hours in west virginia in 2014. on the other hand, we looked at georgia and it would cost over $30 million if you did it just through paid workers and direct mail and phone. so the idea is that polls tend to measure the electorate as it is, people who tell you they're already likely to vote. if your goal strategically is changing the electorate, you have to figure out what it's going to take to bring new people into the process. >> i get why west virginia is financially number one, but you look at the top three straits, west virginia, alaska, montana, they're federally not very friendly to this new democratic party at all. but then you look at the bottom and to georgia, while it sounds like it's not cost effective, that would be what sasha's argument would be. but the future in georgia, the investment beyond 2014, you see where the investment in west virginia, alaska, montana, there's probably not a future there. >> that's r

. >> the mountains of west virginia have provided generations with jobs in coal. but on january 9th, 2014, the state woke up to an example of the costs of it's industrial economy. a tank containing a chemical used the process of coal production had leaked its contents into the elk river, just a mile upstream from the largest water treatment plant in west virginia. >> water is scarce following a warning from west virginia's governor, do not drink, bathe, cook or wash clothes using tap water.., >>...chemical ak

i do want to make a point about west virginia. read about shelly a few weeks ago from "the weekly standard." she didn't have any primary call leng and she considers herself sort of a centrist type republican. she's pretty much far away from what the tea party stands for in terms of, you know, west government spending. she defends spending government money, you know, to help the library get a new roof, for instance, somewhere in west virginia. so in a lot of ways it comes down to this particular state, to the particular electorate, and so it's really a diverse party, the republican party, diverse country which we know as well. >> and in west virginia when you have a president who is anti-coal, state like west virginia, you know, anybody who is not of the president's party perhaps may be appealing. all right. >> that's right. >> ed o'keefe, michael warren, thank you both. >>> we should have an l.l. cool j coat for i've everything. we have six months. we'll see. >> good idea. that was not one that i knew, but i'm not familiar with th

but we've got west virginia and nebraska on the docket today. west virginia hasn't elected a republican senator in more than 58 years. the gop has lost 21 consecutive senate contests in the mountain state but senator jay rockefeller's decision to retire is giving republicans one of their best opportunities to win a democratic open seat this cycle. president obama won just 36% of the vote in west virginia in 2012 and republican congressman shelly is poised to win her primary. she's likely to go against natalie tenant, who's expected to easily win her primary. she is running a very disciplined campaign. she's avoided having to pander to the more conservative candidates of the party, including the tea party, and hasn't had to trash government, which frankly doesn't go over well on a state that depends on federal money like none other and has more things named after the late senator robert byrd than you could keep track of. she's posted campaign videos of herself making support for gun rights clear. earlier her campaign carefully downplayed michelle

. >> and your friends in west virginia -- >> i love joe. he's reasoning for governor, did you hear? >> happy birthday! >> mckinnon's been hanging out in colorado a lot. up know what that means. >> yeah, but he didn't need a law. >> coming up, wes moore joins us about his project on veterans and jim gaffigan will be here on set. be right back. weekdays are for rising to the challenge.

joe manchin is one of west virginia's most prominent politicians - and one of the coal industry's strongest advocates in washington. since running for the senate in 2010, he's received over $660,000 from the mining industry - and nearly $100,000 from the chemical industry - not including a $225,000 ad buy. we wanted to ask him if his ties to industry impact his decisions on regulation and if january's

they are eric legg, 48 of twilight, west virginia. also gary p. hensley chapman, west virginia.hey were empty brodie number one mine around 8:45 when mining officials say coal outburst, meaning coal and gas burst out of the mine that may have led to a roof collapse. rescue workers worked all night trying to find and get to the men hoping they survived. now we know they didn't. crews were able to recover the bodies of and there are no reports of injuries in this accident. patriot coal, headquartered in st. louis, missouri, owns the brodie number one mine. federal investigators said the mine had a pattern of safety violations. for context here, it is not unusual for a coal mine to have safety infractions as coal mining industry is very dangerous and there are many rules and regulations. west virginia governor earl ray tomblin is asking them to pray for families of the dead, saying quote, this is a very difficult time for our mining community. jenna. jenna: thinking of those families today. molly, thank you. jon: the u.s. is stepping up the search for hundreds of young girl kidnapp

west virginia, we've lost thousands of jobs.ortunities for our children and to be able to stay and live and work in this beautiful state. and it's under attack. that is the pervasive argument of this election. it's getting west virginiaans back to work, creating opportunities and not having policies emanating from washington that really inhibit the ability for we west virginia women to have the kind of family life and the kind of futures that we really want. >> your opponent is a woman. natalie tenant, running for the same position. how much more difficult is it to face a woman and not be perceived as getting catty when it comes to politics? >> you know, i really can only control my own campaign. i've run against women before. i think it's a wonderful thing that i have the opportunity to be the first woman senator from the state of west virginia. this really is not about gender. it's about the policies that are going to be moving forward that are going to guarantee west virginia families a future and an optimism that government

west virginia. new details as families gather at the gates demanding answers. >>> plus, a 7-year-old girl missing in oakland, but police are not calling for an amber alert. we're live as investigators search her home. >>> melting hot temperatures. where the rubber meets the road. how today's heat advisory could affect the amgen bike race. >> the riders put to the test for today. hot and hazy, spare the air day as we get into tomorrow, hottest day of 2014. then we'll see a little bit of cooling towards the end of the week into the weekend. your full forecast in moments. >>> and some south bay drivers going to get put to the test, as well. local reroutes and i'll give them to you. a closure for the major interchange and two freeways and the ripple for the south bay. i have that coming up. >>> good morning foster city and a live look at the san mateo bridge. it's tuesday, may 13. this is "today in the bay." >>> good morning to you, thanks for joining us. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm scott mcgrew. tw

i was the youngest of three ballet-dancing brothers in west virginia.st virginia. but my parents gave me the courage, they said, yeah, go do that thing you that want to do. we love that. you go do that. we'll be behind you while everybody laughs and makes fun of you, but you go do that. when i think of home i think of my dad who, you know, worked so much and was never there, but i never saw him quit. i saw my father constantly being dedicated to providing for his family. and when i think of home, i think of my mom. this whole idea of empathy was instilled into me by my mom and this idea that if you have the ability to help someone you have an obligation to help them. but now my model of home has changed because now i have a little boy. and i work so much and i travel and he looks at me and he goes, daddy, all you do is leave. and it kills you as a father to hear that. all i can hope is that he sees in me the things that were instilled into me by my father that i'm working to provide for him, to give him those opportunities, to give him those moments of

for me, as i said, i grow up in west virginia. that's home to me. which is not much different than tall, pale lange ki me. one of the first thing that came out f it for me is safety. home is a place you know where those are my peeps, they got my back. i was the youngest of three ballet dancing brothers in west virginia. which if you're wondering, is not the cool thing to do in west virginia. but my parents gave me the courage, they said yeah, go do this thank you love to do. we love that. you go do that. we'll be behind you while everybody laughs and makes fun of you but you go do that. when i think of home i think of my dad who worked so much and was never there. i never saw him quit. i saw my father constantly being dedicated to providing for my family. i think of my mom, this idea that if you have the ability to help someone, you have an obligation to help them. but now my model of home has changed because now i have a little boy. and i work so much and i travel and he looks at me and he goes, daddy, all you do is leave. and it kills you as a fat

pat, west virginia, democratic line, good morning. like to call and on sundays and bring things to the attention of people. he condemned the people in power for being hypocrites. now, i say that because we have three presidents, the last three presidents that have admitted to drug use as marijuana smokers. --y are still in the job of putting people in jail for smoking or one, despite the fact that they did it themselves. this kind of hypocrisy is the reason our youth have turned away from our country and our politics. want to be involved in voting or anything that has to do with our government, because we no longer follow the same laws that we oppress our people with. host: thank you for the call. other viewers saying -- host: the speech was delivered earlier this month. from a top senate republican, rob portman called the president's clemency plan a band-aid on a deep wound. he delivered the speech earlier this month, saying we needed to put an end to the war on drugs and deal with the american prison population. with ak, "daily beas

did you see the real tea party, whether in nebraska or whether west virginia. >> i optionally followed this in nebraska and he's an exceptional candidate. one of the best. lou: i wasn't questioning that. >> i think the people reacting to them as a tea party supported candidate, this is a guy that actually understood the constitution and recited this from the constitution and that i actually have had this experience and i can make a difference in washington. so don't go so much the tea party but people are really tired of establishing this. lou: what is the tea party express? what is freedom works? are they an expression of this? >> some of them are frankly part of this. >> the tea party express come i haven't seen them involved in a big way in a lot of races. probably more astroturf. i think for freedom works they have a large membership base around the country and they certainly have weighed in on this and they were smart enough to of been one candidate in a when we met with senator mcconnell and i think that their membership would've really been part of this. lou: thank you so much.

. >> what about west virginia. >> west virginia made history last night. state nominated shelly capito and natalie tenant. so west virginia is going to have a female senator. this is one of the six that the republicans hope to pick up to make majority. >> so we should have a busy couple of weeks. >> and there was a race for her house seat, and that was won by a tea party supported out of state candidate, alex mooney. he is actually a former maryland state senator and chairman of the maryland party. in west virginia he won last night and an example really of candidates who appeal to all factions of the republican party. >> okay. we're gearing up. karl. thank you. >> more than half of you apparently believe president obama and his aides purposely deceived the public about benghazi and the terror attacks. a new poll says 51% says the administration knowingly lied. >> we have new comments tonight from some of the people involved in this story. chief intelligence correspondent kathryn her raj tells us not everyone is happy. >> at a foreign policy lunch, susan r

west virginia has a senate seat to fill. jay rockefeller stepping down. both senate primaries were basically sewn up. natalie tennant, the early favorite on the democratic side. on the republican side the a.p. declared shelley moore capito the winner. she is considered the favorite in november but west virginia has been going more red. keep in mind democrats hold all of the state offices. the senate race will be an interesting test in terms of the race are. we have a couple of fascinating races in nebraska where polls closed a few minutes ago. in the republican primary for senate, this has been closely watched. the local tea party favorite is shane osborn, former state treasurer. he got the nod in part before tea party groups. his name is ben sasse. he's the university president. last time republicans got themselves into this kind of tangle a long shot candidate, a third candidate, a dark horse named deb fischer ended up winning a senate seat almost by stent after the early front runners picked each other off in 2012. this year the stand-off between shane

in west virginia seven-term congresswoman won the republican primary.alie tenet won the democratic nomination. whoever wins the general electionyu)s& make history. west virginia never elected a female senator. >>> one minute it was staked to the ground. the next it was swept off the ground. a gust of wind lifting an entire inflatable house with three children inside 50 feet into the air. a 10-year-old girl did escape just with scrapes right before it went into the air but the two boys left eup -- inside ages five and six are in the hospital. one broke both arms after the other has a head injury after hitting a parked car. >> i heard him hit the ground and i heard screaming everywhere. >> little tykes is the maker of the bouncey house. this is their statement. we're looking into what happened. our thoughts and prayers are with the children and their families. >>> a major health scare in florida. 22 hospital workers at a hospital in orlando ordered to stay home now for two weeks after their exposure to a saudi patient that is infected with mers. the 44-ye

. >> there has to be proud parents in the state of west virginia. was a big surprise. 17-year-old sarah blair beat out the incumbent, larry cump. do you think she can make it? she's not in college. >> she's 17 but this is a very republican district in west virginia, alex. all indications are that she's probably going to win. it's important to note that her father is a state senator from west virginia. pretty good name i.d. the thing i thought most interesting about the whole race, she couldn't even vote for herself. she's too young. but it looks like that west virginia might have a very, very young state legislator come next year. >> okay. we shall see. with your help as always, mark murray. thank you so much. >> thanks, alex. >>> we voyage to the bottom of the earth to make an alarming discovery, but what do we make of it? that's next. y phillips fiber go. they're delicious, and an excellent source of fiber y phillips fiber go. to help support regularity. wife: mmmm husband: these are good! marge: the tasty side of fiber. from phillips. [prof. burk

in west virginia senate primary, congresswoman shelly is expected to win. fall showdown is likely to feature democrat natalie tenant. despite the fact tenant is from the other side of the aisle this is west virginia we are talking about. the election is the contest of who loves guns most and who hates the obama administration more. the marquee race is the republican contest in nebraska. that pits former bush official ben sassy against shane osbourne and banker sid dinsdale to replace mike johanns. they believe the nation's capitol should be moved from washington, d.c. to the corn husker state and ran an ad on mitch mcconnell to quote, show some actual leadership. those controversial positions gave him an edge thanks to generous support from freedom works and the senate conservative fund as well as the good samaritans, ted cruz, sarah palin and mike lee. you know all those outside spending groups and national figure who is know so much about what nebraska really wants. >>> coming up hours from now, the capital of capital punishment set to hold the eighth exe

she faces off against democrat natalie tenant, west virginia's secretary of state.ito is favored in that contest and would replace retiring democratic senator jay rockefeller. here to walk us through all this is our political editor, domenico montanaro. so domenico, we just mentioned there what happened last night. but tell us about the rest of this misterm cycle what we're looking at. >> you mentioned nebraska and west virginia, two really good examples of what's been happening. but we also have in a lot of other states senate races where we know that there are going to be more conservative candidates for the most part in places like south dakota, montana, iowa and georgia, possible but in south dakota and montana, those are two states we're seeing democratic retirements. iowa as well where there's a democratic retirement now up for grabs. in georgia you had saxbe who was the original member gang of six china come up with the debt reduction plan. he floated the idea of possibly raising taxes going along with bowls simpson and that really drew the irs conservatives.

this is west virginia, this is virginia, this is albuquerque, this is new mexico. in each case it seems to be the same tactic, if you will, the same fraudulent scheme. did anybody bring that up with jay carney? >> he's been pressed. there were bonises given if they were able to windle down the wait time and make sure the people were being seen. that might be one motive. we don't know. still being investigated. the idea if people were not being seen by 14 days and taken six months, eight months, however long, in al b-- al bar kwau -- they get great care from the va hospitals but other whose are obviously waiting in line and can't get that care. >> yeah, it seems that these wait lists have been institutionalized from say fill si to facility, state to state. great reporting. thank you. >>> as he mentioned, the problems at the va medical facilities did not just limit to phoenix, arizona and have been reported all across the country including the locations you see right there on your screen. issues such as management, data manipulation, lengthy wait times and poor care

minors possibly trapped in west virginia after an accident at a very remote mine. we'll have the details next. >>> a boat full of pot abandoned on a bay area beach. what investigators think led up to this scene. >>> welcome back here. the tour of california rolls into the bay area just a few hours from now. the race picked back up in the south bay. we'll be live at the starting line, next. >>> and it is going to be a hot day for everybody taking part in that race and for you, as well. hazy conditions, not even at the peak of this warm up just yet. that will take place tomorrow and heat relief getting into the end of the week and forecast in moments. >>> it doesn't look like we'll get any relief during this closure. the morning commute tied up throughout the south bay and this connector from two major freeways and how to get around that and actually what's going on. >>> let's take a live look outside. golden gate bridge this morning. get ready as the temperatures increase a little touch of summer on this tuesday, may 13th. this is "today in the bay." >>> and a very

big news out of west virginia. a lot of folks want to hear about it. underground coal mine collapses in boon county, west virginia. at this hour, families gathered at the gate of the mining complex as they await information on the miners who work at the brody mine. it's not clear what caused the collapse just yet. the last safety review which took place in 2013 discovered about 250 violations concerning miners' health and safety. this happening overnight about 10:30 p.m. eastern time. we'll keep you posted as we get new information in this morning. >>> in the meantime, a rutgers university quarterback arrested and now facing up to 20 years in jail in connection to a brutal bar fight in minnesota. philip nelson has been charged with first degree assault for beaing a 20 yearly in critical condition. surveillance video shows kolstad hitting the quarterback in the back on certified. no word on -- saturday night. no word on what prommed that. >>> his voice heard on the air for decades. >> thank you and hello again, everybody. welcome to america's top ten. >

in west virginia where she worked. this westbound, president obama finally spoke out about the scandal. here is what he said. >> if the alleges prove to be true, it is dishonorable. it is disgrace will. i will not tolerate it. period. >> while the rhetoric was drawn, the president did not actually do anything. he didn't fire anyone. he didn't announce any plans to fix the problem. mr. bennett, you saw lie is dithering, your words. >> we think he is. our 270,000 members and supporters were expecting more in the way of a plan of action from the president rather than waiting for another report. >> the president says, not unreasonably, he wants to see studies coming from secretary shinseki in the next week and from the inspector general and that could be july or august. there have been reports of gaming of the system back to 2008 and, in fact, president obama and we have clips we will play, president obama has been talking about precisely this problem for years. >> in veteran should have to fill a 23-page claim to get care

you see coal shrinking and the same thing in 2012 in west virginia, sa v.a.nd ohio which oel coal became an issue. the thing killing it wasn't obama but it is a place where she will have to distance herself from if barack obama. >> i think that is two reasons. people look back on a time when the area was economically stronger because coal for a variety of policy and nonpolicy reasons was a stronger industry. i think also people look at the facts, the policies that discouraged the use of coal will reduce coal employment in kentucky if it is on the deline already. it is not surprising that it is an issue where democrats are vulnerable. >> we will get a big epa ruling before election day about coal plant regulations and alison lundergan grimes will have to go out there and presumably she's going to beat up on the president on that. >> look, there's a reason why mitch mcconnell in his speech tonight tried to pretend he was running against harry reid and not alison lundergan grimes. it is hard for him to win on kentucky issues when he's debating his actual opponen

a doctor who work at a va hospital in west virginia insists she was told to put patients off for months on end with disastrous results. a published report talks about excessive waits in albuquerque, new mexico. and the washington times says the president's transition team was briefed on va waiting times back in 2009. >> reporter: as pressure builds on a still silent president obama, the drip drip of scandal at veterans hospitals has turned into a gushing scream of allegations that have now reached 19 states, including new information first reported by fox by two patients who allegedly committed suicide waiting for care in west virginia. >> i knew the suicides were inevitable and worse than if they hadn't been treated at all. >> the washington times reported the obama team was warned by the bush team about the wait times at va hospitals. >> the fact then is candidate, senator obama identified problems within the va and committed hem receive to -- himself to making sure sure we enhance the budget. >> in fact, as a candidate, then senator obama told the vfw, it was a sacred trust to improv