to west virginiaians, if you've got uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhea, let freedom rain. (cheers and applause) now the liberals don't poison the river crowd has demonized this patriotic company but their c.e.o. gary southern reassured locals that all is fine in his distinctive southern accent. >> we have mitigatedded risk, we believe. of material leaving the facility and our mission now is to clean up, thank you very much. (laughter) >> stephen: well, that hits the spot. explaining why 300,000 people no longer have a water supply is thirsty work. (laughter) i don't see what people are worried about. 4-methyl cyclo hexane methanol should be very popular in west virginia, for pete's sake it's got two meths in there. besides-- i have it on good authority that it is perfectly safe. >> the chemical has a very, very low toxicity. it has no effect on aquatic life so there is no danger to fish in the river. >> stephen: see, low toxicity, zero danger to fish in the river, which should be a relief to west virginiaians who have now developed ills. besides, i think we all know the sc

those protocols and west virginiaian american water has made those available. >> woodruff: but once they do this process then are then able to drij the water. >> we have been told that once they go through the process, completely flushing out of their homes and their businesses, the water is good for use. the tests that are coming out of the treatment facility show that the water is testing at a safe level. safe for consumption, safe for use, safe for bathing. so anything after you get all of that water out of your home system, the water is good to go. no further precautions need to be taken. >> woodruff: ashton, you have been reporting on this story since it started a few days ago. how are people finally, how are they holding up? >> i think people have been frustrated to say the least. this is obviously a hard time for everyone. but i can't say that-- can say that emergency management officials have really been handling this very well. people who are stuck in their homes, the elderly, maybe sick. they haven't had to do anything. they have had water and supplies delivered straight t

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

why many west virginiaians still can't drink it. three weeks later. knox's attorney joins us. why marijuana's legalization has a new bummer crop. plus is there really a war on america's richest 1%, why the empire's most wealthy are striking back. and a truly underground artist, we will go incite the fascinating world of cave digger. well it's now been three weeks since the elk river well caleak, and many residents are still afraid to use their tap water for drinking. cooking and bathing. last night, more than 100 people gathered for a town hall, to voice their concerns and try to get answers about the safety of their water. what they got were a lot of new concerns. >> the long tore water stays in the distribution system, the more conversion there is. and the more dangerous compounds so if you are out in the outlying areas or on a tank that the water stays in for a longer period of time you will be exposed to many of those chemicals. yes, ma'am, they are talking about a more exposure. officials recommended a flushing technique, but some are still reporting skin problems and oth