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American Morning

Record Snow: 11 Feet and Counting; Iran-Iraq Connection; America Votes 2008: Clinton Versus Obama

Aired February 12, 2007 - 07:59   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Gathering storm. Winter storm warnings for Chicago, Des Moines, Indianapolis. Alerts now up all across the country.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Is it evidence, or is it an excuse for war? The U.S. lays out what it calls proof of Iran's meddling in Iraq. Not everybody's buying it, though.

M. O'BRIEN: And the contenders. Barack Obama following Hillary Clinton into New Hampshire, with signs Iraq could make or break their White House dreams on this AMERICAN MORNING.

S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. It's Monday, February 12th.

I'm Soledad O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: I'm Miles O'Brien.

We're glad you're with us.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the weather, shall we? It's stormy weather that's leading the news this Monday morning.

A record 11 feet-plus of snow hit upstate New York. Plus, blizzard conditions possible from the Midwest into the Northeast now. And from Texas, across the Gulf Coast, there's a chance of thunderstorms and tornadoes and hail.

CNN's Reggie Aqui is in Mexico, New York. Severe weather expert Chad Myers is at the CNN Center for us.

First, let's begin with Reggie.

Good morning.

REGGIE AQUI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, I climbed up here to show you what it means to have eight to 11 feet of snow fall on your community. Basically, I'm down almost to my waist here in this snow, and I'm nearly as high as the second floor of the building next to me.

Now, a lot of the snow has compacted. This is mostly because of the front loaders that are coming through and pushing the snow off of the streets so people can travel to and from work. And this morning, back to school after a week of no school.

For the next few weeks or months, this is going to be a big dig.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AQUI (voice over): Mary McSweeney's small shovel is no match for the massive amount of snow, six to 10 feet that fell here in upstate New York. But she's determined to make it out.

MARY MCSWEENEY, OSWEGO RESIDENT: This has been surviving in the long haul. I got out twice this week. I'm working on three times. I would like to go to church.

AQUI: John Johnston runs a snow blowing business. It's a job seemingly without end.

JOHN JOHNSTON, OSWEGO RESIDENT: It's a lot of snow, and it just seems to keep coming and coming and coming. It isn't stopping. That's what's really the pain. It just don't seem to stop.

AQUI: The snow is so deep, even the snow removal experts need backup. His seven kids, whose schools are closed, are pressed into service.

JOSHUA JOHNSTON, OSWEGO RESIDENT: Old Man Winter is going down with a fight.

AQUI: Joshua Johnston helps his dad clear his 50th driveway this week. At least he is on relatively solid ground.

In this photo from Redfield, New York, these volunteer firefighters shovel out their roof. It's images like these that have the mayor of Mexico on edge.

MAYOR TERRY GRIMSHAW, MEXICO, NEW YORK: What's scary now is we've had a couple buildings collapse, and that always scares people.

AQUI: And this is an area that doesn't scare easily. They're used to 150 inches of snow a year. But 100 in a week?

JOHN JOHNSTON: I never have liked winter. I don't like winter anymore, especially after this year. It's been a bad year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AQUI: Here's a concern we're talking about. These big icicles, all the snow on top of these roofs, people are having to go on top of their houses to clean that all off, as I attempt to get out of this morning.

At least the sidewalks are clear and the streets are clear. No major injuries. No deaths to report in Oswego County. That is the good news.

The bad news, we're supposed to see this lake effect end at 7:00 a.m. this morning. Apparently, no one told Lake Ontario that was the case.

S. O'BRIEN: Apparently not. Thanks for the update.

Reggie Aqui for us.

Appreciate it.

Severe weather expert Chad Myers is going to stop by quarter past the hour. He'll have the latest on the path of that new winter storm that's brewing in the Midwest we're telling you about. We'll get to that in just a little bit -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Imagine how terrifying it must be for Iraqis simply to shop for food. Yet another horrific market bombing in Baghdad today. At least 88 are dead. It comes the day after the Pentagon presented what it claims is evidence Iran is funneling weapons to Shiite fighters in Iraq.

CNN's Michael Ware was at that briefing.

Michael, first of all, let's talk about the evidence that was presented.

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Essentially, Miles, the thrust of the evidence is that a U.S. defense official and an intelligence analyst outlined what they basically described as a very sophisticated program being executed by one of Iran's special forces units answering directly to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei himself, where they're funneling weapons, training, money, and support to Shia insurgent groups killing Americans.

And when you peel away all the cloak and dagger, the arrest of covert agents, officers here in the country revealed, fake identification, what it boils down to are things like these, Miles. These are mortar tail fins that have been used here in Baghdad.

Now, what's significant, according to American military intelligence, are the markings. Now, for example, we collected these last year and first aired them in November. The markings clearly show they were manufactured only last year.

Iraq is not making mortars. They had to come from somewhere.

American military intelligence also says this assembly is Iranian. That it's a signature of Iranian mortars that the tail fin is one piece, as is the caliber, .81 millimeters, as is the geometry of this tail fin.

So what they're pointing to is what they're finding here in the country, and they're saying that this is part of a broader sophisticated campaign using the exact tactics the CIA used against the Soviets, manipulating Mujahadeen fighters in Afghanistan to attack their enemy. That's precisely what Iran is doing now, using Iraqi surrogates to attack America -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, Michael, you mentioned you found those pieces more than a year ago. What in this evidence is new? And I guess a part of that question would be, why is the U.S. coming forward at this moment?

WARE: Well, the evidence has been mounting for years. I mean, since the moment the U.S. invaded, Iran and its surrogates swept into the vacuum left by the fall of Saddam's regime. It wasn't long after that that we started to see emergence of death squads, reconnaissance units, all sorts of networks.

So the evidence has been out there from the beginning. I mean, you can collect these today. You could have collected them a year ago. What's changed is the American rhetoric.

Now, a year ago, when you would ask American intelligence about things such as these mortars, they would say, yes, we know they're coming across the border, but we can't pin it necessarily on the Iranian government. However, today they're saying, perhaps rightly, that in Iran you don't just take mortars, disappear with them, and cross a border unless the government knows. I mean, that's the situation in Iran. They're now saying that this cannot happen without official sanction -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Michael Ware in Baghdad.

Thank you.

Meanwhile, more defiance from Iran this morning. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking on the 28ty anniversary of the Iranian revolution there, promising a progress report on Iran's nuclear program in April, insisting Iran will not stop making weapons-grade uranium.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Today we have gathered to confirm our rights and to instill hopelessness in our enemy, and to see the hopelessness on their faces. And this is the greatest victory of our nuclear efforts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: The Iranians insist their efforts are aimed simply at generating electricity. Diplomats say Iran is ratcheting up its nuclear fuel production -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's get you caught up now on the campaign trail.

Today former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani goes to California's Silicon Valley. He was talking about healthcare, crime, terrorism, and Iraq before that state's Republican convention this weekend. Now, Giuliani says being the mayor of New York is good preparation for the White House.

Mitt Romney is at the Republican convention in Michigan, his home state. He is looking to woo the GOP's conservative wing. Romney is to formally announce his candidacy tomorrow in Michigan. Romney also made a stop in St. Louis at the Missouri State Republican Lincoln Day festivities. Newly minted presidential candidate Barack Obama is going to be crisscrossing New Hampshire today. He's trying to make friends and influence primary voters who are apparently in no mood for finessed answers to pointed questions about the war in Iraq, which is what Hillary Clinton discovered over the weekend.

CNN's Mary Snow live in Manchester, New Hampshire, for us this morning.

Hey, Mary. Good morning.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

And, you know, voters here in New Hampshire really pride themselves on being a tough crowd to win over, and they are making it clear in the early going that they plan to put the candidates to the test on Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's all give a really big welcome to Hillary Clinton.

(APPLAUSE)

SNOW (voice over): Senator Hillary Clinton took her presidential campaign literally into the living rooms of New Hampshire. There, in a town hall meeting, she was peppered with questions about Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to know if right here, right now, once and for all, without nuance, you can say that that war authorization vote was a mistake.

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: Well, have I said, and I will repeat it, that knowing what I know now I would never have voted for it.

SNOW: In Keene, she urged the crowd to turn up pressure on President Bush and Republicans to change the course in Iraq and redeploy American troops.

CLINTON: We sill not be there to baby-sit this multi-pronged civil war. They have to decide they want to end the sectarian violence.

SNOW: As Senator Clinton campaigned in New Hampshire, the man considered her top Democratic rival was doing the same in Iowa, the other early deciding state in the presidential races. Senator Obama headed there right after he announced Saturday he is running for president. There, too, came questions about Iraq.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS: I am proud of the fact that I opposed this war from the start. I thought it was...

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: .. I thought it -- I thought was a tragic mistake.

SNOW: Senator Obama has the distinction of never having to cast a vote to authorize the war since he was not in the Senate at the time. But at a campaign event Sunday, protesters were a reminder that no candidates are exempt from voters angry about Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: And that at event last night in Chicago there were about 10 protesters who called on Senator Obama to stop the funding for the war. Senator Obama said he was glad that they were there because they showed an urgency, he said, to end a war he said that should never have been fought.

Now, Senator Obama will be here in New Hampshire today, first at a House party, and then at a town hall meeting -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Mary Snow for us this morning.

Thanks, Mary.

SNOW: Sure.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Barack Obama is fending off fire from a distant front this morning, taking some heat from down under. Australian prime minister John Howard says if he were running Al Qaeda in Iraq, he would be praying for an Obama victory in 2008.

Obama wasted no time responding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN HOWARD, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: I think he's wrong. If I were running Al Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March, 2008, and pray as many times as possible for a victory not only for Obama, but also for the Democrats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I would suggest that he calls up another 20,000 Australians and sends them to Iraq. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of empty rhetoric.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Australia currently has about 1,000 troops in and around Iraq. Many serving in noncombat roles -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: More on the road to the White House is straight ahead this morning, including how the religion of one likely candidate could affect the race. We're also tracking that big winter storm that's brewing in the Midwest. Severe weather expert Chad Myers will have the very latest on its path.

Plus, find out who scored big at the Grammys with the awards and with the performances.

You are watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.

We're following breaking news out of Iraq for you this morning. The death toll now hitting 90 after bombings across Baghdad this morning.

And those six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear program going on for another day. So far, there are no promising signs of any deal.

It's coming up at quarter past the hour. Chad Myers at the CNN weather center watching some stormy weather for us.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Obama is in, and Hillary is in a bit of a semantic pickle, the headlines this morning from the campaign front. The race for the presidency 2008 is heating up early, isn't it?

First, let's talk about the amazing candidacy of Barack Obama. A man with a very thin political resume, and yet a healthy dose of charisma.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I recognize that there is a certain presumptuousness in this, a certain audacity to this announcement. I know that I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington, but I have been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Candy Crowley was at that speech long enough to be a popsicle practically. It was cold, and she was there to see -- to witness that piece of political history.

Candy, good morning.

For him to address the presumptuousness of his candidacy, obviously lays bear the issue that everybody is going to be talking about. And I guess the question is, a lot of people, political people, wonder, he has only one place to go, it seems, which is down. What could bring him down?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, a slip-up. I mean, there is so long between now and the election, which, after all, will be a year from this November, for heaven sakes, that so many things can happen. Things can happen on the ground in Iraq that could make his Iraq position look wrong.

He could make a slip-up somewhere along the line, or people could come to see him as too inexperienced in a 9/11 world. That, obviously, is what he was trying to address.

Now, what's changed here is that obviously Barack Obama is trying to turn that on its head, saying, listen, Washington ways need to be changed. I'm an outsider. I can change it because I have a different point of view.

So he is trying to make that negative, if you will, a positive.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. It will be interesting to see if Americans truly are thirsting for that real outsider.

He is sort of being treated a bit like a frontrunner, even drawing fire from the prime minister of Australia, of all people. Something like that can actually help your campaign, can't it?

CROWLEY: Well, it can. And he had such a natural reaction to that when he said, well, that's great. If he is so ginned up about this war, why doesn't he send 20,000 of his own troops over there? And I think that has some resonance with people in America who, as you know, 60 percent have turned against this war, saying, yes, why don't other people step up to the plate here? Why does it always have to be the U.S.?

So it seems to me he turned that into a positive and also said, hey, the president's conservative critics are criticizing me. That's a good thing.

It does sort of elevate his status, obviously.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's move on and talk about another candidate who is about to make it official. Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, who has family ties to Utah and Michigan, so he could pick any one of those three places, I suppose. Picks Michigan to announce tomorrow.

Tell us about that.

CROWLEY: He does pick Michigan. I mean, first of all, he was the governor of Massachusetts until January. Massachusetts probably -- certainly one of the most liberal states and one of the most Democratic states in the country. A bad place for a Republican to kick off their campaign.

Utah, the former governor is a Mormon. Now, we don't know really what the net effect of that is going to be. We do know that there are Evangelical Christians which help make up the base of the Republican Party who are very suspicious about more Mormonism, the Church of the Latter Day Saints. They look at it as a cult.

The question is, is this going to affect Romney's bid, particularly in southern states, and South Carolina in particular, because it plays an early role in the nomination process?

M. O'BRIEN: Of course, Michigan has got a healthy dose of electoral votes, too.

CROWLEY: It does, and he does have roots up there. His father was governor in Michigan. He grew up there in the Dearborn area. So it makes a certain amount of sense.

M. O'BRIEN: Candy Crowley in Chicago.

Thank you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, the sweet smell of tires. Ali Velshi has got that as he minds your business coming up next.

And here's a question for you. What's black, weighs, oh, about 400 pounds, and just wouldn't get out of a tree in suburban -- see, there's a little hint for you. We'll fill you in, in just a moment.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: What have you got? What have you got that's better than that?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I've got two stories.

One is Toyota is building a new plant in India. Why does that matter? Because the biggest market in the world for cars is actually the United States, and that market is shrinking, as we know. We keep reporting on fewer and fewer cars being sold. So Toyota is going to open up a plant there and make 100,000 entry level cars costing about $6,000 U.S., which makes them the lowest-priced car in the vehicle lineup.

But the more interesting story is this tire company, Kumho. I guess that's how you pronounce it. It's a Korean tire company that has come out with a car -- a tire, the MSC, which smells like lavender.

M. O'BRIEN: Just in time for Valentine's Day. Honey...

VELSHI: Yes. I know. I don't understand this.

They want to -- they're trying to make a name for themselves, which I suppose they're doing because we're talking about it.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

VELSHI: Theoretically, you drive this car...

S. O'BRIEN: Why?

VELSHI: Well, they had a whole bunch of scents. They were trying jasmine, rosemary, orange. A 12-member focus group liked lavender, and if it works out they're going to have jasmine and orange set of tires. But it appeals to an older, more affluent female demographic.

M. O'BRIEN: So as you are driving around and...

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: Right. It's supposed to smell -- yes.

M. O'BRIEN: You get a whiff of lavender?

VELSHI: You're going to sniff your tires and they're going to smell like lavender.

M. O'BRIEN: I think that's the perfect...

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: It's one of those stories that there's nothing more to, but I'll let you know if they sell.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: That's just weird.

VELSHI: That is just weird, but the bear on the trampoline was weird, too, so a lot of weird in this minute.

S. O'BRIEN: But that was just unfortunate, and luckily he is OK.

VELSHI: That's a good point. This was -- this was considered and thought out. That's true.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Ali.

Top stories of the morning are up next. A CNN exclusive coming your way. Our cameras are there for an intense firefight. That's the struggle to take back one town in Iraq.

Plus, heart surgery without a surgeon's hands. We'll show you how it's done, and we'll talk to a patient who has had it done to her.

The most news in the morning right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: CNN exclusive. We take you right on to the front lines as U.S. troops still up against Al Qaeda in Iraq. M. O'BRIEN: And danger, Will Robinson. Robots in the operating room.

Robots are now a part of surgery, including heart surgery. We'll talk to a woman who put a robot -- put her life in the hands of a robot.

S. O'BRIEN: And Madame President. Harvard University chooses it's first-ever female leader. The historic choice and her plans for the future, we're going to take a closer look coming up.

M. O'BRIEN: Plus, solid gold. The Dixie Chicks sweep at the Grammys and sort of get a last laugh on this AMERICAN MORNING.

S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. It's Monday, February 12th. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's begin with some news that is just into CNN. There are sources now saying that President Bush's top strategist, Karl Rove, will not likely be called to testify in the Lewis Scooter Libby trial. It's the very latest twist in the CIA leak case.

CNN's Ed Henry joins us to explain what it all means. There was a time, of course, that everybody thought Karl Rove, in fact, would be testifying, Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning, Soledad.

As the defense begins its presentation in the CIA leak case, later this morning, CNN has learned the top White House aide, Karl Rove, now is not expected to be called as a witness. This is in the ongoing perjury and obstruction trial of Scooter Libby, the former chief of staff to the vice president, of course. Two sources with knowledge of the case now telling CNN that Rove, who has been city center of this case from the very beginning, now not expected, as of now, to testify in this case.

Why does this matter? Well, just a couple of weeks ago, as you noted, Soledad, when Rove received a subpoena saying that he could be called as a witness, that sparked a flurry of news reports suggesting that Rove would be forced to provide damaging testimony politically, damaging to President Bush. Of course, have you to caveat it with the fact that there's still the possibility that Vice President Cheney could testify in this trial. That could provide damaging testimony for this White House.

Scooter Libby's defense team not commenting at all on whether Rove will testify. There's a gag order in this case, but one source close to Rove telling CNN he's been told his chances of testifying at this point are, quote, "zero to nil" -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Ed Henry for us with an update. This just into CNN. Thanks, Ed -- Miles. M. O'BRIEN: In Iraq this morning at least 90 killed, 170 hurt in a series of bombs in central Baghdad. The explosions come as Iraqis mark the one-year anniversary of the bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra, triggering even more intense sectarian violence.

Meanwhile, a fierce battle is still underway 50 miles north of Baghdad. U.S. and Iraqi forces are fighting insurgents for control of Buhritz, a Sunni stronghold.

CNN's Arwa Damon on the frontlines with a story you'll see only on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A fierce battle for Buhritz, a Sunni stronghold on the outskirts of Baquba. Al Qaeda in Iraq claimed control of this area in December, driving out Iraqi security forces. But now, with American support, Iraqi forces are here to claim it back.

Insurgent gunfire intensifies. The soldiers can't move. Their route is lined with roadside bombs, real and fake.

CAPT. DAMON HOLDITCH, U.S. ARMY: Yes, we've been here an hour now trying to clear this. And if they're going to be waiting for us -- and we've heard reports of RPG teams moving in.

DAMON: The sense of urgency increases. American Bradleys fire at suspicious objects, an Iraqi army soldier launches a rocket- propelled grenade at the alley where troops believe the gunfire is coming from.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, Captain, finally, let's go get them.

DAMON: Movement is rapid but cautious. Troops taking cover behind their vehicles. Right now, the biggest threat besides the roadside bombs, snipers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Slightly south but mainly east of us, all armed. An air weapon team said they went into a house.

DAMON: Buhritz has seen this before, caught in the vicious cycle of coming under coalition and Iraqi control, only to eventually fall to the insurgents.

We see few civilians. Many appear to have left in a hurry. But in this house, we find a petrified family, too afraid to appear on camera. Quivering with each explosion outside, but they tell us they have nowhere else to go.

Apache helicopters pick off insurgent gunmen on the ground, but in eight tough hours, these troops advance less than half a mile. They promise the battle will go on until the fear in these people's eyes goes away.

(END VIDEOTAPE) DAMON: According to a senior military official, the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is actually more concerned with security in Diala than he is with security in Baghdad, partly because of this increase in influence that al Qaeda and Iraq is developing in that area, and also concerns of the re-emergence of the Ba'ath Party that has, according to some officials, formed an alliance of convenience with al Qaeda in Iraq -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Arwa Damon in Baghdad. Thank you.

The war of words rages between Iran and the U.S. this morning. Iran firing back calling American claims it is funneling arms into Iraq all lies. The U.S. military claiming that Iran is sending weapons that have killed 170 coalition forces in Iraq. Officials who didn't want to be identified showing off the weapons in Iraq on Sunday.

Meantime, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says his country will not stop its nuclear program, despite the U.S. demands.

Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, I spoke with a former White House national security adviser about these developments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY MANN: Well, what I thought is they're trying to push a provocative accidental conflict. They're pushing a series of increasing provocations against the Iranians in, I think, anticipation that Iran will eventually retaliate, and that will give United States the ability to launch limited strikes against Iran to take out targets in Iran that we consider to be important.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Hillary Mann went on to say the White House always questioned the Iranian government's legitimacy, and sees Iran's government an obstacle to stability in the Middle East -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, going to talk to a patient who had heart surgery, and her heart surgeon never actually put a finger on her. We'll see how she's doing today.

Plus, an esteemed history scholar at Harvard makes some history of her own, as Harvard's first female president. We're going to hear from her straight ahead this morning.

And it's ladies night at the Grammys, too. The Dixie Chicks rule the roost. The winners and the best performances from Grammy Night straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, the most news in the morning is right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Imagine having complex heart surgery, leaving the hospital in two days, being back at work in two weeks, and the surgeons' hands never actually touches you. We're going to meet a woman this morning who had it done.

First, AMERICAN MORNING's Chris Lawrence shows us her unusual surgery.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Re-engage your right arm.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over) Tiny robotic fingers are precisely around this woman's heart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There it is.

LAWRENCE: Metal hands, manipulated by the actual surgeon who sits several yards away. And if all goes well, this mother of three will be back to work in a couple of weeks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't crack the chest. We don't cut the bone. We don't have to rewire it back together.

LAWRENCE: For the last six months, Rene Lepage has been exhausted.

RENE LEPAGE, HEART SURGERY PATIENT: I would come home, make dinner, sit down. I would be asleep.

LAWRENCE: But she's a working mom with three teenagers, and chalked it up to that.

LEPAGE: I think women tend to rationalize and say, well, you know, I'm a little tired, but I guess I have reason to be tired. So I never really thought it was a problem.

LAWRENCE: A doctor's visit detected the cause -- Rene's heart valve was damaged, and could possibly fail. She opted for surgery, using a relatively new but minimally invasive system called "Da Vinci." It was initially developed to allow military doctors to remain in their city and operate on wounded soldiers miles away.

(on camera): Even the steadiest surgeon has minor vibrations in his hands. The Da Vinci corrects for that shaking, allowing more precision than is humanly possible.

(voice-over): It's as if her hands and our wrists are inside the chest wall of the patient, and so the combination of 3D vision, plus better flexibility of the instruments gives us a dramatically better control.

Rene looks forward to having the energy of a 48-year-old, instead of someone 20 years older.

LEPAGE: So many people depend on you, especially if you're a mom. You're running around. But you're really not good to anyone if you are not in good health. LAWRENCE: Thanks to the surgery, she should be just fine.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Long Beach, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Rene Lepage is with us from Los Angeles.

Good morning. Nice to see you.

How are you feeling? You look terrific.

LEPAGE: Good morning. I'm feeling well, thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Excellent. So tell me how it went. How -- were you concerned going in about the robotics of the surgery, or did you feel pretty confident that you'd be getting the same attention as if the doctor was sort of hands in you?

LEPAGE: Yes, I wasn't apprehensive at all. I was really -- I had confidence in my surgeon, and the facility and the staff. So I was really anxious to get this problem taken care of.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I bet you were.

Now there are many people that have used robotic surgery, or have used it in the past, because they can't be near a doctor. If you're in a remote location, it works because a doctor is at a distance. Of course your doctor is in the next room. Why pick to have him do it remotely when he is actually just operating from the next room?

LEPAGE: Well, because my cardiologist felt that it was the most least invasive procedure to take care of my problem, and Dr. Bethencourt had a wonderful reputation. He's a great surgeon. And how it was explained to me was that even though he's in the same room, having the robotics, he is looking at a screen via a scope that's inside of my heart, so he is able to see the intricacies much clearer, you know, to the tiniest bit much better than the naked eye, so I thought it's just a win-win. I thought it would be an excellent way to get my problem taken care of.

S. O'BRIEN: And did you feel like your recovery went better because he did it remotely?

LEPAGE: Well, I'm not sure because I hadn't had the more conventional way, but given the choice of whether to go have the procedure done through small incisions with the robotic arms as opposed to have my sternum cut and have my ribs open, you know, I just think that that the trauma to your body is reduced greatly through the robotics, so I think that that's more than reason why I chose it.

S. O'BRIEN: I know you've got three teenagers, which is really enough to wipe anybody out, of course. But do you feel like you got your energy back? I know that was a big complaint for you.

LEPAGE: Well, I'm still in the process. I feel very well. Now I'm more under the care of my cardiologist, and right now I'm involved in a cardiac rehab that's through the hospital. I go three times a week for, you know, controlled exercise and what not, so -- and I'm doing quite a bit of walking, and so right now the heart -- the repair procedure itself went very well, and everyone is always listening to my heart and monitoring my heart, which I'm -- which I appreciate greatly. But right now I'm still in the process of, you know, working on getting my stamina back. I'm still off of work, and -- but I will be on the exercise regimen for about a month, and we'll see how it goes.

S. O'BRIEN: Three teenagers should be taking care of mom for a change.

Rene Lepage, congratulations on your surgery. Seems like it went really well. Thanks for talking with us. Appreciate it.

LEPAGE: Thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: "CNN NEWSROOM" just moments away. Heidi Collins at the CNN Center with a look ahead.

Hello, Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, Miles.

That's right, we have these stories coming up on the "NEWSROOM" rundown: Baghdad bombings -- three explosions killed dozens of people. Here at home, the House opening debate on the president's Iraq strategy.

Also, take a look at this. There is a house in there somewhere. You've heard Chad talking about it now. Upstate New York perhaps breaking an all-time snow record at 11 feet, four inches. Wow.

And then there's the case of the burglar. Police say he left a trail of candy from the crime scene to his place. Hmm.

I'm in the "NEWSROOM" with Tony Harris coming up at the top of the hour on CNN. We will have did all for you.

Soledad, back to you.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Heidi. Thank you.

Well, for the fifth in its 367-year history, Harvard University has a female president. Fifty-nine-year-old Drew Gilpin Faust was chosen last night to succeed Larry Summers after his tumultuous five- year tenure. Now Faust is a noted Civil War historian. She's currently a Dean at Harvard. And at a news conference on Sunday she says she understands the significance of her appointment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DREW GILPIN FAUST, HARVARD PRESIDENT-ELECT: I hope that my own appointment can be one symbol of an opening of opportunities that would have been inconceivable even a generation ago. I'm not the woman president of Harvard -- I'm the president of Harvard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: And now it's 50-50. Four of the eight Ivy League schools have female president, with Harvard joining the female presidents already in place at Penn and Brown and Princeton. A new report out today from the American Council on education says 23 percent of U.S. college and university presidents are women, up 13 percent over the last 20 years. With women more likely to head two- year colleges and least likely to run a college that gives out doctorates. -- Miles.

M.O'BRIEN: Coming up, The Police rock the house at last night's Grammys. The big winners and performances everyone is talking about, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: The Dixie Chicks are flying high this morning, sweeping the Grammy's top three awards, maybe feeling a little vindication too this morning.

CNN's Brooke Anderson has the best acts which were honored on music's big night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With that famous opening lyric, the newly reunited Police kicked off the 2007 Grammy Awards.

It was the first of many moments highlighting the best in music, from rock and pop to R&B and country.

The Dixie Chicks, shunned in the country music world for speaking out against President Bush in 2003, triumphed at the Grammys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Dixie Chicks!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dixie Chicks!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Dixie Chicks.

ANDERSON: Took home all five awards they were nominated for, including album of the year for "Taking the Long Way," and both song of the year and record of the year for their defiant "Not Ready to Make Nice."

QUESTION: Is it vindication in a way?

NATALIE MAINES, DIXIE CHICKS: I think if I ever felt vindication, it was when we finished the album, because for us that sort of is when it was like, ah, OK. We've said everything that, you know, has gone through our minds.

ANDERSON: Mary J. Blige, this year's most nominated performer, was also a multiple award winner, taking home three Grammys, including best R&B album for "The Breakthrough" and best R&B song for "Be Without You."

Former "American Idol" winner, now popular country singer, Carrie Underwood, took home two awards, including honors as best new artist.

Christina Aguilera in a tribute to the late James Brown brought the house to its feet as she dropped to her knees.

Other big winners were the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who scored four Grammys, including best rock album, and Ludacris, who took home two, including best rap song and best rap album.

LUDACRIS, GRAMMY WINNER: When I recorded this album, I made it a point to say to myself that I want to win a Grammy, and I'm going to, and it happened.

ANDERSON: Brook Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Mary J., she rocks.

M. O'BRIEN: Police. I'm so two decades ago -- three decades ago.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it is. But their back -- what's old is new. It's all OK.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, and they're going to do a tour. So it's new now, right? So, and it's already sold out probably, or will be.

S. O'BRIEN: Take your son.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, that'd be a lot of fun.

S. O'BRIEN: See, that'd be cool.

M. O'BRIEN: A new generation. The torch is passed.

All right, here's a quick look at what "CNN NEWSROOM" is working on for the top of the hour.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: See these stories in the "CNN NEWSROOM": Three bombs ripped Baghdad commercial areas today; dozens of people are killed.

The defense opening its case in the Scooter Libby perjury trial. Journalist Robert Novak and Bob Woodward expected to testify.

Eleven feet and counting -- Upstate New York possibly setting a new snowfall record.

And more is still to come. You're in the "NEWSROOM" 9:00 a.m. Eastern, 6:00 Pacific.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: All right, pucker up, everybody. We leave you this morning with a kiss, a world record kiss actually, in the spirit of Valentine's Day. And friendly competition really I guess is a better way to put it -- 6, 124 couples locked lips for 10 seconds, happened in the Philippines. It was an attempt to set a world record for a mass kissing.

M. O'BRIEN: Some of them aren't kissing.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, they're hugging before the kissing. They're hoping to break the old record, which was set back in 2005, which was 5,875 couples kissing in Hungary. They should win by a lot if they actually were able to do it.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, they got a lot of lip there.

All right, we'll congratulations to them.

S. O'BRIEN: That's it for AMERICAN MORNING. CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins begins right now.

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