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Damage From Apparent Tornado in Westwego, New Orleans; Mitt Romney Formally Enters Presidential Race

Aired February 13, 2007 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You're with CNN. You're informed.
I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins.

Developments keep coming in to the NEWSROOM on this Tuesday, February 13th.

Here's what's on the rundown.

North Korea's leader making a nuclear deal. What's in it, what's not? The briefing from the U.S. secretary of state live in just minutes.

HARRIS: Some of us already under the weather. Now February piling it on. A major snowstorm barging in on the Midwest and Northeast.

COLLINS: Talking politics and issues critical to African- Americans come 2008. Radio and television host Tavis Smiley, live in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: And at the top this hour, snow, freezing rain, apparent tornadoes, wicked weather striking hard today across much of the country. Our Gulf Coast correspondent, Susan Roesgen, with us now from the New Orleans suburb of Westwego, where what the National Weather Service is calling a tornado now, Susan, blew through early this morning. And we're starting to get some of the first pictures from your location. Very reminiscent of what we saw 11 days ago in central Florida.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT: I know. This part of the country gets tornadoes. You don't often think of it. You think more, Tony, maybe Oklahoma or Kansas, but we get tornadoes here as well. And we're getting more access now to some of the homes in this area.

I talked to a woman who says that part of the roof that blew off of that motel behind me is now in her backyard, about a quarter of a mile away. And her neighbor lost his garage in the tornado. He said it was so loud, it sound like a plane crash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHUCK HEBERT, TORNADO VICTIM: I've got brand new cabinets in that pile. I've got all my tools in there. I mean, tools that -- all kinds of tools, a table saw and everything in that pile. And I'd like to get it out before it rains again. You know?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: Tony, I don't know if you could hear that gentleman, but he said it woke him up in the middle of the night, he said it happened very suddenly. His garage collapsed, his patio collapsed, a Winnebago in the driveway was badly damaged.

I said, "Anything in that pile there that you'd like to try to rescue?" And he said, "Yes, I have brand new cabinets and brand new power tools. I'm going to try to get them before it rains again."

So the good news here in this part of the New Orleans area is that there were seven minor injuries, nobody killed here. But in New Orleans proper, just across the Mississippi River, we have confirmed that one woman, an 86-year-old woman, died of injuries she got in this tornado -- Tony.

HARRIS: Hey, Susan, how badly was that area hit by Hurricane Katrina?

ROESGEN: You know, not that badly by the hurricane at all. They just didn't get the wind damage here that some other areas did.

But this area, Westwego, about 20 miles from downtown New Orleans, has had three tornadoes in the past three years, and all three of them were in this general area. So this is sort of becoming a Louisiana tornado alley, if you will. Just a bad part of the world to be in.

HARRIS: Yes. And the damage from this particular tornado, what the National Weather Service was calling a tornado, was it pretty much isolated? Did it impacts other areas of New Orleans?

ROESGEN: Yes. Apparently, it skipped across the Mississippi River, if there were just one of them and not more.

It skipped across the Mississippi and hit two different neighborhoods in New Orleans. And something you might ask Chad later, Tony, several people have reported seeing a green glow.

Now, one person at the National Weather Service told me he thinks that's just the light that was emitted when transformers blew as the tornado came through. But I don't know, I hadn't heard that before, that there's a green glow before a tornado. Maybe that's something meteorological, or maybe it's blown transformers. But it's something you might ask Chad about.

HARRIS: OK. Yes. Yes, we will do that.

Susan Roesgen for us.

Susan, appreciate it. Thank you.

COLLINS: Now the other big weather story, all that snow. And for areas already walloped, you might want to get ready. There is more headed your way.

CNN's Allan Chernoff with us now, live from Indianapolis.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi.

We're really getting hit right now with lots of -- lots of sleet coming down. It is very nasty, I can tell you.

We've had snow since midnight, and about five inches accumulated. But since then, it's been straight sleet. And really, coming down pretty rapidly.

It's caused a very difficult situation on the highway. Right behind me, you can see I-70, and the traffic is moving along just fine. But there have been 122 accidents in the metropolitan area since midnight -- 122, five of them involving injuries, none too serious, fortunately.

But with this type of sleet coming down on top of the snow, what happens is you really get a layer of really solid, almost ice, not quite, but really frozen snow right on top. This stuff is real slick. And the salt that was put on the roads is really not effective anymore.

Not able to melt the snow, to melt the ice. And so it's becoming very, very, very difficult driving. Really not the type of situation that people want to be out in right now.

In terms of the power lines, well, so far, they're holding up, but if this ice keeps on falling, there definitely is the chance that some of the power lines will begin to sag just as this tree is beginning to weigh down a little bit with the weight of the snow and the weight of the ice. So that's really what they're watching out for here in Indianapolis -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Boy, and, you know, we did just learn or be reminded by Chad Myers that that sleet, when it comes down, it's frozen already. So that's where your weight comes from, in all of that slickness.

Allan Chernoff reporting live from Indianapolis -- 122 accidents there already. Yikes.

HARRIS: Let's check in with Chad Myers now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: An important first step. That's the reaction from the White House this morning to the overnight nuclear deal with North Korea.

North Korea agreeing to shut down its main nuclear complex and allow international inspectors back in. In exchange, North Korea would get hundreds of millions of dollars in international aid. But the White House emphasizes if North Korea doesn't complete the necessary steps, that it won't collect the rewards.

Not everyone thinks the deal is a good one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, FMR. U.S. AMB. TO U.N.: It sends exactly the wrong signal to would-be proliferators around the world -- if you hold out long enough and wear down the State Department negotiators, eventually you get rewarded. In this case, with massive shipments of heavy fuel oil for doing only partially what needs to be done to complete dismantling of their nuclear program.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: So more reaction expected later today from President Bush. Right now, we are awaiting comments from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. We will bring them to you when it happens.

COLLINS: He's a businessman, a former governor, and now voters will decide, does Republican Mitt Romney have what it takes to win election 2008? Romney formally entered the race today.

Here now, CNN Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): He will run as an outsider.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't believe Washington can be transformed from within by lifetime politicians. There have been too many deals, too many favors, too many entanglements, and too little real world experience managing, guiding and leading.

CROWLEY: He will run as a fiscal conservative.

ROMNEY: Hey. Great to see you. Thanks for coming tonight.

CROWLEY: Even his detractors give him props for presentation. But Mitt Romney is more than just another pretty face.

Harvard law and Harvard business, former management consultant, CEO, former head of the Olympics, and former governor of Massachusetts, where he developed his stiffest critics. They slam him for using the governorship in one of the country's most liberal states to repackage himself as a conservative presidential candidate.

SALVATORE DIMASI, MASSACHUSETTS STATE HOUSE: He changed a lot over the four years that he was here. His rhetoric and his positions on, like, abortion, like, gay rights, like, stem cell research totally changed when he decided that his focus should be on conservative votes across the country. ROMNEY: We respect the value of human life and the sanctity of human life. We respect the foundation of the family. All of these elements are part of our society and our culture.

CROWLEY: Romney's emphasis on values is not just about moral issues, it's about religion -- his.

DON WILTON, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH: Mormonism does make me nervous because I'm a Christian. And because the precepts and principles and, more importantly, the practices of Mormonism have cause for great concern.

CROWLEY: Romney is a Mormon, the Church of Latter-day Saints, viewed by some, mostly conservative evangelicals, as a non-Christian cult-like organization. All things they have heard before in Salt Lake City, home base for Mormons.

DAVID MAGELBY, BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY: I think there will be attacks on Romney that will be launched by third-party groups about his religion. I think that's almost a certainty.

CROWLEY: It's unclear how much his religion will hurt, but it is of particular concern for Romney in conservative South Carolina, the first primary state. He has returned repeatedly there with explanations of his faith and his values to groups both big and small.

RICK BELTRAM, SPARTANBURG COUNTY GOP CHAIRMAN: I had a discussion also privately with Governor Romney and said to him that clearly the one issue that he's going to have to properly communicate is what the Mormon faith is all about.

CROWLEY: Romney aides have long held that he could overcome or at least mitigate the religion issue with a focus on shared values.

(on camera): Still, polls show somewhere between 27 and 37 percent of Americans say they would not vote for a Mormon. And that's a high hurdle.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Dearborn, Michigan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: So where does Mitt Romney stand with Republican voters? According to a recent CNN-WMUR poll on the New Hampshire primary, Romney was the third favorite choice for nominee. He was behind Arizona senator John McCain and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani with 13 percent.

Here is a snapshot of the national picture. A CNN-Opinion Research Corporation poll conducted last month puts Romney fourth, trailing former House speaker Newt Gingrich with 7 percent.

COLLINS: A nuclear shutdown in North Korea could be in the near future. What about any nuclear weapons? That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: A shooting at a mall in Utah. We talk with someone who watched a young man fire randomly at shoppers.

Fright night in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Bombs rip through commuter buses in Lebanon. The attacks and the timing ahead in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: And closing your eyes for better health. Scientists say an afternoon nap could be a life saver. The reason's simple, and we've got it in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Want to go ahead and show you this now on the right- hand side of your screen. We are looking at Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She is at the State Department briefing room talking about this North Korea nuclear deal. Let me tell you a little bit about the back story here.

Apparently, North Korea agreeing in a first sort of step, if you will, toward nuclear disarmament and shutting down its main reactor. This will need to happen within 60 days before, apparently, eventually dismantling its atomic weapons program.

Now, as part of that deal, North Korea, again, must make these steps within 60 days in order to receive 50,000 tons of fuel oil or financial aid of an equal amount. From there, they will move forward with possibly letting inspectors back in, and that is just part of a bit of a complicated deal. But apparently, once again, Condoleezza Rice standing at the State Department briefing room, talking more about the details of this deal with North Korea.

Let's listen for a moment.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: ... at the level of foreign ministers at the end of the 60-day implementation period.

Now I'm happy to take questions -- Ann (ph).

QUESTION: Madam Secretary, how is this a better deal than the one the United States negotiated with North Korea in 1994, given that you've said before that they reneged or sidestepped on that agreement? What guarantees or what confidence do you have that the same thing won't happen again?

RICE: Well, first let me remind everyone that this is an implementing agreement of a larger agreement. And so this is not the end -- end of the story. This is an implementing agreement. But this implementing agreement has the advantage, first and foremost, of being multilateral.

It has as a part of it China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Russia, and the United States, all countries that have the right set of incentives and disincentives at hand not just to make a deal with North Korea, but to make sure that one sticks. Secondly, this agreement is, in terms of the benefits to the North, I think up front. The 50,000 tons emergency assistance at the - during the 60-day period in which the North Koreas are going to suspend their activities is actually modest when you look at a history of the agreed framework in which we were talking about 500,000 tons per year of heavy fuel oil in exchange for what was equivalently a freeze.

So this first phase, with 50,000 in emergency assistance. Now, the larger assistance package relates to disablement, which, to my mind, is an important step forward, because the disabling of these facilities is a sign that the North Koreans may in fact be ready to make a strategic choice. I will not take it as a complete sign until we've seen that disablement, but obviously disablement is an important step forward.

The other point that I would make is of course the energy and assistance needs here are being met through heavy fuel oil. The joint statement speak to the question of lightwater reactor, which is said to be discussible only when the North Koreans have gotten back into good graces and fully dismantled.

So this is a different agreement. It is an agreement that is also more comprehensive in scope and that it looks to the establishment of ultimately a mechanism for security and cooperation on the North Korean -- or on the Korean peninsula.

Finally, we do look forward to the establishment of these working groups within 60 days, working groups that will also begin to point toward the implementation of the joint statement. And that's about normalization of relations, working groups between Japan and the DPRK, which I think is an extremely important working group, given some Japanese concerns. So it's a very comprehensive agreement.

The benefits to the North, I think, really, are in the face that begins to get toward the true denuclearization, rather than this first phase, which is an important phase in its own right to shut it down. But to shut it down really for the establishment of working groups and for the emergency assistance.

Yes?

I'll come right back to you.

QUESTION: Why should this not be seen as a message to Iran that bad behavior will be rewarded in terms of proliferation?

RICE: Why shouldn't it be seen as a message to Iran that the international community is able to bring together its resources, particularly when regionally affected states work together, and that the strong diplomacy and the cohesiveness of the five parties and the six-party talks has finally achieved results? I think that would be the message.

Let's remember that the North Korean program has been going on almost 30 years. And so we had a lot of work to do to begin to move this in the right direction. But this is a coalition of states.

The five parties, plus the North Koreans, but particularly the five parties that have now been working painstakingly to convince the North that this is the appropriate path -- and they've gotten a lot of tools at their disposal, including a Security Council resolution. And so I think it's actually a good story of international cooperation and of bringing together the right states to bring together the right set of incentives and disincentives.

QUESTION: Why did you not seek as part of this initial agreement a commitment from the North Koreans not to conduct another nuclear test? And even though the agreement says that they will discuss other nuclear programs, including plutonium that they may have extracted, why did you not seek to get them -- or why is it acceptable to you that they would be able to retain such plutonium that they now have?

RICE: This is the first step. And the first step is to discuss it. But there's a step in the following phase which is the complete declaration. And I think that the joint statement covers the fact that the North is to declare and abandon, dismantle all of its nuclear programs.

And everybody understands what it all means. But this is an initial step to implementing. In terms of the moratoria, those are covered in the joint statement.

Yes?

QUESTION: Madam Secretary, there are -- appear to be two elements from the September 19 agreement that are unaddressed by at least by this first...

COLLINS: Listening now to a question-and-answer session going at the State Department briefing room. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice outlining some of the details of this new agreement put forth -- in place, I should say, from the six-party talks in Beijing. The chief negotiator there for the United States, of course, Christopher Hill.

Something it does not talk about, though, is an actual outline, a timetable for North Korea to get rid of the existing nuclear weapons that they may have.

Also, these groups are going to meet in March once again now to implement the terms of the agreement. Another round of six-party talks have been scheduled.

So we will continue to follow that story, as always, here on CNN.

HARRIS: Election 2008, the candidates and the issues that matter to you. We will talk it all out with talk show host and author Tavis Smiley, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

You snooze, you lose. Maybe not. A nap a day may help keep a heart attack away. Fascinating findings in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You ready for your "Daily Dose" of health news? Something that could save your life? Well, a new study says it's a nap.

Yes, napping could actually reduce the risk of heart problems. Researchers say a 30-minute siesta just three times a week offsets stress. In fact, a sleep study shows a 37 percent decrease in heart problems for serious nappers no matter where they snoozed.

Findings were based on more than 23,000 healthy adults in Greece. Most of them in their 50s.

To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, log on to our Web site. You will find the latest medical news, a health library, and information on diet and fitness. The address, cnn.com/health.

COLLINS: A battered city hit again by Mother Nature today. A tornado wrecking homes and businesses in the New Orleans area. Southern storms in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Tony Harris and Heidi Collins.

COLLINS: Want to take you back now to some of the pictures we are getting in here to CNN of this area. It's a suburb of New Orleans, known as Westwego.

Our Susan Roesgen is there doing some reporting for us. Some of these aerials give you a better idea of the damage assessment that will be going on today, as people sort of try to dig out, if you will, without using too much of a cliche. But look at that.

I mean, it's like the house was just blown from one side of the street to the next there. As we say, new pictures coming in. We just want to give you an idea of this area, known as Westwego, suburb of New Orleans today.

HARRIS: Just a crazy weather day, snow, freezing rain, apparent tornadoes, wicked weather striking hard today.

And for areas already walloped by heavy snow, get ready, there's more headed your way. Sorry to say that.

CNN's Keith Oppenheim is with us from Peoria, Illinois.

You know what, maybe it's gotten a bit worse since the last time we talked to you, Keith.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is. It's getting worse and it's getting messier, and that's really what I want to demonstrate.

This is Main Street. And as you can see, traffic is moving, but along the side of the road, not only do you have a fairly good amount of snow building up, maybe three, four inches and larger piles and spots.

As I walk through this mucky, dirty stuff on the side of the street, I'm going to take you over to our satellite truck, a suburban, which we're using for transmission.

Just look at what's coating on the front of it, this ice buildup. It's just awful for commuting. And we're also hearing, Tony, that not only are schools closing and some local airports but also we're hearing that businesses are closing. Mitsubishi has an assembly plant in Bloomington, and also State Farm Insurance is headquartered locally, and workers are going home for the day. So this is not an area that's exactly shutting down as a result of this storm, it's not that bad, but it's obviously crippling the area to some extent.

HARRIS: Yes, it looks that way. It really does look like it's getting worse for you out there, Keith. Keith Oppenheim for us in Peoria, Illinois.

Keith, appreciate it. Thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: I want to get now to some information just coming in here to the NEWSROOM at CNN. Betty Nguyen is working on it for us.

And, Betty, it sounds like federal prosecutors in San Diego have some type of announcement today?

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, they're expected to announce an indictment today around 3:00 p.m. Eastern in a case that involves the former No. 3 official at the CIA. That person's name, as you may remember, is Kyle Dusty Fogo. Now Fogo is accused last year, by fellow CIA employees, of steering contracts for the CIA, station (ph) Iraq to a long-term friend, Brent Wilkes, who is a defense contractor, whose activities led to the indictment of another guy you might remember, Congressman Duke Cunningham. He pled guilty back in 2005 to tax evasion, conspiracy to commit bribery, and part of that plea agreement, he agreed to help the government prosecute others in defense contractor bribery scandals. So this is kind of a result of that. And we expect to hear that indictment a little bit later today.

Now, should that happen, it could lead to a full congressional investigation of how secret CIA contracts are awarded. So possibly a lot of information could come out of this. But, again, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern today, San Diego, federal prosecutors are expected to announce they will indict the former No. 3 at the CIA, and that is Kyle Dusty Foggo.

We'll be watching for that.

COLLINS: All right, Betty, Thank you.

HARRIS: We know who, but we don't why. Utah police say an 18- year-old gunman opened fire in a Salt Lake City mall last night. Shoppers and employees ducked into stairwells and storage rooms, while they say the man walked through the mall, firing at random. When it was all said and done, six people were dead, including the gunman, four wounded.

Christiana Brady, a reporter with our affiliate KTVX, happened to be there. I talked with her earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANA BRADY, KTVX REPORTER: I was there at about 6:45, Tony, which is when the call was actually placed to paramedics initially. And you really got out of the parking lot, was making my way toward the pottery barn, and heard a series of popping noises. And as journalists, we hear those a lot and immediately identified them as what could be gunshots. That was slightly confirmed when I found a gentleman very rapidly and hurriedly to a nearby store, and saying call the paramedics, call the paramedics. We then ran away from the gunshots, went to -- inside the Pottery Barn, and everyone was calm, cool and collected in there. And I said, does anybody know? There's been, I think, a shooting in the area. And they knew nothing of it.

So being a journalist, we obviously have a lot of contact with our assignment desk. And I did go ahead and call them, and they said, well, rumors at this point, Christiana, of an unconfirmed, but possible gunman in the area. That, of course, enough to trigger fear and put us into cautionary mode. Mustered up 10 other employees, myself another shopper, went into a back sheltered room with no windows, of course, at that point.

And you know, my only contact with anybody who knew anything -- there was no television, no radio -- was with that cell phone, and I was talking to the newsroom.

I understand that security in the mall, Tony, had then come and actually locked the door at that point, so we were locked inside the building, and you know, I was asked earlier, was there tangible fear. If tangible fear is a mother on her cell phone talking to her children and fighting back tears, saying that mommy's OK, but there's a lot of chaos in the mall right now, then yes, there was tangible fear. You know, people crying, people dealing with fear in multiple ways, as we've seen in many of the stories I guess that we do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Wow.

Authorities are still trying to figure out what prompted the rampage in the meantime. The owners of the Trolley Square Mall say the shopping center will be closed today.

COLLINS: Election 2008. The candidates and the issues that matter to you. We'll talk it out with talk show host and author Tavis Smiley, ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: Jobs, education, health care, big issues in the upcoming elections. African-American leaders tackle them over the weekend at a symposium in Virginia. Radio and TV talk show host Tavis Smiley hosted that symposium. Smiley compiled the bestselling book "The Covenant With Black America." He followed that up with "The Covenant in Action," a guide that looks at how ordinary people can help improve the quality of life in the black community.

Tavis Smiley joins us live from New Orleans to talk issues and politics.

Tavis, great to see you, as always, doctor.

TAVIS SMILEY, TV & RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Hey, Tony, nice to see you. How have you been, man?

HARRIS: Great. Great. Thank you. Thank you. And you've been a busy man.

You said you hold this State of the Black Union Symposium to raise issues that somehow just don't make their way into the president's State of the Union speech.

Give us a couple of examples of this year's State of the Union Address.

SMILEY: I think the most glaring example of this year had to be Hurricane Katrina, since I sit here on book tour in the Crescent City of New Orleans. It was, I think, tragic. And this is not about what whether you're right or left, Republican or Democrat. If we really in fact care about creating a nation that's as good as we promise, we can't leave fellow citizens behind. And for the president this year, Republican or Democrat. He happens to be a Republican. But for any president in the State of the Union Speech to not even mention Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath; what we're going to do to bring this all-American city back to live, to not even mention that I thought was reprehensible. That's one example, if you're looking for one.

HARRIS: Yes. Why don't you think he mentioned Katrina?

SMILEY: Well, you have to ask the president that, and I wish somebody would. I mean, he says out of one side of his mouth that Katrina matters to him, that those left behind matter to him. He certainly came down here, took him a while. But he finally got here, and has made any number of trips, to his credit, since then. But the words, the rhetoric don't match the record. And so every time I come here, I see the pace of recovery in this city so slow and all the red tape. So money has been flowing, but it's caught up in all of this red tape. And I keep coming here, Tony, trying to find reason to believe that the things are going to get better in the short term. But I don't see it, frankly, every time I come to the city.

HARRIS: Hey, Tavis, what about the issues that do dominate the president's agenda. Let's talk about Iraq for a moment. I'm sure there was plenty of discussion of Iraq at the symposium over the weekend. How would you characterize the conversation?

SMILEY: That's a good question, Tony. And quite frankly, there wasn't a lot of conversation about Iraq, a lot of Barack, but not Iraq conversation over the past weekend.

I think that most Americans are concerned obviously, and concerned isn't a strong enough word, perhaps fretting about what the plan was going to be, the exit strategy out of Iraq, but there's been so much conversation about that dominating the news, that the issues that matter to every day people beyond Iraq are just not being covered. The president tried to do that this year in the speech, to start out talking about domestic issues. And, what, three-quarters of the way through he finally got to Iraq, but nobody brought into that. We know what's a priority on his agenda.

So this weekend, we really didn't talk about Iraq; we talked about these domestic issues that matter to every day people. And, again, how we can help to create a better black America. I believe that when you make black America better, you make all of America better. So we focused our attention mostly on these domestic issues laid out in "The Covenant" book.

HARRIS: Well, that's interesting. Might one take away from that answer and the lack of discussion about Iraq at the symposium that somehow the African-American, the black agenda, is separate than the agenda that's been laid out by the president?

SMILEY: Well, I think that any poll, study and survey, Tony, that I've seen suggests that black America, not unlike most America, is concerned, and disappointed and thinks the president is moving in the wrong direction on Iraq.

Two things to note, the number of black folk who are opposed to this Iraq policy, or lack thereof, is higher than most America, No. 1. And No. 2, as is often the case, black America got there first. We've been saying from the very beginning that this policy was misdirected in Iraq, and the rest of the country eventually caught on up. So it's not to suggest, I think, that Iraq doesn't matter to African- Americans. Clearly, disproportionately, there are people of color who are engaged, and involved and serve in the U.S. Armed Forces. So clearly, we care about that issue, but we've got to talk about these issues, certainly in light of this presidential campaign that's getting under way even as we speak.

HARRIS: Well, Senator Barack Obama made his big announcement over the weekend. Let's take a listen, then let's talk a bit about Barack Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The shadow of the old state capital where Lincoln once called on a house divided to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still live, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for president of the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Okay, Tavis, how would you characterize the conversation about Barack Obama at the symposium over the weekend?

SMILEY: I think that, by and large, across America one can feel this palpable sense of excitement that his campaign has generated. You can feel it all across the country.

That said, with regard to our conversation at the state of the black union, I think most African-Americans, while they wish Barack Obama well, have said very loud and very clear, and for that matter, he himself noted and so said on 60 minutes Sunday night, that he recognizes he has to earn the African-American vote.

Most black folk in America got to know Barack Obama the same way most white folk did, when they saw him give that great speech at the Boston Democratic Convention. So he -- unlike Jesse Jackson in '84 and '88, like or loathe Jesse Jackson, Jesse Jackson had earned votes of black people, given his lifelong service to the community. Most black folk don't know Barack Obama. We're willing to give him a chance to get to know us. We want to know where he wants on the issues.

And I think most of the conversations centered around the fact of where he stands on the issues that matter to every day people, and that just because he is black does not automatically guarantee him the black vote, but he understands that. And I think he's going to make his case in the coming months.

HARRIS: Tavis, great to see you. And the best with the new book, "The Covenant in Action."

Tavis, great to see you, and the best with the new book "The Covenant in Action."

Tavis Smiley with us this morning in the NEWSROOM. Tavis, great to see you.

SMILEY: Thank you.

COLLINS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" coming up in about 10 minutes or so. Jim Clancy is here to tell us what they'll be covering on the program.

Hi there, Jim.

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Heidi. Hello there, Tony.

Well, we're going to have all the latest international developments, of course. We're going to focus especially on that deal with North Korea over its nuclear program. We're going to weigh some of the cautious optimism, the U.S. secretary of state, we heard a few moments ago against the outright skepticism of the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton. He doesn't like this deal.

We'll have a live report from Lebanon, where the anniversary of one assassination is already being overshadowed by twin bombings in the Christian heartland.

Also, we're going to take to you Rome, Italy. Is this anyway to dig a new subway line? Workers there in Rome gingerly sifting through relics of the past in order to pave a new underground way. That and much more coming up at the top of hour on YOUR WORLD TODAY. See you then. HARRIS: All right Jim, thank you.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange. When NEWSROOM returns, I'll have details about the Valentine's Day massacre and it has nothing to do with Al Capone. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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COLLINS: We've been hearing it for awhile now. Toyota may overtake GM as the world's biggest auto maker this year. But Toyota is worried. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with details on this. So what's wrong with being the king of the hill, Susan?

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

LISOVICZ: When CNN NEWSROOM returns, I'll tell you about a dog named Harry with great lineage. He's a favorite at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show. And his owner, he's pretty popular, too. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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HARRIS: A dog, co-owned by Bill Cosby was tops in his group at the Westminster Kennel Club Show last night. Look at this little pooch. Get up, wag your tail, strutting with an attitude. The 6- year-old Dandie Dinmont made Harry No. 1 in the terrier group and now moves on to compete for best in show tonight. Cosby wasn't there. We're told he has lost in past dog shows. He didn't want to jinx Harry's chances.

COLLINS: And here's the best part of the story. That was the only Dandie Dinmont in the whole entire competition.

HARRIS: That's right.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: He's a cutie.

COLLINS: Very confident.

HARRIS: Harry is perfect.

LEMON: A lot of hair, you know.

COLLINS: Don Lemon joining us now, coming up in about an hour.

LEMON: How are you guys doing? I've been enjoying your show, I hope you enjoy ours.

COLLINS: We will.

LEMON: At 1:00, we have a lot coming up. Is Iran supplying deadly bombs to fighters in Iraq? And if so, what might the new man in charge do about it? We'll put those questions to Admiral William Fallon, commander of U.S. Central Command. He joins us in the NEWSROOM for an interview you won't see anywhere else.

Snow and ice creating travel troubles for the Midwest over to the Northeast. And deadly winds walloping the south. We have CNN reporters across the country covering this developing story for you. And we'll keep you updated on the very latest weather conditions. Make sure you join Kyra Phillips and me, CNN NEWSROOM beginning today at 1 p.m. Eastern.

COLLINS: Thank you, Don. That's right, NEWSROOM continues just hour from now.

HARRIS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next with news happening across the globe and here at home. I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins. We'll see you tomorrow on Valentine's Day. Remember your sweetie.

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