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American Morning

Fidel Castro Resigns; The Fight for Delegates Continues; Banking on Bush: Former President Endorses McCain; Satellite Shootdown

Aired February 19, 2008 - 08:00   ET

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

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, yes, well, just minor ones. Nothing really special.
Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING, February the 19th. Big day of news. John Roberts along with Kiran Chetry.

We begin with the end of an era in Cuba. Forty-nine years and 49 days after seizing power, Fidel Castro resigned as president early this morning. The news came in a letter published online by Cuba's official news agency. In it, the 81-year-old Castro says he will not accept another term as president when Cuba's parliament meets on Sunday. He temporarily handed over power to his brother Raul in 2006 when he had emergency intestinal surgery. Raul will likely be nominated to succeed him.

Earlier this morning, President Bush responded to the news at a news conference in Rwanda.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe this transition will lead to free and fair elections. I mean free and I mean fair, not these kind of staged elections that the Castro brothers try to foist off as being true democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: President Bush says that the United States will help the people of Cuba, "realize the blessings of liberty."

We have team coverage of the Castro resignation, Morgan Neill in Havana, and Susan Candiotti in Little Havana in Miami and Dr. Sanjay Gupta looking at Castro's health.

Let's start with Morgan Neill, CNN's Havana bureau chief. We are the only news network to have a permanent installation there in Cuba. Morgan, what is the latest from there on the ground? Obviously, people are waking up this morning, reading about it in the newspapers. What are you hearing?

MORGAN NEILL, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: Well John, let me give you an idea of what it is they are waking up to. You talked about how it's on the Internet. Well, not many people in Cuba have the Internet but they have access to this, which is a state-run newspaper. You can see, it's not just on the front page. This really is the front page. It's this remarkable announcement that Fidel Castro has decided to resign.

Now as to why he's decided to step down, he writes in this article, it would be a betrayal to my conscience to accept the responsibility requiring more mobility and dedication than I'm physically able to offer.

Now, we have been able to go out and talk to a couple of people. For something that seems so remarkable to the outside world, I'll tell you what's surprising is three of the four people we talked to said they didn't even know this had happened yet because simply a lot of these articles in the state-run newspaper, they don't have a great deal of readership.

When we talk to them, let me give you a scattering of what we heard from the people we talked to. We heard one elderly man who said, it's a good decision because at Fidel Castro's age, he needs to take care of himself is what they told us.

We talked to a couple of young people. They didn't know anything about it and they didn't really want to offer their opinions in any case. Another man told us something you'd expect to hear here with a camera in front of someone. He said, it's a good move from a man who makes good decisions.

So that's just a smattering of the first kind of reactions we've been able to get here, John.

ROBERTS: Morgan, quickly, what's the practical effect of all of this expected to be there in Cuba?

NEILL: Well, that's what remains to be seen. Essentially what we've seen is a ratification of what the country's governing structure has been for the last year and a half. Last year and a half, this was a provisional setup. Raul Castro was essentially running the country.

What we've seen today is Fidel Castro stepping down permanently. Now we don't know for sure that it will be Raul Castro named on Sunday by the national assembly, but it is probably the best educated guess.

Now does that mean reforms, the kind of things Cubans want, more opportunity, greater -- higher salaries, more freedom to travel? We simply don't know at this point, John.

ROBERTS: All right. Morgan Neill for us this morning out of Havana; Morgan, thanks very much -- Kiran?

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: We bring in our CNN chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, right now to talk about this. You've been to Cuba on numerous occasions. You can give people an inside look on what life is like for the everyday Cuban.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well as Morgan alluded to, look it is a desperate place for a lot of people there because it's poor and it's badly run if you like, in terms of people can't afford to make ends meet. By and large, there are a lot of rationing going on in terms of food. But it's never enough to allow them to meet their monthly requirements of food and medicine and the like.

So there's a lot of difficulty in day-to-day living, not to mention the fact there's plenty of political dissidents. There are journalists who are dissidents. There are people in jail just for wanting to write the truth or speak the truth or even to organize politically which they cannot.

So, that's a fact of life in Cuba and it has been for the decades that Castro has been in power. And that offsets some of the genuine progress that he's made in terms of education, health care. People have talked a lot about that. But day-to-day life for them is very decrepit and very hand to mouth and, obviously, they want change.

The big question is, do they get this change at this time? In other words, the only change that's going to happen there is if the world engages with Cuba. Does the United States see the passing of Fidel Castro as the political reality there as an opportunity to engage or not? Or does it take yet another step?

CHETRY: The question seems to be who to engage with. If Raul, who was, you know, for a long time considered his older brother's enforcer continues the policies inside repression and continues the dictatorship.

AMANPOUR: That we'll see. He's already made some noises about certain reforms.

I think what's really important is that a lot of these countries which are authoritarian or dictatorships are beginning to talk about reform or democracy, but in their style. People look at China for the model, we really do whether it's in Russia, Cuba, wherever it is.

They look at China and say, OK, we can reform economically. We can reform in these ways. But we're not going to do it politically. We're going to have our own kind of democracy. And that's something that's sweeping around the world right now in many of the countries I've been to.

The demand for democracy is sort of half taken up and the leaders of these authoritarian countries. Vladimir Putin, for instance, former backer of Cuba, is a big example. But just to say that's what's going on in a lot of these places. It will be interesting to see what kind of reform is possible if at all it's possible.

Cuba, for instance, has opened itself up to tourism in the last more than a year or so. And there is a lot of high-end tourism in Cuba. And they got dollars and they have a whole little society created for the American and other tourists who go there. And so they -- a lot of these countries are trying to have it both ways.

CHETRY: As Morgan was telling us, some of the young people are asking, why is it we can't have the same rights as those people that come in as visitors have? Why can't we get on the Internet?

AMANPOUR: That's a completely legitimate complaint. They can't just not get into the Internet. If they organize, they basically are in jail. If they are considered enemies of the state, they are in jail. If they are considered slightly subversive, they are in jail.

But still, I think for the United States and for the next president of the United States, it's a -- going to be a real issue. Are they going to change the decades-long policy of isolating this little island out there not far off the United States or are they going to decide that this presents an opportunity?

CHETRY: We'll have to wait and see. Christiane, great to see you as always. Thanks for being with us.

ROBERTS: For nearly 19 months, Fidel Castro has been out of the public eye and Cuba has been very secretive about his health. There were rumors of cancer and even botched surgery. We turn now to CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Sanjay, is there any way to know what his current state of health is that prompted this idea of not running for president again?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: He's talked about it since December, as you know John, about the fact he may resign. And a few months from December. So it seems on course with the timeline he himself set out.

We don't know. We have some pictures of him from about a month ago. This was not a public appearance. But pictures with Brazilian President Lula at that time. You can look at these images and anyone can make their own guesses about his state of health. He looks somewhat frail there but current pictures, nonetheless, about a month ago or so.

He's 81-years-old. We do know a few more details according to a surgeon who examined Castro in July of 2006, which we were talking about, John. At that time he had diverticulitis, a relatively common problem, an inflammation of the large intestine but the intestine had become very inflamed. It required surgery. He had that operation.

The problem was the operation sounds like it didn't heal properly and he required a second operation not before he had some infection of his abdominal cavity. Serious problems, John in any person of any age, certainly someone in their late 70s or early 80s. He was very sick at the time. There are reports, you are reporting on it about the fact he may not die does not sound like it was cancer, but rather this diverticulitis.

ROBERTS: What about his brother Raul, 76-years-old. Not exactly a spring chicken. What do we know about his health?

GUPTA: It's interesting as a reporter following this story. We know very little about Raul. We've been sort of looking into this for several months now. It's very hard to get any details about him specifically. He's 76-years-old and probably has all the age-related things a 76-year-old -- remember, Ronald Reagan left office at 78. He looks fairly vibrant. In the images again that we've seen.

This is pure speculation, granted. We don't know much about his health. A lot of that has not been made public, John. ROBERTS: All right. Sanjay Gupta for us this morning. Sanjay, thanks.

GUPTA: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Kiran?

CHETRY: On to other news this morning and voters are heading to the polls right now in Wisconsin. Polls open later in Washington State, as well as Hawaii. Total of 94 delegates are at stake today for the Democrats. 74 of them in Wisconsin. Senator Barack Obama leads Hillary Clinton in the delegate count, but not by much, 1,262 to 1,213.

Meanwhile, there's a literal war of words going on between the two camps. Clinton's campaign saying that Barack Obama plagiarized a 2006 speech by Massachusetts governor, Deval Patrick and when asked if it was a big deal, Mrs. Clinton went on the record saying, quote, we'll see. She added, if your whole candidacy is about words then they should be your own words.

Barack Obama fought back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Deval and I do trade ideas all the time. And, you know, he has occasionally used lines of mine. I would add that I noticed Senator Clinton on occasion has used words of mine as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Governor Patrick says that he and Obama are friends and that he encouraged Obama to use his words to answer critics.

ROBERTS: John McCain is hoping a new endorsement can help deliver a knockout punch against Mike Huckabee in today's primaries. Former President George Bush endorsed McCain on Monday in Houston saying no one is better prepared to lead the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE H. W. BUSH, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am very proud to endorse John McCain for the presidency of the United States of America. Few men walking among us have sacrificed so much in the cause of human freedom, and I am happy to help this remarkable patriot carry our party's banner forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: McCain is hoping to win over some of his conservative critics who say he is out of touch with immigration, tax policy and campaign reform.

Former Governor Mike Huckabee says he's still in it and the endorsement from the first president Bush won't affect his chances in Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Does his voice count more than the millions of Republicans across the country, blue collar Republicans who maybe don't have the platform he has but do their votes not matter?

Do the people who have been coming to our rallies suddenly just say, oh, you know, somebody else from the party establishment has spoken? Let's just give up and not be heard from. That's not how elections are supposed to work. And I would like to think that our party certainly is capable of having an ongoing election process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Texas holds its primary two weeks from today on March the 4th.

Stay with CNN for today's primary caucus results. Coverage begins tonight at 8:00 p.m. in the CNN election center. We've got to tell you. We'll not hear from Hawaii until very, very late. We may not get the final results until, Kiran, we go on the air tomorrow morning.

CHETRY: Our Suzanne is hoping we don't get the final results until April so she can stay a little while.

ROBERTS: She was in Waiki covering the caucuses today.

CHETRY: She says she deserves it after Iowa.

The navy has set a date it will attempt to shoot down the falling satellite. That's happening on Wednesday night. We're now learning how much it will cost taxpayers.

Senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre joins us now, and a little bit about how this is exactly going to work. Are they confident they'll get it because they are pretty much saying they have one shot, right?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, one shot and perhaps a second one. You know there's a lot of hype surrounding this. It won't show as much about how missile defense works. It won't be even a good demonstration of U.S. anti-satellite capability. But the U.S. military nevertheless does have its prestige on the line.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: This is the target, an experimental spy satellite that failed upon launch over a year ago. This is what will try to take it down. Sources say probably on Thursday, a navy standard missile. Price tag for the missile alone is $10 million. Figure at least $40 million for the whole shebang. So why not just let the satellite fall? Chances are it won't hit anyone, but if it does, its full tank of hydrazine fuel could be a deadly hazard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the regret factor of not acting clearly outweighed the regret factors of acting.

MCINTYRE: There's no real downside except for the cost which could go from $40 million to $60 million if the navy has to fire a second $10 million missile. There's no rainy day fund for falling satellites so the money will come out of the regular pentagon budget. The only other risk is of embarrassment. The missile shield can't hit a satellite the size of a bus. Still, the smart money is on a direct hit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The interceptors have tested a number of times before. They've been testing them against much smaller targets than this large satellite. I think the odds of success are pretty good.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: The U.S. has put out a notice to ships and planes to avoid an area west of Hawaii beginning at 2:00 a.m. Thursday morning, Greenwich Mean Time. That would be somewhere early evening Hawaii Time. That appears to be when they are going to take that first shot at the satellite. If it misses, they may have a chance at a second shot depending on how many more orbits it takes.

CHETRY: Will we see anything here on earth?

MCINTYRE: Not unless you are out in the pacific. You can see the satellite streaking across the sky in some places but it will be in such a remote area, you won't be able to see anything unless you are on the ship.

CHETRY: Jamie McIntyre for us at the pentagon this morning, thank you.

ROBERTS: A key weigh station on the road to the White House, Wisconsin voters casting ballots right now. Can Hillary Clinton break Barack Obama's momentum? Break down the latest battle is just ahead.

And new rules could make it tougher for your credit card company to jack up your interest rate. The credit card bill of rights ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: The polls are open in Wisconsin, not too far from Barack Obama's home turf of Illinois. Hillary Clinton is now waging a war over words in hopes of putting the brakes on his momentum. Our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley joins us live from Barack Obama's hometown as well as Hillary Clinton's former hometown, Chicago, Illinois. Good morning, Candy. First question to you, these charges of plagiarism that Obama directly ripped off Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick's speech talking about just words. How much of an impact is that going to have there in Wisconsin?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, here's the impact. The immediate impact is on the eve of this election, on the day of this election in Wisconsin, we're talking about this as is everybody else. So it takes Obama off his game, as it did yesterday. He was in Ohio courting the working class voters. He's trying to reach into Hillary Clinton's base. And yet he was sort of deflecting these charges.

I don't think it changes the minds of Clinton supporters. They believe what the campaign is doing, which is trying to frame Barack Obama as all talk and no action. The campaign really hitting hard saying he takes her plans. He takes Deval Patrick's words that kind of thing.

If you are an Obama supporter, you look at this and say this is ridiculous. This is the work of a campaign that's desperate for a win. So I don't think it changes either side. But for those that are entering this poll today, whether it's Wisconsin or the caucus in Alaska, this is the news of the day. And dominated last night, that's never a good thing, whether it changes minds, we need to watch the Wisconsin results.

ROBERTS: Well, Candy you've covered politics for decades. Give us some perspective as to how big a deal something like this is. We remember in 1988 when Joe Biden's campaign was sunk because of charges of plagiarism.

CROWLEY: Absolutely. And, look, I think it was stupid. I think he should have gone ahead and credited Deval Patrick. I don't think it sort of rises to the level of something that sweeps him off the board. Let's face it. This is a man who is on a trajectory that's been upwards.

If, in fact, Hillary Clinton pulls out Wisconsin, and she has a very good chance of doing that, I think what you will see is an increasingly aggressive Clinton campaign because this and other things she's been doing over the past week have been aggressive. She's had some negative ads up. She's gone after him on the stump. If all of this on top of one another works, I think you'll see more of it going down the road.

ROBERTS: Particularly at this debate here in Texas, do we expect to see after that love fest they had in Los Angeles a lot more aggressive compare and contrast?

CROWLEY: Well, you know, it depends on your definition, but I think here's one of the nuances of this past week is that Hillary Clinton on the stump, herself, out of her own mouth, has not been that negative. She said I'm about solutions. He's about talk.

That's really as aggressive as it's gotten. Where the campaign has really gone after him has been in the mailers, has been in the ads. And has been in the conference calls from the Clinton staff. So they've kept it away from her.

We've talked before, John, about how when she personally seems to be going negative, it works against her. So they've been very careful to kind of keep her sort of mildly negative, kind of going after him, but talking issues. I think you'll see that same thing in the debate.

ROBERTS: David Brooks in the "New York Times" today suggesting the magic is beginning to fade just a little bit with Barack Obama. Do you get any sense of that out there on the campaign trail?

CROWLEY: I certainly get the sense in the coverage of him. I think the honeymoon. Anytime you have a winning streak of 8-0, the natural inclination is to say wait a second. Hold on. I think voters do that. I think it invites more press scrutiny which the Clinton campaign has said has been sadly lacking with the Obama campaign.

So I do sense that more and more things are coming out that more and more things are being thrown at him. Whether or not he can, you know, stay afloat. I think the Wisconsin results will be very important in that because if he wins the state, never mind the delegates and how those are apportioned out. If he wins the state, it makes him 9-0, which is a very powerful momentum as he moves into Texas where we see he's wrestled her to a tie.

ROBERTS: One final question. How is it that you are there in Chicago where it's five degrees and Suzanne Malveaux is in Waiki today?

CROWLEY: You know, John, you need to ask someone with a higher pay scale than mine.

ROBERTS: Candy Crowley for us this morning in Chicago. Candy, as always, good to see you.

CHETRY: Not only is it five degrees but feels like a negative 12 because of the wind. Can't win.

ROBERTS: It's the Democratic contest. She picked Wisconsin. Suzanne got Hawaii.

CHETRY: We've been following this story all morning. It's a change of power in Cuba. Fidel Castro's resignation spreading -- the news of it spreading across south Florida. We get reaction from the streets of Miami's Little Havana just ahead.

ROBERTS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, the credit card crunch. Tired of hidden fees and outrageous rates? Gerri Willis looks at what a card holder's bill of rights could mean to you ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Do you ever get the run-around from your credit card company? There's a new bill on Capitol Hill that could provide customers with a bill of rights.

Gerri Willis joins us with your financial security watch. What changes would we see if they pass this bill of rights?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: The bill was written by Carol Maloney and she's a representative in congress. She wants to give more choices for consumers out there and she's tapping into a deep vein, as we know, of anger over credit cards. We were just talking about some of the issues with credit cards right now.

Now we have a quote from her I wanted to show you. She essentially says that, look, a credit card agreement is a contract between the consumer and the company. But what good is a contract when only one side gets to make the decision?

CHETRY: How would you be able to make the decisions?

WILLIS: Let's talk about interest rates first, for just a second. Credit card companies can change them for any reason or no reason whenever they want to. Under the terms of this bill, they would have to give you 45 days notice. That could give you the power to get a new credit card if you wanted to roll over that amount of money you have on the credit card so you wouldn't have to pay the new amounts.

CHETRY: Also you can get -- they can just raise your interest rates for any reason.

WILLIS: That's right. That's what I was just saying. They can raise your rates for any reason or no reason. They have to give you notice but not the time frame involved. Under Maloney's bill they'd have to give you the terms of the bill. They'd have to give you 45 days notice.

CHETRY: One thing a lot of people complain about, I feel like my credit card bill just arrived and all of a sudden, I open it up and it's due.

WILLIS: Right. How do I get it in in time? This is a real problem. The law right now is the credit card companies have to send these bills out 14 days before they are due. And get this. Some of them will say, you know what? Your due time is noon. So if your payment comes in after noon and before 5:00, you are still late, which is crazy.

CHETRY: It's anything to be able to get that finance charge off you.

WILLIS: This bill would change that. I want you to know this bill would give a longer period of time, 25 days, and you'd have until 5:00 the day it's due to get the payment in.

CHETRY: Even when you pay online it says a minimum payment due in big letters. Your actual balance in smaller letters you have to look around because they'd rather have you carry over those charges. WILLIS: That's right. You have to be worried about your pocket and look at the details. We'll be following this bill. We had a couple of bills last year. There will be hearings in a couple of weeks. We'll be on top of it to tell you what's going on with credit card fees and charges.

CHETRY: It's still making its way through so let us know. Gerri, good to see you.

ROBERTS: You are watching the most news in the morning. Castro's reign is over. We're starting to get reaction overnight from Havana to Miami. That's coming up.

Can a war over words help Hillary Clinton stop Barack Obama's primary momentum?

And a major apology. Andy Pettitte said he took human growth hormone to recover from an injury. What is HGH really for? Paging our Dr. Gupta, he's got the answers ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: It's Tuesday the 19th of February. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. All kinds of things going on from politics here in the United States to big international news.

CHETRY: That's right. We woke up to the news that Fidel Castro has called it quits after nearly five decades in power. And reaction is coming in from around the world to the resignation of the 81-year- old dictator who stepped down as president early this morning after a half century in power.

The news came in a letter. It was published online by Cuba's official news agency. It was signed by Castro and read "I will not aspire or accept the post of president of the Council of State and Commander in Chief."

Florida Senator Mel Martinez was born in Cuba. He escaped communist rule when he was 15-years-old. We talked with him about it earlier on AMERICAN MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MEL MARTINEZ (R), FLORIDA: It's a good day for the Cuban people. They are no longer ruled by a ruthless dictator. The real question is how do we hope for a better day for the people of Cuba so they can elect their own leader. So they can have the freedom to frankly see on the Internet that he had resigned. Cuban people are not allowed to freely access the Internet. So it's kind of ironic he would put his resignation on the Internet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Senator Martinez also says this is possibly an opening for some change to happen. He does acknowledge though the fact that it's just his younger brother Raul taking over that still makes things difficult there. President Bush says it is now time though for a transition to democracy in Cuba. He was reacting to the news from his trip in Africa.

Cuban Americans in Miami's Little Havana are waking up to the news of Castro's resignation this morning. CNN's Susan Candiotti is there and joins us live with more on what the reaction has been in the streets this morning.

Hi, Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the reaction here has been fairly muted. You have people here who are very hopeful that, of course, there might be transition on the island now. But as you see these people gathering behind me at the Versailles Restaurant in Miami's Little Havana having their morning cup of coffee, there is also a very healthy dose of skepticism.

Many people here say quite quietly perhaps that as they put it, the duck might change, but that's about it. The name of the duck, in reference to Raul Castro, Fidel Castro's daughter, brother, excuse me. And so as people here gather to have their morning coffee and you hear the traffic going by with people honking their horns, this is a gathering spot where people will turn over the events of the day to see what is going to happen next.

But many people here believe that it will take an internal transition on the island for real change to occur. And remember, it was two summers ago that Fidel Castro temporarily ceded power to his brother so people here have had a good 19 months or so to get used to the idea to see what's going to happen and frankly nothing much has changed on the island. Let's see what happens next they're saying.

Back to you, Kiran.

CHETRY: Susan Candiotti for us in Miami's Little Havana community. Thank you.

ROBERTS: Our other top story this morning, the polls have been open for a little more than an hour now in Wisconsin. Washington is a Republican primary. Polls open there at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, 7:00 p.m. Pacific. However, most voters there are casting their ballots by mail.

Hawaii turns out for its Democratic caucus. The doors open at 6:00 p.m. local. Voting begins at 7:00 p.m. local time or midnight tonight Eastern which means you got to stay up late or get up early to get the results from that one. We'll have them for you here on AMERICAN MORNING here tomorrow.

CHETRY: How about get up early and watch us. We'll have it.

ROBERTS: Ninety-four delegates up for grabs for the Democrats. The majority in Wisconsin where Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are in a tough fight. For the Republicans, 56 delegates up for grabs. John McCain is looking for big wins to unify the Republican party behind his nomination.

And here's the current delegate count. Barack Obama in the lead with 1,262 to Hillary Clinton's 1,213. On the Republican side, John McCain has 830. Mike Huckabee 217.

All eyes will be on the tight Democratic race today and whether Hillary Clinton can put a stop to Barack Obama's winning streak. Kiki McLean is a Clinton campaign senior adviser and joins us now from Washington.

Kiki, good to see you.

KIKI MCLEAN, SENIOR CLINTON ADVISER: Good morning.

ROBERTS: I want to start with these charges of plagiarism that your campaign is leveling at Barack Obama today for borrowing without attribution, words from a speech given by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick.

Last night on her campaign plane, Senator Clinton said when asked if it was a big deal she said, "we'll see." If your whole candidacy is about words, then they should be your own words. That's what I think. So, let me ask you, how big a deal is this?

MCLEAN: Well, I think that's up to voters to decide. I mean, the real irony, John, of this is that at a major political event in Wisconsin, in a major political speech engaging in real political rhetoric where he's talking about the fact that words matter, and they do, we find out the words weren't his own. That's really for voters to decide how important that is to them. But, clearly, there's been a lot of coverage on it, and I think Senator Obama has had to answer for that.

ROBERTS: A similar thing sunk Joe Biden's campaign in 1988. Does this rise to that same level in you mind?

MCLEAN: That's not for me to decide. That's for the voters to decide in Wisconsin today and Hawaii. Moving down the line when you look at Ohio and Texas and Rhode Island and Vermont, voters across the country are going to have to make their decision about what matters. Is this about solutions and action or is it really about rhetoric and not a lot of action and that's really where this issue comes to play.

ROBERTS: How does Senator Clinton expect to do today in Wisconsin? You know, her numbers were trending down a little as Barack Obama's were spiking up. She's had a little up tick in the last few days.

MCLEAN: Well, you know, we are in a hunt for delegates. So every vote matters today in Hawaii and Wisconsin to help Senator Clinton accrue more delegates. I think the Obama campaign has been very clear about their ability to be ahead in Wisconsin, especially they've been in these states for a long time. They've been working them for a long time than a lot of resources than we have.

But as I said, we're in a hunt for delegates. So, if you are a Hillary Clinton supporter today. If you want solutions for the economy, how to end this war and how to get real universal health care, then go vote for Hillary Clinton today because it matters.

ROBERTS: She's also taking aim at Barack Obama in the last week for his refusal to debate her in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle who, we need to say, is supporting Barack Obama, came out and took a swipe at her yesterday for that advertisement. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JIM DOYLE (R), WISCONSIN: Barack Obama has been in this state every day but one since the Potomac primaries. Hillary Clinton just came yesterday. So the whole time she is talking about a debate and putting this ad up, her only presence in the state was that negative ad. She hadn't even been here personally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: So he's saying she's attacking but she hasn't been bringing a lot to the campaign there in Wisconsin. Other than that, what do you say?

MCLEAN: The reality is Senator Clinton's campaign several days there straight, stayed through in the state. President Clinton, her top surrogate, Chelsea, both in the state campaigning. But the reality is Senator Obama has put more resources, more staff, more money, more paid advertising up on the air. Look, the honest answer to this whole debate issue is Senator Obama didn't want to share a stage with Senator Clinton. Didn't really want to engage in what the differences are between them.

The fact is that Senator Clinton believes in universal health care. Has proposed it. Senator Obama's plan leaves 15 million uninsured. Side by side, that's not a good moment for him in front of Wisconsin voters. When it comes to how you deal with the economy, she's much more aggressive on this issue. He doesn't have a strong plan of his own. He doesn't want to share a stage and talk about those things with her.

ROBERTS: Kiki, quickly, this idea of super delegates, how do you think they should vote? Should they vote their conscience? Do what they want to do. Should they vote based on what the state results are or should they look at who has the most pledged delegates and support that person?

MCLEAN: And I agree with Senator Clinton and with Chairman Dean, the chairman of our party nationally who believed that the super delegates are to take the best interest of our nation and our party to heart when they make their decision.

ROBERTS: How do they do that?

MCLEAN: They make a decision based on their judgment about who they believe will make the best president and best represent our party. ROBERTS: All right. Kiki McLean for us this morning from Washington. Kiki, good to see you.

MCLEAN: Thanks, John.

ROBERTS: Thanks -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, time now to get a check of the weather. And we have a tower camera to show you this comes to us from KCAL right now. There's some pretty pictures. Los Angeles International Airport where it's 53 degrees, cloudy right now. Probably one of the warmest places in the country today, Rob. You are looking at parts of the Midwest and the great lakes in negative temperatures. Negative territory for highs today.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, that's right. That is a cool shot. Hello. Good morning, L.A., if you are up early with us or going to bed late. We've got a little rainfall heading across the California coastline. A little typical winter storm for you about to roll in for the next 24 to 36 hours. Mentioning the cold air. It is. Current temperatures, Milwaukee, Chicago, you are checking in at 3. Minnesota, Minneapolis, minus 8.

Now we factor in the wind. This is the forecast. A lot of blues dive on the map. Minus 52 is what it will feel like around this time tomorrow morning, and minus 26, is what it will feel like around this time in Minneapolis tomorrow and about zero in Chicago. So, we got another punch of cold air coming down and they're coming across the Great Lakes.

So, we have winter storm or lake effect snow warnings are up for the usual spots north of Syracuse, south of Buffalo. The snow bands are beginning to take shape. Also, over here, towards Grand Rapids coming off Lake Michigan. But that is pretty much the extent of it. A little bit of light snow rolling across Nashville.

Actually, this morning, parts of Tennessee may wake up to a bit of a dusting. Heading out across Wisconsin, the eastern part of the state will be chilly but it should be dry. Lacrosse, looking at temperatures right around 9. That's afternoon high. Does not include the wind-chill. So, bundle up if heading out to the polls. And Washington state, not looking too bad. The east side will be sunny. The west side will be cloudy. And the Hawaiian islands looking mighty nice as it should be this time of year at mid to upper 70s. Maybe a little late day shower.

Kiran, back up to you.

CHETRY: Sounds good. They don't call it paradise for nothing.

MARCIANO: That's right.

CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: OK. ROBERTS: News coming in from Zurich in the last couple of hours. Stolen masterpieces found overnight. And police say they didn't have to go far.

And a major league apology. Andy Pettitte is talking about his use of human growth hormone. He says he used it to recover. We're paging Dr. Gupta this morning for the truth behind HGH, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Early voting returns in Pakistan could spell some trouble for President Pervez Musharraf. His party conceding defeat in the parliamentary elections. That is what was going on six weeks behind schedule. Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's party is in the lead. These elections were delayed because of her assassination. Senator John Kerry is in Pakistan as part of the team observing the elections and said that the vote, "meets the basic threshold of credibility and legitimacy."

Also new this morning, the stolen and missing masterpieces have been found. They were four impressionist paintings. They were taken during a brazen robbery at a museum in Switzerland last week. The works by Cezanne, Degas, Monet and Van Gogh were estimated to be worth more than $163 million. And this morning, police are saying they found them. They found them in a car in the parking lot of a psychiatric hospital in Zurich not far from where that museum.

ROBERTS: Amazing. Apparently somebody looked in the car and just saw these paintings and said something looks wrong here.

Amtrak is expected to announce new security operations today. Since 9/11 and since the train attacks in Madrid, security analysts have been warning that passenger trains are easy targets for terrorists. CNN's Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is in Union station in Washington, D.C.

Jeanne, up until now, they haven't been doing much of anything in terms of security. So what do these new measures entail?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's going to be nothing like the gauntlet of security that you run through when you go to an airport. But here's what Amtrak is talking about. They are going to have more bomb-sniffing dogs and guards armed with automatic weapons on the platforms and on the trains.

They also are going to start doing random checks of carry-on baggage. What this means is they'll come into a train station and set up a screening checkpoint in front of a boarding gate as passengers come forward, they will randomly select some to have their baggage screened. They'll do an explosive swab test on the bag.

If it comes back positive, they'll then will ask to do a hand search of those bags. A passenger can say no but if they do, they will not be able to get on that train. They will get a refund of their ticket. You mentioned the Madrid train bombings. There were those and also the London transit attacks. People have been saying for years that Amtrak should be doing more. This is hardly going to be a fail- safe system but they hope it will be a deterrent at least. John.

ROBERTS: You know, the question that this all begs, Jeanne, is why now and why wait so long?

MESERVE: Well, Amtrak says this is the prudent thing to do. So they will do it now. We did do some checks with federal authorities to see if there was any new threat information about mass transit. We were told no, nothing new on their radar screen just that long simmering suspicion that transit here could also be a target. John.

ROBERTS: Jeanne Meserve for us this morning in Washington, outside of Union stations. Jeanne, thanks. Kiran.

CHETRY: CNN NEWSROOM just minutes away. T.J. Holmes at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead.

Good morning, T.J.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, there. Good morning, kind ma'am.

Of course, we're going to be talking Fidel Castro in the NEWSROOM. That's in our rundown. Will his resignation make a difference really in Cuba? Will it change U.S. policy? We are looking for those answers and watch reaction from Miami's exile community.

Also, Wisconsin voting today. Hillary Clinton hoping to short circuit Barack Obama's drive for delegates.

Also, security camera catches an incredible crash. Are you seeing this stuff. A truck rolls over landing within inches of a living room.

Tony and Heidi are off today. Betty Nguyen and I are trying to keep things together here in Atlanta. Top of the hour here on CNN.

Kiran, it's all yours, dear lady.

CHETRY: All right. We'll be watching, T.J. Thank you.

HOLMES: All right.

CHETRY: Still ahead, a major league apology. Andy Pettitte reporting -- reports to spring training. And also some talks about human growth hormone use. He said he used it to recover a couple of times. That he did not cheat. Others have called it the fountain of youth. Facts and fiction about the drug. We're paging Dr. Gupta, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: New York Yankee pitcher Andy Pettitte apologized yesterday for using human growth hormone, saying that he used it only twice to help heal injuries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY PETTITE, NEW YORK YANKEES PITCHER: I want to apologize to the New York Yankees and to the Houston Astros Organizations and to their fans and to all my teammates and to all of baseball fans for the embarrassment I have caused them. I also want to tell anyone that is an Andy Pettitte fan, I am sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: So is HGH typically something prescribed for Pettitte's type of injury? Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent joins us now to talk more about this. Exactly how does HGH heal, if it does?

GUPTA: Well, yes, the question about whether or not it's prescribed for this type of thing typically, the answer is no. In fact, there are specific reasons that HGH or human growth hormone is actually prescribed. For people who have a deficiency of it for some reason. Children with short stature and people who have some sort of wasting condition that may be caused by AIDS for example.

What Pettitte is talking about that this idea that it may actually help you recover faster. There's been limited evidence to that as well. People talking about, for example, after a difficult game or a difficult workout you take some of this and it helps you recover faster so you can go back to the gym again. He says he used it twice.

Again, as you pointed out, once in 2002 for two days at that point. Two syringes, although he said he only took it once in 2004 with the astros. Unclear, if it really helped him at all recover from his elbow injuries he had at that time.

Kiran, to your point, human growth hormone is a hormone that is typically produced by the pituitary gland. That's the gland at the base of the brain. If it's produced and if it's released into the blood stream, in young people, it causes you to grow. Thus, its name but as you get older and after your bones have already fused, it really doesn't have much of an impact on growth anymore.

The human growth hormone that we talk about is what's called synthetic human growth hormone. So, it's made in laboratories and sold. And, obviously, in some cases not for legitimate purposes, Kiran.

CHETRY: And it's also not supposed to be prescribed for things like healing injuries. So how do patients and doctors get a hold of it and use it?

GUPTA: You know, it's interesting. First of all, I mean, this is something that's been touted as the fountain of youth. People will say, look, it increases your muscle mass, it decreases your body fat, it tightens your skin, it darkens your hair. I mean, you name it. They'll say human growth hormone does it. It is not hard to get. Let me be clear, it is illegal to prescribe it for purposes other than the ones I described.

But one of my producers went online just yesterday to see how easy this stuff might be to get and actually for about 60 bucks got a month's supply of the oral spray. And that's right off the Internet without any kind of doctor's prescription. So you can get it.

Andy Pettitte says he got it from his dad. His dad got it from a high school classmate. This is all what they are saying. So, it's just not that hard to get. But it is illegal again to prescribe it for other than those purposes we talked about.

CHETRY: And of course, you got to be careful when ordering from the Internet because you don't know if you're actually getting what they say you are getting in the first place.

GUPTA: Yes. I mean, you know, it's interesting with human growth hormone it really only works if it's injected. You'll see creams, for example, that you put on your skin, even sprays. That stuff probably doesn't even work at all. I mean, you're probably not getting any of the human growth hormone into your body, yet people are paying millions of dollars for it. Kiran.

CHETRY: Sanjay, good to see you. Thanks.

GUPTA: All right. Thank you.

ROBERTS: Fidel Castro announcing his resignation earlier this morning after nearly a half century of rule. Word first came out online. Our Veronica de la Cruz joins us now with what she's seeing about the Castro news. Good morning, Veronica.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN Internet CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to both of you.

Yes, this was a letter that was leaked online overnight. Actually, we're looking at it here. This is Granma, the state-run newspaper. This is the letter from Fidel Castro. It reads basically that he attributes his stepping down to his health.

Here he says "my wishes have always been to discharge my duties to my last breath and that's all I can offer." So that is the letter. It is posted at granma.cu. It's available in different languages. Cuban or Spanish rather, English and French and Italian.

And now, how do Cubans feel about the news? Well, here's something from a blogger. And she is in Havana. A French newspaper reached out to her this morning. And she actually had this to say. I didn't even know. They announced it on the Internet first to let the foreign media know.

Few Cubans have online access so they don't know about it yet. She goes on to say that she's listening to the radio and they aren't even talking about the news of Castro. Instead, they are talking about the President of Ghana's visit to Cuba.

Now she does a blog called Generation Y and how she feels about the news. "For me and the young generation, this news comes as a great relief. We've never had another president, and we saw him as an obstruction to our country's development. I'm not saying that that's everyone is saying but for some this will be a huge shock." Again, that is a reaction from online this morning.

Kiran and John, I'll go ahead and send this back to you.

ROBERTS: Remarkably bold comments on that blog there coming from inside Cuba. Veronica, thanks.

DE LA CRUZ: Of course.

ROBERTS: A quick look now at what CNN NEWSROOM is working on for the top of the hour.

HOLMES: See these stories in the CNN NEWSROOM. Fidel Castro resigned. What does it mean for Cuba? What does it mean for U.S. policy?

Wisconsin votes. Hillary Clinton hopes to slow Barack Obama's momentum.

Delta and Northwest reportedly close to a merger.

Amtrak tightens security with random passenger screenings.

And opposition parties win Pakistan's parliamentary election.

And check this out. Whopper of a mistake. The $2,000 Burger King meal. NEWSROOM at the top of the hour on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Well, that's pretty much going to wrap it up for us. But all kinds of political coverage coming your way all day long here on CNN.

CHETRY: Here, we got the Hawaii caucuses. They are voting in Washington state and Wisconsin. And especially Hawaii. Results may be coming in very late. So we're going to have it all for you tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING.

ROBERTS: Yes. The caucuses, the voting doesn't start at these caucuses until 12:00 midnight our time. Five-hour time difference. So, the results may not come in until let's say 3:00, 4:00 in the morning. So make sure that you keep it here. Thanks for joining us so much on this AMERICAN MORNING. We'll see you again tomorrow.

CHETRY: Meanwhile, CNN NEWSROOM with Betty Nguyen and T.J. Holmes begins right now.

HOLMES: All right. Thanks, guys. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm the T.J. she was mentioning, T.J. Holmes. That would make you?

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Betty, Betty Nguyen. Good morning, everybody. Thanks for being with us. Tony and Heidi are off. You can watch events come into the NEWSROOM live on this February 19th. Here's what's on the rundown.

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