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Big Snowstorm Slams the Northeast; Protest over an Independent Kosovo; Democratic Face-Off in a Delegate-Rich State
Aired February 22, 2008 - 09:00 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 are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Watch events come in to the NEWSROOM live on Friday, yes, Friday, February 22nd. Here's what's on the rundown.
Did Hillary Clinton change any minds? The Democrats debate on CNN. This hour, a score card on the Texas showdown.
HARRIS: Washington to Belgrade: protect the U.S. embassy. I talk live with the diplomat who delivered the warning after mob violence.
COLLINS: A big winter storm belting the northeast today. Today Friday's travel troubles, in the NEWSROOM.
A fierce winter storm unfolding right now, putting the northeast in a paralyzing deep freeze, snow, sleet and freezing rain, causing massive flight destructions and dangerous driving conditions right now. We are covering the storm from all angles.
Meteorologist Rob Marciano is in the CNN Weather Center now. Our senior correspondent Allan Chernoff in snow-covered New York. But let's begin with Rob.
Rob, what are we looking at?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's a fast mover but it's got some stuff behind it. So we're not quite done with it and the radar kind of stretches back almost to the Mississippi River Valley.
We'll start you off with the airport, which is not a good deal. Some of the regional airports around New York City are closed. Atlanta reporting some delays and ground stops. We got some rain down here. New York, some ground stops as well, La Guardia and JFK. Look at that. That's not a typo, my friend. Five hours, 15 minutes. Similar delays at Philadelphia. So northeast, let me try to get out of there, don't look too good.
Here's the snowfall totals as of 7:30 this morning. Greenwich, Connecticut, almost six inches, JFK, almost five, Central Park got four, Newark almost four and La Guardia and Queens there, 3.7 inches, and we still have some more snow to deal with. Radar kind of filling in to the back here. So even though you see the back edge of the precip factor, in eastern Pennsylvania, it will probably take some time to wind down. Temperatures are still well below freezing. So you'll not really see that changeover for the next several hours, probably through the lunch hour.
Here goes your storm that will roll off towards the north and east. Snowfall totals today likely six to ten in Boston. Five to eight, maybe more than that in Hartford. You can probably bump this up maybe an inch or two. But this easily by far the biggest snowfall that they've seen this year. It's been pretty quiet until now.
COLLINS: Oh I guess so. All right.
MARCIANO: Yes.
COLLINS: Well, we are watching it closely with you, Rob. We'll talk to you again in just a few minutes.
MARCIANO: All right.
COLLINS: Thank you.
HARRIS: OK. Also in the headlines this morning, she came to play hoping for that game-changing moment. Did Hillary Clinton convince anybody on team Obama to switch?
The CNN Texas debate from Candy Crowley. She is part of the best political team on television.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Hillary Clinton went in to reach out, to grab some of the connection with voters that come so easily to Barack Obama. And the moment came when she was asked about a time when she was tested. She recalled a ceremony in an army medical center treating wounded Iraq war veterans.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Those who had lost limbs were trying with great courage to get themselves in without the help of others. Some were in wheelchairs and some were on gurneys. The hits I've taken in life are nothing compared to what goes on every single day in the lives of people across our country.
CROWLEY: Asked if Obama is ready to be president, she wouldn't bite, listing her credentials instead. Relaxed and confident in what was probably his best debate yet, Obama moved to trump her resume.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: On what I believe was the single most important foreign policy decision of this generation, whether or not to go to war in Iraq. I believe I showed the judgment of a commander in chief, and I think that Senator Clinton was wrong in her judgments on that.
CROWLEY: They both admitted their plans are very similar but argued around the edges of health care reform and tangled again over foreign policy. In this case, how they would greet a new leader in Cuba.
CLINTON: I would not meet with him until there was evidence that change was happening, because I think it's important that they demonstrate clearly that they are committed to change the direction.
CROWLEY: He says he would meet a new Cuban leader without precondition.
OBAMA: Because the problem is, if we think that meeting with the president is a privilege that has to be earned, I think that reinforces the sense that we stand above the rest of the world.
CROWLEY: On the latest dustup along the campaign trail, Obama batted away the Clinton campaign's charge that he plagiarized a paragraph of a speech.
OBAMA: The notion that I had plagiarized from somebody who's one of my national co-chairs -- this is where we start getting into silly season in politics, and I think people start getting discouraged about it.
CROWLEY: She went after him.
CLINTON: ...lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in. It's change you can Xerox. And I just don't think...
OBAMA: Come on, that's not what happened.
CLINTON: No, but you know, Barack, it is, because, if, you know, if you look...
CROWLEY: She got booed for the effort. Otherwise she avoided the kind of nasty battle that has worked against her and he avoided any deal-breaking mistakes. They left as they came in -- still in the competition.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Austin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Unfolding overseas this morning, attack on the U.S. embassy in Belgrade. One person dead and dozens more injured.
Take a look at scene now today. These pictures from just a few minutes ago. Thousands of protesters on the streets again today. Strong condemnations from Washington, the United Nations, after Thursday's rally turned violent.
We are covering this story as well from all angles and in just a moment, we'll talk with Nicholas Burns, he's U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, and later CNN State Department correspondent Zain Verjee.
But first, I want to go live to our Alessio Vinci in the Serbian capital of Belgrade. So Alessio, set the stage for us a little bit. What are you seeing this morning?
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, the situation outside of the U.S. embassy this morning, it is calm. Order has been restored already last night. We saw Serb policemen guarding the embassy now. Some of them carrying riot gear, perhaps a bit too late. As a know, both officials in Washington but also here are telling us that security around the embassy was thoroughly inadequate last night when about 100 or so protesters broke away from a much larger rally to attack the U.S. embassy.
And as you can see from these pictures that we just filed a few moments ago, the damage to the embassy is quite evident, with broken windows, with -- blackened by the smoke and the fire from last night. A U.S. embassy spokesman here this morning told me that the embassy is closed today, and because of that attack it will remain closed throughout the weekend, giving U.S. officials here the time to assess the damage and they're hoping to reopen it Monday or perhaps Tuesday at the latest.
They are telling me that they remain on a heightened state of alert. But, however, they are saying there are no specific threats at this time, or at least no specific threats has been reported at this time against both the U.S. citizens as well as U.S. diplomats -- Heidi?
COLLINS: Well, it certainly sounds like the situation has improved at least from where you are, Alessio. But I'm wondering a little bit more about the situation outside of Belgrade? Do we know anything about that?
VINCI: Well, as you know, there is a large pro-Serb demonstration in the city of Mitrovica. That is in Kosovo. Mitrovica is a flashpoint of the clashes, if you want, the flashpoint between the two sides, ethnic Albanians and Serbs. The northern part controlled by Belgrade into -- where Belgrade exercise a high degree of influence. If you go down there, people speak in Serb, they use a Serb currency, they use cars with Serb license plate.
You cross the river on the other side and it is Kosovo, completely different world. They're using the Deutschmark there. They speak a different language. The two sides are completely kept apart by U.N. and NATO forces there. There is a large demonstration there. Primarily this demonstration has been going on quite peaceful, although police had to intervene on a few times throwing tear gas to prevent some of the demonstrators from crossing the river and going on the Albanian side.
If that would happen, then you would see similar scenes to the ones we saw last night here in Belgrade.
COLLINS: I hope that's not going to be the case. All right. CNN's Alessio Vinci, live from Belgrade this morning. Thanks so much, Alessio.
HARRIS: What do you say we go a bit further into the story now?
Live from Washington, Nicholas Burns. He is U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs.
Ambassador Burns, good to see you. Thanks for your time.
NICHOLAS BURNS, UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE: Good morning.
HARRIS: Good to have you back on the program again.
BURNS: Good morning.
HARRIS: We certainly get your warning to the Serbian government, protect our assets. Does the Serbian government get it?
BURNS: Well, they better get it, because they have a fundamental responsibility to protect our diplomats and our embassy and to protect American citizens. And what happened yesterday in Belgrade was absolutely reprehensible. The fact that there was insufficient security, that that security melted away, that the people that were there, when the mob attacked our embassy, they could have -- it could have been a very...
HARRIS: Yes.
BURNS: ...much more difficult situation, and we told, I told, the Serb prime minister that he and his government were personally responsible. We would hold them personally responsible for the safety of our people.
HARRIS: Yes.
BURNS: And they assured me that they would have adequate security on the ground today and for every day to come. We will hold them to that commitment.
HARRIS: Is it true, Ambassador, that Serbian troops that would normally have been on guard of the embassy and the compound were actually absent yesterday?
BURNS: Well, there was clearly an insufficient number of people guarding our embassy at a demonstration that everyone knew was going to take place.
HARRIS: Exactly.
BURNS: And so we -- that was the first mistake by the Serbian government. The second mistake is that those security people that were present just vanished. And so that left American diplomats -- and we had American diplomats inside that embassy completely vulnerable. A fire was set. A mob attacked the embassy. This kind of thing should not happen in a civilized country. It doesn't happen in the United States of America. It doesn't happen in most world capitals.
HARRIS: Yes. BURNS: And so the Serb government needs to reflect very seriously about the responsibility that it has under the Vienna Convention.
HARRIS: All right. Let's ask a broader question here. Is it true, as many have asserted, that with this independence declaration, we own, we, the United States, own Kosovo in the same way we own Iraq? We have to help Kosovo build, in essence, a nation and an economy?
BURNS: Well, you know, the -- Kosovo was taken away from Serbia by the United Nations nine years ago, in June of 1999. It is a country that is looking towards Europe. It has widespread support in Europe. All of the major European countries have recognized the independence of Kosovo, as has the United States. There is no excuse for the violence that happened yesterday. One might understand the emotion, but not the violence, and that's what the Serb government needs to remember.
HARRIS: So the Kosovars claim their independence with the support of the United States and the EU states, many of them. Aren't the floodgates now opened, the (INAUDIBLE), Spain, or next maybe it's Chechnya, and what about India? Are we willing to support independence and the wishes for statehood wherever those desires spring up in the world?
BURNS: Well, as you know, every part of the world is different, culturally, socially, historically. Kosovo is unique. It's the only place where ethnic cleansing took place nine years ago, where Milosevic, Slobodan Milosevic attempted to annihilate one million Kosovo Albanians. It was taken over by the United Nations.
The United Nations said there must be a process leading to the final status of this place and the United Nations envoy recommended independence. That does not exist in Chechnya, that situation. It doesn't exist in the Baath countries or any place else in the world.
So we're arguing, and many other countries are arguing, that this Kosovo situation is absolutely unique. And you know, 95 percent of the people are Kosovo Albanian Muslims. The Serbs left. And the Serbs, by their action, the Serb government, nine years ago gave up any right...
HARRIS: Yes.
BURNS: ...to keep hold of Kosovo.
HARRIS: Ambassador Burns, it's great to have you on the program. I'm wondering if you're at home and you're watching this and you're looking at the pictures from another place, far from home, here in the United States, and maybe you're wondering why we should care about what's going on in Kosovo and Serbia right now? What's your response to that?
BURNS: My response is that Americans have to care what happens across the seas and in other countries, because it's a globalized world. This is the heart of Europe. And if the Balkans can be stabilized and if the people can become democratic and have freedoms, then they can enjoy the same advantages that the hundreds of millions of Europeans liberated from the Warsaw Pact 15, 16 years ago have enjoyed.
We need Europe to be whole and free and peaceful and Democratic and stable. That's a vital American interest. So I do think that every American, and certainly our country, has a direct interest in what happens. You know, we Americans always stand up. We try to stand up for freedom, and for democracy, and the people of Kosovo have been subjugated for many, many years and now they're free, and now they can build their own democracy.
This is a great story. It's a positive story, and our country should feel very proud that we have bipartisan support that both President Bush and President Clinton before him, have both stood up for democracy in Kosovo and now that day has come. And what happened yesterday in Serbia was uncivilized and reprehensible but it shouldn't -- have an impact on how we look at Kosovo itself.
HARRIS: Ambassador Burns, we're going to miss you on this program. We know you're stepping down soon. Thanks for your time this morning.
BURNS: Thanks very much.
HARRIS: And best as you move forward in your life and your career. Appreciate it. Thank you.
BURNS: Thank you. It's my pleasure. Thank you.
COLLINS: Did your flu shot fail you? The answer to some of you is yes. Dr. Gupta drops by next to explain why right here in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Welcome back, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
He answered his critics and now John McCain is campaigning in the Midwest and getting some conservative backing. We're on the campaign trail. Coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live breaking news, unfolding developments, see for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: On the campaign trail this morning, John McCain, wooing voters in the Midwest and moving on after answering a "New York Times" report about ties to a lobbyist.
CNN's Dana Bash on the campaign and the controversy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): With his wife by his side, a subdued John McCain issued an unequivocal denial.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm very disappointed in the "New York Times" piece. It's not true.
BASH: That emphatic "not true" was meant for every suggestion and allegation in this lengthy article, first that he had a romantic relationship with lobbyist Vicki Iseman.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Senator, can you describe your relationship with...
MCCAIN: We were friends. Seen her on occasions, particularly at the receptions and the fundraisers and appearances before the committee.
BASH: On that and an assist from Mrs. McCain.
CINDY MCCAIN, JOHN MCCAIN'S WIFE: My children and I not only trust my husband, but know that he would never do anything to not only disappoint our family, but more -- but disappoint the people of America.
BASH: Then the charge that McCain used his powerful position on the Senate Commerce Committee to help Iseman's corporate clients.
MCCAIN: At no time have I ever done anything that would betray the public trust and make a decision which in any way would not be in the public interests and would favor anyone or any organization.
BASH: The "Times" also said eight years ago during McCain's first presidential run his advisers were so concerned about his relationship with Iseman, they confronted both and tried to block her access. Again, flat denial.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: ...then nobody in your campaign says, Senator, she's a problem, don't deal with her.
MCCAIN: No, no.
BASH: The one-time source to go on the record is McCain's former top political adviser John Weaver. He confirms to CNN he was worried and did confront Iseman but insists it wasn't about a romantic relationship, rather that Iseman was spreading word, quote, "around town" that McCain helped her lobby clients, something Weaver said would undermine McCain's former campaign.
"My concern wasn't about anything John had done, it was about her comments, it was about access she claimed to have had," Weaver told CNN. McCain insists he knew nothing about that.
MCCAIN: I never discussed it with John Weaver. And so I'm -- as far as I know, there's no necessity for it, but that's a judgment that he made.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And Dana Bash joins us live now from Indianapolis where John McCain is holding a town hall meeting, set to start shortly.
Dana, good to see you. You know yesterday we talked how this controversy with the "New York Times" might actually help John McCain. Any evidence of that?
BASH: Well, there's a little bit of evidence, Tony. I think we also talked about whether or not Rush Limbaugh would come out and say anything...
HARRIS: Yes.
BASH: ...nice about John McCain, which would definitely be a first. Well, he did, in a way. He came out and he definitely slammed the "New York Times." He seemed to side with John McCain, which even a little bit of praise from Rush Limbaugh to John McCain is a headline.
He also was a bit cautious then he said that John McCain needs to learn a lesson from this, not to be too chummy with the liberal media, as he put it. He said that in lots of different ways on his radio program yesterday.
But you know, the McCain campaign, they are absolutely seeing a silver lining in this and this -- it's not an accident. Part of their damage control strategy in going after the "New York Times" was to have a common enemy with the conservatives that John McCain has been trying to court. And that common enemy is the "New York Times." It's probably the biggest enemy of the kind of rank-and-file conservatives that -- when you're talking about the blogs, when you're talking about the movement out there that sort of an easy hit, if you will, to go against the "New York Times."
In fact, John McCain's campaign manager, Tony, he said -- barely waited a couple of hours yesterday before he sent out a fundraising letter asking donors to send money for the McCain campaign in order to better be able to -- better be equipped the attack the "New York Times" and go after the liberal media.
So they're definitely having a little bit of fun with this. You know, they think that they handled it as best they can. But certainly by -- they lucked out, frankly, in the fact that this was the "New York Times," because, as I said...
HARRIS: Yes.
BASH: ...when you look at conservatives, when you look at how they feel about that newspaper, this is something that they could pounce on and do it in a way that they could try to attract conservatives -- Tony?
HARRIS: And we should probably mention that the "New York Times" endorsed John McCain and at the time John McCain seemed happy to get that endorsement.
Dana Bash... BASH: Which was -- exactly. Which was Rush Limbaugh's point yesterday, saying don't be too chummy with papers like the "New York Times" so.
HARRIS: Exactly.
BASH: That was interesting.
HARRIS: All right. Dana Bash for us...
BASH: Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: ...in Indianapolis. Thanks, Dana.
COLLINS: And now to "Your Health." You got your flu shots but you still got sick. And there's a lot of that going around this year, it seems.
Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here now to answer a few questions about this.
So why are so many people getting the flu even if they've had their shots?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, I'm not to blame.
COLLINS: Oh come on. You're always to blame.
GUPTA: Because I said...
COLLINS: Somebody who gets sick, we call you.
GUPTA: I tell people to get their flu shot. But you're right. I'm hearing more and more this year, you know, look, I got the flu shot and I still got sick.
The problem is, and this may surprise a lot of people, is that as much speculation as it is science to develop these flu vaccines, at some point last year, Heidi, they had to decide, OK, which strains do we think are going to be most problematic next year?
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: And they make the vaccine based on those predictions. Sixteen out of the last 19 years they did a pretty good job. They sort of nailed it. This year, not so much. Only about 40 percent protection. They missed the strain. They missed the mark on one of the strains of the virus. Something else sort of emerged that they didn't expect.
COLLINS: Are you saying that this is more like art?
GUPTA: Sometimes life imitates art as well.
COLLINS: I think you are. So what about the anti-viral medications, though? Is something like that effective?
GUPTA: They are. And I think they're less effective this year than in years past but still a pretty good thing especially if you get sick. Now keep in mind, anti-viral medications are not as good as antibiotics are to bacteria. They're pretty good in shortening the duration. You get the flu, they may give you a couple of days that aren't so bad, but they're not going to get rid of it completely.
COLLINS: But I hate when you go to the doctor and they say, well, you know, it's probably viral and then you say, well, great. There's absolutely nothing I can do about it.
GUPTA: Yes, you know, you wish modern science has developed enough to the point where we can give a medication to knock out that virus like we knock out bacteria. But you know, still, keep in mind, even though the flu shot is 40 percent effective this year, it's still a good thing to have.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: I say it with a little bit of trepidation, because I'm going to get some e-mails about this I'm sure. But still, the more people that are protected the better it is for society as a whole. There are certain people, especially pregnant women and babies, that should really get this protection, older than six months, I should say.
COLLINS: OK.
GUPTA: And they should -- they're the most vulnerable sort of population. They need to get the flu shots though.
COLLINS: And elderly?
GUPTA: And the elderly as well for sure.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: But the -- with regards to the children, below the ages of 9 years, I don't know if your son sort of falls into this category, but they need two shots, actually, to make sure they're as fully protected as possible.
COLLINS: OK. Yes, he'll love that. I'll tell him that you said that as well.
GUPTA: Give him a little topical anesthesia, maybe.
COLLINS: There you go.
Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you.
GUPTA: All right. Thanks.
HARRIS: And still ahead, one wife missing. His previous wife murdered. Growing suspicion over a former Chicago area policeman. Today's developments, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Well, you heard the tough words from Ambassador Nicholas Burns just a couple of moments ago right here in the NEWSROOM warning Serbia, again, to protect U.S. assets in the aftermath of the attack described as thuggish behavior. Protesters attacking the U.S. embassy in Belgrade yesterday.
Well, it looks like there is some follow-up on that warning. Serbia's president, Boris Tadic, has called a session of his national security council for today, again, after the rioters stormed the U.S. embassy in Belgrade killing one person. That happening yesterday.
So it appears as though the message has been received from the ambassador to the president in Serbia, and our Alessio is on the ground. We will check back with Alessio shortly for an update on this story.
COLLINS: I want to take you to Reno, Nevada now this morning. The search for a killer and rapist. The target, college students.
Here now CNN's Dan Simon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON,CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Tracing the footsteps of a serial rapist, police in Reno, Nevada say the man who abducted and killed 19-year-old Brianna Denison is the same man who attacked three our young college women in recent months. Three of them including Denison's murder linked by DNA.
DEPUTY CHIEF JIM JOHNS, RENO POLICE: I'm worried that this guy is still out there and I'm worried that somebody else is going to get hurt.
SIMON: But authorities are hopeful that a new piece of evidence will lead them closer to the killer. A distinctive pair of women's underwear found in the field next to Denison's body. Normally, they would not reveal such evidence, but it turns out the underwear didn't belong to Denison. Instead, forensic testing showed DNA from another woman. And there was also DNA from the suspected killer.
Because of the pattern of the underwear, they have Pink Panthers and hearts, police are actually hoping it will lead someone to come forward.
LT. BOB MCDONALD, RENO POLICE: We know that somebody in this community must recognize this woman's underwear. They're fairly unique.
SIMON: Investigators are considering the possibility the underwear was placed here intentionally, as a way of taunting police.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hard to sleep at night just thinking that he's still out there. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're constantly watching. Your eyes are just peeled back looking. You look in every car, seeing, well, see if it matches the description. Is that him? Is that the car?
SIMON: College women here are particularly scared and police have warned them not to go anywhere alone.
They say he's a white man between 28 and 40 years old, at least 5'6", long face, square chin and brown hair.
JOHNS: Somewhere in our community there is a wife, a mom, a girlfriend, a sister, who recognizes this suspect. Likely he looks like somebody who you would least expect. But that's the person.
SIMON: Police say publicity of the manhunt has likely stopped the rapist from attacking, at least for now.
Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins and Tony Harris.
HARRIS: People clapping. People clapping. There's the bell. What do you say we get the business day started, Friday, getaway day? Come on. After a short week, the Dow starts the day at 12284 after losing a bit of ground yesterday. The Dow closing down 18.
But let's talk about today looking forward, feeling strong for Friday. Early indications point to potentially volatile day for stocks. Overseas markets down. No major economic readings on deck so we will follow it closely with Susan Lisovicz throughout the day right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Welcome back, everyone. Good morning. I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
We want to get you started on this story, because a lot of people are talking about it already today and it's early too. Fierce winter storms putting the northeast in a paralyzing deep freeze. Snow, sleet, freezing rain causing massive flight disruptions and dangerous driving conditions right now. So we are covering the storm from all angles.
Meteorologist Rob Marciano is in the CNN weather center for us and our senior correspondent Allan Chernoff is in snow-covered New York.
Let's go ahead and start with you, Allan. Ouch.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, let me tell you something. In our business, you know, logistics are a lot in location, but what can I show you right here in front of Time Warner Center? I can show you how beautifully they sweep way and shovel away the snow right here.
Nothing at all here in front of Time Warner Center. You can see the shovels over there. The electronic sweepers. They had been going back and forth here just trying to sweep away one millimeter of slush. So nothing much happening right here, because of all this activity.
I'd love to have those guys by my driveway out in New Jersey, but across the street in Central Park, take a look at the gorgeous trees. And we really do have a winter wonderland over there in Central Park, more than four inches already. Many parts of the New York suburbs have even more than that. Early this morning, I walked through more than three inches in my area in New Jersey. Heidi, I know you're from out there as well. So that's what you've got covered near your home.
And some areas, the National Weather Service is saying, more than six inches outside of the New York region. A little further out. So while we are certainly getting pounded and this is the beautiful type of snow. Real fluffy, great for skiing, great for sledding. I just called my wife. I told her, get the kids out sledding. You know what she said it me. She said, do you know how much snow I've got to push away to get my car out? Forget about it.
But let's talk a bit about the serious side of this as well, because at the airports, we do have major delays. We, first of all, at Newark, 5-1/2 hours in terms of arrivals. Major delay there. JFK about five hours and La Guardia, about three hours. So it's very serious over at the airports.
And I also did see this morning that in Philadelphia, about one quarter of the flights had been canceled. So out here, it's absolutely beautiful. And of course, no problem for the pedestrians in New York City, but if you're trying to fly into New York, be very patient today.
COLLINS: Yes. Maybe just rearrange that whole trip, Allan. I don't know.
CHERNOFF: I think so.
COLLINS: Boy, it does look beautiful, though. You know, we always like to know what the capability is of the snow to be able to form a snowman. I don't know. We'll have to have a check on that and we'll ask you about it next time around. All right?
CHERNOFF: It will have to be on the other side of the circle here.
COLLINS: The circle there. Yes, there you go. All right, Allan Chernoff, right outside of the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle. Thank you, Allan.
HARRIS: Hey, remember Valentine's Day last year and the horrific storm and the delays, and folks stuck on the tarmac and we're talking about five-hour delays so far. What a mess, Mr. Marciano.
COLLINS: What have you done? HARRIS: What about the snarl?
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Democratic presidential hopefuls go head-to-head in Austin, Texas. How did it play for the voters? Two Texas journalists will weigh in after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Quickly, we want to give you this information that we have about a missing plane that unfortunately has been found. There are no survivors. Rescue teams found the wreckage of a Santa Barbara Airlines plane that crashed late Thursday in the Andes Mountains. None of the 46 people onboard survived. This is obviously going to sway. We're looking at the Google earth imagery now of the terrain, which who knows at this point, but could have played the part in this. So we'll, of course, follow this story for you.
But once again, rescue teams have found today the wreckage of a Santa Barbara Airlines plane that crashed yesterday in the Andes Mountains. None of the 46 people aboard survived. We will follow this one for you.
HARRIS: 90 minutes of debate in Austin, Texas, but did Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton change any minds?
CNN's Ed Lavandera talked to some undecided Texas voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If you had to pick one moment, what was the most significant?
DON WILLIAMS, TEXAS DEMOCRATIC VOTER: I think, the crack that actually fizzled was the whole thing about the Xerox change or something like that.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in. It's change you can Xerox.
STELLA WEIR, TEXAS DEMOCRATIC VOTER: It's things like resorting to little -- stupid little low blows like that. She is so ambitious and verging on desperate that I don't trust her sometimes.
LAVANDERA: This whole idea that Hillary is ready to be -- that Hillary is ready to be president on day one, Obama is not.
RICK MENDOZA, TEXAS DEMOCRATIC VOTER: I just feel experience- wise, she may have a higher level of experience because she's been in the trenches longer.
ANDY JONES, TEXAS DEMOCRATIC VOTER: I would like to go and take a step further and say Hillary is ready now. DANIEL MENDOZA, TEXAS DEMOCRATIC VOTER: I think they're both ready. It's just each one of them has a different expertise and different experience level to bring to the White House.
WILLIAMS: If we did elect an African-American person, I think that people around the world would interpret that as a real breakthrough.
JONES: Hillary Clinton has gone through the ringer time and again from Arkansas all the way to now. And that really speaks to her electability in the sense that she can win elections.
LAVANDERA: Who do you think would be best on the health care issue?
WILLIAMS: It's highly unlikely for either of these health care plans to make a real transformative change in the way that health care is paid for in the United States.
WEIR: I was still wanting a little bit more -- less vagueness from Obama.
LAVANDERA: Did you hear enough tonight?
R. MENDOZA: I still need to hear more. And I -- there's still questions that are still unanswered for me.
D. MENDOZA: I'm still learning more about each candidate, but a lot of things I heard I liked about Obama.
JONES: I've heard enough tonight and you know I'm supporting Hillary for her stance on the war.
WILLIAMS: I think I have pretty much made up my mind. To me I'm voting for Barack Obama.
WEIR: One thing that would be nice is I would like to hear Edwards' endorsement.
LAVANDERA: We've heard many political pundits describe last night's debate as a draw. And it's pretty much the way it played out for us voters. They left feeling pretty much the same way they came in. And that's one thing that Democratic Party officials say they're excited about. Because what our voters also told us is that regardless of who wins this primary, they would be excited about voting for either of these candidates come November.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Austin, Texas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Democratic presidential hopefuls go head-to-head in Austin, Texas, so how did it play for the voters? Two Texas journalists weigh in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: A democratic face-off in a delegate-rich state. How did it play? Deep in the heart of Texas. Evan Smith is with the "Texas Monthly," joins us this morning and Claire Harlin is editor of "The Daily Texan," a student newspaper at the University of Texas there, joining us today from Austin.
Good morning to you both.
EVAN SMITH, TEXAS MONTHLY: Good morning.
CLAIRE HARLIN, EDITOR, THE DAILY TEXAN: Good morning.
COLLINS: I'm so interested to know what your thoughts are after everything happened last night. And most particularly, Evan, I know that you just actually came from an interview with Hillary Clinton. What did she say about how she did last night?
SMITH: That's right. Well, for all the talk last night, that maybe her closing eloquent remark was a sign that she saw the campaign coming to an end. She shows no sign of getting out of this race. In fact, she talked to me very specifically about pressing to sit the Michigan and Florida delegates at the convention. And if she were thinking of getting out, I don't think she would put such a stake in the ground as she did.
COLLINS: No. I don't think people would expect that. But did she have any remorse or anything about that comment that we're talking particularly about? The plagiarism moment?
SMITH: Oh, well, no. She didn't talk at all about the Xerox moment, but she did talked about the idea that she thinks this is about the American people. And anybody who read into her last comment that she felt it was going to be OK for her, she really meant it would be OK for the American people.
COLLINS: OK. Well, Claire, let me ask you. It's kind of a rowdy crowd last night. We really did hear a lot of participation in the way of boos or cheering from the audience. You were there. What was it like in person?
HARLIN: It was really great. And the most exciting thing was really seeing the campus community and student voters getting really excited and enthusiastic about the election. And other than that, it was just great getting to be a part of something so monumental.
COLLINS: What about your respective publication declaring a winner? Claire, does everybody have it clear in their minds at your paper what they think?
HARLIN: Yes. We endorsed Hillary today, which is probably going to be a big surprise for a lot of students, because Barack had a big presence in the UT community early on. He made two visits to Austin early, early in his career. And so, he really won the hearts of a lot of students from the beginning and so it's a big surprise for many, I think. But we're ready for Hillary to go in and clean up Bush's mess.
COLLINS: And Evan, but you agree completely with what she just said, right?
SMITH: Well, no.
COLLINS: No?
SMITH: But I will say, I think we don't endorse candidates as "The Daily Texan" does. But I think we called the debate a draw. And if it is in fact a draw, that's bad for Senator Clinton because she needed to change the narrative.
Everybody on TV in the last 12 hours had said that, Heidi. But the fact is she did not knock Obama off her game. It was not his best night, but he had to mess up. And she had to do great. And they both pretty much did as they were expected to do and so on where we go. But it was not a real narrative changing debate.
COLLINS: You know, we talk about State of Texas. It's huge obviously. Delegates something like 134 to 136. Obviously, a big prize. So, there's been a lot of talk about and to Texas voters. Particularly on immigration reform as well just because of the geographic location. Let's listen for just a moment if you would with me, just some of the things that were said last night on that issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: When we see what's been happening with literally babies being left with no one to take care of them, children coming home from school, no responsible adult left. That is not the America that I know. That is against American values.
OBAMA: We have seen hate crimes skyrocket in the wake of the immigration debate, as it's been conducted in Washington and that is unacceptable. We are nation of laws and we are nation of immigrants and we can reconcile those two things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Hate crimes and latch key kids. Certainly, some different rhetoric on this issue of immigration reform. Do you think -- and I'll start with you Claire. Did Texas voters heard what they wanted to about immigration reform?
HARLIN: I think so. I think both candidates really nailed the debate last night. And I think that we've been hearing a lot of these responses that we have, on a lot of these same issues. And so I think that people were please of what they heard.
COLLINS: Yes. That is certainly part of the decision I think, even at this point. Even, is it not? Are we really hearing anything fresh and new right now?
HARLIN: Well, I really think the issue in Texas with regards to immigration at the moment is the border fence, which as we pointed out last night, both Senator Obama and Senator Clinton voted to authorize, they both backed off of it as they see how unpopular and unwieldy it is. The reality is the person who is going to speak to that community the best is the one who says don't build the wall. And if you go to El Paso or the Rio Grande Valley what you hear is, don't build the wall. Not, let's take a second look at it. They want definitive, decisive opposition to the wall.
COLLINS: All right. So I'm going to put you both on the spot before I let you go. Claire, who's going to win the nomination?
HARLIN: Hillary Clinton.
COLLINS: Evan?
SMITH: You mean in Texas or nationally?
COLLINS: Nationally, let's go big.
SMITH: I'm not prepared to say.
COLLINS: Come on.
SMITH: Look, this has changed so many different times in the last few months. It could change a whole bunch of times in the next few months.
COLLINS: All right. So give me Texas? Can you do that? Nominee from Texas?
SMITH: My prediction is that she wins the popular vote, but he wins the majority of delegates. You know, down here in Texas, Heidi, we would not know anything about one candidate winning the popular vote and another one winning the election.
COLLINS: Yes. Nothing about that, at all. All right. To the both of you, we certainly appreciate your time this morning. Interesting discussion. Evan Smith with "Texas Monthly" and Claire Harlin, editor of "The Daily Texan." Thank you, guys.
Well, your I-reports on the riot at the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade. We'll want to get to that in just a few moments. In fact, Veronica de la Cruz is showing us the videos and images you captured, coming up next.
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COLLINS: Boy, severe weather, that's for sure. A live shot for you now. Boston, Massachusetts. You can see quite a bit of fogginess. Looks like snow to me for sure. We are watching the weather all over the place. Particularly, obviously, in the northeast. A lot of flight delays are already. Something like five, five and a half hours. I think, Rob, was telling us earlier, out of Newark, JFK, and La Guardia also in pretty bad shape this morning.
National Weather Service said about six to nine inches of snow has already fallen and sort of accumulated in this area. So we're going to keep our eye on it for you throughout the day. HARRIS: Fallout this morning from the violent chaos in Belgrade. Protesters set fire to the U.S. Embassy demonstrating against the U.S. support of Kosovo's independence. This morning, Russia, listen to this, is not ruling out the use of force to resolve tensions over Kosovo.
Internet correspondent Veronica de la Cruz has a look at some of your I-reports.
Good morning, Veronica.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you, Tony. You know, we've seen so many of these photos, videos coming in to the NEWSROOM. A lot of them are really dramatic. Some are showing violence, others showing that protests at the very beginning, Tony, when it was still peaceful.
So take a look at this. This is video from Enrique Roig. As I said, still peaceful. This is the rally taking place in front of parliament, before all that violence erupted. As you know, Serbians are not happy with Kosovo's independence. Serbia considers Kosovo the spiritual heartland of its state and that's where the issue lies.
Now, you can see these photos, protesters carrying signs that, who can rip off Kosovo from my soul? Also, Kosovo is Serbia. People, obviously, not happy with western support for Kosovo's independence.
And then, you can see the violence escalate. This next picture here. A fire breaking out in the middle of this protest. The small group of protesters breaks away from a larger group, and then they take off down the street rooting and rioting. This video shot by Dr. Sarah Philips that shows a newsstand being looted. She says this was all taking place not too far from the U.S. Embassy, Tony.
HARRIS: Hey, Veronica, I'm curious, did our I-reporters notice any particular targets or pattern to the violence?
DE LA CRUZ: You know, a lot of I-reporters did point out that western store, maybe stores that sell American brands, they were becoming targets. And for example, take a look at this. This is footage sent to us of McDonald's. I mean, basically, what's left here, all of that McDonald's after the rioters passed through.
And then, the next shot here by Jochim Heinemann. You see a bystander, just kind of standing amidst, you know, all the damage. That's shattered glass around his feet. I think, the window of a Nike store. Yes, you see that right in the background. Also, really interesting to point out, Jochim, sent us this picture of shop owners hanging Serbian flags, maybe posters in support of Serbia. He says that he thinks that they've done so to protect their store from getting looted.
Tony?
HARRIS: Wow. DE LA CRUZ: So a lot of amazing, powerful images being sent in to us. And of course, you can see the rest of them at cnn.com/ireport. You can also submit your own there.
HARRIS: OK, Veronica, appreciate it. Obviously, we'll continue to follow this and the images from our I-reporters. Veronica, good to see you. Thank you.
DE LA CRUZ: Good to see you.
COLLINS: Our top story this morning. A big snowstorm slams the northeast. Getting from here to there, a little tricky this Friday. We have it covered for you in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Good Friday morning to you, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown.
A big, big snow storm slams across the northeast today. Travelers find out fast, it is slow going out there.
COLLINS: Tango in Texas. A must win for Hillary Clinton. Did she win over voters in last night's CNN debate?
HARRIS: New protest over an independent Kosovo. The U.S. warning Serbia to protect the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, today, Friday, February 22nd, you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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