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American Morning
Winter Storm in New York: First Major Snow; Actions and Words: Highlights of Obama-Clinton Texas Debate; Celebrities Scare on Hepatitis A; Serbia Protests Kosovo's Independence
Aired February 22, 2008 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. We are beginning with this extreme weather in the northeast, and the winter storm dumping heavy snow all the way from Washington D.C. up to Boston. New York City area hit with its first significant snowfall of the winter.
It made for quite a mess on some of the roadways. Steady snow overnight creating slippery conditions for the morning commute. The streets are a mess. Some of the major roadways are dealing with problems, jackknife tractor-trailers, including mandatory speed limits of under 45 miles per hour, up and down the New Jersey turnpike. And there are reports of cars spinning out on those major highways slamming into guardrails as well.
Air travelers this morning being warned to call their airlines. We are sure to be dealing with some delays at some of the airports up and down the East Coast, and we're following all of the weather advisories for you this morning.
CNN's Jim Acosta out on the streets of Manhattan this morning. You know, anecdotally speaking, listening to some of those traffic reports on the way in, and many people were saying they couldn't see the snow plows. Where were they?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, you know, that's a very good question. I don't have the answer for where those snow plows are, but I imagine that there are some public works and streets and sanitation people who are waking up this morning and saying, get those trucks on the roads, because they're looking at these weather conditions right now.
It is a mess out here. The snow started falling sometime overnight, and already we're seeing about two inches of snow on the ground here in New York City. We're expected to see more snow throughout the morning, and as you head north into New York, upstate New York, they could get up to a foot of snow up there.
So travelers are being advised to check those roadways, check those airport delays. As you see the mini-snow plow clearing off the entrance here at the Time Warner building here in New York City, this is what we're going to be dealing with all day today.
Now, we should mention that the snow that's falling right now is expected to change over to freezing rain and sleet throughout the day, so, in other words, yuck. This is going to be a big mess for commuters heading into the Big Apple throughout the northeast this morning, and this all could change back over to snow heading into the weekend.
And already, we're hearing reports of traffic accidents on area roadways here in the New York area. We're hearing about one report on Manhattan's west side highway. That's enough to get the attention of people up there in Westchester County. They may want to start warming up their cars now because of the potential delays heading into the city this morning. But right now, so far, if you're thinking about flying, as you mentioned, Kiran, yes, you should call ahead.
But right now, the FAA is saying that the airports are in good shape right now, and you can see behind me -- you see one of these snow blower things out here that is doing its work here in front of the Time Warner building. I'm not even sure what that thing is, but it's a giant brush that sort of spins around and blows the stuff out of the way.
And I'm going to -- perhaps I should wrap it up right now because I'm about to get hit by a snow plow, Kiran. But, yes, as you can see, this is going to be a mess today. Happy Friday.
CHETRY: Happy Friday, indeed. And they're giving you the hint now, get out of the way or you, too...
ACOSTA: Yes.
CHETRY: ... will be victim of a snow brush. All right.
ACOSTA: Exactly.
CHETRY: Jim Acosta, thanks so much.
Hey, we want to put up one of our weather maps right now and just give you a quick look. You can see by the radar picture now just how widespread this system is, from rain and thunderstorms on the southern side of this storm in the lower Mississippi Valley to the southeast, and then the colder air bringing freezing rain across many of the other parts.
We're all over this story this morning for you. We'll bring you the latest information about when we can expect it to let up, how it's affecting travel conditions this morning on the roadways, but also at the nation's airports -- John.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: A lot of people will be out with those snow sweepers today.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: It's the biggest prize left in the race. Last night, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama had a chance to sell themselves to Texas voters. It could be Senator Clinton's final shot at saving her campaign. With some polls now showing a dead heat in Texas, millions of Latino voters could make the difference. The candidates tackled issues close to their hearts like immigration reform and whether English should be the official language. And Hillary Clinton made her own play on words. Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley has got the highlights for us.
(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 comes so easily to Barack Obama. And the moment came when she was asked about a time when she was tested. She recalled a ceremony at an army medical center treating wounded Iraq war veterans.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), 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-IL), 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 them 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 dust-up along the campaign trail, Obama batted away the Clinton campaign's charge that he plagiarized a paragraph of the speech.
OBAMA: The notion that I had plagiarized from somebody who is 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: You know, 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, but Barack, it is, because, you know, if you look -- 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)
ROBERTS: Texas voters will go to the polls on March the 4th; 193 Democratic delegates will be at stake. Right now, Obama leads Clinton by 140 pledged delegates.
And analysts this morning are talking about the way the debate ended last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: Whatever happens, we're going to be fine. You know, we have strong support from our families and our friends. I just hope that we'll be able to say the same thing about the American people, and that's what this election should be about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, Hillary Clinton got a standing ovation for that line. Some say that she was trying to show her human side. Others read it as a suggestion that she may drop out of the race. And what about the issue of politicians borrowing lines from other speeches?
We're going to talk about that with our CNN political analyst John Dickerson in just a couple of minutes. And in case you missed it, CNN is going to re-air the entire debate again today at noon Eastern time right after "NEWSROOM" -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, Veronica de la Cruz joins us now with some other stories new this morning.
Hi, Veronica.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you, Kiran. Good morning to you, John, and good morning to all of you out there.
We begin a breaking news this morning. Turkey launching its first ground attack into northern Iraq. Turkish troops backed by war planes are hunting down Kurdish militants. Turkey says the operation will prevent the region from being a hotbed for terrorists and will help contribute to Iraq's stability. Early reports from the region suggest up to 10,000 troops have crossed the border. The U.S. military spokesperson in Baghdad says Turkey's operation will be short-lived.
Also new this morning, a strong reaction from the Bush administration after an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade. The White House says the Serbian police didn't do enough to prevent the attack. A group of angry demonstrators threw rocks, broke windows and set a fire at the compound yesterday. They are protesting Kosovo's independence from Serbia. One person was killed during the demonstration.
Well, crews are standing by this morning to recover pieces of the blasted spy satellite that may fall to earth. In the meantime, China is calling for data on the operation to be released. China and Russia have proposed a space weapons ban. Washington says no because it restricts an American defense system, but still allows Chinese and Russian missiles to enter space.
President Bush says he doesn't think that there will be a compromise on a new surveillance bill. He says phone companies need legal protection from eavesdropping, and it's a deal breaker. Democratic leaders in the House rejected it in the Senate's version of the bill. They say they will negotiate a compromise when they return from recess next week.
And finally, news from the maternity ward. No, we're not talking about Kiran. We're talking about J. Lo and her husband. This morning "People" magazine is reporting that the two are proud parents of twins, a baby boy and a baby girl. The babies were born just after midnight in New York. The twins are the first for the couple.
ROBERTS: I was going to say they got a boy and a girl. They're done just like that.
CHETRY: That's right. We were laughing on how long it took her to publicly say she was pregnant. It's a private thing, you know. It's a personal thing for women, but she was about this big.
(CROSSTALK)
DE LA CRUZ: She was on tour. She was giving concerts and everything.
CHETRY: That's right.
DE LA CRUZ: It seems to be a trend. I've heard Jessica Alba also pregnant with twins. I've heard rumors.
ROBERTS: What's wrong with you?
CHETRY: I know. I'm carrying one. I can't believe it. So not Hollywood. Thanks, Veronica.
Well, American voters are saying it's the economy more and more. And as part of our coverage of the upcoming Texas primary, our own Ali Velshi is touring the Lone Star State on CNN's "Election Express."
Ali joins us this morning from the capital of Austin, Texas. Good morning, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. You like the hat? I wore it especially for you.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: Oh, Lord.
CHETRY: Nothing to laugh.
ROBERTS: It looks all right on you.
CHETRY: Nothing goes better with pinstripes than a cowboy hat. Exactly.
VELSHI: It looks all right on me. We're starting in Austin. We're going to be here for about 10 days in Texas. Why? Because Texas is like a country unto itself. It is the second largest economy in the United States. It's got the second largest work force in the United States. It is the largest exporter of any other state, largely because of oil.
But it exported more than $100 billion worth of goods in the last year, so Texas is a very big important state. It's got the highest growth rate in the United States. It's very well diversified, and it's got a lower unemployment rate than the country. About 4.5 percent compared to 4.9 percent for the country.
Now, there are 111 Fortune 500 companies that operate in Texas. About six of them are head quartered here. Some of the bigger ones you'll know about, obviously, Exxon Mobil, the biggest publicly traded company in America, and possibly in the world. Dell, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, Continental. So there are big employers here. Down in San Antonio, Toyota opened up a plant for its Tundra vehicle, the truck that it sells.
So, you know, Texas has got a different kind of situation wherever you go. The economies are different. The political issues are different, so it's useful for everybody to keep an eye on what's going on in Texas to make your own decision up about how you're going to vote, particularly on matters of the economy.
We're going to be moving city to city over the course of the next week or so, reporting from each one of those places about the things that face Texans and quite likely face Americans elsewhere. I'll be back to tell you more about it in a little while.
CHETRY: Sounds goods, Ali. You know, hopefully you're not, as they say in Texas, all hat and no cattle.
VELSHI: I know -- I knew that was going to come up if I wore the hat, but I got boots too.
CHETRY: All right. But where's the cattle? That's coming up in the next hour.
VELSHI: I'll try and rustle some of those.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: Thanks, Ali.
ROBERTS: There you go.
You're watching the most news in the morning. Did Hillary Clinton do enough to slow down Barack Obama's momentum and save her campaign in last night's debate? Your morning after analysis just ahead.
And the health scare for some of Hollywood's biggest names. We'll tell you what happened last night at Ashton Kutcher's 30th birthday party. Is he only 30?
CHETRY: That's right.
ROBERTS: Oh, my God. I hate that kid.
And we continue to watch extreme weather in the northeast ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Shots from Waterbury, Connecticut, where it's really coming down today. Stay with us because we're on top of this extreme weather movement through the northeast today. We'll give you all the information you need to know.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Fifteen past 6:00 here on the East Coast, and what we're also getting this morning is some snow as well as some tough winter conditions.
We have a winter storm dumping heavy snow from D.C. all the way up to Boston, and here's a shot right outside of our studios this morning. You see the cars on the roads making their way through, but the first significant snowfall here in New York City. Slippery conditions out on the roads. A lot of reports of jackknifed tractor- trailers on some of the main thruways in and out of New York City. Air travelers also being warned to call ahead this morning.
We are following all of the latest weather advisories for you there. You see a small little plow trying to get some work done out there, and we'll be following the latest for you on these conditions and let you know how it may affect your travel today. A day before the weekend here on AMERICAN MORNING.
ROBERTS: That is one cool little garden tractor. Don't you think? Can I get one of those?
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama faced off last night in Texas. The largest state contest left in the battle for the party's nomination. The exchange that got the most attention was when Clinton accused Obama of plagiarizing a speech from Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. We'll play that for you in a little bit. John Dickerson is CNN political analyst and chief political correspondent for slate.com, and he joins us this morning.
So John, the Clinton campaign contends that she had the strong performance that she needed. "Congressional Quarterly"'s Craig Crawford, though, observed that she showed no signs of a combatant who had come to change the game. What do you think?
JOHN DICKERSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, she didn't change the game by knocking him out. The question is whether in a debate you can really plan to do that. I think what Clinton tried to do, and somewhat effectively, is, you know, she hasn't been on the stage with Obama in several weeks. She reminded people that she's competent and that she showed people that she could connect with them.
You know, she's got one more debate before these crucial primaries on the 4th. She didn't throw any roundhouses, but she sort of held her own on the debate stage there, and reasserted herself, which given how badly things have been going for her, losing 11 contests in a row, she didn't look like a loser on the stage. And so, while she didn't get the knockout, it wasn't a terrible evening for her.
ROBERTS: You know, as you know, as these things go on throughout the evening, the campaigns are firing off e-mails to correspondents and other journalists to suggest, here's how well our person is doing. This is one moment that the Clinton campaign pointed to. Let's listen to it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: Whatever happens, we're going to be fine. You know, we have strong support from our families and our friends. I just hope that we'll be able to say the same thing about the American people, and that's what this election should be about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Now, here's to whether the Clinton campaign spun that moment. Howard Wolfson said, "What we saw in the final moments of that debate is why Hillary Clinton is the next president of the United States. Her strength, her life experience, her compassion. She's tested and ready. It was the moment she retook the reins of this race and showed women and men why she is the best choice."
But other people saw that moment and thought that she was conceding the race. What do you think, John?
DICKERSON: Well, it was her best moment. Campbell Brown asked the two candidates when they'd been tested. It was interesting. She sort -- she flicked it at her husband's infidelity by saying, you know, people know when I've been tested and got applause immediately. She then pivoted to that final bit that you showed. And it was, you know, an attempt again, to connect with voters and show that she understood them and that she dedicated her life to people's problems. Interestingly, in this debate about plagiarism, there are two passages from her final answer there that look very similar to something both her husband used to say when he was on the campaign trail...
ROBERTS: Yes.
DICKERSON: ... and something John Edwards used to say this time around on the campaign trail.
ROBERTS: In fact, let's play what John Edwards said in December at a debate that sounded very familiar to that. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN EDWARDS (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What's not at stake or any of us, all of us are going to be just fine no matter what happens in this election, but what's at stake is whether America is going to be fine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So that's what Edwards said in December during a debate. And the other line that you referred to, John, she says, you know, I've taken hits in my life, or the hits that I have taken in my life are nothing compared to what goes on every single day in the lives of people across our country.
Compare that to Bill Clinton in 1992, who said the hits that I took in this election are nothing compared to the hits that people of the state and the country have been taking for a long time. So everybody is lifting lines from everybody else. Does anybody really care? Is it an issue?
DICKERSON: No. People don't care, and this is why Barack Obama was right when he said that Hillary Clinton was engaging in some sort of silliness by pressing on his supposed plagiarism. It was I think her weakest moment of the night when she pressed that point. And it was confirmed that this is a very bad idea if you are a politician to bring up the plagiarism charge because politicians do it all the time. They sample. They give lots of speeches that are written by other people.
In fact, her best line -- or her line of the night about, you know, this is -- that Barack Obama represented change you can Xerox. I asked the campaign if that was her original line. I haven't heard back that it was yet.
ROBERTS: Well, she got booed for it, so she might have had sort of a little bit of buyer's remorse in adopting that line last night.
DICKERSON: No one wants to take credit for it now.
ROBERTS: Yes. Absolutely.
John Dickerson for us this morning from Washington. John, thanks. We'll check back in with you a little bit later on.
DICKERSON: Thanks.
ROBERTS: And that bring us to this morning's "Quick Vote" question. Does it matter if politicians borrow lines from each other for speeches? Cast your vote at CNN.com/am. We'll have the first tally of votes coming up later on this hour -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, still ahead, a new way to look at the A-list. Why Ashton Kutcher's birthday party now has celebs lining up for the doctor.
Also, your i-Report on the scene of a riot at the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade. Veronica shows us the videos and images that you captured ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well, you've heard of a horse of a different color, of course. But how about a panda of a different color? It's your "Hot Shot" this morning.
Check out this rare red panda. An endangered species native to the Far East. It's even more rare to find one in Brooklyn, which is where this one just arrived. The newest arrival at the Prospect Park Zoo at our "Hot Shot" this morning.
CHETRY: How neat. They're from Katmandu, Nepal. There's a lot of them around there.
ROBERTS: It looks more like a raccoon, doesn't it?
CHETRY: I know. It looks like a kitty cat and a raccoon. But very rare and beautiful.
ROBERTS: Very cute. If you got a "Hot Shot," send it to us. Head to our Web site at CNN.com/am and follow the "Hot Shot" link.
Well, some A-list celebrities may have reason to worry about Hepatitis A this morning. Doctors are urging everyone who attended actor Ashton Kutcher's 30th birthday party in New York City to get a shot as soon as possible.
According to the New York City Health Department, the bartender could have been infected and passed on Hepatitis A. Besides Kutcher and his wife Demi Moore, other celebrities at the party included Bruce Willis, Kate Hudson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna.
Fortunately for them, Hepa A is pretty easily treated. Just immunoglobulin and pretty much goes away.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: This just shows how quickly things can be spread around.
CHETRY: Exactly. And that's the last thing you want to have to do after attending a birthday party. Right?
ROBERTS: Exactly. Yes.
CHETRY: Go to the doctor because of it.
Well, there's a follow-up this morning from the violent chaos in Belgrade. Protesters setting fire to the U.S. Embassy, demonstrating against the U.S. support of Kosovo's independence. This morning, Russia is not ruling out the use of force to resolve tensions over Kosovo.
Veronica de la Cruz has been checking out some of the i-Reports that people submitted after seeing and witnessing this violence.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes, you know, good morning to you. We've seen a lot of really, really dramatic images pouring in. Lots of pictures, videos. But I do want to remind you that those demonstrations did start out peacefully. We're going to start with some video captured by Enrique Roig. Take a look.
We're looking at this rally in front of the parliament building. Obviously, Serbians there not happy with Kosovo's independence. That's the reason why they all gather. Serbia considers Kosovo the spiritual heartland of its state, and that is where the problem lies. So this is video from Enrique.
I want to show you some pictures from Sonja (ph). A lot of people choosing to remain anonymous, only wanting to go by their first names. Not really wanting to share their full names. But this is from Sonja. Protesters there not happy with western support of Kosovo. It's obvious in the signs that these protesters are carrying. Who can rip off Kosovo from my soul? The other one saying Kosovo is my state.
This is one from an I-Reporter that does wish to be anonymous. This is a shot of a rally there. You can see the fire burning in the background. What happened here is a small group of protesters broke away from this larger group, and now you can see the violence erupt.
This video from Dr. Sarah Philips shows a newsstand being looted. This is all happening close to the U.S. Embassy. There are no people in that stand, but, as you can see, people there breaking in, looting. Lots of looting. Also aimed at stores carrying western brands, American brands. This is a video, the aftermath of a McDonald's store after it was looted.
And now, picture from Joaquim Heinemann (ph). There you see the shattered window of a Nike store. And Joaquim (ph) reports that the damage gets worse as you get closer to the U.S. Embassy there.
So again, like I said, lots of I-Reporters there wishing to remain anonymous. If you would like to send us an I-Report, share your thoughts on this. You can do so at CNN.com/ireport.
ROBERTS: I was there during the war in 1999. I remember that whole embassy road, shattered windows everywhere, graffiti scrawled everywhere. Almost very similar scenes that we saw there yesterday.
CHETRY: Yes. Very dramatic pictures of fire, and you see people standing there on the second story.
ROBERTS: Yes. We'll be talking with Richard Holbrook who was the guy who gave Milosevic the ultimatum to get out of Kosovo or face near bombing. Coming up in our next hour, so make sure you're around for that.
Next week is a historic moment in North Korea. The New York Philharmonic Orchestra is going to perform a concert in Pyongyang. It will be broadcast live and will mark an unprecedented cultural exchange between communist North Korea and the United States. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has not said if he is going to attend.
We sent AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho there. Her family is from South Korea. They survived the war but wondered about relatives who disappeared and have not been heard from since.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I always knew that one of my dad's uncles had disappeared during the war. He is a famous ballet dancer. My grandmother then told me that she read in the newspaper later in Seoul that he was teaching ballet in Pyongyang. So, I mean, that's extraordinary, but I just recently learned that it wasn't just one uncle. It was two. And the other one was a schoolteacher, and I don't know whether they're alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Alina Cho takes us inside North Korea next week with live reports from Pyongyang. You can follow her trip and the search for her family in North Korea. Check out Alina's blog at CNN.com/am.
CHETRY: We miss her, but she's certainly on an incredible journey.
ROBERTS: Yes. Very, very personal and emotional story that she's on. Interesting.
CHETRY: And we're looking forward to her reports. Of course, as we said, we'll bring them to you here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Meanwhile, the reaction from last night's debate coming in from the voters. We're going to have results of our debate. Dial test -- which moments connected and which ones fell flat?
Also, it's a wet, snowy Friday across much of the northeast. There's snow and ice making it for a travel nightmare on the roads. Most likely for people trying to fly today as well. We're tracking all of our extreme weather ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING right now and there you see shot of the radar right now with the big bit of mix of snow, sleet, freezing rain, and other precipitation moving in much of the eastern east coast from Washington all the way up to Boston this morning.
It doesn't look like it's going anywhere any time soon. It may change over to rain a little bit later, but, boy, for the morning commute, what a mess. I don't have to be a rocket scientist to predict that we're going to have some trouble in the New York area airports this morning.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Or even a meteorologist for that matter.
CHETRY: Exactly. We have one, though, on stand-by. Actually, Rob is here to tell us a little bit more about that. But it looks like it's going to be a mess if you are traveling. Call ahead to all of the airports this morning because you know when there's trouble here. Usually it leads to trouble in other places.
ROBERTS: Absolutely. I expect those airport delays to start to pile up soon. Let's take a look at all of this. A mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain from Washington D.C. all the way up into Boston. And the morning commute, as Kiran was saying, one big mess already here in New York City. Driving is dangerous. Reports of accidents everywhere.
Schools that were not already closed for winter break are going to be closed today and air travelers are being warned to call their airlines before heading out the door.
Our Rob Marciano down there in Atlanta tracking the extreme weather for us.
How bad is this going to be today, Rob?
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: Well, a little heat at last night's Democratic debate seen right here on CNN. The interaction between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama was a little bit stronger than the last debate. At times -- many times, they seemed to agree with each other on a lot of the issues. Clinton though did bring up the issue of Obama plagiarizing a speech.
The Obama camp later suggest that the Clinton's closing remarks also resembled some similar words once made by John Edwards. But the back and forth was nothing like the knockdown scene in the past. One of the big issues, health care. And that's where one of the few times where both candidates sounded different.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We've got a philosophical difference which we've debated repeatedly, and that is that Senator Clinton believes the only way to achieve universal health care is to force everybody to purchase it. And my belief is the reason that people don't have it is not because they don't want it, but because they can't afford it. And so I emphasize reducing costs.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He has a mandate for parents to be sure to insure their children. I agree with that. I just know that if we don't go and require everyone to have health insurance, the health insurance industry will still game the system. Every one of us with insurance will pay the hidden tax of approximately $900 a year to make up for the lack of insurance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Also in her final remarks, Clinton said that the American people have faced greater challenges than she has. And I'll say it was a good moment that connected with the audience but may have come a little bit too late in the race.
But what did the voters think of last night's debate? We gave a group of voters a dial and instructed them turn it up when you like something, turn it down when you don't. And of course, the higher the line, it means the more they liked what was being said. So what worked for Obama and Clinton? Well, lashing out at the Bush administration seemed to rate pretty high.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: We have to end the Bush tax cuts to the wealthy and to provide tax breaks to middle-class Americans and working Americans who need them.
CLINTON: The wealthy and the well-connected have had a president the last seven years. And I think it's time that the rest of America had a president who worked for you every single day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Attacking each other, though, did not work as well. Clinton got some of her lowest marks for her comments about claims that Obama plagiarized a speech.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: If your candidacy is going to be about words, then they should be your own words. That's I think, a very simple proposition. And, you know, lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can belief in and it's change you can Xerox. And I just don't think...
OBAMA: That's not what happened.
CLINTON: No, but you know, Barack, it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: You can see the whole debate for yourself. CNN will re- air it today at noon Eastern.
ROBERTS: New this morning, Republican frontrunner John McCain may have hit a campaign financing roadblock. The Federal Elections Commission told McCain that he cannot withdraw from the Public Financing System. It provides candidates public money, but also limits their spending between now and the convention to $40 million. The FEC says it needs to learn more about a bank loan that McCain received last year to keep his campaign alive.
The Bush administration today will formally approve a virtual fence along the border with Mexico. The 28-mile stretch of technology in Arizona is equipped with radars, sensors, and surveillance cameras that can tell a cow from a person ten miles away. At least that's the way it's being sold. 295 miles of border fencing has already been built. Some studies have shown some problems with that virtual fence, though.
The big cats at the San Francisco Zoo are on display again. The exhibit reopened yesterday for the first time since the tiger escaped on Christmas Day killing a teenager. The exhibit now includes higher walls, glass barriers, and electrified wires. Days after the attack, the zoo announced the wall around the tiger's enclosure was four feet lower than industry standards.
Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, there's a new twist this morning in a disappearance of Illinois mom, Stacy Peterson. A pathologist now saying that her husband, Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio was murdered.
Her death was originally ruled an accident back in 2004. It was determined that she had drowned in a bathtub. Her family has fought that. They never believed it from the beginning. Now investigators exhumed her body after Stacy went missing and came up with a different conclusion.
CNN's Susan Roesgen is watching the latest developments this morning, live in Bolingbrook, Illinois. What does this mean right now for Drew Peterson who has been described as a suspect in his current wife, Stacy's, disappearance?
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kiran, it turns up the heat on Drew Peterson. I'm outside Drew Peterson's home today with a lot of other reporters because although he is not officially a suspect in the murder of Kathleen Savio, his third wife, he is, as you know, a suspect in the disappearance of Stacy Peterson, his fourth wife.
Now, Drew and Stacy were married while Kathleen Savio was still alive, but they had not completed the divorce. She and Drew were not officially divorced. It had been a messy procedure. The settlement papers were not signed, when she was found dead in her bathtub on March 1st of 2004.
As you mentioned, her family always thought that she had been murdered and they always suspected Drew in that murder. But a coroner's inquest initially ruled it was an accident and it wasn't until Stacy Peterson disappeared last October that the local state's county district attorney here decided to reopen the case and exhumed Kathleen Savio's body. Now, a forensic pathologist says, yes, she was murdered in that bathtub.
Now, the thing about this for Drew Peterson is that he has been under such a cloud of suspicion. I talked last night to Pam Bosco, a spokeswoman for the Peterson family, who said that they, too, always thought that there was at least something suspicious about Kathleen Savio's death. But she says that Drew Peterson was so likable, such a nice guy, so sociable that they just sort of pushed that doubt aside. And now they're afraid that their fears were right.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAM BOSCO, PETERSON FAMILY SPOKESWOMAN: It leaves one an eerie feeling of dread. We realized that Kathleen and Stacy had one common denominator, and that was Drew Peterson, so we look forward to this investigation that's ongoing right now with Kathleen's death and Stacy's disappearance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: Again, no suspect now. No suspect named in the death of Kathleen Savio. And Stacy Peterson, the fourth wife, Kiran, has been missing now for five months.
CHETRY: Susan Roesgen for us in Bolingbrook, Illinois this morning. Thank you.
ROBERTS: Coming up on 42 minutes to the top of the hour. Clinton or Obama? That's the question on lots of minds in Texas as we inch closer to the March 4th primary. CNN's Ed Lavandera watched the debate with five undecided voters last night. One of the highlights, the reaction to the charges of plagiarism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Its things like resorting to little -- stupid little low blows like that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hillary Clinton has gone through the ringer time and again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Did the debate change any minds? We'll find out next.
And when the rescuers need rescuing. Dramatic images from the efforts to save a few lives on an icy pond, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: Live look now coming to us from our affiliate WFSB. This is in Waterbury, Connecticut where you can see cars moving slower than usual. Things not so bad on that stretch of roadway. But because of the snow and the ice and the slick roads, there's been a lot of trouble on some of the roads around New York City, I-95, dealing with the mess. Some trouble on the New Jersey turnpike as well. Jackknifed tractor-trailers. There was some anecdotal evidence of just how difficult it was to be on those roads in Connecticut. On some stretches of I-95 where there was a lot of hills. The big rigs were actually just unable to control their rigs and a couple of reports of jackknifed trailers along the roadways.
Well, you know, the airports also have problems this morning. Philadelphia Airport has a two-hour -- two and a half hour delay, two hours and 45 minutes on some arriving flights, and we're also hearing from Rob Marciano that about a dozen airports along the eastern part of the country are in the process of deicing and trying to get ready, trying to make sure they can get some flights out today. But the advice, definitely, if you are flying today, call ahead.
ROBERTS: To politics now, and polls show Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in a dead heat in Texas. Senator Clinton needs the big win after 11 losses in a row to Barack Obama. She is counting on winning over the undecideds, like the people who watched the debate with our Ed Lavandera last night. He joins us now from Austin.
Good morning, Ed. What did you find out last evening?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Well, we sat down with five voters who -- and we polled them at the beginning. We asked them, who are you leaning towards at this point? We had three for Obama, two for Hillary Clinton. So the question was would last night's debate change their minds?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: 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.
CLINTON: 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: So we generally came left the evening the same way we came into it. Three supporting Obama, two supporting Hillary Clinton. But the interesting thing, and probably something that Democratic supporters across the country would like to hear is that all of these candidate -- all of these voters kind of told us, look, we're being extremely picky at this point. They would be happy with either of the candidates come November.
John?
ROBERTS: Yes. The one thing about Democrats is that they're pretty happy with both candidates. But I thought it was significant, Ed, that that one fellow thought neither one of their health care plans would really make a difference.
LAVANDERA: You know, we didn't have time to point out there but that gentleman is also a doctor. That's why we used him there. But he definitely had an interesting point on that. And they also mentioned that they didn't think that any of these plans would actually survive the Congressional process any way, so they're really looking more of the style issue at this point and the ideas that they're proposing and they feel confident that none of these plans would actually make it through a Congressional hearings and all of that stuff that would have to happen to make these plans come to fruition.
ROBERTS: Yes. Always get a good perspective on these things when you talk to the voters. Ed Lavandera for us this morning. Ed, thanks.
CHETRY: Still ahead, we sent Ali Velshi on the road. He has actually traded in his cufflinks and pinstripes for a cowboy hat this morning. Climbing aboard the Election Express, talking to voters about their money troubles. What do they think about the economy? What do they think might help us and how it may affect their vote? We're going to check in with Ali in just a couple of minutes.
And also, when the rescuers need rescuing. Check out this video. A teenager, his dog, and some drama on the ice. We'll show you how it all turned out, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: Well, the CNN Election Express is rolling into Texas and this morning, the stop is Austin. That's where the big debate was last night. That's where Ali Velshi is this morning to talk to the voters about the economy and the impact that they think it's going to have on their vote coming up.
Hey, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kiran. How are you? We are here in Austin, Texas. We're kicking off our road trip around Texas for the next little while. We're going to be going down to Laredo after this and then San Antonio, Laredo, Corpus Christi, Galveston, Houston, Dallas.
One thing about Texas is you really get a different flavor wherever you go in the country. So we're in Austin right now. It's the state capital. We're going to be on the CNN Election Express, by the way. You can see that. The state capital is about 657,000 people. It's also the home of the University of Texas at Austin, which gives the whole city a bit of a liberal feel. It's got a high- tech corridor here called Silicon Hills. And there's a local saying around here, keep Texas -- keep Austin weird.
It's the live music capital they say of the United States. So it's got a very interesting feel and a very different sort of economy and a sense of the future. We're going to be talking to some students to get a sense of what they think the issues are in the upcoming elections. So as we go around Texas, we're going to be speaking to people about their number one concern. What they've said their number one concern is, and that is the economy. How the candidates are dealing with the economy. You know, oil is a big industry in this state, obviously. It's the biggest export from Texas. Another big thing, Kiran, you mentioned it earlier is cattle. And I couldn't rustle any up in the streets, but I think I've got something to show you here.
CHETRY: I love it. Where did you get them?
VELSHI: We just found them at CNN.
CHETRY: Don't go losing them. They're worth a lot of money.
VELSHI: I'll try and get you some real ones over the course of the next few days. How is that?
CHETRY: I love it. You know, I asked for cattle and you deliver. Beautiful. I don't really want to know any more details about where you got them. To think you might be in trouble.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: With the rancher, if you know what I mean.
VELSHI: Yes. You get in trouble for stealing cattle around here.
CHETRY: All right, Ali. Texas justice, remember that. We'll see you in the next hour.
ROBERTS: Sticking with their animal theme this morning. Some scary moments for an animal control officer and a teenager who were trying to rescue a dog from an icy pond. Take a look.
There's the dog there struggling to keep its head above water. The officer and the boy went out there on the ice to try to get the dog out. They -- watch this. Watch what happens. And whoops, they fell through themselves. They try to get back out onto the ice. The teen's dog, a black lab named Porter, still there struggling to get up, struggling to kept breaking through the ice.
The officer fell through the ice again. Eventually, though, everyone made it out and rescued Porter. The teen described the tense moments out there on the ice and in the water.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GABE SIEM, DOG OWNER: His eyes and he was crying and I just couldn't let him drowned out there in front of me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Wow. That got to be tough. Look at that. Tried to get him with a stick and boom, in they go. The dog's owners say that they're grateful that the officer risked her life to save Porter.
Wow. It's a difficult rescue there.
CHETRY: Yes. So everyone is OK?
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: And they're trying to get out of the ice, right there.
ROBERTS: Have you ever gone into freezing water like that?
CHETRY: I don't know. You can't even breathe, when we stuck our hands in the ice.
ROBERTS: I went through in a snow mobile once, really an interesting experience.
CHETRY: Well, a chance to change everything. Hillary Clinton tries to win over Texas voters. Did she do enough, though, to stop Obama's surge? The Best Political Team on Television weighs in ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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