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American Morning
Highlights of Obama-Clinton Texas Debate; Undecideds in Texas: Did Debate Change Minds?; Losing Streak: Woman Loses 120 Pounds; Ruby Dee: Looking for First Oscars
Aired February 22, 2008 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Texas tangle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have seen hate crimes skyrocket in the wake of the immigration debate and that is unacceptable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Did Obama win over Latinos?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is a smart way to protect our borders and there is a dumb way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Was this Clinton's Alamo? See what voters think. It's the "Most Politics in the Morning."
Plus, storm warning. Snow and ice piling up. A dangerous, frozen Friday of extreme weather on this AMERICAN MORNING.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back. What a Friday it is. A bit of a trouble nightmare for parts of the East Coast. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Right now, we're looking at quite a mess on the roads and at the airports.
ROBERTS: Oh, particularly at the airports as well. Some delays up to seven hours. Sanjay and I both decided to travel yesterday as opposed to trying to do it today. It looks like it was a good decision.
CHETRY: Yes. You two decide that and Ali from the bus, still in Austin, Texas. Who knows when he's coming back?
ROBERTS: There you go. Once in a while, we exhibit little signs of intelligence.
Snow, sleet and freezing rains all causing the Friday morning mess across the northeast. The first significant snowfall here in New York City. The wintry mix creating major problems on the roads and in the airs. Major delays being reported at all three New York area airports and also in Philadelphia at this point.
The maximum delay now, about seven hours. That's at Newark. JFK not far behind, about six. La Guardia seems to be the best of them all. So far just a little more than three hours and slightly less than three hours in Philadelphia.
Rob Marciano is tracking the extreme weather for us.
And just how much are we expecting today from Washington all the way up to New England here, Rob?
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: Well, the storm is wreaking havoc, as we've said, for the travel plans just as we ready to start the weekend. The Philadelphia seen a slew of cancellations already on top of the nearly three-hour delays.
Joining us on the phone right now is Phyllis Van Istendal. She is the spokeswoman for the Philadelphia International Airport.
Phyllis, thanks for being with us this morning.
PHYLLIS VAN ISTENDAL, SPOKESWOMAN, PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: My pleasure. Good morning.
CHETRY: Good morning. I understand you just got out of a briefing. What is the status right now for folks trying to fly in and out of Philadelphia?
ISTENDAL: The information that I have is through 11:30. At this time, there are 49 departure cancellations, 49 arrival cancellations. Our airfield crews have been mobilized since midnight, and they are rotating their chemical treatment of the runways so that at all times, there are, our runways are operational.
CHETRY: So how many flights are actually getting out?
ISTENDAL: Well, there are about 27 percent of our flights are canceled at this point. We average approximately 1,200 operations per day. That's a combination of arrivals and departures.
CHETRY: What's the best advice for people right now? Check with the individual airlines and...
ISTENDAL: As always, yes.
CHETRY: Are you recommending that people just, if they don't have to travel today out of your airport, maybe just see if they can rebook?
ISTENDAL: Yes, definitely. If that's what their preference is. But certainly to check with their airlines or call our toll-free 1- 800-PHL-GATE number, logon to our phl.org website, but absolutely, if you're traveling or expecting someone, the best course is to check with the airlines or call the number I gave or the website. CHETRY: And you're saying that there are nearly three-hour delays right now on average. Do you expect that to get better as the day goes on, or do you expect that to actually increase as the day goes on?
ISTENDAL: It's hard to predict. Depending on the weather pattern, and you know, we've had this interesting weather combination of snow and then change to freezing rain and then all rain. So I would say that, really, a lot depends on the weather.
CHETRY: All right. Checking in with the Philadelphia International Airport today looking at nearly 50 flights canceled, departures, 54 arriving flights canceled as well. Call ahead if you're going to be there. Phyllis Van Istendal, thank you.
ISTENDAL: My pleasure.
ROBERTS: It is the biggest price left in the race now. 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 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 live from Austin.
How would you describe the overall tone of the debate last night, Candy?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I would say, John, it was mostly civil but some moments of high tension. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY (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 at 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 dust 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.
OBAMA: That's not what happened.
CLINTON: But, you know, but 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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: In the end, Anderson, they pretty much leave this debate and it doesn't look as though there has been a real change in the dynamic of the race. That is, that he is ahead with more states won, more pledged delegates at this point. They move forward, as you know, from Texas to Ohio -- two really, really important primaries coming up on the 4th.
ROBERTS: So -- and it's John, by the way, Candy. Anderson's on at night. What's your strategy in the next week and a half to try to blunt his momentum in those two important states?
CROWLEY: OK. Three hours of sleep, John. That's all I have to say. So - OK, what was that question again?
ROBERTS: What does she have to do in the next week and a half to try to blunt his momentum in those two important states?
CROWLEY: She's going to stick to her game plan, which has always been in Pennsylvania, particularly coming up after Ohio. And in Ohio, with higher numbers of union members in both those states, working class people, she is going at those homes and heart issues saying, listen, I get it. I understand. I've been listening to you. I know how to fix it.
I see nothing in the campaign that says to me she's going to change that message. It's one they pretty much started with and they may end it or they may pick it back up again, but that's the message they're staying with.
ROBERTS: All right, Candy Crowley for us this morning live from Austin, Texas. We'll try to get you wrapped up early today, Candy. (INAUDIBLE) eight hours for you.
CROWLEY: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: I know how tough it is on the road. By the way, just in case you missed it last evening, CNN is going to re-air the entire debate again at noon, Eastern Time, today right after NEWSROOM.
Everybody has got (INAUDIBLE) and wounded there.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Poor thing. Besides you guys look a little bit alike, you and Anderson.
ROBERTS: Not bad.
CHETRY: That's a compliment. Don't worry.
Also, new this morning. Pro-Serbian crowds gathered along the border in Kosovo after the new nation declared independence. It's been peaceful so far. There is a live look right now in north Mitrovica, Kosovo.
Yesterday, though, things did boil all over in Belgrade, where protesters and demonstrators threw rocks, broke windows. There you see. Lit signs on fire and actually lit the embassy on fire, the U.S. embassy there. A strong reaction coming from the Bush administration this morning about that violence. The White House says the Serbian police did not do enough to prevent it.
Well, he's got the momentum, will he get Texas vote. Obama looking to extend his winning streak come March 4th. We're talking with the national co-chair -- co-chair of his national committee, coming up.
Also ahead, a battle between a group of nurses and a nursing home. Sick children caught in the middle. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What exactly are the nurses being charged with?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Endangering the welfare of a child and endangering the welfare of a physically disabled person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Why? Because some of the nurses walked off the job. They said they had no choice. Sunny Hostin is looking at all sides of this unprecedented case, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Senator Clinton needed a strong performance in last night's CNN Univision debate. Even the former President Bill Clinton has said that if Senator Obama won Texas and Ohio she'd likely be out. Federico Pena is the co-chair of the Obama campaign. He also serves as Energy secretary and Transportation secretary during the Clinton administration.
Federico Pena, good morning. Thanks for being with us.
FEDERICO PENA, OBAMA CAMPAIGN NATION CO-CHAIR: Good morning, Kiran. I'm happy to be here.
CHETRY: As we just said, you served in the Bill Clinton administration. Why are you supporting Senator Barack Obama this time around?
PENA: Well, Kiran, for three reasons. Number one, I believe the next president has to have the ability to unite our country. We are deeply divided over the war in Iraq, health care, immigration, and I believe Senator Obama has the best skill set to unite the American people.
Secondly, I believe Senator Obama has the ability to work with both Democrats and Republicans to finally fix the broken political system in Washington, to actually get things done, and to stop the gridlock that we see in Washington for so many years.
And thirdly, his view of the world is very different from people who ever run for president, given his lifetime experience. He sees the world through unique eyes in the 21st century and I think that's the kind of president we need. So those are the three reasons that I'm supporting him and I'm very proud of it.
CHETRY: You know, there's CNN polling in Texas that shows that health care is one of the most important issues. Last night, Senator Clinton tried to draw the distinctions between the two health care plans. She continues to say that because he does not have mandates in his plan -- that more people are not going to be covered.
Why do you think Barack Obama's health care initiative is a better one than the one that Hillary Clinton is putting forward?
PENA: Well, Kiran, first of all, it's a matter of practicality. I can tell you. I'm originally from South Texas. I was born in Laredo and raised in Brownsville. I now live in Colorado.
When people talk about the Federal Government ordering me to buy health insurance that doesn't work. It will not work in the west, where people are very independent. So from a conceptual perspective, this notion that the Federal Government is going to require me to buy health care insurance doesn't work.
In the state of Massachusetts, as the Senator Obama talked about last night, 20 percent of the people can't buy it, because it's too expensive. So they'd opted out and now there are penalties upon them. In some cases, garnishing wages or imposing fines. So those people are worse off. So from a very practical...
CHETRY: Federico, let me just ask you this, though. You're required to buy car insurance if you want to drive a car. So why is it such a stretch to say that you'd be required to buy health insurance?
PENA: It's so much more expensive. The reason people can't buy the health insurance today, it's too expensive. So the approach that Senator Obama is taking is a better approach and that is let us reduce the costs of the health care insurance so that you can buy it and then take care of the people who may gain the system, as the senator talked about last night.
So from the very practical perspective, this is the approach that will make sense and that's why Senator Obama's plan, I think is much more workable. And you know what, if we go to a mandated system, we're going to be here four years from now with nothing getting done in Washington, which has been the problem now for almost ten years. So I think that's why Senator Obama's approach will work.
Remember, in the 1990s when Senator Clinton, who is, of course, first lady, tried this approach, it didn't work. It fell apart. Nothings happened. So we've got to finally take a practical approach to finally bring health care to millions of Americans who need it desperately today.
CHETRY: Last night, Senator Clinton also attacked Barack Obama's accomplishments. Let's listen to what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: There are differences between our records...
Lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in. It's change you can Xerox.
OBAMA: That's not what happened.
CLINTON: But, you know, but Barack, it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: OK. That actually is not the sound that I wanted to hear. It was the one where she said that there were differences between our records and that she was amused on another program when one of Senator Barack Obama's supporters was asked to name an accomplishment of Senator Barack Obama's and he could not.
You're here today. Can you help correct that for us and tell us about one of the accomplishments of Barack Obama when he was in the Senate?
PENA: Well, I can talk about many. First of all, as a state senator in Illinois, he was voted as the best freshman legislator. I know what that means because I was a legislator in Colorado and I was also name one of the top ten best legislators in Colorado.
And secondly, because of his health care work, he was given an award as the best senator in the State of Illinois for supporting health care. Separate from that, he had the courage to reform the death penalty law in the State of Illinois for 13 people, who were inaccurately accused and sentenced to death row. He worked with Democrats and Republicans. Nobody else would touch that. He got that done.
Secondly, he changed welfare to work in the State of Illinois so that people now have the pride of working and getting welfare benefits. Thirdly, he expanded health care so that over 100,000 people got health care in the state of Illinois.
Fourthly, he did ethics reform and campaign finance reform in the state of Illinois. All things that are doable and you can track them and you can trace them.
Then as the United States Senator, what did he do? He worked with Dick Lugar to expand the program in Russia so that we can secure nuclear facilities. I know about that because as the secretary of Energy, I went to Russia. And we had to work with their ex- laboratories because they had nuclear material that need to be secured so that terrorist groups in Rogue states wouldn't get those materials. Senator Obama worked to expand that to other facilities.
So, he's got an extraordinary track record. But the most important thing here is not just experience, but it's good judgment. Wise decision-making and Senator Obama demonstrated last night he is ready to be commander-in-chief because he will use our military forces wisely and with good judgment. And that's what the American people are looking for.
CHETRY: Federico Pena, Obama campaign national co-chair. Thanks for joining us this morning.
PENA: Thank you very much.
ROBERTS: 20 minutes after the hour. We want to take you back live with some pictures from the Mitrovica. This is in the northern part of Kosovo. And there you see a Serbian demonstration. You're looking from north to south there. This is on the Serbian side of Mitrovica. It's an enclave in the northern part of the city there. That bridge that you see in the background, that line of police is the line of demarcation between the Serbian enclave of the north and the Albanian part of the city to the south.
The Serbs have all gathered there, waving flags and chanting patriotic slogans, singing Serbian songs. They have challenged the police a little bit. There was one tear gas canister that was fired. The police are trying to keep them obviously from crossing over that bridge, because if they were to do that, then it's quite possible that all hell would break loose because tensions between Serbs and Albanians there in Mitrovica is still running strong, particularly since Kosovo declared its independents last week.
We're going to keep watching this situation. We'll get back to it the second anything that significant happens. Right now, a little bit of a confrontation. Looks like some stone throwing. Police responded with one volume of single canister of tear gas. Nothing serious just yet, but we're watching this, this morning.
It's an unprecedented case. Nurses brought to the United States to care for the most desperate patients walk off the job. They say that they have been subject to grueling and demeaning working conditions, but they get charge for leaving their young patients behind. AMERICAN MORNING's legal analyst Sunny Hostin is talking with all sides. That's coming up next.
And it's a sea of white across the northeast this morning. And if you're planning to fly today, pack your patience. Better still, stay home. Rob Marciano has got all the extreme weather details ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: This morning we are "Uncovering America." Looking at people and issues that are changing our nation. Today, it's a case that combines an explosive and emotional mix of immigration and health care. About nurses who came to America to care for the most critical cases but ended up facing criminal charges.
AMERICAN MORNING's legal analyst Sunny Hostin is covering all sides of this unprecedented case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THESS RAMOS, NURSE UNDER INDICTMENT: It's like fulfilling a dream, just to work in America.
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A dream that became a nightmare for ten nurses recruited from the Philippines. Now all of them face criminal charges after resigning from a Long Island nursing home.
What exactly are the nurses being charged with?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Endangering the welfare of a child and endangering the welfare of a physically disabled person.
RAMOS: It is devastating. For a criminal indictment that's a very big thing for us. We didn't expect it that it would go this far.
HOSTIN: Thess Ramos and the other nurses say the Avalon Garden Center broke its promises to them, from heavy work loads to disputes over scheduling and pay.
RAMOS: It makes you tired. Every day, you have to call, complain, argue with the nursing director, we need more staff.
HOSTIN: After seeking legal counsel, all ten nurses handed in their resignation on the same day in April 2006. No patient suffered ill effects but the Suffolk County D.A.'s office says lack of sufficient notice turned this into a criminal case.
LEONARDO LATO, ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Labor disputes have been going on since the dawn of time. There were collateral consequences here. The children deserve better.
HOSTIN: Sharon Bannon's 24-year-old daughter, Jody, had severe brain damage and suffers from a seizure disorder.
SHARON BANNON, MOTHER OF PATIENT: I couldn't risk my girl. I'm not there to take care of her. I need them to take care of her.
HOSTIN: But only one of the nurses was on duty at the time they all resigned and only two were scheduled to work the next day. Two state agencies, the Health and Education Department, concluded that the nurses had not put the patients at risk. The nurses contend it was Avalon Gardens that put patients' lives at risks, by not hiring enough staff and not properly training them.
RAMOS: There are days that there will only be one nurse and to have one nurse to take care of those 10, 11 patients is very, very unsafe.
HOSTIN: But the home says it had addressed the nurses concerns.
HOWARD FENSTERMAN, AVALON GARDENS REPRESENTATIVE: Two days before their resignation, the nursing home owners actually met with the nurses, and they were on the view that the nurses' complaints had been resolved.
HOSTIN: Howard Fensterman says that by resigning together, the nurses wanted to cripple the nursing home.
What do you say to folks that say, well, actually it's Avalon's fault?
FENSTERMAN: There was no critical reason why the nurses needed to resign without notice.
HOSTIN: Defense Attorney James Druker says the nurses were afraid of retaliation by the home. JAMES DRUKER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: They said we couldn't give two weeks' notice. They would have brought a trumped up charge against me and cause me to lose my license. I had to leave there right away.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Sunny Hostin joins us now live from New Orleans. Sunny, so if convicted of all charges, these nurses could face jail time, lose there nursing licenses, could be deported as well. How uncommon is it for a labor dispute like to become a criminal case?
HOSTIN: This is completely unprecedented, John. And that's why this is such an important case. These things are typically dealt with in civil litigation, they're dealt with employer/employee, sometimes people are fired, their employment contracts. I have never seen this happen, where someone walks off the job and they face criminal charges. So it's a very important case and I think it's going to have ramifications nationally.
ROBERTS: We'll keep watching it closely. Sunny Hostin for us this morning, "Uncovering America." Sunny, thanks.
Kiran?
CHETRY: OK. Losing more than 120 pounds with no tricks. It's a fit nation success story that one woman wrote for herself. Sanjay is on it. How did she do it, Sanjay?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'll tell you what? There were no tricks, as you say. You know, we talk about the basics so much, Kiran. Who wanted to this year spent some time actually showing you that they can work. We'll have her story and amazing one. You got to want to see this, straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: A snowy look at Columbus Circle today in New York City this morning. A lot of trouble with the morning commute, especially if you're trying to fly this morning. We're getting word of some airports that have just decided to actually close including Teterboro.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: White Plains. They're removing snow from the runways.
CHETRY: And Westchester County Airport here in New York. And the big ones are still running but there's been a lot of flight cancellations, and there's also been a lot of delays that have been piling up this morning. So call ahead if you are flying.
And welcome once again to AMERICAN MORNING.
ROBERTS: Let's take a little bit of a letup in the snow here in New York City. But apparently, round two on the way it fell. So --
Hey, if you went to bed early you missed a little bit of heat at last night's Democratic debate that was seen right here on CNN. The interaction between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, stronger than the last debate. Not quite the slugfest there was in Myrtle Beach, though.
Clinton brought up the issue of Obama plagiarizing a speech from Deval Patrick, the governor of Massachusetts. The Obama camp later suggested that Clinton's closing remarks resembled similar words once made by John Edwards. But the back and forth was nothing like the knockdown fights that we've seen in the past. One of the big issues here -- health care. It was one of the few times were both candidates actually sounded different.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), 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 heath 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-NY), 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)
ROBERTS: In her final remarks, Clinton said the American people have faced greater challenges than she has. Analysts say it was a good moment that connected with the audience, but some say it may have come a little too late in the race -- Kiran.
CHETRY: How about undecided voters? What do they think? AMERICAN MORNING's Ed Lavandera sat down with five of them last night. He joins us from Austin right now with a look at what played well for them in the debate, what they ended up thinking about the candidates after this debate. Hey, Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. We went into the night asking these five voters how they were leaning? Three of them were leaning toward Barack Obama. Two toward Hillary Clinton. So the question was whether or not last night's debate would help sway or change some people's minds.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (on camera): If had you to pick one moment what was the most significant?
DON WILLIAMS, TEXAS DEMOCRATIC VOTER: I think that the crack that actually fizzled was the whole thing about the Xerox, change or something like that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in. It's change you can Xerox.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STELLA WEIR, TEXAS DEMOCRATIC VOTER: It's things like resorting to little -- little low blows like that. She's so ambitious and verging on desperate that I don't trust her sometimes.
LAVANDERA: This whole idea that Hillary's ready to be -- that Hillary's 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'd like to go take a step further and say Hillary's ready now.
DANIEL MENDOZA, TEXAS DEMOCRATIC VOTER: I think they're both ready. It shows each one of them has a different expertise and 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 wringer 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 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 there's still questions that are still unanswered for me.
D. MENDOZA: I'm still learning more about each candidate so -- but one of the 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've 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, which I hope would be for Obama.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: So you can see there that none of these candidates have delivered a knockout punch. Many of these voters that we spoke with last night said they came they left, kind of leaving the same way they came in. Three supporting Obama and two supporting Hillary Clinton. But overall, and again it's that theme that many of the Democratic Party, many in the Democratic Party are very excited about is that all of these candidates said that in the end, at this point, they're just being really picky, that they would be excited about either of these candidates.
CHETRY: All right. Ed Lavandera for us in Austin, Texas, picking the minds of some of those undecided voters. Thanks.
Also check out the primary calendar. The next big races are coming up just a week from Tuesday. It's March 4th, when Iowa voters, Rhode Island voters, Texas and Vermont voters all go to the polls.
And if you missed last night's debate, don't worry. You can catch an encore presentation. It's airing again today noon, right here on CNN.
ROBERTS: Thirty-six minutes, almost 37 now after the hour. Snow, sleet and freezing rain are the weathermakers in the northeast. The first significant snow that we've had in New York this winter. The storm system creating problems on the ground and particularly in the air. Weekend travelers are facing major delays at all three New York area airports and Philadelphia as well.
Rob Marciano tracking the extreme weather for us this morning, and the area airports, Rob, they're just getting slammed today.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. We're going to start with that, John. Exactly right. Radar up and down the East Coast showing a big, old mess, and really the precips stretches almost back to the Mississippi River. So it's a slow mover and because of that, it's going to be slow moving at the airports. Actually, this just updated and I think you guys mentioned this.
The regional airports are closed at White Plains and Teterboro. Atlanta, now reporting some delays. We've been waiting for that. New York, some ground stops there. At Philly, it's not on this board, but Philly reporting five-hour delays much like JFK. So, my goodness. If you're trying to do some travel, just take it easy out there.
All right. These are fresh off the presses as of 7:30 this morning. Almost six inches of snow at Greenwich, Connecticut. JFK reporting almost five. Central Park, four. So we're almost as much as what we've seen all year. All year, we've seen just under six inches. So this is definitely making up for lost time.
Radar showing pretty decent band of snow that's heading off towards the east, back towards Jersey, in through Pennsylvania. A bit of a dry spot that's oftentimes with these coastal lows, what looks to be a dry spot will fill in a little bit. Because of that, we have more snow in the forecast. Temperatures really haven't come up all that much. Maybe a degree or two. So the changeover really isn't going to occur until at least after lunch. This coastal low continues to make its move.
So, snowfall totals, six to 10 inches in Boston, five to eight in Hartford. New York City, three to six. But, hey, we've already seen four inches so we could top that six-inch mark before the storm is all done. There is moisture down to the south, back to Louisville, Kentucky, Knoxville, Tennessee and Atlanta seeing some beneficial rain. That's why we're seeing delays at the Atlanta Airport.
Severe thunderstorm watch in Alabama has come to a close. And this thunderstorm, line of thunderstorms, a pretty strong one, moving through Montgomery, Alabama. So a little bit of action down south as well. Missouri seeing that nasty ice storm. It's like their fourth one of the season. They're starting to see things that taper off as well. John, back up to you.
ROBERTS: Rob, thanks very much. Thanks for the update -- Kiran.
MARCIANO: Yes, you got it.
CHETRY: Oh, by the way, when I was reading the upcoming election, the upcoming primaries, I said Iowa instead of Ohio. You were just talking about --
ROBERTS: Candy called me Anderson instead of John. Everybody is sleep deprived.
CHETRY: That is sleep deprivation. A scary thing. Iowa, March 4th -- Ohio, March 4th. All right. We got it now.
She was diagnosed as obese, and she didn't take it sitting down. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the story of a woman who dropped 120 pounds. Is there really a secret to it, or did she just do things the old- fashioned way? We're going to find out coming up.
Also, she is -- she co-starred with Cindy Poitier as well as Denzel Washington. She marched with Martin Luther King and now, she's hoping to go home with Oscar. We go one-on-one with actor, activist and first-time Oscar hopeful Ruby Dee. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: No diet pills, no stomach staples but she did have a trick to losing 120 pounds. And she says you can do it, too. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has her story in this morning's "Fit Nation: report. Good morning, Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. You know, in this world of home run, knockout, touchdowns, people do want those quick fixes as you said. But the basics still apply. The thing is, as much as we talk about it, John, people don't always believe it. Tracey Wygal, who you're about to meet, will make you believe.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): Tracey Wygal is an exercise fanatic. She hits the gym every day. But eight years ago, Tracey was tipping the scale at 300 pounds. Now 120 pounds lighter, she likes the way she looks.
TRACEY WYGAL, LOST 120 POUNDS: Fear of gaining weight back continues to motivate me. I just do not want to look like that again.
GUPTA: As a middle school teacher, Tracey can relate to her students, bad diets and no exercise in her early teen years. It led to fast weight gain.
WYGAL: By high school, I was probably in the 200s, and that lifestyle continued.
GUPTA: There was no magic moment for Tracey. She simply realized 300 pounds was far too heavy.
WYGAL: My doctor says here's a 1,600 calorie diet. I thought that is impossible. I can't do it. And eventually, went to the scale, kept creeping up, I tried it. I never looked back.
GUPTA: At first, she worked out at home, then she joined a gym. Now, after three years of a healthy diet and working out, Tracey is maintaining a healthy weight. She keeps a food diary, and she watches her calories.
WYGAL: If you are honest and you write down everything you eat, I think that is the key.
GUPTA: She's a firm believer in losing weight in a healthy manner. No quick fixes. Just keeping at it and working hard.
WYGAL: Consistency is the main thing. Just sticking with it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: She is about 5'10", weighs about 170 pounds now. She's lost a lot of weight. She sticks to it, John. What we wanted to do in this "Fit Nation" series is actually create a partner for you at home if you see somebody who's actually had some success -- John.
ROBERTS: Sticking to it. That is really the key. Sanjay, thanks very much.
GUPTA: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Don't forget that you can catch Sanjay on "HOUSE CALL," Saturday and Sunday mornings, 8:30 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
CHETRY: "CNN NEWSROOM" just minutes away, and Tony Harris is at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead. Hi, Tony.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Kiran, good Friday to you. And hello, everyone. The CNN Democratic debate on the "NEWSROOM" rundown for you this morning. Did Hillary Clinton gain ground on Barack Obama ahead of the critical Texas primary? Our guest with answers.
The U.S. with a stern warning for Serbia. Don't let mobs attack the U.S. Embassy again. We will talk to the diplomat who delivered that message. And heavy snow, ice from Washington to Boston this morning. If you are flying today, hurry up and wait. It's Friday in the "NEWSROOM." We get started at the top of the hour on CNN. Kiran, back to you. Have a great weekend.
CHETRY: You, too, Tony. We'll be watching.
Meanwhile, actress Ruby Dee has gone from Harlem to Hollywood. After 60 years in the business, she finally earned an Oscar nod. Our Lola Ogunnaike talks to her about her journey and this role, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Time now for a CNN "Hero," ordinary people making an extraordinary impact in the lives of others.
Today's hero is a chef from Baltimore who's turning lives around right in his own kitchen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Baltimore, although it has gone through a renaissance, many parts have been completely neglected and it's a -- there's a lot of despair. There's no hope, and it's just sort of a downward spiral.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was a heroin addict. I never held a job because of my drug addiction.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was homeless for quite a few years and after a while, you just feel you are alone. That made me want to give up. But with Galen, I have another change to make it.
GALEN SAMPSON, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: I am Galen Sampson, and I am helping people find the tools to rebuild their lives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Egg sandwich and vegetables.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Galen Sampson is a five-star chef.
His cooking, I guess -- it speaks for itself.
SAMPSON: In the hotel where I worked, with our employees I saw all of these struggles and difficulties that people are having with addiction, with the criminal justice system. I'd always dreamt of having my own restaurant. We decided that part of our restaurant would be a training program. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So show me how you would do that.
SAMPSON: The name of the program is "Chefs in the Making." It gives our people in transition paid jobs. It also allows us to give them hands-on, realtime instruction.
So push down, slicing forward, pull back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can learn a lot in this kitchen, but it's fast-paced. It's hard work, but I like what I do.
SAMPSON: If you can do the job and you can perform, you're going to be loved. And that's what we have to instill in our apprentices. You know, a lot of people think we're crazy. We pretty much put, you know, everything that we have into this project. It's a risk, but to see what our apprentices have been able to do here has been very rewarding. We hope to build a strong tight- knit family, and I think we're setting a foundation for something good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ten years from now, I see myself owning a home, maybe owning my own business. I don't know what the future is going to hold, but I'm looking forward to it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "AMERICAN GANGSTER")
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I never asked you where all this came from because I didn't want to --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't want you to worry about it. Now I got to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: That's Ruby Dee and Oscar winner Denzel Washington from the movie "American Gangster." Ruby Dee is looking for her own Oscar this weekend. In fact, she's already won the Screen Actors Guild Award, making her a leading contender for Oscar gold, and it's shining a spotlight on her work as an actor and activist. Our Lola Ogunnaike caught up with Ruby Dee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the award goes to -- Ruby Dee.
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 83-year-old actress Ruby Dee is having one of the best years of her career. Thanks to this scene in "American Gangster."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AMERICAN GANGSTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP) OGUNNAIKE: This no nonsense character reflects a bit of her real life growing up in Harlem.
RUBY DEE, ACTRESS: I was a mosquito who was a fighter, you know, attacking Elvis. I've done that since I was 7 years old, you know. So I had no trouble hitting somebody. But it seemed like a perfectly natural thing. God, what are you doing, boy? Whop! You know?
OGUNNAIKE: She's actually been fighting adversity in races for decades, especially in an industry slow to recognize people of color.
DEE: I didn't know anybody who would ever have gotten an Oscar who was African-American or who look like me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AMERICAN GANGSTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who's house is that, Frank?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is your house, mama.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OGUNNAIKE: Several of the characters in "American Gangster" remind her of people she knew growing up.
DEE: I knew about people who play the horses. The gangsters lived in Harlem.
OGUNNAIKE: In her 20s, she met and married actor Ossie Davis. He was her constant companion on and off screen before his death in 2005. The couple was as well known for their civil rights activism as they were for their acting. Dee's career spans more than six decades.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, A RAISIN IN THE SUN)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say it loud and good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OGUNNAIKE: She's appeared in ground breaking movies like "Raisin in the Sun "and Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing," but she never achieved much fame outside of the African-American community.
OGUNNAIKE (on camera): So when you were a young girl in Harlem dreaming about your future, did you ever think it would look anything like this?
DEE: No. I used to daydream about it, looking at something like this. I would read the magazine, but, no. I had given up, because, you know, there's something about racism, might not be able to call it that, but it's -- it undercuts your confidence. Before you know it, you're cutting yourself out of the picture, and that happened to me. OGUNNAIKE (voice-over): These days she's being called a legend.
DEE: I don't mind it now if the legend means that, to be the next rung on the ladder for somebody to climb on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: There she is. And as you said, tenacious Dee. I love it because she's been around for a long time. And now, she could win an Oscar for a role she's on the screen less than 10 minutes.
OGUNNAIKE: She's on the screen less than 10 minutes, and people are saying that may work against her. But actually people have won for smaller roles. Dame Judi Dench won in 1999 for "Shakespeare in Love." She was only on-screen for nine minutes. Beatrice Straight won in 1976 for "Network." She was only on screen for six minutes. And Anthony Quinn won in 1956 for "Lust for Life," and he was on screen for eight minutes. So, you know, less may be more this year.
CHETRY: That's right. If you steal the show, you steal the show, right? Good for her. All right. We'll be watching. Lola, thank you.
OGUNNAIKE: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Fifty-five minutes after the hour. We're going to be back with the final look at our "Quick Vote" coming up right after this. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well, Hillary Clinton got booed last night when she accused Barack Obama of plagiarism. And that brings us to this morning's "Quick Vote" question.
Does it matter if politicians borrow lines from each other for speeches? Right now, 32 percent of you say yes. Sixty-eight percent say, no, it doesn't matter, which I guess would explain the boo. Cast your vote at CNN.com/am. It will be up throughout the day, and you can just check on the results to see how everybody else feels.
CHETRY: Well, we just had Lola Ogunnaike preview one of the Oscar contenders. And remember, you can see Lola Ogunnaike live from Hollywood with the winners of the Oscars and make your own predictions if you care to.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: Win some prizes. CNN.com to play inside the envelope. It's a prediction game. It will be fun because if you're right -- oh, we probably can't win any prizes, but, it's always fun.
ROBERTS: Hey, for a second, remember, Lola did the Spice Girls the other night. Right?
CHETRY: Yes. ROBERTS: They were at the Verizon Center in Washington last night. A little family photo here if we could.
CHETRY: Let's take a look.
ROBERTS: Ladies and gentlemen --
CHETRY: Here's your daughter on the left. The most conservatively dressed.
ROBERTS: Yes, she was. Yes, she was Baby Spice. Her friend, Rose, there as Sporty, I guess. And I think that's Posh over there on the right.
CHETRY: I said, you know what? It does make you feel old, John. Your co-anchor in the first time around, a decade ago, was probably loving the Spice Girls at a concert dressed like that.
ROBERTS: It's pretty amazing.
CHETRY: Boy, makes you feel old.
ROBERTS: They had a whole lot of fun, though.
Hey, thanks a lot for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. Have a great weekend. We'll see you on Monday.
CHETRY: "CNN NEWSROOM" with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins starts right now.
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 into 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.
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