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American Morning
Clinton Expected to Leave Hospital After Heart Procedure; Making Sense of Stent Procedures; Texas Gets Record Snow; Afghan Suicide Attack Wounds Five U.S. Soldiers; Big Fat Greek Debt; Iran's Revolution Anniversary
Aired February 12, 2010 - 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: And good morning to you. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. Glad you're with us on this Friday, February 12th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. I've been sitting in for John Roberts this week.
President Clinton waking up in a hospital this morning. That's one of the top stories we're going to be telling you about this morning. He's also expected to walk out of that hospital today, though. He had a procedure to unblock an artery yesterday. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to join us live here shortly from Haiti. We're going to be talking about the procedure and whether there's a lesson here for any of us.
CHETRY: And it's back to business in the nation's capital after two storms dumped more than 30 inches of snow across the region. The federal government now open this morning. Amtrak resuming most service and airlines are aiming for a normal schedule today. Unfortunately, there is a winter storm approaching in the south. Our Rob Marciano is here. He's tracking it all for us.
HOLMES: And NATO and Afghan forces about to launch a major military offensive against the Taliban and a suicide bomber disguised as an Afghan police officer strikes at a U.S. air base. Five American soldiers wounded in that attack. We are live in Afghanistan with this developing story.
CHETRY: We begin this morning with former President Bill Clinton's health. He is expected to leave the hospital today and be back in his office by Monday. The chief cardiologist saying the prognosis is excellent after President Clinton had two stents placed in one of his coronary arteries yesterday.
And this is new video of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaving New York Presbyterian Hospital last night. Her trip to the Persian Gulf pushed back a day. She will head out tomorrow. Meantime, our Jason Carroll joins us now with the very latest.
Good morning, Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Kiran. Calls coming in from President Obama as well as former President Bush. As for the former President Clinton, he is doing very well. In fact, doctors say just a few hours after his surgery, Kiran, he was up, he was walking around and speaking to his family.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. ALAN SCHWARTZ, PRESIDENT CLINTON'S CARDIOLOGIST: I told him he could be back in the office on Monday.
CARROLL (voice-over): Encouraging news for the former president. Despite feeling discomfort in his chest, doctors say no sign of a heart attack, no indication a hectic schedule was to blame.
SCHWARTZ: This was not a result of either his lifestyle or his diet, which have been excellent.
CARROLL: In a one-hour procedure Thursday, doctors inserted two stents to increase blood flow around the heart. And in classic Bill Clinton fashion, the doctors say he had a phone in hand on a conference call while being wheeled into surgery.
JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I don't think he has any intention of slowing down.
CARROLL: Clinton had quadruple heart bypass surgery in 2004, something he described as a mystical experience that changed his life.
BILL CLINTON, 42ND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I had 90 percent blockage in two of my arteries.
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN: Oh, my God.
CLINTON: Seventy percent in two others.
LETTERMAN: Wow. So it was...
CLINTON: I was lucky.
CARROLL: In 2005, the former president successfully had scar tissue removed that had built up from that bypass surgery. Since then, he's said to exercise daily and stick mostly to a healthy diet.
PAUL BEGALA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: He really got his act together. He's lost weight. He's fit. He works out. He takes care of himself. He follows all his doctor's instructions.
CARROLL: But friends say he's ignored requests to take it easy and trim his schedule. Clinton complained of exhaustion after grueling road trips during his wife's 2008 presidential campaign. He's jetted around the world on diplomatic missions, most recently making two trips to Haiti where he was tapped by the U.N. to oversee aid and reconstruction efforts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And, Kiran, some of the president's friends like James Carville say don't expect him to slow down any time soon. Doctors say that he could be released sometime later today and could be back at work by Monday -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. He definitely doesn't want to slow down, that's for sure. Jason Carroll for us this morning, thanks.
HOLMES: Meanwhile, every year in this country, more than a million people have the same procedure that was performed on the former president known as an angioplasty. Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, tells the operation is like clearing out a clogged drain. He filed this report for us from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We know specifically the procedure that he had done yesterday was the placement of two stents. Stents placed in one of the coronary arteries. That's an artery on top of the heart that provides blood flow to the heart because he was having these symptoms of chest discomfort over the last couple of days.
Now, former President Clinton, well known that he had heart bypass surgery back in September of 2004, six years ago almost. And after that, about six months later, he had another procedure after he developed fluid on top of his lungs. He had to have both procedures in a relatively short time. But after that, and in fact over the last couple of years, he says he's been doing really well. He's been able to resume normal activity, have been very functional, have been traveling all over the world. In fact, I had a chance to sit down and talk to him just about a year ago, asked him specifically about his health. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: I have to ask you, how are you feeling? I was there outside the hospital when you had your heart surgery. Are you back 100 percent?
BILL CLINTON, 42ND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think so. It's interesting. In some ways, I'm stronger than I was before my surgery and by conventional measures, I'm healthier. I still have about 10 pounds to lose that I gained in the campaign last year working for Hillary. But otherwise, I think I'm fine.
The one thing I noticed was -- and my balance is better when I'm doing balance drills. But the one thing I noticed what a friend of mine referred to as raw country strength. I don't know if I've recovered. Like I can't hit a golf ball as far even though I can lift more weights.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: He talks over country strength, but overall, again, he said he was doing well. Over the last couple of days now, we got information from his counsel, the person who is with him in the hospital today. Over the last couple of days, he said he's been having some discomfort, just not quite feeling himself. He finally went to the doctor yesterday and things sort of progressed rapidly from there.
First things first. He did not have a heart attack specifically. He just simply had this chest discomfort but tests showed that he did in fact had a blockage, complete blockage of one of those bypass grafts back from 2004. And that's where the stents come in. Take a look at this animation.
It's simple plumbing really. The blood is not getting to the heart because of the clogging in that artery there. They put the stents in, open that artery up, and immediately get enough blood flow to the heart again.
President Clinton says he's doing well. His doctors say he can go back to work on Monday, and that he will be able to resume a normal level of activity which, as you know, is a lot. In fact, he'll probably be back here in Haiti he says sometime soon.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And coming up in 10 minutes, we'll talk to Terry McAuliffe. He's a friend and adviser to the former president. He was actually on the phone with the folks who were there at the airport -- excuse me, at the airport -- at the hospital with the former president. We're going to be talking to him in just a moment.
CHETRY: I wonder what's on your mind.
Well, the federal government back open for business this morning after two storms dumped more than 30 inches of snow in the region. Employees are expected to report back to work no later than two hours after their normal start time. The government has been shut down, as we know, for the past four consecutive days and things still aren't back to normal in the region. They're still dealing with power outages, stranded motorists, as well as other problems right now in the D.C. metropolitan area.
HOLMES: And we've been talking so much about the snow in the northeast, well, we're talking about snow now deep in the heart of Texas. This is Dallas/Fort Worth.
CHETRY: That looks fun.
HOLMES: Eleven inches of snow, the biggest snowfall they've seen in some 40 years. Schools closed all over the place there this morning. Also, why do I have to keep talking about flights being canceled in certain areas this morning?
CHETRY: Exactly. Seven hundred flights around the area canceled, and we'll just have to keep your fingers crossed if you're trying to get out today. Meanwhile, it's six-and-a-half minutes past the hour. We got a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano, a busy man lately. He's live with us this morning. Hey.
Hey, so now we have storm number one, storm number two. And now, the south doesn't want to be left out.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The south doesn't want to be left -- it seems like nobody wants to be left out. So I know T.J. is trying to escape it but you're hard pressed.
There's only two states actually that don't have snow on them right now. One of them being Hawaii, the other one Florida. And Florida may very well have some snow before the day is over.
Check out this map. It is striking. Snow coverage in almost all of the Lower 48 and the records set as we're mentioning in Dallas and Dulles -- 72 inches. Philadelphia 70.3. Baltimore 70.1. Atlantic City, 48.7. And Dallas, although not a season record yet, 14.2 -- that video pretty impressive for sure.
All right, snow across the south? Yes, it's possible. Mostly rain right now. But there are winter storm watches and warnings posted from Texas all the way to the Carolinas and even a smidge of that includes the Florida panhandle. Right now snowing across parts of Eastern Texas and through College Station heading into central Louisiana. But the I-10 corridor right now is mostly all rain. This moisture will sneak up into the Atlanta area, T.J., later this afternoon. There may be a little bit of snow there and there are some of your snow totals.
They're hurting for snow in the Olympics. I profiled a five-time Olympic skier in Steam Boat, Colorado, and we're going to have his story in the next half hour.
CHETRY: Oh, sounds good.
MARCIANO: Yes.
CHETRY: Rob, thanks.
HOLMES: All right. Thanks, Rob.
Well, we're going to turn to Afghanistan now where a suicide bomber dressed as an Afghan border policeman blew himself up on a U.S. military base there. Five American soldiers injured. This attack comes just as NATO and Afghan forces are about to launch a major offensive against the Taliban in the town of Marjah in Helmand Province.
That is where CNN's Atia Abawi is this morning. She's joining us now on the phone.
Atia, good morning to you. First of all, on this attack, I guess the question a lot of people have is how did this attacker, this suicide bomber, get inside or get so close to U.S. soldiers at a U.S. base?
ATIA ABAWI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Yes, that's a big question at the moment is just how the suicide attacker got on to this U.S. base in Paktia province, southeastern part of Afghanistan. All we know right now is coming from a government spokesperson in the area stating that a suicide bomber wearing an Afghan border police uniform was able to get into the sleeping area. That likely means the tent area where the U.S. soldiers were detonating a suicide bomb and wounding these five U.S. soldiers.
And this is all nothing new at the moment. Just a couple of weeks ago, an interpreter on one of these bases was able to shoot two U.S. soldiers. And in western Afghanistan about a month ago, another Afghan soldier was able to shoot and kill a U.S. and Italian soldier. So the question is just how the security is working on these U.S. bases.
I'm telling you I've been to various U.S. bases throughout the country. The security is tight. People go through many checks before they're allowed onto the base, but the Taliban themselves has said for many times now, that one of their main tactics is that they're going to try to infiltrate these Afghan national security forces. They're going to try to get those uniforms and they're going to try to kill more and more ISAF soldiers -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right, Atia Abawi there, where we're anticipating this offensive to begin sometime soon. Atia, we appreciate you. We'll continue to check in with you.
CHETRY: Also ahead on the Most News in the Morning, Congressional Patrick Kennedy, the late Ted Kennedy's son, making a surprising announcement about his political future. We'll hear from him why he is not seeking re-election.
It's 10 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, welcome back. It's 12 minutes past the hour. A quick check of some of the news making headlines.
Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy says he is not running for re-election. In a video to his constituents, the Democrats said his life is, quote, "taking a new direction." Kennedy is currently serving his eighth term in office. He is the youngest of the late Senator Ted Kennedy's three children.
CHETRY: A Haitian judge is not setting bail for 10 Americans held on child kidnapping charges until at least Monday. The group denies that they purposely tried to kidnap 33 kids and take them across the border to the Dominican Republic. The judge is considering freeing the missionaries while the case is being investigated. He made the decision after the children's parents admitted that they willingly gave the children to the missionaries.
HOLMES: Well, the space shuttle Endeavour astronauts took a little stroll in space yesterday. A six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk. It was the first of three that they have planned. They are finishing construction on the International Space Station's U.S. tranquility module.
They're actually were so excited they said about doing this that at one point during the mission they got an hour ahead of schedule on the spacewalk. They were working so quickly, they had to slow him down. The hatch is a new $50 billion wing scheduled to open tonight, and it's going to give astronauts a panoramic view of the universe. They're pretty excited.
CHETRY: I still think it's so cool we can actually see that this is happening, right?
HOLMES: See this. Sometimes we have a hard time getting live out of Atlanta.
CHETRY: But space, no problem.
HOLMES: No problem.
Well, we are waiting for former President Clinton to walk out of the hospital a little later today.
CHETRY: Yes, we're told that he is already walking around, that he's in good spirits after undergoing a procedure to unclog one of his arteries yesterday.
And joining us right now on the phone is a friend and adviser of the former president, Terry McAuliffe. Thanks for being with us this morning, Terry.
TERRY MCAULIFFE, FRIEND & ADVISER, PRES. CLINTON (via telephone): Great. Good morning. Great to be with you.
CHETRY: What's the update on how former President Clinton is doing this morning?
MCAULIFFE: He is in great spirits. He hopefully will be released this morning. If I know Bill Clinton, he's going to get right back on the phone. Yesterday as they were wheeling him into the operating room, they literally, Doug Band, his aide, had to literally take the phone out of his hand as they were wheeling him into surgery. He was on a conference call dealing with Haiti.
And I guarantee you as soon as he gets back today, he'll be back on the phone. You know, he's passionate about helping the folks down there. And the way he does things, listen, you know, no one wants to go into the hospital but he thinks about all the folks around the world and around this country whose lives are very tough right now. So, you know, that's just keeps him going.
HOLMES: And, Terry, how has he been doing? Certainly in the past couple of days, I understand he was uncomfortable. That even over the past couple of years since the initial bypass surgery, just how has his health been? MCAULIFFE: Well, that's the key (ph). You know, I travel with him a lot. I spend a lot of time with him. You know, I asked him frequently, how are you feeling, and he'd always said, Terry, you know, I feel better than I've ever felt. I'm in the best shape I've ever been in. He - he is in great shape. He exercises regularly.
I like to joke that when you go up to his house and have lunch or dinner, I mean, goodness gracious, it's steamed vegetables, steamed fish. I mean, nothing's got any taste anymore. I said, Mr. President, have you got anything in the kitchen here?
He's just very conscious about his health. He is so great (ph). I spoke to him two days ago, and three days ago, and four days ago, and, no, he didn't mention it at all. I mean, this is nothing, really, to do with his lifestyle and his work habits, as hard as he's working. These things just happen.
But people say will this slow him down? I'll make the argument, it will just more energize him because he wants to get so many things done. So, it's not going to change President Clinton at all. It's not. It's going to really energize him to get out there and continue to do the work. He's got a $54 billion foundation, helping people throughout the world and, you know, he's passionate about the issues and helping people.
CHETRY: Right. I - when we first heard the news yesterday, you know, you just get nervous, as you said, earlier, that you sort of did a rosary when you heard about it, and then you found out he was OK.
Do you know how Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - I know she delayed her trip out of town, out of the country because of this, and Chelsea - how is everybody doing? Were they really - were they concerned about his health and - over the past few months?
MCAULIFFE: Well, no. Really, he has really been - he looks great. You know, people say he looks tired, but, you know, you're never going to change that with President Clinton because he's always working.
I just went overseas with him two weeks ago, worked around the clock. He - we went over to Davos, and he was working, trying - he was passionate about getting trucks for Haiti so they could deliver food. I mean, he went round the clock for four days. But, you know, I - that's what energizes him.
But, you know, Chelsea was there with him yesterday, and Hillary, of course, went up yesterday afternoon. You know, this is the President Clinton everybody has known and loved for so many years and he just wants to keep getting as much as he can into a day. As he likes to joke to me, he says, "Mac, I got more days behind me now than in front of me. If I could get (INAUDIBLE) try and get things done."
HOLMES: Terry, do you ever, as a friend, get worried about him, his schedule, given that he's had heart problems before? Do you ever yourself just wish, "Mr. President, would you slow down?"
MCAULIFFE: Yes, sure we do. And I say it to him. I know (INAUDIBLE) to him all the time. It's -
But we keep saying - you know what, we all say it because all right, Mr. President, when I travel overseas with him and 2:00, 3:00 in the morning, he still wants to do one more meeting, he ones to get - make one more phone call. He's in a different time zone and when you say, you know, "Maybe it's time to go to bed, Mr. President." "All right. All right." But then he'll - he'll keep going.
We were up till 3:00 in the morning, we're over there in Davos and he stayed up to watch the State of the Union and the Republican response. I mean, it's just who he is and you try, T.J., but you put your hands up. You know, it's - it's who he is and you're not going to change him after 63 years.
CHETRY: No, it sounds like you need to be in good shape just to hang out with him, just to keep up.
MCAULIFFE: (INAUDIBLE).
CHETRY: All right. Well, thanks for giving us the update this morning. We're glad to hear that he is doing well, and he's expected to possibly be back at work Monday.
Terry McAuliffe, friend and adviser to Former President Clinton. Thanks.
HOLMES: Thanks, Terry.
Well, coming up in 15 minutes, we're going to be speaking to Dr. Holly Anderson about this very common procedure and what the millions of heart disease victims who may be not making headlines today, what still they could learn from all this.
CHETRY: Also coming up on the Most News in the Morning, why does Greece's debt matter to you and to Wall Street? Stephanie Elam joins us. She's "Minding Your Business" after the break.
It's 18 and a half minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, it is now 22 minutes past the hour. It means it's time for "Minding Your Business".
We start with Toyota. Toyota is trying to win back some trust from the customers out there, and the automaker now says it is planning to be much more open with the public when it comes to disclosing problems with its cars. Toyota, of course, criticized for being slow to act on safety issues following the recall of more than 8 million vehicles. The company spokesman says that the new policy of openness will be revealed some time in the near future.
HOLMES: All right, we're - we are not like that.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm sorry. They're going to be open in the future? That's funny. HOLMES: Open in the future.
CHETRY: We'll let you know all about our policy on openness sometime. Yes.
HOLMES: Well, we are - Stephanie is here. We - we've got enough problems with our own debt in this country - personal debt, the government's debt -
CHETRY: We do.
HOLMES: - but we need to be worried about Greece's debt?
ELAM: We should be worried about Greece's debt. I know, you think Greece, really far away, not really the largest country. Why do we care about Greece's debt?
Well, we care about it because of what it could mean for the global recovery. But first, let's take a look at what happened yesterday when we got word that the E.U. - the European Union was going to step in, led by countries like Germany and France, to step in and help Greece. Well, we had a nice little rally yesterday, gaining 106 points to 10,144, and that really is the highest level we've seen for the DOW in a week. It's been a rough few weeks actually, as we've seen the concerns about debt filtering into the market.
So let's take a look at why we care about Greece and what is going on there. They're burdened with a lot of debt, and it turns out they've just had a - a change in government there. The new government coming in saying the previous regime, they were not clear. They were not being truthful about how much debt they have. The European Union rules say you're supposed to have 3 percent of GDP, not more. They had, like, 12.7 percent debt. So that's why it's an issue.
So therefore, it affects other countries. There's other countries saddled with a lot of debt too. They're called the PIIGS - Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Spain as well. So the fear was this would spread.
We need these countries to buy our exports. If they don't, that could hurt our recovery, and that's why we care so much about the weak euro. We need them to buy our products so we can get stronger, and then you take a look at these countries as well. So there was a big concern that this could spread throughout the globe and, therefore, hurt all of our recovery.
But now, they're saying they're going to step in. They're going to help them out. They should be OK. But this is the reason why we care so much about it.
CHETRY: Right, and, as you saw, we had our markets tank on the news of the PIIGS, as you called it, and then go up when they said they were going to help out. But does Greece have a handle on trying to rein in if it's 12.7 percent? I mean, this is kind of a -
ELAM: Well, they have not actually asked for help yet from the E.U. at this point. So this is a - a matter of - the E.U. could say we have the same currency now. Obviously they've had the same currency for about 11 years they're like we do not want to see it devalued, so that's why these countries are jumping in to help out now at this point.
HOLMES: All right. They'll - they'll announce their policy on handling that later as well.
ELAM: We should have more details on Monday because they're still working on how they're going to help them.
HOLMES: All right. It'd help if we just stopped calling them PIIGS, maybe.
ELAM: Well, I didn't come up with that, for the record. I don't want anyone e-mailing me. That was not my name.
HOLMES: Great to see you (ph). Stephanie, we'll see you again here shortly.
And still ahead here on the Most News in the Morning, on the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, Iranians living here in the U.S. watch and hope for some change.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Twenty- seven minutes past the hour now.
Huge crowds gathered in Tehran for a showdown between the government and the opposition on the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in that nation and there were reports that security forces fired on a crowd of protesters, also arrested people. Witnesses say that some vehicles were torched. But it's been very hard to confirm these reports because foreign media was not allowed near the site of the protests.
This morning in an "A.M. Original", something you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING, Iranian Americans tell us they still believe that change is coming to Iran. Here's CNN's Ted Rowlands.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: T.J. and Kiran, here in the Persian District of Los Angeles, there's a lot of disappointment about what didn't happen yesterday in Tehran and a lot of frustration about the lack of information coming out of the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Many Iranians were hoping to see a repeat of the anti-regime demonstrations that broke out on the streets of Tehran last June. But instead, the lunch crowd at the Atari (ph) Persian Cafe in Los Angeles talked about what's next and what they think is preventing real change in Iran.
ROWLANDS (on camera): Do you think that there will eventually be change? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think so.
ROWLANDS: Why do you say that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I think most of the people are not happy there, so -
ROWLANDS: - eventually -
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: - it will happen.
ARVEEN GORAFSHAN (ph), AMERICAN IRANIAN: (Speaking in Iranian).
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Arveen Gorafshian, with her daughter translating, says she believes change in Iran will only come when those upset with the regime can agree on an alternative.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People there are still each - they're in different camps. If they become all together, maybe they can overcome the problems.
ROWLANDS (on camera): The owner of this bookstore was in Iran 30 years ago during the revolution. He spent 11 days in prison and then fled to the United States 27 years ago. Now, he is a source of information for thousands of Iranians as to what is happening inside the country.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Upstairs, above the bookstore, is where you find Bijan Khalili. He calls this "Iran 411", people on computers and phones disseminating the latest information about Iran to the estimated 350,000-plus Persians living in Southern California. He says Thursday, the government successfully shut down most communication.
BIJAN KHALILI, BOOKSTORE OWNER: They blocked everything. All the e-mails, Tweeter, Facebook, whatever they could, they - they stopped it.
ROWLANDS: Hundreds of Southern California Iranians did show up to a demonstration Thursday protesting the regime.
ROWLANDS (on camera): There was so much excitement in June and then there was a lot of excitement leading up to Thursday.
HORMOV SHEIKH, DEMONSTRATOR: Yes.
ROWLANDS: Is it - is it disappointing that more wasn't done?
SHEIKH: Actually, I don't see this as a disappointment. I think it's going to continue. This is a long, long fight, you know? It's a long marathon. You have to -- this regime is done. Principally, they have to go. There is no --
ROWLANDS: No doubt in your mind that eventually --
SHEIKH: We hope that they will be gone.
ROWLANDS: The basic sentiment from people we talked to is that yes, there was an opportunity possibly lost on Thursday in Tehran. However, people do believe that the fire for change is still burning and that eventually change will come -- T.J., Kiran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Well, thanks so much to Ted Rowlands.
Meanwhile, it's 30 minutes past the hour -- time for this morning's top stories.
With the stage set for perhaps the biggest allied offensive of the Afghan war, a suicide bomber strikes a U.S. base in Afghanistan. The attacker detonated the bomb in the base's sleeping area and was reportedly wearing an Afghan police uniform at the time. Five U.S. soldiers were wounded.
HOLMES: And Delta canceling about 800 flights into and out of Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport this morning. Say it ain't so. Right now, the area is under a winter storm watch and could get up to five inches of snow by tonight. This system started in Texas also dumping several inches of snow in places like Louisiana, Mississippi, as well as Alabama.
CHETRY: Former President Bill Clinton is expected to walk out of the hospital in New York today. Doctors put in stents to unclog an artery yesterday.
A senior administrative official tells CNN that President Obama called former President Clinton last night. The president wished former President Clinton a speedy recovery so that he can continue his humanitarian work in Haiti.
HOLMES: And we want to talk about this now with Dr. Holly Andersen, a cardiologist. She's the director of the Perlman Heart Institute at New York Presbyterian, which is where President Clinton had to have his procedure done.
Ma'am, good morning to you.
DR. HOLLY ANDERSEN, PERLMAN HEART INSTITUTE, NEW YORK PRESBYTERIAN: Thank you.
CHETRY: Thanks for being with us. So, tell us a little bit about why this procedure needed to happen in the first place. We know that he had bypass surgery -- quadruple bypass surgery back in 2004, and there is now a blockage in those bypassed arteries. Is that common?
ANDERSEN: That's right. In 2004, he had four arteries bypassed. So, what happened this week is one of the vein grafts went down. And he started experiencing symptoms when that happened.
It's quite possible that his symptoms were from -- that he has blockages in the native artery that was bypassed. Those blockages could be stable for the past six years. And when the vein graft goes down, he's now experiencing decreased blood flow to his heart and experienced chest pain. With exertion and from I understand a little bit with rest.
HOLMES: We, out of (INAUDIBLE), want to assume it has something to do with -- has he been taking care of himself, and oh, he's got this hectic schedule. It's possible this is totally unrelated to any of that. Sometimes, this just happens?
ANDERSEN: I think it's really important to take that into consideration. You know, just because you get your heart bypassed doesn't give you free license to not exercise and not eat well and don't take care of yourself.
In fact, from what I've seen and what a lot of people have said about President Clinton was that he took his health very seriously. He started eating better. He took his medications. He works out. He says he was in better shape than he had been.
And that seems to be the case. This was a mechanical failure. That vein graft was probably competing with blood flow from his native artery and after six years, just didn't mechanically work anymore and went down. And then when it did go down, he was relying on just that one blocked native artery that could have had no further blockages in six years to cause him symptoms.
And I think that's very important for people to understand. His doctors are saying he's done well. We like the way his heart looks.
This shouldn't change his lifestyle. He has been practicing good health and he's going to continue to do so, and he's going to get back there and help the world again.
NGUYEN: And how common is it after you have heart bypass to have a need for other procedures? We know that, I think, a couple of years ago, he had to get some scar tissue, in fluid, removed from the area and then now, with these two stents put in.
ANDERSEN: You know, what happened right after the surgery, very unrelated -- more related to the surgical incision and inflammation of the lungs. This -- he had four bypasses. One of them after six years went down. It's not uncommon at all. Quite frequently, we see that and a patient might not experience any symptoms from the fourth bypass going down.
In this case, he did. His doctors acted very quickly upon his symptoms. They didn't do a stress test.
They knew his symptoms were real. They knew he had disease. They brought him in. They identified the problem and fixed it very same day.
HOLMES: So, they fixed it. So, is he done with the fixing or might he end up in the hospital again years from?
ANDERSEN: We don't know. What they did is they improve blood flow in the native artery to one part of this heart and quite likely took away his symptoms. That's what they did. They took away his symptoms so that he could go back and have an active life.
He didn't experience any heart damage. It's possible that he might have had a tiny little heart attack or wouldn't be able to be physically active if they didn't fix this. But, the message is: stents and bypass are mechanical fixtures. This disease is treated with lifestyle and medications.
This plaque build ups and had been building up in him for 50 years.
CHETRY: Right.
ANDERSEN: And the goal here is to make sure that plaque doesn't cause him a problem again. It might. It might rupture again and cause him problems, but we don't know.
CHETRY: How much of -- you take a look at him. He was 58 years old. How much of whether or not you're predisposed to getting heart disease is genetic? How much of it is lifestyle? How much can you control as a person who maybe hasn't undergone bypass surgery yet, preventatively?
ANDERSEN: I think a lot has to do with genetics. But, even if your family -- if you have a bad family history doesn't mean you can't intervene and beat this disease.
This is disease is largely preventable by exercising, by eating better, by trying to get your waist line smaller, by getting your blood pressure checked and if it's elevated, get it treated. Stop smoking. Get a good night's sleep. Practice some stress reduction.
But I think what all his doctors are saying is very important. This is a guy who loves what he does, seems to me.
Telling him like, well, you got to take it easy, you got to stay home and not go out and stay in your house and play golf in (INAUDIBLE). That would be more stressful to him. That would probably be more devastating than what his doctors are telling him.
You've done well. You're going to do well. We're going to get you back out there.
HOLMES: That's something to hear from a cardiologist. He'd be more stressed out sitting at home than doing what he's doing.
ANDERSEN: I think so.
HOLMES: Well, Dr. Andersen, thank you so much for taking the time explaining this.
ANDERSEN: My pleasure.
HOLMES: Because a lot of people have questions and wondering if it's a lifestyle thing. But like you said, good way to put it, it was a mechanical failure here. Thank you so much for being here this morning.
ANDERSEN: My pleasure.
CHETRY: Still ahead on the Most News in the Morning, he's been in five Olympics. He's looking forward to bringing home the gold now from Vancouver. Our Rob Marciano introduces us to an athlete competing in an often overlooked sport.
Thirty-six minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: It's 38 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
When night falls across the world, villages of Kenya, millions of people don't have something that most of us take for granted. That's electricity. Just to be able to look on the light switch.
HOLMES: Yes. But one young man came one a simple plan to change things. Meet now Evans Wadongo. This week's CNN's Hero.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EVANS WADONGO, CNN HERO: I have problems with my eyesight due to prolonged exposure to smoke. (INAUDIBLE) and I had to use firewood to study during my childhood.
I grew up in a small village in the western part of Kenya. These families are so poor, they don't have electricity. It's only kerosene and firewood they use for lighting, cooking.
It's very, very frustrating. I couldn't compete effectively with other kids who have access to lighting. A lot of other kids just drop out of school. So, they remain poor for the rest of their life.
My name is Evans Wadongo. When I made the first lantern, I thought I must find a way of using solar to light up rural homes. I was so overwhelmed. I knew the impact of the lantern would have on these rural communities.
The amount of money that every household uses to buy kerosene every day, if they can just save that money, they can be able to buy food.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WADONGO: All along, I've been eating at least two meals in a day so that I can construct the lamps. But I want to do more.
It gives me satisfaction knowing that I'm lifting people out of poverty. I just feel like it's right.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Good for Evans. He says that he's given out about 10,000 of these solar lamps so far, all for free.
And you can go to CNN.com/Heroes to see how he builds them. Also, you can nominate your own CNN Hero.
HOLMES: Also, it's 41 minutes past the hour now and Rob Marciano is going to be coming up. He has the travel forecast. All the forecast now are travel forecasts because we have another big issue that's going to cause all kinds of problems for you travelers.
CHETRY: That's right. Also, in 10 minutes, it's a doggone shame. Jeanne Moos with the story of someone who stole the coat right off that little dog's back. Who would do that? Watch that dog in a coat.
Forty-two minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Right now, it's 45 minutes past the hour. Time for your A.M. "House Call," stories about your health.
New research suggests that extremely premature babies might have a much higher risk of developing autism later in childhood. A British study citing babies born before the 26th week of pregnancy and the increased risk is mainly among kids with other disabilities. Researchers say the chance of autism developing in children with no other problems is actually low.
HOLMES: It's 45 minutes past the hour. Now, we need to get a check of the morning's weather. Are you checking the weather over there?
CHETRY: Yes, I'm making sure -- he's trying to get out, trying to get back to do his weekend show in Atlanta.
HOLMES: This is always an issue for you on Fridays, always.
CHETRY: It canceled 800 flights.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, so not T.J.'s yet. Good luck with that. Just head to the airport, bring a good book. I think, you may get lucky.
HOLMES: Good luck to you there from a meteorologist?
MARCIANO: Just trying to expand your intellectual, you know, being there.
All right, guys. Let's talk about this weather. It's heading across the south. We've been concentrating so much across the northeast. Now, the south is getting it. Big time snow across parts of Dallas. Check out some of this video. It's pretty impressive. Hey, guy. It's --
CHETRY: That's you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO (voice-over): It's me. It certainly snowed a lot in Dallas yesterday with snowfall totals over 11 inches and that set a 24-hour record. Fourteen inches so far this season. That is the third all-time record so far, so they may break it again. So, we've broken records in Baltimore, in Atlantic City, in Philly, in D.C., and we may very well break an all-time season snowfall record for Dallas. So, everybody getting into the action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO (on-camera): And here is that storm which will remain to the south take a southern track. Here's the radar where the snow is and where it's going, and it got a lot of moisture with it down across the south. The I-10 corridor, there's been heavy rain from New Orleans to Mobile heading into Pensacola. At time, some of it is mixing with sleet, but I don't think it will turn to snow until later on today. Places like Montgomery starting to see sleet turning over to snow.
Winter storm warnings posted for a good shot of the southeast including Dallas all the way to Atlanta. Two to four inches along the I-20 corridor, and we may even see a little bit of snow pile up on beaches in, say, Pensacola toward later on today and tonight, but right now, it is just all rain. There's your computer forecast for the amount of snow that we expect to see. Wish we could take some of this snow and toss it over into Vancouver.
They are struggling as far as getting snow at some of those events, and I had the opportunity to hang out with a five-time Olympian recently. His name is Todd Lodwick, and he was recently named the 2009 Sportsman of the Year joining the ranks of people like Mike Phelps, Lance Armstrong. He's a big deal. Me not so much. Either way, he and his teammates expect to win big in Vancouver.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Why do mine look so different? Are these training wheels?
I just look better on my skis.
TODD LODWICK, FIVE-TIME OLYMPIAN: Yes, that you do. No doubt about that.
MARCIANO (voice-over): More than just a natural, Todd Lodwick is a five-time Olympian. No other U.S. skier can say that.
LODWICK: I think the difference between my first Olympic games at 17 and my fifth Olympic games at 33 is that I'm more mature athlete. I think that's why these Olympic games will be so much fun and so important to me. MARCIANO: But first, a quick cross-country ski lesson.
Let's give it a go.
LODWICK: For you, it's basically just like walking, walking with a pair of skis on.
MARCIANO: Okay.
LODWICK: You're just going to walk. That's it.
MARCIANO: And then what's the skating thing that you do?
LODWICK: And the skating thing is kind of just like this. See.
MARCIANO: I just went 20 yards, not very stylish, and I'm completely out of breath. You go how long? How long are your races?
LODWICK: About 6 1/2 miles, and they last about 25 minutes.
MARCIANO: But that is just the half of Nordic combined. There is also ski jumping, a completely different deal.
LODWICK: To go 55 miles an hour through the air, drop 20 stories and land safely with just ski equipment on, that's -- I want to say that's one of the most extreme sports there is.
MARCIANO: It looks pretty extreme to me.
Whoo-hoo.
Embracing the extreme has a lot to do with where Todd is from, Steamboat Springs, Colorado which boasts more Olympic athletes than any other town in the United States. 1984, giant slalom gold medalist, Deb Armstrong starts training them young.
How does steamboat become such a factor for Olympians?
DEB ARMSTRONG, STEAMBOAT WINTER SPORTS CLUB: It's a unique place. There's no question. I don't know if there's a place in the world that quite matches up with what steamboat has here. You know, we have house and hill which is right in the heart of town, and it's an institution that started back in 1914 or something like that.
MARCIANO: Todd's been jumping and skiing in house since he was 4 years old. Now, he has a 4-year-old daughter of his own, and she'll be watching as Todd tries to win big in what he says will more than likely be his last Olympics.
LODWICK: You know, the number one question I get from my daughter when I go away on these trips to compete is if I'm going to bring any trophies back.
MARCIANO: She just wants the hardware.
LODWICK: She just wants to have the trophies. So, I'm going to do my best not to disappoint her.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO (on-camera): The pressure is always on with your 4- year-old daughter saying, daddy, bring home some of the hardware, bring home the gold medal. You may not be familiar with the Nordic combined because it's typically dominated by the Europeans, and this is the first time that the Americans are heavily favored. They've never won a medal in this event in the Olympics. It's a combination to see. Sunday is that when they have their first event competing, so you want to tune in and watch Todd.
CHETRY: You're in pretty good shape and you said you were out of breath after 50 yards.
MARCIANO: It was the altitude. No, it's not easy. Obviously, what's amazing about him is that he has two completely different disciplines.
CHETRY: Right.
MARCIANO: And to excel at both of those is remarkable to me.
CHETRY: You have us sold. We'll be rooting for him. Good luck. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
CHETRY: This morning's top stories are just a few minutes away including Former President Bill Clinton's hospital scare. We have more about the former president's procedure on his heart and when doctor say he can head home.
HOLMES: And our Anderson Cooper shows us how one orphanage in Haiti is making a real difference just outside of Port-au-Prince.
CHETRY: Also, Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, she's used to tanks; she's used to jets; she's used to aircraft carriers, but how about NASCAR? Stock car racing? She's surrounded by some of the strongest, fastest men in the world. Stranded in Florida because of the weather, she got a pretty view of the Daytona 500. There you go. Those stories and much more coming up. Fifty-two minutes past the hour.
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HOLMES: He didn't even try to look busy.
(LAUGHING)
CHETRY: Got three hours of live TV to do. Not busy then when you're busy.
HOLMES: Just teasing back there, guys.
CHETRY: It's five minutes before the top of the hour, and we're bringing you the Moost News in the Morning.
HOLMES: Yes. It's -- I don't know. It's gotten better here in New York but the muggings -- it's been a cut down, right.
CHETRY: Right.
HOLMES: Used to hear about it all the time. Crime is down, but people are still, for some reason, don't mind mugging a dog.
CHETRY: This is unbelievable. This -- you're not going to believe what this creep took from this little, tiny dog. Jeanne Moos shows us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the sort of dastardly crime that makes a dachshund in the down jacket nervously look over his shoulder. News that leaves a westy and shrilling shaken. Pair decked out in baby blue and pink shivering with trepidation.
DONNA MCPHERSON (ph): Who would take a coat off a dog? It's ludicrous.
MOOS: Investment banker, Donna McPherson momentarily left her dog, Lexie, outside this Brooklyn supermarket while she went inside to buy milk. Left him in his green wool coat, but when she came out --
MCPHERSON: I looked to Lexie and I said where's your coat as if he was going to tell me, and he's like, I just got mugged while you were buying milk.
MOOS (on-camera): The good news is that the mugger only got Lexie's cheap $25 coat and not his pricier Burberrys.
MOOS (voice-over): and the really good news is --
MCPHERSON: I'm just thankful that they didn't take my dog. I'll never leave him again, ever.
MOOS: Anyway, Lexie still seems to have a better coat on than his owner. One animal loses an accessory. Another animal one gains one. Check out Houston cow with a tire necklace. That's SPCA investigator, Trischa Price, trying to help the cow out of its jam.
MOOS (on-camera): Do we have any idea how she got the tire on her?
VOICE OF TRISCHA PRICE, HOUSTON SPCA: It's a busy street. Probably, someone threw out a tire, landed in there, and there was something growing in beyond the center of it, so she reached her head in there.
MOOS (voice-over): They managed to hear the year-old cow into a corral, but she wasn't helping them, help her. They finally managed to get her into a squeeze chute. Changing this tire was a two-person operation. The animal rescue folks are always trying to get critters out of self-imposed fixes, from a squirrel with a cup on its head to the deer decked out with Christmas lights on his antlers, to the skunk stuck in a jar of peanut butter. This is one snack he probably wished he skipped. Oh, what a relief.
UNKNOWN MALE: Say thank you.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN --
MCPHERSON: If I could find a husband like my dog, I would be a happy woman.
MOOS: New York.
CHETRY: She said if she could find a husband like her dog, she would be happy.
HOLMES: What, she would leave her husband outside, tied to a post. That's great.
CHETRY: Good thing they didn't steal his good jacket. They took the London Fog. They didn't get the Burberry.
HOLMES: Is that what people do here New York?
CHETRY: Yes. They tie their dogs up outside, and yes, we put our dogs in coats. It gets colder out here. The natural fur is just not quite enough for us.
All right. It's two minutes until the top of the hour. Your top stories are 90 seconds away.
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