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Bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's Birth; Economic Numbers

Aired February 12, 2009 - 09:00   ET

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

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN HOST: And the tribute, still, Lincoln on his 200th Birthday, continues now with Soledad O'Brien.

Good morning, Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: John, good morning to you, Kiran. We're going to have all of the news of the day from the "CNN NEWSROOM" straight ahead. First, though, we begin our special coverage of the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth.

His courage has nurtured and inspired generations. Among them, we know, Barack Obama, the nation's first African-American president. In fact, the comparisons between the two men are many. Some of them by design, some by faith, all of them worth talking about, though. We're going to take a closer look at that throughout the day.

And just moments ago a national wreath-laying ceremony took place at the Lincoln Memorial. CNN's Don Lemon is at the memorial in Washington, D.C. You saw Kyra Phillips just a moment ago at the Lincoln home in Springfield, Illinois. President Obama is scheduled to visit Springfield later today.

At the bottom of the hour, the presidential historian, Doris Kearns Goodwin, going to be talking with us. The Pulitzer Prize- winning author is going to discuss her best-selling book on Lincoln and some of the parallels that she sees to the Obama presidency.

First, though, we want to update you on the day's news from Atlanta. Let's get right to CNN's Heidi Collins. She's in the "NEWSROOM." Heidi?

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Stimulus at the goal line. Congressional leaders reach agreement setting up a vote. But what's in the final plan for you?

Plus a rare sight in paradise. Look at this. Hawaii, tornado touched down. And more wild weather on the mainland.

It is Thursday, February 12th. I'm Heidi Collins and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Time to check the pulse now of the economy. January saw a slight improvement in the number of Americans receiving foreclosure notices -- 10 percent fewer than in December. But the decline may not be all that meaningful, unfortunately. Many mortgage companies suspended the foreclosure process during the holiday season. New unemployment numbers out this morning. New claims have dropped from the week before, but the 623,000 first-time filers is still worse than expected. On another grim note, continuing claims remain at a record level.

Overseas markets now. Weighing in on the U.S. stimulus package. Investors' skepticism pushed down Japan's Nikkei more than 3 percent. Markets in Europe also down.

It looks like there is a deal on President Barack Obama's economic recovery plan. All that's left now is the final vote, of course. House and Senate leaders hammered up the details on the stimulus package but not everybody is happy.

CNN congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar is joining us now live on Capitol Hill this morning.

Brianna, good morning to you.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

Not everyone is happy but certainly this whole economic stimulus package, a historic piece of legislation, is a big step closer to being finished and staffers have been working through the night writing the legislation, getting the final wording in the bill.

Overall, what you have is a bill that shrunk a little bit from what the Senate and the House passed. $789 billion. Still one of the big hallmarks in this is tax cuts. The big one being that most Americans will be seeing a tax credit, $400 for individuals, $800 for families. Also there's a tax credit for first-time homebuyers up to $8,000. This was scaled back a little bit, as was another tax credit for people who buy new cars. You can take that sales tax and that will be deductible.

There's some give and take in this, obviously, as we were talking that there would be between Senate Republicans, the few who were on board, and House Democrats who had had more spending in their bill.

Those Republicans managed to keep the breaks, though, on some of those spending, holding firm on keeping money for new school construction out of this bill and because of that, not all Democrats are happy, though there is still $54 billion in education funding in this bill.

This is what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), HOUSE SPEAKER: The fact is that there's plenty there to create nearly four million jobs that the president has set as our goal.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KEILAR: Now there's expected to be a House vote as early as today, maybe tomorrow. Then we're expecting that the Senate will follow, but, bottom line here, Heidi, is this is expected to get to President Obama's desk by Monday, which was the Democrats self-imposed deadline.

COLLINS: All right, CNN's Brianna Keilar, with the very latest from Capitol Hill this morning. Brianna, thanks for that.

And President Obama welcomed word of a deal before the final vote, of course, saying it will help jump start the economy. The president will be on Capitol Hill today, but not to talk about the stimulus.

We're going to be bringing you live coverage of his remarks on the Lincoln bicentennial celebration. That will be coming your way 11:30 a.m. Eastern. And then, after that, the president heads to his and Lincoln's home state of Illinois. He'll hold a town hall meeting on the economy at Peoria at 4:25 p.m. Eastern. We, of course, will bring that to you live as well.

170-mile-per-hour winds. That's how powerful the tornado was that flattened Lone Grove, Oklahoma. At least nine people are now dead and rescuers are searching for even more victims. Kentucky also took a hit. Serious winds knocked down more power lines just as the state was beginning to cover from last month's ice storm. And flood watches along with wind and storm warnings now out for parts of Ohio this morning.

Obviously, a whole lot going on in the weather department today. Want to get on over to Rob Marciano who's got the very latest.

What -- who should be worried the most, I guess I should say, today, Rob?

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: OK. But we are all looking forward to Friday nonetheless.

MARCIANO: Who doesn't?

COLLINS: All right. Rob, thanks. We'll check back later on. Appreciate it.

The arson investigation continues in Australia now. Two people detained for questioning in connection to the deadly wildfires that was set earlier this morning. Police say they were, quote, "assisting with the investigation." At least 181 people were killed in those wildfires. Police believe some of the fires were deliberately set.

A frantic search now for a missing 5-year-old girl in Florida is going on right now. Investigators say they are treating the disappearance of Haleigh as an abduction. She was last seen Monday night in her father's mobile home in a rural community about 70 miles north of Orlando. Police say there's no longer reason to believe Haleigh wandered away. Her family is pleading for her return.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Haleigh is -- she's not going to get up and walk out of the house. She's not going to do it.

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD, HALEIGH'S MOTHER: I just want her home. I don't know where she is or who has her. I just want her home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Haleigh's father 17-year-old girlfriend was caring for the child when she disappeared.

Another victim of the salmonella outbreak. Ohio health officials weigh in while the man at the center of the investigation takes the stand in Washington but he left out the important details.

ANNOUNCER: CNN NEWSROOM brought to you by...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've been spending a lot of time reading Lincoln. There is a wisdom there and a humility about his approach to government, even before he was president, that I just find very helpful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Welcome, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien in New York. Welcome to our special coverage FROM LINCOLN TO OBAMA. That was President Obama talking about his admiration for President Lincoln.

It was common on the campaign trail, still happening now. In fact, it's made Lincoln's 200th birthday celebration even more energized than it would have been otherwise. Celebrations taking place coast-to-coast including a bicentennial celebration at the Capitol rotunda and a national wreath laying ceremony taking place in Washington, D.C. Plus lots of other events at Lincoln's Presidential Library and Museum in his hometown of Springfield, Illinois.

We begin our special coverage this morning with CNN's Don Lemon. He's at the Lincoln Memorial where there are some seriously high winds and also where a wreath-laying ceremony took place a little bit earlier this morning.

Hey, Don.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, how are you? I'm glad you mentioned that because, Soledad, we are literally having to hold on to our equipment and hold on to ourselves. An unusually windy day here in the nation's capital. Just moments ago, there was a wreath-laying and several wreath-layings will be happening throughout the day but there was a 21-gun salute right over the reflecting pool straight towards the National Monument here which is very, very beautiful.

It has been a beautiful morning and we have seen children from all over, schools from all over, students from Washington, D.C. They are going to be reciting several of Lincoln's speeches today, also reciting the "Emancipation Proclamation," Lincoln's "House Divided" speech. Elementary schools from all over.

And as this is going on here today, there's also -- there are also festivities happening at Ford's Theater. Just to give you an idea of the people who are going to perform here and then some of the people who are going to perform there today. Michael Feinstein is going to perform his rendition, a new rendition, of the national anthem.

Poet Nikki Giovanni is going to recite a new, a new poem that she, that she wrote just for this. This is called "At This Moment," written especially for this bicentennial. And then also Michael Feinstein is going to perform a poem written by Maya Angelou called "We Dream."

And then, as I said, several children, several students and schools from the area on this windy day are going to perform as well. So it's going to be a very moving and touching day. And then at Ford's Theater, Soledad, as you know, they are rededicating that theater and they just renovated the theater. The president was there last night, first lady, as well as hundreds of dignitaries and people from all over from Washington, D.C.

We're going to give you a sneak preview of that in just a little bit, later on in our broadcast. But it is a day of celebration here in Washington. A bicentennial celebration of President Abraham Lincoln's birthday and we're going to be here throughout the day to cover it all for you. Soledad?

O'BRIEN: Hey, Don, are you finding that people are learning more about the -- Lincoln, the president who they may have thought they knew but didn't really know a lot about?

LEMON: They actually are. And we're going to get into that as well, whether or not his legacy in some way has been romanticized. But I have to, I have to tell you, Soledad, this site here, the memorial that we're at and also Ford's Theater, they are two of the most visited sites here in Washington, D.C. and really two of the most historic sites and sites that people come to throughout the country. Not just here in Washington, D.C. but people are learning a lot more about him and especially now with the new president and his focus on Lincoln.

Of course, it's being taught in classrooms and schools and people are coming here in Washington and learning more about the 16th president of the United States.

O'BRIEN: All right, Don Lemon, for us. We're going to continue to check in with Don throughout the day. Let's turn over now to Kyra Phillips. She's in Springfield, Illinois, which is where Lincoln was born. The area is also very near and dear to Kyra's heart, isn't it, Kyra?

(LAUGHTER)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is. I got to come back home, which is pretty exciting. I was born in Jacksonville, Soledad. It's about 30 minutes from here. And already, I've seen so many people from Jacksonville including one of the curators here at the museum. I'm taking a little peak. There's Dave over there. He knows my grandpa. I used to write for the local paper in Jacksonville.

But anyway, Jason is telling me about everything going on here at the museum, at the Lincoln Museum. See, this wasn't here when I was a kid, Soledad. We used to go visit Lincoln's house. You could actually drive up to the front, go inside. It's now been sort of blocked off and this is what was built in 2005.

Barack Obama actually came here, gave a speech and made the dedication. And just to give you a little bit of what's in here. You've got the "Ghosts of the Library" where Abraham Lincoln in hologram. So I guess we weren't the ones who create the whole hologram idea during election night, Soledad.

Abraham Lincoln gives the "Gettysburg Address" there in hologram. Then, of course, you can visit with the family...

(LAUGHTER)

You've got Mary Todd, the kids and Abraham Lincoln. And behind us, the White House. You can actually go in and see the replicas of the first lady's dresses. You've got Frederick Douglas and Sojourner Truth. You've got the soldiers out on the front porch and hear the local news doing a live reading with impersonators that you've seen everywhere throughout Springfield since we've been here.

They're reading letters and mail on the local news. So we're going to be giving you a little insight into everything happening here. But, Soledad, what we really want to do is make the connection between Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama and move this forward. As you know both lawmakers from this area.

Barack Obama came back here to announce his presidency on the old capital steps. You'll remember that. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: It was here in Springfield where north, south, east and west come together, that I was reminded of the essential decency of the American people where I came to believe that through this decency we can build a more hopeful America. And that is why in the shadow of the old state capital where Lincoln once called on a "House Divided" to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still live, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for president of the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: Right behind the president there, inside the House of Representatives, inside the old capitol, is where Abraham Lincoln gave that famous "House Divided' speech, Soledad. You heard President Obama reference it in his speech when he announced his candidacy.

So throughout the day we're going to talk about why Barack Obama has respected Abraham Lincoln so much and kind of take you back to Lincoln's roots and show you the comparisons and also a lot of differences between the two as well.

O'BRIEN: And certainly, Kyra, we know that some of those comparisons are great PR. I mean he's a beloved president, the 16th president, so to a large degree, why not ride that train, literally, as Obama did when he kicked off his inauguration? There are many historians who say those comparisons go far deeper than that.

PHILLIPS: Right. Yes. And we're going to talk a lot about the controversies as well and the differences, you know, having a chance to talk to scholars here and even professors here. The generational questions that are surfacing. The younger generation -- for example, we're going to talk with some college students coming up in a couple of hours that say hey, we're addressing the things such as Abraham Lincoln, the racist.

Was he gay? Was his wife crazy? Did he suffer depression? These are sort of the controversial issues that are being discussed in classrooms here. Not just the pomp and circumstance and talking about how they were so much alike and how great Abraham Lincoln was and that's why Barack Obama has quoted him a number of times.

But there's a lot of controversy as well and a lot of debate to whether he should be lifted up to that extent. So we'll talk about that as well.

O'BRIEN: Two hundred years after his birth, we're still talking about him.

Kyra Phillips for us, we're going to check in, obviously, with Kyra throughout the day.

Remembering Lincoln on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Renowned poet, Nikki Giovanni, recites her new poem honoring the legacy of the nation's 16th president. We're going to talk to her live straight ahead.

And President Obama talks a lot about his admiration for President Lincoln. So what do they have in common? We'll get some answers from historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

(END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN, the most trusted name in news. Now back to the CNN NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Another death is now being linked to the nationwide salmonella outbreak. Ohio health officials say an elderly woman who died earlier this year had the same strain of salmonella in her system but it's unknown if it came from tainted peanut products. And raises the death toll from the outbreak now to nine. Around 600 people have gotten sick.

Those illnesses are linked to the Peanut Corporation of America plant in Georgia. The president and plant manager was called to Capitol Hill to answer questions but lawmakers really didn't get much out of them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BART STUPAK (D), MICHIGAN: Mr. Parnell, did you or any officials at the Peanut Corporation of America ever place food products into the interstate commerce that you knew to be contaminated with salmonella?

STEWART PARNELL, PEANUT CORPORATION OF AMERICA: Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, on the advice of my counsel, I respectfully decline to answer your question based on the protection afforded me under the United States constitution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The FDA says Peanut Corporation of America knowingly shifted tainted products from that factory. You can find a link to the massive list of recalled peanut products at CNN.com/Health.

It's a question that has haunted many parents of children are autism. Is there a link between certain vaccines and the disorder? Today a Department of Justice special court will hand down rulings on three test cases. The parents contend their children's autism was caused by a combined exposure to thiomersal, a mercury containing preservative in some vaccines and the MMR vaccines.

The CDC and the World Health Organization have found no credible link between vaccinations and autism.

The octuplets mom is asking for your support, your monetary support, that is. Nadya Suleman has started a Web site seeking donations. The site includes pictures of the newborns plus a prompt for people to make donations on their credit cards. Aside the eight babies, Suleman has six other children at home and no clear source of income.

New numbers just out on the economy now. How will they impact your 401(k)? Wall Street's opening bell just about to ring.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.

COLLINS: Just about the end of the week, the opening bell is about to ring on Wall Street today. Stocks are poised to give back yesterday's modest gains, though.

Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange now with a look at some of the factors expected to weigh in on that market today.

Hi there, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Well, we're looking at a slightly lower open as investors chew over that scaled back stimulus package that appears set for passage, as well as a big batch of economic data.

And here's a headline for you, Heidi. Retail sales grew. They actually jumped a better than expected 1 percent in January. The stream is expecting a decline and that is a surprising rebound following a miserable holiday shopping season. It actually marks the first advance in sales in seven months.

There is the opening bell.

We also have some other economic data to tell you about. Concerns labor market. Jobless claims dipped last week to 622,000. Obviously, any form of decline is welcome but that level is still real high. And the number of people continuing to file for claims on a regular basis remains at a record level around 4.7 million.

On the housing front, the number of foreclosures eased in January dropping 10 percent from the previous month. However the number of people losing their homes still far above where it was a year ago. And we have to say a large part of the decline last month due to moratoriums imposed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the holiday season. And obviously, the worsening job situation does not bode well for foreclosures.

In earnings news, Toll Brothers has quarterly revenue slumped more than 50 percent that is the luxury home builder. Media giant Viacom, its quarterly profits plummet nearly 70 percent due to restructuring charges and weakness in its home entertainment business. And we are seeing weakness in the big board. Check it out.

Triple digit declines in the first minute of trading. Right now, the blue chip is down 112 points and just above 7800. The Nasdaq meanwhile is down 20 points or 33.33 percent. Ringing the opening bell today, Child Cry, a humanitarian ministry which feeds children all around the world. And that is something that's a good cause and they rang the opening bell this morning.

Heidi, back to you.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely. All right, Susan, we'll keep our eye on those numbers. Boy, a quick plummet there.

Now we're going to send it back to New York and Soledad O'Brien, our day-long coverage "LINCOLN TO OBAMA" starts now.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back to our special day-long coverage from "LINCOLN TO OBAMA." Abraham Lincoln and his horse cast in bronze to commemorate his 200th birthday. We've seen the pictures from the dedication ceremony. This new statue at President Lincoln's cottage at the soldiers home in Washington, D.C. It took designers a year to create the 2500-pound likeness. And today's official dedication also kicks off year-long special exhibit at the cottage, which is called "My Abraham Lincoln." It features a collection of Lincoln campaign memorabilia and pop culture artifacts.

President Lincoln is in President Obama's heart and mind. You hear that a lot, but are there true similarities between the two men? Joining us this morning to talk about that is historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. She is the author of the best-selling book "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln," and she's at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. as part of these festivities.

So we certainly appreciate your time because I know you've been absolutely swamped today, and I know there's a high wind so I'm going to yell so you can hear me for sure.

Your book team of rivals looked at the Lincoln cabinet, which included the Attorney General Bates, the Treasury Secretary Chase, the War secretary Edwin Stanton and the Secretary of State Seward. Some people have said it was a team of rivals that made for a better administration. Other says -- and I can hear that you're having difficulty hearing me. All right.

Well, you know, we're going to try to fix those audio problems for Doris Kearns Goodwin and get back to her in just a moment, and after that we'll be talking to the poet Nikki Giovanni who is also part of the celebrations today. That's straight ahead. We'll be fixing those problems. We're going to take a short break, go back with you in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. We're back with the author of the best-selling book called "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln." Doris Kearns Goodwin is the well-known historian and author. We've put her on a phone line because the high winds in Washington, D.C. had made it very difficult to keep our connection there. So let's talk with her by phone.

Doris, thanks for talking to us. I know you've written a lot about the cabinet that was in Lincoln's time. Some people have said the team of rivals, as you call it, was helpful in the administration, made for a better presidency. Others say it was actually complete chaos. What do you think?

VOICE OF DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, there's no question that it helps to make him the historic figure he was. Look, he won the war, saved the union and the slavery, and in part because of this fiery group around him who argued with him, disagreed with him, gave him more options and he had the serene confidence to be able to allow that explosive group to be there. It was tough but it was workable.

O'BRIEN: Many of the men also ran against him. So they were literally rivals, not just ideological rivals.

Do you see parallels with Barack Obama on that front? I mean, again, he had in his cabinet people who at one point running against him. But are they also, you know, fighting, arguing over every point?

GOODWIN: They may and well be (INAUDIBLE). But I think what Obama has realized is that it's important to have people who can disagree with you without fear of consequence and that that way, you're going to be able to not have an echo chamber that follows you around. And he is willing to take the risk that some of these things may leak out, they have different opinions, but I think it's a healthy confidence that he possesses much like Mr. Lincoln did.

O'BRIEN: What about the downside of it? I mean, you know, people talk a lot about Lincoln's upsides and strength, but what about Lincoln's weaknesses?

GOODWIN: One of Lincoln's great weaknesses was he could never fire anyone. He wanted everybody to have a first, second, third chance. And it meant that he kept someone like McClellan on much too long, and I think that's something that Obama needs to think about as well. A tendency to want to like people, but you're going to have to figure out when you have to cut them loose.

O'BRIEN: Many have argued -- and even have argued with your book -- that a team of rivals can end up with a lot of chaos. At one point you had Seward and Chase both resigning simultaneously and Lincoln, actually, because he had these competing resignations was able to not take either one and kind of hold the cabinet together, which doesn't sound like, you know, that they were focusing on administration, they were focusing on the fighting?

GOODWIN: No question that it's going to be complicated, even more so today, because we know of some of the problems with the Lincoln administration through diaries, letters, after the facts. We know that (INAUDIBLE), somebody said you're a liar, you're a thief! Somebody would not go into the cabinet meeting if another one was there. Can you imagine if you learned that today, and on the nightly news and the blogs and the comedy shows?

But I still think Obama said it's worth it. He said I've looked back to Lincoln's cabinet. He wanted the strongest and most able people around him. The country was in peril. He needed them by his side. And so, too, when he put Hillary Clinton there. It was a clear mark that he was going to try to do the same.

O'BRIEN: The second time around when Lincoln was going into office the second time, he didn't pick the team of rivals. He picked a very friendly amicable cabinet. Is that an indication then that he recognized that this was a failure?

GOODWIN: No. I think on the contrary. At the start, he needed these different factions that represented different aspects of the Republican Party, and then once the country had gotten itself together (INAUDIBLE) on war, then he could bring people around him so he felt more comfortable with. It was partly his maturing into it, but it's partly because the first round had really worked.

O'BRIEN: Lincoln sent -- I should say wrote long letters that he never sent. I mean, they're whole collections of letters that Lincoln wrote and then people said, well, he never sent that one and he never sent that one. Beautiful letters that he never sent. And I always wonder is there any connection to, you know, the no drama Obama in the hold your tongue, write the letter, but don't send it?

GOODWIN: Absolutely. Lincoln had this wonderful ritual. He calls it a hot letter where all of his emotions would come out, his angers would come out and then he would put it aside hoping he would never need to send it because he would cool down psychologically. And it does seem from what we've learned about President Obama that there are no great dramatic moments, no great screaming at people in public. That he is able to somehow keep himself psychologically cool, and that is a critical thing in a president. Nobody wants to be dressed down in public. Nobody can make themselves a better colleague when that happens and Lincoln understood that.

O'BRIEN: Doris Kearns Goodwin is a fame historian, also the author of the best-selling "The Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln." Thanks for joining us -- joining us by phone, because we're having some difficulties with a high wind in Washington, D.C. today. It's really challenging. Some of our live shots. We appreciate you. Stick in with us, Doris.

A tale of two Lincoln. The great emancipator is how he was known, but what really behind his quest and slavery? We'll take a look at that in the next hour.

Don Lemon will talk with the Lincoln curator at the Library of Congress. And also Harvard professor Henry Lewis Gates. That's all ahead in our special continuing coverage. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Good morning once again, everybody, I'm Heidi Collins in the CNN NEWSROOM. So are you thinking of buying chocolates for your Valentine? CNN's Judy Fortin looks at the heart healthiest kinds.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUDY FORTIN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Valentine's week is a busy time for James Chalifoux. Owner of Lexington chocolate here in Atlanta. He knows one thing, people love chocolate not only for its taste but for its health benefits.

JAMES CHALIFOUX, LEXINGTON CHOCOLATE: Antioxidants that's what they're looking for. So they're always like where is more dark chocolate?

FORTIN: Recent studies have shown that certain chocolates can be good for us especially as we age, but which of these confections have the most benefit and when?

KATHERINE TALLMADGE, NUTRITIONIST, AMERICAN DIABETIC ASSOCIATION: I think a lot of people are confused about chocolate. They are not sure what to believe. Is it good for me? Is it not?

FORTIN: When we get into our 30s, our metabolism begins to slow down so we need to start watching our sugars. An average chocolate bar has anywhere from 19 to 35 grams of sugar. That's a lot. And milk chocolate has the most fat. Nutritionists say go easy on it. Eating too much chocolate, especially milk chocolate can lead to tooth decay, obesity, even diabetes as you age.

TALLMADGE: Keep the sweets or sort of extra foods to about 10 percent of your calories per day.

FORTIN: And as we get into our 40s and 50s, doctors say we should be thinking about anti-oxidants. Those are the substances in food that oxidize cells and help prevent damage to the heart, arteries and other tissues. Cocoa, the main ingredient in dark chocolate is chock full of them. They're called flavanols, and can provide health benefits.

TALLMADGE: Relaxing blood vessels, reducing blood clotting, improving blood flow and in health, nothing is more important than blood flow.

FORTIN: Research conducted at the University of Scranton found coco powder ranks the highest of the chocolate products nutritionally. Followed by dark chocolate and then milk chocolate. Magnesium and potassium are also found in chocolates. But watch what you're buying. The more processed the dark chocolate, the fewer health benefits.

TALLMADGE: The amount of flavanols decreases with every processing step. And so the least processed cocoa is the one that is going to have the highest health benefits.

FORTIN: The best source of pure dark chocolate? Dark cocoa powder. Mix it with sugar to make hot cocoa or use baker's dark chocolate in recipes, and look at the labels. Candy manufacturers are now developing ways to keep the Flavanols in dark chocolate. So the sweets you give your sweetie will be good for the heart as well as the sweet tooth.

Judy Fortin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: It's not the Hawaiian weather you typically hear about. Look at that. Tornado touches down. A rare scene for the islands.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: As Lincoln organized the forces or raid against slavery he was heard to say this, "Of strange discordance and even hostile elements, we gathered from the four winds and formed and fought to battle through." That is our purpose here today. That is why I'm in this race. Not just to hold an office, but to gather with you to transform a nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Poetry for presidents. Poet and Professor Nikki Giovanni put pen to paper in honor of the legacy of Abraham Lincoln on the bicentennial of his birth. She recited a new poem today on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. We'd like to play a little bit of it for you now.

Looks like we don't have her poem? We've got Nikki Giovanni joining us live now. Professor Giovanni, and I'm hopeful, because you're in Washington, D.C. that your live shot is going to stay with us. I know there is high winds there. We're having a little bit of difficulty.

Your poem which I have only read and have not heard you deliver is remarkable. And I'm going to ask you, if I may, impose upon you to recite a line or two for us which is just absolutely spectacular.

NIKKI GIOVANNI, POET AND EDUCATOR: Oh, thank you. The poem is essentially at this moment, when we are remembering a great president standing in the shadow of an impressive memorial, I wanted to ask where is the memorial for Frederick Douglas who is also part of the making of this nation? At this moment, when we are embarrassed by the governor of our fifth largest state and when we are dismayed by the governor of the empire state, why have these people been so unkind and crazy? So I just wanted to -- Abraham Lincoln was a politician. He was a great statesman, but he was a politician. And I thought my poem should bring some of the politics. Also because Lincoln was a biblical scholar, and so we have to give a shout-out on that one to forgive us as we forgive those to neither be tempted nor intolerant of those who are. But to come to this moment and refurbish the American vision of Abraham Lincoln. I just wrote the poem so I can't actually recite it.

O'BRIEN: Well, you know what -- and I have a copy of the poem in front of me. And I'm like -- I am so in no way going to recite it because I would not do a justice. But the last line you talk about renewing and refurbishing the American vision of Abraham Lincoln. Do you think that his vision in some way has been -- has been inaccurate, and needs to be renewed and redone in a way?

GIOVANNI: No, no. I just -- you know, it's like a sterling silver hippo that I have. You have to shine it. His vision was very good. His vision was always about, about saving the nation. And of course now, the Midwest has given us another son -- Illinois has given us another son in Barack Obama. So Illinois is becoming a great crossroads kind of state. I'm an Ohioan. And we of course -- our motto is birthplace of the presidents. But Illinois has produced what is arguably the best president in the United States. And we certainly have watched that state produce a great son in Barack Obama.

O'BRIEN: In your second line, you say, "Missing an equally impressive representation of his friend and advisor, Frederick Douglas." And you go on. And it's sort of just a little parenthetical phrase, but really I think does underscore that you mentioned Frederick Douglas in the second line in a way that most -- much of history has left him out.

GIOVANNI: Yes. It's something that needs to be corrected. Because Frederick Douglas clearly was a great part of Abraham Lincoln's thinking. I'm not saying Lincoln was dumb and I'm not saying Douglas taught him. I'm saying that Douglas and Lincoln, if we took two young, vibrant men who wanted to change the world, they're coming together was one of the really great moments in history.

And what we have is we have parallel histories. So we have youngsters read Frederick Douglas and youngsters will read Abraham Lincoln. And what I wanted to do in my book, Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas in American friendship, I wanted to cross that bridge, and I'm hoping that other people will start look at that relationship. Douglas was a great wordsmith. Lincoln was very good with concepts, but Douglas was a wordsmith. So a lot of things that you hear, a lot of those wonderful phrases, they're going to come from Douglas's mouth.

O'BRIEN: You pay tribute on this 200th birthday, but then as you mentioned, you bring up sort of recent political scandals, frankly. You can't put it any other way than that. You talk about the governor of the fifth largest state and the embarrassment of that person. And now we are embarrassed that the accidental governor of the empire state, so I'm going to guess you're going with Governor Paterson on that one...

GIOVANNI: Oh, definitely.

O'BRIEN: And you mention without naming the Kennedys. Why bring it to this modern day? Why bring it to literally this moment now, that's not about Lincoln?

GIOVANNI: Yes, it is. Because what Lincoln was about was today's job today. I don't think that there is any American historian -- people who look at it for the history of it. But Lincoln himself was staying in the moment, to save the nation, call out what had to be called out, fire generals that couldn't work well, get rid of -- I mean, Lincoln was always about let us make this nation stronger. And we cannot be stronger if we keep covering up ugly, dirty, mean things that we do. So I just wanted to do when Abraham Lincoln, and I did a shout out.

O'BRIEN: The poem is fantastic. Nikki Giovanni joining us this morning. Thank you so much.

GIOVANNI: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: I noticed a gust of wind that nearly blew you over about ten seconds ago. So, again, thank you for sticking it out on what is a really windy day with the high winds of about 55 miles an hour in D.C. We certainly appreciate it, professor.

GIOVANNI: Yes. Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Let's send it right back to Heidi Collins. She's in Atlanta now.

Heidi?

COLLINS: All right, Soledad. Thank you. We are getting some important news just in out of the CNN NEWSROOM. A special court hands down its first set of decisions about a possible link between autism and vaccinations. CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta looking at those documents right now. He is going to join us coming up next hour.

The storm and the storm warnings, almost simultaneous in a Texas town. Residents say they heard the sirens about the same time thunderstorms ripped through their neighborhood. Some roofs were torn off and fences bent, but fortunately only a few houses sustained damage.

Astounding numbers, though, on that tornado that flattened Lone Grove, Oklahoma. It was on the ground for nearly an hour with winds estimated at 170 miles per hour. A woman who saw her home and dozens more destroyed says, "I don't know how I made it."

February tornadoes in Oklahoma, though, are rare. But here is something even more unusual. A tornado hitting Hawaii. The weak twister touched down on the island of Oahu yesterday causing minor damage and one injury. The National Weather Service reports only 37 tornadoes have touched down in Hawaii since 1950. So tornadoes in Hawaii. That is definitely rare, yes?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, just about as rare as tornadoes in Oklahoma in February.

COLLINS: In February. Right.

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COLLINS: Yes, no question about that. All right, Rob, thanks so much. We'll check back with you a little bit later on.

Meanwhile, we are continuing to sift through those court documents that we have been telling you about. A special court has made a decision about the possibility of a link between autism and vaccinations. So our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to be joining us shortly after he takes a good look at those. For now, though, we want to sent it back to New York and Soledad O'Brien.

Soledad?

O'BRIEN: All right, Heidi, thank you. The tale of two presidents "FROM LINCOLN TO OBAMA." One Illinois City at the center of their rise to power. We're going to come back live to Springfield, Illinois just after the break. Stay with us.

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KYLE SMITH, IREPORT: I think it's excellent that we have change right now and with President Obama. And he shares a lot about what we can accomplish and how far we have come since President Lincoln's time. And it just -- it's nice to see, you know, a brighter future, possibly, in tough times right now, and over the past couple of years that we've had tough times.

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