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Huge Snowstorm Dumping Snow Along Mid-Atlantic Coast; Obama Met With Democrats in Washington; Tea Party Movement's First National Event

Aired February 06, 2010 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: So we'll have more from the Tea Party convention in just a moment. But first here is a look at some of the headlines.

A huge snowstorm is dumping snow everywhere from southern Indiana, the Mid Atlantic Coast, Washington, D.C., could see two and a half feet of snow before it is all over. The weather isn't slowing down.

President Barack Obama he met with Democrats in Washington. Despite recent set backs he says he is not giving up on his health care initiative.

So this week a big event for the Tea Party Movement, its first national convention. So who are members of the Tea Party, and what impact might they have on this election coming up in the fall. Joining us live from Nashville at the convention is John Avalon, a columnist with the Daily Beast.com.

So John let's get started with the make-up of the Tea Party. We saw in Jim Acosta's piece that people say that it is made up of a lot of different kind of loose groups and that the grassroots-formed type party. What does that mean exactly? Who are the members? What do they all represent?

JOHN AVALON, FMR. SPEECHWRITER, NYC MAYOR RUDY GUILANI: It is a wide-ranging group. But I think the common ground beneath them all is that they are fiscal conservatives. The Tea Party started last year in response to the bailout backlash, the stimulus spending, and a lot of anger about overspending that began under Republicans and then accelerated under Democrats.

I think what they are generally; they need to be understood as conservative populists. They are folks who believe the Republican Party hasn't been conservative enough. And so I think that's the main theme throughout the movement, if you talk to members of the movement it self.

But then there is a side order that comes with that issue, which is that a lot of these folks, especially over the last summer got increasingly radicalized and affected in what I call Obama derangement syndrome. So you see a lot of real anger, some times unhinged anger at President Obama going with that other core message of fiscal conservatives. WHITFIELD: And this is what constitutes the movement, the movement has this kind of commonality of being against the Obama administration or is the real commonality that we don't think the Republicans are conservative enough?

AVALON: I think it's both things at the same time. I think it is a real anger and resistance at the Obama administration that has this occasionally unhinged quality, but it's also a real demand for a return to fiscal responsibility, fiscal conservatism.

WHITFIELD: But then when it comes down to choosing a candidate of choice, more likely that is going to be a Republican, not necessarily someone who simply touts being a Tea Party member, correct?

AVALON: Absolutely. In fact, yesterday, the folks who are putting on this national convention said very specifically that they don't want to support a third party. They want to support conservative candidates in Republican primaries. That is going to be controversial because there are many different groups in the third party movement. I think it does indicate the fact that this is primarily a conservative populist movement designed to try to move the Republican Party further to the right, specifically on the fiscal issues.

WHITFIELD: If there are Republicans who say I don't really want to associate myself with the Tea Party, what is at the crux of their concern?

AVALON: I think it's recognition that extremists are usually their own side's worst enemy. And you know there have been a lot of folks who have come out with pretty unhinged statements over the course of the Tea Party movements, especially over the course of last summer and fall. You know, the guys with the Obama and Hitler and communist signs are completely outer limits. They got a lot of press and you do see a lot of that Obama derangement syndrome floating around the fridge of this movement.

And as the fridge begins to blur with the base, you see the conservative populous having more influence with the Republican Party. There is a bit of a fustian bargain, Republicans benefit from the enthusiasm they bring, but I think there is real concern that it could boil over and alienate the independents who they really need to win the elections.

WHITFIELD: And so everyone is kind of clamoring for the independents. They are believed to be kind of the fastest growing portion of the voting public. So how or why -- I guess really how, how might this Tea Party try to appeal to those independents, yet at the same time not be extremists, as you put it?

AVALON: That's the catch-22. Independents are as you said the largest and fastest growing segment of the Electra. They tend to be fiscally conservative but socially libertarian. The common ground they have with the Tea Party is on demand for fiscal responsibility, fiscal conservatism. What alienates them is independents are angry at the polarization of the two parties. They think they are two hyper partisan in Washington. The tea partiers think the parties aren't polarized enough, they would like to see a Republican Party that moves further to the right. So there is an air of tension there, the overlap opportunity is a return for fiscal conservatism and fiscal responsibility. So if tea partiers want to really broaden their appeal the folks on that message and leave the hyper partisan anger at Obama aside. Whether they can do that that is an open question.

WHITFIELD: So this evening former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is going to be the keynote speaker. She says money that she is taking for her speaking engagement fee is really going toward the cause. Is the Tea Party saying that her point of view on politics, her approach to politics is in concert with that of the Tea Party?

AVALON: No question among the crowds here. You see a lot of love for Sarah Palin. She is queen of the conservative populist. There is a lot of enthusiasm for her speech tonight, but there is a lot of controversy around that speaker's fee. There is not a whole lot that is in populous about $100,000. That buys you a lot of tea. So there are folks that really resent that speaking fee, but there are folks here that already paid are excited to hear what she says.

The question I think will be for Palin, does she simply preach to the choir or does she try to present a direction forward? That will be really the question of her attempt to be a leader of this movement. No question, she's got many of their support. But can she surf that support into something constructive moving forward in her own career?

WHITFIELD: John Avalon the DailyBeast.com thanks so much for your time from Nashville.

AVALON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well you don't have to be in Nashville to get a seat inside for tonight's main event. Sarah Palin's keynote address, CNN will have live coverage of tonight's speech beginning at 9:00 Eastern Time from Nashville.

All right. Let's talk weather again. The snow it just keeps coming down on the nation's capital and Washington isn't alone. A huge winter storm is blamed for traffic accidents, travel headaches and power outages from Virginia into Pennsylvania and from Indiana to the east coast, as well. Bonnie Schneider is in the Weather Center where, wow, this has been a pretty nasty winter all the way around, no matter what corner of the country you live.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's true. And really, Washington, D.C., has seen such a terrible winter. Normally we don't get this much snow for the entire year. But we have had two big snowstorms in just a couple of months' time. And it is not just the D.C., Maryland area; want to show you West Virginia. It stopped snowing back here toward West Virginia but our I-reporters on the scene showing us what it looks like outside in their backyard.

I want to take you to Glennville, West Virginia. Gary Collins sent this picture in. His neighbor said hey send these pictures in I- report they are pretty good. We appreciate that. And this is what it looks like in from his home on Charles Street, 6.25 inches early in the morning. I bet they have more than that since this picture was taken. Thank you so much for that I-report.

And also as you can see on radar, some heaviest snow is through Philadelphia down through Washington, D.C. and certainly into Maryland. That brings me to our next I-report that comes to us from Western Maryland in and around the Fredericksburg area. This is also a snowy street with trees falling down. Look at the weight of that snow on the tree branches. Incredible pictures taken from the backyard of Allison Cook, 19 years old. Thank you so much for those pictures.

That's why we have hundreds of thousands of people without power because the weight of the snow, it is like very wet, damp snow. So it weighs down the power lines. As we take a look right now just to show you what's going on, we will zoom into the D.C. area, and you can see still heavy snow bands pounding this part of the country. For Philadelphia to D.C. into Baltimore, we are still looking at several more inches of snow. It should start to shut off around 9:00 tonight.

The thing to note is that we are still going to see a few more inches of snow. But look at the winds, Fredricka. Right now in Atlantic City, the winds are 40 miles per hour down in Virginia Beach about 30. So the gusts are even stronger than that. A big gust of wind blows the snow drifts. That's why we're going to see blowing and drifting snow and treacherous conditions throughout the night tonight and into tomorrow too even though it won't be snowing tomorrow.

WHITFIELD: OK. Thanks so much. That's right. The snow is going to be sticking around for awhile.

SCHNEIDER: Right. Will be tough to shovel.

WHITFIELD: That's always the worst part. Bonnie Schneider, thank you.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right. On to southern California now. The problem there is rain. Overnight showers have caused a series of mud slides north of Los Angeles in an area savaged by wildfires last summer. Cars have been damaged and streets closed. At least six homes had been damaged and other homes are under mandatory evacuation orders. Power outages have hit more than 10,000 customers. So far there are no reports of injuries.

The president says he is committed to his mission, despite the move aimed at derailing it. What he is telling Democrats about health care reform.

And is the military to blame for turning an island paradise into a toxic cancer cluster? We are taking you to the Vicas (ph) for a CNN Special Investigation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: President Obama had a busy day. He's focused on jobs, the economy and health care reform when he addressed the Democratic National Convention's winter meeting today. Let's bring in our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux who is now inside after braving the snow all day long and now you are dry. Boy, this has been a very busy day for you and for the White House. Particularly as it pertains to the president, how did he manage to get all the Democrats to work together instead of them staying home?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, we are dry, we are inside. This is how you normally see us in the briefing room, but we are going to brave it again and we are going to go outside and show you and our viewers what it's like to be here. Obviously at the White House in midst of all of this. The residence is right behind us here. That's where the first family has been hunkering down for the day. This is the driveway that is leading up here and as you can tell a lot of work has been done here. This is what we are dealing with this. This is more than two feet of snow here at the White House.

But there have been presidential snowplows as well as snow blowers. We've been calling them that. It's really the National Park Service; they have been doing an incredible job of just trying to get some of this stuff out of here and moving along particularly for the motorcade. The presidential motorcade as you mentioned the president went to the DNC, their annual winter meeting to talk about some things, but mainly to buck up the party to tell them, look, there are some things we need to do legislatively.

There are some bills that we've got to put out there to get the job done for the American people, despite the fact that there are some party members that are discouraged and some party members that are trying to distance themselves from the president's agenda because of the health care reform failure and some other frustrations, but, Fred, it was like a campaign event. When you take a look and you take a listen at how this president is trying to really encourage and motivate the Democratic Party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE U.S: For all the stories we've heard, after all the campaigns we waged, after all the promises we made, this is our best chance to deliver change that the American people need. If we do that, if we speak to the hopes of the American people instead of their fears, if we inspire them instead of divide them, if we respond to their challenges with the same sense of urgency they feel in their own lives, we are not just going to win elections, elections will take care of themselves, we will once again be the party that turns around the economy and moves this country forward and secures the American dream for another generation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And Fred, specifically, the president was talking about trying to get a bipartisan jobs bill passed in short order, if you will, by Monday. At least have the Senate introduce that, that particular legislation. Obviously, it's going to take a lot of work, some heavy lifting. Clearly of Democrats and Republicans working together. Of course, getting back from their home states as well. Getting through some of this winter wonderland, this snow back into Washington to get some business done.

Fred.

WHITFIELD: And so while the president is underscoring the message of working together, Republicans, Democrats, not far away in Nashville, Tennessee, there is this Tea Party Convention. I wonder if the White House has anything to say about that movement and how it might be impacting upcoming elections, which is what the Tea Party is expressing will happen.

MALVEAUX: Well Fred, there certainly is a lot of concern about two groups, two particular groups. While the president talks about he wants to win over some Republicans, he is concerned about the fiscally conservative Democrats, some who are facing tough re-election battles, who are trying to distance themselves from the president. They don't know if they can really support his agenda.

Also the independents, if you look at all the latest polls, it shows that he is starting to lose the support of the independents. Those were key groups that essentially allowed him to win and seize the presidency. And so he is trying to comfort them and he is trying to reach out to them. That's why you're seeing some of the ideas that he has been introducing has been fiscally conservative.

He's been talking about tax credits for small businesses, loans for small businesses, tax cuts for the American people, those types of things. They are looking at the Tea Party group and saying OK, those are critics, those are some folks who are saying let's get fiscally conservative. I don't think they are necessarily trying to win them over in large parts, but they certainly are addressing some of those concerns and looking at some of those other groups that are closer to the administration.

WHITFIELD: OK. Suzanne while you mentioned the National Park Service is getting credit for clearing out the roadways there to make sure the president can come and go. In fact when he went to that Democratic winter meeting, it meant still putting the motorcade in use, correct? How did they do that?

MALVEAUX: OK, well this is one of the scary moments actually that we saw today. Because the motorcade, the presidential motorcade not immune to what is happening out here with these snowy conditions. The motorcade was traveling; this is back from the event, back to the White House, where a tree branch that was overtaken by heavy snow snapped, and fell on to one of the vehicles in the motorcade.

It was not the president's vehicle, Fred, but it was a vehicle, the press jumped out of this vehicle. They got that branch out of the way and they were able to continue on. The president was in a couple of vehicles ahead of that. Clearly, it was a scary moment and it just goes to show even with the presidential motorcade and all of the armored vehicles and the best preparations, there are still dangerous conditions out here. But everybody is OK.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and a scary moment too because it meant a separation of the vehicles which have to stay within close proximity by so many feet, inches, et cetera, when they are on the move. Correct?

MALVEAUX: Absolutely. Fortunately, it was close to the White House. It was close to the south lawn. They were pulling in; it was between the White House and the Treasury Department. If you know the area, pretty close to where we are here so that the president was able to travel ahead of the rest of the vehicles, got in safely. Everybody was OK, but certainly a scary moment there.

WHITFIELD: All right. Very good. Suzanne Malveaux thanks so much. Get inside, go back into the press room, hopefully they have hot cocoa or something waiting for you.

MALVEAUX: We are waiting for the Obamas to invite us for hot cocoa.

WHITFIELD: That would be nice too. I'm sure they are serving.

MALVEAUX: We are hoping they are watching this report.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Maybe they will be serving some hot cocoa.

MALVEAUX: We've been here all day. Come on.

WHITFIELD: Come on, all right. Suzanne thank you.

All right. Well it is the tape that you'll be telling your friends about tomorrow, the latest on the video that is going viral on the web.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK, we are starting a new segment called "Did You Hear?" It highlights some of the weeks most provocative and compelling news moments. Well earlier this week on Capital Hill the nations intelligence chiefs appeared before a Senate committee to talk about the threat of a another terror attack on the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN, (D) INTELLIGENCE CHAIRWOMAN: What is the likelihood of another terrorist attempted attack on the U.S. homeland in the next three to six months, high or low? Director Blair.

DIRECTOR BLAIR: An attempted attack, the priority is certain, I would say.

FEINSTEIN: Mr. Panetta.

MR. PANETTA: I agree with that.

FEINSTEIN: Mr. Mueller. MR. MUELLER: Agree.

FEINSTEIN: General Burgen.

GENERAL BURGEN: Yes ma'am, agree.

FEINSTEIN: Mr. Dinger.

MR. DINGER: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. They all agree. Pretty big chances of an attempted attack within three to six months. So our viewers are already weighing in on this issue. Louise writes saying, "Of course, there will be an attempted attack in the next three to six months. That is the main objective of the terrorist. They don't plan one for a year, they are planning an attack every day.

And this from Phalysia (ph), the United States has military bases set up all around the world perhaps we should have military check points for all planes headed for the United States.

And Sue has this to say, "We the people should not know what our experts in the military are doing to keep us safe because if we know, the terrorists will also.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now. Parts of the eastern seaboard are at a standstill today as snow pounds the Mid- Atlantic States. Some areas can see two feet or more. Emergency crews are trying to clear the roads and restore power to hundreds of thousands of people. But as long as the snow keeps falling, it's going to be a mess out there.

And Toyota is promising a fix for its latest car glitch. Potentially faulty brakes on its Prius hybrids. It blames the problem on a software bug. The troubled automaker says it has taken care of fixing vehicles on its production line but it needs to come up with an action plan for the Prius vehicles already on the road. That could come next week.

Iran is making missiles that can shoot down helicopters and tanks and pierce armor plating that is according to its defense minister. Iran opened two ammunition production plants today; Tehran says it hopes to beef up its ground and air defenses by mass producing modern arms. The move comes amid Iran's ongoing dispute with the international community over its nuclear program.

They are the most memorable images on the web. Our Josh Levs checks out the videos that are going viral this week.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are starting off the day with this stunt that you just have to see. Look here. That dot in the middle of the screen is a guy who is about to jump off that cliff. He is holding on to a swing. Look at this. He is going to let go of the swing, he is going to go flying, and he is flying. He is not attached to anything. Boom, parachute. This is from the YouTube channel lucky chance. You can see his friend's foot getting in the way when he tries to tape it. This video they piped in some music. Now earlier on in the video you hear the guy saying how he is feeling about what he is about to do, this is what he says.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lots of variables. I hope everything goes OK. All right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Let's skip ahead one more time to that section where that big jump comes. Here it is. Let's watch that stunt one more time. Because you can see him swing, you see him let go and just go free falling way up in the air, not attached to anything. Wow. No wonder so many people online are checking this out.

Speaking of which you'll be able to see this link and all the links we are showing you today, they are all on my Facebook page, facebook.com/joshlevs cnn. Here is something else you don't see coming and probably have never seen before. This guy is going to play a carrot as a musical instrument.

No joke that is what we are seeing here. It turns out he specializes in this kind of thing. He shows you in his video how he makes them. You know what making some sweet music there. I don't know about you, but any time I see a guy play a carrot as a musical instrument it makes me want to see flying robot penguins. That's what we have for you here. Watch this for a second I will explain what it is.

These are from a company called Festo. We are looking at a photo type here, these things fly autonomously, no one is telling them exactly where to go, they are made of a bunch of parts, including some helium inside. These air penguins they are called they have navigation and communication that help them explore the area around them and learn it, either on their own or within fixed rules. This is so wild. I was e-mailing with the company. Because they talk about practical applications of this technology and just a few they mentioned maybe someday, rehabilitation for some people who are disabled, inspection in dangerous environment, helping move things for various industries. All sorts of possibilities for the kind of technology we are seeing there from those flying robot penguins.

Pretty cool, but I will say if that creped you out a little, not to worry. Because now it's time for that weekly relaxation video we promise you. Some call it our moment of Zen, I call it the better than Ambien file. It's from the good folks at Magictimelapse.ch. Check this out. I believe this is from Scotland. They say the music is by Chris Smith. They just keep these still shots basically, still video going, and they just follow over long blocks of time. Makes you want to take a deep breathe and relax. We don't want you to nod off to sleep. Because we have great stuff coming up for you. So I'm going to end on this. Think of this as a little energy pick-up from someone playing the piano in a way you've never seen before. Look at this.

Upside down and backwards. Can you do that? Let us know. You can send links to your favorite viral videos or your thoughts about the ones we are showing you. Right here at my pages, CNN.com/joshlevscnn. Always happy to bring you the latest in greatest viral videos we are finding right here at viral video online.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: An island paradise turned toxic where today thousands of Americans have cancer and other crippling disease. The people living there blame the U.S. Military because for decades it used part of the island for weapons testing. The military says there is no link. It's happening on the island of Vieques, six miles off the Puerto Rico.

Abbie Boudreau of CNN's Special Investigations Unit has this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nearly 40 years ago on this tiny remote American island of vieques, off the coast of Puerto Rico, a young U.S. Marine was stationed as a security guard.

SGT HERMOGENES MARRERO, U.S. MARINES (RET): I arrive on the island the 3rd of July 1970. I was 17-1/2 years old.

BOUDREAU: At age 57 this is Sergeant Hermogenes Marrero, now. He's had colon cancer twice. He's nearly blind and needs an oxygen tank. He has Lou Gehrig's disease, crippling back problems, and sometimes needs a wheelchair.

MARRERO: This is where we lived. This is the actual camp site.

BOUDREAU: Sergeant Marrero says he's been sick ever since he was stationed on the island.

(on camera): During that period of time did you ever think something is really wrong with this picture?

MARRERO: Yeah, sure. All the time. All the time because I used to get sick. I used to get sick. I go to the fire range and sometimes I would start bleeding automatically from my nose. I said, my god, why am I bleeding? I come back and maybe I'm vomiting now. I used to get diarrhea, pains in my stomach all the time, headaches. I mean, tremendous headaches. My vision, it use to get blurry.

BOUDREAU: So, what was over there?

(voice-over): Today, this decorated former marine is the star witness in a multibillion dollar lawsuit. More than 7,000 residents of this Caribbean island, about 75 percent of the people here, are suing the U.S. government. They say what the U.S. military did here made them sick.

For nearly six decades, beginning right after World War II, the American island of Vieques was one of the Navy's largest firing ranges and weapons testing sites.

(on camera): Can you give us just a really detailed picture of what it was like when they would use this island as a training ground?

MARRERO: Inside the base, you could feel the ground, the ground moving. You can hear the concussions. You could feel it. If you're on the range, you could feel it in your chest. It would rain, actually rain bombs. And this would go on seven days a week.

JOHN EAVES, JR., ATTY FOR VIEQUES RESIDENTS: The people need the truth to understand what is happening to their bodies.

BOUDREAU: John Eaves, Jr. is the attorney in the lawsuit.

EAVES: One of the biggest problems that we have is that we don't believe that the military has fully come clean with all the chemicals and the agents that have been used on this island. Like (INAUDIBLE) uranium was denied and then they admitted it.

BOUDREAU: After years of controversy and protest, the Navy left Vieques island in 2003. Today, much of the base is demolished and what's left, largely overgrown.

JOHN WARGO, YALE UNIVERSITY: In my experience dealing with hazardous sites and toxic substances, Vieques is likely to be one of the most contaminated sites in the world.

BOUDREAU: Dr. John Wargo is a Yale professor who studies the effects of toxic exposure on human health. He believes people on the island are sick because of the Navy's bombing range.

WARGO: This contamination results from the longevity of the bombing, the shelling, the strafing and many compounds were released, including lead and mercury and cadmium as well as flame retardants, fuels and many of these were released in great intensity.

BOUDREAU: These images recorded five years ago by University of Georgia scientists show the former bombing range and surrounding waters strewn with unexploded ordinates. According to the UGA scientists, many of those bombs continue to corrode leeching out carcinogens.

The Environmental Protection Agency in 2005 designated parts of Vieques a super fund toxic site requiring the Navy to begin cleanup. The Navy identified many thousands of unexploded munitions and set about blowing them up outraging islanders who fear more toxic chemicals will be released.

The U.S. government's response is to the islander's lawsuit is to claim sovereign immunity that residents have no right to sue the government. And the government also disputes that the Navy's activities on Vieques made islanders ill, citing a 2003 government study that found no link.

(on camera): So, do you think this island made you sick?

MARRERO: Of course it did. I got sick here on the island. My bones hurt, respiratory problems, vomiting, intestinal disorders.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you swear to testify the truth and nothing but the truth?

BOUDREAU (voice-over): The sergeant is not one of the plaintiffs but was questioned for this sworn deposition. He testified the weapons used on the island included chemical insecticides, depleted uranium, napalm and Agent Orange.

MARRERO: Agent Orange (INAUDIBLE) and we used to store Agent Orange in the hazardous material area. It was used in Vieques as a defoliant for defense line.

BOUDREAU: The military has never acknowledged a link between Sergeant Marrero's illnesses and time at Vieques.

MARRERO: This is American territory. The people that live here are Americans. And how do you do something in your own backyard and you hurt someone, you have to take care of that person. And the government is just not doing anything about it. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And CNN asked the U.S. Justice Department and Navy for comment, but neither wanted to discuss islanders' lawsuit with CNN.

All right, straight ahead, the story of a Vieques woman whose two daughters have cancer. Her 16-1/2-year-old had half of her stomach removed and the 14-year-old has bone cancer, but the military says it is not to blame. Our special investigations, "Poisoned Paradise" continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Checking our top stories right now, a blizzard is battering the mid-Atlantic states and emergency crews are struggling to keep up. Heavy wet snow is downing trees and power lines making travel difficult. Some areas could see more than two feet of snow. And President Barack Obama defended his party's efforts to shore up the battered economy and he urged fellow democrats to stay steady and focused. He also said he isn't giving up the fight on health care reform. Mr. Obama spoke at the Democratic National party's winter meeting in Washington today.

And NASA cleared the space shuttle "Endeavour" for lift-off. The space shuttle will deliver a new room and observation deck to the International Space Station. The launch is set for 4:39 a.m. Eastern Time. CNN will bring that to you live. Before the break, we showed you CNN Special Investigations Unit report into the island paradise where more than 7,000 Americans are suing the government. They claim decades of military weapons tests on their island made them sick with dancer and other serious illnesses. The government, U.S. government, denies any link. Abbie Boudreaux of our Special Investigations Unit went to the island of Vieques off Puerto Rico to see why the islanders call their home a poisoned paradise.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOUDREAU (voice-over): After work every day, Nanette Rosa brings their two daughters to feed their horses. It's their favorite part of day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There you go, baby. Come on.

BOUDREAU: It's a time they don't think about pain.

CORAL ROSA, CANCER PATIENT: It's really difficult for my mom to have two daughters with cancer. Sometimes, we both get sick at the same time. And she don't have anyone there to help her. And it really affects her.

BOUDREAU: Sixteen-year-old Coral is the eldest of Nanette's two daughters. Both battle cancer. Coral was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a cancer of young children.

NANETTE ROSA, DAUGHTERS HAVE CANCER: She had removed half of her stomach. And her intestines, part of -- almost everything, it's plastic.

BOUDREAU: For nearly six decades, the U.S. military used much of Vieques Island as a bombing range. Now about three-quarters of the island's residents, including Coral and her sister, Inna, are part of a lawsuit that claims the bombing range made them sick.

BOUDREAU (on camera): How do you feel right now?

C ROSA: Sometimes I feel sad because, you know, everybody calls me plastic intestines. They say, oh, you have plastic belly. And I tell them, you know what, if you were in this condition, how would you feel?

BOUDREAU (voice-over): Coral showed us what she lives with every day.

C ROSA: So you can see how I feel when everybody teases me.

BOUDREAU: Inna is Coral's 14-year-old sister. When she was seven, a large tumor was found in her mouth.

(on camera): What happened? Can you show me what happened?

I ROSA: OK, it started with swollen parts. It was very swollen. It looks like there was a big ball of gum in my mouth or a big lollipop.

BOUDREAU: OK.

I. ROSA: And I started having pains. The only thing that came out was blood.

BOUDREAU (voice-over): Inna was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a bone cancer.

JOHN EAVES, JR., ATTORNEY FOR VIEQUES RESIDENTS: You cannot walk down the street in this island without counting every house and knowing two or three people on the street that have cancer or have had cancer, or died of cancer.

BOUDREAU: John Eaves, Jr. represents the islanders and the lawsuit against the federal government. He's taken more than 1,300 hair samples from residents of Vieques, looking for heavy metals.

EAVES: These hair samples, I believe, are the strongest proof that the contaminants, the things that were in the bombs, lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, aluminum are now in the people.

BOUDREAU: Some of the samples show readouts of toxic elements that are literally right off the charts. We drove to the other side of this Caribbean island to find one of the families tested and their daughter named Tashmalee (ph).

(on camera): So we ended up finding Tashmalee, and she was 2 years old when she had her tested. And now we're at her house and we want to see if we can talk to her family and also just to see how she's feeling.

(voice-over): Inside, Tashmalee's (ph) parents told us she had been very sick. They fear she may get sick again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She use to look like she was in...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chemotherapy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chemotherapy, yes. She started getting a lot of dark spots around the legs. She started having problems with -- she didn't have a good movement in her hands.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In her hands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (speaking foreign language)

BOUDREAU (on camera): And so you weren't surprised at all that this child did suffer, you know, an illness?

EAVES: No, I wasn't surprised at all that this child had some problems. And the father talked about the neurological hands, the neurological damage that's very extensive throughout the island, I've seen it many times over. We hope that this child will not have cancer in the future, but we don't know. DR CARMEN ORTIZ-ROQUE, SAN JUAN PHYSICIAN: The population of Vieques is by far the sickest human population that I've ever worked with. These people are very sick, very early and dying earlier. So something is happening there.

BOUDREAU (voice-over): Dr. Carmen Ortiz is a Harvard-trained epidemiologist and a physician in San Juan.

ORTIZ-ROQUE: It's astonishing. They die 30 percent higher of cancer, 45 percent high of diabetes, 95 percent higher of liver disease, and 381 percent higher of hypertension than the rest of Puerto Ricans.

BOUDREAU: In 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found no link between the Navy's contamination and the sicknesses suffered by the islanders. But now the CDC plans to restudy the issue after many scientists raised strong complaints.

In response to the islanders' lawsuit, the U.S. government is invoking "sovereign immunity," claiming the islanders do not have the right to sue the government and that there is no proof the Navy's activities caused illnesses.

C ROSA: There's a lot of people here in the hospital dying of cancer. I have my little cousin that died of cancer. I have my sister that has cancer. My boyfriend's mom died of cancer.

N ROSA: It's hard. It's hard. And what I'm going through is not easy.

BOUDREAU (on camera): Your daughters told me that sometimes they don't tell you exactly how they're feeling if they're not feeling well because they don't want to worry you.

N ROSA: Yes, because I'm the type of mother that I cry so much. It's been hard. It's too much pain. I have to hold on because of them. I have to hold on because they need me. But then I don't know if tomorrow I'm going to have them home. I don't know when I wake up if I'm going to see them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: CNN asked the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Navy for comment, but neither wanted to discuss islanders' lawsuit with CNN.

All right, they thought they might be coming home, but a group of 10 American missionaries ended up in a Haitian jail and charged with trying to kidnap Haitian children. We'll have the latest and we'll also take a look at the group's controversial leader.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Ten Americans jailed in Haiti on kidnapping, child kidnapping charges are awaiting a court hearing on Monday or Tuesday of next week. The group is accused of kidnapping 33 Haitians children and trying to take them out of the country. They were arrested trying to cross the boarder into the Dominican Republic. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says this a matter for the Haitian courts to decide.

So, every week we honor a CNN Hero, an everyday person doing extraordinary work. Well this week, we salute a 2007 Hero currently working amid tragedy in Haiti. Before the earthquake, Buddy Duval was serving some 1,500 kids from nearby slums at his sports and feeding program. Well now his center is also home to more than 100 homeless families.

And today, CNN Heroes salutes Bobby Duval and his enduring organization Athletes of Haiti.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice-over): More than two weeks after the earthquake, Bobby Duval is overwhelmed. The soccer field he built for kids is now a home for hundreds.

BOBBY DUVAL, CNN HERO: It's really something. we were already in a hole. And now, we are in a much deeper hole now.

COOPER: Duval was a CNN hero in 2007. He founded a soccer training center called Athletics of Haiti, giving some of the kids from the poorest neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince an opportunity to get off the streets, play a sport, and get a meal.

DUVAL: The kids never missed practice and they are disciplined enough to keep focused on something positive.

COOPER: That after school program is now a lifesaver. Many families of the children who played soccer for Bobby have moved on to the field, nowhere else to go.

DUVAL: What we're trying to do is just keep it clean, give them a little bit of, you know, set up some bathrooms, set up some water and give them care. That's all. Understanding. So they are safe here.

COOPER: Safe and sheltered. Duval provided what tents he had. Those without them have gotten more creative.

(on camera): Are these goalposts, too?

DUVAL: Goalposts, yes.

COOPER: Someone has made a little home out of goalposts.

DUVAL: Right.

COOPER (voice-over): Some kids still play soccer to pass the time. Families are making due the best they can. They cook on makeshift grills, wash clothes in discarded tubs. Duval says this is going to be the way of life here for a long time to come.

DUVAL: Save and serve, yes.

COOPER: And that's what's essential right now. Save as many as you can.

DUVAL: Save as many as you can and serve as much as you can. That's -- that's it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: An estimated three million survivors of the Haiti earthquake are still in need of food, water and medical supplies. So, for information on how you can help visit CNN.com/heroes.

Even in the winter you can usually see weekend tourists taking in the sites of Washington, D.C. Well, not today. We'll have a report from a nearly empty National Mall.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right from parts of the Midwest to the mid- Atlantic states a large part of the east is covered in white today. Washington, D.C. is coping with nearly two feet of snow and CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf has a report from the National Mall.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well as you can imagine, we still have heavy snow here in the nation's capitol. You can see the capitol building behind me, or at least silhouette of it. The snow coming down kind of hides it. We won't even bother trying to show you the Washington Monument because that's been obscured by snow for a couple of days.

Right now, it's been very deep in places. In fact up to, I'd say 20 inches here. This is very deceiving. It looks like the pavement, so to speak. It's not. That's really just compacted snow. People have been walking across this, but if you were to dig, maybe a foot or so beneath this you would find the sidewalk.

We're to follow this trail and head back toward 3rd Street and as we do so, I'm going to step around here. Again you can see how deep it is when you get off the path a little bit. And again the thing that's interesting the snow is expected to continue through the afternoon into the evening and possibly into the evening late night around 10:00 is when the blizzard warning is set to expire.

But, we're talking about just incredible snowfall. Snowfall that has really brought the city to a standstill. We do have some traffic on the roadways but is definitely slow going, interstates impassible for the most part. And then when it comes to the airports, obviously no fights are taking off at this time. They're basically doing really very little services to speak of, understandably with the weather. And of course we can see the backlog of people trying to take off, leave tomorrow with all the people, all the flight cancellations that took place today, certainly having an effect on the other major airports around the country. Now in terms of travel here in D.C. bus travel is gone. We've seen a few taxis here and there, but they're very minimal. And in terms of the metro, all service on the rail above ground has been shut down, but of course underground service still happening for the time being. But, again we're expecting the snow to begin to fizzle out overnight and then tomorrow that's when the cleanup gets underway.

That is the story from our nation's capitol. Let's send it back to you in the studio.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks, Reynolds. We'll have more on the eastern snowstorm in just a moment. But first, a quick look at some of the other headlines today.