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Kucinich Announces Health Care Vote; Making the Grade; Haiti's Baby Patricia Reunited With Parents; Oysters Return to Alabama Waters

Aired March 17, 2010 - 10:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A look at our top stories right now.

Prime Minister Ayed Alawi's coalition has moved ahead with a block headed by the current prime minister. But Nuri Al-Maliki's group still holds the lead in the expected number of winning seats in Parliament. Eighty percent of the votes cast in the March 7th election have been counted.

And a former teacher at Catholic schools in Spain has been arrested in Chile on suspicion of sexually abusing children. The suspect has been held since last year on suspicion of filming the abuse and processing images of sexually abused boys. Authorities say the possession charges occur in Chile, but the alleged sexual abuse and filming of it apparently occurred earlier in Spain.

And a strange ending to an assault case in Maryland. A 29-year- old man faced charges for allegedly attacking his live-in girlfriend, but when he went to court he told the judge he wanted to marry the woman. He got a license and the judge took care of the rest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your Honor, Mr. Wood now has his marriage license with him.

JUDGE DARRELL RUSSELL: I can take notice of that because I just married them, performed the ceremony, back in my chambers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So the new wife invoked her marital privilege and the assault case was thrown out.

Last week it was Kansas City. Today, Detroit rolls out its school plan. The motor city has taken one of the worse beatings in this economy and it's looking to close dozens of schools. Today, we find out which ones are on the list. A nervous day for many students, parents and teachers.

Poppy Harlow of CNN Money.com is here with the breakdown for us. Poppy?

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hi, Fred. This is quite a day in Detroit. It's a city with really the school system in the worse shape of any in this country. I want to outline for you what exactly is coming today. It's a $1 billion plan, extremely aggressive and what they're going to announce at a press conference later today is they're closing more than 40 schools within Detroit proper by this summer and more to follow after that. Their graduation rate goal an astonishing 98 percent.

But Fred, when you look at the city right now, their graduation rate is an abysmal 58 percent. The idea here is if you close these schools where there just aren't enough kids in school to fill the classrooms you can focus that $1 billion in funding they are hoping for on the schools that are actually performing.

This is going to mean, we should be clear, the school system telling us teachers are going to get laid off as a result but they hope in the end, they're going to have kids in classrooms. The class sizes they say won't be too big but they're actually going to get the facilities and the money that they need for the school system to improve dramatically.

They're facing a $219 million deficit right now and the whole issue here is that the amount of kids in school is dropping precipitously year after year after year. Right now they have 84,000 students enrolled, Fred, and that's expected to drop to 56,000 kids by 2014. That's a major, major decline and you see more and more parents taking their kids out of the Detroit school system, moving to the suburbs and putting their kids in those schools because they're just not pleased at all with the options they have in Detroit.

But there is a man trying to fix all of these. His name is Robert Bobb. He is the emergency financial manager for Detroit. We spoke to him a few months ago about why this is so critical, what immediate changes have to be made. Take a listen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT BOBB, EMERGENCY FINANCIAL MANAGER, DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS: For the parent who took the child to the suburban school district, you know, parents will do what's best for their children.

The second conversation we have is the issue of academics. The first conversation is will my child be safe in your school?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: And that's critical. The issue of safety and, Fred, that is the man, Robert Bobb, who will be making this big announcement today at 11:15 Eastern time in Detroit about how they're going to turn the school system around. Fred.

WHITFIELD: And Poppy, I know you spent a lot of time in Detroit. Give us a sense of what, you know, parents and students might be feeling about now.

HARLOW: We spent a lot of time and this is, that's us in Detroit last year with Fredrika Turner and her daughter and Fredericka is one of those parents and this is her old high school, and it's broken down. The windows are blown out and it's shut down. And she said she just won't send her daughter to a Detroit public school and here's why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRIKA TURNER, DETROIT PARENT: Well, my daughter has never attended any Detroit public schools and it's because of this. As a concerned parent my daughter would never go to a Detroit public school as of now whereas I felt comfortable as a child going to school, I don't feel comfortable to allow her to attend a Detroit public school.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Now, Detroit's trying to change that and keep the students in their schools, in their city and keep the funding there and what we've seen from our five-plus trips to Detroit over the past year is that education is the key to fixing this city.

We did a whole series called "How to Survive in Detroit" and time and time again people said education. Listen to what the people in Detroit told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do I survive in Detroit?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Education.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's hard to say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go to school. Don't be like a person like me out here selling drugs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just perseverance and education, going back and getting your education. You have to be persistent in this city to achieve what you want to achieve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So there you have it, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right.

HARLOW: Just some interesting insight to hear from the people on the ground, and this is hopefully the -

WHITFIELD: All right. Poppy Harlow, thanks so much.

We want to go straight to Capitol Hill right now because Dennis Kucinich is making an announcement which we understand may make a huge difference or impact as it pertains to a vote on health care reform.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS) REP. DENNIS KUCINICH (D), OHIO: -- we've witnessed a slow and painful unfolding of a democratic pageant of striving, of resistance, of breakthroughs, of opposition, of unrelenting efforts and of eventual triumph. I've spent my life struggling for the rights of working-class people and for health care.

I grew up understanding firsthand what it meant for families who did not get access to needed care. I lived in 21 different places by the time I was 17 including a couple of cars. I understand the connection between poverty and poor health care. The deeper meaning of what Native Americans call hole in the body, hole in the spirit. I struggled with Crohn's disease most of my adult life to discover 16 years ago a near-cure in alternative medicine and through following a plant-based diet.

I've learned with difficulty the benefits of taking charge personally of my own health care, and I know there were few exceptions when I needed it. I've had access to the best telepathic practitioners. As a result I've received the benefits of vitality and high energy. Health and health care is personal for each one of us.

As a former surgical technician, I know that there are many people who dedicate their lives to helping improve others' lives. I also know their struggles with an insufficient health care system. There are those who believe that health care is a privilege based on ability to pay. This is the model President Obama is dealing with, attempting to open up health care to another 30 million people, within the context of a for-profit system.

There are others who believe that health care is a basic right and ought to be provided through a not-for-profit plan. This is what I have tirelessly advocated. I carried the banner of national health care in two presidential campaigns, in party platform meetings and as co-author of HR-676, Medicare for all.

I've worked to expand the health care debate beyond the current for-profit system to include a public option and an amendment to free the states to pursue single payer. The first version of the health care bill, though badly flawed, contain provisions which I believe made the bill worth supporting in committee. The provisions were taken out of the bill after it passed committee.

I joined with the progressive caucus saying that I would not support the bill unless it had a strong public option and unless it protected the right of people to pursue single payer at a state level. It did not. I kept my pledge and voted against the bill. I've continued to oppose it while trying to get those provisions back into the bill.

Some have speculated that I may be, this time, in a position of casting the deciding vote. The president's visit to my district on Monday underscored the urgency of this moment. I have taken this fight further than many in Congress prepared to carry it because I know what my constituents experience on a daily basis.

Come to my district in Cleveland, and you will understand. The people of Ohio's 10th district has been hard hit by an economy where wealth has accelerated upwards through plant closings, massive unemployment, small business failings and lack of access to credit, foreclosures and the high cost of health care and limited access to care.

I take my responsibility to the people of my district personally. The focus of my district office is constituent service, which more often than not involves social work to help people survive economic perils. It also involves intervening with insurance companies.

In the past week it's become clear that the vote on the final health bill will be very close. I take this vote with the utmost seriousness. I'm quite aware of the historic fight which has lasted the better part of the last century, to bring America in line with other modern democracies in providing single payer health care. I've seen the political pressures, the financial pressures, being asserted to prevent a minimal recognition of this right even within the context of a system dominated by private insurance companies.

I know I have to make a decision, not on the bill as I would like to see it, but as it is. My criticism of the legislation has been well reported. I do not retract those criticisms, I incorporate them into the statement. They stand as legitimate and cautionary. I have doubts about the bill. I do not think it is a step toward anything I've supported in the past. This is not the bill I wanted to support even as I continue efforts until the last minute to try to modify the bill.

However, after careful discussions with President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, my wife, Elizabeth, and close friends, I've decided to cast a vote in favor of the legislation. If my vote is to be counted, let it count now for passage of the bill, hopefully in the direction of comprehensive health care reform. We must include coverage for those excluded from this bill. We must free the states. We must have control over private insurance companies and the costs their very existence imposes on American families. We must strive to provide a significant place for alternative and complementary medicine, religious health science practice and the personal responsibility aspects of health care which include diet, nutrition and exercise. The health care debate has been severely hampered by fear, by myths and by hyper partisanship.

The president clearly does not advocate socialism or a government takeover of health care. The fear that this legislation has engendered, has deep roots not in foreign ideology, but a lack of confidence, a timidity, a mistrust and fear which post 9/11, Americans have not been able to shake. This fear has so infected our politics, our economics and our international relations that as a nation we're losing sight of the expanded vision, the electrifying potential we caught when we caught a glimpse of the potential of the election of President Obama.

The transformational potential of his presidency and of ourselves can still be courageously summoned in ways that will reconnect America to our hopes for expanded opportunities for jobs, housing, education, peace and, yes, health care. I want to thank those who have supported me personally and politically as I've struggled with this decision, and I ask for your continued support in our ongoing efforts to bring about meaningful change. As this bill passes, I will renew my effort to help those state organizations which are aimed at stirring a single-payer movement which eliminates the predatory role of private insurers who made money, not by providing health care, by taking a detour through supporting this bill, but I know the destination.

I will continue to lead for as long as it takes, for whatever it takes to an America where health care will be firmly established as a civil right. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Ohio representative Dennis Kucinich there saying, this is not the bill that I wanted to support, but after careful discussions with the president, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and his wife, Elizabeth, he will cast a vote in favor of health care reform.

Our senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash has been following this development. How much will his decision influence or indeed change the landscape of the pursuit of this bill?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, the immediate future, it changes the landscape really just one vote, obviously and that is his vote which they need every single one they can get in the Democratic leadership. So this gets them one more vote closer to passing health care, but just in terms of the layout of the democratic party, Fredricka, Dennis Kucinich is obviously on the left of the party.

Most of the undecideds or even potential no votes are to the right of the Democratic caucus, those who are in Republican-leaning swing districts. So in terms of anybody really following him, unclear how many really will because he was kind of a lone soldier on the left. There are a lot of progressives who agreed with him that they did not think that the House bill which was further to the left than the Senate bill if that went far enough but they still, most of them voted yes.

So unclear how much this is really going to change other people's votes. But I'll just tell you in terms of Kucinich personally, I think that this is really interesting because he voted no before, not just that. You see there pictures of Kucinich with the president earlier this week. This is an example of the president doing some serious one-on-one arm twisting and succeeding.

I talked to Dennis Kucinich, Fred, just a couple of weeks ago and I had an interesting conversation with him about the fact that he really still thought that he was going to be a no, however, just as he alluded to in this statement today he really felt personally bad about the direction of the administration. He said that he felt bad that just a year ago that there were millions of people who were cheering on the president and how much things had changed.

And he actually said that that was something that he was thinking about after an earlier meeting with the president and other members of Congress. So this is - this is perhaps - perhaps one example of what the president may be able to do and certainly has to do one-on-one individually with other undecided Democrats.

WHITFIELD: And so Dana, you know, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was one that Kucinich mentioned. However, she still has in her back pocket this possible deemed pass maneuver that would be used as opposed to allowing to count how many Democrats are really onboard.

BASH: That's right. This is something that we called the self- executing rule, but it's really unclear and it doesn't really seem as though that is going to change many of the votes and really what we're looking at now to move the ball forward even further to make some of those undecideds decide is something we really don't have yet still. And that is legislative language. Fredericka, we're talking about the bigger picture here.

The Congress passing the Senate bill with a package of fixes that would go through, now famous, reconciliation process. We don't yet have that package of fixes. The Democratic leadership, they're waiting to put that in legislative language and have everybody see it until they get the cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office.

How much it would cost and how much it would reduce the deficit. They thought they would get that earlier in the week. They are still going back and forth trying to make it a product that they think will pass. They haven't done that yet, so that is the next critical thing that we're waiting for here.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dana Bash, thanks so much. We'll check back with you as things progress there on Capitol Hill.

Meantime, if you're an oyster fisherman in Alabama, well, you might have struck gold in a shell.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been a long time since anyone's caught oysters in Alabama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Alabama, the oysters are back by the boatload, but they're not quite ready for the market. First in order, some good, clean therapy.

And if only this Detroit school could bottle and sell its formula for success, it might be a way to revolutionize education without pink slips. That story in about two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A mystery in Haiti solved thanks to DNA. Weeks after the earthquake we know a baby's real name now and we know who the parents are.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The city of Detroit is announcing plans to close more than 40 schools. The goal is to help improve a failing public school CNN. CNN senior correspondent Allan Chernoff is in Detroit where he found one school that is already making the grade. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Violin lessons for everyone begin third grade. Mandarin Chinese is mandatory beginning in kindergarten and individualized computer challenges reinforce what's taught in the classroom.

In a city plagued with academic under achievement, Cornerstone Schools, one private and two charter schools, that are part of the public system are over achievers. Students on average test a year above grade level and 95 percent go on to graduate high school. Students here come with no special advantages, half live below the poverty line. Fourth grader Kaitlynn Rogers recently transferred from public school to Cornerstone.

KAITLYNN ROGERS, CORNERSTONE, 4TH GRADER: At my old school, nobody really cared if they fall asleep in class.

CHERNOFF: At Cornerstone, students, teachers and parents care enough that the school year is 11 months long.

ROGERS: Yes, we only get one month of summer vacation.

CHERNOFF (on camera): Does that bother you?

ROGERS: Not really when you get the chance to learn about the school. It's actually fun at the school. It's like we're actually on vacation.

CHERNOFF (voice-over): Easy to see why with after school activities like fencing. A new experience for Kaitlynn.

FREDERICKA HARDEWAY, KAITLYNN'S MOM: Cornerstone to me embodies what education should be. You get the reading, the math, the arithmetic, you know, but in addition to that, you know, you're learning how to be a well-rounded person, you know how to love each other, how to get along.

CHERNOFF (on camera): Cornerstone also motivates children to achieve. This hallway is decorated with college banners so every day as students walk into the classroom, they see the goal on the college education.

(voice-over): Cornerstone constantly assesses students but doesn't teach to test like many public schools that focus on standardized exams.

ERNESTINE SANDERS, PRESIDENT, CORNERSTONE SCHOOLS: We need to know about every individual student. What makes that student tick? What makes that student learn? What are the challenges that that student is facing? CHERNOFF: Teachers are so committed they work here even though many earn less than they could in public schools. Parents and guardians also must make a commitment to be involved in their child's education.

CLARK DURANT, FOUNDER, CORNERSTONE SCHOOLS: We say that you have a responsibility too, not just the student. We expect you to be at parent-teacher meetings. We expect you to see that the child's homework gets done.

CHERNOFF: Witnessing academic success at Cornerstone involves three Cs, a culture of education, commitment to learning and community, a nurturing environment embracing parents and professionals willing to mentor the children.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF: Cornerstone still has plans to open dozens of new schools over the decade and it's looking to institutions like Cornerstone to help in that rebirth of the public school system -- Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: Allan Chernoff, thanks so much, from Detroit.

So our next guest runs a school as successful as the one that Allan just told us about. Jeanette Dibella is the principal at Providence St. Mel, it's a private independent school in Chicago that's improved dramatically under her leadership.

So Jeanette, first off, you know, how did you take this school, once a Catholic school and still in a very tough school district. How did you get the students motivated and actually get those test scores up?

JEANETTE DIBELLA, PRINCIPAL, PROVIDENCE ST. MEL SCHOOL: Well, actually I think the principal's job is to be the instructional leader and that's exactly where my passion is. Hiring terrific people, working really hard for common goals, making sure our expectations are high, making sure that our curriculum is set in a way that not only motivates students, but nurtures students to even be better.

One of the things that we need to do in education, I believe, in districts like our district, we're in a tough neighborhood and the psychology of what we do in our school has to be more enticing and greater than the psychology of the streets.

WHITFIELD: Enticing in what way? Because I'm hearing a philosophy that I would think most educators would subscribe to. So what kind of innovations need to take place?

DIBELLA: Well, I think important things like worth and support in the classroom, making sure that principals are helping and developing teachers. One of the things that I loved to do is celebrate our student's accomplishments and making sure that student understand that they can and they will succeed. The whole culture has to be set up in such a fashion that all students know that they can have a piece of the American pie and get into the best colleges in the country. That's something that you need to do.

WHITFIELD: And how can a public school have this?

DIBELLA: Well, I think one of the first things that we have to do is remember to keep everyone accountable, not only the children, but also the faculty. Our parents are extremely accountable. Our parents understand what we're doing. We collaborate with them so that they can help us become better in who we are in the education of their children.

WHITFIELD: And how about money? How much is that a deal maker or a deal breaker as it pertains to your school, an independent school and schools in the public school district?

DIBELLA: Well, we also have a charter school and we have two schools. We have our school on the west side of Chicago and then we have a charter school Providence Englewood on the south side of Chicago and it's actually more difficult in the private school to raise money to make sure that we're able to operate, but because we do such a great job with our outcomes as you probably know, for the past 30 years 100 percent of our students have been accepted to college and for the past eight years we have an average of half of them getting into tier-1 schools.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Is that the success rate like the charter school which does then, you know, rely on public funding?

DIBELLA: Yes. We do our charter school is making significant progress. We're in the fourth year. Our ISAT scores, we have, our students are 67 percent right now proficient across the board. They were somewhere around 13 percent proficient when we took the school over. So we're very excited about the growth in that school.

Again, the principal of that school is really into instructional leadership just like I am at Providence St. Mel School.

WHITFIELD: So then quickly, do you agree with the fact that some of the schools are closing because they're underperforming, and do you agree with school districts such as that in Rhode Island, which actually fires teachers because of underperforming schools?

DIBELLA: Well, I think the first thing we have to do is look at teachers and make sure that we're holding them accountable and our expectations are high for our teaching community as well as our student bodies. I think a lot of times we get caught up in all the bureaucracy and we forget about children and outcomes and instead of concentrating on things that aren't positive for children, I think we need to concentrate more on raising the bar and making sure our outcomes are above the proficient level. These children need that.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Jeanette Dibella, thanks so much. Principal of Providence St. Mel, coming to us from Chicago. Appreciate your time. All the best in the rest of the school year, too.

DIBELLA: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: At 11:15 Eastern time, Detroit officials lay out their plan for education and you will hear it right here live on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now.

Is your latest online friend really the feds? The U.S. Department of Justice has released a document outlining how federal law enforcement officials can utilize social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter in their fight against crime.

One traffic stop netted two suspected drunk drivers last week in a close call for an observant officer. Police in Kansas City, Missouri say one driver had already been pulled over when another plowed into the stopped car. Both drivers were arrested, but neither was injured. The officer was slightly hurt, but is now back on the job.

And golf sensation Tiger Woods says he's ready to get back on course. He'll play the Masters Tournament next month. Woods admits that he still has a lot of work to do in his personal life. He has spent weeks in therapy after his sex scandal erupted late last year.

And we're talking about Tiger Woods on the blog this morning. We want you to know what you think about his comeback. Go to CNN.com/Fredericka and post your comments. I'll read some of them on the air later on this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER UPDATE)

WHITFIELD: So remember Baby Patricia, the 2-month-old who was rescued after spending five days in rubble following Haiti's earthquake? Well, a few weeks ago, a couple came forward claiming to be the baby's parents, but could they prove it? CNN's Elizabeth Cohen is here with the latest on this story.

What's the verdict?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: No more mystery, they are the parents.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

COHEN: Yes, we're now told that the parents have been informed that a DNA test proves that they really are the parents. The International Red Cross gave them this DNA test and yesterday, as you can see, here is Nadine Devilme and Junior Alexis getting into a Red Cross vehicle. They were brought to a Red Cross compound in Port-au- Prince and told yes, the DNA test showed that you are the parents that's according to a Florida state official who I spoke to earlier today. So as you can imagine, I bet they are very, very happy. WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness, yes. So the baby is still being cared for in the U.S., what's going to happen next? How do the parents and the baby reunite?

COHEN: That's right, and let's talk a little bit about what happened before, before I talk about what happens next because you bring up a really good point.

What happened here is this baby was in the rubble for five days before she was discovered and she was brought to the hospital where I spent five days -- I spent a week in Haiti -- run by the University of Miami and she was worked on by doctors frantically. And they thought that the baby was an orphan and they shipped her off to Miami to get care. And then they found out that actually -- well, now they found out actually she wasn't.

So the next step is is they're going to try to get these parents to Florida as soon as possible. That's the term that was used in court today in Miami, get them to Florida as soon as possible. But we don't know if that means in a few hours or a few days. It's not very clear right now.

WHITFIELD: And then once the parents were to arrive in the States to be reunited with the baby, for how long would they stay? What are the circumstances?

COHEN: That is going to be dictated by the baby's medical condition and what we are hearing is she actually has some medical problems and a few more than what we thought. For example, what we learned in court today is that the baby is having trouble gripping anything with her left hand. You know, you can see her being worked on right here.

I mean, she was -- as I talked to these doctors and they said she was almost dead. She spent five days alone in the rubble, in the arms of her dead babysitter and so she really suffered during that time. And it's amazing that she's alive, first of all, and what's amazing is she's recovered with some problems. Again, problems with use of the left hand, also they're concerned about skull fractures and they're going to do some more imagining, some more tests to figure it out.

But she's in great spirits. I mean, she eats and she coos and she giggles and does the things that a baby her age should do.

WHITFIELD: I cannot imagine the joy that the parents must be feeling even though they're not with the baby right now.

So Baby Patricia, was that the name that the paramedics gave the baby? What's the baby's real name?

COHEN: That's right. The baby's real name is Baby Jenny. Baby Patricia was the name of the ambulance driver and so they gave her that name, but her real name is Baby Jenny.

WHITFIELD: Aw, well all the best to them. And gosh, you got to hope that little baby is going to be able to get the grip and then full recovery will happen.

COHEN: Right, full recovery and they expect that will happen.

WHITFIELD: Yes, Baby Jenny.

All right, thanks so much, Elizabeth Cohen, appreciate that.

All right, Tiger Woods making his big comeback at the Masters. He's got more baggage this time, though and it's not golf baggage. Do fans really care?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Osama bin Laden wanted dead or dead? The nation's top law enforcement official says the al Qaeda leader will never be taken alive. Hear Eric Holder's comments for yourself in one minute.

Back in 60 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Top stories right now.

It's St. Patrick's Day, when Irish eyes are smiling and everyone joins in to sing. A few places celebrate the day, like Savannah, Georgia. It is the 186th year for the town's formal celebration of the Irish roots. And the White House is also showing a bit of green today. If you look closely at the fountain, yes, a tinge of green there. And in New York, of course, they're going to be celebrating a big St. Patty's Day parade throughout the day.

All right, meantime, an about-face from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Israel. After first describing Israel's announced settlement plans last week as insulting to the U.S., Secretary Clinton back peddled yesterday saying both countries enjoy a close, unshakeable bond. The spat began with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's arrival in Israel coinciding with the Jewish government's announced building plans in Palestinian-claimed East Jerusalem.

And here's another matter raising eyebrows in Washington. Yesterday, on Capitol Hill, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder faced some tough questions about putting terror suspects on trial and then the topic turned to Osama bin Laden. The al Qaeda leader behind the 9/11 attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN CULBERSON (R), TEXAS: Granting Osama bin Laden the right to appear in a U.S. courtroom, you are clothing Osama bin Laden with the protections of the U.S. Constitution, that's unavoidable and something that you skipped right past. And it's giving constitutional rights to enemy soldiers that is the profound problem, sir.

ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: We're talking about a hypothetical that will never occur. The reality is we will be reading Miranda rights to the corpse of Osama bin Laden. He will never appear in an American courtroom.

CULBERSON: But it is --

HOLDER: That's a reality. That's a reality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Holder says he's still a few weeks away from deciding where to hold the trial of Khalid Shaikh Muhammad, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. Holder is trying to decide whether the trial will take place in a civilian or military court.

A winner in the Iditarod race is? Well, we'll show you the musher who not only took the grand prize, but made history.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Lots of soggy weather in the northeast, parts of the Gulf Coast and it's rather cold in other places. Rob Marciano is in the Weather Center with more on this prelude to spring.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITEFIELD: He did it again. In fact, he's done it four times. Lance Mackey has won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race for the fourth year in a row. Mackey crossed the finish line in Nome, Alaska yesterday wrapping up the 1,049 mile race. Mackey is a throat cancer survivor and he is the only musher in the history of the Iditarod to win four consecutive races. For winning, Mackey gets a new Dodge truck and $50,000. A truck big enough to help carry all his dogs.

Hurricanes, red tide and a rainy winter season are just three reasons why --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been a long time since anyone's caught oysters in Alabama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So why are you going to have to wait weeks to eat them? Serve no oyster before it's time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A welcome sight for many seafood lovers this time of year, oyster fishermen netting their catch. But before you reach for the saltines and horseradish, these shellfish must get cleaned au natural. From CNN affiliate WKRG, Tiffany Craig tells us why from Mobile Bay, Alabama.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TIFFANY CRAIG, WKRG REPORTER (voice-over): For hundreds of oystermen, this is the day they've been waiting for. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been a long time since anybody's caught oysters in Alabama.

CRAIG: Bad weather stole the livelihood from so many who love to work on Alabama waters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know with the storms and all we had there, you know, it's been tough around this end.

CRAIG: And then a gold mine is discovered -- 6 million pounds of oysters in North Mobile Bay. But the oysters need to be moved for harvest and have a 15-mile journey to a reef near Fall River.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They say the waters don't ever get good up here, you know, conditions. So they're trying to move them south where the good water's at so that we'll be allowed to harvest them.

CRAIG: On the first moving day, more than 900 oystermen show up for work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to help production (ph) on Alabama oysters.

CRAIG: Using dredges and tongs, each sack fetches up to $11.

JEREMY SCHOON, OYSTERMAN: I just now unloaded 131 sacks off our boat, that's why I'm sweating.

CRAIG: The plan is to move either 100,000 sacks or 10 days' worth, whichever comes first.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just going to be short, though.

CRAIG (on camera): But it's something.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it's something.

CRAIG: More than a million federal dollars are paying for the oyster project. The hope is that the reef will kick start Alabama's oyster business.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So that was Tiffany Craig reporting that 1.5 million bucks came from the federal grant in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and we should know in about a month if the oyster cleansing was a success.

Tiger Woods making his big comeback at the Masters. He's got a little more baggage this time, though, and it's not golf baggage. Do fans even care about that baggage?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Detroit schools' emergency financial manager Robert Bob is set to unveil his plan to fix Detroit schools by closing more than 40. That's at 11:15 a.m. Eastern time. CNN will bring that to you live.

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WHITFIELD: OK, Tiger Woods is set to be at the Masters April 8th, so that brings us to our blog question. We've asked you what you think about Tiger Woods' comeback. Here's some of what you said.

"I do not agree with the way Tiger lived but I do love his golf game. He is the best and the game of golf needs him back."

And from Julian, "Who cares? Tiger Woods is just a golfer! Truly, the only time I want to hear about a Tiger is if one is loose...that way I can get to safety."

And this from Antonia, "Good for him! Can't wait to see him swing that club again."

Remember, we want to hear from you. Just logon at CNN.com/Fredericka. We'll share your comments.

Tony Harris coming up next with more of the NEWSROOM.

There he is in his green.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: How about that, huh? Is that OK? I don't know if it matches anything else, but we're going to --

WHITFIELD: That's all right. It looks good. It matches the day.

HARRIS: All right, Fred, you have a great day. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Have a good one.