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Revolution in Egypt and World Reactions; The End of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; Oral Lee Brown's Scholarship Program; The History of the Green Book; Anti-Government and Pro-Government Protestors Clash in the Streets of Yemen Today

Aired February 12, 2011 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Plans in this country for a radically new housing market without Fannie or Freddie? Find out what it could mean for your mortgage this hour.

And the Federal government and Arizona do battle over border security. The state's latest legal salvo at 3:00 Eastern time.

And then at 4:00, a changing of the guard at the most prominent African-American dance company in the world.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM where the news unfolds live, this Saturday, February 12. I'm Fredericka Whitfield.

Happening right now, hundreds of Egyptians refuse to leave Cairo's Tahrir Square, the focal point of the protest that brought down Hosni Mubarak's regime. They are paying tribute to those who died in the revolution, setting up a monument in the middle of the square.

And more change for the region. The Palestinian authority announces it will hold elections come September. And its chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, has quit. An investigation reportedly shows sensitive documents leaked to Al Jazeera television actually came from his office.

And protests now are spreading in Algeria. Opposition groups gathered in the central square of its capital, demanding jobs and democratic change. They clashed with police who obtained -- who detained, rather, about 100 demonstrators.

A day after the historic ouster of Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, the military is now in charge. It's taking steps aimed at restoring stability, but some pro-democracy activists say the revolution has just begun.

CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney joins us live from Cairo with kind of a bird's eye view of things -- Fionnuala.

FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, and over my shoulder, you can see the lights from Tahrir Square behind me, and one could almost say after the ouster yesterday of President Hosni Mubarak that it is all over by the shouting. There is plenty of shouting taking place. I think it's not hundreds of people in the square, Fredericka, but tens of thousands. And as the sun went down a couple of hours ago, all those citizens of Cairo have taken to their beds after a night of celebration emerged again. And you can hear a cacophony of sound rising from the depths of the River Nile, really embracing freedom, or freedom as they see it.

But there are, of course, questions. As you pointed out, some pro- democracy demonstrators saying they'll continue to demonstrate until all their demands are met, not comfortable, not confident that the Egyptian military will actually steer through to democracy.

However, the military issued a communique today, Fredericka, saying that it would safeguard the interest of the people and try and steer the country towards free and fair elections. It also said that Egypt would honor its international agreement, and that specifically will mean good news for Israel. Because of course -- of the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt of the Camp David Accords of 1979.

WHITFIELD: Fionnuala Sweeney, thanks so much. From Cairo, appreciate that update.

Meantime, protesters in London are reacting to the revolution in Egypt today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congratulations, Egypt!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Demonstrators in Trafalgar Square shouted their support for the changes now taking place, now, that President Mubarak has resigned. Some also waved Algerian flags supporting protesters who are pushing for reforms in that North African country.

And in Washington, Egyptian-Americans are holding a celebration rally of another sort. Let's turn to CNN's Sandra Endo who is at the Egyptian embassy in Washington, where they have seen demonstrations just about every weekend for about three weeks.

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly, Fredericka. This is our third week here in front of the Egyptian embassy in Washington, D.C. And it's a big street party. You can see everybody just smiling, having fun, dancing. They're waving the Egyptian flag. Also holding signs saying "Egypt's revolution inspires the world." And that's certainly the message they want to bring out here today on the streets.

And one of the main organizers is with me right now. And you just have a totally different look on your face, because of the news that happened. Where did you hear about it? Where were you? And what went through your mind?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was in my office listening to it. I honestly didn't believe it. I jumped from my chair and almost broke the office door. I was just ecstatic, hysterical. Something that I experienced for the first time ever in my life. I mean, I'm 27 years old...

WHITFIELD: Sorry about that. We lost that signal out of Washington, D.C. outside the Egyptian embassy. If we get another signal, we will try to restore that live shot with Sandra Endo.

All right, well will the U.S. State Department have to change its approach or dialogue with Egypt or other countries in the region? Let's go to CNN's senior State Department producer Elise Labott.

Elise, who does the U.S. think or hope it may be dealing with directly as it pertains to Egypt?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Well, right now, Fred, that's the big question. They really don't know what the pecking order is in the Egyptian military Supreme Council. They know, certainly, the head of the armed forces, Field Marshal Tantawi.

But -- and they know all the players, but they really don't know who's going to be doing what, what that pecking order is. And so that's what they are trying to clarify over the next couple of days. Communications with the Egyptians obviously a little clogged right now as the Egyptians sort through all this.

In the meantime, the State Department is really trying to get all their ducks in a row with allies in the region, trying to call out foreign ministers, sending a top diplomat, Bill Burns, to the region, to Jordan.

And as they -- they want to get more information from the Egyptians to see what they know but also maybe they could get some of that information from some of those allies. So right now, it's really just a game of "Wait and See," but also trying to do their intelligence gathering about who's -- what everybody knows about these people.

WHITFIELD: So how comforted does the U.S. State Department or the U.S. in general feel that Egypt at least -- has at least said that it will honor the international agreement?

LABOTT: Well, obviously they say that the biggest impediment -- President Mubarak's stepping down is the best sign so far. That kind of releases a little bit of tension.

But they are going to be looking for the military to take these steps. Now the military has put out these statements guaranteeing the process, saying that they are going to move it forward. So they're going to be looking for changes in the constitution, lifting the emergency law, opening up a political dialogue with these protesters and these opposition groups.

And the U.S. is really going to have to stay at them to make sure that they do this. The U.S. said that they will, and obviously a lot of U.S. aid at stake, so that could be a lever as well.

WHITFIELD: Would the U.S. be having, right now, direct dialogue with Vice President Suleiman? LABOTT: Right now, there's no direct dialogue with Vice President Suleiman, because they don't know what authorities he has. You remember that this is an extra-constitutional move that the military did. And so now, technically, Vice President Suleiman doesn't have any powers. He doesn't have any real authority.

So I think that's really one question that they're hoping to answer, because obviously, they know Omar Suleiman very well. You know, they understand that he has his faults but it's someone who they know and they trust.

The military has said that this government that was in place is going to be a caretaker government. So they know some of the people in that government, like Egyptian foreign minister Aboul Gheit, and obviously Suleiman. So I think that's what they're waiting to see, what his role is.

WHITFIELD: All right, Elise Labott, CNN's State Department producer, thanks so much coming from Washington. Appreciate that.

LABOTT: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right well, as you saw, that there has been reaction in many parts of the world, London, Washington, and we've also heard from people via iReports. Here are just two of many that we've received and want to share with you.

This iReport comes to us from Maria Miranda in Miami, Florida. She and her ten-month-old daughter watched the celebration on television. But her husband was in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Miranda says as soon as she learned Mubarak was stepping down, she put her daughter in a t- shirt that reads, "I love my Egyptian dad" and snapped this photo.

And then this iReporter actually captured the sound of the celebrations in Cairo. He tells us, quote, "the atmosphere in the street is amazing," adding "you cannot tell what social class everyone is from. Everyone is saying, Egypt is the greatest," end quote from that iReporter. And the iReporter also adds that he lost his voice in all the excitement.

All right, back to this country now, fixing the nation's mortgage mess. The Obama administration has a plan but is it good for homeowners?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right now, onto other news. The White House wants to drastically change the way Americans borrow money to buy homes. Well, yesterday the administration laid out its plan to remake the nation's mortgage market.

A big part of the plan, reducing the government's role in housing finance by winding down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner talks about mistakes made in the nation's mortgage system.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIMOTHY GEITHNER, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: It's absolutely the case that the U.S. government provided too much support for housing, too strong incentives for investment housing. And we just took that too far.

And alongside that basic set of mistakes in the incentives we created, we allowed our financial system to take on too much leverage. We allowed a huge amount of basic mortgage business to shift where there was no regulation and oversight.

We allowed the market to build up really terrible incentives around underwriting securitization. We allowed underwriting standards to erode dramatically. And those things are -- I think they were avoidable mistakes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So the Obama administration would like to see the private market step in to take up the slack if Fannie and Freddie were to go away. Joining us to talk about this is Ilyce Glink, she's a nationally syndicated columnist who specializes in real estate and personal finance.

Good to see you.

ILYCE GLINK, COLUMNIST: Nice to be back

WHITFIELD: OK, so the majority of the home mortgages in this country are Freddie- and Fannie-based. How alarming is this to you that they may potentially go away and it would be up to banks?

GLINK: Well, I think that you have to understand that we're talking about ten trillion dollars. It's almost the entire -- nearly the size of our budget in the U.S. government for a whole year. I mean this is a very significant amount of money.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- I was amazed to hear Tim Geithner talk about all of these mistakes that went all along in a line that caused the implosion of the housing market. He's right on all of those counts, and it's not like people weren't saying that.

So when you start to unwind that, it's a long process and it is going to be very alarming to anybody who is a realtor, a mortgage lender, a new home builder. These are people who have a big stake in the housing industry. They're going to be scared.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. Now how about those who want to own a home or those who have a home? Let's split it up on how it affects the current homeowner.

GLINK: I think if you own a home now -- I just refinanced to a 15- year mortgage back in November. I'm not going to worry about my mortgage for the next 15 years. It's going to be fine.

People who are going into the housing market, who are going to be buying a home, not this year, maybe next year. But once this whole process starts to kick in, they're going to see higher rates of insurance. They're going to be required to put ten, 15, 20 percent down.

I don't think we're going to see the three percent down loans anymore, or zero percent down loans for sure.

WHITFIELD: Gosh, I thought those went away a long time ago. I thought the ten percent went away a long time ago as well.

GLINK: Nope, nope, they're back. It's very interesting that, you know, the mortgage market is getting in there. The real concern, I think, just to somebody who watches this market and has done so for a couple of decades, is that the idea that you're going to have the -- maybe the four big banks -- Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi, who actually have the capitalization and the muscle to really do something here. You're going to have them go sort of end to end in the process.

And you really have to watch what kind of regulation is going to be on these banks, what kind of insurance people are going to have to pay, and how it's all going to work out. There are about a million details, and all of them could be very scary for people.

WHITFIELD: Well those banks that you mentioned, Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, haven't they kind of been the supplemental lenders if Freddie and Fannie were taking care of the majority of the stake? So why should anyone feel like they have the capacity to handle the majority now of home loans if Freddie and Fannie were to go away?

GLINK: Well, they're -- yes, it's a great question, but they perform very different functions. You know, right now, Fannie, Freddie, and FHA account for 97 percent of all the loans that are done out there. Ninety-seven percent. I mean that's it. It's just government-backed. So it is very terrifying.

These big banks, though, they have a lot of money, some of which the government put into them. But they also seem to have some processes down. But you have to be very careful that they don't just kind of become so enormous and so all-encompassing that they're impossible to regulate.

We already watched how, you know, the too-big-to-fail thing worked during this last big great recession. AIG seemed too big to fail, and it cost the government a whole lot of money. They bailed them out.

WHITFIELD: Ilyce Glink, thanks so much for your insight. Appreciate it. Good to see you.

GLINK: Nice to see you, Fredericka. Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right, Oakland, California has one of the highest drop-out rates in the state. But one woman is trying to change that. She opened her heart and pocketbook and helped send a generation of kids to college. Dan Simon reports on "What Matters."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Read number two and tell me which is the correct answer.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These third graders in Oakland may not know what they want to be when they grow up. But thanks to a woman they call "Mama Brown," they'll have a better chance of making their dreams come true.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does everyone have "B?"

UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Yes.

SIMON: For 23 years, Oral Lee Brown has helped students in low-income families by paying for their college education.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Mama Brown really helps all the people. If we didn't have Mama Brown, we wouldn't be able to go to college.

SIMON: Inspired by a girl she saw out of school and on the street, Brown made a promise in 1987 to an entire first grade class.

You said to yourself, "I want to help kids go to college."

ORAL LEE BROWN: Yes.

SIMON: Where did that come from?

BROWN: It's the one thing in my mind that you can give a child that no one can take away. I don't have a million dollars but if I had a million dollars, I could give it to a child today, and they could be broke tomorrow. An education, to me, is one of the things that will set you free.

SIMON: Brown was making just $45,000 a year as a real estate agent when she made that pledge. But she managed to scrimp and save $10,000 a year for twelve years.

BROWN: I can remember going to the school, and you would think that Santa Claus had walked in the classroom.

SIMON: This is the school where Oral Lee Brown adopted that original first grade class. Brookfield Elementary. Of the 23 students, a remarkable 19 of them went to college. But Brown's mission to help children get an education was just beginning.

Brown says she now hands out 20 scholarships every three years through the Oral Lee Brown foundation. With help from corporate donations, she no longer carries the financial burden all by herself.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I have an opportunity to actually make something out of myself. It makes me real thankful that she's actually doing this for not only me, but all the kids that doesn't have this type of opportunity.

SIMON: Julius Orejudos received a scholarship from Mama Brown in middle school. Now he's a sophomore at UC Berkley studying biology and music, with plans to become a doctor.

JULIUS OREJUDOS, STUDENT: To me, having the scholarship means that I have a place here in Berkley. It means that I don't have to worry about having to work a part-time or a full-time job. That way, I can prepare myself for the future.

SIMON: Orejudos is one of more than 60 students Brown says that she has sent to college. And she plans to keep her promise to many more.

BROWN: Give a child an opportunity, no matter where he or she comes from, they will succeed.

SIMON: Dan Simon, CNN, Oakland, California.

WHITFIELD: In a time when African-Americans were called "colored," the so-called "Green Book" was an absolute must-have for black travelers. What could have been so important in those pages? We'll find out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Decades ago, in the segregated Jim Crow era, an African- American traveler would want to pack along a certain book, a guide called "The Green Book." This once necessary little book is getting a new modern-day audience.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): The pictures on his wall are from 50 years ago, but Ernest Green remembers it like yesterday.

ERNEST GREEN: Well I think what stands out is the fact that I as a teenager thought that desegregating the schools in Little Rock was an important part of progress for African-Americans.

WHITFIELD: Green was one of the Little Rock nine, a group of African- American students who enrolled in Central High School in the Arkansas capital in 1957. While Green was making history in the schools, his family navigated the segregated roads using a little-known guide for African-American families.

GREEN: The Green Book was a -- I think an institution in black life. It was one of those unknown survival tools for black people that had to move around the country. I was a teenager, so I knew that the Green Book was a necessity for us to have a place to stay.

WHITFIELD: A place to stay, a place to eat, even a car repair shop that would be friendly to blacks, all pulled together in this directory. Decades later, Green had forgotten about the precious resource until a recent conversation with Calvin Ramsey, a playwright, an author.

GREEN: He mentioned that he was doing a play around this book. And as he described it, I remembered that I had had a personal experience with the Green Book. My aunt and mother mapping out a program for us to travel from Little Rock to Hampton, Virginia, for my sister's graduation.

WHITFIELD: Personal tales like this inspired the playwright, and he learned about the travel guide's 1936 genesis.

CALVIN RAMSEY: Well, Victor Green, an African-American gentleman who had traveled himself and had hardships on the road, embarrassment, embarrassing situations that he didn't want to see his people continue to have. So he said, "If I can do something about this, I will."

WHITFIELD: The idea took off. And year after year, the Green Book grew, providing resources for all 50 states.

RAMSEY: Everything from lodging to restaurants, to beauty shops, to barber shops, mechanic shops, later on, doctor's offices, dentists, pretty much anything you would need on the open road.

WHITFIELD: As the book gained popularity, it also picked up a major sponsor.

RAMSEY: Once Standard Oil got involved, they hired professional marketers, they set up an office in New York, they hired men who had training in this type of thing. Then they started training African- American men how to run their own service stations. And from there, they could sell more Green Books.

WHITFIELD: Today, Ramsey takes his children's book, "Ruth and the Green Book," to elementary schools, bringing old tales to a new audience. And in the process, picking up on a dream that the creator of the Green Book held dearly.

GREEN: Travel, exposure, knowledge, all of it is fatal to prejudice. It requires people to think broader to this idea about universality that begins to see people as people.

WHITFIELD: Big lessons from the little guide that history almost forgot.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The stage play inspired by the Green Book tells the story of a Holocaust survivor spending the night with a black family after being refused service to stay at a hotel.

Arab nation revolution in the air. First Tunisia, then Egypt, this is Yemen today. You know what the question is? Where next?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Will what happened in Egypt stay in Egypt? Protesters are hitting the streets in another Middle Eastern nation, and we'll go there live. But first, a look at these top stories.

House Republicans have unveiled a spending bill that calls for massive cuts to many government programs and agencies. Among the proposed cuts, slashing the Environmental Protection Agency by 30 percent, a total of $3 billion, cutting more than $1 billion from the Head Start education program, and reducing the money available to food safety and inspections by $88 million.

And Oscar-winning actress Elizabeth Taylor is being treated at a Los Angeles hospital for symptoms caused by congestive heart failure. Taylor's representative says that the 78-year-old star checked into the hospital this week for what's being called an ongoing condition.

And crowds are still in Cairo's Tahrir Square on this day after Hosni Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt. The scene, one of celebration. The country is now ruled by a caretaker government controlled by the military. Many Egyptians are now vowing to remain in Tahrir Square until civilian rule is implemented.

Long before Hosni Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt, a similar anti-government movement began swelling in Yemen. The two countries aren't connected on the map, but crowds gathered in Yemen this weekend and they want the same outcome as in Egypt. If our shot is still established, we will try to get there. OK, our Mohammed Jamjoom is there, in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.

What's taking place?

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Earlier today, there were brief clashes between two rival factions of demonstrators here. You had pro-government demonstrators, and anti-government demonstrators met briefly up in the streets as they were marching. And they clashed. Some of them had sticks, some of them had batons and they were hitting each other. Police had to disperse the crowds.

Now, these were thousands of people that were out on the streets today. On the anti-government side, you have people that are there, first of all to support what was going on in Egypt. As a movement of solidarity with the Egyptian people. Happy that Hosni Mubarak had stepped down. But as what happens usually in these circumstances here in Yemen, in the past few weeks, when an anti-government expressing solidarity for either Egyptians or the Tunisians, it quickly turns to anger toward the current regime. Thousands of the protesters out there were saying they wanted the president Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down, that he really needed to go, there needed to be regime change.

On the pro-government however, there were people that there very much expressing their love and affection for the president here in Yemen, who has ruled for 32 years. Saying, actually, that it was the opposition here, the opposition parties and the demonstrators and the anti-government camp that were really causing security demonstrations here. And they were calling for national unity, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Mohammed Jamjoom, thanks so much, from Sanaa, Yemen.

So, for a long time, many long-time watchers have felt like this day was going to come. And they're not that surprised about what's happened in Egypt. The revolution there is being painted as the beginning of a movement that will continue in the wider Arab world. My next guest is definitely one who believes in that. Robert Malley just co-wrote a "Washington Post" article that states simply, the Arab world is dead. Robert, you have to explain that one?

ROBERT MALLEY, MIDEAST PROGRAM DIRECTOR, INT'L. CRISIS GROUP: What I'm saying and what I'm saying with my colleague Hussein Auga (ph), is that is that what the people in Egypt and elsewhere are rebelling against is not just material conditions and the lack of democracy. It is the fact that Arab states have been basically mute, basically absent from the regional diplomacy, from anything that they say mattered to them, the future of Palestinians and the future of Iran and the future Iraq and the future of Sudan.

On issue after issue, the Arab world has been dead. I think what we are seeing on the streets of Cairo is a first act of trying to reclaim their own destiny, reclaim their place in the Arab world, and be able to make their own decisions for themselves.

WHITFIELD: What do you blame or credit for any of these regimes that you blame for being complacent and not being policy driven?

MALLEY: Well, I'm not the one who is doing the blaming, the people are. But I think, again, this goes back to the question of whether their state represents something. Is it a proud act or even if they disagree with the policies, is it a proud actor or an actor that in their eyes has done this bargain in which they trade fundamental foreign policy decisions in exchange for financial, military, diplomatic support from the U.S. and from the West in general? That's been a bad bargain both for those countries and the U.S. , I would say, because it is not sustainable equilibrium.

What we are hearing is people saying we have to be in charge of our own policies. It may mean, yes, being more assertive, being putting forward our own policies, even if we disagree with the United States. We disagree with Europe, but to be able to do it, not necessarily in a confrontational way, but in a way more resonant with national and popular aspirations.

WHITFIELD: Is that the assertion you think people in Egypt were saying, Mubarak was ineffective, that he was passive, that he wasn't doing more to be forward thinking, not just for Egypt but the entire Middle East?

MALLEY: I think it is many things. They were angry about material conditions, poverty, unemployment, corruption, inequality, they were angry about the authoritarian nature of the regime. But I think what has made the difference, again it is not just in Egypt, is the feeling that the state no longer stands for anything. It doesn't only stand for the wrong things, it doesn't stand for anything. And you hear the word coming out, if you hear what they are saying and what other Arabs are saying, they lack dignity because they feel their countries are not respected anymore.

And if you go back to Egypt's history, it has always been the heart of the Arab nation, the heart of the Third World. It lost that over the last several decades. And that is part, I think, you can't understand what happened and why this time is different if you don't keep that in mind. What's so important to the psychology of people there is that their proud country was no more.

WHITFIELD: Many of the other neighbors, Arab nations, spoke out when there was talk of a potential transition of power. Now, it is actually happened where the president has stepped down from Egypt. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Libya, Yemen, where are their governments now, in terms of taking the lead, being a little more nervous as a result of what took place in Egypt, or feeling more inspired to take a new direction?

MALLEY: It is interesting. There will be two levels of contagion that are taking place. And we are seeing it right now. There is the contagion at the street level. People are inspired not just because they see people protesting. They have been protesting in these countries for many, many years. But that the protests succeed, that they could be more resilient than the regimes and that the regimes are not as strong as they are.

One of the things that keep these regimes in power, their basic strength, is that the people are not aware of their weakness. In fact, they are weak, as we are seeing.

But there is also the contagion effect at the level of the regimes which are going to learn from the mistakes of Tunisia and of Egypt. So, it is like two chess players, we have just seen two rounds, where both sides are learning the moves of their opponents. We have only seen two rounds, Tunisia and Egypt, many others that are now going to be playing out simultaneously, where the opposition is going to try to learn techniques or mobilization and demonstration, and peaceful challenge, popular protests.

And the regimes are going to try to learn to that. We have seen it already with a series of announcements, by the Algerians that they are going to lift the state of emergency. The Yemeni who said he is not going to run again. The Iraqi said he wouldn't be prime minister for a third time. Who is going to adapt more quickly to the other is going to be far of the unfolding story.

WHITFIELD: Robert Malley, thanks so much for your time and insight.

MALLEY: Thank you.

Iman, just one word says it all; a fashion icon and wildly successful as a business woman as well. She is speaking out about the uprising in Egypt and reveals why she cares so deeply for that country, "Face To Face", a conversation with Iman after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This Valentine's Day weekend is bringing some wonderful weather. Jacqui Jeras loves it.

Are you in love with the weather?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, my gosh.

WHITFIELD: I haven't seen outside in a while. I will take your word for it.

JERAS: Take my word.

WHITFIELD: Is it nice?

JERAS: It is so nice. It is just going to get better.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: How to succeed in Hollywood if you are politically conservative. That's what they are talking about at CPAC in Washington. A live report after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's a virtual who's who of political conservatives at the annual CPAC meeting in Washington. Potential GOP presidential candidates are attending the event, which wraps up today. CNN's Senior Political Editor Mark Preston is there.

What is happening?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SR. POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Fred, how are you?

Sure, a lot of people are talking about the 12 potential presidential candidates that took the stage over the last three days to talk about their vision for America. It wasn't just what was happening behind me on this stage, that people are here at this conservative gathering that is really getting people's attention. It is what the meetings were taking place in rooms all across this hotel here in Washington, D.C.

One of those meetings was about Hollywood and how conservatives can play a role in Hollywood. How do they counter what they say is a liberal bent. Now, just behind me, Pat Boone, the singer/songwriter just left the stage. He talked about how difficult it was for him being in Hollywood. That was the old generation. The new generation, though, the Andrew Breitbarts of the world are saying that you need to move on, you need to stop whining, so to speak. As a conservative, hone your craft and then talk about your message.

In fact, Fred, let's take a look at what his editor of Big Hollywood, John Nolte said, during one of these meetings.

He basically said, as you see up there on the screen. He said, Look, hone your craft. Do good at your skill and then you can deal with your worldview. Make the project that you want to make.

Now, conservatives will say, over and over again, that Hollywood is too liberal. I had an opportunity to talk about Victoria Jackson, that "Saturday Night Live" fan. Spend about 45 minutes with her the other night. She said that Hollywood doesn't just not like Christians, they don't like God. So there is this view among some conservatives, certainly social conservatives, people such as Victoria Jackson, that there isn't a place in Hollywood. They are battling as best as they can, Fred. WHITFIELD: Wow, strong sentiments coming out of the CPAC meeting. All right. Mark Preston, thanks so much. Of, course, later on the straw poll, right?

PRESTON: Yes. Straw poll in the 5:00 hour, we will be back and have the results of the CPAC straw poll, very much a bragging rights results. It will happened that hour, because a lot of the attention on it. Because we are at the kicking off, so to speak, the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. As I said, we had about a dozen presidential candidates here talking, trying to woo some of these conservatives behind me.

WHITFIELD: Kicking into high gear in just weeks, maybe even months opinion thanks so much. Maybe even days actually. Mark Preston, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

Your next political update in an hour. For the latest political news, you know exactly where to go. CNNPolitics.com.

Swimming a mile in the Hudson River, no easy feat. These CNN viewers are up for the challenge. If you think that is hard, see what else they are planning to do.

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WHITFIELD: For the next six months, our Chief Medical Correspondent Doctor Sanjay Gupta, and six CNN viewers will be training to compete in the Nautica New York City, Triathlon. It is all part of our 2011 Fit Nation Challenge that kicked off in Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAURA COZIK, ATHLETIC DIRECTOR, TRIATHLON CHALLENGES: Let's talk a little bit about the sport of triathlon.

You do need to kind of find ways to enjoy this program and enjoy this world we are going to introduce you to. We are going to introduce it to you in the highest class fashion possible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Mina (ph), nice to meet you.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Nice to meet you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, I'm Cass. Nice to meet you.

GUPTA: Nice to meet you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, I'm Stazia (ph). Nice to meet you.

GUPTA: Nice to meet you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice to meet you.

GUPTA: We are back with SG MD, and we have something very special, our 2011 CNN triathlon challenge.

COZIK: The New York City Triathlon is basically a weekend of fun stuff going on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here we go.

The swim is going to be fast. It is going to be 20 to 30 minutes tops. That's all you have to do. If you are not a strong swimmer, get your endurance up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nice and easy freestyle. No pressure. This is a warm up.

And now, breathe. Face in the water.

COZIK: The reason you run is because you are in a race, is because you are in a race, OK? So you cannot walk. You cannot walk.

You are going to ride up the whole Westside of Manhattan. You will be on the Westside Highway. So you will be looking over the Hudson River.

Now, when you are up here, there is no push down on the pedal. All it is, is a pull-up. Up, up, up, and if you don't feel like you have to pull-up on that pedal, sit down, add weight and get back up, balance on the pedals and give me a nice smooth pull up, up, up.

Small lever. There you go.

The run is hard. It always is. Because it is the last part.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, Nina. Pace it in.

That is the New York City track.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am Scott from Green Bay, Wisconsin

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm Cats from Chicago, Illinois.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm Stacia from Kansas City, Missouri.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm Nina from Rome, Georgia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Waukeen from Water Park, Florida.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Kendrick from Chicago, Illinois.

GROUP: We are 2011 six-pack. Wow!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Wow, good luck to them. That's awesome. You can also join our challenge by going to CNN.com for training schedules and meal plans, so maybe you can follow at home. Maybe you will be inspired and you can jump into that triathlon. Plus, we will have regular updates from the six-pack from now until race day.

Fashion icon, Iman spent part of her childhood in Egypt. She reacts to the revolution in a "Face To Face" interview next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Among the voices reacting to the uprising in Egypt, Iman, the global fashion icon, former model, current business mogul, and co- host of a fashion reality TV show. Born in Somalia, Iman spent part of her childhood in Egypt. She told me "Face To Face" about her ties to the country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IMAN, FASHION ICON: I was there during 1967 war. I was going to high school there. I'm in love with Egypt. I've always been in love with Egypt since the day I went there for school, and including my youngest daughter, with David Bowie, her name is Alexandria after the city.

WHITFIELD: Did you ever see the potential of this rise of a revolution? Even then in the late '60s?

IMAN: Yes, because I was in Egypt when it Nasser was around. So there was always that kind of feeling that just in the Third World, especially in volatile spaces like the Middle East. There's always that edge that anything can happen, at any given time. But to have something of a revolution like this happen so peacefully, it's quite unheard of and it is quite brilliant.

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WHITFIELD: Catch my entire "Face To Face" interview with Iman, next Saturday she'll talk about building herself as a fashion icon and business mogul. And she reveals the secret to her 20-year marriage to rocker David Bowie.