In fact, the countrys ambassador to the uk is saying they wont be pardoned or released before he completes his 15year sentence of hard prosecutors will seek the Death Penalty against dzhokhar tsarnaev. U. S. Attorney general eric holder cited the cruel and cut a trip short after nearly 700 true and passengers got sick once again. Hard to keep all of them straight. President obama speaking to jake tapper in his first interview since the stun address. The commander in chief promises twout will be a year of action. And hes moving forward with or without congress chl the president revealing his plan right here on cnn. Talking about it, the anchor of the lead, jake tapper. Your last name should be french. Its not. Its not. I have to say ive been covering president obama since he was senator obama. And youve had several interviews with him. I was covering him on the campaign trail. There was a time after he clempled enough delegates. June 2008. He clenched enough delegates. And he talked about his election in terms of this would be the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and the world began to heal. Now hes talking about using his pen and phone to take executive orders, executive actions. That was one of the things i wanted to ask him about. Has he scaled back his ambitions and expectations for what he wants to do with the country. Thaks for doing this mr. President. Great to be with you. Here is whatever you cannot accomplish with congress you will take executive action or issue executive orders. How much can you really accomplish doing that . My big push is making sure were focused on opportunity. Making sure every single day all of us in washington are thinking about ways we can help all of us get good jobs, make sure the jobs pay, make sure the kids are getting a good education. Those are the issues the American People still are very much concerned about. Obviously, theres going to be more that we can do if congress is able to breakthrough some of the gridlock. If were able to pass Immigration Reform, that is going to add growth to the economy. You dont seem confident that thats going to happen. I think we have a good chance. I mean the jobs issue. I think there are going to be some issues where it is going to be tough. Im going to continue to reach out to them and say, here are my best ideas. I want to hear yours. But as i said, i cant wait and the American People, more importantly cannot wait. We know that one of the biggest problems right now is the jobs market. People wont hire them because theyve been unemployed so long. Folks are looking at that gap in the resume and theyre weeding them out before these chance get a chance for a interview. We gathered together 300 Companies Just to start with, including some of the Top Companies in the country, to say lets establish best practices. Do not screen people out out of the hiring process just because theyve been out of work for a long time. We just went through the worst recession since the great depression. Ill be convening a meeting where a number of these Top Companies will be coming in, agreeing to these best practices and have the opportunity to encourage more people to come in. All of these things are going to have an impact. Will we have more of an impact if we can get congress, for example to mass a minimum wage law that applies to everybody as opposed to me just through an executive order, absolutely. And thats why im going to keep on reaching out for them. But im not going to wait for them. Ive been covering you for a long, long time. I remember during the campaign when you talked about your presidency being a moment when the rise of the oceans would slow and the nation and the world would heel. Now youre talking about pen and phone and executive orders. Do you think you were naive back then or have you recalibrated your expectations and ambitions . Part of it is we got a lot of that stuff done. We got in this country a Health Care Reform that already signed up millions of people. And make sure that anybodys whos watching, anybody who has insurance will not be developed. They can et git on healthcare dove. We have made e more mouse strides on the education front. Millions of more young people get student loans. So part of whats happened is, that checklist, we have passed a lot of that. And so in no way are my expectations diminished, but what is obviously true is weve got divided government right now. The House Republicans in particular have had difficulty rallying around any agenda, much less mine. And in that kind of environment, what i dont want is the American People to think that the only way for us to make big change is through legislation. Weve all got to Work Together to continue to provide opportunity for the next generation. Lets talk about House Republicans and Senate Republicans because there has been a large contingency of republicans critical of your new approach. Senator ted cruz of texas who might run for president calls this the imperial presidency. They want to reign in what youre trying to do. I dont think thats very serious. The truth of the matter is every president engages in executive actions. Weve been very disciplined and sparing in terms of the executive actions that weve taken. We make sure that were doing it within the authority that we have under statute, but i am not going to make an apology for saying that if i can help middle class families and folks who are working hard to try to get into the middle class do a little bit better, then im going to do it. I think its a tough argument for the other side to make that not only are they willing to not do anything, but they also want me not to do anything. In which case, i think the American People, whose right now estimation of congress is already pretty low, might have an even lower opinion. The stop act is not something you take seriously . Im not particularly worried about it. Lets talk about areas you might be able to make progress. I know a path way to citizenship through imfwrags reform is very important to you. Its possible you might be able to get an Immigration Reform bill on your desk for legal status but not citizenship. Im not going to repruj what gets to my desk. I think the principle that we dont want two classes of people in america is a principle that a lot of people agree with, not just me and not just democrats. But i am encouraged by what Speaker Boehner has said. Obviously i was encouraged by the bipartisan bill that passed out of the senate. I genuinely believe that Speaker Boehner really do want to get a serious Immigration Reform bill done. If the speaker proposes something that says right away folks arent being deported, families arent being separated, were able to attract stop Young Students to provide the skills or start businesses here, then theres a regular process of citizenship im not sure how wide the divide ends up being. I just wonder if you see this at all in terms of especially the path way to citizenship in the way that you seemed to when you were passing Health Care Reform and i was covering it, the public option. In other words, it would be great if you could do it, its not going to happen and there might be expectations that you have to do. I dont think House Republicans can pass anything that has a path way to citizenship. There is a desire to get it done. And that particularly in this congress is a huge piece of business. Because they havent got an lot done over the last couple years out of the House Republican cauc caucus. The fact that theyre for something i think is progress. I do know that for a lot of families, the fear of deportation is one of the biggest concerns that theyve got. And thats why we took executive actions given by discretion to make sure were not deporting kids who dpru up here and are americans for all practical purposes. But we need to get that codified. Is there more we can do in this legislation that gets more support but solves these broader problems including strengthening borders. And of course, more of the interview will air in a little bit. Kate, you know one of the things i thought was so important and interesting was i asked him pointblank, if Immigration Reform doesnt have a path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented workers will you veto it. He wouldnt play. And it shows the struggle. Its a difficult answer because it could box him in. If he gives you a firm answer stsh. I agree with you, but i do think there are going to be voe indicates for Immigration Reform that are going to be disappointed with that answer. The president is basically saying its acceptable. And as i said in the question to him, there was a time during health care when he made it very clear that he would like a public option government run health care, but he understood it couldnt get through congress, so he threw it under the bus. He he seems to be signaling something similar here. Hes not standing up for it. Thats smart politics though. Is the president entering a second term. On the politics i agree. On the principle, i think there will be people on the left disappointed. Thats the trick in general. You have such convergent ideologies there. Jakes making a strong point. His base is not going to like the answer. Its also good insight into why the interview is so valuable. Usually hes on message. That was very good for you to get him into a dialogue here, jake, where youre unpacking why he thinks what he thinks about things. Its important. Its interesting also because right now the House Republicans are in a retreat and they are discussing this. Just based on reportering, i know, i dont think theres any way House Republicans will be able to pass Immigration Reform with a clear, special, distinct path way to citizenship. I know Speaker Boehner has said he will not bring up a bill unless it will get a majority of republicans. You know na. Yeah. Lots of year of action. Hes going to have to get things done. Hes going to have to take what he gets to some extent. More of jakes interview with the president just ahead. A lot of other topics that jake hits on. The president s thoughts on another global person and also they talk about marijuana. And you can watch the full interview today on the lead with jake tapper at 4 00 eastern. Also news this morning about the italian trial saga six years in the making. Amanda knox vowing to fight wrongful prosecution. We are live in plor recognize with more. Reporter hi, well the victim meredith kerchers brother and sister speaking out this morning saying nothing will bring back meredith. Their lawyer has long argued for this conviction. Meanwhile, outrage among amanda knockss supporters. Theyre saying she and sollecito have been railroaded by the italians. Guilty once again. The amanda knox murder trial far from over this morning after knox was last night slapped with her second conviction of the murder of british student meredith kercher. This is a third time an Italian Court has heard the case. The judge overturned the original conviction due to errors in the investigation. She returned to the United States and made no appearance in this trial. Last night, a woman believed to be amanda knox was whisked away by family members. Knox released a statement saying i am frightened and saddened by this unjust verdict. I expected better from the italian justice system. Now the court has sentenced knox to 28 1 2 year in prison. Knoxs exboyfriend, sollecito was also convicted. He was on hand to hear the verdict. And the kercher family keeping the focus on the victim at the center of the case. When it is finally upheld or not, nothings of course going to bring meredith back. Nothing will ever take away the horror of what happened to her. The best we can hope for is, of course, finally bringing this whole case to a conclusion, you know, and a conviction and everybody can then move on with their lives. Reporter next up, a fresh round of appeals and many unanswered questions. Will italy request her extradition from the United States and will the u. S. Grant it. In italy, youre still actually presumed innocent until that third final stage. The prosecution asked for a questionnaire or provisional arrest warrant today. It was rejected. The court recognized she is lawfully in the United States. Reporter but knox says shes fearful of her future. It would feel like a train wreck if they would order my arrest and the Italian Government would approach the american fwovt and say, extradite her. And i dont know what would happen. Reporter theres been an update on Raffaele Sollecitos where abouts. He has been detained near a northern italian town. He was found in a hotel at 1 00 a. M. In the morning. Police were following him on court orders to seize his passport and other travel documents because he had been deemed a flight risk. Hes telling police that he was not running away. Back to you. All right. Thank you very much for that update. So finally, a break for the people of atlanta. Temperatures inches just high enough for the ice to start melting. But people are still recovering from the mess. Any abandoned cars, they were towed away after most people were able to retrieve them during the day yesterday. Now finally, an apology from georgias governor. Good morning, george. Reporter kate, good morning. It is pressly 26 degrees in atlanta. Its expected to get into the 50s. That is welcome news as the commute here gets back to normal. And we are hearing an apology from the states governor and a personal admission that he could have done more. This morning, the icy roads that froze atlanta to a standstill continued to thaw out. This, as georgias governor tries to alleviate criticism. I accept responsibility for the fact that we did not make preparation early enough to avoid these consequences. Reporter governor nathan deal came out strong on thursday. Im not going to look for a scapegoat. I am the governor. The buck stops with me. Reporter a sharp contrast to his role in the blame game the morning after the storm. The National Weather svrs had continuely had their molgding showing the city of atlanta would not be the primary area where the storm would hit. Reporter governor deal ordered an internal review for the states delayed response to tuesdays crisis. Take a look at the traffic map showing the green smooth flow turning deep red, the color of gridlock. Throughout thursday, people came back to claim their abandoned cars. Your vehicle was towed. Reporter state troopers and the National Guard are helping transport people to the more than 2,000 vehicles strewn along roads and highways. I give them an a inspite of all the fs this is an a and i thank them. Reporter overnight, state troopers scoured the roadways. Today, the cleanup is moving forward. Even though some neighborhood streets are still sheets of size, a 14yearold girl lost part of her leg thursday on one such street after the abandoned car she was standing behind was struck by another car. I think its been a big wake up call. I think its going to cause all of us to be more aggressive in terms of declaring states of emergency. Reporter what a difference a few days makes. You see the commute getting back to normal. All of the cars have been identified and most have been removed from the roads. We also know that the governor has extended that state of emergency until sunday to keep resources on the ground to help folks who need them. Back to you. Getting it right this time. Thanks so much. Preparations werent in place. But in truth, the information about the weather has been. Lets get over to Indra Petersons. The question is, when does this go away. Theres that part as well. You can go back right now and actually see the forecast discussions way back, several days, 48 hours before. But speaking of today, it is still cold out there. Temperatures this morning again below freezing. So the concern any ice that is still out there, still frozen this morning. But theres the difference. Temperatures already ten degrees warmer today than they were yesterday morning. Were going to continue that trend as we go through the afternoon. Not only in the southeast, but above normal. Start to see that recovery very quickly. Same story even in the northeast. Looking at those temperatures climbing. Thats good news. It doesnt mean theres no showers in the forecast. And some good ones. 1 to 2 inches of snowfall per hour in denver. Near 10 inches at the higher elevations. Look at these numbers. 6 to 10 inches of snow in through chicago. There are two, tomorrow being the stronger one making its way all the way in through michigan. You can see the icing from ohio valley back through the plains. The first weather model does not bring us showers for super bowl sunday. But we have several models. The european model does bring the chance for showers right before the game and right after the game. So needless to say, the forecast is still changing as far as super bowl sunday. It seems that its a no go in terms of changing the date. Its important, if its going to be pouring rain, the coaches will have a different game plan. Either way, no one wants to be wet. Coming up next on new day, amanda knox convicted again of murder by an Italian Court sentencing her to 28 1 2 here in prison. The question now, will the u. S. Ever agree to extradite her. [ female announcer ] right when you feel a cold sore, abreva can heal a cold sore in as few as 2 1 2 days when used at the first sign. Without it, the virus spreads from cell to cell. Unlike other treatments, abreva penetrates deep to block the virus, to protect healthy cells so cold sores heal fast. As fast as 2 1 2 days when used at the first sign. Learn more at abreva. Com. Dont tough it out.