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CNN Live Today
Bush-Kerry Slugfest; White House Sleepovers; Experimental Fertility Treatments
Aired March 12, 2004 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta. Let's check the headlines at this hour.
Millions of Spaniards already beginning to gather in Madrid. You can see live pictures from the Spanish capital there. Vigils scheduled across that country tonight. They are going to honor the 198 people killed in the attack on the Madrid commuter train network. Authorities are trying to figure out who was behind those bombings. They are looking at Basque separatists, as well as Islamic militants.
The Senate today approved a $2.3 trillion budget for 2005. The package would whittle down the deficit through spending cuts. Republicans fought off Democratic effort -- Democratic efforts to trim tax cuts.
The House has approved much higher fines for broadcasters and entertainers who air indecent material. The maximum penalty would be a half million dollars per incident. That is up from $27,000. The Senate now takes up the same bill.
And Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, seen live here, is beginning a town meeting at the Pentagon this hour. He will be joined by 10-year-old Ashley Pearson of Rhode Island. President Bush referenced her to him in his last State of the Union Address. The girl expressed support for U.S. troops in Iraq.
Checking the calendar, it's only March, but by judging by the tone of the presidential race, it seems to be more like late October. President Bush and Senator John Kerry are slugging it out over the economy, taxes and the war on terror.
Details from our senior White House correspondent John King.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the groundbreaking of a 9/11 memorial on Long Island, 30 months to the day after the terrorist attacks, solemn at this event, but on the attack in new TV ads. In one, Mr. Bush himself suggests Senator Kerry is not up to the terrorism challenge.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We can go forward with confidence, resolve and hope, or we can turn back to the dangerous solution that terrorists are not plotting and outlaw regimes are no threat. KING: The second new Bush ad takes much sharper aim, saying a Kerry presidency would mean at least $900 billion in new taxes and less resolve in the war on terror.
NARRATOR: And he wanted to delay defending America until the United Nations approved. John Kerry, wrong on taxes, wrong on defense.
KING: The Kerry campaign challenged the accuracy of the Bush ads. The senator himself took issue with their tone.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is a Republican attack squad that specializes in trying to destroy people and be negative. I think the president needs to talk about the real priorities of our country.
KING: The Bush campaign says taxes and terrorism are top priorities, and said if Senator Kerry takes issue with the $900 billion figure, he should spell out just how he would pay for his promises on health care and other issues.
The intensity of the campaign is extraordinary for March. The economy now a daily focus of the slugfest.
BUSH: When you hear we're going to repeal the tax cut, that's Washington, D.C. code for I'm fixing to raise your taxes. That's what that means.
KING: Senator Kerry pounced on word the president's choice to serve in a new post the manufacturing czar (ph) was in trouble, suggesting he knew why.
KERRY: It turns out that the person they choose had cut the work force by 17 percent and built a plant in China.
KING: Administration officials called that attack unfair, but late Thursday, businessman Tony Raimondo withdrew his name from consideration.
(on camera): The Kerry campaign plans to rush out a response ad accusing the president of misleading attacks, further escalating the tension in a campaign already plenty rough and tumble a full eight months before the election.
John King, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Speaking of the White House, it's a tradition there that the president and first lady often invite friends and sometimes celebrities for a sleepover.
Our Bruce Morton takes a look now at who has spent the night at the White House since President Bush was inaugurated.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRUCE MORTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Who slept here? Well, they were just friends, of course, old pals from Texas, or maybe Yale. The Bushes have invited at least 270 people to sleepovers during their three-plus years in the building. Including some big contributors. And yes, some stayed in the Lincoln bedroom. But hey, they were friends first.
The Associated Press quoted one old Yaley, "friendship comes first, donations come second." Which makes perfect sense.
Not a lot of glam names on the Bush list. Golfer Ben Crenshaw is about it. Fat cats? Misuse of the building?
STEPHEN HESS, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: These were the folks, when you look down the list, who went to kindergarten with him and played Little League ball, and were his fraternity brothers. So the moral of the story is sure, journalists dig deep and then sometimes they conclude that, like Richard Stine (ph) said about open, there's no there there.
MORTON: The Clintons? Well they had all those coffees, of course, which were fund-raisers.
Sleepovers, between July 1, 1999 and August 31, 2000 when Hillary Clinton was running for the Senate, 404 slept over. And some of them were contributors, gave her campaign and its committees roughly $600,000.
There were lots more celebrities. Movie director Steven Spielberg, actress Meg Ryan, actor Danny DeVito, newsman Walter Cronkite, newsman Rick Kaplan, who used to work here, and dignitaries, like the king of Spain. But hey, they were mostly friends.
The White House lists Arkansas friends and longtime friends and friends and supporters. It was a friendly place, apparently. Then and now. And some of them stayed in the Lincoln bedroom.
Lincoln didn't, of course. It was his office. The Oval Office and the West Wing hadn't been built then. He worked in the room, signed the Emancipation Proclamation there in 1863.
Franklin Roosevelt went one step past sleepovers, some of his staff lived in the White House. The last time the president has done that.
Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: South Korea is in political crisis this morning after parliament impeached the president. President Roh Moohyun's party physically tried to block the impeachment vote by blockading the podium. They were hustled out and later announced that they had quite parliament in protest.
Lawmakers cited several reasons for Roh's impeachment, among them, violation of election laws and alleged mismanagement of the economy. South Korea's highest court must approve Roh's ouster. Meanwhile, the prime minister takes over.
Let's go live now to the Pentagon and Donald Rumsfeld.
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Ashley, we welcome you and your family, and we thank you for your letter and for recognizing the suburb service of the wonderful men and women in uniform and for being with us today.
As we prepare to mark one year since the beginning of "Operation Iraqi Freedom," and as we think about the tens of thousands of U.S. forces there, and in Afghanistan and elsewhere around the globe, fighting the global war on terror, we say to all of them and all of you here today, thank you for fighting in this fight.
KAGAN: We're going to listen in a little bit more later on to the defense secretary. We jumped in there because the secretary was introducing 10-year-old Ashley Pearson. She is from Rhode Island. And she had written a letter in support of the U.S. troops. And President Bush mentioned her in his State of the Union Address back in January. So she's being honored today at the Pentagon.
How far would you go to have a baby if doctors told you you couldn't do it? For some couples, no price is too high, no distance too far. You'll meet one of them next in your 'Daily Dose' of health news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Couples who have trouble conceiving often go to great lengths in hopes of having a child. And when in vitro procedures don't work, some turn to experimental treatments.
Our Holly Firfer now has one couple's story in our 'Daily Dose' of health news.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sharon and Paul Saarinen say 3-year-old Alana (ph) is their dream come true. But after 10 years and 4 failed in vitro fertilization attempts that dream was once a nightmare.
PAUL SAARINEN, FATHER: We went through some tough times back then. And it was really, really tearing our marriage apart.
FIRFER: Sharon's doctor said her eggs were not vital enough to create a healthy embryo and there was nothing more he could do.
SHARON SAARINEN, MOTHER: But there had to be another option. I wouldn't accept no.
FIRFER: So she decided to try an experimental treatment called Cytoplasmic Transfer. Taking the cytoplasm from a healthy donor egg, Dr. Michael Fakih implanted it into Sharon's weaker egg to help it survive. Once it was fertilized, it was implanted in her uterus and she was pregnant.
S. SAARINEN: I was at home alone. I got the call, and I just broke down and started crying on the bed. It was the best feeling. I've waited 10 years to hear her say that.
FIRFER: The donor cytoplasm contains Mitochondrial DNA which gives the egg that energy to survive, but it's not trait-related DNA.
DR. MICHAEL FAKIH, REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGIST: Ninety-nine percent of the genetic material in the embryo basically is from the patient herself, and then maybe 1 percent is from the third person.
FIRFER: Some doctors say with three people's DNA in one embryo, the potential for birth defects still remains.
(on camera): When the Saarinen's decided they wanted to try to have another child, they returned to Dr. Fakih's fertility center here in suburban Detroit only to be told that in July of 2001 the FDA had sent letters to doctors informing them that Cytoplasmic Transfer and other so-called experimental procedures had been banned.
(voice-over): The FDA said in order to proceed, rigorous testing would need to be done to get the agency's approval.
FAKIH: Most of these women are in their late 30s and they don't really have time. Their time is very precious.
FIRFER: So Dr. Fakih agreed to do the procedure in his clinic in Lebanon where it's legal. The Sarrinen's spent another $10,000 to try it again, but this time it did not work.
S. SAARINEN: I have finally, in the last few months, just reconciled with the fact that in my heart I have one child. I have to be happy with that.
P. SAARINEN: Whether I can give her a brother or a sister is -- it's in God's hands. But all I can do is just be the best parent that I can be for her, to give her back the joy that she gives me.
FIRFER: Holly Firfer, CNN, West Bloomfield Township, Michigan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: For more on extreme baby making, you can tune in to this weekend's "HOUSE CALL." And as you can see, 8:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Martha might be going to prison. So who will fill her shoes?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRINI MAXWELL, "THE BRINI MAXWELL SHOW": I'm not really a, well, a natural blond.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KAGAN: Well maybe the right woman for the job is a man or is she or he a woman. If you haven't already met Brini, Brini Maxwell joins us live coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put down the iron and pick up a drink, leave your pants with the neighbors, the kids in the sink. It's Brini. "The Brini Maxwell Show."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Yes, the pants are with the neighbors. You might call her a mid-20th century Martha Stewart. Female impersonator Brini Maxwell is bringing vintage design and taste to a national audience. She has made the leap from Manhattan Cable Access to the Style Network. Brini has gone national. She is in New York this morning to talk about her program, appropriately titled, "The Brini Maxwell Show."
Brini, good morning.
MAXWELL: Hi, Daryn, good morning.
KAGAN: It's just such a calming influence to have you here on the show this morning.
MAXWELL: Well, thank you.
KAGAN: Yes. You basically are a retro-obsessed domestic diva, aren't you?
MAXWELL: Yes, I'd say that that's an apt description.
KAGAN: And where does this love of the retro and Brini come from?
MAXWELL: Well I think that it's a very important time in history. We seem to be taking a look back at the eras of the 20th century, and I think that that is going to help us define what the future is.
KAGAN: Now, people who live in New York City, or at least Manhattan, might be familiar with you, because you've been on cable access there for a while. But as of January, Brini, you've gone national.
MAXWELL: Yes.
KAGAN: You're on the Style Network. What is that like to be a national star now?
MAXWELL: It's so much fun. It really is wonderful. I've been getting e-mails from all across the country. And people really seem to connect with the show.
KAGAN: And as people are watching, do you think they're wondering is Brini a natural blond?
MAXWELL: Well that's one of my secrets. No, I'm not actually a natural blond.
KAGAN: You're not. You know we like to get right to the truth here on CNN.
MAXWELL: That's right.
KAGAN: In another life, there's a guy named Ben Sander.
MAXWELL: Yes, he lives at my apartment with me.
KAGAN: He does in fact.
MAXWELL: And we -- it's odd, we never seem to run into each other. I don't know why.
KAGAN: Never seen at the same place at the same time.
MAXWELL: That's right.
KAGAN: Beside the obvious, what's the difference between Ben and Brini?
MAXWELL: Well, I'm a little -- I have -- I pay a little bit more close attention to domestic matters than he does. I come back to the apartment and I find that he's just left dishes in the sink and things are dusty and, you know, and I have to pick up after him. But then, well, we always have to pick up after men, don't we?
KAGAN: You know, story of our life, Brini. Part of what you like to do is give advice.
MAXWELL: If people want it.
KAGAN: Yes, or whether they do or not. And some household tips as well.
MAXWELL: Definitely.
KAGAN: What's one of your favorites?
MAXWELL: Well, if you have a little lighter fluid and you find that you have a little skid mark on your kitchen floor from, well, perhaps from your wedgie. It might be time to take out that lighter fluid, put a little bit on a paper towel and just rub that skid mark away.
KAGAN: Brini, I feel so much better prepared now to go throughout the day. Thank you for that.
MAXWELL: Thanks, certainly. KAGAN: "The Brini Maxwell Show" is on the Style Network. It's on tonight, right?
MAXWELL: Yes, it's on Friday nights at 10:00 p.m. on the Style Network.
KAGAN: Very good, we'll be looking for it. Good luck with the show.
MAXWELL: Well thank you, Daryn, great to talk with you.
KAGAN: Brini Maxwell joining us from New York City.
Mary Snow, any good little tips for us that you can top Brini Maxwell?
MARY SNOW, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, Brini is a hard act to follow, I'll say.
KAGAN: I'm telling you.
SNOW: Yes. But can she be the new domestic diva?
KAGAN: Perhaps.
SNOW: I hear there's an opening.
KAGAN: Yes, and somebody is going to be otherwise occupied in the coming months.
(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)
SNOW: CNN's LIVE TODAY continues in a moment. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: There is no more "Sex in the City." Very sad, but some New Yorkers are still dressing the part.
Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you said goodbye to "Sex in the City," now say...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello lover.
MOOS: ... to shoes, tops, you name it. Castaways from the cast of "Sex in the City." The line outside a second-hand consignment shop wound around the block.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Armed with our heels and our credit cards, we are ready to go.
MOOS: The first one rushing the door was a law student. She ended up with a striped dress, pink sandals and a bra.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A bra. I don't know who wore it, but it's pink and it's pretty and it was cheap.
MOOS: Every once in a while someone let out a scream when they recognized a piece of clothing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She wore this when they had sex for the first time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The furry boots. I remember when these were on.
MOOS (on camera): Anyone want Miranda's skinny jeans? Remember that episode?
(voice-over): This guy spent 325 bucks on a birthday jacket for a friend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is sweet.
MOOS (on camera): She's going to like that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
MOOS (voice-over): Even the owner of Ina kept a little something.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got this little sperm necklace.
MOOS: Prices range from 10 bucks to $5,000. This woman spent 700 on a jacket that didn't quite fit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very small, but I don't care.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Carrie wore this hat in the episode where her and Charlotte are sitting and rating the guys in New York City on who they would sleep with or not. So there you go.
SARAH JESSICA PARKER, ACTOR: Men who are too good looking, they are never good in bed because they never had to be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have dated plenty of the men here, and they were definitely not so good.
MOOS: That probably went right over the head of the youngest shopper, Ricardo (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He watched the last episode.
MOOS (on camera): And he liked it, look.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he loved it.
MOOS (voice-over): Now Ricardo can cuddle up and watch reruns using Carrie's bath robe as a blankie. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And the original girlfriend, Orleon Sidney here for a last check of the weather this morning.
Hey, Orleon.
ORLEON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, indeed.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: That's going to do it for me, Daryn Kagan. I will be right back here on Monday morning. In the meantime, you have a great weekend.
And Wolf Blitzer sees you through the next hour from Washington, D.C.
Hi -- Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Daryn, have a great weekend yourself.
Thanks very much to our viewers for joining us.
Ahead this hour, we're following the terror in Madrid. All lines of the investigation into Thursday's deadly blasts are wide open. Who is to blame? From Spain to the White House, we're live with the story.
Plus, stepping up security right here at home. Is our transportation system vulnerable to a similar kind of attack?
And later this hour, she's the lady with all the answers. Dear Abby joins us here in the studio live. She'll be answering your e- mail questions.
First, let's check some headlines.
In South Korea, look at this, a political donnybrook, as parliament votes to impeach the country's president. As the chamber erupted in turmoil, outside, a protester set himself on fire and another man drove his car into the building. The impeachment is now in the hands of South Korea's highest court.
Four American soldiers are killed in Iraq by a bomb in the city triangle. The roadside device exploded near Habbaniyah as the U.S. convoy passed. A third American soldier was wounded.
Also today, Greece says it has formally asked NATO to help provide security for the Athens Olympic Games this summer. The government says the request covers air and sea patrols and protection against attacks from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. Up first, a potential lead in the terrorism probe in Spain. Authorities are examining an unexploded bomb in an effort to learn whether the crime was the work of Basque separatists or perhaps another group such as al Qaeda. The updated death toll
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Fertility Treatments>
Aired March 12, 2004 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta. Let's check the headlines at this hour.
Millions of Spaniards already beginning to gather in Madrid. You can see live pictures from the Spanish capital there. Vigils scheduled across that country tonight. They are going to honor the 198 people killed in the attack on the Madrid commuter train network. Authorities are trying to figure out who was behind those bombings. They are looking at Basque separatists, as well as Islamic militants.
The Senate today approved a $2.3 trillion budget for 2005. The package would whittle down the deficit through spending cuts. Republicans fought off Democratic effort -- Democratic efforts to trim tax cuts.
The House has approved much higher fines for broadcasters and entertainers who air indecent material. The maximum penalty would be a half million dollars per incident. That is up from $27,000. The Senate now takes up the same bill.
And Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, seen live here, is beginning a town meeting at the Pentagon this hour. He will be joined by 10-year-old Ashley Pearson of Rhode Island. President Bush referenced her to him in his last State of the Union Address. The girl expressed support for U.S. troops in Iraq.
Checking the calendar, it's only March, but by judging by the tone of the presidential race, it seems to be more like late October. President Bush and Senator John Kerry are slugging it out over the economy, taxes and the war on terror.
Details from our senior White House correspondent John King.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the groundbreaking of a 9/11 memorial on Long Island, 30 months to the day after the terrorist attacks, solemn at this event, but on the attack in new TV ads. In one, Mr. Bush himself suggests Senator Kerry is not up to the terrorism challenge.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We can go forward with confidence, resolve and hope, or we can turn back to the dangerous solution that terrorists are not plotting and outlaw regimes are no threat. KING: The second new Bush ad takes much sharper aim, saying a Kerry presidency would mean at least $900 billion in new taxes and less resolve in the war on terror.
NARRATOR: And he wanted to delay defending America until the United Nations approved. John Kerry, wrong on taxes, wrong on defense.
KING: The Kerry campaign challenged the accuracy of the Bush ads. The senator himself took issue with their tone.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is a Republican attack squad that specializes in trying to destroy people and be negative. I think the president needs to talk about the real priorities of our country.
KING: The Bush campaign says taxes and terrorism are top priorities, and said if Senator Kerry takes issue with the $900 billion figure, he should spell out just how he would pay for his promises on health care and other issues.
The intensity of the campaign is extraordinary for March. The economy now a daily focus of the slugfest.
BUSH: When you hear we're going to repeal the tax cut, that's Washington, D.C. code for I'm fixing to raise your taxes. That's what that means.
KING: Senator Kerry pounced on word the president's choice to serve in a new post the manufacturing czar (ph) was in trouble, suggesting he knew why.
KERRY: It turns out that the person they choose had cut the work force by 17 percent and built a plant in China.
KING: Administration officials called that attack unfair, but late Thursday, businessman Tony Raimondo withdrew his name from consideration.
(on camera): The Kerry campaign plans to rush out a response ad accusing the president of misleading attacks, further escalating the tension in a campaign already plenty rough and tumble a full eight months before the election.
John King, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Speaking of the White House, it's a tradition there that the president and first lady often invite friends and sometimes celebrities for a sleepover.
Our Bruce Morton takes a look now at who has spent the night at the White House since President Bush was inaugurated.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRUCE MORTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Who slept here? Well, they were just friends, of course, old pals from Texas, or maybe Yale. The Bushes have invited at least 270 people to sleepovers during their three-plus years in the building. Including some big contributors. And yes, some stayed in the Lincoln bedroom. But hey, they were friends first.
The Associated Press quoted one old Yaley, "friendship comes first, donations come second." Which makes perfect sense.
Not a lot of glam names on the Bush list. Golfer Ben Crenshaw is about it. Fat cats? Misuse of the building?
STEPHEN HESS, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: These were the folks, when you look down the list, who went to kindergarten with him and played Little League ball, and were his fraternity brothers. So the moral of the story is sure, journalists dig deep and then sometimes they conclude that, like Richard Stine (ph) said about open, there's no there there.
MORTON: The Clintons? Well they had all those coffees, of course, which were fund-raisers.
Sleepovers, between July 1, 1999 and August 31, 2000 when Hillary Clinton was running for the Senate, 404 slept over. And some of them were contributors, gave her campaign and its committees roughly $600,000.
There were lots more celebrities. Movie director Steven Spielberg, actress Meg Ryan, actor Danny DeVito, newsman Walter Cronkite, newsman Rick Kaplan, who used to work here, and dignitaries, like the king of Spain. But hey, they were mostly friends.
The White House lists Arkansas friends and longtime friends and friends and supporters. It was a friendly place, apparently. Then and now. And some of them stayed in the Lincoln bedroom.
Lincoln didn't, of course. It was his office. The Oval Office and the West Wing hadn't been built then. He worked in the room, signed the Emancipation Proclamation there in 1863.
Franklin Roosevelt went one step past sleepovers, some of his staff lived in the White House. The last time the president has done that.
Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: South Korea is in political crisis this morning after parliament impeached the president. President Roh Moohyun's party physically tried to block the impeachment vote by blockading the podium. They were hustled out and later announced that they had quite parliament in protest.
Lawmakers cited several reasons for Roh's impeachment, among them, violation of election laws and alleged mismanagement of the economy. South Korea's highest court must approve Roh's ouster. Meanwhile, the prime minister takes over.
Let's go live now to the Pentagon and Donald Rumsfeld.
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Ashley, we welcome you and your family, and we thank you for your letter and for recognizing the suburb service of the wonderful men and women in uniform and for being with us today.
As we prepare to mark one year since the beginning of "Operation Iraqi Freedom," and as we think about the tens of thousands of U.S. forces there, and in Afghanistan and elsewhere around the globe, fighting the global war on terror, we say to all of them and all of you here today, thank you for fighting in this fight.
KAGAN: We're going to listen in a little bit more later on to the defense secretary. We jumped in there because the secretary was introducing 10-year-old Ashley Pearson. She is from Rhode Island. And she had written a letter in support of the U.S. troops. And President Bush mentioned her in his State of the Union Address back in January. So she's being honored today at the Pentagon.
How far would you go to have a baby if doctors told you you couldn't do it? For some couples, no price is too high, no distance too far. You'll meet one of them next in your 'Daily Dose' of health news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Couples who have trouble conceiving often go to great lengths in hopes of having a child. And when in vitro procedures don't work, some turn to experimental treatments.
Our Holly Firfer now has one couple's story in our 'Daily Dose' of health news.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sharon and Paul Saarinen say 3-year-old Alana (ph) is their dream come true. But after 10 years and 4 failed in vitro fertilization attempts that dream was once a nightmare.
PAUL SAARINEN, FATHER: We went through some tough times back then. And it was really, really tearing our marriage apart.
FIRFER: Sharon's doctor said her eggs were not vital enough to create a healthy embryo and there was nothing more he could do.
SHARON SAARINEN, MOTHER: But there had to be another option. I wouldn't accept no.
FIRFER: So she decided to try an experimental treatment called Cytoplasmic Transfer. Taking the cytoplasm from a healthy donor egg, Dr. Michael Fakih implanted it into Sharon's weaker egg to help it survive. Once it was fertilized, it was implanted in her uterus and she was pregnant.
S. SAARINEN: I was at home alone. I got the call, and I just broke down and started crying on the bed. It was the best feeling. I've waited 10 years to hear her say that.
FIRFER: The donor cytoplasm contains Mitochondrial DNA which gives the egg that energy to survive, but it's not trait-related DNA.
DR. MICHAEL FAKIH, REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGIST: Ninety-nine percent of the genetic material in the embryo basically is from the patient herself, and then maybe 1 percent is from the third person.
FIRFER: Some doctors say with three people's DNA in one embryo, the potential for birth defects still remains.
(on camera): When the Saarinen's decided they wanted to try to have another child, they returned to Dr. Fakih's fertility center here in suburban Detroit only to be told that in July of 2001 the FDA had sent letters to doctors informing them that Cytoplasmic Transfer and other so-called experimental procedures had been banned.
(voice-over): The FDA said in order to proceed, rigorous testing would need to be done to get the agency's approval.
FAKIH: Most of these women are in their late 30s and they don't really have time. Their time is very precious.
FIRFER: So Dr. Fakih agreed to do the procedure in his clinic in Lebanon where it's legal. The Sarrinen's spent another $10,000 to try it again, but this time it did not work.
S. SAARINEN: I have finally, in the last few months, just reconciled with the fact that in my heart I have one child. I have to be happy with that.
P. SAARINEN: Whether I can give her a brother or a sister is -- it's in God's hands. But all I can do is just be the best parent that I can be for her, to give her back the joy that she gives me.
FIRFER: Holly Firfer, CNN, West Bloomfield Township, Michigan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: For more on extreme baby making, you can tune in to this weekend's "HOUSE CALL." And as you can see, 8:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Martha might be going to prison. So who will fill her shoes?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRINI MAXWELL, "THE BRINI MAXWELL SHOW": I'm not really a, well, a natural blond.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KAGAN: Well maybe the right woman for the job is a man or is she or he a woman. If you haven't already met Brini, Brini Maxwell joins us live coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put down the iron and pick up a drink, leave your pants with the neighbors, the kids in the sink. It's Brini. "The Brini Maxwell Show."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Yes, the pants are with the neighbors. You might call her a mid-20th century Martha Stewart. Female impersonator Brini Maxwell is bringing vintage design and taste to a national audience. She has made the leap from Manhattan Cable Access to the Style Network. Brini has gone national. She is in New York this morning to talk about her program, appropriately titled, "The Brini Maxwell Show."
Brini, good morning.
MAXWELL: Hi, Daryn, good morning.
KAGAN: It's just such a calming influence to have you here on the show this morning.
MAXWELL: Well, thank you.
KAGAN: Yes. You basically are a retro-obsessed domestic diva, aren't you?
MAXWELL: Yes, I'd say that that's an apt description.
KAGAN: And where does this love of the retro and Brini come from?
MAXWELL: Well I think that it's a very important time in history. We seem to be taking a look back at the eras of the 20th century, and I think that that is going to help us define what the future is.
KAGAN: Now, people who live in New York City, or at least Manhattan, might be familiar with you, because you've been on cable access there for a while. But as of January, Brini, you've gone national.
MAXWELL: Yes.
KAGAN: You're on the Style Network. What is that like to be a national star now?
MAXWELL: It's so much fun. It really is wonderful. I've been getting e-mails from all across the country. And people really seem to connect with the show.
KAGAN: And as people are watching, do you think they're wondering is Brini a natural blond?
MAXWELL: Well that's one of my secrets. No, I'm not actually a natural blond.
KAGAN: You're not. You know we like to get right to the truth here on CNN.
MAXWELL: That's right.
KAGAN: In another life, there's a guy named Ben Sander.
MAXWELL: Yes, he lives at my apartment with me.
KAGAN: He does in fact.
MAXWELL: And we -- it's odd, we never seem to run into each other. I don't know why.
KAGAN: Never seen at the same place at the same time.
MAXWELL: That's right.
KAGAN: Beside the obvious, what's the difference between Ben and Brini?
MAXWELL: Well, I'm a little -- I have -- I pay a little bit more close attention to domestic matters than he does. I come back to the apartment and I find that he's just left dishes in the sink and things are dusty and, you know, and I have to pick up after him. But then, well, we always have to pick up after men, don't we?
KAGAN: You know, story of our life, Brini. Part of what you like to do is give advice.
MAXWELL: If people want it.
KAGAN: Yes, or whether they do or not. And some household tips as well.
MAXWELL: Definitely.
KAGAN: What's one of your favorites?
MAXWELL: Well, if you have a little lighter fluid and you find that you have a little skid mark on your kitchen floor from, well, perhaps from your wedgie. It might be time to take out that lighter fluid, put a little bit on a paper towel and just rub that skid mark away.
KAGAN: Brini, I feel so much better prepared now to go throughout the day. Thank you for that.
MAXWELL: Thanks, certainly. KAGAN: "The Brini Maxwell Show" is on the Style Network. It's on tonight, right?
MAXWELL: Yes, it's on Friday nights at 10:00 p.m. on the Style Network.
KAGAN: Very good, we'll be looking for it. Good luck with the show.
MAXWELL: Well thank you, Daryn, great to talk with you.
KAGAN: Brini Maxwell joining us from New York City.
Mary Snow, any good little tips for us that you can top Brini Maxwell?
MARY SNOW, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, Brini is a hard act to follow, I'll say.
KAGAN: I'm telling you.
SNOW: Yes. But can she be the new domestic diva?
KAGAN: Perhaps.
SNOW: I hear there's an opening.
KAGAN: Yes, and somebody is going to be otherwise occupied in the coming months.
(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)
SNOW: CNN's LIVE TODAY continues in a moment. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: There is no more "Sex in the City." Very sad, but some New Yorkers are still dressing the part.
Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you said goodbye to "Sex in the City," now say...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello lover.
MOOS: ... to shoes, tops, you name it. Castaways from the cast of "Sex in the City." The line outside a second-hand consignment shop wound around the block.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Armed with our heels and our credit cards, we are ready to go.
MOOS: The first one rushing the door was a law student. She ended up with a striped dress, pink sandals and a bra.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A bra. I don't know who wore it, but it's pink and it's pretty and it was cheap.
MOOS: Every once in a while someone let out a scream when they recognized a piece of clothing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She wore this when they had sex for the first time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The furry boots. I remember when these were on.
MOOS (on camera): Anyone want Miranda's skinny jeans? Remember that episode?
(voice-over): This guy spent 325 bucks on a birthday jacket for a friend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is sweet.
MOOS (on camera): She's going to like that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
MOOS (voice-over): Even the owner of Ina kept a little something.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got this little sperm necklace.
MOOS: Prices range from 10 bucks to $5,000. This woman spent 700 on a jacket that didn't quite fit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very small, but I don't care.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Carrie wore this hat in the episode where her and Charlotte are sitting and rating the guys in New York City on who they would sleep with or not. So there you go.
SARAH JESSICA PARKER, ACTOR: Men who are too good looking, they are never good in bed because they never had to be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have dated plenty of the men here, and they were definitely not so good.
MOOS: That probably went right over the head of the youngest shopper, Ricardo (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He watched the last episode.
MOOS (on camera): And he liked it, look.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he loved it.
MOOS (voice-over): Now Ricardo can cuddle up and watch reruns using Carrie's bath robe as a blankie. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And the original girlfriend, Orleon Sidney here for a last check of the weather this morning.
Hey, Orleon.
ORLEON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, indeed.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: That's going to do it for me, Daryn Kagan. I will be right back here on Monday morning. In the meantime, you have a great weekend.
And Wolf Blitzer sees you through the next hour from Washington, D.C.
Hi -- Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Daryn, have a great weekend yourself.
Thanks very much to our viewers for joining us.
Ahead this hour, we're following the terror in Madrid. All lines of the investigation into Thursday's deadly blasts are wide open. Who is to blame? From Spain to the White House, we're live with the story.
Plus, stepping up security right here at home. Is our transportation system vulnerable to a similar kind of attack?
And later this hour, she's the lady with all the answers. Dear Abby joins us here in the studio live. She'll be answering your e- mail questions.
First, let's check some headlines.
In South Korea, look at this, a political donnybrook, as parliament votes to impeach the country's president. As the chamber erupted in turmoil, outside, a protester set himself on fire and another man drove his car into the building. The impeachment is now in the hands of South Korea's highest court.
Four American soldiers are killed in Iraq by a bomb in the city triangle. The roadside device exploded near Habbaniyah as the U.S. convoy passed. A third American soldier was wounded.
Also today, Greece says it has formally asked NATO to help provide security for the Athens Olympic Games this summer. The government says the request covers air and sea patrols and protection against attacks from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. Up first, a potential lead in the terrorism probe in Spain. Authorities are examining an unexploded bomb in an effort to learn whether the crime was the work of Basque separatists or perhaps another group such as al Qaeda. The updated death toll
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