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CNN Live Today
Rumsfeld Wraps Up Iraq Visit; Voting Irregularities in Afghanistan Elections Probed; Christopher Reeve Mourned; ABC's Ratings Resurgence
Aired October 11, 2004 - 10:30 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: Let's take a look at the stories that are happening now in the news.
A U.S. Military convoy was attacked by a suicide car bomber in Mosul today. Military officials say there were casualties, but no specific numbers have been released. Mosul hospital officials say two Iraqis were killed and 37 wounded, many of them critically.
A Norwegian and an American have won this year's Nobel Prize in Economics. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences today announced that Finn Kydland and Edward Prescott would share the $1.3 million prize. The Academy said Prescott and Kydland's work changed how people look at business cycles.
Vice President Dick Cheney is attending a rally this hour in Medford, New Jersey -- a live picture from there. New Jersey being a Republican-leaning area in the state. The vice president is attacking John Kerry for comments in an interview published yesterday, suggesting Kerry isn't taking terrorism seriously enough. Later today, Cheney will make another campaign appearance in Batavia, Ohio.
Democratic Presidential (sic) Candidate John Edwards is taking part in a town hall meeting in Iowa this morning and going on to Kansas City later today. Campaigning in the Midwest over the weekend, Edwards promised to work to create more jobs and improve healthcare and child care.
And actor Christopher Reeve is being remembered today. Reeve died of heart failure yesterday after falling into a coma. Reeve became an advocate for spinal cord injury research after he was paralyzed in a fall from a horse nine years ago. Reeve was 52.
Topping our latest developments from Iraq, a peace initiative appears to be moving forward. Members of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Militia began handing in their medium and heavy weaponry today in Baghdad's Sadr City.
The weapons are being exchanged for coupons good for cash. The deal was made to stop violence in the Baghdad slum. Iraqi police say that area is now quiet.
Ten Turkish hostages are free. The drivers and mechanics for a construction firm had been taken captive by Iraqi militants last month. A company official would neither confirm nor deny an Arab media report that the firm would pull out of Iraq. And two U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq in an attack in southern Baghdad this morning. Five others were wounded.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told Iraqis that they will have to take more control of their own security. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more on Rumsfeld's visit to Iraq.
Barbara, good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.
Well, a quiet Columbus Day holiday here in the Pentagon, but Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is on the road, finishing up that unannounced visit to Iraq, now making his way to a NATO defense minister's meeting in Romania.
But in Iraq, Mr. Rumsfeld again underscoring, as you say, that he believes it is Iraqi security forces that will have to take a leading role in the months ahead, and making it clear that he does not expect things to get better in Iraq in the immediate future.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We expect the level of violence and difficulty to increase between now and the Iraqi elections in January. So, I don't see any likelihood that we'd have a reduction in U.S. or coalition forces here in this country between now and January.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: And Iraq likely to be topic number one at that NATO Defense Minister's meeting upcoming in Romania. Mr. Rumsfeld knows one top issue -- the Polish government says it is likely to begin withdrawing its forces from Iraq next year.
So, during that defense ministers summit, behind the scenes, expect the secretary of defense to really press the case to the allies to keep their troops in Iraq, to keep them there on the scene as that election comes up.
Poland having about 2500 forces in Iraq, one of the key members of the coalition that has been such a topic of conversation during the presidential debates. Daryn.
KAGAN: All right, Barbara, thank you for that. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.
Let's head west to Washington State, Mount St. Helens -- new steam coming out from the top of that volcano yet again this morning. We're just starting to see that steam and ash, so, beginning to emanate from Mount St. Helens.
Of course this has been taking place over about the last week and a half or so. Usually the mountain waits until after this program is over. And starts at 9:00 a.m. Eastern -- at 9:00 a.m. Pacific -- time. But we will keep our eyes on that. And our thanks to our affiliate KPTV for providing those pictures.
Back to world news now. Australian Prime Minister John Howard says he has no plans to change his country's troop strength in Iraq. Mr. Howard's comment came after he won a fourth term in office.
Australian voters increased Mr. Howard's parliamentary majority in the weekend elections despite his unpopular decision to send troops to Iraq. The prime minister says that top priorities will be national security and maintaining Australia's strong economy.
An independent investigation is underway into complaints about voting irregularities in Saturday's election in Afghanistan. But observers say the ink controversy will not nullify the vote. Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour has the latest from Kabul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was back to business as usual after their landmark election. Only now people were left mulling the great ink controversy that prompted the opposition to say it would boycott the results.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (speaking foreign language): I think they're thinking of their own interests, says this shopkeeper. But in such a difficult situation for our country they should not make such threats.
AMANPOUR: He showed us his finger, ink still there and so did this woman.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (speaking foreign language): They said the ink was faulty but I even did my laundry and it hasn't come off. The election must be accepted.
AMANPOUR: Millions have come out around the country, proud to cast their first-ever vote. Men and women waited patiently in line for hours. But at some polling stations, police on hand to guarantee security, were caught up in the ink dispute.
But after crying foul, some in the opposition are now moderating their anger.
HAJI MOHAMMED MOHAQEQ, OPPOSITION CANDIDATE (through translator): I'm in the middle position. I'm not too unhappy at the result of the election, but not as happy as Mr. Karzai is. I don't know what cheating went on.
AMANPOUR: Election organizers and observers say they will investigate the complaints but not cancel the vote.
ROBERT BARRY, OBCE: We concur with the Joint Election Management Board that the candidates demand to nullify the election is unjustified. AMANPOUR (on camera): As ballot boxes began coming in from around the country, teams of vote counters settle in for a long and arduous job.
There are hundreds of ballot boxes in this one hall alone, and officials tell us even initial results won't be available for several days and then it will take a few more weeks before the final result is known.
(voice-over): But for many, the winner is a foregone conclusion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We elect -- select -- Mr. Karzai. Yes. We are happy with Mr. Karzai.
PRES. HAMID KARZAI, AFGHANISTAN: I hope that God was kind to me. So, the Afghan people will vote for me. My government will be one that will be extremely clean and in tremendous respect and regard to the vote of the Afghan people.
AMANPOUR: People overwhelmingly say they were voting for peace and security, to end the decades of war and bloodshed and to earn a decent living.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know far (INAUDIBLE) Afghan order but today I don't have any job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All the people of Afghanistan were dead (ph).
AMANPOUR: For the first time, they dream of a future where that may be a possibility.
Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Kabul, Afghanistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Well, back here in the U.S. just when things were starting to look a little bit brighter, gas prices are spiking again. We will go live to the New York Stock Exchange to check that effect.
Plus, how housewives and island castaways are propelling one broadcast network to the top.
And we'll have more on the death, and also the life, of actor Christopher Reeve. We'll talk to the spinal cord specialist who treated him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Christopher Reeve is being praised for two roles in his life: as an actor and as advocate for the disabled.
Reeve died yesterday from heart failure after falling into a coma on Saturday. He was 52.
He became a star with the 1978 movie "Superman," but much of the last decade of his life has been devoted to fighting for and funding research for spinal cord injuries.
Reeve was paralyzed from the neck down after a fall from a horse nine years ago. He never gave up hope for a full recovery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Do you still think you will walk again?
CHRISTOPHER REEVE, ACTOR/ACTIVIST: I certainly have the motto that nothing is impossible. I think the question of whether I will walk is going to depend on politics. It's going to depend on collaboration between scientists around the world.
It will depend on economics. A lot of factors that I knew very little about when I was injured eight years ago. And I think my purpose when I was 42 in saying that I would walk by the time I was 50 was to be provocative, to be a voice saying why can't we do this?
Don't tell me the reasons why not. Well, now I understand some of the difficulties not only in terms of the science, but the other forces that I was just mentioning. But I do think that these can be overcome. I just can't put a specific date on it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Reeve's widow released this statement where she says, "On behalf of my entire family, I want to thank Northern Westchester Hospital for the excellent care they provided my husband. I also want to thank his personal staff of nurses and aides as well as the millions of fans from around the world who have supported and loved my husband over the years."
Here now to talk more about Christopher Reeve is a specialist who treated the actor, Dr. Wise Young of Rutgers University -- researches spinal cord injuries.
Dr. Young, thank you for being here with us.
DR. WISE YOUNG, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: Thank you.
KAGAN: Christopher Reeve did not realize his ultimate goal of walking again and yet he did accomplish so much. First as a patient. Can you talk about the strides he was able to make?
YOUNG: Well, I'm heartbroken that he will not have the opportunity to benefit from some of the therapies that he pushed so hard for.
He was first and foremost an advocate for hope and for the cure of spinal cord injury. KAGAN: And as we look forward, as we watch progress take place, what will be some of the things that you'll have to look back and say Christopher Reeve was a big force behind this?
YOUNG: Well, since 1995 when he was injured, we have made enormous strides in spinal cord injury research. We now have treatments that are making animals walk, that are regenerating the spinal cord. Some of these therapies are reaching clinical trials for the very first time.
We're looking at the first time therapies are being applied to people with chronic spinal cord injury with the possibility of restoring function. It is so sad that Christopher will not see this. The fruits of his labors for nearly a decade now.
He was a truly remarkable man and my heart is broken. The fact that he has died so prematurely.
KAGAN: And of course he was not only a patient but a friend of yours. This is someone you met weeks after he had his accident.
What was happening in private? How difficult this struggle? He always seemed so up, so hopeful and yet I think it's almost impossible for those of us who haven't been through this or have a loved one go through this to realize truly the physical and emotional challenges that he faced on a daily basis.
YOUNG: I think most people are devastated by their injury and really cannot think beyond the injury itself and the loss that they have suffered after a spinal cord injury. Christopher was very different. He was already thinking far beyond. At six weeks after injury when I first met him, he asked me point blank he said will there be therapies that will restore function to people with spinal cord injury?
When I said yes and explained why he immediately asked you know how long it would take. And I said to him that you know if we were lucky we worked very hard and we had all the resources it might take seven years.
So, he said let's make this a goal. He wanted to stand up and toast his friends and family when he was 50 years old. Of course, we know that he's now 52, but he really has had some substantial functional recovery over time he has sensation throughout 3/4 of his body. He's been able to move certain parts of his body below his injured site.
And he has been a source of hope for both the scientists and the patients in the field.
KAGAN: And certainly that hope and that spirit will live on even though he's not with us any longer. Dr. Wise Young, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts not only on your patient but on your friend, Christopher Reeve.
YOUNG: Thank you. KAGAN: Thank you, sir.
Christopher Reeve is survived by his wife Dana and their son and two children from a previous relationship. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can anyone stop the shark menace? Look, it's the shark slayer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Slay them it did for the second straight weekend, the movie "Shark Tale" was the big fish at the box office. It pulled in almost $32 million moving on to the number one spot.
Billy Bob Thornton's "Friday Night Lights" debuted in second place. The movies "Ladder 49," "Taxi," and "The Forgotten" rounded out the top five.
Cheating housewives and a motley crew of strangers stranded on a desert isle all great news for the ABC network. ABC is going for a ratings resurgence after years of viewer decline.
Our Susan Lisovicz has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We all have moments of desperation, but if we face them head on, that's when we find out just how strong we really are.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The housewives may be desperate, but thanks to its best premier of a drama in 11 years, ABC no longer is. And early in the fall season, the network all too often known as worst in the ratings is a contender for first thanks to sex and wrecks.
"Lost," the drama about a group of island castaways, has also found an audience. As has "Boston Legal," the racy spin-off of "The Practice."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lock and load.
ANDREW WALLENSTEIN, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: Doing distinctive fresh product on TV does help. There's only so many forensic dramas viewers want to see and CBS and NBC have got more than enough of them.
LISOVICZ: The unexpected emergence of ABC is music to the ears of its parent company. Disney wanted a platform to distribute its content and spent nearly $20 billion to buy ABC in 1995, but it has largely been a disappointment ever since. SCOTT BENESCH, DIR. OF RESEARCH, U.S. TRUST: The majority of analysts on the street have the Disney or the ABC Network contributing losses this year to the overall company. Coming out of the gates with a couple of real strong shows is certainly going to help drive down.
LISOVICZ: But ABC won't reap most of the financial rewards of a ratings resurgence because the vast majority of its commercials for the fall season were sold in the spring and the annual extravaganza known as the up front.
JON MANDEL, CHMN., MEDIACOM: Media buyers buy tomorrow's media on yesterday's numbers. So, they really only have 20 percent of their inventory that they will see a gain on.
LISOVICZ (on camera): But ABC is enjoying one immediate perk, the buzz that comes with hit programming, which makes it easier to recruit talent and of a content that this networks need lots of talent to develop new ideas.
Ironically, some of the behind the scenes talent credited with developing ABC's hits aren't there to gloat. They were sacked last year before the programs ever got to air.
Susan Lisovicz, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Might want to check out cnn.com. You're going to find out which hip hop artist is working fast and furious to finish up an album before an expected jail sentence later this week. Get the who and the why by turning to cnn.com/entertainment. You'll also find reviews of the latest movies, TV shows and books at cnn.com/entertainment.
We're back in a moment with your workweek forecast.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Well, look who is blowing off some steam on this Monday morning. It's about -- coming up on 9:00 -- 8:00 -- try that again -- about 8:00 at Mount St. Helens. The volcano blowing off some steam once again.
Scientists think that this steam actually was created when part of the bubble on the south side of the dome broke off taking some of the glacier with it so that ice melts, the water seeps down and it most likely is causing the steam if there is any ash there they're saying it is just left over ash, no new ash being spewed this morning and no new earthquakes we're going to tell you about either.
So, we'll keep an eye on Mount St. Helens. We also are keeping an eye on weather across the country.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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Aired October 11, 2004 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take a look at the stories that are happening now in the news.
A U.S. Military convoy was attacked by a suicide car bomber in Mosul today. Military officials say there were casualties, but no specific numbers have been released. Mosul hospital officials say two Iraqis were killed and 37 wounded, many of them critically.
A Norwegian and an American have won this year's Nobel Prize in Economics. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences today announced that Finn Kydland and Edward Prescott would share the $1.3 million prize. The Academy said Prescott and Kydland's work changed how people look at business cycles.
Vice President Dick Cheney is attending a rally this hour in Medford, New Jersey -- a live picture from there. New Jersey being a Republican-leaning area in the state. The vice president is attacking John Kerry for comments in an interview published yesterday, suggesting Kerry isn't taking terrorism seriously enough. Later today, Cheney will make another campaign appearance in Batavia, Ohio.
Democratic Presidential (sic) Candidate John Edwards is taking part in a town hall meeting in Iowa this morning and going on to Kansas City later today. Campaigning in the Midwest over the weekend, Edwards promised to work to create more jobs and improve healthcare and child care.
And actor Christopher Reeve is being remembered today. Reeve died of heart failure yesterday after falling into a coma. Reeve became an advocate for spinal cord injury research after he was paralyzed in a fall from a horse nine years ago. Reeve was 52.
Topping our latest developments from Iraq, a peace initiative appears to be moving forward. Members of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Militia began handing in their medium and heavy weaponry today in Baghdad's Sadr City.
The weapons are being exchanged for coupons good for cash. The deal was made to stop violence in the Baghdad slum. Iraqi police say that area is now quiet.
Ten Turkish hostages are free. The drivers and mechanics for a construction firm had been taken captive by Iraqi militants last month. A company official would neither confirm nor deny an Arab media report that the firm would pull out of Iraq. And two U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq in an attack in southern Baghdad this morning. Five others were wounded.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told Iraqis that they will have to take more control of their own security. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more on Rumsfeld's visit to Iraq.
Barbara, good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.
Well, a quiet Columbus Day holiday here in the Pentagon, but Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is on the road, finishing up that unannounced visit to Iraq, now making his way to a NATO defense minister's meeting in Romania.
But in Iraq, Mr. Rumsfeld again underscoring, as you say, that he believes it is Iraqi security forces that will have to take a leading role in the months ahead, and making it clear that he does not expect things to get better in Iraq in the immediate future.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We expect the level of violence and difficulty to increase between now and the Iraqi elections in January. So, I don't see any likelihood that we'd have a reduction in U.S. or coalition forces here in this country between now and January.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: And Iraq likely to be topic number one at that NATO Defense Minister's meeting upcoming in Romania. Mr. Rumsfeld knows one top issue -- the Polish government says it is likely to begin withdrawing its forces from Iraq next year.
So, during that defense ministers summit, behind the scenes, expect the secretary of defense to really press the case to the allies to keep their troops in Iraq, to keep them there on the scene as that election comes up.
Poland having about 2500 forces in Iraq, one of the key members of the coalition that has been such a topic of conversation during the presidential debates. Daryn.
KAGAN: All right, Barbara, thank you for that. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.
Let's head west to Washington State, Mount St. Helens -- new steam coming out from the top of that volcano yet again this morning. We're just starting to see that steam and ash, so, beginning to emanate from Mount St. Helens.
Of course this has been taking place over about the last week and a half or so. Usually the mountain waits until after this program is over. And starts at 9:00 a.m. Eastern -- at 9:00 a.m. Pacific -- time. But we will keep our eyes on that. And our thanks to our affiliate KPTV for providing those pictures.
Back to world news now. Australian Prime Minister John Howard says he has no plans to change his country's troop strength in Iraq. Mr. Howard's comment came after he won a fourth term in office.
Australian voters increased Mr. Howard's parliamentary majority in the weekend elections despite his unpopular decision to send troops to Iraq. The prime minister says that top priorities will be national security and maintaining Australia's strong economy.
An independent investigation is underway into complaints about voting irregularities in Saturday's election in Afghanistan. But observers say the ink controversy will not nullify the vote. Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour has the latest from Kabul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was back to business as usual after their landmark election. Only now people were left mulling the great ink controversy that prompted the opposition to say it would boycott the results.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (speaking foreign language): I think they're thinking of their own interests, says this shopkeeper. But in such a difficult situation for our country they should not make such threats.
AMANPOUR: He showed us his finger, ink still there and so did this woman.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (speaking foreign language): They said the ink was faulty but I even did my laundry and it hasn't come off. The election must be accepted.
AMANPOUR: Millions have come out around the country, proud to cast their first-ever vote. Men and women waited patiently in line for hours. But at some polling stations, police on hand to guarantee security, were caught up in the ink dispute.
But after crying foul, some in the opposition are now moderating their anger.
HAJI MOHAMMED MOHAQEQ, OPPOSITION CANDIDATE (through translator): I'm in the middle position. I'm not too unhappy at the result of the election, but not as happy as Mr. Karzai is. I don't know what cheating went on.
AMANPOUR: Election organizers and observers say they will investigate the complaints but not cancel the vote.
ROBERT BARRY, OBCE: We concur with the Joint Election Management Board that the candidates demand to nullify the election is unjustified. AMANPOUR (on camera): As ballot boxes began coming in from around the country, teams of vote counters settle in for a long and arduous job.
There are hundreds of ballot boxes in this one hall alone, and officials tell us even initial results won't be available for several days and then it will take a few more weeks before the final result is known.
(voice-over): But for many, the winner is a foregone conclusion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We elect -- select -- Mr. Karzai. Yes. We are happy with Mr. Karzai.
PRES. HAMID KARZAI, AFGHANISTAN: I hope that God was kind to me. So, the Afghan people will vote for me. My government will be one that will be extremely clean and in tremendous respect and regard to the vote of the Afghan people.
AMANPOUR: People overwhelmingly say they were voting for peace and security, to end the decades of war and bloodshed and to earn a decent living.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know far (INAUDIBLE) Afghan order but today I don't have any job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All the people of Afghanistan were dead (ph).
AMANPOUR: For the first time, they dream of a future where that may be a possibility.
Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Kabul, Afghanistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Well, back here in the U.S. just when things were starting to look a little bit brighter, gas prices are spiking again. We will go live to the New York Stock Exchange to check that effect.
Plus, how housewives and island castaways are propelling one broadcast network to the top.
And we'll have more on the death, and also the life, of actor Christopher Reeve. We'll talk to the spinal cord specialist who treated him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Christopher Reeve is being praised for two roles in his life: as an actor and as advocate for the disabled.
Reeve died yesterday from heart failure after falling into a coma on Saturday. He was 52.
He became a star with the 1978 movie "Superman," but much of the last decade of his life has been devoted to fighting for and funding research for spinal cord injuries.
Reeve was paralyzed from the neck down after a fall from a horse nine years ago. He never gave up hope for a full recovery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Do you still think you will walk again?
CHRISTOPHER REEVE, ACTOR/ACTIVIST: I certainly have the motto that nothing is impossible. I think the question of whether I will walk is going to depend on politics. It's going to depend on collaboration between scientists around the world.
It will depend on economics. A lot of factors that I knew very little about when I was injured eight years ago. And I think my purpose when I was 42 in saying that I would walk by the time I was 50 was to be provocative, to be a voice saying why can't we do this?
Don't tell me the reasons why not. Well, now I understand some of the difficulties not only in terms of the science, but the other forces that I was just mentioning. But I do think that these can be overcome. I just can't put a specific date on it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Reeve's widow released this statement where she says, "On behalf of my entire family, I want to thank Northern Westchester Hospital for the excellent care they provided my husband. I also want to thank his personal staff of nurses and aides as well as the millions of fans from around the world who have supported and loved my husband over the years."
Here now to talk more about Christopher Reeve is a specialist who treated the actor, Dr. Wise Young of Rutgers University -- researches spinal cord injuries.
Dr. Young, thank you for being here with us.
DR. WISE YOUNG, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: Thank you.
KAGAN: Christopher Reeve did not realize his ultimate goal of walking again and yet he did accomplish so much. First as a patient. Can you talk about the strides he was able to make?
YOUNG: Well, I'm heartbroken that he will not have the opportunity to benefit from some of the therapies that he pushed so hard for.
He was first and foremost an advocate for hope and for the cure of spinal cord injury. KAGAN: And as we look forward, as we watch progress take place, what will be some of the things that you'll have to look back and say Christopher Reeve was a big force behind this?
YOUNG: Well, since 1995 when he was injured, we have made enormous strides in spinal cord injury research. We now have treatments that are making animals walk, that are regenerating the spinal cord. Some of these therapies are reaching clinical trials for the very first time.
We're looking at the first time therapies are being applied to people with chronic spinal cord injury with the possibility of restoring function. It is so sad that Christopher will not see this. The fruits of his labors for nearly a decade now.
He was a truly remarkable man and my heart is broken. The fact that he has died so prematurely.
KAGAN: And of course he was not only a patient but a friend of yours. This is someone you met weeks after he had his accident.
What was happening in private? How difficult this struggle? He always seemed so up, so hopeful and yet I think it's almost impossible for those of us who haven't been through this or have a loved one go through this to realize truly the physical and emotional challenges that he faced on a daily basis.
YOUNG: I think most people are devastated by their injury and really cannot think beyond the injury itself and the loss that they have suffered after a spinal cord injury. Christopher was very different. He was already thinking far beyond. At six weeks after injury when I first met him, he asked me point blank he said will there be therapies that will restore function to people with spinal cord injury?
When I said yes and explained why he immediately asked you know how long it would take. And I said to him that you know if we were lucky we worked very hard and we had all the resources it might take seven years.
So, he said let's make this a goal. He wanted to stand up and toast his friends and family when he was 50 years old. Of course, we know that he's now 52, but he really has had some substantial functional recovery over time he has sensation throughout 3/4 of his body. He's been able to move certain parts of his body below his injured site.
And he has been a source of hope for both the scientists and the patients in the field.
KAGAN: And certainly that hope and that spirit will live on even though he's not with us any longer. Dr. Wise Young, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts not only on your patient but on your friend, Christopher Reeve.
YOUNG: Thank you. KAGAN: Thank you, sir.
Christopher Reeve is survived by his wife Dana and their son and two children from a previous relationship. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can anyone stop the shark menace? Look, it's the shark slayer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Slay them it did for the second straight weekend, the movie "Shark Tale" was the big fish at the box office. It pulled in almost $32 million moving on to the number one spot.
Billy Bob Thornton's "Friday Night Lights" debuted in second place. The movies "Ladder 49," "Taxi," and "The Forgotten" rounded out the top five.
Cheating housewives and a motley crew of strangers stranded on a desert isle all great news for the ABC network. ABC is going for a ratings resurgence after years of viewer decline.
Our Susan Lisovicz has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We all have moments of desperation, but if we face them head on, that's when we find out just how strong we really are.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The housewives may be desperate, but thanks to its best premier of a drama in 11 years, ABC no longer is. And early in the fall season, the network all too often known as worst in the ratings is a contender for first thanks to sex and wrecks.
"Lost," the drama about a group of island castaways, has also found an audience. As has "Boston Legal," the racy spin-off of "The Practice."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lock and load.
ANDREW WALLENSTEIN, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: Doing distinctive fresh product on TV does help. There's only so many forensic dramas viewers want to see and CBS and NBC have got more than enough of them.
LISOVICZ: The unexpected emergence of ABC is music to the ears of its parent company. Disney wanted a platform to distribute its content and spent nearly $20 billion to buy ABC in 1995, but it has largely been a disappointment ever since. SCOTT BENESCH, DIR. OF RESEARCH, U.S. TRUST: The majority of analysts on the street have the Disney or the ABC Network contributing losses this year to the overall company. Coming out of the gates with a couple of real strong shows is certainly going to help drive down.
LISOVICZ: But ABC won't reap most of the financial rewards of a ratings resurgence because the vast majority of its commercials for the fall season were sold in the spring and the annual extravaganza known as the up front.
JON MANDEL, CHMN., MEDIACOM: Media buyers buy tomorrow's media on yesterday's numbers. So, they really only have 20 percent of their inventory that they will see a gain on.
LISOVICZ (on camera): But ABC is enjoying one immediate perk, the buzz that comes with hit programming, which makes it easier to recruit talent and of a content that this networks need lots of talent to develop new ideas.
Ironically, some of the behind the scenes talent credited with developing ABC's hits aren't there to gloat. They were sacked last year before the programs ever got to air.
Susan Lisovicz, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Might want to check out cnn.com. You're going to find out which hip hop artist is working fast and furious to finish up an album before an expected jail sentence later this week. Get the who and the why by turning to cnn.com/entertainment. You'll also find reviews of the latest movies, TV shows and books at cnn.com/entertainment.
We're back in a moment with your workweek forecast.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Well, look who is blowing off some steam on this Monday morning. It's about -- coming up on 9:00 -- 8:00 -- try that again -- about 8:00 at Mount St. Helens. The volcano blowing off some steam once again.
Scientists think that this steam actually was created when part of the bubble on the south side of the dome broke off taking some of the glacier with it so that ice melts, the water seeps down and it most likely is causing the steam if there is any ash there they're saying it is just left over ash, no new ash being spewed this morning and no new earthquakes we're going to tell you about either.
So, we'll keep an eye on Mount St. Helens. We also are keeping an eye on weather across the country.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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