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CNN Live Today

The Alito Hearings; Ariel Sharon's Medical Update; Baby Noor In Surgery; Buying Exercise Equipment Tips

Aired January 09, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Update us any minute now on Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's condition. And later this hour, President Bush visits an elementary school in Maryland on this the four year anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Law. More on both of those stories ahead. First, let's take a look at what's happening right "Now in the News."
Supreme Court Nominee Samuel Alito begin as huge week after having breakfast this morning with President Bush. Senate hearings into Alito's nomination kick off two hours from now. Today's session will be devoted to opening statements. Questioning starts tomorrow. CNN's "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer will have live coverage of today's hearing beginning at noon Eastern.

In Iraq, two suicide bombings today killed at least 23 Iraqi police and wounded 21 others. The twin attacks took place outside the main entrance of the Iraqi interior ministry. The bombings came during Iraqi police day celebrations.

Turkish health officials today confirmed that at least 14 people across the country have tested positive for bird flu. The number includes three children from one family who died from the disease. The World Health Organization has so far confirmed four cases in Turkey, including the deaths. The human deaths from bird flu are the first outside of East Asia.

Here in the U.S., Andrea Yates returns to a Texas courtroom this hour. Yates has been in prison since 2002 for drowning her children in the bathtub. A state appeals court overturned her convictions last year. Yates now face a new trial. Her attorney says she again will plead not guilty by reason of insanity.

It is Monday morning. Good morning, everyone, I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta.

Supreme Court Nominee Samuel Alito takes center stage today. His confirmation hearings begin less than two hours from now on Capitol Hill. Among the key issues facing Alito, his stands on abortion and the powers of the president. CNN National Correspondent Bob Franken joins us now from Capitol Hill.

Bob, good morning.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

The stakes are high, of course. The confrontations are going to be many. Samuel Alito is nominated to replace Sandra Day O'Connor. She's considered middle of the road. The so called swing vote on the court. He considered somebody who is a conservative without apology, except that the Democrats are going to be really hammering at him issues like abortion, issues like war powers and the like. The man who did nominate him, President Bush, had him over for a little gnosh this morning and then keeping his promise to take him to the Rose Garden for a brief appearance before reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's very important that members of the Senate conduct a dignified hearing. The Supreme Court's a dignified body. Sam is a dignified person. And my hope, of course, is that the Senate bring dignity to the process and give this man a fair hearing and an up or down vote on the Senate floor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: It's a lot of dignifieds. And the senators will claim that while they intend to be dignified, they also intend, particularly the Democrats, to be confrontational. And abortion is the one that everybody talks about as an issue that will cause some of the confrontation. But as the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee points out, it's not the only issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY, (D) VERMONT: I would hope nobody would make a mistake of thinking that this whole debate is going to be just on abortion. There are a whole lot of other issues, not the least of which, to what extent is the Supreme Court going to be a real check and balance or to what extent are they going to accept the position of some that at certain times the president is above the law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: And we go live now to Jerusalem. The latest on Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, (through translator): Good day to everyone. We have here Professor Mor-Yosef, the director general, and Professor Omanski (ph), the chief surgeon. Professor Mor-Yosef we give you a report on the prime minister's condition. And after that, there will be time for questions.

DR. SHLOMO MOR-YOSEF, HADASSAH HOSPITAL: Good evening. We are once again reporting on the condition of the prime minister. The prime minister is still, of course, in the neurosurgical intensive care unit. As you know, since this morning, the prime minister began to breathe spontaneously. He is still connected to the ventilator but he is breathing on his own. During the morning, we gradually reduced the anesthesia that the prime minister is receiving. The prime minister is still under sedation at this time but at a lower dosage than in the morning hours. As we reduced the dosage of the anesthesia, we did a number of examinations of the prime minister. We first checked to see that nothing changed in his vital signs. His blood pressure, pulse, the intracranial pressure and breathing rate.

Later, we did a number of pain stimuli tests and this involves pressure in a certain place which causes pain to a normal person and, as a result of this pain stimulus, we checked to see how the patient responds or we checked to see how Prime Minister Ariel Sharon responded. In the pain stimulus test we did today, a number of times we noted that the prime minister, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, slightly moved his right arm and right leg. This was a very slight movement but it is a significant one.

We are continuing, as I stated earlier, in the reduction of the dosage of the anesthesia. And the pain stimulus and the response of the prime minister were also accompanied by a rise in blood pressure, which in this case is also a positive response. So all in all I repeat and I emphasize, the prime minister is in serious condition.

This does not change the serious condition in which the prime minister is found. But after examining the brain functions of the prime minister, we can see signs starting with the spontaneous breathing by the prime minister and the slight movements of the prime minister's arm and leg. And we must note that these movements during the day changed. They were increasingly significant as we reduced the dosage of the anesthesia during the day.

That is our statement at this time. And I am proud to be standing here next to Professor Omanski. Professor Omanski is the director of the neurosurgical department of Hadassah. He is the head of the team that operated on the prime minister in all three surgeries. He is the chief of the team that is caring for the prime minister in the neurosurgical intensive care unit. I asked Professor Omanski to come down here despite the fact that he is very busy with his care of the prime minister, 24 hours a day since the prime minister has arrived, and he has agreed to answer your questions. Thank you very much.

QUESTION, (through translator): What was the most optimistic moment during all the examinations you conducted of the prime minister? And can we say that there has been improvement?

PROFESSOR OMANSKI, (through translator): Yes, definitely. We began, as Professor Mor-Yosef has explained. We began very gradually to reduce the level of the anesthesia. The first thing was that he began to breathe spontaneously. That was an important step.

And secondly, he also gradually began to respond to pain stimulus. And this is a very important thing in his condition.

QUESTION, (through translator): What are the coming tests you are planning to carry out on the prime minister?

OMANSKI: It is too early to speak about cognitive function. We are constantly testing the prime minister and examining and reducing the level of the anesthesia. In order to reach a state where we can examine cognitive functions, that will take a number of days. We will continue to care for him. We will give him the medications that he needs to receive. We will continue to reduce the levels of anesthesia and we'll continue to test him. That's what we have on schedule for today.

QUESTION, (through translator): What is the next stage you expect to see in the prime minister's -- in the progression of his condition?

OMANSKI: That the pain responses be more significant. That we see more significant movement of his limbs. That should be followed by opening the eyes, opening of the eyes. But as I said, a number of days can pass from one stage to the next and gradually that he reach an even better stage than that.

Why are you asking about the left lobe? He was operated on the right side.

QUESTION, (through translator): When will you stop giving the prime minister anesthesia intravenously? And when will it be possible to wake him up?

OMANSKI: These two things don't necessarily go together because the moment we stop the anesthesia completely, there are still traces of the substances in the bloodstream. So stopping the anesthesia will be carried out by the members of the team, the anaesthesiologist on the team. And they will decide in accordance with the responses of the prime minister regarding the tempo and the rate at which the dosage will be reduced further.

QUESTION, (through translator): What parameters need to be seen in the examination so that the prime minister can be defined as not being in serious condition any longer?

OMANSKI: It's difficult to say just now. Certainly the moment the prime minister can speak to us and sit up, or sit next to his bed in an armchair, then we'll be able to say that he is no longer in serious condition. The moment that he is conscious, as I have said, and speaks to us and all his systems work the way they should and there are no complications, then we can say that he is no longer in serious condition. I have explained, we need only to monitor the prime minister's movements and to understand that this is a very, very gradual process.

QUESTION, (through translator): Is there a chance that you may decide to sedate him once again?

OMANSKI: Yes, it's possible.

QUESTION, (through translator): Can you give us the results of his Glasgow (ph) tests? And has he opened his eyes? Did he look around?

OMANSKI: No, his glasgo -- this is a professional test. It's not important now. He has not yet opened his eyes. Thank you very much.

KAGAN: We've been listening into a news conference in Jerusalem. The doctors of Ariel Sharon giving the latest on the prime minister's status, saying that they are reducing the amount of sedation he has. And as they do that, they're finding he is able to breath on his own, although still on a ventilator, and that he is responding to pain stimuli. But they say it is way, way too early to talk about any potential brain damage or the prime minister's cognitive function at this time.

Our Fionnuala Sweeney is standing by in Jerusalem with more on the story.

Fionnuala.

FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, certainly this is news that could not have been anticipated, five, maybe even four days ago when Ariel Sharon went in for that second round of surgery which lasted four hours. He is -- the prime minister now 77 years of age. Of rather portly stature. And he has managed to survive three major operations within the last five days.

And as you heard there, the professor, Shlomo Mor-Yosef of this hospital, saying that they were reducing the anesthesia. And as they reduced the dosage giving to him, they began to notice that he was responding to pain stimuli. He twitched or moved his right arm and his right leg. And those movements and responses grew as the day went by.

Now they're going to continue to monitor him, of course, 24 hours, around the clock. But they do still say that this news does not change his condition. The prime minister is still in very serious condition. But it has stabilized and it does seem to be improving. Even when his blood pressure rose during the day that, too, was a positive indication. So all his vital signs operating within the normal range.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Fionnuala Sweeney, live from Jerusalem, thank you for that.

Now back here in the United States. Let's give you the latest on Vice President Dick Cheney. Just a couple hours ago, the vice president was released from a Washington hospital. He was rushed there overnight suffering from shortness of breath. Doctors conclude the problem was not serious and likely tied to the medication he is taking for a foot ailment. He made light of that foot problem just a few days ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm using a cane today and it's driving the press nuts. They keep asking my staff, what happened to the vice president? You know, is it serious? And so I said, no, Secretary Rumsfeld bit me in the ankle. Not to worry. But don't tell him I said that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Well, he might just know now. Mr. Cheney has had a history of serious health problems, including several heart attacks.

Doctors for the lone survivor of the West Virginia mine tragedy have updated his condition. We'll have that for you just ahead.

Also, President Bush is going to school. Just about 10 minutes from now, the commander in chief will be speaking at an elementary school in Maryland talking about the No Child Left Behind Act.

But first, baby Noor now in surgery. A little Iraqi girl in need of life saving surgery is getting it right here, right now, in Atlanta. We're live from the hospital when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: And the markets have been open about 50 minutes. And you can see, just getting a little bit going in a positive direction on this Monday morning. The Dow up 12, almost 13 points. We're keeping an eye on the big number of 11,000. As you can see, it's just about 28, 27 points away from hitting that magic number. Also the Nasdaq is up. It is up just over three points.

Today could be the beginning of a new life for baby Noor, the Iraqi infant brought to the U.S. for life-saving surgery. That operation got underway this morning in Atlanta as doctors try to surgically repair the life threatening birth defect that inspired an international mission of goodwill. CNN's David Mattingly is outside Children's Health Care of Atlanta with the latest on the baby.

Hi, David.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, surgery is underway right now. It got started about 7:30 this morning as scheduled. It's supposed to last three to three and a half hours. And we expect to have some preliminary word for you sometime after that.

It's a very delicate procedure, as you might guess. The doctors will be going in to remove a fluid filled sac that is on her back covering the opening that leads to her spine. This severe form of spina bifida that she was born with means that her spinal column did not develop completely. So once they remove the sac and locate her spinal cord, they will position the cord will it belongs. Then they will wrap it and seal it in muscle tissue. And as if that weren't difficult enough, then a plastic surgeon will step in to try and cover that rather large opening in her lower back. So a very special and very difficult day for a very special little girl.

Daryn.

KAGAN: So they're going to try to do everything in one surgery or does the baby face more surgery before she goes back to Iraq? MATTINGLY: There will be other surgeries most likely in this case. But right now, just addressing the deformities from the spina bifida. They will be watching her very closely and evaluating her by the hour looking for any sort of fluid build-up on her brain. We're told by doctors that usually eight to nine out of 10 patients with this condition will require additional surgery, putting in a tube into the brain that will stay there permanently the rest of their lives to siphon off excess fluid that builds up in the brain after these sorts of procedures. So this is the first step in what's going to be a lifetime of specialized medical treatment for her.

KAGAN: David Mattingly live here in Atlanta. Thank you.

And in the next hour we'll be talking to a leading pediatrician on the topic of spina bifida. About the future for baby Noor. Also, what we can all learn in terms of creating healthy babies here in the U.S..

So if you're going to keep the new year's resolution to lose weight and stay in shape, you're going to need the right exercise equipment. Gerri Willis has some advice.

Ger.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Daryn, good to see you.

We're going to show you how to lose weight, not your wallet. "Five Tips" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: With the new year, many of you are making resolutions about getting or staying in shape. Maybe considering buying exercise equipment to use in your home. Before you do, you'll want to listen to today's "Top Five Tips." Our Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis has that from New York.

Hello.

WILLIS: Hi there, Daryn.

I saw you doing the treadmill there.

KAGAN: Yes.

WILLIS: That was very impressive.

KAGAN: That was actually my best elliptical.

WILLIS: I'm very impressed. Well, you know, and it goes to the first point we want to make here. You've got to try out that gym equipment before you actually buy. And the easiest way to do that really is to take up one of the local gyms on their free week-long pass that way you can try out that elliptical trainer or maybe that recumbent bike and see what really works for you.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Tip, Ger.

WILLIS: Well, bikes are great for starters. I think, look, you can get a recumbent bike. You can get the regular, old fashioned bike where you sort of hunch over. But stationary bikes are great for people who are just starting an exercise regime. Or if you've been injured in the past. You know, as you get older, your knees, they're not what they used to be and bikes can be a great way to get exercise without injuring your joints.

A recumbent bike, which is probably the easiest on your joints, is going to cost you about $500. That's what you're going to have to bank on. And a great place to go to get some real suggestions on brand names is ConsumerReports.org. They just did a huge story on this. They've tested all this equipment. They have great suggestions.

KAGAN: And onward.

WILLIS: And onward, let's talk about infomercials. Daryn, I know you see these late night, right? These infomercials are crazy and you think, is this stuff good or not? Fact is, the folks at "Consumer Reports" have seen some really great ones. They include it in their review. But for the most part, you've got to be skeptical about any offer that says, hey, look, it's easy to get in shape.

So be sure to start out buying something that doesn't cost that much. Start out with a jump rope, the hand weights, things that you can use on your own where you don't have to spend a ton of money.

And, Daryn, want to talk a little, too, about treadmills because that's the number one choice for so many people out there. You want to think folding treadmill, not the old fashioned kind. Here's why. They're cheaper. About $2,000 versus $3,000. So they make a lot more sense.

And what is more, they're much more versatile. You can fold them up, put them away. They're easier to use. And, you know, if you're actually using your treadmill as a rack to put clothes on, you know you're in trouble there.

Be sure to get the right warranty when you're talking about equipment. And this is critical. Normally we say, hey, you know, the warranties aren't that important. Don't buy them or get a shorter period of time. I'm saying just the opposite today. If you're buying expensive gym equipment, make sure you get as much warranty as possible. Don't go 90 days. Go a year. You want to have not only the parts covered but also labor. And you can even buy the extended warranty. I know that sounds crazy, Daryn, but this gym equipment is really expensive to fix if it goes wrong, so you want to make sure you're covered.

And want to share with you, Daryn, I don't know if you've got any kind of exercise equipment at home but sometimes they just turn into really expensive clothes racks, right? KAGAN: It can happen.

WILLIS: See what I'm talking about here?

KAGAN: Yes, I know. I know.

WILLIS: You don't want to go there.

KAGAN: No. Got an elliptical this year and I really do use it and I really like it.

WILLIS: You were just naturally svelte.

KAGAN: That's not true. That is not true. We'll talk, though.

WILLIS: OK. I want tips.

KAGAN: A different five tips.

Gerri, thank you.

WILLIS: You're welcome.

KAGAN: Let's go ahead and take a look at what's happening "Now in the News."

First of all, live pictures -- actually not live pictures, just pictures taken moments ago from Baltimore. President Bush is going to a suburban element school there. He is talking about the four-year anniversary of No Child Left Behind. Set to go to the North Glen Elementary in Glen Burnie. There you go. There's Mrs. Bush as well. Has a big interest in education. This particular school is being singled out because apparently it has eliminated the achievement gap between black and white pupils to mark this four-year anniversary of No Child Left Behind. Critics, of course, think that there's too much testing that takes place and that there's too much focus on that and not enough on learning.

Other news today. Vice President Dick Cheney returns home after being hospitalized about four hours this morning in Washington. A statement from his office says he went to the hospital experiencing shortness of breath and that it had nothing to do with his heart problem. It adds that doctors determined Mr. Cheney was retaining fluid because of medication he's taking for a foot ailment.

Doctors say Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has slightly moved his right arm and leg in response to pain stimuli and that he's still breathing on his own. They have been reducing sedation to bring him out of a medically induced coma. Mr. Sharon's condition remains critical but stable. He suffered a massive stroke last week and has had to have surgery to stop the bleeding and increased pressure on the brain.

Doctors at Children's Healthcare in Atlanta say baby Noor is undergoing the surgery she needs badly to correct a birth defect. The three-month-old Iraqi infant suffers from a severe case of spina bifida. Doctors have tentatively planned a second surgery on baby Noor later this week. Much more on spina bifida ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY.

Two suicide bombers struck outside of Iraq's interior ministry today during police day celebrations. At least 23 people were killed. According to Reuters, the bombers were dressed as senior police officer and had hard-to-get security passes.

The U.S. military says eight U.S. troops and four American civilians were killed when one of its helicopters crashed late Saturday in Northern Iraq near the Syrian boarder. The Blackhawk helicopter was similar to the one seen in this file video. The crash is still under investigation.

And in New York, the pilot who passed out at the helm of a Staten Island Ferry two years ago faces sentencing today. Both Assistant Captain Richard Smith and chief of ferry operations, Patrick Ryan, will likely get less than a year in prison for their guilty pleas. Families of the 11 people who died in the accident say the proposed punishment is far to lenient.

There is new information about the recovery of the lone West Virginia coal miner to survive last week's underground explosion. The latest when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.

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