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American Morning

Cheney Hospitalized; Baby Noor Surgery; Growing Political Scandal

Aired January 09, 2006 - 06:31   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning. Vice President Dick Cheney in the hospital. Just about 30 minutes ago, we learned he had been taken there after experiencing shortness of breath. More on this in just a moment.
A big day for baby Noor. The little Iraqi girl is set to undergo surgery here in the U.S. We'll have a live report.

And the lobbyist scandal in Washington has many in Congress checking their finances. But should President Bush be worried? We'll take a look at that.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome, everybody.

M. O'BRIEN: It's Monday. Did you have a good weekend?

S. O'BRIEN: I had a great weekend. How about you?

M. O'BRIEN: A little skiing.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, me too.

M. O'BRIEN: Snowboarding for the kids. They are black and blue. But they were laughing the whole time. So, it must be good.

S. O'BRIEN: I never see snowboarders actually go down. I just see them fall down. That's it.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, pretty much it's a weavel (ph) kind of thing.

We have some important news to tell you about this morning, breaking news. We just learned that Vice President Dick Cheney was taken to George Washington University Hospital in Washington this morning. He has a history, of course, of heart problems, as you know. He is experiencing shortness of breath.

Elaine Quijano is on the phone with us now.

Elaine, this appears to be unrelated, however, to his cardiac condition, right?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right. According to the information that we've been given by Leon McBride (ph), who is with the vice president's office. She says around 3:00 a.m. this morning the vice president went to George Washington University Hospital, as you mentioned, experiencing shortness of breath at the time. His doctors found that an EKG of his was unchanged, however, and they determined that he was retaining fluid as a result of anti-inflammatory medication that he had been taking for a foot problem.

Now, we're told that they have placed him on a diuretic, and he is expected to return home later today.

Now, of course, it was last week -- in fact, last Friday -- that we saw the vice president walking with a cane. And at that time the vice president's office said that was because of an old injury involving his Achilles heel.

Now, the vice president's office said at the time that his left foot was being treated with anti-inflammatory medicine. And this morning, again, we are learning at 3:00 a.m. this morning the vice president went to George Washington University Hospital, apparently retaining fluid as a result of anti-inflammatory medication -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Elaine, what do we know about this old injury?

QUIJANO: We are told that apparently the foot problem was an osteoarthritis flare-up, something that he has had, a condition that acts up from time to time, we are told. It stiffens up. Usually it goes away after a day or two.

So, it's a recurring condition. And that is why he was walking around with the cane. Again, at this point, although the vice president has had a history of heart trouble, it appears to be unrelated at this time.

M. O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano on the line with us from Washington as we follow the vice president in the hospital this morning. We'll keep you posted on his condition. As we get more information we'll bring it to you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Now to this remarkable story of baby Noor, the Iraqi infant who was born with a severe form of spina bifida. Well, doctors in Atlanta this morning are going to attempt to perform life-saving surgery on the baby.

Let's get right to CNN's David Mattingly. He's in Atlanta this morning.

Hey, David, good morning.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

The incredible journey for this little baby continues. It was just a little over a month ago that Iraqi doctors were giving baby Noor just 45 days to live. That was because they were not able to treat the severe form of spina bifida that she was born with.

Well, she's in the United States now, and that is about to change for her here at an Atlanta hospital.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY (voice over): Her name is the Arabic word for light. And even her doctors say they have been touched by the bright eyes and beaming smiles of tiny baby Noor. But they are now counting on that energy to bring the 3-month-old Iraqi through a series of surgeries needed to save her life.

A severe type of the birth defect spina bifida left a portion of the child's spinal cord curled outward and exposed in a fluid-filled sac protruding from her back. Doctors will have to drain the fluid, cut a circular opening to reposition the spinal cord and then close the hole in her lower back.

DR. ROGER HUDGINS, NEUROSURGEON: Once we take that sac off we're going to be left with a relatively large hole in the skin. We're going to close that with the help of a pediatric plastic surgeon.

MATTINGLY: Neurosurgeon Roger Hudgins says baby Noor's condition is more complicated than most. The growth on her back is almost twice as large as he usually sees, and a layer of skin has grown over it. That skin has helped protect her from life-threatening infection, but it also makes surgery more difficult.

HUDGINS: First, from a technical standpoint, the first thing that we do in a surgery like this is find the spinal cord. Usually that's very easy, because it's right there on the surface and you know where you can and you can't go. In this situation, and looking at her large sac, I don't see the spinal cord, again, because it's covered with skin that's grown in.

MATTINGLY: At the time she was discovered in her Iraqi home by members of the Georgia National Guard, doctors there had given baby Noor a month-and-a-half to live. The remarkable humanitarian effort to bring her to Atlanta for treatment is expected to save her life. But the life she will have will be far from normal.

(on camera): Will she ever be able to walk?

HUDGINS: I don't think so at this point.

MATTINGLY (voice over): A lack of response in her legs suggests permanent damage. Doctors also worry about a build-up of fluid on her brain, seen here in the dark areas of a CAT scan. A tube will likely be permanently inserted into her brain to siphon off the excess fluid. Other surgeries may also be necessary to address drainage problems with her bladder.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And they will be watching her very closely over the next couple of days. Doctors tell us that 8 to 9 out of 10 patients in her condition do require that procedure, Soledad, to remove the fluid from her brain.

S. O'BRIEN: All right. We're all watching it. David Mattingly for us this morning. David, thanks.

Other stories making news. Carol has got that.

Good morning again.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to all of you.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is starting to breathe on his own, a sign he is coming out of a medically-induced coma. Doctors announcing earlier today that they're lowering his sedatives. The prime minister has been in the hospital since Wednesday when he suffered a major stroke. Doctors say his condition is still critical. But a brain scan from Sunday shows improvement and his vital signs look good this morning.

Randy McCloy, Jr., the lone survivor of the coal mine accident in West Virginia, could open his eyes soon. Doctors say the sedatives are starting to wear off, and he could come out of a medically-induced coma within the next couple of days.

In the meantime, more funeral services are set for today in honor of the 12 miners who died. West Virginia's governor is holding a news conference later this morning.

Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito heading to the White House in the next hour. Judge Alito will join President Bush for breakfast before facing the Senate Judiciary Committee for his first confirmation hearing. CNN will have live coverage of that hearing. Join Wolf Blitzer for an extended edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM." That begins at noon Eastern.

And the bird flu may be spreading in Turkey. Health officials confirm five new cases of the deadly strain. Three children there died from the virus last week. A team from the World Health Organization is on the scene. Fourteen people in Turkey are now confirmed with the bird flu.

Let's head to the forecast center in Atlanta to check in with Chad. Good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol. It's so nice to see you're back.

COSTELLO: Thank you so much.

MYERS: Where were you?

COSTELLO: It's so much to see you're back on AMERICAN MORNING. Where have you been?

MYERS: I've been playing Mr. Mom. But my wife wanted her job back. So...

COSTELLO: Yes, and I bet you did too.

MYERS: Yes, I did actually.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: Nice temperatures. It's absolutely warm out there.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. And balmy as they say.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, dare we say the "R" word? Are we heading to a recession? Andy is "Minding Your Business."

S. O'BRIEN: And then coming up after that, a series of political scandals on Capitol Hill. Will more big names be brought down? We're going to take a look just ahead as we continue on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Breaking news this morning from Washington, D.C. Vice President Dick Cheney is in the hospital. He was taken to George Washington Hospital early this morning, suffering from shortness of breath. Doctors say he might be retaining fluid because of medication that he's been taking for a foot problem. He's expected to be released later today. We're going to have much more on the story and his condition throughout this morning.

Faced with felony charges, Texas Congressman Tom DeLay is giving up his majority leadership post for good. Between DeLay's money laundering trial and the scandal involving Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, corruption would really be center stage in this year's mid- term elections. Should the White House be worried?

Let's get right to "TIME" magazine's Mike Allen. He is the White House correspondent for "TIME" magazine, and he's in Washington, D.C. this morning.

Good morning to you. Nice to see you as always.

MIKE ALLEN, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Happy Monday, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much. Let me ask you a question. You report that the White House never really liked Tom DeLay. Tell me about that. Why not?

ALLEN: Well, Soledad, the White House appreciated Tom DeLay. They knew what he could do. He could get things done. Mr. DeLay always reminded me of the line in "Wedding Crashers": Rule number 76, no excuses. Play like champions. When they needed something done, he could deliver. They also appreciated and needed his relations with Washington's lobbying community.

So, Soledad, even before Mr. DeLay gave up his leadership post, they had a little delayed nostalgia because of how effective he was.

However, both sides described it as a professional rather than a personal relationship. And, Soledad, you know this president is inclined to embrace people. He called him Tommy. But even though they were both conservative Texans, there was never a particular warmth there. All of the reasons weren't obvious.

One part of it was that Mr. DeLay was one of the few and certainly the most prominent Texas Republicans to rise without the help of Mr. Bush's -- the president's top strategist, Karl Rove. So, you already had sort of two camps fueling there.

And there was a class difference. One thing that a lot of people -- a subtlety about the president that a lot of people don't appreciate is even though he's raised more political money than anyone in history -- $300 million in this campaign -- the president doesn't really like to hang out or hobnob with the contributors. He really doesn't like to hang out. He doesn't like extraneous people on F1, in his car, in his holding rooms.

And so, he always kept those people at something of a distance. And there was a recognition in the White House that Mr. DeLay was always involved in some sort of controversy involving finances. So he sort of kept his distance for that reason.

S. O'BRIEN: So then is there a concern, do you think, that this scandal could reach all the way to the White House?

ALLEN: Soledad, that's a great question. I think to some degree they'll be protected by the fact that they did push these people away. There are a lot of e-mails suggesting that even though the lobbyist, Jack Abramoff, was seeking meetings, seeking favors, it's not clear that he got them. And I know from talking to people who got some of those requests that there was a recognition certainly after year one, year two that he was trouble.

On the other hand, the White House is under no illusion that the general influence peddling scandal could hurt the Republican brand in general. They're extremely concerned about it.

It's funny, Soledad. You talk to people on Capitol Hill, and they say, oh, it's not as bad as it looks. It's, you know, six, seven, eight people, not 20. If you talk to some people in the White House, they're very concerned. They know there are a lot of threads on this sweater.

And, Soledad, there's nothing the president wants less than to have a Democratic majority for his last two years of his presidency. That's going to mean a ton of investigations. It's going to make it much harder to get things done. They do not want to have that happen.

So, in recent days there was a realization in the White House that Mr. DeLay had become a liability. They did not stop him from making this move to permanently give up his leadership post.

And I'm told -- and this reflects this sort of complicated nature of the relationship -- there was no glee or no pleasure in that. It was just a cold calculation that they're trying to get things done, push a message, and he was in the middle of every story.

S. O'BRIEN: We only have a few seconds left. But I want to ask you a question about, is the White House now going around and trying to figure out just how involved Jack Abramoff was with the White House, per se? I mean, does he have any photographs, things like that?

ALLEN: Well, it's funny that you should ask that, because indeed there has been a lot of attention devoted to that in recent days. Mr. Abramoff was one of the president's pioneers, one of the people who raised, not gave but raised or collected, at least $100,000 for the president's campaign. So that means he was at events. I'm told clearly he was at Hanukkah and holiday parties. And that means that there are probably photographs of him and the president.

And they're looking around to see exactly what the involvement or what the exposure is. He had a number of visits to the White House, including one separate from those holiday parties. And they're trying to track down what exactly every one of those visits was. And I think you'll see the White House very quickly put out a list of what all of those were.

S. O'BRIEN: Interesting. Mike Allen from "TIME" magazine. Mike, as always, thanks.

ALLEN: Have an awesome week, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you. Likewise.

ALLEN: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Andy is "Minding Your Business" just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. He'll come up right after the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, a preview of the confirmation hearings for Judge Samuel Alito. Will the Supreme Court nominee answer questions on those hot button topics, like abortion? We're going to check in with Alito's top advisor. That's a little bit later this morning. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: It's balmy in New York City this morning. Andy is here. He'll be "Minding Your Business" shortly. But first the headlines with Carol.

Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning, Miles. Good morning to all of you.

We are following breaking news out of Washington this morning. Vice President Dick Cheney is in the hospital. He drove himself to George Washington University Hospital just about four hours ago. He was complaining of shortness of breath. Doctors say it appears he's retaining fluid from the anti-inflammatory medicine he's taking for a foot problem. He is expected to return home later today.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is breathing on his own. Doctors at that Jerusalem hospital where Sharon is gravely ill have begun bringing the Israeli leader out of a medically-induced coma. His condition remains critical but stable, and doctors say they've seen some progress in a brain scan. We'll get a live update for you from Jerusalem in just about 15 minutes.

Another patient to report on, Randy McCloy, the lone survivor of that West Virginia mining accident, had been going through pressurized oxygen treatments at a hospital in Pittsburgh. He was taken back to the Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown. Doctors say McCloy's physical condition continues to improve, although he is still in critical condition. Funerals for six of those miners were held on Sunday. More are planned for today and tomorrow.

Judge Samuel Alito gets his chance today. President Bush's pick to join the Supreme Court goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Democrats are threatening to filibuster based on how Alito responds to questions about the abortion issue. CNN will have live coverage of the Alito hearing for you in an extended "SITUATION ROOM" report with Wolf Blitzer. It starts at noon Eastern.

Wildfires in Colorado have firefighters busy again today. At least five homes were destroyed along with 6,000 acres in the Spanish Peaks area. In northern Colorado, a smaller fire forced residents of at least three dozen homes to evacuate near Carter Lake. Those homeowners have now returned.

So any good news for firefighters in Colorado? Let's go to the man who may know.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: The stock market is getting closer to a major milestone. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" this morning.

Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning. But we've been saying that for weeks.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, you have.

SERWER: Dow 11,000.

S. O'BRIEN: We, we, you.

SERWER: We. We have been trying to get there for a while, Soledad. What's up about that?

M. O'BRIEN: Are there cupcakes involved in this deal?

SERWER: No, no.

M. O'BRIEN: Or is that just Google? SERWER: No. That's just Google.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

SERWER: A bunch of things to discuss this morning. First of all, billionaire, super investor, liberal activist George Soros is said to be in negotiations to buy the film library of DreamWorks. DreamWorks says "Gladiator" -- is that "Gladiator" there?

S. O'BRIEN: It is.

SERWER: It sure is. Russell Crowe. "American Beauty" and other films. You may remember that DreamWorks was bought by Paramount except for the film library portion of that.

Meanwhile, George Soros, a super investor, is warning the U.S. faces a recession in 2007. He was speaking in Singapore the other day. And he's worth listening to because he knows his stuff about markets.

It doesn't seem to be impacting the markets so far this year though. We are streaking off to a beautiful start. On Wall Street, you can see here, these are the numbers for the week. And that is some terrific stuff there, particularly the Nasdaq.

It appears the January effect is in effect. Now, the January effect happens when investors sell stock in December for tax purposes and then buy them back in early January, which sometimes, sometimes, makes the markets go up. Only 41 points away from Dow 11,000, by the way there...

S. O'BRIEN: It could happen.

SERWER: ... as you can see.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

SERWER: And finally one stock in the news this morning, Tyco. That, of course, is a big conglomerate run by disgraced former chief Dennis Kozlowski, possibly in talks to break up the conglomerate. And on Wall Street, you know, they put them together only to take them apart a few weeks later.

M. O'BRIEN: Tear them apart and put them back together another way.

SERWER: That's how those investment bankers make all of that money, I think.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, they do.

M. O'BRIEN: The living (ph).

SERWER: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Andy. S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Andy.

SERWER: You're welcome.

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up on the program, the latest on the condition of Vice President Dick Cheney. Cheney is in the hospital this morning after experiencing shortness of breath, apparently a complication from some medication. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will join us shortly to help us understand what's going on. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MYERS: And welcome back.

(WEATHER REPORT)

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