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American Morning

Vice President Cheney Briefly Hospitalized; Samuel Alito Confirmation Hearings; Rite of Passage

Aired January 09, 2006 - 08:59   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
An early morning health scare for Vice President Dick Cheney. Now he's out of the hospital. We'll take you live to Washington for more on this developing story.

And it could be a rough day for Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito. He'll be facing the first round of questions in his confirmation hearings. A live report is just ahead.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Miles O'Brien.

Doctors are trying to bring Ariel Sharon out of his medically induced coma this morning. There's still a major concern over whether the Israeli prime minister will ever fully recover.

And we just heard from doctors treating the Sago Mine survivor, Randy McCloy. A live update on his condition just ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

S. O'BRIEN: Welcome everybody. We've got some breaking news to get to out of Washington, D.C. This word coming to us from an official at the Justice Department.

Apparently, the Justice Department is being evacuated. They say it's being done out of an abundance of caution because there is a suspicious package that's on a bus that's parked on 9th Street, right adjacent to the Justice Department.

So they have now evacuated the Justice Department. That is all the information we have at this time. We're going to continue to update you on the story as soon as we get more word on it.

M. O'BRIEN: And now the latest on the vice president for you.

Dick Cheney left George Washington Hospital a short time ago. The vice president rushed there about 3:00 in the morning feeling shortness of breath. He was treated for a buildup of fluid around his heart. That doesn't seem to be a direct connection to his heart problems, however.

Elaine Quijano live at the White House with more.

Good morning, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Miles.

Apparently, this was related to medication that the vice president was taking for a recurring foot problem. Doctors at George Washington University Hospital have said that as a result of that medication, the vice president apparently was retaining fluid.

Now, he spent a few hours at the hospital, as you mentioned. You mentioned, also, he does have a history of heart problems. He has had four heart attacks in the past. But doctors found that this morning his EKG remained unchanged.

Now, the medicine that he was taking was anti-inflammatory medication. Doctors this morning placed him on a diuretic. And about four hours or so after being taken to the hospital he left. His wife, Lynne Cheney, was with him.

And last Friday, of course, we saw the vice president walking with a cane. At that time, his office said that it was because of an old injury involving his Achilles heel. Officials say that was a condition that usually goes away after a day or two, but it was his left foot which was being treated with the anti-inflammatory medication. The vice president, we're told, out of the hospital right now -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano at the White House.

Thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's stay in Washington, D.C., and bring you two more big stories from Capitol Hill this morning.

Supreme Court confirmation hearings only a few hours away. President Bush and his nominee, Judge Samuel Alito, met for breakfast this morning. Expect Democrats to press Alito on abortion.

And the other big story this morning is about who is going to lead Republicans in the House now, now that Tom DeLay has resigned the majority leader position.

AMERICAN MORNING'S Bob Franken watching all of these stories from Capitol Hill.

Hey, Bob. Good morning again.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. And we'll start with Judge Alito.

The chairman of the committee, Senator Arlen Specter, is expected in his opening remarks to talk about "a heavy sense of drama" as these hearings begin. And indeed, that's the case.

The first day is devoted to mainly opening statements. In fact, entirely opening statements. The senators, Democrat and Republican, will be establishing their turf by putting their markers down. Alito will get the chance to make his opening statement at the end of the day, before the really tough questioning begins tomorrow. So thus far, he's had the easy part.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN (voice over): Alito will head from a friendly White House breakfast with the president to a good old fashioned grilling by Democrats over his extensive record.

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: He has a record 15 years as a judge. So there's a lot of material there.

FRANKEN: The issues confronting the conservative Alito are as politically and legally primal as they get -- abortion, for instance. Throughout most of his career he has expressed personal and constitutional objections.

SEN. SAM BROWNBACK (R-KS), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: On abortion I don't think he has to be specific at all because it's an active area case law.

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D-VT), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Judge Alito faces a great deal of difficulty if he does not answer questions.

FRANKEN: Many of the questions will be inspired by the raging controversies over electronic surveillance and treatment of enemy combatant detainees. Alito has consistently favored strong presidential power.

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA), CHAIRMAN, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: There has to be a balance with our constitutional rights.

SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D-MA), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: He has to -- he has to demonstrate to the committee that he has a core commitment to constitutional values and constitutional protections.

FRANKEN: In the lead-up to these hearings, well-financed interest groups have kept up the pressure for and against Alito in the form of paid advertising.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Samuel Alito is no moderate, but he plays one on TV.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every day desperate liberals make up a steady drip of attacks against Judge Samuel Alito.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: Now, Soledad, let's end this report about the Alito nomination with a cliche: the stakes are very high here.

S. O'BRIEN: You know what, though, they say about cliches? They're true a lot of the time, no question about that.

All right. Let me turn and talk about -- about Tom DeLay. He obviously has now officially given up his gig.

Who is in the running for it?

FRANKEN: Well, nothing cliche about this story. This is one the Republicans are caught up in what seems to be quite the scandal.

Tom DeLay has been a central figure in much of the discussion about this, so he decided over the weekend to resign his post as majority leader. He had temporarily stepped aside.

Those who are trying to replace him include the man who temporarily took his place, the majority whip, Roy Blunt of Missouri, and then John Boehner. Boehner is a very interesting story.

He had been one of the leadership people brought in by Newt Gingrich when the Republicans took over. Boehner was shunted aside. As the years went on, became chairman of the Education Committee. Now he wants to come back up and take over in the leadership again.

S. O'BRIEN: All right. Bob Franken for us this morning.

Thanks, Bob.

Live coverage, we should mention, of the confirmation hearing begins at noon Eastern. A special edition in "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer.

Also this morning, we'll be talking to Senator Patrick Leahy. He, of course, is on the Senate Judiciary Committee. We'll talk to him about all those topics as well -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Funerals for three victims of the Sago Mine tragedy will be held later today. Six other victims were laid to rest yesterday. The streets around Upshur County, West Virginia, crowded with family and friends heading to and from those funerals and memorials.

Meanwhile, there are new developments this morning on the condition of the sole survivor, Randy McCloy.

Let's get right to that with CNN's Chris Huntington, who is at the hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia.

What's the latest update, Chris?

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, just moments ago, doctors here who are treating Randy McCloy at West Virginia University Hospital Center here gave us some more detail about Randy's condition.

The headline is they are saying, they're describing his neurological status as stable but relatively unchanged from what they had seen in the past day. But there are some important details.

First, they're saying that his coma has lightened. They took him off the sedative yesterday at noon that had been keeping him in the medically induced coma. They do so, though, that that sedative and traces could remain in his system as long as -- until Wednesday or even Thursday of this week. So that coma could take some time to fully dissipate.

In terms of his responses, though, they are encouraged that they're seeing such responses, for instance, as him moving his arm to what they describe as warding off stimulus. Keep in mind he still has a breathing tube in his mouth, although he is breathing completely on his own. Obviously uncomfortable to have that, and they are encouraged to see that he's actually able to sort of, as would be a normal response by anyone, to raise his arm and ward off pain or other such noxious stimulus, as the doctors technically put it.

He has apparently developed a fever. Again, the doctors say that this is normal and somewhat expected in a patient in critical condition in the ICU.

They are going to do tests today to determine if that fever is in any way related to pneumonia. Keep in mind he had a collapsed lung that was collecting fluid in the past couple of days.

Dr. Bailes, the head of neurosurgery here at this hospital center, put Mr. Mccloy's condition in perspective.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JULIAN BAILES, NEUROSURGEON: I have to emphasize that he has a long way to go. This is not unexpected with this degree of carbon monoxide poisoning. And our plan is to continue to provide him with supportive care and taking care of all the organ involvement and knowing that that is the best thing for his brain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTINGTON: Now, they plan to put Randy through some physical therapy today, literally moving his arms and legs to increase circulation and muscle movement. Basically, as Dr. Roberts put it, so that when he wakes up he's ready to go -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Chris Huntington in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Thank you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: To that developing story now out of Israel, the fragile condition of Sharon.

Doctors today began bringing the 77-year-old leader out of a medically induced coma. They say a brain scan is showing some progress. Also, there's been a reduction of the fluid that's on his brain, and his blood pressure is running normal. The Israeli prime minister was rushed to a Jerusalem hospital last week after he suffered a major stroke -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Today is a major day for millions of Muslim pilgrims. They have gone to Saudi Arabia to take part in one of their most sacred rites of passage.

CNN's Hala Gorani comes to us via videophone from Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This day is the climax of the Hajj. This is when pilgrims dressed all in White in a state of spiritual awakening travel from Arafat to (INAUDIBLE) to pick up pebbles and stones and to take them then to (INAUDIBLE) and to engage in the ritual of the stoning of the devil.

It's really a crowd of millions of people dressed in white as far as the eye can see. Some of the pilgrims here have waited their whole lives to perform this journey which is one of the five essential pillars of Islam.

Some of the concerns are, of course, related to health. Pilgrims are required to be vaccinated.

There are also security concerns. Sixty thousand security personnel fanned out across the holy site to prevent militant and terrorist attacks and also to try to keep the peace as millions of people gather together.

Over the coming days, the Hajj rituals continue. And Saudi authorities will keep a keen eye on trying to keep everything calm and, of course, avoid those stampedes that's killed so many people in the past.

Hala Gorani, reporting from Arafat, Saudi Arabia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Hala.

Let's check some headlines now with Carol Costello.

Hello, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, Miles.

And good morning to all of you.

We are following developments out of Washington this morning. The Justice Department has been evacuated. We're hearing a suspicious package has been found on a metro city bus parked near the Justice Department. Officials call the evacuation "an abundance of caution."

We'll have more on this story as soon as we have it.

An Iraqi baby with a life-threatening condition is believed to be in surgery this morning. Baby Noor is the 3-month-old girl with Spina Bifida. The infant, along with her father and grandmother, were brought to the states late last month. She's at Children's Healthcare in Atlanta.

The surgery was expected to begin about an hour ago. We will pass on any developments as soon as we have them. The man who tried to kill Pope John Paul II is getting out of prison this week. He tried to kill the pope in May of 1981. Two and a half years after the assassination attempt in St. Peter's Square, Pope John Paul met with the gunman and he forgave him.

Andrea Yates, you remember her? She is in court this morning.

Yates was convicted of capital murder in the 2001 death of her five children. That conviction was overturned last year. Yates has a pretrial hearing at 10:00 Eastern in Houston. Her attorney says she will again plead not guilty by reason of insanity.

And no relief from the weather today for firefighters trying to douse wildfires in southern Colorado. The fires destroyed at least five homes and scorched 6,000 acres near the New Mexico border.

More than 200 families had to be evacuated. Fifty-mile-an-hour wind gusts kept fire crews from attacking the flames by air. And the winds are expected to be strong again today.

Other wildfires are burning in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma.

Boy, Chad, there seems to be no letup out West.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No letup because there's just no moisture.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: All right. Thanks very much, Chad.

Ahead this morning, much more of today's confirmation hearings for Judge Samuel Alito. The Democrats have some tough questions for the Supreme Court nominee. Will they filibuster if they don't like the answers he's giving?

M. O'BRIEN: And we'll hear from the reporter who broke the domestic spying program. We'll look at whether the story posed a risk to national security.

S. O'BRIEN: And then later this morning, New Orleans' colleges and universities are open again. But how can students learn when some schools don't even have classrooms?

That story's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: The White House is defending a controversial policy that has the National Security Agency eavesdropping on Americans without warrants. "The New York Times" reporter James Risen broke the story last month. His new book reveals how and why the government began spying on its own citizens.

It's called "State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration." The unanswered question is how far has the program gone?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES RISEN, AUTHOR, "STATE OF WAR": The evidence of abuses hasn't come out yet, but that's something that I think a lot of reporters in Washington are now looking for to see what -- what were the parameters of this program, what kind of oversight there was, and how closely they were able to monitor it to make sure there were adequate safeguards.

S. O'BRIEN: The story was pretty shocking when it first broke, and then I think the follow-up, which was also shocking, which is "The New York Times" essentially refuses to give any information on why they sat on this story for so long.

Why did you not for a year publish your story?

RISEN: Well, it was, you know, the -- it wasn't my decision. It was up to "The Times." I rather would focus on the fact that when they did publish it, I think it was a great public service to the country, because I think now we can have a national debate about this whole initial of warrantless surveillance and whether or not it is legal or constitutional.

S. O'BRIEN: It might be a national debate, but certainly critics would say actually you've compromised the security. In your book -- and you go through a lot of what the NSA and CIA do. Do you think you compromised the security not only of agents overseas but also Americans?

RISEN: No, I don't believe so. I think that what this country needs more than anything right now is vigorous investigative reporting, because it's really crucial to the -- to a healthy democracy. And it's really one of the things that separates the United States from other countries around the world.

S. O'BRIEN: Can you understand when people read the article and want to know where it all came from, what was behind the decision, then -- as you say, what we really need is a discussion, a debate, sort of clearing of the air.

RISEN: Right.

S. O'BRIEN: You don't get that from "The New York Times," a newspaper that has certainly had its issues in the recent past about anonymous sources, et cetera.

RISEN: Right. Well, I think the issue of anonymous sources is one that all of us in the press are struggling with. But I can say that on national security issues and intelligence issues, that you really can't do any reporting without anonymous sources. And you have to protect people and provide some sense of -- that you will, you know, give them anonymity in order to get people to step forward, because there's been a whole new creation, I think, since 9/11 of a secret side of the federal government that we are now just beginning to get a grasp on. And so in order to get people to talk about some of the -- this new infrastructure of the government that we're just beginning to see, you have to give them some protection.

S. O'BRIEN: There's an investigation now. Are you willing to go to prison for the people, the whistleblowers?

RISEN: Well, hopefully it won't come to that. I'm hoping that, you know, we'll never have to decide that. But I'm going to protect my sources.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: The book is called "State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration." The author is James Risen -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, for years we've been hearing about a possible link between antidepressants and teen suicide. But new research may contradict that. We'll look at what patients and parents need to know.

And later, a preview of the confirmation hearings for Judge Samuel Alito. Are Democrats ready to filibuster the president's Supreme Court pick?

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: If you're a parent with a depressed teenager you need to listen up. A new study is out which suggests the benefits of antidepressant drugs outweigh concerns that those drugs could trigger suicide attempts.

Recently I spoke with an expert on this, psychiatrist Darrel Regier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN (voice over): Thanks for being with us, Dr. Regier.

This -- these studies come on the heels of a lot of information that we've all discerned in recent years about the possibility that these drugs might actually increase suicidal tendency, particularly in teenagers.

How do we put these two together?

DR. DARREL REGIER, AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSN.: Well, the FDA carefully assessed the risk associated with antidepressant medication and thought that there was an indication of a need for more careful monitoring of these medications for people who might have adverse side-effects from them. However, what parents and patients want to know is, should we get treatment for depression or not? That is, is the risk of treatment greater than the risk of the depression illness itself? And what the study by Simon and his colleagues showed conclusively is that the risk of untreated depression is far greater than the risk associated with any side- effects from the medications.

M. O'BRIEN: So I guess then, if you put it that way, there's an unfortunate misconception out there. What should the FDA do to try to rectify that in people's minds?

REGIER: Well, the FDA is a very important institution in our country and is carefully considering, you know, emerging information such as the types that was published now in the journal -- "The American Journal of Psychiatry." What they will need to do is determine if the warnings that have been issued are actually discouraging people from seeking treatment who really need it and if the risk of suicide would actually increase because people are avoiding treatment, as opposed to going in for care.

And what the Simon study showed was that the greatest risk was in the month before treatment was actually initiated. After treatment was initiated, the risk of serious suicide attempts actually decreased 60 percent within the first month and continued to decrease for the five months that were followed up thereafter.

So we hope that the FDA and the medical community in general will really carefully assess the new information that has now come out.

M. O'BRIEN: You know, science and scientists seldom give final answers, conclusive answers. How conclusive are these latest studies, do you think?

REGIER: I think they are the first study that really look at the risk of untreated depression before the initiation of treatment. I think they are very important. They also looked at a group of patients that systematically excluded from clinical trials those with the most severe forms of depression for whom suicide is a very serious risk.

S. O'BRIEN: So important, particularly if you're a parent with a teen who's depressed, not to assume that what you heard about these drugs is necessarily so?

REGIER: Well, it's important to recognize that with any medication there can be risks. But more importantly, the risk of not taking your child in for treatment is clearly greater from the information that we have in this -- in this recent study. And what we hope is that that message will come across very clearly.

I should mention that the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the APA actually published www.parentsmedguide.org in order to provide much more complete information on the risk and the benefits associated with antidepressant treatment.

M. O'BRIEN: Psychiatrist Dr. Darrel Regier with the American Psychiatric Association.

Thanks for your time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, a look at today's confirmation hearings for Judge Samuel Alito. Democrats are expected to go after him on some hot-button issues like abortion. But will they filibuster if they don't like the answers they are getting?

A closer look ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: There it is, opening bell on Wall Street.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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