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American Morning

Dana Reeve Dies of Lung Cancer; Life or Death for Moussaoui?; Possible Port Deal?

Aired March 07, 2006 - 09:00   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Miles O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.

Some breaking news this morning. Dana Reeve, the wife of the late Christopher Reeve, has died of lung cancer. Much more on this story just ahead.

Plus, the loss of a sports hero. Hall-of-famer Kirby Puckett is dead at 45 years of age.

M. O'BRIEN: New video now of hostages being held in Iraq. Among the kidnapped is an American activist, but he's not seen in the video.

And a critical day in the Enron trial in Houston. The prosecution's star witness, Mr. Fastow, getting ready to testify on this AMERICAN MORNING.

S. O'BRIEN: We begin this morning with some of the sad news that we shared with you earlier. Dana Reeve, the wife of the late Christopher Reeve, has died.

It was just in August, in fact, that she announced that she was fighting lung cancer. It was such a shock to everyone. She is one of those pretty unusual cases of a nonsmoker getting lung cancer, and she had hoped to share her recovery with the world.

Dana Reeve vowed to carry on her husband's work fighting for stem cell research and better treatments for paralysis. And that work was done through the foundation that she set up with him, the Christopher Reeve Foundation.

The couple has a son named Will. He is 13 years old.

Dana Reeve dead at the age of 45 years.

M. O'BRIEN: Dana Reeve was one of a growing number of women who never smoked but still got lung cancer.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is with us now.

Let's talk about this, Sanjay. Statistically, it's a small number of people who get it. Are we talking about people who have been exposed to second-hand smoke? Or is there some other reason that causes the cancer? DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We don't know. We don't know exactly what's causing the lung cancer in the nonsmokers. But the numbers have certainly increased, specifically, again, among women.

About 20 percent of women who get lung cancer never smoke. And it's about 10 percent for men.

The rates for lung cancer have gone way up in women overall over the last eight decades. But I guess it's also important to point out as we're talking about Dana Reeve that, despite that, we have not made a big dent in actually taking care of lung cancer in terms of survival.

S. O'BRIEN: Is it much more aggressive in women? I mean, you were talking earlier about the hormones. Do women who get lung cancer, are they more likely to die?

GUPTA: Well, there are different types of lung cancer. So it still depends really on the type of lung cancer. And we don't know specifically. I don't think Dana Reeve came out and said specifically what type of cancer she had. But there are different types of lung cancers that are more aggressive, and there are a higher percentages in women versus men of those types of cancers.

M. O'BRIEN: You say we haven't made a big dent. Why not? Why is it so difficult?

GUPTA: You know, it's a good question. And this is something we talk about a lot.

You know, there's a lot of focus on breast cancer, for example. And lung cancer is a much bigger killer by far. It kills about 160,000 Americans per year -- 40,000 from breast cancer. But we don't talk about lung cancer as much, and I don't know if that's a part of it. You know, there's not as much focus on it, or what.

It's an aggressive, deadly cancer. It's tough to target. And we are not really good at screening for it, as well.

You know, we talk about mammograms, for example, for breast cancer. We talk about colonoscopy for colon cancer. We have PSA for prostate cancer.

For lung cancer, you're not going to get a CT scan of the chest for everybody as a screening thing. Maybe that's something we should think about, some type of screening.

M. O'BRIEN: Why not, though? Maybe they should?

GUPTA: Well, it's a public health issue. You know, I mean, is it too expensive?

M. O'BRIEN: Right.

GUPTA: I mean, at what point are the returns high enough? Certainly, I think Dana Reeve's family and her friends would say it probably would have been a good idea in her case. But for the -- for the average American, maybe not.

S. O'BRIEN: God, just brutal. I mean, as you mentioned, a 13- year-old son. She said back in November that she was feeling better. I mean, she was being interviewed and she said, you know, "The tumor is shrinking and I'm really feeling better," sort of gave a lot of hopeful signs. So I've got to tell you, it came as a complete shock to me.

GUPTA: Yes. I mean, I was shocked, as well. And you remember -- I mea, this came right on the tail of hearing about Peter Jennings actually passing away.

S. O'BRIEN: Right.

GUPTA: The statistics are dire. Sixty percent of people who have lung cancer, all types of lung cancer, die within the first year, Soledad. And it's 85 percent within five years.

So it's a -- it's a very deadly cancer.

S. O'BRIEN: Gosh, you know, when you think about it, if there's ever a time -- and not that she was a smoker, but, you know, if there's something you can control, because, of course, many spokers get lung cancer, there's a -- you know, you've got to quit.

GUPTA: Yes, I think -- I think the message is clear for smokers. I think a lot of people are probably throwing up their hands and saying, well, she didn't smoke. And what could she have done differently?

M. O'BRIEN: What could she do?

GUPTA: And probably nothing. I mean, there's no blame here.

M. O'BRIEN: What are the early warning signs, though, for somebody -- I mean, how do you find out?

S. O'BRIEN: Are there any?

GUPTA: Well that's a...

M. O'BRIEN: That's a difficult thing, right?

GUPTA: It's an important question because, you know, things like a persistent cough. You know, you have a cough for a while because of the flu or allergies. But if it stays, if you get any blood tinging (ph) in your coughing, developing significant shortness of breath at a young age.

Things like that I think are things that you pay more attention to. Certainly if you're a smoker. But if this is something that's really lasting for a long time, even if you're not a smoker, you may want to get it checked out. A simple chest x-ray or CAT scan of your lungs might be able to give you some information. She, as you mentioned, had some response early on to chemotherapy, which is not unusual. But again, the numbers are just not very good when it comes to taking care of this cancer.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

S. O'BRIEN: Sanjay, thank you very much.

GUPTA: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: We want to turn to Kate Michelman. She's a board member on the Christopher Reeve Foundation. She's joining us by phone from Washington, D.C.

Kate, thank you for talking with us.

And first and foremost, our condolences, not only to you, but to all -- all of the friends of the Reeves and the family members, too. What brutal news for all of you to have to deal -- for everybody to have to deal with today. It comes as a true shock, I think it's fair to say.

KATE MICHELMAN, CHRISTOPHER REEVE FOUNDATION: Oh, you know, Soledad, it's very hard to find words adequate enough to express the deep, deep, deep pain and loss that we personally feel and, frankly, the country suffers, because Dana on a personal level was one of the most remarkable people I've ever known and many of us have ever known.

She was a great -- had great humanity, great love, great vision, great spirit. She took care of Christopher. And with Christopher, forged a vision (INAUDIBLE) and people who suffer from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and deadly diseases.

And the foundation has -- you know, has forged an incredible path and will continue to do that. But Dana was a remarkable, remarkable woman of great courage and spirit. And we loved her deeply.

And -- and you're right when you talked about the fact that she was improving. We -- and, you know, her own spirit and her own determination to overcome this plague made us feel she could do it.

And just recently learned that she was failing, and right up to the end, I have to tell you, Dana was convinced she was going to overcome this. So this is -- this is a dreadful loss, but -- a dreadful loss.

The foundation, the Christopher Reeve Foundation, will continue to move forward with Christopher and Dana's vision to cure people with disabilities and this disease.

S. O'BRIEN: You know, when we see pictures of their 13-year-old son, it just seems so brutally unfair to lose a parent and then -- and then, you know, lose another one right after. It just seems incredibly unfair.

MICHELMAN: You are so right. You know, this morning, when I was called about -- early this morning -- the news of her death, I said, you know, those words that we say often, life is unfair, well, in this case, it is extremely -- it is extraordinarily unfair. There's no way to understand this. And for the people who love her so much, this -- and have known her courage and her commitment and her vision and her warmth, it's an unacceptable loss.

And Will -- you know, Will has the spirit of both of them. But I -- you know, I wish I could put my arms around him right now. He has a wonderful family, and as I said, all of her extended family, all of Dana's extended family, will gather around Will and help him to move forward with his life. But this is -- this is just brutal.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, gosh, that is exactly the word for it. And it is -- it is -- it's, I think, helpful to know that he has, you know, extended family and relatives who will step in and pick up and take on.

Kate Michelman, thank you for talking with us. Again, our condolences not only to you, but to all the friends.

MICHELMAN: Oh, thank you for asking me.

S. O'BRIEN: You know, and truly, you know, Kate talked about a loss for everybody. It's one of those cases where, you know, even for people who -- I mean, like, I had a chance to interview Dana Reeve and didn't know her well at all, but you just feel, wow, what a huge loss.

M. O'BRIEN: Such a courageous woman on so many levels.

S. O'BRIEN: So upsetting. It's terrible news.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.

We're going to shift gears here a little bit.

The jury that will decide if Zacarias Moussaoui lives or dies will hear more about the history of al Qaeda today. Now, he's already pleaded guilty to terrorism charges. Prosecutors now have to prove he's responsible for the deaths on 9/11 in order for the death penalty to apply here.

Jeanne Meserve is live at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia.

Good morning, Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

When the trial resumes in less than a half hour's time, an FBI expert will be on the stand continuing the testimony he began yesterday, laying out a primer on al Qaeda. His testimony yesterday followed opening statements which were, in large part, a roadmap to this trial.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MESERVE (voice over): The prosecution argues that Zacarias Moussaoui could have prevented this and this and this. Prosecutor Rob Spencer said authorities could have foiled the 9/11 plot if when Moussaoui was arrested in August of 2001 he had told authorities what he knew about al Qaeda's plans. Instead, Spencer argued, Moussaoui gave the hijackers operational security.

"Moussaoui's lies killed the 9/11 victims as sure as if he had been at the controls of one of the four planes that day," said Spencer. "Hold him accountable for causing these horrible deaths."

But defense attorney Ed McMahon called the government's argument a dream cataloguing the government's failure to heed other warnings and clues before 9/11. McMahon said there was no Moussaoui knew the names, phone numbers or locations of any of the hijackers, or the date, timing and target of the attacks. And, McMahon said, Moussaoui couldn't fly and was viewed by fellow al Qaeda members as useless, a nuisance, cuckoo.

"No one should be executed on such flimsy evidence, even an admitted al Qaeda member," McMahon said. "Please don't make him a hero. He doesn't deserve it."

Hamilton Peterson was in the courtroom. He lost his father and stepmother on 9/11, and he has already issued his verdict.

HAMILTON PETERSON, PARENTS KILLED ON 9/11: I would certainly believe he is an excellent candidate for the death penalty.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: As the trial moved forward, we expect a second FBI agent to be the second prosecution witness. He's expected to lay out the specifics of the 9/11 plot.

Miles, back to you.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Jeanne Meserve, in Alexandria.

Let's get to Carol Costello in the newsroom.

Good morning, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Miles.

Good morning to all of you.

Some possible hope for families of four men being held hostage in Iraq. That Arabic network Al-Jazeera aired this 25-second video. It shows a British citizen and two Canadians. A fourth man abducted, an American, is not shown on the tape, but the hope here comes (ph) that, well, maybe they are still alive.

In the meantime, new attacks in Iraq. At least four people were killed in a series of car bombs and shootings. Some serious finger-pointing expected in the Enron trial. Former Enron chief financial officer, Andrew Fastow, is set to testify today. He's the government's star witness, and he could prove extremely damaging for Enron founder Ken Lay and former chief executive Jeffrey Skilling. Proceedings expected to start up in the next half-hour.

We're now hearing that construction worker in New York has died. We brought you the story as it was happening just about a half-hour ago. It seems a construction site collapsed in Brooklyn, trapping one of the workers in a trench. Crews are now trying to get to the body.

New age musician Yanni is in trouble with the law. Remember he used to date Linda Evans of "Dynasty" fame? Well, the 51-year-old singer and pianist was arrested in his home in Florida after an alleged fight with his latest girlfriend. According to police, the girlfriend says Yanni slapped her and shook her.

This photo is from the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office.

Yanni's lawyer denies the claim, saying, "The last thing this man would do is hurt his hands," because, you know, he plays the piano.

Keep your eyes on this video. A worker is loading a garbage truck in New York, and suddenly a pipe snaps. You can see he falls into the street. He gets hit by that city bus.

Amazingly, he survives. He's OK. In fact, he's in the hospital right now in stable condition.

That's hard to look at.

Let's go back to you, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Carol.

There may soon be a resolution in that controversial U.S. port deal. We'll talk to Wolf Blitzer about that. He's standing by in Dubai.

S. O'BRIEN: Also this morning, a new challenge from embattled Congressman Tom DeLay. We're going to tell you why his political future could take a very big hit today.

M. O'BRIEN: And more on the sad news we've been telling you about. Dana Reeve, the widow of actor Christopher Reeve, has died of lung cancer. She was 44 years old.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: We have been telling you this breaking news all morning, the death of Dana Reeve. Dana Reeve worked for possible cures for paralysis through the Christopher Reeve Foundation. Of course, the foundation named for her late actor husband. She revealed back in August that she was diagnosed with lung cancer. But in November, she said she was actually feeling better, that the tumor seemed to be getting smaller. But she died on Monday of lung cancer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Medical Center right here in New York City.

Dana Reeve was 44 years old, and her son Will just 13 years old.

We're going to continue to update you on this story throughout the morning -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: There is a deal in the works that could salvage that ports management deal that has Washington and much of the nation in an uproar. One idea, use an American subcontractor to take over running the six U.S. ports in question. Either way, however it goes down, the U.S. government will handle security at those ports.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer is taking a close look at the United Arab Emirates-owned company. And while in Dubai, something you can only see here on CNN, he got an exclusive tour of the port there and has a sense of how they handle security there.

He joins us now on the videophone.

Wolf, they take security very seriously. And that's an important point, even though the U.S. would still be responsible for security here.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly here in Dubai, Miles, they take security very seriously, because this whole area of the United Arab Emirates, and especially Dubai, they are based on this assumption that there will be strong security, that port traffic will be -- will not only be secure, but will be robust because this economy depends on trade here and it certainly depends on having no problems whatsoever in the harbors. There are two major ports in Dubai, and so as a result, they worry about security all the time.

Now, there's no doubt the Dubai Ports World operates these ports here in the United Arab Emirates in a first-rate basis. There's no doubt that security is very tight.

Does that mean that they would be able to do a similarly excellent job in the United States, in New York, in New Jersey, Philadelphia, Miami, Baltimore, New Orleans, these six major ports that they would operate? And furthermore, does that mean that they would be able to control security the way they do it in this part of the world?

They argue that as far as operating the ports, loading and unloading the containers for the ships, they have the experience, the wherewithal to get the job done in a first-rate basis. They also argue, as far as security in the United States is concerned, that would remain largely in the hands of the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard, Customs, the various port authorities, and it wouldn't necessarily be their responsibility. Having said that, though, Miles, you can't help but notice that given the very robust, the very important role that they play in offloading and loading these ships, they could play a significant role in security, whether they acknowledge it or not, because there's certainly opportunities for bad guys to infiltrate, to get in and to do horrible things. So, no matter how much they say they wouldn't be playing the major role in security -- and they wouldn't, they would still have an influence in shaping security at these six major ports -- that's why this 45-day national security investigation in the United States is now so important.

M. O'BRIEN: So just to be clear, U.S. Customs would still be doing the scanning of the containers. What we're talking about here really is the security of the company, how they hire people, who the people are that have access to information which might be of value to a terrorist. That sort of thing, right?

BLITZER: Right. To make sure that -- for example, Dubai Ports World, I think they have about 1,600 employees here. They say they do thorough background checks for all of them and they are constantly reviewing them, psychological profiles. They are making sure that the people who work here are responsible and have no links to al Qaeda.

What is of great concern, though, to members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, for that matter, as you well know, Miles, and our viewers know by now, is would they be able to do similar kind of background checks and make sure that bad guys don't infiltrate port operations in the United States? And that's a subject that's now closely being reviewed.

M. O'BRIEN: Wolf, tell me what else you're up to today as you spend some time in the United Arab Emirates.

BLITZER: Well, there is this proposal, as you mentioned, that perhaps they could subcontract out Dubai Ports World, the operations at these six major ports, to a U.S. subcontractor and make sure that they control, the U.S. subcontractor controls the operations.

I'm going to be speaking with the chairman of DP World later today. It will be live in "THE SITUATION ROOM," 4:00 p.m. Eastern, and we'll get his reaction to this compromised proposal. Is it something that DP World is even open to exploring as a way to perhaps seal this deal?

It's something that Peter King, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, floated yesterday. And we'll get first- hand reaction exclusively later today in "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. We look forward to that. "THE SITUATION ROOM," 4:00 p.m. Eastern, again -- 7:00 p.m. Eastern. "THE SITUATION ROOM" on the road with Wolf Blitzer in Dubai -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: And two huge losses that we are reporting this morning. Baseball star Kirby Puckett dead at the age of 45. This morning we're going to take a look back at the life and the career of this hall-of-famer.

Plus, Dana Reeve. Brutal news of her death from lung cancer. The widow of actor Christopher Reeve and the strength, really, behind the foundation that was named for him leaves a young son behind. We've got much more on this news as well. You'll want to stay with us.

You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: The story we've been telling you about this morning, Dana Reeve, the wife of the late Christopher Reeve, has died. It was just last August that she told us she was fighting lung cancer. She had vowed to carry on her husband's work fighting for stem cell research and better treatments for paralysis. Maybe a cure one day.

They had a son, Will, who is 13 years old now. Dana Reeve was just 44 years old -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Another untimely death to tell you about this morning. Baseball hall-of-famer Kirby Puckett died after he suffered a stroke on Sunday.

CNN Sports Correspondent Will Selva takes a look at his life both on and off the field.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL SELVA, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For 12 years, Kirby Puckett was the centerpiece of the Minnesota Twins, a fan favorite for his hustle and pure love of the game.

Drafted in 1982, his path to the big leagues was not an easy one growing up on the rough south side of Chicago. But his surroundings never got him down.

Puckett led the Twins to two World Series titles, but it's game six of the 1991 series that he will be most remembered, with that leaping catch at the wall and the game-winning homerun in extra innings, the force of decisive game seven.

In 1996, Puckett was forced from the game he loved when glaucoma took the sight in his right eye.

KENT HRBEK, PUCKETT'S TEAMMATE FOR 11 YEARS: If you can retire on your own terms, or if you happen to hurt a knee or something, or whatever, and it's part of the game. But to lose an eye and not be able to play again, it really hurt Kirby Puckett. You could tell. From the day he heard he couldn't play anymore he was a different person.

SELVA: In what he called the proudest moment of his life, Puckett was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2001. But shortly after that great day in Cooperstown, Puckett's flawless off-the-field image took a hit. His wife Tanya (ph) filed for divorce, and during the proceeding accused him of domestic violence and infidelity. In 2003, he was acquitted of an alleged sexual assault by a woman in a restaurant. Following that trial, he moved to Arizona and kept a low profile.

The fans were always able to relate to the underdog that Puckett embodied. He was short, he was stocky, but he was the first to tell you that all that didn't matter.

KIRBY PUCKETT, FMR. BASEBALL PLAYER: I wanted to play baseball ever since I was five years old. And I want you to remember the guiding principles of my life. You can be what you want to be if you believe in yourself and you work hard, because anything -- and I'm telling you, anything -- is possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: It is not hard to think that Kirby Puckett died way too young. He was just 45 years old.

A look at our top stories ahead this morning. We're going to take a look at the new political challenge that's facing the already embattled congressman Tom DeLay.

Plus, much more on this morning's breaking news, the death of Dana Reeve, the widow of actor Christopher Reeve, dying of lung cancer at the age of 44.

AMERICAN MORNING is back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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