Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Democratic Senator in Critical Condition
Aired December 14, 2006 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins.
For the next three hours, watch events happen live on this Thursday, December 14th.
Here's what's on the rundown.
Build up or draw down -- the joint chiefs reportedly advising against a significant troop increase in Iraq. A key senator in Baghdad today demanding one.
HARRIS: A Democratic senator in critical condition. Tim Johnson's health calling the Senate's balance of power into question this morning.
COLLINS: The book on Princess Diana's death -- will the report finally put conspiracy theories to rest?
The findings and reaction in THE NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: At the top, serious concerns about a senator this morning. At stake, his health, of course; but quite possibly control of the United States Senate. South Dakota Democrat Tim Johnson in critical condition right now after undergoing brain surgery.
Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, himself a brain surgeon, will join us in a minute.
But our coverage begins with our Congressional correspondent, Andrea Koppel -- Andrea, good morning.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.
Well, Democrats today are on pins and needles as they wait for word not just on Senator Johnson's condition, but on his prognosis. One Democratic Senate aide described reaction as surprise and shock upon first hearing the news.
After November's mid-term elections, Democrats gained a razor thin majority of 51-49. But if Senator Johnson's health concerns prevent him from serving, you would then have South Dakota's Republican governor who would get to choose his replacement, who would serve out the rest of his term, which is due to expire in 2008. That person would likely be a Republican, which would make the Senate a 50- 50 split. The vice president, in this case, Dick Cheney, would be the one to cast the tie-breaking vote.
For Democrats who have been chomping at the bit to gain back control of the Senate, this would be a huge disappointment on several fronts, not the least of which is that one of their colleagues is in serious condition.
But think about it. They have been preparing for the last several weeks to take back control of the Senate. They would be the ones running the committees. They'd be the ones running the agenda on the Senate floor. They'd be the ones in charge of all of the confirmation hearings.
All that would go back to Republican control. We understand this morning that the man who was poised to become and could still be the next Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, arrived again at the hospital this morning to visit Senator Johnson. He was there until the wee hours of the morning.
Tony, it's fair to say that Senator Johnson's colleagues are heartbroken right now and they are very much concerned about his future condition...
HARRIS: Yes.
KOPPEL: ... as well as what will happen to them come January.
HARRIS: You want to get him well. You want him recovering, first and foremost.
Andrea Koppel for us.
Andrea, thank you.
COLLINS: Let's go ahead now and talk with our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who is also a neurosurgeon by trade -- and, Sanjay, we have some new information coming into us now about what happened to Senator Johnson in particular.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And we haven't known for some time. They said it wasn't a stroke or a heart attack.
Dana Bash actually just now confirming that, in fact, there was a hemorrhage within the brain and it was caused specifically by what's known as an arteriovenous malformation. This is a cluster of blood vessels that grow too close together and can sometimes bleed. It's often congenital, meaning someone has it their entire lives and then they bleed from it, for whatever reason. They can -- sometimes it can be hypertension, some factor causes it to bleed.
We heard that conversation, Heidi, which was such a telltale conversation for me when I heard that. He was talking yesterday to some reporters. He started to have some difficulty.
Listen to it again and then I'll tell you what it means.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TIM JOHNSON (D), SOUTH DAKOTA: The money was -- was -- proposed to be -- provided a year ago. Second -- you know, you -- it just is -- is frustrating that -- and...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: He even said at the end there it was frustrating. He was obviously having difficulties with his speech, difficulty finding words. That meant, to me, that it was in a very, very high priced real estate part of the brain. I'm going to show you right here. I don't know if you can see this, but this...
COLLINS: And as you do that, Sanjay...
GUPTA: Yes?
COLLINS: ... explain one more time about this AVM and exactly what has happened to Senator Johnson's brain.
And reminding everybody, this is exclusive to CNN, so it's fascinating to us to understand exactly what has gone on here.
GUPTA: Absolutely. This is the part of the brain over here, the left side of the brain, that is responsible for speech. There's also a part of the brain here that's responsible for strength on the other side of the body.
In that area, what it sounds like now -- and Dana Bash actually just confirming this a few minutes ago -- that an AVM, which is a cluster, a tangle, if you will, of arteries and veins growing close together, bled. That caused some bleeding and it caused some pressure on this part of the brain, which affected his speech, just like you heard during that telephone conversation...
COLLINS: Right.
GUPTA: ... and, subsequently, the strength on the right side of his body, as well. The operation they deemed successful was to remove that blood collection and remove the AVM itself. And that's where it stands now.
COLLINS: OK, so you being a neurosurgeon, as you look forward for something like this, what's the scenario? I mean what happens and what about recovery, which is probably way to early to tell, but...
GUPTA: It is a great question. And we have these conversations, as neurosurgeons, with families all the time.
A couple of things to keep in mind. One is that the, you know, based on the area of the brain where this is located, it changes the recovery time for him in many ways. I think we're not talking about hours and days of recovery, but rather days and weeks, maybe even months, at a minimum.
And it also means in terms of what do you mean by recovery? You know, when he gets his speech back to normal? When he gets his strength back to normal?
That can take a long time, probably require physical therapy. We're talking about a long road here, regardless of where this hemorrhage occurred. But because it was in such high priced real estate, that makes it even longer.
COLLINS: And when we talk about it, we've got some wires here that say successful surgery.
I mean, is he out of the woods?
GUPTA: That, you know, it's hard to say. You know, some of this is speculation. But successful in this case probably means they were able to remove all the blood and they were able to remove this congenital malformation of arteries and veins.
He is in critical condition. And, you know, for the first couple of days after this sort of operation, we don't say that anyone is out of the woods, necessarily.
COLLINS: Right.
GUPTA: But he's probably more stable, certainly, than he was just 12 hours -- 24 hours ago.
HARRIS: Sanjay, did he suffer a stroke?
GUPTA: Well, you know, it's interesting -- and we, I was talking about this with several colleagues around the country this morning. Dan Barrow, who is a neurovascular surgeon here in town and does this sort of operation all the time said specifically, you know, stroke is sort of a generic term. It basically means the symptoms where someone has weakness on one side of the body or numbness.
But what it typically means is for some reason the blood flow to the brain was interrupted. It stopped for some reason.
That didn't happen here. But instead, he had a hemorrhage, blood collection within the brain that actually pushed on the brain, causing the exact same symptoms...
HARRIS: Yes.
GUPTA: ... that someone with a stroke might have. But it's a different thing that causes it, though.
HARRIS: Because I guess I've always thought that one of the ways we define something as a stroke is when there was some bleeding.
Is that accurate or inaccurate?
COLLINS: A clot. GUPTA: The clot can cause those stroke-like symptoms. But the sort of medical definition of stroke typically is when there is a blockage, for example, in one of the arteries that supplies the brain and the brain doesn't get enough blood for a period of time.
HARRIS: That's right.
GUPTA: That causes cell death within the brain.
Here, it's actual bleeding within the brain that causes the problem.
COLLINS: All right, well, it's a pleasure having you to help us understand all of this...
GUPTA: We'll keep on top of it.
COLLINS: ... at least in the early stages, as we try to figure out what has gone on here. But -- all right, Sanjay Gupta, thank you for that.
We know you'll be watching it.
GUPTA: Absolutely.
COLLINS: And we will also be watching for a news conference that is coming our way from George Washington Hospital, trying to find out a little bit more about the situation with Senator Johnson.
Sanjay, thanks again.
GUPTA: Thank you.
COLLINS: We want to go ahead and take a moment now to look at the other side of this story, and that is the balance of power and what it could mean for the Senate. A strategy shift -- we are talking a little bit more with Ed Henry about this.
He's joining us now live to break it down for us -- Ed, tell us the very latest, if you can, from where you are now.
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Heidi.
That's right, on Iraq, as you know, the president trying to figure out a new strategy. Some differences on what the strategy will be. The "Washington Post" reporting this morning that the joint chiefs are basically advising the president against sending more troops to Iraq.
But others familiar with the deliberations say the president is seriously considering sending more troops. Obviously, that would be a controversial move.
As for the when this new strategy will be unveiled, it was over a week ago now that the Iraq Study Group said the situation was "grave and deteriorating," that time was of the essence. But the president yesterday saying he's not going to be rushed into such a difficult decision. He said that as he wrapped up his listening tour around to the various departments that are doing a review of Iraq policy.
He made these particular comments at the Pentagon, with military commanders at his side, and he had a direct message to U.S. troops wondering what his next step will be, basically telling them he's not bringing them home any time soon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You have my unshakeable commitment in this important fight to help secure the peace for the long-term. We're not going to give up. The stakes are too high and the consequences too grave to turn Iraq over to extremists who want to do the American people and the Iraqi people harm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Now, the president did say that the violence in Iraq right now is horrific, to use his word, and that is, in part, because he realizes a lot of critics say he's been downplaying the sectarian strife. And a part of this sales job he's going to have to do, basically, with whatever this new strategy is, part of it is going to have to be admitting that the situation on the ground is rough right now -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, CNN's Ed Henry live for us today outside the White House.
Ed, thank you.
HENRY: Thank you.
HARRIS: And Congress focusing on Iraq. Powerful Republican Senator John McCain and Independent Joe Lieberman are there right now.
CNN's senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, live in Baghdad for us -- Nic, good morning.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, Senators Lieberman, Collins, Graham, Kurk have been meeting with a number of Iraqi politicians. They met with the Kurdish leader and the Iraqi president, who both violently oppose the Iraq Study Group's plans that would see more U.S. troops inside the Iraqi military.
The group of senators has also met with Iraq's prime minister, who envisages a plan that pulls U.S. troops out of the center of Baghdad and allows the Iraq -- allows Iraqi security forces to take control of the area.
But what Senator McCain says he is seeing is an increase in violence and actually a need to increase U.S. troops here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I'd like to say that I believable conditions has improved, certainly in Baghdad. They have not. I believe there is still a compelling reason to have an increase in troops here in Baghdad and in Anbar Province, in order to bring the sectarian violence under control.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: And there has been an increase in violence in Baghdad today. Twenty or 30 Iraqis were kidnapped in the center of the city today. They were working on street stalls and stores in a central neighborhood of Baghdad when 10 vehicles full of gunmen dressed in Iraqi police uniforms turned up, bundled them into the cars and drove them off. Two Iraqi policemen were killed when they tried to defuse a car bomb earlier in the day. Another car bomb was successfully defused. And an Iraqi Army patrol was targeted in the west of the city. No major bombings. But that kidnapping in broad daylight by armed men in police uniforms not out of the ordinary here at all, at the moment.
HARRIS: OK.
Our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, for us now in Baghdad.
Nic, we appreciate it.
Thank you.
COLLINS: We want to go ahead and take a moment to update you on the situation with Senator Johnson.
The very latest information coming to us now.
As you know, he's in critical condition right now. First he was believed to have suffered a stroke. But we now have more information on this, so bear with me as I break it down for you.
According to Admiral John Eisold -- he is the attending physician at the United States Capitol -- and he says this: "Subsequent to his admission to George Washington University Hospital yesterday, which is where he still is this morning, Senator Johnson was found to have had intercerebral bleed caused by congenital arteriovenous malformation," otherwise known, according to our Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who is a neurosurgeon, AVM. Once again, arteriovenous malformation.
He underwent successful surgery to evacuate the blood and stabilize the malformation.
We also have a quote here from Barbara Johnson. That is Senator Johnson's wife. She says this: "The Johnson family is encouraged and optimistic. They are grateful for the prayers and good wishes of friends, supporters and South Dakotans. They are especially grateful for the work of the doctors and all medical personal in GWU Hospital."
HARRIS: And still to come, against the wind -- rescue teams on Mount Hood fighting fierce weather. The search for three missing climbers in THE NEWSROOM.
And the book on Princess Diana's death. A three year inquiry rules out foul play. Dodi Fayed's father calls that outrageous findings. And reaction coming up in THE NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Dousing the fires of conspiracy -- a British police report out today concludes the death of Princess Diana was "a tragic accident."
CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us now from London -- Paula, good morning.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.
Well, it's been three years in the making, this particular report. And Lord Stevens, who was the former head of the London police, who was in charge of this report, wanted to make it incredibly clear to all those who had been bandying about conspiracy theories for the last near decade, that this was the defensive report and there was no conspiracy to murder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN STEVENS, FORMER METROPOLITAN POLICE CHIEF: Our investigation into the overall allegation of conspiracy to murder has examined the following key areas -- the motive for the alleged murder and the opportunity and the capability to carry it out.
Our conclusion is that, on the evidence available now, there was no conspiracy to murder any occupants of that car. This was a tragic accident.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: Stevens also says he knows that some people will not listen to this report and he can't silence those conspiracy theories. Now, we know that Dodi Fayed's father, Mohammed Al-Fayed, will be holding a press conference in just over half an hour now at his Harrods department store that he owns here.
He is very unlikely to be pacified by this report. In fact, before it came out, he said that he considered it "outrageous."
Now, the other things we heard from this report was that Stevens had determined that Diana, Princess of Wales, was not pregnant at the time of her death. This has been a rumor that had been around for some years. And, also, that she had not been engaged to Dodi Fayed, who also died in that car crash.
Now, basically, what was found was exactly what had been found back in 1999, in the French inquiry, that it was Henri Paul, the driver, who also died in that crash, and it was his fault. He was drunk. He was twice the driving limit, as it would be in Britain. And he was also using excessive speed. Now, the one interesting thing that Stevens did say was that there were very many links to this chain. If you took one link out, that maybe this incident and this accident would not have happened. He didn't mention the paparazzi, the fact that there were at least seven photographers following the car at the time of the crash.
But he said at this point he couldn't lay blame. It wasn't his job to lay blame. If you just took one link out of that chain, then maybe it wouldn't have happened.
HARRIS: Well, Paula, you mentioned the earlier report in 1999, the French report. I'm curious as to why we ended up with this new British report. I'm wondering if the conspiracy theorists drove this new report.
HANCOCKS: That's right. Back in 2004, the British decided to actually carry out their own inquest. And it opened and immediately adjourned pending this particular report, which took three years. And the fact was the French report did not silence the critics. It did not silence the conspiracy theorists. And that's why this report went ahead.
Now, in the beginning of next year, probably about mid-January, we'll be hearing preliminary hearings into the official inquest, which will more lay, assert who's to blame and lay the blame, more than this report itself.
But basically what Stevens was trying to do with the London Metropolitan Police was basically -- was find out if there was a conspiracy to murder, if there was any evidence whatsoever, considering it's been almost a decade now and there are still stories abounding that there was a conspiracy to murder.
He wanted to put that to bed once and for all.
HARRIS: Got you.
CNN's Paula Hancocks for us.
Paula, thank you.
COLLINS: Dangerous ice, high winds, freezing rain -- bad weather keeping search teams at bay in Oregon. Three climbers on Mount Hood missing now for days. One of them made a cell phone call to his family on Sunday. He said they were in trouble and he'd separated from the other two climbers. Searchers have been trying to trace the cell phone's signal and they're now using heat seeking technology.
The weather not expected to improve until the weekend.
In fact, we have Chad Myers now at the Weather Center to tell us more about this -- and today, Chad, in particular, is going to be a very rough day.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Well, we are going to continue to update you on the condition of Democratic Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota. He is reported in critical condition this morning after undergoing brain surgery last night at George Washington University Hospital.
The next 24 to 48 hours considered critical.
We'll get more information on the particular situation and the prognosis for Senator Johnson from our Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a neurosurgeon himself, coming up in just minutes.
But right now, we are Minding Your Business.
Ali Velshi is here with a preview -- Ali, good morning.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Tony, listen, just when you thought it was behind them, a new problem for H.P. potentially.
Did the CEO, Mark Hurd, sell more than $1 million or exercise more than $1 million of stock options just before the scandal broke?
I'll tell you when we come back in THE NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Here's the very latest on what we know about Senator Tim Johnson, who you see there.
He is now in critical condition after having brain surgery at George Washington University Hospital. This is the same hospital that treated Vice President Dick Cheney and all those years ago when President Reagan was shot.
He has been, as I said, operated on and the physicians there are now saying this was not a stroke. Instead, it was congenital arteriovenous malformation, otherwise known as AVM. This is where arteries and veins seem to cluster, which is the malformation, and then puts pressure on the brain and causes a bleed.
We're going to be talking more with our Sanjay Gupta about exactly what that means and how a person may know that they would have this condition before feeling the effects that Senator Johnson did in just a few moments here.
HARRIS: So, just when you thought the Hewlett-Packard scandal was over, there's a new chapter.
Ali Velshi is Minding Your Business this morning -- OK, Ali, is this a Patricia Dunne story? Is this a Mark Hurd story?
VELSHI: Interestingly, this is Mark Hurd, the CEO, who has largely been insulated from the problem.
HARRIS: Yes. VELSHI: He wasn't charged with anything. But, you know, this thing was brought to everybody's attention early September. A lot of investors certainly think H.P. which has been a generally well run- company, dealt with it pretty quickly. In fact, just last week they settled with the attorney general.
Now, Mark Hurd testifying before Congress -- Congress has asked him to explain why he exercised options worth $1.37 million before the scandal became public. He exercised those options on August 25th, which is the first day that he was questioned by lawyers that H.P. had hired to investigate the situation.
As you may remember, the situation only became public on September the 6th.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: Now, this is serious because up until now, the situation at H.P. while it was regarded as illegal, was largely seen, perhaps, as bad judgment and contained. Now it introduces a whole new element -- did insiders trade stock knowing that a scandal was coming?
Congress has asked Mark Hurd to clear up why he sold the stock and whether any other senior executives did. That is going to be something to watch very closely, because that's a whole another ball game.
HARRIS: Boy, that sounds -- is it me or does it sound a little bit about like what Martha Stewart ran into a bit here?
VELSHI: Right. And this is exactly the kind of thing. Insider trading is a tricky deal.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: Insiders trade stock all the time and, clearly, they know things about the stock.
Now, what some people do is they trade stock on a scheduled basis because these CEOs get options.
HARRIS: Got you.
VELSHI: This wasn't part of any schedule. So he's going to have to come up with a reason. Sometimes there are very good reasons. They say but, you know, I cashed that out because I've got some other investment or I'm buying a new house or something. There could be a reason. Congress has asked him to come up with one. We're going to be waiting to see what it is.
HARRIS: I love my pennies. I do, Ali.
VELSHI: They're expensive. They're worth a lot of money.
HARRIS: A penny saved, a penny earned, right? VELSHI: Yes, a penny saved is $0.02 to make it. Pennies, because of the metal in them, nickels, because of the metal in them, they both cost more than their face value to make. It's been going on for some time. There have been some bills to sort of eliminate the penny altogether.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: It is now going to be illegal to melt nickels and pennies down for their metal value. It's been illegal to destroy coins for fraudulent purposes until now. You know, you can go to those fairs and put them in the squisher. That's OK. That's legal. But you can't melt pennies down or nickels down for their money value. It costs about $0.02 to make a penny, about $0.05 or $0.06 worth of metal in a nickel. But when you put all the work into it, it's over $0.08.
So the U.S. Mint says don't be making your pennies...
HARRIS: Don't. Don't do this...
VELSHI: It is a big deal, Tony, because people have been stealing like wire and cables and...
HARRIS: Well, that's what I was going to mention. Exactly.
VELSHI: Yes.
HARRIS: There's a big market for that so...
VELSHI: China and India need a lot of metal alloys and our pennies and nickels seem to be a good deal.
HARRIS: There he is, Minding Your Business as always, Ali Velshi.
Ali, appreciate it.
Thank you, sir.
VELSHI: OK.
COLLINS: A developing story that we will be following all morning day here on CNN. Democratic Senator Tim Johnson hospitalized in critical condition after brain surgery. We want to go ahead and bring in our Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta who is a neurosurgeon.
So, your opinion and your insight on this is remarkable. There has been successful surgery, we are told, at George Washington University, but not for what we first thought which was reported to be a stroke.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN NEWSROOM: That's right. And they said they sort of backed off from the idea that it was a stroke or anything related to his heart, pretty early on. We now know it was a hemorrhage, a blood collection sort of within the brain.
The term successful, unfortunately, is a bit of a -- a bit of a vague term. Sounds like what they mean by successful is they were able to remove the blood collection, and remove what caused the blood collection, which you accurately pointed out, Heidi, an arteriovenous malformation. And so from that standpoint it sounds like it was successful. The recovery, though, will be much harder to tell.
COLLINS: OK, Remind us about these veins and these arteries that go up to the brain, and the way that the blood flows, and what AVM really is.
GUPTA: Yes, sure. It's interesting, it's sort of a fascinating thing. You have these, essentially, these arteries in your brain and these veins in your brain. For some reason, in a very small percentage of people, they sort of cluster together like this. And all of a sudden, fast-moving blood is in the veins, where it shouldn't be, and it's more likely to actually leave the blood vessel and bleed.
COLLINS: So, arteries carry fast-moving blood. Veins carry slow-moving blood. When they interconnect like that, they cause pressure on the brain?
GUPTA: That's right. All of a sudden you have fast moving blood in a vein where it shouldn't be, and it can bleed because someone becomes hypertensive or for whatever reason.
COLLINS: The only way you would know you have a condition like this is perhaps if someone else in your family had it?
GUPTA: That's a great question. There have been a lot of studies looking out there trying to figure out who has these and why do they have them? What they have found is very hard to screen for this sort of thing. It's very hard to know who in the general population might have this sort of problem, that could lead to this sort of bleeding in the brain.
If you do have a family history you might be at slightly increased risk of having one, but that's hard to know for sure. It's not true in all families. You really don't know. There's a good chance Senator Johnson never knew he had this problem. They would -- first time it would ever show up would be something like this.
COLLINS: It would have to be a near catastrophic event?
GUPTA: Yeah, I mean, in this case, because of where -- it seems this was located, I want to show you on the model, here, of the brain.
It sounds like it was located in this area of the brain, which is the left temporal lobe, which is some of the highest, the most important part of the brain, we call it the eloquent area of the brain. It's responsible for speech.
COLLINS: OK.
GUPTA: Responsible for the ability to execute speech, meaning talk, write, and also the ability to understand things, either in the written word or spoken word.
So, it -- catastrophic was what you were asking. I think because of the area and the location it sounds like it could be catastrophic in his case. You could have these AVMs in other parts of the brain, and really have no -- hardly any problems whatsoever.
COLLINS: In any other part of the body as well?
GUPTA: You can AVMs, these sort of things in other parts of the body as well. Any place where arteries and veins might grow close together.
COLLINS: Wow. All right. So, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, we appreciate your insight on this one. We know you will be sticking around.
Once again, to remind everybody, we are awaiting a news conference coming to us from George Washington University Hospital, possibly from physicians, to hear more about how that surgery went.
GUPTA: Keep on top of it.
COLLINS: All right, thanks, Sanjay.
GUPTA: Thank you.
HARRIS: This just coming in, income Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who was at the hospital last night checking on the condition of Senator Johnson, he is back at the hospital again. Pictures of him arriving at the hospital just a short time ago.
He took a moment to speak with our Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash and told her he was happy -- the quote is, "I was happy to see him. He looked good."
Obviously, that quote coming after the senator, Harry Reid, had had an opportunity to go in and visit with Tim Johnson. Once again, that quote that he is doing well. He was happy to see him.
And also want to share with you the words of Barbara Johnson, the wife of Senator Tim Johnson, who is quoted as saying the Johnson family is encouraged and optimistic. They are grateful for the prayers and good wishes of friends, supporters and South Dakotans. They are especially grateful for the work of the doctors and all medical personnel at George Washington University Hospital.
So, with his health in the balance, his party's control of the Senate as well, CNN's Bob Franken takes a look at that side of the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Things we can do, as well. BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CNN NEWSROOM (voice over): The speculation began almost immediately after word got out Johnson had been stricken at the end of a political conference call with South Dakota reporters.
SEN. TIM JOHNSON, (D-SD): The money was -- was proposed to be provided a year ago. Uh, uh -- second -- uh -- you know, you -- it just is, is frustrating.
FRANKEN: If Senator Johnson can no longer serve, and that's a big if, the balance of power in the Senate would turn upside down. It's as simple as that. Republicans would almost certainly take back the Senate that the Democrats had just wrenched from their control in last month's election.
JOHN MERCURIO, SENIOR EDITOR, "HOTLINE": Democrats are expecting to come back to Capitol Hill in January, in control of a legislative agenda, and this will put a huge wrench in what Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are expecting to try to accomplish in the first few -- over the next two years.
FRANKEN: Tim Johnson's South Dakota is one of the states where the sitting governor chooses a replacement, without regard to party. Republican Governor Mike Brown could be expected to appoint someone from his own party to fill the vacancy until the next election in two years.
Instead of the 51-49 majority Democrats fought so hard to achieve, it would become 50-50 and the tie would be broken by the president of the Senate --
(BANGING GAVEL)
FRANKEN: The vice president of the United States, Dick Cheney.
Of course, Democrats would still control the House, but the opposition party's newly gained power in Congress would suddenly be ripped in half, by fate. And GOP senators would be able to protect their party's president from a full scale assault.
(On camera): Obviously, everyone is concerned for Senator Johnson's health and wishes him a speedy recovery, but no one more so, than his fellow Democrats. Bob Franken, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Of course, we are going to continue to update you on the condition of Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota, throughout the morning. And we are also anticipating a news conference to get further information. We will also be sharing the insights of our Dr. Sanjay Gupta, as well, throughout the morning.
COLLINS: Yes, we will. Indeed.>
Also want to go ahead and take a moment to show you the opening bell. Rang just a few moments ago. We will get to that in just a moment.
Meanwhile, President Bush said to be weighing a short-term increase in troop numbers, the joint chiefs reportedly advising against it. Crunching the numbers on Iraq in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And the Golden Globe nominees revealed. Just one nomination for Mel Gibson "Apocalypto". Did his anti-Semitic tirade impact the voting? We take a look in the NEWSROOM.
(BELL CLANGING, NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE)
COLLINS: There you go. The New York Stock Exchange opened just moments ago. Want to give you those numbers, closing at 12,317 yesterday. We will be watching it for you today. See what the situation is as we move forward. Stay right here. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: More killings and kidnappings today in Baghdad; an Iraqi army convoy targeted by a car bomb. Police say the attack left a soldier and a civilian dead, and nine other people wounded.
Plus, word that about 20 or 30 Iraqis were kidnapped by armed men in a Baghdad shopping area this morning. An Iraqi official says the kidnappers were wearing outdated Iraqi uniforms and driving about 10 vehicles.
Meanwhile, this shell of a vehicle is all that remains from a car bomb in Sadr City. Two Iraqi police explosives experts died while trying to diffuse the bomb.
COLLINS: The military mission in Iraq. "The Washington Post" reports military leaders are advising President Bush to shift the mission. Take it from fighting insurgents to supporting Iraqi troops, and hunting terrorists. The top uniformed leaders reportedly do not favor adding large numbers of American forces.
President Bush and Vice President Cheney met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff yesterday to discuss the Iraq crisis. The president says he will not be rushed on the decision.
Family ties, the long-standing relationship between the Bush clan and the Saudi Royal family may be in peril over Iraq. CNN's Brian Todd takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CNN NEWSROOM (voice over): Publicly holding hands and greeting reporters, gestures meant to send a message, these ties will endure.
For two generations, the Bushes and the Saudi royal family have forged common political and business interests into historic personal ties. Experts trace it back to George Bush, Sr.'s first contact with Saudi's as an oil executive in the 1960s, then to Bush's stint as CIA director in the next decade.
But Craig Unger, who wrote "House of Bush, House of Saud" says the relationship was cemented when the Prince Bandar Bin Sultan became the Saudi ambassador to the United States in the early '80s. Working with then-vice president George Bush on a massive contract to sell weapons to the Kingdom. That bond, he says, set the tone for the next 20 years.
CRAIG UNGER, AUTHOR, "HOUSE OF BUSH, HOUSE OF SAUD": Bandar would end up going to Kennebunkport, Maine. He would just show up in the kitchen there, to Barbara Bush's astonishment. He became known as Bandar Bush, and he would drop by the White House uninvited at times.
TODD: In 1991, on the invitation of then Saudi King Faud, George Bush, Sr., launches his forces from Saudi soil and drives Saddam Hussein from Kuwait. In the view of many experts, strengthening the loyalties between the two families.
When it's time for his son to seek office, according to reporter Bob Woodward, the former president enlists Prince Bandar to counsel George W. Bush on foreign affairs. But experts say September 11, Saudi opposition to the current war in Iraq, and another conflict that strikes emotional chords with the Saudis have frayed family ties
RICHARD MURPHY, FMR. U.S. AMB. TO SAUDI ARABIA: They have mentioned in particular the Arab-Israeli issue, the Palestinian talks, which this administration has not been seriously engaged in, that's caused great anxiety on the Saudi side.
TODD (on camera): Can the family friendship get back to where it once was? The experts we spoke to seem doubtful. One of them says Iraq has opened up a lot of forces that are getting out of control. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And still to come, critical condition illness could rob the Democrats of Senate control before they even take the gavel. The least of the concerns right now. More pressing, the health of Democratic Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota. We will give you an update in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Golden Globe nominees revealed. Just one nomination for Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto". Did his anti-Semitic tirade impact the voting? We will take a look at that, coming up right here in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Tinsel town tingling, the Golden Globe nominations came out a short time ago. Everyone knows the Globes are this big wind-up to the Oscars. CNN's Sibila -- no? Sibila? Sibila Vargas joins us live from Los Angeles with all the buzz!
(LAUGHTER)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN HOLLYWOOD CORRESPONDENT, CNN NEWSROOM: How are you?
HARRIS: Sibila, I haven't seen you in forever. Let's -- I know you have a lot to get to, but let's start with Mr. Mel Gibson, shall we?
VARGAS: Yes, Mel Gibson nominated -- not nominated -- but his film nominated in the best foreign film department for "Apocalypto". He's also facing "Letters From Iwo Jima", which is a Clint Eastwood film, and "The Lives Of Others", "Pan's Labyrinth", and "Volver".
But really, I mean, this is quite a story today, not many people knew that his -- whether he would get nominated or not. As we know, he -- you know, his past anti-Semitic rant, and the backlash from it was great. So, a lot of people were kind of on pins and needles, not knowing whether he would be nominated or his film would be nominated. And he was nominated.
The question is, will he be able to take this momentum, the fact that his film was number one at the box office, the U.S. box office this weekend, and this nomination today, can he take that going into the Oscars?
And I have to tell you, Tony, not too many people think that he can. I recently did a story about this. And I spoke to Rabbi Marvin Hier (ph), who is from the Simon Wiesenthal Center. He also happens to be a voting Academy member. He said, you know what, I won't even look at the film. He's not even going to watch the film. So he's not even going to vote for Mel Gibson. A lot of Hollywood insiders not too keen on voting for Mel right now.
I also got to speak to Ann Thompson from "The Hollywood Reporter". She is a Hollywood insider. She says he may get some nominations in the crafts department but when it comes to best picture and best director, you know, he could just forget about his chances come Oscars. But you never know. He has won in the past for "Brave Heart" and also director, so you never know.
HARRIS: So, Sibila, because of the rant, which was awful, obviously, the film -- folks are not willing to separate the film maker from the film, and the fact that it's not just a Mel Gibson film. There are thousands of other people who work on any given film.
VARGAS: That certainly seems to be the case. Obviously, here at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, at the Golden Globes, that was it -- it didn't seem to bother them. They voted at least for the nomination for the film. He was not, though, voted or at least nominated for best director.
HARRIS: Gotcha.
VARGAS: So, you know, who knows? But when it comes to Oscars, I think, you know, they may be a little less forgiving.
HARRIS: Yes, it sounds like it, in your analysis of the situation. OK, Sibila Vargas. Great to see you, Sibila. Have a great day. Thank you. VARGAS: Good to see you, too.
COLLINS: Changing of the guard at the United Nations, Kofi Annan's tenure draws to a close. A new leader taking the reigns. Details on that coming up in the NEWSROOM.
And culprit uncovered? Medical detectives name the prime suspect in that Taco Bell e. Coli outbreak. Details on that as well. Keep it here in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: New leadership at the United Nations. South Korean diplomat Ban Ki-Moon will be sworn in this morning as secretary- general. His five-year term begins January 1. Today's ceremony also paying tribute to Kofi Annan's 10 years as U.N. chief. Ban is the eighth person to lead the U.N. and the first Asian in 35 years.
COLLINS: Lettuce is probably the source of the Taco Bell e. Coli outbreak according to the Centers for Disease Control. Their investigation narrowed the list of possible sources to lettuce, cheese or ground beef. But now they say lettuce is the most likely culprit. The outbreak sickened 71 people and forced Taco Bell to temporarily close more than 90 restaurants. Nearly all of those restaurants are open again, and Taco Bell says its food is safe.
For most women, pregnancy is a time of joy, excitement and some anxiety. In today's "30s, 40s, 50s" report, Dr. Sanjay Gupta says they also need to be aware of something else.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice over): Beth Suitt was 30 years old, pregnant with her first child, Connor, when she discovered she had breast cancer.
BETH SUITT, DIAGNOSED WITH BREAST CANCER: It felt very different. It was very sore. So I wanted to go ahead and have it checked out and I did. And it turned out to, you know, be cancer at that time.
GUPTA: She was diagnosed with the most common form of breast cancer called invasive ductal carcinoma
SUITT: It was just very real. It was, you know, your body is harboring and generating and given this protective environment to grow life, for a new life. And then on the flip side I had cells that were inside of me that that were cancerous, that could potentially kill me.
GUPTA: Breast cancer in your 30s is still rare. Only 5 percent of breast cancers occur in women under 40. However, according to the National Cancer Institute, breast cancer during pregnancies does occur, most often between the ages 32 and 38, about once in every 3,000 pregnancies. Genetic mutations are often the cause of breast cancer in young women.
DR. CAROLYN RUNOWICZ, AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: For women with mutations or a very high risk, we may begin screening with mammography or MRI, For the average woman over the age of 30, though, we discuss breast self-exam.
GUPTA: Beth had no known family history of cancer. She did do breast self-exams, which is how she found her cancer. After treatment, she's been cancer free for five years.
Starting at age 40, the American Cancer Society recommends annual breast exams by your doctor and annual mammograms, X-rays of the breast that can detect abnormalities inside the tissue.
However, some women in their 40s can still have very dense breasts, making it hard for a mammogram to pick up abnormalities. That's why oncologists like Dr. Caroline Runowicz, president of the American Cancer Society, encourage women to continue to do breast self-exams. It's how she found her own tumor when she was just 41.
RUNOWICZ: I thought I'll never get cancer, because this is what I do for a living. I'm very careful about my diet, my exercise. And it can't possibly happen to me. And, of course, I was incredibly naive. And I felt the lump. I had a mammogram, it was normal. I had a needle put in and it was cancer.
GUPTA: Now in her mid-50s this cancer survivor knows how important regular screenings are, especially since the majority of new breast cancers occur in women 50 and older. Until more is known about the cause of breast cancer, catching the disease early is still the best way to reduce cancer deaths. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Still to come, critical condition, we will bring you an update on the condition of Senator Tim Johnson. That is coming up in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: The book on Princess Diana's death, a three-year inquiry rules out foul play. Dodi Fayed's father calls that outrageous. Findings and reaction coming up in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And nightmares made real.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We area in a Sunni area surrounded by Shiites. We are under mortal attack day and night. Snipers are working from high buildings shooting at people day and night. At night, the mortars start falling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Sunni versus Shiites, Baghdad's brutal neighborhood wars. That story, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. And I'm Tony Harris. Spend a second hour in the NEWSROOM this morning and stay informed. Here's what's on the run down.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com.
