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Austin, Texas, Iced In; Frozen Fruit in California; Girls Videotape Attack on Young Rival; Tony Snow Discusses Surviving Cancer

Aired January 17, 2007 - 14:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Kyra Phillips.

Hiding out in their own hood. After you take a tour with our camera, you'll see why these Baghdad residents have even stopped sending their kids to school.

LEMON: Spinning your wheels? It's not even a question. And you're not the only one as winter slaps icy cuffs on much of the country. And sadly, there is more to come.

WHITFIELD: Plus, what's wrong with this picture? Well, a whole lot. Three teens beat on another girl, then turn the camera on themselves to brag about it. The outrage doesn't end there.

You're in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: And straight to the severe weather center. Our Reynolds Wolf checking out everything across the country.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: As Reynolds just mentioned, Texas is still iced in. Schools and businesses closed. Thousands of travelers are stranded, some at truck stops, others at airports, including the one in Austin.

Reporter Reagan Hackleman with CNN affiliate News 8 is there.

Reagan, what's going on?

REAGAN, HACKLEMAN, REPORTER, NEWS 8: Well, Don, here about 10 or 15 minutes ago we actually for the first time today had some planes that started arriving here at Austin's airport. But for the most part, if you look behind me, most of the planes you see sitting on the tarmac have been there for most of the day, if not longer than that. In fact, my photographer should be zooming in on one of those planes right now.

You can actually see icicles hanging off the bottom or one of the tails of those planes. And that's not something we see out here a lot.

Now, 90 percent of the planes that were scheduled to arrive or depart from here at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport this morning were canceled. Inside of the airport, there's a lot of people that are sitting around, too. They are doing whatever they can.

They are reading books, they're watching some DVDs. And, in fact, some of the travelers have been sitting inside the airport for two days now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ORIN SHARP, STRANDED PASSENGER: You know, yesterday, it's kind of like a big rumor that they ran out of de-icing fluid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HACKLEMAN: And as it turns out, that was not a rumor. Today some of the airlines ran out of that fluid. And that is why these planes have been sitting here all day. But about 10 minutes ago we learned that a new shipment of that fluid has finally arrived here at the airport, and we're also told that the airline that got that shipment of fluid is going to share it with the other airlines.

So hopefully here soon some of these planes will start taking off. They're going to start de-icing these planes, and some of the travelers inside will finally be able to leave. And we're just hoping that those travelers also packed a lot of patience before they arrived here at the airport.

Guys, back to you all.

LEMON: Yes, absolutely, Reagan. So, listen, they talked about the -- getting the de-icing fluid. Do you know if they've actually distributed it yet or where it is in the process there?

HACKLEMAN: We're hoping that it's here soon. We actually saw one of the planes. They started to de-ice it, but they only did it for a few minutes and they stopped. And that's the only plane that we have seen where they've started to de-ice it. But hopefully here we're going to see most of these planes, they're going to start de- icing them all here very soon.

LEMON: Yes. That's the most important part of the process in this weather, getting the ice off those planes. It's very dangerous if you don't.

Thank you very much.

Reagan Hackleman reporting for us.

WHITFIELD: So the cold snap in California is certainly taking a big bite out of the citrus crop. And that could juice up prices in the produce section for all of you.

CNN's Greg Hunter takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These frozen oranges may lead to some chilling prices for consumers this winter. California officials fear that up to three-quarters of the state's citrus crop has been destroyed by this week's cold weather.

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: We don't really know exactly what the financial damage is yet, but we know that it is probably close to -- just the citrus industry alone, close to $1 billion.

HUNTER: Some California citrus growers say the market may not recover this year. Richard Pidduck has an 80-acre lemon and avocado farm in Santa Paula. He says the freeze has already cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost crops.

RICHARD PIDDUCK, CITRUS GROWER: This avocado, instead of being guacamole for some nice customer somewhere in the country is going to be on the ground and maybe feed a bear or one of my dogs.

HUNTER: The growers have been using every method they know to save their crops.

A.G. KAWAMURA, CALIFORNIA FOOD & AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: Many area that temperature just goes a little too low or the wind machine, the helicopters, the irrigation systems, and they can't bring that temperature up enough to save the crop.

HUNTER: It's simple supply and demand. With less fruit available, this $1 orange could end up costing you $2.

CESAR HERNANDEZ, ASST. MGR., GARDEN OF EDEN: I expect, like, maybe 50 percent to 100 percent increase.

HUNTER: The last time California was hit by such a deep freeze was in 1998. Prices for navel oranges jumped 40 percent. These days many suppliers get their citrus from other countries, like Brazil, helping to offset high prices caused by such a freeze. But even with high prices, some consumers won't change their produce shopping habits so quickly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I probably still buy it, but maybe not in the amount that I normally do.

HUNTER: Officials and growers say it's too soon to tell just how bad the damage is, how many crops were lost, and whether the cold has harmed the citrus trees, not just the fruit that grows on them.

Greg Hunter, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And just in case you really don't believe that southern California could be icy, yes, live pictures right now out of L.A. This is Interstate 5. The Grapevine is what it's also affectionately called, and our Reynolds Wolf seems to know a little about this area. And you know what, Reynolds, I was having a hard time believing -- come on, southern California could be like locked in ice and snow like this?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, absolutely.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: One charge, one hearing, for now. But there's more of both in store for Michael Devlin. He faces arraignment tomorrow in Franklin County, Missouri, where he's charged with kidnapping Ben Ownby. Ownby was missing four days, but new charges could come within hours from Washington County, where Devlin is suspected of kidnapping Shawn Hornbeck more than four years ago.

Police found both boys in Devlin's apartment while searching for Ownby. Now, Ben's parents say he's recovering from his four-day ordeal, but hasn't talked about it. Meantime, Shawn's case is shrouded in questions such as why he never tried to escape, even though at times no one was watching him.

Well, catching up on being a family the top priority for Ben Ownby. His parents and his big sister after his four-day kidnap ordeal, here's what they cold our affiliate KSDK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DORIS OWNBY, BEN OWNBY'S MOTHER: The last few days at home has been -- been nice. We've had some time, and we feel a little bit more relaxed. And, you know, Ben's gotten some time, you know, to himself. And, yes, we're working on it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any anger?

D. OWNBY: I don't want to dwell on that. I can't dwell on that. I don't want it to consume me. I am just concerned with my family. And, you know, so...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don, I'll ask you the same question. Any anger?

DON OWNBY, BEN OWNBY'S FATHER: All my energy is focused on Ben being back and Doris and Amanda. I don't have time for that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Positives, not negatives?

DON OWNBY: Positive only. This is a good thing now. So we're moving forward with a good thing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you been able to talk to Ben about where he was and what happened to him?

DON OWNBY: Oh, we're not going to push him. It's just part of the healing process. If he wants to talk to us, we're there for him. He knows that. And we're just a day at a time, you know, whatever is best for him. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ben?

BEN OWNBY, KIDNAPPED VICTIM: Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you see any of the news coverage about you while you were gone?

BEN OWNBY: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did you feel when you saw that?

BEN OWNBY: Pretty good that everybody was looking for me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And everybody was looking for you, weren't they?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Wow. A very good answer.

And that was Ben Ownby and his family talking to CNN affiliate KSDK.

WHITFIELD: From the schoolyard to cyberspace, a teenage squabble turns very ugly. And Web surfers, well, they seem to not be able to get enough. What's that all about? But the story, it doesn't end there. We'll pick it up in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Sectarian shakedowns, threats and murders. Up next in the NEWSROOM, we'll take you to a Baghdad neighborhood virtually paralyzed by fear.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So remember the days of the schoolyard brawl, two kids fighting, dozens more fighting to get a better look? Well, the Internet has changed that, too. A teenage fight that was videotaped, then posted online got all the attention you'd expect, including from police.

Details now from reporter Lucy Yang of CNN's New York affiliate WABC.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!

LUCY YANG, WABC REPORTER (voice-over): The victim, we're told, is an eighth grade student who just turned 13. Her attackers, two 14- year-old girls and one 13-year-old who go on a frenzy. The video showing them beating, kicking, and pulling the victim's hair. All the girls' faces protected because they are minors.

LT. ROBERT EDWARDS, SUFFOLK COUNTY POLICE DEPT.: Parents are pretty shocked, and you can understand why, and traumatized. As a parent myself, if this was my child, I'd be pretty traumatized. YANG: Suffolk County police believe the ambush took place outside the Woods Road Elementary School in North Babylon back on December 18th.

Somehow, the video made its way through the Internet, and when high school administrators learned of it, they called the police. Today all three girls seen doing the attacking were arrested at North Babylon High School, where they are ninth graders. The victim, we're told, is also from North Babylon, but attends a private school, and apparently remains humiliated and horrified by what happened.

Investigators say the girls met online and got into a dissing match over someone's boyfriend, the hostility eventually bubbling over from cyberspace to reality. Afterwards, there appears to be gloating over the beating.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, let's go back. I want to go back.

EDWARDS: The reason it was stopped is some sort of unknown good Samaritan pulled up in his car. You could see the car door open, and they scatter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Wow. That was remarkable. That was Lucy Yang reporting from CNN affiliate WABC.

Initially, the victim's parents did not want to press charges. But then after the video got so much play on the Internet, they changed their mind. Even the Suffolk County police chief says the video is downright disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. ROBERT EDWARDS, SUFFOLK COUNTY POLICE: As a police officer and as a parent, I know that if it was my -- one of my children, I would be really, really upset about this. I think that the police department, particularly the Suffolk County Police Department, makes an extra effort to ensure the safety of children in the community. And any time we have an assault involving children, even when the other people involved in it, the perpetrators of the crime, are children, we take it seriously. And that's why we went forth with the investigation.

It is pretty graphic. Every time I watch it I see it as graphically shocking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Pretty unbelievable. Three girls face charges of juvenile delinquency and attempted assault.

LEMON: All right. We have this new information just in we're going to talk about. There's an attack in Baghdad where an American aid worker, three security people have been killed. A Baghdad attack.

You are looking at it. That's where it happened, in Baghdad.

An American staffer for a U.S. aid group and three security people were killed on Wednesday. This is according to -- CNN has confirmed this.

Killed when their convoy was attacked in Baghdad. And that's according to a representative of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. It is believed to be a think tank organization.

The staffer for that organization was an American female whose name has not yet been released. But the three others, three other people who were injured -- who were killed, rather, a Hungarian, a Croatian and an Iraqi national. The security personnel who worked for this organization is confirming this information.

Two other people in that convoy were also wounded. One was in critical condition, but stable, and another was lightly injured.

So, again, an American aid worker and three security people killed in Baghdad. That information just in to CNN. We'll continue to follow this story for you throughout the day and bring you updates on that.

Up next, so how is Fidel Castro really doing? Cuba keeps a tight lid on its state secret, but others are talking. Up next in the NEWSROOM we'll hear from one of his doctors.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Very grave, showing improvement, or neither, or both? You've heard it all. Fidel Castro's condition has been the focus of much speculation, and now disagreement. A Spanish newspaper says the Cuban leader is in terrible shape, but a Spanish doctor who saw him a few weeks ago called CNN today to disagree.

Our Madrid bureau chief, Al Goodman, reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AL GOODMAN, CNN MADRID BUREAU CHIEF (voice over): Spanish surgeon Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido just last month in Cuba examined ailing President Fidel Castro for 90 minutes. Castro handed power to his brother, Raul, last summer and hasn't been seen in public since. The best look we've had of him is this October video.

Back in Madrid, Dr. Garcia Sabrido provided a few details.

DR. JOSE LUIS GARCIA SABRIDO, EXAMINED CASTRO (through translator): I can tell you that President Castro does not have any malignant illness. It is a benign process in which there have been some complications.

GOODMAN: But things got more complicated this week when a leading Spanish newspaper, "El Pais," reported Castro is in serious condition after three trips to the operating room for intestinal surgery. The surgeon, Dr. Garcia Sabrido, called CNN to say the reports are not in line with reality.

"The only truthful parts of the newspaper's reports," says Dr. Garcia Sabrido, "are the name of the patient, that he's been operating on, and that he has had complications. The rest is rumors." The surgeon added, "According to my information, there is even some progressive improvement in Castro."

The newspaper quoted unnamed medical sources at the same Madrid hospital where Dr. Garcia Sabrido is the chief surgeon. "We don't believe our sources have spoken directly with Castro," one of the "El Pais" reporters who wrote the stories told CNN. "However, we believe Sabrido shared information with them." But Dr. Garcia Sabrido told CNN he is not the source for the stories.

(on camera): Castro's condition is getting so much attention because the Cuban government has revealed so little, calling it a state secret. And now two versions in Spain as a top surgeon battles a top newspaper.

Al Goodman, CNN, Madrid.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Guess where this is. Believe it or not...

WHITFIELD: I can't believe it.

LEMON: ... this is California. And it's Los Angeles County.

A total standstill in California as a winter blast hits, bringing snow right there to Los Angeles County. Look at that 18-wheeler trying to get through there.

WHITFIELD: Unbelievable.

LEMON: Yes.

WHITFIELD: And I know the pictures are showing it, but it's still just so hard for me to believe.

LEMON: Yes.

WHITFIELD: I didn't realize they got this kind of accumulation -- L.A. County, that is.

LEMON: They call it "The Grapevine." They call it "The Grapevine."

Reynolds Wolf has more on your forecast next.

WHITFIELD: Call it icewine (ph) now.

LEMON: You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Kyra Phillips.

Afraid to be seen, afraid to speak out, even afraid to send their kids to school anymore. It's no way to live, but it is the reality for the residents of this Baghdad neighborhood.

You're in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: First, let's get right back to Reynolds Wolf to talk about these pictures live from Los Angeles County, California, this hour. It's out of the cold and back in our weather center, Reynolds is.

You were in Missouri the other day, but now you are back here. Look at what's happening in California.

WOLF: Absolutely.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, let's zero in again on Texas where it is very icy there. Businesses, government offices, and schools are closed. Thousands of travelers stranded.

CNN's Jacqui Jeras brings us a first-hand look from San Antonio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're down here on the riverwalk and normally this place is bustling with people often times in shorts and short sleeves. But it's still an icy mess here.

The trees are coated and covered with ice, but as temperatures continue to warm throughout the day today, this is starting to melt off. In fact, as you can see here in front of me, some of these drip drops starting to go back into the pool.

So, it's mostly elevated surfaces that still have the ice. San Antonio has been pretty much immobile now for two days. Airport not shutting down, but dozens of flights were canceled there.

I-10 closed for 300 miles -- many roadways just impassible with bridges and overpasses coated in a sheet of ice and tens of thousands of people without power.

We'll watch for those improvements throughout the day and into the evening. But then the sun goes down and those temperatures are going to drop down. So everything that melted here today is going to be refreezing on the ground and become that black ice, the kind of stuff that you don't see, but you hit it for just a second and you'll end up on the ground or your car spinning out on the roadway.

So even though we're seeing improvements today, we expect to have big trouble still tonight in San Antonio and throughout much of the morning tomorrow. And another wave of winter weather is heading towards western Texas, while temperatures warm up here. But still rain, which could even turn into flooding rain, by the weekend.

Jacqui Jeras, CNN, San Antonio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: We want to get back to our developing story. An American aide worker and three security people killed today in Baghdad.

For the latest details on that, Arwa Damon is there. Arwa, what can you tell us?

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, the four worked for the National Democracy Institute. Now, according to the group's regional Middle East director, Les Campbell -- he said that an American female staffer and three of her security personnel were killed in Iraq in an attack that happened at about 4:00 a.m.

The three security personnel identified as being of Iraqi, Hungarian and Croatian nationalities. Now, they were moving from some sort of NGI program that was happening in the capital, traveling in a small convoy when they came under an attack and a firefight erupted.

Following that, the four lost their lives. According to Campbell, two other people were also injured in that attack. One of them is described as being in serious, but stable condition. The other lightly injured.

Now we did try to contact Iraq's ministry of interior. They said that they had heard of an attack on a western convoy that happened in a neighborhood called the Armuk. That is located in the western portion of the city.

The Iraqi police saying that the attack happened near the Iraqi Islamic Party headquarters. They did say, however, that the U.S. military cordoned off the area, not allowing the Iraqi police or the Iraqi Army to enter the scene. The U.S. military at this point does not have any information, or rather is not releasing any further details -- Don.

LEMON: You said Arwa, that it was in Armuk, right? Near Armuk that this happened. Explain to us where that is in relation. I know they've been trying to get a grip on Haifa Street. Where that is in relation to downtown Baghdad.

DAMON: Well, Don, it's (INAUDIBLE) neighborhood that is kind of in the western portion of the city. Not too close when compared to Haifa Street. But it is again one of these areas of Baghdad that is fairly well known for being violent and volatile.

There have been a number of incidents there in the past -- kidnappings, the regular roadside bombs, ambushes and attacks -- that we see really plaguing the capital on a fairly regular basis. LEMON: All right. Arwa Damon with the information for us. Thank you very much for that. An American aide worker, three security people killed in Baghdad. Arwa Damon, thank you so much for your report.

WHITFIELD: Well, he is the president's go-to guy in the briefing room. But no politics when Tony Snow drops in on the NEWSROOM today. Instead, we'll be talking about facing, fighting, and surviving cancer. With a guy who has been there.

LEMON: And why are black women more likely than white women to die of breast cancer? Genetics may have nothing to do with it. Some answers straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, we're going to take you now to Washington. This is Carl Levin speaking. The Senate leaders are going to introduce a bipartisan resolution in opposition to President Bush's new Iraq policy.

Carl Levin speaking about that. Let's take a listen.

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: We believe that the only way to end the violence in Iraq is for the Iraqi political leaders to step up and resolve their political differences, to recognize that the responsibility to save their country is theirs, and that a message that is -- that would be sent by additional American troops going there is the wrong message for the leaders of Iraq to hear.

The message that more troops would send, the message that deeper military involvement would send, is that somehow or other it is in our hands what their fate in Iraq is, where the message needs to be now after all these years that the only way the violence will end in Iraq is if the political leaders of Iraq step up and reach the political compromises that are so essential if Iraq is going to end this spiral of violence that it is now in.

Iraq's own Prime Minister Maliki said this just a few weeks ago, that the crisis is political, and the ones who can stop the cycle of aggravation and blood-letting of innocents are the Iraqi politicians.

This resolution, in addition to saying that we do not support increased troops, deeper military involvement, also calls for the transition of our military mission to a more limited one of training, counterterrorism, and protecting the territorial integrity of Iraq. It also calls for the greater engagement of other countries in the region in the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq.

General Abizaid, just a few months ago, said the following. He said that he had talked to the American commanders about additional troops from America going to Iraq and they all said no.

And the reason is because, he said, "We want the Iraqis to do more. It is easy for the Iraqis to rely upon us to do this work," General Abizaid said. "I believe," he concluded, "that more American forces prevent the Iraqis from doing more, from taking more responsibility for their own future."

Finally, the Iraqi government has a poor track record of keeping commitments and meeting the benchmarks which it has set for itself. For America to supply more troops, while the Iraqi leaders simply supply more promises, is not a recipe for success in Iraq.

Telling the Iraqis that we'll increase our troops to give them more breathing space will only postpone the day when Iraqis take their future into their own hands and decide whether they want to continue to fight a civil war or to make peace among themselves.

This resolution sends a powerful message, not just to the president and to the American people, but also to the leaders and the people of Iraq that Congress does not support an escalation of our military presence in Iraq.

QUESTION: Senator Hagel, already, one of your colleagues have come out this morning and said -- I've got to read you the quote -- that "This is nothing more than a political ploy," he says that will, quote, "send the wrong message." He said this shows a lack of seriousness on your part and there's a suggestion that you don't understand the consequences of failure in Iraq. I wonder if you would react to that.

SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R), NEBRASKA: He was talking about me personally?

QUESTION: In general, this particular question.

HAGEL: Oh, I have not had a conversation...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sure he wasn't talking about you. He was talking about me.

HAGEL: Well, the way you framed the question shows your lack of seriousness or purpose. I can't answer for Senator Cornyn's remarks. All I can do is answer for myself, as is the case with my colleagues.

In my situation, I don't know if there has been a member of the United States Senate over the last four years, certainly in the Republican Party, who has been more consistent and clear and direct on this issue than the senior senator from Nebraska. To somehow come up with a conclusion that it shows a lack of seriousness, I am a bit befuddled by what the Texas senator is trying to describe.

This is a serious resolution put forth by serious people who care about our country. There is no moral high ground that one group of senators has over the other. If there is a disagreement on policy, that's what a democracy is about.

It is not in the interest of our country and our future and the consequences of our country for us to be mute. We are not only failing our country and our constituency, but we are failing the Constitution of the United States. There should be strong, passionate disagreement. But, for one, as I have said many times, I will do everything I can to stop the president's policy as he outlined it on Wednesday night. I think it is dangerously irresponsible to put -- to continue to put American lives in the middle of a clearly defined, tribal, sectarian civil war is wrong.

LEMON: And you are listening to a press conference happening in Washington now. That is Senator Chuck Hagel from Nebraska, part of a bipartisan group of senators who are going to set up this resolution opposing President Bush's surge of troops into Iraq.

He is the only Republican here at this press conference today, at least speaking. Carl Levin from Michigan also spoke a short while ago, a Democrat, and Joe Biden basically saying they -- Congress does not support an escalation of troops in Iraq.

And here's what's interesting about this. The Senate Democratic leaders are expected to propose this resolution on Tuesday, just before the president delivers his State of the Union Speech.

And Carl (sic) Hagel -- Chuck Hagel, rather, entering in with these senators is seen as a setback to the administration and it only -- and seen only as to isolate the president more on his position to send more troops into Iraq. More on this story throughout the day right here in the NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: The White House having very strong thoughts about Iraq. Well, we're learning today it also has very strong thoughts about cancer. Why the disparity between black women and white women and their survival of breast cancer. Genetics have nothing to do with it. Some answers straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Cancer deaths have dropped in this country for a second straight year. Treatment, detection, prevention: they're all working better than ever. But there's always a but. African-American women will die of breast cancer this year in greater numbers than in white women even though twice the number of white women will get it. Why?

CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta investigates in his special series, "Saving Your Life."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's something in the eyes of a woman with breast cancer. Harlem surgeon Harold Freeman knows the look. Freeman set out to understand why black women are less likely than white women to get breast cancer, but twice as likely to die from it. His research found that poverty is the real problem. The lack of access, education, and resources.

DR. HAROLD FREEMAN, RALPH LAUREN CANCER CENTER: It is not acceptable that people that are poor should die because they are poor. GUPTA: Then, in 2000, a turning point. Targeting breast cancer was en vogue, as Ralph Lauren launched his pink pony campaign and Freeman had found himself an ally to build a cancer center in Harlem.

FREEMAN: People were dying at a higher rate because they were poor and black. Mr. Lauren stood up and dressed immaculately, of course, and he simply said, Dr. Freeman, I will help you.

GUPTA: Jerona Smith is a single mom who now comes to the Ralph Lauren Cancer Center for care. Since being diagnosed with aggressive stage one breast cancer at age 29, it's been one shock after another.

JERONA SMITH, BREAST CANCER PATIENT: It's a lot to bear. I'm not working at this point in time because of chemotherapy. And it's a bit hard, but I got the help here.

GUPTA: And that's one of Dr. Freeman's other innovations, the patient navigation program. Navigators are familiar with the health- care system and help women with everything from insurance to medications, makeup, and wigs.

FREEMAN: The five years survival rate in breast cancer at Harlem Hospital, which was initially 39 percent, before the navigation and screening, is now in the range of 70 percent.

GUPTA: Jerona knows the chemo and radiation ahead will tax her energy, but the fact is, she and women like her now have a better chance at beating breast cancer.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The biggest drop ever in the number of Americans dying of cancer is cause for celebration in research labs, hospital wards and everywhere else, especially among those fighting cancer head on in other ways and then surviving it.

Tony Snow is one of them. You know him as White House spokesperson. Well, he is also a survivor of colon cancer. He got his clean bill of health just before he took the job of White House press secretary.

Good to see you, Tony.

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Thanks, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So this hits close to home for you and for your family. Your mother died of the same colon cancer that you ended up beating. So tell me how important this is for you that the White House is engaged in this new campaign?

SNOW: Well, it's enormously important. And it really isn't a new campaign. What it is an is an extension of a concerted effort really to take advantage of breakthroughs in science. Fredricka, we were at the National Institutes of Health earlier today. And they were explaining how advances in genomic science, the ability to look into people's cells to determine possible causes of cancer, have made available to researchers entire new avenues of inquiry that can save lives and also different ways of treating different cancers that are going to be friendlier to patients and are going to be more effective in going after the disease.

There's obviously an enormous amount of work to be done, but it is good news. For the first time in 70 years, last year, we had a decrease in cancer deaths. This year a much larger decrease: 3,000 fewer died than last year. That's good news and we can only hope that scientists continue their march to going after the disease.

WHITFIELD: So why is the White House latching onto this? And why now, when we are talking about a health matter, cancer, across the board, which has historically gotten a lot more research dollars, it's gotten a lot more attention in terms of public awareness and even advocacy over health matters?

SNOW: Well, number one, I would hardly say that we're latching on to it. And you can ask the millions of cancer survivors whether they think they've been singled out. But at the same time, the administration -- today we heard about research into diabetes.

We heard about research into a number of areas. This genomic science is certainly not limited to treating cancer, but in fact in treating a wider range of diseases. And this administration has increased funding for the National Institutes of Health, not just for cancer research, but for all health research.

WHITFIELD: But there was a visit today to NIH, the National Cancer Institute. I mean, that is an unusual step, is it not?

SNOW: No, it's not. I mean, think about it this way. What is the most visible and frightening disease known to most Americans? And the answer is cancer. You mention cancer, people get this sudden feeling of panic. Trust me, I know.

But the fact is, if people gain confidence, the medical researchers are able to tackle this disease, a disease that killed my mother. She didn't have a chance. Here I am talking to you less than two years after my original diagnosis. I think that ought to provide hope and also, at the same time, support.

One of the things you mentioned, we want to make sure all Americans get it. There was talk today about the human papillomavirus, which is responsible for the vast majority of cervical cancers. There's a vaccine that can take care of that in 100 percent of the cases. We want to make sure that everybody, regardless of income, is able to take advantage of it. Every woman in America has an interest in this.

So what I do want to do is to make clear to you and everybody else, this is not cherry-picking. This is just scratching the surface of some of the miracles that are going on in medical research. WHITFIELD: And we applaud that you survived this and that you got that clean bill of health so you could carry on with your life. But at the same time, when we talk about cancer research or any other health matter, it's usually the other way around.

It's usually the advocates, the doctors, the researchers that are going to the White House, that are going to Congress to say, "We need more." But now we're seeing the White House, who is saying, "We need more. We're engaging people more in this."

SNOW: Well now, the president has been talking about this throughout his presidency. And you look at the budgetary record, and there's been a significant increase in this kind of funding really from the get-go.

But the other things is that there's a lot of private research as well. You know, the federal government doesn't do all the research. We do as much as we can.

WHITFIELD: And the American Cancer Society, as all these new numbers have come out to celebrate the second year in a row with the falling death rates of cancer, we're also seeing an underscoring of the disparities that exist between blacks and whites and between men and women and their cancer survival rates. So is the White House trying to focus on getting to the root of that? Because one of the problems is access to health care. That's why there are so disparities, argue some.

SNOW: Well, access to health care, habits, a whole series of things. I just mentioned with the human papillomavirus, we're going to make that available to anybody, regardless of their income. So, yes, we're going to try to make these available.

One of the things the doctors stressed is that it is a whole series of things that are associated with cancers: whether you smoke or whether you don't, whether you have hypertension, whether you exercise or not, the kind of diet you have. A lot of things also -- genetics is part of it. Sometimes the way you treat yourself is part of it. You got to approach this from every possible angle and try to provide help for everybody you possibly can.

WHITFIELD: Tony Snow, thanks so much for your time from the White House.

SNOW: Thanks, Fredricka. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And you, too, can take charge of your health. CNN has developed a Web site. Go to CNN.com/savingyourlife and click on "Web Extras." You'll find a link to a cancer screening map. We've got all 50 states on it with information on free or low-cost breast cancer and cervical cancer screenings. And if you don't have access to the Internet, visit a community center or library. The information on our Web site could help save your life.

Also, be sure to watch Dr. Sanjay Gupta's special, "Saving Your Life," this Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern and again on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

LEMON: Now we're going to take you back out live now to California. Whoa. There you go. Believe it or not, there's California.

WHITFIELD: That looked like a white-out condition for a second. But I think it was a cloud.

LEMON: When you see the interstate there on the bottom of your screen now going into center, it's a standstill in California as a winter blast hits, bringing snow to Los Angeles County. Live pictures from the grapevine.

We'll be back.

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