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American Morning
First U.S. Face Transplant; Adam Walsh Case Closed; Harry Reid Endorses Caroline Kennedy; Lindh's Parents Asking Pres. Bush to Commute Sentence; WWE Stars Entertaining the Troops
Aired December 17, 2008 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Just about at the top of the hour now, here are this morning's top stories -- today President-elect Barack Obama will announce more key players to his energy team. Just a few hours he's expected today to name Colorado Senator Ken Salazar as his pick for interior secretary and he's also expected to tap former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack for secretary of agriculture.
And markets in Asia in positive territory this morning. The confidence coming after the Fed cut a key interest rate to its lowest level on record. Sending the Dow soaring by more than 350 points. Hong Kong closed up by more than two percent. Japans' Nikkei also closed up slightly. Right now, markets in Europe are mixed.
And this morning, the suspense is over. "Time" magazine has revealed its person of the year and it is -- oh, come on, it's President-elect Barack Obama. The magazine calling the transformational figure as the quintessential person of the year. John McCain's running mate Governor Sarah Palin came in at number four.
And breaking medical news this morning. Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic announcing the successful transplant of almost an entire face. It is the first surgery of its kind here in the United States. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us from Atlanta with more details. This is fascinating, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is fascinating, Carol. This procedure was done two weeks ago, but we're just now getting some basic facts from the Cleveland clinic. This woman had some kind of trauma to her face. We don't know what. But she needed 80 per of her face replaced. It's sort similar to what you're seeing here. They found a cadaver, a woman who had recently died, took her face off and put it onto the woman who had suffered the trauma.
What's different here about the first three -- from this one, from the first three face transplants is that it's 80 percent of her face. Before they did little pieces of the face. This one is very different. Now this woman will be on immune suppression drugs for the rest of her life. It's after all a transplant like getting a new liver or a kidney.
Carol?
COSTELLO: And the doctors actually have to connect nerve endings, too, or she could not move her face. COHEN: That's right. They have to connect nerve endings and arteries and veins. And we don't know yet what kind of control she will have of her face, but what we do know is that the woman who previously had one in France, Isabelle Dinoire. She did gain quite a bit of control. Much more than what you see here. This is a pretty early picture so that she is able to talk and eat.
Now, we should also say that this has not been 100 percent a picnic for this face transplant patients. This woman who you see here, she twice suffered rejection of the new skin and at one point did go into kidney failure because of the procedure.
COSTELLO: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much, live from Atlanta this morning.
COHEN: Thank you.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, there's some truly impressive medical science behind this transplant. And here now with more perspective in all of this is Dr. Warren Breidenbach. He is the hand surgeon who performed the first hand transplant in America back in 1999. Did another one in the year 2001. And just happens to be the fellow who trained the doctor who was at the head of the team that did the face transplant, Dr. Maria Siemionow.
Doctor Breidenbach, what do you think of this whole procedure?
ON THE PHONE: DR. WARREN BREIDENBACH, HAND SURGEON, JEWISH HOSPITAL: Well, I'm pleased that it's taken place. You know, it's been a long time, fully coming. We did a hand transplant in 1999. And what's happened here now is we have another team, which is essentially using the same technology in a different place in the body to push these concepts forward of being able to take tissue that people are missing.
It could be a face, a shoulder, a hand. And transplant it to reconstruct it when people are missing it. So, this is a big day in medicine, and I congratulate the team.
ROBERTS: You know, of course, the one medical condition, potential complication that we talk about in all transplants is this idea of rejection. But when you're dealing with something like a hand or a face, you're talking about a host of other issues as well. Making sure that the blood flow is there. Making sure that the nerves are working properly. And when you replace the surface of someone's face as well, you want to make sure that it moves correctly. That you don't get paralysis in certain areas.
I mean, this science is really very new. This is the first one that was done in America. How concerned are you that everything will work as the doctors hope it will?
BREIDENBACH: Well, I mean, we -- you know, I am concerned to some extent. But I would say the chances of success are very high. I know that Dr. Siemionow has thought through this very carefully. She has been working in this area for a number of years, and published a lot of articles where she has looked at the problems in animal models. She's had approval to go forward with this also for a number of years. So, she's been very cautious, as she has sought out an appropriate patient.
In terms of the problems that you talked about, of making sure that the face can move and that the blood flow is successful, those are all technical problems, which are very similar to problems we face when we're reconstructing defects without using transplants.
ROBERTS: Right.
BREIDENBACH: It's something we face as reconstructive surgeons every day, so we understand what technical skills and procedures we need to do to achieve it.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, Dr. Breidenbach, thanks very much for your perspective on this. And we're going to hear more, of course, later on this morning when doctors at the Cleveland clinic have a press conference to tell us more about this remarkable procedure.
Carol?
COSTELLO: I can't wait.
John Walsh, the host of "America's Most Wanted" and his wife finally have closure on the murder of their young son, Adam. Police in Hollywood, Florida, closed the 27-year-old case, naming convicted pedophile and killer Ottis Toole as the child's murderer. John Zarrella is following this story for us from Miami this morning.
Good morning, John.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. You know, this was a story that absolutely ripped at the hearts of people nationwide, back 27 years ago. Little 6-year-old Adam Walsh disappeared from the front of a Sears store. Two weeks later, his head was found about 120 miles north along a canal. The remainder of his body was never recovered. And for most of those years, police and the Walshes, Adam and Reve Walsh, believed that Ottis Toole, a convicted killer and pedophile and a drifter was responsible. And yesterday afternoon, Hollywood police finally said, in fact, yes, it was Ottis Toole, bringing closure to the family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN WALSH, ADAM WALSH'S FATHER: I believe wherever he is, he's paying and being held accountable for his actions. Who could kill a 6-year-old boy? But I've been involved in thousands of cases since then. I believe that Ottis Toole is probably getting what he deserved, somewhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: Now, Toole confessed twice to the killing, but then recanted. And ten years ago, he died in prison. Of course, John and Reve Walsh have spent most of their lives since devoted to helping children.
Carol?
COSTELLO: You know, so it's been 27 years, police are finally saying, you know, yes, it was him. Was there any new evidence that led them to that conclusion?
ZARRELLA: You know, that's the thing. It was not based on any new evidence. They went back and reviewed the entire case file and all the evidence they had from 27 years, over 27 years. But what's interesting, Carol, two key pieces of evidence that could have been pivotal now that we have DNA testing, no longer exists. A piece of bloody carpet found in Toole's car was lost by police, and his car itself was just basically crushed as -- and sent off.
COSTELLO: How was that possible with a high-profile case like this?
ZARRELLA: Back in those days, there was never a thought of DNA evidence, so...
COSTELLO: Well, gotcha.
ZARRELLA: ...things happen. And police did admit that they made some serious mistakes back then. No question.
COSTELLO: John Zarrella, thanks so much.
ROBERTS: Hillary Clinton's hotly contested Senate seat. There's big buzz over Caroline Kennedy, who just got a big endorsement. What it all may mean, coming up?
And the airlines have dropped the fuel surcharges now since gas prices are down. But why are they still charging $15 to $30 for checking your bags? Well, Christine Romans is wondering about all of that. She's "Minding Your Business." Eight minutes now after the hour.
COSTELLO: She still hasn't spoken about it publicly, but Caroline Kennedy's interest in the soon to be vacant Senate seat in New York is the talk of the town. Our Alina Cho joins us now with news of a big endorsement for the former first daughter.
The question is how much will this help her?
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a big one, Carol. You know, Harry Reid is the Senate majority leader, the most powerful Democrat in the Senate. And just yesterday, he made it clear that Caroline Kennedy is his choice to take over Hillary Clinton's job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D), MAJORITY LEADER: We have a lot of stars from New York -- Bobby Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, and I think Caroline Kennedy would be perfect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Now, Kennedy also got a big boost yesterday from New York's former three-term Mayor Ed Koch, who said she's just as qualified as anyone in the Senate, and the current mayor, Michael Bloomberg, is said to be backing her, too.
But not all the buzz surrounding the possibility of another Kennedy in Washington has been so good. On "The View" yesterday, one of the hosts, Joy Behar, had this to say about Kennedy's qualifications.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOY BEHAR, "THE VIEW" CO-HOST: We fought a war to get away from royalty and yet we have the Bush royal family, the Clinton royal family, the Kennedy royal family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Now, for her part, Senator Clinton has stayed mum about who she supports. Clinton says it is New York Governor David Paterson's decision and only his, and by all indications, Paterson is going to take his time for this, although time is running out, Carol. Now a couple of questions going forward now, how would Caroline Kennedy, who is intensely private, handle the glare of the Senate?
And then there is the question, of course, of experience. But some have said, if proximity to the president is one of the prerequisites, Caroline Kennedy has that one locked up, Carol. Remember, she wrote a "New York Times" endorsement of Obama. It really changed his campaign. And after the election, Obama called her one of his best friends.
So that, of course, is important, too, if you want to get things done in Washington. But, remember, the big test also is even if Caroline Kennedy gets the nod from Paterson, she has to face New York voters and they are tough. She faces re-election in 2010 if she gets the nod, and again in 2012, so she will be busy.
COSTELLO: Well, the good part about that is she will be able to raise lots and lots of money...
CHO: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: ...to appeal to the voters of New York.
CHO: That's right. Remember, she is a Kennedy. She raised $70 million for New York City public schools and some have said, including her cousins, she'll do it again.
COSTELLO: Yes. And you know, I liked what you said about Senator Hillary Clinton not having anything to say, but it's not like Hillary Clinton had experienced either when she became senator of New York.
CHO: You were absolutely right. She was first lady. COSTELLO: Thank you, Alina.
CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: John Walker Lindh, an American trained by the Taliban and captured fighting against the U.S. army in Afghanistan. Now his parents are asking the president to commute his sentence.
And with a name like Diva Maria, what is she doing in a war zone? The World Wresting Entertainment star is here to tell us how she rocked her way through Iraq. It's 13 minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 15 minutes after the hour. Christine Romans here ""Minding Your Business." And we should tell you that while we're off-camera in the break, we were arguing about this. So, it's obviously a passionate point with a lot of people. Why are the airlines still charging for bags when fuel prices are down to where they are now?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, charging for bags is the future, and I can tell you this without a doubt. This is what the airline representatives, the airlines have told me this, they say the people want this.
COSTELLO: What?! Come on.
ROMANS: I know. They want -- they want this decoupling. They want people want to pay for what they use on the airlines. That's what industry analysts tell me. That's what the industry tells me. People want to pay for what they use.
ROBERTS: Hold on.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Did you laugh when they were telling it.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: Come on.
ROMANS: No, I didn't. Listen, you know, I get sides. OK, let's...
ROBERTS: This is the biggest spin I've ever heard.
ROMANS: Let me back up here. All right. So, British Airways and Virgin are reducing their fuel surcharges. They say the lower jet fuel costs mean they're going to reduce their fuel surcharges.
ROBERTS: Oh, how nice of them.
ROMANS: They're going to take those off. That mean on BA, you're going to get -- you're going to pay $45 to $55 less for a nine- plus-hour flight, about 25 bucks less for a shorter flight. This is the second time BA has reduced those fuel surcharges. So they say fuel costs are coming down. Jet fuel costs down 64 percent since the summer.
Virgin also reducing those fuel surcharges. Carnival Cruise Lines, as you guys reported here a couple of weeks ago, removing the fuel surcharge. If you already paid one for a cruise on any of the Carnival Lines, you get an onboard credit. Make sure you get it. Make sure you use it. I think you can expect other cruise ships -- other cruise lines to do the same thing next year.
Now, the American airline industry says they have taken off their fuel surcharges. They've taken them off by making them permanent into the base fare. And they are -- they still have all of these other fees. Now, do you feel like being nickeled and dimed at the airport?
COSTELLO: Yes.
ROMANS: Well, this is what you're paying. $15 to $25 a bag. If you take like four or five bags on some airlines, you're charged 200 bucks a bag, by the way. It's really -- it's really hard when we travel with a bunch of crew here and stuff. Snacks, six bucks. Movie, three bucks. A blanket and pillow, a clean one on JetBlue, $7.
Our viewers, I'm told, our viewers -- you know, we keep track of the response that people send in to us. We keep track of these things. Our viewers want stories about this. Our viewers hate this. They don't like -- they don't like...
ROBERTS: Well, you're supposed to (INAUDIBLE).
ROMANS: ...the fact that they're paying for their bags when jet fuel costs are coming down. The industry representatives have told me, well, the bags were never really tied to the higher fuel cost. That was something different.
ROBERTS: What was it tied to?
ROMANS: It was tied to this new world of decoupling, of unbundling of the fare.
ROBERTS: They didn't reduce the base price of the fare by the 30 bucks for the bag, did they?
ROMANS: Oh, I don't think so, no. And the industry does not like it when we say - or when people criticize it and say that this is just a way to make money. It's a way to make money. They're nickeling and diming. They say that they're not making money. They're expected to lose four to six -- I love John's reaction to this story. As a guy who flies a lot, clearly, I know, when you go to the -- you should see me when I go to the airport.
ROBERTS: You got to go.
ROMANS: It's a circus when I go to the airport.
COSTELLO: I love paying money to carrying my bags.
ROMANS: Would you rather pay less, Carol?
ROBERTS: We got to go.
COSTELLO: I'm not paying less! It's expensive to fly.
ROBERTS: We really do.
ROMANS: All right.
ROBERTS: This little voice in my ear is saying it.
ROMANS: OK. Fine.
ROBERTS: Thanks.
COSTELLO: OK. Millions of people are expected in Washington for Barack Obama's inauguration and if they fly, they'll be paying for their bags! Anyway, city officials are expecting gridlock on the streets. But what about your cell phone service?
Plus, he was the American captured fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan. The parents of John Walker Lindh now asking President Bush to commute his sentence. The latest for you just ahead. It's 18 minutes past.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." The parents of the so-called American Taliban John Walker Lindh are holding a news conference today to ask President Bush to commute their son's sentence. Our Deborah Feyerick is in following the story for us this morning.
What do you think the chances are he'll commute the sentence?
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Well, hard to say, actually. Nobody knows what the president is thinking at this point. But, you know, the parents say their son loves America. The parents of so-called American Taliban John Lindh now asking President Bush to commute Lindh's 20-year sentence and allow him to get out of prison.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK LINDH, FATHER OF JOHN WALKER LINDH: We love our son very much. He was wrongly accused at the time he was found in Afghanistan of being involved with terrorism or of being involved in the fight against America. These were false charges. In the atmosphere of the time, the best John could get was a plea bargain and a 20-year prison sentence. But we really do hope that the president will commute John's sentence and allow him to come home.
(END VIDEO CLIP) FEYERICK: Now John Lindh's parents have suggested that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Lindh, who grew up in California and became a devout Muslim was in Afghanistan waging holy war with the Taliban the same time the Pentagon and World Trade Center towers were attacked on 9/11. 21 years old, at the time, Lindh was found bloodied and dazed as you see here after a prison uprising the (INAUDIBLE). A CIA officer died in that uprising and initially the U.S. government charged Lindh in connection with the death and the death of other U.S. nationals.
Now, the serious charges were dropped. And Lindh ultimately pleaded guilty to violating economic sanctions while carrying weapons. Lindh has been in custody now for seven years. His parents say even though their son did meet Osama bin Laden, he was never a terrorist or anti-American.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDH: I think I would say President Bush, as one father to another, I would ask that you please let my son out of prison. And apologize for what happened here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Pretty serious words there from the father, but the Walker Lindh Family and their lawyers today expected to hold a press conference at 1:00 p.m. in San Francisco to talk about why they think their son should be released.
And, John, I was in the court there, and the Lindh Family has always stood by their son. They really just feel that, you know, he went to wage holy war because he believed in the concept. Studied at a Madrasah in Pakistan, and had the World Trade Center and the Pentagon not come down, it would never been an issue.
ROBERTS: But the fact is that he is sort of a figurehead of the war on terror. And President Bush has only got one controversial commutation under his belt, that of Scooter Libby.
FEYERICK: I can't see this happening for many, many reasons.
ROBERTS: Yes. Deb, thanks so much for that.
FEYERICK: Of course.
COSTELLO: Well, who wears a bikini in a war zone? Diva Maria does. The wrestling star is here to tell us about her visit to our troops in Iraq. It's 20 minutes past.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: As you can see, she got a great reception in that red, white and blue bikini. World wrestling entertainment superstars took their show on the road to Iraq earlier this month to entertain the troops. WWE's Diva Maria joins me now to talk about what it was like.
Welcome.
DIVA MARIA, WWE WRESTLER: Thank you very much.
COSTELLO: Talk about a reception, all those soldiers.
MARIA: It's amazing. I mean, a lot of those guys have been over there for months on end. They've only seen camouflage and sand basically. You know, even the girls, too. So when we come over, we bring a huge show that's like a rock concert, you know. We come in with our music and our superstars and our divas. It's an amazing experience for us.
MARIA: And not only that, you said you put the guys to work on building the ring.
MARIA: They built the ring and they're actually our set, because you'll see out in the audience, they've got their hummers, their tanks, their trucks all that stuff is all around the ring. So, those guys are basically part of the show.
COSTELLO: That's awesome. So this is the fourth time that you've been in a war zone. Third time for Iraq, right?
MARIA: Yes.
COSTELLO: OK, so, do you see differences now than you did the first two times?
MARIA: Definitely. Definitely. We've been mortared at before, shot at. We've had to go in under smoke coverage before. But this year, we didn't have any of that. And there was some sandstorms that we couldn't get to certain bases, but other than that it was pretty quiet this time. And also the morale of the guys is so much better now. It just seems like they're happier. They realize that they're only going to be over there for the 12 months now, not 15 months. So, they're just in a better mood.
COSTELLO: Do they realize that they may get to come home soon with a new president coming in?
MARIA: You know, I think they're waiting it out right now. I think they don't know exactly what's going to happen, and no one will until after the first of the year, you know. So they are excited about that opportunity, but also some people are nervous, too. It's a whole mixture.
COSTELLO: I know your brother is a soldier.
MARIA: He is.
COSTELLO: And he served in Iraq for a time.
MARIA: He did. But at the beginning, so they didn't have, you know, the armor on the hummers as much. They didn't have as much coverage over there. They also were living in tents when he was over there. So, he went over five years ago. Actually, the year before I went the first time.
COSTELLO: So, things are much better now. Tell me about the reception that you get once you're actually in front of all of those guys.
MARIA: You know, the funniest thing for me is the guys always tell me how good I smell. It's amazing to me. It's like they haven't smelled perfume in a while. So, I'll stand next to the guys, and they're like, wow, you smell good, can you stay here for a while? And I always laugh. I think that's so funny. But someone told me, a soldier told me a long time ago, that it just reminds them of home. So, that's nice for me.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes. And it's hard to catch a good shower over there, probably, too.
MARIA: It's -- you know what, it's just that you're always surrounded by the military. And so, of course, everybody just ends up smelling like sand and like war.
COSTELLO: What do you get out of going over there?
MARIA: I get to experience something that my brother did. And I also get to give back to so many different troops come to our shows all the time, when we were in the United States. So, it's nice to go over there and go to them, when they're not able to come and see our shows. Plus, I saw a cousin that's actually working as a contractor over there, too.
COSTELLO: You're kidding.
MARIA: I'm not. It was so funny. His name is Eric, and he actually is a contractor. He does transportation between different places. And I saw him as well, so I definitely got that out of it, seeing my family.
COSTELLO: That's awesome. Thank you so much for doing that.
MARIA: Thank you.
COSTELLO: I'm glad they enjoyed you. And you were delightful.
MARIA: Yes, definitely.
COSTELLO: Come back.
MARIA: Thank you so much. I will. And make sure you watch the show, it's on NBC and it will be on the 20th.
COSTELLO: We'll do. Diva Maria, thank you so much.
MARIA: Thank you.
COSTELLO: John?
ROBERTS: 29 minutes after the hour now and here are these morning's top stories. Happening right now, protests over the killing of a teenager in Greece continue to heat up. Demonstrators have now hung two giant banners off of the Acropolis, calling for mass demonstrations and resistance. Violent riots over the shooting death have paralyzed parts of Athens over the past 11 days.
This morning, investors who lost billions of dollars want answers as to why the $50 billion Wall Street scam wasn't stopped. The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission admits the agency dropped the ball, and this morning Bernard Madoff, the man accused of the biggest rip-off in history, will be in court for a bail hearing.
Illinois Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. says he has given information to the U.S. attorney's office about alleged wrongdoers and he's been doing it for at least a decade, including details about alleged wrong doing by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. But Jackson's spokesman says that does not include the current investigation over Barack Obama's Senate seat. Jackson is rejecting the label of being an informant.
Breaking news this morning. We are waiting for pictures of the first successful face transplant performed on American soil. This kind of transplant raises many ethical questions. Earlier, we spoke with Dr. Art Capulet (ph). He's with the University of Pennsylvania's Medical Ethics Department.
A decade ago, he was against the surgery all together. Has he changed his mind?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF DR. ART CAPLAN, CHAIRMAN, DEPT. OF MEDICAL ETHICS, UNIVERSITY OF PA.: It's important for the viewers to understand, this kind of facial disfigurement what they're talking about, these are people that don't come out, who basically stay at home, have a huge suicide rate, they're really up against it, I think that persuaded me to the efforts of trying them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Surgeons used a cadaver's face for the transplant. Joining us now to talk about this is Dr. Bohdan Pomahac. He is a plastic surgeon who specializes in facial reconstruction. Dr. Pomahac, good to have you with us this morning. What do you think of the outcome of this procedure? I know that we don't yet know what the actual outcome itself will be, but the fact that they say it's a successful surgery.
VOICE OF DR. BOHDAN POMAHAC, PLASTIC SURGEON, BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL: Good morning. Well I'm certainly awaiting anxiously more details. I think it's exciting that we can provide this very valuable option of facial reconstruction to the patients in need. So, I'm very excited and encouraged by the news.
ROBERTS: Right, in terms of, you know, this type of reconstruction, we were talking with a doctor a little while ago who performed the first successful hand transplant. He said that in terms of laying skin over muscle and underlying tissue, you're pretty good at that, because of existing facial reconstruction but what are some of the other, the greater concerns about an operation like this in terms of its success?
POMAHAC: Well, I think there's certainly several concerns in different categories. The first one would be the immediate surgical failure that could happen due to reconnection of very small vessels together. And if they clot which typically happens within the first 24 hours, that could lead to immediate disaster. But fortunately the odds are very low of that happening. And then there are several periods of time where infection could strike or rejection could occur. But ultimately, I think we have seen, at least on several examples of facial transplantation and many examples of arm and limb transplants, that this, indeed, is controllable with very potent medications.
ROBERTS: Right. You probably heard Dr. Kaplan, just as I was introducing you, talking about this idea of him initially being against the procedure, but then thinking that it's probably a good idea for some people. He also had a caveat, though, that we didn't hear, that I'll relate to you here, he said that if this procedure does not work, if for some reason it's rejected or, as you suggested, could potentially be a failure, that the option of assisted suicide should be on the table for the patient. What do you think of that?
POMAHAC: I don't really think that that would be my immediate reaction to it. I think that patients have - many patients have actually courageously lived with major facial disfigurement and in my patient population I've seen those that essentially refuse even being considered for transplantation because they essentially identified with their new self. So, I think there are still conventional means that should be able to provide the patients the outcome of reconstruction that they perhaps were prior to the transplant.
ROBERTS: Well, it certainly is a procedure that raises many, many questions, Dr. Bohdan Pomahac for us this morning from Boston. Thanks for being with us.
POMAHAC: My pleasure.
ROBERTS: A reminder the team of doctors who performed the surgery will be holding a press conference this afternoon. That will be at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, and CNN, of course, will carry that live.
COSTELLO: On to a bit of politics now. The cabinet slots in President-elect Barack Obama's administration are filling up fast. Yesterday Obama named his basketball buddy and Chicago school chief, Arne Duncan to be the next secretary of education. Duncan is a man who has produced results and shown that he's not afraid to embrace controversial policies. CNN's Jason Carroll joins us now to tell us is more.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Controversial policies like green for grades, which is paying students to get good grades. You know the folks that we talked to say Duncan gets high marks from a lots of people out there in Chicago. They say that his record in Chicago is a good indicator. He is ready to take on the nation's educational challenges.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): President-elect Obama put his new education secretary, Arne Duncan, in front of a familiar audience. But the tough questions were firmly directed towards Obama.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When are you going to send the soldiers home?
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: Well, you know, do you have a - do you have somebody in your family who's in Iraq?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, my cousin.
OBAMA: You have a cousin in Iraq? Well, one of the things that I promised that I would do is to try to bring this war in Iraq to an end.
CARROLL: The students are from the Dodge Renaissance Academy, just one of the Chicago schools Duncan is credited with turning around. It's symbolic of why many in education support him.
ROY ROMER, FORMER COLORADO GOVERNOR: I think he's been effective, because, one, he's willing to go out and close schools that aren't working. Two, he has been rigorous in the demand for that district to raise its expectations.
CARROLL: Seven years ago, when Duncan became Chicago's school superintendent, the city had one of the country's worst urban school systems. Duncan raised elementary test scores. More than 65 percent of students meeting or exceeding state standards. The number of high school students taking advanced placement classes doubled during his tenure. Education, he says, is his life's work.
ARNE DUNCAN, EDUCATION SECRETARY NOMINEE: Education is the common thread. It is the civil rights issue of our generation. And it is the one sure path to a more equal, fair, and just society.
CARROLL: Duncan supporters say he's passionate, but not an ideologue.
RANDI WEINGARTEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED FEDERATION OF TEACHERS: We've been talking about Arne Duncan as a good choice for the last several weeks.
CARROLL: Despite Duncan's efforts to reform the city's schools, still only about half of Chicago's high school students graduate, leaving some to wonder if he has what it takes to fix the nation's ailing schools.
VERONICA ANDERSON, EDITOR IN CHIEF, "CATALYST CHICAGO": He's been criticized for his lack of classroom experience, and he's also - there are people who say, you know, he just does what Mayor Daley tells him.
CARROLL: But Veronica Anderson, editor in chief of an education publication, called "Catalyst Chicago," does credit Duncan for recruiting better teachers and improving the curriculum.
ANDERSON: I think those things bodes well for someone who is looking at the nation where there are a lot of other urban school districts that are dealing with very complicated problems.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And Duncan's supporters say he has been successful in Chicago because he's willing to embrace a broad range of ideas. For example, pushing for after-school programs in impoverished neighborhoods. He also had thousands of high school freshmen voluntarily return to class one month early to receive some academic help.
COSTELLO: Good for him. Jason Carroll. Thanks.
ROBERTS: So, here's another thought about this whole thing. With this selection of Arne Duncan as his education secretary, the incoming president-elect appears to have put together a pretty good starting lineup.
COSTELLO: Yes.
ROBERTS: If you will. OK, so, you know, Barack Obama loves to play basketball, right? So Arne Duncan as well, he played professional basketball. He played it in Australia. National security adviser James Jones played at Georgetown, he was a jolla, and incoming attorney general, Eric Holder and U.N. ambassador Susan Rice played in high school, something that Obama touched on during yesterday's news conference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: I just wanted to dispel one rumor before I take questions. I did not select Arne because he's one of the best basketball players I know. Although I will say that I think we are putting together the best basketball-playing cabinet in American history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: What do you think?
CARROLL: Well, you know --
ROBERTS: Is he putting together a starting lineup?
CARROLL: Well, you know I'm 6'4". So obviously I'd be perfect for the Obama team there. Just kidding.
ROBERTS: It is a little bit - you know, we'll probably see them on some presidential trips getting together and getting out on the court.
CARROLL: I think it's refreshing it's basketball this time instead of the boring jogging. ROBERTS: I tell you I can't relate to the basketball. I'm the classic example of white man can't jump. If I had a ladder I'd miss the hoop.
COSTELLO: I'm very good at playing horse.
ROBERTS: Horse?
COSTELLO: Do you remember playing horse?
ROBERTS: What the heck is that?
COSTELLO: What!
CARROLL: Playing horse?
ROBERTS: Finding health coverage after you lose your job. Gerri Willis with the health care options that you really need to know about. We got that for you, coming up when we figure what thing, what occurs.
CARROLL: I don't even know, what the heck is it?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: This morning, a special investigation is under way to find out what happened at a reform school in northern Florida. And whether a simple makeshift cemetery is a mass grave for abused boys. The inquiry was ordered after a group of men, now in their 60s, came forward to talk about the horrors they witnessed decades ago. CNN's Ed Lavandera has their story from the schools, now dilapidated grounds in Marianna, Florida.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Carol, this building might look like a dilapidated old storage structure but to many of the students who came to the Florida reform school for boys in the 1950s and 60s, they call it a torture chamber.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They shouldn't be. They shouldn't be.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The sign of 31 simple crosses brings back decades of pain for Brian Middleton.
For these people to be here, these young children to be buried in unmarked graves, not knowing who they are. This is a travesty against mankind.
LAVANDERA: Nearly 50 years ago, Middleton and thousands of young boys came through the Florida Reform School for Boys that once stood on these grounds. For years, many of the former students told stories of excruciating abuse suffered at the hands of the schools administrators. They say those beatings took place in this building, known as the White House. ROBERT STRALEY, FORMER STUDENT: Just looking at it gives you the creeps you know because if you were going down there, you were going to get the beating of your life.
LAVANDERA: A growing liege of former students, now in their 60s, say for some boys, a violent night in the White House ended in these unmarked graves. Many of the school's administrators have died, but a few are still alive, like Troy Tidwell who is now in his late 80s. We found him living in a small house in the Florida panhandle. He wouldn't talk to us but he recently told "The Miami Herald" that the boys were spank but denied they were ever injured. Florida's governor has called for an investigation into the alleged abuse and to determine who if anyone is buried beneath these white crosses.
GOV. CHARLIE CRIST (R), FLORIDA: I think it's important justice always cries out for a conclusion.
LAVANDERA: The push for an investigation was led by a group of men known as the White House boys. During the course of a three-hour interview, they detailed stories of young boys who simply vanished from the school. These men believe more than 31 of them were killed. Dick Cologne remembers another boy who died after being stuffed in a spinning dryer. Not helping the boy has haunted Cologne since that night in the laundry.
DICK COLOGNE: I told myself, if you do it, they're going to put you in there. You're going to be next. And - and I walked away. I don't know how often in a week I think about that. How chicken [ bleep ] I was.
LAVANDERA: For nearly 50 years, few have believed their stories. But, they say, that's finally starting to change.
LAVANDERA (on-camera): The investigation into abuse at the Florida Reform School for Boys is just beginning. And investigators say it could take months, if not years, to figure out who is buried in these 31 unmarked graves. John and Kiran, back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Wow, Ed Lavandera reporting for us this morning. It's 44 minutes after the hour.
Jobless claims at the highest they've been in a generation, but your health may not be able to wait until you get a new job. Gerri Willis has got some answers though. She's got the options that you might want to consider. We'll have that for you in a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Your boss just dropped the ax, you're out of a job. It's devastating news that not only means you've lost your paycheck but also your health benefits. This morning we're talking about your rights with personal finance editor Gerri Willis, part of our special series "Layoff Survival Guide." And Gerri joins us now. So what do you do? GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Yes, this is very concerning to folks out there. Good morning. The first thing to think about are those health care benefits that's critical to staying solvent over the long haul, if you're unemployed and you don't have any money coming in. So first things first, think about special enrollment. This is when you get on a family members' health care plan. You can do this at any time if you're laid off. You don't have to wait for open enrollment. It's called special enrollment. However, you only have 30 days to do it. There's a deadline involved. Next option, more expensive, is C.O.B.R.A.. It's a federal law, that allows you to continue your current benefits. But let's take a look at some of these numbers. First off, here's what you would typically be paying for health care benefits. Let's take a look at those. As you can see, $721 for an individual policy. Over $3,000 for a family. But if you have to pay for this yourself, check out these numbers, here's how much your annual health care bill would go up.
ROBERTS: Whoa!
WILLIS: It's a lot of money. $5,000 for individuals, almost $13,000 for families. It's expensive, but if you have a pre-existing condition, you may want to pay to play, because if you don't have health care coverage, you can get yourself into real trouble. And, of course, if you meet income requirements, you can also sign up for Medicaid or S.H.I.P., these are programs administered by states, and they have people with very low incomes have some sort of health care coverage.
I want to give a toll-free number here, because this is very confusing. A lot of deadlines for people who are emotionally distraught just lost their jobs. If you have questions about your health care benefits, call 866-444-3272. This gets you in touch with the people at the Department of Labor. They have a whole team of people all over the country who answer these questions all the time. They can definitely help you.
One word of warning here, if you go 63 days or more without insurance after being laid off, when you get reemployed, you may have trouble being covered for pre-existing conditions. So, it makes really good sense.
COSTELLO: That's vile.
WILLIS: It is vile. It's terrible. But that's the law. So, that's why you need to pursue some of these options out there to get some kind of coverage. And even these Medicaid and S.H.I.P. programs, they are really - you know they help with kids, getting coverage for children and I know that's a primary concern for parents out there.
ROBERTS: So many things people have to worry about when they get laid off.
WILLIS: That's right and they don't have a lot of backup. So those phone numbers are critical to getting help if you do have questions.
ROBERTS: Gerri, it's great to get your help on that this morning. Thanks so much.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
ROBERTS: And tomorrow, the long-term plan, how do you survive over the long haul and get the next job? Gerri is going to have that in our ongoing series "Layoff survival guide."
COSTELLO: So your life's a mess? So what? You just had an angry Iraqi journalist throw a shoe at you. So what? Our Jeanne Moos has a new catch phrase for all occasions. So take back that anger at me for saying so what.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. Remember this striking image of the last house standing after Hurricane Ike? Back in September, the storm destroyed everything in the coastal town of Gilchrist, Texas, except for Pam and Warren Adams' home. Now they decorated it for Christmas to bring the neighborhood some holiday cheer. They still don't have electricity, so they have to use a generator, but it looks much better now, don't you think?
Another bitter cold day, by the way, for much of the country. People in the Midwest and on the west coast are waking up to temperatures way below zero. Snow and ice now blanketing parts of New England now, too. In Chicago hundreds of fliers were stranded after storms forced airlines to cancel more than 300 flights. So, hopefully, that horrible weather is moving out, but Rob Marciano, I don't think so, right?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: No. It's not even December 21st, Carol. So we're just ramping up for a long season.
COSTELLO: Great.
MARCIANO: How about that? Some pink on the map that's not usually good when you're talking temps. You mentioned a lot of folks below freezing. Three in Minneapolis, 18 in Chicago and things not warming up there. You really have to get extreme in the east coast or southeast corner really, to enjoy anything that's comfortable. Not so comfortable temperatures - Simpson, Montana, minus 39, yesterday, Harlem, Montana, minus 35, Chinook, Montana, minus 35. that's 35 below zero. Fahrenheit, actually that temperature is about the same. And it's dangerously cold and that's without the wind-chill. High pressure, some rain across the Appalachians and also some snow across extreme upstate New York but, again, the coldest air is going to be across the western nearly two-thirds of the country. A quick check just south of Columbus, because I know Carol's got some Ohio roots. Tellacottie (ph) where temperatures yesterday were cold enough for snow. There you go. And in parts of Iowa, you mention this in the last hour, they got a little ice or salt shortage problem. So Ton Spices are donating nine tons of garlic salt and they say it works regardless of the flavoring and you can spread along your pizza if you like.
All right. West coast ore action coming in so we're getting reinforcing shots of cold air. Winter storm warnings posted for the northwest and moisture coming in already into the plains and some of it turning into a wintry mix. And Chicago tomorrow afternoon, it's a Friday morning, we could see some icing situations there. And maybe four to eight inches of snow northwest of Chicago, during the nighttime hours Thursday night, into Friday morning. So, not much of a break, Carol. It is wintertime and we've got a couple more months left.
COSTELLO: I know. Garlic salt works as good as I guess it would. Why not?
MARCIANO: Why not, hey?
COSTELLO: It smells better.
MARCIANO: If you get hungry, need a little something on your sandwich.
COSTELLO: Pick up the dirty, mushy snow with the gar -- yum.
MARCIANO: We shouldn't say that, huh? Someone's actually going to that.
COSTELLO: I bet they will. 55 minutes past the hour.
MARCIANO: Al right. See you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): The new catch phrase heard everywhere -
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT So what?
ROBERTS: Just say just say "so what?"
PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: So what if he had a shoe.
ROBERTS: From the stork market to flying shoes, Jeanne Moos with the most unusual way to fight back. You're watching the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ROBERTS: OK. So you just heard Pink sing it "So What," it's the new catch phrase heard everywhere. Wall Street crashed? So what. And angry Iraqi throwing shoes at you. So what. Jeanne Moos with the new two word come back for any crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MOOS (voice-over): It is the season all right, the season of -- BUSH: So what?
So.
So what if the guy threw a shoe at me?
MOOS: Easy for him to say, he didn't get a black eye like his spokesperson did in the scuffle to subdue the shoe thrower. Lately what seems what's being thrown around is so what.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So what if he was? So what if Obama was Arab?
MOOS: An Obama impersonator -
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: Oval office. Even raps so what. So what I'm half black and half white. So what I can bump with my wife. Men, I can do whatever I like. I like.
MOOS: But it was Vice President Dick Cheney who we first noticed in an ABC interview replying to a question about how three-quarters of Americans say the Iraq war is not worth fighting.
VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY: So?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So?
And then the other day President Bush justifying invading Iraq saying Iraq is where Al Qaeda said it was taking a stand.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But not until after the U.S. invaded.
BUSH: Yes. That's -- that's right. So what?
Moos: So what, that comeback that sounds like a putdown. Something kids say. Something the "sopranos" gang guys say over a dead horse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You cooked that [ bleep ] horse alive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I did not. But so what?
MOOS: So what. So passive aggressive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So what? So passive-aggressive.
MOOS: Yes, so what?
Yes, so what? So passive-aggressive. Congressman Barney Frank used at telling 60 minutes how he answered a newspaper reporter who asked him if he was gay.
REP. BARNEY FRANK (R): Yes, so what.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, so what? MOOS: There's even a gay blog called so gay, so what. There's a marketing firm named called so what that took it's name from a Miles Davis' piece entitled so what.
Pink made a hit out of her son, "So What." So if there's another 500-point swing in the stock market. So what? If you feel like you can't trust anyone these days. So what? If the excess cheer of the holiday excess cheer of the holidays has you down, so what? Jeanne Moos, CNN - so what -- New York.
ROBERTS: And that's going to wrap it up for us on this AMERICAN MORNING.
COSTELLO: So what?
ROBERTS: So what. We'll see you back here again tomorrow. Thanks for joining us.
COSTELLO: It's Heidi Collins.
