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Disabled HIV Saves Young Cancer Patient; No Deal Yet on Fiscal Cliff; Worries about Fiscal Cliff Plan's After-Affects; Former First Daughter Pregnant.

Aired December 12, 2012 - 11:30   ET

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


DR. STEPHAN GRUPP, ATTENDING PHYSICIAN & MEDICAL DIRECTOR, STEM CELL LABORATORY: But we learned something very important from Emma. We learned how to block the immune activation that was making her sick. She got better very rapidly after we treated her with a new medication. And since then, she's been doing great.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: So what she went through helped you deal with other patients. That's incredible.

I want to bring in Elizabeth Cohen on this.

Because when I read that the T-cells turn into cancer cell killers, essentially, what applications does this have for the other cancers out there and how to use it to treat other cancers?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Dr. Grupp said there was a response of nine out of 12 of these patients with blood cancers, with lymphomas and leukemias. So the hope is you can take this principle and use it, perhaps, for other cancers. But we're not quite there yet. You don't move from an experiment like this on 12 people and move it on to every cancer, but the hope is that this principle will apply.

BANFIELD: So let's talk a little bit about what her life is going to be like from here on in.

Her parents were very careful, Dr. Grupp, to say that you never cure cancer. She's going to have to undergo a regular treatment. Is it for the rest of her life, and what is it that she's going to have to undergo?

GRUPP: So first off, we don't like to use the word "cure" until enough time has passed. People are absolutely cured of their cancers and we have every hope that Emma might be cured of her cancer. But we need more time to be able to say that for any person who has been treated with my kind of treatment, including the cell treatment. When we reach several years out from her treatment, if there is still no evidence of her leukemia, at that point we would say that she's cured but she's only eight months out from her treatment and we need more time.

BANFIELD: And I know, Elizabeth, you were curious about what happens in terms of a possible relapse and treatments. I know you wanted to ask the doctor a question, too. COHEN: Dr. Grupp, god forbid, if Emma were to relapse and get cancer again, can you use this treatment on her again since it worked so well the first time?

GRUPP: The answer to that question is there is no reason we couldn't use it again. What we hope, actually, is that this kind of cell therapy treatment, because the cells stay in the body for a long period of time, we're eight months out with Emma and more than two years out with some of the initial adults, we still see those cancer- fighting T-cells in the patients. So as long as those T-cells are in the patient, we have the possibility of preventing any potential later relapse. If for some reason her leukemia would come back, we would have the option to give these cells again.

BANFIELD: Oh, Dr. Grupp, it's just a great story and we're very thankful that you brought it to us. We're even more thankful that you did it successfully.

Dr. Stephan Grupp, and Elizabeth Cohen, thanks to both of you. Happy holidays.

GRUPP: Thank you very much.

BANFIELD: A little close for Emma. We told you she's not with us today because she's in school as a second grader. She plays soccer and reads more than four dozen books per month, and she is loving being a kid.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: It is 20 days now until the New Year and 20 days until the dive off the fiscal cliff. We do not like harping on this, trust me. But as House Speaker John Boehner reminded us just a short time ago, there is still no deal on the table. He and President Obama spoke on the phone late yesterday after trading offers back and forth, and although there is a lot of talking going on, they haven't necessarily agreed on anything yet, certainly not that they're making public.

This is what the White House's offer looks like as it stands. A $1.4 trillion request for new tax revenue. That is down from the last offer which was a request for $1.6 trillion in revenues. Still too high, though. It also includes some new stimulus spending, an increase in U.S.'s borrowing limit, and a commitment to overhaul the corporate tax code next year. But like I said, it's not sitting well with Republicans. They're just not at those numbers.

Here's what Speaker Boehner said at a news conference last hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: His plan does not fulfill his promise to bring a balanced approach to solving this problem. It is mainly tax hikes. And his plan does not begin to solve our debt crisis. It actually increases spending.

Our plan meets these standards. It cuts spending and paves the way of real job growth in our country.

In the five weeks since we signaled our willingness to forge an agreement with the president, he's never put forth a plan that meets these standards. And frankly, that's why we don't have an agreement today.

You know, the longer the White House slow-walks this discussion, the closer our economy gets to the fiscal cliff and the more American jobs are placed in jeopardy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Well, they talk and we all listen, and then we decide who we appreciate more. It's in the form of a poll, who is handling these negotiations better. The latest ABC News/"Washington Post" poll says 49 percent of Americans think President Obama is doing a better job of all of this, while only 25 percent say they approve of Speaker Boehner's efforts. Those aren't the numbers you want to see if you're the speaker right now.

Our senior Congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, has been working her sources throughout the morning, joining me live now from Washington.

One of the things I think, Dana, that's so frustrating, is we get a lot of rhetoric on television and we hear later about secret conversations. I just wonder how much rhetoric is going on behind closed doors or if they're really getting closer.

DANA BASH, SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you just mentioned there was a phone call between the speaker and the president, and by all accounts, it really did not go well. I'm learning new information about why that may have been. I talked to a Democratic source who said that counteroffer the House Republicans sent back to the White House late yesterday included a call for a permanent extension of Bush-era tax cuts for the top 2 percent. You know we've been talking constantly about the fact that the biggest divide between the two when it comes to taxes is that tax break for the wealthiest. So this Democratic source, who I talked to, familiar with the proposal, said this was a sign to the White House that the Republicans are either unwilling or not capable of offering something that can pass the House and the Senate, and, more importantly, that the president can sign, because he has said he does not want to -- he wants to raise tax rates for the wealthiest Americans.

I will tell you, Republicans who I spoke with, countered that that doesn't make sense to them, that the Republicans' whole intention is to deal with the Bush-era tax rates right now because you have to deal with that, but that down the road they want to reform the tax code. So there is a little to'ing and fro'ing, no surprise, going back and forth over this point.

But the bigger picture, it seems to help explain why the president and the speaker did not have a good conversation. And that is something that I asked the speaker about earlier today. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOEHNER: I didn't say it was tense. Listen, there were some offers exchanged back and forth yesterday, and the president and I had a pretty frank conversation about just how far apart we are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Of course, from the Republicans' perspective, what they've been saying publicly, even more over the last 24 hours or so, is that they're frustrated, and the speaker, I'm told, expressed this frustration behind closed doors this morning to his Republican caucus. They're frustrated because they don't think the White House is doing enough to come to their position of cutting more spending from the government.

BANFIELD: I'm a little confused about the issue of permanence. If Speaker Boehner is talking about making permanent those tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent, how does that square with the tax reform down the road?

BASH: That really is the crux of these conversations' that I've been having with these sources today. What the Democratic source said is that the reason why the White House has their back up is because, the way they read the Republican counteroffer was to say that any tax reform would not include any tax rate that's higher than current law, which is a non-starter for the Democrats, because they've said they wanted to raise taxes on the wealthiest 2 percent, tax rates on the wealthiest 2 percent.

Again, I will tell you that this Republican source I'm talking to says, well, that may not be the case, that we will change the tax code when it comes to tax reform.

So what exactly happened between the two, they're secretive, as you say, we don't know exactly what was on the paper, except for the fact this is an indication of how these two sides really seem to be talking past each other, even when it comes to the president and the speaker.

BANFIELD: All right, Dana Bash, thank you. It feels like we're back to square one again, so clearly you and I will continue this kind of conversation.

Dana, reporting for us live on Capitol Hill.

Innovator and entrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson, has been talking with our own Suzanne Malveaux about the fiscal cliff and also about the Republican Party becoming more electable. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIR RICHARD BRANSON, FOUNDER: VIRGIN GROUP: I think, if the Republican party you could change so that they were more fiscally astute but they also really cared about the individual and they cared as much about the gay person living in America, as the single mother, as the woman that, you know, can't -- just can't have her eighth child or her ninth child, et cetera, et cetera. I mean, being a little more caring and understanding, then I think Republicans could become electable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Stay tuned for this exclusive interview. It's coming up on CNN NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL with Suzanne Malveaux.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: As Washington continues its political game of chess on the financial fiscal cliff, the people outside the Beltway are watching and waiting and they are really worried about how the fallout could affect their lives, their personal economies, as our Christine Romans likes to call them.

Christine actually had a chance to speak to folks about the micro level of what it means to us despite all the haggling on the Hill.

What did you find out?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I found out people are really nervous about where we're going and how quickly this gets fixed because it affects them right now.

I talked to a woman named Alecia Warthen. She has a B.A. in accounting. She has three kids, the youngest 11. She's been out of work since about April, and she's terrified that, on December 29, she's going to lose her extended unemployment benefits.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: You've been looking for a job for more than six months now. Are you optimistic or pessimistic that things will turn around?

ALECIA WARTHEN, UNEMPLOYED WORKER, WORRIED ABOUT FISCAL CLIFF PLAN: I believe it will turn around. It's going to take time, but I believe it's going to happen.

ROMANS: And you need the government to help now until that can happen?

WARTHEN: Yes, I do. I have a household to run, still have bills to pay, and I need help. I need help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Alecia is selling her stuff and she's looking at two 401K that she's hoping not to have to raid, but she thinks things are looking better next year. And that's what's interesting. When you look at this recent survey from T.B. Ameritrade, 43 percent say they're optimistic about the year ahead. Compared that to last year with only 24 percent. People think, they think, Ashleigh, that things are going to start getting better but they just aren't feeling it just yet.

BANFIELD: I tell you something that's very frustrating, when you read a report that suggests our household and personal debts as Americans actually dropped in the last quarter by $74 billion. People, apparently, reducing their own personal debts by $2 trillion since the peak back in 2008.

So if we can do it personally, you know, if people like the ones we've spoken to have been tightening their belts, nobody seems to be doing that on the micro level.

ROMANS: Let me bring in a small business owner from New Jersey. This is someone who eloquently puts what businesses -- exactly about tightening the belt. They are seeing less demand and they're making adjustments and they're furious, furious about their lawmakers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY SCHEININGER, SMALL BUSINESS OWNER: It's not enough for Congress to come along and say, OK, we've decided on this deal for 2013.

ROMANS: Uh-huh.

SCHEININGER: I think the political class is loving this detention. We're all sitting here on pins and needles and baited breath waiting for "they on high" to decide our futures. It would be really nice if we could get back to the point where they say, here's the rates, here's the depreciation, here's withholding, here's what FICA and Social Security is going to be, and let the rest of us go do what we're supposed to do, which is help Alecia get a job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Can you imagine if you're running a business and you don't know what your payroll is going to look like? You have to wait to see how to change your payroll software for the first day of January? That's just a couple weeks away. They need to know what to do now.

BANFIELD: Right. And you can't do anything --

ROMANS: No.

BANFIELD: -- because you don't have the decision to do so.

Real quickly, with 30 seconds left, January 1st comes along, and we proverbially fall off the fiscal cliff. Where will we feel it first?

ROMANS: It's one thing after another. First thing is the payroll tax holiday. Right away the first week you would have less money in your paycheck. People like Alecia immediately would lose that check, and there's going to be 2 million people at the end of December who would lose their checks and another million by the end of the first quarter who would lose their checks according to the national employment law project. And your tax rates could go up for everyone. You could pay a higher tax rate, and guys like Jeffrey Scheininger have to figure out how to change that when you get paid by your company.

(LAUGHTER) BANFIELD: That payroll tax holiday, yes. Effectively, on January 1st, we start to feel it, if your employers can get their software changed to --

(CROSSTALK)

ROMANS: -- payroll taxes and the FICA and all that stuff, yes.

BANFIELD: No matter whether you see it on your check or not, it's going to be there ultimately at some point.

OK, bad news and very interesting news at the same time.

ROMANS: I love her outlook about next year, though. Even Alecia is optimistic about next year. She wants a job. She needs a job. She thinks it will look better, and I think that is what helps her carry through.

BANFIELD: That helps with the horrors of uncertainty.

Christine Romans, thank you.

I also want to let you know that one of the people Christine was speaking to was a college student who can't even wrap his minds around the fact that his student loan debt is around a trillion dollars. His first concern is whether he can even find a job once he graduates. So there's all sorts of different stories that revolve around this big story.

Back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(LAUGHTER)

CHELSEA ROFF: How are you?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's hard to believe, but Chelsea Roff says one day at the age of 15 part of her brain died.

ROFF: I now know, from looking at hospital records, that I was 58 pounds.

GUPTA: 58 pounds, and close to dying because so many parts of her body were failing. There are no pictures of Roff at her sickest. This was taken about a year earlier, but she remembers how starting a diet with her mom in the midst of a traumatic childhood spiraled into anorexia.

ROFF: Looking back, I think my body was my only way to tell the people around me that something wasn't OK.

GUPTA: Help came for Roff when she was hospitalized for 18 months following her stroke.

ROFF: I had a bed, I had nurses and doctors that showed up every day and were consistent. I had food, and I had water. I was finally getting like digestive function back.

GUPTA: As part of her recovery, her therapist suggested Roff try to yoga to start to listen to her body again without burning too many calories. Time on her mat helped her gain confidence, learn to interact with people and slowly change her personality. Today she writes and shares her story with other patients that struggle with eating disorders as well as her loved ones.

ROFF: I tell girls, I'm not afraid of my fullness.

GUPTA: She's quick to point out yoga is not a cure for anything. It helped her rebuild her life as a tool.

ROFF: You can live in your body fully. You can have happiness, and that's for me the biggest thing.

(APPLAUSE)

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Right-to-Work state. This happened when Michigan's Republican governor, Rick Snyder, signed two bills yesterday that essentially allow workers to have the freedom to join a union or not. It restricts unions from requiring people it to pay dues and join them in a company. One deals with private sector workers, the other deals with public employees. The angry opponents took to the streets in the days leading up to the votes. The governor calls the measures pro- worker and pro-Michigan. A Democratic lawmaker said passing these bills is, quote, "an act of war on Michigan's middle class."

This might be a sign of times. The pope has entered the Twittersphere. I love this picture. I just love it. Pope Benedict XVI posting his first message at the Vatican. He tweeted, "Dear friends, I'm pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart." Within an hour, the pontiff had achieved 700,000 English-speaking followers on his account. His handle, if you want to get with the program, is @pontifex. That means bridge builder in Latin.

Get ready for another member of the Bush dynasty. Former first daughter, Jenna Bush, is pregnant. She's expected her first child, with her husband, Henry Hagar, who she married in 2008. I can't believe it's been that long. She confirmed her pregnancy on NBC's "Today" show. A little phone call came into the show. Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, calling in about the prospect of becoming grandparents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm fired up.

(LAUGHTER)

Looking forward to it. I'm excited for Jenna and Henry. And you know, it's -- I can barely contain the news when I found out. So now I can tell all my buddies.

(LAUGHTER)

I'll be the guy in the Ford 250 driving around the ranch.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

GEORGE W. BUSH: -- grandchild.

LAURA BUSH, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: We'll be at the ranch with the kids.

JENNA BUSH HAGAR, DAUGHTER OF GEORGE W. BUSH: And they're looking forward to that, too.

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, CO-HOST, TODAY SHOW: Mr. President, and Mrs. Bush, where do you come down on spoiling grandchildren? To spoil or not to spoil?

(CROSSTALK)

L. BUSH: Oh, definitely to spoil.

BUSH HAGAR: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

L. BUSH: No doubt about it.

G.W. BUSH: Kind of like we did our daughter.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)