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U.S. Cancer Survival On The Rise; Supreme Court Debates DOMA; Kennedy Pictures Released; 2014 Honda Minivan Features Vacuum

Aired March 27, 2013 - 14:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Fantastic news in the fight against cancer. Moments ago a study revealed, over the course of the next decade, the number of survivors will rise. We'll tell you why.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

Tension at the Supreme Court. What today's hearing on gay marriage reveals about the justices' thinking.

Plus, brand-new pictures of the Kennedys, behind closed doors. And one image is pretty eerie.

And, stunning video of a bus driver's close call.

And hello. Good to be with you here on this Wednesday.

I want to begin with something. This is just fantastic news. This impacts the lives and families of every single American. Each year, 1.7 million people are diagnosed with cancer. And on top of that, 577,000 will die of the disease. But now, released moments ago, a cancer study has some good news. Over the course of the next 10 years, the number of people surviving their cancer diagnosis is projected to increase by 31 percent. Folks, that is 18 million cancer survivors. If I may, hallelujah to that.

Let's talk about this here off the top. Some good news here. Dr. Charles Staley, chief of surgical oncology at Emory University.

Welcome, doctor.

DR. CHARLES STALEY, CHIEF OF SURGICAL ONCOLOGY, EMORY UNIVERSITY:: Thank you.

BALDWIN: And "Time" magazine writer Alice Park is here as well.

And let me just say, we're talking to Alice because "Time's" cover story, take a look, tackles in depth looking at cancer, these dream teams, this sort of team effort in paving a path to find this cure. And so we're going to talk about that.

But, doctor, I have to begin with you. And if I may, on a personal level, I hear you are a survivor yourself.

STALEY: I am. In fact, I had my two-year doctor's appointment this morning. BALDWIN: And it went well, I hope.

STALEY: It went well. Thank you.

BALDWIN: Well, congratulations to you. And, I mean, who isn't touched by cancer, whether it's yourself or someone you know and love. Let me begin with this study here. It was embargoed until just a little bit ago. And I know you know a bit about it. But the conclusion is that cancer survivors, they're on the rise over the course of the next 10 years. Why?

STALEY: Well, I think you've seen now 4 million more people compared to a decade ago living, you know, after cancer diagnosis. And I think it's a combination of better prevention, finding tumors in an earlier stage, and then better treatment plan for people.

BALDWIN: I know I feel like I'm excited about this. Are you excited about this?

STALEY: Oh, it's absolutely phenomenal --

BALDWIN: OK.

STALEY: Because I think, you know, I've been doing cancer treatment for 20 years.

BALDWIN: Wow.

STALEY: And when I first started, it was -- it was hard to go to work every day. And now it's just exciting. I mean every day you hear about new preventions, new trials, new drugs, new treatments. It's a great time, actually, to be involved in cancer care.

BALDWIN: Yes, I imagine your line of work isn't an easy one, but it's good that you can be more excited working in oncology and cancer -- and surgical oncology at Emory.

Alice, to you. When, you know, you read this "Time" magazine article, it talks about sort of the scientists and doctors at the top of their game forming these dream teams. And the crux of the piece, it seems, is that it's a team effort really now to improve the path to cancer research. Why is that?

ALICE PARK, STAFF WRITER, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Well, if you think about it, ever since the 1970s, when the war on cancer was first declared, you know the goal was to get to this point. It was to get to where we would have people surviving five years out, and with good treatments, that would help them to live full and normal lives. But now that we're here, really the challenge is how we help these people to continue to survive as healthy individuals. And that's what this piece was about, was looking at how do we change the way we think about cancer care, to take advantage of the fact that it's no longer just about breast cancer or prostate cancer or lung cancer, but what are the biologic processes that drive all of them. And perhaps we can have better treatments then that will really help patients, not just in one type of cancer, about in many types of cancer. BALDWIN: You know, Alice, you bring up a good point too. And, doctor, here's my question. Because when you look at this study, it talks about different kinds of cancers and different survivability. I mean is one cancer more curable than another?

STALEY: Oh, certainly. You know, certainly things like breast and prostate now, there's many people who are cured and living with disease. Yet on the other hand, I had had neck cancer that was an HPV virus that caused my tumor.

BALDWIN: Wow.

STALEY: And those are, because of the HPV, actually more curable. But then you look at tumors like pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, that we still are doing very poorly with. And we need to understand, as your other guest said, we need to look at the whole picture here. We're gaining on many of these things, but there is still a lot of cancers that we're not doing very well at.

BALDWIN: Dr. Staley, just final question to you. I mean you said you've been in this line of work for more than two decades. For people watching, what really is the takeaway?

STALEY: I think the takeaway is, there's going to be more and more people surviving with cancer. And we worry about just getting them cured. But as physicians and health care --

BALDWIN: But worry about getting them cured?

STALEY: Well, that's what we want to get to.

BALDWIN: Of course.

STALEY: And when we get them cured, we do the big sigh. And many are saying, OK, see you later. But a lot of people have a lot of concerns, whether it be social, sexual, dry mouth, lymphedema after breast surgery. There's so many chronic problems that -- scars of any variety from cancer care that we don't pay a lot of attention to. And I think as people are living with these issues, we need to spend more time understanding them, documenting them, and moving and helping these people.

BALDWIN: Dr. Charles Staley, Emory University, a great place to get treatment. I know folks who have been there myself. Thank you so much. And, of course, Alice, thank you as well.

And now to the highest court in the land. As it takes on what could be the biggest cultural turning point of this generation, whether to legalize same-sex marriage. And today there are better hints as to which way the U.S. Supreme Court may be going. And you can hear this for yourself. Moments ago the audio from inside the courtroom was released. We're going to bring it to you as soon as we possibly can. I promise we're working on turning it around for you.

But yesterday the nine justices, they analyzed a state proposition that bans same-sex marriage. We talked about that yesterday, Prop 8 out of California. Today they analyzed the federal law, the Defense of Marriage Act, otherwise known as DOMA, which defines marriage as strictly between a man and a woman. And after these arguments ended this morning, a same-sex marriage opponents said it looked bad for his side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. ROB SCHENCK, EVANGELICAL CHURCH ALLIANCE: It appears now that DOMA is very shaky. And while we stand for the defense of marriage as between one man and one woman, it is quite clear that that definition on the federal level is at great risk, likely by 5-4.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: At the heart of this case is the story of these women. It's a story that spans 40 years. This is how long Edie Windsor had been with her partner Thea Spyer. Back in 2007, they were married. They later lived in the state of New York, one of the nine states that recognize same-sex marriage. When Spyer died, Windsor learned that she had to pay the sum of money, this $363,000 in estate taxes from an inheritance from Spyer. Windsor says if her spouse had been a man, there would have been zero tax. Just one of the benefits, like Social Security, that same-sex spouses do not get because of DOMA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDIE WINDSOR, PLAINTIFF IN SUPREME COURT CASE: When my beautiful, sparkly Thea died four years ago, I was overcome with grief. Within a month, I was hospitalized with a heart attack. And that's kind of common. It's usually looked at as broken heart syndrome.

In the midst of my grief, I realized that the federal government was treating us as strangers and I paid a humongous estate tax. And it meant selling a lot of stuff to do it. And it wasn't easy. I live on a fixed income and it wasn't easy. Many people ask me, why get married? I was 77. Thea was 75, OK, and maybe we were older than that at that point. But the fact is that everybody treated it as different. It turns out marriage is different. OK. And I've asked a number of long range couples, gay couples, who they got married, I've asked them, you know, was it different the next morning? And the answer is always, yes. It's a huge difference. OK.

When our marriage appeared in "The New York Times," we heard from literally hundreds of people. I mean little playmates and schoolmates and colleagues and friends and relatives, all congratulating us and sending love, because we were married. So it's a magic word. For anybody who doesn't understand why we want it, and why we need it, OK, it -- it is magic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Again, that was Edie Windsor. And here is senior legal analyst Jeff Toobin. And let me show you this tweet that we're now seeing from this SCOTUSblog, Jeff Toobin. This refers to often the swing voter, Justice Anthony Kennedy here, on the highest court. Here is the tweet. "Final updates, SCOTUS, 80 percent likely to strike down DOMA. Justice Kennedy suggests it violates states' rights. Four other justices see as gay rights."

So, states' rights. Well, first of all, why are you chuckling, Jeff Toobin?

JEFF TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, you know, I -- this is the influence of Nate Silver and 538.com that everything can be reduced to a percentage.

BALDWIN: (INAUDIBLE) the numbers.

TOOBIN: Eighty percent chance. I mean, actually, that sounds about right to me, to tell you the truth.

BALDWIN: Does it? Why?

TOOBIN: I've just never seen it reduced to a percentage like this.

BALDWIN: (INAUDIBLE).

TOOBIN: For a very simple reason. Anthony Kennedy repeatedly said during the oral arguments, why can DOMA, this federal law, tell the states how to define marriage? Isn't that a state function? Don't we rely on states, not the federal government, to define what marriage is? He saw it very much, it appeared, as a states' rights question.

The four Democratic appointees, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, all seemed to see it as a matter of discrimination against gay people. But the five of them together were apparently against DOMA. And if they agree, presumably on Kennedy's states' rights theory, DOMA's gone.

BALDWIN: DOMA's gone. When will there be a decision on this case, do we know?

TOOBIN: Well, we never know exactly. Almost certainly the last week in June.

BALDWIN: OK. And so, again, this could, as you point out, based upon Justice Kennedy's questioning, be more of a states' rights issue and less about the rights and same-sex marriage?

TOOBIN: Correct.

BALDWIN: OK.

TOOBIN: But, you know, the lawyers for Edie Windsor know, a win is a win. And if they strike down DOMA, they'll be happy no matter what the theory behind it is.

BALDWIN: OK. Jeff Toobin, thank you so much again today for talking about what's going on at the nation's highest court.

TOOBIN: OK, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Now to some of the hottest stories in a flash. "Rapid Fire." Roll it. Police dash cam video caught this frightening crash on camera here. Firefighter Barry Cron was tossed just about 25 feet when a vehicle lost control on an icy bridge. This is Dayton, Ohio. Look at that, what we spotlighted on the left-hand side. You can see this. It's triggered this chain reaction, causing a truck here to hit a firefighter, slamming him into the guardrail. Cron was hospitalized and is in serious condition.

In Steubenville, Ohio, an online petition here getting all kinds of traction. It calls for the firing of the high school football coach. Already it has racked up just about 40,000 signatures. And this is all happening while two teenage girls appeared in juvenile court today accused of making those online threats against another girl after the football players were convicted of raping her. A grand jury is now looking into whether other people should be charged as well. The school superintendent says firing the football coach is not an option until all the legal processes have concluded. A view echoed by a number of people who live in Steubenville.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But go through the system. The system always works. And I think they ought to just let the grand jury handle it and deal with -- let the officers and the courts deal with the situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And just incredible video here out of eastern China as a bus driver save his own life and his passengers. Watch with me here. The bus carrying 26 passengers -- oh, gosh -- a lamppost smashes right through the windshield. He's OK, amazingly. You see him sort of twitching. Eventually able to stop the bus. Suffered a ruptured spleen. Those other passengers -- look at him get up -- A-OK.

And dramatic, new video just into us here. This massive landslide. This is Whidbey Island in Washington state. Neighbors say they heard a noise, sounded kind of like thunder. Seven homes here, look at this, threatened, including these two. At one point we're told folks right -- walked right up to the edge here to get a look at this landslide up close and personal. We'll talk a little close -- a little more about that next hour.

And now the last time Prince Harry visited America, some racy pictures surfaced of the royal partying in Vegas. Well, guess what? In May, he's coming back. Paying a visit to this guy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: I'm thrilled he's going to come. He wants to come and see the destruction himself firsthand. And he wants to be helpful. And I'm going to be spending the entire day with Prince Harry. And so, believe me, nobody's going to get naked if I'm spending the entire day with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: Prince Harry will actually be stopping through New Jersey to tour the damage from Hurricane Sandy. And as Chris Christie said, he will be keeping an eye on him.

Decades old pictures of the Kennedys just released. Photos showing the former first family behind closed doors. One image brings back some pretty tough memories for the family and for the nation. We'll share those with you.

Plus, scandal and second chances. Hot topics panel going to weigh in on this latest public figure who could benefit by his public apology.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: America's glam fam of the '60s did not live in Beverly Hills. Not hardly. They lived in the nation's capital. In fact, right there, that was their home. This little crib, the White House. Take a look with me. The Kennedys.

Brand-new pictures of the Kennedys released by the Kennedy Library. President Jack, First Lady Jackie, their Kodak moment kids, Caroline and Little John John. These pictures were shot at Camp David 50 years ago this week. And they include, look at this, this image of John John. This is -- it's a haunting image at that. John Kennedy Jr. pretending to fly Marine One. He, of course, would die before his 40th birthday at the controls of his Piper Saratoga.

Joining me now is David Gergen, CNN's senior political analyst.

And, David Gergen, wow. I know they're poignant. This is your word you're using, the poignancy of these photos here. And with the pictures of John John, and I want to talk about that last one here in just a moment, but you remember -- you remember these days.

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I do.

BALDWIN: Fifty years ago. And I know what strikes me when you look at some of these isn't necessarily the glamour of the Kennedys, it's the formality. I mean look at -- look at dad wearing a coat and tie. And mom, of course, talking about Jackie Kennedy, it's certainly a different era, right?

GERGEN: Well, they were a glamorous couple and they, you know, they maintained sort of standards of the time. You -- presidents in those days did wear ties all the time, all the way through Ronald Reagan, and never -- they never went into the Oval Office without a coat and tie on.

And the Kennedys were like that. Their glamour, I think partly came because they had this sort of European style about them that people looked up to in those days. There was sort of a French overlay, if you would. And those pictures are so poignant. That -- especially the -- let's go back to the plane.

BALDWIN: Yes. GERGEN: Well, let's look at the horse. The horse pictures here. That's a horse -- that horse -- I believe that's the same horse. Is that there? Yes, they're putting a bridle on it. That's Paul Fay (ph), who was a pal of the president's. They went to -- they were in the Navy together. And they both were on PT (ph) post (ph) that were cut down separately.

BALDWIN: And here's Caroline. Caroline's getting on the horse.

GERGEN: Here's Caroline getting up on that -- yes.

BALDWIN: Getting on the pony.

GERGEN: Yes.

BALDWIN: And this is what we read. I read this today, David Gergen, because -- for all the Neil Diamond fans, this is -- this is actually where that song, "Sweet Caroline," came from.

GERGEN: Yes.

BALDWIN: Apparently Neil Diamond saw the pictures here, these pictures of Caroline Kennedy riding the pony, and that's what inspired him for "Sweet Caroline."

GERGEN: Well, there was such a look of joy in her face in these photos. And that pony, actually -- Macaroni was the pony's name.

BALDWIN: Pony Macaroni.

GERGEN: And -- exactly. And they used to keep it on the White House grounds. Had roam, you know, the South Lawn. And it was a gift from Lyndon Johnson, the vice president.

BALDWIN: Oh.

GERGEN: And if you see this, the saddle being put up there right now, it's a very elaborate saddle arrangement. It's from the king of Morocco.

BALDWIN: Wow.

GERGEN: The -- and it was -- the Kennedys had made a state visit there. The king gave that, King Hassan, gave them that. And here's Caroline riding that pony. And she just had such joy. And there's John John who, you know, was remembered so fondly in so many pictures from the White House itself. It's wonderful to see these photos released, these clips.

BALDWIN: But then -- to sort of juxtapose this joy with the tragedy that would befall, you know, John F. Kennedy -- John Kennedy Jr. When you look at him in Marine One, it's a little eerie, is it not?

GERGEN: It is. It is eerie, Brooke. And, you know, because just -- it was just 36 years later that he went down himself. But it brings to mind how much tragedy in the air did befall the whole Kennedy family. If you think of Jack Kennedy, his oldest brother went down in the war when his plane exploded on a bombing mission. You know, and he was the one who was supposed to be the president. That's what the father had always thought, that Joe would be the president. Along comes Jack Kennedy. He also loses -- Jack Kennedy loses his sister in a plane crash in the 1940s when she went down with her husband, a very big romantic couple went down. And later on, Teddy went down in a plane and was badly hurt, but the pilot was killed, as was another passenger. And so -- and then, of course, many years later, along comes his son. So if you think about John Kennedy's life, Jack Kennedy, President Kennedy's life, he had at least four members of his family who were killed in the air.

BALDWIN: You've heard it described as the Kennedy curse. But just to look at these pictures --

GERGEN: The Kennedy curse.

BALDWIN: David Gergen, thank you so much. Pictures just released today.

GERGEN: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Fifty years ago back at Camp David. Appreciate it.

GERGEN: OK.

BALDWIN: And now parents and chauffeurs and drivers around the world, listen up here. This car and its onboard vacuum cleaner being called a dream come true. We will show you the hot new cars and the hot new vacuums, apparently. That's at the New York Auto Show, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, parents, for you moms and dads on the go, this could be the new must have feature for keeping your car clean. Check it out. Viola. A built in vacuum. This is what's inside Honda's new minivan. The company's showing off at the New York Auto Show this week. And that is where we find Maggie Lake, live for us on the floor.

I hear you have a little demo ready. So, Maggie Lake, take it away.

MAGGIE LAKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, I do, Brooke. And, you know, it's funny, we're here and there are all these really cool high tech features being demoed. There's a show going on right behind me. But sometimes it's the simplest idea that's genius. Check it out.

If you're like me and your kids, every time you get into a car and you give them a snack, dump it all over the floor before they even get it in their mouth. The Honda has this new vacuum in the Odyssey built right back. Just pull it out, flip the switch and there you go. Cleans up the Cheerios. How is that? And, listen, you can stretch this thing all the way to the front seat. But not only that, it pulls all the way out. It has a hose long enough that you can help out your neighbors. And I know the moms are going to love it. But I'm thinking if you're at a tailgate, Brooke, and you've got some friends that spill those potato chips, you could be the winner. So this is going to come in pretty handy and it certainly got a lot of buzz here at the auto show, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Tailgate, Cheerios, Goldfish, what have you, it's the hot new item. OK, So, Maggie, vacuums aside, what else do you see there as far as, you know, cool technologies?

LAKE: Yes. And let's talk about the high end, because there's an awful lot of that. And I just spoke to the people over at Ford who unveiled the contest (ph), $50,000 for someone who can come up with an app (ph). They opened it up to third party developers, for fuel efficiency. If you can come up with the best app for fuel efficiency, they're going to put it in their cars and give you $50,000. And Ford is really pushing the envelope on technology. People want their cars to be just like their smartphones that they walk around. They want it to talk to them. And interestingly, Brooke, fuel efficiency really important to women and to millennials. And those are the people who are buying the most cars right now Ford tells me.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: Interesting. So guys don't care about fuel efficiency, apparently? Just the ladies and the millennials, huh?

LAKE: Well, yes. I think they care about it. They're not maybe as practical, though.

BALDWIN: Uh-huh. Maggie Lake, thank you very much.

Just into us here at CNN, we're getting some new documents just released on the Tucson, Arizona, mass shooting that wounded Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and killed several others. Find out why the shooter was stopped by the police hours before he opened fire. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)