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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

Can Viagra Cause Blindness?; Interview With Danica Patrick

Aired May 27, 2005 - 22:00   ET

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

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


AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again. If you've ever seen a prescription drug commercial, in other words, if your television works at all, you've gotten to know the fast talking guy, the one that tells you about the dizziness, fainting spells and dry mouth. Today the Food and Drug Administration said it wants to give him one more thing to mention maybe. It is asking the maker of Viagra to update its warning label to mention vision loss.
So far the numbers are tiny and the connection not fully explored, but given how many people who use Viagra and drugs like it to treat impotence of just for the thrill, nobody's taking any chances. So, we begin tonight with Dr. Sanjay Gupta

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The concern isn't new. It has been known for years that users of Viagra could experience short term vision changes, seeing green or bluish hues.

MICHAEL BERELOWITZ, VP WORLDWIDE MEDICAL, PFIZER: The first reports we were aware of was in 2000. More cases were published in the literature in March of this year.

GUPTA: The numbers are small, extraordinarily small, only 38 Viagra users of the more than 20 million who take it have come forward with vision problems. There have also been four users of Cialis and one with Levitra with similar problems, the pills manufacturers say.

They say the vision loss is caused by a sort of stroke affecting the blood vessels of the eye. That stroke in the back of the eye occurs when the blood vessels become choked off, eventually causing some of the cells in the eye to die.

Interestingly, the number of people who get the same type of stroke is actually about four times higher for people who don't take Viagra, the study's researchers say. But it's the relationship of timing between someone taking the drug and then within a short time getting visual problems that raised the red flags.

DR. HOWARD POMERANZ, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: Well, this patient that I just described from 1998 noticed the effect within 45 minutes after using the drug. Most of these patients experience this within hours.

GUPTA: And what Dr. Pomeranz who published the research showing the association noticed was not complete blindness, but things like loss of peripheral vision or a worsening of vision, for example, going from 20/20 to 20/40.

The truth is, It may be difficult to ever show a link between these medications and vision problems. That's because the same problems who get the stroke in the back of the eye are those with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and a history of smoking. They're also more likely to have erectile dysfunction and take a medication like Viagra.

BERELOWITZ: You have the same group of patients with the same characteristics who might be at risk for this very, very infrequent condition that affect the eyes.

GUPTA: Still, if you happen to be one who actually reads those package inserts, you won't find reference to visual loss in there. But Pfizer is talking to the FDA about whether to add it.

Still worried?

POMERANZ: Well, I think there's some concern, but I don't think that everyone needs to go running in panic to their doctors.

GUPTA: And certainly, if you ever had a visual problem after taking Viagra, Levitra or Cialis talk to your doctor about getting your eyes checked.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Flesh out a bit more on the science and the medicine behind the concerns here with Viagra and the other drugs, we spoke earlier tonight with Dr. Pomeranz again.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Do you know what it is about the drug that causes this problem when the problem is caused?

POMERANZ: Well, I only have a hypothesis. I don't have a certain answer. But I think it has something to do with what the drug may cause in terms of circulatory changes to the optic nerve.

BROWN: Did anyone go completely blind forever?

POMERANZ: Well, it depends what you mean by blind.

BROWN: Can't see.

POMERANZ: Yes.

BROWN: Forever.

POMERANZ: Yes. The patients in these studies that I reported all have permanent vision loss. This isn't a temporary transient color change that patients get for a few minutes or an hour that goes away. This is permanent damage that occurs to the eye.

BROWN: So you're talking about someone who could see yesterday and can't see anything, essentially anything.

POMERANZ: Correct. It could be a loss of eye chart vision, instead of being 20/20, they might be 20/50, 20/200. Or they may have peripheral visions. They might still have 20/20, but have lost half of all their peripheral vision.

BROWN: OK. I think when I say blind, I mean -- I'm not trying to be cute here, I mean like Ray Charles, blind. You can't see anything.

POMERANZ: No, I don't think that applies to people here in the study. Maybe one of the patients out of this most recent study that came out had really poor vision, meaning they could barely see light or maybe a hand moving in front of them. But that was maybe one patient out of the seven. The rest of them had vision that was much better than that.

BROWN: One of the things that the piece that precedes this conversation says, and that Pfizer says, is that the people -- that there's a certain predisposition that they have hypertension, or they are smokers or they're overweight. But what I hear you saying is that actually it's not quite that simple. That you might be perfectly healthy in all respects, nonsmoking -- but you have this thing in your eye that makes it vulnerable.

POMERANZ: Correct.

BROWN: Is that -- can you check that?

POMERANZ: Yes, by looking through the pupil into the back of the eye, you can look at the optic nerve and see if the optic nerve has this structure.

BROWN: Is the incidents of this enough so that doctors prescribing it ought to send a patient to you or someone like you first to look in the back of their eye and see what's going on?

POMERANZ: Well, it is kind of difficult to answer that question. The number of people who probably have this particular structure of the optic nerve is very small to begin with, if you just took a cross section of the population. So you'd be screening a lot of people to find people who have this particular nerve configuration.

I've actually thought about this issue myself and debated is it worth saying screen everybody. But I think you'd be looking at hundreds of thousands of people to find a few people who would fit that category. So, I'm not sure that's the most efficient way to do it.

BROWN: How long does the test take?

POMERANZ: You can pick up an ophthalmoscope and look at the back of the eye, less than a minute. BROWN: So, in that sense. I presume that before you -- before someone prescribes Viagra, they check their blood pressure and probably check other things.

POMERANZ: Assuming they get it from a legitimate means.

BROWN: It takes at least as long as a minute to look in their eye.

POMERANZ: Sure. So yes, an internist or family physician could pick up their ophthalmoscope and look at the back of eye and see if they have this small cupdisperatio (ph).

BROWN: Last question. Are you surprised at the flurry of attention that the study has received today?

POMERANZ: Well, it kind of started as a trickle. And it suddenly turned into an avalanche that's kind of overwhelmed me all day long. It has kind of been an interesting experience, to say the least.

BROWN: I'll bet it has. Nice to meet you.

POMERANZ: Thank you very much.

BROWN: Have a great holiday weekend.

POMERANZ: Thank you. You too.

BROWN: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Dr. Howard Pomeranz joined us earlier.

More to come tonight, starting with the sound and the fury.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How dare you!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We swore on the bible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's innocent.

BROWN (voice-over): The sound of a grieving woman. Her fury, the rough justice her sister is getting in a country far from home.

Also tonight, the young woman with the best chance of any woman ever to win the Indianapolis 500.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's the real deal. She's fast, she's in great equipment. So, it's someone you really have to watch.

BROWN: So what makes Danica Patrick run? We'll talk to her to find out. And later, the fighting and the dying in Iraq: 21 stories, but one name, Smith. The Smiths who have died. Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: New York City. That's Central Park south, park to the left on what turned into a beautiful spring day today, 80 degrees almost. It was lovely here as we begin Memorial Day weekend.

Just ahead, we'll meet the young woman who is capturing a lot of attention at the weekend's Indianapolis 500, and a delight she is. But first, coming up on a quarter past the hour, and a delight she is. Erica Hill has the headlines -- Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Thanks, Aaron.

BROWN: Thank you.

HILL: You're a delight yourself.

BROWN: Well, thank you.

HILL: All right, now, enough of the pleasantries; let's get on with the news.

We start in Saudi Arabia, where King Fahd is in the hospital tonight. It is believed he's being treated for pneumonia. The Saudi government says he's doing well. King Fahd is 82 and has been in poor health since suffering a severe stroke in 1995.

Now, since then, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia has been Fahd's half-brother, Crown Prince Abdullah.

In a trial that has attracted worldwide attention, a court in Indonesia today convicted an Australian woman of smuggling nine pounds of marijuana into Bali. A panel of three judges immediately sentenced Schapelle Corby to 20 years in prison. She cried as the verdict was announced. Her mother and other relatives erupted in anger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How dare you!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We swore on the Bible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Corby was arrested in Bali's airport last fall when the drugs were found in her luggage. She maintains her innocence, saying the marijuana was planted by baggage handlers in Australia who work with drug traffickers. The Australian government has asked Indonesia to allow Corby to serve her sentence in Australia.

And actor Eddie Albert has died in Los Angeles. He was 97 years old. Albert had a long career in film, radio and television, but he's perhaps best known for his role in the 1960s sitcom "Green Acres." He of course played Oliver Douglas, a New York City lawyer who moves to a farm with his wacky wife Lisa, played by actress Eva Gabor.

Michael Jackson's trial is winding to a close. Today, both sides rested. Prosecutors finished by playing a videotape of Jackson's accuser being interviewed by police. On it, the teenager tells investigators the singer gave him alcohol and molested him. The defense declined to offer a rebuttal. Closing arguments are expected to begin next week.

And starting next month, Northwest Airlines will no longer offer you free pretzels on domestic flights. It is a cost-cutting move the airline says it hopes to save $2 million a year. But if you're really hungry, Aaron, you can pick up a bag of trail mix for $1 a bag.

BROWN: That's some fine trail mix, too I'm sure Northwest is offering.

HILL: It's good stuff, but the soda's still free, for now.

BROWN: Yeah, for now. Thank you. Talk to you in half an hour. Thank you very much.

This Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, you'll hear the call, "gentlemen and lady, start your engines." The lady will be a young lady at that, Danica Patrick, and she's no pioneer. Women have raced at Indy three times before. But no woman has been in a better position to win the race. Though as we discovered when we talked with her the other night, she has got enough get-up-and-go to win in any car from anywhere on the grid.

Our conversation with her in a moment. First, the crowd she runs with and what they think of her.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice-over): Danica Patrick gets noticed for all the right reasons.

STEVE BALLARD, INDIANAPOLIS STAR: Since she got here to the Speedway and began practicing in preparation for the Indianapolis 500, she's obviously created a tremendous amount of buzz with what she's been able to accomplish. And just right from the first day on the track, right up through the last day of practice, she's just been absolutely flawless.

BROWN: A go-kart racer at 12, off to race real cars in Europe at 16, to Indy on Monday at 23. A member of the Rahal/Letterman team. A young woman in a he-man's world.

BALLARD: I remember when it was announced that Bobby Rahal had hired her, and that she would be running the full season this year, including the Indianapolis 500, and the story I wrote that day that ran in "The Indianapolis Star" the next morning, I was loaded up with e-mails and phone calls of people complaining that it was just another gimmick by a racing series that's desperate for attention.

BROWN: So far, she's proved to be the real deal. Maybe not quite ready to win, but certainly ready to compete.

SCOTT SHARP, DRIVER: She's the real deal. She's fast, she's in great equipment. So it's someone you really have to watch.

SAM HORNISH, JR., DRIVER: Of the female drivers I've raced against, she's probably the best driver. And she's the best-looking. So you have -- that's a good combination to have.

BROWN: Yes, she's pretty, but don't hold that against her. And she is a wisp of a thing, just 5'2", barely 100 pounds.

TONY KANAAN, DRIVER: When she has her helmet on, I can't tell if she's a guy or a girl. So to me, she's just one more competitor.

BROWN: In an event that has been buffeted by racing politics in recent years and seems to have lost a bit of its luster, it is another reason -- and not a bad one -- to watch.

BALLARD: It does bring more national attention to this race. And the good thing is that it's bringing it for the right reasons. It's not bringing it because there's some novelty act here this year, but it's bringing the attention because there's a young woman out here who is proving to be as good as anybody else in this race. And with a very legitimate chance to contend for the win.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Not a novelty at all. She ran the fastest practice lap last lap, so she's the real deal. Coming up, we get her to slow down long enough to have a real conversation.

We take a break first. Around the world, at our speed, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: The first thing that strikes you about Danica Patrick is how small she is. Somehow, I expected an Indy driver to be built more like a linebacker than a jockey. The second thing that strikes you is her handshake. It's like a steel vice.

We spoke with Ms. Patrick the other day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Are you excited?

DANICA PATRICK, RACECAR DRIVER: I'm excited, I'm nervous. There's a lot of things going on no doubt about it. But it's all good things. It's a lot of media, it's a lot of fans. But that's the Indy 500. It's so historical.

BROWN: Is there a point where you went, I'm going to actually do this? I'm going to race at Indy?

PATRICK: A long, long time ago.

BROWN: When you knew you were?

PATRICK: Where -- well...

BROWN: As opposed to I want to?

PATRICK: No, there was -- I don't know. That's a tough question because there's no guarantees ever in anything. But this was something in my heart and soul and something in my mind that said, you're going to race Indy cars, you're going to be a professional race car driver.

BROWN: What is it about speed that's exciting?

PATRICK: Nothing. I'm not -- I'm not interested by speed. I'm interesting in going faster than everyone else. But I'm not interested in 242 miles an hour top speed or 227.5 average speed. For me, it's more or less just being faster than anyone else.

BROWN: So, it's the competition.

PATRICK: It's the competition, exactly. It's trying so hard, and working so hard to beat everyone, to be successful, to win. And then accomplishing it. And that's so -- I feel relieved.

BROWN: Do you ever get scared?

PATRICK: No, I don't get scared. I -- I -- I fear being in, you know, dying of course, or missing my -- missing my family in some way because something would happen. Just, you know, it's dangerous sport. But do I get scared, no. No. I think it's -- I believe I have faith in your time is your time. And I had a large accident at the first race that I was in at Homestead, Florida, and I hit the wall really hard. And my car was completely totaled, and I got knocked out. I had a concussion. And half an hour of amnesia. And I was -- I really don't remember anything. And it was a big one. So, you know...

BROWN: When that happens, does it happen in slow motion?

PATRICK: Yes, oh. When you watch it -- I could watch a tape and go that happened really fast. But I remember every -- I remember going down low below the accident, I remember passing someone, I remember coming up and passing another one, then all of a sudden you hit the car and you're flying towards the wall and you're going this is going to hurt. And then I don't remember anything. But it's a dangerous sport.

BROWN: This is going to hurt, huh?

PATRICK: It takes just hitting the wall in one wrong direction or having something coming at you that can -- that can be very tragic. And, you know, it's a roll of the dice out there.

BROWN: I'm not sure what the question is here. There are certain events in our lives that are sort of demonstrably larger than anything else. The Kentucky Derby is bigger than, the World Series is bigger than, the Super Bowl. And the Indy 500 even with all the stuff I don't really understand, the nonsense and the politics of it over the last years or so, there's something about that that's bigger than anything.

Do you worry ever that when it's over, nothing else will seem as cool?

PATRICK: I'm sure there are some things that will fade away and not be as exciting, but I have such aspirations and such dreams out there that, you know, it's going -- it's going -- it's going to go much further than racing at the Indy 500. It's going to be winning the Indy 500. It's going to be winning races, winning championships. And that's what I really want. And -- so I don't just stop at one thing. I keep going. And I'm never satisfied, I guess that's their problem. I have a hard time looking at this Indy 500...

BROWN: Are you good enough to win now?

PATRICK: Yes. Oh, yes. I -- if I didn't believe that, I don't belong out there. And I would only be cheating my team and my mechanics and everybody that worked so hard on this whole program. Everybody wants a winner, and I -- and I want to win. And I believe I can win. And I told that to so many people along the way. And finally Bobby Rahal said, OK, I'll give you a ride. And it's been -- it's made all the difference in my life.

BROWN: Do you think you'll be nervous?

PATRICK: For the race?

BROWN: Yes.

PATRICK: I'm nervous now. A big event. I'll be nervous in a year or 10 years I'm sure, because everyone is so important to me. And I want to do so well. And it goes so much deeper than me. It goes to the team. I mean, it really does. And it goes to the sponsors. And it's -- it's -- there's so many more people involved than just one, and everybody works hard.

BROWN: But no one -- no one -- of course, that's true. I mean, that's true in what I do too. But no one knows the name of the guy that changes the left front tire. They know your name.

PATRICK: Right.

BROWN: No one knows the name of the guy -- there's probably some risk in putting the fuel in the car in the pits, but no one knows his name. It's all on your very young shoulders.

PATRICK: Yes. I've been groomed very well for all of those things. And I believe we're all put here for different reasons. And mine is to be able to handle the pressures and handle all the different things that go along with driving a race car. And things that other people may see as being very hard or impossible or, you know, something they can't do or can't handle. and other than the fact that I get tired sometimes, it's no big deal. Put a camera in front of me and let's do it. Let's -- let's -- let's do what needs to be done to go out on the race track.

BROWN: Everything I've read about you is -- so you really believe that in many ways you were born for this moment in your life. And you've worked really hard -- probably harder than most people had to work to get to it. So go get 'em. To grade (ph). To grade.

PATRICK: Thank you, thank you very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: A really good kid. We hope it works out for her safely in the race. That's something else. Still to come tonight, as we head into the Memorial Day weekend, we'll look at the uncommon sacrifice of soldiers who share an extremely common last name. A Memorial Day story.

And then a single soldier who came through when the going got tough, got very tough. We'll take a break first. On this Friday night this is NEWSNIGHT from New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: As we begin this Memorial Day weekend, we note that 1,600 -- more than 1,600 Americans have died in the war in Iraq. There's no way to tell each of their story, though each has a story to tell.

Many months back, NEWSNIGHT'S Beth Nissen proposed a story on one small group of soldiers who had died, a way to give meaning to the larger group. Tonight, the product of her work and the work of a team of NEWSNIGHT producers led by Amanda Townsend. There's a beautiful simplicity to the idea that makes it all the more powerful. This is the story of the Smiths, all of them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In remembrance in honor of the U.S. troops who have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom, a list of 1,650 names, familiar American family names. Brown, Johnson, Martinez, Miller, Smith. Smith, the most common surname in the United States.

21 Smiths have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Like most of the American troops killed in this war, most serving in this war, these 21 soldiers and Marines were almost all young, 20, 21, 24. They came from midsized cities and small towns across the country. Anaheim, California, Troy, Montana, Rochester, New York, Tampa, Florida.

They came from the nation's heartland, mostly blue collar, steel toe towns in Ohio, and Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri. They came from the South: Arkansas, South Carolina, the back road parts where single mothers worked their whole lives in fan belt factories, raised whole families in trailer homes. Orenthial Smith known as "Smitty," grew up here, graduated from high school, enlisted 13 days later to make something of himself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wasn't going to, you know, try to tell him what to do. That was his choice. I just stood by him.

NISSEN: Many enlist for college money. Private 1st class Jeremiah Smith and Corporal Raleigh Smith both wanted to be history teachers some day.

Some enlisted to prove themselves, improve themselves like Private First Class Brandon Smith who dropped out of high school in Fayetteville, Arkansas, but went back, got his diploma, got into shape, lost 80 pounds so he could join the Marines.

Specialist Michael J. Smith also transformed himself. After high school, he'd had some no-future jobs around suburban Philadelphia, had screamed songs with a local heavy metal band, had an all-black wardrobe and bright red hair that hung to his waist. The Army gave him a buzz cut, a direction, a career.

It gave Brian Smith of McKinney, Texas, a change in career. He was a labor lawyer, had his own practice, quit just before he turned 30, because he thought he could make more of a difference in the world as an Army second lieutenant driving tanks.

A few of the Smiths were older, most career military. Like Chief Warrant Officer Eric Smith, 41, a 16-year Army veteran from Rochester, New York, who lived to fly helicopters. And First Sergeant Edward Smith, 38, a police reserve officer in Anaheim, California, and 20- year veteran of the Marine Corps.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Smitty had the qualities to be a very good Marine, an excellent Marine. He was a great cop. And a great -- good friend and a good man.

NISSEN: And Sergeant First Class Paul Smith, 33. A 13-year Army veteran who had served in the First Gulf War in Bosnia and Kosovo.

All three were part of the first wave of U.S. troops marching across the sands of Iraq in March of 2003 to Baghdad. All three were among the war's early casualties.

Eric Smith died April 2 when his helicopter crashed in an unspecified part of central Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They grew up and ended up wanting to fly helicopters and did so and fought for our country. And I want them to remember that.

NISSEN: Sergeant Edward Smith was wounded in combat in Central Iraq April 4, died the next day. Like an unprecedented number of U.S. troops, he was married, had children, three under the age of 12.

Sergeant Paul Smith's unit made it to Baghdad, seized part of the crucially important airport. On April 4, he and 15 fellow soldiers came under fierce fire from some 100 members of the Republican guard. As his comrades fell around him, Paul Smith took a wounded gunner's place at a 50 caliber machine gun. Firing and reloading three times covering the evacuation of the wounded before he was shot in the neck.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We count ourselves blessed to have soldiers like Sergeant Smith who put their lives on the line to advance the cause of freedom and protect the American people.

NISSEN: Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith was posthumously awarded the nation's highest battlefield honor, the first Medal of Honor awarded in 12 years.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE He has left his family and his country a life of great meaning and entrusted us with his faith in America and its mission.

NISSEN: Less than a week after Paul Smith's death, the statue and the regime of Saddam Hussein had fallen.

BUSH: My fellow Americans, major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.

NISSEN: On June 21, Orinthial's Smith's mother came home from the fan belt factory to a letter from her son.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Even though the president said that most combat operations in Iraq is over, the war still continues. There are still soldiers and Marines dying every day. Mom, read this letter to as many people as you can. We're still here fighting to help Iraq and also defending our great country."

NISSEN: The next day she came home to an officer in an Army uniform. Only a few of the words he said came through. Convoy, Baghdad, regret to inform.

Of the 21 Smiths, 18 died after major combat operations were declared at an end. Pockets of resistance turned out to be a lasting and widespread insurgency, attacking U.S. troops as they moved in long convoys, low flying helicopters.

CWO BRUCE SMITH, U.S. ARMY: Hi, this is CWO Bruce Smith with company F-106 Aviation from West Liberty, Iowa. I'd like to say hello to my family and friends in West Liberty and thank you for your support.

NISSEN: Chief Warrant Officer Bruce Smith talked often about the joys and hazards of flying helicopters in a war zone.

SMITH: There's not a whole lot of protection, per se. It's made of aluminum stuff. So we try to hide behind this console as much as we can.

NISSEN: On November 2, he was co-piloting a Chinook helicopter carrying troops home on leave when a surface-to-air missile shot the chopper down near Fallujah. 15 of the 18 on board died, including Bruce Smith, 41, husband and father of two.

Five days later another surface-to-air missile, another helicopter, this one a Black Hawk over Tikrit. All six on board were killed, including Captain Benedict Smith, 29.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, we got him.

NISSEN: When Saddam Hussein was captured in mid-December, the total number of U.S. war dead had not yet reached 500. Not all were killed in combat. Lance Corporal Matthew Smith, a Marine reservist, had survived that first push to Baghdad, still had grains of sand in the pages of his Bible. He and his family were relieved when he was redeployed to Kuwait.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The letter told me that he was going to be back before his birthday, which was in 20 days, and we were all very excited.

NISSEN: Matt, almost 21, was killed when the humvee he was driving hit a parked trailer. More than 100 U.S. troops have died in motor vehicle accidents, in dust storms, at night, on dangerous roads, offroad.

Corporal Daryl Smith drowned when his vehicle overturned, plunged into one of Baghdad's network of rivers and canals. Private First Class Jeremiah Smith was killed when his humvee ran over unexploded ordnance near Baghdad.

Explosives, mines and IEDs, improvised explosive devices, were a constant threat. Private First Class Brandon Smith was killed when his humvee hit a land mine in Al Qaim in March of 2004.

Mining roads, setting traps, hiding, that was the way of the enemy that Second Lieutenant Brian Smith described in e-mails home. "The Iraqis prefer to pop out of cover, shoot and run," he wrote. "They are rarely accurate." He was shot and killed by a sniper in July in Habbaniyah.

Habbaniyah, Ramadi, Fallujah, hot spots throughout 2004 for U.S. troops, Army units, then the Marines. Lance Corporal Michael J. Smith Jr., Sergeant Benjamin Smith, Lance Corporal Antowain Smith were all lost there. Killed in the terse language of the Marines, in enemy action in al Anbar Province.

It was left to others to give their lives some detail.

Antowain, 22, played viola in his high school orchestra in Orlando. Lost his stutter when he joined the Marines.

Benjamin, 24, loved country music and rodeos. Had a fiance, Carrie, waiting for him in California.

Michael, 21, nicknamed All-Purpose Smitty by his high school football coach, because he'd play any position. His funeral was held in the Lutheran church in Steubenville, Ohio, where he was baptized, confirmed and married to Alicia, who was expecting their first child when he died.

Najaf, Mosul, Baghdad. U.S. troops here stayed on patrol, on edge. As he rode in a Humvee on patrol in Baghdad, Arkansas National Guard Sergeant Michael Smith was shot in the head. He was medevacked to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, then to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. His parents and sister kept vigil in the ICU for two weeks, but he never opened his eyes. He died last November 26th, the day after Thanksgiving.

Corporal Raleigh Smith wondered about being a good soldier. He told friends and family back home in Troy, Montana, he had mixed feelings about the war, had nightmares about all the bodies of women and children he'd seen in Fallujah, a ghost town, he told his mother. He was killed in action there two days before Christmas.

Lance Corporal Jason Smith also wrote home about seeing dead bodies and dead Marines. In a letter his family opened last New Year's Eve, the day Jason died on patrol in Al Anbar province, he wrote "in some ways I don't think we should be here, but someone needs to do it. I'm glad to help these innocent Iraqis out. They are so happy that we are here to fix their country."

Because of U.S. troops, U.S. sacrifices, Iraq was to have free elections. On January 30th, millions of Iraqis went to the polls. Specialist Michael Smith had wanted to see election day -- the end of Iraq's dictatorship, he'd said. But a rocket-propelled grenade hit his vehicle in Ramadi January 11th.

The elections were important to Corporal Matthew Smith, too. His unit was on its way to secure a polling place in Fallujah the weekend before the elections when his helicopter went down in a sandstorm, killing him and 30 other U.S. troops. At his funeral back in Utah, Matthew's family agreed he'd lived his dream. Even as a toddler, he'd walk around with a toy gun saying, I'm going to protect you guys.

Since the elections, the war in Iraq has dropped from the front pages, the network newscasts. There have been only two Department of Defense reports on casualties named Smith. Lance Corporal Kevin Smith, 20, killed by a suicide car bomber near the Syrian border on March 21st, who when he couldn't sleep would call his fiance Christy back in the States at 2:00 a.m. She told his pastor at his funeral, she still listens for the phone.

And Sergeant John Smith, 22, who was on his second tour in Iraq, was training Iraqi national guardsmen in Iskandariyah, when an IED exploded near his vehicle May 12th.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was the kind of guy that we'd take fire, people would be shooting at us, and he'd never panicked, always stayed calm, relaxed, and did his job.

NISSEN: John Smith was buried last weekend in the National Cemetery in Wilmington, North Carolina, with military honors, a 21-gun salute. In remembrance, in honor of the 21 soldiers and Marines with the common name of Smith, who volunteered, who served, who gave their all, in all Americans' names.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: So we honor the Smiths tonight, and the 1,600 other families who are missing someone who has gone off to war and didn't come back.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: In a moment, one soldier's heroic story of survival in Iraq. A little past a quarter to the hour now; Erica Hill joins us one last time from -- well, one last time tonight. I don't -- sounded like I know something...

HILL: You're not getting me fired, are you?

BROWN: Absolutely not.

HILL: OK, good.

BROWN: Absolutely not.

HILL: All right, then I'll give you some news. How's that?

BROWN: Great.

HILL: Deadly violence today in Pakistan's capital. A suspected suicide bomber attacked a Shiite Muslim shrine in Islamabad, killing at least 20 people. There's been no claim of responsibility. Security in Islamabad has been tightened in the wake of the attack.

On the CNN "Security Watch," the administration wants to expand the FBI's power to keep a tab on Internet users. It tells a U.S. court of appeals the feds should have the power to force Internet providers to turn over information about their subscribers. A lawsuit against the Patriot Act had put limits on that.

While you may be looking forward to using your cell phone during passenger flights some day soon, although maybe not the guy next to you, security officials today shared their concerns about that, saying to federal airline regulators that such a move could actually help terrorists coordinate an attack or even trigger an onboard bomb.

In Atlanta, a man wanted by police still refusing to come down off a giant crane after more than two days. Carl Edward Roland has been perched 350 feet up in the air since 4:00 o'clock Wednesday afternoon. He's wanted in Florida in connection with the beating death of his ex-girlfriend.

A jury in Los Angeles has acquitted the former finance director of Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2000 Senate campaign. David Rosen was charged with lying to the Federal Election Commission about the true cost of a lavish Hollywood fund-raiser for Mrs. Clinton.

And in Annapolis, Maryland, the president told graduating Naval cadets there are just too many military bases wasting billions of taxpayer dollars. He said base closings and realignments will help bring the military into the 21st century. He also told the class they'd make America proud in the fight against terror.

And Aaron, that is the latest from HEADLINE NEWS. Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend.

BROWN: Thank you. I think we should start a save the pretzel campaign for Northwest Airlines.

HILL: All right, I can help you out there. I'll sign on.

BROWN: And then maybe the executives of Northwest will kick in a little. And they'll make up that $2 million pretzel deficit.

HILL: They might have $2 million kicking around in their bonuses. You never know.

BROWN: They just might.

Have a good weekend.

HILL: Thanks.

BROWN: Thank you.

Tonight in our anniversary series "Then & Now," we profile Shoshana Johnson, a member of the Army's 507th Maintenance Company. You know about them. They were captured as the war in Iraq began, and, along the way, Ms. Johnson made some history.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your name?

SHOSHANA JOHNSON: Shana.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shana? Where do you come from?

JOHNSON: Texas.

BROWN (voice-over): She's the first African-American woman to become a prisoner of war. Shoshana Johnson was a cook for the 507th Maintenance Company when it was ambushed in Iraq in March of 2003.

JOHNSON: I was terrified. I didn't know what was going to happen to me. And I was in a lot of pain.

BROWN: The 30-year-old single mother was shot in both ankles, captured with five other soldiers.

JOHNSON: I feared for my life the whole captivity. BROWN: She was rescued three weeks later and came home to instant celebrity. Johnson will soon retire from the army. She's had to fight to keep her disability benefits because her injuries were less severe, she receives much less than her fellow soldier Jessica Lynch. But she says she doesn't begrudge her friend.

JOHNSON: Things don't bother me as much, you know. Quite frankly, I'm just very happy to be still on this earth.

BROWN: Johnson spends her time with her daughter, she does some speaking engagements. And she's still undergoing both physical and emotional therapy.

JOHNSON: Everything happens for a reason. I've had a lot of good fortune, I'm healthy, my family's healthy, my daughters, my nieces. I don't ask God for anything more than that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: We hope you'll join us next Wednesday, June 1st, CNN's actual 25th birthday. You can send us a present too. We'll air a prime time special program called "DEFINING MOMENTS: 25 STORIES THAT TOUCHED OUR LIVES."

Morning papers as a few as well. We'll get to those in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: OK, time to check morning papers from around the country and around the world tonight because we lead with the "Herald Sun," an Australian paper. It leads local. The Schapelle Corby verdict, "20 year, shock and tears over jail sentence." So, here's the deal on this. Indonesia sentenced a guy who was convicted in connection with the Bali terrorist bombing, he got 30 months in prison. She gets 20 years on a pot bust. Terrorism, how many people died, a couple hundred. Pot bust -- 20 years.

All right. I'll say no more on that. I don't think. "New York Daily News." It's a front page, this will grab 'em, won't it? I hope it did. We led with it, too. "Sex Pill Woes, FDA probes evidence that a small number taking drug may have gone blind." There are so many jokes there that I will not do tonight. It also leads to "The Times" in London. "Viagra linked to blindness, investigated by regulator." Billion dollar drug.

Speaking of British papers, "The Guardian." "Scientists dismayed by B.A. animal ban." British Air will no longer transport any live animals that are going to be used in medical experiments even in coach. Well, my goodness.

"The Washington Times." I love this story, down here quickly. "Two World War II soldiers still in hiding?" Japanese envoys trying to verify Philippines report. Wouldn't that be incredible, all these years later, these guys living in a cave wondering what's been going on. And they missed "American Idol." The "Chicago Sun-Times" gives us the weather for Chicago. Thank you. Weather tomorrow in Chicago is chancy. We'll wrap it up in an odd sort of way in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: This is what we call a clarification. Recently on NEWSNIGHT we profiled a young author, Amanda Marquit and her first novel "Shut the Door" written when she was just 15. In our taped story about the book, there was a comment by a concern parent whose daughter had brought home a book from her middle school library that her mom considered to be shallow, substantist -- substanceless and sexually explicit. She was not referring to "Shut the Door." Despite noting that in the copy, some viewers may have thought otherwise. So we clarify. We also wish you a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. We hope you'll take a moment to remember why it is we celebrate this weekend. We're all back here next week. Until then, good night for all of us.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired May 27, 2005 - 22:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again. If you've ever seen a prescription drug commercial, in other words, if your television works at all, you've gotten to know the fast talking guy, the one that tells you about the dizziness, fainting spells and dry mouth. Today the Food and Drug Administration said it wants to give him one more thing to mention maybe. It is asking the maker of Viagra to update its warning label to mention vision loss.
So far the numbers are tiny and the connection not fully explored, but given how many people who use Viagra and drugs like it to treat impotence of just for the thrill, nobody's taking any chances. So, we begin tonight with Dr. Sanjay Gupta

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The concern isn't new. It has been known for years that users of Viagra could experience short term vision changes, seeing green or bluish hues.

MICHAEL BERELOWITZ, VP WORLDWIDE MEDICAL, PFIZER: The first reports we were aware of was in 2000. More cases were published in the literature in March of this year.

GUPTA: The numbers are small, extraordinarily small, only 38 Viagra users of the more than 20 million who take it have come forward with vision problems. There have also been four users of Cialis and one with Levitra with similar problems, the pills manufacturers say.

They say the vision loss is caused by a sort of stroke affecting the blood vessels of the eye. That stroke in the back of the eye occurs when the blood vessels become choked off, eventually causing some of the cells in the eye to die.

Interestingly, the number of people who get the same type of stroke is actually about four times higher for people who don't take Viagra, the study's researchers say. But it's the relationship of timing between someone taking the drug and then within a short time getting visual problems that raised the red flags.

DR. HOWARD POMERANZ, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: Well, this patient that I just described from 1998 noticed the effect within 45 minutes after using the drug. Most of these patients experience this within hours.

GUPTA: And what Dr. Pomeranz who published the research showing the association noticed was not complete blindness, but things like loss of peripheral vision or a worsening of vision, for example, going from 20/20 to 20/40.

The truth is, It may be difficult to ever show a link between these medications and vision problems. That's because the same problems who get the stroke in the back of the eye are those with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and a history of smoking. They're also more likely to have erectile dysfunction and take a medication like Viagra.

BERELOWITZ: You have the same group of patients with the same characteristics who might be at risk for this very, very infrequent condition that affect the eyes.

GUPTA: Still, if you happen to be one who actually reads those package inserts, you won't find reference to visual loss in there. But Pfizer is talking to the FDA about whether to add it.

Still worried?

POMERANZ: Well, I think there's some concern, but I don't think that everyone needs to go running in panic to their doctors.

GUPTA: And certainly, if you ever had a visual problem after taking Viagra, Levitra or Cialis talk to your doctor about getting your eyes checked.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Flesh out a bit more on the science and the medicine behind the concerns here with Viagra and the other drugs, we spoke earlier tonight with Dr. Pomeranz again.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Do you know what it is about the drug that causes this problem when the problem is caused?

POMERANZ: Well, I only have a hypothesis. I don't have a certain answer. But I think it has something to do with what the drug may cause in terms of circulatory changes to the optic nerve.

BROWN: Did anyone go completely blind forever?

POMERANZ: Well, it depends what you mean by blind.

BROWN: Can't see.

POMERANZ: Yes.

BROWN: Forever.

POMERANZ: Yes. The patients in these studies that I reported all have permanent vision loss. This isn't a temporary transient color change that patients get for a few minutes or an hour that goes away. This is permanent damage that occurs to the eye.

BROWN: So you're talking about someone who could see yesterday and can't see anything, essentially anything.

POMERANZ: Correct. It could be a loss of eye chart vision, instead of being 20/20, they might be 20/50, 20/200. Or they may have peripheral visions. They might still have 20/20, but have lost half of all their peripheral vision.

BROWN: OK. I think when I say blind, I mean -- I'm not trying to be cute here, I mean like Ray Charles, blind. You can't see anything.

POMERANZ: No, I don't think that applies to people here in the study. Maybe one of the patients out of this most recent study that came out had really poor vision, meaning they could barely see light or maybe a hand moving in front of them. But that was maybe one patient out of the seven. The rest of them had vision that was much better than that.

BROWN: One of the things that the piece that precedes this conversation says, and that Pfizer says, is that the people -- that there's a certain predisposition that they have hypertension, or they are smokers or they're overweight. But what I hear you saying is that actually it's not quite that simple. That you might be perfectly healthy in all respects, nonsmoking -- but you have this thing in your eye that makes it vulnerable.

POMERANZ: Correct.

BROWN: Is that -- can you check that?

POMERANZ: Yes, by looking through the pupil into the back of the eye, you can look at the optic nerve and see if the optic nerve has this structure.

BROWN: Is the incidents of this enough so that doctors prescribing it ought to send a patient to you or someone like you first to look in the back of their eye and see what's going on?

POMERANZ: Well, it is kind of difficult to answer that question. The number of people who probably have this particular structure of the optic nerve is very small to begin with, if you just took a cross section of the population. So you'd be screening a lot of people to find people who have this particular nerve configuration.

I've actually thought about this issue myself and debated is it worth saying screen everybody. But I think you'd be looking at hundreds of thousands of people to find a few people who would fit that category. So, I'm not sure that's the most efficient way to do it.

BROWN: How long does the test take?

POMERANZ: You can pick up an ophthalmoscope and look at the back of the eye, less than a minute. BROWN: So, in that sense. I presume that before you -- before someone prescribes Viagra, they check their blood pressure and probably check other things.

POMERANZ: Assuming they get it from a legitimate means.

BROWN: It takes at least as long as a minute to look in their eye.

POMERANZ: Sure. So yes, an internist or family physician could pick up their ophthalmoscope and look at the back of eye and see if they have this small cupdisperatio (ph).

BROWN: Last question. Are you surprised at the flurry of attention that the study has received today?

POMERANZ: Well, it kind of started as a trickle. And it suddenly turned into an avalanche that's kind of overwhelmed me all day long. It has kind of been an interesting experience, to say the least.

BROWN: I'll bet it has. Nice to meet you.

POMERANZ: Thank you very much.

BROWN: Have a great holiday weekend.

POMERANZ: Thank you. You too.

BROWN: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Dr. Howard Pomeranz joined us earlier.

More to come tonight, starting with the sound and the fury.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How dare you!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We swore on the bible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's innocent.

BROWN (voice-over): The sound of a grieving woman. Her fury, the rough justice her sister is getting in a country far from home.

Also tonight, the young woman with the best chance of any woman ever to win the Indianapolis 500.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's the real deal. She's fast, she's in great equipment. So, it's someone you really have to watch.

BROWN: So what makes Danica Patrick run? We'll talk to her to find out. And later, the fighting and the dying in Iraq: 21 stories, but one name, Smith. The Smiths who have died. Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: New York City. That's Central Park south, park to the left on what turned into a beautiful spring day today, 80 degrees almost. It was lovely here as we begin Memorial Day weekend.

Just ahead, we'll meet the young woman who is capturing a lot of attention at the weekend's Indianapolis 500, and a delight she is. But first, coming up on a quarter past the hour, and a delight she is. Erica Hill has the headlines -- Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Thanks, Aaron.

BROWN: Thank you.

HILL: You're a delight yourself.

BROWN: Well, thank you.

HILL: All right, now, enough of the pleasantries; let's get on with the news.

We start in Saudi Arabia, where King Fahd is in the hospital tonight. It is believed he's being treated for pneumonia. The Saudi government says he's doing well. King Fahd is 82 and has been in poor health since suffering a severe stroke in 1995.

Now, since then, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia has been Fahd's half-brother, Crown Prince Abdullah.

In a trial that has attracted worldwide attention, a court in Indonesia today convicted an Australian woman of smuggling nine pounds of marijuana into Bali. A panel of three judges immediately sentenced Schapelle Corby to 20 years in prison. She cried as the verdict was announced. Her mother and other relatives erupted in anger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How dare you!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We swore on the Bible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Corby was arrested in Bali's airport last fall when the drugs were found in her luggage. She maintains her innocence, saying the marijuana was planted by baggage handlers in Australia who work with drug traffickers. The Australian government has asked Indonesia to allow Corby to serve her sentence in Australia.

And actor Eddie Albert has died in Los Angeles. He was 97 years old. Albert had a long career in film, radio and television, but he's perhaps best known for his role in the 1960s sitcom "Green Acres." He of course played Oliver Douglas, a New York City lawyer who moves to a farm with his wacky wife Lisa, played by actress Eva Gabor.

Michael Jackson's trial is winding to a close. Today, both sides rested. Prosecutors finished by playing a videotape of Jackson's accuser being interviewed by police. On it, the teenager tells investigators the singer gave him alcohol and molested him. The defense declined to offer a rebuttal. Closing arguments are expected to begin next week.

And starting next month, Northwest Airlines will no longer offer you free pretzels on domestic flights. It is a cost-cutting move the airline says it hopes to save $2 million a year. But if you're really hungry, Aaron, you can pick up a bag of trail mix for $1 a bag.

BROWN: That's some fine trail mix, too I'm sure Northwest is offering.

HILL: It's good stuff, but the soda's still free, for now.

BROWN: Yeah, for now. Thank you. Talk to you in half an hour. Thank you very much.

This Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, you'll hear the call, "gentlemen and lady, start your engines." The lady will be a young lady at that, Danica Patrick, and she's no pioneer. Women have raced at Indy three times before. But no woman has been in a better position to win the race. Though as we discovered when we talked with her the other night, she has got enough get-up-and-go to win in any car from anywhere on the grid.

Our conversation with her in a moment. First, the crowd she runs with and what they think of her.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice-over): Danica Patrick gets noticed for all the right reasons.

STEVE BALLARD, INDIANAPOLIS STAR: Since she got here to the Speedway and began practicing in preparation for the Indianapolis 500, she's obviously created a tremendous amount of buzz with what she's been able to accomplish. And just right from the first day on the track, right up through the last day of practice, she's just been absolutely flawless.

BROWN: A go-kart racer at 12, off to race real cars in Europe at 16, to Indy on Monday at 23. A member of the Rahal/Letterman team. A young woman in a he-man's world.

BALLARD: I remember when it was announced that Bobby Rahal had hired her, and that she would be running the full season this year, including the Indianapolis 500, and the story I wrote that day that ran in "The Indianapolis Star" the next morning, I was loaded up with e-mails and phone calls of people complaining that it was just another gimmick by a racing series that's desperate for attention.

BROWN: So far, she's proved to be the real deal. Maybe not quite ready to win, but certainly ready to compete.

SCOTT SHARP, DRIVER: She's the real deal. She's fast, she's in great equipment. So it's someone you really have to watch.

SAM HORNISH, JR., DRIVER: Of the female drivers I've raced against, she's probably the best driver. And she's the best-looking. So you have -- that's a good combination to have.

BROWN: Yes, she's pretty, but don't hold that against her. And she is a wisp of a thing, just 5'2", barely 100 pounds.

TONY KANAAN, DRIVER: When she has her helmet on, I can't tell if she's a guy or a girl. So to me, she's just one more competitor.

BROWN: In an event that has been buffeted by racing politics in recent years and seems to have lost a bit of its luster, it is another reason -- and not a bad one -- to watch.

BALLARD: It does bring more national attention to this race. And the good thing is that it's bringing it for the right reasons. It's not bringing it because there's some novelty act here this year, but it's bringing the attention because there's a young woman out here who is proving to be as good as anybody else in this race. And with a very legitimate chance to contend for the win.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Not a novelty at all. She ran the fastest practice lap last lap, so she's the real deal. Coming up, we get her to slow down long enough to have a real conversation.

We take a break first. Around the world, at our speed, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: The first thing that strikes you about Danica Patrick is how small she is. Somehow, I expected an Indy driver to be built more like a linebacker than a jockey. The second thing that strikes you is her handshake. It's like a steel vice.

We spoke with Ms. Patrick the other day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Are you excited?

DANICA PATRICK, RACECAR DRIVER: I'm excited, I'm nervous. There's a lot of things going on no doubt about it. But it's all good things. It's a lot of media, it's a lot of fans. But that's the Indy 500. It's so historical.

BROWN: Is there a point where you went, I'm going to actually do this? I'm going to race at Indy?

PATRICK: A long, long time ago.

BROWN: When you knew you were?

PATRICK: Where -- well...

BROWN: As opposed to I want to?

PATRICK: No, there was -- I don't know. That's a tough question because there's no guarantees ever in anything. But this was something in my heart and soul and something in my mind that said, you're going to race Indy cars, you're going to be a professional race car driver.

BROWN: What is it about speed that's exciting?

PATRICK: Nothing. I'm not -- I'm not interested by speed. I'm interesting in going faster than everyone else. But I'm not interested in 242 miles an hour top speed or 227.5 average speed. For me, it's more or less just being faster than anyone else.

BROWN: So, it's the competition.

PATRICK: It's the competition, exactly. It's trying so hard, and working so hard to beat everyone, to be successful, to win. And then accomplishing it. And that's so -- I feel relieved.

BROWN: Do you ever get scared?

PATRICK: No, I don't get scared. I -- I -- I fear being in, you know, dying of course, or missing my -- missing my family in some way because something would happen. Just, you know, it's dangerous sport. But do I get scared, no. No. I think it's -- I believe I have faith in your time is your time. And I had a large accident at the first race that I was in at Homestead, Florida, and I hit the wall really hard. And my car was completely totaled, and I got knocked out. I had a concussion. And half an hour of amnesia. And I was -- I really don't remember anything. And it was a big one. So, you know...

BROWN: When that happens, does it happen in slow motion?

PATRICK: Yes, oh. When you watch it -- I could watch a tape and go that happened really fast. But I remember every -- I remember going down low below the accident, I remember passing someone, I remember coming up and passing another one, then all of a sudden you hit the car and you're flying towards the wall and you're going this is going to hurt. And then I don't remember anything. But it's a dangerous sport.

BROWN: This is going to hurt, huh?

PATRICK: It takes just hitting the wall in one wrong direction or having something coming at you that can -- that can be very tragic. And, you know, it's a roll of the dice out there.

BROWN: I'm not sure what the question is here. There are certain events in our lives that are sort of demonstrably larger than anything else. The Kentucky Derby is bigger than, the World Series is bigger than, the Super Bowl. And the Indy 500 even with all the stuff I don't really understand, the nonsense and the politics of it over the last years or so, there's something about that that's bigger than anything.

Do you worry ever that when it's over, nothing else will seem as cool?

PATRICK: I'm sure there are some things that will fade away and not be as exciting, but I have such aspirations and such dreams out there that, you know, it's going -- it's going -- it's going to go much further than racing at the Indy 500. It's going to be winning the Indy 500. It's going to be winning races, winning championships. And that's what I really want. And -- so I don't just stop at one thing. I keep going. And I'm never satisfied, I guess that's their problem. I have a hard time looking at this Indy 500...

BROWN: Are you good enough to win now?

PATRICK: Yes. Oh, yes. I -- if I didn't believe that, I don't belong out there. And I would only be cheating my team and my mechanics and everybody that worked so hard on this whole program. Everybody wants a winner, and I -- and I want to win. And I believe I can win. And I told that to so many people along the way. And finally Bobby Rahal said, OK, I'll give you a ride. And it's been -- it's made all the difference in my life.

BROWN: Do you think you'll be nervous?

PATRICK: For the race?

BROWN: Yes.

PATRICK: I'm nervous now. A big event. I'll be nervous in a year or 10 years I'm sure, because everyone is so important to me. And I want to do so well. And it goes so much deeper than me. It goes to the team. I mean, it really does. And it goes to the sponsors. And it's -- it's -- there's so many more people involved than just one, and everybody works hard.

BROWN: But no one -- no one -- of course, that's true. I mean, that's true in what I do too. But no one knows the name of the guy that changes the left front tire. They know your name.

PATRICK: Right.

BROWN: No one knows the name of the guy -- there's probably some risk in putting the fuel in the car in the pits, but no one knows his name. It's all on your very young shoulders.

PATRICK: Yes. I've been groomed very well for all of those things. And I believe we're all put here for different reasons. And mine is to be able to handle the pressures and handle all the different things that go along with driving a race car. And things that other people may see as being very hard or impossible or, you know, something they can't do or can't handle. and other than the fact that I get tired sometimes, it's no big deal. Put a camera in front of me and let's do it. Let's -- let's -- let's do what needs to be done to go out on the race track.

BROWN: Everything I've read about you is -- so you really believe that in many ways you were born for this moment in your life. And you've worked really hard -- probably harder than most people had to work to get to it. So go get 'em. To grade (ph). To grade.

PATRICK: Thank you, thank you very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: A really good kid. We hope it works out for her safely in the race. That's something else. Still to come tonight, as we head into the Memorial Day weekend, we'll look at the uncommon sacrifice of soldiers who share an extremely common last name. A Memorial Day story.

And then a single soldier who came through when the going got tough, got very tough. We'll take a break first. On this Friday night this is NEWSNIGHT from New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: As we begin this Memorial Day weekend, we note that 1,600 -- more than 1,600 Americans have died in the war in Iraq. There's no way to tell each of their story, though each has a story to tell.

Many months back, NEWSNIGHT'S Beth Nissen proposed a story on one small group of soldiers who had died, a way to give meaning to the larger group. Tonight, the product of her work and the work of a team of NEWSNIGHT producers led by Amanda Townsend. There's a beautiful simplicity to the idea that makes it all the more powerful. This is the story of the Smiths, all of them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In remembrance in honor of the U.S. troops who have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom, a list of 1,650 names, familiar American family names. Brown, Johnson, Martinez, Miller, Smith. Smith, the most common surname in the United States.

21 Smiths have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Like most of the American troops killed in this war, most serving in this war, these 21 soldiers and Marines were almost all young, 20, 21, 24. They came from midsized cities and small towns across the country. Anaheim, California, Troy, Montana, Rochester, New York, Tampa, Florida.

They came from the nation's heartland, mostly blue collar, steel toe towns in Ohio, and Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri. They came from the South: Arkansas, South Carolina, the back road parts where single mothers worked their whole lives in fan belt factories, raised whole families in trailer homes. Orenthial Smith known as "Smitty," grew up here, graduated from high school, enlisted 13 days later to make something of himself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wasn't going to, you know, try to tell him what to do. That was his choice. I just stood by him.

NISSEN: Many enlist for college money. Private 1st class Jeremiah Smith and Corporal Raleigh Smith both wanted to be history teachers some day.

Some enlisted to prove themselves, improve themselves like Private First Class Brandon Smith who dropped out of high school in Fayetteville, Arkansas, but went back, got his diploma, got into shape, lost 80 pounds so he could join the Marines.

Specialist Michael J. Smith also transformed himself. After high school, he'd had some no-future jobs around suburban Philadelphia, had screamed songs with a local heavy metal band, had an all-black wardrobe and bright red hair that hung to his waist. The Army gave him a buzz cut, a direction, a career.

It gave Brian Smith of McKinney, Texas, a change in career. He was a labor lawyer, had his own practice, quit just before he turned 30, because he thought he could make more of a difference in the world as an Army second lieutenant driving tanks.

A few of the Smiths were older, most career military. Like Chief Warrant Officer Eric Smith, 41, a 16-year Army veteran from Rochester, New York, who lived to fly helicopters. And First Sergeant Edward Smith, 38, a police reserve officer in Anaheim, California, and 20- year veteran of the Marine Corps.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Smitty had the qualities to be a very good Marine, an excellent Marine. He was a great cop. And a great -- good friend and a good man.

NISSEN: And Sergeant First Class Paul Smith, 33. A 13-year Army veteran who had served in the First Gulf War in Bosnia and Kosovo.

All three were part of the first wave of U.S. troops marching across the sands of Iraq in March of 2003 to Baghdad. All three were among the war's early casualties.

Eric Smith died April 2 when his helicopter crashed in an unspecified part of central Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They grew up and ended up wanting to fly helicopters and did so and fought for our country. And I want them to remember that.

NISSEN: Sergeant Edward Smith was wounded in combat in Central Iraq April 4, died the next day. Like an unprecedented number of U.S. troops, he was married, had children, three under the age of 12.

Sergeant Paul Smith's unit made it to Baghdad, seized part of the crucially important airport. On April 4, he and 15 fellow soldiers came under fierce fire from some 100 members of the Republican guard. As his comrades fell around him, Paul Smith took a wounded gunner's place at a 50 caliber machine gun. Firing and reloading three times covering the evacuation of the wounded before he was shot in the neck.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We count ourselves blessed to have soldiers like Sergeant Smith who put their lives on the line to advance the cause of freedom and protect the American people.

NISSEN: Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith was posthumously awarded the nation's highest battlefield honor, the first Medal of Honor awarded in 12 years.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE He has left his family and his country a life of great meaning and entrusted us with his faith in America and its mission.

NISSEN: Less than a week after Paul Smith's death, the statue and the regime of Saddam Hussein had fallen.

BUSH: My fellow Americans, major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.

NISSEN: On June 21, Orinthial's Smith's mother came home from the fan belt factory to a letter from her son.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Even though the president said that most combat operations in Iraq is over, the war still continues. There are still soldiers and Marines dying every day. Mom, read this letter to as many people as you can. We're still here fighting to help Iraq and also defending our great country."

NISSEN: The next day she came home to an officer in an Army uniform. Only a few of the words he said came through. Convoy, Baghdad, regret to inform.

Of the 21 Smiths, 18 died after major combat operations were declared at an end. Pockets of resistance turned out to be a lasting and widespread insurgency, attacking U.S. troops as they moved in long convoys, low flying helicopters.

CWO BRUCE SMITH, U.S. ARMY: Hi, this is CWO Bruce Smith with company F-106 Aviation from West Liberty, Iowa. I'd like to say hello to my family and friends in West Liberty and thank you for your support.

NISSEN: Chief Warrant Officer Bruce Smith talked often about the joys and hazards of flying helicopters in a war zone.

SMITH: There's not a whole lot of protection, per se. It's made of aluminum stuff. So we try to hide behind this console as much as we can.

NISSEN: On November 2, he was co-piloting a Chinook helicopter carrying troops home on leave when a surface-to-air missile shot the chopper down near Fallujah. 15 of the 18 on board died, including Bruce Smith, 41, husband and father of two.

Five days later another surface-to-air missile, another helicopter, this one a Black Hawk over Tikrit. All six on board were killed, including Captain Benedict Smith, 29.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, we got him.

NISSEN: When Saddam Hussein was captured in mid-December, the total number of U.S. war dead had not yet reached 500. Not all were killed in combat. Lance Corporal Matthew Smith, a Marine reservist, had survived that first push to Baghdad, still had grains of sand in the pages of his Bible. He and his family were relieved when he was redeployed to Kuwait.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The letter told me that he was going to be back before his birthday, which was in 20 days, and we were all very excited.

NISSEN: Matt, almost 21, was killed when the humvee he was driving hit a parked trailer. More than 100 U.S. troops have died in motor vehicle accidents, in dust storms, at night, on dangerous roads, offroad.

Corporal Daryl Smith drowned when his vehicle overturned, plunged into one of Baghdad's network of rivers and canals. Private First Class Jeremiah Smith was killed when his humvee ran over unexploded ordnance near Baghdad.

Explosives, mines and IEDs, improvised explosive devices, were a constant threat. Private First Class Brandon Smith was killed when his humvee hit a land mine in Al Qaim in March of 2004.

Mining roads, setting traps, hiding, that was the way of the enemy that Second Lieutenant Brian Smith described in e-mails home. "The Iraqis prefer to pop out of cover, shoot and run," he wrote. "They are rarely accurate." He was shot and killed by a sniper in July in Habbaniyah.

Habbaniyah, Ramadi, Fallujah, hot spots throughout 2004 for U.S. troops, Army units, then the Marines. Lance Corporal Michael J. Smith Jr., Sergeant Benjamin Smith, Lance Corporal Antowain Smith were all lost there. Killed in the terse language of the Marines, in enemy action in al Anbar Province.

It was left to others to give their lives some detail.

Antowain, 22, played viola in his high school orchestra in Orlando. Lost his stutter when he joined the Marines.

Benjamin, 24, loved country music and rodeos. Had a fiance, Carrie, waiting for him in California.

Michael, 21, nicknamed All-Purpose Smitty by his high school football coach, because he'd play any position. His funeral was held in the Lutheran church in Steubenville, Ohio, where he was baptized, confirmed and married to Alicia, who was expecting their first child when he died.

Najaf, Mosul, Baghdad. U.S. troops here stayed on patrol, on edge. As he rode in a Humvee on patrol in Baghdad, Arkansas National Guard Sergeant Michael Smith was shot in the head. He was medevacked to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, then to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. His parents and sister kept vigil in the ICU for two weeks, but he never opened his eyes. He died last November 26th, the day after Thanksgiving.

Corporal Raleigh Smith wondered about being a good soldier. He told friends and family back home in Troy, Montana, he had mixed feelings about the war, had nightmares about all the bodies of women and children he'd seen in Fallujah, a ghost town, he told his mother. He was killed in action there two days before Christmas.

Lance Corporal Jason Smith also wrote home about seeing dead bodies and dead Marines. In a letter his family opened last New Year's Eve, the day Jason died on patrol in Al Anbar province, he wrote "in some ways I don't think we should be here, but someone needs to do it. I'm glad to help these innocent Iraqis out. They are so happy that we are here to fix their country."

Because of U.S. troops, U.S. sacrifices, Iraq was to have free elections. On January 30th, millions of Iraqis went to the polls. Specialist Michael Smith had wanted to see election day -- the end of Iraq's dictatorship, he'd said. But a rocket-propelled grenade hit his vehicle in Ramadi January 11th.

The elections were important to Corporal Matthew Smith, too. His unit was on its way to secure a polling place in Fallujah the weekend before the elections when his helicopter went down in a sandstorm, killing him and 30 other U.S. troops. At his funeral back in Utah, Matthew's family agreed he'd lived his dream. Even as a toddler, he'd walk around with a toy gun saying, I'm going to protect you guys.

Since the elections, the war in Iraq has dropped from the front pages, the network newscasts. There have been only two Department of Defense reports on casualties named Smith. Lance Corporal Kevin Smith, 20, killed by a suicide car bomber near the Syrian border on March 21st, who when he couldn't sleep would call his fiance Christy back in the States at 2:00 a.m. She told his pastor at his funeral, she still listens for the phone.

And Sergeant John Smith, 22, who was on his second tour in Iraq, was training Iraqi national guardsmen in Iskandariyah, when an IED exploded near his vehicle May 12th.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was the kind of guy that we'd take fire, people would be shooting at us, and he'd never panicked, always stayed calm, relaxed, and did his job.

NISSEN: John Smith was buried last weekend in the National Cemetery in Wilmington, North Carolina, with military honors, a 21-gun salute. In remembrance, in honor of the 21 soldiers and Marines with the common name of Smith, who volunteered, who served, who gave their all, in all Americans' names.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: So we honor the Smiths tonight, and the 1,600 other families who are missing someone who has gone off to war and didn't come back.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: In a moment, one soldier's heroic story of survival in Iraq. A little past a quarter to the hour now; Erica Hill joins us one last time from -- well, one last time tonight. I don't -- sounded like I know something...

HILL: You're not getting me fired, are you?

BROWN: Absolutely not.

HILL: OK, good.

BROWN: Absolutely not.

HILL: All right, then I'll give you some news. How's that?

BROWN: Great.

HILL: Deadly violence today in Pakistan's capital. A suspected suicide bomber attacked a Shiite Muslim shrine in Islamabad, killing at least 20 people. There's been no claim of responsibility. Security in Islamabad has been tightened in the wake of the attack.

On the CNN "Security Watch," the administration wants to expand the FBI's power to keep a tab on Internet users. It tells a U.S. court of appeals the feds should have the power to force Internet providers to turn over information about their subscribers. A lawsuit against the Patriot Act had put limits on that.

While you may be looking forward to using your cell phone during passenger flights some day soon, although maybe not the guy next to you, security officials today shared their concerns about that, saying to federal airline regulators that such a move could actually help terrorists coordinate an attack or even trigger an onboard bomb.

In Atlanta, a man wanted by police still refusing to come down off a giant crane after more than two days. Carl Edward Roland has been perched 350 feet up in the air since 4:00 o'clock Wednesday afternoon. He's wanted in Florida in connection with the beating death of his ex-girlfriend.

A jury in Los Angeles has acquitted the former finance director of Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2000 Senate campaign. David Rosen was charged with lying to the Federal Election Commission about the true cost of a lavish Hollywood fund-raiser for Mrs. Clinton.

And in Annapolis, Maryland, the president told graduating Naval cadets there are just too many military bases wasting billions of taxpayer dollars. He said base closings and realignments will help bring the military into the 21st century. He also told the class they'd make America proud in the fight against terror.

And Aaron, that is the latest from HEADLINE NEWS. Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend.

BROWN: Thank you. I think we should start a save the pretzel campaign for Northwest Airlines.

HILL: All right, I can help you out there. I'll sign on.

BROWN: And then maybe the executives of Northwest will kick in a little. And they'll make up that $2 million pretzel deficit.

HILL: They might have $2 million kicking around in their bonuses. You never know.

BROWN: They just might.

Have a good weekend.

HILL: Thanks.

BROWN: Thank you.

Tonight in our anniversary series "Then & Now," we profile Shoshana Johnson, a member of the Army's 507th Maintenance Company. You know about them. They were captured as the war in Iraq began, and, along the way, Ms. Johnson made some history.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your name?

SHOSHANA JOHNSON: Shana.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shana? Where do you come from?

JOHNSON: Texas.

BROWN (voice-over): She's the first African-American woman to become a prisoner of war. Shoshana Johnson was a cook for the 507th Maintenance Company when it was ambushed in Iraq in March of 2003.

JOHNSON: I was terrified. I didn't know what was going to happen to me. And I was in a lot of pain.

BROWN: The 30-year-old single mother was shot in both ankles, captured with five other soldiers.

JOHNSON: I feared for my life the whole captivity. BROWN: She was rescued three weeks later and came home to instant celebrity. Johnson will soon retire from the army. She's had to fight to keep her disability benefits because her injuries were less severe, she receives much less than her fellow soldier Jessica Lynch. But she says she doesn't begrudge her friend.

JOHNSON: Things don't bother me as much, you know. Quite frankly, I'm just very happy to be still on this earth.

BROWN: Johnson spends her time with her daughter, she does some speaking engagements. And she's still undergoing both physical and emotional therapy.

JOHNSON: Everything happens for a reason. I've had a lot of good fortune, I'm healthy, my family's healthy, my daughters, my nieces. I don't ask God for anything more than that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: We hope you'll join us next Wednesday, June 1st, CNN's actual 25th birthday. You can send us a present too. We'll air a prime time special program called "DEFINING MOMENTS: 25 STORIES THAT TOUCHED OUR LIVES."

Morning papers as a few as well. We'll get to those in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: OK, time to check morning papers from around the country and around the world tonight because we lead with the "Herald Sun," an Australian paper. It leads local. The Schapelle Corby verdict, "20 year, shock and tears over jail sentence." So, here's the deal on this. Indonesia sentenced a guy who was convicted in connection with the Bali terrorist bombing, he got 30 months in prison. She gets 20 years on a pot bust. Terrorism, how many people died, a couple hundred. Pot bust -- 20 years.

All right. I'll say no more on that. I don't think. "New York Daily News." It's a front page, this will grab 'em, won't it? I hope it did. We led with it, too. "Sex Pill Woes, FDA probes evidence that a small number taking drug may have gone blind." There are so many jokes there that I will not do tonight. It also leads to "The Times" in London. "Viagra linked to blindness, investigated by regulator." Billion dollar drug.

Speaking of British papers, "The Guardian." "Scientists dismayed by B.A. animal ban." British Air will no longer transport any live animals that are going to be used in medical experiments even in coach. Well, my goodness.

"The Washington Times." I love this story, down here quickly. "Two World War II soldiers still in hiding?" Japanese envoys trying to verify Philippines report. Wouldn't that be incredible, all these years later, these guys living in a cave wondering what's been going on. And they missed "American Idol." The "Chicago Sun-Times" gives us the weather for Chicago. Thank you. Weather tomorrow in Chicago is chancy. We'll wrap it up in an odd sort of way in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: This is what we call a clarification. Recently on NEWSNIGHT we profiled a young author, Amanda Marquit and her first novel "Shut the Door" written when she was just 15. In our taped story about the book, there was a comment by a concern parent whose daughter had brought home a book from her middle school library that her mom considered to be shallow, substantist -- substanceless and sexually explicit. She was not referring to "Shut the Door." Despite noting that in the copy, some viewers may have thought otherwise. So we clarify. We also wish you a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. We hope you'll take a moment to remember why it is we celebrate this weekend. We're all back here next week. Until then, good night for all of us.

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