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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Toddler Cured of HIV; Queen Elizabeth Hospitalized in London; Midwest Wakes up to Snow; ADHD Into Adulthood; Taye Diggs Tackles Hunger

Aired March 04, 2013 - 06:30   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Berman. It is Monday, March 4th, about 30 minutes after the hour right now.

And new this morning, we have a breakthrough, a real breakthrough in the battle against HIV. For the first time in the 32 year history of that virus that causes AIDS, a child has been cured. Scientists say a 2-year-old Mississippi girl who was born with HIV is now infection free. The success may have been that she received high dosage of three HIV drugs within 30 hours after birth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROWENA JOHNSTON, V.P. AND DIR. OF RESEARCH, AMFAR: It's fantastic news from any number of angles, of course, that a child is being cured. But this actually happened really quite easily and quite inexpensively.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Researchers say more studies do need to be done, but this development could forever change the way babies are born with AIDS and how they are treated.

ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: And a developing story this morning in London.

Queen Elizabeth in the hospital. She's battling what appears to be a stomach bug. The 86-year-old monarch was hospitalized yesterday, they say, as a precaution after showing symptoms of gastroenteritis. That can cause dehydration. It is particularly of concern among elderly patients.

CNN royal correspondent Max Foster is joining us from London with the very latest.

How is she doing this morning?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we haven't had an update so far today. The palace didn't want to give a running commentary, they say, on this. But, obviously, so many people are concerned about this. Probably because the queen hasn't been in the hospital for 10 years. She's pretty resilient and very healthy for her age. And also, she's canceled the whole week's worth of public engagements, which she never, ever does. The last time I can imagine, I can remember her canceling anything is last year, and before that, I can't remember. So, this is a big deal, because she normally doesn't get in this sort of condition. But she's in a hospital.

We are expecting an update at some point over the next day or two. And the palace had indicated that she may be in today and tomorrow and then she might come out.

But doctors are making their own assessments on that, Zoraida.

SAMBOLIN: And, Max, people are a little skeptical about exactly what's wrong with her. Can you explain why?

FOSTER: Well, because the statement we have, the one statement we got last night, was talking about gastroenteritis and reporting that she has it. But actually, the statement says she is suffering from symptoms of gastroenteritis -- the stomach bug that we've been talking about. They haven't confirmed that that is actually the diagnosis.

So, some concern they may be looking for an underlying condition at the hospital which could be more serious, could be less serious. But the fact is we haven't got clarity on that and the statement was quite carefully worded, so that has got us a bit worried about what actually is going on here.

SAMBOLIN: We appreciate you following the latest developments for us and we certainly wish her well.

Max Foster, live in London -- thank you.

BERMAN: Thirty-two minutes after the hour right now.

And nation's heartland getting dumped on again. Another powerful winter storm is making a mess of this morning's commute, with several inches forecast from North Dakota, all the way to Iowa. And by tomorrow, Chicago could see 10 more inches of snow on the ground.

Meteorologist Jennifer Delgado in the CNN weather center.

Even more snow, Jennifer.

JENNIFER DELGADO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Even more snow. You know, I think this might make Zoraida a little homesick for Chicago.

SAMBOLIN: Not really.

DELGADO: But potentially six inches of snow, even more.

As we show in the radar right now, guys, look at this -- in North Dakota, the snow coming down, same for parts of Minnesota, Minneapolis. And it looks fairly quiet right now. But the snow is going to be developing and it's going to get heavier, especially as we go later into the day. And that's why we have all these warnings and watches out there. And now, we also have a warning for blizzard conditions to set up later this evening for parts of North Dakota. Now, anywhere you are seeing in pink, for parts of Minneapolis, we're talking six to 12 inches of snowfall and then the warnings extend to the East, because this storm is just not going to sit in the Northern Plains. It's going to be moving through parts of the central west.

This is Tuesday. The snow is going to be heavy through parts of Chicago, as well as Indiana. Fort Wayne, you're looking at heavy snowfall. But once it moves over towards the East, this is going to get a bit uncertain, as this low potentially could strengthen and if it moves over toward the East, it can mean more snow for the South. And if it moves up toward the North, we could see snow affecting areas like New York.

Of course, very uncertain now. Once we get closer to the time. We'll have a better idea. But I can tell you this. While we're uncertain what the potential track of it as we go later into midweek, we can tell you this, we're going to be dealing with very windy conditions, potentially some coastal flooding, along with that storm surge and with the windy conditions. You get some of that heavy wet snow, of course, that's going to lead to some power lines being down.

But for areas like Washington, D.C., as well as Richmond, Virginia, we're talking six to 10 inches of snow. People are freaking out.

(LAUGHTER)

SAMBOLIN: I don't blame them. I look for the record. I like that first snowfall and then I'm done with it.

DELGADO: Yes, you're done with it. You had it. It was nice, go away.

SAMBOLIN: Well, thank you, Jennifer, for tracking it for us. We appreciate it.

DELGADO: You're welcome.

SAMBOLIN: Thirty-four minutes past the hour.

Up to 7 percent of school-aged children are diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. And this morning, we are learning that childhood ADHD can often linger into adulthood and result in a greater risk of psychiatric disorder.

Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is joining us now again live from Atlanta.

Elizabeth, this is very disconcerting. They say suicide is a concern here. What is going on?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Zoraida, it certainly is disconcerting when you look at millions of kids have ADHD and now we're seeing this. Take a look at this they looked at more than 200 adults who had ADHD as children, 57 percent of those adults had some kind of psychiatric disorder. And they were five times more likely to commit suicide. And we're talking about disorders like alcohol abuse, anti social behavior, anxiety, depression. These are very serious illnesses.

SAMBOLIN: OK. So what is the connection here between hyperactivity as a kid and suicide as an adult?

COHEN: Right. The issue here is that when people had -- when kids have ADHD, they can easily become depressed because they're not performing well. They're not doing well in school. They try and try. And this is a life long disorder. People don't just sort of grow out of it for the most part. So that depression can then become suicide, and it's exacerbated by the fact that people with ADHD are impulsive.

So, you have a bad combination, easily depressed and impulsive. That's what can lead to suicide.

SAMBOLIN: So given these findings, what are you recommending that parents do?

COHEN: You know, what parents do, if they fear their child has ADHD, they need to get a diagnosis and get treatment early. That early treatment is so important so you can reduce the risk your child becoming anxious or depressed.

If you want to learn more about this, go to CNNHealth.com. My colleague Leslie Wade (ph) has a wonderful blog.

SAMBOLIN: I am headed over there. Thank you so much.

COHEN: Thanks.

SAMBOLIN: Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, appreciate it.

BERMAN: Thirty-six minutes after the hour right now. School officials in Strongsville, Ohio, say classes will be in session this morning, despite a teacher strike. A weekend bargaining session with the federal mediator failed to produce an agreement between the teachers union, the board of ed. The walkout affects nearly 400 teachers, counselors, and nurses in Strongsville schools.

SAMBOLIN: NBA bad boy Dennis Rodman fresh off his diplomacy tour to North Korea, sitting done with this week's George Stephanopoulos. When he was asked about North Korea's record, on human rights or about Kim Jong-un's threat against the United States, the Hall of Fame basketball star said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENNIS RODMAN, FORMER NBA PLAYER: I don't look at all of that right there. Understand what he's doing. I don't condone that. I hate the fact that he's doing that, but the fact of it is, you know what, that's a human being, though. He let his guard down. He did one thing to me. And a friend. I didn't talk about that. I understand that. I understand that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: Rodman described Kim Jung-Un as a friend, a man who loves power, but insists he does not want war.

BERMAN: It's still a crazy picture to look at right there.

Thirty-eight minutes after the hour.

Facebook has got something new up its sleeve. More on this week's big announcement, coming up.

SAMBOLIN: Plus, the outrage over a low blow caught on camera in the NBA.

BERMAN: And actor Taye Diggs on tackling an intruder in his home and sharing breakfast. He is live in our studio, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Welcome back, everyone.

Soledad O'Brien now with a look at what's ahead on "STARTING POINT."

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Lots happening this morning, starting right at the top of the hour.

An incredible breakthrough to talk about. Doctors say a 2-year-old girl is now cured of HIV. How is that possible? And it could the outcome be used to treat other infected children, and even adults? We'll take a look at what doctors say is the key to the medical success here.

Then, it's been 50 years since some of the most pivotal moments took place in the civil rights movement in Birmingham, Alabama. This weekend, the march from Selma to Montgomery, excuse me, was honored by the Vice President Joe Biden.

We'll talk this morning with legendary entertainer and philanthropist Bill Cosby. Birmingham, Alabama, Mayor William Bell Sr. will join us. And George French, he's president of Miles College. I'll talk to three of them about the plan to mark this momentous occasion.

Then, a 7-year-old suspended for turning his breakfast pastry into something that sort of kind of looked like a gun. Did the school overreact in the wake of several school shootings? Or did the school take appropriate action? We're going to talk to the second grader, I love interviewing 7-year-old, and his dad will be joining us as well.

SAMBOLIN: That is going to be very interesting.

O'BRIEN: Breakfast pastry.

SAMBOLIN: All right. Thank you, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: You bet.

SAMBOLIN: NFL history was made yesterday when the first ever female player tried out at a regional combine.

BERMAN: Jared Greenberg joins us now for this morning's "Bleacher Report."

Jared, how did she do?

JARED GREENBERG, BLEACHER REPORT: Well, two and done. However, at this level, no woman has ever made it this far. It was a tremendous day yesterday. But Silberman had $275 and a dream to become the first woman to play in the NFL. Battling the leg injury, the 28-year-old only able to last two kicks. The regional combine in New Jersey was open to anyone willing to pay the registration fee, offering all 37 participants, including the first ever a woman a chance of a lifetime.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAUREN SILBERMAN: I've always been an athlete. I've always been a gamer. And when I had the opportunity to be in the NFL, one of the world's most competitive league, I absolutely had to take the chance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREENBERG: Danica Patrick's day was also cut short. A blown tire forced Patrick to crash into the wall at Phoenix. A 37th place finish a week after crossing the finish line eighth in Daytona. And Carl Edwards turned last week's misfortune into a victory in the desert and made a bid for the U.S. Olympics gymnastics team. Edwards hasn't won in his last 70 races. Nice back flip.

Man code broken in L.A. Serge Ibaka of the Oklahoma City Thunder with a low blow on Blake Griffin of the Clippers. Ibaka was given a flagrant foul not but ejected. Ibaka should refreshing that email inbox, a note from the league's office regarding a suspension is likely.

Wow moment of the weekend. New York High School Rochelle in black uniform down two. Mount Vernon appears here to secure the win, errant pass comes to Kahlil Edney from 55 feet. Edney says you bet you.

Take a look. Edney, who inbounds the pass, eventually gets the ball back, and you got to keep your eye on the red light because it never comes on until Edney releases the ball. Move over Lebron and Kobe for the time being. Edney finds himself thrust (ph) into the national valley. His Twitter account has tripled in terms of followers since he made this incredible buzzer beater, knocking off the seven-time defending section champs.

BERMAN: Amazing!

SAMBOLIN: You heard the announcer calling for Mt. Vernon. He was convinced that Mt. Vernon had taken it. That was amazing.

GREENBERG: That's right. They knew a few moments to talk about it. Want more sports? Check out how Lebron James would have stacked up against every team in NBA history in terms of the other errors if he is the best. You'll have to log on to BleacherReport.com. And one footnote from that ridiculous high school shot that you saw, it's been a really big year for Edney and (Inaudible) in the fall. He led the Huguenots (ph) to a football state championship.

BERMAN: Wow!

SAMBOLIN: Like the perfect kid.

(CROSSTALK)

GREENBERG: Few more games to win.

SAMBOLIN: Unbelievable. Thank you for that. We appreciate it.

It is 45 minutes past the hour. Facebook is getting a face lift, again. The new version of the site's newsfeed is expected to bring more features to mobile platforms, including smartphones. Can't wait to see what it looks like? You won't have to. Expect to see the revamped look this Thursday.

BERMAN: And coming up, he is the TV star who made headlines when he decked a burglar at his home. Now, Taye Diggs is tackling something else. It has nothing to do with acting. We're going to talk to him.

SAMBOLIN: He will never live that down.

BERMAN: He's here with us in just a moment coming on up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. This just in to CNN. President Obama moving to fill two cabinet seats later this morning. The president will nominate Gina McCarthy (ph) to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. McCarthy is, right now, the head of EPA's air office. Also, and physicist, Ernest Moniz (ph), will be nominated to take over the Department of Energy.

Right now, Moniz is a physics professor at MIT. He was an undersecretary of -- sorry, an undersecretary of energy during the Clinton administration. So, two experts in their fields nominated to the cabinet later this morning.

SAMBOLIN: All right. It is 50 minutes past the hour. Actor, Taye Diggs, is best known for his starring role on a TV drama, "Private Practice." But now, he has a brand new role, working to fight child hunger in America. He's teaming up with Kellogg's as a paid spokesman to help with their share breakfast campaign.

BERMAN: Kellogg's is pledging about a million bucks to breakfast programs to help the one in five U.S. children who starts each day without breakfast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED KID: It helps you think, it helps you run, it helps you do almost everything in the day, and you can't be starving. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can breakfast help change a life? Can a great start help lead to great things? Breakfast plus kids equals endless possibilities helping set them up for a successful day. We believe in the power of breakfast. So, each time you share this video with a friend, we'll share another breakfast toward our goal. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of children in need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: So, Taye is joining us now, and this is actual National Breakfast Week.

TAYE DIGGS, ACTOR, SPOKESMAN/KELLOGG'S "SHAREBREAKFAST.COM": Yes, it is.

SAMBOLIN: I had no idea.

DIGGS: Yes, it is.

SAMBOLIN: Thank you for being with us. We appreciate it.

DIGGS: Thank you for having me.

SAMBOLIN: All right. So, we have some surprising numbers here on how many children actually go without breakfast every morning.

DIGGS: One in five.

SAMBOLIN: Yes.

DIGGS: Yes.

SAMBOLIN: And 16.7 million children struggle with hunger as well.

DIGGS: Yes.

SAMBOLIN: So, how is this program helping?

DIGGS: People don't realize that this is an issue that we are dealing with in our own country. So, I teamed up with Kellogg's, and we are, you know, participating in the Share Breakfast program, which is focusing on getting over a million breakfasts to kid that, otherwise, would go without, which is something I pretty excited about.

I have a kid. You know, I come from very humble background, so I remember what it was like to go to school without necessarily having a great breakfast so this is something that weighs very heavily on me.

BERMAN: Similar numbers are, you know, are just staggering. One in five children may go without breakfast everyday, 17.7 million children struggle with hunger. So, what's the goal here? What can you do?

DIGGS: Basically, just to end childhood hunger. If people want to help, they can go to the website, ShareBreakfast.com, and whenever they comment on the PSAs and the videos, really heartwarming videos, let people were doing (ph), we share a breakfast to a young person. SAMBOLIN: You know, we were doing a little bit of research here. How important is breakfast? Because I know it's very difficult sometimes, even for people who have the means to get their children to eat breakfast.

DIGGS: Sure.

SAMBOLIN: And what we found is that it actually improves your math scores as well.

DIGGS: Absolutely. One hundred percent. So, we want to kind of nail that home.

SAMBOLIN: All right.

BERMAN: And breakfast is that meal we eat usually at the end of our day.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: But we still think it's very important. I have to ask you if I'm allowed to. You decked a guy who was trying to rob your house.

DIGGS: Oh, man. Let me tell you.

(CROSSTALK)

DIGGS: It really was not nearly as cool or as sexy as it seems, but everybody is safe and I appreciate the concern.

SAMBOLIN: All right. And I want to end definitely on this note, you know, trying to help children who are hungry. So, where exactly can people go in order to help out?

DIGGS: Sharebreakfast.com. And whenever they comment on what they see, we can provide a breakfast to a young person in need.

SAMBOLIN: All right. Wonderful. So, go there and share away. Really good for you and this really hits home. And I want to ask one more question. And it's about your next season coming up. "Private Practice" just ended its six-season run. So, what are you working on next?

DIGGS: Right now, I'm just focusing on this, and then, once this wraps up, I'll probably try to find another TV job, doing a couple of movies and things like that.

SAMBOLIN: All right. We're looking forward to it. You got a lot of fans here at CNN, and I would imagine amongst our viewers as well. We wish you all the luck in the world and good luck with this as well.

DIGGS: Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

BERMAN: All right. So, next on EARLY START, Keith Olbermann reportedly plotting a return to his television roots. SAMBOLIN: And just minutes away on "Starting Point," the latest on a winter snowstorm. Expect it to slam major cities from the plains to the east coast.

BERMAN: You're not going to like this.

(LAUGHTER)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Welcome back, everyone. So, Keith Olbermann looking to return to his television routes at ESPN. Olbermann spent five years with the all-sports network in the mid-1990s and confirmed he recently had dinner with ESPN's president. Now, ESPN insists no deal is imminent. Olbermann is suing his last employer, Current TV, for reported $70 million allegeing breach of contract.

SAMBOLIN: Head scratch (ph) here.

All right. Anheuser-Busch taking out this full page ad in at least 10 national newspapers to trying to fight claims that they're watering down their beer. The ad features a picture of a can of drinking water with the Anheuser-Busch logo along with the caption. They must have tested one of these.

Anheuser-Busch donates water to the American Red Cross. And unhappy beer customers have filed a proposed class action lawsuit accusing the beer giant of mislabeling the alcohol content. Anheuser-Busch says the claims are completely false and groundless.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: I'm not sure I fully get it.

SAMBOLIN: No. I don't either. And confusing, right?

(LAUGHTER)

SAMBOLIN: It's like, aw, watered down beer.

BERMAN: All right. On that note, that's all for EARLY START this morning. I'm John Berman.

SAMBOLIN: And I'm Zoraida Sambolin. "STARTING POINT" with Soledad O'Brien starts right now.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome, everybody. Our "Starting Point" this morning, a stunning medical breakthrough. Doctors say a two-year-old girl is cured of HIV. We'll explain how it happened and whether or not other children could be able to be saved.

Also, watching another winter storm bearing down on the Midwest ready to wallop the nation's capital. We're tracking that storm for you live.

And then, in just about an hour, crews demolishing a home that sits above that deadly sinkhole. How could you keep something like this from happening again? We'll take a look at that this morning.

BERMAN: This morning, Catholic cardinals meeting to set a date for a vote for a new pope. We are live in Rome waiting for the decision it could come at any moment.

Then, a nail biter ending to a high school basketball game. A player makes just an unbelievable shot to beat the clock. There he is. You will never see a buzzer beater better than that one.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And I got business for you this morning. When you're looking for your job, you think you just need to worry about the wardrobe, the resume. No. Why the credit check might be something you need to think wardrobe, resume. Why the credit check might be something you need to think about before you walk into that interview.

O'BRIEN: To mark the 50th anniversary of the 1963 Birmingham civil rights movement, we'll speak this morning with legendary entertainer and philanthropist, Bill Cosby, the Birmingham, Alabama mayor, William Bell Sr., and George French, president of Miles College.

It's Monday, March 4th, and "STARTING POINT" begins right now.