Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
Studies Show Possible Heart Risks from Celebrex; Bush Signs Intelligence Reform Bill; Police Search for Baby Removed from Murdered Pregnant Woman; Security Arrested in Housing Development Fire; Armor Companies Increasing Production
Aired December 17, 2004 - 13:00 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: What's in your medicine chest? Add the popular painkiller Celebrex to the list of drugs that might raise your risk for a heart attack. We're live on the story.
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A gruesome story developing in Missouri at this hour, where police are seeking help from the public to help a fetus that investigators say was removed from his murdered mother's body, a fetus police believe could be alive.
I'm Keith Oppenheim in Chicago. I'll have the details coming up.
TONY HARRIS, CO-HOST: Intelligence reform. It's now the law of the land. How will it make America safer? We're live from our nation's capital.
PHILLIPS: Seasonal stumper. Do you say "merry Christmas," "happy Hanukkah," "happy Kwanzaa"? If you're stumped about the proper season's greeting, well, our Tom Foreman has found just one that might cover all your bases.
HARRIS: Really?
PHILLIPS: Yes, can you believe it?
HARRIS: OK.
PHILLIPS: "Happy holidays," that's what I say.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris in for Miles O'Brien. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
It's another blow to millions of Americans who suffer from a common ailment. The world's biggest drug maker says a popular painkiller may have a very dangerous side effect.
The news about Celebrex comes months after similar concerns about Vioxx. It's raising all sorts of questions about what's in your medicine cabinet?
CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen here now to tell us all about it. OK. Let's start one by one here. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, you mentioned Vioxx and you mentioned Celebrex. Both of them are called COX-2 inhibitors. They are in the same class of drugs.
Now, if you remember, Vioxx was taken off the market in September over concerns that it could cause heart attacks. When that happened, the sales of Celebrex went way, way up.
Well, now today news from Pfizer, which makes Celebrex, a study has shown that it, too, seems to increase the rate of heart attacks. There are actually two studies that were done on Celebrex.
Let's take a look at the first one. It was done by the National Cancer Institute. And it found that Celebrex users had a 2.5 times higher risk of a major cardiovascular event, meaning heart attack or stroke.
Now a second study was done by Pfizer, which makes Celebrex. They found that there was no increased risk of major -- of a major cardiovascular event.
Now it will be interesting to see. Pfizer has taken the results of both of these studies and sent it to the Food and Drug Administration. It will be interesting to see if the Food and Drug Administration urges Pfizer to take this drug off the market, because the amount in that one study that it increased cardiovascular problems was about the same amount that Vioxx did. Sort of a parallel situation.
PHILLIPS: All right. So what do you do if you're taking it now?
COHEN: If you're taking it now, if you're taking Celebrex now, you need to talk to your doctor for two reasons.
One, in the study that found that Celebrex was problematic, that it might cause heart attacks, the patients were taking both a low and a high dose of Celebrex. In the study that found that Celebrex was not a problem, people were only taking a low dose. So it may be that the dose is the issue.
Another reason to talk to your doctor, there are lots of other answers for pain out there. This is a drug that people take for pain. There's aspirin. There's ibuprofen. There's all sorts of things. There's acetaminophen. So there are other things you can take besides Celebrex.
PHILLIPS: And that works just as well?
COHEN: Well, it -- you know, it depends on which drug company you believe.
PHILLIPS: Yes, that's true. That's true. All right. Two different studies, two different answers.
COHEN: Right. How did that happen?
PHILLIPS: Yes.
COHEN: They were both studying people who were taking Celebrex and comparing them to people who weren't taking Celebrex. How did that happen?
Well, one reason may be that dosing that we talked about, that in the study that turned out that there were some problems with Celebrex, they were taking -- some of them were taking a high dose and some of them were taking a low dose.
The study where there were no problems, everyone was taking a low dose. So that may be one of the reasons.
But people who have been critical of pharmaceutical companies will point out maybe it's because the study that showed there were no problems was done by the company that makes the drug. And so perhaps that's the reason.
Some people would say that when drug companies do studies, they design the studies to skew it so that you get a good result. Pfizer, I'm sure, will say that that's not the case. But there are critics out there who will say that.
PHILLIPS: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks very much.
COHEN: Thanks.
HARRIS: And we have more details about Pfizer's announcement today. CNN financial news correspondent Allan Chernoff joins us from the company's headquarters in New York.
Allan, what do you know?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (NO AUDIO)
PHILLIPS: OK, I want to apologize. We don't have Allan's mic. We'll get back to him in just a couple of minutes -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, we still -- straight ahead on LIVE FROM, we're actually going to talk to a cardiologist. He's going to take your answers from you, or take some questions, rather, from you. He'll have some answers, rather, about Celebrex in light of today's announcement.
And we're also going to have a stock market reaction. As you can imagine, Pfizer shares taking -- shares are taking with this hit. Stay with us. We're going to have more.
HARRIS: Well, it took months of wrangling and lobbying and persuasion, but the 9/11 reform bill is finally law. President Bush signed it today, activating the biggest overhaul of U.S. intelligence in more than 50 years.
Among the changes, the creation of a national counter0terrorism center and a new intelligence super-boss.
CNN congressional correspondent Ed Henry joins us now from Washington.
Ed, what's the reaction on Capitol Hill?
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Tony.
A lot of bipartisan celebrations. This finally got done. A long fight culminated this morning with President Bush's signing of the sweeping intelligence reform bill more than three years after the 9/11 attacks.
This new law implements some, but not all of the 41 recommendations that the 9/11 Commission presented to the president and Congress this summer
The bill follows the commission's key recommendation to create a director of national intelligence to oversee the nation's 15 spy agencies. Also gives teeth to that national counter-terror center you mentioned; provides money for new border patrol agents and sky marshals. Also a civil liberties board to try and ensure that the government does not abuse these new powers.
As the president signed this bill into law, he hailed its as a major victory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Under this new law, our vast intelligence enterprise will become more unified, coordinated and effective. It will enable us to better do our duty, which is to protect the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Now, despite the celebration, some of the president's fellow Republicans are saying the job is not finished and that this is just a first step.
As you know, Republican Congressman James Sensenbrenner is angry that his tough immigration provisions were not included, though Mr. Sensenbrenner has been promised a vote on those proposals in January.
And Republican Senator John McCain has also complained that this new law only reforms the executive branch, ignoring the 9/11 Commission's finding that congressional oversight of the intelligence community is also in desperate need of an overhaul -- Tony.
HARRIS: Ed, it's been so long in the making and creating, crafting and signing. I guess some are wondering when we might actually see some of these policy issues, some of these components of the bill actually on the ground taking effect.
HENRY: Well, as the president noted this morning, he wants to hit the ground running. He wants to make sure that this is implemented as quickly as possible.
A key part of that will be deciding who this new director of national intelligence will be. Since the 9/11 Commission envisioned it being a quarterback, if you will, who will really take charge of those 15 spy agencies and try to prevent another 9/11, you're going to see the president try to move quickly to pick someone.
There are a lot of names floating around, and nobody really has an idea of who it's going to be. That's going to be the first major step to take.
HARRIS: Yes. Ed Henry on Capitol Hill. Ed, thank you. We appreciate it.
PHILLIPS: A big goal of the new law is tightening border security. That's also the focus today during a meeting between Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and his Canadian counterpart.
Ridge and Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan are in Detroit, and they're discussing security at the bridge and tunnel linking the city with Windsor, Canada. It's the busiest crossing point between those two countries.
HARRIS: In Missouri, it's a crime hard to imagine: a pregnant woman found killed, the fetus removed from her body and missing. It is now the focus of an Amber Alert.
CNN's Keith Oppenheim joins us now from Chicago with details -- Keith.
OPPENHEIM: Hi, Tony.
This is a very rough story. Police in rural Nodaway County -- that's about 100 miles north of the Kansas City area -- are working with the FBI and also with the public watching reports like this one, because they believe that an 8-month-old fetus, in this case, could still be alive.
Here's what we know. The mother and victim in the case is 23- year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett, who police say was eight months pregnant. Investigators believe she was strangled in her home, likely to have been yesterday afternoon. They report she was cut open and the fetus was removed.
Now we're going to hear from the Nodaway County sheriff, Ben Espey, who explains why investigators think this fetus may still be alive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF BEN ESPEY, NODAWAY COUNTY, MISSOURI: The doctors who examined Bobbie Jo in the emergency room give us information that indicated that probably we would have a live child if we could find it.
The child would be in danger because of the prematurity of being one month premature. Somebody would have to have knowledge of how to care and take care of this child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OPPENHEIM: Police are searching for a red car parked in front of Bobbie Jo Stinnett's home yesterday. They say a red Honda two-door hatchback, model from the early '80s and '90s, possibly.
Investigators also say they're following leads based on suspects who may have been wanting the baby to keep or sell at a profit.
Bobbie Jo Stinnett's husband has been ruled out as a suspect, Tony. They say he was at work.
But interestingly, the two -- the couple raised dogs at their home, terriers. They even had a web site.
So police are looking into the possibility that the perpetrators in this case may have posed as people trying to buy a dog yesterday afternoon. There were no signs of forced entry at the home.
Also the FBI is working on what has been described to us as a hot lead at a location outside the state of Missouri. So they are pursuing that at the moment.
In all, this is a developing story where not only are police hoping that they can make an arrest, but first and foremost, they are hoping to bring back a fetus alive, Tony.
HARRIS: OK. Every aspect of this is pretty horrible at this point. Keith, thank you -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: He says police have the wrong man, but a security guard hired to watch over an upscale housing development in Maryland is now accused of torching it.
Aaron Speed is due to appear in federal court today. The fire earlier this month burned 26 homes and did $10 million in damage. And investigators say more than one person may have been responsible for setting it.
CNN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks joins us now with more on this case.
Now, you just got a copy of the affidavit that actually supports the complaint.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Exactly.
PHILLIPS: What you finding out? Because you're reading it as you received it here.
BROOKS: Right, exactly. He's going to be appearing in court -- in federal court at about 3:30 today.
And it talks about, this has been written by G. Joseph Bradley, special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He's the -- and this is exactly what was in some of the statements. Basically, on December 10, law enforcement interviewed him and basically asked for his opinion on how the fires were set on December -- on December 6, 2004, at the Hunters Brook housing development.
He said -- he immediately stated, "Someone pouring an accelerant followed by someone lighting it." They wanted to ask him how it was done. He said, "With a torch."
"What kind of torch?"
"A handheld propane torch." Very detailed.
And then he's later stated it would take approximately 15 minutes to set each house on fire and one full hour for the house to be fully engulfed in flames.
And they asked him who might have set the fire. And he said, quote, "Someone who works at the site and recently experienced a great loss."
Investigators go on to say that on April of 2004, his son died. And apparently they're looking at that possibly as a motive.
But then yesterday, he volunteered...
PHILLIPS: Why would it be a motive that his son died?
BROOKS: It might be a loss. And they're looking at a lot of different motives, you know. But they haven't pinpointed one exact motive.
Early on, they said that they thought it might have been eco- terrorists. They're going to move it away from eco-terrorism. But they haven't ruled out for profit or any other motive for arson.
It's ironic. Yesterday, on the 16th, he shows up for a polygraph, voluntarily, polygraph. He's advised of his rights. And he subsequently failed the polygraph, Kyra, including the inquiry as to whether Speed helped -- whether he helped start the fires.
And basically, he claimed that he was present at the location along with others with whom he was acquainted while the fires were being set.
He goes on to say that Speed claimed that he knew of the plan by others to -- known to him to set fire at the location. He also asserted that the others -- he helped them and told them how to gain access to the site.
PHILLIPS: So he started out with this situation. All these homes burned down, and there was a lot of talk it may have been discrimination because the majority of the families moving in were African-American.
BROOKS: That was one theory early on.
PHILLIPS: Then there was a thought that it could be eco- terrorism...
BROOKS: Correct.
PHILLIPS: ... because of the area where the homes were being built. Now the latest twist is the security guard who you're telling me you found out wanted to be a firefighter.
BROOKS: Well, he apparently -- he may have. They're looking into that possibly, too, as part of the excitement motive. But that's just -- that's another theory. They still do not know what the main motive is.
But law enforcement sources have told CNN that they are looking for at least two other people. They know who they're looking for. They just have not found them yet.
And it goes on to say, also, in the statement that two different types of accelerant were used, flammable liquids. They were basically two fairly powerful solvents that are highly flammable. And that was used to help set the fires.
PHILLIPS: Interesting. Mike Brooks, thank you so much.
BROOKS: All righty.
PHILLIPS: All right.
HARRIS: Armoring American troops. It's become a hot political issue. But at one Texas factory, it's a job and a personal mission. That story straight ahead.
Plus, enigmatic billionaire Howard Hughes. We found out some things about him that you won't see in the new movie biography out this weekend.
(MUSIC)
PHILLIPS: And the king sold out? Find out why Lisa Marie Presley will have a little extra cash this Christmas.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Underfunded, short of people and soon incapable of even doing its job. That's how the commander of the Army National Guard describes the state of the homeland force.
Lt. Gen. Steven Blum told reporters yesterday that the National Guard needs $20 billion for vehicles, radios and other gear just in order to stay ready here at home.
Money is not the only challenge in the ranks, though. National Guard and Reserve recruiters are failing to meet quotas, causing manpower officials at the Pentagon to worry. More than 100,000 state Guardsmen and women are currently deployed abroad, including Iraq and Afghanistan.
A deadly ambush in northern Iraq. Witnesses in Mosul say that one Iraqi and three foreigners were killed when gunmen attacked their car, possibly a taxi, with small arms. Then they set the car on fire. The nationalities of the victims is unknown.
And insurgent violence is -- is sharply on the rise in northern Iraq now, particularly in Mosul. Iraqi officials are investigating today's shooting.
HARRIS: The Army is armoring up. That's the word from the Pentagon after Army officials say they didn't know until last week that the contractors who make armored vehicles were capable of turning out more than they were already.
CNN's Ed Lavandera met some people at one of those plants with more than just a professional stake in keeping soldiers safe in the field.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ricardo Hernandez knows his job is about life, death and soldiers he's never met.
RICARDO HERNANDEZ, ARMOUR OF AMERICA: Every night my wife and I think about how they're doing over there in Iraq and what we can do to improve this type of protection for them.
LAVANDERA: Ricardo is in charge of sewing together all the soft and heavy armor packs manufactured by Armour of America in this Los Angeles factory.
He's also the stepfather of a U.S. Army sergeant who drives a Humvee in Iraq. A few months ago his stepson e-mailed to say that his vehicle had finally been outfitted with the soft Kevlar armor kit that Ricardo and 30 employees have made here.
(on camera) Does it help you sleep at night, knowing that he's driving around in a product you made here?
HERNANDEZ: Of course. Of course. I'm very happy and very confident in what I do because that protects our son. We're happy. And I'm proud of what I'm doing.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): In the last year, Armour of America has made almost 3,000 armor kits for military vehicles in Iraq. Some are soft Kevlar, which slide on the Humvee doors and protect soldiers from roadside bombs.
JOHN NEHMENS, ARMOUR OF AMERICA: In less than five minutes you've armored the outside of the vehicle. This system is a soft blanket for fragmentation.
LAVANDERA: Some kits are hard armor which manager John Nehmens demonstrated for us.
NEHMENS: This is a hard plate. Same concept. And the hard plate will stop an AK-47, M-16 rounds.
LAVANDERA: John believes this is the kind of protection soldiers want on their vehicles.
NEHMENS: They want to be able to stop rounds. They want to be able to stop the fragmentation. And they want to have the ability to shoot back. That's exactly what they want to do.
LAVANDERA: These days, business is mostly quiet as John waits for the go ahead to make another $20 million worth of armor kits for the U.S. military. Just in case, he's already started on the armor for Humvee doors.
(on camera) Trying to get ahead of the curve here.
NEHMENS: Absolutely. This is -- this is the hardest part of the process.
LAVANDERA: The military units John has been working with ship out in the next three to four months.
NEHMENS: They are -- they are very interested in getting this on before they leave. But, again, they are -- they are constrained by the dollars.
LAVANDERA: The military says there are some 20,000 vehicles in Iraq. About 4,300 still need armor. For those vehicles, help is also coming from places like the Red River Army depot in northeast Texas.
COL. MICHAEL CERVONE, U.S. ARMY: This is where the -- where everything comes together.
LAVANDERA: Colonel Michael Cervone oversees the delivery of Humvee armor kits. These units will be shipped to the Middle East and put on in the field. Production is ramping up again, with new designs to help soldiers in battle.
CERVONE: This thing will open up now all the way out, which allows the trooper to be able to have a better firing angle if he needs to lay down suppressing fire to get out of an ambush.
LAVANDERA: Ricardo Hernandez fears his stepson is always in danger on missions through the Iraqi countryside. For him, this work is personal.
HERNANDEZ: This may save a life. And I don't want nothing to fail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Another of the Army's contract companies, Armor Holdings of Jacksonville, Florida, is also ramping up production. The secretary of the Army has set up a task force to look into increasing production at all companies that make safety equipment for the military.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Video games are no longer just for kids. It's grown into a multibillion-dollar industry full of excitement and controversy.
All next week on CNN LIVE FROM, we'll peek inside virtual worlds, profile some intriguing characters and examine the debate over violence in games. That's coming up next week on LIVE FROM.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Some developments in our top story about the painkiller Celebrex made by Pfizer. CNN financial news correspondent Allan Chernoff joins us now from the company's headquarters in New York -- Allan.
CHERNOFF: Tony, thank you.
Pfizer says that it only learned late last night of the potential cardiovascular risk of Celebrex. In fact, scientists who were conducting clinical trials involving Celebrex with cancer patients promptly notified the company about this.
But Pfizer says its own scientists have not actually seen the data just yet, and they are very anxious to see that data.
Pfizer also says it is not pulling the drug. It's going to keep on selling Celebrex. It does plan a study in conjunction with the Food and Drug Administration of Celebrex in arthritis patients.
And let's keep in mind, of course, Celebrex is an arthritis drug. It is not a cancer drug. It's the No. 1 pain medication for arthritis. A total blockbuster, as a matter of fact. Over the past year in the United States 23 million prescriptions have been written for Celebrex, $2.7 billion in sales in the United States alone.
Clearly, that is the reason that Wall Street is so concerned. The stock in Pfizer is down by about 14 percent. It had been down by about 18 percent earlier in the day.
And even if you don't actually own the stock itself, it is a very good chance if you own a big mutual fund it may have a stake in Pfizer, because this is one of the most widely held stocks in the entire country. So certainly has a financial impact, driving the market down, as well.
But Tony, we should also point out that Pfizer is a $45 billion company, and they have five drugs that are actually bigger sellers than Celebrex -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK, Allan, we appreciate it. Thank you for the update.
PHILLIPS: Well, Pfizer shares are sharply lower at the New York Stock Exchange. HARRIS: Well, David Haffenreffer is standing by with the market's reaction.
David, what can you tell us?
(STOCK REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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 December 17, 2004 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: What's in your medicine chest? Add the popular painkiller Celebrex to the list of drugs that might raise your risk for a heart attack. We're live on the story.
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A gruesome story developing in Missouri at this hour, where police are seeking help from the public to help a fetus that investigators say was removed from his murdered mother's body, a fetus police believe could be alive.
I'm Keith Oppenheim in Chicago. I'll have the details coming up.
TONY HARRIS, CO-HOST: Intelligence reform. It's now the law of the land. How will it make America safer? We're live from our nation's capital.
PHILLIPS: Seasonal stumper. Do you say "merry Christmas," "happy Hanukkah," "happy Kwanzaa"? If you're stumped about the proper season's greeting, well, our Tom Foreman has found just one that might cover all your bases.
HARRIS: Really?
PHILLIPS: Yes, can you believe it?
HARRIS: OK.
PHILLIPS: "Happy holidays," that's what I say.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris in for Miles O'Brien. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
It's another blow to millions of Americans who suffer from a common ailment. The world's biggest drug maker says a popular painkiller may have a very dangerous side effect.
The news about Celebrex comes months after similar concerns about Vioxx. It's raising all sorts of questions about what's in your medicine cabinet?
CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen here now to tell us all about it. OK. Let's start one by one here. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, you mentioned Vioxx and you mentioned Celebrex. Both of them are called COX-2 inhibitors. They are in the same class of drugs.
Now, if you remember, Vioxx was taken off the market in September over concerns that it could cause heart attacks. When that happened, the sales of Celebrex went way, way up.
Well, now today news from Pfizer, which makes Celebrex, a study has shown that it, too, seems to increase the rate of heart attacks. There are actually two studies that were done on Celebrex.
Let's take a look at the first one. It was done by the National Cancer Institute. And it found that Celebrex users had a 2.5 times higher risk of a major cardiovascular event, meaning heart attack or stroke.
Now a second study was done by Pfizer, which makes Celebrex. They found that there was no increased risk of major -- of a major cardiovascular event.
Now it will be interesting to see. Pfizer has taken the results of both of these studies and sent it to the Food and Drug Administration. It will be interesting to see if the Food and Drug Administration urges Pfizer to take this drug off the market, because the amount in that one study that it increased cardiovascular problems was about the same amount that Vioxx did. Sort of a parallel situation.
PHILLIPS: All right. So what do you do if you're taking it now?
COHEN: If you're taking it now, if you're taking Celebrex now, you need to talk to your doctor for two reasons.
One, in the study that found that Celebrex was problematic, that it might cause heart attacks, the patients were taking both a low and a high dose of Celebrex. In the study that found that Celebrex was not a problem, people were only taking a low dose. So it may be that the dose is the issue.
Another reason to talk to your doctor, there are lots of other answers for pain out there. This is a drug that people take for pain. There's aspirin. There's ibuprofen. There's all sorts of things. There's acetaminophen. So there are other things you can take besides Celebrex.
PHILLIPS: And that works just as well?
COHEN: Well, it -- you know, it depends on which drug company you believe.
PHILLIPS: Yes, that's true. That's true. All right. Two different studies, two different answers.
COHEN: Right. How did that happen?
PHILLIPS: Yes.
COHEN: They were both studying people who were taking Celebrex and comparing them to people who weren't taking Celebrex. How did that happen?
Well, one reason may be that dosing that we talked about, that in the study that turned out that there were some problems with Celebrex, they were taking -- some of them were taking a high dose and some of them were taking a low dose.
The study where there were no problems, everyone was taking a low dose. So that may be one of the reasons.
But people who have been critical of pharmaceutical companies will point out maybe it's because the study that showed there were no problems was done by the company that makes the drug. And so perhaps that's the reason.
Some people would say that when drug companies do studies, they design the studies to skew it so that you get a good result. Pfizer, I'm sure, will say that that's not the case. But there are critics out there who will say that.
PHILLIPS: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks very much.
COHEN: Thanks.
HARRIS: And we have more details about Pfizer's announcement today. CNN financial news correspondent Allan Chernoff joins us from the company's headquarters in New York.
Allan, what do you know?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (NO AUDIO)
PHILLIPS: OK, I want to apologize. We don't have Allan's mic. We'll get back to him in just a couple of minutes -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, we still -- straight ahead on LIVE FROM, we're actually going to talk to a cardiologist. He's going to take your answers from you, or take some questions, rather, from you. He'll have some answers, rather, about Celebrex in light of today's announcement.
And we're also going to have a stock market reaction. As you can imagine, Pfizer shares taking -- shares are taking with this hit. Stay with us. We're going to have more.
HARRIS: Well, it took months of wrangling and lobbying and persuasion, but the 9/11 reform bill is finally law. President Bush signed it today, activating the biggest overhaul of U.S. intelligence in more than 50 years.
Among the changes, the creation of a national counter0terrorism center and a new intelligence super-boss.
CNN congressional correspondent Ed Henry joins us now from Washington.
Ed, what's the reaction on Capitol Hill?
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Tony.
A lot of bipartisan celebrations. This finally got done. A long fight culminated this morning with President Bush's signing of the sweeping intelligence reform bill more than three years after the 9/11 attacks.
This new law implements some, but not all of the 41 recommendations that the 9/11 Commission presented to the president and Congress this summer
The bill follows the commission's key recommendation to create a director of national intelligence to oversee the nation's 15 spy agencies. Also gives teeth to that national counter-terror center you mentioned; provides money for new border patrol agents and sky marshals. Also a civil liberties board to try and ensure that the government does not abuse these new powers.
As the president signed this bill into law, he hailed its as a major victory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Under this new law, our vast intelligence enterprise will become more unified, coordinated and effective. It will enable us to better do our duty, which is to protect the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Now, despite the celebration, some of the president's fellow Republicans are saying the job is not finished and that this is just a first step.
As you know, Republican Congressman James Sensenbrenner is angry that his tough immigration provisions were not included, though Mr. Sensenbrenner has been promised a vote on those proposals in January.
And Republican Senator John McCain has also complained that this new law only reforms the executive branch, ignoring the 9/11 Commission's finding that congressional oversight of the intelligence community is also in desperate need of an overhaul -- Tony.
HARRIS: Ed, it's been so long in the making and creating, crafting and signing. I guess some are wondering when we might actually see some of these policy issues, some of these components of the bill actually on the ground taking effect.
HENRY: Well, as the president noted this morning, he wants to hit the ground running. He wants to make sure that this is implemented as quickly as possible.
A key part of that will be deciding who this new director of national intelligence will be. Since the 9/11 Commission envisioned it being a quarterback, if you will, who will really take charge of those 15 spy agencies and try to prevent another 9/11, you're going to see the president try to move quickly to pick someone.
There are a lot of names floating around, and nobody really has an idea of who it's going to be. That's going to be the first major step to take.
HARRIS: Yes. Ed Henry on Capitol Hill. Ed, thank you. We appreciate it.
PHILLIPS: A big goal of the new law is tightening border security. That's also the focus today during a meeting between Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and his Canadian counterpart.
Ridge and Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan are in Detroit, and they're discussing security at the bridge and tunnel linking the city with Windsor, Canada. It's the busiest crossing point between those two countries.
HARRIS: In Missouri, it's a crime hard to imagine: a pregnant woman found killed, the fetus removed from her body and missing. It is now the focus of an Amber Alert.
CNN's Keith Oppenheim joins us now from Chicago with details -- Keith.
OPPENHEIM: Hi, Tony.
This is a very rough story. Police in rural Nodaway County -- that's about 100 miles north of the Kansas City area -- are working with the FBI and also with the public watching reports like this one, because they believe that an 8-month-old fetus, in this case, could still be alive.
Here's what we know. The mother and victim in the case is 23- year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett, who police say was eight months pregnant. Investigators believe she was strangled in her home, likely to have been yesterday afternoon. They report she was cut open and the fetus was removed.
Now we're going to hear from the Nodaway County sheriff, Ben Espey, who explains why investigators think this fetus may still be alive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF BEN ESPEY, NODAWAY COUNTY, MISSOURI: The doctors who examined Bobbie Jo in the emergency room give us information that indicated that probably we would have a live child if we could find it.
The child would be in danger because of the prematurity of being one month premature. Somebody would have to have knowledge of how to care and take care of this child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OPPENHEIM: Police are searching for a red car parked in front of Bobbie Jo Stinnett's home yesterday. They say a red Honda two-door hatchback, model from the early '80s and '90s, possibly.
Investigators also say they're following leads based on suspects who may have been wanting the baby to keep or sell at a profit.
Bobbie Jo Stinnett's husband has been ruled out as a suspect, Tony. They say he was at work.
But interestingly, the two -- the couple raised dogs at their home, terriers. They even had a web site.
So police are looking into the possibility that the perpetrators in this case may have posed as people trying to buy a dog yesterday afternoon. There were no signs of forced entry at the home.
Also the FBI is working on what has been described to us as a hot lead at a location outside the state of Missouri. So they are pursuing that at the moment.
In all, this is a developing story where not only are police hoping that they can make an arrest, but first and foremost, they are hoping to bring back a fetus alive, Tony.
HARRIS: OK. Every aspect of this is pretty horrible at this point. Keith, thank you -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: He says police have the wrong man, but a security guard hired to watch over an upscale housing development in Maryland is now accused of torching it.
Aaron Speed is due to appear in federal court today. The fire earlier this month burned 26 homes and did $10 million in damage. And investigators say more than one person may have been responsible for setting it.
CNN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks joins us now with more on this case.
Now, you just got a copy of the affidavit that actually supports the complaint.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Exactly.
PHILLIPS: What you finding out? Because you're reading it as you received it here.
BROOKS: Right, exactly. He's going to be appearing in court -- in federal court at about 3:30 today.
And it talks about, this has been written by G. Joseph Bradley, special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He's the -- and this is exactly what was in some of the statements. Basically, on December 10, law enforcement interviewed him and basically asked for his opinion on how the fires were set on December -- on December 6, 2004, at the Hunters Brook housing development.
He said -- he immediately stated, "Someone pouring an accelerant followed by someone lighting it." They wanted to ask him how it was done. He said, "With a torch."
"What kind of torch?"
"A handheld propane torch." Very detailed.
And then he's later stated it would take approximately 15 minutes to set each house on fire and one full hour for the house to be fully engulfed in flames.
And they asked him who might have set the fire. And he said, quote, "Someone who works at the site and recently experienced a great loss."
Investigators go on to say that on April of 2004, his son died. And apparently they're looking at that possibly as a motive.
But then yesterday, he volunteered...
PHILLIPS: Why would it be a motive that his son died?
BROOKS: It might be a loss. And they're looking at a lot of different motives, you know. But they haven't pinpointed one exact motive.
Early on, they said that they thought it might have been eco- terrorists. They're going to move it away from eco-terrorism. But they haven't ruled out for profit or any other motive for arson.
It's ironic. Yesterday, on the 16th, he shows up for a polygraph, voluntarily, polygraph. He's advised of his rights. And he subsequently failed the polygraph, Kyra, including the inquiry as to whether Speed helped -- whether he helped start the fires.
And basically, he claimed that he was present at the location along with others with whom he was acquainted while the fires were being set.
He goes on to say that Speed claimed that he knew of the plan by others to -- known to him to set fire at the location. He also asserted that the others -- he helped them and told them how to gain access to the site.
PHILLIPS: So he started out with this situation. All these homes burned down, and there was a lot of talk it may have been discrimination because the majority of the families moving in were African-American.
BROOKS: That was one theory early on.
PHILLIPS: Then there was a thought that it could be eco- terrorism...
BROOKS: Correct.
PHILLIPS: ... because of the area where the homes were being built. Now the latest twist is the security guard who you're telling me you found out wanted to be a firefighter.
BROOKS: Well, he apparently -- he may have. They're looking into that possibly, too, as part of the excitement motive. But that's just -- that's another theory. They still do not know what the main motive is.
But law enforcement sources have told CNN that they are looking for at least two other people. They know who they're looking for. They just have not found them yet.
And it goes on to say, also, in the statement that two different types of accelerant were used, flammable liquids. They were basically two fairly powerful solvents that are highly flammable. And that was used to help set the fires.
PHILLIPS: Interesting. Mike Brooks, thank you so much.
BROOKS: All righty.
PHILLIPS: All right.
HARRIS: Armoring American troops. It's become a hot political issue. But at one Texas factory, it's a job and a personal mission. That story straight ahead.
Plus, enigmatic billionaire Howard Hughes. We found out some things about him that you won't see in the new movie biography out this weekend.
(MUSIC)
PHILLIPS: And the king sold out? Find out why Lisa Marie Presley will have a little extra cash this Christmas.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Underfunded, short of people and soon incapable of even doing its job. That's how the commander of the Army National Guard describes the state of the homeland force.
Lt. Gen. Steven Blum told reporters yesterday that the National Guard needs $20 billion for vehicles, radios and other gear just in order to stay ready here at home.
Money is not the only challenge in the ranks, though. National Guard and Reserve recruiters are failing to meet quotas, causing manpower officials at the Pentagon to worry. More than 100,000 state Guardsmen and women are currently deployed abroad, including Iraq and Afghanistan.
A deadly ambush in northern Iraq. Witnesses in Mosul say that one Iraqi and three foreigners were killed when gunmen attacked their car, possibly a taxi, with small arms. Then they set the car on fire. The nationalities of the victims is unknown.
And insurgent violence is -- is sharply on the rise in northern Iraq now, particularly in Mosul. Iraqi officials are investigating today's shooting.
HARRIS: The Army is armoring up. That's the word from the Pentagon after Army officials say they didn't know until last week that the contractors who make armored vehicles were capable of turning out more than they were already.
CNN's Ed Lavandera met some people at one of those plants with more than just a professional stake in keeping soldiers safe in the field.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ricardo Hernandez knows his job is about life, death and soldiers he's never met.
RICARDO HERNANDEZ, ARMOUR OF AMERICA: Every night my wife and I think about how they're doing over there in Iraq and what we can do to improve this type of protection for them.
LAVANDERA: Ricardo is in charge of sewing together all the soft and heavy armor packs manufactured by Armour of America in this Los Angeles factory.
He's also the stepfather of a U.S. Army sergeant who drives a Humvee in Iraq. A few months ago his stepson e-mailed to say that his vehicle had finally been outfitted with the soft Kevlar armor kit that Ricardo and 30 employees have made here.
(on camera) Does it help you sleep at night, knowing that he's driving around in a product you made here?
HERNANDEZ: Of course. Of course. I'm very happy and very confident in what I do because that protects our son. We're happy. And I'm proud of what I'm doing.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): In the last year, Armour of America has made almost 3,000 armor kits for military vehicles in Iraq. Some are soft Kevlar, which slide on the Humvee doors and protect soldiers from roadside bombs.
JOHN NEHMENS, ARMOUR OF AMERICA: In less than five minutes you've armored the outside of the vehicle. This system is a soft blanket for fragmentation.
LAVANDERA: Some kits are hard armor which manager John Nehmens demonstrated for us.
NEHMENS: This is a hard plate. Same concept. And the hard plate will stop an AK-47, M-16 rounds.
LAVANDERA: John believes this is the kind of protection soldiers want on their vehicles.
NEHMENS: They want to be able to stop rounds. They want to be able to stop the fragmentation. And they want to have the ability to shoot back. That's exactly what they want to do.
LAVANDERA: These days, business is mostly quiet as John waits for the go ahead to make another $20 million worth of armor kits for the U.S. military. Just in case, he's already started on the armor for Humvee doors.
(on camera) Trying to get ahead of the curve here.
NEHMENS: Absolutely. This is -- this is the hardest part of the process.
LAVANDERA: The military units John has been working with ship out in the next three to four months.
NEHMENS: They are -- they are very interested in getting this on before they leave. But, again, they are -- they are constrained by the dollars.
LAVANDERA: The military says there are some 20,000 vehicles in Iraq. About 4,300 still need armor. For those vehicles, help is also coming from places like the Red River Army depot in northeast Texas.
COL. MICHAEL CERVONE, U.S. ARMY: This is where the -- where everything comes together.
LAVANDERA: Colonel Michael Cervone oversees the delivery of Humvee armor kits. These units will be shipped to the Middle East and put on in the field. Production is ramping up again, with new designs to help soldiers in battle.
CERVONE: This thing will open up now all the way out, which allows the trooper to be able to have a better firing angle if he needs to lay down suppressing fire to get out of an ambush.
LAVANDERA: Ricardo Hernandez fears his stepson is always in danger on missions through the Iraqi countryside. For him, this work is personal.
HERNANDEZ: This may save a life. And I don't want nothing to fail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Another of the Army's contract companies, Armor Holdings of Jacksonville, Florida, is also ramping up production. The secretary of the Army has set up a task force to look into increasing production at all companies that make safety equipment for the military.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Video games are no longer just for kids. It's grown into a multibillion-dollar industry full of excitement and controversy.
All next week on CNN LIVE FROM, we'll peek inside virtual worlds, profile some intriguing characters and examine the debate over violence in games. That's coming up next week on LIVE FROM.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Some developments in our top story about the painkiller Celebrex made by Pfizer. CNN financial news correspondent Allan Chernoff joins us now from the company's headquarters in New York -- Allan.
CHERNOFF: Tony, thank you.
Pfizer says that it only learned late last night of the potential cardiovascular risk of Celebrex. In fact, scientists who were conducting clinical trials involving Celebrex with cancer patients promptly notified the company about this.
But Pfizer says its own scientists have not actually seen the data just yet, and they are very anxious to see that data.
Pfizer also says it is not pulling the drug. It's going to keep on selling Celebrex. It does plan a study in conjunction with the Food and Drug Administration of Celebrex in arthritis patients.
And let's keep in mind, of course, Celebrex is an arthritis drug. It is not a cancer drug. It's the No. 1 pain medication for arthritis. A total blockbuster, as a matter of fact. Over the past year in the United States 23 million prescriptions have been written for Celebrex, $2.7 billion in sales in the United States alone.
Clearly, that is the reason that Wall Street is so concerned. The stock in Pfizer is down by about 14 percent. It had been down by about 18 percent earlier in the day.
And even if you don't actually own the stock itself, it is a very good chance if you own a big mutual fund it may have a stake in Pfizer, because this is one of the most widely held stocks in the entire country. So certainly has a financial impact, driving the market down, as well.
But Tony, we should also point out that Pfizer is a $45 billion company, and they have five drugs that are actually bigger sellers than Celebrex -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK, Allan, we appreciate it. Thank you for the update.
PHILLIPS: Well, Pfizer shares are sharply lower at the New York Stock Exchange. HARRIS: Well, David Haffenreffer is standing by with the market's reaction.
David, what can you tell us?
(STOCK REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
