Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
Are Iraqi Security Forces Ready?
Aired January 24, 2005 - 13:32 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.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now in the news, a winter wonderland for some, a nightmare for others. The northeast is still digging out from a wild weekend blizzard. Some parts of Rhode Island, seen here, got as much as two feet of snow. We'll go live to hard-hit Boston in 30 minutes.
Thousands of antiabortion activists are trudging through the snow in the annual March for Life demonstration in Washington. Protesters are matching from the ellipse to the Supreme Court to mark the 32nd anniversary of Roe versus Wade. The landmark ruling legalized abortion.
The Supreme Court delivers a big blow to the parents of Terry Schiavo, the Florida woman at center of a right-to-die dispute. The high court refused to reinstate a state law passed to keep the brain- damaged woman hooked to a feeding tube. The case now goes back to a Florida judge.
Remembering the Holocaust: The United Nations opened its first- ever General Assembly commemoration of the Holocaust today. It comes three days before the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. The session began with a minute of silent prayer.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: With Iraq's elections less than a week away, U.S. and Iraqi officials worried about a surge in violence aimed at keeping people from the polls. Are Iraqi security forces ready? We're going to talk about this with retired brigadier general and CNN military analyst David Grange. He joins us live from Chicago, where he's now chief operating officer of the McCormick Tribune Foundation.
Good to see you, general.
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good afternoon.
PHILLIPS: I know it's a general question, but what are your immediate thoughts? Is the U.S. -- are Iraqis ready for these elections?
GRANGE: I think they're as ready as they can be. It's never 100 percent. They've taken some extraordinary measures. I'm sure they have a very solid plan, and backup plans to that plan, for any contingency that may arise.
PHILLIPS: When you look at the surge in violence, and now you're seeing beheadings that are taking place on the open streets, no longer on videotape, in remote locations, I mean it's very blatant. Obviously trying to intimidate voters. Can it get any worse?
GRANGE: Well, yes, I think it can. I think can get worse. These open assassinations and killings are -- we say that they're remote now and are in the cities; it's still a very large area, many cities to control. And Iraqi forces and coalition forces can't be everywhere, any time. And of course, the insurgents, the terrorists have the advantage because they can strike when they want in most cases. So it's pretty hard to turn them down. But, they will continue this because they're desperate not to have this election happen.
PHILLIPS: And you look at a number of efforts taking place. And we've always talked about intelligence and how important that is to seeking out the insurgency and finding out where their strategizing, the insurgents are strategizing and planning these attacks. Now looking at these battlefield intelligence units, tell me how these units from an intel perspective are different, say, from the intel that came from the CIA.
GRANGE: Well, in a lot of cases, it's not. A lot of this is street intelligence that these teams would provide. It's intelligence in certain countries, regional areas, pre-operational information that the teams, the combat teams, need -- landing strips, safe sites, movement routes, or also, just what's happening on the street corner that you need to know before you go down and bust through a door into a building to capture a terrorist. But again, it's not covert. It's not the strategic level. It's for the tactical commanders' use, but it enhances the abilities that they already have.
PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about the abilities. Obviously these units are going to be assigned to work directly with special ops. You think special ops, you think they've got it all down pat. How will these units help special ops? Is it advanced technology? Is it getting spies from other countries?
GRANGE: Well, there will be some technology enhancements and things like that, but most of the support that's really needed for any operation today, especially fighting terrorists or insurgents, is this HUMINT, human intelligence that we've talked about many times in the past. And there is never enough. I don't think I can recall where we really had all the information intelligence that we really wanted to get our hands on before we had to execute a mission. And so this will enhance a capability that's out there, but it's never enough.
I would say that you need to have about one-third of your forces, of people working with you, focused on intelligence, gathering information, eyes and ears on the ground, to do successful missions, and this is a very positive capability that they're trying to enhance.
PHILLIPS: You use these battlefield intelligence units in the first Gulf War when you were commanding forces. Can you give me an example of how it helped you with regard to, I don't know, finding a target, locating an enemy, decreasing a possible threat? GRANGE: Well, not only in Desert Storm or -- if you go back to places like operations in Grenada or Beirut, in other combat operations, there has always been a taking experts in, intelligence fields from different organizations, but there is a couple over here and a couple over there, and you had to kind of paste this team together to get the robust intelligence you needed, and that's not just from military units, but also from the CIA, from State Department, the embassy teams. There is a wealth of experience in many government agencies, and you kind of brought all this together.
Now this won't replace that. You'll still use other governmental agencies to build the capability, but this sure will add to that robustness and it's critical to the success in the war on terrorism.
PHILLIPS: General David Grange, thanks for your time today -- Tony.
GRANGE: My pleasure.
HARRIS: He lost more than 400 pounds, and sure, he has a way to go, but can South Dakota's famous half-ton man make his Valentine wish come true? His amazing story coming up.
All right, follow me, Kyra. Yucky weather is just one part of an equation that finds today, January 124th, is a special day, in a really bad way. Yes, it rhymes.
More LIVE FROM, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The massacre at Columbine was America's worst tragedy on a high school campus. Two teens opened fire on their fellow classmates, killing 12 students and a teacher and wounding 23 others before taking their own lives. As part of CNN's anniversary series "Then and Now," we take a look at Pat Ireland, one of the students wounded on that day in April of 1999.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAT IRELAND, WOUNDED IN COLUMBINE TRAGEDY: When I first was shot in the library, I wasn't sure what had happened. I tried to stand up couple times and realized I couldn't because one of the bullets passed through the one side of my brain and paralyzed me on my right side. From the time that I was shot to the time that I climbed out the window, it was about a three-hour period.
I had to relearn how to walk and talk and read and write. Basically started out over from a kindergartener or grade school level. I graduated valedictorian from Columbine. I had a 4.0 through the shootings. And then it had always been one might have goals to keep it up and graduate valedictorian.
All my family and friends just were constantly around me, constantly giving me support. Being such a competitor and not wanting to give up, not letting evil win in that situation. We had tons of outpouring from across the nation and the world actually.
I graduated magna cum laude from Colorado State and had a 3.9 GPA. Casey and I are going to get married this August. We went to CSU together. I think that generally, the human spirit is good and good will always prevail. So the ultimate goal, just live a happy life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: ... launches it. But Branch has it! It's a 10 and in the end zone! Touchdown!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: A little defense, huh? A little? News across America now. The prospect of a New England football dynasty. The Patriots are hoping for their third Super Bowl win in four years when they go up against the Philadelphia Eagles, February 6th. The teams yesterday were said yesterday, when New England whipped up on Pittsburgh and yes, and Philadelphia did a number on the dirty birds from Atlanta.
Safire's last words. Conservative columnist William Safire is stepping away from the keyboard after 32 years and some 3,000 pieces for the "New York Times." His last column appears today. In it, he urges readers to stay involved and keep their minds active as they get older.
And could Viagra hold promise as a heart drug? The impotence drug prevented and even reversed enlarged hearts in mice. Now researchers want to see if it works in people.
PHILLIPS: All right, more heartening news concerning folate. A new study discovered an unexpected benefit from the nutrient, already known to be very important for pregnant women.
CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen with more on that. Tell us.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this could be very exciting for something that is already known to be good, as you said, for pregnant women, for preventing birth defects. Folate, which is also called folic acid, is supposed to be good, is definitely good, from what researchers say, for women when they're pregnant to make sure that their babies don't get neural tube defects. It decreases the risk that that's going to happen.
And now a study that says that it may also help keep people's blood pressure down. Let's take a look at these numbers. What they found in this study of tens of thousands of women is that women consuming large amounts of folic acid were 46 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure. And for women over age 44, the results weren't quite as dramatic, but they still saw that those women who were eating folic acid were less likely to develop high blood pressure.
Now how much folic acid were these women consuming? They were consuming 1,000 micrograms. That actually -- that sounds like lot but it's not all that hard to get. If you have a bowl of breakfast cereal, half an avocado, half a cup of peas, half a cup of peanuts and take a multivitamin, you've got 1,000 micrograms of folic acid right there.
And you also -- it's very important to read labels. A lot of foods these days are fortified with folic acid, not just breakfast cereal, but also orange juice and other foods. Now you'll notice that we said women here. The study happened to be done on women. But there is no reason to think the results would not be the same in men.
PHILLIPS: I don't know if I could mix peanuts and avocado.
COHEN: Not all at once! It wasn't supposed to be all at once. But peanuts as a snack, avocado on your sandwich at lunch.
PHILLIPS: Thank you. OK, that makes a little more sense.
COHEN: Not all at once.
PHILLIPS: All right. We're switching gears a little bit. A new study on stem cells.
COHEN: That's right. In the journal "Science," they took a look at a set of stem cells that the federal government has said are OK to use with federal funding. There's only one set of cells that researchers can use if they want to use federal dollars. What this study found in the journal "Science" is that those cells are contaminated. They were grown in the presence of cells from other animals besides humans. In other words, mouse cells, other animals.
And so researchers fear they have very, very limited use in trying to come up with treatments for humans, because they believe that they are potentially contaminated and would be very difficult to use. Now this is important, because the federal government has said, look, you can only use federal money for those stem cells. You can't use other stem cells. And the reason is that to make stem cells, you have to destroy embryos. That's why there has been this big debate about stem cells.
This is going to make the debate even more dramatic, because some researchers will say well, I have to make new stem cells, the ones that have already been used are contaminated. But to make new stem cells, you have to destroy more embryos.
PHILLIPS: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much -- Tony.
HARRIS: How is that New Year's resolution to lose weight going for you? If you're feeling a bit discouraged, we've got inspiration from Patrick Deuel, who's managed to pare off nearly 500 pounds since June.
Reporter Tom Elser, from our affiliate KETV in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with more, or less, on the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM ELSER, REPORTER, KETV (voice-over): Just walking into this room is a big accomplishment for 42-year-old Patrick Deuel. For seven years he was unable to leave his house in Valentine, Nebraska. Now his team of doctors say he's lost enough weight to return home.
PATRICK DEUEL, DIETER: I am thinking, yes! Seven and a half months in here is quite a while.
Just watch how close this comes.
ELSER: We first met Patrick back in August. Since then he's undergone stomach reducing surgery and lost an additional 100 pounds.
DEUEL: No pain, no gain. You know what they say.
ELSER: He's had a lot of time to think and now wants to be a motivational speaker helping other desperate dieters.
DEUEL: If I can do it, anybody can. And that's the point that needs to come out.
ELSER (on camera): When Patrick was checked into this Sioux Falls hospital, he weighed 1,072 pounds. Seven months later, he now weighs 610 pounds. His goal is to be at 240, which was his weight in the sixth grade.
DEUEL: I was stuck with my arms like this.
ELSER (voice-over): When he first arrived here, doctors told Patrick he was just weeks away from dying. He says he'll never let his weight get that out of control again.
DEUEL: Then I'd have to come back here and do this all over again and I'd have to do that schedule up in rehab again. I don't want to do that.
ELSER: From the beginning, Patrick's goal has been to take his wife on a walk, on Valentine's day, in Valentine, Nebraska. It's a goal that's not too many days away.
DEUEL: We may walk out the door, walk three feet and I may have to sit down. But I'm gonna make that walk.
It was nice meeting y'all. Thank you.
ELSER: With more complete coverage, Tom Elser, KETV News Watch 7.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange. Coming up, after three months of declines, prices are headed higher at the gas pump once again. I'll tell you how your city ranks and tell you what's fueling the prices. That's coming up on LIVE FROM so stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Look, I hate to dump all this on you today, but this is the day to do it. Right?
PHILLIPS: I guess. It's Monday. Right?
HARRIS: Yes, it's a -- the story is a bit of a downer, which means of course I can't go on.
PHILLIPS: Because you're too depressed?
HARRIS: I'm too depressed to go on.
PHILLIPS: Don't worry, it's not your fault. You can thank a British expert who has determined that January 24th is the most depressing day of the year. Now if that's not enough to bring you down, in and of itself, well, try doing this math.
HARRIS: OK. The equation is -- goes like this. It calculates bad weather, we've got that. All right? Mixed with debt. I've got that. Fading holiday cheer. Failed New Year's resolutions divided by...
PHILLIPS: Oh, I've got that!
HARRIS: You've got that? Divided by personal motivation levels and the need to take action.
PHILLIPS: So when all the variables are plugged in, the answer is today, January 24th, officially the most depressing day of the year. The fact that it happened to fall, of course, on a Monday is just the cherry on top. But, the power of the mind, right? You can just not believe in any of that.
HARRIS: And when I go home, the tax stuff is going to be in the mail. right? Nice.
PHILLIPS: Right, exactly. Don't worry about that. Only deal with today.
HARRIS: OK. Today. Stay in the moment. Stay in the moment. Thanks, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You're welcome.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Well, coming up in the second hour of LIVE FROM, remembering Johnny Carson. A special event at his star on the Walk of Fame. We're live from Hollywood. HARRIS: And the official goodbye to a polarizing figure, Attorney General John Ashcroft's final farewell event is coming up this afternoon. We'll bring you his comments when they happen.
LIVE FROM's "hour of power" begins after this.
(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 January 24, 2005 - 13:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now in the news, a winter wonderland for some, a nightmare for others. The northeast is still digging out from a wild weekend blizzard. Some parts of Rhode Island, seen here, got as much as two feet of snow. We'll go live to hard-hit Boston in 30 minutes.
Thousands of antiabortion activists are trudging through the snow in the annual March for Life demonstration in Washington. Protesters are matching from the ellipse to the Supreme Court to mark the 32nd anniversary of Roe versus Wade. The landmark ruling legalized abortion.
The Supreme Court delivers a big blow to the parents of Terry Schiavo, the Florida woman at center of a right-to-die dispute. The high court refused to reinstate a state law passed to keep the brain- damaged woman hooked to a feeding tube. The case now goes back to a Florida judge.
Remembering the Holocaust: The United Nations opened its first- ever General Assembly commemoration of the Holocaust today. It comes three days before the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. The session began with a minute of silent prayer.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: With Iraq's elections less than a week away, U.S. and Iraqi officials worried about a surge in violence aimed at keeping people from the polls. Are Iraqi security forces ready? We're going to talk about this with retired brigadier general and CNN military analyst David Grange. He joins us live from Chicago, where he's now chief operating officer of the McCormick Tribune Foundation.
Good to see you, general.
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good afternoon.
PHILLIPS: I know it's a general question, but what are your immediate thoughts? Is the U.S. -- are Iraqis ready for these elections?
GRANGE: I think they're as ready as they can be. It's never 100 percent. They've taken some extraordinary measures. I'm sure they have a very solid plan, and backup plans to that plan, for any contingency that may arise.
PHILLIPS: When you look at the surge in violence, and now you're seeing beheadings that are taking place on the open streets, no longer on videotape, in remote locations, I mean it's very blatant. Obviously trying to intimidate voters. Can it get any worse?
GRANGE: Well, yes, I think it can. I think can get worse. These open assassinations and killings are -- we say that they're remote now and are in the cities; it's still a very large area, many cities to control. And Iraqi forces and coalition forces can't be everywhere, any time. And of course, the insurgents, the terrorists have the advantage because they can strike when they want in most cases. So it's pretty hard to turn them down. But, they will continue this because they're desperate not to have this election happen.
PHILLIPS: And you look at a number of efforts taking place. And we've always talked about intelligence and how important that is to seeking out the insurgency and finding out where their strategizing, the insurgents are strategizing and planning these attacks. Now looking at these battlefield intelligence units, tell me how these units from an intel perspective are different, say, from the intel that came from the CIA.
GRANGE: Well, in a lot of cases, it's not. A lot of this is street intelligence that these teams would provide. It's intelligence in certain countries, regional areas, pre-operational information that the teams, the combat teams, need -- landing strips, safe sites, movement routes, or also, just what's happening on the street corner that you need to know before you go down and bust through a door into a building to capture a terrorist. But again, it's not covert. It's not the strategic level. It's for the tactical commanders' use, but it enhances the abilities that they already have.
PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about the abilities. Obviously these units are going to be assigned to work directly with special ops. You think special ops, you think they've got it all down pat. How will these units help special ops? Is it advanced technology? Is it getting spies from other countries?
GRANGE: Well, there will be some technology enhancements and things like that, but most of the support that's really needed for any operation today, especially fighting terrorists or insurgents, is this HUMINT, human intelligence that we've talked about many times in the past. And there is never enough. I don't think I can recall where we really had all the information intelligence that we really wanted to get our hands on before we had to execute a mission. And so this will enhance a capability that's out there, but it's never enough.
I would say that you need to have about one-third of your forces, of people working with you, focused on intelligence, gathering information, eyes and ears on the ground, to do successful missions, and this is a very positive capability that they're trying to enhance.
PHILLIPS: You use these battlefield intelligence units in the first Gulf War when you were commanding forces. Can you give me an example of how it helped you with regard to, I don't know, finding a target, locating an enemy, decreasing a possible threat? GRANGE: Well, not only in Desert Storm or -- if you go back to places like operations in Grenada or Beirut, in other combat operations, there has always been a taking experts in, intelligence fields from different organizations, but there is a couple over here and a couple over there, and you had to kind of paste this team together to get the robust intelligence you needed, and that's not just from military units, but also from the CIA, from State Department, the embassy teams. There is a wealth of experience in many government agencies, and you kind of brought all this together.
Now this won't replace that. You'll still use other governmental agencies to build the capability, but this sure will add to that robustness and it's critical to the success in the war on terrorism.
PHILLIPS: General David Grange, thanks for your time today -- Tony.
GRANGE: My pleasure.
HARRIS: He lost more than 400 pounds, and sure, he has a way to go, but can South Dakota's famous half-ton man make his Valentine wish come true? His amazing story coming up.
All right, follow me, Kyra. Yucky weather is just one part of an equation that finds today, January 124th, is a special day, in a really bad way. Yes, it rhymes.
More LIVE FROM, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The massacre at Columbine was America's worst tragedy on a high school campus. Two teens opened fire on their fellow classmates, killing 12 students and a teacher and wounding 23 others before taking their own lives. As part of CNN's anniversary series "Then and Now," we take a look at Pat Ireland, one of the students wounded on that day in April of 1999.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAT IRELAND, WOUNDED IN COLUMBINE TRAGEDY: When I first was shot in the library, I wasn't sure what had happened. I tried to stand up couple times and realized I couldn't because one of the bullets passed through the one side of my brain and paralyzed me on my right side. From the time that I was shot to the time that I climbed out the window, it was about a three-hour period.
I had to relearn how to walk and talk and read and write. Basically started out over from a kindergartener or grade school level. I graduated valedictorian from Columbine. I had a 4.0 through the shootings. And then it had always been one might have goals to keep it up and graduate valedictorian.
All my family and friends just were constantly around me, constantly giving me support. Being such a competitor and not wanting to give up, not letting evil win in that situation. We had tons of outpouring from across the nation and the world actually.
I graduated magna cum laude from Colorado State and had a 3.9 GPA. Casey and I are going to get married this August. We went to CSU together. I think that generally, the human spirit is good and good will always prevail. So the ultimate goal, just live a happy life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: ... launches it. But Branch has it! It's a 10 and in the end zone! Touchdown!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: A little defense, huh? A little? News across America now. The prospect of a New England football dynasty. The Patriots are hoping for their third Super Bowl win in four years when they go up against the Philadelphia Eagles, February 6th. The teams yesterday were said yesterday, when New England whipped up on Pittsburgh and yes, and Philadelphia did a number on the dirty birds from Atlanta.
Safire's last words. Conservative columnist William Safire is stepping away from the keyboard after 32 years and some 3,000 pieces for the "New York Times." His last column appears today. In it, he urges readers to stay involved and keep their minds active as they get older.
And could Viagra hold promise as a heart drug? The impotence drug prevented and even reversed enlarged hearts in mice. Now researchers want to see if it works in people.
PHILLIPS: All right, more heartening news concerning folate. A new study discovered an unexpected benefit from the nutrient, already known to be very important for pregnant women.
CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen with more on that. Tell us.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this could be very exciting for something that is already known to be good, as you said, for pregnant women, for preventing birth defects. Folate, which is also called folic acid, is supposed to be good, is definitely good, from what researchers say, for women when they're pregnant to make sure that their babies don't get neural tube defects. It decreases the risk that that's going to happen.
And now a study that says that it may also help keep people's blood pressure down. Let's take a look at these numbers. What they found in this study of tens of thousands of women is that women consuming large amounts of folic acid were 46 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure. And for women over age 44, the results weren't quite as dramatic, but they still saw that those women who were eating folic acid were less likely to develop high blood pressure.
Now how much folic acid were these women consuming? They were consuming 1,000 micrograms. That actually -- that sounds like lot but it's not all that hard to get. If you have a bowl of breakfast cereal, half an avocado, half a cup of peas, half a cup of peanuts and take a multivitamin, you've got 1,000 micrograms of folic acid right there.
And you also -- it's very important to read labels. A lot of foods these days are fortified with folic acid, not just breakfast cereal, but also orange juice and other foods. Now you'll notice that we said women here. The study happened to be done on women. But there is no reason to think the results would not be the same in men.
PHILLIPS: I don't know if I could mix peanuts and avocado.
COHEN: Not all at once! It wasn't supposed to be all at once. But peanuts as a snack, avocado on your sandwich at lunch.
PHILLIPS: Thank you. OK, that makes a little more sense.
COHEN: Not all at once.
PHILLIPS: All right. We're switching gears a little bit. A new study on stem cells.
COHEN: That's right. In the journal "Science," they took a look at a set of stem cells that the federal government has said are OK to use with federal funding. There's only one set of cells that researchers can use if they want to use federal dollars. What this study found in the journal "Science" is that those cells are contaminated. They were grown in the presence of cells from other animals besides humans. In other words, mouse cells, other animals.
And so researchers fear they have very, very limited use in trying to come up with treatments for humans, because they believe that they are potentially contaminated and would be very difficult to use. Now this is important, because the federal government has said, look, you can only use federal money for those stem cells. You can't use other stem cells. And the reason is that to make stem cells, you have to destroy embryos. That's why there has been this big debate about stem cells.
This is going to make the debate even more dramatic, because some researchers will say well, I have to make new stem cells, the ones that have already been used are contaminated. But to make new stem cells, you have to destroy more embryos.
PHILLIPS: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much -- Tony.
HARRIS: How is that New Year's resolution to lose weight going for you? If you're feeling a bit discouraged, we've got inspiration from Patrick Deuel, who's managed to pare off nearly 500 pounds since June.
Reporter Tom Elser, from our affiliate KETV in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with more, or less, on the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM ELSER, REPORTER, KETV (voice-over): Just walking into this room is a big accomplishment for 42-year-old Patrick Deuel. For seven years he was unable to leave his house in Valentine, Nebraska. Now his team of doctors say he's lost enough weight to return home.
PATRICK DEUEL, DIETER: I am thinking, yes! Seven and a half months in here is quite a while.
Just watch how close this comes.
ELSER: We first met Patrick back in August. Since then he's undergone stomach reducing surgery and lost an additional 100 pounds.
DEUEL: No pain, no gain. You know what they say.
ELSER: He's had a lot of time to think and now wants to be a motivational speaker helping other desperate dieters.
DEUEL: If I can do it, anybody can. And that's the point that needs to come out.
ELSER (on camera): When Patrick was checked into this Sioux Falls hospital, he weighed 1,072 pounds. Seven months later, he now weighs 610 pounds. His goal is to be at 240, which was his weight in the sixth grade.
DEUEL: I was stuck with my arms like this.
ELSER (voice-over): When he first arrived here, doctors told Patrick he was just weeks away from dying. He says he'll never let his weight get that out of control again.
DEUEL: Then I'd have to come back here and do this all over again and I'd have to do that schedule up in rehab again. I don't want to do that.
ELSER: From the beginning, Patrick's goal has been to take his wife on a walk, on Valentine's day, in Valentine, Nebraska. It's a goal that's not too many days away.
DEUEL: We may walk out the door, walk three feet and I may have to sit down. But I'm gonna make that walk.
It was nice meeting y'all. Thank you.
ELSER: With more complete coverage, Tom Elser, KETV News Watch 7.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange. Coming up, after three months of declines, prices are headed higher at the gas pump once again. I'll tell you how your city ranks and tell you what's fueling the prices. That's coming up on LIVE FROM so stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Look, I hate to dump all this on you today, but this is the day to do it. Right?
PHILLIPS: I guess. It's Monday. Right?
HARRIS: Yes, it's a -- the story is a bit of a downer, which means of course I can't go on.
PHILLIPS: Because you're too depressed?
HARRIS: I'm too depressed to go on.
PHILLIPS: Don't worry, it's not your fault. You can thank a British expert who has determined that January 24th is the most depressing day of the year. Now if that's not enough to bring you down, in and of itself, well, try doing this math.
HARRIS: OK. The equation is -- goes like this. It calculates bad weather, we've got that. All right? Mixed with debt. I've got that. Fading holiday cheer. Failed New Year's resolutions divided by...
PHILLIPS: Oh, I've got that!
HARRIS: You've got that? Divided by personal motivation levels and the need to take action.
PHILLIPS: So when all the variables are plugged in, the answer is today, January 24th, officially the most depressing day of the year. The fact that it happened to fall, of course, on a Monday is just the cherry on top. But, the power of the mind, right? You can just not believe in any of that.
HARRIS: And when I go home, the tax stuff is going to be in the mail. right? Nice.
PHILLIPS: Right, exactly. Don't worry about that. Only deal with today.
HARRIS: OK. Today. Stay in the moment. Stay in the moment. Thanks, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You're welcome.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Well, coming up in the second hour of LIVE FROM, remembering Johnny Carson. A special event at his star on the Walk of Fame. We're live from Hollywood. HARRIS: And the official goodbye to a polarizing figure, Attorney General John Ashcroft's final farewell event is coming up this afternoon. We'll bring you his comments when they happen.
LIVE FROM's "hour of power" begins after this.
(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
