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John Negroponte is Bush's Choice for National Intelligence Director; Magazine Raises Money for Tsunami Victims; Doctors Measure Chronic Pain at NYU

Aired February 17, 2005 - 11:30   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.


RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: More than a month now since that tsunami disaster in south Asia, the region still struggling, trying to deal with all the devastation.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Coming up, moving pictures. A first hand account of life after the tsunami, how are people rebounding?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: John Negroponte is the president's choice to be the nation's first director of National Intelligence. If confirmed, Negroponte will oversee a $40 billion budget spread across 15 intelligence agencies. The president says Negroponte will be his primary daily briefer on intelligence.

The FBI is trying to determine if a letter sent to another Wichita television station is indeed from the BTK serial kill. Now, the station says the envelope contained a piece of jewelry, a picture and a note inside. It's the second TV station to report receiving such mail. BTK is blamed for eight killings in the '70s and the '80s.

The House is expected to approve a bill today to send most large- class action lawsuits to federal court. The Senate already passed the measure. Republicans argue trial lawyers are manipulating state court rules to get big verdicts. The federal system generally allows fewer class action lawsuits and that's what the intention.

Also, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Spector plans to stay on the job undergoes chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease. Doctors say that his chances of beating the lymph cancer are excellent.

Keeping you informed. CNN, the most trusted name in news.

KAGAN: Officials in Thailand say it will take another four to six months to identify the victims of the tsunami disaster. It has been more than seven weeks since the killer waves devastated the coast. At last count, the death toll estimated there at 105,000. Another 127,000 people are listed as missing or unaccounted for.

The gripping images from tsunami have faded, but the editor and chief of "Marie Claire" magazine is focusing renewed attention on the disaster and the recovery effort. Leslie Jane Seymour just recently returned from Thailand, joining me now from New York to talk about her experience.

Good morning.

LESLIE JANE SEYMOUR, EDITOR IN CHIEF, "MARIE CLAIRE": Hi, how are you?

KAGAN: I'm doing great. It sounds like you had a fascinating journey. And as I understand it, you went with the focus specifically to see how women and children are facing this recovery?

SEYMOUR: Yes, because "Marie Claire" is all about women of the world. We wanted to go see how they really handled things. And women are tougher than you think. they're tougher than the men. That's what our story showed.

(LAUGHTER)

KAGAN: I knew that! That's not news.

SEYMOUR: Oh, good.

KAGAN: Let's look at some of the pictures that you bring back with you, and I assume that we might see in the magazine. This first one here is of a resort?

SEYMOUR: Yes. This was a resort that we stayed at. And what was so fascinating is the front part of the resort was completely the way it should be, with beautiful fountains, and everything going on. And not until you get to the other side of the pool that you see, from here on in down to the beach, this horrible devastation that happened.

We were staying at a place called the Merlin. It had only relief workers, journalists. And we were eating with people in scrubs and the guys from Norway who were helping with the coroner's thing. So it was a really eerie, creepy thing. And right beyond this picture at the back, if you can see the beautiful water, there it is.

And as I say in my little diary, which will appear in "Marie Claire" in June, it's very Steven King. Because you look at this thing, and then you look at this gorgeous water, which you might walk out into, and you can't put the two together. It's mind-boggling.

KAGAN: Hard to imagine. Let's focus on the kids...

SEYMOUR: Yes.

KAGAN: ... and what you saw happening there. The importance of the psychological impact it's has on the children who survived.

SEYMOUR: Well, what's interesting, this is in one of the refugee camps. And you see these women taking care of their children. They're very, very tight with their families. They've taken the kids in. There were 600 kids who were actually declared orphans. But only two of them really had problems.

This woman here is teaching school out of her garage. Because she was a teacher, and felt school had to go on. We also know that keeping children in school keeps them out of trafficking and keeps them also out of depression.

And these women just got together and said, this is what we're going to do and this is how we'll deal with this disaster situation.

KAGAN: You mention refugee camps. You had a chance to visit one or more than one?

SEYMOUR: We visited one of them where you saw the babies in the little swings and everything. And it was the most fascinating experience. Because in that photo there, what they're doing is they're all sitting there swinging their babies. And they're watching, believe it or not, videos of the tsunami. And I...

KAGAN: You'd have to think that's the last thing they would want to watch.

SEYMOUR: Exactly. Now, here was one of the health centers that we went to and all of these mothers -- these are actually grandmothers holding the babies of their children who were all killed during the tsunami.

KAGAN: So these are orphans?

SEYMOUR: These are orphans, but they're taken in by their families. As I said there are only two children who are actual orphans who the country didn't know what to do with them, has to put them with different families. These women are so strong. They gave big smiles to us. They sat down and talked to us about their feelings, and their children, and their hope for the future. They're pulling together.

These people were working with UNICEF. And what they're doing s they're registering all of the orphans so when they get to the age of 15, which is when school ends for them, they will still watch. And fund them until they're 18, so they don't end up in things like child labor or any kind of off-color kind of promotions for kids.

KAGAN: Very good thing. So you came away with a feeling of hope?

SEYMOUR: Oh, it was -- I was prepared for the absolute worst. And what was fascinating was how amazing these people are. The women are so tough. We talked to one of the women who was handling the psychological care of children. And she said it's the mothers who are pulling in closer and tighter for the kids.

And it's the fathers who are falling apart and handing the kids over to the aunts and uncles because they can't handle it. They are having drinking problems. The women are holding this society together.

Here we're talking to one of -- this little girl in the middle is an orphan, and her two friends are taking care of her. And she's back at school. And I asked her what do you want people to know about a tragedy like this? And she said just let your parents know you love them now, and don't wait until a tragedy happens like this. KAGAN: HMM. A lesson we can all learn. When will we see more in the magazine?

SEYMOUR: Yes. In June, we have a big, big issue. We have a surprise celebrity on the cover. We're raising money for the orphans. It's going to be great.

KAGAN: Leslie Jane Seymour from "Marie Claire" magazine, thank you.

SEYMOUR: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Here is what else is making news overseas on this day in this morning's "World Wrap."

In Valencia, Spain, police say that they have arrested two suspected Basque separatists in the raid at a hotel near city hall. A number of weapons and explosions have been confiscated. The separatist group that claims responsibility for a powerful car bomb that injured at least 43 people in northern Madrid that was back on February.

Now in Manila, Philippines, a man claiming to know something about the bus bomb that exploded on Valentine's Day is now in custody. A series of attacks in the Philippine capital killed 12 people on Monday. Police are keeping a close eye on a Muslim neighborhood, where they say the alleged bomber is believed to be hiding.

And in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will not be indicted in a campaign funding scandal. Sharon's son will face charges. Israel attorney general has been investigating allegations that illegal foreign donations were being funneled into phony companies for Sharon's 1999 campaign.

KAGAN: Important health news for men just ahead. A deadly disease, potentially deadly disease, it doesn't have to be. There might be a new method of fighting prostate cancer and that story is coming up.

SANCHEZ: And as the FDA continues hearings on painkillers, we're going to hear a warning from parents about your children's medication.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We've got a breaking story that we're following for you. We just want to show you the picture just to let you know what's going on there. This is in St. Petersburg, obviously, a construction site. This reason this is particularly salient is that the crane has tipped over and we're being told by authorities there that the man who was handling or driving the crane, is stuck inside. They have not been able to extricate him from there. It's a story that we're going to keep an eye on. He's trapped.

We'll follow it for you. And as we get more information, we'll share it with you. We'll be back with more news in just a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's check in on medical news now.

Health officials plan to add a new strain of the flu virus to the vaccine for next season. The FDA says the A California strain is already infecting people around the globe. A health expert says it's from a class of viruses that generally cause more severe flu seasons. The process of choosing and mixing the vaccine is under more scrutiny because of the shortage flu shots during this season.

SANCHEZ: Researchers are reporting a promising development in the fight against advanced prostate cancer. This is a different type of vaccine. It actually trains the immune system to fight tumors. In the study, men who got the vaccine lived 4 1/2 months longer than those who didn't. The doctor who led the study presents the findings at a meeting on prostate cancer that begins today in Orlando, Florida.

KAGAN: This one from California. A woman discharged from the hospital more than a year ago refuses to leave. She is bed-bound, but otherwise healthy. Eight-two-year-old Sarah Nome says she has nowhere else to go. Hospital officials say she has racked up more than a million dollars in medical bills and they are suing her. A judge has given permission to evict her. The hospital does say there are no plans to put her out on the street.

SANCHEZ: A second hour of hearings is under way in Washington on the safety of some very popular painkillers. Later today, 7-year-old Sabrina Johnson is scheduled to testify about Children's Motrin, for example. Her family says it caused a condition in her called Stephen's Johnson syndrome that left her legally blind.

Now, they want a warning label put on medications like this one and others. Their attorney, in fact, talked with CNN "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The family is very, very demanding that there be a new warning. Actually, the first warning about the potential of this tragedy so that other consumers and the medical profession could know about what could happen here.

There's no such warning now on the box, and the medical profession has not been alerted to this potential. Although there have been many, many cases of this, and Johnson & Johnson, the maker of this product have known about them and have been settling them confidentially.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The family, we should add, is now suing Johnson & Johnson, the maker of Children's Motrin.

Doctors and drug makers are constantly searching for new ways to try and treat pain. When it comes to actually measuring the pain, the approach is surprisingly simple. The doctor asks the patient, how much does it hurt?

Senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has details of this and developments on it in our "Daily Dose" of health news.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the prick of a needle to a broken bone, physical pain is familiar to all of us. But what happens when pain can't be measured?

ASHLEY TAYLOR, PAIN SUFFERER: Walking around is very difficult. And it usually takes just a few minutes before I get very tired and I have to rest. And even when I do rest, I don't feel better.

GUPTA: Since the age of 10 Ashley Taylor has felt pain in her neck, shoulders, back and legs. Now 20 years old, she's seen neurologists, rheumatologists even psychiatrists. In all, Ashley has been to more than 20 different doctors in just the past few years.

TAYLOR: The doctors don't know. I've had X-rays done and MRI's, and numerous blood tests, and a spinal tap. And everything is negative. Everything is OK. And no doctor can tell me what's going on.

GUPTA: It's more than discomfort. She takes up to seven pain pills a day including Celebrex and Vicodin, and had to drop out of school last semester.

DR. MICHEL DUBOIS, PAIN MANAGEMENT CTR, NYU: A young lady, who obviously you expect to be in perfect health, who is going through a critical time of her life with a major handicap. Our role is to try to help her going through this phase.

GUPTA: Despite all the advances in modern medicine, when doctors measure pain, they rely primarily on the verbal analog scale.

DUBOIS: What number would you put to your pain? Zero no pain and 10 maximum possibly.

TAYLOR: Now it's about six.

GUPTA: A complicated name for a simple test, How Much Does it Hurt On a Scale From Zero to Ten?

DUBOIS: Since it is a subjective measurement based only of the patient's feedback, you can imagine situations where the patient is not truthful when he reports his or her pain.

GUPTA: And there are variations. What one person calls a nine could easily be a four for another. While there is no reliable way to gauge honesty in these tests, the pain is very real to patients like Ashley.

TAYLOR: Right now, I just have to learn to live with the pain as best I can because it's not going away any time soon.

GUPTA: A somewhat immeasurable price for a frustratingly immeasurable pain.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: News online, log on to our website. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness. The address is cnn.com/health.

SANCHEZ: You know, kids learn a lot of lessons in high school. But how to build a bomb, should that be one of them?

KAGAN: We're going to tell you about one teacher who's accused of what you might call an illegal lesson plan. Details, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Remember yesterday we told you about a train crash in Oxnard, California where there was a strawberry truck on road? Watch. Can you believe that? That was a -- that was a -- that was a train actually hitting -- there it is again.

KAGAN: Strawberry jam.

SANCHEZ: Yes, instant strawberry jam. And we can kid a little bit because no one, believe it or not, was seriously hurt in this thing. Amazingly, the cab remained intact and the rest of the car was damaged. That was it. No word on why the truck was stopped on the tracks to begin with, or why the photographer was in the perfect place to take that picture at that time.

KAGAN: That's a good question. I didn't think of that.

Maybe a teacher in Florida wasn't thinking either.

SANCHEZ: Yes. I guess not.

KAGAN: Chemistry streets -- teacher down in Florida, he might have gone a bit too far. He taught his high school students how to make bombs. David Piesky (ph) out on jail -- well, he's out of jail today on bonds. He's been pulled from his class. His lesson plan came to light when a student taped a nighttime explosion, the outcome of what he called his class project. All right.

Detectives say there was no adult present at the time of the experiment. A school spokesman says so far parents have not complained about Piesky's unorthodox teaching method.

SANCHEZ: I'm not sure I'd want my kids learning that in school. You know?

KAGAN: No. But clearly that kid did well. I mean he understood the concept. It worked.

SANCHEZ: Kathleen Hayes.

KAGAN: Yes, talk about an explosive personality. She is here to tell us about what's happening on Wall Street.

Hello.

SANCHEZ: Do you understand the concept though?

KATHLEEN HAYES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I understand the concept indeed. Good morning, Rick and Daryn. You know a bit of a bomb, a big warning from Alan Greenspan this morning. The fed chairman says the looming retirement of millions of Baby Boomers will significantly slow economic growth.

Greenspan is answering questions from the House Financial Services Committee today. He added that whatever changes are made to Social Security must be fully funded. He also reiterated support from private accounts.

Back here on Wall Street, up the earnings from Wal-Mart and Hewlett-Packard are doing little to bring out the buyers today. Right now, the Dow Jones industrials are down about 43 1/2points. Wal-Mart and H.P. down just a little bit. The NASDAQ is down half a percent.

And on the jobs front, some strength in the numbers. The number of workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell for a third straight week, dropping to the lowest level in more than four years.

You see we gave you the bad news up front, a little good news at the end to sweeten it. Daryn and Rick, back to you.

KAGAN: All right. Thank you so much.

SANCHEZ: Thank you.

Do you want to know what your weather is going to be today and tomorrow?

KAGAN: We will have that for you plus more news just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Promised the weather, time to deliver.

KAGAN: And Orelon Sidney is here for that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: And that's going to do it for us. You have a good day off tomorrow and a good weekend.

SANCHEZ: Thank you. It will be nice to get back with the family for a change. KAGAN: Yes. I'm Daryn Kagan for Rick Sanchez; we'll wrap it up and toss it up to Wolf Blitzer.

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 February 17, 2005 - 11:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: More than a month now since that tsunami disaster in south Asia, the region still struggling, trying to deal with all the devastation.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Coming up, moving pictures. A first hand account of life after the tsunami, how are people rebounding?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: John Negroponte is the president's choice to be the nation's first director of National Intelligence. If confirmed, Negroponte will oversee a $40 billion budget spread across 15 intelligence agencies. The president says Negroponte will be his primary daily briefer on intelligence.

The FBI is trying to determine if a letter sent to another Wichita television station is indeed from the BTK serial kill. Now, the station says the envelope contained a piece of jewelry, a picture and a note inside. It's the second TV station to report receiving such mail. BTK is blamed for eight killings in the '70s and the '80s.

The House is expected to approve a bill today to send most large- class action lawsuits to federal court. The Senate already passed the measure. Republicans argue trial lawyers are manipulating state court rules to get big verdicts. The federal system generally allows fewer class action lawsuits and that's what the intention.

Also, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Spector plans to stay on the job undergoes chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease. Doctors say that his chances of beating the lymph cancer are excellent.

Keeping you informed. CNN, the most trusted name in news.

KAGAN: Officials in Thailand say it will take another four to six months to identify the victims of the tsunami disaster. It has been more than seven weeks since the killer waves devastated the coast. At last count, the death toll estimated there at 105,000. Another 127,000 people are listed as missing or unaccounted for.

The gripping images from tsunami have faded, but the editor and chief of "Marie Claire" magazine is focusing renewed attention on the disaster and the recovery effort. Leslie Jane Seymour just recently returned from Thailand, joining me now from New York to talk about her experience.

Good morning.

LESLIE JANE SEYMOUR, EDITOR IN CHIEF, "MARIE CLAIRE": Hi, how are you?

KAGAN: I'm doing great. It sounds like you had a fascinating journey. And as I understand it, you went with the focus specifically to see how women and children are facing this recovery?

SEYMOUR: Yes, because "Marie Claire" is all about women of the world. We wanted to go see how they really handled things. And women are tougher than you think. they're tougher than the men. That's what our story showed.

(LAUGHTER)

KAGAN: I knew that! That's not news.

SEYMOUR: Oh, good.

KAGAN: Let's look at some of the pictures that you bring back with you, and I assume that we might see in the magazine. This first one here is of a resort?

SEYMOUR: Yes. This was a resort that we stayed at. And what was so fascinating is the front part of the resort was completely the way it should be, with beautiful fountains, and everything going on. And not until you get to the other side of the pool that you see, from here on in down to the beach, this horrible devastation that happened.

We were staying at a place called the Merlin. It had only relief workers, journalists. And we were eating with people in scrubs and the guys from Norway who were helping with the coroner's thing. So it was a really eerie, creepy thing. And right beyond this picture at the back, if you can see the beautiful water, there it is.

And as I say in my little diary, which will appear in "Marie Claire" in June, it's very Steven King. Because you look at this thing, and then you look at this gorgeous water, which you might walk out into, and you can't put the two together. It's mind-boggling.

KAGAN: Hard to imagine. Let's focus on the kids...

SEYMOUR: Yes.

KAGAN: ... and what you saw happening there. The importance of the psychological impact it's has on the children who survived.

SEYMOUR: Well, what's interesting, this is in one of the refugee camps. And you see these women taking care of their children. They're very, very tight with their families. They've taken the kids in. There were 600 kids who were actually declared orphans. But only two of them really had problems.

This woman here is teaching school out of her garage. Because she was a teacher, and felt school had to go on. We also know that keeping children in school keeps them out of trafficking and keeps them also out of depression.

And these women just got together and said, this is what we're going to do and this is how we'll deal with this disaster situation.

KAGAN: You mention refugee camps. You had a chance to visit one or more than one?

SEYMOUR: We visited one of them where you saw the babies in the little swings and everything. And it was the most fascinating experience. Because in that photo there, what they're doing is they're all sitting there swinging their babies. And they're watching, believe it or not, videos of the tsunami. And I...

KAGAN: You'd have to think that's the last thing they would want to watch.

SEYMOUR: Exactly. Now, here was one of the health centers that we went to and all of these mothers -- these are actually grandmothers holding the babies of their children who were all killed during the tsunami.

KAGAN: So these are orphans?

SEYMOUR: These are orphans, but they're taken in by their families. As I said there are only two children who are actual orphans who the country didn't know what to do with them, has to put them with different families. These women are so strong. They gave big smiles to us. They sat down and talked to us about their feelings, and their children, and their hope for the future. They're pulling together.

These people were working with UNICEF. And what they're doing s they're registering all of the orphans so when they get to the age of 15, which is when school ends for them, they will still watch. And fund them until they're 18, so they don't end up in things like child labor or any kind of off-color kind of promotions for kids.

KAGAN: Very good thing. So you came away with a feeling of hope?

SEYMOUR: Oh, it was -- I was prepared for the absolute worst. And what was fascinating was how amazing these people are. The women are so tough. We talked to one of the women who was handling the psychological care of children. And she said it's the mothers who are pulling in closer and tighter for the kids.

And it's the fathers who are falling apart and handing the kids over to the aunts and uncles because they can't handle it. They are having drinking problems. The women are holding this society together.

Here we're talking to one of -- this little girl in the middle is an orphan, and her two friends are taking care of her. And she's back at school. And I asked her what do you want people to know about a tragedy like this? And she said just let your parents know you love them now, and don't wait until a tragedy happens like this. KAGAN: HMM. A lesson we can all learn. When will we see more in the magazine?

SEYMOUR: Yes. In June, we have a big, big issue. We have a surprise celebrity on the cover. We're raising money for the orphans. It's going to be great.

KAGAN: Leslie Jane Seymour from "Marie Claire" magazine, thank you.

SEYMOUR: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Here is what else is making news overseas on this day in this morning's "World Wrap."

In Valencia, Spain, police say that they have arrested two suspected Basque separatists in the raid at a hotel near city hall. A number of weapons and explosions have been confiscated. The separatist group that claims responsibility for a powerful car bomb that injured at least 43 people in northern Madrid that was back on February.

Now in Manila, Philippines, a man claiming to know something about the bus bomb that exploded on Valentine's Day is now in custody. A series of attacks in the Philippine capital killed 12 people on Monday. Police are keeping a close eye on a Muslim neighborhood, where they say the alleged bomber is believed to be hiding.

And in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will not be indicted in a campaign funding scandal. Sharon's son will face charges. Israel attorney general has been investigating allegations that illegal foreign donations were being funneled into phony companies for Sharon's 1999 campaign.

KAGAN: Important health news for men just ahead. A deadly disease, potentially deadly disease, it doesn't have to be. There might be a new method of fighting prostate cancer and that story is coming up.

SANCHEZ: And as the FDA continues hearings on painkillers, we're going to hear a warning from parents about your children's medication.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We've got a breaking story that we're following for you. We just want to show you the picture just to let you know what's going on there. This is in St. Petersburg, obviously, a construction site. This reason this is particularly salient is that the crane has tipped over and we're being told by authorities there that the man who was handling or driving the crane, is stuck inside. They have not been able to extricate him from there. It's a story that we're going to keep an eye on. He's trapped.

We'll follow it for you. And as we get more information, we'll share it with you. We'll be back with more news in just a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's check in on medical news now.

Health officials plan to add a new strain of the flu virus to the vaccine for next season. The FDA says the A California strain is already infecting people around the globe. A health expert says it's from a class of viruses that generally cause more severe flu seasons. The process of choosing and mixing the vaccine is under more scrutiny because of the shortage flu shots during this season.

SANCHEZ: Researchers are reporting a promising development in the fight against advanced prostate cancer. This is a different type of vaccine. It actually trains the immune system to fight tumors. In the study, men who got the vaccine lived 4 1/2 months longer than those who didn't. The doctor who led the study presents the findings at a meeting on prostate cancer that begins today in Orlando, Florida.

KAGAN: This one from California. A woman discharged from the hospital more than a year ago refuses to leave. She is bed-bound, but otherwise healthy. Eight-two-year-old Sarah Nome says she has nowhere else to go. Hospital officials say she has racked up more than a million dollars in medical bills and they are suing her. A judge has given permission to evict her. The hospital does say there are no plans to put her out on the street.

SANCHEZ: A second hour of hearings is under way in Washington on the safety of some very popular painkillers. Later today, 7-year-old Sabrina Johnson is scheduled to testify about Children's Motrin, for example. Her family says it caused a condition in her called Stephen's Johnson syndrome that left her legally blind.

Now, they want a warning label put on medications like this one and others. Their attorney, in fact, talked with CNN "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The family is very, very demanding that there be a new warning. Actually, the first warning about the potential of this tragedy so that other consumers and the medical profession could know about what could happen here.

There's no such warning now on the box, and the medical profession has not been alerted to this potential. Although there have been many, many cases of this, and Johnson & Johnson, the maker of this product have known about them and have been settling them confidentially.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The family, we should add, is now suing Johnson & Johnson, the maker of Children's Motrin.

Doctors and drug makers are constantly searching for new ways to try and treat pain. When it comes to actually measuring the pain, the approach is surprisingly simple. The doctor asks the patient, how much does it hurt?

Senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has details of this and developments on it in our "Daily Dose" of health news.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the prick of a needle to a broken bone, physical pain is familiar to all of us. But what happens when pain can't be measured?

ASHLEY TAYLOR, PAIN SUFFERER: Walking around is very difficult. And it usually takes just a few minutes before I get very tired and I have to rest. And even when I do rest, I don't feel better.

GUPTA: Since the age of 10 Ashley Taylor has felt pain in her neck, shoulders, back and legs. Now 20 years old, she's seen neurologists, rheumatologists even psychiatrists. In all, Ashley has been to more than 20 different doctors in just the past few years.

TAYLOR: The doctors don't know. I've had X-rays done and MRI's, and numerous blood tests, and a spinal tap. And everything is negative. Everything is OK. And no doctor can tell me what's going on.

GUPTA: It's more than discomfort. She takes up to seven pain pills a day including Celebrex and Vicodin, and had to drop out of school last semester.

DR. MICHEL DUBOIS, PAIN MANAGEMENT CTR, NYU: A young lady, who obviously you expect to be in perfect health, who is going through a critical time of her life with a major handicap. Our role is to try to help her going through this phase.

GUPTA: Despite all the advances in modern medicine, when doctors measure pain, they rely primarily on the verbal analog scale.

DUBOIS: What number would you put to your pain? Zero no pain and 10 maximum possibly.

TAYLOR: Now it's about six.

GUPTA: A complicated name for a simple test, How Much Does it Hurt On a Scale From Zero to Ten?

DUBOIS: Since it is a subjective measurement based only of the patient's feedback, you can imagine situations where the patient is not truthful when he reports his or her pain.

GUPTA: And there are variations. What one person calls a nine could easily be a four for another. While there is no reliable way to gauge honesty in these tests, the pain is very real to patients like Ashley.

TAYLOR: Right now, I just have to learn to live with the pain as best I can because it's not going away any time soon.

GUPTA: A somewhat immeasurable price for a frustratingly immeasurable pain.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: News online, log on to our website. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness. The address is cnn.com/health.

SANCHEZ: You know, kids learn a lot of lessons in high school. But how to build a bomb, should that be one of them?

KAGAN: We're going to tell you about one teacher who's accused of what you might call an illegal lesson plan. Details, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Remember yesterday we told you about a train crash in Oxnard, California where there was a strawberry truck on road? Watch. Can you believe that? That was a -- that was a -- that was a train actually hitting -- there it is again.

KAGAN: Strawberry jam.

SANCHEZ: Yes, instant strawberry jam. And we can kid a little bit because no one, believe it or not, was seriously hurt in this thing. Amazingly, the cab remained intact and the rest of the car was damaged. That was it. No word on why the truck was stopped on the tracks to begin with, or why the photographer was in the perfect place to take that picture at that time.

KAGAN: That's a good question. I didn't think of that.

Maybe a teacher in Florida wasn't thinking either.

SANCHEZ: Yes. I guess not.

KAGAN: Chemistry streets -- teacher down in Florida, he might have gone a bit too far. He taught his high school students how to make bombs. David Piesky (ph) out on jail -- well, he's out of jail today on bonds. He's been pulled from his class. His lesson plan came to light when a student taped a nighttime explosion, the outcome of what he called his class project. All right.

Detectives say there was no adult present at the time of the experiment. A school spokesman says so far parents have not complained about Piesky's unorthodox teaching method.

SANCHEZ: I'm not sure I'd want my kids learning that in school. You know?

KAGAN: No. But clearly that kid did well. I mean he understood the concept. It worked.

SANCHEZ: Kathleen Hayes.

KAGAN: Yes, talk about an explosive personality. She is here to tell us about what's happening on Wall Street.

Hello.

SANCHEZ: Do you understand the concept though?

KATHLEEN HAYES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I understand the concept indeed. Good morning, Rick and Daryn. You know a bit of a bomb, a big warning from Alan Greenspan this morning. The fed chairman says the looming retirement of millions of Baby Boomers will significantly slow economic growth.

Greenspan is answering questions from the House Financial Services Committee today. He added that whatever changes are made to Social Security must be fully funded. He also reiterated support from private accounts.

Back here on Wall Street, up the earnings from Wal-Mart and Hewlett-Packard are doing little to bring out the buyers today. Right now, the Dow Jones industrials are down about 43 1/2points. Wal-Mart and H.P. down just a little bit. The NASDAQ is down half a percent.

And on the jobs front, some strength in the numbers. The number of workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell for a third straight week, dropping to the lowest level in more than four years.

You see we gave you the bad news up front, a little good news at the end to sweeten it. Daryn and Rick, back to you.

KAGAN: All right. Thank you so much.

SANCHEZ: Thank you.

Do you want to know what your weather is going to be today and tomorrow?

KAGAN: We will have that for you plus more news just ahead.

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SANCHEZ: Promised the weather, time to deliver.

KAGAN: And Orelon Sidney is here for that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: And that's going to do it for us. You have a good day off tomorrow and a good weekend.

SANCHEZ: Thank you. It will be nice to get back with the family for a change. KAGAN: Yes. I'm Daryn Kagan for Rick Sanchez; we'll wrap it up and toss it up to Wolf Blitzer.

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