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CNN Live Today

Mary's Vision; A Special Spell

Aired July 18, 2005 - 11:30   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hurricane Emily has weakened a bit after slamming into Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula with 135-mile-an-hour winds. The storm, now packing sustained winds of about 100 miles an hour, is headed into the warm waters of the Gulf. It's expected to regain its strength. The hurricane watch covers the southernmost coast of Texas, but the storm appears headed toward landfall in Mexico.
This morning, confessed serial bomber Eric Rudolph is receiving the first of his lifetime sentences. A judge in Birmingham, Alabama will hand down the punishment for a deadly blast outside a clinic that performs abortions. Nurse Emily Lyons, who was critically injured in the attack, is due to face Rudolph in the courtroom.

An Amber Alert remains for a Tennessee boy who was last seen walking near a Carter County Lake on Saturday. Investigators say they've cleared the occupants of a sport-utility vehicle that was sought and later found. Six-year-old Charles Dillon Johnson has brown hair and brown eyes. He stands four feet tall, and he weighs 50 pounds.

Copies of the new "Harry Potter" book are flying off shelves, but there's more than one woman behind Potter mania.

CNN's Alina Cho tells us about her

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ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With 10 million copies printed in the U.S. alone, the release of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is the publishing event of the year. There's the coveted signed first editions, the midnight magic parties and then there is Mary Grandpre. Her name may not be familiar, but she's the other woman responsible for bringing Harry Potter to life. Title, illustrator for all six Potter books.

In the beginning, Grandpre thought it would be a one-book project.

MARY GRANDPRE, ILLUSTRATOR: Pretty soon, book two was in my hands and then book three, and then it really was taking off. And we knew this was going to be something more than just a book.

CHO: Known for her use of light and color that she says adds to the magic of the stories. Grandpre says she's inspired by author J.K. Rowling's rich and descriptive writing.

GRANDPRE: There is not a lot of work I have to do to come up with the images.

CHO: Her biggest challenge, she says, is making Harry believable as he and his readers get older. For those who are still young...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the illustrations there, they look like the characters and they have a lot of detail in them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can actually see them in your mind, like if they were alive.

CHO: Potter-mania is a worldwide phenomenon that has made Rowling one of the richest women in the U.K. and Grandpre something of a celebrity.

CHO (on camera): Is it sort of strange for you, as an illustrator, because generally illustrators are behind the scenes, and yet you're out front doing this publicity blitz? Do you feel like a celebrity?

GRANDPRE: A little bit, you know, especially with the kids. But it's really fun, because they're so excited to meet me, and I'm excited to meet them.

CHO: What do they say to you, these kids?

GRANDPRE: They just want my autograph, and they ask me about drawing and who's my favorite character.

CHO (voice-over): For the record, it's a tie, Hagrid, and of course, Harry. So what's next?

(on camera): Book seven?

GRANDPRE: Book seven, yes, exactly. I've got to gear up for that.

CHO (voice-over): Wannabe wizards, as always, will be waiting.

Alina Cho, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Over the weekend, the boy wizard worked up a special spell. Some seriously ill children couldn't make it to the book store, so Harry Potter came to them. In our "Your Spirit" segment today, a charity delivered copies of the Potter book to sick children at three hospitals across the U.S.

Allen Goldberg and Lori Strongen is live from New York to tell us more.

Good morning.

ALLEN GOLDBERG, HOPE FOR HENRY FOUNDATION: Good morning

LORI STRONGEN, HOPE FOR HENRY FOUNDATION: Good morning. KAGAN: First let's talk about a special boy besides Harry Potter, and that is your son, Henry. Tell us about him and how he inspires this move.

STRONGEN: Our son, Henry, was born with a rare fatal disease, but despite all of his travails, he had just an incredible attitude and a zest for life, and we came -- you know, the tag line that we sort of attribute to Henry is live well and laugh hard. So Henry was just always able to look on the bright side and embrace everything wonderful about life. And among the things that Henry loved was Harry Potter.

KAGAN: He did love Harry Potter?

STRONGEN: He loved Harry Potter.

KAGAN: And tell us about bringing joy to the children this weekend.

GOLDBERG: Well, what was great was we were able to secure enough copies to take to three different hospitals that we work with, Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, Fairview in Minneapolis and also Hackensack University Hospital in New Jersey, and what we did was we brought the kids the books right -- as early as possible. It was Saturday morning, and we brought them the books, and some of the kids who are too ill to actually focus on the books, we brought them the audio books. And they -- their faces lit up and wide smiles. We actually were able to have one of the children read a chapter to the rest of the kids, and it was just terrific.

KAGAN: That must have been a really special moment. What was it that henry loved about Harry Potter?

STRONGEN: I think he loved the magic and Harry Potter's resilience and his independence. And I just, I think he just, the whole good versus evil and good winning out was very consistent with Henry's obsession with superheroes sort of generally.

KAGAN: As parents who have lost a child, which is unimaginable to so many, how have you taken that pain and geared it into a foundation that's focussed really on bringing joy to other children? How do you get to that place?

GOLDBERG: Well, a lot of people used to say that Henry was a very lucky kid. They'd see him wheeling around the hospital with his portable DVD player, and I was always confused, how could he be so lucky when he was in a hospital in a wheelchair? But he actually was very lucky. And we realize that that made him happy, being able to watch DVDs, and no matter if he was waiting for a doctor's appointment or for a procedure, and we thought, you know what, we can do the same thing for these other kids. And we can kind of bring Henry's spirit to them, and kind of take them away from the hospital for a little bit, whether it's -- we give them nice consumer electronics products, whether it's XM Satellite Radio, or an iPod or a Gameboy, they're able to escape from the hospital and the medical challenges they face by listening to the music or watching the movie, and you know, it transports them.

KAGAN: Go ahead.

STRONGEN: Our whole goal is to basically bring smiles, and laughter and magic into their lives, as opposed to expecting that they can go out into the world to find it themselves, because often they're having to live in isolation for a long periods of time.

KAGAN: Your Web site hopeforhenry.org?

GOLDBERG: Yes.

STRONGEN: Yes.

KAGAN: Excellent. Well, thank you for sharing your good works. And you're reading the "Harry Potter" at home with your other boys?

GOLDBERG: Yes.

STRONGEN: Absolutely. Yes, we actually listened to it this morning with our oldest son, Jack, so, yes.

KAGAN: Excellent.

GOLDBERG: Thank you, Daryn.

KAGAN: Thank you for sharing your time and your special works.

STRONGEN: Thank you.

KAGAN: Allan Goldberg and Lori Strongen, joining us today in memory of Henry, a very special boy.

We have other news straight ahead. A case of Medicaid fraud. The amount, though, the numbers we're talking here, absolutely shocking.

Details on this bigtime fraud investigation are next in our "Daily Dose" segment.

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KAGAN: An update for you now on this Amber Alert that was issued out of Nashville, Tennessee. A sad ending. It was a six-year-old Carter County boy that the search was on for. Charles Dillon Johnson, last seen walking by a lake. Well, now, officials say that Charles Dillon Johnson has been found in the lake. He is the apparent victim of an accidental drowning. They don't believe any foul play was involved. The boy's body was found in the water. More on that ahead.

Let's check in today now on today's "Daily Dose." We're talking Medicaid fraud. "The New York Times" is reporting that New York State's complex and cash-rich program is a tremendous lure for scammers. The "Times" says the program is losing billions of dollars each year because of fraud, waste and profiteering, with the state not looking into many cases after bus. New York's Medicaid provides health care for more than four million poor people.

Former President Clinton is in Africa helping to provide cheap drugs to children infected with AIDS. Working with generic manufacturers, the Clinton Foundation negotiates cheaper drug prices for children with HIV and AIDS in poor countries. Clinton hopes the effort will help treat more than 60,000 children suffering from the disease.

To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness. The address is CNN.com/health.

When you think island vacation, you might be thinking of leaving the country, but there are many islands here in the continental U.S. We'll take you on a tour of some of the best. "Getaways" is next.

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KAGAN: Summer vacations often focus on the beach, and what better way to escape than staking out your own piece of an island. Our next guest is contributor travel editor of "Weekend" magazine, which is now making its debut on newsstands. Barbara Peck joins me from New York with some island getaways, all within the confines of the U.S.

Very nice. Not that far to go.

BARBARA PECK, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "WEEKEND: MAGAZINE: That's right, Daryn. Thanks so much for having me.

KAGAN: Lovely. We always like talking about vacations around here. That works for us. Let's start in New England and talk about Mt. Desert Island, Maine. Why did you like it there?

PECK: The great thing about Mt. Desert is it's really Maine the way it's supposed to be. A big chunk of the island is a national park park. It's Acadia National Park, and it's just untouched. And you get this gorgeous, rugged Maine scenery, and then you also get the wonderful town of Bar Harbor, which used to be a summer resort for the Rockefellers and the actors (ph), and you can sit around and eat lobster rolls as long as you like there.

KAGAN: Better known, Nantucket Island in Massachusetts.

PECK: Oh, yes, Nantucket is -- it has an amazing 80 miles of beaches. And you really feel like you're getting away, because it takes -- I'd say a couple of hours to get there by ferry. But it's so worth it. And it's a great place to sail and for whale-watching. And you can walk their cobblestone streets. And it's beautiful.

KAGAN: A lot of folks here in Atlanta like to go to Amelia Island, just off the northern coast of Florida. PECK: Amelia Island is a golfer's paradise. It's amazing. They have seven golf courses there and some wonderful luxury resorts, also. There's a Ritz-Carlton and it's got a fabulous spa. And as can you see, just miles and miles of those fabulous Florida beaches.

KAGAN: Let's not leave the Midwest out of this. Mackinac Island in Michigan.

PECK: Yes, that's right. The Midwest has its island. It's between Lakes Huron and Michigan. And the Grand Hotel there is -- has the world's longest porch, if you can believe it. It's almost 700- feet long. And there are no cars allowed on the island. So you really feel like you're getting away from things. So you have to -- you can ride around on horseback or on horse and carriage. The movie "Somewhere in Time" with Christopher Reeve was filmed right here.

KAGAN: And now to the Northwest. The San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington state.

PECK: Uh huh. There are actually 172 San Juan islands. So you have to pick carefully. But can you travel between them by ferry and take your bike on board the ferry and you can ride a bike all around the different islands. And also whale-watching. And it's a fabulous place to be. The scenery, just -- it feels like a mini cruise to go on one of these ferry rides.

KAGAN: And now an island I know of. Catalina Island, off the coast of Southern California. I went to sleep-a-way camp there when I was a girl.

PECK: Oh, my god, you were lucky.

KAGAN: Well, I was actually really homesick, but that's a different story. Tell us about the island.

PECK: Yes. I didn't realize they had camps there. Because now it seems to be kind of celebrity getaway. And the main town there, Avalon, it looks like a little bit about Monaco, almost. It's sort of all these pastel houses on a hillside. And you can sit on a beachside cafe and eat fish tacos. It's kind of the lobster roll of the West Coast, I guess. And, you know, watch for celebrities and just kick back and relax. That's what islands are great for.

KAGAN: Yes, the tourists go to Avalon, but the other people go to the other side of the island, the isthmus.

PECK: Oh, so you know the secret.

KAGAN: That's my insider tip to help out.

PECK: Thank you.

KAGAN: Thanks for helping us think about vacations and islands that we can get to.

PECK: OK, thanks for having me. KAGAN: Barbara Peck, from -- contributing travel editor from "Weekend" Magazine.

Well, if you're looking for a more permanent change of scenery, then "Money" magazine may point you in the right direction. It lists the best places to live and why, and you can find details on our Web site. Meanwhile, though, CNN's Christina Park has a look from the dot-com desk.

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CHRISTINA PARK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Where do you hang your hat if you're looking for a change of scenery? CNNmoney.com/bestplaces has your list of the top 10 best cities to live in. In the top slot, Moorestown, New Jersey for its schools, nice homes at reasonable prices, and its proximity to City of Brotherly Love, Philly, as well as easy access to the Jersey shore and a decent drive to New York City. Bainbridge Island, Washington, slides into second. Naperville, Illinois rounds out the top three.

For the rest of the list, click on over to CNNmoney.com/bestplaces. While you're there, you can configure your ideal place to live. Rank what's important to you: crime rate, affordability, pollution, culture, access to quality health care and we'll serve up your dream cities. So get moving. If you need a reason to stay, type in your city or state to see how it stacks up against other cities in the U.S. But don't take our word for it. Whether you're looking for home cheap home or a new adventure, CNN.com/bestplaces does all the work for you. We've got everything you need to move, except the bubble wrap, of course.

I'm Christina Park from the dot-com desk.

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KAGAN: And that's going to wrap up two hours for us. But a lot of news straight ahead. I'm Daryn Kagan. International news is up next. Encourage you, though, to stay tuned for "YOUR WORLD TODAY," with Jim Clancy and Zain Verjee. They will be with you after a quick break. And I'll see you right back here tomorrow morning.

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