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CNN Live Today
Discussion With Education Secretary Margaret Spellings; 'Daily Dose'
Aired August 24, 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: Katrina is the latest named storm of the year. Forecasters say the tropical storm will move through the central northwest Bahamas today. Residents on the southeastern coast of Florida are under a hurricane watch. Right now, the storm is still more than 200 miles away.
The Base Closing Commission began final voting this morning on which military bases to shutdown. The panel voted to close army bases in Georgia, New Jersey, Virginia and Michigan. There could be changes to the Pentagon proposals before the commission sends its final report to President Bush next month.
Crews are searching through the wreckage of a Peruvian airliner. Officials say wind shear may have caused the airliner to crash in the jungle. Forty-six of ninety-eight people onboard still are not accounted for. The pilot was apparently trying to land in a storm yesterday when the plane split in two. Just a short time ago, I talked with one survivor, an American, about what happens next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSE VIVAS, PLANE CRASH SURVIVOR: I don't see anything. I see my girls in front of me. I've got three girls (INAUDIBLE). I just pushed my girls, you know, out, out the plane and keep going out and moving away from the plane, and, you know, they were falling down. We stand up. We fell down. I lost my shoes. I lost my pants. I keep going, keep talking to my girls. You know, my girl is 10, 12, and 15. So I keep pushing them out, because anything for them. My brother was behind me always to help me. And we get to a safe place. And then, like, a half hour later, or an hour later -- I don't have time to check -- we was rescued.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Both data recorders have been recovered from the wreckage. Authorities are hoping they'll shed more light on what went wrong.
Floods, mud and fires are wreaking havoc across Europe. Authorities say 34 people have died from flooding, including 25 in Romania. Floodwaters have engulfed the region, destroying homes and invading towns and villages.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN (voice-over): Days of fierce downpours sent rivers and lakes surging over their banks across Central and Southern Europe. The flooding submerged alpine villages and resorts in Bavaria as German residents rescued stranded residents from the rising waters.
In Austria, a dramatic rescue efforts saved an elderly woman whose car was stuck in surging waters. Firefighters managed to break the rear window, attach cables and drag the car to safety with the woman inside.
In Switzerland, forecasters say more rain has fallen in three days than the area normally gets in all of August.
This central Swiss village was left half buried in mud. Many homes are still inaccessible. Other towns are underwater, and several roads are impassable. Some rail lines and stations are submerged by floodwaters. In Portugal, the problem isn't water, but fire. Firefighters are still battling five large wildfires. That's down from several dozen over the weekend. Crews are getting help from cooler temperatures and a fleet of firefighting aircraft from other countries.
Fires this season have killed 15 people, mostly firefighters, and burned at least 370,000 acres.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Other fire news for you now. At least six forest fires are burning in Northern Spain. Authorities say only one poses a serious threat to people or property.
The government says no child left behind, but as another school year kicks off, is that program working? And who's supposed to pay for it? Education Secretary Margaret Spellings joins me here when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: And we continue to monitor the hearings about the base closing. Yet another base that had been recommended for closure has been taken off the list. You're looking at a picture of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The BRAC commission deciding today it will come off. If you're not -- a live picture there of those hearings in Washington D.C. This base, in particular, is on the border of New Hampshire and Maine, 50 miles north of Boston. This is the second major base to come off the list today. The submarine base at New London, Connecticut within the last hour also removed from the list that is recommended for closure.
And checking our "Daily Dose" of health news, recent high-profile cases of lung cancer are renewing interest in the disease, also in a controversial form of screening.
Our senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After the tragic news of Peter Jennings and Dana Reeve, it seems people have thought about lung cancer more than ever before. In fact, the number of calls to quit smoking hotlines went up by 50 percent as a result. Just about every smoker and former smoker was worried, more worried than normal. And many of them could relate directly to Peter Jennings.
MICKI MCCABE, LUNG CANCER SURVIVOR: We smoke, as Peter and I certainly know, that that was a big factor.
GUPTA: Micki McCabe had her own scare 12 years ago. It was a cough that wouldn't go away. So she decided to get it checked out by her doctor.
MCCABE: I had the CAT scan, which did seem to indicate that there were some tumors. I remember asking him then, did it seem very likely that I had lung cancer? He answered me very forthrightly that more than likely I did have lung cancer.
GUPTA: Micki was lucky. The CT, or CAT scan, did reveal lung cancer, but it was caught early enough that an operation was able to remove all of it. She was cured.
MCCABE: I'm certainly grateful to whatever spiritual forces are in the universe that were part of my getting a good break.
GUPTA: But it was more than just a spiritual force. Micki had demonstrated a basic tenet of medicine, catch cancer early and you're more likely to beat it. Not so fast says Dr. Sanjay Saini.
DR. SANJAY SAINI, EMORY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Whether or not CT -- lung cancer screening with CT does, in fact, save lives. We don't know the answer to that yet.
GUPTA: He buys into the idea that catching cancer is good, but...
SAINI: Unfortunately, as you look inside the human body, there are things that we find that can be potentially bad, but we also find things that are of no consequence.
GUPTA: And it's those inconsequential findings that bring into question just how useful CT scans are. We call them false positive results. And they're estimated to occur somewhere between 25 to 70 percent of the time.
SAINI: The patient ends up having other tests done, potentially even surgery done, to determine what that is. And that's a downside risk to the patient.
GUPTA: Dr. Len Horovitz says that may be true, but it's still worth the risk.
DR. LEN HOROVITZ, LENOX HILL HOSPITAL: If there's a 25 percent false negative rate, that means that there's a 75 percent positive rate. GUPTA: And he points out another possible virtue of a false positive, simply having any kind of abnormality, even if it turns out to be nothing bad, can still scare people enough to make them stop smoking.
But as it stands now, organized medicine hasn't yet decided whether CT scans should be as common as mammograms for breast cancer or a colonoscopy for colon cancer. Recommendations like that could still be years away.
Micki McCabe, though, didn't wait for any recommendations. She's convinced that she's alive today because of one scan years ago.
MCCABE: The early detection probably is why I'm talking to you now.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And for your daily dose of health news online, log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical story, special reports and a health library. The address is CNN.com/health.
At the age of 15, only 15, he'd already published a book. He's 21 now. One of his books is a top seller on amazon.com. You're going to meet the young man who writes about fantasy and adventure. A superstar, coming up.
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KAGAN: And we have a positive update for you on a story we've been following out of Orange County, California. The four cyclists that the sheriff's department's have been looking for, they have been able, according to our affiliate KCLA, to cycle out and make it back safely on their own. So you can consider that search over and with a happy ending.
On to beginnings, and the beginning of the school year. If your kids aren't already back in school, they soon will be, and they'll be dealing with the 3-year-old No Child Left Behind Act. It's designed to improve reading and math skills. According to the Education Department's latest report card, 9-year-olds get the best scores in both areas. Achievement among African-American and Hispanic kids are on the rise, but scores for 17-year-olds are the same as they were 30 years ago.
Margaret Spellings helped develop the No Child Left Behind Act. She's the first mother of school-age children to serve as secretary of education. Amazing it took them this long to figure out that they should have somebody like you in there, and she's my guest here this morning in Atlanta.
Good morning.
MARGARET SPELLINGS, EDUCATION SECY.: Good morning, Daryn. KAGAN: Let's talk No Child Left Behind. You, as you said, helped develop it. You're a big believer.
SPELLINGS: I am a big believer. What gets measured gets done is what I like to say, and I think the new report card shows that No Child Left Behind is really working, especially for disadvantaged kids. And we're on the move. It's exciting.
KAGAN: Everyone is not a fan, including the state of Connecticut, this week announcing they're going to become the first state to sue the federal government. Mainly we're talking testing here. Connecticut already saying, well, we were testing every other year; we think that's fine. They don't see the benefit of testing every year.
SPELLINGS: Well, you know, regrettably, as you said, the law passed three years ago, and we've sent Connecticut about $754 million to comply with No Child Left Behind, and here on the eve of compliance, they're talking about their inacceptance of this annual testing provision. I know as a parent I want to know how my kids are doing each and every single year, not every other year being, but every single year. Teachers can help kids better when they know, you know, who's on track, who's not, who needs help and where. And that's really what's at issue here. No Child Left Behind is not a mandate. It's a partnership with states that says if you take federal resources, you need to show us results, and I think that's reasonable.
KAGAN: Connecticut is not the only state that says, great idea, but who's supposed to pay? And that there's a gap between what states are able to pay and what they're paying now, and that they don't have the funds to make these other demands come true.
SPELLINGS: Well, we've had a couple studies, not the least of which is the General Accountability Office, that says that the assessment provisions of No Child Left Behind, in fact, are adequately funded. Funding is always going to be an issue in education. No doubt about it. But I think the American public and parents, you know, want to know, what are the results for kids? I mean, we've got to stop talking about how much we're spending, and how are the kid doing alternatively.
KAGAN: And for those who say, this has gotten so focussed on testing, the teachers who just want to teach and help kids be good learners and not have to meet these demands of getting good test scores?
SPELLINGS: You know, testing has always been a part of the educational process. I just came from a school here in Atlanta which is fantastic. They're using that information that they get from assessment, that they get from regular feedback, like we do in any enterprise, to improve learning for kids, and that's what it's all about. It's just like when you go into your doctor, they check your weight, they check your blood pressure. They can't fix a problem if they don't know how you're doing, and that's really the same philosophy that's here in the assessment provisions of No Child Left Behind. And the results speak for themselves, they really do. The achievement gap is closing. Biggest gains ever for Hispanic and African-American kids, especially with our youngest. And it shows us also that we need to work on high schools as well.
KAGAN: Let's talk about the personal here. As we mentioned, you are -- and this is incredible to believe that you are the first one, the first mother of school-aged children to be Secretary of Education.
Now, one of your daughters, off to college.
SPELLINGS: Yes.
KAGAN: Congratulations.
SPELLINGS: It was traumatic, but we made it.
KAGAN: Good. Congratulations on that one. Your other doctor is in a public middle school.
SPELLINGS: In eighth grade.
KAGAN: Was that a conscious choice, to put her in a public school?
SPELLINGS: Absolutely. I mean, I certainly think -- and all parents do this -- they look at the options that they have available to them, and I'm very comfortable with the school that she's in. It's good public school, middle school.
KAGAN: Good luck, by the way.
SPELLINGS: You know, a 13-year-old girl is, you know, somebody you have to pay attention to a lot.
KAGAN: There's a whole new segment we could do on that, Mrs. Spellings.
SPELLINGS: Absolutely.
KAGAN: What do you bring? What do you see differently in the job, being that you are mom to two kids?
SPELLINGS: Well, I think I bring a currency. I understand what they mean when they're talking about No Child Left Behind, what it means to teachers, what it means to my own child's teacher, to her principal when the report card comes home in the backpack, and it says No Child Left Behind says this or that, or what adequate yearly process and all the terms that are in No Child Left Behind. It really gives me appreciation for how it's working on the frontlines, and I think that's valuable, and I had the opportunity to interact with teachers, and administrators and kids across the country, as well as in my own school.
KAGAN: So you got a freshman in college and an eighth-grader.
SPELLINGS: Exactly.
KAGAN: You are on the front lines.
SPELLINGS: Amen.
KAGAN: I'm going to say good luck on that.
SPELLINGS: Thank you.
KAGAN: Thanks for making time to stop by.
SPELLINGS: Thank you.
KAGAN: Margaret Spellings, secretary of education. Appreciate it.
And with that, we're going to go ahead and take a break. We're back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN DOT-COM DESK: You don't have to be an expert to play Fantasy Football, but before you get in the game, head to SI.COM for a few tips.
As you stack your team, remember, a lot of switching takes place in the off season, like Randy Moss who joined the Raiders from the Vikings and two-time MVP Kurt Warner, a good number-two quarterback to have, who made the move from the Giants to the Cardinals.
This on-line guide breaks it down. And for rookies, remember the selection order, running backs will have the biggest impact on your team, then wide receiver, followed by quarterbacks.
Finally, avoid making a pick you will later regret. Here's a list of players you may want to stay away from. Get in the game with these helpful tip at SI.COM/FANTASY. From the dot-com newsdesk, I'm Veronica De La Cruz.
KAGAN: Well, move over Harry Potter, make way for "Eldest." The second book by young author Christopher Paolini, is the top seller on Amazon.com. "Eldest" is part two of Paolini's "Inheritance" triology.
It's a fantasy about the adventures of a magically gifted farm boy and his dragon. Christopher Paolini started righting the first book "Eragon" when he was just 15. He is now the ripe old age of 21 -- old man. Joining me now from New York City. Good morning.
CHRISTOPHER PAOLINI, AUTHOR: Good morning to you, too.
KAGAN: Well, congratulation. Can we just take a moment here? Knocking Harry Potter out of the number one spot on Amazon.com. Congratulations.
PAOLINI: Thank you. I've been very, very fortunate.
KAGAN: Tell us a little bit about this number two book in this trilogy. What happens, as much as you can reveal. PAOLINI: Well in this book, Eragon continues his travels through the land of Alagaesia and he goes up to the elf forest of Du Weldenvarden and as usual, encounters the, you know, duels and dragons and battles and villains and romance and all the good stuff a story needs.
KAGAN: For some people at home who saying, "he went where and he did who?" And you create your own land.
PAOLINI: I do.
KAGAN: And your own language.
PAOLINI: I do. I created three languages for this series. The main one is based on old Norse. It's how I keep myself interested in the series as I'm writing through it.
But the core of the story is just about a young boy, Eragon, who becomes linked with this brilliant sapphire-blue baby dragon named Saphira.
KAGAN: And for people out there who might be thinking, "OK. Who is this guy?" There are some normal brother-sister things happening. There's a character in your book that is based on your sister, Angela.
PAOLINI: That's right. There's a character called Agella the Herbalist and my sister was -- she had enough humor and she allowed me to base the character on her. And she even provides a little bit of dialogue for her character occasionally.
KAGAN: OK. Well, good for her. Good for Angela, getting a little bit of the success happening here. And this is a huge success story. What a difference a second book makes. Your first book, truly a family project, as your parents helped you self-publish. And you drove around to schools to push the book.
PAOLINI: That's right. We -- I ended up doing over 135 events across the country. Most of the events were done in medieval costume, which I'm glad I'm not in anymore, to be honest.
KAGAN: You've outgrown that.
PAOLINI: No, no. And, yes, the difference between the first book and the second book is amazing and I'm just incredibly grateful that this has happened and that so many people have enjoyed the story.
KAGAN: Including a major motion picture being made based on "Eragon."
PAOLINI: That's right, Fox 2000 is actually filming the "Eragon" movie in Budapest, Hungary, as we speak.
KAGAN: And that comes out next year?
PAOLINI: It does and they've cast some top-notch actors in the role; everyone from John Malkovich to Jeremy Irons to Gymen Hunsue (ph) and numerous others.
KAGAN: And when you see this happen -- I mean, you've just go to pinch yourself. You're 21.
PAOLINI: You know, if I wrote a book where all this happened to a character, no one would believe it.
KAGAN: That would be true fantasy.
PAOLINI: That would be true fantasy.
KAGAN: Very good. Well, as we said, the book is "Eldest." We happen to know specific boys out there that have been panting, waiting for this number two book to come out and it is number one on Amazon.com.
Congratulation and good luck. And you've got to come back when number three --
PAOLINI: Thank you, I'll be happy to.
KAGAN: OK. Very good. It's called "Eldest." Christopher Paolini. Thank you, Christopher.
PAOLINI: Thank you.
KAGAN: Right now we have on the phone with us Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. Significant news coming out of his state today on the submarine base at New London, Connecticut, being taken off the list, recommended for closure.
Senator, it is, indeed, a good morning for you, I would imagine.
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: It's a great morning up here in Connecticut. We're thrilled. We're very grateful to the commissioners who stood up and did what they thought was right for the country. And our national defense, even against the recommendation of the Pentagon. So, we're very grateful, very excited and very optimistic about the future.
KAGAN: Senator, you sit on the Armed Services Committee. How did it get this far?
LIEBERMAN: Well, beats me, because we thought there was no real justification for it. This came out of some people in the Navy. I know they've got hard decisions to make, but it made no sense to close a submarine base in New London.
You know, we say this is the submarine capital of the world and I think today the commission agreed that that's just not a slogan; that there's real merit to it. Also, we poked holes in the Pentagon's estimates of cost savings for closing this base.
Ultimately, we don't think anything would have been saved. I thought when Chairman Tony Principi said that he thought the arguments of savings were unsubstantiated, it really was a validation of everything we've been arguing.
KAGAN: We should mention that two bases have been taken off the list as they go ahead and meet today: The submarine base in New London that we were talking about. Also, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine, which is not too far from your part of the world, senator.
LIEBERMAN: Well, that's true. And there's a good general message in that as well, which I know concerned the commission: If the commission adopted all of the Pentagon's recommendations, there'd be no really significant operational military capability in New England, where, for the first time in American history -- because obviously this is where the revolution began.
And that would have been bad for our country, bad for Homeland Security and bad for general support of our military, particularly when it's so concerned about recruiting people into the military.
So I'm real thrilled and happy for the folks up around Portsmouth. And of course, we're thrilled here as well in Groton, New London area.
KAGAN: Just real quickly: It is not a slam dunk for your state. You are losing three Army Reserve bases -- centers.
LIEBERMAN: Understood. And we regret that. We kind of expected that and we think we can live with it. But, you know, the submarine base in New London, was the big the enchilada for us and we think for America. So, it's a great day up here.
KAGAN: It is indeed for you. Senator Joe Lieberman, joining us on the phone.
LIEBERMAN: Thank you.
KAGAN: Senator, thank you for your time.
LIEBERMAN: Sure.
KAGAN: That's going to wrap up my time with you, but the news continues. International news is up next. I'm Daryn Kagan. I will see you right back here tomorrow morning.
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