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CNN Live Today

Dana Reeve Dies Of Lung Cancer; Nuclear Dispute Brews in Vienna; Search for Bodies Continues in New Orleans

Aired March 07, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And we will go ahead and get started here. Let's start that by taking a look at what's happening right "Now in the News."
Dana Reeve has died from lung cancer. The widow of actor Christopher Reeve died at New York Hospital last night. She was 44. Reeve was admired for her devotion to her husband who was paralyzed after a horseback riding accident in 1995. Dana Reeve announced that she had lung cancer in August, less than a year after Christopher Reeve's death.

A main highway shuts down in Southeast Florida this morning after this fiery pileup near Palm Beach, the Broward County line. It involved a tanker truck and at least a half dozen cars. There are reports at least two people are critically injured and several others rushed to the hospital. Authorities say fog may have been to blame.

A videotape of three Christian peace activists abducted in Iraq in November airs on the al-Jazeera network. An American kidnaped along with the three others does not appear on the tape. There is no mention of his absence. The 25-second tape is silent.

From the boardroom to the courtroom, Enron's former top officials, Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay, will face one of their own today. Former Enron Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow is a top prosecution witness in the men's fraud trials. The energy trader was the seventh largest company in the U.S. before collapsing into bankruptcy four years ago.

The government's first witness returns to the stand today in the sentencing trial of al Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui. An FBI agent is explaining the history and structure of the terrorist group. Moussaoui faces either life in prison or execution. He has confessed to plotting with al Qaeda to hijack planes and commit other crimes.

And good morning to you. I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta.

We begin with very sad news of Dana Reeve. Her husband was Hollywood's Superman, but Dana Reeve was a real life super hero to many. It's just a year and a half after the death of her husband, actor Christopher Reeve, Dana Reeve, too, has lost her battle. She was 44. In fact, just 10 days shy of her next birthday. Last August she announced that she had lung cancer. She leaves behind a 13-year- old son, Will. It was Dana's own iron will that drew the admiration of so many.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN, (voice over): The public image of Dana Reeve is one of extraordinary grace and devotion to her husband. She became Christopher Reeve's strongest ally and one-woman support system after he was paralyzed in a horse riding accident in 1995. That transformed her into an activist. She spent years pushing for better treatments and a possible cure for paralysis. Together, the couple founded the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center six years ago. After her husband's death, the board of directors of Christopher Reeve Foundation named her as chairperson to fill his seat. And it was less than a year after he died and just months after her mother died of ovarian cancer that Dana Reeve revealed the stunning news that she, a nonsmoker, was being treated for lung cancer.

DANA REEVE: And I got this diagnose in the summer and it's been -- you start to wonder. It's a rocky road. And -- but I do feel that with the support that I've received and just our family unit is so tight and that we're going to get through this like we got through everything else.

KAGAN: And there Dana Reeve did get through tough times with the help of the couple's family and friends. Some of them famous. But beyond her activism on spinal cord issues, there was another side to Dana Reeve, her role as mother. The couple had a teenage son, Will.

REEVE: This boy has had a lot of lessons that he's learned in life that I would rather he hadn't had to learn so young, frankly. And -- but at the same time it is a kind of gift and I think one of the greatest gifts we can give our children are the tools to face life's inevitable adversity. And he is the definition of resilience.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And we'll talk more about the Reeve family in just a moment. Right now let's talk about the medical side of this story. Lung cancer is an extremely aggressive disease. As you might remember, ABC News Anchor Peter Jennings also died of lung cancer last year. In fact, the vast majority of its victims die within five years of diagnosis. For a closer look at the disease, let's bring in our Senior Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Sanjay, good morning.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: I think one of the first things that caught people's attention with Dana Reeve was her age when the news of the diagnosis came out, also that she says she was a nonsmoker.

GUPTA: Yes, and both those things, Daryn, make her an unusual case certainly of lung cancer. The vast majority of people who get lung cancer are still smokers, and I think that's an important message that still needs to be emphasized. Because for those people, this could be a reversible cause of lung cancer. But what's interesting, Daryn, about 20 percent of women who have lung cancer are nonsmokers. About 10 percent of men, as well.

And you mentioned her age. Only about 3 percent of people that young actually develop lung cancer. Usually it's people in further advanced decades of their life. So she was unusual in both those regards, Daryn.

KAGAN: What about how quickly she went, Sanjay? As we were saying, it was only last August that she announced that she had been diagnosed. And all along she said that she was doing well and responding well to treatment.

GUPTA: Yes, you know, Daryn, I've got to tell you, the numbers just aren't that good when it comes to lung cancer at all. This has been a disease that is still the biggest cancer killer of all. You know, we focus a lot on breast cancer, we focus a lot on colon cancer, prostate, but lung cancer is the deadliest of all the cancers. About 60 percent of people who get lung cancer die within the first year.

And, Daryn, you remember, you and I talked about it. It was right after Peter Jennings had died that Dana Reeve came out and talked about it. And Peter Jennings survived only about four months with his lung cancer, as well. Unfortunately, this is not unusual. This is about 85 percent of people die within five years. And we're just not making a real good dent in lung cancer, Daryn.

KAGAN: The way Dana Reeve came to most people's attention was as a caretaker because she was so loyal and such a good caretaker of her husband, Christopher Reeve. But that takes its own toll. Any statistic or information about the stress of being a caretaker that it plays on someone's physical health, Sanjay?

GUPTA: Yes. You know, it's interesting that you ask that because there is something called a care giver burden or bereavement effect. You know, basically looking at someone who loses a spouse or has to take care of an ill spouse and they find it does have a specific effect. About two thirds of women, for example, who are taking care of an ill husband, this was in older people for the most part, but they themselves end up hospitalized. About two thirds. And about one-third will die within nine years after their spouse died as well. So, I mean, this clear -- it's harder to measure, obviously, Daryn.

KAGAN: Right.

GUPTA: It's harder to measure. You can't do a scan or something to measure something like that. But it definitely take as toll here I'm sure.

KAGAN: And then following something that you said just a few minutes ago. You were saying there's just not been that much progress in prolonging the lives of people who are diagnosed with this disease. Why not? Is it for lack of funds? I wouldn't think so.

GUPTA: You know, I'll tell you, this is interesting, Daryn, because I think about this a lot when it comes to lung cancer. First of all, I think a lot of people focus on breast cancer, for example. And lung cancer is a bigger killer. And whether or not that drives more funning towards breast cancer where some of that money might also should go towards lung cancer, I don't know.

I think the biggest problem really has to do with the fact that we don't know who has lung cancer until a lot of times the cancer is already developed. Think about it, Daryn, with breast cancer, for example, we have mammograms, with colon cancer we have colonoscopies, prostate cancer we have the PSA test. With lung cancer we don't have a good screening tool that's cost effective enough to be able to screen the nation.

And we need to do that. I don't know what that test is. I'm sure a lot of smart people are thinking about it. But by the time a lot of lung cancers are caught, Daryn, it's already very advanced and I think that's part of the reason the prognosis is so poor.

KAGAN: And, finally, another point that you were making, we are -- our jaws did drop about Dana Reeve being a nonsmoker, being young, but it is, for many people, a preventable disease and probably a great legacy of Dana Reeve would be for people just to quit smoking and not try to get this disease.

GUPTA: Yes, I think it's a good point there. And I hope people don't take away from this that, you know, just throw up their hands, there's nothing we can do about this. Smoking is still the biggest preventable cause of cancer related deaths in this country. You know, if I can do -- you and I talking about this right now can do nothing else, getting a few people to stop smoking would be a great thing. And the fact that Dana Reeve did not smoke shouldn't be a message to people that they can continue and, you know, have no increased risk. They certainly do have an increased risk.

KAGAN: Dr. Sanjay Gupta in New York City. Sanjay, thank you.

GUPTA: Thank you.

KAGAN: And now joining us by phone to talk about her memories of Dana Reeve is Kathy Lewis. She is the president of the Christopher Reeve Foundation.

Kathy, thank you for being here with us.

KATHY LEWIS, PRESIDENT, CHRISTOPHER REEVE FOUNDATION: You're very welcome.

KAGAN: And first let me start by expressing our condolences from all of us here at CNN. This must be a very difficult day for you and your organization.

LEWIS: Thank you. We are all just so sad.

KAGAN: I was reading it was just last Friday that you were able to visit with Dana?

LEWIS: Yes.

KAGAN: And what can you tell us about that visit?

LEWIS: You know what, Dana is really -- she was a wonderful person. And she was, even you know last week was strong and courageous and gracious and that's what she was known for and what I believe she'll be remembered for.

KAGAN: So many on the outside we -- the only access we had would be some interviews that she would give, her public appearances and she would say, I'm doing great, I'm responding well to treatment. Was there a time when it became evident that that wasn't the way things were going?

LEWIS: Well, I think as time progressed, that is what happened. And I think, as you heard in your interview before, that that is the typical progress of this unfortunate disease.

KAGAN: More importantly, let's talk about your friend's legacy.

LEWIS: Oh, you know what, Dana and Chris together were the most wonderful couple. I think they were, you know, the century's love story to tell you the truth. But Dana really, you know when they put this foundation together, Chris was very focused on finding a cure for paralysis and Dana was very focused on improving the quality of life of those living with paralysis and their care givers. So she actually started the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center here that helped millions of people every year get information and resources about living with paralysis. And that really is her legacy. She's made a huge difference in people's lives.

KAGAN: And the ultimate symbol as the care giver.

LEWIS: Absolutely. She is just always been passionate and gracious and courageous during other people -- her husband's struggle and her struggle.

KAGAN: And what happens with the foundation now, Kathy?

LEWIS: Well, the foundation, you know, will go forward just as she and Chris would have wanted us to. I mean we have an extremely dedicated board and a very talented staff that's been here for many years working very hard to help make their dreams come true.

KAGAN: You can't hear the story and think about her and think about Christopher and not think about their son, 13 years old and he's now lost both of his parents in the span of basically a year. I know it's a private time and I know a 13-year-old should be protected. Is there anything you can share with us of how he's being cared for or how he's doing?

LEWIS: Well, all I can tell you is he is in the loving arms of family and friends right now.

KAGAN: Well, that will provide some comfort to those who are sending out thoughts and prayers to the entire Reeve family and to the family of the foundation as well.

LEWIS: Thank you.

KAGAN: Kathy, thank you so much. Kathy Lewis, the president of the Christopher Reeve Foundation.

Now Kathie Lee Gifford actually had the last interview with Dana Reeve. She did that back in January and she's going to be joining me in just a little bit to talk about what Dana Reeve had to say on her last interview.

Meanwhile, it is 11 minutes past the hour. There is other tragic news. Minnesota and the sports world mourning the loss of one of the greatest sports heroes. Kirby Puckett died Monday after he suffer a stroke. He was just 45 years old.

Fans have set up a makeshift memorial outside the Metrodome, the stage for Puckett's most thrilling performances. He played his entire 12-year career with the Minnesota Twins leading the team to two World Series titles. Puckett was forced to retire in 1996 after glaucoma left him blind in one eye. He was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame five years ago and this morning Puckett is being remembered for the joy he brought to the game. A former Rick Aguilera once said, "it was his character that meant more to his teammates. He brought a great feeling to the clubhouse."

Now it might surprise you just how prevalent strokes are among Americans. Here now are a few facts. On average a stroke occurs every 45 seconds. Strokes are the third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer. This year Americans will pay nearly $58 billion for stroke related medical costs and disabilities. The best way to prevent a stroke is to reduce your risk factors. Coming up in the next hour of CNN LIVE TODAY, we'll talk with a medical expert about the risks and warning signs that you should be aware of.

And we're going to have much more on the life of Dana Reeve. We're going to hear from Kathie Lee Gifford. As I mentioned, she had the last interview with Dana Reeve and that took place just in January. And we'll get to that after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Looking at live pictures now. This is the Florida coast between Palm Beach and Broward Counties. A rescue underway as the main highway shut down. This is after a fiery pileup. It involved a tanker truck and at least a half dozen cars. Already we know at least five people have been injured, three of them serious, and there are reports at least two people were critically injured. As others are being rushed to the hospital, they're trying to do this rescue right now and get yet another person out of what appears to be a semi tractor trailer. We'll have more on that as it becomes available.

KAGAN: Right now we want to get back to the death, but more importantly the life of Dana Reeve. We are joined on the phone right now by Kathie Lee Gifford. She spoke with Dana Reeve in January. It was Reeve's last interview.

Kathie Lee, thank you for being with us this morning. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD, FRIEND OF DANA REEVE: Oh, you're welcome, Daryn. I'm sorry it's under this circumstance.

KAGAN: It is a very sad, and I think for many people, a shocking circumstance this morning. Let's go back to your interview back in January. I believe we have a part of that, that we can play.

GIFFORD: OK.

KAGAN: Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA REEVE: Lung cancer is the number one cancer. Of course, we're always looking for, you know, breast and ovarian and uterine and, you know, you don't think that I'm a nonsmoker and I live in the country, so I think I'm good. And so I was completely shocked.

GIFFORD: Well, you had a cough for quite a few weeks.

REEVE: I did. But people said, oh, allergies. Allergies.

GIFFORD: (INAUDIBLE).

REEVE: And then finally -- right, and it was the spring I thought, you know, but this has been around four weeks. And it was just a little, huh huh. So I went to the doctor and we took a chest x-ray.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: And that was Dana Reeve, as you can see, from back in January. Kathie Lee, how did you find her when you were with her? Her spirits look good. She's a natural spokesperson. There's a certain grace and exuberance about her even then just actually weeks before her death.

GIFFORD: There was a radiance about her. I just want everybody to understand right off the bat here that she and I were not close personal friends. I didn't know her well. I just happened to be the person that conducted the last sit-down interview with her. And I just felt real honored by it, Daryn.

She was really about the business of taking care of herself at that time and her son. She had just recently lost her mother, as well as her husband. So this is a woman who was concentrating on just getting better for her family's sake.

And she was there for her friend, Mark Messier (ph). So she was caught up in the joy of his evening. You could tell that. That she just adored this man. She loved hockey. They were a big hockey family. And she wanted to sing for him. People don't realize that she was a very good singer and I watched her breath control that night and she wasn't gasping for air. She sang beautifully.

She looked lovely. She was wearing a wig, of course. She had been through chemo and radiation. And she was very thin, which you would expect somebody going through what she was going through. But there was a beauty about her that was -- that seemed to -- a healthiness.

It's just, that's what's so surprising about this when I heard it on the radio this morning. I was absolutely stunned because she told me that day that the tumor was shrinking and she was the picture of optimism that night. And again, you don't know whether it was because she was so caught up in a wonder evening but I truly believe that night that she believed she was going to be (INAUDIBLE).

KAGAN: Well, and you would think it wasn't just about the evening. And we should just explain for those not familiar, Mark Messier, the hockey great, he retired and he chose to have her sing at his retirement ceremony.

But it wasn't just that evening or your particular interview, no matter where you see her interviewed, whether it was through all the years with her husband, Christopher, or even after and getting through that or talking about the lung cancer, there was just an optimism and a grace about her.

GIFFORD: There surely was. And, you know, in the world we live in today when one out of two marriages break up because somebody has a hangnail, you know you look at a woman like that who for almost 10 years, I guess, since Chris's accident was just a picture of unconditional love. And we don't see enough of that in this world. You know, somebody who truly lived their love and doesn't just talk about it. And she lived it and she will be I'm sure dearly missed by those who loved her personally. But those of us who didn't but were just inspire by her.

KAGAN: Well, at the top of the list of those who loved her, you can't listen and think about the story and not think about her son who I would think is a similar age to your children, Kathie Lee.

GIFFORD: Well her son, Will, is 13. And you think about that. A young man becoming a man without his father. He never really knew his father as the Superman we all knew him. I think Will was three or something like that when the accident happened.

So this was a young man who grew up knowing tragedy. And yet every time you saw them, you pretty much saw them together. That little boy was by his dad's side. And then the loss of his grandmother, which I guess he was extremely close to his grandmother.

And then that night I remember just Dana's eyes tearing up when she talked about her son. What a special night it was to be there at Madison Square Garden celebrating a friend they loved, Mark Messier, and a sport they all loved as a family. They were a real hockey family. And you could just tell that everything she was doing was for him in the way that all of us as mothers understand. And that alone I thought was going to keep her going and fight the good fight.

And that was my first thought when I was in the car listening to the news today and I heard that she had passed away. I just prayed for her son right away. Oh, Lord, this child has lost his father, his grandmother and his mother all within the last year and a half.

KAGAN: Which is too much even for an adult to take let alone . . .

GIFFORD: It would be. It would be for me, Daryn, you know. And I just hope that people surround him with love and tenderness right now and compassion and they give him privacy. I just can't bear the thought of cameras in the poor little boy's face right now.

KAGAN: Right, which is the other side. I had a chance to talk with Kathy Lewis, the president of the Christopher Reeve Foundation and I couched the question, because you do want to respect the privacy of a 13-year old boy and yet people are going to really wonder. She told us that all people need to know is that he's surrounded and in the arms of a loving family.

GIFFORD: Right.

KAGAN: Yes. Kathie Lee Gifford, thank you for sharing that interview . . .

GIFFORD: Thank you, Daryn.

KAGAN: And those moments with Dana Reeve. And thank you for your thoughts as well.

GIFFORD: Thank you.

KAGAN: We appreciate your time.

Well, there is breaking news to follow right now. We are watching this rescue taking place in South Florida. This is more on the accident we've been following here. Captain Don Delucia with the Palm Beach County Fire and Rescue is on the phone with us right now.

Captain, what can you tell us about the accident?

CAPTAIN DON DELUCIA, PALM BEACH COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: Well, the information that I've received, the latest information is, we still have one victim trapped in the cab of one of the semis. The whole accident was caused by some very, very heavy fog this morning. The gentlemen that's trapped is pinned in his cab and against the guardrail, which has really giving rescue workers a hard time.

KAGAN: Yes. Let me just jump in her a second, Captain, because I don't know if you're able to see our pictures but we are watching live pictures provided to us by our affiliate WSVN and it looks like they were just able to get him out and he's on a stretcher and they are taking this man I hope to an ambulance right now.

DELUCIA: Well, that's good, because it was severe enough they have a surgeon on scene waiting to possibly amputate his arm.

KAGAN: Wow.

DELUCIA: So this is good -- this is real good news. KAGAN: Yes, it does appear they're able to get him out.

Besides the fog, any idea about the cause of the accident?

DELUCIA: No. I just spoke with one of the officers on scene a little while ago and he said that they believe the heavy fog is what caused the accident. There was a tanker truck, gasoline tanker truck involved in the accident and it did catch fire and apparently they have been unable to locate the driver of the tanker truck at this point in time. So there is one missing person that they're trying to locate. Other than that, it looks like we've had somewhere between five and six patients total with no fatalities.

KAGAN: And any highways closed down as a cause of the accident?

DELUCIA: A good section of U.S. 27 is closed down just north of the Palm Beach County, Broward County line.

KAGAN: And that creating any traffic problems right now?

DELUCIA: I'm sure it is. That's a heavily traveled area. Right now they're transporting a lot of sugar cane from out in the glades areas, so it's probably causing a lot of traffic problem.

KAGAN: All right. We will continue to watch this. Captain Delucia with the Palm Beach County Fire Department. Thank you for that.

DELUCIA: You're welcome.

KAGAN: And we're going to go ahead and take a break. But as we do, let's go ahead and check the markets. They have been open just about an hour. The Dow, as you can see, is up some. It's up about 25 points. The Nasdaq, though, headed in the other direction. It is down 7. We'll take a break. We're back with much more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Now we turn now to widespread concerns over Iran's nuclear program. In Vienna today or tomorrow, a new report on Iran's program will be presented to the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency. Behind the scenes, diplomats still seek a solution. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets with her Russian counterpart in Washington.

And talk in another part of the nation's capital focuses on Mideast security. Right now Vice President Dick Cheney is addressing an American-Israeli interest group, as we look at live pictures from that event. Jim Walsh is a research associate at M.I.T.'s Security Studies program. He recently visited Iran and he joins us live now from Boston.

Jim, good morning. Good to see you.

JIM WALSH, SECURITY STUDIES, M.I.T.: Good morning, Daryn. Good to see you.

KAGAN: What did you find in Iran?

WALSH: Well, I found some people who are worried about a confrontation with the United States, that would prefer that there not be a confrontation and that would like to find some middle path, some compromise out of this. But I also have to say, there's a lot of suspicion about U.S. motives. A lot of Iranians think, well, if it's not the nuclear issue, it's going to be something else. They're going to come after us on something else. That we can't satisfy the U.S. And some anger over the recent Indian nuclear deal that the U.S. signed. The Iranians said to me, how is it that the U.S. can give civilian nuclear technology to a country that detonate a nuclear bomb and then turn around and hassle Iran? So mixed signals. I think in the end though that . . .

KAGAN: What would you say to them?

WALSH: Pardon me?

KAGAN: If you were in a conversation with Iranians, what would you say back to them?

WALSH: Well, I said that they're wrong, that it's not just the nuclear issue followed by another issue, that the nuclear issue is special and unique. And it's not just the United States that's concerned here. It's Europe. It's China. It's Russia. These are all countries that were sympathetic to Iran that in the past year have moved closer to the U.S. position. And it also includes the International Atomic Energy Agency. So I said . . .

KAGAN: Well, let's talk about that.

WALSH: You're making a big . . .

KAGAN: OK. Let me finish your thought. You're making what?

WALSH: I was going to say, I tried to tell them, they're making a big mistake if they sort of think of this as a giant conspiracy theory on the part of the U.S. They need to focus on IAEA, on the International Atomic Energy Agency, and try to get it resolved there. That's the best way to go about this.

KAGAN: We do hear about the IAEA. To most people, I think it sounds like vegetable soup. What is it, and how does it play into this and how might it help? Or how might it not?

WALSH: The IAEA -- yes, the IAEA is the International Atomic Energy Agency. Its director, Mr. ElBaradei, won the Nobel Peace Prize this year. And essentially, it's the one international organization that is watching over everything nuclear. It enforces -- or doesn't enforce; it sort of administers all the nuclear treaties, like the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. And it sends inspectors to check on countries' individual nuclear programs to make sure they're not violating those treaties or their safeguards obligation.

It's sort of the nuclear watchdog for the world. And it's very important because most international organizations are weak. Let's be honest. They're weak. But IAEA is different. If ElBaradei comes out and says Iran has no nuclear program, I think that takes a lot of pressure off. But if he comes out and says there's a problem here, then the Europeans, the Chinese, the Russians are going to join the U.S. and put pressure on Iran. So I think they're a critical lynch pin in all this.

KAGAN: And so we're waiting to hear what they're going to say?

WALSH: Well, we know sort of what they've said. They -- ElBaradei leaked a report earlier in the week that basically said, hey, we cannot close this Iranian file because there are outstanding questions. We cannot verify that Iran is living up to all its obligations.

But it is also said -- ElBaradei also said this week that he would like to see a compromise. And part of the reason why you see Cheney and others giving speeches today is their coalition is starting to unravel a little bit these last couple of days. The Russians have made a last minute proposal. The IAEA, ElBaradei seems to support that proposal. The U.S. opposes the proposal. So there's a full court press that's happening even as we speak.

KAGAN: And we'll be watching it. Thanks for giving us some perspective. Jim Walsh from MIT. Thank you.

WALSH: Thank you, Dana (sic).

KAGAN: Welcome back to the U.S., by the way.

We might also hear comments from Iran from the Pentagon in the next hour. We do plan live coverage of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's briefing. It's scheduled to begin around 11:15 Eastern.

To domestic politics. Representative Tom DeLay facing his first primary challenge today, but the 11-term congressman will not be in his Texas district. An aide says delay will instead be in Washington for House votes and events, including a lobbyist-hosted fundraiser. One of the three Republicans opposing DeLay criticized him for spending election night with lobbyists. DeLay is awaiting trial on money laundering charges linked to campaign financing.

Texas Governor Rick Perry isn't facing any challenges from his own party today, but two Democrats are squaring off a chance to take on Perry in November.

Another gubernatorial candidate hopes Texans stay away from the polls today. Good old Kinky Friedman needs more than 45,000 signatures of registered voters who don't vote in the primary. His campaign has 64 days to collect those signatures to get the singer- turned-novelist-turned-candidate on the November ballot.

We're going to be back in just a moment. We're going back to New Orleans. We're going to talk more about the new search for bodies. I'll be talking to the man that heads the search effort for the New Orleans Fire Department.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Victims of Hurricane Katrina and Rita may not have the long-term answers they so desperately need, but short-term relief remains in hand. President Bush has signed off on a 13-week extension for unemployment benefits. The aid had been scheduled to end Saturday. At least 165,000 people still qualify, including small business owners and self-employed workers.

On Capitol Hill this hour, the governors of Katrina-ravaged states are looking for help -- as we look at live pictures from there. They are addressing the extra $18 billion in hurricane relief that President Bush requested last month. The governors of Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Alabama are appearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee. Here is some of that impassioned testimony that took place just a few minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO, LOUISIANA: We have been waiting for this funding since President Bush made his moving speech on Jackson Square in September. Please do not make us wait any longer and please help to honor his commitment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Demolition of dozens of New Orleans area homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina begins on a slow note. That's due in part to Sunday's discovery of a mummified body in the attic of a home. Now another search and recovery is under way that goes beyond human ability.

Joining us by phone is Chief Steve Glenn. He heads the special operations unit of the New Orleans Fire Department.

Chief, good morning. Thanks for being here with us.

CHIEF STEVE GLENN, NEW ORLEANS FIRE DEPARTMENT: Good morning.

KAGAN: What can you tell us about this house-to-house search?

GLENN: We actually have two simultaneous missions going on at the moment. We still have addresses from Louisiana find families. We're going in and clearing those homes. No remains at those addresses. Simultaneously, we are clearing homes that have -- they come off the foundations and are actually blocking right of ways.

Homes that are in the streets or are blocking streets and sidewalks. The Corps has come down and is going to remove those -- or going to remove those homes. And prior to that removal, we're going in with the dogs to make sure that nothing but debris is on the piles.

KAGAN: But Chief, that hasn't been the case. You've already found at least one, perhaps two, bodies?

GLENN: Well, that was from the Louisiana find families. Those are from suspect addresses, not from the list the Corps had. KAGAN: Right. Why so long? Why has it taken so long to find those bodies?

GLENN: Well, actually, we were just sent down again last week. We resumed the operation down here. And that list that we get from Louisiana find families is being updated every day. There are people that are cleared from that list. Family members have come in contact with people. And then there are other people that had -- didn't have family or were by themselves who are just getting reported to us.

KAGAN: How long -- much longer do you think the search is going on this way, chief?

GLENN: It's difficult to say at that point, because it just varies so much going from house to house. Sometimes we will go into some of these homes, and with the amount of water that they received, nothing is where you expect it to be. Furniture is upside down. There might be two or three feet of mud that settled into the house. The ceilings have collapsed. We did a situation like that. In order for us to actually clear a house and say there are no remains at this home, it may take half a day to clear a house.

KAGAN: Well, and I know you're...

GLENN: So it's...

KAGAN: Go ahead, I'm sorry.

GLENN: It's just difficult to be able to predict exactly how long it will take.

KAGAN: I know you're doing this with the help of others from other states, and I know it's a big job and there's a lot of work ahead of you. I wish you well with the work. It is Chief Steve Glenn from the New Orleans Fire Department.

GLENN: Thank you.

KAGAN: And going back to our top story, shocking news for a lot of people, Dana Reeve, the widow of Christopher Reeve, today announced that she had lost her battle with lung cancer. Only 44 years old, just 10 days short of her 45th birthday.

On the phone with me now is our own Larry King. Larry, who has interviewed both Dana and Christopher Reeve on a number of occasions.

Larry, thanks for calling in and talking with us.

LARRY KING, "LARRY KING LIVE" HOST: My pleasure, Dana.

KAGAN: I'm sure when you woke up this morning and heard the news it was shocking indeed.

KING: Yes, Dana Reeve, she was a special lady, as other people have already told you. One of a kind is a trite kind of phrase, where she was one of a kind in her loyalty to her husband, in her whole outlook to life. One of the great memories of my life is the memorial service for Christopher Reeve. I've never seen a more poignant yet upbeat service. It was incredible from start to finish, and her poise, her manner, her way of -- they say people die as they live. I would bet she died bravely and well.

KAGAN: Have you had a chance to interview her in the year since Christopher Reeve died?

KING: Oh, yes, I've interviewed her -- gee, I guess twice since he died. And on a number of occasions before he died. And of course interviewed them together when he was in the chair. I didn't know her when -- before the accident. I knew of her. I know Chris a long, long time. I knew Chris from Broadway when did he the play "The Fifth of July," and I knew him before "Superman." But I didn't know her; I only knew of her.

KAGAN: In the interview -- you had a chance to interview her since she was diagnosed with lung cancer?

KING: No. I knew she had lung cancer, but not since she was diagnosed with it.

KAGAN: But just as the woman herself and what you took away from interviewing her with Chris, just the grace, and the dignity and the strength?

KING: Yes, and as Dr. Gupta told you earlier, this is the worst of all cancers. And it's very hard to detect. We don't have a good test for it, at least a test that people can easily afford. It's -- most of the times people think it hits smokers only, but I know four people who didn't smoke who died of lung cancer. In fact, a friend of mine's girlfriend who doesn't smoke was just diagnosed with it a week ago. It's a terrible, terrible disease. Cancer is a horrid disease to begin with.

But you know, She sang at the Feinstein's (ph), at the Regency Hotel. She's a very good singer.

KAGAN: An excellent singer. A very talented performer in her own right. You know, Larry, one of the things that you're so good at and your staff is so good at is putting together a show after someone passes and bringing together people who love that person and helping tell the story of that person's life and legacy. Perhaps I think I can sense a show in the making in honor of Dana Reeve, and both the Reeves.

KING: Good forecast, Miss Kagan. They're on top of it right now. And we are going to do that tonight.

KAGAN: Well, we look forward to that. And of course that would be 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 6:00 p.m. Pacific. Larry King. Larry, thank you.

If you're out on the West Coast, I know it's early for you.

KING: You're welcome. KAGAN: Larry King.

We're going to talk a lot more about Dana Reeve.

Another shocking death, Kirby Puckett the star of the Minnesota Twins, passing away too early as well. We'll talk about his life and especially his health legacy, what it means for people across the country. That still is ahead.

I'm back after this.

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KAGAN: Been talking a lot about Dana Reeve today. She lost her battle with lung cancer yesterday. She was 44 years old, a nonsmoker, which catch a lot of people by surprise. How can a nonsmoker die of lung cancer? We've talked about that a little bit. But if you're going to talk about lung cancer, you also have to talk about smoking. And with the death of Peter Jennings last year and Dana Reeve's news, it has caught a lot of people's attention and encouraged them to quit smoking.

With more on that, here's Sanjay Gupta.

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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.

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KAGAN: Once again, Dana Reeve has said that she was a non- smoker, yet today she loses her battle against lung cancer. Much more on her life and legacy ahead here on CNN LIVE TODAY. First a quick break.

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(WEATHER REPORT) KAGAN: Also coming up, Dana Reeve's early death highlights the growing rate of lung cancer in women. We'll look at what might be behind this disturbing trend. The second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins after a quick break.

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