November 20, 2008
Quick Guide
Trachea Transplant - Learn why one woman's windpipe is being called a milestone for medicine.
Safe Haven Strife - Consider why Nebraska is looking to amend a controversial safe haven law.
Worth the Cost? - Find out why some gift cards may not be worth as much this holiday season.
Transcript
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Closing in on the weekend; opening up a new edition of CNN Student News! I'm Carl Azuz. These are your headlines.
First Up: In the Headlines
AZUZ: Battle on the high seas! An Indian warship traded fire with pirates on Tuesday, leaving the hijacker's boat burned and badly damaged. This happened near the Horn of Africa, a region where, as we mentioned yesterday, pirate attacks have been on the rise this year.
Stock market stumbles! The Dow Jones Industrial Average took a big dip yesterday, dropping more than 400 points. The economic indicator, which gives an idea of how the overall market is doing, finished the day at its lowest level in more than five years.
Bailing out the big three? Leading U.S. automakers were on Capitol Hill yesterday, asking Congress for a financial bailout as they struggle through the current economic crisis. But they are facing an uphill battle. Some lawmakers believe the industry is struggling because of problems it created for itself, and the Senate has canceled a vote on the issue that was scheduled for today.
And a campaign conclusion! Longtime Republican Senator Ted Stevens has conceded the race in Alaska to his Democratic opponent, Mark Begich. With the win, Democrats now hold a 58-40 advantage in the U.S. Senate, with races in Georgia and Minnesota still undecided.
Shoutout
GEORGE RAMSAY, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Time for the Shoutout! Which of these body parts is known as your windpipe? Is it your: A) Alveoli, B) Esophagus, C) Larynx or D) Trachea? You've got three seconds -- GO! The trachea, or windpipe, is the tube that carries air to and from your lungs. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!
AZUZ: So, obviously, you kind of need your trachea. But one woman's new windpipe is being called a "milestone in medicine." That's because doctors built it using her own stem cells! They then inserted the organ during a recent transplant operation. It was a complete success, and some surgeons and scientists think that it could open the door for all sorts of medical advances. Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes us through the steps of this recent procedure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Behind every medical breakthrough, there is a story, and you are looking at one: 30-year-old Claudia Castillo, playing with her kids. She is proof that stem cells can make a difference. Just a few months ago, a scene like this would have been impossible. Her lungs and trachea were badly damaged by a terrible bout with tuberculosis. Look here and here: critical narrowings, not enough air getting into her lungs. So, her doctors decided to build her a new airway using adult stem cells taken from her bone marrow, not from the embryonic stem cells that cause so much controversy. It has never been done before in a human.
PAOLO MACCHIARINI, SURGEON, HOSPITAL CLINIC OF BARCELONA: The jump between animal investigation and human investigation was a big sort of mystery to me as well, but we succeeded.
GUPTA: Pictures tell it best. Take a look at this: Doctors took a donor trachea from a 51-year-old man who had died. For six weeks, they methodically stripped away all the cells, leaving just a matrix, or scaffolding. Then slowly, they begin to build up a new trachea, using Claudia's stem cells and cells from a healthy part of her trachea. The transplant was next; rare shots inside the operating room. Adult stem cell transplants are not new. A heart valve was regrown in April of 2007. In 2004, scientists rebuilt bladder muscles using injected stem cells. And bone marrow is commonly transplanted to treat leukemia and other types of cancer. Four days after her transplant, doctors said Claudia's windpipe was "almost indistinguishable" from a healthy patient's. Today, she has no complications and no signs of rejecting the transplanted tissue.
CLAUDIA CASTILLO, TRANSPLANT PATIENT (TRANSLATED): It's a long process, but 4 months after they operated on me, it's much better. I'm fine now.
GUPTA: Doctors say they hope their success will open doors for future transplants to be performed, and to help even more patients return to their normal lives. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Word to the Wise
RAMSAY: A Word to the Wise...
safe haven (noun) a place of protection or shelter
source: www.dictionary.com
AZUZ: When Nebraska passed a certain law a few months ago, it hoped to establish itself as a safe haven for infants that weren't wanted by their parents. The problem is, 35 young people have been abandoned since the law went into effect, and none of them are infants! In fact, all but six have been over the age of ten! Sean Callebs examines this controversial legislation and how Nebraska lawmakers are hoping to change it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It wasn't supposed to be like this. Nebraska lawmakers are set to close a legal loophole this week to make sure that only infants less than 30 days old can be abandoned at the state's hospitals under its safe haven law. Since it became law in July, any parent can legally abandon children of any age by declaring two simple words: "safe haven."
CALLEBS: Heartbreaking, isn't it?
COURTNEY ANDERSON, SOCIAL WORKER: Absolutely. Absolutely. It's unbelievable the cases that we're seeing.
CALLEBS: Often, social worker Courtney Anderson has been the first comforting face children find.
ANDERSON: Some children have been begging their parents or guardians not to leave. They might not really understand why they are being left at the hospital, but they know that they are being left, and the parent or guardian might be fleeing.
CALLEBS: Legislators admit a certain "oops" factor.
BRAD ASHFORD, (R) NEBRASKA STATE SENATOR: We didn't think that it would be used to the extent it was. We didn't anticipate children coming from other states.
CALLEBS: Parents like Lavennia Coover say they've abandoned kids with mental health issues they simply can no longer control. Coover told lawmakers she left her 11-year-old son Skyler at the hospital after enduring years of abuse and fighting.
LAVENNIA COOVER, MOTHER: Around 11:45 that night, I gave Skyler a kiss and a hug and I told him I loved him and I went home.
CALLEBS: Many abandoned children end up in Nebraska's famed "Boys Town," started by Father Flanagan nearly a century ago. The director says, consider this before criticizing parents or the state.
REV. STEVEN BOES, GIRLS AND BOYS TOWN: I think it shows that what's going on is there are parents who are so desperate to get their kids help, that they just don't know what to do.
CALLEBS: Lawmakers know they have been roundly criticized for the way the initial safe haven law was crafted.
CALLEBS: Is there anything you wish that the legislature would have done differently, thinking back?
ASHFORD: No. I mean, basically, everyone stood up and said we are a caring state, we're gonna address this issue. I am proud of that.
CALLEBS: Friday is the soonest the amendment can become law. With the window apparently closing, both lawmakers and social workers fear that more parents will abandon their children at hospitals in the state over the next two days. Sean Callebs, CNN, Lincoln, Nebraska.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Promo
AZUZ: As you can imagine, this story's gotten a lot of media attention. We're sure you've got some thoughts about it, and we want to hear them! Head to our blog at CNNStudentNews.com and tell us what you think.
AZUZ: Some of you have written on our blog that you're not expecting as many gifts this holiday season. Stores aren't expecting as much profit, and gift cards are also expected to take a hit, with sales expected to fall six percent this year from last year. Christine Romans tallies up some reasons why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN REPORTER: Still holding onto that gift card from the Sharper Image or Bombay Company? Too late. Out of business. How about Linens 'n' Things? Better move fast. It's closing shop and liquidating. Consumers will lose $100 million this year on worthless gift cards from restaurants and stores that have gone belly up. It's tough out there for retailers. Mervyn's is going out of business for good. CompUSA has closed most of its stores. Starbucks is shutting down about 600 stores. Circuit City has filed for bankruptcy. Tod Marks writes a blog for Consumer Reports called Tightwad Tod.
TOD MARKS, CONSUMER REPORTS: What I would suggest people do if they have a gift card from a Circuit City or another store that happens to be in Chapter 11 right now, I would say run, don't walk, to that store and buy something quickly, because you just don't know when the plug may be pulled.
ROMANS: For now, your Circuit City gift card is safe. A judge Monday said the retailer could continue to accept them, and even issue more cards while it reorganizes. And the big retail trade lobby says have no fear.
ELLEN DAVIS, NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION: Most gift cards in this country, regardless whether a retailer has declared bankruptcy, are perfectly safe and can be redeemed.
ROMANS: In many cases, the bankruptcy court allows retailers to accept gift cards, even though the company is in Chapter 11.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Before We Go
AZUZ: Before we go, a dazzling display of domino downfall. A year of planning, eight weeks to set up, more than 4.3 million dominoes, all to see it come crashing down. But man, does it look cool when it does. The event in the Netherlands nabbed a new world record, so I guess all that hard work, and the demolition of it, was well worth it.
Goodbye
AZUZ: We'll stack up a new show for you again tomorrow, so we'll see you then.
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