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CNN LIVE AT DAYBREAK

Schiavo: What Next?; Rice Overseas; Kids & Cells

Aired March 21, 2005 - 05:30   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
"Now in the News."

A lawyer for Terri Schiavo's parents is asking a federal court in Tampa for an emergency injunction. It would order the brain-damaged woman's feeding tube reinserted. Congress passed and President Bush signed a bill overnight to transfer jurisdiction from the Florida state courts to federal courts.

President Bush heads west this morning on another Social Security sales trip. He'll push his Social Security plan today in Tucson, in Denver and in Albuquerque.

Prosecutors in the Michael Jackson case may shift focus this week away from the alleged child molestation itself. The prosecutors may concentrate on allegations Jackson held the victim's family captive at his Neverland Ranch.

A funnel cloud believed to be a tornado has ripped through south San Francisco knocking out power to 1,500 homes and businesses. The storm shattered windows, damaged roofs, but luckily, Chad, nobody got hurt.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, really. You could kind of see that a little bit there on the video, although never actually saw it touching down. But you can see the little hanger thing going on up there.

Good morning, everybody.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Things are moving quickly in the Terri Schiavo case. Just about five hours ago, the House passed a bill aimed at keeping the brain-damaged woman alive. President Bush signed that bill into law at 1:11 Eastern this morning. The bill authorizes a federal court in Florida to review the case. And CNN is getting word the judge is doing that right now.

In the meantime, President Bush has issued a statement. Let me read it to you. He says "today, I signed into law a bill that will allow federal courts to hear a claim by or on behalf of Terri Schiavo for violation of her rights relating to the withholding or withdrawal of food, fluids, or medical treatment necessary to sustain her life. In cases like this one, where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws, and our courts should have a presumption in favor of life" -- end quote.

CNN legal analyst Kendall Coffey has been up all night long watching the drama unfold in Washington. He has wiped the sleep from his eyes, and he's joining us for a look at the next legal steps in this case.

Good morning -- Kendall.

KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning -- Carol.

COSTELLO: David Gibbs, Schiavo's parent's lawyer, says he's on his way to file a lawsuit and a restraining order. Can you explain?

COFFEY: And it's sleepless in Washington, sleepless in Tampa with this judge, because the law itself will not cause hydration and nutritional tubes to be reinserted to Terri Schiavo. It's going to require something from the judge. Right now it appears it's the federal district judge in Tampa who probably has been working through the weekend in anticipation of these issues, following it through the media, just as all of us have.

COSTELLO: OK, now wait a minute, what if the federal judge rules against what Congress has passed? Is that possible?

COFFEY: Well it is possible. And Michael Schiavo's position is going to be ignore them, judge, they don't have any business telling a federal judge what to do in a specific case. That violates the doctrine we've been hearing about, separation of powers, the basic principle that judges can't tell presidents how to conduct a war and the legislature can't tell judges what to do in a specific case involving a specific individual.

But this case has defied all prediction, Carol. So whether or not some time this morning an order is going to be issued from the federal court in Tampa ordering that hydration and nutrition be reinserted, no one can know that.

COSTELLO: Well from what I understand, they're getting ready to move Terri Schiavo from the hospice to a hospital right now. So they're pretty much counting on this federal judge to rule in their favor.

COFFEY: Well when you're in this kind of a very, very extreme emergency, you get ready, and obviously that's the hope. It's up to the judge. And he has to make, assuming it's the Judge Moody (ph) who had the case on Friday that's still with the case, he has to reach a determination that there is enough validity to the issues being raised by the parents of Terri Schiavo, not deciding them on the merits, not making a final decision, but enough validity to keep the case going. And the only way to keep the case going to have time to consider it is to keep Terri Schiavo alive.

COSTELLO: OK, Kendall, let me ask you this, is there enough pressure on the judge, because you know the term activist judge has been used a lot during this process, would there be sufficient pressure on this judge to rule in favor of the Schindler's even though he may not want to?

COFFEY: Well you asked a great question, Carol, because federal judges are very proud of the fact that they go by the book. They rule on the law and try to cause all of the public pressure to disappear in their mind's eye.

But if this is a very, very close case in the judge's mind, then you get the sense that the judge is going to give any reasonable doubt in favor of Terri Schiavo and the application by the parents. No matter what the judge does, whoever disagrees with what that judge does is going to call it an activist judge who is ignoring, you know, the law. So this judge is going to catch plenty of heat no matter what he does.

COSTELLO: Kendall Coffey, live this morning on DAYBREAK, thank you.

Let's go back to the drama in Washington. Forty-seven House Democrats voted with the Republican majority in the Schiavo case.

So let's go "Beyond the Soundbite" for some of that debate leading up to the vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM DELAY (R), MAJORITY LEADER: I say again, the legal and political issues may be complicated but the moral ones are not. A young woman in Florida is being dehydrated and starved to death. For 58 long hours, her mouth has been parched and her hunger pains have been throbbing. If we do not act, she will die of thirst.

However helpless, Mr. Speaker, she is alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN-SHULTZ (D), FLORIDA: This type of decision happens every single day to thousands of families across America. Where will we stop if we allow this to go forward? Today it will be Terri Schiavo. Tomorrow it will be someone's brother or a constituent's uncle or next week a family member, God forbid, of one of my colleagues or another constituent. Do we really want to set the precedent of this great body, the United States Congress, to insert ourselves in the middle of families' private matters all across America?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R), TENNESSEE: Now I interpret, and a lot of people have looked at the decision by the Florida judiciary and they interpret this, as being something that says our society, our country should be willing to accept and facilitate the murder of an adult human being, a human being who has not committed any crime at all whatsoever. I don't think the founders of our country or our Constitution would agree with that decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA: Tonight this leadership is a taillight. It is not the headlight for democracy and for a citizen's right to privacy that it should be. It is a demagoguery. It is a step in where we have no business. This is walking where the angels fear to tread. We are playing with a young woman's life for the sake of politics. This is not about values. This is not about religion. It is pandering for political gain with the next election in mind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That's how passionate it got. The bill passed the House on a vote of 203 to 58. Forty-seven Democrats went along with Republicans.

Still to come this morning, the nation's top diplomat is returning from Asia this morning. Is it mission accomplished? When we come back, we'll look at Condoleezza Rice and her weeklong trip. That's four minutes from now.

Plus, can you hear the warnings now? At 50 minutes past the hour, we'll bring you new concerns about your children and cell phones. You won't want to miss it.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Monday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: She spent a week visiting Asian capitals, now Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is on her way back to the United States. Rice wrapped up the trip in China where nuclear tensions over North Korea topped her agenda.

CNN's Stan Grant joins us live now from Beijing.

Hello -- Stan.

We apologize for that, obviously we're having audio problems from Beijing. When we get Stan Grant's mike working, we'll go back to China.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:44 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning. A federal judge is deciding whether or not to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. This, after President Bush overnight signed into law an emergency bill that shifts the case to federal court. Congress passed the Schiavo bill after a weekend of heated and emotional debate.

Authorities in Florida say 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford was sexually assaulted after her kidnapping and then killed a day or two later. Suspect John Couey has been booked in Florida on unrelated sex offender charges.

In money news, the price of gas is now at record high levels. And, boy, they're expected to go up even more. The Lundberg Survey finds self-serve regular nationwide averages $2.10 a gallon.

In culture, who doesn't like the movie about singer Ray Charles? It's now won four NAACP Image Awards, including outstanding actor for Jamie Foxx.

And in sports, Lebron James scored 56 points. Oh gosh, 56 points against the Toronto Raptors, becoming the youngest player to score more than 50 points in an NBA game. Alas, can you believe this, Chad, it wasn't enough.

MYERS: You know all of this talk about basketball, we haven't talked about racing yet -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, racing.

MYERS: When are we going to get to that, come on.

COSTELLO: Who won? I actually watched a little bit of it.

MYERS: It was a great race. It was by far the best Nextel Cup Race this year so far.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: Fantastic!

MYERS: Sure.

COSTELLO: Thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: OK.

COSTELLO: We have Stan Grant's audio problems worked out, his mike is working, so let's head live to Beijing.

Hello -- Stan Grant.

STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed we have sorted the problems out. No problem hearing Condoleezza Rice, though, on her trip here to Beijing. She's been talking very loud and very clear about North Korea. Very much of the (INAUDIBLE) throughout this Asian tour tried to get North Korea to come back to the negotiating table and give up its nuclear weapons program. Condoleezza Rice calling on China to use its influence as (INAUDIBLE) to get Pyongyang back to negotiations and giving every indication the U.S. could be running out of patience on this issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: We have determined that this is going to be done in a multilateral context. Of course if we cannot find a way to resolve the North Korean issue in this way, then we will have to find other means to do it. That goes without saying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRANT: Other means to do it, exactly what that could be still open to speculation. It could be sanctions. That's been talked about in the past. However, Secretary Rice saying the United States has no plans to attack North Korea and respects North Korea's sovereignty, but it must come back to the negotiations and must come back to the negotiations unconditionally.

Another issue very much on her mind was the question of Taiwan, China passing an anti-secession bill recently drawing a line in the sand with Taiwan and authorizing the use of military force if Taiwan takes moves towards independence.

Condoleezza Rice saying that this creates (INAUDIBLE) across the Taiwan Strait (ph), calling on China's leaders to ease that tension. China's position, however, is that this is an internal affair and it will simply tolerate no outside interference -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Stan Grant live from Beijing this morning.

Condoleezza Rice, by the way, on her way back to Washington this morning.

Still ahead on DAYBREAK, cell phones and your children. Sure, they mean you can keep tabs, but do health risks outweigh that benefit? Stick around, we have the latest information for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Cell phones are all the rage, everyone has one, even the smallest among us. Kids as young as 6 or 7 carry a phone so mom and dad can keep in constant touch. But, and I know you've heard this before, are you endangering your child by giving him or her a cell phone?

A University of Washington professor says electromagnetic radiation may damage DNA and cause benign brain tumors. Seventy to 80 percent of energy emitted from the antenna is absorbed by the head. Brain tumors usually take 30 to 40 years to develop and cell phone use for at least 10 years might increase the risk of that rare benign tumor. So, scientists are now urging caution.

In Britain, the chairman of the National Radiological Protection Board is advising you should not give your child a cell phone.

Dr. Michael Clark from the NRPB is live in London this morning.

Good morning.

DR. MICHAEL CLARK, NRPB SPOKESMAN: Good morning.

COSTELLO: The possible danger here is developing a brain tumor. But really, is there definitive proof of that?

CLARK: No, not definitive proof. No, there's no actual hard evidence of a health effect from the use of cell phones. But it is early days. This is a new thing human beings are doing which is holding a small radio transmitter close to their head. So we have urged precaution based on the fact that there are uncertainties in our knowledge about the effects of doing that.

COSTELLO: And what are you suggesting parents do?

CLARK: Well we're not suggesting they should never be given a phone. As you mentioned in your intro, if a child is going out, you know let's say a 7 or 8-year-old child wants to go out on their own for the first time and parents are worried about them getting lost or the bus doesn't turn up, then of course a mobile phone is very useful. But what we want to discourage is them spending hours a day talking to their friends on their mobile phone. So we are discouraging, let's say, the frivolous use of mobile phones.

COSTELLO: Understand. You know it's interesting that most research on this matter has actually stopped in the United States but has continued in Europe. Why do you think that is?

CLARK: It's difficult. I have to confess that some people think in Britain we're being overcautious, and some colleagues from abroad have said that. But it is true that in Sweden there has been a hint of a risk of what's called acoustic neuroma, this benign tumor you mentioned, in users of over 10 years.

Now, so a child starting to use a phone excessively at 7 or 8 will be 17 or 18 if there is a 10-year effect. But I should say the authors of that report are very cautious. They say this could be a serious finding. It's a very small risk. You know this is epidemiology, which is, you know, not a definitive science.

COSTELLO: Understand. Dr. Michael Clark, joining us live from London this morning, thank you very much.

And of course further protection for your child is for them to use that, you know that ear piece instead of holding the phone right up to their face. For their head, their ear, you know what I'm talking about.

We're going to take a short break. We'll be back with much more on DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We've been monitoring events in Pinellas Park, Florida. That's where Terri Schiavo is in a hospice. And just a short time ago, David Gibbs, who is the Terri Schiavo family attorney, spoke about Congress' action early this morning and also President Bush signing into law the bill passed by Congress to send Terri Schiavo's case to the federal courts.

Let's listen to what David Gibbs had to say a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID GIBBS, ATTORNEY FOR TERRI SCHIAVO'S FAMILY: Well, first of all, he's got to decide do I issue an order for the food and water to be restored, that's No. 1. And again, we're very hopeful that that will happen soon.

And then in terms of the case, federal court judges will generally set forward a case management plan, and he will get some ideas to how long this case will take and what will be entailed. And then he will put forward a schedule, and then the parties will proceed with their discovery and then their different legal challenges or motions. And then ultimately, if necessary, a trial.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK, specifically what he was talking about, Chad, is the case is now in a federal judge's hands in Florida. He could order the -- he could issue an order to restore the feeding tube to Terri Schiavo...

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: ... or he could not.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: So we don't know yet.

Our question this morning is an interesting one. And by the amount of e-mail we got, you guys are into it.

MYERS: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: If you were Terri Schiavo, who would you want making this decision? Take it away -- Chad.

MYERS: I have one here from Terri (ph) in New Jersey. I'd want my husband to make this because there are things that are shared between a husband and a wife that wouldn't be shared between parents, because sometimes it's just too hard for parents to accept some of the truth.

Given the doctors and the divorce rates these days, I'd rather trust my parents and siblings that I know still love me. That's from Elizabeth (ph).

And if I was in Terri's situation, I'd want one person -- I would not want one person making my decision, but all of the people who have been near and dear to me try to come together to decide what is best.

But that wasn't possible, was it?

COSTELLO: Well we see what happened in the Schiavo case.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Didn't work out very well.

MYERS: OK.

COSTELLO: A last one from Audrey (ph). Mr. Schiavo gained the right to make decisions concerning his wife's health and care the day he wed her. He should maintain this right unconditionally. Besides, the poor woman is merely existing in the state she has been in for the past 15 years.

MYERS: Fifteen years.

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