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Yemen's President at Saudi Hospital; Gifting Money to Family; Online Classes for Free
Aired June 05, 2011 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. It is Sunday, June 5th. I'm Martin Savidge, in for Fredricka Whitfield. Thanks very much for joining me.
In the northern plains this hour an anxious wait as flood waters rise toward record levels. The bloated Missouri River threatens hundreds of homes in the Dakotas to relieve some of that flooding. The spillway and the big (INAUDIBLE) dam in South Dakota has been open and that has never happened before. Sandbags are in place in threatened areas. But hundreds of people have already left their homes. The flooding brought on by heavy spring rains and melting snow. In Iowa, there is word of a levee breach along the Missouri. Right now fortunately no reports of any damage or injuries.
In Arizona, the complete opposite. Disaster brought on by flames. Several big wildfires burning across the state. Right now they've scorched more than a quarter of a million acres. Thousands of people have had to flee their homes and one of the biggest fires is now closing in on the resort town of Greer (ph). Hundreds of people there have been told to pack up and get ready to leave.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JAN BREWER, ARIZONA: My heart just simply goes out to them and I want them all to know that certainly they are all in our prayers and that we hope that god protects them and - and their homes and their communities. It's a very tragic situation that they're facing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: Smoke from the Arizona fires is affecting air quality in neighboring New Mexico.
All right. Floods, fires and a heat wave. Jacqui Jeras tracking all of the extreme weather for us. Jacqui, you know, really amazing combination.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. A lot going on today. We're going to start off with the fire conditions because unfortunately the weather is going to make things worse there especially as we head into tomorrow. We've had what we call extreme fire behavior. And take a look at some of the pictures that we have. You could just see the flames which just grow and how much smoke has enveloped this area. We're talking hundreds of miles of that smoke has been traveling. Now we have critically low relative humidity. We have high winds. They've been gusting as much as 35 miles per hour. And the temperatures are very warm as well. When we think about Arizona, Martin, we think about desert. We think about cactuses. But take a look at that. You know, there are a lot of pine trees in here as well as the scrub. So there's a lot of fuel for these fires to continue to burn.
Now there's an area of low pressure, a storm system which is offshore off California's coast. This is going to be heading up to the north of Arizona. Unfortunately we don't think it's going to bring in much in terms of relief with rain and showers and thundershowers. But it is going to be increasing the wind. So fire weather watches have been issued across the area for tomorrow as those conditions are expected to get worse as well.
The heat has been a big story. Not just in the southwest but really looking at the deep south. Look at the heat indices well over 100 degrees in some of these areas. That is going to continue. So the hot weather, the dry weather all continuing. And we'll continue to monitor those floods in the Missouri River as we know the Missouri dumps into the Mississippi. We'll have to see what kind of impact that's going to have in the weeks and months ahead.
SAVIDGE: If only they could divert it over to Arizona -
JERAS: Wouldn't that be nice?
SAVIDGE: Then we'd have a solution.
JERAS: Yes.
SAVIDGE: Thanks, Jacqui, very much.
Well, in other news, scientists say that bean sprouts from central Germany likely are the cause behind that E. coli outbreak across Europe. At least 22 people have now died and more than 2,000 have become ill. So far that infection has not spread to the U.S. but here's what you need to watch out for.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. DAVID ACHESON, LEAVITT PARTNERS: Well, it comes from three main places for a consumer. Number one, it's often present on meat, raw beef particularly. So make sure you cook those hamburgers properly, especially as we're heading into the summer season. Second risk is on fresh fruits and vegetables. Make sure you wash them. If they come already washed, you're fine. If they've not been washed, wash them. Or if you can peel them, peel them. and the third area of risk is milk. Make sure the milk you drink is pasteurized and not raw.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: Even though they have a likely cause, European officials are warning that the E. coli outbreak may not be over just yet. Anger and violence bubbling over in the Middle East today. This is the border between Syria and the Golan Heights. Crowds of people (INAUDIBLE) on the day marking the anniversary of the six-day war. That was the conflict in 1967 when Israel took control of the Golan Heights from Syria. Israel says that it fired warning shots to push back the crowd but a report on Syrian television said 25 people were killed. More than 300 were said to have been hurt.
And then to Yemen where there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding that country's president. Ali Abdullah Saleh is in a Saudi hospital following an attack on his palace. Now there are questions about the severity of his injuries and when, if ever, he'll return to Yemen.
Let's bring in our senior State Department producer Elise Labott. Elise, let's start with the medical condition for the president. What have you learned?
ELISE LABOTT, CNN SENIOR STATE DEPT., PRODUCER: Well, Marty, we do know that President Saleh was seriously injured in the attack on his palace on Friday where not just he, but his prime minister, deputy prime minister, the speaker of parliament and several others were seriously injured.
President Saleh is as you say is in a Saudi hospital. We understand he suffered severe burns and a shrapnel wounds from this attack. We understand he might be undergoing surgeries. A lot more serious than we seriously thought, Mary.
SAVIDGE: And the question may be answered I guess by how he does medically. But still, is this a temporary leave of absence or permanent?
LABOTT: Well, as of now it's a temporary absence and he's handed over power to his vice president, Abduraboo Mansur Hadi. Just like in the United States if the president was undergoing a medical procedure he would hand over to the vice president. But really this is all about whether President Saleh is going to stay outside the country. There's been a lot of pressure on him to sign an agreement, brokered by Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council which would pave the way for him to resign and elections in 60 days.
We've seen a lot of violence in recent weeks which led to that attack on the palace yesterday between rival troops of the main tribes against him and also with government troops. So a lot of violence. Saudi Arabia, the United States really trying to make sure that he doesn't go back to Yemen and that they start a process of transition.
SAVIDGE: And yet there was a ceasefire that was apparently brokered today?
LABOTT: We understand that the vice president did offer a ceasefire to the troops of Sadik Al Hamer (ph) which apparently they accepted. They're starting to withdraw their troops from some of the government buildings that they've been occupying. This is really interesting, Marty. Because we've seen throughout this Arab spring that a lot of these protests were very peaceful. Youth, students, activists out in the streets. That's what started in Yemen.
But then this became more of a civil war in the making between rival troops that are trying to get President Saleh out. So President (INAUDIBLE) really wants to stop this violence and deal with some of the issues of reform. If President Saleh stays out of the country this would trigger elections within 60 days.
SAVIDGE: And what's the U.S.'s attitude to all this especially the latest developments?
LABOTT: Well, the U.S. is really obviously working this very closely with the Saudis, with the Gulf Cooperation Council. John Brennan, the adviser to President Obama, was out in Saudi Arabia this week trying to get President Saleh to sign this deal. The U.S. wants President Saleh out. They stood by him for a really long time because he was an ally in the war on terror but now they see with every day that he's there the violence that ensues.
This really presents an opportunity for Al Qaeda and extremists groups to exploit the vacuum in the country and this week, secretary of state Clinton as emphatic as anybody has been around Yemen saying it's time for President Saleh to get out, move out of the way for a transition to democracy, Marty.
SAVIDGE: I want to turn the corner real quick while we have time to talk about Libyan. And new developments on the case of Iman Al- Obeidy. She is the Libyan woman who was allegedly gang raped by Moammar Gadhafi's security forces after she claimed that Libyan troops had gang raped her. What have we learned in the new information about her whereabouts?
LABOTT: Well, Marty, this poor women really hasn't been able to get a break. Not only after she was claimed that she was raped by Libyan forces, then they detained her. She finally escaped to Tunisia and then onward to Qatar where she was deported back to Libya. Now we understand she has made it out of Qatar. She's on her way to Malta and then to Europe for processing as a refugee status.
Secretary of state Hillary Clinton has really taken a personal interest in this case and has helped try and get her out of the country. She'll be on her way to Europe for processing as a refugee and then onward to a third country. We've heard she wants to come to the United States. The U.S. isn't saying anything. Usually it doesn't about asylum cases like this. But we do expect that she'll be in Europe and then will be resettled somewhere, possibly the United States.
SAVIDGE: Elise Labott, thanks very much for the insight. We'll talk to you again.
Here in the U.S., Dominique Strauss-Kahn is due to be arraigned in a New York courtroom. That's expected tomorrow. The former head of the International Monetary Fund is expected to plead not guilty to sex crimes charges. A hotel maid has accused him of trying to rape her last month. Strauss-Kahn was released on a multi-million dollar bond and ordered confined to a secure apartment. Well, expect to hear more expert testimony tomorrow in Casey Anthony's murder trial resumes in Orlando. Yesterday there was a forensic scientist who testified that hair taken from the trunk of the defendant's car was similar to that of Anthony's daughter, Caylee. She was reported missing three years ago. And then, of course, later found dead.
Many businesses are looking to expand. So where are they looking? Well, according to a recent Price Waterhouse Cooper study, here are three of the top five most affordable cities for business. Number five, Toronto. Number Four, San Francisco. Number three, Chicago. The top two when we come back.
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SAVIDGE: What are the five most affordable cities for business? Well, before the break we showed you Toronto, San Francisco and Chicago. So here now the top two. Los Angeles is a surprise and Houston.
In our financial fix today, many grandparents with extra cash in the bank are gifting it to their children and grandchildren. It benefits more than those on the receiving end. Financial adviser Karen Lee tells our Richelle Carey how it all works for the giver too.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREN LEE, FINANCIAL PLANNER: You've got extra money and you want to give it away. You might have a financial adviser or an estate attorney telling you, you need to reduce your estate. But mostly what you'd like to do is give that money while you're alive versus waiting until you die.
RICHELLE CAREY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK.
LEE: That's the why people give. All right. Now let's talk about what you can give.
CAREY: Right. OK. Be strategic about it.
LEE: Of course you can just write a check. First let's go over the rules. Every donor is allowed to give up to $13,000 a year to any amount of donees. So if it's a married couple that's two donors. So that's $26,000. And the number of donees they give to is unlimited. OK. So if you need to reduce your estate, you can do a lot there. They don't have to be related to you.
CAREY: Really?
LEE: They don't. But generally you're going to see grandparents gifting to grandkids and my favorite thing for them to do is look at their portfolio, and if they have stocks that they bought 20, 30, 40 years ago and they're highly appreciated, they don't want to sell them because there's all those capital gains, gift those shares in kind to your grandkid. Because if you are single and earn under 34 grand a year then you're in the 10 or 15 percent tax bracket or zero, you pay no capital gains.
CAREY: That makes a lot of sense.
LEE: So you gift that whole amount.
CAREY: That makes sense. That makes a lot of sense.
LEE: So that's my favorite thing for them to do.
CAREY: OK. And you also - the next, stocks. So how do you go about doing this?
LEE: So basically, what's the best way now. I've determined what I'm going to give and how much and to who. Where should I have them put it? The one thing that's pretty common is what's called UTMA. That's a Uniform Transfer to Minor Act, replace the UGMA Uniform Gift. That is an irrevocable gift to a minor. It becomes theirs for any use at all at majority age which here in Georgia is 18. In some states it's 18 or when you graduate high school, whichever is later. There's, like, two states that it's 19 still. So that's popular. The child can use it for anything. What I love personally is the 529 plan.
CAREY: Very, very popular now, aren't they?
LEE: They are. And they encourage the kids to get higher education. Because if you use those funds for college, technical schools, I believe, too, then all the gain in the investment you get tax free.
CAREY: Wow.
LEE: Right.
CAREY: Very good.
LEE: But there are penalties if you don't. So it encourages the kids. So I like that one. There's still savings bonds -
CAREY: The good old fashioned way.
LEE: They've always been considered the safest because they're backed by the U.S. government. I think that might be a little bit questionable these days. Just a little bit. The interest on those if used for college, also tax free. Then, of course, just an outright gift. Write a check.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: You can catch financial fix every Saturday at 2:00 p.m., that's Eastern time. And on Sundays at 4:00 right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAVIDGE: Bill Gates calls Kahn Academy the start of a revolution. That is the online site that provides more than 2,000 video tutorials from calculus to chemistry all for free. CNN education contributor Steve Perry shows us how it works in this week's "Perry's Principles." (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): In a small Silicon Valley office, Salman Kahn is using simple illustrations and lingo to explain math, science, history and even business concepts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If this does not blow your mind, then you have no emotion.
PERRY: The 10 to 20 minute tutorials on kahnacademy.org are free to anyone anywhere.
(on camera): You've opened up the world of learning to the world.
SALMAN KHAN, KHAN ACADEMY: The best way to get the core of most issues whether, you know, it's poverty, health care or whatever, even democracy, is making sure you have an educated population.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got 31, so negative 31.
PERRY (voice-over): Dean Brettle uses Kahn Academy as a tool for home schooling his own children.
DEAN BRETTLE, HOMESCHOOLS HIS CHILDREN: What I like about it and I think the kids like about it is that you can work at your own pace. If you don't understand the video you can pause it, they can rewind it, they can watch it multiple times.
PERRY: And with Khan, you have to master all the material before moving on with only hints to help you.
BRETTLE: If you're struggling with something in a regular school and you don't get it and you take the tests and you get a C.
PERRY (on camera): You can't move on with a C here.
BRETTLE: That's right.
PERRY (voice-over): Richard Julian is a fifth grade teacher in Los Altos, California. He uses Kahn videos in math classes. The software tracks each students progress.
RICHARD JULIAN, COVINGTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: By doing that, it allows the teacher on to know their students very well, allow them to know their strengths. It allows them to know their weaknesses.
PERRY (voice-over): Khan Academy is a non-profit but it's backed by Bill Gates and Google.
(on camera): You're doing this for free, partner. What gives?
KAHN: You know, if Kahn Academy was for a profit it would limit the number of kids that will use it. Hopefully when I'm 80 I can say, wow, there's a billion kids that use it and maybe will continue to use it.
(voice-over): Steve Perry, Mountainview, California.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: The economy is still struggling, but some careers are making a comeback. And with fatter paychecks. Take a look at the list from careerbliss.com., which job is the comeback king? That answer we will provide in two minutes.
Plus a look at four insights the class of 2011 can teach us about today's employment outlook.
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SAVIDGE: Before the break we listed some of the comeback jobs of 2011 and asked which was the comeback king. The answer? Well, according to careerbliss.com tax specialists saw their average career salary spike from 2009 to 2011 rising from $27,000 in 2009 to $39,000 today.
Well, a bleak job report out Friday showing the unemployment rate is just over nine percent. So what can experienced workers do to try to find that job that may be eluding them?
Paula Caliguri is the author of "Get a Life, not a Job" and she joins us with four strategies for breaking back into the tough job market. Thanks very much for joining us.
PROF. PAULA CALIGURI, HUMAN RESOURCE MGMT. RUTGERS UNIV.: My pleasure.
SAVIDGE: All right. Let's talk about what can you do. Focus. How should you get that job?
CALIGURI: Right now, Martin, the most important thing is skills. Skills are king. Having great skills that match up to what employers need and then getting through those barriers to entry like the interview and the resumes. So right now most important thing, get great skills. Try to configure your skills to jobs that are open. Most important.
SAVIDGE: How do I do that, though? I mean, it's very simple if you're a person in your late 40s, 50s, you've made most of your life doing something else, and now somebody says get great skills, how do I do it?
CALIGURI: Right. Well, there's certainly opportunities for training and education at any age. And I'm actually a strong advocate of job retraining and education. Real important thing, though, before you spend any money investing in tuition dollars, be sure you understand the placement rate for the program that you're about to invest your time and your money in. So even though you might be in your 40s and 50s, not too late to reinvest in time and talent.
The other thing you can do is think about configuring your skills for hot jobs. Onetcenter.org is a wonderful web site from the Department of Labor, great opportunity to look for jobs that really match with your skills. And ones that are really hot right now. SAVIDGE: You mentioned targeting your educational investment. By that I presume you mean make sure you find the hot job before you actually invest your time in learning about the job.
CALIGURI: Absolutely. Right now, Martin, the stem skills are always so hot right now, right? So science, technology, engineering, math. The class of 2011, interesting. The class of 2011, if they went to reputable schools, those who graduated with the stem fields, they were able to land multiple job offers and their starting salaries were between $55,000 and almost $70,000. So these are 20, 21, 22-year- olds. Not a lot of experience, but they had great skills. So S.T.E.M. skills real important. Also the skilled trades. So carpenters, engineering, plumbers. Those are also in very, very high demand. Health care also very important. But also think about education. Again, science teachers, math teachers, real important. Bilingual education. Also those who can teach special needs children. All those are real hot and will be hot for a while.
SAVIDGE: You talk about, say, take a temporary job or maybe even a volunteer job? The reason being, of course, what? You get your foot in the door?
CALIGURI: You get your foot in the door and I know this is really tough to hear at a time when people feel like they're underemployed, those who are working part time or working in temp positions. But it's a nice way to get your foot in the door and to network within the organization in case something should become available. What we found, again, class of 2011, those who had internships, so those who were on those temporary interning positions, 67 percent of them were offered full-time jobs. So temporary opportunity turned into a full- time one for those interns. So real good strategy to break in.
SAVIDGE: And as my mom always tells me, you know, it's not who you know, it's who knows you. And this goes back to what you just said. Networking, networking. Very important for people to get out there, meet greet and talk to folks who may have a job.
CALIGURI: Right. Networking, always critical. So networking online. Networking in person. Also, too, thinking about networking, if you do end up engaging in an educational opportunity, network with your professors. Network with the trainers. Network with fellow students. Network with guest speakers. Network with alums. Lots of people are interested in connecting with you. But oftentimes students and those in training programs don't actually leverage that part of their investment. So real important to network.
SAVIDGE: Paula Caliguri, thanks very much. The author of the book "Get A Life, Not a Job." Good advice for people who are having a hard time.
CALIGURI: Thank you.
SAVIDGE: Thank you.
Well, the Republican presidential field is getting a bit more crowded. We'll tell you who is about to enter the race, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAVIDGE: The Republican presidential field is about to get bigger. Rick Santorum will announce his candidacy tomorrow. The former senator will throw his hat into the ring in a rally in his home state of Pennsylvania. CNN's political editor Mark Preston joins us now from Washington. Mark, we're going to talk you about Rick Santorum next hour, teasing ahead.
But this hour, let's start with the Republican candidate who's not exactly conventional. Ron Paul. And let's listen to what he had to say this morning on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. RON PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We don't have democracy in this country. It's so biased. If you're in a third party, you can't - I can't get in debates as a third-party candidate. What I did as a third party, spent over half my money just trying to get on the ballots. So we don't have a good democratic process.
What happens if you come to the conclusion as millions of Americans have, the parties aren't different. They're all the same. The monetary policy stays the same. The welfare system stays the same. The foreign policy stays the same. They get pretty disgusted so there is but one party to people who want to participate, more or less have to get into one of the major parties.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: You know, Mark, I hear that complain from a lot of people when I'm out in the field and they want to talk about politics.
Does he have a point?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes, he does have a point in the fact that there really are only two parties. There is the Democratic Party and there is the Republican Party. If you want to run for president and you want to have a shot at winning as you run for president or any elected office, you have to join one of these parties. And when you hear Ron Paul there saying that, he himself is acknowledging that he doesn't agree with the Republican Party on many issues. But yet in order for him to run for president, for him to be taken seriously he himself has to conform.
SAVIDGE: Then we also know that Ron Paul is a Republican, but he certainly has a libertarian philosophy. Do unconventional candidates like this have a real chance of winning the nomination?
PRESTON: You know unfortunately, no. Not at this point. What we've seen over the past couple of years is that they can start to steer the conversation. You know, just a few hours ago when he was on "State of the Union" he talked about how back when he ran in 2007 and 2008, he talked about his opposition to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He talked about his opposition to this out of control federal spending. These are two issues that we are starting to hear from Republicans as well as from Democrats right now who are pretty frustrated with the way Washington is working. But by and large, if you want to win, if you want to be taken seriously, you have to be part of the main political operation, whether it's the Democrats, whether it's the Republicans, Martin.
SAVIDGE: All right. Let's turn the page real quick to John Edwards. On Friday he pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and campaign law violations. You covered his campaign when he was running for president. To many of us we're shocked by the turn of events. I'm wondering what your take is.
PRESTON: Yes. You know, even before he became this national figure, Martin, I covered him when I was a reporter up on Capitol Hill and I remember about six months after he was elected, remember, he really came on the national scene as our viewers will recall when he gave this impassioned speech in defense of Bill Clinton on the Senate floor when the articles of impeachment had been sent over to the Senate. So he was considered this rising star in the Democratic Party. He had come out of nowhere.
But I remember sitting across from him, Martin. He talked lovingly about his wife, Elizabeth, and how she was such a driving force in his life. And, you know, he was very -- I wouldn't use the word timid. But he was very reserved in about what he thought his future was. Well, things have changed, obviously. They changed very, you know, quickly when he was in the Senate. Then, of course, we find out that he had an affair and really what I think is frustrating to a lot of people, certainly people who worked on his campaign and people that I've spoken with, is that they're just very disappointed with him.
In many ways the word "disappointment" is probably the worst word you can hear from somebody. Because they feel like John Edwards had so much potential, that he could have done so many good things for the Democratic Party. Not only did he rip apart his personal life, in some ways he potentially could have ripped apart the Democratic Party had President Obama chosen him to be his vice presidential running mate. Not a lot of sympathy for John Edwards nowadays, Martin.
SAVIDGE: No. Mark Preston thanks very much for joining us.
For the latest political news, well you know where to go, CNNpolitics.com.
It is his last trip to Afghanistan as the U.S. Defense secretary. Robert Gates spoke to U.S. troops today in Kandahar answering questions about the war and this summer's withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan. Then it got personal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I just want you to know I think about you every day. I feel your hardship. And your sacrifice and your burden and that of your families. More than you can possibly know. You are, I believe, the best our country has to offer. And you will be in my thoughts and prayers every day for the rest of my life. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: Gates leaves his job as Pentagon chief at the end of the month. The president has nominated CIA director Leon Panetta to replace him. Panetta's Senate confirmation hearings are set to begin on Thursday.
Progress in the battle against cancer. Coming up, we'll show you the new strategies and treatments that are helping cancer patients live longer.
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SAVIDGE: You may know the Duggar family from the TLC reality show "19 Kids and Counting." Well they took action after the deadly tornado in Joplin, Missouri, packing up supplies and driving through the night to join the rescue efforts. Josh and Jill Duggar talk about their experience in this "Impact your World."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JILL DUGGAR, "19 KIDS AND COUNTING:" Hi, I'm Jill Duggar.
JOSH DUGGAR, "19 KIDS AND COUNTING:" I'm Josh Duggar.
JILL DUGGAR: We can make a difference with search and rescue.
JOSH DUGGAR: And tornado relief in Joplin, Missouri. We were here in Arkansas where we live when the tornado hit.
JILL DUGGAR: You know, thoughts started coming. What can we do to help?
JOSH DUGGAR: So basically we packed everything up and we got water bottles, Gatorade. I've been around emergency situations working as a volunteer firefighter. Being that Jill, Janet and John have their active duty of volunteer firefighter, they were able to plug right in. Giving them hope by being there I think really inspires them to continue on. Join the movement.
JILL DUGGAR: Impact your world.
JOSH DUGGAR: Go to CNN.com/impact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: There are many ways to impact your world. If you want to help people in the recent tornado outbreaks, just go to CNN.com/impact and see the various organizations that will accept your donation.
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SAVIDGE: There is a revolution taking place in the war of cancer. People are both surviving at much higher rates and living with the disease longer. Dr. Bill Lloyd joined our Richelle Carey from Chicago yesterday where he was attending the world's largest meeting of cancer treatment specialists. He offered five reasons for the latest successes in the war on cancer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. BILL LLOYD, HEALTHY LIVING EXPERT: Without painting too rosy a picture, it is cancer, after all, but since 1970 there's been a four- fold jump in the number of cancer survivors in just four decades, which is an enormous growth. And then if you look at the ten-year survival for different cancers they're now equal to what used to be five-year survivals. So people are not only living longer, they're enjoying better lives even though they have cancer. And Richelle, patients now have more options than ever before.
RICHELLE CAREY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dr. Lloyd, tell us what some of the weapons are in the war on cancer that are helping us make these improvements by leaping and bounds.
LLOYD: Let me tell you about five powerful weapons that weren't here just a few years ago. The first one is the internet. It's allowed researchers to collaborate and work together like never before. For patients, they can use the internet as well. I recommend Clinicaltrials.gov to find out about the latest research in fighting cancer.
Also in the past we used to go after the entire organ that had the cancer. It involved a lot of surgery and damage to a lot of healthy tissue. Now we use critical targets. We go after specific cancer cells and spare the rest of the healthy body. The discovery of biomarkers, these are small strips of protein. They're like a license plate. They help us target specific areas where we want to treat the cancer and again sparing the healthy tissue. We call this individualized medicine.
And then selective radiation, instead of again burning an entire lung and damaging other nearby tissues, technology now allows us to target the specific area that will benefit from that radiation therapy. Finally, there's a variety of biologic tools that are available to boost the body defenses. Even vaccines made from the patients' own tumor cells.
CAREY: I want to go back to something you just said though, some of the new strategies they do not involve always directly attacking and killing the tumor. Talk about some diseases that have benefited from that particular advance.
LLOYD: Sure. Sure. What we were saying before, of course, you got a diagnosis of cancer, you're going to have mutilating surgery, lots of radiation. Then we're going to poison you with chemotherapy and the outcomes weren't good. Now with this select individualized therapies, many cancers are experiencing remissions, recoveries and even cures like never before. We talk about diseases like cancer of the liver. Leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at the top of the list. Many, many thousands of Americans are diagnosed with these conditions every year, these three important cancers. Now you talk about diseases like cancers of the pancreas and the esophagus well these diseases need more work. Even in these diseases need more work but even in those areas they're finding ways to extend survival and improve the quality of life.
SAVIDGE: And for more healthy living news tune in every Saturday at 4:00 P.M. Eastern.
One other healthy living note, Washington's rearranging the food on our dinner plate. The trusty food pyramid. Remember that growing up? Most of us do. First lady Michelle Obama revealed that there's a new symbol now for healthy eating. Here's what it looks like. It is a balanced dinner plate with four color coded sections. The pyramid is out the window. One for fruits, one for vegetables, one for grains, and one for protein, low fat dairy is on the side. A glass of skim milk or maybe a cup of yogurt.
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SAVIDGE: Some headlines from overseas. Voters in Peru are choosing their next president today. It is a runoff between a daughter of a former president and a man who tried to overthrow him a decade ago. Fugamari (ph), Columbia educated regarded as a solidly right winged candidate and her father is serving 25 years for corruption charges from his ten year presidency. Peru has never had a female president.
Volanti Malara (ph) who is on the other side, he is a former senior army officer who narrowly lost the presidential election five years ago. The most recent polls put those two neck and neck.
Cease-fire in Yemen. At least that's what a tribal leader fighting the government says. Fighting between Yemeni troops and tribal factions spiked in recent days. The presidential palace was shelled, injuring the president. Sources say that he's been treated in Saudi Arabia. Yemen's vice president is now the interim president.
The anti-government's tribal movement in Yemen is just one reason that country is moving violently toward collapse. And if it does, the impact will be felt far beyond its borders. Here's CNN's Jonathan Man.
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JONATHAN MAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Take a country with a history of civil wars, tribal politics and no strong national identity, add poverty, regional rebellions and al Qaeda insurgency and a gun culture that has weapons in almost every home and you'd have Yemen. Then let demands for democracy sweep the region and inspire protesters to challenge Yemen's long-time dictator. The result, a country close to collapse. President Ali Abdullah Saleh has survived nearly 33 years of wars and up risings and isn't about to quit now.
Under pressure from protesters and neighboring states, he's agreed to resign but then reneged. By now even his most powerful ally has abandoned him.
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: You know, we cannot expect this conflict to end unless President Saleh and his government move out of the way to permit the opposition and civil society to begin a transition to political and economic reform.
MAN: Yemen's problems are the world's problems. Its branch of al Qaeda is potentially the most dangerous on the planet and stands to profit from the chaos in the country. Geography makes that a particularly bad thing for the world's oil. Because Yemen borders Saudi Arabia and faces the failed state of Somalia across the Gulf of Aden. A potential choke point through tankers carrying millions of barrels of petroleum. The drama in Yemen isn't over. It could get a whole lot worse.
Jonathan Man reporting.
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SAVIDGE: This weekend marks the 30th anniversary since the first case of HIV/Aids was reported. That disease has affected tens of millions of people around the world. We'll look back at its origins.
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SAVIDGE: It was 30 years ago today that the first case of Aids was reported. But back then it was reported as a rare form of pneumonia. Nobody knew exactly what to call it or how far it would spread.
Veasndaelow (ph) with CNN affiliate KGL looks back at the first year of that disease.
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VEASNDAELOW (ph), KGL (voice over): In 1981 people referred to Aids as the gay plague. At the time the survival rate was zero. San Francisco became the epicenter and the virus eventually made its way to other groups. Connie Sprinkle was diagnosed 26 years ago.
CONNIE SPRINKLE, AIDS PATIENT: When I told my mother, she started crying. I said you better say good-bye to me now.
VEASNDAELOW (ph): Fear spread throughout communities because so little was known about the disease. At San Francisco General Hospital quickly became a model for Aids care. In 1982 Diane Jones worked in the Aids Ward.
DIANE JONES, RN, SF GENERAL HOSPITAL, PATIENT HEALTH PROGRAM: We were in this mentality in really wanting to prove to the rest of the world that it was the right thing to do and the safe thing to do.
VEASNDAELOW (ph): Despite years of advances, Jones said the stigma is still there.
JONES: What's still happening is if I sit down you know like I did recently and tell somebody they're HIV positive, they're still reacting in the same way that they did 30 years ago. I'm going to die. I can't tell anybody. VEASNDAELOW (ph): Norman Tanner co-founded Black Brothers Esteem, helping to push African-Americans to get tested. Tanner himself was diagnosed in 1990.
NORMAN TANNER, "BLACK BROTHERS ESTEEM:" They're scared of the unknown. They're scared of the unknown. But they have to realize that we are living longer. Now it's about HIV and ageing.
VEASNDAELOW (ph): The world became familiar with the drug AZT which prolonged lives. Then in 1995 inhibitors were improved. Drugs that brought patients back to life. Daine Havlir is chief of USCF's HIV/Aids Division.
DAINE HAVLIR, MD, SF GENERAL HOSPITAL AIDS DIVISION: The disease clearly has been transformed by therapy. It's gone from uniformly 100 percent failed disease with enormous collateral damage to a treatable disease.
VEASNDAELOW (ph): Today a new breed of researchers focuses on treating patients earlier with these drugs to stop the virus from replicating and doing more damage.
VIVEK JAIN, MD, SF GENERAL HOSPITAL'S HIV/AIDS DIVISION: Can we show that shutting down the viral replication and removing that threat to the body at an earlier time point, can we show that that confers long- term benefits for the patients.
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SAVIDGE: After what's come out of their trial, should Casey Anthony take the stand in her own defense? Hear what our legal experts have to say. That's coming up right after this.
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SAVIDGE: Testimony resumes tomorrow in the trial of Casey Anthony, the young mother accused of killing her little girl in 2008. The case and now the trial have captivated people. Listen to what our legal guys told Richelle Carey yesterday.
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AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: The fact is that the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, Richelle, is overwhelming and the fact is that the lack of Casey Anthony's credibility --
CAREY: Richard, wait a sec.
FRIEDMAN: I'm watching the same trial every day. The fact is that despite whatever problem there is with the defense counsel, it is her behavior introduced methodically, carefully by the prosecution that's going to do this defendant in. And the very point that's been made that, well, once she takes the stand, puts her hand on the bible, let me tell you something. A lot of people disagree with this, Richelle. But they're going to have to put Casey Anthony on the stand for a variety of reasons.
CAREY: You think so?
FRIEDMAN: Not the least of which the jury will see that there's clearly something wrong with her and that's what the strategy is here.
CAREY: OK.
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Richelle, Richelle.
CAREY: Go ahead.
HERMAN: Richelle. They have to prove in order to get the premeditated murder that Casey was the one that put the duct tape on her face, on her mouth and her nose. They have not proven that. They are not going to be able to prove that. They do not have a cause of death in this case. Therefore they should not and should not put her on the stand in the case in chief. Because the jury is just going to hate her worse and she's going to get convicted and probably get sentenced to death. They have to save her for the mitigation phase.
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SAVIDGE: And you can catch our legal guys every Saturday at noon Eastern Time right here on the CNN NEWSROOM. And keep it here all week for the latest on the Casey Anthony trial.
