New Cancer Treatments; Same-Sex Marriage; Shark Tales
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening this morning, President Bush throws his support behind a gay marriage ban. A constitutional amendment will be debated in the Senate today and will be voted on this week. An Amber Alert out for a five-day-old baby in Texas. Her name, Priscilla Maldonado. The suspected kidnapper posed as a hospital worker and befriended the baby's mother. Little Priscilla has jaundice and she needs medical attention. You can add 50,000 active duty members of the National Guard and Navy to the list of people who's personal information was stolen on that V.A. laptop we told you about last week. The first report of 26.5 million people at risk included mostly veterans discharged since '75. Good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.</s>S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien. A major international cancer conference is underway in Atlanta. Doctors there are focused on targeted treatments, honing in on what makes cancer grow and new drugs to fight it. Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us from the CNN Center in Atlanta with details on this. Hey, Elizabeth, good morning.</s>ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. Soledad, what researchers are trying to do is outfox a cancer cell. They want to try to figure out what makes these breast cancer cells tick and then actually go in there and stop the process. Let's take a look at some results of a trial for a new drug called Tykerb. Now it's interesting because this drug will only -- it only has possibilities for one out of five women. Only one out of five women will have the type of breast cancer that this pill might possibly work on. So given that, what it does is it targets a HER-2 protein inside the breast cancer cell. And what they found is it may prevent the cancer spread to the brain. Because the drug, unlike some others, is able to cross that blood-brain barrier. Now it is not a cure and that's very, very important to say. It is not FDA approved at the moment. It is still experimental. The reason why it's not a cure is what they found now is that this drug will help slow tumor progression. For example, these women who took this drug, plus chemotherapy, they went for about eight and a half months or so without tumor progression, which was about a little less than twice as long as women who didn't take it. So they certainly did better, but it doesn't mean that their breast cancer went away altogether. Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: But then would Tykerb be essentially always used as a backup drug or would there be any scenario when you would just take the Tykerb and not go ahead and use it as the backup?</s>COHEN: The way they envision Tykerb right now, Soledad, is that you would use it in conjunction with chemotherapy, which is very important, and you might also want to use it in conjunction with a drug called Herceptin. That's another drug that target this HER-2 new protein. These are proteins that are found both on the surface of the cell and inside the cell. So what doctors are thinking is the cancer's going to have sort of a drug cocktail approach, which many of us are familiar with from how HIV is treated. So you probably end up using it in conjunction with other kinds of treatments.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Elizabeth Cohen for us this morning in Atlanta. Elizabeth, thanks.</s>COHEN: Thanks.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Miles.</s>COHEN: With their fortunes flagging and an election looming, Republicans are putting a key conservative issue on the front burner, a constitutional ban on gay marriage. The president will use the bully pulpit today to offer support and lawmakers will push for a vote in the Senate this week. Why this divisive issue and why now? Tony Perkins is president of the Family Research Council. He joins us from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Good to have you with us, Mr. Perkins.</s>TONY PERKINS, FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: Good morning, Miles.</s>M. O'BRIEN: I suspect you're a little disappointed that the president hasn't uttered a peep about this since the election until this moment.</s>PERKINS: Well, there has been some concern that this was an issue that was important enough to campaign on in the 2004 election cycle by Republicans in general, but it's not been important enough to act upon yet. So there has been some concern, but there's encouragement that the president is stepping up his support of the amendment publicly, beginning with his radio address over the weekend.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Let me ask you this. In the interim since the election, when you've called up your friends at the White House or had those who had opportunity to talk to the president, what did they say to you? Just be quiet about this for now? Your time is coming.</s>PERKINS: Well, I think there's been a number of pressing issues that the administration has had to deal with. There's been some issues that the president has taken on voluntarily that his -- as I said, caused some concern. For instance, the day after the election, the president took on reform of social security, which was not central to the 2004 election. And so I think there was some concern and people have been waiting on these issues. I mean if you'll remember, nearly half of the president's support, those that supported the president in his re- election, did so based upon the issue of values, moral values. And top among them was the issue of same-sex marriage. So this is an issue that certainly was important in the 2004 election and I think people are now encouraged that the president is taking a more public position in support of the amendment.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Now when you say that, though, I look at the numbers and it doesn't seem to jive. Let's look at -- there's a recent poll that we have, some number that is came out. This was conducted by CBS May 16th through the 17th. And when they asked Americans, what are the most important issues? Top of the list, war in Iraq, 28 percent, economy and jobs then, immigration, gas crisis, terrorism. A gay marriage ban or constitutional amendment, whatever, doesn't even rise to the level of getting a digit on that poll. So where is this huge upswell of concern over a gay marriage ban?</s>PERKINS: Well, Miles, I don't know that poll that you refer to and I don't know how the questions were asked. But I do know that in the 2004 election, that all of the exit polling showed that 44 percent of the president's support did so based upon moral values. And the number one issue exceeding the war in Iraq, exceeding terrorism, was the issue of same-sex marriage. So, this is not the . . .</s>M. O'BRIEN: I'm sorry. Where did those numbers come from? Where do those numbers come from?</s>PERKINS: That was the Pew Research Foundation did that poll following the 2004 election. So this has been an issue that as -- it was a threat in 2004, but the threat is greater today because we've actually had 19 state that is have passed marriage amendments to their state constitutions with, on average, a 70 percent voter approval. But what's happened is we've had courts that have now struck down those amendments, including the state of Nebraska where a federal judge struck down that amendment. So no longer can Congress and others say that let's let this be -- let's just let the states deal with this issue. The states have dealt with the issue but the federal courts continue to step in. The only way to stop the courts is an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.</s>M. O'BRIEN: The feeling on the Democratic side here is that everybody's sort of on record on this. Let's listen to Senator Joe Biden yesterday.</s>SEN JOSEPH BIDEN, (D) DELAWARE: I can't believe the American people can't see through this. We already have a law, the Defensive of Marriage Act. We've all voted. Where I voted and others said, look, marriage is between a man and woman and states must respect that. Nobody's violated that law. There's been no challenge to that law. Why do we need a constitutional amendment?</s>M. O'BRIEN: And I'll put the question to you. Why do we need a constitutional amendment?</s>PERKINS: Well, with all due respect to Senator Biden, that's not true. There have been challenges to the Defensive Of Marriage Act. In fact, there are seven legal challenges right now in various states. And if we wait until this has made its way through the courts to let's say the Supreme Court and let's say they decided it the wrong way and they force same-sex marriage on the country, the time it would take to pass an amendment and have it ratified by the states, it would be too late. You know, leadership is not looking in the rear-view mirror to deciding where we should have gone. It's looking forward, saying marriage is under attack in America today. And from a public policy standpoint, there's nothing more important than encouraging strong marriages and families. And central to that is marriage between a man and a woman.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Can I just -- just a final thought here. How is marriage under attack? I see a marriage alive and well. I see a divorce rate which continues. But I see an institution which is doing fine.</s>PERKINS: Well, you mentioned no-fault divorce, which was passed back in 1969 and that was a public policy decision that's had significant ramifications upon family and marriage in America today. In fact, we now have almost 30 years of research that shows the impact it's had upon children. And without question, the best environment for children is to be raised in a two-parent home. A two-parent home of a mom and a dad.</s>M. O'BRIEN: But how is marriage under attack, though?</s>PERKINS: Well, we saw in Massachusetts where that court in that state imposed same-sex marriage upon that state. And as the Defense of Marriage Act is being challenged, it will be imposed upon other states.</s>M. O'BRIEN: But how does that hurt heterosexual marriages?</s>PERKINS: Oh, well let's go back to Massachusetts and see what happens there where now it's the public policy of same-sex marriages as a public policy. In the elementary schools, kids are being thought that homosexuality is the same as any -- as heterosexuality. They're being taught from a book in elementary school called "King and Kings" where parents, when they object to their kids being taught the two princes get married and have kids and that's normal, they're told that they have no right to object because that's the public policy of the state. So it has a significant impact on the way children are raised and taught in America and it has a significant impact on devaluing the institution of marriage. All we have to do is look to places like the Netherlands where same-sex marriage has been around a little bit longer and we have seen a significant decline in marriage as a result.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. Out of time. Thank you very much.</s>PERKINS: Thank you.</s>M. O'BRIEN: President Bush expected to continue his push this afternoon. CNN will bring you his remarking at 1:45 Eastern, about 15 minutes before the Senate debate is set to begin. Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: It's about 20 minutes before the hour. Let's get another check on the weather and Rob Marciano, who's on a little bit of a field trip for us this morning at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. Hey, Rob.</s>ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Soledad. Always nice to get out of the office or out of school for a field trip. And you can learn tons of things here at the Georgia Aquarium. But the reason we're here, the big deal that's going on here at the Georgia Aquarium, is that just late Saturday night, Alice and Trixie arrived. They're two big whale sharks. They're females. They're here to joining Ralph and Norton who have been here for about a year. So Ralph and Norton, larger male whale sharks, actually have girlfriends. And hopefully they'll get along. Behind me, you can see the -- this is the main display here at the Georgia Aquarium. All sorts of wildlife. Oh, up there at the top there it looks like to be one of the bigger guys. That looks to be Ralph or Norton. The whale shark making its way around. Golden Trivail underneath him, Grouper. All sorts of wildlife in this thing. And 6.2 million gallons of water. Two-foot thick glass. Sixty-three feet wide by 29 feet tall. All in all the size of a -- the surface area of a football field. And big enough to hold six of these whale sharks in their full adult grown state. Unbelievable ride here from Taiwan. Thirty hours all in all rescued from a farm over there when they literally would have become fish food.</s>MARCIANO: Miles, you've seen this, right? It's pretty amazing.</s>M. O'BRIEN: I have not been there yet.</s>MARCIANO: Come on.</s>M. O'BRIEN: I haven't been.</s>MARCIANO: You have not?</s>M. O'BRIEN: No, no. I mean I'll have to check it out this summer.</s>MARCIANO: Come on. You know, you move to New York and forget about everything here.</s>M. O'BRIEN: No, they opened it up after I left.</s>S. O'BRIEN: It's so beautiful.</s>M. O'BRIEN: I'd like to go diving in there. Have you ever thought about that?</s>S. O'BRIEN: With a the whale shark in there?</s>M. O'BRIEN: Yes, it would be cool.</s>MARCIANO: Yes, I have actually. That would be cool.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Yes, that would be kind of neat.</s>MARCIANO: All right, we'll see you guys in a little bit. Maybe we'll jump in.</s>M. O'BRIEN: All right, we'll see you. I'd like to see that.</s>S. O'BRIEN: There we go. Now you're talking.</s>MARCIANO: No.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Come on. Chicken.</s>M. O'BRIEN: He's a tease. Coming up, Rob Marciano in the tank. All right, still to come, our special series, "Paying the Price." Dan Lothian is in Iowa. Hello, Dan.</s>DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning, Miles. I am in Adel, Iowa, where we're getting ready to talk to a farmer in Adel. That's right, a farmer in Adel. I won't sing the song, but I'll tell you his story ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.