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Our Year at St. Judes Hospital

November 26, 2008 4:13 PM

Cynthia McFadden Reports:

It was just a year ago that Marlo Thomas asked me to have lunch in New York so she could discuss a subject dear to her heart: St. Jude Children's Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

To be honest my knowledge of St. Jude was vague at best. I knew Marlo's famous father, comedian Danny Thomas, had founded the hospital. (But where was it exactly?). I knew it was a place for kids with cancer, and I knew they had a massive fund raising campaign every year. (You couldn't miss the ads.). But that was about it.

And truth be told, I went to lunch not so much out of interest in St. Jude, but out of interest in Marlo who had fascinated me since her days as "That Girl".

If a lunch can change your life, this one changed mine. Marlo wanted me to go and see the hospital, meet the people who worked there and ultimately she wanted me to tell a story about the place on Nightline.

The more she talked, often with tears in her eyes, the more intrigued I became. St. Jude wasn't just a hospital; it was the largest research facility for childhood cancer in the world. No child is ever turned away because his or her family can't pay. In fact, the hospital pays for everything including getting to Memphis and living there for as long as the treatment takes. Not just for the child, but for the child's family. What's more – when the hospital was first opened (now 46 years ago) the survival rate for the most common childhood cancer ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia) was only 4 percent. St. Jude announced recently survival rates of 94 percent.

And as for fund raising, Marlo and her team raise 600 million dollars a year to make real her father's promise of a living shrine to hopeless children.

She wanted me to do a story last Christmas. I wasn't sure. Instead I asked, what about letting us follow just one child over the course of the next year as he or she was treated at St. Jude. The remarkable journey of 12-year-old Daniel Biljanoski is the result.

At about the same time Marlo and I were talking he was being diagnosed with AT/RT (atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor) brain cancer – a usually deadly diagnosis. In fact his doctors in upstate New York removed a goose egg size tumor from his brain and gave him less than a year to live.

Thanksgiving night on Nightline you will see what Marlo had hoped I could see for myself – the miracle of healing at a hospital of hope.

Two remarkable and dedicated young Nightline producers shot this story from beginning to end capturing the year for you to see. And like me, they became believers.

Please watch. This story is special to all of us who were privileged to work on it.

November 26, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (10)

Closing Arguments: No Jets for the Execs?

November 22, 2008 12:05 AM

As our chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross reported last night, the CEOs from the Big Three automakers spared no expense getting from Detroit to Washington to ask for a $25-billion dollar share of the the government's $700-bilion bailout.

Today, General Motors announced the company would take two of their five jets out of service because, they said, the planes were not being used.

Ford and Chrysler have not revealed any plans, as yet, to change their corporate jet policy.

So tonight, we ask you: Should executives from companies seeking bailout funds be forced to fly commercial?

Tell us what you think.

November 22, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (151)

Closing Arguments: A Bailout for the Big Three?

November 19, 2008 12:04 AM

Executives from the Big Three automakers -- GM, Ford, and Chrysler -- were on Capitol Hill today asking for a $25-billion share in the government's $700-billion bailout.

These once-titans of American industry are running on fumes. Without a lifeline, they warned, millions will lose their jobs. They even went so far as to say national security could be put at risk if they are allowed to fail.

But lawmakers are reluctant to direct taxpayer money toward the auto industry -- and the future remains unclear for Detroit.

So tonight, we ask you: Do the Big Three deserve a share?

Tell us what you think.

November 19, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (244)

Closing Arguments: Obama's Madame Secretary?

November 15, 2008 12:05 AM

From bitter Democratic rival, to campaign ally, to...Madame Secretary?

So did he or didn't he? And will she or won't she?

The answer to the first question is yes, president-elect Barack Obama did discuss with Hillary Clinton the possibility of her serving in his administration as secretary of state. They met yesterday in Chicago.   

Sources tell ABC News that it was a "very serious conversation," but no firm offer was made and there are other powerhouse names that are also uner consideration.

For now, her level of interest remains unclear.

So, tonight, we ask you: Do you think Hillary Clinton would the right pick for secretary of state? 

Tell us what you think.

November 15, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (96)

Closing Arguments: Picking Sides on Prop 8

November 13, 2008 12:06 AM

California's recently passed Proposition 8, which recognizes only marriages between a man and woman, has spurred protests across the country and already prompted lawsuits.

A group of opponents gathered tonight in front of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints right outside our New York City studio.   

The protesters targeted the Mormon church because its members poured tens of millions of dollars into supporting the ballot's passage, as ABC News correspondent Dan Harris reported tonight on "World News With Charles Gibson."

Mormon leadership had a letter read aloud in every Mormon church in California, asking members to "Do all you can" to fight gay marriage.

So do you agree with the Mormons or the protesters on this controversial issue? What do you think of gay marriage?

Tell us what you think.

November 13, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (732)

Closing Argument: The Presidential Pooch

November 10, 2008 12:22 PM

On Friday's Nightline we brought you three great stories -- The rise in gun sales since Obama's election, a piece on Obama's first press conference as President-elect, and a Nigtline Playlist featuring Kristin Chenoweth.

At the end the show, we aired a small segment on the yet-to-be-selected White House Dog.  Of all the promises that Barack Obama has offered, it's the one he made to his daughters last Tuesday night that might provoke the biggest backlash if it is broken.

Heading out of the piece, we had planned on soliciting your ideas for what type of dog is best fit for the White House, but thanks to timing, things did not go as planned.  So we ask you now, albeit a bit late, what type of dog should the Obama family get?  Give us your thoughts below.

November 10, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (16)

Closing Arguments: Was It the Economy, Obama?

November 06, 2008 12:05 AM

No one can dispute the historic nature of Barack Obama's victory.

But before the recent economic collapse, polls showed the two candidates in a statistical dead heat.

So tonight, we ask you: Would Obama have won Tuesday's election without the financial crisis?

Tell us what you think.

November 6, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (97)