and one that's been talked about quite a bit is cystic fibrosis. it's generally not a happy disease. it's a serious lung disease and also affects other organs and tissues in the body. but whereas some patients with the disease die right in the newborn period, others will go on for an average life expectancy of 30 or 40. when a child with an abnormality is born, parents need information as well as support from the medical community. edward mccabe: my main job in those situations is to help them understand what the situation is, what the child's capabilities will be, what they may not be. and then to help to get that child into the appropriate infant stimulation. i have seen down's syndrome change from when i was an intern and resident. those kids, we just put them into institutions. we didn't have expectations and they ended up significantly retarded, sometimes severely retarded. we rarely see kids that retarded from down's syndrome these days because infant stimulation has a major effect. so i believe it's very important to work with the family. th

there is a break through tonight in the treatment of cystic fibrosis. the fatal disorder that afflicts about 30,000 americans. the f.d.a. today approved a drug called kalydeco. it's the first drug that treats the genetic defect in c.f., not just the symptoms. the drug works in only about 4% of patients but it points the way to treatment for the rest. an official at the cystic fibrosis foundation today told us today "it's a game changer." secretary of state hillary clinton turned up the heat on syria today. she urged the united nations to support a plan that would end the 40-year dictatorship of the assad family. bashir assad's crackdown on a popular uprising that began ten months ago have left at least 5,000 dead and elizabeth palmer tells us it is only getting worse. >> reporter: as soon as the arab league observers' mission ended, syria's military renewed its assault on areas that have fallen to the rebel opposition. the government announced its forces have now retaken the eastern suburbs of damascus. syrian tanks also rolled into the defiant city of

in all, about 30,000 americans have cystic fibrosis. it causes mucus buildup in the lungs and other organs and generally causes death by young adulthood. those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to judy. >> european leaders attempt to tackle their fiscal woes, margaret warner is examining repercussions on the ground. tonight, she reports from stuttgart, germany. i spoke with her a short time ago. you were in belgium for us last night. tonight you're in germany meeting with those or covering the meeting of those european leaders. what did they agree to in the end? >> warner: the one concrete thing they did agree to was a new kind of budgetary or fiscal pact they're calling it. some call it a treaty. 25 of the 27 members of the european union agreed in principle to this. and the idea is that they're going to have a tighter mechanism to ensure fiscal discipline on its member countries and punish those in some fashion who don't meet their obligations. so as angela merkel, the chancellor of germany, explained it to us last night,

. >>> the first drug to treat the root cause of cystic fibrosis has now been approved by the fda. it's -- it will mean a life changing treatment for a small group of patients who suffer from it. these are people with the genetic defect that it can attack directly and improves lung function and reduces the sticky muse cuss build -- mucus buildup. >>> a study says drugs called stat continues have must as much cholesterol lowering power in women as men. a team at boston mass general pulled together 18 different studies track mog are than 140,000 people. the results show that in both men and women, statins significantly cut the risk of a first-time heart attack. statins are sold under several names including lipitor. >>> the fda is getting a failing grade when it comes to sodium. while the industry said it would voluntarily overhaul the recipes and cut back on salt, they say it's not happening fast enough. the group wants the fda to create a mandatory sodium guideline for restaurants, even the grocery stores. cspi says most americans have no idea just how much salt can sneak into thei

she's got cystic fibrosis. all right, sorry. ( shouting ) next door's at it again. god, those poor kids. they've gone to stay with her mother. i thought barbara had kicked him out. i think... she's taken him back again. big mistake. not necessarily. there are always two sides to every story. he was screwing his p.a. and his boss at the same time! what, literally at the same time? jake, just-- i knew there was something dodgy about him, just to look at him. what, you knew just by looking at him that he was gonna-- yeah, creepy. just, you need antennae. and you have those, do you? yeah. i mean, let's be honest. women have miles better antennae than men. well, barbara's weren't too hot, were they? where'd she get those, argos? well, obviously not all-- or maybe her antenna was broken. replaced it with a coat hanger. ( shouting continues ) ( phone ringing ) are you okay? yeah, i'm okay. hi, jo. so, karen's finally started her project, has she? yeah. how much of it has she done? oh, you know... quite a bit. she, uh, wrote the word "africa." oh, here we go. everybody does

keep in mind two days ago, the fda approved a cystic fibrosis drug. also missing street estimates, came in at 97 cents a share for gilead sciences. it kick started a frenzy in the biotech space. bristol-myers, we can expect investors to discuss gilead's acquisition on the call, some saying there will be more details on the action coming up soon. >> seema mody with the latest there. super bowl xlvi, up next we speak to the chairman of one of the two teams set to take the field. new york giants chief with us next. >>> super bowl xlvi kicks off sunday on nbc. as the new york giants take on the new england patriots, a rematch from the big game four years ago. throughout the day on cnbc, we've pitted new york against boston in the super bowl cities to see which metro area is better for business. the giants and patriots have won three super bowls in their history, so how have the markets performed on the monday following the wins? and who should call wall street -- who should wall street be cheering for? mary thompson is in foxboro, massachusetts. brian sha

in december of 2001 when daniel was only 13 months old, he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the united states. mr. rivera: today daniel is a fifth grade student at our lady of the lakes catholic school. and is an accomplished runner who continuously finishes in the top at district races. daniel continues to amaze doctors every day with how well he runs and his ability to exercise with ease. starting march 24 at amelia air hart park, daniel willar tiss pate in a series of 5-k races in south florida raising awayness for his fight against cystic fibrosis. i'm sure the south florida community will go out and participate in this event and show support for daniel in his battle against this disease. anyone interested in getting information can log on to www.runningwithdanny.com. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> permission to address the house for one minute. revise and extend i th