Search for Mom, Cancer- Stricken Boy Continues
BLITZER: A massive manhunt in what could be a race against time to save a boy's life. There are new developments regarding the mother and cancer-stricken son on the run from the law and from medical treatment. Police believe they're near Los Angeles and could be bound for Mexico to treat the son's lymphoma. A family attorney says forcing chemotherapy on the boy would constitute, I'm quoting now, "Assault and torture," direct quote. Now there are questions about the family's religion on which their anti-treatment beliefs are based. Our senior correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is joining us now with more on this part of the story. What a story it is Elizabeth.</s>ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh it really is quite amazing, Wolf. Danny Hauser's family adheres to the teachings of a group that claims to embrace Native American spiritual healing. But CNN has learned that the leader of this group has had run-ins with the law.</s>COHEN (voice-over): Daniel Hauser's parents rejected chemotherapy for their son who has Hodgkin's Lymphoma, in favor of this.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is for fever, colic, a viral recovery, Echinacea, we're a simple honest family. We're not out to harm anybody. We never -- this is just our way of life. And why people want to infringe on it, I don't know.</s>COHEN: The Hausers believe in spiritual healing, advocated by a group called the "Nemenhah Band." Daniel, who is 13, has been designated a medicine man by the group. The "Nemenhah Band's" leader Philip Landis, says he survived cancer by using natural treatments.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The basic premise we adhere to is first do no harm.</s>COHEN: The group advocates eating what they call sacred foods such as mushrooms. CNN has learned that Landis was convicted of theft and deceptive practices in Montana in 2002 and received a suspected sentence. And he spent time in prison in Idaho, where he was convicted in 2002 of grand theft. Some question whether Landis is, as he claims, affiliated with a legitimate Native American group. An attorney for the Nez Purse Tribe says Landis has claimed to be a descendant of the great tribal leader Chief Joseph. In an email in 2006, tribal attorney Julie Kane wrote to Landis, "Your claims to be a descendant of Chief Joseph are simply false." She asked him to stop making the claim. Landis did not return emails and phone calls from CNN. Native American health authorities say there is no reason Daniel can't have both spiritual healing and chemotherapy. In fact, they say it's done all the time.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have never heard any tribal representative, medicine person, any, you know, authority on the subject ever say that chemotherapy is not a valid option for a person with cancer.</s>COHEN: He says the family has been misled.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe that in this case, this is spiritual abuse because it is a non-Native American person convincing this family that Native American beliefs prohibit chemotherapy, which they do not.</s>BLITZER: I know Elizabeth you've been speaking with a lot of experts. What are the chances if he doesn't get the chemotherapy that he could die and if he does get the chemotherapy, he will live?</s>COHEN: Wolf, the oncologists I've spoken to said that if he gets the chemotherapy that he's supposed to get, he has a 90 to 95 percent chance of living. If he doesn't get it, they believe that he would die within six months to a year.</s>BLITZER: Elizabeth Cohen with that story, thank you. A dual of ideas escalates into a war of words. President Obama versus Dick Cheney. The White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs he's here. We'll try to go behind the scenes to see if the president listened to the former vice president's speech and if he'd like to meet with him as well. Text messaging while driving, many of you think it's harmless. But what if a bus or train driver doesn't? A top official says that's way too dangerous.