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Friends and Family Mourn Young Victim of MRSA; Bhutto Returns to Pakistan; Severe Weather Across Parts of U.S.

Aired October 18, 2007 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Tony Harris. Thanks for joining us today here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Here's what's on the run down. Tornadoes and powerful thunderstorms targeting a wide stretch of the nation today. Watches and warnings ahead.

COLLINS: New concerns about deadly staph infections in schools. Are they spreading? One Virginia district reopens this morning after a scrubbing down.

HARRIS: Pakistan, a key U.S. ally in the terror fight, what does Benazir Bhutto's return mean? She's out of exile today.

It's Thursday, October 18th. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: First up this hour, dangerous storms plow across the Plains, and if you live in the eastern half of the country, take a look. This could be in store for you. Lightning lit the sky over much of the region last night, but this was the pretty part of the storm. As you know, the ugliness usually follows.

Early this morning a tornado killed at least two people in Missouri. Winds tore their trailer apart and threw their bodies some 400 feet. In Oklahoma more than two dozen buildings were damaged, almost all of them mobile homes. Across the state, dozens of people were hurt. Many of the injuries at an Oktoberfest celebration in Tulsa. Fierce winds suddenly tore into the massive tent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL SANDERS, TULSA OKTOBERFEST ORGANIZER: It started raining. It was a very light rain. So I ran for cover as other people did into the beer garden. As soon as I got in there, within seconds without warning, there was this huge gust of wind, possibly a microburst, not sure. And the tent started collapsing. And it was just one of those chaotic scenes here at Oktoberfest that we've never seen before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: In Kansas, no injuries reported, but certainly lots of damage. High winds, heavy rains, the size of golf balls as far as hail goes. Trees were uprooted and streets were flooded. And in Andover, two businesses and several homes were damaged.

HARRIS: Let's get you now to the severe weather center. Our Rob, is there.

And Rob, where do you want to start on -- in telling this complicated weather story today?

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Our other big story this morning. Staph infections in schools, reported cases spreading in several states and concern growing today over a dangerous form of the bug that could standup to antibiotics. Schools in Virginia, where a student died of drug- resistant staph, are back open this morning. Brianna Keilar is in Moneta, Virginia.

And, Brianna, good to see you this morning. How did it go this morning? Pretty smooth, I guess, we could call it a reopening of the system's schools this morning?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pretty smooth. A lot of students coming to school here at Stanton River High School, which was shut yesterday for cleaning along with the other 21 schools in Bedford County, Virginia.

And a lot of students have been very reassured by the fact that the schools have been cleaned. But keep in mind this is the health issue of the story here. There's also the other side of the story, which is the students here are very much still in shock. They're mourning the loss of one of their classmates, Ashton Bonds.

And according to the principal here, this was a senior who was very well-known on campus, very well-liked. So the students obviously miss him, and they're struggling with that. Also, as you can imagine, Bonds' family is still reeling from his death on Monday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How I'm remembering him -- Mom, I'm hungry. That's all he would call me, Mom, I'm hungry. Come in the house, Mom, I'm hungry. Just that, just that.

And he was my protector. I felt like at home, you know, he protected me and my girls, you know. And we're going to be home alone now. I don't know how I'm going to deal with that. Going home, and he's not there.

He was my little man, and he protected me and his sisters. He really did. He wouldn't let no harm get to us. He never would.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Principal Michael Kelly tells us that attendance here at Stanton River High School today is at about 88 percent. That is down a little bit. That's down by about 8 percent, but he expects that a lot of the kids who have stayed home are those who are close friends with Ashton, or relatives of Ashton, and that they're home because they're mourning.

He says, of course, he imagines there are some students who didn't come to school because maybe they fear for their safety, but he felt that was a small number of the students.

HARRIS: CNN's Brianna Keilar, for us this morning. Brianna, appreciate it. Thank you.

An "Explainer" now on staph infections and the drug resistant form known as MRSA. Staph is short for Staphylococcus Aureus, the bacteria found on the skin and noses of healthy people. MRSA is a strain of staph bacteria that does not respond to penicillin or related antibiotics. It can be treated with some other drugs. The infection can spread through skin-to-skin contact or through sharing an item with an infected person. That could include items like towels or sports equipment found in gyms and locker rooms.

COLLINS: Want to get back to the story we told you about a few moments ago. Still looking at some live pictures coming out of Washington, for you. Steilacoom, Washington, this is our affiliate KIRO. This is a train derailment that we told you a little bit about earlier today.

According to the Associated Press Burlington Northern Santa Fe officials say this derailment has blocked -- you can barely see it there, but you can sort of see that the cars are certainly kitty- wampus if you will. About 13 of those cars did jump the tracks. They're now blocking both sets of tracks.

Again near Steilacoom, this is south of Tacoma, Washington; 95 cars, originally. Apparently one of those cars does contain hazardous substances, but not sure exactly what type of substance that is. And also our understanding from the Associated Press there was no leak and it does not pose any threat to the environment at this time.

But, again, 13 cars seem to have jumped the tracks about 3:00 a.m. this morning. No injuries to report at this time. Certainly still looking for the cause of that derailment. We'll continue to watch that one for you.

COLLINS: And this story just in, in the last few minutes now. The Republican race for the White House possibly losing a candidate. The Associated Press reported this morning Senator Sam Brownback is expected to drop out. The AP quotes people close to the Kansas senator. Brownback was considered a long shot with just 1 percent of the support in a recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll.

HARRIS: Show down on Capitol Hill. Supporters of a bill to expand the children's health insurance program will try to override a presidential veto today. About two dozen lawmakers would have to change their votes to reach the two-thirds majority. That prospect, pretty dim. Even if the override fails, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she will keep fighting for the expansion. President Bush has appointed a team to try to work out a compromise with Congress. Our Congressional Correspondent Jessica Yellin is closely watching developments on Capitol Hill this morning and she will join us later with updates.

So what is S-CHIP? S-CHIP stands for State Children's Health Insurance Program. It was created 10 years ago to help children from families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid but too low to afford private insurance. That's typically folks who earn about $41,000 for a family of four. Right now the program covers more than 6 million children for routine checkups, immunizations, and the like.

The bill would expand the program to about 10 million children at a cost of $35 billion over the next five years. The president has recommended a $5 billion increase to cover half a million children who are not covered now.

COLLINS: A hero's welcome it in Pakistan. The former prime minister Benazir Bhutto is back in her homeland this morning. Her return raising questions about what's next for a key U.S. ally in the war on terror. CNN's Dan Rivers has been following the story all morning. He joins us live from Karachi.

Dan, so why are we seeing these pictures? Such a seemingly huge outpouring for Bhutto's return?

DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are tens of thousands of people who have come onto the streets of Karachi to welcome her back. Extraordinary scenes, her motorcade has been totally mobbed by people, even getting one report that one security guard may have been suffocated such was the press of people trying to get a glimpse of her.

Her party was bussed in thousands of supporters, but also a lot of people are just welcome to see her back after eight long years in exile, as she fled in 1999, after General Musharraf staged a coup, and corruption allegations were put against her. Charges were put in court. Now, finally she is back to this incredible welcome.

And when we caught up with her she spoke about defending the reputation of Pakistan now that she's back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENAZIR BHUTTO, FMR. PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER: I feel so proud of the people of Pakistan. I feel so very proud of them. It hurts us when people say that they're a risk to come whether they're bombing schools in London or whether they're plotting plots in Germany, or doing things in other countries have a trail leading back. That's not the real image of Pakistan. The people that you see outside are the real image of Pakistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS: We understand it will take several more hours for that motorcade to push its way through the thousands of people to get into central Karachi, here behind me where she's expected to address her party loyalist. Of course, this is all part of a power-sharing deal with President Musharraf that has been struck. A highly controversial deal, at that, but it could see Benazir Bhutto coming back as prime minister with General Musharraf as president. This would be the third time she served as prime minister, if she's successful.

COLLINS: Dan, I also want to talk to you a little bit about her enemies. Certainly not everyone happy that Bhutto is back in Pakistan. Is there any real threat to her life in all of this?

RIVERS: Absolutely. An incredibly tight security operation in place. There have been plenty of enemies that want to see her assassinated. There have been plots in the past that have been uncovered. One of the Taliban leaders on the border with Afghanistan, Batulla Masood (ph), has said his suicide bombers will be waiting for her when she lands. So far everything has been peaceful, but there's an enormous security operation in place to ensure she gets here safely.

COLLINS: Understandably so. All right, CNN's Dan Rivers coming to us from Karachi this morning. Thanks so much, Dan.

And 54-year-old Benazir Bhutto entered the political scene in 1986. She led the party founded by her father, a prime minister, who was executed in 1988. She won her first of two terms as prime minister, becoming the first woman to lead a Muslim nation. Her administration dogged by allegations of corruption. Bhutto was thrown out of office in 1996.

She was convicted of corruption in 1999, while she was out of the country. The conviction was then overturned, but she did not come back until getting an amnesty deal with Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf. Like Mr. Musharraf, Bhutto supports the U.S. war on terror.

HARRIS: Still ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, an Air Force bomber, like this one, armed with nuclear warheads, and the crew completely unaware. New developments from the Pentagon.

COLLINS: Also, water fight in the South. Now a legal showdown over Georgia reservoirs; how drought is leading to a lawsuit.

HARRIS: Witness at an accident does more than report it. He goes after the driver.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He ran over to him like, what are you doing? You know? The guy is like I have to go to work. He just couldn't -- I guess he went loose on him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Kids go to the hospital, driver goes to the hospital, witness goes to jail.

And a school board has approved giving contraceptives to kids in middle school. We want to know what you think about this. Should contraceptives be offered to kids as young as 11? E-mail us your thoughts right now, at cnnnewsroom@cnn.com. And we will read some of your responses a bit later in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Good morning, again. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. An American wants drivers to boycott oil from Venezuela. Well, he wasn't quite that diplomatic about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just don't see (EXPLETIVE DELETED) on the side of the road everywhere we go in America. Excuse me.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: I can't spell it out. I want to, but I can't spell it out. But you see it there. Rhymes with gas. And good night.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And new developments this morning in a truly disturbing story. It is the case of an Air Force bomber like this one. The plane flew across the Heartland armed with nuclear warheads and no one knew it. CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr was first to report this story.

Barbara, good morning to you. What have you learned?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Tony.

This incident has been under investigation since it happened in late August. Of course, the Air Force now wrapping that up. What we have learned this morning from sources very familiar with the proceedings is that Defense Secretary Robert Gates is expected to be briefed on the entire matter tomorrow. And the results of that investigation could be made public as soon as tomorrow afternoon.

It is expected that at least five Air Force personnel will be fired from their jobs because of this incident, in which six nuclear warheads flew from North Dakota to Louisiana with nobody noticing they were onboard that B-52.

A number of Air Force personnel may also face disciplinary action. That is not entirely clear yet, but some of this entire matter could be referred for criminal investigation. The Air Force takes all of this very seriously, Tony.

HARRIS: OK, our Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr for us this morning. Barbara, thanks.

COLLINS: Don Shepperd retired from the Air Force as a major general. He's joining us now by telephone as a CNN military analyst.

General Shepperd, I know you have flown the Boss (ph), as they sometimes call the B-52. You have actually flown it with nukes on board. Tell us a little about how you think something like this could have happened in the first place?

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Heidi, for all of us that were involved with nuclear weapons back when we were kids, if you will, in the Air Force, this is almost -- not understandable. The procedures that were extremely tight. You had a two-man concept. No one person could be around them. You had all kinds of paperwork involved, check after check, after check. Somehow this slipped through the system.

I flew, as a young cadet, at the Air Force Academy, on some familiarization missions, 24-hour nuclear, airborne alert, with nuclear weapons on board. Those were stopped in the '70s by treaty and agreement with the Soviet Union due to several accidents.

But it's just beyond many of us how this could happen. There had to be several people that simply did not do their job, did not exercise proper caution, and they're probably going to pay for it when this -- when the results of this investigation come out.

COLLINS: As we just heard from Barbara, we know the squadron commander had been relieved of his duties shortly after the incident happened and then possibly five more Air Force -- flyers, I should say, who were involved in this.

But the question, I guess, still that really remains about this tighter grip on munitions and the importance of that and knowing exactly where you're weapons are?

SHEPPERD: Yes, like I say, it's just almost incomprehensible to those of us that dealt with this. First of all, you have procedure after procedure, you have training involved, you have certification involved. All of the people have to have human reliability checks, and all of these checks and systems failed us.

We have become the gold standard for control of nuclear weapons. We've voiced lots of concerns about the Soviet Union and their lack of control as the Soviet Union came down, and they're nuclear weapons. And now we're embarrassed by this. So, this is taken seriously at the highest levels. We decertified, in the Air Force, all of the people involved with nuclear weapons and then retrained them and recertified them. So steps have been taken, but this is extremely serious and being taken serious by the chain of command.

COLLINS: Just reminding everybody, really quickly, Barbara has done such a great job of explaining to us that people on the ground, really, not in danger. There could have been some environmental concerns had there been any type of tragedy. But this is six nuclear warheads that were still attached to the cruise missiles. They were flying from Minot to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. They were going to decommission those missiles.

But obviously, General Shepperd, those warheads should have been removed before that flight.

SHEPPERD: They should have been removed before the flight. We do not transport nuclear weapons on nuclear capable bombers. That was part of the agreement. And it's important, as you say, Heidi, to point out to the public that there was no danger of these weapons going off in a crash. If an airplane had crashed you'd have local contamination but that would be easily cleaned up. It's something we train for all the time.

And also the weapons are not enabled. In other words, the president has to release the weapons through some well-studied procedures. In other words the crew can't decide to drop one of these things and have it go off as a nuclear weapons. So there was no danger involved but this is still very, very serious.

COLLINS: Well, understood. All right, Major General Don Shepperd, our CNN military analyst. Thanks so much, I appreciate it.

SHEPPERD: You bet.

COLLINS: And we want to turn to the weather situation now. There he is, Rob Marciano standing by. And the words down below, you say rough weather. Boy that's a little bit of an understatement, huh?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, especially for folks who live in the Florida Panhandle. Right now, we have a freshly issued tornado warning, for Pensacola, Florida. There it is on the radar scope. Zooming in the pink highlighted polygon there. Well, it looks like we've got just another tornado warning just to the east of there. Details coming right up after the break. Stay with us.

HARRIS: And still to come, scandal in Tulsa, the president of Oral Roberts University now taking a leave of absence.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: I'm Gerri Willis. Go green at home and save money. We'll give you the details next on "Top Tips" in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Without a moment's delay, to Rob Marciano, following watches and warnings all over the place.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Want to also take a look at the Big Board, right now. It might not be safe to look at, but I don't know, we're just down about 14 points, at this point; 13,876, right now, Dow Jones industrial averages. Nasdaq also down about 9 points. We're going to be talking, shortly, with Susan Lisovicz a little bit more about this poll that has come out, an economy poll. And the latest earnings reports, how that will affect the market. Coming up in just a moment.

HARRIS: Just want to remind you again, CNN is going green next week with our "Planet in Peril" special. Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis is getting a jump start this week. WILLIS: That's right.

HARRIS: Gerri has "Top Tips". And here we go, you go green at home, you save money at the same time.

Gerri, where do we start?

WILLIS: All right, OK, think about your house.

HARRIS: OK.

WILLIS: Now, think about all those little drafts you feel in the wintertime?

HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: Maybe it's coming in a window, maybe a door. You know some of these drafts come in around recessed light fixtures, even electrical outlets. Now, if you were to add all of that up, in reality, its like leaving a window open in your house, all year long.

HARRIS: Which is far too often what I do.

WILLIS: Which is a big waste of energy, right?

HARRIS: Yeah, yeah, OK, so if you -- so what's the key here? Should we just start talking about insulating and sealing up the house?

WILLIS: Well, you know, you do want to talk about getting rid of all those leaks and taking care of that.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

WILLIS: You can save big bucks that way. But another way to save is to buy Energy Star products. As you replace the refrigerator, as you replace, you know, the dishwasher, go green with Energy Star. It's a U.S. government program that rates products for your home and business based on three standards. In order for a product to qualify it has to be more energy efficient than the conventional product and have the same or better performance. And it has to pay for itself within five years, Tony.

HARRIS: Now, that's the question. How do you know what products are going to represent the best investment?

WILLIS: Well, see, that's the right way to think about it.

HARRIS: Yeah.

WILLIS: You want to think about what's the best investment. Now, some things will pay off their added cost sooner than others. For example, installing solar panels can take 20 years to pay off, OK?

HARRIS: Yes. WILLIS: That's not a great investment. But if you buy a high efficiency fridge, and the extra amount you paid for it can be returned in three to five years.

HARRIS: Wow.

WILLIS: Or buy a high-efficiency clothes -- washing machine. It pays off in three years.

Now, how long it takes to make your money back, of course, depends on where you are, how much you pay for energy, how often you use the appliances, where you live, but I'm telling you, you can save big dough by doing this.

You want to go to energstar.gov to find out more, and it actually has, on its Web site ...

HARRIS: Yes?

WILLIS: ...a savings calculator so you can actually check out how these products would do for you.

HARRIS: I love it, love it, love it. I don't want you to get away without giving us a heads up as to what's on tap for "OPEN HOUSE" this weekend.

WILLIS: We are going green this weekend. We'll have more on how you can save money with a green house. Gas prices are high, too. But we'll show you how to go green while driving and save money on your car, even if you don't own a hybrid. We'll also tell you which organic foods, the ones that say they're green ...

HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: ...which ones are really worth the money.

HARRIS: There she is. CNN personal finance editor, Gerri Willis. Gerri, have a great day.

WILLIS: My pleasure, you too.

ANNOUNCER: News as it develops as only CNN can bring it to you. See for yourself ...

HARRIS: You hear the voices ...

ANNOUNCER: ...in the CNN ...

HARRIS: ...is it in your head? Yes.

Hello, everyone, bottom of the hour. Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. The Republican race for the White House possibly losing a candidate. The Associated Press reporting this morning Senator Sam Brownback is expected to drop out. The AP close (ph) people close to the Kansas senator, they say he'll make it official tomorrow. Brownback was considered a long shot, with just one percent of the support in a recent CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll.

HARRIS: Healthcare for children, just what is the SCHIP program? Stick around, we will break it all down for you.

COLLINS: Water fight in the south, now a legal showdown over Georgia reservoirs. How drought is leading to a lawsuit.

HARRIS: And a deadly storm pounds the Plains and now is headed east big time. Are you in its path? A live update straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A key vote on kids' healthcare, the House trying to override a presidential veto today. Our Jessica Yellin is following the story. She joins us now live from Capitol Hill.

Jessica, doesn't seem to be a lot of drama now to the outcome this morning, everybody kind of seems to know what's going to happen, but they may not understand what exactly is at stake.

JESSICA YELLIN, CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you what's at stake, what Democrats consider the most important, arguably domestic, priority they have. They're winning this issue, not just today, but going all the way through the 2008 election.

Today, they're going to stand up to President Bush and put a marker down and say, our priority is standing with working Americans, and they're going to try to make the case that the president, the Republican party, don't share that value.

Now, getting down to brass text (ph), what they're actually voting on is this SCHIP bill, which is a program that's been in existence for 10 years, and it provides healthcare insurance to kids whose families make too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to make Medicare -- but not enough to make it to private insurance.

So, what this bill currently does is it covers about six-and-a- half million children. The plan is, under the new program, it would cover up to 10 million children by 2012, and it would increase funding for this program by $35 billion over five years. It would all be paid for through a 61-cent per pack tobacco tax.

Now, Republicans and the president object to the program because they say it's just too expensive, and they say it covers kids whose families should be able to afford private insurance. Republicans today, as we said, the president has vetoed it, and Republicans say they will sustain that veto. They insist the Democrats are being intransigent in refusing to negotiate.

But Democrats say they have a bipartisan bill that stands up for working Americans, drawing a line in the sand, and they're going to protect these kids and these Americans by voting symbolically against the president today.

COLLINS: And Jessica, is there any legitimacy to what some of the Republicans are saying is just not quite right with this bill?

YELLIN: Well, the conflict really is that the alternative proposal that the president has put forward doesn't fund even all the kids who are currently in the program. So, there's a huge money gap. The president has proposed a $5 billion increase as opposed to the $35 billion from the Democrats.

And there are a lot of false claims flying and a lot of rhetoric. The bottom line is both sides are right now refusing to negotiate anymore. There is evidence that after today's vote, after the Democrats stand up to the president today symbolically and then lose, there might be some small room for negotiation down the line, but nothing at this point.

COLLINS: OK, real quickly before we let you go, where do the Democrats say the $35 billion would be coming from?

YELLIN: Again, a tobacco tax.

COLLINS: Tobacco tax, got it. All right, very good. Jessica Yellin, thanks so much. We know you're watching this one closely.

HARRIS: The president of Oral Roberts University will temporarily step aside. Richard Roberts taking a leave of absence after shocking allegations contained in a lawsuit by three former professors. They claim the Roberts family misspent university money on themselves. The suit also suggests sexual improprieties by Roberts' wife. The University Board of Regents has ordered an investigation, the Roberts deny they did anything wrong. Richard Roberts will still get his $228,000 salary.

So, the calendar says October, the weather packing the power of spring. Severe thunderstorms ripping through the Plains heading east, big time. This is a photo of one of 14 tornadoes reported through the night.

One twister, a real killer. Police say it tore apart a trailer in northeastern Missouri, a man and woman were inside. Their bodies were found some 400 feet away.

In Oklahoma, dozens of people were hurt, many of the injuries at an Oktoberfest celebration in Tulsa. Fierce winds suddenly tore into the massive tents and made them collapse. Man, and one of those injured is in critical condition this morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(NEWSBREAK)

HARRIS: And, boy, you are really working over the inbox here in the NEWSROOM. A school board in Portland, as we've been telling you throughout the morning, Portland, Maine, has approved giving birth control pills and patches to students in middle schools. Students already have access to condoms. Here's what we wanted to know from you. And, boy, have you been sending in responses. Should contraceptives be offered to kids as young as 11?

Justin from San Diego writes, "Yes, 11-year-olds should be allowed to have birth control. However, the education of sex must not be taken lightly with them. If they are having sex at such a young age, then they need protection, but they must learn to wait until they are older."

COLLINS: "Contraceptives for 11-year-olds? Do we have to even ask this question? The answer is NO!! The outsourcing of parenting to schools continues." That's from Jeff in Raleigh, North Carolina.

HARRIS: And this from Janet, from Winston-Salem, North Carolina: "Yes, contraceptives AND sex education could be offered to girls IF they are sexually active. In particular, condoms should be made available to help reduce the risk of STDs and AIDs. Anything else would be irresponsible."

COLLINS: And finally from Rachel: "I absolutely, positively disagree with this. It's basically telling our children it's OK to have sex and engage in sexual activity. What the schools SHOULD be doing is teaching our children about abstinence. I'm sickened by this."

So if you would like to send in more e-mails, we will continue to take a look at them here with this question that we're been exploring all morning long, about whether or not birth control should be allowed to children as young as 11.

HARRIS: And still to come in the NEWSROOM this morning, a noose hanging from a rear-view mirror in a city worker's truck. Prank or a malicious act? Mad in Muncie.

COLLINS: Open wide. This is one neighbor you don't want next door. A gator with gumption.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

HARRIS: And still to come, ad's bad word -- billboard owner says it's for a bad man. Highway name-calling in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Another noose incident to tell you about. It happened in Muncie, Indiana. Two nooses found hanging inside the cab of a city trash truck. The workers who displayed them, suspended for 30 days. A city official says he's convinced the noose display was not racially motivated. He said the worker hung the nooses for Halloween, but, the official adds, it was, quote, "very insensitive." Nooses with racial overtones have turned up recently in Louisiana, at Colombia University and other places around the country. A word for posterior, right in your face. A billboard stirs talk in small-town Alabama.

Tiffany Craig of affiliate WKRG reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Don't buy gas from this ass." That's what it says right there, in black, and yellow and blue and red.

TIFFANY CRAIG, WKRG REPORTER (voice-over): Once you spot it, it's hard to look away.

MICKEY DONALDSON, DRIVER: We just don't see ass on the side of the road everywhere we go in America. Excuse me.

CRAIG: But you can find it on the side of the road in Baldwin County.

TOMMY RABON, GAS STATION EMPLOYEE: Little kids come down here, then they'll be saying, momma, what is this right here?

CRAIG: The nearby BP station is not amused.

RABON: Well, if you're going fast, you think it's the next gas station, which is a BP station, not a Citgo.

PAM BROOKS,GAS STATION EMPLOYEE: Citgo is owned by Venezuelan oil, and the man in the picture.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some kind of king or something or other?

CRAIG: Not exactly. He's the country's president, Hugo Chavez.

(on camera): John McCombs owns the billboard and said he had some free space, so he put up that message. He believes that if people truly understand what he's saying here, there'll be a little less opposed to that three-letter word.

JOHN MCCOMBS, BILLBOARD OWNER: He called my president the devil, so I don't like him.

CRAIG (voice-over): In our phone interview, McComb says this is a poor man's way of getting a message out.

MCCOMBS: He is in with Iran's president or he hates America. That's the main thing.

CRAIG: So the three letter word will continue to be a pain for some.

RABON: Yes, but that gas, it don't rhyme too well with ass, so I mean -- maybe I shouldn't have said that.

CRAIG: For now the owner has no plans to take the sign down.

Tiffany Craig, News 5.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Well, rough weather could hit again today. Want to go live to the CNN severe weather center. We'll have all the watches and warnings.

Rob Marciano coming up in just a moment.

HARRIS: Cold and cough medicines for babies and toddlers already pulled from stores. Now some experts want to restrict the remedies for older children.

COLLINS: But first a witness to an accident does more than reporting it; he goes after the driver.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He went and ran over to him, like, what are you doing? You know, the guy is like, oh, I have to go to work. And he just couldn't -- I guess he went loose on him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Kids go to the hospital, driver goes to the hospital, witness goes to jail.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: From witness to suspect. Things happened fast for a father walking his kids to school.

Linda Ergas of affiliate WHDH reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wasn't trying to take the kid's life. I was just...

LINDA ERGAS, WHDH REPORTER: Twenty-seven-year-old John Dorville telling a judge he was only trying to save the kids' lives. Well, things have taken quite a turn for him. He's accused of assaulting the driver of this commercial van after police say the driver blew this stop sign, hit a truck, and wound up coming up on the curb, where a 6-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy, sister and brother, were standing waiting for their school bus.

SGT. THOMAS MAURETTI, FALL RIVER, MASS. POLICE: It's been reported that Mr. Dorville believed that he was going to leave the scene. We haven't been able to confirm that as of yet.

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