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Tornado Tears Through Parts of Pensacola, Florida; Child Rape Tape Case

Aired October 18, 2007 - 14:00   ET

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

DAN SIMON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, this may be hurricane season, but these are really spring-like thunderstorms spawning at least one tornado in the Florida Panhandle. Parts of the Midwest are also in for a rocky afternoon.
And our Chad Myers is keeping a watch on all of it.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And Dan, sex ed in schools is one thing, but birth control pills -- for 11-year-olds, at that? Portland, Maine, steps out of the mainstream with a contraception controversy.

You'll hear both sides live right here in the NEWSROOM.

Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in today for Kyra Phillips at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

SIMON: And I'm Dan Simon, in for Don Lemon.

You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Dangerous storms take aim at the eastern half of the country after pounding the plains. Right now we are watching the Florida Panhandle, where one tornado has already touched down there and several more have been spotted.

Pensacola, it took a direct hit, including a historic church,. Part of a major shopping mall also getting hit there in Cordova. That's the Cordova Mall. And a day care center. And at last word, we're hearing the kids are OK there, fortunately. And only minor injuries are reported elsewhere in town.

In Oklahoma, dozens of people are recovering after huge tents collapsed on them. They were enjoying an Oktoberfest celebration in Tulsa. Its organizers told CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" the winds just came out of nowhere.

(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 starting collapsing. And it was just one of those chaotic scenes here at Oktoberfest that we've never seen before.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right. Seeing the remnants of a tornado is one thing. Living through and actually feeling the effects, a whole other ball of wax, pretty frightening stuff.

Christy Fayard went through it all in Pensacola, and today she is serving as our I-Reporter as well. She supplied a few pictures for us and she just happens to be the sister of one of our own, Ed Lavandera. And here's some of her images right now of this twister that went through Pensacola.

Christy, you're on the line with us now. So pretty frightening stuff, wasn't it?

CHRISTY FAYARD, I-REPORTER: It was. A little different than what we're used to in Pensacola.

WHITFIELD: So you were in a building right near a location that was actually -- that took the direct hit?

FAYARD: I was about two miles away in a building, yes.

WHITFIELD: OK. And tell me what you heard, what you felt, what you saw.

FAYARD: Well, the winds were really strong. It got really dark outside. Some of the people in the office had their radio on. So we knew that the -- I was going to say hurricane -- we knew the tornado was nearby. We just weren't sure exactly where it was.

So we took cover, we just went to a break room and just let it pass. And I left shortly after because it had -- the winds had died down. The rains had stopped. And that's when I got near the Target where those vehicles had been overturned.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And I know you mentioned "hurricane" because that's kind of a Freudian slip. That's the kind of stuff that you guys are really used to. I spoke with the Pensacola mayor who said earlier, "Yes, tornadoes, that's not something that we're that accustomed to. Hurricanes, we know what to do. We have a plan of attack."

So when something like this was to happen with you all today, did you feel like there was any warning? Did you know this kind of severe weather could potentially spawn a twister?

FAYARD: We had ample warning. I think the local media did a great job. From the moment I turned on the news this morning, we knew that the weather was bad and there were tornado warnings and watches in the area.

You know, you never expect this to happen. You just -- you know, until it really happens, I don't think you really -- you know, you really think it's going to happen. But the winds were very high, and -- but they -- the local media did a great job in letting everyone know that, you know, the tornadoes were nearby.

WHITFIELD: Yes, you kind of consider yourself lucky though, right? Because while you were there to experience this twister, none of your properties were damaged. No one that you know was injured, right?

FAYARD: No, absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Well, that is some good news.

So now what, you know, for a lot of the folks who have been victimized by this, so to speak? The mayor says they have, you know, a few shelters they're going to put in place because there are a lot of people who have been left homeless as a result of this kind of tornado damage. You know, do you have a lot of confidence, you know, that the kind of support system is in place for your neighbors who are now left homeless?

FAYARD: Absolutely. And I think Pensacola, you know, like you said, we're used to hurricanes. So I think they are definitely ready and prepared to execute a plan that, you know, allows everybody to be taken care of. And those that were -- you know, are left homeless will have a place to go and help will be provided for them.

WHITFIELD: And you snapped off some of these pictures. Was it through your cell phone? Or did you happen to have a digital camera handy? It seems as though you kind of have the journalist DNA in you given that you're Ed Lavandera's sister.

FAYARD: No, actually, those were taken through my camera phone. So...

WHITFIELD: Yes. So, when you took the pictures, what was going through your mind? You know, do you feel like the images translate, you know, to what you saw firsthand?

FAYARD: Oh, absolutely. And I think -- you know, I was kind of caught off guard because I was told -- I had just visited the bank, and when I walked in there, they looked at me like -- you know, I asked them if they were OK, and they said, "Well, we can't believe anyone is out in this."

And I said -- and they said that the cars had been overturned over in the Target parking lot, so that's when I drove by there, because sometimes, you know, it can be hearsay. So I drove by there, and when I saw it I was just astonished. And apparently -- I did speak to somebody that was there, and they are reporting this locally, that there was actually someone in his car when his car was turned over. So...

WHITFIELD: Wow.

FAYARD: ... I'm sure that was scary for him.

WHITFIELD: Yes, scary for him and scary for everybody who was witness to this twister. Christy Fayard, thanks so much for your still images that you were able to I-Report into us, as well as the cooperation of our affiliate there who provided a lot of the video that you were seeing as well.

Thanks a lot, Christy.

FAYARD: Thank you.

SIMON: Well, Fred, you know, we're getting word today that we've lost a real comedic legend, Joey Bishop.

You remember Joey Bishop.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

SIMON: Rat Pack.

WHITFIELD: One of the Rat Pack.

SIMON: The last surviving member of the Rat Pack. Well, he died today. He was 89 years old. The Rat Pack -- Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin.

WHITFIELD: Frank Sinatra.

SIMON: And Frank Sinatra.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

SIMON: We are told that Joey Bishop died Wednesday night at his home in Newport Beach. We're not told of the exact causes. We're just told multiple things led to his death.

But the world is really going to miss Joey Bishop. He was in some real legendary films, including the original "Oceans 11" film back in 1960.

Joey Bishop dead at the age of 89.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much.

All right. Well, here's a pretty perplexing question.

Where can an 11-year-old girl get a prescription for birth control pills? In Portland, Maine, the answer is at school.

Officials there have voted to let one Portland middle school offer students a full range of contraception, including the pill. And as you might expect, it's a highly controversial decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIANNE MILLER, PARENT: There -- the ramifications of what you are considering is mind-boggling to me. I just can't believe we would be this irresponsible. CAROL SCHILLER, PARENT: We're not talking about a stampede of kids coming in asking for birth control. We're looking at a segment of the population that, for whatever reason, are being abandoned by adults in their lives.

PETER DOYLE, PARENT: You all better consider that down the line, because you all are going to be responsible for that, the devastating effects on young women, when this goes through.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow. Some pretty strong points being made there from mostly parents. And most of the students at King Middle School are between 11 and 13 years old. And in case you were wondering, the school's health center has been distributing condoms for years.

And a lot of you are clicking on our "Quick Vote". The question: Should middle schools give birth control pills to girls as young as 11? Here are some of the results so far.

Right now, 24 percent of you say yes, and an overwhelming 76 percent say no.

Just log on to CNN.com to vote.

And we want to know what you think. Should contraceptives be offered to kids as young as 11?

E-mail us your thoughts at cnnnewsroom@cnn.com. We'll read some of your responses later on.

And also coming up, we'll speak with two members of the Portland school committee to find out how this vote came about and how it was that they were able to come to this consensus of a "yes," making birth control pills available to kids as young as 11.

All that straight ahead.

SIMON: And Chester Arthur Stiles, he's the guy accused of raping a 2-year-old girl and taping it. Well, wait until you hear what a former girlfriend has to say about him.

We're going to have that live.

And a former Arkansas governor running for president. Does that sound familiar? You're going to hear from Mike Huckabee ahead.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

SIMON: Fred, this story has just shocked everybody. His name is Chester Stiles, and yesterday he appeared in a Las Vegas courtroom facing charges that he raped a little girl and that he videotaped himself doing it.

The details of this case are just so appalling, it really makes you wonder what kind of human being is capable of such an act. Well, naturally, Styles is not talking, but people who know him are.

The young victim's mother, she spoke to Dr. Phil by telephone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. PHIL: How well did you know him?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't know him personally, but I had seen him a couple of times.

DR. PHIL: How did he get access to her?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was living with his girlfriend's father.

DR. PHIL: And so, without your knowing it, he kind of had back- door access to her through someone else?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right. She doesn't remember anything, and we had a conversation, actually, just recently about if anybody touched her. And she says no, that she would tell me if they did. She would scream, she said.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: I'm joined now by Stiles' ex-girlfriend, Tina Allen. She's in Las Vegas.

Tina, you were in a relationship with this guy for about 10 years, an on and off again relationship, you told me. Seeing him in the courtroom there the other day, he was looking down, looking really disheveled. What went through your mind when you saw him there?

TINA ALLEN, CHESTER STILES' FMR. GIRLFRIEND: That he should be feeling some remorse. He needs to feel bad, as bad as he possibly can.

SIMON: Tell me how you first met Chester Stiles. I know you said you were attracted to him -- 6'2, athletic, that's how you described him to me at one point. You were working in a mall.

How did you make the introduction?

ALLEN: The managers of the store that he was working in told me he had spotted me across the parking lot, said he thought he was in love and wanted to know if they would introduce us.

SIMON: And so you had begun this relationship, and like I said, you were in a relationship for about 10 years. And then I guess it was about four years ago, two of your children had an apartment, and they shared the apartment with the mother of the victim,. The baby and the mother were also living in that apartment with your two children. Is that how Chester Stiles apparently met this little girl?

ALLEN: As far as I can determine, he has gone to my children's homes many times. You know, we spent time doing family things when we first met.

People have seen the videos, family outings. That's how I wanted it to be. I wanted my kids to be involved in everything.

So, yes, my son was dating the girl at the time, and we'd go over to visit my daughter and sons and grandson. And, you know, people are there. Always, always all kinds of people there.

SIMON: As we've been covering this case, a lot of people have been speculating, you know, there's really no way this could have been his first time allegedly molesting a little girl. Tell me, did you ever see any warning signs that he could do this to a young child?

ALLEN: Dan, he dated women who were older than him. I am eight years older. We're all heavy in the bottom, fat women -- sorry, ladies -- but, you know, four, five, eight, sometimes 20 years older than him. Where's the pattern in that?

SIMON: Tina, as you know, this case took a little bit of a turn a couple days ago when on the "Dr. Phil Show," your own son, Todd Allen, who I've actually talked to in the past, he went on that show and he told Dr. Phil that, number one, he thinks you might still be in love with Chester Stiles and, number two, that you may have even possibly protected him during this ordeal when he was on the run.

Let's take a look now at what Todd had to say on "Dr. Phil".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. PHIL: And you say that she saw him as quick -- as early as a week before this news broke?

TODD ALLEN, TINA ALLEN'S SON: I found out about it, I would say, on a Friday. And the Thursday the week before I had seen him sitting in front of our house.

DR. PHIL: So you think she's actually been helping him hide?

TODD ALLEN: Possibly. It's a possibility. At least she might have known where he is or at least been in contact with him.

DR. PHIL: She continues to seem to have feelings for this person.

TODD ALLEN: Correct. I don't know if it's feelings, but I know that she keeps him around. There's been points in time where she's said, "I'm done with him. I'm done with him." And then two weeks later he's back sitting in my living room.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: All right, Tina. That's your own son there saying some pretty harsh things about his own mother.

Your reaction to that?

ALLEN: If my son would like to see joint counseling so that he can resolve whatever issues he has with me, I'm all for it. Dr. Phil, anybody. I'm not sure what I've done to hurt my son, but I don't love Chester Stiles.

I have letters and things that I've written to Chester Stiles over the last few years telling him that I thought he needed to seek help, that anything that I could do to help him wasn't working, that he needed to find somebody professional. I'm not in love with the man. I haven't been for a long time.

I have tried to live by the principle of love one another and try to be a friend to him to help him work through whatever issues he felt he had, but never, ever at any point did I think he could do this to a child that I cared about.

SIMON: Tina, what about the allegation from your son that you may have helped him evade law enforcement?

ALLEN: No, no. If I had known where he was, I would have taken them straight to him.

I gave the police a description of him with his long hair and of that car. I told them what he looked like and what to keep their eyes out for. And I told them I was sure he was still here, but I never knew where, not once.

SIMON: Tina, I know it's been a tough couple of weeks for you. I talked to you in Vegas many times, and I appreciated all the time you gave me and, of course, the time you're giving us today.

Take care of yourself, OK?

ALLEN: Thanks, Dan.

WHITFIELD: Well, throughout the Southeast and even the midsection of this country, some pretty severe weather that we are watching.

Our Chad Myers is in the severe weather center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Wow. This is a pretty remarkable rescue under way.

You're looking at taped pictures right now of a rescue that was under way at the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Tacoma, Washington. And hopefully that's a picture of a good news kind of resolution to all of this, because apparently the fire-fighting teams, emergency crews, have responded to this location because a worker who was working on repairing the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, somehow when he was being lowered by his coworkers down this shaft on a tower, apparently his -- he got tangled up in some rope.

And now you can see a wider view. This is a pretty significant bridge here.

Got tangled up in the rope. And emergency crews came in. And we hope that that picture means we're successfully able to retrieve this worker.

We understand there to only be one worker who was being rescued. So these are the most recent images that we're getting in now from our affiliate, KIRO out of Tacoma, Washington.

We'll keep you posted on how that worker, hopefully rescued, is doing.

SIMON: All right. Let's take a look at what's happening on Wall Street.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, some pretty strong weather systems are making their away across much of the U.S.

Chad Myers is in the severe weather center, where now we understand, Chad, there to be a report of yet another tornado, this time in Alabama. And this is after talking about Florida, Mississippi, Missouri and now a fourth state being impacted?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, and there's going to be -- there will be another six or 10 before we get down tonight, really.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

MYERS: It will be all the way from Wisconsin through Minnesota and down to the Gulf Coast. But Sulligent, Alabama, I want you to take cover now.

Anybody listening now, turn off the TV, get out of the way, get inside an interior closet. This is a big-time spinning tornado here, a lot of rotation on the Doppler Radar, and I just want you to get out of the way now. I want to get this on before the top of the hour and the bottom of the hour, because then we'll re-roll.

I don't even want you to wait for a commercial. Get out of the way at this point. Sulligent, Alabama, take cover now -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much. We'll keep tabs on that, Sulligent, Alabama.

All right.

SIMON: All right.

A former Arkansas governor running for president, that may sound a bit familiar. You're going to be hearing from Mike Huckabee straight ahead here in the CNN NEWSROOM. You are watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, another warning. Can't get too many to Sulligent, Alabama, in particular, you need to take cover. Chad Myers is in the Severe Weather Center.

Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, it's there now. There is an amazing hook echo on that storm, the storm right there. Right over Sulligent, Alabama, right now.

A it's a number of storms now that we're worried about. This one will probably miss Detroit, Alabama, by a few miles to the east, but also you see that pink box over West Point. That's West Point, Mississippi. That could be the next town to be affected by a storm that's coming a little bit from the south.

There you see Sulligent. There was a hook echo. It's probably north of your town at this point in time. We don't have any indication whether we have damage in that town or not. But literally, if you want to talk about a storm that moved right over, with a hook echo -- and rotation -- right over a town, a fairly large town of almost 3,000 people here. This was some danger that we had a little bit ago.

Now, one more thing I want to tell you, a brand new tornado warning. And this is only a few miles just to the west of Panama City. There's Panama City there, there's the word, the pink box, that is your tornado warning. There is a little bit of a hook, just above the word "breaking". That's where the spin is, that's the rotation, so between Laguna Beach and Panama City, this storm coming onshore with the potential for a tornado.

And also I just want to get you back up to this one; this one was from earlier, but now it's a new update. Public reported a tornado near Sessems (ph), now this is the same storm we had near West Point, six miles east of Starkville, this is Mississippi, near Mississippi State. It's going to be near Tibbi (ph), going to be near West Point and Waverly in the next 20 minutes or so. And it's on the ground, this one is here, so we're talking about Clay and Lounds (ph) County. That's the other storm I was showing you.

But a lot of things going to be going on today. If you see a storm near you, just get inside. You may not have enough time to hear a warning. The warning may be a bit late. You can't get them all right, so just take cover. Get your kids inside if you see a storm coming. It will be a dangerous day where any storm could put down a tornado.

WHITFIELD: Usually people living in that area, or in tornado alley-type areas have already figured out a safe place in their homes, whether it's that small bathroom on the main level if they don't have a basement. If you have a plan like that in place, now it's time to exercise that, right Chad? MYERS: Absolutely. No matter where you are, an apartment complex, get to know the neighbor downstairs because a third floor apartment is not the place to be in a tornado.

WHITFIELD: Right. Stay low.

Thanks so much, Chad.

Dan?

DAN SIMON, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: We're hearing that the field of presidential contenders is shrinking a bit, at least on the Republican side. John King, you're there.

Somebody dropping out?

JOHN KING, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: How are you, Dan? We're up in New Hampshire today and we are told by sources (AUDIO GAP) Capitol Hill. (AUDIO GAP) close to the campaign that Kansas Senator Sam Brownback, (AUDIO GAP) plans to withdraw (AUDIO GAP) from the Republican race. We are told to for that (AUDIO GAP)

SIMON: All right. Well, obviously CNN has confirmed that Senator Brownback is jumping ship. He's getting out of the presidential race. We are told, though, that he may actually run for governor in 2010. He hasn't done so well in the money department, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Right. And it's all about the money right now with what, you know, leading into this candidacy, folks were saying the average amount of money you needed to have was somewhere between $7 and $10 million to be a successful candidate.

SIMON: That's right.

WHITFIELD: And the fund raising for some of the candidates has exceed that, been $20 million and $30 million.

SIMON: He's had a tough time.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, he's kind of got the short end of the stick on that one. We'll try to check in again with John King, as soon as we can return that signal, but that's kind of the gist of it right there.

All right. President Bush scores a win on the House floor. This afternoon Democrats failed to override the president's veto of expansion of a popular children's health insurance program, and the debate got pretty nasty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STENY HOYER, (D) MAJORITY LEADER: We will not allow a lack of attention, or information, to stand between these children and the health care they need.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Bush's statements about children's health shouldn't be taken any more seriously than his lies about the war in Iraq. The truth is that Bush just likes to blow things up in Iraq, in the United States, and in Congress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: At the White House now getting some reaction Elaine Quijano is there.

And so a bit of a feather in the cap for the president?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: A feather in the cap, Fredricka, you're right. This debate has gotten absolutely nasty, that's the word to use for it. White House Secretary Dana Perino, in fact, at the briefing, on camera earlier today, was asked about some of the rhetoric and specifically additional comments you did not hear from Congressman Pete Stark. She chose to decline to comment on some of those remarks.

Instead though, the RNC is firing back, saying that Pete Stark is guilty of an out-of-control rant, that is a, quote, "an insult to every American, Democrat or Republican."

Certainly the temperature of the debate here has been elevated and here at the White House, Dana Perino says that the Bush administration has, though, won this round when it comes to S-CHIP. That was the reaction to the vote earlier this afternoon. And just a few minutes ago, Perino issued a written statement saying the president was pleased by the vote. Calling the bill, quote, "misguided legislation".

She also called on Congress, though, to in her words stop playing politics and to join President Bush in finding common ground. But certainly, Fredricka, as we've heard from the rhetoric, a very fiery rhetoric, it's very difficult to see how a compromise might take place -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: They weren't able to override the veto, but it sounds to me it ain't over, as they say. Elaine Quijano at the White House, thank you.

SIMON: Things not letting up in the weather department. We saw the situation in Alabama just a short while ago, some angry looking clouds there. We have the touchdown in Florida with the tornado earlier today. Chad Myers, is it getting any better out there?

MYERS: No, actually just confirmed the touch down there for Lamar. That's Lamar County in Alabama. That was the Sulligent storm that I was telling people to take cover for. That tornado, in fact, was on the ground and still is on the ground. It's been on the ground 11 minutes now. Now it's moving towards Beaverton, which is really the next city in the line just to the northeast of Sulligent.

Also this storm here moving to West Point. That storm is still on the ground reported by the public on the ground. So, now we have confirmed tornadoes. They are there, they are coming down. And this day is just getting started, as the heat of the day keeps going, these storms will get bigger, and there will be more of them. Stay with us. We'll be right back in two minutes. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. This tornadic activity is through the roof.

Chad, I'm losing track now of all the states we've been talking about, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama.

MYERS: Right.

WHITFIELD: Missouri, I mean, the list is going on and really we're only halfway through the day.

MYERS: We just got this storm in. I wanted to read the report now. This is the storm up near Panama City. There's Panama City right there. Look at the big hook.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

MYERS: That storm had two water spouts, in the water, in the Gulf of Mexico before it moved onshore between Panama City and Laguna Beach. And this is a very built-up area. Huge condominium complexes there, an awful lot of buildup right along the beach so probably some damage as those water spouts came on shore.

A water spout, is because it's over water but if it's attached to a storm like this it's a tornado in itself, just happens to be over water. So calling it a water spout is kind of not calling it what it was. It was a tornado over water, and then it came onshore and I'm sure we'll get some pictures there from Panama City. It's not safe to go out yet. But if you're in Panama City and want to be an I-Reporter please do.

I'm sure this made some damage in a probably a pretty populated and busy area. Also now for Mississippi and Alabama, Lamar County in Alabama, we do know the storm, near Sulligent, was on the ground. A tornado was on the ground, as of about four minutes ago. Still was. And now it's moving toward Beaverton and it was on the ground near Beaverton. That town is about 700 people, but Sulligent, of almost 3,000, and then there are a couple more storms.

Every time you see a pink box show up that's a new tornado warning. You know what, Fred, there might be 20 of them on my screen at one time. And at some point in time, we're keeping up with them now. You need to take control of your own life at this point, and if you see a storm coming take cover. Every storm today could spin, every storm today could have a tornado. If you see one coming your way. Don't wait for the Weather Service to put out a warning. Just go inside.

WHITFIELD: Right. Good advice, thank you, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

SIMON: We sound like a broken record on this story. We're hearing bad news for Britney Spears involving her children. It's really hard to keep up with this story. We've got "Showbiz Tonight" A.J. Hammer.

A.J., she's losing custody of the kids, again?

A.J. HAMMER, CNN ANCHOR, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Yeah, I mean, Dan, you said it right. We can put this on the list of all the major setbacks she's had in this child custody saga. She has in fact -- temporarily, anyway -- lost all visitation rights with her two children, two-year-old Sean Preston and one-year-old Jayden James.

The L.A. Superior Court says they are suspending visitation until she complies with court orders. Now there's no word on which orders she hasn't lived up to just yet, but she is required to undergo drug testing, and submit to three individual counseling sessions, as well as three joint counseling sessions with her ex-husband, Kevin Federline.

Both she and Federline have been ordered to appear before the court on October 26th. But you really have to wonder. We'll be exploring this on "Showbiz Tonight", tonight, why she's not doing everything possible and everything right to get her kids back.

SIMON: What about the deal with Ellen Degeneres? So many twists and turns in that story. Where do things stand with that controversy?

HAMMER: This thing has blown up and it continues to kind of spiral out of control. We've been telling you about Degeneres having adopted a dog and giving it to her hairdresser. Well, here's where we're at now.

The animal adoption agency that took the dog from the hairdresser because Ellen didn't tell them she was giving it to her, has given it to another family. Now, Ellen told her viewers about the flap, and as a result of all the publicity, some people have actually been sending death threats to the adoption agency. Well, Ellen's message on the show today, everybody, just calm down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELLEN DEGENERES, TALK SHOW HOST: I want nothing more than that dog returned to that family, but you don't resort to violence. So anybody out there, please, stop that. Don't threaten, or do whatever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Well, Ellen says she's all done talking about this, until the dog is hopefully returned to her friend. Dan, we can only hope that things will really calm down and anybody sending death threats, I mean, that's a little out of control.

SIMON: I think the court of public opinion has weighed in on this one it just seems to be overwhelmingly in support of Ellen, at least on this issue.

HAMMER: Yeah, definitely. SIMON: A.J., last night a few of our CNN colleagues, they got the red carpet treatment in Hollywood. We're a little jealous here on this set. I guess --

WHITFIELD: What's going on?

SIMON: You're not the only one apparently, Anderson Cooper.

HAMMER: Well, no, but we're working. You're working.

WHITFIELD: Oh, yeah, working.

HAMMER: I'm working here -- and truth be told, I'm sure it was a lot of work for Anderson Cooper and Sanjay Gupta last night out in Hollywood. Come on. They had to walk the red carpet, they had to go to the big gala premiere.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.

HAMMER: We all know "Planet in Peril" is coming. The big gala screening happened last night at Grauman's Chinese Theater. Look at the stars that came out to play. A big glitzy after-party happened after the screening at the Hollywood hot spot, the Roosevelt Hotel.

And as you can see, some of the stars they were able to party into the night with, Matthew McConaughey was there, so was Lance Armstrong, among many others. The two-part, four-hour special will air on CNN on October 23rd and 24th at 9 p.m.

WHITFIELD: Gee.

HAMMER: Now coming up -- yes, Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Hey, I'm just saying, wow! I didn't get my invite. But I'm so happy that there was such a presence.

HAMMER: Going through my mail, don't see one here for me, but you know.

WHITFIELD: You didn't get one either?

HAMMER: We had a show to do last night, while all this was going on.

Let me tell you what's coming up tonight on "Showbiz Tonight". We will be digging deeper into Ellen's nasty dog fight. Why it appears Ellen Degeneres has actually now lost the battle over this puppy that was taken away from those two small children.

Plus, tonight Oprah's personal dog trainer tells "Showbiz Tonight" how she thinks the whole mess could have been handled, only on TV's most provocative news show. "Showbiz Tonight", we look forward to you joining us at 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, on Headline Prime. We'll have our own gala affair tonight.

WHITFIELD: OK. Hey, that's good enough. HAMMER: And you're invited.

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, I'm there then, thank you. All right, A.J.

How about this, coming up, a Virginia school district washing down. You know why. And it has opened up again, all because of those deadly traces of that nasty bacteria.

SIMON: Terrible stuff.

WHITFIELD: Being called the superbug. Details straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

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WHITFIELD: More alarm bells today over the spread of drug- resistant staph infections in school. Staph is being blamed for the death of a Mississippi sixth grader now. And new cases are being reported in at least a half a dozen other states. In Virginia, the school attended by a teen who died on Monday of the so-called superbug has reopened after a thorough cleaning. Here now is CNN's Brianna Keilar.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Attendance is at about 88 percent, down from a normal day. The principal here at Stanton River High School says he expects that's in part because some students just weren't ready to come back to school; that some friends who stayed home were friends of Ashton Bonds, a well-known senior who died Monday from antibiotic resistant staph infection.

And the principal also says he expects some students stayed home because they didn't feel safe coming back to school.

(Voice over): Health officials hope it won't be a recurring sight. Cleaning crews at schools, disinfecting locker rooms, desks and more, all to prevent a deadly infection from spreading. In Virginia, the cleanup followed a 17-year-old student's death after he was hospitalized with an antibiotic resistant staph infection.

RYAN EDWARDS, SPOKESMAN, BEDFORD COUNTY SCHOOLS: We have been dealing with MRSA for the better part of the past month. And we've had cases appear steadily since then.

KEILAR: It's called Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, or MRSA, and it's not just in Virginia. Health officials in Connecticut are on guard.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At this point it is one confirmed case and one other possible case.

KEILAR: Cases are being reported in Ohio, Michigan and other states. Experts estimate about 90,000 people get the infection each year. Most infections occur in hospitals, but often they spread in schools among members of the same gym class or sports team.

DR. JULIE GERBERDING, DIRECTOR, CDC: There are serious strains of staph out there. Some of them are very drug-resistant.

KEILAR: Maryland officials confirmed a case in Bethesda yesterday. New Hampshire officials blame the infection for the death of a four-year-old girl last week, and last march in Texas a 14-year- old boy with MRSA died from pneumonia.

(On camera): Two high schools in Connecticut are each reporting one case of MRSA today. So more cases coming to light. And there are some ways that students can protect themselves from contracting MRSA, among them, in the locker room, not sharing things like towels or soap or deodorant, anything that touches the skin. And above all washing their hands. That's being emphasized here at Stanton River High School, as well as at schools across the nation. Brianna Keilar, CNN, Moneta, Virginia.

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SIMON: Kids and cold medicine: We've heard the warnings for weeks now. Today the FDA is considering a bid from pediatricians to curb the use of over-the-counter cold medicines in children under six years old. They are also looking to see whether the medicine even works for kids six to 12. Today's meeting comes one week after drug- makers voluntarily stopped selling cold medicines for kids under the age of two. CNN's Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, well, she met with one family who really learned the hard way that cold medicines can be deadly for young children.

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ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): When Dimitria Alvarez's baby got a cold, she did what any good parent would do. She took him to the doctor.

DIMITRIA ALVAREZ, MOTHER: He started coughing. It was in his chest, he had a little bit of a fever. And so, I took him to the doctor. And the doctor told me to give him the medicine.

COHEN: The medicine was an over-the-counter cough syrup. What happened to Devin Melburg Alvarez when his mother gave it to him shook his family forever.

DR. JOSHUA SHARFSTEIN, BALTIMORE HEALTH COMMISSION: You're talking about millions of dollars spent convincing parents to buy these drugs, that they need these drugs, when in fact, they are not safe or effective.

COHEN: Dr. Joshua Sharfstein says the cough and cold medicines we see on drug store shelves are dangerous for children under the age of six. Sharfstein, the health commissioner for the City of Baltimore is scheduled to testify Thursday at a Food and Drug Administration meeting. The irony, he says, is these drugs don't even work for kids under six.

SHARFSTEIN: I don't think these products have any role in helping little kids get over colds. COHEN: The Consumer Health Care Products Association, which represents manufacturers of these drugs, say they are safe and effective when used as directed, and most parents are using them appropriately.

Dimitria Alvarez says she did exactly what her pediatrician recommended. She gave her son an over-the-counter cough medicine, put him down to sleep, and seven hours later she found him dead.

ALVAREZ: He was just beautiful and I miss him so much. And I loved him so much.

COHEN: Devon's death certificate, dextromethorphan intoxication. Dextromethorphan is the key ingredient in cough medicines like the one his mother gave him before he died. Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: We are also watching a dangerous pattern of tornadic activity taking place all across the country. Here's a scene from Pensacola, Florida. That seems to have started it all. Chad Myers is in the Severe Weather Center keeping a close watch on all of it. We'll have more in the NEWSROOM straight ahead.

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