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American Morning

Fight Over Popular Children's Health Insurance Program; FDA Panel Meets Today to Talk About Over-the-Counter Cold and Cough Medicines for Kids

Aired October 18, 2007 - 07:00   ET

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

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Still unbelievable when you see it, because the guy did hold a gun to his head and fire.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: One occasion when fighting back probably was the right thing to do.

CHETRY: And thanks so much for joining us this morning. It's Thursday, October 18th. I'm Kiran Chetry.

ROBERTS: And good morning to you. Thanks for joining us. I'm John Roberts.

We start this hour with extreme weather in the Midwest. A possible tornado moved through Tulsa, Oklahoma last night. A store and more than two dozen mobile homes are heavily damaged, 18,000 people without power.

Nearby emergency crews say more than two dozen people were hurt when two tents collapsed in an annual Oktoberfest. It really just kind of blew away with those two poles being whipped around like pickup sticks. Police say one woman is in critical condition with a head injury, and a local reporter suffered a concussion after one of those tent poles hit him in the head. At least two tornadoes touched down last night in southwestern Missouri. Six homes were damaged in Lawrence County. Dozens of power lines and trees were knocked down. No reports of injuries there, though, thankfully.

And in south-central Kansas, strong winds and hail knocked down several power lines around Wichita. Two businesses and several homes were damaged. Rains caused some roads to flood.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(NEWSBREAK)

ROBERTS: A politically charged fight over a popular children's health insurance program called S-CHIP comes to a head today. House Democrats will try to override the president's threatened veto of the bill, and that effort is expected to fail, because it looks like Republicans will have enough to override that.

CNN's Jennifer Eccleston is live in Washington.

And everyone is basically for the program. They agree that poor children should get money to be able to be insured. So what is the fight about?

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kiran, it's been on your TV, and your radio stations, and your newspapers and you may have heard it around the water cooler, but if you're still asking yourself what exactly is the State Children Health Insurance Program, or S- CHIP, then you're probably not alone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ECCLESTON (voice-over): In 1997 S-CHIP was created to help children from families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid, but too low to afford private insurance. They're often called the working poor, typically families who earn about $41,000 for a family of four. Over the years some states expanded eligibility to include adults and families with much higher incomes. New Jersey, for example, says their state is so expensive that a family of four making over $70,000 is considered working poor.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't like plans that move people from -- encourage people to move from private medicine to the public.

ECCLESTON: Presently six million children qualify for S-CHIP, covering routine checkups, immunization, hospital stays and emergency room care, to name a few. The current program costs about $5 billion per year currently. President Bush says an additional $5 billion will keep the program afloat for the next five years, ensuring the coverage of existing and new participants. But Democrats and some Republicans balked. They say it's not enough to cover kids in the current program, let alone the additional four million children, whom they say qualify but are not enrolled in S-CHIP.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), HOUSE SPEAKER: If you want to know about passion and politics, at the end of the day 10 million children will have health insurance.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ECCLESTON: More kids require more money, and health care costs are on the rise. So supporters of expanding S-CHIP asked for $35 billion additional to effectively manage the program. That proved to be literally too much for the White House who vetoed the legislation earlier this month -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, At the time we heard about the veto, we also heard that the president said, he was willing to compromise. Do we know how far is he willing to go?

ECCLESTON: There are hints of compromise. The president suggesting that he might accept a bigger spending increase on the program to get the deal done with Democrats, but neither he nor his aids have mentioned a figure. For their part, Democrat leaders say, unless they have a guarantee that four million more children will be covered by S-CHIP, there isn't room for compromise, so this is a debate that could run on for months, Kiran, and will likely feed into the 2008 elections. CHETRY: Jennifer Eccleston, live for us in D.C., thank you.

ROBERTS: An FDA panel meets today to talk about over-the-counter cold and cough medicine for kids. Drug companies have already recalled medicine for babies, and some say it should be expanded for all children under the age of six.

CNN's medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here in New York, and she joins us now. Good morning.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

That's right, last week we talked about concerns for under 2, and some of those products came off the market. But what we're going to talk about at the FDA today is that possibly these medicines are dangerous for children under the age of 6. There have been studies that show that in a two-year period 1,500 kids ended up in the emergency room because of over-the-counter cold and cough medicines, and 123 children in a 40-year period died.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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

DIMITRIA ALVARAEZ, GAVE SON COUGH MEDICINE: He just started coughing, and it was just 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 Mehlberg Alvarez when his mother gave it to him shook his family forever.

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

COHEN: Dr. Joshua Sharfstein says the cough and cold medicines we see on drugstore shelves are dangerous for children under the age of 6. Sharfstein, the health commissioner for the city of Baltimore, is scheduled to testify today at an FDA hearing. The irony, he says, is these drugs don't even work for kids under 6.

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, says they're safe and effective when used as directed, and most parents use them appropriately.

Dimitria Alvaraez said 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. ALVARAEZ: He was just beautiful, and I miss him so much and I loved him so much.

COHEN: On Devin's death certificate, dextromehorphan intoxication. Dextromehorphan is a key ingredient in cough medicines, like the one his mother gave him before he died.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN: Now again, a recap of what happened last week. Manufacturers took products aimed at babies and children under the age of two took off the shelves. They said those are coming off the shelves, but pediatric cold and cough medicines aimed at older children, over the age of 2, those are still there.

ROBERTS: So the doctor in your report, the doctor you talked to, said that these don't work for children under the age of 6, yet some parents swear by them. So how is that?

COHEN: Well, according to him and to other experts we talked to, they said the reason why parents swear by them is because they sedate the children. They do, indeed, make children drowsy, so your child is upset, it's having trouble sleeping, these will make them drowsy, but according to these experts, it won't actually help their cough or cold; it just makes then sleepy.

CHETRY: It's so heartbreaking for that mother, though, just to think, you think you're everything right, and you're doing exactly what the doctor says, and you lose your child.

COHEN: Right, exactly.

ROBERTS: Is it the dextromehorphan here that's culprit?

COHEN: There are a couple of different ingredients that people are concerned about. With the dextromehorphan, one of the concerns is that it's heavily sedating, that it sedates too much. Now that's the concern with that drug.

ROBERTS: Elizabeth, Thanks.

COHEN: Thanks.

CHETRY: It's good to see you.

There are some new developments in the Ellen doggy drama. A black Brussels Griffin terrier mix named Iggy is at the center of a national drama, and has now been handed off yet again. There's a picture of the dog. It all started when talk show host Ellen Degeneres adopted him from an L.A. shelter. Ellen says she couldn't keep him because he didn't get along with the cats, even though she tried to train him, so she gave him to her hairdresser. She says it was a loving family with two young daughters who adored Iggy. Well, the shelter says that you cannot hand off the dogs if you don't -- if you're unable to care for them, because it violated the adoption agreement. So they took the dog back. Well, on Tuesday Ellen tearfully talked about the situation on her show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELLEN DEGENERES, TALK SHOW HOST: I was trying to do a good thing, and because I did it wrong those people went and took that dog out of their home and took it away from those kids. And I feel totally responsible for it, and I'm so sorry, and I'm begging them to give that dog back to that family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, even though Ellen was clearly upset about it, it doesn't look like it made any difference. The owner of the animal rescue organization says that the dog has been adopted out to another family. She also says she's been flooded with threatening e-mails and phone calls, saying they got so bad she had to close her business and stay home yesterday after Ellen's televised plea.

ROBERTS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, an armed robber meets his match.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As soon as I heard that click, I figured that's it, he's going to shoot me no matter what, even if I give him the money, so I fought back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: The manager of a KFC restaurant fights for his life after a gunman tries to rob his store. Why did he do it? We ask him, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

ROBERTS: Caught on tape. Closing time at a KFC turns into a fight for one man's survival. Take a look at this surveillance video we first showed you yesterday from Statesville, North Carolina. The manager grabs a gun that was pointed at his head. The thief pulled the trigger. The gun misfired, and the manager lived to tell the tale.

Mitch Penneau joins us now live from the KFC store in Statesville, where this all took place.

Mitch, it's unbelievable that you're able to stand here and talk to us this morning.

MITCH PENNEAU, FOUGHT OFF ARMED ROBBER: Well, I just got lucky that the gun misfired, and you know, that's really all I can say.

ROBERTS: Somebody was looking out for you, I'll tell you that. Let me just quickly set the scene. It's about 9:30 at night, you're closing up, you're outside, you set the alarm, just about to get in your car, the gunman jumps you, takes you back inside the store. The video picks up here. You're down by the safe. This is what we're looking at right now, and the gunman has got the rifle to your head. What was happening right then?

PENNEAU: I was, you know, trying to open the safe, and you know, he just, you know, a couple of seconds and you know expected the safe to be opened, and it wasn't fast enough for him, he put the gun to my head, and you know, I heard the click. I heard it go off. I heard that click, and you know, I thought that was it.

ROBERTS: So he realized that the gun had misfired. Maybe he hadn't chambered a round. So he takes a step back, he pulls back the bolt in the gun to chamber another round. What went through your mind at that second?

PENNEAU: Well, I was looking out of the corner of my eye, and I saw him pull back, and, you know, I knew that was my chance, because that split second he wasn't paying attention. I knew he was going to shoot me no matter what I did, give him the money or not, so I just jumped. I just grabbed the gun and got a grip on it and started fighting him.

ROBERTS: Were you surprised. So we're looking at pictures here of you wrestling through the kitchen in the restaurant there. Were you surprised how strong this fellow was? Because he's spinning you around like a bit of a top there.

PENNEAU: Yes. Well, you know, I knew I wasn't going to be able to get the gun away from him and I knew I wasn't going to able to get control of it, but all's was going through my mind was just keeping him from getting the gun. If he wanted to throw me around, you know, that's it. I just wasn't going to let go of the gun.

ROBERTS: My goodness. We see him punch you a couple of times. He hits you with the gun, but he's got the presence of mind, he drops one of his gloves and he picks it up so he doesn't leave evidence behind. I mean, this guy somehow had the presence of mind to be able to do that.

But you finally worked him toward the door. What happened as you worked him toward the door?

PENNEAU: Well, he started saying, just let go of the gun and I'll go away, just let go of the gun, and I'll leave, and I just yelled back that, you know, I'm not letting go of the gun until it's unloaded, and the struggle just moved out into the parking lot.

ROBERTS: Wow. So the clip fell out of the gun, if I understand it correctly, and you actually reached down to try to render the gun harmless. What did you do?

PENNEAU: Yes. Well, he let go one hand of the gun, and he was hitting me, I imagine, to try to get me to loosen my grip. And since he had one hand on the gun, I was able to twist the gun, and then I was quickly able to reach down and hit the bolt and push it back to eject the shell that was in the gun. Once that hit the ground, that was it. I let go, and he ran.

ROBERTS: Wow. So there was a live round in the chamber all the time that you were wrestling with this guy?

PENNEAU: Yes, sir, there was.

ROBERTS: Oh, wow. You're a veteran of the Coast Guard. Did your training with weapons and training with the Coast Guard help you out at all in this incident?

PENNEAU: That was pretty much it. You know, it just fell back to training to, you know, keep him from controlling the gun and just keep him off-balance. You know, if the gun did go off, it would have went off in a safe direction, and that was -- it just became instinct at that time.

ROBERTS: And what was it that kept you going through this whole thing?

PENNEAU: Well, I decided I'm going home to my wife and kids when this is all over, and that was it.

ROBERTS: Wow. Well, you went home to them, and you're here to talk to us about it today. Mitch, it's just extraordinary to watch that video, and as I said, you got an angel looking over your shoulder, that he hadn't put the round in the chamber when he pulled the trigger. Thanks for being with us. The best to you and your family, Mitch.

PENNEAU: All right. Thank you much. You're welcome.

ROBERTS: All right, take care.

Oh, my goodness.

CHETRY: You know, he's still so calm about it. I wonder, though, when he looks back at the video if he just relives how close he came.

ROBERTS: And the guy was beating the stuffing out of him, too, as they were wrestling. He looks like he's in great shape, right there in the uniform, ready to go back to work.

CHETRY: Exactly, right back on the job. I think he deserves a raise.

ROBERTS: Incredible, yes.

CHETRY: Well, still ahead, he plays a conservative on TV, but will presidential candidate Stephen Colbert run for the GOP, or is he going to throw his hat in the ring for the Democratic nomination for president? We've got the answer coming up.

Also, oil breaks another record on the trading floor. Crude oil prices now a whooping $89 a barrel. Is there an end in sight? Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Presidential candidate Stephen Colbert wants to run as a Democrat and a Republican in his home state. I know you're saying to yourself, huh? Turns out that's actually allowed. Colbert announced his intentions a couple nights ago on his Comedy Central show. The "New York Times" is reporting this morning that Colbert has thousands of people in South Carolina working to get him on the ballot. Now what does it take to get to the ballot in South Carolina? If you're a Republican $35,000 will get you on. Democrats, only 2,500 bucks. What's up with that?

CHETRY: Maybe he'll pick based on how much it will cost him.

ROBERTS: I guess he can do both, he says.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He can do both, yes. He's got the cash..

CHETRY: Well, this is the thing, though. So if the "New York Times" is saying that he really is getting supporters together, maybe he is serious.

ROBERTS: He's not serious.

VELSHI: Crazier things have happened.

CHETRY: That's true.

VELSHI: Not as crazy as the price of oil.

CHETRY: Ali Velshi, what's going on now, upwards of $89 a barrel?

VELSHI: Yes. Take a look at what oil did yesterday -- it closed at $87.40. That's where it settled. It was actually down from the day before. But during the day it hit $89. I mean, these are not major jumps, but when you think about this, every day I'm coming here and telling you about a new record for the price of oil. That's got some people concerned. We talked about the airlines finally turning a profit, worried about oil. Anybody who drives is concerned about this. And, as we like to remind you, oil works its way into everything that is manufactured, delivered, stored, heated or manufactured in America. So it's a bit of a concern. We're watching to see what's going on.

There are two schools of thought here. One is that every major recession in the United States has been preceded by a spike in oil prices. The other school of thought, which is a little more interesting, is that this spike in oil prices is a lot like the spike we see in aluminum, in steel, in wheat, in corn. It's because there is so much demand all over the world. So depending on how you see it, oil prices are high no matter which way you cut it. If you're a investor, it's good news for you. If you've to heat your home and buy gas, not so good news for you. ROBERTS: You've got this with you.

VELSHI: I carry this with me every time, the Beige Book.

ROBERTS: The "Federal Reserve Beige Book.

VELSHI: That's the Federal Reserve Beige Book.

ROBERTS: Is this a real Beige Book.

VELSHI: No, this is my fake Beige Book.

CHETRY: That's his journal.

VELSHI: It can be anything I want it to be. I carry it around with me, the Beige Book. I'll read it to you.

ROBERTS: He's got a fake iPod. He's got a fake Beige Book.

VELSHI: I've got a lot of fake stuff, yes.

CHETRY: Embarrassing. He's got shorts on.

ROBERTS: In Portland, Maine a school board says there are students as young as 11 who will be able to get birth control pills at their school health center. The plan makes King Middle School the first middle school in Maine to make a full range of contraception available to children in grades six through eight.

Now to clarify, parents give permission for their child to use the health center, but that could be for anything. What treatments, including birth control, are given to children, that remains confidential. So parents are not notified if their children are prescribed the pill. So we want to know what you think. Should schools be allowed to hand out birth control without their parents knowing about it? Cast your vote at CNN.com/am. Right now 41 percent of you say yes, 59 percent say no. And we should point out that these numbers are getting closer together here as more people ring in. We'll continue to update those results throughout the mortgage.

CHETRY: All right. Well, here's a look at a story coming up that you can't miss -- a potential deadly superbug. We've been talking about this all morning. It's now popped up in at least seven states, schools in at least seven states. Of course the one that we talked about yesterday in Virginia, where a 17-year-old seemingly healthy former football player died.

ROBERTS: It's causing all kinds of concern. Students are protesting, saying that the schools need to be cleaned up. But it's a widespread health threat that Sanjay Gupta told us about yesterday.

And this may only get worse, because this bacteria spreads quickly and the drug resistance is really a problem.

CHETRY: And coming up we're going to talk to two students who are actually taking -- and there they are right now. They are taking the matter into their own hands. They demanded their school be cleaned up before students went back, actually walked to their superintendent through it. We're going to talk about how that turned out, coming up, when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: A foggy New York City here on AMERICAN MORNING. 64 degrees right now. Take your umbrella with you if you're going to work, 75 today but showers. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING, Thursday the 18th of October. I'm John Roberts.

CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry.

Happening right now in Pakistan thousands are welcoming back former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto after an eight-year exile. Security tight with Islamic militants making threats. Bhutto is promising to fight extremism and bring democracy back and could team up with her former rival President Musharraf in a power sharing deal.

Also, new this morning, the Pentagon expected to alert eight National Guard brigades to be ready to go to war. They could be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan beginning late next summer as part of a troop rotation with active-duty forces. Altogether the announcement could include 20,000 troops from North Carolina, Oklahoma, Illinois, and Hawaii.

President Bush is warning that if Iran poses a nuclear weapon, possesses a nuclear weapon that raises the risk for a world war, a third world war. He made the remarks during a White House news conference yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We got a leader in Iran who has announced he wants to destroy Israel. So I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them to have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon. I take the threat of Iran with a nuclear weapon very seriously. I will continue to work with all nations about the seriousness of this threat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: The U.S. has said it's pursuing a diplomatic approach to Iran but refused to rule out military action to stop that country's nuclear ambitions.

ROBERTS: 33 minutes after the hour now. Back to a disturbing story that highlights gaps at our border security. A man infected with the highly contagious form of tuberculosis crossed the U.S.- Mexico border 76 times. The "Washington Times" reports today that custom officials warned officials at Department of Homeland Security about the man, but DHS failed to act on it for weeks. Our security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve joins us now from Washington with more on the story. This is at least the second occurrence of this. We all remember, Andrew Speaker, got across the border when he had that highly resistant form of tuberculosis. The big question this morning is, Jeanne, how did this happen yet again?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN, SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, did it happen once again? That's really the question. Customs and Border Protection is disputing large portions of the story and says it did not do anything wrong. A spokesman says on April 16th the Centers for Disease Control passed on a name to CBP. A name that had been given by Mexican authorities of a Mexican citizen with a communicable disease who they believe was crossing the border frequently. CBP says it put out a lookout for the man the very same day, but it also checked its record and found no one with that name had made frequent border crossings. CBP became concerned that it would be given the wrong name and it asked the CDC to confirm the information with the Mexicans. Only on May 31st was CBP given a new correct name. The man, a resident of Suarez, Mexico has not crossed the border since that date but he had the crossed the border 76 times in the previous 10 months and may have crossed during the six weeks period that CBP had the wrong name. John.

ROBERTS: And what about the illness that this fellow had? Was it this dreaded form of tuberculosis?

MESERVE: Well, the "Washington Times" is reporting that he had multiple drug resistant tuberculosis. That is not the same as XTR, extensively drug resistant tuberculosis. That's what they thought Andrew Speaker had when that story first came out.

JOHN: Right.

MESERVE: The CDC because of patient confidentiality isn't saying very much about this case, but it did tell CNN the necessary contact tracing is being done and once CDC officials said if we felt we need to say more in the interest of the public to protect their health, then we would.

ROBERTS: It will be a while before they straighten this out but I'm sure we'll hear more about it. Jeanne Meserve this morning. Jeanne, thanks.

MESERVE: You bet.

ROBERTS: Kiran.

CHETRY: Severe storms on the move now. They hit the plains states and then now overnight moving east hitting places like the Great Lakes, the Ohio Valley. Rob Marciano tracking it right now from the CNN weather. Hi, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Hi Kiran. Yes, tornado watches still posted, shifting off towards the east under the gun spots are Indiana right now, and then may be spreading a little farther east as we go on through time. And outside of the watch area, we had a tornado warning just east of Biloxi earlier this morning. That has since been allowed to expire. But you see some moisture coming off the Gulf of Mexico. That's one of the ingredients you need to get severe weather, and it's getting all the way up into Indiana, Bloomington and into Indianapolis. We've had reports widespread of winds easily gusting over 30 miles per hour.

So, no severe weather with this but certainly gusty winds and a miserable day and also gusty winds and rains in Chicago. You know what that means if you're a traveler. There are going to be delays widespread because of that. Big storm system from the Canadian border all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Cold front pushing off to the east. The red area is where you'll see the rough weather for today. It will diminish somewhat tomorrow. If that's not enough, a pretty strong pacific-northwest system is moving in. High wind watches are up for Seattle along the coastline. They could see hurricane force winds in Oregon and Washington. Kiran, back up to you.

CHETRY: All right, Rob. Thank you.

ROBERTS: Ford recall delay tops your "Quick Hits" now. The company says parts needed to fix faulty cruise control switches won't be fully available until the end of the year. Ford recalled more than a million cars, more than six different models, made between 1992 and 2004 after cruise control systems were linked to engine fires.

Dunkin Donuts also making recall news this morning, not the donuts. The company is urging people to return these Chinese made glow sticks that were handed out in a recent promotional offer. Consumer Product Safety Commission says the glow sticks do not properly warn parents that the string can pose a choking hazard for kids.

A middle school is stocking up on the birth control pill. The controversial decision by a Maine school board. That's just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

And Staph infections have been hitting schools across the country. In a few cases the students are the ones blowing the whistle about conditions in class. We'll meet two students who are taking matter into their own hands and taking action. There they are. We'll talk to them next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Welcome back to the most news in the morning, here on CNN. The embattled president of Oral Roberts University taking a leave of absence, that tops your "Quick Hits." Richard Roberts faces a lawsuit in an internal investigation over charges that he used university money to fix up his house and send his daughter on a school trip using the university's jet among other things.

Still no luck in the search for a teenaged hiker who has autism. A crew trained in night searches worked overnight for 18-year-old Jacob Allen. He has been missing now since Sunday with no food or water with him.

Back to normal this morning at Reagan National Airport in Washington. Part of the terminal was evacuated, Terminal A that is, after construction material in a roof caught fire yesterday. Nobody was hurt in that incident. Passengers were only delayed by about an hour, which is getting to be pretty standard in airports across the country.

CHETRY: We've been talking about this spread of a deadly superbug, a drug-resistant strain that cannot be stopped by antibiotics, Staph infections hitting students in schools across the country. Ashley Shefler and Chelsea Woods are both students at Stanton River High School, one of the schools that has been dealing with these cases. They called for the school to be closed and sanitized after one of their classmates died from complications due to this Staph infection on Monday. They both join us now from Moneta, Virginia. Thanks for being with us, ladies.

CHELSEA WOODS, STANTON RIVER HS STUDENT: Thank you.

ASHLEY SHEFLER: No problem.

CHETRY: Let me start with you, Chelsea, because you're the one who organized this protest of sorts. Tell us what you decided to do and why.

WOODS: Well, whenever we found out that Ashton had passed away, my brother and sister and I, we decided that something need to be done. If we sent the whole student body back into the school, then more people would come just down to it and maybe even result in another death. So we sent out a bunch of text messages, got on myspace, posted a few bulletins and decided to have a rally around the flagpole to make sure it doesn't happen again.

CHETRY: This is interesting. Your superintendent of your district actually came to this. At first he was very upset even saying that he was going to possibly handcuff some of the students if they didn't head back to class. How did you go from that to convincing him to take a walk with you and see for himself just how dirty your school was?

Well, I just told him that, you know, he didn't realize how unsanitary it was and to please go with me for the students and parents. We walked around the school and showed him a couple of bathrooms and the hallways and pointed out ever everything that wasn't sanitary. And he was very surprised.

CHETRY: What was his reaction?

SHEFLER: He was pretty surprised. I don't think he realized that are as serious as we were and he thought we were exaggerating.

CHETRY: Now Chelsea, you say that if you head in there today, even though a professional commercial cleaning crew has been in there and you don't think it's up to par, what are you going to do?

WOODS: Well, we decided whenever Dr. Levins (ph) told us the decision he made if they hadn't held up to their word, then we would meet at the flagpole again.

CHETRY: This has been a really tough time for you and your classmates. How are students at the school dealing with this, the loss of very popular student who really is in the prime of his life, just 17 years old and died because of this drug-resistant strain of Staph?

WOODS: Actually, last night they had a candlelight service for him and from my understanding the funeral is this Saturday. But everyone is still kind of in shock actually.

CHETRY: Yes, understandably. Well, we're certainly sorry that it had to come to this, but you know, hats off to both of you for spearheading this effort. They did listen to you, and that's a good thing. Hopefully that drug-resistant Staph has been eradicated and you guys can look forward to a healthy rest of the school year. Ashley Shefler as well as Tracy Woods. Thanks for being with us.

WOODS: Thank you.

SHEFLER: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Couple of great kids taking matters into their own hands. It's good to see.

News about the flu vaccine in your "Quick Hits." Now, new studies suggest the government is overlooking children as it prepares for the next flu pandemic. Among the results, there are only 100,000 anti-flu pediatric doses and there are no facial masks small enough to fit kids. The report was co-sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Your kids are also the focus of an FDA hearing today concerning over the counter cold medicines. The group will look at the safety and effectiveness of a cold and cough products in children under the age of 6. An FDA review found that some decongestants and antihistamines have been responsible for the deaths of more than 100 children over the last 35 years.

Want to feel safe in the skies? This might not help. What did federal screeners at two of the busiest airports miss that could have put your life in jeopardy? That answer is ahead.

Plus, the big night out, some of CNN's biggest celebrities hit the red carpet last night. We've got the full report, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

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ROBERTS: 13 minutes now to the top of the hour here on AMERICAN MORNING. And if you're just joining us, a look at the headlines this morning.

Tulsa, Oklahoma, more than two dozen people are recovering this morning after strong winds caused two tents at an Oktoberfest to collapse. One person was critically injured and just north of there five people were hurt and 25 mobile homes damaged due to the heavy rains and strong winds and a possible tornado there.

Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert is expected to announce his resignation sometime soon. The former speaker is not expected to finish out his current term, which means a special election will be needed to replace him. He was the longest serving Republican speaker until the party lost its majority last year. Late breaking this morning, confirming rumors that have been swirling for weeks. Word out of France today that the President Nicholas Sarkozy and his wife are separating after an 11-year marriage. The statement said it was a mutual decision, but neither side would comment on the split.

To Portland, Maine where a school board decided last night that students as young as 11 will be able to get birth control pills at their school health center. Parents must still give permission for their child to use the health center, but what treatments including birth control are given to children, will remain confidential unless the kids choose to tell mom and dad what they were given. So, we want to know what you think of that particular story. Should schools be allowed to hand out birth control without the parents being notified about it? Cast your vote at CNN.com/am. Right now, 38 percent say yes, 62 percent say no. We'll continue to update the results throughout the morning. Also getting some e-mails. People are saying, what are they nuts?

CHETRY: Yes, and then there are others who say well, you know, maybe it's better than the alternative. So mixed reaction. But again, our numbers have been changing. They were a little closer in our last half-hour.

ROBERTS: Yes, it will fluctuate for a while.

CHETRY: Keep voting at CNN.com/am.

Screeners in two of the country's busiest airports under fire for failing to catch fake bombs strapped to undercover agents. According to a classified report, TSA screeners at LAX and in this case LAX missed about 75 percent of the phony explosives that testers hid under their clothes or in their bags. TSA checkpoints missed 60 percent at Chicago's O'Hare airport. TSA chief Kip Hawley told a congressional panel Tuesday that the tests are misleading because they require screeners to find bomb parts, and those can be the size of a pen cap.

ROBERTS: Some major celebrities in the red carpet last night. CNN's Anderson Cooper and Sanjay Gupta along with Animal Planet's Jeff Corwin all hanging out with there he is, Lance Armstrong in Los Angeles. They were there for the premier of "Planet in Peril," CNN's documentary on global warming and it's effects on the environment. Later on, the guys caught up with Matthew McConaughey at the after party at the Roosevelt Hotel. CNN's Karen winter is at the event. She's going to have a full report for us a little bit later on.

CNN's worldwide investigation of the earth's environmental issues "Planet in Peril" debuts next Tuesday and Wednesday 9:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

CHETRY: Well, the wireless industry may be making some big changes. That tops your "Quick Hits." Verizon and AT&T changing their policies on cell phone contracts just a day after U.S. lawmakers push for legislation to help angry consumers. The carrier says they will allow customers to make changes to their service without having to extend their contracts. About $24 more a month. That's about how much money social security recipients will start getting in January. It's the smallest cost of living increase in four years, only a 2.3 percent hike.

And do you think we're headed into a recession? There's a new CNN poll that says almost half of Americans think we're already there. We'll talk more about it ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

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ROBERTS: He's a monster one that police says has been hunting pets in a central Florida neighborhood. This 13-foot alligator was caught Tuesday night in Sanford, Florida. The massive gator may be responsible for several dog and cat disappearances.

CHETRY: Oh, well, not a pretty sight. How about this one? Well, first of all, it's a very creative toilet seat. I'll say that. I think it had like coins on it. But anyway, this is the real story. Snake eyes where you really don't want to see them. A Brooklyn woman says she saw the eyes peering up at her when she went to the toilet. She screamed, slammed down the lid. And when plumbers and firefighters tore apart the pipes they found a 7-foot python. No one is exactly sure how it got into the sewer system. What a nightmare?

ROBERTS: That would explain the clog.

CHETRY: I don't think RotoRooter would help you with that one.

ROBERTS: I don't think so either.

VELSHI: I have a seven-foot python in my toilet. Sure you do, mister.

CHETRY: There was a picture of her holding it up smiling. Is that all's well that ends well?

ROBERTS: Five minutes now to the top of the hour. Ali Velshi here, "Minding your Business," and an increasing number of people think we're in a recession.

VELSHI: Yes, look at this poll. The CNN poll says 46 percent of you think that we're already in a recession. Is the economy in a recession is the question we asked on October 12-14, 46 percent say yes, no 51 percent. Look at how it breaks down between whites and blacks. 42 percent of whites say that we're in a recession, and 69 percent of blacks say that we're in a recession, hard to know what a recession really is. Generally speaking, it's two consecutive quarters or at least sustained decline in economic growth. But the problem with the recession is you only ever really find out officially after it has happened.

Well, a number of the major bank heads in the world have said that there's at least a better than one-third chance that we could slip into a recession. And we just heard from the Bank of America, which is the nation's second largest bank but the largest retail banker in terms of credit cards and accounts bank machines, 31 percent loss in this quarter compared to the same quarter last year. So, there are definitely problems out there that could lead to recession. You have to consider a number of things when you look at recession. Fundamentally, it's, are you worried enough about your job and the economy that you slow down your spending? When people stop spending is where that starts to kick in. They spend less and companies start to lay people off and that's where the spiral begins.

ROBERTS: So just to be clear, not just a slowdown in the economy but two consecutive quarters of negative growth, right?

VELSHI: Used to be the official way of looking at it. The bottom line is that I think economists realize that's not how people see it. So, it's what they call a sustained decline in economic growth. We're not there, because we don't have a decline in economic growth.

ROBERTS: We're still on the plus side.

VELSHI: We're still on the plus side of economic growth, but these things can accelerate very quickly. And one thing that triggers about them in the past is high oil prices.

ROBERTS: And talking about them.

VELSHI: And talking about it. So don't listen to me. Go spend whatever you are going to spend regardless of what I just said.

ROBERTS: Send Ali the bill.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: Thank you.

ROBERTS: All right. The story coming up in our next half-hour, you just can't miss it. Oprah, she has been battling her weight for years, done everything from liquid diets, very publicly doing liquid diets to following fitness gurus every word.

CHETRY: Now the talk show host says that she had a serious wake- up call about her health, one she says every woman over 35 years old needs to pay attention to. We're going to tell you what she's talking about. Also, an update of the day's headlines when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.

Extreme weather, thunderstorms, and tornadoes ripped through the plain. Find out where the weather is headed next.

Showdown on the hill. Democrats fight to overturn a presidential veto on children's health insurance.

Plus, life saver.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They wanted it over there.

CHETRY: A military mom's all-out fight to get silly string to our troops in Iraq on this AMERICAN MORNING. And welcome. We're glad you're with us on this Thursday, October 18th. I'm Kiran Chetry.

ROBERTS: And good morning to you, I'm John Roberts.

We begin with a potentially deadly superbug now popping up in schools all across the country. Drug-resistant staph infections are now being blamed for a 4-year-old pre-schooler's, in New Hampshire, death along with a 17-year-old former high school football player in Virginia. His school and 21 others in Bedford County will re-open today but only after students demanded a thorough cleaning. New cases were announced in at least six other states. CNN's Brianna Keilar in Bedford County, Virginia, for us this morning. What's the latest from there, Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: The parking lot is filling up here at Stanton River High School. Students are getting ready to come back to classes, which begin in about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, schools all across the U.S. are watching and learning from what happened here this week.

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KEILAR (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 follows the 17-year-old death after he was hospitalized with an antibiotic resistant staph infection.

RYAN EDWARDS, BEDFORD COUNTY SHOOLS SPOKESMAN: We have been dealing with MRSA for the better part of the past month. And we have had cases up here 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, CDC DIRECTOR: But there are some 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.

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