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Jury: Madison Square Garden Must Pay $11.6 Million in Sexual Harassment Suit; Court Examines Disparity in Cocaine-Related Sentences; Fossett Search Called Off

Aired October 02, 2007 - 14:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour, happening right now, Isiah Thomas found liable in a sexual harassment suit. Millions of dollars. Someone is going to have to pay, but it's not him.
Our Allan Chernoff is following the story for us and he tells us who is going to have to pay a lot of money -- Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. A huge amount of money. We're talking about $11.6 million won by the former executive vice president of marketing for the New York Knicks, Anucha Browne Sanders, winning in court today a sexual harassment victory against Isiah Thomas, the current coach of the New York Knicks, as well as Madison Square Garden and James Dolan, who is the chairman of Cablevision, which is the parent of MSG, which owns the New York Knicks.

The damages, let's run through them -- $11.6 million, just coming out shortly ago, decided by the jury. Madison Square Garden to pay $6 million for a hostile work environment, $2.6 million for retaliation. Ms. Browne Sanders was fired after complaining of advances and also complaining that she had been verbally abused by Isiah Thomas.

You're seeing him right there.

Also, Mr. Dolan being assigned $3 million in damages. So, in total, $11.6 million.

The jury actually had been deadlocked as to whether or not Isiah Thomas should have to pay any damages, and as a result he personally does not have to pay. Mr. Thomas, Madison Square Garden, Mr. Dolan, all planning to appeal this verdict. And we should note that this is a very big victory for Browne Sanders.

These are not easy cases to win. The charges of sexual harassment often very difficult to prove, but the jury clearly siding very much with the former executive from the New York Knicks -- Don

LEMON: CNN's Allan Chernoff.

Allan, thank you for that report.

(NEWSBREAK)

PHILLIPS: Should crack cocaine dealers get tougher sentences than people who sell the powder form? It's a hot-button issues before the Supreme Court today and it's rife with racial overtones. Right now, sentencing guidelines come down much harder on crack defendants. Opponents say that's not fair to African-Americans.

CNN Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena is at the Supreme Court.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: In a real-life application, race is very much a factor, but we didn't hear a discussion of race in this courtroom today. What we did hear is an argument from the government that says, look, sentencing guidelines are necessary because when you have two people that are convicted of the same crime, you need some similarity in the way that those folks are treated. And that judges just can't ignore laws that have been set by Congress and just dismiss them from the courtroom.

Now, the law as it stands says that possession of one gram of crack cocaine is equal to possession of 100 grams of powdered cocaine, and these were laws that were set up years ago by a sentencing commission and then adopted by Congress. Well, a district judge who was confronted with that said, well, this is ridiculous, and I'm not going to pay attention to these guidelines, and I'm going to go ahead and I'm going to sentence you the way that I see fit.

That case has made it all the way up here to the Supreme Court, Kyra. And basically the defendant's argument is, look, there are lots of other mitigating factors that should be considered and that judges should be given as wide discretion as possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, the sentencing disparity grew out of a 1986 law passed amid a wave of violent crimes committed to get money to feed crack habits.

LEMON: The use of hired guns in a war zone, is it backfiring? Well, right now a House panel is holding a hearing on private security contractors in Iraq. Specifically, Blackwater USA now being investigated for a September shooting that the Iraqis say killed innocent civilians. Blackwater's CEO says his employees were responding to an attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIK PRINCE, BLACKWATER CHAIRMAN, CEO: The bad guys have figured out killing Americans is big media, I think. They are trying to drive us out. They try to drive to the heart of American resolve and will to stay there, so we have to provide that protective screen.

We only play defense, and our job is to get those reconstruction officials, those people that are trying to weave the fabric of Iraq back together, to get them away from that X, the place where the bad guys, the terrorists, have decided to kill them that day.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: We're going to talk to CNN's Suzanne Simons about the Blackwater issue in just a moment, but first we have some developing news -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Let's get straight to T.J. Holmes. He's in the newsroom working this story for us.

It sounds like it's a bit of sad news coming out of Nevada with regard to Steve Fossett.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, there was some renewed hope, and now hope lost again, if you will. Kind of sad news that once again we're getting another official word, if you will, that the search for Steve Fossett, the millionaire adventurer, has again been called off.

There he is. A lot of people know this -- recognize his face, and certainly a story we've been following for the past -- really a month now.

But he disappeared September 3rd after taking off in his small plane over the Nevada wilderness, and he disappeared, no sign of him. The search had been going on. It had been called off a few weeks after the search had been going for some time, kind of an official call off of some of the aerial patrols, but there was some renewed focus and some renewed optimism just last week after some analysis of some data, some radar data, gave new hope. And the technicians thought that they might have possibly been able to spot some clues to the route that he did take.

He actually did not file a flight plan when he took off on this flight, but they looked at SAM radar data and thought some of these satellite images actually helped them figure out the track he had taken, so they tried again over the weekend, renewed the search. But now once again nothing had been found, so they are officially, Kyra, once again, calling off the search for Steve Fossett.

No signs no, clues as to what may have happened to him. And who knows if we will ever know -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: It might be one of those mysteries a lot of people will be asking questions about.

All right. We'll keep following, it, T.J. Thanks.

HOLMES: All right.

LEMON: Whether you smoke it or whether you snort it, it's cocaine in both cases. So why are penalties for possessing one form harsher than the other? The Supreme Court has been asked to answer that one for us.

PHILLIPS: Plus this -- women prone to panic attacks may be at risk for more serious trouble.

We'll have details on this new study straight ahead.

LEMON: And a California judge decides that Britney Spears' kids don't belong in the eye of a media storm.

That story is ahead on CNN, the must trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

LEMON: The use of hired guns in a war zone, is it backfiring? Right now, a House panel is holding a hearing on private security contractors in Iraq, and the private security issue has raised new questions and tensions about Americans in Iraq.

CNN producer Suzanne Simons has done extensive research on security contractors in Iraq, Blackwater in particular.

And Suzanne, this is the first time that we heard Blackwater CEO Erik Prince talk about the issues. Why hasn't the company been more forthcoming with their information?

SUZANNE SIMONS, CNN PRODUCER: Great question.

You know, he's just finished up some four hours of testimony before this committee, and the company has said in the past that it hasn't come out and reacted specifically to incidents like Falluja and others because it can't under the terms of its contract. So in a way, this is the first real public hearing we've had and the first time we've heard Mr. Prince address a number of issues today, ranging from accountability to whether or not the company has kept its role in certain issues that have come up in terms of the contract.

Now, the conduct of Blackwater in particular and the accountability of private security contractors in general in Iraq is really what this hearing was about. And Mr. Prince addressed the complexities of some of his teams based on the ground in a description we rarely hear.

Let's take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE: Most of the attacks we get in Iraq are complex, meaning it's not just one bad thing, it's a host bad things -- a car bomb followed by a small arms attack, RPGs followed by sniper fire.

An incident occurs typically when our men fear for their life, they are not able to extract themselves from the situation. They have to use sufficient defensive fire to get off the X, to get off that place where the bad guys have tried to kill Americans that day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMONS: OK. So that's an account of what his guys are facing on the ground in Iraq, but I said this was about two things. The other is accountability.

Representative Tom Davis, a Republican, asked Mr. Prince about some of the accountability that exists for the industry in general, and this is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM DAVIS (R), OVERSIGHT & GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE: To date, there has not been a single successful prosecution of a security provider in Iraq for criminal misconduct. Iraqis understandably resent our preaching about the rule of law when so visible an element of the U.S. presence there appears to be above the law. That's why the events of September 16th sparked such an outcry by the Iraqi government, which sees unpunished assaults on civilians as a threat to national sovereignty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMONS: All right. Now, that was obviously Representative Davis talking about the issues that were coming up, where accountability -- where whether or not Blackwater stuck to its contract. The one thing Erik Prince wasn't allowed to talk about at the request of the committee was the September 16th incident that's been so much in the news lately.

LEMON: Yes, he didn't talk about that. And that's because the FBI, right, has opened up a probe. But you have some exclusive -- or information or documents.

SIMONS: Right. Well, we were able to get an advanced copy. We're the only TV network that was able to get an advanced cop of Mr. Prince's testimony, so this came as a surprise to him as he was sitting in the hearing and heard after he had prepared his testimony that he wasn't going to be allowed to talk about the September 16th incident.

But his version of that day, what happened that day, hasn't been out in the media. We've heard a lot about the Iraqi ministry's version of what happened.

LEMON: Right.

SIMONS: Basically, in a nutshell, the Blackwater version -- and this comes from Mr. Prince's prepared testimony -- was that there was an IED, of course, that detonated close to a Blackwater team that was protecting an American official and that a second Blackwater team came to their aid, and that that was a team that came under small arms fire.

Now, of course, the Iraqi version of that day was quite different. It says that Blackwater investigators opened fire indiscriminately on civilians.

LEMON: And so an FBI investigation into that.

SIMONS: The FBI is over there at the request of the Department of State. There are several ongoing investigations into what happened that day.

The Iraqi Interior Ministry is one of them. The State Department is another. And then starting this wee, the two are supposed to meet together in a joint commission.

So you're going to see a number of reports. It still remains to be seen whether or not the joint commission will agree to all the details of what happened.

LEMON: Suzanne Simons, thank you so much for that.

SIMONS: My pleasure.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, from panic attack to heart attack, new research on women shows a link.

We'll have more straight ahead from the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: You're looking at live pictures now of Isiah Thomas' accuser, Anucha Browne Sanders, outside the courthouse in New York. She just spoke just a moment ago, and we're going to let you know what happens. But an $11.6 million award in this case of sexual harassment against Isiah Thomas, but Madison Square Garden, they are the ones who are going to have to pay up.

Let's take a listen to what she said just moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANUCHA BROWNE SANDERS, PLAINTIFF: I guess really the only statement I want to make is what I did here I did for every working woman in America. And that includes everyone who gets up and goes to work in the morning, everyone that aspires to be in a corporate environment. And I think the people who -- are in the corporate environment and do act professionally.

So it's for every man in the corporate environment who does act like a professional, and everyone who sends a sister to work every day, a mother to work every day, a daughter to work every day. And it's for also women who don't have the means and couldn't have possibly done what I was able to do.

So I thank everybody that supported me and everybody that cares about working in a civil work environment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Anucha Browne Sanders filed a sexual discrimination lawsuit against Isiah Thomas, saying she was fired for complaining about Thomas' behavior. The jury found that Madison Square Garden, which owns the Knicks, owes $6 million to Sanders for allowing a hostile work environment to exist, $2.6 million for retaliation, and Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan will have to pay $3 million. Of course, Isiah Thomas says the jury got it wrong, and he plans to appeal.

PHILLIPS: More on that story that has pretty much outraged a nation right now. We're talking about Chester Stiles, the alleged sex offender. He was the man seen on the videotape raping that 3-year-old girl who is now seven.

We've been following it for days now. We're told we are going to hear now from attorney Jerry Donohue. He says he represents the young girl that was seen on that tape and her mother.

He's stepping out to the mics right now. We're expecting to hear a statement from him as he approaches.

Let's go ahead and listen in.

JERRY DONOHUE, ATTORNEY REPRESENTING ABUSE VICTIM'S FAMILY: I'm just going to pass out the statement right now, and then I'm going to go ahead and just read the statement and field a few questions. But it will be limited.

I do want to thank everybody for coming out on such short notice.

QUESTION: Can you tell us your full name and title, please, for the cameras?

DONOHUE: Jerry Donohue, attorney.

QUESTION: Spell Donohue, please, sir.

DONOHUE: D-O-N-O-H-U-E. Middle initial T.

Just to be fair to with everybody, I'm going to read the statement. And to the extent that I can, I will answer some questions. This is the mother's statement. Basically I'm just going to read it.

"I want to begin by assuring everyone that my daughter is safe and healthy. I have cooperated with the investigation to the best of my ability. I wish to think the Nye County and Clark County investigators for their efforts and professionalism in this manner."

"At this time, I want to ask you, the press, to respect my family's privacy and to not attempt to contact my daughter or myself. I feel the need to protect my daughter from any possible harm that might occur directly or indirectly from the media exposure."

"Towards that end, I'm also requesting that you no longer use my daughter's name in your coverage of this event. Thank you."

I will answer a few questions. It will be very limited.

(CROSSTALK)

I'm sorry, Ed. Go ahead.

QUESTION: How did she not know her daughter was being violated?

DONOHUE: To answer that question would be speculation. I don't think I can answer that question.

QUESTION: The alleged abuse happened when she was 3 years old. How did the child get away from the mother's supervision at that age?

DONOHUE: To my understanding, the abuse occurred before she was 3 years old.

QUESTION: How did she get away from the mom's supervision?

DONOHUE: A typical American single mother. She's trying to be super mom. She worked. She worked six days a week. This event is believed to have occurred while she was at work.

QUESTION: What is her relationship with Stiles? Was he a caretaker at that time?

DONOHUE: There's no relationship with Stiles, none at all. The daughter was left in the care of a baby-sitter to the best of the mother's knowledge, and it occurred sometime during that care while she was at work.

QUESTION: How is the girl?

DONOHUE: My personal opinion is the little girl is healthy and fine and happy. She is -- has been evaluated by the professionals. They have a professional opinion that may be released. I don't know.

QUESTION: Have you seen her? Have you seen the girl?

DONOHUE: I have.

QUESTION: Does she remember the abuse? A friend of the family said that the girl does not remember.

DONOHUE: I don't know. I think the professionals would have to answer that. It would be speculation for me to try to answer that.

QUESTION: Mr. Donohue, how did she not see this coverage for the last week and a half?

DONOHUE: Probably the same way I don't see it, working long hours and not watching TV, but instead playing with your children when you go home. As far as I can tell, the mother and daughter have a very close relationship, spend a lot of time together. She's probably like me. She goes home and plays with her kids, didn't watch TV.

QUESTION: Does she have other children?

DONOHUE: Not as far as I know.

QUESTION: Was there a relationship between the baby-sitter and Stiles?

DONOHUE: I'm sorry?

QUESTION: Was there a relationship or any connection between the baby-sitter at the time and Stiles?

DONOHUE: I don't know. I really don't want to speculate. I'm sorry, go right ahead. I'm sorry.

QUESTION: Was the baby-sitter Tina Allen?

DONOHUE: I don't think so, but I don't know conclusively. I do not think so.

QUESTION: Do you know who the baby-sitter is?

DONOHUE: I do, and I'm not at liberty to release that due to the ongoing investigation.

QUESTION: Did she finally recognize the picture of her daughter or was it a family friend?

DONOHUE: My understanding is that last Friday evening, a family friend called her and said, "My god, you need to turn on the TV. I believe that is your daughter."

And she was like, "What are you talk about?" And she goes, "It's been all over the news, something about a video being found." And she goes, "I don't know what you're talking about."

And her friend said, "Just turn on the TV." She turned on the TV, and I don't know if she recognized the little girl as being her daughter. I don't think she did, but she did, I think, recognize the suspect in the video, which caused her to open up to at least consider the possibility and to work with Nye County investigators.

(CROSSTALK)

DONOHUE: Just one second, please.

Go ahead, Ed.

QUESTION: Tina Allen introduced her -- said she introduced the girl to Stiles. Does the mother want to talk to Tina at all?

DONOHUE: I don't think so. I don't know anything about that.

QUESTION: Is it safe to say the baby-sitter had people over, friends and whatnot, during the time she was caring for the girl?

DONOHUE: Again, it would be speculation. I don't know.

I just know that the mother had no knowledge that this event had occurred. I'm going to have to leave it at that. I think the authorities believe the same.

QUESTION: Why even put your daughter around a guy like that?

DONOHUE: I don't think she did. I think -- I mean, how many of you are single parents?

I think she's just a hard-working super mom that had to go to work. She was working at least six days a week. I think she had more than one job, I'm not sure.

As far as I know -- as far as I know, the father was never in the child's life, as far as I know. Please forgive me if I'm wrong about that. And she was trying to make ends meet on her own. And she thought she was leaving her daughter in the care of a responsible adult.

QUESTION: Mr. Donohue, a lot has been made that -- you said that this happened when the child was less than 3 years old. There's -- a mother has to dress a child. There had to have been some sign of physical abuse. Nye County detectives say everything imaginable happened to this child.

DONOHUE: I don't agree. There doesn't have to be signs of physical abuse, especially if there wasn't any.

I don't know to what extent there was or wasn't abuse. I haven't seen the video. I know there are allegations, but I don't know. Trust me when I tell you the mother said she never saw any indication of abuse.

QUESTION: Was the child taken and dropped off at the baby- sitter's house, was that the normal...

DONOHUE: Again, I can't -- I really can't comment on that. The investigation is ongoing. I'm sure the police want to do some more interviews. I can't really comment.

QUESTION: Are investigators looking into possible neglect charges against the mother?

DONOHUE: I don't think so. I think that would be a dead end.

QUESTION: Is she going to be speaking to Metro?

DONOHUE: She has. As the statement I read says, she has cooperated fully with all the investigators.

QUESTION: Is the mother's biggest fear that this guy is still out there and he hasn't been caught yet?

DONOHUE: I don't think so. I don't think that is her biggest fear. I think her biggest fear is the media and the harm that may result to her daughter directly or indirectly from the exposure. I think that is her biggest fear.

QUESTION: You said that she recognized Mr. Stiles from the photos.

DONOHUE: It's my understanding that the mother recognized Stiles, the suspect, in the video which caused her to be willing to cooperate with the authorities to learn if in fact it was her daughter that was in the video.

QUESTION: Did she ever elaborate on how she knew him, or how she -- how it was that she recognized him? DONOHUE: I know it wasn't through direct knowledge. I think it was indirectly, probably a friend of a friend, or something like that. But I am speculating. I just don't think she had direct knowledge of Mr. Stiles.

QUESTION: Is the mother thankful that the media helped unfold this case?

DONOHUE: Not really. I don't think. I don't think I would be either.

There's some things maybe you don't want to know. It's hard to say.

Can you imagine having a little girl and learning that something occurred many years before and you can't do anything about it to protect her at that point? I don't know.

QUESTION: Does the mother want to bring this molester to justice?

DONOHUE: Absolutely. I mean, speaking as a father myself, I wish the guy would dig a hole in the desert and put gun in his mouth. Wild West justice, the way I see it.

QUESTION: If there's a trial, would the mother attend this trial?

DONOHUE: Well, really I can't comment other than to say if she's subpoenaed and needs to will. She is cooperating fully with the authorities. She is fully cooperating right now and has been.

Really, this is a request just to ask you guys to give the family some space. She's really concerned about the well-being of her daughter and what this media coverage might do. Can you imagine? I mean, her little girl's friends start talking. It could be bad. We just really asking you just to back off and give them some privacy, respect their privacy.

QUESTION: (OFF MIC) was it an isolated incident, or perhaps that he abused her on multiple occasions?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. We haven't seen the video. The mother has chosen not to see the video which I completely understand that. I don't think I would want to see that either if it was my little girls. I don't know.

QUESTION: Has she been checked medically?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes. Metro -- I think it was Metro, it could have been the Clark County D.A.'s office, but I think Metro made some professionals available to her. The mother absolutely cooperated. The little girl spent all afternoon with the professionals. And I think she's a happy, healthy, perfectly fine little girl with little or no memory -- I believe no memory of this event. Again, though, I'm not sure about that. Thank you very much for coming out.

PHILLIPS: Jerry Donohue, the attorney representing that young girl that we have seen over and over again in that videotape allegedly being molested, by the picture of the man you saw there on the screen, Chester Stiles.

Police still searching for this man, Chester Stiles. They believe he was the man on the videotape seen raping a three-year old girl. We're learning a little bit more about how that young girl had been left alone with Chester Stiles.

Still a lot of unanswered questions but according to the attorney, apparently the mother had been working six days a week, that this occurred while she was with a babysitter. The question was asked did the babysitter know Stiles? He lawyer wasn't able to answer that. He said that the mother recognized Stiles, could be a friend of a friend. But she did recognize him. Then wanted to find out more about if indeed that was her daughter on the tape.

The family just wants to be left alone, the mother and daughter, the mom wants the daughter's name to be left out of the news, picture left out of the news. Obviously, it's a trying time for both of them. But still a lot of questions to how her little girl was left alone with Chester Arthur Stiles, enough time to be abused, and appear on a videotape.

You heard the lawyer right there in full support of tracking down Chester Arthur Stiles, if indeed he is found guilty of that molestation he says he believes in the Wild West justice. Hoping he just buries himself in the desert with a gun in his mouth. I think a lot of people feeling that way, if indeed, this man raped that little girl, as young as possibly one or two now, according to the mother. We'll stay on this case and follow up more.

LEMON: Also coming up in medical news, from panic attack to heart attack, new research on women shows a link. More straight ahead right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Medical news now. A rapid pulse, shortness of breath, a feeling that the whole world is closing in on you, hallmarks of a panic attack. But could they trigger problems with your heart? Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen here with some pretty eye-opening details.

Let me tell you what, I think we've all had a few of those panic attacks in life.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, you probably haven't had a real panic attack, like what a doctor would say is a panic attack is.

PHILLIPS: What's a real panic attack, then? COHEN: A real panic attack is something different. But I'll get to that in a minute, but I want to talk about that incredible mind/body connection. You know, you hear a lot about that, but here is something pretty solid.

What it shows is that women -- post-menopausal women who are prone to panic attacks were three times more likely to have heart attacks. So something that was going on in their brain was affecting their heart and also making them more likely to have a stroke. So panic attacks, according to this study, for these women was just as dangerous as smoking. So that mind/body connection is really pretty incredible. So you were asking like what's a panic attack?

PHILLIPS: Yes, and how do you know -- you know, what's a normal panic attack or an extreme panic attack, and where it's kind of going overboard because it's amazing what the mind does to the body. You don't realize it's happening.

COHEN: Oh, absolutely it's in credible. And a panic attack is something that is much more intense than just, oh gosh, I've got a big meeting coming up and I'm very, anxious. That's very, very different. Psychiatrists what they do is they have a list of symptoms. And if you have more than four of them that could mean that you're having panic attacks.

If you have actual pain, it's a physical pain, if you're short of breath, if you're dizzy, trembling, sweating, and a feeling like you're choking. If you are having four or more of those, that could be a sign you're having a panic attack. Not that you're just anxious, but that you're having a panic attack.

So the key here is that if you can not have a panic attacks you lower your risk of having a heart attack. You can have therapy, you can possibly take medication. You could do yoga, you could medicate. There's a whole bunch of approaches to try to --

PHILLIPS: A lot of different --

COHEN: Different types of options, yeah.

PHILLIPS: Why would something going on in your mind actually affect your heart? That does get into the whole mind/body. And we could start reading Deepak Chopra.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSS TALK)

COHEN: Oh, now I have to answer that question, right?

PHILLIPS: Oh, I can answer it in 25 seconds. Do the best that you can.

COHEN: I'll try to do that. I'll try to do that.

The reason why, in this case, there seems to be a connection between what's going on in your mind, and your heart, is that that kind of anxiety, that kind of panic attack actually can change the rhythms of your heart. And it can also decrease blood flow to your heart. And this is so important, just as we all go through life and feel anxiety, that sometimes, like on old TV shows, they say, oh, now dear, don't get upset, you might have a heart attack. Well, maybe that was over blowing it a bit, but really what's going on in your mind really can affect your blood flow, your heart rate, all of that.

PHILLIPS: And the muscle tissue and everything around the heart is affected.

COHEN: Everything, everything.

PHILLIPS: All right, well, a lesson for all of us. Thanks, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks.

LEMON: New auto sales figures are rolling in, and one automaker is showing big drop. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with the very latest.

Hi, Susan, it's not real good for many automakers as a matter of fact, but one in particular?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And this is why the situation, Don, is so dire in Motor City. It's not just cost- cutting, which is substantial enough. We've focused a lot on that with the recent talks and the ongoing talks, as a matter of fact, with the UAW, labor talks.

But clearly there's another challenge here and that is making cars consumers want to buy. Can you say Ford has a flat tire. Sales at Ford fell more than 20 percent last month from a year earlier. It is even worse than analysts predicted.

Sales of trucks and SUVs decline by 9 percent, but cars really fell off a cliff, tumbling to 40 percent. Ford sales for the year slipped behind Toyota for the second month in a row, even though the Japanese automaker itself reported a modest decline in September. Despite those numbers, Ford's stock is up more than 4 percent today, Don.

LEMON: How about General Motors?

LISOVICZ: Well, General Motors has been doing better. It surprised analysts, too, Don. But it's numbers were better than expected. September sales edging up less than 1 percent from a year earlier, but at least it's going in the right direction. Lead by strong truck, SUV and crossover sales. GM shares, in high gear, up more than 3 percent/

And we're still awaiting word from Chrysler. Its sales figures are expected out any moment.

While auto stocks are on the overall market is slipping, the Dow industrial struggling after yesterday's big gains, when the blue chips hit a new all-time high. We have more bad housing news to contend with today, pending home sales in August fell worse than expected, 6.5 percent from the month before. Pending home sales, measures newly signed contracts, to buy a home. The National Association of Realtors says tightening lending standards are a factor. As 10 percent of sales fell through at last-minute.

Checking the numbers, the Dow industrials are down 38 points, or a quarter of a percent. The Nasdaq is up nearly 4 points.

Coming up, buy low, not just the credo here on Wall Street, how to bargain for just about everything in the next hour of NEWSROOM. That's news you can use.

Don and Kyra, back to you.

LEMON: That is news you can use. Thank you very much for that, Susan Lisovicz. We'll see you in a bit.

PHILLIPS: We'll have more on that search for Chester Stiles, the suspect in the Nevada sex tape case. We'll check in with "America's Most Wanted" next. Keep watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERRY DONOHUE, ATTY. REPRESENTS ABUSE VICTIM'S FAMILY: I mean, speaking as a father myself, I wish the guy would dig a hole in the desert, and put a gun in his mouth. Wild West justice, the way I see it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: I think a lot of people feel that way. That was the attorney who represents the victim, and her mother, in that Nevada sex tape case. A manhunt still underway for Chester Arthur Stiles, the man accused of raping the girl when she was just three years old -- possibly younger now, that we're finding out and hearing from the attorney.

"America's Most Wanted" has been following this case closely, as well as CNN. Joining us now correspondent, John Leiberman.

John, what did you think of that news conference? Still a number of unanswered questions about the relationship between the child's mother and how she new Stiles. Maybe we can hammer that out together. But boy, he laid it out, what a lot of people want to see happen this guy, if indeed he did it.

JOHN LEIBERMAN, "AMERICA'S MOST WANTED": Yeah, the sound bite you played, I think, is how most of America, and world, frankly, are feeling right now. Stiles needs to be tracked down. He's a monster. He's a predator. We know all that. The highlights from this press conference, Kyra, number one, that the girl could have been even younger than three years old. That speaks to just what a monster Stiles is.

And number two, the fact that Stiles may have met this little girl through a babysitter at the home, that's a bit of a differing story than we got, and others have got, from Stiles' ex-girlfriend, who says that she might have been the one who introduced Stiles to this little girl.

But you know what, there was a question in that press conference that bothered me. And that is, you know, should this mom have left her little girl alone with a babysitter. Now is not the time for that, Kyra. Now is the time to track down this predator. It's not to question if this mom did everything right. Let's do that sometime in the future, if we need to do that. For now we have to concentrate on finding this guy, Stiles, because he could be anywhere right now.

PHILLIPS: And we'll get back to the details, in a minute about how everybody might have known each other. But you're absolutely correct, tracking down Stiles, how intense is the effort right now? What do you know? How are you involved? This is a 24/7 search right now, right?

LEIBERMAN: It's 24/7 right now. You obviously have local law enforcement in Las Vegas and in Nye County looking for this guy. You have federal law enforcement, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals, nationwide. We're bringing in tips at 1-800-CRIMETV, our anonymous hotline, and AMW.com. Our crime center is busy ferreting out the tips, going through the tips, sending them to law enforcement.

This guy could be anywhere. And I hope, Kyra, somebody isn't helping this guy stay on the run because we've heard inklings that he has friends and family all throughout the country, in the San Diego area, Las Vegas area, mainly out West. And I just hope someone isn't helping this guy.

PHILLIPS: Just to backtrack -- and we can keep the picture up there if you want.

Tina Allen has come forward. You've seen the interview, we've seen the interview, our Dan Simon did it, the former girlfriend of Stiles. Apparently she was friends with the mother of this little girl seen on the videotape, who was raped, correct? And is that how this all happened? They were somehow living together in an apartment and Stiles was there, and somehow knew.

LEIBERMAN: That's right.

PHILLIPS: OK. So try and lay that out for us.

LEIBERMAN: Yeah, there was a connection between Tina Allen, the her ex-girlfriend, her children, and this victim's mother. They appeared to have stayed at the same apartment for a while. And there was some babysitting of the children, and things like that. Look, Tina Allen feels terrible about this. Tina Allen described to us that Stiles is a master manipulator. That he's got sexual fetishes. That he was molested as a child so this guy Stiles clearly has issues of his own. And she feels terrible about what happened. It does differ slightly from what the attorney said today about the babysitting and maybe the kid was left alone. So we have to get to the bottom of that.

But the bottom line is at some point Stiles and this very young girl, perhaps one or two, were left alone together. That's when this videotape was taken. A family friend then calls the victim's mother the other night, and says oh, my goodness I think your daughter might be on the news. And then we know how it happens from there.

PHILLIPS: And the family is saying please stop showing the picture of my little girl, obviously, we've fuzzed that out. And stop using her name. I know that we have not used her name, but how do you feel about that? Do you feel that it's time to move on from that part, the salacious part, because that's what grabbed everyone's attention -- my, God, look at this little girl, in this nightie, on the videotape, and focus completely on the search for this child, alleged child molester.

LEIBERMAN: First of all, on this tape this girl was treated like an animal. It's absolutely disgusting. And look, the Nye County folks made a difficult decision of putting her picture out in the first place. Putting essentially a rape victim's photo out on national TV, but they did the right thing, because this girl was found. She was found safe. And I think you're exactly right, Kyra, now the focus needs to be on this manhunt. We need to not show this girl's face, and if you show the pictures, blur it out. We need to not use her name.

This is a living, breathing, seven-year-old child, who has a real life and parents. We need to get through that. This is no fault of her own at all, and frankly, no fault of the mother's at all the. This is a child molester, a pedophile, and that's whose fault it is. And we need to track down Stiles.

PHILLIPS: Perfect way to wrap it up. Jon Leiberman with "America's Most Wanted."

Sure appreciate your time, John.

LEIBERMAN: Sure think, Kyra.

LEMON: It was a supreme case of he said, she said, played out before the whole nation. Anita Hill versus Clarence Thomas, remember that? It's a war of words that continues to this day. Anita Hill responds to her old boss' new book. Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

A.J. HAMMER, CNN ANCHOR, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: I'm A.J. Hammer in New York.

A court has taken away Britney Spears' two children and given them to her ex-husband. I'll have the whole story coming up next in NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. Unless you've been in exile somewhere or something you've probably heard by now Britney Spears has lost custody of her two children. "Showbiz Tonight" A.J. Hammer joins us to fill us in on what's going on with the pop star's private life. We kind of joke around when we are just talking about her partying, but when it comes to the kids this is pretty serious stuff, A.J.

HAMMER: You never want to see a mom lose their kids, no matter the circumstances, Don. And you never want to see anyone hit rock bottom. Perhaps this is it for Britney Spears, so hopefully she can really begin putting herself together, which is what we hoped for some months ago.

Here's the deal. An L.A. County court has ruled Spears' ex- husband Kevin Federline should have physical custody of the couple's two sons, two-year-old Sean and one-year-old Jayden; and he will, at least for now. And a sources is telling us that Spears has actually already handed the kids over to Federline. Right now you're seeing footage of Britney from Sunday, shot by Hollywood.TV.

Their original divorce agreement was to split custody evenly, but after a long run of troubling behavior, including a stint in rehab, and public appearances where she appeared erratic, and of course the sudden decision to shave her head Federline came back to the court and asked, at that point, for primary custody of the two boys. So, basically, in a nutshell, Don, that is how we wound up where we are right now.

LEMON: And it seems like a lot of things led up to this, but was there a final straw. Can anything be looked at like OK, that's it, the kids go.

HAMMER: Not specifically by the ruling it didn't particularly say, but the timing certainly indicated that a judge felt some sort of an urgent need to make a decision. Perhaps he felt the kids were in some kind of danger, because the next hearing wasn't even supposed to take place until November 26th.

The county court commissioner, who made this decision to hand the kids over to Federline. He was the same person who called Spears a habitual and frequent user of alcohol and controlled substances, just two weeks ago. He also forced Spears to submit to random drug testing and receive parent coaching.

Well, here's the problem, People.com is reporting that according to Spears lawyer, Britney was accused of not taking those random drug and alcohol tests, and she couldn't even provide a California driver's license, that is a particular problem because she's been photographed repeatedly driving with her kids in the car. So, it really seems like she did everything long, Don, despite the fact she had these looming consequences hanging over her head, which have now, sadly, become her reality.

LEMON: Yeah. Ah, ah -- there are so many questions I want to -- Let's move on. What's next in all this because, I understand that this is not a permanent decision, is it?

HAMMER: No, it's not. This is being dealt with right now. There's going to be another hearing tomorrow, which is when she was to have handed the kids over. As I mentioned, the reports are that the kids are already in Federline's custody.

Most attorneys are saying that she can still possibly still turn things around and get some of her custody rights back. Here's the problem. She really needs to totally change her entire way of life right now. But she may not have the people in her life who can convince her of that, or really give her any help at all. If you look around she's had a very public feud with her mom, so she will be of no help, her divorce attorney and her management company both recently left her.

And Britney doesn't appear to have anybody in her life who is ready to give her the advice, that she's ready to listen to. She's become a cautionary tale about young stars not being able to handle success. And it's been really sad to watch.

LEMON: That's what I was going to ask you, and you kind of answered it. But where's her mother? Where are her good friends, who will say, you know what, you're out of control girl, get your act together.

HAMMER: Yeah, we hear reports out, one report right now that she's checked into the Beverly Hills Hotel. She's not living at home at this point. She's had been at another hotel recently. There are people around, nothing that I can specifically report on, but we've been hearing reports that there are people around. But, man, we've been saying all along, where are the people -- where are the professionals who can give her the advice? Well, the professionals have all walked. They basically have all gotten out of her life because she is not taking their advice.

LEMON: All right, what do you have tonight, A.J.?

HAMMER: Well, this all exactly what we'll be talking about on the show tonight. What really lead Britney Spears to losing custody of her kids. Does she really have a chance of getting them back? And we'll even ask the controversial question, on "Showbiz Tonight", does Kevin Federline even deserve to have him them, himself? Do not miss the most comprehensive coverage of Britney's latest disaster tonight, on TV's most provocative entertainment news show. "Showbiz Tonight" at 11 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on "Headline Prime". We'll see you then.

LEMON: Always a pleasure, A.J. Thank you so much for that.

Once again judge orders O.J. Simpson to turn over what's his to the Goldman family. An update straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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