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CNN Live Today

Iraq Bombings Targeted Police; Ivan Expected to Make Gulf Coast Landfall; Capitol Hill CIA Director Hearings; Possible Anti-depressant Side Effects on Children.

Aired September 14, 2004 - 10:00   ET

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

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


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We'll get started here. At CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Daryn Kagan. Let's take a look at the stories now in the news.
At least 60 people have been killed in Iraq, including Baghdad's deadliest single attack in six months. That car bombing killed 47 people, most were police recruits lined up to apply for jobs. In Baquba, insurgents again targeted police killing twelve officers in a drive-by shooting. Also today, a U.S. soldier was killed and five others injured by small arms fire at Mosul in northern Iraq.

Throughout the morning, CNN has received video feeds of the damage now being assessed in western Cuba. Hurricane Ivan spared the western end of the island, a direct hit. But it still toppled power lines, uprooted trees and unleashed widespread flooding. Hurricane warnings are now posted all along much of the Gulf Coast in the U.S. A live report and the latest on the storm's path is just minutes away.

The Senate Intelligence Committee opens its hearing this hour on President Bush's choice -- there you see him, to head the CIA; although he may never serve in that post. Lawmakers are racing a November adjournment to take action on Porter Goss, currently a Republican Congressman who spent nearly a decade as a CIA operative. Democrats are likely to question his ability to shelve politics and his ties to the agency.

Also on Capitol Hill, another live picture for you. The Senate Finance Committee just now opening its hearing on Medicare. Administrator Mark McClellan will face tough questioning on a 17 percent increase in premiums that was announced just last week, and at the height of the political season.

Live this hour, there you see Senator John Kerry. Healthcare is the headline on the campaign trail. It is seven weeks to the day before the election. John Kerry speaking to seniors in Milwaukee, Wisconsin about his plans to change the Medicare drug benefit. Meanwhile, President Bush is in suburban Denver pitching his plan, or he will be, to give Americans more control of their healthcare.

Let's turn to our situation report from Iraq, where a day of violence is nudging the death toll even higher. The first incident, a car bombing next to a line of police recruits in Baghdad. Iraq's Ministry of Health says that at least 47 people were killed, 114 were injured. That is the deadliest single attack in the capital in six months. About two hours later, Iraqi police were also the apparent target in Baquba. Gunmen there opened fire on a mini bus filled with 18 policemen. Twelve officers were killed and three civilians wounded.

And in western Mosul, assailants opened fire on a U.S. military patrol. One Task Force Olympia soldier was killed and five others injured. The U.S. death toll is now at 1,014.

Want to get more now on the separate attacks on police in Iraq. We're going to bring in CNN's Diana Muriel standing by in Baghdad -- Diana.

DIANA MURIELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, as you say, another deadly day here in Iraq. The majority of the killed and wounded here in Baghdad. Forty-seven dead, 114 injured in a lethal car bomb attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Another bomb, another scene of devastation in downtown Baghdad. A massive car bomb exploded outside a police station midmorning Tuesday. A line of recruits waiting to sign up as police officers bore the brunt of the blast.

The explosion left a deep crater in the street and ignited several cars in the vicinity. Ambulances were quickly on the scene, ferrying the dead and injured to two local hospitals. There, medics fought to save lives. Sometimes appearing overwhelmed by the scale of the carnage.

The Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib quickly broke off his engagements to come to the blast site. He was mobbed by an angry crowd, who laid the blame squarely on the Americans. This man says, since the American forces came here, they have perpetrated massacres against the Iraqi people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MURIEL (on camera): An organization has come forward, Daryn, to claim responsibility for this atrocity. A group calling itself the Unification and Jihad Group has announced that it was responsible for that car bomb attack in Baghdad today on its web site.

It also claims responsibility for another incident that took place today, again targeting police. This was a drive-by shooting that took place at Baquba, a town about 30 miles north of Baghdad.

A drive-by shooting, which killed 12, police officers, and injured three Iraqi civilians as they were traveling in two mini buses. The same group also claiming responsibility for the incident on Sunday, in which a car bomb blew up a Bradley fighting vehicle, in which four American soldiers were injured -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Diana Muriel bringing us the latest from Baghdad. Diana, thank you. We focus back home now and the nation's need to improve intelligence while fighting the war on terror. Confirmation hearings begin on Capitol Hill this hour for President Bush's choice for CIA director.

Our national security correspondent David Ensor is following the testimony as it's about to get under way.

David, good morning.

DAVID ENSOR, NAT'L. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Well, first of all, we're going to hear from two Florida Senators, both Democrats and both warmly supportive of Porter Goss, the president's choice to be the next director of Central Intelligence. There are several intriguing things about this hearing today.

The man to watch may be Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, the ranking Democrat, who before -- this is Pat Roberts, the chairman of the committee who's speaking at the moment. Just to his left is Rockefeller, who before the president chose Porter Goss, said publicly he didn't think a politician should be appointed to this job. So, it would be interesting to see how tough the questioning is from Senator Rockefeller.

Goss is expected to be easily confirmed to the job of director of Central Intelligence. The intriguing thing, though, is that job may be abolished in the coming weeks, as the nation talks about intelligence reform and about having a National Intelligence Director. And it's not clear at this point whether Porter Goss would be moved to that new job. He would have to have confirmation all over again if he is. Or whether he would become the CIA director, the man who runs spies underneath the nation's chief intelligence officer.

So, there are a lot of questions about Porter Goss. His critics charge that he's too political. That he's weighed in with tough language against Senator John Kerry, the Democratic hopeful, and has carried water for the White House. His fans saying he's a real professional. He's been the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee for years. He was, in fact, early on in his life a CIA officer. So, he really knows the world of intelligence. And his fans say he's the right man to take the job now -- Daryn.

KAGAN: I want to ask you about another man up there, Senator Pat Roberts. This is a -- he made news a couple weeks ago when he came up with the plan to basically rework the intelligence community and do away with the CIA. How do you expect those two to interact?

ENSOR: Well, that's right. It's interesting that the chairman of the committee of the hearings today advocates abolishing the agency that Porter Goss has now been nominated to lead. How that's all going to play out is really very unclear at this point.

Although, not many observers of the scene believe that the CIA will be abolished in any reorganization of intelligence that might occur. It could go a number of ways, though. It might still exist but be much weakened. Or, in fact, it could be strengthened if a National Intelligence Director is appointed who believes in that -- Daryn.

KAGAN: David Ensor listening in from Washington, D.C. We'll be checking back with you.

Right now we turn to Hurricane Ivan. It's gotten just a little bit weaker. Just one mile an hour slower than Category 5 status, if that can really qualify as weaker. The storm is expected to make landfall along the northern Gulf Coast later this week.

No one there knows just where that's going to happen yet. Mandatory evacuations are already in place for parts of the Florida Panhandle. Military aircraft have already been flown out of the area or moved in to hangars.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Hurricane Ivan is slowly moving away from the western tip of Cuba. That after toppling power lines and causing massive flooding on the island.

Our Lucia Newman joins us from on the videophone from Canas, Cuba.

Hello.

LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn. We are here in Las Canas. This is a mall seaside town here in Pinar del Rio. You can't see anything but water behind me. There used to be a beach behind me, now it's the sea. The ocean has practically swallowed the whole first four or five blocks of this town.

In fact, the waves reached all the way up to two blocks in front of me past Main Street. The house behind me, as you can see, has waves coming into the back door. This is just an example of what is happening in all of the seaside towns here in Pinar del Rio.

The residents were evacuated at least a day in advance of Hurricane Ivan. And they are not being allowed to return here to try and pick up the pieces until the weather improves, and until the seas recede. It is still unclear -- I'm very sorry. It is still unclear just how much damage has been caused in this part of Cuba by Hurricane Ivan. Later on today, when the weather permits, there should be a helicopter flight organized for the media to try and oversee this whole region of Cuba.

But what we can see say is that there have been no reports so far of loss of life or of any major injuries. And that's good news for Cuba. So, they think they have fared, all in all, Daryn, a lot better than they did in Jamaica and in other areas of the Caribbean where Ivan passed -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. Lucia Newman in Canas, Cuba. Thank you for that.

We have health news ahead for you. Millions of parents trying to help their children deal with depression. Sometimes though, the solution seems more risky. A live report straight ahead on the possible links between anti-depressants and suicide in children, as the government investigates that.

And remember this guy we were watching for a lot of yesterday morning? The Caped Crusader for father's rights. Find out what happened to the Batman of Buckingham Palace.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "OPRAH": All right. Open your boxes. Open your boxes. One, two...

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: It's one of those moments that makes you say, I wish that happened to me. Oprah Winfrey revs up her audience, literally a huge kickoff to the season for Miss Oprah. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Just 15 minutes before classes were due to resume today in Beslan, Russia, the site of that horrific school massacre, officials there abruptly canceled the lessons. They cited concerns that school property had not been searched thoroughly enough.

Security experts believe that terrorists had stashed weapons and explosives in the school that they seized on September 1. The siege ended two days later with the deaths of at least 335 hostages, more than half of them were children.

In London, you saw this live with us yesterday. It was a publicity stunt that has offered chilling proof that some of the United Kingdom's most guarded landmarks are seriously vulnerable.

Correspondent James Mates shows how an almost comical site is now raising some deadly serious questions about security.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES MATES, ITV NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How could it happen? Three years after September the 11, after innumerable security breaches, many involving the royal family, a man in a Batman costume stands on a ledge near the main balcony of Buckingham Palace. To say it's embarrassing is just the half of it. It is also a most serious indictment of security at one of our most prominent, potential targets.

JASON BATCH, FATHERS 4 JUSTICE: He got on -- a police officer challenged me with small arm, said come down or I'll shoot you. So, I thought about it very quickly and came down.

MATES: The two men found a weak spot. As colleagues created a diversion at the front gate, they scaled a low wall at the side. Once up on the ledge, it was an easy walk around to the front of the palace to unfurl a banner, and play to the cameras. Once there, the police could do little but try to talk him down. Offering him a drink while they did it. And try to explain why they hadn't acted more robustly.

JOHN STEVENS, COMMISSIONER, METROPOLITAN POLICE: The officers identified immediately that this was what it was, a publicity stunt. Had they had any concerns that it was something more serious then the outcome could have been extremely difficult -- different.

MATES: If the police recognized the protesters, it's because there have been so many. The purple-flour-bomb in the House of Commons in May, the man dressed as Spider-Man who paralyzed the London Eye on Saturday, and Sundry's (ph) superheroes on a Clifton suspension bridge on a crane near Tower Bridge.

Batman finally revealed himself to be Jason Batch, a leading member of Fathers 4 Justice, who was complaining of lack of access to his children, despite court orders in his favor. Batch finally agreed to come down in a cherry picker.

Once again, he and his fellow protesters have proved to be superb at winning publicity. The police took him away, but they and those who run security at Britain's most sensitive buildings, are going to be answering some pretty searching questions.

James Mates, ITV News, Buckingham Palace.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Just outside of Washington, D.C., an FDA advisory panel is hearing from Americans on possible side effects that anti- depressants can have on children. A live report is straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: A hearing is under way this hour on a possible link between anti-depressants and the suicidal urges of some children taking those drugs. Testimony has been scientific, anecdotal, and in the case of parents who lost their children to suicide, it has been agonizing.

CNN's Christy Feig joins us from Washington with a closer look at this.

Good morning.

CHRISTY FEIG, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning, Daryn. That's exactly right. This advisory committee to the FDA is in the middle of a two-day hearing on the use of anti- depressants in kids. And after just one day of sifting through the data, including an independent review by Columbia University, the committee already has a consensus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROBERT TEMPLE, FDA: I think we all believe that there's an increase in these trials in suicidal thinking, in suicidal behavior, as defined and evaluated by the Columbia group that seems to be present fairly uniformly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEIG: Now, of course, this issue is packed with emotion on both sides. There were some parents that told this committee they were convinced that these drugs killed their children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATHY MILLING DOWNING, DAUGHTER COMMITTED SUICIDE: Following being given 100 milligrams of Zoloft, which was basically four times the normal amount that she'd been used to taking, she hanged herself within four days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEIG: But there are other young people who take the opposite side and say the same drugs actually saved their lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS DRELL, PATIENT ON ANTIDEPRESSANTS: I couldn't deal with anything. I couldn't deal with life. Couldn't deal with the depressed feeling that I had. The bad feeling that I had. I knew that I didn't want to deal with it. And I had to die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEIG: Now the committee has to decide what to do. Are stronger warning labels enough? Does this only apply to certain drugs? Those are the types of questions they're going to be wrestling today. And this evening they'll make a recommendation to the FDA, who will decide how to advise doctors from here -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Christy Feig in Washington, D.C. Christy, thank you for that.

We move back to Hurricane Ivan. States along the Gulf Coast are bracing for this monster storm. Straight ahead, I'll talk with the mayor of the Big Easy. Things not so easy there today. Might not be easy if Ivan comes ashore near New Orleans.

Also a swarm of controversy, Kitty Kelley says one thing, her alleged source says something else. Hear from both sides coming up on CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's take a look at the stories now in the news. A powerful car bomb detonated outside of a Baghdad police station today, killing at least 47 people and wounding more than 100 others. Many of the victims were police recruits who had lined up outside the building to apply for jobs. In a separate attack, gunmen killed 12 police officers and wounded three civilians in a drive-by shooting in Baquba.

And two more booby trap letters sent to the nation's governors were intercepted before doing harm. The letters to the governors of Virginia and West Virginia were rigged to ignite when opened. A total of 18 governors have received similar letters in the past week. All the letters bore a return address from a maximum-security prison in Nevada.

A wildfire at the California/Mexico border has forced the closing of a state highway. About 1,000 acres have burned on the U.S. side. Another 1,000 on the Mexican side. There have been few evacuations and no injuries reported. To the north, a second wildfire is burning on the outskirts of the California town of Mariposa. A suspected arsonist has been jailed.

And the U.S. Air Force may soon send experts to determine whether an unarmed nuclear bomb was found off the coast of Georgia. The hydrogen bomb was lost in the Atlantic Ocean at the height of the Cold War, after a 1958 midair collision involving a B-47 bomber and a fighter jet. Retired Air Force Lieutenant Corner Derrick Duke says he thinks he found what was left of the bomb during a search in July.

And now to the presidential campaign. We are just seven Tuesdays before Election Day. A live picture of Senator John Kerry. He is talking about easing the squeeze on senior's healthcare costs. The Democratic standard bearer is speaking to a group of older Americans in Milwaukee this hour. Kerry wants to change the Medicare drug benefit so the government can negotiate discount prices for buying in bulk. He also wants to let Americans buy prescription drugs from Canada.

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Aired September 14, 2004 - 10:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We'll get started here. At CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Daryn Kagan. Let's take a look at the stories now in the news.
At least 60 people have been killed in Iraq, including Baghdad's deadliest single attack in six months. That car bombing killed 47 people, most were police recruits lined up to apply for jobs. In Baquba, insurgents again targeted police killing twelve officers in a drive-by shooting. Also today, a U.S. soldier was killed and five others injured by small arms fire at Mosul in northern Iraq.

Throughout the morning, CNN has received video feeds of the damage now being assessed in western Cuba. Hurricane Ivan spared the western end of the island, a direct hit. But it still toppled power lines, uprooted trees and unleashed widespread flooding. Hurricane warnings are now posted all along much of the Gulf Coast in the U.S. A live report and the latest on the storm's path is just minutes away.

The Senate Intelligence Committee opens its hearing this hour on President Bush's choice -- there you see him, to head the CIA; although he may never serve in that post. Lawmakers are racing a November adjournment to take action on Porter Goss, currently a Republican Congressman who spent nearly a decade as a CIA operative. Democrats are likely to question his ability to shelve politics and his ties to the agency.

Also on Capitol Hill, another live picture for you. The Senate Finance Committee just now opening its hearing on Medicare. Administrator Mark McClellan will face tough questioning on a 17 percent increase in premiums that was announced just last week, and at the height of the political season.

Live this hour, there you see Senator John Kerry. Healthcare is the headline on the campaign trail. It is seven weeks to the day before the election. John Kerry speaking to seniors in Milwaukee, Wisconsin about his plans to change the Medicare drug benefit. Meanwhile, President Bush is in suburban Denver pitching his plan, or he will be, to give Americans more control of their healthcare.

Let's turn to our situation report from Iraq, where a day of violence is nudging the death toll even higher. The first incident, a car bombing next to a line of police recruits in Baghdad. Iraq's Ministry of Health says that at least 47 people were killed, 114 were injured. That is the deadliest single attack in the capital in six months. About two hours later, Iraqi police were also the apparent target in Baquba. Gunmen there opened fire on a mini bus filled with 18 policemen. Twelve officers were killed and three civilians wounded.

And in western Mosul, assailants opened fire on a U.S. military patrol. One Task Force Olympia soldier was killed and five others injured. The U.S. death toll is now at 1,014.

Want to get more now on the separate attacks on police in Iraq. We're going to bring in CNN's Diana Muriel standing by in Baghdad -- Diana.

DIANA MURIELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, as you say, another deadly day here in Iraq. The majority of the killed and wounded here in Baghdad. Forty-seven dead, 114 injured in a lethal car bomb attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Another bomb, another scene of devastation in downtown Baghdad. A massive car bomb exploded outside a police station midmorning Tuesday. A line of recruits waiting to sign up as police officers bore the brunt of the blast.

The explosion left a deep crater in the street and ignited several cars in the vicinity. Ambulances were quickly on the scene, ferrying the dead and injured to two local hospitals. There, medics fought to save lives. Sometimes appearing overwhelmed by the scale of the carnage.

The Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib quickly broke off his engagements to come to the blast site. He was mobbed by an angry crowd, who laid the blame squarely on the Americans. This man says, since the American forces came here, they have perpetrated massacres against the Iraqi people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MURIEL (on camera): An organization has come forward, Daryn, to claim responsibility for this atrocity. A group calling itself the Unification and Jihad Group has announced that it was responsible for that car bomb attack in Baghdad today on its web site.

It also claims responsibility for another incident that took place today, again targeting police. This was a drive-by shooting that took place at Baquba, a town about 30 miles north of Baghdad.

A drive-by shooting, which killed 12, police officers, and injured three Iraqi civilians as they were traveling in two mini buses. The same group also claiming responsibility for the incident on Sunday, in which a car bomb blew up a Bradley fighting vehicle, in which four American soldiers were injured -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Diana Muriel bringing us the latest from Baghdad. Diana, thank you. We focus back home now and the nation's need to improve intelligence while fighting the war on terror. Confirmation hearings begin on Capitol Hill this hour for President Bush's choice for CIA director.

Our national security correspondent David Ensor is following the testimony as it's about to get under way.

David, good morning.

DAVID ENSOR, NAT'L. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Well, first of all, we're going to hear from two Florida Senators, both Democrats and both warmly supportive of Porter Goss, the president's choice to be the next director of Central Intelligence. There are several intriguing things about this hearing today.

The man to watch may be Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, the ranking Democrat, who before -- this is Pat Roberts, the chairman of the committee who's speaking at the moment. Just to his left is Rockefeller, who before the president chose Porter Goss, said publicly he didn't think a politician should be appointed to this job. So, it would be interesting to see how tough the questioning is from Senator Rockefeller.

Goss is expected to be easily confirmed to the job of director of Central Intelligence. The intriguing thing, though, is that job may be abolished in the coming weeks, as the nation talks about intelligence reform and about having a National Intelligence Director. And it's not clear at this point whether Porter Goss would be moved to that new job. He would have to have confirmation all over again if he is. Or whether he would become the CIA director, the man who runs spies underneath the nation's chief intelligence officer.

So, there are a lot of questions about Porter Goss. His critics charge that he's too political. That he's weighed in with tough language against Senator John Kerry, the Democratic hopeful, and has carried water for the White House. His fans saying he's a real professional. He's been the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee for years. He was, in fact, early on in his life a CIA officer. So, he really knows the world of intelligence. And his fans say he's the right man to take the job now -- Daryn.

KAGAN: I want to ask you about another man up there, Senator Pat Roberts. This is a -- he made news a couple weeks ago when he came up with the plan to basically rework the intelligence community and do away with the CIA. How do you expect those two to interact?

ENSOR: Well, that's right. It's interesting that the chairman of the committee of the hearings today advocates abolishing the agency that Porter Goss has now been nominated to lead. How that's all going to play out is really very unclear at this point.

Although, not many observers of the scene believe that the CIA will be abolished in any reorganization of intelligence that might occur. It could go a number of ways, though. It might still exist but be much weakened. Or, in fact, it could be strengthened if a National Intelligence Director is appointed who believes in that -- Daryn.

KAGAN: David Ensor listening in from Washington, D.C. We'll be checking back with you.

Right now we turn to Hurricane Ivan. It's gotten just a little bit weaker. Just one mile an hour slower than Category 5 status, if that can really qualify as weaker. The storm is expected to make landfall along the northern Gulf Coast later this week.

No one there knows just where that's going to happen yet. Mandatory evacuations are already in place for parts of the Florida Panhandle. Military aircraft have already been flown out of the area or moved in to hangars.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Hurricane Ivan is slowly moving away from the western tip of Cuba. That after toppling power lines and causing massive flooding on the island.

Our Lucia Newman joins us from on the videophone from Canas, Cuba.

Hello.

LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn. We are here in Las Canas. This is a mall seaside town here in Pinar del Rio. You can't see anything but water behind me. There used to be a beach behind me, now it's the sea. The ocean has practically swallowed the whole first four or five blocks of this town.

In fact, the waves reached all the way up to two blocks in front of me past Main Street. The house behind me, as you can see, has waves coming into the back door. This is just an example of what is happening in all of the seaside towns here in Pinar del Rio.

The residents were evacuated at least a day in advance of Hurricane Ivan. And they are not being allowed to return here to try and pick up the pieces until the weather improves, and until the seas recede. It is still unclear -- I'm very sorry. It is still unclear just how much damage has been caused in this part of Cuba by Hurricane Ivan. Later on today, when the weather permits, there should be a helicopter flight organized for the media to try and oversee this whole region of Cuba.

But what we can see say is that there have been no reports so far of loss of life or of any major injuries. And that's good news for Cuba. So, they think they have fared, all in all, Daryn, a lot better than they did in Jamaica and in other areas of the Caribbean where Ivan passed -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. Lucia Newman in Canas, Cuba. Thank you for that.

We have health news ahead for you. Millions of parents trying to help their children deal with depression. Sometimes though, the solution seems more risky. A live report straight ahead on the possible links between anti-depressants and suicide in children, as the government investigates that.

And remember this guy we were watching for a lot of yesterday morning? The Caped Crusader for father's rights. Find out what happened to the Batman of Buckingham Palace.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "OPRAH": All right. Open your boxes. Open your boxes. One, two...

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: It's one of those moments that makes you say, I wish that happened to me. Oprah Winfrey revs up her audience, literally a huge kickoff to the season for Miss Oprah. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Just 15 minutes before classes were due to resume today in Beslan, Russia, the site of that horrific school massacre, officials there abruptly canceled the lessons. They cited concerns that school property had not been searched thoroughly enough.

Security experts believe that terrorists had stashed weapons and explosives in the school that they seized on September 1. The siege ended two days later with the deaths of at least 335 hostages, more than half of them were children.

In London, you saw this live with us yesterday. It was a publicity stunt that has offered chilling proof that some of the United Kingdom's most guarded landmarks are seriously vulnerable.

Correspondent James Mates shows how an almost comical site is now raising some deadly serious questions about security.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES MATES, ITV NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How could it happen? Three years after September the 11, after innumerable security breaches, many involving the royal family, a man in a Batman costume stands on a ledge near the main balcony of Buckingham Palace. To say it's embarrassing is just the half of it. It is also a most serious indictment of security at one of our most prominent, potential targets.

JASON BATCH, FATHERS 4 JUSTICE: He got on -- a police officer challenged me with small arm, said come down or I'll shoot you. So, I thought about it very quickly and came down.

MATES: The two men found a weak spot. As colleagues created a diversion at the front gate, they scaled a low wall at the side. Once up on the ledge, it was an easy walk around to the front of the palace to unfurl a banner, and play to the cameras. Once there, the police could do little but try to talk him down. Offering him a drink while they did it. And try to explain why they hadn't acted more robustly.

JOHN STEVENS, COMMISSIONER, METROPOLITAN POLICE: The officers identified immediately that this was what it was, a publicity stunt. Had they had any concerns that it was something more serious then the outcome could have been extremely difficult -- different.

MATES: If the police recognized the protesters, it's because there have been so many. The purple-flour-bomb in the House of Commons in May, the man dressed as Spider-Man who paralyzed the London Eye on Saturday, and Sundry's (ph) superheroes on a Clifton suspension bridge on a crane near Tower Bridge.

Batman finally revealed himself to be Jason Batch, a leading member of Fathers 4 Justice, who was complaining of lack of access to his children, despite court orders in his favor. Batch finally agreed to come down in a cherry picker.

Once again, he and his fellow protesters have proved to be superb at winning publicity. The police took him away, but they and those who run security at Britain's most sensitive buildings, are going to be answering some pretty searching questions.

James Mates, ITV News, Buckingham Palace.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Just outside of Washington, D.C., an FDA advisory panel is hearing from Americans on possible side effects that anti- depressants can have on children. A live report is straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: A hearing is under way this hour on a possible link between anti-depressants and the suicidal urges of some children taking those drugs. Testimony has been scientific, anecdotal, and in the case of parents who lost their children to suicide, it has been agonizing.

CNN's Christy Feig joins us from Washington with a closer look at this.

Good morning.

CHRISTY FEIG, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning, Daryn. That's exactly right. This advisory committee to the FDA is in the middle of a two-day hearing on the use of anti- depressants in kids. And after just one day of sifting through the data, including an independent review by Columbia University, the committee already has a consensus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROBERT TEMPLE, FDA: I think we all believe that there's an increase in these trials in suicidal thinking, in suicidal behavior, as defined and evaluated by the Columbia group that seems to be present fairly uniformly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEIG: Now, of course, this issue is packed with emotion on both sides. There were some parents that told this committee they were convinced that these drugs killed their children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATHY MILLING DOWNING, DAUGHTER COMMITTED SUICIDE: Following being given 100 milligrams of Zoloft, which was basically four times the normal amount that she'd been used to taking, she hanged herself within four days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEIG: But there are other young people who take the opposite side and say the same drugs actually saved their lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS DRELL, PATIENT ON ANTIDEPRESSANTS: I couldn't deal with anything. I couldn't deal with life. Couldn't deal with the depressed feeling that I had. The bad feeling that I had. I knew that I didn't want to deal with it. And I had to die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEIG: Now the committee has to decide what to do. Are stronger warning labels enough? Does this only apply to certain drugs? Those are the types of questions they're going to be wrestling today. And this evening they'll make a recommendation to the FDA, who will decide how to advise doctors from here -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Christy Feig in Washington, D.C. Christy, thank you for that.

We move back to Hurricane Ivan. States along the Gulf Coast are bracing for this monster storm. Straight ahead, I'll talk with the mayor of the Big Easy. Things not so easy there today. Might not be easy if Ivan comes ashore near New Orleans.

Also a swarm of controversy, Kitty Kelley says one thing, her alleged source says something else. Hear from both sides coming up on CNN LIVE TODAY.

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KAGAN: Let's take a look at the stories now in the news. A powerful car bomb detonated outside of a Baghdad police station today, killing at least 47 people and wounding more than 100 others. Many of the victims were police recruits who had lined up outside the building to apply for jobs. In a separate attack, gunmen killed 12 police officers and wounded three civilians in a drive-by shooting in Baquba.

And two more booby trap letters sent to the nation's governors were intercepted before doing harm. The letters to the governors of Virginia and West Virginia were rigged to ignite when opened. A total of 18 governors have received similar letters in the past week. All the letters bore a return address from a maximum-security prison in Nevada.

A wildfire at the California/Mexico border has forced the closing of a state highway. About 1,000 acres have burned on the U.S. side. Another 1,000 on the Mexican side. There have been few evacuations and no injuries reported. To the north, a second wildfire is burning on the outskirts of the California town of Mariposa. A suspected arsonist has been jailed.

And the U.S. Air Force may soon send experts to determine whether an unarmed nuclear bomb was found off the coast of Georgia. The hydrogen bomb was lost in the Atlantic Ocean at the height of the Cold War, after a 1958 midair collision involving a B-47 bomber and a fighter jet. Retired Air Force Lieutenant Corner Derrick Duke says he thinks he found what was left of the bomb during a search in July.

And now to the presidential campaign. We are just seven Tuesdays before Election Day. A live picture of Senator John Kerry. He is talking about easing the squeeze on senior's healthcare costs. The Democratic standard bearer is speaking to a group of older Americans in Milwaukee this hour. Kerry wants to change the Medicare drug benefit so the government can negotiate discount prices for buying in bulk. He also wants to let Americans buy prescription drugs from Canada.

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