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Small Plane Crashes North of Orlando; Court Battle Over Rights to O.J.'s Book; New Leads in Pizza Deliveryman Bombing; Amendment to Curb Troop Redeployments Fails; Parents Warned of Overuse of Antibiotics; Charges to Be Filed in Pizza Delivery Bombing; Control Tower on Fire at Miami Airport

Aired July 11, 2007 - 13:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CO-HOST: Even cops who had seen it all had never seen a case like this. A pizza delivery man robs a bank with a bomb around his neck. He says he was forced. The bomb goes off, and the mystery persists for years. Today it may be solved.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CO-HOST: And a court in Miami writes a new chapter in an even older case, the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Goldman's father may be O.J. Simpson's publisher, well, sort of. Brown's sister is opposed.

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

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

But first, we start with a developing story right out of the gate. A plane down south of Florida, Orlando International Airport. It's near of Mary Jane -- the Lake of Mary Jane.

You're looking at what has happened here. According to our affiliate, WFTV, this has sparked a brushfire in Florida.

Let me tell you a little bit about this plane. This plane went down near Lockheed Martin's test facility. The airport said that the plane is not a commercial plane and that the area around the plane is on fire, as you can see there. You can also see some parts of the plane there down on the ground.

It's being described as a twin engine, general aviation plane. The Orange County sheriff's office said they've received calls that the plane went down in the area, and they are in communication with the pilot now.

We're also hearing from our affiliates that two people are on board this plane. Again, crashed in a wooded area.

To talk about the weather conditions there, whether that may have had anything to do with that, or problems with the brushfire, we're going to bring in CNN's Rob Marciano just a little bit later on to talk about the condition there and what this means for them.

But in the meantime, developing news here in the CNN NEWSROOM. A small plane goes down, as you can see there, south of the Orlando International Airport. There's a possibility two people are on board that plane. That's according to our affiliates. We'll continue to update you throughout the afternoon, here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Let's bring in CNN's Rob Marciano now.

Rob, talk to us real quick, if you can, about the possibility of this brushfire or -- yes, brushfires that this could -- this will cause.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, much of Florida, especially the northern and central part of Florida, has been under pretty much a drought for the past several months.

Florida -- Orlando itself has seen just a little more than half of the rainfall they typically would see since January 1. So this is an area that is prone to brushfires, so -- and we're not seeing a whole lot of action on the radar scope. GR114 will show you what kind of cells are developing around that area. Mostly to the west, mostly to the north.

About a 30 to 40 percent chance of seeing a more substantial shower develop right over the Orlando area and maybe that brush fire. But we don't see a huge influx of moisture right now in there to help things out.

Temperatures are climbing well into the 90s. They'll probably peak out in the lower to mid-90s. So certainly, heat is an issue, and the lack of rain really is the main concern with this situation.

LEMON: And, Rob, stand by here, because I want to go to Jim Solomon, who's a public information officer for Orange County there in Florida where this plane went down. And if you have any questions for him, Rob, feel free to jump in at any point, as well as Fredricka.

Sir, tell us what's going on there. We're hearing about a twin engine plane with possibly two people on board.

JIM SOLOMON, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, ORANGE COUNTY: I have a twin engine aircraft with one person, the pilot on board. I don't have indication of anyone else on board that aircraft.

LEMON: OK. Do you know what the conditions were? Was there a 911 call, an emergency call that came in?

SOLOMON: Actually, yes, we got the call from the pilot. I can't give you the details on what type of an incident he encountered, but apparently, he was forced to put that aircraft down in a heavily wooded remote area in south Orange County. Apparently, he was able to get the aircraft down relatively intact, walk away from it, and at some point the aircraft did catch fire.

LEMON: So he walked away from it? He's fine?

SOLOMON: Yes. He was the one that was directing emergency response personnel to the crash site, trying to locate the helicopter. And again, he was in a pretty remote area. But I can tell you, he has been found. I don't have any indications that he was injured. He was talking to emergency response personnel. And right now, they're just dealing with a small fire in a wooded area.

LEMON: As much as you can, sir, explain the 911 call, the emergency call that came in to you. What time and then what the pilot said?

SOLOMON: Well, we got the call at about 12 noon, 12 noon exactly. And again it was the complaint was listed as the pilot, and he was just trying to give us directions to the aircraft, which initially came out to be 10 miles east of Orlando International Airport.

But again, the pilot wasn't exactly sure where he was. I'm sure he was very busy trying to get the aircraft down in one piece.

LEMON: OK. So did he make this call during flight or after he had put the aircraft down? You said it's during...

SOLOMON: I don't know, sir.

LEMON: OK. Ten miles east...

SOLOMON: Apparently, he was in contact with Orlando International at, you know, the time of whatever was going on with the aircraft. And I would assume once he got the aircraft down and he was safely out of aircraft, he made the 911 call.

LEMON: OK. I don't know if you were able to hear our meteorologist here, Rob Marciano, talk about the dry conditions have you been having there, especially with wildfires and brushfires. What sort of threat does this pose to your community?

SOLOMON: We were pretty fortunate. We have had in just recent days some pretty significant rainfall. Some pretty good downpours, localized. Our afternoon thunderstorms.

And, based on what I was able to see on a local newscast from their -- their helicopter, the fire appears to be confined to about a 200- to 300-foot radius around the aircraft, and it's my understanding that the Orlando International Airport F.D. is on that scene dealing with that small fire.

LEMON: OK. Do you know anything about flights or what have you at the airport? Do you know if they have been delayed or held until this is taken care of?

SOLOMON: No, sir. I can't advise. All I know is it's far enough away from the airport that it shouldn't be a factor, but for some reason I don't know.

LEMON: Jim Solomon, public information officer from the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Thank you so much for that.

SOLOMON: All right.

WHITFIELD: Don, more than a decade later, there is still outrage over the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman. That was made clear just last year when a publisher was forced to cancel an O.J. Simpson book titled "If I Did It".

Today, there's a new possibility the book may be published. And that is sparking new controversy. A court hearing is set to start in less than an hour and CNN's John Zarrella joins us now from Miami. And exactly what is at stake and who are the players, John?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, you know that the Goldmans, Fred Goldman and family, had won millions and millions of dollars from O.J. Simpson in the civil suits, even though O.J. was acquitted in criminal court.

Well, they never were able to get much of -- nearly a -- barely a fraction of the money, just pennies. So they decided to go after the book, the book, "If I Did It".

How did they end up here in federal bankruptcy court in Miami? Well, the company that now owns the rights to the book happens to be in the names of O.J.'s children. And the president of that company is O.J.'s oldest daughter, Arnelle. That company went bankrupt.

Attorneys for the Goldmans insisting that all of his was done -- the judge agreeing here -- as a scheme to keep the Goldmans from getting access to the rights of the book. That's what they're fighting over here in court. And it is believed that the Goldmans have a very, very good chance of the judge going ahead and giving them the rights to publish the book.

Well, there are some people who don't like the idea at all. Denise, Nicole's sister, says it absolutely should never be published.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENISE BROWN, SISTER OF NICOLE BROWN SIMPSON: The morally right decision would be to not publish this book. The absolutely horrific decision would be to publish this book.

And if he actually goes out there and publishes this book, the only thing I can say is that here is a man that is true to his last name, a man out for gold.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Now this is the first time, according to Denise, that the two families have actually been at odds over any issue.

The Goldman -- Fred Goldman says, look, there is no other asset. It's the only thing we could go after to try and get some of our money.

In fact, it is interesting that O.J. himself apparently, according to what we've heard in court, did make about $780,000 for the book, which he says was actually not written by himself, Fredricka, but by a ghost writer. But he got that money, apparently, up front -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so that was an advance, and he apparently put that money, too, in his children's names, so it would mean the Goldman family after that, as well?

ZARRELLA: Well, they can't get their hands on that money either, because he says that's gone. They can't find it. And it's like, according to the attorneys and according to the judge here, so much of the money has either been spent or is, again, put in his children's names or other places that it's awfully hard to track it.

WHITFIELD: OK, John Zarrella, thank so much for that update out of Miami.

Meantime, you can see more of Denise Brown's interview tonight on ANDERSON COOPER 360 at 10 p.m. Eastern. And we'll get Fred Goldman's side of the argument right here in the NEWSROOM, 3:30 Eastern, 12:30 Pacific.

LEMON: And Fredricka, who can forget these troubling images from just a few years ago? A pizza deliveryman forced, he said, to rob a bank, a collar bomb around his neck. Police keep their distance, waiting for the bomb squad that didn't arrive in time.

The whole bizarre case has been something of a mystery. But today, things are unfolding, and they're unfolding fast.

CNN's Allan Chernoff is back in Erie, Pennsylvania, where it all happened -- Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, you may remember as Brian Wells, the pizza deliveryman, was sitting there, waiting for the bomb squad to arrive, he told police that he been forced to rob the bank, forced to wear that locked bomb around his neck.

But now, after the four-year investigation, CNN believes that authorities will shortly announce, that, indeed, Wells was involved in the plot to actually rob that bank, was involved in the planning of the robbery.

We also understand that authorities will be announcing criminal charges against two individuals in the case, those being Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Kenneth Barnes.

Both are actually in prison right now on other charges. Armstrong actually fled pled guilty to killing her boyfriend. Barnes in prison on drug charges.

The charges that are to be announced against the two, we understand, include bank robbery, conspiracy, as well as a weapons charge.

Nonetheless, this all, of course, still remains a very, very bizarre case. And we're looking forward to hearing more details coming up. And we'll have that live shortly.

LEMON: So Allan, why do they believe that he may have been involved?

CHERNOFF: Well, the police have been -- and the FBI -- have been doing a very extensive investigation. They have been talking to those two individuals. We understand that those individuals have shared some critical information about the case.

So it's a matter of just following leads, talking to individuals who knew Wells, who apparently were involved in this robbery. But we'll know more shortly.

LEMON: All right. CNN's Allan Chernoff, we'll check back with you. Thank you for the report. Mush appreciated.

And a reminder, federal attorneys and investigators plan to release more information about the case at the bottom of the hour. CNN will take you back to Erie, Pennsylvania, as soon as that news conference begins.

WHITFIELD: They're painful and sometimes persistent. Urinary tract infections are commonly treated with antibiotics, but doctors now say that may only make the problem worse.

LEMON: And a former surgeon general makes cutting remarks about the Bush administration, but they don't go unanswered.

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

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dana Bash on Capitol Hill, where an important test vote on the Democrats' Iraq measure actually failed just moments ago. We'll have more on that and what it means for the future of this Iraq debate, coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Fifteen minutes after the hour. And here are three of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM this hour.

A surprise development in a long-running investigation into a bizarre bank robbery. Remember the pizza deliveryman who was killed by a bomb attached to his neck? Sources tell CNN he was involved in the plot. A news conference is scheduled momentarily. And we'll have live coverage.

And critics of the war in Iraq have lost another battle in the U.S. Senate. A plan to put limits on troop redeployments failed during a procedural vote today.

Pakistani commandos have snuffed out the last pockets of resistance at a mosque in Islamabad. More than 50 Islamic militants were killed in yesterday's assault on the complex.

LEMON: And you mentioned the fight for Iraq. The fight for Iraq, now it's a fight in Washington, too, of course. And in the Senate, Democrats are moving again to bring the troops home. They have some Republican help, but, today, they lost a key test vote to limit military deployments. How will that affect another bill, still pending, that sets withdrawal deadlines?

Let's check in now with CNN's congressional correspondent, Dana Bash -- Dana.

BASH: Well, you're right, Don. This particular measure would have put restrictions on deployments to Iraq, essentially mandating that U.S. troops have more time back at home.

And it really was, as you mentioned, the first test as to whether Democrats can capitalize on antiwar momentum, on recent Republican defections and really turn that into votes that they hope to force a change in the president's Iraq policy.

But Republicans were -- essentially filibustered this and required 60 votes for it to pass, and it fell four votes short. So it failed.

And it was quite an elaborate and lively debate about this particular measure and the big picture of what's going on in Iraq on the Senate floor. Take a listen to some of what we heard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I would ask my colleagues not to make a mistake for the ages. Not in the name of taking care of the troops should we fundamentally put politics in military decisions like we've never done before.

In the name of protecting the troops, we should not destroy a surge that the troops are involved in that is beginning to defeat the most vicious enemy known to the planet, al Qaeda.

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: If Republicans don't believe that our courageous men and women in uniform deserve more rest, including mental health downtime, they can vote no on this amendment.

If they don't agree that constant redeployments and recruiting shortages are straining our armed forces, they can vote no on this amendment.

But to block this amendment, to not even give it an up-or-down vote, shows that some of my Republican colleagues are protecting the president, rather than protecting our troops.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: So the fact that Democrats could not clear a 60-vote hurdle on this particular measure, which essentially would have given U.S. troops more rest back at the U.S., really is an indicator of how hard it's going to be for them in the next couple of weeks, when they have the much more difficult votes on trying to change the president's Iraq policy, in particular, the Democrats' key measure, which mandates that the U.S. troops come home from Iraq from April of 2008, Don.

LEMON: So Dana, we heard already about GOP Senator Olympia Snowe defecting. CNN has been reporting about that. Can they keep others from jumping ship? How are they going to do this?

BASH: Well, they are trying, Don. Stephen Hadley, the president's national security advisor, spent about an hour her on Capitol Hill behind closed doors, inside the Capitol, meeting with about a dozen Republican senators.

And what we're told from several of the senators who came out and talked to us afterward is that what Hadley was doing is trying to ask for patience, saying, you know, don't -- don't call for a change right now, because the key date from the White House's perspective is still September. And that is when General David Petraeus is going to issue a report.

What we're waiting for, of course, this week is an interim report. And in the meantime, because of -- really, of the impatience here by Republicans and by their constituents, there is a lot of talk among Republicans that they don't want to wait.

And that is what we heard from some of these Republicans who were in this meeting, that they told Stephen Hadley, the president's national security advisor, that, "With all due respect, sir, we don't want to wait. We want to talk about how to change the plan, the strategy right now."

LEMON: All right. Dana Bash, thank you.

WHITFIELD: Meantime, a strange case gets even stranger. Remember the pizza deliveryman bomber case back in 2003? Well, today there will be a press conference to reveal a little bit more about this investigation, the investigation which eventually led -- or now uncovers why that man who had the bomb around his neck actually died.

That's straight ahead as we await that press conference out of Pennsylvania. CNN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks will be joining us, as well, on some of the latest twists in the collar bomb death of that pizza deliveryman.

LEMON: Plus, there's an alert for parents. A new look at antibiotics that are used to prevent a common childhood illness. We'll give a live report coming -- coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, believe it or not, it is a big issue for parents and pediatricians: urinary tract infections in kids. Researchers now say preventive antibiotics don't keep those infections from recurring and could actually cause other problems.

CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now to sort all of this out.

It's complicated actually. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, actually, when you really boil it down, it's not that complicated.

WHITFIELD: Really?

COHEN: It really isn't. Here's the deal.

Parents really need to think about this, because -- because urinary tract infections in both boys and girls are very common, and this new study says doctors have actually been doing the wrong thing.

So there's two steps to this process. Doctors have been prescribing antibiotics to kids with UTIs, which is the right thing to do. Absolutely have to do that.

But sometimes doctors have also been saying, "Let's take antibiotics every day afterwards for, like, sometimes weeks and weeks or even months and months." It turns out that doesn't work. The theory was it would prevent the next UTI. Apparently, it doesn't and actually could harm the child.

WHITFIELD: OK. So that's how it harms the child. So how do you even know whether your child has it?

COHEN: Well, there are some signs that you can look for.

But it's important for people to know exactly how antibiotics can do damage. The kids in the study who were given preventive antibiotics for long periods of time, they were more likely to have an infection come back at them that couldn't be treated with antibiotics, antibiotic-resistant infections, where doctors had to try one after another after another, and they didn't work.

That's what antibiotics can do. They can make the next infection resistant to antibiotics.

So here are the signs you want to look for if you think your child has a UTI. You want to look for trouble urinating, fever and refusal to eat. If those things happen, go to your doctor. Ask if possibly it's a urinary tract infection.

WHITFIELD: So can you prevent this?

COHEN: There are things you can do. And a lot of parents don't know this. There are two steps that you can take to prevent urinary tract infection.

First of all, make sure that your child is going to the bathroom often enough. I don't mean to be too graphic, but any parent knows sometimes kids hold it in because they want to play. They want to do other things. Bad idea.

WHITFIELD: I don't have time for this.

COHEN: Right. "I don't have time to go to the bathroom. I'm having fun with Jimmy." Second of all, make sure your child gets enough to drink. It's very simple: lots of water in, lots of water out, keeps everything nice and flushed.

WHITFIELD: All right. Good advice.

COHEN: OK.

WHITFIELD: Graphic, but important, simple stuff.

COHEN: But good. That's it, right. Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: We need to all hear it. Thanks a lot, Elizabeth.

COHEN: You bet.

LEMON: Graphic is OK, as long as it's good information that you need.

WHITFIELD: That's right. It's all about health.

LEMON: We have heard of insurance companies rewarding workers for going to the gym or joining a wellness program. But now one company is saying those things are just not enough.

Stephanie Elam at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us about the new program. It's getting kind of complicated now. Some employers aren't even hiring people if they smoke.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Don. And when it comes down to this particular health insurance company, United Health Care, they say they really want to see some results here.

The company has a new health insurance program, and what it does is it rewards workers for getting healthier and, in essence, penalizes them for not doing so.

Here's how it works. Employees start off with high deductibles, as much as $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families. But if you want to lower them, workers would have to then meet targeted health goals once a year for things like smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol and, of course -- no surprise there -- weight.

But for each goal that is met, workers would get a credit, which could dramatically reduce their deductible. It could go down as low as $500 for a single person or $1,000 for a family, Don.

LEMON: Yes. And you know what? It is an intriguing idea, and some people would say it's a good idea. Others would disagree. Not everybody is in favor of this plan. Is it because of certain rights issues? Or...

ELAM: Well, it is -- it does have to do with that. It's raising concerns, really, because consumer advocates are like, is this really fair?

LEMON: Yes.

ELAM: One worry is that the program could backfire, making people scared to go to the doctor in the first place for fear of financial penalties.

There's also the fear that workers may not be given enough information and therefore would not be aware that they could actually reduce those high initial deductibles.

But others say, hey, look, healthy workers are tired of essentially paying to cover the bill of their coworkers who are living unhealthy lives. They contend this is a way to reward those results and provide incentives for people to go ahead and get a little bit more fit.

(STOCK REPORT)

ELAM: In the next hour of the NEWSROOM, Wal-Mart is taking a less forgiving approach with kids who break the law. I'll tell you how the company is changing its shoplifting policy. That's a big one the world's largest retailer chain needs around (ph), Don.

Back to you.

LEMON: Yes. Shoplifting costs us millions or billions of dollars every year. That's what they say.

ELAM: Everyone is tightening.

LEMON: Looking forward to that, Stephanie Elam. Thank you.

ELAM: Thanks.

LEMON: Also, we want to update you, the viewer, on this information. We were told this press conference is going to start, Erie, Pennsylvania. Remember that bizarre case of the so-called pizza bomber; said he was ordered to rob a bank, and then they put this bomb, this collar bomb around his neck?

Investigators have moved that press conference to 2 p.m. Eastern now. We're on top of it, and we're following it for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: Meantime, something else we're following. Is Osama bin Laden planning something sinister for this summer? A top member of the Bush team says he has a gut feeling. Details, straight ahead, in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Kyra Phillips.

He told cops that armed men locked a bomb around his neck and ordered him to rob a Pennsylvania bank.

LEMON: And now sources say he was in on that heist until the bomb exploded.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Live pictures now from Erie, Pennsylvania, where a news conference is expected to get underway at the top of the hour, 2 p.m. Eastern. It's in that bizarre case we've been telling you about, the so-called pizza bomber. New information in that and a twist in the investigation.

We'll follow that for you as it happens, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: Well, it is, indeed, a bizarre case that only seems to get even more strange, even four years after the fact. Our law enforcement analyst here, Mike Brooks, joining us to look a little bit more into what we can anticipate to be released at 2 p.m.

For one, it's the intent, it's the confusion over whether this man actually knew that he an active bomb around his neck, whether he was a willing participant in the robbery.

MIKE BROOKS, LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Right. Exactly. It's all along, Fredricka, that people thought this guy, he was just an unwitting person who was delivering a pizza to a TV tower. And some armed men grabbed him, put a collar around his neck, gave him a note with a very elaborate plan, almost like a treasure hunt kind of deal, if you will, and then sent to go rob a PNC Bank with two pipe bombs strapped to his chest.

Now, sources are telling me, yes, they believed that he -- he was involved in this. But there's a possibility he didn't know that it was an actual bomb, an operational bomb.

It was a very, very rudimentary device -- well, in some regards. It was a very, very simple pipe bomb, if you will. But the collar itself, it was called the collar bomb case, because it was like a large handcuff that they put around his neck with -- with three little locks on it. And he said he couldn't take it off of his neck. And with two pipe bombs. And the timer was basically a very, very simple -- simple kitchen timer, if you will.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

BROOKS: And it was set to go off in an hour. And the whole plan -- what I find ironic, where this happened, where he supposedly was snatched and this collar put on him, at this TV tower, was right down the street, right down the road from one of the people who's being held, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, 58-year-old woman who is in jail for killing her boyfriend and putting his body into a freezer.

In fact, when I was up there initially reporting on this, we went -- me and my producer, Jim Polk, we went down the road where the tower was, and then two driveways down was the home where this woman lived. WHITFIELD: Wow.

BROOKS: Very unreal (ph).

WHITFIELD: So what helps compound this or makes this so much more mysterious is the fact that his family, Brian Wells is saying one thing, as well as a number of other witnesses who are saying, "You know what? His character just does not jive with what actually took place," that he was an honest man, that he wouldn't be a willing participant in something like this.

But meantime, federal authorities say they actually found paperwork in his vehicle that mapped out all of the things that he was supposed to do...

BROOKS: Right.

WHITFIELD: ... thereby solidifying that he was an active participant in all of this.

BROOKS: That's true. And some of that paperwork is also -- some of the things they found was this elaborate plan. And I think it was there, basically, to throw law enforcement off the trail.

And, you know -- and maybe he didn't know he was going to die. You know, he was trying -- he was telling authorities after they stopped him -- he was in front of his car -- "Can you take this off?"

Well, bomb technicians came to the scene, but not there's much they could do, because you cannot just approach someone with a bomb -- and they didn't know it was an active bomb. And then it surprised everyone when the bomb went off, including him.

WHITFIELD: And then we saw some of the still images earlier, which were confusing, too. You know, he's carrying this cane, which is like a long-barreled gun.

BROOKS: That was also homemade. It was -- we called it early on the cane gun. But you see here, and this is just homemade out of -- out of bits and pieces of a gun, and an old action of a rifle. It's just very, very strange.

When he walked into the bank, you know, he was with this -- with this T-shirt, this oversized T-shirt and this gun shaped like a cane that he -- that he used to rob the bank.

And the whole thing, you see the T-shirt here. He was standing in line, just with everyone else, just waiting his turn to walk up. He just didn't walk up to the teller and pull the gun. He waited in line with everyone else.

And some people -- the witnesses thought very, very strange to see a guy standing in line with this cane and this T-shirt.

WHITFIELD: So we'll never really hear his version of events, because Brian Wells died. However, might it be possible that authorities may release something about some sort of documentation or something that he may have left behind which would either exonerate him...

BROOKS: Right.

WHITFIELD: ... perhaps that he was not a willing participant, or that would verify that he was?

BROOKS: I think we're going to hear a lot more today from -- from the FBI, ATF and the U.S. attorney's office on exactly what happened and what probable cause they had and what they presented to the grand jury for the indictment of these two.

The grand jury has been sitting in Erie for quite some time, and as they would gather evidence, they would take the evidence before the grand jury, present it to them. And that's how they finally came down.

Because Tuesday, a federal detainer was put on these two people who were held on unrelated charges up until now. A federal retainer was put on them to hold them for this federal charge.

WHITFIELD: And what will be interesting is what these charges might be.

BROOKS: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: All right. Law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks, thanks so much.

BROOKS: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And somewhere within the next 30 minutes, perhaps even 20 minutes from now, we're expecting this press conference there out of Pennsylvania to take place to reveal, perhaps in greater detail, exactly what this investigation has revealed. We'll have that live -- Don.

LEMON: And for the next few months, you and I are in more danger from terrorists. That's from the man in charge of dealing with that danger.

Homeland security chief Michael Chertoff says he has the hard data. He has the trends and the intelligence reports, but he also has something else he trusts, which is his gut.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: I believe we're entering a period this summer of increased risk.

We've seen a lot more public statements from al Qaeda. I mean, there -- a lot of ways you can speculate about -- a lot of reasons you can speculate about that. But one thing that occurs to me is that they're trying -- they feel more comfortable in raising expectations. All these things give me a kind of a gut feeling that we are in a period -- not that I have a specific threat, you know, that's -- that I have in mind right now, but that we are entering a period of increased vulnerability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, Chertoff has not raised the country's terror alert level but feels al Qaeda is, quote, "rebuilding their activities."

As to whether to trust Secretary Chertoff's gut as strongly as he does himself, we asked someone who knows him, worked with him, and says there's a good reason for that gut feeling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARK KENT ERVIN, FORMER INSPECTOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Secretary Chertoff is a very circumspect man, and he choose words very carefully. He's not one to hype things. So for him to say that he thinks that there is an increased risk this summer, I think, is very significant indeed.

And the factors he cited are the factors to be cited. Namely, the increased number of warnings from bin Laden and from Zawahiri. There have been so many taped warnings lately that those whose job it is to keep track of them were finding it hard to do so. Increasingly sophisticated tapes, by the way.

And further, there's this pattern of al Qaeda attacking, at least in Britain, in the summer. Of course, the plot was unfoiled (sic) just a couple of weeks ago. That's the most recent one.

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LEMON: Well, everyone is talking about the cars filled with explosives found in London on June 29 and the apparent terror attack in Scotland the following day. A hard link from those two incidents to al Qaeda hasn't been established.

WHITFIELD: And now more tough criticism today of the huge government backlog in passport applications.

As you've probably heard, there are currently huge delays in the government's handling of passport requests, mostly because of security measures put in place since 9/11.

Well, today, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee ripped into the government's handling of the situation.

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REP. TOM LANTOS (D-CA), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: What a travesty and all too reminiscent of how badly the administration botched the job of planning and responding to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

But this time, we saw the storm coming three years in advance, yet the administration still failed to act.

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WHITFIELD: A State Department official assured the committee that, by September, passport applications should take about eight weeks, and the wait should be about six weeks by the end of the year.

LEMON: By many measures, its economy is just peachy, so why does Atlanta have one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation? It is a troubling report, especially to us who own property here. Right, Rob Marciano?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That is right.

And there are storms popping up around the Atlanta airport. A ground stop in effect. We're going to see some travel problems up and down the eastern seaboard. Because the heat that has flagged that part of the country is now going to see some relief, but we've to get through some big-time thunderstorms. We're tracking it here at the CNN NEWSROOM. We'll be right back.

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LEMON: Cool air and shade in short supply in the northwest. Parts of Washington and Oregon are boiling, again. The temperatures climbing well into the 90s and even the 100s.

Normally, these areas stay in the 70s and the 80s for much of the summer.

On the East Coast, temperatures going down. But the humidity is going way up, making it more than a bit sticky. Don't worry, though: rain is on the way, which, if you know the northeast, is going to make it even stickier.

And because of all of the -- it's so dense there, it's going to make it even hotter. All the buildings and the heat rising up makes it even hotter. So they're miserable. That's all I want to say. Right?

MARCIANO: You paint such a rosy picture, Don.

LEMON: Well, it's the truth. The truth hurts.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: Looks like San Francisco with all the clouds and fog. Right?

MARCIANO: Nice and cool.

LEMON: Nice and cool, yes. Great time -- great running weather, don't you think, Rob?

MARCIANO: Yes. It makes me sweat thinking about it. LEMON: Yes, all right, Rob. Thank you. We're going to check back with you throughout the afternoon. Weather is a big story here today.

A moviemaker versus a neurosurgeon on healthcare in America. It's Michael Moore and our Dr. Sanjay Gupta. They go head to head next, in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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LEMON: All righty. Live pictures now from Erie, Pennsylvania. The collar bomb robbery, or some people calling the pizza delivery bomber, the pizza bomber. There's going to be a press conference in just about ten minutes, at the top of the hour. You see folks getting ready for it there.

New details in this case that CNN -- that CNN has learned about. We're going to bring them to you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: And apparently, there's something else that is taking place out of Miami. Look at these live pictures right now. That's the Miami International Airport. Not a good sign when you see this kind of smoke coming out of the air traffic control tower.

We don't know exactly why, what the circumstances are, but it's an alarming picture, nonetheless. We're working our sources to find out what's going on and if this means that it's grounded incoming and outbound flights. The answer to that is probably a likely yes. That's my, you know, unprofessional air traveler, you know, point of view.

But we're continuing to work our sources to find out.

LEMON: Just as you've been talking there, you can see the flames are even -- gotten bigger, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEMON: And that is black smoke pouring out of that. And this is just into the CNN NEWSROOM from WSVN, our affiliate there.

We're going to stick with these pictures, because undoubtedly, this may be causing some problems with air traffic in that area. Of course, Miami International, one of the very busy airports, busiest in the country.

WHITFIELD: Right. And not just busy for domestic, but this really is a major hub, especially if you're heading to the Caribbean or even South or Central America. A very, very busy international airport.

And we're still trying to find out what it has, indeed, done to inbound or outgoing flights. This really is a frightening kind of scene here.

LEMON: Especially this time of year, because this is vacation time. And as you said, people are going to the Caribbean and also people taking cruises or what have you. All of them, most of them, leaving out of the Miami area. Folks flying into there.

But that fire, as you can see, just pouring from the roof of this tower, at the Miami International Airport. It is an air traffic control tower there.

We're not sure which terminal or where it is, but CNN is checking with the affiliates and with our sources in the Miami, Florida, area, to try to figure out exactly what is going on.

WHITFIELD: Now, just in looking at the view right behind this tower, you're seeing a few American Airline jets, which means the A con concourse there in Miami's airport, which is, of course, a very busy hub for both domestic and international flights.

But irrespective, the airlines that we're seeing, this air traffic tower is vital, important, to the entire well being, you know, and traffic of this airport, period. I don't know if there is more than one tower there.

LEMON: There is more than one tower.

WHITFIELD: OK.

LEMON: And this is from a source, so this is not just -- again, a source is saying -- and this is not confirmed by CNN -- that this is the airport's south terminal and that this part of the airport is under construction and that this tower is not likely occupied.

Now that's, again, according to a source. We need to double- check that with CNN to make sure.

But in any case, it is very disturbing.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEMON: Any time you see a situation like this at a major airport.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEMON: And a major hub like Miami, and you see all the crews there on the scene, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And this airport is in the midst of a -- a pretty sizable reconstruction or growth. It has been adding a whole other wing to this airport for some time now. And you mentioned this potentially could be part of that project. So maybe.

LEMON: Yes.

LEMON: Fortunately, luckily, it is one that is unoccupied, this tower, as of yet.

LEMON: So part of the initial information that we got from sources that came in, that part is true.

Again, a plane, and this is according to the airport spokesperson. We've gotten this information in. Plane not on fire. The fire is at an air tower, which is not in use.

It is a construction area of the new -- this is the north expansion of the airport, and it's believed to be probably construction-related.

It's the new gate assignment tower at the airport, not the air traffic control tower. A new gate assignment tower at the airport. Not the air traffic control tower.

But we understand from the public information officer that it was an aircraft that parked near the aircraft tower, not the tower -- not the control tower itself. But that's not so.

The air traffic control tower there. That's not so. We're told again...

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEMON: ... that it is the assignment tower, the new gate assignment tower there. No plane on fire, as you can see. Water there that they're using, firemen from this.

We're going to continue to work this story and get some more information for you. You're not going to miss any of it. Get full details coming up, right after a quick break here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Two big stories we're following for you at the top of the hour, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

At the left of your screen, Erie, Pennsylvania. That's where the collar bomber, the pizza bomber guy -- there's new information on him. Of course, that bizarre story happening in 2003. This man said that he was forced to put on this collar bomb and then rob a bank.

There's new information in that case. We're going to follow the breaking details for you, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Right side of the screen, alarming pictures coming out of Miami International Airport. This is believed to be a gate assignment tower at the airport, which is not occupied. But again, that roof is on fire. And it's going pretty well here.

Not exactly sure how this is affecting air travel, if it's affecting it at all. But this is the information coming out of Miami International Airport.

According to CNN sources, we have confirmed that this is -- there is not a plane on fire. It is not a tower. It's a tower that's not in use, I should say. It's a gate assignment tower at the airport. It is a construction area for the new north expansion of the airport. And this is believed to be construction related.

The latest wire from the Associated Press, which is just coming across, saying the fire broke out in a vacant air traffic control tower at the Miami International Airport. The fire appeared to be contained to the tower's roof area, but it wasn't immediately clear what had caused it. No injuries were immediately reported in this blaze.

And it doesn't appear -- we do not have control of this. We're going to talk to the airport spokesman...

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