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Fire Sparks Explosions in Dallas; TSA Warns about Terrorist Practice Runs; Reward-Based Health Insurance Raises Controversy

Aired July 25, 2007 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live in the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: And I'm Don Lemon.

PHILLIPS: The battle between President Bush and Congress over the firing of eight U.S. attorneys has taken a big step beyond the usual bickering. Just a little while ago, a House committee voted to recommend contempt of Congress citations against former White House counsel, Harriet Miers, and current chief of staff, Josh Bolten.

Under advice from White House lawyers, Miers and Bolten have refused to comply with the congressional investigation into why the attorneys were fired. The White House argues the legal concept of executive privilege exempts them from testifying.

Now, just a few minutes ago, the president's spokesperson had this to say about the judiciary committee's vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: In our view, this is pathetic. What you have right now is partisanship on Capitol Hill that quite often boils down to insults, insinuations, inquisitions and investigations, rather than pursuing the normal business of trying to pass major pieces of legislation, such as appropriation bills, and to try to work in such a way as to demonstrate to the American people that Congress and the White House can work together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, that White House briefing continues. Our Ed Henry is there. We're going to check in with him just a little bit later in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: And Kyra, also happening right now. There's been a fire and huge explosions happening in Dallas. This is happening at a plant there. At least two people are believed to be injured in this. Firefighters say the situation is contained, but it is still not safe.

Look at those pictures, just amazing pictures coming from our affiliate, WFAA, there in Dallas.

The fire and the blast started about 2 1/2 hours ago here. Shrapnel from exploding gas canisters landed on roads and buildings there, and it's certainly been a challenge for firefighters in that area. They're battling a furious blaze that sparked explosions at a company near the downtown.

The blast fired, as I said, shrapnel-like debris onto roads and buildings nearby and forced police to evacuate a half mile area around this site. One nearby business owner described this horrendous explosion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was sitting here, and I heard something, and I -- the building was, you know, shaking somewhat. And I couldn't tell -- I mean, I looked out my windows here, and I didn't see anything. It was like they were either demolishing or...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That was an eyewitness. We want to go to a press conference happening on this explosion right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... anybody is missing, however, when we arrived on the scene we set up a one-mile perimeter to evacuate, and when we get control of the fire, we will also do a primary and secondary search and make sure everyone is accounted for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this point in time, how long do you anticipate before you get open roads and allow this to return to normal, at least on the highway system?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this time, we're still assessing the fire. When we feel like we have the fire under control, then we'll work with our police department and our other governmental agencies on the scene to ensure that it's safe for people to start moving.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Should people make afternoon drive plans to not be in this area?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I would think so. Because until we think it's safe, we will not send our firefighters into the building.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How close are you to being able to actually go in and fight the fire at this point?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, we have a -- we're in the defensive operation. What we're trying to do is protect exposures that we can get close enough to protect.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How dangerous is this for your firefighters?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very dangerous. Based on the reports that we have, there are medical gases, acetylene, hydrogen. There's all types of medical gases, and welding, cutting operations, so it's very dangerous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got the TCEQ as well as the EPA here. Have you been able to get any idea how toxic the smoke or anything else is?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to let the representative from those agencies talk with you guys about that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

DEPUTY CHIEF VINCENT GOLBECK, CENTRAL PATROL DIVISION: Good afternoon. I'm Deputy Chief Vincent Golbeck, commander of Central Patrol Division, and I am the police incident commander for this operation in support of Dallas Fire and Rescue, which has the primary responsibility for this incident.

Our mission was to make sure that we set up a secure perimeter around this. Started helping with the evacuations and evacuating individual citizens, getting them into a safe zone. We utilized all areas of operations within the Dallas Police Department. Our homeland security, which includes SWAT and our traffic division. We've used officers from all six patrol divisions, and we're using operation disruption.

As you can understand, the magnitude of trying to shut down and secure all of the ingress on traffic, as well as pedestrian ingress. And our first and foremost concern was the -- the health and safety of the citizens, making sure they weren't inhaling these possibly noxious gases.

We also utilized our downtown emergency response team communications system that we have in downtown. We can get word out to the security directors and the property managers, which would include the Hyatt Regency Hotel, giving them updates on what the evacuation zone is, giving them an update on how the fire is getting knocked down.

Currently, we have over 100 officers in -- in posted positions. The freeways that we have shut down right now currently is eastbound I-30 at Loop 12. We have northbound 35 at 30 shut down. And, of course, we have southbound 35 at Woodall Royer (ph) shut down. We will maintain that perimeter and maintain those freeway closures until Chief Burns and his department tell us otherwise.

We're staying in close communications, of course, with Dallas Fire Rescue. We also have mutual aid with Dallas County Sheriff's Department, Dallas Area Rapid Transit Police, and also two federal agencies have representatives on site to help us with any other issues that may come up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you gone over yet (ph) how many people were evacuated? And how many of those are still being kept away from the area?

GOLBECK: I don't have an exact number on how many were evacuated. My understanding is that we did set up an air-conditioned mobile store front. Last count I had was about 20 to 25 people that still could not get access to their cars, and we'll be working with them on trying to retrieve their property and get them home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is from areas nearby?

GOLBECK: Yes. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any danger to people on the other side of the river in West Dallas from the smoke?

GOLBECK: Well, looking at the wind, and, again, I'll let Dallas County health officials talk about that. But, you know, one of the first things we look at is the wind pattern. And it looks like the winds were, you know, coming -- traveling from south to north. You know, the plume -- I don't know exactly how far it went to the West Dallas area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And were people working inside when this happened?

GOLBECK: I'm sorry?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were people working inside the plant when this happened?

GOLBECK: I do not know. Dallas -- we did -- we were in close communication with the Dallas County Sheriff's Department. They did put their operations in a lockdown mode. And again, we have very good communications with that agency, as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the debris on the roadway (UNINTELLIGIBLE) if there's (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

GOLBECK: Well, we have not ruled that out. Chief Burns said, you know, we haven't even been able to get in and start assessing the situation. But we do have federal agents on site to help with that, to help coordinate with the Dallas Fire and Rescue and the Dallas Police Department if there's any indications like that as we proceed forward.

LEMON: All right. Officials there in Dallas giving a briefing on these huge explosions happening. Witnesses say they saw huge fireballs in the sky there.

Here's what's important right now. They have cordoned the area around this plant, this explosion. Two interstates here are shut down. Two people have been seriously hurt. People are evacuated.

And they also said -- this is a quote according to the folks there -- a tank containing acetylene is thought to have exploded, and acetylene is used for welding. And due to the high temperatures of the flame, combustion of acetylene with oxygen produces flames up over 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit. So it's a serious situation there. We'll keep you updated.

PHILLIPS: A block of cheese, and some ice packs over there, throw in some wires, maybe a cell phone charger, and TSA smells a potential terror plot in the making.

From Baltimore to San Diego, Houston to Milwaukee and all airports in between, the Transportation Security Administration warns screeners to be on the lookout for carry-on items that may be totally innocent or props in a mock attack. The TSA sites that four suspicious incidents at four different airports, the most recent just this month.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is standing by for us outside Houston's Hobby (ph) Airport.

Ed, what can you tell us about these incidents?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they date back several months, and this warning or this warning to all of airport security officials across the country was put on out July 20. But this has been several months in the making.

Here at Houston-Hobby Airport back in November of last year, there was a checked piece of luggage that contained a plastic bag with a nine volt battery. Some wires, a block of brown clay substance and some pipes, some of the items, as you mentioned, that may be taken separately, might not appear like anything.

But when TSA started putting together these various incidents at the airports that you mentioned, and then also based on the fact that, when they questioned the passengers with those pieces of luggage, that the stories didn't seem to pan out. Many of these incidents are still under investigation.

That made them suspicious and prompted them to put out this warning, which has gone out to airports across the country, despite where these incidents were found, were just these four locations across the country.

PHILLIPS: What are TSA officials saying in response to it, Ed?

LAVANDERA: Well, look, they want everybody to kind of, you know, be even-keeled about all of this. They say that there's no reason to panic over what has been found. That they also -- they say there hasn't been any evidence found that this is part of some sort of specific or credible threat or that any of the people carrying these pieces of luggage have been connected in any way to some terrorist organization, as well.

And they also go on to say that these kinds of memos have been -- are put out routinely. That in fact, in the last six months, 90 of these have gone out, and this is just one of those that has been made public after being leaked yesterday.

PHILLIPS: All right. Ed Lavandera, Houston Airport. Thanks, Ed.

LAVANDERA: Get healthy or else. That's how some critics are describing a new health care plan. United Health Care is rolling out a new group insurance plan that requires high deductibles and reduces those payments for individuals who don't smoke, aren't overweight, don't have high cholesterol or don't have high blood pressure.

It says the new program will give participants financial rewards to engage in healthy behavior. Critics argue that the problem goes beyond just encouraging a healthy lifestyle, because people who don't get results could end up paying thousands more in deductibles.

We want to get your thoughts. What is right or wrong with reward-based health insurance? What's right or wrong with reward- based health insurance?

Send your reactions to CNNNewsroom@CNN.com. We'll share some of our -- some of your comments, I should say, later on in the program, and we'll have a report from medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, coming up in a few minutes.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, armed and dangerous. She'd better be. Her job description includes hanging out of a Black Hawk helicopter on combat missions in Iraq.

LEMON: Also, why does Wall Street care about your decision to buy or sell a home?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The housing sector saved the economy just a few years ago. Now the worry on the streets is that the housing slump could derail it. We'll talk about it a little later on.

PHILLIPS: Plus, another cautionary tale from the world of online dating. Single moms beware. Mr. Right may be more interested in your kids than you.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And it's 1:15 Eastern Time. Here are three of the stories that we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM right now.

A series of explosions at a liquefied natural gas plant rocks downtown Dallas. Flaming debris set a number of small fires, still happening right now. Two busy highways had to be closed down.

The House Judiciary Committee recommended contempt of Congress citations for former White House counsel, Harriet Miers, and current chief of staff, Joshua Bolten. They refused to comply with the subpoenas. The matter now goes to the full House.

A federal judge in Virginia has ruled in a lawsuit linked to the USS Cole attacks seven years ago. The judge ordered Sudan to pay almost $8 million to the families of 17 sailors killed in that attack. The families accused Sudan of providing support to the attackers.

LEMON: And just a few minutes ago, we told you about a new health insurance plan that rewards people with healthy lifestyles and effectively punishes people who don't get results.

United Health Care currently offers the policy to employers in Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. And the plan is a national rollout -- plans a national rollout next year.

CNN's medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, joins us.

And this is one that touches just about everyone, because everyone has sort of a health plan story if not horror story.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Right. And what's interesting about this is you don't get the financial credit if you try to lose weight or you try to get your blood pressure down. You only get the financial incentive if you actually succeed. So there you go. You really have to get results with this particular plan.

The way it works is that if you can keep your weight, your blood pressure, your cholesterol at certain levels, and if you don't smoke, you can pay $2,000 less in health care costs, according to -- this is what the insurance company is offering you, United Health Care.

And of course, conversely, if you can't do those four things, you don't get that $2,000 credit.

So it's a very interesting plan. It will be interesting to see if it actually works, if people actually are healthier because of this.

LEMON: OK. So I bet there are a lot of people who -- who are not happy with this idea. They -- in fact, they probably hate it.

COHEN: Absolutely. I mean, we talked to some consumer advocates and some ethicists who think this is a terrible idea. They say you can't always be in control of your blood pressure or your cholesterol. Sometimes you can't even be in control of your weight. Some people are addicted to cigarettes. Do we want to punish those people?

One person I talked to actually -- he called it corporate fascism. I thought that was very -- that was very out there.

But of course, United Health Care says, "Look, we want people to live healthy lifestyles, and we're trying to encourage them to do it."

LEMON: All right. I'm sure people are worried, too, that they -- this may go even further.

COHEN: Right. I have heard concerns. People say, "Look, what are you going to do? Are you going to charge people who ski higher premiums?" Because if you ski, you've got more of a chance of having a broken leg.

Are you going to be charging people in different groups different amounts? For example, often people in different racial groups will have poor health outcomes. So are you going to say, you're African- American, you're pregnant, you're more likely to have a bad outcome, we're going to charge you more?

Now of course, no one is going there, no one is doing that.

LEMON: Right. COHEN: But you have to wonder, where does it stop?

LEMON: Right. Skiing, you know, skydiving.

COHEN: Right.

LEMON: Driving versus flying. All kids of stuff.

COHEN: Right. All of those things.

LEMON: All right. Thank you. Thank you very much for that.

COHEN: OK.

LEMON: And of course, Elizabeth, we want to get our viewers' thoughts on this. What's right or what's wrong with reward-based health insurance? Send your reaction to CNNNewsroom@CNN.com and we'll share some of your comments later on in this program.

PHILLIPS: Back to that story we've been following out of Dallas, Texas. These pictures coming to us from our affiliate, WFAA. Two interstate highways shut down, two men seriously hurt. And a huge challenge for Dallas firefighters right now. The concern? Air quality as they're trying to put out this blaze at a chemical plant. We're following it for you. We'll bring you more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, the housing sector has been in a slump for more than a year now, but investors seem to be spooked about what they've been hearing recently.

Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with all the details.

Susan, what's going on?

LISOVICZ: Oh, yes. We are piling on in terms of damage reports on the housing sector, Kyra.

Investors care about what's happening in the housing sector, because it speaks volumes about the economy in general, from consumer confidence to inflation to credit conditions. And the news out of this very large sector has been lousy.

The latest damage report, this morning's existing home sales report, the largest part of the housing market. Sales worse than expected in June, down nearly 4 percent, the slowest pace in 4.5 years.

This comes just one day after the nation's largest mortgage lender, Countrywide Financial, said it didn't expect a housing recovery until 2009.

And just last week, Bear Stearns said two of its hedge funds were virtually worthless because of their exposure to risky loans. Keep in mind that the housing market stabilized the economy just a few years ago. When the Federal Reserve dropped interest rates to historic lows, the surge into housing is what revived the economy. Now the concern is that housing could derail an economy that is already slowing down -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So I'm going to ask you this question, and I'm not quite sure what it is. More fallout, I am told, from risky sub prime loans. I'm not hip to sub prime loans. You're going to have to educate me.

LISOVICZ: Well, they're these risky loans that, when there was a rush into the housing market, there were a lot of folks that either, one, couldn't afford it or predatory lenders. And we've been seeing it focused, and the fallout has been terrific.

But the problem now -- the concern is now that even consumers with good credit, prime loans, are also having problems, Kyra. Countrywide said yesterday that delinquency rates on its prime home equity loans more than doubled from a year ago.

And American Express in its quarterly earnings yesterday said it's setting aside more money for credit losses because of rising write-downs.

A joint economic committee met today on sub prime lending on Capitol Hill. The panel says that every house that defaults brings down neighboring home values by $75,000. So it really affects all of us.

And we're seeing those housing concerns play out in the market today.

(STOCK REPORT)

LISOVICZ: In the next hour of NEWSROOM, the nation's tobacco companies could soon be under greater scrutiny. I'll tell you why not everyone is in favor.

Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right. See you in a little bit. Thanks, Susan.

LEMON: The blue ribbon panel that arose from the Walter Reed scandal is finished with its work.

Panel members today gave President Bush a 29-page report on how to improve medical care for wounded veterans. Members focused on practical proposals, such as boosting benefits for family members.

Mr. Bush didn't comment, but the White House says the ideas may be included in future initiatives.

The president appointed a panel in March after reports of horrendous problems with outpatient care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The panel is led by former senator, Bob Dole, and former health and human services secretary, Donna Shalala.

They are talking about solutions to the problems in just a few minutes, and we'll bring you news from that event when it happens.

A quiet Connecticut town shaken by a deadly home invasion. The latest on that case.

PHILLIPS: Also straight ahead, mission critical. Black Hawk gunner. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, we're going to talk with one of those few women flying combat missions over Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon.

Do you battle high blood pressure? Well, this story is not going to help.

PHILLIPS: What if your company health care program charged you a higher deductible because you can't bring the numbers down? It's happening for some United Health Care customers, and we're asking for your opinion on this. Your answers straight ahead. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: We want to update you now on our top story that we've been following in the CNN NEWSROOM.

There's been an explosion, a couple of explosions in Dallas at a gas plant. It sent plumes of smoke up into the air. We are being told that at least two people are injured. And they've cordoned off the area. They're concerned about air quality in that area.

And just moments ago, the person who's in charge of the Dallas Medical Department spoke, and here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are carefully monitoring the situation along with our partners with the TCEQ. That's the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. And the EPA. At this time, we have identified no associated risk to the public being in and around this area, associated with the chemicals which have been presented to us as possible agents inside the facility.

LEMON: Moments ago, the medical director of Dallas County speaking there about those explosions. We'll keep you updated on this throughout the day.

PHILLIPS: Well, in the skies above the battlefield, they scan the horizon for enemies, taking out potential threats on the ground. They are the door gunners, on U.S. Blackhawk choppers, the eyes looking out for the bad guys while the pilot flies the mission. And in Iraq, a woman from Gick (ph) Harbor, Washington, is making history in that mission critical role.

Sergeant Jenell Munson is a crew chief and gunner, and is one of the few women flying combat missions. She joins me live from Tikrit, Iraq.

Janel, great to see you.

SGT. JENELL MUNSON, BLACKHAWK GUNNER: Great to see you too, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, there's a little bot of a delay. So, I'll get right to the questions here. Take me back to when you were a little girl. You knew that you somehow wanted to be a part of aviation. Why?

MUNSON: My dad used to take my whole family to all the air shows around the Puget Sound area and also to the Boeing Museum of Flight, and when I was a little kid, I just loved all the helicopters, the airplanes, everything that was related to flight. And I think when I was a little kid, that's when I realized I wanted to do something in the air.

PHILLIPS: How did it make you feel? Was it something that you -- did you just get a rush from it and you knew you wanted to go to school to learn how to fly? What was it that just inspired you?

MUNSON: I think it was just all of the freedom of being up in the air and just looking at all -- it looks like fun. I read some books about it, and everyone in aviation just -- they love it, and I figured I would too, and I do.

PHILLIPS: So, when you told your parents, when you made the decision, you were going to go into the military, how did you tell your parents and how did they react?

MUNSON: The recruiter from the high school actually came up and talked to me, and then, she also came out to the house to kind of talk to my family about it, and my dad was pretty proud of me. He was very proud about me going into the military service and my brothers were just really excited because they think the army is pretty cool.

PHILLIPS: So, did you realize how dangerous your job was going to be? I mean, did you -- did you think you were going to be in a Blackhawk having to fire at the enemy in a war?

MUNSON: No, it didn't really hit me that much until I got here. But it's not that bad. It's actually a lot of fun.

PHILLIPS: So, what was the first reality check? I mean, when did you know, OK, this is serious business?

MUNSON: I would say the first reality check is when I put my gun on the -- mounted the gun on the helicopter for the first time.

PHILLIPS: Have you had to shoot at the enemy? Have you actually hit an enemy target or an individual? MUNSON: No, I have not shot at an individual. We do test fires every time we fly where we just pick like a target, like a bush. We never fire at people for test fires, but we do that every time we fly.

PHILLIPS: So let me ask you a question. I mean, no doubt, you may get into a situation where you are going to have to fire that gun and protect not only yourself but your pilot, the men and women on the ground, how do you prepare yourself for that? Mentally, how have you gotten yourself ready for that moment?

MUNSON: The army trains you pretty well and every time I fire my gun is just another muscle memory that I remember. And if I'm in a self-defense situation or protecting anybody else on the ground, I'm confident in my abilities to be able to do that.

PHILLIPS: Now be honest with me, OK? You -- sometimes it looks like the whole gun system is even bigger than you are. And you're up against a lot of men as well. What's that been like? Have they accepted you? What's it like to integrate with all the men? I mean, you are a rare breed.

MUNSON: Yes, at first, anybody who's new to like the unit or our company, they -- they kind of test you out a little bit to make sure you're going to be able to deal with the stress and after I went through a little test and they got to know me, I earned their respect pretty quickly. And I work side by side with them. I help them out, they help me out. It's a team environment and we work very well as a team.

PHILLIPS: Last question, the most exhilarating moment or best experience for you so far?

MUNSON: I absolutely love air assault missions. It's where we put the infantry men as well as sometimes the Iraqi army on board and we take them out to the point of origin of where we're going to do the mission at, and that's my favorite, because I can actually see the battle field and I feel like I'm actually making a direct impact on the mission of winning this war. And that's just my favorite mission that we do out here.

PHILLIPS: Well, not only that but you're making an impact on a lot of young women wanting to do what you do.

Sergeant Jenell Munson, appreciate your time.

MUNSON: Thank you, thank you for your time.

LEMON: It is one of those stories that leaves you numb. Two seasoned criminals out on parole, now back behind bars. They're accused of a brutal home invasion, targeting the kind of family most of us would want as neighbors. Three members of that family are dead and murder charges are likely.

Here's CNN's Randi Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While neighbors slept, members of the Petit family were fighting for their lives. 3:00 a.m., police say two men forced their way into the Petit home. Inside, William Petit Jr., a prominent Connecticut doctor, his wife Jennifer, a nurse and their two daughters Haley and Michaela, ages 17 and 11. Police say the men tied the family up, then around 9:00 a.m., broad daylight, one of them reportedly drove Mrs. Petit to this bank to withdraw cash, a critical moment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A member of the residence was able to relay to the bank teller that they were being held captive, and that the family was being held captive. The bank teller notified the police department.

KAYE: By the time police arrived, the Petit's home was on fire. Police call it an apparent attempt by the suspects, 26-year-old Joshua Comosojeffsky (ph) and 44-year-old Steven Hayes (ph), each with a long criminal history to cover their tracts.

JOAN ST. PIERRE, PETIT FAMILY FRIEND: It's something like you'd see on "CSI" or something, the horrible hours of being subjected to brutality and to not knowing what's going to happen. Just the sheer anxiety and the fear of it all.

KAYE: Help came too late. A source close to the investigation confirms Haley's charred body was found at the top of the stairs, her younger sister tied to her bed, their mother on the first floor. It's unclear if they died in the fire or were killed first. Incredibly, Dr. Petit, who a source confirms was tied up in the basement, survived, forcing his way through the fire up the stairs and outside, beaten and bloodied.

VOICE OF LT. JAY MARKELLA, CHESHIRE POLICE DEPT.: If you're a resident here, this type of crime doesn't happen here. It's -- it doesn't happen in Cheshire. This is the type of town where you go to bed at night and you leave your door unlocked. And when something like this happens, it affects you, it affects you deeply and it affects your heart.

KAYE: Police would not say if they found weapons or comment on motive, only that this is an isolated incident. The suspects tried to flee in the family's SUV just as police arrived and were arrested after colliding with police cars.

(on camera): The brutality of it all has shaken this upper middle class community. Their peace and quiet shattered by the noise of media satellite trucks. But it's not just the loss of life that has residents on edge here. It's the notion that a killer may have been living among them. Police say the youngest suspect lives less than two miles from the family's home.

(voice-over): Both suspects appeared in court on charges of assault, first degree aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, and arson. They did not enter a plea and are each being held on $15 million bond.

Randi Kaye, CNN, Cheshire, Connecticut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: A beating on Bourbon Street just weeks after Hurricane Katrina. Almost two years later, a verdict for a now former New Orleans police officer. Robert Angeles (ph) was acquitted yesterday of criminal charges in the run-in caught here on tape. The judge says he based his ruling on that video, saying the incident would have ended if the suspect, Robert Davis, hadn't struggled. Police accused Davis of being drunk, which he denies to this day, and after public outcry, Angeles and fellow officer Lance Shilling (ph) were fired. Shilling killed himself last month.

LEMON: Storm clouds are gathering over a number of states. Could one of those states be yours?

Chad Myers keeping an eye on the sky, and he's got an anwer for us. Who's at risk?

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: Sexual predators finding a new way to go after their prey. Some now targeting lonely mothers, hoping to get easy access to their kid.

PHILLIPS: Paying a premium -- the nation's largest health insurance company comes up with a controversial new plan? Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, should you have to pay more if you smoke or your overweight?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Twenty-nine thousand sex offenders have been kicked off MySpace. That's the word from North Carolina's attorney general. The social-networking Web site was slow to reveal just how many convicted sex offenders had profiles on its service, citing privacy laws. But several states demanded the information as they try to make MySpace safer.

PHILLIPS: Well, it turns out kids aren't the only ones who need to guard against sexual predators online. Their parents do, too, especially if they're singe and they're looking for adult companionship,

CNN's Allan Chernoff investigates.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "Aloneandlooking396" is looking for love on Match.com. He writes in his profile: "Life is so wonderful. I know I am not meant to spend it alone," adding, "he would like to meet a woman who has children."

What he doesn't reveal is that he's a convicted child molester. His real name is Michael Bradley and five years ago he pled guilty to sodomizing a 15-year-old boy in Suffolk County, New York and was sentenced to 10 years of probation, including a prohibition against socializing on the internet.

When CNN went to the gas station Bradley owns to ask him what he was doing on Match.com, his daughter Kim (ph) told us to leave.

KIM: He does not want to speak to anybody right now. His lawyer has advised him to ask you to leave the premises.

Please leave the premises, OK?

CHERNOFF: Is he here?

KIM: No. He is not. You can leave now.

CHERNOFF (voice-over): Nor was Mr. Bradley at home.

After getting anonymous complaints about Bradley's profile on Match.com, the child abuse prevention group, Parents for Megan's Law, set up a fictional Match.com profile: "compassionate mom, a single parent of seven and 12-year-old boys." The group says it got a quick response after contacting Bradley through the site.

LAURA AHEARN, PARENTS FOR MEGAN'S LAW: Within hours he e-mailed back, wanting to set up a meet to have coffee or ice cream. Online dating services make it very easy for sexual predators to use their sites. They're candy stores for potential victimizations.

CHERNOFF: Suffolk County's probation office ordered Bradley off the dating site and confiscated his computer. Now forensic investigators are analyzing the hard drive to deliver evidence in court that Bradley violated his probation.

DONNA VIGILANTE, FORENSIC INVESTIGATOR: And we're finding more and more of our probationers online using the internet as a tool to say, groom, victims.

CHERNOFF: Match.com, which declined to speak on camera, says it quickly pulled Bradley's profile after receiving a complaint: "Member safety is and always will be our highest priority at Match.com," a spokesperson told CNN.

It's not only dating sites that present opportunities for sex offenders. Thirty-three-year-old Michael Karis pled guilty to raping a 6-year-old girl in Ohio after meeting her mother through the social networking site MySpace.com. He's been sentenced to 10-and-one-half years in prison.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It makes me feel so guilty because I feel like I allowed it to happen.

CHERNOFF: Online dating site TRUE.com, which screens applicants, unlike most dating sites, including Match.com, says it has blocked 30,000 convicted felons and sex offenders so far this year.

HERB VEST, CEO, TRUE.COM: They'll go on and look for women with children and particularly women with children that have photos of those children, so that the fantasy begins to build at that point. CHERNOFF: Good reason for women looking for love online to be very cautious and, experts say, provide few details and no pictures of the kids when first meeting an online suitor.

Allen Chernoff, CNN, Suffolk County, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Get healthy or else. That's how some critics are describing a new health insurance plan. United Health Care is rolling out a new group coverage plan that sets high deductibles, then reduces those payments for policy holders who don't smoke, aren't overweight and have normal cholesterol and blood pressure. It says the program offers financial incentives for healthy behavior. Critics point out that people who don't get results could end up paying thousands more.

PHILLIPS: So What do you think about the approach to insurance?

LEMON: Here are some of your e-mails. Tariq in San Antonio writes, "I think it is a wonderful idea. Money works as an incentive in every other way. Why shouldn't it work when it comes to one's own health? However, it's just said that it has to come down to this."

PHILLIPS: But John in Texas disagrees. He writes, "The problems with results-based health care are the same as those we see in results-based public education. Inevitably, quick fixes will be favored over long-term wellness."

LEMON: Send your thoughts to CNN NEWSROOM at CNN.com, and we'll have more on your e-mails a little bit later on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: Well, the battle between President Bush and Congress over the firing of eight U.S. attorneys has taken a big step beyond the usual political bickering. Just a little while ago, a House committee voted to recommend contempt of Congress citations against former White House counsel Harriet Meiers and current Chief of Staff Josh Bolten. At today's White House briefing, the president's spokesperson blasted the committee vote. But the committee chairman says that there is a principal involved in this fight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN CONYERS (D), JUDICIARY CHAIRMAN: It's a process where our subpoenas can be readily ignored, where a witness under a duly- authorized subpoena doesn't even have to bother to show up, where privilege can be asserted on the thinnest basis and in the broadest possible manner, then we've already lost. We won't be able to get anybody in front of this committee or any other.

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: In our view this is pathetic. What you have right now is partisanship on Capitol Hill that quite often boils down to insults, insinuations, inquisitions and investigation, rather than pursuing the normal business of trying to pass major pieces of legislation, such as appropriations bills, and to try to work in such a way as to demonstrate to the American people that Congress and the White House can work together. PHILLIPS: Well, the White House argues that executive privilege shields Meiers and Bolten from having to testify. Today's vote means the issue now goes to the full House for consideration.

LEMON: In trouble again and back in treatment. Actress Lindsay Lohan, her distraught father speaks out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, one day her latest stint in rehab, Lindsay Lohan seemed desperate to rehab her image. The actress e-mailed an entertainment reporter yesterday about her latest DUI and cocaine charges, saying, quote, "Yes, I am innocent. Did not do drugs. They are not mine," unquote.

Meantime, her dad, who's had his own legal troubles and is currently on parole, addressed the whole mess on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you hold yourself at all responsible for what land say is going through?

MICHAEL LOHAN, LINDSAY LOHAN'S FATHER: Of course I do. If I didn't, I'd be a liar. I mean, everyone around Lindsay, Especially her parents, has a direct bearing on her life. And I've made some really stupid choices in my live. I've made some mistakes.

And I can definitely identify with what she's going through, because when I was torn from my family, I reacted the wrong way. My family are the most important thing in my life. I love my children, always did and always well, and I was -- contrary to what people say, I was always there for my kids.

The problem was when I was taken out of their life the way I was, I reacted the wrong way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Lindsay Lohan, pulled over early Tuesday in Santa Monica, California and failed a field sobriety test. Police say she later blew a .12 on the breathalyzer, above the state's limit of .08.

PHILLIPS: There's only a handful left of this dying breed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not the alligator's endangered now; it's the gator wrestler.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Gator wrestling, he says. The show must go on. But should kids be filling his shoes?

LEMON: Fires, floods, and brutal temperatures. Europe's weather goes to extreme, and the consequences are deadly for hundreds of people.

Details straight ahead, in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, if you are running from the police, forget the cigarettes. This driver, a suspected bank robber, learned that the hard way, and he led police on a wild chase through the streets of Phoenix. He had to pull into the gas station, and he threw the clerk a $20 bill and ran out with a pack of Marlboros. Police corned him in a nearby neighborhood. Detectives say they found money from the bank in the front seat of the pickup, along with the unopened pack of cigarettes.

LEMON: I wonder if his health insurance is going to go up.

PHILLIPS: Putting your hand in an alligator's mouth, it is a tough job, but somebody's got to do it. Or do they?

CNN's John Zarrella reports, gator wrestlers may be tough as nails and scared of nothing, but they're still an endangered species.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): When James Peacock is told to get a grip...

JAMES PEACOCK, ALLIGATOR WRESTLER: Inside the mouth are 80 teeth.

ZARRELLA: ... it's a whole different meaning. He's been wrestling alligators for 17 years and has nine bites to prove it.

PEACOCK: If I attempt to get behind the alligator, he will use his tail to help bring his head around quickly, defending his backside.

Hey. Hey.

ZARRELLA: But Peacock knows his days in pits are numbered.

PEACOCK: It's not the alligator that's endangered now, it's the gator wrestler.

ZARRELLA: Peacock says there are only a handful left in Florida. In the past, gator shows were income for Native Americans. Now tribes are into big business, like casinos. And there's not much job security putting your hand in an alligator's mouth.

PEACOCK: You'll see that this guy's really big. And he will definitely bite.

ZARRELLA: Peacock hopes to pass on his unique skill.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the jaw's closed, you grab both jaws and have them tight. ZARRELLA: Scott Cohen (ph) is just 13 years old, younger than the gators in the pit he wants to learn to wrestle. Right now he only handles the small ones, three-and-four-footers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've always loved animals since I've been little.

ZARRELLA (on camera): Well, yes, it's one thing to love animals, but this is an alligator.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think of it as the same thing like a dog. I just love them.

ZARRELLA (voice over): Scott hopes when he's grown a bit he can start tackling the big boys. For now, that's left to James.

PEACOCK: And once he's good and mad, alligator wrestlers do dumb stuff, things like putting our body in his mouth.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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