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Brutal Deaths Shock Connecticut Town; Airport Security Alert

Aired July 25, 2007 - 15:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN Center in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Don Lemon.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

A block of cheese here, some packs over there. Throw in some wires, maybe a cell phone charger, and TSA sees the potential ingredients of terror. 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 cites four suspicious incidents at four different airports, the most recent, just this month.

CNN's Ed Lavandera standing by for us outside Houston's Hobby Airport.

What have you learned, Ed?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Well, this warning went out to airport screeners and security officials across the country on July 20. But it's been several months in the making, incidents at four separate airports, as you mentioned, San Diego, Milwaukee, here in Houston, and Baltimore as well, where people were found carrying on either checked baggage or luggage that they were carrying on board planes components of what security officials thought could be just the components of some sort of explosive device.

And as you mentioned there in the lead-in, taking individually, might not appear like much, but it raised enough suspicion that this bulletin was sent out the airport officials and security officials across the country to beware, mostly because when they started questioning these people, the stories didn't quite add up. And many of these incidents are still under investigation.

But Homeland Security officials say that while they're concerned that perhaps it was a dry run, a dress rehearsal for some sort of bigger plot, there is no specific indication that this was based on any kind of well-developed plan at this point. And Homeland Security officials say there's no reason to panic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHARLES ALLEN, HOMELAND SECURITY ASSISTANT SECRETARY: There's been a handful of scattered incidents that I do not know for certain that they're dry runs or some sort of efforts to look at our screening techniques.

People do strange things. And airport security and our Transportation Security Administration screeners have strange things happen. People bring strange things through. These particular incidents, I think, deserve our time and attention to make certain that this is not a pattern. These are being investigated simply as matters that are yet to be explained.

And we have at this time, we have no -- we cannot attribute a terrorist intent to this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: And, Kyra, one thing to keep in mind here is that TSA officials say that bulletins like this are routinely put out. They point out that, in the last six months, there have been 90 similar bulletins like this put out to airport security officials across the country. So, they also want people to keep that in mind as well -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now, how are folks reacting there, families, men and women there wanting to fly today?

LAVANDERA: You know, everyone is taking this in stride.

When we flew into here to Houston this morning, this were running very smoothly, nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, most passengers we have spoken with say, you know, they appreciate the people at the TSA and all the officials that are monitoring the airlines and the airports are doing that. But they say they will continue traveling and they're not that worried.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like to know what's going on when I get on a flight. If anything is going to happen or something that I need to be worrying about, I would like to know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's always a threat. You know? I don't know. I mean, there's not really much you can do about it. You know, you can try to prevent it, but I don't think it's really that serious, personally.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do kind of wish they would tell us more, so we would be more prepared. But I think they have it in full control. So, I think -- I feel really safe flying, especially out of this airport.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: And, Kyra, that's the attitude you tend to hear virtually no matter what airport you're at across the country. People say they will just continue to go about our business -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: That's right. You don't want to cancel a trip when you have been looking forward to it for weeks on end. You just go for it.

Thanks, Ed.

LEMON: 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 Evangelist was acquitted yesterday of criminal charges in the run-in caught on tape.

The judge says he based his ruling on the 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. After a public outcry, Evangelist and fellow officer Lance Schilling were fired. Schilling killed himself last month.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's 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, Hayley 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.

LIEUTENANT JAY MARKELLA, CHESHIRE, CONNECTICUT, POLICE DEPARTMENT: 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, the police arrived the Petits' home was on fire. Police call it an apparent attempt by the suspects, 26-year-old Joshua Komisarjevky and 44-year-old Steven Hayes, each with a long criminal history, to cover their tracks.

JOAN ST. PIERRE, PETIT FAMILY FRIEND: It's something like you would see on "CSI" or something, the horrible hours of being subjected to -- 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 Hayley'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.

MARKELLA: If you're a resident here, this type of crime doesn't happen here. It -- 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 that 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)

LEMON: They're not just bickering anymore.

The House Judiciary Committee today took the rare and dramatic step of recommending contempt citations against former White House counsel Harriet Miers and current Chief of Staff Josh Bolten. Both rebuffed congressional subpoenas pertaining to the firing of U.S. attorneys. The White House is appalled by the contempt vote, but the panel's chairman says there is a principle at stake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN CONYERS (D-MI), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: If we countenance 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 have already lost. We won't be able to get anybody in front of this committee or any other.

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...

QUESTION: Wow.

SNOW: ... 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, the White House argues that executive privilege shields Miers and Bolten from congressional interrogation. The issue now goes to the full House.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

LEMON: Fire investigators say a fire truck is to blame for today's fiery explosions at an industrial gas facility in Texas. The explosions set off a towering inferno in Dallas and showered nearby roads and buildings with flaming debris. Two people were seriously burned, and a third person was taken to a hospital with a back injury.

Dallas' fire chief says his crews are treading carefully.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDDIE BURNS, DALLAS FIRE CHIEF: 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, this time tomorrow, NFL standout Michael Vick will be standing in a Virginia courtroom answering to felony dogfighting charges.

The league keeps urging the public to let the legal process run its course, but animal rights advocates have already rendered their verdict. And protests like this one today at Niketown in New York are playing out. Meanwhile, the NFL has barred Vick from attending training camp while it looks into the charges.

Of course, CNN will have complete coverage of tomorrow's court proceedings in Virginia.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It is 3:15 Eastern time. Here are three of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM hour.

Investigators say that a truck fire is to blame for explosions at gas distribution facility in Dallas. At least three people are hurt. Flaming debris set a number of small fires, and two busy highways had to be closed.

The House Judiciary has recommended contempt of Congress citations for former White House counsel Harriet Miers and current Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten. They refused to comply with congressional subpoenas. The matter now goes to the full House.

And a federal judge in Virginia has ruled in a lawsuit linked to the USS Cole attack seven years ago. The judge ordered Sudan to pay nearly $8 million to the families of 17 sailors killed in the attack. The families accuse Sudan of providing support to those attackers.

LEMON: The Pakistani government has sent more soldiers to lawless areas in the northwestern region near the Afghan border. It's trying to root out al Qaeda and Taliban fighters, a move both the White House and the Pentagon say was sorely needed.

Here's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The top U.S. general in eastern Afghanistan says there's been a 50 to 60 percent increase in the number of foreign fighters coming into eastern Afghanistan from Pakistan since last year.

In a video press conference with Pentagon reporters, Major General David Rodriguez said it's still a relatively small number of foreign fighters. He wouldn't give the exact figure. He said they are coming from a number of Middle Eastern countries and other countries in the region. But the problem is, they are coming in with money and with leadership skills.

In fact, U.S. forces say they have seen a number of attacks in recent weeks in eastern Afghanistan that include formations of 30 fighters or more, quite different than the typical hit-and-run insurgent tactics that they had seen. In fact, in June of this year, attacks in that region of Afghanistan were double what they were at the same time last year.

Now, the U.S. hopes that the number of attacks are going to start declining, especially as the Pakistani military continues with that crackdown in the al Qaeda safe haven on its side of the border. The hope is, of course, that's going to stop the flow of fighters into Afghanistan.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And we're just getting word now in with regard to those South Korean hostages. It's been on the front pages of newspapers across the country. They were aid workers, religious aid workers, and they were in Kabul, headed to Kandahar, and they were kidnapped by members of the Taliban.

We're now getting word from a South Korean official based in Washington, D.C. Here's the quote: "We know for sure that eight of the South Korean hostages are at a U.S. base and are safe." It says it does not know the cause of death for one of the South Korean individuals who was killed.

But the good news is, we're hearing that eight of those hostages at U.S. base safe and sound after being kidnapped by the Taliban. We will continue to update you on the story.

LEMON: Ice packs filled with clay, a cell phone charger taped to a hunk of processed cheese. Security hackles goes up after strange stuff starts showing up in checked and carry-on bags.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Does that scene look familiar, Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Yes, it looks like Atlanta.

LEMON: Uh-huh.

PHILLIPS: Oh, it is Atlanta.

LEMON: Were you right there this morning, stuck in smoggy traffic, an accident or two somewhere up ahead? Well, some of us in the NEWSROOM endured that very thing just this morning, and no wonder.

Atlanta is ranked second in terms of unhealthiest commutes, ahead of Los Angeles. Can you believe that? Riverside, California, tops the list compiled by Forbes.com. The report looks at air pollution, fatal crashes, and rush hour delays. Rounding out the top five, Houston and Washington.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon.

The Dow is battling back after one of the biggest sell-offs of the year.

PHILLIPS: About a half-hour left in the trading day. We're keeping an eye on Wall Street.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Airport security agents nationwide are on the lookout for what the feds say could be dry runs for a terror attack. A government advisory sent out a few days ago reveals that four incidents in recent months involving suspicious materials in both checked and carry-on luggage, well, the incidents happened at airports in Baltimore, Milwaukee, Houston, and San Diego. The items included cheese, batteries, pipes, ice bags, rapped or configured to mimic bomb components.

A former Homeland Security official tells CNN there is cause for concern.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARK KENT ERVIN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: TSA is right to say that they receive reports of suspicious incidents all the time. But this is really out of the ordinary. You know people who are gun enthusiasts or Second Amendment enthusiasts often have guns that they sometimes forget at airports.

It's really hard to understand why somebody would have what appears to be an improvised explosive device. And, indeed, the passengers, many of them, didn't have convincing explanations.

There have been a number of investigations showing it's sometimes difficult for screeners to spot fully assembled bombs, but obviously it's even harder for them to spot components that in and of themselves are innocuous.

The fact that there have been so many incidents -- the advisory refers to it as a surge -- and the fact that Al Qaeda has this pattern of testing, doing dry runs, dress rehearsals, before attacks, all adds up to a very troubling picture.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And here's a little context. The Transportation Security Administration has sent out more than 90 bulletins to police in the past six months. The TSA says it's not aware of any specific or credible threats.

LEMON: This just in to CNN a short time -- CNN has confirmed eight South Koreans being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan are free and safe. They're now at a U.S. military base.

The news comes the same day the Taliban killed one of their fellow hostages. The group says he's dead because talks with the government on a prisoner exchange stalled. It's about to execute the 14 South Koreans it's still holding if the exchange and a South Korean troop pullout don't happen by tomorrow.

PHILLIPS: Well, a blue-ribbon panel that was appointed in the wake of 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. The panel is led my former Senator Bob Dole and former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala.

Mr. Bush didn't comment, but the White House says the ideas may be included in future initiatives. Members say they focused on practical proposals, such as boosting benefits for family members.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB DOLE, CO-CHAIR, WOUNDED WARRIORS COMMISSION: We're very positive about this. We believe we have done a good job. We believe it deserves a careful consideration. We want the White House and the DOD and the VA to take some steps as quickly as possible. And we will be visiting with members of Congress to do the same.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, the president appointed the panel in March, after reports of horrendous problems with outpatient care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

The report does not directly criticize the medical center. It says there is no need to reiterate findings by the news media, the Defense Department and the Veterans Affairs Department.

Well, the war or on terror is in the spotlight today at a Congressman hearing on the recent National Intelligence Estimate. The report said that Al Qaeda has regrouped and re-strengthened in tribal areas of Pakistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDWARD GISTARO, NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: They relocated to North Waziristan and other places in the Pak-Afghan area. Much more difficult for the Pakistanis to find them and do something about. They used that safe haven to regenerate the operational leadership that is involved in developing and executing external operations. We also saw indications that the top leadership was able to exploit that -- that comfort zone in the tribal areas to exert a little bit more influence on the organization. And then the fourth component is we see the operational tempo of bringing people in to train for Western operations picking up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: That assessment comes as Pakistan faces increasing internal violence. Police blame terrorist activity for a rocket attack in Northwest Pakistan today that killed 10 people.

LEMON: Military defense funds, not the money Congress sends the Pentagon each and every year, but money raised on the Internet for the legal defense of troops accused of crimes.

CNN's Sean Callebs takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For months now, retired Marine Patrick Barnes has watched money trickle into the Military Combat Defense Fund.

PATRICK BARNES, UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS (RET.): Three hundred here, $25 here, $100 here.

CALLEBS: The checks have added up to more than $150,000. It's just one of a dozen or so organizations using Internet Web sites to raise money for U.S. troops accused of crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.

BARNES: They're from blue collar families. They don't -- they don't have a lot of money. And to have money for a defense, they just don't have it.

CALLEBS: The Web sites are mainly run by ex-military personnel or conservative Christian groups, such as The Thomas More Law Center, which has taken on the case of Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Chessani. Chessani could be court-martialed on charges of dereliction of duty for failing to report and investigate the killing of Iraqi civilians by U.S. Marines in the town of Haditha.

The Thomas More site has received $300,000 so far, chiefly from donors who describe themselves as patriotic Americans.

RICHARD THOMPSON, PRESIDENT, THOMAS MORE LAW CENTER: Who want to support or troops in Iraq, who may not necessarily believe that fighting the war is the appropriate thing to be doing, but they're not taking it out on our troops.

CALLEBS: These organizations are encouraged by another Haditha case involving Corporal Justin Sharrett, who was charged in three of the 24 deaths. Marine investigators are recommending dropping murder charges against Sharrett, saying that the allegations were not supported by the evidence.

The corporal's family said: "The monetary donations we receive from the defense funds have helped in lessening the financial burden on our families."

Patrick Barnes, himself a decorated Vietnam veteran, says his fight to defendant American military personnel goes on.

BARNES: I know what it's like to kick a door down and sweep a house. So when I read about these kids being charged with crimes for fighting a war the way they're supposed to, it -- it's somewhat enraging.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LEMON: And we are learning more about those five people killed on a sightseeing aerial tour of Alaska on Tuesday. Their small one engine plane went down in a steep mountainous region south of Juneau near Ketchikan. No one survived. Two couples were on board, one from Massachusetts, the other from Florida. The pilot was 56 and made his living taking cruise ship passengers on sightseeing day trips. This one was to the Misty Jords -- Misty Fjords, I should say, National Monument. We're told the pilot sent a distress signal before the plane crashed.

PHILLIPS: 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 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.

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

Take a look at this investigation by CNN's Allan Chernoff.

(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 (on camera): 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: 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 last month 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 VIDEO TAPE)

LEMON: Two known criminals have Connecticut's parole board reviewing its own policy today. Steven Hayes, on the right, and, Joshua Komisarjevsky, on the left, were accused of 20 burglaries over the years. Soon they're expected to be charged with murder. Now, the two are accused of a botched home invasion in Cheshire, Connecticut that left a mother and her two daughters dead.

Police say the suspects set the family's home on fire, then stole their car and used it as a battering ram against police cruisers. That's after they allegedly drove one hostage to a bank and forced her to take out money. The lone survivor, a prominent, well-respected doctor, remains in the hospital. Friends say physically he'll be OK, emotionally he is devastated.

If you're running from the police, forget the cigarettes. This driver, a suspected bank robber, learned that the hard way as he led police on a wild chase through the streets of Phoenix. He pulled into a gas station, threw the clerk a $20 bill, ran out with a pack of Marlboros. Police cornered him in a nearby neighborhood. Detectives say they found money from the bank in the front seat of that pickup truck, along with the unopened pack of cigarettes. He didn't even get a chance to smoke one.

PHILLIPS: Well, there's a threat of tornadoes for some of you this afternoon. Chad Myers joins us now with more on that -- Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: We're just minutes away from the end of the trading day and the Dow is up more than 50 points. Stay with us for the closing bell. It's up more than 40 points. It just changed.

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

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 you're overweight?

We'll debate it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, investigators say a truck fire is to blame for today's fiery explosion in an industrial gas facility in Texas. The explosion set off a towering inferno in Dallas and showered nearby roads and buildings with flaming debris. Two people were seriously burned and a third person was taken to a hospital with a back injury. Dallas' fire chief says his crews are treading carefully.

PHILLIPS: Well, 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 deductible then reduces those payments for policyholders 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 of dollars more.

LEMON: Well, Kyra, this insurance plan is getting mixed reviews from some of you.

PHILLIPS: And here's some of the e-mails.

Patty writes to us and says: "The sick and vulnerable will fall victim to this unfair practice and have to pay higher premiums. What's next, punishment if one becomes ill with cancer or dibs? This is criminal, in my opinion."

LEMON: And Sylvia writes: "Americans eat too much, drink too much and smoke too much. They feel it's their god given right to destroy their health. Well, I should not be responsible for funding their -- their health care. Sign me up." PHILLIPS: And Kelly writes to us and says: "This is another form of discrimination. Will we reward people from an ethnicity or sex less likely to suffer from a particular disease? If only perfectly healthy people are eligible for health insurance, what's the point?"

LEMON: And, finally, John writes: "Let's not confuse health insurance with health care. Everyone deserves quality health care, but not everyone deserves the same rate of their insurance. If we had a national health care program, we would not be having this discussion."

Thanks to all of you for writing in.

We've been reading your answers and questions and whatever -- replies, I should say -- throughout the day, and they've been very interesting.

In trouble again and back in treatment. We're talking about none other than Lindsay Lohan.

And we're going to hear from her father, who is distraught. He's going to speak out, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: If you see or hear anything suspicious, report it to authorities -- how have many times have you heard that since 2001?

Well, but what if the suspicious person is innocent and sues the person who fingered him?

It's not a far-fetched scenario, but it may be soon. Lawsuit immunity for citizen vigilance is a key part of a wide-ranging homeland security bill that finally seems set to clear Congress. The measure centers on the 9/11 Commission's recommendations, with a special focus on air and sea cargo.

PHILLIPS: Citizen vigilance is one thing, patrolling the Internet in the dead of night to uncover terror plots is another. But that's the calling of a former judge in Montana.

CNN's Kelli Arena brings her story to life.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As her neighbors sleep, Shannen Rossmiller slips into a dark world.

SHANNEN ROSSMILLER, TERROR SLEUTH: Right now I have four active undercover identities that I'm using.

ARENA: By day, a Montana mother of three. By night, a stealthy hunter.

This former judge uses the internet to stalk real and potential terrorists by posing as one of them.

ROSSMILLER: Whether they want to go look for jihad in training, whether they want to, you know, provide funding, whether they want to form a cell -- I mean there's all kinds of different opportunities. Those are the things you pay attention to.

ARENA: She also does it on her own time, and her own dime.

When she finds someone she believes is dangerous, she alerts the FBI. Earlier this month, one of those people, Michael Reynolds, was convicted for trying to help blow up U.S. oil installations.

ROSSMILLER: One of my objectives was to find out, OK, he says he has a plan.

What are the targets?

ARENA: She helped send National Guardsman Ryan Nelson to prison for attempted espionage. When she testified in his trial, her cover was blown.

ROSSMILLER: The pressure is immense. The stress is almost unbearable at times.

ARENA: The FBI won't talk about the relationship, saying only that it appreciates the information. Rossmiller says that she's helped in more than 200 terrorism cases around the world. It started because she was curious.

ROSSMILLER: It was just the result of, you know, having gone through 9/11 like everyone else and wanting to have an understanding of why what happened happened.

ARENA: She's been threatened and packs a gun, but says she's not ready to give it up. It can make for anxious days, but the night hunt, she says, is worth it.

ROSSMILLER: I don't think, in fairness, I could ever say, you know, oh, I wished I'd never done this, because I know I have done good.

ARENA: Kelli Arena, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LEMON: Well, one day after she reportedly returned to rehab, Lindsay Lohan seems desperate to rehab her image. The actress e-mailed an entertainment reporter yesterday about her latest DUI and cocaine charges. Anyone -- saying: "Yes, I am innocent. I did not do drugs. They're not mine."

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".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "LARRY KING LIVE")

LISA BLOOM, COURT TV ANCHOR & COMMENTATOR: Do you hold yourself at all responsible for what Lindsay is going through?

MICHAEL LOHAN ON DAUGHTER LINDSAY'S ARREST THIS MORNING ON DUI & COCAINE POSSESSION: Of course, I do.

How -- if I -- if I didn't, I'd be a liar. I mean, everyone around Lindsay, especially her parents, have a direct bearing on her life. And I made some really stupid choices in my life. I made some mistakes. And I can -- 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 is the most important thing in my life. I love my children, always did and always will. 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 was 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.

Time now to check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

PHILLIPS: He's standing by in "THE SIT ROOM" to tell us what's coming up at the top of the hour -- hey, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Hi, guys.

Thanks very much.

Coming up, he's covered every president for the past 50 years.

So what does he think about the Bush administration?

I'll ask the veteran journalist, Bob Novak. He's here. He names his new book after a name many people call him -- "The Prince of Darkness."

Also, they bravely fought for their country. Now a presidential commission says the country must do better at taking care of the troops wounded in war. The commission has just delivered a report to the president. I'll speak with two co-chairmen, former Senator Bob Dole and former Health & Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala.

And electrical switches, coils and batteries seized from baggage at airports -- they're certainly suspicious items.

But does it mean terrorists are practicing for an actual terror attack?

All of that, guys, coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM".

LEMON: All right. Wolf. We'll be watching.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Wolf.

Well, there's only a handful left of this dying breed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES PEACOCK, ALLIGATOR WRESTLER: It's not the alligator that'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?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Putting your hand in an alligator's mouth?

It's a tough job, but somebody has got to do it, right?

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)

JOHN 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 back side.

ZARRELLA: But Peacock knows his days in the 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.

SCOTT COHEN, TRAINEE: When the jaws close, you grab both jaws and have them tight. ZARRELLA: Scott Cohen 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.

COHEN: Because I've always loved animals since I've been little and . . .

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

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

ZARRELLA: 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 in that, alligator wrestlers do dumb stuff, things like putting our body in his mouth.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: OK, you've seen that three times and you still flinch.

LEMON: I -- oh, come on. He's like it's just like a dog.

When was the last time your dog bit your hand off?

PHILLIPS: The closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street.

LEMON: Susan Lisovicz is standing by with a final look at the trading day -- Susan, at least it was in the plus territory today, I think.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And while we were talking about gator wrestling, let's talk about the world's ugliest pet. You can read about it on the "Weekly World News."

This is a publication that many of us don't admit to buying. We see it all the time at those long lines in supermarkets. There's the publication. It loves aliens, it loves animals...

LEMON: Yes, aliens.

LISOVICZ: ...human hybrids. It loves dead celebrities. It's reportedly going out of business next month.

LEMON: Oh.

LISOVICZ: It's a tough marketplace out there. But the good news is its sister publication, the "National Enquirer," lives on.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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