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Sotomayor Confirmation Hearings Continue; New Twists in Florida Murder Investigation; Police Officers Shot in Jersey City; Sotomayor Hearings Continue; Woman Arrested in Connection with Slaying in Pensacola; New Video of Michael Jackson's Burn Injuries Released

Aired July 16, 2009 - 14:59   ET

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

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: All right. You just saw Ricci and Vargas. Those are important pieces of testimony because everyone's been looking at this case and they -- you can't help but wonder how something like this could happen. Because on its face, to the average American, it seems that if you take a test and you do better than everybody else on that test, then you should be promoted.

It's pretty simple, really. When you look at it from that point of view. But, when you start getting judges and appeals judges involved in things like this, sometimes things change. And that has been the crux of the matter in the case of Sonia Sotomayor.

I'm going to bring in Gloria Borger. She's been watching this case with us. Before I do that, though, because we do have a couple of moving parts as we're starting this next hour.

I want to let you know that there's been a shooting in New Jersey, where five police officers have been shot and we're now learning from our own sources -- we've been doing some digging on this -- that four of those officers are injured pretty badly. In fact, it is being called critical in at least a couple of cases. Maybe a shot to the face, another one shot to the neck.

The man who shot them apparently was wearing -- Rog, if you have got some of those pictures, let's share those real quick. Apparently, the man who shot them, according to police, was dressed as a priest. Look at the pandemonium in New Jersey as this thing broke out.

This is near Union City. Is that right, Mike?

MIKE BROOKS, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Jersey City.

SANCHEZ: Jersey City, not far from Union City, yes.

This happening just a couple of hours ago. And, again, we are on it. We are going to be really drilling down on this. In fact, I have now learned the police chief there is going to join me live to take us through this.

But, first, let's go back to Gloria Borger on the story that so many people have been waiting to see throughout the day. And that's this testimony from Vargas and Vargas and from Ricci, two of the 19 firefighters who apparently were denied what they had long been wanting, is a promotion after passing a test and doing well on it and working so hard to prepare for that test.

What is it that makes this story different through the eyes of perhaps Sonia Sotomayor than the eyes of the average American who is looking at it?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think this is where -- and you have heard our panel talk about this all morning. This is really where the issue of race comes into play, the issue of affirmative action.

And because Sonia Sotomayor is a Latina, she would be the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court, I think it takes on a special resonance. And, also, because her ruling, in which she agreed with the two other judges in her circuit, came with a very short explanation, is something that you have heard these firefighters really object to and also of course because they were overturned by the Supreme Court.

Now, what Judge Sotomayor would say is that the Supreme Court set precedent itself in overturning her circuit by saying that the fear of a lawsuit, because New Haven was afraid it was going to get sued, right, that the fear of liability is not enough to throw out the test.

And...

SANCHEZ: It's amazing, because she is essentially arguing that she was following the law.

BORGER: That's right.

SANCHEZ: And, even if she felt bad for these guys who had worked so hard to pass this test, she couldn't let her own personal opinion get in the way. And she followed the law and let the Supreme Court make its decision to overturn.

It is funny. When you look at this from the outside, and you are not an insider, it doesn't seem right, but maybe that's just way the system works.

BORGER: Well, but that's been her argument throughout the entire hearings that we have watched, which is that, essentially, she doesn't legislate -- she doesn't adjudicate, I should say, from the heart, that judging is a matter of precedent, and following precedent, and it's not a matter of following where your -- where your heart might be or your sympathies might lie or anything else, for that matter.

SANCHEZ: We're going to -- we are going to be following the Sotomayor hearings, by the way, during this next hour.

We do have some interesting testimony that we are going to be playing for you today. There were a couple of moments today that I thought that were particularly interesting, if not maybe as you look at it conflictive. We will leave it at that. We will come back to it.

Gloria, thanks so much for joining us with that perspective. Here now we go with your national conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ (voice-over): What a scene in New Jersey after five officers are shot.

TOM COMEY, JERSEY CITY POLICE CHIEF: This individual came fully ready to go to war with us.

SANCHEZ: This is a still developing story. Drilling down on this scene that may have started it all. You will see the video.

Wise Latina women.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sonia is trying to say, I'm not a maid.

SANCHEZ: And their message to these guys.

Twenty-four hours later, a fiery accident still smoldering. We are going to tell you why it is taking so long to put it out, as part of our national conversation for Thursday, July 16, 2009.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: All right, as usual, a lot going on. Hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez with the next generation of news. We like to say that this is a conversation. It's not a speech. And it is certainly your turn to get involved.

So, we are going to get you involved with something we are hearing about right now, as a matter of fact, following the latest on the Senate confirmation hearings on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, and we are certainly going to have a whole lot on that in just a little bit.

But, first, would you believe that we are now being told there may be another police shooting in our country? But, first, this one. It was all but a gun battle that occurred in New Jersey. It happened there in New Jersey this morning between the city's police department and a couple of suspected bad guys.

We are now hearing one of those -- or the bad guy was dressed as a priest. And, after all the dust and all the bullets and all the gunpowder settled, five police officers were shot, two of them at least suffering critical injuries and requiring emergency surgeries, one suffering a gunshot wound to the neck. The second officer was reportedly shot in the face.

And, apparently, it was a gunshot. I don't mean it was shots that were fired. I mean a shotgun. Pardon me. I misspoke.

Both, we are told, are out of surgery now and expected to recover. The same can't be said, though, for the suspects. Both were shot dead.

CNN's law enforcement analyst and former D.C. police detective Mike Brooks is joining us now for some insight and some analysis.

You and I have been talking about this. You have made some phone calls.

BROOKS: Yes.

SANCHEZ: You have found out that there was some real heroism involved here, that these two guys could easily be dead, these two police officers.

BROOKS: Absolutely.

I tell you, Rick, when people need help, they call 911. When police need help, they call the emergency services unit. And these are the officers who were involved in this gun battle this morning. Initially, a detective was shot. It was a detective and a lieutenant from the major crimes squad.

SANCHEZ: Right.

BROOKS: They were looking at these two suspects and -- who was involved in another robbery. They were sitting on the car, waiting for them to come out. They came out. They confronted them. The guy dressed as a priest pulled up a shotgun.

SANCHEZ: Oh, my...

(CROSSTALK)

BROOKS: It's a shotgun that you don't have to put up to your shoulder.

I talked to Lieutenant Edgar Martinez, and he was telling me it was a shotgun. You just hold it at your side. And he opened up on them. He shot the detective in the leg. They ran into an apartment building, barricaded themselves on the third floor. Police set up a perimeter and they called for an emergency services unit.

Now, Jersey City's emergency services unit, Rick, they are one of the most professional, tactical units in the country. And they also asked for the help of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

SANCHEZ: I understand one of these EMTs actually risked his own life to go in there and drag these two officers out.

BROOKS: They did. As -- Rick, as they were going in, they were making a approach. They were going to make a tactical approach to the apartment. As they were coming up, they were shoot at through the door and through the wall.

Now, one officer shot twice in the face, another officer shot in the neck. Now, two EMTs, emergency medical technicians, from the Jersey City Medical Center volunteered to go in while the shots were still being exchanged.

SANCHEZ: Oh, my goodness. BROOKS: They went it. They were covered by ESU. They went in and they drug these two out. One of them was flatlined. The one shot twice in the face was flatlined. They started doing CPR on him. They got the other one out. They're both in surgery.

I spoke to Lieutenant Martinez right before we went to air. And he was saying they are both still in critical condition.

(CROSSTALK)

BROOKS: They would be dead if it weren't for the two EMTs.

SANCHEZ: They dragged them out while the suspects were still shooting?

BROOKS: That's correct. You talk about heroism, that's what I am talking about, Rick.

SANCHEZ: And that's the one who was shot in the face, you say?

BROOKS: Shot twice in the face, one officer, the ESU officer, shot twice in the face, the other one shot in the neck. Those are the ones that they brought out and worked on.

If they hadn't had gotten to them when they did, there's a good possibility we could be talking about two dead ESU officers.

SANCHEZ: The information that we have now is that both of them are in surgery, the one who is suffering a shot to the neck and the one who suffered a shot to the face.

BROOKS: Right.

SANCHEZ: Here is the police chief, Comey. Here is what he had to tell reporters. And, by the way, he's going to be joining us hopefully in just a little bit.

Take that, Rog, if you can.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COMEY: He dressed himself accordingly to keep the weapon with him at all times. And as he realized we were on him, he shed an outer garment to make sure that he could pull the shotgun up and go to war almost instantly, go to battle.

QUESTION: Is there a man and woman here involved in this crime?

(CROSSTALK)

COMEY: There's two people involved. That's pushing the envelope. I will give you that one later on.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) ages (INAUDIBLE)

COMEY: The suspect's ages at this point in time, we are not willing to give that either.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

COMEY: Reed, R-E-E-D.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

COMEY: If I gave you that, it would easy. I'm not going to comment on that. That will come later on, believe me.

QUESTION: Are there more suspects (INAUDIBLE).

COMEY: No. We believe we have everybody in custody. I am 99 percent sure we have everybody in custody. Everybody is deceased that...

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE).

BROOKS: No. The investigation has some tentacles right now that we are trying to close up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: He says some tentacles that they're trying...

Here's what interesting, right? Five people shot in New Jersey. You ready for this? This just in. We are just getting some brand-new information we are willing to share now.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: CNN can now confirm two police officers have now been shot on Chicago's South Side. You and I have been talking a lot about Chicago's South Side and what's been going on there with all the young men and women, kids in many cases, being shot and killed.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: An officer with the media relations department of the Chicago Police Department is saying that the shooting happened just a little while ago. This is at 31 East 112th Place in Chicago.

At this point, we understand the officers' injuries are believed to be non-life-threatening, although you never know. We heard that with the report out of New Jersey at first as well, until we got some of Mike's information.

CNN continues to follow the situation, certainly, with the help of our affiliates there. These are some of the first pictures coming in now. Boy, we're using you on double duty here, but what's your take on this situation in Chicago?

BROOKS: You know, Rick, we -- you and I have talked about the South Side of Chicago and all the students, the high school students over the past year that have been shot and killed here.

It's just -- it seems like it's -- we talk about things that go on overseas in the Middle East. But we have got the battle on the streets here. Here in Atlanta, you talk about violent crimes. Some friends of mine last night just held up in their house at gunpoint for a television. So, it is just -- it is ridiculous.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: I know. You can't help but get upset. We are following this story. We expect -- when Comey comes out, if you do me a favor, come back out here. Maybe you can help me with the interview.

BROOKS: Absolutely.

(CROSSTALK)

BROOKS: That's what I'm here for.

SANCHEZ: He is quite a character, that guy, Comey, as well.

BROOKS: I'll tell you what. He is a good chief. And that's a great department up there in Jersey City.

SANCHEZ: All right. Thanks so much, Mike. We appreciate it.

BROOKS: All right, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Meanwhile, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM EDDINS, FLORIDA STATE ATTORNEY: We have recovered the safe. We have recovered several guns, one of which we believe is the murder weapon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: There's some new twists and some new turns in the case of a murdered Florida couple. What a story this is turning into. In fact, Mike Brooks is going to join me on that one as well, because he's got some information on that. We are learning robbery may not be the only motive now. So, what could it be?

We are also getting some more information about Michael Jackson -- 25 years ago, his hair on fire, his scalp damaged. Could this help now explain his addiction to prescription drugs?

Oh, by the way, you will see the video as it happens. We have it for you in full report.

Also, remember that our show doesn't end today as soon as our show normally ends, because we are going to keep going. Stick around. When the TV version of our national conversation is over, you can log on to CNN.com/live, CNN.com/live, where the conversation continues online. That's 4:00 Eastern. Your tweets, your messages, some guests, extended and all that, the after-show right here at 4:00.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. Thank you to all of those of you welcoming me back. Yes, it is nice to be back on the set. And, OK, look, we are going to be talking a lot about Sonia Sotomayor's hearings in just a little bit.

And, trust me, I heard plenty from some other so-called wise Latina women when I went down to Miami yesterday about how she, Sonia Sotomayor, is being treated.

Maybe it is just an irony or unfortunate juxtaposition that some of these gray-haired older men would be seen grilling, if not often lecturing, Judge Sotomayor, Senator Sessions, for example, a 62-year- old man from Alabama questioning a woman who grew up in the projects on whether she can live on a judge's salary. He asked her that.

Senator Cornyn, a 57-year-old from Texas, questioned her understanding of Martin Luther King and her understanding of discrimination, a woman who grew up in the projects.

Senator Coburn, a 61-year-old from Oklahoma, said to Sotomayor that she would have some -- quote -- "splainin' to do, splainin' to do."

I want you to hear what wise Latina women I visited with in Miami have to say about this.

And I also want to know what you have to say about this on Twitter, on MySpace, on Facebook, or on my blog at CNN.com/ricksanchez, though we have a treat for you as well.

The so-called wise Latinas are next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: I want to bring you up to date on Afghanistan right now, especially in terms of the some of the stuff that I have been following, like some of these. You see these right here?

All right, these are some of the messages that are being sent by the U.S. military. I am going to tell you more about them in just a moment. And I will show them to you with our over-the-shot camera.

But, first, more NATO troops have died there this month, July 2009, than in any single month since this war began going back eight years. We just found out today that a Canadian soldier died in action near Kandahar, making 47 members of the international force just killed now in July.

Also, take a look at this flier. See that one right there? It is much like the one I was just showing you. It's being put out by the U.S. military. They're scattered all over Afghanistan. It's one of several reminders that there is an American soldier still being held captive somewhere, we believe, in Afghanistan. And this flier is asking for help in finding out where he could possibly be. A Taliban spokesperson told a reporter today that the soldier they claim to have kidnapped is alive, is healthy, but won't be long if the U.S. military doesn't end its operation in Helmand Province. It sounds like a threat, doesn't it?

Here's the rest of these, by the way. Roberts, you got them right there? I think you can look at them. That's not the actual soldier, by the way, but these are the ones that were put out by -- there's a shot of a U.S. soldier. This is the one that kind of tells us all.

Let me juxtapose these two, if I can, right there. No, sorry, not that one. Stop me for a minute. This one and this one. There you go. See, one, they put these out together. One has the soldier there. And then the one on top signals that he is actually missing.

Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more on this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Rick, these fliers are being distributed in Eastern Afghanistan by U.S. troops.

As you look at them, it is important to note that these are not photos of the soldier who is missing. And, of course, his name has not been released. These are computer-generated graphics, if you will, pictures of soldiers with no name, no identifying marks, no name tag, no face, put together with local Afghans, the language, in the local language of Pashtun, saying give the soldier back or you will be hunted, asking for him to be returned.

These are pretty typical of the fliers and pamphlets that are distributed in local areas when there is some type of situation like this. It has happened in the past. U.S. troops don't know if the young soldier who disappeared back on June 30 has already been taken over the border into Pakistan, but apparently they have good reason to distribute these now on the Afghan side of the border, hoping that some village elder or tribal chief knows something about where this man is being held and can help get him back to U.S. troops.

We are also told there is a reward out there, but U.S. military personnel won't say how much money, because, of course, they don't want any more of these incidents happening.

It has been two weeks. They are hoping there will be a break in the case and they can get this soldier back -- Rick.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: All right, thanks so much. She's going to be staying on top of that story.

Meanwhile, we have touched a nerve with many of you already. We see hundreds of comments coming in on some of the stories that we have been talking about, especially the story we mentioned about Sotomayor. Let's start with Twitter, if we can. There you go, Robert. Good job.

RuggedCwby, he says: "I told you the old men need to go from government. They make too much money and they are only about them, not us, the people. Go, go, go."

Now let's go over to Facebook, if we can. Kalimah is watching as well. He says: "Your take on the wise Latina women and the three guys grilling her about culturally relevant issues is hilarious. You are right. There is an audacity to it."

My thanks to all of you for your comments. And we will continue to share.

Meanwhile, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She brings to the bench an expansive background. It is not narrow. It's in addition to in this the Supreme Court's...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The changing face of America, what these women want the old guard in Washington to understand about Sonia Sotomayor.

Why did it take so long to put that fire out, the one you're seeing right there? By the way, how did it start? That when we come back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. Interestingly enough, we are getting a lot of movement on the stories that we have been following today and a lot of comments as well.

As a matter of fact, let's go to our Twitter board, if we can, Robert, real quick, before we get into this next story.

Look at this at the top. "I loved your visit with the wise Latina women. It was painful to watch the Republicans today. They need to grow up."

To be fair, it is not just Republicans. It is both sides in many cases who are doing that.

And then we see: "Rick, your show allows us to express our opinion under our First Amendment rights, to be free speech. It's amazing. Bravo."

Well, that's very nice. Thank you.

It's you guys. It's your comments. It's your involvement. There she is, by the way. See her coming in? The only person seen this week on CNN more than Anderson Cooper and Wolf Blitzer combined, federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor. And let's be honest. She is all but in, right? I mean, it is looking like that. It is a safe bet that you are looking at the next justice of the United States Supreme Court, unless something really bizarre happens.

Even the senators that are leading her opposition, in fairness, even those who have been screaming the loudest say that she is impressive to them.

The senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Alabama's Jeff Sessions, he said today on CNN that Sotomayor will most likely get approval before the Senate goes on vacation next month, so no delays. That was their word.

OK, so, who are these ladies that you see right there? No, it's not "The View." They are who I call wise Latina women, with a bit of a wink. They are sitting around my mother's kitchen table in Miami. You are going to find out just how wise they are when it comes to what they have seen regarding Sonia Sotomayor in just a little bit.

I have known some of these women for many, many years. And, trust me, they have a lot to say.

Stay there. My report from Hialeah -- or Hialeah -- when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: It's amazing. Seven police officers have been shot.

I have got folks from Facebook to MySpace to Twitter writing to me, commenting on how terrible they feel about these seven police officers, five of them in one city apparently shot in Jersey City. And we have the police chief of Jersey City, as we look at some of the pictures of the aftermath here.

We see a police officer taking a child away, other police officers responding to the scene.

Setting this up, because many of you have been asking for more information and more perspective, police officers were on but what -- a stakeout of what they appeared were two burglary suspects they were maybe going to be taking down, when suddenly things turned on them.

All right, Jersey City Police Chief Tom Comey is good enough to join us now to bring us up to date.

First, my condolences to you and your department on this day, Chief.

THOMAS COMEY, CHIEF OF POLICE, JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY: Thank you very much.

SANCHEZ: Can you take us through what these officers were doing and how this thing went so terribly awry on them?

COMEY: Well, these officers were part of a stakeout team.

We were looking at a vehicle that we had been seeking in part of an earlier armed robbery that had occurred in our jurisdiction. As the vehicle was moved, the officers were approaching the vehicle to try to ascertain who was operating the vehicle, who the occupants were.

One individual had exited the vehicle and dropped a robe that he was wearing, and similar to like -- it was described as a friar type robe -- and turned with a pump shotgun and opened fire on the officers immediately.

These -- one of those officers was struck initially in the leg. The other one missed injury. He had just exited the vehicle where the shotgun blast entered. They then ran into a building.

We secured the building. Within a short period of time, we evacuated the building and made a tactical entry into the apartment where these individuals had taken refuge.

When we entered the apartment, the individual immediately opened fire on the police officers, at that time, striking four additional officers, two of them superficially. One of them still remains in critical condition, and the other one is in stable condition.

And we just ask that everybody would keep them in their prayers.

SANCHEZ: Well, we sure will, we sure will, Chief. And we thank you for taking time to take us through this here on CNN. Talking to Chief Tom Comey of Jersey City.

These two guys were really brazen. It sounds like, the way you are describing it, these guys didn't give a damn who they killed.

COMEY: No. From the initial reports and from evidence we have recovered, including some video we have in the general vicinity, he went into a combat stance immediately and took on the two officers that he had confronted prior to entering the building. He went into a combat stance, and he was ready for -- as I said before the press conference, he was going to war.

SANCHEZ: My colleague, Mike Brooks, has been talking to members of your department throughout the day. You know Mike, he's a former D.C. guy. He has some information and some things he wants to clear it up.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Chief, it was a man and woman. And weren't they involved in a robbery just prior to this of a place where you get your oil changed, and they basically shot a person and left him to die?

COMEY: Yes, they did. It was a pretty serious incident that took place. They actually shot him through the van before he even got out of the van before they could accost him. I mean, this was a pretty serious individual we were seeking.

And he was able to crawl to the street. Thank god he is still with us today. He is in the same hospital my officers are now in, recovering from his injuries.

SANCHEZ: Did you know, chief, just how -- how bad these guys really were? Looking back on it now, are you saying, man, I wonder if we should have moved in there with many more officers?

COMEY: We did have a separate type plan. But unfortunately, cannot always account for the unexpected in our professions. And what we observed at this particular moment in time was the unexpected.

We were gearing up for something to occur later on, and do it a little bit differently. However, their actions caused this to occur.

BROOKS: Absolutely they did.

And Chief, were they wanted in any other jurisdiction? I had heard there might have been warrants for them in another jurisdiction outside of Jersey City.

COMEY: That is still under investigation as we speak. We're in contact with another agency and another state to determine whether or not that is, in fact, correct. We're looking at some other crimes in and around the general vicinity where other agencies have now said this matches the M.O. and this matches the description.

So we will be going through that over the next several hours.

BROOKS: It was a man and a woman?

COMEY: Yes.

SANCHEZ: This thing, I was going to say, it has a Bonnie and Clyde kind of feel to it that a man and woman would be doing something like this.

But, Chief, the most important thing of all is the condition of two of your officers. I understand one was shot in the neck and the other one was shot in the face. They are considered to be in critical condition, and both were in surgery.

What can you tell us about them, their condition, or what their families have said to you, or what you have said to them?

COMEY: What I have basically told the family is that, you know, we are going to keep them in our prayers. They're strong individuals. They're young, strong men.

The one officer that's been shot in the neck, we were fortunate enough where they have recently upgraded his condition to stable after removing a projectile from him. They are relatively confident that he will make a recovery.

The second officer is still in critical condition, still suffering from the wounds he received this morning. And we anticipate him remaining in critical condition, and just pray that he is able to come through this.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Well, Chief Comey, my thanks to you, sir, for taking time to take us through this. My best to you, to your department, and certainly to the family of those brave officers.

COMEY: Thank you very much. And like I said, we ask that you keep them in your prayers.

SANCHEZ: We will, sir.

BROOKS: Absolutely, Chief.

COMEY: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: You know, it's amazing, just to close this thing out, as you look at this situation, these guys didn't know what they had coming. But I'll tell you what, these people are as brazen bank robbers or robbers or suspects or whatever they are, as any two people I have heard about in a long time.

BROOKS: Absolutely. And to take on the Emergency Services Unit, these are the best and the brightest of the department, the most highly trained people in Jersey City tactical-wise.

And again, thoughts and prayer are with them. I was in their shoes before and been in shootouts when I was on the equivalent of D.C.'s emergency response team. And you never know what to expect, Rick. You just don't.

SANCHEZ: Mike Brooks, thanks for getting out here. Good stuff with the chief there and getting that new information across.

This is a fire that sparked an explosion. Why was it so difficult to put this one out? We have made some calls on this as well.

Remember, our show doesn't end today right at 4:00. Stick around -- when the TV version of the national conversation is over, you can logon to CNN.com/live, CNN.com/live, where the conversation continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez in the world headquarters of CNN.

We know this maybe has been hyped a little bit in the last couple of days. Sometimes that's what happens with stories. The Supreme Court confirmation hearings are a dry Washington exercise at times when you watch it aren't they? You have to admit, we have to admit.

As far as I could tell, the only Latina woman, wise or otherwise, in that Senate chamber, most of the time this week has been Sonia Sotomayor. So, in our segment today, I take you out of the D.C. beltway and find some other Latina women with a smart take on one of their own. What's wrong with getting their perspective on this, who is, by the way, under consideration for the United States Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor.

Where does one go to find these wise Latina women? You can find them anywhere in the big cities in the United States and even in some of the medium and smaller cities. But we chose Miami, Florida.

SANCHEZ: That is my home town, and that is where somebody who I would consider to be one of the wisest Latina women of all lives.

That's where I found a few more, by the way. In fact, my idea was to go down there and find these women, some of whom I have known for many years, in fact. They sat around my mom's kitchen table and, well, here is what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: With mom's birthday as a background, and surrounded by pictures in the home where I grew up as a confused little kid from Cuba, I returned to the place we called "el barrio," Hilia, Florida, to assemble a panel of four, quote, "wise Latina women," and maybe the wisest of all, my mom.

SANCHEZ (on camera): So you like Sotomayor?

ADELA FERNANDEZ, RICK'S MOTHER: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Are you proud?

FERNANDEZ: Yes.

SANCHEZ: You are proud.

Proud because someone like you is in this position.

FERNANDEZ: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

SANCHEZ: Because -- oh, you are proud because she came from nowhere like you?

SANCHEZ (voice-over): Sitting in mom's kitchen table, complete with cafecitos and pastelitos, an accomplished defense attorney, two former federal prosecutors, and a television and radio entrepreneur share their personal perspective on why the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor matters.

ELVIRA SALAZAR, HOST, "MARIA ELVIRA LIVE": Latina women for many people that are watching you are maids. That's why I don't like the name Maria, because every single maid is Mexican and is called Maria.

That's why I like Elvira, because that way I get distinguished. I get respected. Maria means being a maid, so Sonia is trying to say, I am not a maid. SANCHEZ (on camera): Are you serious?

SALAZAR: Oh, yes. I studied, I went to law school.

SANCHEZ: Does anybody else feel that way? Do you fight those stereotypes?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We battle them on a daily basis.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have shown up to court or to a law firm, and people thought you were the court reporter, or people thought that you were somebody's assistant, or somebody's wife.

SANCHEZ: But then there is that "wise Latina" comment.

JACQUELINE BECERRA, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: I had a problem with folks like CNN continuing to repeat this one quote, which if you read the entire speech she gave, you see that the quote is completely out of context.

It's one thing for political folks to take that out of context to try to attack her.

SANCHEZ: You know, Jackie, I have to tell you, she wishes that she had not used that language.

BECERRA: Of course she said that.

SANCHEZ: She says, what I was trying to do fell flat.

BECERRA: But if you had read the entire speech, you would have seen that. CNN and everybody has the whole speech. But it is a better sound bite, and it's better to sell papers to just pigeonhole her. Because, you know, quite frankly, there was nothing else you could say about Sonia Sotomayor that was a slight bit negative.

SANCHEZ: Not true. You could say in the Ricci case that she reached a decision most Americans would disagree with.

BECERRA: That was reversed.

SANCHEZ: The New Haven firefighters.

BECERRA: You can say, look, we didn't agree with her decision. But that doesn't attack her credibility or her intelligence.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): These Latina women say her record shows she is not only qualified but they says necessary.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't think victims in America are going to be very proud to have a judge who is actually a former prosecutor, a former prosecutor who understands law enforcement, a woman who had to listen to people and their stories and judge cases.

SANCHEZ: A perspective on a wise Latina woman from wise Latina women from outside the beltway. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Those Miami women.

A side note now. Most of you thought that story you just saw was pretty cool. Most of you told us it is was a fresh idea, a different way of covering the story.

But some of you have written with some pretty harsh criticism about the fact that my mom doesn't speak English.

Look, I would be lying if I told you that that didn't sting me a little bit, but, hey, I understand that many of you are more than 100 years removed from your ancestor's arrival in America, and that gives you a different perspective on things than mine. That's fair.

So, rather than sharing research or historical analysis, let me take this opportunity now to share with you my perspective from kind of like where I come from.

My mom can't express herself in English because I can. She isn't accomplished and she isn't wealthy, because I am. My mom missed meals when I was growing up so that I could eat.

See, my mom didn't bring me to America so that she could become successful or educated. It wasn't so she could become successful or educated. She brought me to America so I could become successful and educated.

She couldn't go to night school because she spent 10 to 12 hours a day in a factory sewing leather shoes together while my dad washed dishes all his life and bussed tables at the fancy hotels on Miami Beach.

Their story is the story of millions of immigrants who come to America, maybe even some of your ancestors, who did the same exact thing. They struggled, they went without, and they even sacrificed their own betterment so that we, their sons and daughters, could thrive.

I mean, look, it's just some perspective for our national conversation. I also welcome your perspective on my blog at CNN.com/ricksanchez.

I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: The latest and dramatic video of Michael Jackson is coming up in just a little bit.

But first, I want you to look at what happened to a section of Interstate 75 in Detroit. Have you seen this? This explosion, a huge flames erupting from two tanker trucks that collided. One was filled with thousands of gallons of fuel. The flames consumed and damaged part of the overpass that you see right there, that stretch of highway still smoking today. Michigan's department of transportation will decide whether to demolish what is left, we are told.

But here's the amazing part of this story. No one died. Only three people were injured. What a story.

Next, more arrests, more questions about the suspects and the victims in the deadly home invasion in Florida last week. There are a couple of updates on this story that seem amazing, and probably some things that need to be cleared up as well.

You have heard some of the rumors out there. We're going to attack those as well.

That bizarre double murder in Florida getting stranger by the day, and that's something considering how bizarre this story has been to begin with. Let's get through with this.

Let's start with this. First, a guerilla style raid on the house is caught on video. Masked intruders break in, some of them even dressed like ninjas.

It's a perfect operation except for one thing -- they thought somebody had turned off the surveillance system. Guess what, Mike Brooks, nobody turned off the surveillance system.

So they are captured on video. See them right there? That's how police were able to find this red van you see being towed hidden behind the shed, which led them to a string of arrests, including these folks you see there, the suspected ringleader, Leonard Gonzalez, Jr., and even his dad.

And now we have this, this woman, facing charges as an accessory, Pamela Long Wiggins. She was busted on a yacht off the Alabama coast. And police say her arrest has produced evidence.

Now, ask yourself this. Does that evidence include the safe stolen from this home of the victims, Bird and Melanie Billings? No one is saying.

By the way, the photo that I am showing you here, look at that. It gives us probably a better perspective or view of the scope of the victim's estate.

Something else we need to mention. Today, the local sheriff went out of his way to tamp down rumors about the Billings that seemed to start with word that the murder investigation includes the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.

He said, to his knowledge, the family is not, is not the focus of any investigation. Those are the Wiggins and some of the 13 children the couple had adopted. Nine of the children were home the day of the murders. Ed Lavandera has been chasing the story for us down in Escambia County in northwest Florida, and obviously with me here in Atlanta is Mike Brooks, who is going to be joining us with his perspective first.

Eddie, why don't' you get us started. What's latest there.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest we've heard is a couple things. We're just getting our hands on Wiggins' latest arrest report.

Some interesting details now. We've also learned that she's posted bond. She's no longer in jail here in Pensacola.

But back to that arrest report, actually, there was a video, and we had seen video of authorities taking into -- or compounding a red minivan. This is different than the Dodge van that was seen in the surveillance video.

But there was this other red minivan, some questions as to what exactly this was. Apparently, according to this arrest report, this red minivan was placed near the Billings home the day of the murder, and it was also used to help the suspects get away.

In this arrest report, it says that that vehicle is registered to Pamela Wiggins. So we know authorities have been saying that Wiggins is a good friend of Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr., who they say is the mastermind.

But she's been charged with accessory after the fact. And so, this kind of puts her early on in this investigation...

SANCHEZ: Yes. Well, you know what this does. I mean, it makes people suspect whether or not -- Mike Brooks, let me bring you into this -- whether she's maybe the mastermind, and that this wasn't a case of a bunch of people driving down the street looking for a house to hit.

BROOKS: Right.

SANCHEZ: There was a plan here.

BROOKS: Absolutely there was a plan. I mean, you don't go into a house, spend less than four minutes inside this estate, enter it in from the north side and the east side, kill two people, get the safe, and get out in less than four minutes. The whole operation, Rick, took less than ten.

So that means, there was a lot of planning. What her role is we really don't know. Apparently on Monday they were serving a search warrant at her house, that she --

SANCHEZ: Is she a realtor?

BROOKS: She's got -- she apparently had...

SANCHEZ: That scares me. BROOKS: ... she's a realtor. This is the newest house she had. Apparently she had gotten it not that long ago. It was a foreclosure she had moved into.

But she was down at Orange Beach, Alabama, on her 47-foot yacht. So, you know, what is her involvement in this? We don't know. Did she take some property afterwards? Was this red minivan that Eddie was talking about, did she help them to get away?

But she is charged with accessory after the fact.

SANCHEZ: Remember Truman capote's book "In Cold Blood" where somebody goes into a house with a master plan?

BROOKS: Yes.

SANCHEZ: It's amazing. It makes you think that something like this could still happen.

My thanks to you. My thanks to my good friend from Miami, also, Eddie Lavandera, joining us with the very latest on Escambia County. Talk about a county that's changed its character over the last ten years or so.

BROOKS: Ain't that the truth.

SANCHEZ: That was a sleepy little place. No more.

My thanks to both of you.

BROOKS: By the way, our show doesn't end at 4:00. It just moves on to CNN.com/live where our conversation continues online. You have to join us today. It's a little more hip, a little more fun -- not that our show isn't hip and fun.

Speaking of hip and fun, remember Patricia Murphy? She's coming back to join us for that segment. She'll be sitting here join us on the Sotomayor hearing. I'll talk to her.

But when we come back, the very latest on Michael Jackson video, dramatic video. Have you seen this? You will.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Wolf Blitzer standing by now. You've been working some long hours the past couple of days. Good job, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much.

This is what's coming up in "The Situation Room." We have a special interview with Michael Steele. He's the chairman of the Republican National Committee. We've been trying to talk to him for several weeks.

Also, we'll speak to that sheriff in Pensacola. He's got a horrible murder that you've been reporting a lot about, Rick. We're going to get the latest from him.

We're also hoping that the mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, right after these hearings, he's testifying on behalf of Sonia Sotomayor. He'll be joining us, as well.

So, lots of stuff, as always, coming up here in "The Situation Room."

SANCHEZ: Thanks so much, Wolf. We appreciate it. We'll look forward to it.

By the way, was Michael Jackson's fire accident the reason for his prescription drug addiction? We've got the video. I don't know if you've seen it yet, but it's dramatic, painful to watch at times. You're going to see it when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Here's that video now everyone's talking about of Michael Jackson's hair catching fire. Is this what caused his problems? Here's Ted Rowlands.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The video obtained by "Us Weekly" shows Michael Jackson's hair on fire. But as you can see, Jackson doesn't seem to notice until people surround him. The first one there was Jackson's longtime friend, Miko Brando, son of actor Marlon Brando.

MIKO BRANDO: I went up to him and shook his head, threw him down to the ground, and tried to do the best I could.

ROWLANDS: You can see as Jackson gets up, his head is significantly burned down to the scalp.

DR. STEVEN HOEFFLIN, JACKSON'S PHYSICIAN: He initially felt a very hot area and couldn't distinguish whether it was the hot lights or something was happening, and after a second or two, he fell the intense onset of pain, fell to the ground, and several people came to put out the fire and apply ice to his head.

ROWLANDS: Days after the incident, Jackson unsuccessfully tried to get the footage released. His record label, CBS Records, released this photo.

Pepsi eventually ended up releasing the ad, which featured Jackson and his brothers. Jackson would later claim the accident and subsequent medical treatment led to an addiction to prescription drugs.

MICHAEL JACKSON, ENTERTAINER: As you may already know, after my tour ended, I remained out of the country, undergoing treatment for a dependency on pain medication. This medication was initially prescribed to soothe the excruciating pain that I was suffering after recent reconstructive surgery on my scalp. ROWLANDS: Possible drug use is a part of the ongoing investigation into Jackson's death.

ROWLANDS (on camera): What if any drugs were in Jackson's system at the time of his death is still an unanswered question. The L.A. coroner expects the toxicology results could be back within the next week.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: We're going to continue on CNN.com/live.

However, here now from Washington in "The Situation Room" is Wolf Blitzer.