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Texas Refining Plant on Fire; $1,000 Homes for Detroit Police; Shark Attacks on the Rise; Texas Refining Plant Ablaze

Aired February 08, 2011 - 14:00   ET

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

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Checking some of the other big stories of the day right now.

We are into day 15 of the anti-government protests in Egypt. And it's easy to see why our crews are saying that this looks like the biggest turnout yet in Tahrir Square.

Many people tell us that they have been energized and inspired by the interview with that Egyptian Google executive. He was released by Egyptian security forces yesterday after nearly two weeks in custody.

(CHANTING)

Meantime, protesters make sure that their voices are being heard by marching on the Egyptian parliament. They've been singing and they've been chanting the word "fraud" even as army troops have moved in to surround them.

A House judiciary subcommittee is about to begin a hearing on federal support for abortion. The legislation at hand would make permanent some restrictions that currently have to be renewed every year. That includes a ban on federal funding for abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or saving the mother's life, and a ban on Medicaid money going towards abortion.

Separately, the House Energy and Commerce Committee will meet tomorrow restricting any abortion financing in President Obama's health care overhaul. Now, even if both those bills make it through the Republican-controlled House, it is unlikely that they will go beyond that point in the Senate.

Another week, another giant snowstorm on the radar. This one is expected to take a southerly track, raking across the Plains and into the Southeast. Kansas could be looking at another foot of snow by tomorrow, with points north seeing some wind-chills of almost 40 below zero. Oklahoma and Arkansas are also expecting some heavy snowfall.

Jacqui Jeras is tracking the system. And we'll check in with her in about 20 minutes for the very latest.

And take a look at this. This is a picture right now that is coming in from our affiliate, KPRC, in Houston, Texas.

Breaking news. This is some sort of plant fire. We don't have a lot of information right now, but just these pictures. But as you can see, there is a tremendous blaze that is burning, and it looks like it -- well, it could be inside some sort of power plant there, or it's being fed what appears to be perhaps by natural gas, because you can tell by those tremendous flames that there is a great amount of heat that's being expelled.

So, again, that's coming to us courtesy of KPRC. We're working our sources right now to find out more. Stay with us.

And after yesterday's triumphant trip home, the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers are ready to celebrate. The team is hosting a Return to Titletown party this afternoon at Lambeau Field. Expect fireworks, speeches, video highlights from the season. And no surprises here. All 56,000 tickets sold out.

And that brings us to today's "Sound Effect," that rare combination of grand larceny and high comedy. To set the stage, I'll just say the crooks who tried to steal Rolexes from a shop in Britain probably didn't take into account little old ladies with purses.

Take a look.

And down they go. Benny Hill would be proud. I hope you caught that last part there where the crooks fell of their motorbike.

Well, we still don't know the lady's name, but she told an interviewer, and I quote, "I'm not a hero. Maybe it was foolish to get involved, but somebody had to do something." And she did.

Boom. Down they go.

Rebuilding a city for 1,000 bucks a pop. We're going to talk to Detroit's mayor about his plan to get cops to move back into the Motor City by offering them homes for less. It is a novel approach in Detroit.

So how would you revitalize your city? We want to know what you think.

Here's how you reach us. Send us your responses on our blog at CNN.com/Ali, or jump on Ali's Twitter or Facebook page. We'll read some of the responses right after Mayor Bing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: We want to get back to this breaking news that's coming into CNN here.

This is taking place in Mont Belvieu, Texas. The pictures coming courtesy of KPRC. But another affiliate helping us understanding what is actually going on, KTRK.

They say that this is in Mont Belvieu, Texas. There was an explosion at this facility around 11:45 local time. That would have been 12:45 Eastern Time. And this facility is identified as Enterprise Products. And we are told that they make gasoline additives, which would explain why there is that tremendous amount of flame, fire, and as you can see, that pillar of very, very dark smoke rising into the air, because that would be all very highly flammable material.

We do not know if there are any injuries, and we also don't know if there's any concern or the possibility of evacuations that might be necessary. But you can imagine the great, intense amount of heat that's being generated as a result of that fire.

And right now fire crews are only beginning their efforts to try to bring it under control. But, again, this is a blaze in Mont Belvieu, Texas, and it occurred about 12:45 Eastern Time, or an hour earlier local time.

And you can see that it appears that there is the possibility for it to spread. That's vehicles you can see burning on the ground there.

So exactly how powerful the force of the explosion was at the time we're still waiting to hear. And again, we do not know of any reports of injuries or possibly people missing that were working at this facility that, again, produces gasoline additives.

You can see they're beginning to -- well, work on launching water on to this fire. This, at this point, is probably going to be an effort to simply try to control the blaze and stop it from spreading any further, putting down a mist that would hopefully prevent those flames from that tremendous heat setting anything surrounding them on fire.

We will keep a very close eye on this and continue to bring you information and interviews as we get them.

In the meantime, let's move on to Detroit, a city that is working to rebuild after being hit hard by the recession and foreclosures. The Motor City's mayor, Dave Bing, is offering to renovate homes and to offer them to Detroit police officers and firefighters for only $1,000. It's an effort, of course, to get the cops back into abandoned neighborhoods and revitalize the city.

Joining me now is Mayor Dave Bing from Detroit.

And Mr. Mayor, thank you very much for joining us. How did you come up with this idea?

MAYOR DAVE BING, DETROIT: Well, I've been here all of my adult life, and there's no doubt in my mind that public safety is a hallmark for any urban city. And we had way too many of our police and firemen that didn't live in the city for a lot of different reasons, but we had to figure out some kind of way to bring them back in.

So we put this program together. And there's been an outpouring of support from our police thus far, and that's a real positive.

SAVIDGE: And how does it exactly work? Officers get to pick from a list of homes in certain neighborhoods?

BING: Yes. We have about 200 homes now in some of our most stable neighborhoods because there are neighborhoods that, without a doubt, public safety officials would not want to move back into.

But we've picked out stable neighborhoods where there are schools, where there are churches, where there are police stations, where there are fire stations, where there are rec centers, and these folks who want to come back in with their families need all of those support systems. And so from that vantage point, we're picking different parts of our community for them to live in.

SAVIDGE: And you not only get the home, but you are also offering stimulus money to fix these homes up, make them more attractive?

BING: HUD has been just outstanding in their support. And we have what we call NSP, a Neighborhood Stabilization Program, where we've got about $41 million that's coming in to the city. We're going to use $30 million for this particular program, and then we're going to use the other $11 million for I guess low-income, mid-income kind of families so that we can once again get as many people to come back into the stable neighborhoods as we can.

SAVIDGE: And I presume that the goal here, of course, by bringing in firefighters, by bringing in police officers into a community, then other people follow after them, seeing that the community is revitalized, right?

BING: That is absolutely correct. I think most people would feel much safer with public safety officials that live in the neighborhood, that live in their communities. And so with them making a commitment to come back, we think there are going to be many more people who left the city that might come back into the city. And there are a lot of new people who have never lived here that want to live in the city, and we want to try to be specific in the neighborhoods that we want them to move into.

SAVIDGE: How long is it going to take to get these homes ready for people to move into?

BING: It will happen this year. We think that within the next 60 days or so, we should have identified the contractors who will do the rehabbing. And so it will probably be anywhere from three to six months to get the rehabs done, and people can start moving in, in the summer of this year.

SAVIDGE: Well, Mayor Bing, it sounds like a really very worthwhile idea. And I applaud your city and I wish you good luck with the program.

BING: Well, thank you so very much. Looking forward to it, and Detroit is on its way back.

SAVIDGE: We hope to see that. Absolutely, Mayor. Thanks very much. BING: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: Well, earlier we asked you to weigh in. What do you think of Mayor Bing's plan, and would it work in your city?

From Facebook, we got this from Gladys: "How about we do that all of our armed services, firemen, firewomen, and teachers, and everyone who is working hard at making ends meet, yet devoting their lives to assisting and helping others without being compensated accordingly?"

And then from Ash, he says, well, "Create a government-run rent- to-own program and bring back the American dream."

And then many of you also responded on Twitter. Mr. Phantom has this plan. He says that "Remaining stimulus money should be redirected into solar and wind turbine discounts. Cheaper power to fuel economic growth."

Maureen says, "Give property owners the same kind of tax abatement cities give corporations without the property owners having to ask for them."

And finally, here's what you posted on Ali's blog. David has this idea: "Detroit could be transformed into a college campus downtown for the whole person. Many of the empty buildings could be transformed into classes for jobs, retraining and for health."

But Joe has a more dire assessment. "We are better off just evacuating the city and starting over."

I'm guessing that's the kind of advice that Mayor Bing probably would not consider good.

Shark attacks -- get this -- jumped 25 percent last year across the globe. Want to know why? After the break we have some answers and some incredible video for you.

Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Once again, breaking news. Showing you these live images that are coming out of Mont Belvieu, Texas.

This is a fire that has broken out at the Enterprise Products facility. They make gasoline additives, and, as you can see, it is quite an aggressive burn that is going on right now.

We did get in touch with the Mont Belvieu Police Department, and there's good news. And that is that they say there are no injuries so far to be reported, no one is in danger, which would imply there's no need for evacuations. And right now firefighters on the scene are simply working to try to contain that blaze.

And we will continue to monitor events and continue to watch it, and bring you the latest information as it comes to us. But right now, good news based upon what looked like a dire seen.

Shark attacks -- they're on the rise around the world. Statistics from the International Shark Attack File showed that there were 79 unprovoked shark attacks in 2010. That's a 25 percent increase from 2009, making it the highest rate since 2000.

In fact, according to the study, unprovoked shark attacks have been on a steady rise for the last century. Why is this happening?

Well, joining us now for some insight is professional shark diver Eli Martinez.

And first of all, thank you very much for joining us, sir.

And these studies state that these are unprovoked attacks. So let's clarify. What does that mean?

ELI MARTINEZ, PROFESSIONAL SHARK DIVER: Well, I really don't believe that there's such a thing as an unprovoked attack. I mean, the reason these accidents happen is we're doing something in the water that is attracting the sharks' attention. So to say that a shark is attacking a person, that it's unprovoked, no, I don't believe that's necessarily the case.

SAVIDGE: All right. Well, why does the U.S. have the highest rate of shark attacks?

MARTINEZ: With how much time we spend in the water with the sharks. I mean, millions of people go to the beaches every year, and then these are areas -- now, the ocean is alive. So, you know, it's not a swimming pool. So, I mean, when we spend a lot of time in the water, in these kind of environments, you know, yes, there are accidents that are going to happen.

I mean, because not only sharks, but there's jellyfish. I mean, there's other things in the water that do cause accidents to happen. And because there's millions and millions of people in the water, sometimes accidents do happen.

SAVIDGE: And, you know, we've been pointing out that shark populations are declining, but there has been the steady increase of attacks over the past century. I presume the same thing applies, that there's more people on Earth, that means more people interacting with the oceans, thereby potentially getting attacked by a shark.

Is that right?

MARTINEZ: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. We've got more people participating in all the different activities from swimming to surfing to scuba diving.

So, yes, the percentages are rising. They're going to rise as well.

SAVIDGE: And real quick before we go, because you are the expert, what should a person do if they find themselves in the water, under attack by a shark?

MARTINEZ: Well, I mean, that's a hard one. I mean, because the first thing you tell people not to do is, don't panic. Unfortunately, when -- you know, when there's an accident happening, that's our natural state, is to panic.

But you really want to -- if you see a shark, or if you know there's a shark in the water, you really should not panic, and just get out of the water as fast as possible. You want to avoid certain bodies of water.

I mean, that's something we should do naturally because, again, the ocean is a wilderness, and it's a wild environment. And you need to respect it. So there's certain things that we as people who are enjoying the water of all user groups -- you know, there are things we should avoid out there totally.

SAVIDGE: Good advice. Eli Martinez, thank you very much for joining us.

An experts on sharks as we talk about the rise of shark attacks in the world.

We appreciate it, sir. Thanks.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Want to check back once more on these images we are getting from Mont Belvieu, Texas. This a fire at a facility there that makes additives for fuel. And as you can see, it's quite an intense fire that is -- huge flames just billowing into the air, and then a large black column of smoke that's also rising.

Now, the good news, because CNN has spoken to the police department there, they say that there are no injuries and that the fire really is not threatening other facilities. So there have not been evacuations.

And firefighters right now are just focused on trying to contain that blaze. I imagine they've got their hands full doing it.

But we will continue to follow this story and bring you updates as they come along. Quite remarkable pictures.

Well, Republicans, they may not be unified on who they want to lead them, but they are sure about one thing. They want President Obama out of a job come 2012.

A new CNN/Opinion Research poll finds 68 percent say that they prefer a nominee who can beat President Obama. Only 29 percent says they prefer one who agrees with them on the issues.

The usual faces, Sara Palin, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, and Newt Gingrich, still tops the polls. But as CNN's Joe Johns show us, the next Republican presidential nominee could be someone you've never heard of.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One year out from the primaries, take a look at this crowd. Do you see a future president? Each of these potential contenders for the Republican nomination has some reason to hope 2012 might be the year.

NATE SILVER, POLITICAL BLOGGER, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": You would rarely have an opportunity where the field is quite as wide open as it would be this year. And that can be kind of self-reinforcing, right, because the better the opportunity looks, the more people get in, and kind of, you know, the more the votes split.

JOHNS: So let's break it down. Who are these guys?

Past and present Governors Haley Barbour of Mississippi; Mitch Daniels of Indiana; Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota; Jon Huntsman of Utah, until recently, U.S. ambassador to China. There are past and present senators: John Thune of South Dakota; Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania; and one man who ran for the nomination last time around, Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

Seven potential candidates, no consensus.

We asked the last Republican to get the nomination about them. He was as noncommittal as it gets.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I like all of them, and I think you're going to see a very interesting campaign coming up.

JOHNS (on camera): Translation, John McCain is not endorsing anybody right now.

And does anybody really know this field anyway/ They aren't exactly household names outside their home states, though low name recognition isn't so important this early, just as long as New Hampshire knows their names on Primary Day.

MCCAIN: The reason why the people in New Hampshire are so unique is they recognize the effect of their votes and their support. My favorite joke, Mo Udall, the guy in Manchester said to the other one, "What do you think about Mo Udall for president?" And he said, "I don't know. I only met him twice."

JOHNS: Got it.

(voice-over): Frankly, it's impossible to choose the most likely Republican candidate right now, though the resume of former governor Jon Huntsman makes some Democrats nervous.

SILVER: He's been an ambassador to China and served in a Democratic White House. I mean, that's pretty interesting. Right? The fact that he's a Republican governor of Utah who supported civil unions for gay couples and is moderate on environmental issues, I mean, that's interesting. JOHNS: Interesting, but perhaps too progressive for the GOP's conservative base. Some other more classically conservative candidates like Santorum and Barbour have solid standing on the right, but will have to work hard to lure Independents, which is where the campaign end game gets played.

At this stage, some say picking losers may be easier than picking winners. Nate Silver is betting against Tim Pawlenty and South Dakota Senator John Thune.

SILVER: It just seems like he's a good, competent, average senator. There's nothing wrong with that, but why would you pick one of 100 senators to be president when you don't have that much kind of unique standing out about you?

JOHNS: We asked Thune what's unique about him, but he declined an interview.

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has a different problem. He is a big budget hawk, which is a good thing in the eyes of Republican politicians, but he wants his party to declare a truce on social issues, and that includes abortion, which Daniels is said to be 100 percent against.

That doesn't sit well with social conservatives like Frank Cannon.

FRANK CANNON, AMERICAN PRINCIPLES PROJECT: If that's what you really believe as a moral matter, how can you accept that as president, you will spend years not doing anything about something that you see as a moral tragedy?

JOHNS: Full field, plenty of time to get in the game, get out of the limelight, make some progress, or fall flat on your face. Welcome to the presidential race of 2012. Or not.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: All right, Joe. Let's talk about Ron Paul, because he's sounding more and more like he's getting into the race.

JOHNS: Yes. A lot of indications that he's seriously considering another run for president. You know, he ran last time around.

The truth is, he'll be 77 years old on Election Day. Nonetheless, he's been able to generate a lot of support out there among a lot of different groups. So, we think there's a possibility he'll be a factor in this upcoming campaign, Marty.

SAVIDGE: All right, Joe, thanks very much for the look ahead. Appreciate it.

JOHNS: You bet.

Well, a large snowstorm sweeping through the plains and it is expected to hit the south. Jacqui Jeras tracking this system as it marches its way towards us.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SAVIDGE: All right, Jacqui, we'll keep an eye on it. Thanks for the help.

We're going to show you once again those images that are coming to us out of Mont Belviue, Texas. This is a fire that has broken out at a facility that manufacturers additives for fuels. And you can see that it's incredibly intense flames just literally boiling out of that facility there. There's also a very thick cloud of -- column of smoke rising into the air.

This happened about 11:45 a.m. local time, 12:45 in the afternoon our time here. And the good news at least from speaking with the Mont Belviue, Texas, police there, they say there are no injuries and it appears there are no evacuations at this time that have been called for. Right now, they simply say firefighters are trying to contain the blaze. But, as you can imagine, there is a tremendous amount of heat, and it is the heat that appears to be starting even smaller fires, which would seem to be the case right there as you look at that pickup truck that now is becoming engulfed.

But, again, we do not have any reports of injuries, no reports of evacuations. But we are being told that firefighters are trying to contain this blaze. We'll continue to keep an eye on it, and when it's warranted, we'll bring you new information.

The NFL is apologizing for the seating snafu at the Super Bowl. Coming up, what you missed. Why some fans are still not satisfied.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Updating you on some of the big stories you may have missed this hour.

Take a look at these -- flames, that is. Flames that are just lighting up the skies of Texas right now after an explosion rocked a refining facility in the city of Mont Belviue. Local authorities say that explosion happened about 11:45 Central time. Mont Belviue police tells CNN there are no injuries, and nobody is in danger, as far as they know. They are just trying to figure out what happened and control the flames.

In Cairo's Tahrir Square, perhaps the biggest crowds yet showed up for day 15 of the demonstrations against president Hosni Mubarak. Among those appearing on a makeshift stage an Egyptian Google executive. He was released yesterday after 12 days in detention.

The White House today criticized Egyptian president (sic) Omar Suleiman's assertion that Egypt isn't ready for democracy. Spokesman Robert Gibbs called Suleiman's remarks unhelpful.

Lawyers for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange wrapped up their arguments today at his extradition hearing. A British judge (INAUDIBLE) aside whether Assange could be extradited to Sweden to face sexual misconduct charges. Part of today's testimony involved Twitter messages posted by Assange's alleged victim. Seemingly indicated she was in good spirits after the alleged misconduct. A ruling on Sweden's extradition request is expected to come later this week.

A new study led by NASA blames mechanical issues, not electronics for the Toyota acceleration problems. Results of that study were announced just a few minutes ago. And it was commissioned by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after thousands of reports of unexpected acceleration. Toyota recalled nearly 9 million cars in 2009 and 2010.

And NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has apologized to ticket holding fans who were shut out of Sunday's Super Bowl. Some temporary seating wasn't ready in time for the game, so about 400 people were left without seats. The NFL will give the displaced fans triple refunds and free tickets to next year's Super Bowl, but some are still angry. They note that the Packers and Steelers fans came to see the Packers and Steelers who may not be playing -- that's right -- in next year's game.

The 14 healthiest foods you should buy right now. We will tell you what those are in the next 10 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: A stark contrast today in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy people swarmed into the area. CNN reporters there say it is the largest turnout since this people's power revolution erupted two weeks ago. The gathering has been peaceful, even jubilant, while at the same time the protestors are defiantly rejecting overtures by the government and demanding that President Mubarak step down now.

But how long will this peaceful atmosphere last? Here he comes now. Joining me, walking up --

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know I hate that walk.

SAVIDGE: I know you do.

HOLMES: It looks like I've just arrived.

SAVIDGE: Every element on your face, you can --

HOLMES: We've trekked.

SAVIDGE: All right. Let's talk seriously about the developments we're seeing. You know, it is interesting that now going on three weeks in this protest and you get the largest turnout, at least according to Ben Wedeman there on the scene. But there are warnings coming from experts who say this is really a dangerous time. Here is what one expert told Anderson Cooper last night. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) FOUAD AJAMI, DIRECTOR OF MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: The protesters have now entered the most dangerous phase of this conflict. They are known to the security services. They have bet it all. And if indeed this regime survived, if this regime truly in a way, deludes us that it has changed, it has reformed, it amended its ways, most of these protestors, the leaders of the protestors, are in great, great danger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: What do you think of that, Michael? I mean, it is a very dire warning coming from Fouad Ajami there. And, well, do you think it's legitimate?

HOLMES: What is true is that the secret police have been out there in the square, taking cell phone video and photographs of the protesters. They know who these guys are, and the fear is that if and when this peters out, that they will go get these guys. There's a fear of that. We've already seen an unofficial crackdown on the human rights organizations. The Hisham Mubarak (INAUDIBLE), for example, is one of the foremost groups monitoring rights violations in Egypt. The computers were trashed, hard drives stolen.

And also, you're seeing the state-run media running a crude campaign, really, suggesting that the U.S., Israel, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, they're all behind the revolution. So, potential? Yes.

SAVIDGE: And you know, keep in mind who the vice president is. Omar Suleiman, who was the head of the secret police in all of this.

HOLMES: Former military as well.

SAVIDGE: He's the man that the U.S. is sort of looking to -- to carry over this transition, but he's got a questionable background when it comes to human rights as well.

HOLMES: It is. And you're seeing a little bit of frustration with the administration, too, when it comes to Suleiman because this all comes back to the U.S. position and who they've backed. We've had conversations about this in the past. The hypocrisy, as it's seen in the region of the U.S. backing, often brutal regimes while espousing democracy in other parts of the world.

The Palestinians are a notable cause. Pushed for democracy. Had an election, free and fair. Didn't like them, one. Didn't recognize them. That's undermining U.S. credibility.

SAVIDGE: Historically, you look at places, say, like the Philippines. You had Marcos there, which the U.S. backed. And of course, you know, was notorious for violations against human rights there. Eventually he was overthrown.

And then South Korea another example of a country there where the United States came out in favor of a very dominant voice. So, historically you're right, there are questions that people have asked about the U.S. stands up for human rights, but then seems to support people like Saddam Hussein, which they did at one time.

HOLMES: I was going to say, Saddam Hussein was sort of on our side when he was fighting Iran, and then he wasn't. And look what happened. You know, you go back to the Philippines, too. They're traditional allies, there are U.S. bases there and things like that. But the U.S. has got to watch its credibility, walk that fine line as we've been talking about.

SAVIDGE: Yes. Too many dictators, too little time. All right, Michael, thank you. We'll continue this another time.

Well, the 14 foods you should add to your grocery list. We'll have that for you in two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Let's check once more on the fire burning in Texas -- Mont Belvieu, Texas.

This is a company that manufactures additives for fuel. You can see tremendous flames rising up from the ground there. The police department there has told CNN there are no reports of anyone injured. You can clearly see they've moved a lot of people some distance away.

So, these images show what it was looking like earlier when it was really boiling away. But, again, no reports of injuries, no reports of threats to anyone apparently outside of this facility. Right now, firefighters are simply trying to bring it under control.

And when you're dealing with a fuel fire, that is very, very difficult to do because of the fact that water can spread the fuels which tend to float on the surface of the water.

And joining me now I'm told on the phone is Mayor Nick Dixon.

Mayor, thank you very much for joining us. What can you tell us on the latest on the situation there in your city?

MAYOR NICK DIXON, MONT BELVIEU, TEXAS (via telephone): All I've been told -- I'm not in Mont Belvieu right now -- but I've been told was there's a tank explosion from Enterprise west storage.

SAVIDGE: Have you seen or can you see in any way what is boiling up there?

DIXON: I just -- I can se the flames from where I'm at, and that's it.

SAVIDGE: And what do we know as far as -- did you have to evacuate or are there any evacuation orders that are likely to go out as a result?

DIXON: Well, where this location is is on the west size of the city. So, my chief of police has not notified me of any evacuation orders right now. But he has notified, let me know, that there was three unaccounted operators that they have not found. Unaccounted for.

SAVIDGE: I see. Well, that's new information, then. You say there are three people that are at this point unaccounted for.

DIXON: That's what I've been told.

SAVIDGE: Tell us about this facility. What does this company do and how long have they been doing it in your community?

DIXON: Enterprise has been there for probably 25 years or better. They're a huge fractionating -- they are large fractionating company that fractionates LPG, liquid petroleum.

SAVIDGE: And have they had any problems in the past?

DIXON: I don't remember any. They've -- they're a well-known company. They're very safe in their operations. So, like I say, I don't have any extent of what went on this morning.

SAVIDGE: All right. Mayor, I've got -- Rick Rainey, who is a spokesperson for the company, who is joining us in this conversation.

Mr. Rainey, are you there?

RICK RAINEY, ENTEPRISE PRODUCTS SPOKESMAN (via telephone): Yes.

SAVIDGE: Tell us, sir, what you know regarding what's happened here at your plant.

RAINEY: Well, shortly after noon our time, Central Time today, we experienced a fire at our west storage facility at our Mont Belvieu complex. This is a facility that stores natural gas liquids. We currently have our personnel on site, our mutual aid, part of a mutual aid group, that are fully trained to deal with these types of situations, and they are in the process of bringing the situation -- or trying to control the fire.

We're also in the process of trying to make sure all of the workers are accounted for. There still is one person who has not been confirmed -- who has been accounted for, although he was seen leaving the facility. But we still need to confirm that.

There has been one school in the area that has been -- that has been told to shelter in place. However, there have been no evacuations that we're aware of any nearby residences. This occurred roughly 30 miles east of Houston, and we are also in the process of making sure that we can stop the flow of product into the complex through the various pipelines that feed the facility.

SAVIDGE: Mr. Rainey, let me ask you this. You clarified for us the situation regarding those people unaccounted for. We had originally, according to -- the mayor said there were three. You say it's only one person now. Everyone else has been accounted for?

RAINEY: There is one person that we -- that we are still trying to account for. That's what we have currently on our -- as part -- in our -- in our search of the individuals that were on site that we knew of at the time, there is one that we're trying to confirm.

SAVIDGE: What about injuries or fatalities? Any reports of those?

RAINEY: No injuries. No fatalities that we have yet.

SAVIDGE: And -- of course, that's good news. As far as what is burning and the smoke we see in the air, is there a hazard publicly?

RAINEY: There -- we don't believe that there is a -- there is not actually a hazard as far the -- what is burning. This is -- these are natural gas liquids, which are basically what is in the -- when you drill for natural gas, the liquids that come out of the ground. What this facility does is store those and when they come out the ground, they basically vaporize and are burned off. So, they're no danger to the public or environmental issues to be concerned with.

SAVIDGE: And what's the plan of action from here? I mean, do you simply let it burn out? Or is it something that you do try to go in and extinguish?

RAINEY: Well, actually, we're doing -- that's what we're evaluating right now. We're trying to -- we have our people in right now it trying to determine, you know, the source of where the fire is coming from, whether we're looking at pipelines or we're looking at, if -- you know, if it's coming out of storage in the ground. And then that will determine how we decide to proceed in bringing this under control.

SAVIDGE: All right. Well, thank you very much.

We've been talking to Rick Rainey, who is a corporate spokesman, and we've also been talking to the mayor of Mont Belvieu -- with the latest information, one person unaccounted for, no injuries, no deaths. And what a big fire.

We'll take a break. We'll be back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: We were telling you about those foods that you've got to eat. Well, unfortunately, time got away with us with the breaking news. If you want to look at them, we'll have more tomorrow. Also, you can look at them now at CNN.com/Ali. Look at it there on the Web site.

All right. Teens and sexting, it could become an even bigger headache for parents. There's a bilk considered in Texas to change the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor. That means no sex offender tag for teens.

But here's the provision that's really raising eyebrows: offenders would have to take a class on the effects of sexting, kind of like driving school for speeders of. But for this class, they have to bring one of their parents as well.

So, we're putting the question to our "Stream Team." Every day, we invite wonderfully opinionated people with different backgrounds and specialties to weigh in on our question of the day. Should parents be held responsible for their teens' texts?

On the team today is our Roland Martin, HLN's Jane Velez- Mitchell and author of "Addict Nation: An Intervention for America." And then, Pete Dominick, he was with us yesterday, radio host for XM Sirius.

Jane, let me start with you. What do you think of this idea of making the parents be just as responsible as apparently the teen?

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HLN HOST: It's absolutely ridiculous, Marty. It's part of our addiction to incarceration and punishment and crime and punishment. Let's punish everybody. Let's prosecute everybody in America until we're all locked up. We already lock up more people than any other country in the world.

It's that punishment mentality. What would be an emotionally sober approach is to ask what is in our culture that is encouraging this behavior? What's happening with our teenage girls and boys for that matter that's affecting their self-esteem that they feel the need to degrade themselves in this manner to get to the deeper why? We are so reactive as a culture. All we want to do is punish people.

Instead of try to figure out --

SAVIDGE: All right, Jane, let me -- hold it there just for a moment because we want to bring in some others. We're short in time.

Roland, what do you think of this idea?

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Look, first of all, I'm a native of Texas, but this is really a stupid law. If you get a traffic ticket and if a judge sentences you to go to traffic court, or actually go to driver's ed, do you have to bring your parent? No. Typically you're the one who actually goes there. And so, it makes no sense.

Look, I understand you want to educate parents as well, but the child is the one who has committed the offense. They're the ones who should be going to a class.

But to bring the parent? Look, parent, drop the kid off and then pick them up!

SAVIDGE: All right. Well, I've got another idea for you. That is, look -- well, go ahead, Pete. Go ahead.

PETE DOMINICK, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, listen, we have to outlaw sex in this country. You shouldn't have sex. No one should ever have sex. You shouldn't even draw a picture of a naked person.

MARTIN: OK. Time to go.

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What about all the porn the adults are watching? Why don't we ask where do kids getting this idea? Because millions of dads and brothers and sons are watching porn.

SAVIDGE: So, let me ask -- let me ask you this --

DOMINICK: What's worse in this country, sex or violence? Then you have to outlaw YouTube, you have to outlaw webcams, cameras, everything. Making this a crime? Then you have to make sex a crime.

SAVIDGE: But what if this took place -- say that your child, the teen, in a classroom disrupted the class by stripping down and going naked, or making sexual innuendos to the teacher, wouldn't the parent be called in and told to say, hey, what's going on here? What is the difference simply because the device is a phone?

DOMINICK: Stripping down in class is a lot, Marty, is a lot different than taking a picture and sending it, obviously. But I have two little girls myself. You have to be -- you have to teach them what's right and hope that they listen, period.

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Where do you draw the line? If a girl goes to the beach and takes a picture of herself in a bikini and sends it, are her parents going to be prosecuted? It's absurd.

SAVIDGE: All right. There we go.

MARTIN: Martin, the issue here is --

SAVIDGE: Roland, go ahead. Last word.

MARTIN: Again, the issue here is not a parent being responsible and talking with their child. What the law simply saying is, if a child goes to a class, parent has to attend the class. And again, the person who is doing the sexting, they should be the one who has to go to the class. That makes sense. But to require a parent there, oh, come on, give me a break!

SAVIDGE: All right. Well, thanks to all three of you. There's nothing like sex to bring out a good conversation. So, we appreciate all of you participating. Thanks.

MARTIN: And I'm going to -- I'm going to send Pete a text right now.

SAVIDGE: Well --

DOMINICK: I'm actually sending you a picture.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Just don't sext me, Roland.

SAVIDGE: We've got to go. All right. That's it for now. CNN NEWSROOM will continue right after this break with Brooke Baldwin.