a bizarre revelation as police investigate the murder of byrd and melanie billings. a reported attempt to make millions off the names of the children. also, michael jackson's father says his son's death was no accident. who joe jackson blames and why. plus, what's all the fuss about president obama's pants? not the ones he's wearing here. we're going to show you what which ones are stirring an awful lot of chatter. do you believe it? i'm christi paul. thank you so much for sharing your time and keeping me company here. this is hln "news and views." i do want to take you to some live pictures out of atlanta right now. we're getting word of a suspicious package. this is near a train station

here. a spokeswoman says police are investigating this package and the train station and nearby areas have apparently been evacuated. you see all the emergency vehicles, fire trucks that are gathered there. this is the city's famous peach tree road. it's closed in both directions. so, if you know anything about this neighborhood, you know this is a main, main thoroughfare, probably going to cause a lot of havoc, but we are going to try to get more information about a suspicious package in atlanta. meanwhile, investigators say the murders of byrd and melanie billings were carefully choreographed for about a month and that the suspects allegedly did a dry run at the couple's home. the court documents also show financial ties between the billingses and this man, leonard gonzalez jr. he is the suspected mastermind. a pensacola newspaper is even suggesting a new possible motive -- murder for hire. here's susan candiotti.

>> reporter: was it a murder for hire? is it possible someone put out a hit and byrd and melinda billings? before the sheriff es denied it. not anymore. >> we're not taking any motive, if you will, off the table. >> reporter: a possible contract hit is something the billings' grown daughter finds inconceivable. do you know of anyone who wanted to do harm to your parents? >> my parents were wonderful people. i can't imagine somebody having that magnitude of hate in their life. >> reporter: cnn has now learned the group did a dry run at the house a month before the murders. but the sheriff says it was not captured on the home security cameras. on the day of the crime, he says suspects stole not only a safe but also a briefcase filled with personal papers. both items were recovered from the home of pamela wiggins, who's charged with accessory after the fact to murder. in a newly released police affidavit, suspected mastermind

leonard gonzalez jr. allegedly spoke of knowing the victims and receiving past financial support for the opening of a martial arts studio. the family attorney suggests it may have been one of many donation s the billings made to the community. investigators also believe gonzalez jr. was once on billings' payroll. >> mr. gonzalez worked, i think, for an automobile dealership. again, we're verifying that information, that he worked with one of the companies that mr. billings owned an interest in. >> reporter: there's also new information about the crime scene. police documents indicate the couple was killed in their bedroom. and for the first time their daughter says they kept no guns inside the house. you must have gone over this in your head a million times. >> i play it over every -- every second of every day. you know, you just -- you think about was there pain, was -- you know, were they scared, the

children. it just -- it plays in my mind constantly. >> reporter: while the billings' daughter is talking about trying to get things back to normal for her nine brothers and sisters, the sheriff is talking about making at least one more arrest. susan candiotti, cnn, pensacola, florida. want to share this footnote with you regarding the billings' murders, as well, that we've learned. documents from the florida department of children and families show this bizarre attempt, apparently, by byrd billings to copyright the children's names and that he sought payment from the department of children and families when their names were used. in one document, he demanded $10 million in civil or federal reserve notes of equal value. we'll keep you updated on this story, obviously. meanwhile, michael jackson's death was no accident. this is according to his father, joe jackson, who pointed the finger at dr. conrad murray last night, though he didn't mention

his son's doctor by name. police have said murray is not a suspect, we want to clarify, but joe jackson told cnn's larry king his son's doctor gave him something to sleep and he never woke up. and he claimed the doctor ran after the singer died. >> larry: do you frankly think that drugs were involved in your son's life? >> something happened there, larry. not just drugs. something else behind all of that. >> larry: and what do you mean? what are you thinking? >> well, i'm thinking that there's foul play. yeah. that's what i'm thinking. >> larry: explain that. foul play meaning what? somebody trying to harm him? >> of course. >> now, murray has not responded to jackson's accusations, we should point out, but his attorney has denied earlier reports that the doctor was in hiding. murray was interviewed by police two days after jackson's death. also appearing on larry king live with joe jackson last night

was a former promoter for michael jackson, leonard roe, and he claims the organizers of michael jackson's upcoming concerts, aeg live, may have been irresponsible by hiring a full-time doctor is to stay with michael jackson around the clock. >> larry: so, you're implying foul play by sending a doctor there? >> no, larry. let me say this. michael jackson was addicted. you understand that. we all know that. >> larry: right. okay. >> it's not a secret. would you put a cocaine seller in the house with a cocaine addict? >> larry: are you saying they put a cocaine seller in the house, the doctor was selling cocaine? >> i didn't say that, larry, but he was able to administer drugs. >> now, earlier this month, the ceo of aeg told anderson cooper it was jackson himself who demanded a personal doctor. >> as producers of the show, it made no sense with the doctors and what you have in london. >> michael jackson demanded that. >> he demanded. >> that wasn't a doctor you

selected. that was a doctor he -- >> michael said to me you don't -- because i took one last shot of talking him out of -- and it has nothing to do with dr. murray. no judgments whatsoever. i said to michael, michael, we're spending too much money. it doesn't make sense. he said, you don't understand. my body is the machine that fuels this whole business, okay? i need that kind of attention. and you know what? when michael jackson says that to you, and there's this much at stake, you don't argue. >> and michael jackson's toxicology reports, by the way, are expected next week, and as soon as we get them, we'll obviously bring them to you. meanwhile, have you heard about this one? the senate is considering a measure that would let people carry concealed weapons across state lines as long as carriers obey the gun laws in the states they visit. south dakota republican john thune wants it to be an amendment to a $680 billion defense spending bill. he says it will allow citizens to protect themselves while respecting individual state laws. gun control advocates say lit strip the states of their rights and determine who can carry concealed weapons there.

so, give us your thoughts on this one, won't you, regarding this legislation? do you think those with concealed permits in one state should be able to travel to other states with their weapons? or maybe you think it increases the number of guns in your community. either way, we want to know your view on this, so give us a call, won't you, at 1-877-tell-hln, or e-mail us at cnn.com/hln. you can text us, as well, text the word "views" plus your comments and name to hlntv. standard text rates do apply. but we'd love to hear from you, so thank you for chiming in. we'll be airing some of your responses all day today. a hollywood star is trying to get a happy ending to dozens of kids stuck in the middle of a swim club controversy. who's helping them out now.

well, military officials tell cnn they believe this captured soldier, bowe bergdahl,

is still being held in afghanistan but they're not sure if he was ever moved into neighboring pakistan. a senior military official says the pentagon had no intention of announcing bergdahl's disappearance until learning the bbc was expected to break the story. now, the family had been notified, and they aren't speaking to the press, but the sheriff of bergdahl's idaho hometown says they've been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support here. >> everything about our community is, you know, we are a tight group, you know, the community just jumps right into action immediately. you know, everywhere you drive are yellow ribbons and they're passing yellow ribbons out. and, you know, that is comforting, you know, that all that positive energy, you know, all their prayers are going in both directions. >> seems like a special community there, doesn't it. the yellow ribbons, by the way, are a silent show of support here. residents of bergdahl's hometown are generally refusing to talk about his capture, fearing any remarks might hurt the possibility of his safe return.

so, obviously they're being very cognizant there. we just learned charges will be dropped against a prominent harvard university professor after breaking into his own home. let me explain what happened here as far as we know it. his lawyer says henry louis gates jr. had to force his way into his own home because his front doorjambed. well, police arrived and, according to gates' lawyer, continued to question him after he handed over his driver's license and his harvard i.d. a sergeant wrote in his arrest report that gates yelled at him so he charged gates with disorderly conduct. police and prosecutors leased a joint statement.

>> if a harvard professor is arrested breaking into his own home, it has a certain something about it. on the other hand, as a person of color, one has to wonder whether he was treated as any other harvard professor might be. >> henry louis gates jr., by the way, is a research institute director, award-winning skol already and once named one of the 25 most influential americans. we should point out he's also featured in our own "black in america" series. well, the children in pennsylvania who said a swim club discriminated against their day camp are going to disney world. movie writer and producer tyler perry is footing the bill here. >> if you want to know the celebrity you will be meeting that has paid for your trip to disney world, the celebrity name is -- >> tyler perry! >> perry's website says the kids

will go next month. there's tyler. the camp refused the swim club's invitation to return and says it will pursue a lawsuit. now, the club says the camp was turned away because of safety and crowding concerns. singer chris brown is apologizing to his fans for beating up his ex-girlfriend, rihanna. i want to share the video he posted hon his website. >> i wish i had the chance to live those few moments again, but unfortunately i can't. i can not go into what happened, and most importantly, i am not going to sit here and make any excuses. i take great pride in me being able to exercise self-control, and what i did was inexcusable. i am very sad and very ashamed of what i've done. >> now, brown says he has repeatedly apologized to rihanna as well. a police report says he tried to push her from a car and repeatedly hit and choked her. he pleaded guilty to felony assault charges and he'll be sentenced on august 5th now. well, something has apparently hit the planet jupiter. we're talking something big here, people.

astronomers think it may be a comet. nasa got this image from its infrared telescope in hawaii, and that scar it shows there is about the size of earth. in the atmosphere near jupiter's south pole, that's where this is. an amateur astronomer tipped off nasa about this collision. the images come exactly 15 years, though, after the shoemaker/levy nine comment made a spectacular impact on jupiter's atmosphere, as well. when president obama threw out the first pitch at the all-star game, he had apparently one strike against him but it had nothing to do with his wind-up. why he's not making any apolo apologi apologies.

why don't i give you an update on a suspicious package that was found on atlanta's pea peachtree streets, a main thoroughfare in the city. the all-clear has been made so we assume that package turned out to be nothing. the train station and nearby areas had been evacuated as a caution, but apparently people are being allowed to go back to where they were. president obama, meanwhile, is about to talk to the press about health care reform and what's become really an almost daily push to get it through congress by august. once he's done, he'll head into a meeting with some house democrats, no reporters allowed. the president and democratic members of the house energy and commerce committee are will try

to hammer out some of the differences here. party conservatives are balking over the costs of the reform package among err issues. republicans contend obama is in too big of a hurry. but the president says the nation's poor cannot afford to wait. a car broke out in flames and good ma sa mar tans came to the rescue. >> step back! there's a baby in there! >> can you imagine a mother and her two young children were trapped inside. now, a crowd, including two off-duty firefighters, bless their hearts, wasted no time here. two people used pipes to break a windshield. one fireman used a knife to cut the 4-year-old free from his car seat. >> if it wasn't for, you know, the citizens that were bashing that window open that gave us access to the child, things would have been different. if that person didn't come forward with that pocket knife, things would have been different. if that lady didn't come through

with that garden hose, you know, the burns sustained to that child would have been much more severe. >> thank goodness for those people there. police say the boy is in critical condition with burns over 30% of his body, and firefighters were treated with burns to their hands and their arms. good people in that neighborhood, obviously. well, the former miss california usa who was stripped of her title is releasing a memoir. a conservative publishing house says carrie prejean's book will be titled "still standing." she believes she lost the crown because she opposed same-sex marriage. now, the pageant said prejean was skipping scheduled events and holding unsanctioned speeches. prejean's replacement also says she believes marriage should be between a man and a woman as well. she admits to being a little frumpy, but president obama is making no apologies for a

wardrobe faux pas of sorts. he wore this pair of kind of jeans to throw out the first pitch at the all-star game last week. >> here's my attitude. michelle, she looks fabulous, i'm a little frumpy. you know, basically, up until a few years ago, i only had four suits. she used to tease me because shay'd get really shiny. i hate to shop. those jeans are comfortable. and for those of you who, you know, want your president to, you know, look great in tight jeans, i'm sorry, i'm not the guy. >> now, if you want to see what people are saying about this story, and they're saying a lot, check out our political ticker at cnn.com/ticker. those medical bills, they can be so hard to understand, can't they? hln money expert clark howard says there's a new online tool that can help you track your health expenses. >> you know something? when i get a statement from my insurer about medical bills or i

get one from a doctor or, in the worst case, from a hospital, and i try to understand what's on that bill, i try to understand what my insurance company is trying to tell me on a benefit statement that i received, i'm clueless. and it's a hard thing because even people in the medical field have trouble figuring out what is actually going on with the bills. and if you're responsible for a lot of the cost, it can be big bucks out of your pocket. so, what can you do about it? well, the folks at quicken have a new online tool you can use that's called quicken health expense tracker. and you can use it to make sure that the bills you're receiving are, in fact, coded properly and you're being billed right. i like that. i'm clark howard. for more ways for you to see smart with your wallet, go to cnn.com/clarkhoward. and you know you can watch clark every saturday and sunday at noon and 4:00 p.m. eastern right here on hln.

new details in the killings of byrd and melanie billings. the florida couple with a huge family has a strange twist.

well, the investigators say the murderer s of byrd and mela billings were carefully choreographed for about a month and the suspects rehearsed the attack at the couple's home. investigators say that dry run just wasn't caught on surveillance cameras as was the actual event that you're seeing here. court documents also show financial ties between the billings and this man, leonard gonzalez jr. he's the suspected mastermind here. gonzalez told investigators he received money from the couple in order to open a martial arts studio. a pensacola newspaper is suggesting a new possible motive, murder for hire. cnn's john king asked the county sheriff about that speculation on last night's ac 360.

>> we understand that was within a year, i believe. i have not read those documents. my staff briefed me on it today, again, because they're currently working with the state attorney's office to get all our documents and evidence together in preparation for the grand jury. but to the best of my recollection, that was within a year ago that he helped finance the opening of the martial arts school for mr. gonzalez jr. >> is there a possibility, the focus of the investigation, a possibility that mr. gonzalez had a debt that he was unwilling or unable to pay and perhaps the murder was related to that? >> we have yet to determine that. again, as i've stated to many people many times we're not investigating the billings family. we're investigating those subjects that we currently have incarcerated. so, the investigation may, in fact, lead to that because we will be asking those questions wi about was the debt ever sat fied. >> this odd footnote we've

discovered to the murders. documents from the florida department of child and families show a bizarre attempt, it seems, by byrd billings to copyright the children's names, and in doing so, he sought payment from the department of children and families when their names were used. his daughter said this was his way to protect his kids. >> i don't know a lot about that. i've heard -- i've heard the reports. i know that the copyright, what i believe was -- he was doing to protect the rights of the children. they're a large family, and even low c local media coverage, as far as i know, it was to protect the rights of the children. >> in one document, he demanded $10 million in silver or federal reserve notes th s of equal val. moving on to michael jackson. his death was no accident. this is according to his father, joe jackson, who pointed a finger at dr. conrad murray last night, though he didn't mention

his son's doctor by name. but we should point out police have said dr. murray is not a suspect here. joe jackson told cnn's larry king his son's doctor gave him something to sleep and he never woke up. and he claimed the doctor ran after the singer died. >> larry: so, you're implying foul play by sending a doctor to you? >>, larry. let me say this to you. michael jackson was addicted. you understand that. we all know that. >> larry: right. okay. >> it's not a secret. would you put a cocaine seller in the house with a cocaine addict? >> larry: are you saying they put a cocaine seller in the house, the doctor was selling cocaine?

that was larry rowe claiming aeg may have been irresponsible by hiring a full-time doctor to stay with jackson around the clock. in other words, we want to hear now from aeg about what leonard rowe was just contending. >> as producers of the show, it made no sense with the doctors and what you have in london. >> michael jackson demanded that. >> he demanded. >> that wasn't a doctor you selected. that was a doctor he -- >> michael said to me you don't -- because i took one last shot of talking him out of -- and it has nothing to do with dr. murray. no judgments whatsoever. i just said to michael, michael, we're spending too much money. it doesn't make sense. he said, you don't understand. my body is the machine that fuels this whole business, okay? i need that kind of attention. and you know what? when michael jackson says that to you, and there's this much at stake, you don't argue. >> again, that was the ceo of aeg telling anderson cooper that jackson himself made that demand for a personal doctor. michael jackson's toxicology reports, meanwhile, are expected next week, and obviously we'll

report them as soon as we get them. meanwhile, singer chris brown is apologizing to his fans for beating up his ex-girlfriend, rihanna. i want to share the video he posted hon his website. >> i wish i had the chance to live those few moments again, but unfortunately i can't. i can not go into what happened, and most importantly, i am not going to sit here and make any excuses. i take great pride in me being able to exercise self-control, and what i did was inexcusable. i am very sad and very ashamed of what i've done. >> now, brown says he has repeatedly apologized to rihanna as well. a police report says he tried to push her from a car and repeatedly hit and choked her. he pleaded guilty to felony assault charges and he'll be sentenced on august 5th. military officials tell cnn they believe this captured soldier, bowe bergdahl, is still being held in afghanistan, but they're not sure if he was ever moved into neighboring pakistan.

a senior military official says the pentagon had no intention of announcing bergdahl's disappearance until learning the bbc was expected to break the story. now, the family had been notified, and they aren't speaking to the press, but the sheriff of bergdahl's idaho hometown says they've been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support. >> everything about our community is, you know, we are a tight group, you know, the community just jumps right into action immediately. you know, everywhere you drive are yellow ribbons, and they're passing yellow ribbons out. and, you know, that is comforting, you know, that all that positive energy, you know, all their prayers are going in bowe's direction. >> the yellow ribbons, by the way, are a silent show of support. residents of bergdahl's hometown are generally refusing to talk about his capture, fearing any remarks might hurt the possibility of his safe return. today's deadline for deciding what to do with terror suspects will come and go without an answer. senior white house officials say a task force hasn't finished planning how terror suspects will be detained or tried at the

guantanamo bay shuts down. the report has been pushed back six months, we understand. the president is already taking heat from the aclu but holding suspects indefinitely. remember the day camp who said a swim club discriminated against them? they're going to disney world. >> if you want to know the name, it is -- >> tyler perry. >> the camp refused the swim club visitations to return and says it will pursue a lawsuit. the club says the camp was turned away because of safety and crowding concerns. well, the first human trial for a swine flu vaccine begins tomorrow in australia. the company csl limited says 240 people have volunteered to take part here and they'll each get

two shots three weeks apart, then their blood will be tested to see if they're generating an immune response to h1n1 virus. this flu, of course, is spreading so rapidly with the world health organization going to -- says it's going to stop counting cases and focus, instead, on looking for unusual patterns. washington's famous watergate hotel now on the auction block. if you're interested, you'll need a million-dollar deposit at the time of the sale. the auctioneers say both american and international hotel chains and developers have expressed interest here. a 30-day foreclosure notice expired last week. the hotel's owner, monument realty, apparently defaulted on its loan and owes $40 million on the property. the watergate hotel became a household name, remember, after the 1972 burglary that led to president richard nixon's resignation. something apparently hit the planet jupiter. take a look at this. it is huge. astronomers think it may have been a comet, and nasa got this

image from its infrared telescope in hawaii and that scar you see there is actually about the size of earth. it's in the atmosphere near jupiter's south pole. an amateur astronomer tipped nasa off about the collision. it comes 15 years after another comet made impact on jupiter's atmosphere. the arrest of a harvard professor has some people accusing police of racial profiling. within the last hour, though, we heard charges have been dropped. but details on the disputed arrest.

well, prosecutors, we've learned, will not pursue charges against renowned harvard professor henry louis gates jr. who was arrested after breaking into his own home. in the last hour, the city of cambridge released a conciliatory statement calling it an unfortunate set of circumstances, but our affiliate wcbv tells us how something like this could happen in the first place. >> reporter: in the police booking report, harvard professor henry louis gates jr. in black and white, the mug shots raising concern among some of his cambridge neighbors about police response and racial profiling. >> i think it's a disgrace that somebody would call the police on him just trying to get into his own house. >> reporter: last thursday afternoon, a woman walking on ware street called police to report a man trying to pry open the front door to professor gates' house. apparently, the professor was having trouble with his front door. when police arrived, gates was already inside. in a written statement, gates'

attorney law professor charles ogletree said -- >> you can't necessarily fault someone for trying to help or protect someone if they thought a break nu was happening. at the same time, you know, he's lived here for quite a long time. >> reporter: gates then says the officer left the house without giving him his name. but he asked for the gentleman's information, to which he stated, no, i will not. there were reports that gates was shouting to the sergeant that he was racist, yelling, this is what happens to black men in america. one of the nation's pre-eminent african-american scholars, he is the director of w.e.b. dubois' institute. gates claimed the police refused to listen as to why he was there and he was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. >> we've heard it before. and, you know, you can almost wonder would we be hearing so much about it if it wasn't so prominent a person. >> our thanks to our affiliate

reporting there. we would like to point out gates is featured in the cnn series "black in america." once again, we want to just clarify that the city is dropping charges against gates saying all parties agree that would be a, quote, just resolution. i'm jane velez-mitchell and here's my issue. let me pose a question. if you, sitting at home, were convicted of a senseless violent crime and served time behind bars for it, do you think you'd get your old job back when you got out of jail? probably not, right? well, disgraced nfl star michael vick apparently thinks he should. he has completed his sentence for a dogfighting ring and hopes to get back to playing football. but there's a difference between the court of law and the court of public opinion. vick's crime was not a momentary lapse or a single angry outburst. it was a long-term, large criminal enterprise involving brutal violence against dogs including electrocution and

drowning. until vick can show us that he has truly ridden himself of that sadism, he does not deserve to get back in the league. i'm jane velez-mitchell, and that's my issue. >> find out what else jane has on her mind. watch "issues" every night at 7:00 on hln. when president obama threw out the first pitch at the baseball all-star game, apparently he had one strike against him. it had nothing to do with his wind-up, people. why he's not making any apologies.

president obama is about to talk to the press about health care reform and what's become an almost daily push for congress next month. once he's done he'll head into a meeting with house democrats, no reporters allowed. the members of the house energy and commerce committee will try to hammer out some differences here. party conservatives, meanwhile, are balking over the cauost of reform package among other issues. the republican contends the president is too big a hurry and he says the nation's poor cannot afford to wait. the senate is considering a

measure that would let people carry concealed weapons across lines as long as carriers obey the gun laws in the states they visit. south carolina republican john thune wants it to be an amendment to a $680 billion defense spending bill. he says it will allow citizens to froekt themselvprotect thems respecting individual states' laws. gun control advocates say it will strip the states of their rights to determine who can carry concealed weapons in that state. so, what do you think of this? do you believe that those with concealed permits in one state should be able to travel to other states with their weapons, or maybe you think it increases the number of guns in your community? either way, this is your segment, and we want to give you a chance to tell us how you feel. call us at 1-877-tell-hln. or e-mail us at cnn.com/hln. you can text us, too. text "views" plus your comments and name to hlntv. standard text rates do apply, by the way. but we're so glad that you take part in our conversations here. it means a lot to us so, thank

you for doing so. we'll air your responses throughout the day. i do want to share with you just some remarkable video of this car that broke out in flames, and the good samaritans that game to the rescue. look at this. >> stand back! >> there's a baby in there! >> a mother and her two young children were trapped inside. now, a crowd, including two off-duty firefighters, wasted no time here. look at all the people coming to their aid. two people used pipes to break the windshield. one fireman used a knife to cut the 4-year-old free from his car seat. >> if it wasn't for, you know, the citizens that were bashing that window open that gave us access to the child, things would have been different. if that person didn't come forward with that pocket knife, things would have been different. if that lady didn't come through with that garden hose, you know, the burns sustained to that child would have been much more severe. >> police say the boy is in

critical condition with burns over 30% of his body, and firefighters were treated with burns to their hands and their arms. bless all those people's hearts coming to the rescue there. we have this just in. the senate has side would the obama administration to cut off new funding for additional f-22 fighter jets. the vote came down 58-40. congress had inserted the spending provision in the defense budget, despite insistence from president obama and defense secretary robert gates that the additional planes aren't needed or wanted by the military. now, resistance to ending the programs have been fierce. for many lawmakers the f-22 means thousands of jobs for their states or their district. he admits to being a little frumpy. president obama is making no apologies for a recent wardrobe faux pas of sorts. it all started when he wore this

pair of high-waisted jeans to throw out the all-star pitch last week. >> here's my attitude, michelle, she looks fabulous. i'm a little frumpy. you know, basically. up until a few years ago, i only had four suits. she used to tease me because they'd get really shiny. i hate to shop. those jeans are comfortable and for those of you who, you know, want your president to, you know, look great in his tight jeans, i'm sorry, i'm not the guy. >> if you want to see what people are saying about this story, check out our political ticker at cnn.com/ticker. we are all, feeling the pinch from the shaky economy and just been a long time, hasn't it? are you getting a little weary here? hln expert clark howard wants to help you out. submit your i-report and you could be selected to be profiled on our network and get advice from america's money coach.

learning foreign languages from scratch, that would be tough, particularly for adults, wouldn't you think? forget french and spanish, we're talking about mastering one of the most difficult languages in the world in less than a year.

more details in the investigation into a florida couple's murder. police say the suspect s on surveillance video are seen there rehearsed the home invasion. rehearsed it at the home of byrd and melanie billings. the senate considers a new law to let gunowners carry concealed weapons across state lines. it would let owners protect itself while it would endanger millions of lives. your views on this controversial bill. and taking the fight against drugs to the source. the u.s. military goes after the taliban's ability to make heroin in dramatic fashion. you see it there. we're so glad you're watching

hln news and views on this tuesday, i'm susan hen driks. we want to get you updated now. we start in florida. investigators say the murders of byrd and melanie billings were carefully corgraphed for about a month and that the suspects allegedly rehearsed the attack at the couple's home. that dry run wasn't caught on surveillance cameras. court documents also show financial ties between the billings and this man. leonard gonzalez jr. the suspected mastermind of this. gonzalez told investigators he received money from the couple in order to open a marshal arts studio. meanwhile, a pensacola newspaper is suggest agnew possible motive, murder for hire. cnn's john king asked the county sheriff about that speculation on last night's "ac 360." >> that was within a year, i believe. i have not read those documents. my staff briefed me on it today, again, because they're currently working with the state's attorney office to get all of our documents and information together in preparation for the

grand jury. to the best of my recollection, that was within a year ago that he helped finance the opening of the marshal arts school for mr. gonzalez jr. >> a possibility that the focus of the investigation, the possibility that mr. gonzalez had a debt that he was unwilling or unable to pay and perhaps the murder was related to that? >> we have yet to determine that. again, as i've stated to many people many times, we're not investigating the billings' family, we're investigating those subjects that we have currently incarcerated. the investigation may lead to that because we will be asking those questions. was the debt that he made ever satisfied, but, again, our focus is on mr. gonzalez. >> well, here is an odd footnote to the billings' murders. documents from the department of florida children and family show a bizarre attempt by byrd billings to copyright the children's names and that he sought department from the department of child and family when their names were used. his daughter said it was his way to protect the kids.

>> i don't know a lot about that, i've heard, i've heard the reports. i know that the copyright, what i believe was what he was doing to protect the rights of the children. they're a large family and even local media coverage, they were to protect the rights of the children. >> now, in one document he demanded $10 million in silver or federal reserve notes of equal value. we'll keep you posted on this story. we want to get you caught up on this. just in to hln an amber alert in effect for a 14-year-old girl in texas. diana was last seen around 6:00 p.m. on monday. or they believe she may be with this one man victor garcia. she was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants and he has a tattoo

on his neck. he should be considered dangerous. anyone with any information should contact the police immediately if they've seen this man. president obama. >> than ever before to the reform that the american people need and we're going to get the job done. i have urged congress to act and health care reform bills making their way through the committees in the house and the senate reflect a hard-earned consensus on how to move forward. >> next he will head into a meeting with some house democrats. no reporters are allowed, by the way. the president and democratic members of the house energy and commerce committee will hammer

out their remaining differences. party conservatives are balking over the costs of the reform package among other issues, as well. republicans contend that obama is in too big of a hurry but the president said the nation's uninsured cannot afford to wait. well, the senate is considering a measure that would let people carry concealed weapons across state lines as long as carriers obey the gun laws in the states they visit. south dakota republican john thune wants it to be an amendment to a $680 billion defense spending bill. it will allow citizens to protect themselves while respecting individual state laws. gun control advocates say it will strip the states of their rights to determine who can carry concealed weapons there. tell us what you think about this legislation. do you think those with concealed weapons permits in one state should be able to travel to other states with their weapons or maybe you think it increases the number of guns in your community. either way, we want your view on this. give us a call, 877-tell-hln and

e-mail us cnn.com/hln and text us, as well. text the word views plus your comments and name to hlntv. standard text rates apply and we'll air some of your responses. we always appreciate them. michael jackson's death was no accident. that's according to his father. joe jackson pointed a finger at dr. conrad murray last night, although he didn't mention his son's doctor by name, police say murray is not a suspect. joe jackson told larry king his son's doctor gave him something to make him sleep and he never woke up. t >> do you frankly think that drugs were involved in your son's life? >> something happened there, larry. it wasn't just only drugs. there was something else behind all of that. >> what do you mean? what are you thinking? >> well, i'm thinking that there's foul play. yeah. that's what i'm thinking.

>> but explain that. foul play meaning what? somebody trying to harm him? >> of course. >> murray hasn't responded to jackson's accusation but his attorney has denied earlier reports the doctor was ever in hiding. we want to take you right now to cambridge, massachusetts. we're talking about that harvard professor who was arrested in his own home. let's take a listen. >> my own view, i think is that's a good question. what went wrong, personally, you had two human beings that were reacting to a set of circumstances and, unfortunately, at the time, cooler heads did not prevail. >> should the professor have been arrested? >> there was probable cause for the arrest. >> will there be any further investigation into the action of the officer and what happens now? >> well, i think that it's fair to say that commissioner hoss is always improving the officer os in the department and always

learning from experiences that we have occurring in the city of cambridge and with our citizens. so, to that extent, i think we do intend to try to learn from this incident and if circumstances require, then there will be some further action. what that will be at this time, i can't say. >> a news conference by cambridge police. you're listening to right now. it is regarding henry gates, the harvard professor who was arrested in his own home. there has been charges, accusations, that is, about racial profiling. we'll listen in, once again. >> it was not professor gates' best moment and certainly not the cambridge police department best moment. >> why did it take so long for national attention to be drawn to this story before the charges could be dropped? >> well, since the incident happened only last thursday, i disagree with the characterization that this has take an long time to be resolved. >> it could have happened on friday? >> you're right, it could have. but, again, i would disagree

with the characterization that this took a long time. >> when you say both parties, can you explain what you mean by that? >> well, again, i think, again, as i said in the press release, all the parties agreed this was an incident that was regrettable and hindsight being what it is, i think everyone has viewed this incident as one that we wish had not occurred. it wasn't the best moment for anyone involved and after looking at all the facts and all the circumstances, all of us have come to the decision that the best thing to do is simply get past it at this point. >> what do you think the police could have done better? >> again, i think that's something we hope to learn from this incident, but i'm not going to speak specifically about what the officer may or may not have done wrong. again, it was the circumstance where cooler heads perhaps should have prevailed, but did not. and after several days, hopefully now they have. >> there have been allegations, direct allegations of bias in

this case. how did you respond to those allegations? >> we strongly respond to that. our position is very firmly that race did not play any factor at all in the arrest of professor gates. >> you say that based on -- >> based on all the facts and circumstances. the investigation that has taken place since this incident took place. >> can you tell us about the officer involved? >> you were listening in right now to a news conference that is a spokeswoman for the cambridge police department. just to give you some background inform agdz on this. on the right-hand side that is a henry gates, a renowned harvard professor apparently when he couldn't get into his front door gates tried to force the door open and try to essentially break into his own home and a neighbor saw what was happening and called the police to report a burglarly. police arrived and he was arrested inside of his own home and the spokeswoman on the left-hand side of your screen said this is a unfortunate and regrettable moment. it's not the best moment for

anyone involved. you see the mug shot of that professor on the right side of your screen. she is saying all the charges have been dropped and she is saying it is a regrettable incident. we'll have much more information.

welcome back. well, a major source of revenue for the taliban and insurgents in afghanistan was detroyed today. take a look. u.s. military planes dropped 1,000-pound bombs on poppy seeds in the helmand province. similar strikes from helicopters, as well. there it is. when it was over, 300 tons of poppy seeds went up in flames. poppy seeds can be used to make opium and heroin. insurgents forced many farmers into growing poppies. it has offered assistance and incentives willing to switch from poppy plants to wheat. you see that there big destroyed. lawmakers in the state of california say they have made a

deal to close the state's more than $26 billion deficit without raising taxes. dan simon is in san francisco with the details on this one. dan, the education system, i understand, taking a big hit here. >> the education system taking a huge hit. $9 billion taken away from education and, overall, this budget package is considered a significant retooling of state government in sacramento. as you said, education taking a huge hit and also medicaid taking a huge hit or medical as they call it in california. that services 6 million individuals in california. families and individuals and senior citizens. arnold schwarzenegger tried to put his best face on it all. >> budgets that have no increases and budgets that are cutting spending and we deal with the entire $26 billion deficit around $50 billion in cuts.

if you're making very happy about the protecting education and education gets fully refunded and also very happy that we make government more efficient and also if you're cutting the waste, fraud and abuse and some of the programs and, so, all around, i think this is really great, great accomplishment. >> governor schwarzenegger saying that education is going to be saved. what he means is eveallventualle the economy recovers, all the money will be reimbursed. $9 billion. not a whole lot of good news coming from this budget, but in terms of some of the good news, if you can call it that the state welfare program governor schwarzenegger proposed eliminating it entirely and much of it will remain in tact and a lot of people concerned that many state parks would be closed, but most of those will remain opened. bottom line $15 billion in cuts to the state budget. of course, as they say, the

devil lays in the details and we don't know what that means in terms of layoffs or reduction in services for many individuals, no doubt, we'll see that. we'll see the full ramifications of all these cuts. suzen? >> he's putting a positive spin on it. interesting to see what happens there, if they do get reimbursed. dan simon in san francisco, thank you. when president obama threw out the first pitch at the all-star game, he had one strike against him. it had nuthing to do with his wind up, though. why he is not making any apologies for what some are calling a wardrobe malfunction.

says it will pursue a lawsuit. the club says the club was turned away because of safety and crowding concerns. the company says cfl

limited, the 240 people who volunteered to take part in this they will each get two shots three weeks apart when their blood will be tested to see if their blood has an immune response. the flu was spreading so rapidly, the world health organization is going to stop counting cases and start looking for unusual patterns. a man flying from phoenix to indianapolis unwittingly took some stow aways on his trip, if you can imagine. he took scorpions. they got into his carry-on bag. at the end of the flight, one stung him on the hand. the sting is poisonous, but usually not deadly. the man was treated at the airport. he is okay. southwest airlines says the scorpions were killed and the plane was fumigated, just in case. something has apparently hit the planet jupiter. something big.

astronomers think it may have been a comet. nasa got this picture. it shows a scar about the size of earth and an amateur astronomer tipped off nasa about the collision. the images come exactly 15 years after the shoemaker made a spectacular impact on jupiter's atmosphere. pretty interesting stuff. medical bills can be pricy and pretty hard to understand, but hln money expert clark howard says there is a new online tool that can help you track your health expenses. >> you know something, when i get a statement from my insurer about medical bills or i get one from a doctor or in the worse case from a hospital and i try to understand what's on that bill, i try to understand what my insurance company is trying to tell me on benefit statement that i received. i'm clueless.

it's a hard thing because even people in the medical field have trouble figuring out what is going on with the bills and if you're responsible for a lot of costs, it can be big bucks out of your pocket. what can you do about it? well, the folks at quicken have a new online tool that you can use that's called quicken health expense tracker and you can use it to make sure that the bills you're receiving are, in fact, coded properly and you're being billed right. i like that. i'm clark howard. for more ways for you to be smart with your wallet, go to cnn.com/clarkhoward. >> or for more great consumer advice tune in every saturday and sunday at noon to 4:00 p.m. eastern time right here at hln news and views. he will help you spend less and avoid getting ripped off. we're talking today about a proposed new law that will let gun owners carry concealed weapons across state lines. supporters of the measure say it

lets gun owners protect themselves. you can bet our viewers are fired up on this one. your views next, don't miss it.

investigators say the murders of byrd and melanie billings were carefully choreographed for about a month and that the suspects even allegedly rehearsed the attack at the couple's home. that dry run was not caught on surveillance camera. court documents also show financial ties between the billings and this man, leonard gonzalez jr., the suspected mastermind. gonzalez told investigators he received money from the couple in order to open a marshal arts studio. the pensacola newspaper is suggesting that a new possible motive exists here. murder for hire. cnn's john king asked the county sheriff about that speculation on last night's "ac 360." >> as we understand, that was

within a year, i believe. i have not read those documents. my staff briefed me on it today. again, because they're currently working with the state attorney's office to get all of our documents and evidence together in preparation for the grand jury. but to the best of my recollection, that was within a year ago that he helped finance the opening of the marshal arts school for mr. gonzalez jr. >> is the focus of the investigation the possibility that mr. gonzalez had a debt that he was unwilling or unable to pay and perhaps the murder was related to that? >> we have yet to determine that. again, as i've stated to many people many times, we're not investigating the billings' family, we're investigating those subjects that we currently have incarcerated. so, the investigation may, in fact, lead to that because we will be asking those questions. was the debt that he made ever satisfied, but, again our focuses is on mr. gonzalez, not on the byrd family. >> here's an odd footnote, as well. documents from the florida department of children and

family show a bizarre attempt by byrd billings to copyright the children's names and he sought payment from the department of children's and families when their names were used. his daughter said it was his way to protect the children. >> i don't know a lot about that. i've heard the reports. i know that the copyright, what i believe was he was doing to protect the rights of the children. they're a large family and they even local media coverage, they were, as far as i know, it was to protect the rights of the children. >> in one document, he apparently demanded $10 million in silver or federal reserve notes of equal value. this just in to hln. we want to get you updated now. a 14-year-old kidnapped texas girl has been found safe and sound. brownsville police have diana in custody and say she was found at

a local motel just about 30 minutes ago. a man is also in custody and police say authorities are on the way to question him. but, again, the amber alert is called off, the girl has been found. it looks like michael jackson's death was no accident. according to his father, at least. joe jackson pointed a finger at dr. conrad murray last night, although he didn't mention his son's doctor by name. police said murray is not a suspect. joe jackson told larry king his son's doctor gave him something to make him sleep and he never woke up. the doctor ran after the singer died. >> the doctor gave him something to make him rest and then he doesn't wake up no more, something is wrong there. the doctor, the doctor, the doctor just somehow, i understand that he left and went to sleep or something, i don't know what happened there. but he tried to bring -- >> are you implying then that the doctor committed foul play? >> something went wrong, something went wrong, larry. because when they try to bring

michael back, he was dead. something went wrong. >> now, murray has not responded to jackson's accusation, but his attorney has denied earlier reports that the doctor was ever hiding. murray was interviewed by police two days after michael jackson's death. toxicology reports are expected next week. we, of course, will have those. also appearing on "larry king live" with joe jackson last night was a former promoter leonard rowe. rowe claimed the organizers of the upcoming london concerts may have been irresponsible by hiring a full-time personal doctor to stay with jackson around the clock. >> so you're implying foul play by sending a doctor there? >> no, larry. let me say this to you. michael jackson was addicted. we all know that, it's not a secret. >> okay. >> would you put a cocaine seller in the house with a cocaine addict? no, you wouldn't do that. >> are you saying the doctor was

selling cocaine? >> i didn't say that, larry. but he was able to administer drugs. >> but earlier this month the ceo of aig told anderson cooper it was michael jackson himself who demanded a personal jackson. >> as producers of the show, it made no -- >> michael jackson demanded that. >> it wasn't a doctor you selected, it was a doctor he wanted. >> i took one last shot, it has nuthing to do with dr. murray, no judgments whatsoever. we're spending too much money, it doesn't make sense. he said, you don't understand, my body is the machine that fuels this whole business. i need that kind of attention. when michael jackson says that, you don't argue. >> joe jackson said he doesn't know where his son's body is being kept and he didn't see the results of the second autopsy

performed at the family's request. police and prosecutors are now dropping charges against a renowned harvard professor in a case that raised some questions regarding racial profiling. henry lewis gates jr. was taken into custody after breaking into his own home. the initial police report said he was so loud and belligerent he was disturbing the peace. a statement released by a colleague of gates said he cooperated and produced i.d. showing who he was. the city of cambridge held a news conference and offered an apology. >> i think that went wrong, personally, is that you had two m human beings reacting to circumstances. and cooler heads should have prevailed. >> there was probable cause for the arrest. >> a statement released by the

city earlier said all parties agreed dropping the charges was a "just resolution to the case." we don't have any reaction from gates yet on the city's decision. pentagon chief robert gates says u.s. troops in afghanistan are sparing no effort to find captured soldier bowe bergdahl and michael mullein says the recovery operation is "extensive with troops going at it 24/7 to get bergdahl back from his taliban captors." the soldier's family has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support. >> everything about our community is, you know, we are a tight group. you know, the community just jumps right into action immediately. you know, everywhere you drive are yellow ribbons and they're passing yellow ribbons out and that is comforting. you know, that all that positive energy, all their prayers are going in bowe's direction.

>> the yellow ribbons seen here are a silent show of support. residents of bergdahl's hometown are not talking about his disappe disappearance. a major source of the taliban was destroyed today. u.s. military planes dropped 1,000-pound bombs on poppy seeds in helmand province. similar strikes from helicopters. there are the explosions there. when it was over 300 tons of poppy seeds went up in flames. poppy seeds can be used to make opium and heroin. the insurgents forced many afghan farmers into selling poppies. farmers willing to switch from poppy plants to wheat. these philadelphia campers may have been denied a few days at a swim club, remember that story, but, hey, who needs a pool when you're going to gizny

world. how these children ended up with the coolest field trip ever.

we are talking about your health and more than 40,000 american men die from prostate cancer every year and many of them are african-americans who are more likely to be diagnose would the disease than any other group. you may be wondering, why is this happening? it remains a puzzle but now some researchers are coming up with clues that could lead to an answer. here's dr. sanjay gupta with today's "health minute."

>> reporter: dr. chile a urologist at howard university and the director of the howard have been trying to solve the prostate cancer in african-americans. blacks are twice as likely to die from the disease and at an earlier age. through a project known as the african-american heredity prostate cancer study they have looked across the country. >> what is the gene making and what makes it a risk factor? >> reporter: by studying their genetic makeup, scientists may better understand why prostate cancer is so deadly in this population. >> if we can clearly identify a genetic marker, it would be very important for screening, possibly even offering proef lattic treatment. >> reporter: researchers have

identified a gene mu titian that has it three times greater in african-american men with a family history. other genetic links that can eventually help them prevent the disease before it occurs. for today's "health minute," i'm dr. sanjay gupta. how is it that a single $440 wheelchair can come to symbolize just about everything that is wrong with our current health care system? the answer is certainly driving clicks and outrage at cnn.com and virginia cha is here with this story and you're getting a whole lot of activity on this one. . hi, virginia. >> that $440 wheelchair that you mentioned actually costs taxpayers more than $1,200, not even to own, but to rent. that's what the supplier is charging the government. this is a case of debbie brown's wheelchair and it is a snapshot

of health care waste. first of all, to add insult to injury, drew griffin who did the investigative piece on this that you can find at cnn.com/video. he was able to buy a new version for $349 from the same supplier. so, why is the supplier still billing medicare $1,200 to rent it? well, congress is the one that sets the rules for how much a wheelchair should be rented for and for how long. today the government does have authority to use competitive bidding and that could drive costs down, right? but congress has been reluctant to allow that competitive building, even though members of both parties say they're in favor of it, but they say they don't like the rules. the government is setting up. an industry group that repres t represents companies that supply things like wheelchairs says the big program would limit patients' choices and increase costs by leading to longer hospital stays and a representative for aarp

disagrees. he says the industry is just trying to protect their profts and that they are ripping off the taxpayers. in the meantime, debbie, she needs a new wheelchair. we'll keep you posted. you can find that at cnn.com/video. >> those are really about the people in need, the ones suffering. we're switching gears, virginia. feel good story of a celebrity that is making a lot of kids happy. >> you remember that really sad story and the one that really got a lot of people their hackles up about the day care camp kids who went to a philadelphia swim club and they were told to leave. now, most of those kids happened to be predominantly african-american, what are they going to do next? they are going to disney world thanks to producer and actor tyler perry. he's footing the bill to send the 65 campers to disney next month. s as you might imagine, the campers, they're kind of excited about this. >> how you all feeling about that? >> good!

>> you're going to disney world! >> yeah! >> perry says he wants the children to know "for every act of evil that a few people will throw at you, millions more will do something kind for them. that's what he says. the day care center director says she's ecstat frequent the children. just a background. several of the children overheard racially tinged comments and then that group of kids were asked to leave. the swim club says that it canceled the kids' privileges because of safety and crowding concerns and not racism. you can get more details at cnn.com. >> i love that. sust a such a great lesson tyler perry is teaching those kids.

if you are a recent college graduate looking for a job in this rough economy, you are not alone. it is certainly hard to stand out from the crowd competing for every position out there. so, one of our i-reporters came up with a very creative way to get his foot in the door. take a look.

♪ to whom it may concern in regard to your job ♪ ♪ for weeks i tried to launch a career ♪ ♪ all i can do is persevere ♪ ♪ so pencil in some notes >> pretty catchy tune, right? the song "hire me." alex joins us now from boston. i have to say, i saw the whole thing. i loved it. i thought it was so creative. that resume/cover letter. how did you come up with the idea? a lot of people would give up after a while after not getting a job. >> i wrote about 12 cover letters and revised them and i wasn't getting any response and i decided to try something new that would make me stand up and i put it online and it became pretty popular. >> very popular, to say the least. you have student loans, no jobs.

you had to make do with what you had in recording this? >> yes. >> what did you use? >> iuse? >> i used an eight-track player a little camcorder, and my guitar. >> even more impressive. and your father, i watched the whole thing, he makes an appearance. is he keeping his fingers crossed hoping you get something. >> yeah. i'm simply looking for an entry-level marketing diop job in the new england area. >> what's the response been so far? any leads after sending this out? >> i've gotten several e-mails, phone call interview requests along with freelance work requests as well. it's been pretty big and i've gotten -- my inbox has been overflowing in the past week. >> your resume is pretty impressive, although this is creative and funny, it's also impressive. you graduated top of your class.

why do you think this is happening? are you blaming it on the economy? >> yeah, i think it's just that everyone right now who is unemployed is applying to a lot of jobs, and the applicant pool is so big that a lot of typical resumes that may have very good candidates may go overlooked. you need to make something to make yourself stand out. >> we know marketing was your major. would you ever consider song writing? >> maybe, but right now i'm just looking for an entry-level marketing position. >> we have a feeling you may get it. thanks so much. >> thank you very much. >> very creative. >> if you have pictures or video of breaking news or just cool stories like alec from your part of the world, go to ireport.com. thanks so much. well, washington's famous watergate hotel is now on the auction block. if you're interested, you need $1 million deposit at the time of the sale. chump change, right? both american and international hotel chains and developers have expressed some interest in it. a 30-day foreclosure notice

expired last week. the hotel's owner, monument realty, defaulted on its loan and owes $40 million. the hotel became a household name after the burglary that led to nixon's resignation. we'll be right back.

more details in the investigation into a florida couple's murder. police say the suspects seen here rehearsed the invasion at the home of byrd and melanie billings. the senate considers a new law that would let gun owners carry concealed weapons across state lines. backers say it would let owners protect themselves. opponents say it would endanger millions of lives. your view on this controversial bill. taking the fight against drugs to the source. the u.s. military goes after the taliban's ability to make heroin, and they do so in dramatic fashion. i hope that tuesday has been good to you so far.

you're watching hln news this tuesday. we're so glad to have you with us. i'm christi paul. thank you for being here. let's talk about president obama because he's talking today to the press about health care reform and what's become an almost daily push it seems to get it through congress by next month. now, he says in spite of key differences, he and lawmakers are finding some common ground. >> we are closer than ever before to the reform that the american people need, and we're going to get the job done. i have urged congress to act in the health care reform bills making their way through the respective committees in the house and senate. they reflect a hard-earned consensus about how to move forward. >> obama's meeting right now with some house democrats. no reporters allowed there. the president and democratic members are going to try to hammer out some of their differences. party conservatives are balking over the cost of the reform package and think president obama is trying to move things along too quickly. >> how do you begin to address

that issue in two weeks' time? it took us a year and a half time to put the medicate program into place. we want to fundamentally reorient one-sixth of our economy in two weeks and that makes no logical sense to me. you're talking about the possibility of reorienting one-sixth of our economy with legislators who haven't even read the legislation. are they going to do to health care what they did with cap and trade. are we going to get amendments at 4:00 in the morning and no one reads them and only after the health and human services department has to begin to implement this craziness we're going to find out exactly what's in the bill? this is not how you do health care. >> now, the president's response to republican critics is that the nation's uninsured can't afford to wait. we want to share some pictures we're getting with you of a helicopter crash in arizona. this is in a remote area about 100 miles north of fz phoenix. we do not know how many people

were on board or how many people have been hurt. there is the chopper as it is down. investigators say the murders of byrd and melanie billings were carefully choreographed for about a month and that the suspects even allegedly rehearsed the attack at the couple's home. investigators say that dry run was not caught on surveillance camera. court documents also show financial ties between the billings and this man. it's leonard gonzalez, jr., the suspected mastermind. he told investigators he received money from the couple in order to open a martial arts studio. a pensacola newspaper is also suggesting a new possible motive, murder for hire. the county sheriff addressed all of that speculation last night. >> we will most assuredly be looking at any business partners that mr. billings had and, of course, we'll coordinate some of these efforts with the billings family to verify those facts, and if there was any confrontation with prior business owners because again we're developing this case as we

go along. >> here is an odd footnote to the murders we've discovered. documents from the florida department of children and families show a bizarre attempt by byrd billings to copyright the children's names which means he then sought payment from the department of children and families when their names were used. for instance, in one document he demanded $10 million in silver or federal reserve notes of equal value. moving on to michael jackson's death, it was no accident. this is according to his father, joe jackson, who pointed a finger at dr. conrad murray last night, though he didn't mention his son's doctor by name. but police have said dr. murray is not a suspect. joe jackson though told cnn's larry ling his son's doctor gave him something to make him sleep and he never woke up, and he claimed the doctor ran after the singer died. >> larry: do you, frankly, think that drugs were involved in your son's life? >> something happened, larry, and it wasn't just only drugs.

there's something else behind all of that. >> larry: what do you mean? where -- what are you thinking? >> well, i'm thinking that there's foul play, yeah. that's what i'm thinking. >> larry: but explain that. foul play meaning what? somebody trying to harm him? >> of course. >> murray has not responded, by the way, to jackson's accusation, but his attorney has denied earlier reports that the doctor was ever in hiding. dr. murray was interviewed by police two days after jackson's death and toxicology reports are expected next week. i want to point out also appearing on "larry king live" with joe jackson last night a former promoter from michael jackson, leonard rowe. rowe claimed the organizers of jackson's upcoming london concerts, aeg live, may have been irresponsible by hiring a full-time personal doctor to stay with jackson around the clock. >> larry: so you're implying foul play by sending a doctor there? >> no, larry. let me say this to you. michael jackson was addicted.

do you understand that? we all know that. >> larry: correct. >> it's not a secret. >> larry: all right. >> would you put a cocaine seller in the house with a cocaine addict? no you wouldn't do that. >> larry: are you saying you put a cocaine seller in the house? the doctor was selling cocaine? >> i didn't say that, larry. he was able to administer drugs. >> now, earlier this month the ceo of aeg told anderson cooper it was actually jackson himself who demanded a personal doctor. here he is. >> as producers of the show, it made no sense with the doctors and what you have in london. >> michael jackson demanded that. >> he demanded. >> that wasn't a doctor you selected. that was a doctor he insisted -- >> michael said to me -- because i took one last shot of talking him out -- it had nothing to do with dr. murray. no judgments whatsoever. i just said to michael, i said, michael, we're spending too much money. it doesn't make sense. he says you don't understand, my body is the machine that fuels this whole business, okay? i need that kind of attention, and you know what?

when michael jackson says that to you and there's this much at stake, you don't argue. >> michael jackson's again, toxicology reports expected next week and he will bring those to you as soon as we get word of what's in them. meanwhile, sony has bid $50 million for the rights to a film based on the rehearsal video, just the rehearsal video, for michael jackson's planned comeback tour. several other movie studios are reportedly making bids as well, but the winning studio will work with aeg live, the company that was promoting the concert. aeg is trying to get back some of the money it lost producing the jackson tour that, of course, never happened. let's get you some politics here. pentagon chief robert gates says u.s. troops in afghanistan are sparing no effort to find captured soldier bowe bergdahl, whom you see here. joint chiefs of staff chairman michael mullen says the recovery operation is, quote, extensive with troops going at it 24/7 to get bergdahl back from his taliban captors. the sheriff of bowe idaho

hometown says the soldier's family has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support. >> everything about our community is -- you know, we are a tight group. you know, the community just jumps right into action immediately. you know, everywhere you drive there are yellow ribbons and they're passing yellow ribbons out and that is comforting. you know, that all that positive energy, you know, all their prayers are going in bowe's direction. >> the yellow ribbons are a silent show of support. residents of bergdahl's hometown are generally refusing to talk about his capture fearing any remarks might hurt the possibility of his safe return obviously. meanwhile, the senate is considering a measure that would let people carry concealed weapon across state lines as long as carriers obey the gun laws in the states they visit. john thune wants it to be an amendment to a $680 billion defense spending bill. he says it will allow citizens

to protect themselves while respecting individual state laws. gun control advocates say it will strip the states of their right to determine who can carry concealed weapons there. so how do you perceive this whole thing? do you think those with concealed permits in one state should be able to travel to other states with their weapons? or maybe you think it increases the number of guns in your community. either way we want to know what your views are here. call us at 1-877-tell-hln. or e-mail us at cnn.com/hln. you can text us, too. the word "views" your comments, your name to hlntv. standard text rates do apply. but thank you so much for being part of our discussion here. that's what it's all about, and we're going to be airing your responses throughout the day. well, a hollywood star is trying to give a happy ending to dozens of kids stuck in the middle of a swim club controversy. we'll tell you who is helping them out and what he's doing.

well, an allclear has been issued in atlanta's buckhead neighborhood after police and fire officials responded to reports of a suspicious package. streets nearby have reopened. main thoroughfare. marta transit officials temporary closed a rail station near where the package was found as a precautionary measure. several businesses had to be evacuated. things are now getting back to normal. police and prosecutors meanwhile are dropping charges against a renowned harvard professor in a case that raised a lot of questions regarding racial profiling. henry lewis gates, jr. was taken into custody after breaking into his own home. the initial police report said he was so loud and belligerent that i was disturbing the peace. a statement released by a colleague of gates says the professor cooperated, produced identification showing who he was, and that the house was his. colleagues of gates and some neighbors immediately suggested

the incident would never have happened if the professor was white. the city of cambridge held a news conference and offered an apology. >> i think that what went wrong personally was that you had two human beings that were reacting to a set of circumstances and, unfortunately, at the time cooler heads did not prevail. >> should the professor have been arrested? >> our position is there was probable cause for the arrest. >> a statement released by the city earlier said all parties agreed dropping the charges was a, quote, just resolution to the case. we don't have any reaction though from gates yet on the city's decision. remember the children in pennsylvania who said a swim club discriminated against their day camp? now they're going to disney world. movie producer and writer tyler perry is footing the bill. >> if you want to know the celebrity that you will be meeting that has paid for your trip to disney world, the celebrity name it -- >> tyler perry!

>> perry's website says the kids were going to get to go next month. the camp refused the swim club's invitation to return there and actually says it will pursue a lawsuit. the club says the camp was turned away because of safety and crowding concerns. well, something has apparently hit the planet jupiter and it is huge. astronomers think it may have been a comet, but nasa got this image from its infrared telescope in hawaii. that scar is about the size of earth. now, an amateur astronomer actually tipped off nasa about the collision and the images comes 15 years after a comet made a spectacular impact. chris brown posts an apology on his website for beating up rihanna. is it too late though? are his fans behind him? "showbiz tonight's" a.j. hammer shares his take on this apology and we'll show it to you.

did you know today is the day that two white house task forces were supposed to report on options for detaining suspects and interrogating them. they both missed the deadline. they say they need another six months for laying out the options for handling suspects at guantanamo bay and other facilities. the president has ordered the detention center to shut down in

january. the task force on interrogation policy got a two-month extension for its report. a major source of revenue for the taliban and insurgents in afghanistan was destroyed today. u.s. military planes dropped 1,000 pound bombs on poppy seeds. there were similar strikes from helicopters as well. look at that thing. when all was said and done, 300 tons of poppy seeds up in flames. poppy seeds can be used to make opium and heroin. insurgents forced many farmers to grow poppies. it's offered assistance to farmers willing to switch from poppy plants to wheat. despite advice from his lawyers, tony alamo says he will take the stand to defend himself at his sex crime child. he's charged with taking underage girls across state lines for sex.

prosecutors rested their case today. last week jurors heard from five former followers who say alamo abused them as girls and they traveled to several states to have sex with him. the defense argues alamo is being targeted for prosecution because the government is anti-christian. if convicted, the 74-year-old could spend the rest of his life in prison. in a video posted on his website, singer chris brown is apologizing to his fans for beating up his ex-girlfriend rihanna. "showbiz tonight's" a.j. hammer has seen this video, and i know a lot of people have, too, and they're wondering is it just too late for this? what do you think? >> well, it has been a month, afterall, a month has passed since chris brown pleaded guilty to beating up rihanna. a lot of people are saying once the legal wrangling was out of the way why didn't he immediately come out and say he was sorry. he said he wanted to speak, his lawyers told him to be quiet. that makes sense when they're working on figuring out the plea deal. but why didn't he come out right

away? some people say it's because they wanted to get away from all of the legal action and not have that association with the criminality plus the michael jackson story broke. he didn't want this to get lost in the shuffle of that. that's quieted down a bit. perhaps that's why it's being released now, but he certainly did have a lot to say. let me play you just a bit of chris brown's apology. take a look. >> i wish i had the chance to live those few moments again, but unfortunately i can't. i cannot go into what happened and most importantly i'm not going to sit here and make any executions. i take great pride in me being able to exercise self-control and what i did was inexcusable. i'm very sad and very ashamed of what you've done. >> that's just a bit of it. it went on for two minutes. you see an attempt at contrition. he also did say in his videotaped apology that he would be speaking out perhaps doing a couple of interviews. this really laying the groundwork perhaps for what was yet to come. >> so do you think it was authentic, first of all? do you think fans are buying it? >> that's going to be pretty

difficult to say. he certainly has a lot of people supporting him, and he certainly has a lot of detractors. here is the thing. it's kind of hard to say. i think this is a no-win situation for chris. he had to say something. there was certainly a lot of ground to cover. it had to be a scripted statement, a tond me a read statement certainly can't convey true sorrow or true conviction. some think maybe we should be cutting chris brown a break. we have been hearing from viewers who say, leave him alone already. listen, i think he should be allowed to apologize, but let's remember, he beat a woman up. he apologized for it, and he pleaded guilty for it, but it's just the beginning. he has to be watched. he has to be held accountable. he certainly has his punishment assigned by the court, but this is not the end of it. it will be very interesting to see what chris does say in any interviews that are forthcoming. but by no means should he be let off the hook. obviously tonight we'll be talking much more about chris brown and his videotaped apology on "showbiz tonight." also, we have new michael jackson bombshells to tell you about.

joe jackson with his first interview making incredible allegations, first big chat since michael's death. what's true and what's not? we'll get the showbiz truth squad on the case at 11:00 p.m. e eastern and pacific right here on hln. >> you're right, joe jackson had some jaw-droppers, didn't he? >> bombshells. >> thanks so much, a.j. we appreciate it. the former miss california usa who was stripped of her title is releasing a memoir. a conservative publishing house says carrie prejean's book will be entitled "still standing." she believes she lost the crown because she opposed same-sex marriage. the pageant said prejean was skipping scheduled events and giving unsanctioned speeches. prejean's replacement, tammy farrell, also says she believed marriage should be between a man and a woman as well. you know, if your home state says you can carry a concealed gun, should that be good enough for any other state you visit? your views on a push to expand

gun rights in just a moment. stay close. not long ago, this man had limited mobility.

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thank you so much for sharing your time with us. you know, investigators say the murders of byrd and melanie billings were carefully choreographed for a month, and the suspects even allegedly rehearsed the attack at the couple's home. investigators say that dry run was not caught on surveillance cameras, despite what you're seeing here, which was the actual invasion. court documents also show financial ties between the billings and this man, leonard gonzalez, jr. he's the suspected mastermind. gonzalez told investigators he received money from the couple in order to open a martial arts stud studio. a pensacola newspaper is suggesting a new possible motive. murder for hire. cnn's john king asked the county sheriff about that speculation

on last night's "ac 360." >> as we understand that was within a year, i believe. i have not read those documents. my staff briefed me on it today. again, because they're currently working with the state attorney office to get all of our documents and evidence together in preparation for the grand jury. but it's to the best of my recollection, that was within a year ago that he helped finance the opening of a martial arts school for mr. gonzalez, jr. >> is it a possibility then, a focus of the investigation, the possibility that mr. gonzalez had a debt that he was unwilling or unable to pay and perhaps the murder was related to that? >> we have yet to determine that. again, as i have stated to many people many times, we're not investigating the billings family. we're investigating those subjects that we currently have incarcerated. so the investigation may, in fact, lead to that because we will be asking those questions, was that the debt that he made ever satisfied. but again our focus is on mr. gonzalez, not on the byrd family. >> i don't know if you've heard this odd footnote to the

billings murders, but documents from the florida department of children and families show a bizarre attempt by byrd billings to copyright the children's names and he sought payment from that department when their names were used. his daughter said it was his way to protect the kids. now, in one document he demanded $10 million in silver or federal reserve notes of equal value. michael jackson's death was no senaccident. this is according to joe jackson, who pointed a finger at dr. conrad murray, though he didn't mention him by name. he told larry king his son's doctor gave him something to sleep and he never woke up, and he claimed the doctor ran after the singer died. >> the doctor give him something to make him rest, and then he don't wake up no more. something is wrong there. the doctor just -- somehow i

understand that he left and went to sleep or something, i don't know what happened there, but he tried to bring -- >> larry: are you implying the doctor committed foul play? >> something went wrong, larry, because when they tried to bring michael back, he was dead. something went wrong. >> now, murray has not responded to jackson's accusation, by the way, but his attorney has denied earlier reports that the doctor was ever in hiding. dr. murray was interviewed by police two days after jackson's death and, of course, we're waiting on toxicology reports that are expected sometime next week. singer chris brown, if you haven't seen this yet, is apologizing to his fans for beating up his ex-girlfriend rihanna. here is the video that he posted on his website, or part of it. >> i wish i had the chance to live those few moments again, but unfortunately i can't. i cannot go into what happened and most importantly i'm not going to sit here and make any excuses. i take great pride in me being

able to exercise self-control and what i did was inexcusable. i am very sad and very ashamed of what i've done. >> brown says he's repeatedly apologized to rihanna and a police report says he tried to push her from a car and repeatedly hit and choked her. he did plead guilty to felony assault charges, so he'll be sentenced on august 5th. police and prosecutors are dropping charges against a renowned harvard professor in a case that raised some questions regarding racial profiling. here is the story. prominent black scholar henry louis gates, jr. was taken into custody after breaking into his own home. the initial police report said he was so loud and belligerent that he was disturbing the police. now, a statement released by a colleague of gates says the professor cooperated and produced identification showing who he was and that the house was his. colleagues of gates and some neighbors immediately suggested the incident would never have happened if the professor were white. now the city of cambridge held a news conference and offered this apology. >> i think that what went wrong

personally was that you had two human beings that were reacting to a set of circumstances and, unfortunately, at the time cooler heads did not prevail. >> so should the professor have been arrested? >> our position is there was probable cause for the arrest. >> a statement released earlier said all parties dropping the charges was a, quote, just resolution to the case. but we should point out we do not have any reaction as of yet from gates. want to give you an update on that helicopter crash in arizona. you're seeing the pictures here. this is in an area near prescott valley, 100 miles north of phoenix. we understand now that two people were on board that chopper. one of them suffered a back injury, but we do not know the condition of the other person. apparently the helicopter was on a training flight so the faa obviously is investigating here. and today is the day that two white house task forces were supposed to report on options for detaining terrorism suspects and for interrogating them but

they both missed the deadline. senior white house officials say the task force on detentions needs another six months to lay out the options for handling the suspects now held at guantanamo bay and other facilities. remember, the president has ordered the detention center in cuba to shut down in january. the task force on interrogation policy got a two-month extension for its report. military officials tell cnn they believe this captured soldier, bow bee bergdahl, is sl being held in afghanistan. they say the pentagon had no intention of announcing his disappearance until learning the bbc was expected to break the story. the family had been notified. they're not speaking to the press. but the sheriff of his hometown says they've been overwhelmed by the outpouring by shows of support. the residents are generally refusing to talk about his

capture fearing any remarks might hurt the possibility of his safe return. these philadelphia campers might have been denied a few days at a swim club, but, hey, who needs a pool when you're going to disney world? how these children ended up with the coolest field trip ever.

i'm jane velez-mitchell and here's my issue. let me pose a question. if you sitting at home were convicted of a senseless, violent crime and served time behind bars for, it do you think you'd get your old job back when you got out of jail? probably not, right? well, disgraced nfl star michael vick apparently thinks he should. he has completed his sentence

for kingpining a dogfighting ring and hopes to get back to playing football, but there's a difference between the court of law and the court of public opinion. vick's crime was not a momentary lapse ss or a single angry outburst. it was a criminal enterprise including brutal violence against dogs. until vick can show us he's truly ridden himself of that sadism. he does not deserve to get back in the league. i'm jane velez-mitchell, and that's my issue. >> and find out what else jane has on her mind. watch "issues with jane velez-mitchell" every night at 7:00 eastern on hbl. there's a new iphone application that can lead you to the nearest pot stash as long as it's legal. the ap is called cannabis. it uses the iphone's gps capabilities to locate licensed sellers of medical marijuana. if your state hasn't approved medical marijuana, it will point

you to the nearest pro-pot organizations. it's designed by a group called activists justifying the natural agriculture of ganja. a lot of people have something to say about that one. you remember those philadelphia day camp kids who were uninvited from a swim club prompting accusations of discrimination? well, who needs a swim club when you can go to disney world? this one is getting so much attention at cnn.com right now, and reggie aqui has more on this story. i have to tell you, i do -- i am a fan of tyler perry. >> a lot of people i think will be even more of a fan of his after they hear this story. tyler perry, you know him from his tv show and all the movies he's done. forbes says he's one of the highest actors in hollywood. now he's going to use some of that cash for the kids who couldn't swim but are now being sent to splash mountain. that's right. he's paying for a trip for all of these kids, and there's 65 of them, to go to disney world in

orlando, florida. there are plenty of pools around disney where they can actually swim, unlike the philadelphia swim club that they were kicked out of recently. this is what tyler perry had to say about all this. he said, quote, for every act of evil a few people will throw at you, there are millions more who will do something kind for them. back on june 29th, several of the kids said they overheard racially tinged comments from the swim club's members and the group was asked not to return. as you can imagine, when the kids heard they were headed to florida, they were pretty excited. >> how are you all feeling about that? >> good! >> you're going to disney world! >> yeah! >> so those were the kids reacting to the news that they're headed to disney world. the daycare center's director says she's ecstatic for the kids. as for the swim club in philadelphia, they claim that there was no discriminal fashion here. they said they scrapped the agreement with the camp out of concerns about overcrowding and safety. i should also add one more note,

christi. apparently there are a couple lawsuits out there now that have been filed both by the camp itself and also from one of the parents of the camp members. they say this was discrimination and they're going to take the swim club to court. but the happier thing about all this is that they get to go to disney world j go. >> good for them. >> i'm jealous. >> i know you are. disney fanatic. thank you so much. we appreciate it. you know, also on cnn.com is our find the children segment. we're hoping to help find 11-year-old lindsay baum. parents we probably they we get to a point where we can let our 10-year-old talk to a friend's house. that's what lindsay was doing. she'd walked this route many times. a witness saw her as she was about halfway home. she'd made it that far. but her 10:00 curfew passed. found. she's been missing about a month. take a good look at her

pictures. these are obviously pictures of the search. here is lindsay. her birthday was july 7th. so that's come and gone. she's 11 years old now. she has shoulder-length brown hair, brown eyes. 4'9" weighing around 80 pounds. this is a girl described as mature for her age. she was informed about safety. knew to never go anywhere with a stranger. she likes to tell people she wants to be an author, illustrator, and veterinaryian. but she's afraid of the dark, doesn't like to be alone at night. if you can give authorities any insight, take a good look at her picture, call 1-800-the-lost. or go to w wsmww.missingkids.co. or go to our website. thank you so much for keeping your eyes and your ears open and paying attention. okay. have you ever searched your own name on the internet? >> i was curious one night and i just typed in my own name just

wondering if there were any other kelly hilldebrants. he was the only one who popped up. >> and now she may have found herself a husband.

well a 4-year-old boy pulled from his mother's burning suv is in critical condition with burns over 30% of his body. two off duty firefighters, a police lieutenant and neighbors, helped rescue that 4-year-old. his name is david harper, and moments ago his father spoke to reporters. >> i'm sorry, i'm trying to hold it together. it's my little boy, and i'm going to turn it over to the doctors, but i just want to thank everybody, everybody, the citizens of milwaukee for helping us. angels all around us, and i'd like to thank everybody. >> get back! there's a baby in there! >> this dramatic video of that fire that trapped the boy. his mother and his young sister was released. as we mentioned a crowd wasted no time to try to help this family obviously. two people used pipes to break a

windshield. one off duty fireman used a knife to cut that 4-year-old from his seat. >> if it wasn't for the citizens that were bashing that window open that gave us access to the child, things would have been different. if that person didn't come forth with that pocketknife, things would have been different. if that lady didn't come through with that garden hose, you know, the burns sustained to that child would have been much more severe. >> the firefighters were treated for burns to their hands and arms. thank goodness for all those people. president obama talked to the press today about health care reform, and what's become an almost daily push to get it through congress by next month. he says in spite of key differences, he and lawmakers are finding some common ground here. after the news conference the president met with democratic members of the house energy and commerce committee and that includes some party conservatives who were balking over the costs of the reform package. republicans contend the president is in too big a hurry

to which the president says the nation's uninsured can't afford to wait. the gop party chairman, michael steele, counters that medicare took nearly a year and a half to work out and that because health care accounts for one-sixth of the economy, reform is too important to rush through congress. the senate is considering a measure that would let people carry concealed weapons across state lines as long as carriers obey the gun laws in the states they visit. south dakota republican john thune wants it to be an amendment to a $680 billion defense spending bill. he says it will allow citizens to protect themselves while respecting individual state laws. gun control advocates argue it will strip the states of their right to determine who can carry weapons there, concealed weapons, through those states. what do you think about this investigation lation? gi give us a call at 1-877-tell-hln or e-mail us at cnn.com/hln. we're going to air some of your

responses throughout the day. thank you so much. one bride-to-be won't have to work on a new signature she's marrying a man with the same first and last name as signatur. she's marrying a man with the same name as her. kelly hildebrandt met kelly hildebrandt on the internet. now they're getting married. clark howard says a new online school can help you track your online expenses. >> you know something? when i get a statement from my insurer about medical bills or i get one from a doctor or in the worst case from a hospital. and i try to understand what's on that bill, i try to understand what my insurance company is trying to tell me on a benefits statement i received i'm clueless. it's a hard thing.

even people in the medical field have trouble figuring out what is actually going on with the bills. if you're responsible for a lot of the costs, it can be big bucks out of your pocket. so what can you do? the folks at quicken has a new online tool that's called quicken health expense tracker. you can use it to make sure the bills you're receiving are coded properly and you're being billed right. i like that. i'm clark howard. go to cnn.com/clarkhoward. >> catch him every saturday and sunday at noon and 4:00 p.m. eastern right here on hln. washington's famous watergate hotel is on the auction block. both american and international hotel chains and developers have expressed interest. the hotel's owner defaulted on the loan. it became a household name after the 1972 burglary that led to

president richard nixon's resignation. learn foreign languages from scratch is a tough one. forget spanish and french. mastering one of the most difficult languages in the world in less than a year. and it could be a matter of life and death.

cnn, headlines news, or msnbc are locked on your favorites? if they are i've got the gift for you. i'm gonna richardson and my next guest is ken pullson. a pleasure to have you here. >> good to be with you >> what is the museum. most people know. >> sometimes there you an a museum in articling ton, virginia called the museum. it was an effort to remind americans of the value of news

gathering in america and a nod to the first amendment. we did so well there so we decided to take it where the action is. we have a brand new museum called a the museum on pennsylvania avenue. it's a -- it's a 45 word sign out front with the words of the first amendment 'em blazed there. we think it's healthy for them to read that says congress shall make no law. we're attempting to put it in neon. >> it is flashing? >> it's not a tribute to journalists. we had a blogger say i'm not going to set foot in that museum until they do an extra special to copy editors. it is not about you. it is a museum of history but a different kind that reports what happened over the last several

centuries through the eyes of journalists. so you get contemporary coverage of the assassination of kennedy and arrival of the beatles and the civil war and fascinating >> exactly. what have the visitors reactions been for the first year? exciting. we see the full range of course. tremendous amount of school groups and a lot of tourists visiting washingt washingto was. we bill ourselves as the world's most interactive museum. young people can play the part of a reporter or an editor or a journalist. we can even stand up in front of what you and your business called blue screen, to tape a broadcast announcement for their friends and family and then send it out to friends at home. amazing exhibits there. i well tell you, i can say this

with some degree of humility. i just joined the museum in february, i've been the editor of u.s. a. today for the last five years. we have the largest piece of the berlin wall in north america. you can go there and see that and the guard tower in collaboration and partnership with the f.b. i.we celebrate their 100th anniversary and we have phenomenal artifacts. we have the unibomber's cabin believe it or not. and depending on your age, some of your viewers probably remember patty hurst and her tenure with the liberation army. we have the gun she used in the bank robbery and the leather jacket she wore. we have can coverage including

dillinger's death mask and the bullet pruf vest he zn wear on that night >> with you have so many different exhibits. what do you have planned for us your second year? >> one of the great things about working for a museum where news is in the title we're updating and reflect the headlines in the museum. not long ago when there was an uproar in iran we covered the social network and the twittering. when newspapers have collapsed and some markets we quickly reported that. upcoming exhibits include: throughout the next year you'll be able to see manhunt exhibit about the assassination of abraham lincoln and barack ob a obama. >> i'm so sorry. we've run out of time but everyone has got and go and see the museum.

>> thank you very much >> my guest has been ken pullson president of

new developments in the investigation into the murder of a florida couple. police say the suspects caught on surveillance video rehearsed their assault on the home of byrd and melanie billings. we'll have details. the senate considers letting gun owners carry concealed weapons across state lines. supporters say gun owners should be able to protect themselves wherever they go. opponents say it would endanger millions of lives. we'll hear from you. what's your view? >> from a swim club controversy to the happyiest place on earth. a hollywood celebrity is helping day campers have a very happy ending. you'll love that story. that's coming up. >> this is hln news and views. let's get you right to it out of

florida. new developments. investigators say the murders of byrd and melanie billings were carefully choreographed for about a month and that the suspects allegedly rehearsed the attack at the couple's home. that dry run wasn't caught on surveillance camera. court documents also show financial ties between the billings and this man, leonard gonzalez, jr., the suspected master mind of this. gonzalez told investigators he received money from the couple in order to open a martial arts studio. a pensacola newspaper is suggesting a new possible motive, murder for hire. cnn's john king asked the county sheriff about the speculation on last night's "ac 360." >> as we understand that was within a year, i believe. i have not read those documents. my staffed brief my on it today. they're working to get all the documents and evidence together in preparation for the grand

ju jury. to the best of my recollection that he helped finance the opening of a martial arts school. >> is it possible that mr. gonzalez had a debt that he was unwilling or unable to pay and perhaps the murder was related to that? >> we have to determine that. as i've stated many times, we're not investigating the billings family. we're investigating those subjects that we have incarcerated currently. so the investigation may in fact lead to that. we will be asking those questions. was the debt that he made ever satisfied. but again our focus is on mr. gonzalez, not on the byrd family. >> and on footnote here, documents from florida departments of children and families show a bizarre attempt by byrd billings to copyright the children's names and that he sought payment from the department when their names were used. his daughter says that was just a way to protect his kids. a convicted rapist who escaped from an indiana prison was captured after more than a week on the run.

authorities found him at his parents house. 250 miles from the prison. this is surveillance video showing him at a gas station after the escape. he's with one of two convicted murderers who escaped with him. someone is still on the loose. military officials tell cnn they believe captured soldier bowe bergdahl is still being held in afghanistan, but they're not sure if he was ever moved to neighboring pakistan. a senior neighboring official said the pentagon had no intention of announcing his appearance until learning that the bbc was expected to break the story. the family have been notified. volunteers have lined main street in yellow ribbons to show they' their support. the sheriff says they've been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support by strangers. president obama talked to the press today. he is talking about health care reform, of course, in what has become an almost daily push to get it through to congress by

next month. the president says in spite of key differences he and lawmakers are finding common ground. but he says some republican opponents to the plan, they aren't trying to come up with a compromise here. >> i know that there are those in this town who openly declare their intention to block reforms. the familiar washington script that we've seen many times before. these opponents of reform would rather score political points than offer relief to american who is have seen premiums double and costs grow three times faster than wages. they would maintain a system that works for the insurance and the drug companies while becoming increasingly unaffordable for families and for businesses. >> well, republicans, a lot of them, at least, are unhappy with the current state of the legislation. they think president obama is just trying of the move things along too quickly. >> how do you begin to address that issue in two weeks time? it took us a year and a half to put the medicaid program into

place. we want to fundamentally reorient 26% of our economy in two weeks. that makes no logical sense to me. you're talking the possibility reorienting 1/6 of the economy with legislators who haven't read the legislation. they going to do with health care what they did with cap and trade? are we going to get amendments at 4:00 in the morning? and no one reads them. only after they begin to implement the craziness we're going to find out whags in the bill? this is not how you do health care. >> the president's response to republican critics is that the nation's uninsured can't afford to wait. we've been asking you about this one today. the senate is considering a measure that would let people carry concealed weapons across state lines.

he says it will allow citizens to protect themselves while respecting individual state laws. gun control advocates say it will strip the state of their rights for who can carry concealed weapons there. so what's your view? do you think people with concealed weapons permit in one state should be able to travel to other states with their weapons? or do you think it increases the number of guns in your community? give us a call or e-mail to cnn.com/hln. if you would like to text us, text views plus your comments and name to hln tv. we'll air your responses throughout the day. a big step forward for california's budget crisis. last night after five hours of closed door talks governor schwarzenegger and top lawmakers announced a plan to tackle the state's -- republicans got what they wanted. no new taxes. democrats say they managed to protect the most important program.

>> we've accomplish ad lot in this budget. i want to thank the leaders for hanging in there and negotiating all this in the weeks and last few hours. it was like a suspense movie. but we have accomplished a lot. >> the legislator could vote on the budget by thursday. we'll keep you posted. anchts hollywood star is trying to give a happy ending to dozens of kids stuck in the middle of a swim club controversy. who is helping them out and how?

remember those 65 children who were turned away from a pennsylvania swim club after allegations of racism? well, they are now going to disney world thanks to a hollywood heavyweight. >> if you want to know the celebrity that you will be meeting that has paid for your trip to disney world, the celebrity name is -- tyler perry!

>> a lot of happy kids there. actor and director tyler perry heard the story and wanted to do something nice because it made him so mad. so he's treating the kids to a trip to disney for three days. the kids will go at the end of the month. good for them. some shocking claims of racism inside the philadelphia police department. they are coming from some african-american officers on the force who have filed a lawsuit alleging the department allowed fellow officers to post racist commentary. one post says in urban areas it seems african-americans living on welfare in paid for housing is ingrained in their culture as well as fighting. while the officers would like to see the website shut down, their attorney says they want officers prohibited from posting on that site. especially during work hours. >> the website contains very

racist posting like this one that says guns don't kill people, dangerous minorities do. it contains all kinds of racist rants and raves. the people participating in this website that's being run by a philadelphia police sergeant are over police officers including captains and lieutenants of the philadelphia police force. >> police commissioner charles ramsey placed restrictions on the website and said workplace computers cannot be used to access it. prosecutors in another story are dropping charges against renowned harvard professor in a case that raised questions regarding racial profiling. prominent african-american scholar forced his way through a busted front door at his own home on monday night. a woman who was passing by called police to report a break-in.

it was his own house keep in mind. officers said he was loud and disruptive. colleagues say gates told him he koop cooperated and produced i.d. showing he was the homeowner. a legal adviser says cooler heads should have been prevailed. >> i think both parties are wrong. i think that's fair to say. it was not professor gates' best moment. it wasn't the cambridge police department's best moment. >> gates has not yet reacted publicly to the city's decision to drop the charges. he's a recent scholar, award winner. cnn's new documentary "black in america 2" appears tomorrow night. in today's preview soledad o'brien shows us a pioneering program working to stop exprisoners from sliding back

into crime. here it is. >> i'm different. i don't want to settle for this. this is not me. >> our first meeting with chris is behind bars at san quentin. it was more than a year ago. >> i've been down for three years and six months now. i'm about to go home. >> i want to go somewhere. i want to be somebody. >> where do you want to go? what do you want to be? >> i want a family. i want to own a house. i want to have everything that an average american would want. >> how realist are chris shurn's dreams. he'll likely face setbacks, frustration, and life with little money. he's not alone, everett is there for him. he's the lead caseworker with project choice. a pioneering program to help ex cons get support and keep them from going back to prison. >> how would you describe your job? you're an employment agency,

relationship counselor, mentor, role model. all of the above. >> it's almost just like being somebody's assistant. i'm taking care of this person's business in some sense. >> five months after we first met, chris shurn is released from san quentin. >> what's up? >> what's going on? >> everett tries to help clients like chris develop a life plan. where he wants to work, where he'll live, how he'll avoid temptation. >> are you going to ever going back? >> only to work. not to be an inmate. i'll go back there and teach something. not to be an inmate. >> never? >> never, never. >> he's an ex con. so he can't get subsidized housing, he can't receive we have welfare. he has no health care. he gets a job at goodwill industries right away. but it's part time. and pays $10 an hour. a fraction of what chris was

making selling drugs on the street. >> what's your big challenge every day? >> trying to convert lifestyles. even though i've changed my life it's very, very hard to adjust to this new lifestyle? >> how do you mean? >> i'm used to having a lot of money. >> how much you have on you now? >> like $10. >> but will very little money and lots of frustration lead to temptation? our thanks to soledad o'brien reporting. now watch stories of people stepping up, taking charge, and creating solutions. "black in america 2" appears tomorrow and thursday only on cnn. chris brown didn't say much when he pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend, rihanna. now the singer is doing what he says he wanted to do a long time ago. that's apologize.

a 4-year-old boy pulled from his mother's burning suv is in critical condition with burns over 30% of his body.

two off-duty firefighters, a police lieutenant, and neighbors helped rescue 4-year-old david harper. earlier today his emotional father talked with reporters. >> i'm sorry. i'm trying to hold it together. it's my little boy. and i'm going to turn it over to the doctors. but i just want to thank everybody, the citizens of milwaukee for helping us. angels all around us. i would like to thank everybody. >> there's a baby in there! >> if you can imagine the moments right before that rescue. dramatic video of the fire who trapped the boy, his mother and young sister. two people used pipes to break a windshield. they moved quickly. one off-duty fireman used a knife to cut the 4-year-old free from his car seat. the firefighters were treated for burns to their hands and

arms. singer chris brown is apologizing to his fans for beating up his ex-girlfriend rihanna. here's the video he posted on his website. >> i wish i had the chance to live those few moments again, but unfortunately i can't. i cannot going into what happened. i'm not going to take any excus excuses. i take great pride on me being able to exercise self-control. what i did is inexcusable. i'm very sad and ashamed of what i have done. >> brown says he has repaidedly apologized to rihanna. a police report says he tried to push her from a car and repeatedly hit and choked her. he will be sentenced on august 5th. michael jackson's death was no accident. that's according to his father. joe jack pointed a finger at dr. conrad murray last night. police have said that murray is not a suspect. joe jackson told cnn's larry king his son's doctor gave him

something to make him sleep and he never woke up. and he claimed the doctor ran off the singer died. >> do you think drugs were involved in your son's life? >> something happened, larry. it wasn't drugs. there was something else behind all of that. >> larry: what do you mean? what are you thinking? >> well, i'm thinking this is foul play. that's what i'm thinking. >> larry: but explain that. foul play meaning what? somebody trying to harm him? >> of course. >> murray hasn't responded to jackson's accusation. but his attorney denied earlier reports that the doctor was ever in hiding. he was interviewed two days after michael jackson's death. medical bills as we know are expensive. they can be hard to read. hln money expert clark howard says there's a new online tool to help you track your health expenses.

>> you know something, when i get a statement from my insurer about medical bills or i get one from a doctor or in the worst case from a hospital, and i try to understand what's on that bill, i try to understand what my insurance company is trying to tell me on a agabenefit statement that i receive, i'm clueless. and it's a hard thing. even people in the medical field have trouble figuring out what is going on with the bills. if you're responsible for a lot of the costs, it can be big bucks out of your pocket. the folks at quicken have a new online tool that you can use. you can use it to make hur that the bills you're receiving are in fact coded properly and you're being billed right. i like that. i'm clark howard. more ways to you to be smart with your wallet go to cnn.com/clarkhoward.

[ music ] >> welcome to comcast local edition, i'm donna richardson, and my guest this hour is christine bergmark who is the executive director of the southern maryland agricultural development commission. welcome, christine, it's good to have you here. >> thank you for having me. >> that's a big mouthful, and i know that you're working on an extremely exciting program, bi-local challenge. >> it is an initial that we launched two years ago, and essentially what it is is the last full week of july we ask everyone across the state of maryland and beyond to take a pledge, and the pledge is eat something or drink from a farm

every day during that week. >> oh. so where do we get the information about where to find the farms or how do we sign up for this pledge? >> well, there's a website. it's www.by-local-challenge.com that website will give you all sorts of information why to buy local and where to buy local and it connects you to other statewide initiatives that are going on at the same time. if you go to the website, we've added a count. people used to say, where do i sign up? normally you have to go buy, eat something from a local farm. this year we decided to add a counter to the website. when you are' counted, you can receive a certificate with your name on it that you can put up in your office or your home or wherever. >> which is very, very important. it's reduces your carbon foot

print because you're driving hopefully a shorter distance, you have access to local products that are available, and also it helps the farmers. >> well, and in fact, our theme this year is healthy plate, healthy planet. all kinds of benefits to buying local, benefits for you, healthy, nutrition, it's fresh, and preserving our farms survive, we keep clean water, we keep clean air, we reduce the carbon footprints from things traveling 1500 miles, and it tastes good. >> exactly. now for those people who may not cook, how can they be a part of this? >> yeah, sometimes people say, well, i hate to cook. that's okay. you can go to a store or to a restaurant that features local farm products, and there are more and more restaurants every year, some of them are on our website, and you can click throughout to find out who they are,. >> what kind of items can we

acquire localfully. >> during the last week of july, there is so much product available. there's sweet corn, blackberries, all kinds of tomatoes and melons are in season, and of course, there's always wine, cheese, eggs, meatss. >> so we do have a wide variety of things we can get. say that i go and i go to a local farmer's market and purchase something, what is a vegetable that i'm not quite familiar with, how did i find a recipe. >> excellent question. there are recipes on our website. people can post their own recipes of their own events and own blogs by why they buy local. some of the things i wanted to mention is the economic benefits. we talked about the planet, we talked about the fact that it

tastes good, and it's fun, but there's also the benefit of supporting our farms, and if every household in the state mucofmaryland were to buy just 2 worth of products for 8 weeks, basically the summer season that, would put $200 million straight back into the pockets of our farmers. that would do a lot to keep our farmers thriving. >> which is so important. i know we have less than 30 seconds, but you have some partners that you wouldn't typically think of who have now joined in. >> yes. hospitals are joining in this year. fact, they're looking to do a competition to see how many people they can get involved. >> have you exciting. christine, thank you very much for coming in today. >> thank you. >> my guest today has been christine bergmark with the southern agricultural commission. if you're interested in what comcast is doing in your area, go to on demand and click get local. for comcast local edition, i'm

donna richardson. [ music ]

florida investigators say the home invasion robbery that left byrd and melanie billings was dead was carefully choreographed for about a month. they say the suspects rehearsed the attack at the couple's home. investigators say the dry run wasn't caught on surveillance tape. court documents show financial ties between the billings and this man, leonard gonzalez, jr., the suspected master mind. gonzalez told investigators he received money from the couple in order to open a martial arts studio. a pensacola newspaper is suggesting a new possible motive. murder for hire. john king asked the county sheriff about that speculation on cnn's "ac 360." here it is. >> we understand that was within

a year, i believe. i have not read those documents. my staff briefed me on it today. again because they're currently working with the state attorney's office to get all our documents and evidence together in preparation for the grand jury. but to the best of my recollection, that was within a year ago that he helped finance the opening of the martial arts school for mr. gonzalez jr. >> is it a possibility that a focus of the investigation the possibility that mr. gonzalez had a debt that he was unwilling or unable to pay and perhaps the murder was related to is that that? >> we have yet to determine that. again, as i've stated to many people many times, we're not investigating the billings family. we're investigating those subjects that we currently have incarcera incarcerated. so the investigation may in fact lead to that. we will be asking those questions. our focus is on mr. gonzalez, not on the byrd family. an odd footnote we want to share with you regarding the case. documents from florida's department of children and families show a bizarre attempt

by byrd billings to copyright the children's names. and he sought payment from the department whenever it used their names. his daughter says that was his way of protecting the kids. prosecutors are dropping the charges against a renowned harvard professor in a case that raised questions of racial profile. henry lewis gates jr. forced his way through a busted front door at his own home. a woman passing by called police to report a break-in. well, officers arrested gates saying he was loud and disruptive. colleagues say gates told him that he cooperated and produced i.d. showing them he lived there. cooler heads should have prevailed, one said. >> i think both parties are wrong. i think that's fair to say. it was not professor gates's best moment. it certainly wasn't the

cambridge police department's best moment. our firm stance that race did not play in factor. >> he is a research institute director and award winning scholar and was once named one of the 25 most influential americans. he is featured in the cnn documentary "black in america." michael jackson's death was no accident according to his father. joe jackson pointed a finger at dr. conrad murray last night. though he didn't mention the doctor by. police say that murray is not a suspect. joe jackson said his son's doctor gave him something to make him sleep and he never woke up. and he claimed the doctor ran after the singer died. >> the doctor gave him something to make him rest. then he don't wake up no more. something is wrong there. the doctor just -- somehow i understand that he left or went to sleep. i don't know what happened there. but he tried to bring --

>> are you implying the doctor committed foul play? >> something went wrong, larry. because when they tried to bring michael back he was dead. something went wrong. >> murray has responded to jackson's accusations. but he's denied earlier reports. murray was interviewed by police two days after jackson's death. also appearing on "larry king live" was a former promoter as well. he claimed the organizers of the upcoming concerts may have been irresponsible by hiring a full-time personal doctor to stay with michael jackson around the clock. >> so you're implying foul play by sending a doctor there? >> no, larry. let me say this to you. michael jackson was addicted. we all know that. it's not a secret. would you put a cocaine seller in a house with a cocaine

addict? >> are you saying put a cocaine seller? the doctor was selling cocaine? >> i didn't say that, larry. but he was able to administer drugs. >> earlier this month the ceo told cnn's anderson cooler it was jackson himself who demanded a personal doctor. >> as producers of the show it made no sense with the doctors and what you have in london. >> michael jackson demanded that. >> that wasn't a doctor you selected. >> i took one last shot at talking him out of it. it has nothing to do with dr. murray. no judgments whatsoever. i said, we're spending the too much money. it doesn't make sense. he's like, you don't understand. my body is the machine that fuels this whole business. i need that kind of attention. when michael jackson says that to you and there's this much at stake, you don't argue. >> michael jackson's toxicology reports are expected next week.

another story we're following. supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor is expected to be confirmed easily. but the senate judiciary committee has put off the confirmation vote for a week. sotomayor has solid support from senate democrats and at least three republicans have said publicly they intend to vote for her. >> she will be on the supreme court when the supreme court comes back in september. she will be. she'll be there with a bipartisan vote. it's unfortunate we have to wait another week. but she will be there. she will be confirmed. >> patrick leahy says the vote will happen as scheduled on july 28th. sotomayor will become the first hispanic justice on the supreme court. today is day two they were supposed to report on options for interrogating suspects. both missed the deadline. seniors why officials say the task force on detention needs

another six months to lay out the options for handling the suspects at guantanamo bay and other facilities. the president has ordered the dpe tension center in cuba to shut down in january. the task force got a two-month extension for its reports. we know that times are tough out there. for college grads looking for a job. ♪ hire me >> a bad economy inspired this i-reporter to use his very creative skills in order to highlight his job skills. we'll talk to him after the break.

let me pose a question. if you sitting at home were

convicted of a senseless violent crime and served time behind bars for it, do you think you would get your old job back when you got out of jail? probably not, right? well disgraced nfl star michael vick apparently thinks he should. he's completed a sentence for kingpining a dogfighting ring and hopes to get back to playing football. but there's a difference between the court of law and the court of public opinion. vix's crime was not a momentary lapse or a single angry outburst. it was a long term large criminal enterprise involving brutal violence against dogs, including electrocution and drowning. until vick can show us he's ridded himself of that, he does not deserve to be back in the league. >> find out what else jane has an her mind. catch her every night here on hln.

if you are a recent college graduate looking for a job in this rough economy you are not alone. it is certainly hard to stand out from the crowd competing for every position out there. one i-reporter came up with a very creative way to get his foot in the door. take a look. ♪ in records to your job that i yearn for ♪ ♪ weeks i've tried to launch a career all i can do is persevere ♪ pretty catchy tune. that's the song "hire me." he joins us now from boston. i saw the whole thing. i loved it. i thought it was so creative. how did you come up with the idea? a lot of people would give up

after a while of not getting a job? >> yeah, i wrote about i would say 12 cover letters and revised them. i wasn't getting any response. i decided to try something new to make me stand out from the bunch. i put it online. it became pretty popular. >> what's the response been so far? any leads after sending this out? >> i've gotten several e-mails for jobs. phone call interview requests. it's been big. my inbox has been overflowing the past week. >> you're resumé is impressive. although this is creative and funny, it's also impressive. you graduated top of your class. there it is. so why do you think this is happening? are you blaming it on the economy? >> yeah, i think everyone right now unemployed is a pliing to a lot of jobs. the applicant pool is so big a lot of typical resumés with good

kand gats go overlooked. >> marketing was your major. would you consider song writing? >> maybe. right now just looking for a marketing position entry level. >> thank you very much. very creative. if you have videos or pictures of breaking news or just cool stories go to ireport.com. amazing rescue. you have to see this. >> there's a baby in there! >> a mom and her two kids were inside that suv, and it took a dramatic rescue to get them out.

you saw the video before the break. a 4-year-old boy pulled from his mother's burning suv. he is in critical condition with burns to over 30% of his body. two offduty firefighters, a police lieutenant and neighbors moved fast to help rescue david harper. earlier today his emotional father talked with reporters. >> i'm sorry. i'm trying to hold it together. it's my little boy.

i'm going to turn it over to the doctors. i want to thank everyone for helping us. angels all around us. i would like to thank everybody. >> there's a baby in there! >> this is dramatic video of the fire that trapped a boy, the mother and young sister. a crowd wasted no time rushing to the family's aid. could have been a different outcome. two people tried to break a windshield. one offduty fireman used a knife to cut the 4-year-old free from his car seat. the firefighters were treated for burns on their hands and arms. moving quickly saved that boy. the senate is considering a measure to let people carry concealed weapons across state lines as long as they obey the gun laws in the states they visit. we've been asking you about this one today. south dakota republican john boone wants to add it as an amendment to a $680 billion defense spending bill.

he says it will allow citizens to protect themselves while respecting individual state laws. gun control advocates say it will strip the states of their rights to determine who can carry concealed weapons. >> would we allow alaska or south dakota to set the speed limits for new york or california or new jersey? i would say not. why in the devil would we allow someone else to tell us what we should do with our concealed weapons laws? >> he says the amendment is another attempt by the gun lobby to put their agenda ahead of safety and security. we want to know what you think about the proposal. do you think those with concealed weapons permits in one state should be able to travel to other states with their guns? do you think it would increase the number of guns in your community? we want to know your view. give us a call. e-mail us at cnn.com/hln.

or text views plus your comment and name to hln tv. standard text rates amr. when 20-year-old airman first class kohl on the reid was heading to the hospital for gallbladder surgery. he told his mom it's no big deal. it's routine. he still has his gallbladder. but he no longer has his legs. how a military hospital made ap huge mistake. airman kohl on the james reid entered the hospital on july 9th for a routine gallbladder surgery. >> still some things we didn't know until we met with them yesterday. >> the air force tells jessica, a doctor in training, was performing the procedure when the surgery went horribly wrong. >> i wasn't aware. i don't know if kohl on the was aware that a resident was going to be doing part of his surgery. >> surgeons at david grant medical center on travis air force base tried to repair the

severed aortic valve. >> why was his quality of life not more valuable than that? we're told it took travis eight and a half hours to transport the 20-year-old airman to the uc davis medical center in sacramen sacramento. a top flight hospital just 40 minutes away. >> we were told had it been within a six hour period the limbs could have been saved. he might have had muscle damage or damage, but nothing to this degree. >> why did it take so long to get my husband help? why did they wait so long? >> a spokeswoman refused to talk about the specifics of the medical procedure. but lieutenant holly hess said this. a serious medical condition did occur. we are conducting an exhaustive review with experts outside the david grand medical center as well as an internal investigation. >> it wasn't what we wanted to hear by any means. for some of the decision makes i

felt like we were almost on the defense. >> kohl on the reid remains in critical condition. but he is improving. reid's wife is trying to critic. his wife is trying to remain positive. his mother is heartbroken. >> i want to know that my son's question was air force. >> that is a tragic story. our thanks to ktxl of sacramento. medical marijuana could be california's cash crop. voters in oakland are deciding whether businesses that legally dispense pot should pay more in taxes. the idea actually came from the owner of a dispensary and his attorney. the revenue wouldn't be that significant. up to $1 million. the owner says he wants to be seen as a good neighbor. he admits to being a little

frumpy, but president obama is making no apologizes for a wardrobe faux pas of sorts. he wore this pair of high waisted jeans to throw out the first pitch at a major league baseball game last week. >> here is my attitude. michelle, she looks fabulous. i'm a little frumpy. basically, up until a few years ago i only had four suits. she used to tease me because they would get really shiny. i hate to shop. those jeans are comfortable and for those of you who want your president to, you know, look great in his tight jeans, i'm sorry, i'm not the guy. >> i would rather have the baggie ones. i don't think they are too bad. check out our political ticker cnn.com/ticker. learning foreign languages from scratch can be tough, especially for adults. we are talking about mastering one of the most difficult

languages in the world in less than a year. why it could be a matter of life and death.

prosecutors drop charges against a prominent harvard professor. he claims he was a victim of racial profiling. police are claiming the whole thing is unfortunate. more details into a florida couple's murder. the suspects rehearsed a home invasion at the home of byrd and melanie billings. and -- taking the fight against drugs to the source. the u.s. military goes after the taliban's ability to make heroin in dramatic fashion. here is the latest from hln knews and views. i'm richelle carey.

thanks for your time. prosecutors are dropping charges in a case that raised questions of racial profiling. henry lewis gates jr. forced his way through a busted front door at his home. a woman passing by reported what she thought was a break-in. officers arrested gates saying he was loud and disruptive. colleagues said he showed i.d. shows he was the homeowner. the city of cambridge says cooler heads should have prevailed. >> i think both parties are wrong. i think that is fair to say. it was not professor gates' best moment and it certainly wasn't the cambridge police department's best moment. race did not play a factor in the arrest of professor gates. >> gates has not reacted publicly to the dominican

republiced charges. he is an award winning scholar and once named one of the most 25 influential americans. he is featured in our "black in america" series. the children who were discriminated against the swim camp are going to disney world and tyler perry is footing the bill. >> you will have be meeting who has paid for your trip to disney world, the celebrity name is tyler perry. >> kids will be going next month. the camp refused the swim club's invitation to return and says they will be suing. the club says the camp was turned away because of safety and crowding concerns. investigators say the murders of byrd and melanie billings were carefully choreographed for about a month and the suspects rehearsed the attack at the couple's home.

investigators say that dry run was not caught on surveillance cameras. court documents show financial ties between the couple and this man this is leonard gonzalez jr. he is a suspected mastermind. gonzalez told investigators he got money from the couple to open a martial arts studio. a pensacola newspaper is suggesting a new motive, possibly murder for hire. cnn's john king asked the county sheriff about that speculation on last night's "ac 360." >> we understand that was within a year. i have not read those documents. my staff briefed me on it today because they are working with the state attorney's office to get documents and evidence together in preparation for the grand jury. to the best of my recollection it was a year ago he helped finance the martial arts school for mr. gonzalez j.r. >> is the possibility mr. gonzalez had a debt he was

unwilling or unable to pay and perhaps the murder is related to that? >> we have yet to determine that. again, as i have stated to many people many times, we are not investigating the billings. we are investigating the subjects we have incarcerated. we will be asking those questions, was the debt he made ever satisfied. our focus is on mr. gonzalez not on the byrd family. >> listen to this, this is an odd footnote, documents from the florida department of children and families show a bizarre attempt by byrd billings to copyright the children's names. his daughter says it was his way to protect the kids. >> i don't know a lot about that. i've heard the reports. i know the copyright, what i

believe he was doing to protect the rights of the children. they're a large family and they -- even local media coverage, they were as far as i know to protect the rights of the children. >> one document he demanded $10 million in silver or federal reserve notes of equal value. military officials tell cnn they believe bowe bergdahl is still being held in afghanistan. they are not sure if he was taken into neighboring pakistan and possibly moved back. a senior military official says the military had no intention of announcing his disappearance until they found the bbc was going to break the story. the family had been notified. the sheriff of berg daal's idaho hometown says they have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support. a major source of revenue for the taliban and insurgents

in afghanistan was destroyed. u.s. military held a 1,000-pound bomb on poppy seeds in heldman province. there were similar strikes from helicopter. 300 tons of poppy seeds went up in flames. poppy seeds can be used to make opium and heroin. insurgents force many afghan farmers to grow poppy. it has offered assistance and incentives to farmer who are willing to switch from poppy seeds to wheat. michael jackson's father says his son's death not an accident. who joe jackson blames and why.

did you see "larry king live" last night? if you did, then you heard michael jackson's father claim his son's death was not an accident.

joe jackson pointed a finger at dr. conrad murray though he didn't mention him specifically by name. murray is not a suspect. joe jackson said his son's doctor gave him something to sleep and never woke up and he ran after the singer died. >> do you frankly think drugs were involved in your son's life? >> something happened, larry. not only drugs but something else behind all of that. >> what do you mean? what are you thinking? >> well, i'm thinking there's foul play. yeah. that's what i'm thinking. >> explain that. foul play meaning what? somebody trying to harm him? >> of course. >> dr. murray hasn't responded to jackson's accusation. his attorney denied earlier reports that the doctor was ever in hiding. murray was interviewed by police two days after the actor's death. also on "larry king live" was

leonard rowe. he claimed the organizers of the upcoming london concerts aeg live may have been irresponsible hiring a full-time personal doctor to stay with jackson around the clock. >> so you are implying foul play by sending a doctor there? >> no, larry. let me say this to you. >> i'm lost. >> michael jackson was addicted. we all know that. it is not a secret. would you put a cocaine seller in the house with the cocaine addict. >> did you say the doctor was selling cocaine. >> he was able to administer drugs. >> okay. it was that kind of night. earlier this month the ceo of aeg told anderson cooper jackson himself demanded a personal doctor. >> as producers of the show it made no sense.

>> michael jackson demanded that. >> he demanded. >> that was not a doctor you selected, he selected him. >> it has nothing to do with dr. murray. i said to michael, michael, we are spending too much money. it doesn't make sense. he said you don't understand. my body is the machine that fuels this whole business. i need that kind of attention. when michael jackson says that to you and there is this much at stake, you don't argue. >> michael jackson's toxicology reports which could solve a lot of this, those are expected next week. the first human trial for a swine flu vaccine are set to begin tomorrow. 240 people have volunteered to take part. they will get two shots and then their blood will be tested to see if they are generating an immune response to h1n1.

heated debate over packing heat. lawmakers duel over an amendment that would let people take concealed weapons from state to state. we'll take you to capitol hill for views from washington.

welcome back. should people be allowed to carry concealed weapons across state lines? the debate over packing heat is

fueling heated debate in the senate. we are following it from washington. a lot of interest in this, brianna. >> reporter: this is. it is a provision being attached to a defense budget bill. this is a must-pass defense bill and republicans knowing when it comes to gun rights that they are able to divide democrats. in vermont, a 16-year-old can carry a loaded concealed weapon without a permit, but when a vermonter crosses into new york, the home of some of the strictest gun laws in the country, that right evap waits. senators want to change that. allowing people from concealed weapons states can carry their guns to states without concealed carry laws. >> states with concealed carry laws enjoy lower crime rates.

>> new york's chuck schumer and other senators representing states with large urban areas say changing the law will put people in danger. >> if the thune amendment is adopted this vermonter would be free to stroll through central park or times square with a backpack full of guns. >> reporter: many democrats support gun rights including senate majority leader harry reid who said he will vote for the thune amendment. like many democrats who will vote yes on this amendment, harry reid is from nevada where there is a strong tradition of gun ownership and political consequences for bucking the will of gun rights supporters and the national rifle association. richelle, top republican and top democratic aides are expecting this amendment will pass.

>> when will they get to decide? >> reporter: we will see the vote on this amendment tomorrow, richelle. >> you will keep us posted. brianna, we appreciate it. so what do you think? all day almost all of you have been supporting this legislation that we do want to get both sides. we are going to start with bruce who is on the phone. bruce, i understand you are in favor of this legislation. is that right? >> yeah. that's correct. i'm an interstate trucker. i go up rough neighborhoods, boston, baltimore, d.c., miami, i have seen some crazy stuff. a lot of times i would feel better if i had protection with me. >> bruce, i do understand where you are coming from. i appreciate you calling us. jack is calling from florida. jack is not feeling it. jack, explain. >> caller: i am against the proposed law due to ramifications if passed it will

cause a lot of mayhem. the federal law enforcement now for interstate transportation of a firearm across state lines. you can check that with the atf, people who do so are risking prosecution if caught. florida state where i reside has a carry permit license. it is intrastate not interstate. thank you. >> you're welcome, jack. facebook comments as well. patty wrote i don't agree with the statement guns don't kill people, people kill people. it is people with guns that kill people. most people who need to carry from state to state are looking for trouble. patty, thank you for your point of view. rena in arizona, how irresponsible of the government to allow this knowing it will

cause so much trouble. is this a new way to create business, selling guns, killing people, police being involved. what about to building a better future? i didn't imagine guns were in the picture. bill in charlotte, north carolina. until the police can or will guarantee my safety why would i not want to be armed wherever i go. the criminals pay no attention to gun laws or any laws for that matter and will strike at any target including me and my family. joel in texas says if you follow the law, let your guns follow you. sandy sent a text to us, the individual states have the right to different laws. people should qualify for the permits of the state he or she is carrying the weapons in. really heated blunt opinions there. thanks to everyone who called, e-mailed, text, sent us facebook responses. most of you were in favor of

this. i wanted to give everyone a chance to say what they were feeling. we breesht thappreciate that. let's move on to another topic. two important guests were on capitol hill today and wall street. allison tells whaus is going on on wall street. >> reporter: the dow industrials stretched to seven straight. shares of caterpillar jumped more than 7.5% that helped lift the dow which rose 67 points to close at 8915, the s&p s&p added a third of a percent. ben bernanke delivered a report card on the economy. the pace of economic decline has slowed, unemployment continues to be a serious issue. the fed chief sees a gradual

recovery and says policy makers will be ready to alter their pace if needed. expressing concerns that some of the money is going to waste. neal borask tracks the t.a.r.p. program and federal officials are ignoring his warnings. he is calling for stricter accountability on the heels of a controversial report he released on monday. >> a new iphone application can lead you to the nearest pot stash as long as it is legal. it is called cannabis. if your state hasn't approved medical marijuana the ap will point you to the nearest pro-pot organization. this is activists justifying the natural agriculture of ganja.

something has hit the planet jupiter. astronomers think it may have been a come met. a scar about the size of earth in the atmosphere near jupiter's south pole. an amateur astronomer tipped off nasa. the images come 15 years after the schumacher levy nine come met. a man flying from phoenix to indianapolis took some scorpions. they going to into his carry-on bag. when he picked it up it stung him. the sting is venomous. the man was treated at the airport. southwest airlines say the scorpions were killed and the plane was fumigated just in case. more details into the investigation of a florida couple's murder. the suspects seen here on

surveillance rehearsed the invasion at the home of byrd and melanie billings. what jane velez-mitchell is saying about that.

newly released court documents indicate martial arts instructor, leonard patrick gonzalez jr. organized the attack and shot and killed byrd and melanie billings, according to 19-year-old frederick thornton. he made these comments during a recorded interrogation. investigators say the murders were carefully choreographed for a month and the suspects rehearsed the attack at the couple's home. that dry run was not caught on surveillance cameras. court documents show financial ties between the couple and this man. this is leonard gonzalez jr. the

suspected mastermind. he told investigators he got money from the couple to open the martial arts studio. a pensacola newspaper is suggesting murder for hire. cnn john king asked the county sheriff about that speculation on last night's "ac 360." >> we understand that was within a year, i believe. i have not read those documents. my staff briefed me on it today because they are working with the state attorney's office to get documents and evidence in preparation for the grand jury. to the best of my recollection it was within a year that he financed the opening of the martial arts center. >> is it a possibility mr. gonzalez had a debt unwilling or unable to pay and the murder is related to that? >> we have yet to determine that. again, as i have stated to many people many times we are not

investigating the billings family. we are investigating the subjects we currently have incarcerat incarcerated. the investigation could lead to that. we will be asking those questions, was the debt he made ever satisfied. our focus is on mr. gonzalez, not the byrd family. >> gonzalez did proclaim his innocence in a statement last week. all right. did you see "larry king live" last night? if you did you heard michael jackson's father say his son's death was no accident. police have said murray is not a suspect. jackson told larry king his son's doctor gave him something to sleep and he never woke up and he claimed the doctor ran after the singer died. >> the doctor gave him something to rest and he don't wake up no more, something is wrong there. the doctor just -- somehow i understand he left or went to

sleep, i don't know what happened. >> are you implying the doctor committed foul play? >> something went wrong, larry. because when they tried to bring michael back he was dead. something went wrong. >> murray has not responded to those accusations but hi attorney denied earlier reports that the doctor was in hiding. murray was interviewed by police two days after jackson's death. a woman is suing nfl quarterback ben roethlisberger. she is claiming he raped her in a penthouse room in a hotel casino in lake tahoe, nevada, in 2008. she was an employee at harrah's. officials at the hotel refused to investigate her complaint. local sheriff's office says no complaints were filed. the woman is seeking $390,000 in damages. a lawyer for roethlisberger denys the rape claim and says

the pittsburgh steelers quarterback will be fully exonerated. singer chris brown is apologizing to his fans for beats up rihanna. here is video he posted on his website. >> i'm not going to make any excuses. what i did was inexcusable. i'm sad and ashamed at what i have done. >> a police report says he tried to push her from a car and hit and choked her. he pleaded guilty from felony assault charges and will be sentenced on august 5th. president obama talked to the press today about health care reform in a daily push to get it through congress by next month. in spite of key differences he

and lawmakers are finding common ground. >> we are closer than ever before to the reform that the american people need and we are going to get the job done. i have urged congress to act and the health care reform bill is making its way through respective committees in the house and snoot reflecting a hard earned consensus on how to move forward. >> mr. obama left with house democrats, no reporters allowed. the president and democrat members of the energy and commerce committee are trying to hammer out some of their remaining differences. party con soits are balking at the cost of the package and think president obama is trying to move things along too quickly. >> how do you begin to address that issue in two weeks' time? it took us a year and a half to put the medicaid plan in place. we want to reorient 1/6 of our economy in two weeks. that makes no logical sense. you are talking about

reorienting 1/6 of our economy with legislators who haven't read the legislation. are they going to do with health care what we did with cap-and-trade? get amendments at 4:00 in the morning and health and human services department has to implement this craziness we will find out what is in the bill. this is not how you do health care. >> the president responded to republican critics saying the nation's uninsured can't wait. two white house task forces were supposed to report on options to detaining and interrogate i interrogating suspects. they need more time. the president ordered the detention center to shut down in january. the task force on interrogation policy got a two-month extension for its report. a 4-year-old boy pulled from his mother's burning suv is in

critical condition with burns over 30% of his body. we showed you this yesterday. take a look again. two off-duty firefighters, a police lieutenant and neighbors helped rescue david harper earlier today. his emotional father talked to reporters. >> i'm sorry. i'm a little -- i'm trying to hold it together. it's my little boy. i'm going to turn it over to the doctors but i want to thank everybody, the citizens of milwaukee for helping us. angels all around us and i'd like to thank everybody. >> there's a baby in there. >> yeah. that is the dramatic video of the fire that trapped the boy, his mother and young sister. the crowd wasted no time helping this family. two people broke the windshield. one off duty firefighter used a

knife to cut the boy from his car seat. >> if it wasn't for the citizens that were bashing that window open that gave us access to the child things would have been difference. if that person didn't comfort with the pocket knife, things would have been different. if that lady didn't come through with the garden hose the burns sustained to that child would have been much more severe. >> the firefighters were treated for burns to their hands and their arms. these philadelphia campers might have been denied a few days at a swim club. who needs a pool when you are going to disney world. how they ended up with the coolest field trip ever.

how is it that a single $440 wheelchair can come to symbolize everything that is wrong with our current health care system. cnn.com live nicole laffin is here with that story. health care, health care, health care. >> reporter: let's talk about this one wheelchair. this is a great story a microcosm of a story. this one wheelchair cost $440 and the government paid $1,200. you are asking why. they have come up with a rule that says they can only rent wheelchairs. this is all surrounding this one woman debbie brown who has been in a wheelchair for six years.

cnn's drew griffin bought a newer version in the store that cost $349. so why? congress has set up these rules for determining the worth of a wheelchair. they decided it should be rented and not sold. so they continue to rent and it costs more and more money. to change that congress has new authority to offer competitive bidding on prices. aarp representatives are disagreeing with all this. they say the industry is trying to protect profits and they are not rip off the taxpayer. a lot of people online can relate to the story of debbie brown. when you put a face to some of the government waste it makes more sense. >> it does seem like waste. that is not an opinion, that is a fact. that seems incredibly wasteful. i hope people check that out. i hope people check out this story. a celebrity's good deed. go to cnn.com for this one.

>> reporter: this is great. remember the kids that were kept out of swim camp? they are going to disney world. there are plenty of pools around disney world they can get their swim off. they overheard racially tinninged comments from swim club members and they were asked to not come back. tyler perry is stepping up and helping these kids out. >> how are you all feeling about that? >> you are going to disney world. >> yay! >> reporter: so the swim club denies it discriminated over any kids, it was overcrowding and safety as reasons they were not allowed back. they were plunged into the media spotlight. here is a kwoetd from perry, for every act of evil people throw out of you there are millions

more that people will do kind for you. something kind, ind deed. >> i updated that on my facebook page. is it tyler perry or madea. and whichever, thanks to both of them. thank you, nicole. >> you're welcome. a new iphone application can lead you to the nearest pot stash. as long as it is legal. the ap is called cannabis. it uses gps to find licensed medical marijuana sellers. the ap will cost you $2.99 to download. it is dedined by activists justifying the natural agriculture of gan ja. an espn reporter secretly caught nude in her hotel room. it is all over the internet. who secretly videotaped the

sportscaster? will criminal charges be sought? nancy grace has the breaking developments at 8:00 and 10:00 eastern time on hln. the arrest of a harvard professor have some people accusing police of racial profiling. the charges have been dropped. details on the disputed arrest and what prosecutors are saying now.

prime news is coming up in just a few minutes. let's chat with mike to see what is on the top of the agenda. hello, mike. >> richelle, lots to get to concerning the florida murders of byrd and melanie billings. leonard gonzalez jr. is the alleged triggerman, the mastermind. i jumped the gun. when i say trigger man. that is the new information that one of the suspects is saying not only did gonzalez plan the whole thing, he is the one, the only one who shot byrd and melanie billings. we are going to delve into other aspects of the case. whether leonard gonzalez worked at an auto dealership.

we will talk your calls, 1-877-tell-hln. this brings up a great debate. 14-year-old boy weighing 555 pounds. his mom has been charged with neglect. her son has been taken away from her. he is now in foster care. she says she followed the state guidelines to get him to lose wait. she says when he is out of her care and school he gets other food items and basically the diet is ruined. what do you think about that one? you have a slippery slope question here. many people say that. i think you have to work with a parent at all costs. take your calls 1-877-tell-hln. e-mail cnn.com/primenews or hln tv with a text. >> there is a lot to talk about. you have to feel for the mom.

>> i know. he is 550 pounds. >> we are going to get a lot of calls on that. prosecutors have dropped charges guest the renowned harvard professor in a case that raised questions about possibly racial profiling. henry lewis gates jr. forced his way through a stuck front door at his own home. this is monday night. a woman passing by called police because she thought this was a break in. officers arrested gates saying he was loud and disruptive. colleagues say he showed i.d. proving he was the homeowner. a spokesperson for the city of cambridge said cooler heads should have prevailed. >> it was not professor gates' best moment and it certainly wasn't the cambridge police department's best moment. race did not play a factor in the arrest of professor gates.

>> gates hasn't reacted publicly. he is outraged but feeling better. he is research institute director it was well. we have an update on the helicopter crash in arizona we told you about earlier. it happened in an area in press cot valley. that's about 100 miles north of phoenix. two people were onboard when that chopper went down. one suffered a back injury. we still don't know the condition of the other person. the helicopter was under a training flight. the center is considering a measure that would let people carried weapons across state lines as long as they obey the state laws in the states they visit. they want it to be an amendment to a defense spending bill. he said it will allow citizens to protect themselves while respecting individual state laws. gun control advocates say it will strip the states the right to determine who can carry concealed weapons there.

one bride-to-be will have to work on her new signature. she's marrying a man with the same first and last name as hers. they got engaged about eight months ago. there are no plans to pass along the first name kelly to any of their future kids. the first trials for swine flu vaccine are set to begin tomorrow in australia. the company csl limited says 240 people have volunteered to take part. the flu is spreading so quickly right now, the world health organization is going to focus on looking for unusual patterns. one small treat for man, one giant sugar rush for mankind. nasa helped celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first lunar landing. the concoction was 40 inches in diameter, weighed 55 pounds and 45,000 calories. the original moon pie bakery in

chat a ho hoog a, tennessee, got a chance to sample it. chris brown posted an apology on his website for beating up his ex girlfriend rihanna. naing onon ud r.

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