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save big on car rentals, too, from $13.95 a day! "what do you mean homeowners insurance doesn't cover floods?" "a few inches of water caused all this?" "but i don't even live near the water." what you don't know about flood insurance may shock you. including the fact that a preferred risk policy starts as low as $119 a year. for an agent, call the number on your screen. new developments in the murder of a florida couple. police say they have found two key pieces of evidence in the case and perhaps the motive for the robbery. >> we have located the safe. the safe is being processed at this time. we have located several guns in

various locations. one of which we believe is the murder weapon. >> also to the sheriff in charge about that as well as the newest suspect in the case, a real estate agent being charged as being an accessory. i'll try to find more about her role in all of this. but let's begin with the big story today. we are following the committee finishing up the hearing of judge sonia sotomayor. i'll talk to some of the folks who have been on capitol hill today. let's begin with the big story today. we know this afternoon, they are back in session. they are expecting now to question other witnesses in this case. judge sotomayor off the hot seat. senators ended their questioning of her a short time ago. let's go to norah o'donnell. >> it's over for judge sotomayor. she no longer has to take questions from the senators.

the witnesses you see are from the american bar association. then we'll hear from michael bloomberg then frank ricci, one of the new haven firefighters who had his suit dismissed by judge sotomayor when she was on the appeals court. so that's some of the drama this afternoon. but i think the big headline today as judge sotomayor is now finished, is that she perhaps picked up some republican support and that's significant. in fact, they were issuing a lot of the praise for her today. in particular, we heard from republican senator, lindsey graham, saying today that some of the things she said just bugged the hell out of me, those are his words. he also said her record is quote unquote, generally in the mainstream and graham adding that you have been very reassuring today. senator john cornyn, republican

from texas, also today saying that her judicial record is pretty much in the mainstream. i spoke with a third republican, senator chuck grassley from iowa. he told me that his constituents are running pretty hot against judge sotomayor, but also pointed out that he has never voted against a supreme court nominee and that's really interesting. he said in fact of the nine current supreme court justices, he voted for eight of them in the time that he has been in the senate. he said to vote against her, that would be a change. the other republican to watch would be orrin hatch, who could also vote for judge sotomayor. that's significant because it won't be a partisan party vote. then to the full senate, the republicans say they're not going to block, they're not going to filibuster. she will get a vote before the august recess.

at this point, it looks like she is well on her way to becoming the first hispanic on the supreme court. the third woman ever and also one other interesting fact. if she is confirmed, she will be the sixth catholic to sit on that court. of the nine justices, she will make the sixth catholic. >> they have a list now of witnesses they're going to call on and ask for their testimony. when do you expect the committee to vote? >> we have heard that the chairman of this committee would like to have that vote by next tuesday. no indication from the republicans that they will block that. in the next couple of week, we'll see the full senate vote on her confirmation to the supreme court. pretty significant, just as they thank judge sotomayor sitting through all this tough questioning, the chairman acknowledged that this has been

an historic set of hearings. the public came and sat in some of the seats here. of course, we heard some protesters who disrupted the hearings. >> norah, we appreciate you sitting through those hearings as well and keeping tabs on all the different twists and turns. >> it was fun. new details about a secret plan to kill terrorists. they were getting ready to activate part of that team overseas, so managers told leon panetta about it. he squashed the program and told capitol hill about it. we have breaking news in the murders of a florida couple. police found a safe, stolen from their home and today, florida police say they have recovered several guns, including one they believe to be the murder weapon.

melanie and byrd billings were shot to death last week. let's go to nbc's mark potter. what did you learn from the news conference police held? >> reporter: basically a peek to the day after killings, the bulk of the investigation is over. with the eight people arrested, seven for murder, one for accessory after the murder, they are talking about the evidence only in terms of what they have seized. they're not saying much about details. they got the safe, the second car used in the murder and they did get some weapons, including one that they think is the murder weapon, but are not answering the question as to where they found the safe, what was in it, whether the robbers were able to open it themselves. but the bottom line is that they believe the primary motive here was robbery. that people went into their house, seeking the safe. they dpot it and in the process

of that, byrd and melanie billings were shot to death, multiple times each and unfortunately, leaving behind so many children. nine adopted children, in the house at the time of the killing. there will be more to this investigation as the months progress, but the bulk of it is over and they pretty much understand what happened here. that this was a robbery that led to murder. >> and mark, they're talking about the security video taken during the robbery. it seems like for all the planning and all the people, moving parts of this plot entailed, somebody, one of these suspects screwed up. >> reporter: not one of these suspects. not one of the ones arrested. somebody else, potentially. and it's only a theory. the theory is if they planned so well, why would they not take into account this security system which caught them on tape

and led ultimately to their arrest. the theory is there's somebody else out there who may have been assigned to turn off the system, perhaps through a remote control, but they haven't identified that person yet. i'm not sure that everyone believes that this was all that well planned. all have been caught within a week. they used a bright red van in daylight to conduct the robbery and parked it next to their trailer. they spent some time on it, but maybe didn't think it all the way through. >> all right, mark. thanks for setting that all up for us, although i still have big questions on this story. for instance, what was the real estate agent's real role in this plot? what was in that safe that they found and is what was inside it the real explanation for this invasion-style robbery that involved so many people. what's the real explanation? i'm going to ask those questions

to the sheriff coming up. here's a question everybody wants answered, too. will criminal charges be filed in the death of michael jackson. you made a phone call today, what are they telling you? >> reporter: what they're basically saying is that yes, it's prosecutors are speaking to investigators. they're in touch, they're talking. if you ever watch law and order, that's something that is pretty typical. what it does signal perhaps is that they are progressing with a possible criminal case. this is something on their minds. if and when they do take this to court, they will be able to know exactly how the evidence was gathered. they're talking to investigators all along. so really, you're seeing this begin to go, but the da's office

says if there are criminal charges, that wouldn't happen most likely until at least next week when the coroner's report is due out. >> let me ask you about this video that is just, has everybody's attention, because it's the video of michael jackson's hair on fire. he was shooting this commercial in 1984. is this the first time we're getting a look at this video? i don't remember this when i was a kid. >> it is. the commercial came out and there was the video of michael on the stretcher with the glove and all, but we have never seen this video before. it's amazing, in fact, that the video like this could stay hidden for 25 years. but us weekly magazine did obtain it. it was on take number six, filming that pepsi commercial. he was paid $5 million to do it. pyrote

pyrotechnics go off too early. about eight seconds go by, he walks down the stage and has no idea his hair was on fire. he continues to dance. dr. nancy was saying that makes sense because if your hair is on fire, it doesn't hurt until it gets down to the scalp. so when he did realize his hair was on fire, he sort of is still smoking, spins around, people are trying put it out. >> it's not just the video itself. it could be important in even the investigation into his death because allegedly, after this happened, there was a lot of the pain involved with the fire that had been in his hair and that's when he first got introduced to painkillers, am i right? >> reporter: right. in fact, demerol was the drug first given to him and the jackson family, jermaine told

matt lauer, they still point to this particular incident, the pepsi burn as he called it, as the start of his possible addiction. and now, here we are years later, prescription drugs playing a key role. people speculate it began right here and they also say this is when he sort of became obsessed with his appearance because his scalp was burned. so the two things, the addiction to plastic surgery and the painkillers. >> jeff, good to see you. thank you. coming up, are democrats risking a backlash over the cia's secret program to kill top al-qaeda leaders? do they risk being tainted as sympathetic to terrorists? and don't count her out just yet. new numbers today show sarah palin could be in the running if

she decided to be in 2012. plus, serious concerns about the shuttle's lift off. the dow jones industrial up 27 points. right now, the s&p is up 1.5 and the nasdaq is up almost ten points on the day. quick break. undefeated professional boxer floyd "money" mayweather has the fastest hands boxing has ever seen.

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welcome back to the place for politics. i'm contessa brewer. president obama's top officials say the cia did not violate any laws by keeping a plan to kill al-qaeda operatives secret from

congress. leon panetta nixed the plan. still, some were furious because they had been kept in the dark for so long. chris kofinis joins me now. so now, you have dennis blair, the director of the national intelligence office saying the cia didn't break any laws, that it was in the planning and sometimes it was off, then back in. what kind of game here are these democrats playing? >> well, i'm not sure it's a game. it's a question of trying to find out the truth. i think dennis blair has his perspective and congress has theirs. there are some really troubling questions that have been raised about this. there's probably nothing more corrosive to our government than if you have an agency and electelect

ed officialed deciding not to inform congress. whether there's illegalalties or not, i don't know. >> but according to "the washington post," this is not an operational program. is the cia, do you think, supposed to go to congress when they're sitting around a table going, we really want to get osama bin laden and the top leaders from al-qaeda. how? we can form a hit squad ofand g after them. >> this is not an issue about getting tough on al-qaeda. there's no democrat, no american, that opposes that or disagrees with that. it's a question of whether you have the cia, in particular, the vice president, telling the cia not to inform congress. that is incredibly dangerous and has far-reaching implications.

i think that's what's so troubling. >> dill lan pointed out this morning how troubling it is that we've been on the warpath after osama bin laden for eight years and perhaps more troubling to know there was a program that didn't get off the ground. why didn't that program get off the ground? but that being said, if democrats continue on this path, if they want to drag the cia into testimony, is there a danger, i'm not saying will it happen, i'm saying is there a danger that it makes the democrats look like they didn't want osama bin laden dead? >> i don't think there's a democrat alive, let alone an elected official alive, that believes we shouldn't go after him and kill him. i think this is about bigger questions about how our government functions and how

congress, whether that is going to be respected or not and i think the question here is what we're seeing is that president bush and his administration, particular vice president cheney, may have done some really troubling things on top of other troubling things and it does, i think, beg the question, do we need to have an investigation to get some truth to this. it means you're being respectful and strong on the constitution. i don't think many americans will disagree with that. >> on the record again, leon panetta has said that there is neither the practice nor the policy to mislead congress and he has stuck by that statement. good to see you. thank you. don't count sarah palin out of 2012 just yet. a new gallup poll puts her near the top. among republicans, 28% support

mitt romney. 21% support sarah palin and 19% say they'd support mike huckabee, but that poll also found 72% of those same people have a favorable opinion of palin. they believe it's because she's better known. the national transportation safety board is launching a team to investigate a huge tanker explosion on a detroit freeway. police say a driver going 70 miles an hour lost control and swerved into another truck and the driver of the second truck saw what was happening, got out of the way, so all three escaped with minor injuries. the bridge apparently collapsed. "endeavour" is heading to the international space station and nasa's checking launch pictures just to be safe. they saw eight or nine pieces of foam falling off the tank during launch. for now, nasa said it looks like

the damage is minor. mark sanford is on vacation and this time, he took his wife. later, new details in the murder of a florida couple. we'll talk to the sheriff heading up the investigation about what they have discovered about why these killings happened. it's all ahead on msnbc. if we don't act, medical bills will wipe out their savings. if we don't act, she'll be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. and he won't get the chemotherapy he needs. if we don't act, health care costs will rise 70%. and he'll have to cut benefits for his employees. but we can act. the president and congress have a plan to lower your costs and stop denials for pre-existing conditions. it's time to act. come on in. you're invited to the chevy open house. where getting a new vehicle is easy. because the price on the tag is the price you pay on remaining '08 and '09 models.

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another trip for mark sanford. first, the secret ran day view, then a family trip to florida. now, he's off somewhere quote, repairing the damage he's done the to his marriage. once again, aides aren't saying where he was. his foes are criticizing him far skipping a meeting with a top economic adviser. this week, the state phases spending cuts and the jobless numbers have been horrible in

south carolina and the governor hasn't been around much. house democrats are set to vote on a health care reform package today, but the budget office says the measure would raise costs, not lower them. the director says the plans won't be enough in the long run. the debate is continuing in washington. some resistance, as you may know, to what some call socialized medicine. like they say systems in canada and france and great britain, but could it work? joining us from the msnbc news room, kathryn. you wrote about an experience you had in europe with their system of medicine. what happened? >> it was amazing. i thought i was going to have to pay a huge amount of money. i walked into a national health office and met with the doctor immediately. we sat together for 30 minutes. he gave me a prescription, i

walked downstairs and didn't have to pay a cent. >> just hearing that briefest of stories, people here would say, why should i pay for a foreigner? >> if i waited longer, they probably would have had to pay for emergency care. >> so you're with family, you explaining this story, that you have a migraine headache and you didn't have the prescription that you normally use to treat them. what did your family say about the way the health care system works in great britain for them? >> you go to your first line of defense and you pay nothing for it. then if you need a specialist, you get an appointment and get treatment for that. oftentimes, there are criticisms about the british health care system and having to wait for specialized medicine. i tell a story about how my

great uncle was basically turned away from open heart surgery and had to come back the following week. he ended up getting the surgery and didn't have to pay a cent. >> that's another part. in the united states, people worry about the part, didn't have to pay a cent. in a movie by michael moore, he goes to the former member of parliament. i want to play that. >> it will provide you with all medical, dental and nursing care. every man, woman or child can use it or any part of it. there are no charges expect for a few special items. no insurance qualifications. it is not a charity. you are paying for it mainly as taxpayers and it will relieve your money worries in times of illness. >> so he's saying you are paying for it, but in your taxes rather than in a check to your doctor

or hospital. the thing is, then you're going back to the government deciding what's best for you in termss of how you spend your money. could that work here? >> the legislation being pushed through right now is finding ways to pay for more universal health care as is the case in england and it's going to lower the cost of health care and make compa companies more competitive. i will say, the english system, my grandmother actually worked for tony bend and they left england in the '60s because specialized medicine wasn't getting enough resources and they came to america to do that. we have to keep up the level of competition that we have in this country in terms of speci

specialization, but when it comes to care, that's something england is way beyond. >> thanks for sharing your story. let's go to the war of words between meghan mccain and joe the plumber. in a recent interview, she railed against her dad's biggest supporter. she criticized samuel wurzelbacher. she said, quote, joe the plumber, joe the plumber, is a -- he should stick to plumbing. is that name calling? just asking, folks. i'm just asking. quick break here, be right back. i never thought i would have a heart attack,

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welcome back to msnbc. we're following big, breaking news here. developments in the mysterious

murder of the florida couple. police say they've now found a safe stolen from the couple's home. authorities say they've also recovered several guns. one they believe is the murder weapon. you're looking at the sheriff there giving us the latest details. melanie and byrd billings with were shot to death last week. eight suspects have been arrested and charged in the case. joining me now is sheriff david morgan. good to talk to you today. let me ask you, in terms of the new news that you just released today about this safe that you've recovered, what was in the safe? >> we've been asked by the state attorneys office to not divulge the contents and want to explain the reason for that is it will be part of the prosecutions development which ties people to certain place at certain times. >> okay, so then let me ask you

is what was inside the safe so important that it is the overarching motive for this plot? the planning, the invasion-style robbery that ended in murder? >> i would back up a little bit and say the recovery of the safe itself is significant. >> but what i'm saying is we have yet to learn -- and forgive me, but it just seems like the robbery itself could not, for stuff in a house, it just doesn't seem like it fits this massive plot with so many moving parts, so many suspects arrested now. have you learned what was so important that they were willing to put all of this into it? >> well, we believe again, and we're not at liberty to speak, but during the course of the trial, in florida, our public records laws are pretty liberal and once these court documents

are filed, all of that information will come out in print through our prosecuting attorney's office. but i can tell you the attempt to assess or put a motive to any crime is delving into the psyche of the criminal mind and it's very, very difficult to track. in police work, we have that great saying, you know, it is what it is and you attempt not to get hung up on that and just move forward with your case. >> when you say a criminal mind, i mean, how many of these people you've arrested, eight so far, had criminal records previously? >> i believe -- i believe seven. seven. >> and the woman that you arrested, pamela wiggins, what was her role? why was she arrested as an accessory after the fact? what did she do, are you alleging?

>> that's an accurate term, alle alleging. she became a person of interest because of her close relationship to one of our prime suspects. she was both a family friend and somewhat of a business associate. we looked for her and with your assistan assistance, we found her. once the court documents are filed, we'll be able to release that information, but she obviously played a role in this case or the state attorney's office would not have deemed it necessary to file charges. >> so sheriff morgan, you have what you think is a murder weapon of a gun. you've recovered the safe. you've arrested eight people so far. do you feel like this is pretty well wrapped up your part of the investigation or is there a lot more work to do? >> we believe that while we're leaving the investigation open, the reason why is we have a couple of more persons of interest that we're pursuing. we know their location, who they

are. we want to speak to again, some more individuals. it may end up being by the way, more than two. it will just take us where it takes us. we are going to pursue this case until we are confident that we have found anyone and everyone that aided and abedded in this horrible crime. >> horrible crime. 17 children to the billings parents and 13 of them were adopted. nine of them weren't home? >> that is correct. >> sheriff, good of you to be with us and share what you can and i hope you'll come back to us when you can talk more freely. a wild ride ends in a deadly shoot o shootout near the capitol. a man drove the wrong way on a street, crashed into a police cruiser. he reportedly fired shots and

police returned fire and killed him. congress has a lot on its plate right now with health care reform and confirming sonia sotomayor, but is scheduled to take a break for a month in august. so if you need to over haul health care, you need to confirm a judicial nominee, how do you get that done? let's ask mike viqueira. he's the king of getting things done. >> reporter: get her done. that's what the president told leaders. that's one of the phrases he used, get her done, if you believe it. >> i do believe it. that being said, are they going to take those words and run? this whole sotomayor confirmation seems to be on track. we expect a vote maybe on tuesday. >> reporter: the house has two more weeks before they leave for five weeks for august recess. the senate has two more weeks.

but this is touch and go on health care. we've had a number setbacks just this very day. first of all, max baucus is in charge of the finance committee. came out of a meeting today and told reporters the president is not helping us and not helping on a particular area of how to pay for this health care reform. in particular, the senate wants to option of taxing employer-provided benefits. the president wants to take that off the table as does harry reid. from what they've seen of all the legislation, this is going to have costs rise. the biggest rational perhaps in addition to covering the 50 million uninsured americans is because it's such a drag. costs are going to rise as a result, so a lot of setbacks here. one positive thing was the

american medical association endorsed the house bill today. >> when you're talking to these lawmakers and their staff, is there any sense that maybe it would be better not to rush into it? that yes, we want everyone to have access to quality medical care, but something this big should have some time and attention? >> reporter: this was the deadline they put in place. not a final version, but passed out of the house and senate by the time they leave for august. and politically, they're past the point of no return. if this crashes and burns, if they decide they can't do it, it's going to be a political disaster for democrats. there is an all-out push to get this done. probably in the house. that's the better chance. they're still trying in the senate, but a lot of the people are saying it's going to be a very heavy lift. >> we've gone from joe the plumber. isn't that larry the cable guy.

thank you. new regulations will require energy producers to generate more electricity from green sources. what does that mean for your bottom line? and later, before she was secretary of state, she was the junior senator from new york and now, the big apple is not so happy with hillary clinton. i'm going to tell you why ahead on msnbc, the place for politics. hour, andy roddick has the fastest serve in the history of professional tennis. so i've come to this court to challenge his speed. ...on the internet. i'll be using the 3g at&t laptopconnect card. he won't. so i can book travel plans faster, check my account balances faster. all on the go. i'm bill kurtis and i'm faster than andy roddick. (announcer) "switch to the nations fastest 3g network" "and get the at&t laptopconnect card for free". (announcer) "switch to the nations fastest 3g network" announcer: here's ryan getting ready to make his approach... to the men's room. second announcer: looks like he needs to go urgently. true. and there's casey, about to drive... also to the men's room. he has been going over and over.

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worried about your money? stocks look good. the dow up 66 points. jpmorgan's posting strong earnings. the number of people losing jobs is down. let's go to cnbc's matt nesto. >> you're seeing a stock trade lower today in the aftermath. also what stands out is the fact that the nasdaq is up for the seventh consecutive session. we're having some fun with that one. the dow and s&p are up for the fourth consecutive session. we're seeing strength in the technology area, ahead of ibm and google, as well as in some transportation names. lots of earnings coming through the pipe as well as ominous data from cit, a financial services

company that is on the cusp of bankruptcy, but it is a lender with a niche market. they lend to small businesses more than any other entity like them. their collapse, while representing less than 1% in the u.s., would have a profound effect for small lenders. there have been reports that there has been a run on credit lines for people afraid that if they lost that credit line, they would have a hard time replacing it in this market. >> how close is it to collapse? >> now the bondholders are scrambling to extend a second lifeline. the stock's down 75%. it's minute to minute, if you will. >> thanks. "new york times" is pointing out the united states is taking its first steps to require power companies to generate more electricity from renewable sources. the house of representatives

just approved a requirement that utility companies generate power from clean sources. they should der rooif at least 15% by 2020. the debate is raging over carbon emissions as well. joining me now, ceo of american wind energy association. for your association, your client members, this is the good thing. explain how it would change for companies that produce wind energy. >> it's a great thing not only for our wind developers, but for american manufacturers, who will build those 8,000 component parts. and it's a win for consumers because even the department of energy has said that in every analysis that consumers save money because every time wind goes on the grid, you avoid paying a foss ill fuel cost because it has zero cost.

>> when we talk about clean sources of energy, it's not always totally green. i used to live in california's desert where there was a massive wind farm, but okay, you know what? i'm sorry, we're going to have to interrupt. we have to go to capitol hill now. we know that frank ricci, the firefighter from the connecticut case she ruled on is now testifying. we want to listen to him. >> not alone in their skrug l. firefighters across the country have had to resort to the federal courts. technology and modern threats have challenged our profession. we have become more effective and efficient, but not safer. the structures we respond to today are more dangerous rk constructed with components prone to early collapse and we face fires that double this size every 30 seconds. too many think that firefighters just fight fires.

officers are also responsible for mitigating vehicle accidents, hazardous material incidents and handles complicated incidents. rescue work can be very technical. all of these things require a great deal of knowledge and skill. lieutenants and captains must understand the dynamic fire voirmt and environment environment. they are forced to make stressful decisions based on imperfect information. almost all our tasks are time sensitive. when your house is on fire or your life is in jeopardy, there are no time for doovers. the lieutenant test that i took was without job related exam based on skills, knowledge and ableties needed to ensure public and the firefighter's safety. we all had an equal opportunity

to succeed as individuals and were all provided a road map to propair for the exam. achievement is neither limited nor determined by ones race, but by one's skills, dedication and character. ours is not a job that can be handed out without regard to merit and qualifications. for this reason, i and many others prepared for this throughout our careers. i studies harder than ever before, reading, making flash cards, high lighting, reading again. listening to prepared tapes. i went before numerous panels to prepare for the oral assessment. in 2004, the city felt not enough minorities would be promoted and the price for the civil service rules would be too

high. therefore, they chose not to fill the vacancies. such action deprived all of us the action set forth. firefighters who earned promooses were deny motions were denied them. constitutional claims we raised, the court of appeals panel disposed of our case in an unsigned summary in a single paragraph that made mention of my dyslexia and led many to think this was a case about me and a disability. this case had nothing to do with that. it had everything to do with ensuring our command officers were competent to answer the call. americans have the right to go into our federal courts and have their cases judges based on the constitution and our laws. not on politics or personal

feelings. the lower courts belief that citizens should be reduced to racial statistics is flawed. it only divided people who don't wish to be divided. the very reason we have civil service rules is to root out politics, discrimination and nepitism. our case demonstrates this will exist if the laws of merit are not followed. our courts are the last reports for americans who's rights are violated. where the outcome of the decision could result in injury or death is contrary to sound, public policy. the more attention our case got, the more some people tried to distort it. it bothered us greatly that some perceived this as a testing process that resulted in

minorities being excluded from promotions. that was entirely false as minority firefighters were victimized by the city's decision as well. as a result of our case, they should now enjoy the career advancement they've earned and deserve. it took its toll on us and our families. the case was no longer just about us, but about so many americans who had last faith in the court system. when we finally won our case and saw the messages we received from every corner of the country, we understood that we did something important together. we saw basic fairness and even-handed enforcement of the laws. something all americans believe in. again, thank you for the honor and privilege of speaking to you today. >> thank you very much for your

testimony. we'll now hear from lieutenant ben vargas. benjamin vargas is a lieutenant and was plaintiff in the case. he also worked part time as a consultant for a company that sells equipment to firefighters. mr. vargas. >> thank you. members of this committee, it is truly an honor to be invited here today. notably, since our case was dismissed by both the district court and court of appeals panel, this is the first time i am being given the opportunity to sit and testify before a body and tell my story. i thank this committee for the opportunity. senators of both parties have noted the importance of this proceedings because decisions of the united states supreme court can greatly impact the every day lives of ordinary americans. i suppose that i and my fellow plaintiffs have shown how true that is.

i never envisioned being a plaintiff in a supreme court case, much less one that generated so much media and public interest. i am hispanic and proud of the heritage and background that judge sotomayor and i share and i congratulate judge sotomayor on her nomination, but the focus should not have been on me being hispan hispanic. it should have been on what i did to earn a promotion to captain and how my captain respopded to that. in short, they didn't care. i think it important for you to know what i did, that i played by the rules and then endured a long process of asking the courts to enforce those rules. i am the proud father of three young sons. for them, i sought to better my life. and so i spent three months in daily study preparing for an exam that was unquestionably job related. my wife, a special enl kags

teacher, took time off work to see me and my children through this process. i knew i would see little of my sons during these months when i studies every day at a desk in our basement, so i placed photographs of my boys in front of me when i'd get tired and want to stop. i would look at the pictures, realize that their futures depended on mine and i would keep going. at one point, i packed up and went to a hotel to avoid distractions and those pictures came with me. i was shocked when i was not rewarded for this hard work and sacrifice, but i actually was penalized for it. i became not ben vargas, the fire lieutenant who prooefed qualified, but a racial statistic. i had to make decisions whether to join those who wanted promotions to be based on race and ethnicity, or those who

would insist on being judged solely on their qualifications and the content of their character. i am proud of the decision i made and the principle our group vindicated together. in our profession, we do not have the luxury of being wrong or having long debates. we must be correct the first time and make quick decisions under the pressure of time and rapidly unfolding events. those who make these decisions must have the knowledge necessary to get it right the first time. unlike the judicial system, there are no motions or appeals. errors or delays can cost lives. the racial and ethic make up of my crew is the least important thing to us and the public we serve. i believe the countless americans who had something to say about our case understand that now. firefighters and their leaders