Key House Committee Passes Health-Care Bill; Source: Hit Suspected in Florida Couple's Killing
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, from the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING for the first day of August. Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.</s>BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Can you believe it? August?</s>HOLMES: I can't.</s>BALDWIN: I'm not ready.</s>HOLMES: We started about the New Year.</s>BALDWIN: I'm not ready yet.</s>HOLMES: But welcome back. Good to see you again.</s>BALDWIN: Hey, thanks. Hey, I'm Brooke, in for Betty again this weekend. She's long away in Vietnam doing some great things on that part of the...</s>HOLMES: She'll be back soon. She'll be back.</s>BALDWIN: Part of the world. She'll be back next weekend. Let's start with some of what we're working on for you this morning, including, of course, talking this morning about the health- care plan. President Obama is now one step closer to congressional approval. Last night, big vote in the House; the House Energy and Commerce Committee finally passed their version of the bill. Two other committees had already signed off. So...</s>HOLMES: Yes.</s>BALDWIN: ...we will probably be seeing some kind of full-chamber vote sometime September, October. But now they're long gone on recess.</s>HOLMES: They're off and having to explain themselves...</s>BALDWIN: Yes.</s>HOLMES: ...on this recess, to their constituents.</s>BALDWIN: Yes.</s>HOLMES: We're going to be talking a lot about health care this morning, so stick around for that. Also, Honda says some of their cars could literally kill you. At least one death being linked to a default in one of their vehicles, a couple of their vehicles. If you drive an Accord, an Acura, a Civic, you need to stay tuned and check with your dealership as well. We'll tell you what's going on with these cars and what you need to be looking out for.</s>BALDWIN: Also this story, I'm really looking forward to seeing.</s>HOLMES: Uh huh.</s>BALDWIN: Reynolds Wolf going on a mission to figure out how dairy farmers are using cow manure -- cow manure to save money, and apparently he took things a little too far. Take a look.</s>SHAWN SAYLOR, HILLCREST SAYLOR DAIRY FARM: I think these cows are fed better than me because they have their own nutritionist.</s>REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh man. It tastes like</s>BALDWIN: Oh no he didn't. Reynolds -- protein? What did it taste -- look at it hanging out of his mouth. Bad decision. I like that font (ph). Yes. We'll be -- we'll be getting the -- the scoop from Reynolds on how -- how that tasted, how that went for him.</s>HOLMES: See how you swashing that down and see how he's doing now.</s>BALDWIN: Yes.</s>HOLMES: We'll get him up here in a second.</s>BALDWIN: A little breakfast. All right. Let's talk news this morning. Here are some of the stories we were following for you overnight. The U.S. looking into reports that three missing Americans may have been detained in Iran. According to Kurdish officials in northern Iraq, the Americans were last seen hiking near the unmarked Iranian border. Kurdish officials its group -- it's likely the group accidentally crossed into Iran at Ahmed Awa. That's a popular tourist destination there, right along the border. CNN's Arwa Damon following the story for us today. We'll talk to her in just about 30 minutes.</s>HOLMES: All right. We can add five more banks to the list of those that have been shut down this year. In Oklahoma, Florida, Ohio, New Jersey in Illinois, these latest. The biggest failure was Mutual Bank of Harvey, Illinois. Officials estimate the latest batch of closures will cost the FDIC more than $900 million. A lot of banks, a lot of smaller and regional banks have been shutting down this year because of the downturn in the economy. And a lot of families, a lot of local folks cannot make those payments. So that is why some of these banks do go in and get into trouble. So far, 69 banks have been taken over by the government this year.</s>BALDWIN: The murders of a Florida couple last month may have been contract killings. That's what we're hearing. A source familiar with the investigation is telling some reporters the state attorney's thinks most of the suspects were only there to rob Byrd and Melanie Billings. But the alleged organizer of this thing, Leonard Gonzalez Jr. and other suspects may have been planning this hit all along. The state attorney's office says he cannot comment on that.</s>BILL EDDINS, FLORIDA STATE ATTORNEY: It's my belief that the primary motive for this murder was robbery. However, we will evaluate and review all possibilities and we will consider and review all evidence as it relates to motive. That's been my position from the beginning. That's my position now. Because the investigation is ongoing and because of the magnitude of this matter, I do not believe that it would be appropriate for me to comment further.</s>HOLMES: Now, seven people altogether charged with murder in the Billings case. A safe was taken and later found at a home connected to the chief suspect.</s>BALDWIN: But a legal expert who spoke with Anderson Cooper last night says he was not surprised to see more lawyers in the case.</s>STACEY HONOWITZ, FLORIDA ASSISTANT STATE ATTORNEY: And I think most people, when they heard about this first, when the arrests came out, I think most people probably said, the way that this was carried out just seemed to be a little bit more than a robbery. It was planned -- the ninja-style outfits. It was precise; they practiced a month before. So I think, generally, people were saying it just doesn't sound like a robbery. So the fact that now they are investigating this murder for hire I don't think is so unusual. And I think they're going to keep it close to the vest, because they are still investigating.</s>COOPER: Keep it close to the vest, as they should. But -- but they -- I mean, the idea of a revenge killing, in some way -- what would be a possible motive for a revenge killing in a case like this?</s>HONOWITZ: Well, we're not going to know anything until, you know, basically people start flipping. And I think the woman that was arrested -- you know, she was the last one who was arrested, for accessory after the fact. And I think the bottom line is, she's going to be the flip witness. She's going to be the one that is going to start talking in order to get a good deal. And that's why now I think you're starting to hear this aspect of murder for hire, because maybe some of them are starting to talk. And that's why additional charges might come down and they might be looking for additional suspects.</s>COOPER: What's interesting...</s>HONOWITZ: And we're going to have to wait and see. As this progresses, as people start talking, as more evidence comes forward, we're going to hear more about it.</s>COOPER: What's interesting though, and what may complicate all this is that -is that the same source also told CNN that the state attorney's office is working under the belief that most of the suspects in the case thought they were actually there for a robbery, and that it was really only -- that only some were -- were plotting the hit.</s>HONOWITZ: Yes, I mean, the source -- and what I have read is, the bottom line is, people that were up from this gentleman Gonzalez, who they say is the shooter, knew what was going on, and the people lower were just kind of lassoed into this robbery. And you know what? You know, as a prosecutor, I can tell you theories do change as evidence becomes more prevalent, as people start talking, especially in a case when you have more than one people -- person arrested, more than one suspect, in this case, eight people, people start talking. So different theories, different portions of the investigation start coming forward as the case goes forward.</s>BALDWIN: The couple they're talking about, they had 16 children, many of them they adopted with special needs.</s>HOLMES: That has been a strange case from the beginning. So many people...</s>BALDWIN: The strange case keeps going.</s>HOLMES: And it keeps going. It keeps on giving. Who knows if we'll ever get to the bottom of that. We'll stay on top of it. Also, we're on top of health care, as another step forward for President Obama's plan to reform the health-care system. A House committee passed a version of the bill late last night. Now, that bill has to be merged with other versions that were passed by other committees in the House as well.</s>BALDWIN: So three versions.</s>HOLMES: Three different versions.</s>BALDWIN: Did I get them right?</s>HOLMES: There different versions; you got to bring those together.</s>BALDWIN: OK. So the final version will probably go before the full chamber sometime September, maybe October. Yesterday's vote came just before the House went on August recess. Now, the Senate probably won't reach a deal before it goes on recess next Friday.</s>HOLMES: Yes.</s>BALDWIN: So there will be plenty of unfinished business left in Washington while all these lawmakers are out and about vacationing for the month of August.</s>HOLMES: However, as our Dana Bash explains, summer vacation won't bring the health-care fight to a halt at all.</s>DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After the last vote, the exodus, House members rushing home for the entire month of August. And if you're a vulnerable Democrat, prepare for the political tsunami on health care.</s>REP. TOM PERRIELLO (D), VIRGINIA: They're going to get the first shot in, the 30-second attack. But the more people know, the more they like what we're doing. And that's going to be good for us over the long term.</s>BASH: Tom Perriello is a freshman Democrat who only won his conservative Virginia district by two-tenths of one percentage point. He's undecided about his party's health-care plan and will use August with his constituents to decide.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eighteen counties, 18 "Tom in your towns" and meetings with elected officials and doctors and others. Road-testing this; I haven't committed on the bill.</s>BASH: Democratic leaders are hoping to defend Democrats like Perriello from withering Republican attacks by arming them with a media strategy, from Power Points to simple message ideas: hold insurance companies accountable, remove them from between you and your doctor. To get their message out, Democratic leaders suggest using town halls, Twitter, Facebook. Pennsylvania Democrat Jason Altmire rolls his eyes at those instructions.</s>REP. JASON ALTMIRE (D), PENNSYLVANIA: The House bill is in my opinion flawed.</s>BASH: He's a vulnerable Democrat who voted against his party's health-care plan in committee, and says Democratic leaders have put Democrats like him from conservative districts in a tough spot by including controversial proposals in their health-care plan, like a tax increase.</s>ALTMIRE: Go back to their district and explain to their constituents why they took a politically unpopular vote. It just was tone deaf to me.</s>BASH: He insists he's not worried about the onslaught of ads, calls and protests that await him at home.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At least it's encouraging debate. We didn't ram this through. We took the August recess to allow the country's voice to be heard.</s>BASH (on camera): Talk to just about any Democratic lawmaker and they'll tell you they were elected on a promise to reform the health- care system, and they believe, at the end of the day, it will happen. But the key is to regain the message back from Republicans, in a words of one lawmaker: "Explain what they're doing for you, not to you." And they're very much treating this like a political campaign. In fact, one Democratic leader that they're determined not to get swift boated during recess. Dana Bash, CNN, Capitol Hill.</s>HOLMES: All right. Good morning.</s>WOLF: Good morning.</s>HOLMES: How are you? I've been -- we've been talking about this video this morning. Let's go ahead and take this full here and show what we're talking about. Some -- some video out of St. Augustine, Florida. Some light -- ah -- lightning strikes.</s>WOLF: Pretty intense, isn't it? I mean, this is -- you see part of the Intercoastal Waterway off there in the distance. This is not too far from Castillo de San Marcos, which is known as the Old Fort in -- in parts St. Augustine, near Highway A1A. And what they had there was an intense thunderstorm all the way from, say, St. Augustine up through Ponta Vedra, back through Sawgrass, even as far south as...</s>HOLMES: Wow.</s>WOLF: ...Daytona. I mean, it is -- that is actually the lightning capital of North America.</s>HOLMES: Really?</s>WOLF: Did you know that?</s>HOLMES: I did not know that.</s>WOLF: It is. That's what happens in central Florida. Now, the lightning capital of...</s>HOLMES: Wow.</s>WOLF: ...the world is actually in central Africa. But it's...</s>HOLMES: How do you know this stuff?</s>WOLF: Because I'm a geek. I'm a nerd. I'm a meteorologist. That's what we're trained to do.</s>HOLMES: Well, these folks here at this house -- now you would think, maybe some serious damage or something. You see the house</s>WOLF: Absolutely.</s>HOLMES: Somebody rocked (ph) with the camera there. They didn't lose power; all they lost was their Internet connection.</s>WOLF: Wow.</s>HOLMES: That was it.</s>WOLF: I would have lost a lot more than that. There's no question.</s>HOLMES: Well, OK. When you say the lightning capital of the U.S....</s>WOLF: Yes.</s>HOLMES: This area you're talking about, do you have an idea of how many lightning strikes that means per year or per...</s>WOLF: Well, I can tell you that lightning...lightning strikes the Earth -- strikes our planet an average of seven times per second. So every second. One, two three -- lightning strikes are going crazy right now. I mean -- but it just happens that you have it really in central Florida, because it's right on a peninsula, you have the converging sea breeze. And every afternoon between 3 and -- and 6 p.m., into the early evening, you have a chance of thunderstorms, year round. There are times of the year that they're less noticeable. But, you know...</s>HOLMES: Man, it's good talking -- I learn something every time I talk to you over here (ph).</s>WOLF: And there's so much that he doesn't learn when we talk off the air.</s>WOLF: And coming up, we're going to be talking about something entirely different. I'm going to take you to the hills of southwestern Pennsylvania, to the Hillcrest Saylor Dairy Farm, where they derive their power not just from any, say, power plant, but their own power plant with horns. Straight from cows. We're going to give you the stinky details coming up very soon.</s>BALDWIN: You're a brave man.</s>HOLMES: You got people talking this morning about that already.</s>BALDWIN: You're a brave man.</s>WOLF: I am terrified when I saw some of that video. It's kind of freaky. You kind of forget some of those things. You kind of block it out, you know? But being, you know, able to revisit it, not always a good thing.</s>HOLMES: We're not going to let you forget it this morning, buddy. Looking forward to seeing it.</s>WOLF: No. See you guys.</s>HOLMES: See you soon, Renny.</s>BALDWIN: It -- it's like that show, "Man vs. Wild." It's like "Reynolds vs. Wild."</s>HOLMES: It is, yes.</s>BALDWIN: Looking forward to that.</s>BALDWIN: Also, I had a little bit of a wild time, actually, this past week. I was in Chicago. And we're asking the question -- we're talking about Chicago violence, and really what it's like to be in a gang. I sat down and I rode along in some of the dangerous part of the city with a gang member. We'll hear his personal story, talking about some of the violence, especially among kids on the streets, coming up.