>> we're still in the middle of dangerous flooding. i'm at the creek, it's supposed to be a creek, but you can see it's more like a full river, a full stream. that's what many of the rivers and streams look like along the front range. taking a look at the aerials shot earlier today, what you see

are farms submerged in water. acre by acre, you can see these little farms, these big farms completely underwater. this is known as the bread bask of colorado. these farmers are going to be hard hit, the good news harvesting began two weeks ago, so some of the farmers have gotten their crops out, so they might not lose everything. >> tamara, so long d.t. mont and boulder are not the only areas impacted, but how long of a line are we talking here? >> right, tony, these floodwaters have devastated the areas from fort collins, that far north, all the way down to colorado springs, which is an hour's drive south of denver. so that's about 150 miles. it is something that we've not seen in this area ever. this is historic. national weather service people

are calling it biblical. >> we understand that four people have been killed. that's the updated figure, but there are a number of people still unaccounted for? >> that's right. there are four people now, unfortunately, that has been found dead. there are still about 20 people that are unaccounted forever. hopefully those folks are staying with friends and family, but so far we may have more death updates as the days go on. >> tamara banks in longmont, colorado. thank you. we spent the day in boulders where residents describe seeing a wall of water rush through. >> reporter: jeremy barns' house sits at the edge of the creek in boulder. since monday it has been immersed in rushing water. >> by the time i got the car started the water was coming up to the doors, we couldn't get out of the driveway. as you can see there that's the car.

>> reporter: residents like jeremy describe a wall of water, and say that they've never seen anything like this before. >> until earlier this week this was a passable road, but with unrelenting rainfall this once calm creek has turned into a raging weather of rapids and debris. an estimated 4.5 million gallons of water, this was once a driveway but the force of the water pressure washed it away. >> we have a term called "head pressure." that is the longer the water moves, the more pressure it builds up, and you can see with a lot of damage that is here with the undermining of the highway here as well, it makes it more than dangerous. >> reporter: first responders are racing to get those still trapped by the floodwaters to safer ground. some have been stranded for days. >> so grateful, just so grateful for all of them. i'm rather happy to be out of there. >> reporter: rescuers helped people out of their home

surrounded by floodwater, not forgetting the animals who can't fend for themselves. as national guardsmen and rescue teams continue their work around floodwaters, others like jeremy barns can only stand and watch in disbelief. >> it's just all gone. >> reporter: al jazeera, boulderer, colorado. >> we saw people in boulder and those surrounding communities are looking for relief from the rainfall, rebecca stevenson? >> meteorologist: in eight days we had high temperatures in the 90s in ports of the southwest, and we have temperatures in the last two days falling as low as the 60s. you can see the high temperatures, they have dropped. that's a good thing. the showers continue up from the southwest. the good news is that the rain is not as an intense heavy as we had in the last two days. we've been seeing that tropical source starting to get cut off. we're continuing the flood

concerns. three flooding rivers in colorado. that will continue tonight and we'll slowly see those recede. the other flood warnings that go into parts of idaho and wyoming are flash flood watches, we'll continue watching the rain as if moves farther to the east. >> we have new developments on the u.n.'s chemical weapons investigation in syria. say secretary general ban ki-moon say u.n. investigators found overwhelming evidence, and the secretary general has yet to see the report, however it will be deliveredded to him in new york this weekend. more on that in a moment. first, president obama clarified his position on the new diplomatic efforts, and mike viqueira are covering those

developments from washington for us. >> reporter: good evening to you, the president held a photo op, and all eyes are on secretary of state john kerry is meeting with his russian counterpart sergey lavarov. let's hear what he had to say. >> obama: i shared my hope the discussions taking place between secretary kerry an, and i hope t bears fruit, but i repeated what i said publicly, which is any agreement needs to be verifiable. >> verifiable and enforceable the president said, and the enforceable part is where they have a difference the white house and the administration with their russian counterparts.

vladimir putin, the foreign minister, they have both repeated the threat of for the state needs to be taken away. they would not take a resolution to the united nations that had that so-called chapter 7 which includes a threat of force that would be sanctioned by the united nations, the administration including the president just today of repea repeat--that threat of force is what brought syria to the table to begin with, and it will have to remain out there. we should mention one other wrinkle here this evening, and that is john mccain is going to give a little r reprove to vladimir putin to the administration and americans at large. mccain penned his own op-ed. >> war of words continue. mike viqueira from the white house for us. let's go to the united nations, james, i want to work through a couple of points here with you. we've got the statement today that was supposed to be in a

private moment that was broadcast. secretary general ban ki-moon said that u.n. investors found overwhelming evidence, and then later there was this quote, i wonder if there is linkage that syria president bashar al-assad committed many crimes against humanity, is there linkage there? >> i think there is, and what you're hearing is very rare. you're hearing the thoughts of the secretary general of the united nations, his true thoughts. this is a job where you're not really supposed to say what you really think. you're supposed to be very measured and very guarded. let me explain what is going on. he was addressing a women's forum taking place here in the united nations in a conference room. it was a closed meeting. it said that on the door. he thought, i think, that his comments were off the record. they weren't going to be reported by anyone. but what happened is that they

were distributed all around the u.n. they were shown on the tv system throughout this building so everyone could watch it in their office, including us, the press corp. this is what the u.n. secretary general said when he thought the cameras were not rolling. >> what happened was that he has committed many crimes against. humanity. our team will come out soon with the report. but i believe that the report will be an overwhelming report that the chemical weapons were used even though i cannot publicly say at this time before i receive this report. >> so h he said what was in the report, he felt, was going to overwhelmingly show that chemical weapons were used but he has not got that report.

we're hearing from u.n. diplomats, not confirmed, they think the secretary general will get that report sent to him over the weekend. now security council diplomats are telling me that it is likely he'll then brief the security council at some stage probably on monday, on the details of that report. remember that report, the mandate was only to determine whether when weapon chemical wee used, not who used them. they're going to talk about the delivery system and the rockets, at a it might give us a clear idea of which side was responsible. >> james, appreciate it. james,s al jazeera diplomatic editor at the united nations. attacks at the gates of the u.s. consulate. plus signs the economic recovery is losing steam. "real money's" alabam ali velshs

just ahead.

>> welcome back to al jazeera. nine of the dead include attackers, ten of the victims were private security personnel, police, interpreters. all the personnel at the consulate are safe and have been transferred to kabul. >> the attack began with an explosion and gunfire. taliban fighters attempted to interthe consul in the far west of the country. >> an explosion took place at the gate of the u.s. consulate.

then a number of insurgents entered the consulate gate. we don't know how many of them were. >> the attack included a car bomb, civilians and security forces were among the casualties and were quickly run to the local hospital. guards from the compound took the force of the blast. >> my brother was a security guard at the u.s. consulate. he was injured as a result of the day's attack, and he is now in the hospital. >> reporter: the taliban said the consulate had been an intended target for some time. american diplomatic missions have been target here's for years. the u.s. ambassador to afghanistan, james cunningham, issued a statement saying:

>> in areas in afghanistan are completely secure from taliban attacks. the groups still control large areas of the country. the u.s. military will pull out most of their troops by the end of the next year, and it's unlikely that they'll leave behind a defeated taliban. jane ferguson, al jazeera, kabul, afghanistan. >> meteorologist: yesterday rain in wyoming, and california, to the south, and stretching over into colorado. we had some of those storms bring rain rates as much as two inches coming down in two to three hours. now in the mountains it was excessive rainfall. and that excessive heavy rain has shifted to lighter rain. a little more started in the shower activity. even though we've had lesser rainfall, denver totaling .9 in the rain gauge. we're looking at rain amounts

further south, albuquerque, almost a third, but its heading down to the texas border. we have heavy showers there and the storm reports are showing us most of our flood events are flash flooding or river flooding. the river is coming down to the colorado rockies especially running high and flooding, but we've got the flash floods from the thunderstorms popping up from the day's daytime heat approximating. we need to add a little bit of heat even though we haven't had that much especially in denver where temperatures are in the 60s and low 70s. this is rolling up to the wyoming and idaho bringing renewed flash flood threats in those states. when you look at the probability that you'll get a shower or thunderstorm in the next four hours, the likely areas stretch over colorado but also into the dakotas. we're tracking the area of low pressures with showers wrapping around it, it's moving slowly to

the east, and that will fall apart in the next few days. we'rwe arecoming up we'll show u the temperatures are going to go for your day ahead tomorrow. >> new signs the economy is hitting speed bumps. retail sales are barely growing and consumer confidence is falling according to the latest numbers. ali velshi will be talking about this at the top of the hour with real money tonight, and he joins us tonight so we can talk about it. let's start with the retail sales. is it all negative news? >> it's hardly negative news. i want to tell them to look at it in the bigger perspective. sales are lower compared to july. but because people shop in patterns differ i look at it compared to a year ago. and sales are up 4.7% higher than they were one year ago. in fact, we're doing okay. the thing that you said otherwise, though, is where we're worried.

this consumer sentiment idea, that has dropped, it's fallen off a bit of a cliff, it dropped five points. that's the kind of stuff that has us concerned because as you know spending decisions are largely made by consumers. when consumers worry about what is going on they back off. we have the tale of two countries. we have people who are concerned about what is going on now, but cars are selling at big numbers, home building, all the big-ticket items are doing well. it's the smaller stuff that is not doing well. >> so we're feeling less confident. is that related to the employment picture in part? >> i think probably three things. yeah, employment started to soften up a little bit. we created jobs every month over the last tee years--the last three years. the numbers are a little soft. now you have interest rates, 4.57 for a 30-year mortgage if you have a nice down payment.

and then oil prices go up which affect your gas prices. a bunch of little things happening around the margin. if you don't feel good about how the economy is going, then you tend to spend less. we've got a great show. i know it's friday night, i know it's friday 13th, we need the viewers. >> i'm with you, ali velshi right here on al jazeera. we'll all be here. >> thanks. >> ross is here with your sports headlines talking about mr. matthews. >> yes, just beautiful hair. clay matthews in the hot seat all week. he got ripped by jim harbaugh who questioned his manhoods. matthew was fined $15,000 for the place hit on kaepernick in the season opener. he launched himself and

clotheslined kaepernick. he said, i'm an awesome player, not a dirty player. and if you have nic, he tors acl in practice and he's done for the season. ahmad bradshaw is expected to pick up the flack. barry bonds on just o obstructif justice charge held up. it's unclear whether bonds will appeal again because he's scheduled to serve 30 days of house arrest and be on two years probation. also of note, jim furyk tied a pga tour record by shooting a 59 at the bmw championships. that's like a tony harris score. >> yeah, in my dreams. appreciate it. california lawmakers have approved a bill that will allow undocumented immigrants to get driver's licenses.

the new measure would require a special mark notation on the licenses. governor jerry brown supports the bill and has promised to sign it. florida has been long renown for its miles of beaches and endless sunshine. but the state is facing a crisis that could cripple the tourism industry. the beaches are rapidly running out of sand, if you can believe it, andy gallagher has more from miami. >> reporter: they tract millions of inviters each year, generate billions of dollars in revenue. the beaches of south florida are facing a crisis. sands washed away by storms in erosion is replenished by sands dredged offshore but that's increasingly a precious commodity. >> all the tourism places are for ocean and sand. if we don't have sand, we don't have anything. >> not a good thing. this is very enjoyable.

we come down here all the time. >> i'm sorry. but i'm grateful for what's here. it's great, it's nice. it seems like there is still plenty. >> reporter: it might look that way, but brian flynn who has been working on beach restoration for 30 years says the situation is now critical. >> we don't at this point have a clearcut solution to it. and you know, so far we're in the middle of hurricane season right now. we're in the peak of hurricane season right now and we've been lucky so far. but if we were to have a major storm we would have to come up with a source of sand very quickly. >> reporter: a number solutions is to bring sand in from places like the bahamas, mind it here in florida or use ground up glass to replace sand in beaches like this. but there are those in the environmental community say this is ignoring the larger, much deeper global crisis. >> we're going to lose our airport, all of these things will be non-functional, the same

in broward county. >> he said that it poses a much greater threat. he thinks much of south florida will be underwater by century's end, perhaps sooner, and he thinks the search for sand is fruitful. >> at what point do we quit pouring money into a lost cause and start spending the money in helping people buy out and relocate. >> reporter: but for now they're searching for sand and confident that a solution will be found. the beaches here are worth a fortune and people want to enjoy them while they can. >> the pioneer of surround sound, ray dolby has died. he introduced surround sound to the motion picturer. dolby was 80 years old and suffered from alzheimer's disease and accuse leukemia.

mrs. clinton addressed an audience of global academic leaders, faculty and students at the university of st. andrews in scott. >> and st. andrews has never been a place for calm seas. and that's a good thing. because out of the churn and shop arise creativity and excellence. today this is where things begin. >> the university of st. andrews is celebrating the 600th anniversary of its founding, clinton received an honorary degree. secretary of state john kerry trying to reach a deal overwhelm weapons in syria, and the promise of no more mosquito bites--ever. the discovery that could make people invisible to mosquitoes. that's all i have an real money.

victoria azarenko my name is jonathan betz.

>> welcome back to al jazeera. i'm tony harris in new york. here is a look at the headlines. authorities now say at least four people have died as a result of the flooding in colorado, several days of rain created floods that washed away roads and forced thousands of people to flee their homes. the rain has stopped falling in

some places but the dangers are far from over. firemen continue to pour gallons of water on the remnants of the fire that devastated seaside park. dozens of businesses are born to the ground and the boardwalk destroyed. local residents brace for the long and expensive recovery. ban ki-moon said it is clear the assad regime, quote, committed many crimes against humanity. ban spoke just before the report was announced. the third day of trying to create a plan for the syrian government to surrender its chemical weapons. both lava rov and kerry say once

talks on chemical weapons are complete they will continue to talk peace talks in syria. >> we're committed to try to work together in hopes the efforts can bring peace and stability to the war-torn part of the world. >> we have more on the diploma macy now under way in geneva. >> it is not progress on in response to the attacks of

august 21st, it appears the parties on the ground are moving this forward to a much larger discussion, a discussion of how to end that bloody and dangerous civil war, we don't know exactly the progress that is being made, but we have heard the russians and the americans plan to meet in two weeks' time at the sidelines of the u.n. general assembly in new york. we do know that some very specific issues are being discussed here including how, if, indeed, the international community is going to take hold of the chemical weapons stock pile, how that would be done. and finally we've heard that there will be yet a third day of discussions here, but that has to be it. >> the new jersey shore mostly

out at this point. more than 80 businesses in two beach towns burned down, the boardwalk ruined. the community just fixed the damage done by super storm sandy. governor chris christie. >> we will not let these fires destroy these efforts. the investigation will likely take days, at which point the scene will be turned over to the property owners, and then more work to do and decisions to be made. >> we're in seaside park where officials think it could take as long as a week before the flier is out. >> reporter: governor christie said the fire has taken a toll

on everyone, but new jersey will rebuild. in some cases only the facades remain. imagine four blocks looking just like this. firefighters have now been spraying water on those buildings to make sure no hot spots are left. and beyond those buildings, the boardwalk, and the firefighters had to make a different use of it yesterday. they tore up parts of it and filled those empty spots with sand. that's what helped keep the fire from spreading even more. governor christie said investigation is looking at the cause of this fire and it could take days. >> an indian court has handed down a sentence of the four men who were convicted of raping and killing a young woman.

they have been sentenced the death penalty. jeffrey zinans is will become head of economic cabinet. sperling said he's leaving for personal reasons. the worst is over. the pain inflicted on millions of americans lingers. diane esterbrook continues. >> reporter: the lehman brothers implosion seemed unthinkable. >> if you would have asked me to bet all my money on whether lehman will go bankrupt, never would i imagine this. >> the fourth largest u.s. investment bank filed for bankruptcy in september 2008.

triggering a credit crisis that paralyzed the system, an, but cd a similar crisis happen again? former u.s. treasury secretary hank paulson took on the question earlier this week. >> the answer, i'm afraid, is yes. as long as there are financial markets and humans who experience bouts of panic there will be financial crisis. it has not prevented speculative trading. jp morgan chase lost $2 billion on bad trade. sheila bayer, said that kind of problem is evident the u.s. banking system needs fixes. >> we did fail in some

restructuring of these institutions. a lot of speculation in trading but not enough in lending. >> fallout is affecting main street an even more. it's harder for small business and for consumers to get loans. >> people don't take out loans. they don't take risk because they're not sure what will happen next. >> despite the shockwaves that the bankruptcy of lehman brothers across the system, no one was ever prosecuted. >> i spoke with david katz, the former securities and exchange commissioner. i asked if banks are still too big to fail. >> the top ten financial institutions have 3 trillion-dollar more in assets than before the financial crisis. there is no question that we have not solved the too big to fail. as watchdog one of the things i

did was i arrived shortly around the financial crisis. i did an audit of the sec's oversight of bear turns, and the sec was aware, the lack of mismanagement, issues like that, and i found the sec did not exert enough influence in that regard. there was a voluntary program in place. lee mans and bear-sterns and others could opt out of the program, but it's not putting more regulations in place. we have to make sure that our government does the correct thing with the regulations. >> mosquito borne illnesses are responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year worldwide. a recent discovery in a california lab found a way to make people invisible to mosquitoes.

>> across human history there is no other single disease that has caused more sickness and death than malaria. >> reporter: a promising discovery made while researching mosquitoes at this california lab aims to change that grim reality. doctor ray at the university of california and his team of researchers learn that mosquitoes are able to track and target humans by the carbon dioxide that we expel. >> that was the discovery that we could find chemicals to block the receptors. >> reporter: humans can literally become invisible to mosquitoes. they partnered with local investors to create olfactor laboratories. they began to experiment with plants, fruit and other foods to combat mosquitoes. soon after this patch was born.

>> this has the potential to help people all around the world with all the types of mosquito borne diseases that are out there. >> reporter: when you wear t it act it's as an invisible barrier to mosquitoes for up to 48 hours. >> that will create a personal cloud around the individual. it will change the paradigm of how we protect ourselves and especially how we protect those who are in the areas most impacted by malaria. >> reporter: it is promising news fo for those who battle disease. >> ultimately what everyone wants to see is will the product effectively reduce malaria transmission? >> reporter: it is still in development stage and waiting approval from the environmental protection agency. >> in parts of uganda 80% of children under the age of five are affected by malaria. this is having devastating

consequences. we have to find a better solution. >> reporter: in 2010 the "world health organization" estimated 660,000 people decide from malaria. once approved, the patch is expected to be made available worldwide. stephanie stanton, al jazeera, riverside, california. >> the situation is not under control. that troubling admission from the officials trying to take care of japan's fukushima nuclear plant. and in sports ross has a special preview of week two in the nfl. what happens when social media uncovers unheard, fascinating news stories? it drives discussion across america. share your story on tv and online.

>> just to be able to defend the title for once will be awesome, and i've done so well here the past few times i've played, getting to the semis or finals. it's been really, really exciting. i'm happy that i've been able to consistently do well here. >> australian cricket captain michael clarke led his team to victory against england, scoring his first tonne. england were bowled out for 227 in pursuit of australia score of 315/7. >> and now take a look at this young man who has more than a few expectations to live up to. this is argen tendulkar son of sachi, in his father the highest run scorer.

>> the situation that japan's fukushima nuclear plant is not

under control according to the man in charge with insuring the safety of the cleanup. now this admission comes just days after the japanese prime minister assured the world that fukushima would not pose a threat to the 2020 olympic games in tokyo. >> an important mission: japan's opposition party questions the man in charge of ensuring safety at the damaged fukushima nuclear plant. the answer is swift and unwelcome. the situation he says, is not under control. after under a week ago japan's prime minister was assuring the people that the plant was under control. which led the international olympic committee to award tokyo the 2020 olympic games. >> the prior statement that this was under control based on preventive measures. the government will continue to

insure that all necessary steps are being taken. >> reporter: for months radioactive water has been leaking from storage tanks around the plant. some of it has reached the pacific on or about, and efforts continue to try to keep the main body of contamination away from ground water. but with hundreds of thousands of liters being cooled to cool the reactors every day one international expert said tepco's effort is untenable. >> there is a major challenge ahead for disposition that have water. in my view it's unsustainable for a decade long process to continue to hold that water in tanks. >> reporter: so tepco and the japanese government must do something to relief the pressure on these storage tanks. international advisers have told them they should hold a controlled release of the

contaminated water into the ocean. >> ross is here. let's get set for the nfl weekend. >> it's going to be a good day. you have the manning, where they go to eli and the giants, and michael eaves breaks it down with our insider serena williams to discuss that hot topic. >> i think he has zero chance of getting that fine reduced. i think he's lucky he didn't get his second career suspension. this is his sixth fine over four seasons. he's a repeat defender. he got the captainship this year, and they really expect him to be better than that. he's a great player on the field, but he has got to quit

being a dirty player on the field. >> this past monday, robert griffin iii looked like he was playing a pre-season game rather than a season opener. what is the concern in washington, r rg3 rg3s injury? >> i think they're most concerned about rg3. he looked better in the second half, but there were two things that he did awfully well last year. he was high completion percentage. he was fourth in the nfl last year. and then the turnover. he had five interceptions last season and he had two in his first 14 throws overnight. >> charean you have an interesting article coming out. do you think they can be as effective at the pro level as he has been in at college. >> two guys draftedded in the

firsdrafted under6'0", one is m. the concerns are obvious about johnny manziel. we talked about his size. his arm strength and his off field issues he'll have to dress those. everyone expects him to come out this season, i think he's going to. i spoke to doug flutie, and he said he sees a lot of himself in johnny manziel. maybe we'll hear more about johnny manziel. >> both teams have nasty defense and stellar quarterbacks. russell williams, make no mistake these two kids have that "it" factor. and the winners of sunday's matchup, sitting pretty on top of the nfc west.

>> i'm not going to shy away from any challenge. obviously to be a salad quarterback, create plays, end up in the end zone. we talk about it every day. it's unbelievable right now and we're having great communication. i think that's the area that we've really grown a lot, the communication between offensive line and myself, running backs, receivers, making adjustments when we need to. >> all right, the day after saying i wasted a lot of shots tiger woods back at the golf course. the big cat got off to a rough start carding a double bogey, but tiger settled down and at one point he carded three straight birdies. he's in contention head together weekend. and getting lucky on this friday the 13th. the golf ball bounces off the ridge, and looky here, wait for

it, wait for t yes, drops in for the eagle. raise your hand if you're shore. that's our play of the day for the man of the day jim furyk. he tied a pga tour record at 59. and 59 is something that we would shoot on the front nine. i would take that. barry bonds appealed his conviction of obstruction of justice charge about using performance-enhancing drugs in 2011. a federal judge upheld the conviction today, but it's unclear whether bonds will appeal again because he's scheduled to serve 30 days of house arrest and two years of probation. the chase for the championship. jeff gordon, the 13th driver to maintain the integrity of the sport. nascar caught two teams cheating in the final race of the chase last weekend.

gordon would have made the top 12 if the other teams didn't try to manipulate the race by causing a crash. since they did, the 24 car is now in the chase. so good news. >> yes, yes. >> friday the 13th. >> rainbow warrior. >> all four teams. >> ross, appreciate it. thank you. we'll take a moment and give a moment to look at pictures coming out of colorado. you can see just for yourself how bad the flooding has been throughout parts of colorado, days and days, at least three days of rain giving ways to sunshine part of the day, but look at that house, almost completely submerged. authorities are reporting that at least four people have died as a result of the days of flooding there in colorado. this again several days of rain just creating horrible conditions. we're talking about homes,

virtually submerged as you can see here. roads completely washed out. thousands of people have been forced to flee for higher ground. and just a moment ago the rain in some of these areas have thankfully stopped, and people started to return to what is left of their homes and finding in many cases that the homes have been flooded out. we know that three towns have been cut off because of the flooding. estes park, jamestown and lions. longmont, colorado, also hard hit. take a look at the pictures of how bad--you can see it for yourself--just how bad the flooding has been for a number of areas longmont, colorado as well as estes park, jamestown and lions completely cut off because of scenes of what you're seeing right here. we'll continue to cover this story.

tamara banks is on the ground and will be bringing reports throughout the evening and in days to come. >> in cuba the number of people leaving the country is at an almost 20-year high. most migrants are-ing to the united states despite efforts by the cuban government to improve the economy at home. we have reports from havana. >> ready to leave cuba for good. she has not seen her daughters in four years. both of them live in the united states. >> i have sold everything i own, my house, my car, my daughters have work in the u.s. it hurts to leave my land. government figures show that almost 50,000 cubans migrated permanently in 2012. the largest annual figure since 1994, after what international observers dubbed the crisis. for decades cubans have tried to

leave this country using all sorts of ways. this beach is worth thousands to come to sail to the united states. but earlier this year the government lifted most of the restrictions for leaving the country freely. now it's much easier and less expensive for people here to travel and to return once they immigrate. most cubans choose to migrate to the united states where they're granted residency even if they enter the country illegally. washington recently announced it was lengthening most visas for cubans from six months to five years, allowing them to make multiple u.s. visits. >> in five years you can go and come as many times as you want. my sister lost her daughter, and i want to go and visit. it's not like in the past when you left and could not return. both sides are making it easier. >> many of those leaving are young and educated. a problem for a government that

is facing a demographic crisis where fewer young people have to support a growing older population. >> the situation now is different than in the past because people are leaving with visas. they're not rafters. those leaving are educated. the only way to prevent this is by improving the economic situation here. >> that's what the government is trying to do. they have announced a series of economic reforms to modernize and adapt the soviet-style economy to current times. but until people see the real benefit the tied will carry people towards the u.s. >> northern america's tallest peak is shrinking. mount mckinley in alaska is 80 feet shorter than when it was last measured in 1950. the height difference was announced this week but officials noticed the difference two years ago when updating

maps. up next weather with rebecca, and ali velshi with "real money." >> we'll go to indiana where there is cautious consumers and big box consumers, that's all coming up on real money.

>> the fire that has ravaged parts of the jersey shore since yesterday is now mostly under control. more than 30 business versus been burned to the ground. the boardwalk ruined again. the town only just fixed the damage from last year's super storm sandy. the fire has been contained but firefighters are still there. they're worried about dangerous fire pockets that remain. joining us from the boardwalk at seaside park, the events coordinator for neighboring seaside heights and works with many businesses that were lost in that fire. michael, good to talk to you. super storm sandy last year, and now this fire in the community that you call home. are you starting to feel a bit

snake bit? >> well, actually we are. we're just waiting for the locusts to come now. we've had everything else. we're ready for the worst. we got over the shock of sandy, and now getting over the shock of the fire. tomorrow we'll start rebuilding again. >> how is your community coping with this--you mentioned rebuilding, boy, that sounds like the spirit of that community, knocked down, get back up and rebuild it, huh? >> well, we've been through this for the past nine months now. to tell you right now the response from our local community is just unbelievable. the communities from the north and south of us have police officers helping us with some type of security if we needed it. loads and loads of fire trucks from all over the area, special equipment that people have called to help us with the debris and start the movement. what we're waiting for now of course we have the investigators who are all here going over this

fire itself. we have a lot of other people involved to make sure that it wasn't set on purpose or anything strange happening. then we'll clean it up. >> michael, one last one. i know the spirit is you get knocked down, but you don't say down. but what are the business owners saying to you in the private moments about what they're feeling and what they're going through right now? >> well, some of the business people were involved in the north end, of course, when sandy came, and some of the areas are still beat up. some of the people moved from the north end to the south end. now after being beat up by sandy two or three were beat up by the fire. it's a double-edge sword for some of the people here. the only decent part of its the summer is over, they have the whole winter to put their lives and business back together again. >> i appreciate your time.

i know it was a hustle to get you here. michael graichen, the events coordinator who works with a number of businesses in the loss of this fire. michael, thank you. we appreciate it. >> meteorologist: after last night's gusting winds, heavy rain and big cooldown we've got cooler temperatures across the northeast. tooler by ten to 20 degrees in so many areas from canada down to new york. now as we look at the temperatures and how they cooled for the northwest it happened for a different reason. we just couldn't shake the low cloud cover and the marine layer on the western coast. the temperatures cooler, dramatically cooler where we've had all the flooding in the southwest. looking at our visible satellite you can see the low clouds hanging over washington, oregon and california. you can see the thunderstorms are just wrapping around into the southwest.