same is true for activists, they want a lot of choices. that's the case until things settled. >> tea party, michele bachmann and john huntsman are two of the unsettled pieces of the republican puzzle but they need to get in now if not earlier. people are choosing sides. campaign money is finite and time is almost up. >> it's less than three months away. which is the first real event of the primary cycle. so, yes, i am beginning to -- it's beginning to accelerate. >> reporter: just 516 days until the 2012 election. candy crowley, cnn, washington. >> and suzanne malveaux takes it from here. you're the white house correspondent. you have to be excited. >> yeah, this is your thing. >> it's interesting, very interesting, a wide range of candidates. obama on one side and all of the republicans on the other. >> all of these new names,

tossing their hat into the ring. i'm suzanne malveaux, i want to get you up to speed. jurors of casey anthony hear testimony from the brother of the young woman kill accused of killing her daughter. a nanny known as zanni took the child from her during that park. >> during that meeting, zanni held casey down, and told her that she is taking caylee from her. and she did that with the help of her sister. >> casey anthony earlier told police she dropped the child off at the nanny's apartment and never saw her again. a hearing is under way right now on what is expected to be a quick confirmation for lee enpanetta.

he is the president's choice to be the new defense secretary, replacing robert gates. the cia's role in the raid that killed bin laden adds to panetta's already lengthy resume. the chorus of calls of congressman anthony weiner to resign is growing louder. democrats calling for him to step down. weiner apologized for posting a lewd photo on twitter and lying about it and for inappropriate relationships with women online. more evacuations in arizona as a massive wildfire is spreading. towns of springerville and eger are fully evacuated on sheriff's orders. the fire burned almost 400,000 acres, an area bigger than new york city and chicago combined. thousands of people are out of their homes. >> we're going to get out of here, since they want us out of here, we don't want to go, no.

>> we saw it rip through places, that's what i worry about. u.s. drones and fighter jets have resumed attacks in yemen, and the military believes an air strike has kill aid top al queda insurgent there. a u.s. military official tells cnn that air operations were halted for several months, because the u.s. didn't have faith in the information available to conduct targeted strikes against suspected militants. planning is under way for a libya without moammar gadhafi in charge. secretary of state, hillary clinton and other members of the international community are meeting today in abu dhabi. their aim is to build support for libya's transitional government, even though gadhafi is bowing to fight for the death. >> groups say hackers breach computer systems and viewed customer information last month. the company said it affected about 1% of bank card customers. the hackers got to see name, account numbers and contact

information, but the bank said social security numbers, and card security codes, were not compromised. more details now on the growing calls by democrats for congressman anthony weiner to resign. one college said weiner has disgraced the congress and to add to the uproar, there's a new explicit photo that has now turned up on the internet. i want to bring in cnn congressional correspondent, kate bolduan. obviously there seems to be a lot of pressure that is mounting. do we think there is a breaking point. do we think the congressman will be able to survive this politically? >> that's a very good question, suzanne, but it's hard and impossible to really predict at this point. number one being this story seems to be changing hour by hour. here's what we do know. we know the congressman has been pretty darn firm that he's staying put. he's not going anywhere, that he is not resigning. as you very well noted, there is

a growing number of democrats, his own party, even in the house that are coming out to call for his resignation, so more pressure there. a more public push to force him out. and my colleague, dana bash, heard from one democratic law maker who has spoken to anthony weiner, that anthony weiner is, quote, truly conflicted. so we have to see how this pressure mounts and how that affects congressman weiner's position to stay or go, if it does at all. >> looking at the big picture, is there a political impact for democrats if he does step down? sources saying his district will likely be eliminated? >> this is a bit counter intuitive. follow me, it's quite interesting. new york is slated to lose two house seats going forward because of census and how reswitching deals work. now, before this news broke, the general idea was that once he would be cut upstate, one seat

would be cut down state. before the news broke, it's not clear what seat would be cut in down state new york. now there's some talk among new yorkers, if you will, that now possibly very likely that it could be his seat, that he could lose his ninth district seat eliminated all together. and the conversation maybe that's why new york law makers haven't been out to publicly resign. maybe if he stays through this seat, would be cut. but should say it's too early to see how this plays out. definitely adding to the situation, suzanne. >> keep us posted kate. here's some stories we'll cover in the next two hour, a massive wildfire keeps growing, forcing two towns to evacuate. also, delta backs down on extra bag fees for troops, after being accused of being unpatriotic.

plus u.s.-backed projects in afghanistan are at risk of collapsi collapsing. going to look at a new report. and it's a challenging time of wife of anthony weiner, a profile of huma abedin. >> and second in command aengineers a new video. analysts say it's a crucial move. >> he wants to show to the al qaeda membership around the world, that he's the par mount leader of al qaeda, he's the one delivering the eulogy for osama bin laden. uscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge!

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we can see it. can only see the smoke so close. i think my house is safe. i really think it will be okay when we go back. >> i never dreamed that i'll never be in evacuation. never in my life. >> entire arizona neighborhoods, empty now, as a massive wildfire spreads. under sheriff's order, two more towns in the eastern part of the state are under full evacuation orders. the wallow fire, as the blaze is known is now in its tenth day. it's burned nearly 389,000 acres. that's more land than the city of los angeles. the flames have destroyed 11 strars and 600 others. packing up and leaving everything behind is a tough decision for a lot of folks in that fire zone.

in eager, arizona, others are staying put for now. >> reporter: while firefighters battle the wallow fire, residents face a serious question, to stay, or go. now dave hunt is staying. >> we've got so many firefighters here, that they have protected other small communities, and i know they're going to do a good job protecting eager. >> a house full of memories in a town he called home. >> my dad built this place. i love this area so much. >> reporter: he's hedging his bets, his harley and car are packed and ready, if conditions change, he'll hit the road. >> i'm ready, just grab the cat and go. >> reporter: main thing the dog gets in here. >> these men decided to leave.

>> we don't want to leave. >> reporter: with the fire only a few miles away, i don't want to take any cans. >> i've seen the wildfires in cc rip through and tear through places. that's what i worry about. >> reporter: with just a few hours to pack they're forced to make hard decisions, tigger, their chow gets a front seat. robby and bob and tigger pull out heading for safety, hoping that when the fire is gone their home will remain. >> jim spellman is with us now in eagar, arizona, jim, excellent reporting, they say the folks that had to leave their belongings behind. pack up families and pets and everything. how are things going for folks there? a lost people still staying behind? >> yes. certainly some people -- suzanne, the sheriff's deputies going door-to-door trying be

sure as many people possible they convince to get out. but if somebody wants to stay, they let them sign a waver, saying they acknowledge risks. we've certainly met several people around town planning to do just that. they have hoses, shovels, sprinkler systems going to stay and defend their homes. now, i think everybody can understand how hard it can be, a choice to make to leave behind your home and have so many memories. this fire is less than three mile as way from town. it's certainly a huge risk, i think it's fair to say, to say behind. i think possessions can be replaced but people's lives can't, suzanne. >> are they worried that those people who stay behind are in danger? you might have a situation people end up dying because they stayed in their homes? >> they are, the last thing they need while trying to fight the fire is worry about people who haven't evacuated. what they are really trying to do is keep a handle on who is

here and who is not. somebody has left their home and sheriffs have to worry about them. keep yellow police tape across the front door and front gate. so they keep a record of it. they know those people are there. but if you leave, you can't come back in. there are road blocks into eagar and neighboring community of springerville. if you're out, nobody can get in, not even the media today. they are trying to clamp the situation down and deal with as few people. everyone we spoke to who decided to stay said if it gets worse they will pull out. hopefully they don't have to deal with those folks. >> i hope they do. let's go cross down, and see the stories affiliates are stopping. first stop, where a group of teens swimming in a creek heard this wreck happen. they ran up to the road and helped three people out of their car and saw the driver trapped beneath that car. >> we thought he was dead. and he started breathing, we got

a log and toted him to the road. the car caught on fire. we don't want to take the glory for us. none of us do. >> reporter: who gets glory? >> god, they put us in the right place in the right time. graduation ceremonies heldaf munson, a week after a tornado tore through killing three people. >> right now it's not about what happened to our home. it's about this class tonight. we're proud of them all. >> we're a stronger community. neighbors helping neighbor, much stronger now. >> the outpouring of support is amazing. >> and severe weather rolled over illinois last night. bringing small rains and dime-sized hail to some places. this video was shot at cnn affiliate, res. the winged so strong it blew in the emergency door. soldiers win the battle much

the bags with delta airlines. delta got caught in a pr nightmare over baggage fees charged to soldiers returning from afghanistan. now, the soldiers won pr relations war by taking their case to social media. cnn's martin savidge has the details. >> reporter: the pentagon likes to say the u.s. has the best trained soldiers in the world. turns out they're media savvy. while in their flight, two of the soldiers included a video about their frustration and posted it on youtube. >> you're saying the military travel orders authorized us to carry four bag, correct? >> that's correct. >> what happened to the soldiers that actually had four bags? >> we had to pay out of pocket, our own money to allow that fourth bag to be taken on the plane. >> how much did you play? >> $200. >> close to 200,000 hits later, delta was issuing an apology in

the form of a blog, implied the soldiers could be misinformed they could check four bags. we would like to publicly apologize to servicemen and women for any miscommunications the statement went on. we are currently looking further into the situation and reaching out personally to address their concerns and work to correct any issues they have faced. the statement appeared to do little to stem the withering fire of public outrage. >> it's unforgivable that delta couldn't make an exception and cut these employees some slack. >> reporter: less than 24 hours later, delta was in full retreat, abruptly changing the allowance announcing the move in a press release. delta airlines increased its free checking package allotment for u.s. military tracking orders in economy class to four checked bags. and that is how two u.s. soldiers fought off an entire airline to win the battle of the

ba bag. >> thank you, we're actually happen to be back to america. god bless america. martin savidge joins us live from atlanta's hartfield jackson airplane. martin, give us a sense how this is taking place with some of the other airlines? are they also changing their policies? >> reporter: it's interesting how this is all breaking down, suzanne, originally many airlines had a policy very similar to what delta had in place, which is three bags for free and then you pay for anything beyond that. of course they all saw what happened to delta as a result of the buzz saw of bad publicity. what do you know. late yesterday they began changing their policies. america now is leading the group. they say five bags for the military when you're on orders can carry ownership for free. delta at four, continental and united there at four then

southwest airlines, they say when you asked them, how many bags can a soldier check on your airline? >> southwest said as many as they need. >> sure. does delta going reimburse them or the military that reimburrs them? >> reporter: here's how it breaks down. the pentagon said it will reimburse them. but delta said whatever the pentagon doesn't cover, we will cover. there's a lost people trying to make amends. >> okay. martin savidge, thank you very much. a judge has a woman for women at their courthouse, don't take the stairs. [ female announcer ] you've never had red lobster like this before. your own complete four-course seafood feast for $15. start with soup, like our hearty new england clam chowder. then enjoy a fresh salad with unlimited cheddar bay biscuits, followed by your choice of one of seven entrees,

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checking cnn's lead story, how economic troubles in greece impact u.s. banks, could it ripple through the u.s. financial system? that is the top story there. also looking at the markets there as well. dow jones up 92 points. we are also following another story. suvs used to have a dangerous tendency to roll over. now apparently it is just the opposite. what's changed? alison kosik live in the new york stock exchange, with that story. alison tell us about this.

>> hey, suzanne, it's about something called electronic stability control. this technology is available on all suvs sold in the u.s. it prevents rollovers and of course there are fewer car accidents and deaths. because of the technology, i want to show you something. it's interesting to see that there are fewer depths in suvs than cars. there's a survey that looked at 2006 to 2009, that in suvs 28 deaths, but in cars it's double that. this is a major shift when you look at it, cars are more likely to roll over than suvs which is really different than a lot of us used to think. suzanne. >> why is that? don't they have electronic stability controls too? >> that's a good point. esc is available in most cars but it is more common to see it in suvs. also, you know what? size matters, a bigger vehicle

means there's more metal around you, also bigger means heavier and also more expensive, you wind up getting more features and enhanced design. to be fair, cars are safer than ever before. bigger vehicles even more safe. something to keep in mind if you're trying to decide between a car and suv. suzanne. >> suvs are cooler and cooler. maybe it's as cool as a car. >> check out this story, alison. a judge in ohio is warning women in the courthouse to avoid taking the stairs if they're wearing a dress or skirt. here's why. the stairs are made out of clear glass. the courthouse in franklin county, it's brand-new and cost $105 million. and has these fancy stair, one from the judges who likes to wear dresses, noticing that people standing under the stairwell can see through the stairs and up her skirt. listen to this. >> men designed it. i was like, oh, they had no

woman input on this. that's what i thought. how can you open a brand-new building and not take into consideration half the population? >> the judge said she's worried, alison, camera phones or people posting on the internet. she calls the stairs a lawsuit in the making. would you sue alison. if you thought somebody was taping you, video? really? >> i wouldn't sue, but it's common decency, the woman who spoke took the words out of my mouth. it's obvious the men built that staircase. they designed the whole thing. you know what? here at cnn there's a staircase like that. makes me wonder. >> maybe i'll wear pants. >> okay. >> it's time for you to choose the news. first up, female soccer players in afghanistan, in a country

where the oppression is the norm. these young athletes risking their lives every time they take to the field. second metropolitan oprah turns to japan and make ace symbolic step in the recovery of the quake. third in the united states, we love mp3 players, but in zimbabwe, hit way to listen to the music, still on cassette tape. secretary 1 for soccer players in afghanistan, 2 for oprah in japan or 3 for cassette takes in zimbabwe, winning story will air in the next hour. brick walls to. then let's get our hands on some of those tools that only live on orange shelves. cause when we come home with that fistful of doing, and keep that pocketful of savings, there's nothing we can't conquer. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. power more projects, with this ryobi starter kit or dremel multi-max,

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here's a rundown of sorry stories that we are working on next. the u.s. has spent $19 million on aide for afghanistan, but a new report says it may be hurting, not helping. then she's used to being at hillary clinton's side or behind the scenes, now congressman weiner's wife has been forced into the spotlight. we have a profile of huma abedin. later, amazing nasa video of a giant solar flair. what is it? how concerned should we be? we'll ask chad myers how this might afekd us on earth. right now, focus on afghanistan, relies on billions of tax payer dollars.

we have little to show of all of the money we're pumping into the war-torn untri. in fact, it could actually backfire. details from jill dougherty. >> reporter: a dam-building project, giving local men jobs in hopes of weaning them away from the taliban. that's how it's supposed to work. but a new report warns many u.s. aid programs are unsustainable. once u.s. forces withdraw. they can even backfire, fueling corruption, raising serious questions about a key element of the obama administration's counter insurgency strategy. >> 2002 to 2010, we've spent $19 billion in assistance, 19 billion in assistance. >> appearing before the senate foreign relations committee, the president's nominee's new

ambassador to afghanistan said some programs are working, but -- >> i can tell you, if i am confirmed, going forward, our assistance has to make a difference and has to be sustainable. >> afghanistan is dirt poor and too much aid can have a destabilizing effect on local community, a report says, case in point, the governor's fund that gives $100,000 a month to provincial leaders for development project, a tidal wave of funding, the report calls it that local oh figures not capable of spending wisely. the report said the state department and u.s. i.d. doesn't have enough staff in afghanistan to oversee the money being spent. there are too many contractors, too little oversight. the head of usaid tells the committee, he does not endorse the report's conclusions. the u.s. in afghanistan claims,

have accomplished some astonishing things and the state department said aid is still crucial. >> it's an essential come point of the national security strategy in afghanistan. >> the single most important step the association could take the report said is stop paying afghan's inflated salaries that could be ten times what local people are paying. here's another big worry. the world bank said 97% of afghanistan's gdp is related to spending in international military and donor community. if aid money drys up, this report warns it could trigger a major economic recession. jill dougherty, cnn, washington. >> in igs to those warnings about afghanistan, we're also getting information, confirmation today that usair strikes have resumed in yemen. i want to assess counter terrorism efforts. let's go to fran townsend, these a member of the cia and department of homeland security advisory committee. and she joins us from new york

v via skype. fran great to see you. you've reported the obama administration will soon unveil new counter terrorism strategy. they've announced to withdraw u.s. troops from afghanistan. what do we anticipate the strategy will be? >> the most interesting part we're two and a half years into the administration, president obama made it very clear that he's going to take a different approach. but the only insight to what the counter terrorist strategy has been, speeches by the president, speeches by john brennan, his homeland security adviser and actions they take. we've seen increased use of drones not only in the tribal area. but also in yemen, we've saw it on the bin laden camp. this is an opportunity for president obama to articulate what his vision and effort is going to be, going forward. frankly it's gone through an interagency process but will be

very mindful of what the accomplishments have been and what the goals are going forward. >> and, fran, we've seen on videotape now, we're hearing recently, as well as other al qaeda leader, embracing the arab uprisi uprising, do we think this offers an opening to fill the power vacuum in countries like egypt and tunisia? >> the frightening possibility is, look, chaos is always to the benefit of our enemies, particularly al qaeda, they can assert themselves in be nine and frankly positive democratic movement. i think what you can expect is the intelligence community, diplomatic community are watching very carefully what's going on in those countries, you want to support democratic movement around the world and be careful to watch for and discourage and disable terrorists like al qaeda and others from asserting themselves inside a dem yattic movement where they can position themselves to take advantage of

it later much to our detective treatment. >> i want to go to yemen, we're getting more information, that the u.s. has resumed air strikes there. there's one theory about that, which is simply that now, we're taking this action, because we're getting better information about the terrorists, suspected terrorists on the ground. but there's another theory, fran, with the president, yemen's president gone, that maybe al qaeda is actually growing in strength, and that there is real vulnerability there. why is the u.s. resuming these air strikes now? >> i think it's both -- i think both things true. no question that the united states increased its intell jeps and military present in yemen. with that result, increased intelligence, means better targeting information to enable drone-type attack, or drone strikes on high value targets. but with saleh gone, there's no question as well that the intelligence and national

security community are very concerned. al qaeda has been the most active and capable responsible for the attempted christmas day plane bomber, attempted computer cartridges, this is a real opportunity for them and i think the united states uviews this - look, with saleh gone and chaos, we'll take advantage of it from the targeting perspective. we're able to do that because we have more resources. >> fran, you have a full-blown humanitarian crisis. hundreds of thousand of people fleeing the border into turkey now, is it time for the united states to forge a humanitarian mission like we saw in libya to try to help save those people in syria? >> i think it's well past time, frankly, that the torture and murder of that 13-year-old boy was, for me, the turning point. and i think the turning point in the crisis. this is a very difficult one, because, of course, inside you have hezbollah, the u.s. is

cautious being dragged into a war where the enemy is really iran. that said, you add to that, nato is fully employed with libyan mission, that's by no means over with gadhafi still in power, forging such a coalition, pulling that together is no small task. it's long overdue and the united states will have to show leadership. >> fran townsend, thank you very much, appreciate your time. >> a private person caught up in a public scandal. a profile of congressman anthony weiner's wife and the latest how she's coping. just how much natural gas was trapped in rocks thousands of feet below us. technology has made it possible to safely unlock this cleanly burning natural gas. this deposits can provide us with fuel for a hundred years, providing energy security and economic growth all across this country. it just takes somebody having the idea,

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you're looking at live pictures out of a florida courtroom. this is the casey anthony trial. she is the mother accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, caylee. she has been crying, cry with her head down, in her hand, as -- there's been testimony, testimony of a forensic expert, who is showing pictures to the court of her daughter caylee anthony's skull. her daughter's skull. those pictures being shown to folks in the room. and she obviously has been quite emotional during this process. well, the next hour, we're going to talk to a trial watcher,

harley hey, who will tell us about the significance of that, and what it means to the case and what is coming up next. >> new york congressman anthony weiner is facing increased pressure to resign today. a new ex-rated photo has surfaced now on the internet while he fights for his political career. "the new york times" is reporting that his wife is pregnant with their first child. huma abedin has stayed out of the spotlight during the scandal. she's a top aide to secretary of state hillary clinton and is currently on a trip to the middle east. friends describe anthony weiner's wife as a very private person. now she's caught up in a very public scandal. cnn's mary snow reports on her life in and out of the lime light. >> reporter: as congressman anthony weiner fight force his political life in new york, his wife, huma abedin continue working thousand of miles away, seen here in abu dhabi with her

boss, secretary of state, hillary clinton. the 35-year-old abedin, one of clinton's top aides was noticeably absent from her husband's side when he had mitted having sexual communications with several women and lying about it. but washington post reporter said quotes of abedin is saying don't read into much into her absence. >> her friends say this is obviously a bump in the road to her marriage. she's very much committed to her husband, loved her husband and wants to work it out. abedin is a muslim. and grew up in saudi arabia. weiner is a jew. he has a reputation for being in the spotlight. abedin shies from it. a rare exception when "vogue" magazine profiled her. she's most often the person in the bag ground, constantly on the side of hillary clinton and the person who has her ear. she started as a white house intern and worked in several

capacities since then. she was on the campaign of mrs. clinton in the 2008 presidential election and now serves as deputy chief of staff to secretary clinton. she's become more than a trusted aide said a longtime friend who dedescribes her as a second daughter to the clintons and sister to chelsea. the former president even officiated at the ceremony when weiner married abedin last july. while she has not sought the spotlight she's made a name in washington. >> she comes across as alluring and glamourous, in a town like washington, she brings almost hollywood glamourous good looks in a rolodex filled with celebrities across the globe. >> a friend of hers who asked not to be identified did everything they can to protect her. the strategy said we're very popular in democratic circles

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a new poll finds americans are pretty cynical, when it comes to their elected oh figures. paul steinhauser, part of the best political team, live from the political desk in washington, paul, are people really that cynical? >> they are, suzanne, at least according to our brand-new numbers. we're releasing it right now for you and your viewers first. check these numbers out. this is interesting, we asked are election officials influenced by campaign contributors? look at that number. 86% saying yes, 12% saying no. that number is up about ten points from back then. go to the next graphic as well. here you go, are elections generally for sale to the candidate who can raise the most money? two-thirds feel that way. so, yes, i guess you can say cynicism is on the rise. suzanne. >> i understand there are more rumblings about rudy giuliani, whether he's going to throw

himself into the race. do we know anything about that? >> the giuliani story line doesn't go away, does it? we've been talking about it for a month or two. here's the latest reporting, the weekly standard said he has two sources that giuliani is really close. we have other sources to cnn that are pushing back a little on that. here's what we do know about giuliani, i think it's safe to say. former mayor, he ran last time in the white house for the republican side. he's been in discussions, he said publicly contemplating running, actually contemplating doing it are two different things. i don't think he's there yet. what this tells us, giuliani thinks that the field is not that strong, that there may be room for him and that the current president, barack obama could be beatable. that's why we're seeing other people saying no in the past, now having second thought, somebody like rick perry, governor of texas, also somebody who said no before but now

contemplating. keep your eyes on giuliani, keep your eyes on perry and stay tuned. >> all right. we'll be staying tuned. thank you, paul. >> thank you. >> for the latest new, you know where to go. cnn politics.com. remember, choose new, vote for the story you ryk to see. secretary 1, for afghan women's soccer, female athletes risking their lives to compete in a country that forbids them to play sports. text 2, oprah in japan. return of the met to the earthquake ravaged country makes a big step and 3, for cassette tapes in zimbabwe. don't know what to do with your old tapes? where it's sill the popular way to listen to music. next up, if you ever planned a marriage, you know it can get pretty expensive pretty fast.

we'll hear advice from alison kos kosik, how to get married without breaking the bank. [ nurse ] i'm a hospice nurse. britta olsen is my patient. i spend long hours with her checking her heart rate, administering her medication, and just making her comfortable. one night britta told me about a tradition in denmark, "when a person dies," she said, "someone must open the window so the soul can depart." i smiled and squeezed her hand. "not tonight, britta. not tonight." ♪

according to the knot.com, june is the most popular month for weddings. if you'red bride or groom or just attending several weddings this tumor, alison kosik has top tips for keeping the budget under control. it quickly gets out of control even if you are just a guest. yeah? >> it really does. of course it is june, the beginning of summer, also known as the wedding season. and with the average wedding costing $27,000 and that doesn't even include the honeymoon which tacks on another $4,500, you've got to figure out what your priorities are. heads-up to couples -- accept it, you're probably going to go over your budget if you have one a the all. the knot says 42% of brides overspend when it comes to a big day, and 16% don't even have a budget. the knot says figure out where you're going to compromise and leave a 10% cushion in your

budget for unforeseen expenses. there are wedding daily deal sites out there to keep costs down that they recommend you take a look at. at these sites you can find local discounts from dance lessons, favors and an officiant. >> another way to save, cut the cake and guest list in half? really? >> yeah. >> the cake, too? >> yeah, really. the cake, too. it's hard but you easiest way to cut costs is to really first of all trim down the guest list. start big before we get to the cake. average number of guests in 2010 was 141 people. since most venues charge per person, it is the quickest way to be able to allocate funds to other areas. you can also save yourself 20% per person on catering expenses by holding your shindig on a friday or sunday instead of the popular saturday night wedding. now i know it sounds crazy, we'll go back to the cake now. order half of the cake. yes, couples should order half

the size of the cake that's needed. for example, if you have 150 guests, order cake only for 75 people. the reality is, many people don't end up eating the cake anyway, suzanne. haven't you noticed that? they're busy dancing, getting drunk, you know. >> that's true but it is nice to have a really big cake, don't you think? just for show? >> but then can you use that money on your honeymoon. >> that's a very good point. yeah. okay. i'll take that. all right, thanks. great advice. appreciate it. well, a new video of al qaeda's long-time number two surfaces. a terror analyst weighs in on what ayman al zawahiri may be trying to accomplish. in here, the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience to 55 million more americans, many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. we'll deliver better service, with thousands of new cell sites... for greater access to all the things you want,

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it's been five weeks since u.s. forces killed osama bin laden. since then, his second in command, ayman al zawahiri has been quiet -- until now. cnn homeland security correspondent jeanne meserve details a new video that has now surfaced on several islamic websites. >> reporter: the video is, in large part, a tribute to osama bin laden. >> translator: he went to his god martyred because he said no to america. >> reporter: amoon al zawahiri does not proclaim himself bin laden's successor but with the tape he appears to be positioning himself. >> he wants to show to the al qaeda membership around the world, their supporters, he's the paramount leader of al

qaeda, that he's the one that's delivering the yule gi for osama bin laden. >> reporter: in the video, zawahiri cheer is on the uprisings in libya, syria and yemen. >> translator: they need to continue their struggle, their rage and their sacrifices. >> al qaeda doesn't like these movements but they recognize they have no option but to say if we want to be relevant, we better stick with the population, and the population has spoken to let's pretend like we're with them. >> reporter: in the tape, zawahiri pledges support to mullah omar, the head of the taliban, urges the muslim masses to rise up against what he calls a treacherous pakistani regime, and he makes repeated, but unspecific, threats against the u.s. >> translator: i called for jihad, my beloved people, to fight those who fight islam. >> reporter: since the raid that killed bin laden, u.s. counterterrorism officials assume zawahiri was in deep hiding afraid for his safety. analysts believe he must have been very anxious to be seen and heard because releasing this

video involved risks. for instance, using a currier like the one that led the u.s. to bin laden. intelligence analysts have pored over previous al qaeda videos trying to determine where they were taped. this video does not provide any obvious clues. the background is nondescript. jeanne meserve, cnn, washington. i'm suzanne malveaux. want to get you up to speed. this just in -- congressman anthony weiner is sticking by his decision not to resign. a source tells cnn weiner told a colleague is he not stepping down. the source described weiner as dug in. a new x-rated photo apparently of the congressman has now surfaced online the conservative blogger says he didn't publish the picture but shared it with two radio deejays. >> my website refuses to publish this photo. they have admitted they took

this photo surreptitiously, without my knowledge, they even said, and that there were no cameras there. >> anthony weiner fights for his political survival, his wife is carrying on with her career. huma is currently with secretary of state hillary clinton in the middle east. "the new york times" reports she and weiner are expecting their first child. the british paper, "the guardian" reports scotland yard is investigating claims that kate middleton's cell phone was among several hacked by a private investigator working for a news group. there are allegations, the investigator also hacked into the phones of prominent british politicians, including former prime minister tony blair. u.s. drones and fighters jets have resumed attacks in yemen and the military believes an air strike has killed a top al qaeda insurgent there.

the u.s. military official tells cnn air operations were halted for several months because the u.s. didn't have faith in the information available to conduct targeted strikes against those suspected militants. this amateur video shows angry syrians heading for the border. reports from turkey say more than 1,000 syrians have crossed into turkey within the last 24 hours. they fear revenge attacks by syria's military after its government claimed armed groups killed at least 120 security forces within the last week. more evacuations in arizona as a massive wildfire spreads. the towns of springerville and eeger are now fully evacuated on sheriff's orders. the fire has burned almost 400,000 acres. that's an area that is bigger than new york city and chicago combined. thousands of people are out of

their homes. >> we could see it. we could see the smoke so close that we knew it's getting too bad. the air quality. i think my house is safe. i really think we'll go back. i never dreamed i'd be in an evacuation. never in my life. beautiful pictures! right? but, a concern on earth. this is a dazzling solar flare. it sent plasma particles heading through space. they're being carried by solar winds at speeds topping 3 million miles an hour? some of them are going to rain down on earth. experts say they might even cause problems with satellites or power grids. i want to bring in chad meyers to explain what are we seeing when we see something so beautiful and dramatic as that? >> let's just keep on this video. you'll see the explosion. the explosion literally came out, it is called the coronal mass ejection. get used to that term.

because it is going to be used very often in the next three to five years. we are now going into a solar cycle that's at its peak. the peak of these sun spot siblsibl cycle, the peak of these coronal mass ejections. the splash-down of this plasma, this unbelievably hot stuff coming out of the sun, then splashing back down. those splashes you see are the size of earth. >> wow. >> i mean it's hard to imagine the size of the sun and the size of the earth. let's go to this next graphic. let's show you where we were and where we are headed. back in the late '90s, around 2000, we were in a solar peak. that solar peak means we had three of these per day! we were getting static electricity and static charges all over the place. but now we have more satellites up there. we have more power grid issues. we are running things almost full throttle. so naer tear the peak you get o

these things a week. during the peak you might get two or three a day. these things are headed to the earth and could cause these solar storms. we know them as visually, you'll see the aurora borealis. you'll see colors in the northern and southern hemisphere because they are interacting with the ionisphere. but when these can crash to earth and knock out satellites. or they may wobble a little bit. we can knock out power grids, too. this one is probably not going to do that. this was a big cme but it was not pointed directly at the earth. understand the earth and sun are three-dimensional. half of these we don't see because they're on the other side of the sun and they blast away from the earth. this one kind of blasts slightly toward the earth but we'll only get about a 20% brushing by of this one. >> there's no possibility that any of that stuff would come to

the earth, like land on the earth. >> i think the ionisphere protects us from that. but i want you to go to a website called spaceweather.com. can you learn all about this. this is one of my favorite websites of all time. gi on there, we talk to the guys at spaceweather.com. they say these things coming. they'll tell you what it is going to look like, how big it is going to be and they'll keep you right up to date on what everything nasa is say. >> we saw these pictures and our whole team was like, wow, what is going on. >> if you go to chadmeyers.com/i'm on twitter. the video is just unbelievable. now it is headed our way. it takes 48 to 72 hours for this stuff to get here. even though it happened a couple of days ago, it is good because we know what's coming and they can prepare. if it is a really big one, the satellite companies can shut their satellites down so they don't get bombarded by all this stuff. they can get them down in time. it isn't like this instantaneous

thing, it's not the speed of light. because that's when it takes like six minutes. >> just those flares are amazing. >> i know. >> you got to love this stuff. all right, can chad, thanks so much. here's what's ahead on the rundown this hour. first, u.s. drone attacks pick up again in yemen. with the country's president reportedly still in a hospital in saudi arabia, could his potential return throw the country into civil war? and thousands of syrians fleeing for their lives. syrians cross the border into turkey. we'll have a live report. then, casey anthony breaks down in the courtroom after seeing graphic pictures of her dead daughter. and, finally, president obama's re-election campaign facing some pretty strong headwinds.

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win the story airs at the end of the hour. we now have confirmation that the u.s. has resumed air strikes in yemen and it believes that a top al qaeda militant has been killed there. cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr is working the story. she joins us live from the pentagon. barbara, give us the update on these attacks and who we think might have been killed. >> well, suzanne, u.s. officials say that they believe one of their air strikes in recent days in yemen killed a man named al harifi in southern afghanistan. they identify him as an al qaeda operative, part of the structure of al qaeda in the arraignian peninsula, al qaeda in yemen, if you will. the focus now is going after some of these key al qaeda leaders in yemen. very concerning to u.s. officials, they say, because they believe al qaeda in yemen does pose a threat to the united

states. you only have to remember the underwear bomber case of december 2009, a man who tried to blow up a detroit-bound airliner and was inspired, to say the least, by al qaeda in yemen. the unrest on the streets of yemen that we see almost every day now is causing some concern as well because, as the central government perhaps is less able to control the country, al qaeda finds a vacuum, steps in and begins to exert its power more and more. at this hour on capitol hill, leon panetta, the cia director, is testifying to become the secretary of defense. he is talking about al qaeda and saying it is an immediate threat to the united states. al qaeda in yemen and a media threat to the united states, all part of the reason you are seeing this resumption of air strikes over yemen. >> barbara, how does the white house square this, the fact that they would like for yemen's

leader not to return, and at the same time, now that the president, saleh, is gone, you've got this power vacuum, as you mentioned, and the potential for al qaeda to gain strength. >> you know, it is just a national security stew, i would say, to say the least. that is the problem right now. they want saleh gone in order to try and stabilize yemen and have some sort of central government that would be acceptable to the people there. saleh injured in a recent attack, now recovering in saudi arabia, perhaps not expected to come back into yemen. but the current central government remains so fragile and really struggling for any control over the country. you have al qaeda in yemen. you have tribal leaders in yemen. all exerting their authority and their control over various parts of the country. and as we know, when there is no central government, whether it's parts of pakistan, somalia or

yemen, when you don't have a central government in control, that's when al qaeda really flourishes with new recruits, financing, training, all of that. that's the real concern right now in yemen. >> all eyes on yemen now. thank you very much, barbara. well, thousands of people are on the run as a huge wildfire is spreading across arizona. now two more towns get the order to evacuate. we're going to go live to the fire zone.

abdin.

more evacuation orders go out in arizona as a massive wildfire spreads. the so-called withallo fire has driven hundreds of people from their homes. jim, give us a sense here. weather is expected to get a little bit better. are the firefighters making any progress in trying to contain this massive fire? >> reporter: still this fire is officially 0% contained. but for the first time since this fire began ten days ago red flag warning has been lifted. that's when there is high winds, low humidity, perfect conditions for fires to spread and the worst possible conditions for firefighters to work under. today the winds so far have been calm. they hope to make as much traction as they can today. they're still doing controlled burns trying to get ahead of the fire, starve it of fuel. later today they hope if the weather stays good they can use a 747 super tanker that they can fill with water and drop on the front.

they haven't been able to use resources like that because of the weather. hopefully today they will be able to. >> do we have any sense about how the evacuations are going? are people still in the danger zone in their homes, hoping to wait this thing out? >> yeah, there are. we've personally seen at least a handful of people staying there to defend their homes. people say they've lived there for decades. it's their home, all of their memories are there, where they raised their kids. we spoke with one man who has a homemade system of sprinklers around his house, a little water pump on a 4x4 to put out any spot fires and he's ready to stick it out. everybody we've spoken to say if it gets worse they are ready to pull out. the last thick the sheriffs and any law enforcement people need to deal with is to have to deal with getting those people out of trouble while the firefighters are working on the fire. they hope everybody leaves but ultimately they can't force these people to leave and if they want to stay, they do. >> jim, are those folks going to be in trouble if the fire comes

their way? are the firefighters -- do they even have the resources to try to like pluck people out of their homes at that point? >> it's going to be tough. there's 2,500 firefighters here but they're all working so hard on trying to keep this away from these two towns of eagar and springerville. they are focused heavily on structure protection, on these populated areas and trying to divert the fire around these areas. but ultimately a lot depends on everybody knowing where everybody is. the sheriff's been going around with a tally of what addresses are remaining so they are not starting from scratch should it get really worse, say in the middle of the night. they hope to, but it is not going to be easy. >> jim, once you leave your house can you go back if you've forgotten something that's really valuable? perhaps you forgot the cat was gone or can they return to their homes? >> no, absolutely not. people have had to make some tough decisions about what to bring with them. this is a road block right here. no entry.

they've really locked this down since yesterday afternoon. late yesterday afternoon the fire got behind the firefighters on the west side and north side of this fire and they really ramped up evacuations and locked this town down. before yesterday afternoon they were a little looser about it, people could come and go. now absolutely not, they're turning people away here, no matter what your story is, unless you're vital personnel needed to fire this fire. >> jim spellman, please be safe. dramatic developments in the casey anthony trial. we're going to tell you what made her cry today in court and what her brother said on the witness stand. rnls time for the help desk where we give answers to your financial questions. joining me this hour, manisha, a personal finance author, doug is a certified financial planner and founder of flynnzito. randy from california asks our house is 41% under water and we will struggle to pay the $2,800 a month mortgage when i retire in nine years. what are the down sides of

walking away now? manisha. >> there are a lot of down sides. first we've got the whole moral issue and how you're going to feel about doing that. another one is just the impact that it's going to have on your credit score if you ever need to borrow money going forward. he's planning on retiring in nine years. i'm wondering why -- think about retiring if you've still got this situation. what i'd rather him do is talk to somebody maybe at the national foundation for credit counseling or homeowner crisis resource center and really try to figure out what they can do with their budget, can they refinance, do a short sale or other things to get in a position where walking away doesn't feel like the only option. >> great advice. from terry in belvedere, illinois -- if i retire at 62 and collect social security, i'm allowed to make $14,400 this year. can i continue to work and contribute all of my $14,400 of those earnings to my 401(k). doug? >> the first part is i think it is this year $14,160.

beyond that they take back $1 of every $2 you make for social security. the second part of his question is this -- you can, if your plan allows it. what that means is, you can, absolutely, put 100% of your income away up to the limits this year for people over 50. it's $22,000. and wipe out that taxable income. but your plan has to allow it. there are federal rules and each plan is approved bit department of labor. your plan might be an old plan where it only allows 15% or 25% of your earnings. if that's the case, even though you should be able to, you may not be able to. but if the plan has been updated and allows you 100%, that's what he's looking for. but get the summary plan description. they legally have to give it to you. although it is difficult to get but they have to give it to you and that will tell you exactly what you can do. >> plan by plan. do have you a question that you want us to answer? send us an e-mail any time to the cnn help desk's cnn.com. ♪ you love money

♪ well, you know i love it too ♪ ♪ you love money ♪ well, you know i love it too ♪ ♪ i work so hard at my job ♪ and then i bring it home to you ♪ ♪ i love money in my pocket i could not make working and going to school work. it was not until the university of phoenix that i was able to work full-time, be a mom, and go to school. the opportunities that i had at the university of phoenix,

dealing with professionals teaching things that they were doing everyday, got me to where i am today. i'm mayor cherie wood, i'm responsible for the largest urban renewal project in utah, and i am a phoenix. [ male announcer ] find your program at phoenix.edu.

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as photographs of her daughter's remains are shown. we'll have an analysis of the latest twists and turns of the case. then, president obama, the candidate. what he has to do to sell himself for 2012. in 20 minutes, britain is dealing with a phone hacking scandal and new royal wife kate middleton is one of the victims. a live report from london. just last hour in the florida courtroom, casey anthony broke down and cried. it happened as jurors in her capital murder trial were shown pictures of her 2-year-old daughter, caylee's, skeletal remains. earlier today, jurors heard from her brother, lee anthony, who said his sister told him a nanny took the child from her in an orlando park. casey anthony earlier told police she dropped the child off at the nantyanny's apartment an never saw her again. a lot of developments in the trial this week. joining us to put it all in perspective, criminal defense

attorney and former prosecutor holly hughes. holly, thank you very much. last hour we saw casey breaking down, really very emotional. is this significant at all on either side that she seems to be upset? >> no. because there's no way of knowing why she's breaking down. is it remorse? is she feeling sorry and guilty now that she's actually seen her handy work? or is she just crying for herself, like oh, i'm sunk, now they're looking at the baby's bones. we don't know what make this girl tick but we do know based on her own attorney, jose baez' opening, that she is a pathological liar so nothing that she says or does can really be trusted, because why is she crying? she's crying for herself. >> what about the brother? we were quite surprised. he was only on the stand, very short while, ten minutes, at max, here. and the story that he told about how the child was taken. was there an inconsistency there or did it line up with her story of what she said initially? >> no, it's another huge

inconsistency, suzanne. here awhy this why they waited him back. he testified now, and now they called him back because now we have the testimony of yuri melich, the lead homicide investigator. casey was very descriptive in telling the lead homicide detective, i dropped caylee off at the sawgrass apartment at my nanny's apartment. when i went to get her after work that day, they weren't there. zenaida who she claims was the nanny, she said her phone was disconnected and she could never contact her again. her brother lee testified now today that zenaida and the nanny's sister physically restrained her, held her wrists in a park and sat her on the bench and said we're taking caylee away from you because you're a bad mother, you're unfit. well, now that's crazy. it is a public park. who would not have intervened?

>> tell us a little bit about the forensics. there was the computer. we'll get to that. but the fact that there was no human decomposition near the swimming pool, that the cadaver dogs never actually detected that. why was that important? >> that's very big, because jose baez, the defense attorney, told us in his opening statement that the baby drowned in the pool. well, now if that's true, suzanne, and you scoop that child's body out of the pool, you're going to collapse right there. air going to put her on the ground, attempt resuscitation, try mouth to mouth, you're going to be doing chest compressions. if she dies, the body and scent when she starts to decompose would have been in the area next to the pool. it makes no common sense -- you don't have to be a forensic scientist or a detective, or even a trained m.d. cal personnel to know that if you scoop child out of a pool, you don't run all the way across the backyard and lay her down by the play house to attempt resuscitation. you do that immediately in that

spot. so what it tells us is the defense's story is not backed up by the science and no matter how many witnesses you put on, we know that science doesn't lie. >> we do know as well that when you use a computer, they can -- the digital forensics also contributes. you can track any kind of communication that you had on that computer. >> forever. it is never gone. people think they're under the false impression that when they hit delete or they put it in the little trash can, it's gone. not true. it is there forever and it can be -- unless you literally blow up your computer into little bits, it's going to be there. think about it this way, suzanne. we have plane crashes and a month later we find that black box in the bottom of the ocean floor. yet we can pull it up, open up that sealed container and get all of that data out. the electronics these days are absolutely just fascinating and you're not going to get away with it. it's on your computer, they're going to find it. >> we'll get to those details about the computer and what was found at another time.

but thank you so much, holly. really appreciate it. fascinating case. our sister network hln is your destination for complete coverage of the casey anthony trial. watch special coverage of the trial throughout the day on hln. republicans are lining up for the chance to take on president obama in the 2012 election. but the president's biggest challenger may be -- the economy. that story up ahead. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] and just like that, it's here. a new chance for all of us: people, companies, communities to face the challenges yesterday left behind and the ones tomorrow will bring. prudential. bring your challenges.

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the republicans are itching to take on president obama and it is getting bigger. seven candidates are officially now in the race, but right now the president is running against perhaps another opponent -- the sluggish economy. that story from white house correspondent dan lothian. >> reporter: launching anything into strong headwinds is never considered ideal. but the obama campaign, with its slick chicago headquarters, is doing just that. facing down a bad economy in the race to 2012. >> obviously we're experiencing some headwinds. gas prices probably being most prominent. it has enormous impact on family budgets and on the psychology of consumers. >> reporter: dealing with the psychology of the consumer before he or she heads to the polls is a daunting challenge. >> now, actually, technically,

it's about 5 1/2. >> reporter: while fund-raisers from michigan to miami have put the president's campaign on an impressive track to a $1 billion target, the u.s. economy is still faltering, and that, says republican strategist kevin madden, will be the fundamental issue gop candidates use to show the president's economic policies have failed. >> the problem that he says he has inherited is now his and he'll be judged by it. >> right. i think you're going to look at an election that's very much about the present and then the future, where we're going to take the country. in the present right now he can no longer make the argument that he made when he was a candidate in 2008 which this is george bush's economy. this is president obama's economy. >> reporter: and you don't need a poll to tell you americans don't like this economy. they want jobs yesterday. democratic strategist gentleman magentleman jamaal simmons says -- >> he has to convince people his policies are helping the country

turn the corner and do better. at the end of the day he has to run against a real-life republican who's going to have flaws and other problems that the president's going to have to exploit. >> reporter: what about national security? doesn't the killing of osama bin laden prove president obama is a strong gutsy leader who took a chance to keep america safe? madden says, getting the elusive terrorist was good news but getting jobs is much better. >> it is not going to drive the long term debate of this campaign. >> reporter: but simmons doesn't see dark clouds hanging over the president's campaign. while republicans will hit him on the economy -- >> i understand how jobs come and i understand how jobs go. >> reporter: he had hit back with his achievements. >> what the president can say, he can come back at them and say, i put two women on the supreme court, i passed health care for 30 million people, i have turned the corner, helped the country turn the corner when it comes to the economy and we're growing out as fast as we need to but we're doing it much better than we were in george bush was in office. >> dan lothian joins us live.

dan, good to see you. the democratic strategist jamaal simmons in the report brought up the whole issue of health care reform. do we think that that is something that republicans are going to find beneficial in going back to the president on the campaign trail? >> look, that is such a good point. as you know, republicans have been calling for repeal of health care reform. simmons says that what the president needs to do is point out that health care reform is beneficial to millions of americans and that you have to give it time, because you will start to see some of those benefits play out over the next year and beyond. the bottom line though, he says, is that the president really needs to make the case and those who are pushing his message -- that health care reform is good for the american people, is good for the economy. they have to do a better job of explaining that. >> all right, dan. thank you very much. good to see you. cnn "in-depth" is on a listening tour to hear about your concerns about the economy

and how those concerns are shaping your views on the presidential race. our correspondents are across the country and cnn's casey wian has been listening to voters in nevada. >> reporter: travis ward and jamie miller work on a 30-passenger hummer limousine, a symbol of the las vegas fast life surrounded by an nevada economy that's hit the skids. >> it's just bad here. everything's slow. lot of people are out of work. they did build too quick here. now people are leaving because there's no jobs. everything's empty. look at the lot here. >> reporter: their brake shop is the only business operating in this shopping center. >> if there's no cars coming in, i don't get no hours. how can i afford to pay for my kid? >> reporter: how is it going to impact your decision on who you vote for for president next year? >> it will impact it some. i mean it's pretty much picking the lesser of the two evils. i know i don't want obama in

there again because he's pretty did nothing of what he said he would do. >> the one thing he did keep his promise about was finding osama out there. i enjoyed that. >> reporter: neither man has found a republican to support in 2012 but both say the economy here is so bad, they plan to leave soon. not so with these women on their lunch break from massage therapist school. >> i am going to continue to vote for obama. >> and why is that? >> because i don't think it's fair to take him down after he did all the hard work getting our economy where we are now. >> i've been looking for a job for a year-and-a-half. i think obama has done a good job, especially with what he walked into. am i going to vote for him? i don't know yet. >> i voted for barack obama. >> reporter: greg martin used to have a 5,000-square foot shop cutting parts for manufacturing companies. now he's doing small jobs in his garage for a tiny fraction of the revenue. he doesn't like the president's health care plan, although he says he can't afford insurance.

>> i know it is not going to help me. i'm a small business and to get health insurance it's really expensive. >> reporter: down the block, one of nevada's nation lead iing db homes in foreclosure. >> what are you going to do in 2012? >> i'm still undecided. at this point i don't know. >> casey wian joins us live from henderson, nevada. we know nevada was a critical state the last go-round. potentially even more important this time. >> reporter: absolutely. it is a referendum on what's happening with the economy nationally. we're here in a community center in henderson. it is 1 of 7 of these recreation centers that have been built in this town. this is a town that grew from 65,000 people two decades ago to almost 270,000 people now. it grew so fast and then they had the home foreclosure crisis hit, now more than half of the homes in this area that are sold are actually in foreclosure. the unemployment rate is about

12%. so the economy is the first thing on voters' minds here. another reason it's very important nationally is the fact that nevada's gop primary, the caucus actually, is one of the first. it is the first after iowa and new hampshire. the electorate is very closely divided here. you've got about 100,000 more democrats than you do republicans in the state of nevada, but there are 300,000 registered voters who are not affiliated with either of those two parties. so you've got a very, very critical race that's going to be coming up here next spring and next november, suzanne. >> all right, casey, thank you very much. on monday, cnn is going to host the new hampshire presidential debate. join us as republican hopefuls gather to size one another up and debate the issues. new hampshire republican presidential debate, cnn monday night at 8:00 eastern, only on night at 8:00 eastern, only on cnn. the evening guests arrive. back to sore knees. back to more pills.

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we're keeping a close eye on the growing crisis in syria. it is not who syria is that matters most to the united states, but where syria is. the country borders turkey, iraq, israel, jordan and lebanon. ivan watson is in the turkish capital of istanbul. he joins us live. ivan, first we've seen more than 1,000 refugees streaming across the border just in the last 24 hours. what happens to those folks? >> reporter: well, actually, suzanne, i'm right on the syrian border. the border is about a quarter of a mile behind me and this is one of the unofficial crossing points that hundreds of refugees have crossed over here just in the past short while. more than 2,000, 2,400 according to the foreign minister of turkey. we're not really allowed by the turkish authorities to talk to

the refugees as they come in and we can't talk to syria, but we're talking to a syrian activist via skype who's just on the other side of the border in the farms behind us who's showing us video. i know it is really hard to see here of mostly women and children refugees right now who are about to cross the border here in to turkey where turkish border troops, as well as the turkish government, then help bus them to a refugee camp in an abandoned tobacco factory. this activist here has been providing a lot of information about what is going on about the killing and the fear in syria right now that has prompted, according to the refugees, tens of thousands of people to evacuate the syrian border town. >> that's absolutely amazing. so those pictures we're seeing is live stream, live pictures

from your computer from folks who are on the other side of the border? >> reporter: absolutely. they're less than a quarter of a mile away, these pictures. again, this is a brave syrian activist, one of so many who have been getting out images of what's happening in that country. in the outside world since journalists aren't allowed in there. he first alerted us to the fact that there was a stream of refugees coming across the border a couple of days ago. this image of women and children lining up to flee to safety. the syrian government is going to send rebeless troo eslion tr. they're afraid they're going to be punished for the rebellion there. we talked with one activist via

a message system, gchat, and he told me this morning that some of his friends were burning tires trying to block a column of tanks from getting to this rebellious town last night, trying to block nine tanks from getting to that very place. once again, these are live images via skype from a quarter mile away in syrian territory of mostly women and children, syrian refugees, lining up waiting for permission to cross the unofficial border gate here into turkey to flee the violence that's killed, officially, more than 1,000 people in syria in the last 2 1/2 months. that's according to the united nations, suzanne. >> ivan, obviously a humanitarian crisis that you're seeing there on the border. excellent reporting just to be able to show us that that live video stream of people on the other side of the border who essentially are fleeing for their lives, trying to cross in to turkey and to essentially try

to escape the syrian military forces that have taken action and created a great deal of violence. thank you very much, ivan. appreciate it. a private eye is accused of hacking into the phone of royal favorite kate middleton. we're going to tell you who allegedly hired him and who else may have been a victim.ss with honey nut cheerios cereal. kissed with real honey. and the 100% natural whole grain oats can help lower your cholesterol. you are so sweet to me. bee happy. bee healthy.

scotland yard is investigating claims that a private eye tapped into cell phone conversations of kate middleton and other members of the british royal family, as well as government leaders. cnn's max fofter is in london with the latest thon british scandal. max, this is not even the first time that we've heard from kate complaining about spies on the phone. what are these allegations about? >> reporter: well, i've just been speaking to the former deputy prime minister, john press scott, he was deputy to tony blair. he's an alleged victim of this hacking. he's describing now something rotten in the state of england. he wants a full pub bllic inqui. it is very complicated but it is very big in this country. it all goes back to allegations about four years ago when prince william thought some of his

aides had their phones hacked and the royal correspondent at the news of the world ended up going into prison after that. that's a murdoch-owned newspaper. since then there was a litany of other cases and news international which owns news of the world admitted liability in some cases, paying out for example the actress ciena miller for hacking into her phone. what we've got now is a whole new set of allegations which the police aren't currently investigating. it came up in parliament yesterday. david cameron had to talk about it. it's about invasion of privacy an it involves many royals, we understand, including the duchess of cambridge. also tony blair himself, although he says he doesn't know anything about it 37 news international saying today, suzanne, that they don't think there's any truth into this and they will speak to the police if they need to but they don't think there's anything in it. >> max, do we think this is going to get much bigger? >> well, it is getting bigger all the time because there are lots of cases waiting to be investigated by the police and they do say today they're going

to investigate these broader cases as well. the police were under a lot of pressure in the early days because they were seen as not handling this properly. the government got involved. everyone's involved in this so they want to make sure it is investigated properly. we're going to hear more cases, i'm sure. >> max, thank you. you told us what you wanted to see. your "choose the news" story just moments away. [ male announcer ] look at this,

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winner. the young female athletes in afghanistan are defying society's rules and risking their lives to play the game they love. nick payton walsh reports. >> reporter: football has never been so dangerous, not just because this is kabul, but because these players are not men. >> i love football and football is everything for me and when i come and feel the football, i forget everything and i become very happy when i see my team. >> reporter: she captains afghanistan's only female team who face daily disapproval and even death threats in this conservative society. the only place they are allowed to play is this patch of grass lent to them by nato outside its headquarters. there's one problem -- it's not just a football field. these girls love the game so

much, nothing will stop them. this young girl can't live without football. >> when my family stop me to play football, when they say, no, stop playing football, and i try to suicide. >> to kill yourself. >> yeah. >> reporter: in fact, unless they travel abroad, there's only one team they can play -- nato's women. it's a full-contact match. the afghan women say that even being seen with nato won them further hatred, particularly as the western girls have short sleeves and bare legs. but like so many foreigners here before them, this time the nato women lost. >> it wasn't until last week when i met the coach that i realized that i've taken a lot for granted just being able to play any sport and have the freedoms that i have. >> reporter: things got even harder for the afghan girls when they were stopped from playing

in this stadium. now the afghan men's team have a lush pitch to practice on but the women never got to use it. instead they were given this concrete down on one end, and now they've even been banned from that. death threats are usually anonymous, a text message, a phone call. but they take their toll. >> translator: i'm thinking about quitting and two girls have already quit and left the country because of threats. my family wants me to quit and don't even know i'm here. >> reporter: her father fearing for her safety and reputation. >> translator: my daughter is starting at at technical institute and i have someone that looks after her. i take her every morning to school and in the afternoon i bring her home. i'm worried but i'm also proud. >> reporter: it's seen as one of life's joyce in most of the world, but here it's a luxury to some, an outrage to others. yet all the same, nothing has stopped these girls yet. nick payton walsh, cnn, kabul. >> if your choicedi