all the little tidbits. kind of salacious. bristol palin has a book out where she talks about her life. in fact, listen to the title of the book "not afraid of my life: my journey so far." she's a pretty young person. a lot of years ahead of her. a lot of people are going to wonder what she has to say in this book, randi. >> i'll help you out there. she does talk about a lot of first times for lots of things. we can leave it there, mark. >> yes. let's leave it there. >> good to see you. your next update from the best political team on television is just an hour away. cnn newsroom continues right now with brooke baldwin. >> hello to all of you, folks. i just tweeted this. we've got a jam packed show for you. busy, busy day on this wednesday. straight to some of the news we're working on for you right now including president obama just hours away from making his case to his war weary nation. he is expected to bring home thousands of u.s. troops from afghanistan. but exactly when and will it be

enough? we are all over this story for you today. plus, a dakota town, north dakota town, i should say, could be hours away from literal wipeout. 11,000 people told to get out of town now. the sirens have gone off, i'm told. we're going to talk to the town's mayor here in mere moments. plus, breaking news outside of atlanta. take a look at this. live pictures, i'm told. look at that thick black smoke coming out of this -- sounds like it's some sort of corporation. clayton county outside of atlanta. 50 to 55 different firefighters trying to fight this thing. you can see some of those patrol cars and fire trucks there on the scene as they're tending to this. again, some sort of two alarm fire at the tinser corporation. an outside source fire located on a storage lot. no people according to the chief out of clayton county, no people were endangered but evacuations are in place all around the area. we're watching those pictures for you. as soon as we get updates from our southeast desk, i promise

we'll pass them along. i want to begin this hour with this. i want to start with a really, really close call at jfk airport in new york. watch this. a lufthansa jumbo jet speeding down the runway, hurtling towards takeoff, watch this animation with me. when a second jumbo jet, here's the first one going down. a second jumbo jet then from egypt, there it is, pulling out in front of it. this happened monday evening. this is jfk. runway 22-r. i want you to listen to the control tower as air traffic controllers obviously get a little frantic. >> american 158 heavy. you are ready fo go. >> whoa, whoa. >> egypt air 986 heavy. >> cancel takeoff. cancel takeoff plans. >> lufthansa 411 heavy is rejecting takeoff. >> all traffic is stopped right now. >> now, how did two huge planes full of passengers come so

frighteningly close to colliding? that's one of the questions federal investigators are asking right now. i want to bring in cnn's mary snow there in new york. obviously, mary, a multitude of questions here. my first question is why? do we know yet why that egyptian plane pulled out, made that turn? are investigators any closer to figuring that one out? >> brooke, here's what the faa does know at this point. it says that that egypt air flight had been given instructions to taxi because it was getting ready to depart. here's what the faa is saying. that the pilot of egypt air 986 read back the taxi instructions correctly. however, failed to turn as instructed. so, in other words, what the faa is saying is that it was instructed to turn on to another taxi way, but it went straight. but the faa is saying that that egypt airplane did not enter the runway. it said what it did was that it passed what is known as the hold short line. that is a line that planes are not supposed to cross unless they are given specific

clearance. how close these planes came is still unclear. but what the faa said is that when it did pass that line, they said that hold short line is about 250 feet from the runway. so that lufthansa jet did stop before it got to that egypt airplane. >> just so i'm following you, this egyptian airplane, it was told -- it was told to turn. instead it went straight? >> to make another turn. >> to make the turn. >> right. >> we were wondering if there were any questions over language, hearing this is lufthansa and egypt air. anything that would be lost in any kind of translation, that was not at all the issue? >> you know, we don't know whether it was at this point. you know, i was talking to a former pilot and to a former air traffic controller. and they were saying that in past cases, you know, it has been a problem because of language and accents.

but also so many people talking at the same time. and one former pilot we spoke to said this is not something that is common. it's not unheard of, either. it is infrequent. as you can sense from listening to those tapes you just played, this was certainly something that was a very close call. >> it was a close call. but at least they are saying it's not common. let's talk to a pilot, mary snow, thank you very much. i want to bring in jim tilghman, a retired commercial pilot joining me here from dallas. jim, let me start with where mary ended there. she said -- she said that this is not common, but she also couldn't say that this had never happened before. in your years, you know, as a pilot, have you heard of this? did you ever have a close call? >> oh, yes. >> oh, yes? >> well, i don't remember having anything quite like this. but i got to tell you what we're talking about is called a runway incursion. that's one of the most dangerous

events not in the air, but all on the ground. if you can remember back in the day when tanner reef was in the headlines because two jumbo jets hit each other, the most deadly accident in aviation history even to this day. it's all because of human errors. now, this particular case sounds like the egyptian air pilot failed to follow the full instructions. he may have read it back just fine. but they failed to follow the full instructions. i don't know that language had a problem here. but i got to tell you that this airport particularly, all high density airports, have a lot of conversation going on all at the same time. these controllers talk at rapid speed. they hardly take a breath. i don't know when they breathe. because in between the instructions for one airplane and another, there's just no break whatsoever. however -- >> so go ahead. then i'll jump in. finish your thought. >> on the other side of that, the egyptian airplane was getting ready to take off.

lots of things going on in that cockpit at that time. checklists being read and answered and everything else. all kinds of other checks taking place. locates exactly where you are. communicating about the flight you're about to take. all this. lots of communication going on at once. easy to be confused. >> hold on a second. if people are sitting there and they're a passenger on a plane, there are hundreds on these planes, places like jfk, yes it's very busy and some of these air traffic controllers talk at rapid speed because there's many planes coming and going, that's not an excuse. many lives were on the line. thank goodness nothing happened. still, who takes the blame? is it the pilot for even though they read back the instructions they turned instead of going straight, is the air traffic controller for talking to quickly, the ground crew operator who gave incorrect instructions? somebody's head should roll. >> brooke, you're absolutely correct about everything you

said. the fact is that the responsibility for this rests solely with that pilot. he was given the right instructions. he read back the right instructions. he didn't follow them. case closed. i don't care why he didn't. the fact is, we would have a different story to report today if the lufthansa jet had not been able to stop or if the other jet had taxied out on to that runway. yes, indeed, the pilot that was taxiing and taxiing prior to takeoff in my view from what we've understand is totally at fault here. he did not follow instructions. this is not a good place for that. >> okay, jim tilmon. i appreciate you agreeing with me. i do have something else i want to share with you. this is something we got in this afternoon. it's mere serendipity you're on with us. another airline story involving a poi lot at southwest airlines. i want to get your reaction here. we have a pilot here back on the job after being suspended without pay after making some pretty nasty comments from the

cockpit. so he left his mike open on a critical air traffic control frequency. and i want to play here just a bit of what he said that got him into trouble. >> flight attendants, individuals, never the same flight attendant twice. [ bleep ] over the top [ bleep ] homosexuals and a granny. >> jim tilmon, i want you to stay right there. we're going to play the entire clip after a short break. i want to get your reaction in a moment. before the break, another picture here. massive plumes of black smoke here billowing into the air. this is clayton county. this is outside of atlanta. and last check from the battalion chief, information i have, 50 to 55 firefighters working this thing. again, live pictures. look at this. this is the back part of the cnn insignia. we're here in downtown atlanta.

i don't know precisely how many miles away. from our vantage in downtown you can see the plumes of smoke. clearly on the left side of the picture the black smoke right up on the blames blasting through. this is tinser corporation. according to the chief it's an outside source fire located on the storage lot. no people were endangered inside the building. but given the pictures you and i are looking at, evacuations very much so in place. we're making calls. the fire broke out, i'm told, within this last hour. more on that story and more on that cockpit sound when we come back.

okay. welcome back. here's cnn newsroom. there he is, jim tilmon. good enough to stick around here. i want you and the rest of you to listen to this sound here in full with me. we just got this audio today. this is from the faa. let me set it up. an incident involving a southwest airlines pilot. this happened in march. i want you to listen to what he said. his mike was very much so open as he sat in the cockpit talking about some of his coworkers. keep in mind he is back on duty today. >> well, i had tucson/indy all four weeks. and the chicago crew, 11 out of 12. there's 12 flight attendants, individuals, never the same flight attendants. 11 over the top [ bleep ] homosexuals and a granny.

11. think of the odds of that. i thought i was in chicago which was party land. after that it was just a continuous stream of gays and grannies and grandes. i don't give a [ bleep ]. i hate 100% of the [ bleep ]. so six months i went to the bar three times. in six months, three times. once with the granny and the [ bleep ] and i wish i hadn't gone. at the very end with two girls. one of them was probably doable, but we ended up going to the bar and then to the crew in st. louis. all these two women wanted to do was one wanted to berate her sister and the other wanted to [ bleep ] about her husband. literally. for three hours. when that was done, 2:30 i got back to my room, i'm like why the [ bleep ] did i stay up? >> transmitting, bill, watch

what you're saying there. >> you know what i mean? i still wouldn't want anybody to know if i had banged them. so it was a complete disaster for six months. now i'm back in houston which is easily one of the ugliest -- it's all these [ bleep ] old dudes and grannies. there's maybe a handful of chicks. >> someone's got a stuck mike and telling us all about their endeavors. we don't need to hear that. >> houston, sky west, that was not us. >> climate maintain flight level 360. >> if they wonder why airline pilots have -- >> 28 contact ft. worth center 133.1. >> number 7 hotel bravo to set

up special maintain 240. >> 240. >> it wasn't us either. >> roger. i didn't think that was you. >> the pilot, we don't know his name, i don't even know if he was in the air flying or not. you hear the controller talking about maintaining altitude. we know he was on duty. might have been on the ground, might have been flying the plane when he was saying all that. he was suspended with pay. he's now back on duty. jim tilmon, the other dude in there sums it up. no wonder a pilot gets a bad rap. was this pilot, is this guy just a bad apple or is that attitude indicative of a lot of pilots you have worked with in your career? >> well, i can tell you, brooke, in 29 years of flying the line, i can count two pilots who may have had a conversation like that. and i flew with hundreds of professional pilots who i have the greatest respect for in the world. i got to tell you, i have no

respect for this person. because that person is exhibiting all kinds of attitudes which really are not -- not part of the professional business of flying airplanes. this is not common at all. i think this is a rare situation. i think this guy has put an incredible blemish on the profession that i'm very proud to have been a part of and one that i think so many, many pilots would feel the same way about it. >> well, i am glad to hear that, that this is not the norm. you say you've seen two bad apples in your 29 years. pretty good odds. still unacceptable. jim tilmon, thank you so much for sticking around. appreciate it. now, watch this. >> this is the longest tour in the history of the united states of america. we should not be ashamed of bringing our troops home. >> that is exactly what the president is going to do. bring troops home. could a withdrawal put u.s. troops and the nation in danger? i'm going to speak with a cnn senior international correspondent nic robertson.

folks, he has been to afghanistan 50-plus times. he is up next. plus, some are describing it as an apocalypse. a texas community consumed by flames. and you won't believe how it started.

it was president obama not too long ago back in 2009 who ordered 30,000 troops to join the war in afghanistan. well, tonight in just about 4, 4 1/2 hours the president will be unveiling his plan for bringing those troops home, ending what the administration calls the afghanistan troop

surge. it's a major foreign policy decision obviously for the president. and he has had to walk a fine line in making it, in establishing it. it means drawing a balance between the nation's security and the desires of an american public that is increasingly war weary. president obama is expected to announce the number of u.s. troops in afghanistan will fall by 10,000 by the end of this year and an additional 20,000 by the end of next year. that leaves about 70,000 u.s. troops still in country, still fighting the war in afghanistan. i want to go straight to senior international correspondent nic robertson who has done such extensive reporting in that part of the world and specifically in afghanistan really more than any other correspondent. here's some video of him through the years here. nic has traveled to afghanistan more than 50 times since the mid-'90s when the taliban rose to power. in all he spent more than a year if you add it all up inside afghanistan. he joins me live from london.

nic, good to see you. with the news tonight that the president will be calling for this drawdown of 30,000 troops, the surge troops, by the end of next year, how do you think that will sit with hamid karzai and the government in afghanistan? >> well, it's going to be a wake-up call for the government that the time's running out in afghanistan where they need to stand up their own forces. we were in kandahar just before christmas. and the surge of troops there, u.s. troops on the grand, were really making a difference. they brought some stability to the city, to some of the neighboring areas around kandahar. and they were making a difference. but the commander's problem was, he wanted to move his forces on to other places to take on the taliban. and he couldn't because afghan politicians hadn't sort of prepared the way to put afghan troops into backfill the u.s. troops who needed to move on to other places. so for president karzai, this is going to be a real wake-up call. the moves that he hasn't been making, he needs to make them

now. the troops really are not ready to backfill so far. >> so the troops, the afghan troops not there to backfill. what about the people? what do the people in afghanistan, kandahar, small villages throughout the untri, how do they have about the american troops leaving? >> one of the amazing things that people really like peace and security. i guess there's no surprise in that. who doesn't want that? afghans are like people around the world. they want safety for their kids. they want to put their kids in school. they want to know where their next meal's coming from. they want to have a job. all the normal things. but despite all the money that the united states has spent on different aid projects, building schools, helping irrigation, you know, we went out and talked to some of those people. and they say, hey, we didn't know the united states built this school. we didn't know they made this irrigation canal. because one of the things is, when you spend money there, you don't want to advertise that the united states or britain or whomever is behind it because the taliban will target the

school or whatever it is and blow it up. so in many cases you find people aren't even aware of the sacrifices of money that's been put in by the united states, which is just something you really don't expect for all the money that's been spent. >> that's tremendous. i think it's $1.3 trillion both iraq and afghanistan over the last decade. you mentioned the taliban. what about the resurgence of the taliban? we have some video taken from our colleague nick peyton walsh who's been reporting throughout afghanistan recently. an example of one town that apparently is where the taliban has regained control. here it is. this is one of these towns. might this, nic, might this be the beginning of more things to come once americans leave? >> sure. the taliban are waiting there to take control in places that they haven't controlled since 2001. and they were beaten out of the country. they have provincial sort of parallel governors, district

counselors, parallel to the central government. they have people to put in place and take over control of parts of the country. there's no doubt if you look at the south and the east of the country where the taliban are traditionally strongest, that's where the sort of ethnic kinsman are, people share those very conservative cultural views. it's a very sort of country side mentality, if you will, that they're not as sort of urbanized as the sort of cities are. in these places the taliban are going to be able to take and assume control again. but they've got a political agenda, not just a military agenda. and that's one of the things that can be dealt with here. brooke? >> nic robertson for us, senior international correspondent, nic, tremendous reports in country. i'm sure you'll be back. we'll check in with you then. thank you so much, nic. by the way, you can watch president obama's address, of course you can, tonight 8:00 eastern right here on cnn, talking about that troop drawdown. 30,000 surge troops by the end of next year. watch tonight, cnn, 8:00

eastern. now this. >> in july of 2007, hillary clinton was going to be the democratic nominee and rudy giuliani was going to be the republican nominee. john mccain was out of money. his staff had left and everybody had written him off. >> so, case in point, folks, don't write newt gingrich off yet either. our own t.j. holmes caught up with the white house hopeful just this morning. maybe had a little breakfast with him as he was here in atlanta. you'll want to hear what he told mr. holmes. folks, don't move. that is coming up next.

more troubles for newt gingrich. we told you yesterday two more of his campaign staffers quit. it was senior fundraising staff

this time. remember a couple weeks ago we were reporting 16 other top aides, they left earlier this month. all of this comes after reports gingrich actually had a second line of credit at tiffany's. this one worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $500,000 to $1 million. despite his campaign defections, gingrich says he's still in the race for the white house. that brings me to my friend t.j. holmes. good to have you on the sofa, sir. >> good to be here with you. >> he was in town, part of this atlanta press club breakfast. you were there, up and at em nice and early for this. >> i know it sounds bad. you know, he's had about 20 staffers leave in the past couple of weeks. his campaign has only been up for a month. he would say to you, brooke, just calm down. i know this sounds bad, but i'm in it to win it still. you see him here shaking some hands and whatnot. he started his comments, made a speech and then took some questions. but he started his comments by giving instructions to the reporters in the room and also

reminding us of some recent presidential election history. listen to this. >> i want to say one thing about the campaign and everything else i'm going to say today is going to be focused on substance. i say this in part for the reporters because i'm not going to answer any process questions. in july of 2007, hillary clinton was going to be the democratic nominee, and rudy giuliani was going to be the republican nominee. john mccain was out of money. his staff and left and everybody had written him off. >> so given the fact that so many people in the last month have really sort of described his campaign as imploding, he seems to want to say, hey, look, let's get it out of the way. look at this person and this person and this person in our past and really i'm a-okay. >> there is precedent for it, no doubt. but it's hard to remember that president, he would have to become the nominee and have to win the presidency for us to look back and say oh, man, he was right. but right now it just looks bad.

we talk about a number of folks. now these two fundraisers, the tiffany thing. all the press he's getting right now is not the right kind if you're running a campaign. he started to give some examples. >> ronald reagan. >> e used ronald reagan. listen to him now explain how even though he lost all these staffers, this is actually a good thing. listen to him explain. >> we made a mistake. we tried to be normal. we tried to bring in regular political consultants. very smart people. and it turned out they couldn't do it. second example, if you'd asked ronald reagan that question when 13 people resigned in 1980, you probably wouldn't have believed him if he turned to you and said, look, all i want to focus on is three things. the recovery of the american economy, the rebuilding of american city culture and the defeat of the soviet empire. you would have said gosh this guy has 13 people retire and quit in one morning and he has

this fantasy he's going to rebuild the american economy, which he did. >> so he's saying, brush it off the shoulder, ladies and gentlemen. >> get that dirt off your shoulder there. that's what he's saying. he's essentially saying we made a mistake. these are consultants. these are the folks that will tell you to run a campaign a certain way. i'm a different politician. i'm going to do things differently. >> his wife ka lis ta was in the room. >> she was there. >> the bit about the headline today, the second line of credit at tiffany's. did anyone ask about that? >> we didn't get a chance to. i did ask, had a pretty good conversation with his campaign spokesperson, and he kind of just laughed it off. he said, you know what? a will the of people look at that and say, yeah, your wife is upset with you. your wife is yelling at you because you didn't have a line of credit. you didn't bring that little blue box home. they explain it simply this is a fwi who's made a lot of money in his career since he left politics. this is a guy who has a wife where maybe she likes a nice

thing or two there. if they have a line of credit, fine. they explain even though this one's $500,000 to $1 million, they won't say how much of that they use, how many things they bought, what they bought. it's at zero now. >> they're saying it's closed, zero, case closed, i suppose. >> i'm going to go open up a line of credit. >> you've got the tiffany's blue tie on today, too. dgod created us man and woman. he created the marriage husband and wife. >> they can continue to have their beliefs. i can continue to have my beliefs and we can all co-exist peacefully. >> you know the story. two sides. one very fiery debate up in new york as the state considers making same-sex marriage legal. they are one vote away here. and it could happen any moment now. we're all over it. plus, al gore taking the gloves off against president obama. we're going to tell you what he's saying that has a lot of folks frankly shocked.

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keeping a close eye as promised to this massive fire here burning outside of atlanta. this is a two-alarm fire in clayton county, georgia. the fire is near tinsar corporation south of the city. fire broke out just about 20 minutes, half an hour ago. huge, huge black plumes of smoke there. 50, 55 firefighters fighting this thing. also, firefighters facing danger battling more than 50 wildfires now. 5-0 across the u.s. a fast moving fire near grimes county, texas, has destroyed at least 26 homes. the sheriff's department has

identified a person of interest in that fire. but they don't think it was intentionally set. a witness describes this scene as an apocalypse. experts say it'll probably be mid-july before fire crews get a handle on this thing in texas, arizona and other parts of the southwest. that is when those seasonal rains come. heavy rains today did bring some much-needed relief there to crews in texas. firefighters say they could use a week's worth of rain but they will take what they can get. the grimes fire is now 35% contained. fires are raging today in 12 states. take a look at the map from alaska to florida. that means an area just about the size of delaware if you add it all up. more than 1 1/2 million acres has burned this season. that is triple the amount burned last year. a couple of other top stories here. dozens of suspected al qaeda militants in yemen are on the loose. they escaped this morning from a yemeni prison which came under attack by armed militant. now, cnn cannot independently

verify these escaped members are of al qaeda, but a senior security official says a soldier and a prisoner were killed and two other soldiers were injured in that attack. one week here after the new york state assembly approved a same-sex marriage bill, the senate may be closer to that final vote. today, nonstraiters both pro and anti-same-sex marriage hit the hallways of the senate, shouting, you can hear them, with signs as conservative republicans ultimately are the ones to determine the bill's fate and decide to schedule a vote or not. if this measure passes, new york would become the sixth state to allow for same-sex marriage. and former vice president al gore criticizes president obama for failing to take on what he's calling, quote, unquote, merchants of poison. gore's essay, you can read it in "rolling stone" titled "climate of denial" suggests the president failed to stand up to congress after it stripped his green stimulus package of major funding. gore also takes a punch at the

media, comparing the industry to professional wrestling referees. 11,000 north dakotans are being told to get out, get out now ahead of what could be the worst flooding the state has seen in decades. that is coming up. i'll talk to the mayor of one town. in about 4 1/2 hours president obama will be addressing the nation and expected to announce troop drawdowns in afghanistan. but will it also be enough to appease a nation with war fatigue? we're going to talk a lot more about that, coming up next. maler favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums

we are 3 1/2 hours away from the president speaking to the nation, addressing the country

regarding his plans for american troops in afghanistan. he's expected to announce as we've been reporting this traudown of 10,000 troops by the end of this year and then add to that another 20,000 by the end of next year. these numbers are the equivalent of the additional troops ordered by the president back in 2009. the surge. so i want to bring in republican congressman william mack thornberry of texas. the vice chairman of the house armed services committee and he was in afghanistan very, very recently, just over the memorial day holiday meeting with troops and villagers, tribal leaders and also members of the afghan government. congressman thornberry, thank you so, so much for being on with me today. i want to talk to you first about the troops and the tribal leaders, folks you talked to there. but we have to -- we have you on because the president is speaking tonight, as we mentioned, outlining his plan of troop withdrawal. from everything i've read, sir, you agree with secretary of defense robert gates that there's too much talk about leaving and not enough talk about getting the job right. sir, how do we get the job

right? >> well, it's give the troops a chance to do their job. i mean, i admire the president's decision to send in the 30,000 troops. and it's made a tremendous difference. as you mentioned, i've walked around villages in afghanistan within the past few weeks that i could never have walked around just a year ago. but any time you start setting deadlines, telling the enemy and your friends when you're going to leave, it undermines your effectiveness. and so i worry about this national security decisions by the calendar and making it harder to achieve ultimate success. >> you have the mission in afghanistan. you also, though, have the economic mission here back at home. in terms of dollars and cents, the u.s. has spent $1.3 trillion in these two wars, iraq and afghanistan, in the last decade. here at home, you know the unemployment rate. 9.1%. what do you say to an unemployed american who says to you, sir, please stop building, you know, bridges and buildings in kandahar and build them back

home in clarendon, texas. >> i tell them the first job of the federal government is to protect the country. we can never again let afghanistan be a sanctuary for terrorists to use to attack us. and that we have to work with the population so that they can stand on their own two feet and provide for their own security just like is happening right here in iraq, where all of our troops are scheduled to be gone by the end of the year. we need to give the afghanistanis the same opportunity. if we do they can provide for their own opportunity and we can come home successful rather than come home in some kind of compromise position. >> just so i'm hearing you right, priority number one is defending our country in afghanistan. priority two is our own americans and jobs? >> well, priority one for the federal government is to defend the country. it's not going to be the federal government that creates jobs. it's the private sector. we've learned from the mistakes

of the stimulus-type approach of the federal government going out and creating jobs. the federal government needs to get out of the way of business to create jobs here at home. and that's how that guy in clarendon, texas, is is going to get a job. not from the federal government. >> as we mentioned, congressman, you were in afghanistan. you were there in april, as recent as memorial day. you described the trip as inspiring, meeting these american troops. but how did the troops themselves, these men and women, how did they feel about the mission? how worried are they that politics might be getting in the way here? >> oh, you hit your -- the nail on the head. you know, when you kind of get these guys aside without all the generals around, talk to them about what they're worried about, it is that their effectiveness will be undercut by washington politics. and they'll tell you with a tear in their eye about a friend they've lost and they don't want that loss to be for nothing. they want that sacrifice to be

lasting. and the thing they worry about most is politics in washington cutting the legs out from under what they've accomplished. >> congressman thornberry, my final question is this. will there ever be a time when there are no american boots on the ground in afghanistan? >> i can't tell you ever. it depends on the circumstances there. as long as we have a government whose primary function is to defend us, then our government and our military must take whatever actions are needed to defend us. i hope, though, that we can learn from the success in iraq so that one day the afghanistan people can provide for their own security in a way that the iraqis are providing for their own security and that all our troops can come home in the way that they're going to come home from iraq by the end of this year. >> 30,000 troops will be out of there by the end of 2012. that is what the president is supposed to announce tonight. congressman mac thornberry out of texas, appreciate it, sir.

thank you very much. watch the president's primetime address tonight, again, 8:00 eastern. watch it with us right here on cnn. minot, north dakota, bracing for catastrophe this hour. ahead of this deluge of floodwaters, it could break records. the mad scramble to get 11,000 folks out of harm's way. stay here. at bayer, we've been relieving pain for over 100 years.

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the water is getting so high in parts of minot, north dakota, people are being ordered to evacuate now. in fact, they're calling for historic proportions of water. this year's floods are coming. they're there. look at the water levels. the folks who live in minot all agree, saying they have never seen water like this ever. floodwaters are topping levees. we heard that the sirens as a result have been going off in the last hour or so and much more water is expected. many people are, in fact, heeding these warnings. folks in the community were given until tonight to get out of town because of the historic proportions of water. the issue is this river through town. it's called the sirrus river. i don't speak french but it's a french word for "mouse." this is the river that flows through town. you can see some of the homes perched precariously close to the river. homes, businesses. they're all being asked to leave

tonight. some are pulling up carpets now. we're watching that. chad myers over there watching that as well. now this. >> this girl made your case. by coming and testifying. >> a victim of sex trafficking goes missing after testifying against her alleged captor. her family says the system let her daughter down. that story, coming up next. first, some free money advice from cnn's help desk. here's carter evans. >> time now for the help desk where we get answers to your financial questions. joining me this hour, greg mcfwrid. a senior financial analyst at bankrate.com and lanette cox is founder of ask the money coach. amy in pennsylvania says i need to hire someone to help me navigate a possible short sale and deal with all three of my len dors. what kind of person can help me do that? >> believe it or not, probably a

real estate agent best prepared. there's a lot of real estate agents out there who actually specialize in this. if you go through an organization like the national association of realtors, for example, they'll be able to connect you or point you in the right direction, get online and search for an agent in our area with an agent who specifically an agent who specifically deals with short sales and foreclosure. it's a long, drawn out process. you can't say, 60% down or 60% on the dollar and expect it to be approved. it doesn't work that way. you've got to package the short sale offer in a right way. but the real estate agent is probably the best person to help you do just that. >> they've had a lot of experience doing just that. jessica is florida says my family owns for a small, family-owned business. >> i want to start with a traditional i.r.a. you and your husband can contribute up to $5,000 or 6,000

if you're age 50 or older. because he does not have a workplace program, his contributions will be available. there is a solo 401(k) or the s.e.p. i.r.a. there are annual contribution limits than what you get with the traditional i.r.a. >> have a question you want answered, send us an e-mail to cnn.com ♪ you love money ♪ well, you know i love it too ♪ ♪ you love money ♪ well, you know i love it too ♪

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today's freedom project focuses on the problem of human trafficking, including sex trafficking. getting victims to speak out against their abusers is one of the hardest problems that they face. this girl was 17 when she did that, testified against a man who allegedly forced her to sell her body. but her speaking out did not end

her ordeal. >> reporter: she admires a daughter she knows she will probably never see again. >> when she was a baby, she had gray eyes and they changed to green. >> reporter: a month after testifying in a sex trafficking case that led to an indictment, emily just disappeared. as a girl, sarah says her daughter suffered with learning disabilities and an abusive stepfather. as a teen, dealing with that pain, it drew her into the underground world of sex trafficking. >> smoking, drinking, using marijuana, she did start using he can as it see but i think that started when the sex trafficking began. it was a self-destructive path and i didn't know how to stop

it. >> reporter: and then her path crossed with a man 20 years older than her and she went to portland, oregon to sell her body. >> this is where officials picked her up working as a prostitute. she was only 16 and told police she didn't want to keep selling herself. doug retired but still fields calls about trafficking. he was the man that convinced her to testify against her accused pimp. >> he bought her clothes, told her what to do, how to do it. he kept every penny. you could just tell, she was freaking out. because she knew what she said in there was going to put this guy in jail for a long, long time and he was a very bad guy. >> reporter: emily's testimony threatened to put the man she says trafficked her in federal prison for the rest of her life. after she testified, prosecutors

sent emily back to live with her family without any security. about a month later, she told her mom she was going to leave from this bus station to go and see a boyfriend about 30 minutes away in seattle. that was the last time emily's family. the case fell apart. the united states attorneys office would not comment on any connection between the case and emily's disappearance. in a statement to cnn said "our heart goes out to kelsey's family. we are pursing every viable option and putting together every single puzzle. she believes prosecutors have abandoned her daughter. >> this girl came and made your case by coming and testifying. she made your case. >> reporter: for now, she's focusing on drawing attention to people like those she says forced her daughter into child

prostitution. >> they are good at what they do. they make a lot of money doing what they do. and the girls are expendable. there is always another girl out there. >> reporter: cnn, everett washington. >> a man caught on surveillance video. that is coming up. with honey nu. 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.

(rawhen an investmentrsation). lacks discipline, it's never this obvious. introducing investment discipline etfs from russell. visit russelletfs.com r a prospectus, containing the investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information. read and consider it carefully before investing. finally, there's a choice for my patients with an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, or afib, that's not caused by a heart valve problem. today we have pradaxa to reduce the risk of a stroke caused by a clot. in a clinical trial, pradaxa 150 mg reduced stroke risk 35% more than warfarin. and with pradaxa, there's no need for those regular blood tests. pradaxa is progress. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding, and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have kidney problems

or a bleeding condition, like stomach ulcers. or if you take aspirin products, nsaids, or blood thinners. tell your doctor about all medicines you take, any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctor's approval, as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. if you have afib not caused by a heart valve problem, ask your doctor if pradaxa can reduce your risk of a stroke. after a deadly robbery and a frantic manhunt, pharmacies across the country are now on high alerlt they could be the next target. i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. a prison break in one of the most dangerous countries in the world. now dozens of suspected al qaeda

terrorists are on the loose in yemen. we're going to take you behind the escape. the clock is ticking. thousands of people in one state must leave everything behind. floodwaters in north dakota are being called historic, catastrophic, and they are rising right now. plus snoo pl, booze, hitler, an designer. sunny hostin is on the case. also, can the world get rid of every single nuclear weapon? some people are pushing for it, including her majesty, queen of jordan. i'll speak with her live. welcome back. i'm brooke baldwin. four hours and counting. we're four hours away from president obama's primetime speech on america's longest war now, the war in afghanistan. we expect the president to

essentially undo the troop surge in 2009. the president plans to have 10,000 fewer troops by the end of this year and then it fall by an additional 20,000 by 2012. we're all waiting and going to be watching the president's speech. it's a delicate dance between winding down the war and convince a war-weary public that it's in our best interests to keep fighting and funding the war. what are you going to be looking for tonight? how does he handle this? >> well, i'm going to be listening very closely to hear if he talks about money tonight. how much of this is going to cost this year and next year, 2013, 2014. because even with the withdrawal of the 30,000, 33,000 or so troops that were sent in with the surge in the aftermath of the west point speech in

december 2009, you pull all of those 30,000 out between now and next year, there's still going to be 70,000 u.s. troops that will remain in afghanistan in 2013, 2014. and some congressional sources suggest that the long-term plan is to keep 25,000 u.s. troops even beyond 2014. it's going to cost hundreds and billions of dollars and at a time of economic distress, there is going to be strong opposition to even accelerate the withdrawal, brooke, a lot more quickly. >> i was talking to a congressman where he says there will always be some sort of american boots on the ground and funding to keep guys and gals there. i want to talk about some numbers, wolf blitzer. you were tweeting numbers in terms of troops. you say afghan numbers, 100,000 u.s. troops, 40,000 nato troops,

300,000 afghan military and police versus 100 al qaeda and maybe 25,000 taliban. wolf, why was that important for you to point out? >> it doesn't really on the surface make any sense and that 25,000 number may be high. it may be 10 or 15 or 25,000 taliban roaming around afghanistan. if there are 300,000 police and military personnel that the afghans have now trained, they say they have that robust force, why does the united states still need 100,000 troops, at least right now, another 40,000 nato troops to stay there and some more numbers -- and we might get dizzy listening to all of these numbers. remember, there are almost 100,000 u.s. contractors who work in afghanistan. about 80,000 or so contractors and 30,000 -- i'll give you the exact number. 19,000 of those contractors are

u.s. citizens. about 22,000 are third country citizens. about 47,000 are afghan nationals, afghan citizens. many of those u.s. contractors, private citizens, who serve there, they make a lot more money salary-wise than the u.s. military personnel. so that's additional cost that is in this equation as well. so the question i was asking is, why do we need 400,000 good guys, supposedly, the u.s., nato, afghan to fight maybe 20, 25,000 bad guys on the surface it doesn't make any sense. but i'm going to speak to some military analysts, include general wesley clark, a former nato supreme commander and ask him why the u.s. needs that robust force, the huge military presence in afghanistan when the opposition, the enemy, if you will, is relatively modest. >> talking about nick robinson, he said being in afghanistan very recently, and president karzai, they are not ready and don't have their own troops for

the backfill. >> they have 300,000. >> they do. they do. but this is what nic says they say, that they are not prepared. wolf, we'll talk to you later in the hour and we can talk about this senator manchin interview. and if it's happening right now, you're about to see it. rapid fire. a collision narrowly averted at jfk airport. heading towards a screeching halt because of an airplane pulling on to the runway. it's not clear, the pilot would have had seconds to react. listen to the air traffic controllers turn frantic.

>> faa is investigating. a physics professor is accused ever online prostitution. david flory had been operating a site called southwest companions. ♪ >> this is country singer glen campbell is suffering from alzheimer's. the grammy winner, now 75, has been battling short-term memory loss for years but the alzheimer's diagnosis came six months ago. he's planning a final tour this fall and wants his fans to be

aware of his condition. a walmart shopper fed up with crime, she tries to stop three brothers from stealing beer and the whole thing is caught on camera. >> i told the cashier, do something. they are leaving. and she couldn't do something. so i told her, watch my purse. >> take a look at these guys. they grab beer, walk right out of the store without paying and that's when the woman stomped on the windshield. here she goes on the car, stomping away before the suspects then took off. police later caught them after a chase. the woman is a-okay. to michigan where a 7-year-old leads police on a car chase. >> believe it or not, i just passed a 5, 6 yirld kid flying down the road with a red pontiac sunbird. >> okay. it's a red sun bird? >> yeah. >> police say the boy took his stepfather's car to go see his biological father. we're told he hit speeds about 50 miles an hour.

7. when officers caught up with him, they had to help him put the car in park. the boy's stepfather was not home at the time and she was asleep and she could face charges because she's in charge of her son. take a look at this. an mta bus driving down the road in queens, new york. it loses a 400 pound tire. check it out. wheel, there it goes, flying off. barely missing the white car parked. slammed into the building. fortunately the bus was empty and the sidewalk clear of people. now to fenway park in boston. sop of the sixth. padres player hits a foul ball. check this out. fan makes the catch in his beer. i hope this thing goes on a loop. like any baseball fan, he doesn't let the beer go to waste. watch it. watch it. there it goes. in the beer cup. nice move. so how dangerous are fireworks? the government wants to show you. >> five, four, three, two, one.

>> and now watch the man getting blown up. if that doesn't put a damper on your summer fun, ouch. that will leave a mark. that is a snow that the government puts on each and every year. in case you don't know explosives are dangerous, ladies and gentlemen, now you know. owe, and kids, too. stop. let's jump to the big board. stop. u.s. markets closing in the red despite comments by fed chairman ben bernanke and a decision to leave interest rates unchanged and near zero. felicia taylor at the new york stock exchange, what drove the markets down? sorry. >> i'm afraid to comment about fireworks on the marketplace, but thankfully there were not too many fireworks here. my goodness, there was a descriptive video there. >> it was. >> any way, the good news is,

the fed did not offer any surprises. the bad news is that the fed offered what we already knew. this american recovery continues to be slow and painful. the fed chief did say that the growth is slowing and unemployment is falling but at a slower pace than previously expected. it's important because it's coming from the nation's top economists. we're used to hearing rather just minutes as opposed to the words just coming from the federal reserve chairman. this is only the second time that he's spoken at a press conference previously scheduled after the foc meeting. most americans feel this in their every day lives. home prices are falling and stock prices are down two-thirds across the board. that really came after the federal reserve chairman came to speak openly at that news conference. that's why it's different. >> felicia, thank you for giving me time to compose myself.

and now former vice president al gore on the attack and the target is a huge surprise. as you know, he adores president obama during the campaign and now gore is blasting the president and using strong words against him. we're going to tell you why ahead. but up next, a gunman walks into this pharmacy, pulls the trigger, kills four people. and as the frantic manhunt continues, pharmacies are on targets and they are on high alert. how this affects your neighborhood. [ waves crashing ] ♪ ♪ [ 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

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[ male announcer ] want to pump up your gas mileage? come to meineke for our free fuel-efficiency check and you'll say...my money. my choice. my meineke. you know, there was a really horrible crime committed in new york this past father's day. you see this guy, long island police say surveillance video shows him robbing a pharmacy. take a good look. he allegedly kills four people point blank before taking all of the oxycontin that he could take and then walks out. among the dead, a 17-year-old who would have been going to prom this week. also killed, a woman engaged to be married this fall and took the lives of two men who had children and grandchildren. it is horrible. but here is the reality. ever since oxycontin has hit the

market, pharmacies have become targets of armed robbers. they don't want the cash, just oxycontin. steve, before we talk about the why here, when you heard about this fatal shooting, it's my understanding that it was not a chain pharmacy. were you surprised? >> no, i'm not, brooke. because that type of a pharmacy is what we refer to as a soft target. it's an easy hit, easy access. you see how we went in. we see that these drug-crazed criminals to the open yets are very determined, desperate, and do irrational things. >> so when you google the phrase pharmacy hold up and can get 86 pages of results nationwide, go all the way back to 2001. and here we are, i know that prescription drug abuse is up. are these types of pharmacy

crimes up, steve, and, if so, why now? >> we're looking at, in the past five years, at least 1800 cases of pharmacy robberies. and not even in addition to the burglaries. this is going to replace the bank robberies. what we're seeing is that oxycontin is such a powerful drug that it can be resold on the street, one bottle, 60 tablets, can go for $50,000. they are so highly addicted, they are a schedule 2 drug and the dea tracks and follows these drugs very closely. they are very dangerous and highly addictive and people stuck on these drugs do very desperate things. >> they are trying to crack down on some of the more major players stealing the prescription drugs. and they are holding take back days where people can turn in

their unused drugs. but what really is at route here, is it the addiction or drugs or pharmaceutical companies that the doctors who maybe are overprescribing? what is the root issue? >> well, we are an addictive society and we're seeing that this medication is being distributed rather easily. with regard to the pharmacies, we're seeing that they are soft targets. we see the pharmacist has now attained the role of a physician. needs to talk to patients about interaction to drugs. the only thing between you and thousands and thousands of drugs is a small barrier. i would see it like a convenience store, a gas station overnight store where they are in an closure because they have to be. you can walk in, jump over that counter. the schedule 2 drugs are locked up and accessible but he walked away with more than a two month's supply.

>> i know some of the pharmacies are adding armed guards. appreciate you coming on. thank you. well, now terrorists are about to get a little help. dozens of suspected al qaeda fighters are on the loose after this prison break. we'll get you a live report next. room for balls and tees, it doesn't leave room for much else. there's no room left for deadlines or conference calls. not a single pocket to hold the stress of the day, or the to-do list of tomorrow. only 14 clubs pick up the right one and drive it right down the middle of pure michigan. your trip begins at michigan.org. [ slap! slap! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds.

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this next story sounds like a plot out of an mtv thriller. linked to lots to kill americans makes a bloody escape in yemen. a soldier was killed when armed men attacked the prison with heavy artillery. we're live in abu daub bee. do we even know how this happened in the first place? >> well, brooke, we were told throughout the day from security officials in yemen that this was a two-pronged attack, that there were suspected al qaeda militants that attacked the prison from the outside of the city and then also militants on the inside that attacked prison guards and that had dug a hole, a tunnel, and it escaped that way. there's still confusion as to exactly how it went down. but just in the last little while, we've got an announcement

that it was 63 members of al qaeda that escaped during this jail break. a lot of concern as to what this means, the implications of it, not just for yemen but as well for yemen ds regional and we're told that the suspected members of al qaeda, maybe they are high level, maybe they are not. they are not sure yet. but officials are worried about what this means for the country. brooke? >> just so i'm hearing you, you're hearing from interior ministry, 63 members of al qaeda. and if you can just bring this home to an american audience, obviously this is news that no one wants to hear but particularly in yemen where we have counterterrorism measures in place, this is horrible news. >> terrible news. not just for yemen niece but americans as well. whether or not al qaeda will try to take advantage of all of the

spl political strife, we've heard expressions of concern from yemeni officials because towns have been seized by al qaeda related militants and clashes going on in certain provinces. many people have wondered if because there is a power vacuum, that they could try to take advantage of that. that does not mean that large squauths of the country are being taken over but the concern is how much can al qaeda exploit it. analysts say that there is only 700 al qaeda members in yemen. that's the most active string of the al qaeda network. they have been trying to launch attacks. what might they try to do now? brooke? >> it's very concerning. thank you so much for that. 63 members of al qaeda out. is it realistic that countries give up their nuclear weapons, every single last one of them?

there was a major push to bring all of the leaders of armed nations to the table. this has never happened before. but will that change? her majesty, what a thrill here, queen noor of jordan is going to join me next.

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end all horrors. talking about a new documentary, called countdown to zero, part of a campaign to rid stockpiles of nuclear discussing ways to completely eliminate nuclear weapons in the project. very near and dear to the heart of this woman, gene queen noor of jordan. your majesty, it is a pleasure to have you on, it is an honor, and i know this is a charge that have very important to you. for people that are not familiar, global zero, what does that mean? >> global zero literally is calling for a global effort to eliminate all nuclear weapons worldwide, recognizing that probably the greatest threats to the world today, world community

anywhere you might look, is both climate change on one hand but particularly the immediate threat of the proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear materials. >> we know that there are nine nations in total here who have nuclear weapons and, you know, in terms of your mission and global zero, we're moving in the direction of the ratifying the s.t.a.r.t. treaty and it's calling for essentially global zero, for the elimination of nuclear weapons. but my question to you is this. it's part of being a draw. who puts their gun down first? >> well, part of the progress, in addition to what you just named, is the progress taking place with the united states and russia. the s.t.a.r.t. treaty ratification was part of that progress and it's significant because those two countries possess the vast majority of the approximately 23,000 nuclear weapons that are in possession

of these nine nuclear states. so the cutbacks, beginning with the united states and russia, and another series of cutbacks that they -- both states could easily make, will lead us, we believe, to the next critical step which we're focusinging on in this summit, which is to bring all of the nuclear states together for the first time in history to negotiate universal and phased elimination of all of these nuclear nations. those states would be put in jeopardy during this process. all states would be working together to that end. >> you're trying to get everyone to come to the table. there are nine countries who have these nuclear weapons and as part of this, there is this documentary. i want to play a portion of it, if i may, a countdown to zero. let's watch a piece. >> we estimate that there are about 23,000 nuclear weapons in

the world. >> various groups have been focused on acquiring weapons of mass destruction, in particular, nuclear weapons. >> auflt black markets seizures that i'm aware of -- >> that was just a piece of it. i know, your majesty, that your generation and others are very familiar with ducking cover. >> exactly. >> but maybe this is for the younger generation. am i right? >> this is for the generations that since the cold war in particular have not really understood that this problem -- most generations perhaps don't realize that this problem has only continued. proliferation has continued. there are now 50% more countries in possession of nuclear weapons and they are worth the end of the cold war. and with the proliferation of nuclear weapons and materials, the risks that terrorists will acquire those materials rises with every day. and with every new state that

acquires nuclear weapons, that's a stimulus to other states to feel, well, if these weapons are needed for the security of the most powerful nations in the world, then they must be needed by us as well. and this is the vish yocious cy bringing everyone to the table together, is really probably the only way to break through that impasse. >> i know this is near and dear to you and people can google global zero as well -- >> and may i add -- >> yes. >> -- they can sign petitions that cut nukes.org. demanding that the leaders of the nuclear states work together towards zero and relieving the world of this of the weapons that date back to the cold war where they may have had some value during that period but don't address today's threats, as i mentioned, nuclear

terrorism amongst them and on top of that, a recent study shows that the nine nuclear states over the next decade will be spending $1 trillion, 100 billion a year to maintain these arsenals. money that should go to health education, green energy development, and other critical programs that are being cut. the united states spent 60% of that $1 tril krlion. >> i have to ask you about the extraordinary events happening in the middle east and north africa in the last couple of months and i know that you work with refugees international. it's a serious -- specifically, it's a very tough story for us to tell. we were able to get one of our correspondents into syria briefly. i want to play you a piece of sound. i want your reaction. this is a pregnant woman.

she's too fearful to show her face but here's what she told our correspondent. so how do we get the world to unite, and help refew gees when this is a story in a country that they won't let us in to tell the story, to get the pictures? >> well, the pictures are coming out any way and the issues of the refugees, such large numbers of refugees seeking shelter over the border in turkey and the large numbers of people who have lost their lives during this period is so tragic and the pictures are coming out, the international community is obviously trying to work with syria.

and i certainly hope and pray -- i actually have syrian blood. my father's family is from syria. i feel a particular agony over what we're seeing on a daily basis and i pray that this will be resolved as soon as possible, that there are genuine efforts being made to bridge the impasse and to move the country forward on a more peaceful and on a track that will provide the citizens of the country and leadership of the country an opportunity to work together to develop power sharing, to develop respect and safeguarding human rights and economic, political, and other opportunities for people to participate in the decisions that affect their lives and in building a new country. >> queen noor, live from london, thank you very much.

>> thank you very much. still to come after the break, breaking news from the white house. we'll share that with you in a matter of moments. [ male announcer ] introducing the ultimate business phone -- the motorola expert from sprint. its powerful tools help you work faster and smarter so you can get back to playing "angry birds." it lets you access business forms on the go, fire off e-mails with the qwerty keypad, and work securely around the world so you can get back to playing "angry birds." it's the android-powered phone that mixes business with pleasure. so let's get our work done, america, so we can all get back to playing "angry birds."

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we're know less than four hours away from the president speaking addressing the nation with regard to troop draw down in afghanistan. brianna keilar is at the white house. we know that the number is 30,000. that's the number that will be out of afghanistan by the end of 2012 but now we're learning specifically when? >> reporter: this is going to be the headline of president obama's speech. all 33,000 of the troop surge that he announced in 2009, they will come out of afghanistan by the end of next summer. so no later than september of 2012. that would be 10,000 troops being pulled out of afghanistan this year, 2011, and the remaining 23,000 of the surge troops pulled out no longer than 2012. we were hearing yesterday that it would be all of the surge troops pulled out by the end of

2012. certainly this takes this -- this allows u.s. forces in afghanistan to continue through two sort of summer fighting seasons but this is somewhat significant. we should point out, brooke, that this will keep about 70,000 u.s. troops in afghanistan, remaining there until they are supposed to come home in 2014. this is a faster recommendation than what i just told you about than the pentagon had asked for. pentagon officials, commanders on the ground had suggested only about 5,000 troops coming out by the end of this year and support troops, the kind of troops that they wanted to come home. so i think the perspective, that you're going to be hearing from president obama in this speech and that we're hearing from the white house is that they are coming from a position where they feel like they've made a lot of successes and have been able to deliver on the promises that the president has made and that's what you're going to hear

them say later when he justifies these troops coming out, all of the troop surges, 33,000, coming out by september 2012, a senior official tells us, brooke. >> brianna keilar, thank you, as always. also in washington, want to take you to capitol hill, because republican house leaders are meeting today about libya. they are trying to deal with their own position on america's involvement. speaker john boehner has been one of the harshest critics on president obama and what is happening in libya, our involvement. just this week, senator john mccain said that the party needs to come out and endorse the mission. let's go to dana bash. we know that the republicans had a meeting a short time ago. taking a tough stand against the president on libya. some members are saying that the leadership wants doesn't go far enough. what are you hearing? >> reporter: it is fascinating. you're exactly right.

there was a meeting that wrapped up among house republicans. we heard this last night, is to have a vote, a couple of votes tomorrow on libya and the most important vote was planned to be -- it was a resolution to say that u.s. military troops would be removed from hostilities in the libyan mission, that they would not be allowed to engage in hostilities. guess what? that was not strong enough, according to several republicans. we're told this by our intrepid producer outside of that meeting. she says there's a lot of frustration, saying not far enough, not tough enough. we're told that they are going to toughen up that language and that congress wants to use the power of the purse and that the u.s. would defund any kind of military option that is engaged in libya right now that has anything to do with the hostility. this is a very interesting

development. to be honest, they are still trying to work out the language on how they are going to write this, whether it would just be a resolution and whether it will have a force of law. there's so much frustration, particularly inside the republican party in the house with the way that the president has handled libya, that what the house republican leaders had planned did not go far enough. so it really is fascinating sentiment that we're watching grow here in congress. >> as you mentioned, using the power of the purse there on capitol hill. dana bash, thank you very much. coming up here, caught on video saying that he loved adolf if hitler. well, today, one of the world's most famous fashion designers is issuing blame. sunny hostin is on this interesting case. she is next.

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don't wait-offer ends soon. visit tempurpedic.com now. tempurpedic, the most highly recommended bed in america. now to the next chapter in a rise and fall in fashion. i'm talking about john galiano. his mouth brought a sudden end to his career and it landed him smack dab in a french courtroom. sunny hotin is on this case today. a couple accused him of a racist

comment. with people like galliano, you go to rehab and say i'm really sorry but in france i guess it doesn't work. >> it doesn't work that way because in france public hate speech is illegal. so if you say something untoward a person's race or religion, you could be put on trial the way that galliano has been placed on trial today. >> is this a jury trial in france? >> it isn't a jury trial. it's in front of judges. so that is different. and it's only a one-day trial. but they took testimony, brooke, the tweeters have been tweeting everything that is going on inside of the courtroom. there are no cameras there. but they held a hearing or a trial much like the trials that we see here in the u.s. >> what is galliano's defense in this case? >> it is really quite interesting. he says that he doesn't remember saying any of these things because of his triple addiction. he was addicted to alcohol, sleeping pills, and valium. the other defense, which i never

heard of, is that english insults, when translated into french, have a different meaning. and so this was sort of an inadvertent public hate speech. it's a two-fold defense being posed by galliano. >> what does the couple say who is on the receiving end of the insult? are they buying that? >> they aren't. they are saying that it was extremely hurtful, brooke. and interestingly enough, although this happened for about 45 minutes, she says, she stayed in place as a matter of principle and didn't want the media attention. she didn't want the media storm but felt she had no other choice, that she had to do this, based on principle. >> 45 minutes. i didn't realize it went on that long. >> yeah. >> if galliano is convicted, what kind of punishment could he face? >> six months in prison and a

fine up to $32,000. the prosecution has asked for $14,400 u.s. so not insignificant. as i say all the time here on the case, any time in jail is a significant amount of time, especially for someone like john galliano. >> hate speech in france is illegal. did not know that. >> that's right. public hate speech. >> thank you so much. we'll see you back here tomorrow. once lost, the an arctic i am superior peng quinn has been found. wait until you hear where this guy showed up 2,000 miles away from home. and guess what, our cnn headquarters, did you see what he did promoting his new movie? forest gump meets dirty dancing perhaps? that's next. [ female announcer ] now at red lobster a complete four course seafood feast for $15. start with soup then have salad and biscuits followed by 1 of 7 delicious entrees and finish with something sweet all for just $15.

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he played an astronaut and a priest but tom hanks as a latino weather man? that is a-list actor tom hanks

getting jiggy with the weather forecaster latino style. he's got some moves. he was on "wake up america" to promote his new movie when the dance bug must have hit. he was kind of funny here, though. now, the emperor penguin may be cute but he doesn't have the best sense of direction. he took a really wrong turn. try 2,000 miles out of the way. instead of his home in antarctica, the little guy ended up in new zealand. folks saw a penguin hanging out on their shores. cute. former vice president al gore is on the attack. folks, he's not taking on republicans. he's blasting this man, president obama, and using very

strong words against the man he endorsed for president. joe johns tells us what gore has so mad. that's next. so you can get back to playing "angry birds." it lets you access business forms on the go, fire off e-mails with the qwerty keypad, and work securely around the world so you can get back to playing "angry birds." it's the android-powered phone that mixes business with pleasure. so let's get our work done, america, so we can all get back to playing "angry birds." the motorola expert from sprint. trouble hearing on the phone? visit sprintrelay.com.

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keep in mind, lebron james and the cavaliers have the topic. and tomorrow, when we meet again, new york's mayor, ray nagin and i will meet again to talk about the response to hoik katrina and what moments he regrets. time for political pop. it turns out the president's afghanistan poll satisfy is not the only issue muddling up the white house this week. the president is also taking heat for his environmental policy. joe johns is here with the political pop. joe, what's the story? what do you say? >> this guy started last year when the administration said that it was going to put in solar panels at the white house, not a new idea. something jimmy carter did when he was president but when ronald reagan got in, the solar panels came down. president obama comes in and he's going to put them back up, new ones. the expectation was that this was going to be done by spring.

summer is here. no local lar panels. this has created some heat for the administration. and environmental groups are saying, if you're not going to do it, who is? >> and what about al gore? >> that's another story. that's, of course, a big story. he actually put a 7,000 -- >> i'm sorry. this is my bad. we reached out to the administration. what have they said in response to the solar panels? >> bureaucratic excuse goes without saying. they basically said, we have to put this through the federal procurement process.

in keeping with our commitment and, you know, we look forward to finishing the job and so on, sharing more information, including on the timing of the project. so that's the thing that is really up in the air. >> okay. meanwhile, something that we've been teasing, i wanted to get to it, al gore is taking on the president for his handling of the climate change issues. >> absolutely. now, al gore is taking on everybody, including the media. this is the first time, to my knowledge, that the former vice president has really gone on record slamming barack obama on this issue and 7,000 words going after the media for being composite in confusing the public on global warming and then way down in the copy, gore gets around to president obama but does not give him any break. we have a couple quotes here. obama has never presented to the american people the magnitude of the