[♪...] >> male announcer: now, for a limited time, your companion flies free, plus save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. conditions apply. so an earthquake hit the east coast. so what caused it? well, david letterman says he knows the answer. >> they traced the epicenter of the earthquake to governor chris christie's workout, to kim kardashian's honeymoon sweet. donald trump, you can see the ripples going through his hair. >> the category -- >> later, a major aftershock rocked the late show set. fortunately for letterman, shaking was the creative work for his camera man, not the real

thing. cnn newsroom continues right now with randi kaye. >> hi there, suzanne. thank you. well, three major stories on the radar this hour. starting with a major hurricane. category 3 irene batters the bahamas and eyes the carolinas. chad myers is watching that. a hostage ordeal is over in tripoli, but the fighting goes on, and moammar gadhafi still out of sight. and washington surveys the damage from the earthquake that shook the east coast almost 24 hours ago. i want to start with a huge and still growing hurricane irene. chad myers is watching it all for us. what's it doing now, chad? and exactly where might it be headed? >> well, it's headed to the bahamas. and right now, if you want to get a map, it's right over crooked island in the bahamas. and later on it'll be going over long island at the bahamas. the irony is that there's the potential, at least in the cone that in four days it could go over long island, new york.

right now at 115 miles per hour forecast to get significantly stronger than that. and let me tell you why. for a while, it was being torn up by the mountains of haiti and the dominican republic. and there are still mountains here in cuba, as well. and those mountains kind of push in dry air. and hurricanes like moist air. so the moisture is coming from the water right now. getting stronger, going over the bahamas, and then turning right, and that right turn has been forecast for the entire time. there has not been one computer model that has not had it turning right. that big right-hand hook. that hook happens because by the time you get to the mid latitudes up where we live, the winds, especially the jet stream will be moving from west to east. so it starts picking it up and turning it out towards iceland. look at this category 4 here over the bahamas, 135 miles per hour potential. and then it does miss florida's east coast. but it will put huge waves along the east coast, florida,

georgia, and even the carolinas. that will be the big story. there'll be some wind maybe 30, 40, 50 miles per hour and some rain. it's the wave action you need to stay out of this. this is a dangerous storm. i don't care if you're the best surfer of all time, you don't want to be surfing in waves that were generated by 135-mile-per-hour hurricane. and then the potential for it to continue or even to slightly miss north carolina. there's a 50% chance that it misses north carolina. if you get off this way, and then a 50% chance it hits or even all the way down to south carolina. that's still the cone that far out. but this is the scary part of the cone, where the line, the center goes over boston. it could be new york, it could go out to sea. as it continues to curve, that would be the best-case scenario. but look at this, 100-mile-per-hour storm just off the coast of atlantic city. that's the potential we still have. and even into new york with big-time winds and 12 inches of rainfall for the weekend. going to cause problems one way or the other, whether it's a direct hit or not. >> it sounds like a whole lot of

problems. chad, thanks for the update on that one. now to libya where one more piece of the capital just slipped from the grasp of forces loyal to moammar gadhafi. i'm speaking of the rixos hotel. more recently a hostage compound for some three dozen international journalists. just a little more than two hours ago, those journalists, including cnn's matthew chance managed to essentially talk their way to freedom. chance got to a camera and spoke live with my colleague suzanne malveaux just minutes ago. >> reporter: they're celebrating their freedom. they're not celebrating my freedom. they're celebrating libya's freedom, obviously. but having been given loads of flowers, i don't think they realize we've gone through this ordeal of being, you know held captive essentially in the rixos hotel. and it's only now we come to speak to you because we've been essentially set free. it's amazing. the whole country -- the whole city is celebrating its freedom.

and, you know, i feel a connection with them. i feel a connection with them because i'm celebrating mine, as well. >> you look great. you know, give us a sense of where you are, how you got there, have you had a chance to talk to your family? >> reporter: yeah, so i haven't yet, no, i haven't had a chance. my foreign desk -- my foreign desk in atlanta has spoken to my family. they're aware i'm okay, they'll obviously be watching this. it's such an amazing roller coaster experience for this country, really. it's been incredible. one of the things -- guys, guys, please, one second. one of the things that was so amazing about what happened today is that the guys that were holding us hostage essentially they didn't know that any of this had taken place outside of the perimeter of the hotel. they thought that the country

was still in the control of colonel gadhafi. they didn't realize that outside the hotel doors, the whole world for these people has changed. and when they finally realized that, realized there was no reason for them to stay there and carry out these bizarre orders to sort of keep the journalists in the hotel and not let them out. when they accepted that, they literally cast away their weapons, said they were sorry to us, and said you're now free to go. and we just organized these vehicles, these cars, and they took us out. it was the international committee of the red cross. they took us out to a safe location somewhere else. and it's just been amazing coming out of tripoli. because all these people are so happy. they don't even know about our situation, obviously. they're just focused on the fact their country, their entire country from their point of view is now free. elsewhere in tripoli, rocket fire and gunfights are flaring

near the airport. and pro-gadhafi fighters have attacked the military compound which the rebels took over this time yesterday. and through it all, no signs of gadhafi himself, the rebels are appealing to his aid. they're offering a bounty of almost $2 million for gadhafi's capture dead or alive. plus amnesty for whoever turns him in or kills him. you're seeing footage of gadhafi back in march at the rixos hotel where those journalists had been held. let's check in with arwa damon. are you still at the tripoli airport? and if so, what's the scene there? >> i am at the tripoli international airport. and we just had to jump away from our live position and take cover because there has been for the last few hours a pretty intense exchange of artillery fire. gadhafi forces according to the rebels have managed to entrench themselves into some of the villages surrounding the eastern edge of the airport.

and they've been also earlier in the day firing rockets into it, as well. the rebel fighters tell us that they are shooting back. however, because the gadhafi forces are inside the villages, they're extremely concerned about civilian casualties, so they're calibrating their fire to make sure that it lands in front of the first row of houses in front of the villages. but the tactic has not been working, and they're growing incredibly frustrated. we've been hearing nato jets overhead, but they say because of the concern of civilian casualties, the jets are also unable to fire into these villages, as well. now, commanders here say that they believe that the fight has been so intense around this airport complex because they think that gadhafi loyalists are trying to clear a route, or that gadhafi himself could be in this area, as well. perhaps heading south or trying

to loop around and up to one of his main strongholds. >> and arwa, how well armed are the rebels at this point? >> reporter: they're pretty well armed. they've managed over the last five, six months and even over the last few days. every single time they capture a town from gadhafi forces, take over military installation, they're able to effectively restock their own military arsenal. just coming into the airport complex. they were showing us a number of fields around the flight line where they say gadhafi forces had buried rockets. they also showed us a number of underground containers they say have been filled with ammunition, various rounds of artillery. they say they captured a number of artillery vehicles. they've managed to get their hands on quite the arsenal. the issue they're telling us is not with the weaponry that they have. they believe they could go in

and clear gadhafi fighters out of these villages. but the threat is the civilian casualties. >> arwa, thank you very much. now i'm joined on the phone by a man with vast expertise in war and geopolitics. richard myers served as a joint chiefs of staff. thank you so much for your time today. >> pleasure. >> have the libyan rebels won? is this over? >> i think we're very close to the first part being over. and that is gadhafi and his regime essentially will be gone soon. it appears that way. there will be pockets of resistance as just described on your program. and that will extend to where he has a lot of supporters out there in his hometown. so we'll probably see more of this, but i think this is the end for the gadhafi regime. >> and how much of the rebel success do you think they can attribute to nato? >> i think there's a great deal.

certainly initially. and then some of the air strikes that took place. i think that had a big impact on hampering gadhafi's loyal forces from moving around that country and from, you know, wreaking more havoc on the civilian population and the rebel forces as they were moving from east and west towards tripoli. so i think you've got to give the nato forces and not to forget the forces from the uae that were also participating. >> let's assume this is really just about over and the rebels do get the chance to govern, can they do it? >> well, that's a great question. and somebody asked me earlier about parallels to iraq. that's a situation i'm pretty familiar with. there the assumption was that once saddam was gone, people would step forward ready to help govern the country. and what we forgot in iraq's case and probably what we have to remember in the libyan case is that, you know, under gadhafi

and saddam and gadhafi, there was no premium for being innovative or aggressive in trying to help. if you had a bright idea, you're just as likely to wind up in jail as you are to be patted on the back. a lot more likely to end up in jail than patted on the back. they're going to have to develop this spirit of innovativeness and initiative. that will take some time. and not to mention, there's two major factions, probably more inside libya, they're going to have to come to terms on the vision for the future. some of those factions contain folks with extreme views. so i think there's a lot more to play out. >> and -- >> yet to come. >> before i let you go, i'm curious what you think the best strategy is to find moammar gadha gadhafi. >> well, you know, i guess it's a little bit like osama bin laden. it's probably important to find him. on the other hand, this revolution in libya, if we can call it that, this revolution's

going to go on whether or not he's captured or not, whether or not he's in exile or not. and his influence will continue to wane as he loses the resources and certainly the loyalties. we hear of -- you've been reporting where some of his loyal supporters once they hear he's gone or has left town, they throw down their arms and try to blend back in society and want to be part of the new libya. they gave it their shot and now they're going to align with the winners. >> all right. general richard myers, really appreciate your time today. pleasure to have you on the show. thank you. >> thank you. now to another big story we're following, engineers are checking the washington monument today. this is a live picture of that monument. it remains closed as they try to determine the best way to repair cracks found in the towering d.c. monument after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake yesterday. the national park service says inspectors discovered cracking in the stones at the top of the 555-foot tall structure. the quake struck about 40 miles

northwest of richmond, virginia. falling bricks -- the tremor felt from georgia to northern new england. so far, no serious injuries have been reported. the rare east coast quake triggered an automatic shutdown of a nuclear plant. also signaled unusual events at 12 other nuclear facilities. in d.c., the quake damaged spires at the top of a cathedral. people who were near the epicenter talked about what happened. >> all of a sudden it started as a little roar, and then a huge roar. and i tried to run, and it wouldn't let me move. it was shaking so bad. and i sat on the ground -- >> it was like a wave came through, lifted us up and threw us all down. i went to go to my desk and i knocked me back down and the roof came down and a piece hit me in the back. and then we went to go outside and kids were falling down in

the hall ways. >> and we'll continue to follow developments surrounding the quake. and at the bottom of the hour, we will talk to a spokesman at the national park service about the cracks in that washington monument. well, it is the first of the season, and it's the most serious threat we've seen in years. all eyes are on hurricane irene, which is now a category 3 storm. evacuations already underway as it makes a beeline towards the east coast. ♪

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[♪...] >> male announcer: now, for a limited time, your companion flies free, plus save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. conditions apply. hurricane irene is now a powerful category 3 storm and could threaten millions of people living along the eastern sea board. right now hurricane irene is

bearing down on the southern portions of the bahamas. people living farther north in nassau are preparing for the worst, moving their families inland if that's even possible. and coastal communities like charleston, south carolina are getting prepared, as well. hardware stores are seeing the usual run for emergency supplies. and there are some concerns about the storm's possible arrival in the washington, d.c. area on sunday that could impact the scheduled dedication of the martin luther king jr. memorial. joining me now is the author of the book "survival." we're happy to have you on you. first question for you today. we are only a few days away from this major hurricane possibly hitting the east coast, specifically the northeast. these areas aren't used to handling hurricanes. so what needs to be happening right now? so they can prepare for this? >> well, i think people need to be making a decision whether they will shelter in place or

whether they will evacuate. depending on where they live. if you live in a coastal community, local government will tell you the best time to start evacuation. if you require extra time or you have people with medical conditions, you need to start evacuating early. randi, a lot of people think that their house can handle a category 3 storm. the issue following a flood likely could be created by a hurricane is the tidal surge. your house might handle the wind, but it may not, most likely, handle a flooding from the tidal surge. >> if you are told to evacuate, you better evacuate, right? >> that is correct. because as you know along the east coast, that i-95 corridor will get backed up significantly very quick as it's backed up on most afternoons. >> what about something like high winds? say in massachusetts, what if they get 85-mile-an-hour winds

or even more? maybe they do get 115-mile-an-hour winds. what happens there? >> well, we ask the people, don't try to be your own forecaster. take a look at the structure of your own house, take a look at -- don't start judging strictly by the category of the storm. look at the wind speeds and can your house survive 125-mile-an-hour winds? which could be created by this storm as you come inland. but the biggest threat is going to be tidal surge. because the potomac river is at zero elevation. so if the wind pushed the tidal surge in, which it could. remember in katrina, it raised the tidal surge in biloxi up to 30 feet, and inside of new orleans, up to 17 feet. so tidal surge will be the big threat. >> and general, what about in a city like manhattan and new york city? this is a place that relies certainly on public transportation, you have the subways, you have the bus

systems. what happens there in a case like this? is there anything they can do to prepare? >> well, let me just tell you this model that we've talked about the hurricane conference and other locations. if we were to get a katrina-type surge in new york city, the first story of wall street will be covered in water. >> wow. that's quite an image that you painted there. general, appreciate your expertise and your advice as always. i'm sure lots of our viewers were taking notes there. thank you. libya's hope for political stability could hinge on the economic stability. what's the key to making that happen? we'll find out next. me your own. i find empty hotel rooms and help people save - >> - up to 60% off. i am familiar. your name? > naomi pryce. >> what other "negotiating" skills do you have? > i'm a fifth-degree black belt. >> as am i. > i'm fluent in 37 languages. >> (indistinct clicking) > and i'm a master of disguise >> as am i. > as am i.

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>> randi, it's been said if you drill to the heart of every war, eventually you strike oil. it's critical to the rebuilding of libya. in good times, libya supplies 2% of the world's oil. but when will that oil come back online? estimates vary from a month to a few years. >> when this is their only export, only hope of putting this government together and tieing this country up, i've got to think they're going to move heaven and earth to get it. i expect it's going to be a lot sooner than anybody guesses. i think that they're going to have some oil almost within a month, and i think within a quarter, they're going to have a decent amount. >> even before it exports another drop, there are moammar gadhafi's riches frozen around the world. more than $30 billion in the u.s. alone. gadhafi's stash of gold is worth more than $8 billion. but nation building can be littered with thievery and a

waste of resources. how to make it different for libya? it's why transparency is crucial. >> it's going to take the commitment on a part of a transparent national government that is going to, first of all, be able to get that money back, get those assets unfrozen from foreign governments, and most importantly, prepare a government that is going to be -- be able to be reviewed by the imf, the world bank, and by other institutions. >> the u.s. treasury says it's not ready just yet to release the $30 billion in frozen assets. but the scramble for access to libya's money and resources is just beginning. randi? >> thank you very much, christine. and we should let you know for much more on this and the latest financial news, be sure to join christine romans for "your bottom line." and don't miss "your money" with ali velshi. a frightening threat against another late night talk show host.

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structural engineers have been out at the washington monument today trying to figure out how bad the damage is from yesterday's earthquake. as we told you earlier, cracks were discovered in the stones at the top of the structure. and until it can be determined how much of a risk they pose and how to fix them, the national park service says the monument will remain closed. joining me now on the phone is the spokesman for the national park service william line. thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today. tell us about these cracks. where exactly are they?

and how bad are they? >> first off, call me bill, please. but the cracks in the washington monument -- the crack in the washington monument is at the top of the monument where everyone is familiar with where the stones narrow and go to the tip of the very top of the washington monument. the crack is on one of the sides of that area which narrows. in geometry you'd call it a paramidium. the national park service has a structural engineering firm inside of the washington monument assessing the situation, gathering information. that structural engineering firm likely will need to return tomorrow and probably again on friday. in order to pull together and gather all the information that they need to gather. they will then write a report at which point after that the national park service will

assess the situation and begin repairs. >> how do you repair something like this? do you work from the inside or the outside? any idea? >> we don't know yet. we don't know the extent of the damage. that's why we need more data, that's what the structural engineering firm is trying to provide for us. >> you know, i've been tweeting about this quite a bit today and yesterday, and a lot of people have sent me some tweets asking, how do they know these cracks weren't there before? how often is this looked at and checked? do you know the answer to this? >> yes, it's inspected daily. >> every day? >> yes. and these -- cracks weren't out there until the earthquake happened yesterday. this crack is as a result of the earthquake or an act of mother nature. >> so what is your biggest concern? or the biggest concern right now? >> the biggest concern is the visitors' safety. that is why the monument -- washington monument is closed and will remain closed indefinitely until all

information can be gathered, until an assessment can be made as to what work needs to be done in terms of repair work and then the repair work needs to be done itself. so in order to ensure the visitors' safety, the national park service will keep the washington monument closed until a determination is made that we can reopen. and i do not know when that will be. >> i know it's more than 125 years old or so, but has it ever been updated and checked and -- have there been any changes to it, i should say, in order to make sure it can withstand an earthquake or anything else? >> well, as you probably know about 11 years ago in 1999 and 2000, the washington monument was covered with scaffolding in which a pointing project was

accomplished. that was completed in 2000. the memorial has been open since. and we do know that there was an earthquake in approximate lly 17 or '98, there was another earthquake 68 years ago, the washington monument withstood that. what happened yesterday, again, an act of mother nature and the bottom line is, we have to assess the situation and deal with it and make the repairs before we can reopen. >> safety first. bill line, certainly appreciate your time today. hope that monument gets fixed. thank you very much. it's about half past the hour. here's a look at the headlines and other news you may have missed. hurricane irene, now a category 3 storm with sustained winds of 115 miles per hour. it's been pounding the bahamas. the national hurricane center says it could get stronger as it approaches the u.s.

forecasters say it could affect the eastern sea board by the weekend from the carolinas to the northeast. in libya, journalists being held at the rixos hotel are now free and fighting continues around the airport. still no sign of moammar gadhafi. two arabic networks have aired an audio message reportedly from the libyan ruler calling on all libyans to flee the city of tripoli and eliminate the criminals, traitors, and rats. >> translator: i call to all libyans, tribesmen, youth, seniors, women, and loyal fighters to clear the city of tripoli and eliminate the criminals, traitors, and rats. we could let the tanks and cannons shell the city of tripoli and demolish it on their heads, but this is not right. the military cannot shell the buildings and the houses. the rebels are hiding between the families and inside the civilian houses. it's your duty to enter these

houses and take them out. >> cnn cannot confirm the authenticity of that message. and now to tennessee where pat summit has stunned the sports world announcing she has early onset dementia. the coach told the knoxville news sentinel she was experiencing memory losses last season and the diagnosis came after testing at the mayo clinic. she has led the women to eight national championships and she is the all-time winningest basketball coach in ncaa history. summit is 59 and says she has no plans to stop coaching despite her diagnosis. some major concern for late night comedian craig ferguson, host of cbs's "late late show." he's the second late night comedian to receive a threat after letterman. he explained what happened in his monologue broadcast early wednesday. >> today, someone sent here an

envelope packed with white powder. that was -- and so and i was like, oh, i said i'll test it for you if you want. i have special tests that i conducted between 1979 and 1992. and the police were like, no, no, they did the test. it's not dangerous. please, relax, everyone. calm your real authentic panic. >> police are investigating the scare at cbs. and on his twitter account, ferguson offered his thanks to the lapd and cbs security. bisexuality, is it a choice or biology? research is breaking new ground. we'll have a live report now with senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen just ahead. [ waves crashing ]

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new research says there is physical evidence that shows some men can be sexually attracted to both men and women. it is one of the first studies that points to biological evidence of bisexuality. our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is here to explain. explain, what did researchers find? >> sex researchers have often wondered is there such a thing of bisexuality? and so the american institute of bisexuality decided to fund a study. so it's important to know that's the group that funded it. that's important. and so they took 35 men who said they were bisexuality and had had romantic entanglements with people of both genders and had them watch erotic videos, what you would consider erotic homosexual and heterosexual videos, and all in the name of science, i guess. and what they found is that

indeed these men really were aroused by both types of videos. they were aroused by more by one than the other, but they were aroused by both types. they are hoping this puts an end to the debate, is there such a thing as bisexuality. >> why do this study? >> there has -- you know, bisexual men were getting a lot of grief in a way being told you're not bisexual, you're gay and saying you're bisexual to cover something up. was wha this study appears to say is no, these men really are bisexual, they're not saying it to cover it up. >> this is a big turn around. they redid it almost. >> so this study says, no, they really are bisexual, they truly are aroused by people of both genders. why this is so crucial, to tell you the truth, i'm not really so sure. can't people be whatever they say they are? but we'd like to think so, but apparently, there's a need for

people to define things. >> there's a study for everything. >> there's a study for everything. >> there's a censor for everything, apparently. >> we'll stop there. >> thank you. appreciate that. >> oh, boy. well, the stunning success of libyan rebels in the battle for tripoli. have they been getting help from foreign special forces? we have some answers live from the pentagon right after the break. people told me i wasn't going to do anything. and i just decided i have more to offer than that. i put myself through nursing school, and then i decided to go get a doctorate degree. university of phoenix gave me the knowledge to make a difference in people's lives. my name is dr. kimberly horton. i manage a network of over a thousand nurses, and i am a phoenix. [ male announcer ] find your program at phoenix.edu. [ jim ] i need to push out a software upgrade. build a new app for the sales team in beijing. and convince the c.e.o. his email will find him... wherever he is. i need to see my family while they're still awake.

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a key development to tell you about in the battle for tripoli now. special forces from britain, france, jordan, and libya are stepping up operations in the capital. a nato official says they're also assisting the rebels in other cities. barbara starr is at the pentagon

with much more on an aspect of the civil war that we haven't heard much about, barbara. what is the latest on this? >> well, randi, we have a lot of new details. a nato official is confirming that special forces from four countries, britain, france, jordan have been on the ground. they have been moving north the rebel forces, assisting them very directly in that final move into tripoli providing commute -- helping them provide communications, training, in some cases weapons, if you will. and providing from the ground some very precise targeting to nato war planes overhead. so as you have seen the nato war planes bombard the compound in central tripoli, it is special forces on the ground, no u.s. troops, from these other countries that have been assisting in that. but, randi, i also want to bring everyone up to date on the

weapons of mass destruction, the mustard gas supplies that the libyans have. we now can tell you that nato officials and u.s. officials also confirming that nato is having internal discussions about what it might have to do if, if it wanted to send a force to secure those supplies, which are south of tripoli. no one is suggesting they're not secure at this point, but with all the unrest across libya right now, nato is taking a very hard look at it saying, well, if we had to. what kind of troops would we send? what kind of forces? what would have to be done to protect that mustard gas and keep it secure? >> do they know where it is? >> yeah. they do, but it's still a bit confusing. it's located south of tripoli. n about 10 tons of mustard gas that is not in a form that could be weaponized and used in an attack. the concern is whatever libyan troops are protecting that,

whether it's gadhafi's troops or rebel forces, if it's not secure, it can go walking, you know, they could sell it out the back door to terrorists, it could be sold off to the highest bidder, it could disappear. that's not the kind of thing you want to have happen. it's something that the u.s. and nato have been watching since this war unfolded. but what is new this afternoon is nato is now talking about it in the context of what's been going on in the last several days as the unrest has grown. who's protecting that facility? is it secure? if it looks like it's not going to be able to maintain security, do nato countries have to send somebody, troops, personnel, whatever it is technical experts to keep all of that secure, randi? >> let me get back to the special ops teams there. you mentioned they're helping to train the rebel forces and maybe even supplying weapons, are they actually fighting with them? >> we don't know that they are fighting directly.

by all accounts, this is a very small elite capability. certainly, i think, probably every one of these men who are doing these missions is heavily armed and has, you know, the absolute ability to defend themselves. but they are traveling as i understand it with the rebel forces and their idea is that they are the ones that are helping provide that extra leverage, getting these rebel forces better able to conduct their own tactics and capabilities. you know, look, when they move -- when the rebels moved into tripoli, it all really began to unravel for the gadhafi regime fairly quickly. now, some of that was just the occurrence of events, some of that was the rebels themselves. but we're now understanding is some of it was the special forces units on the ground helping provide them some extra

support. despite the help from special forces, the rebels are still locked in fierce fighting in some areas of tripoli. as this has been going on, a surprise development, the foreign journalists held hostage in the rixos hotel gain their freedom a short time ago. matthew chance was among those being held. >> the international community of the red cross, they came and picked us up, which was -- yeah, a huge relief. it was fantastic of them to essentially go to the check point and to come and pick us up, all of the journalists in four cars, we had to get another car, as well, a civilian car to cram all the journalists in. it was seven or eight people in the small icrc car that i was in. and worst case scenario, we were going to be used as human shields, we were going to be taken prisoner or be executed by

some lunatic. we've exhausted such physical and emotional energy. all of us, focusing, we've worked out escape plans, people start shooting us, we were going to climb over the wall and run down a ditch and, you know, escape to a hospital across the road. and we had all sorts of plans we were going over. so it wasn't any possibility of shells coming through or bullets coming through, at least. we went around the hotel, sort of sort of gathering food and water. all this while we were absolutely. all this while we were absolutely terrified that, you know, the mood was going to change and we were going to be shot. get to another -- that's what we were worried about. worried about being shot. happily, we weren't shot. we weren't injured. we were absolutely fine. that was cnn's matthew

chance describing his dramatic escape from the rixos hotel. the batd will for the libyan capital. a battle that continues today. we won't be getting too far from any of our breaking libya coverage. in just two minutes a quick look at the future of travel. space hotels. yes, they're coming to a solar system near you. we'll be right back. [ oswald ] there's a lot of discussion going on about the development of natural gas, whether it can be done safely and responsibly. at exxonmobil we know the answer is yes. when we design any well, the groundwater's protected by multiple layers of steel and cement.

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earthquakes, hurricanes, wars, have you ever just wanted to get away from it all? come 2016, you may truly be able to get out of dodge. within the next five years, russian firm orbital technologies is planning to open a space hotel. the commercial space station as it's officially called will float 250 miles above earth and accommodate up to seven people at a time. to check in, taur tourists have to take training and stays can range up to six months. make sure you get along with who you're staying with. another reason to love your travel guests. no showers. you can clean yourself with wet wipes. that sounds fun, doesn't it what's there to do? not much. apart from going on-line and watching tv, don't expect any four-star dining or fine wine either. alcohol is banned. food will be shipped to space dehydrated of course. yummy. the firm was tight-lipped about how much it will cost to stay at

the hotel or whether it's taken any reservations. cbs is reporting that guests should expect to pay about $1 million for a five-day stay. they're hoping it's a cash cow for the space exploration program. for more on the space hotel, check out my facebook page, facebook.com/randi kaye, cnn. coming up, mitt romney will not obtain a forum in south carolina. joe jons will break down what this means for the romney camp, next. [ male announcer ] life is full of missed opportunities. like the exotic vacation you never took. but there's one opportunity that's too good to miss. the lexus golden opportunity sales event. see your lexus dealer. it's delicious. so now we've turned her toffee into a business. my goal was to take an idea

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well, let's see what's happening in politics. joe johns standing by. i guess mitt romney is making news and turning down, what, an invitation from jim did he minute. we're talking about the palmetto freedom forum. they could pick the president, at least the nominee from that side. mitt romney will not attend this labor day forum organized by senator jim demint who is something of a conservative king maker. he actually endorsed romney's run for president years ago. he is the highest ranking, senior member of congress, strongest ties with the tea party movement. a romney spokesperson says there were scheduling conflicts and that the candidate will spend the day instead in new hampshire, just another signal that this massachusetts governor is not focusing on south carolina the way he did in 2008. he wasn't listed as attending this event by organizers. cnn has confirmed texas governor

rick perry, michele bachmann, ron paul, herman cain are all going to participate in the forum and it's going to be downtown, columbia, south carolina, former house speaker newt gingrich, accepted the invitation on tuesday and he's going to be the fifth participant. so a lot of people going. apparently, mitt romney is not. >> yeah. joe, i had one more question for you about nancy reagan. i saw video of her. can you tell us what happened there? >> right. former first lady, nancy reagan was walking, lost her balance, fell tuesday night. this was arriving at the ronald reagan precedent lie prayer any california. she was there to hear senator marco rubio of florida give a speech. rubio caught mrs. reagan. she's 90 years old. she didn't hit the ground. a spokeswoman said she's fine. the video footage showed her

sort of walking slowly with a cane. we've seen pictures of her before. kind of very slow. said something to rubio and she fell and rubio caught her and others moved in. it sounds like she's fine. he went ahead and delivered his speech. we haven't heard there were any probable plems since, randi. >> quick thinking, marco rubio. joe johns, nice to see you. appreciate that. it is about 2 p.m. on the east coast. 8:00 p.m. in libya. we are watching major displays of force. hurricane irene category 3 and still growing. it's churning through the bahamas and eyeing the carolinas. in tripoli, forces loyal to moammar gadhafi abandoned their siege of a hotel where journalists were being held hostage. from georgia to maine, folks are trying to shake off the earthquake that shook them this time yesterday. i want to start with irene. chad myers is watching, mapping and plotting. chad, if you will, tell us the

latest. >> hurricane irene is tearing up the bahamas. tearing up crooked isle in the bahamas heading to long island in the bahamas. there's crooked isle looks like a backwards seven. the irony of this story is that in four days this same storm may make a run at long island, new york. in the 2:00 advisory, it's now up to 120 miles per hour. it was 115. they brought it up. in fact, it may even go up more than that today. it is forecast to be a category 4. we're at 120 to get to a category 4 you need to get to 131. 11 more miles per hour. there it is. it's a category 3 doing a lot of damage here to the bahamas. these islands are not very tall. you get a storm surge of 10 to 15 feet on an eight-foot tall island. you have to realize how the water is going to overwash the islands. there it is, 135 miles per hour. by 8:00 tomorrow morning, it may

get there before that. this is right in the warmest water of the atlantic. it has no shear whatsoever. it has a perfect situation for it to get stronger. now, let's talk about u.s. landfall. if there will be one. it's not a certain thing that the u.s. landfall just yet. the center of the line. i hate to draw it, but i'm drawing it for a reason. more than half of the cone is off shore. a little less than half the cone is on shore at north carolina. that tells us there's a lot of 50/50 chance of a u.s. landfall between north carolina and the south carolina border. the other half of the chance would be out to sea, missing everything. making big waves. if we have 135 miles per hour storm east of that fla, the waves are going to be 20 to 30 feet crashing on shore. there may still be flooding in florida because of the waves on shore. that is a possibility. let me run you up here to the middle. there's one part. there's 50%. there's the other 50% of the cone. that's new york city. that's boston. that's long island. at 100 miles per hour storm,

think of the damage that could cause to any big city. you have to realize, philadelphia you're in the cone, pos ton, baltimore, washington, still in the cone. probably a bigger deal for the northeast than it is for north carolina because, of course, we have just the population centers in the northeast with millions and millions of people where the outer banks right now are all being evacuated. randi? >> chad, we'll continue to watch it and see where it does land. thank you very much. now to libya where the forces of a disappeared dictator are trying to retake the airport in tripoli. cnn's arwa damon is there and tells us fighters are lopping artillery shells. rebel fighters who captured the airport monday are said to be fighting back while trying to avoid noncombatants. the hostage ordeal is over at the rixos hotel. just a little more than three hours ago, three dozen journalists including cnn's matthew chance, managed to persuade the loil loyalists who

had been holding them for days to set them free. he spoke live with my colleague surrounded by people almost as happy as he was. >> they're celebrating their freedom. not my freedom. they're celebrating libya's freedom obviously. i've been given loads of flowers. i realized that just going through this ordeal of being held captive essentially in the rixos hotel and it's only -- come out to speak to you because we've been essentially set free. the whole country, the whole city is celebrating its freedom. you know, i feel a sort of connection with them. i feel a connection with them. because i'm celebrating mine as well. >> matthew, you look great. you know, give us a sense of where you are, how you got there. have you had a chance to talk to your family? >> reporter: i haven't yet, no. i haven't had a chance. i know that my foreign desk --

all right, all right. thank you. my foreign desk in atlanta, i've spoken to my family, they're aware i'm okay and they'll be watching this obviously. but it's been such an amazing roller coaster experience for this country, really. it's been incredible. one of the things -- guys, guys, please. one second. one of the things that was so amazing about what happened today is that the guys that were holding us hostage essentially, they didn't know that any of this had taken place outside the perimeter of the hotel. they thought that the country was still in the control of colonel gadhafi. they didn't realize that outside the hotel doors, the whole world for these people has changed. when they finally realized that, when they finally realized that there was no reason for them to stay there and carry out these bizarre orders to keep the journalists in the hotel and not let them out, when they accepted

that, they literally castaway their weapons and said they were sorry to us and said, you're now free to go. we organized these vehicles, these cars and they took us out as the international committee of the red cross. they took us out to a safe location somewhere else. it's just been amazing coming to tripoli. all these people are so happy. they don't even know about our situation, obviously. they've focused on the fact that their country, their entire country from their point of view is now free. >> there -- the rebels are appealing to his aides, his helpers and his sympathizers, they're offering a bounty of almost $2 million for gadhafi's capture, dead or alive. you're seeing of footage of gadhafi in march at that rixos hotel. other news this hour, engineers are checking the washington monument today. it's closed indefinitely. look at this live picture. they're trying to determine the

best way to repair cracks found in the d.c. monument after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake yesterday. the national park service says inspectors discovered cracking in the stones at the top of the 555-foot tall monument. the quake struck about 40 miles northwest of richmond, virginia. falling bricks and siding damaged cars and nearby vienna as well. the tremor was felt in 12 states from georgia to northern new england. no serious skrr is have been reported so far. the rare east coast quake triggered an automatic shutdown of a power plant. it signalled alarms at 12 other nuclear facilities. in d.c., the quake damaged spires at the top of the cathedral. prompted evacuations of businesses, schools, buildings. people near the epicenter talked with us about what happened. >> all of a sudden it started as a little roar and then a huge roar. i tried to run and it wouldn't

let me move. it was shaking so bad much i fell on the ground. i scraped my knees up. >> it was like a wave came through, lifted us up and threw us all down. i went to go to my desk and it knocked me back down. the roof came down and a piece hit me in the back. then we went to go outside and kids were falling down in the hallways. >> and we'll continue to follow developments surrounding that earthquake for you as well. all eyes are on hurricane irene, which is now a category 3 storm. chad was just telling us. evacuations already under way as it makes a beeline toward the east coast. what you need to know to prepare for this major storm. we'll have it for you next. my doctor told me calcium is best absorbed in small continuous amounts. only one calcium supplement does that in one daily dose. new citracal slow release... continuously releases calcium plus d

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hurricane irene is now a powerful category 3 storm and could threaten millions of people along the eastern seaboard. right now, hurricane irene is bearing down on the southern portions of the bahamas. people living farther north in nassau are preparing for the worst by boarding up win did he say and moving their families inland if possible. coastal communities like charleston, south carolina, are getting prepared as well. hardware stores are seeing the usual run for emergency supplies. and there are some concerns about the storm's possible arrival in the washington, d.c. area sunday that could impact the scheduled dedication of the martin luther king, jr. memorial. joining me is russell hon ray, he wrote the book survival. first off, general, let's talk about the areas that might get hit. we're talking about the northeast and the east coast. what needs to be happening there right now, do you think? these are not states used to

handling major hurricanes. >> well, first is family and home preparedness. be prepared with that several-day supply of food and water. because even if the storm don't affect you directly, it could cut your lights out. as chad showed, the eye may skirt the coast. but either side of the eye up to 150 miles, you could have tornado or you could have heavy rains that could flood the coastal north carolina and virginia area. >> and when people are told to evacuate, do a lot of people make the mistake of thinking that they don't really need to? >> absolutely. people start thinking category where they think their house or home can withstand a category 3 storm. but if you're in a coastal area, it's the tidal surge and the water that will destroy your home. in 1938, we had a hurricane go into long island, destroyed 14,000 homes. over 700 people in the state of

new york lost their lives as a result of that storm. >> and when you talk about the winds, i mean, category 3 is about 115, say and then chad was saying it could get to 130 or 131 or so. how does a city, say, like new york city prepare for such high winds? what would you advise mayor bloomberg right now? >> well, to take a look at the vulnerable areas. buildings at or near sea level. that's where you have most damage. the other thing is high-rise apartments that have a lot of glass. in office buildings. rocks traveling at 90 miles per hour will break most of those windows. so you're not safe if you're in a high-rise building. because of the flying debris from rocks that will be thrown around from the top of other buildings. >> and what about a situation maybe with flooding. if that's a concern as well, how does a big city handle something like that? because they have public transportation and rely on it. >> that's right.

as well as the underground network. much of that run underground. as i said earlier, the models we show, some of that underground network could be threatened as we saw in d.c. a couple weeks ago with the heavy rain. much of the underground transportation was stalled because the pumps didn't get the water out. this will be a major disruption if it follows the current track which is skirting the coastline from north carolina through washington, d.c. up towards new york. this will be a major disruption. >> and we're being told that the memorial service for the mlk memorial has been moved to monday. is that a good move, do you think now given the weather that we may be expecting? >> absolutely. we can't afford to have thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of people exposed on the mall. because we will be getting tornado and heavy rain and wind effect, which will cut the lights out in d.c.

>> all right. generous he will honore, appreciate your time. thank you very much. a shocking diagnosis for tennessee's pat summit. the winningest basketball coach. dr. sanjay gupta takes a look at early onset dementia straight after the break.

there you saw some of our special coverage of the mlk, junior memorial, building the dream. that takes place sunday among. we thought it would take place monday. that is not the case. you will see coverage and, of course, the dedication of the

martin luther king, jr., national memorial in washington, d.c. on sunday. some shocking news now from the world of sports. tennessee wims basketball coach, pat summit has been diagnosed with early onset dementia. the nation's winningest college basketball coach made the announcement on her school's website today. she's 59 years old. dr. sanjay gupta takes a closer look at the disease. >> randi, there is a type of dementia known as early onset dementia. typically occurs in people under the age of 65. that's why it's called early onset. it's more associated with people who have a family history of this type of dementia. her maternal grandmother suffered from this as well. at 59, it's not that unusual. across the board, all dementias, only about 5% of them occur in people this young. typically, you have memory loss, you have personality changes, people become withdrawn. those are some of the early

signs. she was missing appointments, had to ask the same person, her son in this case, the same question several times to get an answer to remember an answer. that's what tipped her off. when people go see the doctor, typically what happens is the doctor may first get a scan of the brain to make sure something else isn't happening and then after that, it's a series of cognitive exams, neurological exams that ultimately make the diagnosis of dementia. there are more advanced testings now, pet scans, analysis of cerebral spinal fluid. at this point in time, this diagnosis is usually made clinically through exams. someone says i'm going to do mental exercise,s, including reading before before to stave it off. there's plenty of evidence that says it can help slow down the progression and there are medications which can do the same. this is a progressive problem typically. what her memory is like now, what her function is like now may be different five to ten years from now.

likely will be different. her judgment for the most part is different than her memory in terms of being a basketball coach. having the judgment to be able to do that. that should likely remain intact much longer than her memory does. a question a lot of people asking about this basketball coach today. good luck to her and back to you. >> thank you, as always, sanjay. don't forfeit to watch his special, last heart attack. he dispels myths about heart attacks and shares ways to prevent them. saturday night at 8:00 eastern on cnn. a day of incredible emotion in tripoli. freedom for dozens of foreign journalists, plus a national security's expert's advice on bringing democracy to libya. that's after the break. meet luna, 5'2", happy to take your commands. he's a personal robot. his invention is like an ipad on

wheels. >> improvised jekting myself to a remote location by simply using my laptop. this is robotic telepresence. the ability to be in two places at the same time. >> for inspiration, he points to pop culture. to the blockbuster movie avatar where humans log into avatars and interact with indigenous people except luna is made of aluminum and plastic. this all sounds too science fiction for you, consider possible real-world uses. >> if i need to go to china to look at a factory that i work with, i can physically get on an airplane, lose half a day of travel each way all the costs associated with that or i can have a robot on the ground in the factory that i can just log into with my mobile phone and laptop computer and i can instantly transport myself to that remote location. so in a way, you can think of is as video conferencing on wheels. the robot might need to deliver

pills to patients every night in a hospital. they'll be able to go from room to room and provide the right medications to the right patient every time. >> gary tuchman, cnn. [ artis brown ] america is facing some tough challenges right now. two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy.

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it's about 25 minutes past the hour. here's a look at the headlines and other news that you may have missed. hurricane irene nout a category 3 storm with sustained winds 115 miles per hour. it has been pounding the southeastern bahamas and the turks and caicos islands and the national hurricane center says it could get even stronger as it approaches the u.s. forecasters say it could threaten large sections of the eastern seaboard by the weekend from the carolinas to the northeast. take cover. 4 hours after the earth -- 24 hours after the earthquake that shook the east coast, look

at the washington monday monument. it's closed. some historic buildings in washington are still closed. engineers are studying ways to repair the cracks at the top of the monument and national cathedral sustained what's being called substantial damage, including cracks in the building's limestone blocks and broken pinnacles on the towers. tourists, take heart, the lincoln and jefferson memorials are open. mitt romney will not attend a labor day forum organized by conservative senator jim demint who endorsed romney run for president in the past. the candidate will instead spend the day in new hampshire. some say this is a signal that the former massachusetts governor is not focusing on early southern primary states like he did back in 2008. alabama's new immigration law went before a judge in birmingham. three separate suits have been filed against the law, which among other things, requires the police to check the status of anyone they stop and suspect may

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as you've seen here on cnn, the battle for tripoli has been one extraordinary event after the next. one of the most dramatic today was the release of 36 foreign journalists from the rixos hotel. cnn's matthew chance and his producer are among those enjoying their freedom. here with me to get his reaction, michael holmes, recently spent two weeks with the libyan rebels. as matthew described it, they were crying and hugging, that taste of freedom after all that concern. what do you make of it? >> i was really worried for

them. that situation could have gone badly in any number of ways. from being human shields to indirect fire. they were certainly -- matthew has been around. i mean, first met matthew in afghanistan after 9/11, and that was the first time we actually met. we bumped into each other in afghanistan, iraq and various other hotspots. he's been around. he's not like the guy can't handle stress. you could tell, he was worried. >> apparently she helped to negotiate with some of these guys to get them out of there. fascinating. >> leave the iraq war in baghdad. she's been one of the stalwarts of ours. going on camera or doing a report, she doesn't like it. she is an amazing woman. so relieved. >> the timing was critical. they had a day or two left of snacks. he had a mars bar following his tweets and mars bar for

breakfast. >> i love hearing him talk. i know what it's like in those situations. in 2003, i was where the westbank was under siege, there was a curfew. it ended up with journalists in one place, one studio we were using as a base. that sort of camaraderie that comes about. don't tell the bosses, but competition goes out the window. you'll be dealing with abc or nbc or whatever. you'll swap batteries, you'll help each other out. your colleagues become your friends. you become very close-knit in those situations. >> they certainly did. no question about it. oh, yeah. friends for life now. >> although the fighting continues in tripoli, most analysts agree it's only a matter of time before the rebels gain complete control of the capital and the rest of the country. international observers are turning their attention to what happens next in libya. rachel clinefeld is the ceo and founder of a project. in an opinion article posted on cnn.com today, she writes that a

major for democracy is jobs. rachel clinefeld joining us now. where will the jobs come from? are we talking about the oil industry here? >> largely from europe. you have to look at a map and see that libya is right below italy and greece. europe is taking a lead on this. it's part of obama's very smart strategy to bring in the allies from the very beginning so that they can help own the aftermath. so that america is not paying, europe is paying. it should come from europe. it's a few hours away from rome to tripoli. >> what kind of jobs could produce for this young workforce. >> you have a very young country. half the country is probably under 30. at least 30% is under 15. it's perfectly suited to tourism. big long beaches right below europe during those cold winters. tunisia, right next door, already has a big tourist infrastructure that it brings in

european tourists to. probably the same thing in libya. it's also got ports and so on. there's a lot that can be done. the important thing to remember, it should not just rely on oil. lots of people talk about oil, but oil is bad for democracy. it tends to keep people out of jobs and bring in money for dictators and so we can't just bring up the oil infrastructure there and europe is going to do a good job, i think bringing in jobs there. >> rachel, i want to bring in michael holmes here with us as well. >> the tourism potential for libya is huge. europe as you know, the mountains which are spectacular, ancient civilization there as well. every corner, every town you go into, there's houses built into caves. it's a gorgeous place. rachel, i'm curious. the west is now going to be again politically, also in an industry sense very careful about how they handle this and not look like they're intruding or coming in to take and not

give. >> well, you point out something incredibly smart. it's another smart part of this strike that skri. the libyans let the strategy. unlike the iraq and afghanistan wars, this war cost one tenth of one percent of what those wars cost. america did not put troops on the ground. the libyans led. it should be their war. we didn't lose a single soldier or service member. all we lost was one robotic helicopter. completely different situation. the libyans really own this. they're very competent people in this national transitional council. their government that are going to europe next week to talk about the future of libya. they're able, a lot of them are former government members who defected. there's a real infrastructure to start with there. >> it is true. politically, you have to agree there's a lot at risk here too. they're looking all very unified now, having had the common enemy. they're not actually unified when you strip away the gadhafi factor. these are people with age-old --

this could fracture easily. surely the west has got to be mindful of that in trying to keep the glue working when it comes to the council. >> this is tough. you're exactly right. it's a fragile state. there's a lot of tribes, there's a lot of internal fish shurs. it's one of the reasons we need to look at national security more broadly. for years, we looked at it as the pentagon, what could the department of defense do. the department of defense has done its work. it's up to the state department, the u.s. treasury, europe's state departments and treasuries and their equivalents to put boots on the ground and work to help them come together. there's a lot of that going on. it's much cheaper than war. it's much more difficult. it's something that we need to get right. frankly, we can't afford to go back to democracy -- to awe tok rah sis in the middle east. those were unstable. people like gadhafi were keeping -- throughout africa,

really causing trouble that way. also committing terrorism against u.s. citizens. obviously in that lockerbie bombing. we do have a stake in this coming out right. it will largely be the state department and the treasury leading the way from now on. >> rachel klinefeld pleasure to have you on the show. >> the real battle is reconciliation for libya internally. >> i think you're right. thank you very much. good to see you as well. now we want to tell you about this next story. bradford wells and anthony mack are in the fight of their lives. we first told you their story two weeks ago. their fate is caught up in a complicated web snarled by immigration, the defense of marriage act and their love and commitment to one another. tomorrow, august 25th is the day that they have been dreading. the day anthony is supposed to leave the country. just this morning, they filed an appeal to fight anthony's immigration status.

they may have the help they need as they appeal their case. anthony, born in stral rah is the one on the right. his visa expires tomorrow. the pictures you're looking at are the moment they got married in massachusetts seven years ago. they've been together for 19 years. but under the defense of marriage act. immigration benefits only apply to marriages between men and women. anthony applied for permanent residency but was denied. the u.s. citizenship cited the defense of marriage act as the reason. brad fortd and anthony filed an appeal against the decision today. there, of course, is a lot at stake. bradford suffers from advanced aids. anthony is his main caretaker who bradford says is his literal lifesaver. since we spoke with them two weeks ago, president obama's administration announced it's implementing a new policy allowing pending deportations to be reviewed on a case by case basis. criminal history, community ties and family among other factors

will be taken into account now. more importantly, a spokesman for the department of homeland security told the san francisco chronicle, gay and lesbian couples will be considered family under this new policy. but it is not that simple. anthony and bradford are caught up in a waiting game. in their first interview since filing their appeal, bradford and anthony join me now from san francisco. we're glad to have you back on the show. thank you for coming on. we'd like to get an update on what's happeningment anthony, tomorrow is the day that both of you have been dreading. will you be leaving the country? >> thankfully, tomorrow i will not be leaving the country. the appeal has been filed today and we'll be waiting for the outcome on the appeal. >> and bradford, i know that you're appealing this case with immigration services. is this your last option, your last resort?

>> this is basically our last -- if this appeal is decide, anthony will be issued an order of deportation and i'm appealing to president obama to hold our appeal and not act on it. the defense of marriage act is what they used to deny me immigration benefits for my spouse. the defense of marriage act benefits absolutely no one in this country. there's not one american who benefits from the defense of marriage act. but there are many american families hurt by this. every family that this act touches, it hurts. it also brings harm to the people around those families. the extended family. i'm asking president obama on humanitarian grounds to please hold this application until the defense of marriage act is settled. until there's some final determination. either through congress or through the courts. >> we did reach out to the u.s. citizenship and immigration service and the department of

homeland security. in fact, in response to this appeal that you filed. we're still waiting to hear from them. we do have a statement to share with you. the immigration and customs enforcement gave us this statement. emphasizing quote, you anthony are not currently in removal proceedings. ice is focused on smart effective immigration enforcement that prioritizes the agency, exercises discretion on a case by case basis as necessary to focus resources on these priorities. they wanted to reassure us that you were not in any danger of being deported tomorrow or any time soon without going through these proceedings. how do you feel about that? >> i feel relieved that someone is not going to be coming knocking at my door. however, we do feel that being put under deportation proceedings, after tomorrow this could happen to me.

many couples, tens of thousands of couples in that same situation live already under the threat of deportation. and the recent events actually don't help me. to get relief from the recent announcement, i actually have to be put under deportation proceedings. we're trying to stop that. we're trying to ask that they put on hold all of the applications the same sex immigration applications until it's been settled. not to actually put us under the deportation proceedings, then do something. it seems like we have to go to the end of the earth to get something to happen. >> anthony is a good man. >> i'm sure he is. >> he's a decent hard working contributing member of society. i want him to keep his -- to have his dignity. the law has been important to him, following the law is

important to him. i want him to be on the right side of the law, to not be under an order of deportation. >> we're talking so much about procedure here. when you really break it down honestly, bradford, how do you really feel about this? how does this affect you? in your heart, in your mind about what's going on here? >> this has been so stressful. i've lost a lot of sleep, i've had a lot of bad days. i've been a lot of days when i've just been sick over this. if anthony was to leave, even the thought of it just devastates my day. i cannot get through my day without his assistance. he's just a lifesaver for me. >> you rely on him completely. is that true, anthony? >> oh, yeah. >> we do everything together. since we met, our entire life has been together. when we first met, we didn't know how long we would have

together. so it's very important to us to be together all the time. we've lived -- weave got to this point and we will fight to stay together and we're going to fight so other gay and lesbian families can stay together too. because there's many families in our position. immigration equality is working tirelessly for us. nancy pelosi herself has spoken up for us. her office is working so hard for us. and you know, the families shouldn't live under a threat of deportation to get some relief because change of policy or something like that could change everything in the future. and they could just put it aside, they do it for other families. they could do it for gay and lesbian families as well. >> the amount of support we've received has been tremendous. i never imagined that so many people would be so upset about our plight. >> concerned about what's going on. regardless of gay and lesbian

families or whatever. >> i'm sure. it is so -- >> it's been tremendous. >> it's so nice to see. i do understand that from homeland security at least telling the san francisco paper that gay and lesbian couples will be considered family under this new policy. maybe that will help with your appeal. anthony makk. thank you so much. we hope you get to stay and work this out. bradford, we hope you feel well and hope to have you back on once again with an update. >> thank you. building a dream, a special preview of the martin luther king, jr. national memorial in washington, d.c. we'll have that for you next. ing and my itchy eyes took refuge from the dust in here and the pollen outside. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief from my worst allergy symptoms. it's the brand allergists recommend most. ♪ lily and i are back on the road again. where we belong. with zyrtec®, i can love the air®.

advice trors getting the first look at the martin luther

king, jr. national memorial in washington, d.c. this week. the massive granite statue stands 30 feet tall on the national mall and four acres overlooking the tidal basin. it took more than sa years for this to come to fruition and about $120 million. the sculptor created the king statue and was in d.c. monday as visitors caught a glimpse of the memorial. president obama will be on hand for the formal dedication of the memorial on sunday. the dedication also marks the anniversary of the 1963 march on washington where dr. king delivered the famous "i have a dream" speech. cnn political analyst roland martin joins me with more on this event. roland, before we get into the event itself, i want to ask you, what accommodations have been made just in case this hurricane irene affects the weather there in d.c. on sunday? >> i talked to harry johnson, the ceo of the mlk memorial

foundation. i talked to him on the morning show and he said they are in contact with the national parks service. they will make the actual final call. they control the national mall. based upon the current models, they plan, rain or shine, to have the dedication. obviously, if you have significant winds and thunderstorms and lods of rain that changes it. the plan is to go forward with the dedication, beginning at 8:00 a.m. on sunday. everyone has to be in their seats by 10:00 a.m. because of secret service. >> i know roland, that this is certainly close to your heart. you've been working for years to get this memorial built and certainly helping to get it paid for. what is the status of the fundraising for this? >> well, i'm a member of -- king was a member of it. it started at a kitchen table, several members said we need a monument on the national mall. there was efforts to put it near the stadium. they said absolutely not.

the impetus and the driving force has been alpha phi alpha. we've raised -- we have $6 million left to raise. i've given, i've used all of my speeches and social media. you may have seen me on cnn a lot of times with a light blue lapel pin on. that was actually the build the dream lapel pin that we used to advertise this effort. the pin that i have on right now is the dedicate pin. you'll see lots of folks wearing this. we've been around this country hitting up corporate sponsors, athletes, entertainers, regular ordinary people and understand, randi, people have been tithing, literally to this project from day one. every month sending in a payment to make sure this is possible. >> wow. it's amazing. this is certainly real estate that's reserved mainly for president and wars. this is certainly a big day. roland, i know it's important to you and you'll be there to emcee the pre-dedication of the

ceremony. we look forward to that. >> you'll see us in the gold jackets and rain gear if need be, randi. >> i'm sure you will. we won't miss you. thanks, roland. >> thanks a lot. join t.j. holmes and soledad o'brien sunday morning for cnn's live coverage of the unveiling of the memorial commemorating the life and work of dr. martin luther king, jr. that is sunday, 9:00 a.m. eastern right here on cnn. earthquake insurance. a wise decision to protect yourself from catastrophic losses or a shaky investment? it's our taking the lead, next.

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you feel that? what was that? my god -- video of yesterday's east coast earthquake interrupting a local commercial in virginia. falling bricks, damaged cars and a seismic jolt from georgia to northern new england, reminded millions that our friends out west 5,000 earthquakes strike the united states each year and caused damage to all 50 states at one time or another. given the damage they can do, should you invest in earthquake insurance? it is taking the lead. to find out if you need it, start by looking at where you live. although earthquakes may be less frequent in the east, the u.s. geological survey says they pose a significant risk to 75 million

americans in 39 states. some of the most vulnerable cities include major metro areas in california, seattle, portland, new york city, salt lake city and st. louis. policies are not cheap and they vary between insurance companies. understand that pricing factors. older homes cost more to insure. wood homes withstand stress better according to the insurance information institute. and both your soil consistency and proximity to a fault line will also factor in. finally, make sure to understand the possibility of other damage when looking for coverage. it's not just the quake itself that can destroy property but tsunamis, floods and fires that occur afterward. the events in japan earlier this year are a frightening example of this. for more on earthquake insurance, visit my facebook page. facebook.com/randi kaye, cnn. will the debt reduction deal earlier this month lead to a better economic forecast.

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well, the debt ceiling talks may be over sort of for now. apparently there's a new ten-year economic outlook. for that let's check in with kate bolduan in washington, d.c. >> hey there, randi, this is the latest update from the congressional budget office. the scorekeeper for congress that we always cite. the economic outlook according to cpo seems to be improving,

yet still gloomy. we're talking about eye popping numbers. the country is on track to see a $1.3 trillion budget deficit this year, which is a slight improvement from previous estimates. but it's still the third largest shortfall in the past 65 years according to the office. over the next decade, deficits are on track to total $3.5 trillion. a huge number, cbo says that's down more than 3 trillion from the projection put out in march. that improvement stems in part, they say, from the deficit reduction plan passed by congress this month as part of the deal to raise the debt ceiling. the numbers also assume that current policies remain in place which means bush era tax cuts that are allowed to expire as they're scheduled to do at the end of 2012, but that is a hotly debated issue and that can change, which would change these numbers. but finally, randi, it's also noteworthy, they expect the outlook to improve but unemployment to