debate, the tea party republican debate moderated by our very own and my very good friend wolf blitzer. it will be in tampa, florida, the host city of the 2012 republican national convention. they important place, very important date. you will not want to miss that debate. it is co-hosted -- will be co-sponsored by the tea party express and tea party groups, really, from across the country. it will be a very important debate for all voters, especially everyone looking to see where the republicans stand on the issues. very interesting and must-see tv. do not want to miss it. >> on my calendar, kate balduan, thank you cnn "newsroom" continues right now with brooke bald rin. >> hello to all of you. we do have developments to pass along to you out of libya. first, just want you to take a look at this. see what cnn's weather computers are picking up this. this is the gulf of mexico. we now know a hurricane hunter

plane headed into this thing. they are calling it a tropical disturbance for now just to see if it's serious enough to name it a tropical storm possibly in the next couple of hours. keep in mind we're also learning major oil companies are not taking any chances with this disturbance. evacuations have begun just in case and the mayor of new orleans, mitch landrieu, he'll be holding a news conference as they are all watching this disturbance as well heading precariously closely to their government line. we'll keep an eye on all of it and let's move on to some other news. moammar gadhafi, a la saddam hussein, is threatening to plunge his country into a drawn out civil war, but did you know it is 42 years to the day since a much younger gadhafi seized control of libya in a military coup. now presumably on the run but apparently still alive, gadhafi is extorting supporters -- exhorting -- excuse me, exhorting supporters to fight to

the death. here's his message. this was aired today on a syrian tv station. >> translator: go. use -- use the guns. go and fight an fight and we're going to fight from one place to the other, from town to town, until we show them that this battle is going to be very long and then they will regret. you want a long battle? we are ready for them. you want war? you've got war. >> you get war as you just heard from moammar gadhafi purportedly. well, at the same time today libya's fractured transitional leaders, they are bal calgary-at the idea of staging that head-on assault into gadhafi's biggest hometown, the city of sirte. one of gadhafi's son saif al islam claims sirte is being defended by 20,000 gadhafi

supporters. is it a bluff in the transitional leaders are hoping to avoid bloodshed there. let's go to cnn's senior international correspondent nic robertson in the capital city of tripoli. nic, gadhafi has all but been written off there, but keeping in mind saddam hussein what, we saw in iraq, can gadhafi cause the kind of trouble, you know, fighting month to month, town to town like he's threatening today? >> reporter: it seems to be a lot of rhetoric and a lot of bluff. yesterday saif al islam in a speech about this time said that this is the moment to attack, attack, attack and then nothing happened. there was no big attack from the gadhafi loyalists. so if the audience he's speaking to doesn't seem to be acting on his words. however, what's interesting is the former foreign minister here turned himself in to the national transitional council overnight, and he has told them that he believes, and this former foreign minister was living here in the city and

called two national transitional council military members when he thought there was a rebel unit getting close to his house, when he turned himself in. he told the rebels that indeed gadhafi has been issuing orders to loyalist units, and that information coming from within the gadhafi regime. they don't appear to be acting on it right now. are they planning something iraqesque? that they will regroup and gather and come back with an insurgency months ahead? certainly the thing that you can look at here in this country is that there is a -- a strong islamist element within the country, but it doesn't seem like they will be likely to rally behinded gadhafi flag at any point in the near future, brooke. >> but, you know, it's the where. it's the where he's been issuing these threats and these deployments from that's the big question. what we're given to believe is that gadhafi has these three

major strongholds left. you know them, the big one, his hometown of sirte, and then there are these two smaller tons, banni walid, home to a powerful tribe in libya and saba, a southern hiding spot in the desert where his family members went in order to get to algeria. the question is where is gadhafi? one of those three places, what about algeria where as i mentioned some of his family members fled not too long ago? >> reporter: rumors. no one really has any clear idea. that's been the way since gadhafi sort of evaporated and moved out of tripoli. there's a lot of people that would point the finger at banni walid, and i think there would be some reasons to believe that some of his sons might be hiding there for a while, but, again, there's nothing really concrete to go on. one of the interesting things that gadhafi's speech earlier today was that he said to his audience if you don't here anything from me in the coming days, continue with the fight.

it seems to be an indication that he's might to be in the near future drop out of sight all together, though the television station that broadcast that audio message is now saying that there's going to be another gadhafi message coming up in the near future, so it -- it's a very, very confused situation. gadhafi is sort of issuing these statements, and really the rebels, they are not telling us if they concretely know where he is, they are not telling us. bani walid seems to be the sort of place people are putting a lot of focus on, with you even that's not a guaranteed hideout for him right now, brooke. >> that's curious. wonder where he might be the next couple of days, if he indeed drop off. as we menned, nic, kind of fascinating. we realize it's the 42-year mark since the date that gadhafi seized power there in libya. is that at all being talked about where you are today in tripoli? >> reporter: sure, yeah. certainly some of the rebels, you know, national transitional council fighters here, you know, who are commenting on it. i was here two years ago for the

40th celebration. that area behind me at this time of night, there was a massive ma marquee band celebration. what gadhafi called green square and what the rebels now call martyr's square and the rebels are organizing a rally there this evening. we drove past earlier and saw them gathering there. it's very much on people's minds that they managed to push gadhafi out. that's one of the issues for gadhafi now. what he does and what his next move is perhaps in the west we don't sort of understand the tribal culture as much as people here do. they realize that for gadhafi to be forced out of tripoli is a hugely embarrassing thing for him in the culture of society here, and just a few days a week before this massive celebration where he would spend millions of dollars every year and put on a huge military show and fireworks, this is a big climb down for him, be a he's having to sit somewhere in a hideout and watch everything go on

without his grand anniversary, brooke. >> nic, something that you've talked about sort of off and on for the past couple of months is the psychology of war, and my question, is you know, essentially for moammar gadhafi, the ousted libyan leader, do the people of libya need this man dead or alive in order to essentially move forward with a new libya, or can they not just move forward and -- and who knows what gadhafi may or may not pop up? >> reporter: there's some people who are going to want to see him stand trial for -- essentially for all the squandering of all the money and -- and the deaths that he's been responsible for, but having said that, this country is already moving forward. when you go around the city today, it's much quieter, there are fewer checkpoints. when you go to government buildings, there are civilians on duty there who will give you a phone number of somebody to contact, who is now responsible for that building to make sure it doesn't get looted. i've been in the harbor.

there's a harbormaster directing workers down there to unload some of the boats coming in so already the country is moving forward without gadhafi. where it's key and critical is that the tribes that supported gadhafi in the past, for this country to unite and move forward, those tribes must align themselves with the national transitional council and compromises must be made. so gadhafi is the figurehead for some of these tribes, full, a figurehead that they believed, trusted in and looked to for power and for top jobs. now they need to look to the national transitional council. gadhafi's exit from the stage completely will speed that process, but, again, it's not an entire necessity, but it's still going to be important psychologically, just as a lot of people here to know once and for all he's gone. brooke? >> indeed. nic robertson, thank you so much in tripoli. here's another sign of how libya needs one and into the fighting

and two, international help of. take a look at fight from cnn's dan rivers. >> reporter: well, the fuel situation in tripoli is still pretty bad. there are still incredibly long queues. it's better than it used to be, but check it out. this is the back of the queue for gas, and i want to show you just how long it is. this queue just goes on and on and on. it's ironic because libya actually hats largest oil supply in the whole of africa, the ninth largest in the world. experts say it has some 23 years of oil reserves, and before the war it used to pump about 1.3 million barrels a day, but now all the people in this queue care about is when the petrol queues will subside. some say they have been waiting in scorching heat for hours. and finally this is the front of

the queue. the coastal road is soap so it means some supplies are coming in, but you getted idea of just what an ingagonizing waiting it just to fill up your car. dan rivers, cnn, tripoli. >> dan rivers, thank you. here at home, the flames have been as high as 150 feet in the air as another massive wildfire ignites there across texas. homes are charred. hundreds have had to flee including our own crew. jim spellman is back there on the ground where fire fighters are battling some of the worst flames there. we'll check in with him next. plus this. >> oversees say the water came in and disturbed several graves. >> you heard right. the flooding in vermont. now so bad right now even those grave sites are being washed away. we're going to show you some of the unbelievable video we're just now getting into us here at cnn coming up next. [ male announcer ] members of the american postal workers union

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one more note on libya before i move to the wildfires. france stepped out and essentially took the lead on libya and today the french are hosting an international confrerns on libya's future. there's french president nicolas sarkozy greeting two leaders there of the ntc. that's the national transition council of libya. how about this. here's what we've also learned. a french newspaper is reporting the french oil giant total has inked a back-door deal worth 45% of libya's oil. jim bittermann live out of paris. want to talk about the conference here in a meeting. i know secretary of state hillary clinton is there and a number of other world leaders. can you tell me more about the report on this purported oil deal involving libya and france? >> reporter: well, i can tell you that everybody is denying

that it exists, and i think that story has been pretty well beaten down. it has been around. in fact, on the internet by anti-rebel forces, pro-gadhafi forces for the last couple of weeks, and today members of the national transitional council and the head of totale denied there was any kind of agreement about oil, so, i mean, there's no question that everybody sees there ea lot of oil contracts out there. this is an oil-producing country, but as far as anybody can tell this is pretty much a felacious report batted around the internet and finally surfaced this morning. >> okay. just wanted to confirm that with you. what about the conference? what is the purpose? what's being done there today? >> reporter: well, i mean, this is a chance to reconcile with just about everybody here. first it's to bring on board the international community that weren't behind this effort to begin with, russia and china, of course, who opposed the nato bombing. secondly it's a chance for everybody to hear what the national transitional council is saying, what is their plan, and

they laid out today a road map towards democracy over the next 18 months in which they hope to hold democratic elections down the line. they also we just heard from ban ki-moon, the u.n. secretary-general, that said that the transitional council has asked for help in institution-building and justice-building, the sort of things they will need when they come up against these factions that are still squabbling and still fighting in libya, so there's a lot of challenges to them out there, but one of the things that's going to help is the international community has made a unanimous commitment here to release all the money that was frozen. some say it's somewhere between $50 billion and $200 billion that have been frozen under the gadhafi regime and now the funds can be released to the national transitional council. that will help at least getting things going again towards the new libya. >> the future of libya. jim bittermann in paris. jim, thank you. back here at home, we were talking about the wildfires yesterday. now 17 new fires have ignited in the drought-stricken texas in

the past 24 hours. fire fighters, they are out there. they are trying to get a handle on one of the most aggressive which has destroyed 40 homes, burned 6,200 acres. >> it keeps flaring up. the wind just got it. it's crazy. >> the smoke was so thick you really couldn't see. you had to crawl through it as slow as you could in the truck. >> the wildfire is about 50% contained, and we're learning some of the evacuation orders are being susspended. jim spellman with us from possum kingdom lake, texas. yesterday the smoke was incredible behind you. tell me first about the conditions of the fir and then tell me what happened to you guys. >> reporter: sure, yeah. right now, as you said, about 50% contained. they have been at it all day today using helicopter drops to get the few remaining hot spots that were left in this fire to real get it under control before the winds might pick up again.

brooke, yesterday had we spoke, we were standing right here, and behind us you can see flames, really all the trees just exploding it was moving so fast, and embers came across the reservoir to our side shortly after we spoke and were igniting spot fires on this side. had to evacuate the command center and had to immediately expand evacuation orders. you can see the devastation that the fire brought over here. it just leveled a part of this forest, and there are still hot spots in here for sure. they are trying to deal with it, but they have gotten it enough under control that they are able to lift the evacuation orders that they added yesterday. the original area where most of the burned out homes, they are still trying to come up with a strategy to get people back into those areas. as you mentioned, all the fires that are breaking out across texas and all the way up into oklahoma city, it's just an intense drought. i can't stress again how hot and dry it is here, how all of the vegetation, the bark on the trees just peels right off when you put your hand on it, so they

know that even when they bring people back into the evacuation areas, they could send them right back out again. with 90% of the state under drought conditions, can't evacuate 90% of texas. people will have to be ready and in fire prone areas like this they have to pull out at any time. >> yesterday you were saying it was 103 degrees. that is hot, and you're also mentioning how there's a lot of vacation homes, but what about ranchers out there and their livestock? are there any concerns for that? >> reporter: yeah. well, they have had to move sort of from pasture to pasture moving some of their livestock. there's no way to get that much, you know, cattle or horses on to trailers that fast. there's animal rescue group that was here yesterday. they rescued one cat. everyone is always happy to see that. apparently no livestock, no animals or people injured in this which i'm amazed.

a lot of communities say there's one road in, one road out and when this fire broke out two days ago people had to get out by boat across the reservoir because there was nowhere else for them to go. they couldn't get out out on the road. i'm amazed that everyone got out. people had to evacuate in april. they are used to it and know what these fires can begin and don't hesitate to evacuate when that's the order. >> jim spellman, thank you very much for us in texas. hard to believe they were just golfing buddies. what was this? just a couple of months ago, and that has all changed between president obama and house speaker john boehner, and it's all over a speech that would have been on a day each side wanted the spotlight. is this just petty sparring? is this a sign of things to come, or is michele bachmann points out, is it this? >> now does this show maybe a little insecurity on the part of the president? either, a, he wants to district of columbia mantle -- >> and so it begins. we'll be right back.

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the white house today seems pretty eager to get beyond this tiff with house speaker john boehner over the date of the jobs speech. he asked speaker boehner to call this joint session of congress, next wednesday evening when congress returns from its recess and that's also the night of the republican televised debate and boehner pretty much said no and that set off all kinds of back and forth and the president agreed to boehner's suggestion to deliver the speech on the

thursday. here's the $64,000 question asked at the white house briefing just a short time ago. >> you can't even get the congress to agree on a date for a speech without a political sideshow. how can we expect -- how can the american people that you can do something much more difficult and come up a jobs plan and deal with the deficit? >> because the sideshows don't matter. the economy matters. the american people matter. jobs matter, and that's what we're focused on. that's, why you know, thursday is the day, thursday is the day. we want to give the speech. the president wants to talk to the american people. the president wants to call on congress to act. that's what we're going to do. >> what does it say about your ability to get anything out of this congress? you can't work on a scheduling date? >> it's irrelevant and it's -- this is small stuff. the issue is whether -- wednesday was the soonest possible day upon their return from their recess. thursday is fine with us. he's going to give the speech thursday. >> let me say it again. thursday is the day the

president is giving the speech to the joint session of congress. we're going to talk much more about this at the top of the next hour. but when we come back, do you remember this, that incredible $50,000, the hockey goal from an 11-year-old? you remember he's a twin and the wrong twin actually made the shot, so did the family get the cash? today an update. also, whatever happened to geek being chic, folks? i'm a little bit of a self-professed geek myself so have you seen this t-shirt? take a look at what it says there and some parents are absolutely outraged that j.c. penney would even sell. coming up. a very special guest joins me, and she is not happy about it either.

checking our top stories now for you. a new grim discovery in an ongoing mystery in the pacific northwest. another severed leg bone and foot found in the waters just off vancouver. the foot was inside a running shoe. this is the 11th found in canadian waters in the past four years. foul play not suspected since there's no evidence of trauma on the remains. dna tests have identified some of the other feet, but police don't know where they are coming from. now this. violence on the streets of istanbul, turkey today. ethnic kurds were holding a rally to celebrate world peace

day. dozens of kurdish youth apparently started throwing petrol bombs, stones at police. security forces responded by firing some of that tear gas just to try to break up the crowds. kurds are a minority in turkey. they have been out on the streets there protesting because many of them are angry the turkish military has been attacking their villages. and now to this. you remember the 11-year-old minnesota kid who made that incredible hockey shot just last month, supposed to win that big, big prize? well, the kid who was originally supposed to make the shot based on that raffle drawing hand it had off to his twin brother who hit it in. the puck went into this tiny hole for which should have awarded him a $50,000 prize. lack at that. the company says since the wrong brother made the shot, the family doesn't get the prize money, but -- there's a but here. it is donating $20,000 to youth hockey programs in minnesota.

what once was hurricane ireap, now long gone, but folks in the northeast, they are still suffering. hundreds possibly still trapped in areas just totally cut off. now a desperate rush to just try to get aid in there. plus, dramatic new video of a school at the moment that virginia earthquake hit. we'll have more of that next.

before we take you to the northeast, i want to show you we're waiting for new orleans mayor mitch landrieu to take to that podium as we're watching now what they are calling a tropical disturbance forming in the gulf. we'll monitor that for you. bonnie snider is going to talk about that here in a minute. first, life is anything but back to normal for many, many people caught in the path of what was once hurricane and tropical storm irene. it's been five days since irene first made landfall, and flooding is still a big problem, all the way from north carolina up to vermont. president obama, we now know, will tour new jersey's flood region this coming sunday, and i want you to listen here as susan candiotti, she's there and gets her own tour. >> reporter: you're about to start school your senior year in high school coming up in just a week. >> yeah. >> reporter: what's going through your head? >> how am i going to prepare for

school? my clothes, everything, stuck at home. i don't know how i'm going to get it. everything is closed to go shopping. the mall is down. i don't know where to go. >> reporter: all you have is a suitcase you were able to run out with? >> like five pants, five shirts, that's it, that's all i have, and school starts in one week. >> wow. >> reporter: is this the first time you're seeing it? >> yeah. >> reporter: how do you even begin to think about the cleanup that's involved here? what's going through your head? >> i don't want to think about that right now. as long as we're safe, that's good. that's the main thing is to be safe, and then the cleanup comes next. >> imagine seeing your home like that for the first time, and several towns in vermont just now getting the much-needed supplies. the only way in, helicopter. that's been a problem because all six of vermont national guard choppers are in iraq, so these helicopters, they are on loan from new hampshire. take a look at this. this is a map from the state of vermont. really just gives you an idea as to how many of the state's roads rim passable.

a lot of dots on that map and a note to anyone with labor day plans that include vermont and adirondacks, almost all hiking trails are closed indefinitely. so many, many towns in vermont have been completely cut off by raging floodwaters. listen to this report from rochester where the rising tide did not discriminate between the living and the dead. >> one of the more jarring images in rochester is the woodlawn cemetery. oversee is say the water came in and disturbed several graves. they say as many as 25 may be displaced. >> very, very disturbing. we do not want that to happen. >> reporter: local kids have been sneaking in and posting images of the cemetery online, so she's making sure someone watches the cemetery at all times. >> i just want to protect the integrity, and so we've been working very, very hard. we had someone spend the night to protect our loved ones who are lost.

>> the town of rochester, vermont, that's where those graves are washing away, just got connected with the outside world. sheer randy gyllenhaal from our affiliate wptz. >> reporter: all they could do is wait in long lines to get food, even water. the landlocked town of rochester became an island overnight. the town was trapped. all roads in and out were washed away, that is, until now. today with the help of four-wheel drive, we were finally able to get a lock inside. >> the water was up into that apartment up above here. >> reporter: town had been under siege by a powerful torrent of water. some houses collapsed. others had their foundations sucked away. bodies and caskets from the local graveyard began to wash out. but the real problem were the roads. slowly they began to disintegrate, all of them. >> because one by one we were realizing that we were becoming so isolated. >> reporter: deb paino was stuck. no way out of town.

national guard helicopters had to drop in much-needed food and water. medicine was running low. frustration was high, but the town didn't give up. >> the community has just really pulled together so quickly, so fast. >> reporter: local stores like the one seen here were giving away their food. survival was all that mattered. four days later you can now access the town by going through a maze of back roads. the next task, rescue crews spreading out making sure that everybody is accounted for. >> we're just trying to check off lists, go around door to door. >> reporter: power is still out. it could take weeks and damage costs run thinkable, but at least the island of rochester has created a bridge, baby steps back to normalcy. >> while so many people up and down the east coast still dealing, you know what, irene left behind take a look at what is forming. this is the atlantic right now. this is katia. already now katia classified as a hurricane. bonnie snider is in the cnn

hurricane headquarters. bonnie, how strong is she, and do we even know yet where she's headed? >> reporter: right now, brooke, we still have a hurricane out there named katia, and the important thing to note it's still pretty far out, thousands of miles away from land, and where it will go, it depends as we go through the next few days. right now maximum winds at 75 miles per hour so it's a category 1 hurricane. as we put it into motion, the track kind of takes it all the way to the west, and will that turn occur? the track takes us to tuesday so it's still pretty far out into early next week. we're hoping the storm will turn away from the u.s. by middle of next week. too early to tell. one thing to note. katia is scheduled to intensify to category 3 or major hurricane. that's not the only storm we're tracking in the tropics. look what's happening in the gulf of mexico. an area of disturbed weather is pushing some very heavy rain, heavy downpours of showers and thunderstorms, coastal louisiana and also in alabama and really the motion of this disturbance, it may become a tropical storm.

the next name on the list is lee, but it's already impacting some areas like in the gulf of mexico where the oil rigs are located. in fact, many of the oil companies are already starting to go to phase one or phase two which means that if the tropical system is likely to form within the next 46, 48 hours, they start to evacuate non-essential personnel, and many of these oil conditions you can see hundreds of rigs in the gulf of mexico closely monitoring this system. we'll have more when the 5:00 advisory comes in to see whether or not this will indeed be the next tropical storm on the list. brooke? >> bonnie, thank you very much. i'm getting some news here. let's just dip in and listen to new orleans mayor mitch landrieu who just started speaking a little while ago talking about exactly this tropical disturbance that bonnie was talking. >> already seeing gusts of up to 25 miles per hour. the national weather service at this point is predicting a 70% chance of tropical development, but, again, everybody has been very cautious and has indicated that because of how this matter

is forming, it is very difficult to predict, and, unfortunately, for us it is slow moving, so we have decided and are in the process of preparing for a very significant rain event with the possibility of localized flooding. for those of you in the neighborhoods, you know where they are. we are here to tell you that the eoc is meeting to coordinate. we've gone that with gosep and also indicated that the pumps are all 100% operational. the power plants are already active. we're monitoring the canals and lake pontchartrain with the corps of engineers. public works has two contractors standing by for road repair and debris removal, if necessary. park and parkways and sanitation equipment is staged and ready to clear roadways should it become necessary. capital construction projects, many of which are going on in the city right now, will be shut

down when sustained winds reach the 25-mile-per-hour mark. we are completely staffed up, and we're prepared to work around the clock should we be called upon to do so. we also coordinating with our tourism leaders because we have a number of conventions in town and so we are putting that operation into play to make sure that all of our tourists are communicated with so that they understand the risks. >> essentially what the mayor was saying, there have been reports of these marsh fires in and around new orleans, and there's been all kinds of heavy smoke. he was talking earlier about how the national guard troops have actually been dropping some water so perhaps if this disturbance doesn't strengthen too much, it may be a good thing delivering much-needed rain for the new orleans area, but, again, he and we and bonnie snideler continue watching that disturbance for you in the gulf of mexico right now. still ahead today. in depth. some students are calling it college crack, and it's becoming just about as rampant on campuses as books. we'll tell you what it is and why it's becoming so popular. be right back.

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. most wells are over a mile and a half deep so there's a tremendous amount of protective rock between the fracking operation and the groundwater. natural gas is critical to our future. at exxonmobil we recognize the challenges and how important it is to do this right.

some students are calling it college crack.

they are comparing it to acid or marijuana from the '60s or '70s or ecstasy from the '90s. i'm talking about medication for a.d.d., attention deficit disorder. and part of our in-depth look at higher education on cnn, we're taking a closer look at how students are using adderall to keep them alert. here is cnn's senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen. >> reporter: this college senior has a business finance test tomorrow and he's all ready. he's got his book, his notes and his pill. it's a prescription drug that wasn't prescribed to him. it was prescribed to a friend and jarred bought it for $5. it's a generic form of adderall, an amphetamine meant for people with attention deficit disorder. he doesn't have a.d.d. but loves what is does to his roar caepor.

>> reporter: how does it make you feel when you take is it. >> nothing is going to distract mow from doing it and going to bother me and it's going to get out and be good. >> reporter: jarred feels good as he's studying all night and into the morning and will be prepared for class. >> got a lot of formulas memorized, a lot of stuff that i crammed for, and i think i'm really going to rock this test out. >> reporter: jarred says lots of his friends take adderall like he does. a study at the university of kentucky found half of juniors and seniors say they use stimulants like adderall. the drug is so common among millennials it's popping up on mtv. >> websites, books. >> how much adderall have you had today in. >> a lot. >> reporter: this has doctors like raymond kawicki worried. >> short term those stimulant medications can often feel good. in the long run there are significant problems, both in

terms of thinking and mood problems. >> reporter: adderall can be addictive, cause seizures, hallucinations, aggressive behavior, but jarred says he's been taking it for two years and he's fine. he doesn't think he's doing anything wrong. after talking to lawyers, it appears you are breaking the law by doing this. >> i would see how. the law is there, but it just kind of -- i consider of an unwritten rule, you know. it's accepted. >> reporter: did the pill help with jarred's test? we caught up with him after class? >> i know i did great on the test. >> reporter: and he says he has adderall to thank for that. college students just don't think adderall is a big deal. in a survey of students at the university of kentucky, they said that they considered adderall an amphetamine about as dangerous as an energy drink. back to you. >> elizabeth thank you. in case you were wondering, jarred got an "a" on that exam. coming up next, the controversy over this t-shirt. have you seen this.

it says this. i'm too pretty to do homework so my brother has to do it for me. j.c. penney has pulled it from its stores after parents complained, pulled it off the website where it was sell. do you agree with that? when we come back, i'll ask someone who definitely did her homework. she's a big tv star and has a phd in gnu science and i'm betting you can guess how she feels about it. she joins me next. hey ! chocolate, vanilla or strawberry ? chocolate ! chocolate it is ! yeah, but i'm new, too. umm... he's new... er... than you. even kids know it's wrong to treat new friends better than old friends. at ally bank, we treat all our customers fairly, with no teaser rates and no minimum deposit to open. it's just the right thing to do.

okay. this is all over the internet. it's a t-shirt for young girls offered on the j.c. penney website. it says -- i'm too pretty to do home work, so my brother has to do it for me. is the shirt was being offered

for girls started ages 7 to 16. i emphasize "was" here, because j.c. penney got hit with so much outrage it yanked the shirt from the website. take a look at some of the tweets. they're too pretty for home work t-shirt sends worst message ever. repugnant. and dear j.c. penney, your too pretty for home work shirt promotes sexist values. so we wanted to talk to a really smart girl about this t-shirt and the message it sends, we called of maya bialik, she plays am request on "the big bang theory" two very smart loess. in real life she has a ph.d. in neuroscience. good to have you on. >> thanks for having me. >> you heard about the t shirr. i know you have two boys, but if

you had a little girl, would you buy it for her? >> if that's the question you're asking me, no, i would certainly not. if the shirt said i'm too handsome, i would buy it, either. >> why, mayim? >> i think it's a great opportunity to saying this is not even about j.c. penney, this is about, you know, in what ways do we think it's funny to joke? i think a lot of people will probably accuse me and many others of taking this too that seriously and it's just cute, about you itunder scores an important point, what is funny to joke about. i don't think it's terribly funny personally to joke about girls being, quote, too funny to do home work. >> we reached out to j.c. penney, but i'm going to read the statement they said to "los angeles times." we agree that the t-shirt does not deliver an appropriate message, and we have immediately discontinued its sale. they go on, the merchandise

is -- mayim, what was it like growing up for you, you know, child star, you're smart, did you ever get pressured, do you feel pressure to be more cute, less smart? how did you handle that? >> i think it's a pressure that at least most girls in our culture specifically experience, whether you're on television or not. obviously the pressure when you're in an industry that values thin and pretty more than anything, i think maybe i experienced it differently, but i've always been a character actress and probably always will be because of how i look. but i went to public school in los angeles, and i think anyone who was not on tv as a female growing up in this culture can tell you it is highly emphasized hand favored to be attractive, to be thin, and it's spreading to boys more as well. so i think that's something we should all -- again that's the point we should take from this. it's not about censorship, it's not about j.c. penney, it's about the dialogue can we get

going that we value. >> ms. ph.d. in neuroscience, let me show this contrarian view -- >> i saw it yesterday. >> geek girls network, she says this -- she knows she should be outraged, but if her girls wanted it, she would buy it. i have enough confidence in my kids to know they won't be swayed by silly sayings on a t-shirt, it may make them laugh, but it won't mark their moral decline. does she have a point? >> she has an absolute academic point, but again this is not an academic discussion of does a t shirr make you think you don't have to do home work. that's not at all the point. the point is what do we think is acceptable to joke about? how do we think it's funny to emphasize what's important. talk to any 12 years old girl and ask them what they would rather do, win a nobel prize or by on america's top model.

their answers should astound us. what is making girls thing and feel that way? let's take the focus off the silly t-shirt. >> if i could make a t-shirt, what would it say? >> science rules? i don't know. >> scientist with the cool girls. thank you so much. see you on "the big bang theory." thank you for calling in. we thought that would be fun. a story you have to hear. things got so bad for this father of one, no money, no job, foreclosure looming, he up and left his child behind. not with family, with his neighbors. please ended up tracking him down, essentially across the country. let's say he is in big, big trouble. what do you think, though? did he on do the right thing? is it a sign of the times? we'll talk about it, coming up. r from neutrogena naturals. removes 99% of dirt and toxins without dyes, parabens, or harsh sulfates. so skin feels pure and healthy. [ female announcer ] new from neutrogena naturals.

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time for your cnn equals politics update. let's go to wolf blitzer with stories fresh off the ticker. so great to see you yesterday. >> thank you, brooke. great. it was a great cnn dialogue over tess carter center t. i really enjoyed it. i think the audience did as well. >> it was fantastic. >> that's a good word. let's do a little political ticker right now. first of all, it's official. eight republican presidential candidates at the cnn tea party express debate that's coming up on september 12th in tampa.

i'll be moderating that debate, and it's going to be a good debate, a serious debate. we'll hear what all the candidates, the republican presidential candidates have to say. on some in poll numbers that we're getting in, not necessarily such great numbers for the president of the united states when it comes to his handling of the economy. only 34% approve of the job he's doing on the economy. 65% disapproved. how are things going in the country right now? this is the classic right track/wrong track question. 28% think things are going well. 73% think things are going badly. when you ask pollsters what the most important question they ask the american people every election cycle is right track/wrong track, is the country moving in the right direction or wrong direction, some variant of that question, when an overwhelming majority of the incumbents almost always suffer at the polls.

so that's a question politicians watch very, very closely, whether democrat orepublican. >> brooke? >> thank you very much. we'll check in with you next hour. how just about the top of the hour. watch this. as a powerful storm is brewing in the gulf, big oil companies are evacuating. i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. the tale of two sons. one gadhafi says the family is still fighting, while another talks of possibly surrendering. and now their father speaking out from hiding. the president's jobs plans. we don't know what's in it. we don't know how it will be presented, but somehow controversy erupts over when he reveals it. >> this is sort of unheard of in politics.

glee plus another chapter in a gruesome mystery, a shoe washes ashore with a human foot inside. make that nearly a dozen in four years. and a woman et cetera wallet, cell phones, even letters belonging to the hijackers. >> it would be emotional for any american. >> we are now getting a look at evidence from 9/11. haunting pieces of grief. i'm going to begin this hour with a question to you -- what the heck does it take to get a jobs speech scheduled? the last time i checked, unemployment is at 9.1%, but the white house seemed to get its signals crossed to when to unveiled the president's plan. john boehner pushed back on that white house proposal for a joint session of congress next wednesday.

here's a bit more of the white house briefing just a short time ago. >> there's a perception among even democrats that he doesn't have enough clout with the hill to figure out what day it is. how is he going to pass a plan to help the american people? >> you guys, i think your obsession with this -- >> it's not an obsession. >> what the american people expect the president and senators and congress men and women to do is listen to them, and take action. they do not give a lick about what day next week the president speaks before congress. let's talk a bit more about this with a.b. stoddard, associate editor of "the hill." how could the white house not know that john boehner might object to that joint session? >> well, the white house certainly did not get its signals crossed. it absolutely knew it was the night of a big republican debate. even if the white house team did

not anticipate that speaker boehner would respond by blocking the request and objecting, playing equally silly partisan games, it was the wrong move. it was a fight that the white house should not have picked. they knew this would spark accusations of politics, even if they welcomed him for a joint session on wednesday, september 7th, which they ended up not doing, but it was really a risk they shouldn't have taken with a very important speech, when they're down in the polls, an opportunity lost, and i think it was a huge mistake and misfire on their part. >> we all have to deal with schedules. a lot of is maintain calendars, so let's look at this graphic. this shows next week. first you'll see mitt romney, by the way, he is unveiling a jobs plans tuesday, so the president is beaten to the punch already there. then fast-forward to wednesday. as we know that's the gop debate. thursday, hello, start of pro football, what could possibly be

more important -- slightly facetious there -- after that you're into the weekend which includes the tenth anniversary of the september 11th attacks. so a.b. stoddard, how did the white house get so boxed in when it promised this speech? >> well, i mean, look, they could have given this speech whenever they wanted to. they announced it a month ago, raising expectations that i don't think can be met. the american people have been waiting for this speech for over a year. i think this is really a mistake on their part. they didn't have to schedule this important speech between mitt romney and the opening of the nfl season. it's just a box they put themselves in, and at this point, their speech is going to come right after -- not only mitt romney's unveiling of his own jobs plan, but a debate. it looks like a rebuttal, it looks like a political speech. it's not how he wanted it to be received and he will lose some audience to football that night. >> all the talk about this speech, and a lot of folks seem

to be it's all window dressing in the first place. whatever it is that the president poses, republicans seem unlikely to go along with the president's plan. am ilright? >> it is very true. one of the main proposals that the president has is to extend this payroll tax cut, which is set to expire by the end of the year. it is something he thought the republicans would surely agree with. they are saying no. they're going to have a fight over the gas tax. there's uninsurance employment. -- excuse me, unemployment insurance, lots of things on the table that they're already brittling at. you can tell by this incidents that they are not in the mood to work with him. he really has to propose something center-right that republicans have agreed on in the past. if he trying to pick a fight over more stimulus, it's going to go nour. >> again, the president, joint session of congress next

thursday, pre-football. a.b. stoddard of "the hill" thank you. let's go with rapid fire we're watching two storms that could threaten the southeastern part of the country. a low pressure system developing there in the central gulf of mexico has prompted the evacuation of multiple oil rigs, and hurricanes katya gaining strength right now it's a category 1 hurricane, but that could change at in point in time. we're going to talk to bonny schneider sitting in today about the possibilities of that coming up in 15 minutes. also this -- this is istanbul, turkey, violence on the streets. ethnic kurds were holding a rally to celebrate world peace day and dozens of kurdish youths

apparently started throwing pet roll bombs and stones at the security forces. kurds in turkey are in the minority, they have been out there on the streets protesting, because many are angry the turkish military has been attacking their villages. next see this. joran van der sloot is now charged with murder in the death of that peruvian murder, he was arrested in the death of stephany flores. he was once the prime suspect in the disappearance of natalie holloway, who many years ago disappeared from aruba. peruvian prosecutors are seeking a 30-year sentence with van der sloot. they also want him to pay her family $73,000 in restitution. and now, watch this with me. this is newly released video here of the last moment right when that earthquake hit, remember that 5.8 earthquake rattling the east coast. this is louisa county, virginia,

not too far from the epicenter. you saw the light falling out of it. students running out of their classrooms. this is more new video, the first post-quake look inside the beautiful washington national cathedral. those nets are there to try to catch some of the falling ceiling debris. the quake -- keep in mind the cathedral is going to be open for the tenth anniversary of september 11th. call it a grisly new chapter in that bizarre mystery in british columbia. another severed leg bone and foot has been found in the water just outside of downdown vancouver. the food was stuck in a running shoe. this is the 11th several foot found in the waters in the court of the past four years. that police say the remains don't -- british columbia coroner is conducting dna tests.

they have identified some of the other feet, but why they keep showing up, still a mystery. take a look at this. >> you feel for the little boy, because he's had his whole world ripped from him. >> an unemployed father close to losing his home writes a note to his 11-year-old son and then you have and leaves him all alone. ahead you'll hear the heartbreaking words and where police finally tracked this father down. but coming up next, moammar gadhafi calls for war. the ousted libyan leader speaking from his hideout with a direct message to his enemies. his son is warning if you come to our hometown, be prepared. nic robertson is standing by. oln stopped and thought and said: free 'cause that's how it ought to be my brother credit 'cause you'll need a loan for one thing or another score 'cause they break it down to one simple number that you can use dot to take a break because the name is kinda long com in honor of the internet that it's on

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as we mentioned this once before, moammar gadhafi, 40 years to the day here since his violent rise to power, now threatening to plunge libya into a drawn-out civil war. let's listen to moammar gadhafi himself, a message to his supporters, airing earlier today. >> translator: go. attack them. confuse them. take the -- of the arms. we have the people. we are the power. all they are is armed traitors. go, they will stop. the excitement will stop. i want to take you live to tripoli. nick knick, i know that was earlier today, but i'm says hearing we're awaiting -- or perhaps we've gotten another message from gadhafi speaking right now. what are you hearing?

>> well, he does seem to be part of the way into another speech. for the first time, the first speech we have haeshd, i would say months and months and months, where he sounds remotely calm. they have done an echo effects on his voice. and the says speech is interesting, now called the capital of resistance. he's say because that's where nato is focusing its bombing, about 250 miles east of here, the town surrounded by rebels has had until the weekend to surrender. he's also talking interestingly as well about the man made river here he says that nato and the

rebels have been monopolizing or using this river, which is interesting, because essentially gadhafi has cut off that water supply coming into capital, for the first time is talking about it, but he's saying the people of libya have been forced to fight. this is not as angry, not as such a call to arms, if you will p. still very defiant, but a new steptone, a more relaxed tone. >> why, though? because we hadn't heard from him in a little while, why twice in one day, and always as you had mentioned the previous message he mentioned to his followers, you may not hear from me for a is couple days. can you speak to those two points?

>> reporter: i think it's hard to analyze. we've had different messages, two messages from him today, another one a few days before. it gives the impression that this regime is flailing, it doesn't floe which way to turn. the most consider of his government officials to be captured, or at least hand themselves into the rebels, that hand overnight last night, so really he must recognize, must see his regime is collapsing. it's the 42nd anniversary, if you will, of when he took power, so perhaps this is an indicate that he and his family, the regime know they have their back to the wall, and essentially they're breaking down, if you will, too soon to say they're over. but this may indicate they're flailing, not getting the support that they always talked they have here.

>> the threatened assault on the hometown of sirirt. >> i think there's a number of things at play. >> they do need to take control of siirt. the leaders are in paris right now with hillary clinton, nicholas sear cosey, and the message is you need to be democratic, so it's not going to look good if -- in siirt, it may also be because they're hearing from the elders that there is room for negotiations rather than rush it to a conclusion that won't be positive and therefore they'll have to go in and fight. we've been hearing from our own fred pleitgen some of these guys are young students who have come

back from the united states, from europe, to join the fight here, and some of them are ready to go back to their lives. they don't want to sort of continue fighting, so i think there's a lot of things at play here. a sense among the fighters this can be achieved. also at play from date. we're also hearing about long lines -- a dire lack of water. how long does the jbeil lance last? >> you know, i think we're beginning to break through some of that. if you will, the party is beginning to be over. but on the plus side, people are seeing changes. they know the fuel trucks having getting to the gas stations, so they see the trucks getting there inch by inch their cars

are moving along the lines, incredibly frustrating, but they can see things are stepping in the right direction. water is still a big issue, but they know gadhafi is responsible. also the united nations bringing in food today, half a million, there's a ship behind me in the harbor, i was down there when it docked, bringing in half a million liters of water. it is a drop in the bucket, but the people can see there are some positive changes coming. there's a lot work and hurting. >> as always, many thanks to you. back home, oil companies are right now evacuating their rig workers, as a pourerful storm disturbance is brewing. we're going to tell you where it's heading.

plus a crisis unfolding before our very eyes, even though irene is long gone, folks are still stranded, they are still waiting for help. emergency crews can't even get into some of these towns. i'll speak with a mother of two little ones, who was one of those stranded. find out what has her very concerned. you'll hear a heartbreaking story. be right back. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money to buy a car that's one model-year newer... with 15,000 fewer miles on it. there's no other auto insurance product like it. better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual.

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whether we finally close the book on irene, right now i want you to hear from a woman who survived. she hiked for almost five hours through storm-damaged terrain, trying to find her horses. deborah lyon is on the phone

with me from jamaica, vermont. before we talk about your family, did you find all your horses? >> i did i. i found both of my horses. they were a little shaken up, but they were fine. >> i know that you're one of the only ones i've talked to in vermont. i've talked to a number of people in the past couple days without power. you have power. it sounds like you were pretty prepared in terms of having extra food, putting water in trash cans, but what about use you are neighbors? were any as forward-thinking? >> most of them were, yes. >> how prepared were they? >> everyone took in supplies as much as they could the day before, and just followed the regular emergency procedures. i understand you came upon a 13-year-old girl.

tell me about her. >> oh, it was tragic. i had about a 2 1/2 window of opportunity to get to the horses and back. so i scaled the side of a mountain to try to get over to where the roads were broken. i just kept running, running. there was a young girl. half of her house was wiped out, and their yard was gone. i just looked at her. she had tears in her eyes. it just broke my heart, but i just kept moving forward to try to get to my destination, because i hadn't heard from my sister and her husband, because they were right in the middle of it all. >> so i found them. they're okay. >> back to the 13-year-old with tears in her eyes, did you talk to her at all? what was she saying? we shared a glance, and i just looked at her with a sympathetic look and mouthed, it's going to be okay. i had to keep going. >> i understand your concern right now is looking ahead to winter. what are you normally doing at this time of year to prepared, and as a result of the storm,

what is that preventing you from doing? >> oh, my goodness. most people here in vermont, their secondary -- or first form of heat is wood, so everybody is trying to get their wood in this time of year, buckle down, get their gardens closed up, their hay in the barns for their animals and livestock. those who have been waiting on that are not prepared. so it's going to be difficult to get wood and hay into your barns. >> we're bracing ourselves. it's about four weeks off before the first snow flies. hopefully the roads will be repaired enough so people can get through. the large trucks definitely can't get through. i know the logging trucks can't bring the lotion logs out to the

mills. >> i didn't realize it got that cold that fast? vermont. deborah lyon, best of luck to you. i want you to look at this now. this is a tropical disturbians. that's what we're calling it for now. it has folks worried. major companies are ordering their workers to get out, to evacuate. i want to bring in bonnie schneid schneider. what is so frightening? how huge is this thing? >> there's two things frightening about it. the fact it will be such a big rain maker. the second problem is all this rain will keep on coming the same place over and over again for the next few days. a lot of the thunderstorms hitting alabama and into louisiana right now. the problem is the computer models in the short term are

taking it on the lest. what's important to note also is i mention, will it stick around? that's a problem. when the storm meanders in the gulf, it continues to pump a lot of moisture. the water temperature is about 88 degrees, very warm and ripe for tropical systems, to look at this bull's-eye. ten inches plus, so the computer models are forecasting very heavy rain for the southeastern parishes of louisiana. it would be wonderful to get all of this here. >> in texas. >> that's where they need the rain, but the models are drawing it toward louisiana. this could fluctuate and change, and we're waiting for the 5:00 update from the national hurricanes center. you can see on google earth, hundreds of oil riggs here set up in the gulf of mexico. will have see some of the precaution being taken. when there's a storm, they start

evacuate i evacuating we're going to monitor it for you. >> bonnie, thank you very much. now, did you hear this? >> are you suggesting that the bible and that the catholic church is bigoted? well, if that's what you believe, fine. >> things got heated between cnn's piers morgan and rick santorum, but not as heated as the republican's next incident. still ahead, video of a college student confronting mr. santorum over same-sex marriage. neither side backs down. lisa dejardin is standing by. first, good news, allstate unveiled its list of the safest cities to drive in america today. the list is based on the frequency of auto accidents in each city. first the good news. the three safest cities, coming in at number 3, lincoln,

nebraska. number 2, boise, idaho. the safest city on the road? ft. collins, colorado. our associate producer craig shultz likes to point out that's where he went to school, go rams. it is the second year in a row that it's been rated on the list. what about the most dangerous? can you think of who they may be? we'll show you the top two after the break. let me tell you about a very important phone call i made.

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okay. so before the break, we were talking about the safest cities to drive in america. did you figure out where the two most dangerous cities must be? buckle up, here they are. number two, baltimore, maryland. and the most dangerous city, not too far from baltimore, washington, d.c. apparently the city has an accident rate more than 60% higher than the national average. each driver on average is involved in a collision, yikes, once every six year. staying in d., counter, not

on a collision course here, let's go to lisa with radio news from the political ticker. let's talk about presidential candidate rick santorum. we know he spoke at penn status night. the subject of same-sex marriage was brought up, it sparked quite a back-and-forth that was all caught on camera. explain. >> how about it? that's right. you know, it's funny. santorum is a republican senator, that's where we are right now in the senate. there's a podium he used to speak at. but you're reit, first with our piers morgan on air, then after that, as as you said, brooke, he went to his alma mater, penn state, he spoke to a group of students, defended his views as being based on the bible. he blasted our piers morgan, and then, brooke, came round 2 for santorum, when a student questioned him. listen to this. >> the american psychological

association has been -- >> i understand. >> from since 1974. >> i understand that. the america psychological association is a group of people who agree with the american psychological association, just like the ama -- -- >> other people who are educated. >> excuse me, a lot of psychologist don't belong to the association. a lot of doctors don't belong to the american medical association. all these associations prove is that they have a point of view and the people who join them -- >> you just asked for -- >> so how about that? >> we could see he's surrounded by the students at penn state, but it's one gal, i guess, off who does a lot of the talking. who is she? >> right. we do. actually there were two students who questioned him about his view on homosexuality, but one who did most of it. i talked to some reporters from the daily newspaper there, they gave me the name of who they think it is. i don't want to give it out,

because i haven't confirmed it, but that name matches a person who is very involved with a pro-lesbian and -- she's also involved in a poetry group, so it seems she does have a stake in this issue to some degree. it's interesting, brooke, there was a protest right before this appearance by mr. santorum, gay and lesbian students from the transgender community as well on campus, loudly were cheering "we are not straight." then when santorum came through, they were silent but held up signs against his point of view. he really had had quite a night between piers morgan, then a protest, and then being confronted. >> yeah, these candidates bess piers, and then the students. tough, tough crowds. >> it's interesting. >> lisa, thanks very much. crews race out to put the

new flames out. also the facts behind venus williams' diagnosis, and whether the tennis star will actually ever fully recover. plus criminals have a new way to steal your atm pin, and there's veer zero way to protect yourself. well-being. we're all striving for it. purina cat chow helps you nurture it in your cat with a full family of excellent nutrition and helpful resources. purina cat chow. share a better life. [ doorbell rings ] hello there. i'm here to pick up helen. ah. mom? he's here. nice wheels. oh, thanks. keeps me young. hello there, handsome. your dinner's in the microwave, dear. ♪

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an illness sidelines one of the world's top tennis players. jim spellman, let's start with you. i see a lot of scorched land over your shoulders. give me an update. >> yeah, take a look at this, brooke. they've been working on this part of the fire today doing helicopters drops. we still have these areas flaring up. just after we spoke, we saw a -- right now they paused that to try to bring some air tankers in to douse this with larger amounts of retardant. right now a firefighters just told me this is the most difficult time of the day to fight these fires, because the winds are picking up pretty significantly.

we can see how it's kind of changing the smoke patterns here, and creating some, you know, more challenges, because these flying embers, they fly down from the edge of the fire and start a whole new spot. they have made a lot of progress. they're still saying this fire is 50% contained. they're trying to put together a palace to get other people back, but with these severe drought conditions, this can break out anytime almost anywhere in this region and have more fires going. >> another challenge you were pointing out, isn't there one road in, one road out kind of thing? how did the evacuation process go? is everyone okay? >> yeah, well, these are communities along a lake. on one side you have a lake, then usually just one road bringing you in. that caused a lot of problems. some people had to evacuate by boat. so they're really cautious. they're not letting people back in without feeling like they

have secured the area, but they actually apologized in advance. if you come back and tell you to leave again, we're sorry, but be ready to go. they have to be ready to move. >> jim spellman, thank you very much, sir. next on reporter roulette, don't get your hopes up. carina huber, the forecast is not pretty? >> no, it doesn't. the white house is less optimistic about the economy than in february. glue to be more in line with most other forecasts. the white house also sees the unemployment rate falling, but only slowly. the normal unemployment rate is below 6%. the white house says we won't

get there for another six years, so we have a bumpy road ahead of us, brooke? >> the other story is we all have a p.i.n. to get cash out of the atm machines, so these crashy criminals coming up with a new way. dare i ask how? >> okay it is a crafty new way. i know it works, because this happened to one of my friends. it's all about body heat. so hackers can basically steal your atm code from the heat that your fingers leave behind on the keys. researchers at uc san diego figured it out. we have a picture. take a look. hackers must use a high-quality infrared camera within 90 seconds. the good news is the high-quality infrared cameras can cost upwards of 15 grand. this is not your regular crook that will be able to pull this one off. it only works on plastic keypads. there is a way to handle the

problem. before you walk around, touch all the keys and then purel your hands. >> very smart, karina. tennis star venus williams, breaking news, she pulls out of the u.s. open. she says she as an autoimmune disease called sjogren's. >> brooke, it's really impossible to predict how venus will do with this disease. there are about 4 million people who have sjogren's, most of them women, and it affects them in various ways. some are able to run marathons, for others it really is debilitating. it's impossible to say how she's going to do. one, will she be able to continue to play tennis. the other is, will she be able

to continue to play at the level she's been playing. now, venus says she was having health problems for some time before a doctor figured it out. >> i lost a lot of feel. i would miss shots by feet. i couldn't feel my hands. my hands would hurt. i was swelling, numbness, and then fatigue, which is really debilitating. i just didn't have any energy. and it's not that you don't have energy, you just feel beat up. >> this is a dizzy where to get the right diagnosis, you obvious do have to be an empowered patient. when you see the symptoms you'll see why. people who have this disease, they have dry eyes and mouth, often joint pain and fatigue. you know what? those are symptoms of many, many diseases. so if someone fears they have this disease, the first thing to do is go to cnn.com/empoweredpatient. read all about this disease. then if you think it's possible you have it, go to your doctor and ask if it's possible. even when you do get the right

diagnosis, doctors cannot cure sjogren's dome. all they do is treat the symptoms. and really do the best that they can. brooke? >> elizabeth cohen, thank you very much. that's today's reporter roulette. she was going to take her 4-year-old daughter to disneyland. there were some families that got no human remains back. for the first time the feds revealing evidence from the world trade center site, haunting memories of what was left behind and what crews found will forever change the way the fbi operates. that's next.

a woman's wallet, cell phones, even page serious, letters from the hijackers themselves, the feds in washington's newsium releasing never before illustrate seen items. they have forever changed the way the fbi works. here is athena jones.

a mother et cetera wale et and credit card, packed for a trip cut short, when united flight 175 struck the south tower. there were some families that got no human remains back, so it was important for them to get anything, whether a wedding ring or credit card, a wallet, a shoes. >> 60 artifacts make up the exhibit. items used as evidence in the fbi's investigation into the september 11th attacks, line engines parts hijackers' passports found, and part of the a five-page letter translated from arabic that was given to each of the 19 hijackers with instructions on how to spend their last night. and several more personal items

like cell phones and pagesers that rang for days. part of an effort to remember and educate. >> the story was not only the investigation, but also how it changed the fbi forever. the miss was indelably changed by 9/is 1. >> reporter: the fbi's top priority was to prevent another attack, and the exhibit includes articles from the shoe bomber case, like richard reid's boarding pass, shoes, and the four matches he struck in his attempt to bring down his transatlantic flight in september 2001. but it's the items from september 11th that hit home the most. >> it would be emotional for any american, so it's so searing, still so hard too believe, at least for me, even though it's been ten years. >> athena jones, thank you. something else to point out, crews found 61 police vehicles article more than 100 fire department vehicles among the

debris, it gives you a sense of the scale -- if you've got been to the neuweum, go. for the very first time in eight years of war, not one american family heard a knock at the door last month only to hear that your loved one has died in iraq, but the exact opposite can be said about afghanistan, where muir americans died there than any other month in nearly a decade of war. so all told, 5,843 u.s. service men and women never made it home from sets country.

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here's a quick check on libya. there's another sign how it needs both an end to the fighting. take a look from tripoli from dan rivers. >> reporter: well, the fuel situation in tripoli is still pretty bad. there are still incredibly long queues. it's better than it used to be. this is the back of the queue for gas. i want to show you just how long it is. this queue just goes on and on and on. it's ironic, because libya has the largest oil supply of the whole of africa, the ninth largest in the world. experts say it has some 23 years of oil reserves. but now all the people in this queue care about is when they pet roll queues are going to

subside. some of them say they've been waiting in the scorching heat for hours. and finally, this is the front of the queue. the coastal road is open, so it means some supplies are coming in, but you get the idea of just what an agonizing wait it is simply to fill up your car. dan rivers, cnn, tripoli. dan rivers, thank you very much. we're also getting news that a small earthquake in california. several of you already tweeted me. we're making calls. more details after this break. ag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business -- it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities, so we're helping them with advice from local business experts and extending $18 billion in credit last year. that's how we're helping set opportunity in motion.

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i know a lot of you in the l.a. area felt this, an earthquake there. let's go to bonnie schneider. apparently one of our producers was talking to, i said to say her mom, the lamps and chairs totally shaking. >> and of course anytime you have a quake, you have the risk of aftershocks. 4.1 quake is considered light on the magnitude scale. remember, we just had a 5.8 quake a week ago that was considered moderate near mineral, virginia, that shook everyone up. so this one, you can see the distance just to the south and east, but considered in the l.a. area, 4.1 is the magnitude. we're monitoring to see if there's any aftershocks.

we're still gathering data to see how many people felt this quake, but we can say it's a light quake in a fairly populated area. we'll have more soon. >> a lot of people i'm sure felt it. tweet us, if you did. bonnie, thank you very much. now, i just want to tell this story. down on his luck minnesota dad, unemployed, owing money from lawsuits, about to lose his home. he writes a set of notes, one to a neighbor, and the other two his 11-year-old son, who's fast asleep while the dad is writing these notes in a house his father built. so he tells the boy, take his playstay, take the notes to the nape. before disappearing into the night, he writes this. if this paper is wet, it's because i'm crying so bad. you know your dad loves you more than anything. there are many great years ahead for you, not so for me. then this father drives off, all

alone. listen to this woman. she lives just across the street. >> i think he knew he was losing his house quickly, and i think he just kind of snapped. you would see them playing catch in the front yard, so from all appearances seemed to be an engaged father and was good to his son. you feel for the little boy, because he just had his whole world ripped from him. >> we have the reporter from the pioneer press newspaper in minneapolis writing about this story. maricel, first, is the boy okay? >> right now the boy is currently living with an aunt, but that's just a temporary situation. >> so he's with a maternal aunt, where is dad? how did they find him? wasn't he? california? >> yes, yes, he was in california. police here locally were in touch with california authorities who, you know, found

him through e-mails living in the coastal city of carmel at first, then he went sown to cambrio, where he was working in a deli, living in a van. >> what was so bad for this father that he just up and leaves his kid? >> well, he lost his home in a foreclosure back in january, and the home actually was taken just in july. he said he had mounting bills. he lost his home. he was out of work. he was an architect who was out of work, so i guess hi figured his only option was to leave. >> apparently from jail he told a california tv reporter it was tough being a single dad. i didn't want him to remember his dad as homeless, so where is mom? and when is dad coming homto