more of its energy into a smaller car. i would have certain, you know, concerns about the overall safety. >> for the price that you pay for this car, what are you competing against? >> the 500 is pretty highly priced. $18,000. you can buy an awful lot. you can look at the other sort of budget cars which are in this area such as the honda fit, mini, accent, fiesta. >> your overall view of this car? >> it's a cute little car. it might be difficult to live with, like a pair of high heels. you look good in them, they're cute, but it's a bit uncomfortable and you really wouldn't want to live in those on a day-to-day basis. >> thanks very much. >> thanks, ali. if your choice did not win or you just want to check out the runners-up, i'll have the links on suzanne's page. "cnn newsroom" continues with randi kaye. >> hello, drew. thank you. it is 1:00 p.m. in the east. high noon in texas, where the

worst fire season in history gets worse by the hour. this is the worst of the worst. southeast of austin, 30,000 acres consumed, hundreds of homes destroyed, zero containment. this fire started sunday, barely 48 hours ago, and already governor rick perry calls it as mean a fire as he has ever seen and he's seen a whole lot of wildfires this year. the texas forest service counts 294 consecutive days of wildfires somewhere in the state. you see the numbers here behind me. not coincidentally, it's been a year of historic drought. so far this year, more than 3 1/2 million acres have burned, about as much land as the entire state of connecticut. in the past 48 hours, more than 700 homes have been lost. many, many more are now in danger. we don't have room to list all the fires that are burning right now or even all of the biggest ones, actually, so here's just a sampling for you. there's the bastrop fire. in travis county, a fire has

burned 6500 acres and 67 homes. you may also recall the palo pinto fire, almost 40 homes have been lost there. that one is finally almost contained. that's not the case in cass county. at last word, this fire covered 7,000 acres and was spreading at will. this 3,000 acre grimes county fire broke out yesterday. the forest service says it's showing extreme behavior, at least 20 homes lost so far. jim spelman joins us from the bastrop blaze. we should start with some good news. i understand it's not a windy day there today. >> reporter: no, it's not. there's a lot more smoke around us right now than there has been previously. that's actually good news. that means the wind is not blowing and clearing the smoke out. so while the smoke is sitting down here and everything's calm, firefighters have a chance to try to get ahead of this on the ground and in the air with helicopters and choppers. 2500 people here are registered as evacuees. a lot of them had literally

minutes to get out, with nothing more than the clothes on their back. we got a chance to catch up with one family, the johnson family. here's what they had to say. >> at a time like this when everybody is in the same situation, you really can't think of yourself. you have to think of the town as a whole and really just try to help whoever you can, because there are a lot of people that have absolutely no idea what's going on. i think it's better for us that we know at least what happened to our house. >> you think what would i take if i had five minutes, and look around. what's irreplaceable? the kids and the dog. everything else is stuff. >> everyone says that you lose the memories from your house when it burns down but that's the one thing that i think we still have. >> the memories, yeah. >> i really believe it -- i mean, i do believe it. i know our house is gone. >> it won't register until we really see it in person because

we haven't had, you know, we haven't -- i don't think it registered in our brains that our house is gone and that really, half of bastrop is gone. >> reporter: so randi, it will take a long time for them to rebuild their personal lives and for these towns to come back. with so many more wildfires breaking out all the time, it's hard for anybody here to even get their breath and think about the future until this drought is behind them and this fire season is as well. randi? >> with all the fires still burning, i understand that some evacuees, at least some of them are being allowed back into their homes, back into their neighborhoods? >> reporter: yeah, a community on the other side, the west side of austin, 24 homes there lost, they are allowing residents back in there 1:00 local time today. they're telling everybody to be so careful because all the same conditions exist. the severe drought, the heat and if the winds pick up, whatever parts of that fire are still burning could reignite. they're telling people look, if

you have, if you can come back, come back but be ready to leave again at a moment's notice. that will go for all these fires. hard to say definitively that any area is safe when so much of texas is under these severe drought conditions. >> let's talk about this bastrop fire. this is a massive fire. is it still 0% contained? if so, what are firefighters doing to attack it? >> reporter: yeah. they have the two-pronged approach. it is still 0% contained. they hope by the end of the day they get some containment. on the ground, they have to build a fire line. they have to create a barrier between the active fire and the fuel of the trees around it. so out here with chainsaws, bulldozers, trying to knock down and create that line so they can starve the fire of more fuel. from the air, it's helicopters, airplanes, trying to drop water and fire retardant as much as they can to slow it down and to do sort of spot impacts around structures and stuff. they've added about 120 some

firefighters today, they may add more to try to get to this. they know when the winds are calm like this, they have to make every minute count, trying to get some control over it. >> how thick is the air there for these folks? i've covered wildfires before just like you, and usually it's pretty difficult to breathe out there. i'm just curious for the residents and for the firefighters. >> reporter: well, until just literally about an hour or two ago, it was very clear because there was a strong wind knocking everything south which is away from town and away from austin. but as the winds die down, it's all seeping into town here. really, i would say pretty soon it's going to be the point where people will want to put on masks or something. it's starting to get that where you feel it in the back of your throat. >> jim spellman, thank you very much. chad myers joins me from the weather center. the folks in texas certainly didn't get the rain they wanted from tropical storm lee but at least the winds have died down. >> they only got the wind yesterday and saturday. that's it. the storm just kind of came in

very close to new orleans, kind of headed on up toward the northeast and all that was back on this side was the wind. the winds were gusting to 30 miles per hour. they were also gusting to 30 and 45 miles per hour on the east side of the storm, but bringing in very beneficial rains for parts of the east. even into the southeast. there are still at least 60 fires burning from texarcana to the south of san antonio, that little blob right there. that's that fire. the fire that's completely still out of control. when we talk about containment, how many miles around actually is the fire stopped. that's so far zero. the wind will continue to come out of the north at five miles per hour today, but by the end of tomorrow and into thursday, we will see the winds coming in from the east and that will blow this smoke back into georgetown, back into austin and into round rock itself. that could be more of a problem. here's where the wind is going now. there's austin, texas. there's the smoke from the fire blowing down toward corpus christi. corpus christi, if you have an amazing sunset, that's because

of the smoke particles in the air right now. that's at the cost of the people up there in bastrop county. when the winds start to come in from the east, austin, you will be in much more danger for that smoke. not saying there's going to be winds and embers blowing back into austin because the winds will only be ten miles per hour, but it will be more as you talked about it, it will be more of a smoke problem than anything else. >> chad, we'll check back with you later on as well. other stories developing this hour. in addition to being a natural disaster, hurricane irene could be a disaster for the federal budget. the white house now believes relief efforts will cost taxpayers $1.5 billion. that is on top of more than $5 billion needed for other recent disasters and the federal emergency management agency has only about $800 million left in its reserves for the current fiscal year. republican house majority leader eric cantor says any increase in disaster relief funding should be offset by cutting other parts of the federal budget. that could touch off a new congressional spending fight. illinois may become the next state to lay off workers. the chicago tribune reports that

governor pat quinn will issue thousands of layoff notices this week. it also says he will announce plans to close a number of state facilities, including a prison. state workers are expected to oppose any layoffs. a union spokesman says layoffs would violate collective bargaining agreements. a lawsuit is likely. quinn's budget office says the state faces a multi-million dollar shortfall and unless action is taken, several agencies may run out of money by the spring. michele bachmann's presidential campaign is in flux today. campaign manager ed rollins will move into an advisory role and deputy campaign manager david polianski is leaving. rollins, who had a stroke a year and a half ago, says he no longer has the endurance to work 12 or 14 hours a day. politico.com reports that polianski had strategic differences with bachmann. with rick perry's entry into the republican presidential race, a recent cnn/orc poll showed bachmann slipping to fourth place among possible gop contenders. a campaign strategist is taking

over as bachmann's interim campaign manager. michele bachmann was among five candidates in the conservative spotlight in south carolina last night. bachmann, mitt romney, ron paul, herman cain and newt gingrich faced questions. it started with this. >> he's the most effective food stamp president in american history. and if you think about it, that's actually a tragedy. >> on day one of my administration, i will direct the secretary of health and human services to grant a waiver from obama care to all 50 states. >> the constitution does not specifically enumerate, nor does it give to the federal government the role and duty to superintend over education. >> i would bring the troops home. it would be a big boon to the economy. i believe we would have a stronger national defense, not a weaker national defense. >> i happen to believe this administration is weakening america militarily. this is not what americans want.

>> texas governor rick perry was a last-minute scratch from the forum. he had to go home to deal with the texas wildfires. your taxes, labor unions and oil. we'll explain how all these play into one word, jobs. are you curious about new ideas? do you want to learn a new language, or just a new word? maybe you want to know more about anatomy, or astronomy.

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jobs and the economy. those will be two pivotal campaign issues in the 2012 election. president barack obama will play out his plans on thursday. he gave us a little preview yesterday in detroit. next up, republican presidential candidate mitt romney will reveal his big jobs plan in nevada in just a couple hours. romney gave a sneak peek of his plan in a "usa today" op-ed. here's a breakdown of his plan that consists of 59 specific

proposals. the big thing is taxes. romney wants to lower personal and corporate tax rates. he wants to cut back on federal regulations. he also plans to push for more trade deals which president obama is expected to address as well. on the energy front, romney pledges to increase energy production in the u.s. he also suggests limiting the role of labor unions but that's just actually scratching the surface. i want to bring in dianne brady, senior editor of "bloomberg business week" to give us a better perspective on romney's plan. based on what details we do know, what stood out most about romney's plan for you? >> well, i think obviously he's very much hitting on some of the key conservative points which is lower tax rates, less regulation. i think the issue is that he's doing this in isolation of the bigger picture which is the conservatives also want to see the debt go down. so i think they're going to have to, at some point, address both those issues, much in the same way that obama's going to have

to address it. there's very limited tools that people have at the moment. >> i want to share with you some words from dnc chair debbie wassermann-schultz. she spoke this morning on "american morning" and was quick to hit romney on job creation. let's listen to that, then i want to get your reaction. >> state was 47th in job creation. his state never recovered the jobs that they lost in the 2001 recession. in the private sector, he touts his private sector experience, yet he was involved in actually helping companies shed jobs. >> now, his fellow gop presidential candidate, jon huntsman, is also saying quote, that romney's record was sadly similar to that of obama so how could that play in terms of the campaign and job plan? will that play big? >> well, obviously we're in the middle of the silly season in terms of rhetoric going back and forth so they're attacking the man and not the plan.

i think clearly there are many reasons why massachusetts lagged, no doubt his role as governor played part of it, but it was also the mix of businesses as well. i think that romney does have to talk about his own issues with regard to outsourcing jobs and the like but ultimately, americans are going to be looking at the plans and which ones make most sense and the reality is a lot of what he's talking about, as i'm sure a lot of what the president will talk about, are things that have already been tried, whether it's the green jobs, whether it's the tax breaks. so the question is what's really going to move the ball. one thing to look at, i think, are some of these free trade plans which romney does bring up, and i think will be of more importance in the coming weeks. >> what do you see that's actually new in mitt romney's plan? >> well, i do think it's important to be stressing what's happening with these free trade plans, because there's a lot of rhetoric going back and forth as to whether or not this destroys jobs or creates them. there are three major plans right now that are being held

up, have not been presented to congress, so i think that's something that hopefully will put this on the agenda again. but otherwise, there's not a lot there that is new. perhaps something along the lines of the tax breaks but the reality is this has been tried. there are certainly tax breaks out there right now and everybody knows that some of the levers we have have already been tried and haven't proven effective so far. >> what do you think in the plan could actually go forward, could actually be implemented and make a difference? >> well, i think the emphasis on energy jobs, we're going to be seeing that i'm sure from the president's speech as well. there's no question that business needs more incentive to hire. but what's really holding them up right now i think is the economy itself and the lack of predictability. so it's not for want of tax breaks. but clearly, that could encourage, that could possibly encourage more job growth. and getting some of these -- getting freer trade and basically encouraging americans

not to take a protectionist point of view, especially as we come into the election, i think is going to be critical. >> we have huntsman, he's released his plan, jon huntsman. now mitt romney is releasing his plan. president obama will talk thursday night and release his jobs plan. at what point do americans' eyes just begin to glaze over, as critical of an issue as this is, at what point does it just become noise in a way? >> well, i think that's an excellent point. i think the economy to some extent has become noise and there's a real fatigue factor where people have given up. one thing about huntsman's plan, and i think one thing americans would like to see, is simplicity. there is this sense that there are too many loopholes, too much confusion in the tax system. they would like a very clear road ahead as to what the tax base is going to be and what taxes companies and individuals are going to pay. so i think one of the things that we need to see is some real predictability in the system. that's what gets people hiring again. it's what gets people investing

again. i think that would be something that would perhaps rouse some of us from our eyes glazing over is just understanding what the path forward's going to be. >> yeah. we can all use a little help understanding that. diane brady, thank you so much for your insight. we will bring you mitt romney live from nevada when he begins to outline his plan at 3:30 eastern time. millions more people are using food stamps now to help make ends meet and where you can use those food stamps may be expanding. naturals from purina cat chow. delicious, real ingredients with no artificial flavors or preservatives. naturals from purina cat chow. share a better life. [ male announcer ] each of these photos was taken by someone on the first morning of their retirement. it's the first of more than 6,000 sunrises the average retiree will see. ♪

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more retailers want to get a piece of the food stamp pie. traditionally, food stamps are used mainly at grocery stores and you can't use them to buy prepared foods, but now a report in the "usa today" says some restaurants are pushing states to allow people to use them at their businesses, too. cnn's karina hubert joins us from the new york stock exchange with more on this. what do you know about these latest food stamp push? >> well, what we know is that restaurants are trying to get in on what's becoming a very big business. they are reportedly lobbying to allow more restaurants to accept food stamps. now, you can already use food stamps at some young brand locations, which owns taco bell, pizza hut, kfc and long john silver. they are reportedly trying to get other restaurants involved to create a sort of momentum. it wants more acceptance of the idea that people should be able to use food stamps not only in grocery stores but also to get

prepared meals. but there are a lot of caveats. currently, only the elderly, the homeless and the disabled can use food stamps at restaurants in certain states. this could be an uphill battle. >> so what is this really about? is this about raising more revenue? or is this just about a greater need? >> no, this is really about the bottom line, more revenue. there's a lot of money on the table because a record number of americans are getting food stamps right now. in fact, if you take a look at this chart, we are seeing $65 billion in food stamps were spent last year. if you take a look at what's happened historically, that's up from $30 billion in 2006. that's almost double. actually, more than double the amount. now, the department of agriculture calls it a historic growth so yes, it's another possible revenue source for the eateries and does give people more food options. but critics say letting people use food stamps at restaurants isn't always good for their health and not the most cost-effective way to get food. >> thank you very much. appreciate that. time right now, about 23 minutes past the hour.

let's check our top stories. honda is announcing another major worldwide recall of around a million cars. in the u.s., there are concerns with power window switches in some crv models from 2006. some 2011 crz hybrids are being recalled as well. this is honda's second major recall in just a month. in early august, honda recalled 1.5 million cars in the u.s. alone. now let's take a look at the big board. stocks are down big today. you can see it there, down 174 points. the problem is the continuing stress over the european debt crisis. fears over the u.s. economy aren't helping a whole lot, either. a lot of people are waiting to hear what president obama has to say about jobs thursday night. we will, of course, bring you that address live. but while stocks are down, gold is up yet again. the price of gold inching close to $2,000 an ounce. to check the rising value of gold and other precious metals, log on to cnnmoney.com. two states currently allow

undocumented immigrants to get drivers' licenses but now one is actually reconsidering. ♪ i just want to be okay ♪ be okay, be okay ♪ i just want to be okay today - ♪ i just want to know today - [ whistles ] ♪ know today, know today - [ cat meows ] - ♪ know that maybe i will be okay ♪ [ chimes ] travelers can help you protect the things you care about... and save money with multi-policy discounts. are you getting the coverage you need... and the discounts you deserve? for an agent or quote, call 800-my-coverage... or visit travelers.com.

new mexico, one of two states that allow undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers' licenses, is debating whether to change that practice. today, the state's lawmakers are scheduled to take up the issue in a special session. the time was originally scheduled to focus on redistricting for statewide elections but republican susanna martinez, the nation's first latina governor, put the issue on the docket. so why is new mexico thinking about changing the rules when it comes to immigrant licenses? >> in 2003, the legislature passed this law that allows undocumented immigrants to get a driver's license. they have to prove nothing else but the fact they are residents of the state, and they get a driver's license. washington state has a similar law. utah has a more restrictive permit that is valid only in the state, it's not recognized by any other state. the officials now tell me that they think that this law has created a magnet in the state where people from all over the state and from all over the

world, really, immigrants have come into the united states can go to new mexico, get this driver's license and they leave, they never have established residence in the state and then they can use this driver's license in whatever other state they want to go to. >> so are they looking to actually stop this from happening, or are they just looking to toughen maybe some of the laws and restrictions? >> the governor wants it repealed. the people who advocate for these kind of laws want the legislation to tweak the law a little bit. the state tried a program in july where they sent 10,000 letters to the more than 84,000 people who have gotten a driver's license through this law. out of those 10,000, the state tells me that only a third were returned as a valid address. the other two-thirds were either not returned or returned by people who said these people have never lived in this address. so some people want to tweak it to prevent people from out of state to come and get the license. the governor wants it repealed completely. >> i would imagine the first latina governor is probably taking some heat about this.

>> it is, ethnicity is coming into play. they say she's part of a broader anti-immigrant agenda but she says being the granddaughter of immigrants that she admits came into the country illegally doesn't mean that you have to keep giving licenses to the newcomers or new illegal immigrants who live in the state. let's hear what she said. >> i'm an american of mexican descent. what my agenda is is to make sure our residents are safe, our borders are safe. >> her stance on this is interesting but how easy is it, did you try to get a driver's license there? >> we actually found two phone numbers here in georgia for people who promise to help us to navigate the process. they were charging $1500 and they said all we needed was a passport, phone number, date of birth and if we had a valid driver's license from whatever country of origin we were from. this is part of "cnn

investigation." when we tried to meet them, the one person in georgia said he feared for his life. the other was out of state, he said he could no longer help us, maybe because of the letters, the state has been trying to tighten the requirements and i have to say that a judge last week blocked the efforts by the governor to send out these letters to verify the addresses. >> are these licenses even trusted, then, in other states? is there a problem with that? >> that's part of the big argument. proponents of the law said look, when you give an undocumented form of i.d. they are going to feel safer in their state, they can talk to the police, they have a form of i.d. to have access to many places. the critics said, the governor said look, we don't have the safeguards in place for people to go to other states and the police officers to recognize these as a valid, secure driver's license. they can go to another state and perhaps exchange it for a driver's license in that state, they can board a plane, they can get into federal businesses because this is a valid government issued i.d. that as you know, opens the doors to many other places.

>> it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. thank you very much. appreciate that. hurricane katia and jelly fish attacks. we'll explain the connection. d t and the old man 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 put it all together at the end of the song it gives you freecreditscore-dot-com, and i'm gone... offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com

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than 700 homes since sunday. you're looking at pictures of the bastrop complex, the largest fire firefighters are battling near austin. governor rick perry took an aerial tour of the damage in central texas just west of austin. perry is urging texans to follow all warnings. just in the past week, the texas forest service has responded to 181 fires that have burned more than 118,000 acres. the california supreme court is hearing arguments today on proposition 8. these are live pictures of those arguments. proposition 8, the state's ban on same sex marriage. this is video from inside the court. the legal question before the court is whether or not the sponsors of prop 8 have a right to appeal last user's federal ruling that overturned the ban. their legal standing to appeal was called into question after former governor arnold schwarzenegger and then attorney general jerry brown, who is now governor, both refused to defend the ban. the court will make a ruling within 90 days. the family of a mississippi

man allegedly killed in a hate crime has filed a wrongful death lawsuit today against the suspects. james anderson was allegedly beaten by a group of white teenagers and then run down by a pickup truck in june. the lawsuit alleges the seven teens quote, set out on a mission to find and harass african-americans but the family's attorney who spoke with cnn earlier says the community has embraced the anderson family. >> the family's been very encouraged with the outpouring of support from the community, and we just hope that it continues. >> the family is seeking a jury trial and damages. new york city is reeling from a string of violent shootings. authorities say three people were shot dead and two new york police officers were wounded monday night. this is just the latest gun battle that caps off a violent labor day weekend. city authorities say at least 48 were wounded by guns over the holiday weekend. the white house now believes relief efforts will cost taxpayers $1.5 billion.

that's on top of more than $5 billion needed for other recent disasters and the federal emergency management agency has only about $800 million left in its reserves for the current fiscal year. republican house majority leader eric cantor says any increase in disaster relief funding should be offset by cutting other parts of the federal budget. that could touch off a new congressional spending fight. illinois may become the next state to lay off workers. the chicago tribune reports that governor pat quinn will issue thousands of layoff notices this week. it also says he'll announce plans to close a number of state facilities, including a prison. state workers are expected to oppose any layoffs. a union spokesman says layoffs would violate collective bargaining agreements. a lawsuit is likely. quinn's budget office says the state faces a multi-million dollar shortfall and unless action is taken, several agencies may run out of money by spring. floridians are feeling the impact of hurricane katia. you're looking at a satellite image of the storm. lifeguards in the state are warning people of dangerous rip currents and yes, attacks by

jellyfish. wkmg reports jellyfish stung almost 300 swimmers in florida on labor day alone and dangerous rip currents prompted 20 rescues in just one county. in one minute, the unbelievable story of a fighter pilot who tried to intercept one of the hijacked planes headed to the world trade center on 9/11.

all this week, cnn is telling stories of front line witnesses to the worst terrorist attack in the united states, those who woke up on 9/11, went to work and had their lives changed forever. drew griffin's interview with tim duffy, a fighter pilot who tried to intercept one of the hijacked airplanes over the skies of new york city. >> 8:46 a.m., otis air base, cape cod. tim duffy, a commercial airline pilot for united, was working his second job, on alert as a fighter pilot with the massachusetts air national guard. duffy, footnote 117, is given the order to scramble his f-15. there is a confirmed hijacking. the order for duffy and his wingman, take off from this now deserted airfield.

>> active air defense scramble f-15s climbing to flight level 290. >> reporter: under orders to find and intercept american flight 11. so these were the two hangars? >> yep, cells three and four. they would have jets in all of them. just depended what jets you would need that day. these were the ones armed up. we had hot missiles and a hot gun so they were all armed up. >> reporter: by the end of this morning, duffy will be asked if he is prepared to use those missiles to bring down u.s. passenger jets. that meant he might be shooting down a plane carrying his united airlines colleagues. >> they just said be prepared to shoot down the next hijacked track. then it came out right after that and said do you have a problem with that. that kind of ticked me off. that's why it sticks in my memory for that call, being in that situation, if i wasn't ready to do whatever was called for, i was the wrong person in that seat. >> reporter: breaking the sound barrier, tim duffy is barreling

towards manhattan. still under orders to intercept a plane but which plane? his conversation with air traffic control shows how fast events were moving that chaotic morning. >> reporter: then, 17 minutes after american airlines flight 11 slams into the world trade center's north tower -- at 9:03 a.m., united 175 hits the south tower. >> we were about 60 miles from kennedy, probably about 80 miles or so from manhattan. that's when they told me the second aircraft just hit the world trade center. obviously some confusion in my cockpit. i thought i was still chasing

american flight 11. they tell me second aircraft which i didn't even know about. i looked up right away, i could see the smoke coming out of both towers. as i saw the towers burning, with two airliners in them, we're obviously under attack. >> drew griffin joins us now. wow. that brings back a lot of memories, certainly. i'm struck by how calm that person was on the radio to tim, saying we're just getting word that it had struck the tower. >> i listened to a lot of tapes. there's a lot of calmness. you wouldn't think it would be so chaotic but part of the coverage deals with how air traffic controllers handled that day. they are an incredibly calm bunch. >> once the planes did hit and the towers fell, what was tim's mission after that? >> you know, he immediately switched into okay, we're at war, we're under attack, and for the next five hours, he patrolled manhattan and his job was to literally intercept any plane that was going awry and potentially take it down. so for five hours, he flew above manhattan just making sure that

there were no planes coming, more planes coming, that could do harm. >> do you think he's still haunted by all of this today? many of us are, but he was in the hot seat there, really being faced with having to shoot down an airplane carrying fellow americans. >> yeah. he's a trained fighter pilot, and his training did very well in this interview. he was very calm during the interview. you got to imagine there was some, you know, nervous moments underneath but he is a very, very calm guy. very calmly, he describes the scene as he saw the last -- he was flying overhead as the last tower collapsed beneath him. he didn't really realize what was happening. it was just dropping from the sky and it took him a few seconds to realize what had happened. that moment, he said, shook him but then shook right back into that, you know, fighter pilot mode. i have to protect what we're protecting here. >> what's he doing today? >> retired from united. he now works with the air reserves and helps the military respond to disasters. so he's still in a military role, support military role. >> i know that's one of many

stories you will be bringing us in your special on 9/11. drew, thank you. appreciate that. be sure to watch "foot notes of 9/11" tonight at 11:00 p.m. eastern time for many more stories you have never heard before. there is potentially damaging new testimony about james murdoch in the uk phone hacking scandal. details are next. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit...

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atika joins us from london. what can you tell us about today's testimony? >> reporter: basically, they really wanted to know, lawmakers are trying to figure out just how much news international executives knew about how widespread the phone hacking was and when did they know it, particularly james murdoch. they grilled basically a former lawyer of news international, a former editor for "news of the world," and both of them said they had a 15-minute conversation with james murdoch several years ago, informing him about a particular e-mail that suggested the phone hacking was not restricted to simply one reporter, but in fact, may have been a wider problem. there are quite a few heated exchanges between lawmakers and the lawyer, in particular. here's an exchange between tom watson, a former labor mp, and the lawyer. >> the truth is, you didn't see it as gross misconduct, did you? you just thought it was a reporter's job at "news of the

world." >> that is absolute nonsense. >> as far as you're concerned, the only problem was he got caught. >> that is nonsense. >> so now you had to conceal the crime. >> that is nonsense. >> you were desperate to ensure that it didn't become known that hacking was standard practice at "news of the world." >> that's not true. >> reporter: as you can tell by that exchange, the allegations from lawmakers are essentially that news international executives knew there was a widespread problem but wanted to cover it up and for that reason, basically paid off a victim of the phone hacking more than $1 million in order to keep it under wraps. but eventually it came out. >> how is this going to be viewed? you think this will be looked at as a blow to news corps? >> it's definitely damaging to james murdoch. news international put out a statement saying he stands by the testimony he had before, that he did not know about that e-mail at the time, that this was not discussed with him, but clearly lawmakers are not impressed with that testimony and they may be recalling him to testify again.

>> what did david cameron have to say about it? >> reporter: well, david cameron fielded a number of questions but specifically updated lawmakers on the number of phone hacking investigations under way. remember there's also police investigations and judicial inquiry. that inquiry had their preliminary hearing today. it's probably going to go for about a year, so we basically have a long way to go before we get to the end of this hacking scandal. >> atika shubert in london, thank you for the update. time to check some top stories. u.s. state department officials are downplaying reports about a libyan convoy seen passing through niger in east africa. the convoy is believed to have been carrying former gadhafi regime officials but state department sources tell cnn they doubt moammar gadhafi himself was actually aboard. reports about the convoy had sparked speculation the ousted libyan leader might be on his way to burkina fossa but officials there deny gadhafi was there and if he did turn up, they would respect its

obligations to the international criminal court which is seeking his arrest. in italy today, an italian police forensics expert defended the dna evidence used to convict am amanda knox of murder. knox an american college student was convicted of murdering her house mate, meredith kercher. the death toll in a japanese typhoon, now 47. dozens more people are still missing. the storm known as talas brought record rainfall to western japan, triggering floods and landslides. one local official says it was the worst storm it's the worst storm he's seen in 40 years. the japanese government set up a task force to oversee search and rescues operations. want the coolest new ring tone? there's an app for that. want to watch cnn live on the go? there is an app for that too. >> lose your pet?

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welcome back. it is time for today's big eye. as a pet owner, i love this next story. eye segment all about -- a segment about the big ideas and innovations and solutions to problems. for animal lovers, losing a pet can be like losing a family mib. today's big i could save us a stress and heartache. pet hub created collars with unique codes. the small matrix codes that look like television static, basically. if your pet gets lost, anyone with a smartphone can scan the collar for its name and address. it pulls up like an interactive

facebook or wikipedia page. even your family and veterinarian can update it on-line. tom arnold, not that tom arnold, explains. >> use the tamara on the phone to hover over this code. the idea there is if i have a dog walker, pet sitter, even my vet where everybody can contribute to this single record. >> among its benefits, the collar could be a great alternative for anyone who doesn't want to implant a microchip in their dog or cat. one drawback, someone could easily remove your pet's collar rendering it useless. for more information, check out my facebook page at facebook.com/randi kaye cnn. up next, michele bachmann entering the next phase of her campaign. she'll have to do it with a new person in charge. your cnn political update coming your way next. i want healthy skin for life.

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or visit one of our local offices today, and we'll provide the coverage you need at the right price. liberty mutual auto insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? let's check in with paul steinhauser. talk a little politics. paul, big clangs at the bachmann campaign. >> oh, yeah. very big changes. let's talk about it right off the bat. this is ed rollins. you guys know him. he's been on cnn a lot. here's a man who was -- he ran the 1984 ronald reagan reelection campaign. he was the mastermind between mike huck bee's victory in 2008. he was the guy who was running the bachmann campaign. he signed up with her earlier this year. ned a big victory at the iowa ames straw poll last month.

since then, she's been overshadowed by rick perry. he's out. and he will be a senior adviser. they say, you know what, he's 68 years old. he couldn't deal with the stress and he'll still have a role in the campaign. here's what he said about where bachmann stands in the race right now. take a listen. >> legitimately, it's a romney/perry race with leaders with the poll. i think she's the third candidate at this point in time, which is way different and better than we thought when we started this thing. >> you know what else is interesting, randi, his number two who is the deputy campaign manager is also out. two rolins' guys out. maybe this isn't just health concerns here. they did great. they peaked and for a couple weeks overshadowed by rick perry. a bunch of debate coming up starting tomorrow, of course. >> paul before you go, let's talk about mitt romney and his jobs plan.

he'll be unveiling that today. a couple of days before the president is going to give out the details on his plan. what do you make of that. >> the timing is interesting. earlier this hour, you broke down what's in the plan. let talk about the politics. it comes two days before the president goes before congress. a major address to lay out his plans. here's mitt romney stealing the p spotlight. we'll have live coverage at a trucking company in north las vegas, nevada. nevada also interesting, one of the crucial early voting states in the primary and caucus calendars. he's getting criticism from fellow republicans. this is tim miller, the spokesman for the huntsman campaign. he says the free market pro growth policies took utah to number one in job creation and romney's brought the opposite. americans aren't looking for another one. a rival campaign already going after mitt romney. politics is rough, randi. no doubt about it. >> and rougher as we get closer

to 2012, it seems. paul, nice to see you. thank you. cnn, of course, will have live coverage of president obama's jobs speech thursday night and then on sunday, be sure to tune in for the cnn tea party express gop presidential debate that is live from tampa florida. we're covered for the best political team starts at 8:00 p.m. eastern. the winds are lighter in texas and some evacuees are heading back to neighborhood. it's nowhere near the -- this is the worst of the worse right now. bastrop county, southeast of austin, 30,000 acres consumed. hundreds of homes destroyed. zero containment. this fire started sunday. barely 48 hours ago. already, governor rick perry calls it as mean a fire as he's ever seen. he has seen a lot of wildfires this year. texas forest service counts 294 consecutive days of wildfires somewhere in that state.

not coincidentally, it's also been a year historic drought. so far this year, more than three and a half million acres have burned. that's about as much land as the entire state of connecticut. in the past 48 hours, more than 700 homes have been lost, many more in danger. we don't have room, actually to list all the fires that are burning right now or all of the biggest ones. so we've just put a sampling together for you here. if you look at bastrop county, 30,000 acres burned and travis county, 6500 acres burned. 67 homes lost there. in pa low pinto county, 6,555 acres burned. it's almost contained actually. that's the good news. cass county at the top, 7,000 acres burned. that's not close to being contained. grimes county, the last one, 3,000 acres have been burned and that fire 20 homes have been lost so far. cnn's jim spellman joins me from the bastrop blaze. jim, tell us about the wind and

the smoke first. >> yeah. you know, the wind has been calm here today. that's a real godsend for firefighters. they need that kind of break with the cooler temperatures today and the low wind to try to get a handle on this fire. it was so aggressive. hearing you rattle off those numbers, it's staggering what this state has been going through. what's setting this fire apart in bastrop, it's happened in a populated area. amazing that in just about 24 hours time it was able to destroy almost 500 homes. it's a incredible. they want to get out there, while they have calm weather to get at it. that's why you see some smoke around us. the wind hasn't been blowing it away. that's a good sign. the people who had to evacuate and lost their homes, it's staggering. they're trying to contemplate what to do tonight and tomorrow. we caught up with the johnson family. fa take a listen. >> we just got a call from our neighbor that we needed to get out and claire also was getting

calls from friends who live on the street saying we had to get out. and we just threw kids and the dog in the car and left. >> your home? >> it's gone. we hear from a neighbor who snuck back in. we're not allowed to go back probably for a few more days to see. but a neighbor said that he saw our house and it was gone. >> everybody else in the same situation. there's no self-pity. there can't be. because we're going to be better off than most. but the fact that half of our town is homeless. you can't really think of yourself right now. >> and some other residents at another fire, thesteiner ranch fire the west side of austin, they're being allowed back into their homes this afternoon. the sheriffs warned them, be ready to get back out again.

the drought conditions still remain. all it takes is for the winds to pick up and a spark somewhere. they could have to evacuate again. it's such a long-term ongoing problem, even when the fire behind me is put out, randi. >> are some folks allowed back into the neighborhoods to check the damage or move back in? >> not yet. not until they get this fire at least to some degree contained. they just can't risk it. it was so aggressive yesterday and the day before that they know what this fire is capable of. the last thing they need is people getting back into the path of it. people are itching to get in and try to find out more. crews are trying to get them information, people are coming to the firefighters here, showing them their address, pictures of their house on their iphone trying to get information. it's too early to do that yet, randi. >> what kind of supplies, if any, are they providing to the evacuees or the firefighters who are out there? >> well, some people are showing up literally, looking for

something simple like a roll of toilet paper, power bars, water. people are dropping off supplies and other people are showing up trying to get it. people almost feel bad about getting supplies. but there's nowhere -- they've lost literally everything. that family we spoke with, they're spending today trying to get new drivers licenses and atm cards. that's all they're left with is the clothes on their back. they have to come here for the next few days. people are so sweet, they're bringing socks, t-shirts, underwear. people are showing up to get it here. i'm always amazed in thee these kind of disasters, how much the community can come together and do stuff hike that. it's really amazing. you get to see the best of people in the worst of times, randi. >> no doubt approximate that. jim spellman, thank you very much. chad myers joining us from the weather center. chad, the folks in texas didn't get the rain from tropical storm lee. but is there any relief in sight for them? >> the winds are calming down now, randi. they didn't get any rain and they got the backside, which was

the dry windy side of the storm as lee came in across louisiana and now is heading up towards the northeast creating some tornado potential across the carolinas and virginia. ha lee really brought to texas is enough of a difference between the low pressure here and high pressure here making gusty winds all across eastern texas yesterday and that caused winds to gust almost 30 miles per hour at times. blowing the smoke away from san antonio and from austin here. but it's been such a spectacular fire. due to that wind today, the wind dying down, they'll get some potential. they'll bring a little bit of this under the control. by the time we talk about tomorrow, the winds will ploe in from the east and that may blow into georgetown, to round rock, austin, maybe into san antonio. if you smell smoke, especially if it's very thick, if officials are telling you, these fires could flare up at any time. if you smell it, that means the wind is blowing a fire to you. also, we know that there are

tornado potential areas here across raleigh. we want to get to those because we had a couple of tornadoes near the ground, one tornado warning right there. it's going to continue here up into virginia. this is the east side of lee still that's still the potential, that moisture. we saw all the tornado and all that i cpictures from the damagn georgia. same type of tornadoes possible in the carolinas and virginia today. >> chad, thank you very much. other stories. i wi illinois may become the next state to lay off workers. the chicago tribune will -- he'll announce plans to close a number of state facilities, including a prison. state workers are expected to oppose any layoffs. a union spokesman says layoffs would violate collective bargaining agreements and lawsuit is likely. the budget office says that the state faces a multimillion dollar shortfall. unless action is taken, several agencies may run out of money by spring. the california supreme court is

hearing argument on proposition 8. the state's ban on same-sex marriage. this is a live feed from inside the courtroom where the proceedings are taking place. the legal question before the court is with whether or not the sponsors of prop 8 have a right to appeal last year's federal ruling that overturned the ban. their legal standing to appeal was called into question after former governor arnold schwarzenegger and attorney general jerry brown, who is now governor, refused to defend the ban on same-sex marriage. there will be a ruling within 90 days. new york city reeling from a string of violent shootings. two new york police officers were wounded, three shot dead. this is the latest gun battle that caps off a violent labor day weekend. authorities say 48 people were wounded by guns over the holiday weekend. >> it has become the battle of the jobs plans. how your taxes, gas prices and unions could play into mitt romney and president obama's plans. we'll have that for you. [ male announcer ] this is coach parker...

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jobs and economy. those will be two pivotal campaign issues in the election. president obama will lay out his plan on thursday. he gave us a preview in detroit yesterday. next up, mitt romney will reveal his big jobs plan in nevada in about an hour and a half. romney gave a sneak peek of his plan in a usa today op-ed. here's a breakdown of it. romney says his plan consists of 59 specific proposals, ten of which he would put into action the first day in the oval office. the big thing is taxes. romney wants to lower personal and corporate tax rates. he want to get rid of taxes on interest, dividends and capital

gains for middle income taxpayers. romney says job creation is being held back by big federal government and the cost of its regulations. he proposes cutting back on regulations, including eliminating the president's signature healthcare initiative. he also plans to push for more trade deals which president obama is expected to address as well. on the energy front, romney pledges to increase energy production in the u.s., including nuclear energy, coal, gas and oil reserves. romney blames environmental extremism for holding the nation back. he suggests limiting the role of labor unions. he'll push for an amendment to balance the budget. to help put the plan into context, compared to what we know about president obama's plan, i want to bring in lex harris, the managing editor at cnn money.com. hi there, lex. let's talk about this. >> hey there. >> the contrast between obama and himself could not be starker. those are his words. based on what we know about obama's plan, which isn't much at this point, how true is that?

>> you know,there's so many similarities between the plans. president obama all year has been speaking about corporate tax reform, easing up on regulations or at least making thm smart. a high level you're hearing a lot of the same points from both the democrats an the republicans. >> do you see a big difference -- >> i'll tell -- >> sorry. go ahead. >> go ahead, ran di. >> the big question is going to be during the speech on thurts night how much will obama get into corporate tax reform. how much into the regulation. to hear the republicans tell it, they want to just get rid of even things like healthcare reforms. we know president obama won't go there. we heard last week that he is willing to at least delay some of the environmental reform. >> and you think that's what we can expect to hear from him on thursday night, a little bit more about that? >> yeah. you think you're going to hear a lot of the same things we've

heard over that we've tried for the past three years. some of which have worked. certainly, you're going to hear more about extending unemployment insurance. payroll tax cut holiday which we just -- we extended it in december. and there have been a lot of calls to extend them again again. the idea there is to keep money flowing through the economy. when you talk to economists, they say we don't want to cut back too soon right now on spending and certainly not increase taxes. they almost don't care how they do it. >> in terms of trade deals, do you see similarities or differences between the romney plan and the obama plan? >> a lot of similarities. i mean, president obama has been talking about this for a very long time. basically everybody agrees. there is deals with korea, panama, colombia. everyone thinks that we should move toward free trade. the risks right now is that people want to get into a more protectionist stance and protect

american jobs. that's true. and we do have to find a way to protect american workers. but i think it's pretty much consensus among economists that we need to keep moving ahead on free trade. >> when you look at how things get done or don't get done in washington and you look at this divided congress that we have, the question is how feasible are either of these plans or anyone else's plan? >> you know, all of this discussion about the possibility of more stimulus, you got to remember it's coming a month after this bruising debate about the debt ceiling when we were talking about cutting spending. the good news in that is, we really pushed back the spending cuts. so by next year, we're talking about very small spending. but still, it's also coming two months a hefd the super committee where we're planning another $2 trillion in deficit reduction. the timing couldn't be worse in trying to push additional measures through congress. >> all right. lex harris, managing editor of cnn money.com. thank you very much.

we will of course bring you mitt romney live from nevada when he does begin to outline his plan. coming your way about 3:30 eastern time. it's not openly talked about, but it's a reality that plagues politics. the presidency and we the people a candid conversation about the color line in this country. we'll have that conversation next.

many people thought barack obama's presidency would be the start of a post racial era in america. our next guest says the reality hasn't lived up to that

expectation. harvard law professor randall kennedy wrote the book, the persistence of the color line. racial politic and the obama presidency. yes the book is supposed to be sideways. the book looks at the racial battles the president has to fight and the issues all of us face as a country. professor randall kennedy joins me now. professor, thank you so much for coming on the program today. first, you mentioned that president obama has to balance the dreams and the expectations of black voters and the anxieties and fears of white voters. can you just explain that a bit for us? >> well, sure. take a look right now at the debate over economic policy. on the one hand, he's criticized by some blacks. if he does not frame policies that will particularly help the black unemployed. because they're disproporti disproportionately in the ranks of the unemployed. if he doesn't do something special, he's accused of abandoning his base. on the other hand, if he does do

something special, he will be accused of showing racial favoritism. he's caught in a bind a dilemma. >> let's talk about this dilemma. when you look at the economy and the jobs battle, there are those who say he isn't doing enough for black people and others who say he's not doing enough for people, period. how does he manage this line? >> it's a very difficult situation that he's in. frankly, anyway he turns he will be criticized so i think what people have to recognize is that a black politician in a position like barack obama's will face special problems because of the persistence of the color line. >> do you think that if the economy was in better shape, that maybe we wouldn't see as much of this racial attitude and racial prejudice and divide still continuing with him in the white house. >> well, i mean, when things are

tough, you know, things are always more contentious and bad economic times are always a fertile -- it always gives rise to more prejudice. but frankly, given the history of our country, race is going to be an issue, frankly, no matter what. and people who thought that the election of barack obama would wipe away race as an issue were being either naive or they were being cynical and trying to get away from the race problem by simply pointing to the black man in the white house and saying, see, there, we finished with all of that. >> as a black president, do you think that president obama still gets the same respect or maybe even more disrespect than the

white presidents before him? because i know there was a recent article in the new york times, i'm sure you're familiar with it, where the headline was "gop versus obama: disrespect or politics?" then there was a famous moment i want to play for you and then i'll get your answer to that question. >> the reforms, the reforms i'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally. >> lies. >> none of us will forget that moment. somebody yelled you lie at the president of the united states during a very significant speech. so is there a disrespect there for this president? >> absolutely. president obama is in much the same position as jackie robinson. jackie robinson was suffered all sorts of abuse, much of it racial abuse.

he had to rise above it. he had to bite his tongue and he had to show a special noeblt. that episode, clearly it was that representative was emboldened in a way that he would not have felt emboldened had not barack obama been black. >> we're talking about representative joe wilson, to be clear here. i also want to ask you about this label, this angry black man label that the president has certainly tried to avoid. meanwhile, though, some say that he isn't aggressive enough. so when you look at that balance, how does he manage that? >> well, again, it's a dilemma. on the one hand, if he comes out swinging, if he raises his voice, if he shows anger, he has to confront the stereotype of the angry black man. if on the other hand, he shows

sort of the discipline that he does show, if he's quiet and con tem play tiff, he's accused by some of being too professorial. he's again accused of being too distant. he's accused of not feeling the pain of those who are being hurt by the economic catastrophe that is engulfing us. so, again, it's one of these dilemmas. it's a dilemma that all politicians face but he faces it even more because of his blackness. >> there is a big question early on in the campaign and even after he was elected about how much he should talk about his race and then finally he held the big speech about race and race relations. if you were advising him today for the 2012 campaign, should he stay away from the race issue or should he go for it? >> he should stay away from it because politically it's a loser for him.

the more he talks about race, the blacker he becomes in the eyes of the public. you know, it's not a good issue for barack obama. that's not his fault. it says something very bad, frankly, about our political environment. but i think it is a reality. >> well, that was certainly great insight. randall kennedy, we loved having you on the program today. the author of the persistence of the color line. thank you so much for your time. it's a pleasure. >> thanks for having me. thank you. time right now, about 24 minutes past the hour. let check top stories. breaking news now from nevada. police tell cnn three people are dead, six others wounded after a shooting at an ihop restaurant in carson city. the gunman also shot himself in the restaurant's parking lot and is not expect today survive. we'll bring you more information as we get it into the cnn newsroom. in addition to a natural disaster, hurricane irene could be a disaster for the federal

budget. the white house believes relief efforts will cost taxpayers $1.5 billion on top of more than $5 billion needed for other recent disasters and the federal emergency management agency has only $800 million left in reserves for the current fiscal year. eric cantor says any increase in disaster relief funding should be offset by cutting other parts of the federal budget. that could touch off a new congressional spending fight. honda is announcing another major worldwide recall of around a million cars. in the u.s. there are concerns of power windows switches in some cr-v models in 2006. some 2011 crz hybrids are being recalled as well. in early august, honda recalled one and a half million cars in the u.s. alone. but while stocks have been down sharply today, gold is up yet again. the price of gold inching close to $2,000 an ounce. to check the rising value of gold and other precious metals, you can simply log on to cnn

money.com. american, amanm amanda knox in court today. we'll sort it all out, next. and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. that's yours. lower cholesterol. lower cholesterol. i'm yummy. lower cholesterol. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste? honey nut cheerios. want whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. it's a win win. good? [ crunching, sipping ] be happy. be healthy. can i try yours?

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themselves in the amanda knox case. knox is the american student convicted of murdering her roommate in 2007. she was back in the courtroom today. it was the second day back after a summer recess. knox is currently serving a 26-year sentence. her attorneys say the key evidence in the case may have been contaminated and her questioning the dna testing done pi investigators. we're joined by sunny hostin, legal contributor on our sister network, true tv. let talk about this case. it's getting a lot of attention. what are prosecutors saying about allegations that they didn't meet international testing standards when it comes to testing the dna? >> well, they're certainly on the defensive today, randi. what they're saying is the international dna standards have changed since they collected and processed the dna evidence in this case. so while they may not have met

those standards and while the court appointed neutral experts have testified to that, have said that they felt that this -- these collection procedures were shoddy, they also felt that the very small amount of dna was really too small to extract a proper dna profile, they're saying the prosecutors experts are saying that doesn't really matter. those standards were not in place at this -- at that time, which would have been may of 2008. very interesting defense so to speak. >> they're questioning the process. correct me if i'm wrong, it was on the bra clasp and the knife as well. that they think was the murder weapon. >> that's right. i think it's important to note that. knox's dna was allegedly found on the handle of the blade. the victim meredith kercher's dna was allegedly found on the blade and then raphael -- who was amanda knox's boyfriend, his

dna was allegedly found on the bra clasp of the victim. without that dna evidence, randi, there is no forensic physical evidence tying amanda knox to this crime, which is why this appeal is so very important and which is why the attacks on the dna collection and evidence is so very important to amanda knox. >> it sounds to me like this could be a long appeals process. you have one side saying one thing and another side saying another about the key evidence in the case. >> it has been going on for quite some time. it was sort of on hiatus over the summer. we're just back on monday. it may end this week and then there will be a ten-day additional hiatus. we're supposed to have a decision by the end of september. what's really important to note here in terms of the appellate process in italy, it's very different from the process in the united states. in italy, it's akin to getting a

new trial which is why we're hearing so much new information. new dna testing, new expert testimony and so i don't think it's too far-reaching to say if the judge in this case finds that the dna evidence is inadmissible, she could be set free. this isn't been necessarily about getting a new trial. this is really about being set free. she could leave italy possibly? >> that is right. i think that is so interesting. because in america, as i think many viewers know, when you are on appeal, you're whetted to the facts below, the facts presented at trial. it's a review of the facts. in italy, again, this is a new trial so to speak for amanda knox. that is why her supporters, her family, her friends, they are hoping that they will see amanda knox back in the united states in october. >> won't that be something after all these years and being sentenced to 26 careers in prison. sunny hostin, thank you. appreciate it. nice to see you. we wanted to take a moment

to talk about the victim in this case. that is meredith kercher. the 21-year-old student from england was studying in italy as part of an exchange program. she had been there only two months before her murder. her older sister wrote a letter to the judge hearing this latest appeal. questioning the decision to possibly throw out key evidence in the case. she also said, she and her family can't find a day of peace as the appeals process drags on. in one minute, is the material girl madonna working on a new album? maybe so. we'll give you the details next.

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for the efficient absorption my body needs. citracal. 35 minutes past the hour. time to check the headlines and other news that you may have missed. in texas, wildfires forced hundreds to evacuate their homes near austin and houston. firefighters are struggling to contain the fires which the forest service says killed two people and destroyed more than 700 homes since sunday. these are pictures of the bastrop complex. that's the largest fire that firefighters are battling near austin. governor rick perry took an aerial tour of the damage in central texas west of austin. perry is urging texans to follow all warnings. just in the past week, the texas forest service responded to 181 fires that have burned more than 118,000 acres. the family of a mississippi man who was allegedly killed in a hate crime has filed a wrongful death lawsuit today against the suspects. james anderson was allegedly

beaten by a group of white teenagers and then run down by a pickup truck in june. the lawsuit alleges the 17s quote set out on a mission to find and harass african-americans. the attorneys who spoke with cnn earlier says the community embraced the anderson family. >> family is very encouraged with the skrout pouring of support from the community. we hope that it continues. >> the family is seeking a jury trial and damages. we're following breaking news as well today from nevada. take a look. police tell cnn three people are dead, six others wounded after a shooting at an ihop restaurant in carson city. cnn learned that two of the dead were military. the gunman also shot himself. he's not expected to survive. we'll bring you much more information as it comes in. a foreign industry trade group tells the l.a. times that hiv scare was a false alarm. the positive test was in a

florida testing facility that did not have correct procedures in place. others are lobbying for more regulation. for now, los angeles porn industry is filming again under self-regulated testing. and the material girl, madonna, is back. she will have a new album for 2012. her first since 2008 when this video was shot. she tells swedish tv, she expects a sing will in february or march. a convoy from libya seen rolling through a neighboring african nation. was moammar gadhafi trying to make an escape? we'll ask that question next when we go globe trekking.

time now for globe trekking and reports of a mysterious libyan convoy seen traveling through the east african country of that jury. sources say several officials were on board and ben wedeman joins us by phone from tripoli. ben, what can you tell us about this convoy and who might have been on it? >> reporter: there were two convoys. one entered arrived in the capital yesterday and another has entered the country. now, according to some state

department officials, these convoys carried several senior libyan officials, the gadhafi libyan officials. we do know or our understanding is among them is the one responsible for the personal security of moammar gadhafi. now, the american embassy in najir has told, met with government officials there and said that some of people might be affected by the u.n. travel ban and they should be arrested but this is clearly -- there are a lot of libyan officials, former government officials who are trying to leave the country at this point. but it appears that among those people in the two convoys was not moammar gadhafi. >> do we know anything? if he wasn't in one of the

convoys, do we know anything more about moammar gadhafi's whereabouts today? >> reporter: lots of people seem to say they know where he is. but do they really is a good question. we spoke to the deputy prime minister of the national transitional council in tripoli yesterday. he said they do know where he is but they don't want to pursue him or fear of shedding blood. yesterday, also on a pro libyan television station, the former spokesman for gadhafi said that gadhafi is alive and well and in excellent condition inside libya and that he's planning to liberate the country. so nobody really knows where he is. we do not believe he is in the town of benny wa lead. outside of where we spent most of the day. he could be in his hometown sirte on the mediterranean

coast. he could be in a pro-gadhafi town in the southern part of the country or he could be anywhere in the vast libyan desert. randi? >> a whole lot of possibilities there in libya and elsewhere. ben wedeman, thank you for the update. millions more people are using food stamps now to help make ends meet. you may soon be able to use them at restaurants. is this a good idea? we'll talk more about it, next. [ 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. ♪ where do you want to go? just drive. [ engine revs, tires screech ] mom?

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. traditionally food stamps are used at grocery stores and you can't use them to buy prepared foods. california, arizona, michigan and florida, a program allows

food stamps to be used at restaurants. the question is, should more states get on board and allow restaurants to accept food stamps? joining me now is the founder and executive director of the national law center on homelessness and poverty. thank you both for joining me. maria, is expanding the food stamps to be used at restaurants a good idea, do you think? >> it is absolutely a good idea. this is an existing federal program that's been on the books for decades. but it's a state option. so states have a choice. i think they should use that choice because hunger is increasing, more and more people are also losing their homes and this is a program that applies to people who are homeless or elderly or disabled. therefore, it's extremely difficult or impossible for them to go to the grocery store and bring back food and cook it at home. for homeless people, they have no home to cook it in.

so this could make an enormous difference. it can make a difference between having access to food and not having it. >> ma lynn a, i want to ask you, if you look at the numbers, we have a chart that shows how much money is involved here. i'm curious if you think this might be a ploy for restaurant owners to get more money. if you look at the chart, food stamp usage surged to 64.7 billion. >> well i think it could potentially be a ploy. but it could be a beneficial one. i do agree with maria. more than 30% of our meals are consumed away from home. even for those that aren't homeless. i think that if a mom is busy and she's on food stamps and she just wants to get a hot meal into her kids on the way to school, it really would be a nice bonus to be able to use her food stamps for something outside of the home as well. i've also been working with a lot of families using food

stamps. the foods he choose are a lot of sugar and saturated fat. i don't think it's going to decrease the quality of the diet which is a concern of nutrition experts. >> if you look at the food included here now, we're talking about fast food and a lot of people are wondering, well, maybe this is going to foster some bad eating habits. so maria, what's your take on that? is fast food better than no food, i guess? >> exactly. fast food is better than no food. when we're talking about homeless people, which this is a particular program targeted at homeless people as well as elderly and disabled people. the choice really does come down to either not eating or eating very poorly and having a meal. and so i think that's the issue. that's the choice. it's not clear that just buying grocery food even if there is a place to cook it, is necessarily healthier. so it's fast food because it's inexpensive food.

it doesn't have to be unhealthy. but it's no food versus some food is the bottom line. >> malina would you like to weigh in on that? >> i think it is a big concern. nutrition experts, we're concerned about that it's families that are low income, families eating more fast food. that could have more profound health implications. again, 40% of the food that children had this country, ages two to 18 eat is either sugary sodas or juices or desserts. so i think it's more about education and if we can teach people on food stamps to maybe lean toward better choices, i mean, maybe i know this is going to sound crazy, but they have a hamburger and skip the fries that could potentially be better. i do think you have to pay attention to the hupger crisis in this country in addition to the obesity epidemic. >> let me share a statement from young foods. i want your take on it. those restaurants would include kfc, pizza hut. young foods says it makes

perfect sense to expand a program working well in california, arizona and michigan enabling the homeless, elderly and disabled to purchase prepared meals with snap benefits in a restaurant environment just as they can purchase ingredients in a supermarket. very quickly, maria, do you agree? >> yes. absolutely. i do agree. for the reasons i explained. because for homeless elderly disabled people, it's a real challenge to cook unprepared food. it does make a difference. now, the question of the quality of the food, i think it's essential to try to improve that quality. i mean, it is better to have some food rather than no food. but it's also important to have good quality food and there's no reason why fast food restaurants can't provide that. they should be encouraged to do that that. >> final word? >> i think it's about education in this population and that's the key. however we can do that and integrate fast food in, i'm okay with it as long as we do it the best way we can.

>> maria, and malina, appreciate you both joining the discussion. thank you. thousands of first responders risked their lives to help after the 9/11 terrorist attack. now, ten years later, those same heroes are now victims themselves. find out much more on this next.

a decade after 9/11, people are still dealing with the pain of the attack as thousands suffer from health consequences. chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta spent the past year investigating the health fallout of 9/11 first responders. he joins us with the latest. sanjay, what have you found? randi, one thing i can tell you at the ten-year mark, you start to collect data what

happened. trying to figure out was there a connection between the dust and health effects and what was in that dust specifically. big question, dr. paul lee oi who works at rutgers, he analyze theed the dust over the last several years. take a lis ep. >> you have fire retardants, combustion product, plastics in other parts of the periodic table. >> gold and mercury from tens of thousands of fluorescent light bulbs. lead from thousands of computer monitors. titanium from paint on the trade center walls. asbestos that coated lower beams of the trade center buildings. there was cement, glass, carpet fibers, ceiling tiles, even human hairs. in all, 1.5 million tons of the stuff. >> you had burning aircraft, you had burning furniture and burning buildings. that burning material included the jet fuel. you don't know what the gases

were in this initial complex mixture. that was inhaled by everyone. because no one could measure it. that's the great unknown. >> is it always going to be unknowable? >> there will always be mysteries about the dust. >> yes. >> randi, the mystery that he's talking about is had idea that immediately after the attacks there were compound in the air, volatile compound that dissipated into the atmosphere. they were never collected. so we don't know what the final analysis is in terms of what people breathe in at that time. we do know that people did get sick in higher numbers than expected. respiratory problems. also autoimmune problems from inflammation. also a paper showed an increase in cancer among first responders o who are also working for the fire department. yes, there will be some persistent questions, persistent mysteries about the dust. but we know more than ever before about what it did to people. randi, back to you. >> thank you, sanjay.

you can watch dr. gupta's full investigation of the health fallout since 9/11. plus rare never before seen footage of that tragic day in the documentary terror in the dust. it airs wednesday at 11 p.m. eastern. rick perry skipped yesterday's presidential forum to deal with the wildfires in his state instead. that's not stopped him from burning up the polls and his rivals. your political update is coming next. you'll never ever pick up a cigarette." i had to quit. ♪ my doctor gave me a prescription for chantix, a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] chantix is a non-nicotine pill proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away.

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let's see what's happening in the world of politics. for that we'll check in with mark preston. what's going on at the bachmann campaign. >> little shuffle at the top. no doubt about that. what we've learned in the last 24 hours is that ed rollins who was in the reagan administration, helped reagan win a second term, he helped mike huck a bee come out of nowhere in 2008. he stepped down for michele bachmann's campaign. in fact, he was on cnn last night, told anderson cooper that he did it because of health reasons. however, you have to start to question what the bachmann campaign is thinking and doing right now. ever since rick perry got into the race, michele bachmann has started to slip in the polls. so we've seen michele bachmann have a changeover at the top of her campaign leadership. not only has he stepped aside, so has the campaign manager. >> he mentioned rick perry. he's standing strong in the polls still but not without his problems. >> yeah. he c