thank you very much. thank you for the members of the audience. appreciate all the great questions. let's turn it over to anderson cooper right now. his show starts right now. see you tomorrow morning. good evening, everyone. we begin with breaking news. abc news is reporting that president obama's national security team is preparing for a military attack in syria much bigger than most anticipated. the most surprising part of the report, that a strike could include an aerial bombardment fired from b-2 and b-52 poppers flying from the united states. chris, this reporting that a u.s. strike could be much larger, what do we know about it? >> i'm getting some pushback from that, anderson. yes, they are saying that long-range bombers could be options that are considered or eventually used in any air strike on syria. so it is part of the planning

process. they say that does not fundamentally change the overall parameters of the mission. in other words, this official was telling me that, yes, targets on the ground are continuously changing. they're adapting some of the options to fit those new targets. but he predicted a lot of these options would continue to change because they see continued movement on the ground. but he does not see this fundamentally changing what the parameters of this mission have sort of been established as. >> it's interesting, the secretary of defense said this could cost tens of millions of dollars, but the abc report is saying they're talking about using all the tomahawk missiles that they have, which is hundreds, which would obviously put the cost a lot higher. also the abc report saying that the b-2 and b-52 bombers could be used. that would mean u.s. planes over syrian air space. >> not necessarily. if you look at the capabilities of say the b-2, which flies out of missouri, it's a long-range

bomber. can fly about 6,000 miles without refueling. 10,000 plus miles with one refueling mid-air. that's equipped with a joint air-to-surface standoff missile. in other words, these aircraft wouldn't have to come into syrian air space. and the official that i spoke with said you could get that standoff capability from a submarine, ship or an aircraft. none of it would have to enter syrian air space. it could be out of the range of the syrian air defenses and allow the capability to strike inside syria. >> interesting. joining me now, fran townsend, a member of the cia advisory committees. christopher dicky, correspondent nick paton walsh, and major general james spider marks. fran, what do you make of this report? >> we saw the language change. last week, the president talked about a limited strike that

sounded like standoff missiles from a ship in the mediterranean. then secretary kerry talked about degrading the assad regime that could tip the balance of power. when you hear things like that, if you saw the military plane i think you would feel better. so you have to wonder are they explaining it in such a limited way to gain political support, including those on the left and not really talking about this may be a more involved military operation. >> if you say feel better, that means for those that support the strike. >> that's right. but the president's political allies in congress, those tend to be in the middle and the left, might not want to hear that this may involve air assets and air cruise, and might want to hear it described in a more limited way. you have to wonder if it's being

described in a way that politically suits the president to gain support. >> christopher, putting aside the abc news reporting, you look at the draft resolution in the senate and see language that has mission creep or seems larger. >> look, you could conduct the entire kosovo air war within the terms of that senate resolution. first of all, look at the time that's allotted. we're not talking two, three days or a week. we're talking 60 days plus 30 more days. 90 days. if you have a sustained bombing or standoff cruise missile campaign, that's an awful lot of armaments raining down day after day after day an assad and his forces in the name of degrading those forces. degrading can mean destroying. >> general marks, whatever happens, the first step is the u.s. strike assuming it happens.

then we have no idea what the response by assad is going to be and whether that is going to necessitate a counterstrike or another kind of operation. so on one hand you could say it's understandable where pentagon planners would be planning for a larger operation. >> anderson, they would have to be planning for a larger operation. the key thing is, the construct in which the planning is taking place is action, reaction and counteraction. that's how you walk through every scenario we've ever had to contend with. and in the case of the pentagon planners, when you look at what assad has been doing with his capabilities, both his what i would call conventional military capabilities and his chemical and what he's done with his chemical and delivery means, there really are a whole host of targets on a target set which are dual use. in other words, what we've heard from the administration is the fact that there are two tracks that clearly assad needs to go and the international community agrees with that. and now this very egregious violation of international law needs to be addressed.

but in addressing the latter, you are going to go after the former. that's clearly what we see right now. the planning has to include enhanced capabilities and the fact that assad may implode. we always have to be careful what you ask for. there may be tremendous success, assad may disappear. now we have a real problem in syria that might include even grander planning than what we've addressed right now. >> fran? >> anderson, having been in the white house and watched military planning, even if what you assume is only a two or three day operation, when you go to congress and you're seeking authorization, you want the ability to react and anticipate. what you don't want to do is find yourself in a conflict authorized for way a week, as chris suggests, and then all of a sudden find yourself in an engagement where you have to go back to congress. >> you still think this sounds somewhat limited?

>> to a degree. but why did he go to congress? there's the potential for this to massively widen once you see retaliation. he's with the international community. we don't know what's being said behind closed doors. i'm sure they are keen to say this is happening regardless. but the broader issue is you have to understand what level of damage you can inflict on assad. we don't know how long it will take for his construct to collapse around him. now, the opposition won't indulge in negotiations. so they're saying bomb him until he chooses to leave. >> any military operation, any use of force is inherently unknown. there are so many unknowns. you look at the war in afghanistan,s that supposed to be a limited action against the

taliban to get rid of al qaeda and the taliban. the war in iraq was -- everyone was supposed to be home by christmas. you never know how long these things are going to go. >> there's something pretty predictable, especially in the arab world. the americans, when they go to war, it's all about winning. we want to do it quickly, we hope to get out quickly and we want to win. in the arab world, war is always about the victims. they're always showing you the dead babies and the people killed by american bombs even if they weren't killed by american bombs. very quickly you'll have a war of public opinion all over the arab world once the bombing begins that will be based on american atrocities. that's fairly predictable in this conflict. the other thing is that you're going to have a much increased refugee flow. you've already got 2 million refugees outside the country, 1 million of them children.

and that's just going to get a lot worse. all of this we saw during the kosovo war. >> general marks, you've been to battle. going into battle, do you ever -- do you always believe it could be much worse than anticipated? >> anderson, that's the only contemplation you make if you're worth anything and you're a military planner. there is never a guaranty that the outcome is going to look like anything you've drawn up. >> we've got to leave it there. all of this comes as the obama administration is in the thick of a full court press behind closed doors for military action in syria. just days left to make their case before next week's votes in the house and the senate and the g-20 summit in st. petersburg the issue loomed large. president obama and president putin smiled for cameras, but they won't be meeting one on one during the summit. back home, u.s. lawmakers are fanning out.

the latest poll shows most americans are opposed to a military strike in syria. even some of president obama's supporters in congress, including senator patrick leahy are expressing reservations. john mccain has been one of the strongest voices in favor of military strikes. here's what he faced at a up to hall today. >> why are you not listening to the people and staying out of syria? it's not our fight? >> i'm very heartfelt by the syrians. but that's a whole other part of the world with other countries that can do something about it besides us. >> we don't want a war on syria. we have $17 trillion in debt. let's concentrate on this country and our economy and our children. >> president obama has cleared his calendar to focus on the senate and house votes. tonight, a reminder of why he has his work cut out of him.

this video reportedly shows the execution of soldiers loyal to assad. the man talking is the commander of the rebels. [ speaking foreign language ] [ gunshots ] >> their bodies were then dumped in a bell. those executions reportedly took place in the spring of 2012. after they were shot, their bodies were dumped into that up marked grave and it appears to be a well. the syrian opposition coalition condemned the execution saying they contravene international law. that said, the video underscores a sticking point for many lawmakers, the lack of a clear

cut ally in syria. they want reassurance the u.s. won't be helping the bad guys. senator john mccain joins me. senator, i'm curious, what kind of calls are you getting from constituents on this? we're hearing from other members that overwhelmingly they are getting calls from their constituents against any kind of military strike. >> i'm getting the same calls and that's why i'm doing town hall meetings all over my state so that i can give people my point of view. but also listen to them. it's beginning to turn around some. i'm surprised. at first, it was very heavily against. and now some of it is beginning to turn around. i think it certainly indicates a couple of things. one is that iraq -- americans are very skeptical, and i understand that. i'm skeptical too because of iraq. i think that there's a mistrust of the president.

i think it's been mishandled. the president saying he was going to strike, and then staying -- going to congress. so look, that's why i think a lot of us who are very concern ed about this issue have to speak to our constituents. >> if the vote was today, do you think it would pass? >> i'm not a vote counter, but i do know that there are many of my colleagues, understandably, that have to be convinced. this is a very, very tough call. there's no more important vote than a member of congress will cast than this. and so we have our work cut out for us. >> right now the administration is saying the goal of the mission is to deter and degrade assad's chemical weapons. any military operation should "change the momentum on the

battlefield in syria." it sounds like you and the administration are still on different pages. >> that's not true, anderson. i talked to the president in the white house and he said he had three objectives. one was to deter the capabilities of bashar al assad to deliver those chemical weapons. second was to provide support for the free syrian army. third was to change the momentum on the battlefield. that was the president's stated goals. so i'm not in disagreement at all with the president of the united states. >> so when you get those calls from constituents and people say this is not, how is this possibly in the national security interest of the united states to strike syria, what do you say? how is this in the national security interest? >> this conflict is not confined to syria. sit a regional conflict now. you know, anderson, the refugee camps that destabilizes lebanon, jordan, iraq has turned into killing fields that we haven't

seen since 2008 and a total resurgence of al qaeda. this is not a conflict within syria. if we send a message to the world, especially the iranians and the north koreans that we are allowing bashar al assad to use chemical we pops and slaughter those 1,000 innocent women and children, then we are making a terrible mistake. and in the 1930s, the world sat by while gas was used by mussolini, where they -- all kinds of atrocities took place in the 1930s and a whole lot of places and dictators had their will, and we sat by and watched these things happen and we paid a very, very heavy price for it. >> when you saw the front page of "the new york times" today, that picture, we showed the video earlier what appears to be the execution of syrian military troops by rebel forces, it adds to a list of horror stories we've heard committed by rebels. yesterday, secretary kerry said only 15% to 20% of the

opposition what he called bad guys or extremists. a congressman said half of the opposition were extremists. who's right here? >> secretary kerry is right in all due respect. civil wars are horrible things. we found that out in our own. the frustration that these fighters feel as they watch children slaughtered, women gang raped. it's inexcusable, absolutely inexcusable. but these things tragically happen in war. i notice that the syrian national council have condemned that behavior and they ought to punish the people who perpetrated it. the united states of america, if we are more involved than i think we can have a greater

influence on their behavior. again, i do not -- all things are horrible. but if you visit these refugee camps, as you did, anderson, and you hear the stories of the calculated dogma and doctrine of rape, murder and torture that is employed by bashar al assad, it is horrendous. >> senator john mccain, i appreciate you being on. thank you. >> thank you, anderson. >> let us know what you think about tonight's reporting. follow me on twitter. up next, seeking justice for shareece morales. she was raped by her teacher at age 14. also ahead, the death of a teenager in georgia was ruled an accident. the second autopsy told a different story. we'll hear from kendrick johnson's parents ahead.

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hey, welcome back. in "crime and punishment" tonight, the 30-day rape sentence caused outrage. far beyond the montana courtroom where it was imposed. the judge admitted he was wrong

to sentence stacey rambold to a month in jail after he admitted raping his then 14-year-old student. he was wrong to make frankly horrible claims that the victim seemed older than her chronological age and was somehow as much in control of the situation as her rapist. she killed herself before it could go to trial. the judge apologized and admitted the sentence could be illegal but correcting the mistake may be easier said than done. when asked about it, look what happened. >> reporter: excuse me, judge, good morning. do you have just one minute to chat with me, sir? >> no, thanks. >> well, she joins me now live from billings, montana. so there's been movement in the case in the last hour. what's the latest? >> reporter: well, we know the state attorney general filed, trying to cancel what is being viewed as tomorrow anderson, a

do-over hearing. the judge calling everyone back saying he wants to rule again saying maybe it was illegal to just do a month. now let's try to change it to two years. here is where it gets interesting. not only the state attorney general but the prosecution and defense say they are done with this judge, no one wants this hearing tomorrow. they want it now with the state supreme court where there is an appeal sitting and waiting. >> and why does the judge not want the montana supreme court to take over the case at this point? is he afraid of not getting reelected? >> reporter: well the judge's reelection is next year and he's saying he wants to get on the record. i sat outside his office all morning to get a response. he never came out. i spoke to people connected to the case. they feel he is determined to somehow get on the court record that he made an error and that he wants this two-year now sentence for this man. >> thanks very much. joining me now is the mother of the young victim in this case

charise morales. first of all, i'm so sorry for your loss. what do you want people to know about your daughter? >> she was wonderful. she was wonderful and she deserves justice. >> i can't even imagine what it would have been like to have heard this judge's sentence, i mean to be sentenced to only 30 days in jail. were you in the courtroom at that moment? >> yeah. >> what went -- >> i freaked out. >> you freaked out. >> despair, unbelief, horror. it was inappropriate and sometimes you just got to tell a judge he sucks. >> and you told him that. you yelled that? >> yeah. >> the judge, i mean -- >> they have a problem with my temper. >> the judge made some -- i mean, as you know, truly appalling statements about your

daughter. it -- when you heard those, i mean, did he ever apologize to you directly? >> no, no and i'm listed in the book, so -- >> so he could have just called you up? >> yeah. everybody else has. >> he made a public apology saying he didn't know what he was talking about. he didn't know where that came from. do you accept that? >> no. he didn't apologize until after the storm of media hit. >> and you think that's really what is behind his apology, he wants to get re-elected? you don't think he really regrets what he said or feels what he said was wrong? >> i'm not sure. i don't know him. you know, i've never met him on a personal basis. i don't know if he's a nice guy.

i'm not sure. i'm glad that the other courts are stepping in to review the sentence. we got this thing tomorrow. >> you talked about -- >> anything more than 31 days. >> you talked about wanting justice for charise. to you what would that look like? what would justice look like? you said anything more than 31 days. the judge acknowledged the sentence he imposed may have been against the law. your daughter's rapist could serve, you know, a minimum of two years of his 15-year sentence. would that be justice? >> i don't know. in my mind there is no -- you know, i'm -- i agree with county attorneys. they are asking for 20 years with ten years suspended. that would help, a lot. ten years. >> that would make a difference? >> it doesn't bring her back. it doesn't really change anything, but at least he gets to pay for what he's done. >> if you could talk -- >> and i think he should.

>> if you could talk to this judge, what would you say to him? >> i probably couldn't say that on tv, but i bet he was having a bad day after that. he was wrong. he made the wrong decision. >> for your daughter, i mean, you know, often times in something like this, people don't really learn much about who the victim is and who the person was and so i just want to give you an opportunity to just talk about your daughter a little bit and let us know what she was like. >> she was fantastic. she was funny. she was smart. she was gorgeous, and it doesn't matter how old she looks. she was still 14. she lit up a room. she was artistic. but i'm biased. >> as you should be. is there something that she

hoped to be one day or that you wanted her to be? >> i wanted her to be happy. >> well, again, i'm so sorry for your loss and we'll continue to follow this and i hope it makes a difference and i hope justice is served for charise and for you. >> thank you. for more on the story go to cnn.com. we'll update you tomorrow what happened at that hearing. up next, the parents of a georgia teenager insist their son was murdered despite what investigators concluded. tonight, we have an exclusive interview with the parents and the pathologist that conducted an independent autopsy. also, brave soldiers that served in afghanistan waited months for a special moment back on american soil reunited with the stray puppies they adopted in afghanistan. e's nothing like that feeling of getting something new. and now, with verizon edge, you can experience that new phone thrill, again, and again,

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well, tonight the circumstances involving the death of a georgia teenager have grown murkier. what happened to 17-year-old kendrick johnson? was it an accident or was it murder? the answer to those questions depends on who you ask. he was a star athlete at his high school in georgia. in january his body was found inside a rolled up gym mat. an autopsy said the death was an accident but his parents didn't buy it and ordered their own independent examination. as we reported two days ago, that autopsy concluded johnson died of blunt force trama. victor blackwell speaks exclusively with his parents and the pathologist who considers his death a homicide. >> reporter: kenneth and jackelyn johnson says science supports what they thought all along, that their 17-year-old son kendrick was murdered at his high school in georgia.

>> an accident we just didn't believe. >> reporter: soon after kendrick's body was discovered upside down in the center of this gym mat, investigators determined there was no foul play and kendrick accidently got stuck while reaching for this shoe. the official finding of the state's autopsy, positional asphyxia, that kendrick was suffocated by his body weight. >> when i viewed his body sunday, you can see something happened. >> reporter: so could the first responders. in a report paramedics considered the gym a crime scene and after a closer look at kendrick, there was bruising noted to right side jaw. at the johnson's expense, kendrick's body was exhumed. dr. bill anderson performed a second autopsy and checked the right side jaw. he found something surprising. >> that area where the trama occurred had not been detected. it was still in tact.

so it had never been opened at the time of the first autopsy. >> reporter: and there is no mention of those bruises in the state's official autopsy or the local crime lab's report. >> there was hemorrhage indicating trama to the area and causes blood to come out into the soft tissues. by looking at that we can say there was blunt force trama to that area. >> reporter: so he took blows to the neck? >> he took at least one blow to the neck. >> reporter: so just to be clear, you're calling this a homicide? >> yes. >> reporter: a spokeswoman for the georgia bureau of investigation tells cnn we have complete confidence in the medical examiners and stand by our autopsy report. >> i've never had a case that i can recall where the prosecution actually was told that this may well be a homicide, and the prosecution, the state, police and so forth and then didn't bother prosecuting. it's mystifying.

is>> reporter: this is the first time you've called a case a homicide and everybody backed away? >> pretty much so. there were a couple cases where there was a deliberate coverup. the case involved in the investigation or associated with people that just didn't want the facts to come out. >> reporter: the just justice department is considering whether or not to get involved. >> if they don't get involved, they are sending a message to the world, you can kill as long as you can get away with it. >> reporter: do you still talk to kendrick? >> yeah. >> reporter: what do you say? >> sometimes i ask him what happened. i want -- sometimes i blame myself for not being there. >> reporter: how long are you willing to night >> till i die. if it take me till i die, i'll fight until i die. >> victor blackwell joins us now from georgia. so the family's autopsy says johnson's death was not an accident which totally

contradicts the other autopsy and the family sent copies to the justice department for review and they responded saying they don't see a civil rights violation, but is there a chance they could investigate further? >> reporter: there is and it would be through the criminal division of the department of justice. the u.s. attorney michael moore here in georgia has been reviewing this case for months. it's been on his desk he says every day, and he says he's still looking at it to determine if an investigation is valid. he also said this, he said, i want to make sure that members of the community and the family and everyone involved has confidence in my work and in my decision, and also, anderson, he says that when the time is right, he will meet with the family's pathologist. anderson? >> victor, appreciate the update. a loyal dog and her puppies reunited with the american soldiers whoa promised they would not leave them behind and they didn't. one of the soldiers and his dog will join us ahead. new information about what caused that huge fire that's burned more than 200,000 acres in an around yosemite. this is for you. ♪

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a good story from afghanistan. there was a lot of smiles around the office. brave american soldiers stationed at a remote base. a doing wanders around and the dog has puppies and i'll let randi kaye pick up the rest of the story. >> reporter: at terminal 4 at jfk they are anxiously awaiting a special delivery prom afghanistan. >> i'm extremely excited. i can't put into words. i'm antsy, excited, pumped up. >> reporter: to better understand why, let me take you back to afghanistan earlier this year where he and others were helping train afghan patrols on the boarder with iran. a stray dog took a liking to them and the men immediately bonded with her. she went on patrols with them and waited each night for their safe return. they named her sheeba.

when she got pregnant, the soldiers knew her life and puppy's lives were in danger. the puppies were hungry and she was dangerously thin. so the men started giving her and soon her seven pups their rations, mres, beef jerky, they bathed them, swaddled them in blankets and loved them like their own. sergeant cabba realized he couldn't leave afghanistan without the dogs. >> i fell in love. you know what, from the second she was born we're like they are cute and started getting personalities and taking to us very well, and, you know, you can't leave something like that behind. >> reporter: a couple of phone calls and soon sergeant cabba was in touch with guardians of rescue, a new york group that rescues animals. they got word to this dog shelter in afghanistan and after very generous donations, the dogs were brought there, quarantined for three months. next, they were shipped to

dubai, then flown to the u.s., an 8,000-mile journey which brings us back to jfk's terminal four. late wednesday, the dogs arrived to cheers. >> got you here. we said we would. >> reporter: the puppies had grown a bit but they sure seemed to remember the guys. >> i feel fantastic. i haven't seen them in awhile, and she's gorgeous. i can't believe that they are here. >> reporter: they were checked out at a local shelter where they got strange stairs from others wondering where they came from. there was also a group photo. well, sort of. all the excitement was a bit too much for the mother but her babies, now 5 1/2 months, were thrilled. does she know any tricks yet? >> she doesn't know she's doing it but shakes hands. >> reporter: back home in long beach new york, his puppy seems

at home after her first night. how did she do overnight? >> she did well. she's a howler, that was something we weren't expecting. >> reporter: during our interview she was distracted by the new sights and sounds. she thinks she's still in afghanistan. >> she does. >> reporter: for the sergeant and his unit, these dogs managed to give them a bit of normalcy far from home. >> she just offered so much companionship. just so tee someone excited to see me when we walked back in, her butt shaking and tongue out is fantastic. it was. it means the world. she made things so much easier. >> come on, girl. >> reporter: randi kaye, cnn, new york. >> there is no doubt randi kaye had the best assignment. but a short time ago, i got to meet the sergeant and his dog, cadence. so did you know right away this was the dog for you? >> i knew within about three days, yeah.

>> what was it about her? >> the way she slept, definitely the way she slept. her mouth was wide open and laid on her back and just seemed independent yet, lazy. >> is that how you sleep? >> exactly how i sleep. but i snore. she doesn't snore. >> how hard was it -- a lot of people think about doing this serving overseas but to follow through in doing this was amazing. how hard was it? >> it was very easy in my case. i decided i wanted to talk one dog home and for some reason i reached out to my old high school teacher, who put me in contact with guardians of rescue who counter offered with bringing all eight dogs home. >> that's amazing. why your high school teacher? >> no idea. she was well-known and a huge influence on me growing up, and i figured maybe she can help fund raise a couple hundred dollars. it was a good guess. >> what do you think would have happened to cadence and others? >> they -- our base closed when we left. there was no, you know, back

field. so she would be fighting for herself if not dead by now, absolutely. >> they don't treat dogs all that well over there? >> not at all. they treat them like trash. >> yeah. you have another dog. >> i do. >> how do they get along? >> they get along okay. he always wants to play. she doesn't quite get that yet because she's used to fighting for food with brothers and sisters, i guess. i think they will get there. she's a little jerk to him sometimes. yeah, she's a jerk. >> what is great about her, she's so sort of adaptive to wherever she goes. >> right. >> it seems like she's really good -- this is a tendency with dogs that are raised in that kind of environment. they are very good about reading surroundings and adapting to them. >> yeah, i mean, you got to think everything is different. you've been over there. it's all mud and dirt and walking on the sidewalk is different and seeing so many cars go by is different. her adapting in her skills to do so are fantastic. >> yeah, what do you want people to know about your time over there and about the importance

of -- >> you can't get a better companion than a dog and someone so happy to see you when you get back from a mission, and you know, they just -- whatever happened an hour prior doesn't matter, as long as you can have a dog wagging it's butt at you and licking your hands, it turns your day around no matter what you've been through. >> yeah. and do you hope sometime maybe to reunite all the siblings? >> we will, yeah. it will be hard to get them because two went to ohio. we have a wedding in december we'll bring her up for and have play dates, definitely. >> do you think she'll become an american dog quickly? >> i hope so. i think she will. >> i think she'll blend in fast. >> she'll like the beach, that's what i'm waiting for. >> i know you want to thank the organization. >> yeah, guardians rescue and definitely save a pet long island. if it wasn't for them, it wouldn't have happened and we need to get their names out, because, soldiers can bring their dogs home if they talk to the right people. donations, you know, sharing it,

talking about it would be fantastic. >> we'll put the names of the organization on our website. >> that would be great. >> how did you come up with the name cadence? obviously military cadence. >> i wanted something military but not so cliche. >> got it. does she know her name yet? >> i don't think so. i've yelled it enough so maybe she'll -- >> how is the house training going? >> not well. she hasn't peed outside yet. >> she went in your green room. >> did she? >> she did, sorry. she'll get there. >> you sure that was the dog. >> you know what? i was excited, too. she'll get there. she'll get there. >> yeah, i'm sure she will. congratulations. so happy for you. >> appreciate it. thank you. up next, dustin brown the biological father of a little girl at the center of a custody dispute faced a judge in oklahoma today. we'll see what happened. you work. and you want to get an mba.

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i'm susan hendriks with a "360" news bulletin. we begin with the custody fight over baby veronica. the little girl's biological father is refusing to follow a ruling by the u.s. supreme court that she go back to her adoptive parents in south carolina who raised her until she was 2. dustin brown faced an oklahoma judge today after that state's governor ordered he return to south carolina to face charges of parental interference. he was granted bail and faces a hearing in october. the u.s. forest service says the massive rim wildfire burning at yosemite national park was started by a hunter who didn't control an illegal fire. the fire now covers more than 237,000 acres and is 80% contained. a nightclub that calls itself one of the "jersey shore's" most talked about venues is related to a suspected mumps outbreak. officials say all but one are adults who were recently at the nightclub.

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a chef and his food truck are changing lives. here's tom forman with this week's "american journey." >> reporter: of all the food trucks working the streets of atlanta, few draw customers as quickly as ford fries. >> how is that grill working? >> reporter: no wonder, he's the star chef behind some of the city's best restaurants, and this latest passion is not just another business. >> i never really wanted to have a food truck for a business. it's hard work. but to go back and serve the city was just something i really had a passion to do. >> reporter: every meal sold here provides the money for two

or three served for free here. this is the nonprofit city of ref judge, a center to help some of the city's neediest residents with housing, health care, education, and of course, meals. >> on a daily basis, we have about 200 residents that live on campus. another 100 to 150 that will come on campus each day to receive the services that we provide. >> reporter: it is also a job training center in which people who are struggling learn all the skills needed to work in the restaurant industry and how to put their lives on a positive track. >> i've learned basically everything that you could learn by cooking. and i've learned also a lot of managerial type of skills and i learned how to be a better person. >> she pays attention. she gets it right the first time and that's why she's here today. >> reporter: is it working? the program claims a 100% success rate in placing graduates in jobs, in restaurants, catering companies and at least for a time in the tasty truck that helps make it

all possible. tom forman, cnn. >> that's it for us. thanks for watching. erin burr et "outfront" starts now. who are the good guys in syria? the shocking new video tonight. it complicates the debate over the president's plans for military action. plus, another shocking report tonight thanks to nsa plus, another shocking report tonight thanks to nsa leaker edward snowden, the nsa spying on the only e-mails you thought were safe, literally. a 14-year-old commits suicide after being raped by a 54-year-old teacher. he was convicted and sentenced to 30 days in jail. tonight, the mother speaks out. let's go "outfront." good evening, everyone. i'm erin burnett.