i was so nervous. but all i saw in my mind was this performance and thought well, i hope i'm doing that. >> well, you certainly were and we're so excited having you on tonight, thank you for being with us, brett. >> no problem, any time. >> "ac360" with wolf blitzer starts right now. good evening, i'm wolf blitzer, in for anderson cooper tonight. we'll show you the face of a wildfire and efforts to stop it. and two airliners came just seconds within a disaster, and the question is, how safe is your next flight. later, it was either climb or die. we'll talk to a guy who did just that and somehow kept his cool after being swallowed in a mountain of ice. we start in arizona where firefighters were just starting to get a handle on the massive wildfire but could very quickly see all of their efforts disappear some crucial hours ahead.

ana cabrera has more. ana, you're out of the fire lines tonight. is there any progress being made in the fight against these fires? >> reporter: wolf, if you can see just how smoky it is around me, the firefighters are making some progress. at least 75% of it is contained. they have been dropping water from the air, and fire retardant, and sort of trying to trap the fire. in some areas it is so steep or rug rugged and tough for firefighters to get in there on the ground. so they're actually having to use these small incendiary devices that are as small as a pingp -- pinb g pong balls. they are under pre evacuation

notices, really, the crucial area they're focusing is the northeast flight that is just not contained yet. that is where they're worried. there is a road there. the hard line right now as they continue to do burnout around the area. but if the fire were to jump that road then it opens up into a canyon where there is lots of heavy fuel, that leads up into the village. that is the area they're most concerned about and focusing their efforts. >> there could be some relief in sight this weekend? >> fingers crossed. very nice day today. cooler, calmer, and this week we could even see a little bit of rain. there are storms in the forecast, the rain, if there is more wind it could be a problem. >> ana cabrera on scene for us, thank you. and now, there were new developments that could foreshadow donald sterling and

she she shelly's leaving. no indications she will get anything. meanwhile, we're learning about v. stiviano and how her recording of the racist rant came to life. details from "ac360's" randi kaye. >> reporter: a new instagram posting from v. stiviano, calling herself a material girl. dancing to the song by madonna, shared by her followers the same day, we're learning new information about the racist rant she recorded about donald sterling and why it took several months for it to come out. the answer is buried in mounds of nba confidential documents related in the sterling investigation and relayed by the times reporter, jim rainy. he argued that donald sterling and v. stiviano argued one

night. he was upset because she posted a photo on instagram. stiviano recorded the argument as it continued inside her home. it all may have ended there had shelly sterling not filed this lawsuit against stiviano in march, insisting she return the fancy cars, $240,000 cash and $1.8 million town house donald sterling had given her. >> so she sued. and indeed that does seem to be the precipitating event in all of this. >> rainy says that only after stiviano was served with a lawsuit did she give copies to friends for safekeeping. he says he believes one of them sold the tape. stiviano's lawyer told "the l.a. times" she had the recording but did not leak it to the media. the nba investigation, according to rainy, also shows shelly

sterling put a lien on stiviano's home. later, another moment was revealed between stiviano and donald sterling and a clipper's employee caught in the middle. it is all spelled out in these text messages posted on the website, now part of the investigation. on april 9th, sterling had a clipper's employee text stiviano telling her that sterling had ordered the parking pass and the luxury pass given her be sold. then this, mr. sterling said to let me know if you need anything. we don't want to have any issues at the game. stiviano's response, no, tell mr. sterling that i don't need anything nor do i want anything. but thanks for asking, let the games begin. >> she said let the games began, she may have meant something totally innocuous, maybe she was looking forward to the nba

playoffs. but i think a lot of people saw it as a threatening message. >> that text was sent at 5:33 p.m. just two minutes later, 5:35 p.m., stiviano sent the attached file of sterling's rant to the clippers employee. 16 days later, tmz posted sterling's rant and the nba began the process of removing him from the clippers s and the nba for good. randi kaye, cnn, new york. not surprisingly with the story there is always plenty to talk about me. also the sports agent, guys, thank you very much for coming in. steven, when you hear that shelly sterling is now negotiating the sale of the team with the nba, what do you make of it? there are actual reports she is trying to retain at least some kind of ownership of the team. >> i believe it is a highly intelligent move on her part because i believe it is a no-win

situation. everybody talks about howly tige litigious they are. he signed an agreement. it is in the nba constitution. and if you impune or sully the nba name in any way shape or fashion they can have grounds to get rid of you. remember, it is a private fraternity, that is why it appears to be a foregone conclusion, that they would be gone anyway. so if you're shelly sterling, why fight the team, you can move on because clearly nobody wants to work for you in terms of playing basketball for your franchise. >> you know there were reports that donald sterling was trying to transfer ownership to see wife. is that even something he can do without specific approval of the nba? because there is language in the constitution on that. >> no, i believe that the league is going to have to approve

this. it is my opinion that whether you sell it to your wife or not you're selling the team. and it has to be approved by the league. the bottom line is this is a very positive development as long as she goes ahead and sells the team. is it better that she has the team right now than donald sterling? absolutely. but does it solve the issue if she keeps the team? no. let's get this team away from the sterlings, get it as far away from donald sterling as possible. they will get a billion dollars or more and let's get this guy out of professional sports altogether. moving it to his wife is fine in the short term but that is not the long-term solution. and i'm glad she wants to sell. let's hope she follows through with it and this is not just a sham to keep it in the family. >> because you say it is a good thing if in fact she is seriously negotiating the sale of the team. but why is she the one negotiating the sale?

i mean, her husband is really the principal. he is the one who could go ahead and negotiate and get an auction going right now. he doesn't need her to do it. >> it is an easy answer, because she is a lot more popular than he is. she is going to be able to get her better deal. she will have more time to get a better deal. he is vilified and deservedly so. he will not have the same opportunity to sell the team that she would have. >> drew makes a great point, the way he has been excoriated, when adam silver came out and gave him the lifetime ban he pointed out specifically this was against donald sterling and not anybody else. so as a result of it, even though you don't want a sterling owning the team at the same time, you say she is not the one making the comments.

so the asking price she would have, she is in a better bargaining position to maximize the potential of this team. even though he would still get a pretty penny he can't maximize it the way she can. because he is the one who sullied the reputation. >> and steven, you have no doubt there would be a major bidding war. a lot of people want to buy the l.a. clippers. if we're talking a billion dollars some suggest they could wind up getting even more. >> i have no doubt about this. but wolf, if you could get a billion you could get a billion if you're donald sterling. if you're shelly sterling, you may get 1.3 billion, the last time i checked it is extra change in your pocket. it counts. >> you agree, drew? >> oh, absolutely, he has no leverage, donald sterling, he has to sell. the owners want him out, the players, the coaches, society wants him out. that is not good leverage position. that is not negotiating

position, but when you get the wife in she has more leverage. she doesn't have the same pressure. she will get a better price. people will rather deal with her. she does not have to sell immediately. she can buy more time, get a better deal and price. and it is all about money. okay? so -- >> well, drew, the other point that needs to be made here drew and wolf is this, if you're the nba owners who compile the board of governors you want her to get as much money as she possibly can. because you have to remember when she sells the franchise it is split the other 29 days. and those are extra dollars that come into her pocket. so they want her to be able to sell because the more money she is able to get the more money they're able to get. >> and no doubt about it -- >> go ahead. >> i was just going to say, wolf, the higher of the value, the franchise and the sell, is better to the league and other franchises raises the value of other nba teams. so this is important to the nba owners that mrs. sterling is

doing this transaction and not donald sterling. >> yeah, and remember, he bought the team back in 1981 for about $12 million. so if he sells it for a billion or a billion and a half that is a nice little profit over all of these years. guys, thank you very much. steven a. smith, drew rosenhouse. up next, the vet who put his faith in the hospital. he says they repaid it. >> and how good is air traffic control? should you be worried when you board your next flight after a string of near collision? [ dog barks ] ♪ [ male announcer ] imagine the cars we drive... being able to see so clearly... to respond so intelligently and so quickly, they can help protect us from a world of unseen danger. it's the stuff of science fiction... minus the fiction.

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. president obama's chief troubleshooter is looking to problems with the v.a., vets waiting months for care while administrators allegedly cook the books to try to cover it up. we don't know what is uncovered. we do know sadly just how easy it is to find families who say they're hurting. drew griffin has a powerful report. >> in late 2012, pedro valdez, a vietnam war vet started to have shortness of breath. and his daughter says this proud vet would only consider one place for treatment. the phoenix v.a. >> he would have appointment cards that were given to him had. he would show up to the appointment and this happened for over ten months. for ten months he would show up for an appointment.

he would have the card in hand. go to check in. and they would tell him, mr. val valdez, you don't have an appointment in the computer, we have no idea what you're talking about. we don't know why you have that card. but we can't see you today. we have a booked computer schedule. we have people waiting and will get back to you. >> priscilla says she watched the father who raised the children alone, and worked construction, deteriorate. and kept the faith the v.a. would help him. >> my dad is a vietnam veteran. he made it out of a gruesome, gruesome war. and i hardly ever remember seeing my dad cry his whole life. he was a very brave man, reserved man, in october of 2013, i remember him telling me that he was going for an appointment. he was very excited he would finally get seen. he ends up showing up to my house that morning and i'm like

dad, i come out, dad, what did they do, what did they tell you? what is going on? he says they didn't see me again. i don't understand it, will you please go back with me and find out what is going on. and i told him i said definitely let's go back right now. >> priscilla says after insisting it finally happened, her father had an actual appointment. >> i saw her put it into the computer. we left, the appointment was for january 6th, three months later. three months later is as soon as she had an appointment. there was no questioning why it was taking so long to get it in three months. that is just as soon as she had, there was no question, if's and's or butts. >> on new year's eve she found her father having trouble breathing. she rushed him to a private hospital. he was suffering from acute respiratory failure. >> he was in intensive care and died six days later.

>> the v.a.'s office of the inspector general is now investigating. allegations of secret waiting lists used hide appointment lists, last week the inspector general updated the information. >> the initial lists that we were given we have gone through. and there were only 17 names on that list. our review to date, and we have more work to do on this because we want to have more than one set of eyes look at all the records. but on those 17, we didn't conclude so far that the delay caused the death. >> because of privacy laws it is hard to know if pedro valdez was on anyone's list at the phoenix v.a. secret or not. priscilla valdez only knows this, her father tried to get an appointment for ten months here and couldn't. >> i asked several people, how

would i find out if my dad was on that list. but to me, the list is just a piece of paper. i know because of what i witnessed, because of what i seen my dad go through so whether or not he was on that list, i know what he went through. and he was a true victim of the delays. their refusal, the embarrassment they put him through. >> priscilla, is there any doubt in your mind that the denied care at the v.a. led to your dad's death? >> is there any doubt in my mind that it led to it? there is no doubt in my mind at all. >> drew, you just got back from phoenix. you know the inspector general's office in phoenix was trying to know if the veteran did die. so far they say they can't find any death related to delayed care. families you have been talking to, do they trust the v.a. to

investigate this? >> wolf, after all of this, wolf is no, they don't. even like in the case of priscilla if her father's case is one they're looking at and they have no way to make a judgment call on it, will they know if pedro is dying anyway, they didn't see him for 13 months? did that cause his death? you have to remember these are not wealthy families who are not going to hire an attorney or medical examiner? they were going to the v.a. because they had nowhere else to go. so do they trust the v.a. now or own the inspector general? they don't, wolf. >> clearly, they obviously don't. do we know when the investigation will be over? >> it could be another three months, maybe august before the final investigation is through. and keep in mind there are maybe 25 other v.a. facilities facing this type of investigation so it is going to be a while before we get any answers believable or not to these families, wolf. >> all right, drew, thank you very much. coming up, another close call in the skies.

we're going to tell you how close and how often this happens. and later, a couple speaks out about their ordeal on board the costa concordia and what they're still going through today. nouncer ] there is no substitute for experience. for what reality teaches you firsthand. in the face of danger, and under the most demanding circumstances. experience builds character. experience builds confidence. and experience... has built this. the 2014 glk. the engineering and the experience of mercedes-benz. see your authorized dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services.

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another close call between two planes, this time in houston, the faa is investigating the incident which happened earlier this month and seems to be happening again and again. renee marsh reports. >> right turn -- >> an air traffic controller in training directs a united jet to turn putting it on a possible

collision course with another plane departing houston bush intercontinental airport. the two planes take off at roughly the same time, united flight 601 turns right as directed and is now in the path of the other plane. within seconds, according to the faa, the controller realizes his mistake. >> 601, stop the turn right there, sir, stop your turn, stop your turn, flight 601. >> the two planes came within a mile of each other, at takeoff speed that means they were mere seconds from possible impact, passengers from both flight might not have been aware of the near disaster, but the pilots were stunned. >> hey, 601, you know what happen there had? >> yeah, basically crossed over the top of each other. that is what it looks like from my perspective. i have no idea what was going on in the tower, but it was pretty gnarly looking. >> this is yet another high

profile incident of airliners getting too close. something that happens every day. in april, two planes nearly collided over the runway at newark airport. >> 4100. >> the controllers directed a united airlines boeing 737 to land. as a smaller express jet was cleared for takeoff on an intersecting runway. the larger plane is nearly out of control when hthey tell it t circumstan circle. the day after this incident, a boeing 757 flying over the pacific came too close to another aircraft. after climbing to the altitude the air traffic controllers

assigned them, they had to plunge fast. >> this would be the same as a pilot making a mistake. but remember, there is avionics on board, one is collision assistance. >> the nation's skies are under stress with increasing air traffic and a potential shortage of controllers. the faa says it has taken steps to prevent any similar occurrences in the future but would not elaborate. renee marsh, cnn, washington. joining us now, cnn safety analyst david souci, the author of "why planes crash" and investigator for safe skies. david, this near miss in houston, the planes came within nearly a mile of each other, 400 feet vertically, if you will. help us put it in perspective, how close was this incident from disaster? >> wolf, if you look at the fact they were 7.8 miles from each other and flying at 200 miles an hour to make the math easier,

we're talking only ten seconds the amount of time it took for him to say stop your turn, stop your turn, around the whole thing he said was around ten seconds. yes, it was very close and should not be minimized. >> it appears it was due to an error by the faa controller who was in training. so does that concern you? >> well, it absolutely does, except for one thing, wolf, i've been in the situation doing observation on them in the towers and when you do that, you have somebody on the job training you have somebody watching the screen, exactly a mirror image and you have a third person watching the both of them. so i would suspect what happened here in the background what you can't hear is when he told them to make the wrong turn then the other person right next to him was saying fix it. the person by him said fix it and had he not said something immediately the other person, it might have been the supervisor, who actually said stop your

turn. >> david, it seems like we're hearing a lot more of these near misses. back in 2012, there were 4,000 near misses, 41 of them characterized as quote, high close events. why are they happening more frequently than they used to? >> well, there are a lot of things, with anything like this, an accident or incident, we have to look at a lot of causes. the inspector general did examinations in 2010 and at that time they had changed the reporting. it was automated reporting. they changed the way they have punitive or non-punitive assessments of the event. so that has changed and caused a little bit more reporting. but it still did not offset the fact that there were more and more and more. so the way i see it is about the way they are traffic routing. there is more traffic in the sky and they're putting them into the wrong places. they have delays. there is not a system in place yet that can handle that kind of traffic and these delays that we're having from weather and

other things. so it is very concerning. >> a lot of travellers this weekend. for the memorial day holiday. bottom line how worried should they be? >> well, at this point you know it is no more worrisome than it ever was. and that is probably not very comforting for people to hear. but nonetheless it is important to remember that on board each aircraft they have collision-prevention systems. what it tells the pilot if he is in danger and they will take care of it. and make the corrective action. >> well, let's hope nothing untoward happens. >> up next, the couple who escaped the costa concordia but could not escape the emotional toll. also, how a hiker escaped death and climbed to what could have been an icy death.

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dozens of survivors of the costa concordia cruise ship disaster have been telling their story in an italian court where

the captain is on trial for abandoning ship. two years later, survivors are still reliving it. anderson reports. >> there was something worrying me at the back of my mind that this cruise was going to be doomed. and i started questioning myself, where that instinct came from. >> andrea and lawrence davis were self-described cruise junkies and they wanted to celebrate with a trip. they chose the cruise liner called the costa concordia and boarded the ship. five days later after they boarded the ship docked in rome. >> we had -- just to put into the picture we had had an incredible day in rome and came back to the ship in the early evening. just on an absolute euphoria. and we were having drinks before dinner and got into the dining room a little later than usual.

>> the euphoria was suddenly shattered when andrea heard a loud scraping sound. >> immediately the lights went out and the ship started shuddering, and everywhere, there was an immediate list on the ship. and the debris started falling around the dining room. >> passengers began to panic. andrea and lawrence made their way on the tilting ship to the guest services desk where passengers gathered and waited for instructions. >> the first announcement that came across was we have an electrical problem. we'll keep you updated. we wondered what had actually happened and we stood around and just waited and saw the image of children running around, parents screaming. people had life jackets on. we didn't know if this was the real thing or what was actually happening. at that point in time, the ship was listing quite substantially at about a 15-degree list.

all of a sudden, the ship levelled out. it like came steady straight. and i still looked at andrea and i could just feel the sigh of relief going through my body like the tension just went out. took a violent switch to the star board side and listed even further. and that is when i actually looked at andrea and i said this is it. this ship is going down, we're going to sink. >> the davises made their way through the chaos only to be turned away. >> we kept getting shoved from pillar to post, at one time i shouted please let us on, there are only two of us. and we were told after a few moments of wait iing that we on have room for one more. and i looked at lawrence and together we, without verbalizing just moved on and let the next passenger on. the deck was wet and there was debris all over.

and there were injured people. and there were doctors running. and i remember at one time this chain of little children were being guided who knows where. >> the ship was still tilting and so they made their way to the highest point that they could. but even then the water was surging around their feet. >> we now decided we have to look after ourselves at this point. and that is when we took the leap and jumped into the ocean. >> the davises consider themselves strong swimmers but andrea had just had hip replacement surgery and it slowed her down. >> he held onto my life jacket, and he said to me, kick, splash, kick, splash, we just swam and swam and swam. >> the davises don't remember how long they swam through the frigid water but eventually they reached the shore where they had to climb up a rocky ship with

sharp coral and rocks before they were finally safe. >> once we got to the top of the rocks and just sat there we just saw people climbing from other angles and just shouted and screamed for family. there were a group of us, about six to try to keep warm. at that point in time i actually lost it. my emotions just erupted. and i was crying, uncontrollable. >> the davises say they feel lucky they survived but they say they have suffered physically and emotionally from the ordeal. andrea's feet were severely cut by the rocky coral. they blame the captain, schettino, for causing the wreck. they say they focus on moving on at what they call their second chance in life. >> the davises blame not only the ship's captain who denies

wrong doing, but also the cruise line, they have joined a class action lawsuit. they quote, they have been working closely with the passengers, crew and community since this tragic situation occurred. there is often litigation that results from incidents like this but our top priority has been the welfare of all of those involved. now, susan hendricks with a bulletin. >> wolf, deadly clashes ahead of ukraine's presidential election. more than 30 people were killed in the fighting between the ukrainian military and pro-russian militants. also ballot boxes have been destroy destroyed and polling places shut down. russian president putin is warning of a civil war and claims they ousted the president earlier this year. and the coast guard says a missing british yacht seen here in better times has been damaged off the coast of cape cod.

but the four-man crew is still missing, ranging in age from 21 to 46. and on the colbert report last night, funny man stephen colbert tackled the v.a. situation. >> the obama people say they first learned of these allegations from cnn. he had no clue what is going on in his own administration. here is an idea, get the nsa to start spying on wolf blitzer. >> better look over your shoulder, wolf. >> well, i suspect people are watching all the time what is going on. thank you very much, susan for that very funny stuff on colbert. up next, the fight to stay alive against all odds. how a man climbed 70 feet out of an icy crack in a mountain, we'll talk to him later. also, the amazing story how a man survived a bomb attack in afghanistan but lost his four limbs.

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this happened on monday to

john all, a professor of geography at the western kentucky university. a serious climber and now seriously hurt he had to climb or die. but first he turned on his camera. jason carroll has the story. >> thankfully, i didn't keep falling that way. >> trapped alone, 70 feet below the ice, professor john always broken, bruised and fighting for his life. >> my right arm, i can't use it anymore. >> while conducting climate research, always hiking alone on a mountain in the himalayas and landed on the mountain, just three feet wide. his face bloody. he suffered several broken ribs and a fractured arm from the terrifying fall. the professor made a life-saving decision to climb out his camera in tow. >> i hurt bad, but i got to get

out. funny the amount of damage the body can take and still function pretty well. the pain was wonderful, let's put it that way because i was at least alive to feel the pain. >> it took around five agonizing hours to reach the top with an axe, where the professor was later rescued. all's family still want believe he made it out life life. >> he could have been a goner for sure, if you look at the video he could have just kept on going down. and i don't see how you get out of that. i mean, if you look at the sky i don't know how you get up there if you don't have one of your arms functioning. >> jason carroll, cnn, new york. >> he is now recovering in kathmandu in nepal. i spoke to him earlier by skype. >> hey, john, i understand against the advice of your doctors you left the hospital earlier. how were you doing? >> it was a painful decision and i mean that light literally.

it is a lot of healing you have to do. my roots still hurt, my apartment is in pain. i'm healing but it will be a slow process unfortunately. >> well, take us through, john, what happened. what led you falling into that crevice, you were just what? walking across a snow field and what were you doing? >> we had just done a major haul up to camp 2 and established camp 2. and the rest of my team were staying down the rest. and i was staying up there to collect snow samples. and i thought it was a good opportunity to scout out the route and see where we would establish our next camp. and so i was just on what seemed to be very safe terrain. nice field with crevices in the distances. and suddenly i went from walking in the blindingly bright sunlight to falling down a mine

shaft. and the first thing i really felt was my face smashing against the ice and then bouncing and my whole body bouncing on the back wall and sort of bouncing back and forth between the two walls as i was moving down the crevice, until i landed on the piece of the ice, the ledge that saved me from continuing down and unquestionably, perishing if i had continued down to the bottom. >> so your body was basically broken so how did you get out of there? >> being so broken, broken arm, dislocated shoulder, broken ribs, internal bleeding, all of these different things meant that i couldn't rely on the right half of my body at all. and even the left half was not functioning well. and so really it became a balance question and to some extent the fact it was a crevasse, and there were back

walls that i could face or lean back against as my face was moving really helped to maintain that balance. otherwise i wouldn't have had it with a smashed right side. >> was there ever a point, john, where you thought you wouldn't make it out of there alive? >> well, from the beginning, once i started falling. climbers know you don't fall down deep crevasses and come out. i mean, it is just not done. and when i stopped and was still alive that was a huge, huge chance for me to take. but even then, you know, at 70 feet up my body is not working. i'm going to go hypothermic in a short period of time. i knew it was one of those things if i stopped and rested or stopped about anything or hesitated i was going to be dead. this was the type of thing where i was going to die slowly over time and my choice was to either accept that or to fight against it and to climb out.

>> and you finally did, you made it to the top. you say you had to basically roll back to your tent to call for help? but help couldn't arrive until the next day? is that what happened? >> yeah, i -- when i finally got out of the crevasse i thought i was just going to walk back to the in the atent and trying to , i just staggered and collapsed in the snow. and yeah, as i waited for the helicopter the temperatures got down way below zero and i knew there was just a question of time. would they get there before i ran out of what i had in the bag. >> well, john, good luck, professor, we're obviously thrilled that you got out of there alive. thank you very much for joining us. >> and just ahead, a real profile in courage. despite terrible battle scars

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chance to remember those who died in battle. it is also a chance to introduce you to somebody who survived an attack in afghanistan. although he lost all four limbs hold back your pity. the retired soldier is too busy. >> let's go. >> travis mills is determined today to shave time off his run on the treadmill. >> go to the right. >> and he is doing it with no arms or legs. >> up -- >> how i survived, i have no idea. i was yelling at the medic to get away from me because i thought i was done. i wasn't freaking out or anythi anything, just accepted the fact that this could be it snow far from it. even though he lost all of his limbs when an ied exploded under him in afghanistan and he spent months at walter reed hospital he quickly started to live his

motto, to never give up, to never quit. he would bring his infant daughter, chloe, to his workouts. >> i couldn't sit around, stew about it. i was 26, got stuff to do, might as well do it. >> love you. >> now he says it is all for chloe and his wife, kelsey. >> look at this technology, how neat is it? you can lose both arms and legs and still walk, i'm running today, i snow board, go down hill biking. it is wild. >> travis also recently jumped out of an airplane with the army golden knights parachute team. he insists despite three tours full of fire fights and his injuries he does not have post traumatic stress but he has a

rare determination. >> it is where the rubber meets the road. i put personal friends in body bags and they're not here. i am. and that is just, how selfish would it be if i gave up? >> head down, head down. >> travis is doing more than just living life. he is trying to buy a camp in maine for wounded troops. and he knows public support for the war itself is in decline. but he wouldn't talk politics. >> i know what i did over there it meant something, the first time you go, you want excitement, the second time, you know they got your back, the third time, i called up, had them cancelled so i could go for the third time because i had a great group of guys. i did not want to leave them stranded. there was no way. >> and no way does travis want you to worry about him. >> and the wounded warrior, i was wounded, i'll give you that.

but now i'm not. i'm not wounded anymore. i mean, oh, it's likely at you, you're wounded. wounded means i'm still hurt. i'm not hurt. i'm fine. so -- once upon a time i was a wounded warrior. but now i'm healed. i'm just a guy living life. >> barbara starr, cnn, dallas. >> that is "ac360" for tonight. cnn "spotlight" starts right no now. >> famous. >> a national icon snow and famously in love. >> he is my prince. >> kermit and ms. piggy in a movie. the smiles, on set? another story. >>