forced to live for 15 years and the first ever pictures of her daughters. they're looking for clues to link girrido and his wife to several other unsolved murders. and the decision to investigate after a newly-released report said cia used handgun and electric drill to threaten terror suspects. but we begin this morning with breaking news an and critical situation in the mountains above los angeles. firefighters are racing to contain a wildlifire that claim two of their own. a fire truck rolled off a roll. they're dropping ash on cars as far away as downtown los angeles and this morning, thousands of people have been told to get out. our rob marciano is live in

california this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the skies billowing up from northeast los angeles. and this fire continues to grow rapidly. exploding over the weekend for the most part and 45,000 acres burned and far from getting a handle on this thing. 5% containment and the incident commander here who's in charge of trying to battle this fire saying it is a perfect form of fuel, weather and a long-term drought which is not going to end any time soon. as you mentioned, this particular fire threatening structures but over the weekend their worse fears realized as it became deadly. the grim news came late last night. >> please, prayers for that family of our two brothers that we lost. >> reporter: two firefighters killed when their vehicle rolled down a mountainside.

part of a treacherous battlefield in the hills north of l.a. where the easiest approach is often from the skies. helicopters and planes attacking what seems to be an endless wall of fire. >> i'm afraid. >> reporter: on the ground, more than 10,000 homes sitting in the fire's path. police ordering thousands of people to evacuate. a warning the governor urged them to take seriously. >> this is a huge and it is a very dangerous fire. >> reporter: not everyone listened. some like this man stayed behind armed only with a garden hose. >> i'm trying my best. >> reporter: most grabbed what they could and left the fire fighting to the professionals. >> left them the shovels and hoses. >> reporter: taking mostly defensive positions digging in and letting the fire come to them. >> the weather, the fuels and the topography are dictating the fire fighting actions. >> reporter: biggest problem is not wind but heat and fuel.

th they haven't seen a major fire in 60 years. wind is a very serious threat. eerie pictures of auburn near sacramento where homes and buildings burned to the ground. this fast-moving fire eating up acres in hours. back near l.a. neighbors can only gather on corners and wait. >> still fires here. like i said, we have a fire coming down the canyon behind us here, too. we're pretty much surrounded. >> reporter: the fire lines stretching from east to west, a full 19 miles. mostly burning in the angeles national fire and now populated areas and thousands, tens of thousands of homes are threateneded. also threatened up on mt. wilson, a critical communications point for the southern california area, over 20 radio and television communication towers. as of last night, the fire commanders said, hey, this is going to burn. just a matter of time.

we have not gotten word where that's happened now and hopefully better news when sun comes up today. let's talk weather. it's been hot and dry, and the fuel here is just tremendous. what they have not seen are the santa ana winds. low level humidities and not big winds. the fire commander said i have never seen a fire grow this rapidly without the santa ana winds to give you an idea of how ignitable the area is. we don't expect to see an improvement in the weather today or tomorrow. maybe more of a bit of a cooling sea breeze on wednesday, thursday and friday but until then, john, weather is not necessarily going to cooperate. you would think the winds would be a saving grace but in some cases, john, doesn't blow the smoke out of way and you have a visibility issue. lack of winds helps and hurts the firefighters trying to battle it from the air and coming at it from all angles today. john? >> big air quality problems,

too, rob, with the smoke sinking down in the los angeles basin. thanks so much. great report. another big story we're following this morning, authorities are expanding the investigation of philip girrardo. he is the man accused of kidnapping and holding jaycee dugard. they searched the home and property next door, looking for clues to link him to other crimes including numerous unsolved murders in the area. meantime, also learning more about life -- what it was like for jaycee dugard in captivity. sl of the 29 years apparently spent in squalor behind the home in antioch, california. that's where ed lavandera is live for us this morning. ed, you are getting just a bigger picture of what life was like not only for her but her two daughters born while in captivity. >> reporter: it is an amazing thing to unravel here.

jaycee dugard spent the weekend reuniting with family members. the location is still a tig tightly-kept secret but she is with the family members and law enforcement and psychologists and we're also told that one of the first things she said to her mother after seeing her is, mommy, i have babies. jaycee dugard appeared to have settled into an unimaginable routine in the 19 years of captivity, behind the scene she lived in this messy backyard prison but to the outside world, she was the creative force behind philip girrardo's printing business. designing business cards. this man describes her as intelligent with an attention to detail. >> she was always having a very nice smile on the face. she comes and talking to me and always smiling and very pretty girl. very pretty young lady. >> reporter: even her daughters appeared to live a normal life. these are pictures of the young

girls obtained by cnn. the 11-year-old went by the name of angel. the 15-year-old, starlet. we have blurred their faces to protect their privacy. the pictures were taken two weeks ago. garrido were called "my girls" and brought them here delivering bottles of water on hot days. >> they made it seem like they were living like wolves or jungle kids in the backyard, you know, dungeon. perhaps that is it but they didn't give me the visual to me. they were polite and well mannered. >> reporter: she says they were huge fans of hannah montana. jaycee wanted to be a model. always clean and well dressed. no hint of the tragic reality. investigators have expanding the crime scene at garrido's home, bringing in cadaver dogs to search the property next door.

they're looking at whether he could be connected to a string of murders. >> what we also know is garrido had access to the property. used the property and looks like he lived on the property in the shed. >> reporter: as we scoured the hometown looking for clues, we found this in a hardware store. the name phil g. on a donation card. he bought a pressure switch and laeft $2 donation to the children's miracle network. and what is amazing is we have talked to people throughout the weekend here. it is just how openly garrido seemed to live, especially with the two daughters. we have heard countless stories of him seen around town with his two daughters in tow. >> so basically hiding in plain view. refresh the viewers. how were they ultimately found out? how did police ultimately realize that she was there? >> reporter: well, this started

to unravel last week as he showed up at the university of california berkeley campus for an event there. he talked to a couple of officers to organize the event on campus. the officers thought the whole situation with two daughters and him were suspicious. they did a background check. of course, the background as a sex offender emerged. called into the parole officers' office a short time later an showed up with his wife, jaycee dugard and the two children and after that, it was all over. >> ed lavandera for us this morning, thank you. in a few minutes coming up, we are talking with clinical psychologist jeff gardere how they adjust to life after being released from this captivity and how difficult that is going to be as they reconnect with their family. we are 9 1/2 minutes after the hour and former vice president dick cheney striking back at president obama and eric holder for reviewing interrogation practices by the

cia. in an interview on fox news sunday, he called it partisan, politicized and dangerous and said it paid off saving thousands of american lives. president obama gearing up for a final push on health care reform after week long vacation on martha's vineyard. they returned to washington last night. congress returns from the summer recess next week, september 8th. a new jersey community sending a strong message. gadhafi is welcome here. hundreds of people turned out for a rally sunday. residents were outraged learning that he planned to stay at an estate in englewood next week. but officials now say that he is going to stay in new york instead. 38 people from new jersey died in the pan am 103 bombing over scotland. it is a long road to readjustment for jaycee dugard, her two children and her family who for years thought she was missing or perhaps dead.

how all of this is going to take place, we are going to be speaking with jeff gardere after the break. o hide it. sir, have you been drinking tonight? if you ride drunk, you will get caught... and you will get arrested. you weren't always my favorite day. with all the pet hair in the air, i'd spend class preoccupied, bothered by itchy eyes. but now i have new zyrtec® itchy eye drops. it works fast, with just one drop, to relieve my itchy eyes from allergies for up to 12 hours. no other allergy itchy eye drop works faster or longer. which is good, 'cause there's a lotta paws to shake. with new zyrtec® itchy eye drops i can love the air™. (announcer) find it in the allergy aisle next to other zyrtec® products.

reading about washington these days... i gotta ask, what's in it for me? i'm not looking for a bailout, just a good paying job. that's why i like this clean energy idea. now that works for our whole family. for the kids, a better environment. for my wife, who commutes, no more gettin' jerked around on gas prices... and for me, well, it wouldn't be so bad if this breadwinner brought home a little more bread. repower america. i hope our senators are listening.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. 13 minutes past the hour now. a tearful reunion after 18 years in captivity. jaycee dugard's first emotional words to her mother, mommy, i have babies. jaycee back home with her real family but it's a tough road ahead right now adjusting to life after spending 18 years with the couple that allegedly kidnapped her when she was 11. jeff gardere, clinical psychologist talks more. difficult story.

disturbing story, actually. >> horrible story, yes. >> seems to be so many elements but let's start with basically how it is that she adjusts. we heard she is with psychiatrists with her family, her mother needed to get her sister to come there for support. >> stepsister, yes. >> authorities at the same time seeing whether or not, you know, she is okay to be the mother of these two kids. how does all of this start to take place, this reintegration. >> it happens simultaneously. we know that she did see her mother, reunification. that's the best thing. at the same time, we have to have a debriefing. the law enforcement needs to know what happened in this particular case. so they can have the proper charges and so on. of course, garrido is charged but they want as much information as possible. the key is you can't push her too quickly. we learned that we liz beth smart, if you try to rush them into giving information that it may be bad for their mental health.

>> do they feel allegiance? although we can't believe this is what she went through and how did she stay or were there opportunities where maybe she could have left, we don't know this yet, but does she perhaps feel allegiance to the man and his wife? >> we have seen this with cases we liz beth smart and fritzl's daughter, too. there are the divided loyalties. look. the be the tom line here is this young girl was taken when she was 11 years old. a critical point, subjected to rape, torture, brainwashing. delivered two children. but at times shown acts of kindness, of course, for garrido's own purposes and a victim unstable, brainwashed, sees this as for her own mental health to benefit her. it's a misinterpretation but those acts of kindness she misbmi

misinterprets helps her to bond with the captor and it's what keeps her alive. doing whatever it takes to stay alive. this person has the power of life and death over her. >> does jaycee dugard then, have you seen cases with someone compare bring learn to trust and love again? >> it's a very long road ahead for them. they learn to function properly. they learn to have a productive life. they learn to grow from this horrific experience but what we consider normal will never happen for jaycee dugard. and for her two daughters who have been described as being somewhat robotic in the actions. i'm afraid they perhaps are brainwashed, also. i think it's quite obvious, actually. i'm also concerned that even with the 15-year-old daughter whether there were any kinds of sexual relationships with garrido, yes. >> what happens with this guy? i mean, a lot of outrage stems from the fact he was already charged, right?

>> yes. >> he was supposed to serve 50 years for prior situation, right? >> right, exactly. he only served ten years. that's right. and he was out. >> also, what about how much -- i mean, does sex offenders ever get reformed? some argue it's impossible. >> it is very, very difficult. especially for the criminals who have been sex offenders almost all of their lives. what we're finding is the recidivism rates are very high. people say castrate them. that makes them much angrier. we don't know what will happen. i think it changes probation and parole laws and so on but at the end of the day this family must have therapy. on a daily basis. be reintegrated and most importantly, be there for them as a support. most importantly their family needs to be there as a support and we can't push them into

wellness. it will take time. it will take a very long time. >> right. it is a long road ahead, for sure. jeff, thank you. >> my pleasure, thank you. >> john? a lot is said about health care in the past couple of weeks. some true, some not true. it's now 18 minutes after the hour. (woman) dear cat. your hair mixes with pollen and dust. i get congested. but now with zyrtec-d®, i have the proven allergy relief of zyrtec®, plus a powerful decongestant. zyrtec-d® lets me breathe freer, so i can love the air™.

(announcer) zyrtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. no prescription needed.

♪ 21 minutes after the hour. christine romans here this monday morning and all kinds of people saying all kinds of things about all kinds of subjects. >> the national association of business economics, the president of this association said after a survey of big business economists. this is almost certainly one of the fastest-moving and controversial policy environments we have experienced in a generation. don't we all feel this way? the most complicated aern important period. this is what they found, the business economists. support for the fed and the actions but divided on what the fed should do next, how to reverse all of this emergency stimulus into the economy and unease in general about

government spending so this is what they said. essentially, too much fiscal stimulus, 35% say there's too much government spending. do they expect even more stimulus? about 42% see even more government spending ahead. but 76% of them say we don't need it. >> almost consensus on that part at least. >> exactly. on health care reform, no consensus there. and frankly, no consensus how best to fix health care and when listed, the major proposals, the answer called other was a top choice of the economists and, frankly, little optimism to control costs and improve access. will it expand access? all of the proposals on the table. 49% said yes. will it decrease quality and increase cost? 76% said, yes. the top minds who study economists applying to business are concerned about the spending part of the equation here. overall, they like what the fed have done and now we are looking forward to how they'll rein it

in. >> by the way, does their opinion matter? do they watch it at the white house and administration? >> does their opinion matter? yeah. these are people who are, you know, who are basically saying what the people who create jobs are business, well, used to be. actually now government is created jobs but in healthy economy business create it is jobs and these are the economists advising business say. so it does matter. 8,791,000 with a report of recession gardening. if you like to, you know, take a little guess, you can do it. >> looking forward to that. minding your business this morning, thanks. all right. we are going to be talking about a cnn exclusive coming up. mortgage situation. not living up to its promise. 42 minutes after the hour.

you like your health coverage, but worry what happens... if you get sick, or change jobs. eight ways reform matters to you. a cap on deductibles and out-of-pocket costs. no annual or lifetime limits on coverage. preventive care. covered. pre-existing conditions. covered. no higher rates due to genlér. extended coverage for young adults.

no more coverage denied if you get sick. and guaranteed renewal, even if you do. learn more today.

♪ welcome back to the most news in the morning. it is 26 minutes after the hour. making your home more affordable, that was the idea behind president obama's plan to help people struggling with mortgage payments that eat up more than the monthly income but cnn's jessica yellin found the program isn't always helping folks get out of their mortgage mess. >> reporter: john, kiran, the program called "making home

affordable." president obama unveiled it as a lifeline to homeowners drowning in mortgage debt but we met with one arizona couple who feels like they've been thrown overboard and the cnn investigation reveals they're not the only one. mark an angela kohler think they have one shot left at holding on to their home. >> we'll be discussing making home afford plan? >> reporter: the president unveiled the program in march to rescue 4 million americans drowning in mortgage debt. a cnn investigation found the program is not always living up to its promise. >> i don't wish this on anybody 'we are not only ones. >> reporter: here's how it's supposed to work. in return for taking the bailout billions, the banks agreed to give a little back. qualifying homeowners see the mortgages slashed to 31% of their monthly income. but that's not what the bank offered the kohlers. >> you're holding my feet --

who's the supervisor there today? >> reporter: the couple makes $3 a month so their new making home affordable loan should be 31% of that, about $1,000 a month. the offer they got -- $2,892. about 98% of their income. >> now i feel like, you know, we have been -- what's the proper word? screwed? >> reporter: they're not alone. speaking to housing counselors, consumer advocates and homeowners, we found endless complaints of banks rejecting apparently eligible homeowners or pressuring them into loans they can't afford. but by far, the most common complaint is that lenders keep giving homeowners the run around. dropping calls, losing paperwork. all while the foreclosure clock keeps ticking. the mortgage industry's top lobbyist says these are the growing pains of a massive program. lenders are hiring staff to

handle the applications and he believes most complaints are from people who aren't eligible for the plan. overall, he says it is a success. >> this is a program where the interest of the homeowner and the interest of the lender are aligned because everybody wants to avoid that foreclosure and keep that loan on the books and the borrower in the home. >> reporter: how well is the program working? >> very well. >> reporter: even treasury secretary tim geithner who oversees the program demands lenders do better. 230,000, fewer than 6% of eligible home enters have new loans through the program and some banks with the biggest bailouts have the lowest participation rates. >> it comes down to money and it does not appear to be in the banks' financial interest in the long run to actually do the loan modifications and that's the sad reality we are dealing with. >> reporter: but the banks disagree saying they're trying to make the program work. as for the kohlers bank of america declined the request for an interview.

a spokesman said they based it on bad information from the housing counselor and after the inqui ris they have offered them a reduced payment while the case is under review. john, kiran? >> great story, jessica. just goes to show you how, you know, you think that a program's going to help you out and as that guy said, it is like 98% of the monthly income. >> i think it said it all along the bottom of the screen. checking the top stories now, right now, a dangerous wildfire in the hills above los angeles. the inferno is feeding on acre of acre of bone-dry bush. 2,800 firefighters working hard to bring the flames under control lost 2 of their own. their truck rolled off a truck. >> the president of colombia is now being treated for swine flu. government health officials say the president started to feel ill friday, the same day attending the south american

summit in argentina. he is not considered a high risk patient. an amajor problem facing the intelligence community. "the new york times" reporting a lack of translators critical to fighting terrorism. eight years after the september 11th attacks. that senate intelligence committee found the nation's ability to understand the languages is quote essentially nonexistent. the cia says it is making progress but more needs to be done. no matter which side of the fence you sit on about health care reform one thing that's not changed in this month, the mistruth that is are out there. said this morning, we are putting them to the ultimate test, running them through the truth-o-meter. joining me is bill o' dare. good monday morning to you. >> good morning, john. >> our first statement from florida congresswoman julie john did the waite. one of the bullets said --

you ran it through the truth-o-meter, what did you find snout. >> barely true and the reason is that it's misleading in a couple of ways. she characterizes it as the government-run public plan. it's actually the overall plan which is not government run that relies on employers continuing to provide health insurance coverage as they do now, and the expectation is that because of a mandate they'll continue to do so so it's misleading in that way and also misleading in that it says that people would be forced out of the plan. actually, just the opposite. the 8% penalty that she refers to is to force employers to provide the health insurance. she gets a barely true. >> next statement comes from california senator barbara

boxer, also talking about health care. let's listen to what she said. >> it's costing every american who's insured $1,100 to pick up the cost of uncompensated care that goes on at the emergency room. >> $1,100 to pick up the cost of uncompensate ed care at the emergency room. we know that uncompensated health care at the emergency room is shared among people who are in the insurance pools but is it really $1,100? >> no, it is not. we gave this a barely true on the truth-o-meter. you are right, john, it is shared in the sense that when people get this care, that the cost of that is absorbed by some mix of doctors, hospitals and all of us who pay insurance, but senator boxer way overstates the number. she said every american pays $1,100 t. studies she quoting shows every american pays about $400. those studies have been

questioned about whether they allocate the cost correctly. some of the -- one study by kaiser said the expectation is doctors and hospitals absorb more than the studies go. >> did you find any citations of the $1,100 figure she talked about? >> yeah. it is true that families usa and advocacy groups estimated $1,100 per family but what she said per person and there's a big difference there. >> costing every american insured. the last sound bite comes from michael steele, chairman of the republican national committee talking about veterans' health care, particularly this idea of end of life issues and a pamphlet that the va put out some ten years ago. let's listen to what he said. >> let's lock at the situation with our veterans where you have a manual out there telling our veterans, you know, stuff like are you really a value to your community? you know? encouraging them to commit

suicide. >>en couraging them to commit suicide. that might sound a little extreme. you ran it through the truth-o-meter. >> we did. it got the lowest rating, pants on fire. and this is just ridiculously false. it's brochure, a 51-page brochure supposed to help veterans deal with end of life issues. the use of it is suspended because of questions about whether the wording in some cases is inappropriate. but we read the whole brochure and doesn't encourage veterans to commit suicide. it says that assisted suicide is illegal. this is part of the republicans' effort to try to paint the democrats as being insensitive on end of care issues. that may be a legitimate question to debate but this is just ridiculously false and it gets a pants on fire on the truth-o-meter. >> bill adair, great to see you

every monday. we really appreciate it, bill. >> thanks, john. there's a hobby growing with the economic downturn, gardening. making your own vegetables, growing themselves. christine romans looks at whether or not it's economical. . sir, have you been drinking tonight? if you ride drunk, you will get caught... and you will get arrested. i'm finally going to get a flat panel for my home theater. - ( cheering ) - ( laughs ) thank you. what should i get? uh, you. you should check out our new leds. the picture's better than life. okay, but i don't want to pay too much. don't worry about it. we'll match those other stores' prices. and we'll deliver and hook it up for free. okay. last question. if you guys are here, who's in the stores? the latest home theater technology and thousands of people eager to help. best buy. buyer be happy.

♪ 39 minutes past the hour. welcome back to the most news in the morning. more americans are finding ways to save money and gardening is a creative way the try to beat the recession. chris toon romans is looking at why it's a hot hobby right now. >> it is. i was surprised by this. we found out what people are buying and one of the things is seeds, seeds in a recession. kept following up the find out did they follow through and they did. i mean, this summer burgeoning with new gardens and 8,170,000, this number, we have a guess on this one. >> yes, actually. george hague saying the number

of americans saved -- the dollar amount by growing their own froouts and vegetables. >> could be. it's actually the number of americans harvesting food from a garden for the for virs time. think of that. going for the very first time to garden. that is a very good guess. google saw a spike in searches for canning recipes earlier this summer. hereto's why. >> there's some nice ones back there. >> reporter: here are the real green shoots in the economy. >> here, rebecca. >> reporter: they work together in the business office at the queens botanical gardens. before this spring, there wasn't a green thumb before them. >> since we didn't know how to do it, we figured to do it together to save time and be easier. >> reporter: with help from rebecca, they found abundance in a recession. >> i planted the tomatoes and the spring beans an the peppers. >> reporter: theres is one of 43 million good gardens this year. the national gardening

association says 19% of the households growing their own fruits, vegetables and herbs are doing it for the very first time. vegetable seed sales are up 30%. ball, also saw sales jump 30% and one of the oldest seed catalogs is finding new and newly frugal 21st century gardens. >> you are not going to be spending the money in the produce section or the farmer's market. if you spend, say, $100 on vegetable seeds, you're going to save $2,500 on average in savings at the supermarket. that's money to spend on your child's college fund or, you know, buy something or get the house down payment further advanced. >> reporter: getting back to basics and green to your greens. >> you're controlling how you're growing it. often home grown produce which

you can pluck right off the vine is tastier than the vegetables that have been harvested a couple of weeks ahead in the supermarket. >> reporter: new garden simonman says fresh and pesticide-free gardening got her started in the first place. >> having my daughter i'm more aware of what she eats and 8 years old right now, i thought it was a good activity for us to do together. >> reporter: recession or no, next year they'll do it again. doing it together, that was another thing we heard again and again talking the people. doing something together because maybe you're not taking a trip this summer, something that costs a lot of money. trying to stay home, trying to use what you eve got and the investment not necessarily just in the money but also in the experience. it is one of the things you see in recessions, people take a closer look closer to home and that's what we were seeing here. >> pretty neat. >> another family, they tilled up the whole backyard. a woman said she came home from work and said, oh my god. the husband hired someone to till everything up and an acre

of produce and swimming in it. >> why they need the canning recipe. what will you do? >> i know. >> neat story. thanks so much. so you want to get into a good college? you need good grades, need good score on the s.a.t. or a.c.t. and something else that they require for admission this year. looking specifically at the university of maryland but it's a trend increasing across the country. 43 minutes after the hour. wouldn't it be great if it were easy to spot the good guys ? you know, the guys who do a super job. introducing the superguarantee. go to superpages.com to find a business with the superguarantee. we're so confident in these super businesses we stand behind their services. you'll get the job done right or we'll step in and help to make it right. sign up for free at superpages.com

the new superguarantee making the good guys easy to find.

introducing listerine total care. everything you need... to strengthen teeth, help prevent cavities, and kill germs. introducing 6 in 1 listerine total care. the most complete mouthwash.

♪ welcome back to the most news in the morning. a live look at washington, d.c. right now. where it's 65 degrees. you can tell summer's coming to an end. going to be mostly sunny there, though. so it will be a nice day. actually, washington's much better in the 70s rather than the low 90s, right? washington is where we start this morning as we fast forward through the stories making news later on today. this morning, senator ted kennedy's grave site will be open for public viewing. the site features a cross and a marble marker. in this final make or break week for health care reform, there are a number of town halls today across the country including philadelphia and olympia, washington. we'll be watching them all and let you know if they're heated or nice and calm.

rational discussion. it is another story to be watching all day today. hurricane jimena. it's churning just off of mexico's pacific coast. a hurricane watch in effect for the southern portion of the baja, california, peninsula. could make a direct hit and then something else out in the atlantic ocean to watch, the hurricane center say high potential of some sort of tropical storm. >> all right. we'll have to check that out. rob is over on the fire lines. they could use that rain out there, for sure. it was a -- looked like it was over for the little kids from chula vista, california. they rallied to beat chinese taipei. this is the little league world series. the final 6-3. it is the fifth straight year that a u.s. team won the little league championship but hasn't happened since the 1960s that it was the fifth straight year. they have a sixth title and more than any other u.s. state. so congratulations.

a new wrinkle in the debate over health care reform and the uninsured and who needs to have insurance. there's a new requirement at some colleges. we'll tell you about that coming right up.

♪ welcome back to the most news in the morning. it is 50 minutes past the hour right now. if you have a son or daughter leaving the nest and heading to college, there's a lot to think about but besides the required readings, papers, a lot of fresh men are also required to have health insurance. brianna keeler is live at one

school offering up coverage for the kids. >> reporter: like this other colleges, kiran, the university of maryland negotiated a pretty inexpensive plan because college-aged students are typically a healthy bunch but on top of tuition and housing, additional expenses can be tough for some parents and students to shoulder. fresh men move-in day at the university of maryland. thousands of students jamming into teeny tiny dorm rooms. this scene repeats itself every august here but something is different this year. like a growing number of colleges, unv requires students to have health insurance starting this freshman class. do you think there's a lot of germs? >> absolutely. i brought a big container of hand sanitizer. >> reporter: dr. gail lee says without coverage, students can suffer academically. >> it can affect the ability to stay in school. it can affect the fact they might have to go to work to pay off their medical bills.

>> reporter: historically, lee says, 1 in 15 unv students have been uninsured but now if fresh men don't prove they have health insurance, the university of automatically puts them on its student plan. >> it covers a lot of the things that we think are important for students, for example, it covers immunizations. it would cover them if they are a study abroad student. >> reporter: for previously uninsured students, it is an added cost of about $100 per month. increasing in-state tuition and fees by 8%. >> move-in day. >> reporter: but for some families, it is a bargain alternative to keeping the freshman daughter melissa on the family's out of state insurance. why the student plan for melissa? >> we were able to save probably about $400 a month putting her on a separate plan. >> really good deal for the epsteins but what about those poor students for whom tuition is already a struggle to pay? the university says it is looking into ways to subsidize insurance for those students but

for now they have to cover the costs with loans if they can't afford to pay out of pocket, kiran. >> wow. that's interesting. by the way, maryland hasn't changed a bit. the dorm rooms look the same. >> teeny tiny. >> i know. in those situations saying that the health care is too expensive and struggling just to pay the tuition, are they allowed to just use the health inic and pay as they go? >> they can use the health center there but that's really for primary care. if you have a cold or something that big of a deal, you can go to the health center. the issue here is why the university really wants students to have the health insurance is seeing a specialist for hypertension or eye injuries. that's one of the things dr. lee said students faced before. they need to see a specialist and sometimes the services they don't have the resources for them at the health incent. >> great job. great to see you this morning. 53 minutes after the hour. so the former vice president

criticizing the current president again. we'll tell you what dick cheney had to say this time and why he is so incensed. bicycle, i've missed you. gathering dust, as pollen floats through the air. but with the strength of zyrtec ® , the fastest, 24-hour allergy relief, i promise not to wait as long to go for our ride. with zyrtec ® i can love the air ™ . right now 1.2 million people are on sprint mobile broadband. 31 are streaming a sales conference from the road. eight are wearing bathrobes. two... less.

- 154 people are tracking shipments on a train. - ( train whistles ) 33 are im'ing on a ferry. and 1300 are secretly checking email... - on a vacation. - hmm? ( groans ) that's happening now. america's most dependable 3g network. bringing you the first and only wireless 4g network. sprint. the now network. deaf, hard of hearing and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com. (announcer) we understand. you need to save money.

♪ 56 minutes after the hour. just can't help yourself when that song plays. welcome back to the most news in the moshing. former vice president dick cheney lashing out again at president obama, this time for investigation of interrogation tactics by the cia during the bush administration. here's what of what cheney had to say on "fox news sunday." >> i think it's an outrageous political act that will do great damage long term to our capacity to be able to have people take on difficult jobs, make difficult decisions without having to worry about what the next administration's going to say about them. >> we have reaction from the administration this morning from the white house today.

good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, john. we are waiting to hear back from senior officials to the remarks but certainly the comments are raising continued questions about the use of so-called enhanced interrogation techniques. the former vice president's remarks comes day after the report was released, that report among other things laid out how cia interrogators went beyond the rules that were in place, rules on controversial techniques like waterboarding. he called them good policy saying he was comfortable where interrogators went beyond the authorized rules and said what the attorney general now pointing a prosecutor to review some cases, president obama is going back on his word to look forward and not backwards. >> but my concern is that the damage that will be done by the president of the united states going back on his word as

promised about investigations of cia personnel have carried out the policies is seriously going to undermine the moral if you will of our folks out at the agency. >> reporter: now, the president himself and senior officials have in recent days and weeks insisted that the attorney general operates independently of the white house. again, we are still waiting word for some reaction. obviously, this is a hot topic today at the white house. john? >> you say, elaine, awaiting word on reaction. do we expect the white house will have an official statement on this or let it slide? >> reporter: it is interesting. that's a good question. on the one hand, they may not want to fan the flames, if you will. and engage in some kind of back and forth with the former vice president. at the same time, there are continued questions that some are asking and saying are quite legitimate such as, why now? why five years later after career prosecutors with no

political ax to grind at the justice department went the decision, why now does the administration feel it's necessary to review those cases? so there's still a lot of lingering questions. we'll wait and see if the administration feels compelled to respond to the former vice president's remarks. john? 'lain, thanks so much. brings up to a minute to the top of the hour. 6:59 eastern, monday, the 31st of august. thank you for joining us. i'm john roberts. >> i'm kiran chetry. here's a look at the stories breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes. first, following breaking news out of california where massive wildfires, fast moving around los angeles killed two firefighters and officials say that 10,000 homes are in danger. governor arnold schwarzenegger calling the 42,000-acre fire huge and dangerous. ordering a state of emergency. our rob marciano is coming up live to show you from the ground and what the prospects are today for any containment.

new developments in the case of kidnapped girl found and returned to her mother after 19 years. you will not believe what her first words were to her mom. the stunning reunion taking place as authorities bring shovels and chain saws to search a convicted sex fender's backyard. we'll be live there this morning with the latest. almost high school student stresses out over having to take the s.a.t. why are more and more colleges making the test optional? today in "educating america," we have a look at whether it's really worth the extra classes and the extra thousands or if optional doesn't mean optional. and in california, this morning, we're following the wildfire situation out there. these fast-growing flames north of los angeles. this morning, the sad news that two firefighters were killed while battling one of the blazes. the wildfire already swallowed an area the size of the nation's capital. about 66 square miles. right now, thousands of homes are at risk.

california governor arnold schwarzenegger declaring a state of emergency, as well. there are also reports that ash is raining down from the sky in los angeles. there are mandatory evacuations under way to the north, south and west of angeles national park inside the yellow zone you see there. and that includes neighborhoods just north of l.a. in glendale and pasadena. our rob marciano is live at one of the firefighters' command centers on the south center of the park to update us on the progress in the early morning hours. hi there, rob. >> reporter: good morning, kiran. we have moved our position closer to the fire. it's been flaring up at times. right now, a glow behind me. they're concerned that that fire will get over the ridge behind me and into the community of -- one of several communities just outside the angeles national forest, heavily populated. well over 12,000 homes threatened at this point and that number is expected to grow as the fire continues to grow. it is pretty much exploded over

the weekend. over 42,000 acres burned so far and 5% containment. it stretches a 19-mile fire line east to west and growing both to the north and to the south this morning. and the news, fatalities over the weekend, something that certainly firefighters and this community were dreading. the grim news came late last night. >> please prayers for that family. of our two brothers that we lost. >> reporter: two firefighters killed when their vehicle rolled down a mountainside. part of a treacherous battlefield in these hills north of l.a. where the easiest approach is often from the sky. helicopters and planes attacking what seems to be an endless wall of fire. >> i'm afraid. >> reporter: on the ground, more than 10,000 homes sitting in the fire's path. >> you know, all we can do is hope for the best. >> reporter: police blocking off neighborhoods and ordering thousands of people to evacuate. a warning the governor urged them to take seriously.

>> this is a huge and very dangerous fire. >> reporter: not everyone listened, some like this man stayed behind armed only with a garden hose. >> i'm trying my best. >> reporter: but most grabbed what they could and left the fire fighting to the professionals. >> left them a shovel and hoses. >> reporter: but nearly 3,000 firefighters in the fight taking mostly defensive positions, digging in. and letting the fire come to them. >> the weather, the fuels and the topography are dictating the fire fighting actions. >> reporter: not wind is the biggest problem but heat and too much fuel. the area hasn't seen a major fire in 60 years and loaded with dense brush. up north, wind becoming a very serious threat. eerie pictures from auburn near sacramento where a number of homes and buildings burned to the ground. that fast-moving fire eating up 500 acres in just a few hours. back near l.a. neighbors can only gather on corners and wait hoping to avoid the same fate. >> still fires here and like i said we have a fire coming down the canyon behind us here, too, so we're pretty much surrounded.

>> reporter: 18 structures have been destroyed in some of the more rugged areas. homes in the suburban areas threatened but also high atop mt. wilson, the observatory so precious to the community and also important over 20 television transmission towers, radio towers up there, critical fire and police communication towers. those are all threatened last night an they really were afraid that that fire would take them over as soon as right now. there's a strike team in place to help protect that very important facility. no word as of right now whether or not the flames have gotten there but the fire incident commanders were quite worried about that particular spot and keeping you updated on that throughout the morning. they'll get the planes in the air and an army of aerial attackers trying to hit it from all sides including a dc-10 tanker.

they're hitting it from all angles and tells me it could take well over a week before they get any sort of containment on this thing. back to you. >> yeah. they have quite a fight on their hands right now. rob marciano, thanks. >> we'll be talking to the incident commander in a few minutes. stay tuned for that. meantime, a story that floored us all and this morning more dramatic new developments in the case of jaycee lee dugard, the little girl hauled screaming into a car 19 years ago and forced to spend her teen years and 20s as a virtual prisoner in a tent. she is now finally reunited with her mom and she is now a mother herself. her first words are as stunning as the story itself. our ed lavandera live for us this morning in antioch, california. ed, this is such a tragic story of teen years and adulthood basically taken away from her and pushed into an alternate reality. >> reporter: you know, it is interesting, the stepfather said

over the weekend that phillip garrido had more time, 18 years, than her own family had with jaycee dugard, just 11 when she was abducted. we understand she's spent the weekend reuniting with family. surrounded by law enforcement as well as psychologists, as well. and according to her stepfather, one of the first things she said to her mother was, mommy, i have babies. jaycee dugard appeared to have settled into an unimaginable routine behind the scenes she lived in this messa backyard prison. but to the outside world, she was the creative force behind phillip garrido's printing business, designing business cards for clients all over the town of antioch. >> she was always having a very pretty smile on the face. she comes and talking to me and always smiling. and she's very pretty girl. very pretty young lady.

>> reporter: even dugard's daughters appeared to live a normal life. these are the young girls, the 11-year-old went by the name of angel. the 15-year-old, starlet. we have blurred their faces to protect their privacy. the pictures were taken two weeks ago at a birthday party. garrido called jaycee and the daughters my girls and often brought them to the rec yard delivering bottles of water on hot days. >> made it seem like they were living like wolves or jungle kids in the backyard, you know, dungeon. perhaps that is it. but they didn't give the visual to me that they were. they were polite, well mannered. >> reporter: angel and starlet were huge fans of hannah montana saying jaycee dreamed of becoming a model. always clean and well dressed. no hint of the tragic reality. investigators have expanded the crime scene at phillip garrido's home. they brought dogs to search the

property next door. authorities are looking into whether garrido could be connected to a string of murders in the 1990s. >> what we also know is phillip garrido had access to that property. he used that property and it looks like he lived on that property in a shed. >> reporter: as we've scoured garri garrido's hometown looking for clues, we found this in a hardware store. the name phil g. on a donation card. on august 17th, this receipt shows he bought a pressure switch and left a donation to the children's miracle network. one interesting thing we have also learned from dugard's stepfather is that dugard has been telling relatives in that she feels guilty for having developed such a tight bond with the captive phillip garrido. as many experts will tell you, that is a natural thing to happen. john? >> all right. ed lavandera for us this

morning, thank you so much. we'll be talking with the incident commander from the u.s. forest service who's going to tell us what the plan is for today trying to attack those flames. wind not a big factor as it typically is. you know, there's santa ana winds off the high desert, speeds upwards of 70 miles per hour. that is not the problem but having a terrible timeet so? mmmm ok. you were right. these healthy choice fresh mixer thingys, they taste fresh... say it again! what? say it like, "mmmm, these healthy choice fresh mixers taste freshh!!" they taste fresh...

wait. what are you doing? got it. you're secretly taping me? you were good too! but you know, it wasn't a secret to us, we knew... yes, but it was a secret to me. of course, otherwise i would be sitting like this and completely block his shot. so that's why i was like... didn't you notice this was weird? no. they taste fresh because you make them fresh. healthy choice fresh mixers. in the soup or pasta aisle.

12 minutes after the hour. back to the top story this monday morning. two firefighters dead this morning, first victims of a raging wildfire in california still threatening 10,000 homes. crews are now racing to stop the flames before they reach the top of mt. wilson. more on that coming up in a moment. mike dietrich is charge at the command center this morning in los angeles and, mike, first of all, our condolences to the families of the two brave firefighters who died in the line of duty. what happened last night?

>> the accident is still under investigation. and i do not have any additional information than that is released last night. we know that the firefighters did go over a steep embankment and perished eater from the injuries or the fire. we don't have additional information at this time. >> so they were high up on a hillside and with no barricade on the side? >> that's correct. and apparently went over the edge of the road and one vehicle approximately 700 feet down the hill which is extremely steep topography. >> my goodness, what a shame. what's the latest on the fires there? you know, as you wake up or as people wake up on monday morning and wondering what's going to happen, give us the lay of the land. how many homes are threatened and how difficult the fire is for you to get the hand on? >> the fire is over 45,000 acres and that's grown. we still have only 5% containment.

the country is extremely steep and heavily dissected so it's extremely difficult to get firefighters in to the areas to work the fires. currently, the fire's mainly on the western part of the lower part of theangeles national forest and threatening structures in the northern part of the forest and then also along the foothill communities of foot ridge, et cetera. >> right. >> we also know that the fire is working the way towards the mt. wilson observatory. i do not have confirmation as of this morning the fire reached the observatory. >> in fact, rob marciano out there, as well, was saying they were expecting that it might have been overtaken by this time but it hasn't. there's a strike team up there. and if that fire burns so hot and quicklyk the strike team keep all of the transmitters and cell phone towers safe or might

they have to abandon the position if the fire comes up the hillside? >> my number one priority is the firefighter safety. if they have to abandon the position, there's no facility that is worth a human life. >> you know, mike, you and i were talking about this on the break before coming up live. this time of year and on into fall, we see fires fanned by the santa ana winds coming down off the high desert at 70 miles per hour. wind isn't that much of a factor unless it's the wind created by the fire in this case and yet you have such a tough time getting a hold of this. what's contributing to this stubborn fire to fight? >> the primary factors are the extreme drought conditions that we've had over the last ten years. the effect of two-plus weeks of 100-degree temperatures and single digit relative humidities and perfect conditions with

topography and when it comes together in alignment, weather, fuel and topography, the fire can get up and run any time and has a mind of its own. that's what we've experienced. >> you were saying it is like a perfect storm. do you have any hope that you will get any kind of a break in the humidity to fight the fire? >> the effects of the increased humidity are just slight that i'm not sure if there's much difference between 5% and 10% of humidity in terms of fire behavior and temperatures. we are in this for the long haul. we're going to do what we can to protect homes and properties. keep people safe. to the best of our abilities. and continue with the fire fighting efforts despite the tragic loss that we had yesterday. >> mike, we know it is tough work ahead of you. we wish you all the best in that. we thank you for taking the time this morning and again, our condolences to the all of you out there on the loss of the two firefighters. real tragedy. appreciate your time, sir.

>> thank you and we appreciate everybody's thaukts and prayers. >> 17 minutes after the hour. there's no way to hide it. sir, have you been drinking tonight? if you ride drunk, you will get caught... and you will get arrested. 90s slacker hip-hop. ♪ that can strain your relationships and hurt yourody 'cause ru'pride ♪ng a ride ♪ ♪ it's the credit roller coaster ♪ ♪ and as you can see it kinda bites! ♪ ♪ so sing the lyrics with me: ♪ when your debt goes up your score goes down ♪ ♪ when you pay a little off it goes the other way 'round ♪ ♪ it's just the same for everybody, every boy and girl ♪ ♪ the credit roller coaster makes you wanna hurl ♪ ♪ so throw your hands in the air, and wave 'em around ♪ ♪ like a wanna-be frat boy trying to get down ♪ ♪ then bring 'em right back to where your laptop's at... ♪ ♪ log on to free credit report dot com - stat! ♪ vo: free credit score and report with enrollment in triple advantage.

♪ well, almost 20 minutes past the hour right now. welcome back to the most news in the morning. we have christine romans this morning. >> good morning. >> we talk about how much the bailout cost us and the federal government. could we be profiting from bailing out some of the companies? >> there are dividends and

interest payments going in right now to the treasury that are the interest on the investment made into the banks. that is indeed the case. remember a year ago? rewind for a second. a year ago in october when t.a.r.p. was passed and many, many people saying give us our money back. we don't want the money going to the financial institutions and the government to be a banker. we just don't like it. well now, you are starting to see only money back into the federal coffers from this. by the treasury's own estimates, $7.2 billion in dividends. looking at "the new york times" a nice poll out of this, bailout profits from gold man sacks, $1.4 billion back to the treasury. morgan stanley, $1.3 billion. american express, $414 million. and remember that the big banks returned some $68.3 billion of their bailout money so some of the banks they took the money. now they have given it back with

interest and dividends and watching, you know, investments in bank of america, citigroup, aig. those the stock investments are doing better. let me be clear, however. we could still all of the dividends and interest made so far could be wiped out by one of the big ones going under. so there's stale will the of risk but money coming back to treasury. >> other fascinating thing is you said at the beginning not every bank wanted or needed a bailout. a shake down in a way? made to take the money and pay it back with interest. >> when we look at the documents prepared for that meeting in washington last year when the big banks were summoned with henry paulson and read the documents, the banks were sort of summoned with a permission slip saying, here, sign the permission slip. you are taking it no matter what and people hated the banks for taking the money. some of them very very happy to give it back. small banks have paid back about $35 million. not quite as much but there's money going back. i want to be clear here.

the banking system -- we have issues. taking over banks every week now but there's money coming back to treasury. >> good thing. >> keep it coming. it is our money. >> thanks. >> sure. coming up, we remember prepping for the a.t.c.s, stressing out. number two pencils breaking right and left. maybe now it's optional for kids. "traiting america." are working from the road using a mifi-- a mobile hotspot that provides up to five shared wi-fi connections. two are downloading the final final revised final presentation. - one just got an email. - woman: what?! hmph. it's being revised again. the copilot is on mapquest. and tom is streaming meeting psych-up music - from meltedmetal.com. - ( heavy metal music playing ) that's happening now with the new mifi from sprint-- the mobile hotspot that fits in your pocket. sprint. the now network. deaf, hard-of-hearing, and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com.

every sunday, lasagna at mom's was a family tradition. when she started forgetting things, i was hoping it was nothing. grandma! what a nice surprise! mom, it's sunday. that's when i knew i couldn't wait. mom's doctor said these were signs of alzheimer's, a type of dementia, and that prescription aricept could help. he said it's the only treatment proven effective... for all stages of alzheimer's. studies showed aricept slows the progression... of alzheimer's symptoms. it improves cognition... and slows the decline of overall function.

aricept is well tolerated but not for everyone. people at risk for stomach ulcers... or who take certain other medicines... should tell their doctors... because serious stomach problems... such as bleeding may get worse. some people may experience fainting. some people may have nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bruising, or not sleep well. some people may have muscle cramps... or loss of appetite or may feel tired. in studies, these were usually mild and temporary. mom. talk to your doctor about aricept. don't wait. alzheimer's isn't waiting. ♪ welcome back to most news in the morning. to most high school children, taking the a.c.t. is like a root canal. it could be nerve wracking and for parents, those extra help classes can be pretty pricey. today, as our new series "educating america" begins, carol costello found out many

colleges don't consider the scores that important anymore and she joins us from washington. what is this all about? >> reporter: do you remember the day you took your s.a.t.s? >> no. i went to school in canada. >> i remember mine. i was nervous, didn't feel well. you're lucky. >> i am. >> we place so much importance on the child's score on the s.a.t. we know a high score can get them in the door at an elite, selective university. what does that perfect 2400 or a lesser score tell you about what a child is capable of? some are beginning to wonder. never has one test caused so much angst. that's a-n-g-s-t. >> excited? nervous? >> so nervous. >> reporter: hence this class. >> that's d over e. >> reporter: parents pay the princeton review and other organizations anywhere from $600

to $8,000 for special classes or private tutors so their child can literally beat the s.a.t. 16-year-old mckenna basket of missouri is spending the summer in s.a.t. class. >> i'm a bad test taker and they're really hard questions. so i'm just hoping i can get through it. >> reporter: imagine all of this a-n-g-s-t for a test that many say doesn't test how smart you are. ed carol tutors students to take the test. >> there are some that think it is a measure of intelligence. it never was. it predicts how well you do on the s.a.t. >> reporter: he says it's not that a student needs special courses to ace the s.a.t. but realizing there are patterns involved it's a whole lot easier. >> a squared plus b squared is c squared t. numbers to see most

frequently is 3 squared plus 4 squared but 5 squared. you don't need to slow the solutions. know three, four, five. >> that's just wrong. the s.a.t. is a test of the basic skills that one needs to succeed in college. >> reporter: does it show how smart a kid is? >> it shows how much they've learned in schools. >> reporter: many universities say that the s.a.t. says very little of what a student can do. some 800 made the s.a.t. optional for most applicants including eight this year. some of them top tier liberal arts schools. would you like to see the s.a.t. go away? >> i would love to see it go away. am i clear? >> reporter: sean toller says the deck is stacked against lower income children. they can't attend or afford expensive tutors.

in 2009, kids' whose parents make up to $20,000 scored an average 1321 on a scale of 2400. if a kid's parents makes above $200,000 a year, that score shoots up 381 points to an average of 1702. >> what you're really seeing is that the playing field isn't fair. it is not the s.a.t. that's the problem. it is any measure of educational achievement is going to show the same thing. >> reporter: but if the playing field isn't fair to begin with, educators like this principal wonder why a perfect 2400 on the s.a.t. seems to matter so much. keep in mind, universities use the s.a.t. as one indicator of what a child is capable of in college. still, with some 800 universities making the s.a.t. optional, will we soon see the day when the s.a.t. will go away? tomorrow we'll explain why critics say that's unlikely.

too many people they say make too much money off the s.a.t. >> some of those figures are pretty staggering, as well. is there a difference between the s.a.t. or a.c.t. coming to what colleges consider? >> some of the colleges making s.a.t. optional take the a.c.t. instead. the difference, the a.c.t. is based in the midwest and usually midwest students take that test. s.a.t., usually the northeast corridor take the s.a.t. or out west. this morning, we do want to know what you think about the s.a.t. is it valuable? is it fair? i want you go to cnn.com/amfix and comment on my blog. interested to know what parents think out there. and also, kids who are about to take the s.a.t. >> as a parent of two who took the s.a.t., i know there's a lot of stress. great piece. thanks. tomorrow we're revealing the

salaries of the people for s.a.t., it's not for profit organization but the top ceo makes big money. why keeping it the most important test your kid will ever make a big business, that's tomorrow as "educating america" continues here on "american morning." >> i wish somebody told me it was just like soduko. >> the things you learn years after you need to know them. 7:30 eastern. thank you for joining us. here are the morning's top stories. this morning firefighters lost two of their own fighting out of krolg flames north of los angeles. thousands of homes at risk. california governor arnold schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency. there are reports of ash raining down from the sky in downtown los angeles. our rob marciano has a firsthand look at what firefighters are up against live this morning. sarah palin once questioned about the lack of foreign policy experience making a first trip to asia next month.

she'll visit hong kong for an annual conference of global investment managers. bill clinton, al gore and alan greenspan have all spoken at the event before. palin's speaking fees were not reporting. exactly one year ahead of the august 31st, 2010, deadline, the military picked up the operation of all combat troops in iraq and could cost billions of dollars. it is called the largest movement of manpower and equipment in modern military history. from tanks to an ten nigh, shipping out 1.5 million pieces of equipment. military officials say it's easy to move the troops but one of the biggest challenges is moving the tons of equipment and the concrete barricades. and we're learning more this morning about what life was like for jaycee dugard during the 19 years that she spent with her alleged kidnappers. this past weekend, she was recrew nighted with her family. but there's still so many unanswered questions about the

case and for more, let's bring in the president and ceo of the national center for missing and exploited children. ernie, thank you for being with us this morning. >> thank you, kiran. >> there's so much to talk about in this case. certainly, cause for celebration on the part of the family that after thinking their daughter was probably dead they find out that she is alive and reunited with her and at the same time so much tragedy involved, she had two children while being held prisoner for 18 years. what are the most important things to be kept in mind now reintegrating with her real family? >> well, i think the most important test here is the need for patience. so often parents had these children frozen in their minds as a 10 or 11-year-old and everybody wants to go back to where they were. this is going to be a journey, a long process. this is going to be a process of lifelong recovery for jaycee but

she is alive. there's hope for the future. she's young. we're very encouraged about the step that is are happening already. >> what about her children? 11-year-old daughter and 15-year-old daughter, fathered from what they're saying, garrido is saying, are his children, as well. >> well, that's another challenge. and it represents really a two-sided picture. one is to these children he's their father. you can't suddenly go from dad to satan to this evil person. so that's going to be very sensitive. the other thing is, apparently the children have been very sheltered. think eve never gone to school. they had never seen a doctor before. but our hope here is that jaycee will be a mom and that it will help her in her care for them as she goes forward. >> i have to ask you that.

you spend countless hours trying to work to help children missing, to help children that this has happened to. there's multimillion laws passed. there's a mandatory sex offender registrations. there's the amber alert that is go out. yetn this situation, we see how none of that seemed to have worked, meaning, this is an eye convicted in the '70s of kidnapping and rape and sentenced to 50 years of which he served. parole officers visited the home repeatedly and never found the tent city i guess or backyard where they were living and on top of that, deputies visited him. neighbors tried to call over the years and said, things are strange. so what went wrong here? >> well, i think what we've seen is that there are nearly 700,000 registered sex offenders in the united states. more than 100,000 in california alone. the systems for monitoring, for follow-up, for supervision of those offenders are really

overwhelmed. obviously, it's disturbing that this wasn't identified. one of the things i think is very interesting is like so many of these other cases, this case was resolved because one person paying attention saw something that disturbed her and acted. and every one of the cases, invariably there's an average citizen doing average things who sees something and alerts authorities about it. hopefully more of that will happen. there are more of these long-term missing children that are recoverable and hope communities across america take a fresh look at the cases, provide some more hope for the searching families. >> you said it is the every day person that notices things wrong. which is wonderful that in this case eventually the outcome worked out. but what can be changed in terms of what law enforcement does, in terms of what we do as a society to try to prevent more of this

from happening? >> well, i think enormous progress has been made. more missing children come home safely today than ever before. law enforcement is better prepared in responding more effectively than ever before. we have the amber alert which we didn't have in 1991. so a lot of progress has been made. but, for example, just with the issue of managing sex offenders, congress passed the adam walsh act in 2006 that's not yet been implemented. more needs to be done. we need to recognize that a significant number of these offenders represent a real threat to america's children. and the systems that are in place today are just not yet adequate. >> all right. well, ernie allen, greet get your perspective this morning. thank you for joining us. >> thank you, kiran. pim tell you if you want to know the state of health care in america, talk to a nurse. they're on the front lines of health care in this country so guess what? we took the suggestion. we're talking to a nurse coming

up and talking to somebody else who knows an awful lot about this. stay tuned for that debate. (woman) dear cat.

your hair mixes with pollen and dust. i get congested. but now with zyrtec-d®, i have the proven allergy relief of zyrtec®, plus a powerful decongestant. zyrtec-d® lets me breathe freer, so i can love the air™. (announcer) zyrtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. no prescription needed. body wash from olay. tone enriching ribbons. two separate ribbons. the white cleanses. the gold moisturizes and has a touch of mineral shimmer to enhance skin's tone. olay tone enriching body wash. for skin that shimmers.

welcome back to the most news in the morning.

with all the of the bickering of health care reform, we wanted to see how those on the front lines feel about it. nurses see both sides of the debate. an they know firsthand what's at stake. faith coalman is a cnn hero and established a clinic in florida treating the uninsured after her own battle with cancer in 2003 as an uninsured patient and joins us this morning from orlando and michael nap is at children's national medical center in washington. faith, why don't we start with you? you had kidney cancer in 2003. you had the mortgage your home. you have since started a clinic in florida. you know, what sort of patients do you see? what sort of treatments do you offer and what kind of condition are the patients in? >> sometimes most of the patients come in with very uncontrolled hypertension, uncontrolled diabetes.

those are the two main things we treat the most which we would generally in my private practice, as well. >> basically they come in seeing you after they've been letting the conditions linger for months or years at a time? >> yes, unfortunately. i remember one patient who came in. she worked as a day laborer and by the time she could come to us and found out that we were open, her hypertension was so bad that her kidneyed had ceased to function. so she was on dialysis and she lived about a year after that. >> my goodness. can you treat everybody that comes through the door? do you have to turn people away? >> we try to treat everyone that comes in. we do have a cutoff on saturdays of 60 patients. if we triage and there are more acute cases, you know, then we'll increase that number but we're limited in the providers. >> my goodness. i mean, just so -- >> heart breaking. >> it is. michael, health care reform could bring a lot more children in the door if more people are brought into the roles of the

insured. there are people not waiting as faith was saying until the last minute to get health care. we know there's an extraordinary shortage of doctors out there. by 2019, the health care system could be 200 primary care physicians in terms of a shortage. could be that many short. and situation for nurses is even worse. >> right. i agree with you, john. the mean age of nurses now is around 45 and so certainly the work force is very challenged and how we're going to care for all the patients that need care as we move five, ten years down the road. the salaries, for example, for instructors at universities are maybe not what they should be right now and thus people are turned away for nursing programs that have a great gdp and want to get in and be a nurse and get through those programs. very challenging. >> michael, as you see it, what is the biggest problem with the current health care system? what's the first thing you would do to fix it? >> well, it's a multi-prong

issue, obviously, out there. i think one of the first things i would do is make sure that, you know, people have the right access to the care that they need. i think that's something president obama is desperately trying to do at this point. but there are many challenges such as subspecialties out there that just because you have access doesn't mean you will necessarily get care so i think really taking a good care at the differences, for example, between adult and pediatric care is one thing to look at first because they're very different. >> as you were saying in the research i read, you say that there was a shortage of people in pediatric specialties because -- >> yes. >> the pay scale just isn't there. >> correct. and the medicaid reimbursement is not what it needs to be for those subspecialty providers to go into pediatric subspecialties such as ear, nose and throat. >> faith, when you take a look at the bills making the way through congress, do any of them address what you think are the

critical aspects of medical care that need to be taken care of? >> one of the most critical things i think is going on right now is what i call the chicken little effect where everybody's running around, you know, screaming but they're not taking the time to really read these -- the reform that's been proposed and there's a vast difference between socialized medicine and socialized insurance and that's what's being proposed is insurance part of it. and in this country we already have socialized insurance. it is called medicare run by the government, it works very well. providers generally like medicare because you file your claim, going to get paid within ten days. that becomes your rent, your utilities. the big five as i call them are the chubba companies. they're very punitive. you file your claim. the first thing they do is deny it. you have to file it. sometimes 30 days before you are

reimbursed. but something has to change. and until it does, and granted it's going to take four years or more probably, groups like the free clinic and -- are going to have to meet the needs of our citizens. >> right. michael, do you think that a public option is the solution or part of the plan? part of the overall solution. does it need to be included in all of this? >> right. i think it is part of the solution but i don't think it's the solution. again, i think there's multiple thing that is have to be addressed but certainly access and getting those people to the right sites is one of the key issues. >> all right. folks, we certainly do appreciate all the good work you do. michael, faith, good to have you on this morning. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> thank you so much. 45 minutes past the hour right now. here's the a.m. run down, stories of the next 15 minutes d. the brirtish government trade the lockerbie bomber for an oil deal? british officials say, no, but

the story is certainly controversial in the uk. 55 minutes past the hour, williams, federer, nadal about to hit the courts here in new york city and richard roth, poor richard, sent out to do a preview. also, at the top of the hour, we are following the latest in the terrible fire that's burning 66 square miles burned. thousands at risk. this is right outside of the l.a. area. we are in california with the latest. it's 46 minutes past the hour. (woman) dear cat.

your hair mixes with pollen and dust. i get congested. but now with zyrtec-d®, i have the proven allergy relief of zyrtec®, plus a powerful decongestant. zyrtec-d® lets me breathe freer, so i can love the air™.

(announcer) zyrtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. no prescription needed. wouldn't it be great if it were easy to spot the good guys ? you know, the guys who do a super job. introducing the superguarantee. go to superpages.com to find a business with the superguarantee. we're so confident in these super businesses we stand behind their services. you'll get the job done right or we'll step in and help to make it right. sign up for free at superpages.com the new superguarantee making the good guys easy to find. there's no way to hide it. sir, have you been drinking tonight? if you ride drunk, you will get caught... and you will get arrested.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. we have a developing story out of london this morning.

the british government is denying there was any deal made with libya for the release of lockerbie bomber. the scottish government released him as we have shown you and said to be dying of cancer. three months to live and released him on compassionate grounds and then a huge international backlash with a hero's welcome you see here to libya. the white house called it o outrageoout r ray jous, disgusting. now the british are fighting a head lean reading "locker by bomber set free for oil. fts a multi-million dollar deal for bp. phil black joins us live with more from london to explain more object this story. it's provoking certainly a lot of outrage, phil. >> reporter: yeah, it is, kiran. the british government is fighting hard against the allegations but still the suspicion here persists and growing but at some stage the freedom and other trade issues are talked about between libya

and britain at the same time. it is causing increasing outrage here. politically and among the british people. and it comes as new pictures of megrahi emerged showing him to be an unwell man receiving treatment in a hospital. this is the lockerbie bomber breathing through an oxygen mask. he looks like a dying man. according to a british journalist invited to his bedside who was unable to independently verify the state of al megrahi's condition. he would not or could not offer an answer. >> do you feel that you were released because of a commercial deal with britain and libya? >> he can't -- he's too sick to answer. >> reporter: but that is the question still asked in britain, especially after this story in the sunday times newspaper.

its headline, lockerbie bomber set free for oil. >> headline suggesting the bomber was released as a result of a deal for oil is wholly untrue. there was no deal over the release jack straw admits the government pushed for al megrahi not to be eligible for transfer under the agreement but britain relented after a refusal. it always aloud for a scottish veto. the transfer was refused by the scottish government and he was instead released under scottish law on compassionate grounds

because he is dying of cancer. scotland's first minister insists justice was his government's only consideration. >> it was a challenging decision and the right reasons were to release a dying man on compassionate grounds. >> this latest report is not the smoking gun that proves the deal was done between britain and libyan al megrahi but is certainly fueling growing suspicion and now opposition politicians call for an open inquiry to determine and examine just what libya and britain have been talking about in recent years and to what extent they discussed al megrahi's future. >> certainly sounds like we'll be hearing more in the future. thanks. interesting story there. >> imagine that you're out at sea with two buddies and fishing and your boat suddenly flips over and you're out in the middle of nowhere and nobody is around or coming to get you. all you've got is a box of crackers and sketchy water you

used to wash down the boat. how would you survive? we'll find out from a guy who did just that in our next hour. he ran off with his secretary! she's 23 years old! - oh, come on. - enough! you get half and you get half. ( chirp ) team three, boathouse? ( chirp ) oh yeah-- his and hers. - ( crowd gasping ) - ( chirp ) van gogh? ( chirp ) even steven. - ( chirp ) mansion. - ( chirp ) good to go. ( grunts ) timber! ( chirp ) boss? what do we do with the shih-tzu? - ( crowd gasps ) - ( chirp ) joint custody. - phew! - announcer: get work done now. communicate in less

than a second with nextel direct connect. only on the now network. deaf, hard of hearing and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com. gathering dust, as pollen floats through the air. but with the strength of zyrtec ® , the fastest, 24-hour allergy relief, i promise not to wait as long to go for our ride. with zyrtec ® i can love the air ™ . reading about washington these days... i gotta ask, what's in it for me? i'm not looking for a bailout, just a good paying job. that's why i like this clean energy idea. now that works for our whole family. for the kids, a better environment. for my wife, who commutes, no more gettin' jerked around on gas prices... and for me, well, it wouldn't be so bad if this breadwinner brought home a little more bread. repower america.

i hope our senators are listening. without my makeup. now, it's no problem. (announcer) neutroténa tone correcting night serum with high performance soy to even skin tone and active retinol to speed cell turn over. clinically shown to visibly fade brown spots in 14 nights. i even out my skin at night so it looks younger, flawless in the morning. (announcer) neutrogena tone correcting now you can fade and prevent discolorations all day.

new tone correcting spf 30. 57 minutes past the hour. welcome back to the most news in the morning. u.s. open starts this morning. we got some inside information on the two biggest tennis champs facing off against each other. >> his competitor is hoping the baby twins have him all tired out by the time the match comes around if they both make it that far. for all of the drama of the 2009 u.s. open richard roth is here with us this morning. >> good morning. yes, it's one of sport's rivalries, but interrupted by injury recently. a new contender filled the bill in london but now time for the final leg of the famed grand slam. he's the man who can't seem to

lose in new york city. roger federer is playing for a record-setting sixth consecutive united states open tennis title but now is the father of twins. >> how do you feel coming into this u.s. open? >> i feel great. a lot happened in my personal life having twin girls. they're doing great. it was our first big trip, you know, they're only five weeks old and we've already come here to america and had success already in cincinnati winning there so obviously i'm very eager to start at the open in a week's time and things are looking very good. >> what do you like best and least about playing here in new york at the u.s. open where you said the fans and the cab drivers love you but there have to be problems. it's new york. >> i mean exactly. new york is not so easy sometimes. i used to travel and just handling the whole pace here in new york, you know, things are a bit more relaxed over in switzerland but you come to new york and everything is buzzing. the humidity used to be a factor. playing in the wind used to be

tough. but today it's awesome. >> where there's federer there's nadal, his spanish super rival is recovering from an injury. nadal had to sit and watch federer win wimbledon. >> did you miss the challenge with him? were you a little bit envious? >> i missed the competition. >> can federer be beaten? >> i think he's human. i'm not sure. but the way he's been playing hasn't been that way but i would suspect after winning five in a row and breaking the record and having twins, that there's got to be a tiny bit of a letdown. >> don't tell that to federer's fans. >> oh, he's beautiful. did you watch him play? he skips on the court. he's like a cross between martial arts and ballet and look at him. he's so cute. >> i love watching him. he's like a god. it is mind boggling. >> some of those comments i felt were aimed at you, john. >> i thought they were talking

about you. >> i know you're interested in tennis. federer reminds me of the times he used to take the subway out to queens. >> just jump on the 7 train, a few stops and you're there. >> on the women's side, serena, venus williams are some of the favorites. there should be some good competition. i think for american sports fans, it's sad for tennis. college, baseball and the pennant races, u.s. open and the big deal and then it kind of fades away. >> i love what mcenroe said. i think he's human but -- >> are you working? all right. have you seen him play? that was the comment from all the people on the street. >> good preview. thanks. crossing the top of the hour now, 8:00 eastern, monday, august 31st. thanks for joining us. i'm john roberts. >> we're following several breaking stories this morning. first a look at what's on the agenda. we'll be breaking this down in the next 15 minutes. it's bone dry, brush, flames, a

volatile combination outside of los angeles where firefighters continue working overtime trying to contain an out of control wildfire. it's only about 5% contained right now. overnight the fire taking a grim turn killing two firefighters. we're live along the fire lines with more. former vice president dick cheney unplugged again. this time offering his insight and no excuses on detainee interrogation practices by the cia. we will play you what the former vice president said. also, lost at sea for more than a week. they survived on crackers and bubble gum, drinking water meant to hose down their boat. it's an amazing story of survival. you'll hear it from one of the men who lived to tell about it just ahead. we begin with breaking news and a critical situation unfolding right now in the mountains above los angeles. firefighters are racing to contain a wildfire that's now claimed two of their own. late last night officials confirmed that two firefighters were killed when their truck rolled off of a road. the two men are among 2800

firefighters that are battling the flames and have already torn across thousands of acres and this morning thousands of people have been told to get out. we're live in sunland, california, outside of los angeles and they're waiting for light of day and then will get some of the aircraft in the area to dump fire retardant and water. >> that certainly helps things out once the sun comes up but it's not for several more hours. we're just south of the annales national forest. back behind me over the ridge is where the fire has been burning all morning. it comes and goes but the glow is steadily marching in this direction. this is one of several communities that the firefighters are worried about, heavily populated not only here but also up in the mountains. we've got mount wilson with a tremendous amount of radio and emergency communication systems and they say that is likely to be affected greatly if not completely destroyed by the fire. they've been battling this all weekend. it kind of exploded overt weekend. almost 3,000 firefighters working this thing, two of which

lost their lives yesterday. the grim news came late last night. >> please, prayers for their families of our two brothers that we lost. >> reporter: two firefighters killed when their vehicle rolled down a mountain side, part of a treacherous battle field in these hills north of l.a. where the easiest approach is often from the sky. helicopters and planes attacking what seems to be an endless wall of fire. >> i'm afraid. >> reporter: on the ground more than 10,000 homes sitting in the fire's path. >> you know, all we can do is hope for the best. >> reporter: police blocking off neighborhoods and ordering thousands of people to evacuate, a warning the governor urged them to take seriously. >> this is a huge and very dangerous fire. >> reporter: not everyone listens. some like this man stayed behind armed only with a garden hose. >> i'm trying my best. >> reporter: but most grabbed what they could and left the firefighting to the professionals. >> left a shovel and our hoses. >> reporter: nearly 3,000 firefighters in the fight taking

mostly defensive positions, digging in, and letting the fire come to them. >> the weather, the fuels and the to go ogg raffy are dictating firefighting actions. >> reporter: the biggest problem is not wind but unrelenting heat and too much fuel. art ya hasn't seen a major fire in 60 years and is loaded with dense brush. eerie pictures from a town near sacramento where a number of buildings and homes burned to the ground. the fast moving fire eating up 500 acres in just a few hours. back near l.a. neighbors can only gather on corners and wait, hoping to avoid the same fate. >> still fires here and like i said, we've got a fire coming down the canyon behind us here, too, so pretty much surrounded. >> reporter: certainly surrounded. if the flames don't get there the smoke and ash do. it's been falling into the city of los angeles as well. incident fire commander said over the weekend he has never seen a fire explode like this one had without the santa ana

winds. we haven't seen those winds blow but a bit of a catch 22. sometimes if the winds are blowing at least it increases the visibility and lets you see those fires so you can target them better both on the ground and from above. all right. what's the weather going to do over the next couple days? we have a red flag warning in effect for today for the heat and low humidity. that will probably be extended tomorrow. the heat is going to continue today, tomorrow, a bit of a seabreeze kicks in on wednesday and then strengthens as we go through thursday and friday. so still the next 48 hours, john, are not going to be improving at all as at least on the weather front but with more man power coming in here by the hour, they'll hopefully get a handle on this thing but estimates right now probably at least a week before they have some sort of containment. back to you. >> a tough situation, rob. thanks. it is back to work for president obama. he and his family are back at the white house this morning. they arrived yesterday and after a week on martha's vineyard the president's attention now shifts to the long list of the battles

in washington. first up, a new slam from former vice president dick cheney. this time for an investigation of interrogation tactics used by the cia during the bush administration. here's part of what cheney had to say on fox news sunday. >> i think it's an outrageous political act that will do great damage long term to our capacity to be able to have people take on difficult jobs, make difficult decisions without having to worry about what the next administration is going to say. >> we're live at the white house this morning. any reaction yet from the white house to the former vice president's charge that this was an outrageous political act? rncht not just yet. we are wait tog hear from senior officials to see what response they might have to the former vice president's comments but certainly mr. cheney's remarks are raising continued questions about the use of so-called enhance interrogation techniques. the former vice president's

remarks coming just days as you know after that 2004 cia inspector general's report came out. that report, which among other things described how cia interrogators went beyond the authorized rules governing such things as waterboarding. now, mr. cheney called those techniques good policy and said that he was comfortable in cases where interrogators may have gone outside the authorized methods. he said that the attorney general, his decision to go ahead and appoint a prosecutor to review cia cases does nothing to fit with president obama's claim that he wants to look forward and not backwards. take a listen. >> but my concern is that the damage that will be done by the president of the united states going back on his word, his promise about investigations of cia personnel have carried out those policies is seriously going to undermine the morale if

you will of our folks out at the agency. now, we should note that the president, himself, has maintained for weeks now that his attorney general operates independently and, in fact, administration officials continue to echo that as well that in fact any decisions made by attorney general eric holder are ones that he, himself, decided were necessary without influence from this white house. john? >> elaine, john durham is the special prosecutor who's been appointed by eric holder to look into all of this. did the former vice president say anything as to whether or not he would speak with durham? >> reporter: yeah. he did. he said it'll depend on the circumstances and what he thinks their activities are really involved in. the former vice president said that he's been very outspoken on this and he said that, quote, it won't take a prosecutor, end quote, to find out what the former vice president thinks. >> elaine quijano at the white house, thanks so much. >> also new this morning former

homeland security secretary tom ridge may be trying to soften the blow from his explosive words about raising the nation's terror alert. speaking for the first time since suggesting in his new book that he was pressured to raise the alerts because president bush's approval ratings went up, ridge said he did not mean to suggest bush administration officials were playing politics with the nation's security before the 2004 election. his book, by the way, comes out tomorrow. and a major problem is reportedly facing the u.s. intelligence community. the "washington times" reporting there was a lack of translators who specialized in regional afghan languages critical to fighting terrorism eight years after the september 11th attacks. they said an intelligence committee found the nation's ability to understand these languages is, quote, essentially nonexist ent. the cia says it is making progress but that more needs to be done. it was a blood bath at the box office this weekend. "final destination" the first pick for movie goers. the horror flick took in more than $28 million. to number two, quentin

tarantino's world war ii flick and at number three, "halloween 2." imagine being lost at sea in a fishing boat for long enough that your family tells your child daddy's not coming home and then suddenly daddy is found. rescued at sea. we'll be talking to him, coming up. hey buddy, i appreciate the ride, you know. no problem. ♪ mind if i take a shortcut? yeah, sure. ♪ i knew the subaru legacy was the smart choice... what i didn't expect... was the fun. the all-new subaru legacy. feel the love. i'm finally going to get a flat panel for my home theater. - ( cheering ) - ( laughs ) thank you. what should i get? uh, you. you should check out our new leds. the picture's better than life.

okay, but i don't want to pay too much. don't worry about it. we'll match those other stores' prices. and we'll deliver and hook it up for free. okay. last question. if you guys are here, who's in the stores? the latest home theater technology and thousands of people eager to help. best buy. buyer be happy. with little responsibility, zero accountability. our parents telling us what to do... how to behave. now, all of a sudden, we're there, in that role, at that time in our lives where everyone and everything is depending on us. it's a scary feeling, but it's also a good one. especially when i'm confident someone's there for me. are working from the road using a mifi-- a mobile hotspot that provides up to five shared wi-fi connections. two are downloading the final final revised final presentation.

- one just got an email. - woman: what?! hmph. it's being revised again. the copilot is on mapquest. and tom is streaming meeting psych-up music - from meltedmetal.com. - ( heavy metal music playing ) that's happening now with the new mifi from sprint-- z) the mobile hotspot that fits in your pocket. sprint. the now network. deaf, hard-of-hearin÷l and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com. welcome back to the most news in the morning. he set out to sea to do some fishing hoping to catch a couple marlins with two friends more than a week ago. they got a lot more than they bargained for. late one night they fell asleep and the next thing they knew their boat capsized. they were not found for eight days. many say the fact they were found at all is a miracle. they say what kept them alive, eating crackers, rationing bubble gum and a little country boy know how. joining me to talk about his amazing survival story is

trestle hawkins joining me on the phone this morning. thanks for being with us. >> good morning. how are you doing? >> good morning. tell us how you're doing. eight days at sea. you guys were clinging to your capsized boat. how are you this morning? >> i'm fine. actually feeling a lot better. we just had a -- got home from the hospital and everything yesterday and they had a party for me and a couple news crews and a lot of friends and family welcomed me. i kind of exerted myself so i'm going to take it easy this morning. >> as i understand it, you know, everyone wants to wish you guys well. i'm sure they were worried that you guys were going to make it back at all because after searching an area the size of minnesota eventually the coast guard gave up on you guys, right? >> exactly. >> how did you make it? >> we just kept praying and we

kept hope on the line. even though hope was down to a little bitty string, it could be as strong as what you hung on to the first time you got started. >> you were with your two buddies james curtis who's 30 and james hall 28. you're 43. you guys tried to keep each other's spirits up. in terms of practical purposes you had a couple crackers. you had some beer. and you had what amounted to three gallons of fresh water that you would be using if you caught any fish to sort of rinse off the fish slime. how did you figure out what to do with those rations and how to keep each other alive? >> well, curt was the one responsible for the rationing. even though we didn't agree with him, we, you know, had to -- we had to go by those rules because it was the most practical for us to, you know, survive. and with it being that, you don't really know when you're

going to get rescued, you have to ration down to the bare essentials. he stuck to his guns on that. though we didn't like it, we agreed to it and that's what we did and, you know, that's what it takes when you're out there in a situation like that, self-determination is something you really have to uphold. >> yes, i understand. now, can you give us a little explanation on how this happened in the first place? how did the boat cap sizsize? >> we made it down to the area we were going to fish and just checking out the sights and getting all set up for the next morning and we got everything set up and we were, you know, unwinding, getting ready to go to sleep. it was probably 11:00, 11:15 that night and we went to bed

and about 12:30 i went to roll around to try to get a better night's sleep and put my foot on the ground and realized the water was up probably knee high in the boat. it just kind of woke me up real quick and i jumped up, called james. james called curt. we were trying to extract the water as fast as we could but it was a little too late. and the boat rolled over. >> the coast guard says you guys survived by doing one very, very smart thing among many but thafs staying with the capsized boat and clinging to that. just quickly, as we said, there was a search area, about 86,000 miles i believe, the size of a state of minnesota trying to look for you and the coast guard had to give up. they said they were not sure they'd ever find you. as we understand it they informed one of the little boys, daddy's not coming home. how did this other boat -- this was a pleasure craft. how did they spot you and how did you get their attention?

>> well, we had had some shirts, t-shirts and we tore off some railing that was on the boat and tied those t-shirts to the railing so we actually have like a flag on the pole if you will. it kind of stood up another four and a half feet because we were standing about eight feet off the water, even being on top of the little boat that was turned upside down. the only way we caught their attention was getting out and waving those flags and jumping around and trying to draw some kind of attention to a -- to where they could see us at that area where they were at. >> really a miracle. congratulations. i'm glad you're home safe and sound. before we leave are you going to fish again? are you going back out on the water? >> oh, yes. i would love to do it this weekend but we made a pact that

we'd put the poles down for the rest of the year and try to do something else, maybe go deer hunting or something like that. >> all right. if that's safer for you, then go for it. but anyway, it's wonderful that you guys managed to make it and i'm sure your family is probably not letting you get back on the boat at least for this season. tressel hawkins, good luck and thanks for joining us this morning. >> thank you. >> maybe shuffle board. >> i thought he was going to say golf. >> even golf might be too dangerous. 18 minutes after the hour. we're learning more about the case of jaycee lee dugard who was found after spending 18 years in captivity. what were the first words she said to her mother and why are police conducting a further investigation of phillip garrido? we have all the details right after the break.

new details emerged today about jaycee dugard's 18-year kidnapping ordeal and her reunion with her family. authorities expanded the investigation of her alleged abductor phillip garrido looking for clues to link him to other crimes including numerous murders. we're live in antioch, california this morning. hi, ed. >> reporter: good morning, john. well, investigators will return here again to the home of phillip garrido in antioch, california. they've spent the weekend here combing through the crime scene, even expanding it into the house next door. as for jaycee dugard we understand she has spent the weekend reuniting with family and it has been an emotional weekend. jaycee dugard appeared to have

settled into an unimaginable routine during her years of captivity. behind the scenes she lived in this messy back yard prison but to the outside world she was the creative force behind phillip garrido's printing business, designing business parts for clients all over the town of antioch. she is described as intelligent with attention to detail. >> she was always having a very pretty smile on her face. she comes and talking to me, it's always smiling and she's a very pretty girl, very pretty young lady. >> reporter: even dugard's daughters appeared to live a normal life. these are pictures of the young girls obtained by cnn. the 11-year-old went by the name of angel and the 15-year-old starlet. we blurred their faces to protect privacy. the pictures were taken two weeks ago at a birthday party. he says garrido called them my girls and often brought them to his rec yard delivering bottles of water on hot days. >> they made a thing like the

little girls were living like wolves or jungle kids in the back yard, you know, dungeon. perhaps that is it but they didn't give the visual to me that they were. they were polite. they were well mannered. >> reporter: molineo says angel and starlet were huge fans of hannah montana and says jaycee dreamed of becoming a model. always clean and well dressed, no hint of the tragic reality. investigators have expanded the crime scene at phillip garrido's home. they've brought cadaver dogs to search the property next door. authorities are looking into whether garrido could be connected to a string of murders in the 1990s. >> what we also know is that phillip garrido had access to that property. he used that property and it looks like he lived on that property in a shed. >> reporter: as we've scoured garrido's hometown looking for clues, we found this in a hardware store. the name phil g. on a donation card. on august 17th, this receipt shows garrido bought a pressure

switch and left a $2 donation to the children's miracle network. john, we found that to be an irony considering what garrido is charged with here. as for jaycee dugard we understand her location is still being kept a highly secret situation. we understand she's moved around the area a couple times to make sure she is not found and is able to reunite peacefully and quietly with her family. john? >> such a bizarre story. you know, again, the question. where do you begin with reintegrating her back with her family and putting her back in school and all this stuff? so many questions remain unanswered. ed, thanks so much. we all remember studying for the s.a.t., saying oh, no, did i study hard enough? did the s.a.t. classes pay off? what if kids don't have to worry about that anymore? carol costello has a special

piece for us this morning about whether or not the s.a.t. may some day become optional.

♪ luck be a lady tonight if you're up in vegas about 84 degrees and fair right now. though probably everyone is sleeping by now. meanwhile, though, going up to a high of 103 degrees. going to be nice and sunny in las vegas today. welcome back to the most news in the morning. 27 minutes past the hour. to most high school kids taking the s.a.t. can sometimes be like getting a root canal right? a little nerve racking. the s.a.t. prep courses can be pretty pricey. today as our new series "educating america" begins carol costello found out many colleges don't even consider s.a.t. scores that important anymore.

she joins us now from washington. really, carol? >> reporter: not all that important. oh, gosh. you had to go through all the definitions of all the words right? >> i'd fall asleep and my parents would say you can't go outside and sled until you get through the bs. there it went. i don't know how much it helped. >> reporter: you ask anyone who took the s.a.t. and they remember their score, where they were, how they were feeling. i mean, we place a lot of importance on this test, all of us. and it's intergenerational. we place so much importance on what our child scores on the s.a.t. we know a high score can at least get them in the door at an elite university. but what does that perfect 2400 or even a lesser score really tell you about what your child is capable of? some are beginning to wonder. never has one test caused so much angst, a feeling of anxiety. >> are you nervous? excited? >> i'm so nervous.

>> reporter: hence, this class designed to beat the test. >> that's enough to get d over e. >> parents pay the princeton review and other organizations anywhere from $600 to $8,000 for special classes or private tutors so their child can literally beat the s.a.t. 16-year-old mckenna from missouri is spending her summer in s.a.t. class. >> really a bad test taker and they're reel hayward questions so i'm hoping i can get through it. >> reporter: imagine, all angst doesn't even tell how smart you are. ed carroll tutors people to take the test. >> there are people who think incorrectly the s.a.t. is a measure of intelligence. it never was. the only thing it's good at is predicting how well do you on the s.a.t. >> reporter: carroll says it's not that students need to take special courses to ace the s.a.t. but once the student

realizes there are patterns involved it's a lot easier. >> a square foot, b square foot equals c square foot. the numbers you'll see most frequently, three, four, five, that's what you need to know. you don't need to know the whole theorum. >> reporter: lawrence oversees the s.a.t. for the college board. >> that's just wrong. it's a test of the basic skills one needs to succeed in college. >> reporter: does it show you how smart a kid is? >> it shows you how much they've learned in school. >> reporter: many universities are now saying the s.a.t. says very little about what a student can do. some 800 have now made the s.a.t. optional for most applicants including eight this year, some of them highly selective, top tier liberal arts schools. wouldn't you like to see the s.a.t. go away? >> i would love to see it go away. >> reporter: the principal of the kids school in baltimore for

inner city kids says the deck is stacked against lower income children. they're generally not able to attend elite high schools or afford expensive tutors. according to the college board's own stats, in 2009 kids whose parents make up to $20,000 a year scored an average 1321 on a scale of 2400. if a kid's parents makes above $200,000 per year that score shoots up 381 points to an average of 1702. >> what you're really seeing is that the playing field isn't fair. it's not the s.a.t. that's the problem. it's any measure of educational achievement is going to show the same thing. >> reporter: if the playing field isn't fair to begin with, educators like principal toler wonder why a perfect 2400 on the s.a.t. seems to matter so much. now, keep in mind universities use the s.a.t. as one indicator of what a child will be capable of in college. still, with some 800 universities now making the

s.a.t. optional for most applicants will we soon see the day the s.a.t. goes away? tomorrow we'll explain why critics say that is unlikely. too many people they say are making way too much money off the s.a.t. and let's face it, the majority of universities still consider the s.a.t. pretty important when it comes to admitting your child to college. we want to know what you think. is it valuable? is it fair? should it go away? go to cnn.com/an fix and post your comment on my blog. >> carol costello, thanks. the british government is denying a deal was made with libya for the release of lockerbie bomber abdul baset al megrahi. the scottish government freed al megrahi on compassionate grounds. he is in the end stage of prostate cancer and then a huge international back lash when he got a hero's welcome in libya.

the white house called it outrageous and disgusting. now british officials are fighting a headline which reads lockerbie bomber set free for oil. part of the alleged deal a multimillion dollar contract for british petroleum. phil black joins us now with more live outside of number 10 downing street in london. phil, what's this all about? >> reporter: well, since abdul baset al megrahi was released by the scottish government there has been growing suspicion here his freedom was in some way linked to trade benefits for britain. the british government has gone out of its way to deny these reports but, still, this suspicion persists and continues to do so with the latest reports over the weekend newspapers. they take place just as new images are released from libya that show the lockerbie bomber being treated in hospital. this is the lockerbie bomber in a hospital, breathing through an oxygen mask. he looks like a dying man according to a british

journalist invited to his bedside who was unable to independently verify the state of al megrahi's health. asked if he his release from scotland was linked to british trade deals he would not or could not offer an answer. >> reporter: do you feel you were released because of a commercial deal with britain and libya? he's too sick. >> reporter: but that is the question that is still being asked in britain, especially after this story in the sunday times newspaper. its headline? lockerbie bomber set free for oil. >> "the sunday times" headline is suggesting the lockerbie bomber al megrahi was released as a result of a deal for oil and it's wholly untrue. there was no deal over the release of mr. megrahi. >> reporter: the paper says an oil exploration deal between libya and british company bp was only ratified by libya's parliament after the british government agreed a prisoner transfer deal between the countries would not exclude al

megrahi specifically. britain's justice secretary jack straw admits the government had pushed for al megrahi not to be eligible for transfer under the agreement but libya refused and britain relented. the deal always allowed for the scottish government to veto any transfer. al megrahi's application under the transfer agreement was refused by the scottish government. instead, he was released under scottish law on compassionate grounds because he's dying of cancer. scotland's first minister insists justice was his government's only consideration. >> a difficult, controversial decision, a challenging decision. let's take it for the right reasons and the right reasons were to release a dying man on compassionate grounds. >> reporter: this report is damaging but is not a smoking gun. for the moment the british and scottish government seem to have their stories in line together. but this probably isn't the end of it. opposition politicians here are

calling for an open inquiry and say there is now so much suspicion and the information is being leaked out slowly and there appears to be so much secrecy that there now needs to be an open inquiry to determine just what libya and britain have been talking about in recent years and to what extent al megrahi has figured in those discussions. >> this story may go on for a while given the controversy surrounding his release. thanks so much. still ahead, we'll talk about how people were buying seeds. this has slowly made its way into gardens and now people are growing their own veggies. a growing trend. she tells us how much money you really save. a a a a a a a a a a

♪ the greenest state in the land of the free and the home of the grand ole opry is calling me back to my smokey mountain home ♪ >> oh, look. they took the luxury hotel from las vegas and stuck it in

memphis. it's partly cloudy, 63 degrees there right now. later on today sunny with a high of 80. going to be a beautiful day in memphis, tennessee. >> beautiful day to do some gardening perhaps. 40 minutes past the hour. this is a trend that you had talked about earlier that's really taken off. people are growing their own veggies. >> there's nothing more opposite to consumer gratification than growing a garden. earlier this summer people were buying seeds and gardening equipment. i thought is this a trend that's going to last and people did follow through. some 8 million first-time gardeners. here's why. >> some nice ones back there. >> reporter: here are the real green shoots in the economy. karen simonson and her friend work together in the business office at the queens botanical gardens. before this spring there wasn't a green thumb between them. >> since we didn't know how to do it we fipgd we'd do it together and would, you know, save time and just be easier for both of us.

>> reporter: with help from simonson's daughter rebecca they found abundance in a recession. >> the tomatoes and the string beans and the peppers. >> reporter: there is is one of 43 million food gardens this year. the national gardening association says 19% of the households growing their own fruits, vegetables, and herbs are doing it for the very first time. vegetable seed sales are up 30%. a popular making of canning supplies saw sales jump 30%. one of the oldest seed catalog companies, a a 19th and early 20th century stalwart is finding new and newly frugal 21st century gardeners. >> it's not that a vegetable is going to make you money. it's that you're not going to spend it in the produce section or the supermarket or the farmer's market. if you spend say a hundred dollars on vegetable seeds you're going to save $2,500 on average in savings at the supermarket. that's money you can spend on your child's college fund or, you know, buy something, or get

the house downpayment furth aerodynamic advanced. >> reporter: saving money, taking control, getting back to basics and bringing green to your green. >> you're controlling how you're growing it. often, home grown produce, which you can pluck right off the vine is very -- really much tastier than vegetables harvested a couple weeks ahead in the supermarket. >> reporter: new gardener simonson says fresh and pesticide free produce is what got her gardening in the first place. >> having my daughter become a little more conscious about what she eats and being that she's 8 years old right now i thought it was a good activity for us to do together. >> reporter: recession or no, next year they'll do it again. christine romans, cnn, new york. and google saw a spike in searches for canning recipes. if you go online, some of the most popular things right now are salsa recipes. everyone is trading salsa recipes. a lot of people who have never done this before are now doing it. millions of people who have

never gardened before are getting their hands dirty. a couple reasons, it's the green movement. people want to grow their own vegetable. it started a couple years ago. then the recession kicked in and people want to take control and also the experience with their kids. they're not going on a big vacation this summer, staying home, going to plant a garden and show their kids, you know, what you can do with your money. >> pretty cool. as you said, so much left over. you do the tomatoes, i do the cucumbers and we swap. i'd like some tomatoes. they're coming in. >> only thing i've grown is a lucky bamboo. rob marciano is out in the fire line in california and has the latest on that as well as a hurricane in the pacific and something else going on in the atlantic ocean that we have to be worried about? rob has all the information coming right up.

so, what's the? these are hot. we're shipping 'em everywhere. but we can't predict our shipping costs. dallas. detroit. different rates. well with us, it's the same flat rate. same flat rate. boston. boise? same flat rate. alabama. alaska? with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. dude's good. dude's real good. dudes. priority mail flat rate boxes only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. need a lift? hey buddy, i appreciate the ride, you know. no problem. ♪ mind if i take a shortcut? yeah, sure. ♪ i knew the subaru legacy was the smart choice...

what i didn't expect... was the fun. the all-new subaru legacy. feel the love. new aches and pains, ...and new questions about which pain reliever is right for your body. tylenol 8 hour works with your body, with one layer that dissolves quickly... ...one layer that lasts all day

...and no layers that irritate your stomach the way that ibuprofen can. it's tough on your body pain. not on your body. good morning. six minutes after the hour and we're back with the most news in the morning. in california this morning firefighters are battling out of control flames north of los angeles. a huge wildfire has already swallowed about 66 square miles. two firefighters are dead and right now thousands of homes still at risk. rob marciano is live this morning in sunland, california with the latest on the fires and some tropical weather in both the pacific and the potential problem in the atlantic. >> reporter: good morning, john. some are hoping some of the tropical activity will bring some rain here. there is a slim chance of that. this is the dry season. it is the fire season. they've got a doozie on their hands here in southern

california. 45,000 acres have burned and really exploding over the weekend, dry conditions, certainly. hot conditions, you bet. winds haven't been that big of an issue. matter of fact the incident fire commander has said that he has never seen a fire growth rapidly without santa ana winds blowing. part of the reason is that this particular area hadn't seen a major fire in over 60 years so there's plenty of fuel to be burned. they are battling up on the ground, almost 3,000 firefighters fighting on the ground. from the air a dozen or so fixed wing and helicopters dropping, even got the dc-10 tanker dropping water and fire retardant trying to get a handle on it, burning in the angeles forest behind me. at times you can see the glow. the flames flare up from time to time. what has been constant not only here but in the communities around the area is the fall of ash and smoke. it is very, very difficult to breathe. they are battling this thing from the north. the town of atkin up there. to the east pasadena. in between is mount wilson and

that observatory a precious commodity. and a number of over 20 television transmitters, 20 radio station transmitters and also fire and police communication equipment up there. that is under critical threat right now and they have a strike crew in the event it gets close but they don't feel real good about that particular area surviving. we have a red flag warning up again today not for the wind but the heat and low levels of humidity. the wind will not be an issue but at times it's so not windy that the smoke actually gets in the way. all right. let's talk about what's going on. hurricane jimenez is south of cabo, a category 4 right now expected to hit cabo later tomorrow night as a cat 3 and then stall. we're hoping some of that moisture gets to southern california. i don't think it's going to happen. at best it gets into california and arizona. so the tropics on the west side here not necessarily helping this fire. weather is not going to be a factor, at least rain is not. and then, john, as you mentioned

we have a high potential for seeing something develop in the southern atlantic right now east of the leeward islands. the national hurricane center is thinking that has a better than 50/50 shot of developing into the next tropical depression and potentially a tropical storm. here in southern california, they know they're not going to get any rain. they're hoping for cooler temperatures and more humidity. that isn't expected until at least wednesday. so the next 48 hours will continue to be quite the battle and only 5% contained. they have -- they are far from getting their hands wrapped around this thing. john? >> rob marciano, thanks so much. all right. 49 minutes past the hour. we're taking a look at a new cost that you'll have as a student for some colleges. university of maryland one of them. has to do with health care. and how you actually could end up saving your family money in the long run. 

a pretty shot of seattle this morning. 52 minutes past the hour. it's clear in seattle. 61 degrees. a little later it's going to be sunny and 79 degrees. welcome back to the most news in the morning. if you have a son or daughter heading to college soon you know it's back-to-school time of course so besides the required readings and papers many freshmen are also going to be required to have health insurance this year. we're live in atlanta. you found one school, my alma

mater, offering fairly affordable health insurance for incoming students. >> that's right. the university of maryland. go terps. and like many other colleges umd was able to negotiate an inexpensive plan with a private insurer because college age students are typically a pretty healthy bunch. let's face it. on top of tuition and housing, additional expenses can be tough for some parents and students to shoulder. freshmen move-in day at the university of maryland. thousands of students jamming into teenie, tiny dorm rooms. this scene repeats itself every august here but something is different this year. like a growing number of colleges umd is requiring students to have health insurance starting with this freshman class. >> do you think there's going to be a lot of germs? >> absolutely. i brought a big container of hant sanitizer and plan on using it. >> reporter: the clinical director of the school's health center says without coverage students can suffer academically. >> it can affect their ability

to stay in school. it can affect their -- the fact that they might have to go to work to pay off their medical bills. >> reporter: historically, lee says, 1 in 15 students have been uninsured. now if freshmen don't prove they have health insurance the university automatically puts them on the student plan. >> it covers a lot of things we think are important for students, for example immunizations. it would cover them if they are a study abroad student. >> reporter: for previously uninsured students it's an added cost of about $100 per month increasing in-state tuition and fees by about 8% but for some families like the epsteins it's a bargain alternative to keeping their freshman daughter melissa on the family's out of state insurance. >> why the student plan for melissa? >> we were able to save probably about $400 a month by putting her on a separate plan. >> reporter: so a deal for the epsteins but what about the poorer students for whom tuition

is already a struggle to pay? the university says it is looking into ways to subsidize insurance for those students but for now they have to cover the cost with loans if they can't afford to pay out of pocket. >> very interesting. you say this is a trend that's growing among other schools as well? >> reporter: that's right. a number of other schools. the university of north carolina system among them and all across the country. a lot of them saying if you're going to be a student here, you have to have insurance. we don't want you having to drop out of school because you have some health concern that gets in the way of your studies. >> very interesting. thanks. big day for the united states at the little league world series. we've got the news right after the break. (announcer) listening to you. it's how we save you money at nationwide insurance. my name is sandy garza and i am on your side. only nationwide gives you an on your side review. you tell us about your life and your insurance. sometimes you don't have enough coverage. or you may even have too much.

we'll let you know. we listen and build you a custom policy of just the coverage you need at the right price for you. (announcer) only a nationwide insurance agent can give you an on your side review. call this number to save up to $523. we take a look at the policy and look to see if there's any gaps in coverage. you know, in addition, we talk about discounts that are available. and we try to save you money. i mean we really do. (anncr:) call this number now or call a local agent. switch today and save up to $523. listening and saving you money is how... ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪

we're back with the most news in the morning. in washington where we start as we fast forward through the stories making news later on today. right now senator ted kennedy's grave site again open for public viewing at arlington national

cemetery. the site features a two and a half foot cross and a marble marker. in this final make or break week for health care there are a number of town hall meetings taking place across the country today. there is one in philadelphia, pennsylvania and also olympia, washington, and we'll be watching all of them for you. and another story we're watching all day, hurricane jimena is now a dangerous category 4 storm churning just off mexico's pacific coast expected to hit cabo sometime maybe later on today. hurricane watch in effect for that portion of baja, california. it was a big comeback for the little kids from chula vista, california. they rallied from a 3-0 deficit, beating chinese taipei to win the little league world series. the final score? 6-3. by the way, the fifth straight year a u.s. team has won the little league championship and that hasn't happened since the 1960s. california also having special bragging rights here. they have six little league world series titles. they have more than any other u.s. state, so congratulations.

>> well done. meanwhile, continue the conversation on today's stories. head to our blog cnn.com/am fix. >> we've been asking people today whether they think the s.a.t. is something that should continue and getting a lot of good comments on that so make sure you go to our blog and see what people have to say. that's it for us. thanks so much for joining us this morning. we'll see you back here again bright and early tomorrow. >> meantime the news continues. here is cnn newsroom. happening this morning an intense firefight in california. tens of thousands of acres burned and two firefighters killed in the line of duty. blasting a new review of cia interrogation techniques former vice president dick cheney calls it an outrageous political act. and should the drinking age be lowered to 18? it's a hot topic in our snap shot across america. plus, your comments on our blog. good morning, everybody. i'm heidi collins. it is monday, august 31st, and you are in the cnn newsroom. >>rs