situation, tessa fled to her grandparents'. an angry family member attacked a tv camera. day turned to night. and with the amount of booze being consumed, things just went from bad to worse. a few partiers were detained. the neighborhood trashed. the cause? social media. so perhaps one lesson learned here, don't forget to use your privacy settings. colleen mcedwards, cnn, atlanta. >> big lesson there. if you just want to check out the runners up, we'll have links at facebook.com/suzannecnn. cnn "newsroom" continues now with randi kaye in for ali velshi. >> thank you. it is bigger than memphis, bigger than kansas city, much bigger than chicago. it's driven thousands of people out of their homes with little hope of seeing those homes ever again. it's not the biggest wildfire in arizona history yet, but the

so-called wall owe fire in the apache national forest is still growing fast, and the smoke can be seen as far away as kansas. >> cnn's jim spellman joins me. jim, set the scene for us. any sign they're getting control of this massive fire? >> reporter: absolutely not yet, randi. still zero percent contained, despite having 2,500 firefighters on the ground. this morning, one of the firefighters described the fire simply as a monster. they have not been able to get any kind of control over it. one of the big things they're dealing with here is the wind. we know that in wildfires like this, weather is the key to getting a handle on it. 25 mile an hour sustained winds, 40 mile an hour gusts. creating what they call spotting where embers can fly several miles behind the fire line, creating fire on both sides of the firefighters. already at least one base camp had to be evacuated after fire came into their camp. really difficult. and it's only about -- the edge of the fire is about ten miles this way, not far over that

ridge. so far, if there's any good news from this monster fire, is that it's been in largely unpopulated areas in apache national forest. but we're here in the town of springerville, the first population center, where we expect the fire to potentially create problems here. only ten miles away, randi. that's too close for comfort here. pretty sure what they do what they call preevacuation, asking people in homes like this to get their stuff, and get on the road. we've already seen this morning lots of trucks going by with people's furniture, their belongings in it as they try to create some sort of safe buffer or distance away from this fire. randi? >> i know some officials have said they don't even know where the fire is, because it's moving so fast. you mentioned these winds. do firefighters actually hope that they can make any headway today? >> reporter: they hope to, but they're not terribly optimistic in my conversations with them today, due to these difficult circumstances. and the kind of work they're doing.

there's not a lot of roads into the fire area, so it's a lot of hiking, overland, wearing heavy equipment into this fire zone with this thick haze. the haze here driving in closer to the fire area, it's even thicker. so just to get to where they can start to create a line is a huge amount of work. and then to have the winds change direction and do this spotting is making it really difficult for them. if the fire makes it here to springerville, they're not even talking about stopping it. they're hoping simply to try to divert it around the town, minimize the amount of damage to structures and people. randi? >> all right, jim spellman for us there in springerville. jim, thank you. and be safe there. well, nature might not seem so cruel sometimes, if only it were more balanced, right? arizona battles multiple fires and much of the southwest prays for rain. folks in montana and missouri are praying the levees hold. the bigger than normal snow melt and huge amounts of rain having gorged the missouri river and filled up a half dozen reservoirs. elsewhere in the hemisphere,

more than 5,000 people have fled their homes in the dominican republic where a dam is in danger of overflowing or worse. almost 7 inches of rain fell in a single day. floods are also plaguing puerto rico. and a rain-swollen lake has forced hundreds from their homes in eastern haiti. china hasad drought and rains and now 14 people now reported dead. the dominican republic is evacuated more than 5,100 people due to heavy rains. nearly 7 inches of rain fell on tuesday in a region there. we should tell you. and if we didn't have a sound effect, well, we might have to invent it, just for the antho anthony weiner scandal. before we dig into the ethical and political fallout of a congressman's unseemly tweets, i want you to hear from the guy who actually exposed them from a woman who received them, and from weaner himself. also, from an old college pal who now has his own show. first, andrew brightbart, a

conservative blogger, who says weiner's admission is his vindication. on cnn's "american morning" brightbart says he has an x-rated photo of weiner that he has chosen not to circulate, and never plans to. >> i am not the cruel person that the media and people -- certain people on the left think that i am. and i guarantee you, that is a news worthy photo. i just don't want to be known as the person that released that photo. >> so you will never release it now? >> you know, here's what i'll say. i'm starting to hear from somebody that they're going to -- if they start going off the girls, if they start releasing stuff about the girls, some of the images that were sent to him as a way to tell girls to not come forward, i have the photo. i have no intention. i can't fathom that he would be stupid enough to start going after the girls, and to start releasing photos of them, that

they have given. let it lie. okay? >> one of the girls brightbart refers to is megan broussardinha who talked about her relationship with weiner. >> he was eager to know if i wanted him or thought he was attractive or that sort of thing. >> how much of it was sex talk? >> he would attempt all of the time. >> i believe that everyone deserves an apology here. and i certainly -- i am -- i'll be -- [ inaudible ] >> here's what -- [ inaudible ] >> where is your wife right now? >> i apologized to andrew brightbart to the many other members of the media i misled. i apologized first and foremost to my wife and my family. >> some of those misled media members are right here at cnn. you may remember this exchange with my colleague, wolf blitzer, just days ago. >> this is the picture, i'm sure you've seen it by now.

is this you? is. >> i can tell you this. we have a firm that we have hired -- i've seen it. it's -- i've seen it. we have a firm that we have hired to get to the bottom of it. it certainly doesn't look familiar to me. but i don't want to say with certitude. >> well, we just want to resolve it, once and for all. you would know if this is your underpants, for example. >> the question is -- i appreciate you continuing to flash that at me. look, i have said the best i can that we're going to try to get to the bottom of what happened here. >> "daily show" host jon stewart has known weiner for years. for him, the pain of what happened is personal. >> you know what is perhaps the most upsetting thing -- [ laughter ] >> the most upsetting thing about having a friend caught up in a scandal of this nature is finding out, a., he's packing jumbo heat. [ laughter ] >> and b., that he's ripped! i can't believe this guy and i are the same [ bleep ] age. that's my problem. [ laughter ] >> here's a picture of me from

this morning. [ laughter ] >> i mean, how -- [ cheers and applause ] >> how -- how good is the congressional health care plan? >> and we want to know what you think about this. should representative weiner resign? join the conversation on our blog. cnn.com/ali. and you can also post on either ali's or my facebook and twitter pages, as well to share your thoughts. we are also keeping our eye on the casey anthony murder trial right now, where the twists and turns just keep coming. the focus again turns to the smell and analysis of anthony's car. prosecutors claim the 25-year-old used chloroform on her 2-year-old daughter, caylee before suffocating her. the defense admits, there was chloroform in anthony's car, but only at modest levels. >> and it wasn't overwhelming amount of chloroform, was it? >> on the specimens? >> yes. >> it was significantly less than the -- sorry, not the

internal standard, the positive control that i analyzed. >> and it wasn't the most chloroform you had ever seen in 20 years, was it? >> it was not the most chloroform i have seen in 20 years, no. >> it's not what you would call shockingly high levels of chloroform, would it? >> no, it's not. >> and for continuing live coverage of the casey anthony trial, you can head over to our sister network, that is hln. meanwhile, in yemen, anti-government fighters have is taken control of a major yemen ease city today. witnesses say more than 400 tribal gunmen fought back government troops, forcing them out of taiz in southwest yemen. the country's president sal la recovers from burns over 40% of his body and a collapsed lung. a u.s. government official briefed on the situation says the fate of the embattled leader and whether he will go back to yemen remains uncertain. some good news for investors. ford motor today announced plans to boost worldwide sales 50% by

aggressively expanding its operations. how, you wonder? well, ceo allan muscllally sayse answer is smaller cars. it plans to increase the kinds of cars it offers in china and india, and expects to see growth stateside, where auto sales are still off by 30%. >> we saw a slow down the first quarter, especially in the united states and the gdp expansion. and a slow down within the last couple months, especially with the fuel prices moving up and the economy slowing down. but, again, we are committed to the long-term. we invested during the worst of times, because we want to be there for the consumer as the economy starts to expand. >> coming up, he has confessed it a pack of lies. but in doing so, has congressman anthony weiner opened up a can of worms? up next, the possible probe headed his way, and that could mean for his political future. stay with us. [ male announcer ] this is charlie whose morning flight

to london starts with arthritis pain... and a choice. take tylenol now, and maybe up to 8 in a day. or...choose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. enjoy the flight.

an accident doesn't have to slow you down. introducing better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance. if your car's totaled, we give you the money to buy a car that's one model-year newer with 15,000 fewer miles on it. there's no other auto insurance product like it. it's a better policy that gets you a better car. call... or visit one of our local offices today,

and we'll provide the coverage you need at the right price. liberty mutual auto insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? personal pricing now on brakes. tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke. after a week of angry denials, testy exchanges, allegations of hoaxes, hacks and pranks, congressman anthony weiner finally admits it was all a lie. at his press conference yesterday, weiner said he wanted to clear the air, accept responsibility for his actions. but in his confession, congressman weiner has raised even more questions, more serious questions. listen closely to what a reporter asked him. >> you didn't use congressional

phones, congressional e-mails, congressional accounts? >> no, i didn't do -- listen, i'm going to try to tell you everything that i can remember. my blackberry is not a government blackberry. my home computer is usually where i did these things. i don't have a knowledge of every last communication, but i don't believe that i used any government resources. >> you heard it there. he doesn't believe he used any government resources. but he couldn't say for sure. shortly after that, house minority leader nancy pelosi called for a house ethics investigation to determine whether any official resources were used, or any other violation of house rules occurred. the congressman says he will cooperate fully, but is he ready for what such an investigation might find? joining me now to discuss this, david bossy, former chief investigator for the house committee on government reform, and oversight. david, thanks for coming on the show today to talk about this. the first rule of the house's code of conduct states that members shall behave at all times in a manner that shall

reflect credibly on the house. did weiner break this rule? >> well, i think everybody in america would agree with that. it's -- look, did he break any criminal law? i don't know yet. definitely, we're going to find out many more embarrassing things. i compare this to the tiger woods incident, where really, you have this one little incident, and then it spirals out of control. and you've seen congressman weiner now for 10, 11 days, attacking conservatives, attacking andrew brightbart, attacking the vast right wing conspiracy. as though it was somebody who did it against him. and, of course, now we're finding out that it was all a lie. and so i think he's really doing the house a disservice. he's doing the other members a serious disservice. because this is the last thing that we need as a country right now.

>> let's start with some specifics. the ethics committee has to agree on an investigation first. if that happens, where does the investigation begin? how does this work? what do they look at first? >> first, they're going to ask for all of his telephone communications, all of his telephone records, his e-mails. this opens up a can of worms that anthony weiner really should not want to go down, i believe. we have heard from andrew brightbart and other members of the now mainstream media covering this story, as a real story, is -- that there are other photographs out there. congressman weiner has to be concerned about his family. that is what my point is, they're going to go after everything. if approximate the ethics committee looks at it, it will -- they will find the photos of these six women and the sexting with these women. that's where it will spiral out of control. >> he has only said that he had conversations online with six.

so let's just leave it at that. >> no, but that is my point, is that it's the same thing with other investigations. you don't know when you start -- which is why he didn't call for the fbi or the capitol police to investigate. he knew this was the result. >> and how long does something like this normally take? are we talking about weeks or months? >> it definitely is not a short investigation. it can take months and many months to conduct a thorough investigation of this sort. >> i don't think that it can be understated how important congressman weiner is in the democratic caucus. he's one of the president's most outspoken critics on the left. will that, do you think at all play into this investigation, or a possible punishment, even? >> well, unfortunately it does. you look at chris lee, you know, leader boehner, you know, i think it was three hours after leader boehner found out about that, that he was -- he announced his resignation. you have nancy pelosi asking for an ethics investigation. she should really be calling for

his resignation to clean the decks of this thing. debbie wasserman schultz has said this is a personal matter. this is not a personal matter. this is a matter for the house of representatives, and the people's body to really handle appropriately. and i think that's where the politics come to play. >> well, a lot of people with a lot of very strong and very different opinions about all of this. david bossy, thank you. appreciate your time. as we mentioned earlier, congressman weiner's role in washington can't be understated. first elected in 1998, the 46-year-old new yorker has solidified his reputation as a liberal's liberal. frequently criticizing president obama from the left. he has fought for issues like women's rights and gun control with a determined, feisty and above all fire-brand rhetoric. >> you vote yes if you believe yes! you vote in favor if you believe it's the right thing. if you believe it's the wrong thing, you vote no. we are following a procedure -- i will not yield to the gentleman! and the gentleman will observe

regular order! the gentleman will observe regular order! >> last july, weiner married long-time aide hillary clinton, becoming the only jewish member of congress to marry a devout muslim. officiating the ceremony, former president bill clinton. coming up in the next hour, we'll tell you much more about another man with an important role in the weiner scandal, andrew brightbart. stay tuned for that. at 14, were you running your own business? how about using your profits to end child sex slavery? well, in two minutes, we'll introduce you to a very impressive young girl who is building an empire, and making a difference.

all this week, we are taking a special look at pint-sized entrepreneurs who are shaking up the business world. my next guest is building her own business and fighting human trafficking at the same time. at 13, asia gonzalez launched stinky feet girls, a company that designs, markets and sells 1940s inspired t-shirts and apparel. her company donates a portion of every shirt sold to she's worth it, a nonprofit organization. she also founded dedicated to ending human trafficking and child sex slavery. she is now 14 and joins me by skype from california. asia, thanks for joining us today. first, i have to ask you about this name, stinky feet girls? where did this come from? >> actually, my mom was telling

me the story of how she was going to play with her cousins and sisters. and when they would come into the house, her grandma would be in the living room watching tv, and they would go to watch tv, and her grandma would go, gosh, you guys have such stinky feet. and that's how it was stinky feet girls. and they were the original stinky feet girls. and i thought that was so adorable. >> that is adorable and very catchy, as well, for your company. as the daughter of two entrepreneurs, did you always plan this? did you always think that you would follow in their footsteps? >> yeah. i thought, because -- well, we would always go on trips. and i would ask my dad why my uncle couldn't come with us and why our other family members couldn't come, and he would say, well, they work in an office and they don't have their own business hours, and they can't, you know, work their own schedule. so i thought, well, i want to be able to do that. i don't want to be stuck behind a desk my whole career, and i want to be able to, you know, make my own rules, and is my own money. >> smart girl. well, let's talk about what

inspired you to dedicate your time and the money that you're making to fighting child sex slavery. why was that important to you? >> because i just -- this crime is evil. i've heard about it, and you see it everywhere. and, you know, the drug business is number one. but then the human trafficking is number two. and soon that's going to become number one, and i don't want that to happen. i want to help these poor girls from this -- you know, atrocious crime. and i just think this is horrible. >> and how much are you expecting to donate this year? >> probably, you know, thousands. >> well, that's great. we're happy -- we're happy to talk with you, and certainly happy to hear that you're helping so many people there, strangers you've never met. so thank you, asya, appreciate what our doing. giving voice to the voters beyond the polls. we'll go in-depth on the issues that matter most, next.

but, i have to support my family, so how do i go back to school? university of phoenix made it doable. a lot of my instructors were principals in my district. i wouldn't be where i am without that degree. my name is dr. carrie buck. i helped turn an at risk school into an award winning school, and i am a phoenix. [ male announcer ] find your program at phoenix.edu. just got more powerful.

introducing precise pain relieving heat patch. it blocks pain signals for deep relief precisely where you need it most. precise. only from the makers of tylenol. [ male announcer ] the inspiration for its shape was an archer drawing his bow. ♪ could that have also inspired its 556 horsepower supercharged engine? ♪ the all-new cadillac cts-v coupe. we don't just make luxury cars, we make cadillacs.

cnn in depth this week. and we are taking the pulse of the american voter. listening to the issues and concerns as we move closer to that 2012 election. it is not about the individual candidates, but more about what people are looking for from their leaders. so today our ted rowlands is at a to leledtoledo, ohio institut. rudy's hot dog stand. you lucky, guy, ted. we know the president was there

choug down last week. what are you hearing today? >> reporter: well, randi, everything. this is the place to come, boy. this is real food and real people here in toledo, ohio. we heard opinions from both republicans and democrats who have come here to eat lunch, and they vary across the board. but there are some themes, jobs is a big one. this is rick suitor, he works at the smucker's plant. tomorrow is his 25th anniversary working there. you say you're doing well. but you're concerned about young people like your daughter who don't have career opportunities. is that your number one issue? >> yeah, i think all of the young people need to stay in school. they're not going anywhere without an education. and i think president obama is doing a fine job. they're trying to spur the economy on, jobs just aren't there. i think they're going to be coming. and overall, they need an education. they've got to stay in school. keep the heads up, i think the economy is going to turn around. >> all right. and randi, that's one of the things we have been hearing over and over again, concern about the economy, obviously.

and concern about jobs. we've also heard a lot of concern about washington and police politicians and the fight about parents, politicians spending 90% of their time trying to derail each other's plans and nothing really gets done. jobs, though, your number one concern, isn't it? jobs is your number one concern? >> jobs is my number one, right. >> reporter: what if you had an opportunity to talk to all of congress and the president right now? what would you say to them in terms of where this country needs to go, and what the concerns are? >> the economy. but don't mess with the seniors' medicare and social security. that's too big. pensions. pensions and social security. that's what we live on. that's -- medicare. >> reporter: a lot of people say the budget is going to bust, and less less lessen unless entitlements are

changed. >> that's false. if they use it for what it was meant for, it's sound. its good for years for us and our children. if they use it to pay off the deficit, it's gone. and that's what we're trying to do. they're trying to do away with medicare, and social security. in my opinion. >> all right. >> that's not right. >> this is lewis, working construction all his life, retired. chuck worked at ford for 33 years. shirley, what do you think? what if you had a chance to talk to politicians? >> i'm worried about medicare, too, because when i worked, i worked for a small company, and there were no benefits. so that's mainly what i get now, is my social security. you know. and with the price of prescriptions, you know, it's -- >> it's tough. >> uh-huh. >> prescriptions. gas also a big one, randi. we're taking the pulse of folks here in toledo. we'll be here all day and throughout the week, we'll be around the country in preparation for next week's big debate. and, of course, the upcoming

election. randi? >> all right, ted. appreciate it. thank you. say thank you to all those folks for talking with us. in a special three-part series beginning tonight at 10:00 eastern, anderson cooper 360 examines a shocking experimental therapy designed to make feminine boys more masculine. tune in tonight to see what one family says was the devastating result in a special report titled "the sissy boy experiment." his doctors called him "craig." his parents were afraid he was too effeminate, so at age 4, craig was enrolled in a program at ucla, where he was plunged into a series of experiments using aversion therapy. the behaviors were beaten out of him, literally and figuratively. and craig's case was judged a success. but at age 38, this poster child for dangering gender identity disorder was so depressed and disturbed, he committed suicide. in this heartbreaking series, he speaks with craig's family. and we'll look at the man behind

the therapy, caught up in scandal after hiring a male escort. here is just a glimpse. >> this is my brother. this is what he was supposed to be. >> this is the last time mark murphy remembers his brother, kirk, as a happy child. the photo was taken when kirk was 4. a year before he was placed in an experimental therapy at ucla to treat what doctors identified as exaggerated feminine behavior. >> it left kirk just totally stricken with the belief that he was broken, that he was different from everybody else. >> reporter: kirk's sister, marris, and brother mark, say kirk was never the same after therapy. >> the only thing they did was destroy our brother. they took him away from us. he was empty. nothing there. >> reporter: in 1970, kirk murphy was a smart, outgoing 5-year-old, growing up near los angeles. his mother, kt murphy, however,

was worried about him. >> well, i was becoming a little concerned about playing with the girls' toys, and stroking the long hair and stuff. i was seeing effeminate mannerisms that bothered me, because i wanted kirk to grow up and have a normal life. >> reporter: to treat kirk's so-called sissy behavior, he was repeatedly placed in a room with two tables. he was observed through a one hadden way window. he was given toys to play with. and could choose between traditionally masculine ones, like plastic knives or guns, or feminine toys like dolls and a play crib. he could also choose clothing to wear. an army hat and military fatigues, or a girl's dress, jewelry and a wig. his family says the impact of the experimental therapy lasted his entire life. >> he had no idea how to relate to people. it was like somebody walked up and turned his light switch off, and we got what we wanted, and

we'll see you later. >> he actually ate his lunch in the boys' bathroom for three years. where he didn't have to. put himself out there. even just to have a friend. >> this is very powerful stuff. really powerful story "ac 360" special reveals a shocking therapy to keep boys from growing up to be gay. that is tonight at 10:00 eastern on cnn. you don't want to miss it. we'll be right back.

35 minutes past the hour. time to catch you up on stories you might have missed. it's not yet the biggest wildfire in arizona history, but

the fire in the apache national forest is still growing fast, and the smoke can be seen as far away as kansas. crews say they're having a tough time battling the blaze. it's already scorched more than 230,000 acres. spillover smoke into neighboring new mexico has grounded some flights. congressman anthony weiner says he is not resigning. but his political future may still be in jeopardy. weiner admitted posting a lewd picture on his twitter account, and lying to cover it up. but he says he didn't break the law. >> i engaged in inappropriate, online conversations with people that included, you know, photographs. and it was a mistake to do that. but i didn't -- i don't believe that i did anything that violates any law or any rule. >> house minority leader nancy pelosi says she will call for an ethics investigation. a well-known female blogger has allegedly been abducted in syria. relatives amina abdullah say she hasn't been seen since she was

bundled no a car yesterday. her blog, gay girl in damascus has made her an icon, challenging the regime. her disappearance has prompted thousands to join online campaigns on facebook and twitter demanding her release. abdullah is a dual citizen of the u.s. and syria. some amazing pictures coming out of chile today. the volcano has been shooting smoke and ash 6 miles into the sky. look at that. the ash is grounding flights in the country and in neighboring argentina. check out the lightning. wow. so far, 33,500 people have evacuated. the source is still unknown in the deadly e-coli outbreak in europe. the question now, should this cause concern for americans? up next, dr. sanjay gupta has the very latest for us. [ male announcer ] germs in your mouth build up

and form a layer called biofilm so strong it survives brushing. thankfully, there's listerine® antiseptic.

its triple-action formula penetrates biofilm, kills germs and protects your mouth for hours. fight biofilm with listerine®. the e-coli outbreak in europe has raised the death toll to 23, and authorities still don't know the source. dr. sanjay gupta has been following this story. sanjay, should americans be worried? >> randi, it appears people of the united states probably are not that much at risk any longer. we know that four people were infected, but they had all traveled to germany. but because of the fact that there's so much attention on this, an increased sense of vigilance and people paying more attention, it's unlikely we'll

see many more cases here in the united states. we know this is a rare form of e coli, a particularly what we call veer land form, 2200 people affected in 12 countries, and more than 600 also developed a pretty significant complication of this infection. something known as hus. where your blood doesn't clot, your kidneys shut down. more than 600 people developed that. 70% of them were women that developed this complication. and 60% of people who developed the infection overall were women. so for some reason, women seem to be more affected by this, perhaps because of the food choices they're making. so far, those bean sprouts people have been talking about, the testing has appeared negative. but that may very well continue to be the case, and we may never have a complete answer as to exactly from are where this bacteria originated. we have done some investigating on this in the past, and tracing all these steps, you know, from the farm, so to speak, to the

fork, there's lots of steps involved. and a lot of times, trying to figure out exactly what step this bacteria was potentially introduced can be a laborious and sometimes fruitless task. so at this point, we don't have a clear answer, but it's worth pointing out we may not know for sure. for consumers, the best bet is to take simple precautions that they have been told about. wash your hands before eating, wash your food as much as possible. although it's tough to get this e coli out of certain vegetables and don't cross contaminate your food. but a lot of the emphasis is on all of those steps before that, trying to make sure that the food that is potentially contaminated is pulled from shelves, and that further contamination does not happen. and that's what's going on right now. so, again, you know, some pretty significant numbers here. not the largest outbreak overall, randi, but something we're going to certainly keep an eye on. back to you. >> all right, thanks, sanjay, for the update. the wounds of yemen's president may be far more serious than previously known. a live report on president sa

la's condition, and the fighting in yemen after this. it has microparticles, enters the bloodstream faster and rushes relief to the site of pain. it's clinically proven to relieve pain twice as fast. new bayer advanced aspirin. and form a layer called biofilm so strong it survives brushing. thankfully, there's listerine® antiseptic. its triple-action formula penetrates biofilm, kills germs and protects your mouth for hours. fight biofilm with listerine®.

kills germs and protects your mouth for hours. and, uh, wow! i really need to shop for a better rate. any thoughts? well, i can do two things. first, we'll show you our progressive direct rates and rates from our competitors. people who switch save an average of over $500 a year. very cool! oh, and the second thing? it's origami. you just blew my mind. making it easy to shop and save. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

more fighting and more killing in yemen today. the key question, how much longer before a civil war engufe engulfs the country? tribal fighters seized control of a major city in the south. there are also reports of deadly fighting in other southern cities. deepening the country's uncertainty, the fate of

president saleh. you'll recall he was would you minded in an attack on the presidential compound friday and flown to saudi arabia for treatment. based on remarks by u.s. officials, his wounds may be more serious than initially reported, and there's still no word whether the saudi government will allow him to return home. senior international correspondent nick robertson is following all of the developments in abu dhabi and joins us now. who is involved, and where is this all happening? >> reporter: well, one of the centers of the fighting has been taiz. last night, gunfire was exchanged by anti-government forces with government forces. what we have seen today is protesters marching through that city. the government forces seem to have withdrawn from the city. the fighters there are loyal to rebel groups who are with the opposition. the government says, no, they haven't lost control of that city. this is a city of close to 700,000 people. the government says it hasn't lost control, but independent

witnesses are saying they are seeing government forces gathering themselves outside of the city. and what happened last week when the government forces went in, in force, 50 people were killed. so residents there are worried that a similar situation could be repeated as the government tries to take control there. that's where some of the worst violence seems to be in the capital, it's been somewhat calmer. the tentative, shaky cease fire sort of holding there, randi. >> what about president saleh's condition? it sounds much worse than first reported. >> reporter: it sounds bad. 40% burns, a collapsed lung, which could take either surgery to repair or at least weeks, perhaps, for it to recover by itself. the burns themselves would have been life threatening at his age, in his condition. 40% of the body covered, as we understood, second degree burns on friday. he seems to be pulling through with the surgery.

but the indications are, it will take some time before he goes back. however, he is still refusing to do what the international -- many in the international community want him to do, and the opposition, which is to step down. hand-power to a transition government. which is create -- continuing to create the uncertainty on the ground, the fragile conditions leading to the violence, randi. >> nick robertson in abu dhabi, thank you. both washington's neighbors have expressed concern, because the ultimate outcome will have far-reaching implications. so just consider a few facts. yemen is the poorest country in the arab world, the base for al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, the same terrorist group that tried to blow up an american jet liner over detroit two years ago. unemployment, very high. the country's oil reserves are shrinking. and it's running out of water. plus, there's a separatist movement in the south, and a long-running shiite insurrection

in the north. 47 minutes past the hour. let's check our top stories for you in libya. waves of nato war planes bombed moammar gadhafi's compound and other targets in the capital, tripoli. the daytime attacks were the heaviest since the air campaign started two months ago. the libyan government says two people were killed during the attacks. gadhafi spoke in a live broadcast on state television vowing he will never surrender. in syria, government troops backed by tanks are moving on areas in the northern part of the country near the border with turkey, vowing to crush a revolt claimed for killing scores of security forces. of the government says 120 security force members were killed yesterday by what it called armed gangs. however, a syrian rights group says the victims were civilians killed by government forces. now, take a look at this amazing video of snowboarders landing on what looks like, well, you'll see here. it sort of looks like a giant pillow. after the break, we'll tell you why some call it one of the top

inventions of the year. [ female announcer ] splenda® no calorie sweetener is sweet... and more. if you replace 3 tablespoons of sugar a day with splenda® you'll save 100 calories a day. that could help you lose up to 10 pounds in a year. that's how splenda® is sweet...and more.

everyday on the show we do a segment called "big i" and it is about big ideas and innovations

and solutions to big problems. in today's "big i" we are looking at a big idea that was inspired by a tragic accident. today's guest was an inspiring pro snowboarder who lost control in a jump six years ago crushing two vertebrae and leaving him partially paralyzed. his life changed forever, but he did not give up. at 20 years old, he set out to make the sport safer. so he created the landing pad. consider it a giant pillow pad for snowboarders of all ages and levels. now it is called one of the top inventions of the year. aaron joins me from vancouver. thank you for coming on the show, aaron. you createded this while you were a student at the university of british columbia, right? >> that is correct. essentially, the landing pad has two main functions.

one, as you alluded to, it absorbs the impact, and number two, it provides a landing surface to quickly and safely transition the rider awe off of landing pad. and to absorb the impact, the name of the game is air displacement. landing pad will prevent or absorb the impact simply by controlling the amount of air in the landing pad which is controlled by vents on the side and by simply deflating the pads by different amounts of air, you can control the resistance of the air when the rider impacts the airbag. and as the resistance changes, the basically the impact softness will change, so it is easily modified. and that happens in our body chamb --

bottom chamber, and the top chamber quickly transitions the rider off. >> and obviously, it looks safer which is your goal, and it also looks like a lot of fun. so i'm curious, are you getting the feeling that it is bringing more people to the sport? >> oh, definitely. that is one of the intentions from to get-go. i mean, you know, snowboarding or free style snowboarding if you look at it is can look dangerous to a lot of people coming on to the hill, but what we wanted to do was to basically provide a safe way for people to get involved in the sport. i strongly believe that once resorts start to adoft the landing pad that more people will find this a great way to get involved, because, you know, right now all they see are these dangerous barriers to injury. >> well, aaron, i think that what you have done here is wonderiful. i wish you the best of look with it, and i'm sure that a lot of people will take advantage of it.

thank you for coming on today. for more on the katal landing pad, you can go to our blog at cnn.com/ali. for more on inventions you can check us out tomorrow at the same big i time at the same big i channel. and your cnn political update is going to be straight ahead.

it is time now for the cnn political update and tough new numbers for president obama, and joe johns is at the cnn political desk. hi, joe, what numbers are we talking about here? >> well, the white house is coming to grips with tough new numbers involving the economy. president obama has taken a big hit in the polls over his handling of the economy. a whopping 59% of respondents said they disapprove in the late latest abc/washington news poll, and the news is worse on his handling of the deficit where 61% said they disapprove. so not good news for the president going into the election year, randi. >> well, the republicans are no doubt seeing an advantage on this issue, and apparently tim pawlenty got a jump on everyone else on this one? >> well, maybe a coincidence, but the timing of the polling could not be better for him, because pawlenty chose the

president's old stomping ground to unveil his plan to grow the economy. he went over to the university of chicago where president obama used to work, and pawlenty's plan calls for spending cuts and tax reform including cuts in individual and corporate tax rates as well as the elimination as the capital gains tax, and interest income tax and dividend taxes and the e estate tax and a full house there. >> and we are hearing, joe, from the heavy hitter who signed up to help michele bachmann for her race for the white house if she chooses to go that way, ed rollins. >> yes, if you watch tv, you knowed rollins is a true campaign veteran and he selling the us what a lot of conservatives have been saying is that michele bachmann will be a force in iowa. he says she has a tremendous pattern tole if low mike huckabee who he happened to work for four years ago, and she will be a strong candidate in iowa and born in iowa and the first republican woman ever to represent the neighboring state of minnesota, and she will get support from the religious

right, which helps in iowa for sure. >> yeah, certainly does. all right. joe johns, nice to see you. thank you. >> you bet. >> remember, everyone, next monday, cnn will host the new hampshire republican presidential debate next monday night at 8:00 eastern only on night at 8:00 eastern only on cnn. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com it is bigger than memphis and kansas city and much bigger than chicago and driven lots of people out of their homes with little hope of ever seeing the homes ever again. it is not yet the biggest wildfire in arizona history, but the so-called wallow fire is still uncontained and the fire can be seen as far away as kansas. we are joined by jim in the town of springerville. jim, any sign they are getting control of this massive fire? >> unfortunately, no, randi.

still zero percent contained despite 2,500 firefighters here. they are hiking out to get a handle on the fire, and very few roads up in the area, and they are battling the terrible high winds which is the biggest enemy. 25-mile-an-hour sustained winds and 40-mile-an-hour gusts make it very difficult to fight, randi. >> looking at the pictures, was it difficult for you to get through the fire zone, and what did you see along the way? >> it is. there are many roads closed here and along the way, you can see the huge billows of smoke and in fact, even flying in from hundreds of miles away, you could see the he billows of smoke. there is basically one road in and out of here as the authorities are trying to encourage people to evacuate and they will enforce that more probably come tomorrow. you see the thick timbers on the mountains going from 10 miles away from springerville is the front of the fire and where there is not this thick timber,

it is this grass. listen to this -- they say when it gets to this, it will spread faster, randi. >> some officials say they don't know where the fire is, because it is moving so. do they hope to make some headway today even though the winds are so high? >> they hope to. they have some helicopters up today doing water drops from a lake nearby here, but they are not optimistic to get a handle on this thing until the winds die down. they think it is three more days of winds before they get a break to get the crews in. one problem is spotting, with the embers flying one, two, three miles on the other side of the fire line and then they have fires on both sides of them and they have to evacuate. until those conditions stop, they don't have a chance overgetting it 25% or 35% contained. they are hoping mainly right now to divert it away from

springerville to save lives and property right here, randi. >> jim, before we let you go, how many people are we talking about that could be affected by this? >> well, they have already had thousands of people evacuated, and this is first town here, springerville, but thousands have evacuated and it is a ghost town. people have been heeding the warning and watching how fast it is spreading and we have seen a steady flow of people who may have been left here leaving out, but it is homes like this, and if there is a good side to the fire so far, it is in unoccupied areas. and only four like vacation cottages so far destroyed, but when you get here hundreds of homes along the edge of where the fire is going to hit, thousands of people with their lives and families uncertain of how the outcome will be for them. >> jim spelman on the ground there in springerville. jim, thank you. well, nature may not seem so cruel sometimes if it were only a little more balanced. well, arizona battles multiple

fires and folks in missouri and montana are hoping that the levees hold. huge amounts of rain have gorged the river and filled up half a dozen reservoirs. elsewhere in the hemisphere, more than 5,000 people have fled their homes in the dominican republic where seven inches of rain fell there in a day. floods plaguing puerto rico and a swollen river has forced hundreds to flee. and also, you can see the drought and stubborn drought conditions flooded with rain in china leading to 14 deaths. and now more fallout from the representative andrew weiner's tweets, and first,

let's hear from andrew breitbart said he has an x-rated photo of weiner who he will not circulate and does not plan to. >> i am not the cruel person that the media and the people on the left think i am. and i guarantee you it is a news worthy photo, but i don't want to be known as the person who released that photo. >> so you will never release it now after he confessed? >> here is what i will say. i am starting to hear from somebody that they are going to -- if they go after the girls, if they start to release stuff about the girls and some of the images that were sent to him as a way to tell girls to not come forward, i have the photo. i have no intention, and i can't fathom that he would be stupid enough to go after the girls and to start releasing photos of them that they have given. let it lie. okay.

>> and one of the girls that breitbart is referring to is meghan broussard who talked about her online relationship with andrew weiner. >> he was eager about hearing if i wanted him or thought he was attractive or that sort of thing. >> how much of it was sex talk? >> he would attempt all of the time. >> i believe that everyone deserves an apology here, and i'm certain -- i will be -- here's what -- >> [ inaudible ]. >> where is your wife right now? >> i apologize to andrew breitbart and the members of the media i misled and first and foremost to my wife and family. >> and some of the media members are right here at cnn. you remember this exchange with my colleague wolf blitzer days ago. >> this is the picture, and i'm sure you have seen it by now. is this you? >> i will tell you that we have a firm that we have hired -- i

have seen it. i have seen it. it is a firm that we have hired to try to get to the bottom of it. but it does not look familiar to me, but i don't want to say with certitude. >> well, we want to resolve it once and for all. you would know if this is your underpants for example. >> i appreciate your continuing to flash that at me. look, i have said the best i can that we are going to try to get to the bottom of whatp happened here. >> jon stewart has known weiner for years, and for him the pain of what has happened is personal. >> you know what is perhaps the most upsetting thing, the most upsetting thing about having a friend caught up in a scandal of this nature is finding out a, he is packing jumbo heat, and b, that he is ripped. i can't believe this guy and i are the same [ bleep ] age. that is my problem. here is picture of me from morning. i mean. how -- [ laughter ]

how good is the congressional health care plan? >> and we of course want to know what you think of all of this, and should representative weiner resign? join the conversation on our blog at cnn.com/ali or you can post on my or ali's twitter and facebook pages. keep the comments coming in. in yemen, firefighters have taken control of a major city. they say more than 1,200 tribal men fought the government troops out of yemen. the fighting is intensifying as the president is recovering in saudi arabia from burns covering 40% of his body. a u.s. government official briefed on the situation says it is uncertain whether saleh will go back to yemen. news for inves or thes of ford. they want to aggressively expand their operations.

how? ceo alan mulally says that smaller cars s and playing catch-up in asia. they want to look at the cars they are offering in growing markets like china and india, and look at the stateside where auto sales are off 30%. >> we saw a slowdown in the first quarter of the united states with the gdp expansion and the slowdown in the last couple of months with the fuel prices moving up and the economy slowing down, and we are committed to the long term, and we invested in the worst of times, because we want to be there for the consumer as the economy starts to expand. casey anthony's capital murder trial continues today in florida. we will keep you caught up on what you have miss ed right aftr a quick break. when an investment lacks discipline,

it's never this obvious. introducing investment discipline etfs from russell. visit russelletfs.com r a prospectus, containing the investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information. read and consider it carefully before investing.

personal pricing now on brakes. tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke. casey anthony's capital murder trial continues today in florida. the scientific testimony which began friday marked a departure from the dramatic testimony and evidence offered in the first nine days of the trial, but there were some developments today as the prosecution focused on possible chloroform findings in casey anthony's trunk. "in session" legagu legale cont sunny hostin joins us now. we know that clohloroform was searched for on casey anthony's home computer. >> yes, and how to make

chloroform, and that is of course a computer at the anthony home, and other beam who had access to the computer, but yes, that is part of the prosecution's theory that she not only searched how to make chloroform on the computer, but she also allegedly made chloroform or used chloroform to knock out her daughter and subsequently kill her with duct tape. we are hearing a lot more from the forensic witnesses about chloroform. we heard today from dr. michael rick rickenbach who search and examined the trunk of casey anthony's trunk of her car, and he also found chloroform and he said he was surprised to find chloroform, because it is very volatile and it should disappear, and he found evidence of chloroform in the car. we heard yesterday that dr. arpad vass also found the smell

of chloroform which he described as a significant amount, almost overwhelming, so we are hearing the prosecution's theory played out with the scientific experts. >> and sunny, for those who may not follow the case everyday or as closely as you and i do, explain to the viewers the focus on the trunk. >> well, the prosecution's theory, randi, is that little caylee anthony's body was in the trunk of casey anthony's car, although the remains, her remains were found in a wooded area not too far from the anthony's home. and so, this trunk is crucial evidence for the prosecution in this case, because as i have said, many, many times, no one will testify they saw casey anthony place her in the trunk or take her out of the trunk, but there are many, many expert witnesses testify about the odor, and expert witnesses and lay witnesses testify about the odor of decomposition coming from that car. and so that is why this evidence

sort of connecting casey anthony to the trunk is so very, very crucial to what is in large part a circumstantial case. >> how significant, sunny, would you say that the levels of chloroform, and getting back to that for a moment might be, because we know that the expert yesterday for the prosecution testified that there were very high levels, and he said the highest in 20 years that he has ever seen, but today, the person who you mentioned that is on the stand, the expert there said that he was seeing pretty low levels. does that matter? >> that is right. it does matter, but it is sort of a distinction without a difference, because arnad vass who testified about the high levels of chloroform was testifying about the smell of chloroform, but this expert today, the fbi chemist was talking about and discussing not just the smell, but the actual appearance and composition of chloroform. so the way it is described with

a dot of perfume on your wrist, yes, perhaps there is a significant smell there, but if you are just testing for the come position of p comeposition of perfume, you won't find it. so this distinction has not been made clear to the jury, so those will be made in closing arguments. >> those closing arguments seem like they may be weeks away. we will continue to follow it. of course, for following continuous coverage of the casey anthony trial, you can head over to hln. and we will tell you all about the triage for the unemployed in two minutes. nd mo. the evening guests arrive. back to sore knees. back to more pills. the day is done but hang on... her doctor recommended aleve. just 2 pills can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is lara who chose 2 aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain.

and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. and all we need to do is change the way we're thinking about them. a couple decades ago, we didn't even realize just how much natural gas was trapped in rocks unemployed in two minutes. thous. technology has made it possible to safely unlock this cleanly burning natural gas. this deposits can provide us with fuel for a hundred years, providing energy security and economic growth all across this country. it just takes somebody having the idea, and that's where the discovery comes from. producing products that save on fuel and emissions like ecopia tires... even making parts for solar panels that harness the sun's energy... working on social activities like clean up programs on beaches in many locations... and regional replanting activities that will help make a better world for all of us.

♪ one team. one planet bridgestone. [ man ] ♪ trouble team. one planet ♪ trouble, trouble trouble, trouble ♪ ♪ trouble been doggin' my soul ♪ since the day i was born ♪ worry ♪ oh, worry, worry worry, worry ♪ [ announcer ] when it comes to things you care about, leave nothing to chance.

travelers. take the scary out of life. welcome back. the picture of the nation's economy has been bleak with the terrible stock market, and the homeless and jobless and the home prices, and poppy harlow spoke to some of the people who are suffering the worst. >> when we looked at the signs of last week, it was cappeded off with a somber report. 50,000 jobs added in may which is down 200,000 added in april and 9.1% unemployment, but the

big problem is for the long-term unemployed in the country. the longer, you are out of work, it is proven the harder it is for you to find a job. the numbers show that. so we spent the day at a job center in new jersey talking to some of the people who have been working for people for months, and some of them for years, and their frustration is palpable. take a listen. >> there were a lot of jobs out there, but they are slowing down. i have 18 years' experience, but i have no degrees under me. i have my high school diploma, but there are no jobs to bring in students at $11 an hour instead of taking someone with 18 years' experience because of the degree. >> we are the emergency room for this crisis. i did see a very nice steady growth and reduction here at the on one-stop of the number of people coming in on a daily basis, however, recently, i have seen an uptick. >> in march, there were more job listings of availability, and now it is less this month and

they are listing them, but are they going to call you for the interview? because if you are downsizing, they cant not afford the hire you. >> in 2011, i got a lot more interviews as opposed to now. i think that they are not hiring. the jobs are being listed, but it is just that they are not hiring. >> the head of the career center says that the uptick he was seeing in jobs earlier in the year has waned and pulled back and he says in part due to regulatory uncertainty in washington, and in part due to the natural disaster in japan and all of the weather we have been having in the united states. when you look at the numbers, 6.2 million americans who have been unemployed for six months or longer, and more than 2 million americans have gotten so frustrated looking for a job, they have stopped looking for work, and i should note that the 2 million-plus americans are not counted in the more than 9% unemployment rate in the country. obviously, you get a sense of how these people are feeling and

listening to them you can also hear more of their story on c cnn.com/money. >> thanning yo ink you, poppy. the biggest fire in arizona has grown to 230,000 acres. firefighters are saying they are having a tough time battling one of the toughest fires, and they are not just affecting arizona. there is a air quality alert now for new mexico. and embattled congressman anthony weiner could face a federal investigation after he admitted to sending lewd photos to women. this weiner story is blowing up when it comes to social media, because you have left comments on the facebook and twitter pages. derrick posted this one on the

blog. rep weiner should not resign because of the internet scandal. no evidence that he broke any laws or committed acts that were deemed unforgivable by society's norms. a user named gizmo says our economy is in serious trouble and i see why, because our politicians are too busy cheegt, having affairs and sending nude pictures of themselves to young girls, and americans are sick of it. and rusty posted this one, pack his bags and go home. he is morally and politically damaged to the point it is next to impossible for him to continue on in office. and steven was short with his comment. he lied. he should leave. to join the conversation, head to our blog, cnn.com/ali, and you can also post on either ali's or my facebook and twitter pages. thank you for sharing your thoughts. severe weather expert chad myers will join us next with details of one of the worst arizona wildfires ever. but more than arizona is in

jeopardy, so don't go anywhere. pass on the news and make sure you and everyone you know is getting the calcium they need. ♪ at 190 miles per hour, the wind will literally lift ordinary windshield wipers off the glass. so, did we build a slower car? or design wipers that could handle anything? what do you think? the cadillac cts-v, the world's fastest production sedan. we don't just make luxury cars, we make cadillacs it's me? alright emma, i know it's not your favorite but it's time for your medicine, okay? you ready? one, two, three. [ both ] ♪ emma, emma bo-bemma ♪ banana-fana-fo-femma ♪ fee-fi-fo-femma ♪ em-ma

very good sweety, how do you feel? good. yeah? you did a really good job, okay? let's go back to drawing.

severe weather expert chad meyers is joining us now to talk more about these arizona wildfires, and they don't seem to be getting much better. >> not really. the word there is critical. that is a lower category than yesterday which is extremely critical which is one more category up. yesterday the winds at the fire right there, 350,000 square miles of burnt stuff, and yesterday the winds were 21

miles per hour, and right now 5. they will go up to 20, but yesterday they went up to 40. so we are better. and the firefighters can get a handle on some of this. yesterday, when we were talking about a treetop fire and crown fire and you can see it on the video, and some of it here, the tops of the trees are on fire and the ground is on fire, too, but when the tops of the trees are on fire there, that is when the sparks fly from tree to tree to tree and downwind. it is the downwind thing that puts the firefighters in so much danger. a lot of resources out there trying to fight this. luckily, there is not big cities in the way yet. you know, but this is not close to being under control at all. not even in a minute. look at the picture of it from space. you can see the smoke. people are actually giving pictures and ireports as they fly across the country taking the pictures outside of the planes and say, look, look at what it looks like. you can go the ireport.com and take a look at it. these are clouds? >> yes, we were talking about the thunderstorms yesterday in

albuquerque with a yellow sunset in albuquerque and denver and said from the outskirts of denver, you can't see the mountains anymore. >> and even the live shots are smoky. >> yes, the smoke is in the atmosphere and getting into nebraska and iowa, and if you can smell the smoke there and maybe a nice good day to stay inside, because air quality is not as high as you think. >> can we go "off of the radar" now? >> yes. >> i hear news of another launch here. what have is you got? >> launch? what do you mean? we are not launching anything. >> we have liftoff. >> the russians are launching at 4:12, and there is an astronaut in there, and a koz azmanaut, a they are going up there to grow

vegetables for six months, and then they have the bring them back down. they will not eat them. >> i don't know if i would eat them yet either. >> look at the pictures, because these guys are standing guard right here in this cosmo droem and there are the rockets on the bottom of that thing, and it ha those be cool and scary at the same time. and it is pulled by a train. there it goes. >> and i will stay safely on the ground right here in the studio. >> 12:15 p.m. today eastern daylight time. we will be watching. thank you. and she is a controversial blogger who have made her a hero to some in syria, but now her friends and family say she is abducted by syrian forces. much more on this coming up.

[ male announcer ] breathe, socket. just breathe. we know it's intimidating. instant torque. top speed of 100 miles an hour. that's one serious machine. but you can do this. any socket can. the volt only needs about a buck fifty worth of charge a day, and for longer trips, it can use gas. so get psyched. this is a big step up from the leafblower. chevrolet volt. the 2011 north american car of the year.

>> time now to catch you up on stories that you might have missed. it is not yet the biggest wildfire in arizona history, but the so-called wallow fire in the apache forest is growing fast and smoke can be as far away as kansas. crews are having a tough time battling the blaze. it has scorched more than 230,000 acres. spillover smoke into neighboring new mexico has grounded some flights there. and just in to cnn house minority leader nancy pelosi has officially requested an ethics investigation into congressman anthony weiner. moments ago, pelosi sent a letter to the committee chairs suggesting they look into the matter. meanwhile, congressman weiner says he is not resigning. but his political future may be in jeopardy, because he is admitted to posting lewd pi

pictures on the internet and covering it up, but he says he did not break the law. >> i engaged in online conversations with people that included photographs, and it was a mistake to do that, but i don't believe that i did anything that violates any law or any rule. >> a well-known female blogger has ledgedly been abducted in syria. relatives of amina say she was taken into a car yesterday by syrian agents. she often challenges the al assad regime, and now her fans on twitter and facebook are demanding her release. casey anthony's capital murder trial continues in florida. a crime scene technician testified about a smell coming from casey's car trunk where the prosecutors allege she put her 2-year-old's daughter's body.

prosecutors say that the odor is identifiable as human decomposition, but the defense says that it was a bag of trash in the florida heat created that odor. and now pictures coming out of chile is where a volcano has been shooting smoke and ash six miles into the ground. it is grounding flights in that country and in neighboring argentina, and as you can see, there was some lightning there all produced by that volcano. so far, 3,500 people have evacuated the area. brave words or foolish? we will tell you about moammar gadhafi's comments after the heaviest nato air strikes to date against his compound. we will go globe trekking with michael holmes after this.

the situation in yemen grows worse by the day. tribal fighters seized a key southern town today and u.s. officials say that president saleh's wounds may be far more serious than previous known. here to talk about all of this is michael holmes. nice to see you, away for a couple of days? >> yes, a day off to keep me going. >> and yemen certainly kept going. >> yes, we heard that president saleh after the bomb went off in his compound, he was taken to saudi arabia, and he walked a off of the plane and people thought he was looking pretty good, but the wounds are more serious than we thought. he is 40% burns and a punctured lung, so he is not in great shape. you know, i will tell you that a lot of people who are watching yemen at the moment hope that his recovery is a measured one, now, and will the saudis talk him out of going back, and financial inducements. >> and what about the fighting

going on in the southern cities? >> well, taiz is the main one and this tribal aspect going on as well, and the government forces clashing there, too. it has happened in several other cities, too, because you have seen it happening there, and n zinjibar was hit by al qaeda forces there pretty well. and so saleh being out of the country is seen as a good thing and hopefully they will get some talks going, and cease-fire. >> and there are concerns about al qaeda there? >> couple of things. al qaeda and the economy. this place is toast. economically, it is a basket case, and the danger in this tying in with al qaeda, the danger is if it becomes a failed state. already, you have had saleh pulling the forces in back around the capital and other major cities to reinforce his fight against the protesters and the tribes taking him on, but it has left an open field for al qaeda in other parts of the

country. al qaeda in the arabian peninsula is based in yemen and regrouped and rearmed and is loving this going on. if there is a failed state in yemen, it is home field advantage for them. and of course, yemen has produced a couple of serious attempt attacks on the u.s., and the detroit plane bombing and the printer cartridges loaded with bombs were from yemen. so it is an open field for al qaeda there. >> food shortage? >> yes, food shortage and water shortage and this could be the first world bank to run out of water which has the same population as saudi arabia. >> which is giving rise to the protests? >> yes, and the water and the oil drying up and the foreign investment drying up, and the money that saleh was giving to

the tribes as patronage funds are drying up, and they are turning against him, because they don't have money. so the country is a mess without him or with him. >> and so what about libya? >> well, as i was looking at the e-mails from tripoli, and people were saying 10 explosions and 20 explosions and then over 20 explosions heard in daylight hours, so hitting hard the compound by nato, and a couple of other places as well. the libyans claimed they hit the state television, but that claim is rejected by nato. >> and gadhafi came out today. >> he did. his typical self. it was said to have been a live recorded or a live audio speech, and of course, the usual sort of stuff. what did he say? we will not surrender, and we will not give up, and we have one option in our country, we will remain in it, dead or alive or victorious or not, and the same sort of stuff you would

expect from gadhafi, but everybody says he has nowhere to go and the war is slipping away and the rebels have their eyes on tripoli. they are not close the taking it on, but they are feeling very emboldened by this. >> it is amazing how the winds change. >> well, they don't want a cease-fire either, because then you have a risk of the country being split as well that we have discussed in the past which neither side wants. >> i could talk for hours with you, but we have other news. it is fascinating, i agree, and that is why we talk about it everyday. michael, good to see you. have you driven a ford lately? well, they may be known for the pickups and suvs, but they are going for more drivers to boost profits. we will break it down for you. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory

and a long-acting bronchodilator, working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, take the lead. ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com.

now use the best suncare recommended most by dermatologists. neutrogena®, with technologies like helioplex... it provides the highest average spf and unsurpassed uva protection. neutrogena®. get the best. it's a curious thing that happens. it seems that when we get to a place where no one knows us, we become most ourselves. try new things. make new friends. laughing out loud. and dancing in the streets. its time to venture out. who knows just who we might discover...

as we come alive under the spell of pure michigan. your trip begins at michigan.org. and this is just into cnn moments ago with the stakeout cam on capitol hill, senator harry reid spoke briefly about the political scandal surrounding representative anthony weiner and this is what he said. >> what about the situation with congressman weiner, and do you think that it is enough of a distraction from the agenda that he should resign? >> i know congressman weiner. i wish there was some way to defend him, but i can't, okay. >> senator reid, later -- in other news when we say

fo ford, you think thunderbird and mustang and maybe some of you are even nostalgic about the r taraus or the crown victoria? well, ford's stock is skyrocketing and today, ford motor revealed the aggressive plan to boost sales worldwide 50% by expanding into emerging markets like china and india despite fears of double-dip recession, and fears. but today, we spoke to alan mulally, the ford ceo, who talked about shifting focus. >> in the united states in the past, we could not make money on smaller vehicles, and that is why we concentrated on the suvs and the trucks, and quite frankly, the smaller vehicles we made were not the best in class. and when we decided five years ago that we were going to have a full family of vehicles and we went to the uaw and got a

transformation agreement to make cars in the united states right now and do it profitably, and fix the cost structure and converting car plants to consumer cars, and no matter the class, this is a time to take another look at the ford, because we have the vehicles that people are going top a appreciate it. >> ford's stunning comeback seems appropriate for a company that began the car revolution, and in the breakdown today, we look at the defining innovations that shaped ford. ford pioneered the way 300 years ago with the model t and up until then, the cars were for rich, but then henry ford made cars affordable to every man. ford didn't create, but it perfected the mechanization, which transformed the industrial revolution. things went downhill with the stiff competition from gm and chrysler in the 1920s. by world war ii, president franklin roosevelt referred to

the auto industry in detroit as the arsenal of democracy. ford motor is credited with a pivotal effort in the war by churning out warplanes and military cars as fast as one an hour. another key point came after the war. ford created a post-war classic, the '49 ford. that move marked a new era for the company, and put it back on the map. by 1957, ford becomes the top-selling brand producing 1.68 million cars. its sales reach an all-time high 15 years later. after introducing a wave of new cars in the 1970s, '80s and '90s sales slowed down to the point in 2006, ford is forced to undergo major restructuring, and they mortgage all of the assets to raise $23.4 billion in credit to finance part of the operations. it reaches a low point the next year when ford reports losses of

$12.7 billion, because that is where things really begin to turn around. under mulally who took over as ceo five years ago, ford has drastically transformed the lineup from big trucks to smaller cars. and that brings us back to today, and ford's announcement. it is a new direction that hopefully keeps them on the road, as we like to say, of success. so, should he stay or should he go? congressman anthony weiner admits he messed up, but he says he is not going anywhere. is that the right move? our stream team weighs in next. [ female announcer ] the healing power of touch

just got more powerful. introducing precise pain relieving heat patch. it blocks pain signals for deep relief precisely where you need it most. precise. only from the makers of tylenol. bridgestone is using natural rubber, researching ways to enhance its quality and performance, and making their factories more environmentally friendly. producing products that save on fuel and emissions, and some that can be reused again. ♪ and promoting eco-friendly and safety driving campaigns. ♪ one team. one planet. bridgestone. [ female announcer ] wake up to sweetness with honey nut cheerios cereal. kissed with real honey. and the 100% natural whole grain oats can help lower your cholesterol. you are so sweet to me. bee happy. bee healthy.

it seems like we are spending a lot of time talking about political sex scandals like arnold schwarzenegger last month and this month it is congressman anthony weiner and while there was no actual sex the scandal is big news, because it is potentially a deadly blow. weiner says he won't resign, so let me ask you this, what is worst a married man sending suggestive pictures to women or a politician lying about it after they go public? here is what some of his constituents are saying. >> personally i think that he should step down for a while.

you know, he made some mistake, and i think that, you know, the whole thing he did, the tour with the news, that was bad. and i think that he can come back. but i think that he should step down for a while. >> it is funny and stupid, but it is irrelevant to anything except to maybe his wife, and i don't know what their relationship is. >> do you think that he should resign? >> resign for that? no. i think that he is one of the most effective decent congressmen out there, and that is why this thing probably blew up. >> i feel sorry for the guy. we are neighbors, and seems like a nice guy. i don't know what to say. i don't want to be in his shoes for sure. >> still, at the heart of this is one simple question, should congressman weiner resign? so, let's bring in the stream team to talk about that on the team today is jane velez-mitchell host of hln's "issues with jane velez-mitchell" and cnn

political analyst mary matalin. well, is congressman weiner doing the right thing? >> well, you played senator reid and he is not doing the right thing for the party or the colleagues or his wife who many democrats and republicans like. she has to go to work everyday still in the state department, and as you heard the voters say, common sense suggests he is not doing the right thing for his own health and welfare. the guy has a problem. t this is not a cheating thing, but this is something as clearly not right when a newly wed is sending pornographic pictures of himself to total strangers and lying about it for a week, there is something that would suggest that he should take a couple of weeks off and think about his own health and his wife. >> and jane, let me bring you in here, does it matter that he didn't have any physical contact at least what he is saying, only the pictures? is. >> absolutely not. put yourself in his wife's shoes. if this were happening and your

significant other did this, would you consider it cheating or a betrayal? of course. and in the sex addiction lingo, they often talk about intrigue which is the sexually charged conversation, the sexting and the exchange of photos and sexually charged language, and that sometimes is actually more exciting. it gives people more of a thrill than the actual sex, itself. so i think that it is very clearly cheating. it is very clearly betrayal, and i agree that he has a problem and i know it is a cliche, but there could be an addictive component to this. this is not one indiscretion, but a pattern with at least six women, and i think he does need to step aside and do some self-inventory and try to find out why he self-sabotaged this way, and does he have self-esteem issues and trying to compensate for that? there is a lot he needs to look at, and i hope for his sake he does. >> let me share this one comment from my facebook page. philip writes, as a member of

congress he is in one of the highest position of government and should adhere to a greater level of personal conduct which he has failed to do. the honorable thing would be to resign and if the people want him backk let them vote him back in. but isn't it up to the voters, mary, in his district, to ultimately decide if he should stay put or not? >> yes, it is ultimately up to the voters, and as you just played a sample of, voters tend to take the entire career and life and they are sophisticated and nuanced thinkers about these things, but we are also living in a time when there are high stakes and congress has held both parties in a historic low and we are using up a lot of air space to talk about this and i'm not saying that we should not talk about it, but all of our kids are hearing us talk about it, and they have enough issue in the sexting world and saying, what is it with a sitting congressman who is in a leadership, quasi leadership position, what is he doing?

what kind of example? so you have to take it all into consideration. >> so you think he should resign? >> i think he should do the right thing by his party and more importantly by his wife, and for himself. >> jane, do you think that will he ever be able to make people forget these pictures? will they ever be forgotten and they will be somewhere on the internet, and can he effectively represent his district and make people forget? >> well, i think that people will forget if he resigns. if he stays, he is going to prolong this story, and face it, there is always a possibility that this is the tip of the iceberg and more photos and more graphic photos out there, and some have suggested that is a real possibility, so this could get a lot worse. it is really in his control, and he knows whether this is the tip of the iceberg and if there is other stuff out there. so ultimately, he has to take that into consideration in deciding whether or not to go. so, hmm, i think that eventually another scandal will replace this, and it has happened many,

many times and i thought about this and i said oh, the appalachian trail story, and obviously, some kind of trend with politicians needing to betray their significant others and the public. >> jane, mary, great conversation and we have the leave it there, but appreciate both of you coming on to talk about this. thank you. well, it is hard to talk about the anthony weiner episode without mentioning the name andrew breitbart who is the guy who first posted the pictures on line and gave voice to the accusations against the congressman. breitbart is a darling of the conservatives and has become a fixture on the conservative conference circuit and talking to the tea party groups and the like, and the real podium is a internet. he host ss a number of web site. he is described as a one-man wrecking ball. he said he loves confrontation

and that is famous with his hits. remember the a.c.o.r.n. scandal which led to them losing their federal funding? and how about the shirley sherrod controversy? he listed the video that led to her being fired, but it was taken out of context, but he is not apologizing. he told me last year that he is trying to right the wrongs of corrupt journalism and people are listening and clicking on the web pages to the tune of 3 million unique viewers everyday. so who is he going to go after next? well, only andrew breitbart knows. just ahead n the xyz, houston, we have a problem. i will explain next. [ artis brown ] america is facing some tough challenges right now.

two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy.

the morning after the big move starts with back pain... and a choice. take advil now... and maybe up to 4 in a day. or, choose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. smart move. ♪ if you have painful, swollen joints, i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on p of the world... the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region

where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. get back to the things that matter most. good job girls. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. time now for my xyz and this one is a doozy. in texas, lawmakers may reconsider a bill to outlaw what some call groping by tsa agents at the airport. the controversial pat-down bell was shelved, but now because the texas legislature is holding a special session, it kocould com back. lieutenant governor asked texas governor rick perry to include it. here is the deal, the last time that the deal